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A movement called NEXT Church, made up of leaders from congregations in the Presbyterian Church (USA), the denomination that includes my church, recently provided a venue for me to say something that even surprised me a little.
Drawing on the book about Pope Francis that my pastor, Paul Rock, wrote with me, we spoke at the national NEXT gathering in Kansas City, Missouri, in March. In the discussion period, what I sort of blurted out may have resonance with all branches of Christianity — especially Catholicism, given its severe shortage of priests.
I suggested rethinking ordination of pastors — and for many reasons beyond scarcity (which is a Presbyterian problem, too). Radically changing our approach to ordination may seem heretical, but stay with me.
I've been ordained as both a deacon and an elder in my church. Both are elective positions, not requiring a seminary education. But the ordination vows I take are exactly the same as those pastors take, with two exceptions, which have to do with administering our two sacraments, baptism and Communion.
I don't want to minimize what pastors learn in seminary, especially the Presbyterian requirement that future pastors learn Greek and Hebrew. One of their primary jobs, after all, is to preach, and that exploration of Scripture requires knowledge of the Bible in its original languages.
But that's about preaching. And from time to time, we Presbyterians allow laypeople, including me, to preach, recognizing that they will bring to the task something other than masterful exegetical competence.
Administering the sacraments, however, is reserved for pastors. The question I raised at the NEXT conference was, essentially, this: Why does it require a seminary degree and ordination to be able to baptize people and to oversee the Eucharist? These are profoundly meaningful sacraments and must not be trivialized by having people lead them who don't understand them in deep ways or who don't take them seriously.
But I have trouble seeing why only ordained clergy are fit to serve in that role in Protestant churches (recognizing that the Catholic understanding of the role of a priest in the Eucharist differs from the Protestant understanding). I also wonder why congregations — or, anyway, small groups of them — can't raise up clergy from within their own number.
That's far from a new idea. A small example: In his book The Dominican Friars in Southern Africa: A Social History (1577-1990), Philippe Denis writes that in the 1820s in Mauritius, Catholic "churchwardens" were elected, "and like Calvinist churchwardens they demanded the right to be consulted on any matter of importance. ... In 1788, John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the United States of America, had been elected by his clergy. ... Having seen the priests elect their first bishop, in some places the laity wished to elect their own priests."
This move toward ecclesial democracy didn't thrive in American Catholicism, but it's worth noting that it existed at all.
Even in recent times, there have been movements within Catholicism advocating direct election of bishops, which I mentioned in this 2014 column.
I don't know where a thorough look at the issue of ordination will take the church. What I do know is that ordination can and does sometimes turn into clericalism, in which pastors, priests, imams and rabbis acquire almost unquestioned authority. That's not good for anyone, including the clergy.
This year, in which we are commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, may be an excellent time to discern anew where the restless and generative Holy Spirit may be leading us on this and related matters. That's much preferable to circling our ecclesial wagons so that we can protect the way we've nearly always done things.
Wagon-circling, after all, hardly ever works. Besides, it makes us look silly in the long run because eventually we find that we get run over by the wagons that God will drive right through our defenses.
[Bill Tammeus, a Presbyterian elder and former award-winning Faith columnist for The Kansas City Star, writes the daily "Faith Matters" blog for the Star's website and a column for The Presbyterian Outlook. His latest book is The Value of Doubt: Why Unanswered Questions, Not Unquestioned Answers, Build Faith. E-mail him at email@example.com.]
Editor's note: We can send you an email alert every time Bill Tammeus' column, "A small c catholic," is posted to NCRonline.org. Go to this page and follow directions: Email alert sign-up.


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Dan Christian: Nottinghamshire re-sign all-rounder for T20 Blast
Last updated on .From the section Cricket
Australia all-rounder Dan Christian will rejoin Nottinghamshire as their overseas player for the T20 Blast.
Christian, 32, took four wickets and scored 65 runs at strike rate of 127.45 in last summer's competition.
He initially moved to Notts to replace Darren Sammy and extended his stay to include seven One-Day Cup games, taking nine wickets and scoring 251 runs.
"He got better and better over the course of his time with us," said director of cricket Mick Newell.
"We'll use him in a different role in Twenty20 cricket, higher up the order where he can make more of a batting impact."
Christian, who is playing for the Hobart Hurricanes in Australia's Big Bash competition, played the last of his 34 limited-overs internationals in April 2014.
Playing for the Hurricanes in December, he hit a remarkable 117-metre six onto the roof of the Gabba against his former side Brisbane Heat.

subset: commoncrawl


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Published on July 12 2015
Written by: Pip Strickland
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Despite almost two decades of civil war within Mozambique, with much of its infrastructure destroyed and wildlife poached for its lucrative ivory and bushmeat, Gorongosa National Park, a former battle ground at the southern end of the Great African Rift Valley, is now well on the road to recovery. It is spread over 4,000 square kilometres, rising from the valley floor to the surrounding plateaus, and its ecosystems include grasslands, savannah, seasonal flooded pans, montane and miombo forests, as well as limestone gorges swathed in rainforest. The rivers flowing into Lake Urema are the lifeblood of the park and its resident wildlife, flooding the plains and valley during the wet season and contracting again during the dry. This constant process creates a patchwork of niche habitats, resulting in the incredible diversity of wildlife that Gorongosa supports.
The slopes of Mount Gorongosa support more than 2,000 people whose relatively sustainable farming practices largely maintained the ecological systems here, although widespread habitat destruction and poaching during the civil war severely threatened the park's wildlife. In the post-war years the park suffered even more catastrophic poaching as the country struggled for stability, but wildlife numbers have now been slowly restored, infrastructure rebuilt, and peace returned. Large game such as elephant and buffalo were relocated from next door South Africa, followed by eland and zebra, and today the park boasts 122 mammals, 34 reptiles, 43 amphibians and almost 400 bird species. Gorongosa's rich biodiversity includes species found nowhere else in the world and a complex, interdependent ecosystem that make its conservation so vital.
The restoration of Gorongosa National Park following the civil war was initiated by the United States not-for-profit organisation, the Carr Foundation (headed by American philanthropist, Greg Carr), in conjunction with the Government of Mozambique. The aim is not only to restore the infrastructure, habitats and wildlife numbers of the park, but also develop a sustainable ecotourism industry that provides long-term benefits to the local community. The park's boundaries have been expanded to include Mount Gorongosa whose lofty heights capture the life-sustaining rain which drains into the surrounding rivers and across the valley floor. Nurseries have been established to help reforest the mountain's slopes, and both schools and health clinics have been built to improve the lives of those who live there.
While much of the park's infrastructure was damaged during the war, the original headquarters at Chitengo Camp in the south remain, including 18 air-conditioned cabanas, a shaded camp ground, an on-site restaurant and a swimming pool - ideal for an after safari swim. A scientific research and education centre has also been established to educate visitors about the importance of the park's biodiversity and its ongoing preservation. Guided game drives and village visits can all be organised from Chitengo and there are plans to expand the activity program as tourists slowly return to the park.
Mozambique officially experiences a wet and dry season, with the later extending from around mid-April through to mid-December. Currently the park is only open during this long, dry period, but wet season safaris are gradually being trialled during the shoulder months to take advantage of the birdlife (and see if vehicles can handle the muddy conditions).
Visiting Gorongosa is not only an impressive wildlife spotting experience, it is also a model of what successful conservation projects can achieve. While the park has made a strong recovery and is on the road to again be one of Southern Africa's premier wildlife viewing destinations, the past is not forgotten and a bullet-pocked concrete slab serves as a war memorial at Chitengo Camp, a constant reminder of what this park, and its resident wildlife, have endured.
Has been on: 13 safaris
I am definitely an adventure traveller. I like to trek mountains, dive reefs and explore cultures in depth. I like to camp out in the wilds under the stars or live amongst the local communities and absorb as much as possible. I think if you open your heart and mind when travelling the rewards are endless.
© Your African Safari Ltd, All rights reserved.
Your African Safari is a safari-planning and safari review site. It was created to help support a healthy African wildlife population. All reviews are vetted before being approved and only ethical tours are published
Layover in Johannesburg? We've got you covered!
Published on July 18 2023
By: yourafricansafari.com
Safari by Leo breaks the silence on menstrual hygiene in Tanzania
Published on April 11 2023
By: yourafricansafari.com
Get off the beaten path and visit the oldest protected area in Uganda—Semliki Wildlife Reserve
Published on March 27 2023
By: yourafricansafari.com


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Classes in the new School of Public Health and Health Service building will begin a semester later than expected after construction hit several snags.
Faculty will be unable to move into their offices in the $75 million building, which sits near Washington Circle, until next year's spring break. Classrooms will open for summer 2014 – rather than next spring, as originally planned – due to permit delays, Senior Associate Vice President of Operations Alicia Knight said last week.
"Every project, we experience a variety of challenges – would be my best word fr it," Knight said. "You expect that not everything in a construction plan that's three years long is going to go exactly as you planned."
After hitting permit delays, which Knight called a "not predictable process," concrete work further slowed down the building's completion. Construction on Gelman Library was also delayed last August because the permit process required multiple revisions.
The seven-floor building reached its highest point earlier this month, and construction workers will now transition efforts to the exterior, building walls and the roof. The structure spans 115,000 square feet.
Payette Architects, a Boston-based firm, is leading the construction. The building is being funded by a mix of debt reserves, capital reserves and fundraising dollars.
Knight added that public health school dean Lynn Goldman, who runs one of the University's newest and most research-heavy colleges, has worked with faculty members to ensure the eventual move will be smooth.
Douglas Evans, a professor of global health and of prevention and community health, called these delays "typical" for big construction projects.
"We're not happy about the delay, but I certainly wouldn't blame our administration," Evans said.
The building will centralize the school's seven departments. Classes are now held in Ross Hall and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences building, with most offices housed in leased buildings on K Street.
It will include upgraded research labs for the school's work studying topics like AIDS, obesity and food and water safety.
"Right now we're kind of scattered about the campus," Evans said. "With the new building we'll be able to more easily interact in a central place."
Brianna Gurciullo contributed to this report.


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General Mills has a sweet new gift for fans of the Will Ferrell classic Christmas film, Elf. The company will release a new limited edition cereal inspired by the movie.
The cereal will consist of corn puff cereal flavored with real maple syrup (one of Buddy the elf's favorite foods) and red and green marshmallow trees.
According to People, the cereal has already begun appearing in stores, and it, "will only be available for a limited time through the holiday season."
Stay tuned to Conskipper for complete coverage of upcoming pop culture cereals as soon as it breaks!


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Happy Holidays from Nexright
Season's Greetings
As 2014 draws to a close, I would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and all the best for 2015! Kids, family, loved ones, wherever you are, it is a time for all of us to enjoy the moments together, reflect on what we have achieved and what we would look forward to into 2015.
At Nexright, it has been a busy and successful year for us. We look forward to working with you in the coming year and hope our business relationship continues for many years to come.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us here at Nexright, and lets look forward to 2015 with gusto!
Warm regards,
Dilip Mohapatra


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Chris Taylor had an early two-run single, Julio Urías pitched six scoreless innings of four-hit ball, and the Los Angeles Dodgers opened their annual rivalry series against the San Francisco Giants with a 3-1 victory Tuesday night.
Hanser Alberto doubled and scored in the eighth inning for Los Angeles, which won for the third time in four games despite a hair-raising ninth. Craig Kimbrel walked Wilmer Flores and gave up a two-out bunt single to Luis González before getting Luke Williams to ground into a forceout, earning his fifth save.
Carlos Rodón pitched six innings of three-hit ball, but took his first loss for the Giants in the first of 19 much-anticipated meetings between the California archrivals this season.
They'll have to be tremendously entertaining to top last season's series, which was among the best in the 133-season history of this bicoastal rivalry.
Get Southern California news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC LA newsletters.
These powerhouses won a combined 213 games last season, with the 107-win Giants going 10-9 against LA — and ending the 106-win Dodgers' eight-year reign in the NL West by that one victory. Los Angeles then edged San Francisco in a thrilling five-game Division Series, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could tell his team was drained by that effort before its NLCS loss to Atlanta.
Urías (2-1) largely cruised through this start, but was pulled after just 65 pitches. The 2020 World Series star issued no walks after walking eight in his first four starts.
Rodón (3-1) allowed just three total runs in his first four starts for the Giants, but Los Angeles got him in trouble during a 27-pitch second inning in which the left-hander walked two and threw a wild pitch before Taylor's single to right-center.
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
Rodón otherwise allowed only doubles by Taylor and Trea Turner in his six innings. Turner went 1 for 3 with that 112-mph drive in his first career meeting with Rodón, his buddy and former teammate at North Carolina State.
San Francisco broke through in the seventh when Flores reached on third baseman Justin Turner's terrible throw, advanced on a groundout and scored on pinch-hitter González's sacrifice fly to left. Alex Vesia ended the rally by striking out Williams.
Los Angeles added a run in the eighth when Alberto doubled, advanced on Mookie Betts' single and scored on José Álvarez's wild pitch.
Joc Pederson was heavily booed before he struck out as a pinch-hitter in his first visit to Dodger Stadium with the Giants. The longtime Dodgers outfielder got a warmer reception when he returned with the Cubs and Braves last season.
Giants: OF LaMonte Wade Jr. is "physically ready to come off the injured list," manager Gabe Kapler said. The team is waiting until Wade's knee is sturdy enough to play nine innings. He could be activated Wednesday. ... OF Mike Yastrzemski could return from the COVID-19 list Wednesday.
Roberts declined to reveal his starter for Wednesday's game before the series opener, admitting to a little gamesmanship. LA will face former teammate Alex Wood (2-1, 4.19 ERA), who's coming off his worst start of the season against Washington.


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Whether you're looking for a great deal or an offbeat gem, antique shops are a treasure chest. With over 100 unique shops around the state, we've picked 10 in and around Birmingham that are worth a visit. Let's take a trip down the Alabama Antique Trail, shall we?
About the Alabama Antique Trail
The Alabama Antique Trail lists over 100 different antique shops around the state and it's always being updated. If you're on the hunt for a one-of-a-kind piece, they do all the work for you.
The site is complete with maps, photos, store info and more. There are even links that lead straight to shops' Facebook and Instagram accounts.
No shop is alike. Some are in cottages, bungalows, antebellum homes or even made out of recycled wood. Let's take a look at some of the shops you can find on the antique trail in and around Birmingham.
Attic Antiques
- What: Specializes in primitives and Americana antiques
- Where: 5620 Cahaba Valley Rd, Birmingham, AL 35242
- Contact: Call | Website
Hanna Antiques Mall
- What: Birmingham's oldest and largest antique mall selling vintage linens, European furniture, jewelry and more
- Where: 2424 7th Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233
- Contact: Call | Website
Homewood Antiques & Marketplace
- What: A mixture of new and repurposed home furnishings, pieces made by local artisans and services including upholstery
- Where: 930 Oxmoor Rd, Homewood, AL 35209
- Contact: Call | Website
Irondale Pickers
- What: Over 400 vendors selling antiques, furniture, unique crafts, jewelry and art
- Where: 5401 Beacon Dr, Irondale, AL 35210
- Contact: Call | Website
Hoover Antique Gallery AL
- What: Large, multivendor mall with period pieces, antiques, lighting, accessories and gifts
- Where: 3411 Old Columbiana Rd, Hoover, AL 35226
- Contact: Call | Website
The Vintage Shoppes
- What: Blend of new furniture, vintage consignment and an antique mall
- Where: 1775 Montgomery Hwy, Hoover, AL 35244
- Contact: Call | Website
Urban Suburban Antiques
- What: Multi-vendor antiques and retro mall. They might be your mom's kind of store, but probably not your Grandmother's
- Where: 5514 Crestwood Blvd, Birmingham, AL 35212
- Contact: Call | Website
Bama Flea Mall
- What: One of Alabama's largest indoor flea markets with everything from antique furniture to collectibles
- Where: 1605 Ashville Road, Leeds, AL 35094
- Contact: Call | Website
Trussville Antiques and Interiors
- What: Healthy mix of old and new for a one-stop-shop for interior decor
- Where: 147 N Chalkville Rd, Trussville, AL 35173
- Contact: Call | Website
Chelsea Antiques
- What: 20,000+ square feet of vintage treasures
- Where: 14569 Hwy 280 E, Chelsea, AL 35043
- Contact: Call | Website


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Arif Wibowo, HansSloterdik, Saint PaulUlrich
The Eastern Sumatran peat swamp ecosystem is one of the most threatened and most poorly understood biotypes. Until recently, there is no scientific record concerning ichtyoplankton composition within this system and all fish's biodiversity research at this ecosystem relied on morphological diagnosis for adult stages. Two new fish records in this system, Rasbora pauciperforata and Ompok eugeneiatuswere detected. Finally the authors concluded that, eleven fish species complete their life history in Eastern Sumatran peat swamp. This investigation enlarges the COI barcode database for the molecular identification of eastern Sumatran peat swamp fishes.
Keywords: Eastern Sumatran, DNA barcoding, larvae identification, peat swamp
Referensi: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876619615000133
Download file


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Wed, 1 July 2020
FedEx shares pop on surprisingly good 4th-quarter results. United Airlines plans to add 25,000 flights in August. Constellation Brands serves up strong 1st-quarter profits and adds Empathy Wines to its portfolio. Abi Malin analyzes those stories, plus we talk about the connection between Bernie Madoff and the greatest contract in the history of professional baseball.
Direct download: 20200701_Market_Foolery.mp3
Category:finance -- posted at: 2:08pm EDT


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Playing Together: A Love Song To Yerevan
Прошедшее 29 ноября воскресенье 20:00
Come have a rock-y Sunday with us.
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and maybe even your neighborhood priest too.
We are celebrating all of our happy moments in Yerevan with new and old friends.
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As we approach the holidays and the end of the year, many people may want to make gifts of cash or stock to their loved ones. By properly using the annual exclusion, gifts to family members and loved ones can reduce the size of your taxable estate, within generous limits, without triggering any estate or gift tax. The exclusion amount for 2021 is $15,000. The exclusion covers gifts you make...Read more
Perhaps you operate your small business as a sole proprietorship and want to form a limited liability company (LLC) to protect your assets. Or maybe you are launching a new business and want to know your options for setting it up. Here are the basics of operating as an LLC and why it might be appropriate for your business. An LLC is somewhat of a hybrid entity because it can...Read more


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As the baseball season opens this week in the U.S., one of the pre-game rituals is the chalking of the foul lines, batter's boxes, and other areas, a mundane, but necessary task usually handled by one or more people of a grounds crew. Could a robot be handling this part of pre-game field preparation in the future?
While this may be a few or more years away from happening at the professional level, some municipal parks and recreation departments, strapped with funding issues that don't affect the professional leagues, are exploring whether a robot that could chalk and paint lines for baseball, soccer, football, and lacrosse fields would save man-hours, materials, and provide a more accurate marking of the fields than humans.
Such was the case with the Decatur, Alabama, parks and recreation department, which started using a robot from Turf Tank, the U.S. subsidiary of Intelligent Marking of Denmark.
The company was founded by co-CEOs Anders Ulrik Sørensen and Andreas Ydesen as a high school project in 2014. The company's robot is now automating the chalking and painting of sports facilities worldwide, a market the company said is worth more than $1 billion.
The patented Intelligent One robot can mark lines on all types of sports fields on natural grass or artificial turf, managed through a mobile app, eliminating the need for an operator while increasing precision and sustainability. Intelligent One is already sold or leased to non-profit sports organizations, municipalities, school districts, private schools, commercial contractors and professional teams in Europe, the U.S., Australia and Japan.
"Our customers have as many as 250 playing fields that need to be painted continuously, and once they try autonomous line marking with Intelligent One, they find that they cannot do without it," Sørensen said in a statement. "With our robot, they just have to choose the desired sport type and field layout, push a button, and then the robot will drive from field to field and make sure that the lines are accurate and precise. Some of our customers have proven annual savings of nearly 70%."
Cost and materials savings
In Decatur the parks and recreation department may not be saving that much, but the savings are significant, said Darrin Allen, sports field manager.
"We have to take care of so many sports fields weekly," said Allen, pointing to his department's oversight of 52 soccer, 28 softball/baseball, and seven football fields, as well as use of some of the fields for lacrosse and Ultimate (flying disc game). "My boss saw the robot on an online site a few years ago, we got in touch with the company and they did a demonstration for us. Ever since we started using it, it's been great for us."
According to Allen, the robot saves 75% of the man-hours typically needed to chalk and paint fields, freeing up his six-person staff for other duties. The robot also saves about 50% of the material needed.
The robot is simple to use, Allen adds. Using a tablet to create field line plans and the robot's connection to a GPS satellite, a user can plan the markings for any field.
Improved accuracy
The GPS positioning means the markings are precise, adds Jason Aldridge, president of Turf Tank. "It has to be precise, otherwise it wouldn't be a viable solution for the customer."
If the field is uneven, which can throw a human worker's lining efforts off by several inches, the robot uses the GPS positioning to self-correct, he adds. An operator can also adjust the speed of the robot to coincide with the field conditions (faster for smooth fields, slower for rough ones).
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the robot is $49,999, and based on prior experience with customers, the return on investment is 12 to 18 months. Companies, organizations and local authorities can also choose to lease the robot system for less than $899 per month.
While that would seem out of the range of many municipal parks departments, Allen said the robot paid for itself within a year.
Aldridge added that customers report an average cost savings of as much as $2,000 per field per year. Some municipalities partner to share the cost, while the company also offers the robot as a service to help with any cost or budget concerns.


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Green Hydrogen will be a fundamental actor in the energy transition. Soon, it will play a central role not only in the mobility area but also in industry and housing. For the Paris Agreement climate action targets to achieve, green hydrogen will have to supply energy for automobiles and many other means of transportation, such as trains, airplanes, and ships. With solid experience in fueling supply solutions, Hellonext also provides strong design skills and delivery capabilities across the hydrogen chain by working with quality partnerships in the renewable and hydrogen production fields. The International Energy Agency already claimed that green hydrogen is the energy of the future.
Hydrogen-powered vehicles have many advantages: they can be charged in between 2 and 6 minutes, do not emit polluting gases, and have high autonomy – it is possible to cover up to 660 kilometres without the need for additional charging. Still, for hydrogen vehicles to become a reality, it is necessary to invest in supply centres, storage and isolation of hydrogen. That is where Hellonext mission begins: our hydrogen solutions contemplate supply and storage, with or without local hydrogen production.
Introducing Green Hydrogen in your business is a challenging process, but Hellonext will provide you with guidance along the way. From planning to the development of infrastructures, passing through commissioning hydrogen stations, customer support and maintenance services, we will be a close partner that provides answers regardless of the stage of the process you're in.
We offer equipment, integrated solutions, and services for electromobility and hydrogen refuelling. Get in touch today to share your challenges.
From larger to smaller projects, our experienced team will provide all the guidance for your project success.Global Office Map


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In recent years, Japanese tuner Liberty Walk has created a number of weird and wacky widebody creations, comprehensively modifying the like...Read more
Liberty Walk
Everyone was astounded when Lexus revealed the production version of its LC coupe, as it was almost identical to the impressive LF-LC concep...Read more
There may be a greater range of supercars on the market than ever before, but that doesn't mean the allure of exotics has faded in recent ti...Read more
Whether you like them or detest them, it seems that Liberty Walk's flashy upgrades are here to stay, with the latest example to receive...Read more
car news Aston Martin 02 December 2017
We have seen how the recently unveiled 2018 Aston Martin Vantage might look like as a Volante and a Shooting Brake , but can you imagine it...Read more
Like it or not, the tuners at Liberty Walk are here to stay, with their bolt-on fenders, massaged bumpers, and ducklid spoilers being appli...Read more
Previous photos of Liberty Walk's Honda NSX failed to do the Japanese supercar justice. These images, however, perfectly highlight the car ...Read more
Good things, they say, come in threes. The less-than-good things, it seems, come in twos. In this case we're referring to pink Lamborghi...Read more
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Micro-Speed® CX™ VFDs
The Micro-speed® CX™ series variable speed drives are heavy-duty industrial VFDs with the highest current and temperature ratings in the industry. Ideal for motors 1-40 HP, models available in all 3-phase voltages (208 – 600V).
Is the search bar not finding your exact VFD model? Click here for a complete listing of Up-Grade-Path™ models.


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Kalayaan Fun Rideis aimed to help promote health and eco-tourism. Join and explore the valley and its famous strawberry fields. Part of the proceeds of the race will go for the purchase of school supplies/materials for grade schol of Wangal Elementary School, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Kalayaan Fun Ride
June 11, 2017
La Trinidad Municipal Hall Grounds
Organizer: workroommedia
Registration Fee:
– REGISTRATION inclusive of bib, after race snacks and giveaways.
– Medals and certificates to be given to top riders male/female
Registration Venues:
– LAGALAG STORE BAGUIO – Outdoor Equipment Store, Casa Vallejo (ilalim), Upper Session Road, Baguio City
– TIMELESS SALON – FA243 Senly Loy Bldg., Km4 La Trinidad, Benguet
– 8A PERFORMANCE Multisports – Unit 204 La Azotea Bldg., Session Road, Baguio City
– BSS Outdoor Shop – Cuyop Bldg., #55 Bokawkan Rd. Baguio City
– Mt.Zion Emission Testing Center, Puguis Road, La Trinidad
– TOPSPIN Sportshop – Wangal Housing, La Trinidad
Contact Details:
09369669059/09123472323 (Michelle)
09157067346 (Benjie)


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Power Automate is part of the Microsoft Power Platform and is a powerful tool to create automation flows for workflow processes. In this course, we cover the capabilities of the Power Automate service. You will learn how to identify common components such as flow types, connectors, conditions, expressions, and approvals.
You'll also learn how to build basic flows that can be started immediately with a button, based on an automated trigger, or on a set schedule. We'll explore how to update your flows and correct any issues that might interfere with your flow running successfully.
Furthermore, this course will help you in preparing for the Microsoft PL-900 certification for the Power Platform.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the different types of flows
- Identify and choose the proper type of flow trigger
- Find and use templates to run or modify a flow
- Use and change data connectors
- Be able to describe templates, connectors, loops and conditions, expressions, and approvals
Intended Audience
- IT professionals who are interested in obtaining the Microsoft PL-900 certification
- Those tasked with automating tasks from Microsoft 365 applications and external application integration
- Basic knowledge of the Microsoft 365 applications and a license to create Power Automate Flows (a trial of an Enterprise version would work as a temporary testbed)
This is our lecture on loops and conditions. Loops and conditions are helpful when our process flow is not just one straight line or argument. Loops help us to continue to process things until some condition is met. Conditions help us act on certain criteria or take action on other criteria.
Loops can include counters that help them to start from a position and end when counters reach another position. When each loop happens, counters can be incremented. For example, retweet a message until the Retweet count reaches 10.
Loops can continually run without counters until a condition is met. For example, sending a reminder every day until the status reaches "Approved". Let's look at some ways to use conditionals and loops.
Within Power Automate, we will start with a simple flow that emails someone when we have a change to an inventory list item. We add a new action between our list and the email, and we select Control. The loops and conditionals all fall within here. The first one of these we will look at is a Switch Control.
Notice we get three input boxes, a Switch, Case, and Default. In the Switch box we are turning the switch on to watch our status value. When the status equals "Out of Stock", then the next step runs.
I am going to add an email action and then put it as our next action in the Case. This would send an alert email to someone. If status equals anything else, then it does nothing more.
I'm going to copy our email so we can use it again. Now let's add a Condition Control in the same place. Notice that we also get three boxes but, in this case, we can do more inputs than a switch which was for a single input. We can still add our status value and what it is equal to, but we could also add multiple other conditions that must be met. When a condition is met, we travel down the Yes side of the condition. If the condition is not met, then we go down the No path. Let's add our email as an action of the Yes path.
On our No path, we could add another condition control to split the status values even further. For example, let's add a condition that still sends an email but only if it is not out of stock, and it is not in the status of "Available". That way, we can send a different email to notify people that stock is low. We could go on doing this until we break down everything we need to accomplish. So, Condition Controls will help us to do multiple conditions.
For the Do Until Control, we can use our same example, but you might see an issue. I would like to send a reminder to order an item when the Status is equal to "Out of Stock". Let's put the Do Until into place and select our Status Value equal to Ordered. Now by itself, the do until creates some problems. First, it will continue to send emails or change things until we reach our condition or until it times out. The default time out is set at 1 hour.
You can see that we would have to make some changes, or we would have this running for ever if we don't be careful. We would most likely want to start with a scheduled cloud flow and run it every day or once a week. Then, we would have a conditional control that would include the Do Until control within it. Then we would not get into a loop that would drive others crazy or time out.
Our next control is the Apply to each. Notice the lighter color of these two controls. That is an indicator that they should be in another control. Apply to Each will apply an action to a group of items. If I wanted to have all items in my inventory that were ordered changed to the status of "Available", then I would need to do two things. First would be to add a condition control or switch. Since we are only looking for one item, I will use a switch control to look for those items that are equal to the status value of "Received". Then I embed the Apply to each control to update the status value on just those that say" Received" to the status value of "Available". It will continue to run until all items that were received are updated.
Loops and conditions can be really helpful in limiting our focus or filtering items that need some action applied. There are many combinations that could be helpful so play with them all to find your happy mix.
Our next lecture is on exploring expressions.
Ron is an experienced professional with in-depth expertise in SharePoint, Power Automate, Power BI, and Microsoft 365. He enjoys involvement in corporate presentations, training, change management, communications, marketing, and facilitation.
Ron brings this experience together to design SharePoint solutions that meet his client's business, training, and collaboration needs. His skillset includes: Program Management, Change Management, SharePoint Site Administration and Architecture, Project Management, Graphic Design, and Technology Infrastructure Expertise. Ron is an expert skier and speaks Japanese as a second language.


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Shortest path planning is a fundamental building block in many applications. Hence developing efficient methods for computing shortest paths in e.g. road or grid networks is an important challenge. The most successful techniques for fast query answering rely on preprocessing. But for many of these techniques it is not fully understood why they perform so remarkably well and theoretical justification for the empirical results is missing. An attempt to explain the excellent practical performance of preprocessing based techniques on road networks (as transit nodes, hub labels, or contraction hierarchies) in a sound theoretical way are parametrized analyses, e.g., considering the highway dimension or skeleton dimension of a graph. But these parameters tend to be large (order of Θ(√n)) when the network contains grid-like substructures — which inarguably is the case for real-world road networks around the globe. In this paper, we use the very intuitive notion of bounded growth graphs to describe road networks and also grid graphs. We show that this model suffices to prove sublinear search spaces for the three above mentioned state-of-the-art shortest path planning techniques. For graphs with a large highway or skeleton dimension, our results turn out to be superior. Furthermore, our preprocessing methods are close to the ones used in practice and only require randomized polynomial time.
Published Date: 2018-02-08
Registration: ISSN 2374-3468 (Online) ISSN 2159-5399 (Print)
Copyright: Published by AAAI Press, Palo Alto, California USA Copyright © 2018, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence All Rights Reserved.


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NEW YORK (WABC) -- Haven't sent out those presents yet in time for the holidays? Well, looks like you may be out of luck!
U.S. Postal Service officials say that Friday was the deadline for getting packages to their destination in time for Christmas.
RELATED: Holiday shipping deadlines 2020: Last day to mail packages for Christmas delivery
The USPS issued a consumer alert saying they are experiencing "unprecedented volume increases and limited employee availability due to the impacts of COVID-19."
People mailing out packages at one New Jersey post office at the deadline were resigned to their fate.
Click here for USPS shipping deadlines for mail sent to international and military addresses. USPS also offers a list on its website with tips about how to avoid common holiday shipping mishaps to ensure your packages arrive on time.
COVID-19 vaccine: When will you be able to get one? Find out where you are in line
Coronavirus by zip code - New York City
COVID Vaccine Calculator: Find out how many people may get a COVID-19 vaccine before you
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Where to get tested for COVID-19 coronavirus
WATCH: Eyewitness to a Pandemic
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus
Submit a News Tip


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Anne Curtis Showcases Her Pregnancy Glow In Maternity Shoot
The actress is due to give birth real soon. We can't wait to meet ErwAnne's baby!
Anne Curtis turned a year older yesterday, and she is also set to give birth to her and Erwan Heussaff's baby girl next month in Australia. With such milestones in her life, it seems only fitting that she marked it with a maternity shoot that showcased her pregnancy glow.
In an Instagram post, the actress expressed how amazed she is with the changes she's encountered in her body as she awaits the arrival of their little one. "I can feel her hiccups, her big kicks in my ribs and squirming around in me every single day," she wrote in the caption of the snaps taken by photographer BJ Pascual, calling her first child the best gift she has ever received.
View this post on Instagram
Birthday Suit. I have been so amazed how my body has changed, created and grown a little human being - I can feel her little hiccups, her big kicks in my ribs and squirming around in me every single day. Not too long till my little girl meets the outside world and she will be the best gift I have ever received in my life ❤ Thank you for your birthday greetings everyone! Sending out light and love to all of you! 📷: @bjpascual. 🎀: @pamquinones. 💫: @robbiepinera. 💆🏻♀: @santiagoraymond
The stunning pictures gained instant likes from her millions of followers, including her showbiz friends like Bianca Gonzalez-Intal, Angel Locsin, Coleen Garcia-Crawford, Mariel Padilla, Georgina Wilson-Burnand, Martine Cajucom-Ho, and more, who sent her messages of love and joy.
For this shoot, she worked with her go-to glam team, which includes makeup artist Robbie Piñera, hairstylist Raymond Santiago, and fashion stylist Pam Quiñones. Complementing the radiance of the mom-to-be, Pam says, "I've done countless shoots with @annecurtissmith and I must say THIS has got to be one of the most special (and emotional 🖤). The grace has always been there, but the sense of peace and vulnerability was beautiful to see."
Happy birthday, Anne!
Anne Curtis Maternity Shoot
Photos from @annecurtissmith @bjpascual @pamquinones @robbiepinera @santiagoraymond


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20 Notable Customer Experience Startups (2023)
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Business leaders agree that customer experience—the high-level view of a customer's relationship with a business based on every touchpoint they've ever had—is essential.
But statistics show that consumers see the situation differently.
Recent findings from Merkle showed that while 86% of surveyed businesses felt they were providing a successful, complete customer experience. And just 35% of customers saw businesses' advertising and marketing tactics as relevant and sufficient.
Given this apparent divide between the intentions of businesses and the true feelings of consumers, modern companies may need to re-evaluate their own customer experience. In this article, we present 20 trending startups that aim to help businesses with CX problems improve their relationship with their customers.
1. Raydiant
5-year search growth: 271%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2017
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $70.2M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Raydiant is a digital signage startup focused on helping companies make the most of the in-person experience of their business. They boast a technology solution that is both easy to set up and scale. The company, previously known as Mira, announced a $7M funding round in late 2019 that included 8VC, Bloomberg Beta, and other investors.
2. Planhat
5-year search growth: 317%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Funding: $50M (Series A)
What they do: Planhat provides insights on how to improve UX using customer usage data. The software has helped companies increase their customer retention by up to 10%. Another startup reports increasing their NPS from 74 to 78 and improving their response rate from 38% to 54% after using Planhat. The platform has a 4.7/5 average rating from 175 reviews on G2. Planhat forecasts it will reach approximately $90K MRR this year.
3. ChurnZero
5-year search growth: 1700%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2015
Location: Washington, D.C.
Funding: $34.5M (Series B)
What they do: ChurnZero arms business with the information and tools needed to combat customer attrition or churn. The company, founded by previous Cision (formerly Vocus) co-workers You Mon Tsang and Mark Heys, has raised roughly $35M total, with a 2021 Series B funding round bringing in $25M from JMI Equity, Baird Capital, and other investors.
4. MadKudu
5-year search growth: 900%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2014
Location: Mountain View, California
Funding: $27.1M (Series A)
What they do: MadKudu works to elevate the customer journey for B2B companies through better lead scoring. In 2020, the company, which is leveraged by businesses like Intercom and Gusto, highlighted their over $5M Series A funding round, the growth of their board of directors and advisory board, and their relaunched website.
5. Meya
5-year search growth: 67%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Ontario, Canada
Funding: $1M (Seed)
What they do: Meya is a platform used by companies to create support bots and improve customer experience. Google, Playstation, ESPN, and more companies use Meya's platform to develop white-labeled applications to streamline many types of customer processes, from upsells to returns. The startup was founded by University of Waterloo graduates Erik Kalvianen and Amanie Ismail in 2015.
6. MaestroQA
5-year search growth: 250%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2013
Location: New York, New York
Funding: $31.5M (Series A)
What they do: MaestroQA is a customer experience startup that aims to deliver companies in-depth knowledge about their customer success team performance. The platform, which integrates with other common business tools such as Zendesk, Intercom, and Salesforce, was founded by Vasu Prathipati and Harrison Hunter after two unsuccessful marketing startups: Adtrib and MaestroIQ.
7. Moesif
5-year search growth: 200%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2017
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $15.5M (Series A)
What they do: Moesif helps API developers improve their customer experience by gaining insights into how customers are leveraging their API. According to Derric Gilling, CEO and one of the founders of Moesif, the platform is essentially like Google Analytics for APIs. In early 2019, Moesif announced a seed funding round amounting to $3.5M with contributions from Merus Capital, Heavybit, and Zach Coelius.
8. AfterShip
5-year search growth: 4%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2012
Location: Hong Kong, China
Funding: $69M (Series B)
What they do: AfterShip is a customer experience company focused on bettering the consumer impression of ecommerce. The company, founded in 2012, only recently brought on sales staff after seeing years of success through smart business partnerships and referrals. In Q2 2021, the company announced a sizable $66M Series B funding round.
9. Userlytics
5-year search growth: 800%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2009
Location: Miami, Florida
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: Userlytics is a remote user testing platform. Specifically, it's designed to help companies run user experience studies such as usability tests, diary studies, tree testing, and card sorting. The platform currently works with over 1,000 companies, including Google, Mircosoft and Philips. The startup is projecting to reach approximately $5.2M in revenue this year, representing a 15% YoY growth (Pitchbook).
10. Threekit
5-year search growth: 300%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2005
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Funding: $65M (Series B)
What they do: Threekit is a platform designed to improve the ecommerce shopping experience by allowing brands to easily create true-to-life 3D product images to include in online listings. Through this technology, sellers have seen as high as a 40% conversion increase. Ben Houston, founder and CTO of Threekit, previously worked in the film industry developing visual effects used in movies like Poseidon, Superman Returns, and Avatar.
11. Surfly
5-year search growth: -25%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2012
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Funding: $3.8M (Non-equity Assistance)
What they do: Surfly offers a solution to improve customer support interactions with easier screen sharing. The remote co-browsing software helps support reps, sales professionals, and consultants connect quickly and easily with their customers' needs. According to founder/CEO Nicholas Piël, he started the company after his own on-the-job experience with the difficulties involved in remote tech support.
12. Chattermill
5-year search growth: 125%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: London, England
Funding: $34.8M (Series B)
What they do: Chattermill is a customer experience platform designed to give companies a holistic view of disparate pieces of customer feedback that they can use to better understand and serve their customers. The startup raised $8M in a Series A funding round in early 2020. Investors included DN Capital, Silicon Valley Bank, and Matt Price, SVP of Zendesk.
13. Loyalty Prime
5-year search growth: -13%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2014
Location: Munich, Germany
Funding: $7.1M (Series B)
What they do: Loyalty Prime is a loyalty program startup with a global client base. With its SaaS offering, brands can create tiered programs, gamified programs, and more. In early 2020, the Munich-based company announced a €5M (roughly $6M) Series B funding round with participants that included Hi inov and BayBG Bayerische Beteiligungsgesellschaft.
14. Critizr
5-year search growth: -36%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2012
Location: Lomme, France
Funding: $20.2M (Series B)
What they do: Critizr is a customer experience tech startup that simplifies customer feedback for retail. Through the platform, stores are able to connect with customers and act on feedback. Both local store locations and headquarters can also benefit from a holistic view of customer experience insights. Founders Nicolas Hammer and Thibault Carlier started the company to help retail businesses keep up with the changing times and needs of customers.
15. Narvar
5-year search growth: 32%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2012
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $64M (Series C)
What they do: Narvar is a software company that helps businesses provide customers with a better experience post-purchase, from improved communication to more streamlined returns and repeat purchases. Their end goal is to assist companies in creating satisfied repeat customers. Since its founding in 2012, Narvar has helped over 1100 companies influence more than 125M customers worldwide.
16. SnatchBot
5-year search growth: -60%
Search growth status: Peaked
Year founded: 2015
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Funding: Undisclosed
What they do: SnatchBot is a customer experience tool that allows businesses to create chatbots that can be used on multiple channels to help customers and automate tasks. The platform boasts a simple user experience that doesn't require advanced technical skills and offers text-to-speech and speech-to-text functionality. The startup seeks to join the ranks of other successful Israeli startups, including Fiverr, Houzz, and WeWork.
17. QuestionPro
5-year search growth: 87%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2002
Location: Austin, Texas
Funding: Undisclosed (Non-equity Assistance)
What they do: QuestionPro provides a web-based survey platform that helps businesses gather information to inform their business practices. The company was founded by Vivek Bhaskaran, now the company's CEO, who holds a computer engineering degree from Brigham Young University and sits on the board of several additional technology startups, including IdeaScale, TryMyUi, and LanderApp.
18. Timepoints
5-year search growth: 200%
Search growth status: Exploding
Year founded: 2013
Location: Santiago, Chile
Funding: $40K (Seed)
What they do: Timepoints is a Chile-based survey company that helps companies gather and act on customer feedback. For companies interested in customer retention, Timepoints claims to help them easily build surveys and collect data in real-time for faster issue resolution. According to their blog, the company possesses the Woman Company Seal (Sello Empresa Mujer), which identifies female-driven businesses that supply services to the government.
19. parcelLab
5-year search growth: 100%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2015
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Funding: $112.1M (Series C)
What they do: parcelLab seeks to help brands provide their customers with an engaging, optimized experience at all sales touchpoints, from package tracking to returns. Like many companies focused on improving the post-sales process, a key objective of parcelLab's is helping companies retain their existing customers. The European-based company was founded by Julian Krenge and Tobias Buxhoidt and is using a recent $112M funding round to further its expansion into the United States market.
20. Directly
5-year search growth: 77%
Search growth status: Regular
Year founded: 2011
Location: San Francisco, California
Funding: $66.8M (Series Unknown)
What they do: Directly improves customer experience through artificial intelligence technology. The San Francisco-based startup works with Microsoft, Airbnb, and others and has been financed by Samsung NEXT, Industry Ventures, and M12 Ventures from Microsoft, to name a few investors. The company was named #340 on Forbes Magazine's 2021 list of "Best Startup Employers."
When reviewing these customer experience startups, clear themes stand out.
First, several of these startups focus on supplying companies with crucial customer and company data to help them make smarter business decisions.
Second, some of these companies have realized the benefits of harnessing artificial intelligence to create chatbot software.
Lastly, the importance of the post-purchase experience for ecommerce customers is a recurring theme, with several startups focused on this exact step of the customer journey.
Despite the differences in these companies' offerings, they are all still linked through their focus on helping businesses understand, satisfy, and retain their customers.