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Discover the "ruby" of the Caribbean islands – Cuba
The ruby of the Caribbean – Cuba is becoming a leading attractive destination to tourists specialty with 3 specialties: blue sea, cigars and the world heritage – the capital of La Habana.
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Old Havana
Though getting through many turbulent times in history, the dust of time still can not bury the essence of the "heart" of the heroic island. Recognized by the UNESCO as a cultural heritage of humanity in 1982, Havana now still remains nearly 88 works of high-value history and culture, following the architectural style of Baroque dating back to the 16th century.
Not to mention the most prominent cathedral dating back over 300 hundred years that impress you with curves, embossed gaudy decoration and colorful murals in the interior. Not only the spot for traditional cultural activities at the weekend, according to a legend there used to be the place where preserves the body of the famous adventure C. Columbus.
Pay a visit to El Morro fort built solidly by rocks and is the place for the protection of the port of La Habana, you will have a chance to witness in person the traditional cannon at 9 pm every day (formerly the time was a signal for ships and the closeness of the gate).
Following the journey of the well-known American novelist Ernest Hemingway, you will get to Ambos Mundos hotel - where he started to write his famous work: "Whom the Bell Tolls".
The small room number 511 with a few simple items and the bookcase displaying the novels translated into various languages, is the place where Hermingway had his breakfast and sometimes stayed all day and night to write his novel.
Additionally, the "treasures" of La Habana are 5 manufacturing factories that the home to the famous cigar or rum museum with unique processing procedures: distilled from sugar cane juice and stored in oak barrels. Make sure you do not miss out on enjoying the famous dance of Cuba - Tropicana Show with moves just like Latin echoes such as rumba, mambo ... and then sip a tangy lemon-mint cocktail.
Take a stroll on the ancient streets paved with cobblestones, you will also love a La Habana with the rows of simple but colorful houses, ancient taxis from the 1950s with the brand Chevy or Cadillac run on the street and the hospitality of Cuban people with a permanent smile on their lips.
Exploring "Empire Cigars"
About a 3-hour drive from La Habana to the west, you will head to 132 km2 wide Valley named Viñales. Considered as the "capital" of the legendary Cuban cigars, here has been the home to the fields of cigars over 2 centuries.
The cigar has long been a cultural icon, a pride of Cuba, and the indispensable luxury goods in the pockets of the aristocrat. Indeed, a Cuban cigar sometimes worth a fortune. However, you will understand the reason when coming here to witness the whole process of cigar making that is done entirely by hand with the handicraft remained from the 19th century, you will even willing to pay more for the handicraft man.
After the tobacco leaves are marinated with special additives, it will be sort out based on the color, the size, the viscosity, the leaf veins, ... Usually, a man who chooses leaves for the outer of cigarettes has to classify approximately 1,200 leaves per day. Then, the man rolling cigars will deftly fold the inside layers of leaves and cover the other layer outside.
He needs to roll in a steady but not too tight so as to not tear the leaves, eventually, he uses a special glue made from maple leaves oil to stick the outer edge. The signs of an excellent cigar are the smooth glossy wrapper, leaves are rolled in the same direction. If you try to manually make yourself a cigar, this will surely be an unforgettable experience.
This will be a big missing if you miss on admiring the giant painting painted directly on the cliffs of the Valley of Viñales which describe the historical evolution of life on Earth. What is more, taking a boat to discover the ancient cave system where the Indian tribe used to live.
Blue sea paradise - Varadero Beach
The island nation is regarded as the ruby of the Caribbean will not disappoint you when welcoming you with Varadero, one of the 10 most beautiful beaches on the planet, which attracts more than 500,000 international visitors annually.
The resort town of Varadero, also known as Playa Azul which means "blue beach" in Spanish, located separately on the peninsula of De Hicacos and connected with Cuba through Kawama Canal. With crystal blue water, the beach stretches to 25km and the temperature always maintain in 24 degrees C all year round, promises to give a wonderful trip. Featuring numerous luxury hotels and amusement parks, Varadero is really a blue sea paradise gifted by the Creator to mankind.
Coming here, running barefoot on velvety white sand, listening to the waves slapping, enjoying the atmosphere of the sea breeze and getting the pristine moment between day and night, you will find yourself in the middle of nowhere. In the evening, immerse yourself in the warm salsa dance on the beach will help you get the most feeling of the beauty of "the most beautiful land that human eyes have ever seen".
You will easily see the bike loaded with souvenirs, colorful crafts made by the gently Cuban girl here. Do not forget to save the great moments in Cuban holiday with exciting volleyball games, water-skiing, banana boating, touching the shimmering colorful coral reefs lying on the seabed.


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Near and istant past
Where Have All the Boys Gone? awarded second place in Berkeley Fiction Review's Sudden Fiction Contest.
Reading Margaret Malone's stunner of a short story collection, People Like You.
Up on the SHARE blog, new work by the artists (writers, designers, musicians...) who participated in SHARE no. 23.

subset: commoncrawl


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UPDATE: This competition is now closed and our shortlist has just been announced here. Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter.
Illustrator Maggie Chiang created some beautiful artwork for us in Issue 5, and we're thrilled to work with her again for a new competition that we are launching today. The challenge is to write a short story (under 1000 words) that is inspired by Maggie's illustration, below.
The artwork that appears in Firewords is normally created based on the text, so this is a fun contrast to our usual way of doing things and we're excited to read the results!
The deadline for entries is 31st October and the prizes include publication in our 'Escape' themed Issue 8, back issue bundles, and copies of the brand new 2017 Writers' & Artists' Yearbook. It's a completely free competition, so head over to the Writers & Artists website for more details and how to enter.
Best of luck!
Dan & Jen


text: I just bought a Dell laptop. They're going to throw in a Dell Streak7-no contract for $199.00 with the purchase. I'm buying the laptop no matter what. However I'm not sold on the tablet. From what I hear, Honeycomb fixes a lot of the clunkiness you get with running Froyo on a tablet. However it's unclear if they're going to update, and it doesn't appear this device is popular enough for someone to have already figured out how to root it and get Honeycomb on there without Dell. Anyone have any idea 1.) If Dell is going to offer a Honeycomb update? or 2.) anyone was a process to DIY update the Dell Streak 7? Thanks, Update: After re-Googling some more, I found this. http://imransarwar.com/index.php/how-to-install-android-3-1-honeycomb-rom-on-dell-streak-7/ $199 is a pretty compelling price point even if it only has 800X480 resolution (which seems strange/worrisome)


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Exhibition Dates: August 4 - 18, 2017
Opening Reception: August 4, 5:00 - 7:00pm
Gallery North is pleased to present an exhibition of work created at the 13th Annual Gallery North Joseph Reboli Wet Paint Festival.
The 13th Annual Gallery North/Joseph Reboli Wet Paint Festival is a tribute to late artist Joseph Reboli and a celebration of plein air painting. Joseph Reboli, a native of Long Island, was known for his ability to create finely detailed paintings of well-known locations on Long Island. This year artists of all styles will paint on various locations in Historic Old Setauket, including The Setauket Neighborhood House, Caroline Church, Setauket Presbyterian Church, Emma S. Clark Library and the Setauket Post Office. All work created by participating artists of the festival will be shown at Gallery North beginning Friday, August 4 thru Friday, August 18. All work will be for sale.


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People skip ads, they don't skip art
Our Beginning
Project Sprout took root in founder Nadia Shabazz's backyard. Her family had a need for fresh produce since the nearest supermarket only carried semi-spoiled bananas and tomatoes. Shabazz started small, planting leafy greens and berries. When it came time to harvest, she gave extras away to neighbors. She began to see drastic improvements in her children's health and thought that everyone on her block could benefit. She began inviting neighbors who didn't have gardens to come plant on her land.


text: This summer's twilight is made of smoke. We turn the lights on in the morning to alleviate the dim. Last night was restless and full of coughing. and now the view out the windows is hazed like an ancient oil painting. One window, if I tilt my head just right, holds a classic landscape with a proscenium made of a ripening hay field, trees as curtains on either side. Layers of hills grow progressively soft as they recede. "All the world's a stage." There is meaning in the setting as opposed to the action.


text: Advanced MRIAdvanced Imaging Services for Calcasieu Parish, LAMagnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an advanced, non-invasive diagnostic tool that utilizes magnetic fields and radio waves and can be used to see inside the body with incredible clarity. We provide advanced MRI open imaging technology at Lake Charles Memorial Health System as one of our state of the art diagnostics services. Keep reading to learn more about our services and MRI technology.How Does Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Work?MRIs require a special scanner that combines a powerful magnet with radio frequency pulses to create a clear soft-tissue picture. The doctor may supplement the process with an intravenous contrasting agent in order to highlight some part of the body the doctor needs to examine. An MRI can be viewed as a three dimensional picture. Your doctor can use an MRI to tell if there are any irregularities in the tissue.What Can an MRI Be Used For?MRIs can be used to detect various conditions, injuries, and disorders, including:Tumors, benign and malignantAbnormalities of organs including liver, spleen, kidneys, testicles, prostate, uterus, and ovariesSpinal cord damageMultiple sclerosisJoint injuries / disorders such as arthritisBone infectionsStrokeEye disordersInner ear disordersAneurysmsHeart problemsBlockages / inflammation of the blood vesselsState of the Art Diagnostics in Lake CharlesAt Lake Charles Memorial Advanced MRI, we use a High Field Open Unit MRI system. This technology is highly advanced, facilitating the most comfortable and roomy patient experience while providing full diagnostics. One of the primary anxieties related to getting an MRI is, for some patients, the fear of tight, enclosed spaces. Advanced MRI is ideal for patients who suffer from claustrophobia, and facilitates a better experience for every patient.Our department can be found in the Medical Office Building on campus, at this address:2770 3rd Avenue, Ste. 125, Lake Charles, LA 70601To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call our Lake Charles hospital today.


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Give! 2015 Fundraising Campaign
The Indy Give! 2015 Campaign is here! Last year, you - our faithful friends and supporters, helped us raise over $22,000 to bring hope to the kids at Dale House. Contribute now at https://www.indygive.com/home-safe/the-dale-house-project/ and help us get off to a great start - plus you get to choose fun rewards at local merchants!


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Indiana Jones' 'Adventures' now in HD set
The Blu-ray box set of Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures has a newly restored version of Raiders of the Lost Ark plus the other three films, making it the first time all four movies in the franchise have been available together in high-definition.
For Indy freaks, there also are seven hours of bonus features, including nearly an hour of previously unreleased behind-the-scenes footage. OK, you can hum the theme now.
Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures retails for $99.98 on Blu-ray.
Maggie Gyllenhaal is the best thing in Tanya Wexler's comedy Hysteria, about the invention of the vibrator. Set in London of the 1880s, the film takes a light look at what was really a sad situation, that male doctors thought most female illnesses, from depression to menstrual problems, were caused by a mysterious ailment they labeled hysteria. The vibrator was not invented as a sex toy but to cure the disease.
Gyllenhaal plays a woman with moxie, ahead of her time, who runs a settlement house for the poor.
Hysteria retails for $30.99 or $45.99 Blu-ray.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is one of those nicely tailored tea-and-biscuit movies with a well-appointed British cast — Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson and Bill Nighy in this case. It's the story of a group of retirees who think they are getting a deal at a luxury hotel in India but find it is something less than what they were led to believe. Still, being Brits, stiff upper lip and all that, they make do pleasantly enough and in the end so will the audience it's aimed for.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel retails for $29.98 or $39.99 Blu-ray.


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It has been almost a year since CommPartners and Higher Logic began formally collaborating with the premise that learning in its many forms is a natural extension of community engagement. This concept is not new for most of us. I remember many conversations that took place at ASAE Annual Conferences and other meetings over the years about the virtues of social learning. Everyone agreed that the notion of peer to peer, sharing of ideas should accompany and be integrated with knowledge shared by experts. After all, when we think of the best learning experiences, it's typically a conference with our community peers. We value the sessions but a significant part of our reason for attending is the knowledge we receive from colleagues. So why is online learning experiences so segmented?
While in theory this sounded like a wise idea, the execution of social learning was slow to take hold. There are likely many reasons for this, but the lack of an online platform that truly enabled Web based social experiences was not helping to forge the way.
Last year, Higher Logic and CommPartners' teams got together to identify how we could make community driven learning a reality. We had certain ideas and it took quite an investment of time to identify how this could work. Our first success was the creation of Higher Logic's Online Academy courses. This training enables participants to sign up and participate in a self-paced training program (powered through our learning management system, Elevate LMS) within the community. Completion of courses is reported to Higher Logic's activities area, giving the community member and the host organization, in this case Higher Logic, a more holistic report of engagement that was taking place.
After this initial success, our efforts turned towards helping associations realize the benefits of bridging their Learning Management System and community to offer their stakeholders an integrated experience. As the discussions evolved, one question became clear; why are we asking our participants to navigate to two separate and distinct areas of a website when both areas provide opportunities for learning? Shouldn't the synergy between these two components be together? So we went to work and came up with a fully integrated platform both visually and programmatically.
Key elements of Higher Logic's community and CommPartners Elevate Learning Management System now work together, prioritizing the participant experience. Twelve months later we have many organizations that have embraced this integrated approach and we have certainly learned a lot. Here are four key lessons learned from bridging these two areas:
1. In many cases organizations still need a strong, independent learning presence. In these cases we have integrated the two platforms on a micro level. Examples include pulling in community participants that are enrolled in a course or webinar or reporting learning results to the activities area in the community. These are steps that more subtly bring the two together.
2. It's important to have staff from both your education and community teams involved. There are many variations of community driven learning that can take place. Getting initial buy-in will ensure a smooth process and better result.
3. Opportunities for social learning extend beyond typical webinars or training. A program such as a virtual conference hosted through the LMS has the power to be integrated with a conference community leveraging the engagement already in place.
4. Working together allows us to provide better guidance to our clients. It's been extremely valuable for the Higher Logic and CommPartners teams to work closely together to bridge the knowledge gap and provide better ideas and insights to our clients.
We're excited about continuing to bridge the gap between community and learning. If you have an interest in integrating peer to peer idea sharing with traditional learning contact a representative from either Higher Logic or CommPartners to learn more.
Learning & Community: Together at Last – Register


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Here are some of the tourist attractions which are near
the Pokemouche Campground.
Pokemouche Golf Club. (Pokemouche - 10 min.)
Village Historique Acadien. (Caraquet - 20 min.)
North East New Brunswick Museum Network
Acadian Wax museum. (Caraquet - 20 min.)
Internet Access (CAC Pokemouche - 10 min.)
Cruising in boat (Caraquet & Tracadie-Sheila - 15 min.)
Aquarium and Marine Center of New Brunswick (Shippagan - 15 min.)
Miscou Island light house (Miscou - 40 min.)
Ecological Park of the Acadian Peninsula (Lamèque - 25 min.)
Cinéma Péninsule (Tracadie-Sheila - 15 min.)
Cinéma du Centre (Caraquet - 15 min.)
Distillerie Fils du Roy (Petit Paquetville - 20 min.)
Les Brasseux d'la Côte (Tracadie sheila - 15 min.)
Terrasse à steve (miscou 30 - min.)
Maison BeauSoleil (neguac 30 - min)
And several others.
Located approximately 15 minutes of Pokemouche Campground,
the municipalities of Shippagan, Tracadie-Sheila and Caraquet, will have the pleasure
of welcoming you by offering their services of shopping malls, restaurants and
other accommodations necessary to enjoy your stay in the Acadian Peninsula.


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Property Location
With a stay at The Westin Bund Center Shanghai, you'll be centrally located in Shanghai, steps from Shanghai Natural History Museum and minutes from Shanghai Fashion Store. This 5-star hotel is within close proximity of Customs House and Jinling East Road Ferry Wharf.
Make yourself at home in one of the 559 air-conditioned rooms featuring minibars and flat-screen televisions. Your pillowtop bed comes with down comforters. Cable programming and CD players are provided for your entertainment, while complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected. Bathrooms feature separate bathtubs and showers with handheld showerheads and makeup/shaving mirrors.
Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities
Pamper yourself with a visit to the spa, which offers body treatments and facials. You're sure to appreciate the recreational amenities, including an indoor pool, a spa tub, and a sauna. Additional features include complimentary wireless Internet access, supervised childcare/activities, and a hair salon.
Enjoy a meal at one of the hotel's dining establishments, which include 6 restaurants and a coffee shop/café. From your room, you can also access 24-hour room service. Quench your thirst with your favorite drink at a bar/lounge.
Business, Other Amenities
Featured amenities include high-speed (wired) Internet access (surcharge), a business center, and limo/town car service. Event facilities at this hotel consist of conference/meeting rooms, small meeting rooms, and a ballroom. Free valet parking is available onsite.
We are ensuring the best rate for you. It worths wait a bit.


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Software Support for Efficient Use of Modern Computer Architectures
Chabbi, Milind Mohan
Mellor-Crummey, John
Doctor of Philosophy
Parallelism is ubiquitous in modern computer architectures. Heterogeneity of CPU cores and deep memory hierarchies make modern architectures difficult to program efficiently. Achieving top performance on supercomputers is difficult due to complex hardware, software, and their interactions. Production software systems fail to achieve top performance on modern architectures broadly due to three main causes: resource idleness, parallel overhead, and data movement overhead. This dissertation presents novel and effective performance analysis tools, adaptive runtime systems, and architecture-aware algorithms to understand and address these problems. Many future high performance systems will employ traditional multicore CPUs augmented with accelerators such as GPUs. One of the biggest concerns for accelerated systems is how to make best use of both CPU and GPU resources. Resource idleness arises in a parallel program due to insufficient parallelism and load imbalance among other causes. To assess systemic resource idleness arising in GPU-accelerated architectures, we developed efficient profiling and tracing capabilities. We introduce CPU-GPU blame shifting--a novel technique to pinpoint and quantify the causes of resource idleness in GPU-accelerated architectures. Parallel overheads arise due to synchronization constructs such as barriers and locks used in parallel programs. We developed a new technique to identify and eliminate redundant barriers at runtime in Partitioned Global Address Space programs. In addition, we developed a set of novel mutual exclusion algorithms that exploit locality in the memory hierarchy to improve performance on Non-Uniform Memory Access architectures. In modern architectures, inefficient or unnecessary memory accesses can severely degrade program performance. To pinpoint and quantify wasteful memory operations, we developed a fine-grain execution-monitoring framework. We extended this framework and demonstrated the feasibility of attributing fine-grain execution metrics to source and data in their contexts for long running programs--a task previously thought to be infeasible. Together the solutions described in this dissertation were employed to gain insights into the performance of a collection of important programs, both parallel and serial. The insights we gained enabled us to improve the performance of many of these programs by a significant margin. Software for future systems will benefit from the techniques described in this dissertation.
performance analysis; resource idleness; blame shifting; heterogeneous architectures; GPU; More... dynamic analysis; barrier elision; PGAS; NWChem; mutual exclusion; locks; MCS lock; hierarchical MCS lock; HMCS lock; Power7; Power8; SGI UV 1000; Adaptive HMCS; AHMCS; fast path; contention managament; hysteresis; hardware transactional memory; DeadSpy; dead writes; Pin; fine-grained monitoring; CCTLib; fine-grained execution monitoring Less...


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You're Not Alone- Standing By You
When my brain overloads with content from audio books, I switch it off and turn on the radio as I drive. This song has come on multiple times over the last few months; "Love, you're not alone. I'm gonna stand by you" she sings. While she and I disagree on what she thinks of faith, I deeply resonate with what she's saying in the chorus. (Plus, I secretly enjoy pop music. A fact I'm not supposed to admit in public as it embarrasses my husband .)
-You're not alone; I'm standing with you.- The commitment she sings about immediately brings certain people to mind who have lived it out in my life. They have stood next to me when I wasn't sure I could keep standing. Then I intuitively pray that God will make us a community who lives this out. I want the women of the Verity Fellowship to be women who walk together. The devotion, strength, and sharing from the song are truly biblical concepts. God made us to live "not alone."
As women who are willing to stand up and teach the Bible to a group or who sit and shepherd broken-hearted sisters, or who proclaim that your greatest need is fulfilled in Jesus to a bunch of rowdy 6- year- olds (or high schoolers who like to pretend they're 6)- we must know that we are not alone. Sadly, there is no perfect IKEA-like instruction manual for ministry life.
There will be fiery times.
There will be days when we aren't sure we can keep going.
There will be days when we're a rock for others, but overwhelmed ourselves.
And then, there are the many times when we wonder what to do next.
And for these, we have each other. (Prov. 17:17)
I imagine Paul knew the same thing. He sent Tychicus to his friends and partners in Ephesus and Colossae with his letters, so that he could tell them how Paul and those with him were doing. Tychicus was their connection for sharing what was going on. And Paul told them the purpose was so that Tychicus would then encourage their hearts. (Col. 4:7-8, Eph. 6:21-22 )
We know that ministry is better with partners, so to remember that we are not alone we're going to gather together in a unique way. While the ladies of Verity Fellowship may live all over the Pacific Northwest, on May 7th we will all be together at Verity Forum. Along with our times in large groups, we will also have an opportunity for something like a team huddle. These optional "birds-of-a-feather" (you know, as in "birds of a feather flock together") groups bring you together with women serving in the same manner you are. If you're a women's ministry leader you'll have the chance to meet with other women who do the same thing. If you minister the Bible to your children at home, you'll gather with women like you. They will give you time to talk about what to do in hard situations, to celebrate ways God has worked, to brainstorm needs and ideas, and to pray for each other. Better still, if you want, you can exchange contact information and keep in touch between Verity events.
The generosity of our Father shows itself great in many ways, including giving us each other! Truth-speaking, experience-sharing, good-question-asking from a conference full of Jesus-laboring women from across the Northwest?! Oh, I cannot wait to be with you all.
Love, you're not alone. We're going to stand together.
Verity Forum 2016 media is available on the events page.
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Monday Musts |dedicated to my favorite blogger collaborations|
1. Grace Atwood is the voice behind one of my favorite blogs, Stripes & Sequins, and works as the Social Media Director for Bauble Bar. Bauble Bar just released the Stripes & Sequins X Bauble Bar collection and it is pretty great. Read Grace's inspiring story HERE.
2. Another favorite blog, Poppytalk, recently collaborated with Target to create an outdoor beach picnic collection.
3. Courtney from What Courtney Wore collaborated with Gorjana jewelry and created some great pieces, my favorite being this bracelet.
4. Oh Joy's collaboration with Land of Nod has been out for awhile now but there is still some goodness available online including this stylish lamp.
5. The Cupcakes and Cashmere capsule collection for Club Monaco is perfect. Although most pieces are over my normal spending limit, this leather skirt might be my splurge piece for Fall.
5. Speaking of splurges, Love Taza's collaboration with designer Lauren Moffatt on their Fall children's line is dreamy. I say dreamy because really I can only dream about dressing my girls in these adorable designs.


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Tragedies often bring out the best in us
The deadly and despicable bombing attacks near the Boston Marathon's finish line turned the crowd's cries of joy into cries of terror in mere seconds.
Again, Americans now will place their trust in authorities to resolutely piece together who did it, why they did it and what can be done to try to prevent similar incidents.
Again, Americans' fears will be ratcheted up about safety at large public events and spaces — fears that must be met with realistic deterrents so the events can go on.
President Barack Obama spoke for all Americans Monday, stating, "We will find out who did this and we will hold them accountable."
Chaos after the bombing created a firestorm of speculation about suspects who targeted innocent people in a high profile event on Patriots' Day.
The aftermath brought out the best in many people. Boston residents opened their homes to runners from around the nation and the world.
Some of the 27,000 athletes had checked out of their hotels or couldn't get to the airport to catch flights in time.
"There is love in this world," tweeted a Kansas City woman who had finished the 117th Boston Marathon before the explosions. "A sweet woman ... gave us food, shelter and beer!"
The attack on an American sporting institution will undoubtedly lead to changes at next year's Boston Marathon, a sad reality that follows every major tragedy as society attempts to lessen risks based on past experiences.
However, runners from across the country who train all year to get to Boston likely will not be deterred. The men and women who operate the charities that raise $10 million a year through the marathon will not be deterred. The elected officials and law enforcement officials in Boston will not be deterred from protecting the tradition of the marathon.
All will do their best to make sure the sowers of evil and destruction don't succeed, and the 118th Boston Marathon goes off as scheduled on April 21, 2014.
Americans will be watching and pulling for that outcome as one of the best ways to stand united against cowardly attacks.
Kansas City Star


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Nearer My God to Thee
By Diogenes (articles ) | Feb 23, 2006
McDonough and Bianchi's sympathetic sociological study of American Jesuits, published in 2002 and titled Passionate Uncertainty, found the contemporary Society of Jesus to be an association of talented but directionless bachelors. They wrote:
What has come close to disappearing is the distinctiveness of the priestly role as conceived by Jesuits and, to a lesser extent, of the moral sanctum of Catholicism. Much of what Jesuits do remains valuable. Much of what they believe in and stand for is appreciated and shared by adherents of neighboring religions and ethical traditions. But there seems to be less and less that sets the Society of Jesus apart, at least with respect to an edge on the truth or expertise in pedagogy, social action, and pastoral practice. Obliteration by assimilation has become a real threat.
As with a palace guard that no longer believes in the monarchy, the post-ecclesial Jesuits have been in search of a reason to exist. For many in the U.S., the Democratic Party has filled the void left by the Catholic Church: indeed they tend to pay the former the compliments once understood to be due the latter. No man better illustrates this change of pieties than Father Robert Drinan, S.J., the American Abortionist's Favorite Catholic, who as a congressman from 1970 to 1980 did more than any other individual to push his fellow Democratic officeholders to the extreme abortion-on-demand position. Today's issue of the Boston College student newspaper, reports on a lecture in which Drinan indulgences in some self-congratulatory jesuitry Ad Majorem Democraticorum Gloriam:
Drinan discussed the Catholic viewpoints on multiple issues, illustrating how their stances are often in agreement with those of the Democratic Party.
On the problem of poverty, the Catholic belief in the preferential option for the poor claims that everyone is responsible for helping the poor, he said. Still, many Catholics, like people of all religions, forget about this duty when they become wealthy, he said. "They don't care about the preferential option for the poor. They don't want their taxes to go up anymore. They should know better than that."
Another duty of the Catholics, he said, is to abolish war and violence, which is almost never justifiable. He discussed the hypocritical nature of the United States for claiming to promote peace while supplying the world with two-fifths to two-thirds of all its weapons.
On the issue of gay marriage, he described a Catholic woman whose son announced that he was gay at age 24. "This woman said, 'God made Joey that way, and I won't love him less.'"
On religion and God in the public sphere, Catholic Democrats do not have a firm position, he said. The Catholic bishops propose a compromise between an absence of religion and the level of religion that evangelicals vie for in the public sphere, said Drinan. "Of course we want God, religious values in public life somehow, in a way consistent with our tradition and our constitution." Democrats are not a party of atheists, but a party trying to be fair to every citizen, including the 100 million Americans without any religious affiliation, he said.
I liked this bit:
Drinan closed with St. Ignatius' three questions: "What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What will I do for Christ?"
Perhaps unsurprisingly, no mention is made in the article of the Democratic Party's abortion stance or Drinan's key role in its crafting. As a congressman, Drinan had a nearly perfect pro-abortion voting record, and after he was forced to leave continued to work to torpedo pro-life efforts. In 1996, Drinan published an op-ed in the New York Times attacking the bill that banned partial birth abortion, praising President Clinton for vetoing it, and urging the Senate to uphold Clinton's veto. He succeeded.
Drinan, who was the first congressman to call for the impeachment of Nixon, began with an overview of Democratic presidents in recent history. He noted that many of them transformed the nation and the world. "When I look back at what the Democrats did over the last century, I'm very proud," he said.
There speaks a man who accomplished what he set out to do.
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
Posted by: -
Feb. 28, 2006 10:42 AM ET USA
Am I mistaken, or are those wishing to do evil so much more bold and "courageous" than those wishing to do good?
Posted by: -
Feb. 25, 2006 4:51 PM ET USA
Father Drinan is not a typical Jesuit. Please do not insult St Ignatius,he is very much alive and does not appreciate having most of the Jesuits compared to Drinan. There are a lot of Jesuits that are great and have done great work for Jesus. However, I know of no other Jesuit that publicly promoted abortion and voted for it like Father Drinan, which is a travesty. He was in the House of Representatives and could have been a positive influence on his fellow congressmen, but chose to Vote Evil.
Posted by: -
Feb. 25, 2006 3:01 AM ET USA
I reject any suggestion that being a Democrat necessarily entials being a bad Catholic. There are dissenters and deviants on both sides; most often, one finds Republicans to be the sort of hypocrites Jesus railled about in the Gospels. There are, in fact, many pro-life Democrats who happen to think the Republican party is bigoted, smug, a party of thieves, and, of course, hypocrites. Rather than a typical Democrat, Drinan is a typical Jesuit.
Posted by: -
Feb. 24, 2006 8:08 PM ET USA
Have you ever noticed how clerics like Fr. Drinan, who live very luxurious lifestyles with no concerns about meeting mortgage or tuition payments, are always harping about the lay people who forget the poor?
Posted by: -
Feb. 24, 2006 9:18 AM ET USA
Drinan's fame clock is at 14 minutes and 57 seconds.
Posted by: -
Feb. 23, 2006 6:42 PM ET USA
The Holy Father owes it to the Church to make an effort to reform religious life. Maybe it won't succeed, but some attempt to govern will buoy the faithful and alert them to error being spread. Drinan is a perfect caricature of the depth of the corruption that occurs when Popes fail to reform, Bishop's fail to govern, and superiors become suppliant to the spirit of the age. JPII's failure to reform and govern the internal life of the Church is a true black mark on his otherwise saintly legacy
Posted by: Charles134 -
Feb. 23, 2006 3:54 PM ET USA
Here's a quote lifted from one of Drinan's colleagues in the linked-to post: "[T]he traffic lanes were jammed and halted, presumably because of an accident ahead, and Bob Drinan drove 60 miles an hour down the breakdown lane." A novelist couldn't come up with a better metaphor for Drinan's life. This brief incident tells us who Drinan is.
Posted by: -
Feb. 23, 2006 1:59 PM ET USA
People get seduced by the devil most often without even meeting up with Old Nick in person. The main way is through that often honored vice of pride, that sense of self-importance can lead to unholy leadership in their communities. Fr. Drinan is aging as an elderly old fool, and one who did irreperable harm to his Church while who proudly promoting the infanticide of unborn infants. His body will soon rot. His soul is best left to the inscrutable judgment and mercy of God.
Posted by: Andy K -
Feb. 23, 2006 1:27 PM ET USA
Dear Leo, You have not been near younger candidates entering those orders recently. I also see Fr. Drinan has not mentioned how "gay marriage" resonates with the Catholic teachings. Of course, we know they resonate poorly.
Posted by: -
Feb. 23, 2006 1:11 PM ET USA
PREDICTION: Unless the Holy Father soon requires a cleansing and redirection of the order, the Jesuits will disappear within the next 20 years, along with other religious orders which have lost their mission.
Posted by: -
Feb. 23, 2006 12:53 PM ET USA
This sad example of a priest and a Jesuit is the type of ecclesiastical Frankenstein monster created by the failure to govern on the part of bishops and religious superiors. It is a scandal that this man was allowed to perpetrate evil and spread his sophistries as Catholic doctrine. It by and large is a testimony to an approach to governing by the Holy See that has a dismal track record and has allowed the flock to be ravaged, It has caused the crisis to expand to geometric proportions.
Posted by: -
Feb. 23, 2006 12:36 PM ET USA
i wonder how proud he will be when he sees his Maker face to face. Judging by the picture, that moment won't be too long in coming.


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7. / 8. December 2013
21. / 22. December 2013
Brunnenstraße 17-21
10119 Berlin-Mitte
How to get there
I love Christmas! Ever since I can remember, I've always been impatiently awaiting the festive season full of warm candlelight and this certain serenity. Nevertheless, I'm not a big fan of Christmas fairs. Usually they're very interchangeable and over-commercialized, it's rare to find something special anymore.
However, for a couple years now, one of the few exceptions has been the Christmas Rodeo in Mitte. Driven by a certain holiday hunting fever on the search for the extraordinary, I always find something unique. This place still excites me.
Not only are most of the products available at Christmas Rodeo one-of-a-kind, but they're also perfected in style and craft. And along with the whimsical comes sweet and savory holiday cuisine, and obviously, despite all otherness, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without mulled wine.
So mark your calendars for the weekends of December 7/8 and 21/22 - there's only a little over three weeks left for anticipation, so bring out your bag to pack some goodies. Good hunting!


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Our schools are all about passion, determination and enthusiasm. We see challenges as opportunities and have an unshakeable belief in the right of children to high-quality education.
Working in partnership with our children, families and communities, we have a compelling vision for success, a desire to drive standards of excellence and a will for all to achieve. With this shared drive and dedication, we will secure our place at the cutting edge of education.
As The Keys Federation Multi Academy Trust, we hope to enjoy greater freedom and flexibility to provide excellent learning for the future, strengthening our capacity to consistently improve and ensuring that the children and families in all our schools receive a 'world class' education.
Sharon Bruton
Chief Executive Officer


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Nutrition is one of those subjects that always seem to lead to debate and controversy. I think that is wonderful. Because, and this has nothing to do with nutrition perse, it is important that we question ourselves and others in order to grow and learn.
It is important to know nutrition is a field of constant discovery. New nutrients are found all the time and their effect in our bodies is an ongoing learning process. Having said that, there is no question that nutrition plays a crucial role in our health. Without proper nutrition health is not possible, at least not in an optimal way.
Nutrition is important to all of us, but it is especially important to children. Why? Because it is intrinsically involved in every aspect of their growth and development. From a strong immune system to brain development our cells need nutrients to function properly.
For this reason education about nutrition is pivotal to our kids overall wellbeing and future health. Here are a few simple aspects of nutrition that you and your kids can share and explore.
The food our kids eats now will have a lasting impact on their health now and as adults. Eating well is a learned habit. So be mindful of the foods your child is exposed to on a regular basis. The choices they are offered are important because, not only will they provide or not provide proper nutrition, they will learn to eat based on those choices.
Nutrients work in synergy. Protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can only work in certain combinations. A whole food contains in itself the nutrients required for the use of those specific nutrients. So in order to get the best out of your foods it's important to eat a variety of whole foods.
A calorie is not a calorie. What I mean by this is that depending on the source, calories will have a different effect on our bodies. Calories coming from nutrient rich sources help us stay healthy and satiated. For example a banana contains about 100 calories, just like one of those 100 calorie packs of cookies. But unlike that 100 calorie pack a banana is also a natural source of potassium, magnesium, folate, vitamin a and vitamin C.
The nutrient content of food is linked to that foods source. So questioning where our food comes from is a healthy thing to do. Whether is was cultivated in nutrient rich soil or raised in a factory farm, knowing were our food comes from not only gives us a better idea of how nurturing it is but will also help us form a connection with it. This is very important.
Preparing our own meals is an important tradition. In our fast food nation it can be rare to prepare meals from scratch. Loosing this tradition would be of great detriment to all. It is important we teach our younger generation to keep it alive. Preparing a meal from fresh ingredients is not only beneficial to our health but to our family values and traditions. Sharing recipes and teaching our kids how to prepare them will help strengthen your bonds as a family and will create a deeper connection to what we eat.
Nutrition is not only about its scientific components but about nourishment. And nourishment is the root of health.


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30 Days of Wonder, age, beauty, discovery, experience, new ideas, wonder
New growth. The glowing green of this vine, supported by the silvery boards of a century-old barn. The new and the enduring. Each helping the other to become more of what they are..to be seen more fully.
We can find this in the world around us.
We can also discover it within ourselves. New ideas, new dreams, new discoveries, against a backdrop of experience, and age.
The new and the enduring. Outside and in.
What beauty there is here.
30 Days of Wonder. Day 30.
Wonder: Something extraordinary or surprising; the rapt attention and deep emotion caused by the sight of something extraordinary (Miriam Webster)


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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Mike Pastore has created a firestorm by getting directly in involved in helping Daytona's homeless by handing out sleeping bags, transporting some to local shower and health facilities.
And in the process, the street preacher, known as "Pastor Mike," who was once homeless, finds himself in a tough spot with politicians, business owners, the cops and even some media outlets because of his advocacy and voice for the voiceless.
Tamara Szabo Spuzzillo, of Port Ornge, a paralegal for a local law firm, has done something very special, not only for her family and close friends, but also for herself. And in the process has become a true inspiration to loved ones and complete strangers alike: Spuzzillo quit smoking cold turkey on June 4 -- two days after she turned 50 years old and hasn't taken a puff since.
Pastor Mike Pastore and Tamara Szabo Spuzzillo are the male and female HeadlineSurfer.com Citizens of the Year.
Pastore and Spuzzillo will each be featured in separate profile stories on New Year's Day in a multimedia format, including a timeline chronology and bio, photos, videos, and social media reaction.
Each clearly has a unique story and both are equally important in the mission delivered to the public by virtue of their selections by the internet newspaper.
And certainly when a media outlet recognizes a person whose cause goes against the grain, there's a backlash.
There will be the critics, namely politicians who will complain that Pastore's activism is being glorified, when in the eyes, it should be condemned.
And with Spuzzillo, a nondescript person, there will be naysayers who will dismiss the recognition as trivial. But tell that to smokers whose tobacco addiction is overwhelming, and in many cases, shortening their lives needlessly.


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New Bins an Attractive Addition to Lakewood Horse Farm/
Lyn Rosgaard is a planner - you have to be when your career involved 30 years in the emergency management field. On her five-acre Lakewood-area horse farm, Lyn has been gradually planning the addition of structures and practices to help her manage the facility well - and you can tell her hard work has paid off. It's a bucolic little farm with green pastures, scenic buildings, a pond and seven healthy, thriving horses.
Lyn lives on the property with her mother and husband. She owns four horses, including one for her granddaughter, and boards three more. She also rents an additional pasture from a neighbor to supplement her own. For many years, Lyn has worked with Snohomish Conservation District farm planners and has hosted two farm tours to help other horse owners learn about preventing mud and manure problems.
Recently, Lyn took advantage of the cost-share program offered through the Stillaguamish River Clean Water District to add two sets of compost bins to her farm. She had one small bin and had been making use of an area of pasture to hold excess manure from seven horses. It was covered, but far from the barns and difficult to drive up to in winter due to wet ground.
Lyn worked through the application process and invited Conservation District Engineer Kelly Cahill out to help begin the design process. Cahill helped Lyn with site location, and the size of the bins needed for the amount of manure produced by seven full-grown horses. Lyn chose to divide her cost share dollars, and put in two three-bin systems. One is near the large indoor arena and barn, the other along her driveway.
Both bins have a 5/8" minus compacted gravel base, typically 6 – 8" thick, using gravel that is a Washington DOT specification. Down the middle of each bin is an 'I' beam which prevents a tractor loader from scraping up gravel when the bin is being emptied. Landowners can also choose a concrete base, with or without curbs. A roof can be added as well. In Lyn's case, she'll likely use tarps to keep rain off the piles and prevent any runoff.
Lyn is pleased with the new additions to her farm operation. Receiving financial assistance from the Stillaguamish River Clean Water District, and technical assistance from the Conservation District helped push her decision to finally replace an old, undersized bin. It also helps knowing that all the manure from her farm will be contained and composted, and won't be contributing to pollution or sediment in the river. These can harm aquatic life and salmon, as well as shellfish living in Port Susan.
The Rosgaard farm will be highlighted in a morning tour on October 10th as part of Snohomish Conservation District's fall workshop series. The farm tour will highlight efforts that landowners can make to prevent mud and manure issues over the winter, and make chore time easier. Watch for details of the tour and a registration link


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So far we've determined our objective and our strategy (part 1) and we have considered our target audience (part 2). In part 3 we emphasized the importance of and provided some tips on managing content and in part 4, we provided the basics on Facebook Ads. Now, let's get into the basics of Analytics.
So, what are analytics and why are they helpful? Facebook is constantly evolving, both in regards to how content is distributed and how users interact. For those using social media as a marketing tool, the challenge is determining how to best reach and engage your audience. One of the keys to success in this arena is knowing how to use your data.
Measure your Real Audience
Who is your effective audience? Those who see your content are not limited to those who like your page. Reach, which measures the unique number of people who saw content associated with your page, can provide that answer for you.
Over time, Reach helps you understand how the sharing of your content impacts your ability to attract and engage your audience. Without it, it's difficult to accurately measure your ability to engage people or to turn them into customers.
You can evaluate Reach in two ways - organic and paid. This will help you to determine whether your content was seen primarily by people engaging with your content or due to your ad spend.
Also, by reviewing the data chronologically for specific dates, you should be able to identify the exact content or campaigns that engaged most with your audience, whether in a positive way or negative.
Analyze your Engaged Audience
Now that you know your engaged audience, increasing it each month becomes the goal. As your number of page likes increases, you will also want to expand the number of users who engage with your content. When combined with your posts, the percentage of audience engaging metric tells you when and on which content types you're getting engagement value from the audience you've worked so hard to build.
Grow your Likes
Although your total number of page likes isn't the only metric you should care about, like growth is important. It can help you identify tactics to increase your audience as well.
First, look at the sources of your likes. By doing this, you can determine where folks were in Facebook when they liked your page or what device they were using as well as they came across it through a paid source or organic.
Next, you want to compare that with other user actions by reviewing likes, comments, shares, and link clicks for a given time period within the same chart.
Third, check out your page visits. Look at the number of times each of your page was viewed alongside your new likes. This information will tell you which part of your page is a bigger attraction to your new likes.
And finally, consider your referrers by looking at your likes progress over time. This will tell you which non-Facebook activities bring you the most likes.
Identify Who Likes You
To identify who likes your page, establish an audience baseline using Facebook Insights demographic data. Then, put the data to work. For example, knowing where your followers are located can help you to make informed decisions about the kind of content you share and when you share it. No matter your brand, it's important to know that age and gender demographics for your Facebook followers matches your target audience for your product or service. Then use sales data to identify the products in which your audience is more likely to be interested. Once you've established a baseline, go beyond follower demographics by building identities that map to certain products or content topics. Measure engagement with content which ties back to the identities as part of your regular audience analysis. This type of analysis can give you a more profound understanding of your audience and which content will resonate with them.
Identify when your Audience is Active
By noting how your page likes change when your fans are online, you'll be able to time content posting more wisely to increase page likes. By comparing the timing of your likes to when you're fans are online over time, you'll be able to paint a realistic picture of how posting times affect page likes in particular.
Stay tuned for our sixth and final post in the is blog series in which we'll dive into Advanced Analytics and how to identify growth opportunities.


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Dependable technology for your business
SCA provides a range of reliable managed services that cover all aspects of IT across your entire business. We work to your specific strategic goals on the basis of fixed monthly fees.
Our managed services include preventative maintenance, proactive monitoring, round-the-clock troubleshooting and full help desk support from our experts.
Consistency at risk
When you manage your own IT systems you may not be aware that inconsistencies can develop and this could lead to an imbalance in the maintenance of both hardware and software.
This lack of consistency will impact on IT reliability. It can easily become a source of real frustration for your business and a hindrance to operational progress.
A lack of joined-up thinking and strategic IT planning can lead ultimately to serious cost issues, data security problems and a potentially dangerous situation in which individuals take an ad hoc approach to their use of technology and communication systems.
A proactive approach for peace of mind
Having SCA provide your managed services provides priceless peace of mind when it comes to making full use of and maintaining your most valuable IT assets.
Our proactive approach to managing IT also means that you can rest assured that your information systems are suitably secure at all times.
With SCA processes in place, we can ensure that every angle is covered and your IT systems work seamlessly, efficiently and in ways that deliver real strategic advantages for your organisation.
Crucially, our managed services also provide our customers with the necessary information to plan ahead with clarity because they can budget for comprehensive IT support on the basis of fixed monthly fees and will know about other capital expenditure that will be needed to stay up to date.
Calls us
If you would like to hear more about how SCA managed services can deliver your IT with peace of mind, please do give us a call now.
020 8995 2914 email@example.com


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Looking for free stock photos you can use for your website or blog? Here are 7 of the best photography websites for high-quality and free photos!
Finding a high-quality stock image for free used to be quite a complicated project – there were only a few options available on the internet, and the inventory that was free to use was marginal quality at best.
However, today, the times have changed. If you open your search browser and you type free stock image website, you will notice that there are hundreds if not thousands of stock websites available online. The only difference between these sites is that some of them are more popular than other and they have a larger selection of photos to offer.
In this article, we are going to present you the best 7 photography websites for high-quality and free photos:


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Home of the World Championship Jack Daniels Invitational Barbecue held annually every October the distillery also serves up a fine "Mess" of 'cue in the Pavillion on Barbecue Hill. The noontime BBQ lunch goes on the Saturday of the long weekends (US) in May, July and September.
A Beautiful double sided stone fireplace is the centre piece of the lovely open air setting over looking the "Holler" and town of Lynchburg.
The spacious kitchen with it's friendly staff is serving up pulled pork, BBQ chicken cornbread, tater salad, slaw, spiced apples and beans.
Chocolate and whiskey lovers will go nuts for their chocolate pecan pie made with some of Mr. Jack's finest.
In a strange twist Moore county, in which Lynchburg and the distillery are located is actually a dry county. The fine folks aren't allowed to sell their own product*. Refreshments are therefore fresh brewed tea, coffee and lemonade. Damned tasty lemonade at that.
After lunch you can dance to the small Bluegrass band playing in the pavilion or just sit and relax enjoying the view. One of the many barrell houses that dots the hill sides in Moore county can be seen here.
Horse shoes and shuffle board are also great ways to pass the time.
Be sure to drop by the town square and vist the gift shop where you can pick up your complementary shot glass along with just about any other Jack Daniels souvenier you can think of.
The cost is a very reasonable $25.
While you're there, you may want to take the free tour of the facilities as well.
* The White Rabbit Saloon located inside the visitors center does have a special license to sell commemorative bottles.
You can visit Jack Daniels on the web or in Lynchburg.
Til we eat again
|website hit counters


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UNITAR and OpenLab have joined forces with the common objective of developing and implementing activities to foster the development of human competences that contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly activities related to sustainable development.
OpenLab is an NGO that creates opportunities for human development. It seeks to challenge people to experiment new ways of thinking, perceiving, and working to enhance their potential to create or aggregate value for current and future generations in the society. The partnership was created with the intention of combining OpenLab's expertise in the application of methodological tools and know-how directed to the sensitization, mobilization, training and development of entrepreneurial human competences, including and benefitting all segments of society with UNITAR's mission to deliver innovative training and conduct research on knowledge systems to develop the capabilities of beneficiaries.
The Open Dojô Program is the first activity jointly implemented by UNITAR and OpenLab in the framework of cooperation agreement. The program aims at developing youth leadership for sustainability by enhancing individual capacities and creating a network of social innovators who are able to demonstrate unique professional and personal skills required to effectively perform in today's global reality.
Read about the Open Dojô inaugural session
Learn more about the second session in February, 2011
Take a look at the Open Dojo 2011 Photo Story
Get to know the Open Dojô Ecoprototypes
Watch Participants' video testimonials
Visit the OpenDojô website


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Valentine's Day is only a few short weeks away now and I have found the perfect present for all of you ladies out there (although slightly pricey, but who can put a price on love, right?). Joe and I don't really make a big deal of the day as we don't see why we should spend money on overpriced restaurant menus etc, so usually we just cook a lovely dinner for ourselves and watch a film or go for cocktails. However, for all of those who do expect a big night from their partners, you may want to suggest this as your desired token of love :) The rings are all by a designer called Sabrina Dehoff who makes the most lovely and individual pieces of jewellery.


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Sydenham School
A Science, Mathematics and Technology School.
Portals |
Fay Nkrumah email@example.com
PSE and Citizenship is delivered by specialist teachers as a discreet subject which we find enables us to meet our targets in this area.It is the aim of the PSE and Citizenship department at Sydenham School to provide all key stage 3 and 4 students with a broad, balanced and relevant Personal, Social and Citizenship education. Our aims include delivering the PSHEE and Citizenship curriculum to all students to develop their knowledge and understanding of issues that affect them and to gain confidence in dealing with their relationships, growing up and empowering them to make positive choices in their lives. Through the study of PSE we encourage students to develop interpersonal skills, gain a greater knowledge and understanding and encourage all students to reach their potential. Topics covered in our curriculum at KS3 and KS4 are:
At KS4 Year 11 students undertake the OCR GCSE in Citizenship. The study of Citizenship is about enabling citizens to make their own decisions and to take responsibility for their own lives and their communities. This is a subject that encourages active citizenship and enables students to consider local, national and international issues. Students respond well to this subject and enjoy the varied and challenging learning experience where they can actively participate in to make a difference. This is demonstrated in our consistently high GCSE results.
Sydenham School | Dartmouth Road
London SE26 4RD
Tel: 020 8699 6731
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Dartmouth Road London SE26 4RD | Tel: 020 8699 6731© 2013 Sydenham School | | Site Map


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I'm using QGIS 1.8 on OSX 10.8.3.
I have a polygon shapefile of all of the US state legislative districts.
I also have a layer of points that are centroids of US Census Tracts, with a field for the population of the tract.
How do I generate a layer of points that are the weighted mean of each census tract point within each legislative district?
My hunch is to play with spatial joins and use fTools to do mean coordinates, but I'm not sure how to calculate the mean for each polygon instead of the whole layer itself.
Any thoughts?


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Hello Sisters and Brothers –
I want to remind you that this coming Monday, May 22, at 6:30pm, Compass Housing Alliance will be having a Community Meeting at First Pres. in the Chapel. We have been reaching out to our neighbors and interested others - inviting them to come and learn more about the "Compass at First Presbyterian" Transitional Shelter that will begin later this summer.
Francesca Martin, Chief Program Officer at Compass, and our major contact person, reports they've already been having some great smaller meetings in the community with interested parties, including individuals, the First Hill Improvement Association, and others.
I want to encourage you to come on Monday evening if you can – because as we start to think about what FPCS ministry redevelopment might look like, this will provide us a little glimpse of who is in the neighborhood…and give the neighborhood a little glimpse of who is in the church.
In fact, can you let me know if you're planning on being there? AND would you be willing to help welcome people? We'll probably slap a name tag on you – but if you can smile and say hi, you can do this! Just shoot me a quick email at firstname.lastname@example.com and let me know if you are in!
Two more things…
You may have noticed – ha! – but the sun is shining! So be sure and get outside in the next several days and go for a walk and soak up some Vitamin D!
And, I'll give you the sermon text for Sunday if you promise NOT to read the commentaries! DON'T STUDY the "experts." Just engage the text – read it slowly, several times, over and over again. Just pay attention: What jumps out at you? What do you love about this text? What seems weird or odd or confusing about it? How does the text connect (or not) with your life or the world today?
OK – remember – no commentaries, right?!
John 14:15-21.
See you Sunday!
Pastor Heidi


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A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper.
Charley sees dead people. That's right, she sees dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.
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February 23, 2017, Harrisburg, Pa. – PennFuture is a proud partner of the PA Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Department of Energy on a project that will spur momentum toward expanding in-state solar power generation and advancing clean renewable energy across the state.
"Finding Pennsylvania's Solar Future" is a 30-month analysis and modeling project kicking off March 2, in which DEP and interested stakeholders will investigate how to expand in-state solar generation to 10 percent of sales by 2030. The project is funded by a $550,000 award from the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Program.
DEP Acting Secretary Patrick McDonnell and SunShot Initiative's Balance of Systems Program director Dr. Elaine Ulrich will provide opening remarks at a kick-off stakeholder meeting that is open to the public to be held at 10 a.m., March 2 in the auditorium of the Rachel Carson State Office Building in Harrisburg.
"Solar energy is seeing record-setting growth nationwide, and with this growth comes jobs, energy independence, and a cleaner healthier environment," said Rob Altenburg, director of PennFuture's Energy Center. "The challenge for Pennsylvania is finding a pathway to be a leader in this industry—this project shows that the state is accepting that challenge."
PennFuture is coordinating the meeting, which will include expert participants from local and state government, the solar industry, the utilities and transmission sector, environmental organizations, low-income advocacy groups, consumer organizations, and business and academic communities. The meeting also will engage others interested in solar development and deployment.
Project participants will meet in working groups regularly through 2019 to use data modeling to analyze roles and opportunities in regulatory and ratemaking processes, business and market transformation, and operations and systems integration. Meeting results and other information will be posted at Finding Pennsylvania's Solar Future website.
The goal is to determine specific approaches that will enable Pennsylvania to increase generation of in-state solar-powered electricity to 10 percent of all in-state electricity sales by 2030. Pennsylvania's current requirement is 0.5 percent by 2021.
Modeling, conducted by Vermont Energy Investment Corporation, will help inform the stakeholders as they refine the proposed scenarios into a set of core recommendations. The results will be published as a draft report for public comment, as well as independent academic review.
Stakeholders will have another opportunity to revise their recommendations in light of the additional review before the final report is released as Pennsylvania's Solar Future Plan.
This report will be available for use by policy makers, regulators, industry, investors, and consumers to propel solar energy forward and apply it to the market and citizens' everyday lives.
Finding Pennsylvania's Solar Future: Kickoff Meeting
Rachel Carson State Office Building
400 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
Phone: (717) 783-2300
All interested Pennsylvania residents are invited to participate. Registration is required.
PennFuture is leading the transition to a clean energy economy in Pennsylvania and beyond. We are protecting our air, water and land, and empowering citizens to build sustainable communities for future generations. For more information, visit www.pennfuture.org.
# # #
Contact: Stephanie Rex
Director of Communications
Office: 412.456.2372


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Alongside the evolution of the clean energy sector—a rapid rise expected to overtake fossil fuels over the coming century— the transportation industry is at the center of a great deal of attention and active investment which has instilled an innovative and collaborative air of activity which continues to spur exciting new developments. This past week alone has seen the formation of new partnerships, both surprising and long-sought-for, as well as a new research project which promises to feed the sector's evolution.
Joining the likes of Uber, Ford, and GM in the evolving self-driving, or autonomous, car field, the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland announced on May 18th the initiation of its first autonomous cars in the center's first real-world test of self-driving technology. Equipped with the latest self-driving technology, the center's cars will be the first autonomous vehicles in operation on Finnish streets and will begin by communicating among themselves, developing their ability to operate in real-time traffic by broadening their individual perceptions. The next phase of this project will commence later this year with a connection to the public traffic ecosystem, whereupon the VTT will explore the full potential of smart traffic in addressing how individual cars can communicate with the entire traffic system.
While VTT advances Finland's role in the global transportation market, the race for leadership of the global market took another interesting turn with the announcement of a new partnership between two notable players. Google's self-driving technology spin-off Waymo and ride-hailing service Lyft announced on Monday May 15th, the formation of a partnership which would see the Waymo bring its advanced self-driving technology to the popular service's vehicles, which then provide Waymo with crucial data on their operation. This partnership comes as Waymo is engaged in a contentious legal standoff with Uber regarding claims of technology-theft and Lyft continues to challenge the publicity-scandal plagued Uber for leadership of the ride-hailing market.
Finally, this week saw an interesting development in the ride-hailing king's efforts to smooth over its contentious relationship with public authorities and residents as Uber announced on May 16th a new pilot project which sees it offer publicly subsidized rides to the residents of a city in Canada. The local government of Innisfil, a city of 36,000 in Ontario, Canada, sought a new solution for providing its residents with much needed transportation services once it deemed public transportation too costly an option. Allotting 100,000 Canadian dollars to fund a pilot during which Uber will offer the city's residents flat-rate rides as well as discounts. This incentive is reportedly the first of its kind, with Uber serving as the sole form of publicly funded transportation, but these types of partnerships are at the core of the company's strategy as it aims to integrate its services into public transportation services to complement cities public transport systems as modes of transportation continue to evolve towards true Mobility as a Service.
VTT's announcement of its autonomous vehicle project.
Read Wired's reporting on the Waymo-Lyft partnership.
Read details about the legal standoff between Waymo and Uber.
the LA Times reports on Lyft's challenge to Uber's dominance.
See how Uber is exploring new avenues with public transportation authorities.


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Spend any amount of time with me and you will quickly learn that I love, respect and adore RuPaul Charles. He's not just the most famous drag queen in the world, he's a cultural icon, businessman, mentor, comedian, singer, entertainer, and a fantastic role model. What can you learn from a world famous drag superstar? Everything darling! Absolutely everything!
Lesson 1: Humanity
Wherever you come from and whatever your struggles, we are all in this life together. Ru is a living example of how you can create a life that you want and reach for your goals. He's not limiting his wisdom to the drag community, or the gay community, or the black community. He speaks a universal language of encouragement and ambition. He exemplifies a kindness and compassion that is lacking in popular culture. You don't see Kim Kardashian walking children in nature. Ok, you might not see Ru doing that either, but you will see him lifting people up when they are down, and setting them straight when they are delusional. He has built his dynasty out of integrity, grit and perseverance. If you can't love yourself, spend some time watching RuPaul.
Lesson 2: Love
If there's one thing that RuPaul doesn't shy away from it's Love. He is constantly telling contestants on RuPaul's Drag Race to be themselves. To love themselves and value their contributions to the world. He knows what it takes to put on a dress and perform, but he also knows how to be vulnerable and real. He's had the same boyfriend for the past 19 years. He makes no excuses about bringing his friends along on his endeavors. He's fiercely loyal and a huge proponent of being present. He can teach you something about love if you're open to it, and isn't that in and of itself the first step...be open to it.
Lesson 3: Fashion & Beauty
RuPaul launched a beauty collection called Glamazon with a company called Colorevolution. It includes a fine-fragrance and ultra-rich pigment cruelty free cosmetics. "Glamazon is for women and men of all ages and preferences who share one thing in common: They are not afraid to be fierce. For me, glamour should be accessible to all, and I am committed to helping the world look and smell more beautiful," said RuPaul.
Every time RuPaul comes out on stage in drag he is the most remarkable woman I have ever seen. I say to my husband all the time that Ru is more woman that I might ever be. Like a living Barbie Doll, but with a heart, he embodies beauty and glamor. Sometimes when I'm getting ready for an evening out I'll ask myself what would RuPaul do? Because his choices and presentation is simply astonishing. Without fear of being fabulous, you can embody the attributes that are the reflection of who you truly are. Confidence is sexy: get some!
Lesson 4: Business
Ru can and has done everything he's wanted to do. He not only has 6 albums and numerous club anthems and hit songs. He has the makeup and fragrance line. The hit television show, RuPaul's Drag Race, that is challenging convention and a uniquely fabulous brand of entertainment. He has a traveling circus of past drag race contestants that carry his brand and their talent all over the country. He has written multiple books. He has multiple toy dolls. Has a wildly successful acting careering on both the big and small screen. He does a weekly webseries called RuPaul Drives on YouTube. And lately, a fantastic podcast with Michelle Visage called What's the Tee? as well as a candy bar made of milk chocolate, peanut butter & sea salt. I mean...just what CAN'T RuPaul do?
Personally, RuPaul is my hero. As a 43 year old white girl from Pittsburgh, he inspires me to really go for the things I say I want. His laugh is genuine and infectious. And his ambition is a road map for anyone who has ever had a dream.
Thank you Ru for being fearless and for showing the world what it means to be beautiful. Long live the Queen!


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Product info
- Dimensions
- 80 x 80cm
- Colour
- Navy Lilac
- Fabric composition
- 100% Silk
- Washing instructions
- Hand wash
- Style code
- 1612
Editor's Notes
Akin to one of life's little luxuries, there's nothing quite like a pure silk scarf to elevate an outfit. Wonderfully soft, the Polly scarf features a modern spot print, trimmed with a border. It'll work just as well with tailoring for the office as it will with jeans and a tee at the weekend.


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Search PXDRIVE
pxdrive.com -> Dido
|Dido Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Music singer and songwriter Dido picture(s)/pic(s), wallpaper and photo gallery, albums covers pictures.
Birth name: Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong.
Born: December 25, 1971 London , England.
Dido biography (bio):
Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong is an English BRIT Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated singer and songwriter who performs under her nickname and stage name Dido.
Dido's mother, Claire (nee Collins), is a French poet and her father, William O'Malley Armstrong (9 November 1938¢22 December 2006) was an Irish publisher and former managing director of Sidgwick & Jackson.
Informally named after the mythical Carthaginian queen, Dido was educated at Thornhill Primary, City of London Girls' and Westminster School. Because she was born on Christmas Day, in childhood she celebrated, rather in the manner of the British monarch, an "official" birthday on 25 June.
After she stole a recorder from school at age five, her parents enrolled her at the Guildhall School of Music in London, England. By the time she reached her teens Dido had learned to play the piano, recorder and the violin. After her teens and whilst working as a literary agent, Dido studied law at Birkbeck, University of London, however, she never completed this course, deciding instead to take up music full-time. After learning the guitar, she showcased her skills to audiences during her 2004 Life for Rent tour.
Personal life:
Upon the release of No Angel, after a long time promoting the album, Dido broke up with fiancķ Bob Page (entertainment lawyer), after a seven year long relationship. She has described the departure with Bob Page as her being "a free agent in every sense", however, still maintains a friendship with him. A few songs on her No Angel album were written about him (Thank You was written about missing Bob). She thanked ex-fiancķ Bob upon winning the songwriter of the year award at the Ivor Novello music awards. "The song Thank You still sums up that relationship. Being single might make my album more psycho this time." Dido has had a few boyfriends after her long term relationship with Bob Page (1995-2002, broken engagement) including Ferdinand Rafael Andres Unger-Hamilton (2002-03), Rodney Webber (2004), and Sol Campbell (2004). Dido's brother is Rollo Armstrong from the music group Faithless. Dido provided vocals on Faithless recordings and shows. During the beginning of Dido's career she used to suffer from panic attacks, after witnessing a stabbing in the audience at a Faithless gig.


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The history of Long Answers to Simple Questions is a lengthy tale.
It all started when LAtSQ founder and Creative Director Tom Davis was a wee tacker of nine years old and was given a pogo stick for Christmas. By late afternoon the pogo was broken, but it was a very short bound from there to Canberra's Warehouse Circus, which is where all this really started.
A short decade or so later Davis was a student at Melbourne's prestigious circus school NICA, where he specialised in hat juggling and naked hoop diving.
Since graduating in 2010 Davis has spent large chunks of time gallivanting about the country entertaining regional school kids with Solid State Circus, and since 2012 has worked as an annual guest trainer for the Sandfly Circus in Broome and on community in Fitzroy Crossing.
Under the banner of his own fledgling production company Long Answers to Simple Questions he wrote and directed a solo circus theatre show, The Great Big Circus Adventure, a show for teens about family relationships and the history of Australian Circus, which he performed at the Adelaide Fringe Festival in 2012 and 2013.
In May 2013 LAtSQ entered and won the Gasworks Circus Showdown with the ensemble show LEFT, which explored ideas around the importance of community and family, and the realities of loss. After this win Creative Director and performer Tom Davis was promptly snapped up by Circus Oz and was whisked away to spend the next 6 months slinging hats from Darwin to Montreal.
Upon his return to Australia, Davis gathered his old cast and a collection of new performers and together they developed LEFT into a full length production which was staged to the delight of audiences and critics alike in the Winter of 2014.
Following on from this success, Melbourne Fringe Festival audiences were invited closer, into the intimate surrounds of the Melba Spiegeltent's theatre-in-the-round where the performers immersed the viewers completely in this moving and exciting show.
LEFT was awarded the Melbourne Fringe 2014 People's Choice Award.
Now, Long Answers is filling the 2015 calendar with festivals. Following on from performing at SummerSalt Festival and the Adelaide Fringe Festival at the start of the year, LEFT will be staged at the Burrinja Circus Festival on July 4, and the Sydney Fringe Festival from 22-26 September 2015.
Which pretty much brings us up to now.
To keep up with all excitement please follow us on Facebook, twitter or instagram @longanswers.


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Millom's Healthcare model is 'the envy of the nation'!
Published: 13th October 2015
The Millom Alliance recently hosted a public meeting to provide health service updates to the community within and around Millom.
Jamie Reed MP, chaired the meeting and summed up his feelings saying:
"The work in Millom is nation leading - It is frankly enviable"
The meeting highlighted improvements over the past year of partnership work including reductions in the number of local people moving out of the town for healthcare such as outpatient appointments and for emergency admission.
Dr Paul Grout, Clinical Director for Acute Medicine, University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation explained:
"In order to meet the needs of the local population a number of support mechanisms have been put in place including a telemedicine link to Furness General Hospital so that we can provide advice and guidance to staff in Millom."
Dr Charlotte Hattersley, local GP explained:
"In the circumstances, we have to work differently so that everyone receives the right care, by the right person, at the right place and at the right time."
Over 100 people gathered in the Palladium in Millom to ask health professionals from the Millom Alliance questions about the town's continuous health care developments, on-going challenges and future plans.
Answering a question about how out of hours care can be improved Rick Shaw, Sector Manager for North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust explained:
"We are in the process of changing the way we work in order to provide more care closer to home. We are upskilling staff and accessing alternative services in the community so we are able to help people locally without having to take them to Furness General."
Representatives of Millom Health Action Group described some of the projects they have been working on to enhance health locally including health week in local schools, arranging a local park run, the donor community initiative and the community magazine 'Around the Combe'.
It was explained that as a result of the great work that has taken place within the town, Millom is now influencing the Morecambe Bay strategy 'Better care together' as one of the vanguard sites developing new care models. This in turn will help support Millom to develop its healthcare model further.
Linda Johns from Millom showed her appreciation for the work the Alliance has done saying:
"Since the March the improvements have been unbelievable, on behalf of the town I'd like to say thank you."
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The Whanganui River has long been a tourist feature for the area. Have you had the chance to see it yet? Beautiful, calm and an amazing experience! There are a few ways to enjoy the journey – by canoe/waka, jet boat, or taking a steam trip up to Pipiriki – and you can take as long or as short a time as you like.
If you have not had the chance to see this amazing gem, check out this video of a trip made in 2006:
And if this inspires you to want to see it in person, check out the Bridge to Nowhere or Whanganui River Canoes for more information on booking and travel times.