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The Nuclear Cardiology Fellowship Program provides training in all aspects of nuclear cardiology practice, including cardiac PET, stress performance and interpretation and image analysis and interpretation. This fellowship is a one-year non-ACGME training program. Currently, the laboratory has six SPECT cameras and two PET cameras and performs over 7,500 imaging procedures per year. The laboratory is located in the main campus at Massachusetts General Hospital and performs tests on both outpatients as well as patients admitted to the hospital.
In addition to providing clinical evaluations, the laboratory is involved in a multi-center trial involving the evaluation of a new tracer for myocardial autonomic function, quantitative physiologically oriented PET studies of the coronary circulation, as well as other clinical investigative protocols both multi-center (ex: new adenosine analog) and individual investigator initiated (ex: neural network analysis of myocardial perfusion images, PET studies of peripheral vascular disease and plaque inflammation).
Program Director
Requirements of the Nuclear Cardiology Fellowship include:
- Completion and passing of all three USMLE steps
- ABIM board certified or board eligible
- The accepted applicant must obtain a full Massachusetts license (limited license if on visa)
- A valid ECFMG certificate for all foreign medical graduates
- Only J1 visas accepted
- Completion of an internal medicine residency is required. The completion of previous cardiology fellowship training is preferred.
Exercise Testing
- To understand the indications and contraindications for cardiac stress testings as well as learn the normal and abnormal hemodynamic and electrocardiographic responses to exercise and pharmacologic stress tests
- To be able to take a directed cardiovascular and pertinent medical history and physical examination for patients presenting to the lab
- To become proficient in the safe performance, monitoring and interpretation of exercise and pharmacologic stress tests
Nuclear Cardiology
- To understand the indications and protocols, for myocardial perfusion imaging, differences amongst various perfusion imaging agents including the physical characteristics, dosimetry, strengths and limitations of each
- To understand the indications and strengths and limitations of PET myocardial perfusion and metabolism imaging for cardiac disease
- To gain proficiency in the interpretation of normal and abnormal gated myocardial perfusion studies, radionuclide angiography, and PET studies of myocardial perfusion and metabolism
- To learn the safe handling of radioactive material and appropriate immediate responses to radiation emergencies
- To learn the basic physics of nuclear cardiology, gamma cameras, quality control, SPECT acquisition and reconstruction protocols
Course of Instruction
Stress Testing
Fellows will be instructed in the medical evaluation and performance of both pharmacological as well as exercise stress testing, including indications, contraindications, safe performance, and treatment of complications, including cardiac and respiratory collapse and resuscitation. It is anticipated that fellows will complete approximately 500 to 750 stress tests during the course of the fellowship.
Fellows will learn the safe handling of radioisotopes, ALARA principles, the proper administration of radioisotopes for diagnostic procedures, as well as handling of radioactive spills and misadministrations. This information is provided in a required though separate nuclear medicine physics and instrumentation course offered at another Partners affiliated hospital or other non-Partners affiliated institutions in Boston. It is expected that the fellow will have sufficient experience in tracer administration, acquisition and processing of imaging data during the fellowship to qualify for ACC/ASNC Level III certification.
Fellows will be instructed by staff faculty (both cardiologists and nuclear medicine physicians) in the interpretation of myocardial scans (rest/redistribution thallium for myocardial viability; rest/ stress perfusion imaging for diagnosis of coronary artery disease; radionuclide ventriculograms, gated perfusion imaging, and PET scans for both perfusion and metabolism) The fellow will read approximately 600 scans/mo during the fellowship year under direct attending supervision. Whenever possible, and in the great majority of cases, the scans will be correlated with clinical, other non-invasive, coronary angiographic and operative (CABG or PCI) findings.
(8:00 am to 1:00 pm) The fellow will be responsible for obtaining a directed history and physical examination of patients presenting to the lab; determine the suitability for the ordered test; and medically clear the patient for the test. The fellow will discuss the case with the attending physician, if necessary, and after appropriate training perform the study on his/her own. After completion of the stress test, the fellow will analyze the hemodynamic and EKG response and review them with the attending physician at the afternoon readout session. The fellow will work with a team of RN's and NP's who perform the majority of the stress tests. The fellow is expected to serve as a consultant and back-up to the nurses when needed.
(1:00 pm to 5:00 pm) The fellow will participate actively in all afternoon scan readout sessions with the attending physicians. It usually will be possible to excuse the fellow twice/wk for one hour to attend cardiac cath conference (Tue, 0730-0830) and cardiac grand rounds (Wed, 0800-0900) during the academic year.
The fellow will participate in the weekend ETT on-call schedule. In general this involves taking and approving requests for both imaging and non-imaging stress tests on both Saturday and Sunday as well as Monday holidays (Christmas and New Years Day are exempt). The fellow then communicates these requests to the oncall team of technologists and to the attending cardiologist for the weekend. The fellow supervises the test and remains in the lab until all patients have been returned to their ward (out patients are not done on weekends). The intent of the weekend program is to reduce hospital length of stay for those who require stressing for discharge or who will have to have a stress test prior to surgery or cardiac catheterization the following business day.
The nuclear cardiology fellow will prepare and present a conference on the first Thursday of the month (at noon) on a topic relevant to nuclear cardiology or stress testing. This conference along with cardiac grand rounds and cardiac cath conference are the major teaching conferences of the section. Considerable teaching also occurs during the daily readout session in which the fellow is asked to give his/her interpretation of the images before the attending physicians render an opinion.
Two attending physicians are present for every read-out session. All clinical, hemodynamic, EKG and imaging and available catheterization information is reviewed. In addition, attending physicians are active in a variety of basic and clinical research programs and welcome fellow participation in these activities. The ASNC Web site, as well as Partners Web sites, runs by both MGH and BWH have sections with teaching cases which provide an excellent opportunity for self teaching and of course can be reviewed with attending staff to answer questions
Those fellows interested in NRC licensure and/or nuclear cardiology board certification are encouraged to discuss this with the director of the lab early in the first year. Licensure and certification require specific tasks and course work above and beyond what fellows receive on the general rotation.
How to Apply
Interested applicants should send their CV, personal statement and three letters of reference via e-mail or fax to:
Ahmed Tawakol, MD
Program Director
Mass General Hospital
55 Fruit Street GRB 8-800
Boston, MA 02114
Contact Us
Fellowship Program
Lisa DeFabritiis
- Phone: 617-643-3238
- Email Us
Call for more information: 617-643-3238


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Moderator: Community Team
waltero wrote:The only reason I posted this was because I had invited two Friends to team against me and another guy.
Started the game and it was a joke! we had best drop ever. Now me friends do not come to anymore invites and they hate that particular board.
Not to mention, we went first...making it double whammy!
sdkenned wrote:Concise description:
At the start of the game, rather than receiving random starting territories, players take turns drafting territories.
The boardgame RISK allowed gamers to choose whether starting territories would be randomly distributed or drafted deliberatly by players, in turn.
How this will benefit the site and/or other comments:
An initial territory draft would add a huge strategic component to Conquer Club otherwise lacking.
blakebowling wrote:I could see having this feature either for speed games only, or as a premium perk (not necessarily because of the exclusivity of it, but to keep free members from getting stuck in these type of games).
That being said, I feel CC could do with more perks for premium members.
sdkenned wrote:Though perhaps not the solution, it may be possible to develop a permission system based on medal acheivement... by which players unlock the ability to start and play in territory draft games...
莊子 wrote:I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?
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Find the perfect hotel in Campbellville using our hotel guide provided below. Find cheap and/or discounted hotel rates in or near Campbellville, ON for your personal leisure or group travel. We provide the best Campbellville, Ontario motel and hotel rooms. Browse the Campbellville area hotels to find the perfect lodging! Please use the provided map of the Campbellville hotels.
The Campbellville center point is about 11 miles south of Georgetown Amtrak and 12 miles east of University of Guelph.
How should we direct your call?


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RemyD vs Zero Star Freestyle Battle [Grind Time Midwest]
"RemyD (St. Louis, MO) goes up against Zero Star (Columbus, OH) in the Windy City Takeover 3 hosted by Sonny Bamboo." - Grind Time
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Intel's Larrabee Architecture
Pentium Strikes Again!
Larry Seiler is exceptionally proud to present some of the first bits of information on the architecture we know as Larrabee.
Several years back Intel let loose that it was developing a new and unique graphics architecture that is aimed at both the enthusiast 3D market, as well as stream computing. This announcement brought forth an abundance of opinions which covered the emotional spectrum from great excitement to great dread. The excitement was that a proven and innovative processing giant was entering the graphics arena, and potentially bringing in a competitive and potentially high performance part which will provide competition for both AMD (ATI) and NVIDIA. The great dread was that a proven and innovative processing giant was entering the graphics arena, and potentially bringing in a competitive and potentially high performance part which will provide competition for both AMD (ATI) and NVIDIA. All joking aside, other fears are primarily based around Intel's previous graphics offerings, namely their poorly supported and poorly performing integrated parts.
While Intel has not come out with an actual working part which will either allay or reinforce our fears, they have given us insight into the inner workings of the Larrabee architecture. Most of the information that was presented was from a very high level perspective, and they did not get into the specifics that many were hoping to hear (namely some concrete details for potential parts to be released next year). What we were presented with did answer some of the more basic questions on how the architecture works, how Intel is dividing up the workload, and how flexible we can expect this part to be.
Intel asked itself, "What is better?" If they were to take two products of similar die size, what kind of results would they get in theoretical vector throughput? In this case using a simpler X86 processor with a vector unit rather than a SSE unit, they can achieve 20x more theoretical throughput with the "simpler" product.
Jumping In
NVIDIA and AMD have been doing graphics for quite some time now, but Intel is still relatively new to the scene. NVIDIA was started in 1994 while ATI was founded in 1985. Both companies have extensive IP portfolios relate to 2D/3D graphics, and a lot of "previous art" to rely upon in case of copyright infringements. Intel's foray into graphics started in 1999 with the purchase of Real3D. The i740 graphics chip was based on the Real3D Starfighter, but it was late to market as compared to other solutions. While it featured advanced AGP interconnect technology, its overall performance was severely lacking as compared to other products of that time. Intel then concentrated on using the i740 technology in a lineup of integrated graphics parts which went unchanged for quite a few years.
So when Intel announced that it was embarking on a path to release an enthusiast level 3D graphics product, its claims were primarily met with skepticism. At that time NVIDIA was riding the wave of profitability from introducing its GeForce 8 series of parts with 128 steam processing units running at 1.3 GHz+, and AMD had released the HD 2000 series with the top end part featuring 320 stream processing units. Each of these products has a theoretical performance which is pretty outstanding when dealing with single precision floating point operations. So in many peoples' minds the bar is set very high for Intel to jump into the fray with a high end part.
Intel is trying to do what 3DLabs attempted with the P10 all those years back. A fully programmable rendering pipeline. AMD and NVIDIA currently use the DX8-DX10 style pipeline with programmable portions sandwiched between fixed function units (which is not necessarily a bad thing when talking about performance in these apps).
The very basis of the Larrabee architecture is the part which most people are having trouble with. While their ideas behind what a next generation architecture should be are unique and novel, they are confusing to many who are used to seeing up to hundreds of simpler units doing the work behind 3D graphics.


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Welcome To The Cloisters!I've been using WordPress for about 3 years and after taking advantage of all the great stuff available I decided it was time to give back. These themes are my contribution to the WordPress community. Thanks for stopping by! :D
Internet Goodies
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Upgrading WordPress
With yesterday's release of WordPress 3.0 I wanted to talk about upgrading. I can only really tell you what I do for upgrades and what you choose to do is up to you. I personally install all my blogs in … Continue reading
Posted in Site News


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Twenty Facts About Divorce
These "facts" are based upon the following book: Ackerman, Marc (1997). Does Wednesday Mean Moms House or Dads? Parenting Together While Living Apart.
- Divorce is always painful for children, no matter how old they are.
- Divorce does not end the relationship between you and your spouse, it just changes the rules of the relationship.
- You are not the only parent going through divorce.
- You do not have to hate your spouse to get divorced.
- The divorce takes place psychologically for children on the day of the separation.
- Two people living apart cannot live as cheaply as two people living together.
- Two people living apart cannot see their children as often as two people living together.
- Divorcing parents generally are upset by any extra time the other parent may have with the children.
- Courts do not want to place children with a parent who is systematically trying to destroy the other parent.
- Never ask a child to decide who he or she wants to live with.
- You should be willing to do whatever you want your spouse (or ex-spouse) to do.
- Unhappy parents cannot raise happy children.
- Child support payments are intended to support your children, not to serve as extra spending money for your ex-spouse.
- When parents live apart, children have more opportunities to manipulate them.
- It is hard when children cannot spend time with someone they love.
- A parent should not become a "friend" for their child(ren) and a child should not become a parent or a "friend" to their parent(s).
- The more consistency parents provide in their childrens lives, the healthier the childrens adjustment will be.
- The more flexibility a parent has regarding placement and visitation arrangements, the more comfortable children are likely to be.
- Divorce is a process, not an event.


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I want to start art journaling...but have no idea where to begin! Are there any resources or tutorials you would recommend? Also, what digisupplies are "must haves" for getting started? I have made altered books "in real life" but with digital I don't know where to start! I'm hoping to make an album of all my favorite quotes
Thanks for any ideas or suggestions you might have!


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All Members in England
Introduction How to Buy Credits Support Report a fake Photo Report fake Info
Disclaimer: Our directory website is intended for adult viewing and may contain nudity and erotic videos, movies & pictures of personals and escorts and personal information. Enter this site only if you are legally entitled to access "Adult Sites" as defined by the laws of the country where you live. By entering this site, you confirm that: You are not entering this site in any official or unofficial capacity; in order to download images, or gain information for use in any media, or to use against the owner of the site. Any sexual activities that take place are between consenting adults. If you are under 18 or do not agree with the above disclaimer statements, please leave this site now.
globalshemaleads.com contains material of an adult nature relating to adult entertainment services.
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While globalshemaleads.com does not create or produce any content listed on our ads, all our advertisements must comply with our age and content standards.
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You will not use the material on this website outside the permissions mentioned within.
You have read both our full terms of use and our disclaimer and agree to be bound by them.


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Previous Lecture
Complete and continue
Teach and Earn More
1 - Introduction
Teach and Retire Early vs. an Average College Master's Degree (4:01)
Teachers are leaving TOO much money on the table (3:29)
Set an earning/investment goal (2:13)
2 - Investing 101 for teachers
Teacher Pensions (4:03)
Annuities, Stocks, Index Funds, ETF's,..what do teachers NEED to really know? (5:21)
What type of investments do many "elites" have vs. what teachers have (3:43)
3 - Work with your HR
What to ask HR for and how (8:25)
What to do if you still cannot get any low cost providers? (4:20)
4 - Getting starting with your new 403(b) and/or 457(b) provider
Opening your new account (3:04)
Which Index Funds and Why (4:56)
Transferring old funds to your new provider (3:55)
403(b) vs. 457(b) (2:30)
5 - How to put your investments on steroids!
What amount or percent of my paycheck should I contribute? (4:04)
Some resources for teachers to earn more income (6:30)
Some resources to spend less (5:43)
Who do I talk to raise my contributions and what do I say? (1:39)
Congratulations! Compound interest is fun! (1:12)
6 - Health insurance if you retire early
Health insurance options for early retirerees (4:06)
Bonus #1 - Expert Interviews (Coming soon)
Interview with Andrew Hallam - "The Millionaire Teacher"
Interview with Brandon of Mad Fientist (41:36)
Interview with Dan Otter - Author of "Teach and Retire Rich"
Bonus #2 - Early retirement superstars to keep you motivated
Some resources to spend less
Lecture content locked
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you'll need to login
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Gay veteran's group allowed to march in Boston St. Patrick's Day parade
A group of gay veterans initially barred from marching in Boston's St. Patrick's Day parade will be invited to march after an emergency meeting Friday.
The parade's Twitter account announced Friday that organizers had signed the acceptance letter to allow OutVets to march in the parade.
OutVets said they are in receipt of the letter and are "actively reviewing it."
The parade has been under fire for denying the group permission to be in the parade.
OutVets' executive director, Bryan Bishop, told The Associated Press on Friday that the South Boston Allied War Veterans Council said the group could participate in the March 19 parade if they did not display the rainbow - a symbol of gay pride and solidarity.
He said the parade organizers were diminishing the contributions and sacrifices of gay veterans.
This week's decision to bar OutVets from marching drew immediate condemnation from high-profile politicians and stirred up a furor on social media.
OutVets was first allowed to participate in the parade in 2015.
The group will be holding a meeting at Club Cafe Sunday to discuss the recent events around the parade.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Films Provide Broad Range of Modified-Atmosphere Packaging
Freshgard films provide a broad range of modified-atmosphere packaging, which preserves the flavor, appearance and texture of fruits and vegetables for extended periods of time, without preservatives. Freshgard films enable oxygen and CO2 transmission to be controlled at a rate based on each product's natural respiration chemistry, so aging is greatly retarded while freshness is retained and prolonged.
With temperature management, the shelf life of fruits and vegetables packaged in Freshgard is improved greatly. And because the Freshgard® family includes an entire series of bags and films with tailored permeability rates and a wide range of options, its applications are virtually unlimited. We can meet your need for coextruded films as well as laminations, lidstock and trays. Several types of film are microwaveable, and a variety of recloseability options are available for multi-serving products. No one else offers all that Printpack does - for food service and retail sales.


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Ciranda offers a variety of ingredients for your organic formulation needs including starches, syrups, cocoa and chocolates, oils and fats and coconut products. Explore our organic ingredients using the menu at the left, or view a complete list of our organic ingredients in PDF format.
Please contact us for more information on any of our high quality organic ingredients. Complete technical information may also be found online in the Food, Beverage & Nutrition database at UL PROSPECTOR.


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Since its inception, Microsoft's SQL Server Business Intelligence (BI) team has been guided by the overriding goal of making business data usable and accessible to as many people as possible. As the team's general manager, Bill Baker works with the people who design and develop BI tools such as Integration Services (formerly data transformation services—DTS), Analysis Services, and Reporting Services. Baker recently talked with SQL Server Magazine about SQL Server 2005's new BI tools and how they work together to streamline delivery of business-critical information.
How are SQL Server 2005's BI enhancements meeting Microsoft's goals for serving the BI community? And how long has your team has been working on these enhancements?
Our goal since we started the SQL Server BI team has been to give as many people as possible in every organization greater insight into their business and the market. We call this "BI for the Masses," and with every version of SQL Server and Microsoft Office, we take further steps to make BI available to every person at every level of a company. For example, in the integration space, SQL Server 2005 Integration Services delivers far greater throughput and more data warehousing and BI functionality out of the box. In addition, customers need to analyze far more data from many more sources and with more immediacy than ever before. In the analysis space, our investments in the Unified Dimensional Model (UDM) and proactive caching move SQL Server 2005 Analysis Services beyond the niche-OLAP market and into the mainstream. Our new Report Builder in SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services opens up report authoring way beyond the Visual Studio audience we support well today. Our vision is about getting the right information, in the right format, to the people who need it—when they need it. Every BI investment we make supports that goal.
Initial planning for SQL Server 2005 started several years ago, but we are now starting to see the fruits of our labor and are definitely in "ship mode." Through our beta releases and Community Technology Previews (CTPs)—advance previews into the upcoming beta—we are receiving incredible customer feedback on our features and implementations.
What kind of feedback have you been getting from beta testers, and which features are they most enthusiastic about?
Our customers tell us they really appreciate how comprehensive our BI solution is. Our solution not only enables seamless integration of components, but it's cost-effective, which is essential. We are getting great feedback on the BI Development Studio—formerly called the BI Workbench—which provides one development environment for Integration Services, Reporting Services, data mining, and Analysis Services. Beta testers have also praised the integration of the BI engines into SQL Server Management Studio—formerly called the SQL Server Workbench—which combines the functionality of Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer, and Analysis Manager into one integrated tool. Beta testers also appreciated the overall ability SQL Server 2005 gives them to deploy and manage BI applications.
According to news reports, Microsoft and some large customers have deployed SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 in production environments. What is your recommendation for deploying Beta 2 and running it in production? What caveats do you have for businesses eager to move to the new version now?
We're amazed at how many customers ask us to support their Beta 2 implementation in production. Honestly, we don't recommend it since there is no Service Level Agreement (SLA) for Beta 2, but that has not stopped several customers. So far, they are having good experiences, but our recommendation is to get experience with the beta bits, start developing your applications, and plan to roll out your applications with the final version of SQL Server 2005.
How compatible are SQL Server 2000's BI tools (OLAP, DTS, data mining) and SQL Server 2005's new BI tools? Because some of SQL Server 2005's BI tools—such as Integration Services—are completely rewritten, will they still work with SQL Server 2000 data and packages?
This is an area where we need to be very, very clear with our customers because the choice to upgrade or migrate varies depending on the situation. Our commitment is to be transparent about what will upgrade automatically and what will require migration, and we have migration aids for any objects that don't come over automatically.
For example, we will continue to support SQL Server 2000 DTS packages running beside SQL Server 2005 Integration Services. However, if you want to use some of the new SQL Server 2005 Integration Services features or performance, you will need to migrate your packages. We do not automatically migrate DTS packages because they usually contain code, very often in script, and the new SQL Server 2005 Integration Services has newer and better ways to do what that code used to do. In some cases, the benefits of the new technology will be worth rewriting the packages.
SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services supports only clustering and decision-tree data-mining algorithms. Does SQL Server 2005 add support for other algorithms?
Yes. The next version of SQL Server Analysis Services will include five new algorithms in the extensible data-mining solution. We have a great partnership with Microsoft Research that lets us cooperate on new data-mining algorithms, so we've identified the most popular requests and added algorithms for association sets, neural nets, text mining, and other needs. (Editor's Note: For more information about the new data-mining algorithms, see "Data Mining Reloaded," page 21.)
We also made enhancements to data mining, including a set of rich, graphical model editors and viewers in the BI Development Studio. We added support for training and querying data-mining models inside the extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) pipeline. Developers will benefit from easy integration of data mining into their applications, and analysts will receive finer-grain control over their models. We're excited about these enhancements because they address making data mining and data quality operational.
Microsoft relies on an integrated technology stack—from OS to database to user interface. How does that integration help Microsoft's BI offerings better serve your customers' needs?
Our belief in the Windows platform is long-standing and probably well understood by now. It's important to note that while we have an integrated offering from top to bottom, it is also an open environment. This openness is critical for BI, where much of the opportunity for our customers is in gaining additional insight and value from the operational systems they already have. All of our BI platform components can read data from a huge variety of databases and applications, and they provide Web services for embedding and integrating with other applications—even on other platforms. We get strength from the integration and consistency of the elements we provide, but lose nothing in terms of openness. Our customers benefit from the flexibility of our interoperability. By using our integrated solution, customers also witness a reduction in training time, management staff, and total cost of ownership. It's a win-win situation.
SQL Server 2005 will be the first release in which database tools converge with Visual Studio development tools. Can you tell us what it took to align these two releases and what benefits customers will realize from the change?
Databases and applications used to be two separate worlds, but more and more, people are recognizing the similarities between application development and database development. For instance, what interesting business application doesn't store and access data in a database? With Visual Studio 2005 (codenamed Whidbey) and SQL Server 2005, we've taken the next step in melding the database- and application-development experiences. We based our BI Development Studio on Visual Studio, and all the Visual Studio features that support team and enterprise development, including source-code control and deployment, also work for the data warehouse and BI developer. We built a single environment where people can develop all of the components of a data warehousing or BI application, including relational design, ETL, cubes, reports, data mining, and even code if desired. There is no other end-to-end, professional-grade environment for BI.
The introduction of the UDM is said to blur the line between relational and multidimensional database architectures. This approach is new for the Microsoft BI platform. What are the most interesting features the UDM offers? And based on your experience, what features do you think will surface as the most valuable for customers and ISVs?
Ultimately, OLAP is cool because it brings together navigation and query. Pivoting and drilling down are really just queries. But the OLAP world has never been attribute-rich; OLAP engines have never had good ways to express attributes, and adding something as simple as a phone number to a dimension would have caused size and performance issues in earlier SQL Server releases. With the UDM, we bridge the hierarchical drill-down world and the attribute-reporting world to present a dimensional view of data without losing the rich attributes present in the data.
The UDM is also the place where we express business logic, since MDX calculated members and cells are expressions of business logic. The UDM adds time intelligence, account intelligence, and key performance indicators (KPIs). You might think KPIs are only calculations, but they are much more. A SQL Server 2005 KPI includes the calculation, an expression for the goal, an expression for the trend, and a means of visualizing the results. KPIs are first-class elements of the UDM.
What tools will Microsoft add to the Visual Studio 2005 IDE to help developers create and manage SQL Server (and other database platforms') users, groups, and permissions to better insulate private data from those who shouldn't have access?
The Visual Studio and SQL Server development teams work together on integration and new methods of managing data. Our team supplies components to Visual Studio, and they supply components to SQL Server. In SQL Server 2005, we've added Data Insulation features to the core SQL Server engine. The end result is that developers using Visual Studio can easily create the database elements they need for their application. For enterprise-management activities, we anticipate that people will use SQL Server Management Studio.
In one of your past conference keynote addresses, you mentioned that Microsoft is adding a new set of controls to Visual Studio 2005 to permit reporting without Reporting Services. Could you describe what those controls will do, when we'll see the controls appear in Visual Studio 2005, and where you expect them to be documented?
The reporting controls will ship with Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005, and they will enable programmers to embed reporting in their applications. We support both WinForms and WebForms. Programmers will either provide Report Definition Language (RDL) and a data set to the reporting control or point to an existing Reporting Services server. We think every application of any sophistication can use at least a little reporting against data contained in the application. These controls just make it easier.
What benefit does 64-bit bring to SQL Server BI, and do you think 64-bit can really help the Microsoft BI platform scale to the levels that UNIX-based BI platforms scale to today?
In a word: memory. The 64-bit architecture lets customers break out of the 3GB memory limit that they have with 32-bit SQL Server, which allows for far larger dimensions in OLAP. It also enables the new ETL engine in SQL Server Integration Services to hold more data and process rows that much faster. And yes, we absolutely think we will reach into the upper ranges of scale with 64-bit.
Who are some BI vendors you're working closely with to develop 64-bit BI computing?
What's important to recognize is not which vendors support 64-bit, but that SQL Server 2005 supports both 32-bit and 64-bit on Intel and AMD platforms. Our customers and partners can start with 32-bit and easily move to 64-bit later or take existing 32-bit applications to 64-bit with near-total transparency. This support means our customers and partners don't have to worry about the differences because they are quite small and well documented.
Did you leave out any BI features that you planned to add to SQL Server 2005 because of deadlines or other issues?
We are confident that SQL Server 2005 will offer a comprehensive BI solution to address our customers' business problems. We've worked closely with our customers for several years to determine their pain points and create BI tools that provide relief. We started delivering those tools with SQL Server 7.0 and OLAP and continued with SQL Server 2000, DTS, and Reporting Services. With SQL Server 2005, customers will have the complete package to integrate, analyze, and report data. Even after all that, we still have a million ideas! We're already dreaming of what we can do beyond Yukon, so you can bet we'll be charged up for the next round—right after we ship SQL Server 2005. It's too early to discuss specifics, but as always, we'll work with our customers to determine new features and technologies.
Your team puts a lot of long hours into your work on SQL Server BI. What drives you and your BI developers to invest so much personally in the product?
Even when I started with the BI team 8 years ago, we said the same thing we say now: Companies improve when more of their employees use BI. "BI for the Masses" is very motivating. Unlike some of our competitors, our team is not working to provide a response to competitive offerings. The team works hard for the purpose of improving our product to best meet our customers' needs. It might sound corny, but it truly is as much a journey as it is a destination. The personal investment across the board is impressive and humbling, and I'm awed by the effort our team contributes every single day. I hope it shows in our product.


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'Twas mere days before Christmas, and all through this world of mine
Much isn't finished or wrapped - because I don't manage my time.
The stockings finally just got hung, but my tree may soon be bare,
For I think the tree guy screwed me, those needles fall with the slightest breath of air.
The children are getting much older, and don't get tucked in bed til near nine...
And I'm far too exhausted to knit or wrap presents...I just want my wine.
I've managed some knit gifts, though I swear gauge often lies,
Because the one for my baby nephew, is a freaking huge size.
I'll rip that off the needles, and maybe start again...
Provided I don't have a shocker at Costco, and start on the gin.
Looking out our windows, I'm proud to say,
I hung up Christmas lights, they sparkle and sway...
For the weather is stormy, and the wind, she's a blowing,
But Santa is coming, those kids are well knowing.
Or so I nag and remind them, every few hours,
In hopes that we'll breeze through, peacefully, this Christmas of ours.
Each year it comes faster, this holiday season,
And each year my lack of cards sent out has some crappy reason...
But moving house seems to count for much of my slack, just a bit,
Although my lack of blogging these days...could be more lack of wit.
Perhaps this year I'll be like everyone else...
And wait for New Year's to better myself.
Or maybe, just maybe, I'll receive a gift from jolly Mr. C,
In the form of a very got-it-together ME.
I won't hold my breath, though, because I've got a fair hunch,
That my cursing and sarcasm put me with the naughty bunch.
So, I'll have to rely on my own poise and grace
To push through to the end of this holiday race.
For despite all the chaos, and crazies, and stressing,
It truly is a magical time, filled with many a blessing.
(Never mind that I have nothing to wear that fits over my rump...
I know Santa appreciates a girl who's a teeny bit plump.)
So bring on the guests, the gifts, and the cheer...
Because after all, I'm prepared, with a magnum of Champers, and a case full of beer.
The beer's for the Mister, the Champers for me...
For he and I both must put up with the antics - of little old me.
Now to those of you who fear that my Christmas is cheer-free,
I say to you now, don't worry for me.
'Tis simply that, while a sweet little Rhyme
Is suited to many at Christmastime,
I'll take my rhyme with a bit of a twist
And a dash of the cynic - ah, that is bliss.
I'll exclaim to you all, 'ere I sign off this post...
Happy Christmas to everyone, may it be better than most!


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Danielle Bradbery beat out rivals Michelle Chamuel and the Swon Brothers to emerge as the Season 4 winner of "The Voice" on Tuesday night, giving coach Blake Shelton his threepeat. Yup, for the third straight year, and in three out of the four seasons the show has been on the air, a contestant mentored by Shelton has taken the show's top honors.
"I don't give a crap, honestly, about a threepeat," Shelton had said early in the night, long before the results were revealed, insisting he was focused only on this year, when he again had two contestants in the final three.
Admirable sentiments, but perhaps not entirely believable. It's not hard to imagine how much Shelton is going to jocularly lord this unbroken streak over his fellow judges – and especially his bromantic partner Adam Levine. Not only that, Shelton won the darn thing on his very own birthday. Quite a nice gift. Better than any ol' cake, even one baked by Shakira.
PHOTOS: Celebrities by The Times
After two hours filled with performances – by contestants current and returning and visiting celebs who ran the gamut from break-taking "Voice" coach Christina Aguilera and Pitbull to Bruno Mars to Bob Seger to Cher in her first live TV performance in years – with only five minutes left in the show, Carson Daly finally gathered the Top 3 to hear the news they'd been waiting for.
Who would take it? Would it be Bradbery, the silky-voiced, silky-haired 16-year-old from Cypress, Texas, who Shelton said was destined for big things in country music, and whom Levine had already tipped for the win? Would it be Massachusetts native Chamuel, whose big heart, solid vocals and bendy knees had won her many devoted fans? Or would it be the fraternal duo from Muskogee, Okla., the Swon Brothers, whose good humor and charm are on full display every time they appear on screen?
Going home third, Daly told us, were the Swon Brothers. I'm sure they're disappointed, but they at least left having shared the stage with musical icon Bob Seger.
That left Chamuel and Bradbery. They clung to each other. Shelton and Usher briefly reached across the chasm between their red chairs and clasped hands.
SECTION: Summer TV Sneaks 2013
And the winner was … Bradbery. Though it had been all but written, Bradbery, who had until recently been just like any other kid singing in her room, the story line goes, had vaulted straight to the top. She, too, had sung with one of her favorite musicians, young Nashville star Hunter Hayes, during the long lead-up to the results. Now, she'd won the whole thing.
Asked for her reaction, the newly minted winner, so young, stammered, "I don't even know … I'm thankful," before saying, "I'm sorry. I'm speechless."
She tried to sing Sara Evans' "Born to Fly," but when the confetti dropped, she simply had to stop.
No matter, now that she's taken flight, as she was born to do, we're sure we'll be hearing her voice for a long, long time.
'The Voice' recap: Top 3 perform, one tipped as 'winner'
'The Voice' recap: Amber Carrington and Sasha Allen head home
'The Voice' recap: The top 5 compete in the semifinals
Real places, fake characters: TV's bars and eateries
CRITICS' PICKS: What to watch, where to go, what to eat
PHOTOS: Violence in TV shows


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Precision Size Standards are offered in three size groupings: Nanobead, Microbead, and Megabead. They are measured on in-house instruments calibrated with NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) Standard Reference Materials. Each product is supplied with a Certificate of Analysis documenting traceability to NIST Standard Reference Materials. The size, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and lot number are printed on the label for easy reference.
Microbead NIST Traceable Particle Size Standards are monodisperse polystyrene microspheres ranging from 1.0µm to 9.0µm. They are packaged in convenient, easy to use 15ml dropper bottles at 1% solids (w/v) in an aqueous suspension.
Nominal Size: 2.50μm
- Hazards:
- Harmless-use normal precautions
- Handling:
- Exercise normal care
- Storage:
- Store at 4 degrees celsius;Do not permit to freeze


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1. OMNICOLL fraction collector was used to collect the elute in 1.2 − 3.6 mL fractions from the contaminated sediments packed column to investigate the mobilization of Tc under fully saturated seawater flow conditions Jane Eagling, Paul J. Worsfold, William H. Blake, and Miranda J. Keith-Roach, Mobilization of Technetium from Reduced Sediments under Seawater Inundation and Intrusion Scenarios, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2012, 46, 11798−11803 Plymouth University, UK Keywords: Column, HPLC, Fe-reducing sediments, Tc, polyetheretherketone (PEEK) self-pack column, Eh, Sediment reoxidation
2. Effluent collected by OMNICOLL fraction collector from the glass column filled with Bt horizon of a natural soil and analyzed by ion chromatography to study the sorption of major cations (Ca, Na) on a natural sediment Jun Lu, Catherine Beaucaire, Emmanuel Tertre, Predictive model for migration of metallic cations in natural sediments, Procedia Earth and Planetary Science 7 ( 2013 ) 529 – 532. CEA, DANS/DPC/SECR/L3MR and Université de Poitiers-CNRS, France. Keywords: reactive transport model; metallic cation; sediment; ion exchange model; reversible sorption
3. Eluate was collected (60 min per fraction) by means of a LAMBDA OMNICOLL fraction collector to determine the silver ion release from coated catheters Aylvin Jorge Angelo Athanasius Dias, Edith Elisabeth M. Van Den Bosch, Astrid Franken (2010), Antimicrobial coating, US Patent no. US 2010/0113871 A1.
4. Effluent from the glass chromatography column was collected by the OMNICOLL fraction collector to study ion-exchange reactions between Na+, H+, and Ca2+ under dynamic conditions Jun Lu, Emmanuel Tertre, Catherine Beaucaire, Assessment of a predictive model to describe the migration of major inorganic cations in a Bt soil horizon, Applied Geochemistry, Volume 41, February 2014, Pages 151-162. CEA, DANS/DPC/SECR/L3MR and Université de Poitiers-CNRS, France. Keywords: Ion-exchange reactions; Cationic Exchange Capacity (CEC); Ion chromatography; Bt horizon; Packed column; Wyoming montmorillonite
5. OMNICOLL fraction collector was used to collect the eluent from the contaminated sediment packed PEEK column to determine the pH and 90Sr by liquid scintillation Eagling, Jane, The effect of sea level rise on radionuclide mobility at contaminated nuclear sites, 2012. Plymouth University, UK Keywords: contaminated land, porewater salinization, radionuclide, geochemistry, release kinetics, transport, oxic and reduced sediments
6. Effluent samples were collected from the fixed bed column by the multi-channel LAMBDA OMNICOLL fraction collector to study the adsorption of selenite and selenate by Mg-Al-CO3 LDH in the continuous flow system Chubar, Natalia, and Małgorzata Szlachta., Static and dynamic adsorptive removal of selenite and selenate by alkoxide-free sol–gel-generated Mg–Al–CO3 layered double hydroxide: Effect of competing ions, Chemical Engineering Journal 279 (2015): 885-896. Utrecht University, The Netherlands; Glasgow Caledonian University, UK and Wrocław University of Technology, Poland. Keywords: Selenite, Selenate, Mg-Al layered double hydroxide, Batch adsorption, Dynamic adsorption, FTIR
7. Automated sample collector OMNICOLL was used to collect effluent samples (10 ml/min) from the packed bed column to evaluate the transport potential of stabilized milled ZVI particle suspensions Velimirovic, Milica, Doris Schmid, Stephan Wagner, Vesna Micić, Frank von der Kammer, and Thilo Hofmann, Agar agar-stabilized milled zerovalent iron particles for in situ groundwater remediation, Science of The Total Environment (2015) Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Germany; University of Vienna, Austria Keywords: Milled zerovalent iron, Agar agar, Particle stability, Particle transport, Particle reactivity
Can OMNICOLL replace the LKB Superfrac fraction collector (GE HealthCare) which is no longer available?Yes, OMNICOLL fraction collector and sampler could replace Superfrac (also fraction collector Frac-950, Frac-920).
Do you also sell different heads to the collector that would allow collection into multiple racks at once?We have a special customization for collecting fractions into multiple racks at once i.e. multi-stream configuration.
Do you have experience with controlling Ismatec IPC multichannel peristaltic pump with OMNICOLL?LAMBDA offers a customized remote control cable for Ismatec multichannel pump for the analog communication between OMNICOLL and pump.
Should I be able to integrate any peristaltic pump with your LAMBDA OMNICOLL fraction collector?You can use any peristaltic pump with the LAMBDA OMNICOLL fraction collector.The OMNICOLL fraction collector provides a signal (~ 9 V) which is used by the communication module (art. no. 6911) to switch the pump off while moving from one fraction position to the other and at the end of the run. Therefore, there is no spilling between fractions.Additionally, while using the OMNICOLL fraction collector with LAMBDA PERISTALTIC PUMP, the fraction collector can take fractions volumetrically by counting the pump impulsions (count mode). Therefore, each fraction will have the same impulsion number and, thus, have the same volume.
What is the top flow rate that the fraction collector unit can handle?Our OMNICOLL Fraction Collector and Sampler is a flexible system and it adapts to your desired application. It is not limited by the feed rate and the number of samples being collected.Because, the feed flow rate depends on the pressure difference and the diameter of the tubing used. You can choose the tubing and diameter as per your requirement.


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The Team Finland network will begin its operations abroad on 1 February. The Team Finland network consists of 72 teams around the world which bring together all Finnish authorities, publicly funded organisations and other key parties with ties to Finland. Each team has a work programme and a designated coordinator with information on the network's local activities and services.
A Team Finland website is available at team.finland.fi. The pages provide information on activities and events related to Finland's external economic relations, contact details for the Team Finland network, and a gateway to the services offered by the participating organisations.
The Team Finland network promotes external economic relations, boosts the country's brand abroad, assists in the internationalisation of business, and attracts investments in Finland. At the heart of the network are three ministries – Ministry of Employment and the Economy, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education and Culture – together with publicly funded organisations and other Finnish networks abroad, all operating under the ministries' guidance. The Team Finland network is steered by a group chaired by the Prime Minister.


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Your Entire Order Ships
for only $4.99!
Have a blast this during this ever so sporty sports season. Paw Prints Shop Pet Boutique has stocked our online store with irrisistible christmas dog costumes, christmas dog clothing and collars as well as a super duper Team S-P-I-R-I-T collection of Nfl dog jerserys, MLB dog gear, NHL dog jerseys, NBA dog products and Nascar dog jerseys to keep your dog routing for their favorite team.
Don't forget to keep your dog up to date with the latest fashion trends like our too cute line of pet boutique dog clothing or our super trendy pet boutique designer dog beds. Your dog will enjoy hours and hours of play time with our plush designer dog toys that are designed to look like well known fashion handbags, alcoholic beverages and food.
Got a Birthday Coming Up? Click on over to our pet boutique Birthday department and get your dog a personalized dog birthday cake that they can share with their favorite buddies.
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Pink and Black Damask Dog Pet Carriers$50.00 - $70.00
Striped Sock Monkey Dog Sweater$42.00 - $47.00
iPhone Touch Pad Cell Phone Dog Bed$200.00


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Face liposuction (Facial liposuction)
Is your face carrying extra weight that makes you look older? If you're thinking about going for a Facial surgery at the cost of extended downtime and other risks, then we think that it is not a viable solution. Hence, the new-generation surgeons use the Tumescent liposuction procedure to improve their facial features.
This Facial liposuction is one of the safest ways to remove fat from the face and neck. The warmed tumescent liquid is a dilute solution containing lidocaine, epinephrine and intravenous fluid which is injected into the area to be treated. As the liquid enters the fatty layer, it becomes swollen, firm and blanched. These firm areas are gently suctioned out completing the tumescent liposuction.
As a result, the final outcome is more natural with lesser risk, scars and bruises. Hence, the recovery is rapid and relatively healthy. The aftercare procedure doesn't consume more time and effort, so the patient can resume his/her routine quite soon. Get younger appearance and improved personality with facial liposuction.
One of the important reasons to fly to India for surgery is to save duty, which is imposed otherwise on cosmetic surgeries done in other countries. Cosmetic Surgery in Mumbai, India costs relatively less compared to regions like the Kenya and other parts of the world. Medical tourists from Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru travel the most to India.
This is a right time to book your tickets!
Key factors:
- > Affordable
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Face liposuction (Facial liposuction) Before After Photos
To find out more about the Face Liposuction Cost or to organize a consultation, contact us today on + 91 9869041559 or Email your queries to us at firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Be part of the action
Experience brilliant performance with a breathtaking full HD 1080p, 120Hz display. Combined with a powerful Perfect Pixel HD engine, Perfect Natural Motion and exciting invisible sound, this Flat TV ensures you're always part of the action. See all benefits
Be part of the action
Experience brilliant performance with a breathtaking full HD 1080p, 120Hz display. Combined with a powerful Perfect Pixel HD engine, Perfect Natural Motion and exciting invisible sound, this Flat TV ensures you're always part of the action. See all benefits
Experience unrivalled sharpness and clarity with Perfect Pixel HD Engine. Each pixel of the picture is enhanced to better match the surrounding pixels, resulting in a more natural picture. The result is a unique combination of sharpness, natural detail, vivid colors superior contrast and smooth natural motion whatever you are watching. Clean and razor sharp images result from artifact and noise detection and reduction in all content sources - from multimedia to standard TV.
The Full HD screen has the widescreen resolution of 1920 x 1080p. This is the highest resolution of HD sources for the best possible picture quality. It is fully future proof as it supports 1080p signals from all sources, including the most recent like Blu-ray and advanced HD game consoles. The signal processing is extensively upgraded to support this much higher signal quality and resolution. It produces brilliant flicker-free progressive scan pictures with superb brightness and colors.
Enjoy the action without any judder. Perfect Natural Motion estimates motion in the picture and corrects juddering movements in both broadcast and pre-recorded movie material (including 1080p movies and 24p True Cinema on Blu-ray and DVD). The result is even smoother and quieter pictures with excellent sharpness. Enjoy motion performance that surpasses cinema quality!
The USB connector allows access to jpeg photos, mp3 music and video files of most USB-sticks (USB memory-class device). Plug the USB into the slot at the side of the TV and access the multimedia content using the easy on screen content browser. You can now view and share your videos, photos and music.
120Hz Clear LCD creates extreme motion sharpness for clear and vibrant images even with fast on-screen motion. The Double Frame Rate Insertion works with a high 120Hz refresh rate. It increases the sharpness of motion reproduction to more than twice that of conventional LCD, resulting in a response time of 2 milliseconds (measured in Perceived Blur-Edge-Width; BEW). This unique Philips technology brings motion sharpness of LCD displays to an unprecedented level.
EasyLink uses the HDMI CEC industry standard protocol to share functionality between connected devices and the TV. With Easylink only one remote control is needed to operate main functionalities on your TV and connected devices. HDMI makes an uncompressed digital RGB connection from the source to the screen for the ultimate picture quality. HDMI uses HDCP copy protection. With 3 HDMI inputs on the back and 1 HDMI on the side of the TV you can connect multiple HD sources, for instance an HD settop box, a Blu-ray player, and Game Console or Digital Camcorder.
Settings assistant for effortless personalized TV settings. The new settings assistant personalisation wizard guides you to personalised settings with unparalleled ease. It includes not only picture, but the complete viewing experience, including sound and Ambilight settings. The wizard shows a few screens with easy to choose options to select the essential settings. The TV performance is set to the your personal preference without difficult terms or settings, and this very quickly.
An invisible sound system that blends perfectly with the design of the cabinet. The Incredible Surround allows you to experience total surround with greater depth and width of sound. It gives a clear and spacious sound stage complementary to the rich viewing experience.
Built-in ATSC & QAM tuner for reception of over-the-air and unscrambled HD cable programs
You want the LCD flat display with the highest contrast and most vibrant images. Philips advanced video processing combined with unique extreme dimming and backlight boosting technology results in vibrant images. Dynamic Contrast will increase the contrast with excellent blacklevel and accurate rendition of dark shades and colors. It gives a bright, lifelike picture with high contrast and vibrant colors.


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Transform your photos into one-of-a-kind, hand painted masterpieces!
Boundary: Bleed area may not be visible.
Click and drag to re-position the image, if desired.
The watermark at the lower right corner of the image will not appear on the final product.
This product is currently out of stock.
Image Size
The image is near the edges of the product but doesn't cover the entire product. Some of the background color may appear around the outside edges of the image.
Background Color
Here it is... the towel that's taking the internet by storm. Our round beach towels are 60" in diameter and made from ultra-soft plush microfiber with a 100% cotton back. Perfect for a day at the beach, a picnic, an outdoor music festival, or just general home decor. This versatile summer essential is a must-have this season!
60" Diameter Not Including Tassles
Care Instructions
Machine wash cold and tumble dry with low heat.
Ships Within
2 - 3 business days
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Average Rating (5 Stars):
Charles Rogers
August 29th, 2018
Judy Bostrom
July 28th, 2018
Karoll Domeij
July 27th, 2018
Kay Roberson
July 19th, 2018
Wow - I didn't realise it was going to be that big! It's a gift for a young member of the family - I think he'll be thrilled as he's a tractor fanatic at 6 years old. A practical gift too. The towel has a smoother upper side so it'll be more comfortable to sit on at the beach. It seems to have a thick absorbent power so no usual skinny beach towel.
A digital brick effect applied to a painting. The painting is available for sale without the brick effect. Express shipping and packaging are extra.
Welcome to my Artist Website. Here you will find original acrylic paintings, watercolors, digital art and photographs. I create something every day, either on canvas, paper, fabric, in the camera or on the computer screen. My world revolves around art and photography. I use my photographs of landscapes, seascapes, wildlife and vintage photos as inspiration for original paintings which are available by contacting me directly by email. I can also turn YOUR old photos into colorful paintings. I digitally enhance some of my images to expand the range and variety of my art collection. I have recently added galleries with duvet covers and throw pillow images. Thank you for visiting and enjoy your stay. If you see something you like,...
Our return policy is very simple:
If you're not happy with a purchase that you made on FineArtAmerica.com, for any reason, you can return it to us within 30 days of the order date. As soon as it arrives, we'll issue a full refund for the entire purchase price. Please note - Fine Art America does not reimburse the outgoing or return shipping charges unless the return is due to a defect in quality.
Fine Art America sells thousands of pieces of artwork each month - all with a 100% money-back guarantee. We take great pride in the fact that hundreds of thousands of artists have chosen Fine Art America to fulfill their orders, and we look forward to helping you select your next piece!
All round beach towels ship from our production facility within 2 - 3 business days of your order.


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A British surgeon who died in detention in Syria was "in effect murdered" by the country's regime, a Foreign Office minister has said.
Hugh Robertson said there could be "no excuse whatsoever" for the treatment of Dr Abbas Khan, who was imprisoned by Syrian security forces while helping casualties of war.
Khan, 32, was seized by government troops in the rebel-held city of Aleppo in November 2012 after he entered the country on a humanitarian mission without a visa.
The Syrian security agency had promised his release this week but it was revealed Khan, an orthopaedic surgeon from Streatham, south London, had died in detention. News of his death was announced by his brother, Afroze Khan. In a starkly worded response, Robertson told the BBC: "There is no excuse whatsoever for the treatment that he has suffered by the Syrian authorities who have in effect murdered a British national who was in their country to help people injured during their civil war." Afroze Khan, 34, told the BBC: "My brother was going to be released at the end of the week. We were given assurance by the Syrian government. "My brother knew that. He was ready to come back home. He was happy and looking forward to being released." He added the family was angry at the Foreign Office for "dragging their feet" for more than a year.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London said it was "urgently seeking" confirmation from the Syrian authorities about Dr Khan's fate.
An FCO spokesman said: "If these tragic reports are true, responsibility for Dr Khan's death lies with them and we will be pressing for answers about what happened.
"We have consistently sought consular access to Dr Khan and information on his detention, directly and through the Russians, Czechs and others."
In November Robertson made clear the British government's concerns about Khan's welfare and treatment but the efforts were ignored, the FCO said.
Khan's family lost contact with him for months after he went to Syria but his mother, Fatima, travelled to Damascus earlier this year to try to find out what had happened to him.
When she tracked him down, she found his weight had dropped below 5 stone (32kg) and he was barely able to walk. He told her he had been held for eight months in a dark, underground cell and tortured. She was told she could visit her son on Monday but when she arrived she was told he was dead, Afroze Khan told the BBC.
Last week Afroze Khan had warned that his brother was depressed and might want to harm himself.
A message on the Free Dr Abbas Khan Twitter feed said his life had been "taken meaninglessly". It added: "He was the best brother I could ever asked for and I know no one with a purer heart than him. His release was due to be this week."
Amnesty International said Khan's death reinforced the need for Britain to press the UN security council to refer the situation in Syria to the international criminal court.
Kristyan Benedict, Amnesty International's UK Syria campaign manager, said: "We don't know the full circumstances yet but this is yet another deeply troubling death in custody in Syria. "We know all too well that the torture of detainees is widespread and committed with impunity by the Syrian authorities, with detainees often crowded into vermin-infested cells, denied urgently needed medical treatment and even abused by medical staff.
"The UK government should denounce Dr Khan's death in the strongest possible terms and ensure that, no matter how long it takes, whoever is responsible is brought to justice."
More than 1,000 people are believed to have died in the custody of the Syrian security forces since the start of the crisis in the country in March 2011, according to Amnesty. Torture and ill-treatment of detainees, including children, is said to be widespread and committed by government forces and associated militias to extract information or "confessions". Detainees held in cramped, unsanitary conditions often suffer beatings, suspension by the limbs, being hung in a tyre, electric shocks and sexual abuse.
The Bradford West Respect MP George Galloway, who had been negotiating with the Syrian authorities to secure Khan's freedom, said he had been due to fly to Damascus on Friday to bring him home.
He said: "I think we will have to wait for clarification on how exactly he died but this is heartbreaking and devastating news for his family who have been working so hard for so long to secure his release. Particularly because his freedom had been agreed and he was due to return with me in the next few days." He added: "I have been in contact with the Syrian government many times, up to and including the president, the foreign minister, the justice minister and other ministers. "Last week I received a call from the foreign minister telling me that the president had asked him to contact me to come to Damascus to bring Dr Khan home before Christmas. "Obviously this had to be kept confidential but the family were kept fully informed. I was in the process of booking a flight for this Friday when I got the appalling news." Khan's former colleagues at the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, north-west London, said they were "very saddened" to learn of his death. He had been a specialist registrar in orthopaedic surgery at the hospital from September to October 2012. A spokesman said the hospital's "deepest sympathies" were extended to Khan's family.
Afroze Khan told London's Evening Standard newspaper: "It is just barbaric, it is medieval.
"It has been a whole year, a lot of ups and downs, but there was light at the end of the tunnel. We are just devastated. Words cannot describe it." Khan's family said he had been "accused of treating dying civilians [women and children] which has been classed as an act of terrorism", the newspaper reported.
All UK consular services in Syria have been suspended for some time and the FCO said it continued to advise against all travel to Syria.


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Artist Saint Hoax's series War Drags You Out imagines prominent world leaders dressed as drag queens. The digital illustrations depict the likes of Obama, George W. Bush, Vladamir Putin, and even Osama Bin Laden getting dolled up. Animated GIFs show the primping process, which includes drawing on eyebrows, contouring the face, and adding fabulous accessories. And of course, like any good drag queen, they have stage names, too, like Putin's "Vladdy Pushin," and Bin Laden's sassy moniker, "Ossie B." The idea for this work came from Saint Hoax's first visit to a drag show. They explain:
…I was struck by the richness of this glamour oriented culture.
I took a minute to actually look at the faux queens and deconstruct their main components.
The recipe for an iconic queen:
1- Flamboyant name
2- Fierce persona
3- Defining outfits
4- Personalized hairdo
5- A trademark feature
6- One hell of a PR team
I then realized that it takes that same exact effort to make a leader.
A rush of images containing Hitler's mustache, Bin laden's headgear, Obama's campaigns, Saddam's narcism crossed through my mind. It got me thinking that behind every "great" man, there's a queen.
While Saint Hoax's unique project is over the top, it's had some serious consequences for the anonymous artist. Before the Osama Bin Laden painting (first in the series), was to be shown, they released a Youtube video announcing where the work would be displayed. Because of the video, Saint Hoax received over 70 death threats, and the painting was destroyed at the airport while in transit to its location. (Via Huffington Post)


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On May 18, the U.S. Embassy partnered with the National Library of Trinidad and Tobago to launch the Caribbean's first U.S. Science Corner. More than 100 students, educators, and enthusiastic members of the public attended this fantastic event that was highlighted on all local television stations. U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Beatrice Welters and Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism Winston Peters addressed the audience and participated in a festive ribbon cutting ceremony. The two-hour launch featured two hands-on demonstrations -- the science of fingerprinting and a presentation by a local forensic scientist who is also a former Fulbright scholar.
Ambassador Welters stressed the importance of science to the future of both countries. She said, "This Science Corner is the product of a bilateral partnership through science diplomacy. Both of our countries value science in every related field and its contributions to political advancement, development, and cultural understanding. Each country has recognized science as an essential link to finding cures to diseases, fighting hunger, and preserving our natural resources for the next generations. Yet, with all of our efforts to create platforms for our scientists to discuss and collaborate, this will be fruitless if people lack access to research materials or interest in the field."
The U.S. Science Corner, located in the bustling Young Adult Section of the National Library, provides aspiring scientists and researchers in Trinidad and Tobago with access to information that will help them become more competitive in science-related careers and ultimately make significant contributions to their country. The space will also host diverse activities, including a scholarly speaker series and science programming.
To encourage students to pursue college-level degrees in science and to enhance the Trinidad and Tobago science initiative, the U.S. Embassy selected three recipients of the National Youth Science Camp Scholarship: Simone Renwick, Shastri Ram, and Mas Akeen Andrew Matthews. The budding scientists will join U.S. and international students on an all-expense-paid trip to participate in research projects with U.S. scientists for one month. These young scholars participated in the launch of the Science Corner, and spoke enthusiastically about their love of science and their excitement about participating in the upcoming camp. The Science Corner launch kicked off a week-long series of events including workshops for 80 librarians and NGO leaders on how to effectively fundraise and network.
Vice Consul Donya Eldridge noted, "We are most excited about the Caribbean's first U.S. Science Corner because of its infinite possibilities to impact the community. Once people are given access to information, the outcomes are limitless."
RPH in Washington, DC writes:
Great article!
Fabian writes:
Very good article!
Derwayne in Trinidad writes:
Good Morning, i m seeking some advice. i had applied for an online us visa lottery but when i was contacted about the processing fees i opted out. now i being contacted by the site and they are saying i have been selected but can you all tell me if they are legitimate? because they are asking for $819.00 US dollars to process my application.can anyone give me some advice?


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Hey guys!
Just wanted to give you all a heads up and let you know that I just graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas! I started
the site on my bed, and if it was not for school I would have never created the
Thank you for making the site what it is today! I am excited to have you apart of this great community!
In anycase, I just wanted to give you a quick heads up that there will be some cool changes to the site in the next few months!
Stay tuned!
Morgan Matthew
Views: 140


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The JMX API allows Java client applications to monitor and manage broker resources by programmatically accessing JMX MBeans (managed beans) that represent broker resources. As explained in the JMX-Based Administration in Sun Java System Message Queue 4.3 Technical Overview, the broker implements MBeans associated with individual broker resources, such as connection services, connections, destinations, and so forth, as well as with whole categories of resources, such as the set of all destinations on a broker. There are separate configuration MBeans and monitor MBeans for setting a resource's configuration properties and monitoring its runtime state.
In the JMX implementation used by Message Queue, JMX client applications access MBeans using remote method invocation (RMI) protocols provided by JDK 1.5 (and later).
When a broker is started, it automatically creates MBeans that correspond to broker resources and places them in an MBean server (a container for MBeans). JMX client applications access the MBean server by means of an JMX RMI connector (heretofore called a JMX connector), which is used to obtain an MBean server connection, which, in turn, provides access to individual MBeans.
The broker also creates and configures two default JMX connectors, jmxrmi and ssljmxrmi. These connectors are similar to the broker connection services used to provide connections to the broker from JMS clients. By default, only the jmxrmi connector is activated at broker startup. The ssljmxrmi connector, which is configured to use SSL encryption, can be activated using the imq.jmx.connector.activelist broker property (see To Activate the SSL-Based JMX connector ).
JMX client applications programmatically access JMX MBeans by first obtaining an MBean server connection from the jmxrmi or ssljmxrmi connector. The connector itself is accessed by using a proxy object (or stub) that is obtained from the broker by the JMX client runtime, as shown in the following figure. Encapsulated in the connector stub is the port at which the connector resides, which is dynamically assigned each time a broker is started, and other connection properties.
JMX client applications obtain a JMX connector stub using an address called the JMX service URL. The value and format of the JMX service URL depends on how the broker's JMX support is configured:
Static JMX service URL. The JMX service URL specifies the location of the JMX connector stub in an RMI registry. When the broker is started, it creates the JMX connector stub and places it in the specified location in the RMI registry. This location is fixed across broker startups.
Dynamic JMX service URL.The JMX service URL contains the JMX connector stub as a serialized object. This URL is dynamically created each time the broker is started.
A JMX service URL has the following form:
where rmi://brokerHost[:connectorPort] specifies the host (and optionally a port) used by the JMX connector. By default the port is assigned dynamically on broker startup, but can be set to a fixed value for JMX connections through a firewall.
The urlpath portion of the JMX service URL depends on whether the JMX service URL is static (see Static JMX Service URL: Using an RMI Registry) or dynamic (see Dynamic JMX Service URL: Not Using an RMI Registry). In either case, you can determine the value of the JMX service URL by using the imqcmd list jmx subcommand (see the examples in RMI Registry Configuration).
By default, the broker does not use an RMI registry, and the JMX runtime obtains a JMX connector stub by extracting it from a dynamic JMX service URL. However, if the broker is configured to use an RMI registry, then JMX runtime uses a static JMX service URL to perform a JNDI lookup of the JMX connector stub in the RMI registry. This approach, illustrated in the following figure, has the advantage of providing a fixed location at which the connector stub resides, one that does not change across broker startups.
Message Queue also provides, as a convenience, an AdminConnectionFactory class that hides the details of the JMX Service URL and JMX connector stub. The Admin Connection Factory uses the Message Queue Port Mapper service to get the relevant JMX Service URL (regardless of the form being used) and thereby obtain a JMX connector stub. JMX applications that use the Admin Connection Factory only need to know the broker's host and Port Mapper port. The scheme is shown in the following figure.
For programmatic details, see Obtaining a JMX Connector from an Admin Connection Factory in Sun Java System Message Queue 4.3 Developer's Guide for JMX Clients


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Wading through all those energy-saving claims
By Arnie Katz
Q: I'd like to reduce my energy bills to save money and improve the environment, but I find a lot of conflicting information about the best ways to do it. What can I do in my home that will really make a difference?
A:Brenda, you've put your finger on a real problem. You'd think that after several decades and gazillions of dollars of research, it should be relatively easy to answer that question. The problem is that there are so many factors influencing what happens in a particular house, coming up with clear, one-size-fits-all advice is very difficult.
One certainty is that reducing your use of energy regularly will reduce your energy bills.
Whenever you read anything on the Internet about houses, the first questions to ask are, "Where is this person located? What kind of climate do they have there? How similar is his or her climate to mine?"
Often, very honest people sharing information about something that worked well for them can lead you down a path to disaster. The fact that something works well in Arizona or Florida or Montana does not mean it will work in Siler City.
Another problem is that people who write Web pages sometimes simply find information on other Web pages that they think is credible and "recycle" that information over and over. A great example that can be found everywhere is to "caulk around doors and windows." This will have an impact on your energy bills, but only a negligible effect. Even so, you still find it recommended on a lot of websites and booklets.
Sometimes, this is suggested because it is low in cost and easy for homeowners or volunteers to do. It's true that something is better than nothing. I guess each of us can decide whether we want to spend time feeling like we're doing something or actually having a significant impact.
Another issue is that a lot of the information out there is published by product manufacturers or distributors. This is often solid information, but it is presented in a way to make the product look as good as possible. Many manufacturers invest substantial amounts of money to test and improve their products. They really do want them to work well, since that's the only way they'll have long-term success in the marketplace.
On the other hand, sometimes the research data are presented in a way that comes very close to deception. A window company, for instance, may determine that replacing old windows with new energy-efficient windows will reduce the heat loss or heat gain through the windows as much as 50 percent. A local window replacement company takes that data and advertises that you can save 50 percent on your utility bills by installing new windows.
Many people will read that and think it means they will save 50 percent of their entire utility bill. But, obviously, it won't have any effect on the lights, water heater, refrigerator or dryer. It won't have any effect on how much heat is lost or gained through the attic, or through leaks in the ductwork, for example. It will only have an effect on the portion of your heating and cooling bill that's caused by heat lost or gained through the windows, which is typically 10-20 percent of the total heating and cooling. In most of North Carolina, approximately half of your total bill is heating and cooling, so replacement windows might save you up to 20 percent of 50 percent of your bill. If you pay id="mce_marker",200 a year (average id="mce_marker"00 a month) then you might save as much as id="mce_marker"20 a year if you replace all of your windows.
Over the next few months we'll look at some other common recommendations. Will you really save money by getting your furnace or AC unit tuned up? How about changing the filters? Replacing light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs? Insulating your attic or your walls? Stay tuned to find out.


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If I seem to be beating the same old drum I don't apologize at all because it's the essential instrument in the theological orchestra. We learn nothing at all about God's character from a study of the universe by itself. Even if one thinks that we can conclude from such study that there is a God who created the world, we can say nothing about who that God is. Where we learn about the character of God is from God's historical revelation, & most importantly from the character & history of Jesus. God's kenotic self-limitation in the Incarnation & the hiddenness of God even in his central self-revelation in the cross, are the fundamental clues that ought to be followed in considering how God acts in the world.
But didn't Jesus do a lot of miracles? Yes, but as I've argued here recently the primary importance of those miracles for us is their sign value. (Of course they had other values as well for the people who immmediately benefited from them.) They were pointers to the presence of the one who is working all the time in the world in non-miraculous ways & do not provide any basis for thinking that we ought to see God working miraculously in the world in general.
----- Original Message -----
From: Stephen Matheson
To: email@example.com
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 3:09 PM
Subject: Re: [asa] on miracles
Ted, it seems to me that your exhortation below can be paraphrased, at least in part, by: "Don't put limits on what God can do. He's free to act as he wishes. If this weren't the case, he wouldn't be God." Leaving aside certain limits that seem to arise from his unchangeable nature (cf. Hebrews 6:18), I would strongly affirm this. Since Keith wrote "nothing prohibits God from doing whatever God wants to do," I take it he would affirm this as well.
But then Keith considers the proposal that "God never acts in a way that violates the created capacities of the creation." (It's not clear that he means to defend that particular assertion to the extent you seem to believe, but that's another matter.) And unless I have misunderstood, all of your subsequent comments aim to counter a particular view that you see underlying this proposal. Specifically, you suggest that his comments are an example of science "reigning unchallenged in an inappropriate way."
I'm surprised by this response. It seems to be an overreaction. I'm commenting here from my own perspective, not Keith's.
First, I seems to me that the proposal itself isn't "scientific." It's a proposal about God, not about science or about the creation. No matter what one may think about the difference between "science" and "religion," one should be wary of attaching ideas about God's action in the world specifically to "science." The proposal may be wrong, and it may have been motivated to some extent by observations made by "science," but it should be considered on its merits. Shifting the blame/emphasis onto "science" doesn't get us anywhere, in my opinion.
Second, the proposal (as I see it) doesn't suggest that God *can't* or even *shouldn't* do this or that, but that he *never* does this or that. I seems to me that someone who postulates that God has never done X need not conclude that he cannot or should not do X. He could just as reasonably postulate that God prefers not to do X and that, being God, he's managed to avoid just that.
Finally, while I don't personally prefer a lot of speculation about God's "character" as revealed in the creation, I do think that it is quite reasonable for Christians to discuss what we might *expect* regarding God's action in the world. *Can* God perform actions that "violate the created capacities of the creation?" Sure, I say. Do we *expect* him to do that? Do we *expect* that the uplifting of mountains, or the knitting together of a human fetus, or the unfolding of the living world through earth's history, will be found to have involved such "violations"? Different questions, don't you think?
I strongly agree with your warning about entertaining the notion that God can't or shouldn't act in particular ways, but I think there is another risk to worry about here: the pervasive and corrosive idea that the operation of "the created capacities of the creation" is fundamentally distinct from the action of the Creator. (I thought it was clear that this was Keith's point.) When this false distinction is erased, the questions look different, and some of them look pretty silly. (The "science" vs. "religion" distinction changes too, IMO.) I suggest, then, that we should worry less about whether some people expect more or fewer "miracles" than you or I do. And we should worry more about whether those people attach their preferences to the faith or to its Author and Finisher. Keith didn't do that, and I'm not happy about the suggestion that he did.
Steve Matheson
>>> "Ted Davis" <firstname.lastname@example.com> 03/07/09 8:47 AM >>>
I've said a lot of things in the past about miracles, including the
resurrection (the miracle that literally created the church out of a group
of trembling and downcast disciples), and I really can't repeat all of that
here. The conversation here about Jesus walking on water (or "the sea")
does IMO illustrate some of the ways in which the modern "dialogue" of
science and religion can come very close to becoming a monologue, in which
science reigns unchallenged in an inappropriate way. Keith's point here
could be seen as an example:
<Nothing prohibits God from doing whatever God wants to do. The issue
seems to me to be one of our understanding of God's character, not of
God's capability. So one question would be why would God create the
physical universe in such a way that God had to break chains of cause-
and effect in order to accomplish God's will? Why would God create
in such a way as to frustrate God's creative will.
Another perspective is that God never acts in a way that violates the
created capacities of the creation. MORE snipped>
Keith is right that questions about the character of God and the "created
capacities of creation" come up in this connection. I certainly agree that,
for someone who wants to engage the "miracle" question at a high level they
can't be ignored. The danger of course is that the opening sentences of the
two paragraphs quoted above are not simply in tension; the second, IMO, is
rationalistic in the extreme and flatly contradicts the first. The second
is pure David Hume, though I doubt that Hume would have put it that way
since I doubt that Hume believed in God at all. The first is both biblical
and orthodox, and IMO it is the first that ought to be the stated or
unstated background assumption of Christians who approach this issue. The
rest of that first paragraph could be seen as an inquiry into that
assumption, since many thoughtful Christians would not want to say that
"whatever God wants to do" extends to putting on circus side shows of
pointless miracles, such as some of those in the non-canonical stories of
Jesus. However, IMO, the latter part of that paragraph starts to employ too
many implicit assumptions about the amount of confidence we ought to place
in our understanding of what Calvin (perhaps a greater theologian than any
alive at the moment) would have called the mysterious counsel of God. I
spent several years working on "rationalist" and "voluntarist" theologies of
creation (those might or might not be the best terms to use, but they are
the terms most often used by the relevant scholars), and I admit that I fall
squarely on the "voluntarist" side of this. Both are involved, of course,
but the definition of voluntarism is essentially that God's will is not
wholly conformable to God's reason--or, more to the point practically, what
God wants to do and actually does is not wholly conformable to our reason.
The position I just articulated, let me point out, is pretty much the
official position of the ASA. I don't declare that as ASA V-P; I have no
authority to make any such declarations. Rather I state it on the basis of
the official ASA statement of faith, which all regular members and fellows
affirm, and my expertise in science/religion. The third plank in our
platform states, "We believe that in creating and preserving the universe
God has endowed it with contingent order and intelligibility, the basis of
scientific investigation." The explicit reference here to "contingent
order" is undoubtedly a reference to what I just said at the end of the
previous paragraph above. The term comes from Thomas Torrance, and the
theology comes from the best parts (IMO) of the classical doctrine of
creation, in turn based on biblical theology. This does not shut the door
to reason--the "order" part of that term is a direct reference to our
intelligence, made in the image of God, which enables us to comprehend quite
deeply a great deal of the magnificent and subtle creative acts of God. But
the "contingent" part means, as Keith said, that God does whatever God
wants--and that (here I am drawing on my work as an historian of
"contingency" in the relevant sense) our minds aren't going to be able to
limit what God wants. As in, we won't be able to do it, b/c we aren't
omniscient; but also, we won't be able to do it, b/c God can and does do
things that lie utterly and entirely outside our ability to know them. That
is precisely what is meant by "contingent" in this context.
To summarize: go slowly here. It's not hard to understand why one might
raise questions about the authenticity of any given "miracle" report,
whether in the Bible or anywhere else. It's not hard to understand why a
careful theologian might need to develop a coherent set of criteria for
affirming the likelihood that God did act "miraculously" in a given instance
(the resurrection would be simply one such instance, IMO, and many more
could be added). At the same time, we must take appropriate care not to
raise our limited intellects over God's freedom. Most of us probably
believe that, without freedom, we wouldn't be human; some go further and say
that, without freedom (in the sense of being a creature whose integrity is
respected by the creator), the creation would be a genuine creation; I am
stressing the essential point that, without freedom (in the sense explained
above), God would not be God--and, I would add, if God isn't free then you
can pretty much give up any illusion that you are, yourself.
I had a detailed, lengthy exchange about this very point--that God would not
be God, if certain theological assumptions were not challenged--several
years ago with Howard Van Till, on this list. The archives should contain
it, for anyone who wants to read more about this crucial issue.
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text:
So, been riding the judge for a while now. My last kites where Hifi 2011 (my favourite kite), Nirvana and Envy. So that's what I'm mostly comparing them against...
I used to love my Hifi 2011 kites above every other kite and the switch to Nirvana didn't work, so I kind of settled with Envy for a while untill I tried the judge. The judge have a lot of the same qualities as hifi 2011, with better relaunch, low end and larger unhooked sweet spot (in choppy gusty conditions) It's all in all a great freestyle/freeride 4 line c kite. I would call it a c'ish kite, because of the the little triangular bridle on the frontline attatchments. But then againg Hadlows ckite had the same, and people still called it a ckite. Just like the obsession pro from RRD. So what's a ckite these days? The judge is fully c shaped, that's for sure and the mini bridle is smaller than on the obsession...
The judge is stable and very easy to ride with great direct feel. It feels forgiving because of the huge depower and that makes me confident. I don't feel like I'm going to be punished evert time I fail it also drifts nicely, so when I'm coming too hot out of a loop, it doesn't fall out of the sky, before I've gotton control and lines are tight again That's very important to me!
I was concerned about the relaunch, but it really surprised me on that part. It holds up to what it promises.
The low end is great. In light wind it doesn't loose any speed when I unhook and I therefor do more powered tricks in lighter winds, which also makes it better for unhooked riding in choppy and gusty conditions. And I really love that
Slack is the same as the hifi 2011. Not the greatest ckite slack in the world, but it works just fine for me.
High end performance is also fine, but I get overpowered and my 8m2 in about 26-28knots (13-14s/m), which I'm not used to. So I could really use a 6m2, but that will have to wait untill I can effort it The kite is a mid aspect, which is great for low end, but it will have some costs for high end range. But overall (because it gets going earlier) it has a good wind range.
It boosts very well, bit it doesn't have the hangtime of a flat kite off course.
Looping the kite is really fun. It gives a good constant pull all through the loop, which I really missed when riding Envy. Loops is one of my favourite things to do, so I was really glad after my first big hooked loop. It felt so great to be back on a great looping kite again Hooked and unhooked.
If I could, I probably wouldn't change anything on the kite. Maybe make the LE a little thinner to make it a little more aggressive. I don't know... I would put a bigger valve in it though. Many brands are copying LF max flow for 2014. The next judge should really have that. It makes a difference.
And then I would make the while series different. 11-8-6m2 is a good quiver, but I like to really be in control of my sweet spot and nail the kite size perfectly. So I would love to have a quiver that says; 12-10-8-6, like I used to (apart from the 6m). I also guess that only having 3 different sizes keeps a lot of people from buying the judge. Here in Europe anyway. It's just a small range, which only works because of the great low end of the 11m2.
I can't comment on the bar, because I bought the kite kite-only...


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How to Use the Images Drawing 1
Drawing 1
The National Park Service wanted to ban the use of power shovels in building Going-to-the-Sun Road. Because most contractors refused even to bid on the job if they couldn't use their power equipment, and because the cost of a road built exclusively by hand labor was too great, the power equipment was allowed.
Questions for Photo 4
1. This photo shows two trucks and a gas shovel. It was difficult to get equipment like this up to these elevations without roads. Some of it was fitted with tractor treads, while some was disassembled and hauled in by horse-drawn sleds or pontoon barges. Why do you think contractors refused to work without this equipment even when it was so difficult to get it up to the construction site?
2. This photo appears to show the end of the completed part of the road. Where do you think the road will go next? What sort of work needs to be done?
3. After examining photos 1-4, what generalizations can you make about working and living conditions for workers building Going-to-the-Sun Road?
4. When Going-to-the-Sun Road was dedicated, Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes wrote, "It is a magnificent job, perfectly accomplished. Workmen who risked their lives daily on the face of the steep cliffs that had to be conquered to make this modern trail, deserve special honor for their share in the great undertaking."¹ If you had been a worker on the project, would you have felt honored by the Secretary's statement?
¹ "Report of the Dedication of the Going-to-the-Sun Highway, July 15, 1933, Glacier National Park Montana." Typescript, Park Files, Glacier National Park.
* The photo on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a larger version of Photo 4, but be aware that the file will take as much as 29 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.