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Exactly Like You
Something we often all find ourselves doing at some point in life is trying to make God exactly like us. There are many people who have their own personal god who they have created and believe to be God. As Isaiah notes, we cannot think like God. Even so, we tend to believe we know what He would think was best, how He is always going to act, His preferences, etc. If we think a certain way about a person, He must as well. If we lean towards a particular plan or agenda, so would He agree. This is dangerous.
We can only declare what the Word tells us about God. The Bible is Truth. Whenever a statement starts off with, "God thinks" or "God believes," be hesitant to instantly believe what follows. Seek the truth for yourself. The Bible does provide us with a doorway into the heart of God. Still, we won't know everything, and we cannot "think for God" and decide what He would say or think or how He would act. He's above all—and that means you too!
The Psalmist notes in Psalm 50 that the people were thinking that because God was silent, He must be just like the people. He was okay with the sin since He wasn't chiming in and declaring it wrong. How foolish for us to consider His patience as tolerance or acceptance. How foolish for us to even consider this dishonoring of God would be accepted. But then again, if we look at the personal gods we often construct, it is easy to see we do the same thing.
We are made in the image of God. We share in many attributes of God. Even so, He is holy, perfect, and good at all times. He is not exactly like you. He is awesome, mighty to save, compassionate, and above all. Take some time to get to know Him today. Dig into His Word and get to know the Great I AM!
"When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you." – Psalm 50:21 [NIV]
Why Try
We all like to understand things. Some of us like to understand more than others. I remember when I was young and would take apart our VCR (remember that?) and see if I could put it back together. I learned how the VCR worked so well I was able to fix ours from time to time.
When it comes to life, we are to walk by faith. This means that we won't always know what is going to come our way. We may not even understand some of it. But even so, we are supposed to press onward in faith. As today's verse says, "The LORD directs our steps." Since He directs our steps, there's no reason to understand everything. We don't need all of the whys because we know the Who and we can trust the Who, knowing that all the whys are for our best.
Today, understand that no matter how many times you dig into the Word, you won't have all of the answers. But it's okay! You may not understand everything along the way, but you will be walking with Him through it all. That's so much better.
"The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?" – Proverbs 20:24 [NLT]
I Know Who I Trust
Who do you trust? Do you have people that you trust? Family? Friends? A spouse? A parent or child? Who do you trust? Whoever you trust, this person or these people are known to you. You have a relationship with them. You have known them for a period of time. You may know their secrets. You can describe them to others. You have been through a lot. You have seen them in action.
In 2 Timothy, Paul writes to Timothy about the One in whom he trusts. He trusts God. He knows God. He wrote, "I know the One in whom I trust." He knows God. Paul is talking about a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Many people know of God, but not so many know God. There is a difference. To truly know God, you have a relationship with Jesus Christ. As you read His Word, you know Him more. As you walk in faith, you know Him more. As you serve His people, you know Him more. As you worship Him, you know Him more. Can you say today that you know Who you trust? Are you taking steps toward getting to know Him more? Your confidence in Him is strengthened by your knowledge of Him, which is strengthened by your walk with Him. As you continue to do life with Jesus, He continues to reveal to you Who you trust.
"That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the One in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until the day of His return." – 2 Timothy 1:12 [NLT]
Colossians Study: The Will of God
[Colossians 1:9-14]
Prayed for:
- "Wise minds and spirits attuned to His will" [MSG]
- "All the wisdom & understanding that His Spirit gives" [CEV]
- "God to give you complete knowledge of His will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding" [NLT]
Prayed for:
- Practical Obedience (1:10) – Knowledge & obedience go together
True spiritual wisdom must affect daily life
Wisdom / Walk / Work – Cannot work for God unless we walk with Him, cannot walk with Him if ignorant to His will
General will = clearly in Bible Specific will = always agrees with Bible
Knowing general will makes it easier to know specific will for daily life
God wants us to:
- Know His Will (Acts 22:14)
- Understand His Will (Ephesians 5:17)
Paul prayed for ALL wisdom & understanding, COMPLETE knowledge…
Complete = Filled full Filled = Controlled by
- Filled with _______ (ex: anger, jealously)
- Filled with Spirit (Ephesians 5:18)
Controlled by full knowledge of God's will
How? By all wisdom & spiritual insights. Understand will of God through Word of God. Holy Spirit teaches us to submit to Him (John 14:26, John 16:31)
- You will live a life that honors the Lord
- You will always please Him by doing good deeds
- You will come to know God even better
- You will be patient & strong to endure everything because of His power
- You will be truly happy
Bible Study Questions:
1) Paul prayed for the Colossians to have ALL wisdom and understanding. He grasped that God wants us to know and understand His will – and to do this would bring us closer to Him. With our reading, the words patient and strong and happy appear. What does this mean for us?
2) What is the hardest thing about following God's will?
3) When we have this completeness (fullness), we will be controlled by it. We will then be able to determine what God wants. How do we determine God's Will—how do we determine what He wants?
4) Let us dig deeper into God's Word.
Read each of these verses and decide what each verse says about God's will for us.
- Read 2 Peter 3:9
- Read Ephesians 5:18
- Read 1 Thessalonians 4:3
- Read 1 Peter 2:15
- Read 1 Peter 5:10
- Read Psalm 37:4
This is one part of a 12-week Sermon Series and Bible Study focused on Colossians. The 12 weeks include:
Gospel Truth
Will of God
Lord of All
Ministry to Maturity
Foolish Philosophies
Men of Rules
Realities of Heaven
Taking Responsibility
Godly Living
Worship Work
Good Words
True Forgiveness
You Don't Know
"Your hands shaped me and made me. Will you now turn and destroy me? Remember that you molded me like clay. Will you now turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh and knit me together with bones and sinews? You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit." – Job 10:8-12 [NIV]
"You turn on me ruthlessly; with the might of your hand you attack me." – Job 30:21
"You have become cruel" (NLT) – basically saying God changed toward him.
1) God does not change
Malachi 3:6a says, "I am the LORD, and I do not change." (NIV)
Job realized that God was gracious, kind, and his Creator
But thinks God changed because of his situation.
2) God does not think like us
"'My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD. 'And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.'" – Isaiah 55:8 [NLT]
"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them." – Psalm 139:16 [NASB]
3) We cannot understand everything
"Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end." – Ecclesiastes 3:11 [NLT]
"I realized that no one can discover everything God is doing under the sun. Not even the wisest people discover everything, no matter what they claim." – Ecclesiastes 8:17 [NLT]
"God's riches, wisdom, and knowledge are so deep that it is impossible to explain his decisions or to understand his ways." – Romans 11:33 [GW]
"Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother's womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things." – Ecclesiastes 11:5 [NLT]
4) Ask – Show me Your ways
Moses said to God, "If it is true that you look favorably on me, let me know your ways so I may understand you more fully and continue to enjoy your favor. And remember that this nation is your very own people." – Exodus 33:13 [NLT]
"Now show me Your glory" (v. 18)
I want to KNOW YOU
I want to SEE YOU
I want to BE IN YOUR PRESENCE
Psalm 103:7, the Psalmist writes,
"He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel." [NASB]
God's ways must be MADE KNOWN.
- He MADE KNOWN them to Moses
- Ways – Intimate Relationship
- Know God (Hosea 6:6)
- To the Israelites He taught them by His actions, but his words were concealed. The relationship wasn't the deep relationship like that He had with Moses.
- Works – Observation – What God does
- Parting Red Sea / Water from Rock / Walls of Jericho
"You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart."
– Jeremiah 29:13 [NASB]
"Come close to God, and God will come close to you." – James 4:8a [NLT]
"I long to look on the face of the One that I love
Long to stay in Your presence, it's where I belong"
(Jesus Culture "Show Me Your Glory")
Exiting the Cave Outline
Exiting the Cave Basic Review of 1 Kings 17-18 Main Passage 1 Kings 19
- There's a great and strong wind.
- There's an
- There's a fire.
- There is the sound of a low whisper – a still small voice.
How do you recognize God's presence? Desire the Presence of God "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." – James 4:8 [ESV] "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and He with Me." – Revelation 3:20 [ESV] Desire to Know God To recognize God, you should know Who He is "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." – Hosea 6:6 [ESV] God wants you to know Him and to love Him – that's a RELATIONSHIP Desire Leads to Readiness "Be still, and know that I am God." – Psalm 46:10a [ESV] You cannot predict how God will be present from past experiences. Each moment is we should be ready for Him with great expectation but not by placing Him in some prepackaged box. If you box Him in, you'll miss Him. Desire More of Him & Less of You "Why climb the mountains or go down into the valleys of the world looking for Him Who dwells within us?" – Augustine If you believe in Jesus Christ and are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit it means that God dwells within. That means the Spirit of God dwells within you. You don't have to ask for the Holy Spirit once you have obtained – you simply ask "More of You, less of me." Each day. Every day. Listen. The Holy Spirit will help you, comfort you, remind you, teach you, empower you, assure you, strengthen you….


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One of the most unusual and criticized theories in Economics is that of rational addiction, which states that smokers and druggies choose their addiction under full rationality and information. This can be rather surprising to a non-economist, but one can find data that supports (well, does not reject) such theory.
Timothy Hinks and Andreas Katsaros provide some evidence that could further validate the rational addiction theory by looking at public smoking bans in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Using the British Household Panel Survey, which includes questions about happiness and smoking, they find that those who reduced their smoking show no change in happiness compared to those who did not change their smoking. But once public smoking bans were imposed, those who reduce smoking, in particular heavy smokers, exhibit decreases in happiness. In other words, they were forced to reduce smoking by being chased away from public places, and feel worse for it. That is consistent with the rational addiction theory in that imposing an unanticipated constraint makes people worse off. But one could also imagine irrational addiction theories that would be consistent with that result. Indeed, the critical aspect here is that you are locked into a state (addicted smoker). Whether you got there rationally or irrationally does not matter.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Smokers and the smoking ban: some hate it because they quit
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subset: commoncrawl


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Whenever I go on a long haul flight I have to have this little bag of in flight essentials. It's changed from time to time because I either discovered a new product or realized I was carrying something I didn't used. Given that I'm heading off for a trip tomorrow, I thought I'd show you … Continue reading In Flight Essentials – my little Bag of Tricks
Category: Travel
Travel plans for 2017
I always make it a point to travel as much as I can. I sort of have a guranteed vacation coutesy of my firm's annual trip and then on top of that that, I take one or two trips. For 2017, I'll be going on a total of two trips. My first trip will be … Continue reading Travel plans for 2017
Annual Free Vacay Time!
It's time for my annual free vacay. I'm lucky enough to work in a firm that takes all its staff for a free vacay every year, granted it's a short vacay (3 days, 2 nights) and it's somewhere nearby (no longer than a 4 hr flight) but hey it's free!Our annual firm trip usually happens … Continue reading Annual Free Vacay Time!
Custom Luggage Tags
Some time towards the end of last month, I decided I wanted to get new luggage tags for my various bags. I don't really like to take off the tag from a bag just to put it on another for one particular trip so I decided to get one for each and every one of … Continue reading Custom Luggage Tags
After Trip Report : Seoul
I thought I would do like an after trip report which would cover my OOTDs and Fitbit readings from and during the trip. Let's start with my outfits. This post was an afterthought so I didn't think to take pics of my outfits while I was there - not in the habit of doing so lol, so instead … Continue reading After Trip Report : Seoul
Seoul Photo Album uploaded
I've uploaded all of my pics from my trip to my Flickr account so do check it out.
Destination : Seoul – Day 6
Woke up and took my time getting ready and then packed the last of my stuff into my suitcase and carry on bag before heading down to the concierge for my express checkout. I was able to do the express checkout because I had prepaid for my stay and hadn't incurred any other charges. Once I checked, … Continue reading Destination : Seoul – Day 6


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Industry: Industrial Products
International Trade Fair For Fire Rescue, Civil Protection And Security is a 6 day event being held from 15th June to the 20th June 2020 at the Deutsche Messe Hannover in Hannover, Germany. This event showcases products like Control and monitoring systems, Individual Devices for Electronic Security Systems etc. in the Security & Defense industry.
Profile for exhibit include Vehicles, Communications equipment, Bomb detection and disposal equipment, Uniforms & protective clothing, Forensic equipment Coastguard equipment, Computer and Data security Access control systems, Biometrics, Radar equipment Rescue equipment, Radiation equipment, Fire & smoke detectors, Alarm systems, Fire fighting equipment, Security and fire windows and doors, Fencing & barriers Drug detection products.
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Send Texts Without Reception Using This Stick
In the arena of first-world problems, being caught without service when you desperately want to send a text message ranks pretty high. And, come to think of it, it can be an actual problem in emergency situations. But now there's a way to circumvent traditional cell phone technology altogether and send texts via good ol' fashioned radio signal, thanks to a pen-sized device called goTenna.
Dreamed up during the immediate aftermath of Superstorm Sandy when cell towers in New York and New Jersey were knocked out for days, the device serves as a next-level (and much less annoying) walkie talkie-like setup, harnessing the power of Bluetooth and long-range radio waves to completely bypass the satellite and tower signals we've all grown terribly dependent on.
To use it, simply whip out the built-in telescoping antenna, pair the device with a dedicated smartphone app via Bluetooth, compose your message, and shoot it off to any goTenna user within range, which depending on your specific environment, can span up to 50 miles.
Depending on the direness of your situation, the app allows for several modes of communication. For example, if you're just looking to locate your buddies at a crowded music festival or event, you can send messages and ping your exact location to a specific user or group of people without fumbling around for a signal. Or, say you need to get in touch with someone during an emergency while out hiking or in an off-the-grid area; the "Shout" feature allows you to broadcast a message to anyone with a goTenna in range. Think of it as a modern-day S.O.S.
Of course, the usefulness of such a device is dependent upon other people owning and using them, too, so the starter pack—which is now available for a special pre-order price of $150—is sold with a pair.
Joe McGauley is a senior editor at Supercompressor. He still communicates mostly by flare and smoke signal.


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Advance Friendship Day Greetings Quotes, Wishes, Messages: Friendship day is a great day to tribute those people who take care of us more than anybody else and help us to find the right way of life. All over the world observe this lovely friendship day occasion on first Sunday of August with a lot of passion and enthusiasm. People wish happy friendship day to their dear friends and loving person by sending them happy friendship day images, Greetings quotes, messages, and gifts, etc. to show their true love and affection. On friendship, day friends gather and spend some valuable time and share thought and view and have lots of fun and enjoy.
Friendship Day Greetings
Friendship day wishes and greeting have a lot of importance in making our relationship and friendship stronger and a better way to come closer to our friends and loving person. Everyone in this world loves their friend and mate and also want to wish happy friendship day especially, so people wish happy friendship day in advance to feel them that how important they are in their lives by sending them happy friendship day gifts, messages, quotes, and pictures, etc. in advance.
Friendship Day Greetings Messages
This friendship day honours your friends and lets him know how you love him by sending happy friendship day wishes with friendship day message and images in advance that will leave a beautiful impact on the mind of the receiver and will make a special person in his life.
Happy Friendship Day Greetings Images
Now a day people wish lots of significant, important day like friendship day, fathers day mother day in advance because we can't wait for the exit day to wishing to our dear person. Friendship is a way to engage our feelings and depth emotions with each other. Friends are the best gifts that God provides us to us in our lives, and if you have a real friend, you should concern the luckiest man in this world. So friendship day is an excellent day to tribute our friends and loving person for their dedication and sacrifices for us. So you must wish happy friendship day to your friends and loving person in advance that they feel gratified that they have the friend like you.
Friendship Day Greetings for Facebook
Now a day social media is also an excellent medium to celebrate this kind of events, and people also use it commemorates a lot of important occasions because our celebration is imperfect without it. Here we are providing some beautiful friendship day images, messages, quotes and saying that will help you to wish your dear one exceptionally and uniquely.
Happy Friendship Day Greeting Cards
So you can also send happy friendship in advance through Whatsapp and Facebook by sending happy friendship day messages, images and quotes. You can also chat live and make video call on WhatsApp to with happy friendship day in advance to your friends, girlfriends, and boyfriend and be the first to wish him happy friendship day with a lot of love and regard.


text: TV Universal Television Adds Two Comedy Execs 5:45 PM PDT 6/15/2015 by Michael O'Connell FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Mike Clements and Jim Donnelly join the studio after Tracey Pakosta's move to the network. Just a few weeks after elevating Bela Bajaria to president and seeing comedy topper Tracey Pakosta move over to the network side, Universal Television and has filled the vacancy in its comedy ranks with two new hires. The studio announced Monday that Mike Clements has been named executive vp comedy development, with Jim Donnelly joining as senior vp of the department. "Mike Clements is an extremely well-regarded comedy executive," said Bajaria. "In addition to being very supportive and collaborative with writers, he is excited about helping us launch great comedies. We are pleased to bring him on board to head comedy at the studio where we remain committed to producing innovative and smart break-out comedies." Clements, who began his TV career as an NBC assistant, most recently served as head of creative development and originals at animation studio Bento Box. He's also held jobs at Tom Werner's Good Humor Television and served as exec producer on HBO cartoon The Life & Times of Tim and NBC comedy Are You There, Chelsea?. "We're additionally thrilled that Jim Donnelly has joined us from CBS Studios," added Bajaria. "I have a longtime relationship with Jim and know firsthand how well he works with the creative community. He'll be a great addition to our strong comedy team, which includes our talented vp of comedy, Dan Shear." Donnelly comes to Universal Television from CBS Studios where he served as vp comedy development, shepherding such series as The Odd Couple and upcoming efforts Angel From Hell and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. FACEBOOK TWITTER EMAIL ME Michael O'Connell firstname.lastname@example.com mikeylikestv


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What exactly is network virtualization?
Most people don't really care how phone calls and internet actually work as long as the method is easy to use and works and you can get it when you want it. Telcos don't see communications in quite the same light, as in most countries, including Australia, most communications' providers are shared around different telco companies. They are always trying to find ways of pinching customers from one another. This is precisely where virtualization of a network comes into play.
Vodafone has suffered in the past from A, with outages occurring left, right and centre. It has slowly built up a more solid reputation and is now almost on a par with the other telcos in terms of provision of reliable services. So what is Vodafone up to next? seems to be the answer.
What is virtualization?
Virtualization is a hardware platform, like a server, a device for storage or a network resource, but in software. It is a solution that is more cost effective and portable than the use of any traditional hardware. Vodafone in Australia (VHA) is in the process of having its central network environment virtualized through establishing a partnership with Ericsson and Cisco Systems.
This whole revamping will help to bring about an increase in what the network is capable of doing, while reducing its operational costs and capital expenses. It is hoped from this virtualization that improvements in the network's performance will take place too. This, in turn, may result in VHA having a competitive edge over the other telcos if operational costs are reduced, offering the chance to provide cheaper services without compromising on quality.
Ericsson's involvement with Vodafone
The two companies involved with this development will be responsible for different aspects of it. Ericsson is initially in charge of the project, and will be constructing the infrastructure and is responsible for delivering the complete operational system. When it is deployed it will include certain vendors which are:
- Hyperscale Datacenter System
- Cloud Manager
- Cloud software-defined networking controller
- Cloud Execution Environment
This is not the 1st time Ericsson has been involved with Vodafone, as it was responsible for upgrading the carrier's core network. This included installing:
- A virtual IP multimedia subsystem
- A virtual evolved packet core
- Vodafone's LTE services for voice-over
How Cisco is involved with Vodafone's virtualization
Cisco has worked with VHA before, but this time it will be responsible for initiating and deploying the following:
- Wide area network Automation Engine platform
- Networks Services Orchestrator
- IP Network virtual network functions platform
- Virtualized and physical security technology
Included in this array of upgrade features will be providing the support and services to keep them maintained.
Cisco & Ericsson are not new to VHA
Cisco and Ericsson have worked together before, but this seems to be a first for working on cloud infrastructure for the telecommunication industry. In 2015, they announced a dual partnership working on the Internet of Things, Wi-Fi, data switching centres and security issues.
The head of the North American branch of Cisco, Rima Qureshi, who has been allocated the responsibility for co-ordinating the partnership between the two companies, said that this partnership is showing how such relationships can work in accelerating digital transformations.
VHA's Chief Technology Officer, Kevin Millroy said that it is appropriate to use Ericsson and Cisco for virtualizing the VHA network as they have both worked for VHA before by providing routing and core functions. He also stated that this virtualisation transformation will give the company a greater opportunity to introduce novel applications which will drive innovation while making improvements to customer services which in turn means an improvement and enhancement of the user's experience. He also expects to see more doors opened with this improved infrastructure for Vodafone like the Internet of Things.
Ericsson's future is looking up
The VHA deal with Ericsson is a hit for the company as it has primarily been focusing on hardware, but has had to move more into software to remain competitive. This move into software has resulted in the loss of jobs for those who were working on the hardware side of the company. This it appears amounted to 3,000 people losing their jobs but another thousand being eventually recruited in the areas of research and development.
Cloud platforms are becoming the norm with virtualizing of networks
More and more telcos are turning to Cloud platforms as a way of running their businesses. They have been up to now offering this service to customers but they are now intent on using this method to improve their own operations. This greater effort is in part due to the rise in use of SDN and network functions virtualisation. This has meant that telcos have been able to roll out and support the launching of new services at a faster rate such as those facilitated by cloud platforms.
Cost effectiveness is another name for cloud technology
A study a couple of years ago initiated by Comptia found that at least 90% of companies were already using cloud technology to some extent in their business operations as they see them as more agile and cost effective. A more recent security survey conducted by Intel found that out of 1,200 security decision makers in cloud spanning 8 countries 80% of money spent on IT in a period of 16 months would be on cloud services.
Network Virtualization is today's computer buzzword
Today's data centre demands have changed markedly over a decade with the cloud becoming more prevalent and enveloping the whole industry. A lot of it is to do with the increase in demand for storage opportunities, as well as computing and network resources. The shift towards cloud and virtual computing is about to make a historic change to IT as it stands.
What is virtualization again?
Virtualisation broadly is the abstraction of computerised resources. It conceals any physical characteristics from the users, whether these are applications or the end users. Physical resources, like storage devices or servers, appear as one virtual resource.
It comes in a variety of distinct forms, which are:
- Network virtualization
- Storage virtualization
- Server virtualization
- Desktop/client application virtualization
Network virtualization, which is what Vodafone is in the process of doing, involves the disassociation of infrastructure services from their physical platform which it operates on. The IT service is no longer attached to a physical asset, but instead exists in a logical abstract model that runs and operates using virtualisation software.
Network Virtualisation benefits
Organisations like Vodafone which are set to embrace network virtualization will realise the benefit as follows:
- Lower hardware expenses
- More efficient bandwidth
- Reduction in operational costs
- More centralized control over network resources
- Computer resources & applications communicate directly with virtual network resources directly
- Rapid scaling of network down or up to create new networks when required
One of the reasons for network virtualization is both an increase in cost effectiveness and the increase by consumer in the demand for more services accessed in real-time.
Vodafone Australia is just about to commence a 5 year project to virtualise both its core and IP networks to run out of Openstack-based cloud. Chief Technology Officer, Kevin Millroy has not indicated how much it will cost the telco. However, he hopes the investment will pay off by transforming the core as well as the IP networks, so not only will money be saved, but it will be a simpler process to initiate new services like 5G, the Internet of Things and virtual reality.
The other aim of establishing the virtualization of the functions of a network and a telco cloud is so that services and content can be directly focused on where the customer wants them. Also when new applications are available it will be easier to accommodate in a virtualized network. It is also hoped that because the telco cloud allows the separating off of both hardware and software that the hardware platform will be linked to a standard cost allowing more cost-effectiveness.
It's not going to happen overnight but it's starting with the building of the cloud infrastructure and bit by bit applications will become virtualized. Much of the changeover is expected to take place in the next 2 years.
Millroy indicated that a study conducted on how voice over LTE (VoLTE) would have reacted when deployed a virtualized network environment found that it would have taken 50% less time.
Whatever happens in the next 5 years, 5G will be soon here and maybe this virtualization process will be completed and up and running for all users to benefit from. In fact the latest info on 5G is that telcos will only benefit if their networks are virtualized, so VHA will be a step ahead if it doesn't experience too many outages in the meantime.


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Winter weather makes roads more dangerous for trucksThis past winter was rough for many Americans, and those in Dallas are no exception. The roadways in Dallas are dangerous enough without the addition of slick roads and ice.... Continue Reading »
Why you need a Truck Accident Attorney in Dallas after an accidentAccidents involving semi-trucks are very serious matters. Semis are enormous vehicles and with a full load, they can weigh tens of thousands of pounds. Plus, as they're... Continue Reading »
When conditions are bad, you'll wish you had a truck accident lawyer in HoustonWeather all around the country wasn't been particularly cooperative this past winter. All over, states recorded record snowfalls and some even reported snowfalls for the... Continue Reading »
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Driving in Dallas can turn deadly
Last July, what started as a normal morning commute turned deadly for one Fort Worth driver. Around 7:30 am on Interstate 35 West the traffic seemed to be moving smoothly, with only minor slow-and-goes, until a 25-year old driver lost … Continue reading


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The Trump administration has said it wants to "realise the potential" of the India-US Trade relationship by supporting recent growth in aviation, energy and defence sales.
However, the US is also seeking "a level playing field" for American companies in India, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells told PTI in an interview.
"While the US-India trade has more than doubled in the last decade, we are continuing to work with India to address market access issues and trade barriers to ensure a level playing field for US companies," Wells said.
"One of our key priorities is to continue our work with the US Trade Representative, the Department of Commerce, and US businesses to realise the potential of our trade relationship by supporting recent growth in aviation, energy, and defence sales, among other areas," she said.
Wells has been running the crucial South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department for more than a year now in the Trump Administration in the absence of an Assistant Secretary of State.
Noting that the India-US relationship has been on a positive trajectory for years, she exuded confidence that it will continue to develop rapidly.
"As with any major relationship, there will occasionally be areas or issues where we disagree, but the consensus among leaders on both sides is that US-India ties are too important for any one issue to derail. I do think there is more that we can do in the economic space," she said.
Responding to a question on the American leadership raising the issue of tariff barriers of certain commodities – Harley Davidson in particular -- and market access issues, Wells said the Trump administration was trying to promote fair and reciprocal trade with all its trading partners, including India.
"We have frank conversations with India on trade issues, including in our April Trade Policy Forum intercessional," she said.
"For example, we expressed our concern over the recent increases on tariffs on more than 50 line items in the budget, and our conversation on Harley Davidson motorcycles was in the same spirit," she observed.
At the same time there were many positive signs in the India-US trade relationship, she said.
For example, bilateral trade expanded by USD 11 billion last year to more than USD 125 billion, a new record, she added.
"We want to continue to build on that momentum for the benefit of both our countries and economies," the top American diplomat said.
Wells said the US-India ties were strong enough to weather the occasional storm of disagreements over trade and economic issues.
"This is normal—we have trade issues with our closest allies. One of the benefits of our strong relationship with India is that we can conduct conversations about our differences in an open and frank manner. These conversations are ongoing and happen at all levels," Wells said.
"We do look for progress on our trade concerns, but our regular conversations on trade are not standing in the way of our progress in many other areas," she said.


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The films of Alfred Hitchcock, as well as some choice details revealed in recent biographies, are ample proof the director was more than familiar with the dark side of the human psyche, which is why I find it curious that in certain movies he was willing to settle for pat solutions that seem to shed light on every nook and cranny of a character's personality, as if one's neuroses could be deconstructed, interpreted, and, once revealed, give the character a sudden, almost magical, new lease on life.
This is not always the case, of course. The conclusions of two of his best films, Vertigo and The Birds, are deeply unsettling because they don't attempt to explain everything. No explanation is given for why the birds have suddenly begun a free-for-all on humanity. And poor James Stewart, while cured of his acrophobia by the end of Vertigo, finds himself in a worse state than he was before Kim Novak entered his life.
However, in two other films, Spellbound and Marnie, the main characters are miraculously cured of their nightmares and phobias once their fears are deciphered. And at the end of Psycho, the world, in all its terrifying instability, is made right again once the psychiatrist's nearly five minute explanation ties up all the loose ends.
William Goldman, the screenwriter, once faulted the great director for believing the praise of some high-minded critics who attempted to find a deeper meaning in his films. And Hitchcock, according to Goldman, tried to prove them right by making movies that might fit one's definition of a serious film.
The MacGuffin to end all MacGuffins
That said, with the exception of its ending, Psycho is one of Alfred Hitchcock's best. It's got the MacGuffin to end all MacGuffins–a dandy bit of misdirection that manages to sustain our interest for forty-seven minutes until we get to what the story is really about.
Anthony Perkins' twitchy performance is unsettling and brilliant. When he is in the back room of his office with Janet Leigh, surrounded by those stuffed birds and the painting of a woman about to be raped, he has a monologue that grows to a disquieting pitch. It calls to mind Joseph Cotten's frightening rant at the dinner table in another Hitchcock classic, Shadow of a Doubt.
A subliminal coda
And leave it to Hitch to end the film on a slyly subliminal note. The penultimate shot is that of Norman Bates staring into the camera before it dissolves to a shot of a car being dragged out of the swamp. Just before Norman's image disappears, Hitch superimposes the mummified face of Mother over Norman's face. Keep an eye on the mouth–that skeletal grin is unmistakable.
It's happening at the cemetery
This Friday, July 25, you can catch Psycho at the Sunnyside Cemetery, on Willow Street. Lola's Outdoor Retro Cinema and Long Beach Cinematheque have teamed up to present a series of summer screenings at the historic graveyard. Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Enjoy this review? Receive e-mail alerts when new reviews and articles are available. Just click on the "Subscribe" button above.
To read more reviews and articles by Michael Ballard, CLICK HERE.


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Hello my friends.
It's been a while.
That's because I have been otherwise occupied by the fact that MY FIRST BOOK COMES OUT IN 27 DAYS1!
So let me quickly catch you up on some of the things that you should know about in relation to this whole "book comes out in 27 days" things, because, I'm so sorry loyal blog readers who have words, but this is ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT RIGHT NOW.
Firstly, if you are gearing up for reading THIS MONSTROUS THING but worried you might not fully appreciate it because you haven't read FRANKENSTEIN2, there's a video for that! One time, during a Boston snowpocalypse snow storm, I got really caffeinated and made a five minute synopsis of Frankenstein that I promise is the fastest you will ever hear another human being speak. Also it's shorter than SparkNotes. Your'e welcome.
Secondly, on Friday, EpicReads will be revealing the BOOK TRAILER for THIS MONSTROUS THING! Remember when we filmed this? And it was freezing? And there was fake blood and a mechanical arm?
Well it's nearly time, friends, when it will be revealed to the wide world.
Steel thyself for Friday at noon. The monsters are coming.
Third of all, I got my first finished hard cover copy of the book! I swooned and cried and still grin nonsensically when I think of the fact that it is sitting in my apartment, a real thing and not just a dream. It just gets realer and realer!
27 DAYS! This book thing is starting to look like it's actually going to happen.
- Heavy breathing.
- No judgement, but what is wrong with you?!


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15 Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh
Buddhism came to what is now Andhra Pradesh in the early 5th century BCE and flourished for the next few centuries. All forms of Buddhism such as Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana found residence in this region. Although it declined during the latter part of the 1st Millennium CE, there is evidence to suggest some of the sites and had social and religious currency until the 14th century. Here's a list of some of the most popular Buddhist sites in Andhra Pradesh.
1. Amaravati:
Interpreted as the abode of immortals in Pali, Amaravathi or Dhanyakataka/Dharanikota consists of the Great Buddhist Stupa and 2000 year old relics of Buddhist settlement built under the reign of Emperor Ashoka. Also known as the Mahastupa and Deepaladinne – the mound of lamps, this 27 m high Great Buddhist Stupa is the biggest one in India. Made of brick with a circular vedika, the revered stupa is adorned with 95 ft high platforms, protruding in four cardinal directions.
2. Chandavaram:
Excavations carried out at Chandavaram, the ancient Buddhist heritage site have revealed the Mahastupa built on terraced platform, Chaityagriha votive stupas, drum slabs and Brahmi label inscriptions.
3. Gudiwada:
Gudiwada town near Vijaywada also hosts relics based on Buddhist and Jain beliefs. Around 99 low mounds with remnants of Buddhist Stupas were excavated here.
4. Bhattiprolu:
Anciently known as Pratipalapura, Bhattiprolu flourished as a Buddhist town during the rule of Sala Kingdom in present day Guntur District. Revered for its ancient Buddha stupa locally famous as Chinna Lanja Dibba / Vikramarka Kota Dibba, the site also justifies the linguistic evidence that Telugu, the state language of Andhra Pradesh, derives its origins from Brahmi script.
Excavations of Bhattiprolu were undertaken by Alexander Rea in 19th century where three mounds featuring three inscribed stone relic caskets, relics of Buddha and jewels were discovered. The significant discovery of the site includes the Mahachaitya Stupa, crystal relic casket and several images of Buddha.
5. Ghantasala:
Ghantasala town serves as a rare and important center for Buddhist sculptures. 19th Century excavations of the site unfurled carved limestone columns and pillared halls associated with Buddhist monastic establishments. Along with this, the ruined Maha Chaitya Stupa with circumference of 112 feet and 23 feet high here consists of a solid brick cube in the centre, inscribed with 12 zodiac constellations. At present, the site has its own museum containing important Buddhist stupa and sculptural slabs found during the recent excavations. Adurru near Ghantasala also hosts a Mahastupa measuring 17 feet in diameter.
6. Sankaram:
Sankaram, an important Buddhist site features the ancient relics of rock stupas covered with bricks, rock-cut caves, early historic pottery, brick-built structural edifices and Satavahana coins that date back to the 1st century AD. Close to Sankaram, another heritage site of Bojjannakonda is located where one can experience close connection with the life of Buddha through rock carvings on the façade of the caves.
7. Bavikonda:
Another Buddhist heritage site around Vishakhapatnam, Bavikonda Hill unearthed the relics of a Buddhist complex comprising of 26 structures including a Mahachaitya, large vihara complex, numerous votive stupas, rock cut caves, a stone pillared congregation hall, rectangular halls and a refectory during excavations. Evidences showcase that all three branches of Buddhism – Hinayana, Mahayana and Vajrayana flourished here.
A piece of bone stored in a pot believed to be the mortal remains of Lord Buddha was discovered during excavations. Counted amongst one of the oldest and most revered Buddhist sites in Asia, Bavikonda traces the history of the religion back in time that once existed in the southern part of India.
8. Salihundam:
Salihundam, the village is famous as a Buddhist remnant site featuring a number of Buddhist stupas and a huge monastery complex. Located on a hillock amidst scenic surroundings, Salihundam has the treasures of a Chaityagriha, structural temples and a number of sculptures showcasing the relics of three different Buddhism phases – Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
9. Nelakondapalle:
Nelakondapalle in Khammam district is a remnant example Buddhist site belonging to Ikshvakus -Vishnukundin times. The excavations brought to light a number of huge standing Buddha images, Vishnukundin coins, Vlharas, mahachaitya, votive stupas, terracotta figurines, early historic pottery and bronze image of Buddha. This site probably served as a link between coastal and Telangana areas for traders and also to Buddhist monks. Basing on the archaeological evidences, the site belongs to the period between 3rd and 5th AD.
10. Phanigiri:
Located on the hill top, the recently excavated Phanigiri village showcases a massive Buddhist complex featuring a large Stupa, two apsidal halls with stupas in it, three Viharas as dwelling of monks. The remains of this complex stand on the top of a table hill shaped as snake hood, through which the site got its name – Phanigiri.
11. Nagarjunakonda:
Named after Nagarjuna, a master of Mahayana Buddhism in South India, the historical hill called Nagarjunakonda served as the hub of Buddhists. One of India's richest Buddhist sites, Nagarjunakonda hosts the relics of many Buddhist universities and monasteries which attracted students from China, Gandhara, Bengal and Sri Lanka in ancient times. Presently what constitutes of Nagarjunakonda is a restored Buddhist site on an island which symbolizes a lost civilization that flourished thousand years ago.
Excavations till date have yielded 30 Buddhist monasteries, throwing a light on the strong foothold of Buddhism in the city. Others include Maha Chaitya, Viharas, Buddha statues, relics, stone images, Jataka tales encrypted panels and other items of Buddhist origin.
12. Bojjannakonda:
Bojjannakonda near Vishakhapatnam is a 2000 year old Buddhist heritage spot famous for Rock cut Lord Buddha Statue. Also, the site is known to have yielded ancient statues of Buddha in various postures, enchanting stupas and other Buddhism related structures like meeting halls. Even different varieties of bricks used in the construction during the Buddhist period were discovered from the site.
13. Thotlakonda:
Located on the top of the Mangamaripeta Hill, Thotlakonda served as an important information exchange spot for Buddhist culture between India, Sri Lanka and other parts of south-east Asia. About 16 km from the port city of Vishakhapatnam, the site hosts a Buddhist Complex featuring a Hinayana monastery, Mahastupa, 16 votive stupas, a stone pillared congregation hall, apsidal chaitya grihas and10 viharas. The excavations, over a period of 5 years, have revealed other important Buddhist remains including 12 Brahmi inscriptions, sculpted panels, miniature stupa models in stone and Buddha padukas – foot imprints with ashthamangal symbols. At present, the statue of meditating Buddha adorns the Buddhist site – Thotlakonda.
14. Lingalametta:
Lingalametta features hundreds of rock cut monolithic stupas in rows, spread throughout the hill. Other Buddhist attractions here include relic casket, three chaitya halls, votive platforms, stupas and Vajrayana sculptures. Present Vihara remains portray the development of three schools of Buddhism including Theravada, Mahayana and Vajrayana.
15. Undawalli Caves:
Undawalli Caves near Vijaywada are the one of the finest rock cut architecture caves in India. Carved out of solid sandstone on a hillside, the main cave section includes primitive rock monastery cells along with other caves featuring deities like Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. The first floor of this relic still retains style of Buddhist vihara along with some Buddhist sculptures.
–By Southie Tarun Vakkalagadda


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HDRI Studio Pack: Cups Render
A customer sent in this series of beautiful renders lit in Cinema 4D. They are lit entirely with Global Illumination and the Greyscalegorilla HDRI Studio Pack. So great to see the variation of styles. Plus, I adore that coffee cup model.
I need a Mac Pro.
Tell me about it…
if you mean by those renders, even for a macbook pro 13″ are piece of cake…
the geometry of those cups and the gi is pretty simple. you could render that on just about anything.
why get a mac when you could get a better pc for 3x le$$?
haha money signs as S's. You've been listening to to much KE$HA on your Windows Computer. Everyone knows anything not Apple isn't sleek. Just like Nick's shinny balls!
say what? a windoze machine is just as powerful and capable of producing everything an apple can. the only difference is that a mac costs at least 2 to 3 times more than a pc for practically the same components.
Oh man…
Here we go again. 😀
Here's my 2 cents:
On a Macintosh system you pay for the usability, compatibility and low learning curve.
On a PC system you pay for pure number crunching power. But with a PC there's no guarantee that your 700€ graphics accelerator or four water cooled overclocked processors are 100% compatible with whatever else you have installed.
I mean, the way I see it it just makes sense to buy Mac Pros to a design firm; they're not cheap, but as a company you generally never pay the full price anyway. Plus every workstation plays nice with every other component and server, printer etc.
At this point the hardcore PC man shouts: "But PCs can do all that and more with a third of the price! You just need to know how to optimize your system."
Yeah, I know and totally agree, but let's face it, in reality how many designers or ADs know jack about hardware? Not many.
The Mac is a very easy way to go. You don't need to know and you CAN'T know.
Of course, no one in their right mind would build a NET render farm from scratch using Macs. The idea is pure nonsense. 4000€ and up plus service per machine times 10 machines? Come on, get out of here. PC is the way to go.
You can buy EXACTLY the parts you need and leave the useless bits out.
And don't even mention farming iMacs… Man, you'll get loads of warranty cases for overheated parts.
So you see the question is not "Which system is better/cheaper?" It's "Which system will hold up in my pipeline ON THE LONG RUN?"
And yes, I've built every single machine I've had from components, and will use a PC as long as I can. Why?
I HATE Apple. Not because it's a bad company, but because of it's earning policy and will to tell you how you have to do your job. And I don't like the logo.
But I guess the real point is: Why argue about something as irrelevant as Mac vs PC? Spend the time on a great render and learn as much about your hardware as you can to squeeze out the needed amount of power.
Apple's And PC's cost about the same and can have the same hardware, the only difference is OSX, which is fine tuned for Apple's hardware and that makes a whole lot of difference. Try buying HP's workstation its much more expensive and as an added bonus you get Windows to boot 😀
i like the random one
deja vu?
i think i saw this before.
nice though 😛
Nick made a few tutorials on image based lighting with GI.
He also posted a short demo of the HDRI Studio Pack 🙂
I think that should get you started 😉
Darn, Nick beat me to it 🙂
renders look good…@ :20 seconds is my favorite
ditto that
didn't I see that already here on GSG?
While it's not entirely similar, I created something relevant enough to share for one of the 5sp:
hi bro … i saw your work and i like it…. plz can you show me how did you make the coffee beans ? i have a coffee project and i really need to know .. 🙂
that reminds me…modelling coffee cups is fun!
Alls yer missing is a nice GSG logo on it. JK. Nice work. Sometimes the simplest things are the most elegant.
Very clean looking renders. What was the render times?
Ooh wait! Nevermind I found the info on his Vimeo page. 3-20 minutes a frame on a 12-Core. The video was posted 5 Months ago.
Hey guys
I have a pc with nvidia 570gfx, 16g Ram. Intel processor i7 920 its that good for rendering animations in Cinema 4d ? With lights and the HDRI pack ?
try cinebench and see for yourself.
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer:
Don't look at your machine, look at the program. If your render times are too long to be acceptable, drop your settings or figure out a way to cheat.
3D is all about smoke and mirrors anyway, right?
Take the above clip for instance. My guess is it's not rendered out of Cinema, but composited in a compositing program. So the actual render time could be more or less 2 minutes x number of different light setups.
Check helloluxx.com, Tim's got some great content on rendering.
I mean, the possibilities are endless. For example, after I found Youveelizer, I've pretty much given up rendering reflections inside Cinema. Using Normal passes you're golden. Same goes for compositing 3D in Nuke or Flame.
Or think of it this way: Most Mac machines used by ad agencies are more or less the equivalent of your setup. How did they render their commercials?
Thanks guys for your answers !
Really love how you guys support people like me new at this craft and willing to learn
thanks !
Great render,looks almost like Vray 😉
lol, good one )
Oh yeah, there's an ad for Kopparberg cider that we did last week that's running now on Finnish MTV3 that was completely lit with HDRI kit pro.
I'll grab the file at work and post it.
link spamming = not cool.
you're work = cool.
xD sorry for spamming just need some attention.. :D:D:D
and thx
thats a lot of coffee lol but as always looks sexy. keep it up!
looks great. ill send in a shot im workin on of some mobile devices =]
I would like that Coffee Cup wallpaper! Hahaha! Awesome Renders.
You just made me thirsty!!!!
I love your tutorials, you helped me understand another application…
You could use bump in the coffee cup texture…
I love it.
I really really really like your Light Kit Pro! If I hadn't killed my Machine last week (at moment I'm rendering on a 2×2,6 Ghz MacBook Pro from 2008 🙁 ) I would go shopping … maybe I could ask the European Union in Brussels if thy could spend me something like they did for Portugal and Greece 😉
nice work … like it 🙂
My Imac is like a turtle. I saw the tutorial to optimize rendering and now I'm able to do with my turtle.
thank Nick
Now DATS a lotta coffe! Good stuff!
I hope i may post this here. We have some free Pre-Keyed Fire and Explosion videos.
I think you guys should start learning how to create hdri instead of buying the HDRI Studio pack.It will help you even better to know the basic of how your models turn out..
… and I think if your Boss/Customer frequently is changing his decisions like "Oh, and how would it look like when we're placing the whole stuff on top of Mount Everest instead of Wall-marts Showroom" your lighting should be changeable very quick, so that's why this should be much faster and flexible. … even though I still do not own it myself 🙁
Can somebody tell me where I can find a free model of a coffee cup like the one above? (:
Hey Nick,
thanks for your great tutorials. I have a general question for your lightkits an multipath rendering.
i was not able to with the preset "3 Light Product Studio" to render the shadows to a seperate layer.
Does anyone can help me
Thanks , I've not too long ago been searching for info around this subject to get a though and yours may be the most effective I have located out so far. Having said that, what in regards to the bottom line? Are you positive in regards to the provide?


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Keep your family safe and your home looking its best with NURoofing .Our licensed tradesmen are fully equipped, trained and experienced to repair or fully restore your terracotta or cement tile roof.If your roof is beyond repair we can re-roof in either tiles or durable, hail resistant Colourbond steel. We also offer a gutter, fascia and down pipe replacement service with a huge range of every profile, size and colour manufactured in NSW.This, in conjunction with our expert assessment ensures that the correct product is expertly installed to meet your individual requirements.
Our services include:
• Roof repairs
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• Re-roof slate tile and iron to Colorbond
We are highly experienced, and service or replace all types of roofs. We offer quality service and quality work, and are very highly rated by our customers.


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Armstrong Flooring Specialists
For those of you who have been following the kitchen renovation to date, you will have been impressed by the overall poise with which I've handled a collection of occasions that has included onerous bodily labor, a lot of construction dust, washing dishes within the bathe, storing our fridge outdoor, more sodium (from take-out and easy meals) than my body has recognized how you can course of, and making plenty of costly selections. There are various producers in the marketplace at present comparable to Dupont, WilsonArt, Mannington, Pergo, Mohawk, and Armstrong. Armstrong gives solid or engineered wood flooring products in quite a lot of finishes, stains and textures, guaranteeing each and every buyer to discover a product that matches the look they are aiming for. Immediately, alloc laminate flooring continues to goal to make a superior high quality product that customers want within the market.
Ranges of retail partners: Armstrong Flooring showrooms across the United States display the widest variety of Armstrong products, however its flooring is also bought at preferred retailers and residential-improvement centers. With an ongoing desire to satisfy needs of the consumer at the moment and the ever changing calls for, Alloc laminate flooring will be round for several years to come. A year later I discovered an organization online referred to as Unbeatable Flooring who said they could order it and get it here inside 3 weeks. For extra information on our Armstrong merchandise or the rest we offer please reach out to considered one of our sales consultants. It is these antique plank floors, sculpted by hand and worn to elegant smoothness by the footsteps of generations, that impressed the Armstrong Century Estate collection. You will then start the cutting process in your Laminate Flooring Set up.
The guarantee course of made it inconceivable to ever get an Armstrong Rep out to look at the defect. In the event you have a look at the vinyl tiles and sheets available on the market right this moment, you'll surely be stunned to search out hundreds of designs, colours and textures to select from. Armstrong vinyl sheet floors are protected with CleanSweep® which is a stain and bacteria safety that guards and prevents against stains and odor inflicting bacteria. We have obtained a considerable amount of traditional and technical know-how through the years, making us the perfect selection for your next Melbourne flooring challenge.
The existing molds have been finally changed with molds bearing the Armstrong identify. Armstrong admitted their telephones have been ringing off the hook because the information broke on Lumber Liquidators, however since they put out that data, they say they've seen a positive response.
If you are searching for vinyl flooring Armstrong affords Luxurious Vinyl, Vinyl Tiles, and Vinyl Sheet. Based in your choices, the Ground Finder will discover the flooring category that meets your way of life and budget wants. With designs to choose from, colours, and many different textures; the buyer should have no concern discovering a Alloc laminate flooring sample to satisfy their necessities. Armstrong takes pride of their manufacturing and sale of quality merchandise because it bares their family title. Formerly referred to as Armstrong Manor, the property is currently owned by Rodgers & Associates of Lancaster, Pennsylvania and is now referred to as The Manor.


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We have the pleasure of announcing the winner of the 2012 PhARF Award, Dr. Elizabeth Matsui.
Dr. Matsui is an Associate Professor at the Department of Pediatrics (Allergy and Immunology) at the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, US.
The Scientific Committee consisting of Prof. Hugh Sampson (Chairman), Dr. Ruby Pawankar (WAO President), Dr. Dennis Ledford (AAAAI President) and Prof. Cezmi Akdis (EAACI President), met recently and agreed unanimously that Dr. Matsui should be elected winner of this year's award based on the following motivation:
"Dr. Elizabeth Matsui has leveraged her epidemiologic and allergy/immunology expertise with exceptional clinical skills to provide novel insights into modifiable risk factors of allergic respiratory disease, especially the role of mouse allergen exposure, which are impacting how allergists evaluate and better manage urban patients with asthma."
The prize was officially announced on June 17, 2012 in connection to the first Plenary Symposium at the European Academy of Allergy and Immunology (EAACI) conference that took place in Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Elisabeth Matsui receives the 2012 PhARF Award during EAACI in Geneva; here together with Prof. Cezmi Akdis (EAACI President) and Prof. Hugh Sampson (Chairman of PhARF Scientific Committee).
Thermo Scientific: Helping scientists meet the challenges they face in the lab or in the field every day.
As in all diagnostic testing, the diagnosis is made by the physican based on both test results and the patient history.


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Child Safe Blinds, putting safety first
Nothing matters more than safety, and as a responsible company, we take this issue extremely seriously. The use of safety features to protect children is a legal requirement, and we always comply with the relevant legislation.
Every blind we manufacture and supply complies with these requirements, with a range of options available to suit the style and function of the product. These include cordless systems such as LiteRise, retractable systems such as SmartCord, and remote-control operated motorised systems.
Rest assured that we are putting technology to work to ensure our products offer the best protection on the market..


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This listing is no longer available.
$1,895,000Taxes: $22,449
7 Bedrooms
5 Full Bathrooms
& 1 Half Baths
Co-Exclusive Fieldston Historic District
Spacious 7-Bd. Center Hall Colonial on Delafield Avenue
Listing ID 849 in Houses
This 7-bedroom, 5.5-bath, Colonial Revival-style house sits on a double lot of almost a third of an acre with a front lawn and side garden. Located at 4671 Delafield Avenue, it was built in the 1920s and designed by Fieldston's preeminent architect Dwight James Baum.
Features include: a center hall; living room with wood-burning fireplace; formal dining room with French doors to flagstone wraparound roof deck; kitchen with granite countertops and stainless-steel appliances by Sub-Zero, Bosch, Miele and Liebherr; large walk-through butler's pantry; breakfast room; heated south-facing sunroom; master bedroom suite with walk-through wardrobe room; full unfinished walk-out basement; private driveway; attached 2-car garage; 0.31-acre double lot in landmark district.
Conveniently located for well-known private schools (Horace Mann, Fieldston, Riverdale Country School and SAR Academy) and transportation to Manhattan (including express buses).


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Doc was in attendance when Phish debuted "Terrapin Station" under a full moon in Virginia Beach on 8/9/1998, the third anniversary of Jerry Garcia's death.
Terrapin Station – Phish – 8/9/1998 – Virginia Beach
The crowd's reaction to the first signature guitar lick created crackling energy, which is palpable on quality recordings. Though Phish hasn't revisited it since, Trey and Page played an extended "Terrapin" in their Phil Lesh & Friends engagement in April 1999, and Trey joined Phil again for a lovely Terrapin on 6/30/06 in Camden, NJ.


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This week's selection is the Gemini Chaise Lounge, by 3D designer Neri Oxman.
Oxman has teamed with Stratasys to leverage their incredible new color capabilities in their Connex3 technology to produce this amazing, full-size work. It's a two-part structure, with a sweeping solid wood shell forming the basic shape of the chair, with an intricately designed, 3D printed "cocoon" upon which the occupant rests. (Click images for larger view.)
Stratasys' new Connex3 tech permits printing of not only multicolored objects, but also ones including various degrees of flexibility. This is, of course, ideal for a chair. You want soft parts.
Oxman says:
The twin chaise spans multiple scales of the human existence extending from the warmth of the womb to the stretches of the Gemini zodiac in deep space. It recapitulates a human cosmos, our body, like the constellation, drifting in quiet space. Here the duality of nature is expressed through the combination of traditional materials and state of the art 3D printing. Stratasys new multi- material color 3D printing capability has allowed me to create a rich dialog between sound and light, rigid and flexible, natural and man-made materials and high and low spatial frequencies in ways that were impossible until now.
The chaise lounge uses almost the full range of Connex3 materials, with 44 different combinations involved, including not only colors, but transparent and flexible materials.
Stratasys has been focusing on a number of artists and designers to showcase the new technology, which to be honest, requires some skills to master when producing new forms of 3D prints. The Gemini Chaise Lounge certainly demonstrates the new capabilities.
And it looks pretty comfortable, too. Neri seems to think so, don't you think?
Via Stratasys


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Tag: short
The Face
Barking. Incessant barking. My wife's chihuahua is so close to being physically thrown out the back door.
This room is black. The darkness in here is so complete. I raise my hand in front of my face only to find no indication of something breaking the space immediately in front of me. It's only black in here. I must have enabled the sleep timer on the television before I got too tired to set it. Usually when I fall asleep in front of the television, I forget to set the timer and my wife lets me know about it.
My Weekend
I'm a huge fan of animated GIF pictures and I get a kick out of humorous blog posts that reference them, like the following three;
In honor of my upcoming weekend in Vegas with some good friends, I've made my own.
I'm Still Here, I promise.
Things have gotten busy lately. Not in a bad way, mind you. I've started taking courses on Coursera, which is a fantastic site if you've never seen it before. I continue to tinker around with one particular story that I haven't made public yet. I'm actually trying to get it publish-worthy before submitting to a local short story contest (first price is $250!). I am in now way attempting to delude myself into thinking I could win first prize (or even second or third, ha!), but a deadline may be the impetus I need to complete this particular story. Once it's been submitted and I'm "allowed" to make it public, it will be right here on this blog.
I've had a few people ask about my Rider story. It's far from done, that's for sure. I've started it out and now I'm rethinking the format of the story. I would like to, if at all possible, make IT into something publish-worthy as well. I have an overall story arc to it that I'm very excited about but need to sit down and sink some more time into it. If you're interested, I wrote up The IT Guy a few years back. That's up to eighteen chapters and might keep you busy for a bit.
Well, this is a bit of a "meta" blog posting, but I didn't want my last post up here to be on depression. 🙂 Yes, I wrote it to get some things off my chest but this blog isn't all about sadness. It's about writing! Whether it's humorous or a bit deeper, I'll keep on keeping on.
Thanks for stopping by.
Dear Ash, It's Your Mother
Dearest Ashley,
I'm penning this note to address a couple of items that your father and I have been discussing the past couple of days in preparation for this weekend's family reunion.
Pima Writer's Forum – Tucson
So earlier this month I signed up for a membership on MeetUp.com to see about maybe connecting with other writers in the area. Tonight was the first meeting I attended and I really enjoyed the hour I spent with these folks. We turned a twenty-minute writing exercise into about forty-five minutes of writing and ended up banging out some pretty good stuff. I had to leave early so unsure how much everybody else got done, but I rambled on about two different subjects (which I'll "transpose" below from my handwritten stuff). Continue reading Pima Writer's Forum – Tucson
Tough Mudder Number Two
So, I'll be running at the Tough Mudder tomorrow. Last year I came back with two injuries. Nothing that kept me from functioning normally, but a tad bit painful. The ball of my left foot was bruised from running over tough concrete chunks in my original pair of Vibrams. I strained a tendon in my left arm and actually thought it may be broken. Luckily, the arm wasn't broken (and it actually was the impetus for me to start getting yearly physicals) and my foot was just tender for a bit.
This year's goals are as follows;
#1 – Finish every obstacle (same as last year's goal, although "Mount Everest" took me a dozen attempts before I finally got it)
#2 – No injuries.
Pretty simple and to the point. Hope to see you there, even if we'll both be covered in mud!
UPDATE – Found a cool cam-video from last year's Arizona TM.


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Spring in the garden
We haven't had a garden update in a long while. Guess why? From about November to March I was growing mostly weeds. Perfect example of things that don't get done in my life! But I feel pretty good this year considering most of the time I'm barely planting by the middle of May. And this year I'm already harvesting. Mostly lettuce, but you know, it's something.
This is the first time I've actually grown heads of lettuce. It's so fantastic! The freckles up there are huge, just like in glossy photos of local food propaganda. And I swear I only planted them 2 weeks ago. The problem is that I now have like 10 heads of lettuce that are ready to eat, like now. We eat a lot of salad, but srsly. Not that much.
Also coming in nicely: herbs, wild arugula, berries, kale, peas, 4 kinds of chiles/peppers, summer squash, winter dumpling squash, cucumbers, beans, baby lima beans (on recommendation from Ms. Goin, natch!), grapes, umm. What else? I decided not to plant tomatoes this year. They're never as good as those from the farmer's market so I figure why compete with experts, you know?
And I'm desperately trying to grow okra but it's having a rough time getting past the seedling stage. I'm out there every morning wiping aphids off the new growth with my bare fingers. Any suggestions? Home grown okra sounds so summery. And I want to pickle it.
Who else has been busy in the dirt? I want to see other people's gardens.


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Care Choices Inc Bridgewater NS phone 902 527 1622 Toll Free Phone 877 683 7451 Fax 902 527 2755
Care Choices Inc. through its professional staff, will provide in-home support and specialty services designed to meet the needs, goals and expectations of each client and his/her family.
CCI will offer in-home convalescent and caregiver relief services to clients in Lunenburg County and the surrounding areas
from four to twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Care Choices Inc. will provide these services
Straight from the Heart
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Office Hours: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:00pm
Phone: (902) 527-1622 Fax: (902) 527-2355
|What We Do
|Helpful Links


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MIN 11, DET 4: Bats Bust Out, Bullpen Shuts Out Detroit
Odorizzi: 27 Game Score, 3.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 3 K, 54.7% strikes (41 of 75 pitches)
Home Runs: Field 2 (9), Austin (17)
Multi-Hit Games: Astudillo (3-for-5), Polanco (2-for-4, 3B, BB), Grossman (2-for-4, 2B, BB), Field (2-for-4, 2 HR), Gimenez (2-for-4)
WPA of 0.1 or higher: Duffey .212, Field .200, Austin .163, Grossman .152
WPA of -0.1 or lower: Odorizzi -.320
This was Odorizzi's shortest start since June 23 and just the second time all season he failed to at least record an out in the fourth inning. Things got off on the wrong foot right out of the gate, as Odorizzi walked the leadoff man on four pitches then nearly gave up an inside-the-park home run to Christian Stewart. Jorge Polanco made a nice relay throw to nail him at the plate.
Odorizzi will end the year with a 4.49 ERA, the worst he's posted over a full season in his career, but he also recorded 162 strikeouts in 164 1/3 innings pitched. That 8.9 K/9 is his highest rate since his rookie year back in 2014.
Odorizzi gives the Twins three pitchers with 160 punchouts this season, joining Jose Berrios and Kyle Gibson. Coming into tonight, the only three Twins pitchers who've reached that mark since Target Field opened are Ervin Santana (2017), Phil Hughes (2014) and Francisco Liriano (2010).
The last time the Twins had multiple pitchers reach 160 strikeouts was 1987 (Frank Viola and Bert Blyleven). To find the last time they had at least three pitchers reach that mark was in 1967 when they had four guys accomplish the feat (Dean Chance, Jim Kaat, Dave Boswell and Jim Merritt).
As soon as Odorizzi exited, this game turned around. The bullpen held down Detroit, and in the meantime, the Twins' bats heated up. Tyler Duffey earned the win, pitching two no-hit innings. Andrew Vasquez turned in a perfect inning of his own in the sixth and Addison Reed pitched a scoreless seventh before John Curtiss and Matt Belisle each turned in a perfect inning to finish things off.
Tyler Austin hit a two-run home run in the first inning. Johnny Field hit a solo blast in the second and added a two-run homer in the fourth. Jorge Polanco capped the five-run fifth inning with a bases-clearing triple.
Next Three Games
Thu vs. DET, 7:10 pm CT: TBD vs. Francisco Liriano
Fri vs. CHW, 1:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Reynaldo Lopez
Fri vs. CHW, 7:10 pm CT: Chase De Jong vs. Lucas Giolito
Last Three Games
DET 4, MIN 2: Mauer Reaches Milestone, Hildenberger Flops
MIN 5, OAK 1: Gibby's Arm, Cave's Bat and Adrianza's Glove Lift Twins to Victory
OAK 3, MIN 2: Willians Astudillo Collects Three More Hits
- Blake and nclahammer like this


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Thanks to the aquatic Moon River remix, Prozac River, from AnA kAnine ( myspace.com/anakanine ) and drawing of Maud Lemaître, i'll took you off toward my childhood playground. A forest and river full of myteries and fairies.
It's not required to be a good swimmer to explore it.
Music: AnA kAnine
Drawing: Maud Lemaître
Editing: Lico


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Click here to see an update on the McDonald's Verified Sustainable Beef project, verified by Where Food Comes From, and how it fits into their overall mission towards sustainability.
Our President, Leann Saunders, was recently interviewed live during the Superior Sunrise show on RFD-TV. You can watch that discussion on value-added programs in the cattle market here:
Check out this great video on Where Food Comes From, the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation, and the collaborative Where Food Comes From School Garden.
Talk about a surprise! We were thrilled to see Leann's name pop up in numerous media outlets over the month of November as she transitioned out of her tenure as Chair of the US Meat Export Federation for 2015. Our team has always known we had a special leader in her, and it is fun for us when she gets the recognition she deserves from the rest of the industry.
It just so happens that two of the articles and interviews were featured in Drovers. Check them out below:
Cows, milk, tasty yogurt, a beautiful Kansas day and a fascinated group of bloggers are what made up our trip to McCarty Farms in Kansas on Thursday. The McCarty's are a family rooted in agriculture. They have been producing milk for generations – first in Pennsylvania, and now at four progressive diaries located within 80 miles of one another in the heart of rural Kansas. On this particular day we were at their Rexford location and had the chance to tag along with a group of food bloggers hosted by the Kansas Farm Bureau. Just one of many stops on the #farmfoodtour, the McCarty's rolled out the red carpet and showed these ladies all facets of their business. We saw fat and happy cows, brand-new-still-wet calves, their processing facility for transforming raw milk into a condensed product sold to Dannon yogurt, and, of course, the actual milking in action. It was a great tour on a beautiful farm and a perfect example of how learning and seeing where your food comes from can transform your vision of agriculture and food production. Our hats are off to the entire McCarty family!
As you can imagine, telling the story of where food comes from takes us to to some pretty amazing places. Last week, Jim and Gordon were auditing up in Alberta and we had to share this shot of them in front of Horseshoe Canyon. Beautiful!
There were pumpkins galore at CALF's Harvest Day this year! Check out these fun photos we snagged during the event on Saturday. Moms, dads and kids alike were having a great time!
What an amazing night! 9 members of our local Where Food Comes From, Inc. team here in Castle Rock, Colorado were able to participate in a wonderful farm to table dinner honoring our friends at the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Foundation (CALF) last night. The food was to die for, the company was tremendous, and all in all we helped raise $7,000 for the organization. Amazing!
Chefs from Manna, The Old Stone Church and Plum Creek Golf Course prepared an amazing four course meal, and the final course of the night featured some incredible Shepherd's Pride Lamb from Mountain States Rosen! All in all, it was a huge success.
To learn more about CALF and their amazing efforts, visit http://www.thecalf.org.
Natural Products Expo East is really a site to behold. Thousands of vendors, tens of thousands of attendees, and food, food, food everywhere! The Where Food Comes From team has been attending both Expo East and Expo West now for a few years, and we decided to step it up a bit this year at Expo East in Baltimore with an invitational reception that is going to be hard to top in 2016.
Our happy hour event was held at the Pratt Street Ale House (thank you to their AMAZING crew!) and featured numerous third-party verified foods cooked to perfection. Small plates and signature cocktails included:
Chicken Satay featuring Miller Poultry chicken, verified by Where Food Comes From to Global Animal Partnership's (GAP's) 5-Step Animal Welfare program, USDA Certified Organic, the Non-GMO Project Verified standard, and the Where Food Comes From Source Verified® claim.
Beef & Bacon Sliders featuring Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, verified by Where Food Comes From to the Non-GMO Project Verified standard, and American Homestead Pork, verified by Where Food Comes From to the Non-GMO Project Verified standard;
a cheese & meat plate featuring Trickling Springs cheeses, verified by Where Food Comes From to the Non-GMO Project Verified standard, and Grayson Natural Foods beef sticks, verified by Where Food Comes From to GAP's 5-Step Animal Welfare program;
a variety of herbs and vegetables certified to the National Organic Program; and
signature cocktails featuring organic spirits, Marquis mixers, verified by Where Food Comes From to the National Organic Program and the Non-GMO Project Verified standard, and organic lemons and limes for garnish.
Hungry yet?! The entire night was a huge success, and we look forward to replicating this at future Expos.
Feed Verified. Did you read about it? If not, check out our latest program here.
We are excited about this new program and how it will help livestock producers ensure they are meeting complex verification and certification program requirements for feedstuffs. Learn more about how Alltech is leading the way in verified feeds in their recent blog post.