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Four soul–searching questions from the Bible
I believe that Christians are people of the Bible. As a child of God, I stand firm in the faith that the Bible is the living Word of the living God. In the Bible, God has made Himself and His will known to us as the written revelation. Having said that, I am humbled to share four "soul searching" questions that I have found in the Bible through my personal encounter with God's words as I have daily walked with Him. It is my testimonial and conviction that these self–reflected inquiries as derived from God in the Bible have enhanced and enriched my spiritual journey. I seek God's will in my life as His child and I long to find the right path for the more excellent way of living in Christlikeness.
Where are you?
This first question comes from Genesis 3:9 as the result of Adam and Eve's disobedience to God's command. It forbade them from eating fruit from "the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve hid in an attempt to escape the wrath of their Creator. However, God appeared to them and asked, "Where are you?" I believe that this question was God's redemptive invitation for them to recognize the naked truth of their inner condition and spiritual status rather than as a rebuke. God's question reached beyond the guilt and shame of His beloved creatures. This inquiry manifests God's unflinching and merciful heart. He offers a second chance to His backslidden children. We might ask ourselves, "Where am I in my relationship with Jesus?"
Who do you say that I am?
The second question, which derives from Matthew 16:15, is the most significant Christological question in the Bible that relates to the purpose of Christ's redemptive mission for all God's people. Jesus asked His disciples this question near the end of His earthly ministry and prior to His crucifixion. Regardless of one's Christian reputation, experience or background, one cannot escape from this honest and transparent question. What would your response or confession to Jesus be?
Do you want to be made well?
Jesus asked the third question in John 5:6 of the man who had been ill for 38 years as he sat by the place called "Sheep Gate" in Jerusalem. This question signifies a divine invitation and affirmation of Christ's therapeutic call for holistic salvation for the healing of physical illness and for the restoration from exposure to inner spiritual diseases as we live in this wounded world. How desperately do we want to grip the healing hands of Christ today? Do we want to be freed from our sinful bondage?
Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?
The fourth question is from the Apostle Paul in Acts 19:2. As an heir of the Wesleyan–holiness movement, I consider his inquiry to some disciples in Ephesus to also be one for us to consider. Salvationists are eager to ask this particular question regarding our desire to seek the God–honoring way of the Christian life. This expectancy marks our pursuit of the baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace, following the first work, justification. Ask yourself, "Have I received the Holy Spirit?"
Finding Yourself in the story
St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556) and founder of the Society of the Jesuits, taught this method of engaging Scripture. It involves slowly and prayerfully reading a portion of Scripture and encountering Christ through His living Word.
Read a story from one of the Gospels and use your imagination to place yourself in the story. For instance, imagine that you are in Galilee with Jesus and the disciples. What do you see? What do you hear? What do you smell? Is it warm or cold, wet or dry? Place yourself in the sandals of one of the characters: a disciple, an onlooker or the person being healed. What is Jesus doing? What is He saying? What would your reaction be if you were actually there? As you "enter into" the story, what feelings do you experience?
Rather than simply reading the story from the point of view of a 21st century person, this process allows us to engage the story and imagine what it would have been like to actually be there and experience it first hand. It brings the story alive and helps us to understand it better.
Choose one of these portions of Scripture and try this method for yourself.
- John 2:1–12
- Matthew 8:23–27
- Mark 10:46–52
- Matthew 14:13–21
- Matthew 17:1–9
Jesus Calms the Storm
Blind Bartimaeus
Feeding of the 5,000
The Transfiguration of Jesus
Journal your thoughts and spend some time reflecting on your experience. What have you
learned about Jesus and about yourself? What is God saying to you through His Word as you read it using this method?
"Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two–edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" Hebrews 4:12 (NRSV).
by Major Young Sung Kim
Territorial Ambassador for Holiness


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At Terex Utilities we listen to you and strive to provide you strong, dependable equipment to aid you in getting your job done efficiently.
Watch The Terex Utilities Way and see how we work for you!
Watch Video
The Terex Utilities Hands On Training event provides essential training on the operation and examples of application of Terex digger derricks, Hi-Ranger aerial devices and auger drills.
Terex Utilities has expanded its TL Series of aerial devices with three new telescopic and material handling models designed for transmission work.
Check out the hydraulic articulation of the Cobra-style jib. It allows one to articulate and extend to necessary work positions efficiently. The new end mount and top mount jib of choice for the TL and LTM Series aerial devices.
The Terex Hi-Ranger LTM40 Bucket Truck is a great Terex Utilities aerial device which incorporates the articulating, telescopic boom design built for "trouble-truck" applications for investor-owned utilities, rural electric cooperatives/power districts and municipalities. And, this one is a material handler!
Terex Utilities announces a new auger tool for digger derricks - the Terex? Stand Alone Core Barrel. It fits directly on a standard Kelly bar and can be stowed like a standard auger on the boom.
Check out the latest innovation for the General 80 Digger Derricks! See how the optional fiberglass 4th section will allow you to work efficiently and with ease.
Check our latest tree trimming aerial device, the XT PRO Series!
The Terex? Hi-Ranger? TM Series is the perfect solution for crews performing maintenance work on overhead electrical utility lines– both energized and non-energized.
The Terex? Tru-Level? Pedestal System allows for operation on uneven terrain without having to either dig out or build for set-up. Check it out!
Check out how X-Boost? allows the user to maintain the digging performance Terex is known for plus provide greater lifting capacity at higher boom angles.
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Bring On the Night was written in 1979 by Sting, for the second of the Police records: Reggatta de Blanc.
Bring On the Night uses lyrics from an earlier song, as well as words from a poem by Ted Hughes titled King of Carrion. Andy Summers used a Fender Telecaster with a Maple neck, and a Gibson bridge humbucker in his neck position at the time of this recording. His amp of choice was a Marshall JMP 1959 Super Lead.
Continue reading "Bring On The Night by the Police — How to Play"


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Offered for $599,500
Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225
- Acreage: 0.94
- Subdivision: Prospect at Mt. CB
- Taxes: $5,432
PRICE REDUCED! One of the best lots in all of Prospect. Large building site with incredible space and views. .94 acres located near the top of Prospect Subdivision is covered in evergreens trees. Views toward the Elk mountain range with the reddish tone that contrast the snowed capped peaks in the winter, all the shades of green in the summer and the beautiful bright colors of fall. The lot is fully developed and ready to build on with all utilities to the lot line. Prospect is accessible year-round and this lot is accessible to skiing in and skiing out right from the building site. Check this lot out, it is one of the best lots in all of Prospect and Mt. CB.
Offered for $599,500
Mt. Crested Butte, CO 81225
The data relating to real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) program of Colorado Real Estate Network, Inc. (CREN), © Copyright 2020. All rights reserved. All data deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be independently verified. This database record is provided subject to "limited license" rights. Duplication or reproduction is prohibited.
FULL CREN Disclaimer
Real Estate listings held by companies other than CREN contain that company's name.
Fair Housing Disclaimer
This data was last updated: 2020-09-22 2:00am


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Hotels Resorts in Lonavala Resort Hotel in Khandala
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The Lagoona Resort in Lonavala offers an array of 120 well appointed guest rooms
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Resorts in Lonavla near Kandala between Pune and Mumbai Express Highway close to Mumbai and Pune.
This 70 cover delightfully decorated dining space also offers a very reasonably priced buffet spread on weekends and festive days.
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Orchard Resort at Lonavala
Less than 2 hours from Mumbai and 1 hour from Pune, Orchard Resorts in Lonavala is a contemporary business hotels with state-of-the-art conference and training facilities.
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Perfect for parties and evening entertainment during week-long conferences.
Business centre is fully equipped with computers with internet connection, printer, copier, and scanner.
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Fariyas Resort in Lonavala
Fariyas Resort is 2.5 km from Lonavala Railway Station and Bus Station. It is within 7 km from Bhushi Dam, Wax Museum and Pawna Lake. Mumbai International Airport is 100 km away.
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Overlooking the beautiful Frichley Hills, Fariyas
Resort Hotel in Lonavala
presents an outdoor water theme park, a year-round indoor pool and a video games arcade. Guests can also enjoy pampering spa treatments.
The well-decorated rooms all enjoy wonderful views of the mountain from a private balcony.
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The Machan resort in Lonavala
The Machan resort is 30 minutes' drive from Lonavala Train Station. It is 105 km from Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport Mumbai
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This Eco-friendly property features a 24/7 front desk and free on-site parking. An array of activities can be enjoyed on site or in the surroundings, including cycling and hiking.
Offering unique tree houses and ground based cabins and an on-site Indian buffet restaurant.
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Narendra Modi's popularity since he became the Prime Minister has grown manifold but did you know that he is not just the most searched leader across India but statewise too. On analysing the results in Kerala, Google trends data reveals that searches for him are much higher than Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan or even Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor, who has a vast social media presence.
The google trends data, from the time period between 1 January 2017 to 29 June 2017, states that the Prime Minister has generated an interest with an average of 28 in Kerala while the CM has had just averaged 7 on the searches in his own state. Shashi Tharoor though has given the CM a tough fight in terms of searches with the MP having had an average of 5 in his name.
The data also gives us an idea about what type of searches have been done around these leaders. For the Prime Minister, the most searched keywords have been – 'Modi', 'Narendra Modi', 'Modi news'. Along with these, the Prime Minister's recent visit to the United States seems to have generated some interest too with 'PM Modi US visit' being the fourth most searched keyword under his name.
Also, what is interesting to see is that the elections in Uttar Pradesh also seem to have been a talking point in the state with 'Yogi Adityanath and Narendra Modi' being the fifth most searched keyword. While analysing the data on images, it has been found that wallpapers for Narendra Modi have been one of the key searches with the search keyword being 'Narendra Modi wallpaper'.
The searches on the Chief Minister have mostly been centered around his name with 'Pinnarayi' and 'Pinnarayi Vijayan' being the most searched keywords. When it comes to image searches for the CM, one of the keywords turned out to be a search for his house, with 'Pinarayi Vijayan house' being the third most searched term.
All searches around Shashi Tharoor have been with his name 'Shashi Tharoor', reveals the Google trends data. Though he scored the least when compared with the other two leaders, Tharoor holds a considerable presence on social media. As far as individual searches on him are concerned, 'Shashi Tharoor books' and 'Shashi Tharoor farrago' are the 2 most searched keywords followed by 'Shashi Tharoor twitter'.
On YouTube
Narendra Modi takes the lead in terms of searches on YouTube as well with an average of 10 as against Shashi Tharoor on 4 and Pinarayi Vijayan on 1. 'Modi', 'Narendra Modi', 'Modi speech' are the top 3 keywords. Modi's speeches for the day are also widely searched with 'Modi speech today' being a key search word.
For Shashi Tharoor, there is no doubt that he is one of the best and most seasoned orators in the country currently. His speeches on varied topics are well perceived by people in not just India but abroad too. This is hence no surprise that his speeches are the most searched on Google with 'Shashi Tharoor speech' and 'Shashi Tharoor best speech'.
What's your preferred choice for a search on Google? Narendra Modi's wallpaper, Pinarayi Vijayan's house or Shashi Tharoor's best speech? Tell us in the comments section below.
For interesting news videos from InUth, follow us on Youtube.com/InUthdotcom


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To us, baking is an art form: we do not regret time dedicated to quality and taste.
Our bakery is headed by baker and confectioner László Csák, who studied the art of baking in France, Germany and Austria. All breads, pastries and treats are prepared with traditional methods. We are proud that our products are made only from natural ingredients, without any use of artificial preservatives, colouring or flavourings, and by trained professionals working with patience and care.
1. No use of artificial ingredients, chemicals and preservatives.
All products are made exclusively from yeast, flour, salt and water.
2. We do not use baking powders.
All products are prepared by nature, our doughs are proofed for 18 or 20 hours to allow natural flavours to evolve in their own rhythm.
3. We refuse to use automation.
Our breads are made by hand and baked in traditional ovens.
4. All the ingredients we use are fresh and nutritious.
We only use fresh butter, dairy products, fruits and cane sugar.


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Purchase this article with an account.
R N Kleinstein, M Kwan, I Fatt, B A Weissman; In vivo aqueous humor oxygen tension--as estimated from measurements on bare stroma.. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 1981;21(3):415-421.
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Aqueous humor oxygen tension of the in vivo rabbit eye was estimated by a relatively atraumatic procedure. The anterior corneal surface of the eye was first scraped free of its epithelial layer. A polarographic oxygen electrode was then used to measure the oxygen tension at the bare stromal surface. Aqueous humor oxygen tension can be estimated from this measured steady-state stromal surface oxygen tension by correcting the measured oxygen tension for the tension drop across the stroma and endothelium. When animals breathed room air (155 mm Hg oxygen tension), the oxygen tension of the aqueous humor was 13 mm Hg; this rose to 150 mm Hg when the inspired oxygen tension was 713 mm Hg.
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text: BBC Studios has recently released Dynasties (DVD: 2 discs, $29.98; Blu-ray: 4 discs, $49.99), which takes viewers deep into the lives of five of the world's most celebrated and endangered animals: chimpanzee, Emperor penguin, lion, painted wolf, and tiger. BBC Studios' Natural History Unit took a new approach on Dynasties by focusing on one specific family of each endangered species, and the team behind Planet Earth II and Blue Planet II spent over four years capturing authentic moments that even experts have not witnessed. With Sir David Attenborough's powerful storytelling, viewers will witness how human civilization affects the very animals with whom they empathize. Bonus features include a "making-of" documentary, featuring interviews with the production crew and a behind-the-scenes look into each episode.


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Franklin Synergy Bank has launched a health care banking group after luring a key team from fellow local lender CapStar Bank.
Leading Franklin Synergy's health care charge is Tim Fouts, a former senior vice president at CapStar who is now an executive VP of corporate and health care banking at Franklin Synergy. Also making the move are Senior VP Lisa Fletcher, Assistant VP Tate Myers and Administrative Assistant Jamie Byrn.
The team — which helped CapStar build a health care portfolio of more than $200 million in a little more than two years — is based at Franklin Synergy's Cool Springs office on Aspen Grove Drive in Franklin, TN, but will eventually move to Nashville, TN. When they do, they will mark the bank's first formal foray into Davidson County.
"We are pleased to launch our Healthcare Banking group at Franklin Synergy with this new team that brings experience and growth potential for our bank," said Richard Herrington, chairman and CEO of Franklin Synergy. "Health care is a primary driver of the economy in Middle Tennessee and a natural expansion of our scope of business lending activities."
Fouts had been at CapStar since before it opened its doors in the summer of 2008. Before that, he had worked at JPMorgan Chase as a senior VP and as a financial consultant at Merrill Lynch. Fletcher helped launch CapStar seven and a half years ago and before that worked at at FirstBank in Nashville, TN and Adirondack Bank in Utica, New York. At CapStar, the duo and its team focused on teaming with private-equity firms that work with health care companies that have revenues of at least $25 million.
At CapStar, Chief Credit Officer Mark Mattson (pictured at right) is taking over as leader of its health care banking group. Mattson joined the bank in August 2007 after spending more than a decade as a managing director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey.
"Much of Mark's career has been focused on health care lending," said CapStar COO Dan Hogan. "His familiarity with building client relationships and his personal integrity are just two factors that contribute to the respect he enjoys at CapStar and in the health care community."
Shares of Franklin Financial (Ticker: FSB) were up slightly to $20.93 in Monday afternoon trading. They went public at $21 in late March and have traded at or just below that level since.
You can view the original article here


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5 tips
Austin TX
McKinney State Park
Prep the Groom
The Details
Tidy Up
jackson and sarah
perfect wedding photography
sarah and jackson
state park
wedding photography
February 27, 2017
Sami Jo
I was honored to be invited to document the round table discussion and general meeting of Senator John Cornyn and leaders of domestic violence last week.
February 6, 2017
When I feel myself getting weighted down, I often just need to put a plan in place and refocus.
January 24, 2017
History has proven time and time again that if you stand against civil rights, then you stand on the wrong side of history
January 23, 2017
The initial experience was nearly psychedelic. My body became weightless, my hair spread in every direction and I played with the buoyant relationship between the liquid and my limbs.
January 8, 2017
Have you met Adriana? I'd be surprised if you haven't. She laughs with her whole heart, makes friends while standing in line and never goes ANYWHERE without knowing at least three people! Adriana has been an excellent presence in my life for as long as I can remember....
December 22, 2016
Your Big Day is fast approaching and I know you want to be as prepared as possible. To help, I have put together 6 tips for amazing pictures on your Big Day!
December 15, 2016
There are a few simple things you can do to ensure you have beautiful, magazine worthy photos during the getting ready phase of your big day.
October 10, 2016
This venue is a lovely option for a couple looking for a reasonable price tag and beautiful photographic opportunities.
October 3, 2016
Think of your go-to restaurant. The one you try not to visit all of the time but end up visiting once a week. The staff might know your name or have your "usual" order on file. That restaurant for my family is Eggroll Express - 6301 W Parmer Ln #202, Austin, TX 78729....
August 15, 2016
Thomas and Dorothy have loved each other for many years and on August 6th they were officially married at The Lonesome Dove venue in Cleveland, TX. This beautifully rustic wedding was full of memorable details. It was important to Dorothy that each guest understood how...
Senator Cornyn unveils bill to protect domestic violence housing at SAFE
2017 Goals and Plans
About the Women's March 2017
LIQUID Float Spa Review
Meet Adriana
6 Tips for amazing pics on your Big Day!
Five Tips for Perfect Wedding Photography : The Details
Venue Review : McKinney Roughs Nature Park - Austin, TX
Eggroll Express
Love is Timeless
February 2017 (2)
January 2017 (3)
December 2016 (2)
October 2016 (2)
August 2016 (1)
July 2016 (1)
December 2015 (1)
Take A Look
Meet Sami Jo


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Call Today to Schedule your
Custom Shade Appointment
For your convenience we offer morning and afternoon
appointments Monday through Thursday.
appointments Monday through Thursday.
Preparing for your Appointment
- If you are currently bleaching please schedule your appointment at least 7 days from your last treatment.
- For the best results we recommend wearing neutral colors and removing lipstick before appointment.
- Appointments usually take 15-20 minutes.
- Please give 24 hours notice if you are unable to make your appointment.


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News Releases
These are news releases that are related to our Investor efforts. Releases are listed in chronological order and are archived by year. Sign-up to receive news as it is released using the email and RSS tools below.
Oct 4, 2018Sierra Oncology to Host KOL Call with Dr. Srdan Verstovsek Presenting "Unmet Medical Needs in Myelofibrosis"
Sierra Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRRA), a clinical stage drug development company focused on advancing targeted therapeutics for the treatment of patients with significant unmet needs in hematology...
Aug 22, 2018
- Up to $15 million available in three $5 million tranches; additional $25 million potentially available - VANCOUVER, Aug. 22, 2018 /CNW/ - Sierra Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRRA), a clinical stage...
Aug 22, 2018Sierra Oncology Acquires Momelotinib, an Investigational Janus Kinase (JAK) 1/2 and Activin Receptor Type 1 (ACVR1) Inhibitor for Myelofibrosis, from Gilead Sciences
- More than 1,200 patients treated to date with momelotinib, including in two Phase 3 trials; ongoing therapy for more than seven years in some patients - - Demonstrated meaningful anemia-related...
Aug 9, 2018
- SRA737 Monotherapy trial prioritized for ovarian cancer; targeting enrollment of 65 patients with preliminary data anticipated in H1 2019 - - SRA737 LDG Combination trial to be amended and...
Aug 7, 2018
Sierra Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: SRRA), a clinical stage drug development company focused on advancing next generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) therapeutics for the treatment of patients with...


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Click the button below to add the Canine Clan Scarf to your wish list.
Canine Clan 100% Silk Scarves are great gifts for any dog lover! Bright Colorful and decorated with fun tassels on each end.
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Mel Prest
Sky Black Ray
March 25 - May 2, 2009
Gregory Lind Gallery is pleased to present "Sky Black Ray," a collection of new works by San Francisco-based artist, Mel Prest. The exhibit reestablishes Prest's interest in the creation of structure-spaces, manufactured by the charting and projection of language, light, and sound.
"Sky Black Ray" refers to a series of concepts that Prest explores in her new body of work: a space of openness that is both empty and full (sky); the darkness and mystery that constitute the center or focal point of the work (black); and the fluctuating fields of lines beginning at one point but radiating out into infinity (ray). The colors themselves, as responses to the cadences and topographies of the sensory world, are experienced as deep, interior fields that undergo subtle changes as they are observed. Prest's works present perceptual puzzles that insist our eyes focus and refocus continuously. Her structures are understated and subtle, offering a range of possible shapes and unique interpretations.
Mel Prest received her MFA from Mills College, and her BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her recent exhibitions include; "The Space Between" at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, CA; "Touch" at Bus-Dori, Tokyo, Japan; and "TRANSformal" at Pharmaka, Los Angeles, CA. Her stop-motion animation, Immigrant Song, will travel with "Stop & Go," a curated show of artist-made stop-motion films, to San Francisco's Exploratorium and other venues. Prest has been featured in Artweek, Art Papers, San Francisco Chronicle, and New American Painting. This is her third solo exhibition with Gregory Lind Gallery. She lives and works in San Francisco.


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Ways to personalise your furniture and your home
Ways to personalise your furniture and your home
With the spring sunshine beginning to shine, and the gorgeous greenery painting a picture outside of your windows, it's the perfect time to add some spring updates to your home, and add that fresh, new, personal touch to your existing furniture.
At Heavenly Homes & Gardens, we like to bring our home into each season by carefully adapting the decor, and adding little touches to our furniture which make a big impact. If you're a regular on our website, you'll know how much we like to upcycle furniture, and will have seen some of the projects we've done for our customers so far. It's amazing how a lick of paint, an addition of a stencil, or some clever upholstering makes a big difference. In fact, in one of our recent posts, you'll have seen how upholstering in Cath Kidston fabrics can bring a lovely, bright spring touch to old, tired furniture.
If upcycling your own furniture feels like too much of a challenge then you can also browse our furniture range online and treat yourself to a one-of-a-kind springtime furniture piece.
Painting and reupholstering are just a few ways you can personalise your furniture. You can also add and replace certain elements for a completely different feel. For example, change old wooden or brass knobs on cabinets or dressing tables to luxurious, ceramic or glass knobs. You can find a selection of these in our shop – from the shabby chic Gisela Graham ceramic knobs, to our crackle glass knobs – perfect for that vintage feel. If you're feeling really creative, you can take the personalisation a bit further and change the legs on a simple sofa or side table to make it more retro.
Other ways to add a lovely personal touch to your home include:
Adding some fresh flowers, in springtime shades of yellow, pinks and lilacs. Fill up vintage cart with your favourite blooms or add a few vintage bottles filled with flower stems to your bookshelf.
Creating an inspiration board in your office. If there's one room we forget to add that special touch to, it's the office. Why not buy a large pin board – or make your own fabric pin board – and create a collage for each season. From patterned paper to fabric, and photos of the season to dried flowers.
Refresh your sheets, tablecloths, cushions and curtains – opting for crisp, bright white or pastel colours to brighten up your home.
We'd love to see your furniture and home makeovers this spring, so do share your photos with us, on our blog or via social media!


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With the recent concerns about COVID-19, the health and safety of our patients, staff and the sanitation of our shop is of the utmost importance. We have been closely monitoring the latest reports and updates from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the OC Health Department and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to ensure we are staying abreast of all recent developments.
Since we opened our doors, we have always placed sanitation and health at the top of our priority list. However, in light of recent developments, we have further increased the frequency of cleaning and disinfecting of all common areas, tables, repair tools, doorknobs, inventory and surfaces. We will also be increasing deep cleanings that will occur after hours.
We have made more services available to you as we fight through the pandemic:
933 S. Brookhurst Street, Anaheim, CA 92804
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: +1-714-836-7827
933 S. Brookhurst St. Anaheim, CA 92804
18 years or older.
Social Security # or ITIN.
Have Routing or Account Numbers for Checking Account.
Have a credit or debit card.
How Long does it take to get approved?
It will let you know instantly if you're approved or denied once you completed the application.
If Denied, Call 714-836-7827
Valid Government ID, (expired ID's, copies of ID's) will not be accepted at our store.
Bank Checking Account information. (Routing and Account number).
Social Security Number
Debit/Credit Card to put on file.(Must be in applicants name).
In Store
Our website under the Purchase Options tab
90-100 Day Payment Option(outside California), or 3 months in California
Payments are automatically taken from your bank account.
Some of our Purchasing Options Companies like have phone apps to help customers keep up with their payments on the go. All our Purchasing options companies have a customer portal on their website.
Sit Back, Relax, We will Call you to guide you. You can always browse our website's product to pick a machine, Or come into the store to pick up any merchandise. Just bring your ID you applied with and that's it. A second form of ID maybe required such as Car registration and/or debit card.
I was denied!
Please Call 714-836-7827
We have to process it for you and cannot be processed on our site. If you want to pick up in store, we will process it in store just bring a valid ID (Government issued). A second form of identification may be requested such as: car registration, billing statement, etc. (Note, This identification process is the policy of Mac Star Computers. Asking for additional information or documents to verify identity before we release merchandise is part of Mac Star Computers identification policy). Please review and ask about policy before signing in store agreements.
Want it shipped. Before we send contracts all customers who go through our No Credit Check purchasing options Must: A) Send a Picture of your ID, and a second photo of you holding your ID (Selfie) to firstname.lastname@example.com . A second form of identification such as (car registration, Credit card bill, utility bill, etc. may be asked by Mac Star Computers stated in Mac Star Computers Identity Policy)
Once you get approved by clicking on the link above, we will be giving you a call from a 714 or 657 area code number. To complete the order process you will not be able to process via online checkout.
You may wish to check out online without having to process orders by phone or in store. If so, Select the products you are interested and add them to your cart. Next, proceed to check out and fill out your shipping information. Finally, choose the acima credit option as a payment method and click on the check box stating you agree on our terms and conditions. To read the terms and conditions simply click on the link next to checkbox. A pop up will appear after submitting the checkout, to apply for Acima Credit E-commerce. Complete and if approved your order will be complete.
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Mac Star Computers
933 S Brookhurst St. Anaheim, CA 92804
Corner of Brookhurst St. and Ball RD
inside of Brookhurst Shopping Center
Between Phoenix Salon and Rite Aid facing brookhurst st and Bank of America
Monday-Saturday 10am-7pm
Sunday 11am-5PM
Rated #1 in computer repair since 2014
SSL Secured Payments and Payment Plan Applications
6 Months Limited Warranty on all pre-owned & Open-Box models
Fast Delivery
2018 13″ Macbook Pro Quadcore i5 2.3ghz,$1,499.99
2019 13" Macbook Pro Core i5 2.4GHz
2019 13″ MacBook Pro Core i7 1.7ghz
2019 Macbook Pro 13" Core i5 1.4Ghz
2020 13.3″ MacBook Pro with Retina Display 1.4ghz$1,249.99 – $1,529.99
2020 13″ MacBook Pro Core i5 2.0ghz$1,699.99 – $1,999.99
2016 15" MacBook Pro Core i7 2.7Ghz$1,799.99
2018 15" Macbook Pro ci7 32gb Ram
2018 15" Macbook Pro I9 2.9ghz/32gb ram/2tb SSD
Mid 2019 Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro Core i9 8-Core 2.3ghz$2,299.00 – $2,399.99
Mid-2015 15″ MacBook Pro Retina Display Core i7 2.5ghz.$1,299.99
Apple 16″ MacBook Pro (Late 2019, Space Gray)$2,299.99 – $2,799.99
2019 21.5" iMac Core i5 3.0Ghz
2019 27" 5K iMac Core i5 3.0 Ghz$1,649.99 – $2,799.99
2017 13″ Macbook Air Core i7, 2.2 ghz, 8gb Ram$949.99 – $999.99
2020 13" Macbook Air 1.1Ghz, 8GB Ram,$949.99 – $1,399.99
Sony a6400 4k mirrorless Camera$999.99 – $1,298.00
Sony Alpha a6100 Mirrorless Digital Camera$849.99 – $999.99
Sony Alpha a6600 Mirrorless Digital Camera$1,399.00 – $1,799.99
Sony Alpha a7 III Mirrorless Digital Camera$1,999.99
Sony Alpha a7R II Mirrorless Digital Camera Body
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR Camera
Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Digital Camera
Canon EOS RP Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only)$999.99 – $1,299.99
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark III Digital Camera (Black)$749.99
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Camera$1,295.00
Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (Canon EF)
Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 Mirrorless Micro Four Thirds Digital Camera
FUJIFILM X-T4 Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only, Black)$1,699.99
Olympus OM-D E-M1 MARK2 Brand New (Body Only)
Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Sony E$449.00
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Sony E
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Sony A
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Sony E$949.99
Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master OSS Lens$2,599.00
Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens for Sony E$899.00
Tamron 20mm f/2.8 Di III OSD M 1:2 Lens for Sony E$349.99
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens for Sony E Mount$879.00
Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VXD Lens for Sony E$1,199.00
Canon 50mm f/1.8 , f/1.4 , f/1.2L lens$125.00 – $399.00
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM Lens$899.99
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM Lens
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens
Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM Lens
Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Lens
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens$199.99
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens
Metabones Canon EF Lens to Micro Four Thirds Camera T CINE Speed Booster ULTRA 0.71x (Fifth Generation)$649.99
Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine DS Lens for Canon EF Mount$599.00
Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon EF$699.99
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Art Lens for Canon EF
Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon EF$849.99
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon EF
Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon EF$949.99
Nikon AF-P DX NIKKOR 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR Lens
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3G ED VR Lens$695.00
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Acer 14″ TravelMate X5 Multi-Touch Laptop
Mac Star Computers
933 S Brookhurst St. Anaheim, CA 92804
Corner of Brookhurst St. and Ball RD
inside of Brookhurst Shopping Center
Between Phoenix Salon and Rite Aid facing brookhurst st and Bank of America
After going to numerous places this was the best place with the best prices! We brought it here to fix my boyfriend MacBook. They took time to repair and bring his mac back to life. Everyone at the shop was very nice and answered all our questions. Happy with our experiences and will come back with any other needs 🙂
t was my second time today at Mac Star Computers and like the first time they did not disappoint. Their stuff is very professional and knowledgeable makes buying from them a fast and smooth process. Needless to say that their financing options are some of the best you can find. I'd like to thank them for treating me as a return customer. They went above and beyond to make my shopping experience with them outstanding. I'd like to recommend Mac Star computers to any, who is in the market for a new computer or photo/video equipment.
Drove all the way down from DTLA, was helped by Daniel.I copped a Sony A7III, 35mm, and a Cage. The entire process was seamless and simple. Daniel was very informative and polite, he knows what he's talking about wasn't just trying to make a sell.He worked within my budget and got me out the door with everything I needed.HIGHLY RECOMMEND!
Rami was amazing at helping me get my new camera. Everyone is super nice, professional, and assisted me quickly with getting my Sony A6300 and a new lens. The financing process is so easy and they make it great by checking different lenders no matter your credit. I highly recommend Mac Star! The best... and I drove all the way to Anaheim from Los Angeles. They made it worth it.
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The Staff-Student committees provide a communication link between students and staff. Students are encouraged to send their comments to the student representatives and these are then discussed at the meetings. The committees meet on a termly basis and all International History students are welcome to attend.
The following staff-student liaison committee minutes are now available.
Download the UG report (March 2017) [PDF] and the Masters report (October 2017) [PDF]
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My day was just made as I received an E-mail from Yvonne ("Batgirl") Craig today.There isnt a man alive that didn't watch "Batman" on tv, or see the cute little green girl that helped Lord Garth take over the Enterprise in "Star Trek" and not fall in love with her instantly!
She has a great website www.yvonnecraig.com, featuring RealAudio, tv & personal appearances, and tons of pics (A site definitely worth visiting!). I dropped her a line, to tell her I loved her site, and she wrote me back thanking me for visiting. No auto-responders, no agents or reps, Yvonne Craig herself! A first-class lady and actress who's down-to-earth and never forgot her fans (See if Alicia Silverstone will ever be bother to write to any of you!). Who knows, maybe she'll even sign my Guestbook, like the President did. [HINT! HINT!]


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Please Adopt Me
- All KAPS dogs are fostered in family households. They are socialised, house-trained, sterilised, dewormed, vaccinated and microchipped.
- Their temperaments are carefully assessed and matched to potential adopters and a home-check is carried out.
- We bring our pets to you so they can be introduced to you in your own home.
- If adoptions are unsuccessful, we fetch them back unquestioningly.
- For more details of all our dogs, please call Colette on 072 277 1056
Sophie – 10 months old
Sophie is a small breed dog, well socialised with a sweet temperament.
Sadie – 5 months old
This is Sadie, a female cross breed with a little bit of Jack Russell in her!
Pippa – a mini Doberman
She is a 9-12 months old female with a sweet nature, gets on with other dogs and needs a truly loving home. Please contact Colette (details on our contact page) if you can give her a loving home.
Sylvia is a Labrador cross who is one year old with a gentle nature. She is well socialized with other dogs and cats.
Ava is a year old, sweet natured, loving and gets on with other dogs! She is looking for a "forever" home so if you can offer this, please get in touch through our contact page.
Skyla has lots of energy, is 11 months old, a mixed breed, playful, gentle and socialised with other dogs.
Rocky – 1 year old Boerbul
Rocky is a soft natured, really goofy, Boerbul desperately looking for a new home.
Kody, 12 month old male Hound x
Sweet nature, very playful and gentle but does not get along with cats.
Harry – adopted
Harry is a white wire-haired terrier cross; a male of 6 months old who is well socialized with other dogs and cats.
Pumpkin – Adopted
Pumpkin is 11 months old, a Terrier x, female with an ever so sweet and gentle nature, and she gets on well with the other dogs!
Bubble and Squeak – adopted
We have 2 "brothers" looking for a forever home with a kind, loving family. Bubble and Squeak are approx. 4 months old both with lovely natures, well socialised and of mixed breed. As they are so attached to each other, they need to stay together.
Gracie – adopted
Gracie is 10 months old, well socialised, gets on with other dogs, is playful and very sweet. She is desperately looking for a loving home.
Noodle – adopted
He is a 2 year old Maltese, ever so sweet and gentle, playful and socialised with other dogs.
Maddie – adopted
Maddie is a very sweet natured little Border Collie, looking for a home. She is around 10 months old.
Adopted! Flicka – a Jack Russel, 3 years old
This little Jack Russel is looking for a loving home; he has a wonderful nature and will be a loyal friend.
Adopted! – Amy – 6 months old border collie
Amy has a playful nature and is looking for a family to share love, fun and a home with. Please contact us in you can adopt her.
Toby – adopted
Toby is a gentle-natured dog who was rescued on the main road between Riversdale and Ladismith. He is available for adoption, looking for a caring home.
Mini- a miniature Daschund – adopted
Mini is a miniature, mottled, female Daschund, about 3 years old with a lovely sweet nature, looking for her "forever home".
Adopted! Jenny (Rottweiler)
Jenny is a Rotti cross, +-3 year old female with a very gentle nature
Bonnie – adopted
Bonnie is a female dog, 3 years old - small, affectionate and well socialised
Shelley- Adopted
A Border Collie pup of 8 months old; female with a lovely nature.
Lara – Adopted!
Lara is a playful, affectionate Labrador of approx. 8 months old, needing company and possibly a little training
Adopted! – Scampi
Male, 3-4 years and is very playful, sweet tempered and gentle.
Muffin – Adopted
Female, aged 3-4yrs, Muffin is has a sweet nature and is a gentle soul
Sparky – Adopted!
Sparky is a very cute little guy - he's affectionate, has a really sweet nature and we'd love to find him his perfect forever home...
Sandy – Adopted!
Sandy is four years old and looking for a new home after her owner passed away.
Sally – 7 yrs female
Sally is a delightful africanus type breed. She is of medium size. Her gently character is just irresistible ... She is well behaved and would make the perfect companion.
Bandit – Adopted!
Bandit is a young male dog, very well-behaved. He is a small breed dog, approx. 8-9 weeks f age.
TRACEY – 1 yr female
Tracey is a one year old female, small breed. She is very affectionate and socialised and would fit in easily. She needs a new home urgently!!
Adopted! Betty – female 2 yrs
Betty is a medium sized mixed breed. She is a very sweet dog with loving personality and deserves to find a caring new family . Help us adopt her!
Adopted – TRIXIE
Trixie is a very sweet, timid, and well behaved little girl. She is a small dog. We need to find her a loving new forever home as soon as possible. Please help us and adopt her!
FUDGE – adopted!
Fudge is an adorable Jack Russell boy of 3 years. He has a loving nature and is obedient and socialised. Owner is relocating - Help us find him a wonderful new home!
Charlie – adopted
Male, +/- 5 months (Daschund x), well balanced and sweet temperament.
LEMON – adopted!
Lemon is a beautiful pointer X Great Dane female. She is 4 years old and has a delightful, loving personality. She needs space to run and have fun! Please help us find her the perfect home...
Coco – adopted!
Coco is the most adorable 3 months old sausage dog. He has a lovely temperament and is happy around cats!
Peanut – adopted
Peanut is a small-breed, well-behaved dog with a loving, sweet nature. She is approx. 18 mths of age.
KELLY – adopted!
Kelly is a beautiful girl of the Africanis breed. She is young and playful but happy around all other pets. She is looking for a fun loving new family to adopt her.
Shandy – adopted!
Shandy is a delightful little Border Collie X female. She has an adoring personality and is calm and gentle. She is happy around other pets and is well adjusted. Please help us find her an urgent new home!!!!!
Teddy – adopted!
Teddy is a gorgeous little guy! He is sociable and well behaved and really sweet! He's a border collie X, medium sized breed. Please help us find him a new family!
TOSCA – adopted!
**ADOPTED!!** Tosca is the cutest, most adorable little puppy you have ever seen! She is a Border Collie Cross. At only 4 months old, she is playful and loving but also well behaved and gentle. She needs a loving new family quite urgently.
Riley – adopted
Riley is an 18 month old Husky dog who has been neutered. Unfortunately his previous owner can't accommodate him anymore in the flat.
Sheena – adopted
Sheena is a lovely natured young dog. She is of small / medium breed and is happy around other animals. She is very gentle and calm too!
Minnie – adopted!
8 months miniature Doberman Female This little girl will just melt your heart! She is so affectionate and loving, yet playful and well adjusted. She needs a caring new family to love her forever ...


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Parissa Henney
She has advocacy experience in the Criminal and Family Courts which enables her to deal with a variety of cases when allegations have been made that concern both areas of law.
Parissa advises on all areas of family disputes and breakdown including;
- Divorce and Finances
- Separation – Disputes & Agreements
- Cohabitation – Disputes & Agreements
- Children – Issues concerning contact, residence, specific issues such as schooling arrangements or relocation disputes
Parissa is Chair of West Sussex YRes and is heavily involved with Resolution, an organisation that promotes finding a non-confrontational approach to family problems. Further information can be found at http://www.resolution.org.uk/
- S v S – Her client was the Respondent Husband to a Financial Order Application within Divorce Proceedings. A third parties beneficial interest in the Former Matrimonial Home (FMH) was secured in the case, as well as ensuring that the Respondent had a fair and reasonable cut of the FMH upon sale. She also dealt with a Children Act Application which involved false allegations against the Respondent which went through the criminal court (of which she also had conduct of) and the family court. She is able to deal with complex issues promptly and effectively to get her client a positive outcome.
- R v W – Her client was the Applicant Father to a Child Arrangements and Specific Issue Order. He sought to maintain residency of his son when he came of school age and to attend a local school having had him during the week whilst he was at nursery. The Respondent Mother who lived some 40 miles away unsuccessfully contested the application stating that their son should now live with her and attend a school local to her out of the Fathers area. It was ordered the Applicant Father would have residency of his son in the week and that he would attend his local school.
- H v H – Her client was the Applicant Wife to a variety of applications including a Non-Molestation Order/Occupation Order and a Financial Order Application. The Respondent Husband was obstructive in his financial disclosure and in his behaviour at Court which resulted successful cost orders for the Applicant Wife. A financial order was agreed prior to a Final Hearing.
- R v M - Her client was the Respondent Mother to proceedings of a Child Arrangements Order for contact and residence. The Applicant sought to prevent the Respondent from having residence and wanted her to have supervised contact with the children due to alcoholism. Experts were instructed to prove sobriety and to produce a detailed report. A shared care arrangement including overnight contact with the children (all unsupervised) was achieved for the Respondent.
What her clients say about her:
"Firstly, I would like to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your help and support. We are struggling and feel desperate, if it wasn't for you we couldn't cope. You are our guardian angel and we truly appreciate having you fighting our corner."


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(ARTICLE 2 in the Series)
Automation in Pet Insurance
If you think about it, Pet Insurance should not be different from human medical insurance. Pets need vaccinations, wellness checks and can get sick or hurt just as humans do. They can also suffer from serious illnesses like cancer, diabetes, etc. whose treatments start to get expensive. Yet, the market is still small as most people just pay out of pocket. Consequently, standardization and automation of processes have not yet fully taken place.
Sometimes, being behind in the technology curve can be a good thing. One can skip a cycle and leapfrog into the latest wave (as happened with cellular phones in Africa). Larger companies with some level of legacy automation will take longer to adopt the latest technologies. The pet insurance business can leapfrog this cycle instead of playing catch up with the adoption of Machine Learning and AI.
Claims Processing
In the world of pets and vets, a pet owner directly submits a claim against incurred medical expenses. The claims may be submitted via mobile apps, web apps, email, fax, etc. Most insurance companies are trying to encourage digital submissions using their online tools so as to avoid paper handling. The claim will include a standard insurance claim form and various receipts and medical reports sent by the doctor and hospital.
The claim is then processed by a claims adjuster who often has to manually re-enter information from the various documents received into the claims application. The adjuster then translates the line items to a category, sub-category codes and validates against the customer's policy to determine what is covered, amount of co-pays, etc. Larger companies may split the task by using lower-paid contractors for data entry while using the adjuster's knowledge and experience to focus on the categorization and validation of the claim. Different mechanisms may be used for fraud detection (is only one dog insured while multiple are claimed?).
Businesses also need access to analytics – these are typically derived from the claims database in terms of count of claims processed, amounts claimed vs paid, etc.
How can AI Help?
Artificial Intelligence is the ability of a system to learn and automatically improve itself over time. This goes beyond building Machine Learning models periodically to automate the entire process of learning and tuning the algorithms.
With the use of Machine Learning and Deep Learning technologies (and AI), a significant portion of the claims process can be automated while providing additional new insights. Let's look at some of them.
1. Invoices Automation
One complexity in automation of the documents ingestion is that the invoices and medical records can vary widely between doctors and various service providers. Handwritten comments and diagnosis complicate the situation. Pure OCR alone is insufficient to extract the necessary information from these documents. Using Machine Learning can help improve the extraction process and recognize the various fields in claim and invoice forms. For example, extracting Provider name and address.
For embedded handwritten text, images, etc. deep learning techniques using neural networks are required. With the use of AI, the system can improve itself over time requiring less manual validation.
2. Medical Records Analysis
It is a well-known fact that not only is a doctor's handwriting illegible but that no two doctors will describe an ailment in the same way!
With a lack of standardization, it is left to humans to translate the description of the services performed into codes that the claims application and database can understand and process.
This task can be handled by Machine Learning as well. Learning from existing medical records, it can predict and categorize new medical records correctly – and do so, better than a human in many cases! This is especially useful when dealing with complex, rare diagnosis or medicines.
Think about it this way – you buy an exotic vegetable (say Chayote Squash) at a grocery store and bring it to the checkout counter. The clerk doesn't know what it is or even if he does, has to manually look up the code in the book since it's not an often-purchased item and so is not retained in memory. However, an image recognition application would instantly recognize it and pull up the relevant code.
3. Claims Analytics
When all the data flows through an AI application, it can provide advanced analytics resulting in new insights.
4. Fraud Detection
Fraud is a huge issue in many forms of insurance and can significantly reduce profits. Today, financial companies have built sophisticated fraud detection algorithms using big data and AI techniques. The insurance industry can do the same. As more claims get processed, big data and machine learning can help predict potential fraud.
5. Marketing Analytics
Individual customer, patient and provider behavior can be analyzed as well as an aggregated understanding of regions, states, demographics, etc. Enriching the data with external data sets can provide new insights for marketing and sales organizations. Targeted ad campaigns can reduce expenses while improving customer acquisition.
6. Customer Service
Improving customer service is a goal of every organization. The pet insurance companies are generally ahead of the game by providing easy to use web portals and mobile apps. Filing claims using mobile apps exclusively with minimal documentation enhances the customer experience.
With Big Data and AI, it is possible to automate the analysis of customer service calls and emails allowing customer service agents to proactively address complaints and issues.
(ARTICLE 1 in the Series)
The Rise of Big Data
Big Data technologies made it possible for enterprises to capture and integrate diverse sets of data. They were no longer constrained to the data warehouses for analytics and reporting. Big Data allowed the integration of third-party syndicated data sets and social media data such as tweets and blogs. In addition, it helped break down silos between the various divisions within the enterprise, democratizing data access and help gain new insights from data.
The enriched big data sets can be used not just to understand the past, but make predictions about the future – which customers are likely to churn, which customers/equipment are most likely to generate new claims, which products are the most likely to succeed, etc.
We are now in the next wave of deriving value from data using AI-powered applications. The big breakthrough for this wave is the ability to use AI-powered neural networks to solve a wide variety of problems including autonomous driving vehicles, natural language understanding, image recognition, etc. Translating these technological advancements to real business use cases will result in significant operational benefits – reducing cost, providing faster customer service while creating new business models and sources of revenue.
Let's look at some of the use cases for AI in insurance.
Underwriting or new application processing is the first pillar in any type of insurance – namely, processing applications for new insurance policies. The process can be complicated depending on the type, size, prior history and other components of the application to evaluate the risk and enroll the client. It involves communication among multiple parties – the client, agent, and underwriter. This is traditionally a manual process as it involves a review of many different types of documents from diverse carriers with no standardization that allows easy automation. Further, many carriers still receive paper documents that are faxed or scanned (or worse – sent via snail mail !)
AI-powered systems can help this step in multiple ways:
- Natural Language Processing (NLP) systems and chatbots and streamline communication between the parties
- AI-driven document extraction systems (Docu-AI) can automate the processing of the various documents using AI and Big Data
- Data from documents can then be analyzed by AI-powered analytics to help the underwriter assess risk
Claims Processing
Claims processing forms the core of the business for insurance carriers. When a claim is processed in a timely manner, it improves customer satisfaction and retention. Simultaneously, the processing has to minimize financial loss due to fraud or other factors to maximize profitability. Most companies have focused their energies on improving the claims process using technology.
Many software applications already automate workflows ensuring timely processing and smooth communication with all parties involved. Mobile apps allow users to easily submit claims along with documentation such as photos of the incident, claim form, invoices, etc.
Yet, main parts of the process are heavily manual. Claims adjusters have to frequently go out in the field to make assessments. Even in the case of smaller claims, the adjuster may manually review documents and photos.
How can AI-powered systems help claims processing?
- Image recognition algorithms can help identify and automatically categorize various pieces of information in claim evidence photos such as license plates of vehicles, insurance cards, various types of damages, etc.
- AI-driven document extraction systems (DocuAI) can automate analysis and categorization of line items in medical records, body shop estimates, contractor reports, etc. Using NLP and Deep learning techniques allows these systems to recognize a wide variety of content.
- Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can automate many parts of the processing workflow along with 1) and 2) above
Fraud Detection
Fraud detection is usually a part of claim processing to ensure that no opportunistic fraud has taken place. The biggest loss for insurance companies is due to fraud. Many larger carriers already use predictive analytics to help identify potential fraud in claims. These Machine Learning models use not just a carrier's own data but also shared databases across companies to flag potential fraud.
AI-powered systems can take this a step further. They can use the vast amounts of accumulated data and images to detect more subtle instances of fraud as well as previously intractable ones. With the cost of running these models dropping dramatically, even small claims can be analyzed to detect patterns.
Customer Service
Improving customer service is the goal of every organization. With Big Data and AI, it is possible to automate the analysis of customer service calls and emails allowing customer service agents to proactively address complaints and issues.
AI-driven chatbots are now pervasive on websites and web portals. They provide an easy way of answering customers' questions while reserving human interaction to handle more complex issues. Mobile apps with the ability to answer spoken natural language queries are now possible using technologies like Siri, Alexa and the same knowledge base used by chatbots and customer service agents.
New Business Models
With IoT enabling the gathering of fine-grained data (how many do I drive every day, what is the average trip, how many hours is the property unoccupied), insurance companies are seizing the opportunity to come up with new ways of underwriting policies. AI-powered systems can provide better risk analysis for determining premiums resulting in new personalized products. These new products can be provided at attractive premiums, driving new business.
I will be giving a talk titled "Anomaly Detection for Predictive Maintenance" at the Global Artificial Intelligence Conference in Seattle on April 27th 2018. If you are going to the conference, please do reach out.
Detecting anomalies in sensor events is a requirement for a wide variety of use cases in the industrial IoT. Examples include predicting failures of HVAC systems and elevators for property management to identifying potential signals of malfunction in aircraft engines to schedule preventive maintenance. When the number of sensors runs into the tens of thousands or more, as is common in large IoT installations, a scalable model for preventive maintenance is needed.
Unlike prediction models for customer churn, inventory forecasts, etc. that rely on multiple sources of data and a wide range of domain-specific parameters, it is possible to detect anomalies for many types of time-series data using statistical techniques alone.
In this session, we will discuss a step by step process for anomaly detection with examples that aid in quick insights for building models for preventive maintenance.
I will be giving a talk titled "Time-series analysis in minutes" at the Global Data Science Conference in Santa Clara on April 2nd at 3:30 PM.
The focus of the talk will be on understand why and how to analyze time-series data quickly and efficiently. You can read the full abstract here.
An interview given as part of this conference is also available at the conference website.
If you are going to the conference and would like to connect, I would be happy to meet with you.
There have been many articles written and talks given over the last several years on abandoning the Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) in favor of an Enterprise Data Lake with some passionately promoting the idea and others just as passionately denying that this is achievable. In this article, I would like to take a more pragmatic approach to the case and try and lay down a process that enterprises should consider for a data management architecture.
The focus is on data lakes for enterprises, referred to as Enterprise Data Lake to distinguish it from data lakes created by internet, ad-tech or other technology companies that have different types of data and access requirements.
The Enterprise Data Warehouse
The much reviled and beleaguered Data Warehouse has been the mainstay of enterprises for over 20 years supporting business reports, dashboards and allowing analysts to understand how the business is functioning. Data Warehouses when built right provide robust security, audit and governance which is critical – especially with the increasing cyber-hacks today.
Alas – many data warehouse projects are so complex, they are never finished! Further, the strict, hierarchical governance that many IT departments created around the warehouse caused lots of frustration as business analysts and researchers cannot explore the data freely.
The Hadoop Phenomenon
When Hadoop entered the mainstream, the big attraction for business analysts and data scientists was the ability to store and access data outside the restrictive bounds of IT! This raised the exciting possibility of finding new insights into business operations, optimizing spend and finding new revenue streams.
3 Requirements for the Enterprise Data Lake
James Dixon coined the term Data Lake in 2010 to mean data flowing from a single source with the data being stored in its natural state. We have come some ways from that definition and the most common definition of a Data Lake today is a data repository for many different types and sources of data, be they structured or unstructured, internal or external, to facilitate different ways of accessing and analyzing the data. The Data Lake is built on Hadoop with the data stored in HDFS across a cluster of systems.
The 3 requirements for the Enterprise Data Lake are:
- It must collect and store data from one or more sources in its original, raw form and optionally, its various processed forms.
- It must allow flexible access to the data from different applications; for example, structured access to tables and columns as well as unstructured access to files.
- Entity and transaction data must have strong governance defined to prevent the lake from becoming a swamp.
Enterprise Data Lake Architecture
The diagram below shows an Enterprise Data Lake that ingests data from many typical systems such as CRM, ERP and other transactional systems. In addition, it is fed unstructured data from web logs, social media, IoT devices, third-party sites (such as DMP, D&B) creating a data repository. This rich data eco-system can now support combining multiple sources of data for more accurate analytics and never-before possible insights into business operations.
With technologies such as BigForce SNAP, it is possible to run existing enterprise Business Intelligence (BI) tools as well as perform exploratory analysis with visualization tools such as Tableau.
Enterprise Data Lake Governance
More importantly, the Hadoop eco-system now supports data governance through technologies like Ranger, Knox and Sentry. In combination with Kerberos, and enterprise identity management systems such as Active Directory (AD) or other LDAP frameworks, it is possible to implement strong security and governance rules. See "Implementing Hadoop Security" for details.
The Modern Enterprise Data Architecture
But what if you already have an existing EDW with hundreds of applications, some of which use complex analytics functions? How best can you leverage the EDW while also moving to a modern data architecture that allows new data sources to be integrated and empower your data scientists to integrate, enrich and analyze lots of data without the restrictions of the EDW?
A happy compromise between the data lake and data warehouse does exist and data architects and businesses have realized that it IS possible to build on the strengths of each system.
In this architecture, the data lake serves as the repository for all raw data, ingested from all the relevant data sources of an organization. Optionally, the data lake can also store cleansed and integrated data which is then also fed into the data warehouse. This way, newer BI applications can be built directly on the enterprise data lake while existing applications can continue to run on the EDW.
Data Governance in the Enterprise Data Lake
Data Governance policies for enterprise data in the EDW should also apply to the same data within the Enterprise Data Lake in most cases. Otherwise, this may lead to security holes and data inconsistencies between the two systems. If careful consideration is not given to governance, the data lake will turn into a data swamp !
However, since the data lake consists of all the raw data from operational systems as well as new data sources, it is possible to now provide data scientists and other analysts access to these data sets for new exploratory analytics.
Architecting a modern data architecture requires a thorough understanding of the requirements, existing applications and future needs and goals of the enterprise. Especially important to consider are Master data and Metadata management, governance and security as well as the right technologies.
At Orzota, we have built data lakes for a variety of businesses and have a methodology in place to ensure success. Contact us for more information.
Move to the Cloud – Benefits Of Cloud Computing
NOTE: This is a guest post by Danish Wadhwa
Cloud Computing has changed the way we use software – whether for personal or business use. The process of downloading, installing, configuring and maintaining different types of software, is eliminated with a move to the Cloud, saving businesses time and resources. Cloud has brought us to an era of increased responsiveness and efficiency.
Over the past few years, Cloud Computing has taken over and has become an essential part of our everyday life. Whether it is for updating a status on Facebook or for checking account balances on a smartphone, we use the Cloud. The Cloud is best at handling various processes in an organization. With it, individuals and businesses can plan, strategize and organize tasks within minutes. The Cloud can also keep information safe, while providing access from anywhere at any time.
Here are some of the top reasons for businesses to move to the Cloud:
Cloud based services are the best for businesses with fluctuating demands. The Cloud's capacity can be increased or decreased according to specific requirements. Such flexibility gives businesses a real advantage over competitors. This operational ability of Cloud computing is one of the main reasons for moving to the Cloud .
Fast Data Recovery
Cloud keeps data protected, while offering data backup and recovery options in case of an emergency. A Cloud-based backup and recovery solution saves time and avoids large upfront investments as well. Further, by backing up to Cloud Servers in different geographical regions, a robust backup strategy can provide insurance against natural disasters, power outages, etc.
Automatic Software Updates
Cloud Computing servers are usually off-premises and suppliers of cloud computing make sure that all issues are resolved without impacting the end user, who can utilize the services of the Cloud without interruptions. Systems are maintained and kept up-to-date, with regular software updates that are done automatically. This leaves organizations to focus on matters more pertinent to their business, rather than their software and hardware infrastructure.
Increased Collaboration
Cloud Computing simplifies various everyday operations and makes work easier: it provides access to data and the option to edit and share documents with different team members anytime, anywhere. One example is Asana, it is a cloud version of a project management tool that helps assign tasks to different team members, edit lists and keep track of progress, thus improving collaboration and coordination.
Safety becomes an important issue when you decide to store your entire data on the Cloud and this is where Cloud Computing's high-end safety measures come into play. Although many enterprises pointed to security concerns as their number one reason for not moving to the cloud, that myth has been debunked. Today, the Cloud can be more secure than a private data center. Your data is encrypted to protect it for any kind of outage or disaster of any sort, from the process where your data is in transit to while it rests on the cloud servers. Just not that, customers can also choose to control their encryption keys if they wish to.
The "Pay as you Go" service allows you to pay according to your usage, thus helping small startups figure out what they need and expand as they grow. It also provides opportunities to various businesses to commence their ventures, regardless of available capital. Thus, the initial investment may be considerably low, allowing a company to gradually increase usage as it grows. The Cloud gives organizations access to enterprise-class technology, along with an opportunity to learn and understand the market and plan how to beat competition.
For mid-to-large enterprises, this one point can be a use time and money saver as on-premise infrastructure can take a lot of time to provision and needs to be planned for well in advance of the need for scale.
Apart from all the benefits we have discussed above, the Cloud is eco-friendly too. With the ability to change the server size according to usage, organizations only use the energy required at the moment, without leaving giant carbon footprints.
Why NOT move to the Cloud?
As technology leaders, we are challenged to make decisions that impact the organization's growth. Our primary goals are to deliver on time and resolve problems efficiently, while staying within budget. The Cloud makes it possible to achieve these goals, with a proper plan and process in place. Moving to the Cloud can be one of those changes that an organization can make. Get the Devops Certification to benchmark your skills in Cloud Computing and understand its benefits.
During the summer of 2016, we had a high school student intern with us. He knew some Java from the Computer Science AP course but was very interested in using machine learning to predict health outcomes. We were skeptical at first – the prospect of teaching a teenager (even a very smart one) the fundamentals of ML, along with a new programming language and then have him apply it to a real data set … and all in the span of a summer internship seemed like an Herculean task. But seeing how keen he was, we decided to take him on.
Sushant Thyagaraj (that was his name) proved us wrong! He learned R within the first week, following that quickly with various ML algorithms through tutorials and sample exercises. He researched various publicly available data sets that might be suitable for his work, went through several iterations with a couple of the data sets before finally settling on predicting survival for lung cancer patients after thoracic surgery.
He continued fine tuning his results and wrote a full paper detailing his work (I should add that this last was done after school began). We are pleased to present his paper: Using Machine Learning to Predict the Post-Operative Life Expectancy of Lung Cancer Patients
We are pleased to announce a free trial to the Orzota BigForce Social solution. This solution built on top of the Orzota BigForce platform provides the capability to analyze text streams from twitter, media sites, blog sites, etc. With search capability, the solution provides data scientists a means of exploring the social media data, with a focus on sentiment analysis. The sentiment analysis free trial will let you quickly determine whether such a solution can meet your needs.
Unlike many other sentiment analysis solutions, the Orzota BigForce Social solution can be customized to meet your needs. So sign up for the trial and reach out to us to understand how we can make this work for you!
We recently worked with a leading Hi-Tech manufacturing company to design and implement a brand new scalable and efficient workforce analytics solution targeted the mobile workforce.
The solution is designed to raise the workers' confidence bar, and to minimize the effort required to train the workers. The solution also improved the manpower utilization by optimizing inventory adjustments with higher accuracy while fulfilling orders. It also reduces the learning curve for workers resulting in substantial reduction in training hours.
Workforce Analytics Solution Overview
The Workforce Analytics solution was built on a Common Data Analytics Platform leveraging Hortonworks HDP 2.4 and used the following technologies: Kafka, Storm, HBase, HDFS, Hive, Knox, Ranger, Spark and Oozie.
The platform collects real time data from the application on mobile devices, stores it, and runs analytics with better performance and lower latency compared to their prior legacy system.
The HDP components at a glance:
Workforce Analytics Architecture
The operational real-time data is collected using Kafka and ingested into HDFS and HBase in parallel using Storm (see diagram below). HBase acts as the primary data store for the analytics application. The data in HDFS is encrypted and reserved for other applications. Based on the business logic, the data stored in HBase is processed using Spark on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis, and stored back into HBase as a feed for Spark Analytics (Spark SQL). Spark Analytics is used to run jobs to generate specific insights. The output from Spark Analytics in Hive as a temporary table. Hive Thrift Server is used to execute queries against Hive and retrieve the results for visualization and exploration using Tableau. Custom dashboards were also built for business users to help them track higher-level metrics.
To address security requirements, Apache Knox and Apache Ranger were used for perimeter security and access control, respectively. Both are included as a part of HDP 2.4 and are configured in the Access Node.
Workforce Analytics Physical Architecture
The figure below shows the physical layout of the services on the various servers used. The architecture comprises of Edge Nodes, Master Nodes and Slave Nodes. Each set of nodes run a variety of services.
Issues and Solutions
While implementing this solution, we ran into a variety of issues. We outline some of them here in the hope that it may help others who are designing similar architectures with the Apache Hadoop or Hortonworks HDP eco-system of components. Table creation, user permission and workflows were the common focus areas.
HBase Table Creation
We ran into permission issues with HBase table creation.
Solution: In Apache Ranger, update HBase policy by giving appropriate read, write and create permission for the defined user.
Connection to hive thrift server
Another issue we ran into involved connections to Hive Thrift Server for a particular user "ABC".
Solution: Ensure that the below properties are added to $HADOOP_CONF/core-site.xml
hadoop.proxyuser.ABC.groups=* hadoop.proxyuser.ABC.hosts=*
Oozie workflow jobs submission
Permission errors continued to plague the project while creating workflows in oozie.
Solution: The following needs to exist in the section of the corresponding job definition in workflow.xml:
<env-var> HADOOP_USER_NAME=ABC </env-var>
within the
<shell xmlns="uri:oozie:shell-action:0.2">
oozie workflow job stuck in prep state
When re-running an Oozie workflow job after a period of time, it went to PREP state and did not execute. While trying to kill the job via CLI, the Oozie log shows the job was successfully killed.
USER [test] GROUP[-] TOKEN[-] APP[-] JOB[ABCDEF] ACTION[] User test killed the WF job ABCEDEF-oozie-oozi-W
However, in the Oozie UI, the job is still shown to be in PREP state.
Solution: Further research showed that the Oozie database at the backend (Derby by default) was corrupted, and was not representing the correct state of the jobs.
We decided, for longer term stability, to migrate from Derby to MySQL as the backend database for Oozie. After this migration, we did not run into this issue again.
Big data projects can grow and evolve rapidly. It's important to realize that the solution chosen must offer the flexibility to scale up or down to meet business needs. Today, in addition to commercial platform distributions such as Hortonworks and Cloudera, higher level tools and applications simplify the process of developing big data applications. However, as seen by some of the issues we describe above, expertise in the underlying technologies is still crucial for timely completion of projects. Orzota can help. Please contact us.
Surveys, research and retailers' own measurements show that personalization works. According to Internet Retailer, 80% of consumers say they like it when brands' e-mails recommend products based on their previous purchases.
Personalization for Retail is Hard
The incessant media attention on the personalization and customer intelligence of companies such as Amazon and Google hides the fact that 80% of marketers fail at personalization. Knowing who each consumer is, what his or her likes and dislikes are is a major challenge. There are two major problems: data collection and data integration.
For retailers, the challenge is even more significant. It is not just about omnichannel integration across devices, but integrating online and retail store traffic and purchases as well. For instance, how can you know if a user's purchase in the store is the result of an email marketing campaign? How can you even tell if a user was driven by the campaign to the store if she does not make a purchase?
Additionally, understanding what metrics are important, how to define and measure them, let alone how to make them actionable are all difficult problems that many retailers grapple with. Traditional analytics fail to provide the necessary data, metrics and insights needed.
A Plethora of Solutions
There are dozens of tools and solutions that solve certain parts of the problem. Some are focused on conversion metrics, others at marketing campaigns, still others at building a 360-degree view of a customer (or so they claim). Some address e-commerce only, others tackle omnichannel traffic. Some target beacon solutions in retail stores, others claim to provide predictions on which users will buy and how much they will spend.
It is easy to get lost in the hype and marketing statements and lose track on what is the real problem to be solved. At Orzota, our focus is always the customer and their pain points. Our hybrid approach to customized solutions expertly managed aims to provide exactly what the customer wants – no more, no less.
Contact us for more information on our retail solutions.
Here is another article that gives some tips on improving the customer experience.


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Getting Down To Basics with Plumbing
Things to Look for When Looking for a Plumber.
If you are experiencing plumbing emergencies in your home or organization, the first person you should contact is a plumber so that the issue is taken care of immediately. There are several plumbers you will discover online. Therefore,, you should not pick the first one your eyes meet. You need to spare some time and do thorough research so that you only get to hire one that will best serve your needs. Below are some of the tips you need to consider when looking for the right plumber to take care of your plumbing needs.
The first thing you should check is whether the plumbing company you are about to choose has a license to be in service. Most states require a plumber to hold a license so as to have the authority to serve citizens. In the case whereby your condition doesn't need licensing, you need to check online whether there are some complains about the specific plumbing company through reviews. Reviews give you a clear picture of what to expect in case you hire a specific plumbing company to take care of your plumbing needs.
The other thing you should consider is insurance. You ought to rigorously check on the issue of insurance before you employ any plumber so as to be on the secure side. It's important to always take precaution so that both you and also the workers sent by the plumbing company to sort you out are secure in case an accident occurs when compensation are being sorted out. You don't need to end up spending more on medical bills or repairing damaged property due to ignorance. You should make sure that there is enough evidence that the company you are working with has insurance for their workers.
The Other vital element to be considered is the duration of time that the plumbing firm has been in service. During an interview with the plumbing company you intend to work with, you should inquire about their experience in the plumbing industry and if possible, they should have proof that they have been in business long enough to offer quality services and meet all your needs . If you want quality service, you should hire a plumbing company that has worked for several years because they will obviously have the right track record.
The other factor you ought t consider is pricing. A plumber must see the kind of Job you have for him before he or she charges you. Consequently will pay for the plumbing services according the amount of harm that has happened. You should ensure that you get the right estimate . It is important to go for plumbing firm that will not only meet your needs but also accommodate the amount of money you have to offer.
Learning The "Secrets" of Plumbers


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