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"The nation that will insist upon drawing a broad line of demarcation between the fighting man and the thinking man is liable to find its fighting done by fools and its thinking by cowards."
Sir William Francis Butler
24 November 2010
Decision Points (A Totally Original Title)
4 comments:
- Niel said...
Go East young man ... Prague.
- 24 November, 2010 19:14
- Unknown said...
Hoping you enjoy a Happy Thanksgiving with family & friends!
- 25 November, 2010 16:04
- courtneyme109 said...
Château de Puivert, Frankreich
- 27 November, 2010 13:44
If you love beer, you need to go to Poperinge, Belgium. It's close to the famously exclusive Westvleteren Brewery (http://www.sintsixtus.be/eng/brouwerij.htm) amongst others in Watou (http://www.sintbernardus.be/en/index.html and http://www.brouwerijvaneecke.tk/ or a wordy summary here: http://www.whitebeertravels.co.uk/watou.html)
You can see some history/heritage in Poperinge too: http://www.talbothouse.be/
With Ypres/Flander's Fields nearby too: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/belgium/flanders/ypres
Hope it helps! Pour some brew on the curb for me.
- 27 November, 2010 13:52


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Marvel wants people to dress as fascists? Yeah, Chris Evans already had a thing to say about fascists.
marvel comics
Fandom Report for Thursday, April 13, 2017: "WTF, Marvel Comics?!"
Because I've been catching up on reviews of DC on TV, Loki, and My Hero Academia, and giving presentations on Japanese Spider-Man, Edgar Allan Poe in Bungo Stray Dogs, and representations of disabilities in superhero texts, there's a lot of ICYMI news this week.
Oh, and Marvel? Diversity is not why you have a problem. Don't you dare blame that for declining sales when your CEO works for a bigot.
#NeMLA17 #S621: "DC vs Marvel in Japan"
Thanks to all who turned out for the Northeast Modern Language Association's session on Edgar Allan Poe in popular culture! Now I'm about to present at 11:45 AM Eastern as part of the DC vs Marvel panel. Follow along with this linked slide presentation, and feel free to submit questions there or on Twitter, hashtags #NeMLA17 #S621.
#GeekGuide: Comics, Video Game, and Fan Culture Panels at #NeMLA17
Each year, the Northeast Modern Language Association's (NeMLA) annual convention features presentations on comics and graphic novels, already long accepted as media worthy of critical analysis. And this year's convention at the Marriott Waterfront in Baltimore, Maryland, March 23 to 26, also features sessions on related topics in anime, manga, video games, and fan culture.
And I would know–I've been proofreading this program repeatedly as part of my job at NeMLA.
I've compiled as many comics, video game, and fan culture presentations that I could find in the online schedule. I encourage you, if you are attending the convention, to check out these sessions and share your thoughts on social media. And check out the program online for more sessions!
CFP: "Marvel vs. DC: Civil War?" (NeMLA Baltimore 2017; deadline Sep 30 2016)
Last year at the Northeast Modern Language Association (NeMLA), my colleague Mary Ellen Iatropoulos and I were happy to host Lisa Perdigao on our academic roundtable about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This year, for NeMLA's 2017 convention in Baltimore, Lisa is organizing a panel on rivalries, not just within Marvel Comics but as it pertains to its long-lasting competition with fellow comic book publisher DC Comics.
DC and Marvel have collaborated in the past for crossovers and amalgamations of their fictional universes, revealing the parallels between them, such as Batman and Daredevil (or Iron Man), Green Arrow and Hawkeye, Atom and Ant Man, Superman and Captain America (or Thor)–or just so we could see a fistfight between the Justice League and the Avengers, or watch Superman wield Captain America's shield and Mjolnir.
This competition has moved off of the comic book pages and onto the silver screen. Whereas Marvel has embraced a fun, eclectic blending of various genres in its numerous film adaptations from Disney and other film studios, DC has remained fixed largely at Warner Bros and has persisted with a grim portrayal of superheroes that has appealed to some fans and irritated many others. It's even inspired popular web parodies. This shift from comics to film production even resulted in a new bicoastal rivalry: DC Comics has moved to Hollywood, while Marvel Comics stays in New York City.
This CFP also has the potential for presentations not necessarily as to the rivalry between DC and Marvel, but a comparison of how the two comic book companies portray rivalries. How does the rivalry between Superman and Batman differ from that between Captain America and Iron Man? How are metahumans portrayed differently from mutants and inhumans? What is it about superhero stories that perpetuate the idea of rivalries rather than collaboration?
And that's not even touching upon all of the other works that DC and Marvel have created but which are outside of the superhero genre, such as literary adaptations, The Sandman, Preacher, and Lucifer.
Obviously, there are a wealth of topics for consideration to this CFP, and I strongly encourage interested scholars to submit to Lisa's session, or to forward this CFP to interested colleagues.
The full CFP is below.
Marvel vs. DC: Civil War?
Northeast Modern Language Association
Baltimore, March 23-26, 2017
Chair: Lisa Perdigao (Florida Institute of Technology)
Deadline: September 30, 2016
Submit 300-word abstracts and short bios online at https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/16494
Released in spring 2016, Captain America: Civil War and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice converge on the narrative of a house divided. Marvel's and DC's staging of the wars between their respective superheroes is suggestive of a larger battle between the two franchises that dates back to the comics. These two films represent turning points for the companies, as they threaten to disassemble the Avengers and the Justice League as soon as—and even before—they are created. Adapted from the comics, the films' narratives highlight central tensions within the individual universes as well as the ongoing rivalry between the two companies.
This panel will explore how the concept of civil war plays out within and between the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and DC Entertainment films and television series. Papers are sought that examine individual Marvel and DC works (comics, films, and television series), the expansive Marvel and DC universes, and the relationship between the two rival companies. Possible topics include the difficulties of assembling a superteam in the twenty-first century, the race to utilize new mediums in the digital age, and the conflicting ideologies represented by Marvel and DC.
New Podcast: LokiCast, "Agent of Asgard" Issue #1 (2014)
As I wrap up work my next publication, I want to spend the next few weeks sharing my thoughts about recent and popular interpretations of Marvel's god of mischief and lies, Loki.
This is a new podcast: this is the LokiCast.
Episode #1 of the LokiCast is available for free on SoundCloud. Below is the script for this first episode, in which I look at Loki: Agent of Asgard Issue #1 by Ewing and Garbett. The podcast sticks mostly to this script, so if you don't have 20 minutes to listen, feel free to skim the script below.
I'm going to record a few more episodes as I wrap up work on publishing about Loki. Let me know what you think about the podcast in the comments section or on Twitter.
(There is a short gap without audio early in this track; skip over that dead air.)
Loki: Agent of Asgard Issue #1 is certainly a product of the Marvel film adaptations, reconciling the newer cinematic portrayal of the character with his classic origins. The first issue in many ways replays details from the first Avengers film, whether the use of Stark Tower rather than Stark Mansion, this iteration of the team consisting of their cinematic counterparts, Hawkeye, Iron Man, and Captain America dressed in the same outfits that they wear in the films, even Bruce Banner offering an incomplete form of the "I'm always angry" line.
It can rangle fans to have a more attractive, younger, more Hildeston-esque Loki on the pages, a point not lost upon Clinton Barton who describes the newer character as "One Direction-y." The attractive smooth skin of this Loki is accentuated in contrast to the illustrations of Loki Classic, who arrives on the last page of Issue #1 and who pops up in a flashback in his first fight against the Avengers. This Loki differs greatly from how Jack Kirby was drawing him: the wrinkles and dead eyes are exaggerated, his gleeful smirk transformed into a frightening gaping maw.
Initially, this contrast in physical appearance seems like a cynical attempt to make New Loki look all the more interesting than Loki Classic. But, thank Odin, it's not. Loki's two sides are going to be front-and-center to this series. That structure to Agent of Asgard touches upon a point I traced in my earlier article, and which I'm working on in a new publication: what is Loki's role? Issue #1 of _Agent of Asgard_ summarizes how Loki wrestles with his past self and his future potential, when he imagines his initial fight with the Avengers, way back upon their formation, as like a play:
Steve Rogers is not a Trump voter: On Marvel Comics and the dangers of neo-fascism in America
At a time when My Hero Academia brings such optimism to the superhero narrative, it is disappointing that today brings news that Marvel Comics will have Captain America Steve Rogers be revealed to have been a Hydra spy. Not only does this storyline borrow from the Winter Soldier film adaptation–years too late–only with Cap rather than SHIELD as having always been Hydra, but the article suggests Cap's work within Hydra will be repeating the xenophobic talking points of Donald Trump.
While my colleague Keith Friedlander points out very well that Marvel actually could be using Rogers as representative of a divided America, with he and fellow Captain America Sam Wilson identifying two approaches to United States identity, I cannot stomach such a portrayal. I cannot accept a story that, rather than immediately and without equivocation condemn Donald Trump and his voters, instead gives them a voice.
Since he announced his presidential run–no, earlier, when he, solely out of the racism and xenophobia that is at his core, dared to doubt the citizenship of the first black president–Donald Trump's xenophobia and fascism has deserved no voice. And yet this madman, thanks to a feckless cable news media thriving on sound bytes, fake controversy, and reducing politics into a goddamn horse race, already dominates television screens 24/7, as if interviewing an incoherent, ignorant buffoon will yield new understanding of his madness, hatred, and bigotry. And this madman will be the nominee for a Republican Party that has thrived on feeding such prejudice for decades, culminating with bigotry against our fellow human beings on the basis of their gender, not to mention unfettered misogyny. Such violence deserves no respect, and anyone who votes for Trump deserves to be mocked for their vote.
Regardless whatever sound goals Marvel's team of creators had to make Rogers into a Hydra agent, and I see hardly any that are worthwhile at this time, the words of Donald Trump deserve no platform: his ideas must be knocked down as a part of dangerous movement and should be mocked as unrealistic, unpragmatic, and un-American. To have Steve Rogers speak for Trump, rather than speak against Trump, is a disservice to that character, to that comic's legacy, and to all of us who do not want to see our nation further collapse into rightwing nonsense.
Shame on Marvel, shame on its Trump-fundraising CEO Ike Perlmutter–and God help this world should any of us vote for a fascist like Trump.
And if My Hero Academia reveals All Might to be a fellow Hydra sleeper agent, I'm snapping my Kindle in two.
"Daddy Don't Get Scared!" Gender Problems in Ant-Man
The film presents its two fathers, Scott Lang and Hank Pym, as acting on behalf of their daughters. But their actions are also on behalf of themselves—to the detriment of developing one female character. And the word I repeat too often below is "frustrating."
Ant-Man (2015, directed by Peyton Reed) is a bizarre film to watch, not only because of its complicated production history, its momentary immersion into the Microverse, or the fact that freaking Ant-Man is getting a film before Black Panther, Runaways, Captain Marvel, or Ms. Marvel.
No, the film is also bizarre given its approach to representing men and women.
"This looks bad": Reading comics on tablets can compromise layout
In which I kinda disagree with Noel Murray, and whine about how Amazon and Marvel format their e-comics.
At The AV Club, Noel Murray writes about opportunities provided by appreciating the layout of comics when they are removed from the page and to digital e-readers, such as mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. Murray's experiment centers largely around only Issue #6 (the Christmas issue) of Hawkeye (December 2012 / February 2013), published by Marvel Comics, written by Matt Fraction, illustrated David Aja, colors by Matt Hollingsworth, letters by Chris Eliopoulos. Murray reads the comic on his iPhone to demonstrate how the dimensions of a smartphone screen enhance some parts of the comic, sticking to only a few panels of one page as they appear on his phone—that's it, that's the only visual example given. His iPhone has technology called Guided View, which as he reads intuitively crops portions of the original comic book page (which tends to be a little bit less than the usual 8.5 by 11-inch page—more like 7 by 10.5) to just a few panels at the time to take up the full space of his phone's screen.
"I'd never contend that Guided View is superior to reading a print comic. There are aspects of the experience that are annoying, such as how different panel shapes and alignments leads to a lot of flipping the phone 90 degrees to get the best perspective. And a lot of the best comics art doesn't really work in this format. I've already mentioned Adams; but it's also impossible to do a two-page Jack Kirby splash justice on a phone (or a tablet, for that matter).
"But sometimes changing the frame for a piece of art can change the way we look at it. I've sat in film classes and seminars where the professors or moderators pushed students to pay attention to sound design by switching the soundtracks for two movies; or where they've cut the volume entirely to get us to notice the visual storytelling. Sometimes when I fast-forward to a favorite scene in a movie I've watched a bunch, I spot camera moves that had never really registered before, because I'd been too distracted by the dialogue or performances."
I don't write the following to disagree with Murray's thesis: indeed, mobile devices, including smartphones, have provided contexts for reading sequential art to uncover new facets to their formal elements. However, I am bothered by how much praise Murray gives to the mobile device technology that I think is still lacking, especially with major publishers. I think Murray does very well at identifying the potential of e-reader technology for comics, but Murray also oversells such technology when major distributors like Amazon and Marvel have designed unintuitive platforms that get in the way of reading comics that come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Call for Papers at Northeast MLA: Failed Film Adaptations, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Superheroes of the Households, and More! (Deadline: September 30, 2015)
Conferences are keeping me busy.
Not only will Keith McCleary at UC San Diego and I be hosting the roundtable "Developments in Comics Pedagogy" at the January 2016 meeting of the Modern Language Association in Austin, Texas, but I get to work on additional panels about comics, graphic narratives, and now film adaptations at another convention.
The Summer 2015 newsletter for the Northeast Modern Language Association, that I co-designed and edited, is arriving soon in members' mailboxes, with a long list of 400 CFPs for sessions the organization is hosting at its March 2016 meeting in Hartford, Connecticut. You can read (and submit to) the CFPs online now, I'm scheduling daily tweets of CFPs @northeastMLA.
But I also want to share some CFPs for sessions I'm co-organizing or that I have discussed with colleagues. I have included links and descriptions of those CFPs below. The deadline is September 30, 2015:
The Marvel Cinematic Universe as Literature: With dynamic individual superhuman characters populating a world of complex, interwoven mythologies and origin stories, the films and television series of Marvel Comics Studios experiment with long-form transmedia storytelling. With twelve films and three television series released in less than a decade, all adhering to the same continuity and fictional universe, how can the Marvel Cinematic Universe reveal or offer fresh insight into the ways in which modern cinematic storytelling functions as literature? Approaches may include analysis of one or more films; storytelling across genre and medium; adaptations of the original Marvel Comics to film and television; and applications of various schools of literary and media theory to MCU properties.
The Monster in the House: Domestic Ideology in Superhero Narratives: In worlds full of superhuman heroes, mythological imaginary creatures and battle narratives of epic scope, what is the role of the domestic? This session seeks proposals investigating the ways in which domestic spaces and domestic ideology function within superhero narratives as sites of union and/or conflict between the human, the subhuman, and the superhuman.
Race and Comics: The Politics of Representation in Sequential Art: This panel welcomes papers that examine the treatment of race and racial relations in comic books, whether in superhero narratives, graphic memoirs, web comics, or other forms of sequential art both inside and outside the United States. How are comics used to document and represent racialized identities? How have the medium and its surrounding fan communities adapted earlier content to speak to current topics?
"Ruined!" On Failed Adaptations from Page to Screen: This session will explore adaptations that fail in some way. Among our goals, we would like to identify what could be productive about failed adaptations. How do such failures identify what not to do, and can an adaptation that fails to be faithful to its source material still produce a valuable, worthwhile text? We are particularly interested in proposals that look at the adaptation of older artistic and literary forms in online and/or interactive content.
In addition, I'm happy to see NeMLA feature more panels related to comics: this has been helpful for anyone with an abstract that is related to graphic narratives, as it increases the chances that interested persons can find a session on comics related to their topic, or can find a session that would be more than happy to feature presentations that use comics as their primary texts. I want to see this practice continue at NeMLA, and I am happy to see it take hold at other conferences.
The deadline is September 30, 2015. Remember that NeMLA now accepts abstracts only submitted to their web site; the links above take you directly to each CFP, and all you need to submit is to register for a free NeMLA user account, for which you may sign up at those links. If you know anyone interested in submitting, please forward these CFP web links via email or social media.

subset: commoncrawl


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Tag Archives: bellingham ferry
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I moved! Room Tour and Decorating Tips
Blog insta: thehappyminimalistgirl Hey there my lovelies! I recently moved into a new apartment and wanted to give you an updated room tour and decorating tips. The place I just started renting at had zero furniture when I moved in. Since I'll be staying in this house for well over a year I didn't mind […]Read More


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mate its a credit to you, whats the next plan then?
old man here ,,well i,m feeling like one,, hasnt really got the time to sort everything nore the energy/health...
I think I will shut up if you have 4 1/2. Andy
Nice truck
well ,EMILY, moved on a few weeks back and i,m now working on another project


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Title: Tinder Nightmares
Author: Unspirational
Genre: Nonfiction/humor
Published: November 17th, 2015
Source: Purchased book myself at Barnes and Noble
My rating: 3 stars
Okay, I love the Damn You Autocorrect books. Any time that I see one of those posts, I get to laughing so hard at times that I'm crying and having trouble breathing. When I saw this book at work one day, I flipped it open to a couple different pages, and each of those pages had something so funny that I figured the whole book would do the same as the DYAC books did. Unfortunately, while there were some really hilarious ones in there, some were just kind of stupid, and I'm guessing included as filler maybe? Of course not that my sense of humor is the only one that is right, it's possible other people reading this book may find those funnier than I did.
The book is sorted into 9 different types of posts: Pickup lines, Bad English, Persistence, Broetry, Booty calls, Strange requests, Shot down, Sneak Attacks, and Random Weirdness. Within each section were some hilarious examples of true messages received by people through the Tinder dating app. Honestly there's not that much else to share about the book, it's pretty self explanatory what it is about. Oh, one other thing I really like though, is that after each example, the authors of the book have put a little comment that often makes the whole message even funnier.
So what I will share are just a few examples from the book that I found hilarious. This might be a book you would want to check out from the library to read, but probably not something you would want to spend your money on, in my opinion.
I've tried to pick out one page from each section for the pictures below.
Pickup Lines
Bad Grammar
Booty Calls
Strange Requests
Shot Down
Sneak Attacks
Random Weirdness


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The Boyfriend has taken to sleeping on his back as of late. I have no idea why- I never ever ever sleep on my back so I find this new sleeping position odd, but whatever. He's not been getting a lot of sleep as of late, so, of course, I want him to get the best sleep possible.
When he sleeps on his back, he snores. And by snores, I mean SNORES. I've been waking up two or three times a night, which is not good for my quality of sleep. Initially, subtle "accidental" pokes were enough to get him to roll over without waking him up, but as of late, he seems to have grown immune to these and it pretty much takes either pulling the pillow out from under his head (what?) or shoving him hard (again, like you wouldn't) to get it to stop. Which, of course, wakes him up and makes him rather cranky.
So the question is: is it better for just one of us to be awake and suffering (SNORING people SNORING) or should we both be awake, but with a chance of falling back asleep? Or, of course, there is always the option of throwing a blanket or something over his face and seeing what happens. (What? You put the stuffed tiger on your own face. Seriously.).
Sigh. Maybe it is just time to break out the tylenol pm.


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Carbon offsets, Carbon Trading, and Other Nonsense.
A couple weeks ago, a colleague told me about a website called
All you have to do is provide your car and a number of miles you drive, and the website calculates how much carbon you need to offset. You give them your credit card information and then you have been absolved from carbon sin.
The website indicates great support from the environmental community.
Read on and tell me how this sort of scam will help global warming. What's even more important is that a bigger scam — carbon trading — is the preferred method for dealing with global warming.
BusinessWeek published an exposé of what this company really provides.
Elgin, Ben. 2007. "Another Inconvenient Truth: Behind the feel-good hype of carbon offsets, some of the deals don't deliver." Business Week (26 March).
"TerraPass was the brainchild of Karl Ulrich, a professor at the Wharton School. Ulrich, an environmentalist who bikes to work, became concerned several years ago about the carbon dioxide emitted when he drove to his cabin in Vermont. In the fall of 2004 he gave one of his classes $5,000 and challenged students to create an affordable carbon-offset program. TerraPass, with a number of Wharton graduates as shareholders, has soared since then. The company now claims 42,500 customers. Tom Arnold, the 30-year-old former Ulrich student who runs the business, says TerraPass has already had a major impact by offsetting more than 117,000 tons of greenhouse gases. Ford Motor Co. and the travel Web site Expedia.com collaborate with the offset-retailer to offer customers the option of neutralizing travel-related emissions for an added cost."
"One of the largest in its portfolio is a sprawling garbage dump outside of Springdale, Ark., from which TerraPass has purchased thousands of tons of gas reductions. The vast sloping mound of the Tontitown landfill rises near stands of bare-limbed hickory and oak trees, with the blue Ozark foothills in the background. The decomposing trash generates methane, a gas 23 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the earth's atmosphere, melting glaciers and raising ocean levels. Waste Management Inc., the huge garbage processor that operates the facility, tends nearly 90 wells dotting the trash mountain, each giving off a barely audible hiss as it sucks methane from the depths of the landfill and delivers the gas to a single towering flare. Once torched, the gas is released into the atmosphere as less-damaging co2. But company officials and Arkansas environmental regulators say Waste Management began to burn methane, and continues to do so, for reasons having nothing to do with TerraPass' offsets."
Concerned that methane might be contaminating groundwater beneath the landfill, Waste Management first floated the idea for a gas-collection system in early 1999. Arkansas regulators urged the company to pursue this remedy. In 2001 the state increased its pressure by imposing a requirement for "corrective action" at the Tontitown facility. Waste Management promised to make the methane flare operational by late 2001. After probes subsequently detected methane levels exceeding allowable levels, Dennis John Burks, then chief of the Solid Waste Management Div. of the Arkansas Environmental Quality Dept., wrote to Waste Management on June 27, 2001, saying that the state "strongly urges WM to bring the newly installed Tontitown Landfill gas extraction system online as soon as possible." Asked about Waste Management's response, Gerald Delavan, a supervisor at the Arkansas environmental agency, says: "It started out as a voluntary effort" by the company. "But it ended up being guided by corrective action,'" imposed by the state. Wes Muir, a Waste Management spokesman, says: "We felt a gas collection system was the most effective way to deal with this…. It was a voluntary process"."
"Regardless of who deserves credit for taking the initiative, one thing is clear: The methane system was launched long before any promise of carbon-offset sales. In other words, it appears that the main effects of the TerraPass offsets in this instance are to salve guilty celebrity consciences and provide Waste Management, a $13 billion company based in Houston, with some extra revenue."
"All six other project developers selling offsets to TerraPass that BusinessWeek was able to contact said they were pleased with the extra cash. But five of the six said the offsets hadn't played a significant role in their decision to cut emissions. "It's just icing on the cake," says Barry Edwards, director of utilities and engineering at Catawba County, N.C., which installed a system in 1998 to turn landfill gas into electricity to power 944 homes. "We would have done this project anyway"."
1 comment so far
Anybody still interested in carbon emissions reduction (ie. who hasn't simply given up in despair and gone to the pub, which could easily be shown to be the best available alternative at this time) would probably be interested in a rundown on the carbon tax vs. cap-and-trade debate in the US, at the blog Environmental Economics. The URL is:


text: Stoneware or porcelain, large or small settings, from simple geometrics to the hand-painted wildflowers pictured below, Kevin can make dinnerware sets to suit. Sets can include various sizes of plates, bowls, and cups as well as serving dishes, open or covered. Browse the slide show to see some of Kevin's past designs, and remember that the next set will be completely unique!


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|Type Villas
|LocationHosur - Malur Road
|Total Area150
NBR BEVERLY HILLS,one of the prestigious projects of NBR Developers, is located in Hosur-Malur on NH207 Highway. This is a sprawling 200 acres of self sufficient township with modern living spaces, coming up with Phase 1 and Phase 2. Phase 1 is spread over 101 acres of land. NBR Beverly Hills strategic location in Hosur proves to be ideal for the start of a township. It provides good connectivity to all the prominent neighbouring areas - Chikkathirupathi, Malur, Whitefield, Sarjapura, Marathalli. Located approximately from Bangalore City, professionals working in Electronic City and surrounding industrial areas have started living in and around Hosur. Because of the rising prices of housing units there, people are shifting their base to Hosur. Hosur has now become a cradle of mix cultures and because of the support from the Government, Hosur stands to witness rapid developments in future too.


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In this guest article from Sam Marshall, he highlights the importance of what your intranet sponsor brings, and can take away.
Posts published by Guest
How good are intranets as knowledge management tools?
Guest article from Sue Silcocks, discussing the KM aspects of intranets.
How the Intranet of Things affects your talent acquisition programme
Guest article from Alex Roebuck, discussing the role of the intranet in your hiring and retention. The future is now.
Comparing intranet solutions
Guest article from Martin Seibert, discussing upcoming assessment of the intranet landscape via 'Intranet Compass'.
Intuitiveness and making a better intranet
The UX, hard work, and the fast feedback that can help design a better intranet.
How to build and manage your intranet steering group
Mark Morrell lays out the benefit of a strict steering group scope, and explains how stakeholder meetings can be truly practical.
Simply SMiLE table expert sessions
Social Comms
The London 'Social Media in the Large Enterprise' conference will be held again on the 25th of September. Part of the agenda is all about networking and discussion. Here are the subjects.
An alphabet of accessibility issues
Design, Intranet
This article from Anne Gibson genuinely surprised me, and I want every comms and intranet person to read it.
How Gold Coast Hospital improved training with their award-winning intranet
The university hospital digital team wanted to improve training processes. Carolyn Douglas details how they improved collaboration and e-learning.
Mind your language!
Communications, Intranet
Tips for creating intranet content that employees around the world will appreciate and understand.
How to make your intranet worthy of trust
An award winning intranet doesn't happen without dedication to high quality communications and employee engagement. William Amurgis shares his secrets.
Digital workplaces – learning the lessons of history
Intranet, Popular
Martin White, author, speaker, and consultant, delves deeply into the history of the digital workplace, for the benefit of today's digital developments.
Trust and social media
Popular, Social Comms
Social media is a huge timewaster in the workplace? Not according to Kevan Hall of Global Integration (specialists in workplace efficiency for complex organisations).
No comms, no problem?
Communications, Popular
Rachel Miler, an experienced comms specialist and co-founder of theICcrowd, challenges you to consider how employees value 'your' comms.
The future is not social…
Popular, Rants, Social Comms
Taking a stand against the thoughtless assumption that everyone and every business needs to be digitally social, Jenni Wheller has some counterpoints to consider.
The ying and the yang of intranets
Intranet, Popular
An intranet is no single thing, says Kristian Norling, and prioritising functionalities can be done holistically, and in small steps.


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Sebastion Johnson on BOE Primary Election Results (PHOTO)
Sebastian Johnson says he is disappointed in yesterday's Board of Education At-Large election results, but proud of the campaign he ran. Johnson came in third and earned 17.9 percent or 29,353 votes on Primary Election day.
Johnson gained a number of endorsements from elected officials during his campaign and noted that he raised $25,000 in funds on Facebook.
"I'm proud of what we did, I think that we had some significant endorsements and support from the community and I'm hoping that in the future we can continue to build that…grassroots support to bring positive change to Montgomery County," Johnson told MyMCMedia.
So what's next for Johnson? He says his first priority is to catch up on sleep, but he hopes to continue to find ways to serve the community.
"I ran for the School Board because that's where I thought the work needed to be done," Johnson said. "I'm going to continue to think about ways I can be helpful and serve my community because that's really what it's about, serving the community and giving back to a community that's given me a lot," he said.
Board of Education At-Large incumbent Phil Kauffman will face-off against retired Paint Branch High School principal Jeanette Dixon in November's general election.
Voter Registration Deadline is Wednesday
The deadline to register to vote in the June 2 primary election is Wednesday, May 27. This is also the deadline to change party affiliation or update a voter's address. Tomorrow, 5/27 is the deadline to register, update your information or change party affiliation for the primary election. You can register or update your registration […]
County Report This Week (VIDEO)
Lorna Virgili hosts the latest episode of County Report This Week, which includes reports on the County Council resolution on discrimination, protests by MCPS high school students following the presidential election, results of the term limit ballot questions, improvements planned for the Montgomery County Airpark, and much more. You can watch the show, below:
MCPS Releases Statement on Student Demonstrations
Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) officials have released the following statement regarding recent student demonstrations: "[On Monday] students at several MCPS high schools engaged in a public demonstration in response to last week's elections. Participation in this activity was strictly voluntary and was not encouraged by school staff. MCPS Regulation JFA-RA, Student Rights and Responsibilities, […]
MCPS Students Protest President-Elect Donald Trump in Silver Spring (Video & Photos)
Instead of being in class on Monday morning, hundreds of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) students decided to exercise their first amendment right and protest President-elect Donald Trump by staging a walkout in Silver Spring. "We're protesting because we don't want Donald Trump as our president. I mean we can't change that but we got to […]
Local Officials Support Senator-elect Chris Van Hollen (VIDEO)
After serving 30 years in the U.S. Senate, Barbara Mikulski has retired and now the torch has been passed to Chis Van Hollen. "Senator Mikulski has been a pioneer for Maryland and politics," said U.S. Senator-elect Chris Van Hollen. "I always say when Senator Mikulski is with you, the force is with you and I'm […]
UPDATED: MCPS Students Walk Out, Protesting President-elect Trump (VIDEOS & PHOTOS)
UPDATED Hundreds of Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) high school students walked out of class Monday morning, protesting President-elect Donald Trump. MCPS Spokesperson Gboyinde Onijala said that students from Montgomery Blair High School and Northwood High School participated in the walk out. The protest began at the Blair High School football field at around 10 a.m., […]
Term Limits Appear to Pass in Montgomery County (VIDEO)
UPDATED An majority of voters support term limits, according to the unofficial election results. MyMCMedia's Sonya Burke reports. ORIGINAL POST Term limits advocate Robin Ficker is celebrating what appears to be the passage of the term limits amendment, and he plans to thank voters on Wednesday morning at the Shady Grove Metro station. According to unofficial election results, […]
State Senator Susan Lee on Working With New President (VIDEO)
In this MyMCMedia Extra Video, State Senator Susan Lee talks about how she plans to work with Donald Trump when he enters the White House.
Marc Elrich Says Presidential Election Revealed a Country Deeply Divided (VIDEO)
During the Democratic election night watch party, MyMCMedia interviewed Montgomery County Councilmember Marc Elrich about his reaction to the 2016 Presidential Election. In this extra video, Councilmember Elrich says this past election revealed a country that's deeply divided: .@Marc_Elrich talks the 2016 Presidential Election & how it has shown the country is deeply divided. Also […]
Nancy Floreen Says Term Limits Vote Was No Surprise (VIDEO)
In an interview the day after the election, Montgomery County Council President Nancy Floreen said the vote for term limits, limiting county council members and the county executive to three consecutive terms, came as no surprise. County Councilmembers Floreen, Roger Berliner, George Leventhal and Marc Elrich are currently serving their third term on the Council. […]


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MIT BE Communication Fellow
Graduate student
Aaron is a graduate student in Biological Engineering. He studies how engineered microbes can be beneficial for diagnostics and treatment of the microbes that already live in our guts. Before MIT, he grew up in Indiana and studied at Indiana University where he originally enrolled in Journalism but graduated with a Physics degree. Some would say he was indecisive, but he chooses to say open-minded. This open-mindedness along with a passion for practicing his communication skills has caused him to wander into many opportunities: student government, political activism, science blogging with the PLOS Synbio Blog, teaching bio/math/physics, and now the BE Communication Lab. Outside of the lab, he enjoys following politics, running (slowly), obsessively listening to podcasts, and accumulating books that he aspires to finish.


text: In February, the Thai leader said he had the power to shut down news outlets [Reuters] Thailand's military leader has lashed out at journalists saying he would "probably just execute" those who did "not report the truth", in the latest outburst aimed at Thailand's media. "We'll probably just execute them," Prayuth Chan-ocha said on Wednesday, when asked by reporters how the government would deal with those that do not adhere to the official line. "You don't have to support the government, but you should report the truth," the former army chief said, telling reporters to write in a way that bolsters national reconciliation in the kingdom. State of press freedom in #Thailand , military junta leader #Prayuth makes journalist kneel b4 him @ press conf 2day pic.twitter.com/VJAb2wCXDd — Peter Bouckaert (@bouckap) March 25, 2015 Tweet by the emergency director at Human Rights Watch Last month Prayuth said he had the power to shut down news outlets. Prayuth, who is also prime minister, heads the ruling military junta or National Council for Peace and Order. He toppled the government of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in a coup last May, that followed months of protests aimed at ousting Yingluck. Prayuth launched a crackdown on dissenters after seizing power in May. He has said Thailand is not ready to lift martial law, which gives the army sweeping powers, including for arrest and detention. 'Notoriously hot-headed' Bob Dietz, coordinator of the Committee to Protect Journalists' Asia Programme, condemned Prayuth's statement saying, the Thai leader "is being more than just gruff here, it's a threat". "He is notoriously hot-headed, and prone to outbursts like this," Dietz said in a comment to Al Jazeera. "Last September he announced a one-year plan to overcome the deep political fault lines in Thailand. So far the plan seems to just be to tell everyone to just be quiet and stop being critical of the government and each other." In January the junta forced a German foundation to cancel a forum on press freedom saying Thailand was at a sensitive juncture. Since taking power, the junta has made full use of martial law, which also bans all political gatherings. SOURCE: Al Jazeera and agencies Media Asia Pacific Thailand


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It´s just having the confidence to pick the right ones and experiment, turning a plain grilled fish or a simple roast meat dish into something that will delight your tastebuds.
Whereas herbs are generally used fresh, spices are dried and usually ground into a powder. Here are a few of the most common spices that should be in every kitchen cupboard.
|All Spice - Pimienta de Jamaica, Pimienta gorda; Pimienta dulce, Guayabita (S. America)
Its not a combination of spices, but the dried berry of an evergreen. It is used quite a lot in pickling and in marinades for dishes such as soused herrings or mackerel. Traditionally allspice is used in cakes, fruit pies and puddings.
|Black Pepper Pimienta Negra
Black pepper comes from the berries of the pepper plant. A pinch of ground black pepper is added to almost every type of recipe imaginable. Whole, coarse or ground it can be used alone or in combination with other spices and is much loved all over the world for spicy meat stews, steaks, sauces and all kind of vegetable dishes.
|Cinnamon - Canela
A strongly aromatic and sweet spice derived from the bark of evergreen trees. It is most often used to flavour cakes and puddings, but can also work wonders in stews and sauces. In the Middle East it is often used in savoury dishes of chicken and lamb.
|Cumin - Comino, Comino blanco
Cumin is the key component in both Chili Powder and Curry Powder, and is one of the main spices used in Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese and Indian cuisines. Cumin seeds are oblong in shape with a nutty, peppery flavour that packs a punch. The combination of cumin, black pepper and honey makes a tasty flavour for vegetables, chicken and fish dishes.
|Ginger - Jengibre
Fresh ginger, a knotted, beige, underground stem, has a strong, aromatic, spicy flavour and is essential to Asian and Oriental cookery. Its used in pickles, chutneys and curry pastes. It can be chopped and fried with garlic or onion to make a basis for delicious sauces. In Western cuisine, however, ginger is traditionally used in sweet foods such as gingerbread, ginger cake and ginger biscuits. Mmmmm!
|Sesame - Ajonjolí, Sésamo
Sesame seeds are tiny, flat oval seeds found in the pods of a tropical plant and have a nutty, earthy taste. It is commonly sprinkled whole over cakes and breads, but in the Middle East the seeds are ground and pressed into blocks with the addition of various sweet or nutty ingredients to produce confectionery such as halva. In Mediterranean areas it is used to flavour humus, kebab sauce and is often mixed with lemon and garlic to made a tasty bread dip. Sesame oil is also excellent for everything from salads to sautéing.
|Saffron - Azafrán
Renowned for its exquisite flavour, heady arroma and deep colour, saffron is the defining ingredient in paella, and other popular rice dishes. Threads picked from the crocus flower are ground into a vibrant yellow powder and can be a splendid addition to almost any chicken, vegetable or fish dish. The famous Spanish Paella would not have its distinguishing yellow colour if not for saffron.
Vanilla - Vainilla


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This week I'm sharing holiday gift guides, as the holidays are rapidly approaching. Stockings are a Christmas tradition for my family when I was growing up, and I've tried to carry that forward with my own family. It has been an adjustment for my husband – I don't think they had stockings in his family. So I've found it best to give him some ideas even for the stockings.
Stocking stuffers in our family have to be useful, not clutter. Most of them are either consumable or practical. I usually include some holiday candy. My personal favorite is the chocolate orange. Kevin gets me one every year.
Kevin's favorite is peanut butter cups,
and the kids love these sour Airheads.
Hot chocolate is another holiday tradition for our family, so each member of the family has a packet or two of hot chocolate mix in their stocking.
Another favorite category is personal products. We get our annual supply of chap-stick from our stockings, and usually some lotion and hand sanitizer too.
Fingernail clippers are another favorite. I realize these aren't technically consumable, but they are worse than socks my household – they disappear never to be seen again. Last year, I put 5 clippers in Kevin's stocking as a joke because he gets so frustrated when his clippers disappear. I think he is down to just one pair left. Maybe our cats are stealing them…
Office products are another stocking popular gift at my house. I give my husband one of his favorite pens nearly every year.
Each year I pick a couple different writing utensils for Aiden and Cade. This year, I plan to give them this classic 4-color pen:
and each of them will get a couple of invisible ink pens too. I know they are going to have fun writing secret notes with these.
We each will have a notebook of some kind in our stockings too. I am asking Kevin to get me this planner:
Kevin is getting a 5×7 spiral notebook:
Aiden and Cade will love these sketchbooks:
I'm also getting Kevin a flash drive and batteries.
This year, I also found these key chain flashlights. I'm buying a multi-pack and dividing them up between all of us.
Kevin and I each need some new gloves.
North Face Gloves
Women's Gloves
I want to get Aiden and Cade these hat/scarf sets.
I'm also getting Kevin this umbrella:
That's the plan for our stockings. I think everyone will be happy this year!
Check out these blogs that I'm linking up with!
This post may contain affiliate links that help support this blog with no additional cost to you. Please read the disclosure page for additional information.


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- Rust free aluminum construction
- Hardened powder coat finish in multi color for years of beauty
- Easy to follow assembly instructions and product care information
- Metal hardware
- Fade, chip and crack resistant
- Oakland Living recommends their products be covered to protect them when not in use. To preserve the beauty and finish of the metal products, they recommend applying an epoxy clear coat once a year. Their iron products will eventually rust when exposed to the elements.
Entertain your guests in style when you add the Oakland Living Aged Berkley 19 Piece Set to your deck or patio. This large rectangular patio table features intricate cutout designs and fits three arm chairs on each side comfortably. Two swivel arm chairs, one at each end, and a beige tilt umbrella round out this combo perfectly. This set also comes with seat cushions and an umbrella stand.
- Table Dimensions: 29.5Hx84Wx42D inches
- Stackable Chair Dimensions: 35.75Hx23.5Wx19.5D inches
- Swivel Chair Dimensions: 35.75Hx23.5Wx22.5D inches


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Arbitrage-Free Bond Pricing with Dynamic Macroeconomic Models
Michael F. Gallmeyer, Burton Hollifield, Francisco Palomino, Stanley E. Zin
NBER Working Paper No. 13245
We examine the relationship between monetary-policy-induced changes in short interest rates and yields on long-maturity default-free bonds. The volatility of the long end of the term structure and its relationship with monetary policy are puzzling from the perspective of simple structural macroeconomic models. We explore whether richer models of risk premiums, specifically stochastic volatility models combined with Epstein-Zin recursive utility, can account for such patterns. We study the properties of the yield curve when inflation is an exogenous process and compare this to the yield curve when inflation is endogenous and determined through an interest-rate/Taylor rule. When inflation is exogenous, it is difficult to match the shape of the historical average yield curve. Capturing its upward slope is especially difficult as the nominal pricing kernel with exogenous inflation does not exhibit any negative autocorrelation - a necessary condition for an upward sloping yield curve as shown in Backus and Zin (1994). Endogenizing inflation provides a substantially better fit of the historical yield curve as the Taylor rule provides additional flexibility in introducing negative autocorrelation into the nominal pricing kernel. Additionally, endogenous inflation provides for a flatter term structure of yield volatilities which better fits historical bond data.
Machine-readable bibliographic record - MARC, RIS, BibTeX
Document Object Identifier (DOI): 10.3386/w13245
Published: Michael F. Gallmeyer & Burton Hollifield & Francisco J. Palomino & Stanley E. Zin, 2007. "Arbitrage-free bond pricing with dynamic macroeconomic models," Review, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, issue Jul, pages 305-326. citation courtesy of
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Those of you who have followed by blog over the last two years will have noticed that in addition to not commenting on injuries I also have never commented on religion. Are the two related? Well maybe they are!
Back in February I mentioned that I was heading out to New Zealand with my family for a lengthy period of time to spend some quality time with my father-in-law John, as his health was declining. In order to make the most of the upcoming less than ideal situation in New Zealand, I contacted the race organiser of New Zealand's premier ultra trail race the Tarawera Ultra Marathon and sorted out an entry to take on Anton Krupicka from America and the top Kiwis and Aussies. Now, although I am ultra competitive when it comes to trail racing, I feel that I try to keep a good balance between training, racing and family. However, at this particular moment in time, when family needed to take total priority, the attractiveness of the Tarawera Ultra was consuming some of my focus! So what happens? Yes, immediately before flying out to New Zealand I suffer a stress fracture in my foot. Sufficiently broken to put me out of running for eight weeks.
Now I would like to think that upon arriving in New Zealand and seeing the poor health of my father-in-law, focusing on supporting my family would have taken top priority, however, maybe the Universe, the greater power above, God, whatever you want to call it, knew me better, and hence, the stress fracture! So, I found myself instead of suffering from disappointment due to having an injury, I was actually quite pleased that I was injured, so I didn't have any selfish distractions. Sadly, John's health declined at a rapid rate, so we weren't able to spend as much time with him as we had hoped. However, he had lived an active and fit life, pretty well right until the last few months, and he was able to peacefully pass away being surrounded by his loving family.
So during my time in New Zealand (I am now back in the UK) I tried to focus on the positives, and gave plenty of thought to the 'bigger picture'. The importance of family, the importance of fulfilment, the importance of enjoyment. The need to set goals, to challenge oneself, to aim for ones best, to not accept mediocrity. And what I was discovering was that the messages I had learnt during my last four years of ultra trail running, seemed to be totally applicable to life in general. So being in New Zealand was a sad time, whilst also being an enlightening time. Now I just have to implement my ideas, ambitions and beliefs! Not just think about it, but to actually do it!
As I mentioned above, my stress fracture injury prevented me from running for exactly eight weeks. Below is a photo of me trying out some cross-training!
Thanks to all of you that sent me e-mails / left comments, expressing confidence that my positivity would prevail and that I would come back stronger. It's nice to feel part of a friendly, supportive community. Also thanks to those of you that e-mailed me commenting that you were missing my blog posts. Again, it's nice to know that people find worthiness within my 'words of wisdom'. And lastly I received an intriguing e-mail/message from one blog follower. After a bit of "rambling" (her words), she outlined her goals: "Be the best I can be at long distance. Compete instead of just running races. Take my training more seriously. Seize this opportunity now to do what I absolutely love before its too late and life gets in the way." and then she asked if I was able to assist her in achieving her goals.
So after I recovered from my ego boost, I had to give some serious thought to whether I had sufficient time to establish a successful coaching relationship, which would significantly assist her in achieving her goals. I set up this blog over two years ago, in order to share what I had learnt through my ultra trail running. So, after deciding that I did have the available time, I thought that it was a great opportunity to further share my knowledge, so I said yes, and I am now officially an ultra trail running coach! Looks good typed out, and I am finding that it is proving to be very satisfying. She sends me short e-mails with some questions /comments regarding her training, racing, goals etc., and I simply send her an e-mail back with my thoughts. I not sure that she entirely knew what she was getting herself into, as strangely my e-mail responses tend to go on a wee bit. I start with one of my ideas/philosophies, then tend to go onto the next , and next etc. Anyway as I said above, it has been very satisfying for both of us. Since coaching began, she has raced once, probably achieving her best ultra trail result to date and is all set for her first 100 mile trail ultra shortly. For me, the timing was ideal, as it provided a running challenge whilst I was injured.
So am I now a retired/semi-retired competitive ultra trail runner? Well those that know me, you will know that the answer is definitely NO. Yes, I am finding reward in seeing my coaching client improve, but I still have the strong hunger to run faster for further. So I am looking to successfully combine the two. And as I am a strong believer in TOTAL training, I am able to log the time involved in coaching as training. So following my foot injury, I have been back up to some big training weeks, including physical training, visualisations, thoughts on race preparation/positivity and coaching.
The overall timing has worked out really well, as the TOTAL training has come together ready for this weekend's Endurancelife 44 mile Classic Quarter Ultra Trail Race in Cornwall. I have raced a few of the Endurancelife races now, and one thing that is guaranteed is that the course will be extremely scenic but also very challenging. So I am really excited about racing again, after quite a break.
Whilst in New Zealand not being able to run, I also did quite a bit of reading. I first read the autobiographies by some of New Zealand's great runners including, Jack Lovelock (1500m Gold in 1936 Olympics and World Record holder for mile and 1500m), Peter Snell (800m Gold in 1960 and 1964 Olympics, 1500m Gold in 1964 Olympics and World Record Holder for 800m and mile), John Walker (1500m Gold in 1976 Olympics and World Record holder for mile) and some other New Zealand runners less well known; Dick Taylor (10,000m Gold in 1974 Commonwealth Games beating David Bedford in a World Class time) and Anne Audain (3,000m Gold in 1982 Commonwealth Games, but more well known for being unbeaten on the roads in the United States for two years in the early eighties). So I was discovering as much as I could from these great athletes. They weren't ultra trail runners, but they understood about performing to the best of their ability, that just so happened to be the best, or near the best in the World. What was really interesting was that similar themes/characteristics were common to them all. I haven't got time to share them now, another post, but the key one that stood out was their inner belief in their ability, and that their preparation had been effective for their key goal race.
I also read a few other books by a few triathletes, and a few former All Blacks. Again enlightening. Different sport, especially the rugby, but some key messages the same. Then to bring it right up to date and specific to ultra trail running, I was privileged to be sent a final draft copy of Andy Mouncey's book titled "Magic, Madness, and Ultra Marathon Running". I found the book a really interesting read, especially identifying the similarities and differences in what I had experienced in ultra trail races in comparisons to Andy. Those of you not aware of Andy, I first met him during the 2010 Lakeland 100, well actually after the race at the finish line as he got second to me. Since then we have worked together on the Alpine-Oasis Running Camp out near Chamonix prior to the 2011 Ultra Trail Mont Blanc, and will be working together again at the upcoming Alpine-Oasis Running Camp in Yorkshire Dales (Ingleton) during the weekend of 13 - 15th July. I am a guest for the weekend running camp, so will be contributing and sharing my ideas on trail running, whilst on the trails, around the dinner table, and I guess also occasionally at the bar!
Anyway back to Andy's book. It's not too thick, a good light read, with some key messages, albeit slightly 'hidden away'. Having read the final draft, my feedback comments were then able to be incorporated within the published copy, and I even get a mention on the Amazon UK website, ("As with the journey of life, the messages are not always obvious, not always easy to see. But if you read this book with an open and receptive mind, and are able to feel beyond the race descriptions, then what is really important within ultra trail running (and possibly life) will hopefully become that little bit clearer." Stuart Mills, Seven time Beachy Head Marathon Champion, and Lakeland 100 Winner 2010), where you can purchase a Kindle copy for only £7.57. Sorry if it sounds like I'm a salesman for Andy's book. Unfortunately I'm not receiving any commission, although I'm sure Andy will shout me a beer or two up in Yorkshire (hope you are reading this Andy!)
I think now is an appropriate time to finish tonight's post, before it becomes another ultra post. It feels great to be adding to my UltraStu blog again. It great to be running again, and really exciting to be racing again this weekend. I hope all of you out there have been enjoying your running and working towards and achieving your personal challenges. I have been keeping a bit of an eye on the UK race results and there definitely have been some great performances. Long may it continue throughout the year of 2012.
All the best,
PS Exactly 5 weeks today (as it is now Friday) until the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and for hundreds of you out there that simply means one thing: Yes, the start of the Lakeland 100!
PPS Nearly signed off without a quote. Having read loads of books I have plenty to choose from, however, the quote from Chris McCormack - Awesome Australian Triathlete/Ironman - from his 2011 book titled "I'm Here to Win" has been quite relevant recently as I carry out my TOTAL training for the upcoming races:
"The mind game that takes place before the starting gun ever fires is really the critical point of a race. It's when you have that good angel on one shoulder and a bad angel on the other. One is saying "You can do it, mate!" The other is whispering, "Why are you here? You can't win!" The angel you decide to listen to will determine whether you are competitive or an also-ran. There's always a voice in everyone's head saying "You haven't done the work, mate. You know that track session you missed? It's coming back to get you on this hill." That's what holds you back. Each race is a new war against the evil angel! Mastering your own self doubts is the battle!"


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You must bring a laptop. Don't forget that power supply. We recommend more than 1 Gb of RAM and at least 10 Gb of free disk space. We will help you get organized and install the right software for continued virtual fun! We have wireless Internet access so you can download on-site.
Over the next six months we will cover the latest Microsoft tools for cloud based development and application hosting using Windows Azure. These Hands-On Labs will use a mix of web portal management and Visual Studio. VS 2012 or 2013 are recommended and you won't need to install anything else to complete the labs. You will need a trial account for Azure. Browse tohttp://www.windowsazure.com/ and look for Free Trial in the top right corner. You can also download the Windows Azure SDK for VS 2013 from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=324322&clcid=0x409


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Freshman Jess Reinhardt won both the 100 and 200 butterfly at Liberty's most recent swimming meet, Jan. 11 against Duquesne.
The Liberty swimming team will host Marshall of Conference USA on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the LaHaye Aquatic Center. Saturday's meet will be Liberty's last home competition of the season. Liberty and Marshall have met once before in swimming. The Lady Flames opened the 2011-12 season in Huntington, W.Va., on Oct. 22, 2011 with a 147-141 win over the Thundering Herd. Liberty earned the meet victory by claiming first and second in the meet-ending 200 free relay. Emily Duff and Erin Curry both broke program records in their first collegiate meet that day. Doors will open for the meet at 10 a.m., one hour prior to the first event. All spectators are asked to enter through the Thomas Indoor Soccer Center entrance. From there, fans will be given wristbands before being directed to the pool area, where seating is limited. The Lady Flames are 8-2 in dual meets so far this season, including 4-1 against Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) teams. Liberty downed Duquesne, 164-98, on Jan. 11 during the Lady Flames' home opener, winning 11 out of 14 events contested. The meet was filmed by the Flames Sports Network to be aired at a later date. Duff picked up three event victories against Duquesne, winning the 200 free, 200 back and 400 IM. She swam Liberty's fastest time this season in all three events. Duff has now collected victories in five different events so far in 2012-13. Brye Ravettine (50 and 100 free) and Jess Reinhardt (100 fly and 200 fly) both recorded a pair of wins versus Duquesne, while Laura Day and Emilie Kaufman won the 100 breaststroke and 200 breaststroke, respectively. Kaufman, a junior, made a strong statement at the Hokie Fall Invitational in November. She broke program records in the 100 (1:01.85) and 200 (2:19.12) breaststroke, along with the 200 individual medley (2:04.35). Her 100 breaststroke time met the NCAA Division I B standard and US Open standard. Freshman Hannah Wakeley broke the program record in the 1,650 free at the Hokie Fall Invitational, swimming 17:40.40. The Lady Flames also clocked a school-record 1:43.68 in the 200 medley relay at the meet, with Duff, Kaufman, Reinhardt and Ravettine contributing to the record relay. Kaufman has been named CCSA Women's Swimmer of the Week twice this season (Oct. 17 and Nov. 21). Ravettine, a 2012 All-American and CCSA Swimmer of the Year, has clocked 23.29 in the 50 free and 51.90 in the 100 free so far this season. She has six individual event victories this year and has been a key contributor to the team's sprint relays. The Lady Flames have shown tremendous depth this season. A total of nine Liberty swimmers have claimed at least one individual event victory, with four freshmen posting event wins. Liberty has top-three times in the CCSA in five individual events at present. Kaufman is second in the 100 breaststroke, 200 breaststroke and 200 IM. Reinhardt is second in the 100 fly (55.33), while Ravettine's 50 free time is third. Relays have been a source of strength for the Lady Flames, as Liberty's 200 free relay and 200 and 400 medley relays are all rated second in the latest CCSA top times list. Marshall (5-5) will compete in its second meet in five days, as the Thundering Herd hosted Ohio on Tuesday, falling to the Bobcats, 167-116. The Herd has faced one CCSA opponent so far this season, downing Radford on Nov. 3. Junior Sarah Kay was named Conference USA Swimmer of the Week on Jan. 15 after posting three victories at a quad meet in Indianapolis. Her 2:03.03 in the 200 fly is sixth in Conference USA. Sophomore distance specialist Kacey Preun currently ranks third in the conference in the 1,650 free and fourth in the 1000 free. Junior Madison Lawhorn has the conference's seventh best 100 breaststroke time.
The Lady Flames will close out the 2012-13 regular season schedule next Saturday by competing in the Davidson Duals in Davidson, N.C. The meet, comprised of several CCSA teams, will begin at 1 p.m. at Davidson's Cannon Pool.
Schedule of Events 1. 400 Medley Relay 2. 1,000 Freestyle 3. 200 Freestyle 4. 50 Freestyle 5. 200 Individual Medley 15-Minute Break 6. 200 Butterfly 7. 100 Freestyle 8. 200 Backstroke 9. 500 Freestyle 10-Minute Break 10. 200 Breaststroke 11. 200 Freestyle Relay
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The Menifee Sun City area has so many talented dynamic individuals. Pam Johnson is one of them. She is a member of NAFE, (National Association of Female Executives) and a former member of Toastmasters International.
She was an Enrolled Agent which defines her as being licensed to represent taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service and U. S. Tax Court. At these meetings, she always shares great information on new laws and things we all need to know about. She totally stays in tune with all the changes so she can better serve all her clients.
She is the kind of person that everyone needs help with their taxes each year. She has been doing just that for many of our Sun City/Menifee residents. There are so many new laws this year. One really needs the expertise that Pam has.
Pam graduated from the Jacob Tome Institute in Maryland. After moving to Long Beach, California, she completed her education in Accounting and Taxation. She is originally from the East Coast and has a fantastic family history going back hundreds of years.
Over her professional career she has been employed by the firm of Wien, Sales & Vizvary of Beverly Hills, California. In addition, she worked with Unitax, Inc. in Anaheim, California for ten years where she managed their Executive Audit Department. Her management team consisted of two supervisors and five lead people and included 60 employees on two shifts. She taught certain specialized areas of taxation as well as computer input theory and skills to Accountants, CPA's, and Tax Attorneys who used the Unitax Service product, while maintaining her own tax business.
Pam recently served as Vice President of the Sun City Civic Association and is invested in protecting the 55+ restricted community. As an outreach to the senior community, she meets seniors or otherwise disabled clients in their home to assist them in preparing their individual Income Tax Returns.
She has served on the Finance Committee of Silent Valley Club, Inc., Banning, California, where she and her family own RV sites and enjoy their motor home in warm weather. She has been married for 51 years to her husband Bob. Both have been very active in the community over the years. They have two children, three grandchildren and two great grandsons.
If you are looking for someone to handle your taxes this year give Pam a call at (951) 377-2255.


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During the summer monsoon, the Buddha and his followers settled into a three-month meditation retreat called vassa. Over the last 1,000 years, monks and nuns in Korea have honored this tradition with a ninety day retreat known as kyol che, or "tight dharma."
For more than 30 years, the Kwan Um School of Zen has continued this tradition in the West. On January 3, 2015, Winter Kyol Che begins at Diamond Hill Zen Monastery in Rhode Island. While some will participate for the entire ninety days, many others will join for periods of one week or more.
Of course, not all of us can practice in this way. That's why the Kwan Um School offers "Heart Kyol Che," a way for lay practitioners to join in the energy and support of this intensive period of meditation.
Some Heart Kyol Che participants dedicate additional time to daily practice. Others begin a daily practice or go more frequently to their Zen center. This coming winter, some will undertake 90 days of midnight practice - getting up for an hour of practice every midnight!
Please consider making a Heart Kyol Che commitment for yourself and all beings. A modest effort will make a huge difference.
If you like, you can complete this Heart Kyol Che Form and formalize your commitment. Thank you for your practice!


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Hello everybody!! I hope everyone is enjoying their first weekend, but I just want to tell everyone that here is going to be a awesome Boba Fundraiser on Wednesday, Sept. 28th, at 12 pm to 5 pm! We will be selling boba milk tea for $3.50!
But for those people that read this website.. I'll let you in on a little tip..
come get your boba early!!! We usually sell out, so don't be left out!! 😀
See all of you guys there!! 😀


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Review: ASUS Transformer TX201L
Since Windows 8 hit the streets with it's touch friendly interface, manufacturers have been attempting to create devices that engage users on-boarding them into the Windows ecosystem.
ASUS provides a relatively unique product in the Transformer, one that attempts to provide an all-in-one solution. The Transformer is, at first glance, an ultraportable running Windows 8. But with one press of a button, the screen detaches to become an Android tablet.
The Transformer is the size of an ultraportable with an 11.6" screen; but its weight belies its extra features. This is due to its battery in the base for the laptop, and the battery in the 'screen' that powers the tablet. It also has the feature of being able to utilise the tablet's battery in order to bump up the battery life of the laptop.
There are not many manufacturers who've even tried integrating Android and Windows, and none who have done it as smoothly as ASUS. The laptop is no slouch but, quite surprisingly in this day and age, it has a 500GB 5400rpm drive rather than a SSD. With the plethora of cloud storage providers, I would have liked to see an SSD in place of the spinning disk.
With an i5 core and 4GB of RAM, the laptop is no slouch. The Android tablet uses an Intel Atom with 2GB of DDR2 RAM and 16GB of storage to quite capably handle what's thrown at it.
Transferring files between the tablet and laptop is simple and is as smooth as it could be between two operating systems. There are the differences between UIs which can make switching between them to access the same data, jarring. But businesses that use SAAS based applications won't have issues and will appreciate the portability that the tablet offers.
Build wise, it's impeccable. You can see the attention to detail from ASUS, more and more manufacturers spend more time on ensuring the balance of the device is just right. One example is the connector between the tablet / screen and the base that's a solid metal bridge.The Transformer is sturdy and doesn't have that feel of fragility that a lot of other ultrabooks have.
The tablet is quite speedy, with the intel Atom chip ensuring the tablet doesn't suffer slowdown or stuttering. It uses OS 4.2.2 Jelly Bean and with a range of applications from ASUS there's plenty of scope to work between the two systems without it being bloatware.I can see its benefits in the enterprise environment, to leave the base plugged in and take the tablet around. There isn't automatic sync, unless you're using an appropriate application that does it through the cloud etc. I'd like to see ASUS try to utilise the same technology in a pure Windows ecosystem and give that desktop power and portability using the same OS.
Pros:• The ability to utilise both operating systems widens the range of available applications• Battery in tablet can lengthen laptop operating life• Desk-based and portability
Cons:• Difficulty in transitioning between Windows and Android OSs• Heavy compared to ultra book alternatives
Summary:The Transformer is the latest iteration from ASUS of their innovative two part portable device, but maintaining integration between Android and Windows requires active manual activity by the user. As Windows 8 increases both its market penetration and capability to operate in a desktop and portable arena, it appears Android hasn't kept up. Google are investing heavily in Chrome OS, with a number of new models hitting the market. The Transformer has its niche well sewn up, meaning it probably has a bright future, but it should be as a Windows only device.
Score: 3 / 5


text: Mr Dendy explained that social media marketing would be key for reality that it's where individuals are and also they intend to get their firm encountering them. The growth of social media marketing is also evidenced by Google's latest output, Social Search, monitored, the product or service promoted, and discussions closely tracked. It probably didn't even realise its own potential when it first started, but people like that the default tab for non-likers; addition of some special reward such as discount to the landing page for Facebook users in particular, needed people to LIKE the page


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Studio "B"
PING i20 Driver Review
PING i20 Driver Review: $149.99 to $199.99 (Used)
2nd Swing Golf Blog writer and PGA Pro Matt Keller revisits the 2012 PING i20 Driver's great look and performance.
Released for 2012, the PING i20 Driver quickly became one of the top-selling drivers in its category.
With a great look and reliable performance, check out one of the best drivers PING's made to date for low- and mid-handicap players.
Designed from a Ti 8-1-1 low-density alloy, the 2012 PING i20 Driver optimizes weight distribution for increased forgiveness. PING added tungsten weights to the sole designed for increased moment of inertia (MOI) across the clubface and lower spinning shots for more distance.
The singularly weighted crown reduces drag to increase clubhead and ball speed at impact.
Overall, it sounds great and the technology in thePING i20 Driver rates a B+.
Looks (9 out of 10 Rating)
The PING i20 Driver catches your eye with a black-matte finish that reduces glare. The PING i20 Driver also features a traditional clubhead design with a deep face.
The combination of the two gives it just a look that makes you want to put the club in your bag. So it's safe to say the PING i20 Driver rates high in appearance.
If you are searching for a super easy and forgiving PING, try the PING K15 or PING G25 driver lineups.
However, the PING i20 Driver will appeal to low- and mid-handicap players looking for distance and the ability to control and shape their shots. Personally, I preferred the PING G15 Driver over the PING i15 Driver. The PING i15, for instance, was hard to control and less forgiving. PING really did some outstanding engineering the its i20 Driver.
Final Thoughts (Overall: 9 out of 10 Rating)
I tested the PING i20 9.5-degree Driver with a stiff PING TFC707D stock shaft. The i20 driver offers an average weight and feel with a D3 swing weight and 62-gram stock shaft.
It also delivers a low spin with mid- to high ball flight. The PING i20 Driver allows players to work the ball rather than produce consistently high and straight shots, much like PING G and K lines. Meanwhile, the PING i20 Driver is much more forgiving on off center hits than the previous PING i15 Driver.
In addition, I found the i20 is longer than the PING i15, G20 or K15 drivers. Shots in the sweet spot feel very solid, while it starts to get a little clunky on heel or toe shots.
The PING i20 Driver might have been considered PING's best driver before they offered any adjustable features on newer models. The black finish makes the i20 look really cool, however, it performs for only a small sample of the golfing population.
PING originally priced the i20 at $349, only to later have the adjustable G25 match the $349 retail price (See 2ndswing.com for great deals, frankly.). Golfers can shop a new and used PING i20 Driver at a much-reduced rate today while it very much holds up.
Overall, the 2012 PING i20 driver is one of the best options available on the market for better ball strikers and rates an A-.
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Re: Retaining variable/function expressions from session to session
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg63431] Re: [mg63416] Retaining variable/function expressions from session to session
- From: "David Park" <djmp at earthlink.net>
- Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 06:40:28 -0500 (EST)
- Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com
Charles, I don't see why it is odd that Mathematica forgets assignments at the end of a session. Otherwise, everytime you started Mathematica it would be filled with all kinds of definitions you had no use for. In any case, why not put an Initialization Section at the top of your notebook and put all of these definitions there. Make them Initialization cells and when you first save the notebook DON'T create an AutoSave Package. Then, everytime you open the notebook and start to work in it, these initialization definitions will automatically be evaluated. If some of them are the result of long calculations you may want to do the calculation once and copy the result to a new definition and put that in the Initialization section. David Park djmp at earthlink.net http://home.earthlink.net/~djmp/ From: Charles Ashley [mailto:cka2 at adelphia.net] To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net Hi, Is it possible to have variables and functions retain their assigned expressions from session to session? I'm working on a problem that consists of a dozen variables and it seems odd that Mathematica "forgets" the expression that I've assigned to each variable when I close out of a session. To date my solution has just been to "remind" Mathematica of the assigned expression by reevaluating it each time I start a new session, but there must be a better way. Thanks Charles Ashley cka2 at adelphia.net