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We are looking for Investors and new Projects
Currently the studio is looking for Investors interested in investing in both the Studio and the Projects we are working on.
Contact us if you have any project that you want to do with us.
Work In Progress
We are currently developing the Hollow Hills game and we have published the ISP Bluprints library.
Do you want to create an adventure game like "Gone Home"? Maybe something scary as P.T.? Or a game similar to Alone in the Dark.
Our flagship, Hollow Hills, the game that gave birth to the Studio and will be a new step in the world of horror video games due virtual reality.
NighWolf Games is a video game studio, it consists of a series of multidisciplinary people who struggle every day to get their ideas and projects forward.
José Ignacio Rodríguez
Development and game creation.
"The constructive mind and destructive mind"
José Uceta
Head of Programming
Senior programmer.
"He does not know how he does it but it works!"
Jaime Castells
Art & Creative Director
Graphic Designer and modeler.
"Always bothering with the lights and colors"
Elena del Cerro
Organic modeler
"We are worried about where she draws the inspiration"
Jesus Pérez
Designer and modeler
Modeler and animator.
"Please, somebody hide his tobacco!"
Mario Martínez
Level Designer and Modeler
Modeler and animator.
"No more to say, he is from Murcia!"


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Was bootleg Canadian whisky once smuggled from a secluded beach in l'Anse-au-Griffon to Al Capone's crime empire in the U.S.?
Smuggler's Run
My wife heard a very interesting local legend from a neighbour. He told her that during the United State's Prohibition period from 1919 to 1933, Canadian whisky was picked up from the beach which runs below what is now our house and Camping Griffon, her family's campground. The campground is located on the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and back in the 1920s and 30s the contraband would have been picked up by fishing boats from Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which are French-owned islands located elsewhere in the Gulf.
On the map below is a possible smuggling route: (1) starting from what is now our beach (below modern-day Camping Griffon), (2) to the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and then (3) to the New England ports in the United States.
The French Connection
Saint Pierre and Miquelon became major smuggling ports after the Volstead Act introduced prohibition in the United States in 1919. The islands are rife with rumours of frequent visits from Al Capone and other crime lords. They turned the islands into an important smuggling den because of their strategic location, on French territory near Canada and the United States.
During Prohibition, Canada could no longer directly export alcohol to the U.S., but it could legally ship alcohol to France. The French-owned islands were perfect legal staging grounds for alcohol including Canadian whisky, Caribbean rum, and European wines and spirits. These were all stored in warehouses on the island. Then they would be loaded aboard smuggling ships bound for U.S. ports and flood into the New England cities and towns, where they would fuel crime and violence.
When Prohibition was repealed in 1933, there was no more demand for black market booze and this smuggling economy collapsed.
Locally Sourced
Some of the booze (allegedly) smuggled from our beach would have been distilled locally. We often hear stories about enterprising families in nearby Douglastown (near the town of Gaspé) who distilled and sold liquour to American bootleggers. Rumours say these families even sold liquour in bulk to the Kennedy clan – purchased by President John F. Kennedy's father, Joe Kennedy!
In order to get their supplies to the U.S. markets, the local distillers would have found it safer and easier to ship by sea from the nearby coves and beaches, than to drive it overland or ship by train and risk interception.
Why would smugglers pick this beach to anchor at?
Actually, it would have made an ideal smuggling spot.
First, on the land above the beach there is a creek which cascades over the cliff in a large waterfall. This is an excellent landmark – visible far out to sea during the day and during nights when there is any moonlight. Even on a pitch-dark or foggy night the falling water could possibly be heard by a boat carefully navigating close to shore. The bootleggers arriving from land could follow the creek to the waterfall and not miss their rendezvous in the dark.
As well, the beach would have been a safe landing spot day or night. There is no risk of dangerous reefs, rocks, or currents. Offshore, there is a shelf and the depth drops off quickly, allowing a boat to come in and anchor close to shore.
Finally (and most importantly for smugglers), in the 1920s and 30s our waterfall and pebble beach would have been remote from prying eyes or coast guard vessels (these days a coast guard vessel is berthed in the next village and sails by regularly).
Fact or Fiction?
It's a local legend, and we'll never know for sure. But the historical details seem to check out.
If you ever visit us or stay at Camping Griffon, we encourage you to take some time during your stay and walk to the waterfall. Stand on the stairs leading from the creek down to the beach and look down at the waterfall which runs beside them, and then at the beach below.
Now imagine it's 1929 or 1930 – do you think whisky smugglers could have used this route? Would they have driven trucks or used carts to bring the liquour to the cliff-side? Would they have used ropes and tackles to lower the carefully-packed whisky crates or barrels down the cliff, to the beach below? Where would their lookouts have been posted?
What do YOU think – is the local legend true?

subset: commoncrawl


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The eyes may be the window to the soul, but your entire face provides both broad and minute clues into your inner emotions. A new computer program developed by researchers at Ohio State University can scan your face and tell you exactly what you're feeling – even if that emotion is something as subtle as "happily disgusted."
All told the computer program can recognize 21 different emotions in subjects' faces – that's three times the number of emotions that could be picked up by previous facial scanners, mostly because cognitive scientists had limited their work into six "basic" emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, anger, surprise and disgust.
The research into these 21 facial expressions was published on March 31 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The research team studied more than 200 volunteers, collecting 5,000 photographs of their facial reactions to various verbal cues. They then looked at how those facial muscles moved, everywhere from the edges of the eyebrows down to the corners of their mouths.
The result? "We found a strong consistency in how people move their facial muscles to express 21 categories of emotions," Ohio State associate professor Aleix Martinez said in a news release. "That tells us that these 21 emotions are expressed in the same way by nearly everyone, at least in our culture."
The original six basic emotions were the easiest to identify – 99 percent of subjects showed happiness by drawing up their cheeks and stretching their mouths into a smile – but the additional 15 emotions weren't that far off. About 93 percent of subjects showed the emotion of "happily surprised" by opening their eyes widely and raising their cheeks in happiness, while their mouths both smiled and opened.
Martinez says this research has a lot of potential for diagnosing or treating conditions that either involve emotional triggers – such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – or of conditions that display through a lack of recognition of others' emotions — such as autism. "For example," he said, "if in PTSD people are more attuned to anger and fear, can we speculate that they will be tuned to all the compound emotions that involve anger or fear, and perhaps be super-tuned to something like 'angrily fearful?' What are the pathways, the chemicals in the brain that activate those emotions? We can make more hypotheses now, and test them. Then eventually we can begin to understand these disorders much better, and develop therapies or medicine to alleviate them."
The researchers say this work into cognitive science could also be used to see which genes, chemicals and neural pathways — which can all govern emotions in the brain — express themselves emotionally via facial expressions.
Related on MNN:


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Q&A: Joe Halper on Frontlines: Fuel of War
We chat with with Joe Halper, Kaos Studios senior producer, about Frontlines: Fuel of War, Unreal Engine development, the challenges of gameplay balancing, and the fuel crisis.
There's no shortage of war-themed games out there, so what separates them? What makes one a critically acclaimed financial success, and another get the cold shoulder? After four years of development and involvement with the research and creation of key titles in the genre, Kaos Studios is in a good position to know what works and what doesn't. We caught up with senior producer Joe Halper to discuss the challenges of Unreal Engine development, online leaderboards, and gameplay balancing in their resource-themed shooter Frontlines: Fuel of War.
GameSpot AU: The environments in Frontlines: Fuel of War seem to be quite destructible, especially in the single-player campaign. How much of it is scripted?
Joe Halper: It's all dynamic objects. The only thing that's somewhat scripted is the destructible objectives. So if you get to an objective and you see the icon of the C4 detonator, that's only scripted in that you know it's going to blow up. Everything else is pretty much you shoot it, it blows up--there's no scripting involved.
GS AU:So if I decide I want to go through a wall, can I?
JH: Not all walls are destructible [but you can] if it's brittle or it's a certain substance. But there are other ones, like the third level which has these mud huts, and you can shoot your gun and blow holes in the walls and use it to your advantage. Lamp posts, fences, Port-a-potties, drums that explode--we have water drums that explode. There's enough variety that it gives enough environmental destructive feel where stuff blows past you and stuff like that, but we don't take the entire world down. It's a certain balance we had to do because the worlds are so large.
GS AU: So if I've got a pack of C4, how do I know which walls I can blow up, or is it trial and error?
JH: Well, we have no indicators, it's trial and error. People have been picking it up fairly quickly in our focus tests. You know a fence you can blow up, you know a wood fence, or a metal fence--certain columns break up. When a player goes into a game and they see something blow up, they remember that pretty well. You really don't have to blow a column up, certain fences and stuff like that you will blow, but the world is so open and large that there's only certain areas where you have to break out of it.
GS AU: So environment objects are destructible--did you look at doing terrain deformation at all?
JH: Yeah, well, the Unreal Engine, because there are limitations, not only with the engine but the Xbox with the larger the world you have--there are a lot of things with the multiplayer where you go back and forth, client server issues that you have where you pass that back and forth there's certain walls. But we looked into it, and we tried to think about how advantageous it would be to gameplay, but it's a bit more of an arcadey feel, and we decided to pass by that. Possibly in the next title, but there's nothing really as far as deforming terrain, it's pretty much just a decal system. Blow it up and just decals on the ground.
GS AU: You've got PC and Xbox 360 code on display here at your media hands-on event. Why no PS3?
JH: It's a challenging console to develop on. Our primary SKU is the Xbox 360, we use the actual piece on development, and the cool thing about the Unreal Engine is you can go out to all three consoles. I guess it's easier as far as the 360 and PC--PS3 we're still doing a lot of balancing with the actual Sixaxis controller. It's relatively the same as the game we have now, but we're trying different things with that element to see how we can get through using the Unreal Engine. The Unreal Engine has some challenges with the PS3--you'll see with other developers--it's kind of a little late in the game with Epic, which is unfortunate. We're starting to get by it, so it starts with us for the Xbox 360 primarily in development; they're all coming out at the same time.
GS AU: So is it that the PS3's hardware architecture is hard to develop for, or that it's hard to work with the engine?
JH: Well, it's a little bit of both. In all honesty each area is a little hard to develop in its own right. I think the main reason that we're not on the PS3 right now is that we just don't have enough consoles. Xbox 360 doing 32-player multiplayer is a pretty big thing, because before you'd have a listen server, and now you have the XLSP, which is the Xbox Live Service Platform--so you dedicate the servers and they can just connect into it. Before what we would do is have system link, where you would connect into a box, and a game like this you could never get the number of players. A PS3 is a little more like a PC--you can get the 32 players easy, but the Xbox 360 is where we really wanted to show it, and then PC is a cakewalk. So the challenge with the 360 was getting the 32, the challenge with the PC is always the challenge with the PC, the hardware--being compatible with everything. The challenge with the PS3 is getting the access controller right and it's also got less memory to use, the memory is cut. So it's like you have a block, a circle, and a triangle and you have to fit it into each one. When we make a build it automatically pumps out all three. They create the builds for each one and then we have the QA teams tests each one of them in succession, and each one kicks back their own fair share of problems.
GS AU: So what kind of Sixaxis support is planned for Frontlines?
JH: Pretty much across the air vehicles. It's actually kind of cool when you're driving the actual vehicles, simple, not too complex. One of the biggest challenges we had for the consoles is that there's Halo driving and Battlefield driving--you shoot and that's where you steer. People that played Halo are used to that. People on the PC are used to driving one way and shooting with the other. With air vehicles it's a little bit better because it's a natural environment with the Sixaxis, especially the drones. It's something you pick up and you automatically feel like you can pull in and pull out, it's something you can feel perfect with but if you have just an X/Y and you're rotating on that axis on the ground, it's a little more limiting than flying like that.
GS AU: So it's going to be across all the drones then?
JH: Well, we're still tweaking them because the only drones we have as far as air drones is the track drones--the RC car drone, that's kind of like a vehicle. Track drones are like a vehicle, but tanks you have the shifting of the axis, it's like a skid-steer--it skids while it's steering like a Bobcat or any kind of construction equipment. So we're still balancing what fits the best, what feels the best, so it's unique as far as it's going, but everything is in balance right now.
GS AU: What about air vehicles like the choppers?
JH: The choppers are the most challenging thing for any of the games because you have people that want it to be noobed, like totally easy to go with, like PC when we did Desert Combat people loved their choppers. Noobs couldn't fly it that well, but guys that spent time with it could really master it and people liked that. Then games came out like Battlefield: Vietnam, and they had more up-and-down-style controls, and then Battlefield was a little more fluid. So what we did with the actual controls was you could do advanced controls or you can do simple mode, and if you're good at it you can fly it really well.
GS AU: Tell us about the perk system, unlocking abilities as you progress. Is it a persistent system?
JH: No, in the single-player game what you do is pick up elements of the roles. In the multiplayer game what it has is the three roles you upgrade through. So we're going to have it adjustable so the player can select how fast those roles upgrade, or you can start with a role [or] two for everybody. But the actual roles in themselves are over a time basis. It's actually once you complete objectives or if you use that role for a goal. So, for example, if you blow somebody up with the drone, you get more role points and it adds to the actual bar that goes across. So you go over to the next round, you'll still have that role and you can just upgrade through there, but if the map resets completely or goes to a new map then you clear everyone's slate. That happens pretty quickly, about over an hour or an hour and a half--depends on the setting. But through the single-player game you pick the elements through the game so you select those weapons and roles. It becomes almost like a load-out, but the roles are more unique and you have to scroll down even within it. But even if you die you still have those elements you picked up, you just don't flush the palette until you get to the next map. So when you get to the next campaign, if it's more of a sniper campaign, you start with your sniper rifle or you can select your heavy assault [weapons]. At the beginning of the campaigns you have less to select from because we funnel it out a little bit. The further along you go, the more weapons and roles you pick up.
GS AU: There's a lot of choice obviously, you can choose your objectives and the order you want to complete them in. Do any of them have run-on effects? Will completing one objective over another open a different branching storyline?
JH: You pick up different elements, and you pick up different weapons at the objectives. You don't need to complete one over another. We've been finding there's a lot of replay value, certain people in the focus groups have been going through and restarting the game because they realised the rocket launcher was over here at this objective, but they didn't realise around the corner was an air-support role like a cluster bomb they could use to take out the tank. So here they're hitting it with the rocket launcher at one objective, but they could've taken it out really quickly with the air-support artillery strike with the cluster bomb. So they reset and go back and they use the cluster bomb. Each objective has either a vehicle or a weapon that you can utilise to get to the other one better. So you can do it in any which way, but as soon as you advance that frontline, if you die you can spawn in any of those previous objectives you captured. So you can get your tank, your rocket weapon, and if you wanted you could pick any one of them up and go to each objective with those roles or pieces that are part of you then to annihilate whatever is at that next objective site.
GS AU: Is the single-player campaign only playable from one side?
JH: Yeah it's only playable from one side. We wanted to do both, but we also just want to get this game out. You can play the Red Star Alliance in the multiplayer, and they have unique elements on their side, and that was an advanced rock, paper, scissors. They're slightly similar as far as both sides go, but we tried to change things up a bit, a little grungier on the Red Star than the Western Coalition. We wanted to do that, but the scope was just too grand for these next-gen games. There's just so much in this game in itself in being new. But it's definitely creating good foundation.
GS AU: So we could be talking sequel here?
JH: I dunno, it's got potential! [Laughs.] You know what's really hard is developing a game, because it's pretty ambitious. The Call of Duties, the Battlefields are out there, they have a good foundation already--this was created from scratch. You develop all those elements and it's all these balances you're trying to bring up as one, all the vehicles, the levels, all the things for different consoles, and it takes so long to get to the part where you have a good demo. It would be great if we had one that was out already and just said, let's tweak something, like a Madden! Let's do a new football.
GS AU: Does it make it any easier developing new IP when titles like Call of Duty and Battlefield have gone before?
JH: Well, we did a lot of background for Battlefield--when we were Trauma Studios we did all the research and development on all the gameplay. We gave them a menu list of things, like the commander, artillery strikes, we did the medic system, we did a lot of things for that game that didn't come out. Lots of things they could select from, and even then they were like "we'll only go with this because the scope is getting too big." There's things that influence anything that you look at, it's very cool to have things out there because it's a test base, you find out what people like, you find out what people get excited about, they're military-style games. We didn't want to do a Star Wars game, and we didn't want to do an old-school game, we wanted to do something that was a mix of a Call of Duty and a Battlefield--cinematic, but open world. It's kind of a mesh of those two, but there's other games that we've pulled elements out of too. A lot of military stuff out there that's not that fun, it's cool to look at, but it's not fun to play. Like fire and forget? Who wants to forget it? You want to see that thing, you want to feel, you want a missile [whooshing sounds and hand movements]...ah, that's fun. There was a big controversy when we were doing an antiaircraft, we could just have fire and forget. No! Bullets man! Rip into that thing! It's all about what we know would be fun.
GS AU: So what are we looking at in terms of single-player campaign length?
JH: It's between 8 and 10 hours. There are eight campaigns, and it depends. If you're a noob and you're not too used to the controller it can be 12 to 15 hours. If you're very experienced, if you're a Halo addict, it can really hit between the 8 and 10 mark, it ranges. There's been a lot of replay, so we've been trying to factor in that replay, but it varies. It's almost like an RPG twist, they pick up a certain ability that lets them complete it in a quicker time, and there's a memorable moment that they know will be even more memorable if they used the other ability.
GS AU: Why fuel of all things? As far as the single-player story goes, it seems very focused around actual current and political issues.
JH: We had that experience with Desert Combat. That was basically a modification of a game that was already out there and we wanted to do everything close to Desert Storm--everything close to that niche, that realm. People can relate to it more, and they can be tied into it more, and it's more close to home. We did a hell of a lot of research on this one and we knew that the peak oil, the controversy there, we're not trying to make it a political game. All the research we did as far as the oil and military powers, they're literally building up for this...it really establishes how certain companies are working. Red Star Alliance, Russia and China, that's happening. They have the Shanghai cooperative which is every year, a military exercise. China is starving for oil, their population is exploding. Russia has a lot of oil in the Caspian territories--it hasn't hit peak yet. The United States, they're starving for oil, there's a lot of money in it, there's money because it's a hot-ticket item. It's something that influences everything, but there's so much dependency on it, so if it did collapse it would change things very quickly. It would change things to the level of what we've depicted in the game. It's an influential topic--that it could happen, we're saying it does happen, and in the game it's not an Axis and Allied, they're all desperate, they just want the last reserves and they fight it out.
GS AU: What are your plans for an online ranking system?
JH: We're still working on that. As far as having things persist and tracking leaderboards and stuff like that. We have certain elements that we're working on--there are a lot of things that are controversial within the studio about who wants to push what. Battlefield 2 made things restrictive for people just coming into the game, we want to have it so everyone can start with a fresh slate and then you build up the roles and then reset so no one is at an advantage.
GS AU: Will Frontlines be a Games for Windows - Live enabled title?
JH: No, that came a bit late on us. I remember the first E3 we went to, and we showed right out of the bag, and we created a single player demo. We were already six months, eight months into development, and that's when Microsoft started talking about Live, and we could do it in the office, but the big thing for us was the XLSP, doing the Xbox Live Server Platform it was challenging enough to do that for a big game cross platform. Keyboard and mouse compared to a controller, it can be done. We saw that people are pretty good, when they get the controller they can take a guy with a keyboard and a mouse--it just depends on how skilled they are. But we decided we just wanted to get the game out [laughs] so we had to cut that. It was too late. It's really challenging for Microsoft too now I think.
GS AU: Joe Halper, thanks for your time.
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Serve the Lord, our life practice
At Living Grace Community Church we believe growth in Christ cultivates in us a desire to serve the Lord. For a Living Grace believer, serving the Lord means sharing the good news of the Gospel with a lost and dying world, and contributing time, talents, and treasures to His church and to those in need. God has uniquely gifted each of His believers for the purpose of bringing glory to Himself. We believe our faithful service honors God and deepens our relationship with Him. Motivated by our love for the Lord, we desire to be a family of believers, each one committed to serving one another and the world.
Join us as we serve both each other in the church and serve in the community.
Serve at living grace
Set-Up Team - Our set-up teams work on a 4 week roation, serving for one month and then off for two months. Opportunities to serve include setting up and tearing down signs along the road, setting up and tearing down the stage and sound equipment, and setting up and tearing down coffee and book stations. If you are interested in being on a setup team please contact Bob Boston at email@example.com.
Children's Ministry - If you are interested in serving in our children's ministry, please contact Matt Petrissans at 661-665-0968 or by e-mail at email@example.com.
Music Ministry - If you are interested in serving in our music ministry either on stage or behind the scenes, please contact Justin Anspach at email@example.com or 661-388-1601.
Usher or Greeter - If you would like to find out how to become either a greeter or an usher at Living Grace please contact Brian Murphy at firstname.lastname@example.com.
Domestic Missions
FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) - We are currently involved in the FCA club at Independence High School. We attend and lead the meetings twice a month on campus during their lunch period. If you are interested in being involved please contact Matt Petrissans at email@example.com.
Independence High School - Several times throughout the year we have the opportunity to serve Independence High School in various ways. One of the ways we do this is through our bi-annual campus clean-up days where the entire congregation is invited to pull weeds, plant flowers, pickup trash, scrape gum, powerwash, and whatever else would be helpful to the school.
Foreign Cross-cultural Work
Living Grace Overseas Cross-cultural Workers Internship Program - A 2 year program for those among our Living Grace family that wish to be sent into an unreached people group. Pastor Brian trains and disciples during this time until the interns are ready to move into a training program such as Radius International or Ethnos360.
Radius International - Radius International seeks to carry the gospel to every point around the globe through training pioneer cross-cultural church planters. Radius prepares missionaries for the realities of pioneer church planting among the least evangelized peoples of the world.
Ethnos360 - "Missionary training teaches you about the complex concepts involved in tribal church planting, such as understanding culture and learning language, so you can effectively communicate cross-culturally. We're also vitally concerned about your walk with God, so that in an isolated, high-pressure environment, your relationship with God can survive and even thrive."
Find out more about our overseas cross-cultural internship HERE.


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When it comes to the wellbeing of your home, proper roof maintenance is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, many homeowners don't know the proper steps to take when it comes to caring for their roof. The following article will teach you everything you need to know about keeping your roof in tip top shape.
It is the spots which form valleys on your roof which tend to have the most problems. When seeking out the source or a leak or other issues, check these areas first. One improperly laid shingle or a hole torn by a violently installed nail can be the root of your problem.
When looking into different types of roofing material, you must take into account various factors. For example, the price range you are placing your budget in will ultimately decide what you are able to afford. A slate roof will be very expensive, however, it will last longer than your lifetime.
Only hire an experienced contractor. Ask your neighbors, friends and family about their experiences with roofers. This is crucial since you want to avoid poor roofing work that could be expensive later on.
Do not choose the first roofer you find in the phone book or online. By choosing the first roofer you read about, you may end up spending more money that you need to. Call numerous roofers and go with the most reliable one at the best price you can find.
If you are doing your own roofing job, make sure to practice proper ergonomics. Roofing involves carrying tools up and down ladders onto the roof. Carry only what is comfortable for you. Bend from your knees and lift with your legs. Always be aware of how your back is bent, when actually installing the roofing materials.
The more contact information you get for your roofing company, the better. Ask the project manager or foreman for not only his contact information, but that of the company he works for. You should know his full name and who at the company you should speak to if there is a problem.
Home Repair
Don't ignore safety. No doubt, roofing can prove rather dangerous. Wait for ideal conditions. If the weather isn't good, postpone the work. Home repair isn't worth getting injured or killed over. You should know what you are doing and be safe about it.
Invest in the highest quality roofing tiles your money can buy. This is especially important if you are living in the house you are remodeling. The best roofing materials for your home depend on the climate of your location, so be sure to research the best roofing tiles for your climate.
Having read the article above, you should now have a good idea of what you need to do in order to make sure that your roof stays in good shape. When you maintain your roof, you drastically lessen the chances of having any unfortunate accidents from occurring. This will save you both time and money in the long run.


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The other day I spoke about 'Evil' at La Trobe. I anchored my wrestling with this big topic in Jesus' encounter with the man possessed by a legion of demons (using Mark's version).
For my money, it's the puzzling little details of this encounter that yield the most insight when pressed. Things like the strange fact that Jesus permits the unclean spirits to destroy the herd of pigs (I've blogged about this before).
And as I read it this time, it was one of the details I hadn't really noticed before brought me up short (vv. 14-15):
The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid.
Why are the locals afraid I wonder? What about this man's redemption freaks them out?
Maybe this is too postmodern, but perhaps it has something to do with the fact this man's redemption 'rehumanises' someone who's been systematically marginalised and dehumanised — by the locals.
No doubt there were only a few individuals who had actually wrestled the man to the ground or handled the chains used to restrain him (vv 3-4). Yet weren't they all complicit in the fact that this was very probably the closest thing to human contact the man had experienced in years?
And no doubt they probably had their reasons — compelling, thoroughly comprehensible reasons. Like: 'That guy's going to hurt someone unless we restrain him'. Or: 'Can't someone put a stop to that endless howling so I can get at least one good night's sleep this week?' Solid, respectable, self-preserving reasons.
But it all adds up. As ordinary and recognisable as it may seem. As much as it unfolds one sensible, insignificant step after another. The outcome is … well, evil. As evil (in its way) as the legion of demons who'd got their hooks into the man.
Which means that if Jesus is in the business of defeating evil — and redeeming human life — then maybe it makes sense for those who've become complicit in it to be afraid…


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The House resumed from October 17 consideration of the motion that Bill S-7, An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act and the Security of Information Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee.
House of Commons Hansard #165 of the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament's site.) The word of the day was terrorism.


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Dushehra at Baloda Bazaar: A page from the memoir of childhood days
Baloda bazaar is a small town in state of Chhattisgarh formerly part of MP. The town was an exact replica of Malgudi. The natives were a mix of tribal crowd and a second generation graduated middle class families mainly employed in rice mills and kacheri (district court). It was a pre- liberalization era and people led a very simple life style. 10-5 job, shop for vegetables on the way back home, evening walk at the park and listen to radio or watch doordarshan (not all houses had TV that time).
The huge deposit of minerals attracted many companies to build cement factories and dad got transferred here for a project to build one. I was in standard II; my life was carefree and blissful probably one of the best times of my life.
The town was still untouched with the fancies of western culture .The tribal traditions, practised from ages were still deep rooted in the genes. Dushehra was one of the main festivals celebrated with great enthusiasm.
Little fair was organised every year by the group of gypsies who earned their living by showing their skills in the fair and that year giant-wheel was the biggest attraction. My brother and I were eagerly waiting for the Dushehra eve as dad had promised a visit to the fair.
We both secretly bicycled thrice to the Dushehra ground since morning to see the Ravan. We even went further to the other end of the town to get the soanpatra. (There was a tradition to bring soan-patra at home on the day of the Dushehra).
As evening was approaching butterflies were flying inside me. I kept my eyes over the balcony awaiting dad's return. We didn't even go to play cricket that evening and were eagerly waiting for the sight of commando jeep on which my dad used to travel to office. The dusk approached and there was no sight of dad. I was saddened and cried to mom reminding about dad's promise. Mom promised to take us to fair in case dad can't make it on time.
I got dressed. I was wearing orange shirt with 'Tom and Jerry' photo on it, orange knickers and white school canvas shoes. As soon as I got dressed I heard the commando approaching and we both raced downstairs to greet dad who was smiling at both of us. I can never forget that moment.
It was already 6:30 and night was falling. The rare multi coloured light-bulbs were glowing in Shalin sharroff's home (classmate and friend of my brother) just opposite to our house. The time for firecrackers was nearing and we were all set to go on dad's scooter to see the fair.
Dad parked the scooter below Rao uncle's home (colleague of my dad) who lived just opposite to the Dushehra ground. The view of Ravan was perfect from the balcony and the entire staff of my dad's office had assembled to view the Ravan-dahan. Dad bought us flute and 'kisme toffee bar'.
The Ravan's effigy was huge with 10 heads each having big eyes and large moustaches. He was dressed in a very colourful outfit with sword in one hand and shield in another.
There was buzz in the ground, the colourful mela and the gaint wheels were brought to halt as a small chariot with 3 teenagers dressed as Ram-Laxman-Seeta approached the Ravan. People were throwing flowers on them and entire baloda bazaar was just waiting for the moment. Some announcement was made and the symbolic fire-lit arrow was shot by Ram on the effigies of Ravan and Kumbhkaran.
The fireworks soon started within the effigies and the entire ground was lit by their lights. The noise of busting fireworks were deafening to the ears. The fireworks went on for 10 minutes until the entire Ravan-Kumbhkaran combo turned into ashes.
All the kids at the balcony were jumping in joy, running all over the place and imitating the action of shooting with bow and arrows.
I went to my mom who was standing with other aunties and told to her "Mummy now I will play jan-gan-man as ravan is dead" and all of them busted into laughter. I was furious and embarresed,I threw my flute and ran to my brother crying.
I don't remember what happened next, I was probably asleep and next morning my brother was teasing me on this incident.
I am 25 now but still my mom narrates this incident to her friends and our relatives. Talking about the incident, I get embarrassed even today but this was probably the best Dusheshra we ever had.
I lost my sleep; I am awakened a little more
It's already 2:00 am and I am not asleep. I have a very strange feeling tonight, nostalgic and restless about the events which occurred in recent past in my life. Unable to calm my senses I decide to go to the beach. It's a bit unusual to go to beach now but I will go. With my ipod in my ears and mobile in hand I start in my characteristic 3/4ths and sweat shirt.
Thiruvanmaiyur beach is hardly 200m away from my new home and its' serenity attracts me and many others for different reasons of their own. As I get the first view of it from the byroads, the sea greets me with a fresh swing of breeze. The roads are deserted and the lonely lamp posts are flickering emanating lights as if they are waiting for someone to come and acknowledge their presence and efforts which they assume every night without slightest of complain. The lone lighthouse stands tall and contended as he knows his purpose and importance. Everyone appreciates his worth as it provides light and warmth to all; children, sports enthusiast, walkers and especially vendors for whom he is their support and companion. The worthiest of its purpose is reflected in the sailor's eye. For him it is his destination, lifeline and morale. Ships or boats, no matter what their size is, lighthouse treats everyone equally giving equal light to them, guiding them safely to home where their family awaits them.
The waves are shimmering as lighting through thunders and the clear full moon sky is star studded. The tranquility of sea has already healed my heart and filled it with serenity. I am feeling light and my mood has changed for better. As I move on I find an old police jeep parked on a side lane and constables sleeping on the benches in their fairy world far away from the beautiful one which is embracing them currently. A notice board is hanging next to benches giving information on the agenda and timings of next jogger's meet. Factoids about dolphins and sea creatures are also landmarked for children and enthusiast. A dog starts following me; probably finding a lone companion in me. I pass across the big bungalows with even bigger walls to protect them, dogs barking at me as I pass them and waking up the night guards of their owner's abode. A paintball ground and an Italian restaurant come next. The road comes to an end and a small passage is sloping down to fishermen's dwellings.
I might have just walked a few paces when I hear an old fisherman calling me. He looks around 70 yrs, little stooped with age. I look at him, he smiles back. He points to the lit cigarette in my hand and takes out his own. I offer him lighter. In the yellow light, I notice that his face has wrinkled but he has dimples on the spotted cheeks, resembling the ones like chicken pox, bright and clear eyes, giving testimony to his life as a fisherman. It is 3:30 am, the sky is pitch dark but in these dwellings the day has already begun.
Lights from small asbestos roofed houses are glowing. Fishermen are getting ready for their voyage. They assemble near their boats, and check their nets before they venture out into the sea. The women in house are brewing coffee, I can smell it. It will be another long day for them. They have to race against time, tide and fellow competitors. I have never seen how the boats are pushed into the sea. I stand along two of the fishermen, who are trying to push their boats. Experience has taught them to wait for the highest wave and when they see it approaching they start to push the boats arduously, especially when the wave is retreating as they know the sand below them will be dispersing quickly with the retreating wave. They wait again for the highest wave. The little crab which is in line with the boat swiftly moves away, his little eyes twinkling. A long trail results from dragging of the boat is proof of their efforts. Two of them have finally made it to the sea and they have jumped into the boats. Another big wave comes and it washes away the trail left by the boat, leveling the sand as if nothing happened, erasing all the evidence of their footmarks, toil and efforts.
Ah!! Such is life. So small are we and so insignificant is our existence. With the passage of time, the great monuments will wither down, the artificial boundaries which we have drawn not just on the world map but also in our hearts based on religion, ethnicity are so very insignificant for time and mother nature. In this long universal clock the whole human existence is just for a tick of a second's needle. Why don't we realize that all humanity will come to an end someday all work we do in this world will be waived away with tide of time, nothing in this world is stagnant. Not even change. Why don't we embrace universal brotherhood and nature's superiority? The gist of life is to evolve symbiotically not parasitically.
The boat has gone deep in the sea fishermen are waving at me and I wave them back. Far away in the sky the crimson red ball of fire is resurfacing, bringing back life in this part of the world. Joggers have started trickling onto the beach. The crab near me is looking for a hiding; the dog has found another companion. The lights of the watch tower have done their duty and have gone into deep slumber. The jogger's meet has started, the police van is gone. I feel light hearted. I greet everyone I pass by. This night was more insightful and brighter than the day.
I lost my sleep; I am awakened a little more….
A page from the diary of Hiroshima
Hiroshima, August 5, 1945 8:00 PM:
The day was calmer than expected. There was just one regular Air raid alert in morning.
Regular troop movement was there from our 2nd Army Head quarters. I had just 30 new patients today from war injuries, mainly minor injuries except for a troop of 3rd battalion: 5 amputees and 3 half deaf soldiers all of them injured during the latest confrontation with allied forces.
Situation is lament in the hospital but the repeated narration of success of Pearl Harbor by Captain Daniel Yakuma along with his own personal input of the event keeps the others motivated. Captain Yakuma is man of mettle. His aircraft was hit by the anti aircraft missile on his return but he managed to come back to the post, lack of medical attention worsened his already fractured leg into Gangrene, before he can be finally brought to our base hospital. His leg now is amputated but he still has vigor in him to fight again.
The bloody war needs to come to an end. Whole of Hiroshima has been transformed to a military bunk over four years. The happy fishing people of ours have been moved out of the city or rehabilitated to the center of the city containing a number of reinforced concrete buildings instead of the ever beautiful wood houses along the shores of the canal.
How many lives we need to sacrifice. America, Europe or Asia everyone is bleeding but where will the damn quest of power lead us all?
The ships are hooting again from the bay of the Ota River. Probably more than a thousand times since the beginning of the war the citizens have seen off troops with cries of 'Banzai'.
God bless us all.
Hiroshima, August6, 1945 11:30 PM:
Ah! It is paining even as I hold the pen. The pieces of the window glass have really pierced deep into me.
It was a black day for us and the humanity. There were rumors that the enemy had something special in mind for this city, but no one dreamed that the end would come in such a fashion.
The day began in a bright, clear, summer morning. About seven o'clock, there was an air raid alarm which we had heard almost every day and a few planes appeared over the city. No one paid any attention and at about eight o'clock, the all-clear was sounded.
I have reached the base hospital and going through the history of the patients monitoring their progress overnight. I am very cheerful today as compared to days in last few months. Captain Yakuma greeted me with a warm smile .He is happy; he is going to be released in just 2 more days.
From my window, I have a wonderful view down the valley to the edge of the city. Suddenly–the time is approximately 8:14–the whole valley is filled by a garish light which resembles the magnesium light used in photography, and I am conscious of a wave of heat. I jump to the window to find out the cause of this remarkable phenomenon, but I see nothing more than that brilliant yellow light. As I make for the door, it doesn't occur to me that the light might have something to do with enemy planes. On the way from the window, I hear a moderately loud explosion which seems to come from a distance and, at the same time, the windows are broken in with a loud crash. There has been an interval of perhaps ten seconds since the flash of light. I am sprayed by fragments of glass. The entire window frame has been forced into the room. I realize now that a bomb has burst and I am under the impression that it exploded directly over our hospital or in the immediate vicinity. FUBAR!!
I am bleeding from cuts about the hands and head. The alarm has been raised. I attempt to get out of the door. It has been forced outwards by the air pressure and has become jammed. I force an opening in the door by means of repeated blows with my hands and feet and come to a broad hallway from which open the various rooms. Everything is in a state of confusion. All windows are broken and all the doors are forced inwards. I do not note a second explosion and the fliers seem to have gone on. Most of my colleagues have been injured by fragments of glass. A few are bleeding but none has been seriously injured. All of us have been fortunate since it is now apparent that the wall of my room opposite the window has been lacerated by long fragments of glass.
We proceed to the front of the hospital to see where the bomb has landed. There is no evidence, however, of a bomb crater; but the southeast section of the hospital is very severely damaged. Neither a door nor a window remains. The blast of air had penetrated the entire hospital from the southeast, but it still stands
Down in the valley, perhaps one kilometer toward the city from us, several peasant homes are on fire and the woods on the opposite side of the valley are aflame. A few of us go over to help control the flames. While we are attempting to put things in order, a storm comes up and it begins to rain. Over the city, clouds of smoke are rising and I hear a few slight explosions.
Perhaps a half-hour after the explosion, a procession of people begins to stream up the valley from the city. The crowd thickens continuously. A few come up the road to our hospital. We have in the meantime cleaned and cleared of wreckage, and put them to rest on the straw mats. Casualties will be heavy and beyond the capacity of the hospital. Soldiers which are able to move are also being ordered to arrange. Captain Yakuma is marshalling his fellow mates for all possible arrangements.
The first groups of casualties have arrived. A few display horrible wounds of the extremities. First aid will definitely not be enough .Operation theatres are ready and I take first patient severely burned with one of his hand missing and one side of face peeled off. Blood is oozing out from his body and my apron has already turned red before even I enter the operation theatre. I must be clam, I must be focused it's not the time to panic. Oh thy Lord give me strength and composure.
Its 3:00 PM in evening I have operated upon 15 causalities till now. More and more of the injured are coming. The least injured dragging the more seriously wounded. There are wounded soldiers, and mothers carrying burned children in their arms.
Soon comes the news that the entire city has been destroyed by the explosion and that it is on fire.
Medical supplies are depleted. Iodine is applied to the wounds but they are left uncleansed. Neither ointments nor other therapeutic agents are available. Those that have been brought in are laid on the floor and no one can give them any further care. What could one do when all means are lacking? Under these circumstances, it is almost useless to bring them in. We need to shift patients to the grounds of our hospital.
The transportation of our own wounded is difficult. It is not possible to dress their wounds properly in the darkness, and they bleed again upon slight motion. As we carry them on the shaky litters in the dark over fallen trees of the park, they suffer unbearable pain as the result of the movement, and lose dangerously large quantities of blood. In the meantime, fires which had begun some distance away are raging even closer, so that it becomes obvious that everything would soon burn down.
We didn't know when night fell. The night was just a shade darker than day. Its 9 pm now. More than 12 hours since the blast.
A rescue party had brought a large case of fresh rice cakes but there is no one to distribute them to the numerous wounded that lie all about. We distribute them to those that are nearby and also help ourselves. The wounded call for water and we come to the aid of a few. Cries for help are heard from a distance, but we cannot approach the ruins from which they come.
I am now shivering with cold like never before. My hands have become numb and my throat is choked with smoke. If the reports about the nuclear explosion are true then we are in grave danger. I am not worried about us anymore. We are doomed to die, every one of us either from our injuries or from the radiation. But in what we are gifting to our coming generations lies my sorrow.
The amount of radiation will kill at least 5 coming generation of ours. For about half of the century the infants will have genetic and physical disorders. We have killed our future. We have dug the grave for them even before they would open their eyes or would take the first breath in this tragic air.
Let the battle stop for good. We have seen enough. Let us forget the animosity and stop further degradation of humanity. I might not survive a day more. All I humbly pray to the future generations is to learn from our mistakes .Let humanity triumph over pride, possession and power.
Captain Fujimoto was found dead the next morning. There was another nuclear bombing in nearby city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.The bombs killed as many as 140,000 people in Hiroshima and 80,000 in Nagasaki by the end of 1945, roughly half on the days of the bombings. Amongst these, 15–20% died from injuries or the combined effects of flash burns, trauma, and radiation burns, compounded by illness, malnutrition and radiation sickness. Since then, more have died from leukemia (231 observed) and solid cancers (334 observed) attributed to exposure to radiation released by the bombs. In both cities, the majority of the dead were civilians.
Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and therefore World War II.
From me:
This is my tribute and service to the brave Japanese and humanity, who have overcome their great grief and have raised themselves as one of the leading economy in the post world war era.
PS: The character of captain Yakuma and Fujimoto are fictious and the diary too.
Notes describing the scenario have been taken from the diary of Father John A. Siemes, professor of modern philosphy at Tokyo's Catholic University


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The Contoured Cradle Head Support's positioning success is derived from its unique anatomic shape. Designed to cradle the occiput and provide lateral cervical support, this wheelchair head support supplies a high degree of comfort and positioning in a simple-to-adjust head support.
Starting from $135
Designed to cradle the occipital region, the Contoured Cradle wheelchair head support provides superior lateral cervical support that is comfortable and easy to adjust. Its rotational collar adjustment enables proper positioning for maximum support surface contact. Pad sizes range from Small to Large to fit pediatric to adult clients. Add lateral facial pads, switches, or anterior supports to increase versatility.
To suit varying client needs, the Contoured Cradle wheelchair headrests are available with three cover options.
Six mounting hardware options are available to accommodate a spectrum of client presentations and functional needs.
As a part of our ongoing product improvement initiative, Sunrise Medical reserves the right to change specifications and design without notice. Further, not all features and options offered are compatible with all configurations of the wheelchair. Please consult the user instruction manual for more information.


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Too my surprise FlightGear runs on the Raspberry Pi 4 with 4GB. Of course the main intent for the Raspberries are education and FlighGear is also educational so a nice fit! I plan to post tweaks on this topic as I slowly learn the ins and outs of Pi Flight. I hope other do so also.
My first hint: Logiteck Extreme 3D Pro joystick works. Not only does it work but you only need to plug it in. Buttons can also be assigned.


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Grayscale's Adornment was one of the biggest releases in the pop-punk genre in the last year. And since the release, the band hailing from Philadelphia has grown immensely in popularity and their fanbase.
Now, the boys are back with a new music video for the track "Forever Yours".
Stream the new music video below now and let us know what you think!
Adornment is currently available for purchase and streaming via |Itunes | and |Spotify|.


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About 80% of consumers use the internet to search for products and services they need before they make a purchase. Most customers today will assume your company has a website and may search for your business only to find you do not exist on the World Wide Web. Most of your competitors probably already have a website.
- Your customers expect it.
If this were the only reason on the list, it would be enough. Six out of ten consumers expect brands to provide online content about their business or some form of digital property, and more than half head straight to the brand's website for product information.
If you don't have a business website, today's digital-savvy (and impatient) customers may look elsewhere.
- You control the narrative.
It's true that you cannot control what others say about you on social media channels, but you can influence public perception by creating your own story via a business website.
A company blog helps business owners get their message, mission, and personality in front of their target audience faster than print ads or snail mail brochures.
Plus, social icons linking to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other networking platforms make sharing your content easier for your visitors who like what they see.
- Your competitors all have company websites.
Consumers typically start their buying journey with research and recommendations from peers and social network connections.
Studies show that once a consumer has an idea of what they need or want, they start researching, and 72 percent of them go online to find educational material, reviews, and testimonials. So if you're not staying competitive with your competition, you're giving shoppers a reason to buy from another brand.
- You'll show up in Google search results.
Consider this: 81 percent of consumers perform online research before making a purchase. That means they go to Google and type in one or more keywords, like "best leather shoes" or, if they know what they want, "handcrafted Italian leather women's shoes in Los Angeles."
If you don't have a website for your business, the chances of showing up on the search engine results page are zero. But if you have a site, you can optimize it for search engines, thereby increasing your chances of appearing at the top of Google's results and getting more visibility with potential customers.
Long-tail keywords, Meta descriptions, and titles are just some of the things you can customize on your site to improve your search engine optimization (SEO).
- It Is Always Accessible
A website is available to both your regular and potential customers 24/7/365 providing them with the convenience of reviewing your products and services when your store or office is closed. With today's busy lifestyles, this is a great selling point when making a purchase decision.
….To Be Continued


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Below are the available bulk discount rates for each individual item when you purchase a certain amount
Paint or decorate plain plywood faceplate to create your own clock design. Measures 10 x 10 in., 3/8 in. thick with 5/16 in. center hole.
|WARNING: Drilling, sawing, sanding or machining wood products can expose you to wood dust, a substance known to the State of California to cause cancer. Avoid inhaling wood dust or use a dust mask or other safeguards for personal protection. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/wood.


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Blown tire blamed for deadly crash in Groveland
Two killed after van lost control
GROVELAND, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol says a blown tire on a van caused a deadly crash in Groveland Monday night that killed two people.
Troopers say the van's 37-year-old driver was traveling eastbound on State Road 50 when the van had a tire separation. The driver veered off into the shoulder but then over-corrected and traveled into the westbound lanes. Troopers say the van then collided with two pickup trucks heading westbound.
The impact killed one of the pickup truck drivers, Mark Miller, 60, from Nobleton, Florida. The van driver has not yet been identified, but troopers say the victim is a woman who lives in Orlando. The driver of the third vehicle involved suffered only minor injuries.
Troopers say the crash remains under investigation. Check back with Local 6 for updates on this developing story.
Copyright 2013 by ClickOrlando.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Modern electromechanical relays meet today's reliability demands
Although they've been superseded in some applications by newer technologies such as solid state relays (SSRs), electromechanical relays (EMRs) still have a lot to offer. Of all the relay types, they are probably the best general-purpose solution, meeting the needs of many diverse applications from automotive to automated test equipment. Many, many different specialist types of EMRs exist for everything from signal transmission to power electronics applications. These days, they are often specified purely for cost reasons, but they do have some redeeming features.
EMRs are mechanical devices that physically open and close electrical contacts when they are switched on and off. This means they have a very low contact resistance – in the tens of milliohms – which is important for applications that require a minimal on-state voltage drop. They also offer very high open resistance – typically greater than 100 GΩ. Contact capacitance is also less than what's offered by SSRs, which means they can offer the linear response that's required to minimise distortion of high frequency signals, and they have high bandwidth characteristics (>100MHz).
Applications that require Galvanic isolation between the drive electronics and the relay contacts will make use of the EMR's ability to provide nearly total line to load isolation. Even multiple pole devices, which can control multiple circuits at the same time, are fully isolated.
EMRs' contacts are large and robust, so they can withstand power surges and voltage spikes. Transients under some circumstances can switch SSRs, whereas this isn't a problem for EMRs. SSRs also have a tendency to fail in short circuit mode, which can lead to damage for the equipment or circuits being switched on or off.
Of course, there are down sides to using EMRs. Audible noise is one, followed by limitations on switching speed (5 to 15ms) and their general bulkiness. There are many application areas where these criteria are less important than cost, or the EMR's other features such as surge resistance, so it's a matter of matching the strengths of the relay type to the application's requirements.
Life expectancy, in particular, is often thought of as relatively low for EMRs, but in fact this is one property of EMRs that manufacturers have been working on in recent years. Since they are mechanical components, they have a finite lifetime, referred to as endurance, which begins when the relay is first switched. Endurance is usually defined in terms of how many switching operations the relay can be expected to perform under certain conditions before failure.
EMR datasheets typically give both the mechanical and electrical endurance figures. Mechanical endurance is a measure of the number of cycles of operation a relay can be expected to perform with no electrical load. The electrical endurance gives the expected number of cycles of operation before failure under a certain electrical load. Endurance is sometimes separated for AC and DC loads if the relay is suitable for use with both. Note that mechanical and electrical endurance have different failure criteria – that is, they are not comparable. Mechanical endurance is therefore not a good approximation for electrical endurance under low load conditions.
Typical conditions under which electrical endurance is measured include relay duty factor of 50% at rated frequency and rated voltage, with a resistive load, at ambient temperature (23°C), with the relay upright, wired directly (not mounted on a socket), with the contact opening/closing not synchronised to line frequency, etc. Of course, if your application demands conditions different to these standard test conditions, some level of derating can be expected.
Here are some examples of modern EMRs and their failure rates.
The Omron MY series on the image right includes a broad range of general-purpose relays. The MY2 series of miniature power relays offers mechanical endurance of 50 million operations minimum when used with an AC load, or 100 million operations minimum with a DC load. Its electrical resistance is 500,000 operations minimum at rated load, at rated switching frequency of 18,000 operations per hour.
The GQ series of signal relays from Panasonic Electric Works is rated for 2A signals. Their expected mechanical endurance is a minimum of 50 million operations when switched at 180 times per minute. Their electrical endurance with a 2A, 30VDC resistive load is 50,000 operations minimum at 20 times per minute, or 100,000 operations minimum at 20 times per minute for 1A, 30VDC resistive loads. For 0.3A, 125VAC resistive loads, a minimum of 100,000 operations at 20 times per minute can be expected.
Electrical endurance of Panasonic Electric Works' GQ series
TE Connectivity's high current relay 150 is a much bigger relay intended for engine control, engine preheating systems, heated windscreens and other automotive applications. Its mechanical endurance is 10 million operations minimum, and its electrical endurance is 50,000 cycles minimum at 300A, 13.5VDC.
TE Connectivity's high current relay 150 for automotive applications
Avnet Abacus works with market leading suppliers including Omron, Panasonic Electric Works and TE Connectivity to provide EMR components covering a broad range of specifications, giving you flexibility in any application. Our Europe-wide team of technical specialists are happy to discuss how EMR products could optimise your designs and answer any questions. Contact them in your local language through our Ask an Expert page.


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Jill was standing by her window, gazing out, when her nose starting twitching, which was an indication that her sexual "senses" were about to be activated. Her energy took on a life of its own and started running through her like a locomotive train. Damn… what the fuck, she thought. Who in the hell is activating my sexual appetite like this? The limo pulled up in front of the building, and who came out was a stunning woman that left Jill speechless, and salivating.
Trisha sensed this sexual feeling rise as she got closer to her new penthouse residence. It was so strong, that as soon as she exited the limo, she looked up at the window and saw her. She immediately noticed her neck and beautiful full breasts, cleavage popping from the cups of her bra. "Mmmm, this is going to be easier than I thought, but not this soon."
Jill wanted to run and hide her embarrassment, but she could not move. She was transfixed and mesmerized by this woman, wanting to make sure that she saw her completely.
Their eyes met, locked, and stared; neither knowing that the other's pussy had started tingling and getting moist. Jill's doorbell sounded and jolted her back to reality. Fuck!!!
"Who is it?" Jill answered the knock in a disgusted tone. It was the doorman, informing her that she had a package at the concierge desk. She thanked him and immediately sent him away. When she got back to the window, the woman she'd seen before was gone.
Now her pussy lips were tingling even more, her nipples were erect, and her pussy juices were starting to run down her legs. Another knock came to the door. Who the fuck is this knocking on my door, Jill thought. She went impatiently toward the door, opened the door in a huff… and the woman who had exited from the limo stood in front of her, delivering what must be her package. #Oral #Pussy #OralSex #Blowjob
"I think that this is yours?"
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Discover all your joys, wonders, and rewards from oral sex!


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Congestive heart failure treatment primarily involves identifying and then correcting the underlying cause.
For example, infections can be treated with antibiotics, surgery can correct malfunctioning heart valves and remove blockages from coronary arteries, and drugs can correct problems with the thyroid gland and control high blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
There are also contributing factors that can be corrected, including diet and lifestyle changes such as reducing salt and fat intake, controlling weight, eliminating cigarette smoking, and reducing alcohol consumption.
Next, your health professional will try to improve the flow of blood and oxygen through your body. There are many drugs that are prescribed for this purpose. For example, digitalis drugs slow the heart rate and improve its pumping ability.
Vasodilators are drugs that dilate the blood vessels. A class of vasodilators called ACE inhibitors is used to treat high blood pressure. These drugs reduce the force required to move blood through the body by lowering blood pressure, which reduces the heart's workload and prolongs the patient's life.
Patients who cannot tolerate ACE inhibitors are prescribed angiotensin II receptor blockers, which affect the blood vessels in the same way as ACE inhibitors.
Patients who experience swelling in the feet, ankles, legs and abdomen are given drugs called diuretics. Diuretics stimulate the kidneys to increase urine production and remove sodium and water from the body. Reducing fluid retention also helps relieve shortness of breath.
However, patients taking diuretics may also need to take a potassium supplement because the body loses large amounts of that mineral due to frequent urination. A diuretic called spironolactone has been shown to have the added benefit of preserving the body's potassium levels.
Patients with severe heart failure and lowered kidney function may need to be hospitalized and given diuretics intravenously until their condition is stable.
Patients with pulmonary edema are hospitalized and given high concentrations of oxygen through a face mask or a tube inserted into the windpipe (trachea). A number of medications, including diuretics and vasodilators, can help remove fluids from the lungs and improve heart function.
Morphine may also be given to help reduce the anxiety caused by breathing difficulties associated with pulmonary edema.
For long-term care, doctors recommend alternating periods of rest with gentle exercises, such as walking. Cardiac rehabilitation programs can provide medically supervised exercise programs for people with congestive heart failure.
Heart transplants are only considered for patients with severe congestive heart failure. A procedure called an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) can be used as a short-term treatment for patients who need a heart transplant.
An IABP consists of a balloon attached to the end of a long, thin tube called a catheter. The catheter is inserted is through an artery in the groin where it is guided to the heart's aorta. A bedside pump, attached to the catheter, inflates the balloon immediately after the heart contracts.
The inflated balloon blocks the aorta and forces some blood into the coronary arteries. Right before the heart beats again, the balloon deflates. This creates a vacuum in the arteries that makes it easier for the heart to push oxygen-rich blood out to the body.An IABP can be used for only a few days, and the patient must remain in the hospital, lying flat.
Patients with weakened left ventricles can be helped by a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). This device is a small pump that is implanted in the upper part of the abdomen. A tube leading from the left ventricle pulls blood into the pump, which then forces the blood into the aorta.
A second tube protrudes outside of the body, through the abdominal wall, and is attached a pump control system. The LVAD takes over the work of the left ventricle by letting blood flow bypass it altogether. Like the IABP, the LVAD can extend the life of patients with severe congestive heart failure. The LVAD, however, shows promise as a longer-term treatment device.
Recent advancements in surgical treatments include cardiac transplantation, artificial ventricular assist devices, and pacemakers. These options for treatment would require an evaluation from a heart failure specialist.
In this section
Congestive Heart Failure
Diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure
Congestive Heart Failure Treatment – You are here
Congestive Heart Failure Symptoms
Congestive Heart Failure Prevention
There are many things you can do to stay healthy:
… the combination of Vedic Meditation, for twenty minutes twice a day, with a good diet – especially a low fat, low salt diet – and physical exercise, should see a dramatic change in your health.
Vedic Meditation is one of the most powerful techniques available for reducing stress and anxiety. It is also one of the easiest to learn and simplest to practice.
If you are in Auckland (NZ) call me, Warwick Jones, on 09 419 5380, or email to find our how Vedic Meditation could help you achieve better health.
Click here ==> to find out more about Vedic Meditation


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Home >> Daily News >> Vietnam News >> Investment >> Transparency vital for Vietnamese investment
Transparency vital for Vietnamese investment
Improving the transparency of the business environment at provincial levels was an important factor in attracting urgently needed investment, the vice chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (VCCI) Hoang Van Dung announced at a press conference this week. Dung said transparency created trust among investors and reduced fees for searching for information.
Dau Anh Tuan, deputy head of VCCI's Legislation Department, said businesses with high transparency achieved higher profits, proving the sustainability of a transparent business environment.
He said several provinces had been active in improving their business environment. Northern Bac Ninh Province had built a handbook to guide investors about investment and building procedures. Southern Dong Nai Province set up a website in five languages to provide information to investors.
Some provinces established a "one-door" mechanism for granting investment certification. Ho Dai Dung, deputy director of northern Phu Tho Province's Planning and Investment Department, said it worked together with industrial zone management boards to supply businesses with investment information.
Dung said the province also clearly stipulated regulations for investors and investment regions. The department held monthly meetings with businesses to resolve any difficulties and had merged its Commercial and Investment Promotion Centre with its Tourism Centre to provide a one-stop shop for businesses.
Vice chairman of Thai Binh Province's People Committee, Pham Van Ca, said the province held meetings with enterprises and carried out checks to resolve any difficulties.
He added the province supplied information on improving transparency. All issues were submitted to provincial leaders within three days through the "one-door" mechanism. Replies took only a week.
Hoang Ngoc Giao, deputy head of the Institute for Legal and Development Research, said transparency in the business environment was complicated because it related to several issues of planning, lands and natural resources.
Giao said a model to enhance transparency was being completed. He said it would feature the specific characteristics of every locality.
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The Inside Column 14/8
Good morning and a very warm welcome to you. We invite you to join us after the service for a hot drink and fellowship.
Thank you all very much for all the help to run Synod. Thank you to all the people that baked, cleaned, set up, packed down, served, decorated, and all the other thousand things that went unseen. We would not have been able to host Synod without each of you playing your part. A big thank you to David Cowdrey for all the Tech support and extra work he put in, having things dropped on him last minute and making them work in a short time frame. Over all Synod was very successful and I think people were very pleased. THANK YOU!
On Sunday 4 September we are having a combined service with a breakfast starting at 9.00am and the service starting from 10.00am. Bishop Richard will be speaking at the service. Some have asked why do we have these breakfasts? So we can all get together and spend some time getting to know each other.
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each
one of you is a part of it". – 1 Corinthians 12:27
One of the things that hosting Synod provided was the time for different groups of people that don't normally spend a lot of time with each other, to get to know each other in a whole new way, and this only happens when we spend time together. Can I ask that everyone puts the date in there diary and make the effort to come to the breakfast.
On Friday night 9 September we will be running our Quiz night. Again this is a chance for us to get a team together, and spend a fun night together. Richard Currie how puts the quiz together does a fantastic Job and runs one of the best Quiz nights going around. Get your team together now; invite your work friends, tickets on the night or from the church office.
I was listening to a talk this week about becoming a people of the teaching of the sermon of the mount – always good for us to think about.
'You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses
its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It
is no longer good for anything, except to be
thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the
light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be
hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it
under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand,
and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In
the same way, let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify
your Father in heaven. – Matthew 5:13 – 16
Yours in Christ


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I Fought the Law
The United Nations define Julian as a political prisoner who should be released immediately with compensation. How can the British people maintain a degree of patriotism and belief in democracy when our government has abandoned rule of law and imposed misrule.
Julian Assange – Wikileaks – published American war crimes which Whistleblower Chelsea Manning gave to him. At this point misrule of law by government began for him. The American government claims it's a crime to publish war crimes against America and they set up a court back then which is still working on how to convict him, once they have him, once he is extradited.
Britain and Sweden conspired to trap him by means of misrule of law by government, constantly moving the goalposts and eventually denying his human right to asylum by Ecuador.
All other anti-Wikileaks spin or personal spin against Julian is just a confusion, the only issue they can use is that it's a crime to publish war crimes against America.
It is vital that Ecuador continues to protect him and that the UK government drops their manufactured petty charges regarding bail, and abandons their plan to extradite him.
Finally, America must accept that it is not a crime against America to publish American war crimes.
Wikileaks has the power to publish govt. crimes and corruption and is therefore dangerous to all govts. But pro people and pro free speech.
- The most effective way to trap someone politically is to accuse them of sex.
- Julian waited 5 weeks in Sweden for questioning then was told he was free to go.
- Misrule of law was set in motion by governments. Julian was available for questioning, but they rejected it and issued a warrant for his arrest for questioning just two days before Clinton Cablegate. Why?
- UK Crown Prosecution Service could have facilitated the questioning, but told the Swedes not to come – Why? They emailed: "Trust us, we're not treating this like any other case."
- Julian seeks political asylum at Ecuadorian embassy. Why do you think he is still in there? Because this has always been about America.
- Asylum should take precedent over bail. Julian is a test-case without precedent.
- Julian is happy to face justice, but not at the expense of American injustice. He would step out now if had reassurance that Britain would not extradite him.
- The judge who recently rejected Julian's request to drop bail charges: her husband was listed in CableGate and is part of UK's military-industrial complex.
- 24/7 surveillance, £13million paid for by taxpayers, no sunlight. The maximum fine they could give Julian re: bail problem is £5,000, but he and his friends gave them £250,000. He's owed a lot of change. NB. Vivienne would give British govt. £5,000 if it would do the trick.
- The UN says Julian is a political prisoner and he should be released immediately with compensation. Britain said – We don't care! The people at the UN weren't the right lawyers!
Misrule of law by British Government: Julian Assange
Keep fighting, Vivienne. You are an inspiration. I only hope that those people in positions of power will take notice before it's too late.
I hope you will have a look at the talk I gave a few years ago about the poet Shelley, called 'Was he a punk or what?' There are 4 parts and then a Q&A afterwards. I'm sending you all my support and best wishes. Christy x
Dearest Vivienne. I hope you are well. I am so happy you received your book, the poem I left the marker on the page is so important. Your manifesto is all coming true and I have so much to tell you. I would love to come and see you and tell you everything. For peace, a better world, human rights, art and music and inspirations for you to change the world. Love always, Christopher


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Former NFL and University of Texas quarterback Vince Young and his former business manager, Ron Peoples, have been sued in Harris County by a company trying to collect payment on a $700,000 loan that Young obtained from a Dallas man in April 2011, according to court records.
The lawsuit, filed in late August by Triton RMS, a Katy company that acquired the debt last year, alleges that the unpaid loan plus principal and an origination fee now totals $1.163 million.
The case was assigned to 333rd state District Judge Joseph "Tad" Halbach.
The latest lawsuit against Young, who starred at Madison High School before leading the Longhorns to the 2005 national championship and who from 2006 through 2011 played for the Titans and Eagles, comes less than a year after Young filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while in the midst of a legal battle involving a New York company that granted a $1.8 million loan in Young's name during the 2011 NFL lockout.
That case was settled in early 2014, and Young quickly withdrew his Chapter 11 petition. A lawsuit that Young filed against Peoples also was settled earlier this year.
The latest lawsuit, filed by Houston attorney Vy-Vivian Nguyen, alleges that Young and Peoples in April 2011 entered into a $700,000 loan agreement with David Zehr of Dallas at 15 percent interest with a $21,000 loan origination fee to be paid on or before Sept. 30, 2011.
"Neither Vince Young nor Ron Peoples have made any efforts to repay the aforementioned note," the lawsuit alleges.
The address given for Zehr in court papers matches that of a Dallas physician of the same name. He did not immediately return a message for comment. Court documents indicate that the loan was assigned to a third party, ILS Acquisition of Houston, which assigned it to Triton RMS.
Nguyen, the attorney for Triton RMS, had no comment on the case Monday.
Young, in an interview with TMZ Sports, blamed the lawsuit on Peoples, who signed the promissory note as Young's "attorney-in-fact."
"He was doing things without my approval — getting big loans out," Young said. "He never had my authority."
Houston attorney David Chaumette, who represented Peoples in another lawsuit involving Young, said he was aware of the Zehr note and that reference to the loan was made in documents filed in other Young-related lawsuits.
"We have been negotiating with them about this note for some time," Chaumette said. "We thought negotiations were happening and that we were getting closer to a resolution. I fully expect this to be resolved quickly without too much judicial action."
Young was represented during the bankruptcy case by Houston attorney Brian Kilmer, who did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
Young recently began working for the University of Texas in the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement.


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Close to Home: The best response to President Trump's anti-immigrant doctrine: Pass SB 54
Sometime today, Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act, is expected to make its way to the Assembly for a vote before, hopefully, landing on Gov. Jerry Brown's desk for his signature. The stated purpose of SB 54, introduced and sponsored by Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin De León is to "protect the safety and well-being of all Californians by ensuring that state and local resources are not used to fuel mass deportations, separate families and ultimately hurt California's economy." In other words, SB 54 would build a wall between California law enforcement agencies and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement creating a "santuary state."
One of the more pernicious elements of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policies has been the targeting of undocumented individuals in public and civic spaces, such as schools, hospitals and courts. SB 54 would establish these places as safe zones. The negative impacts of immigration enforcement are well known: children kept out of school, families not seeking proper health care, putting all of us at risk, and unreported crime.
A study by the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois found that "70 percent of undocumented immigrants reported that they are less likely to contact law enforcement authorities if they were the victims of a crime." This legislation would create clear and strong boundaries between our local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration enforcement and would further protect victims, largely women, who fear coming forward about crime due to fear of deportation or detention.
SB 54 would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from engaging in immigration enforcement, except to allow Immigration and Custom Enforcement interviews and transfers to ICE detention centers if a judicial warrant has been issued. The bill would also require the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to report to the federal government 60 days before violent felons are to be released. Finally, this bill would allow local law enforcement to continue participating in multi-agency task forces, "such as those investigating human trafficking, cyber security and drug trafficking, so long as immigration enforcement is not the primary purpose."
Most important, it would cut down on the number of contributing members of society who senselessly being held in privately operated detention facilities — at great taxpayer expense.
According to a Lobbying Disclosure Act report of the U.S. Senate, two companies, the Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO Group, hold 72 percent of the country's privately contracted immigration detention beds, from which they net a little over $194 million and $143 million in profits, respectively. The for-profit prison system is one of the most powerful lobbying forces in D.C., and it typically advocates for stronger detention and deportation policies. A Penn State study released this year found that the Corrections Corporation of America and the GEO Group spent $45 million on campaign donations and lobbying from 2002 to 2012.
Under the federal Secure Communities program, California taxpayers spent an estimated $65 million annually to detain people for ICE, according to a 2012 report prepared by Justice Strategies. Not only is it unacceptable that Californians are spending millions on a system that profits from federal immigration enforcement, it's also not economically and socially viable.
ICE immigration sweeps in neighborhoods and workplaces will lead to hundreds of children suddenly being parentless, labor shortages in key industries, an increase in residents dealing with mental illness, rents and bills being left unpaid and family members and friends left scrambling to deal with belongings left behind. Actual ICE raids have little impact on curbing unlawful entry, and they undermine the state's economy and social fabric.
If we want to see a more prosperous and safe California, we can start by challenging a system of immigration enforcement that drains resources from education and business and generates distrust toward law enforcement. SB 54 represents an important step toward ensuring that our immigrant communities have some reprieve from the intensified xenophobia of the Trump administration and will move us in the right direction to become a stronger and more inclusive California.
Mara Ventura is lead organizer for North Bay Jobs with Justice and a resident of Santa Rosa.


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Friday, February 3, 2012
Inventory is Done, Part Two.
So what does that all mean?
1. We're happy to say that we were less than 2% off in our inventory number.
2. I'm too tired to write a full post.
Posted by Daniel Goldin at 1:52 PM
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i havent blogged in a while, and as promised, im going to show you the projects I was working on for my exchange w/my friend Rachel E. For the last week, i've been sick. I've had a variety of symptoms w/different days being "oh this is the worst day". I never knew what i had/have--a flu, a chest cold, respiratory problems due to being on the vent. I've had fevers, fatigue, thicker congestion, BAD HEADACHES EVERY MORNING between 3-6am!, body aches, difficulty breathing, faster-than-normal-for-me heartrate/anxiety. Today was the first day I felt almost back to myself but my mom did notice that i've had better days. I was so happy to spend the day w/my mom and did a little retail therapy lol (just at one store, American Eagle). Ohh and my mom brought me chocolate chip ice cream for the house (i always share), so i'll be looking forward to that treat once iM better. I dont know about you, but when I don't feel well, one way to know is that i don't usually eat as much as i would, no cravings for sweets and instead of drinking iced coffee, i drink hot coffee/hot tea (preferably celestial seasonings sleepy time caffeine free tea(it's oh so yummy w/a little honey)! OMG what!!?? lol yeh..anyhoo here are the pics, and my dress that Rachel made is so cute! I'll post a pic when i wear it. Fits great and is comfortable!
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candy corn terracotta pots