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subset: commoncrawl


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Thursday, March 25, 2004 - Page updated at 12:00 AM
Rosetta's thriving as Merck subsidiary
Seattle Times business reporter
Dr. Stephen Friend started a company to radically improve drug discovery by using computers, but when he sold Rosetta Inpharmatics to Merck, some thought his dream would die inside a corporate bureaucracy.
Yesterday, nearly three years after the acquisition, he got a standing ovation from employees at the opening of a multimillion-dollar research center Merck built for its Rosetta subsidiary in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood.
Many of the employees know the history well. Merck bought Rosetta for about $630 million in July 2001, when investors were walking away from the high-fliers of the Human Genome Project boom. If Rosetta had stayed independent and tried to live by selling its products to other companies, it might have ended up like Incyte or Celera Genomics — companies that had to shut down cutting-edge research or dramatically overhaul their businesses to survive.
Instead, Rosetta has consolidated its several workspaces in Kirkland and Bothell at its new Seattle research center, kept its name-brand identity, and grown from 175 people to 275. Friend, a former researcher at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, works out of Merck headquarters in New Jersey and has been promoted to senior vice president, along with the operations man from Rosetta, John King.
Rosetta researchers still wear T-shirts to work, and the break-room refrigerators are still stocked with free soda and juice.
"People here are more stable, and their job is going to impact more people than it would have before," Friend said. "The No. 1 question at the time of acquisition was, 'How are we ever going to impact Merck?'
"But every single one of those people can now point to projects where they can say, 'Aha, I helped that guy, or I helped on this.' Before, they were somewhat removed, creating tools for others."
Merck has spent $20 billion on research and development over the past decade but has few promising drugs to show off to Wall Street. It has a long history of research independence and has resisted acquiring innovative small companies. It still can't say for sure whether it got its money's worth with Rosetta.
Merck isn't promising Rosetta will keep growing in Seattle. The South Lake Union center is only one of the company's 10 research centers, which employ a total of 13,000 people. But Merck says it has high hopes that Rosetta will make a difference in screening cancer compounds and genetic targets, which hasn't traditionally been one of the company's strengths.
Friend said Rosetta's genetic-profiling capabilities are making it possible to subdivide groups of patients who have genetic targets that can be hit and consistently modified by a chemical compound, versus patients with different genetic makeups who respond differently.
Merck is also using Rosetta's technology to examine how tiny modifications to compounds can reduce toxic side effects. In theory, the technique can predict which compounds will fail before time and money is wasted on human testing. That's important to drug companies because drug research and development is notoriously inefficient — fewer than 1 percent of compounds screened in the lab ultimately become approved drugs.
"We're using molecular profiling to improve the probability of success, and we're in a low-probability-of-success business, so anything we can do to increase it is extremely valuable," said Peter Kim, president of Merck Research Laboratories.
Tom Ranken, chief executive of Seattle-based VizX Labs, a computational biology startup, said some people mourn the buyout of an up-and-coming company, but Rosetta may be lucky to have found a purpose within Merck at the time it did.
"It's a very interesting question to ask, about what would things have been like if Merck had not stepped in," Ranken said. "Rosetta had great technology, they were doing fabulous stuff with enormous potential, but sometimes the market doesn't recognize it. Rosetta may have had brilliant timing."
Luke Timmerman: 206-515-5644 or firstname.lastname@example.com
Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company


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[Posted by Shard on July 23rd, 2009, 2:42 pm]
I was browsing through a photobucket album of mine and found the very first Damaru sprite I made. I was already pretty good at that stage but compared to his sprites now... well, yeah.
Damaru doesn't like being reminded of the past, apparently.
[Posted by Advertisement on September 17th, 2019, 11:37 am]
[Posted by G.I.U.L.I.O. on July 23rd, 2009, 2:43 pm]
I loled. So. HARD.
[Posted by Shard on July 23rd, 2009, 2:49 pm]
@Tech- General fact: People ask authors of comics if they can cameo. Authors of comics don't ask people for sprites to cameo in their comics. Generally, if someone wants to cameo, they'll ask.
[Posted by DnaMadness.exe on July 23rd, 2009, 3:43 pm]
Speaking of badass Dogs, the taco bell dog just died ;-;
[Posted by Neociz on July 23rd, 2009, 5:26 pm]
How is there wind in the house. ;-;
[Posted by Snurple-the-Hedgehog on July 23rd, 2009, 7:48 pm]
Didn't understand it at first...
AFTER the understanding... I literally laughed my ass off
[Posted by Imperial on July 25th, 2009, 3:31 pm]
@Shard about tech: well you did say if anyone wants to use katai to ask XD
[Posted by Shard on July 25th, 2009, 7:25 pm]
@tech- I never said permission would be granted if you asked. I also like to see what kind of stuff she would be used for, and generally, if I don't like the idea, chances are I won't lend her (or any other characters) out. Quality also matters. And whether or not said person was being as annoying as hell while asking ten million times.
[Posted by Imperial on July 26th, 2009, 4:05 am]
btw shard your new avie made me orgasm
[Posted by Ghost Fox on August 24th, 2010, 1:23 pm]
I almost thought the plant was Niv's hair! LOL
Leave A Comment »


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$20.00 - 50.00
Relive Prohibition without all the pesky illegalities, bathtub hooch, and glamorous parties hidden behind secret speakeasy doors--okay, that last one sounds pretty great. Filled with hand-selected and aromatic juniper berries, mixed spices, and more, this DIY gin kit lets you brew your own batch without a flurry of distilling equipment.Simply start with a bottle of your favorite vodka, which acts as a blank canvas, then add the included spices and botanicals. Let your ingredients steep for 36 hours before enjoying your very own happy hour-ready mix, touched with hints of lavender, sandalwood, and green cardamom. Two included bottles display your tipples with pride, while the small batch mix tastes great on the rocks, with a splash of tonic, or an aromatic addition to a Negroni. Made in USA.
Still haven't found the details you're looking for? Check out our Product Q&A!
Please note: This item is not available to ship outside of the U.S.
The package comes with everything you need to make flavored vodka (aka gin), but I thought the herbs and spices would come separately packaged instead of mixed to allow for the recipient to build their own flavors. There's really no creativity involved in dumping the premixed spices into a bottle, so I don't really see the value in this "kit".
Chicago, IL
Wonderful gift for those who like to dabble in cocktail making
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Jaudia the Best Gifter
Cleveland, OH
My son loves infusing alcohol to make wonderful one of a kind new flavors ! He has a knack for it. This will give him the opportunity for yet another adventure!
Waverly IA
The kit had all the spices and botanicals to make to taste. The bottles in the kit were a perfect addition to make it personal. I added Alyson Thomas's Gin and Tonic glassware (found on UncommonGoods website) to round out the perfect gift.
Greenville, SC
This was given as a gift. Recipient hasn't made it yet but they loved the idea of it
Jess from CO
My Dad absolutely loved this gift. The only reason I dropped it one star is that you have to buy a bottle of Vodka to complete the kit, but without opening the kit I wasn't able to find any information on suggested types of Vodka. So I went to the liquor store and ask them for some help. It ended up being a great gift and it is incredibly unique.
Dallas, TX
My father-in-law loves gin and thought this was a really clever gift. He was excited to try it!
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Very easy and fun to do
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It was a nice surprise and he loves it!
Lexington IL
Homemade Gin Kit on uncommongoods.com
Embrace the do-it-yourself spirit by making a batch of aromatic gin using your favorite vodka as the base.
You have already added a Gift Certificate to your cart. To order multiple Gift Certificates, please call us at 888.365.0056


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Fourth Week of Advent
And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." (Luke 1:46-55 NRSV)
With Christmas itself only a few days away, it seems as if the the themes of Advent — waiting and preparation — should be finished with. For many this can be such a busy week, getting ready to have guests, or traveling somewhere where they will be a guest, that contemplation falls by the wayside. But we should consider the words of Mary in the Magnificat. Faced with the news of God's incredible grace and blessing bestowed upon her, the knowledge of what part she had to play in God's plans, the young Jewish girl — from a place that the world didn't see as important — glorified Him. In these last days before Christmas, each of can take the time to consider the grace bestowed on us, and the role we may have in God's plans.


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A prequel to the upcoming movie, "Godzilla Awakening" follows the post-Hiroshima resurgence of Godzilla and his winged rival Shinomura. Readers who were hoping for a rock-'em-sock-'em monster battle are in for a surprise, because "Godzilla Awakening" focuses primarily on the people. The main storyline, which follows a team of Japanese scientists and American military men as they track Godzilla through the '50s and '60s, is linked tangentially to the movie through a frame narrative, but it's primarily a background primer on how Godzilla will work in this universe. Well thought out but clumsily rendered, this graphic novel is probably best reserved for those who are already very excited about the movie.
As a concept, "Godzilla Awakening" shows thought. To start, it actually has a Japanese protagonist, Mr. Serizawa, whose name is a nod to the original Dr. Serizawa. It's important that the Borensteins keep the story so centered on Serizawa and his journey of discovery, considering that the movie cast is so inappropriately predominantly white. Focusing on Serizawa also amps up the message of "Godzilla Awakening" by bringing the story much closer to the dropping of the bomb and the reality of American culpability. Serizawa's anger at the people who irradiated his country, despite his collaboration with them, makes the book's finale much more interesting and impactful. (I won't spoil, but the American military ignores his protests over a crucial course of action.)
The book also does a fine job of establishing the explanation for Godzilla's existence and his rivalry with Shinomura. What will surely be an info-dump in the movie is presented here as a slow, decades-long discovery. It's an unexpected salute to the slog and dedication involved in the scientific process.
However, the execution feels phoned-in. The dialogue is often more than a little lazy. As the sailors' ship is thrown down a mountain side, they scream, "Oh my God! We're being thrown down the mountain side!" Characters justify themselves with lines like "I'm telling you, I saw it," and "I saw it in his eyes." Even though they've been researching this creature for years, they never refer to any of their research or cite evidence when arguing with one another. It doesn't feel authentic or personal. Godzilla's a pulpier story, so the conversations don't need to be incredibly nuanced, but it would be nice to get a better sense of the characters when they speak.
The art, too, is often obscuring. On pencils and inks, it's evident that there is more than one artist on this book, and things don't always gel. Characters will change appearance utterly; even Serizawa could be difficult to identify. The action isn't clearly drawn, and that's triply disappointing in a book where Godzilla fights another flying kaiju. I often struggled to figure out precisely what was happening, especially during the disaster set pieces.
Lee Loughridge, whose work I usually quite like, compounds the problem with his colors. As always, he shows a clear point of view, and the colors are complementary and well-arranged on a page level. However, on the panel level they often make it even more difficult to follow physical action. He uses a variety of grey and light blue backgrounds that don't always read "destruction," and which swallow up the already confused pencils. That said, when the colors work, they really work.
All told, "Godzilla Awakening" did get me more excited for the movie, which is probably the primary point. On its own merits, though, it didn't impress.


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Victoria Peak tends to be one of the must see attractions of Hong Kong if only because of the great views (unless there's really heavy fog like during our visit) and the novelty of riding up and down on the Peak Tram. Its really easy to get to using the MTR to get to Central and walking from there.
Continue reading "Victoria Peak, Hong Kong"


text: This past Friday, we had a ridiculously good time in the studio. It was early morning with lots of coffee, hairspray clouds and some beats to keep us all going. I met four beautiful real life women all showcasing Edward's hair styles and Ruth's magic with makeup. For all those interested in trying out Edward , you can reach him through his website at www.sickhaircolor.com or email@example.com. His connection to me you may ask? He does my hair carefully and to the detail and is not afraid to really make me stand out, Ruth Armstrong is obviously super talented as well! You can get in touch with her for all your make up needs, email@example.com or at 773-459-2361. If you are wondering about the beautiful vibrant chainmaille, they were created by Sky. She will be at fashion week in New York starting Sept 10. Look out for them and wish her luck! I, in fact, did not shoot this. This is Eric's work. He shot this with ease and ordered his assistant around (me) like a true pro. His skills behind the lens are getting ridiculous. This is a sneak peak into his introduction at "Simply Jessie", which will come soon. He is now open for business: head-shots, product, furniture, you name it firstname.lastname@example.com. Here are a few of our favorite shots.


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Stinchcombe A, Gagnon S, Zhang JJ, Montembeault P, Bédard M. Fluctuating attentional demand in a simulated driving assessment: The roles of age and driving complexity. Traffic Injury Prevention 2011; 12:576-87.
Rapoport M, Weaver B, Kiss A, Zucchero Sarracini C, Moller H, Herrmann N, Lanctôt K, Murray B, Bédard M. The effects of donepezil on computer-simulated driving ability among healthy older adults: A pilot study. Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology 2011; 31:587-592.
Khan A, Rios LP, Khan N, Sándor GKB, Peters E, Rahman MO, Clokie CML, Dore E, Dubois S. Biphosphonate-associated Osteonecrosis of the Jaw in Ontario: a survey of oral and maxillofacial surgeons. The Journal of Rheumatology, 2011 Jul, 38(7):1396-402. Epub 2011 Apr 15.
Johnson MJ, Chahal T, Stinchcombe A, Mullen N, Weaver B, Bédard M. Physiological responses to simulated and on-road driving. International Journal of Psychophysiology 2011; July 2 Epub.
Bédard M, Riendeau J, Weaver B, Clarkson A. Roadwise Review has limited congruence with actual driving performance of aging drivers. Accident Analysis & Prevention 2011; 43:2209-2214.
Winter SM, Classen S, Bédard M, Lutz B, Velozo CA, Lanford DN, Brumback B. Focus group findings for a self-report Safe Driving Behavior Measure.Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy 2011; 78:72-79.
Bachner YB, O'Rourke N, Bédard M, Ayalon L. Comparison of responses by caregivers to Hebrew and English language versions of an abridged Zarit Burden Interview. Aging and Mental Health 2011; 15:370-375.
Hogan DB, Bédard M. Review of the introduction of a new screening tool for the identification of cognitively impaired medically at-risk drivers. Canadian Geriatrics Journal 2011; 14:51-54.
Bédard M, Weaver B. Commentary on: Cognitive training for older drivers can reduce the frequency of involvement in motor vehicle collisions. Evidence-based Mental Health 2011; 14:52.
Bédard M, Weaver B, Man-Son-Hing M, Classen S, Porter MM, Byszewski A, Charlton J, Gagnon S, Gélinas I, Korner-Bitensky N, Langford J, Marshall S, Myers A, Rapoport M, Tuokko H, Vrkljan B. The SIMARD screening tool to identify unfit drivers: Are we there NOW? Journal of Primary Care and Community Health 2011; 2:133-135.


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The San Francisco 49ers denied secondary coach Ed Donatell permission to interview for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' vacant defensive coordinator position, according to a league source.
Donatell is at least the third coaching candidate who has been blocked from speaking with Tampa Bay by current employers.
Previously, the Buccaneers were denied permission to speak with the Packers' Ben McAdoo, who was recently named Green Bay's quarterbacks coach, and the Cardinals' John McNulty, who was recently named Arizona's quarterbacks coach. Tampa Bay had been considering McAdoo and McNulty to fill its offensive coordinator position.
On Friday, the team ended that search, hiring New York Giants quarterbacks coach Mike Sullivan.
Follow Jason La Canfora on Twitter @JasonLaCanfora


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Learn to master concrete restoration and beautifully transform existing concrete. Using Brickform SM Professional Grade, Cem-Coat, and Antique-It, you develop new opportunities and create new revenue streams for your business. Whether you aim to restore old concrete, correct mistakes on new concrete, or dress up existing slabs, the skills and products covered in this demonstration are vital to your success. All processes and techniques instructed by Solomon Colors Area Manager Steve Johnson.
This one day training course only costs $50. All attendees will receive a $50 Brickform Gift Card and a $50 shopping spree at KC Bobcat. Contact KC Bobcat for details and registration. Call 800-984-3001.


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How To Add Image Descriptions "Alt Tags" To Help Your SEO
Featured Videos
SEO Tip - Adding "Alt Tags" or "Alternative Descriptions" will have your website found more frequently. This easy to follow video shows how to add additional information to your website images so that Search Engine Spiders know what the images are of. Remember the goal of your website is to attract new customers. If you are found more frequently in searches, you will see a boost in leads and sales.Photograph is from http://www.beavercreekjoinery.net/. It is a kitchen they built and installed.Presented by David Domos of http://www.whybuyfromyou.com
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It's been a while since my last post as I've been away preparing to take the logical next step for every engineer. Get an MBA. Because if you don't have one, are you even an engineer? But let's not go there..
What my preparation did teach me though, is that Human Resources isn't simply meant to be a shoulder on which the top management rests its gun as it annihilates the minions. Man management or 'personality' management (just so that all allegations of sexism can be kept at bay) is an integral part of any leader's success. Or failure for that matter. Just ask Andre Villas Boas.
I was one of the many people who actually rated him quite highly after his exploits with Porto. When he arrived at Chelsea I truly had great hopes for him and the club. And when he was sacked, obviously John Terry was to blame. Everything that goes wrong at that club somehow seems traceable back to JT's mischief. But after failing at Tottenham it became clear that AVB had a serious problem convincing the players to buy in to his ideology. The old guard's stubbornness could be blamed at Chelsea, but at Spurs he was building his own team. The stories of unrest, his volatility in the press and seemingly absurd expulsion of Emmanuel Adebayor to the reserves/ junior team, all pointed to an inability to deal with strong personalities. Although to be fair, Adebayor's mental age is that of a 5 year old Mario Balotelli. Luck is mostly just good timing, and that's exactly what Tim Sherwood had. He came in at a time when Spurs had already been thrashed by the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City, so it couldn't get much worse. All he had to do was bring back the Togolese who now had a point to prove. And we all know how far he will go to do that. Literally. Just ask Arsenal fans. 103 yards I believe it was. Sherwood had an impressive start to his reign but then seemed to run out of the steam that is fuelled by a change in management and all the promise it brings.
The point is this. There's a reason he's called the manager and not just the coach. He is in charge of far more than just tactics. An astute tactician will have success with smaller clubs and achieve moderate goals. However, as the stakes are raised, so are the egos. Only the best achieve the best. The problem is when the players not only think they are the best, but also that they know best. That's where a manager must step in and make decisions that are in the long term interest of the club. Gerardo Martino and Diego Simeone typify this dichotomy. While Martino took charge of a team that has been touted as one of the best in history, Simeone took over at Atletico in December. That itself should tell you all you need to know. Atleti were diabolical almost. You could bet your house on them blowing it. For cricket fans, they were the quintessential South Africa. Brilliant and dynamic one day, and completely lifeless the next. Diego Simeone had the fans' support and molded the team in his image as a player. Tough to beat, beating up tough people, and doing a great job all round of causing great discomfort to anyone who confronts them. Martino on the other hand had the friendly uncle vibe with the players. He was trying to fit in as an outsider. Something the Catalan club hadn't had since the departure of Frank Rijkaard five years earlier. While results went his way, there was a lot of dissent about his playing style. There is said to have been a meeting sometime in December when a senior player demanded things be done a certain way. Whether there is truth to this or not, the general atmosphere around the club hasn't been right and the players have been affected by it. Tata, for his part, has been unable to insulate them from the vitriol which you could consider a failing. Both teams now sit on the precipice of great euphoria. They are equally close to disastrous tragedy. But whatever happens, Simeone will have proven to be a success and not least for having changed the mentality of Club Atletico de Madrid. They hadn't beaten Real Madrid for fourteen years. Then they went to the Bernebeu for the Copa del Rey final, and won. That was the defining moment for this team and they never looked back since.
Skipping back across the channel, in the Northwest of England there was another odd couple of managers who showed just how important it is to have the players tweet only good stuff about you. David Moyes took over at Old Trafford while Brendan Rodgers prepared his Liverpool side to bid for a Champions League spot. Fast forward 9 months and Rodgers is praying for West Ham to beat City so that everyone can forget that absolutely heart wrenching Steven Gerrard slip, while Moyes will be watching the final day of the season from the comfort of his lazy boy. The contrast between the two teams was clear as day when they played each other. On one hand, the Merseysiders were playing their heart out for their manager. On the other, you had David Moyes trying to figure out how Sir Alex made Phil Jones look world class while Rio Ferdinand tweeted about how the manager needed to be buying his '5' caps. Brendan Rodgers has managed to galvanize this Liverpool team and Ferguson-esque move, made Jordan Henderson look worth the money. He has got the most out of a team that on paper, should be no higher than fourth. United on the other hand, are about where they should be. Especially if they're going to play Juan Mata wide on the right. But thats a sob story for another day.
There are a number of other examples this season where it has been evident that the manager has either been able to inspire his troops to outperform their rivals or has completely failed to win their confidence and subsequently failed. Manuel Pellegrini too, to a certain extent is a testament to excellent personality management. He has got a group of superstars to sacrifice themselves for the cause. City are now favorites for the title despite having been in patchy form away from home and having to keep up with a 11 game winning streak from Liverpool. That doesn't just happen with a team performing as a sum of their parts. This year, there has been far less drama about City, with everyone in the camp seemingly happy. Considering the fact the Pellegrini's English was as good as my Spanish when he first started there, it is all the more commendable that he has got this team to play for him.
No article about man management can be complete without a mention of Harry Redknapp (at least not if your hoping for some eyeballs from England). He seemed to make a conscious decision to ignore the tactics board completely, favoring instead the tried and tested technique of putting an arm around the player's shoulder to get him to play the way he wanted. While it was definitely not as bad as that, there is no doubt that Harry placed far greater importance on team spirit and inspiration than tactics and worrying about whether to play with three or four at the back. It has proved to be largely successful too, regardless of the fact that he is currently unemployed. Maybe after this season, and more importantly, this article, someone will offer him a job. I hear the hot seat at White Hart Lane is currently empty. Wonder if he'd be interested..


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SNIA Whitepapers
This white paper will explore the need for a caching and buffering technology between DRAM and HDDs and why Flash memory can be used to fill this need. We will go on to look at various ways that Flash and HDDs can be combined in a computer storage hierarchy. These technologies to combine Flash memory and HDDs include hybrid HDDs, Flash on the computer motherboard, and a combination of Flash and HDD storage devices in the same computer – paired storage systems.
Solid state data storage is gaining significant acceptance today. Storage based on Ram Access Memory (RAM) and Flash chips instead of mechanical hard disk drives is earning much greater attention by meeting the market requirements for reliability, performance, and cost more effectively than ever before. Read on.
NAND Flash-based solid state storage (SSS) solutions, as they exist today, offer unparalleled performance combined with a level of data integrity and availability for mission-critical data that matches and potentially exceeds storage solutions based on mechanical, magnetic drives. Long associated with consumer electronics, NAND Flash has become a viable storage medium for commercial and governmental information systems, often referred to collectively as enterprise applications.
The SNIA Dictionary contains terms and definitions related to storage and other information technologies, and is the storage networking industry's most comprehensive attempt to date to arrive at a common body of terminology for the technologies it represents. The terms go through a rigorous technical review and approval process by the SNIA Technical Council to assure their accuracy.
The energy required to support data center IT operations is becoming a central concern worldwide. For some data centers, additional energy supply is simply not available, either due to finite power generation capacity in certain regions or the inability of the power distribution grid to accommodate more lines. Read on.
In April 2003, the Network File System (NFS) version 4 Protocol was ratified as an Internet standard, described in RFC-35301, which superseded NFS Version 3 (NFSv3, specified in RFC-18132). Since the ratification of NFSv4, further advances have been made to the standard, notably NFSv4.1 (as described in RFC-56613, ratified in January 2010) that includes several new features such as parallel NFS (pNFS).
Organisations of all types are trying to control costs and satisfy increasing demands at the same time— demands created by explosive data growth and ever-changing regulations. To address these challenges, storage industry professionals are turning to cloud computing and cloud storage solutions.
The energy required to support data center IT operations is becoming a central concern worldwide. For some data centers, additional energy supply is simply not available, either due to finite power generation capacity in certain regions or the inability of the power distribution grid to accommodate more lines. Read on.
Today's data explosion presents unprecedented challenges incorporating a wide range of application requirements such as database, transaction processing, data warehousing, imaging, integrated audio/video, real-time computing, and collaborative projects. For nearly a decade storage area networks (SANs) have become mainstays for companies looking to increase storage utilisation and manageability while reducing costs.
Many organisations, driven by the opportunities for significant cost-savings, are considering cloud computing and cloud storage solutions, which take advantage of Web-based technologies to allow scalable, virtualized IT resources to be provided as a service over the network. Not a new technology in itself, cloud computing is a new business model wrapped around existing technologies, such as server virtualization, to make the use of information technology resources more efficient.


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Pantsuit Politics Family: We recorded this episode early Sunday morning before much was known about the tragedy at Pulse in Orlando. We will attempt to discuss more about the complexities of this act of terror, hate crime, and mass shooting at another time. For now, our hearts are with every person impacted.
We are emotionally drained this week. In the Pearls, Sarah gets to celebrate the nomination of Hillary Clinton and President Obama's and Elizabeth Warren's endorsements. We then sadly turn our attention to violence in Tel Aviv and Orlando. We applaud the bravery of two Texas valedictorians who used their platforms to discuss our broken immigration system. Then, in The Suit, we discuss the Stanford case as a starting point for talking about rape culture and how we move forward. Finally, in The Heels, we talk about Made in America and how our lives are becoming history.
Show Notes:
The Obama and Warren Endorsements
A Victory for the Women's Movement vs. A Victory for Women
Texas Valedictorian Addresses Immigration
A Huge Myth About Rape on College Campuses
What the Stanford Rape Case Can Teach our Sons
What the Stanford Rape Case Tells Us About Rape Culture
Disappointed and Not Surprised
Video: Victim-Blaming Makes No Sense


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Breaking September/
After such an amazing weekend at David's Tent, we are back making and packaging orders for all of you, our feathered friends. One of the many things that keeps us going is the music (of course)!
Breaking September is our 'no longer Summer but not quite Autumn' playlist. We wanted to share with you the sounds playing through the studio during the crafting and creative process. Enjoy these melodies from some of our favourites.
We recommend: 'Hard Love' by NEEDTOBREATHE


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To view your bonus details, along with all your real money account details, please log on to our client and proceed via the Cashier tab. All bonus funds are listed under the Pending Bonus section of your account.
Frequent Player Points
When a player is dealt cards at any real money cash game, he/she will earn 1 FPP for every dollar raked. In tournament play, he/she will earn 7 FPPs per dollar in tournament fees paid.
Cash Game: If a table was raked $2.35, all players at the table that where dealt cards will earn 2.35 FPPs.
Tournament: If a player registers for a tournament with a buy-in of $50+$5, the fee is the +$5 and the player earns 35 FPPs (7 FPPs x $5 fee = 35 FPP)
Earning Frequent Player Points
Cash Game: $1 Rake = 1 FPP
Tournament: $1 Fee = 7 FPP


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Derivative contracts: tax avoidance: consideration not fully recognised by accounting practice
Disposals for consideration not fully recognised by accounting practice
Some companies seek to shelter profits artificially on their derivative contracts (and loan relationships - see CFM39080) by transferring them to other companies in exchange for the issue of shares. It is claimed under GAAP that the transferor is not required to recognise any accounting profit. This is despite the fact that the shares obtained are fully marketable and are capable of being realised for the same cash value at which the derivative contract could have been sold.
CTA09/S698 was introduced to address this form of avoidance and has effect for disposals on or after 16 May 2008.
The rule applies where a company:
- disposes in an accounting period (in whole or in part) rights or liabilities under a derivative contract, and
- the consideration for the disposal is not wholly in the form of money (or a debt that falls to be settled by way of money), and
- the consideration, in accordance with GAAP, is not fully recognised in the accounts for that accounting period or any other accounting period, and
- the company has a 'relevant avoidance intention'.
'Relevant avoidance intention' means the intention of eliminating or reducing the credits to be brought into account for the purposes of the derivative contract rules.
S698 operates by bringing into account the full amount of the consideration received for the accounting period in which the disposal took place and takes priority over CTA09/PT7/CHP5 (Continuity of treatment on transfers within groups).
However, S698 will not apply if the consideration brought into account in respect of the disposal is increased under the transfer pricing rules at TIOPA10/Part 4.


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For more information, contact:
Sarah Lubeck
(619) 234-8484
"The September employment report was even better than expected, as the regional economy looks to be picking up speed toward the end of 2015. We saw a disappointing national jobs report released earlier this month, but it was just the opposite in San Diego, with outstanding job growth driven by our construction, manufacturing, and technology sectors."
Phil Blair, Executive Officer
Manpower San Diego
This post is part of an ongoing monthly series dedicated to the California Employment Development Department (EDD) monthly employment release and is brought to you by Manpower. Click images to enlarge in a new tab/window.
The California Employment Development Department (EDD) released statewide county employment data today for the September 2015 period. This month's data shows that after another weak U.S. jobs report released earlier this month, San Diego showed more strong signs of growth led by important traded sectors and sectors with high-wages.
The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent in September, which is
San Diego's rate fell both due to a large drop in persons who identified as unemployed, as well as a small seasonal drop in the labor force—similar to the trend from July to August, but more dramatic. More importantly though, the labor force is up by 22,300 people from September 2014 and unemployment is down 21,900 people over that same period—all amid solid and increasing employment growth.
Just like last month, we should note that non-seasonally adjusted employment data for the summer-to-fall months is almost always filled with wild swings in the labor force, and in turn, the unemployment rate will experience big swings. This is largely due to thousands of high school and college students entering the labor force in May and June, then leaving again in August and September as they return to school. Similarly, education workers who do not work in the summer are not counted in the labor force during those months, and we see a 4,000-5,000 job spike in government employment once they return in September. Therefore, summer swings from month-to-month should be taken with a grain of salt, while the focus should instead be on how the labor force and unemployment rate are performing differently from the year prior. In this case, we again saw strong annual figures, indicating a healthy unemployment rate.
On that note, the region's economy continued to steadily grow well-above three percent, despite another disappointing national report. San Diego's total nonfarm employment grew by 3.5 percent year-over-year, adding 46,900 jobs from September 2014 to September 2015. San Diego's growth rate was again much higher than the 2.1 percent national rate. The San Diego region is still expected to average 3.1 percent annual growth in 2015, compared to only 2.3 percent in 2014.
Year-over-year private sector growth continues to be outstanding, as private employment drove 91.5 percent of all employment growth. The total private sector grew by 3.8 percent, out-pacing the private U.S. growth rate of 2.4 percent. More than three-quarters of all year-over-year private job growth in San Diego came from four key sectors: construction, tourism, healthcare, and professional, scientific and technical services (PST).
PST services, which is strongly associated with the region's innovation economy, grew by 7.4 percent and was one of the highest growth industries in the region.
Growth in goods-producing industries picked back up in September, accounting for 17.5 percent of all private job growth. From September 2014 to September 2015, the manufacturing industry added 2,500 jobs and grew by 2.6 percent, which is higher than recent months. The ship and boat building industry continued to grow at an outstanding rate. Meanwhile, the construction industry added 5,000 jobs and grew by 7.7 percent. This is usually a period when goods-producers experience seasonal August to September declines, but in this month's report, we actually saw seasonal growth in goods-producing industries—a good sign for the economy.
Other key drivers for growth included the region's healthcare sector, which added 7,800 jobs and accounted for approximately 18.2 percent of the region's private job growth. After signs of slowing last month, tourism industry growth picked back up, adding 10,100 jobs and accounting for 23.5 percent of the region's growth. Tourism growth was driven largely by bars and restaurants, which added 8,200 jobs since last September.
Given another sluggish national jobs report, the September employment report again defied national trends and showed very strong signs of a healthy economy. Employment growth picked up and the unemployment rate is the lowest it has been in more than seven years. Moreover, 21,900 fewer San Diegans are unemployed than they were in September of 2014 and 22,300 more have entered the labor force. Important goods-producing sectors like manufacturing and construction are growing at high and steady rates, which is a great sign for the region's economy. As we enter the final quarter of 2015, the region appears to be in great shape to close the year.
Note: Our Economic Indicators Dashboard will show how our unemployment rate compares to other US metros and the US total rate when that information is released in the coming weeks.


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Having a plan
One of the first steps to building wealth is having a clear understanding of where you are now, and where you want to be in the future. Dreams without goals are just dreams; and your goals, financial or otherwise, are not achieved without a plan.
When it comes to your finances, it's been said that the average Australian spends more time planning their holiday than planning for a secure financial future. Having a financial plan in place at any age can help you secure your financial independence, give you peace of mind, and ensure you are free to enjoy a long and rewarding future.
There are many good reasons for adopting some basic financial principles and establish a long term financial plan. Here are a few good reasons to get you started:
It will help you explore and define your financial priorities.
For individuals this can help you gain clarity and focus. For couples this exercise alone can be enough to give you an insight into what is most important and hopefully put you on the same footing allowing you to develop a plan for the road ahead.
It will help you determine whether your goals are realistic, taking into consideration your time frames and any conflicting priorities.
When examining your financial goals your adviser can help you put things into perspective and help you take both a short term and long term view. Most goals are attainable provided you have a clear understanding of the impacts of time and resources on your ability to achieve successful financial outcomes – some goals will take years to accomplish.
It will help you identify risks.
Part of a financial plan is looking at your tolerance to investment risk, and more importantly, your current capacity for taking risks: noting that in cases where you suffer a substantial financial loss, your ability to recover from the loss and still be able to meet your long term goals such as a secure retirement.
It will help you see how you can bring your spending in line with your goals and show you what money mistakes you might currently be making.
Are you spending too much to finance your current lifestyle and what debts do you currently have? Credit card debt at 18 to 20 percent can consume large amounts of your take home salary in servicing costs and funds needed to pay the debt off. Alternatively, are you aware of where savings can be made? Two cups of coffee a day during the working week can amount to nearly $2,000 a year in discretionary spending, add in a take away lunch and you can increase the amount to close to $5,000 per annum.
It will allow you to measure your progress on the achievement of your goals.
Goals unlike dreams or wishes should be both measurable and attainable and you can establish a variety of benchmarks to make sure you remain on-track to achieve the desired outcome.
It may help you find new ways to make your money more efficient.
The impacts of tax on your savings and the choice of the right tax environments into which you may invest can have a dramatic impact on your ability to reach your stated goals. Superannuation investments for instance are usually taxed at 15%, as compared against investments outside superannuation which may be taxed at 45% for higher income earners.
It will help you build wealth over time and live more comfortably.
Those with a plan in place are both more likely to have reduced debt as well as increased savings. There is also the likelihood of being able to live more comfortably in both the short and longer term.
Developing a financial plan can be daunting. Whether you are young and single, have a family, empty nester, or retiree, it is imperative that you seek financial advice tailored to your individual needs and objectives to assist in securing your financial future.
If you don't already have a financial adviser, Lifespan can help find a planner who will advise you on the best ways of getting started to build wealth, and secure your family's financial future, whatever your personal circumstances may be.
Get started today, Click here to find a local Lifespan financial adviser and organise a free, no obligation discussion about your financial future.


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Amazon's Bezos finalizes divorce with Sh3.8 trillion settlement: report
For More of This and Other Stories, Grab Your Copy of the Standard Newspaper.
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Welcome to the Directors Lodge. Here we welcome both ladies and gentlemen. Our ladies are the best of the best to ensure that your experience here with us is like no other. We are a 5 ŌŁÉ'ĖÅŌŁÉ'ĖÅŌŁÉ'ĖÅŌŁÉ'ĖÅŌŁÉ'ĖÅ establishment built purely on reputation. So here we value our old school ways, the kind you will not find elsewhere.
From the moment you arrive at the Directors Lodge to the moment you leave you will receive an unrivalled first class service. Customer service is our top priority.
We offer every fantasy you may desire and our ladies here at the Directors Lodge will take you on a journey to make your bespoken fantasies become a reality.
What ever your desire at the Directors Lodge we shall fulfill. We cater for girlfriend experiences, fantasies, Dom, cross dressing, strap on, lift and carry, pvc, tie and tease, role play, tailored made male to male services, across the whole spectrum of kinkyness here and many more.
Our ladies are caring, affectionate and extremely friendly, also beautifully spoken from 20's – 40's, 7 days a week. So what are you waiting for don't be shy come along and relax with us here at the Directors Lodge.


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My Fitness Challenge/
Ever since I was a little girl, I was almost always involved in a sport or active hobby of some sort. It first started out with gymnastics and soccer, then I got hooked on dance and enjoyed taking classes of all genres (ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, etc.) and continued that until my freshman year of high school. At that time I had switched to a different dance studio that was closer to my house, but something just didn't feel right about it and I sadly lost interest in going. I still loved dance and couldn't wait until 'So You Think You Can Dance' came on TV in the summers, but I decided to take a little break from it.
During my junior year of high school I started on the track team, mainly because some of my other friends were doing it so I thought it would be a fun thing for us to do together after school. Man, it was brutal and I wasn't prepared for that kind of intense training! Especially when you're doing everything outside and have days where it reaches 100+ degrees. Track was really the last sport that I have ever been involved in, and since then I honestly haven't had a consistent fitness routine that I'm proud of.
There will be moments of inspiration, where I'll be super excited about a new workout regimen I've found, and I'll stick with it for a couple weeks, but slowly start to lose interest and stop it all together. Anyone else ever been in the same boat as me? For me, fitness and staying active isn't necessarily about how I look, but more about how I feel. I've noticed that when I'm working out 3-5 times per week, I'm more energized and my body feels more alive (if that makes sense) versus when I'm doing nothing. And based on what I mentioned earlier, it's clear that I have a hard time staying on track and motivated! What can I say, I'm a procrastinator at heart and apparently that carries over into my fitness routine!
Starting now, I'm devoting myself to a new fitness challenge of sorts, and one that hopefully (fingers crossed) I can stick to. My plan is to be active for at least 1 hour 3-4 times per week. To be honest, I'm not sure what this looks like yet, whether it's cardio or running or yoga, but my goal is to just block out even 1 hour of time for me to focus on my health and getting stronger. If you'd like to join in on this fitness challenge with me, then please do so and let me know in the comments! And if you have any tips on how to stay focused on reaching a fitness goal, leave me a comment below :) I'm tired of giving up on countless workout regimens, so let's do this thing!! Hope you guys have a great weekend! xo
My Outfit:
Zella top (old, similar here), Zella Bottoms (old, similar here), Nike Shoes (old, similar here)


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At 2:00 PM they had scarcely moved from bed, which was a mattress, the duvet stained, at the center of his room in Hujialou. Jean pulled the window open and looked down at the Third Ring Road– a permanent ribbon of cars parallel the canal, stretching on until apartments blocked it from view. The pollution had lifted. Everything was sky blue or leaf green. Pedestrians passed in and out of view under the trees that lined Hujialou Beijie.
She heard him climb off the mattress, come up behind her and light a Zhongnanhai. "Weather looks better." The petals dropped from a plum tree on the driveway.
"You mean the pollution's gone."
He sucked at the Zhongnanhai. "You don't like it when I call it weather."
She nodded.
"You want to go to Tous le Jours?"
She nodded. They dressed and gathered their things and left the apartment. At Tous le Jours they sat holding hands at a table by the croque-monsieur case. Taylor Swift trickled out of ceiling speakers. He ate a purple donut.
"If we keep doing this, in a few months we'll have our phones out."
"I don't like my phone."
"Books, then."
"What exactly," he said, changing tacks. "Do you mean by 'doing this'?"
She blushed and squeezed his hand. "I hate this part."
"Why?" He let go of her hand and took a bite of the purple donut. "This is the good part."
"The fact that you know that soon we'll be cold with each other ruins it." She leaned forward and he kissed the space between her nose and her right cheek. "If we're lucky, we'll at least hate each other."
"What does that mean?"
Tiny shrug. "Better than apathy."
He took a patient breath. "You don't mean that." His patience irritated her.
"It would imply we still cared."
His lips went tight.
"Even this conversation irritates you, because it's boring to you."
"Sometimes I forget you're younger than me," he said. "And then I remember."
She frowned. "Sometimes I forget you're a condescending asshole, and then…"
He laughed and waited for her to smile. Then, realizing it wasn't coming, he said, "Get something to eat."
"Like what?" She watched the shrill, purple donut vanish.
"Like bread."
She put her head down on the table. "I want fruit."
Mouth full: "What kind of fruit?"
She looked up at him. "That's bitter to you?"
He shrugged and looked around. "No one here today."
"Because this place sucks."
"All they sell is bread."
Summoning all her strength, she picked up her tote.
They walked forever without finding fruit and eventually descended into the subway and rode to Nanluo without complaint and elbowed their way up the bloated hutong between schoolgirls carrying fried squid and lechers carrying fried chicken and bands of man-children with glazed hawthorns, lollypops. After crossing Gulou Dongdajie things calmed down and they came to a fruit shop. She bought a pomelo and pulled off the Styrofoam, but it seemed impractical to eat it in the middle of the road.
"I'll call Zhuolin."
She nodded.
"We can eat it over there, if you want to share."
She nodded.
"Maybe we should buy two."
They went back and bought another pomelo. Jean held both while he called Zhuolin. "We'll be over in twenty. Okay. Okay, great. Okay. Yes. Bye." Then they each carried one pink orb up the middle of the street.
"We could break up today."
He looked at her sideways. "You're depressed."
"Yes," she agreed.
"You're depressed today, I mean."
"Yes," she agreed.
"Because things are going so well."
"Yes," she agreed.
"Okay," he said. "We could break up today."
For the second time today, her cheeks flushed. Looking straight ahead: "Do you really want to?"
He shook his head. "Just stop." Then, "What made you think of that?"
"Yesterday was perfect." She felt herself sinking into a deep, acrid pit.
"Last night was perfect." But having begun, she did not have the will to stop.
"This morning was perfect. This afternoon was perfect. Have you never done this before?"
She could tell she was driving something excruciating into him. It didn't give her much pleasure but she couldn't stop.
"Never like this," he said.
She nodded but said nothing. A breeze moved the leaves in an ash tree. A single cloud floated in from the north. His admission hung somewhere behind them, closer to Nanluo than to wherever they were now. Wings broke the air and a spray of pigeons crossed the hutong and made a tight arc, disappearing from view. "Okay."
At Zhuolin's they sat in the dank landing and he lit a Zhongnanhai. "I wonder where she went," she said.
"Probably out to get something."
He touched the back of his neck, blew smoke. "Bottle of wine."
"Toilet paper."
"It's a miracle," he said. "Not even the roommates are home." A speck of his ash landed on her shoulder. She thought about brushing it off but didn't move. She watched him closely, doing his best to act as if everything were normal. Then she picked the pomelo up off the top stair and dug at it with her fingernails. They were recently cut, the newly exposed skin soft and pink.
Max Berwald is a Beijing-based writer from San Diego. He is interested in fiction and screenwriting. His work can be found at Loreli China, Aweh.tv, Be Young & Shut Up, and in the forthcoming issue of Blackbird.


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Offices: Sacramento
Suite 2350
Sacramento, CA 95814-4428
Phone: (916) 448-0159
Fax: (916) 558-4839
Map Location
Seyfarth Shaw's downtown Sacramento office opened in 1990 to provide the region with labor and employment services. Since then, the office has both grown in size and has added a real estate practice. Our clients range in size and hail from various industries including banking, retail, wholesale, technology and real estate development, among others. In addition, we work seamlessly with our national offices to provide our clients with a full suite of services ranging from bankruptcy and commercial litigation to intellectual property and trade secrets.
In addition to representing our clients, we also contribute to the Sacramento community through pro bono efforts and we actively support regional organizations and local chapters of national charitable organizations. The Sacramento office's charitable activities include our work with The American Cancer Society, Boys and Girls Club, Habitat for Humanity, Food from The Bar, Legal Services of Northern California, Sacramento County Bar Association Diversity Fellowship Program and the Cristo Rey High School.


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Mortgage lending appears to be slowing in the wake of the financial regulator's latest clampdown on interest-only loans.
The value of all housing‑related lending fell by 1.6% in April, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday, in the first full month after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) introduced tighter macro-prudential policies.
The data shows investor lending fell 2.3% in April, which is down 7.7% since the recent peak in investor lending in January.
The value of loans to owner-occupiers was also down in April, by 1.1%.
However, when excluding refinancing and first-home buyers, the value of loans to owner-occupiers actually increased in April, by 4.1%.
Economists say it is too early to draw firm conclusions from the data, but it may suggest Apra's crackdown on interest-only lending is putting immediate pressure on investors.
The ABS data comes three months after Waynes Byres, Apra's chairman, warned Australia's major banks to tighten their lending practices on investor and interest-only loans.
At the time, CoreLogic data was showing Sydney property prices had soared by almost 20% in 12 months, putting the city at the front of a nationwide trend that had dwelling values increasing by 12.9% on average.
Byres warned the banks they needed to be mindful of the "heightened risk in the lending environment" and asked them to "appropriately respond to these conditions" by changing their lending standards and practices.
He asked them to limit their growth in lending to investors, with the growth rate to remain "comfortably" below the previously advised benchmark of 10%.
Ratings agency Moody's was also warning that more borrowers were falling behind on their mortgage and car repayments.
It said delinquencies for prime residential mortgage-backed securities increased to 1.61% in January, from 1.57% in December, while 30-day delinquencies for car loan asset-backed securities rose to 1.80%, from 1.54% over the same period.
Economists say the ABS data on investor lending in April show that as investor-lending eases there has been a slight pick-up in lending to owner-occupiers.
However, the share of loans to first home buyers remains low by historical standards at 13.9%.
"Today's numbers capture the early impact of APRA's latest rule changes, which limit new interest‑only lending," Commonwealth Bank economist Kristina Clifton said on Friday. "These rule changes are likely to affect not only investors, but owner‑occupiers as well."
JP Morgan economist Henry St John said owner-occupier refinancing fell sharply in April – by 4.4% – potentially signalling a slow-down in the flow of borrowers switching from principal and interest to interest-only mortgages, as banks tighten their lending criteria.
Clifton said it would take several months before the full impact of Apra's clamp down, and new policies from state and federal governments, kicked in.
"There has been several new initiatives announced recently to help first home buyers get into the market," she said. "The first ones to take effect are the stamp duty reductions announced by the NSW and Victorian state governments beginning on 1 July. These states have the lowest shares of first-home buyers.
"There were also measures announced in the May federal budget to help first home buyers save for a deposit. However these will take at least two years to have any impact."


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Generosity is in our Company DNA.
Since the beginning of SAS, we have been passionate about investing our time and money to improve the lives of those around us who are in need. Currently, our efforts focus on supporting the health and well-being of people in communities across the world. To us investing in community does not stop at the edge of our neighborhood - it carries us across the planet.
Employees lead these charitable efforts, seeking out organizations and initiatives they wish to support, and often times, their efforts are supplemented with generous sponsorships from SAS.


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Muslims had turned up in large numbers in 2011 when then chief minister Narendra Modi tried an portrait makeover and propelled Sadbhavna Mission to attract the minorities.
A year later, however, the "sadbhavna" failed to translate into reality with the saffron defendant not fielding any Muslim candidate in the 2012 Gujarat assembly referendums+. This, even after the BJP+ offered tickets to Muslims in the neighbourhood mas canvas in 2010 and many of them emerging winners.
One such aspirant for Jamalpur-Khadia constituency, where Muslims constitute 61% of total voters, is Usman Ghanchi, a make from Shah-e-Alam. Associated with BJP for past decade, Ganchi has sought aticket. His seek was undersigned by five maulvis( pastors) who have recommended his candidature. He feels his chances are bright." I have been treated with great respect by BJP, and if had the chance I will win the seat for the party. BJP is a strong cadre-based party with evenly strong leadership, and I have got public support to prove my worth ," he told TOI.
Five years down the line, Muslims rulers are attempting some" real sadbhavna" and said he hopes that BJP — that has since 1980 fielded only one candidate in assembly elections in year 1998 — to become a new bud politically and field minority campaigners for establishing greater inroads into the community.
BJP Minority Morcha has necessitated various tushes in the upcoming elections. Mehboob Ali Chisti, BJP Minority Morcha in-charge believes that since there are around 350 Muslims who procured posteriors for BJP in neighbourhood body canvas in urban areas in 2015, Muslims could prevail assembly canvas for BJP in certain constituencies." During the most recent Parliamentary Board meeting, numerous Muslim community leaders have requested for defendant ticket. Images have been made for Jamalpur-Khadia, Vejalpur, Vagra, Wankaner, Bhuj and Abdasa sits ," Chishti said.
Former IPS officer A I Saiyed more is about to game assemble polls." I am with BJP for nine years. If BJP offers me a ticket, I will contest canvas ," he said. Saiyed raced local figure elections in 2010, but was demolished from Sarkhej. Later, he was seen Gujarat Wakf Board chairman.


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The address was a bit off the beaten path and squirreled away down a narrow pathway. From the outside, 50 Bartlett Ave. (more recently known as the Lanehouse real estate project) has all the usual markers of a character-ridden factory, but inside, the industrial bones of the space are obvious, as are the three scantily clad models frolicking on swings dangling from the tall ceilings—and even batting around coloured yarn.
That's right: yarn. In fact, the evening was billed as a yarn-bombing. Don't feel too bad if you can't instantly imagine the concept—it is, in the words of Kim Graham, a "soft anarchy" intended to reclaim the space. Why soft? Well, because it's yarn. And because it comments on a space without destroying it.
It's an international phenomenon that goes by many names—including the too-precious Kniffiti—and is gaining traction in New York. Toronto is late to the game on this count, but the work of yarn-bombing collective Bissell Bomber, gently draped around the warm wooden beams of the space, was a beautiful introduction. Unobstrusive, humble, and a can't-help-but-smile moment when you glimpse it.
The evening also served another purpose—to cement the property's history in the area. The building was once the site of a yarn factory (and it all becomes clear). The models wore undergarments by Bloordale's own Sartoria, crafted from upcycled cashmere and merino sweaters. Portuguese tarts were slated to arrive later in the evening.
And let's take a moment to talk about the food, courtesy of County General. The opening of their much-anticipated Bloordale outpost, County Paradise, is expected in about a year, but I can report that their menu mainstays tasted just as good north of Bloor. Dispensed among the growing throng throughout the evening was the succulent chicken thigh sandwich, accented by avocado chutney and the cilantro that gets me every time, devilled eggs, pork rillettes and onion bhaji.
But of course, the real draw was the space itself. As a tease of what future owners can expect, Audax Architecture and Nivek Remas designed a two-storey model loft that was, well, stunning. Think a marriage between luxury and bookishness—and taupe.
"The idea was to reclaim the building in its raw space," says Gary Eisen, of Curated Properties. Condos don't have a soul, he intimates, but "this has a soul." Let's hope there are more projects like this in Toronto's increasingly sky-scraping future.
The Lanehouse showroom is located at 50 Bartlett Ave.


text: The Henderson Police Officers' Association (HPOA) is in its 11th year of sponsoring the Southern Nevada Devil Pups (SNDP) program. This program is designed to have a powerful, positive impact on the quality of life of young men and women in the community, by educating and training them in their citizenship, moral and ethical responsibilities as they grow into adulthood. We are proud sponsors of th…is program and congratulate all 32 of this years Devil Pups on their accomplishments! Special thanks to Marie Tomao for her selfless dedication to this program in Southern Nevada! Photo courtesy of SNDP – HPOA President, Ken Kerby accepting the 2015 Devil Pups graduation photo from Marie Tomao, SNDP Liaison Representative, at the 2015 graduation at Durango HS on Saturday, September 19th.


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Finally, the brandnew website is (99%) complete and up and running :-)
Contrary to this blog the new website is an interactive community website where everybody can register and upload photos, comment/rate posts or discuss at a forum. It has 4 main sections:
1) ALBUM: This section is dedicated to wartime photos.
2) RELICS: This section is dedicated to collectibles.
3) MILITOPEDIA: This section is dedicated to larger articles (e.g. about a certain LW unit)
4) FORUM: Here you can discuss topics of your choice.
There is even a chat room. Registered members can earn points by uploading content, by voting about other content and for each visit to their content. Based on the points earned you will receive a rank.
I also plan to continue posting exciting ebay auctions at BattleGroundRelics. However, in order to respect copyright and the ownership of the buyer (who often spend a lot of money and use these photos for their publications and wouldn't be glad to see their photos published in the www for free) I will only post links to auctions and now scans anymore. You will find regular updates here:
Here you can find more information about BattleGroundRelics: www.battlegroundrelics.com/faq
The start page looks like:
The album page looks like:
The actual post looks like:


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NEWS and updates
Last year, I started exploring interdisciplinary art, which resulted in a piece entitled Graveyard Shift.
This year, I am devoting my compositional output to works of the same genre. The piece will be for video, electronic sounds, voice, guitar, bass guitar, piano and Disklavier. All of the sounds are being created with analog technology: subtractive and additive synthesis.
I can now say I have had my music played on the west coast thanks to The Santa Cruz New Music Society.
They will be playing my first major multimedia work (Graveyard Shift, 2015) at the The Art Bar and Cafe on July 9th. Thanks to Scott Stobbe and others involved with this group for playing new music (and for supporting alternative concert venues).
I will be writing a paper about one of my new pieces. This piece uses elements of Bach's "Herr, unser Herschel" in completely different ways. I have discovered a method of harmonic analysis developed by Joseph P. Swain that takes into account several different factors that contribute to harmonic changes. I find it strange that for so long harmonic rhythm was defined as merely "when the chord changes". There are several other elements involved that can provide us with a greater detailed picture of harmonic rhythm.
The First Ten Bach Chorales: Analysis and Commentary
If you have visited my blog section recently, you will have seen about 5 or 6 posts related to Bach chorales. I believe these short harmonizations of a melodic line can serve as a sort of gallery of techniques that composers have used throughout the centuries in order to create logical, cohesive pieces of music. I am hoping to combine the analyses and commentary episodes from this year into one document by the end of this year, which will be entitled The First Ten Bach Chorales: Analysis and Commentary. The analysis of Bach is not the primary goal of this project. Another dimension is that of relating classical techniques to other moments throughout the history of music. I believe this will be a very useful tool for young students of music theory and composition so that they can see how what they learn in a classroom can actually play out in modern music.


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ITU – Discovery World Triathlon Series Cape Town 2014
I was very privileged to be contracted to marathon-photos.com to be one of their team to photograph the Discovery World Triathlon in Cape Town. This consisted of photographing the public age groups events over two days. Below are a few pictures from the Ladies Elite and Mens Elite racers . Well done to Javier Gomez and Jodie Stimpson for winning …
Romantic Couples Photo-shoots with Rudo & Taps
Everytime I meet Zim couples I find them to be such stunning people and no exception with Rudo & Taps . Having chatted with Rudo about their couples photo-shoot and various locations they decided on a sunset scenario so we met up in Cape Town and I took them first through to Hout Bay at the old ruins on Chapmans …


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Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over daily movements, we do like to keep an eye on market changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.
The Federal Reserve often moves markets with its announcement, but today's release of its latest meeting minute led to a relatively muted response. Without any real surprises in the thinking behind the decision to begin reducing its bond-buying activity, precious-metals investors continued to look at the longer-term implications of higher interest rates on investor demand. Spot gold fell another $6 to $1,226, sending SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEMKT:GLD) down 0.6%. Silver fell more sharply, with iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT:SLV) declining 1.5% as silver's $0.32 drop took it down to $19.52 per ounce. Palladium fell $5 to $735 per ounce, while platinum, the sole gainer among precious metals today, gained $1 to $1,414 per ounce.
Data on the economic front arguably detracted from gold's appeal, with a report indicating that the private sector created 238,000 jobs in December showing that the U.S. economy is starting to fire on all cylinders. If the Labor Department's report Friday backs up the private-sector reading, then one key determinant of the Fed's stimulus could disappear sooner than expected, putting further pressure on gold and precious metals.
The pessimism among metals investors was clearer in looking at mining stocks, where the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT:GDX) fell 1.6%. Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD) each posted losses of around 2%, perhaps in reaction to a downgrade for 2014 gold prices from Moody's Investors Service. Moody's now expects average gold prices of $1,100 in 2014, down from $1,200, and it also cut its silver price target 10% to $18 per ounce. Newmont and Barrick actually have relatively low costs of production compared to some of their smaller peers, giving them greater ability to weather a long-term drop in prices. Yet gold has fallen far enough that further declines will still have a marked impact on their profitability, and after big share-price losses last year, many investors in Newmont and Barrick won't be patient enough to wait out the bad times in hopes of an eventual rebound.


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What does your muscle building regime look like?
It can be a difficult thing to answer. A lot of people try gaining muscle independently, and this can be very frustrating. Reading through these tips will provide you with a variety of wonderful ideas for muscle building.
Never skip your warm up exercises when you are working to increase muscle mass. When your muscles get stronger, they will experience a lot of additional stress that can make them prone to injury. Stretching before working out is the best way to avoid injury. Don't do any heavy lifting until after you've done some light exercising for five or ten minutes, followed by a few light to moderate sets to get warmed up.
The protein in meat is crucial to muscle growth. You'll need to ingest at least a gram of protein for each pound of body weight. Having the protein your body needs will help you get the muscles you desire.
Make the "big three" exercises a staple of your workouts. This refers to bench presses, dead lifts and squats, all of which are common exercises for building bulk. These types of exercises help add bulk in addition to strengthening and conditioning your body. Use these exercise as the cornerstone of your exercise regimen. These are some of the Techniques found in Hypertrophy Max.
If you set short-term goals, then reward yourself each time you reach a goal, you will become more motivated. Because growing muscle requires you remain committed in the long run, it is extremely important that you constantly remain motivated.
Try making some of the rewards things that will help you to build more muscle. For instance, get a massage; they increase the body's blood flow and assist you in recovering on your off days.
Be very cautious if you decide to use creatine in your muscle-building program, particularly if you continue taking it for long periods. These supplements can be harmful if you have any sort of kidney issues.
Also, it has been shown to cause heart arrhythmia, muscle cramps and muscle compartment syndrome. Teenagers are even more likely to have problems. Stick closely to the instructions when taking supplements.
Don't work out for longer than an hour. Once a workout goes beyond the hour mark, the body will produce excess cortisol, which is the human stress hormone. Cortisol blocks testosterone, which can ruin your muscle gaining efforts. Making sure that workouts are less than an hour helps you to get the best results.
Muscle building needs excellent methods and techniques for making muscles bigger or stronger. If you follow the suggestions that were given in this article, you will achieve success when building your muscles. With knowledge, dedication and the proper techniques, you can achieve your muscle building goals.


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Legal Matters
Here is where we list the necessary legal information regarding liabilities, refunds, disclaimers and other legal-ese mumbo jumbo that must be said, mostly for the benefit of those who enjoy life in courtrooms.
If you have any issues with us, our business, or our business practices please let us know quickly and let's handle it peaceably.
From the lawyers:
To the best of our ability, we have interpreted what the lawyers have told us. Below are the actual legal documents that you must accept in order to use our website.
Our website(s) offer products and services for sale. We may also offer training and services for the purpose of advertising and promoting. These activities are usually relevant to consumers who want to enjoy products and experiences related to Hawaii. Unfortunately, unrealistic expectations from potential customers and even some customers can basically make a lot of trouble for us. So in the spirit of this, please read the following terms we thought may not be immediately apparent to every visitor of our website. We hope that this page clarifies for you what expectations we can and cannot be responsible for.
Are your products for real?
Yes. All products and services we feature are real. We have not earned our spot in business by lying, scamming or supplying inferior products.
All our plants and products involve things commonly found here in the islands. We know a lot of practical information about these products because we grow and sell them. With that said, bear in mind that we are not botanical graduates. We refer (and sell them) using primarily their common names; not their botanical names. We do lots of research and provide you with the benefits of our observations and real-world experience. We enjoy these plants, and we find that over the years, countless visitors have enjoyed our plant products as well.
The pictures on our website and our selling materials are REPRESENTATIVE of what your plant will likely look like when it's all grown up. Hawaii is botanically blessed. It's what makes these islands special. Because of this, there are a lot of different varieties, shapes and colors to the general plant products we sell. So if yours doesn't look EXACTLY like what was pictured, we're sorry about that. We're not trying to pull a fast one, we're just asking you to be reasonable and realistic.
Just because we sell a product or recommend a service to you, doesn't mean that you NEED it. We thought that this was obvious, but some customers weren't sure. Whether or not you purchase any of our products or services is entirely up to you. The primary thrust of our business is to provide our customers with products that remind them of the beauty of Hawaii. So please, if purchasing an ornamental plant will break your bank and cause your children to starve, please don't purchase our products or services.
We respect the environment, but we are not fanatics or political about it. Some of our products grow profusely and may endanger other plant species. We feel that the primary way which our products are used when purchased by customers are as ornamental plants in contained areas - which are primarily INDOORS. The fact that we sell an item in no way expresses an opinion or takes a position on any issue involving the environment, or any other topic.
We are not responsible for 3rd party products or services that we distribute or recommend. In many cases we sell, distribute or recommend products or services provided by others. We do our best to check the qualities of these products and services. We may have happy customers, or have ourselves been satisfied consumers of the things we recommend. However, this in no way means that we are responsible in case you are unsatisfied with the product or service they offer. In our recommendation, we may send you directly to a website not owned or controlled by us. When that happens, these terms and conditions no longer apply to you. It is your responsibility to review the terms and conditions of any subsequent websites or business you visit. We will do our best to recommend products and services that have a pretty straightforward guarantee/replacement process. But if for some reason you are unhappy with a 3rd party product or service we recommend, you should take it up with that product/service's vendor. When we promote the products and/or services of others (either passively or actively), we usually try to get a referral commission. The exact amount varies from product to product and service to service. This does not mean that we receive a commission in each instance. In some cases, we may promote a product that we have never tried. Ultimately, you will need to decide for yourself if something we sell/recommend is for you.
We are not responsible for any criminal misuse of our information. The information here is provided for educational purposes and must not be used in conjunction with any illegal, border-line illegal, or criminal activities. In addition, we do not give permission for this content to be used to promote gambling, pornography, and debt services from an ethical and moral standpoint. Frankly, we really don't understand how our products and services can be used for such nefarious and questionable intent, but I guess we are just innocent toward such things.
We do not guarantee that you will ever succeed in growing our products. It is impossible for us to know if you will do well in caring for your product or not. Some of you will have products that will ultimately fail because of things that are not under our control. Plus, plants are living things. We cannot guarantee that something alive will not die. We wish we could, but we can't.
At this time, we recognize that other (independent) vendors purchase our products for the purpose of resale. We have no affiliation with these vendors, and no control over how they sell our products.
Trademarks & Copyrights:
We certainly don't intend to infringe on the trademarks or copyrights of others. If you believe that we have infringed on any of your rights, please let us know right away so that we can resolve this.
Our policy is that we do not issue refunds unless (for some reason) too much money was collected by us.
Unhappy Customers:
We are in business. The worst thing we could do is to anger and frustrate people. We want you to be happy with us. We want to earn your trust and future business. But if you're upset with us, our business or our business practices, then please accept our apology.
We'd like to do whatever it takes to make you a happy customer again. So before you take to the internet to trash us, please give us the opportunity to work on getting you satisfied. E-mail or call us and let us know what we can do to make you happy again.
Satisfaction Guarantee:
You may have read the part above about "no refunds" and wonder how we can live up to our "satisfaction guarantee" that we consistently mention in our webstore, especially if we don't guarantee that our products will grow. Here's what we offer:
If you have one of our products and you experience some trouble with it, CALL or EMAIL US. Let us know what product you have, and tell us briefly what problem you have with it. We will gladly replace your product, provided you comply with our reasonable (but specific) instructions.
ast modified: May 23, 2018.


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The Lewis Center seeks to advance the knowledge and practice of church leadership with targeted research on issues that are vital to the church today. Our research seeks to discern the actionable strategic insights that can guide the church toward enhanced service, vitality, and growth.
Services for Conference Leaders
We offer a range of services and resources to assist bishops, cabinets, and other annual conference leaders respond constructively to the challenges of the church today. We offer data analysis that builds on the Center's existing knowledge base pertaining to the critical subjects of congregational and denominational vitality and growth. Lewis Center Director Lovett H. Weems, Jr., can meet with your cabinet and others to discuss research findings and help you evaluate the actionable strategic insights necessary to guide the church toward the future.
Research Reports
- Clergy Age Trends in the United Methodist Church: 1985-2019
- Lay Staff Ministry in the United Methodist Church (2011) [PDF]
- Reaching More Diverse People in the United Methodist Church (2011) [PDF]
- Second Pastor Study: Findings about Pastors Who Follow Founding Pastors (2010) [PDF]
- Pockets of "Youthfulness" in an Aging Denomination (2009) [PDF]
- The Journey from Readiness to Effectiveness: An Ongoing Survey of the Probationary Process in the United Methodist Church Second Edition (2005) [PDF]


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Beautiful homes at Ladd Landing
• 1-4 acre parcels
• Lake Views
• Lakefront with dock rights
• Mountain Views
• Hardwood Trees
• 3 miles of shoreline on Watts Bar Lake
Who builds their dream in Ladd Landing? It's not just people wanting to retire in Tennessee. We have landowners from all over the country looking for Tennessee real estate that's second to none. Many of our residents are from the Midwest and Northeast. Many others have relocated here from Florida. We have Ladd Landing homeowners who come from as many as 17 different U.S. states.
Why do they choose our location? We are a low density development. We will only have 125 single family properties on 800 acres. We do not have restrictions that require you to build within a certain time-frame. This is very important, because many of our buyers are not looking to move for a period of anywhere from two to five years... sometimes even longer. We offer attractive architectural guidelines. We require the exterior of homes to be constructed of brick, stone, Hardie Board or a combination of the three. However, we do not have a minimum square footage requirement. Many of our buyers are looking to downsize for retirement. We are a popular choice because we offer over-sized properties in a pristine setting. Our lots are heavily wooded, so you can have an over-sized property without having a large yard to maintain. Woods, mountains, ponds and a 40,000 acre lake are the drivers for our location.


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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Today, we completed a new book design for one of our clients. The book is going to be a surprise gift to my client's girlfriend on their upcoming vacation. He plans to propose to her and wanted to put together a book commemorating special moments in their life and of course ending the book with a marriage proposal.
My client knew exactly what he wanted to say and even had selected a majority of the images before the book production began. We worked with our client to find additional images and put together a beautiful book that I am sure his soon-to-be fiancé will greatly appreciate. Our congratulations and best wishes to them both.
Click here to view the book.
Labels: Events, Gift Ideas, Photography, Weddings
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Just finished designing another beautiful book for our client, Bob Barancik of Creative Ledge Studios. The book, Wabi Sabi Dreams | Water, Weather and Time, is a compilation of Bob's paintings and photographs that follows the wabi sabi technique.
What is Wabi Sabi? According to Mr. Barancik:
The best answer that I can express with words is that wabi sabi is a Japanese aesthetic that reveres the imperfect, incomplete, and impermanent. Although wabi sabi is often associated with Zen Buddhism, the Western eye can readily appreciate the beauty of deeply worn and roughened elemental surfaces. The green patina on a bronze sculpture, rusted farm tools, fallen leaves and apples, paint peeling off an old brick wall or an abandoned wooden rowboat, a barn or garden falling to ruin — somehow makes us feel somber, serene, and autumnal.We are also happy to be working with Mr. Barancik on other projects coming up in the near future.
Click here to view the book.
Labels: Artists, Fine Art, Paintings, Photography
Monday, July 28, 2008
Hau`oli la Hanau!
That's Hawaiian for Happy Birthday.....Picturia Press is pleased to have just finished publishing another new book this weekend that was very fun to design. My client recently had a wonderful Luau themed 40th birthday party in San Francisco. She had many pictures taken of the event from her own collection and from others who were at the party.
We sorted through quite a few images and managed to work with the client to capture the "essence" of her party. Which was all about fun and friends. We hope she enjoys the book as much as we enjoyed making it.
Click here to view the book.
Labels: Events
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Today, we finally finished part 1 of a set of 2 books (yes, 2 books!) we are creating for a mother's blog on the first year of her daughter's life. It took us about two months to complete it and all I can say is that I am eternally grateful for the "slurping" abilities at Blurb.com. Their software has the capability of pulling down all the text and images from where they are stored online and importing them directly into the application. I seriously doubt we could have done this project as effectively and as quickly had we not had that option available to us.
This is my client's first child, so there you can imagine, there were quite a lot of pictures and copy to be used. To give you an idea, the first book was roughly 370 pages! When you get to that size book, it becomes increasingly difficult for the client to review the pages and make changes. We broke it up into phases so we could review and modify the pages within each section thereby avoiding my client getting overwhelmed.
I believe the end result was a great success and now that it's in print, we're ready to start on the second book. Click here to view the book
Labels: Blogs, Blurb, Children's Books
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Just the other day I had a customer inquire as to how they might go about preserving their new book. Although not every customer needs to store their book for safekeeping, some clients, such as photographers who may have portfolio pieces, or clients who have had a wedding album designed, do want a presentation box or folder to keep their book clean and well protected.
We looked around and found a company who creates personalized photobook boxes. They actually appear to be quite nice. Made of thick fiber carton and with velcro corners. The interesting things is they also offer engraving on the box covers. The "ouch" factor is that the company is in Denmark, so the shipping is pretty steep ($23 for up to 2 boxes) and in fact is close to the same price for the box itself! The good news is that the boxes will work with Blurb.com's large size 13 x 11 and also with MyPublisher's classic size 12.25 x 8.75.
I'm ordering a box next week to see and touch one for myself, so I'll keep you posted.
Labels: Blurb, Bookmaking 101, Packaging
Friday, July 18, 2008
It's been a very hectic summer at Picturia Press, we actually have six books going to press within a week of each other! All of them amazing and different and with their own great stories.
We are happy to be working with Mr. Jerry Gotkin again (see the recently released book "Gardens of Hospice by the Sea") on producing a portfolio of work on his wife Marjorie Gotkin's Tall Ships. Along with that book releasing soon, we are also working with renowned artist Bob Barancik on his book showcasing his Wabi Sabi artwork that I think is going to be really wonderful.
In final production this week is a mother's blog on the first year of her daughter's life. This is actually going to be two books, with the first one being roughly 350 pages! Another exciting book in progress is a very unique cookbook for a ladies' reading group which I'll be sharing more with you later.
Finally, a really fun 40th Birthday party book and a gentleman who contracted us to design a surprise "Will You Marry Me?" wedding proposal book for his girlfriend.
Look to see the inside of these books and the project details soon. More exciting releases from Picturia Press!
Labels: Blogs, Cookbooks, Photography