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We have dozens of tutorials with step-by-step instructions and building tips.
The SkyCycle was featured on page 134 of the 2005 Guinness Record Book
The "TallBike" has been around as long as the regular bicycle, and in the 1800s these sky scraping contraptions were referred to as "Lamp Lighters" because those who rode them had the job of igniting oil burning streetlights. These brave tallbike pilots would climb up their 6 foot tall ladder framed two wheelers and then ride from one streetlight pole to another, igniting the wick of the lamp fastened to the pole. Today, tallbikes are only ridden by the thrill seeking adrenaline junkies, but the process of hugging a pole to mount and dismount the bike is pretty much the same as it was in the 1800s.
There is no real definition of what best describes a tallbike, but most would agree that it normally is any two wheeled bicycle that has its crankset raised over the height of the wheels. Some tallbikes can actually be mounted from the ground as the pedals are just over 2 feet from the ground, while others require the pilot to climb up the frame and launch from a standstill while clinging to a telephone pole. In the case of my over-engineered 12 foot tallbike "SkyWalker", the pilot can climb up the built in frame ladder while steering the bike using a built in steering rail that doubles as a handrail. SkyWalker is kind of hard to explain really, so check it out on our main page if you are curious. The tallbike presented here (SkyCycle) is reminiscent of the classic Lamplighter design, and requires the pilot to climb the frame and use a telephone pole to launch or come in for landing.
The scrap metal heap at the dump is a bike builder's wonderland!
This is the story of how I took a pile of scrap tubing found at the dump and merged it with a few old bicycles in order to get my mug into the pages of the Guinness Book of World Records, along with about TV interviews, radio interviews, and several magazines and newspapers. Normally, I am not much into seeking the spotlight, and I had no idea how massive the media storm would be when I broke the world record in 2003. The journey to stardom begins at the city dump.
So, I rolled into the dump one lazy afternoon with a pile of junk from the yearly spring garage cleaning. The smell of burning tires, seagull waste and diesel fuel filled the air as I begin to launch my scrap into the ever growing piles that are forming huge islands in the muck. As I finished emptying the back of the truck, I noticed a lot of bicycles lying around along with various metal tubing from bed frames, exercise machines, and fence posts. The year was 2002, and I was not really much into bike building or welding as I had a full time gig programming and fixing computers. As I looked at the endless supply of bike parts and scrap tubing, I remembered back to my youth when I used to hunt for old bikes and metal to concoct all sorts of scary yet fun human powered contraptions, including some 6 foot tall bikes. At that instant I decided, "Why not!" and ventured up to my knees in the muck to reach the twisted heap of metal and bike parts.
I filled the back of the truck with more than I came with, adding a mountain of twisted mountain bikes and old fence tubing to my collection. Each time the "dump police" would drive past, I would pretend to be unloading, but then put the junk back when they were not looking. The "no scavenging" rule was violated as much as possible that day! On my way out, they thought something was wrong at the scale because I actually weighed more than when I came in with the loads of scrap 486 computers and monitors! Oh well, I was now on my way home to begin a journey that eventually became this website.
Bikes like the Marauder and DeltaWolf were all built this way!
So, now I had a massive pile of scrap bikes and metal tubing sitting on the floor of my 1940s rotting wood garage and a cheap AC welder to zap things together with - the fun begins! Actually, I had no way to use my welder since the garage had no power so I hacked together a long extension cord and then retro fitted my welder plug to fit into the stove outlet. To use the welder, I dragged it over to the back door of the house and did all of my work kneeling in the wet grass at the base of the back stairs. This system actually worked for over four years.
Winter was setting in fast so the building season ended before I really got to make anything useful that year. I did manage to sketch out the design for my tallbike, and several bizarre recumbent contraptions that never really worked that well. It wasn't until December of 2002 that I decided to start building the tallbike, but knew I would only be able to cut the tubing as my welder was now frozen under a 4 foot pile of snow in the back yard. I actually began building the SkyCycle right on the floor of my computer room, so you will have to excuse the shag rug backgrounds on some of the photos presented here. Hey - it was cool to have shag carpet back in those days! So, here I was with a pile of old fence tubing and electrical conduit on the floor next to my computer table. Now, I had something to do while the Windows 95 setup screen counted from zero to 100 percent…yah, I had LOTS of free time!
So, I was causally rolling down the street enjoying the view when I heard this voice behind me yelling something about a World Record. I rolled up to a telephone pole and let him catch up with me. I usually stop for those asking questions as this is part of the fun. At this point, I never thought about any kind of World Record setting, but this guy told me that the current World Record for tallest bike was only 7 feet tall (as measured from the handlebars to the ground). That really surprised me, as I was already 3 feet taller than that with my current tallbike! Wow, I could actually beat the current World Record with this bike. That thought was interesting as I always enjoyed reading about those eccentric crazy inventors in the Guinness Book of Records, and now I could become one of them! I talked for awhile then rolled home to dig around on the Guinness Record website to check the current record.
I was now all pumped up about possible having the World's Tallest Bicycle, so I sat down at my computer and began to do some research. I found several tall bikes from various clubs and other garage hackers that were tall, but not as tall as the SkyCycle, so that was good. I then found the official Guinness Record site and the guy I talked to was correct - the current record for "Tallest Rideable Bicycle" was only 7 feet tall as measure from the top of the handlebars to the ground. Currently, the SkyCycle was already 2 feet better than the record! That was really cool to know, and I filled out an online form to find out how I could submit my bike for the record.
A week later, I received the data, and it stated the actual "rules" to define the bike and how to submit a claim. It all seemed very easy, actually, but I realized that Guinness was all about the bling factor, so if I wanted something more than a text mention on the website, I would have to make a big production out of my record attempt. They like the eccentric and crazy stuff, so the bike itself was good, but I decided to make it into a public event with video and lots of great photos so they would be more apt to show a photo of my bike on their site. Little did I know how much publicity was heading my way!
I chopped the top of the original SkyCycle and added another 2 foot section with another ladder rung, making the official record height now 14.5 feet from the ground! The seat was about 13 feet high, and the bike was so tall that even laying down it had no chance of fitting in the garage. I painted it a bright yellow for the bling factor and sky contrast and then did up all of the trimmings in black. The media were all over the event and I had just finished painting the bike on the day before the ride. This meant that my initial test run would be the actual record attempt on TV, so the outcome was either a World Record or absolute failure for the world to see. Astronauts are always under such pressure!
I took this photo five minutes prior to setting a new World Record
It was now July 1st, and I was up early to strap the new SkyCycle Maximus to the top of a truck and get it over to the large parking lot where I was going to meet the TV and newspaper crew for the World Record attempt. I was getting a bit nervous now because the day before my name was all over the radio and local news non-stop about this record attempt and that if successful, I would be the only Guinness Record holder in our city of 115,000 people!
Yikes! failure was definitely not an option now, and I was looking up the frame of a currently untested 15 foot tall two wheeled monstrosity! People soon began to pour into the parking lot, even though the location was kept secret. I guess the sight of the bike was enough to draw a crowd, and with all the media exposure, it was obvious what was about to happen - a record breaking, or my leg breaking!
Ground control to Major Tom...I could not get that out of my head!
It wasn't long before the TV crews had their cameras ready to go and the news paper reports were all in position. All that was left to do was climb up the 15 foot tall untested bike, and launch with one hand off the steel pole for a nice leisurely cruise around the parking lot! To make things more dangerous, I decided to wave a flag for Canada Day and snap photos as I rode around. Some people asked why I did not wear a helmet, but let's face it - if you are going down on this bike, it's going to be the road versus your ankles, so what would be the point? I don't wear a helmet when I am up on a ladder either.
As I climbed up the SkyCycle Maximus to a crowd of cheering onlookers, the song "Major Tom" played through my head, and I tuned out the ground below. I knew there was a high probability of success, but the fact that the new extended SkyCycle was completely untested made me a tad bit nervous. At the top, it was very apparent that "just 2 feet more" was a stupid phrase indeed as it seemed like I was a hundred feet in the air now! "It's gonna fly, it's gonna fly!" - I kept telling myself that as I looked into the ever growing crowd and tried to look relaxed while clutching the pole with one hand. I decided that it was time to meet my destiny and gave the pole one hard push.
The new SkyCycle felt a little heavier than before with the added weight, and it did not help that it was a very windy day. It must have looked like I was going to topple as I slowly began to move, but once rolling the cheering started and I knew I would soon have a World Record! I rolled up to a comfortable speed and then stood up on the pedals to hold the Canadian Flag up in the air for the "money shot", which would eventually be the one used in the Guinness Book of Records. The camera people followed the bike with their TV cameras and the news people ran behind me asking questions. I rolled around the lot for about half an hour to please the crowd and then casually rolled up to the original light post to make a soft landing.
From the junk yard scrap pile right into the World Record Book!
The new World Record now belonged to the SkyCycle Maximus, and the cameras were all over me the second my feet hit the earth again. It was kinda cool to be famous for the moment, and I now had all the video and photos needed to get the record and maybe even some exposure on the Guinness website. I took some detailed photos of the bike being measured and had the news people sign the forms as witnesses to the event.
The record attempt was now a record success and it aired on the local news (TV and print) the same night. I thought my instant of fame was now over, but to my surprise, the phone began to ring and emails began to pour in from all corners of the globe! I did live radio interviews from all over the World, Texas, Japan, Australia, and the list goes on! Magazines contacted us for photos, and the event aired on many other TV stations around the World.
I was really surprised that the record event was getting so much coverage. Even our hardly known website was brought down in a flurry of hits overt eh next few days, going from 1,000 visitors to over a million! The real kicker was when the TV news show "Canada AM" called up and said they wanted to do a live interview with me and the bike in our home town of Thunder Bay! It was cool to be on live National TV, but looking into that camera lens was more unnerving than the first test ride! Ah, the price of fame.
The SkyCycle Maximus soon became a local media icon
After a live interview with Canada AM on national TV, I took a break from paparazzi and compiled all of the data to send off to the Guinness Record people. I had all of the required signatures, measurements, photos, and video to make the record official, so the package was sent off priority post in hopes that they might mention me on their website as well as sending out some kind of certificate. Since there are so many World Records, only a very small number of them receive any mention at all, and I was hoping for a line of text under "World's Tallest Rideable Bicycle". Little did I know that I would be getting more World Record attention than I could have ever hoped for, even an overseas interview on a Japanese radio station!
Dude, your SkyCycle tallbike is in the Guinness Book!
A few weeks later, I received the official record certificate from the Guinness Record keeper, and they actually printed my info on their website under "World's Tallest Rideable Bicycle". It was so cool to be official now, and once again the phone calls and emails poured in for more interviews and to get photos for print. Then I got a call from someone I know telling me that my photo was actually taking up half a page in the 2005 Gold Edition of the Guinness Book of World Records! Surely, they must be joking?
I zipped over to the book store and to my amazement there it was on page 134 - a full color photo of the SkyCycle Maximus with me holding up the flag! All of that bling really paid off, and the printed my mug in the actual Guinness Book! That was more than I was ever expecting, and now I was officially one of those eccentric record holding inventors that I always read about when I was young! The phone calls once again started up, and continued for at least four years. Even now, I still receive the odd request for a photo or interview. It's always fun to talk about the SkyCycle.
The official Guinness World Record Certificate
So, there you have it! A pile of rusty scrap metal from the dump mixed with a crazy idea turns into Worldwide fame and everlasting glory! Well, ok, it wasn't that incredible, but it was sure a fun journey, considering the entire thing was done on almost no budget in an unheated winter garage using inexpensive tools, I would say it was an absolute success.
Sadly, I no longer have the World Famous SkyCycle Maximus as it was too large to store in the garage, but I still enjoy building tall bikes and other crazy contraptions that serve no purpose other than entertainment. Sure, there were suggestions to put it up for auction on eBay, but imagine the shipping cost!
A museum in Ottawa, Ontario, was interested in procuring it for an exhibit, but again the shipping cost was an issue.
My latest tallbike design "SkyWalker" allows the rider to climb up or down while the bike is moving, so it requires no launching pole, and can be taken anywhere. (see the Tutorials section). In the future I may shoot for a new World Record tall bike with a design I call "Bad Altitude". This new record tallbike uses the "SkyWalker" design and will be 25 feet tall from seat to road! Stay tuned.
OverKill chopper by AtomicZombie Brad Graham
It's no secret, choppers have hit the mainstream. With the great success of the many chopper shows on TV, it's no wonder you can purchase a "chopper bicycle" at just about every store that sells bicycles. All the bike racks look the same these days - first your kids bikes, then your freestyle bikes, now a row of mountain bikes followed by the granny bikes, but now the aisle has expanded and there sits the chopper.
At first it was cool to see these chrome forked extendos sitting there among the granny bikes, almost taunting them - drawing the young rider's gaze and spitting defiantly at the hardened "roadie", but after a while I felt uneasy about this new addition to the bike store.
"Cookie cutter chopper". That phrase kept running through my mind, and after a while, every time I saw a "chopper" in a department store, it felt like a little more defiance was whittled from the ever-dwindling totem pole of nonconformity.
How can you call a bike made in the thousands by little old ladies that only get a five-minute lunch break
once a day a chopper? Isn't a chopper a "chopped" bicycle? Doesn't the very art of chopping involve the creation of a radical and unique vehicle from something mundane? What the hell is going on here? Those bikes cannot be choppers - they are not chopped in any way shape or form!
I'm not saying the new Stingray isn't a sweet ride, I'm just saying that these bikes should not be referred to as choppers, no more than you would refer to a 2005 Dodge Neon fresh off the lot as a hotrod. You will never feel the same pride on a cookie cutter chop as you would on a machine built with your own ideas and hard work, especially when you head out for a ride and see a dozen other identical "choppers". It doesn't take rocket science to build a chopper, you do not need access to a machine shop nor do you need to invest a lot of money on exotic materials, you will only need the drive to create, and the ability to work your ass off to achieve your goals.
When I see a kid roll by on a bike that was obviously hand made - cut forks legs banged together end to end, painted with what looks to be left over house paint, I can only raise my thumb to the builder and spew out a loud "right on". When I see a rich kid roll past on a $2,000.00 store-bought chopper, I can only feel disappointment. Another sliver cut from the very soul of originality, another penny in the pockets of big enterprise that clearly does not understand our culture.
I built OverKill in retaliation to the mass marketing of soalled chopper bicycles. The entire bike is built using only an angle grinder, a welder and some basic tools. There are no machined parts, no expensive materials, just a few feet of department store electrical conduit and some bicycle scrap. Was this chopper hard to make? You're damn right it was hard to make pal, it kicked my ass for two days straight (putting a car tire on by hand is not that easy to do), but let me tell ya, I am just an average garage hacker, and the only skill I used to pull this off was my ability to work hard at my goals.
If you want it bad enough, you can do it as well. If it was easy to do, it wouldn't be worth as much in my opinion. If you want easy, head on over to the nearest bike shop and dump a few hundred bucks on a "chopper" with a six-digit serial number. If you want original, then be prepared to get dirty, bloody and tired.
Yes, it is worth it. What are you waiting for, start cutting up your sister's bike! Kudos to all garage hackers – you are my inspiration. ~ Brad Graham
Reviewed by Jim Wilson, Bike Rod & Kustom
Anyone who spends much time here at BR&K is familiar with Brad Graham's work - he's one of those crazy bike builders who's not content with the ordinary form of the bicycle, so he playfully stretches the boundaries about as far as anyone ever has. And he's been doing it since he was a child. Now he and Kathy McGowan have produced a "how-to" book on the subject, of great interest to anyone who'd like to mess around with bikes the Brad Graham way, or their own.
Called Atomic Zombie's Bicycle Builder's Bonanza (McGraw-Hill/TAB Books) it starts with the basics you need to know, setting up a shop to do it in, acquiring raw materials, stripping down bike carcasses for parts, etc. He also provides a surprisingly short list of tools actually needed to do the work, and their functions. Unlike many recent authors of "how-to" materials, Brad doesn't assume that everyone has a sophisticated shop filled with state-of-the-art tools and equipment.
According to him, all the budding metal butcher needs is a workbench (for which he provides plans), a vise, a hammer, a hacksaw, an electric grinder, some adjustable wrenches, the cheapest and most basic type of arc welder and some accessories for it. He gives a good basic instructional write-up on welding techniques with the stick welder, which is about as good as can be done within a printed text. He stresses that hands-on practice is the only way to really learn the art, but he shows and tells enough, through words and photos, to get you to the practicing point. Amazingly, this extremely minimal equipment is what he still uses to build his bike creations, and he does it in what most of us would consider a squalid, unheated shed.
This lowball approach applies to materials as well. He recommends common thin-wall electrical conduit, rather than fancier and more expensive tubing types. Sure, conduit isn't as strong or light as CrMo, but it sure is cheap and is certainly adequate to the task. This is very important if you whip up as many bikes as Brad Graham. And like we say, you aren't going to be running it in the Tour de Bloody France, eh?
After the basic information, Brad gets down to projects he's actually built, ranging from the ordinary to the extraordinary, with extremely detailed instructions on building them yourself, or using his tricks to build something different, using some of the aspects taught in a given project.
He starts with the simplest chopper type, based on the "gazelle" fork technique, in which another fork leg is added onto the original leg by pounding it on with a hammer and drilling a hole through the result for a nut and bolt to secure it. This is a very good introduction to chopper building for younger builders, and it's followed by two more choppers of increasingly more sophisticated design and construction. Among the components of these are many useful techniques for building fenders, a triple-tree fork, etc.
These are followed by a snow-going hammerhead trike which he then transforms into a tandem trike he calls the "Snow Bus" It features Ackermann steering and a very strong front end, suitable for extremely rough usage in snow and ice.
From there, things get weirder. Brad gets into the construction of two bikes of the tall variety, one a 10-footer, one of more modest aspirations made by turning the frame upside down and adding a new seat tube and extended steering stem. As usual, Brad's instructions are lucid and his plans are workable.
Brad then goes into the construction of recumbents and "low racers". These are ground-hugging machines built for speed, which look like they'd be lots of fun to build and play with.
Back into weirdness territory, Brad gives instruction on building a very interesting take on the hinged-in-the-middle "swingbike" concept, then goes even further out with a free-castored-rear, front-wheel-driven machine which is part low racer, part thrill ride.
Also sort of in the thrill ride category are a pair of unicycles, one of which, the "Wild Bull" is so challenging to ride that Brad's technique involves steering with one hand, to free the other one for wildly waving to help maintain balance. Bike Builder's Bonanza is a very apt title for this book.
If you just want to learn the skills to build that chopper or stretch that sled, you'll find the knowledge here. And if you want to learn what it takes to actually build some of those really crazy bike ideas you have, you'll definitely love this book. Brad and Kathy have produced a fine and useful book, and in doing so, have made it possible for many people to make their own bike dreams a reality.
Jim Wilson promoted custom bikes and builders on his webzine for years. He was always a proud supporter of Brad and AtomicZombie. Sadly, Jim died and his web site containing thousands of bike pictures, interviews and reviews was taken off-line. A huge loss to the bike building community.
The SpinCycle Stunt Trike
It never ceases to amaze us how people find out about Atomic Zombie Extreme Machines. In early 2006, Terry from the Telus World of Science in Calgary posted on our builders forum that they were having a bike exhibit from the National Museum of Science and Technology, May through September 2006. He was looking to acquire a Spincycle or tandem for a hands-on display where the public could ride bikes in the indoor arena.
Brad set out to design a new version of the SpinCycle just for the exhibit. In the spring, we packed it up and shipped it to Calgary.
The SpinCycle spent months at the exhibit and was shipped back to us. Terry said a lot of people enjoyed trying it out, and we got some emails from visitors who said they traveled from parts of Canada and the USA to the exhibit when they found out our SpinCycle would be there. Cool!
and Build Your Own All-Terrain Robots
In 2004, we launched a new Atomic Zombie web site and wrote another book. We had millions of hits on the old site that profiled Brad's passion for bike building. It's too bad we didn't have anything to sell at the time!
It wasn't an easy task for two people who had very little experience in web design, but we finally put something online after being flooded with requests following the successful 2003 World Record tallbike ride. People just couldn't get enough of that bike and the crazy guy who built it.
The site included some information on our two books, Bicycle Builders Bonanza (BBB) and Build Your Own All-Terrain Robots, photos of the bikes built in BBB, Sparky electric mini bike, and a gallery of Brad's homebuilt robots.
At that time, we didn't intend to make Atomic Zombie a real business, just a spare time hobby that included making custom bikes and robots, and showing others how they can do it, too.
Our main jobs were computer networking and repairs, so the after hours work in the small, unheated garage was on top of 12-16 hour days. Looking back, we wonder when we ever slept! I do remember many pots of coffee and late nights.
Brad built two robots for our second book, and another robot, VGER (Video Guided Entertainment Robot), made the local news at Halloween.
VGER entertains at a trade show
VGER also volunteered some time at a local trade show entertaining passersby. Brad controlled the 'bot via remote control, TV and voice box nearby. It was entertaining for kids of all ages.
Unfortunately, our small garage couldn't hold all of the projects and many had to be dismantled. A lot of work was put into them, but it just wasn't feasible to keep dozens of projects around, especially in the winter and spring when the garage floor flooded. Every April or May, the garage turned into a swampy steam bath. Not good for electronics. So, all of the robots were eventually taken apart and either recycled into other projects or stored in plastic buckets, perhaps to be revived into something else in the future.
Some of our latest books
After the Robot Builders book, we came up with some more ideas for the publisher's Evil Genius series and wrote five more from 2005-2011. We are proud of the fact that we have seven books, but they are a TON of work and very little return, considering the amount of time and effort spent photographing and writing them.
I laugh when someone assumes we're making a living off royalties. Yeah, right! That's not how things really work in publishing for the vast majority of authors, especially when you're doing the work for someone else. The reality that is once everybody else gets their piece of the profits, you get the crumbs. I always wondered why some authors have written well over a dozen books before I've even heard of them. The instant successes and Best Sellers in publishing are the exceptions, not the norms.
We were hoping that the royalties would be enough so that we could focus full-time on growing AZ, but as you can see, we are still not there yet. Maybe someday we will be able to devote all of our time and energy to AZ. I can only imagine the things we could accomplish.
We have more than 30 DIY plans as of this date (March 13, 2012), and will continue to have more available, as well as videos and tutorials. It all takes time and careful planning to pull everything together.
This is the view from our picture window
In 2010, we embarked on our most ambitious venture to date. We moved from our Northern Ontario city to the country.
With limited space in our house and garage, expanding AZ was becoming more and more difficult. City life no longer appealed to us. We needed room to grow and explore other opportunities.
A Sunday drive through an area I knew as a teenager got things rolling. We found the land, picked the building spot and began an 18-month journey to leave the city.
Needless to say, the rest of that year and most of 2011 were spent packing, moving, unpacking, living in tents and a small trailer and getting the site ready for our new home.
Despite all of the stress and unpredictable nature of the construction industry, Brad managed to build two new bikes and we put some video tutorials online, our official launch of AZTV. Some of the trials and tribulations of bike building literally "in the field" are shown in our webisodes. Check out the videos section. That pretty much sums up our history to the present. Thanks for coming along!
No garage and a makeshift shop. Bike building on a shoestring budget outdoors.


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Pearlware Polychrome
Transfer Printed Plate
Staffordshire , England c.1830
This stunning child's christening plate is circa 1830. The scalloped rim plate measures 5 3/4" in diameter, with a press moulded daisy border (featuring 112 daisies). It is transfer printed in dark brown, embellished with hand clobbering with enamel wash in green, yellow and orange red and the rim is hand outlined in green. The plate was impeccably potted.
The central image is a portrait of beautiful girl holding a basket of flowers and dressed in her Sunday best. The image is titled "The Pride of the Village". The plate is almost certainly a depiction of the short story of the same name, written by Washington Irving in 1820 as a part of his volume "The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon" (which included "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".) Irving was an American author who moved to Europe and wrote some of his best works while living in England. The plate is an absolutely stunning portrayal of a child of the countryside of early Victorian England.
The plate dates to about 1830 and although unmarked, appears to have been made in the Staffordshire potting region of England. The quality of the decoration and detailing is outstanding, and the coloring and decoration is particularly desirable. Plates like this were made as christening presents or gifts for good children given as rewards of merit and to aid in their moral education and schooling.
The plate is in great condition, with no chips, cracks, stains, or repairs. The plate is a delightful example of of the English potters' folk art, and great addition to any collection of early children's wares. A perfect gift for the collector of childhood imagery and literary themes.
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subset: commoncrawl


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The highly rapid development in PC components, especially processors has created a demand in the industry for more compatible products, ushering in a similar development pace for other components thanks to which we now have a plethora of hardware at our disposal. DDR4 RAMs have been out in the market for a while now, and very recently, Zion launched its latest series of DDR4 memory sticks which have a clock speed of 2400 MHz, making them on of the fastest Zion RAMs.
|Memory Type
|Tested Speed
|2400 MHz
|Tested Voltage
|Registed / Unbuffered
|Error Checking
|Non – ECC
|SPD Speed
|2133 Mhz
|SPD Voltage
|Aluminium Alloy
|3years + 2 Years Extension
Zion has heated things up with the Blaze memory sticks, give them minimalistic black and red colour scheme, which while remaining pretty simple, makes the RAM stick out visually. It comes with an aluminium alloy heatsink as well, resulting in better overall cooling and temperature management. There are two variants: 8GB and 16 GB, so you can have a maximum of 64 GB RAM (not that you'll ever need that amount) with four DIMM slots.
The Zion Blaze DDR4 is not just a good looking memory stick. Clocked at 2400 MHz, its performance is equally impressive, and provides incredible read/write/copy speeds of well over 15,000 MB/s, making them ideal for heavy operations like gaming and multitasking. The memory score is one of the fastest we've seen in a DDR4 RAM.
Considering that DDR4 memory sticks are becoming cheaper by the day, the Zion Blaze DDR4 makes a very competent RAM stick for gaming enthusiasts. Not to mention that Zion is presently offering a three year paperless warranty on all Blaze memory sticks. Add to that the fact that you can get an additional two years of warranty simply by registering your product on the website, and you're pretty much set for half a decade. If that's not a good deal, we don't know what is.
Register with us for the best in gaming, and join us for video game discussions on our forums.


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Small Business Advisor 2013.Q1 1
Small Business Advisor is the front-end software for the million-selling 'Starting and Operating a Business in ....' (NY, Ohio, etc.) book series, by Michael D.
Small Business Advisor is the front-end software for the million-selling 'Starting and Operating a Business in ....' (NY, Ohio, etc.) book series, by Michael D. Jenkins, a Harvard lawyer and CPA, now available in electronic editions for all 50 states (4 state edtions included in shareware version). Updated fully every 12 months, the software interviews you and then it creates a customized version of the book (for your state), in HTML file format. The software also creates a customized business startup checklist for you and can administer an 'Entrepreneur's Self-Test' to help you determine how well suited you are to running your own business. Since 1981, the "Starting and Operating a Business in...." book series, has been the standard tax/legal/practical guide to starting a business in any of the 50 states or D.C., until the print version ceased publication in 2003, and it was used as the standard reference in SBA offices in every state. The new electronic editions for all 50 states and D.C. have been FULLY REVISED AND UPDATED IN 2012. EACH INCLUDES NEW FEDERAL TAX LEGISLATION and other 2012 law changes. The prior print editions of this book series were chosen by Inc. Magazine in a cover article as one of the 6 'Best of the Best' small business guidebooks available, and Forbes Magazine, after an exhaustive analysis of over 200 small business guides, concluded that almost none of them were worth the paper they were printed on, but singled out the 'Starting and Operating a Business' series as one of only 4 such books that they could recommend to small business owners. With this combined software/book package, Ronin Software and author Michael Jenkins have 'reinvented the book.' By asking you a series of simple questions about your business, the software is able to take your answers and instantly create an entire book, customized for you and your small business, based on YOUR facts and the laws of YOUR state.
Requirements: Requires a web browser; now fully Win7 compatible


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Imagine you are stopped for a minor traffic violation -- like, say, not coming to a full stop at a stop sign -- and the next thing you know, you are given forced enemas, a colonoscopy, your stool is sifted through, and you are being X-rayed. Ha! That would only happen in the movies, right? Or in some despotic country where people have no rights? That could never happen in the good ol' US of A. Well, think again.
David Eckert is suing police officers in New Mexico for pulling him over after they say he didn't come to a complete stop at a traffic sign while turning out of a WalMart parking lot. But instead of just issuing him a ticket and being done with it, they ordered him to get out of the car. When he did, they believed they saw him "clench" his butt cheeks. Oh, don't ever clench your ass in New Mexico, my friends, because horror may be around the corner.
After the supposed butt clench maneuver, police reportedly suspected him of hiding drugs. Eckert says he was taken to a hospital and was basically tortured for the next 14 hours. He was allegedly given three enemas, two rectal searches, a colonoscopy, and two X-rays. He was forced to defecate in front of cops while they sifted through his stool.
Not only did they not find any drugs -- the hospital then billed him for the forced procedures and threatened to send a collections agency after him if he didn't pay! WTF??? Oh yeah, Eckert is suing the doctors too.
You would have thought New Mexico would have learned its lesson from the case of the guy who was put into solitary confinement for two years over a dismissed DUI, where his health failed so badly that he went crazy and had to pull his own rotting teeth out of his mouth -- the state paid him $15.5 million in one of the largest prisoner civil settlements in history -- but apparently not.
New Mexico is one scary ass place to drive. No pun intended.
Did you think stuff like this could happen here?
Image via Steve A Johnson/Flickr


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Vibrant Floors Infuse RCL Foods' New Office with Colour
18 Jan 2018
The large-scale, international food producer RCL Foods injected vibrancy and energy into its new Durban office by installing a selection of brightly coloured resin floor finishes from Flowcrete South Africa.
As one of Africa's leading food producers, responsible for a number of household brand names, it is vital for RCL Foods to portray a high-end image at all times - and getting the appearance of its office right was critical to this.
Located in Westville's Westway Office Park, the new building was designed to provide a creative environment using materials that would also meet the specific demands of each area. This design ethos included specifying a variety of floors that would cleverly meet both the aesthetic and operational demands of the site.
This was most evident in the building's Test Kitchen. A focal point of the new office, the kitchen needed to be both a visually stunning showroom as well as a practical area for cooking. To achieve this, 311 m2 of Flowfresh SR Ultra in a bespoke blue that matched RCL Foods' corporate colour was installed to link the space to the visual identity of the business.
Flowfresh SR Ultra was ideal for the task at hand, as it is a very durable polyurethane system that is able to survive the temperatures, spillages, chemicals and impacts inherent to a busy kitchen environment. This HACCP International certified system provides the highest possible hygiene levels by incorporating the antibacterial additive Polygiene® within the floor, enabling it to eliminate up to 99.9% of bacteria in contact with the floor finish.
To extend this colourful interior design scheme across the building, 272 m2 of Peran SL Fruity flooring was supplied for the 18 male, female and disabled toilets. This system allowed the designer to use an extensive palette of colours, including Tomato, Kiwi, Grapefruit, Tangerine, Spearmint and Plum, so that no two toilet facilities were the same.
The seamless and impervious nature of Peran SL Fruity makes it quick and easy to clean, helping to ensure that the floor maintains a fresh and unblemished appearance. The robust credentials of this self-smoothing epoxy system means that it will withstand the foot traffic, cleaning chemicals, scuffs and scrapes that it will inevitably be exposed to.
To guarantee that visitors and staff would be immersed in a colourful and energetic environment from the second they set foot in the building, a decorative floor was installed in the lift lobby on each level of the building's three-storey car park. 378 m2 of the epoxy resin floor coating Peran STB in a sleek, dappled grey colour was applied in the lobby areas to provide a pleasant transition from the car park to the office.
This combination of floor finishes meant that RCL Foods could rest assured that its new office would have a vivid, contemporary and on-brand surface underfoot that would be able to withstand the various challenges that such a busy and unique office space would throw at it.
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Notes to Editors
Flowcrete South Africa has offices in Durban and Johannesburg and is one of the four divisions that make up Flowcrete Group Ltd.
Flowcrete Group Ltd. is a world leader in the manufacture of seamless industrial and commercial resin floor, wall and coving solutions as well as other specialist coating technologies. Flowcrete Group Ltd. has international manufacturing facilities in Europe and Africa as well as Central and South East Asia.
Flowcrete supplies world-class seamless flooring solutions to transform environments across the globe including; decorative seamless resins, waterproof car park deck coating systems, seamless resin terrazzo, durable antimicrobial flooring, fast curing systems, corrosion protection and self-levelling underlayments.
Flowcrete's ambitious and dedicated team, led by President Craig Brookes, is inspired by excellence in people, products and service as well as continual innovation and sustainable growth. Flowcrete continues to use its global expertise to introduce environmentally friendly, hygienic and aesthetically attractive floors to create a better and more sustainable world.


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Popular accessories for BLU phones include chargers, skins and cell phone cases ranging from silicone to hard shell hybrid cases with kickstands. As of February 2015, the BLU website link for the accessory shop directs customers to their online store on Amazon.
BLU Products, established in 2009, offers customers mobile devices through dealer agents and large retailers worldwide. The company's devices are affordable, no-contract and pre-paid mobile phones.
Popular cell phone accessories are available online at sites such as Amazon, My Cool Cell and other cell phone accessory stores that offer universal or compatible accessories for the BLU Advance, Dash, Life, Studio, Tank and Vivo cell phone models.
Popular silicone or rubberized protective cases for BLU cell phones protect the phone from dirt and damage, and fit precisely to the specific BLU cell phone model, featuring custom cut-outs to allow full access to all the features that the phones offer, such as the camera, the charger and the speaker functionality. The cases ensure easy and safe portability, and are available in a variety of colors and designs in hard, silicone, holster and pouch varieties.
Another popular accessory available are cell phone charms, which are used to decorate and personalize the device. The charms feature stones, enamel or interchangeable designs to customize the phone.


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Kolkata: Former India one-day player Rohan Gavaskar on Tuesday retired from competitive cricket, more than two years after playing his last first class match.
Rohan, who was Bengal captain for two years from 2001 to 2002, has forwarded a letter to the Cricket Board President N Srinivasan informing him about his decision to quit.
Son of legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar, Rohan played 11 ODIs between January and September 2004 before he was dropped.
He had scored 151 runs at an average of 18.87 with a half century to his credit.
He also played in 117 first class matches, his last being against Uttar Pradesh in December 2009 in a Ranji Trophy Super League tie.
He has 6938 first class runs to his credit at an average of 44.19, hitting 18 centuries and 34 half centuries with 212 not out being the highest score.
He played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League till 2010 before he took up media commitments.


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Talking Glossary of Genetic Terms
Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D. defines Carrier
A carrier is an individual who carries and is capable of passing on a genetic mutation associated with a disease and may or may not display disease symptoms. Carriers are associated with diseases inherited as recessive traits. In order to have the disease, an individual must have inherited mutated alleles from both parents. An individual having one normal allele and one mutated allele does not have the disease. Two carriers may produce children with the disease.


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Gear : Training & Accessories : Sunglasses : Costa Del Mar Sunglasses : Harpoon Polarized Sunglasses - Costa 400 Glass Lens
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The outcome of a trial that was widely regarded as a litmus test for how the US military handles sexual assault in its ranks has caused an outcry among lawmakers and advocates of victims of sexual assault – as well as many long-serving military officers.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, accused of sexual assault, on Thursday received what was widely regarded as a light sentence, consisting of a $20,000 fine and an official reprimand.
The general had pleaded guilty to having a long-standing affair with a captain under his command and having inappropriate relationships with three other junior soldiers. Earlier in the week the Army dropped sexual assault charges, citing what the judge (an Army colonel) reportedly believed were questions about unreliability in the victim's testimony and "undue command influence" in moving the charges forward.
"We thought it was a tremendously fair sentence," says Josh Zeitz, a communications specialist on the general's defense team.
Some lawmakers begged to differ. "I was shocked to hear that he received no jail time or reduction in rank," said Rep. Niki Tsongas (D) of Massachusetts, in a statement. "It is clear that Brig. Gen. Sinclair abused his authority and perpetuated a toxic military culture that is accepting of unprofessional, inappropriate and criminal behavior."
Although he pleaded guilty to "maltreatment of a subordinate, having inappropriate relationships with and soliciting illicit pictures from junior female officers, possessing pornography, misuse of a credit card and using derogatory language," Representative Tsongas noted, he did not receive any jail time or reduction in rank as part of the sentence.
The verdict also caused ripples among retired military officers. Although charges of sexual assault were dropped, Sinclair should have been held accountable for the sexual relationships with subordinates to which he pleaded guilty, says retired Lt. Col. Gary Bloomberg, a former Special Forces officer and a West Point graduate.
"Bad day for the Army," Mr. Bloomberg says, adding that, given the inappropriate relationships to which Sinclair admitted, the verdict "is a joke from a perception perspective."
Sinclair's sentence was "beyond disappointing," said retired Rear Adm. Jamie Barnett, now a partner with the law firm of Venable LLP, who represented the accuser on a pro bono basis. "Clearly, the Army judge does not understand the nature of cruelty, maltreatment of subordinates, and sexual abuse by a superior in command," he added in a statement. "This sentence can only be interpreted as the Army viewing what General Sinclair did as just not that bad."
Advocates for victims of sexual assault said that the light sentence may reignite the push for commanders to be stripped of the ability to decide whether or not to prosecute sexual assault cases.
"The defense's argument that [Sinclair] was only prosecuted because of 'undue command influence' provides strong argument that the decisions to prosecute should be removed from the accused's chain of command and assigned to professional prosecutors," said Nancy Parrish, president of Protect Our Defenders, an advocacy group, in a statement. The case "provides a clear example of why 9 out of 10 sexual assault victims never report their attacks."
While the prosecution asked for no jail time, it did request that Sinclair be kicked out of the military. The judge – known in military parlance as the "convening authority" – did not grant that request, instead allowing Sinclair to submit his retirement papers.
In the coming weeks, a board will decide whether Sinclair can retire at his current rank as a brigadier general, or whether he will be demoted to the rank of his "last honorable service" before being permitted to retire.
Sinclair's lawyers say that they expect him to be demoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Sinclair's current salary is more than $12,000 a month, while lieutenant colonels earn $8,600 per month. Officers with 28 years of service, as Sinclair has, are paid a pension worth 75 percent of their salary.
Sinclair's defense lawyers argued that had he been kicked out of the military, his family would have unfairly suffered. What's more, being "falsely accused of rape is a punishment that far exceeds the crime," Mr. Zeitz says. "People can disapprove of the conduct and people can disagree with the sentence," he adds, "but they should try to walk a mile in his shoes."
The defense team also argued that other general officers have committed "worse" crimes and received lighter sentences, Zeitz says.
"There's the case of a brigadier general who had affairs with two other women and physically assaulted one of them. His case was dealt with administratively and he's still serving," he adds.
Critics point out that, perhaps, this points to some flaws in the military justice system, and that generals may be treated differently for military crimes than enlisted soldiers – known in the halls of the Pentagon as "different spanks for different ranks."
They add that the Army would not have been punishing his family by denying Sinclair retirement benefits but rather that he chose to risk punishing them himself when he engaged in the behaviors to which he pleaded guilty.
The question remains what lessons the US military will take from the outcome of the case.
Since the charges of sexual assault were dropped, "Some in the military still seem to view this as having been a consensual affair," said Mr. Barnett. "No sexual advances by a superior officer towards a junior officer or soldier under his or her command can be viewed as consensual."


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Dev (Colors) 7th October 2017 Written Episode Update: Dev meets Vani Sahay
Dev (Colors) 7th October 2017 Written Episode, Written Update on TellyUpdates.com
The Episode starts with Dev reaching Sahay house. He sees Mahek's pic with a man. He checks around and sees some books. He sees Vani doing yoga. He says Mahek ……. Vani turns to him and gets shocked. She asks who are you, how did you come in, get out, I will call police. He leaves. A girl runs on road and asks a couple to help her. The goons find her and shoot. Dev wakes up and looks around. He is in the graveyard. He sees Mahek's grave and recalls her. He leaves.
Zohra and Meera watch a minister's interview. Dev comes home. Meera says he changed since the accident happened. Zohra says yes, he is not like before. Avi comes home and is sad. He says my friend was hurt, he said he fell from cycle, but he has no cycle. Meera says freshen up, I will get food, then we will think.
Dev says I m a detective, not a social worker. Zohra asks won't we do anything if a stepdad beats a kid. Avi requests. Dev agrees. A lady Maryam asks inspector Singh about her daughter Sajida.
Dev and Meera are on the way. She asks why did you not say you are coming, don't get angry, I can read your face. He says you are making me take this case by sending Avi. She asks him to get an evidence against Harsh's stepdad. He asks why does Harsh's mum not leave her husband. She says everyone is not like me, it needs courage. Dev and Meera reach Suresh's office. Meera meets Harsh. She meets Sheetal and asks her what happened, is she fine.
Meera sees Sheetal hurt. Sheetal worries that Naresh will come. Naresh comes office and learns someone came to meet Sheetal. Maryam asks Naresh about Sajid. Naresh says I went to drop Sajida to airport, if she has run away, what can I do. She says she is not like this. Naresh says my agency name got spoiled. She asks him to do something. He asks her to go to police. She cries.
Meera argues with Naresh. He denies beating Harsh. Sheetal and Harsh get scared. Naresh insults Meera. Dev scolds him. Naresh asks Dev to get out and hits him. Meera takes Dev. She asks him why did he get beaten up. Dev says I was seeing if he is violent, I got revenge for the slap, his bracelet. She says this is theft. Dev signs her to talk to the lady. Meera asks Maryam what happened. Maryam says Naresh got a job for Sajida, then her phone didn't come, I went to police, but no use, they are saying she has run away, but she is not such, she used to always stay with me. Sajida is kidnapped and calls out her mum. Many girls are kidnapped. Sajida cries. Dev thinks what does Naresh go. He calls on the number and says where is Sajida.
Dev meets Hemant and asks about Naresh's work. He takes him in confidence and asks about Sajida. Hemant says my life has become a hell, I can just say there were many girls who didn't reach for job, Naren has much contacts, he proves the girl has run with lover. Dev says I want list, its your chance to take revenge from him. Hemant gives the list.
Dev tells Zohra and Meera about the missing people. Zohra asks how can Naresh make them disappear. Dev says such Naresh can tell us, he is having an affair. Meera tells the plan. Dev thinks of Vani. He comes to Sahay house. He sees Vani. Her husband Arastu comes on a wheelchair and compliments her. He says I m very lucky to have you in my life. They dance and hug. Dev leaves.
Its morning, Abdul calls for Dev. He talks to Meera and refuses to give any info to her. She says I m finding Dev worried, tell me. He says I work with Dev. Dev comes there and takes call. Abdul says I did the work, I have footage with me. Meera asks him to come and expose Naresh. They follow Naresh.
Dev enters the house. Naresh romances someone. Sheetal says you can't do anything, I was better when I was alone, I came in his fake promises, he married me for money, this agency was of my dad, he took it and is doing wrong work, I have no courage, I m scared for Harsh, you don't know Naresh, he is a dangerous man, he said he will kill Harsh. Meera says if I do something, will you support me. Naresh gets the girl to the room. Dev hides under the bed. The girl asks Naresh to give her passport. He hears phone ringing. Dev's phone rings. Dev gets on the bed and asks the girl to be quiet, else her passport is gone. Naresh gets the bracelet under the bed. Dev gets down the bed again. Naresh gets up. Dev has taken his phone. Naresh says I had to make a call, I will get my phone. He goes.
The girl asks Dev who is he. Dev says I will help you getting your passport, I will come back. Naresh sees Dev leaving and runs after him. He gets a call on Naresh's number and answers. The man says if Maryam comes to ask for Sajida, we will kill her. Dev acts to get the address of Sajida. Maryam offers prayers and cries. Dev reaches the place and finds Naresh there. Dev gets the gun from him. Naresh and Dev fight. Inspector comes and points gun at Dev. Singh supports Naresh and gives a warning to Dev. He asks Dev to leave. Dev says so Naresh's racket is running well because of you. He fights with Singh. Singh arrests him.
Dev recalls Vani. Meera comes to meet him. Narvekar talks to Dev. Dev and Meera tell about Naresh, who is running human trafficking racket, they have to save all the girls. Narvekar says Dev has to move back in Naresh's case. Dev says fine, you have to make Sajida reach her mum. Narvekar says I know Singh, we can take help from social worker Kusum. Meera thanks him. Meera and Dev leave.
Meera says if I didn't take Narvekar's help, how would you get free from jail. Harsh calls Meera and says Naresh will kill mum, come fast. Meera gets shocked and asks Dev to take her to Sheetal's case. Dev and Meera come to Naresh's house. Narvekar tells about the case to Kusum and takes her help. Harsh calls him and says someone has stabbed Naresh. Dev and Meera find Naresh dead. Dev says how will we get Sajida now. They see Harsh. They see Maryam there.
Dev tries to save Sajida. He goes to Vani's house. Arastu threatens to kill him. Vani says trust me, I m not your wife.
Update Credit to: Amena


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EVEN the best teams lose games but Fenerbahce will need to bounce back from their shock Europa League defeat to Molde with a win. With that next fixture coming this Thursday at Celtic Park, Ronny Deila is acutely aware of the possible backlash.
"I think we'll meet a team hungry for revenge after their last result in Europe and they are a team with a lot of quality. It's going to be a very interesting game, a very exciting game, something to look forward to."
The calibre of the individuals at the Turkish club is not disputed, with summer signings Robin Van Persie and Nani bolstering a squad which already boasted a group of international names imported from several of the most credible leagues in Europe. But, the fact that they still lost out to the Norwegian underdogs in the first night of group matches, suggests that they have not settled seamlessly.
Dutch striker Van Persie, below, has only had one full game since signing, managing 60 minutes here and there but, for any worth he offers on the pitch, he is portraying himself as a detrimental force off it, publicly undermining the head coach Vitor Pereira in a recent match as he shooed him away. One of President Aziz Yıldırım's signings, the former Arsenal and Manchester United front man obviously sees himself as untouchable.
It has not hindered the team in the league, setting the pace in the domestic campaign, but it could limit his involvement in Glasgow and signals chinks in their armoury and adds extra pressures which Deila will hope his players can collectively exploit.
"Every coach has challenges," said the man whose team drew their opening group fixture away to Ajax. "It's the same at under 11s, Third Division, Celtic, or Fenerbahce. It's the same things – you have to get the players to believe in what you're doing. You have to drag them in the right direction, together, as a manager.
"If you can do that, you have better players at the biggest clubs, but there are so many things affecting them. For Fenerbahce, like at Celtic, the fans are amazing, the expectation levels are very high. There are so many other things that affect a team.
"But you need players that are hungry and want to learn. That's always a challenge with players who are older because some of them are more relaxed and thinking about what they have done before rather than what they have done in the future.
"I haven't seen what he [Van Persie] has done. I need to have the weekend to sit down and watch games, but we know at his best he is a very good player. If he's on his best he's going to be a challenge for our defence.
"At Fenerbahce they have pressure all the time, like we have here. That's something they have to deal with. They have started well in the league, they are up at the top, but everybody can lose a game – it's how they react to it. We just have to make ourselves prepared and play at our best, then we'll have a good chance to beat them."
Like most of Europe the Celtic boss was surprised by the hefty 3-1 home loss to Molde and while he still has more analysis to do before finalising a gameplan, he is aware of the success his countrymen had through solid defending and playing well on the counterattack.
That may be more of a problem for Celtic, given the defensive frailties which have been shown up against the best teams and have been exacerbated by the departure of Virgil Van Djik.
Deila, though, is a man who believes in evolution and improvement. That is only viable if players are willing, and able, to learn from errors and, the onus is on players who have the most experience on this stage.
"Since I came here I think this is our 22nd game in Europe in just over a year, so it's a lot of experience for the players. A lot of players are learning and adapting quicker because they get the opportunity."
Studying for coaching badges and taking charge of younger age groups is also a valuable learning tool, as far as the Celtic boss is concerned. He began his graduation from player to coach early in his career so he was better prepared when the final transition was made. With guys like Scott Brown going through that process now, he is confident that his captain and leader on the pitch will gain an even better understanding of the game.
"I need here at Celtic a culture of reflection. It's not about winning or losing. Yes, we want to win but we have to learn from every experience because if you do not reflect on what you are doing you will stand still. And you will make the same mistakes and also the same good things. But if you are going to evolve and get better you have to reflect. If players are doing coaching then they are reflecting. What am I actually doing? Is it something I believe in? And then a good coach is very clear and can say what he wants. I have done it for a lot of years but I am still very young with so much to learn."


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Investors dump bank shares.
One large shareholder in banking stocks warned that it was considering ditching all its investments in the sector in the wake of the Libor scandal and the money laundering allegations at HSBC – which were compounded by the allegations against Standard Chartered.
Comment: What did you expect? If a bank cheats its costumers – what should keep them from cheating their shareholders?
That begs the next question: Which shareholders? Considering the large sums in bad loans, where the banks have not made (adequate) provisions what equity is left to share? And do you really think a large investor would bad mouth stock he is trying to ditch? Off course those shares have been sold a comfortable while ago.
Bank stocks seem to be one large game of musical chairs with the banks desperately hammering ever harder in the keyboard.
Pretty exactly a year ago yours truly sensed a major sell off of Danske Bank A/S (PINK:DNSKY) (CPH:DANSKE) shares – which later turned out to ATP and PFA seepingly getting toilet papers out of the portfolio. Where do such "securities" end up? Well of course the bank doesn't buy them themselves – that would probably be illegal – and I wouldn't dream of accusing Danske Bank A/S (PINK:DNSKY) (CPH:DANSKE) of doing something illegal……. far from ….
But of course the bank cannot prevent some of their "investors" from buying into the opportunity of obtaining cheap bank shares – even if it means extending the credit line (temporarily of course – just until things normalise and the profit can be taken home) slightly: There is of course no risk, as splendid shares are available for collateral. And of course such "investors" have an unshakeable faith in the management of the bank – brilliant as it is – the faith, not the management.
But when push comes to shove and the grim reality broaches like a Los Angeles class submarine with white hot reactors trying to outrun the torpedoes. Then in the aftermath – where do the shares end up – and more importantly: Where has the equity gone?
This possibly was a factor in Bankia: When shares approach zero value the loans to "investors" are called home – "investors" can't pay off course and the collateral is seized. Not only does the share enter into the own share holdings – reducing the number of voting shares – but the losses on the costumers (limited liability companies if the "investors" have any sense) will have to be deducted directly from the equity.
So the bank inspection end up with a bank without share holders and no equity – depositors have left the building a long time ago. The only thing not being figments of imagination is the losses on outstanding loans: The CB has of course extended credit; but naturally with the few serviced loans as collateral – which of course are seized and sold off. The only thing left is misery.
What can a "responsible" bank management and market place do to prevent the runaway train from crashing?
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has the answer:
Blame the computers!
The series of stock exchange break downs continue: Tuesday the trade in derivatives was suspended in Tokyo, the world's third largest stock exchange. For two hours futures on the Topix-index, Japanese sovereign bonds as well as all options could not be traded in Tokyo. The exchange announced a technical problem in the newly installed system.
Already in February the trade in 241 stocks (among them important securities like Sony and Hitachi) on Tokyo exchange was suspended for more than three hours.
The incident in Japan put the spotlight on the still more frequent trading problems on exchanges. Monday the stock trade was interrupted on the Madrid exchange – due to technical problems – for four and a half hours. The exchange company BME had renewed the system three months ago to increase speed and capacity – to keep up with competing exchanges. The Xetra-Handelssystem on the German stock exchange was out of order for more than an hour in the beginning of May.
The electronic exchange Bats (third largest in America after NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) and NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.
) had technical problems.
The computer problem explanation lacks credulity: I for one have drawn attention to the end-of-year break down in Denmark of the cash machines (centred on Danske Bank A/S (PINK:DNSKY) (CPH:DANSKE)) and there was a smaller hiccup end of March, which nobody noticed – and probably another mid-April (haven't bothered checking if the CB has retrospectively corrected the figures). Danske Bank is generally acknowledges to have very good computer system – reliable, with a good interface and competent help desk. So we can pretty much dismiss computers as being the problem.
"Technical problems" is hilarious: The marketplace works supremely – as long as nothing is traded!
There are however more serious implications for the serious investor – and I'm not here referring to the self important smart-asses that should rather waste their time in a bingo-parlour or with on-line poker.
For one the serious investor cannot rely on the accountability of any stock exchange, when they offer the same bold faced lie at all the numerous opportunities. That is not a place to deal with entrusted money.
The CEO of ATP, Lars Rohde was even more outspoken when he denounced the CIBOR related securities pointing out that the interbank lending market did in practise not exist due to the very limited turnover. Turning to quality sovereign bonds despite their pitiful yield, as the possibility of major losses was of frightening dimensions.
This means that the days of passive investment are over. Diversifying out of stocks and bonds where you haven't got the technical (not financial technical) insight is begging for turning an uncertain yield into a dead certain loss. Rohde of ATP is taking the proposition a bit to the extreme: He is consistently mentioned as the next CB CEO when the current retires early next year.
The problem with nationalized banks is that it is preferable to have state owned banks to having bank owned states. So what you really want is to own the state – provided it is in reasonable repair!


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Meeting Facility Overview
Room Specifications
Pala Casino Resort and Spa has 30,000 sq. ft. of fully equipped meeting and function space. With 17 flexible meeting rooms ranging in size from 411 to 957 sq. ft., eight of them over looking the garden and pool, and a spectacular 20,000 sq. ft. ballroom, Pala's facilities can accommodate just about any type of event.
The 30,000 sq. ft. of meeting space at Pala can adapt to a variety of configurations. The 17 meeting rooms are ideal for small to mid-sized meetings and can accommodate groups from 10 to 125 people. The rooms also offer a variety of seating options, including theatre, classroom, banquet and conference.
The Ballroom and the Pala Events Center provides 20,000 sq. ft. of continuous space that can be broken down into four smaller rooms, two of which measure 3,233 sq. ft. and two that measure 6,466 sq. ft. Ideal for large meetings and events, the Pala Events Center also provides a number of seating options, including theatre, classroom, banquet and conference.
Pala also offers an intimate outdoor wedding area that can accommodate up to 175 guests. For those expecting more wedding guests, the Event Lawn and Events Center can accommodate up to 1,000 guests. Wedding services provided by Pala include outdoor ceremonies, bridal showers and rehearsal dinners, special room rates for guests, and bridal suites.
Pala also provides a complete audio and visual setup, running the full gambit from access to PowerPoint presentations to video and audio equipment, including microphones and speakers. Pala houses eight restaurants and a full catering department, so catering is also available for meetings and events. Catering can be arranged in a separate room or in the same room as any function.
Pala Casino Resort and Spa is a full-service property, offering meeting attendees a variety of recreational options during downtime. Pala's casino houses 2,250 state-of-the-art gaming machines and 85 table games. Guests can also enjoy a variety of venues that feature live entertainment. Pala Spa provides a relaxing environment with 14 treatments rooms and a full-service salon.
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Pasta Puttanesca ( the Madame's Pasta )
I would rather have a plate of this over spaghetti any day. In the absence of a tomato sauce... the flavors really stand out. This dish originated in the...
sugar, +anchovy paste, +olives, +capers, +red pepper flakes, +parsley, +basil, +garlic, +green olive, +green onion, +italian seasoning, +tomato, +olive oil, +parmesan cheese, +red wine, +pasta
Mushroom Wafuu Pasta Recipe
Most wafuu pasta recipes are very quick and easy to make, so they are great for quick dinners. This dramatic black and white pasta, from http://www.justhungry.com/...
sugar, +mushroom, +soba noodles, +soy sauce, +rice vinegar
www.grouprecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Dressing for Pasta or Potato Salad
This is the sauce my mother uses for both her potato and pasta salads (the mayo based ones anyway). So good, rich and delicious. Enjoy!
sugar, +black pepper, +mayonnaise, +mustard, +salt, +vinegar
Pasta Arrabbiata
Pasta in 'angry' sauce - yummy! My favorite type of pasta sauce. Can easily adjust spices to your liking.
sugar, +basil, +white wine, +garlic, +olive oil, +oregano, +pasta, +red pepper flakes, +tomato sauce, +tomato
Super Easy Tomato Sauce for Pizza and Pasta
aka: Basic Pizza Sauce. This tomato sauce we've created can be made and used right away, but it's much better if made a day ahead. This is fantastic for...
Mushroom Mint Pasta Salad
"Delicious mushroom pasta with its flavour delicately enhanced and lightened with mint. Eaten as a cold salad with BBQ or as a warm side dish for French...
sugar, +black pepper, +heavy cream, +mint, +olive oil, +onions, +salt
allrecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Sesame Pasta Chicken Salad
"A refreshing light pasta salad with a delicious Asian flair. Great for a summer cookout or picnic. Tastes great right away, and even better if you can...
sugar, +black pepper, +chicken, +ginger, +green onion, +soy sauce, +rice vinegar, +vegetable oil, +sesame seed
allrecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Creamy Pasta Salad
This is a wonderful and very easy pasta salad. Great for picnics.
sugar, +celery, +green pepper, +mayonnaise, +onions, +black pepper, +salt, +pasta (in general), +sour cream
Naples-style Pasta Salad Recipe
A Wonderful Vegetarian Pasta Salad which can be used for lunch or dinner. Prep:10m
sugar, +crisco, +oregano, +garlic, +onions, +pasta, +red wine vinegar, +romano cheese, +salt
www.grouprecipes.com - Similiar recipes
Pasta Frolla cookies
sugar, +flour, +butter, +eggs, +vanilla extract, +lemon
www.nibbledish.com - Similiar recipes
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As UFC Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Marc Ratner recently said to a group of experts on the Nevada Athletic Commission's advisory panel regarding drug use, "Times are changing." In conjunction with growing public acceptance of marijuana, the UFC has decided to soften its stance on fighters who smoke pot by increasing the allowable level of metabolites in a significant way.
"When we self-regulate around the world, we are going to go the WADA standard of 150 ng/mL. So we're starting that immediately," said Ratner in a conversation with the board captured by MMAJunkie.
Previously 50 ng/mL was the mark.
Ratner also went on to say Brazil's athletic commission was making a similar change with things starting as soon as next week's lineup for UFC on Fuel 10. According to the report, officials and medical professionals on the NAC panel seemed to embrace the UFC's new policy and would consider it as well when addressing matters on an official level later this summer.


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Senate Inquiry into Involuntary or Coerced Sterilisation of People with Disabilities in Australia
September 28, 2012
Dear All
Please help Women With Disabilities Australia (WWDA) to publicise this information far and wide. More information will follow in the coming weeks, including how to contribute, make submissions, etc. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the more input we can get to this Senate Inquiry, from all stakeholders, the better. WWDA has been working for more than a decade to get this national Inquiry to happen, and we are pleased that the Australian Government agreed to retain most of the draft Terms of Reference we suggested for the Inquiry. The Terms of Reference (below) are broad in scope to enable the inquiry to more broadly consider the sexual and reproductive rights of people with disabilities. I look forward to keeping you posted as things progress.
On Wednesday 19th September, the Chair of the Community Affairs References Committee (Senator Siewert) gave a notice of motion as follows: To move on the next day of sitting—That the following matter be referred to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by 24 April 2013:
The involuntary or coerced sterilisation of people with disabilities in Australia, including:
(a) the types of sterilisation practices that are used, including treatments that prevent menstruation or reproduction, and exclusion or limitation of access to sexual health, contraceptive or family planning services;
(b) the prevalence of these sterilisation practices and how they are recorded across different state and territory jurisdictions;
(c) the different legal, regulatory and policy frameworks and practices across the Commonwealth, states and territories, and action to date on the harmonisation of regimes;
(d) whether current legal, regulatory and policy frameworks provide adequate:
(i) steps to determine the wishes of a person with a disability,
(ii) steps to determine an individual's capacity to provide free and informed consent,
(iii) steps to ensure independent representation in applications for sterilisation procedures where the subject of the application is deemed unable to provide free and informed consent, and
(iv) application of a 'best interest test' as it relates to sterilisation and reproductive rights;
(e) the impacts of sterilisation of people with disabilities;
(f) Australia's compliance with its international obligations as they apply to sterilisation of people with disabilities;
(g) the factors that lead to sterilisation procedures being sought by others for people with disabilities, including:
(i) the availability and effectiveness of services and programs to support people with disabilities in managing their reproductive and sexual health needs, and whether there are measures in place to ensure that these are available on a non-discriminatory basis,
(ii) the availability and effectiveness of educational resources for medical practitioners, guardians, carers and people with a disability around the consequences of sterilisation, and
(iii) medical practitioners, guardians and carers' knowledge of and access to services and programs to support people with disabilities in managing their reproductive and sexual health needs; and
(h) any other related matters.
No. 113


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Indian Intelligence Bureau 2011 Recruitment Assistant Central Intelligence Officer – Grade II / Executive Examination
The Home Ministry of India invited applications for the post of Assistant Central Intelligence Officer – Grade II under the Indian Intelligence Bureau 2011 Recruitment. The available vacancies are 750 (GEN-380, OBC-202, SC-112 and ST-56). The competitive entrance test will be conduct at National level. Applying candidate should have completed its graduation and have a knowledge of computer. The Age bellow of 27 can eligible to apply and age relaxation for SC/ST 5 years and OBC 3 years. You have to apply online (http://eapplicationmha.in/). For application no any fess have to pay. After successful application you have to check for admit card on last week of June 2011. That time we have to upload Photo and signature. For more information visit the official site. If you got any problem about online application post in comments.


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What about Classism? is a pressure group that has been set-up to advocate for the recognition of classism as a specific form of social discrimination that has its roots in rigged economics. Our mission has two main components:
To create an open and safe space for people from all backgrounds - regardless of sex, race, age, ability or class - to explore classism as a form of social discrimination and to find creative solutions to overcome this obstacle to economic justice and social progress.
To work towards putting classism on a par with other forms of social discrimination - such as racism and sexism - both in terms of (1) the level of awareness within the general public and (2) recognition within the eyes of the law.
The various aspects of these two components are to lead to appropriate institutional reforms in order to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, classism. Please see our Get Involved and Campaigns pages for suggestions on how this could be achieved.


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Anatole Hirsch (Phillippe Noiret) has already made his mark as a writer, and has garnered critical acclaim and financial rewards. However, he isn't a very nice man, and his life has left him angry and dissatisfied. To address that discomfort, he decides to perpetrate a hoax on the unsuspecting art community. Under a pen name, which he arranges for his young cousin Martin (Robin...more
All Faux Et Usage De Faux cast + crew photos
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2018 FANDANGO MOVIES.


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In different parts of Tokyo, four young and seemingly healthy people suddenly die of heart failure at exactly the same moment. Reporter Kazuyuki Asakawa decides to investigate the deaths, and discovers that the four had stayed at a rural inn together just a week earlier. At the inn, he comes across a strange video that ends with a message saying that anyone who watches it will die exactly seven days later. Now the clock is ticking for Asakawa. Can he break the curse in time?
Add this episode to your queue to receive more information about
The Dead Person Who Was Revived and we will let you know when it becomes available.


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Pamela Fernandez Quartet
Highland Park | Website
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Map | Find Parking
Pamela Fernandez is a renowned songstress. She co-leads her band, Pamela's Dreams, with keyboardist and songwriter Thomas Gunther. Fernandez has performed at The Kennedy Center and the Hollywood Palladium. She now resides in Chicago where she shares her love for jazz, funk, soul, Motown, disco, 70s, 80s, pop, and urban contemporary.


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Meet Our Animals
Say hello to our furry critters – some are available for adoption, but some are permanent residents at the Sanctuary.
Say hello to our furry critters – some are available for adoption, but some are permanent residents at the Sanctuary.
For animals who are unable to be adopted due to health or behavioural issues, the Sanctuary will be their permanent home for as long as they need it.
Find out more about the best way to care for your existing animals, or about what things you might need to consider before adopting one of ours.
Want to help us but don't know how? Find out about the many different ways you can get involved with Binky Buns including fostering and donating.
Selected Sundays over the Summer
Just a reminder that we are collecting items for both car boot sales and tombolas. We have lots of fundraising and awareness events coming up but need a supply of swag to pull people over to our table.
Thank you to anybody who has given so far.
We have now been approved by the charity commission and Binky Buns is now officially Registered Charity Number 1172990. Thank you to everyone who has supported us and made this possible. We couldn't have done this without you.


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Marketing Associate
Location: Emeryville, CA
Type: Full-Time, Temporary
Certified Employment Group is looking for a Marketing Associate for their internal staff. This position is tasked with doing market research, analysis, and initiating contact with new lines of business and prospects. You will be responsible for maintaining a marketing database, capturing critical facts and information to assist with a focused sales effort. The goal is to effectively reach and engage potential clients in need of our services. Within industry sectors, identify likely companies and organizations to approach.Responsibilities include:
- Conduct market research to identify new client prospects in the context of the staffing services we offer which could be serviced from our Emeryville Branch office.
- Undertake research to identify prospects through social media, email, phone outreach, adjusting methods and approach to maximize results
- Maintain marketing reports and sales tracking activities
- Manage and refine proprietary market database to optimize our sales effort. This includes scheduling timely effective dialog and follow up strategies.
- Collaborate with company's Web Designer, internal recruiters and management team to refine marketing approaches, advertising collateral, and recruiting strategies.
- The ability to work independently, focused, and be inclusive with the others on your team
- Originate clear and engaging written communication
Scope of work includes:
- Meeting the priorities and within the parameters given on location/size of company/industries represented and prospects within groupings.
- Within each prospect identify key contacts for follow up.
- Initiate marketing contact with new prospects through emails, phone or personal visits, utilizing company specific communication, knowledge of their industry, type of candidates they need to hire, or revisit similar companies we currently work with.
- Calendar follow -up notification and document in our CRM system.
Special Project
Non-Exempt/Hourly Rate DOE
Initial focus on Close-by East Bay and SF
Temp 2-3 months initially, possibly longer if successful!
Certified Employment Group is one of Northern California's largest, privately owned staffing firms. Serving Northern California since 1963, Certified has spent over 50 years building a solid reputation for providing reliable, skilled staff to a wide range of industries. Certified specializes in temporary, temp to hire, and direct placements. For up to date job openings, follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn or visit our website at www.certifiedemployment.com.


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11:53am PT by Jordan Zakarin
Manti Te'o Defends Lying About Lennay Kekua in Katie Couric Interview (Video)
Manti Te'o, the All-American Notre Dame Linebacker who earned national attention last week when his late girlfriend was revealed never to have existed at all, has taped his first on-camera interview since the bombshell story first broke.
Te'o was interviewed by Katie Couric, who will broadcast the conversation Thursday on her daytime talk show, Katie. In the first clip of the conversation to be released online, Te'o -- who maintains he was the victim of a hoax -- discusses receiving a phone call from a woman claiming to be his girlfriend Lennay Kekua, whom he thought died of cancer in September. The phone call came on December 6; two days later, Te'o spoke of the woman on national TV during the Heisman Trophy ceremony as if he still believed that she had died.
STORY: 'Catfish' Host on Manti Te'o Hoax: 'It Could Happen to Anyone'
"Katie, put yourself in my situation. I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12. Everybody knew that. This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12," Te'o said. "Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6 saying that she's alive, and then I'm going to be put on national TV two days later, and to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?"
In an off-camera interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap on Friday, Te'o said that multiple friends confirmed Kekua's existence, which helped him overcome the doubts that could have come from never actually meeting her.
VIDEO: Late Night Hosts Pile on Jokes About Manti Te'o
"To be honest -- to be honest with you, I thought it was natural. It seemed natural," he explained. "It seemed like, even though I just met her, she knew a lot about me already. No red flags popped up. Initially, when I started to talk to her, obviously, I didn't see her yet, so I asked other people who knew of her and who had history with her, 'Is this girl real?' And all of them said, 'Yeah, she's real.' So that kind of gave me confidence, that, yeah, I'm fine."
Te'o admitted to "tailoring" his stories to avoid suspicion that he never met Kekua. One of the people he lied to was his father, Brian Te'o, who also sat for an interview with Couric.
"I've known him 21 years of his life," he said. "He's not a liar. He's a kid."
Jordan firstname.lastname@example.com @thr


text: So most of my websites go after high traffic top domains that takes some long-term strategy to reign over.. what I've decided to get into after learning many people earn thousands a month from niche sites is find a niche of my own to rank 1 or 2 in google and earn from. I found a decent 2 word keyword and I can get the .com domain if I put a hyphen between (I also plan to append an s for plural) I know I can definitely hit rank 2 if Im not overlooking something Keyword tool global searches = 14,800 with local about 7,500 SEOT = 91 PBR = 15% SEOC = 75,700 No PR over 5 (rank 1 is 5 though) other indicators like title, etc are indicated as easy CPC = about $2 SEOV = $180/day Could someone guide me in the right direction with this? Any advice or things to be careful about? It seems lucrative because not any authority sites besides wikipedia (which doesnt even target the keyword directory). But Im pretty low on funds so I dont really want to dispense costs for a new domain if Its not going to make any money.


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Hotels & Accommodation in Saint-Faust
Search Saint-Faust Hotels
Save more with Secret Prices
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Best Saint-Faust Hotels
Saint-Faust overviewWhatever your interests are, Saint-Faust has something for you. Saint-Faust might not have well-known attractions within the city, but you won't need to venture far to find top places to visit like Chateau de Pau. You can take some time to discover the surrounding area and sights like Pau-Artiguelouve Golf Club and Pau Golf Club.
Where to stay in Saint-FaustWhether you plan to stay for a night or a week, Saint-Faust has the right accommodation for you. You can shop as many as 121 deals for Saint-Faust accommodations on Hotels.com, some with discounts of up to 40%. Our room prices start at 20 USD per night and below you'll find the number of hotels by star rating in Saint-Faust as well as in the surrounding area:
- • 2 5-star hotels from 149 USD per night
- • 22 4-star hotels from 59 USD per night
- • 67 3-star hotels from 39 USD per night
- • 40 2-star hotels from 32 USD per night
How to get to Saint-FaustFly into Pau (PUF-Pau - Pyrenees), 7.9 mi (12.8 km) from central Saint-Faust. Lourdes (LDE-Tarbes - Lourdes - Pyrenees Intl.) is the next closest major airport, 23.6 mi (37.9 km) away.
What to see around Saint-FaustHere are some recommended places to see in the surrounding area:
- • Chateau de Pau (4.1 mi/6.5 km from the city center)
- • Pau-Artiguelouve Golf Club (3.3 mi/5.3 km from the city center)
- • Pau Golf Club (3.3 mi/5.4 km from the city center)
- • Church of Saint-Martin (4.1 mi/6.7 km from the city center)
- • Funiculaire de Pau (4.2 mi/6.8 km from the city center)


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Affiliate Links for "arcadata"- November 2011
View Single Post
Grand Sorcerer
Posts: 11,230
Karma: 4651787
Join Date: Mar 2009
Device: Kindle, Kindle Fire, iPad, iPod Touch, Sony PRS-350
The First Assassin
by John J. Miller from AmazonEncore ($1.99) is the
Kindle Deal of the Day
(Nov 10) *Wait for price to reflect discount before 1-clicking
Product Description
Winter 1861: the United States teeters on the brink of civil war. In Washington, D.C., Colonel Charles P. Rook is tapped to organize the district's security and to protect president-elect Abraham Lincoln from the death threats pouring in to the White House. He surrounds the president with bodyguards and fills the city's rooftops with sharpshooters, diligently investigating the conspiracies being fomented with increasing intensity by Southern secessionists. Yet amidst the chaos and confusion, a foreigner slips unnoticed into the teeming city. Hired by a wealthy Southern planter to eliminate President Lincoln and destroy the Union once and for all, the assassin catches Rook's attention by cutting down anyone who gets in his way. As the bodies begin to pile up, Rook realizes he is caught in a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with a cold-blooded killer who will stop at nothing to complete his mission. Rook's only hope is Portia, a runaway slave who holds the key to the assassin's identity—if she can stay alive long enough to deliver it.
Packed with dynamic characters, rich period detail, and a chillingly sinister villain, The First Assassin is a riveting thriller for fans of historical fiction.
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pumpkin pecan doughnutsby sincerelycaroline
Makes 12 doughnuts
for doughnuts
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup tapioca starch/flour
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
8 tablespoons vegan butter substitute, like Earth Balance
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ cup vegan sour cream substitute, like Tofutti
1/4 cup 100 % pure pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
for caramel glaze
see these instructions
** No time to make a caramel glaze? Try a quick glaze by mixing 1 cup confectioner's sugar with 2 Tablespoons warm water in a bowl, then drizzle over doughnuts!
(1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure oven rack is placed in the middle position. Grease a 12-cup doughnut pan (or two 6-cup doughnut pans) and set aside.
(2) Measure brown rice, almond and tapioca flours into a medium bowl, whisking to combine. Set aside.
(3) Place pecans, brown sugar and cinnamon in the bowl of a food processor, pulsing until combined, about 10 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl and set aside.
(4) If bowl was removed to transfer the cinnamon mixture, then reassemble the food processor. Next, add the flour mixture, granulated sugar, and salt, pulsing until combined, about 5-10 seconds. Sprinkle the butter evenly over the flour mixture and pulse for an additional 10-15 seconds. Remove a 1/2 cup of the flour-butter mixture and use a fork to stir it into the reserved cinnamon mixture; this is the streusel. Set aside.
(5) Returning to the food processor, add the baking powder and baking soda to the remaining flour mixture, pulsing for about 5-10 seconds. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, pumpkin and vanilla, then add to the flour mixture. Pulse mixture until the batter is just moistened, about 10 seconds. Add 3/4 cup of the streusel to the batter, pulsing about 10 seconds or until thoroughly combined.
(6) Using a spatula or large spoon, transfer the batter to the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining streusel on the muffins, about a Tablespoon each. Lightly press the topping into each doughnut, so the streusel sinks a bit into the batter.
(7) Bake about 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted toward the center of a doughnut comes out clean (some of the streusel might cling to the toothpick, so don't mistake it for batter).
(8) While doughnuts are baking, prepare the caramel topping.
(9) Allow doughnuts to cool in pan for about 10 minutes. Place a sheet of parchment paper underneath a wire baking rack, then transfer doughnuts to the rack. (Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the doughnuts before removing.)
(10) Allow caramel topping to cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then drizzle on top of muffins. (If you let it sit for too long, then it will begin to harden. If this happens, heat caramel over low heat and continuously whisk until it softens.)
(11) Doughnuts are best served warm. Enjoy!


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A WOMAN who died after falling from a third-storey window has been named.
Police confirmed Lisa Bacon, 40, was the woman who died after falling from the window of a third-floor flat in Clarendon Court, Clarendon Road, Southsea, at about 9.40am on Sunday.
A 46-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and has been bailed until March 24.
Paying tribute to Ms Bacon, her friend Carrina Cox, 40, said: 'She was a very kindhearted lady who had a great sense of humour and a heart of gold.
'She would do anything for anyone no matter what the problem was and would quite happily sit down with you to talk through any worries that you had. She will be dearly missed by all who knew her.'
Officers are keen to speak to a man in the street who urged another person to call 999.
Ms Bacon died from her injuries at Southampton General Hospital, police said.


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***Sign up for ***
The Landmark's E*Newsletter
Exposure charge will bring Cook to court
by Ivan Foley
Landmark editor
A court date is fast approaching in the case of the Platte City alderman accused of sexual misconduct.
An appearance for Charles "Cookie" Cook, 58, is set for Tuesday, Sept. 28 in Platte County Circuit Court in front of Judge Dennis Eckold at 1:30 p.m.
Cook is facing a misdemeanor charge of sexual misconduct for allegedly exposing himself to a 37-year-old woman he was giving a ride home from her workplace.
As exclusively reported in The Landmark last week, it appears Cook has hired legal representation in the case. Attorney J. Michael Murphy filed an entry of appearance with the court on behalf of Cook, and also put in a request for discovery in the case.
Cook did not appear at a meeting of the Platte City Board of Aldermen Tuesday night. It was the first meeting of the board since charges against Cook were announced on Aug. 31. Mayor Frank Offutt has said Cook indicated to him that his employer has him out of town "on assignment" and he will also be unavailable to attend next Tuesday night's meeting.
Aldermen have the option under city code to impeach a fellow elected official, but there has been no public indication as of yet that an effort to impeach Cook is underway.


text:
1 Min Read
Feb 15 (Reuters) - Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd:
* SENTRY INVESTMENTS CORP REPORTS 6.51 PERCENT PASSIVE STAKE IN KINDER MORGAN CANADA LTD AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2017 - SEC FILING Source text - (bit.ly/2EoQkrN) Further company coverage:
All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.
© 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved.


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I'm not sure I've seen a performance by Hadrien Feraud that didn't blow me away. But this one is perhaps one of the best of them all.
Recorded at The Baked Potato in March, 2011, Feraud takes a solo during the tune "Marching Powder" with "Bubba Lugatz" – in 15/8.
The band includes Chris Coleman on drums, Arlan Schierbaum on keys and John Ziegler on guitar.


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I forgot to download the pictures I took of my layouts this weekend. Oops! So rather than go dark all week, I thought I'd post something fun instead.
Go to Google and type in your first name and the word "needs". Then make a list of the top ten links. Feel free to add your own commentary.
For me I typed "Christina Needs", these are the links I got: *
*I am not posting actual links because some of them may have questionable content...
1. Does She Need Help -- in reference to Christina Aguilera (sometimes, it seems like she does)
2. Needs A Makeover--also in reference to Ms Aguilera (Yes, yes she does)
3. Grey's Anatomy, What Christina Needs--(I no longer watch this show, for me it jumped the shark about two helicopter crashes and a train collision ago, but super excited to see someone besides Aguilera make the list!)
4. Help Staying Upright--in reference to, yes, you guessed it, Christina Aguilera (girl's got issues)
5. A New Stylist--in reference to Christina Hendricks (hey, a different Christina! And I totally disagree here-CH always looks amazing.)
6. Help Walking--oh, Aguilera (Get it together, girl.)
7. A Bag--Ms Aguilera (Really? She can't even walk...)
8. A bra--Aguilera, AGAIN (This seems personal to me.)
9. Nine Things She Needs to Stop Doing--Aguilera (Well, we have about 8 of them here, apparently.)
10. A Stylist--This time it's Aguilera that needs the stylist (and a bag, a bra, help staying upright, walking, jeesh...she does need HELP).
So what did I learn from this?
A-The internet has a LOT of advice for Christina Aguilera.
B-She's a hot mess.
Happy Thursday, friends! I'll be back next week with some scrapbooking fun. :)
4 hours ago