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NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) — Members of Connecticut's congressional delegation have met with Coast Guard officials to express their concerns over alleged discrimination and harassment at the service's academy.
Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal and Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney requested the meeting, which took place with Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Karl Schultz and his senior staff in Murphy's office on Thursday.
A recent Office of the Inspector General report found Coast Guard officials failed to protect a black female officer who made discrimination and harassment complaints against her superiors, The Day reported . The report was the impetus for the meeting, according to Courtney.
The lawmakers spoke with Schultz about their ongoing request for documents related to allegations of bullying and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy and whether the academy took appropriate action in past cases. They also suggested how to address culture issues there.
Officials declined to detail what the suggestions were.
Schultz said in a statement Thursday that he "welcomed the opportunity" to sit down with the lawmakers.
"The recent IG report has my full attention," he said. "No one in the Coast Guard should ever face bullying, harassment or retaliation for reporting wrongdoing. We will protect whistleblowers."
But Murphy said he's concerned the New London-based academy has not fundamentally changed its culture. "I think there's increasing, not decreasing, concern about what has been happening at the academy," Murphy said by phone Thursday after the meeting.
"It's not enough to issue new guidelines or more training; if real wrongdoing occurred, there needs to be accountability," he said.
Blumenthal also called for accountability and said that he thought the Coast Guard recognized that need.
Ahead of the Democratic takeover of the U.S. House of Representatives, incoming chairs of key oversight committees have indicated they are intent on maintaining focus on the inspector general report, Courtney said.
Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.


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Kiwi actor Erik Thomson has revealed the acting gig he wishes he'd never taken.
While he's now best known for playing Dave Rafter in the Trans-Tasman drama series Packed To The Rafters, things weren't always so polished.
Speaking to the Daily Mail Australia at the 2018 AACTA Awards on Wednesday, Thomson reflected on his biggest career regrets, revealing he once did a "cheesy" TV ad for ASB bank.
He starred in not one but a series of ads alongside Lucy Lawless - of Xena: Warrior Princess fame - in the roles of doting parents to a baby named Stan, who were trying to gain financial security for their growing family.
Now, Thomson says he "cringes a little bit" when he re-watches them.
"They're just so cheesy! I kind of wish I never did that," he said.
But added the reason he did do it was because he was working in theatre at the time and was broke, "and they paid really well".
Thomson rose to fame following stints in both Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess.
He moved to Australia in 1995, landing a major role in Australian medical series All Saints.
He married Australian actress Caitlin McDougall in 1999 and the pair have two children together; a daughter named Eilish, 11 and a son named Magnus, five.


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Nice to have You here on my website! My artist name is Imiak Khan. I'm a photographer since 2013, I was born in Austria and worked for many years in the international modelbusiness, until I started my career in photography.
Until now I have been published six times in the Italian Photo-Vogue magazine, further on I was booked for magazine-covers in Spain, Germany, Austria and Switzerland and for several campaigns and jobs as a photographer. My passion is creating visions in a picture, telling a story with a picture. Many of my works have a hidden story which is not obvious.
I hope you'll enjoy what you can see on my website!
Yours, Imiak Khan
Here you will find some of my pictures which were published in the Italian Photo-Vogue Magazine. Until now I have been published six times there and I'm very thankful for this plattform.
In my life I've seen so many beautiful people also many with something special in their appearance.
It was great fun to organize several interesting theme shootings with different people models. Here You can see some of the results.
Travelling is one of the most important things in my life, next to photography. During my various journeys I had the chance to save innumerable moments in my pictures. So have a look at some of those impressions including landscapes, animals & other pictures.
Before I started working in the modelbusiness and photography I had a time as an artist (oil paintings). My speciality is the abstract art. Start of my career as an artist was the first prize at the great art competition "Philipps Kunstwettbewerb". I've recently decided to continue my paintings, here you can see my latest works.
From 2013 onwards I've had the chance to work with several fantastic models all over the world. Some of them were newcomer-models who then succeeded in the international business.
I've been published in various magazines within Europe and also was booked for magazine-covers in several countries like Austria, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Great Britain. Have a look at the articles in various newspapers or magazines and the covers I was booked for.
Mermaid-Photography is something girl's dreams are made of. In Europe I was one of the first who organized mermaid shootings. Here you will see some pictures of this interesting photography art.


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How can you make a decision on specs only? if the iPad is a version 1, the Tab is version 0.5 at its best. The software is horrible, have you heard of all the people biting the bullet and just returning the thing?
Great hardware is nothing without great sofware, and that's what the Galaxy Tab is. Excellent circuits, poor bits.
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by GSG
You might want to edit your post with a link to the original article since it looks like you used "Start a discussion" instead of "Post a Reply".


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Technology stocks headed straight into the red Tuesday as losses from Dell Inc. DELL, +0.12% led the sector's decline. Dell shares fell $1.68, or 9.5%, to $16.45 after the company said it is seeing more weakness in global demand for technology spending. Other tech stocks posting losses included Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.08%, Oracle Corp. ORCL, -0.09%, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -0.73% and Hewlett-Packard Co. HPQ, -0.16%. H-P fell $1 a share, or 2.2%, to $44.32 after it said it would cut almost 25,000 as part of its integration of Electronic Data Systems. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index $compq fell almost 30 points to 2,150.
Dell leads more losses for tech stocks
Quote References
-0.03 -0.16%


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Somewhat ironically on the day that a former president and arguably one of the last survivors of The Greatest Generation (RIP President George H. W. Bush) is being lauded at his funeral for a lifetime service to the Constitutional Republic, we are also witness to the ongoing opening of a Pandora's Box of questionable merit from a band of robbers, murderers and philanderers purporting to be civil American guardian citizens; when in fact, they are nothing more than a 'nothing burger' of gypsies, tramps and thieves, the sole purpose of which would be in bringing down the entirety of this republic and its duly-elected president.
Overextended example of hyperbole, you say? Au contraire. In the immortal words of Sgt Joe Friday 'the facts, Ma'am, just the facts'.
The ongoing Mueller witch hunt and its latest 'revelation' introduced to We the People just yesterday, has accomplished only one thing – clearly exposing the corruption that permeates the Big Deep State lamestream Media and government bureaucracies, the FBI, the justice department, the judiciary, the legal 'profession' and the halls of the liberal leftist DemoMarxist Party and its nefarious DC Swamp members.
Yet, in collusion with 'Big Enemydia', we are expected to believe all things bad are because of (ahem) President Trump.
Witnessing the macabre injustice from the Mueller 'investigation' while the corruption and criminality of Obama, Hillary Rob'em and their minions goes unpunished, is like being on an operating table unable to move, speak, blink or even moan, yet fully conscious and able to feel everything being done with the deft hands of the surgeon and his scalpel.
Darn, some would emote, there are a lot of corrupt, evil people in government and even more gullible, stupid people extant in the nation; perhaps too many to allow it to survive as a Constitutional Republic.
But don't lose heart – let us segue into Howard J. Warner and his piece in today's American Thinker 'Flynn sentencing memo reveals sham that is the Mueller investigation'…
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has finally provided his team's sentencing recommendation for three-star general Michael Flynn. He has acknowledged that Flynn has provided 19 separate interviews with the Mueller team. The heavily redacted report provides no information concerning the testimony that Flynn provided. Flynn had pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during the investigation of Russian collusion with the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.
Flynn has had to sell his home to pay his legal bills during this process. His 33-year career serving our country seems to have meant little to the prosecutors trying to get him to turn on Trump. Although we have no direct evidence for his sudden decision last year to plead guilty and cooperate, many believe that this was done to protect his son from being prosecuted. This is the type of prosecutorial overreach that borders on ethical violations. It certainly makes us wonder: what is prosecutorial discretion?
Shockingly, the basis for this investigation includes citation of the Logan Act of the 19th century, limiting foreign negotiations by the general public. Most observers believe that the transition team is not subject to this law, which has rarely been used and never successfully when challenged in court. Unfortunately, the FBI investigators reported that they did not believe that Flynn was intentionally lying when questioned about his interaction with then-Russian ambassador Kislyak.
Read full disclosure to completion right here…
In case you hadn't figured it all out yet folks, the so-called 'governing class' in these United States is at war with the common man. Half the nation (ie the insane Left side of the Obama-era DemoMarxist party) doesn't understand that, and is on the side of that self-identified 'elite'. The freedom of individuals, like the unfortunate Flynn (himself an heroic personage) is being lost now, but the ultimate freedom of all is currently at greater risk.
As Howard J. Warner expresses in his wrap: 'For any objective observer, the only collusion with Russia with any evidence came from the Clinton campaign in hiring Fusion GPS to secure the dossier from British agent Christopher Steele.'
'Now we have complaints by Jerome Corsi and Roger Stone of prosecutorial abuse, which, taken together with statements of other individuals, casts great doubt upon the sincerity of the Mueller team. Perhaps the investigation is winding up, but some believe that Mueller will continue until Trump is out of office. Unfortunately, Flynn could not fight any longer due to his finances.'
'The shame of this whole affair is the sham that has become our Justice Department, which has degenerated to the level of a third-world nation. Reports say Mueller is tying up loose ends. Let us hope this will end soon for the benefit of this republic. Now we await the Democrat committee chairs in the incoming House who have threatened further inquiries. God help us! [end]
At the end of the day folks, this is where we've arrived at – It's illegal to lie to the FBI but not illegal for the FBI to lie to you. And let us not forget the $30 million dollar tab spent by the profligate Mueller and his henchmen on what is turning out to be a scurrilous 'nothing-burger'.
Think on THAT for a while as you go to sleep tonight…
As for me and my house – time for today's MAGA Pill – President Donald J Trump – MAGA!
See also yours truly and Jerome Corsi Mueller dragonslayer


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Paper Prints
Our archival paper prints have a longevity of 100 years in typical display conditions. We print using a lustre finish (a semi gloss finish with vibrant colors) on Kodak Endura Professional papers.
Our prints are sent to you ready to be matted and framed, in standard, readily available sizes .
They are available in the following sizes:
- 8x10 prints $15.00
- 11x14 prints $35.00
- 16x20 prints $75.00
- Panoramic Prints 10x24 $50.00


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Nov 2017
Whytbank Tower – Scottish Borders Haunted Towers
Whytbank Tower
Whytbank Tower, which was built by James Pringle, consists of a tower house and a courtyard which lie high up on the east slope of Knowes Hill. The Tower was restored in 1992 as a private residence.
Check out our film below….
You just can't put this video in a "box"…
…Whytbank Tower near Clovenfords is a rather dangerous structure please do not visit.
In Pictures (And a little bit further info)
Whytbank Tower near Clovenfords was built in 16th Century for the family of the (Hop)Pringles – Although unlived in the gardens are well kept.
A huge buttress added in later life possibly to aid against subsidence
The only entrance to the main tower
The tower and buildings itself are very dilapidated and in a dangerous state but the main tower was rebuilt in 1992 and this stone plaque celebrates this
The entrance with plaque in situ
The outbuildings and courtyard support buildings are now only existent at ground level
A vaulted room can be seen at the end – possibly a food store
The steps into the support courtyard buildings
Very little windows appear on the tower which suggests this was built for fortification
In the 16th century there was and act passed through parliament ('every landed man
in the Border having a hundred pounds (worth) of land should build a barmkyn of stone and
lime sixty feet square, one ell* thick and six ells high for the defence of himself, his tenants
and goods.')
in the Border having a hundred pounds (worth) of land should build a barmkyn of stone and
lime sixty feet square, one ell* thick and six ells high for the defence of himself, his tenants
and goods.')
The tower merges into nature
It is unknown how much a part this tower played in the story of the border rievers, but it was certainly built for defence, entertaining and a show of wealth and power
Again the lack of windows
The building is currently owned by a Panamanian company – whos knows?!?
The tower proudly looking over the estate of Yair and the 3 brethren where the ownership lands end
The courtyard falls away to terraced gardens
A great piece of architecture!
The building is very dangerous – we don't recommend going into the grounds but you can view it from the path beside it and take in the splendor and imagine what it was like in its hay-day!


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a weekly round-up of our favorite finds from the front lines of food
- Now you can feed the multitudes, with Grilled Cheesus (above).
- The Wall Street Journal wrote on chefs and twitter in @Foodies: Peak Into My Kitchen. "It's a power tool. Before you had to [spend] a quarter-million dollars in ads to do this."
- Trying to find opportunity in the crisis of invasive species, one Illinois company Schafer Fisheries is catching asian carp and making fillets, fish sticks, nuggets and fertilizer.
- Young entrepreneurs are finding inspiration in the past, from Sheep Lawn Mowers to raising chickens. "It's a gateway to that whole rural dream...And with the type of recession we're having, there's stability in it."
- Why stop at 140 characters when you can bring consumers to a world of information. QR codes provide the anti-tweet for wine and other foods. "I'm looking forward to the day when I will be able to scan a QR Code on a barrel of cheese and be transported to a farm instead of a news review."
- Give 'Em Shell: oysters make new homes at the Oyster Recovery Project on the Chesapeake Bay. Be part of their Shell Recycling Alliance.


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Graciously sponsored by SEIKOWAVE, Janet Steel Holloway, Pat Hill, Sweet Lilu's, and Wild Turkey!
On January 18th, 2019, AthensWest hosts the 3rd Annual January Ball: Martini Edition fundraiser at the beautiful and newly restored, Limestone Hall in downtown Lexington, KY. All proceeds go to benefit AthensWest Theatre Company, a non-profit professional theatre company in Lexington, KY. Curious about the spectacular Limestone Hall? We are too - that's why we're throwing our signature event at the sparkling jewel of our downtown!
Starting at 7:30pm on Friday, January 18th, 2019, enjoy speciality martini cocktails and food by Sweet LiLu's, and a swingin' '60s set by local legends The Bats! Plus we plan on a few surprises here and there! Note: you must be 21 to enter the January Ball!
TICKETS: $65 - Early Bird Special, includes open bar and food. $85 At the Door.
*LIMITED AMOUNT* VIP Table for 6: $450, includes open bar, food, and two bottles of bubbly for the table


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It is becoming more and more common for companies to register their trademark first and only after that create a website or make themselves discoverable online. The appeal period has then already passed, when you discover that there is a new trademark that resembles yours. That's a shame, because then there's nothing left to be done and thus you're too late.
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Shooting fish in a barrel
Recently I posted on the pipeline vulnerability problem, linking to the Global Guerrillas blog. An article referenced from Energy Bulletin expands on this topic:
How to bring down a giant, one blood vessel at a time.
"A handful of small attacks made against Saudi infrastructure will push oil well over $100 a barrel," says John Robb, an independent analyst and author of the forthcoming book Global Guerrillas. "Twenty or so a month will keep it there. We are about to see the rise of a shadow OPEC. The control of oil doesn't rest in the hands of the governments. It is in the hands of the guerrillas that can stop the flow."
I think this could be an extrordinarily important trend. Smooth depletion of oil is two things: Good for the environment, and troublesome for humans and their economy. It should be accepted as a premise at this point that converting from oil to 'x' will be tremedously difficult, not the least of which because 'x' will likely equal zero with a captital 0. I honestly think we'll be fine without air travel, crappy plastic consumer goods, and the American Southwest, but the ride will be bumpy even in a best case scenario.
However, chaotic disruption of strategic oil supplies will lead to directly to chaotic human affairs, and a visit from the four (is it four?) horsemen of the a taco sheeps. Those who don't ignore history are condemned to repeat it anyways.


text: The purity of peace, which is genuine happiness, cannot be found outside of you in material possessions, accomplishments, or other people. Pleasure is a fleeting emotion based on an external factor. But true happiness is who you are, and does not depend on anything else. When you are at peace, you are more than enough. You are pure life--complete, fulfilled, whole, and you are everything you could possibly want or need. You feel sufficiently independent and whole, yet connected to life and every being on the planet. Peace is true fulfillment. Once peace is consistently maintained, it is unwavering, no matter the strength of the storm surrounding you. -Janice Anderson Jamie T.November 20, 2017Comment Facebook0 Twitter LinkedIn0 StumbleUpon Reddit Tumblr 0 Likes


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With the Supreme Court order on gay sex creating a major uproar, the government today said it is considering all options to decriminalise homosexuality and filing a curative petition in the apex court could be one of them.
"The Government is considering all options to restore the (Delhi) High Court verdict on (Section) 377 (of IPC). We must decriminalise adult consensual relationships," Law Minister Kapil Sibal said.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram said the Supreme Court ruling was "wrong" and all options would be looked at to set right the Supreme Court order.
Terming the judgement "disappointing", he said the court should have applied "current social and moral values" in the case.
He said the government should file a review or curative petition and that the matter should be heard by a five-bench judge.
Chidambaram, the former Home Minister, said the Delhi High Court judgement was a "well-researched one" which the Union government accepted and did not challenge in the Supreme Court.
He added that the government's decision of not opposing the High Court judgement in the Supreme Court was also his party's view.
Chidambaram noted that the bench that gave the order, should have referred the matter to a five-judge bench and that the interpretation of law cannot be static.
Chidambaram said the government should ask for a review for a curative petition and the matter should be referred to a five-judge bench.
"I think the bench should have referred it to a five-judge bench and they should have looked into all aspects of law. Interpretation of law cannot be static. What you have done is, (you have) gone back in time, in 1860, and I am therefore terribly upset," Chidambaram said.
Noting that the current section 377 was made in the year 1860, the Finance Minister said it reflected the social and moral values of that age and the knowledge of psychology, physiology, genetics in that era was extremely poor.
"But today in the year 2013, there is so much knowledge about human psychology, human physiology, human genetics to say that something like intercourse against the order of nature (is not right) and that is the social and moral value today, and therefore, it is the legal value of today. That (judgment) is completely outdated, completely retrograde," he said.
When asked why did the government not amend section 377 while amending the rape laws in the wake of Delhi gang-rape incident, Chidambaram said the High Court judgment laid down section 377 only in a limited manner.
"They decriminalised homosexuality only among consenting adults and in private. Therefore, there was no need to amend section 377," he said.
Chidambaram added that legislative option still remains open, because if one looks closely at section 377, that option is not required.
"Section 377 can remain, because between two non -consenting adults it still remains a crime. So, there was no occasion to amend the section. And the amendment of the section was necessary only after the final announcement of the judgment. The case was pending in the Supreme Court and there was no occasion to amend it," he said.


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The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd., (MRPL) has achieved a big milestone as far as solar and renewable energy consumption is concerned. It has commissioned 6.063 MWp of solar power project on its premises. This is the largest such facility at any refinery site in the country.
The oil refining company has installed solar panels on as many as 34 different locations and that includes roof tops: RCC as well as the sloping sheet steel roofs, which are atop water storage plants, among other things.
The MRPL has spent Rs. 27 crore in order to bring the solar project that has been executed by M/s Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd. The solar power project delivers around 24,000 units of power each day. This amounts to around 8.8 million units in a year.
The oil refinery has installed solar capacity to produce more than 234 MW of solar power on its premises. The solar power project has resulted in an annual savings of around 2,680 tonnes of oil equivalent as well as reduction in CO2 emissions by as much as 7,000 tonnes, says a release from the company.
The MRPL said that the solar power project demonstrates its continued commitment to drive its sustainable development agenda with a sharp focus on the reduction in carbon emissions as well as renewable energy generation.
Solar power projects take off in a big way
Recently, the Indian Union Territory of Diu became the first in the country to totally run (100 per cent) on solar energy generation. In a span of 3 years, Diu, also a city, made progress as far as solar power generation is concerned. Spread in 42 sq km, Diu is the first Union territory, where total electricity requirement is met from solar power. Despite land scarcity, solar power plants have been installed in over 50 acres of land. Diu generates 13 megawatts of electricity from solar power facilities. Around 3 Mega Watt is through rooftop solar plants, 10 MW by the rest of the solar plants.
- Use Banana Stems for Organic Farming: Innovations in Agriculture - June 3, 2019
- Why Has Renewable Energy Generation Price Nosedived? - May 11, 2019
- Lightning Strike Electric Sports Bike Formally Showcased - April 2, 2019
- 4 Steps For Water Conservation You Can Take This World Water Day - March 30, 2019
- World Water Day Theme: Include Women, Refugees, Children, Minorities - March 28, 2019
- International Day of Forests 2019: Lets Learn to Love Forests - March 23, 2019
- Avan Motors Soon Launching New Series Of Digital Electric Scooters - March 18, 2019
- Trend E Electric Scooter from Avan Motors Officially Unveiled - March 13, 2019
- 5 green cars in India with low emissions to combat Air Pollution - March 11, 2019
- Electric Scooter Accidents to be Studied in USA for the First Time - March 10, 2019


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This summer, we're presenting a selection of our artists' favorite books. From dark, to funny, to just plain strange, this summer reading list gives you a peek inside each artist's life, likes, and literary predilections.
ELEANOR GROSCHThe Road by Cormac McCarthy. "Disturbing, horrific, and somehow hauntingly beautiful." The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. "Really fun with a nice dark quality."
HENNIE HAWORTHCall the Midwife by Jennifer Worth. "Recently I've been enjoying reading a book called Call the Midwife. It's the true story of a midwife working in London's East End in the 1950's. Having just had a baby in East London, it had a particular interest for me, but it's a very popular book and was recently made into a TV show by the BBC (but the book's much better). It's really startling how much life and medicine has changed in such a short space of time."
BELLA PILAR20th Century Travel: 100 Years of Globe-Trotting Ads. "There is always a Taschen book on my list of favorites. And this is my latest fave. Travel through the history of travel ads. I am beyond inspired by the gorgeous colorful artwork filling these pages - the images, design, colors, its the total package. These colorful ads are filled with storytelling imagery that remind me how big the world is outside my little art studio. They will make you look at a train, plane, and automobile in a whole new light." 100 Years of Fashion Illustration. "Always one of my faves. Beautiful artwork to gaze over. And a fact filled blurb of info on each page. What a treat to look at the history of fashion presented this way. Each fashion illustration tells its own little story. It's fun to see the progression of style and trends (fashion and art) over 100 years all wrapped up in one little book."
RED NOSE STUDIO "Last fall, I picked up 2 kids' books that still resonate pretty strongly with me. If folks want to get in touch with their animal instincts they should give these a go." I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen. "Beautifully brown and full of blank expressions, what's not to love about this story of a bear going gumshoe and tracking down his misplaced hat." In the Woods by Tana French. "And just in case folks want something to read for a couple weeks, I recommend In The Woods by Tana French. Sitting inside the head of an Irish detective as his wits deteriorate around him will make you appreciate the humor in the above two books even more."
GRAHAM ROUMIEUThe Bet by Arthur Bradford. "One of my favorites is just a short story from a McSweeny's but is probably the funniest thing I've ever read."


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Opinion Columns & Blogs
Editorial: Charitable giving rebounds, still below 2007 levels
Charity is part of the character of our nation.
The economy is recovering, the stock market is rising, and people can feel a little more generous as the year comes to an end. Think of charities in the next few days.
The Sacramento Region Community Foundation reports that giving is up this year, almost back to pre-recession levels. Shirlee Tully, a development officer at the foundation, says giving is "cautiously approaching averages before the recession."
Nationally, Charity Navigator estimates that at the current pace, giving will not rebound to pre-recession levels until 2018. But we're getting there. The bright stars of giving in our region have been for the arts and scholarships for education, both up considerably from last year.
The region's first-ever Arts Day of Giving generated more than $500,000 in one day, April 29, from 3,460 donors for 78 arts and cultural organizations in the Sacramento region. Thirty percent of the donors were new givers; 60 percent of the donations were $50 or less. All received a match. That expands the philanthropic base for the arts in our region. The boost is much-needed as theater, opera and the ballet have struggled.
During the Great Recession, the arts suffered as people made giving to food banks and other human services for the needy a bigger priority in their giving. While arts and education giving rebounds, charities that help the needy need help, too.
Garren Bratcher of Loaves & Fishes, which feeds the hungry and shelters the homeless, reports that giving has stayed about the same this year. The charity is seeing more transitional use of services, the sign of a recovering economy. But, he notes, we still have pockets of great need.
Foster children become young adults, but were never reunited with their families or adopted. Many of them end up falling into homelessness.
"They have no one to lead them," says Bratcher, "no one to guide them like I've guided my sons."
Bratcher says Loaves & Fishes still sees entire families with young children. Bratcher says they can get a roof over their heads, basic necessities and, at this season of the year, people are generous with giving toys, clothing and other items. But these young families, like foster kids, "need not just Christmas gifts and a tree; they need some guidance."
Gifts of time, such as mentoring, and of funds to organizations that can provide guidance help. A money donation helps an organization buy in bulk.
In these last few days of the year, people have good hearts and want to be generous. Rather than randomly sprinkling around donations here and there, Tully recommends "strategic, purposeful giving." Check out organizations at guidestar.org before donating. Con artists are out at the end of the year, too.
On the street, be savvy. If someone asks for money, give food rather than cash. Make sure people soliciting at tables outside stores are on the up-and-up.
"People should be aware that very few legitimate organization solicit funds in front of stores, and those are very reputable and well known, like the Salvation Army," Bratcher says. "If you've never heard of them, they are probably fake."
At this time of still-fragile recovery, Americans top the World Giving Index 2013 once again. Helping strangers is more common here than in any other country in the world.
We understand that we help ourselves when we help someone in need.


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For those of you who don't know, Barnes and Mullins are a long-established musical instrument wholesale company. Amongst the many products that they distribute are guitar stands, and that is where this story starts.
I own a very fine Bartram electro - acoustic guitar which, unlike most production-line guitars these days, has a nitrocellulose finish. There are many advantages to using this lacquer but it is not as robust as modern acrylic and polyester finishes. A few years ago, when I was still gigging regularly, I bought a couple of guitar stands, the sort that have a tripod base and an extending arm that supports the neck of the instrument in 'U' shaped recess with a safety bar. The supports are generally covered in plastic foam of some sort, to protect the instrument from the metal of the frame. After using one of these for a while I noticed that there was a place on the neck of my guitar that was becoming discoloured and tacky. A closer inspection revealed that this place coincided with the point at which it was supported by the stand. Research revealed that this was not an uncommon problem. There was some chemical element in the foam covering that was interacting badly with the cellulose, and so deeply did it penetrate that I had to have the neck of the guitar stripped and treated to render the rogue chemical inert before it could be refinished. That cost me £200!
The offending stands were disposed off. By this time arthritis had put an end to my professional playing but I still wanted to keep the guitar on a stand in my front room. A guitar that spends all its time in a case doesn't get picked up and played, and I like to keep mine to hand for those odd moments during the day when I fancy a quick plunk - if you'll pardon the expression. So, I went in search of a new stand that wouldn't present me with the same problems and eventually bought a TGI 'A' frame - style guitar stand that seemed to fit the bill. The stands are distributed by Barnes and Mullins who, because the company had been aware of the potential problems with plastics and cellulose, had specified that suitable materials were used by the Chinese company that manufactured them.
The guitar has sat happily in my front room for the last few months, resplendent on the new stand and all has been well - until the other day. I was restringing the instrument and giving it a clean when I noticed a thin yellowish mark on the back of it which did not respond to polish or a damp cloth. Close inspection revealed it to be a discolouration in the cellulose and a little bit of very rudimentary detective work confirmed that the villain in the piece was my new guitar stand. But it was not the foam that was responsible - there is no foam involved in this design. No, it was the plastic itself. Despite the fact that the design results in the absolute minimum contact between the instrument and the support, it was enough to allow a chemical reaction. Then I noticed my wooden floor. There were similar yellow marks on the floorboards where the feet of the stand had rested. The floor is finished with Bourneseal which is not related to cellulose as far as I know, so this was an entirely new development.
I decided to give Barnes and Mullins a call to alert them to this problem and I was soon speaking to someone who was most concerned and said he would bring the matter to the attention of the managing director immediately. He took my phone number and promised me that I could expect a call back before the day was out. As it happened, when the call came I was out. Now I've dealt with problems with companies before, and my experience has generally been that in such circumstances one very rarely gets a follow-up call. But the message on my answerphone was clear. The MD was out of the country for the next two days but would contact me on his return. And he did.
I hadn't been thinking along the lines of recompense so much as the possibility of the problem happening to someone else, but Bruce Perrin 's first response was to offer to replace the current stand with one of their - far more elegant and expensive - wooden stands. He also offered to pay to have my guitar refinished and when I pointed out that this would cost several hundred pounds he did not baulk, and stressed that the company fully accepted the responsibility for the situation and would go out of their way to correct it. He also said that he would make sure that there was an adequate warning of these potential problems with all further stands sold.
The next morning a package arrived by special courier. It was my new guitar stand. It is all wood, with cork protection for the points of contact with the instrument and looks very fetching in my front room. It's not the sort of thing that I would take out on a gig but I'm very pleased with it nonetheless. So - hats off to Barnes and Mullins for the best possible customer service. I'm frequently the first person to moan about bad service from big companies so it makes a very pleasant change to be able to sing the praises of one!


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He can read fast and provide you the authentic details about your own personal life. Do extensive probing and you may get the different online internet sites that'll provide you with the discounts on the online psychic reading. You'll need to find the authentic guy who has vast experience in this kind of field. In this regard you should check the last performance reputation the online psychic. The Google search engine will assist you to select the genuine and authorized psychic who offers the reliable service through online. I thought about this http://www.ukpsychicreadings.co.uk/psychic-readings/


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Rosemond of KKMP radio station in Saipan does a great service announcing funeral arrangements in Chamorro.
I asked her to let me record her doing one and, since we needed a name of a deceased person, I had her use my late brother's name.
The script can be used by any funeral. Just the names, dates and places need to be changed. Here is the recording followed by the script.
Para u ma na' fan manungo' i familia, i man parientes yan man atungo'
(name of the survivor) na måtai i (relationship/spouse/child/etc) as (name of deceased)
gi (day of the week) na ha'åne, (month) dia (day), (year).
I difunto/a as (name of deceased) låhen/hagan (name of parents, better-known-as if applicable).
I Misan Intension ma ofrerese kada dia/pupuenge gi oran a la/las (time)
gi gima'yu'us (name of church) ya tinattitiye nu i Såntos Lisåyo.
I malaknos-ña yan i ma entieru-ña i difunto/a para i (day of week) na ha'åne,
(month), dia (day), (year).
Para ma esgaihon i tataotao i difunto/a ginen i (name of funeral home) gi oran a la/las (time)
gi ega'an/talo'åne/despues de talo'åne, ya para ma konne' guato para i gima'yu'us (name of church).
I Misan Entiero Kilisyåno para i oran a la/las (time) gi ega'an/talo'åne/despues de talo'åne
ya u tinattiye ni mahafot-ña gi sementeyon (name of cemetery).
I finatton-miyo yan i tinayuyot-miyo ma sen agradese.
Si Yu'us ma'åse' ginen i familia.
1. Rosemond pronounces Jude as Hoo - day as is said in Saipan. Remember that traditionally, in Chamorro, the J is sounded like an H, as in Jose, Juan and Joaquin.
2. Anunsio is the noun (announcement) and anunsia is the verb (to announce). Notisia can also be used but it specifically means "news."
3. Malaknos. Laknos means "to take out" or "bring forth," "put out." In terms of death, it means the time when the casket of the deceased leaves the mortuary.
4. Entiero means funeral service, usually a Mass.


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Sales Account Manager
- Job Description and Requirements
Multinational IT company in Dubai , looking for Territory sales manager with below job desc:
· Development of new and existing business in assigned territories and account/prospect bases.
· Be face of organizational business with customer building multi-level customer relationships.
· Build long term customer relationships based on reliability and trust
· Proactively all forecasts/updates required by sales management to required deadlines.
· Achieve quarterly financial targets, metrics & objectives.
· Consistently deliver a great customer experience.
· Work closely with aligned team of internal sales, program management & solutions resources
· Managing large and SMB accounts and pricing them by submitting comprehensive proposal as per company best practice.
· Insure collections are on time for sold business and work with project teams to insure continuity of full realization of revenue for sold business.
· Managing a proposal from inquiry to submittal.
· Responding to RFI, RFQ, and tenders by submitting comprehensive offer that is fully compliant with company best practice and specification.
- Excellent communication skills (preferably knows Arabic and English is a must)
- Knowledge in Sales and Marketing
- CCNA , MCITP or relevant ceritiacates is preferred


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Blacko cottages
Awarded the best kept village in Lancashire in 2011 and 2013, Blacko is a beautiful place to enjoy a self-catering break. The village is situated close to the border of Lancashire and the West Riding of Yorkshire and is situated on an old turnpike road. Blacko looks towards Pendle Hill and is itself overlooked by the Stansfield Tower, locally known as Blacko Tower, with beautiful views towards Boulsworth Hills. The village has a strong sense of community and offers a real home from home atmosphere. The village boasts a hairdressers and the parish has 3 local pubs which serve food and wonderful real ales. The local beauty spot, the Watermeetings, is ideal for lazy picnics in the sunshine. Parts of the parish to the west are included in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, making Blacko the ideal base for a walking holiday or to simply explore this stunning part of Lancashire while the Pendle Way passes through the parish. There are great transport links to the village, a regular bus runs from Mondays to Saturdays from Nelson and Clitheroe, stopping at surrounding villages, and a summer Sunday service takes you around Pendleside to Burnley. Our Blacko holiday cottages offer a peaceful escape for your Lancashire holiday, browse our collection below.


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Following the sellout success of her debut Edinburgh run, comedian Sindhu Vee has announced a full UK tour, including a date in Lincoln.
The award-winning comedian, who only started gigging properly in 2015, has racked up an impressive range of recent credits that include 'QI' and 'Have I Got News For You'.
She is also the new host of BBC R4 Comedy of the Week Podcast and has also recorded her own Radio 4 comedy series, 'Sindhustan'.
A mother of three, including two teenagers, 'Sandhog' is about how exhausting and complicated it is to love our children, spouse and parents, but how inescapable the urge is to love them as fully as we can.
Sindhu Vee will be at the Engine Shed on March 10 with tickets on sale now from www.engineshed.co.uk


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Pre-Planted Gardens In A Box
Limes & Violets - Framed GroVert Living Wall Planter
Limes & Violets - Framed GroVert Living Wall Planter
Spider Plant, Nephthytis Allusion, Birds Nest Fern, Cordyline Red Star, Elastica Tineke, Peperomia Raspberry Ripple
All Pre-Planted in a beautiful Framed GroVert Living Wall Kit!
The kit comes with a GroVert Living Wall Panel (with 10 cells for 10 plants), a beautiful, authentic wood frame in your choice of finish, an Irrigation Tray, a Collection Tray, mounting hardware, and 10 beautiful plants.
SIZE: 17" wide x 27" tall x 8-10" deep
WEIGHT: 12 lbs
INCLUDES: Mounting Bracket and Plants
The plants in this collection are in the Bright But Not Direct light category. To learn more about what that means, click here to view the Successful Indoor Gardening page.
These plants are easy to grow but they do need humidity, moist soil, and bright but never direct sunlight. Inside, this wall should be kept very close to an east or west facing windowsill with protection from summer sun. Outside, this wall should be partly shaded with filtered but never direct light.
The 10 "cells" in this planter are set at a 45 degree angle, allowing the plants to grow up and out. As the plants grow they hide the planter so all that is visible is the beautiful living art of the plants.
The Irrigation Tray included in this kit is a container that slips on the top of the planter, with four tiny holes in the bottom designed to slowly irrigate each cell, ensuring that all the plants absorb the water appropriately. Automatic Irrigation Systems are a great option for the busy gardener or for anyone who is using multiple GroVert trays. These systems can be indoors or out and are run by either battery or electrically powered timers.
A Collection Tray, also included in this kit, attaches to the bottom of the planter and catches any water that drains from the bottom of the planter, keeping your walls and floors dry.
Both the Irrigation and Collection Trays are hidden from view by the frame so that all you see are your stunning and beautifully framed plants.


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The National Association of Jewellers (NAJ) has reported another successful exhibition at trade show Jewellery & Watch, welcoming new membership applications and a record number of course enrolments, including the newly launched JET Diploma, said the organisation.


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Lunch & lecture: Building the ship
Welcome to lunch & lecture aboard the East Indiaman Götheborg! On Thursdays in March we present five different lectures with the theme; The Swedish East India Company's history – now and then. The lectures will be in Swedish. Soup for lunch and lecture are included in the price. 220 SEK. Please register here before noon the day before. You pay by credit card, swish or cash when you arrive to the lecture.
March 22 - Building the ship
How is it possible to build a full-sized replica of the East Indiaman Götheborg from 1738 and sail it to China? How can you adapt to the safety demands that ships classified for ocean voyages have today without showing it on the outside of the ship? Mats Berggren, Ship Inspector, and Björn Florin, Production Manager, will tell you.


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Storage Bench Seat For Bedroom – Before beginning considering ideas for decorating playroom, don't neglect to ask your youngster's opinion. The kids will anyway drop paint, juice and a myriad of stuff on it. As kids are usually cluttered whilst playing, it is important to decide on a paint which could be readily cleaned when dirtied. There are rather a lot of kinds of bathroom mirrors with many designs and materials, and they could without a doubt leave the customer baffled. Now that you've got all of the equipment you need, it is time to start! A huge choice of storage is easily available for kids' rooms.
Bathroom decorating ideas are numerous, and there's a broad range of vanities you could use to your imagination. A lot of knickknacks and artifacts in addition to wall hangings are rather distracting and will produce the space feel as a museum. Including a single decorative mirror can supply your bathroom a royal look. If you think designing and decorating a little attic bedroom cannot be achieved, then think again. The unused space on the rear of a wooden cupboard door can easily be used to store small products. In case you must, choose vinyl carpets since they're simpler to clean and don't tend to accumulate dust. There are lots of tips for decorating small spaces and all you will need is an superb eye for design to make any little room look larger and spacious.
Decorating the playroom with the concept of a theme would be a great idea. Try to bear in mind that corner desks are not just intended for smaller spaces. Even as a room supplies you with lots of placement choices, you might prefer that corner. Make certain that you're comfortable sitting in the desk before you get it. Therefore, if you prefer to make a playroom for your kids, here are a few tips that you could refer to. Though you've got your ideas in place, there are some quite important tips which you should remember when designing the space. Start with measuring the space where you're placing your organizer. In the ordinary house, and it is pretty simple to find wasted space.
One of the easiest design ideas is to get a stand with four legs and a desk top that's big enough to set your television set. If space is a problem, then try to have a store-away table. On the reverse side, as stated by the fundamentals of feng shui, you need to set the table in a fashion that's facing the doorway to the space. Elect for a minimum queen sized bed which includes a great headboard. You can have different kinds of beds and can even create your own canopy bed out of a typical bed. Whether your mattress is place on the left or right side, or directly in the middle of your bedroom, you want to correct the remaining part of the furniture so.
Decide the amount of shelves you need and consequently arrange them to get a classic floating shelf layout. If you're a person who likes to present his c special look, placing an assortment of odd-shaped miniature rugs, at different places, in precisely the same room, will give a dramatic touch to your residence. If you're going through something similar after having a loved one it is a great idea to consult with an expert about how you're feeling and what it is that you're experiencing. Naturally, don't neglect to make room for a significant entertainment system to play with his favorite records which would be a wonderful idea.


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I'm basically not an "it's-black-or-white" kind of guy. I mean, I think there's an awful lot of gray in the world. Granted, some of it may shade more one way than the other, but it's still an individual call and there's a good bit of room as to whether something is "right, wrong or in the barrel."
But there are certain things where there is absolutely no question as to what is right and what is wrong.
Take toilet paper, for instance, and how the roll is placed on the roller. Over is right, under is just plain wrong! Not only wrong, probably evil. I know there are a number of folks out there who sincerely believe the paper should be pulled from the underside of the roll rather than from the top, as is correct. But they are misguided, deluded, deceived, misled, mistaken, wrong and will probably go to hell. (And the pity is, they don't even know this; some of them even think they are right! Offhand, Steve Poore is the only one I can think of who admitted to this travesty, this abomination; but there may well be others.)
Or take hanging up the towel after you take a shower. (This is not a problem for my children -- they throw it in a corner, drape it over the door knob or throw it on the clothes hamper. The latter tactic is a tribute to their mother's ability to handle vast quantities of laundry and their own misguided belief that if you wear or use something once it is inherently dirty.)
The first rule is that you fold the towel in thirds. This I learned shortly after marriage. I had lived in blissful ignorance without even thinking about this for thirty-plus years. But give me credit for being a "quick study." (Susan Hess' former boss told me she was a quick study, but that's another story.)
The second unwritten rule is that the tag must be at the top (if the towel doesn't have a tag -- and some of ours that Mary got on sale don't -- you're home free; no decision necessary). But then comes the tough part. Should the tag be in the part that's folded to the center or in the part that's on the outside?
I am still pondering the "correctness" of this maneuver. For a long time, I thought it should be toward the center -- I called this the "soccer fold" because we won a lot of games when it was folded that way when I was coaching. But not always.
And then I heard this wonderful definition: "One form of insanity is doing something the same way all the time and somehow hoping the outcome will be different!" So whenever I think I need to change the way things are going, I'll switch the tag from the center to the outside or vice versa.
Now the real trick is to dry yourself off and come up with the towel in your hand with the tag on the "up" side -- without consciously following where the tag is as you dry yourself. It can be done -- and when it is, you get kind of a warm glow, knowing that you've started the day off right and things will probably only get better!
Then there's grits. I like my grits thin or "soupy." That is, I put in a lot of water when I mix up a pack of instant grits. (Plus, of course, some tub margarine --the low sat-fat kind -- & just a mere sprinkle of additional salt. Mmmmm, mmmmm, yummy in the tummy!) In contrast, both Steve & Cindy put in so little water that you can hardly stir the grits. I don't know how they can eat them that way.
Perhaps I'm over-reacting in calling this "wrong" behavior. They probably won't go to hell for eating thick grits. But it is definitely misguided action & indicates some kind of faulty thought process for which, as a parent, I probably have to accept some measure of blame. Oh well, you can't do everything right.
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We finished rehearsals for Cardboard Dreams just before we set off for this year's Theatre in Nature camp. There are still a couple of performances left on the 14th and 15th – details on the Cardboard Dreams page.
Rehearsals in We Draman Black Box Studio
Detail of the Scenography
Very cool cardboard set by Vanessa Suen Wing Kwan.


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Solar Heresy 101
Over 30 years ago I took a class in solar heating and cooling. At the time photo-voltaic systems were relegated to space exploration and locations where cost was not an issue. Off grid power was supplied primarily wind and petroleum generators, so solar orientation was relegated to heating concerns. Passive and active solar heating and cooling systems were the rage of the energy crisis of the 1970s. In addition, wood stoves were reinvigorated and to some degree, reinvented. At the time there was little to no awareness of global warming or carbon dioxide as a major contributor.
At any rate, the primary and sacred tenant that was taught and learned well, was that to intercept the most solar heat, a building in the northern hemisphere needed to orient it's glazing (or panels) towards due south. In the southern hemisphere, the sacred direction is north. east and west are not options, as they are not the sacred directions. Perhaps we should say equator facing rather than north or south.
So the first solar house I built faced due South. It had huge windows facing South and very little facing any other direction. I learned that for a few hours around noon the sun streamed into the house, warming it nicely. Unfortunately, that was maybe four hours out of eight (winter) or 16 (summer). The rest of the time the windows leaked more heat than they let in. It was a good thing that wood was plentiful in New England, because I had to burn about 10 cords of it to stay warm in the course of a winter. There have been improvements in windows since those days, but little improvement in the doctrine of solar house orientation. Unfortunately, there hasn't been much improvement in wood stove design either.
Since that time I have designed other passive solar homes and installed photo-voltaic and wind electric systems. One thing that opened my eyes wide was a Zomeworks tracker. This delightful invention relies on freon in tubes that warms in the sunlight, boils and moves from one side of the tracker to the other, causing a weight imbalance which turns a rack of PV panels towards the sun. Throughout the day, barring clouds or strong winds, this simple device will track the sun, changing a 2 to 4 hour peak charging window into a 5 to 10 hour window, depending on the season. In Northern Colorado in late December, the tracker is fully turned towards the morning sun by 9:00 AM and follows it until it descends below the horizon around 4:30 PM. If it was able to operate without the large shock absorbers that keep it stable in inclement weather, I'm sure it would turn towards the morning sun sooner, although too early and there isn't much energy in the morning sunlight. There are other trackers on the market which use electric motors and LED sensors to track the sun, although I like the simplicity of the Zomeworks model. Http://www.zomeworks.com
Now while it has been done, it really isn't practical for most of us to build a rotating house that is able to duplicate the actions of the PV tracking devices. If we design with long, straight flat walls, we have the same issue that solid mount PV panels have: a small window of opportunity for peak performance. There is some benefit that east and west windows provide, but the angle is too oblique to be much good in winter and in summer they tend to overheat the house. A perpendicular incidence of the sunlight is best for both producing electricity and for providing heat through a window. If we look at what nature provides, we find that the (Northern Hemisphere) winter sun's path runs from South East to South West. It will take it's lowest path on the winter solstice and it's highest route on the summer solstice. In Winter it will rise and set at it's furthest south (or north in the southern hemisphere). I'll call it the equator facing rule. The idea is to give up the less intense morning and afternoon sun for the full blast of the noon sun, and the few hours either side of noon on the shortest day of the year. As a concept it works, mostly.
I decided to abandon the idea of straight walls and a 90 degree angle to solar noon as the best approach. Instead, I design the equator facing walls to gather the sun during all the hours available, not just around noon. Thus my new ideal wall shape is curved, with the convex side facing the equator. A concave surface facing the equator is a viable alternative. Although this seems wasteful of interior space to me, it does have interesting possibilities of allowing additional solar gain during morning and afternoon hours at both extreme ends of the building. In the drawing below, I show the solar incidence angles for several building shapes during morning, noon and afternoon hours. Note that when the angle of incidence is 90 degrees that the maximum solar gain is achieved. The further from 90 degrees, the less the solar gain.
I have not constructed samples for all these shapes with equal sized windows so as to quantify their relative efficiencies. However, to my way of thinking, the best overall shape is #2, the semicircle, followed by #3. the angled bow. #4, the concave structure has some interesting possibilities that I may have to look into. The least interesting to me is #1, the rectangle. I currently live in a round house. I can relate from non-scientific observation that it heats quickly in the morning and maintains a level of heat until late afternoon. If we graphed out the solar gain for the various models, I think we'd see something like the following. This follows my experience of living in both types of buildings for several years each.
The heat gain for the rectangle and semicircle type of surface is represented by the area under the curves. My assumption is that the surfaces are equal in area and if on a building, that there is equal glazing along the surface of the curve. I believe that the concave and angled bow shapes would be very similar to the semicircle if similarly graphed.
Should you decide to adjust the roundness of the semicircular wall, the curved surface line will come closer to the flat surface line as you flatten out the curve. Another way of looking at it is that you are increasing the radius of the semicircle but keeping the length of the segment the same. The smaller the radius is, the lower and longer it's line will be since you are reducing the 90 degree surface area, but at the same time increasing the amount of time some surface area will be at 90 degrees to the sun's rays. In addition, assuming this is a building wall, it is possible to increase or decrease the heat gained during a particular time of day by the addition or subtraction of window area where it aligns with the time of day. My current home has more window area on the morning side of the house. As a result, it gains heat rapidly in the morning and holds it throughout the day, sometimes cooling somewhat in the late afternoon. A house I build with lots of equator facing windows was quite warm between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm, but would take a while to warm up and cool off quickly afterwards.
As a point of reference, let me return to the Zomeworks solar tracker. A similar graph, again based on my experience with the amount of electric power I can get from PV panels on this device vs. panels mounted in a straight equator facing direction would show the following. Again we assume the same amount of surface area for both panel areas.
Note that in the flat vs round example the area under both curves was not too different, just arranged differently. The lower solar gain at noon of the curved wall was compensated for by the longer amount of time that solar gain was experienced. In the second case, the tracker maneuvers the entire panel surface into the direct sun early in the morning and tracks the sun throughout the day. This changes the curve from a classic bell curve to a very fat, almost table shape with a large increase in area under the curve (i.e. lots more solar gain). This is because the bell shape is the result of two factors, the angle of incidence of the panels to the sun and the actual available energy in the sunlight, which decreases as the sun approaches the horizon. Since the tracker minimizes the angle of incidence factor, the remaining factor (the proximity of the sun to the horizon) is what is primarily observed.
A solar absorption device, be in a PV panel or a window in a wall, is most effective when it is able to track the sun's path throughout the day. This is demonstrably true of solar tracking devices like the Zomeworks PV panel trackers. On a fixed object like a building I see great benefit to shaping the equator facing wall so it directly faces the sun for more than just a few hours. There is room for additional research and lots of fun building structures to explore this area.


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Come join the FOG family as we welcome in the longest day of the year with anthemic airs, salutations, libations, and tasty snacks. Anna Galactica (our artful and fearless leader) might even join the festivities with her interpretive dance. But even if she can't make it, we can all gaze at her atavistic, shamanistic and primordial paintings to enhance our solstice vibes. Druids and pagans are especially welcome.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: June 17An Hour of Song
Later Event: June 24An Hour of Song


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Do you want to add Halloween effects to your WordPress site? Holidays are the perfect time to boost sales, increase conversions, and build brand recognition. Halloween is a particularly fun holiday bringing you more opportunities to grow your business. In this article, we will show… Read More »
7 Ways to Bring Halloween Effects to Your WordPress Site
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Southern Oregon Chapter members RSVP here.
Come one, come all to the first ever Drag Show hosted by the Rainbow Club of Rogue Commuinty College! As a fundraiser, RCC's Rainbow Club got together and decided they wanted to do something fun and community inclusive to raise funds for other events for our club to put on, and what came out of that decision was the idea for a Drag Show.
On Friday June 3rd at 7 PM, located on the Downtown Medford Campus of Rogue Community College's C Building Theater (Room 109), will be an event like no other this town has seen. Hosted by the lovely Natasha Blackwell, with special guests Debbie Dale, April Shower, Maleina Bitchcock, and many more!
Tell your friends! Tell your family! Come on down to Living La Diva Loca and help out the local LGBT+ community as well as local Drag Queens.
Tickets are $5 at the door, and refreshments will be provided during intermission. Please keep in mind while this is an all ages event, it is also a drug and alcohol free event. This does include recreational marijuana. For any attendees in need of an extra boost of protection walking back to their car at the end of the night, there will be securiy provided by RCC to accompany you back to your vehicles, should you need it.


text: I have had a bit of revelation moment today. I have been thinking and evaluating about my experience with Scrum. For a long time now, I am been in the role of ScrumMaster, and filling in for Product Owner due to accessibility issue. I have come to the conclusion that, it's really a recipe for failed Scrum implementation.


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Black and White Hospitality has an experienced, passionate and dedicated team in place to help and support our hotels and franchisees in delivering excellence and growing profitable businesses.
MPW International will have the benefit of ALL UK MPW team as required.
Marco is the self-described composer behind this exciting and growing business. Marco's DNA runs through the whole Black and White operation. All menus, dishes and new and evolving brands run through Marcos hands. Marco travels a lot of the year so is always on the move Internationally. Singapore is his latest project, opening the English House there, a truly amazing restaurant with rooms. Marco guides us through different countries, cultures and international trends.
Resident in the UK but a seasoned traveller, Nick heads up this exciting venture. Nick has over 30 years' experience in the hospitality industry. He has worked closely with Marco in recent years to develop all of the different franchise concepts available. Nick's hospitality experience expands much further than F&B, prior to BWH, Nick was MD at Sanguine Hospitality where he was responsible for developing and managing branded hotels and luxury health clubs and spas.
Today, his role Marcos' on driving BWH's worldwide expansion strategy and overseeing its operational activities. He is also an active investor in both Cadbury House and The Cube 2 iconic hotel resorts in the UK.
Launched by the Al Fahim Group in 2007, RMAL Hospitality is a restaurant and hotel development business with a portfolio of international restaurant chains like Wagamama, Trader Vic's, Frankie's and others. RMAL Hospitality is committed to the development of world-class hospitality, asset management and real estate products. Focussed on the development of the hospitality industry in the Gulf and North Africa, RMAL Hospitality is currently working towards expanding to other regions across the world through strategic investments and partnerships.
As Chief Operating Officer of ALFAHIM Hospitality, Jihad will bring the global knowledge form RMAL Hospitality and their team to the Marco Pierre White franchising division. Jihad is key to the increasing pipeline over the next three to five years. His strong relationship is with numerous franchise partners and dates back 14 years when he opened the first Wagamama UAE branch in Dubai. Combining Wagamama's innovative approach to the restaurant's concept with ALFAHIM Hospitality's customer-focused mindset is the winning recipe for a lasting partnership. Jihad enters an opening of a new chapter in the wider expansion plans for the Marco Pierre White restaurant brands across the UAE and a growing presence in neighbouring GCC countries. Global development will follow later this year.
Eli is Managing Director of RMAL and is an accomplished hospitality industry professional with 20 years of experience with international brands, across the spectrum of casual dining, QSR, fine dining, franchising, launching brands in global new markets, and other restaurant environments. Eli has held positions in the US, UK and now in the MENA region, based out of Dubai. He has a record of excellence in devising and implementing productivity and cost improvements that contribute to positive financial results while improving the guest experience. He has worked on the global expansion with brands such as Applebee's, The Cheesecake Factory, The Habit Burger Grill, and Punjab Grill. He specializes in new market entry and works closely with our potential franchisees to make sure their venture is a successful one.
Rob acts as Legal Director for BWH and works closely with the Brand team to ensure quality and consistency of the Brand, as well as supporting the expansion strategy and all other legal matters across the group. Rob has over 15 years' experience as an in-house lawyer with a particular specialism in the franchising sector having previously worked globally for businesses such as PepsiCo. Rob has a wealth of International experience and was instrumental in the setting up of Black and White International based in the UAE.


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Jennie grew up in Hudsonville, MI, not far from Lake Michigan. She graduated in 2012 from Hope College with a BS in Biology.
After graduation, Jennie served as an Environmental Education Intern at the Bald Head Island Conservancy in North Carolina. She enjoyed teaching children and adults about the natural areas of Bald Head Island as well as helping with the Sea Turtle Conservation program. After completing her internship, she spent 3 terms with the Conservation Corps of MN.
Jennie enjoys being part of the Eagle Bluff team. Eagle Bluff provides a wonderful learning environment for students, visitors and staff alike.
In her free time she enjoys kayaking, biking, gardening and spending time with friends and family.


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HOUSTON – They constructed birdhouses and tested its strength, they designed their own unmanned aerial vehicles, they sent rockets flying through a tube in the classroom, they discovered the properties of materials created with nanotechnology and assessed the solubility of different materials and learned how global positioning systems worked.
SHREVEPORT, LA (KSLA) - The one thousandth class of the Starbase program in Louisiana graduated Thursday.
About two-dozen Keonepoko Elementary School students were all ears on Tuesday as they learned: How far away is a lightening when a storm hits?
© 2012 DoD STARBASE All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy


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11-Year-Old Girl Fights, Beats Black Gangbangers
A chapter from a novel by David Sims
by David Sims
"IN OTHER news tonight, the police investigation into the beating of some youths has revealed that their assailant was an 11-year-old Brookstone student named Brendalyn Jones. Yes, apparently a little girl beat five members of the Krack gang so badly that all of them were sent to Columbus Memorial Hospital for serious to critical injuries. Police say that the girl, who came forward the moment her classes at Brookstone's college campus were over, testified that the youths attempted to ambush her as she was going to class."
"Mark," said the news anchorman. "Why is an 11-year-old girl going to the Brookstone College campus? She seems a little young to be enrolled there."
"Peter," said the reporter. "She is young. But Brendalyn Jones is the girl who made headlines across America a few weeks ago after tests revealed that her IQ is somewhere above 200. She has been given permission to take college-level classes, and she must run each day from Brookstone GSC to Brookstone College because she's too young to drive a car."
"And how is it that a little girl beat up so many gang members?"
"The police aren't too sure of that," said the reporter. "Apparently, Miss Jones has had martial arts training of some kind."
"Will the youths recover from their injuries?"
"Several of them will be in the hospital for a while. One of them has three broken ribs. Another has had to have his lower jaw put back into place. A third has a burst left testicle and a bruised right . . ."
"My word, Mark, that is one tough little girl."
"Peter, she told the police that it was their good fortune that she hadn't killed any of them. She said that she had no choice other than to use nearly lethal force because the odds were five-to-one against her."
"Well," said the anchorman. "I think we can all understand that. Turning to events at the state capitol…"
* * *
The girls in the dorm lobby were clustered around the TV. Watching the local news was a habit with us girls because it told us where the gang activity in Columbus was the thickest, so we could avoid those areas. But never had the lobby been so quiet, with attention so fixed on the 6 o'clock news as it was on that Tuesday evening. I was sitting on the broad central rise of a furry, brown, all-the-way-around couch which half filled the dorm lobby, my legs crossed, reading about the ride of Paul Revere (and the similar rides of William Dawes and Samuel Prescott) from my history book, when the eyes of thirty other girls turned my way.
It was so comical that I couldn't help laughing. What was even funnier is that most of them started asking whether I was all right, even though there I was, sitting on the couch rise, reading a book.
"Nobody better mess with my roommate," said Ruby, acting fierce. "Or they'll have to deal with me!"
Giggles and guffaws broke out among the girls at that. Well, at least the shock-and-awe mood that the newscast had created was broken. The other girls congratulated me on my victory and related horror stories about girls who had been raped or beaten by gang members. Which meant Black gang members, but they were careful not to name the race of the perpetrators. It wasn't the first time I'd noticed that people were unwilling to discuss the socially significant differences between the races in a candid manner. Although it seemed such a simple thing to do, nearly everyone had been strongly conditioned to avoid it.
Although I wasn't familiar with the techniques of military brainwashing, I didn't think that psychological conditioning of any sort could be stronger than that which had instilled within so many people a reluctance to talk honestly about racial differences.
An 11th grade girl named Patricia Greenwood excused herself, saying that she had to go study in a less noisy place. I suspected that she wanted to be the one to bear the first gossip about my fight downtown because, on her way out of the lobby exit to the east wing, she told me "It's nice to see the good people win for a change!" Perhaps she meant the White people. It had been a while since we were winners, hadn't it?
About a hundred years.
Survival is the greatest school, and Death is its best teacher. But no living thing graduates, ever. The beneficiaries of Nature's lessons aren't individuals, but races, which endure so long as they pass the tests and which prosper by how high they score. The White race had gotten itself into trouble partly by being too generous, and, in its generosity, making itself vulnerable. Other races had been quick to take advantage of that vulnerability. They infiltrated White countries, seeking out key positions of control, of supervision, of decision-making, and of power, which, once they had them, they used to benefit their own people at the expense of White people. Non-Whites of every stripe had become favored above Whites, and, being favored, they received rewards even when there were White people who deserved them more.
My fight could, conceivably, have landed me in jail. Or it could have imposed on my parents a legal obligation to pay fines and the hospital expenses of those gang members. The reason that didn't happen was that I'm only eleven years old — a little kid — and a girl, and have no prior record of mischief of any sort. All of those things added up to a degree of favor that outweighed the favor that those gang members had just for being Black, once their prior records for trouble-making had been subtracted. Or, rather, my favor exceeded my opponents' favor this time. If I had to fight again, especially against Blacks, that earlier fight would weigh against me, even if I were as justified next time as I'd been before.
To be sure, I could have outrun those Blacks. I hadn't admitted that to the police because, in their opinion, it would have put blameworthiness upon me. Why didn't I just outrun them? Because the next little girl who happened to walk down that street, past that alley, would not have had my advantages. She'd have been robbed, beaten, raped, and probably murdered by those Black "youths." It was morally necessary that I deprive those gang members of their ability to harm someone who actually was an ordinary child, something I only appear to be.
And there was one other reason as well. There is no idea more obscene than that decent people should be expected to give ground or right-of-way to vile predators. Good should roar so that evil trembles, not the other way around.
Those five Black youths would recover. But would they reform? Had I taught them a lesson that would change their predatory behavior? No. They'd return to their previous lives, maybe a little more cautious than they were before. But sooner or later they would attack another innocent victim.
The conviction was growing in me that I'd made a mistake by not killing them. It was a mistake that I'd made before, in my old neighborhood in Druid Hills, when I had defeated four teenage Blacks who had attacked me. By letting them live, I'd made the violent deaths of some number of other people probable. Though it hadn't occurred to me at the time, I'd chosen between the lives of those gang members and the lives of whomever it was they would someday murder, and I'd chosen wrongly.
And now that my fighting skill was known, I wouldn't be presumptively excluded from suspicion if gang members began turning up dead. I could no longer afford to do what was right. My moral weakness, which had made me reluctant to kill when killing was proper, had cost me that much.
* * *
Source: part of a novel by David Sims
For further reading:
3 Comments
Ahh the jew's pets are trained to attack Europeans, like pitbulls who know no better and only seek their master's pat upon their heads for praise.
I'd love to read the whole book. What is it called and where can it be found?
The book is incomplete, and, of course, unpublished. I never really gave it an earnest and sustained go because of the near-certainty that it would be rejected by every Jew-dominated publishing company. However, the chapter shown above was intended to be a prelude, or prequel, to a long science-fiction series.
Brenda Lynn Jones (the correct spelling of her name) was born with, by chance, a complete set of divine genes. Divine genes are in all white people because the white race emerged 40000 years ago when the old pagan gods and goddesses race-mixed with the primitive Europeans who lived then. That race-mixing is why the ancient divine race died out.
Apparently the two sexes among the divines had a falling out (e.g. something like feminism) and could no longer stand each other, so they began to satisfy their sexual appetites with mortals. Some indication of this can be found in the ancient Greek literature that has survived the ages.
Anyway, part of the credit for the concentration of divine genes is due Heinrich Himmler, who used the Third Reich's Lebensborn program in part for that purpose. Brenda's parents were both descendants of people born as the result of Himmler's effort, though they might not have known it.
The divine genes don't do anything (except perhaps elevate intelligence) unless they are present in complete form or nearly so. Children born to a full divine parent and a mortal are demi-divines, with usually only a trace of power. This is in sharp contrast to the power of an adult divine, who can alter the structure of matter in defiance of entropy, even at the nuclear level, or rip a mountain up and throw it into space with escape speed. (They can't, however, change the orbits of planets, as their strength does have limits. The abilities that I mentioned are near those limits.)
Divine power does not manifest until puberty. Divines and demi-divines gain their powers along with their sexual maturity, and they gain those powers in fits and starts, during adolescence and young adulthood, until about age 25.
Full divines, such as Brenda Jones, live about 2000 years and have IQs far above 200. Demi-divines live 350 to 400 years, and have IQs from 140 to 200, depending on the race and personal IQ of the divine parent's mortal mate.
As I said, the chapter shown above is part of a prelude to a science fiction series. A much, much later chapter (to be part of a much, much later book) can be found at


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Preventing SQL Injection, Cross-Site Request Forgery, and Cross-Site Scripting in laravel 5
In this article we are going to see about the security features offered by the Laravel 5.
The three main serious security risks in web application are
- SQL injection
- cross-site request forgery
- cross-site scripting.
If you are in need of security, don't worry Laravel 5 helps you to provide the solution.
SQL Injection laravel
To avoid SQL injection, Laravel's Eloquent ORM adopts PDO parameter binding.Parameters binding doesn't allow any malicious users to pass through the query data. Query's intent will be modified by query data in this case.
Let us consider a scenario that the form field is needed to supply an e-mail address, to search for the user table. But rather supplying e-mail address the client user search for 'firstname.lastname@example.com' or 1=1.The output query may look like the following.
Select from the users the email = 'email@example.com' or 1=1
In case if you are unfamiliar with the syntax 1=1, it is a flexible logic expression that produces the true, to the user table each and every record will be returned.
In case the particularly malicious user passed the 'email@example.com'; drop table users in the field search, the unsecured query would look like this.
Select from the users where the email = 'email@example.com'; drop table users;
In case of scenario if the MySQL account is responsible for the execution of the applications query and it has drop privilege, now the user's table and all the data which was found inside of it would be deleted or erased.
In the situation, where PDO parameter binding was used, the given input might be quoted, and the query will look like this.
Select from the users where email=' email@example.com or 1=1'
Since the e-mail is not matched, the query will safely return back no results.
Cross-Site Request Forgery
Consider a scenario that a malicious third party creates a special link, which when clicked takes you to another site and registered and authentication was done. Now, this link performs a very sensitive task, like updating your profile added to spam Message. Since you are already authenticated, the following site will assume that the request is coming from you, so that it will update your profile accordingly.
CRSF means cross-site request forgery.It is a token that was used to analyze the third party can't perform the following request. Generating tokens would help to pass along with the form contents. Then the token is compared with value, in addition, it is saved to the user session.If the matching is valid if it matches, and the matching is invalid if it is unmatched.
It was recommended to use the only Laravel.Using HTML only was not advisable.If you use Laravel the CSRF token will be added automatically.
Cross-Site Scripting
Laravel syntax would automatically, gets out any of the HTML entities that is passed through the view variable. The malicious client or user can pass the following string in the comment or the user profile.
My list
Obviously, there are a lot of different things you ought to do to additionally secure your Laravel application.However, Laravel truly ensures a considerably more secure application by wiping out these three extremely regular assault vectors.


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According to Ibn Messaoud, a man who had kissed a woman came to tell the Prophet his story. As a result, the following verse was revealed:
« Complete the prayer at the end of the day and part of the night. Good deeds chase the bad. » (Qur'an 11: 144).
« O Messenger of God, question man, is this verse revealed to me? "Yes," replied the Prophet, "and also for the whole of my community. »
The five prayers erase the sins
According to Abu Hurayrah, the Envoy of God said (addressing the faithful) :
« You see, if a stream passes the door of one of you, and it is washed every day, and five times a day, Remains the least filth? "No, nothing will remain of this dirt," they replied. "So it is with the five daily prayers," said the Prophet, "by them God clears away sins. »


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The Detroit Jewish Community Relations Council/AJC joined with the Michigan Muslim Community Council, the Interfaith Leadership Council and Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom to hold an Interfaith Iftar in June at the Muslim Unity Center in Bloomfield Township. The Iftar is a sacred meal held at sundown daily after fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.
An evening of faith, friendship and food, the inaugural Interfaith Iftar brought more than 200 participants of many religions together to share the experience of this holy ritual. Members of the Muslim community shared the traditions followed during the month of Ramadan and explained the significance of their religious practice. During the program, representatives of several interfaith groups spoke about the importance of building relationships and dispelling negative stereotypes.
Several dignitaries, including Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein, attended. Justice Bernstein encouraged participants to appreciate and learn from their neighbors, and to have pride in their traditions.


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Marine Comes Home on Leave
Note: This post may load better on our legacy blog - blog.alifestudio.com
About a month or two ago the wife of a Marine contacted me to take photos of him coming home from Iraq. To make a long story short, he came home the day before his son's first birthday. The following are just some of the photos I captured for them.
The next day the local media found out about their story, and they were interviewed by NBC 25. You can see the story here:
Two days later the Record Herald, Waynesboro's local newspaper, ran their story on the front page, and used to of my photos for the story. I know it's not the New York Times, but I thought it was pretty cool to have one of my photos on the front page of a newspaper. :)
You can read the full Record Herald story here:
Being able to serve someone, who has made such a sacrifice to serve us was a true honor. Cpl. Justin Buzzard is only on leave for two weeks, he than goes back to Iraq until spring. Please join me in praying for them, that they are able to make the most out of this time they have together, and for when he returns to serve. Thank you, Justin and Summer, for your sacrifice and service to our country.