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Bathed in mild winds and warm air throughout the year, it's easy to understand why beautiful Okinawa is one of Japan's most popular domestic destinations. Whether you're looking for an all-inclusive beach resort getaway, a deep dive into Okinawa's rich history and culture, or exploring the island's interior jungles, Okinawa has endless activities to keep everyone entertained. Diving and snorkeling, swimming and ocean canoeing, and even camping are all part and parcel to Okinawa's unique charm.
Formally the independent Ryukyu Kingdom, Okinawa's distinctive past provides many sightseeing spots where you can experience the history and inimitable culture first-hand. Don't miss Shuri Castle and its ubiquitous shisa statues – the most famous symbol of Okinawa. One can also wander the ruins and battlefields, the legacy of World War II; Okinawa is the only place in Japan to see ground fighting.
Finding the right hotel is essential to enjoying your Okinawa trip – do you want enjoy the sunset in a luxury 5-star hotel overlooking the ocean? A centrally-located budget hotel in Naha? Perhaps an all-inclusive luxury resort? Whatever your accommodation needs, Expedia can provide you with the widest range of Okinawa hotel options at the best rates available.
Okinawa is a sun-and-fun seeker's paradise, with the best weather in Japan and mesmerizing turquoise blue seas. And while most well-known as a beach lover's vacation destination, Okinawa is a fully-functioning prefecture with over 1.4 million residents – if the beach gets tiresome, head to Naha for some big city fun or to the North Shore for the world-famous Churaumi Aquarium to see whale sharks. Any direction you choose, be sure to book your Okinawa accommodations with Expedia for the best rates and widest selection of hotel options!


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I grew up with a NES/SNES and still
Consider that to by my favorite era of gaming, with the 64 not far behind. I currently have a gamecube, and sometimes find some games or action sequences to be pretty intimidating (such as some boss battles in Metroid Prime, etc).
I'm used to this, of course, but there's a difference when it's a 2d platformer versus a 1st/3rd person game. We've come a long way from dispatching Bowser's seven naughty kids in SM3.
Anyway, I was watching the final boss battle to Ninja Gaiden 1 (NES), which I never beat, and clicked on a montage of Boss battles for ninja gaiden 3 (360/xb1? Not sure). Man, those looked insane. I felt overwhelmed just watching those, and it feels that there would be no way I could enjoy that as a gamer.
From time to time I consider buying a PS2, just so I can experience Shadows of the Colossus. Looks like that degree of "epic ness" has been far surpassed.
Side note....yes, I feel old now.
Intimidated/overwhelmed by modern games
General and high profile video game topics.
5 posts • Page 1 of 1
Intimidated/overwhelmed by modern games
I was just discussing this with a friend, modern games are massive and don't want to let you go.
It's took me almost 18 months to Platinum Killzone Shadow Fall and that's not including any DLC, I'm currently playing GTA V and that's also an absolute time sink both single player and the online component.
So I find them intimidating in a different way - the size of modern games.
It's took me almost 18 months to Platinum Killzone Shadow Fall and that's not including any DLC, I'm currently playing GTA V and that's also an absolute time sink both single player and the online component.
So I find them intimidating in a different way - the size of modern games.
Intimidated/overwhelmed by modern games
I think being overwhelmed is a good thing, I personally love most 3-D games and I say the more insane and massive the better. Personally I don't care about getting all the achievements/trophies in games, just beating it is usually enough for me(sometimes I might go out of my way to get collectables if they're interesting enough).
GTA V isn't nearly as big of a time sink as RPGs like say Skyrim are.
Intimidated/overwhelmed by modern games
Yeah, a lot of modern games (especially those on PS and Xbox consoles) tend to have a massive scope and I can get pretty intimidated by many of the games. I find that if I don't think about it, the feeling quickly dissipates, but I still get that way, especially if I've been putting a lot more time into older consoles.
Intimidated/overwhelmed by modern games
I also am overwhelmed by modern games, starting around the late 90s. Once worlds got bigger than something like Goldeneye, it just got to be too much. When I play a game, I like to feel in control and be able to know and see everything there is to be had. And there's a threshold where it just feels ridiculously tedious and pointless. What I find interesting is this happened when I was still young and had oodles of free time to play these games if I so chose. So it certainly isn't because of time commitments. The first (and some second) gen PS1 and N64 games had worlds that were at the edge of my acceptable limit and it was fun. But once we got past that I feel like the industry left my sort of gamer behind. I sometimes feel bad that I haven't played many new games the last decade or so, but it's not my cup of tea. Heck, even some of these new 2d games look a little too tedious for me. That's why the only 3d games I play are from the early 3d era, I'd say 1993-1998. Toss in the 3do and the Jaguar, and those years it wasn't so overwhelming. I think there's some real relics in those 2 system's libraries concerning those types of games.
5 posts • Page 1 of 1
Return to "Video Games General"

subset: commoncrawl


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November 9, 2015
Thus "digital citizenship" is a newer and evolved form of citizenship and moreover one which is necessary to and appropriate in the digital age/the Information Society. This new form of citizenship has multiple aspects but for our purposes the two most salient elements are that with this new form of citizenship goes certain rights – at a minimum to be able to have access to and to effectively exercise citizenship rights in a digital age; and on the part of the State the obligation to ensure that the citizen is in a position to exercise their digital citizenship in an appropriate and effective way.
September 14, 2015
In the following I want to lay out what hopefully may function as an initial program towards a "digital citizenship" -- a form of digitally enabled and enhanced citizenship for the Internet age; and one which takes as its basic assumption the Internet's transformational risks and opportunities. This is presented in the form of an election "platform" -- a set of principles and policies which gives citizens a choice as to directions they may wish to follow.
January 12, 2014
A Community Informatics Declaration This document was prepared by a group of Community Informatics activists and endorsed by consensus of the Community Informatics community 21.12.13. Effective use of the Internet will benefit everyone. Currently the benefits of the Internet are distributed unequally: some people gain power, wealth and influence from using the Internet while others […]
January 1, 2014
As the avalanche of Snowden revelations resumes after it's brief organizational regrouping and holiday hiatus a few learnings and even more direct and pertinent questions are starting to emerge. Evgeny Morozov in an otherwise interesting piece in the Financial Times is surely incorrect in his bald statement that "Snowden now faces a growing wave of […]


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A card signed by Albert Einstein when on board the SS Belgenland is up for auction at RR Auctions in Boston.
Unique ANS in German signed, "A Einstein" on the reverse of a 3.5 x 5.5 postcard picturing the Red Star Liner Belgenland, [near Jerusalem, c. February 5, 1923]. Einstein writes to Zionist leader Arthur Ruppin, in full (translated): "To my dear Mr. Ruppin, We are having unforgettable days in Palestine. With the sun shining, in cheerful company. Your wife is standing next to me and looking at what I am writing about her. She is counting the days until you come back." Einstein's writing is below an ANS by Ruppin's wife, Hanna, which reads in full (translated): "Dear Arthur, A pleasant tour of the city. Included is a picture by Prof. Einstein." On the front of the postcard, Einstein has added a delightful self-portrait above the image of the ship and signed it, "A. Einstein" below, together with a portrait, also in his hand, of "Frau Ruppin." Above the drawings, he added, "Jerusalem," and "Heiligenschein," [halo], with an arrow pointing to his image. Einstein's depiction of himself as a rotund, almost comical figure stands in stark contrast to the elegantly dressed "Frau Ruppin" with her stylish hat, shapely figure and umbrella. Light horizontal crease with a minor tear at left margin does not affect the drawings or Einstein's note on the reverse, minor toned spot below the address line, otherwise fine condition.
Einstein's only visit to Palestine lasted two weeks. He arrived in Port Said on February 1, 1923, at the invitation of early Zionist leader Arthur Ruppin, who at the time was on an extended fundraising tour in the United States; apparently, in Mr. Ruppin's stead his wife Hanna, acted as Professor Einstein's guide. The first day of the physicist's official Zionist-organized tour was February 5, 1923, when the here-offered ANS and sketch was accomplished. The professor's first visit that morning was to the West Jerusalem suburb of Beth Hakerem, accompanied by Hanna Ruppin and Hadassah Samuel and Solomon Ginzburg. His tour continued with visits to Haifa and Tiberious, and ended in Jerusalem where he departed for Port Said on February 14, 1923.
Although Einstein would never again travel to Palestine, he continued to support the promotion of Jewish settlements and the Hebrew University.
Albert Einstein with the captain of the Belgenland II, 1930
The physicist was a regular on the Red Star Line, travelling between Berlin and the US. He was on the Belgenland II, heading from New York to Antwerp in 1933, when he heard that the Nazis had come to power in Germany. The resignation letter he wrote to the Prussian Academy of Sciences while on the ship – on Red Star Line stationery – is on display at the museum. In October 1933, after a few months in Antwerp, he made his final departure to America from Southampton on the Westernland.


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- Should I Label My Food Product as Organic?
Should I Label My Food Product as Organic?
Yeah it's trendy, but how important is organic labeling really?
No one can deny that organic products are part of a growing health trend. And while any movement towards supporting sustainable practices and discouraging the use of unnecessary pesticides is a good thing, there is also a great deal of confusion surrounding the term "organic" and what it really means.
Cornell researchers recently conducted a study at a shopping mall food court where they asked 115 passing shoppers to participate in a taste test, where they sampled organic and non-organic versions of products and then were asked to rate the food based on taste. (In reality, the two types of food were both the same.)
As a whole, the study's participants believed that the "organic" type was lower in fat and calories, higher in fiber, and overall more nutritious.
What can be taken away from this study?
While the better informed participants, who regularly purchase organic products and read nutritional labels, were less susceptible to the marketing tactic that goes along with organic, there was a clear take away from the study: that there is a "health halo" around the term organic.
Organic Labeling Influences Decisions and Overall Customer Satisfaction
This study has powerful implications for food marketers, as it clearly demonstrates how a simple organic label can sway consumer perceptions and impact the purchasing decision.
According to a 2010 Nielsen report, 24 percent of North American consumers who were surveyed said that they chose to buy organic, believing that the foods were healthier and tasted better. And the participants in the study at Cornell were willing to pay between 16 and 23 percent more for the "healthier" option.
For businesses that sell organic food products, now is a great time to capitalize on the growing health trend by clearly labeling your food with organic labels. Do keep in mind that customers are becoming better informed and reading nutritional labels, so if your product is high in sugar and salt, it likely won't have the staying power with consumers who were drawn in by the organic label. However, if you produce a healthy product, an organic label is the perfect marketing tool for drawing customers to your brand.
Our custom label experts and design team have years amount of experience incorporating organic labeling into your products current label design. Want to learn more about our custom label capabilities? Contact us today at 800-750-7764.
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Keep that yard clean! This social imperative began in the 1800's, when tidying the yard was considered an essential civic behavior, and continued through the 1900's, when a vast swath of vibrant green lawn became evidence of one's high social status. Now in the 21st century, however, perhaps it's time we give this old social norm some new thought.
One big thing to reconsider is the idea that all the leaves that fall on the ground beneath a mature tree should be raked up and removed. As it turns out, this practice is actually not beneficial to our landscapes, for several reasons.
Reason #1
Nature has developed a perfect system. Plants build themselves out of sunlight, water and soil nutrients. When these plants shed parts of their body, or when they die, the nutrients they once held return to the soil, through gradual decay, for future use. If we rake up and remove fallen leaves, we are robbing the soil of these valuable nutrients.
As Sarah Stein wrote so eloquently in her book, Noah's Garden: "Recall, before laying down a mulch of pine bark, that each bush or tree is accustomed to a cover of its own dead leaves below it, and so are the decayers that re-feed it." (page 135).
Without the "food" provided by decayed fallen leaves, trees get neither enough nor the right nutrients they need to thrive. We can try to replace those nutrients with manufactured chemicals and amendments, but getting the perfect blend is nearly impossible. And why do this, when the tree is already giving us what it needs, for free?
Reason #2
Many moth and butterfly species lay their eggs and construct their cocoons on tree leaves. The next generations of countless pollinators lie curled inside countless fallen leaves on the ground, waiting for spring. If we rake up the leaves and pile them in soggy heaps or stuff them into bags destined for the landfill, or if we grind them up and suck them into mower bins, we kill these valuable and beautiful creatures.
Reason #3
Denuded ground below a tree will not automatically grow grass. Lawn grass needs its own unique set of growing conditions, which are often not met under a big shade tree. So simply removing the leaves will likely not get you the results you want. Mosses may try to grow in the resulting bare ground, in nature's attempt to repair the situation, but continual passes with a mower will likely prevent a successful moss carpet. The outcome may be a bunch of unwanted weeds, or lifeless ground.
Reason #4
Removing fallen leaves uses energy. Ideally, this energy comes from our own human effort, but far more often it comes from gasoline-powered equipment, which is a waste of precious natural resources.
What to Do Instead
If you have one or several large trees in your property, you could create a large area around their trunks where fallen leaves are allowed to remain in place, right where they fall. This might involve widening an existing mulch circle, or creating an entirely new one, really big, at least all the way out to the tips of the branches.
You could plant in this mulched area drifts of ferns, spreading perennials or shrubs (native plants, please!). Alternatively, if you prefer the open look and you live in an area where people are concerned about leaves blowing around, you could lay deer netting over the carpet of leaves, pin it in place with twigs, and leave it there for the winter. By winter's end, the leaves will be matted down enough to not get picked up by the wind, and in spring you can remove the netting.
Best would be for all of us to relax a little bit about leaves blowing around during winter, and instead wait until spring to tidy up where necessary. Here's one interesting article that explores more about this approach. And here's another one.
I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't rake leaves ANYwhere, just that we should think twice about raking leaves EVERYwhere. Of course it may make sense to rake leaves off important areas of lawn. If so, we can use these leaves as mulch elsewhere in our landscape, or add them to a compost pile. Or in some situations it could work to grind up the leaves really small (with a mower) and let them decompose where they lie on the grass.
The main goal here is to make the most of fallen leaves, which are nature's free resource for nourishing the soil and the beings that live on it and in it. And, if possible at the same time, to reduce our consumption of carbon-based fuels.
We don't need to keep doing things the way they've always been done, especially if these old ways don't represent our current knowledge and values. Raking less or not at all? Good idea.
"This is no vapid coffee-table garden book to be merely flipped through and set aside. Nor is it a depressing diatribe about inevitable environmental decline and culpability. Energy-Wise Landscape Design is filled with practical, specific design advice that will inspire you to get up and get working to make a better home landscape for yourself and the planet."


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Proportion of Hh with No Sanitation 2012
Diarrhea is one of the five most common causes of child mortality globally and an indicator of the lack of sanitation and clean water facilities. The proportion of the population using an improved sanitation facility is an important indicator of the likelihood of clean water and contraction of diarrhea and other diseases. Across the ten communes, the proportion of the population that uses improved sanitation is low at 22%. Many communes such as Tiburon, Ile à Vache and Chardonnières fall well below the rural average of 17%, according 2006 WHO numbers. Ile a Vache has the lowest proportion of the population using an improved sanitation facility at 9% and Tiburon at 10%. For more information please read the 10 commune baseline report here.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.


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Racing cars come in all shapes and sizes. This one is my buddy Rich's. It is fast. He had it running up to 30-40 mph in bursts of speed. To shoot the photos in the setting sun and overcast skies I used his Nikon D7000 rig with the 105mm F2.8 Micro. I pre-focused some of the shots, but the AF is really pretty fast. I kept the Aperture at F3.3 and let it rip using ISOs anywhere from 1600 to 2200 just because I had to. Rich did the post processing in Lightroom.
The D7000 is an excellent camera. It focuses fast and has terrific metering. The Micro focused far faster than my macro ever would. It is also amazing. I could live very well with it if I had too!
Only thing I did not like was the size of the hand grip and the heavy weight. Small gripes to tell you the truth for what it can do. My K5 is lighter, and I really don't think it could have focused in the light that I was dealing with here.
Oh well, both excellent pieces of machinery. The important thing is that it caught some worthwhile memories!


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Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy: Basics of Assist
Take a step by step look at one of the sequel's biggest additions.
The Dissidia Duodecim Final Fantasy official site was updated today with a new "system" section that will presumably introduce us to the various gameplay systems Square Enix is packing into the PSP sequel.
First up is a look at the Assist System. Visit the system section to access a video showing the basics of how this all new system works. The Assist System lets you summon a partner character to briefly do some of the fighting for you.
Points mentioned in the clip include:
- Build up your Assist Gauge (below the green life bars) by striking opponents with your attack.
- You also can build up the gauge by just striking at the air without hitting your opponent, although this takes long.
- The Assist Gauge can be built up faster if you use a variety of attacks rather than the same attack over and over.
- You can also charge up the Assist Gauge through HP attacks.
- Basically, just be active in your attacks, and the gauge will be built up.
- The gauge will deplete if you sit around without attacking.
- Once at least one bar on the gauge has filled up, you can press L and circle to execute an Assist Brave Attack. Your summoned Assist Character will automatically attack your foe.
- When Assist Gauge is filled up max, press L and circle to execute an Assist HP Attack. As with the Assist HP Attack, your summoned Assist Character will attack your foe for you.


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Souad Faress - Goats
Thu, 30 Nov 2017
SOUAD FARESS is currently performing in GOATS at The Royal Court.
Click HERE for more info.
In a small town in Syria, soldiers are celebrated as heroes and grieving families are nourished on propaganda.
As the coffins pile up, the local party leader decides on a radical compensation scheme: a goat for each son martyred.
Goats is a major new work by Syrian playwright and documentary filmmaker Liwaa Yazji developed as part of the Royal Court's long term project with writers from Syria and Lebanon. Royal Court Associate Director Hamish Pirie (Violence & Son, Who Cares, Teh Internet is Serious Business) directs.


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Wahoo! We are thrilled to announce that one of Donna's recipes – SESAME SHRIMP SCAMPI – is published in the August 2009 issue of Cooking Light magazine.
It is posted below, but we suggest you stop whatever it is you are doing right now and run- don't walk – down to your local food mart or bookstore and get a copy of this issue. In addition to Donna's recipe, there are some fabulous recipes for summer grilling, and amazing appetizers for summer entertaining. I make a few recipes from every single Cooking Light issue.
"This dish has a great balance of sweet and tangy flavors. Don't be tempted to skip the brining step. It gives the shrimp a wonderful fresh taste and texture." Donna Kelly, Provo, Utah
6 servings (serving size: 1 cup pasta, about 3/4 cup shrimp mixture, and 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds)
- 8 cups ice water
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- 2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 50 shrimp)
- 12 ounces uncooked fettuccine
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup shiitake sesame vinaigrette (such as Annie's Naturals)
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1. Combine 8 cups ice water and salt in a large bowl, stirring until salt dissolves. Add shrimp; cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Drain shrimp; discard brine. Rinse and pat dry.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and keep warm.
3. Combine 1/4 cup water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add vinaigrette, stirring with a whisk until well blended.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add shrimp to pan; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add butter and garlic to pan; stir-fry 1 minute. Reduce heat to low. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in basil. Serve shrimp mixture over pasta; sprinkle with sesame seeds.


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A sneak peek into the Gemstoneuniverse treasures at the 47th Bangkok Gem and Jewellery Show! Images 2011.
Dear Patrons please find below some random images from our display showcases at 47th Bangkok Gems and Jewellery Fair between February 25th to March 01, 2011, At the Impact Challenger, Bangkok. The show was successful and we thank you all for your good wishes. Those who e mailed us, we shall get back to you personally. New friends and patrons who visited us in person, we personally extend our best wishes through the blog and welcome you into the Gemstoneuniverse family.
Note: All Images from the show are taken using the camera of the I Phone 3GS as Cameras are not allowed in the show premises.
©1999-2011, Gemstoneuniverse.com, All rights reserved.
Gemstoneuniverse-The Gold Standard in Planetary Gemology


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The Book Depository
Join Romance Giveaways for all Giveaway Information
Spotlight on Jacqui Jacoby, With A Vengeance and Giveaway!
The Book Depository
37 comments:
With a Vengeance is a fun story!!! Love your 'definition' of romance - it is soooo many things! :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you!! I am so glad you enjoyed it!!Delete
Great interview.ReplyDelete
The book sounds awesome. :)Replies
It was a fun interview to do. I think that makes it more interesting,Delete
Friend turned something more are some of my fav romances. And oh to be in Hawaii right now! =)ReplyDeleteReplies
Yea ... look to your left and he was standing right there all along.Delete
This time difference thing has always baffled me!! Throw in a different continent and I have no clue where I am!! But hi!! Thank you for stopping by!! And Jemi, I thought AlienS was romantic!! LOLReplyDelete
Your new book sounds up my alley, Jacqui!ReplyDeleteReplies
Oh, I hope you enjoy it.Delete
The plot sounds intriguing Jacqui. I checked out the excerpt and it's good. Your life sounds pretty idea. I wish I had some of that Empty Nester time!ReplyDelete
Hi Nas!Replies
The thought of it was pretty scary at first, and yes, I cried the first two weeks and then it was "No one needs anything while I type ... humph ... and .... and my house has been *spotless* since it's just the hubby and me!! Go figure!! LOLDelete
Sounds interesting! :)ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you very much. Tried to keep it exciting.Delete
Nice interview, ladies!ReplyDelete
Sounds like a terrific book. Here's to much success with it. I'm impressed with the whole make-up thing when you're just hanging around the house with the cats and dog. Our cats wouldn't appreciate it at all. (The little ingrates!)Replies
Vanity is a hobby ... LOLDelete
Your new book sounds like a fun escape! Terrific interview Nas and Jacqui! "Vanity is a hobby," is a great line!ReplyDelete
Hey, I wear Chanel #5 even when the hubby travels. If it was good enough for Marilyn ... LOLDelete
Ah, the Bay City Rollers. A life time ago :)ReplyDelete
All the best with your new release.Replies
Someday I will tell you about the deep scar I still carry on my right legs, compliments of the BCR!!Delete
- AnonymousMarch 31, 2014 at 8:21 PM
Jaime and Stephen's story sounds intense.ReplyDelete
I hate being told that I can't do something.Replies
I guess it's not a totally bad thing. Nothing motivated me faster!!Delete
All the best to Jacqui with her book.ReplyDelete
I like music but I'm certain I'd find it distracting while writing. There is one thing about all authors, though: we are single-minded. No-one can tell us we 'can't'.
Fun interview! Wish I could hang out with vampires. :-)ReplyDeleteReplies
It does depend on the vampire, don't forget. Some might be a fun, lasting relationship, but mine, wouldn't hurt a fly ... well ... unless the fly attacked them first!!Delete
Wonderful to hear from Jacqui. She sounds like she enjoys every minute! Her book sounds intense and interesting. :)ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing!Replies
Thank you very much!! It was my pleasure to be here and meet all you interesting people!!Delete
Sounds like an interesting read.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you. It was alot of fun to write!! I hope you enjoy it.Delete
Yay - Jacqui. Ever since I read Dracula, I'm all about the vampires. No such thing as too many stories about them. Bring it.ReplyDeleteReplies
Wait a minute... computer ate my answer here. Even think that are out to get you? LOL ... I never read Dracula, though I listened to part of it on tape. My guys are different than Dracula, but they do have a blood hound named Vald!! Go us!!Delete
Hanging out with vampires sounds fun. I haven't tried that in a while--decided I needed to get some sleep during the dark hours. ;)ReplyDelete
Loving the sound of the book.Replies
Thank you. They are all so willing to die for each other loyal that they are a lot of fun to be around. I guess that's why I go to them to relax.Delete
I loved her take on romance. She's so right on. It can mean so many things.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you. That is a nice compliment. I think it comes from so many years with the same person, knowing each other so well. I like sliding into the bed after he's already asleep and just hearing him breath ... it's a sound a know real, real well.Delete
Congratulations C.Lee McKenzie! Your name was drawn up as winner of this giveaway! Please contact Jacqui via her website!ReplyDeleteReplies
Very good!! I look forward to it.Delete
Congratulations to William Kendall! You won a copy of Jacqui Jacoby's WITH A VENGEANCE! Please shoot me email at email@example.com


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Present: Andy, Donny, Hannah, Leslie, McAllen, Meghan, Mike, Nolan, Travis, Victor, William
Andy is now an associate.
Victor: Wasn't able to find the right spring for the washing machine. Breed had something I'll try to put on tomorrow. Hope it will work. Want to go to First Source. Want to see if they have kits for changing standing pilots to electronic ignitions. New stoves are $700 a piece. Want to see about converting what we have. Showed Travis and Mike a lot of good plumbing on the toilet tank. If you have to hold your toilet handle up too long, or jiggle it, see Mike or Travis. Can help teach you to put a new flapper on your toilet. If you have a sticky lock, see Travis. He's got some graphite. Put some graphite on the outside of everybody's lock. Gave a bleach and a pump-up sprayer to Greg. Hopefully Greg and Donny will be able to spray the laundry room next week for mold. Going to attack the dust bunnies at peoples' AC's this week. Want William to show Gatlin how to clean that out, then change the filters. Having a meeting Monday at 7:30. Need to get this info to Gatlin.
Mike: concerned about the 206 kitchen being unusable might make it harder to lease the room.
Victor: Talk to me after the meeting.
Hannah: Andy just joined as an associate. Brings us up to 3. Sasona, at the height of its associate membership in the last 2+ years, had at top 3 at any one time. Punting a concern about renewing a tenant's lease to a later agenda item.
Meghan: Anyone cooking on Wednesday? I'll volunteer but need someone to fill in in case I have to work.
Leslie: I can help.
Meghan: Going to put in a suggestion box. We're way under budget. Going to buy some meat at the end of the month. Going to be able to buy some bulk stuff, some cooking stuff. Everything hasn't been up to par, but we've been able to save a lot of money. We'll get more established when Z gets back.
McAllen: Are you familiar with saved plates?
Meghan: Was wondering if people would reserve them, so plates aren't going bad. If you reserve a plate and say if you're a vegetarian or what you'd like.
Leslie: I'll make a thing that people can write on. Don't want it in email at all because I won't see it. You'll write your name on a piece of tape and what your restrictions are, if any.
Meghan: If you reserve a plate, it'll establish how many people we're cooking for.
Leslie: I'll send an email saying what the procedure is. Don't request save plates through technological devices please.
Hannah: I've been really happy with the food program's contribution to my quality of life. We've definitely spent less time and money preparing food.
Nolan: We had a meeting last Thursday. Didn't get as much accomplished as I'd hoped, but we talked about some stuff. We'll get an adapter for the Chrome book so that you can connect to the tv and watch Netflix. We're probably going to switch over to more electronic communication for the tech committee. We'd like to make it so that, if you only want to spend 10 minutes/day, you'll be able to see what's important. Don was working on the cameras but nobody reported back to me. Don't know if he found the password. I want to delegate to someone with working eyeballs. By next week I hope we have the Chrome book hooked up and electronic communication set up for the tech committee.
Hannah: Wiki still has a lot of info missing from the old wiki. I've had prospective members mention it/complain about it. Not just membership stuff. Proposals.
Nolan: I'll work on that this week.
McAllen: I'm not familiar with the new wiki.
Nolan: There were issues with the old wiki. People couldn't create accounts. I couldn't get my password recovered.
Ryan: Collected late rent. Paid some bills. Received some receipts, put them into spreadsheets. Maintenance has been good about getting receipts. Going to need the credit card.
Meghan: Need to shop.
Ryan: Not a big hurry; less essential than buying food for tomorrow. I think we should get a key cutter. Will save us money, save people time.
Hannah: How much under budget are we on minor maintenance?
Ryan: I think we've spent about $3500. I don't really recall. Our budget is $16,000 for minor maintenance. It's good to hear that we're under budget for food. I want to take food expenses from the past that were not budgeted and apply them to the food budget. We had things that we decided we'd figure out later. Probably not much more than $100. We can also do it over a couple of months.
Leslie: What does this mean for proposed meat purchasing power?
Ryan: Might mean wait an extra month.
Meghan: Where did the money come from for the barbecue?
Ryan: Wasn't that much money. I have discressionary ability to spend money. If it's not maintenance, we don't have a budget for it.
Meghan: I thought the potlucks were potlucks.
Ryan: I'm talking about the first party to introduce people, and a couple other small things. There was one where I bought ingredients for a meal and we decided to start a month later.
Meghan: We have people paying now for something that happened when they weren't even involved.
Travis: At the end of the year, we'll have profit/loss. Might as well deal with it now.
Leslie: I feel like it's not that crazy to have meat once a week. We can work on it once Z gets back. I feel like there's a happy medium between what you're saying and what we want to accomplish.
Meghan: I think we should just try to get on schedule and deal with this month and deal with our surplus when the time comes.
Party was a huge success. Lot of people asking about membership, interested in lending help. Thanks to Claude for the music. Checking out possibilities of renting a small pool for a pool party in August. Details next week. Leslie mentioned wanting to do art projects. Will coordinate.
Hannah: Me and Mike spent an afternoon with Cassandra, who has been here a couple times. She is interested in helping to run a children's program on Sundays. Thinking of an August 18 start date.
Got out a schedule early. Not everyone on it. Working out kinks. Need a cook on Wednesday. Going to put up a sheet for no-shows and labor trades. Need to decide how to handle. Open to suggestions. Will try to work out individual solutions until we have a policy.
Hannah: Greg planning to move out come mid August. Would like to join as an associate. Will not be living here. Looked over Sasona/CHEA policies. No organizational-level policy. It's at the house level. I don't anticipate trouble filling the room. Trying to get in touch with Gatlin to see if he is cool with moving up there. Sasona charges people a $100 contract break fee. It's a Sasona-level policy, not CHEA-level. I don't see the advantage in doing that. Seems like profiteering off a member. I would like to release Greg from his contract on the contingency that we fill the room.
Meghan: I think Greg has paid for it with his blood, sweat, and tears. He's put in way over $100 of work.
Travis: I think the fee exists not as a way to profit but as a way to deter people from signing leases and skipping out. I think there's a benefit to the policy. In this case, I have no problem not charging the $100.
Hannah: I agree; there as a deterrent, and it does deter people. In the future I'm willing to consider it. In this case, for somebody who has really busted ass, I don't think any of us want to.
William: Are we setting a precedent?
Hannah: You could argue that, but not really, because we don't have a policy. Until there's a policy, there's sort of a psychological precedent, but doesn't bind us.
Travis: Putting this on my list of things to do, to create a policy.
Hannah: Would like to have policies to set the flow chart of decisions before it's a problem.
McAllen: Unsure why this needs to be our decision. Can you just break his contract?
Hannah: I could. There are very few policies; we can do what we want. However, I would not be comfortable giving Greg the go-ahead to break the contract. I do this job, but not my call.
Proposal passes (1 abstention).
Build larger compost area on property, with or without worms. Friendly amendments possible.
Ryan: Not sure who wrote this, but I'll take it up. I turn it every day. It's not enough to handle the amount of compost the common kitchen produces, not to mention all the individual kitchens. You can get more bins. Can make a 2-by-4 platform and take an old trash bin or blue recycling bin, put an axel through it, and flip it. I like the idea but don't think we have the man hours to put into making composters. Paying for them or spending labor are pretty much the two options. I think that even what we've got already attracts a lot of flies. The amount of flies that congregate on our food when we do outdoor potlucks is absurd.
McAllen: I've done my share of reading up on methods. Used to be pretty knowledgeable. A properly-managed compost pile shouldn't cause any odors or attract flies afaik. Animal pests would be another matter to consider. Maybe build a frame with chicken wire. I'd be willing to look into that and see if it would be feasible.
Hannah: I'd suggest that we table. Doing research is good. Traditional compost certainly can be managed in such a way that it does not attract pests and is not a source of smell. Will a coop-managed compost heap work like that? Generally, the coop-managed compost heaps don't. May normally but might smell bad for a week or two. People might leave a heap of meat on top, and it doesn't work. Might still be a concern to our neighbors. They might be ready to complain when we have that off week.
Leslie: We could discuss locations. There's a lot of weird space that's not used and creepy at night.
??: It's out my window. I don't want to look at the compost.
Travis: It's great discussion for people interested in composting. I think it would be great to create an exploratory subcommittee. Not an efficient use of meeting time.
Travis: Jesse resigned as menu planner. Leslie nominated herself. No one else has responded. Let's have an election.
Donny: It's the labor czar's job to have an election, but we could vote to appoint her temporarily.
Donny motions to appoint Leslie as menu planner.
Passes unanimously.
Did not specify that we will perform background checks. If a situation did arise where we knew that people had violent tendencies, could avoid a stressful meeting where we needed to decide whether or not it would apply. Any member can bring the decision to question at a meeting if desired.
Meghan: Would this be brought up at all, or would the coordinator just decide?
Travis: They would decide, but I would expect them to put it in their officer report.
Meghan: Don't prospective members have to come to meetings, and then they leave, and we ask the question? Wouldn't it come up? Why would it be up to the membership coordinator?
Travis: We tasked the memco with dealing with prospective members. The documented behavior might be noted before they came to a meeting to begin with.
Ryan: I don't see how this is any different from what we have in place, other than that it has potential for abuse. If the memco feels there's anything wrong, they'll make sure to bring it up at a meeting. That way we'll have oversight over how people get denied. We live in a neighborhood where people aren't like us, and there's a history of discrimination. People assume that our policy is discriminatory. I've had this conversation with Brian Donovan. We had a situation where a couple walked on to the property asking for application specifics, prices. We told them about our membership policies. They left cursing and swearing. I think that adding more layers won't make it any better.
Donny: I think I agree with Ryan, and I trust the group's decision-making capability. May be awkward and stressful, but that's part of the decision of whether you want someone to live with you. You have to deal with peoples' past. I trust a group decision over that of a single person.
Hannah: I agree. I also think that there's a little bit of a conversation that this brought on. Travis and I were concerned about me reacting to HACA correspondence. I think it's a concern that still needs to be addressed. HACA works with bizarre timelines and long turn-around timelines. I am weary about a situation like the one we're in where I have concerns about somebody staying on as a member because of very obvious destructive and possibly abusive behavior. I don't want to wait for them to come to two meetings. Might be two weeks before their voucher rolls over. If we do nothing, their voucher rolls over, and their entitled to stay here. After a certain point, HACA assumes that you're re-signing the lease. If this person doesn't come until two weeks before their voucher rolls over, might not be enough time.
Nolan: I'm not sure that this policy does anything. If someone needs a three-month lead time on membership, I feel like it's incumbent to know that and act. I'm not sure we get anything new other than a loss of transparency. I'm kind of against it.
Hannah: I'm not advocating for this policy specifically. What we could continue doing is that, for people on s8 who would like to renew their lease, I could just throw it to the house and say why I want to preemptively deny the person.
Meghan: If it has already become an issue, I don't see why you couldn't bring it up as voting on that this person's lease should not be renewed. If someone has a visitor who is constantly harassing people, we could not allow them on the property. I don't know why they would need to be up for membership in order to have a consensus not to allow their behavior.
Hannah: I don't want to make a unilateral decision. Want us all to be in agreement.
Hannah: I wish HACA had a policy/deadline, but seems to vary from person to person. I want to deal with it as soon as possible.
Hannah: I want to let HACA know what our plan is as soon as possible. There was a situation with a tenant where it became clear that a tenant has smashed giant (2-3 ft) holes in the wall, perhaps as a way to release anger. HACA is aware of it, along with other things they want her to fix before she renews her lease. I would like to give her a two-week-to-one-month window to repair the damage. She has a $150 deposit on the books. Doesn't necessarily cover any damage. If we're going to get the work professionally done, she has well exceeded that already. Even if we do it ourselves, she may have exceeded that. I'm concerned about her potential to do further damage and getting stuck with a bill later on. I'm not sure we can request a further deposit from her until she renews her lease. I'd still like to see the holes fixed in a limited scope of time. If she can't do that, we explain to HACA that she is a financial liability to the property.
Ryan: If we can estimate the amount of damage and bill her, I think that's legitimate. Then it becomes a collections issue. If she has to pay the money and doesn't pay it, then it's an eviction issue. We could tell HACA that we're not going to approve her.
Travis: We're a coop, not in the business of having tenants. We should tell her she needs to fix stuff, but, more importantly, she needs to understand that she needs to be part of this coop. If she's not willing to do that, she's not going to renew it.
Donny: Greg and I tried to get in to scope out the damage, and she wouldn't answer.
Leslie: How did he see it in the first place?
Ryan: The door was open, and the police were here.
Leslie: I feel a little worried that the people that lived here before, because it sucks to move, are people joining for convenience? Are they joining because they see that it's a cooperative benefit? I do not want to live with people who don't understand that this is a lot of work. Why do we even need to consider this person? I don't want to live with someone like that that locks their doors. I know that it's racially and income unfair. I don't know what to do about that. I'm worried that we're tip-toeing around things and being too nice, and we're going to look like fools in the end.
Hannah: I guess I always want to leave room that someone could come to two meetings. The first thing I'll do is talk to her. I want Ryan or someone to come with me. I don't feel safe talking alone. We've had good interactions, but I've seen a 180. I don't know if she plans on renewing. I want to have a contingency plan so I know what I'm saying to her. I would like her to fix the damage within a month. I would like her to pay an additional deposit before that time. I suspect that her boyfriend might be willing to fix the holes. I'll email Daniel and see if we can legally do that.
Travis: Also mention that she will need to do labor.
Donny: Are you going to put those terms up for a motion for the house to vote on?
Hannah: Yes. I'm putting this up off the cuff.
Donny: I agree with those terms. Not unreasonable to ask for the full $800, especially in light of the fact that she has just trashed her unit.
Hannah: I don't know on what timeline I can do that. I'll email Daniel.
Mike: Can evict for not doing labor. Also, we should require sec8 tenants to come to two meetings well before their leases are up.
Meghan: Is she violating conditions of her lease? Isn't that evictable behavior?
Hannah: It could be, but the lease gives a provision for her to fix the damage by the end of her lease term. Lease up at the end of October. She has until the end of her lease to fix and repair any damage. I don't want to evict her partly because I don't see much harm in her finishing her lease term. If we could get what we want without someone losing their voucher, that would be the best outcome.
Ryan: If she did come to a second meeting and someone brought up the damage, she might not be able to sign a lease. What happens if someone brings something up?
Hannah: There's a flow chart. We vote with a 50% super-majority needed. The meeting would decide whether the issue satisfied the criteria of evictable behavior. If more than 50% of the house accepted that as evidence, we would vote on whether to deny them membership.
Ryan: Would you bring this up?
Hannah: Yeah. I'm concerned that this person will do so much damage that they won't be able to pay their deposit.
Leslie: To me, it's more concerning that you don't feel comfortable going into someone's apartment alone. I care more about you feeling unsafe going into someone's apartment.
Hannah: You're right. I think Victor is going to speak to this. I zeroed in on the financial liability because it's more cut and dry.
Victor: If requested, I'll get a professional estimate. I think billing her is a good idea. I'll try to start that tomorrow. Second, I'm going to oppose this person's membership based on the violence. Cynthia is going to bring in other violence she has seen. [The tenant's boyfriend] filled out paperwork to not file charges, but she has assaulted him. Should have been prosecuted. Not the first time from what I have heard from Cynthia.
Hannah: I will talk to her this week. If I don't get to talk to her this week, I'll tell her case worker that we don't plan on renewing her lease. Leaving some wiggle room, but will say to put a hold on the renewal until I tell you otherwise.
Donny: This is sort of like the second meeting discussion. I don't see any problem in doing that if we have to, to discuss a potential member even if they haven't come to another meeting.
Living in new environments always presents us with new challenges, and we have come to a realization that even with a policy of open membership, let's face it. There are certain times when we may not accept a member into our co-op. I would imagine one of these instances would pretty consistently be when there is documented proof of prior instances of violent or destructive behavior. However, using current the system we have to approve or disapprove new members, encountering a situation such as this could lead to a very uncomfortable meeting atmosphere, stress on the current membership and overall drop in house morale and productivity. I can give you plenty of anecdotal evidence from my own history with Co-ops backing this up.
However, for every rule there is an exception, and so I would be hesitant to create a cut-and-dry rule saying no one with a history of violence can be a member. That would also go against our policy of open membership. So what's to do? Could we possibly make our meetings faster, happier and more fun by giving a little slack to our officers?
Why don't we give the power to the membership coordinator? Here's my proposal.
In cases where a prospective member has a documented history of violent or destructive behavior, the membership coordinator has the power to preemptively deny membership to the prospective member if they feel as though this behavioral history will have an excessively negative impact on the Co-op. Any member may call this decision to question at a meeting if desired.
Submitted by Travis Jones, 6/19/13
Donny: My saga with the gas in my apartment was very exciting. Jess and Beth were able to fix their pilate light also. I visited my parents, and they would like to buy me a new oven because of that. I told them it would have to be a donation to the coop, but I would leave it here if I moved out. Wanted to get a general sense that that would be okay.
McAllen: Found this spinny thing at work. Want to ask people with maintenance knowledge what it is, what we can do with it.
??: It's a lazy Susan.
William: We have one tenant who has house guests who have been here for a long, long time. I know that there are issues with squatter's rights. Also, there's been some major noise coming from that group of people.
Hannah: I can talk to them. It's a lurking issue that I haven't wanted to deal with. If someone is here for 30 days, then they don't have to leave unless we evict them. Evictions are expensive.
Meghan: If they're squatting, how do you have a time table for the beginning?
Hannah: I don't know. Witnesses could feed into that. I don't know, if it came to the police's attention that we wanted them out, how it would be verified or not, but it's kind of a vulnerability. I've been laxed because there's the human dimension of low-income folks, where someone might have lost their place.
Leslie: I know we want to include everyone, but I don't know how we can include the Spanish speakers. They aren't involved in a real way, not involved in the labor system. How can we better deal with that? The email, for lots of reasons, can we revisit the reliance of email between all of us that are in this room? it's just overwhelming. 90% of what we're doing is done on email. That's understandable but not good for including people. I don't know if there's a solution.
Nolan: There are forum software packages that are trying to reinvent the forum and make it more modern/friendly. Was thinking about using that instead. Email and electronic communication is more accessible to me. I lived at Sasona for a year and a half and never read a single agenda item. I don't want to exclude people, but don't want to abandon or downplay electronic communication.
Leslie: I don't want to abandon it. People live here now who don't have it.
Nolan: We talked about fundraising for computers. I have a friend who is trying to do technology education. Trying to teach classes. It's a longer-term plan.
Hannah: If we are under budget for minor maintenance, I'd like to see us get a bulletin board outside 106. People can easily ignore the bulletin board by the window. I'd talked to Jess about this. It's kind of his call. I'd really like to see him doing what he was doing, posting emails on a bulletin board. I think that what would make that usable for people who don't come into 106 unless they have a reason to or won't look at a giant bulletin board, is to headline, have short phrases that capture things. I think it's a great idea to do computer classes and make computers available and fundraise to get people their own, but there are lots of people that, even if you gave them a computer and lessons, still probably aren't going to habitually check their email, and we need to keep that in mind.
Ryan: We've talked about getting wifi. It's going slow. They're a nonprofit with not enough man hours. We live in the internet era. You can't get a job without getting on the internet. For peoples' livelihoods, people need to be educated.
Hannah: Having short and long-term plans working simultaneously is a good idea.
William: Short term, I've let several tenants use my computer, and have no problem doing that, but having a community computer wouldn't be a huge expense.
collective: We have a netbook.
Hannah: When Gatlin is out of that room, we can have a desk. We have computers. We just need space to set them up. The digital divide is huge. It's a big convenience.
Nolan: I want to set up a computer lab in one of these rooms once we get people out of it.
Leslie: Discussing benefits, I just keep seeing situations where I wish there was a catch-all person. Doesn't need to be the head of anything. There's a lot that falls to you. I know that you take a lot of it on because you have that kind of gusto and personality. I think it helps things last. A working committee could discuss having a director or catch-all person here.
Hannah: At one point, we very consciously decided to exclude that. Didn't want to promote a hierarchical arrangement in our coop. On the other hand, might help a lot. I'm probably pragmatic over anything. Looking at the pros and cons, I'd vote for that.


text:
1 loaf chocolate bread (recipe on this site)
2 cups cream
2 cups milk
6 oz chopped dark chocolate
1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise, seeds scraped
8 large egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Bring cream and milk to a boil in a medium pot. Turn off heat. Add chocolate, vanilla pod and seeds. Cover and allow the vanilla to infuse for 20 minutes. Discard pod and whisk the mixture until combined.
Meanwhile, slice chocolate bread into 1/4-inch slices. Cut slices into thirds and arrange in a 9×14-inch baking dish.
Whisk together yolks and sugar in a large bowl, then slowly add hot chocolate mixture, whisking constantly to keep eggs from scrambling.
Pour half of the mixture over the bread to soak it thoroughly. Pour the rest over top, cover with plastic wrap and press down gently, and repeatedly over 30 minutes, to encourage the bread to soak up the liquid.
Remove plastic wrap. Place pudding dish in a larger pan, place in a 350F oven, and fill outer pan with hot tap water to reach half way up the pudding dish. Bake until set in centre. Carefully remove dish from outer pan and place on a cooling rack for 15 minutes before serving.


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A university degree sounds like a great way to advance your career, whether you're keen to start out in a new field or are looking to nail that awesome promotion, right? Right! But you should only worry about making yourself more appealing to your future employer after you've finished your degree, right? Wrong! We recently chatted with Liz Hendry from CDU's Careers and Employment team, and her key piece of advice was that you should start making moves to maximise your employability while you study. So how do you do that? We share Liz's tips below.
Grow work experience early
Employers value experience - all experience. Think about the skills you have learned from your casual and part-time jobs: these are transferable skills and can be built into your resume. Finding it difficult to get a job in your area of study? Go Volunteer provides volunteer work experience opportunities around Australia.
Secure references from your employers
Be mindful of the need for referees: a good reference can be the difference between you successfully obtaining a job or not. So always bring a can-do attitude and positive approach to the job, no matter what the role or how trying the work environment may be.
Network, network, network
Whether you study on or off campus, joining student organisations and professional associations are great ways to get involved in networking opportunities. Loads of jobs and professional experience opportunities that aren't advertised are instead filled through leveraging personal relationships, so networking is key. Who knows? You may meet your future employer at that industry briefing breakfast, so get mingling.
Start reading job ads
Look for interesting positions, increase your exposure to language used in job ads, and get savvy on companies who advertise the jobs that interest you. CDU students have access to the CDU CareerHub, which is chock-full of awesome work opportunities. Other places to look for jobs are:
- Directly with the organisation you're interested in
- Online – Seek & CareerOne
- Recruitment agencies
Start working on your resume early
Develop your resume and keep updating it with new skills and work experience so it's good to go when your dream job becomes available. Lead time for some job applications or graduate employment programs can be very short so having an up-to-date resume at the ready can make all the difference in securing the role. Use a portfolio approach so you can include examples of your work (if appropriate) or create a LinkedIn profile to include on your resume. Stumped on how to write a resume? Book a time with the team at cdu.edu.au/careers; they have plenty of resources and advice to help you slay your resume!
Attend seminars and workshops
Take advantage of all learning opportunities that are offered - you may not get credit for them but they will help you get a job. The CDU Careers and Employment team hold regular face-to-face and online workshops and cover off on a wide range of topics, including:
- Written applications - resume, cover letter & selection criteria
- Interview Skills
Workshop schedules can be found online at the CareerHub or Facebook. Looking for bite size motivation snapshots? Check out the Careers & Employment YouTube channel.
Build your personal brand
What skills, professional experience and passions do you possess that set you apart from other job candidates? Are you creative? Perhaps you're a whiz at Excel spreadsheets, or maybe you can speak another language. Whatever your point of difference, continue to develop it – and most of all – let it shine. LinkedIn is a fantastic platform for showcasing your personal brand: check out the LinkedIn For Students website and learn how to create a cracker profile. And make sure you connect your profile to Charles Darwin University's LinkedIn page so you can join the CDU Careers group.
Develop employability skills through student experience
Employers look for evidence that demonstrates well-developed "soft skills" including effective communication, ability to work as a member of a team (group assignments, I'm looking at you), good organisational skills, ability to problem solve and use initiative.
So, CDU students and recent graduates, what are you waiting for? Your career starts now! If you'd like further information about how to get job ready, the CDU Careers and Employment team can provide personalised face-to-face or online advice and support services to assist you with your career preparation. Contact the team at firstname.lastname@example.com for more information.


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Rapidly becoming the UK's most popular tribute to The Jam, you are guaranteed to be taken right back to the late 70s/early 80s as the band recreates hit after hit of The Jam, one of the most influential and iconic bands in music history. With a wealth of experience, Andy Coultas, the frontman of the band has over 10 years experience performing as "Paul Weller." The band is committed to giving a performance that is both energetic and authentic capturing the raw essence of the Woking 3! Expect to hear all the classics such as "That's Entertainment", "Going Underground", "Town Called Malice and many more.
A Band Called Malice website


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February Meal Plan Week 4
"Want more menu planning tips and monthly meal planners?
Sign up to receive FREE healthy planning tips and future monthly meal plans delivered directly to your email. These will help it easier for you to eat healthy and shop smarter. SIGN UP TODAY!
Healthy Meal Plan Week 4
This week's meal plan features plenty of comfort food recipes early on. By week's end, we switched it lighter fare to balance things out.
Meal Plan Tip: Themed Night
Planning is easier with a theme night. You know that type of meal you want to create and you can find recipes a little easier. My kids LOVE Breakfast for Dinner. So we are having it again this week. The kids like it so much that they are doing the cooking that night.
Sunday – Coq au Vin, roasted asparagus and carrots, spinach salad
Monday – Loaded Potato Soup
Tuesday – Turkey Meatloaf, German Potato Salad, Dill Cucumber Salad
Wednesday – Breakfast for Dinner – Skillet Sausage and Egg Hash
Thursday – Prosciutto and Pea Pasta
Friday – Vietnamese Shrimp Spring Rolls, Miso Soup
Saturday – Cheeseburger pizza with ground beef, tomato, dill pickles, and cheddar cheese
"Want to make meal planning easier?
SIGN UP TODAY to receive FREE healthy planning tips and future monthly meal plans delivered directly to your email.


text:
I spent one of the first weeks of this month in Texas with my sister, visiting our grandparents. We did the same trip last year for their 70th birthdays, and I have to say, I'm so glad we did it again. No one cares about you like a grandparent does, and having a week to just chill out and laugh together was the best. We spent lazy days sleeping in, watching Jeopardy, and sitting out at the fire pit. The rest of the time we explored Dallas, worked our butts off in the gym, and ate a lot.
One of my favorite parts of our trip was exploring the Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas. We had never been, but had all heard amazing things. The exhibits were incredibly interactive and informative. I took a physical science course in college and was so surprised that I remembered so much! I would highly recommend it to anyone with kids- we kept saying my little cousins could have spent days there. However, we "adults" had just as much fun.
Another memorable evening of our trip was spent in Fort Worth, Texas. Everyday they walk the longhorn steer down the main street, which is a show in itself. However, I love people watching in Fort Worth. There are the tourists and the locals and the true honest cowboys. It's a fun place with plenty of shopping, dining, and an infectious energy. A must for anyone visiting the area for the first time.
There are a couple locations my sister and I insist on visiting when we visit my grandparents. I love going to the driving range with my grandfather, an avid golfer. I love improving my swing and Emily loves whacking away at golf balls with a wild flourish and spin at the end. I worry she's going to go off the edge more times then not.
Emily's choice is always the Rainforest Cafe. When we were younger, we ate there frequently. We even remember when the dessert volcanos came out with real, live sparklers. They don't anymore, which is a huge bummer. But, Emily still loves the mechanical animals and the rainstorms. While it's not my favorite, we always end up sitting at a table for hours cracking jokes and sharing food.
I believe I said something similar in my travel snapshots post from Ithaca, New York, but as I'm getting older, I'm really starting to realize how important time with family really is. I have learned so much from my grandparents over the years and I believe a huge part of who I am is due to their influence. Right now, I'm counting down the days until I see them next.


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34th St. and 5th Ave.
King Kong (1933)
An enormous gorilla goes ape and scales what was then the world's tallest building.
34th St. and 6th/7th Aves.
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
A Macy's toy department Santa Claus claims to be the real Kris Kringle and slowly wins over a city of cynicseven a young, skeptical Natalie Wood learns to believe.
Hudson River
On the Waterfront (1954)
Elia Kazan's Oscar winning tale of mob corruption on the New Jersey docks opens with a shot of the Hoboken piers across the river from Manhattan.
34th St. and 5th Ave.
An Affair to Remember (1957)
The inspiration for the 1993 romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, this older affair stars Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr as a lovestruck pair who are both engaged to be married to other people. They test their commitment to each other by meeting again at the top of the Empire State Building six months later.
52nd St. and Lexington Ave.
The Seven-Year Itch (1955)
Marilyn Monroe performs her legendary skirt-blowing scene above a lucky subway grate at 52nd Street and Lexington in Billy Wilder's comedic romp.
Hell's Kitchen
West Side Story (1961)
Inspired by the real-life warring gangs of Hell's Kitchen, Tony and Maria's musical tragedy begins with equally dramatic aerial views of the city.
5th Ave. and 56th St.
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
Who can forget a pouty Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) as she stands on the outside looking in at the famous luxury jewelry store?
Times Square
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
The once seedy streets of Times Square precipitate the unusual friendship between the greasy gimp Ratso Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) and Texas hustler-for-hire Joe Buck (Jon Voight).
86th St., Brooklyn
The French Connection (1971)
Traffic lights? What traffic lights? Gene Hackman commits a number of moving violations as detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle when he chases thugs in a high-speed car chase down Brooklyn's 86th Street. The scene inspired countless other action sequences and numerous traffic offenses.
Little Italy
The Godfather (1972)
Enough about Tony Soprano and his Jersey boys. As mob boss Don Corleone, the late Marlon Brando makes even getting shot down at a fruit stand in Little Italy look cool.
Park Slope, Brooklyn
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
A young Al Pacino plays the ne'er do well Brooklyn bank robber in this Sidney Lumet film shot in Park Slopejust a few blocks from the bank where the real-life events took place.
Times Square
Taxi Driver (1976)
The harsh lights of 42nd Street porn theaters and sidewalks littered with prostitutes and drifters act as an isolating backdrop for Robert DeNiro's ultimate catharsis in Martin Scorcese's gritty classic.
Fourth Ave., Brooklyn
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
A well-coifed, John Travolta practices shaking his Brooklyn booty walking down Fourth Avenue in Bay Ridge before steaming up the dance floor.
4th St. and Waverly Pl.
Annie Hall (1977)
In one of his most famous odes to New York, the ever-bumbling Woody Allen pulls some of his not-so-smooth moves on Diane Keaton in Washington Square Park and countless other Manhattan locations.
59th St. & FDR Dr.
Manhattan (1978)
One year later, Allen still can't seem to get it right with Keaton. The city gets a nine-minute introductory montage of the midtown skyline, the Staten Island ferry, Park Avenue, Macy's, the Guggenheim and the Plaza Hotel. One famous scene even takes place under the Queensborough Bridge.
The Wiz (1978)
This funked-up version of The Wizard of Oz combines fantastic images of The Emerald City with New York. Special effects include Diana Ross' short afro and Michael Jackson's natural skin color.
Times Square
Fame (1980)
Apparently, the only way to legitimately take over Times Square traffic and dance on the hoods of cars is if you attended New York City High School of the Performing Arts, the school on which the film was based.
32nd St. and 7th Ave.
Escape From New York (1981)
It's hard to decide what's more ridiculousthe fact that John Carpenter's futuristic tale predicts that the entire city of New York will be turned into a maximum security prison for hardcore criminals by 1997or that Kurt Russell duels in a gladiator-type contest in Madison Square Garden.
The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)
The success of The Great Muppet Caper obviously gave Kermit and his motley crew of fuzzy friends the confidence to hit the Great White Way and start their own Broadway musical.
Wall Street
Wall Street (1987)
Charlie Sheen is a fresh-faced broker learning about corruption on a lower-Manhattan trading floor from his boss (Michael Douglas). Douglas also delivers one of the most memorable messages of the 1980s: Greed is good; too much hair gel is bad.


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Snowmobile Safety Tips
Stay safe and warm on the trail with our snowmobiling guide
In cold weather regions, the first snow often signals a chance to hit the snowmobile trails. If you ride regularly, you know snowmobiles can reach speeds of 90 MPH and weigh more than 600 pounds. With those speeds and weights, snowmobile accidents are often very serious. In fact, 200 people die and nearly 14,000 snowmobile accidents are reported annually. Whether you are an experienced snowmobiler or heading out for the first time, here's your go-to guide to help you enjoy the ride:
- Slow down. Speed is a contributing factor in many fatal snowmobiling accidents, particularly at night. Keep your nighttime speed below 40 MPH.
- Wear a helmet. Never operate a snowmobile without one.
- Know the rules in your state. Wherever you're riding, get to know the rules and follow them when you ride. For instance, many states require you take a snowmobile safety certification course before legally operating a snowmobile.
- Have a plan before you head out. Decide which routes and trails you would like to ride on as well as the length of time you plan to ride. Check conditions. And, tell family or friends where you'll be and the time you plan on returning.
- Go together. Avoid riding alone. If you get in a snowmobile accident, others in your party can call for help.
- Signal your actions. Make clear, deliberate hand signals so you can communicate your intended actions to other snowmobile drivers near you.
- Be aware of speed and distance. Understand relative speed and the distance between you and other drivers, especially at night.
- Don't override your headlights. Overriding your headlights means that they don't illuminate the area where your snowmobile will finally stop. If you ride at speeds over 40 mph in poor conditions, you may not be able to stop soon enough to avoid hitting potential obstacles on the trail, a leading cause of snowmobile injuries and fatalities.
- Dress for the weather. In winter, temperatures can drop suddenly. Pack an extra hat, mittens, gloves and pocket warmers, just in case.
- Exercise caution on the ice. Travel over ice only when you are absolutely sure it is strong enough to support your snowmobile. Travel at low speeds, know where other riders are, and look for potential hazards like open water.
- Be aware of potential avalanche dangers. Mountain snowmobilers need to be aware of their surroundings, and that includes avalanches.
- Don't drink and ride. The majority of snowmobile crashes involve alcohol. When snowmobiling, remember you are operating a motorized vehicle that could hurt or kill you or others, especially if driven while intoxicated.
Here's to great — and safe — snowmobiling through stunning winter scenery. From us to you — enjoy the ride!


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Fred Stevens-Smith of Rainforest explains the need for quality assurance testing and how to actually do it in the resource constrained environment of a startup.
"Majority of our new customers including very big, very large brand names are still testing by hand."
"At Rainforest we're not ideologically opposed to automation. We just think it's really overused."
"With integration testing you're driving an interface designed to be consumed by a human with a machine."
"How did we get to the place where the generally accepted best practice is not very good?"
"At Salesforce or Adobe, 50% of people paid to write code never ship a single line into production."
"You want to test your application in as close to a real world setting as possible."
"A really good QA person can actually start to QA the requirements themselves."
"Things can be really crappy as long as there's a quantum of utility."
"Good QA people are the customer before the customer."
"Shipping a bug at Facebook scale is pretty catastrophic."
"For tiny company X, a YC company, shipping a bug – while painful – is not the end of the world."
"For 95% of people, QA is not a competitive advantage, so it doesn't make sense to have it in-house."
The best way to spread the word is to leave us an iTunes review.Review in iTunes
Consults for startups at Coderly.Follow @twitterapi
Consults for startups at Coderly.Follow @twitterapi


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Obtaining Foreign smaller businesses on the internet within Sydney isn't because easy because simply signing up your own website name as well as posting an internet site. There are lots of guidelines particular in order to Sydney which need to be adhered as well as well as if you don't fulfill these types of needs compared to you can't sign up for the. com. au website.
Aussie should very first possess a authorized company or even end up being authorized like a single investor having a present ABN (Australian Company Number) prior to they are able to sign up for the actual. com. au site room. The actual website name selected needs to be highly relevant to the company title or even regarding the single investor should reveal their own title in the event that they don't possess a authorized company title.
Authorized Aussie company may use their own authorized company title since the website name. Single investors should very first sign-up a company title prior to after that may use this like a website name. Single investors with no authorized company title should make use of their very own title or even some thing much the same for instance; Steve Cruz is really a local plumber therefore he is able to make use of johnsmithspluming or even jsplumbing so long as it's carefully associated and never currently being used it ought to be permitted.
Sydney comes with an business focused on utilization of the actual. com. au website name room as well as at the conclusion associated with 12 months 2000, the actual Aussie Federal government recommended the actual. au Site Management LTD since the suitable expert to handle the actual. com. au site room and they'll possess every other info you will have to understand that isn't in the following paragraphs.
If you're the single investor or simply beginning a company it's affordable to join up a company title as well as can be achieved on the internet offering you come with an ABN or even tend to be along the way associated with trying to get 1. The web site which deals with company title registrations is actually ASIC ( Aussie Investments & Opportunities Profits ).
After you have your own ABN you'll be able to consider obtaining on the internet as well as signing up your own. com. au website name therefore you will have to choose exactly what the very best strategy for you personally is actually.
Essentially you've 3 options!
1. Get it done just about all your self.
two. Discover anyone to get it done just about all for you personally.
3. Interact having a advisor that will help as well as counsel you.
Option 1 may be the toughest if you don't curently have the actual skilled as well as I'd not really suggest that for novices.
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Option 3 will be the the majority of useful choice since you possess the benefit of obtaining assist as well as understanding while you proceed. This way you aren't remaining determined by other people to maintain a person on the internet as well as the questions could be clarified without having having to pay a lot of money.


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January 7, 2014 · 0 Comments
The NobleKing minor peewee Knights entered the Silver Stick Regional Tournament held in Vaughn over the Christmas holidays and with some very energetic, and great hockey, and came away with the championship.
The team now has a chance to compete for the international title to be held in Newmarket on the weekend of Jan. 16-19.
Playing their first games in over 10 days, the team started out slowly in their first two games in defeating the Toronto Eagles and the Credit Valley Wolves by identical 4-1 scores.
The 10 teams were then seeded after the first two games and the next game for the Knights was a rematch against Credit Valley, and the players responded with a solid 3-0 win.
NobleKing met a determined Oshawa Generals team in the semis. Oshawa had scored 18 goals in their first three games. A total team effort by all stymied their offence and NobleKing won 3-1 in a fast-paced, entertaining game.
Four hours later the championship game was played against the Brampton 45s.
After a fast and productive first period, NobleKing had a 4-0 lead, with all three lines contributing. NobleKing was able to add five more goals through the final two periods and won the game and championship 9-0.
Congratulations go out to goalies Matthew Brunato, and Matteo Manfrini, defenceman Zachary Cafaro, Nicholas Vitale, Matthew DeAngelis, Adam Miller, and Jack MacDonald, forwards Jack Miller, Thomas Karanicolas, Anthony Critelli, Gabriel Pecchia, Lucas Ceccarelli, Anthony DiCosola, David Bazzo, Carter Diceman, and Angelo DeAngelis.
The team would like to thank their sponsors Solo Motors, Cappuccino Bakery, Doral Painting and Elite Concrete for their support in helping the team. The coaches, Tom, Paul, Dave, Fab and Frank would like to congratulate the players for such a determined effort from start to finish.
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Show and Tell
I'm originally from Missouri, the Show Me! state. I bring this up today because of my observation of how many parents and teachers, dedicated to helping children learn something, don't really show their children how, why, when and where, to do things—from riding a bicycle to reading books.
They may explain things, tell things and expect things, but they don't show things, not the way most children need to be shown, that models how to communicate what they see, feel and need.
Let's take riding a bicycle. Children can watch folks riding a bicycle, but not really understand what they are supposed to notice that will help them ride a bicycle, like balancing, initiating a turn by leaning and stopping in a controlled way.
A new, popular way to teach children (and adults) how to ride a bike is to use a balance bike—a simple machine with only two wheels, a seat and a handlebar. No pedals or brakes. Such a bike allows a child's feet to touch the ground, push off and glide. In about an hour, even tiny children can learn to ride. In my own neighborhood, I've seen 3 year olds zooming down our quiet little street on one of these while their parents ride their BIG bikes alongside demonstrating and shouting out rules of the road and more: "Stay to the right side." "Stop at the red STOP sign." "Wait for me!"
Watching these bike riding lessons illustrate that good teaching is both Show and Tell. So, how might this work with teaching children to read and enjoy books? Parents, teachers, older siblings and other caring adults can:
- Show children beginner books that may offer some challenges, while still allowing their reading "feet" to touch the ground, helping them feel safe while still trying to read all on their own. Tell them a "just right" book is very personal, having nothing necessarily to do with age or grade level.
- Show them you read and do so for fun. Tell them about why reading is fun for you. Read with expression and emotion. Laugh out loud as you read to yourself. Oooo! and Ahhhh! when you are surprised or excited. Let tears well up in your eyes and roll down your cheeks when you read something sad.
- Show them how to read a picture book. Tell them about where to start reading the words, and how to use the words and pictures together. Use phrases like, "In this word/sentence/part the author says to me/us…." Or "See what the illustrator/photographer shows us here? That's what the author meant when she said, …"
- Show them how to process an author's words and ideas. Tell them when you are thinking about what those words and ideas mean to you.
- Show them where to go when they want to find a certain kind of book. Tell them how you make your way through a library or bookstore. Enlist them in the search for the next perfect book.
Once children learn about books with this type of support, reading will be just like riding a bicycle. They'll never forget.


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Definition of laminectomy
Laminectomy is surgery to remove the lamina — the back part of the vertebra that covers your spinal canal. Also known as decompression surgery, laminectomy enlarges your spinal canal to relieve pressure on the spinal cord or nerves.
This pressure can be caused by a variety of problems, including bony overgrowths within the spinal canal (spinal stenosis) or by a herniated disk. Laminectomy is most commonly performed on the vertebrae in the lower back and in the neck.
Laminectomy is generally used only when more-conservative treatments — such as medication and physical therapy — have failed to relieve symptoms. Laminectomy also may be recommended if symptoms are severe or worsening dramatically.
Why it's done
Laminectomy is most commonly performed to relieve the pressure spinal stenosis places on your spinal cord or nerves. This pressure can cause pain, weakness or numbness that can radiate down your arms or legs. Laminectomy is usually better at relieving these types of radiating symptoms than it is at relieving actual back pain.
Your doctor may recommend laminectomy if:
- Conservative treatment, such as medication or physical therapy, fails to improve your symptoms
- You have muscle weakness or numbness that makes standing or walking difficult
- You experience loss of bowel or bladder control
In some cases, laminectomy may be necessary as part of surgery to treat a herniated spinal disk. Your surgeon may need to remove part of the lamina to gain access to the damaged disk.
Risks of laminectomy
Laminectomy is generally a safe procedure. But as with any surgery, laminectomy carries a risk of complications.
Potential complications include:
- Bleeding
- Infection
- Blood clots
- Nerve injury
- Spinal fluid leak
How you prepare for laminectomy
You may need to avoid eating and drinking for a certain amount of time before surgery. Your doctor will give you specific instructions about the types of medications you should and shouldn't take before your surgery.
What you can expect
During laminectomy
Surgeons usually perform laminectomy using general anesthesia, so you're unconscious during the procedure. The surgical team monitors your heart rate, blood pressure and blood oxygen throughout the procedure with a blood pressure cuff on your arm and heart-monitor leads attached to your chest. After you're unconscious:
- The surgeon makes an incision in your back over the affected vertebrae and moves the muscles away from your spine as needed. Small instruments are used to remove the appropriate lamina.
- If laminectomy is being performed as part of surgical treatment for a herniated disk, the surgeon also removes the herniated portion of the disk and any pieces that have broken loose (diskectomy).
- If one of your vertebrae has slipped over another or if you have curvature of the spine, spinal fusion may be necessary to stabilize your spine. During spinal fusion, the surgeon permanently connects two or more of your vertebrae together using bone grafts and, if necessary, metal rods and screws.
- The surgeon closes the incision using staples or stitches.
After laminectomy
After surgery, you're moved to a recovery room where the health care team watches for complications from the surgery and anesthesia. You may also be asked to move your arms and legs. Your doctor may prescribe medication to relieve pain at the incision site. You may be most comfortable lying on your side with pillows under your head, behind your back and between your knees.
You might go home the same day as the surgery, although in some cases you may need to stay in the hospital for a few days. Your doctor may recommend physical therapy after a laminectomy to improve your strength and flexibility.
Limit activities that involve lifting, bending and stooping for several weeks after laminectomy. You may also need to avoid long car rides for at least a month. Depending on the amount of lifting, walking and sitting your job involves, you likely will be able to return to work within two to six weeks.
If you also had spinal fusion, your recovery time may be longer. In some cases after laminectomy and spinal fusion, it may be several months before you can return to your normal activities.
Results of laminectomy
Most people report measurable improvement in their symptoms after laminectomy, but the benefit may lessen over time as the spine continues to age or if there is a recurrence of arthritis. Laminectomy is more likely to improve leg pain caused by a compressed nerve than back pain. Because laminectomy doesn't stop the process that caused the nerve compression in the first place, symptoms may come back over time.


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Ever wondered how your designs go from your order submission to receiving your parcels filled with your customized items? Walk with us through our production process and see how our apparel items go from fabric sourcing to being shipped out.
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Success at the MSPO show
ABP exhibited at the MSPO show in Poland earlier this month where we showcased our Ballistic Paw. Thank you to everyone who came to see us at the stand, we look forward to seeing you again soon!
If you want to get in contact with us, please email firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Butterscotch is one easy going lovable pup! His name does not begin to testify to how sweet he is. About 60 lbs and composted mostly of sugar, this 2 year old golden bully mix is a gem! He has a more laid back personality and can be a big push over with other dogs, cats, and people. Literally, Butterscotch cannot fathom being anything but kind and loving to anyone. Patient, gentle, and affectionate, this boy is almost too perfect for words. Even better, this is a smart candy! Butterscotch will take himself for walks! With manners like his (he might have gone to finishing school with this level of gentlemanly behavior), we don't blame him for not being a big fan of the crate. Definitely, this boy earned his freedom! When in the crate, Butterscotch will just lay in it,sigh, and give you the biggest puppy dog eyes you have ever seen! Butterscotch knows basic commands and loves to sit for you. Honestly, this pup will do just about anything for a good ole fashioned butt scratch? Belly rubs? Yes, please!
We cant believe this boy found himself on a kill list at a shelter just because of his magnificent melon head! This is a one of a kind pup and any family will be over the moon with joy to have him!
If interested in fostering or adopting or fostering Butterscotch, please email us at [email protected] or [email protected] **Due to a gmail glitch, we lose some emails. So if you do not hear back from us please follow up! We respond to all emails!**


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Suzy's Chicken Tractor vs. The LawnWhen I was first deciding if I wanted a tractor, I asked this question. What the heck is it going to do to my lawn? I see other people ask this question from time to time. Now I have the answer, and I thought I would share it. Here are some photos of what my tractor does to my lawn in a week.
Here are my facts:
I have four hens in a 4x8 run. I move the coop and run daily (which takes less then five minutes). My lawn is a pretty well-established mix of grass and weeds. These photos were taken in October in Central PA. The weather had been partly rainy, and partly sunny that week. It takes a full week for my lawn to recover from a single day with the chickens. There is a trail of little rectangles where the tractor had been. Sometimes the chickens leave me little dust-bath holes. They look a lot like the holes I dig weekly with our zero-turn mower, though, so we're kind of used to them.
Here are my photos:
The hens are in their tractor scratching up my grass.
The hens were here yesterday.
The hens were here 2 days ago.
The hens were here 3 days ago.
The hens were here 4 days ago.
The hens were here 5 days ago.
The hens were here 6 days ago.
I couldn't be sure where the hens were on the previous Sunday.
The lawn had recovered.
Here's a shot of the total area where the tractor had traveled during the week.
Update for November: This month was different than earlier months. The grass was barely growing anymore, so it didn't recover as quickly. But the chickens weren't digging as much, either. Maybe they didn't need to cool down in the dirt so much. Maybe the frost had killed the yummy stuff. Anyway, my lawn wasn't as terrible looking after a day with the chickens. But it took a much longer time for the chicken remnants to fade.
the coop and
days 1 and 2
|days 3, 4, and 5
|days 6, and 7
|days 8, and 9
days 10, and 11
The lawn was still pretty
rugged two weeks after
the hens had occupied it.
Update for December/January/February: I changed my system once the weather included days that never warmed up above freezing. I am now moving my tractor only once a week. I need to be near electricity for my water-heater, and I want the girls to be close to the garage for emergency shelter. It's also a much bigger job to move the tractor now that I have a wind break built out of very heavy, water-logged straw bales and leftover plywood w/cinder blocks. Here's what's happening to my lawn under these conditions. I'm crossing my fingers for a quick rebound come Spring.


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Sam Johnston is a technical program manager in the Site Reliability Engineering team at Google Switzerland. Before joining Google in 2010, Sam worked at Citrix Systems and served as founder and CTO for a number of successful high-tech start-ups in Australia, France and Ireland. A computer scientist at heart, he was recently listed as one of the leaders of cloud computing, having been an active contributor to the cloud computing community since its inception (particularly in the areas of security, standards and interoperability).
Sam has advised and architected pilots for various European enterprises (including one of the earliest and largest commercial cloud deployments to date, started in 2006 with 35,000 users) and presented at a number of international conferences on the subject.
Sam earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
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text: The Diptera, with nearly 150,000 described species, are not only taxonomically diverse, but numerically abundant and of extreme trophic, medical and veterinary significance. Consequently, knowledge about the origin and relationships of these insects is of considerable importance. Although one of the best-supported monophyletic orders of Insecta, relationships within the Diptera remain uncertain. The challenge of generating a robust phylogeny of Diptera has attracted the attention of many leading systematists (e.g., Willi Hennig) during the past four decades. Our laboratory has been one of the major participants in this research, especially in the generation of morphologically based hypotheses on the relationships of lower Diptera. This work has provided a framework for many additional morphological and molecular studies, and contributed significantly to an ongoing National Science Foundation Assembling the Tree of Life project. Through the latter, morphological and molecular data sets are being analyzed by our lab and collaborators throughout the world, including specialists from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe, Asia, and South America.


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A Guide To Navigating The World Of Web Design
In this day and age, you would be foolish to not even consider using advanced web design methods as a way to get your company's name out to the world. With the amount of devices that are used to connect to the Internet that exist today, you will want to read this article in order to make sure that you take hold of this opportunity and make the most out of it.
Make sure your site passes the NoScript test. Download this extension in Firefox and see how your site looks. Some ordering systems or other types of content cannot run script-free, but if the site is blank without the script on, that's not good.
Don't force users to install strange BHOs. Many tech-savvy users won't do it. Common offenders include unusual video players, image viewers, and platforms for interactive games. For most standard use cases, there is a trusted plugin, such as Windows Media Player or even Flash) that will do what you want without driving away users.
To help you attract a more professional crowd to your site, make sure you design your site with no spelling errors. When designing the site, utilize a spell checker and if need to, a grammar checker. If you have a site with poor spelling and grammar, people will not want to do business with you because they will think it is unprofessional.
Research your keywords. You need to focus on giving your audience good information, but keywords will help you gain a customer base. Knowing which keywords are the ones that will draw search engine visitors to your site is essential if you want to become successful.
In conclusion, one of the most important things to consider when creating a web site for your company is to use the best web design methods available. It would prove foolish to try to just get by. Ideally, you are much more comfortable with web design methods after reading the previous tips.