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he word "fascism" is derived from the Latin fasces, bundles of rods bound around an ax and carried in Roman processions as an authority symbol; the bound rods represented the community unified around the central authority figure. Fascism is conceived as an expression of the organic unity of the society. Absolute power is vested in a supreme ruler. The state represents the collective will of the people.
Fascism has some ancient ideological foundations. Throughout most of human history the absolute power of the monarch was simply taken for granted. In the Middle Ages it was "the divine right of kings" who, at least by implication, embodied and interpreted the will of God to their subjects.
Fascism typically vests absolute authority in a single leader, who controls state bureaucracy with a hierarchy of delegated powers. Ths supreme leader is the source of all law, and is himself above the law. All government authority devolves from him; all rights of citizens are granted by him. The primary duty of other officials and the citizenry is strict obedience to their superiors in the state hierarchy, and ultimately to the supreme leader. The successful fascist leader maximizes his personal authority and, by extension, the power of the state.
The conception of the state as an organic being, equivalent to a human body with the brain in control, derives from classical political theorists including Machiavelli (1469-1527) and Hobbes. From this analogy some fascist theorists have proposed that the state has a kind of super-reality, a life of its own. These ideas are fully articulated by G.W.F. Hegel (1770-1831). By this reasoning, the state actually defines the "will of the people" for its citizens. Individualism is subsumed in the state. The citizens can't disagree with the state any more than the big toe can disagree with the brain. This philosophy justifies a totalitarian state that may pursue whatever objectives it desires, and is free to use any means to eliminate opposition that might impede its progress to those objectives.
Fascism is typically associated with strong racial, ethnic or religious myths, which unify the dominant social group against perceived threats from minority groups. Viewed objectively, these social myths are irrational. Within the fascist society, however, the super-rational state manufactures whatever reality it wants. The moral and intellectual validity of this reality is irrelevant; only its emotional appeal matters. Mussolini's famous retort to critics of his movement was "We think with our blood." Hitler, Mussolini, Milosevic all promoted a strident nationalism based upon social myths, and fomented irrational racial or ethnic hatreds that led to state-sponsored programs of genocide. The tactic is simple: the shared hatred of some minority becomes a patriotic rallying point for supporters, and the violence it engenders intimidates any opposition.
Mussolini's Doctrine of Fascism (1932) provides a clear statement of fascist ideology:
"…Fascism is a historical conception, in which man is what he is only in so far as he works within the spiritual process where he finds himself, in the family or social group, in the nation and in the history in which all nations collaborate. From this follows the great value of tradition, in memories, in language, in customs, in the standards of social life. Outside history man is nothing. Consequently Fascism is opposed to all the individualistic abstractions of a materialistic nature like those of the 18th century; and it is opposed to all Jacobin utopias and innovations. It does not consider that "happiness" is possible upon earth…. Against individualism, Fascism is for the state…. Liberalism denied the state in the interests of the particular individual; Fascism reaffirms the state as the true reality of the individual…. Not a race, not a geographically determined region, but as a community historically perpetuating itself, a multitude unified by a single idea, which is the will to existence and to power: consciousness of itself, personality.
…For Fascism the tendency to empire, to the expansion of nations, is a manifestation of vitality; its opposite, staying at home, is a sign of decadence.
Fascism implies a high degree of central economic planning, although there is little explicit economic dogma. A fascist state has ultimate authority over the labor, property and economic activities of its citizens, and the state's objective is (presumably) to maximize total economic output from its economy. There is no collective bargaining for labor. The state may establish monopoly control over any or all industries, nationalize any or all resources, or leave markets to function on their own.Communism
Literally, "communism" means collective ownership. In a communist society, all resources are owned by the people. Communist ideology is based upon the writings of Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedich Engels (1820-1895), particularly their Communist Manifesto (1847) and Marx's almost unreadable Capital (1887). Marxist theory holds that communism is an inevitable outgrowth of decadent capitalism. He predicts that the means of production will be increasingly concentrated in the hands of the capitalists, the workers (proletariat) are reduced to subsistence living, the capitalist economy falls into "secular stagnation" because the workers cannot afford the things they produce. The workers finally overthrow the capitalists and expropriate their capital.
In theory, the communist bureaucracy established to administer the expropriated means of production should be transitory: the state will wither away as the people achieve a utopian state of equality and cooperation. But twentieth-century communism didn't quite work out that way, of course.
Although the political fortunes of communism faded at the end of the 20th century, the theory and practice of communism are important to understand. Communism was an extremely expensive social experiment. The major genocides of the 20th century were mostly committed in pursuit of communist ideals: 30+ million dead in Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution in China; 25+ million dead in Stalin's forced collectivization of Soviet agriculture and political purges of the 1930's. Most of these people died in engineered famines. Even Hitler didn't kill this many people.
Marxism had a powerful appeal to the European and American working classes in the early 20th century. The language of the Communist Manifesto is stirring: "Workers of the world, unite!" The utopian goals are appealing: "From each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs." In fact, despite the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Marxism is still a powerful political ideology, a valid method for interpreting history, and an influential intellectual framework.
Marxism is at heart a utopian philosophy based on "dialectical materialism." Marx and Engels followed a long utopian tradition seeking the perfectibility of human nature and the realization of a perfectly free, equal society. They were humanists who would have been horrified to see their ideas used to justify so much political brutality in the 20th Century.
Dialectics, as fully articulated by Hegel in describing human thought (and grossly simplified here), is the analysis of conflicting principles or forces in history that are eventually resolved in a "synthesis"–some new idea, or new political, cultural or technological outcome. Each synthesis then generates an opposing principle, a new dialectical conflict, and a new synthesis. History is understood as a cycle of such conflicts and transformative resolutions.
Marx and Engels were materialists, dismissing religion as "the opium of the masses" in favor of material experience as the basis of knowledge and human interactions (materialism is a direct outgrowth of Locke's empiricism). They therefore extended the application of dialectics to the material world: commodities become capital, market competition becomes monopoly, etc.
Soviet-style communism involved the collectivization of land and capital under the control of worker cooperatives, which were supervised by a central planning bureaucracy dominated by members of the communist party. State planners specified production quotas for each cooperative, and oversaw the supply of intermediate goods between industries. Goods and resources were allocated according to a central plan reflecting the government's perception of the country's needs, not by the "invisible hand" of competitive market forces. Obviously this was an enormous organizational challenge, and it is not surprising that the Soviet planned economy suffered from production bottlenecks, shortages of retail goods, quality control problems, etc. The government tolerated a degree of underground and quasi-underground private economic activity, the Soviet economy became increasingly dependent on this private sector, and the government eventually lost political control of it and finally succumbed to overwhelming economic reform pressures.
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At a special workshop session Tuesday evening, the City Council discussed goals for the city's five-year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program plan with Ames residents.
At a special workshop session Tuesday evening, the City Council discussed goals for the city's five-year Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program plan with Ames residents.
The CDBG program is run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide grant funding for a variety of neighborhood revitalization and economic development projects focused largely on expanding affordable housing options.
The city has received CDBG funds for about a decade and has chosen to submit consolidated plans to HUD every five years.
On Tuesday, council members split into roundtable groups with the two dozen or so people in attendance to discuss a new plan the city will submit in June for the 2014-15 fiscal year.
"We talk a lot about Ames being a community that welcomes, but we're not very welcoming to low- and very-low-income families because we have so many students that our housing market is really, really tight," said Ames resident Shari Reilly, a moderate-income homeowner active in community housing and homeless issues.
Ames' grant allocation for the 2014-15 fiscal year has yet to be announced, but last year the city received about $509,000 in addition to about $565,000 it rolled over from the previous year.
In the 2014-15 fiscal year budget, which the council approved in February, about $523,000 was recommended for the CDBG programs.
In past years, the funds have been used for projects including infrastructure improvements in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, financial assistance for new homebuyers and blight removal in flood plains.
The city's current five-year plan prioritizes affordable housing programs, services for the homeless and special-needs residents, public infrastructure improvements and slum and blight removal to reduce the amount of substandard housing units.
At Tuesday's meeting, residents emphasized the city's affordable housing problem. They also suggested a range of other things to potentially use the CDBG funds for, including providing transit and job-training services, increasing assistance for victims of domestic violence and encouraging landlords to rent to more low- and moderate-income residents.
"I can't stand here and tell you that everything you mentioned is something that can happen with CDBG funds," said Planning and Housing Department housing coordinator Vanessa Baker-Latimer, who facilitated the discussion.
"It certainly depends on funding, it depends on timing, it depends on what other dollars come leveraged with that."
Baker-Latimer said the city had partnered with Iowa State University to help analyze and update housing data, much of which may be outdated, provided through a new HUD software system.
At its next meeting March 25, the council plans to approve a consolidated plan.
City staff plan to prepare the plan in April for submission to HUD by June 13. A public hearing for the consolidated plan is scheduled for June 10 after a 30-day public comment period ending June 5.
The city also still has to approve an action plan for the CDBG program, which will lay out in more detail how the funding would be spent. A public hearing for that will be held April 10.
In other business Tuesday, the council set a public hearing date of April 8 relating to the extension of water and sanitary sewer services to an area north of the Bloomington Heights subdivision the city has worked to annex for residential development.
At its next meeting, the council will begin finalizing plans and specifications for the service extensions north of town.
On April 16, the week after the public hearing on the services, the project will be opened for bids.
Final plans for the project are scheduled for approval by the council on April 22, when a winning bid would be awarded.

subset: commoncrawl


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92.5 Silver, Desert Druzy & Labradorite Pendant Necklace & Earring Set – RENATA
Out of stock
Share Product
Sterling silver appeal and elegance of a Labradorite (the quality of changing colours with respect to the angle of light falling on it) and the allure of the Desert Druzy will look astonishing and sophisticated with any outfit all day and all night. A timeless piece. It will surely impress you and others.
It comes with Labradorite stunning pair of earrings as a set in a complete free gift box.
- Product type: Necklace Pendant
- Metal: 92.5 Sterling Silver
- Gemstone Pendant: Labradorite, Dessert Druzy
- Neck Beads: Labradorite
- Length Pendants: 10cm
- Width Pendant: 4.7cm
- Length of earrings: 4.5cm Width of earrings: 1.4cm
- Weight: 43.31 Grams
Great gift for all occasions whether it is a gift for Christmas, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Birthday, Anniversary or just to say "Thank You
|0.25 kg


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Ballet-Pink Mesh Point-Toe Pumps with Sequin Embroidery
Sale Price $825
Details & Care
item no. ROMY85VXKThe ever-classic Romy heels arrive in gauzy ballet-pink tulle that's trimmed with a scattering of sequins for an enchanting mood. This leather-lined pair comes with signature details, like the soft point toe and complementing slender 85mm heel that lengthen your legs. Let them charmingly heighten your next party look.
- Mesh
- Sequin embroidery
- Soft point toe
- Mid heel
- Leather lined
- Leather sole
- Heel height measures: 85mm/3.3 inches
- Made in Italy
Delivery & Returns
US Standard: Complimentary (2-7 working days, NY 2-3) US Express: $20 (1-3 working days, NY 1-2) New York Same Day: $25 Americas: $30 Complimentary (2-7 working days)Please note; the above delivery times exclude pre-orders and made-to-order items. Shop with confidence with free returns. Fragrance is non-refundable and shipping restrictions apply. Please note; Made To Order items are non-refundable and can't be returned or exchanged. See full delivery and returns information.


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I mentioned in an earlier post about a former roommates nephew being told by his doctor to sit on an exercise ball at work because it would help his posture and relieve his back pain. For him it worked.
As you'll see in this article, not all doctors feel the same way about them. Some believe they have no benefits at all, and see no evidence to prove otherwise.
When we listen to the debates going back and forth on the subject, we might also bear in mind that despite evidence into the millions, doctor's have also believed throughout the years that there was no such thing as menopause, pms, or postpartum depression.
So, evidence isn't always accepted. Personally, I believe a lot simply has to do with the individual themselves. No two bodies are they same, and each responds in it's own way to various therapies.
Anyway, I really enjoyed this article and her humour. Hope you do too.
Why I Switched My Office Chair with an Exercise Ball (and What It's ...
Many of us spend the majority of our professional lives sitting, which makes the office chair an all-important piece of furniture. Lately mine hasn't been cutting it, so as an experiment, I swapped my chair with an exercise ball.


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Is your iCloud account secured by a good password? That's not going to help you if Apple sidesteps your security and hands hackers access to your account.
The the other day I posted Mat Honan's tale of woe. Hackers got into his iCloud account and used that to remote wipe his iPhone, iPad and MacBook before going on to create more mayhem. At the time it was assumed that the hackers had used bruteforcing – trying passwords until they got lucky — but it turns out that Apple gave the hackers access to his iCloud account.
I know how it was done now. Confirmed with both the hacker and Apple. It wasn't password related. They got in via Apple tech support and some clever social engineering that let them bypass security questions.
"Social engineering" is a fancy word for tricking the person on the other end to do what you want by making them believe that they are you.
Apple has now admitted that it screwed up, and that "internal policies were not followed completely".
"Apple takes customer privacy seriously and requires multiple forms of verification before resetting an Apple ID password," said an Apple spokeswoman. "In this particular case, the customer's data was compromised by a person who had acquired personal information about the customer. In addition, we found that our own internal policies were not followed completely. We are reviewing all of our processes for resetting account passwords to ensure our customers' data is protected."
However, according to Honan, the problem remains:
As of Monday, both of these exploits used by the hackers were still functioning. Wired was able to duplicate them. Apple says its internal tech support processes weren't followed, and this is how my account was compromised. However, this contradicts what AppleCare told me twice that weekend. If that is, in fact, the case — that I was the victim of Apple not following its own internal processes — then the problem is widespread.
Got an iCloud account? Got it set up so that your devices can be wiped remotely? Sleep tight ...


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Take an evening stroll along the sandy beach followed by a spot of alfresco dining on the patio back at the chalet. With gorgeous views and situated in an ideal location for exploring what the Island has to offer, Sunny View really is the perfect place for a family getaway.
Sunny View is a modern and stylish self catering chalet set in a secluded hideaway in Freshwater along the coast of the Isle of Wight. The chalet is well presented and large enough to accommodate a family of 4 for a comfortable and relaxing holiday. Surrounded by adventure opportunities you could take a short walk to the beautiful sandy beach and see the amazing views of The Needles and Hurst Castle, or take advantage of the many walks around Freshwater boasting spectacular views.
Sunny View chalet has space for everyone and all on one level. Enter into the lovely open plan living area with its well equipped kitchen, where you can prepare delicious meals which can then be enjoyed in the dining area or out on the patio enjoying the afternoon and evening sunshine. Spend time relaxing in the comfortable living area, which has two leather sofas, a smart TV, radio/CD player and a selection of games and DVDs. A lovely light and airy bathroom, with a shower over the bath, two beautiful bedrooms with plenty of storage, one double and the twin has the addition of a door onto a small back patio area to complete the chalet. Gas central heating, bed linen and towels included. WiFi included. Hairdryer and first aid kit included. Access to the chalet is via an unadopted road which is in variable condition. On site facilities include a small shop, laundry, crazy golf, childrens play area, football pitch and extensive grassed areas (some charges payable locally). Children of all ages welcome. A cot and high chair can be supplied if requested in advance, if the cot is requested, 1 single bed will be removed from the twin room and the cot put in its place. Sorry no pets (except guide dogs). Car parking available.
Open: 14 February - 15 November and Christmas/New Year | Minimum number of nights: 3, 4, 5 & 7 night stays available starting any day except Saturday's.
- Check-in - 15:00- 20:00
- Check-out - 10:00
Facilities included
- WiFi available
- Smart TV & DVD
- Central heating
- Patio area with seating
- Cot & highchair available
What's included
- Bed linen
- Gas
- Electricity
- Towels
What's not included
- Beach towels
- No Pets (Except guide dogs)
- A cot and high chair can be supplied if requested in advance, if the cot is requested one single bed will be removed from the twin room and the cot put in its place.
On-Site Facilities included
- Pitch & putt/ Crazy Golf
- Laundry facilities
- Play Area
- Shop (Open March - October)
- Sports Field
- Car parking nearby
Sunny View, 87 Brambles Chine, Monks Lane, Freshwater, Isle of wight, PO40 9SQ
- Cow Co. Restaurant
- Tapnell Farm Park
- Chessell Pottery
- Freshwater Bay
- Dimbola Lodge
- Freshwater Golf Club
- Calbourne Water Mill
Missing guest information
Missing room


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Mesut Ozil said on Sunday (Jul 22) he was quitting the German national football team, citing "racism" in the criticism of him in the side's World Cup debacle.
"It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect," he tweeted.
Ozil, who has Turkish roots, had earlier defended his decision to pose for a photograph with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May which sparked questions about his loyalty to Germany's squad ahead of the World Cup in Russia.
In a three-part statement on Twitter sent over the course of the day, an angry Ozil saved his bombshell for the final salvo.
In it, the Arsenal midfielder blamed the German Football Federation (DFB) for failing to defend him against his most strident critics.
"Arguably the issue that has frustrated me the most over the past couple of months has been the mistreatment from the DFB, and in particular the DFB President Richard Grindel," he said.
He said that Grindel and Germany coach Joachim Loew had asked him to give a "joint statement to end all the talk and set the record straight" over the picture with Erdogan.
"Whilst I attempted to explain to Grindel my heritage, ancestry and therefore reasoning behind the photo, he was far more interested in speaking about his own political views and belittling my opinion."
Ozil said he had been unfairly blamed in Germany for the side's shock first-round defeat at the World Cup.


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Teardown: Amazon Dash Button keeps you connected
Brian Dipert @ edn.com has done a teardown on Amazon's dash button and shows the parts inside.
How much hardware was Amazon able to squeeze into such a diminutive bill-of-materials budget, or perhaps more accurately, how much are Amazon and its consumable-supplier partners subsidizing the initial hardware cost in the hope of plenty of future generated profits? Let's find out.
Teardown: Amazon Dash Button keeps you connected – [Link]


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Title contender Matt Hilliker believes his jab will be the key to his biggest victory next weekend when he returns to London's Alexandra Palace.
The Dartford based Cruiserweight will face London's Ryan Crawford next Saturday night in his bid to lift the vacant Queensbury Boxing League novice title on the undercard of the huge Kings Of The Palace promotion, and the 31 year old is confident he has all the tools required to emerge with the victory after watching his rival in action at the league's Challenger 5 promotion.
Hilliker was last in action back in March when he had to climb off the canvas in the opening round of his showdown with old rival Peter Green to secure his shot at the belt with a majority points decision, and after enduring month's of hard training since his latest victory, the Dartford stylist is confident it will all pay off on the biggest night of his boxing career.
"Since the victory over Green I've literally had a week off from training and I've been working on a lot of new things in the gym getting ready for this fight, commented Hilliker.
" I was ringside back in June to watch Crawford in action and he's very similar in style to me, so I'm hoping he's not going to be hard to find in this fight which will allow me to box a bit more which is what I want.
London's Crawford will bring an undefeated league record into the showdown with Hilliker after disposing of Camberley's Lucas Krakowiak, but Hilliker believes he has seen enough from that one fight to be confident of his chances.
" Crawford looked good in the fight but he looked uncomfortable when under pressure especially from the straight shots Krakowiak was hitting him with, and with my jab being one of my key weapons I really feel I can pick him off with that all night.
"I've got a good game plan coming into this fight and I'm confident I can do the job so I'm looking forward to getting back into the ring and putting it all together now.
Hilliker versus Crawford will feature on the undercard of the hotly anticipated Kings Of The Palace promotion taking place next Saturday night at London's Alexandra Palace, and for all the latest ticket information on the show contact the QBL Box Office on 02037518599
Click here to follow us on Facebook to keep up to date with Queensbury Boxing League news and updates!
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The Skinny on Quitting Sugar
Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar was one of the year's Australian publishing sensations, spawning a mini-industry telling people how to kick the white stuff. The former Cosmopolitan magazine editor and erstwhile sugar "addict" says she once consumed the equivalent of 25 teaspoons a day, much "hidden" in foods and drinks.
A health and life crisis made her re-evaluate her lifestyle and ultimately recognise a link between her OTT intake of the sweet siren and years of mood disorders, fluctuating weight, sleep problems and thyroid disease.
By radically moderating her sugar consumption "I lost weight and my skin changed, it cleared," she says, "but I also started to heal. I found wellness and the kind of energy and sparkle I had as a kid." Her personal experience resulted in the book, interactive website and cult following.
As with any apparent diet "miracle", I Quit Sugar has already generated a counter-movement with nutritionist Cassie Platt soon to publish her own book, I Didn't Quit Sugar.
It's created a stir in the sugar bowl with Wilson blogging in her book's defence that "I don't suggest quitting all sugars. I certainly don't advocate quitting glucose. I'm very clear: fructose is the issue, mostly in the form of sucrose. I agree, quitting all sugar, and carbs, could create health issues, such as hair loss.
"Yes, yes, yes, the title of my book is I Quit Sugar. But when we say "sugar", most of us are referring to sucrose or table sugar (the stuff they put in doughnuts), right? And within about three words of opening the book I highlight I'm referring to fructose specifically."
Okay, so that's two women's experiences. But what are we talking about, really? How much sugar do those of us not committed to a radical lifestyle change (but who'd still like to lose weight, feel and look brighter etc) need to give up? What are "good" and "bad" sugars"? After all, fruit has sugar and fruit is good for you, or so we've been told for generations.
Is sugar really the devil – or "Satan's crystals" as some colourful detractors have dubbed it? There was a time when it was just blamed for rotting your teeth and making you overweight.
Now, over the past decade, sugar has been deemed a culprit behind everything from obesity to feeding cancer cells to ageing the body (particularly the skin) at an accelerated rate (glycation), heart disease, dementia, macular (eye) degeneration, chronic kidney disease and failure, and high blood pressure.
There's always impressive-sounding studies and statistics to support such claims. If you're not a scientific expert, though, it's hard to digest what's best for you.
The biggest problem with sugar is that, these days, it's everywhere, whether you know it or not, and it comes in far more processed forms than nature intended. It's to be found in such sources as Macca's French fries, breading on most packaged and restaurant foods, hamburgers sold in restaurants to reduce meat shrinkage during cooking, canned salmon (before canning, it is often glazed with a sugar solution), cured/sliced meats such as ham, turkey and chicken, bacon and canned meats, stock cubes (which usually contain MSG as well), many peanut butter brands, dry cereals and carb-dense foods, particularly highly processed ones such as commercial bread and rice.
A telling comparison:
- In 1822 Americans consumed 45gm of sugar every five days, or the amount of sugar in a can of Coca Cola.
- In 2012 Americans consumed 756gm of sugar every five days, or 58kg of sugar a year. That's the size of some adults!
When you eat sugar – and, especially, too much of it – your body can deal with it one of two ways:
- Burn it for energy. Great if your body is firing on all cylinders and you have a fast metabolism.
- Convert it to fat and store it in your fat cells. With today's stressed lifestyles and diets, there's more scope for fat storage. Excess sugar is used to provide the energy our body needs rather than drawing on our fat stores.
When your pancreas detects a rush of sugar, it releases the hormone insulin to deal with the blood sugar spike. Insulin helps to regulate the level of sugar in the blood; the more sugar in the bloodstream, the more insulin is released. Insulin helps store glucose in the liver and muscles as glycogen and in fat cells.
If too much insulin is released, blood sugar drops below normal levels causing hypoglycemia – essentially a sugar "crash". Our bodies respond by craving sugar and this is where the "addiction" cycle can come into play. We consume more sugar and the process starts again. The more severe the blood sugar spike, the more insulin required. This means it becomes easier to skip using sugar as energy and go straight to extra insulin and fat storage.
We're not genetically designed to consume the amount of sugar we're currently eating. For that reason, our brains get the "happy feeling" (eg. spike of feel-good chemicals such as serotonin) from sugar that we could otherwise get from exercise.
So is eating less sugar the answer? Actually, it's only part of the battle.
You've probably heard of the Glycaemic Index. It's the calculation of how quickly a particular type of food increases your blood sugar level, on a scale from 1-100 (100 being pure glucose).
Professor Jennie Brand-Miller, from the University of Sydney's School of Molecular Bioscience and Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders, also author of the best-selling Low GI Diet franchise, talked to She 'Said':
How bad really is sugar for you?
No worse than any other source of carbohydrate (starch, glucose etc).
What are the side effects (apart from weight gain) of eating too much sugar?
Some studies suggest that it increases the level of triglycerides (fats) in your blood and liver, but this type of study usually involves a supra-normal dose. When more realistic doses are used, there's no difference.
What are the side effects of having no sugar at all?
Studies suggest that people who avoid sugar end up eating more saturated fat. It's called the sugar-fat seesaw and it's well documented in all population groups.
When people become overly zealous about deleting all sugar (indeed, any type of food) from their diet, can it can cause feelings of deprivation that eventually make you obsess over and crave the "forbidden fruit"?
Absolutely agree. And the liking for sweetness is programmed into human brains. Many primates are "frugivores" – they get the majority of their calories from fruits.
What are the benefits of reducing sugar in your diet?
If you get currently more than 25 per cent of your calories from refined sugars (the average is actually 10-12 per cent), then cutting down may improve the nutritional value of your diet. But it's no guarantee. A completely sugar-free diet if often high in refined oils, refined starches and alcohol, which are also empty calories.
How much sugar should an average person consume each day and from what sources?
Most authorities say 10 per cent of your calories can safely come from refined sugars – that's 200 calories in a 2000 calorie diet, and that's 50g of sugar, or 10 teaspoons. My recommendation would be to use this sugar to increase the palatability of bland but wholesome foods such as muesli, porridge, yoghurt or jam/honey on wholegrain bread.
Is there such as thing as "good" and "bad" sugars?
No. Nature provides a mix of sugars, including sucrose, glucose and fructose. Some ignorant people think glucose is better than fructose but that's wishful thinking. If anything, glucose alone would increase your risk of diabetes.
What is your advice about finding balance in your diet overall, and keeping your sugar intake at acceptable levels?
Eat a higher-protein, lower GI, Mediterranean diet because this will help to control appetite. Go to bed early, get a good night's sleep and get 30 minutes of exercise a day. THEN allow your appetite to guide food intake. Eat for both pleasure and wellbeing.
If someone is keen to give such a low-sugar diet a go, how would you recommend they go about it?
They should seek advice only from people with university qualifications, preferably with APD after their name (Accredited Practising Dietitian).
Is sugar the enemy, or do you indulge your sweet teeth? How do you feel about sugar? Tell us in the comments!
Jenni Gilbert is a longtime journalist with a passion for sourcing and sharing information about how to look and feel better, inside and out. Jenni's resume includes Editor-in-Chief of New Idea, launch editor of Good Medicine magazine, London correspondent for Fairfax's The Sun newspaper – she even covered the wedding of Charles and Diana! – Deputy Editor of Who, senior writer for Woman's Day, News & Features Editor of The Australian Women's Weekly and much more. Family, friends, her cat, travelling, Pilates, yoga, holistic health and anti-ageing treatments are what makes Jenni's life go round.


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Horse Riding Fitness Machine Makes 'Shake-Weight' Look Innocent [Video]
How would you like to thrust your way to a thinner you? Well the 'Horse Riding Fitness Machine' from Korea is the dream workout that you've been looking for!
Actually it looks like they are doing something else, but I just can't quite put my finger on it.
The actual translated description is just as hilarious as the horse rider itself.
It help device to fitness you up! And reach the health goal! Live longer for now! Be your Ace Power!!
Right now the inventors of the 'Shake-Weight' are sitting around a room stunned that someone made a more sexually suggestive product than they did.
Horse Riding Fitness Machine


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I just want to get behind it, to see what's there.
I'm still in art mode, still putting backgrounds on canvases, putting backgrounds on metal, altering signs, gluing paper, slopping on gel, more paper, gesso, paper again, and it is still just backgrounds. I know what it's all about, what all these pieces will talk about in their own silent way - Storms & Stillness will be the name of this show - but it is slow going. Storms & stillness have been my life for the last little while - kind of like baseball; lots of waiting around for something to happen and then a whole bunch of stuff really fast. I know I must be boring you all to tears - all these gray images, all these just not very pretty pictures, all this constant introspection & worrying & agonizing & overthinking, and to be honest, I am quite boring myself to tears, so I understand. Any day now I expect to reach the lopping-off-an-ear stage. I come here to this blog every day & think I will change the background, change the banner, change the colors, brighten & lighten things up - I visit other blogs that are just bursting with cheer & color & thank goodness they are out there, but I just get jealous & feel as gray as my images, as shadowy, as dreamy, when I want to be anything but all those things, when I want to just be the sparkles of sunshine on a lake. But for now, I am where I am, here in this artist's frame of mind, wherever it came from - was I born this way? - and I will be here for a while. I am taking so few photographs, concentrating on these canvases (should that be canvi?) strewn all over my house, staring me in the face, sending out invisible energy, luring me into their world.
So please bear with me.


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I had fun with this race, after 8 hours night, I finished your clothes. I decorated his pants with stitch on the edge, and the dress, for the type of rough cloth, only a finite lace.
Es el primer conejo que hago, agradezco a las organizadoras (Mª Carmen y Beatriz), ya que si no fuera por esta carrera, aún estaría intentando coser un muñequito.
It is the first rabbit I made, thank the organizers (M ª Carmen and Beatriz), because if it were not for this race, I would still be trying to sew a doll. Pd: Ahora voy a leer el diario.
Pd: Now, I am going to read the newspaper.
Hasta pronto.


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Fantasea Bermuda
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With over twenty years of experience, this company came highly recommended for offering the widest range of professionally operated eco-adventure tours, charters and recreation throughout Bermuda. They also offer mountain biking (on the famous railway trails), kayaking, Jet Ski's, inshore fishing, rum cruise, parasailing, whale watching, snorkeling / night snorkeling, wreck diving and a new concept called snuba. Snuba combines the ease of snorkeling with the excitement of diving, allowing participants the opportunity of being able to breathe underwater without an additional 60 pounds of cumbersome dive gear. No previous dive or snorkel experience is necessary. They have an extensive watersports rental centre with 'top of the line' equipment and professional staff, which also includes Aqua scooters, snorkeling gear, glass bottom kayaks, inflatables and Hobie Cats for the ultimate fun on the water.
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Half hour with… Madonna
Currently on a world tour, the Queen of Pop opens up about her enduring reputation as a rebel and why she is thankful to have grown up anything other than a Material Girl.
Having been a chart-topper for more than 30 years, music legend Madonna is continuing to do what she does best — ruffle feathers.
The singer, actress and film-maker's Rebel Heart tour, which kicked off in Montreal in September and arrives in the UK next month, drew criticism from America's Catholic League after she was seen performing the track Holy Water while pole dancing dressed in a skimpy nun's costume. But as the pop provocateur, mum to four children — Lourdes, 19, Rocco, 15, and nine-year-olds Mercy and David — explains, being a rebel is in her DNA…
Rebel Heart is your tenth world tour. Do you feel like you're redefining what a rebel is?
Yeah, but let's face it, I've been doing that my entire career. I've been waving that flag all along. My (1991) film Truth or Dare openly depicts homosexual relationships — people didn't do that before. To me, it's just a normal part of life.
What is the defining theme of your show?
Romance, love, living for love, being a rebel heart… They're all kind of intertwined. It's about rising above, believing in your dreams, overcoming heartbreak, things like that — you know, the simple things in life.
Because you're just a simple girl at heart…
Deep down inside I am, yes. But I tackle pretty complex themes, I guess, in my work.
Provocation seems second nature to you…
It comes naturally. It's in my DNA to challenge the norms, to question things, to turn them inside out, to say: "But what if?" It's not because I don't respect people's ideas and beliefs — I have ultimate respect for them. But people need to have their ideas and beliefs challenged, if only to make them stronger about what they believe in. I want to make people ask: "Why am I doing this? Why do I believe in this? Why does this define me?"
Even though they may just want to hear some favourite tunes?
Well, I think it's important that people ask these questions, of themselves as well as each other. That's the purpose of art.
Choreography is always an important part of your shows. Is it as important as the music?
I started out as a dancer, so dancing is important to me. I try to find the most unique and original dancers to work with and then tell a story that's going to inspire and change people's lives. And that works together with the music. It's a big goal but that's what we have to have — big goals.
You're 57 and it's clearly a strenuous show. How do you keep yourself in shape for doing it?
I have a very disciplined life. I don't do a lot of socialising. My life revolves around my show and my four children and trying to live a very healthy lifestyle. The only thing I'm lacking now is sleep.
Does putting a show together get harder?
Yes it does. It's hard to choose. Sometimes I have to let go of things I love because they don't sound right or go with the theme. Or I go: "Oh, I did that the last three shows. Even though I love that song let's do something new."
You have been criticised in the past for not including enough big hits in your shows…
I tend to like my more abstract, less commercial songs, but I realise that I have to have songs that people are familiar with and want to sing along to. So I have to balance it out and not just do a creative show that's going to please me. I have to be quite brutal sometimes. It's kind of like editing a movie in a way because there are scenes that you love but they just don't help tell the story and you have to let them go.
You had an emotional homecoming at your Detroit show last month after causing upset by calling the area "provincial" earlier in the year. Bygones are bygones?
I appreciate my provincial upbringing — it's my people, y'know. To me it's really important that I come from the Midwest. My father and the people that I was surrounded with had a very strong work ethic and a very practical approach to work. There weren't a lot of frills. The fact that I came from a small town in the Midwest has a lot to do with the kind of open notebook that I had to start my journey, creatively. I don't think I would be as creative as I am if I had grown up surrounded by everything at my fingertips.
Rebel Heart is touring until 17 March. For venues, dates and tickets, visit madonna.com
© Hello


text: "The recipe for creating anything is really quite simple. Take good or bad feelings (meaning positive or negative vibrations), bake with varying degrees of emotion to increase magnetism, and here comes what we've attracted, like it or not. What we have focused on, and how we have vibrated about it, is what we have gotten… from birth." Source: Lynn Grabhorn


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Rick Brenneman Fills SCCC/ATS Vacancy
KSCB News - December 2, 2010 12:00 am
Rick Brenneman, owner of Kitch-Brenneman Funeral Home of Liberal, was
appointed to fill the vacancy on the Seward County Community College/Area
Technical School Board of Trustees.
The board met in a special meeting Wednesday, Dec. 1 to appoint a new member
of the Board. A board vacancy was created as a result of the resignation of
long-time Board member Jo Ann Sharp, who resigned at the Nov. 1 meeting. The
Board began the process of appointing a new member soon thereafter. Public
announcements regarding the vacancy were disseminated to the media and
applications were received from members of the public.
The Board interviewed three individuals during an executive session on Dec.
Brenneman has served on the Southwest Kansas Technical School Foundation and
as a Saints Booster parent. He will fulfill the remainder of the term on
the Board through June 2011. The position will be eligible for public
election at the April 2011 election.


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Firefox & Bootstrap 3 Glyphicons
I'm currently working on a site which uses Bootstrap 3, and makes significant use of glyphicons. As of Bootstrap 3, glyphicons are back to being web-font based. They look fine in Chrome (which is my main desktop browser), and in Safari on iOS, but I recently noticed they didn't work on my Android phone.
Initially, I thought it might be an Android problem, but then I spotted that they didn't work in desktop Firefox either. Debugging in desktop Firefox is rather easier than its mobile cousin, and loading up the web console, I saw this error:
Error: downloadable font: download failed (
font-family: ...): bad URI or cross-site access not allowed.
Some Googling around got me to this Stack Overflow
which told me I needed to add
Access-Control-Allow-Origin * to the
headers returned in the HTTP responses for the font files. The answer
was for Apache, where I was using nginx, for which the relevant
snippet is:
location ~* .(eot|ttf|woff)$ {
add_header Access–Control–Allow–Origin *;
I just added that to the
location block that was responsible for
serving my font files, reloaded nginx, and the icons appear
Here's hoping this post helps someone else figure out how to get this set up.


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Currently viewing the tag: "Garden designer"
RHS Tatton – it's almost over, dismantling the show garden
By RosewarneGardens On August 1, 2016 · Leave a Comment
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Officially we could have dismantled on Sunday but not one of us was that desperate to slog that one out. Queuing to get back onsite after the show closed was not high on the list of priorities. Home and a hot bath and bed before the final onslaught of work was the order of the […]
RHS Tatton – 2 weeks to go
By RosewarneGardens On June 22, 2016 · Leave a Comment
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2 weeks today we will be onsite. EEEK
Oddly I haven't done this kind of counting down for a long time, normally I don't need, or get, this much headspace to plan forward in so much detail. I used to do this a lot in my corporate days, and of course waiting for holidays to […]
RHS Tatton – 4 weeks to go
By RosewarneGardens On June 12, 2016 · 7 Comments
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In fact it's 3.5 weeks until we decamp to Cheshire and the start of the build on our garden, Inner Sanctum, at RHS Tatton.
It has been quite the journey so far and I have no doubt it will be an action packed finale in the coming weeks.
5 Reasons why you should employ a garden designer
By RosewarneGardens On July 2, 2015 · 12 Comments
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Many moons ago when I was busy ripping up the world of Retail IT consulting I investigated having my postage stamp of a London garden designed by a pro. In the end I designed it myself and with a friends 'handy' husband built it, planted it and sat back and enjoyed it. So why employ […]
Planning & the noxious weed
By RosewarneGardens On June 20, 2013 · Leave a Comment
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Getting involved with garden projects where there is an aspect of planning involved can be a time consuming but usually an interesting aspect of being a Garden Designer. I spend a good number of hours trawling through the 'not so intuitive' Planning Portal, set up by government to make the process […]
By RosewarneGardens On December 11, 2010 · Leave a Comment
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The first few weeks are under my belt now. It has been daunting and exciting and many other emotions since starting, I am on another steep learning curve which is all to the good (Outliers: The Story of Success here I come!) as far as I can see.
One aspect that intrigues me, and […]
Piet & Anja Oudolf at the Garden Museum
By RosewarneGardens On October 27, 2010 · 2 Comments
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Sifting through a friends copy of the Saturday Telegraph some weeks ago I came across an article flaunting talks with legendary Piet Oudolf and Tom Stuart Smith. Ok only legendary if you're a gardener or garden designer I suppose but nevertheless BOTH worth noting even if you're not!
http://www.oudolf.com/piet-oudolfThe Garden Museum […]
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The trade show – that event where there's so many people to see, so many things to do and not even remotely enough time to do it. For those who are not trade show veterans it can be a little overwhelming. Let us help ease the burden with our 7 tips to attending — and surviving — Rendez-vous Canada (or any trade show for that matter).
1. Know Why You're There
Before anything you need to ensure that the trade show you're attending is right for you or your company. Ask yourself why you're there and what it is you want to get out of attending the event. Keep this in mind and set specific goals for yourself for while you attend.
2. Plan Ahead
39% of attendees spend less than 8 hours wandering the trade show floor so be sure to maximize your time by planning ahead. There are a few things you should be thinking about:
- Which exhibitors are you going to visit?
- Who are the "must-sees" and who are the vendors you would like to see? (keep yourself organized and make sure to schedule appointments accordingly)
- What do you need to know from each exhibitor — never hesitate to write down questions
- Plan for other events other than just the trade show itself
- Make your transportation and accommodation plans early — this can help save you time and money
3. Attend Events
Trade shows are not just about the exhibits. Take advantage of all the other opportunities at the show. This includes events outside the exhibition itself including tourist sites and attractions, as well as mixers hosted by the trade show and/or affiliates.
SEE ALSO: 7 Tips to Using Social Media at #RVC2014
4. Network! Network! Network!
Whether you're attending or exhibiting networking is crucial! Make it a point to reach out to other people in your industry. Bring more business cards than you think you'll ever need.
5. Use Social Media!
Trade shows are likely to have their own social media platforms, even their own custom hashtags for the event (like #ExploreCanada and #RVC2014)— take advantage and use them! It's a great way to keep yourself updated on the exciting things that are happening around you and join in on the conversation!
*Be sure to follow Rendez-vous on Twitter, Like them on Facebook and join in the conversation at the event!
6. Prepare for Exhaustion
There's no easy way to say it — trade shows are physically demanding. Stay hydrated and be sure to wear comfortable shoes as you'll find yourself standing and/or walking for the better part of your time.
7. Stay Late – Don't Miss Out!
Don't immediately throw in the towel and jet back to hotel when the floor closes! Take the opportunity to meet up with the people you have met during the day. Get to know them better over dinner, at any of the trade show and/or affiliate mixers.
If there's anything you take from this blog it's this tip. It is absolutely crucial that you follow up with the individuals you meet! Contact everyone within two weeks while the trade show is still top of mind. Offer them more information on your business, invite them to connect with you on social or suggest meeting for coffee!
*Remember, the ultimate goal is build relationships and move them forward while the show is still fresh in people's minds.
So there you have it — you're now equipped with an arsenal of tips to help you attend and survive Rendez-vous Canada.PHOTO: www.buzzbinpadillacrt.com
This month, members of iSTORM New Media will be attending the Rendez-vous Canada Trade show and Conference in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Rendez-vous or #RVC2014 is Tourism Canada's premier international marketplace jam-packed with vendors and exhibitors from all across the globe. We will be live-tweeting the entire event and have put together a series of 'Rendez-vous Preparation' articlesto help you get ready for the big dance on May 27th. Enjoy!


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TeenModels - Sonia Red HDV 720p [01-19-2009]
- Type Video
- Language English
- Total size 227.1 MB
- Uploaded By christian235
- Downloads 931
- Last checked 6 days ago
- Date uploaded 9 years ago
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Your IP Address is Location is - Your ISP and Government can track your torrent activity! Hide your IP with a VPN!
Infohash : 544536B31AE2F3D9E4CD7BC9C25A43BA60BBCFAA
Sonia Red is on fire. She's got the look every man wants. A pretty face, nice tits and a nice round ass. When she's paired up with her little pink vibrator there's no telling what this firey brunette will do.
- 09.01.19.SoniaRed_TeenModels.wmv (227.1 MB)
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Fri 24 Feb 2017
FRIDAY FINDS: Wicked Random
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FF: The cool fun chargers from BUQU
Life is way too short to have a boring car or wall charger. Seriously, think about how often you use these things for all of your USB-chargeable devices. Well you can relax, the fine folks at BUQU have you covered with a great line of really cool and fun charging devices…
…like the Playa Dice Wall Charger:
"When your phone is beat after a full day of texts and posts, the Playa™ will get you charged back up and ready to go in no time. It works on any USB powered device so feel free to share."
Check out all the cool chargers and related products from BUQU here.
FF: The Tattoo collection from Hartland Brooklyn
Last summer while on vacation (in the wonderful village of Wellfleet near the tip of Cape Cod) my friend Lynda applied temporary tattoos to the arms of our entire entourage. The tattoos were all seaside themed – like lobsters and shells – so it was perfect and the tattoos were surprisingly durable.
Anyway, I have been on the lookout for other temporary tattoos to bring on the next group trip and I think I have found just what I am looking for…
…the Pet Temporary Tattoos I found as part of the tattoo collection from the fine folks at Hartland Brooklyn.
Find the Tattoo collection from Hartland Brooklyn here.
See everything Hartland Brooklyn has to offer here.


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In this 3rd and final blog in the current series on school vision, I turn my attention to implementing the vision.
So the vision is set and you know what you're aiming for. What's next? Let's look at this in 4 parts:
1. Communicating the vision
How clear is it and how easy is it to communicate? A common response to this is to simplify it in the form of a strap line: e.g.
'Excellence for all and from all'
Where do you display it, as part of your communication strategy? In the school vision survey I carried out last year, the most common place was the school entrance (40%), with the Head's office second (33%) and in classrooms third (24%). Does this reflect your current practice? Other places included: the website, the staffroom and school headed paper.
Do you stick to displaying your vision in word format (73% of schools from the survey) or in pictorial format too? (22%). Could you get the pupils involved in this process, or even the wider school community?
2. Delivering the vision
A strap line is a useful concise way of stating the vision, but all stakeholders need to know what it means.
What does it actually mean on a daily basis?
Regardless of who is involved in the initial creation of the school vision, it needs to be owned by all stakeholders. This can be achieved by identifying how each group contributes to the overall vision.
I don't think it's necessarily about telling stakeholders what their roles are. You can ask them how they think their roles contribute to the overall vision; a useful group task as part of an INSET / staff meeting on this topic. It helps to encourage ownership and accountability. If they can't see how their roles contribute, perhaps some guidance is needed or their roles need a revamp.
A good vision helps people at all levels make more informed decisions because it is clear and they know their part in it
3. Supporting the vision
A few questions to consider with this part:
- What practices, if any, need to be different?
- What role will the SLT have in driving and maintaining it?
- What new teams need to be created?
- How will the School Improvement Plan support the vision?
Part of supporting the vision may involve behaviour changes, which come from having different expectations (of pupils, the curriculum, each other …). It's important that staff are supported in making sure this is a success.
How will you build this into your INSET / staff development strategy?
4. Monitoring the vision
As with anything that is implemented in school, some form of monitoring needs to take place. So who will be involved in monitoring the vision? What format will this take, and how often will it be done?
54% of respondents to the vision survey felt it should be reviewed annually. Do you agree?
Once you've decided on frequency and format for monitoring, a final couple of points to consider are:
- How will the outcomes be shared / communicated?
- What will your next steps be?
I'd love to hear your thoughts / experiences on revisiting, creating or implementing your school vision. It's always useful to share good practice!
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net


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This locally owned and operated establishment has a dedicated following among locals and regular visitors. Thoroughbreds has been a fixture on Myrtle Beach's famed Restaurant Row since opening in 1988 and is known as one of the top fine-dining options on the Grand Strand.
Thoroughbreds Food
In keeping with the racehorse theme, Thoroughbreds' menu is divided into courses consisting of seven furlongs – from the Starting Gate to the Finish Line. In between a nice spread of appetizers and desserts is a stable of selection of soups, salads and entrees. The Belmont Stakes includes Steak Au Poivre, Slow-Roasted Prime Rib and Chateaubriand; Seabiscuit features Lowcountry Crab Cakes, Grouper Nantua and Salmon Provencal; and The Preakness offers Calf Liver, Rack of Lamb and Duck Du Jour. The Homestretch has Thoroughbred's famous Kentucky Derby Pie and a wide range of coffees and cordials. In addition to a thorough wine list and a full bar, Thoroughbred's has its own line of creative martini's for the perfect nightcap to a great meal.
Thoroughbreds Atmosphere
Thoroughbred's is known for fine dining in an elegant environment. The equestrian theme is evident in the décor, featuring a clubhouse feel and charmingly appointed dining area. The crowd tends to be upscale golfers and local movers-and-shakers, and the service is impeccable.
Thoroughbreds Chophouse and Seafood Grille Reviews
See what 4 MyrtleBeach.com users said about Thoroughbreds Chophouse and Seafood Grille:
Must go
From the first time you walk into the door you are welcomed. The French onion soup is to die for and the chicken dish was fantastic. The Banana Foster Is off the chart. Staff is first rate and classy. More intimate then Ruth Chris..
The food and service were absolutely incredible. Thank you to our server, lisa, for the wonderful experience!
MB area residents, we found out about Thoroughbreds online. We were intrigued, and checked out the restaurant on the Saturday following Valentine's Day. Incredibly delicious food - starting with blackened beef tips and crab cake, the salads, the Grouper Nantua, and through the Triple Crown dessert cake! Been back a few more times, EVERYTHING we have eaten has just been excellent, and... we will be getting married and having our reception there in 2019!! You must go; you'll love the food and the atmosphere!
Share your experience!
Have you been to Thoroughbreds Chophouse and Seafood Grille? Add your opinion below:


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As both business and public sector organisations are becoming increasingly dependent on IT, there is growing recognition that governance of IT is an essential part of the corporate governance. Governance is about who makes the decisions? How they are made and who is accountable for what? While the need for IT governance is accepted, implementing effective IT governance continues to be a challenge.
Many C-level executives still consider IT to be too complex, technical and difficult to govern. IT governance still is perceived as a CIO issue. Alignment between IT and business strategy as well as between IT and business governance remains weak.
This article demystifies the IT governance and provides practical ideas for improvement.
Four "ares" of governance
Governance is about ensuring that the organizations resources are used the right way to create value while managing IT risks. The Val-IT framework from IT Governance institute helps address these challenges. The four "Ares' are the core of Val-IT framework. This is a sound framework which helps organisations ensure IT efforts are aligned and IT continues to deliver value.
- Are we doing the right things? To quote Peter Drucker: "There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all". This is the question about should we be doing something at all. It ensures strategic alignment between business and IT. Is what we are trying to do fit with the organisations vision and strategy? Is it consistent with the business principles?
- Are we doing them the right way? This is the question about architecture and standards. Is what we are doing conform to the architecture and processes?
- Are we getting it done well? This is the question about the execution. Do we have the disciplined delivery and change management processes? Do we have the right skilled re sources and are we managing them well? How does our performance measure up to others? Are we effectively managing risks?
- Are we getting the benefits? This is a question about realising value from investments in IT /projects. Are we clear about the benefits? Do we have metrics? Is the accountability for the benefits clearly defined?
These four questions cover the core of Governance, which are Strategic alignment, IT value delivery, IT Risk management, Performance management, and IT Resource Management. When managers at all levels address these questions, IT governance will become part of the culture.
IT Governance Models
There is no one size fits all model for IT governance. Three common models are based on three decision-making styles within organizations. These are: Centralised, Federated or Decentralised.
Figure 2 – IT Decision making models
- In the centralised model efficiency and cost control is emphasised over business unit responsiveness. There is greater focus on standards, synergies and economies of scale.
- In a BU centric (decentralised) model there is greater business ownership and responsiveness but integration and synergies suffer, resulting in likely higher costs.
- The federated model tries to combine the best features of these two. In the federated model common applications and infrastructure resources are pooled while business units control BU specific applications.
Here are some commonly used IT Governance forums. The above models influence the scope and membership of the IT governance forums.
Business Leadership Council / Executive committee – This is the top-level committee that makes enterprise-wide decisions including approving IT strategic plan and controlling major investments (including projects). Sometimes Ex-co may delegate the IT decisions to IT Council or IT Steering committee. This usually consists of key business executives, CFO and CIO. They would consider IT policy and investment decisions more deeply than the Ex-co.
IT Leadership council – This group consists of most senior IT leaders across the enterprise. They focus on decisions such as IT policy, IT Architectures and IT infrastructure. This is a critical forum in Federated and decentralised models.
IT Architecture Council consisting of key IT and some business leaders who would oversee development of architecture standards, recommend them for endorsement by the Leadership council. This group may also monitor compliance with the architecture standards.
Business-IT relationship managers – These managers bridge the gap between IT and business units and act as two-way communication channel to address and resolve any gaps.
Characteristics of good IT governance
- IT investments and decisions are assessed in a manner similar to business investments and IT is managed as a strategic asset. This means there is top management participation in key IT decisions. There is board oversight of IT investments and executives are held accountable for realising benefits.
- IT is essential part of corporate planning and strategic planning. IT understands the business dynamics and contributes to the development of business strategy, which is interlinked to IT strategy. IT and business work together to identify opportunities.
- Top IT risks are considered within the enterprise risk management framework. Risks such as data protection, IT security and business continuity receive periodic board oversight.
- IT performance is regularly measured and compared with peers and best practice.
- How decisions are made and why, is well understood and outcomes are clearly and formally communicated to the stakeholders. Formal exception processes are established and promote transparency as well as allowing organisational learning.
Steps to better governance
Improving governance in organizations is a strategic change process. There is no silver bullet. Governance is not just a new process but it also needs a new mindset and behaviours at senior levels of both IT and business. The established power centres within organizations do not always welcome greater transparency and accountability. Experience suggests that strong support from CEO and CIO and gradual increase in governance maturity usually works better than constant tinkering.
Here are ten steps for improving IT Governance:
- Visible and active top management commitment is absolutely critical for the success of any governance initiative. Governance is a disciplined approach. There must be consequences for all the executives for non-compliance.
- Treat governance as a change program requiring resources and commitment. It must have visible benefits for it to be considered successful. Also, consider organization's culture, resources available and capacity for change. Establish credible goals, measure and communicate the benefits.
If the IT is struggling to deliver reliable service, or have a poor track record of customer service or project delivery; focus the governance efforts for addressing these burning issues rather than going for the lofty goals of strategy alignment and such.
- Use recognised frameworks for the governance initiative. There are a number of frameworks like COBIT, ITIL and others. If service management were an issue using ITIL framework would be ideal. Use knowledgeable experts to help establish a realistic program.
- Transparency of decision making and reporting gives governance its potency. Transparency whether it be business cases, standards compliance or project health reports create trust and creates peer pressure to address issues identified or to question unusual decisions.
- Create a formal process for handling exceptions. Then report on percent of exceptions and key reasons for these. May be the standard it inappropriate or the enforcement is poor. Openly discuss and address.
- Encourage peer group consensus at each governance tier and avoid escalations to higher levels. This will build trust and sense of compromise within the framework of good governance.
- Where possible align with the corporate governance mechanisms. Most companies would have risk management, investment management, and crisis or business continuity management mechanisms. Align IT with this where possible. This would accelerate the implementation as well as give it instant credibility. Seek input from internal or external Audit staff in design of the governance framework.
- Educate senior management on benefits of IT governance as well as on new technologies and challenges so that they can participate in an informed manner in key technology related decisions. Lack of technological knowledge should not be an excuse for executives not to participate in key technology investment decisions.
- Build accountability for benefits realisation in the business case itself. This will encourage active interest in delivery governance.
- Avoid clogging the IT steering committee or EX-co with technical or architectural details. Address the technical details at a technical forum and report only on compliance or non-compliance/ risk to the top team. The top team can then focus on 'is this the right thing to be doing (or investing in)' rather than 'how'.
If you want to discuss steps to improve IT governance in your organisations contact me.


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As we get ready to kick off yet another football season, we welcomed in Tim Throckmorton of WABI-TV5 for a preview. Jim Churchill and Aaron Jackson discuss what to look for in High School football and a preview of the upcoming Husson Eagles season.
Catch The Drive weekdays 4pm to 6pm on 92.9fm The Ticket and streaming at DriveShowMaine.com. Follow us on Twitter @DriveShowMaine and "Like Us" on Facebook, Drive Show Maine.


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Am actually a great fan of music, not just music but great music and l prefer RnB songs to any other type of music, hence I download and listen to more of UK and US mp3 songs.
There are loads of websites on the internet to download these kinds of songs but the problem with most of them is that they allow advertisement to take the better part of them and thus losing trust to users.
For example, if I visit an mp3 downloading site and I finally click on the download button and am redirected to an advertising page or something else without the file, I will eventually leave that site and even if am been referred to it again from search engines, it will be difficult to visit again and that's time wasted.
In other to save your time and research, am just going to list the four best I know and worked well for me.
Best 4 Sites To Listen/Download English MP3 Songs
1. Tubidy.Mobi: Yeah, if you are conversant with tubiby you might be thinking the site is only for video downloads but no, you can also download the mp3 format of that music by simply clicking on the mp3 link below the video downloads link.
2. SongsLovers.PK: Also known as songslover.com is one amazing site for download different kinds of musics and languages, on songslovers.pk you can download bollywood mp3 songs, english etc, you can find the top 100 songs for a particular period or session. More so, you can see and download songs album of an artist.
3. Emp3world.com: Just as the name implies, its another great site for downloading latest and trending songs of the moment. On emp3world you can also listen to songs online without downloading them.
4. Mp3skull.com: Mp3skull site uses scripts similar as emp3world and has same functions too, more so, on mp3skull you can see the current tracks been played by users and choose to listen too or download them if you like them and its absolutely free.
Like I earlier said, there are loads of great sites on the internet that perform same functions like these ones or even better but I'd recommend this four, will be posting more free English mp3 songs for downloading as time goes on.


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New Hosting Company
I've been having an undiagnosed problem with images refreshing on my website for ages. Neither the hosting company or the CMS software company could solve it - so I moved my site to the best web hosting company I've ever found - Nethosted (they host all my other sites). The boys there were amazing helping me move the site across (at about 11 o'clock at night!) and now the site works perfectly! Can't recommend them highly enough!
An emotional experience
I photographed a funeral at the request of a family for the first time this week. It was a difficult and emotional task, balancing my natural instinct to want to catch powerful imagery, with making the photographs sensitive, respectful and un-intrusive…
Shropshire's Official Restaurant Photographer?
Over the last few years I've photographed the venue and/or food at most of the restaurants in and around Shrewsbury, including Drapers Hall Restaurant, The Lion + Pheasant, The Boat House, Cromwells, The Lion Hotel, The Smoke House, La Dolce Vita…


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Campaign: M&C Saatchi Launches NRMADE's Night Raid
Following up on the launch of NRMA Insurance's new brand platform 'NRMADE BETTER,' M&C Saatchi Sydney has created a campaign promoting Home Buildings and Contents Insurance.
The TV, digital, poster, radio and print campaign has gone to air with a 30-second spot that features a family locking up their home as they head off on holiday
However, their every move is watched by a group of burglars lurking in the nearby bushes. As the family leave, the burglars seize their opportunity to enter through a forgotten open window. There it's revealed that they are in fact a group of greedy, party-loving possums, one of which has probably had a few too many leftover pie-crusts!
Shot by Rey Carlson from Playbig Pictures with CG animation led by Colin Renshaw and his team at Alt, the charming spot highlights the fact that with NRMA Insurance '…you're covered even if you forget to lock your door or window. It's Home Insurance, just NRMADE BETTER'.
"When M&C first approached us with the idea we were very excited. Who wouldn't jump at the chance to create something as cool as a gang of marauding possums," says Colin Renshaw VFX supervisor and founder of Altvfx.
"Even with our previous experience in creating photo realistic animals, this project had plenty of new challenges for our animators. The brief was to create possums that moved as they would in nature."
M&C Saatchi creative director Gary Dawson said "After launching the new positioning it was important to quickly follow up with proof of 'better.' This spot is fun, surprising and delivers its message with a smile."
Client: NRMA Insurance
Production Company: Playbig Films
Director: Rey Carlson
Executive Producer: Caroline David
Sound: Nigel Crowley/50 Below
Effects- Altvfx/Colin Renshaw
Music Composer: Ramesh Sathiah/Song Zu
Agency: M&C Saatchi, Sydney
Regional Creative Director: Tom McFarlane
Creative Directors: Gary Dawson and Michael Andrews
Associate Creative Director Direct: Josh Bryer
Senior Art Director Direct: David Jackson
Head of Moving Image: Rod James
Group Account Director: Jane Callister
Account Director: Tara Goh
Senior Digital Producer: Kate Best
Digital Design Director: Fabio D'Aguanno
Digital Designer: Vince Leong
Senior Digital Designer: James Jamias
Typography: Mick Tonello
Media Agency: Mediacom
Print Production: Trent Henderson


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It's been a rainy Saturday morning here in Sydney, so I thought I'd spend the time indoors post processing some photos from my Euro trip late last year. I came across a couple of shots with a chess theme. This one below was in Paris and it is, of course, Alekhine's grave.
It was in the Montparnasse Cemetery where a number of cultural and intellectual luminaries are also buried, including the likes of Baudelaire, Simone de Beauvoir, Durkheim and Cesar Vallejo.
And then there is this. Yes, the Lewis Chessmen, taken in the BM.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
A Couple of Chess Photos
Posted by The Closet Grandmaster at 12:47 pm
1 comment:
- chessx said...
I have e-mailed you a photo of me at that very grave when i was in Paris a few years ago.
- 5:12 am, February 15, 2009
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Following in the footsteps of Alan Jackson's gospel album, Alabama's Songs of Inspiration debuts at the top of this week's Billboard country albums chart. In other chart news, Montgomery Gentry and newcomer Taylor Swift debut new albums in the Top 10, and Carrie Underwood scores the second No. 1 single of her career.
Although Alabama aren't touring anymore, Songs of Inspiration demonstrates the band's continued popularity while adding additional strength to the notion that listeners have an appetite for gospel music performed by mainstream country acts. In the '60s, country artists routinely recorded gospel albums, but the practice began falling to the wayside during the following decade.
Randy Travis began a series of inspirational albums after the 2002 release of Rise and Shine, the album containing the hit single, "Three Wooden Crosses." However, when Jackson debuted at No. 1 on the country albums chart earlier this year with Precious Memories, he became the first country artist to do so with a gospel album. Released in March, Precious Memories has been certified platinum for shipments of 1 million copies.
On the list of the Top 10 country albums, George Strait's It Just Comes Natural remains in second place, and Swift's self-titled debut album hits the chart at No. 3. Underwood's Some Hearts climbs to No. 4, followed by the arrival of Montgomery Gentry's Some People Change at No. 5. Rascal Flatts' Me and My Gang ascends to No. 6, and Jimmy Buffett's Take the Weather With You slips from No. 3 to No. 7. Jackson's Like Red on a Rose wilts from No. 5 to No. 8 while Dierks Bentley's Long Trip Alone travels to No. 9 after debuting last week at No. 1. Josh Turner's Your Man falls one space to close out the Top 10.
Other new albums debuting on the country chart include George Jones and Merle Haggard's Jones Sings Haggard, Haggard Sings Jones at No. 25 and Stoney LaRue's Live at Billy Bob's Texas at No. 65.
Underwood's "Before He Cheats" hits No. 1 after only 15 weeks on the country singles chart. Last week's chart-topper, Bentley's "Every Mile a Memory," moves to No. 2. Kenny Chesney's "You Save Me" rises to No. 3, and Heartland's "I Loved Her First" falls to No. 4. Despite an increase in airplay, Rascal Flatts' "My Wish" slides one notch to No. 5. Sugarland's "Want To" moves up to No. 6, Keith Urban's "Once in a Lifetime" descends to No. 7, Tim McGraw's "My Little Girl" climbs to No. 8 and Turner's "Would You Go With Me" falls to No. 9.
And far be it for anyone to suggest that Rodney Atkins made a secret pact with the devil, but his single, "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)," experienced an increase in airplay to regain its chart bullet and return to the Top 10. It's an impressive achievement, too, considering that Atkins' single hit No. 1 in early August.
Elsewhere on the country singles chart, Sara Evans has the highest-debuting title. "Missing Missouri" enters at No. 56. The only other single debuting this week is a No. 60 appearance by Blake Shelton with "Don't Make Me."


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Split Train Tickets to Heckington
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SplitTicketing.com finds you the cheapest split train tickets to Heckington from any other train station. Use Split Ticketing to find the cheapest train fares to and from Heckington as well as flexible Off-Peak and Anytime fares.
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Cheap Split Train Tickets to Heckington
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Saturday, October 13, 2012
A collaborative quilt exhibition involving Lawrence middle-schoolers is now on display at Topeka's Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.
"The Ray of Hope: Aaron Douglas-inspired Quilts and Murals," features quilts and murals created by eighth-graders from Lawrence's Liberty Memorial Central Middle School and Topeka's Williams Science and Fine Arts Magnet School. Lawrence quilt artist Marla Jackson led the project, in which children created colorful quilt blocks inspired by Aaron Douglas and the Harlem Renaissance.
The exhibit, which was previously displayed at Lawrence's Spencer Museum of Art, runs through Oct. 28 in Topeka. The historic site, 1515 SE Monroe St., is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information call 785-354-4273 or go online to nps.gov/brvb.
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1.他出色地完成了任务。 He finished his task with distinction.
2.他的罪行被掩盖起来。 His crimes were hushed up.
3.敌人在他后面穷追不舍。 The enemy ran after him in hot pursuit.
4.花了十年才把犯罪嫌疑人追捕到。 It took 10 years to hunt down the suspect.
5.面对挑衅,歇斯底里开始占上风。 In the face of provocation, hysteria was taking over.
6.他镇定自若地回答说:"我不知道。" He had the presence of mind to say, "I don't know."
7.他烂醉如泥。 He got blind drunk.
8.他认为经济会好转。 He thought that economy would take a turn for the better.
9.士兵们放空枪。 The soldiers fired into the air.
10.他都懒得问别人。 He never bothered to consult anyone.
11.他们缺少武器弹药。 They ran short of ammunition.
12.你务必保证准时到会。 You should see to it that you will attend the meeting on time.
13.他把信通读了一遍。 He read through the letter.
14.他把杂志从头到尾读了一遍。 He read the magazine from cover to cover.
15.晚餐我们吃了6道菜。 We had 6 courses for dinner.
16.他们把怒气憋在肚子里,从不抱怨。 They bottled up their anger and never complained.
17.一阵歇斯底里后,她平静了下来。 After a fit of hysteria, she calmed down.
18.一阵晕眩袭来,她倒在地上。 She was seized with faint and fell to the ground.
19.他总是喜欢掌控一切。 He never failed to run the show.
20.请把这间房子留出来作为接待室。 Please set aside this room for reception.
21.他千方百计应付了过去。 He tried every way possible to muddle through it.
22.一连串的示威游行发生了。 A stream of demonstrations happened.
23.克林顿获得压倒性优势。 Clinton won an overwhelming majority.
24.他周旋于各国大使之间。 He talked circles around ambassadors.
25.他们互相算计已经很多年了。 They plotted against each other for years.
26.他在磨洋工。 He is lingering over his work.
27.讲得太快,听不懂他讲什么。 He spoke fast so much so that we couldn't catch what he said.
28.他不喜欢猪肉牛肉之类的食物。 He didn't like pork, beef and suchlike.
29.我们会竭尽所能帮助你的。 We'll do our utmost to help you.
30.我们分成3组。 We split into 3groups.
31.雨断断续续下了一整天。 It rained off and on for a whole day.
32.他的收入与劳动不成比例。 His income is out of proportion to his work.
33.我们现在是难兄难弟。 We are in the same boat.
34.这道菜很对他的胃口。 This dish is to his liking.
35.他住在我家隔壁。 He lives next door to me.
36.他快崩溃了。 He is on the edge of collapse.
37.月台的另外一头有一位女士。 On the far side of the platform was a lady.
38.他们对老王家下手了。 They laid their hands on the Wangs.
39.他们被吓了一跳。 They were taken by surprise.
40.他的呼吁得到了对手的回应。 His appeal was echoed by his rivals.
41.一个小时后,他们把火扑灭了。 An hour later the fire was put out.
42.这个问题他们持有异议。 They took issue with this problem.
43.结果大体上是令人满意的。 The result in the main is satisfactory.
44.事实上,他对此一无所知。 As it is, he is in the dark about it.
45.他没有全心全意,只是三心二意。 He is not wholehearted but halfhearted.
46.我们要千方百计挺过去。 We'll live through it by every possible means.
47.除了一个人其他所有人都去了。 All but one went there.
48.他突然冒出一个主意来。 Suddenly an idea descended on him.
49.他们把敌人一个不剩消灭了。 They wiped the enemies out.
50.一派胡言。 Sheer nonsense.


text: TO FEEL LIGHT, HAPPY AND FREE...Get rid of unnecessary items! While feng shui-ing or de-cluttering your home ask yourself 1."Do I love it?" 2."Does it make me feel good?" 3."Do I use it?" If you answer "Yes" to any of the questions, keep it and cherish it! If you answer "No" Release it! Donate it! Pitch it! If you are not sure, find it a new home, at least you know someone else will be using it or loving it!


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Quantifying the opportunity cost of an unfilled requisitions is usually difficult. Not so for sales roles. Getting a good estimate of the opportunity cost of your unfilled roles is simple: Multiply the average daily output per salesperson by the number of days a role remains unfilled. Of course, every salesperson is unique – and you should make every attempt to hire salespeople that outperform the average. But when it comes to evaluating lost opportunities, hypotheticals are not very helpful. In this article we'll look a strategy to earn back that lost revenue through the lens of one of America's largest car dealerships, Sonic Automotive.
Benchmarking Where You Should Be
In America, it takes an average of 40 days to fill a sales role. If your time to hire is above that, you should consider re-evaluating the way you hire salespeople. If your time to hire is lower than that, great! But there's always room for improvement.
How Sonic Gained $10 Million+ in Yearly Profit Potential
Prior to reimagining the way they hired car salespeople, Sonic Automotive's Time to Fill was an unwieldy 75 days. Since busy managers were in charge of sourcing and interviewing (car dealerships usually do not have in-house recruiting staff), applicants were left in their ATS, uncontacted, for long periods of time. In most cases, hiring managers were so backlogged the only applicants interviewed were referrals. After they implemented a hiring process built on video interviewing, that number dropped to 45 days – a 40% decrease in Time to Fill. (As more dealerships adopt the new process, that number should decrease even further.) Rather than waiting on a hiring manager to review their application, Sonic's applicants are invited to take an OnDemand video interview and assessment. Candidates that score above a certain threshold are sent to hiring managers for review. Since hiring managers can review the interviews whenever they have a free moment – rather than comb through an ATS – they can identify and call in the highest potential candidates for an in-person interview. The decrease in Time to Fill alone accounts for over $10 million per year in profit potential. Here's how it breaks down:
- Sonic estimates that the average daily output per salesperson is $500.
- They hire around 800 Sales Associates per year.
- They reduced the time sales positions were left empty by 30 days.
$500 x 800 roles x 300 days = $12,000,000 in yearly profit potential. $10 million is being conservative.
Translating Sonic's Success
To hire sales talent quickly (and avoid the costly days the role remains unfilled) you need to give hiring managers as much information as possible, when they need it. When Sonic's hiring managers view a candidate, they're looking at three different pieces of data:
- Application.
- Video interview.
- Assessment score.
Rather than handing hiring managers a resume (or a few notes from a phone screen), give them more tangible data to work with. This could be a recorded video interview, an assessment score, or even a glowing referral – just give them the information they need to make informed decisions quickly.
Measuring Competencies that Matter
There's more to filling sales roles than putting warm bodies in seats. It goes without saying that great salespeople have a huge impact on a firm's bottom line. While past sales success is a solid indicator of future sales success, it is by no means a guarantee – every sales organization is different. You need to see how a candidate will interact with your customers, not the customers of their previous employer.
How Sonic Automotive Cut Turnover and Increased Sales Performance by 20%+
In sales, performance is inextricably connected with retention. You cannot float by on the bare minimum in a sales role. Sonic's solution to the car sales industry's high rate of turnover is remarkably simple: hire the best people. Top salespeople constantly reap the rewards of their success through increased commissions, accolades, and reputation. Why would they leave? Hiring managers identify the best candidates because they have insight into the traits that mattered: personality, passion, and communication skills. Since every candidate responds to the same job-relevant questions (Sonic asks situational judgement and past experience questions, like "Tell us about a time when you collaborated with others to determine course of action to achieve company goals"), it is easy for hiring managers to find the best-fit candidates for their dealership. As a result, sales associates hired through HireVue sell two more vehicles per month than those hired through other methods. With an average car salesperson's quota sitting around 10 vehicles per month, that's a 20% increase in revenue per hire.
Sonic's Strategy for Sales Recruiting Success
Sonic's strategy can be broken down into three distinct elements, all of which are applicable when hiring for any sales role:
- Give hiring managers the information they need. Sonic gives its hiring managers three different sources of data to work with when making hiring decisions. Put managers in the position to make decisions based on data, not intuition.
- Make decision-making easy and flexible. Sonic's hiring managers view OnDemand video interviews at the time that works best for them, so they can move quickly on the best candidates. Avoid bottlenecking the hiring process with too many time-sensitive steps.
- Measure the competencies that matter. The job-relevant questions in Sonic's video interviews elicit responses that give insight into the traits that matter for success. Identify the most important traits for success in your salesforce and build questions designed to highlight them.
With the right strategy, you don't need to sacrifice the quality of your new hires for the speed you hire them with. Sonic provides a perfect example of how it is possible to increase hiring efficiency across the board, so long as the strategy you implement is built to quickly identify the best candidates.


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Coral Coast Must Do
The Coral Coast is a stunning 80km stretch of coastline between Sigatoka and Suva, on the southern shores of the main island of Viti Levu.
The Coral Coast is a stunning 80km stretch of coastline between Sigatoka and Suva, on the southern shores of the main island of Viti Levu.
From a day on the green, blissful spa body wraps and wild water park rides, Denarau Island truly has something for everyone.
Escape to remote Kadavu to get your fill of rainforest treks, waterfall dips, fantastic diving, snorkelling and fishing on the Great Astrolabe Reef.
The Mamanuca Islands are a hugely popular destination for people visiting Fiji.
Whether you're transiting the Jet Set town or here for longer, make sure you check out Nadi's top things to do.
Picture perfect islands, blissful retreats and an intriguing history are just some of the reasons why you should visit Fiji's outer islands.
However you like your thrills, Pacific Harbour's lush rainforests, bracing rivers and fish-filled lagoons are packed with exciting activities that are guaranteed to get your pulse racing!
Reconnect with nature in Vanua Levu's backcountry. Here's our list of things to do when you're exploring Fiji's friendly north.
Endless sunshine on the Suncoast make it the perfect escape for off-the-beaten path adventures like hiking, diving, fishing and kiteboarding.
Dig a little deeper and you'll find there's more to Suva than great retail and restaurants.
Taveuni is an eco-tourist's dream destination - with pristine rainforest flush with endemic birdlife and rare Fijian flora to discover.
There's more to tropical island holidays than coastal kayaking and lazy days on the beach. Follow our best bits list to find your bliss in one of Fiji's most beautiful regions.
Trade in your snorkels for a tank in the soft coral capital of the world.
Live the life of luxury within Fiji's favourite top end properties.
Fiji is globally regarded as a top spot for an adventurous family vacation.
Get ready to experience some of the most breath-taking underwater vistas in the world. Dive in and get amongst it!DIVING DIVING
This is what's happening in Fiji right now.


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This annual platform welcomes Europe's growing maritime community joining policy makers to discuss, debate and exchange best practices. The seas and oceans, and the opportunities they offer, are at the heart of the discussions. This year's conference will focus on ports and coasts as engines for Blue Growth.
The European Maritime Day Conference will host high-level sessions and stakeholder workshops attracting delegates and experts from across Europe and beyond. Speakers, including Ministers, Commissioners, CEOs and experts, will discuss the spectrum of opportunities and great challenges that our coasts and seas present, share best practices, and develop new synergies.
The Marine Training Platform co-hosted with JPI-Ocean, European Marine Board and EuroMarine a workshop on marine science training at this year's European Maritime Day: How innovative training can support Blue Growth?"
The next generation of marine professionals will require specialized knowledge crossing multiple fields of expertise in order to underpin an ecosystem based approach to the management of the marine environment. But there is currently a mismatch between current academic training programmes and the needsof future employers. In addition, marine graduate programmes and career pathways lack coordination and visibility. In this workshop, stakeholders from higher education, research and business will present and discuss perspectives oncurrent marine training practices, innovative initiatives and academic-industry partnerships which could help address the skills gap and build a human capacity.This will include updates from ongoing initiatives such as the EMB Working Group WG Training, JPI-Oceans, EuroMarine and EMBRC


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This time last year, I had the immense pleasure of traveling through Ireland with a gaggle of my closest girlfriends. It was a gratifying and unique experience that I am so grateful for. I used to not necessarily consider myself travel-savvy and also was never known for my ~ street smarts ~, so it's always … Continue reading selections from my travel journal from my trip to ireland
Tag: traveling
things i don't want to forget about cuba
In December of 2018, I had the extreme pleasure of taking a cruise with one of my best friends (and two of her closest friends from college) that docked in Havana, Cuba for one day each. The world feels large and unconquerable when you survey it swaying in the middle of the ocean, but I … Continue reading things i don't want to forget about cuba