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About Us
Hi, I'm Jay. That's my wife, Joanie. with me. I am an environmental science and physics teacher who enjoys helping others. So I started Healthy Havens to help everyone, including myself, who needs a healthy, clean environment.
Copyright (C) 2013 Healthy Havens. All Rights Reserved
We're in business to help you, to establish longterm relationships, and to have fun!
And we're passionate about service quality, healthy living, and a sustainable future.
If you feel the same way as we do, then let's chat!
If you're like me, you value quality of life for those in your care. You want optimal enjoyment and performance in your space. Allergens, chemical toxins, and microbes are nasty, harmful visitors that must leave.
Healthier living and sustainable resources for our children's future is my passion. That's one reason I use eco-friendly cleaning agents and new high-efficiency equipment.
Let me know if you share these values. I'd like to hear your story.
About Quality
Cleaning Services
Cleaning Guide
Cleaning Partners


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The fruits of a year of work by legislators are harvested by constituents beginning Tuesday with some 800 new laws kicking in as the New Year rings in.
Among the new laws that could have immediate impact on the Central Valley, epicenter of the nation's foreclosure crisis, is the package of legislation that extends key mortgage and foreclosure protections to California homeowners and borrowers.
California foreclosure law is about to take effect
Source: Central Valley Business Times

subset: commoncrawl


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The following article has been posted to the Northampton Township Website:
Yard Waste
Starting the week of December 17 th through March 31 st yard waste is collected the SAME DAY as trash and limited to (5) five containers. Biodegradable bags are not required. Trash cans 32 gallons or smaller and plastic bags may be used only during this time. Leaf and yard waste collection will resume to unlimited collection the week of April 2, 2018 following trash/recycling collection day.
For more information visit the Township website at www.northamptontownship.com


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Letters to the Editor
Rogue commuters
I read with interest the Dec. 11 letter, Serving commuters. Wouldn't it be refreshing to focus on the violating commuter and trying to change their behavior to strictly obey the rules of the road so that the police could help direct congested traffic, when needed.
Recent history would reveal that Miami ranks in the top five nationwide in road rudeness and aggressive drivers.
Why not hold the driver responsible for his actions by having stronger consequences for breaking the law? These rogue commuters put good drivers at risk unnecessarily.
Could the Metro-Miami driving culture be changed from a "me first" and "I am above the law" mentality to an empathetic and defensive strategy that relies on the personal integrity of the individual driver to make South Florida safer and less stressful?
Yes, police officers should serve to help traffic congestion. More emphasis should be on the traffic leaders and driving violators to solve this worsening commuter problem.
Jim Lentz, Fort Lauderdale


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Mobile crusher has advantages in stone processing line
Posted by lovestory on 5/02/18 • Categorized as Co-Author
Mobile crusher is one of the performance of mobile crushing process, this process can not be restricted by field condition, directly to the work area for material processing, the Mobile Crusher has a different composition of cone crusher is just one of them, and cone of mobile crushing plant production process, not only the cone crusher, there are many other types of devices, such as feeder, conveyor, hoist, jaw broken machine, etc., let's analyze the production process, several advantages for the processing of the rock.
1. above the station move performance is good, can not restricted by the environment, directly on the scene, to complete the stone processing, so don't need to transport the material, it reduces the cost of investment, in addition, it is a complete production process, is fixed on the car plate, so there is no need to on-site installation, save time, make the machine more quickly into production;
2. large production capacity, high degree of automation, the cone type mobile crusher at work, through the amount is larger, so the capacity is big, in the process of the rock, its capacity is high, the other is the high degree of automation of the machine, not only can automatic lubrication function, equipment for the adjustment of the discharging mouth is also very convenient, and it can realize remote computer control, it was a great help for the decrease of labor input;
3. cone type three mobile crushing plant for processing, rock using the characteristic of the crushing cavity shape and the principle of laminating crushing, after processing the finished product in the cube significantly higher, the proportion of needle flake stone, graded more evenly, make the product more suitable to the needs of construction and other industries.
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Five Reasons Lava Mae is Unusually Successful
Lava Mae is not typical. It's a group that has been in operation for only a couple months, but they've been written about in newspapers all over the world. Many people want to replicate their system. As a Tides project, we couldn't be more proud of them.
What they're doing is very simple. They're providing mobile showers and bathrooms for homeless people around San Francisco. Many homeless service organizations have been forced out of this city, and yet Doniece Sandoval and her team are changing the tide.
How did they do it? I talked to Doniece, the founder, to learn more.
- They tell a good story. Lava Mae has converted a MUNI bus, decommissioned after years in public transportation, into shower and bathroom stalls. Doniece, who has a PR and marketing background, explains, "To take an icon in the city of something people love to hate, the MUNI bus, and do something radically different with it, I knew would make a great story. That's what PR and marketing is all about- a good story."
- They're supported by Tides as their fiscal sponsor. "One of the things that was really important to us was to have more flexibility in terms of being able to focus on the service and not so much the administrative end of things. So having a fiscal sponsor with an excellent reputation that provided end to end services- you know, anything from great legal support, issues around insurance, things like that- it really lightened our load to get out on the street faster. We didn't have to incorporate and figure out how to manage all those details ourselves. And then when I was doing the research, I found Tides is one of the most respected fiscal sponsors on the planet, so it was kind of natural to reach out and want to be under their umbrella."
- They provide real solutions. They are challenging prejudices towards homeless people by reducing barriers to applying for housing and jobs, because with hygiene comes dignity, and with dignity comes opportunity. As an example, on the day of their launch, KTVU came to interview one of their guests. "He refused to be interviewed before he showered because he was too embarrassed. They caught him afterwards and he talked about how he was a machinist from Detroit… He goes to these [job] interviews and his nails are dirty or he doesn't quite smell as fresh as he'd like to and it's been an obstacle for him to get a job. That piece ran on the weekend, and on Monday I go to my office and there's an email from a guy who works at Tesla who wants to help Monte find a job. So we're trying to find Monte." For better or worse, people are given more opportunities when they're clean and 'presentable.'
- Their mobility makes them flexible. "We want to go where people are, and if you look at a map of showers in the city, it's pretty concentrated to the central parts, and yet we know there are homeless people throughout the city. So being mobile provides the ability to get to them. The other thing is that almost every nonprofit we know has a lease coming up in the next year or two and is terrified that they're not going to keep a roof over their head because they can't compete with these companies that can pay so much more. We've got a bus so we don't have to worry about that."
- They stay tenacious because of personal connections to homelessness. "Walking outside my door and seeing neighbors who had homes but moved from their homes to their cars and then the streets made me feel really compelled to make this work no matter how hard it was, and walking through neighborhoods like this and being reminded that not a single one of these people, when they were little, dreamed of being homeless."
Congratulations, Lava Mae, for creating a model that is helping destigmatize homelessness by acknowledging people's humanity and potential, and may others replicate your success. To support Lava Mae's work click here.
-Jenna Spagnolo


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© R3 Cyber Security
DDoS attacks and how to eliminate the risk
Jordi Bonete César // 22 March , 2018
Historical record of DDoS attacks.
It was only two weeks ago when GitHub suffered the biggest DDoS attack in history (1.35 terabytes per second).
Prevention in terms of security was key to neutralizing the threat and restablishing the service within less than 10 minutes.
The attack was based on misconfigured Memcached services. In other words, the attacker sends requests of very few bytes with the victim's IP to the UDP 11211 port of the servers affected by said vulnerability. The service response is 52,000 times bigger, which results in a service denial after not being able to process the requests.
This event is just a forecast of how much the use of Memcached for DDoS is going to increase.
The increase in the number of attacks is a huge concern for the business sector.
After the appearance of so many recent news on different media about cyberattacks and the exponential increase of one of them, DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service), many organizations have started to look for information about these attacks and how they can affect them. We will try to give an answer as brief as possible to this concerns.
What is a DDoS attack?
Imagine you are driving home through an intercity road and an attacker suddenly diverts all the traffic to use this road for vehicles using nearby roads, highways and motorways. If your road has to handle all this traffic, it will eventually collapse and stop being accesible for those who need to get to a commerce, home or work.
In conclusion, the attacker "floods" the network with information in order to collapse it. By diverting the traffic, they manage to stop everybody from accessing the system's resources.
How can it affect your business?
Denial of Services attacks are more frequent everyday both in large organizations and in SMEs. The goal of this attackers is to collapse the networks to stop users from using it. As a result, it loses revenue depending on how long the interruption lasts for and the sales volume resulting from the affected applications. However, it does not only affects sales: it can also damage the brand's image.
The main targets are organizations that count on:
- E-Commerce services.
- Online services acquisition.
- Mobile Apps for orders, invoice check and technical support.
How can organizations mitigate a DDoS attack?
As experts in cybersecurity, in R3 CyberSecurity we recommend system administrators to take the first steps:
- Blocking the UDP 11211 port (used by default in Memcached),
- Limiting or even blocking the UDP Access if it is not being used.
R3 CyberSecurity offers solutions like CyberShield360, which carries out an specific filtering process of the traffic received by every customer on the cloud, in order to only divert the convenient traffic to their Data Processing Center.
Jordi Bonete César | Cyber Security Engineer at R3 CyberSecurity
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RSCN support Massarah at Charity Carnival, April 7th 2018
- posted in:
A fun and happy day, with lots of entertainment. The carnival will have 10 happy corners, each with a different fun activity. There will also be a live talent show, designers show casing their creations, a bazaar, food stalls, rides and a generally just a really feel good day! RSCN's happy corner will have the options of a ride in a safari car or to touch a real eagle or a snake! Visit the Wild Jordan corner for some environmental fun Friday 7/4/2017, at Zaha Center, Khalda. 😎#ahappyplacejo#findyourhappyplacejo #amman #jo


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"The musicians of c/o forego a conductor. And still play a Beethoven symphony. His first one, in C-Major. On the whole, that goes well; the fiendishly fast tempi are taken with great precision – an astonishing feat, given the bathtub-like acoustics of the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche. The fact that their joint music-making works under these circumstances is proof of the uncommonly strong group spirit of these 30 musicians from Baltic, Scandinavian and Central European countries. [...] The stormy enthusiasm of the youth orchestra is prolonged in a stylistically domesticated fashion, and the fact that they alone are responsible for the artistic result and cannot hide behind a conductor means that all the musicians exhibit additional alertness. [...]Therefore, we are sure to hear more from c/o chamber orchestra – thus the name of the ensemble – and that is something to look forward to."
(Clemens Haustein, Berliner Zeitung, July 22, 2014)
"Here the 20s vibrate in their explosive, wonderfully entertaining mix: the harmony exaggerated and squeezed to the last drop, the series of quotations elevated to a shameless collage of motifs. Whether a wedding or funeral procession, a march or a waltz, a galop or a rumba - it's always a "Divertissement", as Ibert's opening piece is so simply but accurately named. Weill's "Little Threepenny Music" captivates again with its unmistakable theatrical sense, Milhaud's "Le Boeuf sur le Toit" with its surreal Latino charm. The c/o chamber orchestra played these tricky pieces without a conductor, but with a commitment that holds the music together from inside."
(Ulrich Amling, Der Tagesspiegel, August 23, 2015)


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|Leighton Baines and Luke Garbutt
at Alder Hey Hospital.
Provided By: Everton Football Club
Last week, Leighton Baines and Luke Garbutt brought smiles to the faces of children at Alder Hey hospital when they dropped by to deliver some early Easter cheer.
The left-backs paid a surprise visit to the wards of the West Derby hospital to meet the young patients and their families, and to hand out dozens of chocolate eggs!
The Blues duo were only too pleased to take time out after training on Wednesday to lift the spirits of those currently being treated at Alder Hey.
Baines commented: "Us visiting with chocolate eggs can feel pretty insignificant in comparison to what the kids are going through, what they're in here for and the period of time they've been here, but then you speak to some of the parents; they really appreciate you just coming in and breaking the day up.
"Some of the kids I recognised from when we visited at Christmas and they haven't been home since, so every day is the same and it's really tough for them.
"You see unbelievable strength and character here: you look at what some of the kids are going through, it's so tough and yet they're still smiling. Hopefully, we've brightened the day up, even if it's just for a short period of time."
Alder Hey Children's Charity has launched a £30 million appeal to raise much needed funds that will be spent directly on initiatives in the hospital to benefit patients.
In September 2015, Alder Hey will open a new hospital next door to its current site, and the charitable appeal allows the hospital to incorporate a higher specification of equipment, fund art and play activities and support research. In short, it will transform a national children's hospital into one of the best in the world.
Baines added: "It's very important for us to have a great link with Alder Hey. You can't underestimate it when children are involved. So many children look up to footballers and, as a player, you can forget that. You're just a normal person, and you can forget the affect you can have on a young kid who loves Everton. So, it's important to recognise that, and the club do recognise their responsibility. We've got a great relationship with the hospital, as we visit throughout the year, and hopefully we make a small difference."
To support Alder Hey Children's Charity, you can make a donation by calling 0333 222 3888. Alternatively, you can visit www.alderheycharity.com/donate, or drop by the Fundraising Office at Alder Hey hospital.


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You may have never heard the words "liberal arts" until you started thinking about applying to colleges and universities in the US. What comes to mind may be the image of a leafy-green, secluded campus, the "life of the mind," or wacky campus traditions.
So what makes the liberal arts experience different?
Creativity & Critical Thinking
Until I began my first classes at a U.S. liberal arts college (go Sagehens!), I didn't fully realize that the purpose of a liberal arts education is exploration of many disciplines, rather than being restricted to a single narrow field of study. Many courses of study, like neuroscience or international relations, are interdisciplinary, drawing from different subjects to make connections across fields. Intellectual curiosity is a must!
Regardless of major, you'll be taking classes in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences, as well as any other school-specific requirements (such as a class examining different cultures). As an international relations major, I also took classes on physics and energy policy, musical theater, and environmental history. In fact, my classmates included a double major in French and economics, a music major who went on to medical school, and an Asian American studies major now working at Google.
These broad requirements, along with an emphasis on critical thinking and intellectual inquiry, lead to exploration and innovation. As a liberal arts student, you'll gain not only knowledge but a different way of looking at the world. That's one of the reasons why graduates from elite liberal arts colleges are now the most sought after by top technology companies.
Intellectual Rigor
If you attend a liberal arts college like Carleton or Amherst, your classes won't be taught by graduate students. Professors at these schools, while still leaders in their field, have made a commitment to teaching as well as research and writing. Class sizes are also smaller, so don't expect to hide during a lively class discussion! At Pomona, outside of my small seminar classes, I even had the opportunity to work with a professor by doing research for his upcoming book, and another classmate was co-author (with a faculty member) of a published scientific paper which she traveled to present at a conference.
No matter what you major in, expect writing-intensive classes that will challenge and develop your abilities. The rigor of a liberal arts degree is excellent preparation for graduate programs, which is why these schools produce the greatest percentage of students who go on to earn PhDs.
Community Spirit
Liberal arts colleges emphasize residential life and campus community, with lots of student-run organizations and activities: intramural sports, a capella singing groups, cultural clubs, and many more! Student bodies are smaller, so you'll get to know all or most of the people in your year, and many students will live on campus for all four years. This close relationship extends to faculty and staff as well: once, when I was ill, a dean took me to In N Out Burger to cheer me up – a true Southern California experience.
The close-knit community of a liberal arts college gives you support for all your endeavors (whether academic, personal, or professional), opens up opportunities, and pushes you to expand your intellectual horizon. In short, a liberal arts college means both a first-class education and an incredible campus experience – just ask any proud graduate!
Libby Kokemoor is an Educational Consultant at Hale Education Group and a graduate of Pomona College.


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As a boutique M&A firm, SealedBid does not simply list Companies or Opportunities. Every Acquisition Opportunity highlighted on our website is exclusively represented by SealedBid and our client is truly a committed Seller/Buyer. Our go-to-market process includes a considerable amount of preliminary due diligence, preparation of a Confidential Information Memorandum ("CIM") and a defined project timeline.
If you are a Private Equity Group, Strategic Acquirer or Individual looking for acquisition opportunities, please reach out and introduce yourself and your firm. Through our database, we track and maintain buyer acquisition criteria to insure all new opportunities reach the right audience. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Jerry or Blake at 952-893-0232.
This Multi-Line Cabinetry Manufacturer has been in business for over 40 years! The Company offers cabinetry products designed for kitchens, baths, offices and other residential areas. The Company continues to be a market leader in design features that provide customers a vast array of options for complete customization. See the full B2477 Profile for more details regarding this opportunity.
This Online Auto Parts Retailer has provided retail and commercial customers with OEM Replacement and Aftermarket automotive wheels and wheel accessories for more than 20 years. The Company is positioned to capitalize on multiple growth opportunities and the ownership group is looking to partner with an acquirer to take the Company to the next level. See the full B2487 Profile for more details regarding this opportunity.
As a market leader in heavily automated and technically advanced manufacturing, this 50+ year Company provides contract manufacturing and design assist for customers in the medical, defense and aerospace industries. See the full B2518 Profile for more details regarding this opportunity.
Commercial lots for sale in Fairmont, Minnesota. These lots are easily accessible and visible from I-90. With surrounding local businesses including Wal-Mart Supercenter, Holiday Inn, and Super America, this is a great development opportunity. Click here to see the flyer.
This Company is looking to acquire, recapitalize and/or partner with technology companies that offer software or services primarily on a recurring revenue basis. Our client is a publicly traded Investment Fund with a proven track record of assisting lower middle market technology companies reach the next level. See the full B2425 Profile for more details on this Company.


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Stressy messy life
When people talk about what kind of animals they would be, they always say cats (usually desperate females trying to come up with a witty answer - whats really hot about a cat?), dogs (because we think they have an easy life filled with love, food and the simple sort of happiness that humans tend not to see), or birds (for the independence and freedom the ability to fly makes us relate to). I think Id like to be a Cockroach. I could live wherever the fuck I would want to, I would not get weird looks thrown around for actually loving a messy place, no one would complain about me only being able to stay up at nights and best of all - I'd not have to deal with people, because no one would really wanna hang out with me anyways. I would be happily pleased and unaware.


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Today, after multiple failed attempts, we got our 4 wheeler into Menya. Today also, I was spending the morning with Lipson, one of my language teachers (who is also one of my top two favorite Menyans so far.) So Lipson was with me at the airstrip. Once I had reassembled the parts of the 4 wheeler that had been removed to fit it in the plane, I asked him if he wanted to ride back to our village on the front rack. He said yes.
I wish that I had video of this experience because his joy would have rivaled my kids'. As we drove past others they would call out to Lipson, he would yell back and everyone would smile and laugh. We had a brief hiccough when the engine stalled on a steep hill because there wasn't much gas in the tank. Even after we got more gas in there, it wouldn't start, but then I MacGyvered it and we were rolling again.
When we got back to the house and disembarked, Lipson looked at me holding the leg of his shorts and said "When I hopped off, your four wheeler ripped the seam of my trousers." (but not in English) Even though he was friendly and smiling, I knew this meant (in PNG culture) that it was my fault his shorts were ripped. So I told him we could sew them up for him. He showed up this evening wearing different shorts ready to drop off the ripped ones. When I asked if he wanted to get them Thursday when he is coming anyway, he said, "Well, I've only got two trousers…" I told him they would be ready tomorrow.
Elizabeth to the rescue–as you can see. Not only did she mend the popped part of the seam, but she continued through the entire weak seam and sewed the pocket back on.


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Tips from the Dev Team
Did you know there are 9 developers working tirelessly on the Ripl app?
From the 2017 World Pinball Champion, to a fanatical burning man attendee, an autocross racer, our fearless founder, and everything in between, our team of developers is what makes the Ripl app what it is today. They're responsible for developing new features, fixing any issues you have, and plenty more! This week they are sharing some tips to help you get the most out of the Ripl app.
Problem Solving
The development team tries to get back to you as fast as possible when there's a technical issue. Since we're still a small team there can sometimes be a slight delay. Here's some troubleshooting tips to help when your app is slow, not loading, or acting funny while you wait for the Ripl support team to get back to you!
Close all other applications running in the background. When apps are running in the background they're using some of your phones resources. Since it takes a lot of processing power to animate designs in the Ripl app, closing all other applications can help improve performance. iOS users, double tap the home button and swipe up on the applications to quit. Android users, tap "recent apps" and swipe to close the application (for more device specific instructions, see this article)
Check your phone's memory. For best results we recommend at least 1 GB of available space. If you are running low on space try deleting apps you don't use anymore or photos that are stored somewhere else. You can check how much space you have in your phone's settings. iOS users, tap General > Storage & iCloud Usage to see how much is used. Android users, tap Storage.
Restart your phone. Sometimes our phones can hold onto resources in the background unbeknownst to us. Completely restarting your phone can make a huge difference in your phone's performance. iOS users, you can restart your phone by by holding the lock and home button down at the same time for at least 10 seconds until you see the apple icon appear (for iPhone 7 devices, hold the sleep/wake button and the down volume for 10 seconds). Android users, hold the power and volume down button at the same time until you see the screen shut down and the reboot animation comes up.
Little Known Features
These are some hidden features we loved building!
You can swipe left and right under "What to Post Today" for up to a week forward or backward at a time. If today's suggestions don't appeal to your business or you want to plan your posts ahead of time, this is a great feature to leverage!
You can delete un-used designs in the design tray by holding down your finger on the design until it shakes and an "x" appears allowing you to remove the design. This will keep your design tray clean and save time because you can keep most used templates in the tray to easily access. (Note you won't be able to remove the first 8 designs because these are available to everyone)
If you tap and hold down on a photo in the photo picker, you can change the order of the images. This tip will save you time when re-arranging your photos.


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20-Yard Dumpsters
From cleaning up household projects to hauling tons of concrete, the 20-yard dumpster is the best choice for you. This popular dumpster size is large enough to hold a significant amount of debris and compact enough to fit in your driveway.
- 20' long
- 8' wide
- 3.5' tall
This dumpster can hold the same amount as 6 pickup truck loads.
Key Features:
Front-loading doors to conveniently walk in large or bulky items.
Is the 20-yard dumpster right for you?
As our most popular roll off dumpster, the twenty yard dumpster rental is perfect for a wide variety of residential and construction projects, including:
- Garage, basement, or attic cleanouts
- Cleanups from remodeling projects
- Purging or cleaning out before a move
- Cleaning up from a landscaping project
- Debris cleanup from roofing jobs ...And more
The 20-yard roll off dumpster is just the right size for most mid-range projects, like a bathroom remodel or a complete basement cleanout.
If you're looking to tackle a smaller project — like cleaning out some things in your garage, or a closet remodel— consider the Bagster Bag instead, the perfect choice for all small projects.
Planning to remodel multiple rooms, or build adding an addition onto your house? Check out our 30-yard dumpster and 40-yard dumpster for even more rolloff capacity!
Heavy duty disposal
When you need to dispose of heavy and bulky debris like asphalt and concrete, the 20-yard dumpster is the best way to go. Capable of hauling up to 10 tons of material, the 20-yard dumpster can be placed almost anywhere on your jobsite. We'll even empty it and return it for you so you can keep working.
Contact us at 800-796-9696 today to learn more and schedule your 20-yard dumpster delivery today.


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We want YOU! Join us in keeping costs LOW and community involvement HIGH!
Our board meets monthly – but we have lots of opportunities for volunteers who only have time for short event-specific volunteering commitments! We also have needs that can be met from home/work from time to time.
Many hands make the load lighter… start the ball rolling by emailing us!


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It's the Controllable Players' Offseason Review. Time to look over all 30 teams and rank how their offseasons looked given the current state and direction of each franchise. Keep in mind this is not a ranking of how I expect these teams to perform next season, just on what they accomplished over the offseason.
30. Chicago White Sox
- Dan Johnson
- Kosuke Fukudome
- Nestor Molina
- Simon Castro
- Carlos Quentin
- Mark Buehrle
- Sergio Santos
- Jason Frasor
- Jaun Pierre
- Omar Vizquel
- John Danks
The White Sox seem lost and utterly without direction. Faced with rebuilding the club for the first time in his tenure, Kenny Williams showed that he's a man much more comfortable when he can be the aggressive pursuer. Before even analyzing the off-season moves though, I'm curious as to why the team even felt the need to rebuild. Even with the disastrous seasons from Rios and Dunn in 2011, the White Sox still finished with 79 wins and they still play in the very winnable AL Central. I think if they beefed up their team a little they could have made a run at the division. Aside from that though, this is not how you go about rebuilding a team. A young controllable asset like Santos who has shown he can play in the big leagues is worth a lot more than what the Sox picked up in Nestor Molina. They also traded their best outfielder away for a 23 year old prospect who keeps sliding down rankings lists. Although Danks has been a fine starter to date, he had his worst season last year and committing $65 million to him at the start of a rebuild seems like a waste. He'll put up decent numbers, but at a fairly high cost and for what cause? Overall the White Sox offseason just leaves me very confused about the state of the team, and bringing in managerial rookie Robin Ventura seems a bit short-sighted.
29. New York Mets
- Andres Torres
- Jon Rauch
- Frank Francisco
- Adam Loewen
- Jose Reyes
- Angel Pagan
- Chris Capuano
- Miguel Batista
- Scott Hairston
The Mets are about to have the largest drop in payroll in MLB History. This might be of some satisfaction to the fans if they were just coming off a championship or if they unloaded some bad contracts to give some prospects a shot. But this is a team that finished 25 games out of first last season and will do significantly worse this season. Not only did the Mets lose their All-Star shortstop, but they lost him to their division rival Marlins. The team didn't improve their offense or defense. The bullpen may be slightly better, but it was expensive and who cares? So maybe they'll blow one less save on their way to 65 wins. An owner facing lawsuits means no big signings in the biggest market in baseball. It all adds up to one awful winter.
28. Minnesota Twins
- Jason Marquis
- Josh Willingham
- Ryan Doumit
- Jamey Carroll
- Joel Zumaya
- Joe Nathan
- Jason Kubel
- Michael Cuddyer
- Kevin Slowey
- Matt Capps
The best news the Twins can hope for going into next season is to get Mauer and Morneau happy. If that doesn't happen, the moves listed above will certainly not help the Twins chances of returning to the playoffs. Three years and $21 M to Willingham. Two years and $6.75 M to Carroll. Did I suddenly wake-up in a world where these are good baseball players? Those are large commitments to players who have on their best days have merely been average. Doumit will hold the fort while the franchise decides what to do with Mauer and Jason Marquis is well, a pitcher. The Twins have bought themselves some expensive mediocre performance in a year when they truly don't expect to do well. To top it off they gave $10.5 M to a closer who last year managed only 4.7 K/9. With a pitching staff led by Carl Pavano, Mauer and Morneau won't need to be just healthy, they'll need to be at their MVP levels for this team to even sniff .500 this season.
27. Baltimore Orioles
- Matt Lindstrom
- Jason Hammel
- Wei-yin Chen
- Endy Chavez
- Taylor Teagarden
- Wilson Betemit
- Darren O'Day
- Armando Galarraga
- Jeremy Guthrie
- Luke Scott
- Vladimir Guerrero
- Jo-Jo Reyes
- Jeremy Accardo
The best thing I can say about the Orioles is that they seemed to show tremendous restraint with their own players. Letting Scott, Guerrero, and Reyes walk means they'll be someone else's problem this year. Look at that list of signings though, what a bunch of nobodys. Lindstrom pitched decently last year in the Coors air, Betemit can play multiple positions and comes fairly cheap, and the team has hopes that Chen can figure out North American ball, but let's face it, if the Orioles ever return to glory it will not be because of any of the players listed above. They're stop-gaps at best, and in the AL East that doesn't play. Hopefully Britton can help the team overcome the loss of their de facto ace in Guthrie. The offseason didn't give Orioles any hope for this season or the future, illustrated best when they were rejected by multiple candidates in their GM search. Maybe Duquette can turn it around for Baltimore, but history seems to suggest otherwise.
26. Houston Astros
- Chris Snyder
- Jed Lowrie
- Jack Cust
- Livan Hernandez
- Zach Duke
- Justin Ruggiano
- Mark Melancon
- Clint Barmes
The worst part of the Astros offseason had to be finding out that they'll be spending their future playing against the AL West. In what looks like to be an anyone-can-win down year in the AL Central the Astros are the one team which I feel more than comfortable counting out. I like the trade of Melancon for Jed Lowrie who's young and has shown flashes between injuries that he could be the real deal. Jack Cust will serve as a DH who strikes out way too much. Unfortunately the Astros can't use him as a DH for another year. Hernandez and Duke can hopefully stay healthy enough to eat some innings but I wouldn't expect anything beyond that. There's just nothing here that will really help the Astros in the future.
25. Los Angeles Dodgers
- Chris Capuano
- Aaron Harang
- Mark Ellis
- Josh Bard
- Jerry Hairston Jr.
- Adam Kennedy
- Matt Treanor
- Hiroki Kuroda
- Rod Barajas
- Casey Blake
- Jon Garland
- Dionner Navarro
- Hong Chih-Kuo
- Jamey Carroll
- Juan Rivera
- Clayton Kershaw
- Tony Gwynn
- Matt Kemp
The Dodgers had last year's Cy Young and winner and 2nd place MVP finisher and they did their job this offseason by extending their contracts (although Kershaw's only covers arbitration years). However beyond those two studs there is not a lot to like about this team. Although Kuroda looked like he was seeking greener pastures and Garland's best days are probably behind him Capuano and Harang will not be able to replicate their performance. The Dodgers needed a lot more offense and Rivera in LF for two more years with the hitless combo of Ellis, Kennedy, and Hairston Jr. in the infield will provide next to nothing. It would have been a lot better to skip the aging veterans and try to see if guys like Dee Fordon are the real deal. It's a lot of treading water for another former glory team with an owner in financial trouble.
24. Atlanta Braves
- Derek Lowe
- Alex Gonzalez
- Nate McLouth
- Jack Wilson
After their epic September collapse last season the Braves held pat this offseason and returned with almost the same lineup they finished with. It wasn't the worst plan. A full season out of Bourn, a bounce-back year from Heyward, and another jump from Freeman is worth a few more wins. Unfortunately the rest of the division got a lot better. The starting rotation is still a bit of a question mark. Although the team allowed the second lowest runs in the league last season a lot of that was on the back of their tremendous bullpen. Hudson and Hanson can hopefully play a full season, but Jurrjens vastly overperformed last season and is a major regression candidate. Beachy and Minor do not have a lot of games under their belts and with inning eater Derek Lowe gone they will have to perform all season for the Braves to stay in contention. It wasn't the wrong move to trust the guys already on the team going forwards, but looking at the rest of the division, a better shortstop or left fielder definitely wouldn't have hurt.
23. Oakland Athletics
- Yoenis Cespedes
- Manny Ramirez
- Jonny Gomes
- Seth Smith
- Josh Reddick
- Bartolo Colon
- Brad Peacock
- Jarrod Parker
- Colin Cowgill
- Andrew Bailey
- Trevor Cahill
- Gio Gonzalez
- Rich Harden
- Josh Willingham
- David DeJesus
- Hideki Matsui
- Ryan Sweeney
- Coco Crisp
It's tough to be a fan of the Oakland A's. A year after finishing 22 games out of the division and seeing the two teams ahead in the standings improve, the A's trade away 2 of their best pitchers. Now given the current state of the team this wasn't such a bad move. They got a good return for both Cahill and Gonzalez and I'd expect both to regress having left the Coliseum. Beane also pulled off his favourite move of turning a closer into a position player. Seth Smith could be a breakout player for the future and the fact that he batted similarly last season away from Coors as he did at it is a good sign. The A's let a couple veterans walk and brought in some others on the cheap. Overall I actually liked the A's offseason, right up until they signed Cespedes. For a team that cries poor and just gave away two young major league proven controllable players to build for the future, it seems completely reckless to give $36 M to a player who's only experience outside of Cuba has been a World Baseball Classic and a few weeks in the Dominican League. Maybe he's being brought in as a trade chip, but to me it seems as if it's tying a lot of money up in a player that won't be around when the A's are competitive again.
22. Chicago Cubs
- David DeJesus
- Paul Maholm
- Anthony Rizzo
- Chris Volstad
- Andy Sonnanstine
- Manny Corpas
- Trever Miller
- Travis Wood
- Aramis Ramirez
- Carlos Zambrano
- Carlos Pena
- Sean Marshall
- Reed Johnson
- Kerry Wood
I rank the Cubs this high not because of any of the players listed above, but because they were able to bring in the front office duo of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. With those two leading the way the future looks bright. As for this season, it doesn't look great. The Cubs are in a rebuilding mode so letting Ramirez and Pena walk was definitely the right decision. Zambrano obviously had to go but I'm not a huge fan of getting Volstad in return. He may be a major league pitcher, but he shows no signs of becoming a front-line starter. I would rather have gone for something slightly riskier but with greater potential. I like Sean Marshall but he was expendable and Wood could be worth a look. Rizzo has definite star potential and it was good of the Cubs to swoop in and nab him from the Padres who were looking to unload after acquiring Alonso. Aside from Rizzo there isn't a lot here to look forward to, but the team is in a good position to rebuild going forward.
21. Cleveland Indians
- Derek Lowe
- Casey Kotchman
- Dan Wheeler
- Jose Lopez
- Chin-lung Hu
- Russ Kanzler
- Miguel Tejeda
- Kosuke Fukudome
- Chad Durbin
- Grady Sizemore
The worst thing the Indians did last season was win. By hanging with the Tigers until mid-August the Indians deluded themselves into thinking they actually have a good team. That could be the only possible reason to justify the Casey Kotchman signing. Kotchman has a nice glove but absolutely no power. His slugging ranked second last to Mitch Moreland in the AL last season. Kotchman is the kind of guy you bring in if you have all the right pieces in play to make a playoff run but could use a small upgrade at first. After eight seasons he is what he is and that ain't much. The worst part about it is that it blocks players like LaPorta, Canzler, and Duncan from getting playing time at first. Those guys have had their ups and downs but I'd say it's much more likely that one of them steps up to put the Indians over the edge in the future than Kotchman. The rest of the offseason isn't anything special. Sizemore came back cheap and will try to avoid injury for another year. The Braves ate most of Lowe's salary, and although he's not the player he once was, he's been durable going 180+ IP for the last 10 seasons. The future looks bright for the Indians, but they have to give their own guys a chance to make it happen.
20. San Francisco Giants
- Melky Cabrera
- Angel Pagan
- Ryan Theriot
- Jonathan Sanchez
- Andres Torres
- Carlos Beltran
- Ramon Ramirez
- Tim Lincecum
- Eli Whiteside
- Guillermo Mota
For a team that won the World Series two years ago and just allowed the fewest runs against in the league the Giants did not do anything to make me think they can return to the playoffs. They traded away their most expendable starting pitcher to bring in an outfielder who for the first time in his career played at an above average level and the Torres for Pagan swap seems close to a wash. The Giants will need to score a lot more runs next season having scored the fewest in the NL. Fortunately they play in the NL West where anything goes. So although the Giants didn't do anything in the offseason to vastly improve their playoff odds, if they give kids like Belt time over Huff combined with the excellent rotation, it could be enough to put them back in the playoff chase.
19. San Diego Padres
- Edinson Volquez
- Carlos Quentin
- Yonder Alonso
- Huston Street
- Mark Kotsay
- Micah Owings
- Mat Latos
- Anthony Rizzo
- Heath Bell
- Jeremy Hermida
- Aaron Harang
- Brad Hawpe
- Chad Qualls
The Padres had a lot of turnover this offseason, mostly for the better. Latos is a stud and will be missed, but the club believes in Alonso and if Volquez stays healthy he'll find that Petco will make him look like a decent replacement. Carlos Quentin isn't cheap but he'll help the Padres improve on the second worst NL offense from last season. Letting Bell walk was a great move since he's getting up in age and ended up being incredibly overpaid. Huston Street, although not the most high powered closer will get the job done and should see his homerun troubles dissipate in Petco. I wouldn't count out anyone in the NL West this year, but with some big steps from Alonso and the young but talented pitching staff the Padres could be competitive in the NL West soon.
18. Colorado Rockies
- Jeremy Guthrie
- Michael Cuddyer
- Ramon Hernandez
- Tyler Chatwood
- Marco Scutaro
- Casey Blake
- Mark Ellis
- Huston Street
- Seth Smith
- Chris Ianetta
- Ty Wigginton
- Aaron Cook
- Jason Hammel
- Matt Lindstrom
- Rafael Betancourt
The Rockies will be set with the bats this season but the rotation is a huge question mark. I liked the Scutaro acquisition but Casey Blake is well past is prime and although Cuddyer will hit, they could have gotten similar production without spending $31 M. Guthrie is better than the previous rotation options but his troubles with the long ball could be disastrous in Coors. There were no big losses from the Departures. Wigginton's versatility may have been nice last year but Cuddyer can do the same thing but better and the infield has been improved anyway.
17. Seattle Mariners
- Jesus Montero
- Shawn Camp
- George Sherrill
- Kevin Millwood
- John Jaso
- Hisashi Iwakuma
- Hector Noesi
- Hong-Chih Kuo
- Michael Pineda
- Jack Wilson
- Chris Ray
- Aaron Laffey
- David Aardsma
The Mariners were in a tough spot this offseason. After finishing last year scoring by far the fewest runs in the league, they had to watch the two best teams in the division sign major impact free agents. Although fans may have been clamouring for Fielder, this team is much too far from contending to offer the type of contract it inevitably took to sign him. The Mariners therefore spent most of their offseason signing relievers to one year contracts and going for low-risk fliers on guys like Millwood. The biggest move of the offseason was obviously the Montero for Pineda trade. Although the Mariners offense may have been anemic and their pitching is decent I worry that this move is a little short-sighted. Pineda has shown a power arm with definite ace potential and that is almost always more valuable to a team than an all-star bat. If Montero is able to stick at catcher the trade looks a lot better for the Mariners but all indications are that won't be the case. Committing to a DH long-term when the team needs to rebuild so much doesn't seem as wise as holding onto the young controllable pitcher.
16. Boston Red Sox
- Andrew Bailey
- Mark Melancon
- Kelly Shoppach
- Cody Ross
- Ryan Sweeney
- Nick Punto
- Aaron Cook
- Vincente Padilla
- Clayton Mortensen
- Jonathan Papelbon
- Josh Reddick
- Jason Varitek
- Tim Wakefield
- Marco Scutaro
- Jed Lowrie
Ever since Nomar the Red Sox have been struggling to fill their shortstop position. It seemed like the combination of Scutaro and Lowrie was enough to get by though. After the loss of Papelbon, trading Lowrie for Melancon was a reasonable move. When Scutaro was sent to the Rockies though in what seemed like a straight salary dump, it left a massive hole at shortstop which Punto and Aviles will struggle to fill. Still, it all would have made sense if that money was directed towards a starter such as Oswalt to fill the hurting rotation. That move never came though. Instead the Red Sox will enter next season with two converted relievers in their rotation. For a team coming off a historic collapse with a few positions of definite need it was strange to see the Red Sox not act on available talent. Andrew Bailey will fill in nicely in the closer role, but there are a few hundred more innings in the rotation that desperately need to be addressed.
15. Kansas City Royals
- Jonathan Sanchez
- Yuniesky Betancourt
- Jonathan Broxton
- Kevin Kouzmanoff
- Melky Cabrera
- Jeff Francis
- Bruce Chen
The Kansas City Royals are a team that may finally be only a couple years away from contending and they approached this offseason with that in mind. Trading Melky Cabrera after his career year not only made room for the team to look at Lorenzo Cain but also let them pick up Jonathan Sanchez. Sanchez has shown before that he has the ability to strike out more than enough at the major league level to make him worthwhile, and if he can cut his walk rate down he could become a valuable piece of the Royals rotation. Broxton was a fairly cheap pickup and could be a valuable trade chip at the deadline if he rediscovers his ways from a few seasons ago. No big moves, but if guys like Hosmer and Moustakas can take the next step, this team could battle for the division soon and for years to come.
14. Arizona Diamondbacks
- Jason Kubel
- Trevor Cahill
- Takashi Saito
- Craig Breslow
- Micah Owings
- Henry Blanco
- Willie Bloomquist
- Aaron Hill
- John McDonald
- Lyle Overbay
- Joe Saunders
The 6 players listed above who re-signed or extended over the offseason put up a combined 4.7 WAR last season. Some of those guys will be backups so it isn't as big of a deal, but multi-year deals for guys like Bloomquist or McDonald seems foolish. Was there a lot of competition for those guys' services? Kubel should be able to provide a decent outfield bat but he's going to have to show that he can be the guy with the road splits from last year instead of the power-drained batter in Target Field. Trevor Cahill makes a nice addition and the pitching staff should keep them as NL West favourites, especially if Trevor Bauer can make it to the bigs.
13. Milwaukee Brewers
- Aramis Ramirez
- Alex Gonzalez
- Jose Veras
- Norichika Aoki
- Corey Patterson
- Prince Fielder
- Yuniesky Betancourt
- Takashi Saito
- LaTroy Hawkins
- Mark Kotsay
- Jerry Hairston Jr.
- Casey McGehee
- Francisco Rodriguez
Fielder may have taken his talents to Detroit but it's tough to fault the Brewers for letting him go. They got 6 productive years from him but the amount it would have cost to hold onto him just didn't make sense for a team in the financial position of Milwaukee. Instead the team signed Aramis Ramirez to a 3 year, $36 M deal. Although he's on the downside of his career, he should be able to put up the numbers that make the contract worthwhile. I also like the signing of Alex Gonzalez. Although he's never been able to get on base at a high enough clip, given the shortstop free agent market after Reyes, he was the right move to help the fans forget about Betancourt. K-Rod accepting arbitration screwed the Brewers but I don't think that money was necessarily being robbed from improving the team so it isn't a huge loss. The Brewers didn't make any big moves but they didn't really have to. The division was weakened and they still have a solid rotation and enough offense to compete even without Fielder.
12. Tampa Bay Rays
- Jose Molina
- Carlos Pena
- Luke Scott
- Fernando Rodney
- Jeff Keppinger
- Johnny Damon
- Casey Kotchman
- Kelly Shoppach
- John Jaso
- Matt Moore
It feels weird to go through on offseason without the Rays pulling out an "Are you kidding me?" sort of move. The Rays were a playoff team last year though and they improved on their biggest area of need. Casey Kotchman is not the type of first baseman that a team can usually compete with in the AL East. The platoon of Scott and Pena will make up for the lack of corner power from last season. The Matt Moore signing was right out of the Rays playbook and a full season of him in the rotation will improve what was already the AL's best staff. A full season of Desmond Jennings in the outfield will also be a marked improvement. Overall the Rays didn't make any big changes, but they improved on their weak points and should again be competing for the division title.
11. St. Louis Cardinals
- Carlos Beltran
- J.C. Romero
- Alex Cora
- Albert Pujols
- Edwin Jackson
- Octavio Dotel
- Arthur Rhodes
- Ryan Theriot
- Nick Punto
- Rafael Furcal
- Skip Schumaker
- Lance Berkman
- Chris Carpenter
- Yadier Molina
A strange offseason of turnover for the Cardinals. It's weird to think that an offseason involving the loss of franchise faces Albert Pujols and Tony La Russa could have actually been a good one for the Cardinals. Pujols is 32 and has seen his performance decline for 3 straight seasons. He'll definitely put up all-star numbers for a few more years but will it be that much better that what Carlos Beltran will do for the next two? In a weakened division with Furcal and Wainwright back, the Cardinals have a definite chance of returning to the playoffs. Although if Pujols were still in the mix they would be the definite favourites.
10. Toronto Blue Jays
- Sergio Santos
- Jason Frasor
- Darren Oliver
- Francisco Cordero
- Jeff Mathis
- Ben Francisco
- Omar Vizquel
- Jose Molina
- Shawn Camp
- Jon Rauch
- Frank Francisco
- Brandon Morrow
The Jays are a team hoping for a lot of internal improvement and used the offseason only to touchup the roster. If guys like Snider, Rasmus, Lawrie, Arencibia, Morrow, Cecil, Alvarez, and Drabek take the next step in their young careers the Jays could be a force to be reckoned with. The bullpen should be improved from last year and also contains a few pieces that could be swapped at the deadline if the team is out of contention. It would have been good to see a big signing to replace Adam Lind who needs to show that he can hit lefties if he wants to remain a starter in the AL East, but the team could do worse than giving him another chance. The farm system is blossoming with talent and it wouldn't be a surprise to see some of it in the big leagues or traded for big pieces sooner than later. For now though, it's tough to see the Jays as more than the fourth best team in the division, but the outlook is definitely trending upwards.
9. Philadelphia Phillies
- Jonathan Papelbon
- Jim Thome
- Ty Wigginton
- Juan Pierre
- Chad Qualls
- Dontrelle Willis
- Ryan Madson
- Roy Oswalt
- Raul Ibanez
- Brad Lidge
- Jimmy Rollins
- Kyle Kendrick
The Papelbon contract was obscene, over-the-top, and completely the right move for this team. The Phillies are in complete win-now mode and having to shill out money to overpaid veterans like Papelbon or Rollins in a few years will be meaningless if the Phillies can take home another World Series or two now. Acquiring Wigginton will serve the Phillies well as he plays multiple positions and should help out a lot while Howard is out. Chad Qualls will be able to replace Lidge in the bullpen and Thome should provide a good bat off the bench, although I'd worry seeing him in the field at all with Howard out. I would have liked to see the Phillies give Oswalt another chance but Worley looks like the real deal and only the top of the rotation will matter in a playoff series. In a few seasons this team may be falling apart but for now they're doing what they need to to win this year, which given the state of the franchise is probably the best move to make.
8. Pittsburgh Pirates
- AJ Burnett
- Erik Bedard
- Nate McLouth
- Jake Fox
- Jose Morales
- Clint Barmes
- Rod Barajas
- Casey McGehee
- Doug Slaten
- Ryan Doumit
- Paul Malholm
- Ronny Dedeno
- Chris Snyder
- Derrek Lee
- Jose Veras
- Andrew McCutchen
The Pirates most important move this offseason was locking up franchise cornerstone Andrew McCutchen to a very fair 6 year deal. I like the rest of the team's moves as well. Bedard and Burnett provide some power for cheap at the top of the rotation and Barmes will be a good improvement and shortstop. If Pedro Alvarez and Jose Tabata can make the leap, don't be surprised if the Pirates make some noise in the weakened NL Central this coming season.
7. Texas Rangers
- Yu Darvish
- Joe Nathan
- Brad Hawpe
- Conor Jackson
- C.J. Wilson
- Darren Oliver
- Nelson Cruz
- Elvis Andrus
The Rangers don't have a lot to improve on coming off two straight pennants but it's difficult to look at Mitch Moreland and not think that maybe going after a first baseman would have been their best offseason plan. The Rangers instead chose to spend extravagantly on Darvish, the most expensive pitching signing of the offseason. He comes with a lot of question marks, but so did re-signing C.J. Wilson, so it seems like they made the right decision. Joe Nathan looked like he was back at the end of last season, but it's a small sample size and one I don't think I would give 2 years and $14 M to find more about. If Feliz makes a seamless transition to the rotation the Rangers will be favourites to return to the World Series again, but it's still tough to look at first base and not think they could have done more.
6. Detroit Tigers
- Prince Fielder
- Octavio Dotel
- Gerald Laird
- Carlos Guillen
- Brad Penny
- Ramon Santiago
The signing of Prince Fielder alone puts them into the top 10 but the Tigers have a lot of question marks this season and most of them will come down to how Leyland chooses to handle the team. Long spells of Miguel Cabrera at third or Austin Jackson batting leadoff could be just enough to let other teams in the division get a sniff of the lead. Doug Fister also needs to show that his third of a season with across the board improvement in his numbers in Detroit was not a fluke. The team will not miss Brad Penny as Jacob Turner should fill his spot in the rotation and hopefully break-out to what the scouts think he can be. The Tigers benefit from playing in an extremely weak division but I know I'm not the only one excited to see Miggy and Fielder batting back-to-back in Detroit this season.
5. Washington Nationals
- Edwin Jackson
- Gio Gonzalez
- Brad Lidge
- Mark DeRosa
- Ivan Rodriguez
- Michael Morse
- Chien-Ming Wang
- Ryan Zimmerman
The Nationals have arrived. They've turned over their rotation, bringing in Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson, and welcoming back Stephen Strasburg. Edwin Jackson didn't seem like a realistic signing earlier in the offseason but with no one offering him a multi-year deal, the Nationals swooped in and grabbed him on the cheap. Bryce Harper will be with the team soon and Desmond, Espinosa, and Ramos should all improve this season. The team will be better the less LaRoche has to play and with Ankiel, Bernandina, and DeRosa in the mix, there's definitely the possibility that one of them breaks out. The Nationals are young and definitely have their work cut out for them, but with the extra wild card team and Werth playing back to his Phillies numbers this team could definitely be in the playoff mix this season.
4. Cincinnati Reds
- Ryan Madson
- Mat Latos
- Sean Marshall
- Dioner Navarro
- Ryan Ludwick
- Jeff Francis
- Francisco Cordero
- Yonder Alonso
- Travis Wood
- Edinson Volquez
- Ramon Hernandez
The Reds saw an opening at the top of the division this season and spent the offseason doing all they could to try and fill it. Alonso was blocked at the major league roster and became expendable. Getting ace Mat Latos for him was a great haul. As a result of his fallout with the Phillies, Madson came cheap on a one year deal, and him and Marshall will be solid additions in the bullpen. I worry that the rotation still isn't strong enough but it was a weak FA class this offseason and the Reds did great on the trade market. It may not end up being enough to win the division, but they did the best with what they had and if guys like Rolen and Stubbs can bounce back they will definitely be in the mix.
3. Los Angeles Angels
- Albert Pujols
- C.J. Wilson
- Chris Ianetta
- LaTroy Hawkins
- Jeff Mathis
- Tyler Chatwood
- Howie Kendrick
The Angels signed the best position player and pitcher on the free agent market, what's not to like? Well for one, the length of the contract given to Pujols, and two, the best pitcher on the free agent market means a lot less in such a weak free agent class. They sport a phenomenal rotation but seem to have a glut of aging veterans on the field. They tried to relieve it by trading Abreu for Burnett but that was struck down by AJ's veto. Scioscia is going to have to find a way to get trout up to the big leagues but with Wells, Hunter, Abreu, Trumbo, Bourjos, and Morales all in the mix for playing time that may prove difficult. All those guys are capable though, or at least have been in the past, so there are worse problems to have. The team will also benefit from losing Scioscia's favourite pet project in Mathis. If Scioscia lets his best guys play though, this is a team that we'll definitely hear more from come October.
2. New York Yankees
- Hiroki Kuroda
- Michael Pineda
- Raul Ibanez
- Russell Branyan
- Jesus Montero
- Jorge Posada
- Bartolo Colon
- AJ Burnett
- CC Sabathia
- Freddy Garcia
- Eric Chavez
- Andruw Jones
It was a relatively quiet offseason for the Yankees but they did a better job of addressing their needs than any team in baseball. The Yankees offense put up the most runs in the league last season but lack of depth in their starting rotation forced them to give 51 starts to major question marks in Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon. After bringing in Pineda and Kuroda this will no longer be an issue. Montero was tough to give up, but the Yankees will be set at DH for the future with their aging veterans, so Pineda will be a staple in the rotation for many years to come. Ibanez will also help on the depth chart and provide some lefty power off the bench. The Yankees didn't make many major moves this offseason but they filled the few holes on a division winner well. They'll be contending for the World Series as usual this post season.
1. Miami Marlins
- Jose Reyes
- Mark Buehrle
- Heath Bell
- Carlos Zambrano
- "Leo Nunez"
After years of cheapskating through the National League the Marlins moved ballparks and finally opened the purse strings. After bringing in manager and part-time entertainer Ozzie Guillen to lead the new team, they made the first big splash of the offseason by signing Jose Reyes. He's a dynamic shortstop who will help the team's defense not only by his own merits but by pushing Hanley Ramirez over to third. I love watching Buehrle pitch with his trademark speed and he'll be a great veteran presence in the rotation. Zambrano is a bit of a question mark at this point, but with the Cubs eating almost the entire contract it was a great move. The Heath Bell money could have probably been better spent upping their offer to Pujols a bit or by adding more depth but the Marlins wanted to make a loud statement and they certainly did. Miami made some big jumps this offseason and should now contend for the Wild Card in the stacked NL East.


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Bradys Bad Mouthing Good Gun Shops
This, rather shocking Philadelphia Inquirer article, shocking in the sense that it's not virulently anti-gun, tells a tale of a Bucks County, PA (my county of residence, north of the city) gun shop that got wrongly blacklisted by the Brady Bunch:
Which is what happened last month when the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence released a report, "Shady Dealings: Illegal Gun Trafficking from Licensed Gun Dealers." Tanner's store was featured as one of the scurrilous.
What the Brady Center didn't know is that the sale had been a sting, arranged in cooperation with the local office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The rest of the article goes into more detail. They do get one thing wrong though:
While he considers the fine points, the woman will wander around, utterly uninterested. But when they're ready to buy, she'll be the one filling out the paperwork. If it can be proved she bought the guns for the man, it is a "straw purchase" – a felony.
This isn't necessarily a straw purchase, since you are allowed to purchase firearms as gifts. Even in Pennsylvania, where private sales of handguns are generally illegal, there is an exception for spouses, and immediate family members.
But overall, it's good to see stuff like this. I will have to send the Philadelphia Inquirer some praise for printing a good, balanced article on the issue. Oh, and Tanner managed to get an apology out of the Brady's and a retraction, after getting a lot of phone calls from irate customers who read a newspaper article on the Brady's report. I would have hoped that gun shop patrons would know ahead of time that the Brady's are full of crap.
9 Responses to "Bradys Bad Mouthing Good Gun Shops"
Excellent letter!
Wouldn't you think Sarah would know better? Didn't she defend her purchase of gun she gave to her son as a gift? Why! I believe she did. How 'bout dat.
And she got all irate about being questioned about it too.
Congrats on the Instalanche!
One big problem is that it's hard to define just what a straw man sale is.
I buy a gun and give it to someone as a gift … that's OK.
I buy a gun "for" someone else … that's forbidden.
Hard to see a clear line between the two, and ATF itself has tried without too much success to define it. At one point they said that the line was whether the ultimate recipient could not legally possess (note possess, not buy from a dealer, because the underage can't buy from a dealer but can possess). It was a practical dividing line, but hard to reconcile logically with the statute.
I bought a rifle at Tanners almost two years ago. It is a reputable operation with a courteous and professional staff. If you live near Bucks County and are in the market for a firearm, I can highly recommend them.
I don't know if this is true, but I would think one test of strawman would be whether the actual purchaser was reimbursed for the cost of the weapon by the end recipient. If so, straw purchase, if not, gift. That would be my take on it. perhaps it makes too much sense?
Sebastian~ I'm a college student working on a paper about Gun liability lawsuits relating ot the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. I was wondering if you are aware of any gun ownership statistics particularly for Bucks County. (My paper is to "write our Congressman") If you can give me any help it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
- SayUncle » When gun shops do good - [...] The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership embarasses itself: Which is what happened last month when the Brady Center…
- The Bitch Girls :: Bloglines Still Not Fixing Problem, But I Have a Solution - [...] - He's got a great post and link to a story about a gun shop that the Brady Bunch…


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Stock ItemsVS carries a number of commodity-type castings for your immediate release.
Nest Caps: Used in construction of steel tube pallets, we release quantities in increments of 500 pieces.
Hand Wheels: Used for pumps, different sizes are released in increments of 25.
Wood Connectors: Used in log construction (log cabins, roller coasters), sold in increments of 500 pieces.


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Bilirakis Announces Third Health Care Reform Listening Session in Wesley Chapel
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) announced today he will be holding a third public listening session on health care reform in Wesley Chapel this week. Bilirakis has already held listening sessions in Palm Harbor and New Port Richey earlier this month.
During the meeting, Bilirakis will be seeking feedback and ideas from constituents on the direction of our nation's health care system, including the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act.
In the House, Bilirakis serves on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, where he has the unique opportunity to be the voice of Florida's 12th District on major health care reform issues. Following his last two listening sessions, Bilirakis announced he cosponsored legislation to protect pre-existing conditions under the replacement of the Affordable Care Act. Click here to read more about the bill.
Please see below for details. This event is open to the press and the public.
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
What: Wesley Chapel Health Care Reform Listening Session
When: 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where: Wesley Chapel High School Performing Arts Center, 30651 Wells Road, Wesley Chapel, FL 33545


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Has The 'E Plebnista' Era Arrived?
Fans of the old Star Trek TV series may recall an episode titled 'The Omega Glory' whose plot revolves around a planet parallel to Earth in its' development, but whose history diverged in that their 'Cold War' opponents fought a nuclear war. When The Enterprise arrives on the scene, the survivors, barbarian 'Yangs' and more peaceful 'Kohm' villagers, are locked in a fierce struggle which ends, despite outside intervention, with the former winning and reclaiming the last of their old territory in a 'Reconquista' campaign that has been waged by generations of their forbears.
What has the above to do with social studies, one might well ask. Fair enough. The point of the trip down TV's Memory Lane to the 1960s (and a mediocre episode in of a long-defunct series) is that the victorious Yangs had been at the reconquista business for so long that the ideas and ideals they sought to preserve and defend had become objects of veneration, but not of study,and they no longer understood what they professed to worship as the 'holy of holies.' It took a typically hammy performance by Cpt. Kirk to save the day,not only for his mission and crew, but also for the poor Yangs, who'd forgotten who they once were – Yankees. Their holy words were from the Constitution,and their garbled incantations inspired their courage but befuddled their understanding.
Can this happen to us, even without a nuclear holocaust driving the survivors into caves? If one reads the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution (which includes the Bill of Rights), as well as the Federalist Papers, Magna Charta and the other primary documents of Anglo-American political development, one might just think so. Even if the syllabus is contracted to just the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, documents that all Americans should have read in civics class back in high school, one might well wonder., as one also might, as I did last night at a sporting event, at everyone standing (as I did),men with hats off, during the playing of the National Anthem. Are we still 'The Land of the Free/And the Home of the Brave'?
The recent events in Boston and vicinity leading to the capture of the surviving terrorist suspect give pause to those who give more than lip service to our civic/secular 'holy words.' Are we 'free' indeed if the police can, automatic weapons at the ready, order us out of our houses and conduct searches of them? Would those Americans who came before us have tolerated it? Reading the Declaration of Independence, one would have to answer with a 'no.' Do we remain 'free' if we cede control over our lives to an all-powerful State that 'protects' us by eavesdropping on our phone calls, reads our e-mail traffic, monitors our financial activity and can stop, search or detain us – with Miranda rights even a subject of controversy, as if guilt can be determined before trial – it would appear, at will, all in the name of fighting a nebulous 'terror'? If one is willing to tolerate some 'temporary' curtailment of liberty, for how long is it expected to last? Who decided when we can declare victory against 'terror' and how do we get our freedom back if it is not willingly offered to us? Is it 'freedom' if it can be given or taken by the State? If our rights are truly 'inalienable,' then the answer is something we ought to give to our public servants after due deliberation that takes counsel from the histories of those who have lived out the experiment in self-government in the past. We ought to ponder and act now, as the precedent set at Watertown may truly be our 'E Plebnista' moment – and a point of no return, as far as 'the American Way of Life' we have known it is concerned.


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Conveniently located in Clifton, Virginia, Westfields Golf Club is a Public access Fairfax Golf Course that offers a challenging golfing experience with scenic views, exemplary Clubhouse and accommodations normally only found in a much more expensive local Clubs.
We offer a uniquely rewarding option to those seeking a challenging and impressive golf experience in the Northern Virginia area: A public, daily-use facility with the features and services usually exclusive to Private Country Club's. At the heart of Westfields is Fred Couples' masterful interpretation of a golfer's dream course located in a spectacular setting. Challenging yet fair, with five sets of tees, it appeals to the golfers of all abilities.
The meticulously maintained Golf Course is visually stunning with tree-lined fairways and generous landing areas. It is a rare gem even when compared to the most prestigious of local Private Clubs – gorgeous, rolling and wooded with no residences flanking the links. So you can soak up the quiet, unspoiled beauty of nature while testing your shot-making skills.
Our concept of "public golf kept private" also means that you can make Westfields your Private Club for a day or join for the year to gain extended access and additional benefits. And, because Westfields Golf Club is managed by Marriott, you can expect outstanding Golf facilities and exceptional hospitality while earning Marriott Rewards® points. At what Fairfax Country Club do greens fees add up to first-class accommodations and privileges at hotels around the world?
Westfields offers the full spectrum of Golfing services, to include:
Whether you're looking to entertain clients, work on your short game after work, host an event, or get away for a relaxing weekend, Westfields exceeds expectations. An easy drive from Fairfax, our Golf Club is readily accessible from downtown D.C. and throughout the Northern Virginia area.
Westfields is the perfect location for hosting Golf Events in the Fairfax and surrounding area. Because we host numerous Corporate, Charity and Association based tournaments every year, our Event Staff has the experience and expertise to make your event a success.
With a newly renovated Clubhouse, expansive deck and extraordinary setting, Westfields is also an ideal venue for weddings, rehearsal dinners, holiday parties and other special events. Our Marriott trained Banquet team is committed to making your special occasion effortless and memorable.
Here is just a sampling of compliments and observations from Golfers at Westfields:
"It reminds me of a country club."
"The staff is first-rate here. They always do their best to make sure you have a great round of golf."
"This Freddy Couples design is one of the best tracks in Northern Virginia."
"By far, the best public course close to Washington D.C."
"The greens are always in great shape, roll very true, and have good speed for both low handicap and casual golfers."
"The clubhouse is attractive and the staff is unfailingly competent and pleasant."
Golf enthusiasts from throughout the Northern Virginia area rave about Westfields Golf Club. Schedule a tee time and see for yourself why our Fred Couples Course offers one of the best designs in Northern Virginia. If you're looking for a prestigious alternative to a Fairfax Golf Club – without the large initiation fee – make yourself at home at Westfields Golf Club today.
A mere 20 minutes away from Fairfax!


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Stephen Paulsen
Stephen Paulsen is a freelance writer and journalist based in Houston, Texas. He likes to write about pretty much everything, especially cannabis, urban planning and the court system. His reporting has appeared in Houston Press, Mother Jones, Texas Monthly and beyond.
By Stephen Paulsen:
A Catch-22 in the Crimmigration System in Harris County
by Stephen Paulsen | Tue, May 8, 2018 at 6:13 am CST
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- Arntjen - Solar
- References
- SOLARdrone
Professional check for Photovoltaic Systems with RC drone and thermal camera
The new flight drone sets standards for servicing your PV system. Arntjen Solar in Germany is one of the first solar companies to combine a remote controlled flying drone and a thermal imaging camera for detecting issues in your photovoltaic systems.
Why Thermography?
The detecting of errors in photovoltaic systems is often problematic. Especially for larger systems, this work is very time consuming and costly and must be checked manually. However, with a thermal imaging camera, even the smallest defects can be identified. Using the (solordrone) Multikopter this cost can be reduced significantly.
How do I recognize errors in the system with the thermal imaging camera?
The infrared camera can detect even the smallest defects in modules - on the front and on the back of the modules. The temperature graph gives an indication of which cells to cool down, overheated or have failed. In addition, the thermographic analysis offers the possibility to detect other errors within modules. Other components such as electrical connectors, transformers and inverters can also be checked for thermal fluctuations.
Through this type of examination, a complete system can be checked very carefully in relatively little time.
How does the Multikopter works?
The flying drone is a remote controlled aircraft with eight rotors. This allows the pilot to hold the drone in one place and safely operate from the ground while the remote controlled thermal camera is mounted below. After each use Arntjen Solar creates a written evaluation using special analysis software to collect important data including thermal images. You can see immediately whether the PV system runs error-free or where modules or cabling need to be checked.
Evaluation included!
After the check with the Multikopter Arntjen Solar creates an evaluation, made with a special software for thermal images. In the evaluation you will find the most relevant facts of the thermal images. So you can see if your PV system runs accurate or if you have to replace modules or check cable connections.
What else can we offer to you?
Not only are heat screen shots available. Arntjen Solar also offers professional aerial photographs with up to 12 megapixels and videos in HD quality. Now for the first time, low aerial photographs are feasible.
We offer unique images from unexpected perspectives!


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Minister's message.
I once read a placard hanging at the entrance of the town of Port Sydney which says "Welcome! We have 800 nice families and one old grouch!" Interestingly I found myself trying to locate that grouchy person while I was there. Negative thoughts can be contagious. We can't stop those thought from coming. But if we're not careful, we can verbalize it, and that sometimes talks ourselves out of a good opportunity, relationship, healing, restoration.
In the Old Testament God gave Jeremiah a promise that he would "become a prophet to the nations." But when Jeremiah heard this, he was very unsure of himself. He said, "God, I can't do that. I would not know what to say." I love what God said, "Jeremiah! Say not you can't do that!" God stopped his negative words.
When negative thoughts come, it's easy to verbalize it like Jeremiah. "I have many problems", I'm weak", "I'm discouraged because the dishwasher broke", "my dog is depressed", "I tried to come to church but the parking lot was too crowded"...God is saying, "Stop saying it!". If you can't be positive at least be quiet.
We can't stop the thoughts from coming but we can choose to cast them down and dismiss them from our mind. The truth is, we give life to what we say.
God said to Jeremiah, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth." God wanted to make sure that the words that came out of his mouth were positive, hopeful, and strong. Really, it takes our faith for us to say, "I'm blessed; I'm appointed; God is with me." When we put the faith word(s) so to speak, in our mouth, the Bible promises that we see something on the inside that other people can't see.
My prayer is that one day we see a placard hanging at the entrance to our town, Coldwater/Eady that reads, "Welcome to Coldwater/Eady, we have 800 nice familites and none of us speaks like a grouch! We all speak faith-filled words, "blessed, positive, strong..." Amen
705 686 7787 (office)


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Change Stories
Question Description
Briefly reflect upon an important change you have experienced in your life. Compare your change to the change stories from the beginning of Chapter 1.Compare the change stories from the beginning of Chapter 1. Answer the following questions and respond to at least two of your classmates' postings.
- What are the common issues across each story?
- What are the differences?
- Of the change "lessons" outlined in Table 1.1, which of these are present in these stories? Which are absent? What are the implications of this?
- Are there other "lessons" embedded in the stories for future changes for/to the companies?
- What three key conclusions do you draw from these stories about managing change? What lessons are embedded in these stories that you can apply to future changes you may face?
Managing Change: Some Lessons from the Four Stories
Hewlett-Packard Change Story
• Different interests need to be recognized and addressed during an organizational change
• These interests are likely to provoke different reactions to change
• Organizational politics and lobbying are likely aspects of an organizational change that will need managing
• Negotiation and persuasion are key communication skills
• More successful communication strategies are likely to be those that "touch" the people to whom they are
• Communicating change often entails providing a vision of the future that is compelling
• Pressures to change come from both outside and inside organizations
• Restructuring is a common organizational change when confronted with problems
• Any organizational change usually involves paying attention to organizational culture
IBM Change Story
• Innovative changes often emerge from below in organizations
• Making change stick requires persistence over time and actions that need to be taken on multiple fronts
• Change needs appropriately placed champions to gain support throughout the organization
• The informal network of the organization is an important part of mobilizing and communicating
organizational change
• Change requires marshalling of appropriate resources
• Some changes are incremental, others transformational
• Some smaller change actions often convey powerful symbolic messages to help reinforce the sincerity and credibility that senior management attaches to the larger change Kodak Change Story
• Organizational change involves handling reactions of both internal and external stakeholders
• Communication strategies need to be designed for internal and external groups
• Reactions to change are likely to be influenced by the success of previous changes and the extent to which there has been delivery on past promises
• Change involves risk and uncertainty
• The consequences of change cannot always be predicted
• Managers of change need to address
the question for staff of "How will I be affected?"
McDonald's Change Story
• Organizational changes occur in a competitive, international business environment
• This means that to prepare for the future, change may need to occur even when things still appear to be going well
• Organizations face external pressures to change such as providing socially responsible products and services
• Some changes fail to deliver on their intended outcomes
• Change in and of itself is not necessarily good for a company; careful assessment is needed of the relevance and likely success of a proposed change
Tutor Answer
Brown University
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Carnegie Mellon University
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Harvard University
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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New York University
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Oklahoma University
2122 Tutors
Pennsylvania State University
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Princeton University
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Stanford University
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University of California
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Oxford University
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Yale University
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This is an archive of the ArtCat Zine, 2007-2009. Please visit our new project, IDIOM.
R. Luke DuBois: Politics As Usual
September 12 – October 11, 2008
bitforms gallery, 529 West 20th Street, NYC
There ought to be a word to distinguish work like R. Luke DuBois' Hindsight is 20/20 series, from the more partisan, committed work that usually goes under the moniker, 'political.' Conceived as a procession of lexical snapshots, Dubois has arranged words from various State of the Union speeches in the format of eye-examination posters - here transformed into light boxes. The words appear in descending order of frequency, with the largest being those that appear most frequently in the speech's text. It is a concept that satisfies beyond its undeniable cleverness; both practically, as a fascinating visual distillation of political history, and metaphorically, as the each image begs the question of our access to it - prodding us to consider, quite literally, the degradation of our political senses. Hindsight... is included in the artist's solo show Politics as Usual opening tomorrow at bitforms gallery. There is an opening reception from 6:30-8:30, and an artist's talk at the gallery Saturday, October 11 at 4pm.


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Imagine, if you will, a border crossing between two countries that in many ways do not get along. There are bouts of violence between ethnic groups in Malaysia and Thailand, and the Foreign Office recommend that people do not travel across land borders here. I gave myself a free pass given I've moved from Ecuador to Colombia so everything that comes after that is easy. Nevertheless, there's always an easier (and classier) way to do things and so I took a boat to Thailand. 200 horsepower jetted us from Langkawi to the southern island of Koh Lipe, preserve of honeymooners and young families. This is not a backpacker classic, but it was on the way north and by all accounts a beautiful place. Passport control was a dread-locked Thai-Rasta (a staple of southern Thailand) who took all our documents behind the cafe that served as immigration and after ten minutes sunning ourselves on a white sand beach, cooling our toes in the Andaman sea, we were all stamped and ready to go. Heathrow could learn a thing or two about convenience. Continue reading
Hop It. Island To Island In Thailand
18.780991 99.002657


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News Module - is a simple and easy way to simultaneously report events to all users Collaborator.
This functionality is already used for announcements, notifications about actions and events, and more.
The information block on the main page displays the latest news announcements. Your users will see them immediately after logging in to the system and be able to go to the full view of the news that is they are interested in.
Comfortable news editor allows you to quickly and easily create eye-catching message. In the text of news you can use the formatting and inserting images and videos.
On the page "news management" you can see a list of all creatures in the news system, as well as add new ones, delete, and change desired settings:
In the process of creating news, except news topics and text, labels and attached images, you can also specify the desired date of publication:
On the page "News", the user can see all the news published in the System.
Working with Users | Collaborator - Справочная информация и описание системы 2 | Working tasks


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On the Wednesday of E3 our exceptional crew brings you the latest news in Tweet form.
Have no fear as we are your eyes, ears and nose of E3. Thanks to the future we are able to keep you informed of all things E3 through the wonders of Twitter. After a productive Monday and Tuesday, we bring you further snarky commentary from the E3 show floor.
If you would like to stay ahead of the game you can always just follow the away team made up of Steve Butts, Susan Arendt, Mike Kayatta and Sarah LeBoeuf as they make their way through the heart of darkness known as Los Angeles.
I was unconvinced about Persona 4 Arena until I saw it in action yesterday. It's super cool...even if @AtlusAram totally kicked my ass. - Susan Arendt
Sony's new slogan, Never Stop Playing, seems a tad unhealthy. - Mike Kayatta
Hey, LA cabs: thanks for consistently being such a nightmare. - Sarah LeBoeuf
Events of this cab ride: being scolded for not having cash. Offered gum. The Bangles Eternal Flame. - Susan Arendt
Escapist E3 team's new game rating system: Table Flip or Table Fort. - Mike Kayatta
First appointment: seeing The Last of Us. Awesome way to start day two. - Sarah LeBoeuf
Guy from Portugal who listens to the podcast just recognized me by my voice. Kinda neato. - Susan Arendt
I'm so hungry this bag of Sun Chips might be my best of show. - Sarah LeBoeuf
Got to play Unfinished Swan. The tables will say unflipped...for now. - Susan Arendt
Just saw Beyond and I am so psyched about it. - Sarah LeBoeuf
WTF is up with the bows and arrows this year? Tomb Raider, Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, and Crysis all love the bow. - Steve Butts


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Latest Insurance Discounts and Offers
Insurance discounts and incentives are offered by many life insurance companies to attract new customers or reward customers for their loyalty or their healthy lifestyle.
The offers tend to fall into the following categories:
- Automatic premium discounts for clients who meet certain criteria
- Opt-in health and well-being programs which offer the opportunity to earn discounts
- Fee waivers or premium discounts to attract new clients or encourage loyalty
- Additional services or benefits over and above those offered by the policy
We have compiled a list of these offers below so that you can take them into account when comparing insurance companies.
Note: Unless otherwise specified, the discounts below are not incorporated in the premiums displayed in Compare Quotes (although if you qualify they will be applied to your final premium).
Insurance Watch 20% Reward: In addition to the offers below, if you purchase your policy through Insurance Watch you will receive 10% of your premiums back in the first and second years of your policy – read full offer details and Compare Quotes
AIA Discounts and Offers
AIA Vitality Membership
- AIA Vitality can be added to any new or existing AIA Priority Protection policy and its cost is included in the AIA with Vitality policies compared online
- No eligibility requirements. A fee of $120 a year (or $10 a month) is charged for Vitality membership
- An initial 12.5% discount (15% until 30th June 2019) will apply to Life, TPD and Trauma insurance policies and a 7.5% discount to Income Protection policies. Vitality membership also gives access to discounts on movies, travel, retail shopping, fitness devices and gym memberships.
- A Vitality application needs to be completed to become a member and you must supply a unique email address
- If insufficient activity points are earned the initial discount of 12.5% will be reduced by 2.5% each year and the initial discount of 7.5% will be reduced by 1.5% each year. Alternatively depending on the points earned the discount can be increased to a maximum of 20%
"Take a Break" promotion (ending 30th June 2019)
- Applies to new AIA Priority Protection policies only – is included in premiums shown online
- No eligibility requirements
- The annual policy fee of $82.53 is waived for the first two years of the policy.
- The waiver will be automatically applied at the time of application.
- After the first two years the policy fee will apply again.
AMP Discounts and Offers
Healthy Start (ending 2 December 2019)
- Applies to new AMP Elevate stepped Life and TPD insurance policies without loadings or exclusions
- To be eligible you must be:
- aged between 30 and 60 years old
- have a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 18.5 and 28
- be a non-smoker
- If accepted a 10% premium discount will be applied
- Eligibility will need to validated in advance and the application must be submitted online on AMP's electronic system only
- The discount will last for 5 years only
Asteron Discounts and Offers
Healthy Life
- Applies to new stepped Asteron Life and TPD insurance policies with a minimum sum insured of $250,000 without exclusions or loadings
- To be eligible you need to:
- have a BMI (Body Mass Index) below 28
- be aged between 30 and 55 years old,
- not smoked in the last 5 years,
- not had your driver's license suspended, disqualified or cancelled or been charged with a drink driving offence in the last 5 years,
- in your current occupation not work as a security guard/officer, in emergency services or in the defence forces, drive or operate heavy or hazardous machinery, drive interstate or transport poisonous/hazardous or toxic material, work at a distance of 250km or greater from your residence, or fly any aerial vehicle
- If accepted a 10% premium discount will be applied
- To apply you must complete the Healthy Life section of the Asteron Application form
- The discount will remain in place for the life of the policy and will not be subject to review
Healthy Plus
- Applies as above except you must undergo a blood test and a medical exam at application time.
- If satisfactory a 20% premium discount will be applied.
- To retain the 20% discount you will need to continue to meet the eligibility criteria and undergo a blood test and medical exam every year at your expense. If you choose not to re-test your discount will decrease by 1% each year until it reaches 10%.
BT Discounts and Offers
My Health Discount
- Available to both new and existing clients with Term Life polices commencing after April 2006.
- The life insured must have a BMI between 18 and 28 and be aged between 30 and 55
- If eligible the annual policy fee is waived and a 10% premium discount applies for the life of the policy.
- To apply clients must create an account on the My Wellbeing Portal, enter their height and weight to calculate BMI and answer some health questions.
MLC Discounts and Offers
Digital Application Reward (ending 5th May 2019)
- Applies to new MLC Insurance policies only – discount is included in premiums online
- To qualify your application needs to be submitted online or via telephone interview
- The reward provides a 10% premium discount in the first year and a 5% discount in the second year of the policy.
- This reward can be received in addition to the On Track discount (if applicable).
Best Doctors
- Applies to all new and existing MLC Insurance policies
- The policyholders and their family members can access the service
- Best Doctors provides support to policyholders and their families when they are dealing with a mental or physical health condition. Access to medical specialists around the world is provided to obtain a second opinion or access expertise to provide diagnosis and treatment plans.
- To access the service requires an initial phone call and consent to release your medical records to be reviewed
- This service can be accessed as long as your policy remains in force
On Track
- Applies to new MLC Insurance policies only
- You must have your own wearable fitness tracker and compatible smart device to record your activity information,
- You will receive an initial 5% off your premium for the first year just for signing on to On Track. If you meet your step target of 37,500 a week for 30 out of 40 weeks the 5% discount will be extended into the next year.
- When you apply for your MLC policy you must sign an On Track Authority agreeing to participate in the program. You will then receive an email with instructions as to how to connect your fitness device to MLC On Track.
- Each year you will need to meet your step target over a 40 week period in order to maintain the 5% discount into the next year.
OnePath Discounts and Offers
Free Health Coaching
- Applies to new OnePath OneCare policies
- To be eligible you must have been given a premium loading due to BMI , blood pressure and/or cholesterol
- Free health coaching is available through OnePath partner Remedy Healthcare to clients to help them make good decisions about their health and potentially reduce the cost of their insurance
- When the loading is notified a flyer and application form will be provided giving the option to agree to participate. A health coach will then contact you to explain the program. Over eight months they will schedule regular telephone appointments to help you to stay on track to meet your health goals.
- At the end of the program there will be a health reassessment to determine if your premium loading can be removed,
TAL Discounts and Offers
Health Sense discount
- Applies to new TAL Accelerated Protection Life, TPD and Trauma insurance policies
- To be eligible you must have a BMI (Body Mass Index) between 19 and 28
- for non smokers minimum 7.5% premium discount, increasing to a maximum 15% if multiple products taken out. For smokers the discount is reduced by 2.5% i.e. minimum premium discount 5% and maximum 12.5%
- No special application required – discount automatically applied after policy accepted
- Discount applies for the life of the policy with no ongoing reassessment or review
Zurich Discounts and Offers
Loving Life
- Applies to new and existing Zurich Wealth Protection policies (currently being rolled out to existing policyholders)
- No other eligibility criteria
- "Loving Life" is a lifestyle and entertainment application for smart phones and devices. Based on the "Entertainment Book" this program provides access to special offers on dining, entertainment, travel and flights.
- An email will be sent to invite you to activate your digital membership.
- Your "Loving Life" membership will be current while you remain a Zurich policyholder


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