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Nonprofit Finance Fund
Advocating for the Value Nonprofits Create: An Interview with Tim Delaney
In today's Social Velocity interview I'm talking with Tim Delaney, President and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, the nation's largest network of nonprofits.
The National Council of Nonprofits helps nonprofits identify emerging trends, engage in critical policy issues, exchange proven practices across state lines, and advance their missions through advocacy. Previously, Tim served as a partner at a large law firm (helping prosecute the impeachment of a Governor and leading the firm's government relations practice), Solicitor General and then Chief Deputy Attorney General (leading his state to win several cases in the U.S. Supreme Court), and founder of the Center for Leadership, Ethics & Public Service (championing ethical leadership and civic engagement).
You can read interviews with other social change leaders here.
Nell: Historically, "advocacy" has been a dirty word in the nonprofit sector. Organizations have been afraid of getting into trouble with the IRS for pursuing too much lobbying behavior. But that seems to be changing. What are your thoughts on how involved in advocacy 501(c)(3) organizations can and should be?
Tim: Yes, it's perplexing that using words like "advocacy" and "lobbying" could get a nonprofit employee's mouth washed out with soap. But seriously, advocacy is not just a right for nonprofits that is protected by the First Amendment; it's a profound responsibility and effective tool to advance nonprofit missions.
Nonprofits provide a way for Americans to come together to solve problems, large and small. And they often do so through advocacy: simply standing up and speaking out for something they believe. Americans came together through nonprofits to advocate successfully in securing the right of women to vote (via suffragist groups), establishing Social Security (spearheaded by Townsend Clubs), desegregating schools (leadership by NAACP), securing civil rights (Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech and undertook much of his work as President of the nonprofit Southern Christian Leadership Conference), and so much more.
But advocacy is not just for social movements. Advocacy includes standing up for your nonprofit's right to be paid reasonably for services it provides under a government contract. Advocacy includes telling the story of your nonprofit's impact to a reporter. We see advocacy as the answer to one key question: who can I talk to today to advance my nonprofit's mission?
A barrier many nonprofits run into comes from what I call the "3 As" –uninformed academics, accountants, and attorneys who advise nonprofit boards by passing along false lore that there "might be legal problems" if a nonprofit does "too much" lobbying. Nonprofit staff come back from advocacy training fired up, but boards extinguish that passion based on false lore. After hearing stories like this from across the country, we've decided to turn advocacy training around. The traditional approach of "it's legal" sought to counter the false lore, yet too often it led people to focus on arcane issues more remote than the fine print on your airline ticket or apps that you never read. Therefore, we now focus on "why" advocacy is essential to mission advancement and "why" nonprofits need to be engaged at the state level to protect against government attacks on tax exemptions, nonprofit independence, and charitable giving incentives.
As part of our effort to get nonprofits past those old barriers, we've joined together with Alliance for Justice, BoardSource, Campion Foundation, the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers, and Knight Foundation to create Stand for Your Mission, a free website that provides nonprofit board members with information they need to be effective advocates in advancing nonprofit missions.
Nell: The National Council of Nonprofits has been on the forefront of the movement to get government to recognize the importance of funding nonprofits' indirect costs. The recent OMB ruling mandating a minimum 10% indirect rate on most government grants and contracts with nonprofits seems like a watershed moment, but 10% is still pretty low and many nonprofits don't understand the implications or how to benefit. What are your plans at the Council of Nonprofits to continue to move this issue forward?
Tim: As you noted, the 10% of modified total direct costs is just the minimum. For tens of thousands of nonprofits, just getting to 10% will make a huge difference. In its most recent State of the Sector Survey, Nonprofit Finance Fund found that 57% of nonprofits are being paid indirect cost rates of 9% or less. And Urban Institute found that of nonprofits reporting a problem, a quarter said that governments were paying them zero for indirect costs.
Now compare those paltry sums against research from Bridgespan showing that a more accurate range is about 25 to 35%. Certainly each case is different, but being reimbursed nothing or just 5% year after year when your real legitimate costs are always higher is debilitating, eroding effectiveness. Delivering sustained impact is impossible. So getting those nonprofits up to just the minimum will enhance sustainability to make a difference in their communities.
Importantly, 10% is just the floor. If a nonprofit is properly allocating costs and documenting its indirect costs, it can receive reimbursement for whatever those costs are, whether they are 20, 30, or even 40%. Getting paid for the true costs of delivering services can reduce burdens on nonprofits to fundraise for the difference, which frees funders from having to subsidize governments and allows nonprofits to dedicate more time to missions instead of diverted to filling funding gaps.
Seeing the OMB Uniform Guidance go into effect is just the beginning and underscores the importance of nonprofit advocacy. The mere issuance of OMB's mandate doesn't mean that the tens of thousands of local, state, and federal employees scattered across multiple departments, agencies, divisions, and offices will follow it or apply it properly. First, they need to become aware of it (which still has not happened), then receive training (same), and apply it consistently (same). Plus, states and localities often have contrary laws and policies on their books, requiring advocacy to change them to conform. OMB's mandate involves a giant systems change, but the federal government still has not informed the system of what is required and the need to change policies and practices to abide by it.
David Thompson and Beth Bowsky on our team have been conducting dozens of in-person presentations and webinars across the country to ensure nonprofits are aware of their rights and how to advocate for proper implementation of the Uniform Guidance. Plus, we have been working with multiple state and local government associations to spread the word, and written numerous published pieces, including an overview, "Know Your Rights … and How to Protect Them," that highlights potential compliance challenges.
In addition, we're creating a series of short training modules for nonprofits to better understand their indirect costs. The key is for nonprofits with government grants and contracts to stand up for their rights to fair indirect cost reimbursement and to let their local state association of nonprofits and us know when governments are not living up to their obligations. Working through our network gives a nonprofit cover (so it isn't fighting alone and having to worry about backlash) and strength in numbers to protect those rights.
Nell: This issue is also part of the larger movement to overcome the Overhead Myth in the nonprofit sector, the idea that "overhead" (or indirect costs) are bad and should be limited as much as possible. How close are we to truly overcoming this myth both among nonprofit donors and nonprofit leaders (who often keep themselves in these handcuffs)?
Tim: We still have a long way to go. OMB's Uniform Guidance is a huge step forward because the federal government has now expressly acknowledged that indirect costs are legitimate and necessary. The sector needed a powerful external validating voice to overcome decades of treating mythology as orthodoxy. It's inspiring to see that many private grantmakers have now adjusted their own policies or started to re-examine their past policies that unfairly limit payment for indirect/overhead costs.
However, the anti-overhead culture is deep seated and will take a long time to root it out. That's true on both the funding side and the nonprofit side, given the powerful disincentives against claiming full costs. Nonprofits were forced to keep overhead artificially low by underinvesting in their infrastructure, staff training, and many other necessary expenses. Until we get so-called "watchdog" groups and reporters to stop using overhead ratios as false proxies for nonprofit efficiency (and get them to stop reporting overhead ratios as if they are a problem), and until all nonprofits are communicating with donors about their impact and what it truly costs to deliver that impact, everyone will still have work to do.
Nell: In both of these areas (advocacy and overhead) and in many others, nonprofits are treated like a second-class citizen. How do we get to a place where the critical role nonprofits play in our economy and in solutions to social challenges is recognized, and nonprofits are fully supported with the tools they need to be successful?
Tim: First and foremost, nonprofits must embrace our role as the place Americans come to solve problems and resolutely assert our role as advocates for the people and our communities. We often are on the front-line of vexing social challenges, giving us front-row seats to see the problems and the solutions. Who are we to hoard knowledge of solutions that could help our fellow neighbors? With the knowledge we hold and the clout we have (10% of the American workforce), we deserve a seat at policymaking tables. We need to proudly stand up, step forward, claim our space, and speak out for government to leverage its resources to solve problems at their source.
We need to tell the full story, not just of how many people were fed or acres preserved, but also the economic impact of the sector as a whole. For instance, CalNonprofits (the state association of nonprofits in California) published Causes Count about the economic clout of California's nonprofits, and Donors Forum (the state association of nonprofits and grantmakers based in Illinois) released research on Social Return on Investment, showing the economic and social value of dollars invested in nonprofits.
As for being "fully" supported, that's much more difficult. According to Nonprofit Finance Fund, last year – for the second year in a row – a majority of nonprofits didn't have the resources to meet demand for their services. That's going to be tough to turn around, especially as many nonprofits continue to be sliced by government budget cuts. Even as studies boast that individual giving is getting back to pre-Recession levels, that doesn't make as much of a difference as most people think. Despite the focus on individual giving, it makes up only 9.3% of the sector's overall revenue. Foundations are an even smaller percentage: 1.9%. Government grants and contracts make up a much larger portion – 32.3% – of the sector's revenues. That's why our focus in this area is so important.
Photo Credit: National Council of Nonprofits
Guest Post: Nonprofits Must Be Able to Adapt
Note: As you know, I am taking a few weeks away from the blog to relax and reconnect with the world outside of social change. I'll be back later this week, but I have left you in the incredibly capable hands of a rockstar set of guest bloggers. The last, but certainly not least, is Antony Bugg-Levine. Antony is CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund, a national nonprofit and financial intermediary that works with philanthropic, private sector and government partners to develop and implement innovative approaches to financing social change. Here is his guest post…
When we asked nonprofit leaders to identify top challenges as part of Nonprofit Finance Fund's 2015 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey, 32% said "achieving long-term sustainability," by far the most popular response.
What does it take to reach the promised land of sustainability? It may seem counter-intuitive, but one of the best measures of organizational sustainability is not stability but adaptive capacity, the ability to act as circumstances require and opportunities allow. A truly sustainable enterprise must have the capacity to nimbly respond to external conditions. A strong balance sheet must allow for flexibility.
In the nonprofit sector, where pursuit of a mission is paramount, the ability to thoughtfully tack toward progress as funding conditions and community needs change is a hallmark of a success. That does not change the reality that our sector is notorious for restricted funding and hampered by a lack of available enterprise-level investment capital.
So, how do organizations build adaptive capacity?
Here are a few ways that nonprofits can build their adaptive "muscle" and be better prepared to change as the environment demands and opportunities allow.
Know your costs.
Nonprofits must understand the true costs of providing programs in order to make informed decisions about whether grants or contracts are able to cover those full costs, and how much subsidy might be required from other sources to fill the gap.
Many times, we see nonprofits use a grant amount as a starting point, and try to design a program that fits with the award amount. Heights and Hills, which provides services for older adults in Brooklyn and their families, asked us to help them take a different approach. Using customized tools, leadership now understands not only the current costs of running particular programs, but also how those costs change based on a variety of factors.
Like Heights and Hills, nonprofits need to be able to answer questions such as:
- "Which programs may be too costly if they are not fully supported by direct revenue?"
- "How do our costs change if we expand a program and need to hire additional staff?"
- "What if the amount of grant funding changes?"
- "Where might collaboration with another organization serve us well?"
Just say "no."
The social sector attracts passionate activists who have a knack for seeing solutions where others see problems, and who are often driven by a deep inclination to say "yes" to those in need. But in order to build and preserve adaptive capacity and to truly remain mission focus, leaders must protect the nonprofit enterprise and its ability to continue its work. The common practice of accepting pennies on the dollar to deliver programs perpetuates unhealthy funding patterns and expectations. Armed with data about true costs makes it easier to say "no" to opportunities that ultimately detract from an organization's ability to move the needle on mission.
New York's Committee for Hispanic Children and Families did just that, and declined to pursue a large government contract because it sapped too many "indirect" resources. While at first glance, it seemed that the small allotment for "overhead" was enough, the amount didn't nearly cover actual costs associated with the time that executive, finance and administrative staff were spending to keep the program afloat.
Saying "no" to a fiscally unhealthy grant preserves the organization's ability to serve its clients well into the future. If we want to change embedded, unhealthy funding practices — and perhaps even elements of nonprofit culture that fuel these — we must be more willing to say "no."
Measure outcomes.
Ultimately, the benefit of adaptive capacity is the freedom to pursue what works. Some programs are more easily measured than others, but nonprofits and our funders need to invest in understanding impact. This is especially critical as we move toward an outcomes-based funding environment.
Scenarios USA, a nonprofit that uses storytelling for youth sex education, found a rare partner in the Ford Foundation when it decided to dramatically change its approach. Scenarios was open to asking, "Are our programs working?" and accepted that its core assumptions were inaccurate. With the Ford Foundation's support, the organization revamped its program to focus on fostering critical thinking, which has tremendous influence on youth behavior.
Evaluating programs, experimenting with new ways of meeting mission and measuring outcomes over time are necessary to positive social change.
Seek support for major changes.
Money for programs is far more plentiful than money for enterprise-level change. Our survey found that nearly half of nonprofits report that they can have an open dialogue with funders about expanding programs, but just 6% feel comfortable conversing with funders about flexible capital for organizational growth or change.
There are exceptions. The California Community Foundation has partnered with Nonprofit Finance Fund and several others to offer strategy, management, and financial services aimed at strengthening the region's nonprofits and building the durability of the sector. New York Community Trust has launched an initiative to help small arts organizations navigate various transformations and milestones such as leadership succession, business model changes, and facility renovations or moves. And New York's Change Capital Fund is a collaboration of 17 foundations and financial institutions that is funding five New York community development organizations to help them refocus their strategies and develop new business models to address persistent poverty more effectively.
It is time to challenge the notion that funders aren't willing to talk about money for adaptation and adaptive capacity, and to make the case for the right kinds of support.
It is hard to know what will be required of our sector in the years to come, but a steady trend of increased demand seems to indicate that the answer will be, "more." Limited resources make doing more of the same nearly impossible. We must change the way we approach the challenges of our day, and organizations with adaptive capacity will lead the way.
Social Velocity Summer 2015 Guest Bloggers
As I mentioned earlier, it is so important to take time away to rejuvenate and reconnect with your passions, family and friends. So I am taking my own advice and taking some time off later this summer to connect with the world outside of social change.
And so for the second summer in a row I've asked a group of social change thought leaders to write guest blog posts in my absence (you can read last summer's guest blog posts here).
I am so excited about this year's group of amazing social change thinkers. They are experts in social change finance, philanthropy, political reform, outcomes data, organizational effectiveness and much, much more. They are smart, thoughtful, engaged and visionary leaders. And they are all helping to move social change forward in big ways.
Below is the lineup of guest bloggers with background information on each of them. Their posts will begin in late July. Enjoy!
Antony Bugg-Levine
Antony is the CEO of Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF), a national nonprofit and financial intermediary where he oversees more than $340 million of investment capital and works with philanthropic, private sector and government partners to develop and implement innovative approaches to financing social change. NFF also creates the annual State of the Sector Survey. Antony writes and speaks on the evolution of the social sector and the emergence of the global impact investing industry. Prior to leading NFF he was Managing Director at the Rockefeller Foundation. He is the founding board chair of the Global Impact Investing Network and convened the 2007 meeting that coined the phrase "impact investing." You can read my past interview with Antony here.
UPDATE: Here is Antony's guest post.
Kelly Born
Kelly is a program officer at the Hewlett Foundation working on their Madison Initiative, which focuses on reducing today's politically polarized environment. Before joining Hewlett, Kelly worked as a strategy consultant with the Monitor Institute, a nonprofit consulting firm, where she supported a range of foundations' strategic planning efforts. In addition to her experience as a strategy consultant, Kelly has worked with various nonprofit and multilateral organizations including Ashoka in Peru, the World Bank's microfinance group CGAP in Paris, Technoserve in East Africa, and both The Asia Foundation and Rubicon National Social Innovation in the Bay Area. Kelly guest lectures on impact investing at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and often writes for the always thoughtful Hewlett Foundation blog.
UPDATE: Here is Kelly's guest post.
Phil Buchanan
Phil is President of the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), a nonprofit that is the leading provider of data and insight on foundation effectiveness. CEP helps bring the voice of grantees and other stakeholders into the foundation boardroom and encourages foundations to set clear goals, and coherent strategies, be disciplined in implementation, and use relevant performance indicators. Phil writes and speaks extensively about nonprofits and philanthropy and rarely pulls punches when he does. He is a columnist for The Chronicle of Philanthropy and a frequent blogger for the excellent CEP Blog. He was named to the 2007, 2008 and 2014 "Power and Influence Top 50" list in The Nonprofit Times. You can read my past interview with Phil here.
UPDATE: Here is Phil's guest post.
Kathy Reich
Kathy is Organizational Effectiveness and Philanthropy Director at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation where she helps grantees around the world improve their strategy, leadership, and impact. Her team makes grants on a broad range of organizational development issues, from business planning to social media strategy to network effectiveness. She also manages the Packard Foundation's grantmaking to support the philanthropic sector. Prior to joining the Foundation, she worked in a non-profit, on Capitol Hill, and in state and local government in California. Kathy serves on the board of Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and on the advisory committee for the Center for Effective Philanthropy. You can read my past interview with her here.
UPDATE: Here is Kathy's guest post.
David Henderson
I asked David to be a guest blogger again this summer because he is so insightful and often points out things that few others in the sector are willing to acknowledge. He is Director of Analytics for Family Independence Initiative, a national nonprofit which leverages the power of information to illuminate and accelerate the initiative low-income families take to improve their lives. David is also the former founder of Idealistics, a social sector consulting firm that helped organizations increase outcomes, demonstrate results, and organize information. He writes his own blog, Full Contact Philanthropy, which is amazing. You can read his past guest blog post here and my interview with him here.
UPDATE: Here is David's guest post.
The State of the Nonprofit Sector in 2015
Earlier this week the Nonprofit Finance Fund released the results of their 7th annual State of the Sector survey about the financial health of the American nonprofit sector. This on-going survey, now in its 7th year, has become a fascinating marker to gauge how the nonprofit sector is evolving amid a changing economic climate.
The Nonprofit Finance Fund launched the survey in 2008, when the economic crisis was just beginning. This year results from 5,451 respondents show some positive signs of adaptation and growth, but also recurring challenges that continue to face the sector.
You can see the full results of the survey here and slice and dice the data yourself with their Survey Analyzer Tool here. But here are some of the key findings of this year's survey.
Nonprofits are unable to meet a growing demand for their services:
- 76% of nonprofits reported an increase in demand for services – the 7th year that a majority have reported increases.
- 52% couldn't meet demand, the third year in a row that more than half of nonprofits couldn't meet demand.
- Of those who reported that they could not meet demand, 71% said that client needs go unmet when they can't provide services.
Nonprofits still (not surprisingly) struggle to make ends meet. While some nonprofits are achieving financial sustainability (47% ended 2014 with a surplus, the highest in the history of the survey), many still face real challenges:
- 53% report three months or less of cash-on-hand.
- 32% find achieving long-term sustainability a top challenge.
- 25% struggle to be able to offer competitive pay and/or retain staff.
- 19% can't raise funding to cover their full costs.
And these financial challenges are due in large part to the catch-22 funders place nonprofits in by routinely covering only a portion of the full costs of the programs they intend to support:
- 70% of survey respondents receiving Federal funding report that the government never or rarely pays for the full costs of delivering services.
- 68% of respondents who receive state funding say the state government never or rarely pays for the full costs of delivering services.
- 47% of respondents who secure foundation funding report that foundations never or rarely cover their full costs.
- While 89% of nonprofits are asked to collect data to capture the effectiveness of programming, 68% of funders rarely or never cover the costs associated with measuring program outputs or outcomes.
So we still have a long way to go.
But those nonprofits who are faring well in this environment are those being strategic. As one human services nonprofit leader put it:
"Sustainable funding continues to be our greatest challenge. Our actions to address this challenge include developing and adhering to a strong and dynamic strategic plan; diversifying our program funding streams as much as possible; developing and communicating a strong community impact statement for our programs; and focusing on increased donor engagement in order to increase fundraising dollars."
You can dig further into the data from this and past years' surveys here.
Photo Credit: Nonprofit Finance Fund
How Do We Scale Social Change?
This week I attended the 5th annual Social Impact Exchange Conference in New York City. It was an interesting gathering of funders, change makers and intermediaries all grappling with how to reach and sustain scaled social solutions.
"Scale" is such a challenging concept, and as I mentioned earlier, there are many entities struggling with exactly what scale means. According to Heather McLeod Grant (author of Forces for Good) whose keynote address kicked off the conference, "scale" is no longer about growing individual organizations or addressing individual issues, but rather about building movements and networks.
The idea of a networked approach to social change is not a new one (see the great Stanford Social Innovation Review article from 2008 by Jane Wei-Skillern and Sonia Marciano on this approach), but Heather underlined the importance of a more integrated and aligned approach to creating social change. I would have liked to see this idea taken further, perhaps with some of the Transformative Scale discussion that is happening elsewhere, included in this discussion.
There were some real highlights of the conference for me. First was the luncheon panel on the Black Male Achievement Movement and President Obama's My Brother's Keeper initiative. Tonya Allen of The Skillman Foundation was a hard hitting moderator of Shawn Dove, from the Campaign for Black Male Achievement, William Snipes from Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies, and Andrew Wolk from Root Cause.
The group had a fascinating conversation about the movement to address "a whole generation of young men being pushed to the side." As Snipes so eloquently put it, "This is a problem about who we are as a society, whether or not we are going to survive. The road we are on is not sustainable. We cannot continue to incarcerate one third of a community. This is an impractical way to run a society."
The panel described and debated the complexity of addressing a huge systemic problem and how they have launched a movement to do just that. It was a candid and thought-provoking exchange.
Another highlight was GuideStar CEO Jacob Harold's talk on their exciting efforts to transform the nonprofit information landscape (Jacob is describing this landscape in the picture at the left).
GuideStar's goal is to address the "two elephants in the philanthropic room:" 1) some nonprofits are better than others (they create more impact per dollar spent), and 2) some donors are better than others (they create more impact per dollar given).
To address these "elephants," GuideStar is collecting and analyzing deeper information about nonprofits and then distributing that information so that donors make better investments. (More on this next month when I interview Jacob as part of the Social Velocity Interview Series.)
The other real highlight of the conference for me was the keynote address on financial sustainability from Antony Bugg-Levine, head of the Nonprofit Finance Fund. Antony defined financial sustainability as "Repeatable and reliable revenue that exceeds ongoing operating costs, coupled with the ability to fund periodic investment in adaptation and growth." In other words, a financially sustainable nonprofit brings enough reliable revenue in the door and can, when needed, raise capital for change and growth.
And that capital piece is often overlooked by nonprofits and funders. Antony described 5 types of capital helpful to nonprofits:
- Change Capital to position an organization for growth.
- Working Capital to handle fluctuations in cash flow.
- Recovery Capital to address shocks to an organization (natural disaster, fire, etc.)
- Risk & Opportunity Capital to develop a new program or different approach.
- Endowments which can provide some unrestricted money, but should not be considered reliable revenue.
Antony also described 5 things that funders do and 5 things that nonprofits do to derail sustainable growth (pictured at right.)
I also enjoyed participating in the "Business Models for Sustainability at Scale" panel with my colleagues Dana O'Donovan from Monitor Institute, Megan Shackleton from the Einhorn Family Trust, Heidi Shultz from the Helmsley Charitable Trust and Craig Reigel from the Nonprofit Finance Fund. We had a great discussion with very thoughtful and engaging audience questions about how to create sustainable financial models and how philanthropy can help move that forward.
The Social Impact Exchange assembled a smart, talented group of people to grapple with how we fund and grow solutions to the wicked problems we face. It was a thought-provoking couple of days.
10 Great Social Innovation Reads: May 2014
Does it seem like there is more open debate lately in the social sector? Or maybe I'm just attracted to discussions where the gloves come off and (let's hope) transformative conversation happens. That was the case in May where philanthropic transparency, nonprofit leadership, and donor acceptance policies were all up for debate.
Add to that some really interesting developments in the new "sharing economy", net neutrality, and use of big data, and it was another great month in the world of social innovation.
Below are my 10 favorite reads from the last month, but please add what I missed to the comments. And if you want to see a longer list of great reads, follow me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Google+.
And you can see past months' 10 Great Reads lists here.
- Writing in the New York Times, Frank Bruni criticizes some nonprofits for accepting donations from donors who actually undermine the cause. These nonprofits, in effect, end up whitewashing the philanthropists, "Some [philanthropy] is prophylactic or penitential: The polluter supports environmentalists, while the peddler of sugary soft drinks contributes to campaigns against obesity."
- And philanthropists themselves were far from criticism this month. Writing in The Atlantic, Benjamin Soskis believes it is critical for a healthy democracy that philanthropists go under the microscope, in fact: "Given the power that private philanthropy can wield over public policy, a spirited, fully-informed public debate over the scope, scale, and nature of that influence is a democratic necessity." Phil Buchanan from the Center for Effective Philanthropy agrees. And to that end, May saw the launch of Philamplify, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy's attempt at a Yelp-like review site of foundations.
- In a long (but well worth the time) piece, Albert Ruesga from the Greater New Orleans Foundation lays bare his antipathy toward his fellow philanthropists: "We grantmakers, myself included, act as arrogant elites, drawing arrows and triangles on the whiteboards of our well-appointed conference rooms with no one around to challenge our flawed thinking. We strut about like giant roosters puffing out our breast feathers and clucking incoherently about 'disruption' and 'theories of change.' We look foolish to everyone except ourselves and those even more foolish than we are."
- But there are bright spots. Daniel Stid from the Hewlett Foundation takes to the Hewlett blog to refreshingly demonstrate funder transparency and explain "What Went Wrong in Our Democracy Grantmaking." And Peter Buffett, son of Warren Buffett and author of a scathing critique of philanthropy last year, has a fascinating debate/very civilized exchange with ethicist William MacAskill about how effective (or harmful) philanthropy can be.
- We are living in the era of big data, and this month there were some really interesting examples of how data can be used to make things better. First, UPS uses data to improve driver performance and profitability. The University of Texas at Austin is doing some fascinating things with data to help at-risk students graduate. And some nonprofits are using data to improve fundraising effectiveness.
- Last month saw the first-ever sharing economy conference. This new idea – that our economy is evolving to a point at which goods, services, ideas are all shared – has serious implications for the social sector. Lucy Bernholz and Beth Kanter break it down for us.
- And a key part of that sharing economy is an open Internet. But the FCC is considering changes to rules that would allow a "two-tiered" Internet where those with means can pay more for faster service. The Benton Foundation did a nice summary of developments around net neutrality. And the Electronic Frontier Foundation organized to let voices be heard by the FCC.
- Innovation is hard work. So when the work of creating social change drags you down, you only need look as far as Steven Pressfield for inspiration, "When we're stuck, when we're freaking out, when it all seems too much too soon too crazy, remember: that's only how it seems to us, confined within our limited point of view. From the universe's perspective, all is as it should be. Sooner or later, you and I will stop fighting and let the symphony/supernova/baby be born."
- Using data from the Nonprofit Finance Fund's most recent State of the Sector survey, work by state associations of nonprofits, and new Uniform Guidance for federal grants from the federal Office of Management and Budget, Beth Bowsky from the National Council of Nonprofits charts some positive developments in government funding the true costs of nonprofits' work.
- Never one to sugar coat it, in an interview on the Idealist blog, Robert Egger describes his vision for the next generation of nonprofit leaders: "Our society needs an elevated nonprofit sector, but to get there, we need people who are prepared to challenge antiquated ideas about the role we play in the economic and political process."
Photo Credit: Mo Riza
The Fundamental Flaws in How We Finance the Nonprofit Sector
Today the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) released the results of their sixth annual State of the Nonprofit Sector survey and the data underlines a growing crisis in the financial sustainability of our nonprofit sector.
56% of nonprofit leader respondents reported that they were unable to meet demand for their services in 2013, this is the highest rate since the survey's inception six years ago. And the scary part is that this inability to meet demand is not because of a temporary down period in the economy, but rather because of deeper dysfunctions in how we funnel money to the sector. As Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO of NFF put it, "The struggles nonprofits face are not the short-term result of an economic cycle, they are the results of fundamental flaws in the way we finance social good."
The survey gathered responses from more than 5,000 leaders from U.S. nonprofits of all sizes, domain areas, and geographies.
The top challenge by far for nonprofit leaders, with 41% of them reporting it, is "achieving long-term financial stability." And this is evidenced in several ways:
- More than half of nonprofits (55%) have 3 months or less cash-on-hand.
- 28% ended their 2013 fiscal year with a deficit.
- Only 9% can have an open dialogue with funders about developing reserves for operating
These struggles with financial sustainability stem in large part from a lack of understanding among funders of the true costs of social change work. Roughly 53% of nonprofit respondents' funders rarely or never fund the full costs of the programs they support. And for approximately 24% of respondents their government indirect cost rate (the amount government allows for indirect, or "overhead" expenses) declined over the last 5 years, while about 47% of respondents are subject to a government indirect rate of 9% or less. That is nearly impossible.
For the first time, the survey included questions about impact measurement, a growing interest among funders, ratings agencies and others in the sector. But these questions just further underline the financial Catch-22 in which nonprofit leaders find themselves. 70% of nonprofit leaders report that half to all of their funders want to see proof of the impact of their programs, but 71% of nonprofit leaders also report that funders rarely or never fund the costs of impact measurement.
At the end of the day, government and private funders are putting greater demands on nonprofits whose services are increasingly needed, all while funding is becoming more difficult to secure. It's a vicious downward spiral.
More than ever this survey demonstrates a need for the nonprofit sector and those who fund it to take a hard look at how the social sector is financed. We are not sustainably financing the social change work we so desperately need. And if we don't address that, the downward spiral will simply continue.
Here are some fundamental changes to the financing of the nonprofit sector that I'd like to see:
- Government must move to a more reasonable indirect rate. No one can deliver an effective program with only 9% allocated to administration and other "overhead" costs.
- Funders who want to see impact measures need to step up and fund the work and systems necessary to make it happen.
- Nonprofit leaders and funders need to have more open and honest conversations about the hurdles standing in the way of the work.
- Nonprofit leaders need help figuring out sustainable financial models.
In the six years of NFF's comprehensive and unparalleled view into the world of nonprofit leaders the story is not getting better. Let's hope this data serves as a wake up call for the social sector. We must collectively realize that if we really want social change we have to figure out how to finance it effectively and sustainably.
What Do You Think of the State of the Nonprofit Sector?
It's that time of year again – the Nonprofit Finance Fund's annual State of the Sector Survey of nonprofit leaders.
If you are a nonprofit leader struggling with increasing demand for services amid diminishing funding, if you are frustrated with funders' lack of understanding of the challenges you face, if you want the sector to recognize the hurdles and get better at addressing them, you need to voice your perspective by taking the survey.
The Nonprofit Finance Fund is one of the country's leading community development financial institutions (CDFI) making millions of dollars in loans to nonprofits and pushing for fundamental improvement in how money is given and used in the sector.
They started the annual State of the Sector survey when the recession hit in 2008. Collective efforts to understand the extent of the challenges the economic restructuring was having on the nonprofit sector were decentralized and largely anecdotal. NFF's survey is an effort to bring information about the nonprofit community together so that it can be used to address these challenges. You can view the results from past surveys here.
The anonymous survey takes 10-15 minutes to complete and asks about your organization's recent financial and management challenges. The knowledge gathered through the annual survey is shared with funders, government officials, nonprofits, media, lending institutions, and many others through conferences, policy recommendations, and other efforts. And now with more than 5 years of Sector Survey data, we can analyze and understand trends and begin to make a larger argument about what nonprofits need and what funders and policymakers must do differently to support their work.
The survey really is the only effort of its kind to take the pulse of the sector. And I am excited to see how the results are increasingly used to advocate for some significant improvements to the state of the sector.
This year's Sector Survey will be open to responses until February 17th, so if you are a nonprofit leader, click here to take the survey and let your voice be heard. The results of this year's survey will be available in early April.
Photo Credit: Nonprofit Finance Fund
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The 2017 MEAC Bowling Championship will air on ESPNU on Sunday, April 2 at 9 p.m.
Day 1 Results
|Tweets by MEACSports
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) will host the 2017 MEAC Bowling Championship this Friday through Sunday, March 24-26, at the AMF Chesapeake Lanes in Chesapeake, Va.
Delaware State, Maryland Eastern Shore, Howard and Morgan State qualified for the tournament out of the Northern Division, while North Carolina A&T State, Norfolk State, Florida A&M and Bethune-Cookman earned championship slots from the Southern Division.
Defending MEAC Tournament champion Delaware State has clinched the Northern Division regular-season title by virtue of a 20-4 mark in conference play – edging Maryland Eastern Shore by one game in the standings. The Hornets, who are ranked No. 8 in the latest National Tenpin Coaches Association (NTCA) Poll, are a MEAC-best 62-23 overall.
Maryland Eastern Shore was ranked No. 9 in the latest NTCA poll.
North Carolina A&T State finished atop the Southern Division for the second straight season with a 14-4 conference record, finishing a game ahead of Norfolk State. Both North Carolina A&T State (No. 18) and Norfolk State (No. 22) are ranked in the most recent NTCA Coaches Poll.
Only the top four teams from each division are eligible to compete in the championship tournament. Coppin State (1-23 MEAC) was eliminated from postseason play.
NOTE: All times are Eastern and Subject to Change without Notice

subset: commoncrawl


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The Plot
(Critical Survey of Science Fiction and Fantasy)
Barney Mayerson wakes up in New York City lying next to his new assistant, Roni Fugate, not knowing where he is. His suitcase-sized, computerized psychiatrist, Dr. Smile, explains that he and Roni work as precogs for P. P. Layouts, a company owned by Leo Bulero. Their job is to predict what items will become popular in the near future for the Perky Pat sets. These sets are miniature layouts that the Mars colonists "enter" after ingesting the hallucinogenic drug Can-D, also sold by Bulero's company. Can-D allows the ingester to access the imaginary suburban world of Perky Pat and Walter, her boyfriend. This world is realized in the Perky Pat layouts through miniature houses, cars, clothes, appliances, and whatever else P. P. Layouts deems appropriate to the suburban lifestyle.
Bulero finds out that rival entrepreneur Palmer Eldritch has just returned from Proxima Centauri with a hallucinogenic alien lichen that will threaten Can-D's monopoly. Bulero tries to have Eldritch's Chew-Z outlawed on the grounds that it is harmful, but when he is unsuccessful, he decides to kill Eldritch. His mission leads him first to the hospital on Jupiter's moon, Ganymede, where Eldritch is reputed to be recuperating. Bulero finally catches up with Eldritch at his "demesne" on the Moon, where he finds himself ensnared in the shifting, nested realities of Chew-Z.
In the melee that ensues, the inhabitants of the hovels on Mars become the unwilling pawns in a war between the two entrepreneurs vying for dominance of the solar system. Meanwhile, Mayerson has immigrated to Mars, despite Dr. Smile's assessment of him as too neurotic to immigrate. He comes face to face with the enigmatic Eldritch and thereby comes to terms with his own failures. By the end of the novel, the reader comes to realize that everyone, even Bulero, has entered Eldritch's reality. All the characters are seen to take on Eldritch's physical traits—mechanical eyes, steel teeth, and a prosthetic right arm—the three "stigmata" of the title.


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|31.08.2009 - Opportunities in Libya - Banking and finance
|From Globalarabnetwork.com: Ongoing investment in Libya is driving expansion of banking assets: 36% year-on-year in April 2009. The banking sector is dominated by the Libyan Foreign Bank (LFB) and four state owned or controlled commercial banks (85% of assets). Banking Law of 2005 established the Central Bank of Libya's independence and role as regulator. At present, the CBL is cautiously reforming the banking sector..............Full Article: Source


text:
Looking to order the Best Cheesecake in New York City! Look no further than SSCheeseCake.com!
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text:
Qasem, Sultan Noman and Shamsuddin, Siti Mariyam (2009) Radial basis function network based on multi-objective particle swarm optimization. In: 2009 6th International Symposium on Mechatronics and its Applications, ISMA 2009. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, pp. 481-486. ISBN 978-142443481-7
Full text not available from this repository.
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ISMA.2009.5164833
The problem of unsupervised and supervised learning is discussed within the context of multi-objective optimization. In this paper, an evolutionary multi-objective selection method of RBF Networks structure is discussed. The candidates of RBF Network structure are encoded into the particles in PSO. Then, they evolve toward Pareto-optimal front defined by several objective functions concerning with model accuracy and model complexity. This study suggests an approach of RBF Network training through simultaneous optimization of architectures and weights with PSO-based multi-objective algorithm. Our goal is to determine whether Multi-objective PSO can train RBF Networks, and the performance is validated on accuracy and complexity. The experiments are conducted on benchmark datasets obtained from the UCI machine learning repository. The results show that our proposed method provides an effective means for training RBF Networks that is competitive with other evolutionary computational-based methods.
|Item Type:
|Book Section
|Additional Information:
|2009 6th International Symposium on Mechatronics and its Applications, ISMA 2009; Sharjah; 23 March 2009 through 26 March 2009
|Uncontrolled Keywords:
|benchmark datasets, model accuracy, model complexity, multi objective, multi objective algorithm, multi objective particle swarm optimization, objective functions, pareto-optimal front, radial basis functions, RBF network, selection methods, simultaneous optimization, UCI machine learning repository
|Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
|Computer Science and Information System (Formerly known)
|ID Code:
|Deposited By:
|Liza Porijo
|Deposited On:
|18 Jul 2011 01:42
|Last Modified:
|18 Jul 2011 01:42
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SpaceX unveiled its Dragon V2 spacecraft Thursday night, promising it will be able to carry seven astronauts to the International Space Station and back to Earth again, landing with the precision of a helicopter.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the new spacecraft marks a "big leap forward," for the private space company. Among the key improvements on the new Dragon spacecraft are new rocket engines that will allow the capsule to touch down gently.
"You'll be able to land anywhere on Earth with the accuracy of a helicopter," Musk promised.
After showing a demonstration of the capsule blasting back into Earth's atmosphere before hovering to its landing, Musk smiled and told the crowd: "That is how a 21st century spaceship should land."
The Dragon V2 has other key features, too, including: the ability to dock autonomously with the International Space Station without using The Canadarm, an improved heat shield and seating for up to seven astronauts.
The California-based rocket maker is one of several private companies vying to develop "space taxis" for NASA to replace the retired space shuttle fleet.
Musk also showed off the interior of the Dragon V2, which houses two rows of seats inside its metal walls along with one bank of screens and controls. The space is clean and minimal, almost with the appearance of a futuristic rollercoaster ride.
The Dragon V2 — some of which is fabricated with 3D printed parts — will also be reusable, Musk said, something he hopes will cut down on the cost barrier of space exploration. He did not say how much the new spacecraft cost to build.
Since the shuttle retired in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian rockets, paying nearly $71 million per seat. The space agency has said it wants U.S. companies to fill the void in several years.
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Seattle police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 100 block of James Street at 12:50 a.m. Saturday. They discovered an Asian male victim who had apparently been struck in the back of the head, but he hadn't been shot.
Witnesses said the victim was pistol whipped by two Asian male suspects. Witnesses said both suspects were armed with semiautomatic pistols.
According to witnesses, the confrontation started at a nearby nightclub as an argument between two groups. The argument continued on the sidewalk outside, where one suspect struck the victim in the head with a pistol. The second suspect struck the victim and fired a round in the process, apparently by accident. The suspects and a female companion fled westbound.
The victim was transported to Harborview Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Gang Unit investigators found one spent round that had apparently been fired into the ground.


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Already a paid subscriber but not registered for online access yet? For instructions on how to get premium web access, click here.
Issues that shaped 2009
Beset by fiscal crisis, legislative gridlock and political infighting, 2009 wasn't the best of years for Arizona. The year opened with the state facing a massive budget crisis, and it ended with state leaders still searching for a solution. Jan Brewer was sworn in as governor to great Republican fanfare, only to have much of the party turn against her as she touted a tax hike as the only way to balance the budget. As Arizonans warily await the new year, here's a look back at the top 10 issues that shaped 2009.


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I would like to hire a Statistician - 07/10/2016 14:35 EDT
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Schwarzenegger Ad to Make California Big in Japan
California has finally realized the only way to rescue itself from the sinking tarpit of its fiscal crisis is to pimp out Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's why the Governator is doing ads in Japan, tagged with the slogan "It's-Got-Everything-fornia!"
Variations of this commercial have been running for a while now, all of them using the pun-tastic slogan "なんでもアリフォルニア," which I suppose would be translated as something like "It's got everything-fornia." In previous versions of the commercial, Arnold himself said the slogan in Japanese, but it now seems they've replaced him with a voice-over. Probably a good idea, given his accent.
Schwarzenegger's political career is following the same arc as his acting one: Begins with a bang as audiences marvel at the surprisingly sexy crossover star (bodybuilding to acting; acting to politics) and after a spell, he realizes how much money he can make shilling in Japan.
In other words, all things end the same way in California: You get tossed down the alphabet ladder of A, B, and D-lists, migrating to ever-more-humiliating shills, until you fall out the bottom with a stint on Celebrity Rehab. (Back in the day, the bottom was porn. Now, sex tapes are how you start a career.) So, though Arnold's ad has been floating around the internet all week, until Dr. Drew makes a cameo to solve California's fiscal crisis, we will continue to marvel at the strong-man governor lip syncing in Japanese. Celebrities are California's greatest renewable resource. [JapanProbe via ONTD]


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Commissioner Roger Goodell said there is a proposal under consideration to eliminate the normally routine point-after attempts.
"The extra point is almost automatic," Goodell said, according to NFL.com. "I believe we had five missed extra points this year out of 1,200 some odd (1,256 of 1,261). So it's a very small fraction of the play, and you want to add excitement with every play."


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Curious, how do you know when enough is enough?
View Single Post
c&w's mama
Registered Users
Join Date:
Sep 2012
Re: Curious, how do you know when enough is enough?
Originally Posted by
For a BLW baby? Dd is 11 months, started blw at 6 months. She really got hang of it around 8 months. Eats large variety and trys new foods a few times a week depending on what we are eating ourselves. She loves to eat and I always wonder if I am letting her have enough. Several foods I only give her a few pieces at a time (small bite size pieces) because if she likes them she stuffs them into mouth one after another... fruits for instance. Do you just let them go till they stop/lose interest? As I don't think she would as long as there is something she likes available! I am not overly worried but sometimes wonder if I should let her have more. She has only once puked after eating when I gave her a bit too much fruit at once/too fast and she stuffed it all in. She seems happy regardless
I do feed until interest is lost. I figure he's learning himself how much to eat so he can self regulate-- amount, speed, and size. His gag reflex will kick in when necessary, but that's really rare. Haven't seen the puking thing...
Originally Posted by
I fed until my kids turned away from the food. For my oldest that meant a pretty good sized meal. For my middle child that usually meant 2-4 bites. For my youngest it can mean anywhere from 1 bite to a good sized plate depending on his mood. None of them had or have weight issues.
With my big eater I did limit how much was on the plate at a time to prevent the food stuffing.
I've got a big eater and he's not a stuffer so I put out what I think is reasonable and usually he's asking for more at the end-- so I give him more. Start small and go bigger- I think that will depend on the kid. When he was little, I did limit the amount in front of him but made sure there was a small variety.
Originally Posted by
It just depends on what we're eating. DD would eat a pound of cheese if I let her, so obviously we limit that
But if it's one of her healthy favorites, I let her eat as much as she wants and give her more if she wants it.
lol. this. except I limit it to a lb of anything
even broccoli- because he'd eat the whole family's portions- and I want mine. DD would be pretty heated, too
a happy mama with
thanks DH
Will almost always trade for yarn
vanilla. peppermint.
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text:
What does yakker mean?
Definitions for yakker
Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word yakker.
One who yaks; a chatterbox or motormouth.
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of yakker in Chaldean Numerology is: 4
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of yakker in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8
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Translations for yakker
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text:
The Links At Harrison
- 1919 Club Cir, Harrison, AR 72601
- (870) 365-3621
The Links At Harrison is a 9-hole par 3 golf course in Harrison, Arkansas. This 3 par layout provides for a fun golf experience for golfers of all skill levels. Difficulty level of the course is unknown at this time, but will be provided soon. Online tee times may be available at The Links At Harrison or at nearby golf courses, often at a substantial discount from the going green fees rate.
Note: The information on this site is usually accurate, however, sometimes there will be inaccuracies. Should you locate something that ought to be updated, please get ahold of us about it.
Beneath this text, aerial imagery should load of Links At Harrison, The at 1919 Club Cir, Harrison, AR 72601. If you can't find the course, try panning around and looking at the surrounding area.
Please login to add your review.


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Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of articles about Darwin, Alice Springs, and the quirkiness that is the Northern Territory of Australia by Jack Brown. You can read Jack's first, second and third posts posts to catch up on where the road's taken Jack.
After 1,000 weary kilometres, hopefully you've managed some rest and taken some time to prepare yourself for the sights and encounters that await you in that dusty jewel – the territory's Heart of Gold (well that's what the signs say), the regional service centre otherwise known as Tennant Creek.
No doubt you elected to skip the Three Ways Roadhouse (gateway to Queensland and the verdant east coast of Australia) with its gentle awakenings: a morning beer with a truckie with a story to tell. Upon approach to Tennant Creek, you are also, no doubt, worried by the back of the road sign emblazoned with "Kevin Rules TC".
Who is Kevin? Does he rule fairly?
And you are no doubt unable to breathe easily from laughter for minutes on end when you see one of the best pieces of graffiti in Australia: upon a shipping crate which advertises the opportunity "U Pack It", the TC boys, perhaps even ruling supremo Kevin, has replied "We'll Smoke It". And they no doubt would.
|Tennant Creek advertising
As the first real taste of a town in the desert on your southern sojourn, Tennant Creek is quite something – its outskirts plying pinnacles of pointillist Spinifex grass motifs upon cone-shaped hills that imply a grand sky, rather than simply stating that it's "there" in all its deep blue glory. It's a town of about 3,000 people which now primarily services the Barkly Region (about the size of New Zealand but with less sheep) and is borne from a strong gold-mining heritage that's easy to read from the signs to Battery Hill.
The Nyinkka Nyunyu Cultural Centre is definitely a "must see" in TC. And should your nerves be the kind that rattle without coffee, they have a proper machine and know how to work it, too. Although they are a little short-staffed at present, just ask the general manager to pop over and make your cupachino. (Well, that's what the sign says at the roadhouse in the centre of town. Culture, you gotta love it.)
Further out is the aqueous wonder, MaryAnne Dam, a palatial reservoir of the precious commodity, here on open display for all to bask in its wet glory and is also ideal for a swim (which the seasoned traveller knows isn't the same as a shower. Fortunately there is a cold one on offer if you can brave the occasional school group.) TC also marks your last chance to purchase supplies and perhaps some fuel before the final 500 kilometres to Alice Springs. (Some of the fuel prices on the next stretch would be easier to believe if the cashier had a parrot on his shoulder. But if that is your thing…)
|Wycliffe Well, UFO Capital
Devil's Marbles Conservation Reserve, or Karlu Karlyu as the Warumungu people call it, is a valley 100km south of TC, bearing witness to a series of four-plus-metres high spheroid rocks, lying, stacked and scattered in formations across the area. Eerie by twilight, this wonder of prehistoric geology is an intriguing place to stop and show some respect to the landscape. Standing abruptly amid the widening arid vista, the rocks resist the passage of time as they did the erosion of former inland seas, shifting to a deep red in the sunset and sunrise hues.
Should you have purchased a postcard earlier with some nothing-in-particular in mind – well, here comes something to write home about. "Way Out In Front" the signs of the buxom lass unashamedly proclaim – way out in front for what? Flies? Beer? Statues of Elvis and the incredible Hulk? The answer is the UFO centre of the arid centre: Wycliffe Well.
|"It" by the bucket-load
This place truly has to be seen to be disbelieved: from the sizable UFO parked out the front and the small green round-headed man standing before it, to the realistic and astonishing sculptures residing within the campground, in competition only with the green ants for local supremacy. If ever there was an "It" then Wycliffe Well has "It" by the bucket-load. And that's without the beer selection that is a true extension on the usual range of substandard poisons that do the rounds of front bars Territory wide. The frontier is still out there, but sometimes only between the ears of a brave few.
Barrow Creek is one of the last bastions of outbackdom on the trail to serendipity. Home to the legend of the strange disappearance of the Ford Falconio – not to mention the horseshoe moustache that made the alleged perpetrator famous. One man was tried and jailed, although the body is still missing – a piece of roadside folklore that inspired the film Wolf Creek. But for the many messes of our marsupial friends the perpetrator is obvious and still at large.
The many kangaroos that meet their maker in this stretch bear testament to their unusually large numbers round the many mesas and topological anomalies that make Barrow Creek whatever it is. Still a mystery to me, as is the level of UK well-spokenness of the licensee, stranger than anything else…
And, so (ahem). If it's truth that you're after then this tale has a shortcut to Alice Springs over the remaining 250kms. Now, if it was the wheel nuts, then that doesn't really explain the same wheel popping out of the steering and turning perpendicular to the car only days later (after it was "fixed" the first time)…
But picture if you will: the final highway oddity – a man standing by the side of the road, walking back north, looking surprised and scratching his head. You're sitting on a sensible century (100km/h) and he overtook you a little while before and, now, is looking for his front wheel. That's right, exit stage left at 130 kilometres per hour, my front left tyre. One minute after my car stopped, with what I thought was a blow-out and discovered was a six and out* – with the ball in question still firmly out of play (and as yet unfound) – I was in said Other Car and on my way to my rendezvous in Alice.
Suffice to say I was talking to my new best friend for a while trying to calm my nerves and also convince him (and maybe me) that I wasn't another of those wacky things on the roadside, so a few details like strange people in far-away roadhouses passed me by completely. I got some interesting stories out of him for his troubles but I don't think he bought mine at all…
* Backyard cricketing term, where hitting the ball over the fence means you are out.
If you missed Jack's first installment of Darwin to Alice by road, you can read it here. Planning a trip? Browse all of Viator's Darwin tours and things to do in Alice Springs.


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text:
Descriptive Summary
|Cantor, Norman F.
|Records of the Albert Schweitzer Chair in the Humanities
|Dates [inclusive]:
|In 1965 the New York State Board of Regents awarded New York State University the funds to create an Albert Schweitzer Chair in the Humanities as part of a state-wide attempt to improve higher learning. Several chairs, five of which were designated by the State Legislature as the Albert Schweitzer Chair and five as the Albert Einstein Chair in Science, were intended to attract the world's most renowned scholars to New York State's higher educational community. The inventory to the Records of the Albert Schweitzer Chair in the Humanities chronicles the records of this position from 1965-1984. The recipients of the additional chairs were City University of New York, Cornell University, the University of Rochester, State University of New York at Stony Brook and Fordham University; however, information about chairs at other institutions are not recorded in this collection.
|7.0 linear feet (12 boxes, 25 tapes)
|This collection is stored offsite. Please contact the repository for access.
|Call Phrase:


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Just saw this pretty nice digital piece from Magnum Ice cream (Unilever). Basically it's a pacman with a hot girl going around the world using google maps or bing to navigate. You have a bunch of product integration's within it also. Nice.
Check it out: http://pleasurehunt2.mymagnum.com
And thanks to K2 for sharing.


text:
Since moving his tack to Northern California last year, Aaron Gryder has settled in nicely at Golden Gate Fields. On Feb. 18, the 41-year-old journeyman rider will be aboard favored Russian Greek in the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
The much-traveled Gryder, previously competing in Southern California after a long stint in New York, has been giving perennial leading jockey Russell Baze quite a tussle for riding honors. Gryder won the Bay Area track's summer title and currently trails the Hall of Famer Baze 50-45 in the winter meet standings. He has managed to land a plum riding assignment on the big closer Russian Greek. Baze will be aboard a second starter from the Hollendorfer barn, the front-running filly Lady of Fifty.
This year's 1 1/8-mile El Camino Real Derby has attracted 10 3-year-olds with some intriguing shippers, including Lucky Chappy from the Graham Motion stable, the Steve Asmussen-trained Daddy Nose Best , and Handsome Mike , from the Doug O'Neill barn. The race is contested on the Tapeta main track and is scheduled for a 4:45 p.m. PST start.
Gryder was astride Russian Greek for the first time in the California Derby Jan. 14, rallying the fast-closing son of Giant's Causeway from last in a field of seven to a one-length triumph as the favorite.
"He's a very nice horse with a very relaxed way of going," said Gryder. "He beat a decent field that day. There are some better horses in this field. But I'm very excited that it's a full field. I had heard earlier in the week that there weren't going to be that many horses entered and I was concerned. A bigger field means there will be more pace. You want to be sure there's a decent pace in front of him.
"I didn't know anything about him last time and sometimes it's better that way," he added. "The one thing I know now is that Russian Greek loves the winner's circle."
Gryder's biggest win came with Well Armed in the $6 million Dubai World Cup (UAE-I) in 2009.
As for his emerging rivalry with Baze, Gryder said, "People have been telling me I'll be in a great position in Northern California when Russell retires in a couple of years. But I don't agree. I love to compete and I love beating the best. So I love beating Russell Baze and he loves to beat me."
A 35-year-old Russian Greek, Mikhail Yanakov, happens to own Russian Greek. His Olympia Star Inc. paid $100,000 for the dark bay colt as a weanling during the Keeneland November sale in 2009. Russian Greek, out of the Grindstone mare Sand Dollar, won the Gold Rush Stakes prior to taking the 1 1/16-mile Cal Derby Jan. 14. He is 3-for-4 in his career with earnings of $121,700.
Russian Greek, at 5-2 on the morning line, drew post 4.
Hollendorfer, who has won the El Camino Real Derby a record five times, also entered Lady of Fifty. The swift daughter of After Market is pegged at 5-1 in her first try against males. Lady of Fifty has won her past three starts, most recently capturing the California Oaks by 3 1/2 lengths as the favorite with Baze aboard her for the first time. The gray/roan filly has won four of five races overall and completed a sweep of Golden Gate's series for 3-year-old fillies with her convincing Oaks win.
Baze holds the El Camino Real Derby record with eight wins, including six in the past seven renewals. Lady of Fifty, owned by Hollendorfer and George Todaro, must overcome the far outside post as she attempts to become the first female to win the race. She gets a five-pound weight allowance and will carry 116.
Team Valor International's Irish-bred Lucky Chappy will be making his first start on a synthetic track after six previous efforts on turf. Motion, who won last year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) with Animal Kingdom , sends the High Chaparral colt to California for the first time. Lucky Chappy is coming off a second-place showing behind stablemate Howe Great in the Kitten's Joy Stakes at Gulfstream Park Jan. 21.
Alan Garcia makes is first appearance at Golden Gate aboard Lucky Chappy, who drew post 6 as the 7-2 second choice. Lucky Chappy was fourth in last fall's Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (gr. IT).
Julien Leparoux will also be making his first trip to Golden Gate, riding 9-2 Daddy Nose Best for Asmussen, who won the El Camino Real Derby last year with Silver Medallion. Daddy Nose Best, who drew the rail for owners Cathy and Bob Zollars, has done most of his running on turf and will be making his first synthetic surface start. The son of Scat Daddy is making his first start of the year after finishing fifth as the 9-10 favorite in the Eddie Logan Stakes on grass at Santa Anita Dec. 31.
Paul Reddam's Handsome Mike (6-1) finished fourth with a wide trip in the Sham Stakes (gr. III) at Santa Anita Jan. 7. In his first start for O'Neill, the Scat Daddy colt set the pace in the CashCall Futurity (gr. I) at Hollywood Park before weakening to seventh in the final furlong. Corey Nakatani ventures north to ride Handsome Mike, who adds blinkers.
Cahill Chrome (10-1) and Senor Rain (12-1) ran second and third, respectively in the Cal Derby. Unveiled Heat (20-1), Rockinarz Recruit (201-), and All Squared Away (20-1) complete the field.
$200,000 El Camino Real Derby (gr. III, Race 8, 4:45 p.m.), 3YOs, 1 1/8 Miles (All Weather)
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight, Trainer
1. Daddy Nose Best (KY), J R Leparoux, 121, S M Asmussen
2. Senor Rain (IN), K Krigger, 121, P Miller
3. Cahill Chrome (CA), J J Hernandez, 121, R W Hansen
4. Russian Greek (KY), A T Gryder, 121, J Hollendorfer
5. Unveiled Heat (CA), F T Alvarado, 121, S Specht
6. Lucky Chappy (IRE), A Garcia, 121, H G Motion
7. Handsome Mike (KY), C S Nakatani, 121, D F O'Neill
8. Rockinarz Recruit (CA), A Cedillo, 121, L C Mason
9. All Squared Away (KY), K John, 121, P Miller
10. Lady of Fifty (KY), R A Baze, 116, J Hollendorfer
Blinkers On: Handsome Mike
Since moving his tack to Northern California last year, Aaron Gryder has settled in nicely at Golden Gate Fields. On Feb. 18, the 41-year-old journeyman rider will be aboard favored Russian Greek in the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby (gr. III) for trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.


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China Telcos Announce January 2013 Subscriber Totals
Marbridge Consulting, 2/20/13
China's three main telecom operators have announced their subscriber totals for January 2013.
January saw the net addition of 10.54 mln new mobile subscribers. China Mobile (NYSE: CHL; 0941.HK) added 4.38 mln new mobile subscribers, pushing the operator's total mobile user base to 714.68 mln, of which a total of 94.98 mln subscribers used China Mobile's TD-SCDMA terminals during the month. China Mobile added 7.05 mln new TD-SCDMA subscribers in January, but lost 2.67 mln GSM subscribers.
China Unicom (NYSE: CHU; 0762.HK; 600050.SH) saw a net addition of 3.61 mln new mobile subscribers during the month, bringing its total to 242.92 mln, of which 162.79 mln were GSM subscribers, and 80.13 mln were WCDMA subscribers. China Unicom lost 64,000 GSM subscribers and gained 3.67 mln new WCDMA subscribers in January.
China Telecom (NYSE: CHA; 0728.HK) saw a net addition of 2.56 mln new mobile subs, taking its total to 163.18 mln, of which 72.06 mln were CDMA2000 EV-DO subscribers and 91.12 mln were CDMA subs. China Telecom added 3.01 mln new CDMA2000 EV-DO subscribers and lost 450,000 CDMA subs in January.
Of the combined total of 247.16 mln 3G subs, China Mobile holds 38.43%, China Unicom 32.42%, and China Telecom 29.15%. Of total new mobile subs added in January, China Mobile took 41.53%, dropping its share of China's total mobile user base to 63.77%. China Unicom's share of the total mobile user base increased for the 24th straight month, rising from 21.56% at the end of December 2012 to 21.67% at the end of January, while China Telecom's share increased for the 49th straight month, rising from 14.47% at the end of November 2012 to 14.56% at the end of January.
China Telecom lost 230,000 fixed-line subs, reducing its total to 162.77 mln, while China Unicom added 128,000 fixed-line subs, increasing its total to 92.09 mln.
China Telecom gained 950,000 new broadband subscribers to reach 91.07 mln, and China Unicom added 682,000 new broadband subs to reach 64.55 mln.
Keywords: statistics China Telecom China Mobile China Unicom telecom mobile subscribers 3G broadband subscribers CDMA GSM CHL TD-SCDMA WCDMA 0728.HK 0762.HK 0941.HK 600050.SH CHA CHU CDMA2000 EV-DO fixed-line subscribers market share


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We are very pleased to finally share the professional photographs that were taken at our official launch back in November 2013, which took place at The Luton Hoo hotel, golf and spa. The launch went extremely well and there was a great turn-out.
Photography credit: Dave Pickering of AC Photography


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Six months after a homicide
(HR has been returning every month to interview Barbara Pritchett and her family since June, when Pritchett's 15-year-old son Dovon Harris was murdered in the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts. Above, Pritchett and daughter Dwaina at Dovon's gravesite Friday.--Brian VanderBrug/LAT)
On Thursday, Pritchett passed out in a hallway of the Compton courthouse.
It was during proceedings for the defendants in Dovon's murder case. She was sitting near the front of the courtroom, she said. A witness was describing the last moments of Dovon's life: How he stepped off a bus, and started to walk. How the gun went off. How the witness looked back and saw Dovon lying on the ground...
Pritchett felt a burning in her chest. She was out of the courtroom as fast as she could walk, seeking refuge in the hallway. Her daughter Dwaina, 18, and Duane Harris, Dovon's father, followed her. Pritchett had moved near a window.
Dwaina joined her, watching as her mother took heaving breaths. Pritchett was hyperventilating. Suddenly, she slumped. Harris caught her, and eased her onto the floor. Court staff called paramedics. Nothing medically wrong, they said later. Just stress.
The grief is getting harder for everyone in the family. The holidays have been tough.
Pritchett weeps more frequently now. She appeared fretful, her braids loose on her shoulders. She twisted a tissue in her lap as she spoke. She is no longer sleeping much, she said. She naps, wakes, cries. Recently she woke up, and realized she was already crying: She'd been crying in her sleep.
Dwaina has quit her job at the Burger King in LAX. At first, when she told her employers of her brother's murder, they were sympathetic. But as the months passed, Dwaina kept having problems maintaining her composure, and their patience grew thin.
She had habit of hiding in the back to cry. "It got to the point, I was crying every day," she said. One day, a manager caught her, and accused her of seeking an excuse not to work.
Dwaina walked off the job briefly, hurrying to a restroom. After that, her relationship with her boss went downhill. She quit last month. "He basically said, 'get over it," she said.
Duane Harris, Dovon's father, who lives in Tennessee, has taken a few days off from his job as a door-and-window installer since the murder. Mostly, he tries to conceal his feelings. "It don't get no easier," he said. "People say time heals. But not when it's losing your kid. It still...." He broke off, circling his fingers in a churning motion.
He, too, could not bear the court proceedings. He found himself getting angry. "I could not protect my son from being hurt," he explained. "For a father, that is the hurting-est thing."
Pritchett said the sense of unreality she has had since Dovon's murder has now begun to dispel. For the first time, she and other family members seemed inclined to talk in detail about the circumstances of Dovon's death. "We are actually now in the part where we are really reliving it," Pritchett said. Before, "It was not sink-in time."
Both Pritchett and Harris talked about getting calls with the news Dovon had been shot, going to the hospital....
Dovon was still on life support then. They recalled how Duane Harris had begged the doctor to take his body parts, and put them in his son.
No, the doctors said, because Dovon had been shot in the head. Harris continued to insist. "Take my brain. Take my life. Give it to him," he had said.
The doctors "had to keep explaining to him that it was impossible," Pritchett recalled.
When it came time to take Dovon to the surgical unit for the organ harvest, only one family member was permitted to follow the gurney down the hall.
Pritchett told Harris to go. "That was the hardest part," Harris recalled.
"To walk with him on a gurney to those doors. To see him go through those doors for the last time."
See also Five Months After a Homicide, Four Months After a Homicide, Three Months After, Two Months After and One Month After.
See also Watts United, 'I've got expectations for you," and Dovon Harris


text:
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Route 66


text:
The Difficult Second Post.
January 6, 2010 § Leave a comment
Jason Collett's solo work is one of the shinier shards of Broken Social Scene. Having put out 4 records in his own name to date he is preparing to drop the 5th, Rat a Tat Tat, this March on Arts and Crafts. Listening to Love Is A Dirty Word you can hear the groove and sincerity of other BSS member Feist and the harmonies and vocal flair are so tight as to be almost reminiscent of a Flight of the Conchords number. it's good. It's really good. The generic subject matter and well trodden chord sequences are polished beyond recognition by outrageous turn of phrase ("In the golden age of love's architecture, Shakespeare was lying drunk in a ditch") as well as almost decadent instrumentation, who could fail to be seduced by the intermittent simmering guitar chord and jabbering bass line?
No word as to wether Rat a Tat Tat will get a physical release in the UK but get your copy of the Love is a Dirty Word here.
Elsewhere on the web you can now listen the new Vampire Weekend album, Contra, in its entirety for nothing courtesy of NPR here. For me rather than moving into a new sound they have just gone way deeper into the old one, the singles have even more frantic rhythm and hiccuppy yelping lyrics whereas the mellow numbers have been washed in even more cuddly synths and strings. On some songs this works to an almost sublime level (I Think Ur A Contra being an immediate favourite), but the others just don't work. Personal tastes aside I expected more than AutoTune and choirs. You can get your copy on the 11th.
Oh and Fyfe Dangerfield, the very excited Guillemots frontman is releasing his first solo album later this month, free mp3 from his website. Fyfe won me over after a slightly bizarre feature in Q magazine, which went out at least a year ago and tried to document the entire process of songwriting by challenging the Guillemots to write a song about seabirds in 24 hours. I think Q expected something a bit more Chris Martin.
Tagged: a pocket full of seeds, Broken Social Scene, Contra, Fly Yellow Moon, Fyfe Dangerfield, Jason Collett, Love Is A Dirty Word, Rat a Tat Tat, Vampire Weekend


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I've recently begun a blog, but I've noticed that everytime I click on About or Recent Posts or another page, it takes me to a WordPress site, like a WordPress homepage of sorts.
No matter what I do nothing's working. I cleaned cache and cookies and changed password but nada....please help.
Blog url: http://aspirationandperspiration.wordpress.com/


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Zayed University is now able to offer two standalone conferencing facilities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to meet all your event requirements.
Please click on the below images to visit our individual websites
Page last updated on : 06/19/2017 | This site is best viewed in 1024x768 screen resolution. | Supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 11.0+, Firefox 40.0+, Safari 7.0+, Google Chrome 40.0+
Copyright © Zayed University, United Arab Emirates. All rights reserved
You are about to exit Zayed University's website. Are you sure you would like to proceed?


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Allysa, for me you are one of the top xl beauty queens. You are absolutely awesome and this scene takes our phantasies to heaven - in every respect. I cannot get enough of you!
XL Girls: Origins
Featuring: Allysa Andrews and Levi Cash
Date: August 12th, 2014
Photos: 80
Allysa Andrews described herself as an adult store sales associate when she applied to XLGirls.com. She is from the Keys in Florida where they don't wear a lot of clothes 12 months a year. Allysa is 206 pounds, 5'4", wears a 38G bra and a size 18 dress. Her fantasy was to fuck Darth Vader. We couldn't arrange that in her very first scene so we got a normal dude instead although he does breathe heavy. The first time Allysa got fucked in her life, she was on a trampoline with her ex-boyfriend's brother. "My friends pulled into the driveway while we were fucking." That didn't happen here, luckily for all of us. Coitus interruptus is a drag. This XL Girls: Origins looks back at her first hardcore scene. Allysa made two more XXX videos with cocksmen before riding off into the sunset.
What Members are saying about this update...
April 09, 2016
October 30, 2014
It is always so difficult to decide that wich model will be favorite. Because XL Girls models are best ever Plump & Voluptuous. Anyway many thanks for Allysa Andrews. I hope to see her soon in solo pics as well. Thank you.


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The Kingswood Players present "Murder..!"
Kingswood Community Centre
Could you solve a murder mystery? Here's your chance to find out at The Kingswood Players' latest production: "Murder..!"
Performances are at 7.30pm on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th May 2017 and there is matinée performance at 2.30pm on 20th.
Directed by Thomas Winchester, "Murder..!" introduces five suspects arrested after a back-stage stabbing! Investigations will be carried out by several of the cleverest sleuths we know, but you have to decide who committed the crime...
Each performance will be a surprise, because the audience will be asked to select an envelope containing the murderer's name prior to the start of the performance!
For the evening performances, the bar will be available and a 'Ploughman's supper' will be served. At the matinee performance, no bar is available and afternoon tea will be served.
Seating is unreserved, cabaret style around tables. Tickets remain at £8 Adults and £7 Concessions. Why not make up a team? - ask your family or friends!
Click here to download a booking form, call 0777 205 6562 or click below to find out more.


text: On Sun, 6 Apr 2003, Wojciech Puchar wrote: > again - am i doing something wrong or KDE really requires so huge amount > or X resources (even with all effect and desktop wallpaper off) KDE is a lot more than a window manager. Its many features add a lot of bloat. For remote X, where the window manager is remote too, I use blackbox or icewm. Jeremy C. Reed http://bsd.reedmedia.net/


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|P is for Practical
Re: Need slow web clientby daxim (Chaplain)
|on Mar 21, 2013 at 09:48 UTC ( #1024696=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
1. LWP::UserAgent with :content_cb and put a sleep in there or something.
2. HTTP::Proxy::BodyFilter::simple and put a sleep in there or something. This is going to be useful for testing other aspects of your proxy, too, as you can tamper with many more aspects of the HTTP request/response pair.
edit: added LWP
In Section Seekers of Perl Wisdom


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Visit Pajamas Media
Look, who am I to complain? I've published thirteen books and thousands of articles. My first book, Women and Madness, which came out in 1972, sold nearly three million copies. In the last forty years, my work has been reviewed and I've been interviewed coast to coast on every continent, yes, even in the London Times, the London Guardian, Le Monde, La Stampa, Il Foglio, Spiegel, Politiken, Il Globo, Yediot Aharonot, etc. and of course, in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post, the Minneapolis Star, The San Francisco Examiner, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times.
A complete unknown, I'm not.
Indeed, the Gray Lady is my hometown newspaper. Beginning in 1972, they started reviewing my every book, (twice on the front page of their Book Review), and they started interviewing me. Not all the reviews were gushing but when the review was "mixed," countless letters appeared, (written both by me and by others), and I was invariably interviewed or asked to submit a piece on the subject. Once, in 1986, I co-ordinated a conference in New York City about women and custody that their reporter covered in two separate articles.
So–how can I complain? I've also published numerous op-ed articles and letters in the New York Times; my goddamn photo appeared in their pages in the late 1970s and again, in 1990, I appeared on the cover of their magazine.
How quickly they forget.
This past Sunday, the New York Times magazine published an issue which promoted a new book by one (or two) of their own: Nicholas D. Kristof and his wife, Sheryl WuDunn. It's title: Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity: for Women World-wide. I happen to adore Kristof's work. True, he is standing on the shoulders of all my compatriot Second Wave feminists–but that's precisely what he's supposed to do. Also true: He, as well as most other journalists, rarely connect the political dots as we once did and they even more rarely intone our names.
So here's what puzzled me. In their infinite wisdom, The Paper of Record decided that there is only one "feminist hawk" in the entire universe and his name is…David Horowitz of Frontpage magazine. Actually, this is a giant step forward. Usually Horowitz is demonized as a Traitor who left Ramparts (both the magazine he edited and the faux-fighting American left which it represented) in the dust and became a born-again, fire-breathing conservative.
Here, he is credited not only for publishing the work of "feminist hawks" but for being the only "feminist hawk" they could find to name. The article gets even more peculiar when it presumes to tell us that the "feminist hawk" phenomenon is mainly a "hybrid" invention of the "internet," one that has "borrowed left-wing shibolleths as one way that conservative ideas can make it big in a generally more liberal online social sphere."
C'mon: Prick me, will I not bleed?
The very articles that are mentioned in the New York Times about "female prisoners being raped in Iran…and a possible honor killing by an immigrant in New York" were written by none other than myself. Over the years, to their credit, Frontpage Magazine and Pajamas Media have continuosly published serious feminist articles (many of them by feminists, myself included), which have focused on Islamic gender apartheid and on the failure of Western feminism to stand up to it–even to name it.
Among the writers concerned with women's rights are: Frontpage editor, Jamie Glazov; Tammy Bruce (who was once the President of Los Angeles NOW); Nonie Darwish; Brigitte Gabriel; Professor Donna Hughes; Nancy L. Kobrin; Robert Spencer, Wafa Sultan; and countless others. I will be adding more names to this list.
I know, I know: Many of the above writers are conservatives, not liberals. Some are new-comers, others not. But, they are all, myself included, "hawkish" on the subject of the war against women and a) will not engage in cultural relativism to avoid being called "racists" or "Islamophobes;" b) will not be held hostage to one of two political parties; c) will not sacrifice Israel, America, the West, Muslim and other Third World dissidents–or the truth in order to remain politically correct and aligned to social, political, and funding networks.
Both David Horowitz and Jamie Glazov gave me a venue six years ago where I could write about dozens of issues relevant to women's freedom, and to the survival of an imperfect but not yet barbaric West. More than two years ago, Pajamas Media gave me a home where I now publish Chesler Chronicles.
To continue reading this article, click here.


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My vote is yes, to moving forward with requesting PR. I tried to give my proxy to Jim H. - Mike Michael K. Smith (+1-512-404-6683) -----Original Message----- From: Sandro Hawke [mailto:email@example.com] Sent: Thursday, November 13, 2003 12:56 PM To: Smith, Michael K Cc: firstname.lastname@example.com Subject: Re: Action Item re Guide disjoint example You dropped off the call about an hour into it. Did you want a vote recorded for EDS on the decision to move forward with requesting PR? -- sandroReceived on Thursday, 13 November 2003 14:12:04 UTC
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