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The workers on Acrid are on the brink of revolution against the Pax Rulin Quartermasters (PRQ) megacorporation. Downtrodden, trapped into unfair contracts that make it impossible to get offworld, the workers have tried all other means and now have one last, desperate chance at a better life. They hope to gain control of their world and become, in effect, an independent state. That is no small feat, and to do it the workers must fend off the inevitable retaliation from PRQ. The answer to that problem is to obtain some means to defend their world against attack from space.
Revolution on Acrid expands one of the Patron encounters in the Pirates of Drinax campaign into a full adventure, though it can be used in any Traveller campaign.


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Supplying Our Customers With What They Want
We at Weld Wire Company Inc. have committed ourselves to supplying our customers with what they want, when they want it. We ship any size order immediately from our inventory of welding wire and electrodes, including steel wire, stainless steel, copper wire, bare wire, and a range of other electrodes.
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subset: commoncrawl


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ALEX Toys Artist Studio 12 Super Jumbo Crayons
by ALEX Toys
Please check your favorite toy retailer for availability. Prices may vary.
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Product Description
Everyday crayons for everyday coloring, doodling and drawing! A set of super-sized wax crayons provides long lasting fun in a size thats perfect for little hands to hold.
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BOULDER – I caught up with Colorado running backs coach Darian Hagan and he said he might try to get more tailbacks some work on Saturday in the homecoming game against Texas Tech at Folsom Field.
Hagan said third-stringer Quentin Hildreth and senior Corey Nabors have done some good things in practice. A redshirt freshman, Hildreth (5-feet-8, and 185 pounds) is a walk-on from Denver East. Nabors (5-9, 195) played high school ball at Rangeview and is a former walk-on.
Sophomore Will Jefferson remains the top back-up to starter Rodney Stewart, who has drawn 90 percent of the tailback carries the past two games. Guys will get in when Speedy needs to catch his breath, Hagan said.


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When should I start using my DefensePAC®? – Sherry in Ohio
Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your… Barley?
You've bought the products; you've read the blogs; now it's time to get your feet wet. Whether you are starting your water garden up for the first time this season or your pond is operating through the Winter/Spring transition, it's time to break out the barley.
Some Like It Hot, Some Like It Cold
For those of you pond guys and gals who experience freezing temperatures, you are probably waiting for the ice to melt to start up the pumps and filters in your water garden. When that glorious day comes, take some time and install new filter media, vacuum the bottom of the pond, and clean up the rocks and walls with you Oxy-Lift™ Defense®. Now that your water garden is up and running, it is time for some Seasonal Defense®, a natural bacteria that incorporates barley and is designed to work in cooler temperatures. This bacteria will jump start your biological filters and devour organic debris, allowing you to gain control of your pond earlier in the season. As we progress into late spring and the water temperatures begin to rise above 50ºF, you can switch over to your Nature's Defense®.
Don't Get Lost In The Mix
So, now we know Nature's Defense® performs best in warmer temperatures, while Seasonal Defense® goes to work for you when it's cold. When do you break out the Muck Defense® and Clarity Defense® to really get the party started? Clarity Defense® should be used whenever your water garden is open. It will work in any temperature, locking up suspended nutrients, resulting in clearer water and increasing the effectiveness of all natural bacteria. You can start using your Muck Defense® the same time you begin applications of Nature's Defense®. While Nature's Defense® is working on the organics floating in the water column, Muck Defense® will be at the bottom of the pond, eating away at sunken debris.
POND TALK: How do you use your DefensePAC® to kick off the season? Which DefensePAC® products do you feel go to work the best for you?
Filed under: Season-Long Control, Seasonal Care, Spring Cleanout, Spring Start-Up, Water Gardens & Features | Tagged: Clarity Defense, Defense Pack, defensepac, muck, Muck Defense, Nature's Defense, oxy-lift, Oxy-Lift Defense, seasonal defense, Water Clarity |


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The Movies.com Review: 'Captain Phillips' is a Wild-Eyed Rage and Screaming Fest
There's a long(ish) shot late in this movie where the camera follows a cable connecting a huge Navy rescue ship to the tiny lifeboat it's tugging to safety. On that lifeboat is Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), captain of the Maersk Alabama, a cargo ship, as well as three of his four kidnappers, Somali pirates-for-hire (Barkhad Abdi, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali and Barkhad Abdirahman) who've attacked the giant vessel hoping to score big for their bosses. Abandoning the ship and the crew that decided to fight back, the four young men, malnourished and wired on khat, having bitten off a lot more than they can chew, are on the verge of failing at their steal-millions mission. Their only chance of getting what they came for is by taking Phillips hostage.
The shot of the cable lingers for longer than you'd think it should, traversing its length as the music swells dramatically and sadly, suggesting that the connection between these two entities is a fixed and hopeless one, the military and economic powerhouse of developed Western countries versus the desperate have-nots who resort to any criminal means necessary for their own survival, the former usually winning any sort of stand-off. "There's got to be something other than kidnapping people," offers Phillips to his captors. The response: "Maybe in America."
We're all the same. But we're not. And that's too bad, of course. But don't come at us with machine guns trying to kill us for our stuff or we'll send the Navy SEALS after you and that'll be all she wrote. A less conscientious filmmaker would have settled it that way, allowing space for some nationalistic tone and ass-kicking pride. And while this movie and, to some degree, Zero Dark Thirty, contribute to a narrative of reassurance through military might (a brawnier, sturdier, more confident conversation than the one conducted by the despair-filled films of the Iraq War) Paul Greengrass (United 93, two of the Bourne movies) isn't much of a jingoist. He doesn't leave room for fist-pumping revenge-applause. He pulls back, dropping easily identified but still relatively subtle observations about power, justice and bravery, choosing metaphor-building over extensive backstory. There's no jaunty gang of marionettes singing "America, F*#% Yeah!" anywhere nearby. [Note: More specific plot details follow below, but this incident was already a widely reported news story in 2009 and the subject of a subsequent book, A Captain's Duty: Somali Pirates, Navy SEALS, and Dangerous Days at Sea, by Richard Phillips and Stephan Talty.]
This approach works well for Phillips. When he offers himself as hostage to save his crew, later tending to the broken-glass-shredded foot of one of his attackers, we understand him as Christ-like and sacrificial. We barely know where he comes from, only that he's a stoic figure who runs a very tight ship, but in the end we're meant to aspire to his level of resolve and identify with his fear. For his pirate captors, crushed by poverty and hopelessness, fueled by hunger, anger and whatever's in that khat, the minimalist character-building approach doesn't work out as well. Everything is wild-eyed rage and screaming, their devastation turning dispensable whenever Phillips himself isn't bolstering their humanity and playing out that human connection suggested by the tug line.
It's a tight, controlled, tense experience -- even though the ending is already public knowledge-- one that wastes nothing and refuses more than it indulges. And Hanks carries all the emotional weight, giving a stripped down performance that evolves into that thing films like this almost never show the audience, a trauma victim in stress-exhausted shock rather than the kind of cocksure, strutting, Expendables-style heroes that only exist in that sort of cartoon. No wisecracks tossed off as the captain walks away from the scene of the averted crime; the guy's too busy catching his breath.
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2020 FANDANGO MOVIES.


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mcjessica necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 12 diseños de 9 diseñadores freelance.
I'm looking for an eye-catching, professional, and fully coded design for my museum's main website. Our intent is to run the whole website in Wordpress for the CMS features. Minimal graphics, more focus on html//css.
Byron Museum of History
I'm looking for an attractive and professional redesign of my museum's website (http:///www.byronmuseum.com). I am wanting to use Wordpress as my whole website to take advantage of the cms features; one element will include a blog, but the other pages will just be pages.
The design should be delivered in HTML/CSS.
Ideally, the design would be submitted as 2 "templates" - 1 for the front page of the site, and a 2nd, more standard design for all secondary pages (which I will then use for the rest of the site).
The redesign should be either 1 or 2 columns with a header and a footer. I tend to prefer dropdown navigations such as what is seen here: http://www.byronmuseum.org or http://colocomm.com/. If not using a dropdown, the main objective is that the navigation should be extremely clear and easy for folks to navigate. This is a small town in the midwest, and the people here tend to be quite conservative and not yet very tech-savvy. So, no need to be too fancy - just clean & clear.
Header:The header would ideally incorporate our logo, which can be found at http://byronmuseum.com/logo/
Feel free to modify the colours of the logo to fit in with the design.
There are also a number of images from our town (Byron) which could be used either as part of the header or within the site itself. They are in my Flickr album at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mcjess…696072398/
Feel free to use any of the images in our gallery in the header or in your design.
Navigational LinksSame as at byronmuseum.org.
Main BodyWill consist of 1 or 2 columns. I do not like really narrow body areas. It doesn't necessarily need to be a fixed width design, but I like to see the widest body area that is possible within the modern constraints of accessibility. If using 2 columns, the narrower column (or sidebar) would include a number of Wordpress widgets including google calendar events, flickr photo badges, etc.
"Body" ColumnWill accommodate all the existing content and will adapt to the width of your browser
FooterSimple - just the copyright, address of the museum, link to webmaster.
Thanks in advance and good luck!
- Clean, clear design that won't look too "techy" for people in a small town, but will look professional
- Very readable content + obvious navigational elements
- "Clean" Html/CSS so I could easily go in later and change small features of the design if necessary
- :Look & Feel consistent with our new logo (located at http://byronmuseum.com/logo/
- Excessive graphics - some are okay, but I want my page to be more focused on CSS and text
- Narrow body
- Too small text


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text: Kay's hands working By Suzi Posted July 10, 2016 In 0 0 Suzi Suzi is an artist, actress, writer, teacher, community organizer, and mom. She's passionate about helping women find their creative voice and live focused, joy-filled lives. Suzi inspires hundreds of women every year to live their lives from the space of creative spirit and to value their contributions to the world and one another through her Mapping Motherhood course, taught throughout the United States, her blog, her Sacred Refuge Programs and her Powder Keg Writing Workshops. Recent PostsPersistent Angels: New Illuminations 2019Your Hands Are Made Of GoldTraction Gains With Daily Creative Practice Leave a Comment Cancel reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


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Sell my iPhone & iPad
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Working for Reform
Divorce by text message? In Malaysia, a Muslim man ended his marriage by sending a corresponding text message to his wife three times by mobile phone. A Sharia court ruled that he was perfectly within his rights to do so. This is a typical case for the Sisters in Islam: they pull out the Koran and publicly reprimand the family law judge. According to Chapter 2: 229, separation should be 'with kindness'. Is a heartless text message in line with Allah's commandment?
The Sisters in Islam are women's rights activists, although they prefer not to use this western label. They prefer to describe their activities as follows: 'We uphold the revolutionary spirit of Islam that improved the status of women 1,400 years ago'. Visitors to the group's website are greeted by the Sisters in Islam motto: 'Justice, equality, freedom and dignity'.
Women enjoy more dignity in public life than in private
Dignity is important and that is why the sisters are well-known opponents of the exclusively male group of Sharia judges. After all, in Malaysia's rapidly modernised society, women often enjoy more dignity at work and in public life than they do in private, where Islamic law rules supreme on family-related matters. This is why the sisters repeatedly confront judges for making it easy for a man to get a divorce but very difficult for a woman to do so. In one well-publicised case, it took a Muslim woman seven years to obtain a divorce from her husband. During this time, she was not allowed to leave him.
For the sisters, the text message ruling is yet more proof of a patriarchal blinkered outlook: 'It is strange how willingly religious authorities accept modern technology when it benefits men and how dismissive they are of it when modern science can be of use to women and children: take for example genetic tests that establish who is the father of a child.'
Women drawing their own conclusions from the Koran
The very first 'sisters' – academics, legal experts and theologians – formed an independent women's group in 1988. They were either laughed at or considered presumptuous. Imagine: women drawing their own conclusions from the Koran!! The reproach that they are godless and anti-Islam is one that is still repeated to this day. But they have since earned standing and respect; their voices are heard and their advice is sought far beyond the borders of Malaysia.
This group of self-confident, knowledgeable, rhetorically agile, modestly dressed women without headscarves speaking fluent English certainly attract attention at conferences. They meet with Malaysian and foreign Koran scholars for study sessions, write columns for the press, train lawyers and service providers in women's issues, and offer legal assistance. Their brochures have provocative titles like 'Are Muslim men allowed to beat their wives?' In accordance with a free interpretation of Chapter 13:11, they advise victims of marital abuse to help themselves: if you don't do something to change your condition, God will not help you either.
Striving for a complete revision of Islamic family law
With only 24 activists, the group is small. Nevertheless it is effective, especially in the legal sector: when the Sisters in Islam discover anything discriminating in a bill, they drum up a protest. Their most ambitious project for the future is to obtain a complete revision of Islamic family law. This, as group director Zainah Anwar puts it, is nothing less than 'an attempt to break with a one-thousand-year tradition.'
To a certain extent, this astounding group of intellectual women is a reflection of how far Malay women have come: there are more women than men studying at university, women have better opportunities on the jobs market than their sisters in many western countries and they count among their number a head of a central bank, a public prosecutor and an ambassador. However, the process of re-islamicisation that has taken place over the past 25 years has made the secularly governed Malaysia more conservative, more narrow-minded and less tolerant, especially with regard to women.
The headscarf did not use to be controversial
'When Islam is adopted as a way of life, the status of women is the first battlefield for all those who want to prove their rediscovered religiousness,' says Zainah Anwar. For her mother's generation, it was normal to only put on a headscarf when going to prayers. Today, women who don't wear a headscarf are put under pressure to do so. The campus of every university is peppered with pastel-coloured headscarves.
Polygamy is another example: the Sisters in Islam fight polygamy as a glaring product of degradation in the private sphere. Malaysia's laws allow Muslim men to take up to four wives even though in the past, polygamy was officially discouraged. Today, it is considered to be the natural right of men. Some even consider it to be typically Islamic: even the husband of a cabinet minister publicly took a second wife. So the Sisters in Islam are swimming against the current when they call for a ban on polygamy.
A different meaning to polygamy
Once again, they use the Koran and Sunnah to support their arguments: at the time of the Prophet, they argue, polygamy was permitted to save war widows in distress and their children. Today, such emergency situations do not exist in Malaysia. 'This is why we would like to clarify this erroneous opinion that is widely held among Muslims,' they write pointedly, 'most contemporary examples of polygamy have almost nothing to do with the Sunnah of the Prophet.'
Newspapers in Malaysia that are loyal to the government print such declarations on their opinions page – a hesitant gesture that is typical of Malaysia's secular government-version of Islam. On the one hand, the women's voices are ammunition in the fight against an Islamic opposition party while on the other, there is a reluctance to ruffle the feathers of the religious authorities. The Association of Muslim Scholars still accuses the director of the Sisters in Islam of making Islam 'contemptuous': the worst accusation of all for a Muslim.
Scholars don't oppose the conservative trend
The state religious authority would dearly love to forbid all Muslims 'who do not have a profound knowledge' from speaking about Islamic issues altogether. 'A theocratic dictatorship!' hiss the Sisters in Islam. 'The only people who are considered qualified are those who use conservative stereotypes,' says lawyer Nik Noriani Nik Badli Shah with derision. She goes on to say that the 'the tragedy' of Malaysia's Islam is that hardly any scholars oppose the conservative trend.
Since 9.11, however, the Sisters in Islam have registered increased interest among lay brothers and sisters. 'Many Muslims have been made aware that they are responsible for the type of Islam that develops in our society,' says Zainah Anwar.
Charlotte Wiedemann
© Qantara.de 2003
Translation from German: Aingeal Flanagan


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The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 8, No. 1 Spring 1981
Robert W. Gibson DEAKIN UNIVERSITY and Roger Arnold
Abstract: The development of auditing standards in Australia occurred in three phases. The primary professional initiatives have come from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia.
The first phase was marked by F. E. Trigg's presentation to the Australian Con-gress on Accounting in 1948. In this work Trigg relied heavily on English practice and thought.
The second phase was largely a period of inactivity so far as auditing standards were concerned because of concern for other matters of greater urgency.
The third phase was marked by the adoption of American ideas and, partly in response to continuing criticism of accounting, a commitment to the continuing review of auditing standards.
The development of auditing standards and the formal documen-tation of them has involved a significant effort by the Australian accountancy profession since the early 1950's. The initial effort to formalise these standards was largely contributed by one man. The study of these developments provides an insight into the trend to-wards a change in the source of international influence on profes-sional concepts and practices in Australia. Evidence is provided of a change from English to American practice as the basis of Australian developments.
Central to this study is the recognition by the profession of its responsibility to identify, codify, and document these standards for the use of its members. Auditing standards provide guidelines to assist auditors in exercising their professional judgment. In the event of litigation involving the auditor, auditing standards provide a basis
The authors are particularly grateful for detailed comments made on an earlier draft by Mr. F. E. Trigg, formerly senior partner, Price Waterhouse & Co., Sydney. The authors remain responsible for any views of interpretation contained herein.


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GR manufacturing economy bucks downward trend
Better! After five lackluster reports, the data collected in November depict a return to modest growth in the Greater Grand Rapids area. New Orders, our index of business improvement, rose significantly to +17 from +6, and the Production index jumped to +21, from -1. Activity in the purchasing offices came back to +8, from -7. The Employment index modestly improved to +13, up from +4.
Even though the future is still filled with uncertainty, November's statistics clearly bucked the trend. For the last four years, our local economy has often been stronger than either the national or international economies, and this is no exception. However, manufacturers are starting to strike a few notes of caution, even though numerous firms are at full capacity and reporting all-time highs in sales.
Looking at individual industrial groups, our auto parts suppliers remain positive, but at least two firms have expressed the widely held opinion that we are nearing the top of the expansion in the auto industry. Firms supporting lines of smaller cars are continuing to do better than those supporting large SUVs and trucks. This month's statistics were bolstered by the recent uptick in the office furniture business, which has resulted in several firms ending the year much better that expected. For industrial distributors, this month's performance came in mixed, although the bias was clearly to the upside. Two of our capital equipment firms reported strong sales, but now others see customers in a "wait and see" mood because of the upcoming fiscal cliff.
Our parent organization, the Institute for Supply Management, tells a different story. ISM's Report on Business dated Dec. 3 still indicates the industrial market at the national level is backtracking. ISM's index of New Orders for the U.S. remained modestly negative at -5. The Production index remained virtually unchanged at -1, up from -2. The weakest news came from the ISM national Employment index, which fell to a three-year low of -7, down from +3. After statistical adjustment, ISM's overall index edged back below the 50.0 break-even point to 49.5, down from 51.7. Although this is the fourth negative report in the past six months, the survey author does not see us sliding into a recession if a solution can be found to the fiscal cliff.
At the international level, the Dec. 3 JP Morgan international manufacturing report "stabilized" in November. JPM's Global Manufacturing PMI remained below the 50.0 break-even point, but rose to 49.7 in November, up from 48.8 in October. The slightly softer numbers from the U.S., Japan and the Eurozone were offset by better numbers from China, Brazil, India, Russia and the U.K. The Canadian economy remains flat, primarily because of its neighbor to the south. Yet the JPM survey author is very optimistic and believes the current statistics "herald faster output gains" for the world economy. The fact remains that this tenuous assumption is based on optimism which projects success in refinancing debt in the Eurozone and the U.S. avoiding the fiscal cliff.
At long last, the national election is over. Unfortunately, little has been addressed to resolve the differences in fiscal ideology, largely because almost none of the people have changed. The Republicans still control the House, and the Democrats still control the Senate and White House. The hotly debated list of solutions, such as they are, still claim that each is the best tonic. Some pundits on both sides of the aisle are already looking ahead to the mid-term elections to be the next juncture of change.
The recovery of the housing industry continues be good news for the economy at both the local and national levels. The most recent S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values posted another significant gain. Housing starts continue to rise, partially because of the tightening of residential units available for sale, and partially because of the low interest rates. The unusually mild weather adds an extra lift. We see that higher rents have caused some people to rethink the idea of owning. As headlines spread the news of a housing market revival, properties are beginning to be listed now that sellers feel they can expect a fair price.
Consumer confidence also receives a boost. It is a basic fact that many people consider their home to be their biggest financial asset. However, unlike previous housing recoveries, some neighborhoods that suffered under the downturn are still plagued with bankruptcies and foreclosures, making it difficult, if not impossible, for these neighborhoods to participate in the Case-Shiller housing valuation revival. Excessive foreclosures in some neighborhoods will continue to contaminate the values of surrounding properties, creating problems for years to come.
In Michigan, the economic recovery continues to be driven by rising auto sales. This month's report from Automotive News bodes well for the Michigan economy. "As customers were suddenly able to find financing to keep replacing aging vehicles, and with a post-storm bounce from easterners digging out from Hurricane Sandy … we are now surpassing sales records set pre-recession." Honda recorded the best November ever, with U.S. sales rising 39 percent. VW America rose 31 percent, Toyota gained 17 percent and Nissan rose 13 percent. The Detroit Three did not fare as well, with Chrysler up 17 percent, GM up 3 percent and Ford up 6 percent. The industry as a whole rose 15 percent to a SAAR rate of more than 15 million units per year for the first time since 2008. Again, analysts continue to cite pent-up demand, but also note that good weather, loosening auto credit and strong dealer incentives were significant factors. However, some analysts have predicted sales will soon top out and probably settle into a SAAR rate of 14.5 to 15 million units per year. For Michigan, this is very good news. Our Detroit Three firms are very profitable, and most of our suppliers are very profitable.
Where do we go from here? Many forecasts are for continued slow growth and, barring changes in the present situation, no recession. Others believe growth in 2013 will be very slow, with quarterly GDP gaining less than 1 percent for the first two quarters. Still others feel there are enough new taxes coming to push us into a recession. Of course, there is still concern that the European debt crisis will influence our economy.
Needless to say, the fiscal cliff crisis remains the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room. In short, the dilemma involves $600 billion in spending cuts and tax increases set to automatically be triggered if a budget solution cannot be reached by Jan. 1. A dislocation of this sort is likely to trigger another recession or a second dip in the present recession, depending on one's point of view. Until recently, most pundits were nearly certain that some kind of an agreement could be reached, even though it might be hammered out at the last minute. However, there is now a movement brewing that some legislators would like to see us go over the fiscal cliff in order to secure a huge de-facto tax increase and a huge reduction in defense spending, both of which they have wanted for years. They feel these goals cannot otherwise be achieved for many years, given the current and probable future congressional configuration. They are willing to risk a recession and the loss of jobs for 3.4 million people to accomplish these goals, and suggest the new-found revenue be used to provide extensive benefits for the newly unemployed. Of course, if there is another recession, there will be no "new-found" revenue. This scary scenario is aptly referred to as the "nuclear option." Let's hope wiser minds will prevail.
Brian Long, Ph.D., is director of Supply Chain Management Research at Seidman College of Business, Grand Valley State University.


text: Finance Research Seminar The School of Finance hosts the Finance Research Seminar every semester. The seminar features a mix of researchers and faculty members from leading universities and research institutions. Join us! The Finance research seminar will take place every Tuesday at 12.15 for a full hour during the lecture weeks of the semester in room 01-104 (first floor in the main building), except where mentioned otherwise. If you want to receive our weekly newsletter or have organizational questions, please contact Ass. Prof. Felix von Meyerinck (email@example.com). Fall Term 2019 24.09.2019 Guillaume Vuillemey, HEC Paris "The Private Production of Safe Assets" Host: Angelo Ranaldo 01.10.2019 Thierry Foucault, HEC Paris "Inventory Management, Dealers' Connections, and Prices in OTC Markets" Host: Angelo Ranaldo 08.10.2019 Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi, University of Mannheim "The Long-lasting Effects of Experiencing Communism on Attitudes towards Financial Markets" Host: Felix von Meyerinck 15.10.2019 Michael Halling, Stockholm School of Economics "Valuation ratios and shape predictability in the distribution of stock returns" Host: Markus Schmid 22.10.2019 Lukas Schmid, Duke University "Benchmark interest rates when the government is risky" Host: Markus Schmid 29.10.2019 12:15-13:15 room 09-114 Stephen H. Penman, Columbia University "An Accounting-based Asset Pricing Model and a Fundamental Factor" 12.11.2019 Tim Kroencke, University of Neuchatel "Recessions and the Stock Market" Host: Roland Füss 19.11.2019 Martin Thomas Hibbeln, University Duisburg-Essen "The Impact of Skin in the Game on Bank Behavior in the Securitization Market" Host: Christian Biener 26.11.2019 Paul Smeets, Maastricht University "Investor Memory" Host: Sebastian Utz 03.12.2019 Lorenz Kueng, Northwestern University & University of Lugano "The Riskiness of Owning Versus Renting Housing" Host: Matthias Weber 09.12.2019 room: 01-113 12.15 pm Michael Weber, University of Chicago "Crowdsourcing Financial Information to Change Spending Behavior" Host: Markus Schmid 10.12.2019 Renée Adams, University of Oxford "Financing Legislators" Host: Felix von Meyerinck Spring Term 2019 Date Speaker 26.02.2019 Frank Heinemann, Technical University of Berlin "An Experimental Test of the Global-Game Selection in Games with Asymmetric Players" Host: Matthias Weber 05.03.2019 George Tauchen, Duke University "Jump Factor Models in Large Cross-Sections" Host: Angelo Ranaldo 12.03.2019 canceled Christiane Hellmanzik, Technical University of Dortmund Host: Roland Füss 15.03.2019 room:07-002 12.15 pm Peter Bossaerts, University of Melbourne "Does Imperfect Foresight Matter After All?" Host: Matthias Weber 19.03.2019 Toni Ahnert, Bank of Canada "Loan Insurance, Adverse Selection and Screening" Host: Christoph Aymanns 26.03.2019 Lars Hornuf, University of Bremen "Paralyzed by shock: The portfolio formation behavior of peer-to-business lending investors" Host: Martin Brown 16.04.2019 Maximilian von Ehrlich, University of Bern "Housing supply reactions to rent vs. price changes: The role of capitalization rates and regulation" Host: Roland Füss 23.04.2019 Tony Klein, Queen's University "The Impact of SHFE's Night Trading Session on Commodity Futures Markets" Host: Thomas Walther 30.04.2019 Tim Eisert, Erasmus University "Credit Misallocation and Inflation in Europe" Host: Martin Brown 07.05.2019 room:52-7024 Philipp Krueger, University of Geneva "Institutional Investors' Views and Preferences on Climate Risk Disclosure" Host: Markus Schmid 14.05.2019 Clemens Sialm, University of Texas at Austin "Out of Sight No More? The Effect of Fee Disclosures on 401 (k) Investment Allocations" Host: Florian Weigert


text: We offer a comprehensive service and take care of all aspects of your loft or extension project, from initial plans through to full completion. We understand your home is one of your most important assets, and as such we ensure we give you time to discuss your ideas and work with you to find the type of conversion or extension that suits your needs. Our projects are some of the finest available and we have been helping to increase the size and value of our clients' homes all across London for over 10 years. Have a look at our portfolio page and we hope you will agree!


text:
Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan's Forum
Moderator: All Moderators
hammo wrote:ofcox its sarah brightman i totally agree with u two guys . .. n about enya , i think she is more into new age than celtic , n moya has clearly said so many times tht her music is not new age , so tht my beleif tc
Angoid wrote:However, I'm not unhappy to categorise her music as New Age because looking at the covers of some of her CDs and reading some of the notes (especially in OT:TC) I see such terms as "Spirit child" being used ..... that's heavily a New Age concept.
Bi Liom wrote:I didn't know 'Spirit Child' was a New Age concept. What's that all about?
I've always thought and still think that the 'spirit child' in Isobella was a ghost and not a 'muse/inspiration'.
The lyrics seems to point to someone who has already passed on. Oh well.
Jim wrote:altennis wrote:Altan is another band that will satisfy most Moya fans.
True, especially if you are a fan of Clannad's music from the 70s. If so, you would probably also like, Lunasa, Steeleye Span, the Bothy Band, or Planxty.
If you liked Clannad in the 80s, you would go for Blackmore's Night or Loreena McKennitt.
If you liked Clannad in the 90s, Mary Black or Sissel should fit the bill.
Personally, I liked Clannad in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, so I'll take all of the above!
pietree wrote:...I also like Loreena Mckennitt. Her style is quite similar to Enya's but in my opinion Loreena's music is much more emotional.
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text:
Do not curb your enthusiasm. Win Sheffield, 59, a coach for the last 10 years with the career counseling firm The Five O'Clock Club, says a lot of job seekers forget that one of the most crucial parts of interviewing is convincing the hiring manager that you truly desire the job. Interviewers don't just look for applicants who have the requisite skills and will fit in with a company. Now more than ever, they want candidates who want them.
Sheffield is absolutely right, says Cynthia Bragdon, owner of Urban Indigo, a gift store in Oakland, Calif. "I don't know why some candidates miss this," she adds. "Maybe because they think it seems desperate." She says the most eager applicants quickly make her A list. "If they seem aloof, I get very worried, because any job requires a full commitment," she explains. "And if they are aloof in an interview, they will probably be aloof to my customers, which is a very bad thing."
You can convey your enthusiasm in many ways, coaches say. Sheffield suggests that you prepare an arsenal of stories illustrating your skills, strengths and accomplishments. Rather than bragging in a general way about your abilities, describe specific experiences that show you putting those skills to use. You can speak animatedly about the pleasure and pride you took in overcoming obstacles. One advantage of storytelling over plain boasting, Sheffield says: "It's the interviewer who draws the conclusion."
In addition to offering stories that illustrate your strengths, use a direct approach and tell the interviewer how thrilled you'd be to work for her and for her organization in particular. Describe other offers or discussions you've got going, and let the interviewer know she is your first choice.
Most applicants understand that they should do their homework, learning as much as they can about a company and a job, before going in for an interview. But Bragdon says candidates who haven't done basic research still show up. "If they ask me what the store hours are in the interview, that shows me they don't give a rip about getting the job," she says. "Or they're just plain stupid–and intelligence is a big, big factor for me."
Ahead of time, take a notebook, jot down a few points to help you remember your best stories and note three questions to ask about the specific job and the company. Then, when the interview starts, ask permission to take notes. Use your notebook as a cheat sheet.
Before the interview winds up, ask where you stand compared with the ideal candidate. Then ask how you compare with other applicants. These questions emphasize how much you want the job and help you take action after the interview.
Write a follow-up note that addresses any ways you were told you might not fit the ideal mold. Robert Hellmann, 51, like Sheffield a coach with The Five O'Clock Club, says a client of his turned a no into a yes through diligent, enthusiastic follow-up. In the interview, the hiring manager confessed concern about the candidate's lack of an analytic background. The interviewee wrote a follow-up e-mail that described her relevant experience and offered to analyze some sales data. The hiring manager sent her a terse note with some data attached. She analyzed the data and followed up with a phone call requesting another meeting. She got the job, Hellmann says. "In the interview," he adds, "sometimes the most important thing you can do is get the information you need to sell yourself."
This is an update of a story that ran previously.


text: etched 1 Report post Posted January 19, 2013 Hi Everyone! I'm very new here and really happy to have found this forum. I have read other posts on pin holing issues with glazes and I am having the same issue, but i cant work out if they are really pin holes or not. Some of them kind of seem like creators and are smooth indentations on the glaze while others are small sharp bumps. Here is what I'm using and how: I'm using is southern ice porcelain clay. I'm firing to 1240 degrees C for my bisque fire. I leave the bungs out till 750 degrees. (I use a small electric kiln) I use underglazes on the greenware. I'm using a store bought glaze mix Northcote pottery (here in Australia) They have had a issue of late with a change in formulation due to an ingredient going off shore. This change has caused the glaze to be thicker in consistency and has major issues with it crawling. They have advised to go from 2 coats to 1 careful coat otherwise the glaze crawls, but its far from perfect. If it is slightly thick in a spot it will crawl or cause a frozen ripple effect slight but noticeable. It has also been causing pin holes as shown in the photos. I have been mixing 1:1 northcote pottery stoneware glaze with a cessco stoneware glaze and this has helped with the crawling and rippling and some of the pin holes but has not helped with the pin holes a great deal. This glaze(Northcote pottery)by the way used to be PERFECT and almost fool proof glaze. I'm not just using straight cessco either as the glaze looks less glossy and like there are very slight and very tiny dimples over the surface of the glaze. Anyway any advice? I'm self taught but have working with the same materials for 4 years. I need my glaze to be very clear as the designs under the glaze are the feature of my work. I have tried out every other store bought glaze that I could get my hands on in Australia that will fire to 1280 (there are very few) but they don't work as well (or as well as this glaze once worked) or are as clear. Help! Lilly Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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text:
88 Early Lane Clearfield, KY 40313
- 3 ##Beds##
- 3 ##Baths##
- 2,400 ##sqft##
- Single-Family
To manage reports, go to your Dashboard.
� 2020 LBAR Multiple Listing Service. All Rights Reserved.
The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange Program of the Lexington-Bluegrass Association of REALTORS� Multiple Listing Service. Real estate listings held by IDX Brokerage firms other than Rector Hayden Realtors are marked with the IDX logo or the IDX thumbnail logo, and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing IDX Brokers. Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.


text:
Acquiring a strong vocabulary doesn't have to be difficult. Vocabulary Power uses the latest research on memory to make this process simple, effective, and enjoyable. A three-book series, Vocabulary Power: teaches the most important words from the General Service List (500 words) and Academic Word List (400 words) presents each word in eight different contexts to help students learn and remember the word easily encourages students to apply the words to their own lives, making vocabulary more relevant and useful can be used in class or as a self-study text Each Vocabulary Power book features: 300 new words -- 10 per chapter high-interest readings adapted from articles on a variety of up-to-date topics exercises on word families, multiple meanings, collocations, and expressions that expand students' knowledge of the words engaging discussion questions and writing topics that elicit natural use of the words quizzes to check students' progress and minimize teacher prep time Word Builder exercises and charts in the Appendix to help students focus on the meaning and use of word parts The Vocabulary Power series includes Vocabulary Power 1 (Low Intermediate), Vocabulary Power 2 (Intermediate), and Vocabulary Power 3 (Advanced).Dingle, Kate is the author of 'Vocabulary Power 2', published 2007 under ISBN 9780132221504 and ISBN 0132221500.[read more]
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text:
|Levell Coppage loving the
moment after UW-Whitewater claimed its third consecutive national
Photo by Dan Poel for d3photography.com
By Adam Turer
SALEM, Va. — UW-Whitewater's defense completed one of the most impressive stretches Division III football has seen. The Warhawks held their five playoff opponents to a total of 38 points. Three of those opponents — Franklin, St. Thomas, and Mount Union — ranked in the top 20 in the nation in scoring offense this season.
- Stagg Bowl photo gallery
- Around the Nation Podcast
- Mount Union feels the heat
- Stagg Bowl XXXIX D3report
- Keith McMillan's Year in Review
- Keith: Warhawks can be overcome
- All-America team
Defensive coordinator Brian Borland's unit was the deciding factor in the Warhawks' 13-10 victory over Mount Union, giving Whitewater its third straight Division III national championship.
"I thought we had an outstanding defensive effort today," said Whitewater head coach Lance Leipold. "We really played some outstanding defense throughout the playoffs."
It all started up front for the Warhawks. The defensive line, led by Stagg Bowl XXXIX Most Outstanding Player Louissant Minett, stopped running back Jeremy Murray and consistently pressured quarterback Matt Piloto all night. While the usually potent Whitewater offense was held in check by a stellar defensive effort from Mount Union, the Warhawks defense rose to the challenge and set the tone for the game. Whitewater forced three turnovers, including the biggest play of the game.
"They're a very good defense, as they showed tonight," said Piloto. "They are very fast and they make you alter your feet and do some things that you're not used to doing."
What many expected to be another offensive shootout turned in to the biggest defensive struggle between the purple powers. This marked the first time in their seven meetings that the teams played to a scoreless tie after one quarter. The 3-0 Whitewater halftime lead was the lowest scoring first half between the two. Levell Coppage was held to 91 yards on 32 carries and Whitewater's offense totaled just 210 yards despite leading in time of possession. Whitewater's lone touchdown was what Coppage called the easiest of his career.
After a sack by Ryan Cortez backed the Purple Raiders to their own 5-yard line, Minett sacked and forced a Piloto fumble in the end zone. The ball bounced out to the 1-yard line, where it was recovered by Cole Klotz. On the next snap, Coppage scored the Warhawks only touchdown of the game. Personal statistics mean far less to Coppage than the only numbers that matter: 13 for the Warhawks, 10 for the Purple Raiders.
"You can never be frustrated with a win and you can never be frustrated with a championship," said Coppage, who finished a stellar run at Whitewater with 109 career touchdowns.
That fumble had the biggest impact, but it was far from the only difference the Warhawks defensive line made. Minett twice hit Piloto as he threw on third down, forcing incompletions. He also hit Piloto to create a wobbly pass that was picked off by Noah Timm.
"Every play, I just focus on keeping my motor running," said the sophomore defensive end. "Every play is not granted."
Minett suffered an injury on Mount Union's third down play with 1:38 to go in the game and had to watch from the sideline as the Purple Raiders attempted to convert on fourth down to keep their title hopes alive. With Minett on the sideline, Piloto had enough time to complete a pass to Jasper Collins and extend the drive. Minett returned two plays later, as Mount Union faced a third down and ten from its own 31 yard line. On fourth and ten, Jake Hohlstein and Anthony Bounds pressured Piloto and forced him to complete a short under route to Chris Denton. The Warhawks stopped Denton short of the first down and quarterback Matt Blanchard set up the Whitewater offense in the victory formation.
The young Whitewater defense held Mount Union to 238 total yards of offense and just 59 yards in the first half. This championship effort came one week after the Warhawks shutout St. Thomas to advance to Salem. Entering the season, Whitewater knew it had a proven senior star in Coppage and a talented senior quarterback in Blanchard. The defensive leaders would need to emerge as the season progressed. They came up with three game-changing turnovers.
"We needed guys like [sophomore linebacker] Ryan Cortez and [junior cornerback] Chris Pendergast to step up and be contributors this year and those are the type of guys that this team needed and they rose to the occasion and matured very quickly," said Leipold.
The sophomore-dominated defense sends off senior leaders Coppage, Blanchard, and offensive lineman Logan Allemand with a third straight Walnut & Bronze trophy.
"It's just a team effort, it's not just one defensive player," said Pendergast, who had the Warhawks' other interception, at the Whitewater 4-yard line. "We all play as a team and we all fly around and it's a credit to the game plan of Coach Borland and then we have to execute."
Minett was pushed in offseason workouts by Coppage and learned quickly the kind of effort that it takes to build a champion. The seniors leave behind a legacy of three straight Stagg Bowl titles. More importantly, they leave behind the foundation and wisdom that they shared with the underclassmen who will be charged with keeping the tradition and the now 45-game winning streak alive.
"For all of us to step up and do this for the seniors and try and carry this legacy is going to be the key for the future success of our defense," said Minett.
The high-energy sophomore end paid the biggest tribute he could to his senior teammates by wreaking havoc on the Mount Union offense from snap to whistle each play that he was on the field. Although he is an underclassman, he showed that he understands what it takes to win a championship, and he proved it on this rainy night in Salem.
"I feel like I left everything on the field," said Minett.
He and his defensive mates hope to be back here again next year playing for a fourth straight national championship, once again leaving it all on the field.


text:
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Your words may :
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- be invented in a moment of desperation.
- arise in conversation with others.
- already be in circulation.
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text:
Hunters can register deer online atksoutdoors.com
PRATT – Dec. 4 marks the first day of firearm deer season this year and with new regulations giving hunters greater flexibility than ever before, the season offers something for anyone Dec. 4-15, hunters will have the opportunity to hunt deer with any centerfire rifle and handgun; any gauge shotgun using slugs; and any legal muzzleloading rifle, musket, or pistol .40 caliber or larger. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.
For those who possess a valid deer permit, but have yet to fill a tag, time isn't up yet as any unfilled permit is valid during the firearm season; however, either-species, nonresident and some antlerless permits are restricted to the deer management units listed on the permit. In addition to their deer permit, all hunters, unless exempt by law, must also have a Kansas hunting license. Hunters with archery permits must use archery equipment and hunters with muzzleloader permits must use muzzleloaders, crossbows are archery equipment.
During the firearm season, all hunters must wear hunter orange clothing consisting of an orange hat and an orange vest that shows 100 square inches from the front and 100 square inches from the back. Camouflage orange clothing is legal if the number of square inches of orange is visible.
If you are a resident hunter and have yet to purchase a permit, you may do so wherever licenses are sold and online. Permits aren't valid until the next calendar day after purchase. Hunters must possess a permit that allows the harvest of a buck before they are eligible to purchase antlerless permits.
Hunters should remember that all deer must be tagged before moving the carcass from the kill site. Certain permits, such as an antlerless whitetail permit, require that the head remain attached to the carcass during transport for sex identification. However, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism offers a voluntary option that allows hunters to register their deer through the Internet, using photos taken at the harvest site. Once registered, the hunter may then transport the carcass without the head attached. If Internet access is unavailable at the kill site, the hunter can retain the photographs while in transit and a registration number can be obtained later. To access the electronic deer check-in, go online to the KDWPT website, www.ksoutdoors.com, and click "Hunting/Big Game/Deer/Deer Check-in."
To ensure everyone enjoys a safe deer hunt, hunters must remember basic firearm safety rules including knowing their target and what lies beyond it and always wearing the required hunter orange. Hunters must have permission to hunt on any private land, whether it is posted or not. The 2012 Kansas Hunting Atlas features maps showing all public and Walk-In Hunting Access areas is available wherever licenses are sold and online at www.ksoutdoors.com.


text:
Michael Gallucci
Michael Gallucci is the senior editor at Ultimate Classic Rock. His previous gigs include editor-of-chief at Diffuser.fm, managing editor of Cleveland Scene and writing about music and movies for All Music Guide, American Songwriter, the A.V. Club, Goldmine, M Music & Musicians, Paste, Spin, the Village Voice and other publications and websites.


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Chickenpox is a viral infection in which a person develops extremely itchy blisters all over the body. It used to be one of the classic childhood diseases. However, it has become much less common since the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine.
Alternative Names
Varicella; Chicken pox
Chickenpox is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, a member of the herpesvirus family. The same virus also causes
Chickenpox can be spread very easily to others. You may get chickenpox from touching the fluids from a chickenpox blister, or if someone with the disease coughs or sneezes near you. Even those with mild illness may be contagious.
A person with chickenpox becomes contagious 1 to 2 days before their blisters appear. They remain contagious until all the blisters have crusted over.
Most cases of chickenpox occur in children younger than 10. The disease is usually mild, although serious complications sometimes occur. Adults and older children usually get sicker than younger children.
Children whose mothers have had chickenpox or have received the chickenpox vaccine are not very likely to catch it before they are 1 year old. If they do catch chickenpox, they often have mild cases. This is because antibodies from their mothers blood help protect them. Children under 1 year old whose mothers have not had chickenpox or the vaccine can get severe chickenpox.
Severe chickenpox symptoms are more common in children whose immune system does not work well because of an illness or medicines such as chemotherapy and steroids.
Most children with chickenpox have the following symptoms before the rash appears:
- Fever
- Headache
- Stomach ache
The chickenpox rash occurs about 10 to 21 days after coming into contact with someone who had the disease. The average child develops 250 to 500 small, itchy, fluid-filled blisters over red spots on the skin.
- The blisters are usually first seen on the face, middle of the body, or scalp.
- After a day or two, the blisters become cloudy and then scab. Meanwhile, new blisters form in groups. They often appear in the mouth, in the vagina, and on the eyelids.
- Children with skin problems, such as eczema, may get thousands of blisters.
Most pox will not leave scars unless they become infected with bacteria from scratching.
Some children who have had the vaccine will still develop a mild case of chickenpox. They usually recover much more quickly and have only a few pox (fewer than 30). These cases are often harder to diagnose. However, these children can still spread chickenpox to others.
Exams and Tests
Your health care provider can usually diagnose chickenpox by looking at the rash and asking questions about the persons medical history. Small blisters on the scalp usually confirm the diagnosis.
Laboratory tests can help confirm the diagnosis, if needed.
Treatment involves keeping the person as comfortable as possible. Here are things to try:
- Avoid scratching or rubbing the itchy areas. Keep fingernails short to avoid damaging the skin from scratching.
- Wear cool, light, loose bedclothes. Avoid wearing rough clothing, particularly wool, over an itchy area.
- Take lukewarm baths using little soap and rinse thoroughly. Try a skin-soothing oatmeal or cornstarch bath.
- Apply a soothing moisturizer after bathing to soften and cool the skin.
- Avoid prolonged exposure to excessive heat and humidity.
- Try over-the-counter oral antihistamines such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl), but be aware of possible side effects such as drowsiness.
- Try over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream on itchy areas.
Medications that fight the chickenpox virus are available but not given to everyone. To work well, the medicine usually must be started within the first 24 hours of the rash.
- Antiviral medication is not usually prescribed to otherwise healthy children who do not have severe symptoms. Adults and teens, who are at risk for more severe symptoms, may benefit from antiviral medication if it is given early.
- Antiviral medication may be very important in those who have skin conditions (such as eczema or recent sunburn), lung conditions (such as asthma), or who have recently taken steroids.
- Some doctors also give antiviral medicines to people in the same household who also develop chickenpox, because they will usually develop more severe symptoms.
Do NOTgiveaspirinoribuprofen to someone who may have chickenpox. Use of aspirin has been associated with a serious condition called
A child with chickenpox should not return to school or play with other children until all chickenpox sores have crusted over or dried out. Adults should follow this same rule when considering when to return to work or be around others.
Outlook (Prognosis)
Usually, a person recovers without complications.
Once you have had chickenpox, the virus usually remains dormant or asleep in your body for your lifetime. About 1 in 10 adults will have
Possible Complications
Rarely, serious infections such as
Reyes syndrome Myocarditis
- Pneumonia
- Transient
Women who get chickenpox during pregnancy can pass the infection to the developing baby. Newborns are at risk for severe infection.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if you think that your child has chickenpox or if your child is over 12 months of age and has not been vaccinated against chickenpox.
Because chickenpox is airborne and very contagious before the rash even appears, it is difficult to avoid.
A vaccine to prevent chickenpox is part of a childs routine immunization schedule. For information, see:
The vaccine usually prevents the chickenpox disease completely or makes the illness very mild.
Talk to your doctor if you think your child might be at high risk for complications and might have been exposed. Immediate preventive measures may be important. Giving the vaccine early after exposure may still reduce the severity of the disease.
Myers MG, Seward JF, LaRussa PS. Varicella-zoster virus. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 250.
American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases. Recommended immunization schedules for children and adolescents--United States, 2008. Pediatrics. 2008;121:219-220.
This article uses information by permission from Alan Greene, M.D., Greene Ink, Inc.
Review Date:
Reviewed By:
Neil K. Kaneshiro, MD, MHA, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Bethanne Black, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.


text:
First, congratulations to Bambi, Romain Perier for his new Kubuntu Developer status. He's one of our wonderful packagers who create the new KDE packages we need to run the latest Kubuntu. Bambi does some development, and this is important. And we need non-technical contributions too!
In fact, if you run and love Kubuntu, we want and need your creativity, your testing, your bug reports, your corrections on the wiki, your help on artwork, documentation, promotion (like this blog!), your helpful voice in IRC, identica, twitter, Google+ -- the sky is the limit! Community work is as important as the code, because people create the love, create the community, create the software.
As a non-technical person, I wanted to give back to Free and Open Source software, which I've been using for about 10 years. My process was to think beyond Linuxchix, which had been my homebase for those 10 years. I thought about my favorite application, which is Amarok. I looked around in the documentation, to see how I could help out. I noticed that the user documentation was outdated and not well-maintained. So after reading the mail list for a few months, I got my courage up, and asked about helping on the list. I was immediately greeted, and asked to join the IRC channel to talk about my ideas. Once I connected to Freenode and set up my identity there, I was made most welcome in #amarok, which made me feel wonderful, and more confident that I could contribute. It ended up that I headed up the Documentation team, and have been writing and editing the newsletter as well as the Userbase documentation. Through this process, I worked with the KDE WWW team, and learned more about how both Kubuntu and KDE work. Basically, I became part of the community team, even before joining the Community Working Group.
In Kubuntu, I haven't done as much as I would like, but I plan to get more active in the documentation team; editing if nothing else. The Kubuntu Council granted me membership, which is also Ubuntu Membership, based on my work with the LoCo, my help in #kubuntu, and work with the Ubuntu-Women. And Canonical sponsored a trip to Orlando, Florida to Ubuntu Developer Summit (UDS) last year.
I'm writing this blog post from Desktop Summit in Berlin; my lodging and travel sponsored by the KDE e.V. In June, they sent me to Randa, Switzerland for a sprint. Some of the wonderful rewards for contributing. If I can do it, you can do it!


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As mentioned before, we're fortunate enough to be finishing up the ride Saturday at the world headquarters of Ibis Cycles. They're located in the oh so trendy west end of Santa Cruz, right as you enter town. Their facility is bordered on one side by Natural Bridges State Beach, not a bad address.
Scot Nicol is the founder of Ibis, he'll be on hand Saturday along with a couple of other native Ibisians. They will be happy to show you around the shop a bit after you arrive. They have a bit of a museum there with a smattering of bikes that they've build over the last 30+ years of being in business. If you want to learn more about Ibis, head to their website. They also have a pretty amazing section on the history of the company posted on the site here. It's a soon to be 30 part series, reflecting back on 30 years of being in business, from the very first days of the existence of mountain bikes.
So, once again a big shout out and thanks to the crew at Ibis for opening their doors to us.


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Thursday, May 13, 2010
Review: The Guild Leader's Handbook
Preliminary Observations
The Handbook is a medium-sided softcover book, about 190 pages in length. It actually looks pretty classy, with just a coat of arms on the front cover. It's written well, and covers almost all aspects of guild management (save one major exception) in solid detail.
For the most part I agree with most of what Andrews has written, though this review may seem to dwell on the points I disagree with. But those are more interesting, so that's probably where the ink is going to flow. Please keep that in mind.
The Handbook is not WoW-specific, as Andrews does pull in examples from other games such as Eve Online. But it is from a primarily-WoW perspective, if that makes any sense.
Chapter 1 - Forging a Guild Identity
Andrews goes through the process of creating the identity of a guild. He lays it down as a step-by-step process of considering the various options such as size, focus, and the hardcore/casual debate. These are all essential elements that should be thought about before even starting the guild, and it is right that Andrews puts them right upfront. There's a nice flowchart at the end of the chapter that unifies all these elements into a cohesive whole.
I particularly like that Andrews uses the Guild as Business metaphor to start talking about guilds. It's much more useful than Guild as Nation-State.
Chapter 2 - Humble Origins: Foundations of a Successful Guild
In this chapter, Andrews goes through the process of creating the underlying structure starting with the name, policies, and tools like websites, forums, applications, and officers. A good chapter with often ignored concerns.
The real standout here is Andrews' concept of the Guild Policy Triangle made of the concepts Stability, Transparency, and Opportunity. Stability and Transparency are often mentioned in discussions about guilds, but this is the first time that I have really seen someone draw out Opportunity and weight it as important as the other two elements. And Opportunity really is that important.
On the other hand, Andrews' rules on naming guilds are just terrible. When almost every good guild has a name which violates your rules, that's probably a sign that your rules are rubbish. Andrews seems to disdain guild naming styles just because they are popular, and doesn't seem to understand that they are popular for a reason.
There is also an amusing segment on Paperwork. In one paragraph, Andrews bemoans the process of getting signatures, condemning it as "needless, mind-numbing bureaucracy." Then two paragraphs later, he strongly advises prospective guild leaders not to create a guild until "you even know half a dozen people who would like to join." One almost thinks that the game developers might believe that these two ideas are related.
Chapter 3 - Nonhuman Resources: Recruiting Players and Evaluating Recruits.
A solid chapter on the fundamentals of recruiting. It also includes a discussion on applications and people you should avoid.
If there is one problem with this chapter it is that it discusses recruitment from a general personality-based perspective. It does not address recruiting for competence, which is how most raiding guilds recruit. I'm not saying that competence is more important than personality, but a very common complaint on the Guild Relations Forums is that Sally is a great player but a terrible person. Or that Dave is the life of the party, but can't DPS his way out of a wet paper bag. Some commentary on this aspect of guild recruitment would have been most welcome, and it seems odd that it was skipped entirely.
Chapter 4 - Dramatis Persona: Dealing with Guild Drama
Ahh, drama. The advice here about how an officer should deal with drama is very well thought out.
However, Andrews also tries to divide up people into different archetypes to predict personality clashes, and I think he is far less successful here. For one thing, he has 10 archetypes and each one has two subtypes. He also tries to get cute and names the roles after traditional RPG classes. This makes the whole classification scheme rather non-intuitive. Like what's the difference between a Samaritan White Knight and a Wisdom-spec Priest?
Archetypes work best when they are "over-broad", rather than precise. I'm not sure that the classification presented here is actually helpful.
Chapter 5 - Epic Encounters: Raiding As a Guild
This is a very good chapter on how to raid. I've often observed that it's very hard to understand how a good raiding guild works until you've actually been in one. This chapter does a superb job. The section on Discipline alone makes the entire book worthwhile.
If you're a guild leader or officer looking at moving into raiding, or in the lower tiers of raiding guilds, I would highly recommend reading and understanding this chapter.
Chapter 6 - The Protocols of Plunder: Loot Distribution
This chapter goes through several loot systems: Loot Council, Basic Rolling, Suicide Kings (oddly put in the random section), Modified Rolling/Karma, and Point-based Systems. Nothing even moderately exotic like Wishlist, Shroud Loot System, or Vickrey Bidding is mentioned.
I don't really like this chapter. It's serviceable, but I find it rather lacking in structure. For example, Zero-Sum is discussed but not as its own system, but rather as a solution to inflation problems.
As well, Andrews scores each system based on three criteria: Complexity, Officer Effort, and Drama Factor. While those three criteria are important, they don't tell the whole story. If you go just by Andrews' scores, Suicide Kings is the clear winner, when it fact it has significant disadvantages that cause a lot of guilds to avoid it. In SK, loot that could be used is sometimes sharded, which is the cardinal sin for any loot system.
I think Andrews really fails to get across the idea that every loot system makes trade-offs, sacrificing some aspects to enhance other aspects. This chapter is good enough for a new guild, as it will give a general idea about loot systems. But there are better discussions out there. Angelie's thread on the Guild Relations Forum is probably the best starting point if you are interested in loot systems.
Chapter 7 - PvP and Roleplaying Guilds
I'll be honest, I skimmed this chapter as I don't care about organized PvP or roleplaying. Seemed decent enough, though.
Chapter 8 - The Burdens of Command: Managing Officers
This is a very strong chapter on handling officers, including important traits and roles, officer discipline, and handling burnout.
Chapter 9 - The Long Term
This chapter discusses what happens after your guild gets up and running. There are some very nice sections here, particularly the one on Morale. In particular, the idea of managing Morale Gains, not just Losses was insightful.
Sadly, Andrews' tendency towards terrible archetypes trips him up here in the section on Reputation. Describing a guild as an Angelic Kingdom or a Demonic Empire is less than helpful. To reiterate, archetypes have to be fundamental. The sign of a good archetype is that you don't actually have to explain it, that just the name carries all the connotations you desire.
Chapter 10 - IRL: Dealing with Reality
This chapter advises the guild leadership on situations where Real Life interacts with the game negatively. The advice seems pretty solid, though I don't have any experience with these situations so I cannot truly judge it.
Final Observations
The major issue that Andrews does not cover is Time Management. It's alluded to here and there, but I believe that Time Management is a crucial aspect of running an organized guild, and really deserves to be pulled out and examined on its own.
Other than that, The Guild Leader's Handbook is an extremely solid book on guild leadership. It is an amazing resource for a new or inexperienced guild leader or officer. Even an experienced guild leader will find some new ideas or inspiration in it.
3 comments:
It sounds as though this is addressed at larger, well organised guilds.ReplyDelete
How well do you think this would apply to the sort of smaller casual 10 man guild that might spring up in Cataclysm?
I would have to say that it really depends on turnover. So much of guild management is based around turnover: retaining people, recruiting people, dealing with people leaving.ReplyDelete
As I mentioned before, large guilds tend to have steady, though low, levels of turnover, and in large part they need to be structured such that they can survive.
For small guilds, turnover is a rarer event, and thus can be dealt with without needing formal structures, or on an ad hoc basis.
However, I still think that small guilds can benefit from understanding why larger guilds are organized the way they are, and can use that to make their own guild run smoother.
There's actually a section in the first chapter on the advantages and disadvantages of size.
If I could make an analogy, you don't *need* an MBA or business training to run a small business. Not the way you need that business training to run a large corporation. You can wing it, and be reasonably successful if your instincts are good. However, (assuming you can do more than parrot your professors) an MBA or business training will still make you a better small business owner.
Time management is a huge miss. It's no less important than recruitment or defining your guild's goals/culture.ReplyDelete
Classic project management outlines the three most fundamental parts of a project as:
--Cost (in this case resources/people)
--Scope (what you want to do)
--Schedule (when you want to be done)
Schedule is a proxy for time.
All three of these are limited by real-world factors.
Being successful means managing these three things. You simply cannot be successful if you don't manage your scope and your time.


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As the Baltimore area deals with the loss of power and closed and flooded roads in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, some stores and businesses plan to reopen Tuesday but others remain closed.
Harborplace & The Gallery mall at the Inner Harbor will stay closed Tuesday, with plans to reopen Wednesday, management said, though Harborplace restaurants and shops with exterior entrances were making their own decisions about opening. Office tenants and Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel guests will be given access to the offices and hotel.
Other General Growth Properties-owned malls that will stay closed Tuesday include White Marsh Mall, Mondawmin Mall in the city and Owings Mills mall. The centers are scheduled to reopen Wednesday.
The Mall in Columbia and Towson Town Center will reopen at 2 p.m. Tuesday, the mall owner said.
Merritt Athletic Club said it planned to open all nine Baltimore area locations at noon.
And the Maryland Live! Casino has resumed normal hours, said Carmen E. Gonzales, a spokeswoman for the casino at Arundel Mills. Arundel Mills mall will reopen at noon Tuesday.
Schools across the state were closed Tuesday. Decisions had not been announced as of Tuesday morning about when they would reopen. One school system, Anne Arundel, said that it was assessing any damage or power outages at its buildings and would not announce a decision until after that assessment was complete.
Because of the severity of the storm in the mid-Atlantic, Wells Fargo said it would waive or credit some fees from Monday through Thursday. The lender said it would waive late fees on credit cards and consumer and small business loans, such as home equity, auto and student loans. The bank will also waive fees charged for using another bank's ATMs.


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More sweet design ideas from Pinkberry
I wrote in Saturday's "In House" home and design briefs column about Pinkberry's current room makeover contest. There's still one day left to apply for the contest, which celebrates the frozen yogurt chain's seventh birthday. But if you miss it, here's a complete list of decorating tips assembled by the corporate design team at Pinkberry, a company that's is as dedicated to fresh fresh design as it is to using fresh foods.
Pinkberry's 20 Rules of Design
"Luminosity: bring light and air to any room."
Tip 1: Ambient light — Use dimmers to "set the mood" in a space. Dimming the dining room chandelier, for instance, can create instant ambience.
Tip 2: Accent light — Light display areas and under cabinets with small halogen puck lights or fluorescent fixtures to brighten areas usually cast in shadow. Use timers to have them come on for mornings and evenings – set it and forget it!
Tip 3: Environmentally smart — Replace inefficient incandescent bulbs with lower wattage compact fluorescent bulbs or LEDs to lower your energy usage while maintaining your light levels.
"Color: harness the power of the palette."
Tip 4: Unify your home with color — Avoid individual color schemes from room to room, as it will make your home feel smaller. Rather, use similar colors from space to space but use them in a variety of ways to add richness to the space.
Tip 5: Create texture and pattern — Monochromatic doesn't have to mean boring. If you prefer to use just one color, vary its intensity. Add lots of texture and pattern to provide interest or create a bold strike with a complimenting color.
Tip 6: Express yourself — Match your color choices to your personality. If you are a lively, vibrant person who loves life, for instance, it should be reflected in your color choices.
"Simplicity: less is always better."
Tip 7: "Quality, not quantity" — It's an old adage, but still rings true when decorating your home. Having one piece that's unexpected is the key to any good design.
Tip 8: When simplifying, focus on details — Baseboards, door and window trims and other architectural details should reflect and complement the style and era of your space.
Tip 9: Don't be afraid of negative space — Not every area of a floor or wall needs to be full of things to be complete. Sometimes the most precious item is space.
Tip 10: Maintain clean lines and uncluttered spaces — One way to maximize a sense of space in a home is to cut down on accessories and wall hangings. Clearing clutter will help free the senses.
"Originality: find a signature."
Tip 11: Start your decorating with a piece that's significant to you — It could be heirloom furniture that's been in the family for generations, a work of art painted by a friend or favorite artist, or something unusual you bought at a swap meet. The most important element is that you love it.
Tip 12: Don't feel locked into decorating in a particular style — Mixing and matching pieces from different style periods personalizes a space and adds individuality.
Tip 13: Inspiration — Search for an inspiration that can help create an overall concept/feeling for the space and always remember it when designing the space.
"Intention: the function behind things."
Tip 14: Little investment, big performance — A great way to spruce up your home is to replace door knobs, light switches and cabinet hardware. Replacing the objects that you touch every day with quality hardware can change your entire perception of a space.
Tip 15: Keep functional areas functional — Bathroom floors, kitchen counters and other areas that get a lot of use need to be made of appropriate materials that are designed for their purpose.
Tip 16: Design for how you really live, not how you think you are supposed to live — A formal dining room may be used twice a year, but if you love music that space could be converted into a listening lounge that you use every day.
Tip 17: Focal Point — A touch of pattern/texture or a simple graphic element can bring playfulness and interest to the space.
"Timelessness: avoid trend, go for classic."
Tip 18: Anchor — Trends come and go, but a classic piece will last for generations. Anchor a space with well-built, quality furniture that can complement a variety of design choices.
Tip 19: Classic doesn't have to mean old-fashioned — There are lots modern furniture choices that will be just as great ten or a hundred years from now.
Tip 20: Show patience when decorating your home — If there is a great piece of furniture you've always loved, wait, save your money and buy that piece. Trying to find an imitation or "reasonable facsimile" just isn't worth it.


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I have an op‐ed in the Huffington Post today arguing that it's possible to ensure universal access to education without compelling anyone to support types of instruction that violate their convictions. This eliminates the central objection that the ACLU and ADL have given for their opposition to private school choice. Indeed, if those organizations really care about freedom of conscience, they should prefer the policy solution I outline to the status quo system in which every taxpayer is compelled to support a single government organ of education. Or is there some other reason why the ACLU and ADL oppose liberating American education?
Feel free to chime‐in in the comments section on Huff Po.


text: Men's Lacrosse 3/17/2016 10:03:43 PM Denver Outlaws Week 5 Preview Denver Outlaws Week 5 Preview By Heather Crowley Saturday night the Denver Outlaws proved they could win on the road in their 15-10 victory over the Long Island Lizards at James M. Schuart Stadium. Since dropping their first game of the season to the Boston Cannons the Outlaws have won three straight games with a margin of victory of at least three goals. The Outlaws currently have the longest winning streak in the league at three games and with the win moved to 7-0 all-time against the Lizards. Through three quarters the Denver defense managed to hold Long Island to just four goals, establishing a commanding 13-4 lead entering the fourth quarter. One major way the Outlaws managed to shut down the Long Island offense was neutralizing the power play. The Lizards failed to score on the power play, going 0-7 on the night. While managing to take away the Long Island power play, the Outlaws again took advantage of their own opportunities with an extra man. Denver scored on all three power plays in the game, improving their percentage to a league best 47% on the season. The Outlaws offense relied on attacker Matt Brown, who shot just five times but connected on every attempt. Brown's efforts earned him Bud Light Player of the Game and MLL Offensive Player of the Week honors. Brown's accuracy was contagious, Brendan Mundorf also posted a perfect shooting evening as the going 4-for-4 from the field. Mundorf added three assists for a seven point game and moved into second place in the scoring race with 19 total points on the season. Chesapeake's Peet Poillon currently sits atop the standings with 22 points. "I think we're getting better every game," Mundorf said. "We've improved on the defensive end as well as on the offensive end. We're starting to play a little better as team. Offensively we're moving the ball well and defensively we just continue to shut people down." Next the Outlaws will travel to the site of its only loss, Harvard Stadium, to take on the Boston Cannons. After starting out 2-0 Boston has struggled of late, dropping its last two games. However, Boston's high octane offense thrives at home and will pose a challenge for Denver. Luckily for Outlaws, their defense just got a boost. In Saturday's game the Outlaws will showcase their newest members that were selected in the 2010 MLL Draft that took place on Sunday. In the draft the Outlaws selected four time All-American defenseman Ken Clausen from Virginia with the fifth overall pick. The Tewaaraton finalist played in all 70 games of his collegiate career and brings an element of security for the Outlaws. Clausen will get his first taste of the MLL when he makes his debut for the orange and black against the Cannons on Saturday. "I just want them to go out there be aggressive, play your game and have fun," head coach Brian Reese said. "Don't try and fit in with everyone. Just play your game. You don't need to give the ball up to anyone because they're older. Go out there and play the way you did in college." If an area for improvement needed to be chosen, face offs have been the weakest part of the Outlaws game. With normal face offspecialist Shane Walterhoeffer out dut to injury Will Dalton will likely handle faceoffs again, Reese said. "He's (Dalton) picked it up a lot recently," Reese said. "He's a smart guy and figures people out. He usually gets better as the game goes along. If we can be 50% or above I'm happy." As the Cannons take on the Outlaws, both teams' high octane offenses will be firing away. Boston's Paul Rabil and Ryan Boyle will pose a serious threat along with Matt Poskay who leads all MLL goal scorers with 16 through 4 games. The game on Saturday is set for a 3 pm EST start and will be shown live on ESPN2.


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IT perplexed by password-protection challenges
Despite using a plethora of preventive measures, IT managers can't seem to stop users from recording their passwords on Post-It Notes or in their PDAs. Experts say it's like locking your front door and sticking the key to the doorbell.
As long as there are passwords, there will be little yellow sticky notes littering desktops.
Despite the obvious risks and dozens of clever password management practices, IT managers can't seem to convince users to stop carelessly writing down their passwords.
Password theft seems almost inevitable.
According to a survey of 325 users by Wellesley, Mass.-based Nucleus Research Inc., one in three users writes down on paper or electronically stores computer passwords.
The survey also found that a company's password management process has no affect on a user's tendency to record his or her password. IT can have users create complex passwords, change their passwords frequently, use a single sign-on or multiple passwords for different applications, and users will still write their passwords down.
"It's sort of like Mom and Dad bought a really great security system for the house, but Junior is leaving the combination to the system under the doormat," said David O'Connell, senior analyst at Nucleus Research.
David O'ConnellSenior analyst, Nucleus Research Inc.
Of the 33% of people who said they improperly record their passwords, one-third said they write them down on paper. Two-thirds said they record them in a text file on their computer or on a personal digital assistant (PDA).
"People who are writing it down on a piece of paper -- that makes the enterprise very vulnerable to a social engineering hack," O'Connnell said. "Hackers who can find a way to get into an organization can walk around until they find a yellow sticky note with a password on it. It does happen."
O'Connell said the people who record their passwords electronically are just as, if not more, vulnerable.
"Laptops and PDAs get stolen all the time, and people get targeted. An industry event would be a great place to find and steal someone's laptop. You can do a search based on password and get a document with a bunch of passwords on it," he said.
The Nucleus survey found that 70% of users call their IT help desks once a year about a lost or forgotten password. Sixteen percent call the help desk two or three times a year for password help; 9% call three to five times a year; and 5% call the help desk more than five times a year.
Richard Roark, vice president of process improvement and network security at Travis Credit Union, said his $1.6-billion Vacaville, Calif.-based financial institution hadn't experienced any incidents with stolen passwords. However, he did acknowledge that some employees were a little loose with their password protection practices.
"We did have people frequently giving passwords to another [employee] just so they could log in, that sort of thing. Once we heard of that… it was pretty much stopped. Then we thoroughly educated everyone to make them understand that they should not give their password to anyone, not even someone from IT."
Biometrics making passwords passé?
Ready to give up the battle, companies are exploring biometrics with some success, but experts say products are just not mature enough.
With 78 applications requiring some form of username and password, Travis Credit Union help desk workers were spending on average one hour each day just handling requests from users who couldn't remember their passwords.
Roark considered biometrics as a way around the problem. He first tried a fingerprint-reading technology, but it presented problems early on.
"The technology wasn't mature yet," he said. "For 70% of people it worked fine. But other people, my boss included, it took them at least five times to get signed in."
Last year Roark switched to a new vendor, DigitalPersona Inc., a Redwood City, Calif.-based provider of fingerprint authentication products. He has since deployed the company's software and fingerprint readers company-wide.
More on access management
Gates calls for the end of passwords
Midmarket pros for a NAC for identity, access management
"We've had it for over a year now," Roarke said. "It's been one of the best solutions we've had here. Help desk requests are going down, and end users do not have to remember all their usernames and passwords."
Roark has kept passwords as a secondary level of authentication, in case fingerprint readers fail to recognize users. But so far just one of the credit union's 412 employees has had any trouble with the technology.
Jonathan Penn, principal analyst for identity and security at Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc., said biometric authentication is far more secure than the status quo with passwords, but he said biometrics are just one of many approaches companies are looking at, along with smart cards with PINs, one-time password tokens and USB tokens.
Still, biometric technology has a long way to go before it wins wider adoption.
"They're surprisingly hackable," O'Connell said. "With one thumbprint scanner platform, hackers have been able to use a couple of household products you can find in your kitchen and copy a person's thumbprint after they have used a scanner. I wouldn't say it's more hackable [than other authentication strategies]. It's just not ready for prime time."
"Biometrics of all kinds -- face, finger, voice -- are still immature and greeted with healthy skepticism by security people," Penn said.
Roark has tested DigitalPersona's technology deployed at his credit union against some common hacking methods and he has found that the vendor's thumbprint scanners have resisted them.
Penn said fingerprinting vendors have improved their defenses against hacking, but, he added, false positives, false negatives and the frequent need to do multiple scans to get a good reading remain problems.
'Passthoughts' offer new way of thinking
O'Connell said a new field of authentication software, known as cognitive biometrics, is emerging. He believes that form of biometric technology holds the most promise.
"People are authenticated by 'passthoughts' rather than passwords," O'Connell said.
Cognitive biometric software learns about individual users by asking them to tell stories about favorite memories. It can then ask questions of the users about those memories to authenticate users. It also tracks more subtle behavior by users, too, such as their reaction times, the mouse movements.
Patrick Audley, CTO of Cogneto, a Vancouver, B.C.-based vendor of cognitive biometric technology, said his product not only tracks users' answers to questions, but it also tracks how users behave while logged on. If the user interacts with his computer in a way, such as moving his mouse differently, the system might flag the user. If the user logs on from an unusual location, it might ask for additional authentication information.
"It authenticates you on all these other variables, all the things one cannot mimic in the way a person interacts with technology," O'Connell said. "This is something that a person really doesn't have to memorize. It can't be memorized."
O'Connell said the best approach for any company would be to adopt a combination of different authentication approaches. For instance, Cogneto has integrated some biometric reader technologies into its software. And Cogneto's Audley said his company views its product as a "password fortification system."
Let us know what you think about the story; email: Shamus McGillicuddy, News Writer