text:
Susan Granger's review of 'The Past'
Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who won a 2011 Foreign Language Academy Award for "A Separation," is back with a powerful psychological drama that begins with the dissolution of a marriage.
As soon as Ahmad (Ali Mosaffa) arrives in Paris from Tehran to finalize his divorce from Marie (Berenice Bejo), he becomes embroiled in a sticky situation. After he left four years ago, Marie began an illicit affair with Samir (Tahar Rahim), a married man whose wife is now hospitalized in a coma after an attempted suicide.
Morose, Samir has since moved in, bringing along his young son Fouad (Elyes Aguis) to join Marie's two daughters from a previous marriage -- young Lea (Jeanne Jestin) and 16-year-old Lucie (Pauline Burlet). Instead of booking Ahmad into a hotel, as he requested, Marie insists he stay at their dilapidated suburban house, ostensibly to try to find out what's bothering sullen, rebellious Lucie.
And the plot thickens when Marie reveals she's pregnant with Samir's child.
Writer/director Farhadi cleverly delineates his complex, multi-layered melodrama bit-by-bit, slowly revealing one pivotal twist after another, as Ahmad, the detached outsider, gradually learns more and more about the mysterious turmoil and shameful secrets that the rest of these characters are keeping from one another. Despite its title, the story eschews flashbacks, unfolding entirely in the present. What has occurred previously turns out to be the emotional baggage that they will always carry with them.
Most memorably, Farhadi sensitively exposes the tremendous price that vulnerable, insecure children pay when they're inexorably caught up in their parents' self-centered entanglements.
Best known as Peppy, the silent movie flapper in "The Artist," Bejo exudes hot-tempered, Gallic sexuality, heedless of the repercussions of her romantic predicaments, an authentic portrayal for which she won the Cannes Film Festival's Best Actress Award, while Mosaffa embodies insightful stability and Rahim stoically endures guilt and misery.
More InformationFact box
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "The Past," in French/Persian with
English subtitles, is an intense, engrossing 8, compassionately unraveling the tapestry of contemporary family life.


text:
Dell rolls out Inspiron R range
Latest laptops debut
Dell has introduced its new laptop line, the Inspiron R.
Available in 14in, 15in and 17in screen models, the R series is billed as an "ideal family computer". But then it would say that, wouldn't it?
As with previous 2010 Dells, the series comes with Intel Core i3 and Core i5 processors and runs Windows 7. There is an optional 1GB ATI graphics chip for those taking things further than the CPU-integrated graphics can manage.
We R family
Then there's the new Intel Wireless Display feature, WiDi. This gives users the option to connect laptops wirelessly to an HDTV as an alternate display. Unfortunately, it only works in systems with Intel HD Graphics, Intel's WifiLink 6200 wireless card and a Netgear PTV1000 telly adaptor- sold separately.
Coming in a choice of four colours with chrome accents, "Mars Black", "Peacock Blue", "Tomato Red" and "Lotus Pink", the range also features built in webcams, smudge resistant palm rests and a new keyboard with spaced out keys.
The Inspiron R series goes on sale Stateside on 25 June, with prices starting from $450 (£306). There is no UK release date just yet. ®
Dell Latitude XT2 XFR
Dell Studio 17
Dell Latitude Z
Dell Vostro V13
Sponsored: Detecting cyber attacks as a small to medium business

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I was curious what everyone thought were the easy targets and which ones are considered hard. I'm not talking about bosses, I'm talking about normal monsters.
Easiest "Normal" Monster: Gorgon. She has ultra low stats and a special power that usually doesn't matter. You can routinely beat a level 9 gorgon at level 4 or 5.
Easiest "Special" Monster: Probably the Druids from the western forest maps. The single dose of death protection doesn't make up for the low stats. I still think that the Gorgon is easier though.
Hardest "Normal" Monster: I'm going to give this to the Zombie. He has no special powers, but his high hit points and damage make him very hard to challenge from a lower level. There's no special angle you can take to get at this guy. He doesn't rely on specific resistances or nasty powers, he just hands you your ass.
Hardest "Special" Monster: Animated Armor. I don't know of any other monster that requires so many resources to take down. If I see a level 9 AA, I just write that off as unobtainable experience.


text:
HOMETOWN: North Jersey – currently resides in Washington, D.C.
PROFESSION: Executive Chef, Zaytinya
CULINARY EDUCATION: Self-Taught
FAVORITE SIMPLE SUMMER RECIPE: Squash Blossoms
Michael is the Executive Chef at Jose Andres' nationally-renowned Greek-Mediterranean restaurant, Zaytinya, in Washington, D.C. He honed his culinary skills along the East Coast – first working at a number of fine dining establishments in New York City, then at Alma de Cuba, Washington Square and a host of Stephen Starr restaurants in Philadelphia before landing at Kyma, a top-notch Greek restaurant in Atlanta. There he learned the slight flavors and nuances of Greek cuisine and went on to travel through Greece and parts of the Middle East where he picked up more tricks of the trade. Octopus is his favorite dish to prepare, and the five ingredients he always has on hand are olive oil, sea salt, lemon, dill and chives.


text:
News, reviews and photographs of Modern Fashion Dolls including Kingdom Doll, Fashion Royalty, Sybarite, Tonner Doll, Gene Marshall, Barbie and my own experiences as a doll collector.
Tatyana Alexandrova ~ Exceptional
Here she meets the Rudettes:
The handbag she is carrying below is a Purse of the Month item from a while back. When I saw the handbag that came with in her box, I thought that the gal from whom I purchased the doll had enclosed a gift for me. I did not think the purse came with Tatyana because it did not make sense color wise. But then I looked at the promotional photo and from the side, it's the same bag. It's no wonder the promo doesn't show the face of the bag.
I absolutely love the dress and the fabric. The design is embroidered onto the fabric. The shoes are great and the hat is cool. She comes with a wonderful ring and earrings with a pumpkin color stones. The factory actually came very close to good bangs on this doll.
5 comments:
She is so lovely, Terri! I do like your idea about the lips. Such a gorgeous outfit!ReplyDelete
I think that is so adorable about the Rudettes! Lol...so cute!
I am still on the fence about selling my Dasha..I wish I could tell if I would like this new FR2 body without having to destroy the NRFB status for selling.
- Carin10/17/11, 7:38 PM
Lovely job as always. Somehow you always bring out the best in these girls.ReplyDelete
For aquabluerose:With these FR ladies I do not think that the NRFB is that big of an issue if you are dealing with a reputable dealer. I have bought several that way and for the "most part" have not been disappointed. The posibility{is that a word?}is one of the best attributes of this line and it usually is not compromised by being deboxed.
- Ed in NY10/18/11, 8:41 PM
I wish this dress was in any other color, as stunning as it is its just to HalloweenieReplyDelete
- Christina Walewska11/7/11, 4:25 PM
She reminds me of the photos of my beautiful grandmother I saw when I was little.ReplyDelete
Beautiful photos and I love that dress. It looks gorgeous and awesome. Big thanks and keep sharing.ReplyDelete


text:
The largest and most active local community of Atheists, Agnostics, Freethinkers, Secular Humanists, Rationalists, and friends in the Washington DC Metro Area!
Website: http://www.meetup.com/beltwayatheists
Location: Washington, DC
Members: 81
Latest Activity: Jul 8, 2014
Society and Activism
Started by Shelley. Last reply by Shelley Feb 17, 2009. 2 Replies 0 Likes
I was at a Barnes & Noble in Gaithersburg this afternoon. The sign above one of the book shelves read "Religious Fiction". The shelves below this sign were full of Bibles.
Do ya'll do events?
i wanted to invite members of "Beltway Atheists" to our new group page for the National Atheist Party of Georgia. You can find us at the following link: www.atheistnexus.org/group/national-atheist-party-ga
Fellow realists of the DC area, there is a DC area chapter of Camp Quest (http://www.campquest.org/locations/chesapeake) that will start operating this summer in our area. They need donations to raise $3,000. This is important for the future of freethinking, skepticism, science and reason in our country. Please make a donation of $50 or more if you can to this great cause. You can use your credit card to donate: http://chesapeake.camp-quest.org/donate ... I apologize for the begging, but sometimes we need to put our hands in our pocket to actually make a difference... the religious right knows that well... Thanks.
© 2020 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: The Nexus Group. Powered by


text:
Startup Weekend EDU awards NLU dean, alumnus top prizes for new business concepts
National Louis University announced today that two distinguished members of the NLU community have won top distinctions at the recent Startup Weekend EDU Chicago event that was hosted at the University's downtown campus.
Chris Cassirer, who currently serves as the Dean of the College of Management and Business and the College of Arts and Sciences at NLU, and alumnus Daniel Rezac, founder of EdReach.us, each provided initial concepts for participating teams of entrepreneurs to then further build upon. As a result, Cassirer and his team won first place in the competition for his business concept, Adjunct, Inc. Rezac, working with his team, won second place for his new concept, PDnear.Me.
"I am so proud of both our Dean and alumnus for winning first and second place in Startup Weekend EDU. Both ideas are innovative, incorporate the use of technology and address the quality of education. All of these critical issues are at the very heart of our institutional mission, and we applaud their efforts to introduce much needed changes," said NLU President Nivine Megahed.
First place award winner Adjunct, Inc. is creating a global marketplace for higher education institutions to identify pre-qualified adjunct instructors to teach courses. Adjunct instructors, in turn, have a place to showcase information about their instructional experience and competency to teach.
Second place award winner PDnear.Me is the "Kayak of teacher professional development." PDnear.Me allows teachers and administrators to find relevant professional development for themselves or their staff, based on location, or online courses or workshops, in a simple all-in-one interface.
Chris Cassirer, Sc.D., was appointed Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Management and Business at NLU in November 2012. Cassirer is the first in his family to attend and finish college and graduate school and was a postdoctoral fellow in public health at the Johns Hopkins University, where he also earned a doctor of science in public health. He received a master of public health degree from Yale University School of Medicine and a bachelor of arts in psychology from Rutgers University.
Daniel Rezac is the CEO of EdReach.us, the Education Broadcasting Network. Daniel's interest in education technology began when he struggled with finding methods to translate to his non-English speaking students. His mission is finding solutions to many of education's problems, as well as education's stature in the media. He often presents about education in the media, online learning environments, YouTube in the classroom, and the "flipped classroom." Daniel has taught fourth through eighth grade and is a Certified Technology Specialist and a Google Certified Teacher.


text:
Geographical extension
|Last update: Dec. 2017
Objective of the service - Characteristics - Steps of developments - Bibliography Heliosat-5
Objective of the service
The satellite-derived solar radiation database HelioClim-3 was so far limited to the coverage of the Meteosat Second Generation satellite, i.e. -66° to 66° both in latitude and longitude. The objective is to develop an operational service to process the real time Meteosat Second Generation images now available on the Indian ocean for the IODC service.
For that purpose, Transvalor has invested on a PhD thesis. Benoit Tournadre joined MINES ParisTech two months ago and is buried under a large volume of publications to build his bibliography.
In the meantime, we aim at developing a precursor of service which could be available to users in the meantime of the developments within the framework of this thesis.
Characteristics of the service
- the Meteosat images
- McClear clear sky values for the MODIS albedo
Methodology for the precursor of service:
- Rho_sat identical to the one of Heliosat-2
- Rho_cloud identical to the one of Heliosat-2
- All the work is focused on Rho_clear, which exploits McClear to avoid the weakness of Heliosat-2 (Rho_g et Kc_max)
- Direct usage of McClear (instead of indirect like in HelioClim-3 version 5)
- No problem of sea shore temporal unconsistency
- Glitter correction included
- Direct correction of altitude
Steps of developments
(reverse chronological order)
Oct. 2017: precursor of service available but not yet validated. We run out of time to carry out this validation...
Oct. 2017: start of PhD at MINES ParisTech
2017: Research contract between Transvalor and MINES ParisTech
Discussion with LW about wet/dry areas
Bibliography for Heliosat-5
(In alphabetic order and and reverse chronological order)
|Amillo et al. 2014
|Amillo A. G., T. Huld, and R. Mueller, 2014. "A New Database of Global and Direct Solar Radiation Using the Eastern Meteosat Satellite, Models and Validation", Remote Sensing 2014, 6(9), 8165-8189; doi:10.3390/rs6098165
Content: Compares GHI of Meteosat Prime and Meteosat IODC.
|Blanc et al. 2018
|Blanc P., B. Gschwind, L. Ménard, L. Wald, 2018. "Monthly averaged maps of surface BRDF parameters in ten spectral bands for land and water masses", Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2017-141, rejected
|MODIS, spectral, ground reflectance, albedo
Content: Even if this paper has finally been rejected, I (Claire THOMAS, Transvalor) recommend you to have a look to this work. It consists of an extension of the previous paper (Blanc et al. 2014) in ten spectral bands.
|Blanc et al. 2014
|Blanc P., Gschwind B., Lefevre M., Wald L., 2014. "Twelve monthly maps of ground albedo parameters derived from MODIS data sets". In Proceedings of IGARSS 2014, held 13-18 July 2014, Quebec, Canada, USBKey, pp. 3270-3272.
|MODIS, ground reflectance, albedo
Content: Presentation of the monthly maps of MODIS parameters (fiso, fvol and fgeo) used to generate albedo for each instant in the year, derived from holy maps of collected MODIS maps (holes due to clouds).
|Lefèvre et al. 2013
|Lefèvre M., A. Oumbe, P. Blanc, B. Espinar, B. Gschwind, Z. Qu, L. Wald, M. Schroedter-Homscheidt, C. Hoyer-Klick, A. Arola, A. Benedetti, J. W. Kaiser, and J.-J. Morcrette, 2013. "McClear: a new model estimating downwelling solar radiation at ground level in clear-sky conditions", Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 2403-2418, doi:10.5194/amt-6-2403-2013.
|Oumbe et al. 2014
|Oumbe A., Z. Qu, P. Blanc, M. Lefèvre, L. Wald, S. Cros, 2014. "Decoupling the effects of clear atmosphere and clouds to simplify calculations of the broadband solar irradiance at ground level". Geoscientific Model Development, 7, 1661-1669, 2014, doi:10.5194/gmd-7-1661-2014. Corrigendum, 7, 2409-2409, 2014.
|Decoupling cloudless atmosphere and cloud effects
|Qu et al. 2016
|Qu, Z., Oumbe, A., Blanc, P., Espinar, B., Gesell, G., Gschwind, B., Klüser, L., Lefèvre, M., Saboret, L., Schroedter-Homscheidt, M., and Wald L., 2016. "Fast radiative transfer parameterisation for assessing the surface solar irradiance: The Heliosat-4 method". Meteorologische Zeitschrift, 26, pp. 33-57, doi:10.1127/metz/2016/0781.
|Rigollier et al. 2004
|Rigollier C., M. Lefèvre, L. Wald, 2004. "The method Heliosat-2 for deriving shortwave solar radiation from satellite images", Solar Energy 77(2), pp. 159-169, 2004, doi 10.1016/j.solener.2004.04.017
|Xi et al. 2016
|Xie Y., M. Sengupta, and J. Dudhia, 2016. "A Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications (FARMS): Algorithm and performance evaluation", Solar Energy, Volume 135, October 2016, Pages 435-445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solener.2016.06.003
Content: Description of the method FARMS, which is very similar to Heliosat-4.
Digging the METEOSAT Treasure—3 Decades of Solar Surface Radiation => paper of Richard Mueller and Uwe Pfeifroth concerning the construction of SARAH (CM-SAF)


text:
Parents can help decrease childhood obesity
(NewsUSA) - Children have become much less active, contributing to the growing childhood obesity epidemic that's affecting neighborhoods across the country.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children ages six to 11 years increased from 6.5 percent in 1980 to 19.6 percent in 2008. Additionally, rates have increased from 5 percent to 18.1 percent among adolescents ages 12 to 19 years.
"The incidence of childhood obesity in the United States and its consequences are devastating," says Dr. Richard Visser, the Minister of Health for Aruba and a childhood obesity researcher and educator. "We really have to do something to help the next generation, and we have to start with the parents."
Recently, Boys & Girls Clubs of America teamed up with the Kimberly-Clark Corporation to produce the first-ever Family Strengthening Virtual Symposium, where Dr. Visser led a powerful session entitled "Our Kids Supersized: How to Prevent Childhood Obesity and Promote Healthy Weight in Youth."
Dr. Visser suggested that parents' lifestyles predetermine the weight and health of their children. He offered parents and caregivers the following tips for healthier families:
* Eat breakfast every day, and enjoy smaller-portioned snacks several times throughout the day.
* Avoid food that contains excessive fat or simple sugars.
* Eat together. Communal eating encourages healthier eating habits.
* Feed kids only when they're hungry, and eliminate snacking in front of the TV or while playing video games.
* Make sure children get at least 60 minutes of vigorous physical activity every day, and limit electronic device use to no more than two hours per day.
"Getting parents to commit to a healthier lifestyle will greatly impact the lives of their children -- from eating right to exercising -- it's an educational process and lifestyle change that needs to happen."


text:
The Monster Engine Store
The Monster Engine Book
The Monster Engine is a book, a demonstration, lecture and a gallery exhibition. The premise for all three came from one single question: What would a child's drawing look like if it were painted realistically?
The book is a 48-page collection of drawings, paintings, photos and interviews. The book's preface explains, in depth, the history, intentions and results of this seven-year project.
Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery
Limited Edition Poster
Check out the brand spankin' new limited edition Monster Engine poster! It's not only a poster but a game too! Identify which head came from which painting.
Limited production of only 1,000 copies.
Please allow 3-4 weeks for delivery
Your Cart: ( items)
Secure Ordering
Your book order is 100% secure using PayPal, the most secure way to send money on the web!
Prefer to send a check or money order?
Dave DeVries
22 Tudor Place
Budd Lake, NJ 07828
For check or money orders only contact us for details.
Otherwise use Paypal, the world's most trusted online form of payment.
- "I can say that The Monster Engine is, without a doubt, the most ingenius idea I've ever seen. A creation that is original, inspired and honest...just like the artist who created it."
Keith Ciaramello
Curator,Kustom Kulture Gallery
- "An intriguing book, The Monster Engine is a creative thought provoking adventure, sometimes shocking and often ticklishly funny."
Erin Gray, Actress
- "A captivating and insightful book that synthesizes the limit-less vision of a child and the talents of one of comic's most respected artists."
Bill Harbort
Professor, Minot State University


text:
Nebraska Digital Map Library
State Map Coordinator: Brian Croft
The following maps of Nebraska and the surrounding territories are online in the United States Digital Map Library, and are available for you to download.
If you would like to make contributions of maps to this page, please e-mail Brian Croft. Your contributions are both needed and appreciated!Nebraska State Maps
Nebraska County Boundaries, 1990 U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census (94kb)
State of Nebraska, The New International Encyclopedia, by Dodd, Mead and Company, New York, NY., 1908. Scanned by Danny Brown. (955kb)
Map of Nebraska, Copyright 1901, Rand McNally & Co. Scanned by Danny Brown. (738kb)
Linda Russell Lewis
Joy Fisher
[an error occurred while processing this directive]


text:
Our goal with the Green Good Housekeeping Seal is twofold:
- First, to give consumers a reliable guide to products making truly significant strides toward being environmentally sound — and therefore healthier for families and better for the earth.
- Second, to encourage consumer product manufacturers to adopt and incorporate more green practices into the composition, production, packaging, distribution, and use of their goods. As time goes on and advances in sustainability become routine, we will reevaluate our criteria and threshold to be even more demanding. We expect that advances in manufacturers' sustainability efforts will ultimately be the end result, and that's great news for all consumers.
To evaluate a product for the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, the Good Housekeeping Research Institute (GHRI) reviews and verifies a wide range of data related to the product's environmental impact and the company's environmental and social responsibility performance. There are certain criteria requirements for each product category that, if not met, will exclude a product from being considered at the outset (see below). For most environmental and social criteria, data are scored on a range; a product will be considered if the total score reaches a minimum of 65 points.
Finally, for a product to apply for the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, it first must earn the Good Housekeeping Seal, to ensure that it performs as promised. In order to earn the Good Housekeeping Seal, advertisers' products must pass evaluation by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute, a state-of-the-art laboratory staffed by scientists and engineers. Good Housekeeping Seal holders are backed by a two-year limited warranty, meaning if that product proves to be defective, Good Housekeeping will replace it or refund the purchase price to the consumer.
Get the Criteria for Appliances and Electronics
Get the Criteria for Beauty Products
Get the Criteria for Cleaning Products
Get the Criteria for Food and Beverages
Get the Criteria for Paint and Coatings
Get the Criteria for Paper Goods


text:
We, the undersigned People of the United States, are deeply concerned how Newtown Police Officer Thomas Bean is being treated by using his PTSD disability against him.
One of the first responders at the Sandy Hook Elementary School Officer Bean is a hero and should not be battling his PTSD alone.
Why is PTSD treated differently than other disability claim? Officer Bean put his life on the line and acted heroically on that tragic day why should he suffer alone?
We ask that the reconsider your decision to deny Officer Bean and other first responders their long-term disabilities and demand that you cover Newtown Police Officer Thomas Bean's mental health care for long-term disability, until he is able to return to work, or his retirement.
Jack Cunningham
This petition closed about 1 month ago
By collecting signatures we are demanding the state of Connecticut change its disability policy and cover those diagnosed with PTSD.


text:
The York University Concert and Chamber Choirs
John Holland, Interim Conductor
Join the York University Concert and Chamber Choirs as they perform music by Mozart, Vivaldi and Dvořák.
Ticket Admission: $15 | $10 students & seniors.
Box Office: Purchase tickets online or call 416-736-5888
Professor Mike Cadó directs the York University R&B Ensemble in a show-stopping performance of soul and funk music.
The concert will feature the music of Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power and many other great artists.
Admission is free and open to everyone.
Interim Director's David Lum and Mark Skazinetsky, conduct the York University Symphony Orchestra.
Admission: $15 | $10 for students & seniors.
Box Office: Purchase tickets online or phone
The York University New Music Ensemble directed by Matt Brubeck performs an eclectic mix of new music.
Free admission. Everyone welcome.
The York University Gospel Choir directed by Professor Karen Burke presents a rafter-raising concert of works by Hezekiah Walker, Edwin Hawkins, Kirk Franklin and other gospel greats.
The 100+ voice choir is backed by a rhythm section directed by Corey Butler.
Karen Burke is a pre-eminent singer, music director, choral conductor and composer in the field of African-American vocal music. An authority on the history and performance practices of Gospel music, she has worked with many major choral ensembles and organizations including the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and Youth Choir, Toronto Choral Society and Ontario Choral Federation, as well as numerous schools and church congregations. In 1988, she co-founded the Juno Award-winning Toronto Mass Choir and continues to serve as its principal director, touring nationally and internationally.
Admission: $15 | $10 students & seniors
Friday, April 3rd – 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Saturday, April 4th – 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Box Office: ampd.yorku.ca/perform/boxoffice | 416-736-5888


text:
Rivera High School Yearbooks
Listings of high school yearbooks for Rivera HS can be found below. You will find former students who are seeking yearbooks, those looking to sell a yearbook and general yearbook requests among the Rivera High yearbook listings. This yearbook section was created to help alumni post yearbook classifieds.
Don't forget to upload your Rivera High School pictures and check on the latest info about any Rivera High School reunion.
View RHS yearbook pictures at Classmates.com®
Click on the Yearbooks below to view a copy Online at Classmates.com®. If you don't see your class's yearbook, check out our yearbook page.
Class of 2004 Yearbooks
Yearbook Request by Carlos Fuentes
Yearbook Request by Sarah Pintos
Class of 2001 Yearbooks
Yearbook Request by Jesus Merino


text:
How to Create/Remove Tabs Using Code
TabControl is made from two parts:
- TabItem which represents the actual tab that contains image and text
- TabControlPanel which is connected to the tab through TabItem.AttachedControl property and which hosts your controls
The easiest way to add the tab and associated panels is by using the TabControl.CreateTab method. It will return the reference to the TabItem object and you can use then TabItem.AttachedControl property to access the tab panel. To the panel then you can add your controls for example like this TabItem.AttachedControl.Controls.Add(myControl). Here is sample code:
TabItem newTab = tabControl1.CreateTab("New Tab"); TabControlPanel panel = (TabControlPanel)newTab.AttachedControl; TextBox textBox = new TextBox(); textBox.Location = new Point(10, 10); panel.Controls.Add(textBox);
Dim newTab As TabItem = tabControl1.CreateTab("New Tab") Dim panel As TabControlPanel = DirectCast(newTab.AttachedControl, TabControlPanel) Dim textBox As New TextBox() textBox.Location = New Point(10, 10) panel.Controls.Add(textBox)
To select a tab item using code:
tabControl1.SelectedTabIndex = 1;
tabControl1.SelectedTabIndex = 1
To remove tabs remove TabItem from the TabControl.Tabs collection and remove the TabControl.Controls.Remove(tabItem.AttachedControl)
TabItem itemToRemove = tabControl1.Tabs[1]; tabControl1.Tabs.Remove(itemToRemove); tabControl1.Controls.Remove(itemToRemove.AttachedControl); tabControl1.RecalcLayout();
Dim itemToRemove As TabItem = tabControl1.Tabs(1) tabControl1.Tabs.Remove(itemToRemove) tabControl1.Controls.Remove(itemToRemove.AttachedControl) tabControl1.RecalcLayout()
Great source of information is also InitializeComponent method inside of your form. If you drop the TabControl onto the form and set it up the way you want it to appear with controls and everything else, you can explore the InitializeComponent method on the form which will contain all the code to create what you see on the screen.


text:
Family Table Time is a unique, dinner table conversation "downloadable starter kit"
For only $4.99 per month, Family Table Time will help you to:
- Celebrate your family, weekly!
- Build relationships that last a life time!
- Give an everlasting gift of communication to your family!
- Create a Family Table Time tradition!


text:
You are about to enter a website that may contain content of an adult nature.
Hello everyone, this is Indian cam girl LadyJolene here. I'm 21 year old Female speak English in the Indian live sex chat action. I will blow your mind with my enchanting personality ;). I love sharing my beauty and fun personality with you. Come and tell me about ur fantasies, I will make them come true xxx. In my show I can dance, tease, dirty talk, show sexy outfits, stockings, high heels. And I love different fetishes. is my expertise and also what I will do in Indian live sex private show. I have Green eyes, Long Black hairs and my measurements are 36-23-36. For Turn ons: Men who has sense of humour, polite and know how to treat a woman.. For TurnsOff: rudeness. If you prefer kinks, then Piercings,Shaved, are mine. I'm just hungry for a HARD cock, can't wait to see u in my Indian webcam sex chat room! :)
Show more models
This website contains indian cams, desi sex chat, hindi cam sex and tamil sex chat related sexually explicit content.
You must be at least 18 years of age to enter this website. © Since 2012 myindiansexcams.com Indian Sex Chat Network All Rights Reserved
AllHosts1 - AllHosts2 - AllHosts3 - AllHosts4 - AllHosts5 - AllHosts6 - AllHosts7 - AllHosts8 - AllHosts9 - AllHosts10 - AllHosts11 - AllHosts12


text:
Owls are directly affected by changes in forests. These important predators are relatively easy to identify, but because they're nocturnal and nest early in the season, they can be difficult to monitor.
Information on owl distribution and abundance is essential for developing sound conservation strategies, identifying species in need of conservation action, and evaluating the effectiveness of management programs.
Through Nocturnal Owl Surveys across Canada, over 1000 volunteers spend one spring evening counting owls along isolated roads, to document population trends and breeding range limits.
Bird Studies Canada thanks all the volunteers and conservation partners who support Nocturnal Owl Surveys. If you live near Canada's great forests and can spare an evening this spring, see the links at left and consider contacting your regional owl survey program to volunteer.
To participate in the national program, for information on setting up a volunteer program, or to receive a copy of the Guidelines for Nocturnal Owl Monitoring in North America, please contact:
Kathy Jones
Ontario Volunteer Coordinator


text:
Gary Mokotoff
Gary Mokotoff is an author, lecturer, and leader of Jewish genealogy. He is the first person to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS).
He is the author of a number of books including the award-winning Where Once We Walked, a gazetteer that provides information about 23,500 towns in central and eastern Europe where Jews lived before the Holocaust, How to Document Victims and Locate Survivors of the Holocaust, and Getting Started in Jewish Genealogy. He also wrote the "Jewish American Research" chapter in The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogyand is co-editor of the book Avotaynu Guide to Jewish Genealogy.
Gary is also known for his application of computers to genealogy. Among his accomplishments is co-authorship of the Daitch-Mokotoff soundex system; the JewishGen Family Finder, a database of ancestral towns and surnames being researched by some 50,000 Jewish genealogists throughout the world; Family Tree of the Jewish people; and the Consolidated Jewish Surname Index. He is publisher of Avotaynu, the magazine of Jewish genealogy, and a past president of IAJGS. He is/was on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, Association of Professional Genealogists, JewishGen, Association of Jewish Book Publishers, and Jewish Book Council.


text:
Your search did not match any results
We suggest you try the following to help find what you're looking for:
Trending Questions
Optimize for cost, performance, and cloud.
Bring the agility and economics of a cloud model to your core Oracle enterprise applications that run your business. Oracle Private Cloud Appliance is coengineered with Oracle Applications and is built on the same underlying technologies as Oracle Public Cloud.
Swisscom enters the managed cloud space using Oracle Private Cloud Appliance, Oracle Exadata, and Oracle's Zero Data Loss Recovery Appliance.
Learn how Oracle Private Cloud Appliance can be discovered in EM 13c Cloud Control. This is the first step in operationalizing a hybrid cloud and the same EM instance can be used to manage both your private and public cloud.
Organizations that process, transmit, or store payment card data are required to comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). Oracle Private Cloud Appliance can be deployed to support and meet PCI DSS compliance requirements.
Learn how Oracle Linux Cloud Native Environment helps you deploy a multinode Kubernetes cluster on Oracle Private Cloud Appliance and Oracle Private Cloud at Customer.
Design and implement a complete Oracle VM disaster recovery solution with Oracle Private Cloud Appliance using Site Guard. Learn the process of planning, configuring, and validating your disaster recovery system.
Deploy an Oracle Real Application Cluster in minutes using Oracle VM templates on Oracle Private Cloud Appliance.
Jucesp is able to deliver new services to citizens quickly with the Oracle Private Cloud Appliance. Oracle Private Cloud Appliance has simplified their IT infrastructure management with less patches and easier upgrades.
Managed services company Secure-24 helps customers run their businesses better with the unique performance, security, and flexibility delivered by the combination of Oracle Private Cloud Appliance and Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance.
Atos builds its Virtual Oracle Computing (VOC) Hotels with Oracle Private Cloud Appliance to give its customers flexibility, multi-tenancy, and high service levels.
IT Services Provider Revera Optimizes Offering with Oracle
Complete security and control over the information systems in my data center.
Flexible cloud service that keeps my IT systems behind my firewall, that I can expand and contract as necessary.


text:
Ben by Michael Jackson, is featured in Michael, the eleventh episode of Season Three. It is sung to Blaine by Finn, Kurt, and Rachel.
Ben is sung at Blaine's house when Blaine gets injured when he is slushied by Sebastian. The slushie contained rock salt which damaged Blaine's right eye. When Blaine says it's a shame he is going to miss Michael week, Finn tells him that Kurt, Rachel, and he brought Blaine a little of Michael week, and they serenade him with the song.
Kurt (Finn and Rachel):
Ben, the two of us need look no more
We both found what we were looking for
With a friend to call my own
I'll never be alone
And you, my friend will see
You've got a friend in me
(You've got a friend in me)
Rachel (Finn and Kurt):
Ben, you're always running here and there
(Here and there)
You feel you're not wanted anywhere
If you ever look behind
And don't like what you find
There's something you should know
You've got a place to go
(You've got a place to go)
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us," now it's "we"
Finn and Rachel:
I used to say "I" and "me"
Now it's "us," now it's "we"
Ben, most people would turn you away
(Kurt and Rachel: Turn you away)
I don't listen to a word they say
(Kurt and Rachel: A word they say)
They don't see you as I do
I wish they would try to
I'm sure they'd think again
If they had a friend like Ben
Finn and Rachel:
A friend
Like Ben
Finn and Rachel:
A friend
Like Ben
- Rachel's cup disappears partway through the scene.
- The note that Rachel blows on the pitch pipe is nowhere near the correct starting pitch for the song.


text:
The continuing saga of MOD Systems co-founder Mark E. Phillips, who was sentenced to four years in prison in July 2011 on fraud and money laundering charges, has taken another unusual turn.
According to court documents released this week, Phillips has won a reversal of the mail fraud charge that he was originally convicted on. But the former high-tech executive lost several other attempts to overturn aspects of the conviction, including a claim that the prosecuting attorney had acted improperly during closing arguments because he repeatedly referred to "lies" that Phillips told the jury and employees of MOD.
As you may recall, Phillips was originally convicted of four counts of wire fraud, one count of mail fraud, and two counts of money laundering in March 2011. At the time of the sentencing, U.S. District Judge John Coughenor said that Phillips' conduct was "deficient, dishonest, imperfect and wrong," though he also added that the tech entrepreneur was "no Bernie Madoff."
In a lengthy opinion written by appeals court judge Jed. S. Rakoff, the panel found that the mail fraud charge warranted reversal because the scheme perpetrated by Phillips did not utilize the postal system. The mail fraud issue centered around two $30,000 Breguet watches that the tech entrepreneur purchased with corporate funds via a sham consulting agreement established with girlfriend Jan Wallace.
"If possible could I pay you for this so I can pay out of a company for consulting work," Phillips allegedly wrote to Wallace upon receiving the first watch.
Even so, Judge Rakoff and the two other judges on the appeals court panel concluded that the mail fraud charge should be reversed:
The fact that payment eventually was made to a watch dealer and that watch dealer mailed a watch in return was not a part of the scheme to defraud MOD and to obtain money from MOD – it was simply the byproduct of that scheme. Put another way, as a result of Phillips's successful execution of his scheme to defraud, he had sufficient funds to pay for the watch. Therefore, even under the demanding plain error standard, Phillips's mail fraud conviction must be reversed.
Phillips, who remains incarcerated in Seattle, and according to the Bureau of Prisons database is set for a release date of March 2013, also attempted to win an appeal on his money laundering convictions. But the panel refused to budge on those convictions.
And the panel also backed up the prosecuting attorney's closing argument, which Phillips had argued consisted of improper conduct due to the attorney's continued use of the word lie to refer to his behavior.
"Under our case law, it is clear that this is a proper line of attack for a closing statement, as long as the prosecutor is commenting on the evidence and asking the jury to draw reasonable inferences," Rakoff wrote in the opinion. "The prosecutor here did not give his own opinion of the defendant's guilt, and the comments were made in the context of explaining why the evidence contradicted Phillips's testimony."
Phillips also attempted to dispute aspects of his supervised release, specifically around language related to a ban "frequent[ing] places where controlled substances are illegally sold, used, distributed, or administered." Phillips did not object to that language at the time of sentencing.
In the appeals process, Phillips had argued that the language was so vague that he may not be able to visit specific neighborhoods in Seattle, citing news stories of drug use in those areas. That, in turn, could restrict his ability to move around Seattle since "every neighborhood is a place where at least one person is illegally using or distributing drugs," he argued.
But the judges on the panel dismissed that argument, noting that the "common sense reading of the term of supervised release … is neither vague nor overbroad."
MOD Systems, which is no longer in existence, developed digital media kiosk technology for the electronic distribution of movies and TV shows at airports and other retail locations. It was heavily funded, including backing to the tune of $40 million from the likes of Toshiba and NCR, and led by top technology executives in the Seattle area.
Here's the full opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. (Thanks to Venkat Balasubramani for alerting us to the decision.)


text:
Teachers—Walk a Mile in their Classroom
I was lucky enough this past week to visit some classrooms and see teachers using Sketchpad in various ways. It's been seven years since I was in the classroom myself, so for me it was like coming home. It brought back a lot of great memories, though also some reminders … Continue Reading ››


text:
Women all over the world are seen to be getting more and more active, even in areas which were said to be men's bastions. Why then are there far fewer women atheists compared to men? Are women more religious? Are they still dominated by their men? Or by religious authorities? Are they too busy in their domestic affairs or are they simply not concerned? What is it?
Views: 4576
From what you said, it sounds to me as if there might be just as many women atheists as men atheists, but the women tend to keep their non-belief to themselves.
I could see that, if it has to do with how comfortable men vs. women are at offending people, maybe.
I know where the chips will fall. Jesus belief is overwhelming. I started at age 8 asking questions and was told, "The Thinking Has Been Done'...STOP asking questions as all the questions have already been asked. Your 'church' leaders will dissemninate all the answers at the proper time. I could not accept that and continued my heritic ways of challenging the stupidity of Jesus belief - Genesis mistakes - etc. and since I refused to live the complete and utter LIE that was attempted to be fostered upon me -for the sake of my family/community - I basically told them all to frickin go away. Live a lie or live in peace (without Jesus) -Hell-God-immorality being tossed at you like a friggin firecracker.
For myself, it was not worth living a complete fabricated lie to 'get along'. I just don't happen to like any of 'them' enough to do that to myself. Some did 'get it' though and we're fine...some did not - and they have gone their way. Good for them...and good for me.
Gwaithmir, my experience has been that as I answer questions about atheism, and as family and friends hear my opinion and hit me over the head with stupid platitudes, for example, "You just want to control men!" Who said anything about controlling men? I respond.
Later, privately, women contact me and ask serious questions or make statements about being an atheist but afraid to reveal their thinking, or explore their options.
The internet makes a tremendous difference for women. We can read what other women have to say and don't feel so isolated. Also, we hear men acknowledging sexism and the price men and women pay for such thinking. Many atheist men also acknowledge atheist women as being good teachers for men. In any event, I feel encouraged by changes taking place in my home, family and community.
Breaking out of domestic violence, which was a desperate survival strategy, made it easier for me to break out of "mindbinding", a concept I realized when talking to a old Chinese lady in China whose feet were bound when she was about 3 or 4 years old. She screamed, "They bound my feet, deliberately crippling me, and the real crime was binding my mind. Thus, my "Footbinding/Mindbinding story.
I tend to agree with Gwaithmir -- men are more outspoken about their Atheism (that I have seen).
I suggest you join the Freedom From Religion Foundation - and then sign up for their private on-line Forum. There you will see outspoken women atheists speaking out daily equally alongside the men. Their perspective is outstanding and continues to drive that forum forward.
So am I.
Gwaithmir, my experience has been that women express fear more than men when the subject of no god occurs. Women defend belief in god as protector and guide; men often defend god because of hierarchy ... some tend to use the notion that male is superior to female, that god ordained it and "he" created women to be submissive.
I'm curious, what have others experienced?
My question is: Are there actually fewer female atheists than men? Is this true? Do we have stats that demonstrate this? And is it true internationally?
What's the source of this claim?
"Are they too busy in their domestic affairs"
I notice you didn't say "Are they too busy in their careers or daily lives"...
MK, you're funny - you're always full of such inadvertent reactionary statements! lol
You're always sure to offend someone!
I'm sure you don't mean to.
© 2020 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: The Nexus Group. Powered by


text:
The recalled workstation's arm can break and cause the workstation to fall, posing a risk of injury.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled workstation and contact Humanscale to receive a free repair kit.
About 22,700 (In addition, about 2,200 were sold in Canada)
The bottles are not child resistant as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, posing a poisoning risk if the contents are swallowed by young children.
Consumers should immediately remove the essential oils from the reach of children and contact Healing Solutions for a free replacement child-resistant cap.
About 32,000
The air rifle can unexpectedly discharge even if the safety is engaged. This can result in a serious injury or death.
Consumers should immediately stop using the DIANA Stormrider Gen 2 air rifles and contact Air Venturi to receive a free Trigger Upgrade repair kit and installation instructions. The repair is made by removing the trigger guard, replacing the current trigger with a new trigger and re-installing the trigger guard using the Allen Keys provided in the Upgrade repair kit. DIANA and its importer, AIR VENTURI, are contacting all known purchasers directly.
About 1,400
The children's loungewear fails to meet the flammability standards for children's sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled loungewear, take it away from children and contact Ragdoll & Rockets for instructions on receiving a full refund.
About 14,100
The bunk bed's support boards can break, posing fall and injury hazards.
Consumers should immediately stop using the bunk beds and contact Walker Edison Furniture to arrange for free replacement bunk beds and free installation by Walker Edison Furniture. The firm is contacting all known customers directly.
About 1,200
The steering wheel adapter's quick release can activate inadvertently and cause the race car's steering wheel to suddenly detach from its steering column while the vehicle is in motion, rendering the vehicle impossible to steer and posing a crash hazard and risk of serious injury and death to the driver.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled steering wheel adapters and return them to MW Company for a full refund. Those who purchased the recalled steering wheel adapters directly from MW Company online will be contacted by the company.
About 260
The bolts connecting the plastic blades and holding the mowing head together can come loose and the mowing head can come apart, posing a risk of injury to the user or bystanders.
Consumers should stop using the recalled mowing heads immediately and take them to an authorized STIHL dealer for a full refund.
About 73,000
Incorrect joint assembly can cause steering control loss, posing crash and injury hazards.
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled vehicles and contact an authorized Kawasaki dealer to schedule a free repair. Kawasaki is contacting all known purchasers directly.
About 2,600


text:
Just when you thought that the only things you could grind were:
a. Pepper
b. Salt
c. Coffee
d. An Axe
The cosmetic companies prove me wrong. I present Cliniques Superbalanced Mineral Powder Make Up with SPF 15:
The grinding thing isn't original – I had my beady eye on Smashbox's Halo Hydrating Powder for a long time but at £41.50 (including a brush) it was too pricey for my liking PLUS there was only Light, Medium and Dark and I heard that the light was actually more of a medium and medium for of a dark….too much complexity for an online purchase.
There is also the Elizabeth Arden version, but overall I decided to go for Clinique:
I got shade 04 – there's an excellent range of colours:
Why do I find Clinique packaging so comforting? I think its because it reminds me of childhood, ogling at the new shiny make up as my mum bought their products.
Ready to see the grinder after the jump?!
Its portable but it is chunky. Let's get real though, with the mechanism inside that shaves the powder off, its will have to be a substantial size:
Its actually a very good idea (not just a gimmick) to be able to shave powder off to get a loose powder product. I am far too absent minded to carry loose powder with me but I prefer the natural effect you get with it. With this product = no spillage.
You also get an antibaterial brush inside which I think works better than getting a silly sponge – however, the ideal would be a kabuki brush as the brush you get is still a little smaller than I'd like.
So you take off the plastic cover, and you just turn the wheel to shave some product off. You need VERY little – just a 15 minute (quarter turn) for enough product for the whole face:
I am guessing that something in the bottom of the compact pushes the powder up as you go along. I have no idea how long this will last as I have only been using it for a few weeks.
Clinique say:
New Superbalanced Powder Makeup SPF 15 keeps dry areas comfortable, oily areas less shiny. Fresh-shaved mineral powder stays put for up to 8 long hours.
I have combination skin – or should I say extreme combination skin. Very oily and very dry. I utterly hate cakey powder which is why I am not the biggest fan of mineral make up (so far). I also hate my skin feeling dry – I'd rather look like an oil slick than have dry flaky skin. Someone oily might have been working up a sweat having fun, right? Someone really flaky probably has swine flu.*
This is a great powder foundation methinks it works for me as I didn't detect any cakeyness – it feels like quite a hydrating powder (do excuse the oxymoron) so sat well on my skin.
People seem to be mixed about how much coverage this foundation has. Personally, I have never found mineral make up to be amazing at covering giant blemishes unless you cake it on. With this product, I found the coverage to be medium – just right.
Some people have found it quite sheer, some quite heavy. I think if you are used to light tinted moisturizer or have amazing skin you might find it a tad heavy – so use less. If you think it is sheer you can layer it – I personally found it just right – covered my redness and patchy skin. Any major blemishes would require concealer too.
I kept the plastic bit they give you to keep any loose bits from falling on my mirror – good idea, better than a stupid sticker than you can't keep for too long.
I used this on top of some tinted moisturizer and it made everything last perfectly for 6 hours. I didn't experience any allergies or redness either.
Coverage, one layer:
I liked this a lot – more than any other loose form mineral foundation or powder foundation I have used before (apart from Albion's Powder Foundation which I adore for its creaminess).
Very much recommended for those who want a no fuss, mineral foundation/powder – you can buy it here for £27.
Check out the ingredients below – this does contain bismuth oxychloride which makes some women itch, so be aware of that if you have an allergy.
*I'm kidding my flaky faced friends.
Talc, mica, octyldodecyl stearoyl stearate, zinc sterate, zinc laurate, dimethicone, bentonite, hdi/trimethylol hexyllactone crosspolymer, silica, hydrolyzed soy protein, glycerin, lauryl lysine, astrocaryum murumuru seed butter, squalane, cetearyl dimethicone crosspolymer, lecithin, triethoxycaprylylsilane, tocopheryl acetate, tetrahexyldecyl abscorbate, magnesium myristate, coconut acid, water, tetrasodium eta, chlorphensin, potassium sorbate, titanium dioxide 6.30% , iron oxides, bismuth oxychloride.


text:
I have Pocomail PE, and recently downloaded MyInfoToGo to test drive. When checking mail, there is an unbelievable hang up (that resolves itself after waiting quite a while).
I've used it for the past few days, but can't deal with this issue.
Is there a way to backup my messages from MITG and import them into PocoMail PE? I've tried using Backup/Restore, but this isn't working.


text:
Phil Pask still feels a debt of gratitude to Worksop Rugby Club and Valley School as he prepares for his fourth British and Irish Lions tour.
The physio began his life in the sport with the Stubbing Lane club and credits one of his teachers at Valley for propelling him into a career he never could have dreamed of.
Pask has been part of 250 test matches as England phsyio, gone to five Rugby World Cups and worked an incredible 20 Six Nations tournaments.
Ahead of the Lions tour of New Zealand he's thankful for those humble beginnings in rugby.
"I wouldn't be here if I hadn't had the support and encouragement from the guys who helped me play rugby when I was at Worksop," said the man who went on to play 150 times for Northampton Saints before becoming a physiotherapist.
"That was my springboard and through Valley Comprehensive as well, through a guy called Jeff Dowson who was my PE teacher and played for Wakefield, a really good team at the time.
"He put so much time and effort into our school team.
"From the age of 11 going to Valley, without that support I woudln't have even got a foot on the rugby pathway.
"That allowed me to get to Saints and then Northampton Saints allowed me to do what I'm doing now."
He can scarcely believe what has happened since he left Bassetlaw but hopes the professional game will have a future in store for Worksop youngsters just starting out.
"When I write my book it's going to be called 'Incredible things can happen to ordinary people.'
"As a kid I used to sit watching the Four Nations or whatever it was on tele, I would never have dreamt of being involved in 20 tournaments.
"Hopefully some of the kids coming through Worksop Colts will have the drive and determination to follow it through, that would be brilliant."
Pask has maintained his connection to Worksop Rugby Club and still has family in the town.
He's hoping to catch up with some of his old pals out in New Zealand on rare moments of down-time during a hectic trip.
"I've had loads of messages already and I know there's a group going out from Worksop, they've saved for years to go on this tour," he said.
"They've made some huge flags, 10m by 6m flags with Worksop on it that I'll have to keep an eye out for.
"The nice thing about the Lions tour is that we're not detatched from the fans, like soccer, we'll be able to get out and meet them for a coffee or maybe a beer, like we did in Melbourne, Australia.
"We all met up and had a chat and they can be within touching distance of the team. That's why rugby is so special I think."
The physio is one of the most experienced men in his field within international rugby.
His first taste of a Lions tour came 12 years ago when they last took on the All Blacks and were on the wrong end of a series whitewash.
Whilst some of the younger players wearing the red jerseys this time round will still be getting to know their new team-mates, Pask and his medical colleagues have the benefit of long-standing working relationships.
"After the last one I thought you can't really top that, a series win in Australia but then I got asked again and you can't turn it down, can you?
"Another physio, Bob Stewart has done four with me.
"Prav Mathema the Welsh physio this is his third working with us. And it's the Irish doctor Eanna Falvey's second so we've all worked together.
"It's very much like putting your hand back in a glove or your foot in a comfy pair of shoes."
Coming from the four nations who supply the talent for the Lions, the medical staff were all well acquainted with the players they'll be looking after even before the past fortnight of training sessions.
Pask expects them to hit the ground running on Saturday when they take on a Provincial Barbarians XV at Toll Stadium, Whangarei.
But not all of the touring party, a group he calls the best of the best, will be familiar with the atmosphere that surrounds a Lions side.
He said: "Some of our players don't know what's coming – 25,000 fans wearing red jerseys in New Zealand following the team around.
"It's unbelievable, streets are paved in red Lions jerseys.
"It's retained that special aura and even though I'm not playing, even to get asked to do it, to be part of the management is just a great honour and a great privilege. Not many people get a chance to do it.
"To get selected itself is pretty special, to get a test jersey means you are the best of the best and it's pretty unique, hard to achieve.
"When we go away to play it's special - New Zealand haven't had a chance to play the British Lions for 12 years.
"They are as excited, the New Zealand public and the All Blacks players, because they get one opportunity in their career to play in a Lions test series and make history.
"We've been professional since 1995 but this unites rugby, it transcends any club and country issues or challenges you might have. All the clubs want their players to get selected for the Lions, all the coaches, all the players.
"It's a proper test."
Pask flies out tomorrow, a day ahead of the players, and will have thrown himself into his duties as the jet lag is just subsiding.
Those duties will take up the vast majority of his waking moments from now until the end of the 2017 tour.
"We started two weeks ago and there's not a lot of respite now," he said.
"With two games a week you're either preparing a team to play or recovering the team that's played, 42 players.
"There aren't really enough hours in the day. It's full on.
"We're experienced in doing it.
"It takes two days or so to settle into a routine and then you're focused on the job, you roll out of bed and into the treatment room, training, recovery, the treatment room and then bed.
"It's only a six week tour, you wouldn't work all year like that, but because it's such an intense period you just take a deep breath and bang, get on with it.
"I can't believe I'm going on a fourth Lions tour, it's ridiculous really."


text:
Important Notice
It appears you are using an older version of your browser. While some functions will be available, Alabama JobLink works best with a modern browser such as the ones provided by:
Please download and install the latest version of the browser of your choice. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Please Complete a Survey
Your input helps us provide better service in the future.Click to open survey in a new window
Job Search
Enter your search criteria into the boxes below, then click the search icon or press enter. In the What box, you can type the job title, keywords, or job posting number. In the Where box, enter a city, state or zip code. You can also enter a county name and the state, such as Coosa County, AL. In the Within box enter the number of miles around the location entered. If either the Where or Within boxes are going to be used, then both boxes are required. To narrow your search results, use the "Refine Search" filters on the left by selecting a category. The number next to each filter indicates the number of results currently in the system using that filter, plus your current search criteria. If zero jobs meet the criteria, the filter will not display for selection. Results do not include indeed.com jobs. Filters can be removed by selecting the link you want to remove in the "Filtered By" section. Searches can be saved by entering a unique name in the Label field and selecting the "Save search as" button.
Filtered by
Network Engineer (JC156028448)
Last Updated: 2020-02-28
Employer: LeidosLocation: Mafb Gun Annx, AL
Job Description:
The Leidos Defense Group is currently seeking a Network Engineer based at Montgomery, Alabama.
This position is in support of the AFINC II contract for the highly visible 26th Network Operations Squadron (26 NOS) at Maxwell Air force Base-Gunter Annex, Alabama, which provides a world-wide support…
- Registered Apprenticeship


text:
A fire destroyed a vacant Borger house Thursday morning, authorities said.
The fire is the latest in a string of home and apartment fires within a half-mile radius, fire officials said.
About 11 a.m., Borger firefighters arrived to battle the blaze at 1308 Boyd St. Firefighters had it controlled in about 15 minutes, but it destroyed the 1,500-square-foot house, fire officials said.
The blaze began in three spots in the kitchen and caused about $35,000 in damages, authorities said.
No one was injured.
Borger fire officials said they are searching for a possible arsonist who sparked the recent fire and several others in the same neighborhood in the past four months.
The home was appraised at $30,230, according to county records.


text:
neroli candle 260g
16% Eau de Toilette. Men + Women.
Paired Performance System - CN-604-09.
9oz. / 260g.
Free shipping on €75+ orders in Benelux/Germany.
Our Neroli Candle is a refreshingly modern interpretation of the highly valued and exotic neroli extract. A complete olfactory journey, our neroli candle utilizes the full range of bitter orange tree aromas by blending five different orange tree extracts. Combining sweet and peppery citrus, our neroli candle begins with bitter orange and lemon top notes, a heart of neroli and orange blossom and a base of petitgrain, iris and musk.
select ingredients.
Top notes of bitter orange and lemon, a heart of neroli and orange blossom and a base of petitgrain, iris and musk
A synthesis of natural citrus and green freshness, neroli candle burns on its own and beautifully pairs with our sexy cannabis, creating a unique blend and perfect sensory balance.
Each candle has approximately 60 hours of burn time. Do not burn more than 2 or 3 hours at a time. Keep clear of flammable materials.


text:
The maximum number of products that can be compared is 4. Please refine your selection.
Wacoal is offering Free Shipping on orders over $70, including those made by phone. This offer applies to United States Postal Service (USPS) Priority Shipping only and excludes U.S. territories.
If you choose United Parcel Service (UPS) expedited shipping, discounted charges will apply.
Free Returns. See Details.


text:
Q My commute covers just about the entire stretch of Highway 85, and I am writing regarding the display of messages on the electronic sign near Winchester Boulevard. While I fully support the use of electronic signs for displaying Amber Alerts and other emergencies, I noticed that it is also being used at increasing regularity for other public service messages that unnecessarily cause a backup for a mile or so that eases up immediately after the sign.
For example, for the past week it has read:
Just about everyone in the Bay Area knows we are in the middle of a serious drought. Is it really necessary to bring traffic to a complete crawl for 1.5 miles during commute hours to drive home (no pun intended!) the point?
I sincerely hope that the highway authorities weigh the pros and cons of displaying public service announcements in a high-impact area such as electronic signs along the highway.
Vijay Baskaran
A And …
Q "SERIOUS DROUGHT. HELP SAVE WATER." What does this have to do with highway safety? This is a good way to train people to ignore the electronic signs on the highways.
Frank Gurnee
A The drought message was flashed on 700 electronic signs across California but will be used only sporadically through the rest of the year. The signs will be activated when there are no critical emergency or traffic safety messages or Amber Alerts.
Q On the westbound underpass on Mission Boulevard from Warm Springs to Interstate 880, the lane markers are missing because of all the construction. Many times I have almost been pushed into the concrete barrier because the person next to me didn't know they were coming over in my lane. Could they put up some temporary markers?
Bob Leibbrand
San Jose
A They can. Roadwork is planned Wednesday, and this will be addressed as part of that job.
Q You had an item about stopping when a school bus has its red lights flashing. What about when the bus is stopped at the curb with the amber lights flashing?
John Unger
A Proceed with caution. The bus driver must activate the amber lights 200 feet before the bus stop. The driver then turns off the amber lights after reaching the stop.
Q The new ramp from southbound Cottle Road to north Highway 85 has no carpool lane. I was looking forward to the ease of making a right turn onto the freeway vs. the old entrance ramp, so having no carpool entrance lane seems, well, stupid. I drive a vehicle that uses compressed natural gas, and access to the carpool ramp can save 5 to 10 minutes on the commute. Please tell me this is only temporary.
Curt Sellers
San Jose
A Afraid not. Caltrans says both lanes on the loop ramp will be open to solo drivers, as future traffic demands will be too high to meter with only one lane for solo drivers. The ramp is too narrow for a third lane for carpoolers on the loop ramp.
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow, follow him at Twitter.com/mrroadshow or contact him at email@example.com or 408-920-5335.


text:
Watch an exclusive webcast today at 3:05 CT when the Sox host the Mariners. Jake Peavy starts for the Sox. Watch webcast | Gameday | Boxscore
Or click the video below and wait 4-5 seconds (the video at the whitesox.com webcast can be expanded to full-screen):
Vodpod videos no longer available.


text:
Who Said K-5 Cannot be Used as a JPEG Camera?
I post three quick samples of mine here, I think the pictures speak for themselves!
1. Original photos were created directly out of the camera in (default) 3 Star JPEGs in 16MPs;
2. Whole pictures were downsized to 1024 pixels in width and then lightly re-sharpened;
3. Central crops of the pictures are in 100%, no post processing of any was applied, i.e., pure and mere cropping;
4. Click to Enlarge to view Samples in Full. All EXIF preserved.
5. Lens used was the oldest designed DA lens of the 16-45 zoom at close-up/macro range, handheld.
By the way, this photo was underexposed owing to the white flower but I did not apply the necessary +ve exposure compensation with the Centre-weighted metering I used. Nonetheless, I am almost sure that the 77-segment metering will suffer from the same in that situation. After all, a quick retouch on the brightness/tone curve of the picture could save it (although the image quality would not be as good, compare it to the first picture):-
Update (2-1): A Large-sized Image is uploaded for a far away wide-angle outdoor scene, so as to give you a better impression on the colour rendition and IQ of the K-5 JPEG image, click on the following image to Enlarge (a new tab will be opened):-
Read Also:-
My K-5 Impressions after the First 1,000+ Shots (Somewhat Detailed)
NEX E30/3.5 Macro Quick Samples (Large + Full Sized)
Some Macro Photos to Share (DFA 100 on 5D)


text:
How to Use
Map 2: Southern Los Angeles area showing Nieto land grant.
In 1790, the king of Spain granted Manuel Nieto approximately 300,000 acres of land in Alta California. In response to a petition for more land by the nearby San Gabriel mission, Nieto's grant soon was reduced to 167,000 acres. In 1834, this land was divided into five ranchos (as indicated on Map 2) and divided among Nieto's children. Today, this area is occupied by most of the cities of Los Angeles County and northern Orange County. The Los Alamitos section includes the Rancho Los Alamitos dwelling and gardens.
Questions for Map 2
1. Carefully study Map 2 and then try to find the approximate location of the Nieto land grant on Map 1. What clues helped you determine this location?
2. How does Map 2 help you to understand the extent of the Nieto land grant? Why did the Spanish king award land grants? What might this indicate about the Spanish population of Alta California at the time?
* The map on this screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high quality version of Map 2, but be aware that the file may take as much as 60 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.


text:
California Forever
This 2-part series celebrates the dramatic stories, scenic beauty and sweeping history of California state parks - the most diverse collection of state parks in the nation.
It begins in Yosemite Valley in 1864 when it was set aside as California's first state park and gave birth to the park idea. The story moves to north coast redwoods; south coast beaches; Lake Tahoe to the Anza Borrego Desert; Big Sur and Point Lobos. State historic parks like Indian Grinding Rock, La Purisima Mission, Old Monterey, Gold Country and the magnificent Hearst Castle are monuments to the diversity of California's people.
The program then traces key battles for the preservation of California's most significant scenic, historic and scientific places, and underscores the driving force pushing the American Conservation movement. Prominent players pivotal in creating the state parks such as Frederick Law Olmsted, Teddy Roosevelt and John D. Rockefeller are brought to life. Also highlighted are the untold stories of ordinary citizens who took extraordinary measures to preserve California's remarkable scenery and landmark historic sites.
California Forever Previous Broadcasts
The History of California State Parks (Episode #101H)
KQED 9: Wed, Jul 8, 2015 -- 11:00 PM
This episode highlights the discovery and creation of California's state parks system and celebrates the individuals and groups whose passion and commitment helped preserve and protect them for future generations. It takes viewers on a cultural and historical tour of our state parks highlighting key events, locales and people that made California history. The plot intersects with many important victories that saved much of California's most cherished landscapes and in the process, inspired the creation of the National Park Service and the protection of wilderness.
Repeat Broadcasts:
- KQED 9: Thu, Jul 9, 2015 -- 5:00 AM


text:
RV Forum flags - click HERE
John, Just a thought, what about links to chassis sites?
THIRD CHARACTER = Model Type:1 = 100 Series H-Body Eurovan Camper2 = 200 Series C-Body Access/lmpulse/RialtalVista/Sunstar3 = 300 Series C-Body Minnie/Outlook/Spirit4 = 400 Series C-Body Minnie Winnie/Sundancer5 = 500 Series C-Body View/Navion7 = 700 Series C-Body Aspect/CambriaD = D-Series Sightseer/SunovaE = E-Series Vista/SunstarF = F-Series BravelVoyage/SunriseG = G-Series Adventurer/Suncruiser (prior to 2009)J = J-Series Adventurer (2009)K = K-Series Suncruiser (2009)L = L-Series Chieftain/SunflyerM = M-Series Destination/LatitudeP = P-Series Journey/Meridian/HorizonQ = Q-Series Ultimate Advantage/Ultimate Freedom R-Series Tour/EllipseS = S-Series Vectra/Horizon
John; I understand that Winnebago also has a web site that, 1) you can look up a list of all Winnebago part# in your coach
2) a site that you can look up the service/repair history of your unit. I don't know the sites but have heard of them. If you have/can get this info it'd be great. Thanks Dana
Edit 4/23/2015: Added link to thread about how to pull dash on '93 Brave[/size][/b]
Page created in 0.109 seconds with 21 queries.


text:
Hi Chad, I am enjoying your instruction so much! I have been in and out of the world of drawing all my life and it's so good to be doing it again and it's like you have unlocked the secret box.
I thoroughly enjoyed this class- and I will recommend it to others!
I thought this was an excellent course with just the right amount of information and instruction to allow me to continue to pursue my interest in drawing. I felt as if Chad had a good time with it and I did as well. I especially enjoyed his sketches and have a new appreciation for comic book art!
It was a fun course and the instructor's comments were amusing. I improved my drawing skills and learned about some new techniques.
I would like to thank you and your staff for taking the time to assist us with our projects. It helps to be able to use Flikr and MySpace to post work, then get tips and pointers from others as well as the staff. I have been drawing since I could hold a crayon, but never had any formal training. After this class, I understand why I draw certain ways and can now make better progress with my pictures. I truly enjoyed this class. Thank you again for all of your help.
Just wanted to say thanks for the instruction. Your guidance in the past 12 lessons was a great start. I also realize that there is much more study and practice required on my part. I have seen a great improvement in my drawing by simply implementing many of your suggestions. Thanks again for taking the time to transfer your knowlege.
This has been great Chad. I have been working as a commercial Artist for over 30 years and thru the years I have sort of 'lost' the ability to 'see' in order to paint for me and not for some nameless consumer that doesn't care one whit what talent it took to create. I have found my creativity again. Thanks so much for your fresh approach to teaching. You are very down to earth and your lessons were done with great clarity. I haope all beginning artists have a chance to have you as their first instructor. You are very inspirational.
I wanted to thank you for your excellent instruction into the world of drawing! I feel as an artist that I have grown leaps and bounds by this wonderful course--thank you so much, it was a great honor to be your student!
I took this course to learn how to better look at things to enable me to improve my photography. Shadows and lighting in particular have been a problem for me. I am looking at the world differently now and I thank you for all you have taught us. I look forward to trying out a few new techniques when I go to the zoo to photograph animals, which I love doing in the summertime. Thanks again!
Complete the form below and click the Reset Password button. If
we find your password, we'll send password reset instructions to the e-mail address
we have on record for you.


text:
The Deed of Elturiel Lyrics
I am Elturiel, called beyond the gate to serve. Sylvester Alédoe is nothing but a shell. Sylvester Alédoe has conjured me to protect him through a chasm.
(Solo: Vail)
One thousand years of lethargy botched by one's personal misfortune.
"Djinni" he says, "You cannot oppose the words I speak." As if he thought I didn't know the laws bestowed upon me.
(Solo: Funderburk)
(Solo: Vail)
I've swept away hastily with the obligation in my mind. Instinctively, confidently employing my inner eye to seek out this instrument. To seek out this instrument that he accredits to be such a protector, the redeemer of his own flesh and blood.
I've come to the concealed location of the ornament I am to obtain. Countless amounts of lurking paladins. Countless amounts of age old acquaintances. Disastrously bonded to my master's hand, I must desperately carry out this witless plan. Kicking up dust as I disapparate within arm's reach of the talisman, exposing myself to all.


text:
Lawmakers compromise on redistricting plan
Districts would reflect population shifts
A bipartisan commission has agreed unanimously on a plan to redraw Maine's legislative district lines to reflect population shifts.
The Reapportionment Commission on Friday approved a compromise map for the House of Representatives. A map for the Senate, also a compromise, was approved a week earlier.
Democratic and Republican legislative leaders hailed the work as fair and in the state's best interests.
Commission member and Republican Rep. Wayne Parry of Arundel says the results prove that both parties can work together when they want to.
The Maine Constitution requires the plan to be approved by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature by June 11. If a two-thirds vote cannot be achieved, redistricting proposals are sent to the State Supreme Judicial Court for resolution.


text:
The search found 1 result in 0.042 seconds.
Search results
30 Nov 2016
Governments around the world invest considerable resources in enhancing the capabilities of their civil service administrations with the intention of improving the quality and e ectiveness of public administration. While most developed and many developing nations have established professional bureaucracies that are, in Weberian terms,...


text:
Omega Man Blog
My Blog
My Reviews of awesome books
News Articles and Events
Favorite Links
Contact Me
Ministry of Zombies
Home of the Haynes Zombie Survival Manual and all things zombie survival in the UK
March, 2010
April, 2010
May, 2010
June, 2010
July, 2010
August, 2010
October, 2010
December, 2010
January, 2011
March, 2011
April, 2011
July, 2011
August, 2011
November, 2011
March, 2012
April, 2012
May, 2012
September, 2012
October, 2012
February, 2013
October, 2013
My Blog
Mark Scioneaux – Another Writer with a Zombie Series....?
Do we really need another zombie novel part 1? I sometimes wonder & on most author websites, it's easy to find out who doesn't have a 3-book zombie story...
Still, writer person
Mark Scioneaux
has embarked on such a challenge & with more blurbs than I have ever seen, has launched
Hollow Shell: A Zombie Epic - Part One.
A bit about Mark, he is a black belt in karate & left the Rangers because they weren't tough enough. He didn't write
I am Legend
& wasn't in the film. His hobbies include musical theatre & hard-core gun shows.
Anyway, back to the book. To be honest, sometimes blurb just puts me off. You get the same authors saying clever quips about virtually every book.
I prefer the real person comments. Here's a few of them:-
"This zombie tale was a really fun, exciting, and emotional adventure. Mr. Scioneaux knows his zombie fiction. But more than that, he knows how to put the reader on the edge of their seat and give depth and emotion to the scenes. I cannot wait for the next instalment! Zombie fans will love it!"
– that's from one Amazon fan...
"Anyone who has ever survived or endured a difficult, life-changing event will be able to relate to "Hollow Shell," which makes its power over the reader much more poignant. This is a story of real horror, even if there are imaginary monsters. "Hollow Shell" promises a dramatic, action-packed story that will leave you wanting more
" – good, good, me likey, likey.
Here at the Ministry of Zombies, we like real people feedback.
We got a sample
from Hollow Shell: Part 1 here:-
"What have I done?" Chris said as he slid down the living room wall.
A faint trail of gray smoke rose from the gun, slowly dissipating into the atmosphere and stinging his running nose. His hands shook uncontrollably, so bad the gun almost fell from his limp grasp.
"Why, God? Jesus…Why?" he gasped, the tears starting to roll down his stubbly face.
With each passing moment, panic at the realization of what he had just done started to settle in. It was a sickening feeling developing deep in the pit of his stomach. He felt a wave of nausea wash over him. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.
Why am I calling out to God?
he thought, as the idea of asking an all-mighty and benevolent creator for help had proved to be a waste of time. God didn't seem to be present at the moment he put a bullet right between the eyes of his loving parents and once beautiful sister. Those same eyes that gazed down on him the day he was born. Eyes at one time filled with unconditional love, now glazed over in a pale aqua-blue glow. The look they once bore replaced with an insatiable hunger. Chris couldn't let them live like that. His sister, so beautiful and caring; so young and full of dreams, had been turned into a deformed creature. There was nothing left of who she once was. The same sister Chris beat up a playground bully for. The same sister whose ice cream cone hit the floor and Chris readily gave her his. The thought of her pain made him tear up and the urge to scream rushed up through his throat like vomit.
She had come toward him with the same look as his parents, those hungry, lifeless eyes. His hand made steady by a surge of adrenalin gave him a brief moment of clarity and precision, though his vision had become blurry with tears. The sound of her moaning and shuffling feet became louder as she moved closer. He aimed, closing his eyes as he pulled the trigger, feeling the hammer kick back and the gun jolt in his hand. The abrupt discharge was followed by a soft thud. He opened his eyes and in that moment came to the sick realization that he was an only child and an orphan. All done by his own hands.
One more bullet left in the chamber,
he thought to himself,
and that one is going to be for me.
The searing heat of the gun singed the inside of his mouth, but he didn't care. One squeeze and everything would be all right. Just a loud noise, maybe a little pain and his troubles would cease to exist. Or maybe there wouldn't be any pain at all. It would be a coward's way out, but given the current events and his decaying mentality, it felt like the right thing to do. He closed his eyes tight as his finger slowly depressed the trigger.
Just a little more
, he thought.
Just do it!
What do ya reckon?
Well, it's on our list. We'll get the review up as soon as it's done. And, you know what, we do need more zombie series – what else I'm going to do with my bloody time!
If you buy it & it turns about to be the next big series, don't forget we noticed it first!
Link to Amazon UK :
Shell: A Zombie Epic - Part One
Link to Amazon US :
Shell: A Zombie Epic - Part One
32 comments
30 items total
Omega Man Blog
My Blog
My Reviews of awesome books
News Articles and Events
Favorite Links
Contact Me
SEAN T PAGE - the UK's zombie survival expert


text:
Forrest & Company is an organizational transformation firm.
Published by admin on Mon, 05/30/2011 - 11:09
We are experts in identifying, developing and releasing the potential in leaders and their organizations, providing our clients with a strategic competitive advantage.
We engage our clients closely. We have the expertise to examine leaders, organizations and issues at all levels – strategic, operational and tactical. We then develop solutions, working with our clients from initiation through implementation. The result is dramatically improved performance and accelerated achievement of strategy.
Forrest is a full service firm. We offer our clients – through consulting, training, coaching and facilitation – the most effective integrated system available for organizational, team and individual transformation:
For more details about how we can help you, go here.
Let's have the conversation about your organizational pain. We will work with you to perform a thorough needs-analysis, identify the root cause of the issue and build the solution best suited to your specific goals.


text:
to KATZ Farm's collection of seasonal main dish recipes. All of
the following recipes are meant to highlight our product offerings and
reflect our many years of experience as both chefs and restaurateurs.
As well, it is our intention to provide our customers with fun and inspiring
recipes for simple, elegant dishes.
All of these recipes are available in a format which can be easily viewed
and printed. More recipes will be added each season. . . so please
come back and visit us soon!
Sign up for our E-Newsletter
Exclusive Discount Offers!


text:
Optimizing Your NetworkBy Gary Bolles
Technology: Optimization
Tight budgets are no excuse. You can optimize it without compromise.
Not Just Money
Optimization isn't just about cutting costs.
In the same way that IT executives who've lived through the Internet boom will one day reminisce about the time when the laws of gravity were temporarily repealed"Grandpa, tell us the story about Unlimited IT Budgets again!"so will they repeat tales about the whiplash effect of the bust: how the CIO went from swapping high-fives with the CEO to enduring pencil-level budget scrutiny by the CFO.
The general perception is that somewhere along the line, IT stopped delivering all the business value expected of it. "Our point of view is that IT is in fact pretty broken," says Ken Klein, chief operating officer at Mercury Interactive Corp., a provider of business technology optimization software. "Not all organizations fall into that category, but IT is, we believe, at a crisis point. They're in a situation where they're being asked to do a lot more, and they're being asked to do it with a lot less."
IT's response: optimize. Taffy-pulled by twin pressures, IT departments are trying to transform themselves into lean, mean, business-focused machines intent on delivering the best value for the lowest cost. That doesn't just mean squeezing every last drop of fiscal blood from the IT stone, through strategies like pooling servers, consolidating storage and packing WAN links to reduce bandwidth costs. It means reshaping IT by focusing on efficiently delivering the best possible value to the businessand doing it with the fewest costly people possible.
Garrett Grainger, CIO at Dixon Ticonderoga Co., an $88.6 million pencil manufacturer in Heathrow, Fla., says he's working with half the headcount he had when he joined the company five years ago. He also says his department is running at about 1.6 percent of corporate spendingless than half his competitors' budgets. Yet even after trimming staff, he's been able to increase IT's service delivery by 20 to 25 percent.
How is such a thing possible? It turns out that optimizing IT doesn't mean simply burying your head in the budget with a paring knife. It requires a different frame of mind, instituting processes that stretch from the nuts and bolts of wringing extra packets out of existing WAN connections all the way up to the organization's strategic goals.
Ask Your It Staff:
Ask your CFO:
Tell Your Staff:
Link To Strategy
Link To Strategy
If your strategy to optimize IT doesn't connect all the way up to business goals, how do you know where to focus?
The drive for IT optimization is inevitable. META Group research finds that four out of every five IT operations groups have already launched an initiative of some kind to improve operations. But META also projects that three quarters of those initiatives will run into "significant inconsistencies" with their projectswhich means they won't achieve the desired results.
How to avoid such a fate? By synthesizing the approaches of CIOs, analysts and consultants, a pattern for successful optimization becomes clear. Some recommendations:
First, synch up with the business. Without processes to continually ensure that you're delivering the value the business needs, you could be optimizing areas you don't need toor not optimizing areas where you have the biggest opportunities. Dick LeFave, CIO of Nextel Communications Inc., the $8.7 billion, Reston, Va.-based wireless provider, is adamant: "The alignment part of IT helps optimization," he says flatly.
As part of that process, infuse IT staff into business units to gain a better understanding of business-unit constituents. And make sure business units volunteer their own team members to help with IT projects, and make sure they take an ownership stake in their technology initiatives. "We do no new initiative here without a business owner," says LeFave.
Next, manage IT as a portfolio of projects. Portfolio management is critical for understanding the demands continually placed on IT, says Tony Roby, partner for global architecture and core technologies at Accenture. Don't forget outsourcing as a key part of the IT portfolio, so you'll be able to distribute risk outside the organization and ensure you're always delivering IT services for the best possible value. "The IT organization of the future is going to be much more a manager of services rather than the sole provider of all those services," says Roby. Be sure to do your homework first. "Before you outsource, optimize," advises Mercury Interactive's Klein. "That way, you're going to get a better deal."
Finally, hire and train for the "optimized" mentality. Wherever you can, use seasoned professionals who know how to squeeze costs out of everything they do. Make sure their compen- sation is aligned with your efforts, rewarding them for their ability to execute and save money.
Tell Your CFO:
Ask Your Staff:
Tell Your Staff:
Train to Strain
Train to Strain
Next, focus on process. A variety of approaches for optimizing IT are delivering results. One of the most important: setting the bar high for IT staff. The best formula: a high-pressure, but not high-stress, environment, where staff members know that expectations are high but also mistakes are tolerated.
That's the mentality at McKee Foods Corp., a $970 million snack foods maker in Collegedale, Tenn. Says IS group manager Bo Smith, "Any place you walk in, our snacks are going to be cheaper than anybody else's. In the same way, the infrastructure we're going to provide has to be the lowest cost possible. That doesn't mean we're buying the cheapest technology. It means we're spending our technology dollars wisely."
It's important to standardize that infrastructure wherever possible. "Anything you can standardize, you can optimize those processes and minimize the cost," says Jeff Barlow, IT configuration manager for the retail group at Reliant Energy, a recently deregulated electricity provider in Houston. The business side may dislike the loss of localized control that comes with corporate standards, but it's really just a financial decision: If a group wants you to support, say, wireless BlackBerry PDAs instead of the corporate standard unwired Palms, offer them a pricing model that includes the full cost of support. Drive to make your infrastructure costs as predictable as possible through fixed-price offerings, with the most hard-nosed financial analyses possible. "That shifts it from a science fair conversation to a business conversation," says Nextel's LeFave.
Software development is one area where optimizing costs has been naggingly difficult. Yet any IT shop that develops in-house software has an opportunity to optimize its efforts by paying increased attention to quality. That means focusing relentlessly on building the right applications in the right way. "With quality, you do it right, or do it twice," says Bruce Woods, manager of software quality and training for Burlington, N.J.-based Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corp., the $2.5 billion clothing retailer. "And in this economy, you can't do it twice."
Ask Your Chief Architect:
Ask Your CTO:
Ask Your It Architect:
Can IT optimization software be useful? Only if you've already optimized IT.
IT for IT
IT for IT
Gartner Inc. analyst Hams El-Gabri makes the case that IT isor should bea project-focused organization much like any professional services business. She maintains that IT can improve its own operations in the same way as any other people-intensive craft, by focusing specifically on better project management practices, and using software designed to automate repetitive project-related tasks. Gartner calls this category Project Portfolio Management, or PPM, and it includes the broad set of functions needed to prioritize and manage projects appropriately, including project pipelines, risk assessment, scope, time, human and other resources, cost management, procurement processes, team communications, reporting and forecasting.
If you're salivating to run such applications, don't jump in just yet. It may seem counterintuitive that software designed to optimize IT is useful only if IT is already running itself efficiently. But according to El-Gabri, these programs are mostly good at aggregating reports and automating existing processes. "PPM is 90 percent service methodology and 10 percent software," she says. As with virtually any enterprise software, baking inefficient processes into applications simply institutionalizes ineffectiveness, so IT has to get its own shop into order first.
Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. CIO George Tillmann, a former management advisor himself, hired his company's own consultants to help his team hone its internal practices. Like many, Tillmann's optimization efforts were driven by the need for staff efficiency, since this company of 13,000 went from an IT department of 235 in 2000 to 186 today. Once that work was done, Tillmann was then ready to install Kintana Inc.'s IT governance software. "You can't use a tool to replace bad practices," Tillmann says flatly.
Still, like other executives overseeing critical corporate functions, CIOs will ultimately benefit from the ability of such applications to provide an up-to-date overview of operations. "I definitely see us evolving toward an executive dashboard with information bubbling up to decision-makers, so they have more information at their fingertips," says Reliant Energy's Barlow. "We're moving from more of a reactive mode to more of a planned mode." Gartner's El-Gabri thinks that's a good thing. "The IT department is the last untouched and unoptimized branch within the organization," she says.
Ask Your Project Office Professionals:
Tell Your Top Staff:
Tell It Software Vendors:
Spread Thinner
Spread Thinner
To be effective, IT optimization needs to go through several steps.
A: First, IT's strategic goals must be aligned with those of the organization.
B: Next, determine the organization's most critical business processes, so you'll make sure your optimization efforts are focused where they'll have the most effect.
C: Then determine the most efficient use of the applications, servers and storage strategies needed to support those business processes. The goal: to break free of the need for a one-to-one correspondence between processes and their supporting applications, servers and storage, instead sharing applications across fewer servers, and servers across fewer storage units. The result: Better use of fewer resources.
Optimizing Your Network
The Best a Wan Can Get Strategies for Optimizing Your Network
Technologies are now appearing that treat network resourcesbandwidth, storage and processorsas pools, allowing IT to allocate them more efficiently than ever before. It's not "grid computing": Rather than running a single application on a single server, the idea is to consolidate resources so they're used more efficiently.
Peter Christy, a principal analyst at NetsEdge Research Group, says commoditization down in the network means the move to standardization and simplification is going to continue. "I think people are seeing that arbitrary differentiation at the lower levels is irrelevant," he says.Effective network optimization strategies include: