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This is between the boat in the river and the Copenhagen shot
Quote from: apskip on September 26, 2011, 05:24:47 PMGhent is a very historic and interesting place to visit. I would love to go back there.Any idea of good locations they might have visited? Any locations in particular that struck you as an "amazing race must visit" location?
Ghent is a very historic and interesting place to visit. I would love to go back there.
I was thinking those may be the flags from the Sydney task?
38.5Could these be tibetan prayer flags? Although the colours are not exactly right.
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The big picture
A well-chosen ETF can grant you instant diversification across any industry or group of companies -- and make investing in and profiting from it that much easier.

subset: commoncrawl


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Well it was a number of years ago when we were going to be having here at Grace Church a special seminar for pastors. We have the Shepherds' Conference every year, of course, and we've done that, I think Clayton told me the other day, we've had 36 of them...Shepherds Conferences. In the early years we had two a year for a while. I don't know if that number is exactly accurate, but we've had many of them.
But also from time to time we have done some special conferences for pastors of a smaller scale. Sometimes pastors from America, sometimes pastors from Russia, sometimes pastors even from Korea and other places. But this was going to be a kind of small conference of about a dozen pastors. And I was asked if I would spend the opening day with them and if I would come up oh, say ten reasons why I preach expositionally. Now when I use the word"exposition" it is based on the verb exposit, that's a different verb than expose. Expose is a different thing. Exposit is to explain. Why do I always when I stand in this pulpit explain the Bible? That is Bible exposition, why do I do that? So they said,"Why don't you come up with ten compelling reasons why you do that.
So I tucked myself away in a little corner, got out my pad and wrote down sixty-one reasons...61 reasons and I stopped only because I realized that 61 was more than they wanted. It was more than I could possibly deliver.
Believe it or not, to that dozen men I managed to give those 61 reasons. In fact, I think that in that day-long session, I actually threw in a couple of extras. The bottom line for that is not to frighten you as if you would be able to endure 61 reasons why I preach the way I preach, but simply to let you know that there is almost no end to the compelling reasons why we teach the Word of God the way we teach it.
Christian ministry has one clear duty and that is to bring to people the truth of God revealed in the Scripture by explaining its meaning. The meaning of the Scripture is the revelation from God. I have no other responsibility in my duty to represent the Lord, to represent the Lord Jesus Christ than to explain to you the meaning of His revelation. God has revealed Himself in one book. We are ministers of this one book. In a sense, we are brokers of this one book. We disseminate its truths to people, both to the people who do not know the Lord, and to the people who do.
The simple instruction of 2 Timothy 4:2, "Preach the Word," sums up that duty. There is nowhere in Scripture where we are commanded to do anything else. We are to preach the Word, meaning the revelation of God contained in Scripture. We explain the meaning of the Bible, that is what Christian ministers and pastors are called to do. To say that they get sidetracked is a vast understatement. They get caught up in all kinds of things other than this...but a pure devotion to the calling that God has given to us is to explain to people the meaning of Scripture.
Now this becomes for any servant of the Lord, a compelling calling. There is no calling equal to this. It is not, shouldn't be, confusing, it is crystal-clear, take this divine revelation which God has given to us and tell the people what it means. I've often said in talking to pastors around the world that it breaks down into some very simple things. First of all, what does it say? And secondly, what does it mean by what it says? And thirdly, what are the implications of that on my life?
We were talking about this a few weeks ago that I am an implicational preacher rather than an applicational preacher. I am more concerned that you understand the theological implication than that I try to make some personal application to everybody's life. The more focused I get on some personal application, the more people I eliminate. But what I do want you to understand that this is what it says and this is what it means and these are the implications that that truth comes to bring on your life.
Now I have tried to reduce these 61 to about a dozen, or fifteen, compelling reasons for Bible exposition. I want to turn it upside down, if I can, and operate on a negative basis. I want to show you the tragic consequences of non-expositional preaching, the tragic consequences of non-expositional preaching.
Now I want you to understand, I realize that you come to this church and you know what expositional preaching is like because it goes on here all the time. You know that everyone who stands in this pulpit is basically explaining to you the significance of Scripture revelation. But I want you to be able to understand why this is so compelling. And I think the force of understanding that will come across more strongly if I approach it from the negative side. So let me begin with the first and perhaps the overarching point.
The first negative tragic consequence of failing to preach expositionally is that it usurps the authority of God over the mind and soul of the hearer. And as a pastor, as your shepherd, as the one accountable to God for your care and your spiritual progress and your spiritual development, there is one very basic foundational reality that I want to establish in your life, and that is that God has total authority over your soul and over your mind, that God is sovereign, not me. That God's truth is sovereign, not my ideas. That God's Word reigns over your life, not my insights. It is critical to establish the authority of God over the mind and soul of the hearer. It is the question of authority.
Now we all understand that we live in a world that doesn't like authority. We live in a world that resists authority. We live in this post-modern culture where everybody wants to think that he or she is an authority unto himself, as if he had a right to believe anything he wanted to believe, or she to believe anything she wanted to believe and therefore act in any way he or she wants to act without any recourse and without anyone stepping in and saying,"W"Wait a minute, that's out of bounds, that's unacceptable." The rejection of a universal law, the rejection of an absolute set of standards of morality, the rejection of a universal code of ethical conduct is part of our culture. Every person is a law unto himself. And, of course, if that sounds familiar it's because it's nothing new. It was the way the people of Israel behaved even in Old Testament times. And so, time to establish an authority in people's lives today is a challenging, challenging thing. God is that authority and His Word is the revelation of that authority.
When you come into this church, all I want you to understand is that God has spoken and this is what He has said. He has said...and here are the implications of what He has said on your life. In a sense, I want to pin you to the back wall with no way to escape the implications of the truth that I have explained to you. I want to show you what the Scripture says rather than tell you what it says. I want to make you a part of the process of explaining the Bible. I want to explain it in such a way that you're coming along with the explanation and buying into it because it's sensible, it's reasonable. It comes across as true. It has the ring of truth. It's verifiable.
Sometimes people ask me, "Why do you use so many cross-references?" Because they all support the interpretation of the given text so that you can see this is in fact what the Bible teaches, not just here but everywhere else. And the more you can sustain and support that throughout the Scripture, the stronger that impact of that truth on the heart and the mind.
The basic issue then is for you to recognize that the Bible is the Word of God who is absolutely sovereign and it brings to bear its authority on your life. Not just to command you, but to bless you. Not just to convict you, but to encourage you. Not just to make you feel guilty but to bring you comfort. All that comes through the Word of God is intended for your blessing and your benefit. But you must submit to its authority.
Every time you come here and someone stands to preach to you, or in your Sunday-School class, your fellowship group, to teach you, it is to bring to you the unsearchable glories of the Word of God because He alone has a right to be heard. If you go to a church, any church anywhere and you do not hear from God, then that is a ministry that has abandoned its sole responsibility.
A second thing to think about, a failure to preach exposition, a failure to preach the Word of God usurps the lordship of Christ over His church...usurps the lordship of Christ over His church.
You remember we have talked about the headship of Christ over the church, haven't we? That He is the Lord of the church, "I will build My church," we looked at that in Matthew this morning. He is head of the church repeatedly in the epistles of Paul, Christ is presented as the head of the church. We read it in Ephesians 4 today. He is the head of the church. He is Lord of His church. You remember that wonderful text of Ephesians 1:17 and following, that God has made the One who is Lord over everything to be the head of the church.
It is such a foundational and such a basic reality to understand that. The only way the Lord can exercise His headship over the church is to be heard by the church. I think we all understand that leadership is communication. How can the head of the church communicate to the church unless He can speak to the church? And He speaks to the church through Scripture.
The battle over this issue has gone on for centuries...for centuries. Usually when I speak to leaders, I talk about this. Just last week in Nashville I spoke at the National Religious Broadcasters' Conference, I also spoke at the Nashville Conference on Church and Theology, and I talked about Christ as the head of the church. It may seem something basic to us, something non-controversial to us, but it has been a bloodbath battleground through the centuries. For example, the Pope says he's the head of the church. Many years in the Middle Ages, whoever was the king said he was the head of the church. And sometimes it was a battle between a king, like Henry VIII and the Pope as to who would be the head of the church. In Henry VIII's case in England, if you as a subject of Henry VIII did not affirm that he was the head of the church, you were burned, singed, taken down, chopped in pieces for a failure to acknowledge that he was the head of the church. There were many who died upholding Christ as the head of the church.
The only way, as I said, that Christ can articulate His headship in the church is to be heard by the church. I would never be so bold as to replace the authority of God in the church with mine, or to replace the headship of Christ in the church with mine. I don't want to stand between God and His church. I don't want to stand between Christ and His church, except to be a channel through which the Word of God and the leadership of Christ can come to the church. The only way I can do that is to let God speak and let Christ speak, and that comes through your understanding of Scripture.
Thirdly, and necessarily, and sequentially, a failure to preach exposition hinders the work of the Holy Spirit. It hinders t he work of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes you turn on your television, this is probably the only way you're going to get this experience, and you see some massive crowd of people gathered together listening to a so-called preacher who never explains the Scripture, but only talks about things that he thinks the people want to hear about, gives his own ideas and etc., etc. The assumption is that some great spiritual work is going on. The reality is, there is no spiritual work going on whatsoever because the Holy Spirit works only through the Word.
The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God as the means of saving. We are begotten again by the Word of Truth, 1 Peter 1:23. The Spirit uses the Word to sanctify, "Sanctify them by Thy Truth, Thy Word is Truth." The only tool the Spirit has is the Scripture. And where the Scripture is replaced by anything else, the work of the Spirit of God is hindered.
There might be a large crowd, they might be having a great time. They might enjoy the rock and roll concert that usually precedes the insipid, inane talk. But that's not where the Spirit of God is working. The Spirit of God works through the Word, saves through the Word, sanctifies through the Word, comforts through the Word, instructs through the Word, edifies through the Word. And so, if we want a full Trinitarian power display in the church, we teach the Word so that God's authority dominates Christ's headship, His pervasive and the Spirit works with great power.
There's a fourth reason why we preach expositionally and these are interlocking, interweaving, as you will recognize. But a failure to preach expositionally manifests a lack of submission to Scripture...a lack of submission to Scripture. Now that is unthinkable for a Christian, is it not? You heard one of the folks in Baptism tonight quote that verse, that if you belong to Christ, you will obey Him, John 14. I t is unthinkable that a believer would not submit to Scripture.
It is even more unthinkable that a preacher would not submit to Scripture. That reveals an inferior, inadequate love for God, understanding of His glory and His authority, an inadequate and inferior recognition of the honor and glory of Christ and an inadequate and inferior understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit. It is amazing to me how many preachers seem to have no interest in bringing the Word of God and demonstrating thereby that they themselves submit to it.
The heart of all true preaching is that the preacher submits to the Word. There's nothing else. My life in that sense is very simple. I submit to the Word of God, trusting that in the disciplines of study, the process of digging into the Word of God and seeking the help of the Lord in the process that I will come to understand it, submit my own heart to it fully and then tell it to you.
You know, it's a frightening thing to think about not submitting to the Word of God. His message is revealed in Scripture. Nowhere else. The massive rift known as the Reformation basically came from Luther's conviction that the Roman Catholic Church did not submit to Scripture. That was the issue. Therefore it could not speak for God.
How could we expect absolute obedience from people, absolute submission to the authority of the Word of God if that's not true in our own lives? And so, we teach only the Word of God, explaining it.
One of the...one of the wonderful old past generation American preachers was a man named R.L. Dabney. And reading him is always refreshing. He's like a Puritan out of his time and out of his place. And Dabney said, "All the leading Reformers at the time of the Reformation were expositors." Of course...of course. All the leading ministers throughout history have been expositors. They've all been submissive to Scripture. He said, "The power of the Great Revolution that we know as the Reformation was the restoration of Scriptural preaching. It came with the authority of God. It came with the power of the Holy Spirit. It came under the clear leadership of Christ and people submitted to the Word of God in the pulpit and people followed and submitted to the Word of God in the pew."
And Dabney then goes on to draw a little kind of a paradigm that helps us to understand this. He said, "The golden age of preaching is Scripture truth in Scripture dress," that's the words he used. Scripture truth in Scripture dress...that's the golden age. That is all the truths of the Bible presented in their biblical context as the Holy Spirit wrote them, had them written by inspired writers. Scripture truth in Scripture dress.
You teach the Bible from the Bible. You teach Bible truth in Bible texts. That's the golden age. That's what we endeavor to do...to teach Bible truth from Bible texts. You say, "What else would you do?"
Oh, well. The second and declining age is to teach Scripture truth in cultural dress. This is where you say, "Well, here are the scriptural truths, we know them but people don't really want to go through Bible study, the Bible is an old book, it's out of date, it's antiquated, it's boring, etc., etc. We're not abandoning the faith, we still believe in the things that are true in Scripture, we still affirm the great theological realities, but we understand that you can't communicate to people Bible truth in Bible dress, so you communicate to them Bible truth in cultural dress. Now by that I don't mean the clothes the preacher wears, although that's a part of it. But rather that you disassociate yourself with the Scripture as the context out of which you teach and you find some location in the culture. God's truth molded to cultural moods.
And then comes the third in the declining steps. First is Scripture truth in Scripture dress. Then Scripture truth in cultural dress. And third is cultural opinion without Scripture...no Scripture. Dabney pled for Bible truth and Bible dress.
And here we are celebrating 40 years of ministry here, actually the church, over 50 years, and this church is doing what its always done. The culture shifts and ebbs and flows so fast, we can't even keep up with it. Churches that try to keep up with it and put Bible truth in cultural dress eventually because of their devotion to the cultural context, abandon the truth and end up with a cultural message without Scripture. Or they become obsolete because they've identified themselves with one point of the culture which passes so fast that it's kind of like planned obsolescence. The objective, of course, is to bring you into submission to Scripture, not just the things that Scripture affirms, but the Scripture itself.
Number five, here's another thing that happens if we do not do Bible exposition. A failure to preach expositionally, a failure to preach the Scripture from the Scripture, Scripture truth from Scripture context...this is so important...severs the preacher personally from the sanctifying grace of Scripture.
You know, I'm very aware of this. James says, "Stop being so many teachers, theirs is a greater condemnation." The writer of Hebrews says, "We have to give an account to God." Paul says, "I beat my body into subjection because I don't want to become disqualified." In 1 Timothy and in Titus there are requirements for someone who does this. And the first one is that he be above...what?...reproach, that he have no public shame, that he has not brought some kind of scandal on himself and on the church and on the name of the Lord. How does someone who has engaged in this for years and years and years and years, how does someone who does this and is regularly attacking the kingdom of darkness and I'm sure those who through the years and even now are faithful have excited the forces of hell, Satan himself and the demons, who would want to bring down any faithful preacher...how does one survive through all of that? How does one survive all the impulses of the flesh? All the assaults and attacks that come from the inside and the outside through the years and years of ministry. And I will tell you this, that the way you survive is to be a Bible expositor and it's to your benefit to stay in the same place and do it, then you are forced every week of your life to expose yourself to the sanctifying work of the Word in your own heart.
I'm no surprised that pastors who don't do this fall into some sin. I'm not surprised when pastors spend three or four years in one place, or five and a few more somewhere else and a few more somewhere else, and just take their little bag of sermons from place to place to place to place. Some of them certainly survive and some of them are faithful in their own time in the Lord and time in the Word.
But I understand that week by week by week by week, year by year, intensive study of Scripture exposes the soul to the power of the truth. And I will just tell you this that the things that I tell you the Word will do in your life is exactly what it has done in my life, the work of the Word in my own heart...I would be afraid to be a pastor who has to think up a sermon out of nowhere or invent something, or be creative, or as many do today, have a committee of people out of the church put the sermon together which he then preaches. I think it is very dangerous.
I look at my own life and I look at all the sermons I've preached, I don't know how many thousands times I've preached, I look back at some of my heroes, John Calvin prepared ten sermons every two weeks. In a two-week period he would preach ten different sermons, all of them expositions of Scripture. He did it from 1536 to 1564...except for a three-year period in there when he was exiled. And you know the story, when he came back three years after being exiled, he picked up at the next verse. It wasn't easy for him to do that. His wife died. He was sick. He was spitting blood. He had gout and hemorrhoids, kidney stones, persecution. He had nine children without a wife, some his own, and some dropped off for him to care for that he was raising. The disciplines were just astonishing to preach ten times in two weeks. But he was a product of the sanctifying grace of all of that study.
And then there was Luther who at Wittenberg on a Sunday preached his first sermon at 5 A.M. That , friends, is the early service...5 A.M. when he would preach an epistle. Ten A.M. he would preach from a gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Five P.M. he would preach the Old Testament. In a four year period from 1520 to 1524 he wrote 700 works...massive exposure to the Word of God has great sanctifying power. And the minister who fails to expose himself to the Word of God, fails to expose himself to its sanctifying work.
Number six, failure to preach expositionally removes spiritual depth and transcendence from the souls of people...failure to preach expositionally removes spiritual depth and transcendence from the souls of people. That is to say it cripples worship...cripples worship, both personal worship and cooperate worship.
What do I mean by that? Well let's take it from a positive side. When you come on a Sunday, or you go to a Bible study, or you go to an opportunity to be taught the Word of God, you are taken down into the depths of Scripture inevitably to places you haven't been, right? You say, "Well, I've read that many times, I didn't see that." You know when your teacher has prepared. You know when your pastor has dug down deep and there's an exhilarating experience when you discover these great deep truths. And they grab your soul because they're not just clever insights. You know, there are a lot of people who just go from Sunday to Sunday and hear a clever story and somehow the clever story sticks. But it has no real power. It may titillate a little bit but it doesn't have any power.
What has power is a truth concerning God, concerning spiritual reality that takes you to a depth you've never been to before. But gives you an insight you've never had. And as a result of this depth of understanding, there's a transcendent knowledge and that shows up in your worship. If you understand the full nuances of the doctrine of justification, and you sing hymns about justification, you infuse those hymns with exuberant joy because you get it. That's why I always say, "I don't like over-simplified repetitious songs." I love hymns because they have nuances that only the really informed grasp. And then when you grasp them because they're rich, they're nuanced, there are subtitles in there, there is magnificent language that you understand because you understand the doctrine and your worship is enriched and enhanced. Now I've said this many times, you have to take people down into the Word to discover the rich truths that are there so that they can go up in transcendent worship. Most churches just kind of live on the flat land in the middle. Don't think deeply about anything, and therefore their worship is very mundane and it's nothing more than emotional stimulation. Churches like that get filled up with entertainment because the people really can't worship. They're not lost in wonder, love and praise. They're not in awe of God His glory and His mighty work and His majesty. They sort of trip along in their little casual world with their simplistic ideas.
Number seven, a failure to preach expositionally, and this is very important, prevents the preacher from fully speaking for Christ whom he serves. A failure to preach expositionally prevents t he preacher from fully speaking for Christ whom he serves.
In First Corinthians 2:14 to 16, we are reminded of a very important spiritual truth and I've just been quoting Scriptures up to this point, but this one I want to read. "A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, they are foolishness to him. He cannot understand them because they are spiritually appraised." So mark it down, folks, an unconverted natural person doesn't get it...doesn't understand the things of God. In fact, one of my grandchildren was telling me today that on a U Tube where there's reruns of some of my times on the Larry King show, people blog and comment on me and they're not favorable...they're not favorable. This grandchild was saying to me, they say, "This is a sad, unhappy miserable person, this MacArthur guy. He has to be to come off with that kind of stuff." So we understand that, that they do not comprehend the things of God. And that is to be expected as a response. But that doesn't change what we do because it says in verse 16, "We have...end of the verse...the mind of Christ."
You know, that's an outstanding thing. Prior to that, quotes from the Old Testament, "Who has known the mind of the Lord?" We do. You can ask that question and I'll say we know the mind of the Lord. What do you mean you know the mind of the Lord? Well, the Lord has revealed His mind here.
So, what is my responsibility, that whenever I speak I speak the mind of Christ? How can I do that if I don't know what is in the book, if I haven't submitted myself to it?
Many are shallow, lack knowledge of Scripture. They may know the culture. You know, they may be funny, they may be clever. They want people to like them. But they can't speak for Christ. And that's what I'm committed to. I don't ever want to be caught in a situation where I'm asked about something in which I cannot give the mind of Christ. That's my responsibility.
Many, many years ago when we were thinking about starting to ordain men here at the church. And we've ordained many through the years. They said, "What should be the criteria by which we ordain a man?" Well certainly the necessity of his spiritual gifting and having proven himself, and all of those things.
But I said, essentially, anybody that receives ordination from Grace Community Church as a minister of the Scriptures, must know the Scripture. How basic is that? You must know the Scripture.
So I put together a pretty thick book of things they had to know. If they are to be ordained and these things are still in place as I understand it now, although I'm not always involved in every ordination, you had to be able on your feet without any help to outline every book of the Bible. That's pretty basic, right? You don't want to be guilty of malpractice, and if you don't know the truth of Scripture, you have to start there.
So, you should know the basic content of every book in the Bible, give a brief outline of the book and kind of the flow...the flow of the logic of the book. And then you should know every key chapter in the Bible and what that key chapter is about and you should know key verses or a couple of verses and what they're about. And then you should know every main doctrine Scripture reveals and you should be able to explain that doctrine, give a defense of that doctrine in a brief fashion that is crystalized and clarified in your own mind. Because of all things that someone who goes into ministry should be able to do, it is to reveal what the Scripture says. That's the mind of Christ on everything.
And then there are issues that we used to ask them: Describe what the Bible teaches about divorce. Describe what the Bible teaches about homosexuality. Describe what the Bible teaches about corporeal punishment. Describe what the Bible teaches about capital punishment. What does the Bible say about this and that and the other? And that's the foundation. We are people of the Book and we have to be able to say this is the mind of Christ, this is the Word of God on that subject. And if you don't spend your life digging in to the Word of God, you're not going to be able to do that.
You know, it's...it's one thing to prepare a sermon and you've got all your notes written, it's something else to have to answer those questions when you're somewhere else and you don't have your notes. And somebody asks you such penetrating questions as people ask me all the time, sometimes on television, on radio, they hit me with questions that I could never ever anticipate, never. But if I am going to be a minister of Jesus Christ, I need to be prepared to speak as if it were Christ Himself...I stand in His place.
Let me give you one more and I've left some for next Sunday night. A failure to preach and teach expositionally depreciates by example the spiritual duty and benefit of studying Scripture...depreciates by example the spiritual duty and benefit of studying Scripture. If the pastor doesn't do it, why in the world should I do it? If it's not valuable to him, how could it be valuable to me? If you don't need to study the Scripture to be the preacher, you sure don't need to study the Scripture to be the parishioner. If the Bible is not the consuming passion of the pulpit, why would we expect it to be the consuming passion of the pew?
To model a superficial attitude toward Scripture in the pulpit is horrendous because like people, like priest, right? Hosea. People aren't going to rise any higher than the leadership. If you're not committed to an intense and faithful and diligent study of the Word of God, don't expect your people to be either. You've just cut them off from their spiritual life because man doesn't live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. If it doesn't even interest you, why would you interest anybody else?
You're sending a terrible message to people. The Bible doesn't matter. The Bible isn't interesting. There are things better than the Bible. My insights, your insights. Don't get caught up in Bible study, I certainly don't. This is horrific. On the other hand, when the Bible is taught and when it is the passion of the pulpit, it inevitably becomes the passion of the pew.
Well, that's a lot to process in 50 minutes, but I think it makes sense, don't you? And I think it holds up under scrutiny.
I...well I gave you eight, so next Sunday night I'll give you 53...(laughter)...no, I wouldn't do that to you.
Father, thank You for Your truth, thank You for Your Word. We're so profoundly enriched by it, indescribably blessed. Our hearts are filled with gratitude. We give You thanks. Amen.
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International Launch Date: October 2009
Cameras everywhere, media, madness, instant images flashed ,around the world in seconds…. You ARE being photographed! Better be optimum-optic, high-frequency fabulous, these are modern times! The In High Def collection is makeup designed for the, new-technology demands of the professional world… The sharp tone, colour and picture clarity of Hi-Def TV. For girls and boys who want to look good no matter who's looking.
Face and Body Foundation formulated for flawless replication; at last, you can achieve the perfection expected on screen at all times. A complementary collection of ,Lipstick, Lipglass, Mineralize Skinfinish/Natural applied with the 187 Duo Fibre and 188 Small Duo Fibre Face Brushes fool the eye, and the camera. The very best in the new look of Hi-Def, made easy.
Lipsticks ($14.00 U.S. / $16.50 CDN)
- Close to Real Light, neutral peach pink (Lustre) (Limited Edition)
- High Def Mid-tone neutral coral (Amplified Cream) (Limited Edition)
- Sharp Focus Deep brown plum (Lustre) (Limited Edition)
- Resolutely Red Deepened claret (Lustre) (Limited Edition)
Face & Body Foundation ($32.00 U.S. / $38.50 CDN) (Permanent)
A water-based, water-resistant foundation that provides long-lasting, natural coverage for face and/or body. Ideal for all skin types. Face and Body Foundation provides sheer, natural looking coverage in an easy to blend, water-resistant formula. The long-lasting formula is available in a wide range of colours and contains several emollients to help moisturize and condition the skin. It delivers professional looking results that meet the exacting standards of beauty photography and is ideal for perfecting the face and body.
Mineralize SPF 15 Foundation/Loose ($29.00 U.S. / $35.00 CDN) (Permanent)
A lightweight loose powder foundation that utilizes the power of minerals to provide the skin with a smooth, radiant, natural finish. Brushes on the skin for sophisticated, medium-buildable coverage. Special mineral complex helps keep skin healthy and nourished while the blend of moisturizers and conditioners in the formula help create a smooth, flawless application. Provides essential everyday SPF 15 sun protection.
Mineralize Skinfinish Natural ($25.00 U.S. / $30.00 CDN) (Permanent)
A luxurious domed face powder with minerals, slowly baked to provide a dimensional yet natural-matte finish. Provides perfect low coverage. Use to set and fix foundation or as a touch-up throughout the day.
187 Duo Fibre Brush ($42.00 U.S. / $50.50 CDN) (Permanent)
A large full circular brush used for lightweight application and blending of face powder or pigments. Use to create soft layers or add textures. Made from a soft blend of goat and synthetic fibres.
188 Brush ($34.00 U.S. / $41.00 CDN) (Permanent)
A flat-topped, full circular brush used for lightweight application and blending of any formula colour – fluid, cream, powder or pigment. Ideal for creating soft layers or adding textures. Made from a soft blend of goat and synthetic fibres.
Availability: North America, September 10th, 2009 only at M·A·C retail stores, 1.800.588.0070 and www.maccosmetics.com. International, September 2009 at M·A·C locations, 1.800.588.0070 and www.maccosmetics.com.
See more promo photos…


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suzyqque needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 152 designs submitted by 57 freelance designers.
I want the design to be bright, showy and classy. A younger urban market is the target customers
Elite Images
Desired Style:
Bold, Urban, Elegant
Accepted File Formats:
Standard Web Formats (.jpg, .gif or .png); Layered Formats (.psd or .tiff)
The colors should be bright and bold. Red and black
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Art Teacher, Kuwait
Closing date:
Start date: 1st September 2019
Contract type: Full Time
Contract term: Fixed Term
Suitable for NQTs: Yes
Al Rayan is a leading Management Company catering for children from KG TO YEAR 12 with an established record of providing quality education for the community of Kuwait. We have academic staff who have excellent qualifications and experience and are highly motivated.
For September 2019 we are seeking successful Primary and Secondary teachers who are committed to achieving high academic standards and creating a stimulating and positive classroom ethos.
Our curriculum is based on the English National Curriculum, IGCSE/GCSE/ A/S and A level. Our ex-students are studying in Universities in UK, USA, Kuwait, Egypt, Korea and many other countries around the globe.
Please come and see our websites for yourself at http://www.alrayanholding.com<http://www.alrayanholding.com/> and we can discuss what the school has to offer you and your family.
We are always very receptive to requests for a pre-visit and/or informal contact with the Heads of the department when making an application.
As a member of our team you will:
Be part of a learning community committed to achieving the best for our children
Learn about our creative and innovative approaches to teaching and learning and be able to think 'out-of-the box'.
Have access to the latest research and see how we apply it to teaching and learning
Be part of a forward thinking, dynamic team of professionals who see children at the heart of the learning process
An competitive remuneration package is offered to successful candidates.
Suitably qualified (UK/Western Universities)applicants are Invited to apply immediately along with CV, Degree copy/ passport copy and the names and contact details of referees to: email@example.com and email@example.com
Or you may visit on http://www.alrayanholding.com for more details.
Contact Kuwait International English School
Thanks for your interest in this role.
Simply fill in the form below to ask any questions, request a call, or schedule a school visit.
This field is required


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Trimble Inc.
935 Stewart Drive
Post Office Box 3642
Sunnyvale, CA 94085
1.408.481.8000 phone
1.408.481.7781 fax
Trimble Enters into a Five-Year, $1.4 Billion Amended and Restated Bank Credit Facility
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Nov. 21, 2012—Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) today announced that it has entered into a five-year, $1.4 billion amended and restated bank credit facility, comprised of a $700 million revolving credit facility and a $700 million term loan facility. The new facility replaces Trimble's previous $1.1 billion facility, comprised of a $700 million revolving credit facility and $400 million term loan facility.
"We are pleased with the considerable interest demonstrated by the participating banks to increase and extend our bank credit facility," said Rajat Bahri, Trimble's chief financial officer. "The revised facility provides us with increased flexibility and improved terms."
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC ("JPMorgan"), The Bank of Nova Scotia, and Wells Fargo Securities LLC acted as lead arrangers.
About Trimble
Trimble applies technology to make field and mobile workers in businesses and government significantly more productive. Solutions are focused on applications requiring position or location—including surveying, construction, agriculture, fleet and asset management, public safety and mapping. In addition to utilizing positioning technologies, such as GPS, lasers and optics, Trimble solutions may include software content specific to the needs of the user. Wireless technologies are utilized to deliver the solution to the user and to ensure a tight coupling of the field and the back office. Founded in 1978, Trimble is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif.
For more information visit: www.trimble.com.
Safe Harbor
Certain statements made in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include the availability of $1.4 billion under the new credit facility and the additional flexibility provided by it. These forward-looking statements are subject to change, and actual results may materially differ from those set forth in this press release. For example, the company's ability to borrow under the revolving credit facility will be subject to conditions that would need to be satisfied at the time of borrowing. The Company's financial results will also depend on a number of other factors and risks detailed from time to time in reports filed with the SEC, including its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and its annual report on Form 10- K, such as changes in economic conditions, critical part supply chain shortages, possible write-offs of goodwill, and regulatory proceedings affecting GPS. Undue reliance should not be placed on any forward-looking statement contained herein, especially in light of greater uncertainty than normal in the economy in general. These statements reflect the Company's position as of the date of this release. The Company expressly disclaims any undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any statements to reflect any change in the Company's expectations or any change of events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Investor Relations Contact: Willa McManmon of Trimble: 408-481-7838
Media Contact: LeaAnn McNabb of Trimble: 408-481-7808


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Published Jul 27, 2017
April showers bring May flowers… where do you go for the best flower bulbs and plants?
When it comes to hearing aids, who is the best in town? see the Top 5 →
Where do you go for the things that make your house really feel like home? see the Top 5 →
Pillow top, memory foam and everything in between. Where do you go to get... see the Top 5 →
Gutar strings, drum sticks and double reeds are all music to the ears... see the Top 5 →
What is the best pawn shop in town? see the Top 5 →
Family photos, headshots, senior portraits, you name it, they shoot it! see the Top 5 →
The 2017 Sacramento A-List awards are based on more than 84,000 votes from local Sacramento-area experts.


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Please help to improve this article by expanding it.
Windows Prefetch files, introduced in Windows XP, are designed to speed up the application startup process. Prefetch files contain the name of the executable, a Unicode list of DLLs used by that executable, a count of how many times the executable has been run, and a timestamp indicating the last time the program was run. Although Prefetch is present in Windows 2003, by default it is only enabled for boot prefetching. The feature is also found in Windows Vista, where it has been augmented with SuperFetch, ReadyBoot, and ReadyBoost.
Up to 128 Prefetch files are stored in the %SystemRoot%\Prefetch directory [1]. Each file in that directory should contain the name of the application (up to eight (?) characters), a dash, and then an eight character hash of the location from which that application was run, and a .pf extension. The filenames should be all uppercase except for the extension. The format of hashes is not known. A sample filename for md5deep would look like: MD5DEEP.EXE-4F89AB0C.pf. If an application is run from two different locations on the drive (i.e. the user runs C:\md5deep.exe and then C:\Apps\Hashing\md5deep.exe), there will be two different prefetch files in the Prefetch folder.
Each Prefetch file has a signature in the first 8 bytes of the file. Windows XP will generate Prefetch files with the signature \x11\x00\x00\x00\x53\x43\x43\x41 (0x41434353 0x00000011). Windows 7 and Windows Vista Prefetch file's signature is \x17\x00\x00\x00\x53\x43\x43\x41 (0x41434353 0x00000017). The ASCII representation of these bytes will display "....SCCA".
Both the NTFS timestamps for a Prefetch file and the timestamp embedded in each Prefetch file contain valuable information. The timestamp embedded within the Prefetch file is a 64-bit (QWORD) FILETIME object The creation date of the file indicates the first time the application was executed. Both the modification date of the file and the embedded timestamp indicate the last time the application was executed.
Windows will store timestamps according to Windows epoch.
Creation Time
The creation time does not have a static offset on any Windows platform. The location of the creation time can be found using the offset 0x8 + length of Volume path offset.
Last Run Time
A timestamp of when the application was last ran is embedded into the Prefetch file. The offset to the "Last Run Time" is located at offset 0x78 from the beginning of the file on Windows XP. The offset for Windows Vista and Windows 7 is at 0x80.
In each Prefetch file, the size of the header is stored and can be found at offset 0x54 on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. The header size for Windows XP is 0x98 (152) and 0xf0 (240) on Windows Vista and Windows 7.
The Prefetch file will embed the application's name into the header at offset 0x10.
Run Count
The run count, or number of times the application has been run, is a 4-byte (DWORD) value located at offset 0x90 from the beginning of the file on Windows XP. On Windows Vista and Windows 7, the run time can be found at 0x98.
Volume related information, volume path and volume serial number, are embedded into the Prefetch file. The precise offset for this information varies for each application ran. In the header at offset 0x6c, the location of the volume path is stored. The location is a 4-bytes (DWORD) value. The offset 0x6c is consistent for Windows XP and Windows 7.
At the location given from 0ffst 0x6c, a 4 byte value is stored which is the number of bytes from current offset (location from offset 0x6c) to the beginning of the volume path. The location from offset 0x6c, for ease, will be called the "volume path offset." The volume path is embedded as a NULL-terminating string.
The length of the volume path is a 4-byte value is located at volume path offset + 0x4.
The volume serial number is a 4-byte value that identifies a media storage. A serial number does not have a consistent offset within a Prefetch between Windows operating systems. The 4-byte value can be found eight (8) bytes from the creation time location. The vol command on Windows can verify the volume serial number.
End of File
The end of file (EOF) for each Prefetch file can be located at offset 0xc.
See Also
External Links
- Prefetch-Tool Script - Python looks Prefetch files up on a web server.
- Windows File Analyzer - Parses Prefetch files, thumbnail databases, shortcuts, index.dat files, and the recycle bin
- Microsoft's description of Prefetch when Windows XP was introduced
- More detail from Microsoft
- Windows Prefetch parser Free tool that can be run on Windows, Linux or Mac OS-X.


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Bushing Bolt-Ons
Rear Cradle Insert Bushings for 2012-Plus Camaro
Minimize wheel-hop and reduce rear cradle movement in your 2012 and newer Camaro with a Rear Cradle Insert Bushing Kit from BMR Suspension. Manufactured from low-deflection polyurethane to allow better handling without significantly increasing noise, vibration, or harmonics. The BMR Rear Cradle Insert Bushings (PN BK040) install inside the air gaps of the stock rubber bushings. This product is recommended for customers who plan on racing their Camaro at the track occasionally, but plan on street-driving it most of the time. The rear cradle does not need to be removed during installation of the bushing inserts.
BMR Suspension
Crank it Up!
Stroker LS Crankshafts
Manley Performance proudly offers an outstanding lineup of high quality crankshafts for Chevy LS applications. Super Lightweight 4-inch stroke, Lightweight in both 4- and 4.100-inch stroke with either 24 or 58 tooth reluctor wheels; plus longer snouted LS7 applications are all available. Combine any of these cranks with proven Manley connecting rods and Platinum Series LS pistons and you'll have a bulletproof bottom end for your Chevy LS engine.
Manley Performance Products, Inc.
LS Time
LS Engine Adaptor Bracket Kits
CPP now offers brand new LS Engine Adaptor Bracket Kits to help with your project. Their adaptor kits allow the engine to move from ½-inch rearward, which is great for oil pan to crossmember clearance, up to 2-1/2-inch forward, for low mounted accessories like an A/C compressor, allowing for a completely custom range of positions. CPP's exclusive design no-weld brackets are CNC laser cut steel and features a durable black powder coat finish and comes with PolyplusTM engine mounts.
Classic Performance Products
Alternative Lifters
Sportsman Solid-Roller Lifters
These new Sportman lifters are designed to be a premium, re-buildable upgrade over Endure-X Lifters and a value alternative to the Elite Race option. They are offered in two configurations: a traditional needle bearing axle/wheel design or an optional bronze bushing axle/wheel setup. Each design features two pressurized EDM oil feeds as well as an edge-orifice feed to the wheel. This delivers a more reliable oil feed than most competing options. Sportsman Lifters also are designed with a shallower oil band than competitors' versions for increased strength and rigidity, while internal machining helps to reduce weight. The body utilizes a skirted wheel that strengthens the lifter ears, and the skirt also provides more contact area with the lifter bore for further lifter stabilization. In addition, stacked axles eliminate clips and provide robust axle retention. This feature increases the stiffness of the lifter ears and helps prevent the ears from spreading. Sportsman Lifters are built from 8620 premium steel for increased strength and wear resistance, and feature a captured, stainless steel link bar design. The lifters also utilize a tapered and slotted link bar tower for reduced weight and improved aesthetics. Overall they weigh less than the Endure-X option. Finally, they feature a tall body to enable use in both standard and 0.300-inch tall lifter bores—the result is increased strength and less lifter bore wear. COMP Cams Sportsman Solid Roller Lifters are available for big-blocks and small-blocks and available in pairs or full sets of 16.
COMP Cams
All in One
Power Steering for Your Big-Block Chevelle
Are you tired of getting a workout every time you want to turn? Ground Up makes it easy to convert to power steering with this Chevelle power steering conversion kit! Ground Up has taken all of the guesswork out of selecting the parts to convert with this all in one solution! This all in one package comes with OEM banjo style power steering pump, pump cap, brackets, hardware, pulley, pulley nut, pressure and return hoses.
Ground Up
How Fast Were You Going?
Electronic to Mechanical Speedometer Generator
The EDC-100 allows the use of a mechanical-cable speedometer to be used in conjunction with a modern drivetrain that only provides an electronic output. Available with provisions for GM thread-on and GM clip-on style cables, the ECD-100 offers the utmost in adaptability and supplied with 36-inch length cable. Quiet operation from the powerful motor allows the user to place the module inside the cabin. The case is waterproofed, allowing it to alternatively be mounted under the hood, or even inside a fenderwell. Simple calibration with a remotely mounted switch means there are no DIP switches to hassle with; access to EDC module is not required! Industry-standard measured-mile calibration as well as speed adjustment while driving, based on a GPS or other known-speedometer reading, keeping setup ultra simple. The ECD-100 uses PID control of the cable speed to provide quick, smooth operation, as well as preventing overdriving or damaging the speedometer needle. The ECD-100 measures a compact 5x4.1x2.15-inch and offered with a completely covered two-year warranty.
Dakota Digital Inc.


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yes but no but yes
Apple laptops are mindwateringly expensive but so well built they don't have a competitor at this level. only 2 usb ports on a supposedly desktop replacement though?
The 13in MacBook Pro I reviewed last week is a machine for folk who fancy a carry-around computer but who want a bit more welly than the way more portable 13in MacBook Air can provide. The 15in version, on the other hand, is a desktop replacement for the power hungry. Sure, it's mobile. It has a decent battery life. But it's …
Expensive compared with what? A top-end Viao F series is (Sony's site is so damn slow it's timed out) - maybe it knows I'm just comparing prices. What a crap website.
Looking at other websites, there's no like-for-like comparison, e.g. with an equivalent processor, hard disc, memory, GPU, etc. From past experience their top-end machines cost as much if not more than Apple's machines and they're made from plastic and run "windows".
Checking Dell's website (that works although is very noisy) a "Precision M4500" specced up with an inferior 2.13GHz I7, etc. came to £2230. This is plastic and runs "windows".
Checking on the Apple website (it works and is fast - Sony take note), even when speccing up the machine to the max (8Gb, 2.3 quad-core I7, high-res screen) it's less than £2300. Perfectly reasonable price for a professional -- my plumber spends more than that on tools in his van.
BTW, speccing the Macbook with the slower 2.2GHz processor reduced the cost to under £2100, e.g. better performance for much less than the Dell.
From my own experience, Apple laptops are very much designed as workhorse machines.
The Viaos I've had in the past have really shown their age after a short amount of time as the plastic wears away and it cracks and creaks. IMO Dells are fugly, fully living up to their corporate drone persona, yuck.
I buy Apple laptops for the spec and build quality. As you point out, comparing like for like they are pretty good value. I actually run Linux on them, so to me Apple are just another laptop vendor, and I could certainly go elsewhere to make my purchase if the quality and spec wasn't so good.
Stop cherry picking.
Here in Canada, I can get the following from www.bestbuy.ca: CDN$1299 (= 823 British pounds), Asus, 17.3 inch, 1600x900, i7-2630, 750 GB 7200 rpm, 8 gbs DDR3, Nivia GTX460M 1GB, 3xUSB2, 1xUSB3, 8-cell.
Asus, like Apple, is consistently ranked high for reliability.
That's not a very good example to compare against. A 17.3" screen with 1600x900 resolution? That's bargain bin trash...
Can you give us real world battery life on that thing? Less than the Mac? Oh... no dual graphic cards that autoswitch to conserve energy AND a 17.3 inch screen to light up.. ok.
Also, fitting the components within a bigger chassis is easier. Dropping the pitch of the screen significantly reduces a part of the cost, and gives an indicator towards the cost saving measures taken in other parts of the device.
I seem to recall a story about people complaining about the 27" iMac being expensive, but a closer examination showed that if you wanted the same quality screen (IPS) in that size you could also buy a hard drive and a keyboard before hitting the price of the complete iMac.... The quality of each component counts.
Don't get me wrong, I really like ASUS. I used to sell and service their machines and if I were to buy a computer for Linux or, against all odd, Windows, then ASUS would be among the first I would examine. Relatively cheap, and extremely good for the price.
Just a crap comparison.
Go to www.amazon.com, and search for Asus n53sv. I didn't even try hard to find it (I simply searched for 'Asus 1920 laptop').
i7-2630qm quad-core Sandy Bridge, 500 gbs 7200 rpm, 4 gbs DDR3 expandable to 16 gbs, 15.6-inch 1920x1080, nVidia GT540M 1GB, 2xUSB2, 1xUSB3, eSATA, and ALUMINUM. (Just how expensive is aluminum when 25 feet of aluminum foil is 99 cents at my local Uniprix pharmacy in Montreal?)
Get ready for the price: US$1049 (648 British pounds).
I can upgrade it to 16 GBs DDR3 and 256 gb SSD, and it'll still cost less than the new 15-inch MacBook. Plus I can use the 500 gb hard disk as external storage.
I repeat: Asus is as reliable as Apple, according to several surveys, sometimes lower, sometimes equal, sometimes higher.
I am not anti-Apple. I may be getting the iPhone 4 and the iPad 2 next month. That's because they are good value for the money, just like the Asus. It's that simple.
Concerning the above Asus: It uses Bang & Olufsen technology.
By the way, aluminum is not the best of class. Apple never went for the best such as several types of magnesium alloy.
By the way, for one or two dollars extra, the Chinese can produce more elaborate manufacturing than a complete aluminum shell. Remember, the fastest supercomputer in the world is in Tianjin.
you can't buy this yet. I imagine the specs might change before that.
they have also been clever with the name "silver aluminium" - still made of plastic just like the others.
and the asus is nearly 1lb heavier to boot
although the 16gb memory option and hires screen might make me have a long hard look at this instead of replacing my 4 year old MBP.
also I bet battery life doesn't come close to a MBP
Thru' the years I have had 3 of them, 2 intels, 1 PPC. They have all been quite reliable, although the PPC's keyboard is getting somewhat flaky.
I agree with you though, Asus is just as reliable, within that same time period I have had 4 of them, 2 netbooks. Arguably, sometimes, they are almost (but admittedly not quite) as sexy.
The only issues I would have had with Apple lappies recently is the same things I have had with them: lack of 2 button trackpad (work-round-able I guess, but still, the workaround is inelegant), and a somewhat non-standard keyboard with less keys than what I am used to, and recently (not exclusive to apple I must say), the difficulties of getting matte screens. The non-replaceable battery is also a double edged sword to some degree.
Apple, take note. I was thinking of buying a new Core i7 macbook pro to replace my last macbook, but no more.
Your machines are sexy no doubt, but you disgust me.
The resolution of the new 15-inch 2011 MacBook is 1440x900. Is this the same resolution as your five-year-old 2006 Macbook Pro?
Oh wait, I found the answer to my question at
Look, I am not anti-Apple. I almost went OS X until I tried 64-bit Windows 7. I am not a Windows fanboy. I admit Windows 7 is not as good as OS X, but it's good enough, unlike Vista. Windows 7 crashed on me only once since I bought my latest notebook six months ago. (I know, I know, once is once too often.)
I made a similar comment on the 13" macbook review, but it bears repeating:
Apple MBP 15", 2.2GHz i7, 4GB RAM, 500GB 7200rpm HDD, 1680x1050 screen, £1929
Dell XPS15, 2.2GHz i7, 4GB RAM, 640GB 7200rpm HDD, 1920x1080 screen, £1149.
I then went on to state that the Macbook has slightly better graphics. Not £800 better graphics, mind.
Having read this article, though, a lot of the concessions I gave the Macbook go out of the window. If it *is* a desktop replacement, the much better battery life, and build quality in the Macbook become pretty much irrelevant.
My original point does still stand, though - Apple residuals are significantly better than pretty much any other hardware vendor. If you can afford to pay 1.66 times the price of the Dell for the similarly specced Macbook, you may get that back a few years down the road when it comes to selling the machine.
You're thinking of the de facto IBM PC layout. Apple's UK keyboards remain as they have been since time immemorial, with £ on the '3', @ on the '2', quote and double quote combined on a key, etc.
Mac keyboards have an extra modifier or two, a few other extra keys including eject, don't bother with home/end, page down/page up (all of which are achieved with modifier + arrows), and tend to be more willing to hide the function keys since they're not really used for anything in OS X. So, sure, they could swap a couple of keys around and be closer to the IBM PC layout but they're not in a position to adopt it wholesale.
I don't consider a 15 in machine this svelt to be a desktop replacement - sure, it can fulfil that role, but these are some of the most portable 15 in laptops made, certainly being amonst the slimmest and lightest.
I have a 3yo 15 in MacBook Pro and it's very portable indeed, you just need a lap protector if you're using it on the sofa/in bed for any great length of time, which to be honest, you should have for any laptop anyway as most of them vent underneath (unlike the MBP which vents out the back).
Article failed to mention there are three different displays available on the 15". 1) The standard glossy, 2) high-res glossy (+$100), and 3) high-res anti-glare (+$150). Don't know if high-res really improves anything but having seen glossy displays I had to have anti-glare and don't regret it. Trivia fact: the high-res antiglare MacBook has an aluminum border around the display. The standard display has a glossy black frame.
As for the cost of a Mac, I upgrade every 5 years. My new i7 MacBook Pro replaces the original intel MacBook Pro from 2006. My old still did everything asked of it but its 2GB memory limitation was starting to be a limitation if Parallels was running XP Pro and anything else was going on.
The machined aluminum case appears to be much sturdier than the stamped aluminum of my old. Have had to pop dents out of the corners a time or two. The old has two rubber feet on the display lid while the new has a rubber gasket running around the perimeter. There doesn't seem to be anything about the new that isn't somehow improved over the old, yet my old is still quite serviceable.
Agree with the reviewer, all of my laptops have been high end and generate a lot of heat. At least with the Apple products there are plenty of risers specifically build for the Mac with nice soft leg friendly cushioning (try getting a nice riser to fit a large 17" Sony or Dell Precision !).
... people only get off their arses to complain when something goes wrong. You never hear from people whose kit is working just fine. Anecdotal "My laptop has a dud component!" stories are not evidence of endemic issues, and never have been.
E.g. I have an iPhone 4. Guess what? NO antenna problems AT ALL. In fact, it gets better reception than anyone else's around here in the back of beyond. SImilarly, my Macbook Pro (mid-2010 model) is also working just fine, with no issues whatsoever.
As an aside, I think an SSD is probably a much useful upgrade than a slightly better processor or GPU. I made the mistake of speccing 8GB RAM on my Macbook Pro, (as getting Apple to fit it was no more expensive than buying it elsewhere, for once), but not updating the stock 5400 RPM HDD. I should have gone for the SSD option, even though it was eye-wateringly expensive. Having played with one of the new Macbook Airs, it's astonishing just how great a difference in perceived performance that SSD makes.
The mechanical HDD cannot die soon enough, although SSD prices could certainly fall a lot quicker.
Just bought mine with an SSD and the non-glossy Hi-res Screen and it is fantastic. I got the non-glossy because I can't stand the reflectiveness of the normal set-up and the Hi-Res (1680 x 1050) is a nice bonus, making for a great desktop space.
With the SSD, this thing IS silent and starts up in about 10 seconds. Apps launch almost instantly. I am very happy with it and hope it will be powerful and reliable enough to last 5 years or so, which will make it pretty good value.


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My morning Crackdown 2 appointment started awkwardly last week. Double-booked. Game not running properly due to a technical mix-up. And then, those things rectified, I cheerfully mentioned one my favorite Crackdown features: Oh, the sequel's creators said. We cut that.
You may not agree that transforming cars were among the best elements of the 2007 Crackdown released by Microsoft Game Studios and original development studio Real Time Worlds. Sure, the ability to instigate open-world crime-fighting mayhem was a good feature. So was the option to upgrade your hero's jumping ability by collecting glowing orbs tucked into the folds of the architecturally striking Pacific City. So too was the option to improve your hero's strength, weapon-wielding, and driving abilities by killing bad guys with said skills.
Yes, Crackdown was a lot of fun. I liked getting in a car and watching it transform into a faster, stronger car, based on how good a driver I was.
I won't be doing that in Crackdown 2, because Crackdown 2, set 10 years after the first game and featuring a new playable super-cop's attempts to clean up a city filled with one terrible gang and one infestation of zombified citizens, does not include morphing cars.
The cars, the trucks and the helicopters have one form each. Just the one. No matter how high my super-cop's driving skills may be.
I am certain that Microsoft producer Peter Connelly and producer James Cope of the sequel's new development studio, Ruffian Games, did not plan to start their meeting like this. They had wanted me to play their new game in co-op, an option that has been expanded since the first game to support four players — and which allows those players to spread across the city, engaging in separate missions, if they so choose. In other words, they had planned to start this meeting by giving me an impression of what they added to the Crackdown series, not what they subtracted from it.
They explained that the morphing car option was removed because it required too much system memory that would be better used for features more gamers would access. It turns out that a lot of Crackdown gamers didn't upgrade their driving stats. I guess they didn't figure out that you could drive one small looped road a bunch of times and tally all the bad-guy roadkill you needed to be a top-rated driver. Or they didn't care.
Moving right along, I mentioned to Connelly and Cope something else I really liked about the first Crackdown: How you could take down the henchmen for the game's major gangs in any order you chose and how you would see the effects of your decisions persist throughout the game world. If you took down the weapons dealer, for example, the rest of his gang would have worse guns. If you went after the car guy, the gang would have inferior cars.
As I was mentioning this, I sensed I'd just made the morning even more awkward. Let me guess, I guessed: That's not in there either?
Oh no, Cope and Connelly told me, that's been changed and improved.
The gang thing was all about "persistence," they explained. It was about doing one thing in one corner of the game world and seeing that change reflected as a new status quo elsewhere. The concept that a gamer can change conditions in the world is actually still a rarity in open-world games. It's not in any Grand Theft Autos, for example. The Crackdown 2 men said that the new game would provide even more persistence by allowing gamers to travel to any part of the game's city at any time and try to activate special beacons that affect the number of zombified enemies that amass in the city's streets. The player can also liberate "tactical locations" that can be turned into resupply stations, garages and save points, all in one. That all sounded good, and maybe a fine alternative for the system I liked in the first game, but I'm not sure.
I didn't dare mention anything else I liked about the game. Well, maybe I joked that I liked the explosions or something. And maybe they joked — just joked! — that they took those out. So I shut up and stopped reminiscing about cool stuff in the first game and let these developers tell me about new stuff in the new game.
The new game gives players a perk when they hit level five agility that lets their super-cop glide through the air.
The new game lets players level their character up not just to a fifth level of ability to a secrecy-shrouded sixth.
The new game has at least one building that is taller than the first game's Agency Tower. And it has helicopters — a fair trade for not having morphing vehicles, Connelly asked/suggested.
The new game has 500 collectible agility orbs, the glowing green things that enable an agent who grabs them to eventually leap small buildings in a single Mario-scale bound. Ruffian sounds like they're going to make a player's hunt for the final few orbs a little easier — maybe by giving players access to a marked map showing the last few they need. They're not certain about that, as they don't want to anger the gamers who love searching for the things.
The new game has a lot more things that can be shot and blown up, a lot more characters in the streets, a similar road layout to the first game with new buildings throughout.
Oh, and the new game has "renegade orbs," which are agility orbs that fly away from you when you first try to grab them. There can be five increasingly devilish variations of them, the easier ones fleeing the player in set paths, the more advanced ones using artificial intelligence to evade the player.
The new game doesn't let users place orbs of their own — my idea, suggested during this morning meeting during which I kept saying the wrong things. "We did think about it, but it is not in the shipping game," Connelly said.
Okay, so maybe Crackdown 2 might be missing a thing (or two) that I liked about the first Crackdown. But this new stuff did sound good. And once I got my hands on a little bit of the single-player game, my ability to throw buses, glide out of helicopters and blow lots of things up all felt like enhanced Crackdown to me.
I will miss my morphing cars. But I do not think that will make me miss Crackdown 2 when it ships for the Xbox 360 in July.


text: Friday, March 28, 2014 New CPG Requirements Will 'Raise the Bar' at Federal Clearinghouse The federal government's official clearinghouse for practice guidelines will adopt more stringent standards for acceptance in the coming months. The new standards, adopted from the Institute of Medicine (IOM), include requirements for content, authorship, methodology, format, accessibility, and currency. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's National Guideline Clearinghouse (NGC) will implement the new standards beginning June 1. The changes result from a 2008 directive from the federal government for IOM to identify best practice for developing clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). A full report, titled Clinical Practice Guidelines We Can Trust, is available at the IOM website. According to a recent article in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association, "The major changes from the older criteria are that documentation must be provided showing that a guideline is based on a systematic review of the evidence and an assessment of the benefits and harms of the recommended and alternative care options." The JAMA article described the change as one that is "raising the bar" for CPGs at the NGC. Need more information on practice guidelines and other evidence-based practice resources? Check out APTA's new Resources for the Development of Evidence-Based Documents webpage designed to help you find current guidelines and research and learn how to contribute to the growing pool of evidence-based physical therapy research.


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OLD HICKORY, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech men's golf team climbed to fifth after the final round of the Big Blue Intercollegiate, hosted by Tennessee State. Sophomore Lee Whitehead finished tied for ninth out of 93 golfers in the tournament.
While Whitehead played as an individual, freshman Bryce Kendrick paved the way for Tech, finishing 15th in the tourney.
Kendrick shot a solid 71+73+70=214 on the week, just ahead of fellow freshman Adam Cunningham, who carded a 67+76+73=216 to place 21st. Senior Lee Maxwell and freshman Mitch Thomas also placed in the top 30, finishing 27th and 30th, respectively. Thomas returned to the clubhouse with Tech's lowest third-round score with a 69.
In a field that featured eight Ohio Valley Conference schools, the Missouri Valley's Southern Illinois won the tournament over Lipscomb with a team score of 847. They were followed by OVC members SIU Edwardsville, UT Martin and Tech. Belmont, Morehead State, Murray State, host Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois rounded out the conference teams.
The Golden Eagles will next see action at the OVC Championships in Dickson, Tenn. April 25-27.


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The 5 Most Important Skills Twitter Teaches Us
Picture this: one day, a company comes out of nowhere to introduce a service that renders Twitter obsolete. Overnight, all of those hours you spent cranking out tweets are useless. Or are they?
Let's face it: Twitter is not so much about our follower counts, retweets, or mentions. Those are just numbers. Here's the real deal: Twitter prepares us for the future by teaching us valuable, real-world skills.
So even if Twitter dies tomorrow, here are the five most important skills we can learn from it.
1. Networking
Twitter is simply a tool we use to nuture our social and professional networks. Effective networking involves keeping track of what your colleagues are doing. That includes industry figures, friends, clients, and fans. Furthermore, we keep our networks fresh by staying engaged with people.
2. Engagement
Suddenly, social networking isn't just about connecting. Now, it's about engaging. Basically, real engagement just means we talk with our fans rather than at them. Now we're treating followers like real people! Artists are speaking directly to fans instead of issuing a blanket press release written by someone outside of the band. Musicians are using this skill to resolve problems, show appreciation for kindness, and display interest in others' personal lives.
3. Communicating Succinctly
Believe it or not, communicating succinctly is an incredibly valuable skill. After all, college journalism classes devote much time and energy to the art of the headline.
Twitter's 140 character limit forces users to communicate efficiently. Concise communication helps people understand what you want. It lets them know exactly what you're asking them to do.
4. Seeking Out Best Practices
There are thousands of articles that advise us on the best Twitter practices. Absord them. Implement them regularly. Before you know it, you're conditioned to seek out the best practices in other areas of your business.
5. Adaption To Change
Forces outside of our control can change the whole playing field in an instant. Look no further than your own Twitter feed. New trends and opinions are constantly flowing in and out the landscape.
It's not just important to take notice of these changes. The deeper skill is recognizing which changes apply to you, and how adapt your business accordingly.
It seems unlikely now, but the forces of change can bury Twitter alongside MySpace and Google Buzz. Depending on your perspective, that's the wonderful thing about change. It doesn't discriminate, and it can happen in an instant.
So going forward, take the larger lessons of Twitter and apply them to your music career.
Wes Davenport is the publicist for Nashville electro-rock band Vinyl Thief. He writes about ways modern artists can thrive at his blog. Follow him on Twitter @wesdavenport for more music industry insights.


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Companies need to utilize analytics to stay competitive or risk being left behind. However, many lack the infrastructure and expertise to perform any kind of deep analysis on their data. We make advanced analytics possible by providing a complete, end-to-end solution, from initial data strategy to delivery. Our platform utilizes the best technology for any given task; we stay on top of the newest tools and technologies so you don't have to. Never worry about becoming obsolete.
Analytics Roadmap
There are many competitors that offer products that perform one portion of this process (cloud storage, data warehousing software, visualization tools, etc.) This requires working with multiple vendors and products in order to complete the myriad of required steps for advanced analytics.
Aunalytics has invested millions of dollars and thousands of man-hours to develop a comprehensive platform that is secure, scalable, leverages the best technologies throughout the data management and analytics process, all in one place. This allows our clients to reallocate the resources dedicated to building and maintaining their own system for analytics.
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What Is the Glycemic Index?
by Sarah J. Kerr, BA
Glucose is the chemical name of the sugar molecules in your blood. All the carbohydrates, starches, and sugars that you eat are digested or changed into glucose in your body. The amount of glucose in your blood at any given time is called blood glucose. It is important for your health to keep your blood glucose within a specific range.
If you have diabetes, you know how important a healthy diet is for managing your blood glucose levels. A healthy diet, along with medication and regular physical activity, can help keep your glucose levels in check. Following the glycemic index may be one way for you to achieve it.
Understanding the Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is an indirect measure of how much carbohydrate there is in a food. The glycemic index of a particular food is measured by how much it raises blood glucose levels compared to a reference food—usually glucose or white bread. A food with a high glycemic index raises blood glucose levels more than a food with a low glycemic index.
Determining the glycemic index of a food is not as easy as it sounds. Many factors come into play, like ripeness. For example, ripe bananas have a higher glycemic index than unripe. This is because sugar is produced as fruit ripens, making it sweeter. Other considerations include how a food is cooked or what else is eaten along with the food. Generally speaking, foods that are high in fiber have a lower glycemic index, and foods that are highly processed have a higher glycemic index.
Here is how some common foods compare:
The Glycemic Index and Diabetes
A lot of research has been done to determine if glycemic index is a useful tool for managing diabetes. So far, the evidence is weak that a low glycemic index diet reduces HbA1c (the measure of glucose levels over the past 2-3 months) or improves glucose level control. But that does not mean that the glycemic index is useless. There are still ways you can use the glycemic index to your advantage.
The glycemic index can be helpful in fine-tuning your food choices. For example, if you want to eat a high glycemic index food, like a ripe banana, balancing your meal with a low glycemic index food, like steel-cut oats, can help to keep your glucose levels in check. But monitoring the glycemic index of your food choices should not take the place of eating a variety of healthy foods. It is also important to remember that portion size plays a role in managing blood glucose.
Counting Carbs Instead
For most people with diabetes, the key to managing blood glucose is carbohydrate counting. Balancing your carbohydrate intake with physical activity and medication can keep your glucose levels under control. Together, counting carbs and monitoring glycemic index may be helpful in managing blood glucose. For instance, knowing how you respond to high or low glycemic index foods can help you plan your carbohydrate intake and avoid fluctuations in your blood glucose levels. Spreading your carbohydrate intake over the course of the day can also help keep your glucose levels steady.
Is the Glycemic Index for You?
Even though knowing the glycemic index of a food might help you predict how your blood glucose levels will respond, it may not be the answer to all your dietary questions. For one thing, the numbers listed above are not set in stone. The glycemic index of a food will be different for each person who eats it, based on their activity level, age, and how quickly the food is digested. Accounting for all these different factors can be complicated, and health professionals agree that patients are less likely to stick with complicated meal plans. So, while the glycemic index might be helpful, it probably will not be the only consideration. Consider discussing your concerns with your doctor or dietitian.
American Diabetes Association
Joslin Diabetes Center
Diabetes Canada
Public Health Agency of Canada
Dietary considerations for patients with type 2 diabetes. EBSCO DynaMed Plus website. Available at: http://www.dynamed... . Updated February 7, 2017. Accessed May 8, 2017.
Dietary guidelines for Americans 2015-2020. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion website. Available at: https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines. Updated December 2015. Accessed May 8, 2017.
Glycemic index and diabetes. American Diabetes Association website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Updated May 14, 2014. Accessed May 8, 2017.
The glycemic index and diabetes. Joslin Diabetes Center website. Available at:
...(Click grey area to select URL)
Accessed May 8, 2017.
Sadovsky R. Dietary management in patients with type 2 diabetes. Am Fam Physician. 2000;61(2):507-508.
Last reviewed May 2017 by Michael Woods, MD, FAAP
Last Updated: 5/8/2017
EBSCO Information Services is fully accredited by URAC. URAC is an independent, nonprofit health care accrediting organization dedicated to promoting health care quality through accreditation, certification and commendation.
This content is reviewed regularly and is updated when new and relevant evidence is made available. This information is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with questions regarding a medical condition.
To send comments or feedback to our Editorial Team regarding the content please email us at email@example.com. Our Health Library Support team will respond to your email request within 2 business days.
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Durable, semi-permanent marking paint which has been specially formulated for stencil, applicator or freehand marking. Suitable for use on playing fields, roads and car parks, warehouses and golf courses.
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All Girl
Adult DVD Compilation - Adult DVD Porn - Porn Compilations - Adult DVD Movies
These adult compilation DVDs contain numerous scenes taken from previously released DVDs to make one adult DVD. More like a highlight DVD of porn, you can skip right to the good stuff with a compilation DVD. Compilation DVDs can be porn star specific or genre specific, either way you'll get exactly what you want with compilation adult DVDs.


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Watching too much television and exercising too little might be at least partly to blame for a possible decline in the sperm counts of American men, a Harvard School of Public Health study suggests.
In findings published Monday in the British Medical Journal, the researchers assessed sperm quality in 189 college students ages 18 to 22 and found that those who exercised vigorously and often — more than 14 hours per week — and who watched no television had the highest quality and quantity of sperm compared with those who exercised less and watched more than 20 hours a week of television.
The result was surprising because it contradicts previous research suggesting that male athletes are more likely to have low sperm counts. "Those previous findings were looking at elite marathon runners, triathletes, and cyclists, and I've always been skeptical that they apply to nonathletes," said Dr. Jorge Chavarro, an assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the School of Public Health.
While Chavarro emphasized that the study findings need to be replicated to verify the association, he said moderate exercise of any kind appears to cause no harm to a man's fertility and is likely beneficial.
Both too much TV and a sedentary lifestyle independently raised a man's likelihood of having fewer sperm, but men who exercised and watched a lot of TV didn't fare as poorly from their excess TV viewing as those who didn't exercise at all.
The research, however, has several limitations. The study was relatively small and wasn't designed to prove whether altering exercise or TV viewing habits could improve a man's sperm quality. Although the researchers accounted for smoking, obesity, poor diet, and high stress levels — all of which could lower sperm production — they couldn't account for all of the potential differences between the two groups that might have influenced fertility.
"It's an interesting study, and I'm always one to look for research showing that physical activity benefits fertility," said Alice Domar, a fertility researcher and psychologist who heads the Domar Center at Boston IVF. "But it's also possible that college students who aren't as healthy and don't produce ample sperm are also more likely to watch TV and avoid exercising."
What's more, the study could not conclude that men who watched the most TV and did the least exercise actually were less fertile, even though their sperm counts were significantly lower.
"We cannot answer that question for these particular men," Chavarro said, "because they were college students who haven't yet tried to have kids."
Researchers have been debating for some time whether men in the United States and other westernized countries have become less fertile in recent decades. In a study published in the British Medical Journal Open last year, Danish researchers examined the semen of nearly 5,000 young men and found that only 23 percent of the study participants had optimal sperm quantity and quality, which was much lower than the percentage of men who were studied in the 1940s. The researchers predicted that such low sperm counts would probably delay pregnancy and that 15 percent of the study participants would need fertility treatment.
Dr. Peter Schlegel, chair of urology at Weill Cornell Medical College, wrote in an e-mail that men shouldn't interpret the new research as the answer to infertility. "Studies such as this are of interest, but they don't ask the most important question. If you turn off channel 5 and go for a run each night, can you change your fertility? Can you even increase your sperm concentration?"
Domar agreed and said she's not going to advise men with low sperm counts to limit their TV time or start working out more intensively.
What Domar does advise -- based on previous research -- is that men with fertility problems avoid biking for extended periods, choose boxers instead of briefs, and remove warm laptops from their laps. Anything that raises the temperature of the testicles can destroy sperm produced and stored in the glands.
Deborah Kotz can be reached at email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @debkotz2.


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Weather Watch: The Sap is Flowing
Our roller coaster temperatures have made it difficult to determine just what season it is, but the maple trees have decided that it is spring. Last week temperatures ranged from the single digits to around 50 in East Middlebury. Below-freezing nights and above-freezing days, like we usually see in March, are great conditions for getting the sap flowing in the sugar maples. Apparently the sugar maples in East Middlebury are either opportunistic or confused, because the sap started flowing last week, much earlier than usual. The first surge of sap created sapsicles like the one above on damaged branches where sap leaked out and froze. I went out and tasted the sapsickle, and sure enough, it had a faint taste of maple syrup! (Note: if you want to try a sapsickle, make certain it is on a maple tree and has formed from flowing sap, not dripping from a dirty rooftop above) After a warm week, last weekend's temperatures sure seemed cold! Of course, the cold was not unusual for mid February. Still, I think the total lack of snow makes the cold seem somehow harsher. Temperatures have risen back above freezing today, and the 'good sugaring weather' is expected to extend through the next week, perhaps along with some rain and wet snow at times. I wondered if early running of sap might harm the maple trees, so I contacted the UVM Proctor Maple Center to ask if there were any possible negative impacts to the trees or the syrup harvest. I received a quick response from Timothy Perkins at the Maple Center - maple sap can flow any time the temperatures reach above freezing, and this phenomena is not harmful to the trees. I was glad to hear this good news, but also wondered if those in the sugar industry were in a scramble to prepare for the possible early season. I noticed some buckets on trees around town so apparently enough sap is running to be worth harvesting. At the moment the long range forecast is for more of the same. At this point, I've given up on getting good snowfall this winter and I'm ready for spring. One way or another, next winter will bring something different. Charlie Hohn is a recent graduate of the UVM Field Naturalist graduate program. He has been closely watching the weather ever since he was a child in southern California. Charlie will be posting occasional blog posts here about Addison County weather. He also maintains a blog about water at slowwatermovement.blogspot.com.


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In any case, the best staple related xkcd will always be #262. Read the alt-text.
And of course, move the Megan Count up to 5.
also, why is the "yes" at the end coming from above? The best I can come up with is that the man has been stapled to the ceiling but that seems unlikely to me.


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Load, carry, dump and perform general clean-up work.
|94.7 in 2406.0 mm
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|40.4 in 1025.3 mm
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|1168.9 lb 530.2 kg
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|37.8 in 959.6 mm
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|1.31 yd³ 1.0 m³
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|Base Edge Thickness
|0.8 in 20.0 mm
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|Cutting Edge Thickness
|0.7 in 19.0 mm
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|Interface Type
|IT Coupler IT Coupler
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Designed for digging, loading, carrying, leveling, grading and dumping in a variety of applications and materials.
Formed back wrapper design enhances bucket loading and production in a wide variety of applications.
Optimum wrapper angle and lack of sharp corners promote superior bucket fill and reduce material packing for greater productivity.
Base bucket also available with bolt-on cutting edge and bolt-on teeth.