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I've learned that for better or worse, when it comes to cancer, things rarely are as they appear to be. After all, cancer is tricky. And each person's cancer is unique to them. The treatment regimen that works for one person may or may not work for another person. Test results (again for better or worse) often times come back differently than expected. That's just the nature of cancer.
But there is something in the world of cancer that truly IS what it appears to be… The Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). CTCA practices personalized cancer care with an integrative team approach, and they do anything they can to make the journey a little easier and a little lighter, with the hope of making the end result more successful. I have to say that I was really impressed (a feat not easily accomplished might I add) after spending 2 days at their Phoenix Center.
Why I Like Cancer Treatment Center of America
A couple of MAJOR things really impressed me:
- CTCA will fly the patient & caregiver out to one of their 4 (soon to be 5) facilities for an initial consultation FREE of charge. And CTCA arranges & pays for all travel expenses for the patient for all subsequent treatments & appointments.
- Every patient at CTCA gets a team of at least 5 professionals assigned to care for them including a medical oncologist, clinic nurse, registered dietitian, naturopathic clinician and nurse care manager. Of course, surgical specialists, radiation oncologists, gastroenterologists, etc. will also become part of the team if their areas of expertise are required. And get this, they all talk to each other and create a joint plan of action together. Each doctor and specialist comes to your waiting room.
- CTCA takes a personalized approach to treating cancer. They will run genetic and biomarker testing on tumors when needed. They will prescribe off-label drug treatments (drugs that are not part of the standard protocol) if the standard of care is not doing the job. Of course, there needs to be evidence supporting it's use though.
- Anyone who has undergone any sort of cancer treatment knows that finding satisfying foods that nourish the body can be a huge challenge. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 20% of cancer patients die from malnutrition. CTCA chefs & nutritionists work with patients to make sure they stay nourished with made-to-order smoothies (Detox Delicious is my favorite GREEN smoothie) and healthy meals made from 100% organic ingredients that rival some of the finest restaurants. (It ain't typical "hospital food" that's for sure). Plus special dietary needs will be accommodated. Oh, there's Starbucks coffee too.
- CTCA accepts most insurances (not medicare or medicaid though). All costs are pre-determined so there will be no surprise charges. Acupuncture, reiki, chiropractic and other mind-body work are included, even if these services are not covered by your insurance carrier.
- CTCA offers cutting edge, treatment options and state-of-the-art technology (Cyberknife, TomoTherapy®, Cord Blood Transplants, Calypso® 4D Localization System™/GPS for the Body® genetic & molecular profiling & much more).
- Then there's tons of other super nice amenities offered including: on-site pharmacy; on-site boutique specializing in wigs, head shavings, head coverings & mastectomy products- all sold at 30% below retail; on-the-premises spa; visiting hours are 24×7; really nice hospital rooms that are ICU-capable and nearby subsidized hotel rooms for approximately $40 a night; massage & pampering for caregivers; only green products are used to clean the center; all medical records & results are 100% digital; really nice infusion bays; pet therapy dogs, free laundry services; the list goes on and on.
- Once active treatment is complete, CTCA Survivorship Program lends support to survivors as they get back into the swing of things.
THE BOTTOMLINE: CTCA treats every patient as a person, not a number. They take personalized cancer care to a new level…
p.s. The President & CEO of CTCA Phoenix is an 8 year sarcoma survivor… how fabulous is THAT!
Read more about the wide variety of available cancer support services.

subset: commoncrawl


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Original post date –Sep 4, 2017 @ 10:24
A lot of people ask me to explain training for an ultra. Luckily for me it's pretty easy to explain. You run. Of course there is more than that but "you run" really tells it all. Much like any other sport training, it really helps to know what the goal is. Ultra running seems different. Many of the folks you meet on race day just run. When you ask them to explain how they prepare for a race. They simply say, "I run enough it doesn't really matter". Well let me try to explain it for anyone who might want to try their first ultra.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the goal is going to seem impossible. It isn't impossible but you'll be tested every step of the way. You may not have a good race the first time or second time or third. Maybe you eventually will. The only for sure bet is that at some point you'll tell yourself you can't go on. It's a lie.
That's the thing about the human body. You can push it until you think it isn't possible to go any further and from there, you push it even more. That' basically the definition of endurance sports. Just the thought of training so much in one day and having to turn around and do it again tomorrow makes most people judge your sanity.
You should really have a good running base before you go out and run a 50 miler. A marathon background would be excellent! I came from a triathlon background and had trained for Ironman three years in a row. Basically, you'll need a good base to get going. That absolutely doesn't mean you can't make the jump from a 10K to a 50 miler but it's a pretty crazy idea (says the guy who signed up for Ironman before ever doing a triathlon).
You should expect two to three, hour to hour and a half runs during a typical "work week". For those of you in areas that have long winters, this can be challenging as motivation dips during those short winter days. Saturday and Sunday are always changing. Basically just expect a metric crap ton of miles and you'll be set mentally for the challenge. Some Saturdays and Sundays have equal distance (or time) runs, and other weekends you can expect the days to vary greatly. Last weekend for example I had a four hour run Saturday and a one and a half hour run Sunday. This coming weekend, both days I need to be out for three hours. The point being, that the time and distance are always changing but it's common to put in 30-50 miles on a weekend.
Those who have trained for a marathon know the stress it puts in your body. After all, running is a high impact activity that takes a toll over the years. Recovery becomes extremely difficult, even when compared to a marathon. You need to be able to run a marathon and right away the next day, be able to go out and do it all over again. Getting use to this isn't easy. You never really do. You discover ways to put it out of mind. No matter how hard you try to hydrate or foam roll, your body just never feels fully ready the following day.
So how am I feeling? I started training around the first of the year, so we are looking at a full eight months of training at this point. Training in one sport, not three, like triathlon. One sport that uses the same muscles and pounds the ground in the same exact way, thousands of times on a single run. I'm surprisingly fine. The first day or two of the week always starts out the same. You wake up sore and go to bed sore. Walking to the bathroom hurts but so does sitting. By Wednesday you are finally hydrated and walking normal. Just to get a run in the next day and have one day off before the weekend, were you will do it all over again. But I love it!


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How PayPal, the loathed name in online payment, became the laughing stock of the internet this week with its attack on Apple Pay.
When it comes to sending and receiving money online you would be hard pressed to find a more hated brand than PayPal. With an atrocious record from everything to its treatment of employees, security breaches and customer service complaints to the inexplicable suspension of user accounts from small businesses to charities, PayPal is widely held with contempt online.
So it was a bit of a head-scratcher Monday when PayPal took out a full-page ad in the New York Times slamming the newly announced Apple Pay.
The headline read "We the People Want Our Money Safer than Our Selfies", a nod to the slew of celebrity photos hacked in August, dubbed "The Fappening." The problem with this assertion by PayPal is that the breach occurred as a result of password vulnerability rather than Apple's iCloud service.
From an advertising perspective, PayPal fails to properly understand Apple's die-hard fan base or its own place in the market. It appears the eBay owned payment service believes it can create distrust in a rival by smearing Apple's name as it enters this new market. The flaw with this logic is that the vast majority of those accepting payments via PayPal do so as a result of little competition, not because the perception of trust exists with its audience.
For Apple's part, the announcement of Apple Pay has been received well in both financial and tech sectors. Its real innovation is its ability to process a transaction without handing over any personal details. This will be groundbreaking in the sense that breaches in a retailer's database will no longer affect customers' personal information.
Time will tell if Apple Pay will change the way consumers pay for products, but all indications are this is a very positive move for Apple and consumers nationwide.
As for PayPal, this could spell disaster if a giant such as Apple can do what Google Wallet and even PayPal have failed to do: become the preferred wallet for consumers, credit cards and retailers alike.
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Mechanical Characterization of Auto Paint Coatings
Featured Product from Fischer Technology, Inc.
In the automotive industry paint coatings are used as protection from corrosion and external damage. These lacquers are exposed to environmental influences such as extreme temperature fluctuations or moisture and salt. In addition, automotive coatings must exhibit a certain toughness to make them resistant to stone chips and scratches, for example in car washes. This requires the right balances between hardness and elasticity.
Car paint has to fulfill different functions and therefore possesses various properties. A quick differentiation and determination of its properties is possible with the characteristic parameters obtained from the instrumented indentation test:
The Martens hardness (HM) and the Martens hardness after creeping (HMCR) are values which specify plastic and elastic properties of the paint coating. The indentation hardness (HIT) considers only the plastic portion of the material deformation. The hardness parameters provide conclusions about aging, curing, cross-linking, embrittlement through UV radiation, hardness change through temperature influences and the degree of polymerization of the lacquer.
One of the most important advantages of the instrumented indentation test is the determination of elastic properties. Parameters like the modulus of indentation (EIT), elastic recovery (NIT), creep at maximum load (CIT 1) and creep at minimum load (CIT 2) can be detected using this method. The parameters described above allow various conclusions regarding visco-elastic properties of lacquer coatings. These in turn show the vulnerability of the lacquer against weather influences, its susceptibility to rockfall, the ability to heal in case of scratches and the reflow behavior.
Using the FISCHERSCOPE® HM2000 makes the determination of material characteristics like surface hardness, cross-linking, elastic modulus and healing behavior in case of scratches simple and easy. In this manner, several chemical process parameters can be determined quickly during manufacturing or hardening of automotive paint coatings. Your local FISCHER representative will be happy to answer any further questions.


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This weekend we are happy to provide you with a tour of the newest upscale real estate listings for sale in Lexington County, SC. With so many beautiful homes to choose from, your family will certainly find one to love. These properties are mainly focused around Lake Murray and are priced from $300,000 to $650,000. If we can help you in your home search, please don't hesitate to call. Also, take a look at this link for more information about what the West Columbia area has in store.
Single Family Home Located in the newly-popular SpringHill Lake community, this a 5BR/4BA... Courtesy of EXIT Real Est Consultants
Lexington County SC Real Estate - EXIT Real Estate Consultants in West Columbia SC
Our Local Realtors and Network of Colleagues offer the best Internet Marketing Visibility for your Listed Properties - Exit Real Estate Consultants is your local expert in all your Real Estate needs in West Columbia South Carolina. You have access to the most comprehensive MLS Listing Service with free access and advanced tools for Real Estate Buyers and Sellers - put us to work for you; our service will impress you! (803) 358-0888


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En14399 Structural Washer/Flat Washer (European Standard)
Product Detail
Product Tags
Company information:
Ningbo Gangtong Zheli Fasteners Co.,Ltd is a manufacturer in China which mainly produces high strength fasteners and specializes in all kinds of hardwares. Founded in 2001, In the past ten years, it developed fast with its factory located in Ningbo Zhenhai Chemical industrial area and its headquarter /foreign sales department in Ningbo Jiangdong Eastern Business Centre. The factory now covers an area of approximately 15,000 square meters, with monthly production capacity of 2000 tons. The company has its all-around research system, supply management, large-scale warehouse, metal fastener system, and advanced supply chain management technology with metal fasteners MRO-based integrated procurement distribution business, with annual sales over $15,000,000
Basic Info:
- Type: Flat Gasket
- Material: Carbon Steel
- Package: Cartons packing with Wooden Pallets
- Specification: AS1252
- Origin: CHINA
- Production Capacity: 1000 tons per month
Product DescriptionDescription: AS1252 8.8 Washers
Material: 45C
Size: M16-M36
Coating: Black, H. D. G
Hardness: HRC 26-45 HEAT TREATED
Packing: Carton Box package with wooden pallets or according buyer's
|Model NO: EN14399
|Packing:in catton/bag or customization
|Transportation: by air, by sea or by courier


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Marketing Manager, Author Marketing, Wiley
Today marks the start of Open Access Week 2015, and it seems like an appropriate time to reflect on some milestones from the last year, and also look ahead to the future.
Open Access to Research
Gold Open Access
We've launched several new open access journals over the past year, bringing our total of fully open access journals to 54, with 8 more expected to launch or convert from subscription to open access by the beginning of 2016. Advanced Science, part of the recognized Advanced Materials journal family, launched in December 2014 and publishes premium research from all areas of science. We were recently pleased to announce the launch of our newest open access journal, Global Challenges. This unique journal is dedicated to creating a global, collaborative community to deliberate some of the modern world's greatest challenges, bringing together science, technology and the social sciences to identify viable solutions to ensure that research informs policy. Watch the launch video here.
New and existing society partnerships afforded us new opportunities to publish several new open access journals on behalf of these partners. This includes the Journal of Interdisciplinary Nanomedicine from the British Society for Nanomedicine, Ecosphere and Ecosystem Health and Sustainability from The Ecological Society of America (joining January 2016), and FEBS Open Bio from the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (also joining January 2016).
Earlier this year, we announced a policy to adjust subscription prices for any shift from subscription-funded articles to pay-to-publish open access articles. UK library consortium Jisc Collections has partnered with us to pilot offsetting agreements for articles published on an open access basis. The pilot agreement gives institutions funding both subscription and open access publication charges credits to be used on article publication charges.
Open Access Policy Compliance
With the ever increasing number of policies and mandates for open access, we've worked to simplify the process of compliance for our authors through the creation of various tools. Our new Open Access Policy Finder enables authors to check the details of their Funder or Institution's open access policy, as well as to determine whether their payments are covered by one of our 69 Wiley Open Access Accounts. Our green and gold open access navigation maps guide authors through the open access publishing route, depending on their funder requirements.
As the adoption of open access continues to increase, we've seen several funders announce new policies for research they fund. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's recently announced Open Access policy requires funded authors to publish under the most recent version of the CC-BY license. As of January 1, 2017, papers funded by Gates must be openly available immediately with no embargo period. Gates-funded authors can comply with the new policy when publishing in the majority of journals in Wiley's open access program (including OnlineOpen) which offer authors the opportunity to publish their articles under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY license.
Wiley has rolled out a new Funder Picker tool, using FundRef, an initiative of CrossRef.org. This allows authors to provide us with information on the funder(s) supporting their research during the manuscript submission process, and will minimize the time authors have to spend on administrative tasks around funding compliance and self-archiving further down the publication process.
Wiley sends all appropriate gold open access articles to PubMed Central. With green open access Wiley supports its authors by posting the accepted versions of articles by NIH grant-holders to PubMed Central upon acceptance by the journal. Beginning this September we are fully automating this process so it's more efficient, with less room for error. Our systems will automatically select and convert articles into the correct format and send them to PubMed Central, providing a better service to authors and the funders supporting the research.
Green Open Access
Wiley is a founding member of CHORUS (Clearinghouse for the Open Research of the United States). CHORUS was established to assist authors receiving funding from US Federal Government agencies in complying with Public Access mandates. CHORUS saves authors the administrative burden of self-archiving by ensuring that their manuscript is made available on Wiley Online Library after an embargo period.
Through CHORUS, we currently support authors funded by the US Department of Energy (USDoE), and Smithsonian Institution by making the accepted version of your article freely available on Wiley Online Library 12 months after publication online, in accordance with the Public Access Plan. We expect other agencies to follow in the next 12 months, with a number of governments around the world interested in exploring future opportunities with CHORUS.
Open Research Data
Our focus is on improving communication, understanding and transparency of research by making its wider outputs- data, code and other artefacts- openly available. Our first step is to migrate data from supplemental material to a central position in research articles. We already support very successful data sharing efforts with the Dryad Digital Repository and recently announced a partnership with figshare that will make it easy for authors to upload data and associated materials during familiar manuscript submission, review and publication processes. As a consequence of these and future repository integrations, data, code and other information are made freely available under a CC0 license in repositories suited to that content. Wiley will support the service by introducing new data sharing requirements to many of our journals and by including a new 'data accessibility' statement in articles so that readers can easily find the openly available research materials and authors can demonstrate that they have complied with journal or funder requirements.
Open recognition and reward
Wiley is a big supporter of ORCiD, a unique identifier that ensures an author's work is unambiguously attributed and discoverable by all, and through our partnership with Kudos, we give authors tools to measure, monitor and maximize the impact of their research. The Altmetric service has been introduced across our journals so that the wider impact of the articles we publish is visible, and we are one of very few publishers engaged in a pilot with Publons to give researchers credit for their peer review activity. We will continue to add policy and publishing innovations that contribute to greater openness and recognition, and dig a bit deeper into this area in this blog post.
Open collaboration
In 2015, we worked on a number of international initiatives with many different stakeholders. This includes collaborating with the European Commission to support their Open Science agenda. Colleagues at Wiley participated in a number of workshops and conferences, including:
• European Commission's DG Research and Innovation's Open Science conference, June 2015
• Expert meeting Open Access – preparing for the Dutch EU Presidency Brussels, June 2015
• Alternative Open Access Publishing Models: Exploring New Territories in Scholarly Communication, Brussels on 12 October 2015.
Open on the horizon
With more than 700K registered global users and more than 1.3MM visits in 2014, our Author Services site is at the forefront of the author experience. We are pleased to announce that a new design is currently in the works and is expected to launch early in 2016. The new Author Services will further improve the author experience, including a better visual look and feel, easier, faster navigation and improved performance.
We are working closely with our society partners and leading thinkers in open research on defining the semantic, data-enriched article of the future; where tables, figures, data and narrative are collated and stored as structured data using open web standards for markup that allows us to ingest and store content in semantically described micro-formats.
Our recent initiatives culminate to fulfill one defining mission: To increase the reach and breadth of quality scholarly content. We continue to strive to improve the author experience with the hopes of creating dynamic opportunities for future collaborations.


text: The first was a little wierd in that I used a gun that had only been shot too 600 yards(4in groups at that range), because it wears a Burris 3-9x40 with the ballistic plex reticle. Anyways too the story. My brother in law, and I went to a place that we had just gotten permission to hunt, and didn't really know what to expect in the way of shots, so we took a short range 300win, and Amber's(my GF) medium range 300win mag wearing the aformentioned Burris scope, thinking that it would give us the most versatilty, since I didn't think there would be any true LR shots. Well what do we have once we get to the top? Between three differnt open hilltops, shots ranged from 640 to over 2000yds . Crap, it would take over an hour to go back to the truck and get the tomahawk, and since there was only about forty minutes of light left, that was out anyways. After talking it over we decided it wouldn't hurt to stay and glass for tomorrow since I had the spotting scope anyways. We lay our packs down and start taking out the gear when I look up and see something on the closest hillside, above a ceder which we had ranged at 642 yards. Well I get the spotting on it and sure enough it was two does just milling around feeding, completly oblivious to us, or anything else. Well I can't take the shot because I didn't have a rifle for that range, or an expierenced spotter. Ah I didn't mention that it was only David's second time hunting, the first I shot a respectable 7 pointer at 278yds, and he had NEVER, shot or spotted past 400. However after watching them for fifteen minutes or so, it was just driving me nuts. I haven't had a chance too shoot any animal past 500 in a while, and here was this perfect opertunity, the hillside was near vertical, with manicured like grass only two inches long or so, and very dark soil. I conferred with David and he thought he could spot the hits, so we decided too pick a spot at the same level out in front of the deer, to zero my scope. Ranged the fenceline behind them at 750 on the dot, they were about thrity yards short of that so went with 720. First shot went about two foot low and one foot left of the target. Adjusted, and sent a couple more shots to get everything just right. All the time the deer hardly pay any attention to the rounds impacting within throwing distance from them. And David can see the impacts perfectly in the dirt( I can see the hits through the scope as well). Well finaly go too the deer which is facing to our left, tell him I'm sending it, and fire. At the shot, I call the shot high, we hear the wet thump of the round impacting. David yells hit and the deer just drops, like someone had cut her legs off. I reload and get back on her, but after few seconds its obvious she's dead, and not going anywhere. After some high fives and a phone call too Amber, to tell her I had just got the first deer with her gun , not too mention the logest shot this year we packed up, and headed down the hill, and up the next to recover her. The 178gr AMAX performed perfectly, and poi was as called slightly high of center chest, breaking the spinel colume. Exit hole was pretty much center chest about two inches in diameter. The next day Amber and I head back to the same land but this time with the tommy. Well as luck would have it we snuck within 50yds of a herd in the woods on the way too the top. Amber made a great neck shot(only shot she had ) on a big butten buck, but we couldn't tell it at the time whene she shot, with her 243win. Drag it to the fence and head back too the top. Get there and once again no sooner then we setup she spots movement in the same clearing, above the fence. Two does, can't get a reading with the rangefinder, but knew it was somewhere close to 775yds. Setup the 300T on the sandbag look at the chart, dial 13.5moa up, no windage. Amber's on the spotting scope, she's quite good at it, tell her sending it, she replies send it, boooom. Amber said she saw a puff of grey just too the left of the deer, wich was almost facing me, leading her to believe I missed. The doe jumped at the shot, but then just nonchalantly walked off. At this point I was fellin pretty crappy as I had to use a cushion to get the sandbag up high enough to get on the deer. Needless to say it wasn't real steady. Not only that, but it was only about 30 seconds from the time we got too the top of the hill 'till I took the shot. So unsteady and rushed. Well we waited about twenty minutes, and just as we were gettin ready to go look, I noticed that I had put about 3/4moa too much on the elevation( it should have been about 12.75moa). Now I was really upset, so just in case I found a clump of grass, took off .75moa and shot. Boom, right in the clump. Great . Well we get up there, look and look, its dark now, I'm using my surefire, but cant dind a thing, not even the pock mark where the bullet hit. Start to tell Amber lets go, when I saw the hole. Get there and whats this? Hair!! Alright. I hit her, but at this point I still think that it just skimed down her side, thats why Amber saw the grey puff, just hair flying. But I call to Amber letting her know that we got a hit, and to come up here and help. I look around about five feet down the hill where she would have been standing. Nothing. Just out of a hunch, or expierence, I go to the edge of the woods about 15 yards away, look in and just barely caught a glint. BLOOD Amber and I both start looking. At first its just pin drops, then it starts to be a steady stream, all the way to the deer. The shot was almost perfect, high center in the front of her chest, exiting right behind her right shoulder, leaving a four and a half inch exit hole. Well that was very long winded but hope ya'll enjy it.


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Panamanian attorney Ismael Gerli does not let go of his clients easily. As soon as Vladimir Kokorev, a Spanish businessman of Russian-Jewish origins refused to continue working with Panamanian law firm Gelri&Co, of which Ismael Gelri is the principal partner, the life of Mr. Kokorev and his family has turned into an authentic nightmare.
Ismael Gerli replied to the termination letter with an offer to pay him a hefty sum of 300,000 USD in concept of severance as well as for "future services yet to be determined". When Vladimir Kokorev declined the kind offer, the angry lawyer reacted with a barrage of grotesque e-mails directed at his former client as well as other members of his family. Among other, unprintable insults, Gerli refers to Mr. Kokorev, his wife and their two sons, as "Russian mafia" and "filthy Jews", accuses them of plotting to kill him, claims to know all their secrets which he promises to share with US and Spanish authorities, and doesn't forget to mention that everything will be forgiven if they follow his instructions and deposit 300,000 on his account.
According to the sources within the family, their reaction was of disbelief and incredulity – since Ismael Gerli did not have any relation to the shipping business of Vladimir Kokorev and was only in charge of the legal custody of his companies and several residential properties in Panama City. "I thought that he [Gerli] had simply gone crazy, and nobody would listen to him," Mr. Kokorev said in later interview to Panamanian journalists.
However, it appears that someone did listen to Mr. Gerli. In summer, Gelri took a trip to Spain where he presented a declaration against his former client, accusing the whole family of money laundering – and offering his own testimony as a key witness. In September, Mr. Kokorev (mother's maiden name – Levi), his wife Yulia and their son Igor were arrested in Panama on orders of a Spanish judge and were later extradited to Spain.
The arrests took place on September 7th. On September 10th and 11th, while the Kokorev family was still in custody, Ismael Gerli took possession of their apartments and office, and faked a number of documents to put these properties onto his own name. In all probability, Ismael Gerli did not expect for his former clients to ever show up at their properties again and to find out that those belonged to him now. However, since the Kokorevs opted for abbreviated extradition process – with the purpose of clearing their names in Spanish courts as soon as possible – they were granted a bail in Panama. To their utter surprise, when they tried to return to their apartments, they found out that the locks were changed, and the management informed them that they were mere tenants of Ismael Gerli, that their leases were terminated and their personal possessions removed by the "landlord".
Before their extradition, Mr. Kokorev and his son promptly filed charges against Ismael Gerli for embezzlement.
As soon as the Panamanian courts admitted the criminal charges against Gerli, the Panamanian attorney contacted Mr. Kokorev's elder son, also named Vladimir, and offered him yet another deal. Ismael would not testify against Vladimir's parents and brother. In exchange, Vladimir would ask the Panamanian prosecutors to withdraw the cases against Gerli and, of course, will not forget to transfer $300,000 onto Gerli's account.
This new "offer", documented in an e-mail, is again peppered with insults, crass anti-Semitic remarks and picturesque expressions such us "your father will die in jail" and "your children will never see their grandfather again".
Even though Gerli's communications and copies of charges against him have been immediately delivered to Spanish authorities, Vladimir Kokorev, his wife Yulia and his son Igor have remained in Spanish prison for already over a month. No charges have been presented against them, and any facts pertaining to the investigation remain under court secret, and have not been disclosed to their attorneys.
Why the Spanish court was so eager to accept a testimony of a vengeful and clearly mentally imbalanced lawyer and took such an extreme action against the whole family? Why the whole family, in which nobody has a criminal record, has been arrested and thrown in jail with no prior citation? Why Gerli, who had proven himself as extortionist and embezzler, is claiming to be a "protected witness"?
"By the way that my family has been treated by the Spanish legal system, it seems that Gerli feels fully entitled to express his xenophobia and anti-Semitism even in written," says Mr. Kokorev's son.
This is not the first time that Kokorev family faces problems in Spain. Seven years ago, several Spanish journalists accused Mr. Kokorev of money laundering for the President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang. The accusations were never confirmed and later proved to be defamatory by several court decisions.
Some of Vladimir Kokorev's business activities indeed took place in Equatorial Guinea, an African country which relations with Spain can be only described as uneasy, due to the fact that Guinea is a former Spanish colony. Spain granted independence to Equatorial Guinea in the late sixties, and for many years has neglected any serious diplomatic relations, although renewed its interest in the former colony several decades ago, after the African country became one of the world largest oil exporters. Spanish attempts to benefit from Guinean oil exports have not been fruitful.
Kokorev was not involved in the oil business, but in the years 1997-2000 owned a shipping company Kalunga SA that operated in Guinea, which Spanish press has referred to as a "ghost" company, despite the fact that hundreds of former crewmembers of Kalunga have repeatedly addressed the media in defense of their employer.


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Agenda Item No
1. To seek approval
for the precept payment dates for 2013-14.
1. That payment due
to the South Wales Police Authority be paid in 12 equal instalments
on the last working day of each month.
2. That payment due
to Town and Community Councils be paid in 3 equal instalments on
the last working days of April, August and December 2013.
1-2 The dates are
determined to optimise the Council's cash flow in line with
regulations. The Council is required to determine its precept
payment dates each year and inform the authorities concerned in
line with the regulations.
2. The Council as
billing authority is required to notify Precepting Authorities by
31 December 2012 of the proposed precept payment dates for
3. It is proposed
that arrangements for Precepting Authorities be the same as in the
current year.
4. None
5. None
6. None
7. None
8. None
9. The setting of
the determination of precept payment days supports the Corporate
Priority of managing the Council's money efficiently and
effectively in order to maximise its ability to achieve service
aims and the service objective of providing sound financial
10. The
matter is for Executive Decision by Cabinet.
11. No
change has been proposed and the matter has not been subject to
Corporate Resources
Clive Teague
Revenues and Benefits Manager
Council Tax Manager
Director of Resources


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Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Somedays...Actually Most Days!
Posted by John n Shannon at 2:45 PM 12 comments
Monday, March 30, 2009
A Happy Birthday Indeed!
Getting older gets much easier now that I'm married. Especially for the fact that I get so pampered on my birthday each year by John. This year was no different. Each year John and I keep mum on the actual plans for each other's birthdays. Not only is this exciting as you are always guaranteed many surprises, but there is always an element of worry each year as you wonder....do they remember it's my birthday?? The answer is Yes, John always remembers all on his very own and always has great plans.
This year, I spent the day shopping for baby cribs while John was at work. THANKFULLY, we finally decided and bought one so that is one less worry as we prepare for our little Addison. All throughout the day John stayed his tricky self, dropping hints about "special birthday errands" here and there. He definitely knows how to drive me crazy! I love surprises but I hate surprises! The whole element of not knowing can send me into fits!
My only instructions from John were that we needed to leave for dinner at 5:30 and to "wear something nice". Clueless, I did just as I was told and off we were headed to Fayetteville to enjoy a nice relaxing dinner at Bordino's. I have never heard of this place and it definitely was fancy. Prior to our arrival, John had flowers ordered and at our table awaiting us. We have a running joke about me and flowers from when we were dating. But I'm very glad he didn't listen to the random musings of the old me. I love getting flowers! We enjoyed a delicous dinner. Usually I'm not a fan of "fancy fru fru" food but this was definitely the best I've had. After dinner we stopped off and got some frozen custard (my latest pregnancy craving) and headed back home. Once we were home I was presented with my wonderful gifts... All of them MUCH needed at this stage in my pregnancy. First, I got a "Mother To Be" spa package. I can hardly wait to use it! Two blissful hours of them working out all the knots and muscle spasms in my back....ahhhh. And then he so thoughtfully got me two sleeping pillows to aid in my fight for sleep each night. We then enjoyed some DELICIOUS cake and relaxed the rest of the evening. Needless to say it was a GREAT Birthday and I got plenty of wonderful sleep that night...finally!! :D
Posted by John n Shannon at 2:28 PM 6 comments
COMO Here I Come!!
For those unfamiliar, "COMO" actually stands for Columbia, Missouri. It was my stomping ground for 7 years before I met John and moved to Arky. So, everytime I go back, I find lots of friends (and family) to catch up with. The reason for my trip this last time was two-fold. To get my car repaired and to visit with friends/family. My brother Quentin works for a Honda dealership and as a result, "knows a guy" who does routine maintenance for great prices. So, I ventured off on the 5 hour drive all by my lonesome...it was a very eventful few days.
When I first arrived in COMO, I swapped cars with Quentin and headed off to a lunch date with my old co-workers. Sadly I forgot pictures but I did enjoy lunch and catching up with Tracy, Kim, Joy, GaLinda, and Emily. It was great to see all of them and hear the latest happenings about my old job. It's always different walking through my old work and seeing familiar faces and not actually going to work! Different...but still very nice!
Well little did I know, after my lunch date, what would be awaiting me!! I noticed I had missed 13 calls within an hour time frame! Frantically, I was worried and finally got ahold of John just to have him tell me that Quentin had wrecked my car and was trying to get ahold of me! Yikes! I quickly called Quentin and went straight to his work to hear the story and see the damage. Luckily it wasn't bad, just a fender bender while he was out grabbing some lunch. He felt sooo bad and was already having his work repair my bumper while simultaneously resolving the repairs with the guy he hit. Sadly, it effected his bank account more than it did my sanity. I felt so bad for him I didn't want to make it any worse by giving him grief. Instead I just headed to his & Natalie's house to catch a nap and visit with my old friend Wanda.
Later that evening, after Quentin & Natalie got home, we enjoyed dinner at Murry's. We all joked about the car accident and kept giving Quentin grief. Luckily he joined in and poked fun at himself to help relieve the stress. Afterwards we headed back to their place and enjoyed a nice relaxing evening of visiting and eating Natalie's Rice Krispy Treats. Quentin is right, she makes a mean rice krispy treat! We quickly realized this after eating almost the entire pan in one sitting!
The next morning I was on my own and took some time wandering around my old stomping grounds and bringing back memories. I met up with Quentin and swapped vehicles back since my was just finished getting repaired. Then I headed off to meet with my old girlfriends Karra, Lisa, Aliisa, and Wanda. We ate lunch at Shakespeare's (my request since I missed their declious pizza so much). We had a great visit and caught up on old memories and latest happenings. These girls are great friends and thankfully we still keep in touch amidst our distance. In my COMO days, we even had a long running "girls night" every Monday where we enjoyed watching The Bachelor and analyzing the show and gabbing. They are very diligently continuing in the tradition despite my absence. This makes me proud considering I think I was the creator of said girls night! Here's a pic of us enjoying our lunch reunion. Sadly, this is the only picture I remembered to take from my whole time in COMO!!
Posted by John n Shannon at 1:58 PM 0 comments
Catching Up!
As you could probably tell from my many posts, I've finally decided to catch up on the blogging world. Of course, this post is also to talk about the trip I got to take to KC in February to catch up with my oldest sister and her little ones while John was away on a business trip.
The week before Valentine's Day John had yet another business trip and I was yet left to my own devices .... again. Well as we already know, I don't enjoy sitting and waiting for his return (especially since this one was for a week!) so I decided to pay my oldest sister Michelle a visit in KC. Luckily, I got two birds with one stone as I also got to see my sister-in-law Colton and her girls while I was there.
By the time I got to KC I spent a few hours hanging out with adoringly cute Ashlyn and Preston. However, little did I know soon upon my arrival I would be stuck babysitting while Michelle had a Young Women's activity and Kendall stayed late at work. Instead of sitting at home we decided to venture out with Nick & Colton and their girls and enjoy a dinner out at Steak 'n' Shake. I all the sudden got to experience what life would be like as a single mom with two little ones (under the age of 3). Going from zero to two was quite a shocker! Especially trying to feed and eat while watching them. We were heavily outnumbered with the ratio of adults to kids but we managed...even amidst the stares of the onlookers.
The next day we enjoyed a play date at "Toddler Town" (This time Michelle joined us) and the three girls and four kids had a blast playing inside on all the neat toys. Ashlyn, Kayley, and I had created a obstacle course of sorts. I got the easy part. All I had to do was sit and tell them where to run and then time them as they did. It was hilarious to see just how well they memorized the many obstacles I sent them to. Halfway through they would stop, shout across the gym at me asking for directions, and then continue on the course.
Preston, the lone nephew on my side, was such an adorable little guy. He spent most of his time in heavy "Mommy Mode" so I only got limited moments with him. I was his official "nap putter downer" and we had quite a few moments of beligerance (from both of us). However, it didn't take us long to learn how to respect each other's space and enjoy each other's company on our own terms. Preston finally decided to let his hair down on our "movie night" and spent the whole time just giggling and laughing at everyone and everything. He's a cutie.
Ashlyn, also known as my permanent shadow the whole time I was visiting, was a great playmate. It's always nice to be followed around by someone that idolizes your every move. That is, until you just want to sleep in. She spent every morning playing downstairs just waiting until she could hear me upstairs and then beg and beg to come and get ready with me. We took turns putting on my make-up, changing our clothes, and kissing my belly. She literally never left my side so we had LOTS of bonding moments. On our movie night, Ashlyn sat on the floor and watched our movie so intently not wanting to miss a moment. At one point she decided to turn off the lights in the living room. After asking her mommy if she could, Michelle told her to ask everyone else if it was okay. After we all gave our permission, Preston was playing in the middle of the floor and jabbering away "uh uh uh". Apparently, after hearing this, Ashlyn went back to her Mommy and said..."Preston said uh uh" :( Kids say the cutest things sometimes.
Cora just recently came out of the "mommy" stage and all the sudden was my best friend. I wasn't complaining by any means! She's such a cute little tiny girl. Even her voice is the most quiet and shy little voice. I spent an afternoon over at her house and we all made valentine cookies. I was Cora's helper and would place the cookie cutter down for her to push through the dough. Every single time she pushed down the cookie cutter her cute little bum would bounce three or four times. We even silently watched for it to see and sure enough...every time!
Kayley is the oldest and definitely the biggest chatterbox! That must have been because she was the most excited to see me right? She was my first niece so we always hit it off with each other. When it came time for me to head back to Arky, Kayley got sad. So I told her that I had to go because if I wasn't there when Uncle John came off the airport he would be sad and lost. After listening intently she said...."Yeah and then you wouldn't have a John anymore! :(
All in all, the trip was a blast. I managed to get LOTS done and enjoyed spending time with the neices and nephew. It was a long week without John but with everyone in KC occupying my time it made it go by a little bit faster!
Posted by John n Shannon at 1:26 PM 2 comments
A Day That Will Live In Infamy
Alas, to wrap up our Hawaii trip (yes, that was almost 3 months ago by now) we spent a very fabulous and LONG day at Pearl Harbor. This was one of the highlights of our trip since John and I are very much into WWII. We got an early start and headed first to the Arizona Memorial. Luckily we forked over the extra few bucks for the headsets and never regretted it. Since we had a few minutes before our "ferry" took off, we decided to wander around the grounds and listen to a bit of history while standing and looking at exact spots that it all occurred. It was such a humbling, saddening experience just imagining what that day on December 7, 1941 must have been like. Then we headed off for our tour which first took us to a small theater to play some historical footage from that day before we boarded our ferry to cross the harbor and visit the actual USS Arizona Memorial sight.
Posted by John n Shannon at 11:48 AM 0 comments
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Addison Bell Hufford's First Photo Shoot
Today we got to actually meet our little girl for the first time. Granted we got to peek into the womb for our 4D ultrasound but it was still just as exciting. We are very anxious to meet her face-to-face this May. Just as I predicted....she is adorable and squeezy and cute...just like her parents of course. It's amazing how many silly little worries I have about labor, birth, life changes, etc just melt away when you see the cute little face. It's definitely more real now than ever before. And yes, she definitely has my side of the family in her blood.....we spent most of the time trying to get her to position herself so we could get a good look at her face but after several failed attempts we got the whole ultrasound for free! She's a thrifty one and knows how to save a buck or two. I was doubly thrilled, not only did we save the moolah but we still got to see lots of her cute face, hands, feet, arms, and legs. She had everything that could be in front of her....in front of her. She was literally sandwiched with her hands and feet right up at her face. Ouch! She didn't seem to mind. The only thing I think she minded was the constant poking/prodding of the x-ray tech trying to get her to move around. She held her ground though and didn't budge. No worries, we still got lots of adorable pics and the DVD and CD so we all left happy.
Make a Smilebox slideshow
Posted by John n Shannon at 9:00 AM 9 comments
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Walking Along Waikiki
Posted by John n Shannon at 6:50 AM 0 comments
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Pineapples & Polynesians
Posted by John n Shannon at 9:32 PM 4 comments
Hookie Lau: Part Deux
Posted by John n Shannon at 8:58 PM 0 comments
Whoa 30 Weeks!!
Posted by John n Shannon at 8:29 PM 4 comments


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When my father encouraged me to study finance in college (because it seemingly offered the best return on investment), I had no idea how far that path would take me.
While I didn't end up working behind a trading desk or managing portfolios, my career as a financial journalist and now speaker, author, and podcast host provides me with the most incredible experiences and relationships.
Along the way I've discovered several unshakable facts and words of wisdom that have helped carry me through my life with financial success.
Justin Sullivan/Getty
You don't get what you deserve. You get what you negotiate.
I live by these words each time I strive to earn and save more. A story I often share is the one about doubling my salary when changing jobs back in 2006. I was up for the senior video correspondent role at TheStreet.com.
At the time, I was earning around $45,000 at my TV news job as a producer and sometimes-on-camera reporter. And, crazy as it sounds, I asked to more than double my salary with the new gig. I asked for $100,000.
My manager offered $85,000 (which would have been an incredible raise!). But I replied, "How about we agree to $90,000 right now and I don't bother you in six months?" Next thing I heard? "We've got a deal. Welcome to TheStreet!"
Flickr / Bureau of Land Management
Nobody cares more about your money than you.
Not your financial planner. Not even your family. And it's not because the world is against you. It's not because they're out to get you. It's for the simple fact that money is personal. The depth of pain and excitement around your money is yours and yours only. The difference between making money and losing it is in your hands, which is pretty empowering.
This is a major financial philosophy of mine. It encourages me to speak up, ask questions, negotiate, and take responsible steps to protect and grow my hard-earned money.
Flickr/Jake Guild
Ask questions. Even the dumb ones.
I learned from life and business strategist Tony Robbins a vital key to success: staying curious. Embrace the fact that you don't know everything and always seek answers, he told me.
Even as I surround myself with talented, smarter individuals who help me with decisions related to my investments, taxes, and real estate, I never trust they have all the right answers. In fact, their ability to give me sound advice depends on me constantly asking "Why is this like that?" "How come we can't do this?" and "Can we save more money somehow?"
Andrew Burton / Getty Images
Take care of the boring stuff first.
My husband and I make sure that with every paycheck we address our basic obligations first. That stuff isn't really fun or sexy, but without covering those bases we couldn't go on to spend on or wants freely.
In fact, by taking care of our retirement, rainy day savings, college fund, insurance and bills at the top of the month, we know that whatever money is left in our accounts afterwards is more or less our "fun" money and we are free — with peace of mind — to spend it accordingly!
Read more at http://www.businessinsider.com/best-money-advice-farnoosh-torabi-2015-10
Related article: Financial Advice: A Top Ten List


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First Aid of the Mental Health Variety
Studies have shown that mental health first aid training makes people feel more comfortable managing a crisis situation and helps build mental health literacy–helping the public identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illness. We will take a wide-angle lens look at recognizing potential risk factors and warning signs for a range of mental health problems, including: depression, anxiety/trauma, psychosis and psychotic disorders, substance use disorders and self-injury. We will learn a 5-step action plan to help individuals in crisis connect with appropriate professional help & how to question someone who you feel might be suicidal.


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Spotlight (2015)
If you still haven't seen last year's Best Picture winner, then you have no excuse now. Spotlight has arrived on Netflix, so it's the perfect time for a first, second, or hundredth viewing of the film, which focuses on the dogged work of a team of reporters at The Boston Globe that exposed the widespread cover-up of child abuse by Catholic priests. It's heavy stuff, but not without its moments of levity, all of which are performed exquisitely by the talented cast (led by Michael Keaton). And as a fellow journalist, the newsroom scenes are on point.
The Big Short (2015)
Another of last year's Best Picture nominees, The Big Short is one of the two best movies ever made about the subprime mortgage crisis (the other being Margin Call, which unfortunately is not streaming on Netflix right now). The economy took a nosedive in 2008, taking a lot of regular people down with it. A few Wall Street watchers saw the crash coming and bet against the markets, but the hard thing about foresight is being proved right. Watch this movie, and prepare to get angry.
We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011)
Do you have kids? Do you ever worry that they might grow up to be mass-murdering sociopaths? Don't worry, they won't.
Unless they do…
Tilda Swinton stars as a mother who struggles to bond with her son and, over time, is increasingly suspicious of his actions. The film squeezes a suffocating amount of tension out of the inevitability of Kevin's evolution, and Ezra Miller (the future Flash) stars in a breakout role that toes too many emotional lines to even describe.
An Honest Liar (2014)
This biographical documentary looks at the life of James "The Amazing" Randi, a magician and escape artist who retired from performing and devoted his life to debunking psychics and mystics as charlatans and frauds. He excelled in both careers, going from guest appearances in Happy Days as "The Amazing Randi" to exposing televangelist Peter Popoff, who relied on a hidden earpiece to receive diving inspiration about his flock.
The dual-track of Randi's legacy is affectionately captured in An Honest Liar, as is the charm and charisma of Randi himself. He is, as they say, a character, and this documentary does him justice.
Experimenter (2015)
Did you ever hear about that study where people were told to shock a man for giving wrong word-association answers? And they did, for the most part, despite the man's pleas to stop?
Or perhaps you've heard about six degrees of separation, the idea that everyone can be connected through a chain of six people?
They both are the work of Stanley Milgram, a controversial social psychologist with a penchant for devising thought-provoking experimentation on human behavior. His work gets the biopic treatment in Experimenter, starring Peter Sarsgaard, Winona Ryder and a brief appearance by the late Anton Yelchin, who died last month.


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An eight-year-old boy left profoundly disabled after blunders by staff at a Lincolnshire hospital has won a £6 million compensation payout from the NHS.
The child - who can be referred to only as BSN for legal reasons - suffers from cerebral palsy, London's High Court heard.
I am asked by the trust specifically to repeat to this boy their apology for the failures in care that should not have happened and have had a devastating effect on him and the familySarah Vaughan Jones QC, for United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust
He was starved of oxygen during his birth at Pilgrim Hospital, in Boston.
Through his mother, the boy sued the United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, who admitted liability for his birth injuries.
And today senior judge, Mr Justice Warby, approved a settlement of the claim, valued at around £6m in total.
On top of a £2.45m lump sum, the boy will receive index-linked and tax-free annual payments for life.
They will start at £113,200-a-year, before rising to £147,775, and finally to £170,150, as he grows older and his care needs increase.
Timothy Ryder QC, for the family, told the court liability for BSN's injuries had been admitted by the trust at an early stage.
The amount of compensation due to the boy remained hotly disputed, however, until a settlement was recently agreed.
Sarah Vaughan Jones QC, for the trust, told the court: "I am asked by the trust specifically to repeat to this boy their apology for the failures in care that should not have happened and have had a devastating effect on him and the family.
"I would also like to express our deepest admiration for the dedication and care the family have shown him, and will no doubt continue to show him, and which will stand him in great stead for the rest of his life."
Mr Justice Warby asked the boy's family to stay behind in court after the hearing, so that he could speak with them privately to give some further words of praise and encouragement.
Approving the settlement in open court, he said: "Sadly this boy suffered a hypoxic brain injury and he has gone on to develop cerebral palsy.
"He is and will remain grossly disabled. His life expectation is significantly reduced.
"He is unable to function independently and will be unable to work or manage his own affairs. The trust has admitted its staff were negligent.
"I would like to echo the words spoken by counsel for the trust and express my admiration for the dedication that has been shown in looking after this injured child by the family, and my expectation that the care and dedication will continue in the future.
"I am satisfied that this is an appropriate settlement. I hope it will allow the family to leave at least some of their difficulties behind them and to look at the future with a degree of optimism."


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Things have been busy these past few months with lots of developments and exciting new changes to come. Since June I've been directing an excavation project looking at a house mound within the Angkor Wat enclosure. This project is part of the Greater Angkor Project research program, a collaboration between the APSARA Authority and the University of Sydney. I'll follow-up with a longer post on this work later, but in the meantime you can read a short article on this work in The Phnom Penh Post here.
I have also been tweeting regular updates on the excavation and you can follow along at @alisonincambo.
The Phnom Penh Post article describes this project as one of the first to focus on the common people and in a way, this is true. This is the first research-driven project focused on excavating a house mound and understanding the lives of the people who lived there (non-elite members of society) through the material remains of activities within and around a house. This is a branch of archaeology known as household archaeology. However, there have been several research projects recently that have expanded our understanding of Angkorian habitation and Angkorian society more generally.


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Ensure that adding programs is a sound decision both academically and financially.
Too often, institutions fail to analyze factors critical to a new academic program's success. Learn a comprehensive, yet highly practical, method for assessing the viability of new academic programs. During this online training, we will explore a more intentional set of criteria and process for holistically reviewing and approving new academic offerings.
CPE Credit will be available to all attendees of this live webinar.
Access this webcast through your Academic Impressions membership.


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NEW YORK — Stocks slid Friday as investors, securing positions before the second half of the year begins, sold off due to rising oil prices and lingering worries about subprime mortgage lending troubles.
NEW YORK — Stocks slid Friday as investors, securing positions before the second half of the year begins, sold off due to rising oil prices and lingering worries about subprime mortgage lending troubles.
The erratic day capped off a strong second quarter for Wall Street, which pushed the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 1,000 points over the last three months.
The stock market initially rose Friday, encouraged by Commerce Department data that fit well with the Federal Reserve's assessment Thursday that the economy appears to be growing moderately and that inflation, while still a concern, seems to be easing.
Friday's reports said May construction spending rose by the largest amount in nearly 1-1/2 years and consumer spending increased for the second month in a row. The data also indicated that "core" prices, which strip out food and energy, moderated to 1.9 percent over the last 12 months — the lowest year-over-year rate since 2004.
But the stock market couldn't hold on to gains, as oil prices surged above $70 a barrel and jitters about subprime lending escalated.
"Oil's over $70, and that's going to worry some people," said Brian Gendreau, investment strategist for ING Investment Management. "And there's still a bit of a hangover from all these subprime problems. ... No one really knows the extent to which this is a serious problem or not."
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. and NEW YORK, — American companies are forecasting single digit percentage increases in capital spending, hiring and the prices of their products over the next 12 months, according to a recent survey of CFOs conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business. However, these expected increases are trending downward from earlier forecasts.
In the 2007 second quarter "CFO Outlook Survey," the weighted expected increases for the next year average 2.3 percent for capital spending, 4.1 percent for hiring, and 1.9 percent for product prices. These anticipated increases are lower than the CFOs have forecast in earlier quarterly surveys.
In the first quarter the predicted averages were 7.9 percent, 5.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively. The only area which saw an increase from the last quarter was technology spending, which rose from 9.6 percent to 11.3 percent.
"The CFOs' forecast of price increases of less than 2 percent during the coming 12 months represents a relatively benign inflation environment," said John Elliott, dean of the Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.
Elliott also noted that the weighted average values cited are smaller than the average values (which give equal weighting to responses regardless of company size), suggesting that larger firms expect less capital spending, lower hiring and smaller price increases.
Further, 67 percent of the CFOs indicate they are reducing their rate of inventory growth and 41 percent are actually shrinking levels. Overall, the CFOs expect a 0.6 percent reduction in inventory levels.
One contradictory inflation signal from the CFOs is that they consider "finding qualified workers" a top business challenge over the next 12 months, second only to general market "competition."
Their economic optimism decreased slightly from the prior quarter, as did their optimism about their own company.


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Let Our Aviation Accident Attorneys Bear The Stress
After suffering from the traumatic experiences, many individuals are unaware of their legal choices and entitlements to pursue compensation. As numbers show, our team of aviation accident lawyers has plenty of knowledge and can assist you to receive maximum financial settlements. There are hundreds of thousands of components that operate a large aircraft. All those components should be thoroughly inspected and tested for functionality before every flight; however, that may not be the case every flight. If you were injured in any way because of the other party's negligence, our panel of airplane accident attorneys will fight for you to earn every penny you deserve to compensate for your losses and injuries along with any other outcomes of the event.
We understand that during this time, you have many questions as to how you could possibly receive compensation or when this all gets better. Put the legal stress onto our shoulders because at Luis P. Guerra, LLC, we understand that there is enough on your plate. Our group of plane accident lawyers is here to answer any questions they can while figuring out possibilities to get what you deserve.
Schedule A Free Consultation Today
Still unsure if you need a plane crash lawyer? It doesn't hurt to come in and schedule a free consultation. You can schedule a completely free consultation online or call 602-381-8400. Your session is 100 percent free and any legal fees paid will occur only if you receive compensation for your case.


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I'm working on a MOSS 2007 farm that's way overcustomized. The forms lookOOTB but they're actually rendered by different pages -- I can only assumethat they're intercepting events -- and for the most part things work asexpected... except date fields. When a date field contains a value, youcan't get rid of it. These are not required fields; they just can't becleared once they contain a value. You open an item, blank out the datefield, submit it, and you still have the same value in there as before.The odd page had Viewstate enabled so I turned that off, but nothingchanged.I'm about to go mud diving here, and I wondered if anyone had any controllife-cycle suggestions about why such a thing might happen. Anything tomake the search a little shorter, you know.
Perhaps it is being filled by a workflow behind the scenes?
How about a custom content type? Someone could have created one to alter howdates are treated.
There is a custom content type, and its date fields are defined as a customdate type field. The weird part is that in List Settings, the field type isdescribed simply as "Date and Time".Too many rabbit holes. Thanks for trying to help, everyone; it's probablyjust one of those things where you have to be there.
Checked the content type; no workflows. Good idea though.
Are these doc libs or lists? I have some doc libs that are created when Ipublish an InfoPath form. There is an option to allow users to update fields,and I believe all of those fields are read-only unless I check the option toallow updates.
They're doc libs. However, the fields *can* be updated; they just can't beupdated to a blank value. They're not required either; the form happilysubmits with the blank field, but keeps the old value.
So it's not InfoPath forms??????????????
Nope; just regular old SharePoint forms. Altered, yet not altered. It'sall very complicated.
Probably altered in SPD. Would be easy to check that.
I'm 99.99% sure it has nothing to do with SPD :)These are auto-created libraries with custom content types, with customadd/edit/view pages which look almost exactly like the standard SP itemforms. There are also scads of event receivers, WCF calls, etc. under thehood.It's officially assigned to someone else, so I'm not going to spin my wheelstoo much until asked. Thanks for chiming in.
Check to see that there isn't some weird JavaScript in the page that sets itupon submit...maybe it's updating based on the value sitting in a hidden field?
It's worth checking... but the matching Request.Form field actually comes inblank. Most likely there's some double-looped spaghetti in there somewhere.
I'm wondering if could you somehow disable the custom eventreceiver (if it exists) on the list to see if the behavior persists whenit just uses the default save method?


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Basket Items: 0 | Total: £0.00
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The Texas Instruments MSP430 family of ultralow power microcontrollers consists of several devices featuring different sets of peripherals targeted for various applications. The architecture, combined with five low power modes, is optimized to achieve extended battery life in portable measurement applications. The device features a powerful 16-bit RISC CPU, 16-bit registers, and constant generators that attribute to maximum code efficiency. The digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) allows wake-up from low-power modes to active mode in less than 1 µs.
The MSP430F2274M series is an ultralow-power mixed signal microcontroller with two built-in 16-bit timers, a universal serial communication interface, 10-bit A/D converter with integrated reference and data transfer controller (DTC), two general-purpose operational amplifiers in the MSP430F2274M devices, and 32 I/O pins.
Typical applications include sensor systems that capture analog signals, convert them to digital values, and then process the data for display or for transmission to a host system. Stand-alone RF sensor front end is another area of application.
(1) Custom temperature ranges available
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.


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If you're looking for help with your DotNetNuke site for any reason, we can help! Give us a call at 800.932.3380 or get support here.
Not being able to figure out exactly what my clients are talking about is frustrating. It is even worse over the phone where communication can be even harder.
What if there was an easy way that we could both be in separate locations seeing the exact same screen, and maybe even seeing each other!
We use GoToMeeting extensively in Affinigent and Spiffy. We are so dependant on it that we have created simple 5 step guide to using GoToMeeting. This helps our clients get more comfortable and it will help you get 'up to speed' on this amazing technology. Like most technologies, it is hard to use until you know how. Once you know, it is second nature.
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See that the client sees: Spiffy provides support for the content management system DNN and many times we get phone calls from people with a particular issue concerning their site, but we look at the site and it looks fine to us. We need to see what our client sees. Jumping on a go-to meeting is a great way to see exactly what our clients are talking about.
Teach by example: Many of our clients request training in how to use DNN and its modules and a lot of them are on the other side of the country. With Go-To Meeting, we can share our screen and show them exactly how to use their new website AND we can even give the client control so they can try out what they learned right then and there. It's a powerful tool for teaching.
Record Meetings: Many of our meetings go into a lot of detail and even though everyone is taking notes, it's nice to have that recording to refer to so we can make sure that we're doing exactly what was spoken about during the meeting.
If you need DotNetNuke support contact us to talk about your site. No obligation! Click here to get DNN support now.


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Near death experiences (NDE) first came to public light in the 1970's with the publication of Raymond Moody's book Life After Life. Patching together elements from different accounts, Moody described an archetypal typical near-death experience, while noting that most accounts include only some elements in the described archetype. The archetype NDE included elements such as a sensation of floating out of the body, feelings of peace and joy, a life-review that occurs very quickly or in some altered type of time, a passage through a tunnel, an encounter with a being of light, and seeing deceased relatives.
A previous study on near-death experiences was published in the British medical journal The Lancet in 2001. The study interviewed 344 patients who had a close encounter with death, generally through cardiac arrest. 62 of those reported some kind of near-death experience. 15 reported an out-of-body experience, 19 reported moving through a tunnel, 18 reported observation of a celestial landscape, 20 reported meeting with deceased persons, and 35 reported positive emotions. More recently the AWARE study found some fascinating similar results, discussed here.
A previous study on near-death experiences was published in the British medical journal The Lancet in 2001. The study interviewed 344 patients who had a close encounter with death, generally through cardiac arrest. 62 of those reported some kind of near-death experience. 15 reported an out-of-body experience, 19 reported moving through a tunnel, 18 reported observation of a celestial landscape, 20 reported meeting with deceased persons, and 35 reported positive emotions. More recently the AWARE study found some fascinating similar results, discussed here.
Last Sunday night the National Geographic television channel offered us a special on near-death experiences, entitled "Return From the Dead." It was the silliest treatment of the topic I've ever seen on TV. It showed a Belgian professor Stephen Laureys as he tried various attempts to get insights about near-death experiences.
Laureys first attempt to get an insight about near-death experiences was truly laughable. He went to one of those fancy expensive centrifuge machines like they use to train astronauts to handle high g-forces during rocket launches. He went round and round in the machine, until he got a little tunnel vision. This, Laureys insinuated, is something that helps to explain the part of near-death experiences in which people often report traveling through a tunnel.
Such an insinuation is quite ridiculous for two reasons. First, the people who have near-death experiences are not being subjected to anything like high g-forces, so experiments with high g-forces tell us nothing about near-death experiences. Second, having an experience in which you seem to speed through a tunnel is a perceptual event very different from tunnel vision. Tunnel vision is simply where your vision is blocked or blurry except for a clear hole in the middle of your field of view. Tunnel vision is an example of perceptual restriction, but those who have near-death experiences rarely report such a thing. Instead, they often report quite the opposite, an effect of floating out of their bodies and having their visual perceptions enhanced, as if they could see more clearly than ever before.
Laureys next attempt to get an insight about near-death experiences was just as silly. He consumed some hallucinogenic substances called magic mushrooms. Then he had some trippy experience which he compared to the transcendental flavor of a near-death experience. Does this do anything at all to help explain near-death experiences? No, because people who have near-death experiences are not people who have used hallucinogenic drugs before having the near-death experience.
Laureys next attempt to get an insight about near-death experiences was an exercise in irrelevancy. He went into a sensory deprivation chamber which he said caused him to hear some voices that weren't there. This tells us nothing about near-death experiences, because such experiences are not preceded by periods of conscious sensory deprivation. Also, the type of hallucinations produced by such sensory deprivation chambers (described in this Wired story) do not resemble near-death experiences.
Laureys next attempt to get an insight about near-death experiences was as goofy as his first try. To try to help understand the component of near-death experiences in which people report floating out of their bodies, Laureys fooled around with some very elaborate high-tech virtual reality setup that includes a plastic dummy arm. This somehow produces some kind of perceptual anomaly that Laureys compares to floating out of your body. Does this do anything at all to help explain near-death experiences? Not at all. The first reason is that Laureys is exaggerating like crazy, because the minor perceptual weirdness he reports is something vastly different from an experience in which someone reports floating above their body and viewing their body from above. The second reason is that the people who have near-death experiences do not have them under any conditions even slightly comparable to the condition of being hooked up to some elaborate virtual reality machine.
Laureys approach is as silly as someone trying to explain ghosts by filling up a room with steam blasts and then taking pictures of steam blasts that look a little like ghosts. That would be batty, because people who report seeing ghosts don't see them under any such "steam rich" conditions. Similarly, no one reports out-of-body experiences under any conditions like the high-tech virtual reality conditions Laureys was playing around with.
At this point in the show Laureys waxes triumphantly about all the "insights" he is gaining into near-death experiences from his goofy excursions into the irrelevant.
The show ended with kind of a "mad scientist" moment, as we see some experiments in which subjects are walloped with oxygen deprivation. The goal is clearly to try to show that near-death experiences are caused by oxygen deprivation.
The oxygen-starved people are then questioned. We have some cherry-picked clips of a handful of people mentioning something that might be relevant to near-death experiences. There was no clip of anyone reporting something like a full-blown near-death experience, or even a clip of anyone reporting two different aspects of a near-death experience, nor did the narrator mention any such person. But one woman said it was kind of like floating around. Does this do anything to support the idea that near-death experiences may be caused by oxygen deprivation?
Not at all, when you consider the suggestibility factor. Previous studies have shown that people are astonishing suggestible to figures in white coats conducting experiments. A classic example was the Milgram experiment which showed that people would turn a knob that they thought was producing an almost lethal dose of electricity to someone, as long as there was an authority figure in a white coat telling them to "please continue." Now let's imagine a scientist who asks for volunteers for an experiment on whether oxygen deprivation will cause something like a near-death experience. This will create a kind of feeling in the volunteer's mind that the scientist hopes or expects that the volunteer will report something a little like some part of a near-death experience. Even if the scientist makes no mention of near-death experiences when asking for volunteers, but merely asks for volunteers for an experiment on oxygen deprivation, it is all too likely that some of the volunteers would realize or suspect that the experiment is really about whether oxygen deprivation causes near-death experiences. In fact, there may be a selection effect in which the people who sign up for such experiments tend to be people wanting to help debunk near-death experiences.
So even if leading questions were not asked to the volunteers, it would be all too possible that we would get some answers that are largely the result of suggestibility or an "expectation effect" in which the volunteer slants his answers to match what he thinks are the expectations of the scientist. And if leading questions were answered, there would be a near certainty of some response matching what the scientist was looking for. Suppose a scientist deprives a volunteer of oxygen, and then asks something like, "Was it kind of like floating about?" Regardless of what they experienced, it will then be likely that some of the volunteers will answer something, "Yes, it was kind of like that."
You can do your own research similar to that shown at the end of the National Geographic show. Get some volunteers, blindfold them, and spin each of them around 30 times. Then give them a questionnaire asking questions like this:
Did you experience any of these?
__ A white light in front of you?
__ A feeling of joy?
__ Recall of previous experiences?
__ A sense of floating?
__ A kind of mystical feeling?
__ A feeling like traveling through a tunnel?
__ Seeing one of your relatives?
Of course, your volunteers will sense that you really want them to check one of these boxes, so almost certainly you will find a few of the questionnaire items are checked off. But you will not be entitled to claim any insight about near-death experiences from such an experiment. You will have merely shown human suggestibility.
Given the practical impossibility of randomly selecting people and subjecting them to oxygen deprivation without warning (the only way to avoid suggestibility issues and bias issues), the soundest way to determine whether oxygen deprivation produces something like near-death experiences is to check the unsolicited accounts of people who suffered oxygen deprivation while flying, mountain climbing, or diving. Such accounts (which have been written for centuries) will provide no support for the claim that oxygen deprivation can explain near-death experiences.
This scientific paper reviews the effects of oxygen deprivation (called hypoxia) and makes no mention of any effects resembling that of a near-death experience. Far from reporting the type of ecstasy often reported in such experiences, the paper reports that there was no change in the reported feelings of subjects undergoing oxygen deprivation: "self-reported feelings did not differ between the hypoxic and normoxic sessions." So the insinuation of the National Geographic TV show that oxygen deprivation can explain near-death experiences is bunk.
Laureys once co-authored a good paper on near-death experiences, one finding that the memories from them are kind of "realer than real." But judging from Sunday's TV show, his current approach to the topic seems to be to engage in various types of irrelevant busy work, and claim that these provide "insights" into near-death experiences. Acting in a similar way, you might do some experiments involving illegal aliens from Mexico, and then claim that these provided insights on aliens in distant solar systems.