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Volunteer for VaHi Tour of Homes and Receive Two Free Tickets!
By Eleanor Barrineau, Tour of Homes Volunteer Chair
This is an excellent deal. We have eight very interesting homes on tour this year in VaHi on Dec 3-4, and anyone who volunteers for a 2-3 hour shift gets two free tickets—up to a $60 value. The rest of the weekend is yours to tour the eight homes for free—not to mention sampling mouth-watering dishes from neighborhood restaurants, because each home on Tour also has a restaurant sponsor!
With your 2 free tickets, take your spouse, partner or friend on this wonderful Tour of Homes right here in VaHi. Nibble while you look around at the creative renovations that VaHi families have recently engaged in. It's always interesting to see what other families have done to improve their homes, and many visitors over the years have gotten ideas for their own home renovation projects. It's an experience that is yours for free all weekend in exchange for just one 2-3-hour shift.
As you'll read in a future Voice article, the Tour also brings in much-needed funds that benefit all of us. So please do your bit to help make this happen. It's just a few hours of your time, and without our volunteers, the Tour simply could not happen. Again, here is the link to sign up.
Thank you for your support, and enjoy the Tour.


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February was a dull month here on The Migraine Chronicles (sorry!), but thankfully the same can't be said about the rest of the Internet. Here are some posts you may have missed:
My Posts:
- Debunking Misconceptions about Depression – Feb. 12, 2014
- The Pros and Cons of Invisibility – Feb. 22, 2014
Other Favorites:
The Stigma of Migraine…Among People Who Have Migraine by Kerrie Smyres, Feb. 11, 2014
I Am Not a Migraine Sufferer, I Am Not a Victim by Kerrie Smyres, Feb. 15, 2014 (Any of you who read and liked my book will especially enjoy this!)
Finding Happiness with Migraines (Moving from Pain to Peace) by Absolute Love Publishing, Feb. 18, 2014
"Proof" that Headaches are caused by Stress? by James, Feb. 21, 2014
Caution: Taking This Drug May Cause…(Part Two) by Katie – Feb. 21, 2014
The Migraine Fog by Anne-Marie, Feb. 24, 2014
Why I Blog About Illness by Duncan Cross, Feb. 26, 2014
That's it for this month. Happy reading!
Did I miss something you found particularly helpful? Share it here.

subset: commoncrawl


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Secure within a desolate home as an unnatural threat terrorizes the world, a man has established a tenuous domestic order with his wife and son, but this will soon be put to test when a desperate young family arrives seeking refuge.
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please click on the "Refresh Link" to get a new streaming link. Don't worry it'll just take a second.


text: Request a Team/Buddy/Coach Sports Connect November 07, 2019 08:10 Updated To request a specific team/buddy/coach for your player, please follow the steps below. Log in. Select the player by clicking the View Details button under their name. Click the Detail. Enter your requested team/buddy/coach in the Special Requests/Additional Info field. Click Update Special requests are not guaranteed and will depend on your local club/league's availability. Please reach out to a representative from your league/club directly for specific questions regarding the team creation process.


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Since we learn by doing and the fun is in the doing, learning is fun!
Doing is the secret path to discovering happiness. In fact, the power of "ing" brings into existence the "ion".
All we do begins with a thought. Good judgment comes from experience; experience comes from bad judgment.
Thinking produces action, doing produces education, and creating produces creation. One is the process; the other is the result. From its Greek origin, ion is defined as something that goes.
The premise of this treatise is that any accumulation of stuff during our lifetime will go, away.
To continue this thought experiment, we will consider a two-word phrase: Building Empires. The first word, Building, is the process; the second word, Empires, is the result.
Let's begin by experiencing the feelings, which flow through us, when thinking about an Empire. What a headache, right?! Who protects it? Who maintains it? What do the subjects need and the royalty want? Where are the borders and are they secure? How many turf wars are there between the politicians? When will enough be enough? The answer: Never.
In fact, we are encouraged to remember:
Don't wear yourself out trying to get rich.
Be wise enough to know when to quit.
In the blink of an eye wealth disappears,
For it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
Now, let's experience the feelings from thinking about the process of Building. Oh, what excitement! There is the initial sense of adventure and discovery. Then comes the dreaming, the planning, the preparing, and drawing of blueprints. Anything is possible! Next, begins the actual construction. Messy at the beginning; yet, still exciting: the hole in the ground, the ballet of activity to pour footings and foundations. And, on it goes, until: we have a new creation.
If we focus on the doing, the learning, and the growing in our individual lives, it is guaranteed that action, education and a new creation will emerge. By engaging in the process of creating, creation will be the result.
We learn by doing; the fun is in the doing. Let's, continue to, have fun learning!


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Your guests will walk by our world-famous pit and smell the perfectly smoked Bar-B-Que on their way to the private dining within the original Salt Lick restaurant in Driftwood. The rustic rock walls and picnic tables are the perfect atmosphere to indulge your guests in a little bit of Texas. This space is not available for booking on Saturdays or Sundays.
Capacity: 60
Please contact us with questions via email or (512) 894-3117.
Private Dining
Part of the Restaurant
Capacity 60
Natural Light
Wall of windows allowing lots of natural light
Catering Available
From The Salt Lick Restaurant or Beyond BBQ


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Whether you're an eBay buyer or seller, we can bridge the gap between sold and delivered. We can economically pack and ship any item regardless of size or weight. We partner with UPS, FedEx, USPS, and all the major carriers in providing the lowest cost on the service that you require.
Need coverage for your shipment? We can provide declared value coverage to protect your investment. Do you need to get an estimate prior to making a purchase? We provide free quotes with a quick turnaround, so call or request a Free Online Estimate.


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Occupy Oakland: General strike updateBy Achy Obejas
Occupy Oakland: General strike updateBy Achy Obejas
According to various news outlets in the area, Occupy Oakland -- in the midst of its one-day general strike to close down the city of Oakland -- is currently between 5,000 and 7,000 strong, heading down Broadway downtown, making pit stops at banks which haven't closed. Several eyewitnesses say even the closed branches have occupiers surrounding them, and a few have had their ATMs tagged with "99%"and other slogans.
At least one thousand students from the University of California at Berkeley are headed down Telegraph Avenue to join the Oakland march, as is a contingent from nearby Richmond, headed by Richmond's mayor.
But Occupy Oakland's biggest success may be in slowing down the Port of Oakland, the fifth largest in the country. Various news outlets report that lines are miles long. The ILWU, the longshoremen's union, has expressed support for the General Strike.
Several businesses, including Men's Warehouse and the Grand Lake Theater, have closed, posting signs in solidarity with the strikers. Already there are calls to support independent businesses tomorrow and in the days ahead for their support of the strike.
In the meantime, the Oakland Citizens Police Review Board has agreed to an investigation of the injury to Scott Olsen, the Iraq veteran hit in last week's riots.
The Oakland Police, in the meantime, released a letter on their own website, damning Mayor Jean Quan for letting pretty much any city employee take a personal day today in support of the strike -- except the cops.
The cops, of course, are a source of tremendous tension in Oakland, given recent history. And today, speakers like Angela Davis, made them a target of the speeches and demands at Occupy Oakland.
There was some worry earlier, when a group calling itself the Oakland Liberation Front distributed flyers calling for confrontation with the police, but so far, police presence has reportedly been minimal and there have no incidents.
For this and other info, Mercury News has a live blog, as does Occupy Oakland, where anyone interested can follow the events. There's also this.


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Don't pound the turkey breast meat too hard; it is delicate and can tear. After spreading the spinach mixture and rolling the turkey, secure it with twine.
How to Make It
Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon water and spinach; cover and cook 5 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring occasionally. Place spinach mixture in a colander, pressing until barely moist.
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons chopped shallots, 2 tablespoons water, and garlic; cover and cook 3 minutes or until moisture evaporates. Spoon shallot mixture into a medium bowl. Add the spinach, feta, breadcrumbs, oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and egg white.
Cut horizontally through center of breast, cutting to, but not through, other side using a sharp knife; open flat as you would a book. Place breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap; pound to an even 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Discard plastic wrap. Spread spinach mixture over turkey, leaving a 1-inch border. Roll up breast, jelly-roll fashion, starting with one short side. Secure at 2-inch intervals with twine. Rub 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper evenly over turkey.
Preheat oven to 325°.
Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the turkey; cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove turkey from pan. Add 2 tablespoons shallots to pan; sauté 30 seconds. Stir in wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add turkey and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Cover and bake at 325° for 40 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in thickest portion of turkey registers 170°. Remove turkey from pan; keep warm.
Place pan on stovetop over high heat. Combine cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture to pan; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Add butter, stirring with a whisk. Remove and discard twine from turkey. Cut turkey into 8 slices. Serve sauce with the turkey. Garnish with oregano sprigs, if desired.
Chef's Notes
MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.


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Winners: Mack Brown's critics, who liked to point out Texas' six-game winning streak wasn't legitimate except for the win over Oklahoma because of the weakness of the competition, found some solace in the 38-13 loss at home to Oklahoma State. Never mind the staggering number of injuries to key players suffered by the Longhorns. Brown's critics are ready for change, even it takes season-ending losses to Texas Tech and Baylor to get it.
Loser: New Texas athletic director Steve Patterson is going to arrive on campus on Dec. 1 just in time for the decision to be made about whether Brown returns. It has been made clear it won't be his decision alone. He has to be thankful for that. But he will have to deal with consequences. Brown, despite the downturn in the football program, remains popular among some wealthy donors and influential alumni.
Winner: Baylor advanced to No. 4 in the BCS standings, only losses by two of the three teams ranked ahead of the Bears, from playing in the national championship game. That could happen. Alabama has to play at Auburn, and, if it wins there, in the SEC title game. Florida State has to play Florida, which is not good but can salvage its season in a rivalry game, and in the ACC title game. Ohio State has to play Michigan, which is not good but can salvage its season in a rivalary game, and in the Big Ten title game. Baylor will improve its strength of schedule in remaining games against Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas and doesn't have to play in a Big 12 title game because there isn't one.
Winner: I can see it now, Christian Laettner with the winning field goal for Duke. Wrong sport. Is that really the Duke football team making noise in the ACC? Beating Miami? If the Blue Devils continue to win, they will be in the ACC title game against Florida State. Wouldn't that be an upset — in football?
Losers: The college footballl schedule makers have done it to us again, setting up a huge weekend of No. 1 Alabama playing Chatanooga and No. 2 Florida State playing Idaho. Chris Dufresne in the Los Angeles Times asks if we can reseed, with Alabama playing Florida State and Chatanooga playing Idaho.
Winners: Rice, three days after coach David Bailiff's father died, beat Louisiana Tech, 52-14, and could finish with nine victories with UAB and Tulane remaining on the schedule. Houston didn't beat the two teams ahead of it in the AAC, UCF or Louisville, but who knew the Cougars had so many fans until Case Keenum became the starting quarterback for the Texans? You'd think they were the most popular college team in the country.
Loser: The "It Factor" took a beating after Auburn's Hail Mary pass to beat Georgia. Auburn coach Gus Malzahn was tossing around that attribute of his quarterback Nick Marshall after the game and title saving pass. Marshall said he knew all he had to do was make a play for the Tigers to win. Did I see it wrong or was the reason the "It Factor" became a factor was because two Georgia Bulldogs failed to knock down a pass so short it had no chance to be completed unless they deflected it into the Auburn receiver's hands? They don't make "It Factors" like they used to.
Winner: Johnny Manziel didn't play Saturday because of an off week for Texas A&M but gained in stature to repeat as Heisman Trophy winner. The favorite, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, could be in trouble with the law after sexual assault allegations and, even if he is cleared, isn't finishing up his season against opponents that will impress voters. Manziel can impress voters if he leads the Aggies to a win in Baton Rouge this weekend against LSU.
Losers: Dieticians everywhere must be shuddering when they hear the secret to success of USC interim coach Ed Orgeron was to restock the training table with desserts, especially cupcakes and cookies. Former coach Lane Kiffin had taken away the desserts. No wonder no one wanted to play for him. Orgeron, despite the victory Saturday over No. 4 Stanford, might still not get the job fulltime. Kevin Sumlin, Jack Del Rio, Jon Gruden and Lovie Smith have been mentioned as candidates. None should be thinking about taking away the cupcakes.


text: Singer/songwriter David DeMaria hails from Jerez, Spain. Thanks to his melodic writing and strong Andalusian influence (the region credited with birthing flamenco, famous for its Middle Eastern melodic overtones), DeMaria became one of Spain's most prevalent pop music figures during the noughties. He released his first solo record independently in 1997. Though not a huge commercial success, he began to be noticed by others in the genre, which offered him the opportunity to write for artists who were at the time more successful than himself. DeMaria's songwriting became well known long before his voice, having penned number one hits for artists like Los Caños, Bustamente, and the crew from Operacion Triunfo, to name only a few. His first platinum disc as solo artist came in 2003 with Sin Miedo Perder, which was followed by 2004's Barcos de Papel, which reached double platinum status. Regular touring in Spain and promotional visits to the U.S. proved important for DeMaria's breakthrough to non-European markets, and many singles from Barcos de Papel charted in Billboard's Latin categories. His 2006 offering, Caminos de Ida y Vuelta, proved a hit with European audiences, as well as being well-received in the States and Latin America. The album was followed in 2007 by La Fuerza de la Voluntad: Grandes Éxitos and then in 2009 by Relojes de Arena. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez


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Contact Us
How to Guide: SAP Fiori Extensibility-Adding Custom Felds in OData
Adding custom fields in SAP Fiori apps UI is a common requirement from customers. Customers have custom fields in ERP backend applications. You are a consultant to enable those customer fields in SAP Fiori apps. This how to guide give you detail steps for adding custom fields in OData. Download the Document


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Not long ago, we were introduced to Black Insomnia, the world's strongest coffee. Before that, we met one of the world's most colourfully named coffees. Now we're meeting something even more unusual: the world's first clear coffee.
CLR CFF packs all the qualities you love in your ultra-dark roast, minus any of the teeth-staining trouble. Though it looks like water, the taste is strong – reportedly like a 'potent cold brew' – and a single bottle should last all day. It can be sipped on its own or mixed into cocktails, and your pearly whites will still be pearly.
Two brothers came up with the idea for transparent coffee when their chompers started showing the signs of caffeine addiction.
"We are heavy coffee drinkers. Like many other people we struggled with the teeth stains caused by it. There was nothing on the market that would suit our needs so we decided to create our own recipe," David Nagy told the The Evening Standard. "Because of the hectic lifestyle we lead we wanted to make a refreshing ready-to-drink coffee which provides the boost but is low in calories."
The production process is a closely guarded secret. David and his brother Adam admit they use freshly roasted Arabica beans and a chemical-free physical process, and say it took three months of experimentation to nail the formula (which has no preservatives, stabilisers, or sweeteners).
At £5.99 for two 200-ml bottles, CLR CFF won't be your cheapest habit, but at least it'll save you the cost of a teeth whitening treatment at the dentist.


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Green Net Cooperative
Green Net is a Thai social enterprise working to link sustainable farmers and community enterprises with consumers. It focuses on promotion of organic agriculture and development of alternative fair markets. It works to build the participation of both farmers and consumers in this process, developing communiity enterprises that produce quality organic products that are safe for health and safe for the environment. This includes work to collect and distribute these products through fair trade channels. Green Net works as a marketing and distribution center for the diverse products of its farmer members including: rice, coconut milk, herbal teas, soybeans, and eco-textiles.
Green Net Coop has been registered as a cooperative under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives since 25 November 1993 originally under the name "The Nature Food Cooperative." Thereafter the size and scope of its activities grew thus it legally changed its name to "Green Net Cooperative" on 10 May 2001.
Green Net's mission is "To serve as a marketing channel for small-scale organic farmers, incorporating fair-trade principles in its marketing activities" by combining organic agriculture and fair-trade as its core policies.
Green Net's motto is "Live Fair, Live Organic"
Click here to read more about Green Net's philosophy and Policies.
Domestic Marketing Department
Works to distribute organic production, natural products and ecological products to consumers in Thailand. Products include rice, vegetables, beans, dry fruits, herbal teas, eco-textiles, honey, soy sauce, and virgin coconut oil.
Export Marketing Department
In charge of export markets included managing the export logistics. Export products include: Thai Jasmine rice, Red Jasmine rice, other rice varieties, coconut milk, and coffee. Key markets include Europe: Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Austria, Begium, France, and Spain, outside Europe Green Net has trading partners in New Zealand, Malaysia, and Canada.
Quality Management Department
In charge of overseeing quality management from harvest to sale including developing the capacity of involved farmers' groups in effective quality management skills and proceedures.
Product Development Department
In charge of developing new products and packaging to service our farmer members and customers
Green Net is a member of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO)
Further Reading
Our Milestones and Key Activities
- Participated in the fair trade campaign to promote organic farming and fair trade practices in Italy organized by CTM Altromercato (21 - 28 Oct)
- Attended a organic fair in Korea with Green Net booth at the 2009 Uljin Organic Expo (24 - 28 Jul)
- Start exporting organic fair trade rice vinegar, produced from broken jasmine rice. The vinegar has both organic and fairtrade certifications
- Became the member of World Fair Trade Organization - Asia (WFTO-Asia) from April 2009
- Participated in the fair trade campaign to promote organic farming and fair trade practices in Austria organized by EZA (11 - 19 Sept)
- Started the packing services at the Rice Packing Unit in Yasothon with packing capacity of around 2 tons per day
- Start exporting organic coconut milk to fair trade buyers in Europe
- Together with the Earth Net Foundation, we acquired a 20-rai land (around 3.2 ha) in Ban Don Ma Yang, Tambol Kan Noi, Kamkeankaew District, Yasothon to establish rice packing unit and organic agriculture center
- Joined with other private sector and local non-governmental organizations to establish a network "Thai Fair Trade Forum - TFTF" to promote fair trade in Thailand
- Attended the organic and fair trade rice campaign in Belgium organized by Belgium fairtrade organization during 15 - 20 March
- Participated in the Asian FLO certified producers meeting in Bangkok durin 18 - 20 September
- Together with other private sector engaging in organic business, founded the Thai Organic Trader Association (TOTA). Representative from GNC served as the general secretary of the association.
- Attended the organic and fair trade rice campaign in Spain
- Attended the organic and fair trade rice campaign in Switzerland and Belgium during late April to early May, with Yasothorn farmer representative, Mr. Thong-oun Tedthi
- Received Belgium reporter groups visiting organic and fair trade rice project. The visit was organzied by Max Havellar Belgium
- Participated in national campaign against aloowing field tests of GMO crops together with the organic business club and other private sector
- Green Net Ccooperative became the membership of the then International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), now changed the name to World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO). Established in 1989, WFTO is an international organization of all fair trade practitioners.
- A big year for Green Net when it host several international event for one week, 2 - 9 November 2003. More than 200 people form 36 countries worldwide came to attend a series of event consist of
- international seminar on "Justice in Sustainable Agriculture" organized by Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) and Social Accountability in Sustainable Agriculture (SASA), 2 - 5 Nov
- regional workshop by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) on organic vegetable production and export from Asia, 3 - 5 Nov
- IFOAM international trade conference, 6 - 8 Nov
- IFOAM workshop on local marketing on 9 Nov
- Green Net Cooperative received registration as fairtrade rice producer by the Fairtrade Labeling Organization International (FLO). This enables the rice produced under the organic and fairtrade project to be labeled with FLO mark.
- Green Net Cooperative received the pilot audit of Social Accountability in Sustainable Agriculture (SASA) for our organic rice producer members in Thailand. The pilot audit's main aim is to develop guidelines and tools for the implementation of social audits in sustainable agriculture. In order to achieve this goal, four international organizations are conducting a series of twelve pilot audits in developing and industrialized countries alike: FLO (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International), SAI (Social Accountability International), SAN (The Sustainable Agriculture Network) and IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements). The audits are joint learning exercises where auditors representing each of the four systems learn about each other's methodologies and tools for agricultural audits and together examine how to improve social auditing activities.
- Green Net Coop and Earth Net Foundation organized 2 public workshop of eco-textile on "Ikat Dye" and "Indigo: The Living Dye".
- Organized public seminar on ""Entering World of Organic Agriculture". Speakers were resource persons from International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and International Organic Accreditation Services (IOAS). The seminar was attended by 170 participants. The main issued discussed in the seminar include organic standards, certification, accreditation, and how the Thai government should formulate its policies to support organic agriculture and trade.
- The ENF together with Green Net Coop, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperative, and Organic Society (Thailand), IFOAM, and KF Supermarket (Sweden) organized the first "IFOAM Organic Shrimp Consultation". Eighty six people participated in the event to discuss experiences in organic shrimp farming, organic shrimp standards, and specific recommendations to IFOAM Standard Committee on organic aquaculture standards.
- Green Net Coop and the Earth Net Foundation launched the eco-textile programme. The objective is to promote new perception of Thai local natural dye textile such as the natural dye, natural fiber. This programme links the eco-textile production with consumer marketing. The first activity was the "Thousand Weave, Hundred Textile" fair and the seminar on "Future Direction of Thai Local Textile".
- Organized a workshop on "The pro-active marketing for green shops" and "Green shop's business approaches during economic crisis" to help green shop operators coping with the economic recession in Asia
- Organized " Half a Decade of Green Net" to review the experiences and lessons learnt as alternative market organization. Participants included organic farmers, green shop operators, NGOs, consumers and other interested people.
- Organized workshop on "Making Compost and Bokashi" for producers and NGOs within the Green Net network. The workshop included a seminar, field visit, and on-farm training in Malaysia.
- Organized training on "How to do open a green shop" for people interested in doing business with health and environment products
- Organized training on "Herbal Product" for green shop operators
- Green Net's bi-monthly magazine was launched. The magazine is to promote organic farming, organic and health products, as well as social and environmental responsible lifestyle.
- Several eco-tour activities were organized to bring consumers to visit organic vegetable farms and rural development activities. For instance, in collaboration with the Community Organization Development Project, a local NGOs in Chiangmai, Green Net organized a eco-tour to visit organic vegetables producers and community forestry activities in Mae Ta district of Chiangmai. Several eco-tours were organized in collaboration with TREE, in Suphanburi, to visit organic fruit and vegetable production.
- In collaboration with "Paper for Tree Project" and Thai Health Foundation, "Green Gift for Better World" fair was organized to promote organic agriculture and green products during Christmas and New Year Festival.
- Published a book on "Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity" and "Green Calendar". The Green Calendar was a collaborative work with Consumer Foundation to raise consumer awareness on environmentally responsible lifestyle. Also, a leaflet on "Consumption for Better Health & Environment" was published and distributed to consumers through green shops within the Green Net's network.
- Joined with Alternative Agriculture Network and IFOAM-Asia to host a workshop on 'Certification for Organic Agriculture and Alternative Market. The objective was to present working experience in organic agriculture, certification & standard including alternative market procedure in Asia. There were participants from China, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Srilanka and Thailand.
- The then Nature Food Cooperative received rice export license registeration with the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce. The export license allows the GN Coop to start exporting rice to Europe fairtrade organizations in Switzerland, Italy, France, German, and Belgium
- Attended the IFOAM-Asia conference at Soul, South Korea and presented a paper on organic agriculture development in Thailand. Also, applied for membership of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Green net is the first full member of IFOAM from Thailand.
- Joined with Alternative Agriculture Network publish "Alternative Agriculture Standard" booklet, the first draft of organic standards in Thailand for public consultation. Green Net also published 5 other booklets on IFOAM Basic Standards of Organic Production (Thai translation of IFOAM organic standards), Alternative Market: Lesson from Japan, Organic Vegetables: Good Friend for Urban People, HACCP, and Organic Inspection (Thai translation of IFOAM organic inspection manual).
- Open the Green Net Shop Senanivej Branch for retailing green shop
- Joined with the Folk Doctor Foundation to organize "Free-Chemical Food for Health and Environment" at Lumpini park. This was the first public appearance of Green net.
Green Net started trading of organic foods from various producer groups like organic vegetables from Non-Toxic Vegetable Producer Group in Mae Ta district of Chiang Mai and the Kok Ko Taw Producer Group in Suphanburi, palm sugar from Ampher Singhnakorn village, Shrimp paste Bangsakom Village Songkhla, Free-Chemical Sesami Oil from Thai Yai village Ban pangmoo Maehongson etc. In the initial stage, Green Net experimented several marketing strategies including mobile stalls at government office, office building, and business organizations, deliver to member home and office, and wholesale to health shops in Bangkok and other provinces.


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March 19th, 1988, fell on a Saturday. Day 79 of 1988. Decade: 1980s.
32 years, 2 months and 18 days have passed since March 19th, 1988.
Events that occurred on March 19th, 1988:
Songs that were on top of the music singles charts in the USA and the United Kingdom on March 19th, 1988:
What movie was on top of the box office?
Trending news stories and fads that were prevalent throughout this time period. These are news stories and events that would have been in the media on March 19th, 1988.
Between the 22nd of September, 1980, and the 20th of August, 1988, an armed conflict was being fought between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Iraqi Republic.
During this period, the mini skirt became extremely popular. Shoulder pads became increasingly smaller. Popular clothing included reversible inside-out coats, bright-colored shoes with thin heels, berets, lacy gloves, rugby sweatshirts, sweater dresses, jumpsuits, capri leggings, bike shorts and skirts worn with leggings. Colors included neon hues, plum, gold, and bright wines.
"Don't Worry, Be Happy" by Bobby McFerrin would go on to win a Grammy for 1988's Song of the Year.
"The Endangered Earth" was named as the Time Person of the Year in 1988. The piece highlighted humanity's carelessness towards nature, pollution and the depletion of the ozone layer.
"Rain Man" won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1988.
Movies released in 1988 included Rain Man, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Coming to America, Big, Twins, Crocodile Dundee II, Die Hard, Beetlejuice, The Land Before Time and Bloodsport.
Popular music artists in 1988 included George Michael, INXS, George Harrison, Rick Astley, Guns N' Roses, Whitney Houston, Belinda Carlisle, Tiffany and Breathe.
Basic facts and information about this date:
Notable events that occurred around March 19th, 1988:
Zodiac & Birthstone information:
TV shows that you might have been watching around this time.
Children's and Teen TV shows that would have been airing on this date in 1988.
"The Wonder Years" - "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" - "Fireman Sam" - "Full House" - "DuckTales" - "Adventures of the Little Koala" - "21 Jump Street" - "Married... with Children" - "ALF" - "The Real Ghostbusters" - "The Flintstone Kids" - "Pingu" - "Jem and the Holograms" - "Growing Pains" - "The Care Bears" - "ThunderCats" - "Thomas the Tank Engine" - "The Cosby Show" - "Muppet Babies" - "Heathcliff" - "Alvin and the Chipmunks" - "Danger Mouse" - "The Smurfs" - "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" - "The Bugs Bunny Show"
Toys and games that would have been popular on this date in 1988:
Celebrities and historical figures that were born on the 19th of March:
National holidays and famous events that fall on the 19th of March:
Weather information for March 19th, 1988:
Who was the US President on this particular date?
Interesting facts about conception dates.
Popular video games that you might have been playing around this time.
Events that have occurred on the 19th of March:
Enter your date of birth below to find out how old you were on March 19th, 1988.
Looking for some nostalgia? Here are some Youtube videos relating to March 19th, 1988. Please note that videos are automatically selected by Youtube and that results may vary! Click on the "Load Next Video" button to view the next video in the search playlist. In many cases, you'll find episodes of old TV shows, documentaries, music videos and soap dramas.
Here are some fun statistics about March 19th, 1988.
A list of random dates that you might be interested in:


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ANC Leaders Joined White Minority To Enrich Itself While Life Becomes Ever Harder For The Black Majority."
|Posted by The Reunion Black Family on August 22, 2012 at 1:25 PM
Leaders of the ruling African National Congress party have joined the white minority that continues to enrich itself while life becomes ever harder for the black majority."
Once again, lets spot the "con"
African National CONgress
Is this just another CONspiracy theory? or
yet another constructed illusion of congeed freedom with conjectural consequences implemented and controlled by the same white supremacists and their network of global organisations who concealed advanced capitalism as 'economic development', that is being presented as a tool to implement constructive change for all, thereby obtaining consent of Black leadership and their oppressed support..
But instead of Black leadership concentrating their efforts on the alleviation of poverty and inequality they the were lured to concern themselves to conceive concomitance with the existing white economic powers through the continued condemnation of their own conscience and their own blood
They are now successfully confused and congealed into this system of oppression, and will continue to congregate with such conglomerate acts of consecutive conniving conquest against their own brothers and sister, fathers and mothers, and even their own children, consigned into the slavery of consistent control, consolidated under a constitution of white economic consultants who aim to consume without any constraint every last bit of African resource.
How do one contest and contextualize this continuation of madness and contradiction? or perhaps we conclude that the very hope of Azania based on conformed faith in a foreign political contravention has contributed towards a concise and even deeper level of controlment of the state over its population.
For now it is conveniently blacks controlling blacks while the conjugates of what is still a majority white-owned conventional economic powers, and the inherited economic structures of colonization, remains intact.
Afropeans have become a condiment on the dish of Eurocentric condemnatory of the black race. Afropeans have been successfully conditioned to accept the discourse of the oppressor concurrencies...thereby not realizing they have become mere coneys in the "Super power" condominium of advanced global capitalism in which Africa features as a mere conduit of natural and human resource.
WE COULD SAY SO MUCH MORE...the question, who is willing to do anything about it?
How many poor and oppressed workers must die before the democratically elected ANC government will change their inherited Apartheid policing-policy and strategies?
All they are doing is to change the race statistics of the police-force, by employing more black police. Then they are trained in the same old white policing tactics used during Apartheid, often by the same white military instructors used during Apartheid.
How can the state claim innocence if they send a fully armed and seemingly rather disorganized police force to deal with a striking and very frustrated oppressed labour force?
The victim (brainwashed black police men) thus is turned into the oppressor in 15 seconds of madness and confusion due to the fascist system that remains in place, and the ones who pulled the trigger cannot understand how and why it happened, but it is too late...
34 Black Families are turned fatherless in 15 seconds of CONfusion...and the white supremacist smiles and points his finger and says: LOOK, you see, when we did it to those savages they called us racist, now they are doing it to themselves...HA HA HA
You cannot change a white supremacist oppressive system simply by appointing black people to manage and implement it...this is the CON that the African National CONgress is unfortunately caught up with...while they are fixing race statistics, they are not allowing any real significant changes in real economic power statistics or in so much needed new state policy and ideology to become implemented.
I sincerely hope that this is realized very soon
Peace be unto you peace be unto you.
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Ophelia Benson, PZ Myers, and Jerry Coyne are dismissing the bizarre notion that lacking the New Atheists somehow lack credibility for lacking martyrs.
On this topic, Nietzsche has already far more eloquently said far more than I ever could:
Zealously and with much shouting they drove their herd over their bridge: as if to the future there were but one bridge! Verily, these herdsmen thesmelves still belonged among the sheep!
Little minds and capacious souls these shepherds had: but, my brothers, what little domains have even the most capacious souls been up to now!Blood-signs they wrote on the way that they walked, and their folly taught that one proves the truth with blood.
But blood is the worst witness of truth; blood poisons the purest teaching, turning it into hearts' delusion and hate.
And if one goes through the fire for one's teaching—what does that prove! It is more, verily, if one's own teaching comes out of one's own blaze!
Sultry heart and cold head: where these come together there arises the roaring wind, the 'Redeemer'.
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for Everyone and Nobody (Oxford World's Classics) (Graham Parkes's translation), Second Part, Section 4.
Your Thoughts?


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Go on the great Whisky Trail
The Strathspey whisky trail covers six working distilleries from Benromach, Cardhu, Glenfiddich, Glen Grant, The Glenlivet and Strathisla together along with the Speyside Cooperage where you can actually see the oak whisky barrels being made. This is an interesting and important part of the whisky process and can be an informative day out for the whole family and with a guided tour of a distillery you can see, nose and taste the whisky that is produced, and learn how it is 'married' before the final aging process begins. This is the start of an exciting journey discovering,one of Scotland's biggest exports,to this day.
This whisky is a Speyside single malt ,matured in selected oak casks. Benromach was founded in 1898 and remains the smallest working distillery in Speyside. Located on the outskirts of Forres, it is worth a visit. For more information on guided tours available visit www.benromach.com
The Glen of the River Fiddich lends its name to this largest selling single malt whisky in the world. The distillery itself lies on the River Fiddich in Dufftown. This famous distillery was founded in 1886-87 and is still belongs to the original family. It is also has its own bottling line in situ producing mature malts some of great value and age. The newest flavour from the distillery is Glenfiddich Malt Whisky liqueur. Visit www.glenfiddich.com
Glen Grant
Glen Grant was created in 1840 with a pale golden colour unlike the deepness of colour in most malt whiskies. You can learn about how the whisky is made along with the history of its guardian Major James Grant the only whisky named after it's owner.
With a thatched pavilion to partake of a wee dram and a woodland garden it really is a place to see. Visit www.glenlivethouse.co.uk
Cardhu lies on a hillside near the river Spey and was rebuilt by one of the most prominent women in the whisky industry. Elizabeth Cumming's family were heavily involved in Johnnie Walker blends it contains Cardhu malt.
A single malt Cardhu has been produced in 1998. Visit www.malts.com
The Glenlivet distillery lies on the banks of the river Livet which flows into the River Spey deep in the mountains. Perfect with regard to climate and conditions with cold water from the mountains being used in the condensers.
The Malt Whiskies produced are the most famous worldwide. Visit www.theglenlivet.com
Strathisla is the oldest distillery in North Scotland and has been producing Whiskies since 1786. In the13th century the Dominician monks used it in their beer brewing.
The Strathisla whisky blend is the main contributor to Chivas Regal. Visit www.chivas.com


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Annual HawkWatch will take flight Oct. 6
On Saturday, Oct. 6, the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre, in partnership with the Upper Iowa Audubon Society, will host HawkWatch. This 34th annual event will celebrate the magnificent fall migration of hundreds of thousands of raptors and other birds along the Mississippi River Flyway.
HawkWatch is a free event, designed to appeal to everyone, including families, amateur birders and raptor enthusiasts. HawkWatch activities will be held at the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre, located at 509 U.S. 18, in Marquette, a half-mile west of the Marquette-Joliet Bridge. Activities will begin at 10 a.m. and will wrap up at 3 p.m.
Birding experts will be on hand to help identify raptors and other birds migrating through the area. Iowa Raptor Project staff will present live bird programs at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Local ornithologist and musician, Jon Stravers, will present a program on hawk migration in the area, the history of HawkWatch and his bird conservation research. The lunch-time entertainment will feature music by Jon Stravers and Sophia Landis.
Hands-on educational activities will be provided by Driftless Area Wetlands Centre and Clayton County Conservation naturalists. The Friends of the Marquette Driftless Area will also hold a food stand.
A schedule of events will be available at the Wetlands Centre or online at www.driftlessareawetlandcentre.com.
Sponsors for this year's HawkWatch event include Upper Iowa Audubon Society, Friends of the Marquette Driftless Area, Casino Queen Marquette, Cabela's and the city of Marquette.
Please contact the Driftless Area Wetlands Centre at (563) 873-3537 with any questions.


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Businesses seeing profit in the vast quantities of lithium the world is using for two years then dumping in a landfill think Cornwall could be the place to be soon, as the county's currently un-dug lithium reserves might now be economically viable to recover. Get those old tin mines reopened.
The new push to mine Cornwall is being headed by Cornish Lithium, a group that says it's secured the rights from landowner Tregothnan Estates to mine for deposits and plans to do so ASAP. The company's chief exec Jeremy Wrathall said: "We believe the potential benefits of developing a lithium industry in Cornwall will be significant for the county and for the UK as a whole," adding that it would also be great for jobs in the county.
An area between Camborne, Redruth and St Day is the initial target, with the company saying it needs to secure around £5m in investment to kickstart the exploration phase and get its plans into gear.
The lithium industry is worth around £70bn a year globally and can only grow now cars need batteries too, hence the new mini gold rush and hurried plans to dig holes everywhere. [Guardian]


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Project Profile – King's Mews, London, WC1N 2JB
Project description – Construction of Modern Mews Dwelling on an undeveloped plot in Kings Mews. The site was originally occupied by a storage warehouse.
Consultant – Justin Bere is a Director of Bere Architects. A firm who carry out Passivhaus work designed to provide sustainable, healthy, comfortable buildings that perform well and look beautiful. Justin is the author of 'An introduction to Passive House' published by the RIBA.
Budget – Undisclosed.
Design Inspirations – Whilst the original building is largely without Architectural Merit the efforts were made to preserve some of the original features such as the original brick wall.
Justin Bere uses or applies Passivhaus to design the whole house. This concept reduces the permitted space heating demand and primary energy consumption for a building. It applies a robust energy performance specification and utilises the concept of holistic low energy design. Passiv haus standards impose an overall limit in the primary energy consumption which promotes energy efficiency in all areas.
In a Passivhaus thermal comfort is achieved through the use of passive measures, through the application of :-
- Good levels of ventilation and minimal thermal bridges
- Passiv solar gains and internal sources
- Excellent air tightness
- Good indoor air quality provided by mechanical whole house ventilation system
- The use of highly efficient heat recovery ventilation
Justin produced the first certified Passivhaus building in London in 2010 and is now recognised as one of the most influential people in UK sustainability.
Project Notes and Timescale – The building was constructed for a private client in 2014.
The original footprint has been followed but it has been extended downwards with the construction of the basement which required the walls to be underpinned.
The project is now complete and is occupied.
Technological appraisal and Review – The building has two main design influences; it has been modelled on The Muse (see separate project profile) in that it steps up to a top floor that overlooks the garden. It also is influenced by the designs of the 1920's Swedish Architect – Sigurd Lewerentz – who was a favourite of the client.
This is seen in the façade which has a stone like quality to the brickwork created by smudging the surface with mortar. The building has both a Scandinavian modernist influence and as well as impressive green credentials. The materials have been used for its construction reflect the need for building to provide the optimal energy responses to its environment.
Future Mews Projects – Justin is currently working both on this project and other Mews Projects.
Contact Details – Justin Bere, Bere Architects , 54A Newington Green, London, N16 9PX/ 73 Poets Road, London, N5 2SH email:- firstname.lastname@example.com Telephone:- +44 (0) 207 241 1064


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Device Generates Electricity from Heat and Light
A new device from Fujitsi converts ambient energy from either heat or light into electricity.
We can get ambient solar energy from the sun, and renewable energy from heat, but those two have never been combined into a single working renewable energy-creating device. Until now. Fujitsi has announced that it has developed a new prototype device that generates electricity from either heat or light.
Fujitsi calls its new creation a "hybrid energy harvesting device," since it generates clean energy from either light or heat. The idea behind this technology is that it will convert energy from the surrounding environment to electricity.
Here's how Fujitsi explains the technical details behind energy harvesting, in its press release:
1. New structure for hybrid generating devices By changing the electrical circuits connecting two types of semiconductor materials - P-type and N-type semiconductors - the device can function as a photovoltaic cell or thermoelectric generator.
2. Development of an organic material for hybrid generating devices Fujitsu Laboratories successfully developed an organic material that is suitable for a generator in both photovoltaic and thermoelectric modes. The organic material features a high generating efficiency that can produce power from even indoor lighting in photovoltaic mode, and it can also generate power from heat in thermoelectric mode. Since the organic material and its process cost are inexpensive, production costs can be greatly reduced.
Some devices like this are already being widely discussed, including the MP3 player that generates its energy from body heat.
Because it's a lot more convenient to generate electricity from alternative power sources like ambient light and heat without any wires, there is a growing demand for it. But the technology is in its infancy, and it's still pretty inefficient.
That's why only small objects like a MP3 player can be powered by either ambient light or heat energy. Combining heat and light as energy sources in one device means it's more likely to have enough ambient energy to power a more energy-intensive object.
Fujitsi presented their product for the first time at IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting 2010 (IEDM 2010) held earlier this month in San Francisco.


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Research as balance
Posted July 29, 2018on:
Steven Anderson described five reasons why educational research is not commonly used in schools. He then suggested four things teachers could consider about reading, applying, or conducting research.
I could not agree more. In fact, I am guiding and mentoring a group of teachers as they write research papers about their shared experiences. I enjoy the clinic-like sessions as we write, reflect, and revise our work.
But back to the importance of practice-based research. I sum it up with this image quote I made in 2015.
Tags: educational, practice, research, school, theory


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Christmas is on the way! Holiday season is on! Are you done with your vacation planning? If not, then there isn't gonna be a better opportunity!
Just like almost everyone, I am also planning to hang out with my friends this holiday season. We planned a round trip from Santa Clara to the city of Las Vegas. I know it's a fabulous place. There are so many things to do and wonderful vistas to explore. Belonging from Santa Clara, it's a completely new direction for our gang. So, identifying the best places around Las Vegas was a challenge for us.
Though it's a new place for some of us who are from the east, we have already planned out our end-to-end voyage. We have done with bookings right from hotels, restaurants, casinos, bars, places to visit, events to attend, markets to explore, tours to join in, and some other spectacular things to do around. We have created a schedule for each day and list of activities to do. All these, and more with a single app that you would have never guessed: Airbnb.
No, I am not talking about any clone app. It's the original Airbnb only, a home and hotel booking application that has taken over the travel industry around the globe.
Let's get rid off your confusion. Airbnb is not merely a property booking app anymore! It has started serving a new experience to the tourists in an unknown city. Now, travelers can pre-book hotels, homes, restaurants, events, secret spots. etc. from the app itself. As of June, all the updates are available in a beta version.
Airbnb App – Updates
Airbnb has gained momentous reputation as a home and hotel booking service provider a few years ago. Now, the company wants to reach a level beyond by incorporating targeted, personalized interactions into the app. In order to deliver a revolutionary experience, they have started to allow travelers to explore the places and things of their interest around the place they are staying, and make pre-booking too.
Time Management
It is time consuming to schedule your day after reaching to the particular domestic or foreign city. Plan out your day-to-day traveling schedule in advance with Airbnb. You can now "Try new cuisine" or "Go to see museum", make reservations for both the options as per your convenience. Core focus of the company is to facilitate tourists with more targeted recommendations for things to do.
Advance Booking for Live Events
Apart from suggesting places to stay, visit and have yummy food, Airbnb allows visitors to check out the various live events going on in the area of their hotel or home. For example; tourists can view concerts, stage shows, steer shows, conferences, etc. They can also go for pre-booking of these events.
This feature helps property owners or local experts to earn some bucks by listing out the latest happenings around their area. They can create cinematic posters or create a video of the event and post it on Airbnb. Most of these experiences would cost the travelers under $200 only. Such offerings enable Airbnb to expand their business reach beyond just home and hotel booking services.
Exclusive Trip Experience
Once you have done with reservations, nothing is remaining except to start your journey. All you need throughout your journey is your mobile phone to check out what next to-do activity you are going to enjoy. Moreover, travelers can access their previous trip details as well to get the idea about things to do at the new place.
If you are planning to develop or update your app for this Christmas with innovative features and functionalities, share your ideas with our experts. Intuz team would like to work on your advanced concepts. We combine your vision with our technical excellence and deliver an incredible app that helps you in attaining more user base and installs.
So ready for taking your travel 'experience' to a whole new level, just like us? Enjoy `Tis Season with Airbnb. SAYONARA…


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When one PearyGates List subscriber unsubscribed in response to the "Hat Headline" joke I shared (which stars President Obama, The Pope, and Fox News - www.cybersalt.org/pearly-gates-jokes/hat-headline) I received the following feedback:
I resent your joke about the Pope and Obama. What I resent about it is your mockery of Fox News. It's the only new I trust to tell the truth about whats going on in politics. I thought you were a Christian. A preacher, so you say. Now I see what you really are!!!!!
I replied:
Thanks for your feedback. I have a few points in reply:
As many of you know, I have a seperate newsletter for jokes that I think are funny but that might not be the "cup of tea" others are looking for from a pastor. Each mailing I send out on the PearlyGates newsletter contains a caveate about the content, but still there are some that just don't understand it - such as Anne Marie S. In response to "Call the Doctor" (https://www.cybersalt.org/pearly-gates-jokes/call-the-doctor) she wrote:
"I find this 'joke' tasteless."
I replied:
In response to the "Flu Do-Si-Do" joke (https://www.cybersalt.org/cleanlaugh-archive/5577-the-flu-do-si-do) the following comment was left anonymously under the name "A Caller" with a fake e-mail address.
This joke only perpetuates the hay-seed old time barn-dance that was Square Dancing. Modern Square Dancing is a Great & Fantastic, wholesome activity that is enjoyed by millions WORLD WIDE!!! We dance to every genre of music. Old & New. But, unfortunately, we can not seem to break "the image" of the dumb-hick hillbilly because of stupid things like this. I am ashamed that a "Church" would post something like this. Dance in Joy for the Lord and Let He that is without sin Cast the First Stone.
Pastor Tim:
Always stop and smell the roses!!
If you have a few minutes, reading this poem in this issue, brought a very old memory to this 83 year old mind…
I was home to North Carolina from San Diego, CA on boot leave in Feb. 1946. We had cold weather with lots of freezing rain for a couple of days. Then one day it cleared off but it was still pretty cold. Everything was covered with ice.
We lived out in the country on a tobacco farm. I told everyone I was going rabbit hunting!! No self respecting rabbit would have been out in that cold, but it was a beautiful clear, cold and sparkly day so I got my rifle (a Winchester model 74 pump .22 that I had paid $11 for 5 years earlier.) and I went outside.
Right away, the first sound I heard was the tinkling of the ice in the trees. What a beautiful sound that was!!! God's bells ringing quietly!!! That was my first thought!! What a beautiful sound that was and it accompanied me for the couple of hours that I walked around the edges of the fields of that farm.
I never did see a rabbit, but I really did not expect to. That day still ranks as one of the very best days of my life. I remember it very fondly. I felt very close to our Lord that day!!
Thanks for your e-mails and your sermons. I do enjoy every one that I listen to!!
Claude Covington
email@example.com sent me the following feedback as to why they unsubscribed from the Cybersalt Digest newsletter.
jehovahs witness's have the truth, this is false religion
I replied:
Thanks for taking the time to send me your feedback. It helped me to realize I'm being clear enough about what I believe.
- Pastor Tim
The world (and unfortunately some churches) have many discontented people and spiritual bullies. So when you try to uplift, entertain and encourage people, (and maybe even make them laugh) it only stands to reason that every now and then someone is going to go off the deep end on you. On the internet that deep end usually manifests itself through a vitrious and gall filled e-mail sent so the author can get his/her jollies by blasting you (otherwise known as a "flame").
Here is a collection of some of the more entertaining flames I have received. Don't worry about me. I've been around enough to know that such people come with the territory. Only, my approach is different that most other's. Most usually just get quiet or apologize in order to either placate the flamer and avoid getting burned up totally.
Me, I'd rather have a good laugh at their expense (after all I didn't make them type what they typed) and, in the case where they may attend the church I pastor, tell them to straighten up or go find another church to wreck.
Nobody eats sheep while this shepherd is on duty!
To quote actress Sally Field,
"You like me.? You really like me!"
Here are some of the notes of appreciation?I have received.
Shop with Amazon! - http://amzn.to/2z3uBpa


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Christian Music
Modern Christian music, i.e. contemporary Christian, Gospel, Worship, and Christian Rock, may be an afterthought for some analysts and secular consumers in North America. This is no longer right. Faith based music sells well and is increasingly in the crosshairs of mainstream talent and their marketers. Pop and Country stars, including Blake Sheldon, Carrie Underwood and Trisha Yearwood, are crossing over and a proliferation of new films and record breaking tours are turning heads in the business.
Recorded Music
Recording revenue is earned mostly through the sale of physical CDs. Christian music purchases of sound recordings tend to lag behind the regular market, which is mostly digital, by two to three years.1 It accounts for 3.6% of all album sales in the United States, and it is on a par or exceeds the Latin music market and the burgeoning EDM market. It does much better than Classical, Jazz, and Children's. Moreover, the fastest growing radio market in the United States is Christian music. Traditional media does well for the genre.
Projections are good, in part because Christian music audiences come from all walks of life and ethnicities. The genre can thus continue to grow due to its universal appeal, something that may be missing from other niche genres (even though it may not command the vast market of Rock and Pop). For instance, a recent report concluded that in a given month in 2014, 215 million people listened to Christian music, that seven out of ten Americans were exposed to it, and that an overwhelming proportion of African Americans were following.2
It also appears that Christian music is growing rapidly as the faith-based film market expands and secular companies begin to use religious music to sell their products and services. Throughout 2014, firms like Coca-Cola, McDonald's, and NASCAR made use of Contemporary Christian Music in commercials and other marketing efforts, giving legitimacy to the Gospel Music Association's assertion that their music has appeal across genre boundaries and religious sects.3 Adding to the popularity of these religious artists is the commercial success of movies such as God's Not Dead and its sequel, which together grossed over $80 million. More Christian films are in the making and will be released throughout 2016, including Risen, 90 Minutes in Heaven, and Miracles from Heaven.
These films yield substantial and predictable box office revenues, and often drive music sales. The biggest all-time collection goes to Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, which netted $612 million and received two Dove awards for its original score and a compilation album of songs related to the movie (the Dove award is similar to a Grammy and is presented by the Gospel Music Association).4 The soundtrack of The Passion received a nomination for the 2005 Grammy Award in the category Best Original Music Score. It sold over 100,000 units, unheard of in film soundtracks. Music publishers are having a field day licensing synchs and new music from the genre.
Massive tours add value. The Winter Jam Spectacular has been the #1 first quarter tour for five years in a row, catering to 550,000 attendees, surpassing Bruce Springsteen's 2014 tour and Beyonce's.5 Charging only $10 per ticket, the same price it has maintained over the last decade, and offering a $49.99 deluxe admittance package, the event circumvents major ticket vendors and promoters to keep ticket prices down (and spread the faith). But there is plenty of merchandise sales, and even when free admissions are occasionally considered, the tours generate very healthy balances. The New Song Ministries and Premier Productions, INC, the leading producer, is obligated to invest any earnings back into their ministries and their community. It most likely does, but a cursory examination of their website fails to inform how exactly the money is spent (although it appears that Holt International, a faith centered adoption, child services and humanitarian agency based out of Eugene, Oregon, is a big beneficiary).
A very successful Contemporary Christian Music Act is the band Hillsong United. Hillsong United falls under the aegis of the Australian based Hillsong Church, with many international ministries. Tickets on the primary market for the band's current tour sell from $40 to more than $250 in both the primary and secondary markets. These are mainstream stadium concert prices. Ancillary revenues are all there: merchandise income from t-shirts starting at $40, fan club memberships, and record sales.6 Hillsong United has sold more than 1.2 million albums since its debut album in 2007. Its single "Oceans" went platinum. The church earned more than $4 million dollars on sales of its entire recorded music catalog (with bands other than United) out of a global total of $70 million. This, of course, doesn't take into account live performance revenue, which suggests that music is one of the keys to the fortunes of this Church.7
Artist Issues
It does not appear that artists are making money hand over fist, though. One the one hand, these are non-profits that funnel funds to the leadership and pay substantial income to the founders. On the other hand, the purpose of many Christian artists may not be to get rich, (even with the credo of a "prosperity gospel").
With the exception of a few elite artists such as United, and others like Casting Crowns, Mercy Me, Newsboys, making a living in the industry is an even greater challenge for independent and up-and-coming Christian musicians. This is because of ticket prices, radio, and piracy.
As shown with the Winter Jam Spectacular, many touring artists in the Christian music scene earn less because of reduced ticket prices. This is true as well of ministry shows at large churches, where tickets go for $10-$15 apiece, probably making it hard to break even.
Moreover, those who listen to Christian radio frequently will be made aware that many stations that play religious music are "listener supported", meaning that in general they have smaller budgets to work with and in turn can only afford to pay artists whose music is not broadcast in traditional radio stations.8
Finally, for an industry that reaps rewards from the sales of physical CD purchases, piracy is still a concern and detracts from new label ventures (comparatively little Christian music is streamed).
Another issue is that Independent CCM artists often find themselves in a difficult position, for it is a challenge to break through the established acts in and it is easy to lose a footing in the mainstream secular market without altering one's image, name or belief. There are exceptions: Katy Perry (formerly Kate Hudson)9 eschewed her CCM image for the flashy appearance of a pop superstar; Sufjan Stevens, "The Poster Boy For Hipster Christianity", has retained a similar look and image, though his lyrics are now more main- stream. But sadly, for numerous other artists, Christian music has a reputation of producing somewhat of a "ghetto", in the sense that those artists that rise to any sort of prominence within the genre have a challenging time crossing over into the general market.
Overall, Christian music is becoming stronger and more important in American culture. Therefore, it is just as likely to be a candidate for continued inbreeding as it is for cross-pollination from the outside. If the genre is going to scale well, though, it will need more attention. Taking a musical and market based perspective, U2 front man Bono points out that the genre ought to be more honest and forthcoming with the emotions and the thoughts of its creators.10 The profusion of "glory", "majesty", and "kingdom"" in Christian lyrics, for example, does tax the patience of secular listeners, and is a barrier to the genre's projection. Finding ways of putting faith on record in a more intimate and less jarring context, and with a different aesthetic, could make the form thrive, somewhat like Country did with Pop in the mid 1990s. If so, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Trisha Yearwood may be pioneering the future of Christian music.
By Spencer Ritchie
Works Cited:
Brokaw, J. (2016, 1 1). 3 things you need to know about Christian music industry and the economy Read more at http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/gospelsoundcheck/2008/10/3-things-you-need-to-know-abou.html#r5XV9Fcx01xRZ9pE.99. Retrieved 5 15, 2015, from Gospel Soundcheck: http://www.beliefnet.com/columnists/gospelsoundcheck/2008/10/3-things-you-need-to-know-abou.html
Hillsong Church. (2016, 1 1). Fact Sheet . Retrieved 5 14, 2015, from Hillsong.org: https://hillsong.com/fact-sheet/
Horowitz, S. J. (2015, 5 22). 'Jesus Is the Ultimate Crossover': Christian Act Hillsong United on Why Their Message Is for Everybody (Including Justin Bieber). Retrieved 5 13, 2015, from Billboard: http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6575880/hillsong-united-exclusive-interview-christian-music-jesus-crossover
Ingham, T. (2015, 1 11). Rock music is twice as popular as pop in America – but R&B rules streaming. Retrieved 5 13, 2016, from Music Business Worldwide: http://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/rock-music-twice-popular-pop-america-rb-rules-streaming/
Judge, M. (2016, 4 27). Music From Heaven: Faith-Based Films Give Boost to Christian Bands. Retrieved 5 13, 2016, from CBS NEws: http://www.cnsnews.com/blog/mark-judge/music-heaven-faith-based-films-give-boost-christian-bands
Langley, J. (2016, 5 2). Bono isn't totally wrong about Christian music. He just hasn't found what he's looking for. Retrieved 5 13, 2016, from Christian Today: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/bono.isnt.totally.wrong.about.christian.music.he.just.hasnt.found.what.hes.looking.for/85214.htm
Marsden, R. (2015, 4 2). Why don't Christian Contemporary Music acts ever make it into the mainstream? Retrieved 5 12, 2016, from The Independent: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/why-dont-christian-contemporary-music-acts-ever-make-it-into-the-mainstream-10153287.html
Perkins, J. (2013, 6 8). A Christian Band With Secular Business Practices. Retrieved 5 12, 2016, from The Chrtistian Diarist: https://christiandiarist.com/2013/06/08/a-christian-band-with-secular-business-practices/
Rau, N. (2015, 6 27). 68% of Americans listened to Christian music in past month. Retrieved 5 13, 2016, from The Tennessean: http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2015/06/27/gma-research-shows-popularity-christian-music/29353693/
Rau, N. (2014, 3 14). For Winter Jam, success creates more than just ticket sales. Retrieved 5 13, 2016, from The Tennessean: http://www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/music/2014/03/14/for-winter-jam-success-creates-more-than-just-ticket-sales/6422701/
Snow, D. (2015, 11 14). Inside the Hillsong Church's money-making machine. Retrieved 5 13, 2016, from The Sydney Morning Herald: http://www.smh.com.au/good-weekend/inside-the-hillsong-churchs-moneymaking-machine-20151026-gkip53.html
Williams, L. (2015, 5 12). 16 Things We Learned At The Music Biz 2015 Gospel/Christian Music Meetup . Retrieved 5 13, 2016, from The Sound Opinion: http://thesoundopinion.com/2015/05/14/16-things-we-learned-at-the-music-biz-2015-gospelchristian-music-meetup/
1. (Ingham, 2015)
2. (Rau, 68% of Americans listened to Christian music in past month, 2015)
3. (Williams, 2015)
4. (Judge, 2016)
5. (Rau, For Winter Jam, success creates more than just ticket sales, 2014)
6. (Perkins, 2013)
7. (Horowitz, 2015)
8. (Brokaw, 2016)
9. (Marsden, 2015)
10. (Langley, 2016)


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At Mt. Ogden Dental Clinic, we offer affordable dental and implant services. One of the several perks you get as a patient at our clinic is that we will work with you in determining the best financial option for you. There are several options for payment methods we accept for our service fees. We accept payment through:
- Credit Card
- Check
- Debit Card
- Cash
- Care Credit
- Insurance
We accept a variety of different dental insurances. There are so many plans out there, which is why it is important that you always check to see if we are a preferred provider for your insurance company.
Payment Plan at Mt. Ogden Dental
Even though our dental services are affordable, dental work can come up at unexpected times when you're not ready financially. Our dental team is happy to work with you. After insurance has covered their portion, or you don't have insurance, we are happy to set you up on a payment plan. Payment plans at our clinic our set up with a debit or credit card. We do require a down payment initially, then we will accept monthly payments that are interest free. Your payments will continue monthly, until your service is completely paid off. If you ever feel that you can pay more than the agreed monthly payment, we encourage you to pay it off sooner rather than later.
Please contact our dental clinic today if you have any questions about insurance and payment options we take at our office. We want to assist you! 801.394.4415


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Grand turns out in force for lands day
Grand County, CO Colorado
The 18th annual Grand County National Public Lands Day took place Saturday, Sept. 29, and drew together a large crowd of volunteers from across Grand County and the state who devoted their time to the betterment of local public lands.
As the longest continually running National Public Lands Day in the country, Grand County's NPLD has proven to be one of the largest organized social gatherings in the county.
The event's main organizers were Headwaters Trail Alliance, Fraser Valley Partnership for Trails, the U.S. Forest Service Sulphur Ranger District, and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as an extensive list of donors all pulling together to make this NPLD one to remember.
With breakfast, lunch, dinner, live music, and free drinks, being provided by the event's generous donors, the day of volunteering quickly transformed into a celebration made up of trail users, river runners, and outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds.
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A total of 237 volunteers participated in the event completing work on six different projects throughout Grand County.
Volunteers planted 200 lodgepole pine trees and 70 spruce trees in the Cutthroat Bay area and continued their work by picking up trash at the Green Ridge boat ramp, leaving the area clean and well vegetated for future users.
Another group of volunteers completed a large amount of work to Akima's Way Trail in Winter Park including: Cleaning up the trail, improving numerous switchbacks on the trail, and roughing in more than 5,500 feet of new trail.
Volunteers interested in improving roads for motor vehicle use helped to improve the Gilsonite Trail by installing a new 32 foot bridge, 45 feet of buck and rail fence, installing two new signs, re-vegetating 150 feet of trail, and reconstructing three-quarters of a mile of the trail.
The renowned Colorado River cleanup drew a a large group of volunteers who removed more than 27 bags of trash including some old railroad ties from the river and its banks.
After a satisfying day of hard work, the volunteers returned to Camp Chief Ouray to celebrate with live music, compliments of Andy Strauss of Hunker Down, a local bluegrass band, and free drinks provided by New Belgium Brewing and a number of local donors.
The afterparty was decorated with the utmost attention to detail by the Girl Scouts of the Grand County Snow Shoe unit, giving the party a very appropriate mountainesque ambiance as prizes were raffled off to the crowd of volunteers.
A Christmas tree was erected as part of the celebration, which at first seemed a little out of place, until it was revealed that Colorado was chosen to be the harvest site of this year's Capitol Tree. The tree will be harvested from the White River National Forest and erected on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol, an American tradition since 1964.
The ornaments on the tree at the NPLD afterparty, which were artfully crafted by the girls of the Snow Shoe unit, will be packaged and sent to Washington D.C. to adorn the Capitol Tree for 2012. This year's theme for the Capitol Tree is "Celebrating Our Great Outdoors."
As it might be difficult to locate a tree that has not succumbed to the pine beetle epidemic, I would like to offer a suggestion of donating one of our many Mardi Gras bead- and undergarment-covered trees from the ski resorts to show D.C. how Coloradans really celebrate being in the outdoors. Just a thought.
To add to the excitement and success of the event, President Obama signed a proclamation declaring the Saturday of Sept. 29 as National Public Lands Day saying: "Cities and communities across our country will join together to restore the lands and waters we share, and families nationwide will explore the natural splendor that stretches from our Atlantic shores to the Pacific's rocky coasts."
The proclamation went on to say: "As we celebrate this National Public Lands Day, let us reflect on the lands and waters that so deeply enrich our experience, and let us renew our commitment to protecting them in years to come."
This is the fourth year in a row that National Public lands Day has received a presidential proclamation.
After all was said and done, Grand County was left in pristine condition with some new improvements to its plethora of outdoor amenities thanks to the hard work and dedication of the more than 200 volunteers who turned out Saturday.
With a presidential proclamation, the volunteers who participated in Grand County's NPLD can walk, run, drive, and float the lands and waters of the county with their heads held high knowing they have done their part to preserve the area's activities for generations to follow.
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Grand County make the Sky-Hi News' work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
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ELOKA Team
Peter Pulsifer, principal investigator (PI)
Peter Pulsifer is a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) and principal investigator (PI) for ELOKA. Pulsifer specializes in data management and sharing protocols; understanding terminology related to traditional and community-based knowledge; and the development of web-based mapping and visualization applications.
Noor Johnson, co-PI and research scientist
Noor Johnson is a cultural anthropologist whose research focuses on environmental knowledge production and governance in the Arctic. She is a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, where her work focuses on community-based monitoring, network-building to support Indigenous and community-led research on environmental change and food sovereignty, and issues of equity and justice in research and environmental decision-making. Noor has done field work in the Canadian Arctic and has enjoyed collaborating on projects in Alaska, Greenland, northern Europe, and the US Southwest.
Matthew Druckenmiller, research scientist
Matthew Druckenmiller is a research scientist at NSIDC focusing on the implications of Arctic sea ice and environmental change on Alaskan coastal communities and marine mammals. His areas of interest include coastal sea ice dynamics, collaborating with Indigenous experts, and informing coastal environmental observing strategies.
Betsy Sheffield, product owner and project manager
Betsy Sheffield has worked in various capacities with the ELOKA project since its beginnings in 2007, first as a user services representative and most recently as product owner and project manager. With a background in environmental studies and an interest in health and food security, Sheffield brings passion for people and problem solving to her role.
Chris McNeave, data coordinator
As a research associate at NSIDC, Chris McNeave's interests and background are in physical and human geography. McNeave has been an ELOKA team member since 2007, when he began as project manager—promoting the program and coordinating the development of its initial partnerships. As the ELOKA data coordinator, he continues working closely with Arctic scientists and community members from various Arctic regions on a range of community and data projects. In addition to his work with ELOKA, McNeave has worked on other NSIDC projects ranging from supporting an archive of United States Air Force (USAF) satellite data to collecting and managing National Science Foundation (NSF) funded Arctic field data.
Julia Collins, software developer
Julia Collins produces the majority of software development for the ELOKA project, contributing extensively to the development of SIZONet, Clyde River Weather, and various other ELOKA products.
Colleen Strawhacker, co-PI
Colleen Strawhacker is a research scientist at NSIDC and joined the ELOKA team in 2013. She is trained as an anthropological archaeologist, and her research interests focus on climate-driven challenges to food security in the prehispanic US Southwest and Arctic with particular interest in information and data sovereignty issues for Indigenous communities. She has partnered closely with Indigenous communities in her research. As of June 2018, Colleen is on detail to the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a program director for Arctic System Sciences.
Shari Fox, co-PI and ELOKA co-founder
Shari Fox is a research scientist at NSIDC, an ELOKA co-founder, and its co-PI. She specializes in the Arctic environment and its changes, Inuit knowledge, sea ice, knowledge co-production, and environmental geography.
In addition, past staff members that have supported ELOKA include Henry Huntington, Mark Parsons, Amy FitzGerrell, Jeff Braucher, Ruth Duerr and Heidi McCann.


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Tricky Rick
Tags: Puzzle Games / Platform Games / Physics Games
Publisher: Kongregate.com
Video Walkthrough
In Tricky Ricky, your objective is to help Ricky to collect all of the stolen fuel to refuel his spaceship and fly away from the planet he is stranded on. Use hammers, bombs, jet-packs and other useful stuff to solve the puzzles! Do you have what it takes? Put your thinking cap on and save Ricky! Good luck, and have fun!
Controls: WASD \ Arrow Keys - move; S \ Down Arrow - take\release an object; CNTRL - interaction with objects: throw, hammer strike, invisibility mode; SPACE - interaction with elevators and fuel stations; Esc \ P - pause;
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Professional networking website LinkedIn and PricewaterhouseCoopers will be visiting Penn State from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 10, in Alumni Hall at the HUB-Robeson Center on the University Park campus. The event is open to students from all backgrounds and majors. Students will have the opportunity to:
-- Get a LinkedIn Profile Makeover: Share your profile with LinkedIn professionals and make sure that you have a strong LinkedIn profile that will help you get noticed.
-- Demo the new LinkedIn Career Explorer tool: Meet with LinkedIn professionals to start exploring career paths and options (regardless of your major) via LinkedIn's Career Explorer tool.
-- Attend a Career Corner discussion panel: Learn how to start developing, defining and launching your career today through conversations with PwC executives.
-- Have a Resume Reviewed: No document in the career search is as important as a resume. Learn how to make your resume the very best representation of your unique skills, talents and experiences with PwC recruiters and professionals.
-- Win prizes: Participants will have the chance to win T-shirts, backpacks, LinkedIn premium accounts and an iPad.


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Top Rated React Native App Development Company
Businesses choose MAAN's React Native developers for their high quality, rapidly developed applications.
React Native App Development
React Native is a framework of JavaScript used to write code for native applications. It is an open source framework developed by Facebook. The main benefit of React Native is that it allows the reuse of the code, saving time for developers, development firms, and clients.
Advantages of react native app development –
- Free and open source framework
- Rich UI components
- Fast development
- Reduced time and costs
- Most popular cross-platform framework
- High performance applications
MAAN provides top-class React Native app development solutions for our clients. We have a long history of developing with React Native. Our team was one of the first to make commercial React Native projects.
We provide high quality app development solutions that cater to modern business needs. Additionally, once a product is delivered, MAAN provides ongoing support and maintenance.
We create real native apps for both iOS and Android using React Native. We have delivered React Native apps for various business industries such as - eCommerce, healthcare, education, transportation, hospitality etc.
We follow agile methodologies to bring flexibility to our development process. We focus on flexibility and transparency to make sure our clients are 100% satisfied.
Benefits of Picking React Native
- We have experts in full stack frameworks
- Supports web, iOS, and Android platforms
- Suitable for speed-critical projects
- Easily pairable with Backbone.js and Angular js
- Pixel-perfect user interface and interactive design


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Yenhui Huang, M.D. (Dr. Bob)
Yenhui Huang, MD, (aka Dr. Bob) is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Echocardiography and Nuclear Cardiology. He graduated from University of Witwaters and in Johannesburg, South Africa and completed his internship, residency and fellowship through the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.
"Dr. Bob" has always been fascinated with Cardiovascular Medicine. He loves the complexity of cardiology and the challenge of taking care of cardiology patients. His practice philosophy is to stay current with the up-to-date cardiovascular treatments and treat all his patients as a member of his family. In his spare time he enjoys traveling.
Yenhui Huang, M.D. (Dr. Bob) - Office Location & Information
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Exchange Traded Funds are passive investment vehicles. The most popular funds on the Australian Stock Exchange run by State Street and Blackrock track a particular benchmark like the ASX 50 or the ASX 200. It is the most effective tool in the eternal struggle between active and passive management of investment assets.
There has been a trend to develop these products beyond its historic role as a passive index funds. At first the introduction of smart beta funds which are essentially a portfolio of stocks that has been selected based on specific investment factors gained traction. The most recent trend is Active Exchange Traded Funds.
Active ETF can simply be considered managed funds that are traded on the exchange. Similar to Listed Investment Companies which is just a listed close end funds started with a fixed amount of capital. Active ETFs are open ended funds. The total size of the portfolio will change based on investor capital inflows and outflows akin to its index fund peers.
Actively managed exchange traded funds can be a viable if the fund outperforms a particular benchmark. But this has been the key factor driving investors towards passive management, most active funds after fees have not been out performing the benchmark. The growth in passive investing is result of many investors giving up on active management.
The chart below shows the growth in Vanguard Assets Under Management over the 3 decades. The growth in AUM is hand in hand with low fees where the average fees for its funds is only 0.18% per annum. The shift towards low cost index funds is effectively investors voting with their wallet.
We are by no means great cheer leaders of passive management, we are active investors first and foremost and consider it to be the best means of creating value over the long run. But active investing is not for everyone. For most of the population passive funds is the most efficient means of allocating capital, putting aside the fact the growth of passive capital can in some instances create distortion in the market in which the capital allocation is effectively blind.
We consider the creation of active ETFs as a rear guard action in stopping the outflows. However until the underlying driver of investors moving from capital from active to passive is addressed, i.e too many funds under perform their benchmark and failed to add value. Passive investing will continue to eat active management's lunch.


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This video from TheFineBros has been shared a lot on YouTube and Facebook recently. The clip shows kids, from preschoolers to teens, reacting to the "controversial" mixed-race Cheerios ad featuring a family in which the mom is white and the dad is black. The poinst of the video? To show that children don't notice, much less care, that the family is biracial.
It's a cute video, but I think the most notable part is not so much that kids are "colorblind", but that children of color seem much more aware of the racial implications. One Asian tween boy, Dylan, is especially outspoken, calling out issues of discrimination and equality. When asked if he's ever experienced discrimination, he answers,
It's kind of annoying when people say, 'Ooh, you're Asian. That's not fair. Of course you can ace that test."
When asked why people would leave comments criticizing the commercial, one teenaged black boy responds, "Because they're racist." To me, this shows that while the younger generation is much less judgmental about race, minority children are still more aware of racial differences — mostly because they have experienced discrimination first-hand.
Overall, the video is a good sign of change, with all the kids — white, Asian, black, multiracial — agreeing that it's wrong to have a problem with mixed-race families.
What do you think about the video?
Also, for more about why it's important to talk to your kids about race, check out my piece at The Mother Company.


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Time for a pop quiz:
Earlier this month, police ruled the death of a five-month-old boy a homicide. The family was previously known to the state child welfare agency. How did the leader of the child welfare agency respond?
A) She fired anyone who had come anywhere near the case.
B) She didn't have time to fire anyone who had come anywhere near the case because the governor fired her first.
C) She said the state had been doing too much to keep families together and from now on her workers would "err on the side of the child."
D) She said nothing at all, claiming "confidentiality" rules prohibited all comment.
E) She said she would reserve judgment on the specific case until all the facts were in, but she would not allow the case to deter her from an agenda that includes reducing entries into care, implementing differential response, and removing barriers to kinship care. And, she said, there would be no foster-care panic – no rush to remove more children from their homes.
If you answered anything from A through D it's understandable. After all, an answer like E is unheard-of in child welfare. No one is going to be that gutsy and put her job on the line for something as unpopular as helping children stay in their own families, just because it's the best option for the overwhelming majority of those children.
So in 35 years of following child welfare, I've never heard the head of a child welfare agency give answer E – until now.
The state is Connecticut, and the answer came from the Commissioner of the state Department of Children and Families, Joette Katz. Right now, that makes her the gutsiest child welfare leader in America.
Katz was named to run DCF by a new Governor, Dannel Malloy, in January. She resigned from the State Supreme Court to take the job. She made clear from the start that she was determined to end the take-the-child-and-run mentality that had led to Connecticut taking away children at a rate more than 45 percent above the national average, when entries into care are compared to the number of impoverished children in each state.
To that end, she's implementing differential response, in which families involved in cases believed to be less serious are offered voluntary help instead of a child abuse investigation. In a review of the scholarly literature concerning differential response, the Vera Institute of Justice found that every single study of the practice found no compromise of safety, and many found that safety improved.
Where children must be taken away, Katz won a change in state law allowing her to ease hypertechnical licensing requirements geared to middle-class strangers providing foster care, which make no sense for the often-poor grandparents and other relatives who are ready and willing to care for their own kin. Kinship care placements typically are more stable, better for children's well-being and, most important, safer than what should properly be called "stranger care."
Her legislative agenda also included tightening the definition of "neglect" to make it harder to confuse neglect with poverty.
"[Differential response is] going to keep people from getting into care. It's a new way of looking at things. It's much more family friendly," Katz told the excellent online news site, Connecticut Mirror on June 10.
I posted a comment under the story, noting that the real challenge would come when a child "known to the system" died.
Sadly, that challenge came too soon. On the very day the Mirror story appeared, a five-month-old boy died. Four days later, the state medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. DCF had investigated the family twice.
This is when child welfare agency chiefs usually run for cover at best or reverse course at worst. But not Joette Katz. On June 16, she told Mirror reporter Jacqueline Rabe she's not backing down from her agenda:
"I think in the past that's been exactly the mistake, frankly," Katz said. "A child dies and the next thing you know workers are getting thrown under the bus and 500 children get removed [from their homes] the next day because it's a reaction to a tragedy. I think that's the exact wrong way to behave."
In 35 years of following child welfare, first as a reporter and now as an advocate, this is the most courageous response to a child welfare tragedy I've ever seen from the head of a child welfare agency anywhere in the country. Judge Katz has made clear that at her DCF, the children really do come first, regardless of the political price she may pay. Her boss, the governor, deserves credit for this kind of courage as well.
It's been a long time coming.
The last progressive leader of Connecticut DCF was Rose Alma Senatore. She'd made significant progress in reducing reliance on foster care when she left office at the end of 1994.
A new governor, John Rowland, named a new commissioner, Linda Rossi. Four months later, there was a high-profile death of a child "known to the system." Rowland and Rossi encouraged frontline workers to tear apart more families, and they did just that.
In the years since, several mediocre DCF leaders have come and gone. Rowland left office in disgrace, jailed for ten months in connection with a scandal over construction of a hideous juvenile detention center. And the state has never recovered from the foster care panic that followed the death in 1995.
Sixteen years later, it looks like Connecticut finally has someone in charge who will lead that recovery.
Richard Wexler is Executive Director of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, www.nccpr.org NCCPR's report on Connecticut child welfare is available at: http://bit.ly/ftcARP


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Balloon Bouquets
We are pleased to offer balloons for all occasions. Whether you are having a party or event here, or across town, we have you covered! We offer mylar or latex balloons in an array of colors, styles, & slogans. Whatever your occasion - birthday, anniversary, wedding, valentines, or just because; our balloons will put a smile on everyone's face!
Smiles guaranteed!
Come see us to check out the selection. Delivery or pick up is available or let us have your balloon bouquet ready for your party here at the centre!
Ready to Book?
For more information and to check availability, please fill out our booking request form.


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This is a video preview of what will follow later today when several uploads related to my Baldwin piano's weekend "regulation" are lined up on You Tube.
As a start, one of the problems plaguing my recently acquired Hamilton grand 1929, a.k.a "blind date piano," was a grayish discoloration on every ivory key.
In my ignorance, I conjectured that such an irregularity was indicative of older pianos. Yellowed keys were more familiar than speckled grays.
That's about when piano detective, Mark Schecter, RPT, (Registered Piano Technician) came on the scene to make a diagnosis and possible repair. His larger mission, however, was to "regulate" the piano as best he could once his assessment of the action including hammers, bushings, etc. was completed. (many video segments)
But first, his "surface" exploration of the keyboard is worth viewing plus a squeaky note diagnostic and potential repair.
Hopefully, this opening footage will ignite interest in the whole video series which constitutes a primer of piano maintenance. It fleshes out the need to have well-trained, qualified technicians service pianos to their optimum performance level.
Graying Ivories saga:
Squeaky B annoyance!
Continue Part One and Two:
The Back Story:
6- part video, I meet my Blind Date Piano for Valentine's Day!