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Pakistan agrees Afghan Taliban releases in Islamabad talks
Pakistan has agreed to free several jailed Afghan Taliban officials during talks in Islamabad with Afghan peace negotiators, officials say.
But the Afghan delegation has extended its stay for an extra day, amid disagreements about who will be freed.
Afghan sources told the BBC the former Taliban justice minister Mullah Turabi and two intelligence officials are among the group who will be released.
One Afghan official described the move as a positive gesture towards peace.
Pakistan says it backs peace efforts. The BBC's Orla Guerin says the releases are a tangible step to prove this.
Our correspondent, reporting from Islamabad, says that the key issues are who is being freed, and how much power they have.
Crucially, it appears that the Taliban number two, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar is not among those being released - at least for now.
However, Afghan officials hope that Mullah Turabi can bring field commanders into talks. But one Taliban leader told the BBC he no longer has any influence over the movement.
Afghan politicians have given a mixed reaction to reports of the releases.
A senior official said the release of the Taliban detainees will help the push for a peace deal, but analysts caution it is the beginning of a long process.
'Positive gesture'
They say that the releases are significant and the hope now is that when the Taliban officials return home, they can influence others to enter talks.
Afghan officials have long lobbied for the release of Taliban prisoners by Pakistan in the hope that direct contacts with top insurgent commanders could boost peace talks.
"We aren't too certain whether they can play an important role in peace negotiations but it is a positive gesture from Pakistan in helping peace efforts," an Afghan official told the Reuters news agency.
Officials say that it is not clear when the releases will occur and the details are still being worked out.
A political settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban is widely seen by analysts as the most effective way of delivering stability to Afghanistan before most Nato troops withdraw at the end of 2014.
In March, the Taliban suspended preliminary peace negotiations with the US, saying that Washington's efforts to involve the Afghan authorities were a key stumbling block.
Correspondents say that Wednesday's announcement is a major achievement for Afghanistan's High Peace Council, which has been campaigning in Islamabad for Taliban releases and has been struggling to reduce mistrust between the Taliban and the government in Kabul.
The 70-member peace council was set up more than two years ago by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to open negotiations with insurgents.
It was given the task of reaching out to hundreds of Taliban field commanders, but it has consistently failed to woo any senior figures away from the insurgency.
In May, Arsala Rahmani, a key member of the council, was shot dead in Kabul in an attack blamed on the Taliban. Officials said it was a major blow to President Karzai.
In September 2011, the chief of the council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, was killed by a suicide bomber posing as a Taliban peace envoy.
Both Afghan and American officials have often accused Pakistan of backing insurgents - including the Haqqani group - as its proxies in Afghanistan to counter the influence of its rival India.
But Pakistan has rejected those claims.
Earlier this month, however, the UN Security Council's Taliban sanctions committee added the Haqqani group to its blacklist. The US state department designated the group as a terrorist organisation in September.


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Must-Read: New York's 2010 Census nightmare
The following report comes from a Census Bureau official whose identity has been confirmed but will remain anonymous as she is a current Census Bureau employee:
The five boroughs of New York City and its diversified population of eight million have long eluded demographers and census employees in producing an accurate count. Having worked in three censuses now and living in New York for almost my entire adult life I notice that the socioeconomic spectrum of New Yorkers has widened, making the poor poorer and the rich richer. In the last ten years there is an influx of immigrants; some legal some illegal. It makes what was once a one family home in Queens, Brooklyn and The Bronx a two or even three family home. These people are living in converted basements or the second story of the houses some legal some illegal. On the other end of the spectrum, luxury rentals and condominiums have become even more exclusive with price tags in the millions of dollars. In both cases the immigrants and residents of these upscale housing units and their exclusive real estate management companies have ignored repeated attempts by phone or mail to allow enumeration. Even in the face of a fine, the management companies are adamant about their policy and would willingly pay the fine rather than to allow enumerators to count their residents. The problem is the Census' Bureau's threat of a fine is merely used as a scare tactic. When a real estate mogul calls their bluff the actual fine like many other Census Bureau promises is empty.
As native New Yorkers we anticipated these problems. And sitting through four days of verbatim training where someone read through a book, we knew that it wasn't as simple as the script made it to be to persuade these respondents about the importance of the census and their participation. As a group we brainstormed and created techniques through trial and error to get those who were non-responsive to fill out our questionnaires. Some of these tactics included: sending another enumerator of a different race or creed after several visits with no contact; leaving blank enumerator questionnaires under their door allowing them the privacy of completing it in their own home. One of us even went as far as sending well dressed suits or female fashion models to coerce participation. But all this takes time and money. All of which with 15 billion price tag the Census Bureau doesn't have.
With inaccurate workload estimation models and front loading the Census Bureau overrecruited, overhired on many operations in preparation for the final major operation: non-response followup. One of the major costs was the paper based operational control system PBOCS which has been the subject of intense scrutiny by media, Congress and employees because of its inability to check out, check out and ship questionnaires and generate management reports. The managers who are monitoring productivity and costs are trained to believe if the reports don't show it's done then it isn't done. With only erroneous reports to rely on, headquarters and regional offices are using a take no prisoners do whatever it takes attitude to pressure temporary employees to complete the task. PBOCS also moves assignment areas fooling LCO managers and field staff into thinking they have more or less work than they have. And ultimately this may have long term geography problems when the Census is completed and used for congressional redistricting.
Since PBOCS doesn't work correctly and fails to handle the workload, The Census Bureau runs on a more is better attitude. The solution is hire more employees for manually counting and reviewing enumerator questionnaires when they should have slowed enumerator production. Local Census offices have gone from a simple 9am-5:30pm operation to running three shifts 24 hours a day seven days a week with triple to quadruple what their staffing authorizations originally allowed. This compounded the bottleneck, increased the backlog of questionnaires waiting to be checked in and slowed the re -interview and quality assurance phase. There is overwhelming suspicion of data falsification and false proxies but by the time this is figured out the operation will end and the enumerators already released for lack of work.
Now what was originally touted as the most accurate decennial count ever has quickly turned into a race to meet production goals and wrap up the operation as quickly as possible with procedural changes. We have enumerators, telephone clerks in the LCO, and enumerators from other LCOs taking interviews ignoring the fact that PBOCS will only let you check it in under an enumerator and that if data falsification is happening it will be difficult to find the culprit. What were originally any six personal and telephone visits is now three visits go to a proxy. What used to be try to get the household member because he knows his own name, sex, age, DOB, Hispanic origin and race and whether he rents or owns has become going to a proxy on a first visit and sometimes writing don't know on most if not all of those questions. Sadly this actually passes the office review portion and nothing in the enumerator procedures disallows that. If a respondent refuses and a proxy is able to give any of the information no matter how knowledgeable he/she is that doesn't constitute marking it as a refusal, skewing the accuracy of the data.
The incentives of career census employees at RCC and headquarters are in contradiction with each enumerator who wants our city to be accurately counted. The career census employees' evaluation of performance is purely based on numbers how many cases are completed with little regard to the demography or difficulty of enumerating the population. Their expectation is that the enumeration of traditionally undercounted minorities of Bedford Stuyvesant be just as quick as the white, upper middle class of Upper West Side of Manhattan. The very same agency whose motto has always been the leading source of data about the nation's people and economy has become a competition between area managers and local census offices.
The leadership in the local census offices isn't the strongest either. Those who made hiring decisions in New York RCC had every chance to hire the best managers but instead resorted to nepotism to make decisions. When it was clear these decisions were poor the career census employees terminated LCO managers' employment to cover it up. But then found another disappointing replacement. In an attempt to bring operations up to speed the Census Bureau flew in managers from Denver into Manhattan and headquarters to Staten Island.
The goal is for enumerators to get as many cases in and clerks process work as quickly as possible doing whatever it takes to get the job done, otherwise there will be a formal written reprimand and termination of their employment. It is the chest beating, gorilla apelike attitude of the managers that will ultimately be the demise of New York City.
Lester Farthing, the Regional Director and his managers of the New York Regional Census Center have no intention of an accurate count in the five boroughs. Instead their goal is to appease headquarters, finish as quickly as possible so that the career census employees will be viewed as productive team players who are not questioning the possible inaccuracy of this count. As one of our area managers will say "it's a hot mess." I only hope the mayor of our great city Michael Bloomberg, city census coordinator Stacey Cumberbatch, politicians and congressmen are reading this letter and will intervene because ultimately it is the city that will suffer for the next ten years. They were quick to make public announcements touting the importance of participating in the census by returning the forms. But have yet to do anything to persuade non cooperative households and real estate management companies to allow enumerators in to complete their job. The sad reality is that it may be too little too late.
With the way the census works can any of us ever trust census data again?
Tags: Brooklyn, Congress, Data, hiring, Hispanic, Lester Farthing, media, Micahel Bloomberg, New York, PBOCS, proxies, Queens, questionnaires, reapportionment, recruit, Stacey Cumberbach, training

subset: commoncrawl


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Blue Jays fall back in AL East as Buehrle struggles
Lefty exits after four innings, and offence misses out on opportunities
TORONTO -- Every team goes through its fair share of ups and downs during a 162-game schedule, but the Blue Jays seem to be taking it to the extreme.
Every time Toronto seems to be on the verge of securing itself as an undisputed postseason-caliber team, it goes on a losing streak. Every time the club seems to be on the way down, a winning streak almost always ensues.
The consistently inconsistent Blue Jays hit another bump in the road on Tuesday night as left-hander Mark Buehrle was roughed up over four innings and his offense remained quiet in a 9-3 loss to the Orioles at Rogers Centre.
"We are a team of extremes," Toronto manager John Gibbons said. "We have to score runs for this team, no question about it. We have to score runs to win. We just got beat around today a little bit. We came in and they outplayed us."
The loss meant Toronto has started a critical month of August with an 0-4 record. The Blue Jays opened August 0-3 during each of the past three seasons, but this is the first time since 2006 the club saw the skid extended to four.
The Blue Jays' three losses in Houston hurt, but this loss to the Orioles likely stings a little bit more. The series was billed as the battle of the American League East, and the early advantage goes to Baltimore.
Toronto dropped to five games back of Baltimore for top spot in the division. The Blue Jays have a chance to recover with two games remaining in the series, but the schedule doesn't get any easier after that as the club hosts Detroit for three games before heading out on a West Coast trip to Seattle.
"With us losing today, it doesn't mean our season is over," Buehrle said. "We played bad the first couple of games coming out of the break, first game of the series we lost and then came back to win the series.
" ... They're in first place for a reason. Come in, hopefully play better the next two games, take two of three and we'll be happy with it."
More than 36,000 showed up at Rogers Centre for the highly anticipated affair. The fans were loud early but went quiet when Buehrle started to struggle. Toronto's veteran starter was walking a fine line earlier in the game by putting multiple runners on base during each of the first two innings. He escaped both times, but his luck ran out in the third.
Baltimore's first run came on an RBI double by J.J. Hardy. In the fourth, Buehrle allowed back-to-back homers to Caleb Joseph and Jonathan Schoop. The Orioles added another run on an RBI single by Delmon Young, which came on a slow chopper that took a bad bounce on the Astro Turf and got away from third baseman Danny Valencia.
Buehrle didn't come back out for the fifth and he was charged with all four of those runs on 10 hits and three walks. He is 1-7 with a 4.73 ERA since June 7 and has allowed at least four runs in three of his past four outings. Right-hander Aaron Sanchez came on in relief, but he also got into trouble and allowed an additional two runs in his two innings of work.
"I feel like I've been making good pitches at times and they're finding holes," Buehrle said. "Besides the home runs and the double off the wall, if I'm making pitches, they're putting the ball on the ground and finding holes; can't really guard against that.
"It's frustrating, giving up 10 hits in four innings, but I feel like I'm making some quality pitches at certain times. I'm also making mistakes and they're making me pay for them."
Toronto's offense had plenty of opportunities to score but struggled to come through with runners in scoring position. It was the same theme as the weekend series in Houston, which saw the club rally early but not do enough damage when an opposing pitcher appeared to be on the ropes.
The Blue Jays' best opportunity to get back into the game came in the seventh. Jose Bautista came to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out. It marked the fourth time Bautista stepped in with runners on base, but in his previous three at-bats the slugger struck out, grounded out and hit into a double play.
Bautista, who represented the tying run, responded in this plate appearance by lifting a sacrifice fly to right field. Dioner Navarro then grounded into an inning-ending double play as yet another rally came to an end. Toronto has scored seven runs in its past 36 innings, which is a big reason for the recent losing streak.
"The bullpen picked me up, the guys swung the bats, and it's big statement game for us in the first game of the series," said O's starter Bud Norris, who improved to 3-0 in four starts against the Blue Jays this season. "A nice win for sure."
For Baltimore it is. For the Blue Jays, not so much.


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Timothy Alexander
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Wileyfox Storm is a British made mid/high-range Android smartphone, released in November 2015. The Storm features a 5.5″ 1080p IPS display, 1.5GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 815 processor, 3GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage. It comes with a 2500mAh battery, 20MP rear camera with a Sony sensor, 8MP selfie camera, dual-SIM capability, and runs on Cyanogen OS.
CyanogenMod team have come up with CM 13 ROM for Wileyfox Storm. Although it runs on Cyanogen OS, there are many differences between Cyanogen OS and CyanogenMod ROMs. If you want to install this ROM, follow the guide below.
Disclaimer: Follow the instructions at your own risk. If the device gets damaged, the writer or the owner of the site must not be held responsible.
Pre-requisites and Backing up your Wileyfox Storm:
- Create a Nandroid Backup
- Backup and Restore your Android smartphone via Desktop PC
- Backup/Sync and Restore contacts on Android smartphone
- Backup WhatsApp messages on Android Smartphone and Email
- Wileyfox Storm must be rooted
- Custom Recovery like CWM or TWRP installed
- CM 13 zip file
- Gapps zip file
Steps to install CM 13 ROM on Wileyfox Storm:
- Create a Nandroid backup from recovery, in case anything goes wrong.
- Download the CM 13 ROM zip file and Gapps zip file and transfer it to the phone.
- Switch off the phone and boot the phone into Recovery mode.
- Next, wipe the cache and the dalvik cache.
- Now go to "Install zip" and then "Select zip". Choose the CM 13 ROM zip file.
- Now again clear cache and dalvik cache.
- Go to "Install zip", then "Select zip". Choose the Gapps zip file.
- Then perform full data wipe task. To do so, click "Wipe Data/Factory Reset", then choose "Yes" on next screen to confirm.
- After the process is complete, reboot the phone.


text:
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15 Reviews
Insulated Water Bottle
No one would argue that it's not a good idea to use a energy-replacement drink like First Endurance EFS on a ride of any duration or intensity. The only argument you'll get, in fact, is from your taste buds when you try to swallow a mouthful of EFS after you've been riding for 2 hours on a 90-degree day. Warm energy drinks (or just plain ol' water) are fairly awful when they've been simmering in a plastic water bottle for awhile. Hence the invention of the Polar Insulated Water Bottle, which keeps cold drinks icy for a long, long time—time enough for you to palatably empty your bottles at the prescribed rate.
Polar has dominated the insulated bottle market for time immemorial for one simple reason: Their bottles work. No matter how hot it gets, liquid stays cold. Try one just once and you'll be a convert for life -- and you'll never stand for lukewarm drinks again. Available in 20oz and 24oz sizes.
- Polar's insulated bottle for keeping your drink colder for longer
- ZipStream cap features a self-sealing valve for less spilling
- Wide mouth allows for easy cleaning and ice cubes
- Lightweight design is easy to squeeze
- The bottle is dishwasher and freezer safe and Phthalate and BPA free
- Double wall insulated to keep your drink cold for twice as long
- Made in the USA
- Fits standard bike cages and most cup holders
- Item #POL0083
Tech Specs
Gearhead Help
Tech Specs
- Reviews
What do you think about this product?
Have questions about this product?
Great for Biking/Running
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
Nice insulated bottle. Much lighter than some of the metal bottles but keeps water ice cold! Fits nicely in a bottle holder on my bike
Well made
Nice for doing just about anything easy to use keep liquid cold .
Price Quality Versatility
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
Great price, great quality, cross over versatility. It's all I would need to know.....
fits perfect
small bike with a big bottle fits awesome and keep my drink nice and cold
works great!
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
keeps water cold in the hot summer weather!
Favorite bottle
Our kitchen cabinet has an assortment of bottles to choose from when riding, but the Polar Bottles always are the first to be picked up. You can fill them with ice water and appreciate the insulation, but even with tap water the leak free top & mouthpiece makes them the goto.
Keeps it cold for a couple hours
Nothing is more invigorating than a cold drink on a long ride. Fill it with ice and you'll have a refreshing drink for a couple hours.
Large Bottle
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
This bottle is exactly what I was looking for. I needed a larger bottle for my road bike as only 1 bottle would fit on the frame. On long, hot summer rides, the bottle keeps the water cold and it is a 24 Oz!!!
Very good!
- Familiarity: I've used it several times
This bottle can definitely keep it's cool. I ride in Costa Rica (hot and humid) and hate to go for drink during my ride and get a hot stream of water. This doesn't happen with this bottle. It can easily withstand 2 - 3 hrs rides and keep the temperature. It's a great companion for the Camelback Podium Ice
The only con is that is a little bulky and doesn't fit nice on some bike frames/cages.
Other that that, works great.
My least favorite
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
I bought this Polar bottle and was quickly disappointed. This bottle feels like a wet diaper when squeezing it, has little insulating properties, and has been donated to Good Will because it cant be recycled.
It does hold water and received 1 star, but is better at containing water than squirting water out.
I replaced it with a Competitive Cyclist Purist bottle and couldn't be happier!
Love some ice water on a hot ride
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
The insulation really works - if you see me riding on an 80 degree plus day, you can bet there'll be an insulated polar bottle full of ice water on my frame. The lid is solid too, nothing fancy but doesn't leak when you try to take a drink like some other brands.
Good Bottle
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
These bottles keep things cold and more importantly are easy to clean. There is no complicated bottle top that lets stuff grow like the podium chill bottles.
Not your average bottle
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
Just go ahead and throw out all those free bottles that you get at events, you won't need them. These bottles from Polar have been what I have been reaching for when heading out for a ride. You probably have seen or heard about them at some point - they are insulated and keep your magic potion colder for longer on those hot days (or warmer on cold days if you're into that sort of thing). What you probably haven't heard is that they've improved them over the years to address any issues you may have had. First and foremost, they are ever so slightly more firm than your standard bottle, however it isn't something new to get used to and offers a good tactile grip. Second, the large cap is revised to make mixing drinks simple and fast along with the cap providing tons of flow for when you drop your buddy on the last 1k of your favorite climb. Further, the cap is only 2 pieces and is easy to take apart for in depth cleaning. As for the insulation properties, the bottle does a great job keeping my drinks refreshingly cold during the longest of rides. However realistically ice won't necessarily stick around all day in these bottles...it's all about give and take.
Keeps cold in 90+ deg weather 2hrs
- Familiarity: I've put it through the wringer
I have both the large and small version of this water bottle/insulation. If you like me you typically fill with ice and fill and go on ride. Last 1-2 hrs in 90+ temps. After about 2 hrs it will start to warm but I still think that is pretty good. If your really hardcore I recommend putting in freezer and then filling with ice/water to get even more run time. Top unscrews easily and easy to fill with mix, etc. Easy to wash also. No mold build up. Not for the weight weenies as it will add a few grams but on hot days who cares?! Fits my elite waterbottle cages without problems and no major scuffing has occurred. I did use them in Tacx holders also without problems.
Great Bottle
I love this bottle. It keeps your liquids super cold.


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1900s Name: Shumsk1900s District: Kremenets1900s Province: Volhynia1900s Country: Russian Empire
Modern: Shumsk, UkraineModern Ukrainian: Шумськ
Modern Russian: Шумск
1930s: Szumsk, Krzemieniec, Wołyń, Poland1950s: Shumskoye, Soviet Union
Other names: Shumsk [Ukr], Szumsk [Pol], Shimsk [Yid], Shumskoye [Rus], Shumsk [Rus], Shomsk, SumskeCoordinates: 50°07'N 26°07'E Mapquest
Google Maps
E-mail distribution list: There's a dedicated e-mail distribution list for JewishGenners with roots in Shumsk. For more information you can contact Lynne TolmanShumsk data on Kremenets KehilaLinks website: The Kremenets District Research Group (KDRG) collects documents and datasets for towns of the Kremenets District. Shumsk is one of those towns. To see what KDRG has available for Shumsk go to the Kremenets KehilaLinks website (http://kehilalinks.jewishgen.org/Kremenets/web-pages/about-kremenets.html). On the Research Menu, select Concordance. The Concordance of Personal Names and Town Names is a master index of all information collected by KDRG. Please be sure to read the Introduction and Guide to the Concordance to learn how to interpret the abbreviations in the 'Source' and 'Location in Source' columns. For more information contact Ron Doctor (firstname.lastname@example.com).
Note: For more information about our Town Pages please visit our FAQ section: What information do I find in the Ukraine SIG's town pages?


text: Last night's episode of Kourtney & Kim Take New York chronicled how Kim came to the decision to record a single. She was approached by big-time producer The-Dream. The end. She had no interest in being a recording artist before—or seemingly, during—this process. In the studio she doesn't look or act excited at all, but bored and maybe so nervous that she has to poop. The vibe translates very well on the finished product, which is basically just boring shit.


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The enthusiastically titled "Fan-Tastic Chandel-Air" by Meyda lighting combines, you guessed it, a chandelier and a fan into one crazy looking customisable design.
The first design in the series, "Tall Pines at Dusk" features "a Silver Mica shade transformed into a decorative /functional casement for a 73cm fan." It is also designed to be an energy saver with blades that can reverse direction—pulling hot air up in the summer and pushing it down in the winter. No pricing information has been made available, but it is billed as a handcrafted work of art, so prepare to overpay accordingly. [Meyda via Core77]


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Tex, Youk on track to return to Yankees soon
NEW YORK -- With Mark Teixeira expected to report to Double-A Trenton on Wednesday and Kevin Youkilis not thought to be far behind, the Yankees may be in position to add reinforcement help to their roster by the upcoming weekend.
Teixeira (right wrist) and Youkilis (back) each had five at-bats on Monday in an extended spring training game in Tampa, Fla., and manager Joe Girardi said that both players are continuing to progress toward their big league return dates.
"As I've said, it's how they feel and when we feel -- and they feel -- that they're ready," Girardi said. "It has to be both sides and not necessarily one."
Girardi said that Teixeira's situation is trickier because he needs to compile both left-handed and right-handed at-bats; Teixeira said he has been generally swinging twice as much from the left side of the plate as the right in simulated games.
Youkilis has had no recent difficulty with his back, but Girardi said he would want to see Youkilis show the ability to play in three consecutive games without incident before activating him.
Girardi also acknowledged that the respective returns of Teixeira and Youkilis would displace contributors like Lyle Overbay and rookie David Adams, but Girardi said it is too soon to begin planning how that will be sorted out.
"I'll continue to take the approach [of] I'll handle it when I have to handle it," Girardi said. "Right now, I've got to focus on the guys in the room. We're hoping that we get these guys back soon, but I'll worry about that when it happens."


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In a rematch of the 2011 MLS Cup, Houston and LA continued to go in opposite directions in their 2012 campaigns, with the Dynamo fighting for a 2-1 comeback victory against the Galaxy on a steamy Saturday afternoon at BBVA Compass Stadium.
Houston, now undefeated in four, sent LA to their third-consecutive defeat and eighth overall by capitalizing on Mike McGee's own goal in the 38th minute when Andre Hainault marked his 100th MLS start by heading Brad Davis' in-swinger into the bottom corner in the 57th minute.
The Galaxy (3-8-2) continued their nightmare start, and are now winless in seven games and sit in last place in the Western Conference on 11 points. Houston (4-3-4) won their second game at their new home after drawing twice following their 1-0 victory against D.C. United in the stadium opener.
After going down in the first 10 minutes when Edson Buddle coolly slotted the ball past Tally Hall, Houston's pressure started to match the 90-degree heat, putting LA on the back foot.
Magee's own goal was their eventual reward. Brian Ching, who came close to equalizing twice but sent his shots over the bar, controlled a well-placed feed from Je-Vaughn Watson and found a tight angle to his liking, crushing a shot off the crossbar and leaving the Galaxy winger in a bang-bang situation. Unfortunately for Magee and the Galaxy, his attempt to bring the ball down resulted in a rebound into an empty net to even the match.
Houston continued to push forward, and both Will Bruin and Watson came close to giving the home side the lead in the first half but, like their captain, they sent their chances over the crossbar despite quality service from Houston's left-sided duo of Davis and Corey Ashe.
LA suffered yet another defeat in a game that looked, at least early on, like it could be the nudge in the right direction the defending MLS champions have been looking for. Without stars Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, who were both away on international duty, the Galaxy found early success when Buddle broke out of his scoring slump to make it 1-0 in the 10th minute.
Buddle, David Beckham and Chad Barrett carved up the Dynamo defense with three excellent passes, and the ball ended up at the feet of the LA forward, who exploited space between Bobby Boswell and Andre Hainault to slot home a smooth right-to-left finish and break his 10-game streak without a goal.
Bryan Jordan appeared to have given LA a two-goal lead in the 29th minute, but the celebrations were short lived. The midfielder collected a ball just outside the six-yard box and fired it past Hall, but the assistant referee's raised flag negated the play.
LA came inches away from taking a 2-1 lead in the 51st minute when Beckham showed his class, hitting a bending shot from a 25-yard free kick that Hall did well to parry away. That was the last real chance the defending champions had to salvage a result.
After Hainault's winner, the final 33 minutes unfolded with few chances. Houston put their foot on the ball, slowing the pace in the heat and providing few chances for the visiting Galaxy to climb back into the match.
Both clubs will take a break from MLS play next weekend, but will begin U.S. Open Cup play this week. LA will travel to Carolina to take on the RailHawks on Tuesday, while Houston travels to San Antonio to face the Scorpions on May 29 before hosting Valencia CF in the BBVA Compass Dynamo Charities Cup on May 31.


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Warm weather, an uptick in commodity prices and government payments have contributed to financial improvement for area ranchers and farmers, according to the Minneapolis Fed's first quarter survey of agricultural lenders. In addition to higher farm income, farm household and capital spending started to climb out of the deep hole that was created by last year's low agriculture prices. Also, agriculture producers are making larger-than-normal loan repayments, and the percentage of farm borrowers at their loan limit has decreased. The forecast for farm income has improved somewhat from the dismal outlook of the previous survey.
Farm income and spending
"Most customers are in good financial shape," said a Minnesota farm lender. Farm income and spending improved from the previous quarter. Over half the lenders responding to the survey report average or above-average farm income in the first quarter, compared with about a third of lenders in the fourth quarter 1999 survey. Farmers' income in the Dakotas improved the most. Primarily due to government payments, over half of North Dakota lenders expect average or above-average farm income, a 42 percentage point increase from the fourth quarter survey. In addition, two-thirds of South Dakota bankers note average or above-average farm income in the first quarter, a 26 percentage point increase from the fourth quarter results.
Capital spending continued to increase but is still below normal. Seventy percent of lenders indicate below-normal capital spending over the last three months, compared with almost 80 percent in the fourth quarter survey. Farm household spending also continued to increase: About three-fifths of the lenders note average or above-average levels in the first quarter, in relation to about half the lenders in the fourth quarter survey.
Farm loan volumes
Farm loan volumes increased slightly from the previous quarter. Operating loan volume, except for feeder loans, returned to normal levels as over three-quarters of lenders report normal demand, compared with 69 percent in the fourth quarter survey. On the other hand, higher livestock prices are leading to a rise in demand for feeder livestock loans: 19 percent of lenders indicate above-normal levels in the first quarter in relation to 11 percent last quarter.
Real estate loans were mixed as increases were noted in the above-normal and below-normal categories. Thirteen percent of respondents point to above-normal levels in the first quarter, a 5 percentage point increase from last quarter, while 45 percent of lenders report below-normal levels compared with 43 percent of respondents in the fourth quarter. Machinery loans continue to remain in the doldrums, with over half of bankers indicating below normal loan volumes in the first quarter, but this is an improvement of 18 percentage points from the fourth quarter survey.
Bank credit conditions and liquidity
The continued improvement in financial health means farmers can repay loans and reduce their use of loan extensions. Above-normal levels of loan repayments are reported by about a fourth of lenders, a significant improvement over the fourth quarter. About two-thirds of respondents say renewals and extensions have returned to average levels. Moreover, the number of farmers at their debt limit continued to decrease from about a third in the fourth quarter survey, to about one-quarter in the first quarter. Meanwhile, availability of funds is not a problem, as only 1 percent of banks are not lending due to shortage of funds.
Land values, collateral and interest rates
Land values to date have held up very well, according to a Minnesota lender. Cropland price increases ranged from an average of 4 percent in Minnesota to 10 percent in Montana. Moreover, pasture land price increases varied from an average of 3 percent in Minnesota to 16 percent in North Dakota.
The solid land prices have helped farmers' financial position as collateral requirements have returned to normal levels. About three-quarters of respondents require normal levels of collateral, up 6 percentage points from three months earlier. Meanwhile, interest rates for farm loans have increased about 25 basis points from the fourth quarter.
"We are very concerned about the dry spell in our area," said a South Dakota lender. Another South Dakota lender said, "A mild winter has helped keep costs down for the [livestock] producer which should contribute to gains in the future." And a Montana banker commented, "Cattle and grain are offsetting each other." These comments reflect a financial situation that is somewhat improved from previous periods, when only negative signs were noted. But the outlook remains subdued in that 54 percent of the lenders expect below-normal income over the next three months, and 70 percent of lenders expect below-normal capital spending levels in the spring quarter. Yet, this is an improvement from the fourth quarter survey in which 71 percent of lenders anticipated below-normal farm income and 84 percent expected below-normal capital spending.
|Fixed Interest Rates*
|Feeder Livestock
|Real Estate
|1st Q '99
|2nd Q '99
|3rd Q '99
|4th Q '99
|1st Q '00
|* Average of reported rates in mid-February 2000.
Facts about the survey
Each quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis surveys agricultural bankers in the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, northwestern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In February, 87 bankers responded regarding conditions during the first quarter.


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Are you in need of a fixture to match your classic design taste? Antique ceiling fans, and vintage style overhead fans, are a classy accessory to add elegance to an indoor or outdoor space. Many manufacturers include unique belt-driven options and even some selections with attached lamps. Antique ceiling fans fill your home with an inviting breeze for all of your family and friends to enjoy.
Vintage Style & Belt Driven Overhead Fans
Antique ceiling fans will cool your room or patio by circulating air and providing a comfortable space for relaxation up the light. Vintage style overhead fans are built to mesh with a wide range of decor ideas that are used around the house. Quality manufacturers like Casablanca, Emerson, and Minka Aire offer outdoor options that can come with lamps for your porch or patio. Vintage style overhead fans have a classic design that fits into any type of home décor to ensure a seamless unification with the rest of the room.
They represent timelessness and class in today's society. Each piece is considered a work of art that has been painstakingly drafted and crafted. Eighteenth and nineteenth century designs are the inspirations for the elaborate detailing on these customized fans. Though Emerson fixtures pair well with anything, they work best in rooms containing other vintage accessories like pieces of furniture, lamps, and artwork.
Historic homes have an undeniable appeal due to their quality craftsmanship and detailed flourishes. Ceiling fans will not only complement a historic home's distinct style and personality, but will also add cooling characteristics. We offer a variety of fan manufacturers, types, styles, sizes, and finishes to help you find the perfect option for you. Outdoor ceiling fans are wet and damp rated to ensure safe and long-lasting operation in weather exposed areas like your patio, porch, pergola, sunroom, or entry way.
A great way to brighten up the beautiful craftsmanship and décor in your home is to add illumination. Ceiling fans with lights is a great way to add air circulation without having to keep dark areas around your room. With all of the different fans that are available it can become difficult to decide which is best. We welcome you to read our best types of fans for a home article to gain a wealth of knowledge prior to a decision.


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It's strange to say, but unfortunately the spiritual disease of tzara'at does not exist today. Life might be a little easier if we had a physical barometer of how well our soul is connected to others and to the Divine. Once we see the physical signs we could get some help, repair, restore, and reconnect. Today our purity of soul is much more difficult to measure so we must be proactive in it's care.
The book of Leviticus (Vayikra) contains a set of passages (chapters 12-15) often skipped in our study due to their unpleasant nature. I am ever fascinated by the laws of purity contained in these pages. The Holy One teaches Moses who may come near the Divine Presence which is manifest in the Tabernacle. One must be tahor (pure/clean) in order to come near the Mishkan. Tahor denotes not a physical purity, but a purity of soul, a cleanliness of spirit. The opposite spiritual state, tamei (impurity & separation) indicates that a barrier has been placed between the human soul and the Divine.
Kepha said to him, "You will never wash my feet." Yeshua answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share with me."
Shimon Kepha said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"
Yeshua said to him, "One who has bathed does not need to wash, except for the feet, but is entirely clean. And you are clean . . ." (John 13:8–10)


text: Jplay - just another scam? YES IT IS! 2012-01-12 04:05:44 http://jplay.eu/QuoteJPLAY was built with only one goal in mind: optimal music reproduction. Its stripped-down, bare-bones playback engine fits completely inside CPU cache and can be used as stand-alone player or together with popular music management software:JPLAY is the first audiophile player providing direct integration with JRiver Media center, foobar2000 and iTunes.There is a GUI panel included for quick & easy adjustment of most important settings. This now makes JPLAY easier to use than ever and leverages hosts' GUI with JPLAY's Award-Winning audio playback technology.Can someone explain of what the use a player within the foobar2000 player is? It is better because:Quotejplay pre-loads complete playlist into RAM guaranteeing zero disk I/O during music reproduction.Maximal Priority Schedulingultra low latency capabilitiesMaximal Priority Scheduling Ensure uninterrupted flow of music data by running music playback at highest possible priority.Hibernation Modemulticore audio playbackHibernation Mode Cancel OS 'noise' by eliminating dozens of OS jitter-inducing processes & hundreds of threads!?Is there any veracity to such claims? Knowing what little I know about computer audio (which is not all that much, despite having put together my own audio server with all the necessary hard and software) I really doubt there is any substance to the assertions. The only benefit I can see is to the developer charging something like 99$..... Last Edit: 2012-01-12 04:18:19 by kraut


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Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) bending hello, entering the driveway.
Wind blowing, water flowing, grasses swaying and children playing – movement brings a garden to life.
It seems unimaginable for a garden to be still. Do you often find yourself looking at something moving from the corner of your eye, or do you look to a sound made by the moving wind? Movement engages you in the garden. Movement can be introduced with plants or personality; look around your garden to see how you can add more movement in your garden.
Leaves Rustling
Certain trees hold their leaves throughout the winter. White oak trees will hold on to their leaves, turning brown and dry, until new spring growth pushes out the old. As the wind rises, their leaves rustle. This sound draws the eye to the leaves of the oak tree, shimmering like the grass skirt of a hula dancer.
Certain shrubs, such as the spice bush (Lindera glauca), also hold their leaves when dormant. The dried, spice-colored leaves provide a rattle in the wind during the winter months.
'Karl Foerster' grass, Calamagrostis x acutiflora in motion.
Grasses Swaying
Grasses are valued for their form, texture and three solid seasons of visual interest. Their flexibility during each of these seasons also provides movement in the garden. Swaying in the wind, they bend in the breeze like an anemometer for speed – the more the wind, the more the bend. During the winter months, watching the hay colored grasses is mesmerizing, taking the mind to summer days gone by.
A good one to try is the perennial Calamagrostis x acutiflora 'Karl Foerster', which stands upright and erect until the breeze begins, creating movement in the garden.
Muhlenbergia capillaris colors up pink in the fall, then turns tan for the winter months. Left uncut, the grasses add interest in the winter garden as they move in motion to the seasonal winds.
Native switch grass, Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah', can grow 4 feet tall with nice red tones in the summer, growing darker burgundy as the fall progresses. In the winter 'Shenandoah' is blond and bold, ready to bend in the slightest breeze.
Left: While the fountain itself doesn't move, the water swirling and falling in various directions in this pool creates both movement and sound in the garden. Right: Moving water from the fountain can be heard through the garden.
Water Flowing
Where water flows, wildlife flocks. Seen and heard from afar, the wildlife are attracted to moving water. From four-tiered fountains or recirculating ponds to a gurgling urn with only enough flow to continually coat the sides, moving water will entice birds and other wildlife to sip or dip. This brings a lot of movement to the garden, as birds scurry for seeds and squirrels dig for acorns.
The sound of the water itself is also a benefit. It buffers ambient noise, creating a focal point to be enjoyed in our Carolina gardens throughout the year.
If you have water in your garden you likely also have fish, another good source of movement. Fish move left, move right and circle around. They wiggle and wag looking for little bites to eat and making sure all is well in their water world. Watching fish move through the water is calming and cathartic. During feeding times the fish are fun to watch as the scurry for position, breaking the water to grab little nibbles.
Birds Feeding
Birds actively come and go from the garden creating commotion in their motion. Keeping stalks and seed heads through the season is a good way to invite birds to alight in your garden. And you can't beat the delightful experience as the seed heads rustle and move in the breeze.
Watching birds feed on the seeds is entertaining from the motion they cause when loosing balance to the stalks moving in the wind. Finches alight on verbena-on-a-stick (Verbena bonarienis), purple coneflowers (Echineaca purpurea) and phlox, resulting in wobbling, in-the-air antics.
A hummingbird hovers contently while sipping from bee balm.
You can also attract birds with man-made feeders. Certain feeders will allow multiple birds to alight at once. It is not unusual to see a mix of bird species feeding on the same feed. Black-oil sunflower seeds will attract the greatest variety of birds to your feeder, including cardinals, nuthatches and finches. For brown thrashers use a ground-level, tray-type feeder.
Put out peanuts and wait for the woodpeckers you probably didn't even know you had come to feed. Taking seeds, filling their bellies and coming and going from the feeders, brings hours of pleasure watching the birds as they move about.
Hummingbirds are also fun. Catch them during the spring, summer and fall before they migrate south. They will stop in mid-air to sip from nectar rich flowers. Adding nectar feeders filled with clear sugar water will invite hummingbirds to your garden. Use 1 part sugar to 4 parts water. Cannas, Turk's cap lilies (Malvavisus drummondii), bee balm (Monarda), salvias and many other trumpet shaped flowers will bring hummingbirds to your garden.
Left: The pink-spotted hawkmoth moves at night. Right: Butterflies move in the garden from flower to flower.
Insects Inspecting
Growing plants to attract butterflies will lead to butterfly arrival – flirting, floating and flying from flower to flower. The garden moves with life day and night with moths, bees, wasps, praying mantises and beetles. Zinnias, lantana, Joe-Pye weed and other umbel-shaped flower heads act as a landing pad for the butterflies to alight.
Basils, if left to flower, will also bring in bees, as will salvias, lavender, rosemary, crossvine and many more pollen-producing flower heads.
The American flag ready for a breeze.
Whirligigs, Flags and Wind Chimes
Accents that go round and round, wave in the wind and chime with the breeze all add movement in your garden.
Whirligigs will add motion to your garden, and a lot of charm to boot. Found in as many shapes as there is imagination, whirligigs make the most of the wind.
The American flag is the flag icon for movement and glory in the garden. Hanging on the front porch column, surrounded by germaniums and shrubs, it proudly waves in the wind.
Don't forget wind chimes. From tiny ones that sound like Tinkerbell's wand to large ones that chime with deep tones in major winds, chimes are sure to charm.
Invite kids to the garden to add movement.
Children Playing
Backyard play is the American way. Whether in your own yard, a park, at grandma's house, or a neighbor's yard, a space to run and be free is what a kid needs.
When kicking a ball, playing tag and chasing fireflies, children's precious movements bring life to the garden. Give kids a little freedom in your garden and they'll delight in their ability to roam freely in outdoor spaces.
Locate your movement makers where they can be observed. Place a fountain where it can be seen from the front window. Plant nectar-rich plants near the back porch where you can see the movement they bring while sipping an iced tea. Add grasses along the driveway to bend hello as you come home.
If none of these suit you, just add a whirligig at the front door where you will be sure to readily witness wind in motion.
A version of this article appeared in Carolina Gardener Volume 23 Number 2.
Photography courtesy of Helen Yoest, Troy B. Marden, Frank Leung, and istockphoto.com/BirdImages.


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Sugar Cookie Costume
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Sugar Cookie Costume
Here we have a bag of Sugar...and a Cookie. Sugar & Cookie = Sugar Cookie
Mrs.J's daughter, Jes, is the "Sugar" of the pair. (Just as sweet as she can BE I'm sure! Ü)
Mrs J. Thank you for returning to the Costume Contest again this year. I was anxiously awaiting what great costumes you would produce.
I am NOT disappointed! Ü
More of Mrs.J's costumes can be found in the "Homemade" section and I shall post the ones that are here now in the Homemade pages once this contest is over. Mrs. J is great about providing info and hints on how to make her costurmes also! Ü
Thanks again Mrs J!
|Costume type:
|Costumes for Girls
This homemade costume for girls entered our 2008 Halloween Costume Contest.


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The Gargamel Music family is pleased to announce that Grammy-winning Reggae superstar Buju Banton has just nabbed a pair of nominations for the 31st annual International Reggae And World Music Awards (IRAWMA). The 2012 ceremony will take place July 5th in Chicago.
Banton is nominated in the Best Song category for his sizzling 2011 collabo "Jah Army" with Stephen and Damian Marley. The second nomination is for Concert Of The Year for his historic Before the Dawn Concert that was held in Miami in January of 2011.
"We again congratulate Buju Banton on his nominations in the 31st IRAWMA," says Ephraim Martin of Martin's International, the producers of the long running event. "Buju was and is still a messenger for the people in his own right. History shows and tells us, that just about all great leaders, messengers and freedom fighters, who ended up in jail or prison at some point, returned to be better leaders."


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Spaces: House hinges on old doors
Virtually everything in Rod and Ann Lee's new house in the Medical Center has a past, and a pretty interesting one at that.
The couple built their Santa Fe-style home four years ago using material recycled from homes and buildings the world over. Parts of a Houston Street drugstore, a barn in the Midwest, an old factory and doors from past centuries in Mexico, China, India and Europe have a new life here, contributing to the rustic blend.
The couple wanted to downsize from a 3,300-square-foot Victorian home near downtown, so Rod, an orthopedic surgeon, started collecting doors, windows, sinks and other salvaged material.
"I literally spent several years gathering this stuff, stored it all in my antique business (Architectural Warehouse Antiques) and it drove people crazy for a long time because they'd say, 'Everything that I like here it says sold. Who is this guy, Rod? His name's on everything that I wanted to buy.' They wanted to buy all the things that I was keeping for myself."
The small, sloped lot dictated a two-story house, which Rod designed and unexpectedly built a good portion of himself. "We had one of those nightmares where the builder went bankrupt," he said.
The path to the front door begins through Chinese gates that date from the 1700s. "They look Spanish, so I used them," he says. The rustic wood framing the panels bears the house's name, Las Puertas.
The front doors are Indian, but could also pass for Spanish. They open to a large foyer, where Ann's hand at decorating and Rod's woodworking skills are apparent. He used a pair of Mexican doors to make a free-standing coat cabinet after the coat closet was converted into a wine cellar.
"The floors, ceilings and beams are all from a single barn that I got out of the Midwest. Therefore, the wood all matches," he says. "The walls are a new stucco product, but we've used all recycled materials otherwise. "
Rod's office and a guest bedroom are downstairs. The couple spends most of the time upstairs, in the other half of the house.
Rod used antique stall gates from Sweden as the backs of the two bookcases that separate the kitchen from the dining and living areas. He converted a Mexican door into the dining table and used a Swedish work bench, with the anvil still attached, as a side table and bar in the living room. Next to the kiva fireplace he installed a shelf unit, made from an antique Swedish sled.
"He's got imagination," Ann says.
More Information
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House Rules
Self-described antiques maniacs Rod and Ann Lee would rather find new use for something old than buy something new. At antiques shows and his business, Architectural Warehouse Antiques, he offers advice about how to use older materials.
Higher quality: "My point is think green, recycle, save this stuff. It's the better quality materials by far, and in reality it practically never costs you more. It sometimes costs you by far less to use the old materials," Rod says.
Less cost: "It is better, it is cheaper, you wind up with more quality, but the contractors lean people away from using it because it's not clean, it's not all the same, it's not all done, the doors aren't all in jambs," he said.
Not perfect: "You do have some downside, the floors are a little rough and bumpy and they creak, but that's the way they were in old houses, so I don't even find a problem with it," he says.
Can't hurt it: "We like different. We like eclectic and that's exactly what this is. And you don't mind putting your cup on … the little cart out there, because it's rustic. And there's no worry about spilling or dropping or making a ring or anything like that (on the furniture). It makes it very comfortable to me," Ann says.
The coffee table used to ride the rails as a mine or railroad tram. A saddle shop's industrial Singer sewing machine attached to a pedestal table found new life as the kitchen island. Church pews provide seating at a kitchen table that Rod put together using a tile top from a Mexican restaurant for the top and the metal base of a sewing machine for the bottom. He used panels from antique Mexican doors to complete the cabinetry around the extra-wide sink with double drainboards, a find from the Midwest.
By the time they had completed eight months of building, their house ended up being about 3,200 square feet. While they didn't exactly downsize from their 1915 home with little insulation, the new well-insulated home did cut their utility bill in half.
Chrissie Murnin is a San Antonio freelance writer.
Chrissie Murnin is a San Antonio freelance writer.


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PHOTOSHOP MADNESS is where you practically go mad trying to find the most useful stuff for Photoshop! But seriously folks, it's spring, and we're on the search for cool color stuff in Photoshop, so stand by here we go . . .
* Premiere Pro CS6's new Three-Way Color Corrector tool step-by-step
* Color Correction and Enhancement in Adobe Photoshop CS6
* How To Use Blend Modes With Color Channels In Photoshop
* Thread: Hue Value Chroma Color Swatches For Photoshop
* How to Use Color Balance Controls in Photoshop CS6
* 3d Color Splash 3d In Resolution Of Hd Wallpapers
* Adobe Photoshop Color Blindness Filters
* An Easy Guide To HSL Color In CSS3
* Photoshop PSD File: Color Wheel
* Adobe SpeedGrade CS6
... and MORE
As always, we caution you -- be careful what you click, and where you click. We always attempt to refer you to good, clean stuff -- but malware, phishing, stalker and predator links are abundant in many sites these days. Whatch those little popups in the text. Just stay on the tutorial / content paths and you'll be okay.
Adobe SpeedGrade CS6
I want you to listen to this video. Talking about madness ???? Does this video sound like one of those outer space ads?
Adobe¨ SpeedGradeª CS6 color grading software brings the Lumetriª Deep Color Engine to your production workflow. Open the full dynamic range of your footage through a sleek new interface. A new component of Adobe Creative Suite¨ software, SpeedGrade gives you the power to push your stories further.
Full story : Adobe SpeedGrade CS6
How to Use Color Balance Controls in Photoshop CS6
With an understanding of Photoshop CS6 and color theory, you can probably use the Color Balance controls to make some simple changes to the color in your image. The difficult part is recognizing exactly which color you need to add or subtract from your image in the first place.
Colors are subtler than you might think. For example, a slight colorcast toward cyan can look a lot like a slightly green or blue colorcast. Is your image too red, or does it have too much magenta?
Full story : From the book Photoshop CS6 All-In-One for Dummies
See for screen capture or video
Adobe Photoshop Color Blindness Filters
Photoshop supports Color Universal Design (CUD) through its soft proofing features, which can simulate color blindness. This feature enables the designer to see what the image will look like for people with different types of color blindness, such as protanopia and deuteranopia. Color blindness simulation makes it easier to create accessible signage and other artwork
CUD ensures that graphical information is conveyed accurately to people with various types of color vision, including people with color blindness. Several countries have guidelines that require CUD-compliant graphics in public spaces.
Full story : adobe.com
... continues on the next page!


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PARIS — France announced Tuesday that it was recognizing the newly formed Syrian rebel coalition and would consider arming the group, seeking to inject momentum into a broad Western and Arab effort to build a viable and effective opposition that would hasten the end of a stalemated civil war that has destabilized the Middle East.
The announcement by President François Hollande made France the first Western country to fully embrace the new coalition, which came together this past weekend under Western pressure after days of difficult negotiations in Doha, Qatar.
The goal was to make an opposition leadership — both inside and outside the country — representative of the array of Syrian groups pressing for the downfall of President Bashar al-Assad. Although Mr. Assad is increasingly isolated as his country descends further into mayhem and despair after 20 months of conflict, he has survived partly because of the disagreements and lack of unity among his opponents.
Throughout the conflict, the West has taken half measures and been reluctant to back an aggressive effort to oust Mr. Assad. This appears to be the first time that Western nations, with Arab allies, are determined to build a viable opposition leadership that can ultimately function as a government. Whether it can succeed remains unclear.
Mr. Hollande went beyond other Western pledges of support for the new Syrian umbrella rebel group, which calls itself the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. But Mr. Hollande's announcement clearly signaled expectations that if the group can establish political legitimacy and an operational structure inside Syria, creating an alternative to the Assad family's four decades in power, it will be rewarded with further recognition, money and possibly weapons.
"I announce that France recognizes the Syrian National Coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people and thus as the future provisional government of a democratic Syria and to bring an end to Bashar al-Assad's regime," said Mr. Hollande, who has been one of the Syrian president's harshest critics.
As for weapons, Mr. Hollande said, France had not supported arming the rebels up to now, but "with the coalition, as soon as it is a legitimate government of Syria, this question will be looked at by France, but also by all countries that recognize this government."
Political analysts called Mr. Hollande's announcement an important moment in the Syrian conflict, which began as a peaceful Arab Spring uprising in March 2011. It was harshly suppressed by Mr. Assad, turned into a civil war and has left nearly 40,000 Syrians dead, displaced about 2.5 million and forced more than 400,000 to flee to neighboring countries, according to international relief agencies.
"It's certainly another page of the story," Augustus Richard Norton, a professor of international relations at Boston University and an expert on Middle East political history, said of the French announcement. "I think it's important. But it will be much more important if other countries follow suit. I don't think we're quite there yet."
Some drew an analogy to France's leading role in the early days of the Libyan uprising when it helped funnel aid, and later military support, to the rebels who had firmly established themselves in eastern Libya and would later topple Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. But in Syria, rebels have not been as organized and have no hold on significant amounts of territory — at least not enough to create a provisional government that could resist Mr. Assad's military assaults. The West has also refused, so far, to impose a no-fly zone over Syria, which was critical to the success of the Libyan uprising.
Andrew J. Tabler, a Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said that the new coalition would have to create a secure zone in Syria to be successful, and that that step would require support from the United States, which was instrumental in the negotiations that led to the group's creation but has not yet committed to giving it full recognition.
What the French have done, Mr. Tabler said, is significant because they have started the process of broader recognition, putting pressure on the group to succeed. "They've decided to back this umbrella organization and hope that it has some kind of political legitimacy and keep it from going to extremists," he said. "It's a gamble. The gamble is that it will stiffen the backs of the opposition."
France's statement also was a clear reflection of frustration with the growing death toll and military stalemate in Syria. It came a week after the re-election of President Obama, who had clearly been unwilling to consider any military policy that could hurt his prospects.
Mr. Hollande's announcement came as the rebel coalition's newly chosen leader, Sheik Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, a former imam of the historic Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and a respected figure in Syria, made a broad appeal to Western and Arab countries for recognition and military aid. Foreign ministers of the Arab League, while approving the new group as the "legitimate representative of the Syrian opposition," have not agreed on recognizing it as a provisional government to replace Mr. Assad.
France, the former colonial power in Syria, has been pressing for a more committed international effort to help the anti-Assad movement. It has pushed the United Nations Security Council and the United States to act more decisively and has promoted economic and oil sanctions against Syria, both in the United Nations and more successfully in the European Union, which had been a top consumer of Syrian oil.
Under the previous center-right presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, France played the leading role in organizing an armed intervention in Libya to save the opposition from Colonel Qaddafi's forces. Working with the British, Mr. Sarkozy brought Washington along and helped secure a Security Council mandate that was interpreted as covering military intervention in Libya.
Russia and China have said they felt deceived, however, and both have opposed a similar Council resolution on Syria. In addition, the Obama administration has been firmly against any military intervention in Syria on behalf of a more chaotic opposition with a larger, more visible presence of radical Islamic fighters from other countries.
Still, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has been important in pressing for a newly constituted, broader Syrian transitional council of the kind established in Qatar on Sunday.
The French have also been helping with civilian projects in areas of Syria held by opposition forces, working with locals to repair food and milk factories and to provide medical supplies and assistance. The idea, French officials have said, is to help the opposition govern and build credibility in so-called liberated areas.
The recognition by France came as new fighting raged in Syria and international relief agencies warned that the humanitarian crisis there had worsened in the past few weeks.
"People are really on the run, hiding," said Melissa Fleming, the spokeswoman for the United Nations refugee agency in Geneva. "They are difficult to count and difficult to access."
A rebel-held Syrian village at the Turkish border, Ras al-Ain, was bombed by Syrian aircraft for the second consecutive day. And tensions remained high on the armistice line between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights area controlled by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Israeli tank gunners blasted a Syrian mobile artillery vehicle there on Monday in response to repeated instances of errant mortar shells landing on the Israeli side.
There were also new indications that the Syrian rebels were obtaining more sophisticated weapons without Western help. The Brown Moses blog, considered an authoritative source on arms used in the conflict, reported new images showing insurgents armed with SA-16 and SA-24 shoulder-fired heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles, apparently captured from the Syrian military. Both systems are newer generations of weapons than rebels have been seen carrying before, and pose a new threat to Syrian military aircraft.


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Ha ha,
Skorpion Scorpion. Very funny.
This joke brought to you by Game Developer Editor-in-Chief Brandon Sheffield, who apparently has nothing better to do with his time than share exceptionally good video game-themed Your Mamma jokes made by musician/troublemaker Andrew Toups.
(I kid. Hi, Brandon.)
I don't know about you, but now I want to come up with a bunch of Mortal Kombat-themed 'Your Mamma' and jokes.
(Note: Leave it to me to spell Scorpion with a "K." And leave it to Mortal Kombat to have that be the ONE time that a "C" is actually correct.)


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Poly Silk blue Printed Saree with Matching Color Banglori silk Blouse. It contained the work of Printed. The Blouse which can be customized up to bust size 44". This Unstitch Saree Length 6.3 mtr including 0.80 mtr Blouse.
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text: Open to trade Sunday thru Thursday ONLY! The Garden Walk Bed and Breakfast Inn is a Lookout Mountain vacation get-away. Nestled among the mountain's 100 year old pines, and surrounded by gardens, it is a patchwork fantasy of nostalgia and whimsy - a place where bicycles and boots are planters, rhododendron are trees, kitchen gardens grow plates as well as flowers, and the sound of a waterfall can be heard as you stroll down woodsy paths.You can find romance and fantasy in "Lavender and Lace" and "Sunshine and Roses," nostalgic memories of yesterday in "Forget-me-not," or a touch of an English Garden in "The Wild Rose". You might spend a cosy fireside evening tucked away in "Robin's Nest." Travel to exotic places in one of the Garden Walk's two Jacuzzi suites, "Out of Africa" and "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil."Whichever room you choose, you'll enjoy the warmth, hospitality, fantasy, and romance of the Garden Walk – truly the Best Escape since Alice went down the Rabbit Hole.Complete your NuBarter Travel Form and Take Advantage of this Weekday Get A Way Opportunity!


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Good morning everyone, we had a new addition to our Lake House Bedroom this weekend. They're bright, bold and just the right shot of color our are newly neutral bedroom needed after receiving it's fresh coat of paint last week. These are the first of a few doses of color our bedroom will get. They couldn't have been easier to sew and they look so good too sitting on the bed all fluffy and colorful. I have plans to make a few more in this fabric and some others to pull the whole room together but those will have to wait for another day and another post since it's back to work time for me today.
In the meantime while I get my sew on for all the other pillows, here is a quick and easy tutorial on how to sew envelope back pillows. I decided to go with an envelope back because it just might be the easiest way to sew a pillow ever. I made these for my Euro size pillows on my bed which are those big square ones you see all the time. I just love the way they look but never love the price tag on those size pillow covers.
First you'll want to choose the size of your pillow. I wanted to cover my Euro size pillows which are 24 x 24 inches.
You'll need to cut 3 pieces of fabric. I wanted floral fabric on the front with a neutral fabric on the back. Out of the Front Fabric I cut 1 piece 24 inches square. Yes the same size as the pillow, I like mine nice and plump so the finished size will be slightly smaller than the 24 inch pillow. Then you'll cut the 2 back pieces. My measurements were 24 x 14 inches and 24 x 20 inches allowing for a 3 inch overlap that makes the envelope and a generous 1 inch hem allowance.
Make sure you iron all your pieces flat. Even if they don't really look wrinkled iron them anyway. It makes sewing a professional looking pillow that much easier.
To finish the back pieces press your raw edge down 1 inch. Fold it over and press another 1 inch.
Using a straight stitch on your machine hem the back pieces you just folded and ironed.
To assemble your pillow lay the front piece down face up. Next lay your shorter back piece face down lining up the raw edges with your bottom piece. Make sure the right sides of the fabric are facing together. Then lay your longer back piece face down which should overlap the first piece.
Pin your pieces in a couple of places along the edge so they don't shift around as you move them to your machine.
Using a straight stitch sew along all 4 sides of your pillow
Turn the whole piece right side out
Your back pieces should overlap, creating a simple envelope back pillow. Easy. Peasy
Stuff and fluff till your hearts content.


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Strategic Planning Resources
In 2009, PEP began a strategic planning process to help us figure out who we are, what we do and where we belong. We came away with not only a sense of identity and belonging, but a renewed commitment to working with young people to achieve a more just world. At the core of our plan is a determination to shift power and resources into the hands of some of the most under-resourced and under-recognized communities of young people in our movement. To raise the amazing work and contributions young people are making to their communities and to support them in doing even more. To continue to raise the voices of those young people most marginalized so that they have the ability to lead safe and healthy lives on their terms. Our mission, vision, values and goals over the next three years will bring PEP closer to creating a reproductive justice movement in which young people are at the helm.
Many strategic plans are developed in partnership with consultants and represent a significant investment of time and financial resources. As a small non-profit, PEP decided that we would complete as much of the strategic planning process as we could without outside help. To do that, we turned to online resources as well as colleagues in the movement to help us determine what we needed to know in order to create a strategic plan. We then created a series of documents and guiding questions in order to assess our current programs, strengths, and areas for improvement.
If you are interested in undertaking your own strategic planning process, you are welcome to use the templates we created for your own purposes.
Templates available for download as Microsoft Word documents - click the title to download.


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If you are using Internet Explorer 6 or lower, we recommend you update your browser to Intenet Explorer 9+ or try a compliant browser such as Firefox or Google Chrome.
Please Note: eSynapse continues the IAIMS Newsletter with the Fall 2008 issue.
The IAIMS Newsletter is published 3 times a year (August, January, May) with 1 InfoFair supplement and provides valuable information about Library activities and resources as well as informative articles related to information technology.
The newsletters have been converted to Portable Document Format (PDF) using Adobe Acrobat Exchange. This allows retention of the original formatting, while providing access for DOS, Macintosh and Windows operating systems. To view these pdf files, you must obtain Adobe's FREE Acrobat Reader software appropriate for your operating system. The reader provides both viewing and printing capabilities and can be configured to launch automatically from within your Web browser (ie, Netscape, Mosaic, Mac/WinWeb.) Once you have downloaded and installed the Acrobat Reader, you can view and print any of the newsletters linked to here.
Visit IAIMS' successor, eSynapse.


text: Search people to talk to improve your Tibetan communication skills. Learn and Practice Tibetan by talking to people who speak Tibetan with proficiency ranging from beginner, conversational, fluent and native. Talking is a great way to become a better speaker in Tibetan. It allows us to think and communicate our thoughts in Tibetan. Knowing multiple languages has great advantage as it allows us to connect with people from different places and culture and help us grow professionally. On Opentalk users are looking to Practice Tibetan to travel, settle abroad, study abroad, work abroad, get better job opportunities or just do better in life.


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Israeli-Palestinian clashes broke out on Sunday as a group of extreme rightist Israelis marched through the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan. The Israeli demonstrators said they wanted to show Israel's sovereignty over all of Jerusalem.
While police outnumbered the less than 100 Israeli protesters, the march is being seen as highly symbolic, taking place shortly after US Middle East envoy George Mitchell has returned to the region to launch indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Settlements are expected to be a contentious issue in any talks, especially after the Israeli government announced it would build 1,600 homes in East Jerusalem last month during US Vice President Joe Biden's visit.
Although there are about 300 Israeli settlers in the neighborhood and 55,000 Palestinians, the rightwing protestors say that Arabs built their homes illegally without proper permits. They want the Arab residents removed and their homes destroyed. Al Jazeera's correspondent, Jacky Rowland reports that it was "difficult to measure the size of the impact" of the demonstration.
"The fact that this march took place has been seen as extremely provocative; a highly aggressive gesture on the part of the settlers - people really hell-bent on driving Palestinians from their land," she said.
There are indications that Israel's leadership may have viewed the march as counterproductive.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested that protesters postpone the march until after Mr. Mitchell left the region, reports Deutsche Presse Agentur, a German news agency.
Israel's attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein turned down the request, though, saying there were no legal grounds to stop such a demonstration.
Mr. Netanyahu met with Mitchell on Sunday morning for the second time since he arrived on Thursday and, despite the protests, a US embassy statement described the talks as "positive and productive."
'We're the bosses'
On a radio interview the night before the protests, the extreme right leader Itamar Ben Gvir said that Mitchell's visit helped to fuel their efforts and inspired them to fight harder for their cause, reports Israel's Haaretz newspaper.
As the protesters walked from the Western Wall in the to the center of Silwan, Mr. Ben Gvir said, "We've proven to Netanyahu, Obama, and Mitchell that we're the bosses in Jerusalem."
In Silwan, the settlers were met by both local residents and leftist Israelis who opposed their march.
Clashes quickly erupted between the two opposing groups, but the conservative Jerusalem Post reports that police were able to restore calm before anyone was injured or other damaged was caused.
"We hope the Kahanist march in Silwan will raise awareness to the distress of Palestinian residents of the neighborhood, who are subjected to incessant violence at the hands of the settlers in the neighborhood and abused by the authorities," the [leftist Israeli] demonstrators said. They added that they were protesting "in order to stand with the residents throughout the provocation and ensure that police are defending the Palestinian residents from the Kahanist bullies."
Meanwhile, Ma'an, a Palestinian news service, reports that at least five Palestinians were injured by rubber bullets fired at them by the police.
Palestinian demonstrators began throwing stones at Israeli police, who then deployed anti-riot forces to break up the group.


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Short Mangalsutra Designs Gold Plated Latest Pendant Single Layer Chain Mangalsutra
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Gold plated alloy fashion latest black beaded long mangalsutra with pendant here is the finest sparkling fashion latest style and shades to match your personality.
Stylish and Trendy designer Mangalsutra Fashion sparkling traditional antique mangalsutra to your accessories collection.
It comes with very fashionable detailed sparkling design to wear for regular wear And Festivals, Varied from Ethnic, Bridal and Ritual Wear special occasions.
Your ethnic look is incomplete without a perfect mangalsutra and this gold plated necklace from adorea is designed to complement most of your attire like saree, lahenga, gown, salwar.
Make an Admirable Gift for Your Mother, Sister, Wife and loved ones


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You are about to switch country, please confirm you wish to proceed, any items you added to your basket may be removed.
If your intended destination country does not appear in the drop down please call our customer service team on 0044 1902 376373.
Roses are increasingly popular grown as spectacular flowering boundary hedges which can be pruned between 2.5 ft to over 6 ft in height. The English Roses are particularly effective choices, producing a succession of fragrant blooms.
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1. Generaly for all wire transfers there are the following options:
-OUR - Our cost: it means that YOU pay all the transfer costs - USE THIS OPTION PLEASE !
-SHA - Shared cost: you pay part of the costs, we pay the other part
-BEN - Beneficiary cost: we pay all the costs
PLEASE KINDLY SELECT 'OUR' - you must pay all costs. If there is not such option in wire transfer please tell your bank to select 'OUR' option. Otherwise we will not receive full amount on our bank account.
2. We have to receive the full amount to send your order.
Please ask your bank for more details about rules of wire transfer or print this instruction and show it to a bank worker.
Usualy telegraphic transfer takes about 3-5 days to appear on account and all necessary payment details are:
Beneficiary details:
Beneficiary name: GSM-SUPPORT JADWIGA KONEFAŁ - GÓRAL
Beneficiary address:
Street: UL. BITSCHANA 2/38
Zip code: 31-420
City: KRAKOW
Country: POLAND
Bank details FOR PAYMENTS IN US DOLLARS (USD):
(Information for Polish citizens: Wpłaty wyłącznie dla kwot w USD. Nr konta do wpłat PLN znajdziecie Państwo w dziale 'Kontakt' na polskojęzycznej wersji strony)
Bank name: ALIOR BANK
City: WARSAW
Country: POLAND
Account no. : 71 2490 1057 0000 9901 2888 4776
TITLE OF TRANSACTION: please write your order ID !
We recommend you to send the money using Western Union money transfer. To send the money by Western Union please find your nearest agent by entering
Western Union Agent Locator
Tell us if you have any problems in finding it. It is very fast and secure method - our Western Union agent will receive the money WITHIN 24 HOURS.
IMPORTANT: The fees charged by the bank must be paid in full by you. We must receive the full amount to process your order.
Here is our personal data required to pay via Western Union:
First name: JADWIGA
Last name: KONEFAL - GORAL
Address: UL.D.PASTERZA 102/5
Zip code (postal code): 31416
City: CRACOW
Country: POLAND
After you transfer the money, please send the following information to firstname.lastname@example.com
- sent amount in USD (United States Dollars)
- MTCN transaction number
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- Your ORDER ID
Don't forget to write your full name, surname, city and country so we can check the
payment at the Western Union office as well as your e-mail address to contact you.
Payment by credit card (Visa or Mastercard) can BE done online.
How to pay for order using credit card:
1) add desired product(s) to the shopping cart
2) fill in order form and select payment method - Credit Card
3) enter details about bank which issued your credit card
4) follow instructions and at the end press RED button to enter secure SSL website of ECARD.PL
5) when you are on ECARD.PL secure payment website - please enter your credit card details.
When you place an order the transaction is handled by eCard Systems. This system is certified by VISA and EUROPAY (MASTERCARD) organisations and complies with SET and SET/MIA (Merchant Initiated Authorization) standards.
Please visit the following web-site for more information about the secure process that we use.
Authorization company address:
eCard S.A.
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Warszawa 00-043
1. Please go to the Paypal website at www.paypal.com and click the "Send Money" button.
2. Send the exact amount of money for your order to our email address:
In the "Message to recipient" field please write your order ID so we can identify your transaction.
1. Please go to the Paypal website at www.moneybookers.com and click the "Send Money" button.
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Normally, I am not swayed by faux-lidays, but I was excited to discover today is National Handwriting Day. Often times it is far quicker for me to put fingertips to keyboard yet I am still drawn to pen and paper. I'm sure my slight obsession with all things office supply related might have a touch to do with it.
I am a lefty-turned-righty so my handwriting is heavily influenced by learning to form letters and numbers as a left handed person. I still write many of my letters from right to left.
Some friends attribute my strong powers of mental recall to photographic memory and Synesthesia – conditions I have – though I believe a considerable amount can be attributed to my rabid handwriting habit.
Writing by hand makes things stick for me and apparently there is some cognitive benefit too according to a study performed at the University of Washington.
According to research carried out at the University of Washington that involved test subjects of second, fourth and sixth graders, kids who write it out by hand demonstrated the capacity to write more, write better and write faster compared to their computer-using counterparts.
It's a nice excuse to test drive pens you might have lying around or make some new friends. Plus, I'm sure there are lots of people who would love getting some snail mail written with love.
*Hey, it's still 1/23 on the East Coast!


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So let me get this straight: Christopher Eccleston was so miserable making Doctor Who that he wouldn't appear in the 50th anniversary special, but he had such a blast playing Claude the invisible man on Heroes he'd star in the new sequel series? That is messed up.
And yet, it's the truth. During an event for The Leftovers, Eccleston told MTV News he's be totally down for reprising his role on Heroes Reborn.
"Of course, yeah, I had a great time on the show!" Eccleston said on the prospect. "Yeah. I'd always be interested. That was a great character. I love that guy."
To be fair, Eccleston was in Heroes' one good season, and he got to repeatedly beat up Peter Petrelli while ostensibly training him to use his powers, so that had to be satisfying. Still, I can't wrap my head around the idea that Chris Eccleston hates Doctor Who but loves Heroes. That just seems supremely wrong to me.
[Via The Mary Sue]


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Structured movement is one of mankind's most primal urges. Channeling it into a discipline such as ballet stimulates creativity, imagination, and freedoms gained only through movement. The regimented structure of ballet also fosters respect and a sense of history, while teaching advanced motor skills, rhythm, coordination, and flexibility.
For more than 40 years, the Academy of Classical Ballet has been training dancers of all ages to be the best they can be, using teaching techniques that respect anatomy, emphasize correct alignment and posture, and avoid injuries caused by improper practices such as forced turnout.
The philosophy of the Academy of Classical Ballet is to allow each student to advance at their own pace, respecting the students' ages and abilities, in an atmosphere of encouragement, discipline, and warmth.
Performance is a valuable part of every dancer's education, and all students have the opportunity to perform in the two classical ballets mounted each year by the school.
In addition to the children's curriculum which allows students as young as four to work on basic ballet movement and continuing through advanced classes, a unique feature of the Academy of Classical Ballet is our fully featured adult dance program. Beginning and continuing students of all ages are welcomed. You're never too old to take your place at the barre. Adult students have the opportunity to learn partnering, pointe work, men's technique, and to appear in the two annual performances.
Our studio home is specifically designed for ballet, with a beautiful sprung floor overlaid with a marley dance surface, barres at different heights to accommodate dancers of different heights, lots of mirrors, high ceilings, and spacious men's and women's dressing rooms.
Feel free to contact artistic director Carla Parks at 303-420-5613 for further information.
Click to visit the Academy of Classical Ballet's FACEBOOK page.


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539: Boyfriend
Title text: ...okay, but because you said that, we're breaking up.
In statistics, statistical significance is used to measure how well a set of data demonstrates a particular hypothesis or statement. In particular, it makes judgment about how likely that the observed effect is real, and not just the result of a sampling anomaly. The term significant other is used to refer to a person's intimate relation, typically a spouse or a long-term boyfriend or girlfriend. They are the "significant other" person in their life, apart from themselves.
Megan asserts her claim that Cueball is her boyfriend by presenting the time that he had spend with people in the form of a box plot, (sometimes called a box-and-whisker plot) with her data point lying far ahead of the rest of the chart, which signifies that Cueball has spent more time with Megan than anyone else. Cueball accepts her claim, and she responds with a monumental pun that combines the phrases "statistically significant" and "significant other".
The title text illustrates the low esteem in which bad puns are commonly held: even though she proved her point, Cueball takes the only option left to him, which is to break up with her. Also it is typical stereotype of men, that once they realize they have dated someone so long as to be called a boyfriend, then they break up, because they do not wish that any girl makes a claim on them.
- [Megan is on the phone.]
- Megan: Can my boyfriend come along?
- [Cueball talks to Megan.]
- Cueball: I'm not your boyfriend!
- Megan: You totally are.
- Cueball: I'm casually dating a number of people.
- [Megan points to a chart with gray box plot with a single black dot as an outlier to the far right.]
- Megan: But you spend twice as much time with me as with anyone else. I'm a clear outlier.
- [Cueball puts his hand on his chin while Megan spreads out her arms.]
- Cueball: Your math is irrefutable.
- Megan: Face it—I'm your statistically significant other.
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Competitive Agility
In a hyper-competitive landscape, how do you gain competitive advantage in the now, the new and the unknown?
In a hyper-competitive landscape, how do you gain competitive advantage in the now, the new and the unknown?
Companies that master competitive agility execute with equal strength across growth, profitability, and sustainability and trust.
Companies must manage the core to maximize investment for the new and fundamentally re-align resources for growth.
Competitive agility is demanded from the outside and driven from the inside. Leaders who act with speed and confidence turn disruption into opportunity.
A landmark study of C-suite leaders around the world outlines the three critical success factors for scaling AI.
C-suite leaders must engage stakeholders with an intentional balance of human-centered and data-led approaches to achieve competitive agility.
Disruptive impacts on the C-suite are growing. A new response from leaders is needed. Only 8% employ a whole-brain approach today. 82% will tomorrow.
Leaders can harness the power of disruption. Its strength is defined by the value it releases. Disruption can be anticipated, met and even courted.
Schneider Electric has been pivoting since 1836. Chairman & CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire discusses their journey to competitive agility in a continuously changing landscape.
Trust is an undervalued contributor to sustained growth. Given its systemic impact on stakeholders and the power it has to quantifiably reduce competitiveness, trust is anything but soft.
What if companies could quantify the impact of trust on their bottom line? Now they can.
Companies that strive to balance the macro and micro trust equation will maximize revenues through increased customer loyalty and competitive differentiation.
Platforms must nurture trust in a coordinated fashion across customers, partners, employees and service providers.
Customers, employees and stakeholders engage most with companies driven by purpose. For companies who provide authentic, values-driven experiences this a powerful source of competitive advantage.
CEO's recognize that the business community could—and should—be making a far greater contribution to achieving a sustainable global economy by 2030.
Customers buy from brands they believe in–47 percent walk away from those that don't. The kicker. 17 percent of those won't ever come back.
Accenture is working with H&M to help retailers attract future customers who demand greater transparency and clothes with a conscience.
A Zero-based Mindset (ZBx) realigns resources to focus on agility over austerity, visibility over guesswork, and the future over the past to fuel growth and competitiveness.
The book, The Big Zero, shows how to imbue an organization with a Zero-based Mindset to achieve startup speed at enterprise scale.
Beyond the P&L, companies with a Zero-based Mindset harness their entire organization to gain competitive advantage.
Successful companies know how to keep the core strong while investing for growth and innovation.
Leaders pursue innovative, agile business models to remain competitive and grow outside of their core. Ecosystems enable companies to ignite this growth.
Companies can improve their agility by making five characteristics part of their operating model DNA: Human. Liquid. Enhanced. Living. Modular.
Key considerations for scaling AI and mastering the success factors that can take AI projects from POC to production.
Change is now continuous, making organizational transformation a constant and competitive agility a necessity.
The decade to deliver: CEOs call for bold action to course-correct private sector contribution to the 2030 Global Goals.