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Full Length of Barbie in Rock 'N Royals in HD QualityNow you can enjoy Barbie in Rock 'N Royals in HD quality with duration 84 Min and has been aired on 2015-08-31 and MPAA rating is 11.
- Original Title : Barbie in Rock 'N Royals
- Movie title in your country : Barbie in Rock 'N Royals
- Year of movie : 2015
- Genres of movie : Animation, Family,
- Status of movie : Released
- Release date of movie : 2015-08-31
- Companies of movie : Mattel,
- Countries of movie :
- Language of movie : Český, Italiano, English,
- Durationof movie : 84 Min
- Average vote of movie : 6.8
- Youtube ID of movie :
- Translation of movie : EN,ES,PT,FR,DE,IT,CS,HU,DA,NL,
- Cast of movie :Kelly Sheridan (), Jordyn Kane (), Chiara Zanni (), Bethany Brown (), Michael Dobson (), Rachel Harrison (), Alessandro Juliani (), Peter Kelamis (), Nicole Oliver (), Kira Tozer ()
Movie synopsis of Barbie in Rock 'N Royals :
Full Barbie in Rock 'N Royals in HD Format with movie summary "In this upbeat musical, Barbie stars as Princess Courtney, a modern princess whose world is turned upside down when she switches places with Erika, a famous rockstar. Two very different worlds collide when a mix-up sends Princess Courtney to Camp Pop and Erika, to Camp Royalty. While the leaders of the rival camps try to correct the mix-up, both Courtney and Erika learn to adjust to the different worlds and have fun while making new, unexpected friends. When the girls learn both camps are at risk of shutting down, they must embrace their differences, find their true voices, and come together for an epic sing-off that shows anything is possible when you dare to dream big!" in HD video. Release Barbie in Rock 'N Royals in High Definition Format by clicking the download link.
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Director : Karen J. Lloyd
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HAVE YOU EVER hit a child? If so, join the club: Roughly 80 percent of American parents admit that they have slapped, spanked, or struck their children. And 19 states still allow corporal punishment in public schools, where about 225,000 students are "paddled" each year.
That's in stark contrast to the rest of the world, which has increasingly prohibited the physical punishment of children. Americans like to see themselves as being at the forefront of historical change, leading humanity to ever more freedom and progress. But when it comes to corporal punishment of children, we're well behind the curve.
Exhibit A is William Adams, a county judge in Texas who was captured on video beating his then-16-year-old daughter with a belt while cursing and shouting for some seven minutes. The 2004 video recently went viral after Adams' daughter posted it online. The judge was suspended from the bench with pay pending an investigation, but he is unlikely to face criminal charges.
In many other countries, however, any physical punishment of a child is by definition criminal. Starting with Sweden in 1979, 31 nations have passed laws barring parents from striking their children. Another 70 have banned corporal punishment in schools.
Puritan influence
So why not America? It begins with our Puritan foreparents, whose true motives are often blurred in the turkey-fed haze of Thanksgiving. Rather than seeking religious freedom for everyone, as many Americans still believe, the Puritans wanted everyone to follow the dictates of their religion. So they set up rules and institutions reflecting biblical teachings, including that of Proverbs 13:24: "He that spareth the rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him chasteneth him."
And chasteneth they did — with rods and more. "Surely there is in all children a stubbornness, and stoutness of mind arising from natural pride, which must in the first place be broken and beaten down," one Puritan minister wrote. "For the beating, and keeping down of this stubbornness, parents must provide carefully."
If they didn't, schools stepped into the breach. Established to teach children how to read the Bible, Puritan schools also disciplined them according to it. "Because the Rodd of Correction is an ordinance of God … the schoolmaster for the tyme beeing shall have full power to minister correction to all or any of his schollers," the town leaders of Dorchester, Mass., resolved in 1645, "and no parent or other of the Inhabitants shall hinder or goe about to hinder the master therein."
As the last clause suggests, some people were already resisting the Puritans' harsh regime then. And when the Founding Fathers established a new national government a century later, they took pains to separate it from religious authority.
They also limited its powers, leaving Americans free to pursue their happiness as they saw fit. Likewise, the new state governments gave citizens extraordinary leeway in conducting their lives. That meant most forms of corporal punishment continued, in homes and in schools. Campaigns against the practice tended to focus on its most extreme cases, which became known as "abuse."
It wasn't until the 1960s that most states passed laws requiring the reporting of child abuse to authorities. And the federal government didn't address the issue until 1974, when it authorized funds to help states prevent acts resulting in "death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, or exploitation" of children.
Yet the very effort to define child abuse actually reinforced corporal punishment by legitimizing acts that did not meet the definition. In 1977, the Supreme Court declared that corporal corrections in schools do not violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Any "severe" or "excessive" punishments were already barred under existing "civil and criminal sanctions for abuse," the court noted.
That's the standard governing parents, too: Hitting is OK, but abuse isn't. When does one shade into the other? We leave that determination to adults like William Adams, who has presided over many child-abuse cases as a judge.
Where his own behavior is concerned, though, Adams can't seem to tell the difference. "In my mind, I haven't done anything wrong other than discipline my child," he told an interviewer after his daughter posted the video.
In the video, Adams shouts as he strikes his daughter repeatedly with a belt: "Bend over the fucking bed! Lay down or I'll spank your fucking face!" His daughter, by the way, has ataxic cerebral palsy, a neurological disorder affecting physical coordination.
The infraction that earned her this punishment? Illegally downloading games from the Internet.
Do we want William Adams — or anybody else — deciding when corporal punishment descends into abuse? To really stop child abuse, we need to stop adults from hitting children — period. The rest of the world is already figuring that out. Let's hope America catches up soon.
by Jonathan Zimmerman
as published in the Philadelphia Inquirer November 29, 2011
http://www.philly.com © 2011
Jonathan Zimmerman, Ph.D. is Professor of Education and History and Director of the History of Education Program, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. He also holds an appointment in the Department of History of NYU's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
A former Peace Corps volunteer and high school teacher, Zimmerman is the author of Small Wonder: The Little Red Schoolhouse in History and Memory (Yale University Press, 2009). His academic articles have appeared in the Journal of American History, the Teachers College Record, and History of Education Quarterly. Zimmerman is also a frequent op-ed contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Republic and other popular newspapers and magazines.
Prof. Zimmerman can be reached at email@example.com

subset: commoncrawl


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An industry estimated at over $20 billion for hard surface flooring. The demand for hard surface flooring continues to grow each year, making it one of the most popular remodeling categories for home improvements. Every day, thousands of homeowners, property managers, contractors, builders, architects and interior designers are looking for an affordable and effective way to replace their worn out, damaged flooring or install flooring for their new projects.
One of the important trends in the floor covering industry is the continuing increase of hard surface's share of overall floor covering. Hard surface flooring offers performance advantages such as a longer lifespan, and less maintenance than carpeting. The trend is also due to health concerns, style and renewable product desires.
Home remodeling and improvement services have a bad reputation with consumers. 64% of consumers report that their home improvement and home remodeling projects did not meet their expectations.
Planese founder Dan Fritschen observed: "Home improvement and home remodeling have fewer consumers reporting that the product and service met their expectations frequently because consumers are inexperienced with buying these goods and services.
Not focusing on the many reports of home improvement and remodeling scams, consumers frequently complain that remodelers do not do what they promise. They substitute higher quality products with inferior ones, they do not pay attention to details, products do not perform as promised, and they are slow or unresponsive in addressing consumer complaints.


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Tweet This
- When we started hearing anecdotal accounts of families and friends fighting over politics, new levels of anxiety, fear, anger and disconnection, we wanted to understand, on a deep psychological level, the profound and divergent effects the new presidency is having on the psyche and identity of ordinary Americans."
Accusations, crisis, controversy. These are but a few words repeatedly used within an avalanche of media coverage pertaining to President Trump and a variety of current events involving the current White House administration. The frustrations of alleged conduct by the president has reached fever pitch for many U.S. citizens, and a number of people would like a change in the country's leadership. But just how far might some people go to accomplish such a goal? A brand new study reveals some surprising insights when it comes to voters' precious tech devices and President Trump.
The State of the (Dis)Union is the latest work from Galileo Research, a psychology-based market research consultancy that draws on leading edge theory and practice from academic and therapeutic psychology. The British brains behind the research and co-founders of the organization, Cathy Lennox and Sarah Fitzharding decided to poll 1,000 U.S. adults all registered to vote with quotas set by age, gender, ethnicity, income, geography and political affiliation. The resulting data, from both Trump supporters and Trump non-supporters, provides an interesting look at Americans' current emotions around the presidency. "A deep fascination with the human psyche drives our work at Galileo," said Cathy Lennox, Co-Founder of Galileo Research. " When we started hearing anecdotal accounts of families and friends fighting over politics, new levels of anxiety, fear, anger and disconnection, we wanted to understand, on a deep psychological level, the profound and divergent effects the new presidency is having on the psyche and identity of ordinary Americans."
So Galileo utilized proprietary psychological techniques specially designed to determine participants' subconscious beliefs and attitudes, as well as their consciously held views, leading to rich hypotheses that informed the quantitative survey. A variety of data was captured by Galileo, but some particularly interesting findings pertain to tech devices and sentiment regarding Trump's tenure.
Here is the quick breakdown:
- 30% Non-Supporters would give up their smartphone for a year to guarantee that Trump would be removed from office before the end of his first term
- 17% Supporters would give up their smartphone for a year to guarantee Trump a second term
In addition, the current disunity in the country, including the fracturing of family relationships and friendships, may also be carrying across to social media for some Americans. Data demonstrated that:
- 28% Americans agree "I am checking Facebook and other social media much more often" (27% Supporters; 30% Non-Supporters)
- 26% Americans agree "I am using social media more for political updates than for keeping in touch on personal news" (24% Supporters; 28% Non-Supporters)
By the way, all that social media checking seems to have led to the fact that 40% Americans who participated in the study agree that they can no longer have open and honest conversations with some friends or family members . Indeed, 48% of Non-Supporters reported the same sentiment.
The survey unearthed many other unique insights on how Americans feel about how the Trump Presidency impacts their values, safety and relationships with others. One thing they can all agree on is that respondents strongly care about America uniting and coming together, and that they see this as being President Trump's responsibility.
"We had anticipated negative commentary from Non-Supporters of the President and positive commentary from his Supporters," explains Lennox. "Most surprising to us was that we heard a higher level of negativity from Supporters of President Trump than we might have expected in terms of how well he delivers on the character traits they saw as most essential in a great President. Only 73% of his Supporters agreeing he 'Is Trustworthy' and only 76% that he 'Is Honest', only 69% that he 'Has a strong moral code."
However, some may argue that this survey sample is simply too small to be indicative of true trend sentiment. In fact, a recent op-ed piece in "The New York Times" gives pause to thought around many such studies. "We may have a theory that explains all the known data," writes Gary Cutting, professor of philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, and an editor of Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, "but that may be just the result of our having fitted the theory to that data. The strongest support for a theory comes from its ability to correctly predict data that it was not designed to explain."
Whether or not this may be the actual case when it comes to the recent Galileo report, the take-away seems to be that there there is definitely increased public interest and engagement around national politics. As tethered as we are to technology today, behavior patterns surrounding its usage as it intersects with policy makers should definitely strike a cord within us all.


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Another Sponsorship December 4, 2008Posted by Dave Of Prescott in Adventure Recreation, Events.
Tags: Clif Bar, Go Off Road Duathlon, GORD, sponsors
comments closed
We just picked up the sponsorship of Clif Bar for the GORD in March!
the weblog
We just picked up the sponsorship of Clif Bar for the GORD in March!
I am an avid outdoor recreation enthusiast whose company produces outdoor fitness sporting events. We also have a guided hiking and mountain biking business in Prescott, Arizona. We produce the Gilmore Adventure Race, the GORD (Go! Off Road Duathlon), the 12 Hours At Night Mountain Bike Ride, the TR3 Mountain Bike Duathlon, and now the Discovery Dash. Look for additional events in the year ahead.
I enjoy Mountain biking, Adventure Racing and Orienteering and try to compete in 8-10 events a year.


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Juniper Networks has launched JunosV Contrail, a family of products which includes the JunosV Contrail Controller, an open, standards-based controller for software-defined networks (SDN).
Built on intellectual property from Juniper's recent acquisition of Contrail Systems, the JunosV Contrail family of products delivers a virtual network solution that integrates into existing datacentres to centralise control across different client IT architectures and multiple cloud platforms.
The solution virtualises the network to enable seamless automation and orchestration among private and public cloud environments, elastic management of IP-based network and security services, and a "Big Data for Infrastructure" offering for enhanced analytics, diagnostics and reporting.
"The JunosV Contrail Controller combines best-in-class network orchestration and automation to address the gaps customers are experiencing with existing SDN controller solutions. With Juniper Networks, customers can now have technology that seamlessly integrates into their current IT architectures, providing the agility and scalability they need to build elastic, open environments and the ability to deploy services like security seamlessly across cloud networks. This level of performance will ensure customers can move beyond the SDN experimental stage and into systems that provide the flexibility and investment protection for the long term," says Ankur Singla, vice president, SDN and Orchestration Systems, Juniper Networks.


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- Molecular Weight:
- 320.25
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- Price ($, USD):
- $400/kg ($, USD) Inquiry
- Synonyms:
- DHM; DYM; Dihydromyricetin; (+)-Dihydromyricetin; Ampelopsin; (2R,3R)-3,5,7-Trihydroxy-2-(3,4,5-trihydroxyphenyl)chroman-4-one; Dihydromyricetin, Ampelopsin, DHM, Hovenia dulcis Extract, Vine Tea Extract, 27200-12-0
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Dihydromyricetin, also known as Ampelopsin, is a type of flavonoid, a natural antioxidant, which can be extracted from the plant Ampelopsis grossedentata. Ampelopsis grossedentata, or Vine Tea, is called Teng Cha in China, as a Chinese Herbal Medicine it can alleviate fevers, drunkenness, cure rheumatism, strengthen physique, diuresis, and also shows many other functions.
Ampelopsis grossedentata contains rich flavones, the flavones include dihydromyricetin, myricetin, quercetin etc.
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The Family Photos series has been going on for a few years, using photos from both my mother's and father's sides of the family. Sometimes I'm working on these images exclusively for a while, then maybe I'll come back to them after doing something else, and if I find new ones, that can stimulate additional work. Usually, each series begins with a fairly straightforward drawing or painting of the subject, then progresses through a number of different versions, changing the scale, the media and the approach to the picture. Primarily, they have been photos of the immediately preceding generations, my parents and grandparents. The aura of old-fashionedness enables me to find an objective distance from the images, though there is obviously an emotional link as well that gives them a subjective element. I choose them for visual qualities, not for sentimental reasons. Sometimes those things are happily combined, as in Deckchair (below): the couple are my maternal grandparents. Occasionally I have no idea who the people are, I think there is a tiny view of my father in Entertaining the Dog (behind the main figure), but the other people are a mystery. It's just a great, and slightly strange, photograph. My father and his brothers are three of the boys on donkeys,so I lost the fourth figure in the translation of photo to painting.These paintings are from early in the series. There will be newer ones in a subsequent post.
Monthly Archives: March 2013
Brown paper drawings
I have a huge archive of found photos, collected for purely visual interest or for my interest in the content, and also for teaching purposes, so there is reference material on any subject students might choose. The majority are clippings and tear sheets from newspapers and magazines, but there are also photos taken by me, friends or family members, and a range of postcards – views, artwork and old pictures.
The brown paper drawings are what I call thinking out loud – that is, thinking on to paper. Initially I chose favourite images from my collection, with written comments and associations; gradually themes began to emerge. The drawings are charcoal, acrylic wash and chalk on brown paper, each approx. 22x28in (56x71cm).
The Significance of Bears
There are four pictures in this series, which was the first work relating to my trip to Canada last September to watch bears in the wild. From the first time I read about the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, I felt a real desire to go there, although I'm not a great traveller and certainly not an outdoor adventurer. I did not go with the intention of painting bears, in any form. It took me a long time to process what was actually a fairly brief experience — just a few days – but gradually I started wanting to deal with it visually and began work on the paintings. The title word – significance – is about an attempt to synthesize the experience and feelings about the whole trip, including the magic of being so close to bears in the wild – grizzlies, black bears and the lovely white spirit bear. Quite how one magazine article spurred me to make such a mighty leap of geography and culture is something I'm still working on, in my head and on paper. These are watercolour crayon and acrylic paintings, the dimensions of each are 23x13in (59x33cm). See also Bears in the Woods post below.


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Porcelain Veneers
Porcelain Veneers
Veneers are very thin pieces of durable porcelain that are custom made (for shape and color) by a professional dental laboratory. They are bonded onto the front of teeth to create a beautiful and attractive smile.
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text: Canyon Creek Inn is a recently renovated, comfortable and clean motel. The rooms are beautifully decorated emphasizing a high degree of personal touches that provide guests with a "Mountain Home" feeling. Four separate rooms are featured, including a family room that accommodates four guests comfortably and three rooms providing double occupancy. Additionally, each room has an adjoining door providing greater accommodations. All rooms have satellite TV with a DVD player, refrigerator, coffee maker, air conditioning and free Wi-Fi.


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The Crystal Palace, Sydenham, conjures up memories of the great Victorian architects and engineers. Brunel, Gilbert Scott, and Paxton to name a few.
Paxton was the architect for our subject here today, the once glorious Crystal Palace. As we know, the original Palace was built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in Hyde Park. It was a great success, having had six million visitors in only six months pass through its doors.
Because of its success it was decided that after the exhibition closed, it would be rebuilt, and Sydenham was the chosen district. Showcasing the great achievements of the British Empire, including design, engineering etc, it was at first a commercial success. A large park was designed that included places of relaxation, entertainment, sport and education.
Many attractions came and went. The FA Cup final was held here for nearly twenty years, the world's first Grand Prix circuit went around the outskirts of the park for fifty years, and true to scale dinosaurs still guard the lakes at the Penge end of the park, and there was even a hydraulic railway!
These are just a few of the attractions that Crystal Palace had/has to offer, and on this stroll around the park, Ade will enlighten you on numerous amazing, strange and 'very' Victorian attractions. Unfortunately the Palace itself burnt down in 1936, which in itself was a sight to see, as the huge structure lit up the South London sky.
Fortunately the park still retains much of its original history, and is a very atmospheric place to visit with some of the original statues still in place, and stand ghost like in their loneliness.
So, come with Ade and meander around this fascinating green space south of the river, as this stroll certainly has lots to offer history buffs.
As a final point, rather than call myself 'a guide', I'd rather be known simply as a bloke who has done a bit more research into an area of London than the average Joe! I won't wear a costume, read from a script etc, I will however just babble on about stuff that I'm deeply passionate about, and hope that you will be also.
Think of me as a mate who shares your interest in London's rich history, and a fella you'd like to have a pint with. I don't want to give you a history lesson but if you want a "guide" that digs deeper, then I think I'm your man.
Take a stroll with Ade, a qualified London Borough Guide
Walk takes about 2.5 hours.
£10 on the day.
Ade Bloke


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Homeowners in rural communities - what do you know about your water supply?
Water is an important part of life, according the United States Geological Survey about 71% of the earth's surface is covered in it [1] and an adult male's body is made up of about 60% of it [2]. We use in so many parts of our lives: cleaning and cleaning, cooling, transportation, farming, manufacturing, and recreation to name a few.
Water is also one of the most common agent used for fire protection. It has chemical and physical properties that make it an effective suppressant and as mentioned previously there is a lot of it. We have also developed effective methods for transporting water from one location to another, usually through pipes, and then storing it. In most urban and suburban areas there is a municipal water supply system that can provide the flows and pressures required for domestic, industrial, and fire protection.
In rural areas buildings are often spread out over a large area and it becomes less efficient to install and maintain a municipal water supply system. Underground wells can provide water to domestic uses but may not be sufficient for fire protection.
Fire departments operating in rural areas will develop pre-plans for water supply operations for fires. This may include identifying sources of water, such as rivers or other bodies of water that can be drafted from, as well as the method for delivering it to the scene of the fire, either through long hose lays or possibly water tender relays.
If you live in a rural area without municipal water it is important you be aware of the fire departments needs to establish water supply in the case of a fire. Boulder County Colorado has developed a document that provides information on emergency water supply for firefighting.
I would like to start a discussion about rural water supply and what the needs and expectations are for the different parties involved including community planners and emergency responders. Future blog posts will address current design requirements for rural firefighting water supply, both for structural and wildland & wildland-urban interface fires.
Participate in the discussion by adding a comment about what your role is and what you know about rural water supply. Scroll to the top of the page to login or signup if you do not already have an account - you do not need to be an NFPA member to participate in the Xchange.
[1] How much water is there on Earth, from the USGS Water Science School
[2] Water properties: The water in you (Water Science School)


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Diablo 3 has a new Game Director and he's been promoted from within. Here's the introductory address from Josh Mosqueira, formerly the lead developer for the Diablo 3 console project.
I'm a writer, designer, and lifelong gamer, and I got my official start designing games back in 1996. That's when I had my first real break as a writer for White Wolf (makers of the Vampire: The Masquerade pen-and-paper role-playing game), when I co-wrote Constantinople by Night and Montreal by Night while serving in the Canadian army and finishing university. After that, I went on to work on a number of popular game series, including Homeworld, Company of Heroes, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and FarCry. However, 1996 is a key year for me for another reason, because it's when I, like many of you, was introduced to Diablo.
Having a heavy background in pen-and-paper design—specifically in telling stories and building worlds set in realms of horror and fantasy—I was immediately drawn in by Diablo. While the game's dark, gothic setting hooked me, it was the intense, fast-paced action gameplay and the thrill of finding awesome loot that kept me coming back for years after.
That's always been the magic of the game for me. It starts with a setting that pits epic heroes against the teeming, endless hordes of the Burning Hells, in an adventure filled with nonstop, intense action. It's in players facing off against enemies like the Butcher and Diablo, villains who truly capture the essence of evil. And having the alluring promise of new and more powerful treasures around every corner doesn't hurt either.
When I joined Blizzard, I was entrusted with the responsibility of helping to determine whether it would be possible to create a console version of Diablo III and working on what that might look like. I took this responsibility extremely seriously as I wanted to ensure that the legions of players new to the series on console could experience the magical combination of action and treasure hunting that Diablo is known for. It was important to me that we retain that essential core that is Diablo—every player who has ever roamed the shadowy halls of Sanctuary's dungeons, hunting vile demons and looting their corpses, knows it well. My goal has been to help keep that core magic formula going strong with Diablo III, and to continue refining the game, initially for the console version, and now for the game as a whole.
For me, first as a Blizzard gamer and now as a game designer at the company, I've always felt that one of the things that sets Blizzard games apart is our passion and commitment to support our games well after launch. Many of the people I've worked with here have been at Blizzard since the early days of the company, and our heavy focus on putting the games first is the culture they helped create and that everyone here lives by. That's why we didn't call it a day after launching Diablo III and move on to the next project—the care, dedication, diligence, and ongoing effort from our development team continued full steam ahead as we listened to and acted on your feedback. We don't just ship a game and leave it at that; we make sure that it grows and evolves after launch.
In the year since Diablo III launched, we've made good strides, but there are still things we can improve and new surprises in store for everyone. As Travis mentioned earlier, itemization is one of our big focuses for Diablo III moving forward. We want items to feel more meaningful, and we want players to be excited about the next loot drop. Our goal is to make the loot experience more enjoyable for ALL players. This includes reducing the amount of loot that drops while improving the overall quality, introducing targeted Legendaries, and giving players ways to directly customize their character's armor—both visually and mechanically. We're also looking into ways to reduce the impact of the Auction House. While we think the feature does provide a lot of value, it shouldn't feel like the end-all-be-all force driving character progression.
We've built a solid foundation for the future of Diablo III and we're focused on staying true to the core essence of the game, while pushing boundaries to evolve gameplay in ways that will keep players like you excited. We hope you'll agree that with each update, the game keeps getting better and better, and we're only just getting started.
In the future, we'll be focused on preserving the core fantasy by cultivating the roots of the Diablo storyline, fine-tuning the heroes for what lays ahead, and creating new monsters and demons that will once again plant the seed of fear in your hearts. While some Diablo players out there are just looking for a fun single playthrough of the game, for many others, part of the appeal of the game is coming back again and again to test their mettle against challenging foes in an ongoing search for rare treasures, with the goal of making their heroes more and more powerful. We want to give those players, and really everyone, even more reasons to keep coming back to Sanctuary, and we have some great ideas brewing for ways to address randomization, what our endgame should offer, and how to make playing online with friends truly fulfilling.
To this end, you can expect to hear more from our designers, producers, and directors about what we have in store.
Thanks for being a part of the Diablo family, and we'll see you in Hell!
Interesting to see Josh in charge. He's sort of an inside-outsider; a bit like Travis Day, who was working on WoW and didn't join Diablo 3 until after launch. Josh was part of the Diablo 3 team pre-launch, but he was hired fairly close to launch (his first public showing was interviews at Blizzcon 2011) to head up the console project.
Not much in this intro post about game design changes; it's not really the place for such a presentation, but interesting that he brought up Itemization and a lessening of the importance of the Auction House as his dev ideas. I imagine he'll get a fair amount of agreement on those topics from you guys…
So, if you had one thing to tell Josh, what would it be? What's the one aspect of Diablo III that you most wanted changed/improved/modified/increased/etc? Wave your magic wand (which is probably a Chantodo's) and make it so, in the comments.


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Health & Wellness
Stop Hair Loss Now!
Don't suffer with hair loss. There are a number of possible reasons that your hair is getting thinner. Here are some solutions.
Is Antibiotic Resistance Real?
For your family's health, you need to understand about antibiotic resistance; when antibiotics are helpful, and what you should do when they don't help.
National Cancer Survivor's Day
National Cancer Survivor's Day is an opportunity to celebrate the victory of all cancer survivors and thank all those who provide care and support for cancer survivors.
Green Cleaning for Your Home: Create a Non-Toxic Environment
Find out how to avoid dangerous chemicals and avoid harsh fumes by cleaning your home using natural ingredients, and save money, too!
Holistic Therapy Treatments
Many people find relief from stress and pain with a form of holistic therapy; considering the condition of the whole individual, not just a particular body part or symptom.


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MOON enters Sagittarius early this morning for a day of inspired fire.
SUN CONJUNCT MERCURY [6:52 pm pst/ 7:52 pm mst/ 8:52 pm cst/ 9:52 pm est] is the only aspect and a radiant one of communications fire!
From the light within us, there comes inspiration, creative impulses and the turning of our consciousness, toward more light. May we allow the incoming light to overtake our path, fill it with frequency, soul, and imagination.


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#viralchat is a Twitter chat hosted by Post Planner on Thursday at 9 pm ET. Last night's topic was working with influencers. Here are the questions and my expanded answers. Q1: Why are influencers important to a business wanting to grow a Twitter presence? A1: Let's first define an influencer - if you have influence it means that you can create an effect, you can … [Read more...]
PR Measurement – New Tools and New Skills
Of all the new digital skills PR pros need to learn, measurement is perhaps the most important. Unless you know what to measure, and how to measure it, you'll never be able to show the value of your work. It is a numbers game. That's what gets the attention of the C-suite. How much went in, what did you achieve and what did we get in return? The statistics execs pay … [Read more...]
Social Networks Embrace the Demand for Video
We are a visual species. 93% of communication is non -verbal. A picture is indeed worth a thousand words: our brains process image elements simultaneously. We think in pictures. Our minds react differently to visual stimuli. Studies have shown clearly that for quick, clear communication, visuals trump text almost every time. For years it was difficult to use images … [Read more...]
How to Use Twitter in Media Relations
The Internet has changed the way we connect and communicate - not just with one another, but also with the media. Writing a press release and posting it on the wire doesn't get you media coverage anymore. In fact, according to the 2015 Cision Social Journalism Study, only 6% of PR pros still do that. Journalists are very active in social media and Twitter in particular. Most … [Read more...]
How Social Media is Affecting the News
A new report from Pew shows that while the news industry has lost more than a third of its newsroom jobs in traditional media, there are now more than 5000 jobs in digital news. 3,000 of these positions are at 30 big digital-only news outlets. The report covers five aspects of the relationship between social and news: Social Media as a Pathway to … [Read more...]


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When the governor of the Swiss central bank sounds alarmed, it is time to take notice. Switzerland, famous for its cheese but also for its prosperity, has built its economy around trade, and Thomas Jordan is worried that protectionism will now ruin it.
Tag Archives: Switzerland
Investors' most and least favoured European countries
Investors shifted massively into eurozone equities in February, with the second highest allocation recorded for the asset class, a survey of fund managers by Bank of America Merrill Lynch shows.
Sort out the issue of Swiss franc loans, once and for all
By Piroska M. Nagy
This article was first published on the website of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The Swiss National Bank's January decision to remove the Swiss franc's cap against the euro has sent shockwaves through the global economy. It triggered particularly strong reactions in parts of central and south-eastern Europe, where currencies in some countries came under severe pressure.
Swiss National Bank makes new victims
The Swiss National Bank's shocking decision last week to scrap the cap that was preventing the Swiss franc from appreciating to more than 1.20 to the euro continues to play out in the markets.


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Life on a Japanese Farm
We had the unique privilege of heading out of the urban Japan jungle and into the mountains to stay with a young, organic farming couple who happen to be couchsurfers. We sought them out because we wanted to learn about their organic ways and get our hands dirty on their farm. As soon as we arrived, they made us as comfortable as possible. The couple is hoping to open up their farm as a bed and breakfast some day; needless to say, this was not your typical couchsurfing experience. They were the kindest, most generous folks and we were the most pampered we'd ever been in our entire lives. Staying at their place, we became privy to a more traditional and rural Japanese way of life.
The Basics
Here is their guestroom…
Underneath the comfortable down blankets, we slept on Japanese futons, unique because they are tri-folds. Most Japanese sleep on these futons, even older people. However, in houses the trend is changing and more and more people are sleeping in beds. The floor is covered with tatami mats (made from straw). Each mat is 6×3 feet and a typical room size is 4.5×8 tatamis. Everything is measured by tatamis. When shopping for furniture for their house, they do not measure by meters, they measure by tatamis.
Another common feature of Japanese rooms are sliding doors. They're everywhere and can instantly make a room smaller or larger, depending on your needs. Every door in the above photo was a sliding door. The outer doors opened up into a hallway that ran the length of the house. The upper part of the outside sliding doors was paper, which made for a chillier room.
A far from flattering breakfast shot, I included this photo because of the awesome table. The house has no central heating. While the couple has space heaters, the most common way of staying warm is by snuggling up to this table. Underneath the table is a pit that holds hot coals. The pit is covered with slats so that you can safely tuck your legs in under the thick blanket that runs around the table and traps the heat inside. While quite marvelous, I would never be able to quell my fears of starting a house fire.
They cooked us the most delicious traditional Japanese meals (including this surprisingly tasty egg pudding – not sweet) and we drank so much green tea! Tea was served immediately upon our arrival, with every meal, and during an afternoon break. Hot water was served just before bed.
While Matt spent time fixing their computer, I attempted to help them on their farm. I'm not sure if they were just being kind or if they were afraid I would mess something up, because I had to push really hard to help out! They kept saying "Relax, relax." I am not very good at being served, especially when I don't get to do anything in return, so I made a point of chasing them to their fields whenever they tried to sneak out of the house.
They have a few small fields and we spent our time transplanting vegetables, building dirt mounds, and planting rice (not in the fields, just in trays). Miya made sure I was properly dressed for the work: a floppy hat to protect myself from the sun (Japanese women take great care of their skin; rarely have I seen them without a hat or an umbrella), a mask to protect myself from the dust (the mask is a common sight because the Japanese also wear them when they are ill so as not to get others sick… SO conscientious!), and a smoking device worn around the waist to protect myself from the mosquitoes!
Akhiro was kind enough to take us fishing later that night. It's a good think we weren't fishing for dinner because he was the only one who had any luck.
The best part of the day was sharing conversations over meals. They explained that they farm half of the year and then head north during the winter to help with tsunami relief efforts and to assist Akhiro's father on his strawberry farm. We discovered that the average age of a Japanese farmer is in the sixties! As Japan's population continues to dwindle and farming continues to be an unpopular way of life, one can only wonder what this culture will do in the not so far future.


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We had David's IEP meeting today. For those of you with neurotypical kids, an IEP is an education program that spells out exactly what David will be getting in school in the way of supportive services. This year, he'll still receive speech therapy, occupational therapy, and daily time with a learning support specialist, just like all his previous school years. There was one big difference to the plan this year, though.
They recommended that David's personal aide be "phased out".
When I read the first draft of the IEP, I have to admit I hyperventilated a bit. Taking his aide away! They can't do that! He only has her half a day as it is, and she's there to redirect him and keep him on task, because like most children on the autism spectrum, David's attention isn't always where it should be.
Taking his aide away. Taking. His aide. Away.
Then I read on. And I reread. And I decided I would wait and talk to them in person, so I could be sure I was understanding this correctly.
Which I was.
They are most definitely in favor of phasing out his aide. Even his aide (who has been with him since kindergarten and once threatened to quit if they assigned her to anyone but David) is in favor of being phased out. It turns out (and all the therapists, the teacher, and the aide were unanimous in their support) that he just plain doesn't need her much anymore.
He's staying on task, most of the time. Certainly about as much as any third grade boy.
Like any third grade boy.
[I had to take a break for a minute after typing that so I could cry for a bit. You'll never know what it feels like for me to have typed that.]
David is not only staying on task most of the time, but he's even redirecting himself if he catches himself off-course. Sometimes with a verbal prompt (like "I need to finish my math") and sometimes by physically removing himself from the distraction. He's doing it all on his own, and there really isn't much for his aide to do in that regard anymore. It's time for her to start scaling back, dwindling down her time with him so that she can go and assist other kids who need her help.
Because mine doesn't so much anymore.
And the day I was dreading is like a beacon of bright, bright light and I am dancing in the rays.


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THE NETHERLANDS. Three researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics in Nijmegen have won one of this year's Ig Nobel prizes – for discovering that the word 'huh' or similar sounding words are used in almost every language.
Mark Dingemanse, Francisco Torreira and Nick Enfield were awarded the Ig Nobel prize for literature for their paper 'Is "Huh?" a Universal Word? Conversational Infrastructure and the Convergent Evolution of Linguistic Items'.
The authors were unable to attend the ceremony at Harvard University and sent a video acceptance speech. They will receive their prize at a special event in Amsterdam on October 3: The European Ig Nobel Show.
The aim of the Ig Nobel prizes is to focus on what the organisers call improbable research – research that makes people laugh and then think.
This article appeared first on dutchnews.nl
About DutchNews.nl
DutchNews.nl is a provider of quality Dutch news and current affairs in English for an international audience. Some 25,000 people read DutchNews.nl every day, either online, through our daily digital newsletter or via our social media channels.
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Newburgh, NY – RBT CPAs, LLP, takes great pleasure in announcing that Tom Kennedy, CPA has been admitted to the partnership. Tom officially became a partner on May 24, 2019 and will serve in the Audit Department. He comes to us with over 25 years of experience serving clients in the healthcare, not-for-profit and governmental industries including hospitals, HMOs, nursing homes, physician groups, FQHCs, religious orders, voluntary health and welfare organizations, arts and educational institutions, foundations and local and county governments.
Tom was a partner with a top 50 CPA firm, where he also served as co-managing partner and head of business development for their Mid-Hudson Valley office. Tom has also spent time in the private sector, serving as Vice President of Finance for a Manhattan based health system and overseeing operations for the managed care organization for three health plans.
Tom is active in the community, recently completing a nine-year term as a Trustee and Chairman of the Finance, Audit and Compensation Committees for the Montefiore St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital where he assisted in the integration of the community based hospital into the Montefiore Health System. Tom serves as a Board Member of the Orange County Cerebral Palsy Association, and is a member of the Finance Committee of the Mohonk Land Preserve. Tom served on other boards in leadership roles including the Orange County Partnership, the Orange County Arts Council and the Greater Newburgh Symphony Orchestra.
Tom is a member of the AICPA and the NYSSCPA where he served as a Board Member of the Hudson Valley Chapter and the Healthcare Committee. Tom is a graduate of Leadership Westchester and resides in Highland Mills, NY with his wife, Marianna, and their son, Ryan.
RBT CPAs, LLP have offices located at 11 Racquet Road, Newburgh, NY, 2678 South Road, Poughkeepsie, NY and 51 Sullivan Street, Wurtsboro, NY. We provide accounting, auditing, tax and business consulting services to clients in the greater Hudson Valley, as well as in other areas of New York State, Connecticut and New Jersey.


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Year 2, week 2: blind leading the blind
Got a visit from OldSmoothie this morning. It seems heŌĆÖs doing BigMouthŌĆÖs case on a no-win no-fee as a favour for his friend. TheVamp is now on the same deal though like me sheŌĆÖll be keen to do it for the experience of being on such a high profile case.
ŌĆ£The problem is BabyB,ŌĆØ he explained to me with his charmometer switched to full, ŌĆ£heŌĆÖs got me to present the case and a junior who will no doubt prove a hit with both judge and jury but neither of us know anything about running a libel action.ŌĆØ
Which makes three of us, I thought to myself.
ŌĆ£Thing is,ŌĆØ he continued, ŌĆ£heŌĆÖll struggle to get some real libel barristers on a no-win no-fee as these cases are just too risky.ŌĆØ
ŌĆ£But arenŌĆÖt there professional problems about doing something outside your area?ŌĆØ I enquired, reinforcing my own newly-found position of great authority on the intricacies of this area of law.
ŌĆ£Oh, itŌĆÖs never stopped me, BabyB. One of the joys of the bar is that you can wake up one morning knowing nothing about a subject and then by the next day be putting yourself out as an expert in it. However, itŌĆÖs always useful to have a junior who can provide a little guidance from time to time.ŌĆØ
So, the good news is that IŌĆÖm on the case. The bad news is that I will probably be up all night drafting a note on some of the legal issues which may arise. Particularly given that IŌĆÖm starting from scratch.
October 10, 2007
┬Ę Tim Kevan ┬Ę 6 Comments
Posted in: Uncategorized
6 Responses
FS - October 10, 2007
I think they sell those charmometers at Argos
fran - October 11, 2007
Hoist, petard, Moi?
Sarah - October 11, 2007
Love the idea of a "charmometer "
TryingToBe - October 11, 2007
Libel law isn't that difficult. Convincing a judge that something is capable of being libelous and convincing a jury that it was, is another matter…
Edward - October 11, 2007
ooo think sarah has a thing for babyb – look out both of you.
Root - October 12, 2007
There is no longer any libel *law*. The courts pretty much make it up as they go along now. And libel defendants get pretty much a free ride these days. The whole thing is a crap shoot. The Lords / CA have invented at least three new defences in the last 2 years alone.


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In looking at the various news posts today relating to Dungeons and Dragons, it looks like 5th ed is on the way. This is way too soon in my opinion. We didn't get 3.5 this quickly. Mind you, I'm of the firm opinion that the Essentials were a ".5" edition so the cycle does seem to be quite short this time around.
WoTC talks about uniting the fans of the brand behind "one ring" so to speak. Won't happen. While 3rd edition had a lot of the elements that made D&D what its known for, 4th ed went a completely different path. Not necessarily a bad one in terms of game design, but rituals, spells, and magic items were all lain down and sacrificed under the banner of balance. You will not be able to make people who want to play a powerful wizard who is weak at low levels happy at the same time you make those who want all of the classes to retain equal utility throughout the entire careers. Not going to happen. End. Fini.
There are some things that I think WoTC should do that could help reduce the issues that will crop up during this time. Many of them have nothing to do with game mechanic design and I've mentioned them numerous times before.
1. Know what the hell you're talking about. When 4th edition was in the pipeline, the VTT (virtual table top) along with other bits of the DDI were supposed to be seamlessly integrated into the edition. A recent article by Ryan Dancy further illustrates how this was supposed to happen. Not only that though, but anyone remember 'The Rouse'? He was a great guy from WoTC and was talking about how there would be codes you would get from buying the books that would allow you to buy a PDF for "a buck or two." None of that happened. Mind you, by shutting the hell up, you'll cut off some potential communication between players, buyers, and the makers, but people want what you tell them they'll get. Is it entitlement? Probably. Is it human nature? Definitely.
2. Bring back PDF's of all editions. Even if you have to hire someone from India for $1 a page to convert the material, bring back every old book. WoTC has been talking about a solution to the piracy and PDF problem ever since the Player's Handbook 2 came out. Anyone remember that? that the PHB2 sold out but PDFs were undercutting sales? So PDF sales were undercutting sales of a book that physically sold out? Here's something to think of. According to an article on ye old internets, digital sales have surpassed those of physical sales. Provided a legal alternative that people can use for a 'fair' price and people will buy.
3. OGL all the way. Not only does 5e need to embrace 5th edition, WoTC needs to give 'seed' money to companies like Green Ronin, Frog God Games, Malhavoc Press and others to support it. The GLS was a complete and utter failure. By not embracing the OGL, WoTC not only allowed, but essentially actively encouraged Paizo to come out with Pathfinder. And the other editions that WoTC now talks fondly of? Chances are there is a retro clone of it, and chances are there's a GOOD retro clone of it. The old editions don't need WoTC support as people who want to play an older edition have a ton of choices. Now if WoTC supports the OGL, and does so by allowing third parties full access to the material before its printed, WoTC can concentrate on a certain 'style' of D&D while others fill the void. I like many aspects of 4th edition but find it silly that there are still no official rules for firearms. I like some of what WoTC has done with say, Dark Sun, but miss the dozens of options I once had in terms of setting support such as the Scarred Lands.
4. Playtest Intensively. 4e suffers from the Hero/GURPS effect in that a lot of the powers and abilities are the same but due to the way they were written, instead of having a master list of such abilities and powers that players could select from, each class gets its own write up providing monstrous bloat to the system. This doesn't count things like how the first and second 4e Monster Manuals are, I don't want to say useless, but their utility was greatly diminished when the 3rd Monster Manual came out and basically said, "Yeah, we don't know hot to calculate damage so try these numbers instead." And other bits like magic items and rituals and spells? Things that we used to see numerous articles for in Dragon like Pages From The Mages and Bizzar of the Bazaar among others? DOA.
5. Pull in One Direction. It does no one any good to have several people who work at WoTC talking about the Character Builder going online because it makes things more compatible among the various types of computer users and then in an podcast have another person talk about how all the customers are thieves and the reason that the Character Builder is going online is because its the only way to fight piracy. Pull in one direction or risk making yourself look like a gigantic jackass.
6. Examine HTML 5 for the DDI. I'm not a computer expert or anything, but with Tablets and Android becoming larger and larger means of accessing the internet, it would seem that HTML 5 offers a lot of benefits that Silverlight does not. Once again, not a programmer, but when you see tablets talking the place of notebooks, the whole thing about making the DDI something you can access from anywhere becomes more hallow unless its something people using an iPad or android tablet can access.
7. Review your ebook pricing. I'm not saying that every book should be cut to $2.99 or anything like that. but... if you haven't made your money back on the Crystal Shard, or you still don't collect the omnibus editions for online selling, well, when looking at epic fantasy on the kindle and the first WoTC book pops in at #73, well after numerous authors selling their books for less than $6.39, what does it hurt to test out different prices? It's not like you're going to be crushed by returns of unsold books. If the new price points don't work and don't increase market penetration, move back to the old prices.
8. Stop making promises. This one is hard because different people have different definitions of what a promise is. For example, when asked if WoTC was going to reprint the Player's Handbook with all of the errata in it, a thing that would be useful since there were dozens of powers and abilities that were changed with errata, the initial reply was that there was no plan to do so because they had done such a massive print run but when the time was right.... well, after WoTC changed things up with the Essentials, when do you think that time was right? WoTC has to be able to react to market conditions and if those conditions tell them to cancel the first quarter of products, then that's what they need to do.
9. Make Dragon and Dungeon real magazines again. I hear some laughter out there, but seriously, the things have gone to waste when compared to the proud legacy they used to have. There was a time, for those who came into reading these magazines, that they were not just little magazines that were used to preview upcoming game material. They brought their own value. When WoTC doesn't provide epic support because of some unknown factor that its not viable, there was easily the opportunity to do The Dragon's Bestiary or Creature Catalog. When people talk about the lack of spell selection, as I mentioned earlier, even if keeping it in game balance, pages from the mages would easily fill that need. When discussing unique characters and characteristics of characters, Legend and Lore, where heroes of myth and legend are given game stats, would provide GMs with opportunities to see how professional game designers handle weapons like Excalibur and provide a quick round of NPCs that the GM can use if he's running a specific type of campaign, such as an Arthurian one. And for god's sake, stop with the nonsense about people reading individual articles and compile the magazine at the end of the month. Seriously.
10. In terms of print products, remember to support the GM. The GM is the one who makes the game work or fail. While it is great that players have ten thousand options for their characters, if there are not a wealth of adventurers for every level, then the GM has to work. When there are more options for a particular level than another, GMs will cluster around those levels. Support the GM and he will support you. Paizo does an excellent job of this with various books that build on the game setting, such as their recently released mythic monsters revised, as well as single adventurers, and adventure paths. Throw in their maps and other GM focused aids and you can see why GMs, despite the complexity of 3.5, stick with it.
11. Hit 'em With the Classics Right Away. For all the talk of the 'shared experience' that WoTC likes to parade like a show dog, there are dozens of adventurers that haven't seen a 4e adaptation. When launched 5e should come out the door with several options for the GM including a boxed set that has something like In Search of Adventure. In addition to adventures and other classics of setting, for god's sake, throw some money at the old artist that made D&D the sensation it was. The fact that you can see Larry Elmore's art on miniatures and posters but outside of the one cover we got on Dragon when the introduction boxed set came out, is a damn shame. There are numerous artist who should be getting work from WoTC just to showcase their ties to the community. If Kezner and Co can hire a certain artist to do the cover of Hakcmaster basic, there is absolutely no reason WoTC cannot.
12. A decent starter box. WoTC, your started box was inconsistent with the core rules that came out shortly thereafter. Look at what Paizo did. I'm not saying it's perfect, but damn is it better than yours in almost every way that counts.
13. (I knew I forgot one) Don't dick around with the content. What do I mean? When 4e first came it, there was a deliberate decesion to without certain material from the first core books like the Player's Handbook and Monster Manual to 'encourage' buying of future books. Want the Frost Giant? Sorry, not in the core Monster Manual. Want to play a barbarian? Not in the first Player's Handbook. Listen, if your future content can't stand on its own two legs, then its worthless regardless of how you dress it up. What's worse, letting people know ahead of time that this is some dicking around to get money? Another bad marketing decesion.
I'm sure I'm missing some very obvious things or some people will disagree with me, but I think if WoTC can get out of its own way and stop being a corporation long enough to be, and let's be honest, this is what it probably needs to be, a game company, than 5th edition can succeed. Mind you, I personally think it may be too late. The days of Dungeons and Dragons being able to hit the types of goals necessary for it seem over. Look at it this way. If WoTC tells us that 4th edition did better than 3.5 which did better than 3.0 and its still not hitting its target numbers... well, that writing may not be on the wall but it certainly can't be fair away.
Monday, January 9, 2012
5th Edition D&D Already?
Labels: 5th edition, Dungeons and Dragons, WoTC
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It could be a brewing controversy in the nascent Murphy administration. Did the powerful teacher's union force the new governor to pull the nomination of a seemingly well-qualified educator nominated to serve as an assistant education commissioner? Paula White was hired unanimously by the state Board of Education, and then fired on the very same day, raising eyebrows and questions about just who's going to be setting the state's education agenda. Senior Correspondent David Cruz has the details.
Cruz: Paula White is an accomplished educator. She has a B.A. in Child Development from Spelman, an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Teachers College at Columbia. She started a charter school in Newark, served on the education commissioner's Charter School Task Force, and most recently she was the chief turnaround officer for the state's Department of Education. So you would think great candidate for at least an assistant commissioner of education job, and that seemed to be the way things were going until early this month. We pick up the story now with Paula White, who is with us now. So let's talk a little bit about this timeline of what went down. In January, you get a call from the education commissioner, Lamont Repollet, and he says, what?
White: He said, you know I'm really interested in having you join my team, join my executive team, to help to lead the Department of Education to new heights.
Cruz: So, then the board meeting comes. What happens there? This is the meeting of the state Board of Education.
White: The meeting of the state Board of Education. So this was actually a very short agenda, and it was really for the expressed purpose for approving some candidates that Acting Commissioner Repollet brought before the board. And that meeting went exceedingly well. I was unanimously approved by the state Board of Education. Both the acting commissioner and the chair of the board both spoke in positive terms about the value add that I would be bringing to the department, and I was just really eager and happy to be able to move forward with the organization.
Cruz: You thank the board at this thing, you have this kind of speech, they take pictures and everything, and then you go home and you get a phone call.
White: That's right. I actually hadn't quite made it home because I was driving from Trenton getting back to Montclair, where I live and then I get a call, while I'm in the car, and the call said, 'Hey, you know, I need to talk to you, I've got bad news.' And I thought, oh goodness.
Cruz: This is the acting education commissioner?
White: This is the acting education commissioner informing me that my offer was being rescinded. It was sort of very ambiguous, wouldn't go into detail, but just said that this was something that he had to do and that it would not be changing. And by not changing, saying that an assistant commissioner role was off the table. In other words, I was no longer going to be considered for a senior cabinet role. That could not be my title. I could not be a part of that inner circle.
Cruz: So what's going on in your mind here? You're like, what?
White: I was flabbergasted. I didn't know what to think. Certainly when we began our conversation, I did talk to the acting education commissioner about making sure that, whomever the folks were, that he would be presenting my name before that, but that they were crystal clear about who I was. I shared my resume. I'm proud of all the work that I've done and all of the organizations and entities with which I've been affiliated. But I do understand that we do operate in a political environment and I wanted to just be exceedingly transparent about making sure that folks were clear about who they were bringing to the table.
Cruz: So The Star-Ledger's Tom Moran suggested that the NJEA, the state's teacher's union, had objection to your candidacy because you were at one point state director of Democrats for Education Reform, and that those groups do battle, or disagree or whatever.
White: I would say that that is absolutely true that we don't always see eye to eye with the issues. Democrats for Education Reform is an organization that really supports, champions public school children. And part of what we believe is that accountability is really important in education, especially for the most disenfranchised children. So we care a lot about making sure that assessments are administered to kids. And we care a lot about making sure that public schools are good, regardless or sort of who's at the helm of them. We take a very agnostic approach to the kinds of public schools that exist, but the NJEA doesn't do that. To what extent that played into the decision, I'm really not sure, but it is really a fact that there is some tension there, certainly in political opinions.
Cruz: So did you think that, when this all started to unfold, did you think that that was part of it?
White: It did cross my mind, absolutely, yes.
Cruz: So here you are, an educator of some pretty good, sterling I would say reputation, and then this is what happens to you. What do you feel in retrospect? I mean disrespect has got to be, at least, the minimum, right?
White: So, I do feel a level of disrespect, but I think more importantly one of the benefits of sort of going to school and getting a college education and doing what mom and dad tells you to do is that I feel that I will have other options, right? That I will sort of be able to land on my feet. But really this is about sort of the larger issue of who gets to be at the table to make decisions for our children and what is the vetting process that we're using for that. Are we thinking about competency? Are we thinking about folks that are steeped in public policy that understand education, that have been on the ground? Is that what we're focusing on, or are we focusing on people that have the right connections based on whomever is in or out of favor politically with an entity or organization. So that's my fear, is really that we're using sort of the wrong measurements, we're using the wrong metrics, to evaluate folks that we deem to be qualified to serve and to contribute to education for the 1.4 million kids in New Jersey.
Cruz: So what would you say to the governor if he was sitting here, to the extent that, do you believe he had some role in this?
White: I really can't speculate or say that one way or the other. The first thing I would say to the governor, I did see him on the night when he did win because I've been a supporter. As a member of Democrats for Education Reform, the first thing I would say is congratulations. And the second thing I would say is that as you are moving forward with your education agenda, it's going to be really important to have all kinds of different folks at the table. And to be willing to listen and understand the various perspectives that will help to inform a final policy position that will be beneficial for all children.
Cruz: A mix that doesn't necessarily include the entire agenda of one particular advocacy group.
White: Absolutely. I think it's so important because the fact of the matter is we have a very high-performing education system in New Jersey, but it's not doing the same things for all children in New Jersey. And there are huge disparities that exist, and in order for us to tackle those, we have to be willing to have difficult conversations and we have to be willing to put forth an agenda and really work hard for kids, not for adults, but for children.


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A job search is not always fun. It is never easy to hear that you were not chosen for a job that you wanted. However, there are things that you are able to do that can make potential employers say yes to you. Simply use the tips below to help you get out of that rut and into a job.
Ask friends and family for help. Friends can get you connected with different employers that you might have not known about, otherwise. Recommendations are one of the best ways for you to land a job.
Don't slack off on your current job just because you are searching for a new one. This does not give you the option to slack off at your current job. You never know when word might get to potential employers. You will be successful if you always apply yourself.
When searching for a job, it's vital that you are prepared. Always have an updated resume available that highlights your qualifications. Include information about your education, degrees, certifications and commendations you have received. Including substantive references and good detail on your educational background can really help broaden the picture of your accomplishments.
When it comes to your coworkers and managers, remember to keep your personal and professional lives separate. Keeping relationships with your colleagues at a professional level is best. Personal relationships can get in the way of job performance in extreme ways. Avoiding a social disaster can help you keep your job.
Go to a lot of career fairs when you're looking for employment. These fairs are great for making contacts and acquiring knowledge. They can also help you develop a contact list of people that might be able to help you get future work.
Your job title may be restricting your job search. Expand beyond it. Get online and do some research on what kinds of job titles fit in with what you wish to do. This will allow you to apply for more jobs.
Social media can be incorporated onto your resume. This is very important, as you can leverage off of this to get a job.
Your cell number may be more appropriate to include on a job application. This way, you'll be able to take their calls at any time. Actually, it's okay to bring your cell phone along to any setting in which it might be needed.
You should not lie during job interviews. The interviewer is likely to run a background check and find out that you're not telling the truth. Even if the interviewer doesn't double check everything you say, it could soon become apparent that you don't possess the skills or experience you claimed you did. Therefore, make sure that you are honest about your actual strengths instead of trying to stretch the truth in order to impress.
Unanticipated or difficult questions from interviewers are vexing indeed. You should always be prepared for these questions, and not let them ruin the interview. When preparing for the interview, think about your weaknesses, gaps in employment, and problems with the law. Instead of lying about accomplishments or traits, be honest, but also show that you're willing to keep learning and moving forward.
Make sure you are aware of what your online presence looks like as many more things are moving in that direction. You must search for your yourself online to find what appears here and there. By doing this, you can see what potential employers will see when they search for your name, which is very likely. If you see unpleasing results, you can quickly change them before they do.
Check out employment agencies before you sign up with them. Some are agencies who will take you for all you're worth. Thoroughly research them and their history with others to see how honest they are. If you find a good agency, it can benefit you greatly.
Keep track of everything that you buy if you make money on your own. You'll want to hang on to all of your receipts because you never know what might help you out when it's time to do taxes. Organization will assist with your finances.
If you have your heart set on working for a particular business, it's a good idea to let them have a copy of your resume. Understand that your duty is not done. You should then follow up once each month to see whether or not they checked out your resume, as well as any other open positions. You can even stop by if you would like. If you show persistence, they are much more likely to remember you, and might even call you in for an interview prior to advertising the job.
If possible, be prepared with letters of reference. Many people are saying that they're ready with their references, but it's a great idea to have the letters on hand. This will prevent the interviewer from having to track down your references as they have them right in front of their eyes.
Examine all of your skills. If there are skills you can work harder on, take some classes and practice the skills. Classes can help you get to where you want to be, but if you can't afford the cost of a higher degree don't worry about it. Your chances of a better job improve with the information you have and the classes you take. For example, you can try to take a class on bookkeeping software if that's a job that you wish to apply for.
You might not want a new job, but visit career events and job fairs anyway. You could find an opportunity you were unaware of, or just keep abreast with the job market.
If you keep these things in mind, you can begin to make an about-face. Using this advice can make you the kind of candidate that anyone will want to hire. If so, you're more likely to be hired for a great position with a great company.


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We are focused on providing an excellent experience for our clients and creating an inclusive supplier network that provides security hardware, installation and service.
If you are a diverse supplier interested in doing business with RAE Security and part of one of the many National Certified agencies, please contact email@example.com for information to apply.
Certified Agencies:
National Minority Supplier Development Council
Womenâs Business Enterprise National Council
US Small Business Administration
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Today we have a word of the day: effulgent.
as per dictionary.com :
shining forth brilliantly; radiant
It's no secret that I like big words. Why use a ten-cent word when you can use a ten-dollar one? Like most writers, I collect words like this just in the hopes of dropping them into conversation, much less using them in my writing. This word comes courtesy of William the Bloody a.k.a. Spike, a vampire character in Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe. I've been re-watching the series and this word caught me again, made me smile, so I thought I'd share it.
What about y'all? What are some of your favorite ten-dollar words? Why? What do they mean?


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Canon PIXMA MP495
Wireless All-In-One Inkjet Colour Photo Printer
The Canon PIXMA MP495 is a versatile Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One printing and scanning with a compact design, stylish and innovative features. The MP495 brings superior performance with high quality, ease of use and convenience together in one small printer. With built-in Wi-Fi, you can continue to print photos easily from your iPhone, iPod touch and Android compatible devices. For the first time, you can change HD movies into beautiful pictures at home with extraordinary technology called Full HD Movie Print.
Full HD Movie Print software can print your favorite HD movie clips captured with a Canon EOS Digital SLR or PowerShot camera you into beautiful prints. With genuine Canon Hybrid Ink System, MP495 is able to provide maximum color resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi with pigment black ink for crisp text and dye ink for beautiful photos up to 8.5″ x 11″ with outstanding quality. Auto Photo Fix II technology will automatically analyze and image correction, red-eye removal and multi-zone exposure correction for beautiful images.
For scanning needs, Auto Document Fix will automatically provide advanced image analysis and correction of the data area-by-area for legible text and images that retain the color and contrast. While Auto Scan Mode automatically recognizes the type of scanning your original, then examines and saves with the appropriate settings. You also quickly print from the web with the software Canon Easy-WebPrint EX lets you collect clips and combine multiple web pages into your own layout, and you can even add text.
Here are drivers that need to activate the connection between the printer and computer.
[Download] MP495 series Scanner Driver Ver.17.7.1b – (macOS 10.12)
[Download] ICA Driver Ver. 4.0.0 – (macOS 10.12/10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7)
[Download] MP495 series Scanner Driver Ver. 17.7.1a – (OS X 10.11/10.10/10.9/10.8/10.7/10.6/10.5)
[Download] Linux IJ Scanner Driver Ver. 1.60
[Download] Linux IJ scanner driver source file Ver. 1.60
Get complete driver Canon PIXMA MP495 Series
Categories: Scanner


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He rubbed his eyes to make sure what he was seeing was true, and not only the product of what seems to be a very confused mind. He wasn't a man who looked into people's eyes but he knew by default and with however little common sense he had that when you look into someone's eyes you see your reflection, you don't see people running around, babies being born, a war in motion. You don't see any of that. You don't see a life.
Something told him what he saw was the life of that woman being replayed for him in the blue of her iris. He didn't know the names, the dates or any details, he just saw everything. He took a step back and as he tried to open his mouth to speak he felt a powerful force pulling him forward, a force he couldn't resist. He started to get smaller and smaller, and all of a sudden he was sucked inside the blue eyes of that stranger, and into the story of her life.
What he saw there was like an uncut footage of a movie. There was a small girl running around with a kite, a teenager sobbing silently in her room and in the far corner sat a woman in her thirties in front of a mirror, brushing her hair.
He walked up to her, and before he could see her face she turned around with a sudden motion. He recognized the blue eyes, but the smile was new to him, although he wouldn't have guessed in a million years that age would take such a heavy toll on this woman, who was hands down the prettiest thing he's ever seen in his pathetic life.
"Your late" She said bluntly
"You were waiting for me?" He replied hesitantly, as if he wasn't sure she was talking to him
"All my life."
"But… why?" It made less sense than everything he'd seen on the way to her
She gave him a look of confusion, as if he should know. "Because I love you" she said with a cracking voice, as if she had a lump in her throat.
"What?" He was lost now
"What… do you find it strange that I love you?"
"No, I find it strange that anyone loves me at all"
She laughed a silent laugh with her hand over her mouth. She reached and tried to touch his hair, but she couldn't. Her hand was going through his face like it was but a shadow. She raised her hand in front of her face and contemplated it with a horrified expression. She looked at him with teary, terrified eyes and, then, she turned into dust…
To be continued
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