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subset: commoncrawl


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Cheating on rise in Matric/SSC exams; section 144 imposed
KARACHI: (April 18, 2011): Annual examination 2011 of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Part-I and II, (Science and General Group) began today amid complains of non-issuance of admit cards and cheating at examination centers, Geo News reported.
Meanwhile, several reports of cheating and copying have reached here despite imposition of Section-144 in and around examination centers.
Though SSC exams are on news for some days even then authorities concerned did not bother to transport question papers to examination centers on time, student complained.
In Karachi, more than 300,000 students are appearing in 9th and 10th class exams being conducted under Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK).
Over 225 examination centers have been set up for conducting exams.
Earlier, students who have not received admit cards assembled outside the office of Board of Secondary Education Karachi (BSEK).
Chairman BSEK Prof. Anwar Ahmed Zai said that the board had already completed all arrangement for conducting the matriculation exam. He said the students who have failed to submit their examination forms due to any reason could appear in supplementary exam, adding such a decision has taken by Sindh Governor Dr. Ishratul Ibad Khan.
Chairman said that the candidates could not enter any examination centre without showing valid admit card. He said more than 311000 male and female candidates will appear in the annual examination-2011 of BSEK, to be held in 225 examination centres established in different private and government's schools of the city.
He said that the SSC part-I exam would be held from 09:30 am to 12:30 pm, while SSC part-II be held from 02:30 pm to 05:30 pm as per schedule.
In case, a student changes his or her examination centre without permission of BSEK, then action would be taken against the concerned centre superintendent and officers as per law, Prof. Zai said.


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Guidelines for Participation/Online Registration in IET '18
Step 1: Registration must be done through Online by Individual or a Group (Max.3) of Students for each team.
Step 2: Successfully registration will have dashboard for further updates.
Step 3: Abstract must be submit through online before last day.
Step 4: Shortlisted abstract call for the papers to submit.
Step 5: The paper has to submit online before last date.
Step 6: The selected papers result will be intimated via sms or email to the registered no./email id (Finalist).
Step 7: Finalist will receive hall ticket to present the presentation.
Step 8: The registered participants(Finalist) must attend the competation at their respective venue mentioned in the hall ticket.
By clicking on "Register now" button, you will be redirected to the MeraEvents.com registration page.


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Fabulous Buys in Campaign 8:
- Avon Signature Collection of Fashion and Accessories
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Hi. I'm Jodi Abel, a self-taught chef, who diligently honed my cooking skills through dedicated practice and expanded my culinary knowledge through private cooking classes around the world.
LaJollaCooks4U is the culmination of my passion for gourmet food and teaching. The idea for LaJollaCooks4U was conceived after I experienced my first cooking class in the home of another self-taught chef in Umbria, Italy.
LaJollaCooks4U opened its doors in 2008, since then I've has been imparting my knowledge (and love) of cooking gourmet food to couples, Fortune 500 companies and groups from all over the globe in her La Jolla mountaintop home.
I specialize in California cuisine and can expertly customizes each group's menu to fit your personal preferences, while also suggesting new dishes to expand your taste for gourmet cuisine. I like utilizing what is fresh and in season and strictly uses locally grown produce. The majority of the herbs, vegetables and other ingredients used in LaJollaCooks4U's classes are harvested from my own organic garden.
LaJollaCooks4U is rated on TripAdvisor as a top-rated attraction in La Jolla, California, and lists over 216 excellent reviews. I've has also received recognition from multiple food editors and tourism companies for being the ideal foodie destination.
I keep abreast of the global food scene by learning from other chefs around the world. So far, I've explored the gourmet cuisine of Spain, France, South Africa, Italy, Amsterdam and Mexico and I am always looking forward to my next cooking destination. In November 2015, I published my first cookbook, Lajollacooks4u: California Cuisine.


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By Cheryl Conklin
This article first appeared in The Colorado Gardener. Daintily edited and with a few additions, I post it here.
Some like it hot. Some would rather endure the dentist's drill than a heat-wave. At least the dentist's office is air conditioned, right?
Wherever you fall on the heat-loving spectrum, high temperatures are a force to be reckoned with. Colorado's heat is usually delivered without humidity, reducing discomfort for most of us. Even so, our personal humidity is rapidly wicked away, increasing our risk of dehydration, especially when working up a sweat in the garden.
Dehydration isn't our only risk. It's possible to experience heat exhaustion or even heat stroke.
Heat exhaustion comes about as blood goes out to our skin, away from our brains, muscles and other organs, interfering with physical strength and mental capacity. Everyone is at risk of heat exhaustion, and the risk increases for those taking antihistamines, chronic alcoholics, the very old and very young, the obese, and those with compromised immune systems.
Symptoms of heat exhaustion are many. Not everyone will experience the same ones. In broiling weather, be on the lookout for fatigue, nausea, headaches, excessive thirst, muscle aches and/or cramps, weakness, confusion, anxiety, drenching sweats with cold/clammy skin, slowed or weakened heartbeat, dizziness, fainting, and agitation.
Heat stroke, which is quite serious, can occur without prior heat exhaustion symptoms. You or a companion might experience nausea and vomiting; skin that is flushed, hot, and dry; rapid heart rate; decreased sweating and/or urination; shortness of breath; confusion, delirium, or loss of consciousness; and/or convulsions.
Fortunately, there are beaucoups strategies for avoiding these serious and frightening symptoms.
Tops: When possible, avoid the heat. Work outside in the early morning or with a headlamp after the sun has found a mountain to hide behind.
If the only time in your schedule for gardening falls between 9 and blistering 6, there is still a lot you can do.
Let's start with clothing. Yes, wear some. Keeping the sun from directly hitting your skin is a good idea. Choose styles that are loose fitting and open at the neck. Even long sleeves and pants aren't a bad idea. Find fabrics made of natural fibers, like cotton and linen, that are both lightweight and breathable. Forget black, no matter how slim you think it makes you look. Pick out lighter colors.
Wear a hat. Something broadly brimmed that shades your neck, ears, and face. Never fail.
You say you need to show skin? Then slather on sunscreen. There are controversies about the stuff, so go as natural as you can. Any way you can manage to keep your skin from burning has at least some merit, and will keep you feeling cooler.
Now, how about something to drink? The best thing, you might guess, is pure, cool water. Plenty of it. Drink it preventively. By the time you actually feel thirsty, you may already be verging on dehydration. Think you're hungry? Drink first. Thirst can be mistaken as hunger. If you're like W.C. Fields and won't drink water because of what fish do in it, or you just need a little something different, try cooled herbal teas, salty lemonade, or lime squeezed into coconut water. Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and overly sugared slurps… at least until later, when you're celebrating how good you were to yourself outside in the heat.
So, now, you're properly dressed and gulping down the good stuff, but you'd like some more relief. You can have some real fun with this. Run through the sprinkler. Hand someone a hose and tell them to take their best shot. Or, if one is handy, jump in a pool. Getting thoroughly wet can actually bring down your core temperature a bit and keep you cool for quite a while, especially while your clothes dry.
More demure choices: Carry a spray bottle and mist yourself. Pre-chilled wraps or wet bandanas on your neck or in your hat can help. What you want to do is target your pulse-points: your wrists, neck, temples, and the backs of your knees, and cool them with either evaporation or cold gel-packs.
Should you find yourself beat by the heat anyway, there's no shame in retreating. Knock off early, and go to the movies.
Cooling off at home can be quite delicious. Take a tepid shower or soak in an equally tepid tub and lace the water with baking soda. After lightly toweling off and forgetting the blow-drier, pull on a breezy outfit. Head for a cool spot with comfy furniture. Put your feet up to improve circulation. Turn on a fan – unless there's a nice-looking and scantily clad someone to billow ostrich feathers over you. Down a lovely tumbler of some non-alcoholic beverage. Take a spoon to a big chunk of watermelon. Or crunch through a cucumber. When you're done with your treat, put a cool washcloth over your eyes, and listen to some great music. There's a reason it's called "chilling".
After an hour, if you're still wiped out, seeking medical advice isn't out of the question.
If you're feeling refreshed and don't want to kill the chill by cooking, here's a delicious cold soup recipe.
Visualize Whirled Peas
- 2 C fresh peas (1 pkg frozen, mostly thawed)
- 1/2 C (loosely filled) chives
- 1 C robust greens (arugula, mustard, etc)
- a few leaflets each parsley, lovage, basil, &/or mint
- 1 C yogurt
- 2 C chilled veg broth
Place all ingredients in a blender and whirl til creamy. Then place in fridge to gaurantee chill.
Before serving, salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with something colorful — thin slices of red or yellow bell pepper, chopped radish, carrot curls, paprika…
Makes 2 meal-sized or 4 side servings.


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Also, I'm over at Lisa Voisin's Blog today talking about cliches. Lisa has asked a bunch of YA writers the following questions:
Q: What are some clichés in YA fiction?
Q: Are any cliche's acceptable? If so, how?
Q: How do you avoid clichés in your writing?
Q: What do you look for when you're editing to get rid of clichés?
So go on over and see what these YA authors have to say!


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Corsair Carbide 200R Case Review: How Low Can You Goby Dustin Sklavos on December 15, 2012 12:01 AM EST
- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
- Corsair
- mid-tower
Conclusion: But Why the Drive Cage?
I feel like Corsair has ultimately acquitted themselves fairly well with this, their least expensive enclosure. I get nervous whenever a manufacturer relatively well known for producing quality hardware decides to chase the bottom dollar; we saw what that approach did when Lenovo took over the ThinkPad brand. The Carbide 200R is a solid budget option that mostly offers good value at the $49 price point it's hitting in retail, but I really don't want to see, say, a 100R anytime soon.
We'll start with what Corsair got right. Their aesthetic continues to be top notch, and the interior design of the Carbide 200R has a lot of the things I've come to expect and appreciate from Corsair. The dedicated cabling channel surrounding the motherboard tray may not have worked miracles in my admittedly lackluster assembly, but it's one of their best and smartest innovations, making efficient use of the interior space available and allowing them to get the case just a little bit smaller. I want to see more designers employ that channel as well as integrating the motherboard alignment post. It looks like having the closed front of the case and moving the intakes to the sides helps mask some of the noise as well, and the cooling performance, at least on the CPU, is excellent.
Unfortunately things start to fall apart when we get to the drive cage. I hate to nitpick on a single issue like this, but the pursuit of a toolless design has resulted in what could conceivably become a serious hot spot. We're talking about an SSD reaching temperatures of close to 40C in a mid tower; that's within spec, but what happens when you start adding more drives? The cage traps heat, is staggeringly difficult to use, and is even actually a little fragile.
If you're just planning on putting a single drive in and calling it a day, the Corsair Carbide 200R potentially has a lot to offer a frugal user. While Corsair's next case up, the 300R, is notably louder than the 200R, it also offers substantially better performance and doesn't have a glaring weakness (outside of noise) like the 200R's design does. Users in an extreme pinch would probably be well served by the 200R, but I think I'd still recommend tracking down a BitFenix Merc Alpha or Merc Beta instead. Those enclosures are cheaper still, but offer more well rounded performance.
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Grok42 - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkI like to see good clean looking case designs like this at a low price point. Given the price I would expect some compromises and honestly it could have been a lot worse. I think the industry needs more experimentation with how internal drives are mounted so I applaud any effort even failures. Hopefully they will come back with something better next time around. Maybe next time they will save some money by killing the external bays and putting the resources into the internal bays. Reply
versesuvius - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkThe only time one needs a tool for a case is the hard drive and other storage parts. The problem is not that people do not know how to use a screw driver, but that it has screws on the two sides of the case. As it is right now, you have to go through more trouble with the toolless case than you have with traditional ones. The answer lies not with the case manufacturers, but with internal storage manufacturers. It is very ease to design a hard disk casing so that it needs screws only on one side, and not two. Yet after maybe 30 years of hard disks, the casing has not changed a bit. Even the SSD casing design has adopted the same philosophy. As far as backward compatibility goes, the casing can be designed to accommodate old cases as well. Anyway, I agree with the article about the drive cage. It is a stupid decision in all cases to begin with and it is stupid here too. After all, how many drives one changes during the lifetime of a PC? Two? As long as the case has to be opened that amounts to 10 during the lifetime of a case, while the extra accumulated heat is there all the time. Reply
arthur449 - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - link"How many drives one changes during the lifetime of a PC?"
I have a Coolermaster ATCS-200 case I bought in 2000 still kicking around the house. While it only has 80mm fans, it remains a very attractive and functional case for 'that random frankenputer' one generally has after a few years of building their own PCs.
How many times have I changed the drives in that case? More times than I can remember. Some of them due to drive failures, some due to SSD / SAS experimentation, and many times for just cramming old drives in there and doing some bare metal testing of the latest silly OS that trickles down the MS TechNet vine.
A good case will survive multiple generations of hardware, and (since its target audience is already building their own computers) will more than likely put up with many drive swaps as it's handed down to friends, relatives, or simply demoted to closet server duty. Reply
Lonyo - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkI still have my ACTS 200 or 201, and the next gen replacement case for it, but neither are in proper use.
The motherboard tray from one is in use for a makeshift computer elsewhere where I can't use the full case.
The drive cages in both are hideous though, compared to modern cases. We have come a long way from the old days. Reply
piroroadkill - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkI won't buy a case with an open top.
Too much chance something will spill in it, or dust will settle on my gear.
Copy Lian-Li and Fractal Design - give us a simple option to use the holes or not. Reply
Blibbax - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkThat'd add cost. It could sold as an accessory though - I too avoid open top or even open side cases. Reply
Tech-Curious - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkToss some sound dampening material over the fan mounts you don't intend to use; it works like a charm. The only problem, in my experience, is that the adhesive on sound dampening material is so strong that your decision is basically permanent.
It's funny, I bought a box of sound dampening material, just for kicks, like seven years ago and I never used it as it was (presumably) intended to be used -- but I've used bits and pieces to great effect. And I still have some left.
Cut out four tiny little strips of the stuff and place it on the borders of your fan mounts, and vibration basically disappears. That silly-sounding trick single-handedly resurrected two positively ancient (circa 2002) jet-engine-sounding cases (6+ 80mm fan mounts each) that were sitting in my basement, collecting dust. Reply
Tech-Curious - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkThat said, I agree that the proliferation of computer cases featuring fan mounts in every available space is somewhat annoying -- especially given that those cases typically only come with 2 fans out of the box.
Likewise, I'd love to see more cases with the old fashioned top-mounted PSU design. I understand the benefits of the alternative, but even with a filter, a bottom-mounted PSU is less than ideal on my carpeted floor. Reply
Blibbax - Saturday, December 15, 2012 - linkAgreed on all accounts. Reply
TekDemon - Sunday, December 30, 2012 - linkI think it's actually great since it's the cheapest case that appears to support the H100 cooler, which was the main reason I bought my Carbide 400R (which I love-it's an awesome case). I wouldn't have been able to use this case though since I have a super long pci-e card. Reply


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A letter from Martin Stanley, Head of Macquarie Asset Management.
Goethals Bridge Replacement Project.
Who we are
Our portfolio
MIRA has been recognised as a sector leader in the 2019 GRESB assessment results for the second year running, reflecting our commitment to the sustainable development of our assets and the communities in which they operate.
Our capabilities
Our people
All information current as at 31 March 2019, unless otherwise stated.
The Our portfolio map represents portfolio businesses which Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets manages on behalf of investors with various direct percentage stakes held in each. List of countries is representative and not exhaustive. In some instances they represent the operations of a single business where it has operations across different countries.


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It happens all too often – we are forced to seek storage for the items we need close at hand in far away places. No, I'm not referring to Cinderella's Castle, Hook's Ship or the Dwarf's Cottage in the woods, I am referring to the saddlebags, roll bags or even the back pack we must place out belongings in. There is a simple solution from the team at K and G Cycles (www.kandgcycles.com), a Windshield Pouch. There are many designs available depending on the bike you ride.
The most common is the curved 3 pouch bag that fits mainly motorcycles with fairings. Designed to follow the curve of the dash, these bags offer a decent amount of storage in a center bag, as well as 2 outer bags that are usually curved. The center bag delivers the most amount of space and can handle such items as Digital Cameras, cell phones, sunglasses and more. The outer pockets will handle less because they are actually smaller. A less used item or less important item can be stowed in these. Regardless of what you stow where, you now have an storage withing your reach.
For those of you that have a full windshield instead of a fairing, there are options for you too. There are 3 pouch bags in addition to the single pouch bag. Sure they only have to follow the outward curve of the windshield rather than that of the dash, but they are still every bit of the work horse as their prettier cousins. One distinct advantage of the single pouch unit is its cavernous interior lets you put almost anything in there. Small Dog, Handgun, Bigger nicer Camera, or even a Turkey Leg.
I have never had a motorcycle without a complete windshield as opposed to a fairing so I cannot weigh in 100% on the single big pouch. I have sold more of them than I can count on my fingers, toes, ears and nose times 10. I can however tell you on my curved 3 pouch model, I use an outer pouch for my garage door opener, the other outer pouch for a travel size first aid kit and sunscreen. The center pouch holds my registration, my phone, insurance card, and my disc lock. Oh yeah and a small old digital camera for those moments you just have to capture.
When you run out of places to stash the things you need near by, it is time to consider a windshield bag from K and G Cycles (www.kandgcycles.com). It doesn't matter what bike you ride or the style you want, we've got you covered. Plain, Studded, Fringed and more, we can help you keep the important stuff within reach and keep the good looks of your bike flowing throughout.


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More legal hurdles still stand in its way, but Cape Wind, the massive wind power project planned for Nantucket Sound, scored a win today when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the developer's power purchase agreement (PPA) with National Grid.
Cape Wind and National Grid came to terms in May 2010 on a deal that would send half of the 130-turbine project's power output to the big Northeast electricity provider. The state's Department of Public Utilities (DPU) approved the PPA in November 2010, saying that the above-market rates that would result were justified because the project would help to meet state renewable energy and greenhouse gas requirements. A wide range of opponents challenged the approval.
As Cape Wind pointed out today in a celebratory press release, the state high court pointedly agreed with the DPU's reasoning. "In sum," the court wrote, "our review of the record indicates that there was clearly sufficient evidence of which the department could base its conclusion that the special benefits of PPA-1 exceeded those of other renewable energy resources, and we uphold the department's conclusion that approval of the contract was in the public interest."
Cape Wind called the court's decision "a major legal victory," but the project faces still more challenges. Among them: This fall, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned the Federal Aviation Administration's finding that the project posed no hazard to aviation, forcing the agency to conduct a new review of the matter.


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My best Christmas ever!
After a hiatus of 16 months, I'm back with some more travel stories.
In this post I'm going to narrate my favourite Christmas. It all started on December 23rd 1989, in Ireland. We (my BFF, Sara E. Baxter & I), started hitchhiking from Dublin to Doolin, a quiet (back then) fishing village on the West Coast of county Clare. It was in Lahinch (I think) that we stopped in a pub, for God-knows-what (maybe just a quick break), that a group of twenty-somethings lads asked us to have a pint in celebration of someone's bachelor party. We had a couple of pints, before we knew it, it was almost dark.
It turned out to be impossible to have a lift in the dark on backroads. Thankfully, a woman gave us a short lift, we walked the rest. In the dark, on back roads, no lights, not sure if we were going the right way, trying to avoid puddles (no snow in Ireland but it rains a lot.).
We arrived at our chosen youth hostel in Doolin, hours later, completely exhausted, hungry & wet. There, there was 3 British men who immediately told us to take our boots off & warm up by the turf fire. Bliss.
It turns out that the 3 British men were into "caving". ( exploring caves) and we here to explore Pol An Ionáin !(Now totally touristy! Check it out! http://www.doolincave.ie/) They invited us to join them for a visit. As there was 3 of us (also a German guy who wanted to come.), we went in 2 groups of 3. (They had only 3 wetsuits.) It was surreal! There we were, on the side of the road, changing into our wetsuits in front of cows. We had to crawl on our belly in a few inches of freezing water, sometimes doing things Indiana Jones-esque) and inch our way to a big cave , where we saw the biggest stalactite in the Northern Hemisphere! There was a huge mud pool were we spent a while having a mud fight. So much fun, throwing handful of mud in the other two's face! Before we inched our back back, (the same way we came in), we had to have a freezing cold "shower" to remove some of the mud in our hair, in a small fall inside.
When we finally came back, all 9 of us backpackers (Brits, Canadians, Northern Irish, & German) shared a communal huge Christmas dinner and the friendly owner (Carmel) even brought us some food!
We then sat by the turf fire, sharing some warm mulled wine (from the German), Guinness & whiskey, sang some songs and played music.
The next morning, Sara & I were totally aching but happy!
The hostel was The Rainbow Hostel , I'm happy to report that it's still going to this day, is totally worth it! Here's the link http://rainbowhostel.net/. Over the years, I've been to 3 different Doolin hostel is this by far, THE best & friendliest!
My BFF, Sara E. Baxter, is a great writer & editor. Check out her website. http://www.saraebaxter.com/
The photo above is of the Doolin coast, taken on a frigid January 2000.


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Learning opportunities
Pamoja Taught courses give you the opportunity to study IB Diploma, IB CP, Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS/A Level subjects that your school does not offer, by taking them online.
Why study online?
Do you want to get a head start for university while taking a subject that you're passionate about? Extend your learning beyond the classroom by studying online with Pamoja.
Pamoja Taught courses provide practical experience of digital technologies that promote self-direction, critical thinking and creativity; skills that are highly desired by universities and employers around the world.
How does it work?
You join a classroom of up to 35 students from all around the world, and are given access to the course content through an online learning platform. The content is broken down into weekly lessons: each week, objectives will be introduced to help you stay on track.
The course is mostly taught asynchronously using the materials and resources already available on the learning platform. You also have the opportunity to regularly interact with your teacher and join discussions with classmates.
Our courses
We currently offer various subjects, available to all students who study the IB Diploma, IB CP, Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge International AS/A Level.
Meet María
María took Mathematics HL online with Pamoja as part of her IB Diploma Programme. She studied Engineering at Cambridge University and now works as a Mechanical Engineer. We recently caught up and listened to her reflect on her Pamoja experience.
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My name is Isabella Quill Everstz Muehlinghaus, and I am a 16 year old aspiring writer, born and raised in Oakland, California, USA. I am the youngest of three siblings and a mother of two cats, two dogs, and two birds. In my free time I enjoy reading, writing short romance stories, and practicing self care.
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My name is Aras, and I was born and raised in Ankara, Turkey. I go to TED Ankara College, and started the IBDP this September. Dreaming of becoming a psychologist in the future, I'm taking Psychology SL on Pamoja to contribute to my future studies and gain an online-learning experience.
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My name is Ella Tattari, and I am 17 years old. I currently live in Jyväskylä, Central Finland, and study in an IB class at a local upper-secondary school. In addition to my classes at my school, I am taking a Mandarin ab initio online course here at Pamoja.
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I'm still wondering about what to make for pimpthatsnack.com as it's been something I've been wanting to do for agggggggges. Trouble is, most things have been done and in a spectacular fashion. Bearing in mind I'll probably do my exams and it will be forgotten as I get my life back again - kind of like wanting to learn to "crank" ala Soulja Boy whilst I was on sabbatical.
It does seem wrong to write what should be a food blog without pictures - so here's a picture of some chinese egg tarts I made a long time ago. Only they're not really chinese - I cheated and used puff pastry and since I don't like to waste the trimmings, there are some in there that look like they've been through a nuclear fall-out as my friend put it. There is a chinese recipe for puff pastry which does the folding marlarky but instead of layer of butter, it's actually TWO types of pastry folded, one water-based and one oil-based. Unfortunately the oil is lard, although you can do it with vegetable shortening, and the lard made me queasy when I was mixing it in by hand. Rather than go through all that effort again I think I'll stick to my frozen puff which I love anyway, but in you're in ChinaTown and you get some warm egg tarts, you'll notice the difference.
The oddly addictive thing about blogs is, and you do find this going onto other sites, is that the photos are key. People ask each other what camera they use. And I am, er, using the one that comes on my mobile! So very tempted to get a DSLR and you can get them for around £250 which is probably a touch more than what I paid for, for my regular digital camera - HOWEVER when will I use a DSLR?? Other than in the house photographing food? It's heavy, you look like a geek wandering around with it (and yes Chinese people worship cameras and so there are a lot of GEEK geeks out there). Something to think about because, well it's money and I should really care since I've hit a materialistic phase lately and want things like Gucci watches when I'm seriously a Primark, M&S, and H&M type shopper.
I'll pretend to study some more this morning... but if I end up posting again, don't be surprised.


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To help find the cause of symptoms, the doctor evaluates a person's medical history, smoking history, exposure to environmental and occupational substances, and family history of cancer. The doctor also performs a physical examination and may order a chest X-ray and other tests
Patient's History
If the doctor suspects lung cancer, they will
- Investigate your medical history
- Perform a thorough physical examination
- Order further specialised medical tests
As part of your medical history, your doctor will ask about:
- If you smoke or have smoked previously
- Your occupation and place of work.
- If you've been exposed to occupational hazardous substances or radiation
- Whether you have a family history of lung cancer


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New album "Chronicles From the Realms Beyond" out now!
This is special edition with two bonus tracks (''The Hour of the King'' and ''Lords of Chaos'') of Numenor's 3rd full-length ''Chronicles From the Realms Beyond''. The album was recorded and produced in Paradox Studio by Srdjan Brankovic from 2016-2017 (while bonus tracks were recorded in 2018). Sandra (who has appeared also in Therion as a session singer) has done guest vocals on two songs: ''Moria'' and ''Beyond the Doors of Night'' and Marko Milojevic has joined the band as a drummer (this has made some of the major influences of band's style). For this special release the band has done completely new booklet and cover artwork (which was done by famous Serbian fantasy author Bob Zivkovic).
Numenor was found in 2010 by Marko Miranovic and Srdjan Brankovic. Band has recorded the debut full-length ''Colossal Darkness'' in 2012 which was later released in 2013 for Stygian Crypt Productions. In 2015 Numenor has recorded and published the 2nd full-length ''Sword and Sorcery'' for Stormspell records (USA). ''Sword and Sorcery'' brought much more attention to the band and it became later the crucial record. Later in 2016 Stygian Crypt Prod. has released special edition of ''Sword and Sorcery'' with 5 bonus tracks (most of these songs were recorded in the past before the band was found). In 2017 Numenor has recorded and published their 3rd full-length ''Chronicles From the Realms Beyond'' though Stormspell Records. The album also includes the cover version of ''Valhalla'' (Blind Guardian). After a year the band has released one more time special edition for Stygian Crypt Production including two bonus tracks. Moreover, Numenor has contributed with the cover of ''Riders of Theli'' on tribute to Therion compilation ''Blood of the Dragon'' (Stygian Crypt, 2018).


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Foster-Harris (no first name given) was a professor of journalism at the University of Oklahoma. He ran the creative writing lab there, which Writer's Digest praised highly. He intends his writing system for authors selling both to the "slick" magazines and the pulps, but he's a bit disparaging of literary fiction, and the advice he gives makes me cringe. The back flap says he "has been rated by his editors as one of the ten leading American writers for pulp magazines."
Basically, the stuff he's talking about his students writing is what I myself find cringeworthy. But, it is cringeworthy in a way that is recognizably very often published. For example:
Angrily he whirled. The dark figure behind him had not moved, had not made a sound. But now the sullen lids were wide open and the dull eyes had a chill, basilisk stare to them, like the eyes of a great snake. Something incredibly evil in that silent stare, something smirking, something filled with cold, nameless horrors. A thin chill seeping through him, Don grinned back with his lips only, and swung toward the door (Formulas, 50-51).
Well, really the man is writing about plot. So perhaps his advice on story structure is better? Judge for yourself, from his advice on writing a story for a woman's magazine:
For example … you might write one about (1) a nice young doctor (2) engaged to a lovely youngster whose (3) very rich Aunt May doesn't like him one bit. Aunt May wants the girl to marry another man. Very well, (4) Aunt May gives a very fluff week-end party at her country home for the girl, and for the young doctor, too, of course. But (6) the young medico hasn't the proper clothes for such a society event and can't buy them unless he foregoes buying some surgical instruments he needs.
What happens? You know at once he does not spend the money on white tie and tails, even though he has a quarrel with the girl about the matter and she announces defiantly that she is going anyway–alone. And the bitter rival, Aunt May's candidate, will be there, too, won't he? But our young M.D. buys the instruments and has his Black Moment. Then Aunt May's young hellion of a son, left to run wild during the party, strays off and breaks his neck. Because our young doctor is the only medical man available, he saves the boy, but only because he has the new instrument. Aunt May and the heroine fall upon his neck, loudly announcing that they realize how wrong they were. Why, he's a wonderful man to have handy, and preferably with the proper surgical tools, rather than the requisite tails! (Formulas, 103)
No, I don't know what happened to #5, either.
Honestly, I'm not sure we can say that modern romantic comedies are much better. The heroines range from spunky to bitchy, yet (always) vulnerable. To be fair, usually comedic outcomes are coincidental, while tragic outcomes are inevitable. But, as a friend of mine says, "Oh, come on!"
I think a study of pulp writing strategies can be valuable because the quality of the writing is so bad. In other words, pulp stories succeed despite being poor-quality. Therefore, whatever they're doing correctly is important enough to over-ride their overall awfulness.
Modern production quality is higher, because with the advent of computer animation and tele-communications, there's less market for fiction, and the pulp magazines have vanished. And we're generally a much richer society than we were in the 50's, which means we can funnel more resources to art.
Pulp is funny to us because of the culture shock, I think, and because it's so obvious in a way that lays bare the unspoken message. I think these unspoken messages have to go unspoken, because, "Social convention X is a fundamental law of human nature" is embarrassing when you come right out and say it.
Also, if you look at news coverage, it seems there has been a trend over the past century or so toward less emotive news. You see it in movies and TV, too. We consider shows from the 1950's to be incredibly naive. Audiences want their emotions to be manipulated, but they keep catching on to the old strategies. So modern audiences are more sophisticated, and jaded, than fifty years ago.
I want to study pulp, as it is taught by Foster-Harris, because it exposes those strategies very clearly. Many of his techniques will need to be adapted to a modern audience's tastes. I leave that to you.
Foster-Harris tends to rave: he's a bit of a lunatic, and this seems intertwined with the kind of fiction, which is fundamentally propagandistic, that he teaches his students to write. He doesn't see the difference between teaching writing method and teaching what to write. He probably wouldn't acknowledge that there is a difference. So he goes off on these tangents:
An effete, effeminate group, top-heavy with undigested, objective culture, may, and indeed probably does, form a large percentage of your reader audience for such [literary] tales, whereas only a scant minority of fine minds will be able to appreciate your perfect balancing feat. One too-strenuous effort to cater to this parasite group, one misstep, and down you go into fictional perversion, all of your fictional purpose and pattern reversed, the devil quoting Scripture for his own ends.
Against the sewage flood of obscenity masquerading as fiction, stories, so called, appealing brazenly to sexual perverts, sadists, masochists, and homosexuals, may be matched in full stench and measure the equally perverted "quality" stories which have cursed our times. And these so-called "quality" tales, it should be remembered, came first, pointing the trend (Formulas, 67-8).
Basically, he's talking about degenerate art.
He claims a few times to be non-denominational, which tips his hand, as it is a term that pre-supposes adherance to some form of Christianity. And his writing is shot through with metaphor, sometimes religious, sometimes scientific, but generally inappropriate and confusing. Sometimes they're just zingers, for effect:
We can agree to use a more informative sign than "versus," for one. We can say "plus," or "+," for "a happy-ending" story (do you notice that the plus sign is simply another form of the cross?) and "minus," or "-," for the "unhappy-ending" story (Patterns, 32).
Other times they're kind of funny:
Note, if you will, that the First Commandment is also a rule for writers: "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." If that does not establish the primacy of the first person, "me," of the subjective, and of the Indwelling God who is within us all, and who urges us constantly to creative expression, then I cannot read plain English (Patterns, 26).
But very often, he uses metaphors and analogies to make weirdly bogus metaphysical arguments, which go on for pages and hopelessly confuse the writing advice he's giving you. The person who had the book before me was, by his comments, utterly bewildered by the second page, writing things like: Don't understand this assertion. And: Meaning here eludes me.
Basically, this poor guy didn't know how tell the chaff from the wheat, and made the mistake of trying to understand nonsense.
Now, having said all thay, I recommend reading these books. They're short, they're (ahem) to the point, and they're oddly entertaining. I don't at all recommend believing what they say or adopting their advice: but they provide a remarkable and unique way of looking at story, and the author does have real insight into what makes stories go.
I will talk about what Foster-Harris teaches, leaving out his metaphors, his religiosity, and his social commentary, in following posts. Meantime, these books appear to be out of print, but there are several available online:
Find them used on Amazon.
At the moment, the offers I'm seeing seem high, but I think I've seen copies for $2 or $3, and they're worth that. I got mine for 50c each.
The books are:
The Basic Formulas of Fiction, 1944, University of Oklahoma Press.
The Basic Patterns of Plot, 1959, University of Oklahoma Press.


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How to prevent neck pain
Tips how to prevent neck pain | dmatxi.com. Neck pain is the complaint at work in addition to back pain. Almost everyone has experienced neck pain. Neck pain heal itself within a few hours or days. Causes of neck pain. The most common cause of neck pain are soft tissue abnormalities related to the injury or the prolonged use and wear. In rare cases, infection or tumors may cause neck pain. In some people, neck problems can be a source of pain in the upper back, shoulders, or arms.
For athletes and people with active lifestyles, is likely to have neck problems is quite high. Trauma due to falls, slips in a bicycle accident or a car that is not fully healed and repaired can aggravate neck pain. Fewer painkillers can reduce neck pain. However, if left untreated for a long time, the pain can be acute. If the neck pain disorder does not disappear after six weeks, you should consult a physician immediately.
Tips to prevent your exposed neck pain
Avoid sedatives / sleeping pills; When you sleep, your body changes constantly to find a comfortable position. Sedatives reduce the ability to adjust it, so that your body does not move as much as they should. As a result, you may be in a position to press for a long neck, so wake up with neck pain.
Select the proper sleeping position; Do not sleep face down on your stomach. Sleep on his stomach can cause you to rotate the neck for many hours so that flexing the small joints of the neck. Over time this can lead to permanent damage. Use a pillow that supports the natural contours of your neck. Pillow that fits everyone can be different depending on the size of the head, neck and sleeping position. Ideally, you sleep on his side to the right and use a pillow that fit perfectly with the beginning of the end of the shoulder and neck.
Work interspersed with breaks; If you work with computers all day, stop working for a few minutes every two hours. Staring at a computer screen all day gives a large amount of pressure on your neck. Use the break to take a walk or stretch. This action can also relieve tension in the mind that formed throughout the day.
Perform stretching exercises; You can do simple exercise to reduce muscle strain your neck. Sit up straight and keep your head forward so your chin touches your chest. Slowly turn your head to the left. See as far as you can, as if you're trying to look directly above your head. Restore your chin to your chest, then turn your head to the right. Again, look at as far as possible. Perform repeated three times every time you feel tension in your neck.
Customize your workbench; Your desk can cause pain in the neck. Have to adjust to your table and not vice versa. If too low, look for ways to raise or adjust the seat height so your work is more aligned with the eye. Do not lean forward all day. If you have to lean forward, sustain with your hips, not with your back or neck.
Adjust the position of driving; When you spend hours on the road, you should not neglect your neck. Adjust the seat so you can see the steering wheel comfortably and not have to thrust your neck forward to see the road clearly. In addition, you need to adjust the headrest so that your neck does not jerk forward if you stop suddenly. This is how to prevent neck pain.


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Our mission is to help as many people in our communities as possible. We can do this by the many donations and support that we get from the local communities and volunteers.
In addition to many displays of natural and human history, and a gift shop of local crafts and books, the Grand Manan Museum hosts an evening lecture series in July-August, and many other special events. Stop by for a rewarding island experience.


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Posted by Dima Yaprincev on November 9, 2017
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 has a pretty decent feature set to achieve cost-effective high availability for your environment and build a reliable disaster recovery solution. Basic Availability Groups (BAGs) and Failover Cluster Instances (FCI) are included in SQL Server 2016 Standard Edition and serve to implement high redundancy level for business-critical databases. In this article, I would like to discuss some differences between these solutions and open the curtain on how it can be done with Software-Defined Storage like Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) and VSAN from StarWind (StarWind VSAN).


text: Brand Marketing A Transformer-like Razor Battles a 'Lube Strip' in Schick's Super Bowl Spot Creative work from J. Walter Thompson By Katie Richards|February 5, 2016 Share By Katie Richards|February 5, 2016 Share You definitely want the Schick Hydro on your side. At least that's what Schick wants to get across to all the guys out there watching the Super Bowl on Sunday. A 30-second Super Bowl commercial created by J. Walter Thompson for the Edgewell Personal Care brand coincides with the launch of the new Schick Hydro 5. The spot opens with two razors—one, a Schick Hydro—morphing, Transformers-style, into robots. Then they get ready to battle. "We're really excited to launch the new 'Robot Razors' TV spot for Schick Hydro during this year's Super Bowl," Charlie King, group marketing director for men's systems at Edgewell, told Adweek in an email. "It's a great way to reach millions of guys who we think will be excited to check out the new and improved features of the Schick Hydro 5. The new 30-second spot also features a little friendly competition that fits right in with the overall spirit of the Big Game." "Robot Razors" is slated to run during the first break of the fourth quarter on Sunday. The brand hasn't run a Super Bowl ad since 2007, when it advertised the Schick Quattro in a spot called "Shave Lab." • For more Super Bowl 50 news, check out Adweek's Super Bowl Ad Tracker, an up-to-date list of the brands running Super Bowl spots and the agencies involved in creating them. CREDITS Agency: J. Walter Thompson New York Client: Edgewell Personal Care, Schick Hydro Executive Creative Director: Sarah Barclay Creative Director(s): Billy Faraut, Greg Erdelyi Worldwide Chief Creative Officer: Matt Eastwood Chief Creative Officer, New York: Brent Choi Planning: Joydeep Dey Global President, Retail: Claire Capeci Account Management: Ariel Stern, Erik Wagner, Jenai Domingo, Carmen Candelario Executive Producer: Mary Ellen Verrusio Senior Producer: Philip Schneider Assistant Producer: Liam Golding Director of Music & Radio: Paul Greco Production: The Mill+ Director – Ben Smith Senior Content Producer – Nic Barnes Executive Producer – Zu Al-Kadiri Director of Photography – Adam Carboni Production Supervisor – Tia Perkins Production Coordinator – Andre Slaughter Post Production: The Mill+ Post Producer – Colin Moneymaker Editor – Charlotte Carr Shoot Supervisor – Jeff Lopez Lead Compositor – Kyle Cody 2D Artist – Yoon-sun Bae 3D Lead – Jeff Lopez 3D Artist(s) – Paul Liaw, Alex Allain, Christine Kim, Dave Barosin, Eric Lane, Goran Ognajanovic, Ivan Joy, Justin Diamond, Nick Couret, Olivier Varteressian, Ren Hsien-Hsu, Tim Kim, Todd Akita, Tom Cushwa, Xuan Seifert, Yong Chan Kim Concept Development – Kurt Kaufman, Paul Liaw, Mark Yates Design – Sally Reynolds, Pierce Gibson Colorist – Fergus McCall Telecine Producer – Natalie Westerfield Telecine Coordinator – Evan Bauer Music Production: Amber Music Original Composition: Amber Music Executive Producer: Michelle Curran Music Supervisor/Producer: Mike Perri Composer: Jack Matthias Sound Design: Henryboy Executive Producer: Kate Gibson Sound Designer: Bill Chesley Share http://adweek.it/1L3Z7vy copy Adweek Adweek


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MA in economics, London School of Economics
Lic.oec in business administration, University of St. Gallen School of Management, Economics, Law, Social Sciences and International Affairs (HSG)
Thomas Hoehn is a vastly experienced economist with a background in applied economic research, business consulting, regulation and public policy advice. He was a Visiting Professor at Imperial College Business School from 2003 – 2009 and Director of the Intellectual Property Research Centre at Imperial College until 2013. He previously held teaching and research positions at the University of Zurich and the London School of Economics. From 2009 to 2017 Tom was a Panel Member of the UK Competition Commission (since 2014 part of the Competition and Markets Authority) and was a Member of the Communications Act Panel and a Member of the UK Competition Commission's Remedies Standing Group.
Tom has spent his career analysing markets and competition and has held senior management and advisory positions with several major international consulting firms. In the course of his consulting career, he has advised clients on business issues, market and brand analytics, regulatory disputes in over 100 assignments and prepared expert evidence in many antitrust litigation proceedings across Europe and in Australia. He has worked with leading law firms in London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Vienna and Zürich.
Tom is a frequent panellist and conference speaker reporting on research and commenting on topical economics and antitrust policy issues. He regularly acts as a Monitoring Trustee for the European Commission and as Monitor for the US Federal Trade Commission.
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Agile Data Management: Because Change is the Only Constant
Guest blogger Jeff Zabin oversees Gleanster's strategic direction and day-to-day operations. A bestselling business author, influential research analyst and former technology marketing executive, he also serves as research director.
"Change is the only constant." "Nothing stays the same." "The only thing we can be sure of is change."
These aphorisms apply to virtually all aspects of life and business. Data management is no exception. Fact is, current data requirements don't always reflect future needs. And seldom can these future needs be anticipated as companies evolve and as the business environment in which they operate changes over time.
For most companies, being able to sense and respond to emerging trends, competitive activity, brand devaluation threats and unforeseen economic, regulatory and technological discontinuities in a timely fashion can spell the difference between life and death. In a world where business is in a constant state of flux, continuous innovation and tactical outmaneuvering – turning on a dime, when necessary, to revamp a marketing campaign, launch a new product or shift some aspect of operational performance into a higher gear – may be a company's only path to survival and prosperity.
Hence the need to build business reporting and analysis tools on top of a flexible data management foundation. Business users need to be able to dynamically adjust the parameters of data access and integrate new data sources in a timely fashion. How else can they hope to generate new custom reports quickly, on an on-demand basis? Needless to say, relying solely on static reports derived from predefined data sources is a recipe for disaster.
Unfortunately, according to new Gleanster research, more than half of all companies today are forced to go outside the standard reporting and analysis procedures at least once a month to get the information they need to make informed decisions. Business users complain that they commonly have to knock on the door of the IT department multiple times to finally get the information view they're seeking. Meanwhile, the IT department readily admits that integrating a new data source into a standard report can be a long and cumbersome process, given the constraints of their current data management environments.
Agility has become a big focal point for improving business intelligence, and there's a lot of talk these days about the importance of agility as it relates to the end user interface. These interfaces can dazzle, with visualization tools providing layered access to operational data in a dizzying array of shapes and configurations. But while these self-service dashboards can provide unprecedented value, what is commonly overlooked – and what arguably matters even more – is the structural integrity and flexibility of the underlying data infrastructure. How quickly the IT department – or, better yet, business users themselves – can turn critical business data into actionable insights that drive sound decisions is at least as much about the availability, consistency and accuracy of the data itself as it is about being able to create pretty pie charts and bar graphs on the fly.
In other words, the soup is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. It isn't enough to refer to data initiatives that simply use new interface tools as "agile". Nor is it enough to take traditional data warehousing tools and try to architect new ways to analyze and integrate data faster and more frequently. Top Performers are differentiated not by the capability of a visualization tool but by the speed with which new data can be integrated.
Collaboration between IT and business users is key. Traditional data management initiatives often skip business requirements and dive directly into a costly extract, transform and load (ETL) effort, with business users asking for everything but the kitchen sink from the get-go. By contrast, agile initiatives emphasize continuous efforts to refine and evolve data integration requirements on an ongoing basis. It is this give-and-take mindset that presents novel challenges – and opportunities – for organizations willing to adopt a more mature approach to data management. A flexible data management architecture allows companies to avoid costly and unnecessary data modeling efforts by permitting business users to set requirements. Companies that give business users the ability to define requirements can achieve significantly faster turnaround times in response to business change events.
And this brings us back to that universe truth, which is that the only constant is change. Today most companies view their data warehouses as a stodgy museum. They treat them as they would a collection of static artifacts to be viewed by a passive audience. Modern approaches to data management, on the other hand, view data as a living organism that requires constant care and attention in order for it to grow and reach its full potential.


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Tulips Gourmet Food
If you love delicious, easy to prepare food, then look no further than our specially selected line of gourmet foods. We have searched for the very best in flavours and placed our own Tulips Gourmet label on our absolute favourites.
The very first product that we introduced in our Tulips Gourmet line was our Tulips Dip Mixes. Easy to prepare and in five delicious flavours, these dips are always a hit at parties, or even just for snacking at home. Try our Bacon Cheddar, Cucumber Dill, Red Pepper, Sesame Garlic and Spinach Artichoke.
For salad lovers, we are proud to feature a collection of gourmet dressings, including Creamy Vidalia Onion & Peppercorn, Raspberry Vinaigrette, Vidalia Onion Honey Mustard, and Creamy Walla Walla Sweet Onion Dressing.
For summer barbecues, spice up steaks, chicken, kabobs, and more with our Good and Evil Hot Sauce, Vidalia Onion Picante Hot Sauce, and Sweet Bourbon Glaze.
If desserts are your thing, try our new collection of dessert mixes in three sweet flavours, or our delicious line of Tasty Treats – including candy corn, flavoured liquorice, and more. If that's not enough to tickle your sweet tooth, try our delicious homemade fudge, made right here in our store. In flavours like Chewy Praline, Chocolate Walnut, Sherbert, and even sucrose free varieties, you are sure to find the perfect flavours for you.
For the sweet taste of summer all year round, try our Tulips Preserves, in flavours like Cinnamon Apple Cider Jelly, Blueberry, Seedless Blackberry, Dutch Apple, Strawberry, and Very Berry.
To compliment your delicious treats, try our flavoured coffees, including Southern Pecan, Salted Caramel, Cinnamon Streusel, and Highlander Grogg.
All year round we are also excited to offer our very favourite Crave Mulling Spices. Sample this warm and wonderful array of spices during the holiday season in our garden centre for free!
Tulips Tasting Bar
Whether you are a gourmet flavour expert, or someone who simply loves good food, you are sure to be wowed by our all new Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar Tasting Bar. With over forty flavours of premium olive oils and vinegars there are a wide variety of delicious choices for cooking, baking, and, of course, sampling!
With our tasting bar set up, you can sample any of our flavours before you decide on what to buy. Once you have made your decision, we will pour the oil or vinegar into a bottle for you and seal it for you to take home.
In our olive oils we have flavours such as California Koroneiki, Greek Kalamata, Chilean Arbequina, Sage and Onion, Smoked Hickory, Nocellara & Biancollia, White Truffle, Roasted Chili, Blood Orange, Butter (an extra healthy alternative to the real thing), Persian Lime, Meyer Lemon, Garlic Mushroom, Tuscan Herb and a variety of infused oils, including Rosemary, Garlic, Basil, Lemon Pepper, and more.
In our balsamic vinegars, we offer a Modena 25 Star White and Dark Balsamic vinegar, as well as Lambrusco, Apricot, Coconut, Garlic, Green Apple, Lemon, Mandarin Orange, Honey Ginger, Garlic, Pear, Bittersweet Chocolate, Blackberry Ginger, Bordeaux Cherry, Chocolate, Fig, Maple, Hickory, Pomegranate, Raspberry, and Strawberry.
Robert Rothschild Farms
One of our biggest sellers, the Robert Rothschild Farms collection includes dips, sauces, dessert dips, baking mixes, and even organic sauces. Know for its rich flavours, Robert Rothschild Farms is also full of easy to prepare and ready made gourmet products.
If you love dips, then you've come to the right place! Our collection of Robert Rothschild dips includes Roasted Red Pepper & Onion, Roasted Pineapple & Habanero, Red Pepper, Raspberry Honey Mustard, Blue Cheese & Chive, and Emerald Isle Onion Dill Horseradish.
For the gourmet cook, try our selection of sauces, including: Anna Mae's Smoky Sweet Chipotle Sauce, Thai Plum Garlic Sauce, Anna Mae's Smoky Sweet Sauce, Balsamic Fig & Onion Sauce, Pineapple Coconut Mango Tequila Sauce, Peach Mango Habanero Sauce, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, Thai Peanut Ginger Sauce, Ginger Wasabi Sauce, Horseradish Sauce, and Korean BBQ Sauce and Marinade.
We are also excited about our new flavoured mustards and spreads, such as Anna Mae's Smoky Mustard, Raspberry Honey Mustard, Sweet & Spicy Mustard, Raspberry Wasabi Dipping Mustard, Cranberry Pomegranate Mustard, Hot Pepper Preserves, Artichoke & Aged Parmesan Spread, Red Pepper Jelly, Balsamic Glazed Onion Spread, and Cucumber Mint Spread.
Our organic line features Organic White Creole Sauce, Organic Pineapple Habanero Sauce, Organic Sriracha Teriyaki Sauce, Organic Whiskey Pepper Cream, Organic Blueberry Balsamic Sauce, and Organic Citrus Chardonnay Sauce.
For the sweet tooth, try our Chocolate S'mores Dip, Caramel Sauce, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Sauce, Chocolate Caramel & Sea Salt Sauce, and Dark Chocolate Sauce.
If baking is more your thing, then make it a snap with our flavourful mixes, including: Wild Blueberry and Meyer Lemon Pancake and Waffle Mix, Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix, Rosemary, Garlic & Thyme Biscuit Mix, Spiced Carrot Cake Muffin Mix, and Butter Toffee Chip Scone Mix.
Find all of this and more in our gourmet foods department!
Gourmet Du Village
A classic Canadian company, Gourmet du Village is known for its wide variety of easy to prepare dips, and fantastic dip chillers, brie bakers, and other unique serving ware.
With delicious traditional flavours in hot and cold dip mixes, it's hard to pick a favourite! Try or Roasted Pepper, Mango Curry, Cheddar Onion, Lemon Dill, Onion Chive, Pink Peppercorn Parmesan, Roasted Garlic, Hot Parmesan Artichoke, Hot Caramelized Onion, Cheddar and Bacon, and Hot Crab mixes.
We are also excited to carry some unique flavours from Gourmet du Village, including Maple Balsamic Dipping Mustard, Sweet Onion Jam, and even Spicy Mexican Corn on the Cob Seasoning.
Enjoy a warm drink on a cold day with our Caramel Truffle, Black Forest Cake, and Creme Brûlée Hot Chocolate flavours.
For creative cooking, and colourful displays, check out the Gourmet du Village line of serving ware, including Dip Chillers, Fondue Cups, Soup & Bean Pots, and Brie Bakers.
The Garlic Box
With all of their products made from Ontario garlic, The Garlic Box is know for flavourful and fun garlic products … all with homegrown roots!
Try their Garlic Grilling Sauce, Chili Lime Splash, Maple Orange Garlic Sauce for summer grilling and year-round cooking.
For the true garlic lover, try Pickled Garlic Cloves, Super Garlicky Bread Dipper with Blue Cheese, and the always tasty Garlic Bread Seasoning.
If you like just a hint of flavour, try the Garlic & Dill Dressing, Garlic & Mango Dressing, and Garlic & Horseradish Dressing on summer salads, and garden stir fries.
Wildly Delicious
We're wild about Wildly Delicious products! From their sumptuous bread dippers to their flavourful mashed potato seasonings, they are guaranteed to please the palate and delight your senses.
If you've never tried bread dippers – what are you waiting for? Try our Hot Spiced Balsamic, Greek Oregano & Lemon, Roasted Garlic & Bruschetta, Peppercorn Shallot Merlot, Sundried Tomato Basil, Asiago Artichoke, Porcini Mushroom & White Truffle Oil, Roasted Garlic Parmesan, and Herbed Balsamic.
In our divine collection of potato seasonings, try our Roasted Garlic Chive, Horseradish & Garlic, Wild Mushroom & Shallot, and Cranberry & Herb.
Wildly Delicious also features their very own Brie Bakers and Garlic Roasters for cooking and entertaining.
Try them today and we're sure that you will be just as wild about Wildly Delicious!
Summerland Sweets
Are you a fan of jam and preserves? Look no further than our sweet and sticky collection of jams, marmalades, and syrups from Summerland Sweets.
Try their delicious syrups on just about anything! In Strawberry, Blueberry, and Raspberry flavours, they go perfectly with pancakes, waffles, as a topping for cakes and ice-cream, in baking, and (for purists) straight from the bottle!
We also carry their superb jams in flavours like Pure Black Currant, Pure Blackberry, Pure Cherry, Pure Strawberry Rhubarb, and Pure Apricot.
If you are a fan of Paddington Bear and love your marmalade, then look no further than our Apricot & Orange, and Cranberry Marmalade.
Made with vine ripened fruit, the Summerland Sweet collection of syrups and jams is sure to delight your tastebuds!
Vanderwees Home & Garden, The Premier Garden Centre in Thunder Bay, Ontario
Vanderwees Home & Garden is Thunder Bay's Garden Centre for the whole family. Visit our gift shop, greenhouses and have lunch in Tulips Cafe while your kids enjoy our family fun centre!
Check out our Events and Specials pages, or give us a call at (807) 767-3666 if you have questions or are looking for a specific item.


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Mount Hagen is located in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, sharing borders with Western and Enga Provinces. It takes about 4 hours for seasoned mountain trekkers and 5 hours for the amateur or novice from the base camp to the summit. Observe orchids, exotic plants, insects and birds as you trek through our pristine rainforests. An early morning walk is encouraged to ensure you can take in the superb views from the summit overlooking Mt. Hagen and Nebilyer Valley, a must for photographers and nature lovers alike. Strong winds prevail around the summit and trekkers must take precautions against falling off the sharp and sometimes slippery ridges.
Rated: High Moderate
Mount Giluwe, at 4368 metres above sea level, is the highest volcano in Pacific Oceania and is also located in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea sharing its border with the Western and Southern Highlands. It is one of 'the 7 volcanic summits'.
Giluwe is best tackled after Mount Hagen, once you have become acclimatised to altitude and conditions. Night time temperatures drop rapidly and can be uncomfortable in the basic traditional style accommodation on the mountainside, however, extra warm clothing, a fleecy sleeping bag and an open log fire should assist in making your night's sleep manageable.
Rated: High Moderate
Dates: These tours are run on an ad-hoc basis so get your group together and decide on when you want to go. The best time is May to October.
1 trekker $6895
2 people $6495
3 - $4595
4 - $4400
5 - $4495
6 - $3550
7 - $3600
8 - $3550
9 - $3300
10 - $3250
Per person, twin share in lodge accommodation. Add $100 to above rates if travelling from Brisbane.
Prices are quoted in AUD, valid for 2016 BUT are subject to change without notice due to currency variations and increases in taxes. They cannot be guaranteed until paid in full. A $300 non-refundable deposit is due at the time of booking with the balance due no later that 60 days prior to departure. Bank transfer or credit card fees are not included in the above rates and will be added at the time of quoting. Bookings made within 60 days must be paid in full. Our full terms and conditions can be viewed here.


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Tuesday, 31 March 2015
A couple of Reed Buntings
24 comments:
Pretty captures of your Reed Bunting. I assume the male is in the middle, he is handsome. Great shots!ReplyDelete
Lovely captures of these birds JohnReplyDelete
Thanks Margaret!ReplyDelete
Very nice looking bird and very nice images.ReplyDelete
Nice shots of the buntings in the reeds.ReplyDelete
Almost 10 years to the day since I last saw a Reed Bunting.ReplyDelete
Great photos!
It looks like the bird in the first picture is actually on a reed! There are Reed Buntings at Roding Valley Meadows and I always look for them because I think they are easy to identify.ReplyDelete
CLICK HERE for Bazza's fabulous Blog 'To Discover Ice'Replies
Yes, they do sometimes perch on reeds Bazza, just not that often ;)Delete
Very impressed that you think they are easy to identify, now what about Little Buntings?
What! There are Little Buntings as well. Doh!Delete
Oh yes Bazza and they are really hard to tell apart from Reed Buntings, especially for me!Delete
How very lovely they are, anything that is a Bunting, I adore them all~ReplyDelete
Will look forward to spotting these while out running back along the Trent at FarndonReplyDelete
Lovely birds!ReplyDelete
Lovely images John. They look more like Springtime with their improved plumage.ReplyDelete
What gorgeous little birds, John!ReplyDelete


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Today we lost a great American.
If you haven;'t read any of Studs' work, I highly recommend it to you. I remember reading Working in college and marveling at this guy named 'Studs' and his abiility to empathize with the common person.
"My epitaph? My epitaph will be 'Curiosity did not kill this cat'."
Well played, sir.


text: Most cyclists I know use Strava to track their cycling activities. Prior to joining Strava in 2012, I kept a record of all my rides in a spreadsheet (dating back as far as 2002!), so when I found out about Strava, I bought a GPS and had it do the work for me. I'm a … Continue reading Strava Tools and Apps


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One thing should be obvious — campus recreation programming is very important. It's the greatest tool at your disposal for driving student engagement.
Having a modern facility and the most cutting-edge equipment won't mean a thing if you can't get students through the doors. You must come up with ways to make your programs stand out.
Vicki Highstreet, the associate director for recreation programming at the University of Nebraska, spoke on the importance of campus recreation programming. "Give the students what they want through creative programming," said Highstreet. She also advised campus recreation directors not to be afraid of inventing creative methods for drawing students in, rather than waiting for them to come in on their own.
Students, just like consumers at health clubs, want to feel part of a community. Providing them with several programs will go a long way in helping students get involved in campus recreation.
Nebraska has accomplished high student involvement with many campus recreation programs, including outdoor activities, an aquatics facility and classes, sport clubs, intramural and extramural sports, wellness services, fitness programs, and injury prevention services. With so many options aimed for students to choose from, it's almost impossible for anyone to not get involved.
Some of the programs even extend their reach beyond campus and into the surrounding community. "Outreach programs for the likes of high school football teams, OLLI (Oschner Lifelong Learning Institute), preschool and childcare centers, academic departments, and student groups," said Highstreet when asked to describe the programs. The department also has eight weeks of day camp each summer with around 150 children attending per week.
Reaching out into the community is a great way to connect students to the town they live in. Bridging the gap between campus and community is a unique way to encourage involvement in recreation programs.
But how do you find the right programs? Obviously, you won't hit a home run with each program you roll out, but there is a certain method you can use to determine what campus recreation programming has the highest likelihood of success.
According to Highstreet, programs at Nebraska are identified in four different ways: which programs are tried and true, programs from student input and requests, trends identified by professionals, and from instructor and leader requests.
And of course, having the right staff in place is key to make all the gears turn. Nebraska staffs its campus recreation programs with trained professionals, a common practice for many universities. "[We value] the high level of expertise and intentional lifelong learning and development attitudes of our professional staff … who are encouraged and supported in their continuous development," said Highstreet. "They're staying on the cutting edge of their specialty area and have passion to help students actualize their skill development through recreational activity.
At the end of the day, your campus recreation programming should be about engaging the students around you. Think about what will encourage them to emphasize health and wellness, and adjust your programs to reflect that goal. Keep your finger on the pulse of your campus and fine-tune your methods based on what the students want.
And how can a recreation department accomplish this?
"Continuous evaluation of the types of programs being offered," said Highstreet. "Think about their relevance to the clientele being served and how it fits into your overall mission.


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young adult retreat @ St Vincent DePaul Seminary
First time ever, the seminarians at St Vincent DePaul Regional Seminary in Boyton Beach, FL led a retreat open for young adult of the Palm Beach Diocese. I heard about it through my friends on FaceBook. It was a Spirit-filled retreat … simple schedule … 3 seminarian testimonies … deep small group discussion … Benediction & Adoration … and lots of social time.
Even though I couldn't stay for the whole retreat, I'm grateful to have been invited and grateful to see by brother seminarians at their finest at "home."
Hopefully, with their great turnout, they can do more events to not only reach out to the community, but keep vocations on everyone's minds and prayers!
See the Florida Catholic article that promoted the events.
Here's some pictures I took of their beautiful chapel on campus:
clean heart for the old man
We started a "Day of Recollection" silent retreat last night with one talk followed by a Holy Hour with Benediction, Adoration & Confession. The leader of the retreat is Fr Oscar Alonzo, a wise religious priest who teaches at Cardinal Gibbons High School (among many other things). Here are some notes I jotted down for reflection:
1. When plans change, take it as God's providence.
2. "Through Him, with Him, and in Him …"
3. Behind every great man is a great woman.
4. Pray for a "clean heart" for the "old man."
5. Heart is driven by (1) power of love or (2) love of power.
6. As we reflect on our vocational journey, identify WHO was an instrument of your vocation?
7. Use Scripture models: Abraham (Gen 12+), Moses (Ex 3), Isaiah (6), Jeremiah (1), and Mary (Luke 2)
Confirmation Retreat revisited
Back at my home parish, the 8th grade Confirmation kids (some were my CCD kids from last year) had an evening of reflection as a follow-up to their 2-day Confirmation Retreat last month [my previous blog post about it]. The schedule was pretty simple. After 6pm Mass (which I served at), pizza on the deck, a great skit (see pictures) about Jesus bridging the gap in the face of temptations, a personal witness talk by a teen, small group debrief ("What's happened since the Retreat?"), and some large group reflections (that I couldn't stay for) to close. The kids definitely wanted to be there. A great sign of their Confirmation journey.
Liga Orante + Little Flower + Big Cheese
MASS – (Archbishop Favalora) — 11am Mass was a special occasion for Liga Orante, a Spanish group that supports & regularly prays for vocations. They also presented the Archbishop with a $12,500 check for St John Vianney College Seminary (where I'm at). Afterwards, we had lunch. — I also served Mass as incense thurifer … not my best work
CONFIRMATION RETREAT — from 1-6pm, four of us seminarians (1 from Diocese of Orlando & 2 from St Petersburg) assisted a Confirmation retreat at Little Flower Parish in Miami (nearby). Since the retreat was in progress since 8am, we walked in during a great talk by a young woman about chastity. She also sang a song that she wrote at age 16 for her future husband. [It reminded me of Rebecca St James' song Wait For Me.] Afterwards, talks on vocations started with a married couple, then a single woman, religious sisters and each of us seminarians shared our vocation journey to the 60+ eighth graders. Then, visiting priest Fr Juan Carlos Paguaga (pastor of St John Bosco Parish) led an awesome adoration & benediction service that we served at. To close the retreat, we had a lively 5pm Mass.
MIAMI SOCIAL — most of the Miami seminarians were at Immaculate Conception Parish in Hialeah. Fr Francisco "Paco" Hernandez invited us all to their 5pm Mass and have dinner.
BIG CHEESE — after the Confirmation Retreat, I joined some St Petersburg guys (from the retreat) at the Italian restaurant Big Cheese on a rainy evening.
Confirmation Retreat
Today is day #2 of my parish Confirmation Retreat (it started last night) for the 8th grades of St Bernadette (both School & CCD). Since most of the CCD kids were my students last year, I assisted with a few minor things. The theme of the Holy Spirit was implimented with the popular LifeTeen format called "Fire & Ice" that is supposed to be a 3-day retreat, but it was a adapted to 2 long evening sessions. Simply … it was awesome! The parish hall was used for most activities with awesome decorations themed FIRE & ICE. Most of the talks were done by former high school confirmandi of the parish. The small group discussion were facilitated by peer ministers from local Archbishop McCarthy High School and the activites were a lot of fun (especially the "Human Pinata").
The end of the retreat got pretty emotional, especially with Adoration/Benediction, a video from YouTube.com (below) featuring a skit at a Christian youth conference done to the Lifehouse song "Everything" (definitely moving), an altercall & open mic sharing, but everything affirmed the Holy Spirit moving in our lives preparing to affirm their commitment to the sacrament of Confirmation.
MorningStar Renewal Center
Our 4-day silent retreat was at the beautiful MorningStar Renewal Center in Miami, FL (7275 SW 124th Street). We were 60+ seminarians (2 per room) and very comfortable. The place is run entirely by volunteers and the food was excellent. Here are some pictures of the facilities & grounds.
4 day silent retreat
Tonight begins a 4 day silent retreat off-campus from the seminary at MorningStar Renewal Center in Miami. I'll be back Sunday afternoon. Be blessed. Be holy.


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Available NOW!
If you mention the name Rupert Holmes, two songs immediately come to mind: "Escape (The Pina Colada Song)" and "Him." Those massive hits were taken from the 1979 album PARTNERS IN CRIME, still his most popular studio release. However, what many don't realize is that Rupert had been an extremely busy musician and since the late '60s. From being a member and songwriter in The Cuff Links and The Buoys during Bubblegum's heyday, Rupert would then go on to work with many successful and influential artists over the years including Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, The Partridge Family and Sparks. Not only that, he had already released four full-length solo platters prior to his commercial breakthrough album. And since then, he has added playwright and author to his very large resume. But before we spend all day creating a list of his many accomplishments, let's focus on the beginning of his solo career in the mid- '70s.
His first three solo albums released on the Epic Records label – WIDESCREEN (1974), RUPERT HOLMES (1975) and SINGLES (1976) – have just been digitally remastered, expanded and compiled on the three CD box set SONGS THAT SOUND LIKE MOVIES: THE COMPLETE EPIC RECORDINGS courtesy of Cherry Red Records. These albums may be 40+ years old but the warmth of the production and Rupert's expert Pop craftsmanship have kept them timeless slices of '70s sophistication. The title of this set does not lie – these truly are songs that are cinematic in scope, filled with depth and imagination.
While it would be safe to compare Rupert's early masterpieces to artists like Billy Joel, Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman and Harry Chapin, to compare him to anyone would be a disservice to Holmes. It is true that Rupert's albums would definitely appeal to fans of those artists' but Holmes is really his own man. He should actually be listed alongside them rather than being compared to them. One listen to this set and you're sure to agree.
WIDESCREEN is the first of the three albums and it reveals a talent well beyond his years. Tracks like "Terminal," "Our National Pastime," "Talk," "Phantom Of The Opera," and the title track are instantly lovable slices of intelligent, well-written tales with melodies that are hard to deny. Bonus tracks include very rare live recordings from 1978 and a few other tidbits.
The self-titled sophomore album expands upon the musical themes of first album, adding some Rock, Disco, and Soul into the mix. "Brass Knuckles", "Rifles And Rum," and "Everything Gets Better When You're Drunk," are a little beefier than tracks off the debut. "The Place Where Failure Goes" is a gem of a Pop tune. "I Don't Want To Hold Your Hand" is a song about The Beatles which includes lyrical and musical nods to the Fab Four just five short years after their split. There are some nice ballads here as well, making RUPERT HOLMES an excellent follow-up to the debut. No sophomore slump here, folks. Bonus tracks include rare live recordings.
Contrary to what you would think, SINGLES is not a collection of Rupert's seven-inch singles. Actually, it is a most excellent album that continues to blend Rupert's skills as a songwriter, arranger and storyteller. However, this time, he's less cinematic and more hook-conscious. There's still a touch of Soul in the mix as Rupert's Pop melodies rise to the surface, making some of this material the most immediate in this box set. "Who, What, When, Where, Why" sound like a hit single – a mix of Billy Joel and Steely Dan. "Aw Shucks" is a rockin', horn-fueled gem that is one of the album's many outstanding gems. "For Beginners Only" is a sock hop pastiche that might have easily fit on a Neil Sedaka album from the '70s. "I Don't Want To Get Over You" and "The Last Of The Romantics" are just a few more highlights.
In a way, listening to this set is a bit like living in a world created by Neil Simon. And that is a wonderful thing….
Keep on truckin',
Stephen THE CHANCELLOR Schnee


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Event Detail
Fri Mar 4, 2011
5101 Tolman, 11 AM–1 PM
|Institute of Cognitive and Brain Sciences
Tanya Luhrmann (Stanford University)
When God Talks Back
This presentation argues that when people become charismatic evangelical Christians, they learn a new theory about their minds, and that theory affects their mental experience–including their ability to have audible experiences of God. I do not make a judgment about whether the divine is real, but I do suggest that the ability to experience God as real is learned, and that (in contrast to the evolutionary psychology position) the learning is hard and requires work. I also suggest that the learning has real consequences–that prayer practice makes it more likely that one will have sensory experiences of the immaterial. I draw upon extensive ethnographic and experimental evidence to support these claims.