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|Davíð Oddsson
In office
April 30, 1991 – September 15, 2004
|Vigdís Finnbogadóttir (until 1996)
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson (from 1996)
|Preceded by
|Steingrímur Hermannsson
|Succeeded by
|Halldór Ásgrímsson
In office
27 May 1982 – 16 July 1991
|Preceded by
|Egill Skúli Ingibergsson
|Succeeded by
|Markús Örn Antonsson
|17 January 1948
Reykjavík, Iceland
|Political party
|Independence Party
Davíð Oddsson (pronounced [ˈtaːvið ˈɔtsɔn]) (born 17 January 1948) is an Icelandic politician and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Iceland, holding office from 1991 to 2004. He also served as Foreign Minister from 2004 to 2005. Previously, he was Mayor of Reykjavík from 1982 to 1991, and he chaired the board of governors of the Central Bank of Iceland from 2005 to 2009. The collapse of Iceland's banking system led to vocal demands for his resignation both by members of the Icelandic public and by Icelandic Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir,[1] which resulted in him being replaced as head of the Central Bank in 2009. In September 2009 he was hired as the editor of Morgunblaðið, one of Iceland's largest newspapers.[2]
Davíð Oddsson was born in Reykjavík. His father was a medical doctor, and his mother a secretary. His parents were not married, and he was brought up in his maternal grandfather's home in Selfoss, a small town in the south of Iceland, until his grandfather died. He then moved with his mother and grandmother to Reykjavík. He took an early interest in acting and attended an acting school for a while. He also attended the gymnasium Menntaskólinn í Reykjavík where he graduated in the spring of 1970. Davíð married Ástríður Thorarensen, a nurse; they have one son, Þorsteinn who is a judge at the district court at Akureyri. The next six years, Davíð read law at the University of Iceland, working almost full-time as well. He was assistant to the director of a small theatre (now the Borgarleikhúsið) for a while, and produced, with two friends (Þórarinn Eldjárn and Hrafn Gunnlaugsson), a popular radio comedy show for two years; he was for a while a political commentator at the newspaper Morgunblaðið, and the director of publication of Almenna bókafélagið, a conservative publishing house. He had been elected to the Municipal Council in Reykjavík in 1974, for the Independence Party.
Davíð Oddsson was a member of a group of young conservative-libertarians within the Independence Party who felt that the party should support more strongly attempts to extend economic freedom in the heavily regulated Icelandic economy. The group included Þorsteinn Pálsson, Geir H. Haarde, Jón Steinar Gunnlaugsson, Kjartan Gunnarsson, Magnús Gunnarsson, Brynjólfur Bjarnason and Hannes Hólmsteinn Gissurarson, and they published the magazine Eimreiðin from 1972 to 1975; in the following years they followed with interest what was happening in the United Kingdom under Margaret Thatcher and in the United States under Ronald Reagan; they also read books and articles by and about Milton Friedman, Friedrich Hayek and James M. Buchanan, who all visited Iceland in the early 1980s and whose messages of limited governments, privatisation, and liberalisation of the economy had a wide impact. Davíð got a chance to further his ideals when, in 1982, the Independence Party, under his leadership, regained the majority in the Reykjavík Municipal Council which it had lost four years earlier to three left-wing parties. Davíð swiftly reduced the number of Council members from 21 to 15, and merged the largest fishing firm in Reykjavik which belonged to the municipality and had been a huge burden, with a private fishing firm and then sold off the municipality's assets in the new firm, Grandi, now one of the biggest fishing firms in Iceland. Incidentally, the director of Grandi, Brynjólfur Bjarnason, who oversaw what was Davíð's first privatisation, later became the director of the Icelandic Telephone Company which turned out to be Davíð's last privatisation in government (2005). As Mayor of Reykjavík, Davíð was behind the building of Reykjavík City Hall by The Pond in Reykjavík, and of Perlan, a revolving restaurant over the old water tanks in Öskjuhlíð. Despite his libertarian leanings, Davíð also supported the Reykjavík City Theatre, in particular the building of a new theatre house which was opened in 1989. In the nine years when Davíð was Mayor of Reykjavík, a new district, Grafarvogur, was built and a new shopping area around the shopping mall Kringlan. A forceful and uncompromising Mayor of Reykjavík, Davíð was much-criticized by the left-wing opposition in the Municipal Council.
In 1983, Davíð Oddsson's old friend and ally, Þorsteinn Pálsson, had been elected leader of the Independence Party, and in 1989 Davíð had been elected deputy leader, or Vice-Chairman of the Party. After Þorsteinn Pálsson had to resign as Prime Minister in 1988, after falling out with the leaders of his two coalition parties, there was a widespread feeling in the party that its leadership should be changed, and much pressure on Davíð to stand against Þorsteinn. This he did in 1991, and became leader of the Independence Party. Under Davíð Oddsson's leadership, in the parliamentary elections of 1991, the Independence Party regained most of the support it had lost in 1987 when it had been severely weakened because of a split in its ranks. In record time, Davíð formed a coalition government with the social democrats, Alþýðuflokkurinn, whose leader, Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson, became Minister of Foreign Affairs. Jón Baldvin and Davíð jointly decided that Iceland should become the first state to recognise the reinstatement of the sovereignty and independence of the three Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, after the fall of Soviet Union.
Davíð's government inherited a huge budget deficit and a burden of unproductive investments; much money had been spent on fish farming for example, with little result. Inflationary pressures were also building up, while some fish stocks in the Icelandic waters were being depleted. The budget deficit was turned into a surplus in 1996, not least because of the close cooperation between Davíð and Friðrik Sophusson, the Minister of Finance, who had also been a prominent young libertarian. There was a surplus almost continuously since then, which has been used to reduce the public debt, and also to reform the pension system, which is now almost wholly self-supporting, while some small companies were privatised. Monetary constraints were imposed by making the Central Bank largely independent of any political pressures. It also helped the Davíð Oddsson government that there was a consensus between the labour unions and the employers that the rampant inflation of the 1980s, with huge, but largely meaningless, nominal wage increases, could not go on; therefore, in 1990, the unions and the employers had signed a "National Accord", whereby wage increased would be moderate, and government would be assisted in bringing down inflation. From 1991, inflation in Iceland was on a level with the neighbouring countries.
In 1994, the Social Democratic Party split, and as a result they suffered a huge loss in the 1995 parliamentary elections. While in theory the coalition government maintained its majority, it only consisted of one seat. Davíð Oddsson therefore decided to form a coalition with the Progressive Party. The leader of the Progressive Party, Halldór Ásgrímsson, became Minister of Foreign Affairs. In the new government, privatisation was continued on a much greater scale than before: a big and important chain of fish processing plants was sold; part-public or public investment funds were merged and sold as a private investment bank; the two commercial banks under government control were sold in a few stages; The two coalition parties accepted the loud demand by many people that a charge would be imposed on the holders of fishing quotas.
Davíð's two governments were staunch allies of the United States and strongly in support of NATO, of which Iceland is a founding member. He firmly supported the actions undertaken by the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan and Iraq, taking much criticism from the Icelandic Left. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been some uncertainty about whether the United States defence force could or should remain in Iceland, having been invited there in 1951, at the height of the Cold War. Davíð has not been enthusiastic about joining the European Union.
The latter Davíð Oddsson government (1995-2004) embarked on a course of tax cuts. It cut the corporate income tax to 18%; it abolished the net wealth tax; it lowered the personal income tax and inheritance tax. This combination of opening up of the economy, fiscal and monetary stabilisation created an entrepreneurial climate in Iceland that spurred record economic growth in the country, with the real average income of individual households increasing by more than 17%.
As a young man, Davíð Oddsson authored or co-authored several plays for the stage and for television. During his days as political leader, he pursued his literary interests as well, and in 1997, he published a collection of short stories, Nokkrir góðir dagar án Guðnýjar, which became a best-seller in Iceland. Davíð celebrated his 50th birthday at a huge reception in Perlan, paid for by the Independence Party, and his friends published a festschrift of more than 500 pages where many Icelandic writers, scholars and politicians contributed papers. In the 1999 parliamentary elections, Davíð's Independence Party retained strong support, despite the attempt by a former government minister of the Party, Sverrir Hermannsson, to establish a splinter party: the minister had been made director of the National Bank of Iceland and had had to resign because of financial irregularities. In 2002, Davíð published another collection of short stories, Stolið frá höfundi stafrófsins, which was also well-received.
However, in that same year, 2002, there began a controversy in Iceland about the company Baugur, owned by the entrepreneurs Jóhannes Jónsson and his son, Jón Ásgeir Jóhannesson. A giant on the Icelandic scene, Baugur controlled the majority of the retailing business in Iceland: in parliament, the then-leader of the social democratic party Össur Skarphéðinsson called for a closer supervision on possible monopoly pricing, specifically mentioning this company. Davíð concurred. In the summer of 2002, the Icelandic police raided the headquarters of Baugur, after a disgruntled former employee in their American operations had produced what he claimed was evidence of financial irregularities. The two main owners of Baugur did not take kindly to this and accused Davíð of orchestrating a campaign against them. They bought a newspaper, Fréttablaðið, which is sent free of charge into every household in Iceland. The paper opposed Davíð in the bitterly fought 2003 parliamentary election when there was talk of corruption, bribery and abuse of the police. In a speech on February 9 2003, the main spokesperson of the Social Democratic Alliance, Ingibjörg Sólrún Gísladóttir, suggested that Davíð might be responsible for the tax investigation of businessman Jón Ólafsson, then owner of a private television station, and also for the police raid on Baugur. Paraphrasing Shakespeare, she asked: "Are you a friend of the Prime Minister or are you not; that is the question".
After the 2003 elections, Davíð Oddsson and the leader of his coalition party, Halldór Ásgrímsson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, agreed that Davíð should remain Prime Minister until 15 September 2004, at which time Halldór would become Prime Minister, and that the Independence Party would, in exchange for relinquishing the Prime Minister's post, gain an additional ministry in the government from its partner. In 2004 the Davíð Oddsson government became embroiled in controversy, as Davíð introduced a bill which would have made it impossible for large private companies to own more than 15% in any one media, and under which newspapers and television stations could not be owned by the same companies. Davíð argued that this was to prevent concentration of the media in the hands a few people, and to enable the media to remain independent and critical not only towards politicians, but also towards financial moguls. His critics maintained, however, that the proposal was directly aimed at Baugur which Davíð was, they said, obviously regarding as a political enemy. By then, Baugur had bought another newspaper, the television station from Jón Ólafsson and a few radio stations, and controlled more than half of the media market. In a much-softened version, parliament passed the media bill proposed by the government. But then, for the first time in the history of the Icelandic Republic, in the summer of 2004, the president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, refused to sign the bill into law. Davíð criticized this, pointing out that the director of the television station formerly owned by Jón Ólafsson and recently bought by Baugur, Sigurður G. Guðjónsson, had been Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson's campaign manager in his first presidential campaign, and that Ólafur's daughter was employed by Baugur. However, Baugur enjoys considerable goodwill in Iceland because their shops offer lower prices than are to be found elsewhere, while their owners are seen as an embodiment of an Icelandic dream of rags-to-riches; many also agreed that the media bill seemed to be a part of a political duel rather than an attempt to make general law. The conclusion of a long struggle was that Davíð Oddsson withdrew the bill instead of holding a national referendum on it, as required by the Icelandic constitution if the president refuses to sign a bill into law.
During his almost 14 years as Prime Minister, Davíð became acquainted with, or friend of, many Western leaders, including Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Václav Klaus and Silvio Berlusconi. He has occasionally attended the meetings of the Bilderberg Group, and he has read a paper to the Mont Pelerin Society. But he only served as Minister of Foreign Affairs for one year. In the autumn of 2005, Davíð announced that he would leave politics. He said that he felt that the time had come for a new generation to take over. His close ally over many years, Geir H. Haarde, replaced him, both as leader of the Independence Party and Minister of Foreign Affairs. A probable contribution to this decision was a short, but dramatic, bout with cancer, soon after the crisis over the failure of the media bill. He was, however, fully cured.
In October 2005, Davíð was appointed the Governor of the Central Bank of Iceland. Following the collapse of the Icelandic banking system in the autumn of 2008, the nation was forced to ask for financial help from the International Monetary Fund and friendly nations. Except for a few friends, the Faeroe Islands being the first followed by unlikely but solid friends like Poland that help has not materialized. Some blame the collapse of the system on external factors, mainly a structural flaw in the EEA Agreement, and the ruthlessness of the British government which put Icelandic financial institutions on the list of terrorist organisations.[3] Others blame it on the economic policies pursued by the Independence Party under Davíð's leadership, such as market liberalisation and privatisation.[1] Consequently, there were public calls for Davíð's dismissal.[4][5] Following protests outside the Central Bank, the new Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir requested that Davíð and his two fellow governors resign. He refused this request[6]. On February 26, 2009, following changes to the laws concerning the Central Bank, Davíð was ousted from the bank and replaced by Norwegian economist Svein Harald Øygard.
In April 2009, Davíð stated that Iceland needs to investigate the "unusual and unconventional loans" given by the banks to senior politicians during the years before the crisis.[7]
On September 24, 2009, the new owners of Morgunblaðið announced that Davíð Oddsson and Haraldur Johannessen, former editor of business paper Viðskiptablaðið, had been hired as editors of the paper.[8] The decision was announced in the wake of much speculation and rumours about who would be the new editor after the dismissal of the previous editor, Ólafur Þ. Stephensen.[9]
|Preceded by
Egill Skúli Ingibergsson
Mayor of Reykjavík
|Succeeded by
Markús Örn Antonsson
|Preceded by
Þorsteinn Pálsson
Chairman of the Independence
|Succeeded by
Geir H. Haarde
|Preceded by
Steingrímur Hermannsson
|Prime Minister of
|Succeeded by
Halldór Ásgrímsson
|Preceded by
Halldór Ásgrímsson
|Minister for Foreign Affairs of
|Succeeded by
Geir H. Haarde
|Preceded by
Birgir Ísleifur Gunnarsson
Chairman of the Board of Governors
of the Central Bank of Iceland
|Succeeded by
Svein Harald Øygard
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Please update your bookmarks to http://hilaryleveyfriedman.com/category/blog/!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Cinderella Ate My Pageant Tiara
Everyone who has been making money off of child beauty pageants, like TLC, owes a huge debt of gratitude to JonBenét Ramsey. As morbid as it sounds, without her tragic death, it's unlikely the media coverage would have exploded the way it has over the past decade. I've often said that if JonBenét had been a competitive cheerleader, cheer would have been vilified for many of the same reasons-- its hyper-sexualization and focus on physical appearance/beauty. (Check out this interesting piece on young girls who do competitive cheer that ESPN The Magazine ran last month. A coach is quoted: "For parents who wouldn't want their daughter to do a very unisex sport and miss out on the girliness of other activities, like pageants, this is a good balance.") Ditto for baton twirling, rhythmic gymnastics, and the like.
But JonBenét did do pageants, so when the talented Peggy Orenstein decided to take on today's princess-industrial complex, she naturally turned to the much-maligned activity. In her latest bestseller, Cinderella Ate My Daughter, Orenstein visited a child beauty pageant with Taralyn Eschberger, a two-time star of Toddlers & Tiaras (if you want to follow Taralyn's pageant career, you can via Twitter or Facebook). While Orenstein only described her attendance at a particular pageant, she presents a more nuanced view of the participants' families and her own reactions than any other account I've read-- consistent with some of my own work and writing on pageants.
I consider myself a child beauty pageant expert because: 1) I've attended 19 child beauty pageants and formally interviewed over 40 pageant moms; 2) I've seen, and own, almost every child beauty pageant documentary made (one gap in my library is Little Miss Perfect, because I don't get We); and, 3) I grew up around the pageant world, though I never competed (Why? Click here and here for more info).
And, Orenstein gets it mostly right. (One notable exception-- on page 93 she says Taralyn stands with her feet in "third position." Any good child beauty pageant expert knows that is called "pretty feet!" Or, if you kick it old-school pageant style, "model stance." I know she would have picked up the lingo if she'd gone to other pageants!) She not only presents a more complete view of the Eschberger family, making visible her older brother who is developmentally disabled and clearly an important part of the family despite his invisibility in the TLC coverage, but Orenstein also shows how a mom can get "sucked into" this world. She writes that while at the pageant she couldn't help but think that her own daughter, Daisy, could do this. Orenstein also talks about being impressed by some of the contestants' ability to mimic their parents, which is quite developmentally mature given their ages. Being simultaneously attracted yet repulsed by the magnetic and complex world of child beauty pageants is normal if you spend longer than a few hours critiquing them on television. It's easy to forget that every contestant's family has a story-- though perhaps not as dramatic as the Eschbergers'-- and many of those familial tales are ignored or edited for effect for media consumption.
For this, and many other reasons (like it's funny, well-written, thoughtful, honest, and informative, using a lot of relevant social science research), you should check out Cinderella Ate My Daughter. You should also check out TLC's latest take on sometimes-disturbing parenting techniques, and princess culture. Tune in Mondays at 9:30 for the new series Outrageous Kid Parties (last week's Princess episode was truly over the top). I'm sure the backstories of many of these families are also complicated, but, let's face it, complicated doesn't always sell well on TV. We need writers to present the messier reality of growing up today.
2 comments:
Elizabeth Vaughan Manley as usual great post!
12 hours ago · LikeUnlike
Hilary Levey Friedman Thanks-- someday I need to write the "right" pageants book... ;-)
12 hours ago · LikeUnlike
Elizabeth Vaughan Manley YES you do! really!
12 hours ago · LikeUnlike
Alexis Spiro Bailey I am reading her book right now...AND planning Allie's princess themed 3rd birthday party (her request)....sigh....
2 hours ago · LikeUnlike
Tagliaferro Donna Another great blog. I am wondering how I didn't make the outrageous kids birthday parties show??? LOL
about an hour ago · LikeUnlike
Hilary Levey Friedman Alexis, that's hilarious. :-)
Donna, I bet your parties are more creative and artistic, and cost less (I mean, $35k on a 6-year-old's birthday?!?!?!?)!
a few seconds ago · Like
@peggyorenstein Peggy OrensteinReplyDelete
@hleveyfriedman Aw, dang. I didn't know pretty feet. Maybe I'll change it in papeback. Though I did go to three pageants, acutally....
@hleveyfriedman Hilary LeveyFriedman
@peggyorenstein Sorry I missed that, I fixed my error. I would try to change it to "pretty feet."
@hleveyfriedman Hilary LeveyFriedman
@peggyorenstein Not to get too technical, but "third position," is turned out (both feet at 3 and 9 on the clock).
@hleveyfriedman Hilary LeveyFriedman
@peggyorenstein In proper pretty feet the front foot is at 12 and the back foot is at either 10 or 2. The things I know, ha ha!

subset: commoncrawl


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- By: Farida HelmyJun 17, 2014
References: hotel-hotel.au & knstrct
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Want to become a featured bride or vendor on Vancity Bride? You can submit an application on our contribute page, or contact us for more info!
A Personal Message…
Hi everyone! First of all, thank you for taking the time to click on this blog post. I really treasure and appreciate all of you for making my work worthwhile.
2013 has proven to be a whirlwind year for my personal life, full of change, with lots of lows and highs. As much as I tried to not let it affect my blog, it finally caught up to me and I've decided to take a break for the summer. I love this blog and the work I put into it and I do not want to give you a mediocre product. I figured that I need to focus and re-group on my personal matters first and then I can start serving you once more I have a few articles still waiting to be worked on so don't worry, those will still happen. Email responses will be slower than usual as well, but rest assured, I'm reading them and I will get back to you as soon as I can. I hope you all understand.
When God shuts a door, he truly opens a window… if that ever happens to you, keep your chin up and better things will come I know from my recent experience
Will miss you all!
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Thank you for making this blog possible. Take all the time you need because you're the most important person in your life!
Have a nice break for this beautiful Summer! We will wait and seeing you back with all the energy you need. Take care!
Have a wonderful summer, Jeannine. Take care of yourself first. We'll see you back on the blog soon!
Have a great summer! Your faithful fans will certainly be waiting for you.
Hi Jeannine!
You most definitely deserve a break! Thank you for all the hard work you provide for this community
Best of luck to you in your journey. Take care of yourself.
Katherine Petrunia
You are a true blessing to brides and vendors.. thank you for your hard work and enjoy your summer
Natalia Reardon


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Submitted by John Garratt on December 13, 2016
Yext, a specialist in Location Data Management, has hired Andy Champion, who had been Oracle Marketing Cloud's Head of Sales for EMEA, to lead its revenue operations in Northern Europe. It says it is seeing demand for a comprehensive Location Data Management solution in the region.
The announcement comes as Yext ramps up its European operations and grows its London office, adding senior leaders to its European presence.
"Mobile and voice search are transforming the way businesses bring customers to their locations. With the rise of automation, artificial intelligence and smartphone usage, it has never been more important for brands to own and control their physical location data in the digital world," said Andy Champion, Vice President, Northern Europe for Yext. "I am therefore extremely excited about the opportunity to help businesses in Northern Europe better serve their customers through the adoption of Yext's platform."


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Rebuilding season put Shawano/Bonduel on road to sectionals
Jacy Zollar email@example.com
The Shawano/Bonduel High School girls swim team heads to WIAA Division 1 sectionals on Saturday following a rebuilding season filled with personal bests.
"It's amazing to see how much time everybody has dropped," coach Sharon Hanson said. "Oftentimes, you see it in new swimmers, but all of the kids are dropping significant time. Between our final two meets, we had swimmers still shaving off 10 seconds. I kind of expected it with a newer team, but they exceeded my expectations by far."
The team is losing seven senior varsity swimmers next year, so Hanson used this season to establish her younger team members.
"I wanted to get them acclimated to the pool and have them try out as many different races as they can so we can really find out where they excel most," Hanson said. "I like to give them the chance to try out different lengths and styles of races in each meet because we want to find the mix between what they enjoy doing and what I, as a coach, see them performing the best in."
The team finished its regular season at the Bay Conference Championship on Oct. 26 and placed fifth out of seven teams, though several swimmers set personal bests.
"Conference was a little rough because so many of our swimmers, and several top swimmers, got sick," Hanson said, "and there were a lot of technical difficulties so the meet lasted five hours, but our girls were still dropping times, so even though our overall results weren't the best, the individual results were great."
Hanson expects similar results at the sectional meet in Neenah as the team will be competing against large schools in Division 1.
"Neenah sectional is one of the toughest. A lot of state champions come out of the Neenah sectional." she said. "Our girls will go there and perform their best, but collectively other big schools will place higher. To me, the girls will do amazing, and they'll be proud no matter what. But it's really hard to compete with those bigger schools.
"I would love to see them hit top 16, because then their names will be announced, and that would be special, and I think they absolutely have it in them to do it."
The swimmers are focusing on personal goals, not team placement.
"This is my last year at sectionals so my aim is to hit a PR in the 50 freestyle," senior Peyton Hraeik said. "It's my last shot and I know I can do it."
"I really want to break my 100 freestyle record that I set last week," freshman Macy Monfils said. "I surprised myself this year with how well I did on varsity as a freshman and battling an injury, so I want to finish the season strong."
Beyond statistics, Hanson is most proud of the teamwork between her swimmers this year.
"I've been so impressed this season with how this team supports each other," she said. "They're making lasting memories and connections and at the end of the day, that's what's really important. They learn that from the upperclassmen and then keep passing it down, so it's really become a special part of the team."
As the season wraps up, swimmers new and old reflect on the season.
"Getting my personal best in the 500 freestyle in the beginning of the season," senior Lydia Colon said. "I'm really happy I was able to achieve it so early."
"When we did a 300 backstroke relay, I got my PR in the 100 backstroke and we placed second, so we got a medal, which was my first," senior Nicole Thornock said.
"Going to Sharon's house for team bonding breakfast in the beginning of the season," sophomore Ashauntee Smith said.
"Being on the bus and getting hyped right before a swim meet," freshman Isabel Colon said. "Just getting in the zone."
"Definitely the team aspect and whenever we get together and do cheers and stuff," sophomore Elizabeth Dillenburg said. "It makes it really fun."
The sectional team includes Smith, Hraeik, Dillenburg, Monfils, Lydia Colon, Isabel Colon, Emily Thornock, Nicole Thornock, sophomore Rebeca Lewandowski, senior Brittney Angeli, junior Madi Hanson, junior Lily Herrmann and senior Hannah Wendorff.


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The Spanish Government has asked an experts committee to prepare a report with proposals for the tax reform that the Spanish Government is currently drafting.
One of the proposals of the committee is to establish a new limit to the deductibility of financial expenses. Under current regulations, the deductibility of financial expenses is limited to 30% of the "adjusted" EBITDA of the borrower. This restriction is applicable if annual financial expenses exceed €1 million . The amounts not deducted can be carried forward 18 years with the same limit.
The proposal of the experts committee is to apply a different limit while maintaining the €1 million threshold. The proposed alternative is to reject the deductibility of financial expenses corresponding to "excess debt" (and for this purpose excess debt is considered the amount of financing that exceeds an "equilibrium level" between debt and equity). Put simply, this implies applying a 50/50 debt to equity ratio to the borrower, which is intended to start with a 65/35 ratio and gradually reduced by 3% each year to meet the proposed 50/50 target after five years. It has been published recently in the press that the government intends to implement this recommendation, although the ratio to be applied could be 60/40 instead of 50/50.
Regardless of the final ratio to be established in the tax reform, this measure will imply a serious restriction for the deductibility of financial expenses in Spain that will increase the tax bill of a large number of Spanish business currently struggling with a significant leverage. The debt to equity ratio limit was in force in Spain until 2012, the ratio was 3/1, and was replaced by the current system due to the contradiction of this measure with the EU regulations and Tax Treaties signed by Spain.
The proposed new debt to equity ratio will apply to any financing regarding both related and non-related parties. In the case of intragroup transactions, this measure will be an exception to the application of the arm´s length principle stated in OECD Transfer Pricing guidelines and adopted by the Spanish regulations. Taxpayers should start considering the conversion of intragroup debt into equity to meet with the new limits and avoid tax inefficiencies.


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Baskin Robbins: Show Pink for 31% Off Your Waffle Cone
We get to talk about BREASTS! :-D In show of solidarity for those who suffer from, have suffered from and those who are related to those who deal with breast cancer, Baskin Robbins will give you 31% off any order in a waffle cone when you show them something pink. Maybe it is a reusable bag, lipstick, the hem of your underwear... or maybe something less kinky! 31% off your waffle cone is yours till November 30th, 2010.
If you don't have something pink - you just don't like pink or aren't 'man enough' to wear pink or even carry a smidgen of it upon your person, you can print out the following coupon IN COLOUR and bring it in instead.
So go enjoy a cone. Baskin Robbins will donate $10,000 plus the cash donations collected in-store to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. <3
1 comment
- maggieWhoa, that is....usually slang for something else. Yikes.


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Near Abilene in Taylor County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
First Exploratory Oil Well in Taylor County
Dr. J.A. Udden was hired to conduct a geological survey of the area, and he recommended two surface structures for further testing; one located five miles southeast of Abilene, and a second located about 2.5 miles northeast of town. Correspondence from city leaders to several oil and gas companies encouraged them to come to the area to drill for oil. The Frank P. Fox Oil Company of Indianapolis expressed interest in drilling in the Abilene area in 1915 and the company leased land and began drilling 6.5 miles southeast of Abilene on the Jon Bowyer lease (which was not one of the two locations identified by Udden and later verified by additional testing). Although drilling proceeded to 3,340 feet, the site was abandoned when no oil was found. However, positive signs at the site spurred interest
Erected 2009 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 15925.)
Location. 32° 21.469′ N, 99° 41.496′ W. Marker is near Abilene, Texas, in Taylor County. Marker is on Vinson Road (County Road 114) 0.9 miles east of Farm to Market Road 1750, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Abilene TX 79602, United States of America.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Lindbergh in West Texas (approx. 3.8 miles away); The Texas 36th Division Memorial Highway (approx. 4.3 miles away); Abilene State School (approx. 4.6 miles away); Fletcher Ranch (approx. 5½ miles away); Prairie Dogs (approx. 5½ miles away); The 'Real' Camp Barkeley (approx. 5.6 miles away); Judge Walter R. Ely (approx. 5.6 miles away); Parramore Post #57, American Legion (approx. 5.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Abilene.
Categories. • Industry & Commerce •
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on October 7, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 360 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on October 7, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas.


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Fresh and rested from their summer vacations, commuters are in for a rude surprise when they board Metro-North trains this week: no seats, more over-crowding and problems with the AC.
Yes, better times are ahead. The new contract for the M8 cars has been signed and bonding money has been approved, but it won't be until 2009 that even a prototype for the new cars is delivered for testing. So figure on 2010 before we commuters will actually ride in one.
Meantime, ridership on Metro-North continues to climb. It's up 5% this year with no sign of it leveling off anytime soon. And those additional passengers are scrambling for seats on a dwindling number of rail cars. July saw only eight trains out of ten with enough cars, down from nine trains out of ten last summer.
Air conditioning has been spotty at best. At the Commuter Council meeting the other night, CDOT told us that 90+% of all trains have AC. However, Council members riding home after the meeting found there wasn't a single car on their eight car train that had AC. So much for statistics.
As bad as service has been in some past winters, the summers are proving an increasing problem for the railroad. Ask why and you'll hear logical explanations… the aging fleet, sagging overhead catenary (electric) wires in the summer heat, inadequate service facilities. Again, plans are underway to fix all of those situations, but it'll take time. And we're talking years, not months.
As for now, what's a commuter to do? How can you cope with crowding on your favorite train or on cars without AC? A few suggestions from veteran riders:
1) ALTER YOUR SCHEDULE: You might find that by taking an earlier or later train there's less crowding. A lot depends on where the train starts, so check the timetable to see if you're among the first passengers to board, or the last, when it's probably crowded.
2) TAKE TWO TRAINS, NOT ONE: If you board a train that's full, see if you can switch to another train enroute. Often by stepping off a jammed train at Stamford and catching a new train which starts there, you can have your pick of seats and get into Grand Central only ten minutes later.
3) IF YOU MUST STAND, CHOSE WISELY: The best place for standees is the bar car where there's room to spread out. The vestibule (door-way) on regular cars often has a little room for sitting, albeit on the floor. But by all means, try to not stand in the aisles. If you're lucky, the train will be so crowded the conductor won't even try to collect tickets.
4) IF YOU'RE IN A "HOT CAR", REPORT IT: Odds are you'll enjoy one of Metro-North's "Sauna Cars" before the winter, but don't assume "they" are working on the problem. The railroad counts on commuters (and crews) to report "hot cars", so do your part. Make note of the car number (found at the rear and outside of each car), the train number (found in the timetable), date and time of the incident, and report it to 1-800-RAIL-HOT. That will start the repair wheels turning.
As I say, things will get better in the coming years, but we've got some rough track ahead on Metro-North. Together, we'll make it through.
JIM CAMERON has been a commuter out of Darien for 15 years. You can reach him at email@example.com or www.trainweb.org/ct
Commentary on transportation in Connecticut and the Northeast by JIM CAMERON, for 19 years a member of the CT Rail Commuter Council. Jim is also the founder of a new advocacy effort: www.CommuterActionGroup.org Disclaimer: his comments are only his own. All contents of this blog are (c) Cameron Communications Inc
August 28, 2006
"Crunch Time for Metro-North"
Posted by JIM CAMERON at Monday, August 28, 2006
1 comment:
- Robert said...
The New Haven line is just AWEFUL - plain and simple.
The trains are so old they're coming apart.
That line is like what you'd experience train-riding in countries like India, China - in the budget cars.
- October 15, 2006
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The primary purpose of this position is to plan, organize and direct the County's Health and Human Services functions, under the general supervision of the County Board and County Manager, to ensure quality services are delivered in a timely manner and in compliance with all local, state and federal regulations, statutes and mandates.
•Provide leadership and direction for program development, establishing program standards and monitoring and evaluating quality of service delivery systems; supervise budget activities, maintain direct involvement in conflict/complaint resolution, staffing and personnel issues and serve as the principle spokesperson for the department relative to program issues.
•Oversee financial activities of the department; prepare, justify, manage and present the annual budget, deliver mandated programs/services, assure efficient and effective operations, build cultural competency and assure compliance with all applicable federal, state and local laws/polices and rules, manage risk mitigation, and assure the highest level of professional standards and respond to the current and anticipated needs of the community.
•Represent the department with government officials, other human services providers, and a variety of advocacy groups to influence the decision making process in order to insure adequate resources for program maintenance and expansion and the delivery of comprehensive services.
•Personnel/Team Management to ensure a competent workforce: Hire, develop, counsel and evaluate performance; provide feedback and disciplinary action as needed; develop and maintain a positive team work environment; provide effective and timely communication.
•Serve as the Executive Officer of the County HHS Board executing the authority of the board as defined in GS 153A-77.
DUTIES and RESPONSIBILITIES:
Program Management:
•Oversee the administrative operations and service delivery systems and assure that management mechanisms; such as productivity measures, quality assurance, and other monitoring mechanisms; are in place and used.
•Assure that adequate resources are available to enable agency staff to carry out the agency's responsibilities and guide agency staff towards finding more efficient and effective work/service delivery methods.
•Guide the department through designated management staff, in selecting the best qualified staff available; in training staff to do their jobs; in establishing reasonable standards as to how well, how much, and how timely services need to be provided; in establishing performance appraisal and feedback systems to coach the employees towards delivering services in the manner and within the standards established; in projecting the amount of work and the number of staff needed to do the work; and, in defining, and communication, justifying the need for additional resources, as needed.
•Monitor and analyze the needs and financial requirements of each service area and assessing the impact of any change on the ability of the agency to carry out its mandated service responsibilities.
•Develop strategies to optimally utilize available resources (financial and personnel) to meet the changing needs; strategies may include reallocation of staff or dollars to the area of greatest need.
•Ensure ongoing budget realignment as a result of forecasted and actual changes in federal/state laws and programs as well as responding to actual and projected demographic, social and economic conditions.
•Conduct analysis of service trends and the needs of HHS in carrying out its mandated responsibilities to provide justifications for Fiscal Year Budget requests.
•Direct the implementation of necessary organizational and programmatic changes in resource allocation and procedures, through designated managers, to assure that the agency mission is met. If changes require greater expenditure of financial resources the Director may first seek approval from the County Manager and, if necessary, from the Board of Commissioners.
•Collaborate with designated division heads to review program, fiscal and performance data to assess resource allocation, staff performance, and staffing needs.
•Attend regular meetings with the County Manager or Assistant County Manager to share information about the operations of the Department and seek advice and support as appropriate.
•Consult with County Attorneys when legal issues arise.
•Assure the existence of a personnel plan in compliance with federal, state, and local laws, ordinances, regulations, policies and guidelines.; provide consultation, advice and support in personnel management, recruitment, and selection using merit principles, staff relations, staff development, performance appraisal, fair employment practices, and procedures to immediate supervisees; serve as the "appointing authority".
•Interpret HHS programs to the general public, the County HHS Board, other agencies, and County and State officials; and enlist their support for the programs and facilitate actions in requiring their involvement.
•Inform the public regarding the programs, budget, challenges, legislative needs, and accomplishments by writing articles, appearing on television and radio, making group presentations, annual reports, as well as responding to questions individually from the citizens of Buncombe County.
•Engage the public in the operation of the Department by establishing and maintaining various advisory groups.
•Establish organizational relationships with other agencies and groups and work with state agencies for the purpose of developing resources within the county, which will provide the needed services to the clients in the most efficient and effective way.
•Work with community groups toward finding possible alternatives for meeting identified needs.
•Stay aware of changing needs and opportunities for special programs which will benefit the people of Buncombe County and guide the agency into these areas.
•Assure that clear policies are available in writing to staff to guide them and assure that training plans are implemented to help each employee develop to his/her full potential.
•Provide leadership and information for community planning through speaking engagements and formal working relationships with various interested groups and individuals.
•Facilitate the Agency Leadership Team to assure good communication, relationships, and coordinated planning across Divisions.
•Consult with other agencies as requested to assist in the improvement of management functions.
Personnel Management:
•Assess staffing needs, screen applicants, conduct interviews and select the best-qualified candidate to fill vacancies as appropriate.
•Provide and coordinate appropriate training and orientation for new and existing employees, supply information, technology and reference materials necessary to perform specific jobs functions.
•Assign duties to employees, relative to classification and specific to job description, communicate the expectations for successful performance of those duties and ensure staff understands how performance will be measured.
•Ensure a safe and supportive work environment for all employees.
•Ensure an efficient and effective workflow, implement changes in routine work practices and procedures as needed to modify unit functioning according to client needs and employee capabilities.
•Provide ongoing feedback to employees and address performance problems in a timely manner through progressive corrective actions.
•Assist employees with addressing and resolving a variety of concerns and complaints related to job duties and job descriptions, performance standards, relations with coworkers, relations with supervisors and managers.
•Provide leadership, guidance, and support to division/unit supervisors, in areas of budget, finance, programmatic performance, planning, implementing, managing, monitoring, and evaluating.
Team and Network Relationships:
•Represent the Department of Health and Human Services on various committees/taskforces; act as liaison to various community agencies and/or committees to ensure collaboration, establish positive work relations, eliminate duplication of services, and to work on integration of a community wide emergency response plan/system.
•Effectively manage relationships within the agency so that your team of employees can successfully work with other departments across Buncombe County to achieve common objectives.
•Effectively manage relationships within the community to assure that concerns of Buncombe County citizens are being addressed and employees are carrying forth the mission to protect the health and safety of Buncombe County residents.
•Effectively communicate agency's mission, vision, strategic plan and objectives by dissemination of internal messaging.
Duties and responsibilities of the HHS Director as defined by NC General Statute 153A-77:
A. The HHS Director of a Consolidated County HHS Agency is appointed and dismissed by the County Manager with the advice and consent of the Consolidated HHS Board.
B. The HHS Director is the appointing authority for all departments within HHS.
C. The HHS Director shall report directly to the County Manager.
D. The HHS Director has authority to delegate duties to members of his/her staff and to grant staff the authority to act as the Director's representative per the Delegation of Authority Statute 108A-14(b).
E. The HHS Director shall have the following duties and responsibilities:
1.Appoint staff of the Consolidated HHS agency.
2.Administer State/Federal HHS programs.
3.Administer HHS programs of the local County Board of County Commissioners.
4.Act as secretary and staff to the Consolidated HHS Board.
5.Plan the budget of the Consolidated HHS agency.
6.Advise the board of County Commissioners through the County Manager.
7.Act as an agent of and liaison to the State, to the extent required by law.
F. Except as otherwise provided by law, the HHS Director or the director's designees shall have the same powers and duties of a social services director and a local health director as defined by law, policy and administrative rules.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES:
•Knowledge of the legal and philosophical basis for health, social work and public welfare programs.
•Knowledge of principles and practice of Health and Human Services.
•Knowledge of budget/finance, management principles, techniques, and practice.
•Knowledge of the agency's organization, operation and objectives and applicable federal and state laws, rules, and regulations.
•Knowledge about and ability to carry out all mandates of the General Statutes as well as knowledge of the practice modalities, values, and skills of the social work profession.
•Ability to exercise sound judgment in analyzing situations and making decisions; direct employees and relationships with the general public, and with federal, state, and local officials.
•Perform quality work within deadlines with or without direct supervision.
•Interact professionally and courteously with other employees, customers and partners.
•Work effectively as a team contributor on all assignments.
•Understand the necessity to efficiently and effectively interact, communicate and coordinate work efforts with other employees and organizations in an effective manner to accomplish common task.
•Function in highly stressful circumstances.
•Maintain a high level of professionalism and confidentiality and conduct business in an ethical manner at all times.
•Ability to safely and successfully perform the essential job functions consistent with ADAAA, FMLA and other federal, state, and local standards, including meeting qualitative and/or quantitative productivity standards.
•Ability to maintain regular, punctual attendance consistent with ADAAA, FMLA and other federal state and local standards.
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Tuesday August 30, 2011
Janet Jackson will not attend a tribute concert in Cardiff honouring her brother Michael.
She said that the timing of the show would make her appearance too difficult.
The gig, which takes place on October 8, coincides with the trial of the doctor charged over the king of pop's death.
Her brothers Jermaine and Randy Jackson are not attending either.
The show has received support from family matriarch Katherine Jackson and other siblings of the late singer.
Opening statements are scheduled to begin in Dr Conrad Murray's trial on September 27.
In pictures: the life of a pop great


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How to change or renew your AA Breakdown Cover
If you are an existing AA member, it's possible to change or renew your existing policy should you wish to do so. Luckily you can make any changes to your AA Breakdown Cover simply by giving their customer service team a call. Let's take a closer look at how to make those changes.
How to renew your AA Breakdown Cover
If you are happy with your AA Breakdown Cover and wish to renew your policy, you can do so with one quick phone call. Before you make the call, remember to have your AA membership number to hand so that the operator can fulfill your request. You should also check all your personal details – if any of your circumstances have changed, now is the perfect time to inform the AA.
Upon calling, you will be able to choose whether you wish to change or upgrade your cover. If this is the case, the advisor will be able to give you a quote on the spot. When renewing you can even change the way you pay for your cover. Should you wish, you can opt to self-renew your own policy, allowing you to enjoy uninterrupted cover.
When renewing your policy you'll have the added advantage of becoming a renewing customer – giving you access to a selection of added benefits.
How to cancel your AA Breakdown Cover
If you wish to cancel your cover, you need to contact the Automobile Association Insurance Services to handle your request.
When you take on breakdown cover you will be given a 14-day cooling off period. Within these two weeks you can cancel your policy and receive a full refund. If you gave made a claim during this period you will be entitled to a full refund but you will have to repay the insurer the total cost of the claim. After the cooling off period you can cancel the policy but will receive no refund.
If you have Continuous AA Breakdown Repair Cover and pay monthly or quarterly, you will be able to cancel at any time but are required to give 30 days notice at minimum.
You can call AA Breakdown for more information about cancelling your cover at any time.


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Yes, summer is really upon us! The kids are keeping me very busy, as always, and our out-of-school schedules are half relaxed and half chaotic. I guess that can be a good mix, but I've been neglecting to let you all know what's in store for the rest of this summer's #shows. Mark your calendars! As always, reach out to me if you have a topic you want to hear about!
Here's a sneak peek at my upcoming shows this summer:
July 18: This one is really for the parents and book lovers! Author Laura Lippman will talk about her latest thriller, Wilde Lake & I'll give you the titles of some other "must reads" this summer.
July 25: Stephanie Miller with Freed Spirit Counseling, will talk about her experience working with #children diagnosed with what was formally known as Asperger's Syndrome.
August 1: Jessica Haynes, mother of Abi Haynes and founder of Abigail's Angels Foundation, will talk about her daughter's unique medical condition and how you can help in their efforts to raise money and awareness for the cause.
August 8: E-book author Sharla Feldscher of KidFun: 400 Easy & Fun Ideas for Kids 2-8 will talk about ways to keep young children engaged in easy, creative and free projects!
August 15: Hillary Hess & Winden Rowe will talk about their Kennett Square, Pa.-based counseling practice that involves cognitive behavioral therapy, as well as a big emphasis on mindfulness.
August 22: Lauren Franklin and Jennifer Weiss, the hilarious authors of "Hurts Like a Mother: A Cautionary Alphabet."
August 29: Get the kids ready for back to school by listening to the editor of the "Big Fat Notebook" series, Nathalie Le Du. These #books are study manuals that can give students an edge, with illustrations and mnemonic devices perfectly in tune with a middle-school reader's needs.


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Also, since I titled this project "Stars" and she is so shabby & chic I am entering her in the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog Challenge for the letter "S".
~ My little slice of crafty heaven! I hope to inspire with examples, tutorials and my fabulous sense of humor ~
Sunday, June 9, 2013
"Stars" Project
Also, since I titled this project "Stars" and she is so shabby & chic I am entering her in the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog Challenge for the letter "S".
11 comments:
So beautiful Christi! I love the saying too!ReplyDelete
this is gorgeous!ReplyDelete
I love how that fabric turned out.
Just beautiful!
It is a wonderful piece! I love the embellishments. It ties the picture and frame together.ReplyDelete
hugs Karen
What a fabulous piece! Love the fabric and the picture is really pretty! Thank you so much for joining us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. Hugs, SandraReplyDelete
So lovely Christi, I've never seen those photo stamps before, amazing! You have embellished it perfectly, it is beautiful! DebReplyDelete
Thank you ALL for the wonderful comments - I am so glad you like it :)ReplyDelete
Beautiful project! Perfect for the UPA Readers Art Quest! Thanks for joining in!ReplyDelete
This is lovely-the quote is perfect with the look on her face!ReplyDelete
It's lovely and a wonderful addition to the UPA RAQ.ReplyDelete
Had to check out your link you posted on the Cat Hop project. :)ReplyDelete
This "fabric" is sooooooooo cool. Maybe it is fiber paper? I made that term up, so don't google it! Ha.
Love how it took the dye. Also, I love the photo stamp. I've never seen one of them before. Wow. What a wonderful image. Love the addition of the flower and butterfly for embellishments. Beautiful work.
jwoolbright at gmail dot com
You are so sweet!! The "fabric" isn't like mulberry or fiber - I have NO idea what it is, but I have a ton of it LOL - Thank you SO much for stopping by and your kind comments made my day! Hugs!Delete
Please let me know what you think - and be sure to leave your blog info so I can come and visit you ~ Thanks!


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Q. What type of repositories can be created using Informatica Repository Manager?
A. Informatica PowerCenter includeds following type of repositories :
Standalone Repository : A repository that functions individually and this is unrelated to any other repositories.
Global Repository : This is a centralized repository in a domain. This repository can contain shared objects across the repositories in a domain. The objects are shared through global shortcuts.
Local Repository : Local repository is within a domain and it's not a global repository. Local repository can connect to a global repository using global shortcuts and can use objects in it's shared folders.
Versioned Repository : This can either be local or global repository but it allows version control for the repository. A versioned repository can store multiple copies, or versions of an object. This features allows to efficiently develop, test and deploy metadata in the production environment.
Q. What is a code page?
A. A code page contains encoding to specify characters in a set of one or more languages. The code page is selected based on source of the data. For example if source contains Japanese text then the code page should be selected to support Japanese text.
When a code page is chosen, the program or application for which the code page is set, refers to a specific set of data that describes the characters the application recognizes. This influences the way that application stores, receives, and sends character data.
Q. Which all databases PowerCenter Server on Windows can connect to?
A. PowerCenter Server on Windows can connect to following databases:
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft SQL Server
Q. Which all databases PowerCenter Server on UNIX can connect to?
A. PowerCenter Server on UNIX can connect to following databases:
Infomratica Mapping Designer
Q. How to execute PL/SQL script from Informatica mapping?
A. Stored Procedure (SP) transformation can be used to execute PL/SQL Scripts. In SP Transformation PL/SQL procedure name can be specified. Whenever the session is executed, the session will call the pl/sql procedure.
Q. How can you define a transformation? What are different types of transformations available in Informatica?
A. A transformation is a repository object that generates, modifies, or passes data. The Designer provides a set of transformations that perform specific functions. For example, an Aggregator transformation performs calculations on groups of data. Below are the various transformations available in Informatica:
Application Source Qualifier
External Procedure
Sequence Generator
Source Qualifier
Stored Procedure
Transaction Control
Update Strategy
XML Generator
XML Parser
XML Source Qualifier
Q. What is a source qualifier? What is meant by Query Override?
A. Source Qualifier represents the rows that the PowerCenter Server reads from a relational or flat file source when it runs a session. When a relational or a flat file source definition is added to a mapping, it is connected to a Source Qualifier transformation.
PowerCenter Server generates a query for each Source Qualifier Transformation whenever it runs the session. The default query is SELET statement containing all the source columns. Source Qualifier has capability to override this default query by changing the default settings of the transformation properties. The list of selected ports or the order they appear in the default query should not be changed in overridden query.
Q. What is aggregator transformation?
A. The Aggregator transformation allows performing aggregate calculations, such as averages and sums. Unlike Expression Transformation, the Aggregator transformation can only be used to perform calculations on groups. The Expression transformation permits calculations on a row-by-row basis only.
Aggregator Transformation contains group by ports that indicate how to group the data. While grouping the data, the aggregator transformation outputs the last row of each group unless otherwise specified in the transformation properties.
Various group by functions available in Informatica are : AVG, COUNT, FIRST, LAST, MAX, MEDIAN, MIN, PERCENTILE, STDDEV, SUM, VARIANCE.
Q. What is Incremental Aggregation?
A. Whenever a session is created for a mapping Aggregate Transformation, the session option for Incremental Aggregation can be enabled. When PowerCenter performs incremental aggregation, it passes new source data through the mapping and uses historical cache data to perform new aggregation calculations incrementally.
Q. How Union Transformation is used?
A. The union transformation is a multiple input group transformation that can be used to merge data from various sources (or pipelines). This transformation works just like UNION ALL statement in SQL, that is used to combine result set of two SELECT statements.
Q. Can two flat files be joined with Joiner Transformation?
A. Yes, joiner transformation can be used to join data from two flat file sources.
Q. What is a look up transformation?
A. This transformation is used to lookup data in a flat file or a relational table, view or synonym. It compares lookup transformation ports (input ports) to the source column values based on the lookup condition. Later returned values can be passed to other transformations.
Q. Can a lookup be done on Flat Files?
A. Yes.
Q. What is the difference between a connected look up and unconnected look up?
A. Connected lookup takes input values directly from other transformations in the pipleline.
Unconnected lookup doesn't take inputs directly from any other transformation, but it can be used in any transformation (like expression) and can be invoked as a function using :LKP expression. So, an unconnected lookup can be called multiple times in a mapping.
Q. What is a mapplet?
A. A mapplet is a reusable object that is created using mapplet designer. The mapplet contains set of transformations and it allows us to reuse that transformation logic in multiple mappings.
Q. What does reusable transformation mean?
A. Reusable transformations can be used multiple times in a mapping. The reusable transformation is stored as a metadata separate from any other mapping that uses the transformation. Whenever any changes to a reusable transformation are made, all the mappings where the transformation is used will be invalidated.
Q. What is update strategy and what are the options for update strategy?
A. Informatica processes the source data row-by-row. By default every row is marked to be inserted in the target table. If the row has to be updated/inserted based on some logic Update Strategy transformation is used. The condition can be specified in Update Strategy to mark the processed row for update or insert.
Following options are available for update strategy :
DD_INSERT : If this is used the Update Strategy flags the row for insertion. Equivalent numeric value of DD_INSERT is 0.
DD_UPDATE : If this is used the Update Strategy flags the row for update. Equivalent numeric value of DD_UPDATE is 1.
DD_DELETE : If this is used the Update Strategy flags the row for deletion. Equivalent numeric value of DD_DELETE is 2.
DD_REJECT : If this is used the Update Strategy flags the row for rejection. Equivalent numeric value of DD_REJECT is 3


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The threat of a worldwide laptop ban recedes
BUSINESS travellers, you can rest easy. Or, rather, you can forget about resting easy and continue to work through your flight. The anticipated expansion of a ban on laptops and other portable electronics devices in carry-on bags on flights to America is not coming to pass. Instead, you might be facing longer lines in airports around the world.In March, citing security threats, the American and British governments banned electronic devices larger than cell phones in the cabins of flights from some Middle Eastern and North African countries. That wrought havoc on travellers and airlines alike. The Trump administration was considering introducing the restrictions worldwide. Indeed, John Kelly, the homeland security secretary, had said that an expansion of the laptop…Continue reading
Source: The Economist Feed


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About Us
It's always a great time to freshen up your home with terrific new furnishings from Hickerson Furniture.
If you've never shopped here, you'll be amazed by our size & selection.
Our showrooms contain over 75 living rooms on display. Today's best styles & colors, from famous makers like Lane, Broyhill and more!
Great prices and better quality, right here at Hickerson Furniture.
Visit us at 6905 East Harry in Wichita. In between Woodlawn & Rock Road.


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[USA] Jeep guy almost hits kid in crosswalk and loses his mind.
1 comment
- 1 rumbleBroncoBob · 2 years ago
From what I've observed in the video, I didn't see the kid walk in front of the jeep owner/driver, he is doing a little bit of "over reacting", the jeep owner shouldn't be yelling and threatening the kid. The motorcycle rider might be doing the right thing by stepping in and keeping the driver off the pedestrian too but, if this kid was crossing the intersection against the light he is at fault. I was raised to keep out of the street when there's traffic of any type, it really is common sense, I taught my sons the same. Kids today, actually, the majority of pedestrians seem to act like "Go ahead, hit me, I dare you"! there seems to be no concern about getting hit by a car, they can be killed if not critically injured. Overall, I'm siding with the Jeep owner/driver, I'd be pissed too.


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Routes : North America : United States : New York : Adirondack park : Crane and Huckleberry Mountains : Summit, Eastern Prow : Stoned in a Crowded Corner
Stoned in a Crowded Corner - 5.10aAverage Rating : 0.00 out of 5
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Summer 2009
Rock (Toprope)
Description:Climb the face between Cornerstone and Lost in the Crowd. Start just right of Cornerstone's start, climb up and slightly right, then upward to top out just left of Lost in the Crowd's finish. One can vary this by climbing part of Lost in the Crowd before launching out left, but the finest line does not use LitC's crack at all.
Descent Options:Climb down the Access Notch (5.0) or walk west to the main hiking trail via a good herd path.
Submitted by: jclimbs on 2009-02-08
Views: 475
Route ID: 97792


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DDMSWCF initiated the 2009 Year-End Philanthropy Party across the island
DDMSWCF initiated the 2009 Year-End Philanthropy Party across the island
The Dharma Drum Mountain Social Welfare and Charity Foundation (DDMSWCF) initiated the 2009 Year-End Philanthropic Party beginning from 12 December to 7 February, 2010, across Taiwan, aiming to offer assistance to about 2,500 financially disadvantaged households, as well as to the elderly living alone.
In addition to the continuing effort of providing spiritual and material assistance to those affected by the 88 Flood in August both in southern and eastern Taiwan, DDMSWCF is also looking to collaborate with NGOs in order to offer help to more people in need with the hope of bringing peace of mind to all.
The 2009 Year-End Philanthropic Party made its first stop at the Nung Chan Monastery located in the Beitou district of Taipei on 12 December, it will also be held in the DDM World Center for Buddhist Education in Jinshan Township of Taipei County on 20 DEcember, Chung-Hwa Institute of Buddhist Culture in Beitou on 19 December, Zhaiming Monastery in Taoyuan County on 20 December, Taichung Branch Monastery on 10 January, Dehua Monastery in Nantou County from 31 January to 7 February, Tainan Branch Monastey on 19 December and Ziyun Monastery in Kaohsiung County on 17 January, as well as at the Peace of Mind Stations in the townships of Nantou, Dongshi and Zhushan.
(translated by Jin Yang)
Copyright 2003-2007 Dharma Drum Mountain. All right Reserved. Best Viewed in 1024 x 768


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Agfa's first :Advantage goes to Swift Communications
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Press release from the issuing companyRidgefield Park, NJ -- Agfa Graphics announced today that The Union (Grass Valley, CA), a Swift Communications Publication, has become the first newspaper in North America to install the new :Advantage N-SL CtP system from Agfa Graphics. The third generation :Advantage N-SL builds on the success of previous generations while offering greater affordability, reliability and ease of use. The Union chose Agfa's :Advantage N-SL to replace its old film imagesetter, completing Swift's conversion to Agfa CtP at all of its printing facilities.
"We are very pleased with what we see from the Agfa Graphics equipment. We were impressed with the small footprint, automated capabilities and with the prompt, competent professionalism from the service department. The :Advantage N-SL install went smoothly and we're seeing excellent results," said Lee Brant, production director, The Union. "It's also very convenient that most issues or questions can be monitored and dealt with remotely saving time and money."
With its unique violet laser imaging system, :Advantage N combines speed and reliability for small to mid-size newspaper and coldset web printers. Violet laser diodes provide a lifetime of use with the lowest cost of ownership.
The :Advantage N-SL is designed to handle both AgfaGraphics' current N91-V and the new chemistry-free N92-VCF plate. The :Advantage N-SL can image up to 100 plates per hour, features automatic plate loading from a 100-plate stack loader, and offers on-line processing.
The new :Advantage N family of platesetters combines the best of all previous generations into four new exciting models, including the manual :Advantage N-M and :Advantage N-SA, and the automatic plate loading :Advantage N-SL and the :Advantage N-DL.
Industry News
Copyright © 2018 WhatTheyThink. All Rights Reserved


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Mission Trip Quotes Extraordinary Best 25 Mission Trip Quotes Ideas On Pinterest Mission Quotes was posted in January 29 2018 at 7:55 am and has been seen by 151 users. If you want to view image in full size just click "Image" on gallery or click "View Image" at the bottom of the image bellow.
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Yes, the vernacular language is essential, because it helps people communicate. The vernacular language is how most people communicate. Language is elastic. It often changes. People should use the language they find most simple to communicate. Language will always develop locally, and the vernacular is important to ease communication between people, most of whom do not have formal educations.
Vernacular language is language that an individual culture creates. In terms of the United States, it is, specifically, words and phrases in individual regions that are different than those used in other regions to describe the same things. Vernacular language is, thus, not essential, it is just a by-product of the differing cultures present within the United States. It is probably always going to exist, but it doesn't need to. If vernacular language did not exist, the United States would still be the United States.


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FRANCIS Saili will be the new boy on the block, but he'll have plenty of experience beside him when he makes his Test debut against Argentina.
The 22-year-old Blues inside centre is the one uncapped player in the All Blacks team for the Rugby Championship clash in Hamilton on Saturday night.
On either side of him in the backline will be 95-Test five-eighth Dan Carter and 71-cap centre Conrad Smith.
Coach Steve Hansen says having Carter and Smith there will be a big help for Saili.
"For someone like Francis, it's the perfect scenario - you've got a couple of old heads just keeping him calm,'' Hansen said.
"You can tell he's pretty excited, so you just have to keep him calm until Saturday and then let him rip.''
Saili replaces Ma'a Nonu in one of three changes from the side that started the 27-16 win over Australia in Wellington two weeks ago.
Carter is back from a calf problem to reclaim the No.10 jersey from Tom Taylor, an injury call-up who himself finished his Test debut in the casualty ward with damaged ribs.
Carter will go into the match one point short of being the first player to score 1400 Test points.
In the pack, tight-head prop Charlie Faumuina will get his 10th cap and third start in place of Owen Franks, who picked up a groin injury against the Wallabies.
Saili has had to bide his time to get his Test debut, after making the 32-man squad for the France series in June.
He didn't get game time against the French and then an ankle injury meant he missed a probable spot on the bench in the Bledisloe Cup opener against the Wallabies in Sydney.
Hansen said Saili had a wide skill set that included his pace, defence, passing and ability to kick with his left foot.
"It's just a matter of him working through the risk and rewards of using all those skills at the right time,'' he said.
"That's why we've taken a bit of time to work on that and we're comfortable he understands now what he has to do at Test rugby as opposed to Super rugby.''
Hansen said Nonu, who has been playing on a painful ankle, could have been picked against the Pumas.
However, the selectors decided to follow medical advice that it would be better to give him another week off to get the injury right.
Meanwhile, skipper Richie McCaw will play his 119th Test, and his 48th in the Rugby Championship/Tri-Nations, equalling the competition record of former Wallabies captain George Gregan.
All Blacks: Israel Dagg, Ben Smith, Conrad Smith, Francis Saili, Julian Savea, Dan Carter, Aaron Smith, Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (capt), Steven Luatua, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Charlie Faumuina, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Dane Coles, Wyatt Crockett, Ben Franks, Jeremy Thrush, Sam Cane, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Beauden Barrett, Charles Piutau.
Originally published as Carter back, Saili to debut for ABs


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Full Transcript
S Armed Services Hearing On Department of Defense Acquisition Reform Efforts
Subject: Defense Acquisition Reform Efforts
Witnesses: Defense Undersecretary for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Ellen Lord; Army Secretary Mark Esper; Navy Secretary Richard Spencer; and Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson testify
Location: G-50 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Time: 10:00 am EST, Date: Thursday, December 7th, 2017
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Friday 12.14.18


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|Smartphones are being tracked by recycling bins in
downtown London using Wi-Fi signals.
Hundreds of thousands of pedestrians walking past 12 locations unknowingly had the unique MAC address of their smartphones recorded by Renew London.
Data including the "movement, type, direction, and speed of unique devices" was recorded from smartphones that had their Wi-Fi on.
First reported by Quartz, the data gathering appears to be a Minority Report-esque proof-of-concept project, demonstrating the possibility for targeted personal advertising.
"It provides an unparalleled insight into the past behavior of unique devices -- entry/exit points, dwell times, places of work, places of interest, and affinity to other devices -- and should provide a compelling reach data base for predictive analytics (likely places to eat, drink, personal habits etc.)," reads a blog post on the company's site.
In tests running between 21-24 May and 2-9 June, over four million events were captured, with over 530,000 unique devices captured. Further testing is taking place at sites including Liverpool Street Station.
Renew operates around 100 recycling bins around London, primarily in the City of London, which double up as digital advertising boards. Twelve of those bins, were fitted with tracking devices.
The project is the first use of a piece of technology called Presence Orb. Launched by Presence Aware in March of this year, Presence Orb is described as "a cookie for the real world", in reference to web cookies that track your online behavior across sites.
People wishing to opt out should visit the Presence Orb website, which has instructions on how to prevent your phone's MAC address being picked up by their technology.
|A map of London where the experimental systems are
tracking unique MAC's using Wi-Fi
The use of personal data in the UK is governed by the Data Protection Act. It is unclear whether the collection of MAC addresses would fall under this act. If it was successfully argued that it was "personal data", perhaps because individual phones are being specifically tracked, then it would fall under the act. If the data was adequately 'anonymised', it could be argued that it isn't personal data.
In a comment to Quartz, Renew London CEO Kaveh Memari said, "London is the most heavily surveillanced city in the world… As long as we don't add a name and home address, it's legal."
"[We collect anonymised and aggregated MAC data -- we don't track individuals or individual MACs. The ORBs aggregate all footfall around a pod for three minutes and send back one anonymised aggregated report from each site so the idea that we are tracking individuals again is more style than substance," says Memari in an email. "There are applications in the future which Quartz focused on but during the trial period we are only looking at anonymised and aggregated MAC data."
He adds, "as some of the technology we will be testing will be on the boundaries of what is regulated and discussed it is our intention to discuss it publicly and especially collaborate with privacy groups like EFF to make sure we lead the charge on [adding necessary protections] as we are with the implementation of the technology."


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Sorry that I've been M.I.A. for awhile! I have a lot to update you on!
For starters I would like to show you some geometry projects my 6th graders have been doing!
One of the projects we've done is working with Coordinate Planes (which aligns with the common core standards!) They used graph paper to plot points to make their initials in box letters. They have to draw the points and then connect the dots to make their letters. Here are how they turned out!
The class is only a 6 week class so their final project was to make a design using 5 given geometric shapes.
They were to use a Triangle, Square, Rectangle, Octagon, and Circle. For extra credit they were to find one 3D figure.
Below are some of my favorites!
One of my students made a Stegosaurus!
This student made a little character
This student made a scrapbook
This student also made a little character.
This student made a holiday feast! Yum!
and now, what you've all been waiting for....
My BIG announcement!
We're having a baby!!!!!
A picture that one of my classes made for me. They were SOOO excited when I told them I am pregnant!
Gotta LOVE 6th graders! :)
Gotta LOVE 6th graders! :)
Yay!! We can't wait :)
Have a great week!


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Leadership Team
RehabWorks has a strong and diverse Leadership Team passionate about our business. As heads of their respective business functions, they are both commercially and clinically focused.
With experience across a number of different business sectors, they are able to bring to the table a range of skills and knowledge to ensure our services meet the needs across the various markets we work in.
We are delighted that a number of our Senior Managers are employees who have developed within the company, having gained vast experience in their field.
Leadership and support are key traits of all our senior managers who look after both the business and our staff.
We pride ourselves on developing and promoting our staff. We have robust training programmes for both our clinical and non-clinical teams. The balance between the these two fundamental teams, enables our business to continue to thrive, evolve and innovate as we do today.


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Reuters photo
In a recent contribution for On Faith, former Chicago Theological Seminary President Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite denounced U.S. drone warfare for failing to "conform to Just War theory as developed over centuries of conventional wars."
Earlier this year, Baptist ethicist David Gushee, in his piece for On Faith, opined against drones as exemplifying a "disturbing combination of American arrogance and self-righteousness."
In April, an anti-drone letter to President Obama from United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Quaker, Brethren, and Christian Reformed officials declared:
More carefully, an ecclesial representative of the Catholic bishops this year questioned whether drones may violate Just War principles on "discrimination, imminence of the threat, proportionality and probability of success."
More conservative church leaders and religious ethicists don't as often address national security issues, so specifically faith-based defense of drone warfare has been rare, although polls show most Americans support drones. The majority of Americans who are pro-drone may exemplify more wisdom than the religious critics.
In many cases drone critics, if not absolute pacifists, are de facto pacifists who cannot imagine a situation when lethal force is ever justified. Often they reinvent Just War into an impossible standard applicable in no real world situation. And even many religious non-pacifists imagine that Just War's intent is entirely a restraint on force, when actually the tradition sometimes commands force in defense of the innocent and wider justice.
Do drones defend the innocent and promote a wider justice? All warfare, like all human activity, is morally flawed. But demanding perfection only guarantees paralysis. Drone critics typically imagine that neutralizing terrorists is actually a conventional law enforcement challenge rather than a cause for military force. They expect or imply that increased international collaboration would compel local regimes to apprehend and lawfully detain terrorists.
Ideally they would be right. But Christian ethics and most other traditional religious perspectives understand that no human behavior, least of all statecraft in pursuit of national security, can assume the ideal. The world is fallen, full of evil, human frailty, and limited capacity. The reality is that terrorist havens are usually in regions that are virtually ungoverned, like Somalia, or have local rulers unwilling or unable to take action against them, like parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen. Where there is competent and willing local law enforcement, the U.S. is not launching drones. Where such law enforcement is impossible, what then?
Religious critics of drones rarely offer specific alternatives. Instead, they morally fault drones for imprecision, susceptible to harming innocents, and impersonally guided by desk-bound pilots who, with their bureaucratic overlords, may be cavalier because they are themselves not at risk. The anti-drone letter from Mainline Protestants cited "remote, technical warfare," which has the "potential to encourage overuse and extension of the policy to more countries and more perceived threats." But almost all forms of modern warfare are "remote" and "technical." Combatants no longer typically battle each other with swords and lances.
Absent the option of effective law enforcement against terrorists, the range of options include conventional aerial bombing or cruise missiles, both of which are pretty "remote," or a military personnel excursion similar to the U.S. Navy SEAL mission that dispatched Osama bin Laden. None of these options avoids the possibility of accidentally killing innocents. Drones may in fact be likelier to be precise. All of these options, no less than drones, enrage and terrify local populations, especially if they politically sympathize with the terrorists. And sending armed personnel onto the ground in dangerous territory obviously subjects them to possible death or capture.
Unlike most religious critics of drones, the Catholic letter admitted the legitimacy of national defense against terrorism. But like other critics, it suggested counter-terrorism is "primarily a law enforcement activity," and urged a wider "range of economic, political and diplomatic responses in order to get at the root causes and injustices that terrorists exploit." But what to do when aid programs, diplomacy and international collaboration fail? Or what if such collaboration actually dictates drones strikes, with local regimes tacitly encouraging their use against terrorist regime opponents they cannot reach?
American idealism often imagines that American power can achieve any goal with good will and sufficient exertion. But in the real world not all terrorists and their supporters can be neutralized with a subpoena, a government check, or high-minded mediation. The Christian Just War tradition is not a rigid formula with which clerics and academics badger governments with impossibly lofty standards. It's a tool primarily for practitioners of statecraft to achieve an approximate justice with the available means in an always flawed situation. Lethal force is acceptable and sometimes morally imperative if more innocents will suffer without it.
Drones that kill terrorists are among the most precise weapons ever developed. They often are morally preferable to the available alternatives. All governments are ordained to protect their people. And any government that shuns the available tools in defense of its people and in pursuit of justice has failed its vocation.
Mark Tooley is president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy.


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Maynard, 23, was struck by a London Underground train at just after 5am in Wimbledon and was pronounced dead at the scene. It is thought that the Cardiff-born player may have been trying to avoid police when he died.
Maynard, son of former England and Glamorgan batsman Matthew Maynard, was hit by a District Line train that was travelling between Wimbledon Park and Southfields.
Maynard came through the ranks at Glamorgan, before moving to Surrey last summer, and was considered a rising star in the game having earned himself a place on the England Lions tour to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the start of this year.
His death has sparked an outpouring of grief on Twitter from leading figures within the game.
Stuart Broad, who is preparing to take on West Indies tomorrow in the second one-day international of this summer's ODI series, said: "Absolutely gutted this morning to hear the news about Tom Maynard. A lovely guy and great talent."
Former England captain Michael Vaughan added: "My thoughts are with Matt Maynard and family.. Words cannot describe the terrible sad news."
Alec Stewart and Andrew Flintoff both echoed Vaughan's sentiments. Flintoff tweeted: "Tragic news that a great lad, Tom Maynard is no longer with us. All my thoughts are with his family at this awful time", while Stewart said...
As a mark of respect, Surrey's Friends Life Twenty20 game against the Hampshire Royals at the Kia Oval, that was scheduled for this Wednesday, has been postponed.
Maynard's death is the second time a tragedy has hit the London-based club in just over 10 years.
In March 2002, promising England all-rounder Ben Hollioake was killed in a car crash in Australia.
Surrey chairman Richard Thompson said in a statement: "Our thoughts at this awful time are with Tom's family and friends and all those that were close to him.
"Tom Maynard was a prodigiously talented young batsman who had made an incredible start to his career and was clearly destined for far greater things. The impact Tom made in such a short period of time for Surrey CCC spoke for itself.
"There is a profound sense of loss at the passing of Tom. To lose anybody at such a young age is an utterly senseless tragedy."
Surrey team-mate Kevin Pietersen added his condolences on Twitter, writing: "So unbelievably sad!! The Maynard family is so special!! Thoughts are with this special family!! Loads of love guys!! KP xxx £RIPTom"
Australia coach Mickey Arthur knew Maynard, and spoke of his shock at his death.
"It's a tragedy," he said. "The cricket family is so small you always tend to know everybody in it.
"I know his dad quite well - he was coach of the year in South Africa this year.
"Our thoughts go out to his family. It's a tragedy to lose such a talented player."
Arthur was speaking alongside Australia captain Michael Clarke in Leicester, where their team will play the first warm-up match on their one-day international tour on Thursday.
"He was certainly flamboyant, had a lot of potential and a lot of talent," the South African added of Maynard.
"Who knows where he would have ended up?
"But our thoughts are with the family, and I hope they get to the bottom of it."
Clarke never met Maynard, but did know his father.
"I played against his father when I was at Hampshire a few years back," he said. "As the coach said, our thoughts certainly go out to his family."


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Bobby Raps has been heating up as of late, the Twin Cities artist took to Worldstar HipHop yesterday to premiere the video for his latest track "Purgatory." Directed by Stephen Maturen, the visual compliments the song very well. Dark and gritty, Bobby gets personal on this record exploring his inner depths; a powerful practice of introspection. Check out the video for "Purgatory" above and peep the fire snippet towards the end.
Tag Archives: Purgatory
Bobby Raps – Purgatory
Bobby Raps took to Twitter earlier today to release a new record dubbed "Purgatory." Produced by the man himself, Bobby's mastery of his own style is impressive. Dark and contemplative, "Purgatory" transitions from a somber tune into a full on banger. A record that serves as a sneak peek into his upcoming album Mark, "Purgatory" showcases Bobby's unmatched versatility. Check it out for yourself below and make sure to keep an eye out for Mark.
Devon Reason x Travis Gorman – Purgatory
After a brief hiatus, Devon Reason & Travis Gorman are back with some newness for all of our listening pleasure. Entitled "Purgatory", the record hits hard with a heavy bass that'll have you snappin your neck. Travis Gorman lays the instrumental allowing for Devon to do what he does best. These two are definitely on the come up, this is just a small preview of what's to come. Check out the record below and make sure to stay tuned for more.


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Discussion in 'Black Hat SEO Tools' started by bigtyivier2k2, Aug 10, 2010.
how can i make an imacros bot that plays a video then autonexts every 10 seconds?
Are you simply trying to increase your page views of the video? If so, look for someone who can sell traffic to your video. If it is for something else, please elaborate.
Give me more details or PM me and i will make the Imacros Script For You.
I havent gotten a response back from you after PM'ing you
Separate names with a comma.


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text: You heard that right! I printed a set of adjustable lowering links for my S and the car is now riding on them. I decided to dial in the new height so that Normal sits where the car previously was on the Low setting. And low is now a bit lower.