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Family outings are really necessary to fill your life with happiness and share some stories over some great food. When was the last time you went out or for a lunch or dinner with your family? If it has been too long since you went out with your family, then this is the time to take a break and go out to a restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
There are chances that an outing on a dinner and lunch brings people closer and make a relationship stronger. Make sure your bonding is good enough and remain like that when you are around your closed ones and when it comes to children they just simply love going out and trying something new.
Plan a surprise outing for your family by booking your restaurants from Groupon as it has a list of several restaurants nearby you and will help you out to choose the best among them. It has the best restaurants on its list where you can happily spend some quality time with your family
To find some great deal on your bookings, pick and book your restaurant through Collect Offers and take the advantage of discounts by availing yourself of a discount voucher and coupon codes to get huge discounts on your deal. So, apply the exclusive code to your booking and enjoy food at reasonable price.
Here is a list of some restaurants at Groupon.
Al Fresco Semi Buffet Brunch with Wine
Located alongside Fenwick Pier lies a 7,000 square feet restaurant that is set against the backdrop of Victoria Harbour. Featuring indoor and alfresco dining areas that are able to seat up to 150 and 100 diners respectively, QUAYSIDE offers customers an international menu that highlights a selection of French contemporary cuisine including char grilled rib eye steak and pan seared duck breast. Andrew Lo, the executive chef of QUAYSIDE, has worked in multiple countries for a decade and is skilled in preparing French, Italian, and American dishes. Pick a vintage to complement meals from the walk-in wine cellar or indulge in a few puffs after meals at the cigar room.
Moroccan Dinner set for 2 at Casablanca Restaurant & Cafe
Named after the fruitful city that inspired the birth of one of the most timeless romantic drama films of all time, Casablanca Restaurant & Cafe serves citizens of Tsim Sha Tsui a little slice of Morocco. Let more than just the decor of the establishment transport one to the Mediterranean through a host of dishes including Moroccan harira soup, lamb and chicken kefta, falafel, briwats, and more.
James' Kitchen
Dwelling on the ninth floor of H8 within Tsim Sha Tsui, James' Kitchen serves Western and seafood cuisine to guests amidst a setting of white tablecloth-clad tables illuminated by warm sepia-hued lighting. Offering a combination of gastronomic favourites and enigmatic dishes, diners can look forward to steaming bowls of cream of mushroom soup, plates of flamed Hokkaido scallops carpaccio drizzles with honey lime dressing, 24-month aged Iberico ham, pan-fried French quail with foie gras, and more.
Eden Cafe
Coffee lovers congregate at Eden Cafe where etching out drawings on milk-topped espressos are the norm. Lions, cats, hearts, and flowers take shape under expert tutelage while the more adventurous move on to 3D renderings for a unique presentation. Learn more about the history of coffee and its different brews or get a taste of different coffees from all across the world.
Tai Ping Kitchen Chaozhou
Tai Ping Kitchen is an authentic Chaozhou restaurant and it offers the most taste and polished signature Chao dishes in the town. Chao is a local cooking style in China and it emphasises on fragrance and sweetness in flavour. Go there for a mouth watering dinner with your loved ones.


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The Cellist
Issue #3
A CD-Quality Vibrato
The technique that many cellists seem to desire most as they advance is vibrato. And while it is true that when most music lovers think of the sound of a cello, it includes that vibrato, a great vibrato involves much more than just being able to produce a back-and-forth motion of your left hand with a fingered note.
Let's begin by describing two types of vibrato motion: 1. with the thumb stationary on the neck, and 2. with the thumb moving with the hand. Because every anatomy is different, most cellists find one of these methods preferable to the other, although many do both depending on the note(s) involved or effect desired. And before we even begin that, I want to caution beginning cellists to not attempt vibrato before they have learned to shift fluently. I'll explain why later.
Vibrato 1: Thumb stationary on the neck. Place your 2nd finger on any note that would put you in any of the first four positions: for our purposes here, we'll use G on the D-string. Now place your thumb on the neck directly under the 2nd finger. As this is purely a left hand exercise, put your right hand in your lap. Now, anchor your 2nd finger on the string and slowly roll your hand-wrist-forearm back and forth, initiating the motion from the forearm and in the process rolling the pad of your finger on the string forward and back (see photos 1 & 2).
A common error is to initiate the vibrato from the wrist, which usually involves dropping that wrist (see photo 3) and abbreviates the motion in the forearm, even though there is still motion there. A good report card for success here (although it may cause some cellists embarrassment) is if the bottom portion of the upper arm wants to flop back and forth a bit.
Vibrato 2: Thumb moving with the left hand. As in Vibrato 1, place your 2nd finger on any note that will put you in one of the first four positions. This time place your thumb under your second finger, but let it barely contact the polish on the back of the cello neck. Now, while anchoring your 2nd finger on the string, move your left hand in a relaxed, straight-line motion, first toward the bridge and then toward the nut (photos 4 & 5), letting your thumb slide lightly along the neck directly under the vibrating finger, the pad of which rolls up and back on the string to slightly raise and lower the pitch.
These are the rudiments to the two methods of vibrato and we'll return to them for more intricate details, but let's now discuss the goals and quality of a great vibrato.
1. A great vibrato must have a distinct "wobble" to it. You've certainly heard it on stage and in recordings, and that wobble only occurs if the vibrato is smooth, of proper speed, and most importantly centered on the note involved. Here's what actually creates that "wobble" that is the goal of all vibrato. Assuming a cello has been accurately tuned, when a note played on it is perfectly in tune, the cello will respond with a distinct ring to that note and an increasing absence of that ring as the note becomes more & more off pitch. This is how all string players who achieve precise intonation accomplish it and we'll discuss this in much greater depth when we discuss the topic on dead-center intonation. Therefore a successful vibrato originates in the center of pitch where it produces the ring. Then, as the finger rolls forward (with either of the two methods), the pitch leaves the center and the ring vanishes. The finger rolls backwards crossing the center of pitch and again a ring occurs, then as it continues backwards, the ring again subsides. The wobble is in some part a variation in pitch, but what you hear more is a "ring - no ring - ring - no ring" effect. If your vibrato is not centered on the pitch, it will sound (sorry) truly awful, not just because the intonation is wrong, but because the wobble, if it occurs at all, is off center. Now here's the good news. Despite some teachers and coaches warning you not to use vibrato because it will mask bad pitch, a good vibrato can actually help you find dead-center intonation. Think about it. If you are vibrating a note and you are slightly off pitch, it's not difficult for your ear to detect that. Things are off balance and the sound is bad. Simply by rolling your finger forward or back, you can balance the wobble and center the pitch. All within milliseconds.
2. To be effective, a vibrato must be controlled, both in speed, and in amplitude. You've no doubt witnessed cellists you know vibrating every note they play and vibrating each note exactly the same as the previous one. If you already have a satisfactory vibrato motion, select a note and practice your vibrato at different speeds. This takes some time to accomplish, so do it every day with each finger. The same thing with amplitude: the width of your vibrato. There are occasions that work best with a narrow vibrato, and those that work best with a wide one. Practice going from narrow to wide each day with each finger.
3. A corollary to #2 is that vibrato must always be a choice: thinking again of those who vibrate every note possible simply from force of habit. Many notes sound better with vibrato but the type of vibrato (wide, slow, tight, fast etc.) varies with each situation. The more you practice varying your vibrato with each note, the more it will become part of your musicality.
4. An effective vibrato is also a product of good bowing. As a teacher I notice many students who have achieved a promising vibrato motion, are getting better at centering it on pitch, but are still frustrated by the lack of good sound. As the mind can do only one difficult thing at a time, there's was focused so much on the vibrato motion that their bow was barely moving. Make sure your bow is putting out sound also.
5. Many dynamics marked in your parts can be enhanced by your vibrato. Think of sf: sometimes a quick "sting" with a tight, fast vibrato can make a sforzando much more effective. Or a gathering intensity of vibrato while making a crescendo can put an audience on the edge of its seat. Sometimes a "sigh", a note tapered suddenly, can touch heartstrings if you lighten a fast bow to nothing while increasing your vibrato and maintaining it after the bow has left the string.
6. Continuous vibrato. You've no doubt heard someone playing a cello who would vibrate certain notes (even all of them) for an instant, then stop for a bit until he/she is settled on the next note. This is an almost unavoidable step early on the way to a great vibrato, but it is certainly not how you want to perform. Great cellists all have vibratos that can go from one note to the next without stopping, at least audibly.
A great vibrato takes time and practice, so let's return to the basics. If you're just in the process of trying to acquire the vibrato motion, practice it left hand only at first. To perform a comfortable, effective motion it's very important to relaxedly collect all your other fingers around the finger vibrating the note and, whether your thumb is stationary or moving, keep it under the finger doing the vibrating (see above photos). Just as important is having the hand as directly above the note as possible.
Photo 6 (above) shows the hand in poor position because it is too low, photo 7 (below) shows a correct, more upright position.
Note the collected fingers and position of the thumb. These relaxed, collected fingers are a departure from the "block" position that all cellists learn when they begin. That "block" (photo 8) is important and necessary in the beginning in order to train the fingers to acquire the proper spacial relationships of the notes.
But the very act of spreading the fingers, even a tiny bit, creates tension in the hand and tension, as much as anything else, will get in the way of successful playing, especially vibrato. Some tension is unavoidable (extensions come to mind), but the more we can eliminate it the better and more easily we will play.
Now add pizzicato, and leave the bowing until later. For many at the beginning, bowing while attempting vibrato is akin to rubbing your head and patting your stomach at the same time: the mind, being able to do only one difficult thing at a time, has trouble separating the two motions as it is concentrating on the vibrato motion. Once you have achieved the ability to make a vibrato motion that you can bow with, the next step is to practice with each finger. Select a note that seems comfortable: C-string notes are good because they guide your left hand into a more upright, directly-above-the-note position. Then move successively to the G, D and A strings, keeping your hand upright and moving the thumb toward the A-string as you move your fingers there (photos 9-12).
Photos 9-12
Now select notes that will produce a nice ring if played in tune: D on the A string and G and the D string come to mind. Vibrate those notes with each finger, carefully adjusting your pitch by rolling the finger on the note in order to center the pitch until a noticeable "wobble" is achieved. Note: even if you have trouble hearing the "ring" of a note in tune, you'll have much more success with the balanced wobble as it is much more obvious to the ear.
Continuous vibrato is largely a matter of relaxation and a lot of practice. A common stumbling block in continuous vibrato is the preparation for a finger to go to the next note while still vibrating. It almost always stops the vibrato dead in its tracks because, as a finger is extended in anticipation of placing it on the next note the hand (as explained earlier), it comes under unavoidable tension which is the main enemy of vibrato. Believe it or not, your hand and finger know exactly where that next note is and no preparation is necessary. Trust your hands. You'll surprise yourself.
Vibrato comes more easily to some rather than others. But every cellist, with attention to the details explained above can, over time, develop a truly beautiful vibrato and improve intonation in the process. It takes patience and a willingness to sound bad for a while. Yes, sound bad. Vibrato is not something that sounds great to anyone on the first try, or even after a few months of practice. But if you're willing to truly work on the relaxation of your hand (the real key to vibrato) and practice daily with the proper position, I guarantee success.
In the next issue we'll discuss the Secrets of Dead-Center Intonation.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bugless, humidity-free, warm days, cool evenings, mountain backdrop, pronghorn this describes our recent Montana family excursion. And it was wonderful.
Montana is one of the largest states area wise but certainly not in population, other than in wildlife.
In a rented 15-passenger van, with 10 people on board, my family, and my twin brother's family took off at 4 a.m. for the beautiful, bounteous state of Montana. Each child had a cousin with whom to bide the time, and the ride became part of a much-enjoyed vacation.
With coolers packed full of beverages, treats, and lunch fixings, our first stop was a lunch break on the banks of the Missouri River. We trekked on to the Mount Rushmore area, where we spent the first night.
We were up early, and on to Little Bighorn Battlefield, where Custer and his men lost the battle and their lives to the Native Americans.
With a few hours spent learning about the history of the battle, we all packed into the van with our second-night stay in Bozeman, MT, where our niece went to college and currently resides.
As we toured the city and ate dinner downtown, we understood why she decided to stay in Bozeman. It is a ski lover's paradise.
The next five nights we stayed at our rental home in Kalispel, MT, and what a beautiful, cozy place it was. We stayed at a farmhouse, completely renovated, with a large front porch, hardwood floors throughout, a fireplace, and rooms for all of us; we were set for comfort.
The house was nestled between Lake Blaine and a creek, and at the base of Glacier Mountains. Now, that's a view!
Our days consisted of a guided bus tour of Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, hiking the park, white-water rafting, horseback riding, swimming in the river, grilling steak and shrimp, eating huckleberry pie, and touring some of the local cities and shops.
Although we almost lost our rafting guide over one of the rapids, our kids said next time they would go for bigger rapids. They were plenty "rapid." I thoroughly enjoyed rafting and seeing all of the beautiful wildlife up close.
My youngest daughter, Delaney, of course, would have liked to bring her horse, Shiloh, from horseback riding, home. She had a hard time parting with it; thus there was a purchase of a stuffed toy animal horse, which, of course, is named Shiloh.
South Dakota was our path to Montana on the way, and the North Dakota badlands were our travel path for home.
A stop and stay in Medora, ND was part of our vacation history education. This area was a favorite of Teddy Roosevelt. It was a reprieve for him, when both his wife and mother died on the same day in New York.
North Dakota is home to three National Park Service sites. Theodore Roosevelt National Park stretches across more than 70,000 acres. This park is a mecca for nature lovers.
Some of the wildlife we saw while hiking in the national parks included a couple of bears, mountain goats, bison, antelope, prairie dogs, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, and wild horses.
The wild West is full of beauty, serenity, nature, and history.


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There is a sweet, gray-haired 70 year old woman with a pretty smile named Elena on the corner of Aurora Blvd. and General Aguinaldo Ave. I see her nearly every day. She travels ten miles from her slum home to beg for money in the high traffic Araneta Center area. I always stop for a moment to ask how she is. We have a cordial conversation. Elena asks about my newborn baby, And how is your wife? She always looks so pretty! She asks if I am having a good day, and squinches her cheeks with delight when I reply in Tagalog. Mabuti naman po.
She has picked a good spot in the bustling city of sixteen million people. Not that everyone is overly generous, but every coin counts, and adds up. I'd say she's doing pretty well for herself—relatively speaking, of course, pretty well as far as the beggar's lifestyle goes, pulling in more than a hundred Pesos a day.
She makes me think about the lifestyle that I have been blessed with. She makes me consider finances and food and entertainment and all the good pleasures of this world. She makes me feel rich.
But opulence is a funny thing, a sticky conversation full of loopholes and relativity. The rich announce that they're poor. The poor makes you think they are rich by their amiable smiles. The middle class always want more. Beggars are always reaching for another coin. Millionaires never have enough.
So how wealthy are you? Where do you fall on the global rich list? Here are five ways to get rich, or realize that you already are.
Walk less than fifty meters northeast from Elena's spot on Aurora Blvd. to watch infants sleeping in makeshift cardboard boxes strewn across the sidewalk. They are usually asleep next to an older sibling, a toddler or ten year old. Traffic is heavy with personal vehicles and public jeepneys, and the humidity collects billions of smoggy molecules, stuffing the black soot inside tiny, helpless nostrils. You can't believe how dirty the poor baby's cheeks are. Their mother's empty eye follows me as I walk past them with a hampered cringe in each step. I'm pretty sure she's wondering how rich I am.
Take a twenty-four hour overnight sleeper bus from Kunming city to The Edge, the northern point of the Golden Triangle. Home to the former headhunting Wa tribe, the landscape is dotted with lush poppy fields and grass huts. Methamphetamine production and ethnic genocide (amongst a myriad of other tragedies) have ushered in a tidal wave of poverty. Spend the night in a Wa hut, sip some of the local rice wine jet fuel, converse with a toothless old man puffing a silver pipe, and pinch the children's cheeks as you hand them gifts of balloons and used clothing. The wide open wet skies outside will remind you that you don't have it that bad after all.
Set out for a shopping day in Kunming city like any decent consumer. But watch your step as you stroll under the branches that hang over the Chinese souvenir and trinket venders at the Bird and Flower Market. Fate is not so fair to every human being, you will see. I have always wondered about that man's story—the legless man with polio shriveled arms, contorted in inhuman posture, with hollow tin can laid in front of his face. When I see him, I am shocked and saddened and pissed off. His gnarled vertebrae is a hump of bone and flesh, pathetic and hopeless. On a busy day at the market, you may not even see him until it's almost too late as you nearly trip over him and despise yourself because of it.
Watch from inside your vehicle as the hoard of excited children run toward you, smiling, waving, What's your name? hugging your leg, Will you be my friend? Your car has not even come to a complete stop yet, and you are surrounded. The moment your foot steps on the Liberian soil, you are engulfed in a swarm of loveably curious little children. Some are late in their teen years. Others are toddlers. The sun beats down on you as the African temperature soars. A five year old boy named James holds your hand as he looks up at you with those big, black eyes. He has seen war. He has felt loss. His parents are gone. His eyes are more articulate than he himself, and they tell a story of hope and longing. Suddenly your first world problems seem more trivial than ever.
Look to your right, south toward the Mekong River, as the swooping valley bursts with greens and yellows. Banana and pineapple plantations as far as the eye can see, and the smoke of a thousand villages rise in the dusky purple haze. The Yao tribe is one of the poorest of the poor people groups in Southeast Asia. Tonight you are sitting on an unnaturally short stool, crouching over a splintery wooden table laden with boiled cat, leafy water spinach, and raw grub worms. Your stomach churns as you scan the delectable delicacies with worry in your eyes. But you are an honored guest, and they are serving you the best that they can manage. You squeeze your chopsticks awkwardly, pinch a glob of bone and flesh, and chew slowly, savoring every unique flavor as your host scrutinizes with innocuous eyes.
Take a moment to pause and reflect. Linger a little longer than usual in front of the mirror. Inspect your jeans. Scrutinize your shirt. Examine your shoes. Survey your stuff behind you in the room, your electronic devices, your gadgets, appliances, furniture, light fixtures, wall paint. Perhaps a sudden epiphany will shock you with a thought like, Wow, I am not as poor as I thought. Yes, there are bills and obligations, and it always feels like you wallet is filled with more receipts than cash. But that may simply be because you only use plastic! Just a moment more. Linger there in front of the mirror a little longer. Are you poor or rich? Are you well off or just getting by or keeping up with the Jones's? If you are reading this, the reality is, you are most likely in the the top ten percent of the world's rich.
Confirm how rich you are on the Global Rich List.
I'm sorry if this blog was deceiving, and you haven't walked away with newfound wealth or secret steps to becoming rich. But I hope that you realize how blessed and well off you truly are. Now, why not find a cause to give toward.
To whom much is given, much will be required.
Perhaps it's time to become more intentional with how you use your wealth for the benefit of both yourself and others.


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Scriptural Gem for April 2015
In John 20:3-8 we read: "So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed."
There is a message contained within these verses above which only becomes apparent when we read the original Greek text. Our English translations obscure the fact that John uses three very different Greek words for 'look' or 'see' in this passage. These three uniquely different words (highlighted in bold above) appear in verse 5, verse 6 and verse 8. Let's start with verse 5, where we have the Greek word, 'Blepo'. This word means 'to see with the bodily eye, to perceive an object by sight.' In verse 6, the word, 'Theoreo,' is used. This word means 'the careful perusal of details in an object.' (That is why verse 7 notes specific details like the strips of linen and the burial cloth being neatly folded and put to one side.) Lastly, in verse 8, the word, 'Eido,' is used. This wonderful word is used some 625 times in the New Testament. What is important for us to note is that in half of those occurrences, the word is translated 'know' rather than 'see.' It implies a different, deeper sight - what we might call 'insight'. It is this third kind of 'seeing' that leads to belief and this is stated plainly in verse 8 of our passage: "He saw and believed."
In addition to this better understanding of the text, a challenge is presented to us. We are cautioned in Scripture to examine ourselves to ensure that our faith is genuine. Perhaps there is a series of questions to ask yourself: 1) Do I "see" in a 'blepo' way, only glancing casually? 2) Or, do I "see" in a 'theoreo' way, studying the minute details and ultimately putting my faith in the "theory" of Christianity (the correct doctrines and theology)? 3) Or, do I "see" in an 'eido' way, understanding that Truth is not revealed by flesh and blood, but by the Father (Matt. 16:17), and so entrust myself to Him and receive His glorious Life into myself?
How about you, dear friend? Which one of these three words describe your Christianity? O Lord, give us eyes to see and know the reality of your Life in us.
Werner Schreiber


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Wed, 8 May 2013
Ian Brennan (co-creator of "Glee") chats with Cole and Vanessa about Iron Man 3, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles role-playing game, gullible babies, show choirs, Ryan Murphy, surf jazz, Barcelona, Gwyneth Paltrow, Stephen Baldwin, additional Olsens, Brittany vs. Jessica and what it would be like if Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs had a podcast.
Leave your answer to the firsts question (the first time you visited New York City, and what you remember from the trip) on our website for a chance to win some vintage season one Glee promotional buttons signed by Ian!
Direct download: PMC113_Ian_Brennan.mp3
Category:Podcast -- posted at: 12:07am PDT


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About the Foundation
The Paul Rudolph Foundation, a preservation and 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is based in New York City. Founded in 2002, its mission is to facilitate the preservation and maintenance of the remaining structures designed by Paul Rudolph through education, advocacy, preservation easements and technical services.
The Collections & Library
The Foundation owns, maintains, and is developing a collection of information on Paul Rudolph including press clippings, books, and various tangible and digital materials about or relating to Mr. Rudolph's own work, influences and the contemporary cultural context in which he lived and worked. The Foundation has begun to digitally preserve a selection of photographs and articles related to Mr. Rudolph. The Foundation, pending further financial support, will professionally document, categorize, and present this and additional material in a cohesive manner for study by students, scholars, and the general public. For access, please contact:
The physical archives of Paul Rudolph's Architectural office are maintained by the Library of Congress Department of Prints and Photographs: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=paul%20rudolph


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A Positive Agenda For Change
By The Rev. Paul H. Sherry
"Not long ago, Representative Paul M. Grijalva from Arizona, Representative Mike Honda from California, and Lawrence Mishel, President of the Economic Policy Institute, framed the issues of unemployment and the increasing concentration of wealth in American society in two succinct sentences, "Despite a weak economic recovery and persistent, unacceptably high unemployment, Washington is prematurely pivoting from job creation to deficit reduction. Worse yet, many of the budget proposals flooding Washington are nothing but reverse Robin Hood plans to redistribute wealth from working families to the most privileged among us."
I believe they are right on both counts. That is exactly what's happening and will continue to happen unless you and I speak and act otherwise. At this critical moment, we dare not turn our attention away from job creation lest so many of our people continue to hurt and our economy continues to spiral downward. We dare not turn our attention away from the increasing concentration of wealth in America lest the power that that wealth commands continues to distort our democratic processes while at the same time further exacerbating our nation's budget bottom line.
First, then, unemployment. You know it and I know it. The unemployment crisis and its devastating impact on so many American workers and their families continue and threatens to worsen. As of this writing (June, 2011), the official unemployment rate stands at 9.1%; some 13.9 million people. In addition, more than 8 million persons are working part-time while preferring to work full time. If one adds together the officially unemployed, those working part time who would prefer to be working full time, and those who are available to work but have given up looking, there are, according to the Economic Policy institute, 24.6 million people either jobless or working fewer hours than desired.
Given these stark realities, to turn away, at this time, from job creation in favor of deficit reduction is both morally questionable and economically wrong. America's unemployed need good jobs so they can feed their families. America's unemployed need good jobs so that the taxes they will pay with the money they earn can help restore the economy of this nation. If we want to reduce the deficit, one sure way is to create good jobs – private jobs and, when needed, public jobs.
Speaking for many, Dean Baker, Co-director of the Center for Economic Research, writes persuasively that "…a deficit reduction agenda is a serious problem in the context of an economy that badly needs additional demand… Jobs should be the top priority for policymakers right now."
"The people who are out of work are not the ones who gave us this recession. It is the fault of the people who design economic policy."
The sad fact is that, as bad as the current job situation is now, to turn from employment creation and focus instead on deficit reduction in this environment will cost even more jobs. And as unemployment rises, the misery index for the unemployed and their families will rise also and the economy will not strengthen; it will further weaken.
We dare not allow this to happen if justice is to be served. We dare not stand quietly by. Rather, in the words of the book of Proverbs, we need to "speak up, judge righteously, champion the poor and the needy." This is not the time to pivot away from job creation.
Yes, we need to stay focused on employment creation and we need to reduce the severe wealth gap in this society. By reducing the wealth gap, not only do we strengthen our democratic processes; we also address , with power, the budget deficit. Yet, not only are we not reducing that gap but rather, through proposals now being advanced in the halls of Congress, threatening to increase it.
It is hard to disagree with Charles M. Blow of the New York Times when, in writing about current moves to reduce the top individual tax rate from 35% to 25%, he says: This isn't about balancing budgets or fiscal discipline or prosperity-for-prosperity stewardship. This is open piracy for plutocrats. This is about reshaping the government and economy to benefit the wealthy and powerful at the expense of the poor and the powerless." (Charles M. Blow, "The Pirates of Capitol Hill", the New York Times, April 15, 2011)
That reshaping of which Blow speaks will have, already is having, enormous implications for our nation's future.
With the few having so much and the many so little, we are in deep trouble indeed. Money is increasingly driving our politics. It is difficult to maintain and strengthen political democracy without economic democracy. Our nation's social contract, one that binds us together as one people, is severely threatened. If justice is to be served, that wealth gap needs to be reduced, not increased, and one sure way to do that is to create a far more just tax structure. By doing so not only do we increase tax fairness; we reduce the budget deficit in a far more responsible way than that now being debated in the halls of congress.
Robert Reich and others have reminded us of the facts about the current tax structure compared with earlier periods in our national life: According to Reich, the top marginal tax rate during the Second World War ranged from 79 percent to 94 percent. In the 1950s, it was 91 percent. In 1964, the top rate dropped to 77 percent. It was 77 percent again in 1969. Even after exploiting all possible deductions and credits, the typical high-income taxpayer during the so-called Great Prosperity, the some 25 years after World War 11, paid a federal tax of well over 50 percent of his earnings. "But", says Reich, "contrary to what conservative commentators had predicted would happen, the high tax rates did not reduce economic growth. To the contrary, they enabled the nation to expand middle-class prosperity, which fueled growth." (Reich, Aftershock, p. 49)
Those facts speak for themselves. When one compares those rates with our current top marginal rate of 35 percent, it is difficult to make the case that the wealthy are over taxed. Not at all! Responsible tax increases would reduce the wealth gap, reduce our national budget deficit, strengthen our social contract, and help provide resources for those in need. Let's do it.
In closing these brief remarks, I want to make the case briefly for two major citizen efforts: one on behalf of job creation and the other, closely related, on behalf of a far more fair tax structure.
During the budget debate, religious leaders and many others have spoken out eloquently in an attempt to protect poor people as much as possible from bearing the brunt of budget cuts which are expected to be severe, particularly if the budget passed by the House and other more recent proposals were to become law. It is critical that these voices of conscience continue to be heard.
However, as many are well aware, it is not enough to speak out against the projected cuts. If the poor and an increasingly struggling middle class are to be served, we need also to speak far more loudly on behalf of a positive agenda, on behalf of job creation and a fairer tax structure. And yet, at times, it seems as if the call for both these these days, particularly employment creation, is almost a forbidden word.
Yes, we do need to protest, loudly protest, projected budget cuts for the poorest among us but we also need to speak and act in favor of full employment and in favor of tax reform. We dare not allow the budget debate to prematurely pivot from job creation to deficit reduction. We dare not ignore tax fairness. We dare not allow those with other agendas to frame our agenda. Without denying the need for responsible deficit reduction, including cuts in military spending, at this time we need to focus most intensely on job creation and tax fairness if justice is to be done and mercy received.
It is time, long past time, for a major full employment campaign. It is time, long past time, to put America back to work. This is a campaign that the American people, those employed and those not employed, will support. They recognize the need. They live with it. They are unemployed. Their parents are unemployed. Their friends and relatives are unemployed.
It is time, long past time, for tax fairness. The American people know this. They are well aware that our current tax structure is tilted, strongly tilted, toward those who have at the expense of those who have not. They are ready for change.
But we dare not be deceived. These efforts, to be successful, will take staying power. They will not succeed without struggle, without commitment. You know that. I know that. We will be standing over against entrenched and powerful lobbies whose interests are contrary to our own.
We will need to change the narrative. We will need to speak truth to power. We will need a common voice. We will need an active presence in the halls of Congress. We will need to organize the unorganized. None of that is easy but all of it is doable if we have the commitment, the staying power, these days require. So let's do it!
In closing, I'm reminded once again of the words attributed to Joe Hill, the Wobbly organizer, shortly before he was put to death by his executioners, "My friends," he said, "don't agonize, organize." Yes, let's organize to put people back to work, to put food in the mouths of children, to restore hope where there is no hope, to renew a struggling economy, and to build a future for our children and our children's children. Let's organize so that justice will be done and mercy received.
Take the Pledge: http://www.scncucc.org/email_news_calendar/documents/2011FaithAdvocatesPledge.pdf
See our Member organizations: http://www.scncucc.org/email_news_calendar/documents/2011FaithAdvocatesMembers.pdf


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I, Robot
There are moments when I feel like no one truly loves me. This happens right? The scarier moments are when I think I DON'T TRULY LOVE ANYONE. It's not hate I feel... but complete apathy. Some may call this depression- because I don't care about the things I usually love. But no... this is some stage below depression but above suicidal ideation. (Hmmmm.. there should be a name for that. Or maybe not. We don't need more labels.) These moments are the scariest when I'm drawn to thinking of myself as a robot: I go through the motions, feel dull, and even worse- I'm prone to doing what people think is best for me, because I HAVE NO FIGHT LEFT.
Removing the stigma 1 MB at a time. 12/2014
April 2015


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The magic of the holiday season feels far away but the 8th Annual Festival of Trees is right around the corner! Be sure to brighten your holiday season by following the Boutique of Helping Hands to the Hilton Friday, Nov. 10 & Saturday, Nov. 11 for our Huge Holiday Market Sale and Festivities!
Hundreds of holiday items, home décor, furniture, jewelry, clothing, wreaths, trees, re-purposed gems and more will be available for sale with all proceeds benefiting local Rockwall residents in need! Open free to the public from 10 am until 5 pm both days. You will also delight in the live holiday entertainment scheduled throughout the weekend set up right inside the market area. Performances are all live by local area residents and range from musical to theatrical from all ages.
While at this festive boutique sale, you won't want to miss our showcase of extraordinary trees and wreaths on display through Saturday evening. Stop by to vote on your favorite tree, as well as have the opportunity to purchase it!
Making an exciting return, the Community Circle auxiliary group is hosting their 2nd Annual Ladies Lunch & Style Show Friday, November 10 from 11:30am – 1:30pm. This luncheon is the perfect place to enjoy friends, feast a little, relax at the fashion show then finish the afternoon strong by shopping the boutique.
Saturday evening will be host to the year's Festival of Trees Gala sponsored by Rusty Wallis Honda Volkswagen. We will be celebrating the agency's service to Rockwall County. This event includes a bounty of holiday offerings such as:
• Unique live auction items for everyone on your holiday gift list;
• An amazing raffle for a fabulous item from Willis Fine Jewelers;
• The opportunity to buy the extraordinary trees and wreaths created for the event;
• A chance to do some final shopping at the Boutique of Helping Hands Holiday Market.
Please visit www.rockwallhelpinghands.com/festival for a schedule of events, to become a tree participant, auction item donor, or to purchase one of the few remaining tickets for the Ladies Luncheon or Gala.
*Please note the Thrift Store & Boutique location at 950 Williams Street will be closed on Saturday, November 11.
Funds raised through the Festival of Trees help to ensuring that no one in Rockwall County goes to bed hungry, without a roof overhead, or is deprived of needed medical care – for your neighbors in your community.
Please consider making a one-time or monthly gift of $25, $50, $100, or $500 can make all the difference… to our Food Pantry, to our Emergency Assistance program, to our Health Center – and to your struggling neighbors. Each of us are one crisis away from needing help.
Submitted by Rockwall County Helping Hands


text: Following the Trust's issuing of an Invitation to Tender, the three construction firms shortlisted for the main build of the mosque were invited to offer presentations at a meeting held in Cambridge on June 16. Each contractor was asked to outline its previous project experience, its understanding of the particular challenges of our project, including issues relating to materials and construction methods, and programming. The contractors were invited to introduce the colleagues that would be working with the Design Team and would lead the input from their own organisation during the development of the design and subcontractor procurement process. The Trust hopes to announce its choice of Main Contractor shortly


text: Welcome to Shahid Smritee Bidhyaniketon,Lawkati Shahid Smritee Bidhyaniketon,Lawkati is a renowned high school in Patuakhali District. It was established on 1st January, 1969. In order to give a name of this school the Elite persons of this locality showed a profound respect to the Martyrs of the language movement and wanted to uphold their memory and thus they named after the school "Shahid Smritee Bidhyaniketon" with a view to imparting education among the village children. The most renowned educationist, Late Mr.Sharat Chandra Paul felt the necessity for establishing a Secondary School in this Locality. To fulfill his desire some other honourable persons of this village called; Mr. Hakim Ali Mridha, Mr. Parimol Chandra Guha, Mr. Krishnakanta Das, Mr. Keshab Lal Chakrabarti, Mr. Sukharanjan Khaskel, Mr. Bhavo Ranjan Khaskel, Mr. Manoranjon Nag, Mr. Shachi Dulal Karmaker, Mr. Santi Ranjan Dam, Mr. Jainul Abedin Khan, Mr. Ismail Sharif, Mr. Jadob Lal Chakrabarti, Mr. Abul Kashem Molla, Mr. Suresh Chakrabarti and Mr. Wajed Ali Sikder became interested and came forward to set up this school. The 1st chairman of the Managing Committee was the then Circle officer Mr. Abdul Barek. According to his valuable advice and creative activities of the founder Head Master Mr. Shachi Dulal Karmaker the school began to move forward step by step. The school stood on its solid foundation during the reign of the former Headmaster Mr. M.A. Khaleque who served here for long 25 years. The school was not established by any individual's donation, people of all walks of life played a vital role to enhance the quality of the school. Today it is one of the biggest non-govt. secondary schools in this district. People of this area feel proud of this school. The school has many differences from some other schools of this locality as it has a qualified teaching staff of 17 individuals. The school has been passing its palmy days since 2008 in different sectors under the guidance of the present Headmaster. The SSC result of this school is quite satisfactory than that of other schools of this area. The co-curricular performance of this school is notable. Every year the students of this school take part in co-curricular competitions and reach up to the zonal level or even up to the national level. Every year the national days are observed with due pomp and solemnity in the school. The communication facility of this school is very easy and comfort. The students have opportunity to have Tiffin in leisure period from the shops and restaurants very close to the school. Smoking is strictly forbidden in the school campus. politics is strongly prohibited in this school. We show zero-tolerance regarding eve-teasing. For all these reasons the school is something different from other schools of this area.


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Twitter's new music app may not be available for us mere mortals, but that's not stopping folks from snooping into its details. Right now, all that's available to everyone that's not Ryan Seacrest is a landing page, but not much else. Thanks to designer Youssef Sarhan, information on Twitter's new initiative has been made available, and it looks like the service will connect with pretty much every big name out there: Spotify, Rdio, iTunes, Soundcloud, Vevo and YouTube.
A few of the connections were already mentioned in a previous rumor, though we didn't know 100 percent how deeply the integration would go. Aside from some code elements detailing which services #music can connect with, Sarhan's finding also reveals users will be able to purchase songs, suggest music, see artist biographies and follow users for easier music discovery.
In addition to an incoming app, it sounds like there will also be a Web interface to match, so every Twitter user can hop into the service once it launches (in a week). A lot of information has been extracted from the site itself, and it hasn't even been made active. We're bound to hear more throughout the weekend and week before the service officially launches to the masses.


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Natural Language Processing (NLP) refers to the branch of artificial intelligence which deals with analyzing, understanding, and stimulating the languages that humans use naturally to interface with computers and other communication devices in both written and spoken contexts using natural human languages instead of machine languages. MarketsandMarkets forecasts the market size to grow from USD 1.03 Billion in 2016 to USD 2.65 Billion by 2021, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20.8%. The evolving customer needs and massive surge in clinical data are the factors driving the natural language processing market significantly.
The prominent players in this market are 3M (Minnesota, U.S.), Cerner Corporation (Missouri, U.S.), Dolbey Systems (Ohio, U.S.), Inc., IBM Corporation (New York, U.S.), Microsoft Corporation (Washington, U.S.), M*Modal (Tennessee, U.S.), Nuance Communications, Inc. (Massachusetts, U.S.), Health Fidelity (California, U.S.), Linguamatics (Cambridge, U.K.), and Apixio (San Mateo, U.S.). Players in this market have adopted numerous approaches to expand their global presence and achieve growth in the NLP in healthcare and life science market.
Many players adopted the strategy of mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships to increase their geographic presence and expand their product portfolio to untapped markets. For Instance, in 2016, 3M acquired Semfinder, a medical coding solution provider. This acquisition was done to boost up 3M offerings for healthcare and life science industry. In June 2016, IBM Watson Health partnered with American Diabetes Association to serve the healthcare industry by leveraging its IBM Watsons computing technology.
3M was founded in 1902 and headquartered in Minnesota, U.S. It was formerly known as Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company. It is a known provider of products such as adhesives, laminates, dental products, orthodontic products, abrasives, and medical appliances. It has operations throughout the globe and caters to more than 65 nations. The company has a strong presence in the healthcare industry for its NLP solutions. Apart from the U.S., the company has operations in Latin America, APAC, and EMEA. The company follows the strategy of acquisitions for evolution of its expertise in coding, reimbursement, and patient classification. It acquired various healthcare products and solutions providers and medical coding solution providers such as Treo Solutions LLC, and Ivera Medical Corporation. These acquisitions have helped the company offer business intelligence and analytics solutions to various healthcare industry players as well as to expand its product portfolio with unique technology in the NLP market.
Nuance Communications, Inc. was founded in 1992 and is headquartered in Massachusetts, U.S. The company is a known player in voice recognition, dialog management, biometric speaker identification, and natural language solutions domain. It offers solutions for speech recognition, text-to-speech, character recognition, and natural language understanding. The company has approximately 13,500 employees, and it has sales presence in more than 65 nations and operates in over 45 countries.
Nuance has deployed a robust network consisting of resellers, software & hardware vendors, value-added resellers, and system integrators to sell and market its solutions to customers. The company is a leader in voice and language solutions and also offers automated speech recognition solutions. Its clinical documentation solutions majorly focus on advanced transcription solutions. In 2016, the company launched a new suite of Dragon professional productivity solutions, leveraging on Nuances Deep Learning Technology, designed for PC and Mac.
Related Reports:
Natural Language Processing (NLP) in Healthcare and Life Sciences Market by Component (Technology and Services), Type (Rule-based, Statistical and Hybrid), Application, Deployment Mode (Cloud and On Premise) and Region - Global Forecast to 2021
Mr. Rohan
Markets and Markets
UNIT no 802, Tower no. 7, SEZ
Magarpatta city, Hadapsar
Pune, Maharashtra 411013, India
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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The Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) received 1,796 new petitions in 2017 making it the Board's busiest year to date. District court litigation, by contrast, dropped 17% from 4,382 new cases in 2016 to 3,649 in 2017. As a result, the total volume of patent disputes at district court and PTAB decreased 11% in 2017 compared to 2016. Though patent litigation decreased overall, almost 90% of High Tech litigation continues to be NPE related.
Significant developments in the TC Heartland (see below), Oil States Energy Services, LLC v. Greene's Energy Group (pending), and Allergan/St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (IPR2016-01127, -01128, -01129, -01130, -01131, and -01132) cases may help to explain this year's lower numbers. Parties may be waiting until the questions presented by these cases—which apply directly to the considerations of where to file and which parties may participate—are resolved.
Figure 1: More than 5,400 new patent disputes were filed in 2017, just below numbers for 2016 (6,114 new disputes).
Figure 2: After receiving a record number of new cases in Q1, the number of total PTAB filings for 2017 was slightly higher than in 2016.
Figure 3: PTAB was the most popular forum for patent disputes in 2017 as it received 1,796 new cases. Eastern District of Texas (ED Tex) was the most popular venue for patent litigation, but lost ground to other venues (e.g. Delaware and CD Cal) likely due to the TC Heartland decision (see below).
Figure 4: High Tech patents continue to be the most frequently asserted at the district courts and PTAB.
TC Heartland update
Figure 5: Post-TC Heartland, Delaware was the most popular venue for patent litigation. Eastern District of Texas (ED Tex) experienced a major decrease, while Delaware (DED) , Central (CD Cal) and Northern Districts of California (ND Cal), and Northern District of Illinois (ND Ill) have seen proportional increases.
Figures 6 & 7: ED Tex accounted for 34% of all new patent cases pre-TC Heartland compared to only 15% post-TC Heartland.
For more information about the Supreme Court's ruling in TC Heartland and to see our previous analysis of its likely impact on district court filings, see Unified's Quantitative Assessment.
District Court
Figure 8: Consistent with data from previous quarters, approximately 60% of all new patent disputes filed in 2017 were attributed to NPEs.
Figure 9: Most district court cases involve High Tech patents.
Figure 10: Nearly 90% of NPE litigation involves High Tech patents, whereas only 17% of non-NPE litigation involves the high tech industry.
Figure 11: Patent Assertion Entities are by far the most prevalent NPE filers, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all NPE litigation. Many PAEs are controlled by larger entities who regularly assert (e.g. IP Edge or Dominion Harbor), however we consider those entities as PAEs for this report (see "Definitions" below).
Figure 12: PTAB received 1,796 new petitions in 2017–just above the previous record high of 1,793 cases (2015) and a 3% increase over the number of new cases filed in 2016. The PTAB in 2017 instituted 73% of petitions filed against NPE-owned patents, markedly higher than the 66% institution rate for operating company patents. For more historical data on PTAB filings and institution rates, visit our Portal.
Figure 13: Close to two-thirds of PTAB petitions involved High-Tech patents, while only 19% involved Medical and 17% involved Other patents.
Figure 14: Over half of all High Tech PTAB petitions in 2017 were filed against patents held by Patent Assertion Entities. For further analysis of these High Tech petitions, visit our Portal.
Figure 15: Unified Patents was the 4th most-frequent petitioner at the PTAB in 2017. For a complete list of Unified's filings, visit our Portal.
Figure 16: Six out of the top 10 most-challenged Patent Owners at PTAB in 2017 are NPEs. Uniloc, a notorious NPE that filed 95 new district court cases in 2017 (about 7-9 complaints per month), was the most-frequently challenged Patent Owner at PTAB in 2017. For the latest data on PTAB parties and more, visit the Analytics section on our Portal.
High-Tech = Technologies relating to software, hardware, and networking
Medical = Technologies relating to Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices, Health Related Technologies
Other = Technologies relating to Mechanical, Packaged Goods, Sporting Equipment and any other area outside of high-tech and medical patents.
The following designations are used to identify entities involved in patent disputes. Aggregators such as IP Edge and Dominion Harbor are counted as PAEs but because of obscure ownership we do not break them out.
Non Practicing Entity (NPE) = Company which derives the majority of its total revenue from Patent Licensing activities.
Operating Company or Op. Co. = Company which derives most of its total revenue from Product Sales or Services. Could be an SME or a large company.
Other Entity = Universities / Non-Profits / Government / Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
NPE (Patent Assertion Entities) = Entity whose primary activity is licensing patents and acquired most of its patents from another entity
NPE (Small company) = Entity whose original activity was providing products and services, but now is primarily focused on monetizing its own patent portfolio.
NPE (Individual) = Entity owned or controlled by an individual inventor who is primarily focused on monetizing inventions patents by that individual inventor.
Venue in Federal District Court
ED Tex. = Eastern District of Texas
DED = Delaware
CD Cal. = Central District of California
ND Cal. = Northern District of California
ND Ill. = Northern District of Illinois
Total number of reported cases can vary based on what is included. Unified made its best attempt to eliminate mistaken, duplicative, or changes in venue filings, hence the totals may vary slightly compared to other reporting entities.
This data includes all District Court and PTAB litigation between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2017.
Statistics include litigation initiated by NPEs or Declaratory Judgments (DJs) initiated by operating companies against NPEs.
Unified strives to accurately identify NPEs through all available means, such as court filings, public documents, and product documentation.


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Adobe Patches Acrobat, Reader; Is Java Needed?
But if you're running 9.1 you might want to think about re-enabling JavaScript. And you might think about not doing it. Most non-corporate users don't need JavaScript in a PDF viewer program. It's used for forms development and PDFs distributed to the public are generally just dead content, not scripted. So you can get away with it.
There have been actual vulnerabilities in the past in the Acrobat JavaScript engine, including this one which caused me a lot of trouble. And in the most recent case JavaScript was used to create a "heap spray" in order to make the actual vulnerability run attack code. So Acrobat JavaScript can make unrelated security problems more serious.
Originally posted on the PCMag.com security blog, Security Watch.


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Folk Art Florals
Shop Our Featured Products
Paper Raven Co. is a stationery and illustration brand nestled among the Peach Trees of Atlanta, GA.
Founded in 2014, Paper Raven Co. started as a small greeting card line, but has grown to include wallpaper, fabric and home decor, with an illustration-first focus. All designs start with pen-to-paper, in a real sketchbook, drawn by loving hands. Paper Raven Co. dreams for the health and happiness of all peoples, for justice when there is injustice, truth when there is murkiness, and beauty for all. It's our mission to share empowerment, love and gratitude with you through our illustrations and designs. Thank you for supporting small business!
As Paper Raven Co. has grown, we have had wonderful doors open. Here are a few places where you can spot us:


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Upon Request: A Two Strand Twist Tutorial
I've gotten, probably, ten requests to do a tutorial on something related to my hair. So, I, finally, bit the bullet and broke out my real camera. This is real life! I was up til 3 am, so, there's no makeup and I'm in my lay-around dress. See how much I love you guys!?!?
Let's get started!
You will want to do this on still damp, freshly washed and conditioned hair (I've done it on dry hair, but it's just not as fun [detangling dry hair = pure hell!!!]).
Separate your hair in 8-10 sections.
First section:
Grab your coconut oil...
just about the size of a quarter;
and grab your Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie...
a little more than the size of a quarter...
and rub it all into that section.
Separate a section that would be your bottom row of twists...
Break out this miracle worker and detangle that row.
Pull off 1 inch sections; separate each section into two collective strands of hair and TWIST!
Pull out a section directly above your twists to start your second row.
The above section has three rows of twists with 3-4 twists in each row. Just keep going in this order throughout each section.
Here are the back two sections done!
But,would a VIDEO would help?!?!
Guys, this is the first video that I have ever in my life edited! It took me all day and the lighting is crazy, but I have to say that I'm proud of myself.
And just for good measure, here are a few more after shots!
If this helps just ONE person out there...this was all worth it.


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November 4, 2015
Wirepas PINO™ – the winner of the IOT Product Innovation Award at the European Utility Week
PINO™ has won the IoT Product Innovation Award at the European Utility Week (3-5 November, Vienna, Austria). The awards ceremony was held in Vienna on 3 November 2015. European Utility Week is the annual landmark event of the European energy calendar bringing together all significant market forces and stakeholders.
"I see this as a recognition for the work we have done on the technology, but also for the market approach that we have. Yes we are a technology company, but we take the customer need as a starting point and that's the road we are going to continue on. We value this recognition highly.", Wirepas CEO Teppo Hemiä says.
Wirepas Pino was nominated in two categories; Grid & Renewable Integration and IoT Product Innovation. Wirepas booth can be found at A.j17 at the Utility Week.
Watch a short videos on Wirepas Pino in smart metering applications at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6O32RCTDfs and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9OBD08rbiA
Further information:
* Teppo Hemiä, CEO, +358 (0)50 561 0198, teppo.hemia(at).wirepas.com
* Sebastian Linko, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, +358 (0)40 023 6607, sebastian.linko(at)wirepas.com


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Sunday, December 11 was our annual Lessons and Carols service. Davin put together an incredible set of music featuring varied styles and instruments interspersed with readings. Together they communicated the Christmas story in a wonderfully unique way.
Bob's Reflection from Sunday's service:
I heard an interview this past week with Pablo Larrain, who directed the Jackie (Kennedy) movie that is just coming out now. In the interview he talked about how what interested him in particular about this project was the question of perspective - he set out to tell the story of the few days following the assassination of John F Kennedy from the perspective of Jackie, his wife.
Here is Larrain talking about it:
If you read the the Warren Commission account: "He was killed by a number of bullets and here and there and it would say that Jacqueline Kennedy his 34 year old wife was sitting next to him...so the whole question is what happens if we think that JFK was sitting next to her and we take the whole story from her perspective and her point of view."
As I listened, it struck me that this is one important way of talking about what Advent is - the story of God entering into the story of our lives to see what they are like from our perspective - It is a holy and mysterious truth we confess. Here is how one New Testament author puts it:
Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things… he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect…. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested….
Whatever you suffer in your life he is there to suffer with you, whether it be loneliness, abuse, being cheated, slandered, or the subject of gossip…he has been right there with us… and it is all for the purpose of putting a redemptive energy at work in our life circumstances on our behalf, an energy that moves us from the circumstances that hold us back and moves us towards newness of life - an energy that activates when we welcome God's presence into the story that is our life and open ourselves to his love….
I hope it sinks in for you during this advent season that all of the talk about Jesus in the manger and the nearness of God all boils down to God caring so much about your life from your perspective that he became human - that is a fantastic claim but that is the claim… may God increase our faith.


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After a record-breaking Black Friday - where nearly $2 billion in revenue came from mobile devices alone - we are now approaching the final days of the holiday shopping season and the pressure is on. Retailers are looking to maintain increased sales across all devices as well as in-store - while last minute shoppers are anxiously looking to fulfill their holiday shopping lists in time.
Retailers can help consumers out by setting shipping expectations. Now is the time to shift mobile messaging to inform consumers what products are still available for holiday delivery. Between shipping snags and plain old procrastination, shoppers will turn to brick-and-mortar to get those last minute gifts. This is a prime opportunity for retailers to also target those last minute consumers with mobile push notifications and tailored location based campaigns to inform consumers what products are in stores closest to them, easing frustration and heightening customer satisfaction.
- Set Shipping & Delivery Expectations
Use push notifications and mobile web Smart Banners to remind users of your shipping deadlines. Past deadline? Push alerts to your Store Locator feature will remind shoppers of your extended hours and locations.
- Local Inventory & In-Store Coupons
Use push notifications and location based campaigns to inform consumers on in-stock inventory at stores closest to them. Provide incentives and drive shoppers to stores by offering digital coupons that can be redeemed in-store.
- Provide Gift Ideas
Retailers like Crate & Barrel and A.C. Moore use their mobile apps as idea boards, not just commerce drivers. Implement an inspiring project board (you can even incorporate user-generated content for enhance brand loyalty and engagement) and get shoppers thinking about what they'll need to make that one-of-a-kind gift for their special someone. Use wayfinding features to help them retrieve what they need quickly in-store.
For additional holiday tips and strategies, download GPShophper's 2017 Holiday Planning Calendar.


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The Creed
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day, He rose again.
He ascended to Heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Holy Catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting. Amen.
Faith is located in the act of conversion, in the shift of gravity from worship of the visible and practicable to trust in the invisible. The phrase "I believe" could here be literally translated by "I hand myself over to", "I assent to."
"Faith comes from what is heard", says St Paul (Rom 10:17). Faith does in fact come from "hearing", not - like philosophy - from "reflection". It is the reception of something that I have not thought out, so that in the last analysis thinking in the context of faith is always a thinking-over of something previously heard and received.
Philosophy is by its nature the work of the solitary individual, who ponders as an individual on truth. It only becomes communicable later when it is put into words. In philosophy, what comes first is the private search for truth, which then, secondarily, seeks out travelling companions. Faith, on the other hand, is first of all a call to community, to unity of mind through the unity of the word. Only secondarily will it then open the way for each individual's private venture in search of truth.
By the inner structure of faith our relationship to God and our fellowship with man cannot be separated from each other; the relationship to God, to the "You" and the "We" are intertwined; they do not stand alongside each other.
God wishes to approach man only through man; he seeks out man in no other way but in his fellow humanity. Just as in the field of music we find the creative, the receptive and finally those who are completely unmusical, so it seems to be in religion too. Here too one meets people who are religiously "talented" and others who are "untalented". Here too those capable of religious experience and thus of something like religious creativity through a living awareness of the religious world are few and far between.
Over against the few, for whom the divine thus becomes undisguised certainty, stand the many whose religious gift is limited to receptivity, who are denied the direct experience of the holy, yet are not so deaf to it as to be unable to appreciate an encounter with it through the medium of the man granted such an experience.
God's dialogue with men operates only through men's dialogue with each other. The difference in religious gifts which divides men into "prophets" and hearers forces them into speaking to and for one another.
The programme of the early Augustine, "God and the soul - nothing else", is impracticable and it is also unchristian. In the last analysis there is no religion along the solitary path of the mystic, but only in the community of proclaiming and hearing.
Perhaps the mystery of God is from the start the most compulsive challenge - one that can never be carried to a final conclusion - ever issued to man to take up the dia-logue which, however much it may be obstructed and disturbed, causes the logos to resound, the real word from which all words proceed and which all words are always seeking to express.
No real dialogue yet takes place where men are still only talking about something. The conversation between men only comes into its own when they are no longer trying to express something, but to express themselves, when dialogue becomes communication.
When dialogue becomes communication, when man brings himself into the conversation, then God too is involved in some way or other, for he has been the real theme of controversy between men since the beginning of their history. Moreover, only when man brings himself into the conversation does the logos of all being enter, along with the logos of human being, into the words of human speech.
Perhaps the difficulty we find today in speaking about God arises precisely from the very fact that our language is tending to become more and more a mere means of passing on technical information, less and less a means for our common being to make contact in the logos, a process in which consciously or unconsciously contact is also made with the ground of all things.
Christian doctrine does not exist in the form of analysable propositions but in the unity of the symbolum, as the Ancient Church called the baptismal profession of faith. "Symbolum" comes from "symballein" - to fall together, to cast together. The background to the word's etymology is an ancient usage: two corresponding halves of a ring, a staff or a tablet were used as tokens of identity for guests, messengers or partners to a treaty. Possession of the corresponding piece entitled the holder to receive a thing or simply to hospitality. A symbolum is something which points to its complementary other half and thus creates mutual recognition and unity. It is the expression and means of unity.
The description of the creed or profession of faith as the symbolum is a profound interpretation of its true nature. As sym-bolum it points to the other person, to the unity of the spirit in the one Word. It unites people in the community of the confessing word. It is not a piece of doctrine standing isolated in and for itself, but the form of our worship of God, the form of our conversion, which is not only a turn to God but also a turn to one another in the common glorification of God. It is only in this context that Christian doctrine assumes its proper place.
Every man holds the faith only as a "symbolon", a broken incomplete piece that can only attain unity and completeness when it is laid together with the others. Only in "symballein", the fitting together with them, can the "symballein", the fitting together with God take place. Faith demands unity and calls for the fellow believer; it is by nature related to a Church. A Church is not a secondary organisation of ideas, quite out of accordance with them and hence at best a necessary evil; it belongs necessarily to a faith whose significance lies in the interplay of common confession and worship.
Even the Church itself, as a whole, still only holds the faith as a symbolon, as a broken half, which signifies truth only in its endless reference to something beyond itself, to the quite other. It is only through that infinitely broken nature of the symbol that faith presses forward as man's continual effort to excel himself and reach up to God.
Christian faith is not based on the atomised individual but comes from the knowledge that there is no such thing as the mere individual, that on the contrary man is himself only when he is fitted into the whole; into mankind, history, the cosmos, as is right and proper for a being who is "spirit in body."
The purpose of Church and Christianity is to save history as history and to break through or transform the collective grid that forms the site of human existence.
The boundless spirit who bears within himself the totality of Being reaches beyond the 'greatest' so that to him it is small, and he reaches into the smallest because to him nothing is too small.
The overstepping of the greatest and the reaching down into the smallest is the true nature of absolute spirit.
Any attempt to reduce God to the scope of our own comprehension leads to the absurd.
The mere neutral curiosity of the mind which wants to remain uninvolved can never enable one to see - even in dealing with a human being, and much less in dealing with God.
The Christian confession of faith in God as the Three-in-One, signifies the conviction that divinity lies beyond our categories of unity and plurality.
God is Three-in-One. He stands above singular and plural. He bursts both categories.
To him who believes in God as tri-une, the highest unity is not the unity of inflexible monotony. The multi-unity which grows in love is a more radical, truer unity.
The acknowledgement that God is a person in the guise of a triple personality explodes the naive anthropomorphic concept of person.
The meaning of all being is no longer simply given in the world of ideas, it is to be found in the midst of time, in the countenance of one man.
Faith which is not love is not a really Christian faith - it only seems to be such.
He who humbled himself to the very point of emptying himself of his own being is for that very reason the ruler of the world.
At bottom the teaching of Jesus is he himself. He as a totality is Son, Word and mission; his activity reaches right down to the ground of being and is one with it.
Man is finally intended for the other, the truly other, for God; he is all the more himself the more he is with the quite other, with God.
The future of man hangs on the cross - the redemption of man is the cross. And he can only come to himself by letting the walls of his existence be broken down, by looking on him who has been pierced (John 19:37) and by following him who as the pierced and opened one has opened the path into the future.
Man, as a being set entirely in a context of relationship, cannot come to himself through himself, although he cannot do it without himself either
Möhler (quoted by Cardinal Ratzinger).
Christ, who from the ecclesiastical point of view was a layman and held no office in Israel's religious organisation, was - so the Epistle to the Hebrews says - the one true priest in the world.
It is just as absurd to deduce the knowledge of God and the knowledge of all other intelligences and non-intelligences from self-knowledge (self-awareness) as to deduce all love from self-love.
Human righteousness can only be attained by abandoning one's own claims and being generous to man and God.
The gesture of the love that gives all - this, and this alone, was the real means by which the world was reconciled; therefore the hour of the cross is the cosmic day of reconciliation, the true and final feast of reconciliation. There is no other kind of worship and no other priest but he who accomplished it: Jesus Christ.
Christ's death, which from a purely historical angle represented a completely profane event - the execution of a man condemned to death as a political offender - was in reality the one and only liturgy of the world, a cosmic liturgy, in which Jesus stepped, not in the limited arena of the liturgical performance, the temple, but publicly, before the eyes of the world, into the real temple, that is, before the face of God himself, in order to offer, not things, the blood of animals or anything like that, but himself (Hebrews 9:11).
In the Bible, the cross does not appear as part of a mechanism of injured right; on the contrary, in the Bible, the cross is quite the reverse: it is the expression of the radical nature of the love which gives itself completely, of the process in which one is what one does, and does what one is; it is the expression of a life that is completely being for others.
It is not man who goes to God with a compensatory gift, but God who comes to man, in order to give to him. He restores disturbed right on the initiative of his own power to love, by making unjust man just again, the dead living again, through his own creative mercy.
God's righteousness is grace; it is active righteousness, which sets crooked man right, that is, bends him straight, makes him right.
In the New Testament the cross appears primarily as a movement from above to below. It does not stand there as the work of expiation which mankind offers to the wrathful God, but as the expression of that foolish love of God's which gives itself away to the point of humiliation in order thus to save man; it is his approach to us, not the other way around.
Mary appears as the temple on to which descends the cloud in which Christ walks into the midst of history.
We are not allowed neutrality when faced with the question of God. We can only say yes or no, and this with all the consequences extending down to the smallest detail of life.
Man's stretching out towards God, the quest for the creative ground of all things, is something very different from precritical or uncritical thinking. On the contrary: rejecting the question of God, renouncing this supreme human openness, is an act of shutting in on oneself; it is to forget the inner call of our being.
Those who make themselves lords of truth and end by leaving truth on one side when it does not allow itself to be dominated ultimately place power above truth. Their criterion becomes power, ability. But precisely in this way they lose themselves: the throne on which they place themselves is a false throne; what they think is ascending the throne is in reality their fall.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." The "pure" heart is the one that is open and humble. The impure heart according to this is the opposite, the presumptuous heart that is shut in on itself, that is completely filled up with itself and incapable of finding room for the majesty of truth that demands reverence and ultimately worship.
The light of Jesus is reflected in the saints and shines out again from them.
"Saints," however, are not just those canonised by name. There are always hidden saints who in their fellowship with Jesus receive a ray of his brightness, actual and real experience of God. Perhaps in order to make this more exact we should pick up a remarkable saying used by the Old Testament in connection with the story of Moses: if they cannot see God full in the face they do nevertheless see God, they at least see God's back (Exodus 33:23). And just as Moses' face shone after this encounter with God, so the light of Jesus shines from the life of men and women of this kind.
Theology becomes an empty intellectual game and loses its scientific character without the realism of the saints, without their contact with the reality it is all about.
Believers who let themselves be formed and led by the faith of the Church should in all their weaknesses and difficulties be windows for the light of the living God; and if they truly believe, this is what they are.
The believer should be a countervailing force against the powers that suppress the truth, against this wall of prejudice that blocks our view of God.
The conversion of the ancient world to Christianity was not the result of any planned activity on the part of the Church but the fruit of the proof of the faith as it became visible in the lives of Christians and of the community of the Church. The actual invitation from experience to experience - humanly speaking, the missionary strength of the early Church was nothing else.
Christians today should be reference points of faith as people who know about God, should in their lives demonstrate faith as truth, and should thus become signposts for others.
The act of faith is a sharing in the vision of Jesus, propping oneself up on Jesus. John, who leant on Jesus' breast, is a symbol for what faith means.
Faith by its inmost essential nature involves other people: it is a breaking out of the isolation of my own ego that is its own illness. . I find myself united not only with Jesus but with everybody who has followed the same path.
Truth as mere perception, as mere idea, remains bereft of force; it only becomes man's truth as a way which makes a claim on him, which he can and must tread.
Christian belief is not an idea but life; it is not mind existing for itself but incarnation, mind in the body of history and its "We". It is not the mysticism of the self-identification of the mind with God, but obedience and service: the outstripping of oneself, liberation of the self precisely through its being taken into service by something not made or thought out by myself, the liberation of being taken into service for the whole.


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Northeast Slammed By Rare April Storm
The storm flooded people out of their homes in the middle of the night in West Virginia and trapped others. Some New Jersey shore residents evacuated, and officials in Connecticut urged some residents along the Long Island Sound to do the same. Inland areas from upstate New York to Maine faced a threat of heavy snow.
One person was killed in South Carolina as dozens of mobile homes were destroyed or damaged by wind. The storm system already had been blamed for five deaths on Friday in Kansas and Texas.
Storm warnings and watches were posted all along the East Coast, with coastal flood watches from Maryland to Maine through at least Monday morning.
More than 5.5 inches of rain fell in the New York region Sunday, shattering the record for the date of 1.8 inches set in 1906, according to the National Weather Service. Weather service meteorologist Gary Conte said Sunday night's high tide was likely to bring coastal flooding on Long Island and in parts of New York City.
Connecticut's emergency management commissioner, James Thomas, was expecting most of the problems to come Sunday night with the high tide.
"We are prepared to deliver sandbags, assist with an evacuation, or whatever we need to do," Thomas said. "We're kind of all sitting back, getting prepared and hoping it doesn't get as bad as it has been in different parts of the country."
In New York, flooding stalled traffic along parkways and forced residents in at least one Queens neighborhood to paddle through streets in boats. In the coastal Seagate section of Brooklyn, which suffered major flooding in a December 1992 nor'easter, residents placed sandbags in the streets.
"Everybody remembers that (1992 storm)," resident Jose Serrano said. "Everybody's home got ruined. Some houses got underwater. It was up to your stomach."
More than 400 flights were cancelled in the New York region — over 80 in Philadelphia and 70 in Boston, reports CBS News correspondent Randall Pinkston.
Fire Island Ferries suspended service to the island, off the south shore of Long Island, and the Metro-North Railroad suspended service on its Harlem and New Haven lines for several hours because of flooding in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
The Coast Guard had warned mariners to head for port because wind up to 55 mph was expected to generate seas up to 20 feet high, Petty Officer Etta Smith said in Boston.
A tornado touched down in the central part of South Carolina, killing one person, seriously injuring four others and cutting a 300-yard swath of destruction in Sumter County, officials said. A second tornado touched down near Lynchburg.
In New Jersey, 16 roadways throughout the state were either partially or fully closed and traffic lights were malfunctioning in some areas, Kris Kolluri, state Transportation Commissioner, said late Sunday afternoon.
In Sea Bright, New Jersey, the storm, which picked up power as it headed over the ocean, pounded the area with heavy rains and wind gusts of more than 50 mph, reports CBS News correspondent Bianca Solorzano.
"This is going to be bad," Shaun Rheinheimer said as he moved furniture to higher spots at his house on New Jersey's Cedar Bonnet Island.
The storm caused flash flooding in the mountains of southern West Virginia, where emergency services personnel rescued nearly two dozen people from homes and cars in Logan and Boone counties early Sunday. Two people were unaccounted for and others were trapped in their homes.
"Our houses sit in the middle of the hill, and it's all around us. I'm surrounded, it's like a lake completely around us," said Samantha Walker, 29, who was visiting her grandmother in Matheny. "We can't get out even if we wanted to get out."
The storm forced the postponement of six major league baseball games Sunday — the most in a single day in a decade — and gave runners in Monday's Boston Marathon something to worry about besides Heartbreak Hill. The race-day forecast called for 3 to 5 inches of rain, start temperatures in the 30s and wind gusts of up to 25 mph.
Heavy rain and thunderstorms extended from Florida up the coast to New England on Sunday. Wind gusted to 71 mph at Charleston, S.C., the weather service said.
Major flooding was forecast in parts of eastern and central Pennsylvania, where some rivers already were above flood state Sunday night.
Thousands of electricity customers lost power in states including New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and North Carolina.
Rain dumped 3 inches on eastern Kentucky, where a 50-foot section of highway collapsed near Pikeville, said State Police Sgt. Jamey Kidd. No vehicles were caught by the collapse, he said.
In central Florida, a tornado damaged mobile homes in Dundee but no injuries were reported, police said.


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Enjoy the carefree boat on the mesmerizing Ken River with hands on experience in rowing, from our local boatmen, the real adventurous can do it on the truck tube as their boat, as used by the local fishermen. Alternatively inside the park is also an hour ride on a motorized boat, where the real unlucky misses the crocodiles. The river ecosystem offers great opportunity for bird watching specially in the winter months with innumerable migratory birds.
The lodge has its own 4x4 open Suzuki jeeps used for jungle safari - morning safari and evening safari are daily organized. The guests are accompanied by trained naturalists to give them a better insight into the park.
Panna is the land of cascading waterfalls- Raneh falls and Pandav falls are a great attraction, both are situated in the reserve forest. Along with Raneh falls, Ken Gharial Sanctuary can also be visited. On a sunny afternoon the guests can see innumerable Gharials sun basking.
Khajuraho- a world heritage site, famed for temples, is a half hour drive from the lodge. Rajgarh and Kalinjar forts are a must, for a close view into bundelkand. The lodge organizes guided tours for its guests.
|Panna national park gate
|1 km
|Pandav falls
|6 km
|27 km
|Raneh Falls
|51 km
|Kalinjar fort
|120 km
|Rajgarh fort
|8 km


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IDC Research: The Role of Marketing in Customer Advocacy/
Our partner, Influitive, has a variety of great resources for those in the customer advocacy field. One is recent research from IDC, The Role of Marketing in Customer Advocacy which you can download here. The world has changed, how buying decisions are made has changed, and customer advocacy is more crucial than ever for continued business success. The report has interesting commentary and charts about how advocate marketing staff splits their time among their many responsibilities and which advocate marketing tactics are most common. There is also discussion of common barriers and suggestions for key success metrics. The research concludes with recommendations for success.
This is worth a read. Let us know if the content resonates with you. Is this is what you are seeing in your industry, with your clients? Interested in your thoughts!


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Ashish Negi Work History (showing 1 - 9 of 9 results)
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TOTAL EARNINGS: Rs.55,900
Client: Yashasvi Bagde
Graphic Design
28th Apr, 2017
Rs. 3650.00
Job Details
No comments added
Client: icraftzone
Other - Web Development
20th Aug, 2016
Rs. 500.00
Job Details
Ashish is a hard-worker, I have no doubt about it. But he couldn't complete the tasks though he had tried alot. Best of luck and learn more :)
Client: WRBLS International UG
Data Entry
31st May, 2016
Rs. 10000.00
Job Details
A very good work. We will choose Mr. Negi for sure again.
Client: Tanmoy Deb
Website Programming
18th May, 2016
Rs. 17000.00
Job Details
Creative work always face challenges. Our project also faced a unique challenge when we started working together. But Ashish promptly handled the situation with very effectively. Thats why the project has got in reality. That also shows his good project understanding level and maturity to handle such critical situations in a project execution. I appreciate his approach of working also. Cannot wait to work with you again very soon. Thanks for your contribution.
Sir Tanmoy Debl is very good person. I relay have a great time to do work with him. He explain me each and every thing very nice. Thanks you Ashish Negi
Client: Rahul Kumar
30th Apr, 2016
Rs. 2000.00
Job Details
Great, Completed work on time. I will hire you again for any web development work.
Doing work with rahul is a great experience for me he know what he want and explain the things properly. Looking for work with him soon.... Thanks you Ashish Negi
Client: anshupopli
Graphic Design
28th Apr, 2016
Rs. 50.00
Job Details
Ashish is very communicative and works effectively
Being work with anshu is great, she explain each and every thing nicely. looking some more in future
Client: mkportho
Multimedia Animation
27th Apr, 2016
Rs. 10000.00
Job Details
It was wonderful working with Ashish. He follows instructions works as a team and sticks to deadlines. I have no problem in recommending him to anybody who is interested in getting their videos done. Very likable personality
- mkportho
Mohan is very nice person he is explain everything very well.
Client: rjsavemeram
Website Programming
22nd Apr, 2016
Rs. 5000.00
Job Details
Ashish is a good, hardworking and committed programmer
Rjsavemeram is very nice person and very good explain about the project his knowledge and concept about the project is clear. He explain every thing is easy and effective way i enjoy the work with Rjsavemeram and looking for more work from him.
Client: dvanwie
Graphic Design
6th Mar, 2016
Rs. 2700.00
Job Details
Ashish is a hard worker who is dedicated and sees the project to completion. His attention to detail and his quality of work is exceptional. Ashish was easy to work with, listened to my explanations and made changes where ever needed to make sure the project was to my satisfaction. I highly recommend anyone to use Ashish who is looking for someone who will work diligently with them to create exactly what they want. Looking forward to our next project.
- dvanwie
David is very nice person and very good explain about the project his knowledge and concept about the project is clear. He explain every thing is easy and effective way i enjoy the work with David and looking for more work from him.


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The photographs of loving couples on this site eloquently demonstrates what I have known for a long time – that many lesbians, gay men and people of transgender live in long standing committed nurturing relationships.
As well as giving the campaign for equal recognition a human dimension, the photos should encourage young lesbians and gay men and their families to believe that finding happiness with a long term partner is a realistic aspiration.
I commend Evan for his initiative in establishing The Commitment Project website.


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(Washington, DC,) - The House Foreign Affairs Committee should remove language that would reinstate the so-called "Global Gag Rule" from the draft Foreign Affairs Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012, Human Rights Watch said today. The "Gag Rule" would outlaw US funding to international groups that provide abortions, counsel women about abortion, or engage in advocacy for abortion rights, even if no US funds would be used for those purposes.
This policy, also known as the Mexico City Policy, existed as an executive order under the Bush and Reagan administrations. President Barack Obama repealed it his first week in office. The damaging policy restricted women's choices and promoted censorship in health clinics around the world - factors known to contribute to unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and maternal mortality. The committee began debating the bill on July 20, 2011.
"The Global Gag Rule has exacted a terrible cost in damage to the health of millions of women and the free speech rights of people around the world," said Meghan Rhoad, women's rights researcher at Human rights Watch. "It should be considered a shameful piece of past foreign policy, not a model for the future."
It is expected that an amendment may also be introduced to withdraw funding from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which provides life-saving maternal health care and basic reproductive health services to women around the world. In the past, funds have been withdrawn from the agency over rumors linking the organization to coercive abortions and involuntary sterilization in China.
A US State Department panel investigated the rumors in 2002 and found "no evidence that UNFPA has knowingly supported or participated in the management of a program of coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization in the PRC." When UNFPA lost funding in the past, it estimated that the US contribution would have prevented 2 million unwanted pregnancies, nearly 800,000 induced abortions, 4,700 maternal deaths, nearly 60,000 cases of serious maternal illness, and over 77,000 infant and child deaths each year.