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This course is available online and through a face to face classroom environment.
This course is designed to give delegates details of their responsibilities to meet the mandatory gender pay gap reporting and will cover details of what information is required to enable these reports to be created accurately and on time.
Login details for the online platform will be sent to you before 5pm on the course start date. If you have any problems or questions, please email email@example.com.
Why you should attend
Gender Pay Gap reporting is now a statutory obligation for all large employers. However, the rules for producing the required figures are not necessarily straightforward.
The CIPP recognises that Gender Pay Gap reporting requires the collaboration of payroll, HR and finance professionals and this course is structured to cover the requirements that all three disciplines have responsibility for in this arena. It not only explains in detail how the reportable figures should be calculated but how organisations can judicially employ these figures to help address their gender pay gap and associated HR implications.
What you will learn
To teach delegates the rules and regulations on Gender Pay Gap reporting so they can ensure their organisation or clients comply with this new statutory requirement.
- Distinguish between Gender Pay Gap and Equal Pay
- Identify and collect appropriate data for Gender Pay Gap calculations
- Calculate the statutory Gender Pay Gap figures
- Prepare the written statement and additional narrative
- Comply with the publishing requirements
- Place Gender Pay Gap reporting within a wider diversity policy
- Consider the potential causes of the Gender Pay Gap and how to address them
Course content
- Outlining the distinction between Gender Pay Gap and equal pay
- Summarising the background being the introduction of gender pay gap reporting
- Summarising the relevant legislation and the Equality Act 2010
- The generalisation of the reporting requirements
- Defining a "relevant employee" for gender pay gap purposes
- Outlining the mandatory gender pay gap figures that must be published
- Summarising the definitions of the data required
- Defining 'ordinary pay' and 'bonus' pay for gender pay gap purposes
- Defining 'relevant pay periods' and 'bonus pay periods' for gender pay gap reporting
- Defining the 'working hours in a week' for gender pay gap purposes
- Employing the calculation methods required
- Calculating hourly pay rates
- Distinguishing between mean and median averages
- Calculating the proportions of employees that receive bonuses
- Identifying the employees in each pay quartile
- Outlining the process for publishing Gender Pay Gap results
- Defining the deadlines for the publication of figures
- Showing the mediums by which gender pay gap figures should be published
- Outlining the HR Implications of publishing Gender Pay Gap data
- Identifying the causes of pay differentials in organisations
- Appraising the merits of a well-drafted written statement
- Identifying the best practices for minimising gender pay gaps
Continuing your learning
Creating a payroll procedure manual:
Gender Pay Gap reporting is just one addition to the broad array of tasks and obligations that Payroll Supervisors and Managers have to incorporate into their procedural documentation.
This course covers the theory and practicalities that need to be considered when designing a procedures document that all payroll departments need to ensure all statutory and contractual obligations are managed efficiently and professionally.
Employment status and modern employment practices:
Gender Pay Gap reporting requires the identification and inclusion of certain types of contractors. If the delegate engages any of these in their organisation, this course could be beneficial. From identifying the various factors which determine employment status, this course moves to distinguish between various types of employment intermediaries and establishing the effective consideration of employment status factors when engaging such entities.
Booking information
For more information please email firstname.lastname@example.com or call us on 0121 712 1063.
Closing date for bookings is two weeks prior to the course date.
In-house delivery
The CIPP can offer in-house delivery on most training courses.
In-house delivery can be very attractive for organisations as they can train large numbers of employees* at a reduced rate, without the additional associated costs, such as travel and 'lost time'.
Click here for more information.
*Minimum number of delegates apply


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I have been asked to explain what a typical day is like here at Davis. So here is a run down of goes on throughout a typical working day.
We have a few early risers on station every day. Our Bureau of Meteorology (Met) forecasters are up at 6am to prepare the morning weather report and the Met observers release their first weather balloon of the day not long after at 6.15am. The tradies will be getting up to get ready and have breakfast before their 7am start. They will have a list of jobs for them to do for the day, which can include work on the summer construction projects or various maintenance and improvement jobs in many of the buildings around station. The chefs also start early in the kitchen, preparing meals for the next few days. The coms operators start at 7am to monitor any radio traffic, particularly if there are people who are away from station and out in the field. The scientists start work around 8-9am depending on what we have planned for the day.
At 10am the kitchen serves up a hot snack for smoko (morning tea), which is well attended by everyone. The sausage rolls are by far the most popular snack on the menu but can also include things like savoury scrolls, pizza, roast meat rolls, and quiche.
After a few more hours of work the kitchen serves us a hot lunch at 12.30pm. Because the majority of people on station work outdoors it is important to ensure that everyone is well fed so they can deal with working in the cold. As we have been reminded many times, your first layer of warmth is a good hot meal. We do have some lettuce, tomatoes, and other fresh veggies that are produced by the station hydroponics set up to supplement the cooked food and are very nice when they are available. After lunch everyone goes back to work again for the afternoon. At 4pm the Met forecasters prepare their afternoon weather update and the Met observers do a weather observation. The tradies knock off work at around 4.30pm and the scientists usually finish up somewhere between 5 and 6pm. The doctor's office is open from 4.30pm until around 6pm for anyone who may need to have anything attended to.
Dinner is served in the mess at 6pm. Friday nights is take away night, where we are treated to take away favourites such as Chinese, Indian, and fish and chips. Saturday night the chefs put in a lot of effort to serve us a more fancy dinner, with every second Saturday night a formal dinner where we put on something nice and the mess is set up like a restaurant. Sunday night is roast night and is always the favourite meal of the week. Other nights we may have themes such as Italian or Moroccan food. Regardless, the food is always exceptionally good. We've had a few birthdays here and everyone always gets a specially made cake and an enthusiastic rendition of 'Happy Birthday' sung to them.
After dinner most people retire to their rooms or up into the lounge and bar to relax for the evening. Games of pool, ping pong and darts are always a feature of the evening entertainment, while some people schedule movies and TV shows to be shown in the cinema. We also have weekly French lessons on a Monday night (run by one of our chefs), knitting group on Wednesday, regularly scheduled evening pilates sessions, weekend spa parties, band practices and walks to keep people occupied.
There are still a few people working after dinner. If people are out in the field then the coms operators have a nightly 'scheds' at 7pm, where they contact the field parties and obtain information such as their location for the night, the health of the party, the local weather at their site, and the condition of any vehicles they may have taken with them. They also give updated weather forecasts and any other important information that may be required or requested. The coms operators remain at work later in the evening if there are other people off station who require radio contact. Once everyone is back for the evening (excluding field parties) they pass the radio onto the Station Leader in case any out of hours contact is required. The Met observers release their evening weather balloon at around 6.15pm and do further weather observations at 7 and 10pm.
The tradies work Monday to Friday, with a half day on Saturday (finishing at lunch time) and the coms operators, Met forecasters and Met observers work on a roster over seven days a week. The scientists work whenever it is necessary, particularly those who need to go out into the field as the weather is the biggest decider for them. The doctor is always on call, as can be expected. We have others on station, such as our Field Training Officers (FTOs), Aircraft Ground Support Officers (AGSOs) and pilots who work a varied roster depending on the jobs they need to do.

subset: commoncrawl


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3 Things Your Website Needs to be Effective
Gone are the days of traditional media (i.e. television, radio, and print) dominating the advertising realm. Though they are still useful today, there is something far better. Thanks to our connected world, the greatest advertising tool you have is your website.
"So I just create a website and that's it?"
Absolutely not! You can't just "make a website" and expect your business to grow overnight. Nothing ever works that way. Your website must have the right elements and design, so it can attract customers and get them to make purchases.
To give you a head start, here are three things your website needs to be effective.
Mobile responsiveness
Data from StatCounter shows that in October 2016, 51.3% of worldwide internet traffic is from mobile devices. It has already surpassed that of desktops by 2.6%. Indeed, the smartphone is now the device of choice of most people to access the web.
Why? Convenience. You can bring your phone anywhere you are, and it's faster to just browse the web on it than to boot up your PC and do the same there. And because internet access is almost ubiquitous, it's no wonder people are on their phones nearly all the time.
With that in mind, your UK online business has to keep up. A typical modern website is no longer "typical" if it isn't mobile-responsive. In short, the site has to adjust its format depending on the device it's being read in. So it's a different format for PCs, different for phones, and also slightly different for tablets.
If your site isn't mobile responsive, and people visit it on their phones, they'll be scrolling and swiping frantically just to read the content properly. That's a big downer, and more often than not people will just simply navigate away. Would be a shame to lose customers this way, isn't it?
(Want to know more about how mobile responsive websites work? Watch a short video about it here.)
Of course, your website must be informative. Thing is, you can get carried away and provide too much information. And too much of anything is a bad thing; clearly customers don't want to be bombarded with too much stuff to mentally process. That would be another reason for them to navigate away.
Yes, your product may be as good as you describe it. But really, your website is an advertisement, not a white paper. Being gratuitous with words will get you nowhere. Rather, it just drives people away. Tell you the truth, scammers do the same thing. And they're even more over-the-top with their product confidence. Don't be like them; otherwise people will think you are one of them.
There's also the temptation to flood the site with technical details. Really, there's no need; reserve those for the product manuals. Just include information that's relevant to the customers. Structure the site in a way that will convince customers that your product is worth buying, and why yours stands out from the competition.
Here's a tip: Use plain English.
Use words that everyone can understand. You can be informative without filling your website with jargon. If you must use jargon, help people understand what it is. Use examples, analogies, and real-world applications. Get people to appreciate everything you're telling them.
Call to Action
Last but not the least, you would want your customers to buy from you, right? Certainly you do. Which is why you need to tell them. That's the idea behind a call to action: you're telling people what to do next, after reading all that information about your product.
What should the call to action be?
Anything. It could be "Click here to buy now", or simply "Buy Now". Or if you want to be more subtle, it could be "Get the free report now" after people have entered their name and email address. That would depend on your marketing strategy. It could even be both a purchase and a bonus information call to action on different parts of your website.
(Wondering why the call to action is needed? Here's a previous article I wrote about exactly that.)
These are just the basics of a good website; there are others, which include good colour schemes, geometry, shadows, contrast, and other design principles. It's also important to integrate good design into your website, because it's a visual space. People have to like what they see so they will want to keep scrolling down.
Start making your website your most effective marketing tool today!
Have you heard about this proven online business idea that you can even copy yourself?
Click here to find out more. You won't regret it. And it's very affordable: just £1!
And if you like to keep on learning, wouldn't it be great to get regular updates in your inbox, so you won't miss anything? So if you haven't done so already, apply for our small business tips newsletter. Leave your details on that page and I'll send you my free report, "Online Business Ideas".
Thanks and remember: Commit To Success! We are part of your team!


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Sold out.
A monochromatic, noise weave in Grey and Black Dobby Flannel. Minimalist delight.
- Black / Grey Noise
- Made in Portugal
- Hand-Wash Cold Recommended
SEV08 is our slim-fit shirt, streamlined by two constructional darts at the back, featuring a straight hem, two placed chest pockets, and mother of pearl buttons, expertly finished with our signature, triangular SEV woven label on the placket.


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Secure & Safe Shopping
Shop with confidence that your information is protected by a 128 bit SSL encryption on our website. Additionally, Wood Simply Made limits the number of employees that have access to the databases that contain personal data, and Wood Simply Made employees are advised of the importance of confidentiality. In addition, it is our policy to never send your payment card number via email.
We designed our online store to accept orders only from Web browsers that permit communication through Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology. Browsers that do not meet this requirement will be prevented from navigating the online store section of our Websites. While we implement the above security measures on this site, you should be aware that 100% security is not always possible.


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Let's Celebrate!!
Are you looking for a pattern that is quick to work up for Quilts of Valor, but looks like it took forever to make? This pattern called "Red Hot Flash" is just right for you:
No - it really is quick to work up! It uses strip sets (you can use a jelly roll or cut your own) and the result is fabulous. The free pattern from Blank Quilting is located at: http://tinyurl.com/kne2t6u
Or maybe you love stars and are looking for a new design. Then it's "Sweet Liberty" that might appeal to you.
This free pattern is also from Blank Quilting: http://tinyurl.com/lm36gxo
A special "thank you" goes out to Blank Quilting for sponsoring these free patterns. We really appreciate it!
No matter which pattern you're
working on, have a great time quilting
on Worldwide Quilting Day!


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The following details will be required upon making your reservation.
In the event of a cancellation an alternative date will be offered, subject to availabilty, and must be used with 12 months from the date of the original booking.
Guests are welcome to Manor Court from 4.00 pm onwards. Breakfast is served from 8am. Rooms need to be vacated at 11.00am. Late checkout may be arranged at an addition cost. Please advise at time of booking. Please be aware that late checkout, not pre-booked, will incur a cost of £20 per 30 minutes.
4.00 pm
11 am


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|Professor, Lingnan University ‐ Department of Management
|Faculty Member, Lingnan University ‐ Faculty of Business
|Director, Lingnan University ‐ Office of Service-Learning
Research Interests
Contact Information
Tel.: (852) 2616-8326
Fax: (852) 2467-0982
Room: SEK102/11
Book Chapters (5)
Contribution to Book
The service leadership initiative at Lingnan University
Promoting service leadership qualities in university students : the case of Hong Kong (2015)
We explain six aspects of the service leadership initiative for undergraduates at Lingnan University. The first comprises co-curricular service leadership ...
Contribution to Book
Researching organizational learning in Chinese contexts
Research methodology in strategy and management : Volume 8 - West Meets East: Building Theoretical Bridges (2012)
Purpose – The present chapter discusses how qualitative research can assist in rethinking and transcending the limitations of the notion ...
Journal Articles (34)
Machiavellianism, support for CESR, and attitudes towards environmental responsibility amongst ...
International Journal of Ethics Education (2017)
This study investigates the relationships among Machiavellianism, attitudes towards the perceived importance of corporate ethics and social responsibility (CESR), referred ...
Social responsibility and reflexivity for co-operative goals with government units ...
Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources (2016)
Prior research on co-operation and competition has established that co-operative goal relationships with government units are beneficial to business enterprises ...
Developing civic-mindedness in undergraduate business students through service-learning projects for ...
Asian Journal of Business Ethics (2015)
Projects that challenge students to practice service leadership for civic improvement can address the aim of developing civic-mindedness in undergraduates. ...
Representational predicaments for employees : their impact on perceptions of supervisors ...
International Journal of Human Resource Management (2013)
A representational predicament for a subordinate vis-à-vis his or her immediate superior involves perceptual incongruence with the superior about the ...
Representational predicaments at work : how they are experienced and why ...
Asia Pacific Journal of Management (2013)
Representational predicaments reflect unfavorable perceptual or attributional incongruence between subordinates and superiors about the employees' work, and adversely affect morale. ...


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Cobra 38 Wx St Handheld Cb Radio
HH 38 WX STMini Hand Held CB Radio with Weather Stations Whatever your outdoor activity, Cobra's compact handheld CB radios are a great strategy to stay in touch with friends, or the over 30 million other CB radios in use across the country. And there are no license or service fees! and only Cobra has it. 10 Channel Weather Reception Obtain the most recent weather data from NOAANew Compact Design Allows maximum portability and comfort40 CB Channels Full Coverage in an ultra modest package4 Watts Power Output The maximum permitted by law High/Low Power Switch Reduces power consumption by as much as 75% to extend battery life Recharging Jack Allows use with combination speaker/microphone accessory (not included) Low Battery Indicator Special LED illuminates to let you know when batteries are getting low DC Power Cord Included For in-vehicle use. Features:Sound Tracker® Cuts noise as significantly as 90%. plugs into vehicle's cigarette lighter High Efficiency Flexible Antenna Provides maximum range and ben Plus total access to 10 National Climate Channels (7 NOAA and 3 International) for the latest weather details. Cobra's HH 38 WX ST incorporates Sound Tracker®, a technologies that dramatically improves the sound quality in the transmission and reception of CB radio signals.
© 2019 By CB Radios for Cars and Trucks - All Rights Reserved.


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Once, in the desert country of Miraji, there was a Sultan without an heir. The heir had been killed by his own brother, the treacherous Rebel Prince, who was consumed by jealousy and sought the throne for himself. Or so it was said by some. There were others who said that the Rebel Prince was not a traitor but a hero… In the final battle for the throne, Amani must fight for everything she believes in… who will triumph???
First of all.. I love Jin.. This was a great conclusion to one of my all-time favourite trilogies. Just as great as the first instalment, Rebel of the Sands and the second instalment, Traitor to the Throne this story really took me back to the desert and my love for the Arabian nights tales and stories of djinn, battle and magic. Following on from "Traitor to the Throne" it picked up nicely, even a year later, it brings back memories of the first 2 stories and I was able to immerse myself so quickly into this book. Although parts of the story slowed down to gear us up for something significant – like the final show down – it was still fast paced and there was always something happening in each chapter, parts even made me 'wide eyed'. This final instalment, this final battle for the throne, was a stunning conclusion that gave me closure on the characters I came to care about, it tied it up so neatly we know of each character's destinations in the end and it also answers that compelling yet dreadful question – who will survive and who will die? I am so sad this series is over, I thoroughly enjoyed all three books!!!
Hint hint, nudge nudge to the author: I would LOVE to read a Novella about Jin or Ahmad *wink*
Special thanks to Allen & Unwin publishers for sending me an Advanced Review Copy.


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Welcome to our Deal of the Day
Each day Monday to Friday, we'll post a fantastic deal on our blog exclusively for our blog readers and those on our Deal of the Day mailing list (which you can signup to below!)
These will be unbeatable offers on your favourite eco-friendly products, like the Eco Kettle, chocolate from Divine, Cafédirect coffee and more. So if you're reading this, you're in the right place to see each offer fresh off the press. We'll post a new offer at the start of each day and, if you're on our mailing list, you'll be told what the offer is at 9am so you can beat the rush and grab a genuine bargain while it lasts!


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4,562 sq ft
5 Bedrooms, 3 Baths
Off Market
This spacious, light filled home with stunning water views. Follow the tree lined driveway to this graceful home nestled along 151 feet of waterfront. Five bedrooms (with the master bedroom on main), three bathrooms, and ample storage are among the 4,562 square feet available. Entertain guests with breath taking views facing Wollochet Bay in this sprawling traditional home. The elegant stairway leads to a finished basement. A generous deck overlooks the boat house and floating dock, capable of hosting up to a 50 foot yacht. The custom fireplace (one of three in this home) is made from the rocks on the beach below. Let the grace and charm of this stately home welcome you to the next chapter of your life.
A terrific saltwater home that delivers a wonderful place for you to create some everlasting memories. A meandering treed drive leads to you an unmatched home with unsurpassed views along its shoreline.
The Waterfront and Dock
Unique Saltwater Home with Plenty of Room. A newer and private dock accomodates about a 50' yacht. The pilings are about 150' out from the bulk head and allow for a low rise steel ramp to the floating dock. The floats of the dock itself are designed to never sit directly on the bottom. The approximate 115' of waterfront is in the protected waters of Wollochet Bay. This part of the bay is ideal since it is extremely wide, provides protected moorage, and provides water even in at some of the lowest tides of the year. The waterfront provides the home with incredible views. Sights of the most unique yachts coming and going from the club, the wildlife and changes of the weather all work together to make the waterfront your entertainment.
The Home
The main floor provides for an open flow for entertaining yet intimate enough for every day living. The master bedroom is on the main floor with its attached bath, inlaid carpet and abundant closet space. The living areas on this floor include the den with fireplace, living room and dining room. All of these rooms flow to each other, yet provide their own defined spaces. Also on this level you will find an quaint kitchen with modern ammenitites yet clad in the original cabin woods with vaulted ceilings, massive windows and fireplace. The lower level provides 4 more bedrooms, 3 of which have built in desks. All lower level bedrooms provide amply closet space and flow to a large oversized recreation room area. An adjacent hall bath with dual sinks makes life easy, and nearby rooms provide extra storage space. Easily accomodated in this home is wine storage or even an in home work shop. The garage in the home is a two car, fully finished and insulated. Whats great is the garage is extra deep allowing for even more storage or flexiblity. A second family room is also in the lower level with a floor to ceiling fireplace. This fireplace is made from the beach stones right from this properties very own beach.
This property is ideally located within minutes to Highway 16 and the historic waterfront of Gig Harbor. Also nearby you fill find easy access to all the ammenities for shopping and dining at Gig Harbor North and the Gig Harbor Uptown retail centers. Also in close proximity are the golf course of Canterwood and Chambers Bay along with the Narrows Airport for landing private aircraft.
This lifestyle is rarely found. Unmatched in the market for its size of home, quality of waterfront, dock, boathouse and location. A rare lifestyle location.
Contact Adrian to list and showcase your home.
*Courtesy NWMLS
©2019 Northwest Multiple Listing Service. All rights reserved.
The Real Estate Broker providing this data believes it to be correct, but advises interested parties to confirm the data before relying on it in a purchase decision. The information being provided is for the consumers' personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties the consumers may be interested in purchasing. Disclaimer: The information contained in this listing has not been verified by Adrian Carey and should be verified by the buyer.


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"Testing formed an integral part of the introduction of our eBilling service and we were particularly impressed with SciVisum's immediate comprehension of our requirements along with their ability to test our user journey routes and produce metrics that were relevant to both the commercial and technical teams.
"We were pleased, having selected SciVisum, to find their monitoring service to be a speedy, professionally delivered and cost effective solution. They also provided added value as a result of their previous testing experience with similar companies, helping us to implement major improvements very rapidly."


text: Josh Tupou is a professional football player for the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL. Josh grew up in Long Beach, CA and played college football at University of Colorado-Boulder from 2012-2016. He was a four-year starter and gained honorable mention All-Pac-12 honors as a Senior. Josh joined the Bengals as an UFA in 2017.


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Squirrel Proof Wild Bird Feeder - Stop Squirrels From Eating Bird Seeds
Squirrel Stop Bird Feeder. Isn't it frustrating to hang out a bird feeder but have the squirrels eat everything? Contech has come up with a great idea to keep squirrels away. Hang your bird feeder from SquirrelStop and problem solved. SquirrelStop is set up to start spinning for about 20 seconds when it registers the squirrel's weight. Product is safe to birds and squirrels. There is no assembly required, just hang it with your bird feeder and you are ready. So instead of sending squirrels eviction notices get SquirrelStop. $49.


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Sunrise Christian Food Ministry started in 1983 to supply emergency food for needy residents of the northeast Sacramento area. Currently, food supplies and financing are provided by 25 supporting churches, civic organizations, and individuals. It is the mission of the Food Ministry to provide five (5) days of nutritionally balanced food supplies to each person every 30 days when an emergency occurs. Verifiable residents of Fair Oaks (zip code 95828), Citrus Heights (zip codes 95610 & 95621), and Orangevale (zip code 95662) are the primary areas served by the Food Ministry. However, if we have the food, we will serve people from other areas.
Since the beginning of the Sunrise Christian Food Ministry the number of families served has increased seven fold. This has put more burden on the supporting churches and other agencies. However, this helps in the demonstration of the Love of Jesus to our fellow man.
We ask that you, as a supporter of the Food Ministry, consider extending your giving an extra meal or more to help help us fulfill our mission.


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The constant need to scan numbers on up to six cards at a time, comparing them to the called numbers, gives the impulses in the brain an intense workout, with recall and memory as well as concentration facilities being exercised.
The detective, David Bishop said that the gang burst in and one of the gang members vaulted over the reception desk and threatened the employee. The men later left in a blue Daewoo Leganza with the license plate number, RG02 ENV.
The event was attended by mayors and other official dignitaries - one of whom had a surprising confession to make.
The first online game is the Bars and Stripes slots. These slot games are all about cash and the American lifestyle. The next game is called, Supe It Up, which is a video slots game with a hot rod theme. There is a 150,000 coin jackpot and you dont
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The game is played like bingo but without the letters, the game is expected to pay regular cash prizes of up to $3,200 per two-hour session. This was said by the co-owner of Bingo 4-U Ron LoBianco. This company s also supplying the games to the Ho-Chunk S
The Gibraltar license is highly coveted as European governments have begun to restrict marketing to their residents by any online gaming company outside the EEA. In addition, the rigors of obtaining a Gibraltar license remain high. St Minver partners bene
bingo game kid online


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When I was around my son's age, it barely registered that Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan had been elected. However, even a middle-schooler can't miss what's going with this year's election. I attempted to put the oddities around the election into perspective for him. For example, economic distress can create a strong response -- often misdirected. I mentioned how even a NPR reporter would ignore an economic expert on how healthcare is a root cause of the Trump/Sanders phenomena.
You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else. - Winston Churchill
I shared how often the best things come out of the darkest times and that this can cause normal political divisions to be washed away and Americans to pull together. For example, both World War II and the Soviets getting to space first united the country. Sometimes there are dramatic events whereas other times the movements start at the grassroots level, growing much more gradually until the politicians eventually jump to the front of the "parade" that is well underway. We've seen the latter in civil rights, climate change and food-related issues.
How on earth can we solve the fact that the American Dream has been stolen for much of the country?
As the ground-breaking Rand study pointed out, the U.S. middle class has gone backwards (financially) in the last 20 years. This is the core reason we have one of the most unique presidential elections in the last 40 years. I told my son about the quest I've been on the last several years to find the reason why the American Dream has been stolen and how to restore it. I'm regularly asked to speak about how to thwart the heist at customer events for benefits consultants, business coalitions, nonprofit associations and public-sector organizations. The overriding sentiment is that organization executives and benefits leaders have reached their breaking point and are no longer going to accept that every year they're obligated to get less and pay more when it comes to health benefits. Outlined below are some examples of how they've put that frustration into action.
Of the thousands of tweets I've posted, the one I have pinned states the following:
I like to invest in startups that want to disrupt healthcare from place of love, not contempt. We should expect so much more than what we're getting.
The three most trusted professions are nurses, doctors and pharmacists. When I think back to being in school, the smartest, kindest and most gratification-delaying individuals I knew most frequently became clinicians of some kind. It's not limited to clinicians. A key reason I love working in the healthcare industry is the great people I've gotten to know. Beyond inspiring clinicians, I have endless examples of non-clinicians who are amazing individuals. To name a few, you won't find nicer, more passionate individuals than Shannon Brownlee, Aneesh Chopra, Dave deBronkart (aka "ePatientDave"), Alexandra (Alex) Drane, Esther Dyson, Lucien Engelen, Regina Holliday, Jan Oldenburg, Susannah Fox, Leonard Kish, Jim Millaway, Todd Park, Sherry Reynolds, Lygeia Ricciardi, Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, Claudia Williams and many others. For every Martin Shkreli, there are 100,000 great people in the healthcare industry across every sector imaginable. That includes people in the sectors that are sometimes subject to criticism such as health plans and pharmaceuticals. I've met just as many in those sectors that are as passionate and well-meaning as anyone else in the industry. However, great people inside of a flawed design will always under-perform those in a great system design.
Companies are spending far more on employees than 20 years ago – the problem is it all got eaten by healthcare and contributed to American companies becoming noncompetitive. This resulted in jobs getting shipped overseas. But there's great news: I've seen the future of healthcare and I like what I see.
First, I'll outline the extent of the collateral damage from healthcare's hyperinflation that has had de minimis impact on health outcomes, in aggregate, but a catastrophic impact on the middle class. Second, I'll highlight a grassroots movement driven by forward-looking employers and unions around a concept called the "Health Rosetta" – it's a Do-it-yourself health reform determined to restore the American dream by slaying the healthcare cost beast. If it was a reality show, it would be called "Extreme Makeover: Healthcare Edition" -- the results are breathtaking when can-do spirit is combined with the smarts and passion of clinicians who are determined to see the healthcare system realize its full potential. Fortunately, unlike WW II or the moonshot, all of the solutions to the dysfunction have already been invented, proven and modestly scaled -- it's now time to liberate America from the shackles of an under-performing healthcare system.
[Disclosure: As I've disclosed many times, the Health Rosetta is an open-source project that provides a reference model for how purchasers of healthcare should procure health services. In my role as managing partner of Healthfundr, a seed-stage venture fund, the Health Rosetta is the foundation of our investment thesis.]
While it will take clinicians of all stripes to lead on the professional side of the movement, doctors have a unique role to play. In fact, it's doctors who are leading the revolution (click for a sampling of doctor-leaders driving the revolution). The administrative burden typical doctors face is the leading driver of burnout that has snuck up on them over a few decades. Having lived under the oppressive regime of bureaucracy, their victory is even sweeter as the revolutionaries are at the top of the class as the Quadruple Aim over-achievers. For these healthcare revolutionaries, it's what a famous president called Morning in America.
We've gone to war for less than what healthcare is doing to the country
[To be clear, this isn't meant to be a political diatribe. Let's just say it's been a team effort that has led us into this predicament. Many of my international friends have emphasized that their countries have similar issues -- perhaps not as acute but still major issues. The primary over-arching initiative I'm supporting to address these problems is the Health Rosetta which isn't country-specific -- in fact, I regularly speak in Europe on this open source project. In part, because solutions to healthcare's predicament come from all over the world.]
Imagine if a foreign country was doing the things outlined below to America. We'd go to war in a second. Healthcare's under-performance has been a "sneak attack" of a different kind but arguably far more damaging. The list below captures some of the collateral damage from healthcare:
My family has gotten in the spirit of how important it is for the country that we fix healthcare. When I was drawing the analogy with my son about how every now and then the country pulls together such as during WWII, I shared how Rosie the Riveter was symbolic of the country pulling together in WWII. It's time for a new symbol. Who else but a mom would unquestionably sacrifice herself and jump in front of a speeding train to save their child? Moms are like super heroes and form the foundation of health in this country. I've seen a range of moms who are in the industry that have had their "Mama Bear" instinct triggered. All I can say is "watch out" when you threaten their kids' future! This is where the name Rosie came. Since our Rosie is ensuring the Health Rosetta is put into place to restore the American Dream, that's why we call her Rosie...Roise the Restorer. My son took this idea and ran with it. The drawing below is a draft of a mashup of a superhero, mom and Rosie the Riveter.
Not a Right Solution. Not a Left Solution. An American Solution
The oft-quoted "The future is here, it's just unevenly distributed" by William Gibson is apropos. I've written extensively about various Health Rosetta successes but I'll highlight a few that were tackled by individual citizens simply doing the right thing:
While the "preservatives" squabble in DC, individual citizens aren't waiting around. They see the threat for what it is and are creating an example for all of us to follow. There is a budding partnership between clinicians dissatisfied with the status quo, citizens who realize they have more power than they'd imagined and employers no longer passively being accomplices to the American dream being stolen. They realize there has been a redistribution tax from the middle class to the special interests in healthcare that have fueled its hyperinflation. This is the only way to overcome the 3 trillion reasons ($$) to protect the horrible status quo despite the harm it is doing. Healthcare's "inconvenient truth" is that its "super sized" gluttony has become the single greatest immediate threat to America -- a documentary is in the works to outline the scope of the damage and the inspiring stories reversing the damage. As MacArthur Genius Grant Winner, Dr. Jeffrey Brenner put it, "There comes a point in a democracy when the public's had enough and they stand up." For many across all segments of healthcare and all political persuasions, that time is now. They won't take it sitting down anymore.


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COLOR REPORT THREE: My third report in the COLOR INITIATIVE series on The World (BBC/WGBH/PRI) looks at how some European immigrant groups to this country--many whom were originally regarded as NON-white--became white, and the relevance to current immigration concerns. This is part one of two reports on this issue.
(Listen to report on The World by clicking on the link below and scroll down to January 21st story)
I traveled to Chicago's Greektown and also spoke with Iranian, Italian and Brazilian immigrants in putting together these two stories. A key resource for understanding the role of color in America's hierarchical construction is the book:
The Color Initiative is funded by the Ford Foundation, with additional resources provided by the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities and the Funding Exchange.


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Boston Cricket Club Firsts were beaten by three wickest when they hosted Woodhall Spa on Saturday - in a game where the bowlers were certainly on top.
Boston's 94 all out was followed up by Woodhall Spa edging over the line at 95-7.
The coin came down in favour of Mayflower men skipper Tom Baxter, and he opted to bat on a pitch that looked good and certainly looked like it would favour the bowlers later on.
"The performance doesn't show that but I still think it was the right thing to do at the toss,"he said.
"It may not have been as good a pitch as I first thought but it certainly became harder to score runs as the day went on."
Tom Poole and Ricky Lovelace were soon back in the pavilion, falling to off-spinner Prasanna Jayawardene, leaving Boston 9-2.
This brought Boston's newly-arrived South African all-rounder Dan Sincuba to the crease for the first time.
Sincuba landed in England just prior to the contest.
"It's great to have him here,"Baxter added.
"He's a very good cricketer and very keen on his coaching, which is something that we have been lacking."
Sincuba was bowled by Joe Irving for 16, while Fayadh Haffejee suffered the same fate as Boston were struggling at 56-4.
It didn't get much better for Boston.
Jon Cheer was stumped by Jack Timby, Michael Musson was bowled by Irving and Kieran Evans caught off the bowling of Pradeep Chanditha and Boston were reeling at 73-7.
With Baxter at the non-striker's end, the lower order continued to fall.
Scott Elleray and Tim Bell were dismissed by Chanditha before Paul Deans gave Ross Dixon his first wicket of the game.
Boston were all out for 94 in the 39th over.
"It was a poor performance to be honest,"afrustrated Baxter added.
"We weren't good enough and we all know that.
"They put the ball in the right areas but I'm not sure their bowling warranted 94 all out.
"We gave them too many wickets."
After the tea interval, Boston knew that a tight start and early wickets were a must if a miracle win was to take place.
It couldn't have gone any worse.
The scoreline of 20-0 from two overs wasn't the ideal start.
Boston needed something special to get back in this game and debutant Sincuba brought that when he pulled an incredible catch to dismiss Chanditha.
"It was one of the best catches I've seen, if not the best," Baxter said.
Jayawardene fell to Baxter after a smart catch at slip by Cheer and Henry Wilson was trapped LBW by Deans to leave Woodhall on 30-3.
A partnership from Irving and Timby pushed Woodhall along nicely and they were 69-3 before Boston picked up four wickets for 12 runs, and they were 81-7.
A few close calls from the Boston's bowlers were turned down before Matthew Law and Jack Luffman saw Woodhall home off the final ball of the 14th over.
Baxter's spell ended with figures of 3-30.
"Woodhall deserved the win as they were the better side on the day, but we need to perform better over both innings," said Baxter.
"Today, we've bowled really well and managed to pick up seven wickets defending 94.
"If our batsmen could have got us to 120-130, then who knows what would have happened."
Boston's man of the match was awarded to Tom Baxter for his 3-30 from 14 overs.
"It was good to land the ball in the right area,"he admitted.
"It came out okay and the pitch turned a little.
"We were always going to be up against it with only 94 on the board."
The matchball sponsor was Morley Brown.


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Unfortunately, the shad cam is offline on account of muddy, high water. The VDGIF says they will turn it back on when the water levels are more appropriate. I saved some eye candy from my time monitoring the shad cam.
Hooked on Destin has a nice list with pictures of saltwater fish with a brief description.
It's worth reading the viewing window specs from the Shad cam website. They discuss the length markings and distortion from the thick glass.
Hoping for these water levels to settle down as the sporting physicians will be meeting up to combine forces for shad fishing this weekend!


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Old School Rules
When I was younger, I remember rules/guidelines for dressing. Don't you remember getting dressed, and if your bra strap showed, you wouldn't be caught dead wearing that top? I remember my Momma sending me upstairs to change a couple times. It's funny for me to think about those times. Having your bra strap hanging out or showing was a no-no. I think one of reasons was all undergarments came in one color, white. Whoever thought of the nude colors was brilliant. When you wore a dress or skirt, you always wore a slip under your outfit. Half or full slip, it didn't make difference if it was needed or not.... you wore it. Have you tried to shop for a slip these days? They are almost non-existent. And yes, today I'm thankful for items like Spanx to hold you in and smooth you out. I'm also so happy pantyhose are not a must. What a nuisance they were, and they were so hot in the summer.
Old school rules also used to say no white after Labor Day. And we all knew what that meant - no white shoes, pants, or skirts. Nothing white was to be worn after this holiday. Well, the rules have changed, and this girl is so glad she's not bound by these crazy rules, nor do I think that I would abide by them anyway. I've become somewhat of a rebel in my older age, and I'm rather proud it. It's not Labor Day yet, but here's to the days and weeks after that holiday. And oh Lord, please send us cooler weather!
This outfit is a great way to transition into Fall. Denim and cotton tees are what I go to as the weather cools. They're simple, clean and can be dressed up or down depending upon the pieces. I believe everyone needs a good denim skirt, a skirt that is basic, knee-length and in a medium wash. I have several in multiple colors, lengths and styles. I worked for Gap for 23 years, so I've had time to acquire a good collection. I also have plenty of these soft cotton tees, great for layering or wearing by themselves.
What I'm most excited about is the spectacular bag from Will Leather Goods that I just received. I have several amazing pieces from them, a backpack that I couldn't live without.... especially when watching my granddaughter. I also have their Imogen checkbook clutch, a great clutch that I use as a wallet. It holds everything I need and is easy to grab when I'm on-the-go and don't want to be bothered with carrying a bag. This new Bag is the Valley Tote in the color Olive. The reason I'm so excited about this bag is that the size is wonderful.......it's huge! This color is an easy neutral and will be great to carry through fall, winter and into spring.
Top/Long sleeve Tee(vintage)/Gap(similar)
Skirt/White Denim (vintage)/Gap(similar)
Necklace/Forever 21(similar)
Watch/Michael Kors
Belt/Old Navy
Shoes/Nine West (vintage)/(similar)
Bag/Valley Tote (Olive)/Will Leather Goods


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Thank you for your interest in Theatre Direct's Drama School. This 18-19 season, as we undertake a strategic review of this program, we will not be offering regular activities such as PA Day programs or after-school and weekend classes.
We will keep all past participants up to date through our newsletter. Should you wish to receive news of future programming, join our newsletter list (here). Should you wish to speak with someone directly, feel free to email email@example.com and we will get in touch!


text: Michael Tabtabai June 24, 2013 Michael Tabtabai June 24, 2013 The Continental DivideThe wind up here sounds just like the ocean. Seven days ago I stood in the Pacific, listening to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. I spread my father's ashes in the water, said goodbye to my wife and began riding. One week and nearly 1,100 miles later, we crossed the Continental Divide and put the mountains of the west behind us. And we will keep going until we hear the sound of the ocean again.


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While going back over what books I read during 2014, I came to a few conclusions.
1. I read and enjoyed a lot of titles published by DarkFuse. It wasn't my intention to stock my list with DF titles, it just turned out that way.
2. I pulled the plug on more books this year than in any other year I can remember.
3. Excluding these titles, I was largely disappointed with the books I read for the year. I read a lot of other solid books that didn't make my list, but nothing to really blow my hair back. A lot of these title were quite competently written, but somewhat lacking in creativity. I read widely. Big press, small press, indie/self-published work. Across all venues, creativity in the horror genre seems to be stuck in the mire. It's seems like now that anyone can publish anything they want, instead of taking chances, there is a tidal wave of people finally getting their chance to write their "Stephen King" story, their "Dick Laymon" homage, their love letter to Lovecraft.
One of the reasons the horror genre is so great is that it is nearly limitless in its scope. Nearly any plotline can become a horror tale. And yet… and yet the boundaries remain largely unchanged in this unrivaled moment of opportunity in the realm of publishing.
Perhaps this is more a reflection of how I feel about my own work than an overall judgment of the genre as a whole. I always strive to write a story that couldn't be told by anyone else. I don't know if that is what I achieve, but that is my goal.
So without further rambling and navel-gazing, here is my list of my Best Reads of 2014:
Alien: Out of the Shadows by Tim Lebbon
Children of No One by Nicole Cushing
A Shrill Keening by Ronald Malfi
Tyler's Third Act by Mick Garris
Oasis of the Damned by Greg Gifune
What were some of your favorite reads from the last year?


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Three of us volunteers captured 40 (FORTY) of them (illegal aliens -- Dave) in the past day (Jan 21 to 22, 2005) on this one mile wide property. The volunteers only come once in a while to help the rancher. The rest of the time, his ranch is a wide open path into the USA, not much different from any other mile of border. If they make it 1-2 miles inland, there are lots of houses/shacks/trailers which are "pick up sites." There are only a few Border Patrolmen to cover each 20 mile sector of the actual border, which is only a token effort, just minor window dressing, to show the sheeple that "Uncle Sam is on the job." They basically don't catch anybody, maybe 2% of the crossers by actual truthful and frank (not official PR) Border Patrolmen's estimates. Anyone they catch in this sector is by pure blind luck, or they are the ones which private citizens stop, hold and call in, and they pick up and count as captures. This 2% true catch rate is meaningless, since the illegals just get taken to the border, and cross again tomorrow or the day after, with a fresh 98% chance of success. Pretty pitiful, huh?
Note: "Travis McGee" is the THR username of Matthew Bracken, author of the excellent novel Enemies Foreign and Domestic.


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Try out this delicious tex-mex burrito
for a healthy nutritious breakfast on the go
Jump start your day with a healthy breakfast that will fill you up and give you the energy you need. Lay a wheat tortilla out flat, spoon a portion of scrambled eggs and L'Héritage chili, and top with tex-mex shredded cheese. Roll up your burrito. Serve with fresh fruits for a complete nutritious breakfast.
Suggestion: vegetable chili


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I sort of don't do plot. Form doesn't follow function, at least not the way I write. And yet plot seems to happen, connections appear, things work out and come to a satisfying conclusion. I don't know how it happens, and I can't explain how it works— it just does.
But I am greatly impressed by writers who plan everything meticulously in advance, although I do wonder if the process allows for spontaneity at all. After all, creative usually equals chaotic (or so my partner tells me), and a writer should always be able to take a little detour from the path if the opportunity presents itself. I can't imagine sticking so rigidly to an itinerary that you ignore an opportunity: it is the journey, not the exact route, that is important (unless you have a flight to catch).
Likewise, I can't honestly say that anything in the Da Silva Tales was planned at all. It may seem a little bit bizarre to sit down and write a story without knowing the ending, but that's just the way it works for me.
You might think from this that I live in a state of complete chaos, and it is certainly true that I try to avoid the kind of timetabled routine my mother kept to. It is also true that in my deadline-driven day job I never ever handed in anything late, so something in me is at least a little organised. (And I shelve my books alphabetically by author, too, but that's because I have so many I need to have some way of finding a book I want!)
I have come to the conclusion that my subconscious is working its butt off to get me where I need to be. At the moment, I am ghost-writing a story for which I was given the best brief possible: a minimal one. Certain elements had to be included, and the word count was to be 25K. As I wrote, all the elements fell into place to make a coherent whole, and now at around 22.5K everything is all set for the big finish.
In other news, I sold a painting yesterday, my first sale from an exhibition as opposed to commissioned work. People eyed me strangely in the car park as I ran round punching the air and going "Woo-hoo!"


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I've never been to Palawan, the contender of Boracay in terms of most talked about tourist destinaton in the Philippines. That's why when my friend Rej Avena tagged me in FB to share this promo, I grabbed it immediately. It's the Arena Island's Click to Save Promo.
Joining is simple:
|from Arena Island's FB page
Arena Island, also known as Isla Arena Turtle Sanctuary, is located at Narra, Palawan. It is a 1.5 hour travel from the Puerto Princesa International Airport. Its advocacy is to protect pawikans and help preserve nature's blessings.
The promo is extended until May 31, 2012. To join, click here. For more information on the island, visit http://www.arenaisland.com/.


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USAG issues 2014 "Left Justified" Best Of Awards
At a black tie event hosted by our pal Nathan and exquisitely catered by CORP-AIR-ATION (Brian Reeves), co-commissioner KRISTON RUCKER presented the 2014 "best of" awards this evening in limited edition left-justified format (thanks, Holiday Inn Express Business Center!) Among those honored were Seattle's MORTIMAIR SNERD (Jason Cheung) and KC's own THUNDERBALL (Nielson Fury), whose award was promptly placed on the fridge.
Here's the full list, or some revision thereof, for which your comments and corrections are encouraged:
|The "Gary" Award for Being Here
|Maxwell Silverhammer
|Stiff Dickens award for innovation
|The Daniel Day Lewis Award
|Dry Ice
|The C-Diddy award for best performance
|Tony Tapatio
|rookie of the year
|Jon Face
|Minute Thief award (For We Shall Never Get That 60 Seconds Back) [4 print-outs required]
|MortimAIR Snerd
|G-TSO Money award for most improved -
|The Shred Nugent Award for Technical Purity -
|Tiger Claw
|The Bettie BeGood 9-Toe-Trophy -
|Dick Diesel
|The Frophy Award for Excellence in Character Development and Execution.
|"The Air Bear" award for drunken idiocy
|Nordic "Pool Sleeper" Thunder
|"The Claw" - Tiger Claw Award For most dedication to the sport
|Mean Melin
|The William Ocean Award for William Ocean
|William Ocean
|The Nordic Thunder "Going all Nordic on 'em" Award
|Dirty Airy Patriotic Dick in a Sock Award
|Dirty Airy
|The Crucible (aka The Density Award) aka The Nuetron Star Award - It weighs around 100 million tons per cubic centimeter, any more dense and it collapses into a black hole
|Lt Facemelter
|The Magic Cyclops Award
|Old Glory / Marty McSuperfly
|The Airistotle - (Cheerleader Medal)
|Pvt Melter
|Profile of Excellence - In the Field of Magnificence (1)
|GT$O Money for showing up at every fucking competition
|The Egregious Cell Award
|MS Excel
|Profile of Excellence - In the Field of Magnificence (4)
|Profile of Excellence - In the Field of Magnificence (5)
|The Six String General Award (for someone who got fucked by judge)
|GT$O Money
|Widest Reacharound
|Mitt Umlaut
|Achievment in Making Us Look Like A Legit Sport Instead Of A Bunch Of Drunken Assholes
|The Freebird Award
|Capt Airhab
|The Doug Stroock Wind Beneith Our Wang Award
|Doug Again, renamed to Wind Beneath Our Wangs Award
|Achievement in Asian Fury
|The Bjorn Turoque "We Try Harder" Award
|I Forgot
|Triumphing In The Face Of Excellence
|Dirty Airy
|Hall of Fame Nominations
|The ATC Award for qATC (pronounced "QWHATSEE") Qualifying ATC – New Award
|The ATC Alta Vista Webbie Award for Excellence In Superior Blogging
|Canadian Bacon!!
|The Wind Beneath Our Wings Award
|Maureen "Mo" O'Neill
|The Sister Sister Award
|Operation Rockapussy and/or Rockupine


text: Loud Shirt Day UKWear your loudest clothes to create a sound future for deaf childrenTELL ME MORE Get inspired Why take part Celebrity supporters Where your money goes Get involved How to take part Community groups Individuals Schools Universities Workplaces Downloadable resources Donate Register Loud Shirt Day Universities Want to see your course mates or society in their most garish shirts? Why not suggest wearing your LOUDEST shirts to help create a sound future for deaf children! Register and order our fundraising pack full of LOUD materials to help your friends understand more about deafness and its impact, along with fun ideas and helpful tips to assist you in running a successful day. REGISTER Once you have registered and got your fundraising pack we have extra downloadable resources to assist with your Loud Shirt Day. DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES Fundraising ideas: For your university's weekly sports socials wear your LOUDEST, most ironic shirts and all donate £2! Don't have sports socials? Why not put on a fancy dress night? Hold a RAG Raid, organise a bucket collection in your city, be as colourful as possible and spread the news about Loud Shirt Day! Put on a 'Take Me Out' event at your university, all the contestants can wear their most ironic shirts. Click here for more information on how to participate. If you want to discuss any ideas or find out more please email [email protected] Please post on social media using the tag #LOUDshirtday or email us photographs of your friends getting LOUD to create a sound future for deaf children.


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June 2016
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Henry Cavill Leaves Superman Role
Breaking News! Henry Cavell is stepping down as DC's Superman. Cavill is stepping away as the most important player for the Justice League. Come on! Lucky for us Gal Gadot will reprise her role as "Wonder Woman" for the fourth time in "Wonder Woman 1984" set for 2019, Jason Momoa will headline "Aquaman" this December and Ezra Miller is reportedly still on board for a "Flash" movie due to shoot in 2019.
This news came right after Netflix announced that Henry Cavill will star in the eight-episode series "The Witcher" based on the popular book and video game franchise. He'll play Geralt of Rivia, the most epic monster hunter that ever lived.
The Hollywood Reporter also reported that negations for Cavill to appear in the upcoming movie Shazam "broke down" due to scheduling conflicts. WHOA! The same thing happened with the movie Mission Impossible: Fallout. Seem that the man of steel is in high demand. It is also worth noting that Ben Affleck isn't reprising his role as Batman. DC movie universe just can't catch a break.


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Text and photographs copyright of Jim Shead.
Top 100 Sites
Description of Old Grand Union Canal: The Grand Union Canal ran 23 miles from Foxton to Norton Junction where it met the Grand Junction Canal (confusingly now called the Grand Union).
History of Old Grand Union Canal: Authorised in 1810 and fully opened in 1814. Bought by the Grand Junction Canal in 1894. In 1929 the Grand Junction Canal Company amalgamated with other canal companies and became the Grand Union Canal, thus making the old Grand Union Canal part of the new Grand Union Canal.
For more details see the History page.
Waterway Group: This waterway is part of the Grand Union Leicester Section


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The birth of a Child/
Hey there, Maeve here. I am overjoyed to kick of this Advent series with a few words from my sister - one of the most phenomenal women I know. She's wise, courageous and selfless. She's fierce, loving and infectiously joyful. I love this lady so much and thank God that He blessed me with her as a sister & friend. Her words are so raw and beautiful - I hope they touch your heart and encourage you as they did mine.
The birth of a child changes everything.
My son William, was born in March and I feel like my whole world has been turned upside down this year. My roles as wife, employee, woman, friend, sister, daughter all feel disorienting, confusing and frustrating at times.
I feel so limited and as if I'm falling short at all of these roles.
My new role as mother is filled with so much joy, but also worry and anxiety. I don't feel like I am good enough at any of it. In the midst of this chaos, I have also experienced so much love for my son. I had no idea that you could love someone that you "just met" so much, so fast. I ache with compassion and am in awe and wonder at how he is growing and experiencing the world.
I feel so grateful to be his momma.
2000+ years ago the birth of a child changed everything.
Jesus came into the world fully God and fully human. It's amazing to think that the God of the universe chose to come into this world as a newborn, to be fully dependent on His mother while being fully sovereign - all at the same time.
He nursed and burped and pooped. That's just crazy to think about, right?
I imagine Mary cooed and smiled and laughed with Him. And I wonder if she held Him and knew that her son would have to give His life, that He would be the sacrifice for her and the whole world.
Following Jesus and walking by faith can be disorienting, confusing and frustrating. I struggle to know if I'm enough for God. If I am enough to be used by God.
If I am enough to be loved by God.
But God has made a way through his son Jesus, and through Him we have hope and peace, amidst the chaos and sorrow of this life. His grace is enough for the times daily that we fall short.
He loves us so much. He loves us more than we can ever imagine. As I hold my son, my heart overflows with love for him. That's just a shadow of the immense love that God has for each of us, his sons and daughters.
May we embrace and depend on Him this season.
Maeve here again. I just love how Jess makes God so relatable through her new role as a mother. Have you ever felt that way - like you're juggling multiple roles all at the same time & not doing any of them well? Does choosing faith feel confusing, disorienting and frustrating?
Leave my sweet sister some love in the comments below.


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Trade deal with Indonesia: major issues
Negotiations began in 2016 and the agreement was signed on March 4, 2019. Major issues include ISDS and increased numbers of temporary migrant workers vulnerable to exploitation.
See Dr Patricia Ranald's explainer published in The Conversation.
See our September 2016 submission to the DFAT here.
Updated: March 2019.


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Easy. I mean, like if you want to make a cellphone bomb... theoretically simplistic...
How to get throgh a cellphones password with out knowing the password? Answered
Well... You have to get an axe and a cellphone.... Just kidding. as benthekahn already wrote there are many ways to hack something. And there are many different phones. You have to tell us exactly what you wand to do.
Your going to have to say how you want to hack it/ what you want to accomplish.


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By leonardo maffi,
version 1.1.
Warning: currently nearest4/nearest5 don't work correctly, I'll try to fix them.
(Later this article will be moved to my site.)
These blog posts present a performance comparison between F# and OCaml implementations of a simple K-Nearest Neighbor (with K=1) classifier algorithm to recognize handwritten digits:
One of the Reddit discussions:
The original F# and OCaml code:
So I've studied and compared versions of this code in D language.
First I've written a functional-style version, 27 CLOC lines long, that is similar to the array-based OcaML version:
import std.stdio, std.algorithm, std.range, std.array, std.conv, std.string, std.math, std.typecons; struct LabelPixels { ubyte label; ubyte[] pixels; } immutable readData = (in string fileName) => fileName .File .byLine .dropOne .map!(r => r.chomp.split(",").to!(ubyte[])) .map!(a => LabelPixels(a[0], a.dropOne)) .array; immutable distance = (in ubyte[] p1, in ubyte[] p2) pure /*nothrow*/ @safe /*@nogc*/ => double(p1.zip(p2).map!(ab => (ab[0] - ab[1]) ^^ 2).sum).sqrt; immutable classify = (in LabelPixels[] trainingSet, in ubyte[] pixels) /*pure nothrow*/ @safe => trainingSet .map!(s => tuple(pixels.distance(s.pixels), ubyte(s.label))) .reduce!min[1]; void main() { const trainingSet = "training_sample.csv".readData; const validationSample = "validation_sample.csv".readData; immutable nCorrect = validationSample .map!(s => trainingSet.classify(s.pixels) == s.label) .sum; writeln("Percentage correct: ", double(nCorrect) / validationSample.length * 100); }
Notes to this first version:
- Inside LabelPixels the pixes are represented with an unsigned byte each. This reduces the RAM used to store the data and allows to use the CPU cache more efficiently.
- "readData" is a lambda assigned to a global immutable value. This is not fully idiomatic D style, but I've used this because it looks more similar to the F# code. In practice I usually don't use such global lambdas because the output type gives me useful information to understand the purpose of the function, and they are less easy to find in the assembly (you can't just search for "readData" in the asm listing to find this lambda.
- The D standard library contains a module to read CSV files (std.csv), but I always find its API bad, so I've used File.byLine and I have processed the lines lazily.
- In readData I've used the eager function split instead of the lazy splitter (that uses less RAM) because for the data sets used by this program split is faster (readData loads both CSV files in about 0.8-0.9 seconds on my PC).
- In the "distance" lambda the nothrow and @nogc attributes are commented out because zip() doesn't yet respect such attributes (zip throws an exception in certain cases and the code to throw the exception allocates it on the heap). The "classify" lambda calls "distance" so it can't be nothrow and @nogc (and because reduce doesn't have a default value in case its input range is empty, so it can throw, and because classify contains a heap-allocating lambda).
- The distance lambda contains code like "map!(ab => (int(ab[0]) - ab[1])" because D is not yet able to de-structure tuples, like the 2-tuples generated lazily by zip.
- The classify lambda contains a map of tuples because the max/min functions of Phobos still lack an optional "key" function like the max/min functions of Python. So I've created tuples of the mapped value plus the label and I've used reduce to find the min. I have used "ubyte(s.label)" to produce a mutable tuple, that reduce doesn't accept (unless you use a mutable seed).
Most run-time of this program is used inside the distance function. So if you want to optimize this program that's the function to improve.
In the zip you can find a "nearest1b.d" file that is very similar to this first function, but it's adapted to the current version of the LDC2 compiler, that is a little older (it doesn't support the @nogc attribute, T(x) syntax for implicit casts, and its Phobos doesn't have a sum function).
The D compilers (even the well optimizing LDC2 complier) is not yet very good at optimizing that functional distance function. So in the "nearest2.d" version of the program (that you can find in the zip archive) I've written distance in imperative way, this produces a program that compiled with ldc is more than 3 times faster:
uint distance(in ubyte[] p1, in ubyte[] p2) pure nothrow @safe { uint tot = 0; foreach (immutable i, immutable p1i; p1) tot += (p1i - p2[i]) ^^ 2; return tot; }
Now this distance function can be pure nothrow @safe. If you look this function also cheats a little not computing the square root, because it's not useful if you want to search the closest. This function also computes the total using integers.
I have not shown the asm generated by LDC2 for the nearest lambda in the "nearest1.d" program because it's too much complex and messy, but I can show the asm for this second simpler distance function:
__D8nearest38distanceFNaNbNfyAhyAhZk: pushl %ebx pushl %edi pushl %esi movl 24(%esp), %ecx xorl %eax, %eax testl %ecx, %ecx je LBB8_3 movl 28(%esp), %edx movl 20(%esp), %esi .align 16, 0x90 LBB8_2: movzbl (%edx), %edi movzbl (%esi), %ebx subl %ebx, %edi imull %edi, %edi addl %edi, %eax incl %edx incl %esi decl %ecx jne LBB8_2 LBB8_3: popl %esi popl %edi popl %ebx ret $16
As you see the loop gets compiled to quite simple asm with 9 X86 (32 bit) instructions.
To improve performance I have changed the data layout a little. With the "binary_generator1.d" program you can find in the zip archive I have generated binary files of the training set and validation sample. So now the loading of the data is very simple and very fast (see in the zip archive for the full source of this "nearest3.d" program:
enum nCols = 785; enum size_t labelIndex = 0; alias TData = ubyte; alias TLabel = TData; immutable(TData[nCols])[] readData(in string fileName) { return cast(typeof(return))std.file.read(fileName); } uint distance(immutable ref TData[nCols - 1] p1, immutable ref TData[nCols - 1] p2) pure nothrow @safe /*@nogc*/ { uint tot = 0; foreach (immutable i, immutable p1i; p1) tot += (p1i - p2[i]) ^^ 2; return tot; } TLabel classify(immutable TData[nCols][] trainingSet, immutable ref TData[nCols - 1] pixels) pure nothrow @safe /*@nogc*/ { auto closestDistance = uint.max; auto closestLabel = TLabel.max; foreach (immutable ref s; trainingSet) { immutable dist = pixels.distance(s[1 .. $]); if (dist < closestDistance) { closestDistance = dist; closestLabel = s[labelIndex]; } } return closestLabel; }
- The classify function is now imperative, but this improves the performance just a little.
- @nogc is still commented out because the current version of the LDC2 compiler doesn't support it yet.
- The main performance difference of this third program comes the data layout. Now I have hard-coded (defined statically) the number of columns nCols. So now the data sets are essentially a ubyte[N][]. In D this is represented as a dense array, that minimize cache misses and reduce by one the number of levels of indirection. Thanks to the compile-time knowledge of the loop bounds inside the distance function, the LLVM back-end of the LDC2 compiler performs some loop unrolling (in theory it can be performed even before, but in practice the the version 3.4.1 of the LLVM is not performing loop unrolling on dynamic bounds).
So the asm of the distance function of the "nearest3.d" program is longer because of a partial loop unwinding:
__D8nearest38distanceFNaNbNfKyG784hKyG784hZk: pushl %ebx pushl %edi pushl %esi xorl %ecx, %ecx movl $7, %edx movl 16(%esp), %esi .align 16, 0x90 LBB1_1: movzbl -7(%esi,%edx), %edi movzbl -7(%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %edi imull %edi, %edi addl %ecx, %edi movzbl -6(%esi,%edx), %ecx movzbl -6(%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %ecx imull %ecx, %ecx addl %edi, %ecx movzbl -5(%esi,%edx), %edi movzbl -5(%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %edi imull %edi, %edi addl %ecx, %edi movzbl -4(%esi,%edx), %ecx movzbl -4(%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %ecx imull %ecx, %ecx addl %edi, %ecx movzbl -3(%esi,%edx), %edi movzbl -3(%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %edi imull %edi, %edi addl %ecx, %edi movzbl -2(%esi,%edx), %ecx movzbl -2(%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %ecx imull %ecx, %ecx addl %edi, %ecx movzbl -1(%esi,%edx), %edi movzbl -1(%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %edi imull %edi, %edi addl %ecx, %edi movzbl (%esi,%edx), %ecx movzbl (%eax,%edx), %ebx subl %ebx, %ecx imull %ecx, %ecx addl %edi, %ecx addl $8, %edx cmpl $791, %edx jne LBB1_1 movl %ecx, %eax popl %esi popl %edi popl %ebx ret $4
Thanks to the data layout changes and other smaller improvements, the "nearest3.d" function is almost three times faster than "nearest2.d".
To reduce the run time and better utilize one CPU core, we can use the SIMD registers of the CPU.
To perform a subtraction of the arrays I change the data layout again, this time I represent the pixels with short (in D signed 16 bit integers). So I use a short8 to perform several subtractions in parallel. A problem comes from the label, if I slice it away as in the "nearest3.d" program, the array pointers are not aligned to 16 bytes and this is not accepted by my CPU. To solve this problem I add a padding of 7 short in every line of the matrix after the label. This is performed by the "binary_generator2.d" program.
So the 4th version of the program contains (see in the zip archive for the full code of "nearest4.d"):
enum nCols = 785; enum size_t labelIndex = 0; alias TData = short; alias TLabel = TData; immutable(TData[nCols + 7])[] readData(in string fileName) { return cast(typeof(return))std.file.read(fileName); } uint distance(immutable ref TData[nCols - 1] p1, immutable ref TData[nCols - 1] p2) pure nothrow /*@nogc*/ { alias TV = short8; enum size_t Vlen = TV.init.array.length; assert(p1.length % Vlen == 0); immutable v1 = cast(immutable TV*)p1.ptr; immutable v2 = cast(immutable TV*)p2.ptr; TV totV = 0; foreach (immutable i; 0 .. p1.length / Vlen) { TV d = v1[i] - v2[i]; totV += d * d; } uint tot = 0; foreach (immutable t; totV.array) tot += t; return tot; } TLabel classify(immutable TData[nCols + 7][] trainingSet, immutable ref TData[nCols - 1] pixels) pure nothrow /*@nogc*/ { auto closestDistance = uint.max; auto closestLabel = short.max; foreach (immutable ref s; trainingSet) { immutable dist = pixels.distance(s[8 .. $]); if (dist < closestDistance) { closestDistance = dist; closestLabel = s[labelIndex]; } } return closestLabel; }
- The classify function is not changed much, it performs the slicing to throw away the first eight (short label + 7 padding short) items.
- The distance function is a little more complex, but not too much. It uses the basic SIMD operations like subtraction, sum, product, plus the ".array" attribute that allows me to manage a short8 as a fixed-size value to sum all its contents.
- The code of distance is designed to be adaptable to other sizes of SIMD registers (but it's not able to adapt automatically).
- This "nearest4.d" program is only 1.6 times faster than "nearest4.d" probably because the SIMD code that manages shorts is not very clean.
The asm for the distance function of the "nearest4.d" program is rather long, despite being fast:
__D8nearest48distanceFNaNbKyG784sKyG784sZk: pushl %edi pushl %esi pxor %xmm0, %xmm0 movl $208, %ecx movl 12(%esp), %edx .align 16, 0x90 LBB1_1: movdqa -208(%edx,%ecx), %xmm1 movdqa -192(%edx,%ecx), %xmm2 psubw -208(%eax,%ecx), %xmm1 pmullw %xmm1, %xmm1 paddw %xmm0, %xmm1 psubw -192(%eax,%ecx), %xmm2 pmullw %xmm2, %xmm2 paddw %xmm1, %xmm2 movdqa -176(%edx,%ecx), %xmm0 psubw -176(%eax,%ecx), %xmm0 pmullw %xmm0, %xmm0 paddw %xmm2, %xmm0 movdqa -160(%edx,%ecx), %xmm1 psubw -160(%eax,%ecx), %xmm1 pmullw %xmm1, %xmm1 paddw %xmm0, %xmm1 movdqa -144(%edx,%ecx), %xmm0 psubw -144(%eax,%ecx), %xmm0 pmullw %xmm0, %xmm0 paddw %xmm1, %xmm0 movdqa -128(%edx,%ecx), %xmm1 psubw -128(%eax,%ecx), %xmm1 pmullw %xmm1, %xmm1 paddw %xmm0, %xmm1 movdqa -112(%edx,%ecx), %xmm0 psubw -112(%eax,%ecx), %xmm0 pmullw %xmm0, %xmm0 paddw %xmm1, %xmm0 movdqa -96(%edx,%ecx), %xmm1 psubw -96(%eax,%ecx), %xmm1 pmullw %xmm1, %xmm1 paddw %xmm0, %xmm1 movdqa -80(%edx,%ecx), %xmm0 psubw -80(%eax,%ecx), %xmm0 pmullw %xmm0, %xmm0 paddw %xmm1, %xmm0 movdqa -64(%edx,%ecx), %xmm1 psubw -64(%eax,%ecx), %xmm1 pmullw %xmm1, %xmm1 paddw %xmm0, %xmm1 movdqa -48(%edx,%ecx), %xmm0 psubw -48(%eax,%ecx), %xmm0 pmullw %xmm0, %xmm0 paddw %xmm1, %xmm0 movdqa -32(%edx,%ecx), %xmm1 psubw -32(%eax,%ecx), %xmm1 pmullw %xmm1, %xmm1 paddw %xmm0, %xmm1 movdqa -16(%edx,%ecx), %xmm2 psubw -16(%eax,%ecx), %xmm2 pmullw %xmm2, %xmm2 paddw %xmm1, %xmm2 movdqa (%edx,%ecx), %xmm0 psubw (%eax,%ecx), %xmm0 pmullw %xmm0, %xmm0 paddw %xmm2, %xmm0 addl $224, %ecx cmpl $1776, %ecx jne LBB1_1 pshufd $3, %xmm0, %xmm1 movd %xmm1, %eax movdqa %xmm0, %xmm1 movhlps %xmm1, %xmm1 movd %xmm1, %ecx pshufd $1, %xmm0, %xmm1 movd %xmm1, %edx movd %xmm0, %esi movswl %si, %edi sarl $16, %esi addl %edi, %esi movswl %dx, %edi addl %esi, %edi sarl $16, %edx addl %edi, %edx movswl %cx, %esi addl %edx, %esi sarl $16, %ecx addl %esi, %ecx movswl %ax, %edx addl %ecx, %edx sarl $16, %eax addl %edx, %eax popl %esi popl %edi ret $4
The run time of the varions versions, in seconds, best of 3: nearest1: 91 (dmd) nearest1b: 19.7 (ldc2) nearest2: 5.91 (ldc2) nearest3: 2.05 (ldc2) nearest4: 1.28 (ldc2)
I have compiled the programs with:
dmd -wi -d -O -release -inline -boundscheck=off nearest1.d ldmd2 -wi -unroll-allow-partial -O -release -inline -noboundscheck nearest1b.d ldmd2 -wi -unroll-allow-partial -O -release -inline -noboundscheck nearest2.d ldmd2 -wi -unroll-allow-partial -O -release -inline -noboundscheck nearest3.d ldmd2 -wi -unroll-allow-partial -O -release -inline -noboundscheck nearest4.d strip nearest1b.exe nearest2.exe nearest3.exe nearest4.exe
I have used the compilers:
DMD32 D Compiler v2.066
And ldc2 V.0.13.0-beta1, based on DMD v2.064 and LLVM 3.4.1, Default target: i686-pc-mingw32, Host CPU: core2.
On my 32 bit Windows the binaries generated are:
1.692 nearest1.d 221.212 nearest1.exe 1.757 nearest1b.d 1.079.822 nearest1b.ex 1.716 nearest2.d 1.070.606 nearest2.exe 2.059 nearest2b.d 1.071.118 nearest2b.exe 2.037 nearest3.d 1.353.230 nearest3.exe 2.365 nearest4.d 1.353.742 nearest4.exe 2.513 nearest5.d
In the zip archive I have also added a "nearest5.d" program that shows a recent improvement of the D type system (not yet available in ldc2), to support fixed-size array length inference for slices passed to templated functions.
With a run-time 1.28 seconds for the "nearest4.d" program there are still ways to reduce the run-time. I am using an old 2.3 GHz CPU, so if you use a modern Intel 4 GHz CPU like the Core i7-4790K and with faster memory, you can see a significant speedup. If you use a modern CPU you can also use YMM registers with short16 SIMD, that should offer some speedup (LDC2 is already able to target such YMM registers, you need to replace short8 with short16 in the nearest4.d program and change the padding). And then this program is very easy to parallelize for two or four cores, you can use the std.parallelism module for the computation of nCorrect with map+reduce in the main function, that should give some speedup.
You can find all the code and data here:
(This 7z archive contains the data sets too, I hope this is OK. Otherwise I'll remove them from the 7z archive.)
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The RMBF's local community fundraising volunteers are arranged into Guilds. Each year the Guild volunteers organise local fundraising events and help spread the message about the RMBF. Most of the Guild members are from medical backgrounds or medical families, and the events are always great fun and a fantastic way to raise money for the RMBF.
Guilds are usually run by a small committee, who are always keen to recruit new officers to help out.
Guild map
For more information on getting involved with your local Guild, fill out our volunteering form or contact:
Charlotte Ward, Community & Events Fundraising Officer
[email protected] – 020 8545 9946


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On digital media, only engagement matters. Aditi Shrivastava (Co-Founder, Pocket Aces) explains why number of views or reach aren't the best metrics for digital videos.
ZEE MELT, India's biggest festival for disruptive marketing and communications is back with content that will transform the way you perceive marketing, brands, and consumers today. #ZEEMELT brings together some of the biggest names in marketing, media and digital innovation and creativity, over three days in India. To know more follow #zeemelt or visit zeemelt.com.


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Dear All, As Lent approaches, it becomes apparent that our expressions of this time diverge greatly. For some, it is a time of scaling back and simplifying. For others, it is a time of penance and fast in one form or another. For others, it is a time that one considers taking on a new discipline or effort in the service of God.
As coordinator for Social Justice efforts, I wanted to suggest a few opportunities that may fit into your Lenten discipline.
Occupy Faith Cupcakes and Conversation - Tuesday February 28th following dinner and Eucharist - Seabury Auditorium Leaders of Occupy Faith will be coming to discuss the impact of faith and their experiences in the Occupy Wall Street movement. All are invited to come, ask, and explore what role social justice has in the totality of their faith. If you are interested in helping with this (set up, clean up, cupcake baking, escorting guests), please let me know.
Social Justice Opportunities We have several students who are involved with various social justice and outreach efforts in the city. It ranges from homeless shelters to food banks to worship in a park that feeds the poor. A list is available here: https://sites.google.com/a/gts.edu/studentoutreach/. If you are interested in any of these or something different, I strongly encourage you to contact the student liaison or I. Lent can be a wonderful time to reflect on how you use your time or explore ways that God may be calling you to greater acts of service.
Financial Stewardship & Tuesday Night Offerings Several ministries here are always in need of support. If you were thinking about using Lent as a time of a change in spending habits, several outreach efforts can be blessed by your funds. Our Tuesday Night offerings will be going to The St. Peter's Food Bank and then Holy Apostle's Soup Kitchen over the next two months.
Episcopal Relief and Development Also, Episcopal Relief and Development provides wonderful meditations and resources for Lent. Several of you have probably encountered the in your Parish. They can be accessed here: http://www.er-d.org/lent/
As always, if you have any ideas or suggestions for social justice efforts at General Seminary or elsewhere, please don't hesitate to contact me.
Blessed time of preparation, mary julia jett social justice coordinator


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Sweet Indulgence at The Turquoise, Thursday March 10th:
Fantastic Music. Live and Delicious Art for Sale. Mouthwatering Tapas and Drinks. Wonderful People. Beautiful Environment.
Need we say more? Come out and enjoy Sweet Indulgence with us in March with musical acts: Love Amos and Esencia Jazz Ensemble. We will have live art and onsite by True Delorenzo, Hillary Young, Quentin Anderson and Daniel Hardison.
Photographer Richard ChauDavis will be there with his experiential blurry pictures. You will love this.
Pacific Beach-based baker Sugar and Scribe will be there with sweet treats.
Happy hours specials on tapas and drinks from 5-7 p.m., nightly at The Turquoise.
Artists and vendors: come check out the space and participate with us (second Thursdays of each month). Looking forward to seeing you there!


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The Four of Pentacles reminds me that the gifts of the zodiac signs can also be burdens. The Earth signs of Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn are known for their conscientiousness, frugality, and practicality. The Shadow side of these are grasping, miserliness, and stubbornness. The rich soil freezes and becomes rocky.
The Four of Pentacles illustrates this Earthy problem. Four, a number of stability and luck, turns sour with both Cups and Coins. Let's take a look, shall we?
The symbolism of Barbara G. Walker's Four of Pentacles also includes high, gray walls. The door to the fortress is tiny. This is an exclusive club. There are no windows, except for the tiny holes lining the top. The warm, giving nurturing of earth has turned into fallow stoniness and infertility--the grass is brown and the trees are dead. It's ironic that this fortress was built to protect the green leaves of money, and yet, how does someone living in that fortress eat? The person carrying the golden sack is bent under his burden, struggling up the well-worn, sharp-angled path to the tiny door.
As seen on this card, the Four of Pentacles can signify being overworked and under loved. It can indicate sleepless nights and crappy food while slaving in a cubicle. The imagination and senses starve.
To be fair, that fort would be the safest place to be during the zombie apocalypse.
Reversed, the Four of Cups can indicate that the questioner is being a little too free with her money. The Four of Pentacles may not necessarily apply to money--it may mean that a person is being too stingy (or too free, as the case may be) with his or her time, talents, and goodwill. There is a feeling of boundaries in this card. It calls on the questioner to ask which boundaries are too open, which are too closed, and find a balance, like the perfect square the four represents.
Ebenezer Scrooge
the workaholic
the conspicuous consumer
Aesop's Dog in the Manger
corrupt CEO types


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This particular top is from a Boutique called Ivy & Leo. They have lots of cute stuff so make sure to check them out!
Peplums are one of those styles that work for everyone, no matter your body type! They give you a beautiful silhouette, slim your waist as well as show off your curves! Win Win Win, if you ask me!
They have been popular for quite a few years now and I totally understand why with their ability to look flattering on anyone and the fact that you can dress it up or down, with a dress, a sweater, a t-shirt, and the list goes on.
It is also a look that is easily achieved on your own! If you do not own one that is okay, because you can create this look by adding a belt to a flowy or semi flowy shirt and voila!
We here at The Smitten Life are always advocates of a style that you can pair with LOTS! As you can see here we are a big fan of the loose long tunic style peplum. If you are looking for comfort and cute then this is a good direction to go, however we also love pairing them with skirts or even wearing them over a fitted dress to add a little something to something we already own.
If you haven't tried this style before, or have tried it once and were not sure about it, give it another try because remember there are many versions of the peplum out there. If you tried on the shorter version and didn't like how it sat on your waistline then go and try a longer one like we have here or pair that same shirt with a skirt or dress and see how it completely changes the look. If you have some holiday parties coming up then go try a peplum dress on, I am sure it will make you feel oh so pretty with it's feminine charm!
Below I have linked a few of my favorites out there right now as well as some of the different styles. Let us know what you think!
And as Always,


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Rabbi Dalin's new book
Rabbi David Dalin's new book on Pius XII has come out. Have you seen the long review in the NYTimes? Neither did we.
Rabbi David Dalin's new book on Pius XII has come out. Have you seen the long review in the NYTimes? Neither did we.
One can disagree with Mark Steyn on many things, but he is good at ridiculing the liberal pieties of the media.
The inventor of the food bank passed away. A very ordinary guy who ended up feeding 10% of Americans.
Among secular journalists who write about bioethics William Saletan is one of the more thoughtful.
"I see no problem combining belief in the Creator with the theory of evolution, under one condition -- that the limits of a scientific theory are respected," said Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn in a conference in Paris.
Read more on Reuters.
For interesting commentary on the "intelligent design" controversy, read this Salon interview with Michael Ruse, this op-ed by Kenneth Woodward in the NYTimes and above all the piece by Msgr. Albacete here below.
by Lorenzo Albacete
Many have asked me to comment on the debate concerning the ability of science to detect an "intelligent design" in its study of nature, particularly the evolution of the species culminating in man. Religious conservatives (mostly Protestant Evangelicals and some Catholics) are insisting that the "scientific" view of "intelligent design" be taught to students in the public school. This is of course being resisted by those who see it as an intrusion of religion in the public school curriculum, as well as those who appeal to science to justify a cultural agenda hostile to faith.
The debate on intelligent design in the United States is thus more a political struggle than a scientific or religious debate. It originates in the efforts of Protestant Christian believers to resist the political power of the radical secularists who appeal to neo-Darwinism to justify their political policies. It would seem that, at least theoretically, Protestant fideism would not care what science holds or does not hold, since for fideists faith and reason are split. But what to do when an anti-faith ideology with a cultural agenda gains political power and appeals to science to support its view of what it means to be human? "Intelligent Design" is an attempt to respond to this cultural challenge. It represents an attempt to reconcile science with the Protestant view of faith and in some way escape from the limitations of fideism. Ironically, this response surrenders too much to science by letting science be the norm of what is ultimately affirmed as the ultimate, defining truth about man's origin and destiny.
The Catholic approach to this issue starts from a completely different point. Catholics insist that there is no opposition between properly understood views of faith and reason. Reason does not clash with faith, provided we do not equate reason to the method of scientific inquiry. The scientific method is a particular application of reason that seeks to understand the relations of causality between events that are purely material and measurable. The spiritual or non-material dimension is excluded from this method from the very beginning of the inquiry. Reason, whose power lies in its openness to the totality of all the factors that constitute reality, is thus restricted in its scope. An event or a series of events examined from this limited perspective will show no evidence of intelligent design, since intelligent design betokens freedom and purpose. The Catholic affirmation of the ability of reason to grasp an intelligent design behind reality does not depend on the results of such a scientific method. We do not require that science understood this way show evidence of intelligent design in order to affirm that a reasonable gaze at reality points to design or purpose and providence. The current debate is framed within a view of reason that is not our view.
Reason can grasp intelligence behind reality, but our Catholic faith grasps Love as the ultimate ground of all that exists and man as the creature created to freely respond to that creative Love as the "self-consciousness of the universe," so to speak. However, it is not to science that we appeal to make this affirmation, but to reason enlightened by faith.
Crossroads New York Cultural Center is a meeting place for people who share a passion for knowing.
This passion is aroused by wonder and attraction because "out there" things are, because life is given, always as a new and unexpected event that nourishes our experience.
This focus on reality as event (and not on ideas) determines the "style" of our cultural work:
We prize encountering people, because every human being is an irreducible novelty.
We want to meet them at the "crossroads" of life, regardless of any cultural, religious or social boundary.
We value beauty, because it sparks the wonder and attraction at the origin of human experience.
We are interested in the events that shape our world, because what happens always contains a suggestion, a hint that affects and may change our lives.
We cherish appreciating and testing our heritage, because the fabric of our life is woven from all the events that happened before us.
Thus, Crossroads aims to be, above all, a place where education takes place, that is, where we may learn to look with openness, curiosity and critical judgment at every aspect of reality.
Copyright © 2017 Crossroads Cultural Center


text: Knot rose gold open bracelet. The knot is a bit tighter than our Bestseller in the Gold&Silver collection. Very feminine with the rose gold tone, a basic to have in its jewelry box!All this collection will be packaged in a delicate little box to protect it perfectly!Hypoallergenic stainless steel, Ponctual water contact resistant (avoid long contact like shower, sports to keep the original condition longer)


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I recently had problems with logging into my ANZ Visa Rewards. For some reason it refused my password (I will give it the benefit of the doubt that I forgot
Category: Uncategorised
Choosing men's pants size online
I have a lot of trouble finding my pants in the right size when I go store shopping. Whether I choose centimetres or inches the trouser size varies from designer
Do I need a Remedial Massage?
Do you need a remedial massage? It is quite likely. Many people go for a rub down when what they need is a specific treatment tailored to their individual needs.
Choose a aluminum free natural deodorant
I had been using a normal deodorant for many years before I found out they use aluminium in the product. Aluminium is considered by some to be a neurotoxin and
Are you paying too much for Short Boots?
OK. No-one expects to get Women's Short Boots for free but they also shouldn't take away the money you hoped to use wearing them out Saturday night. It doesn't matter


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Work: My Blog
- I am writing 1000 words daily, even weekend days.
- I am posting one blog post a day, on most days.
- Hearthstone - still building my way to a full basic deck
- Diablo III
- Space Alert (with dear friends)
Books I Am Reading
- Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
- The Happiness of Pursuit by Chris Guillebeau
- Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
- Alcatraz Vs. The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
Physical Fitness Challenges
- Cat Transport and in-store care/attention for 4Paws Rescue Team.
- Helping to manage an open-source project with other volunteers: ipaddress-gem
Work: Coding Efforts
- We now have a slack channel for Coding projects with my work mates off-hours. This is pushing me in interesting directions.
- Finishing the first release of my expect-behaviors gem.
- Dabbling with Clojure and ClojureScript
- Learning to use Github Pages
- Opportunistically trying to do things like creating Chrome extensions.