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President Trump recently met with Vladimir Putin for a scheduled 40-minute meeting that instead lasted for over an hour and a half. A large part of that meeting involved a lot of back and forth over the media accused "Russian meddling" of the 2016 elections.
Are we really still on that turntable? Even after numerous intelligence agencies have flat stated there seems to be NO EVIDENCE of any such meddling, as well as President Putin stating numerous times that he doesn't have the time nor really the care to try and waste resources on such an act? Let it go people!
I seems that the liberal side of the country wants everyone to believe that Trump didn't "push Putin hard enough" even though we now know that it has been reported by a senior White House official briefed on the interaction by Mr. Tillerson said that President Trump had pressed Mr. Putin on the issue for roughly the originally scheduled 40 minutes, which would explain why the meeting lasted for more than two hours.
Keep screaming libs because that piece of pertinent information came from your very own leftist agenda pushing new site, The New York Times. There really is nothing better than watching the left be discredited by their very own news sources. I guess The New York Times doesn't want to end up like CNN.
Moving on now to things that actually matter, the 2 world leaders went on to discuss things like the war in Syria and the nuclear crisis in North Korea. Trump also reportedly pressured Putin to return the captured part of the Ukraine. It seems to me like Trump is actually doing the real part of the job that the last President skipped many times before in exchange for taxpayer paid vacations.
The light spirited presence of both men after the meeting in front of cameras may be an indication that by the end of that meeting things may have turned in favor of the United States. Both men seem as thought they had found a comfortable middle ground of sorts and even had a little bit of fun leaning in close and laughing at the expense of a few reporters that can be heard asking more idiotic questions about Russian collusion.
Watch the video of the press conference after the meeting. This link has a few different angles and such because the cameras used are quite loud. At minute marker 8:12 you can see the two leaders lean toward each other to gaff a bit at the media's expense.
Sound like nothing but positives came from that meeting if truth be told. Time will tell but I have a sneaking suspicion that this is another case of epic winning for President Trump, hose of us with faith in him, and our country on a whole. For the record, I am still not tired of winning yet. Are you?
Let the liberals know that their days of riots and cry-baby antics are fast coming to an end by liking and sharing the hell out of this!
So much WINNING!!!


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Month: December 2018
Betty Idol – Harley Quinn [Music Video]
Betty Idol – Harley Quinn
Betty Idol (yes the chick from Love and Hip-Hop Atlanta) is back at it again with a new visual from her single called "Harley Quinn". The hard-hitting beat was produced by Honorable C.N.O.T.E. Betty has a unique delivery in her voice, which definitely lets her stand out on the mic. She has had co-signs by big names and has even made records with 2 Chainz!
Betty was also affiliated with Tr3yway and 6ix9ine and was believed to be signed to Tr3yway at one point but we are not sure if that ever happened or not. Either way, she was getting a lot of support from them before they got arrested…

subset: commoncrawl


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Could It Happen Here, Too? Why President Trump Is Giving Venezuelan Expats Déjà Vu
The day after the Women's March on Washington, I met up with a few friends from my home country of Venezuela for lunch. I was telling them all about the emotional experience of walking with half-a-million people down the streets of D.C.; how invigorating it was, how hopeful it had made me feel after months of worry. One of the women I was eating with had joined in on the peaceful protests that happened in New York on Saturday, but the other had decided to stay home. It wasn't because she was against the march, she explained, but rather that she no longer had it in her. "I have a complicated relationship with marching," she said to me. "In Venezuela, we marched and marched, and marched. I got that natural high from seeing all those people around me; I thought nothing could stop us. But now here we are, 15 years later, and nothing changed."
For those who might not be familiar with the political history of Venezuela, in 1999, Hugo Chávez, a charismatic former military officer with a strong populist message won the presidential election. He promised to end poverty, to bring back socioeconomic equality to the masses, to make Venezuela great again. His socialist revolution, dubbed Chavismo, swept over the country and took over every branch of the government. In less than two decades, Venezuela's democracy slowly started to mutate into an autocracy. There was an all-out war with the press; networks critical of the government were shut down, newspapers were bought by Chávez sympathizers. Corruption amongst his lackeys went unchecked. Elections were no longer free, nor fair. Opposition leaders were thrown into jail. Hundreds of thousands of people, myself and my friends included, frequently took to the streets to protest. Eventually we all left the country.
The Women's March on Washington certainly reminded me of the manifestations that had taken place back in Caracas. But it was actually Kellyanne Conway's now infamous appearance on Meet the Press that really triggered my PTSD panic button: During the interview, Chuck Todd asks Conway why President Trump's press secretary, Sean Spicer, lied about the crowd size at his inauguration. Conway, in her signature roundabout manner, first issues a warning: "If we're going to keep referring to our press secretary in those types of terms, I think that we're going to have to rethink our relationship here. I want to have a great, open relationship with our press," she says. When Todd asks her to answer the question, while noting that a misinformation campaign fronted by the White House Press Secretary could undermine the future credibility of the institution, Conway hits back: "No it doesn't. Don't be so overly dramatic about it. You're saying it's a falsehood . . . Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts."
For many Americans, Conway's introduction of that Orwellian-like term was disturbing, and perhaps a bit embarrassing. But for many Venezuelans, Conway's mental gymnastics were straight out of Chávez's playbook. Conway and Todd's exchange couldn't help but remind me of a 2010 press conference with Chávez that once went viral. In the clip, a journalist from Radio France asks whether or not gerrymandering took place in a recent congressional election. Chávez's response was the following:
"Radio France. A while ago, I made some critiques about them, I'm still waiting for them to respond. You remember that, right? You guys like to spread lies, rumors, and then you don't respond. I even hope you respond, but nobody does. You guys stay silent, you spread lies, and then, shhh, silence. That's when I say, hey, it's time to reflect. Let's be honest, let's have some integrity, let's have some ethics! Ethics! [Radio France], well, what can I say. I hope that you—where are you from? Venezuela? Do you know the constitution? I ask because sometimes you journalists don't know. I don't think you know it, because the answer is there."
The journalist then tells him it's irrelevant whether or not she knows the constitution and presses him once again to answer the question. Again, Chávez twists and turns and evades having to respond:
"This is the way you guys protect yourselves. When I encroach you, when I debate you on something, then it's irrelevant whether or not you know the constitution? Of course it's relevant to me! As it should be to you! And for the people who listen to you! How are you going to say that it's irrelevant? What are the people who listening to you going to think? You're saying knowing the constitution is irrelevant! I say this to you, for you to reflect, if you want. I'm sure you know the truth. I want to believe you know the truth."
And so it goes, on and on, this back and forth between them. The clip on YouTube lasts nine-and-a-half minutes. Chávez never answers the question.
Tamoa Calzadilla, a Venezuelan investigative journalist who left the country in 2015, has also been getting a bad case of déjà vu these days. After one of Trump's press conferences in January, Calzadilla wrote a piece for Univision on the many similarities she saw between Trump's open hostility toward the press and her experiences as a reporter during Chávez's regime. "The threats to litigate against the press, when he revoked _The Washington Post'_s credentials during his campaign, when he yelled at Jim Acosta that he was 'fake news'—those were the moments that most troubled me," she said over the phone from Miami, where she now lives. "Even the unfiltered use of Twitter at all hours of the day. That was a very Chávez way of governing."
And about Twitter: When Chávez joined the social media platform in 2010, he quickly became the most followed person in Venezuela. Much like Trump today, Chávez would announce policy changes on Twitter, retweet praise from his fans, and enthusiastically embrace the exclamation point. His last post, before he died of cancer in 2013, reads: "Still holding on to Christ and confident in my doctors and nurses. To victory always!! We will live and we will win!!!" Sound familiar?
I decided to call up Francisco Toro, the founder of the news and opinion blog Caracas Chronicles, for his thoughts on what's been going on in the U.S. Toro has been living in Montréal since 2009—a pinned tweet from January 11 on his Twitter page reads: "If I hadn't already moved to Canada, I'd move to Canada." During our conversation, Toro was hesitant to draw too many parallels between Chávez's rule and Trump's string of bizarre press conferences. "It's hard because I'm an analyst; I'm meant to think about these things. But for the last few days I haven't been thinking about the news, I've been feeling the news," he said. "The truth is, I don't know. It's okay to just be afraid."
When it came to giving advice, Toro did warn against the impulse to back down into our thought bubbles and further polarize the country. "In a way, depolarization is not our gift. For a long time in Venezuela, we didn't really get it, and when we did, it was already too late. The narrative [from the government] of the evil media had become congealed and hermitically sealed," he explained. "You see that in the U.S. really clearly, too. Once people are convinced that everything in the mainstream media is a lie, then they become like Trump and never have to face a fact that they don't like because they always have permission to say it's not true." (As I was writing this, Steve Bannon, Trump's chief strategist and who ran Breitbart News for many years, gave an interview to The New York Times in which he said that the "humiliated" media is "the opposition party" and should "keep its mouth shut," adding that the media "don't understand this country. They still do not understand why Donald Trump is the president of the United States.")
Of course, as many similarities as there are between Chávez and Trump, there are just as many striking differences. Chávez was an ex-military man, mentored by Fidel Castro, who dreamed of leading a socialist revolution across Latin America. Trump is a capitalist billionaire who deferred from the draft five times, and whose campaign was built on building walls to keep America's neighbors out. More importantly for our purposes, Venezuela had a history of dictatorships and a fragile democracy that easily crumbled under Chávez's rule. Calzadilla, who doesn't feel like emigrating once again, likes to calm herself down by reminding herself of the ample checks and balances in American government and its long history of democracy. Not that it always works. "For many years in Venezuela, we would always say to ourselves, 'No, I don't think that will happen,' " she remembered. "Is he really going to close down that TV network? No, I don't think that will happen—and he did. Is the government really going to take over private businesses? No, I don't think that will happen. And they did. What scares me now is that I find myself saying that a lot again these days. No, I don't think that will happen here."


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- Manufacturer & Model
- Dayton Audio MK402 Bookshelf Speaker
- $129/pair
- Highlights
Low cost bookshelf speaker, 4" treated-paper woofer with extension into the 60Hz range, excellent sound dispersion, 4 ohms impedance is compatible with many different amplifiers, durable black vinyl finish.
- Summary
The MK402 represents a worthy entry-level speaker that can be found for under $100 a pair. The speaker offers an impressive tonal balance that will appeal to most budget buyers. And simple tweaks applied via a receiver's tone controls can make this speaker sing. Considering price, there are few other speakers that offer the same potential as the MK402. Recommended.
The reason why Dayton Audio produced the MK series of speakers is simple: to fill the niche of a good sounding speaker offering a solid upgrade in performance over what is typically available in this price class. The trick for Dayton Audio is how well they executed this package. Does the MK402 provide a solid performance upgrade over what would otherwise be available in a soundbar or HTiB? If so, then that is why we should all be interested in the existence of the MK402. If Dayton Audio has done its job, we have a solid, sub-$100 speaker that we can recommend to all our budding audiophiles, to outfit our offices, our kitchens, or maybe even to use in our own home theaters. To know if Dayton Audio succeeded, let's delve into the nuts and bolts of the speaker and ultimately how well it all came together.
MK402 Design
The MK402 is part of a new product line from Dayton Audio that includes interesting new cabinet designs and very good speaker drivers in an unusually affordable package. Add to that a more sophisticated crossover than we often see in speakers of this price and we have something that looks really promising. Pulling the speaker out of the box we see a nice, durable black vinyl finish with an interesting beveled front baffle. It's clear that attention was paid to the design of the speaker, as this bevel helps reduce cabinet edge diffraction and smooths the response of the speaker. The grille for the speaker is interesting because normally we see inexpensive plastic frames covered in thin cheap fabric. In this case, a half inch thick MDF frame is cut and shaped to match the beveled baffle and is covered with a surprisingly nice piece of knit speaker grille cloth. While it looks nice and feels substantial, for the best sound don't use the grilles.
Moving on to the back of the speaker we see that this is a ported design with a small 3/4" port. Some will note that the port has been accused of being too small and that it chuffs too easily. However, it's important to keep in mind that the woofer in this speaker is unique, and the port size was necessary to ensure that a low enough tuning was possible. Below the port is a very substantial set of binding posts. While commonplace on most good speakers, these are the best binding posts I've ever seen on a speaker under $100. In fact, when I was a young and budding audiophile buying my first pair of inexpensive speakers, likely for the same price as these, a horrible speaker connection known as the spring clip prevailed. I'm very thankful there are no spring clips here.
Moving to the internals of the MK402, Dayton Audio has developed two new drivers for use in the MK series and also made them available to the DIY crowd. The MK402 uses the new Dayton Audio TCP115-4 woofer. This new woofer is a 4" woofer with a large 4mm of Xmax, a fat surround for clean excursion, and an unusually low FS of 54hz. What this means is that the small 4" driver is capable of producing deeper bass than would be possible from other 4" drivers in a small enclosure. The compromise is in the sensitivity; this driver has a low 84db sensitivity at 1 watt/1m, and my own estimate based on 2.83 volts and 1 meter puts it closer to 80db in the finished speaker. What that means is that while this driver will produce deeper bass, it will require quite a bit more power than other 4" drivers and will not play as loud. The woofer appears to be of high quality and the measurement data for the driver shows nice behavior with a mild break up mode. Moving on to the tweeter, we find the new Dayton Audio TD20F-4 20mm silk dome tweeter. This tweeter has an exceptionally smooth response, good sensitivity and decent power handling, but being 20mm, will not extend quite as low as some 25mm domes. Having said that, the 2.5khz crossover frequency of this speaker is more than appropriate for this tweeter, so while it is smaller than the 25mm more commonly seen, it is not compromising the speaker in any meaningful way.
While the quality of the drivers is a critical part of the final sound possible with a speaker, it is for nothing if they don't have a good crossover tying them together. Dayton Audio's engineers chose a simple but effective crossover for the MK402, which helps give a smooth response while keeping costs down. The crossover is a 4-element design that takes advantage of the natural roll-off of the drivers to achieve steeper slopes. There is a single series inductor on the woofer, which makes it an electrical first order filter. The tweeter has a single electrolytic capacitor in series, a single resistor in series, and a small film capacitor that appears to be used to bypass the electrolytic capacitor. This would improve the sound of a series electrolytic capacitor by bypassing it at high frequencies and avoiding its parasitic losses. The tweeter also appears to have a first-order electrical crossover. When combined with the natural roll-off this is said to achieve 1st order and 2nd order crossover slopes respectively. The final crossover point is said to be around 2.5 kHz.
Many of these parts would not be out of place in a more expensive speaker, especially the drivers. There are signs of cost-cutting to be sure. The vinyl finish feels plasticky and doesn't even pretend to be wood. There are some minor alignment issues with the front baffle. The crossover is simpler than is optimal. The need for such a low tuning in a small enclosure may have made a passive radiator a better option than the port. We can't forget that this is a $69 speaker, so when looked at through that lens and comparing against the other options on the market, you really can't fault the Dayton Audio MK402. In fact, it's better than the other options looked at while reviewing this speaker. However, for all this discussion over what is under the hood, we really haven't touched upon what ultimately matters: Did Dayton Audio succeed in providing a great sounding entry level speaker?
In evaluating the MK402, it made sense to set them up in a manner consistent with how the average buyer would use them, while also ensuring that they were given an opportunity to stretch their legs. Many buyers will simply place these on a bookshelf or desk surface, and while workable, that is less than optimal for any speaker. The MK402's were set on a pair of stands in my office. I placed them roughly two feet from the wall and six feet apart. My listening position was a mere five feet from the speakers, just about optimal for the size and placement. Given the modest price of the speakers, high-ticket amplification would not have made sense. As such the majority of my listening took place using either a pioneer receiver rated for around 100 watts per channel or generic pocket-sized digital amplifier rated for around 10 watts per channel. The MK402 did overlap slightly with the NAD C368 also under review, so I also tried them with the NAD. Nobody would ever pair these speakers with this amplifier, but it was nice to see what such a quality set of electronics could do with these speakers. The source for all of my listening was Tidal HiFi and a handful of CDs. The room is a typically-sized office with a bookshelf between the speakers and a few acoustic treatments. The room has two 4" thick acoustic panels at the first reflection points and a handful of Vicoustic Wavewood hybrid diffusor/absorber panels. This setup proved to be optimal for the performance capability of these speakers.
Listening Tests
Reviewing this speaker turned out to be a real challenge. It is clear why this speaker was created, but, over the course of my listening, it became less clear if this speaker really met its goal. Listening to this speaker could at times prove quite enjoyable. The MK402 often gave a good vision of high-end sound. The speaker impresses with good imaging, an overall smooth sound, and extended and authoritative bass. In some ways, the speaker was quite listenable. Both measurements and my ears told me this speaker had surprisingly good bass for a tiny bookshelf with a little 4" driver, extending down past 50hz. Yet there was no shaking the sense that this was a lean sounding speaker with a bright top end, although not harsh or completely unpleasant. Lean became the best word to describe its character. Bass was there, but the speaker didn't sound as full as I would have liked. While the speaker is listenable without any kind of EQ, and when placed on a bookshelf likely works well as is, The sound was somewhat fatiguing and uninteresting. The review could have ended here, but there was no getting around the fact that it was showing signs of good sound. The potential was there, it just wasn't realized. As it turns out, my aural perceptions of the smoothness of the speaker were right and simple rebalancing of the speaker was feasible using basic bass and treble tone controls. That is not true of most inexpensive speakers, which have a very uneven response which cannot be fixed with tone controls nor easily EQ'd. Since the response was so smooth, the application of either true EQ or basic tone adjustments made sense and I spent most of my time listening this way. For the reader, try the MK402 both ways, since many people may like the sound of the MK402 as is.
While I tried to spend most of my time listening to the speaker using tools most buyers would have access to, I did try two other options. First was to EQ the speaker using Equalizer APO 1.2 software. By looking at the free space measurements, PEQ filters can be generated that maximally flatten the response over the widest listening window. When EQ is applied above the Schroeder frequency of a room (fs), use of free space measurements is considered the only truly valid method. While you can use an average of the polar response, in this case, I made use of the individual measurements across the listening window and examined the EQ filters at each measurement point, giving greatest weight to those in the 40-degree listening window. This turned out to be smart, as applying the EQ that REW generated automatically to the on-axis response created some anomalies off-axis. What was most interesting was that this big improvement for EQ was mostly a change in tonal balance. Bass and treble tone controls could achieve much the same results. I would say that 80% of the difference heard was achievable with just the tone controls. As such, while you are welcome to go through the effort of trying to EQ the speaker flat, you may find the tone controls a much simpler yet effective solution.
I initially settled in with some White Stripes. Hand Springs sounded particularly nice with a well-organized soundstage, good authority to the kick drum, and a smooth tonal balance. Jack White's guitar had all its amazing grit intact. Without any kind of bass boost or EQ, the kick drum lacked the appropriate kick or weight one would expect. All the sounds were there, just not as lively and dynamic as you might expect. Add that bit of bass boost and things sounded much better. Next up was Jeff Beck's I put a Spell on You featuring Joss Stone. This is a great recent release by Jeff Beck, and Joss Stone's lyrics are luscious. The MK402 did a great job capturing all of Stone's soul and grit. Jeff Beck's guitar playing was goosebump-inducing. It's interesting that while the speaker's tonal balance wasn't to my liking, it was still more than capable of bringing musical enjoyment. It's the goosebumps that matter most, not just the graphs.
That Jeff Beck song had me in the mood for some great guitar pieces, so next up was John Mayall's The Sum of Something. Once again, I found myself getting goosebumps, the hair standing up on my arms as Mayall played his lead. This speaker's fault proved to be one of omission; rather than adding things that were overly unpleasant, it just left out some of the scale you get with better speakers. The music was all there, the emotions were felt, and it wasn't hard to shut off my brain and just listen. Next, up was Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven. For those who don't know, this beautiful song was written by Eric Clapton as he dealt with the loss of his baby, who tragically fell out of their apartment window. This song is beautiful, emotional, and intense. Through cheap speakers, it typically sounds thin, congested, and indistinct. Through the MK402, it was easy to feel the emotions that Clapton was putting down, and nothing was lost in the performance other than a little bit at extremes. Cause We've Ended As Lovers by Jeff Beck is a great song and a great performance. Guitar sounded great through the MK402; Blues, and Rock it's perfect companion. The biggest omission was, as mentioned, at the extremes. The average owner of this speaker would be perfectly happy with them if used in the right setup. Compared to more expensive speakers, the MK402 doesn't play quite as loud and can sometimes sound a bit dynamically compressed. Bass heavy music tends to make the port noise obvious, especially at higher volume levels. While the soundstage was impressive for the price of the speaker, it nonetheless could not equal the best I have heard. The best speakers tend to completely disappear while presenting a soundstage that extends far beyond the boundary set by the speakers. With the MK402 the soundstage tended to hang between the speakers, and occasionally the speakers called a bit of attention to themselves, snapping the image to one side or the other. While I've heard better, I haven't heard much better for the same price. The truth is that at this price point most speakers are terrible. The Dayton Audio MK402 did not impress me because it had great sound; more that it was impressive what was possible for under $100. It's too bad that Dayton Audio chose to design the crossover as they did, the tonal balance is not desirable. Thankfully it is correctable, but I can only hope that Dayton Audio considers adjusting the crossover, so such adjustments are not needed.
The MK402 was measured on a stand to minimize reflections from room boundaries. The mic was one meter from the speaker and gated to remove the effect of floor bounce. This technique yields valid results above 200hz, but unfortunately slightly elevates the bass response below 200hz. The following measurement shows the polar response of the speaker but doesn't fully capture the tonal balance of the speaker. Further, it was found that moving the microphone even a few degrees above or below the tweeter axis could shift the tonal balance to be even brighter.
Dayton Audio MK402 Axial response, Power response, and Directivity Index
As you can see in the measurements, the response is relatively flat and smooth but shows a bit of an upward high-frequency tilt. The polar map shows typical evidence of tweeter beaming above 10khz.
Dayton Audio MK402 Polar Map
Before discussing my EQ results, let's look at the speaker's distortion. For this plot, I used the stepped sinewave distortion method. This approach has the lowest possible noise floor. The speaker was playing at around 83db. Normally it would make sense to test the speaker at a higher volume, but the low sensitivity risked clipping the small amplifier used for testing purposes. 83db is still a loud volume and reflected an average level that was as loud or louder than my typical listening volume for this speaker. As such, the results should track the distortion levels heard during normal listening.
At all frequencies, the distortion remained below .6%, and above 2khz it was below .15% for second and third harmonics. This is an impressive performance for such an affordable speaker. The rise in 3rd harmonic distortion noted in the bass is evidence of the port chuffing. As the volume increased this distortion rose more drastically.
Here are the electrical impedance and phase. The impedance doesn't dip much below 4 ohms and the phase angle at low impedances is fairly benign. As such, this speaker needs an amplifier capable of handling a 4-ohm speaker but is otherwise an easy load.
Next, the in-room measurement of the MK402 before any EQ.
As can be seen, the response in the room shows a dip at 3.5khz and a rising HF response. This is all crossover related and not a result of the driver quality.
I applied EQ to the response of the speaker which made significant sound quality improvements. This EQ showed a much flatter response and better overall tonal balance.
The measurements for the MK402 are not flattering, but when considered at the price of the speaker, they are impressive nonetheless. They are impressive because the response is smooth, and the errors are easily correctable.
Some of you may be thinking that the effort I went to in order to EQ the speaker flat is beyond what you are willing or able to do. What is possible with simpler tools? A shelf filter such as a treble tone control works wonders. Here is an example looking at the on-axis response of the MK402 free space measurement a tone control applied at the -12 position.
The nice thing about using tone controls is that you can adjust to suit, so you don't need to know anything about the speaker's overall response, because a shelf filter doesn't change the peaks and dips of the response, just its tilt. This made for a huge improvement in sound and is something most receivers and integrated amplifiers have.
The goal of this review-the goal of any review really-is to answer key questions about the product at hand. Who? The Dayton Audio MK402. What? A compact 4" two-way bookshelf speaker selling for a mere $69. Why? Because we need more and better options in the entry-level speaker line. The question then becomes, did Dayton Audio achieve this goal. Is this a better option than what else exists in the sub-$100 speaker range? When I first talked with Jill Chupka, Marketing Coordinator for Dayton Audio, I commented that the MK402 doesn't need to be a giant killer to be a bargain. That is really the key. This is not the final word in high-fidelity audio, and it shouldn't be expected to be the last word in high fidelity audio. No, I don't prefer the tonal balance of this speaker, yet it still impresses. This speaker offers a compact and well-made package with better than expected drivers and a halfway decent crossover. Many will find it's sound desirable, and further, the addition of some tweaking of your tone controls can turn this into a truly enjoyable speaker. For $69 there are few other speakers that offer the same potential as the MK402 and it is precisely that potential for why the MK402 is a recommended speaker.
Dayton Audio MK402 Specifications
- Design: 2-way vented bookshelf
- Woofer: 4" high-excursion driver with a treated-paper cone
- Tweeter: 3/4" soft dome
- Finish: Black vinyl
- Power handling: 40W RMS/80W max
- Impedance: 4 ohms
- Response: 60 Hz to 20,000 Hz
- Sensitivity: 84 dB 1W/1m
- Crossover: 2.5 kHz, 1st order low pass, 2nd order high pass
- Terminals: 5-way gold plated binding posts
- Port tuning: 50 Hz
- Dimensions: 9-1/2" H x 5-3/4" W x 6-5/8" D
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An economic lecture in which Frank discusses how the current capitalistic model is likely to lead us to a place with massive corporation that have to act in extreme, economically and socially, bad ways in order to continue to compete. He attributes this to the evolution escalation principles identified by Darwin. In this principles, individuals do what helps them survive best, even if it is detrimental to the whole. For example, the antlers of the modern bull elk, measuring at some massive four feet wide, represent an enormous investment on the part of the elk. In order to compete, the other bull elks need to grow equally large, or larger, horns representing a similar individual investment. In the end however, if all the bull elks grew foot long antlers, they would all have the same relative advantage without the deep personal resource investment.
To manage the some competitiveness in a capitalistic model, Frank suggests removing the income tax and installing a progressive consumption tax. Such a tax, he argues, would discourage the enormous waste that comes with lavish spending because it would in effect bring the upper end of the extreme to a lower margin. Instead of having to build a 4,000 square foot house to spend a million dollars (with most of the money going to the builder), you would only have to build a 2,000 square feet (with say, half the money going to the builder and the other half paying a consumption tax).
Robert Frank: The Darwin Economy (RSA)


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Austen uses seaside towns several times throughout her novels. In Persuasion, we get the distinct impression that there is wholesome pleasure to be had in these resort towns; however, in other novels, she presents these retreats as morally lax and having the potential to inspire questionable behavior in young people.
I first noticed her use of the "resort town" in Emma. Even though the title character has never seen the ocean, there are several places where the author mentions "watering-places," the influences of which are not always presented in the most positive light. In the novel, there is a comical debate about whether the benefits of sea air and sea-bathing warranted the John Knightleys remaining at South Bend for that purpose. Mr. Woodhouse reveals his opinion that "the sea is very rarely of use to any body" and that he's "sure it almost killed" him once. Another poor recommendation appears in the fact that Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax met at Weymouth, a seaside resort town, where Jane's secret engagement is referred to as her "acting contrary to all sense of right," and where Emma suggests that "her [Jane's] affection must have overpowered her judgement" (hasn't that happened to all of us?) (Hannon 68-69).
In Pride and Prejudice, Mrs. Bennet declares, "A little sea-bathing would set me up forever." Mrs. Bennet's declaration has far less to do with the potential benefits of the seaside than with Lydia's quest to travel to Brighton in order to follow the regiment encamped there. Elizabeth desperately tries to get her father to see the dangers that a trip to Brighton would pose for Lydia, and we all know how that turned out. Lydia elopes with Mr. Wickham (well, sort of elopes… mostly lives in sin for a while) and brings shame to herself and her family. Another of these resort towns, Ramsgate, serves as the background for the attempted elopement of Georgiana Darcy with the same Mr. Wickham.
It seems that for Austen, towns like Brighton, Weymouth, and Ramsgate were her version of Panama City Beach on Spring Break where there is the potential for all kinds of trouble, especially for foolish, impetuous young people.
As I make my way through Persuasion, there is s distinct departure from her tone of dire warning for the resort town, particularly in her fondness for the resort town of Lyme Regis, which is the setting for part of Volume I. This is a seaside resort town, and apparently well-loved by Jane Austen herself. In Persuasion, she describes Lyme at length, praising and celebrating its beauty and attraction saying, "these places must be visited, and visited again, to make the worth of Lyme understood." As Anne and the group make their way to the sea shore, Austen describes them as "lingering only, as all must linger and gaze on a first return to the sea, who ever deserves to look on it at all." This strikes me as a departure from the dire warnings that seems to appear in her earlier novels. Maybe she developed a love for the seaside during the Austens' tenure in Bath, a time when she traveled to places like Sidmouth, Dawlish, Teignmouth, Weymouth, and of course Lyme Regis (Hannon 68-69).
I'm not done with Persuasion yet, so I cannot say for certain that moral disaster isn't lurking around the corner in Lyme, but so far, the worst thing that has happened there is that foolish Louisa, in her attempt to appear charming, cracked her skull – no real moral damage, and as we all know, moral damage is the only kind from which is it nearly impossible to recover. In the win column for the sleepy little resort, we have seen Anne confront and conquer the demons of her past relationship with Captain Wentworth, and we've met the much maligned Mr. Elliot who gives every impression of being a perfect gentleman (although, Austen has fooled me before…).
Maybe her time at Lyme changed her mind, or maybe her maturity lessened the dangerous temptations offered in these towns. Whatever the reason, in Persuasion, her attachment and fondness for ocean and resort towns is clear, and I am quite interested to see if the little town continues to remain unsullied in the story.


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I wish this was a lot easier for me. I tend to get caught up in what people think and how people act. I read into things a lot deeper than I should and it's hard for me to forget. This weekend was a good lesson for me. Someone wrote into the paper and said some pretty hurtful things about Dan and his involvement in the Parks and Rec. They alluded to the fact that he bought his seat on the board and that his arrogance and status seeking self runs it. And it's laughable. Dan's the least arrogant person I know and status is the last thing he wants. But it still made me furious.
And I remembered that sometimes people are just mean. They don't get their way and they respond by acting like 6 year olds. They whine and tattle and complain and stomp their feet and cry. And this is basically what this woman was doing.
And I have so many good and important things to fill my heart with. All those other things? I have no time for them. And neither do you. So fill your heart with what's important.
Be done with all the rest.


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Gopher Tortoise Run
Join us for an exciting run through the Oakland Nature Preserve. Our mission is to promote an understanding of the fragile balance between mankind and the environment by EDUCATING present and future generations about the natural ecosystems and cultural history of the Lake Apopka Basin, and by RESTORING and CONSERVING the lands within the Preserve. .All proceeds will help support this important work.
The course: This 3 mile trail run will take you along the trails of the Oakland Nature Preserve. The run begins with a 1 mile road segment, and then on to the Red Trail's white sand and slight elevation changes. The path narrows as you continue the fun under the oaks of the Yellow Trail. The Blue Trail promises open skies and pine trees and the Orange Trail showcases the newest restoration area. Next, you pass the historic fish cabin and a quick run through the ONP parking area heading to the Green Trail where you will enjoy the shade of the oak hammock. Keep your eyes open for a zebra or emu as you pass by the fence line of Bailey Farm. Finally, it is time to head to the finish line.
Each registered on- site racer will receive a fun race tee shirt, Gopher Tortoise Run carved wooded medallion, and because this will be an eco friendly cup free zone, a clip-on Hydro Pouch. Virtual racers will receive a Gopher Tortoise Run carved wooden medallion. There is no day-of race registration.
Small cash prizes will be awarded for the top 3 male and female finishers in each category. Categories are:
under 18
Learn more and Registration


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Tonight's post comes courtesy of Welsh singer-songwriter Ben Semmens, with 'Holding On', one of the most beautiful songs I've songs I've heard in a long time. The accompanying video can only be described as incredible – a perfect match for the song – and comes courtesy of artist Ryan Woodward. This tune's incredibly chilled out, but it is one which seems to bring up all kinds of emotions.
Check this guy out, things are on the way up for him. And deservedly so.


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Art about art always struck me as cheating, a little. My 20th-century education taught me that art is supposed to be accessible, something the average person can relate to. (I majored in commercial art and advertising, which may be relevant.) Even though I considered myself an artist, I knew full well that most people did not, so what goood is a song about playing the tuba while wearing a beret? Almost nobody can identify with such a monster, I would suppose.
These thoughts contain the assumptions that (1) art needs to have a purpose, and (2) a non-artist will not understand the viewpoint of an artist. The first assumption is debatable, the second is snobbish drollery. Artists are not special people, they are people who can do special things. This is an important distinction.
I could still enjoy such works, but I also thought that the creators of such self-referential fare were cheating, using material that was too ready-at-hand. Ridiculous, I know, but I still feel that way a little. Art is obsession, and how well (or badly) it's dealt with seems to fascinate artists. I might have considered this essay too easy a topic about which to write, but blogging encourages writers to be self-centered.
Over the years, I've seen and enjoyed several examples of such work. For example, Ernest Hemingway was the focus of Dan Simmons's The Crook Factory, a faux-historical novel set mostly in Cuba; and also Joe Haldeman's The Hemingway Hoax, where the eponymous hoax is interrupted by the ghost of Hemingway itself (maybe, the story isn't all that clear on that). The former book is more about the writer and his effect on the protagonist, an FBI agent, the latter about his writings and he process of writing (even though it's the process of forging prose that will fool experts). Both books are concerned with the effect of Hemingway's strong personality on the viewpoint characters. He was a colorful figure, and I wouldn't be surprised ol' Ernest is a character in many more books.
Three installments of Neil Gaiman's Sandman graphic novel concern William Shakespeare and the act of writing: more specifically, Men of Good Fortune, A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest are three issues that concern The Bard and his deal with Morpheus. This mini-arc echoes throughout the rest of the 75-installment tale and concerns preserving great stories, and the sort of immortality an artist can achieve. "They only see the prize, their heart's desire, their dream… But the price of getting what you want, is getting what once you wanted."
I'll round this out with a fictional example: Kilgore Trout is perhaps the most well-known hack writer in American literature. Kurt Vonnegut's creation was actually based on Tneodore Sturgeon, and the character's most significant appearance is in Breakfast of Champions, where he finds out that he is the creation of another writer, and he meets his maker near the end of the novel. Trout writes what seems would be terrible stories, and has published dozens of them in his life. However, he has hi fans, who seek out their idol's work in porn shops and bargain bins. This endlessly fascinating character has written books he's never even seen a copy of, but are published somewhere. The message seems to be that life is a pointless farce, and there is no message except for what we may read into it. Life may be dreary, but let's laugh at it anyway!
I also find that, while I'm reading any story with Kilgore Trout in it, I find myself more conscious that this is a book written by a writer, and that these are words on a page. I somehow still care about the characters, especially the "minor", insignificant bit-parts.
Sooner or later, I think most artists will create a work that's meta to at least some degree. Pete Townshend wrote Psychoderelict, the semi-autobiographical portrait of an aging, artistically failing hippie rocker and his failing project, which bears a resemblance to the authors' infamous, uncompleted Lifehouse; Federico Fellini made the wonderfully confusing8 1/2 about a director creating a film that cannibalizes (and confuses) his own life; and the Broadway musical [Title of Show] concerns two guys writing a musical about writing a musical.
In general, the theme of mining life for artistic inspiration comes up often. Perhaps this entry should have been about blogging. In Gaiman's The Tempest, Shakespeare notes that when his son died, he mourned, but was also glad: Now he could write of true tragedy and make the pit weep true tears. In The Crook Factory, Simmons notes that everything in Hemingway's life was secondary to Hemingway. Kilgore Trout is the only writer on this page who did not let his art consume his life, and he's a bit closer to being fictional than Bill or Ernie. Similar themes are veined throughout the three non-literary works I mentioned above, and are resolved with varying degrees of healthy outcomes.
Perhaps cave-dwelling man put on plays where the hero was the sad, weak artist who couldn't contribute to the hunt, but continued to draw pictures of all the animals the others brought back for the tribe to feast on. Did the drawings become useful for training young hunters to recognize, this one, you should have help to bring down? Was the artist respected at that point? (Feh. Artists get the girls, but training documentation illustrators are lucky if they get a good word.) Did the drawings have a picture of an artist, with a smaller picture of the animals in front of him?
(This entry is an expanded version of text I wrote here.)


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Without your financial help, large Artfusion mural projects would not be possible. With your financial donation, we can purchase the paint needed to beautify a high profile location inDowntown London. Visible from the VIA rail station, the new mural will add life to those visiting our city and to those experiencing downtown.Read More
Help us show off the hard work of our community members this weekend! VOLUNTEER at Artfusion Fest 3, and help us unveil the mural! We are affiliated with St. Leonard's Non-Profit Community Services. We can sign off on volunteer hours, and provide references. This is a great opportunity to get involved with your community, AND for […]Read More


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Beware the Potholes in Hervey Bay
Keep a good look out because after all the heavy rain there are plenty of deep potholes in Hervey Bay and it may take a few days for the Council to fix them
Local news for Hervey Bay
Keep a good look out because after all the heavy rain there are plenty of deep potholes in Hervey Bay and it may take a few days for the Council to fix them
Hervey Bay roadworks – it's all happening again and the Council is taking its time.
Where were the road patching crews during the big wet last week?
Preliminary work has begun on a $10 million road upgrade to significantly improve peak-hour traffic flow and road safety in Hervey Bay. Main Roads Minister Warren Pitt said a 1km section of Boat Harbour Drive between Hunter Street and McNally Street would be widened as part of a $2 million contract. The work will be … Read more$10m Upgrade for Boat Harbour Drive Begins
Get ready for some interesting traffic delays at the busiest roundabout in Hervey Bay. Yep work is about to start on something on the Boat Harbour Drive/Main Street roundabout. Speed limits have already been reduced to 40km/h and traffic controllers have been seen and there are some unusual marks and numbers painted on the road … Read moreTraffic Delays Ahead
The new traffic lights at the intersection of Central Avenue and Boat Harbour Drive in Hervey Bay are set to be turned on next Friday. The lights and the associated roadworks are reported to have cost $1.7 million. It will be interesting to see how the new lights work for traffic coming down from the … Read moreCentral Avenue Roadworks
The installation of traffic lights at the intersection of Boat Harbour Drive and Central Avenue here in Hervey Bay is now underway but that's not the only change to Boat Harbour Drive that's set to happen. Funds were set aside in the last State budget for the widening of Boat Harbour Drive between Hunter Street and … Read moreChanges to Boat Harbour Drive
Last week two new sets of traffic lights on Boat Harbour Drive were announced in the State Budget but those aren't the only new sets of traffic lights that are coming to Hervey Bay. Hervey Bay City Council has announced that it will be calling tenders in mid July for the installation of traffic lights at … Read moreAnother Set of Traffic Lights for Hervey Bay
The detail of the latest Queensland budget has now been released and the major impact for Hervey Bay will in road widening projects, the installation of new traffic lights, more contracts awarded to EDI Rail in Maryborough and an upgrade of the Buccaneer Pontoon at Urangan. Boat Harbour Drive will be upgraded to 4 lanes … Read moreThe Budget and Hervey Bay
Three intersections on Pialba to Burrum Heads Rd are being upgraded at a cost of $1.3 million after requests by locals for improvements to road safety and traffic flow. Member for HerveyBay and Parliamentary Secretary for Main Roads Andrew McNamara today announced work is underway on upgrades to the Dundowran-Ansons Rd,Crawford Drand Karraschs-Sawmill Rd intersections. "These … Read moreMaking the Pialba to Burrum Heads Road Safer


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We are always looking for ways to amp up our glute game. Whether we're adding some unilateral love to our workouts or powering up our fat burn with plyometrics, there's always another way to keep the good gains coming. After all, variety is at the heart of long-term workout success: it's what keeps your mind and body from getting bored — and your glutes can get bored, fast.
Not only does your glute muscle group contain the largest muscles in your entire body, but they are some of the most used muscles in your body. You use them to stand, walk, run, sit, climb and bend over, so if you want to create a booty you've never had, you're going to have to do movements you've never done. You need to move your glutes out of their comfort zone.
This single move works your glutes in a variety of ways. It contains unilateral training, which will help create structural and aesthetic balance in both sides of your body. It contains dynamic movement, so you get some functional glute training, too. It contains a static hold, so you can build muscle endurance. It also allows you to use extra resistance so you can build the lean muscle mass that's absolutely necessary to building a perkier backside. Finally, this move is a compound exercise, so you're working multiple muscle groups. In addition to your glutes, this exercise hits your hamstrings, quads, core and calves. Pretty sweet, right?
Try this peach of a move out for yourself.
Love it, what about doing side lunges and squats
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Size range
Size range
A toddler wardrobe staple, this season the classic toddler boys' jeans come in a raw denim version. With a comfortable, straight-leg cut, these 5-pocket jeans from the "Essentiels" collection have a three-fourths elastic waistband and closes with a zipper and snap button. With contrasting top-stitching for a modern twist and jersey lining, these jeans are perfect for toddler's everyday wear and pair just as well with a polo shirt as with a jumpers.
Ref : 2018160
Main fabric :99% cotton - 1% elastane
Lining :65% polyester - 35% cotton
Second fabric :76% cotton - 21% polyester - 3% elastane
Care instructions:
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What My Clients Say About Me
What My Clients Say About Me
"Confidence in Carole's ability to market my home..."
"Confidence in Carole's ability to effectively market my home and exceeded expectations." Charles S.
"All Carole's efforts from her presentation, internet marketing, price and getting my home ready to sell, met all my expectations." S.G.
" My agent Carole Kisner was way beyond my expectations. She made this whole process enjoyable and easy. She took care of all of the inspections and dealt with the mortgage broker personally and made it convenient for me so that I didn't have to take time off from work and also drove me to closing in Wilmington DE on labor day weekend which she also made sure to inform me that if I used the sellers lawyer that it would cost me nothing and be a big savings. She was always available to answer any questions or concerns night or day and always made sure to return our calls promptly. Best experience ever. My family is so happy." Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Luciano


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Impressive and stunning, the Limoni Romani Two Tier Outdoor Water Fountain features two ornately detailed wide tiers of flowing water. Each tier is decorated with lemon swags, as well as the pedestal, adding an elegant and a dramatic focal point to your outdoor setting. Crafted from high quality materials, the Limoni Romani Two Tier Outdoor Water Fountain is made to last a lifetime.
Disclaimer: This water fountain is considered a Custom Fountain due to the finish stain or paint being hand applied after the fountain is ordered. Cancellation of a custom fountain will result in forfeiture of the initial deposit.
How tall is the fountain from the base to the top. How many gallons of water does it hold
This fountain from top to bottom is 63"H.


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More bores in the Surat Basin are projected to be affected by coal seam gas developments according to a Office of Groundwater Impact Assessment draft report.
The latest 2016 report has identified a further 64 bores that are likely to be immediately impacted (ie reach the trigger threshold) over the next three compared to the original Surat UWIR in 2012.
Those detailed are predicted to experience a five meter drop in water levels within the next three years according to the latest Surat Underground Water Impact Report (UWIR).
"The quality of the data is much improved over the last few years as a result of the technology employed by the gas companies," says Dalby-based irrigator and GCQ Commissioner Ian Hayllor.
The report has implemented a new regional groundwater flow model to revise the impact of bores within the Surat Basin.
A contraction in long-term affected areas has seen the overall number of potentially impacted bores drop to 469 since the last UWIR in 2012.
However ongoing activity within the CSG industry has seen a spike in the number bores likely to be affected in the short-term future.
Sixty-four new bores have been identified within the short-term impact predictions, bringing the total to 100 bores that are likely to experience declining water levels.
"These landholders will enter into a make good agreement with the [gas] companies so that their bores are replaced with bores that tap into deeper aquifers that will not be impacted by coal seam gas extraction," says Mr Hayllor.
Under state regulations, CSG companies are required to take remedial measures to address water inadequacy at affected properties.
"People will be notified straight away… then the negotiation process starts," he continues.
"The gas companies do have to make good by providing another bore or negotiate a cash outcome."
Mr Hayllor says that GCQ is calling on farmers and irrigators in the Surat Basin to provide feedback on the report and will host a number of information sessions in regional towns.
"Landholders have got the opportunity to come along and listen to a very impressive, very comprehensive presentation… so they can actually get a much better understanding of what's happening to the groundwater and ask any questions they have."
A public information session will be held at the Roma Cultural Centre on April 15.
Irrigators in the Surat Basin can research the potential impacts on their bore by searching their bore registration number.


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The GriefShare curriculum is designed to help those who are hurting from a loss of a loved one and to begin to heal and have hope again. There are three key elements of GriefShare that work together to help you recover from the deep hurt of loss: weekly videos, a facilitated small group discussion time, and an individual study and application of concepts. Video curriculum led by Cameron Hedges.
Curriculum: Griefshare by Church Initiative
Starts February 11 | 13 weeks | $25
Sign up here


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American university declares English grammar is "racist"
Just because many blacks embrace ebonics and are illiterate, doesn't mean that everyone else is a racist.
Is the American language in and of itself racist? The University of Washington at Tacoma says it is.
The college has hung an anti-racist poster in the student writing center insisting American grammar is unjust and racist. As the statement reads "Racism is pervasive. It is in the systems, structures, rules, languages, expectations, and guidelines that make up our classes, school, and society." They say the unjust sentence structure English speakers commonly use allows microaggressions to easily form. They believe our language can manifest racism on a subconscious and casual level.
Dr. Jill Purdy, vice chancellor of undergraduate affairs says, "Language is the bridge between ideas and action, so how we use words has a lot of influence on what we think and do." The school says this is only the beginning, as they plan to formally add the statement to their curriculum.


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RCom sees India telecom consolidation2 min read . Updated: 03 Nov 2009, 12:53 AM IST
RCom sees India telecom consolidation
RCom sees India telecom consolidation
New Delhi: Intensifying competition in the Indian telecommunications sector, the world's fastest growing in mobile sign ups, should kick off an industry consolidation in two years, a senior official at Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom) said.
With four firms, including ventures of Norway's Telenor SA and United Arab Emirates' Etisalat set to start operations in India this year, existing players led by RCom and bigger rival Bharti Airtel Ltd have slashed call charges to lure users.
India, which has 11 mobile operators, has this year added an average 14 million mobile users a month. Analysts say still there is huge potential as only 40 people of every 100 own mobile phones from a population of over a billion.
Call rates in India have dropped to less than 1 US cent (around Re0.50) per minute, the world's cheapest, squeezing profit margins of firms.
Satish Seth, group managing director at RCom's parent, told analysts in a conference call on Monday the competitive activity will only increase in the near term.
"The overhang of these developments will accelerate the process of industry consolidation in the next 18-24 months," he said.
RCom on Saturday reported its quarterly profit fell by half, on foreign exchange losses, network expansion costs and growing low-paying users.
Net profit fell 52% to Rs740 crore for the September quarter from the corresponding period last fiscal. It posted foreign exchange-related losses of Rs283 crore and a dip in wireless sales. Revenue rose by 1% to Rs5,703 crore, compared with Rs5,645 crore in the year-ago period.
Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) margin, a key gauge of profitability, for the wireless business fell to 32.7% for the three months to September, from 38.6% in the preceding quarter.
In response to a question whether the company expects wireless Ebitda margin to improve in the December quarter, Seth said: "The outlook is positive."
RCom, which had 86.1 million wireless users at end-September, saw key metrics such as average revenue per user falling to ₹ 61 for the September quarter, from ₹ 210 in the preceding quarter and sharply off ₹ 44 for the fiscal year ended March.
RCom said on Monday that it will use a portion of its Rs10,000 crore planned investment this fiscal to fund the roll-out of so-called third generation (3G) services.
"We had given a capex (capital expenditure) guidance of Rs10,000 crore for the current fiscal and we will stick to it," one RCom official said in the conference call on Monday.
"We have spent only Rs2,000 crore in the first two quarters. Now that 3G is round the corner, we will take care of that expenditure within this only," said the official, one of five RCom executives who took part in the call and couldn't immediately be identified.
Taking part in the call, apart from Seth, were president of value added services Mahesh Prasad, president of Reliance Infratel Inder Bajaj, president of enterprise solutions George Varghese and president of global business Punit Garg.
The government is to start in January the auction of 3G spectrum, which will enable high-speed Internet and video downloads on mobile phones.
Mint's Bhuma Shrivastava in Mumbai contributed to this story.


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Yom Kippur Katan
Yom Kippur Katan (יום כיפור קטן translation from Hebrew: "Minor Day of Atonement"), is a practice observed by some Jews on the day preceding each Rosh Chodesh. The observance consists of fasting and supplication, but is much less rigorous than that of Yom Kippur proper.
The custom is of comparatively recent origin and is not mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch. It appears to have been inaugurated in the sixteenth century at Safed by the kabbalist Moses Cordovero,[1] who called the fast Yom Kippur Ḳaṭan; and it was included by Isaac Luria in his Seder ha-Tefillah. R. Isaiah Horowitz refers to it by that name, and says it should be observed by fasting and repentance: "Following the custom of the very pious, one must repent of his ways and make restitutions both in money and in personal acts, in order that he may enter the new month as pure as a new-born infant".[2] When Rosh Ḥodesh occurs on a Sabbath or Sunday, Yom Kippur Ḳaṭan is observed on the preceding Thursday.
The custom has roots in scripture (Numbers 28;15) where a Korban Hatat is sacrificed for Rosh Hodesh, indicating judgement and atonement is provided by God on that day. Therefore the idea of fasting would seem obvious. However, fasting is prohibited on Rosh Hodesh, so the fast is observed on the day prior to Rosh Hodesh.
The fasting is not obligatory, and only the very pious observe that act of self-denial.
The liturgy of the day, which consists of selichot, is recited at the Mincha prayer in the afternoon. Tallit and tefillin are adjusted, and if there are among the congregation ten persons who have fasted, they read from the scroll Va-Yechal (Ex. 32:11 et seq.). The selichot are taken partly from the collection used on the general fast-days and Yom Kippur, with the Viddui ha-Gadol (the great confession of sin by Rabbenu Nissim) and Ashamnu, and also a beautiful poem written for the occasion by Leon of Modena and beginning with Yom zeh. Some congregations add Avinu Malkenu. The fast ends with the Mincha prayer. For the text see Baer, 'Abodat Yisrael, pp. 317–319; Emden's Siddur Bet Ya'aḳob, ed. Warsaw, pp. 212a-216b.
Yom Kippur Katan is not observed on the day before Rosh Hashanah. It is not observed prior to Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan, because Yom Kippur has just passed. It is not observed before Rosh Chodesh Tevet, because that day is Hanukkah. It is not observed prior to Rosh Chodesh Iyar, because one may not fast during Nisan.
If the 29th of the month falls on a Friday or a Sabbath, Yom Kippur Katan is observed on the Thursday prior.
See alsoEdit
- Isru chag refers to the day after each of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals.
- Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot.
- Mimouna, a traditional North African Jewish celebration held the day after Passover.
- Pesach Sheni, is exactly one month after 14 Nisan.
- Purim Katan is when during a Jewish leap year Purim is celebrated during Adar II so that the 14th of Adar I is then called Purim Katan.
- Shushan Purim falls on Adar 15 and is the day on which Jews in Jerusalem celebrate Purim.
- Yom tov sheni shel galuyot refers to the observance of an extra day of Jewish holidays outside of the land of Israel.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Joseph Jacobs and Judah David Eisenstein (1901–1906). "Yom Kippur Katan". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
Further readingEdit
- Gershom Scholem (1972), Yom Kippur Katan, Encyclopedia Judaica
- Louis Jacobs (1995), Yom Kippur Katan, from The Jewish Religion: A Companion, Oxford: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-826463-1
- Shefa Gold (1989), The Dark Rays of the Moon: Yom Kippur Katan as Preparation for Rosh Chodesh


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Kendall Jenner celebrated her 21st birthday a day early with a lavish night out in Hollywood.
The model stunned at L.A. eaterie Catch in a revealing black, laced catsuit with sheer legs, which showed off her stunning model figure with its revealing material.
She was joined at the seafood restaurant by fellow model Hailey Baldwin and her family, including mother Kris Jenner and half-sisters Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian.
WWD reports Kendall had a change of clothes later in the evening, opting for a sparkly, silver backless number to party the night away.
Lebanese designer Antoine Salameh created the second look for Kendall, who turns 21 on Thursday (03Nov16). He's previously designed clothes for Britney Spears, Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez, and is known for his eye-catching, red carpet worthy gowns.
The collaboration came about after Kendall's stylist Monica Rose reached out to Antoine to create a custom look for the catwalk star, with the designer noting it took two weeks from "inception to creation".
"(It's) the perfect party dress because it's very lightweight and easy to move in," he smiled to WWD. "(Kendall) can dance the night away in it. I've always wanted to dress Kendall. I've had the pleasure of dressing her sisters and she's always been on the top of my wish list. I am excited to dress her for such a grand occasion as her 21st birthday."
For the dress, Antoine worked from Kendall's '20s references and added modern touches.
"Like Kendall, the dress is timeless and chic. She sent over reference images and I took it from there. It's young, sexy and fun," he gushed.


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Public Invited to ALS Symposium on Nov. 16
Patients, families and researchers will hear the latest in research and patient care
- Keynote speaker from Harvard to discuss stem cell research and impact on ALS
- Internationally known ALS doctors and scientists will share clinical and research data
- Attendees can ask questions of experts
CHICAGO –The public is invited to the Fifth Annual Les Turner Symposium on ALS and Neurorepair, beginning at 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at Prentice Women's Hospital, 250 E. Superior St., third floor, conference room L, in Chicago.
The event is free but advance registration is required by Nov. 9.
The all-day meeting will offer an opportunity for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their families, researchers, health care professionals and the public to learn about the latest news in ALS research and patient care from internationally recognized physicians and scientists.
The keynote speaker is Kevin Eggan, professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard University and principal investigator at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
The symposium is hosted by the Les Turner ALS Research and Patient Center at Northwestern Medicine, which houses three ALS research laboratories and the multidisciplinary Lois Insolia ALS Clinic.
"At the event we will focus on ALS research, patient care and education as we celebrate the creation of the Les Turner ALS Research and Patient Center at Northwestern Medicine," said P. Hande Ozdinler, assistant professor of neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "Symposiums like this bring scientists and clinicians together so that we generate momentum for collaborations and future advancements."
The keynote speech will focus on Eggan's work in the area of stem cell and reprogramming biology and its translational impact on neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS. Guests also can attend the research data blitz and clinical and research presentations.
ALS researchers from the University of Chicago, University of Illinois at Chicago as well as ALS doctors and scientists from the Les Turner ALS Research and Patient Center at Northwestern Medicine will present the latest findings in the field of ALS and answer questions from attendees.
ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a terminal neuromuscular disease that attacks a person's muscles, gradually robbing them of their ability to walk, speak, eat and breathe. Every 90 minutes, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with ALS and every 90 minutes, someone in the U.S with ALS dies. There is currently no prevention or cure for ALS.


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I was saved about two months ago, i was a bad alcoholic, and God delivered me the day i gave my life to Him. However the devil has realy been coming at me with other battles lately, some times i feel so weak and unworthy of what He has done in my life. My marriage was falling apart, He completly restored it my wife, son, and i have been so blessed since God saved me. I clicked on this sight today because i realy felt weak so i needed some prayer for strength, i feel better already, maybe someone else is new in Christ and needed to here this today to let them realize as christians we will always have weaknesses but if we give them to our God and Saviour He will give us strength when we feel weak. He wont give us anything we cant handle. Real quick i was giving the oportunity to speak to a youth group about how God saved and delivered me, i want to give Him the praise, 3 or 4 teenagers gave there life to Christ that night. Use any oportunity you have to share His love to others. And a quick thank you to my best friend who stood by me and never gave up on me while i was a alcoholic and a worthless sinner my number 1 fan 'JESUS CHRIST' may God bless you today and each day here after.
Return to Prayers for Strength and Guidance


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Poem introduction
About the Poem
About the poet
Kay Ryan has been compared to Emily Dickinson and Marianne Moore, sharing a delight in the...
Paired Things
Paired Things
Who, who had only seen wings,
could extrapolate the
skinny sticks of things
birds use for land,
the backward way they bend,
the silly way they stand?
And who, only studying
birdtracks in the sand,
could think those little forks
had decamped on the wind?
So many paired things seem odd.
Who ever would have dreamed
the broad winged raven of despair
would quit the air and go
bandylegged upon the ground,
a common crow?
'Paired Things', from The Niagara River (Grove Press, 2005), © Kay Ryan 2005, used by permission of the author and Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
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text: Tonight will be just a simple Happy Birthday to my awesome wife. We've been married for over 25 years and raised three wonderful young ladies. She's hit a signficant milestone in her life (I'll let you all do the math and make an educated guess) and she's more beautiful than ever and I love her very much. This photo was from our 25th Anniversary trip to Rome this past February.


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The name of this post pretty much sums up my conversation with a dear friend of mine whom we'll refer to as The Mom. She has been my reminder to take care of myself for the past year and I honestly don't know what I would do without her. I've been battling this "cold" for over two weeks now and just finally today made it in to the doctor's office only to find out that I have an ear infection, sinus infection, double eye infection and a throat infection. This is the same diagnosis my poor baby girls had last night at the Children's Urgent Care. If I hadn't gone to the doctor when she told me to who knows how long I would have waited and how bad it would have been by then.
I so rarely take care of myself and my own needs. I didn't even eat anything really substantial today until around 10 pm, unless you count popcorn and a protein bar as substantial. I'm trying to make time for myself, I really am but it's hard to do on a daily basis with two, still very young girls. Their needs come first, they always have and always will. And with them being sick lately, I really was focusing on them so much that I basically ignored my own symptoms and just kept pushing on.
That is, until I talked to The Mom after a very long day and my forehead was throbbing so badly I was bawling my eyes out on the ride home. She and I had a long conversation after I got home and was tended to by my terribly worried mother. My mother dosed me up with Nyquil, gave me a warm compress for my swollen and disgustingly goopy eyes, fixed me a Hot Totty for my extremely sore throat and offered to turn the baby monitor on all night long so she could check on the girls if need be so I could get some much needed rest. Thank the gods she did, too because I slept through it all.
My mother truly is a saint.
During my brief conversation with The Mom (I may have been a teensy bit drunk from the Nyquil and Hot Totty so I was particularly sassy during this conversation), I told her I was sick. She asked me if she read that right and I said yes, I am indeed still sick. She retorted with, "What do you mean still?! Go to the doctor!". This woman, this lovely, kind, caring and adorable little woman (she's about 5'4" and I'm almost 5'10" and this, in my eyes, makes her an adorable little woman), has been watching out for me almost 12 months now, ever since I asked her to help me do my wedding. She has been a fantastic help to me for so many reasons and I just can't imagine having a life without her and her family in it. So I trust her, listen to her, take her advice and offer her respect in return.
Now The Mom is a mother of two young boys with yet another little one on the way (she's dying for it to be a girl but won't know for another few weeks) and she and her longtime boyfriend finally got married this past April. I love this woman to pieces, as I do most of my friends, but sometimes she can get a little crazy and be just a tad hypocritical (who isn't these days, though?). When I look at her, I see myself in a lot of ways. It's like looking in the mirror, she is one of us. The Nutters. *cackles maniacally*
Anyway, she's a very religious person, different religion than my own but just as passionate about hers as I am with mine. She loves her family more than anything else in the world and provides for them as best she knows how. She's stern when needed, funny when necessary (and unnecessary) and loving always. She and her husband, whom we'll refer to as G, met many moons ago and when they did something just clicked between the two of them and well, the rest is history. But the way they look at each other when they're being lovey dovey together, the way they share intimate jokes that no one else is privy to, they remind me so much of my husband and I.
They're fiery together. That's the best way I can describe it. There's a fire that grows a between the two of them, a passion that burns bright but also lashes out and explodes into rage between them from time to time. Then makeup sex happens or a few hours pass and everything is back to normal as the loving, kind and gentle souls they usually are. Until that fire builds up too much again and then BAM! Everything is upside down.
It's kind of funny when you actually take a step back and look at it. They, just like my husband and I, argue over some of the most redundant and ridiculous things. It's really never about anything major (but when it is, oh boy, watch out!) and then when you sit back and think about why you were arguing in the first place you realize that you started out with something so small, so insignificant and it turned into something so hostile and so fierce, so quickly, because of passion. Because of love!
Now I'm getting to the main point of this entire post. Some may say that a love such as that can't be expected to last very long but contrary to popular belief about this kind of love, it really is the kind that lasts the longest, at least that's what this article is saying:
Basically, it's says the people who interact with their partner more often, spend more time with them and even argue more are the couples who stay together the longest. It's an interesting conclusion because everyone tells you that it's all about compromise and having similar interests that keeps couples together. But I honestly believe that this article is correct when they say the more you obsess about your partner the more you love them and that in reality, the more you are polar opposites the better you'll attract to each other, like magnets.
Regardless of what the article says, in my personal experience, I've found this to be true. My husband and I are complete opposites, he's a jock, I'm a goth girl, he's a sports fan, I could care less, he's a one genre of music kind of person and I love all different kinds. The only thing we have in common and share equal interest in is food. He's been a chef for the past 14 years and I am a damn fine self taught pastry chef/baker.
I know I was bit all over the place with this blog but I'm hoping you get the point and at least take away some interesting information from it.


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Trust Fund Beauty | That Glo Tho Highlighter (Review)
This super cream highlighter is high performance, applies on smoothly and lasts all day and night. That Glo Tho highlighter is vegan and free of toxic chemicals. This cream highlighter comes in a sleek black packaging resembling a lipstick tube. This highlighter is currently priced at $8 on Trust Fund Beauty's website. For more info on this product or if you want to buy it you can check their their website (((Here))) I actually received this product in one of my Ipsy Glam bags which is basically a beauty subscription box. It's really cool because that's how I came across this company. You can find out more about Ipsy (((Over here)))
**********Cruelty free. Not tested on animals 👍***********
I do have to say I am quite a fan of their cream formula. It applies on smoothly and evenly. It's not patchy but quite pigmented as can be seen from the swatch below and pigment is something I love to see in my highlighters!The formula is quite nice because it doesn't dry out and you don't need to use any oils to make the product blendable. You can either use a finger to blend the highlight out which is what I mostly do but you can also use a blending sponge.
The colour itself is a mix between beige and champagne. And if you look closely there are flecks of glitter in it as well!.It's such a beautiful highlighter, especially, when the light hits it. On top of it being super pigmented it is also quite long-wearing and it smells so good like vanilla.
I am going to give this That Glo Tho highlighter 5 stars out of 5. This is honestly the best cream highlighter that I have tried for a long time. I definitely recommend for you guys to try it out!


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© Getty Images
A small federal board raised the rates that Pandora and similar services pay to license music for many customers Wednesday, potentially increasing costs for the music streaming service but still falling short of the rate suggested by the music industry.
The three-judge Copyright Royalty Board, which is part of the Library of Congress, said that next year, non-subscription webcasting services like Pandora's free option will pay 17 cents in fees for every 100 songs it plays. The rate is an increase from the 14 cents per 100 songs that the company currently pays for non-subscriber streams.
Pandora had asked the board to lower the rate to 11 cents per 100 plays for non-subscribers. But the new rate is lower than the 25 cents per 100 plays requested by SoundExchange, the group representing the music industry.
The board also ruled that Pandora and other services pay 22 cents per 100 songs played for users who buy into their subscription services, a decrease from the current rate.
The vast majority of listeners use the service's free tier that will be subject to the increased rate, according to the company, rather than the ad-free subscription service.
The rates for the four years following 2016 are subject to change based on shifts in the Consumer Price Index.
The reasoning of the three judges who determined the rates is not yet public. Both Pandora and SoundExchange can appeal the ruling.
Pandora had a lot riding on the proceeding. The company has struggled to turn a profit, and more than a third of its revenue is spent on licensing fees.
It is facing competition from Spotify and other streaming services that allow their users to choose what they want to play at any moment. Pandora, on the other hand, generates "stations" that are filled with songs the service predicts the user will like.
Services like Spotify negotiate directly with record labels to determine the licensing fees they pay for streaming. It remains to be seen whether the rates set by the board will influence negotiations between on-demand streaming services.
Pandora recently bought struggling service Rdio in what is seen as a play into Spotify's territory. It also recently bought TicketFly, which it says will make it easier to connect listeners with live performances of their favorite bands.
Pandora's stock price fluctuated widely after the release of the rates — ultimately rising significantly around 6:00 p.m.
"This is a balanced rate that we can work with and grow from," Pandora CEO Brian McAndrews said in a statement. "The new rate structure will enable continued investment by Pandora to drive forward a thriving and vibrant future for music."
SoundExchange on Wednesday night signaled it was displeased with the rates.
"We believe the rates set by the CRB do not reflect a market price for music and will erode the value of music in our economy," the group said in a statement. "We will review the decision closely and consider all of our options."
The last time the board set rates for webcasters, Pandora said they were too high for them to pay as a small service, and rallied its customer base to protest the decision.
Congress ultimately stepped in and pushed for a settlement that would provide smaller webcasters with a lower rate. Services that were not a part of the settlement will see their rate for non-subscribers fall as a result of the board's decision.
—Updated at 7:12 p.m.


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Cultivating a Long Awaited Attitude. A licensed therapist and minister were joking about welcoming the staff of their particularly large congregation every time they saw them with a joyful surprised, "Where have you been? We've been waiting for you. Glad to see you!" So they decided to try it out on each staff person as they walked down the halls to there respective offices one Tuesday morning around 8AM. They had to run and catch up to a few who had sneaked in quietly only adding to the dramatic introduction. A few of the staff were emotionally moved by being recognized, many enjoyed it with great laughter, and several were skeptical and asked in one form or another, "Are you serious?" Most of the staff remarked how it made their day and at that staff meeting they thought it would be a grand experiment to try with everyone who came through the doors that day. When a client or customer walk through your doors, or you walk through their doors, do they experience a meaningful welcome expressing, "Where have you been our whole life!" Imagine what will happen when they do. Morale in the office will be more positive and customer service will be an incredible experience.
Creating a Welcoming Space. Creating a welcoming space at work is a creative way for clients and employees to be invited into the uplifting and positive side of any particular company's world. Welcome spaces are an important bridge between customer and business. What would happen if we added and created to our Welcome Centers with an inviting spirit making clients experience something positive, enjoyable, and meaningful? What can be done with your workspace that inspires you and those who may stop by? Sometimes company policies provide guidelines for workspace areas and you may want to adhere to it and you may not. It is a great practice to check with management and communicate your ideas as it may open a door for another area in the office needing an inviting makeover. There is a car wash/car engine oil and fluid businesses. Their waiting area is crammed with chairs and near the check out register. The clerk is one of the happiest and most quiet people I have ever met. He is methodical in checking people out as he cares for each person individually and it creates a bottleneck. The pens have neon feathers glued to their ends and when you sign your ticket or receipt the feather moves wildly to your signature. He has two silly trolls taped to the register on their bellies so when you approach the register you see their smiling faces and colored hair and when you pay you see their behinds. It is hilarious. The room's walls are jammed with memorabilia and he taped a sign over the TV reading, "Broken. Talk to someone."
Communicating with Class. There is nothing classier in communicating with clients than a moment where they hear and experience your integrity. Thoughtful words are empowering to the listener. They change lives when they are shared from a humble and good space of truthfulness recognizing the client and looking them in the eye. Take a moment each day and center yourself with a few deep breaths and prepare yourself to communicate with honor. Phrases like, "Thank you;" "You are welcome;" "My deepest apologies;" "Please;" "It has been a pleasure," will encourage positive behaviors that will change the world. Each of you have your own stories where these words and the truth in the eyes of those behind the words have lifted your hearts and made you know how amazing you are.
The 3C's are an excellent way of inspiring employees and providing a positive customer service experience. When both of these are in sync everyone is more productive and that leads to a positive healthy bottom line.
Dr. Tom Lobaugh
Inspire Excellence