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I have to admit, my fascination for diving did not start when I was in Aruba. The first time I got introduced to the world beneath the clear blue water was during the summer of 2010. My sister and I decided to go together to Sharm El Sheikh, a city undoubtedly known to divers. It was in de Egyptian Red Sea where I first got acquainted with a heavy tank on my back and breathing through a regulator. Before entering the water I thought to myself, "this is insane, am I actually going to go d
It is tough to be the one following my dad's Aruban Chef review, but I am definitely joining him by keeping my review in the Authentic Aruba genre.
A few days back, after scuba diving the Air Aruba Wreck near Oranjestad, my sister, my husband and I decided to drive up to Savaneta and have lunch at Zeerovers. We have never been there before, but got curious because we heard about the concept on the radio... and... one of the guys at the dive shop that day could not stop blab


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A quick but dirty way to use the NAG C Library Mark 23 from Python
I get requests about using NAG from python from time to time, and NAG strives to make its algorithms as accessible as possible from a wide variety of languages and platforms. Python is no exception.
While we don't yet provide a fully documented python API replete with examples and so on, there is a quick but dirty way to get NAG C Library python bindings covering every library algorithm, struct, and enum.
My starting point was the old PyNAG, which is excellent as far as it goes. It is also for the older Mark 8 library -- which none of you out there in userland should be using.
PyNAG also looks a bit labor-intensive to produce for the whole library, which would entirely disrupt my Maynard G. Krebs Cycle. There has to be better way, I thought.
And there is! At least on Linux. For this exercise I used our NAG C Library Mark 23 implementation for Linux and gcc, LP64 model, hereafter abbreviated as cll6a23dgl.
Here is the method that I used:
Step 1 -- Get the Tools
For this exercise we'll need two tools. The first is gccxml, the extension to gcc that produces an xml description of the gcc compiler's internal representation of a compiled code. The second tool is the python extension ctypeslib. Both are available from the Ubuntu repositories (for example.)
Step 2 -- Collect the C Headers
Make a file "nag4py.h" that includes all of the relevant headers:
echo "#include <nag.h>" > nag4py.h
find /opt/NAG/cll6a23dgl/include -name "nag[a-z][0-9][0-9].h" | sort | sed -e "s/^.*\//#include </" | sed -e "s/$/>/" >> nag4py.h
echo "#include <nags.h>" >> nag4py.h
Step 3 -- Produce the XML
h2xml -I. -I/opt/NAG/cll6a23dgl/include nag4py.h -o nag4py.h.xml
Step 4 -- Produce the Python
xml2py nag4py.h.xml -o nag4py.py -l/opt/NAG/cll6a23dgl/lib/libnagc_nag.so
Step 5 (Optional) -- edits for clear C library concordance / compatibility with PyNAG
Edit the top of nag4py.py to read:
from ctypes import *
#human edit
E04_DEFAULT = None
NAGCOMM_NULL = None
NAGERR_DEFAULT = None
#end human edit
and edit the bottom of nag4py.py to read:
'Nag_HashTable', 'Nag_SparseNsym_CheckData',
#human edit
#end human edit
Then with very minor modifcations the PyNAG examples will run. For many the only change needed is to change the import, from "PyNAG" to "nag4py".
Another necessary change is that Numpy arrays must be passed slightly differently than with PyNAG, e.g.
g01alc(n, x.ctypes.data_as(POINTER(c_double)), …
instead of
g01alc(n, x.ctypes.data_as(c_void_p), …
Nag C Library enum types are translated nicely and may be used like one normally would, e.g.
and callback function typing is taken care of for us, e.g.
def py_obj_func(n,xc,objf,comm):
objf[0] = exp(xc[0]) * (xc[0] * 4.0 * (xc[0]+xc[1]) + …
c_obj_func = NAG_E04CCC_FUN(py_obj_func)
While the module nag4py.py generated in this way is immediately usable on Linux, it is specific to the local installation. To get it working on anything else a small amount of work remains to be done. First, we have to remove the extraneous debris from gcc that finds its way into nag4py.py. Second, we must omit some symbols exposed by the NAG C Library on Linux that are not exposed by all NAG C Library Mark 23 implementations.
Once that's done, we get a module suitable for Linux, Windows, and OS X, available here. Updated PyNAG examples are here.
End Notes:
On Linux, if you're instead using the NAG C Library ILP64 implementation CLL6A23DH, use this alternative module.
On Windows, I tested with the 64-bit Anaconda python distribution, which comes with all of the python bits needed to run the examples, including the graphical Rosenbrock example. An applicable NAG C Library implementation is CLW6I23DA. I found I had to add the folder containing the NAG DLLs to the system PATH environment variable.
On OS X, I tested with python 2.7.5 from python.org. A suitable NAG C Library implementation is CLMI623DG. In order to run the Rosenbrock example, I also needed to install numpy-1.7.1, matplotlib-1.2.1, and XQuartz , since I'm running Snow Leopard.
In all cases I've assumed the NAG C Library has been installed in the default location. If on your system it's installed elsewhere, you'll need to edit nag4py.py accordingly.
Thanks to my colleague Brian Spector for testing on OS X Lion and for some suggested example changes. Thanks also to my colleague Mike Hooper, whose gentle questions suborned my inner Krebs.
Jul 17 Update: Some example cleanup, included three new graphical examples, and changed the module name.

subset: commoncrawl


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Georgia's in the worst drought in 50 years. The Governor held some kind of seance to pray for rain. Now its raining non-stop 3 months later. Doesnt help the outlook much. Things seem bleak I gotta tell ya. I write "thankful" lists daily in this empty house that grows emptier by the day as boxes are loaded and frames are removed from walls. Shelving and dishes. Havent written a goddam word in weeks. Havent done anything in weeks worth noting.
But there is the hope of the New year. Theres always that hope. And the gallon of 15 dollar bourbon siting in the freezer. And the friends that dont call and dont trust anymore. The stain of tough love.
Oh and the 3 bottles of Icehouse carefully rationed. And the kids home on Tuesday.
All the "Demoncrats" are hellbound with the rich people and those old guys with the funny hats that drive go-carts and collect change at stopsigns.
Never thought to do the old "blow in the face" trick. Might've saved everything.
I like this video. Retro.
Theres always dancing.


text:
Item # SG8181
Best fabric for most customers
This product is cut and sewn to order. Allow up to 3 weeks for delivery (2 weeks to manufacture + up to 1 week for delivery by UPS Ground).
We're away from LiveChat at the moment. Have a question? Leave a message below and we'll get back with you as soon as possible. We monitor chat messages and e-mail constantly, so it won't be long.


text:
All due respect goes to Tom Brady, a local Nor Cal guy, and the Boston Patriots. Great team but not the greatest ever. That designation, in my opinion, goes to the San Francisco Forty Niners voted team of the 1980's. Why are the Niners my choice as the dynasty of all dynasties?
1. 1980's: Coming off the heals of the NFL's greatest era the 1970's, the decade of the 1980's included some of the greatest teams in NFL history. Powerhouses included the 49ers, Redskins, Giants, Raiders, Bears, Cowboys, Steelers, Eagles, Dolphins, Broncos. The talent level on each team was deep and Hall of Fame quality.
2. No Cap: Teams in the 1980's were loaded. They could pay players without salary caps to hamstring their efforts.
3. Parody: In the 1980's there were at least 8 great teams operating every year. Parody was not part of the equation as the philosophy without a cap is to produce the "super talented super deep" teams.
Today's Patriot's team, like Jordan's Bulls, does not have enough quality foes to test themselves against nor enough quality rivals. The Patriots, like the Bulls, walk through mediocre (by 1980's standards) schedules. They do not have the competition to compete against to consider them the greatest team of alltime.


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The Stanford Center for Law and Biosciences has decided to leave the WordPress servers for greener pastures: namely, the Stanford Law School blog aggregator.
This address will no longer be updated. All posts from this address have been migrated to the new address:
Please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds accordingly.
On October 22, the mandate that all health care workers with direct patient contact be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu and seasonal flu was suspended. State Health Commissioner Richard Daines suspended the mandate, not because of the lawsuits described elsewhere on this blog, but rather because New York has only a limited supply of flu vaccine.
New York has received less vaccine than expected. Governor David Paterson explains, "Over the last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) acknowledged that New York would only receive approximately 23 percent of its anticipated vaccine supply by the end of the month. As a result, we need to be as resourceful as we can with the limited supplies of vaccine currently coming into the State and make sure that those who are at the highest risk for complications from the H1N1 flu receive the first vaccine being distributed right now in New York State." A mandate, in combination with the vaccine shortage, "set[s] up a dynamic where health care personnel covered under the regulation might compete for vaccine with persons with underlying risk factors for adverse outcome of influenza infection." By suspending the mandate, the Department of Health allows the available vaccines to be used for populations at the greatest risk (especially pregnant woment and children).
Under Secion 66-3.2 of the emergency regulation that created the mandate, Commissioner Daines has the authority to suspend the vaccination requirement if he "determines the vaccine supplies are not adequate given the numbers of personnel to be vaccinated or vaccine(s) are not reasonably available, the commissioner may suspend the requirements(s) to vaccinate and/or change the annual deadline for such vaccinations(s)." Commissioner Daines exercised that authority and determined (given the low supply, slow delivery of more vaccine, and need elsewhere) there is not enough vaccine available to vaccinate all health care workers before the November 30 deadline.
Although there is an insufficient supply of vaccine to enforce the current mandate, Commissioner Daines believes that, when feasible, requiring health care workers to get flu shots is important for patient safety. "Patients in hospitals and other health care settings have the right to expect that they will not be infected by their health care worker with a preventable disease which could be fatal. [He] believes that New York's experience with mandatory influenza vaccination for health care personnel in 2009 will have a positive impact on the health of New Yorkers this year. The current emergency regulation mandating influenza vaccinations for health care workers will expire on November 11, 2009, and a second emergency regulation would not have the desired effect during the current H1N1 influenza season or the expected seasonal outbreaks expected later this year and in early 2010. Therefore, no new emergency regulations will be promulgated."
The lack of new emergency regulations, however, does not mean the conflict over mandatory flu vaccinations is over; it may just be delayed. Commissioner Daines writes that "the [Department of Health] is advancing a permanent regulation requiring health care personnel in these settings to be vaccinated. Draft regulations will be published soon for a period of public comment."
– Kelly Lowenberg


text:
Wrestlers never get to use that old 'I'm going to Disneyland' line.
As Mick Foley explained in his 2001 autobiography, the morning after a big event isn't spent making lavish travel plans or celebrating a job well done.
For wrestlers, it's usually spent rushing to the next city for a stress-filled live TV taping.
Which is why it's no surprise just six days removed from Wrestlemania 22 -- WWE's annual Super Bowl event -- it's business as usual at WWE headquarters.
The company is in the middle of signing a crop of new talent for the upcoming season, with names such as Andrew (Test) Martin, Chuck Palumbo and Mark Jindrak already back on the WWE payroll.
The big news is the signing of a 19-year-old Calgarian who has been earmarked for wrestling stardom since before he hit puberty. Harry Smith has agreed to terms with WWE and could debut on the Raw brand as soon as next month.
Smith, a 6-ft. 6-in., 250-lb. powerhouse, is the son of the late Davey Boy Smith (the British Bulldog) and the nephew of Bret (The Hitman) Hart. Smith met with WWE bosses in Chicago last weekend after uncle Bret was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
He acted as his own agent in meetings with talent executive John Laurainitis and it's believed he agreed to a multi-year deal.
Although new signees usually go to one of WWE's developmental territories for seasoning -- either OVW in Kentucky or Deep South Wrestling in Georgia -- Smith will go straight to the main roster.
He has already been fitted for ring gear and is expected to debut on WWE's flagship Monday night brand as soon as he returns from Germany, where he is now wrestling.
Smith has been a Stampede Wrestling regular since his early teens and has wrestled extensively in Japan and Europe. He also has had several dark matches (bouts that take place before the cameras start rolling) at large-scale WWE events at the Saddledome.
WWE bosses also spoke with Teddy Hart, Smith's cousin and another nephew of the legendary Hitman, but no deal has been confirmed.
Hart previously had a developmental contract with the then-WWF in '98 (when he was just 18) and wrestled for TNA in 2003. WWE is expected to announce even more signings over the next few weeks.
With so much traffic coming into the company, it was inevitable some familiar faces would be departing.
Tyson Tomko parted ways with WWE this week, although it was at his own request. Tomko was reportedly upset with his position at the bottom of the card, often not being used on TV for weeks at a time.
Randy Orton
also will be disappearing from Smackdown but only temporarily. Orton has been suspended for 60 days, starting after next week's TV tapings in Wisconsin.
The reason for the suspension was listed on WWE's website as 'unprofessional conduct.'
The timing of the punishment had many fans speculating is was due to WWE's drug testing policy, which went into effect last month but that is apparently not the case. Orton will miss the Judgment Day pay-per-view in May.


text:
Surveillance Studies: An Overview
Surveillance Studies: An Overview
ISBN: 978-0-745-63591-0 July 2007 Polity 256 Pages
The book takes in surveillance studies in all its breadth, from local face-to-face oversight through technical developments in closed-circuit TV, radio frequency identification and biometrics to global trends that integrate surveillance systems internationally. Surveillance is understood in its ambiguity, from caring to controlling, and the role of visibility of the surveilled is taken as seriously as the powers of observing, classifying and judging. The book draws on international examples and on the insights of several disciplines; sociologists, political scientists and geographers will recognize key issues from their work here, but so will people from media, culture, organization, technology and policy studies. This illustrates the diverse strands of thought and critique available, while at the same time the book makes its own distinct contribution and offers tools for evaluating both surveillance trends and the theories that explain them.
This book is the perfect introduction for anyone wanting to understand surveillance as a phenomenon and the tools for analysing it further, and will be essential reading for students and scholars alike.
Table of contents
Preface and Acknowledgments
Part I Viewpoints
1. The Watched World Today
2. Spreading Surveillance Sites
3. Explaining Surveillance
Part II Vision
4. Information, Identification, Inventory
5. Security, Suspicion, Social Sorting
6. Bodies, Borders, Biometrics
Part III Visibility
7. Surveillance, Visibility and Popular Culture
8. Struggles over Surveillance
9. Data, Discrimination, Dignity
Further Reading
Sociological Review
"Written by one of the most influential surveillance scholars internationally, this book provides for the first time a truly interdisciplinary introduction to the study of surveillance. Surveillance Studies not only constitutes an important entry point to critically engage with surveillance in general, it also provides ... the perfect starting point to further develop the study of surveillance as a promising and crucially important field of research."
"This book represents an overview of the field, but is nevertheless original and insightful in its own right. Above all, it is written in a clear and precise manner."
Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
"A clearly written introduction to the subdiscipline that promises to serve as a useful criminology, sociology, or political science undergraduate textbook."
"David Lyon's work demands our utmost respect and admiration for its scope, balance and clarity. If one were restricted to the reliance on only one text on surveillance I would suggest without hesitation to select this book."
Ursula M. Franklin, University of Toronto
"A clearly written, comprehensive and balanced introduction to the burgeoning field of surveillance studies. Definitive (or even pretty good) answers are elusive, but this book does a fine job of asking the right social scientific and moral questions."
Gary T. Marx, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- The first ever textbook on the relatively new discipline of Surveillance Studies
- Written by an internationally renowned scholar and a pioneer of the study of surveillance
- Draws on a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, media studies, geography and politics, to outline a comprehensive introduction
- Uses a host of contemporary and effective examples and at the same time gives students the tools to analyze ongoing surveillance trends
- Clearly written, with pedagogical features such as end of chapter discussion points, a glossary and further reading suggestions


text:
Here's my Q&A with Blue Jays prospect Jake Marisnick, age 20, a third-round pick in the 2009 draft out of Riverside, Calif.
What was the biggest lesson learned from your first full pro season? "Not to worry about things that have already happened. Its a long season. Always look to improve from day to day and not worry about the past."
Is there anything you are doing differently this off-season to prepare for the long grind? "I feel like my body and mind were pretty well prepared for the long season, so I'm going to keep a very similar off-season schedule."
In terms of development, what aspect of your game needs the most improvement? Have the Blue Jays identified something specific they want you to work on in 2012? "I think just getting stronger and continuing to build on my approach as a hitter are my biggest keys going forward."
|Jake Marisnick has a drop-and-drive swing that produced 14 homers and 47 extra-base hits last season. He batted .320 and stole 37 bases at Lansing.
Let's talk about the mental side of the game. I've read that you're a tough self-critic. How do you measure success at the end of the day? "I really started focusing on the mental side of the game this past year, and I feel it helped me greatly. At the end of the day, I measure my success by the adjustments made during the day, whether it be in the cages, during batting practice, live in the game, defensively or base running. I just remind myself if I take small steps each day, I will greatly improve my game over the course of a long season."
If you were a psychologist, what would you say to Jake Marisnick about his mental approach? "Just to be easier on myself. I tend to be pretty hard on myself from time to time but I feel like it's a good way to learn. If I'm always easy on myself, it's hard to make corrections that are needed."
How did you get so fast? Where do the good genes come from in your family? "It's hard to say. I have a lot of pretty good athletes in my family. I lean more towards my mom's side, though. My dad won't agree, but it's probably true."
What's the most memorable game of your amateur career? What's the worst? "It's hard to pick out just one memorable game, but the worst would have to have be losing the last game of my senior year. After four years in high school, my team lost in the semifinals by one run, and it was hard to grasp that we lost."
Sounds like your mother has done wonders for your career. Explain. (Jennifer Marisnick is a senior director at Reynolds Sports Management.) "She has just given me a lot of opportunities to talk to people with experience in baseball. It has helped me greatly with the mental side of the game. That exposure has definitely helped me become the player I have become today."
What are your personal goals for 2012? "Just to improve my all-around game from day to day."


text:
Freestyle Team needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 68 designs submitted by 21 freelance designers.
The FreeStyle team is a progressive group of entrepreneurs who are breaking old paradigms of how to build a successful life and career. Our business owners create commerce and profit with leading brands and products. Our internet strategy and life-coaching program combined with the influence of today's social networking gives us a favorable position in the market place.
The Nike Generation. Top performers, Gen Y, Gen X, Health and fitness, Going Green , Wellness, Spiritual, Income.
We are looking for a logo and symbol to represent our company Freestyle.
Color Ideas:
Google type bright colors or organic colors.
- Clear Typeface
- Logo have "convergence" or circular shape
Symbol & Logo:
If you combined
1 Fun , Disneyland,
2 Burning Man, Spiritual
3 Einstein
4 Nike, Apple, Google
6 Yoga
7 Wealth
What would this convergence look like?
Basically we want to help people see visually:
happy, healthy, wealthy
The files we will require are:
Print file format - .ai (CMYK)
Web file format - .jpg and layered .psd (RGB)
Please do not use any stock images or clip art in the logo
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
There are six new Gilman study abroad scholarship recipients going to four continents!
Junior honors students Tyler Chapman (engineering physics) and Joey Mancinelli (Chemistry) received honorable mentions in the 2017 Goldwater Scholarship competition
In recent months, Christopher Whitney and Henry Herndon, both Master of Science degree students in COLSA's natural resources graduate program, were honored with prestigious fellowships to support their work. Whitney has received a Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Graduate Fellowship from the EPA, while Herndon was awarded a Switzer Environmental Fellowship.
Madison Wood (Chemical Engineering, '19) is only the second UNH student ever selected for the prestigious UK Fulbright Summer Institute, She is one of only 4 students from the US chosen to participate in this fully-funded program offered by the US-UK Fulbright Commission.
Aseebulla "Aseeb" Niazi '15 was awarded a 2017 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship in November following a highly competitive nationwide contest.
Molly Hartley and Emily Van Gulick have received honorable mentions in the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the nation's premier undergraduate award for science, math, engineering, and technology (STEM) majors.
Four University of New Hampshire students have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants. They are Gabriela Aguilera (Russian/Justice Studies '15) of Cincinnati, OH; Jennifer Lindsay (Studio Art/International Affairs '14) of Pembroke, NH; Sonia Scherr (MFA, Creative Writing '13) of Norwich, VT; and Sasa Tang (Political Science/International Affairs '11) of Lee, NH.
Five University of New Hampshire students are among the 1,000 American undergraduate students selected to receive the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs to study or intern abroad during the summer 2015 term. The recipients are Tamir Blum, Matthew Kimball, Nicholas Lajoie, Elinor Purrier, and Jacqueline Sullivan.
Mark Anthony (natural resources) and Rory Carroll (Earth systems science), both second-year graduate students, and Herbie Smith, a senior physics major, are NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program fellows. The National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program is one of the nation's premier national science, math, engineering and technology (STEM) scholarship competitions.
Paige Balcom received a funded DAAD RISE internship position at Leibniz University in Hannover in Summer 2014. She is profiled on their university website.


text:
Senior Marketing Capstone course works on project for Norwalk Furniture2012-04-04 10:14:00.0
With a change in the curriculum, Fall 2011 senior marketing students were the first to have the great opportunity to partake in a marketing capstone course. Dr. Deborah Owens, associate professor of marketing in the College of Business Administration, taught and coordinated the course this year. Each year, the course will give students the chance to work with a local business or non-profit to develop a marketing plan and strategy.
This year's project was with Norwalk Furniture. In 2008, after 106 years in the custom ordered furniture business, a group of investors purchased many assets from Norwalk Furniture before it went into bankruptcy liquidation. With new leadership and a new business plan, this gave students a great opportunity to provide valuable advice to executives of Norwalk Furniture.
"This was the perfect project for students to create a marketing strategy from the ground up', stated Dr. Owens. "The main focus was to increase direct-to-customer sales through a redesigned website. Students were able to work with independent designers and boutiques, and speak directly with target customers to help Norwalk Furniture reposition their brand."
There were seven teams that participated in this project. Each team conducted focus groups, in the state of the art Taylor Institute, to gather information. The two focus groups used in the study were interior designers and women over the age of 35 with income of $75,000 or more ("Target Market"). Students were also able to learn a great deal about website design from a class visit by Rene McCann, Senior Art Director at Hitchcock Fleming and Associates, an Akron based ad agency. McCann is an award winning website designer, who explained to students the characteristics of a customer friendly website.
After gathering all of their information, students presented their repositioning and implementation strategies to a team of five Norwalk Furniture executives. The executives were pleased with the ideas and information presented to them. Dan White, President of Norwalk Furniture, said, ""We often use the term 'Generation Gap' to indicate the younger generation doesn't measure up. It is apparent to me that the University of Akron Business School seniors have got the 4-i's: Intelligent, Ingenious, Industrious and, in short, Incredible! It is we, of the older generation, who need to eat our humble pie."
Students also enjoyed their experience with the project. Cameron Henneman, Sales Management & Marketing Management major, said, "The Capstone Project with Norwalk Furniture was really interactive and exciting, as it taught me how to properly conduct marketing research while keeping an open mind, and professionally presenting our findings to a real life client."
Katie Duff, International Business, Marketing Management and Spanish major, echoed Henneman's comments, saying, "The Capstone Project with Norwalk Furniture gave us a chance to work with a client on real world issues. The project and our client really pushed us to use the skills we've been learning for the past four years, and gives us a great idea of what we can expect in the marketing industry."


text:
Happy birthday, Martha Plimpton, actress (The Goonies! The Good Wife!) AND longtime women's right's activist — this year, Plimpton founded A Is For in response to the GOP's War on Women. (Woah, just realized that I haven't typed "War on Women" in like, a week. I know anti-choicers aren't actually going to come around on letting us make our own reproductive health decisions just because Obama and some other liberal politicians won (re)election, but still, what a nice little vacation from vag-hate!)
Here's a great video about why Plimpton thinks it's important to be an activist. Be cooler, thanks.
Have a great weekend!


text:
2'6" x 6'3" / 75cm x 190cm
3'0" x 6'3" / 90cm x 190cm
4'0" x 6'3" / 120cm x 190cm
4'6" x 6'3" / 135cm x 190cm
5'0" x 6'6" / 150cm x 200cm
6'0" x 6'6" / 180cm x 200cm
British Bed Company Contract The Landlord Tuft 5'3" x 5'9" Special Size Mattress
Customer Price
Product Information
and Measurements
Plus recycling
A great medium to firm tension mattress from the British Bed Company. Designed for guest houses, B&Bs and hotels, the Landlord Tuft is a double sided source 5 contract mattress that meets all the necessary safety regulations. A high-grade 12.5 gauge spring unit houses firmer springs for long-lasting quality. Luxury hypo-allergenic fillings are perfect for keeping your guests happy. For quantity orders call our contracts team for a quotation on 0800 567 7625.
Please note headboard is not included.
Please note wood may be visible through the Classic fabrics.
Divan base is manufactured by British Bed Company
is the level of support to the body, suitable for average to heavily weighted people. This is not a comfort rating.
are Bonnel springs in an hourglass shape, joined creating an open coiled mattress.
fillings are 100% polyester, man made, very durable, great recovery.
Domestic Flammability Rated BS 7177 Medium Hazard, Hotels, Universities, Holiday Camps, Retirement Homes.
21 cm
buttons evenly over the sleeping surface, keeping the fillings together and adding a tension to the springs.
Two sleeping sides, turn and rotate frequently.
This product is made in Britain
The manufacturer will provide a 1 year guarantee on this product against material faults & workmanship. More info
Good quality mattress, which I hope keeps its shape. Delivery went fine, when they said it would. Only small thing was the delivery guys were in such a hurry I didn`t have time to inspect the mattress before they went.
Was This Review Helpful? 1 0
I like this mattress - only used it for a few weeks but its definitely comfortable and it looks nice and substantial. Great delivery service as well. Thanks
Was This Review Helpful? 0 0
good quality mattress and its made in Britain , would buy again.
We offer FREE next working delivery between the hours of 8am - 6pm to UK mainland addresses. Orders below the value of £100 will incur a charge of £7.
We deliver free to the UK mainland and offer a charged service for addresses outside of the UK mainland


text:
Mobile money is all the rage these days in inclusive finance circles, and for good reason. Mobile penetration has increased dramatically across the developing world over the previous decade, providing convenient rails for financial services to piggy-back on. It's cheaper than Western Union and MoneyGram for the client, and cheaper than having to erect brick-and-mortar branches for banks. It's faster than virtually any other method to send money to a relative in a pinch at the other end of the country, and safer than carrying cash around. And it has spawned an incredible array of services.
One of those is M-Shwari. It's a savings-and-loan product offered by Safaricom in Kenya, in partnership with the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA). M-Pesa clients can save into their M-Shwari account and earn interest, and take out short-term loans for a fee. It's been hailed as a revolutionary product and discussed by the likes of CGAP, GSMA, NextBillion etc. highlighting fascinating aspects of mobile money adoption. And Safaricom promotes it as seamlessly blending convenience, safety and affordability.
I am totally sold on the "convenience" and "safety" elements of M-Shwari, but to buy the claim of "affordability" requires a somewhat unconventional understanding of that word.
But First, the Conventional Take …
So, how much does M-Shwari cost?
The details are in the terms and conditions, but the more readable version for the rest of non-lawyer types is in the FAQ.
Q: Do you get charged interest on your M-Shwari loan?
A: The M-Shwari loan DOES NOT attract any interest. The 7.5% charged is a loan facilitation fee payable only once for each loan taken.
Q: If you have not paid your loan within 30 days, what will happen?
A: Your loan repayment period will be extended for an additional 30 days and you will be charged an additional 7.5% facilitation fee on your outstanding loan balance.
Q: If you pay your loan before the due date, will you still be charged the loan facilitation fee of 7.5% on the loan amount?
A: Yes, the 7.5% is a facilitation fee charged on the cost of processing the loan. Early repayment will increase your future loan limit qualification. Remember your loan limit is dependent on your previous loan repayment behaviour and usage of other Safaricom services such as Voice, DATA and M-PESA.
That's a 7.5% flat charge on the nominal loan amount, with a maximum term of a month. The nominal and effective Annual Percentage Rates (APRs), "annualized" interest rates if you like, are:
- Nominal APR: 7.5% * 12 = 90%
- Effective APR: (1 + 7.5%)¹² – 1 = 138%
For additional details/nuances on APR voodoo please refer to MFTransparency or Wikipedia. XIRR comes to 146%, assuming the 7.5% is collected when the loan is repaid, and 164% if collected when disbursed.
Calling it a "facilitation fee" doesn't change anything – for a month-long loan, the effective annual cost to the client is 138% or so.
In fact, that it's a flat fee makes things worse. There is a pretty good reason why the 7.5% can't be called an interest rate, since interest rates are time-defined. If the cost was actually 7.5% per month, someone borrowing for a fortnight only would be liable for a 3.75% charge. Not so with M-Shwari – you could repay in a day, but you'd still pay 7.5%. The nominal and effective APRs for a twice-a-month engagement comes out to be 180% and 462% respectively; anything shorter, and the APR is astronomically higher.
We're hovering dangerously close to the "u" word, don't you think?¹
Conventional Carrot-and-Stick Included
Two other "features" jumped out from the FAQs:
Q: What is the loan duration?
A: The loan is payable within 30 days. However, you can repay the loan before the due date and borrow again. If you pay the loan in less than 30 days your loan limit qualification will increase.
Q: If you have saved Kshs 5000 in your M-Shwari and have a loan of Kshs 2000 and do not repay within the loan duration (30 days), what happens to the money in your deposit account?
A: – When you borrow the Ksh 2,000, the money in your savings account will be frozen to the loan amount and the loan fee (loan amount Ksh 2,000 loan plus a facilitation fee of Ksh 150).
– You will only be able to access any balance above the frozen amount. The frozen amount will be accessible once you pay the loan. However you can continue to deposit money. Note: During the period the frozen savings will continue to earn interest which will be paid into your M-Shwari at the end of calendar quarter.
M-Shwari thus encourages faster loan repayment, offering an increase in the loan limit as the carrot. CBA sweetens the language even further by noting, "The earlier you repay your loan the better your chances of getting your credit limit increased!"
M-Shwari also seems to be fully collateralized, with both principal and "interest" held in escrow. Good incentive for borrowers to repay, also because they run the danger of being reported as delinquent 90 days after the loan is due, and potentially ineligible for another loan in 7 years. (See CBA FAQ, pages 6-7.)
This is all well and good from a profitability and prudential lending point of view, but it could be argued that simultaneously making the current loan costly and increasing future indebtedness on one hand, and conducting a complete bait-and-switch between savings and credit balances so that there is no net increase in availability of funds to the saver on the other, are not inclusion-friendly "features".²
The "Affordable" Case
There is no math that can known down the glaring APR of 138%. Context, however, can help explain why M-Shwari has 2.4 million active users within 1 year of operations. Here are some of the reasons I think it's been so :
- M-Shwari is primarily a savings product, with an option to take an emergency loan, as promoted by Safaricom and CBA. The maximum amount one can save is KES 100,000, but the maximum loan amount is KES 20,000.
- People are willing to pay fees on short-term loans akin to a service fee. It's why payday loans can charge $15 for every $100 borrowed in the US. People are also willing to pay a fixed, simple fee compared to a more complicated, constantly adjusting rate, which is why microcredit interest is often charged at a flat rate. There may also be an element of pay-as-you-go, where bank clients are willing to pay a transaction fee each time they use a service, as opposed to pay a fixed monthly ledger fee.
- APR is not particularly useful for short-term loan products. No one expects a borrower to roll over 12 times in one year, bleeding KES 90 to access KES 100 through the year – we know even the unbanked are more sophisticated financial users than that.
- But most importantly, it's convenient – it's on that phone that is attached to your hips, it's on the M-PESA rails that is ubiquitous in Kenya, and it's near instant, secure and private. I know I would pay a 7.5% premium for a service like that.
M-Shwari therefore seems to be "affordable" despite having an APR of 138%. With no cash-handling or client interaction costs at branches, a relatively cheap source of capital in deposits from the same clients³, and non-performing loans at around a low 3.8%, this is one partnership that must make for quite nice margins for CBA and Safaricom.
¹ The "u" word is usury, in case you're still wondering.
² It's not clear if one can borrow more than one's savings amount – the product pages and FAQs are deliberately vague.
³ Tiered interest rate is in the 2-5% range per annum.


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Smartclamp Simplifies Installation Of Mechanical Belt Fasteners
Flexco has announced the introduction of the SmartClamp system for safe, efficient belt clamping in parts and package handling or other light-duty applications. It is designed to decrease downtime by significantly increasing the ease and speed of installation of Clipper® and Alligator® mechanical belt fasteners.
With its wedge grip design, SmartClamp quickly and safely permits pulling of belts with up to 2,000 lb (900 kg) of load. Each individual clamp is rated to 1,000 lb (450 kg) load. It is compatible with belt thicknesses ranging from 1/16 to 5/16 in. (1.5-8 mm).
The system is ready for use with the setting of just four SmartClamps, two each on the right and left hand sides of the belt. In doing so, users eliminate the need for time-consuming adjustments that prolong repairs during a breakdown situation.
SmartClamps feature a large impact plate, providing a large, sturdy striking surface. A return spring post holds wedges up, enabling users to quickly and easily slide the belt into clamping position. The clamps' soft beveled edges also enhance belt engagement and provide a smooth transition from the clamp to the belt. Additional holding strength stems from SmartClamp's textured lower wedge.


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One of the mysteries of the English language finally explained.
What is a corpus?
A corpus is a collection of texts of written (or spoken) language presented in electronic form. It provides the evidence of how language is used in real situations, from which lexicographers can write accurate and meaningful dictionary entries. The Oxford English Corpus is at the heart of dictionary-making in Oxford in the 21st century and ensures that we can track and record the very latest developments in language today. By analysing the corpus and using special software, we can see words in context and find out how new words and senses are emerging, as well as spotting other trends in usage, spelling, world English, and so on.
Using the corpus enables lexicographers to examine a word in detail by looking at all the different contexts in which it occurs. Below is a typical way of viewing the results of a search of the corpus, using a display format called KWIC (or 'key word in context'):
The Oxford English Corpus gives us the fullest, most accurate picture of the language today. It represents all types of English, from literary novels and specialist journals to everyday newspapers and magazines, and even the language of blogs, emails, and Internet message boards. And, as English is a global language, used by an estimated one third of the world's population, the Oxford English Corpus contains language from all parts of the world – not only from the UK and the United States but also from Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Canada, India, Singapore, and South Africa. It is the largest English corpus of its type: the most representative slice of the English language available.
The corpus reaches new heights
The corpus contains over 2.5 billion words of real 21st-century English; this is the largest lexical corpus in the world. It is not only size that matters, though: it is the size of the corpus coupled with the careful selection and development of its contents which means that it is a resource unlike any other in the world. Moreover, because the corpus is a collection of texts, there are not two billion different words: the humble word 'the', the commonest in the written language, accounts for almost 100 million of all the words in the corpus!
Keeping track of our language
Meanings of words and phrases change, and so do spellings, despite the existence of 'standard' or 'correct' spelling. A strength of the corpus is that it contains not only published works in which the text has been edited (and made to conform to standard spellings and grammar) but also unpublished and unedited writing like emails and blogs. Some of the most inventive uses and deliberate exploitations of language (as well as genuine mistakes) start out in this kind of informal and unselfconscious language, so tracking them is an essential part of tracking the language as a whole.
See more from The corpus and Oxford Dictionaries
In this article we explore how to impress employers with a spot-on CV.


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Global Financial Regulation: The Essential Guide (Now with a Revised Introduction)
Global Financial Regulation: The Essential Guide (Now with a Revised Introduction)
ISBN: 978-0-745-64350-2 May 2008 Polity 200 Pages
Here, for the first time, two men who have worked within the system describe its origins and development in clear and accessible terms. Howard Davies was the first Chairman of the UK's Financial Services Authority, the single regulator for the whole of Britain's financial sector. David Green was Head of International Policy at the FSA, after spending thirty years in the Bank of England, and has been closely associated with the development of the current European regulatory arrangements.
Now with a revised and updated introduction, which catalogues the changes made since the credit crisis erupted, this guide to the international system will be invaluable for regulators, financial market practitioners and for students of the global financial system, wherever they are located. The book shows how the system has been challenged by new financial instruments and by new types of institutions such as hedge funds and private equity. Furthermore, the growth in importance of major developing countries, who were excluded for far too long from the key decision-making for a has led to a major overhaul.
The guide is essential reading for all those interested in the development of financial markets and the way they are regulated.
The revised version is only available in paperback.
Table of contents
Acknowledgements vi
List of abbreviations viii
Introduction 1
1 The Objectives of International Financial Regulation 7
2 The Current International Regulatory System: Theory and Practice 32
3 The International Financial Institutions and their Role in Financial Regulation 110
4 The European Union: A Special Case 127
5 Regulatory Structures in Individual Countries 155
6 The Debate on Regulatory Structure 187
7 The Need for Reform 214
Afterword 260
References 265
Index 275
Jane Fuller
"A superb account of the international regulatory system, together with a set of proposals for its reform that are highly relevant. While largely written before the market disruption that began in August 2007, subsequent events have tended to reinforce rather than invalidate most of its prescriptions ... This book is wholly authoritative and its judgments carefully reasoned."
Financial Times
"An admirable starting point for coming to grips with the historical and institutional background to the ongoing debate."
Spectator Business
"Given the experience of the authors, both of whom have participated in international regulation for the best part of two decades, it is of course masterful. It is comprehensive and clear. It is not easy to describe a structure that has grown incrementally, mostly in response to crises in one part or other of the global financial services system but the authors achieve it with apparently effortless ease."
Financial Regulator
"The regulatory architecture of international finances has hardly changed since the book's publication, which will probably make Global Financial Regulation a useful book for professionals in the financial markets for a long time to come."
El Pais
"This book is both an excellent review of how we got to such an eclectic mix of regulatory structures around the world and a provoker of thoughts as to how they could be improved."
Global Risk Regulator
"The authors' ability to cut through the myriad of information and arguments on topics like Basel II and present the 'essentials' makes it a lively and easy read. That doesn't mean that it is simplistic, and even those who are closely involved in regulation will find it offers some fascinating insights."
Business Economist
"For once the cover does not mislead. This is indeed 'the essential guide'. It sets out, elegantly but simply, to describe some of the ways in which international and national financial market regulation has evolved, some reasons why it evolved and some reasons why it has failed to keep abreast of innovation."
European Voice
"A masterful, succinct and superbly clear treatise on financial regulation. I am sure it will be very well received by regulators, financial practitioners, academics and their students. This book is just the type of overview that has been needed for some time."
David T. Llewellyn, Loughborough University
"Financial regulation matters. We're all poorer when banks run amok or markets lurch from crisis to crisis. But most books about the rules and rule-makers of the financial economy tend to be dry and impenetrable. Davies and Green have performed an impossible feat of public service: they have demystified Basel ll, credit derivatives and all the other jargon of the global financial priesthood in a lively and entertaining way."
Robert Peston, Business Editor, BBC News
"Global Financial Regulation is a timely review of a subject which engages the attention of both national and international authorities. Howard Davies and David Green bring substantive experience and a strong point of view to the needed debate."
Paul Volcker, former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
"Financial regulation has leapt to the top of the international economic agenda. Seldom can there have been such a well-timed book. The authors are very distinguished experts and practitioners in the field. Davies and Green achieve the almost impossible feat of making 'regulation' interesting."
William Keegan, Senior Economics Commentator, The Observer
- Provides an accessible and engaging guide to the international system of financial regulations
- Written by two leading authorities in this field who have worked within the financial systems and are well respected for their work in this area
- Completely up-to-date with all the latest financial developments, the book also includes an afterword to reflect further on recent developments in the field


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Start-up travel site offers a Peek at hidden gems
San Francisco travel start-up Peek.com shows how to have the "perfect day." Co-founder Ruzwana Bashir shows Jefferson Graham the ":perfect interview" in the city by the Bay.
SAN FRANCISCO — When Ruzwana Bashir traveled to Istanbul a few years back, she created an Excel file of everything she planned to do on the trip with her friends there, down to their phone numbers and addresses. Her friends loved her planning so much it became the template for all their travels.
The response was so great, she says, that she thought, "Hang on, why don't I start a website where I can take tips from my friends and use them when I'm traveling?"
She and co-founder Oskar Bruening created Peek.com, which launched earlier this year, as a sort of travel guidebook-meets-hotel concierge. The difference: All the activities written about on the website are clickable and bookable from home.
Bashir, 29, worked at start-ups Art.sy and Gilt after graduating from Oxford and Harvard Business School before launching the new website. In between, she got in lots of exotic travel, in places such as Istanbul, Brazil and Mongolia.
"I found that booking a hotel was easy, but when it came to activities, I would spend hours researching," she says. "I was looking at hundreds of websites. Travel planning is a pain."
Bashir says the average person spends seven hours planning a trip and goes to 22 different websites.
On Peek.com, celebrities and public figures such as CNN's Piers Morgan and designer Tory Burch write about how to spend the "perfect day" in places such as San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands, while users chime in with destinations around the world. Peek offers bookable activities in San Francisco, San Diego and Hawaii, and expects to expand to Los Angeles in January, Miami and New York in the spring. By the end of 2013, she hopes to be in international locations as well.
"I love the visuals," says Christine Ciarmello, deputy editor of Sunset magazine. "It feels like a magazine to me."
Tech news site CNet raved, calling Peek "the traveler's do-it-all digital concierge." Bookings have gone up 200% since the site started just two months ago, says Bashir.
Peek is backed by celebrity investors, including Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and Christopher Michel, founder of Military.com. They ponied up $1.4 million to fund the site.
Michel is a frequent traveler who welcomed Bashir's idea. He's just returned from Burma (also known as Myanmar), where he photographed balloon rides in the desert. He sees Peek evolving into a website where people like him could share their own "amazing" stories. "It's really hard to uncover really cool things to do for travel online," he says.
Bashir says the site will make money by the commissions it gets on the activities, but that consumers won't pay a premium for booking through Peek.
What's with the name?
"We wanted to offer an insight into all the hidden gems that you might not ordinarily find," she says. "So it's a peek into the best holiday you could possibly have."


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Keep the Momentum of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy
July 13, 2011
The National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) has become a catalyst for progressive change that has already begun to improve the United States' approach to ending our HIV epidemic. We strongly support NHAS goals to lower the rate of new HIV infections, improve access to care and care outcomes, and reduce health disparities in the epidemic.
People across the country are responding to the Strategy's vision of a more effective, equitable and outcomes-oriented response to AIDS. Achieving the NHAS goals will require that all of us take a fresh look at how resources are allocated and the kinds of services supported, and make difficult decisions about future efforts. It will take concerted action by federal, state, and local government, health care providers, community organizations, the private sector, and people living with and affected by HIV. We must develop a response to AIDS that does better at addressing the challenges where they are most acute, but that also improves outcomes for every group affected by the epidemic no matter where they reside.
We are at a pivotal moment in tackling the domestic epidemic. New research demonstrating the HIV prevention impact of AIDS treatment provides additional reasons to coordinate services and bring to scale our efforts, and emboldens our belief that we can achieve dramatic progress against the epidemic.
To take advantage of this opportunity, and to sustain the momentum in achieving NHAS goals, the following principles are essential:
We ask federal agencies to embrace and take action consistent with the principles above. We also know that the success of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy depends on all of us. Policy makers, people on the front lines, and everyone engaged, must work together, reassess how we can have the greatest impact, and rededicate ourselves to ending AIDS in America.
ABC/African American Community Health Group of the Central Coast (Santa Cruz, CA)
Women Commend President Obama's Leadership on National HIV/AIDS Strategy; Urge Increased Focus on Women; Southern U.S. and "Shadow Cities" in Implementation
This article was provided by HIV Prevention Justice Alliance. Visit HIV Prevention Justice Alliance's website to find out more about their activities and publications.
Add Your Comment:
(Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in
Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Before
adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.)


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Horizontal Postforming Grade (HGP) Outside radius to 1/2" (12.7mm) and cove radius to 3/16"(4.8mm). Postformable to permit bending on suitable commercial postforming equipment. Use whenever forming is desired for decorative or functional purposes in interior applications. Optimum postforming temperature is 325˚F (163˚C). Note: When used with a gloss finish, Grade 12 is recommended for light-duty horizontal applications.
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Jamie seems to have started a minor fad for blog theme music. Tempted as I was to go for "Goodbye Horses" from the infamous Buffalo Bill scene in Silence of the Lambs, if I had to choose one theme, it'd be this.
Update! Or, I suppose, this would do too.


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HacDC is running a build-a-simple-noisemaker-synth workshop at Electronica Fest (http://www.nem-electronicafest.com/).
Come help test-run the kits and/or work on embellishments. The kit is a fun and easy blank-slate for your electro-acoustic creativity. Let's see where we can take it.
Thursday night, Aug 27, starting around 7:30 pm — going until we're out of brain-juice (or whenever).


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Admission Requirements
Program Admission
- Applicant must have earned a Bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4-point scale, or the equivalent from a non-U.S. institution. Students with a GPA below 3.0 will need to demonstrate the ability to do work at the graduate level. Applicants who have not earned a baccalaureate degree from a recognized and U.S. regionally accredited institution or its educational equivalent will be considered individually.
- Applicant must complete the application from that is available on the seminary website.
- Applicant must provide official transcripts of all course work.
- Applicant should request references from three persons who can attest to the applicant's promise for graduate study. References use the form at this link: Reference Form, and must be submitted to applicant in a sealed envelope. Recommenders should be persons who have known the applicant for more than 1 year and who have knowledge of the intellectual and ministerial abilities of the applicant.
- Please have all transcripts and references sent to your address in sealed envelopes to be mailed together in one packet. Send your complete packet to: Graceland University, Independence Campus Attn: Seminary Admissions, 1401 West Truman Road, Independence, MO 64050.
Graceland University Community of Christ Seminary has a rolling admissions process; students may apply at any time during the year. New MAR cohorts begin in the fall term each year.
Degree Requirements
- The Master of Arts in Religion (MAR) is a 31 semester-hour graduate degree. Students must satisfactorily complete all 10 courses of the curriculum with a cumulative 3.0 GPA.
- Students must attend focus sessions in person when a course includes a focus session. Focus sessions are scheduled during the fourth weeks of January and May of each year.
- A maximum of nine semester hours with a grade of "C" will apply toward the MAR degree. Students who earn a "C" in more than the maximum allowed number of hours will be required to repeat excess courses in which a "C" was earned. Students must repeat any course in which they earn a grade lower than a "C."
- Students will normally successfully complete requirements for the MAR degree in two years of part-time study; students are allowed up to four years to complete the program.
Transfer of Credits
Students may request the transfer of a maximum of 9 semester hours of credit for the MAR, provided that the courses transferred approximate courses offered by Community of Christ Seminary, were taken at a regionally accredited institution or its non-US equivalent, and that the student earned at least a "B" in those courses. The request must be accompanied by an official transcript from the institution where the credit was earned.
Apply online
Applications are considered on a first come, first served basis.
Applications are due by May 31 to be considered for the fall cohort.
If the fall cohort is full, applicants may be admitted to enroll for the following year.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The application fee is non-refundable unless requested within three business days of Graceland receiving the fee.
Please have those who are providing a reference for you fill out this Reference Form.
Community of Christ Seminary
1401 W. Truman Road
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Why the West is Best!
- WESTERN MAX is available only in the Prairie Provinces and the Territories.
- Draws held every Friday!
- For just $2, you receive three seven-number selections - you can choose to select one set of numbers and the Ticket Terminal will select two more!
- $2 Million top prize and seven additional prizes of $1 million each!
- Add EXTRA on Friday for a chance to win that game's $250,000 top prize or $100,000 second prize!
Playing WESTERN MAX by Quick Pick or Selection Slip
- You can play WESTERN MAX by Quick Pick where the Ticket Terminal will randomly choose your selections, or pick your own numbers using a Selection Slip. You can also choose Play Both to receive the same selections on WESTERN MAX and LOTTO MAX. Refer to the Play Both box below for more information.
- Ask for a WESTERN MAX Quick Pick or select seven numbers from a field of 1 to 49 on the slip. For each $2 WESTERN MAX purchase, you will also receive two additional Quick Picks. You can purchase up to five WESTERN MAX on one ticket.
- Add EXTRA for an additional $1 per number*. You can add up to five EXTRA (one per each WESTERN MAX purchase) by specifying it with your Quick Pick request or by marking "Yes" under each board played.
- Play 1-25 draws. Tell the retailer how many draws or mark the number on the slip. For a number not shown on the slip, leave it blank, and the retailer can enter any number from 1-25. Learn about Advance Play.
*The EXTRA number(s) is valid for the same draw date(s) as the host game listed at the top of your ticket.
More Ways to Play!
Learn about the convenience of Lotto Packs or play your numbers in combinations with Combo Play.In Manitoba, tickets can be purchased online at PlayNow.com.
About the Draws
- WESTERN MAX draws are held every Friday.
- Tickets can be purchased until 9:30 pm CT, 8:30 pm MT and 7:30 pm PT on the date of the draw.
Odds of Winning
To win a prize, numbers matched must appear in the same selection (line).
|MAIN DRAW Prize
|Odds/$2 Play
|7 of 7
|Win or share $2 Million
|1: 28,633,528
|6 of 7+Bonus
|Win or share $100,000
|1: 4,090,504
|6 of 7
|1: 99,768
|5 of 7
|1: 1,584
|4 of 7
|1: 71.3
|3 of 7+Bonus
|1: 76.7
|3 of 7
|1: 8.1
Odds of winning any prize are one in 6.6
All odds are approximate.
|Exact Match Only
|Additional Draws Prize
|Odds /$2 Play
|7 of 7
|Win or Share $1 Million
|1: 28,633,528
For more WESTERN MAX FAQs click here.


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I have created a small tooling library for collecting CDI statistics: it records number of injections and destructions of every enabled bean. I wonder if such a mechanism already exists in WELD or has been described in CDI?
How does it work? During bean discovery it creates wrappers around all injection targets to detect postConstruct and preDestroy callbacks invocations.
I would be very gratefull for all ideas and opinions regarding this project.
Here is library download page:
Here is wikipage:
I has been tested on JBoss AS 6.
Retrieving data ...


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January 29 – Greetings from Iraq! (Stef)
We're just about done with our tour of Iraq and i have been nothing but greatful and so thankful for being able to have such an amazing oppurtunity! I came here not really knowing what to expect, and the only thing i could imagine are the kind of things i see in movies. But once i got to speaking with the troops and getting to know people more on a personal level i have so much more respect for them and what they go through on a day to day basis. I've been able to do so many wonderful things that i probably won't ever get to do again, like riding in "black hawks," C130's, and M-RAPs. I'm so happy i can make a difference in some of these soldiers' lives, and i know for a fact i will be leaving with so much more than i could have ever imagined; words cannot even express it!


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Ok I know I had posted this in the Web Development forum but after talking to a few peps it seems like there is no easy way to get it moved (no mods in WD) so am being forced to double post You can see the original here
Originally posted here by valhallen
I haven't written anything for a while so I thought i'd do YET ANOTHER Flash Tutorial
In this tutorial I'll describe how to make an old movie style effect like the one seen here in my web-site intro...am afraid however that due to a hosting problem the rest of the site is down atm but I hope to get it back up very soon
Anyways on with the tutorial
- Create you flash movie
- Insert a new layer above the rest used in your movie
- Create a new movie clip and name it speckles
- Create another new movie clip and call it dots
Ok now in the speckles movie clip draw well your speckles obviously - not too many as you don't want your movie to look too crowded.....
Do the same for the dots movieclip
- Now place both movieclips in your new layer outside of the movie....
- Click on speckles and give it an instance name - I'll just call it speckles again
- Open the actions panel and insert this actionscript....
don't forget to change the instance name in bold to whatever you have called it and the numbers in blue[/color] to the dimensions of your movie clipCode:onClipEvent(load){ if (this._name<>"speckles"){ this._x=random(600); this._y=random(400); deedee=random(100); this._xscale=deedee; this._yscale=deedee; } }
now you need to create another new movieclip name it actions
this movieclip does not need anythign inside it as it will simply control our speckles action.
Place a copy of actions in the layer outside of the movie same as you have done for speckles and open the actions panel
insert this actionscript
remember once again to change the name in boldCode:onClipEvent(enterFrame){ for (l=0; l<=2; l++) { _root.speckles.duplicateMovieClip( "speckles"+l, l+1); } if (l=2){ l=0; } }
- Now just do the same for the dots movie clip
- You will need a new action movieclip as well tho
!! Remember to change the instance letter in the actionscript !!
the instance letter is in blue and needs to be different for each movieclip!
Also by changing the number in green you can alter the number of copies of the movieclip that appear on screen at any one time.
well hope somebody found this of use =^_^=


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Consider a noetherian ring $R$ and a collection $m_i$, $i\in I$ of maximal ideals of $R$. Let $P$ be a prime ideal of $R$. It is well-known that if the collection is finite (i.e. the index set $I$ is finite), then $P\subseteq \cup_{i\in I}m_i$ if and only if $P$ is contained in one of the $m_i$. (This is true under weaker assumptions.)
Now my question is what about the case of an infinite collection. Does the same hold (under suitable assumptions, e.g. $R$ is normal integral, etc.)? Or can anyone give a counter-example?


text: Hi all, I'm currently working on a project that will require fast access to data stored in a postgreSQL database server. I've been told that a Beowulf cluster may help increase performance. Since I'm not very familar with Beowulf clusters, I was hoping that you might have some advice or information on whether a cluster would increase performance for a PostgreSQL database. The major tables accessed are around 150-200 million records. On a stand alone server, it can take several minutes to perform a simple select query. It seems like once we start pricing for servers with 16+ processors and 64+ GB of RAM, the prices sky rocket. If I can acheive high performance with a cluster, using 15-20 dual processor machines, that would be great. Thanks for any help you may have! -Josh


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Twins, Parmelee Beat Red Sox 8-6
The Twins got a walk-off 2-run homerun from Chris Parmelee off Andrew Miller in the 9th inning last night to beat the Boston Red Sox 8-6. Minnesota went out to a 5-1 lead in the 2nd inning before Boston tied the game at 6 in the 7th inning. Parmelee had 3 hits, 2 runs and 2 RBIs, Kurt Suzuki had 3 hits, 1 run and 1 RBI for the Twins. Brian Dozier had a 2-run double and both Trevor Plouffe and Joe Mauer had 2 hits for Minnesota.
Glen Perkins threw a scoreless 9th inning to earn the win. Ricky Nolasco threw 6 innings with 3 earned runs but didn't figure in the final decision. The Twins are 18-19 and will host Boston again tonight at 7:10, pregame on WJON at 6:40. Kevin Correia will start for the Twins and Felix Doubront will start on the mound for Boston.


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I had been talking about living in the city so much that I completely forgot that my mum has a plot not too far out that yields a bit of fresh fruit now and then (not a grand farm or anything…excitement be reigned!). That is until she sent over a bunch of avocados. Now, understand that I had been on an avocado idea hunt since these eggs so the arrival of these impossibly dark burgundy globes was met with much delight.
A big part of the harvest was, at C's request, prepared simply with milk and sugar. This is actually a very common way of preparing avocado here, although perhaps a bit strange to those who've only had its savory incarnations. But really, I swear it, almost all children here remember this from their childhood…creamy avocado mashed with milk and sugar, and kept chilled in the fridge, or frozen in the freezer (a criminally simple "cheat's" ice cream).
But this isn't about the buttery-sweet avocado pseudo-sorbet that is lounging in my freezer, though that would deserve more than some acclaim. This is about a fantastic avocado idea I found here. So simple, and so unequivocally good. If you are looking for a way to use your avocados this could be your new best friend.
Creamy Avocado Soba
(adapted from Oh She Glows' 15 Minute Creamy Avocado Pasta)
- 1 medium avocado, pitted
- Juice from half a lemon
- Zest from half a lemon
- 1-2 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- About 100 grams (or whatever would be 2 servings for you) cha soba (Japanese green tea buckwheat noodles)
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
- 3 stalks green onions, sliced (white and light green parts)
– Cook your cha soba as per package instructions. If the instructions are in Japanese, and you don't read Japanese, then cook as you would regular pasta but only for about 5 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water. Swish the noodles around a bit with your hand, and then drain again.
– Place garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil into a food processor (I used my immersion blender) and process until smooth. Add the avocado and salt and process again until smooth and creamy.
– Place your cooked and drained noodles in a bowl with the avocado sauce and toss until combined. Add lemon zest and pepper and toss again. Garnish with green onions.
The minute I took a swipe of this sauce from the side of my stick blender with my finger I was hooked, lined, and totally sinker'd. Rich, silken, and garlicky. Like some divine avocado aioli. The original recipe includes an optional addition of basil which, as I didn't have any on hand, I left out. I paired it instead with cha soba noodles and garnished it with green onions…changes that I think worked well. Although I know I will eventually try it with basil because doesn't that sound just too delicious?
It should be noted, as mentioned in the original, that the pasta does not reheat well due to the avocado in the sauce. I am happy to report though that I found a way to have this the next day. What I did was I only mixed enough pasta and sauce together for one serving. I stored the rest of the noodles and sauce in separate containers in the fridge. The next day I re-heated the noodles only. When the noodles are warm, toss with the sauce. Voila! I also tossed in some leftover salmon and it did splendidly.
I am just back from a very full weekend at the beach with the lovely folks I work with. Lots of fun to say the least, but my weary limbs are calling for my blankies. Hope you had an equally gratifying weekend! And I hope you have spot of time, and an avocado, to try this dish soon!


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The requested research item does not exist. Please return to Research
The Office Index is a stock-weighted average of rental movements across Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific office markets continue to perform solidly. Corporates continued to expand in China, while relocations and expansions bolstered demand in other centres. Corporate hiring sentiment and leasing demand weakened in the major financial centres of Hong Kong and Singapore amidst recent market volatility and news of some corporates shelving relocation and expansion plans.
Please fill out the form to download the report.
11 October 2011


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Three things from Ole Miss women's basketball head coach Matt Insell, previewing the Rebels' game vs. Mississippi State Thursday night:
1. Rivalry Game
This is the 86th meeting all-time between Ole Miss and Mississippi State. The Rebels hold a 62-23 series advantage, but the Bulldogs have six of the last seven meetings. Prior to an Ole Miss win last season, Mississippi State had won the previous six meetings, its longest winning streak in the series.
Head coach Matt Insell said they can't get too high or too low in a rivalry game. He has talked to the team about having poise in all situations and not playing on emotion, particularly in the first four to five minutes of the game.
"It's the next game on the schedule," Insell said. "Rivalry games are important because you want to win them, but it's no more important than the last game was against Arkansas. We're going to attack this game no different than we attacked the Arkansas game or the Vanderbilt game. We're going to go in and prepare for this game the same way.
"I'm sure there will be an extra edge. There is with our staff, and I know the players will have an extra edge in terms of focusing in and preparing themselves because you always want to beat your rival. It's important not only to you, but it's really important to your fan base and the whole Rebel Nation to get a win over Mississippi State."
2. Breaking Through
With Sunday's 68-65 loss at Arkansas, Ole Miss is now winless in its last 10 SEC games, dating back to the 2012-13 season. However, in SEC play this season, the Rebels have lost three of their five games by nine points or less.
"We're at that point where we're having a chance to win games," Insell said. "Now, we have to win those games. We have to start making that shot when you're open, and we have to start getting that rebound when it comes off. We're right there at that point.
"I talk about the process. Early on, the process was to convince our team that we can compete in these games. Now that we have shown that we can compete, the process changes. Now, you have to start talking about how we're competing, but how can we finish these games."
3. Following McFarland's Lead
Senior guard Valencia McFarland leads the team and ranks seventh in the SEC in scoring averaging 16.2 points per game. McFarland has scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games with a career-high 28 points against Vanderbilt, followed by 25 against Arkansas, marking her sixth and seventh 20-point game of the season.
McFarland also ranks second in the SEC in assists averaging 6.2 assists per game. Insell noted that McFarland has played at this high level despite teams double-teaming her and doing other things defensively against her.
"She has taken her game to a different level," Insell said. "I have said time after time that she's the best point guard in this league. She's showing that night in and night out. She's going out and giving us what she has to give us. Her game is at a high, high level right now, and other people are taking notice."


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|Great Auk by Museum Wales.
|Razorbill by U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Northeast Region.
You all kind of know my situation. Full-time job, twins, wife with a new store. So when something so rare shows up and I know I have to go get it, I do what any twitcher might do. Skip work, abandon my ever understanding wife and drive about 400kms to see it. I grabbed my cameraman Jon and friends Richard and Margaret (the latter two retired and able to more comfortably do these things) so we could film this trip for the film.
We get up before the sun to go because I need to be home at 7pm FOR SURE because Rachel has a class to attend. Should be no problem right, it's only a 3.5 hour drive, we see the bird and drive back. Theoretically it should really only take 9 hours in total. If I leave at 7, that gives me 12 hours to complete a 9 hour trip. That's 3 hours of error time. Good situation right? Nope. We get there all excited to find this thing. We don't find it. We meet a local birder that can help us look in other places it's been seen. He joins our party and off we go. We check every possible spot. No bird. There were two other possible birds, Red Phalarope and Western Grebe. Neither of those show themselves either. Coincidentally, the Western Grebe starts showing nicely the day after we leave too.
|Western Grebe by Mark L. Watson.
The day wasn't a total bust though. I did add Black Scoter to my year list and also I saw some Red-throated Loons. I saw them really quite close up too. Such a nice bird with their heads held high as they swim along. They look almost silvery on the water with so much white on them in their winter plumage. Then, just as we are going to go find a public washroom somewhere, a car drives up, rolls its window down and a man sticks his head out and says, "Possible Pom Jaeger. First parking lot west of the bridge between Ontario and Quebec." This was cool. It would be a lifer for me. So we hop in the car, abandoning the idea of a bathroom and I drive, possibly way too fast, to the spot. We get the wrong parking lot, twice. We know because there's no crowd of birders with their scopes all pointed in the same direction. We finally find the right spot. Lots of cars in the lot means we probably have it right.
|Red-throated Loon by davidhofmann08.
|Black Scoter by Rick Leche.
We get amazingly close views of the bird sitting on a rock. Now this is a sea bird. A pretty nasty hunter too (Jaeger means hunter in German). Non-birders would call it a brown seagull. You don't always see them just sitting on a rock. I also saw some birders that I met back in the spring at Point Pelee. This happens on a twitch. You just end up running into the same folks again and again. The group decided it was a Pomarine Jaeger. I got such great views with Richard's Carl Zeiss 60x scope. The details were really amazing. Sure it was brownish but the slight details were really subtle and beautiful. It had a silvery bill with a black, hooked tip. The texture on its body and wings were amazing. You could see every detail at this distance. Later that day, some folks that had lots of time and many photographs decided to change it to a Parasitic Jaeger. Something about the very thin bill and a few other details. The digi-scoped photos must have been pretty easy for a real expert to work from. It was pretty close to us.
|Parasitic Jaeger by BruceLC.
We searched in vain for that Razorbill for the rest of our time there. To no avail. At 2:45, I knew I'd missed the bird. I had to be back by 7 and leaving by 3 gave me 4 hours to do a 3 hour drive. No problem right? Guess again. We hit this insane traffic jam just by Kingston. So many cars, so few lanes. We were at a complete standstill for at least 15 minutes at one point. The others in the car could feel me getting worried about my very important 7pm deadline. I got really worried when cars began to reverse back past us on the grass beside the highway. At a certain point it became clear I wouldn't make it home on time. So what does a grown man do in that situation? Call his mom of course. I called her and asked if she could drop over to the house at 6:45 to watch the kids until I got home so Rachel could go to her 7pm class. One thing about moms, they will never let you down. Well, mine won't anyway. After the traffic cleared, I drove at insane speeds. The kind you lose your license for if you get caught, dropped Richard and Margaret off and literally flew home as fast as my Subaru would take me. I got there at 7:10. Not bad but certainly not good. Rachel was very understanding again. She must be getting kind of tired of that. Only two months more of this shit left.
|I hate this feeling. Traffic Jam by Wyscan.
Saturday Rachel was busy working so I had the opportunity to try and make birders out of my kids again without her meddling in my affairs. This time we would head to the spot I got hooked and I'd try and see what happened if I setup the same experience I had when I was young. IT WORKED. Shep was instantly addicted to feeding chickadees by hand. Dad was pretty proud. Georgia on the other hand tried it once and complained that the bird had bitten her. I explained that it just grabbed a seed from her hand. She went on to say that she wanted to leave immediately and that this would never happen again. Somewhere, Rachel must have been smiling. Georgia is her mother's daughter. Rachel doesn't dislike birds by any means but she isn't interested in them very much, other than maybe painting them. But she doesn't pay any attention to the proper colours. In her mind, a Winter Wren is nice but it'd be nicer if it were entirely peacock blue with yellow bars instead of brown on brown. So, that's just how she painted it. Anyway, after birding for a half hour, I took the kids to Baldwin St. Burger. When we left there for home, Shepard said to me, "Dad, can we go birdwatching again?" I was in birder-dad heaven for a half second. That was shattered by Georgia's blood-curdling scream. "NOOOOOOOOOOO, I DON'T LIKE BIRDWATCHING." I guess one outa' two ain't bad.
P.S. - I had a picture of this but for some reason my iPhone using iOS5 didn't save it anywhere. Guess we gotta' go out and try again next weekend...
Sunday, we had a little party for the kids. A combo Halloween and early birthday party. We decided to do the party early to separate it from Christmas. Also, last time we had a birthday near their Dec. 8th date, someone showed up and brought the nastiest puking flu with them. This ensured that at least one of my family was vomiting throughout the entire two weeks I had off for the holidays. Not so fun. If that happens again, it'll surely be out of our system by Christmas break. Fingers crossed.
|Spooky Shep.
|Understanding wife.
October 27, 2011 day list
Parasitic Jaeger
Red-throated Loon
Black Scoter
Paul Riss
Punk Rock Big Year


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Review Round Up: 'Vishwaroopam' Thrills
"Vishwaroopam" (Nature of the World) is a thriller directed by Kamal Haasan. Mr. Haasan is also the lead actor of the movie, which stars Rahul Bose, Pooja Kumar and Shekhar Kapur.
"Omar" (Rahul Bose) is an al Qaeda operative from Afghanistan and the group plans to bomb New York. "Vishwanath" alias "Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri" (Kamal Haasan), is an Indian secret agent who poses as a dance teacher in New York. His wife (Pooja Kumar) unknowingly works for a company that is a front for the terror project.
Here is a round up of what critics had to say about the movie:
NDTV movie critic Saibal Chatterjee said the movie is a "must watch." Although the movies sticks to the old formula of a hero battling villains, Mr. Haasan presents it in an impressive way.
The critic liked the fight sequences. "Vishwaroopam is technically dazzling," he said.
Mr. Chatterjee praised Mr. Haasan's performance in the movie. Mr. Haasan plays three different characters in the movie and was "perfect" in each one of them, he said.
He gave the movie four stars out of five.
Movie critic Taran Adarsh, writing for the Bollywood Hungama website, lauded Mr. Haasan's handling of a rather predictable script. "Kamal Haasan shuns the tried and tested humdrum stuff and comes up with a fare that prides itself of mesmerizing action, stunts and combat scenes," the review said.
The first half of the movie hardly had a "dull moment." The same can't be said for the second half. "The second half is sketchy," Mr. Adarsh wrote, and "way too lengthy."
He called Mr. Haasan's performance in the movie one of his "finest works." The supporting actors, Mr. Adarsh said, played their parts with "graceful ease."
"Kamal Haasan and his art department deserve a pat for zeroing on some stunning locales," he added.
Giving the movie three stars out of five, Mr. Adarsh said "those with an appetite for well-made thrillers might relish" it.
Mohar Basu, writing for Koimoi website, called the movie "pleasurably entertaining." The movie "is a sheer treat for its power packed action sequences which finally match up to Hollywood's standards," she added.
Ms. Basu, too, liked the first half of the movie but was a little disappointed with the clichéd portrayals of Afghans. For Kamal Haasan's performance, the critic said: "The man deserves a standing ovation for versatility."
She also praised the movie's score while she found the cinematography to be "immensely powerful."
"The film is a delicious watch for its dramatic action, brilliant stunts and mostly for the characters that Rahul Bose and Kamal Haasan so flawlessly deliver to us!" she wrote, giving the movie three and half stars out of five.
Readers: Let us know what you think of the movie in the comments.
You can follow India Real Time on Twitter @IndiaRealTime.


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The World Bank cut its outlook for global growth, saying the economy should expand more slowly this year than last as it cited a deeper-than-expected recession in Europe and a recent slowdown in some emerging markets.
In its twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects report, the bank warned that large developing economies, which have driven global growth in recent years, will not experience the same boom as they did before the global financial crisis and will have to focus on structural reforms to keep expanding.
The bank forecast the world's gross domestic product will grow 2.2 percent this year, slightly below last year's growth of 2.3 percent. In its last forecast in January, the World Bank estimated the world economy would expand 2.4 percent this year.
(Read More: Look! How Money Is Fast Exiting Emerging Stocks)
Andrew Burns, the report's lead author, said the global economy should be less volatile in the future, but growth should slow.
The World Bank estimates the global economy should expand after this year's trough to 3 percent in 2014, and to 3.3 percent in 2015.
"Growth is not slower because of inadequate demand but rather because, in our view, the very strong growth we saw in the pre-crisis period was due to that bubble phenomenon," Burns told reporters.
"What we're seeing now is more in line with the underlying growth potential," he said. "Therefore, this is a case of moving towards the new normal of the post crisis."
(Read More: Wild Swings? Emerging Currencies Have It the Worst)
Part of that "new normal" will be slower growth rates in countries like Brazil, India, Russia and China, as commodities prices moderate and countries rebalance their economies, the World Bank said.
The World Bank cut its outlook for developing countries, which last year grew at their slowest pace in a decade, to 5.1 percent, from 5.5 percent in the January forecast. The bank said growth in these countries should slowly pick up in the future, to 5.6 percent next year and 5.7 percent in 2015.
Before the global financial crisis hit in 2008, developing countries as a whole were chalking up growth rates of around 7.5 percent, while China expanded at an annual rate of 10 percent.
(Read More: 'Abenomics' Success Hinges on Reforms: World Bank)
Evidence has mounted in recent weeks that China's economic growth is fast losing momentum, and economists are abandoning their rosy recovery forecasts and bracing for what could be the country's slowest growth rate in 23 years.
Burns said he was not worried about the slowdown, as it was long expected that China's rapid expansion would moderate as its economy rebalanced away from investment-led growth to focus more on consumption.
The World Bank also said the euro area and fiscal uncertainty in the United States should recede as major risks to the global economy in the future. Instead, developing nations will have to watch out for side effects from the massive monetary expansion in advanced nations like the United States and Japan.