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The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion ThreadP. 76 - Placement of Adirondack Outlaw will be moved
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Discuss theme parks, roller coasters, and mules!
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
Update: Bobsled was indeed open last Saturday. Got to the park around 2 and it opened right as we got to the sign. Waited about 15 minutes until they called for a group of 2. It's a fun little ride, but pretty short; I prefer it to flying turns. As we left the station the line had grown extremely long, probably about 2 hours or so! I'm glad I got on it but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if it's removed in the next few years.
Top 10: El Toro, Lightning Rod, Fury 325, Skyrush, Wicked Cyclone, Iron Rattler, Boulder Dash, Superman The Ride, Mystic Timbers, Phoenix
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
^ If it lasts even a few years I'd be surprised considering how often this ride is down and the pitiful capacity when it is open.
Top 3 Wood- Lightning Rod, Voyage, Coaster (PNE Playland)
Top 3 Steel- Steel Vengeance, Untamed, Expedition GeForce
Most Recent Trip Reports- Holiday World & Indiana Beach
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
Bobsled has been rumored to leave for years. Ill believe it when I see it, glad you got to ride it though seeing as how unreliable it is.
Coaster Count: 142 total 94 steel 48 wood
Favorite Steel Coaster: Skyrush at Hershey Park
Favorite Wood Coaster: A tie between The Voyage at Holiday World and T Express at Everland
I'm posting from a IPad so I can't enable pics/video
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
Six Flags Great Escape Resort, New York's Most Thrilling Resort Property, announces the Adirondack Outlaw. This high-flying ride will have guests catching maximum airtime and experiencing 360-degree rotations of heart-pounding excitement. The head-over-heels exhilaration of Adirondack Outlaw will elevate riders to unmatched heights as they travel more than 50 mph. This rebellious ride swings 16 stories high, offering spectacular views of Lake George.
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
Holy crap they're finally getting something interesting! Hope it's not an upcharge.
1. El Toro 2. El Toro 3. El Toro 4. El Toro --- I'm not good at ranking...
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
I can't tell from those renderings, and my vague memory of the layout of this park... Is this ride replacing anything they currently have? Looks super cool, either way!
That coaster dad [340] and that coaster kiddo [222]. Road trip buddies for life.
Dad's faves: Fury 325. Phantom's Revenge. Twisted Timbers. Intimidator 305. El Toro.
Kiddo's faves: Talon. Alpengeist. Raptor. TMNT Shellraiser. Fury 325.
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
I'm on board with these extreme thrill rides! Congrats!
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
This looks awesome! Hopefully its not an up charge since the capacity seems low.
I may not know everything about coasters... what I do know is they are my life...
Home park: Six Flags America
Favorite park overall: All Walt Disney World Parks
Favorite Steels: Maverick, Millennium Force, Sky Rush, Talon, Poltergeist, I-305
Favorite Woodies: Iron Rattler, Phoenix, Roar, El Toro, Jack Rabbit, Thunderbolt, The Raven, The Legend
TPR Trips: Northeast 2011, LeviaTHON 2012
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
This looks UNREAL, can't wait for this to open! Glad they're finally getting that crazy thrilling attraction they needed.
Darien Lake is my home park.
Coaster Count: 107 || Parks: 16
100th Coaster: Comet @ TGE
Top 10: 1. Superman the Ride | 2. Wicked Cyclone | 3. Millennium Force | 4. Maverick | 5. Leviathan | 6. Goliath (La Ronde) | 7. Kingda Ka | 8. Behemoth | 9. Bizzaro | 10. Nitro
Re: The Great Escape (TGE) Discussion Thread
This is a great addition, probably the next best thing to a new coaster. It is unique and different and only one other Six Flags Park has one (St. Louis). My guess is it may replace Condor since it has a lot of down time and is an aging ride. They may even renovate that side of Ghost Town to fit it. Can't wait to try it next year I love these crazy flat rides they keep adding.
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Alert / James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge.
Armada : a novel / Ernest Cline.
Batman : Arkham Knight, volume 1 / Peter J. Tomasi, writer ; Viktor
Bogdanovic, Ig Guara, Robson Rocha, pencillers.
Battlesaurus : rampage at Waterloo / Brian Falkner.
Best laid plans / Allison Brennan.
DVD: Child 44 / Summit Entertainment
Cracking the GED test 2016 / Geoff Martz and the staff of the Princeton Review.
The day the crayons came home / by Drew Daywalt ; pictures by Oliver
Deadly assets / W.E.B. Griffin and William E. Butterworth IV.
DVD: Descendants / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
DVD: The Divergent series. Insurgent / Summit Entertainment
Drowned city : Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans / written and illustrated by Don Brown.
Friction / Sandra Brown.
The gift / Wanda E. Brunstetter.
DVD: Hot pursuit / New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer pictures
Percy Jackson's Greek heroes / Rick Riordan ; illustrated by John Rocco.
Plunder and deceit : big government's exploitation of young people and the future / Mark R. Levin.
The redeemers / Ace Atkins.
Seveneves : [a novel] / Neal Stephenson.

subset: commoncrawl


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Wordy Nonsense
Written pieces (no diagrams) that touch on current football affairs.
The McDonaldization of English Football
I, within the comfort bosom of In Bed With Maradona, examine how George Ritzer's principles of McDonaldization can be applied to English football. By the way, yes, they certainly can. That shouldn't discourage you from reading though.
'Tika-Taka': The potential for a Footballing legacy?
A look at whether Spain's 'Tika-Taka' style could leave a legacy from the World Cup, I conclude that it possibly could be the case.
Antiquated English football – Something needs to change
An examination at what is wrong with English football, casting an eye on youth development in this country
World Cups and White Elephants
Nick Robbins inspects the real problems South Africa (and Africa) faces after the successful 2010 World Cup.


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A British soccer star's book is being review-bombed on Amazon, and she is now calling out the company itself for not doing more to stop it in her column with The Guardian.
Eniola Aluko, a forward for Juventus' women's team and the English national soccer team, released a book on Aug. 29 entitled "They Don't Teach This," a memoir about her career as a player, analyst and lawyer (she graduated with first-class honors from Brunel University's law school in 2008).
Soon, the book was hit with extremely negative reviews. Per the Associated Press, 27 out of 31 reviews on Amazon's United Kingdom site gave the book a one-star rating, with reviewers reportedly calling the book "anti-white racist drivel," saying the author chose to "play the race card" and that she was "coming across as a racist herself." The lone review on the American site as of Friday calls the book "full of hate and hot air."
Not uncoincidentally, Aluko criticized a fanbase whose team had just been fined £10,000 for its racist chanting in a tweet last week. Her Twitter is now private after what she described as "a barrage of personal abuse."
From the column:
Within 48 hours of my tweet Amazon had received and duly published dozens of one-star reviews by people who had neither bought nor read the book, reviews that were mostly not themselves racist but whose authors were clearly motivated by tribalism, bitterness and hatred.
Aluko, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Birmingham, England, asked Amazon to delete the reviews. The online retail behemoth responded by telling the AP it does not remove reviews based on one-star ratings, using investigators and automated technology to detect "inauthentic comments." It did not say why those systems allowed Aluko's reviews to stay up.
Publisher Penguin Random House reportedly said it is in contact with Amazon, while the Professional Footballers' Association is backing Aluko, per the AP.
Aluko was previously at the center of a scandal regarding former England manager Mark Sampson.
Aluko, who is one of 11 players with 100 caps in England women's history, alleged the coach said she should make sure her Nigerian relatives weren't infected with Ebola while visiting for a game in 2014. Sampson was eventually dismissed
More from Yahoo Sports:


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Spreading Zika concerns, Comcast is taken to court and has anyone seen where we left Australia? We know it's around here somewhere. This and more on today's Geekdays.
Show notes and links:
- Zika cases prompt CDC to issue a 1-mile no-go zone for pregnant women in Miami (mashable.com)
- Comcast sued for $100 million for 'near-worthless' service plans (thenextweb.com)
- Australia's about to move 1.5 metres to the north (sciencealert.com)
- Elon Musk confirms Tesla is planning to build a Model X-based minibus (mashable.com)
- Elon Musk's Car Company Buys Elon Musk's Solar Company (popsci.com)
- Tesla May Call Its New Van A 'Spacebus' (jalopnik.com)
- Amazon patents noise-canceling headphones that let you hear your name (theverge.com)
- So Many Australians Are Claiming 'Jedi' as Their Religion That It's Becoming a Problem (gizmodo.com)


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The Bobby Bones Show's 2019 St. Jude Radiothon kicked off today (December 5) with several artists bringing in their talents. Along with the artists, we heard several St. Jude patient and family stories about the wonderful things St. Jude Children's Research Hospital does for those who have to be there.
The Radiothon is an effort to raise money and gain Partners In Hope for St. Jude to continue raising money for kids with cancer. The hospital does more than just help kids, they also work on research. Research that is used to help find the cure for cancer, and not only that, the hospital shares their research with all other hospitals and facilities at no cost.
Today Dustin Lynch stopped by The Bobby Bones Show to lend his talents towards the cause. Lynch brought his full band in for a performance of his song "Ridin' Roads," as well as a cover of George Strait "Check Yes Or No." See some of his performance below and watch the full thing on our Instagram TV channel here.


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Tourism Marketing District has some economic incentive...for city councilmembers
City councilmembers have collected more than $42,000 from top three hotel companies part of TMD
For Monday's council hearing, council president Todd Gloria is planning to shed some light on the controversy surrounding the Tourism Marketing District. At the meeting, councilmembers will hear the benefits that the Tourism Marketing District, the special assessment paid by hotel visitors to promote tourism. They will be shown a slideshow touting the importance that the tourism industry has on San Diego, such as its "$18.3 billion economic impact on the region."
But one fact you won't hear during the presentation is the economic impact that some of the largest hoteliers involved with the Tourism Marketing District have on councilmembers and their campaign accounts.
Since 2008, the eight city councilmembers currently on the council have received more than $42,000 from executives employed by the three largest companies; Atlas Hotels, Bartell Hotels, and Evans Hotels. Executives from each of the three chains happen to serve on the Tourism Marketing District.
Campaign finance disclosures show Marti Emerald leads the pack, having raised a total of $8,075 since January 2008. Executives at Evans Hotels, whose owner Bill Evans serves as the Treasurer for the Tourism Marketing District, pledged $3,350 over four years.
Runner up to Emerald is District 1 representative Sherri Lightner. Since 2008 Lightner and her campaign committee raked in a total of $8,055 from the three hotel companies. Lorie Zapf raised the third most with $7,875, then Scott Sherman with $7,260, Kevin Faulconer with $6,000, Todd Gloria with $4,025, and rounding out the bunch was David Alvarez collecting only $1,100.
The upcoming city council hearing isn't the only outlet for residents to learn about the importance of tourism and the Tourism Marketing District has on San Diego.
Council president Todd Gloria is also spreading the word via his latest newsletter.
If you've been keeping up with the news, you have likely heard something lately about the Tourism Marketing District's (TMD) future...In addition to contributing funding for events like the Holiday Bowl, the TMD's promotional efforts have drawn visitors to our City. This equates to Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) revenue, on which the City depends to help fund core services like police, fire-rescue, and libraries. And having more visitors in San Diego also means that the tourism industry and the many businesses related to it remain strong economic generators and job creators.
Unfortunately, the future of the TMD is now at risk. Last year, the City Council approved the renewal of the TMD by a vote of 7-1 to preserve this successful program and its positive impacts on local residents, the City, and our economy. The Mayor opposes the implementation of the TMD agreement unless additional revenue is given to the City and hotel workers' wages are increased. As the son of a former hotel maid, I could not more strongly favor better compensation and improved working conditions for tourism industry workers, and would support that goal if it were pursued directly. Further, I have been outspoken on the topic of the need for more revenue for the City, but the TMD is funded through an assessment on hoteliers for the specific purpose of promoting events and tourism in San Diego; state law prohibits the use of these funds for general civic purposes.
San Diegans want progress and practical decision-making based on principles. Moving forward with the Council's approval of the TMD is right and necessary now.
Of course, councilmembers aren't the only elected officials in San Diego that have benefited from the generosity of these hotel executives. As Matt Potter reported in a February 20 article, City Attorney Jan Goldsmith collected thousands of dollars in contributions from the same group.
More like this:
- Personal and campaign gifts to council Democrats a long tradition at GOP's Evans operation — March 29, 2013
- Council President Todd Gloria once served as a board member for the Tourism Authority — March 28, 2013
- Todd Gloria, staffer, hotelier and spouse signed nomination paper for judge who ruled against Filner — March 6, 2013
- City council hears Tourism Marketing District comments as union hotel workers unveil a new lawsuit — Feb. 25, 2013
- Councilmembers to Consider Revamped Tourism Marketing District — Oct. 19, 2011
Todd Gloria, as usual, avoids the actual issue of the legality of the TMD mechanism. The twisted construct used to bring the TMD about involved a voting process and a timeframe that violate two different State laws. Gloria knows this. His statement that "the City Council approved the renewal of the TMD by a vote of 7-1" is a useless fact. They've voted to approve all sorts of illegal things. Gloria, in particular, is the worst, most disingenuous sycophant on the Council. Emerald runs a close second, but she's a bit dumber.
All of these "Districts" and "Assessments" are forms of taking money from some people and giving it to other people. When it is a tax, there are laws that govern every aspect. When it is not a tax, ask yourself what "promoting events and tourism in San Diego" really is. It is paying friends of friends to sit in offices and have meetings, occasionally going on trips to see how people in other cities sit in offices and have meetings. It is nice work if you can get it. Nice also that hotel executives have all this money to donate to politicians. Seems to work for them, too.
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The Master Teacher of A Course in Miracles is an individual who awoke completely from the illusion of human being-ness in space and time. Like other masters before him, he recognised wholeheartedly the futility of 'life' in separation; the complete emptiness of form, and the innate expansiveness and pure beauty and joy of truly unlimited mind. He felt a sincere urgency to raise the frequency of mind – to extend to others the simplicity of truth that he had discovered, and anyone who chose to be near him felt the intensity of the light in this determination and this need. Teaching the truth became his only role, it actually became his identity itself.
Master Teacher, also known as 'Dear One', passed a few years ago. He has left us a catalogue of materials, books, videos and original audio recordings, of his teachings. All materials are available online and to download when you register for free. He also remains with us. In his full recognition of himself as far beyond form, he is immediately available in my mind, or in your own. He is entirely available to you for your transitional moment or process, from human being to whole mind in truth.
To me, the Master Teacher is certainty, certainty of truth; certainty of the unreality of separate, fragmented, objective perception and identity:
"That's the way you can always tell an awakening consciousness or one that's awake. You may not be able to know what he's sure about, but you can see that he's very sure about whatever it is that you're not sure that he's sure about. That's a lovely definition."!
('Subjective Thought', from How Simple the Solution: Discourses with Master Teacher)
He teaches singular subjective reality: that you are the world that you see, that there is nothing outside of you, that the world you have made and choose to look upon is your own construction of mechanisms that will perfectly bind you to a level of consciousness or a frequency of thought out of which you will not attempt to climb.
My own recognition is that this mind is the totality of my salvation from separate self. It is a mind that has come to know itself completely, through its own recognition of the mind of Jesus Christ, through its surrender to the light available through contact with that consciousness, and through its determination to be always new, always releasing itself, never establishing for more than a moment as a separate bodily identity in space and time. The power and grace expressed through this individual are astonishing to me, and I depend entirely on this power and this grace to release me from my own determination to be separate in a world of fragmentation, depression and death.
Hallelujah for the escape from the bondage of space and time! And thank you God.


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Today's battle over the "missing" Fairfax County 8th Congressional District absentee votes has given me flashbacks.
In 2009, I was chairman of the Fairfax County Democratic Committee. Gerry Connolly was elected to Congress in 2008. In January, 2009, Sharon Bulova was elected Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in a special election.
Upon her resignation, a special election was held for Braddock District Supervisor. John Cook and Illryong Moon faced off on who would represent Braddock District's 100,000 citizens. As we waited for the votes to come in, everyone was waiting for the votes to come in for the largest (and Democratic leaning) precinct in the district – Fairview – while margin between the candidates stood under at 70 votes. If Fairview Precinct gave Mr. Moon the same margin it gave President Obama in 2008, it would change the result of the election.
While I was waiting at the victory party, I received a phone call from one of my former Mt. Vernon District Precinct Captains, Michael Gropman, who had moved to Fairview and was inside the polling place.First, we engaged in a debate about whether to turn the machine on. No one knew whether turning the machine on would destroy the forensic value of the data on the machine. After communicating with a company that services the machines, The Board learned that turning on the machines would cause the machines to upload data files and rewrite them to add new information from being turned on.
He told me there were two touch screen voting machines (technically called "Direct Recording Electronic Machines" or "DRE's") in the precinct and that the "master" machine that communicates wirelessly with all machines in the precinct and tabulates the entire precinct's vote was spitting out tapes that were causing the precinct vote totals to be nearly double the total number of voters that had passed through the precinct that day.
We arrived the following day for the Canvass.
He told me there were two touch screen voting machines (technically called "Direct Recording Electronic Machines" or "DRE's") in the precinct and that the "master" machine that communicates wirelessly with all machines in the precinct and tabulates the entire precinct's vote was spitting out tapes that were causing the precinct vote totals to be nearly double the total number of voters that had passed through the precinct that day.
The machines were examined. After it was determined they could not produce accurate results, they were turned off, sealed and taken to the Fairfax County Government Center. Mike met me at the victory party. We went into a booth and I took a recorded statement from him about what he had observed. I was concerned litigation was coming.
We arrived the following day for the Canvass.
The Electoral Board then decided that it was necessary to turn the machines on to do anything, time was of the essence and the Board would save the thumb drive back ups as the forensic copies.
The County Registrar's employees then turned the machines on and asked them to print their result tapes. One of the failsafes, the "predictive counter," was off and the "master" machine printed out a tape that again suggested hundreds of "extra" people had voted on top of the 689 people who had been manually checked in by officials at the front table.
The Board attempted to print the results separately from each machine. The tape from the "non-master" machine it suggested about half of the 689 votes had been cast on that one machine. That seemed right.
Then, we asked the "master" machine to print a separate tape and it produced a tape suggested 600+/- votes had been cast on it alone. Adding the two tapes together produced a result that was even different than the "master" tape.
No mathematical analysis could produce any logic behind the machine's "master" results – e.g. it was not doubling votes, adding tapes together, etc. The "master" machine's individual tape and "master tape" results were completely illogical.
Next, the Electoral Board turned to the Code of Virginia to determine what to do next. The Code said the Board should follow the machine's manual. After I cross examined the Registrar's Office employees, it was conceded that the manual did not say what to do if the machine was doing bad math (clearly because the machine should not have been programmed to incorrectly add results).
The Code then said to follow the manufacturer's instructions. We were advised that the manufacturer had gone bankrupt and was no longer in business. Calling the manufacturer was a dead end.
The County had a contract with a company to service these machines, but they were different from the manufacturer. They did not program the original source code. The Board decided that they were not referenced in the Code.
The Board then elected to print what are called the "ballot images" – a listing of each voter's individual vote. Apparently, this had never been done before in Virginia because a machine had never malfunctioned like this.
The ballot "images" were printed out. Each tape was probably 100 yards long.
The Fairfax County Registrar read off all 600+ votes one at a time while each Electoral Board member, campaign representatives, and party volunteers each made marks on paper – "Moon…Cook….Moon….Cook, etc." After an hour of counting, everyone added up their chalk marks and the results matched the manual count from the front table exactly to the vote.
The Electoral Board decided that must have been the vote for that precinct.
Adding that up to the totals, Mr. Moon had lost the election by 89 votes out of 13,133 that were cast.
Mr. Moon thought about requesting a recount. Given that the Board had to invent procedures to deal with the situation, there might have been cause to raise issues, but given that that manual count matched the number of voters who were manually counted, he decided that a court would probably find that while the results suspicious, they were likely accurate and that he should not put taxpayers through that expense.
As of today, no one has ever explained why the voting machine produced that result. The algorythms in these machines are very simple totalization software. The odds of a software bug are very low. I asked the State Board of Elections to do a forensic analysis of the disputed machines. No one followed up.
Every since that day, I have insisted on a paper ballot if one is available. At least we can look at the paper and, as Sarah Conner warned us in The Terminator, we don't have to trust the machines.


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The more I study the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the more I realize I might never catch up. Hot on the heels of the recent Phantom Forces expansion comes Primal Clash, a new set featuring Pokémon that have undergone Primal Reversion, including Primal Kyogre-EX and Primal Groudon-EX.
Now that I've almost finished building my own deck, it's time for more than 160 new cards to enter the mix, making me reevaluate everything I've done over the past few months. We've got Primal Reversion Pokémon and 12 new Pokémon EX cards including two new Mega Evolution Pokémon. New abilities called Ancient Traits, appearing on 10 to 20 percent of Primal Clash cards, proffering special abilities in battle.
Let's see, what else. 31 new trainer cards, four full-art rare Ultra cards, four secret rare cards and a pair of Special Energy cards. All of this available in $3.99 10-card boosters or two $12.99 pre-constructed decks on February 5.
How do you players keep up? Do you just build a deck and stick with it, or are you constantly weighing the pros and cons of new cards and mixing things up?


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I don't think I realized it at the time, but looking back now I was really sad about the fact that Miles was turning one. I just loved everything about having a baby and caring for him from the very beginning. I felt like the fact that he was turning one meant that I didn't have a baby anymore. And frankly, I had no idea what the heck I was going to do with a toddler.
When you have a baby, there's so much noise out there about how to care for them and what to do with them that it can make your head spin. While I became pretty adept at tuning out a lot of the nonsense, it was still inescapable. But once your kid passes the one-year mark things get kind of quiet. Or, you start hearing about how difficult and challenging toddlers are and it's enough to make you want to hide from your child for the next few years.
But if there's one thing I wish someone had told me about having a one-year-old it would be this: It gets even better. I can't speak for all one year olds, but I can say this about ours: He is awesome. I know other one year olds and I think they're all pretty darn great, too.
I may only be a few months into toddlerhood and in some ways I'm not even certain I'm truly in it since Miles isn't quite walking yet (he's getting close, though!) but I've been amazed at just how much fun this one-year-old stage is. And in some ways, it really is better than baby-hood. Here's why:
No more bottles! This is for my bottle-feeding mamas, but once we ditched the bottles and formula (I went cold turkey at 11.5 months and it went smoothly) I felt such a lightness in our life. (For more on my feelings about bottle-feeding click here.) I felt like so much time in our day suddenly opened up since I wasn't constantly making bottles, feeding Miles, washing bottles, and anticipating his next feeding.
Fewer, longer naps. Helping Miles become a good sleeper has always been a big priority for us, especially since I depend on his naps in order to do my work. As a result, this meant we had to make some sacrifices like saying no to activities that interfered with naptimes. Now he takes two solid naps per day. Now that he's one, he's more resilient if we're off schedule so I know he'll still fall asleep pretty easily. And if he occasionally skips a nap because we're out doing fun things the world doesn't fall apart—he's totally fine. Now that he's not taking as many naps, this gives us longer chunks of time during the day to do stuff without always feeling like the clock is ticking and we need to rush home to put him down for a nap again. Plus, his longer naps means that this mama gets a break (which I often spend working) right when I'm ready for one. It's exhausting keeping up with a one-year-old!
Personality. I think all babies' personalities shine through more and more throughout the first year, but there was something about turning one that was like flipping a switch. All of a sudden I felt like Miles became a little human instead of a baby and he just oozes personality. I'm still amazed at the things he does every day. He's funny, silly, entertaining, curious, gentle, and so incredibly sweet. He's also becoming quite the ham. When he notices that others are watching (even if it's just me), he turns on the charm and becomes even more animated.
Cuddles, snuggles, and hugs! I thought for sure turning one meant the end of snuggling (which, to be honest, had ended months before because he was so busy exploring the world around him.) Instead, the opposite happened: He became SUPER snuggly. I'm not sure why, exactly. My best guess is that as he's become more independent he also needs us a little more (if that makes any sense…) Before, if he was having trouble sleeping at night, holding him didn't do anything to help. After he turned a year old and went through a really long and tough sleep regression (it lasted weeks), I'd go into his room when he was crying, lie down with him on the couch and he'd fall asleep on me immediately. He loves to snuggle while reading books and will come by during the day and just rest his head on my shoulder or on my leg. When Robert or I pick him up out of his crib in the morning or after naps, he wraps his arms around us and nestles his head into our neck and will stay there for some time. Miles LOVES giving hugs (even to people he doesn't know very well!) and they're usually unsolicited. Every time he hugs me my heart explodes into a million little pieces.
Meals. After Miles turned one, we went from feeding him meals to sharing meals with him and it's the greatest. He babbles and laughs while we eat, does funny things with his food (like spinning spaghetti around his finger), tries to use utensils, or attempts to feed us. It's an experience we get to share together several times per day instead of always being focused on feeding him.
He communicates. Miles doesn't have many words yet, but he babbles all day long and I feel like we have entire conversations that way. I can tell he's trying to communicate and it's so awesome watching him try to express himself. He's also becoming more opinionated and discerning about what he likes and doesn't like.
None of this is intentionally meant to brag about our kid. I like to believe that all parents think their kid is amazing. And sure, we have our tough days, but they're usually tough for a reason—he's teething, he doesn't feel well, or he just needs some extra TLC. So I just do what I need to do to help him out and remind myself that it will pass and it always does. But overall, this phase—right now at 14.5 months old—is so special and one that I truly want to remember forever and ever.
So the next time I know someone with a baby who's about to turn one I won't be thinking about how sad it is that her baby is becoming a toddler or how hard things are going to become. I'll just think about how lucky she is because as far as I'm concerned, she's in for so much fun and joy ahead.


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Police Forces
In many parts of the country, police forces have been making a very important contribution to developing and sustaining good inter faith relations.
Event and activity ideas for the emergency services can also be found in The Inter Faith Week Toolkit
Inter Faith Week provides a great opportunity to connect with faith communities within the local community which you serve.
Engaging with local inter faith initiatives helps to forge strong and long-lasting relationships of trust and understanding with different faith groups within your local community.
You could...
- Participate in an Inter Faith Week event that is already happening in the local community
- Run a short article in your newsletter or bulletin about Inter Faith Week and why inter faith issues are relevant to effective, community friendly policing
- Hold a half day seminar looking at the role of faith communities in an integrated local community
- Arrange a talk about inter faith relations from a police perspective
- Create a display about involvement in your force, and in the Police more generally, of men and women of different faiths. How are their dietary needs being catered for? What sorts of variations of uniforms have been developed? What do they see as the teachings in their traditions which lead them to want to serve the community in this important role?
- Invite representatives from local faith groups to provide an opportunity for officers and staff to ask questions, and to gain insight into the different religions, customs and cultures of the communities they serve
- Organise a 'living library' event, where you invite local faith community members to be human 'books' which your members can 'take out' to talk with and learn from
- Organise a 'religious literacy' day in partnership with a local inter faith group, local authority or local faith leaders to enable officers to learn about some of the main faiths active in your local community, and the various practices associated with each faith.
- Provide space for a local inter faith community event
Published 6 November 2016


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WASHINGTON (CNN) - The Republican National Committee was placed in lockdown for 1.5 hours Tuesday afternoon after a suspicious package was discovered in the mailroom.
The U.S. Capitol Police investigated and determined there was no threat. Initial results from the tests on the scene indicate the substance was sugar. A hazmat team and other authorities have left the scene.
The building was reopened to the public at around 5:40 p.m. ET.
"There was a suspicious package found in the RNC mailroom," RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho told CNN. "We worked with the U.S. Capitol Police to investigate the situation and have been given the all clear."
Maybe this is the wake-up call the RNC has needed. If they no longer recognize SUGAR when they see it, maybe it's time to sweeten up a little.
Looks like someone is sending a message. probably one of the Health Insurers wanting to "sweeten the offer".
They probably sent it to themselves to try and get some kind of positive press/sympathy.
Another childish, classless move by Democrats.
Looks like the Obama kool-aid drinkers are really getting desperate now. They're smelling disaster. 🙂
What could have been in there to frighten them? The Constitution?
Guess the libs are resorting to bad tactics now.
Why should anyone waste any time with the RNC - the party of security & guns/religion clingers! 🙂
Planted, so they can blame Democrats of terroizing them. Despicable.
"Initial results from the tests on the scene indicate the substance was sugar." It seems Karl Rove has been careless with his doughnuts again.
its a letter from their trrorist friends or oil companies oooo wait maybe health insurance companies they got new checks for RNC staff
Was it a gift from Van Jones?
As Howard Dean shared on Sunday "his resignation is a loss to the Country"
What rock does the radical left wing live under? What is happening to this great Country that so many have died for to protect from Communism and our Freedom? The next elections cannot happen soon enough!
Was it a package of tea bags? The final tally on Palin's wardrobe? Michael Steele's soul- no, wait, that's microscopic......
I've got it! Its the marching orders from FOXNews and all the wacko-right wing talk-show hosts they keep employed to the RNC leadership!
Such genius, such genius. Great way to divert attention from real problems. Nice work, Mr. Rove.
Alright-who's the wise guy trying to sweeten up the Republicans?
Why does the left hate so much?


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An underarm rash is always unpleasant. People may feel burning, pain and itching of the affected area. The rash can be sometime embarrassing. It is necessary to check the source of rash before treating it.
Curing underarm rash can be performed at home when you know about the cause of it. First determine the cause of rash, you may want to visit a hospital diagnose by a doctor to determine whether it is due to the reason of allergic reaction or any infection. In certain cases, the doctor may provide you a prescription for a oral medication. Always keep the rash areas clean. Wash the affected region by using mild soap and dry with soft towel minimum two times a day. Use loose clothing to assist keep moisture from the growth of rashes in the area. Use a thin layer of clean cornstarch straightly on the rash to assist dries it out.
In some cases clothes like to rub on the skin may cause rash. Even detergents that have remained on the clothes after they have been rinsed can worsen the skin and cause an underarm rash. Infection of the hair follicles can also be one of the reasons for underarm rash. Shaving with unclean shaving tools, or daily friction in the area can create bruises in the armpits on the hair follicles and create the area open to infection. Under this condition, it resemble like small pimples. Consult the doctor and get an antibiotic treatment to get rid of the infection. Fungal infections are a possibility when concerning with underarm rash and may create flaky, patchy and inflamed skin. It is a damp, moist and contain small exposure to sunlight, it has the right conditions for a fungal infections. Dermatologists suggest perfect medicine and anti fungal drugs to treat fungus creating underarm rash.
Rashes are very irritating and can be avoided by easy preventative methods. The causes are normally and highly related to underarm sweating. The issue how to treat this is looked by large number of people. Huge amount of sweating can result in fungal and bacterial growth causing inflammation irritation, itching or burning in the armpit. Growth of dead skin cells because of reduced instances bathing with rubbing hard assists fungal and bacterial growth. Heat, friction and moisture are the reasons of inflammation in the particular area.
If you are in your home and can be able to take bath, it is good. Then prevent the skin from arriving in to contact with it through folding. It is better to keep the arms open to air and relaxing in the windy or air conditioned indoors. Anti itching creams, Vaseline and lotions offer relief from this itchy condition. They also assist to lessen inflammation. Spicy food item may contain a link to the issues characterized by heat like rashes and pimples. A hot bath is essential for avoiding underarm sweating. If you are from this condition, avoid tight clothes because they can worsen the condition, Wear loose clothes and use absorbent powder. You can also try waxing or hair removal creams instead of shaving.


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I fell in love twice several years ago. The first time I fell in love with my husband. The second time I fell in love with the city he called home for more than three decades: Pittsburgh.
"You're moving where?" family and friends asked. Even strangers asked me why I would move from Florida, the Sunshine State, to the cold north. I still am asked that question.
Each time I answer that love brought me here – twice. Pittsburgh remains a well-kept secret from most of the country, except for those of us who know about its not-so-secret charms.
How did this second love affair begin? Perhaps it began in a geography class in Michigan, my first year in college in 1974. That's when I learned about the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers converging to form the mighty Ohio, giving Pittsburgh a starring role in the Industrial Revolution of this country.
The idea of water creating our urban centers left an impression. Then I never thought much about Pittsburgh until 2009, when love brought a renaissance to my world.
Probably the first surprise was the landscape of the Pittsburgh area. When I drove into the city from the airport, I marveled at the hills and the valley below created by the three rivers of Pittsburgh. There are particular vistas all around the city and its environs that allow me to believe anything is possible.
I lived in Florida for nearly thirty years, having moved there from Michigan in 1980. Many of the residents come from somewhere else. Finding a native Floridian resembles the search for that old needle in the haystack.
When I first came to Pittsburgh, I noticed a difference right away. Most people I met and still meet were born and raised in the Pittsburgh area. Although they might think of moving somewhere else, they really do not intend to leave. I've learned those who do leave tend to return.
Soon after I moved to the Steel City, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported folks volunteered to paint planters downtown to freshen up for spring. No wonder Pittsburgh could reinvent itself after U.S. Steel left town. The people – not institutions – made it possible because they love this place, which uniquely exists as the western East, the eastern West, the southern North and the northern South of the United States.
Places of green still exist here because the hills make some sections uninhabitable, both surprising and delighting me. I am an urban country girl, and I have always wanted it both ways. Here I've found that balance in both my surroundings and in my personal life.
I love the hills, but I love the architecture of the churches, commercial buildings, and homes as well. Studying those structures is a lesson in American history all by itself. The bridges are also a wonder of engineering and architecture. Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world.
My love affair intensified after a visit to the Heinz History Center. I found myself curiously emotional as I learned about the city and its inhabitants. I never realized so many influential folks from Pittsburgh played an important role in my life. Dr. Benjamin Spock taught me I would not spoil my child by picking her up when she cried, and Mr. Rogers visited our neighborhood every day to reinforce the concepts of friendship and citizenship in my young daughter.
Rachel Carson, whose environmental writing helped develop awareness of DDT and the pollutants in the air, inspires me in my writing and life. Nellie Bly broke through glass ceilings allowing me privileges unknown to the women of her generation.
Stephen Foster immortalized the place I lived in Florida for nearly three decades through song. He never visited "way down upon the Suwannee River," but he called Pittsburgh home.
Although I did not know it at the time, Pittsburgh and its inhabitants served as the backdrop to my life, from the ketchup I poured on my burgers to the polio shot I received as a child. No wonder I fell hard for this place of steel with its soft edges and open arms.
My surprise at falling in love with Pittsburgh is exemplified in the surprise that comes whenever I approach the downtown area from my home 45 minutes west of the city. Within one mile of the center of Pittsburgh, there is no view of a skyline, only the hillside and then the sign announcing the Fort Pitt Tunnel.
The tunnel is a mile long cutting through the rock of the hillside. The tunnel's lights guide the way when suddenly daylight is seen at the end.
Suddenly, the car bursts out into the sunshine and I'm crossing the Monongahela River and there is the surprise and delight of a city in its Renaissance – Pittsburgh in all it glory with the Ohio to the left and the Allegheny straight ahead, and a distinctive skyline of steel and glass. That's all it took for me to fall in love with my new city.
Pittsburgh also provides the backdrop for my new marriage. As I traverse the city and experience the Strip District and its glorious markets, cruise the three rivers and cheer the Penguins, Steelers, and Pirates, I am certain my decisions to marry and to move here are victories for love both times.
Note: This was originally published in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on May 5, 2010 in the "Raves" guest column as "Raves: She first fell hard for a Pittsburgher, then for his city." It's published under my former name, Patricia Behnke, three months before our wedding.


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There's been an interesting development over the promotion by a UK company, 118800, of a directory of cellphone numbers. The service has been available since June, but suddenly it's off the air. For non-UK readers: the "118…" company name reflects the UK's assignment of 118xxx phone numbers for directory services.
The UK media covered the story in June, interviewing 118800 executives and covering privacy concerns. The privacy regulator had approved the new service. That doesn't mean they like it – that's not their job. All it means is it doesn't appear to contravene applicable law.
But approval did require an easy opt out. Most of the stories covering the new service publicised how to do this. Registering to protect your number as ex-directory (XD) is indeed easy, from either your phone or (the way I did it, on Thursday) from the web. And there's no reason to disbelieve the message that came back saying that my details would not now be published.
It was actually a well thought out service, from the privacy point of view. It wouldn't release numbers. What it would do – will do, if it gets up and running – is to offer the call to the target number and then connect the call.
Well … I registered XD on Thursday, following an email which was circulated, chain-letter style, from a relative. The alert said that XD registration had to be completed by Monday. I don't know if that was actually the case, in fact I rather doubt it; but, real or otherwise, it triggered me to do the deed.
Today, two days later, the service's web presence is reduced to one page which says Service suspended whilst we make improvements and goes on to say … whilst we undertake major developments to our 'Beta Service' to improve the experience for our customers. Everything's suspended, including the ability to go XD. This is progress from yesterday when, as reported by a Taily Telegraph's columnist, the service was just "unavailable".
Now I emphasise that this is pure speculation, but I wonder if so many people have gone onto the site to have their data protected that either the site crashed under the pressure, or the promoters have decided the service isn't viable after all.
What's interesting is the light it sheds on our understanding of the "Facebook generation". It's usually reckoned that the Facebook and Twitter generation – who are also the mobile phone generation – are less protective of their personal space. They tweet about all kinds of things and publish a wide range of pictures and content on Facebook which many people can see. But, if my guesses are right, it seems that my mobile phone number is still my castle. Even for Generation Y, there are limits.
And here's another thought. I de-registered with 118800. Yet, if I could swallow the £1 fee for each use (whether they have the number or not) plus whatever charge is made for actually connecting the call, it's the kind of service I might well use. I freely admit there's a contradiction here. I want to protect my data, but I'd like to be able to see other people's. But then, I trust me. I don't trust unknown people on the other side of a 118800 account.
What do you think?
• 118800.co.uk
• Screenshot: 118800.co.uk captured on 11 Jul 2009
• 118800: Has the privacy backlash already begun?, Basheera Khan, Daily Telegraph blogs, 10 Jul 2009
• Mobile phone directory to launch, BBC, 9 Jun 2009
• I have failed to locate Connectivity UK (the parent company, based in Theale, Berks) on the web. If you know their website, please let me know.
• Incidentally you can still find quite a lot of 118800 website content by doing a Google search and looking at the cached pages.


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The IAME Series is the most exciting kart racing championship in the Middle East. Our championship takes place in the United Arab Emirates with races held at the most popular kart racing circuits in the UAE.
The 2019/2020 championship takes place over 6 rounds held at RAK Track, Dubai Kartdrome and Al Forsan Circuit.
In Addition to the 6 round UAE championship our IAME powered X30 racers also compete in the annual Dubai O-Plate race, IAME Summer Cup and IAME Winter Cup.
The top 3 finishers in each championship catergory of the IAME Series UAE win entry to the IAME International Final held at Le Mans in France.


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Top tips for the Barossa Wine Auction
26 February, 2019 - Emily Hay & Lieke van der Hulst
Emily Hay (2017 recipient) asked Lieke (2018 recipient) to share her tips for the Barossa Wine Auction.
Image: WCA Great Wine Capitals Wine Media Cadets: Emily Hay (L) and Lieke van der Hulst (R).
Barossa Wine Auction has a long and treasured history within the Barossa community. Beginning in 1965 the event was primarily a fund-raising avenue to support the delivery of the Barossa Vintage Festival.
Today the biennial event has a global following, but at its core it remains a celebration of Barossa; the land, its people and the community ties that result in the exceptional wines for your cellar… or glass.
The 2019 Barossa Wine Auction catalogue reflects this sense of place. Barossa's social currency of choice, Riesling and every winemaker's secret favourite, Grenache featuring
strongly amongst the classic Barossan Shiraz. The generosity of Barossan spirit is also on full display with exclusive opportunities to join winemakers in their homes, vineyards and cellars on offer.
This year's event has a strong focus on women in wine; with Australian Women in Wine / The Fabulous Ladies Wine Society founder, Jane Thomson stepping into a new role as 'Mistress of Ceremonies". In 2019, 17 of the 60 wineries featured have women in leading roles, a significant increase from past auctions. Fittingly, in an extension of the event's philanthropic roots, a portion of the net proceeds will directly support the placement of Breast Care Nurses in regional Australia through a partnership with the McGrath Foundation.
Offered both online and through the live event, the Barossa Wine Auction is the stuff that all vinous dreams are made of.
Barossa Wine Auction top picks
Lieke van der Hulst: Wine Communicators Australia Wine Media Cadet 2018
"Here is a list of amazing wines – do not worry about the price – pick whatever you like."
Pretty much the start of a great personal dream here, ladies and gentlemen. So – if I would not have to worry about the cost of the items, what would I bid on at the Barossa Wine Auction 2019?
This question makes me think of how we choose our wines and why I leave my local bottle-o with certain bottles in my bag (or well, let's be honest; it usually is a carton I walk out with). Unfortunately, as I am still struggling to shake off my self-image of poor student after years (and years, and… years) of study and the accompanying 2-minute noodle dinners I know price is usually something I look at. However, after that there will be the scene of drinking – am I settling in for the night with a deep, dark, brooding red or am I just picking something to slurp away while cooking?
Of course the variety is important in my choice and then; what is good, what is special and what is going to add a nice touch to my day? After all of these considerations I am also an absolute sucker for a good story, so if a wine comes with a bit of pizzazz around it (beautiful centenarian vines for example) or if it allows me to think back to some good times, it will probably end up in my shopping basket.
Last, but on some days certainly not least: a good label – which is a hundred percent undefined; one day I might go for that old-school vintage look, whereas the next I will definitely be swayed by a bold glitter design of a half naked man riding a unicorn.
Taking all of this into account (and turning my eyes away at the estimated prices of the lots), my top 5 in the Barossa Wine Auction are:
5. Lot 35L Penfolds Grange 2013, 6.0L Imperial
Ok, so maybe I was not totally honest with my 'reasons to pick a wine'. Sometimes you also just pick a bottle because you know it will just stop the party as soon as you walk in with it – only to crank it up to 11. An Imperial bottle of Penfolds Grange that is described as sensorially supersaturated? This will do just the trick.
4. Lot 24L Seppeltsfield 100 Year Old Tawny + Decanter by Lalique
Seppeltsfield 100 year old Tawny? I will fight you for the last drop of this absolute nectar of the gods. The main reason why I picked this item is the memory of a great meal with great friends, finished off with a sneak peek of the Centennial Cellar and a couple of glasses of Tawny. Seppeltsfield fortified will always be greeted with a big smile in my house – and especially if poured out of this bling bling decanter!
3. Lot 4L Elderton Command Experience
I wanted one of my five picks to be an experience, and there are so many great ones in the Auction! However, if I really have to only pick one, I might as well make it the one that was just awarded an amazing accolade. Elderton Wines recently won the Great Wine Capitals Best of Wine Tourism award (November 2018), and what would be a better way to explore this than with eleven mates?
Now, who to pick to come with me…?
2. Lot 7W Punkt Pack – Chaffey Bros
In my closet there is a white t-shirt with a bright, neon really, pink asterisk on the front. I love the t-shirt, it looks good on me and I have no idea where I got it from. I also always forget that it is actually a Chaffey Bros t-shirt (clearly stated on the back of it), but I do not ever forget that I love their wines. Fresh, crisp, beautifully balanced whites that are usually my successful go-to for spicy food. Yes – I would love to get my hands on six bottles of bottled Barossa sunshine, of which one is the only Kerner produced in the Southern Hemisphere.
1. Lot 1L Barossa Old Vine Grenache Collection
Why? We cannot be friends if you do not like Grenache.
This lot ticks all the boxes of the wine version of choose-your-own-adventure; a great variety bringing out amazing spicy, red fruit notes and a soft palate, a story behind it – I can daydream about those old stubby vines producing such beautiful fruit for hours, some cracking labels and a bit of emotional value: sign me up!
The Barossa Wine Auction runs both online via langtons.com.au and at the Barossa Wine Live Auction and Lunch. Visit Barossa Wine for more information.


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+-- {: .standout} This page is a [[Blog articles in progress|blog article in progress]], written by [[Tim van Beek]]. =--
 The Case of the Missing 33 Kelvin Continued
 Last time, when we talked about putting the Earth in a box, we saw that a simple back-of-the-envelope calculation about the energy balance and the resulting black body temperature of the earth is surprisingly close to the real world. But there is a gap: The black body temperature calculated with a zero dimensional energy balance model is about 33 kelvin lower than the estimated average surface temperature on earth. In such a situation, as theoretical physicsists, we congratulate ourselves on a successful first approximation, , and look out for the next most important effect that we need to include in our model. Most of you will of course heard about the effect that climate scientists talk about, which is often - but confusingly - called "greenhouse effect", or "back radiation". The term that is most accurate is **downward longwave radiation** (DLR), however, so I would like to use that instead. But first we'll have to peek into our simple model's box and figure out what is going on in there in more detail.
 Peeking into the Box and Splitting up: Surface and Atmosphere
 To get a better approximation, instead of treating the whole earth as a black body, we'll have to split up the system into earth itself, and its atmosphere. For the surface of the earth it is still a good approximation to say that it is a black body. The atmosphere is more complicated. In a next approximation step, I would like to pretend that the atmosphere is a body of its own, hovering above the surface of the earth, as a separate system. So we will ignore that there are several different layers in the atmosphere doing different things, including interactions with the surface. Okay, we are not going to ignore the interaction with the surface completely, as you will see. Since one can quickly get lost in details when discussing the atmosphere, I'm going to cheat and look up the overall average effects in an introductory meteorology textbook: * C.Donald Ahrens: Meteorology Today, 9th edition, Books/Cole 2009. Here is what atmosphere and Earth's surface do to the incoming radiation from the sun (from page 48):

 Of 100 units of inbound solar energy flux 30 are reflected or scattered back to space without a contribution to the energy balance of the Earth. This corresponds to an overall average albedo of 0.3 of the Earth. The next graphic shows the most important processes of heat and mass transport caused by the remaining 70 units of energy flux, with their overall average effect (from page 49):

 Maybe you have some questions about this graphic; I certainly do.
Conduction and Convection?
 Introductory classes for partial differential equations sometimes start with the one dimensional heat equation: This equation describes the temperature distribution of a rod of metal that is heated on one end and kept cool on the other. The kind of heat transfer occurring here is called conduction. The atoms or molecules stay where they are and transfer energy by interacting with their neighbours. Heat transfer by conduction is negligible for gases like the atmosphere; why is it there in the graphic? The answer is that conduction is still important for boundary layers. So, we don't forget boundary layer interaction completely, as I promised.
What is Latent Heat?
 There is a label "latent heat" on the left part of the atmosphere: Latent heat is energy input that does not result in a temperature increase, or energy output that does not result in a temperature decrease. This can happen, for example, when there is a phase change of a component of the system: When fluid water at 0°C freezes, it turns into ice at 0°C while losing energy to its environment. But the temperature of the whole system stays at 0°C. The human body uses this effect, too , when it cools itself by sweating. This cooling effect works as long as the fluid water turns into water vapor and withdraws energy from the skin in the process.

 The picture above shows a forest with water vapor (invisible), fluid (dispersed in the air) and snow. As the sun sets, parts of the water vapor will eventually condense, and fluid water will turn into ice, releasing energy to the environment. During the phase changes there will be energy loss without a temperature decrease of the water.
Downward Longwave Radiation: The Atmosphere is not a Black Body
 Last time we pretended that the Earth as a whole behaves like a black body. Now that we split up the Earth into surface and atmosphere, you may notice that a) a lot of sunlight passes through the atmosphere and reaches the surface and b) there is a lot of energy flowing downwards from the atmosphere to the surface in form of infrared radiation. This is called downward longwave radiation. Observation a) shows that the atmosphere does not act like a black body at all. Instead, it has a nonzero transmittance, which means that not all incoming radiation is absorbed. Observation b) shows that asumming that the black body temperature of the Earth is equal to the average surface temperature could go wrong, because - from the viewpoint of the surface - there is an additional inbound energy flux from the atmosphere. The reason for both observations is that the atmosphere consists of a couple of different gases, like $0_2, N_2$ and $CO_2$. These molecules can absorb and emit radiation at certain frequencies only. This fact lead to the development of quantum mechanics, which can be used to calculate the characteristic emission spectrum for every molecule.
Molecules and Degrees of Freedom
 When a photon hits a molecule, the molecule can absorb the photon either by * an electron climbing the stairs to a higher energy level, * stronger vibration or * stronger rotation. To get a first impression of the energy levels involved in these three processes, let's have a look at this graphic:

 This is taken from the book * Sune Svanberg: "Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy", Springer, 4th edition The Y-axis shows the energy difference in electron volt. Accoding to quantum mechanics, a molecule can emit and absorb only photons whose energy matches the difference of one of the discrete energy levels in the graphic, for either one of the three processes. It is possible to use the characteristic absorption and emission properties of molecules of different chemical species to analyze the chemical composition of an unknown probe of gases (and other materials, too). These methods are usually called names involving the word spectroscopy, like, for example, infrared spectroscopy for methods that examine what happens to infrared radiation when you send it to your probe. By the way, Wikipedia has a funny animated picture with the different vibrational modes of a molecule on the page infrared spectroscopy.
Downward Longwave Radiation: No Infrared From the Sun
 The reason why so much of the radiation of the sun passes through, but a lot of infrared radiation does not but flows back to the surface, involves the specific property of certain components of the atmosphere. But first things first: Here is a nice overview of the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation:

 From the Planck distribution, we can determine that sun and earth, as black bodies, emit radiation mostly at very different wavelenghts:

 This graphic is sometimes called "twin peak graph". The Earth emits mostly infrared radiation; the sun emits almost no infrared. Only some components of the atmosphere emit and absorb radiation in the infrared part. These are called - somewhat misleading - greenhouse gases. I would like to call them "IR-active gases" instead, but unfortunately the "greenhouse gas" misnomer is very popular. Two prominent ones are $H_2O$ and $CO_2$:

 The atmospheric window at 8 to 12μm is quite transparent, which means that this radiation passes from the surface through the atmosphere into space without much ado. Therefore, this window is used by satellites to estimate the surface temperature. It is not a coincidence that molecules with different species like $CO_2$ react to infrared radiation, while those with one kind of atom like $O_2$ do not. The deeper reason is that molecules with different species may have a dipole moment. Since most radiation coming from the Earth is infrared, and only some constituents of the atmosphere react to it - excluding the major ones - a small amount of, say, $CO_2$ could have a lot of influence on the energy balance. Like being the only one in a group of hundreds with a boom box. But we should check that more thoroughly.
Can a Cold Body Warm a Warmer Body?
 Downward longwave radiation warms the surface, but: The atmosphere is colder than the surface, so how can radiation from the colder atmosphere result in a higher surface temperature? Doesn't that violate the second law of thermodynamics? The answer is: No it does not. It turns out that others have already taken pains to explain this on the blogosphere, so I'd like to point you there instead of trying to do a better job here: * Roy Spencer: Yes, Virginia, Cooler Objects Can Make Warmer Objects Even Warmer Still * The Science of Doom: The Amazing Case of "Back-Radiation"
It's the Numbers, Stupid!
 Maybe we have succeeded by now to convince the imaginary advisory board of the zero dimensional energy balance model project that there really is an effect like "downward longwave radiation". It certainly should be there if quantum mechanics is right. The problem is that we do not have any idea how big it is. According to "Meteorology Today", it is big. But maybe the people who contributed to the graphic got fooled somehow; and there really is a different explanation for the case of the missing 33 Kelvin. What do you think? category: blog


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I decided to participate again in a blog hop sponsored by Carrie Ann who is fabulous at coordinating these events! This is my second one to do!
How Do I Enter to Win?
First things first! This blog hop has some outstanding prizes you may win, 3 prizes actually. So let's talk about those and how you can enter to win first before I share a free excerpt from my latest release, The Lady in the Mist, The Western Werewolf Legend.
We have THREE grand prizes.
1st Grand Prize: A Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet
2nd Grand Prize: A $200 Amazon or B&N Gift Card
3rd Grand Prize: A Swag Pack that contains paperbacks, ebooks, 50+ bookmarks, cover flats, magnets, pens, coffee cozies, and more!
(Please Note that Carrie has said some shipping cost on your end may apply for the above prizes.)
How Do I Win?
To enter to win one of these prizes, leave a comment on this blog article and include your email address. Carrie Ann and her volunteers will be stopping by to collect everyone's entries.
Over 200 Blogs Participating
There will be over 200 Authors/Bloggers participating in this event. If you want to enter more than once you can do so. Actually you can enter over 200 times by posting a comment (with your email) on each blog that is participating in this blog hop. Go to Carrie Ann's Holiday Gifts of Love page to see a list of ALL THE BLOGS and get started. But first, leave a comment here on my blog article please, after you read on.
Good Luck Everyone!
Merry Christmas!
A Christmas Gone to the Dogs
Perfection is a relative term in our house. When you have six dogs, perfection can be something as simple as everyone well fed and bedded down. It can also take the form of a natural alarm system – when everyone decides to bark at the doorbell ringing. But at Christmas, perfection is enjoying my furry family when the presents Santa has brought are distributed – ah hum – 'torn into'. The joy our four-legged family shares with their humans is the best present we could ask for. My wish for you this holiday season is a little warmth, peace and a furry paw to reach out and say, "I love you!"
I'd like to share an excerpt from The Lady in the Mist, The Western Werewolf Legend. Tyler Loflin finds himself in a strange room and must defend himself without the benefit of clothing. What follows is his first meeting with the woman who saved him since that horrible night…
The sun shone brightly through the leaded glass in a jagged pattern. Reflecting in the quilt, the light shifted with each ripple in the fabric. Birds sang outside the window. Ty rolled to his side and moved to sit up on an elbow. When he did, a white-hot pain shot through his thigh before traveling down his leg. Fighting to take a breath, he collapsed back on the pillow and let out a muffled groan. Again, he tried to rise, this time with more caution. Still the action had hot needles stabbing him through to the bone. Sweat immediately popped out on his forehead. Reaching up to wipe his temple, he discovered a large bandage covered his eye and most of his scalp.
"This be a fine kettle of fish you've gone and gotten yourself into there, Boyo." Maggie McVey's Irish voice rang clear in the small confines of the room. The housekeeper's colorful cliche held truth in every word, but Ty didn't have to search the room to know the woman wasn't there. The phenomenon wasn't new either. Maggie's voice would come to him at the strangest times. Perhaps she was his voice of reason in a world gone mad. "If you only knew, old girl, if you only knew," he murmured to the empty room.
The sounds of pots rattling came from beyond the room's only door. Ty struggled against the pain to sit up. Where were his clothes? His weapons? The room looked no bigger than a small porch. He wiped at the perspiration on his forehead. Trembling with the effort to remain upright, he lay back on the cool sheet. The noise stilled and he took another look around the tiny room. He lay naked down to his waist and when he raised the sheet to make sure both legs were still there, he found he was without clothing period. An oath left his mouth as he searched around the room again for any sign of his dirt-encrusted uniform. He spied his cavalry hat hanging over the back of the only other piece of furniture in the cubbyhole, a chair.
He had to admit, the situation proved better than he'd expected. The Great Spirit must've seen some benefit to keep him alive, seeing as how the last recollection he had before passing out was a young woman attempting to help a dying man. The pain in his thigh reminded him he still had a leg and his thigh felt cool to the touch. No infection! Ty breathed a sigh of relief. Besides his head wrap, a white bandage bound his ribs securely.
Fatigued already, Ty closed his eyes to consider what he would do now. Where he was and how he'd gotten there remained a mystery, but he still lived, which was as much of a surprise as he could stand at the moment.
Again the sounds of cooking came from the other room. Ty could hear one person moving about and the footsteps sounded light. A woman perhaps. The idea gave him some comfort. He doubted he could have defended himself against an attacker.
How long had he been out? What about his men? Were there survivors? He bore down on the memories as they came rushing back. He definitely had unfinished business with some Yankees. The enemy had laid in wait for the Rebels. How did they know his men would be coming through that particular spot? Responsibility weighed heavy as he went over the scene in his mind. His men were dead before any of them could retaliate. Deep in grief, Ty's head came up when a soft squeak of the door hinge alerted him to an intruder.
Caught off guard, Ty flung the sheet back to meet his foe. Reaching for the tin basin on the nightstand, he drug himself up by the four poster's simple wooden support. He stood, though precariously on one foot. Brandishing the tin pan as a weapon, he readied for an attack.
A slender blonde-haired woman stood framed by the doorway. The petite woman stared wide-eyed at his actions.
Ty tried to square his stance, but his injured limb sang out with white-hot shards of pain. He sucked in air while reaching for anything to hold onto.
The soft female form rushed forward to support him. She was no bigger than a hummingbird, he mused, yet she managed to right him easily enough. Her warm flesh pressed against his, sending the scent of her rushing through his already battered senses. Unable to stop himself, Ty groaned aloud. He allowed her to ease him back onto the mattress, but found no words to use in appreciation.
Watching her, Ty considered he'd have been no more dumbstruck than if he'd been hit up beside the head with an iron skillet. She was a vision. The first wave of lust eased enough, so he focused on a soft cap of her curls the color of warm honey. Her scent reminded him of a wooded glade, all earthy and natural, yet all woman. He couldn't help but breathe her in. The young nymph settled him on the edge of the bed once more before taking serious stock of the situation.
"You're much too weak to be trying to get out of bed, sir. Here, let me see you settled. I have some broth that will help you get your strength back. I'll fetch a bowl for you. But, you must lay back now." Her tone brooked no argument. Her voice floated through his brain like an elixir.
She had the voice of an angel. Ty could only stare. Her eyes were the color of a doe's with a lovely almond shape. They gravitated to his body. Her stare branded him with a heat the likes of which he'd never experienced. . He'd never been so undone. "Are you real?" The question came out stilted and broken.
The woman blinked at his question. "Of course I'm real." She inclined her head in his direction. "So are you."
Hypnotic and intoxicating in the same breath, he mused. The Great One did have a sense of humor — what a cruel trick to play on an injured man.
Naked before her proved bad enough, but growing aroused in the presence of a lady did not a gentleman make. Ty chided his muddled brain to do something! Flicking a hesitant glance down, he said, "My apologies, ma'am. I'm not decent." When he tried to right the situation, his injured arm balked and retaliated with more needles singing up his shoulder.
The young nymph stepped closer, deftly pushing him back onto the bed. With a practiced hand, she lifted his legs and gently settled him more comfortably on the mattress. Ty watched as she steered him further back into the pillows she plumped behind his shoulders. Soon, the errant sheet covered him to the waist with a blanket added for good measure. The slender, golden-haired nymph continued to busy herself by tidying the room. She seemed unaffected by his naked body as if she'd seen a man before. Of course, with the war on, she'd most probably tended countless Yankees in an effort to do what she could. Had she tended him? He didn't know whether to be encouraged or disappointed by her reaction. Because, he, on the other hand seemed lost in her mere presence with no desire for rescue.
"There." Satisfied, she took a step back to survey her handiwork. Giving him a stern frown, she explained, "I won't be able to help you if you continue to attempt to undo my work, sir. Lay back and let me take care of getting you back on your feet." She continued to watch him with a studied eye. " You've had quite a blow to the head. There are several injuries, which required stitches. If I hadn't happened along, you most certainly would've died from your leg wound."
Ty's good eye tracked the movement of her hand as her slender fingers shot out to stop him from reaching out to touch his injured shoulder. "Leave the wound alone. I understand they itch, but don't pick at your stitches. The dressing is fresh, so if you continue to badger the area, you'll have the wound bleeding again."
"Who are you?" Ty's question held fascinated curiosity.
"My name is Sonja." The young woman's hands dropped to her apron. In an absent gesture, she smoothed the fabric before adding politely but firmly. "Mrs. Sonja Brooks." Without waiting for a reply, she headed for the door. "Give me a minute. I'll bring you a bowl of broth."
Watching her slim back disappear out the door, Ty relaxed back on the bed. "Mrs. Sonja Brooks." He mumbled her name as he considered the fact she was married. Such a petite thing, slender in all the right places and round where a man's hand could rest easy, Sonja Brooks could move a man to do dishonorable things. Ty found the idea disquieting, but to his liking.
The mounting questions as well as their answers stalled out though as she appeared once more with a tray containing the broth along with a tall glass filled with what looked to Ty like some sort of vegetable juice. Its dark red color resembled tomatoes. A basket filled with bread completed the offering. Ty's mouth watered. For the life of him, he couldn't find his tongue. Mumbling his thanks, he picked up the spoon. Intent on downing the meal in haste, he paused when she stopped inside the door.
"Take your time, sir. There's plenty. I'm glad to see you have an appetite.
How long had it been since he'd eaten? Vague memories of hardtack wafted through his head along with chickaree coffee brewing over a low campfire. The taste of the broth and bread forced out all memories of his past hunger. The food surely tasted good! Ty couldn't help the low groan which left his lips when he could see the bottom of the bowl.
With a swipe of his good arm across his mouth, he tried to voice his appreciation. "That was delicious, ma'am. Thank you for your generosity." Hesitating, he glanced back at the empty glass before asking, "Did the juice come from your garden? I've never had any like that before."
"Ox blood which will give you strength."
"Ox blood?" Ty couldn't help the quizzical expression, which crossed his face. Even his Choctaw mother had never offered him anything remotely similar.
Those doe eyes tracked his reaction with a slight quirk to the corner of her mouth. The hairs on his nape prickled with the reply she shared with him. When telltale color rose in her cheeks, Ty suspected the explanation held more than she acknowledged with words.
If you enjoyed this excerpt, please check out my FREE sample. Click here to download it. Also The Lady in the Mist (The Western Werewolf's Legend #1) contains more of Sonja and Ty's story for you to enjoy.
Share a comment and be sure to include your email address.
Enjoy the blog hop today! It runs through Dec. 17th and be sure to visit all the blogs participating and leave a comment on their article to enter to win!


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Knowledge Base
GotoBus Online Knowledge Base
Do I need to purchase a ticket for my child?
For most bus operators, infants under 2 years old may be transported for free if not occupying a seat (ie, they sit on your lap). However, some bus operators require a seat for infants but offer a discounted price. Children over two years of age are required to pay the full fare unless specified by a particular service provider. For more information, please refer to the specific bus operator you intend to use.


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Micronations.wiki costs £160 per year to keep online.
Since we are unable to run advertisements, we ask that any users who are able to do so
make a contribution so that Microwiki may continue to survive and thrive. Thank you!
State of Ariana
|This article refers to a micronation which is defunct and no longer exists. You can help make the article reflect that or ask on the talk page for further information.
|This article is being considered for speedy deletion by a user in accordance with MicroWiki's deletion policy. Please discuss its proposed deletion on the talk page.
Manguna Ariana
Bansang Ariana (Ariana State)
|Largest city
|Area 1 (in terms of population)
|non-partisan, direct democracy (21st century state)
|Initiative-type Legislature
|10 June 2010 (unofficial), 12 June 2010 (official)
|Area claimed
|22,075+3,070 m² (loose claim, excluded, amounts to 3,270+3,470 m²)
(36 real, 22 nominal)
The Free and Respected State of Ariana (Original Filipino name: ᜋᜎᜌ ᜀᜆ᜔ ᜄᜒ ᜈᜄᜎᜅ᜔ ᜈ ᜁᜐ᜔'ᜆ ᜅ᜔ ᜀᜇᜒ'ᜌᜈ Malaya at Ginagalang na Estado ng Ariana) was an organization usually labelled as micronation. Founded on 10 June 2010, the official declaration of establishment was conveyed on 12 June. By the time of its establishment, it covered an area of more than two hundred square meters, with a population of 13. Incidentally, the name Ariana is a former term applied by Greeks to the area known as Persia.
As of August 17, 2011, Ariana claims a total of 25,145 square meters under direct sovereignty, 3,270 square meters under semi-direct sovereignty, and 3,470 square meters under loose sovereignty. Many citizens, including those in the state government, maintain that Ariana is a new country project or model state, since its ideals and principles are futuristic. By pledging not to declare a micronational war, Ariana is also member of the Union Against Micronational War.
Any person from any race and religion can be a citizen. As of August 17, 2011, Ariana had 36 real citizens and 21 nominal citizens. The system of citizenship has made two types of citizens, real and nominal. Real citizens are active people who can both vote and run for state government position. Nominal citizens are either active or inactive people who can only vote and run for local government position. Nominal citizenship can also be granted by the Chairperson Extraordinary or Chairperson Ordinary to people they saw doing exceptional work either inside or outside Ariana. Residents within Ariana's territorial claim may become nominal citizens, especially since it is by decree that real citizens can bring family, friends, etc, as nominal citizens, but this status they can easily revoke.
The Ariana government is based on both historical and futuristic ideas. The closest type of government is that of Switzerland. In Spanish-ruled Manila, the city government set up there was different from any other city in the islands because Manila was to elect two mayors (locally known as alcaldes). This came about the concept of power sharing for Ariana. Power sharing, though, had been degraded in many democratic nations that use parliamentary or presidential government. In parliamentary countries, the Prime Minister holds more power than the President or reigning monarch, while in presidential countries, the President holds more power than the Vice President (Noting that the Prime Minister and Vice President posts are the same in political rank). Some monarchies have diarchs - two monarchs reigning at the same time. Ever since the Roman Empire, this has been done by monarchial governments to avert conflict or worse, usurpation of power (One example would be the joint rule of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus in the early 160s). The problem of power sharing had not yet been solved.
To offer an alternative solution to the concept of power sharing, Ariana government has two heads.
First CPO election
- Main article: Ariana general elections, November 2010
Other elections
- Ariana general election, January 2011
- Ariana general election, May 2011
- Ariana general election, July 2011
The legislative power shall be vested in every real and voting citizen of the State of Ariana, except to the extent reserved to all citizens by the provision of initiative and referendum. Any proposal that shall be put forward by any real citizen would require at least 25% of the approval vote of the latest total real citizen count, which included the author and/or co-author (if any), within a period of seven days before being passed for execution. In the event any one proposal shall not be approved for execution, forced approval for execution can be done by the real citizens. This shall require at least 50% of the approval vote of the latest total real citizen count, which included the author and/or co-author, within a period of seven days.
Foreign relations
- Main article: Foreign relations of Ariana
Ariana had already made its own flag, coat of arms, and anthem. However, other cultural necessities, such as the national animal, must be carefully deliberated so as not to send bad signals about the state. The government had released a stamp by 8 July to commemorate Ariana's first month.
Ariana also had some national holidays to date:
- 13 May - Intrencherado Day
- 2 June - Novales Day
- 10 June - Flag Day
- 12 June - Independence Day (or Establishment Day)
- 19 June - Rizal birth anniversary (special and unofficial)
- 24 June - Founding of Manila as a Spanish city (special and unofficial)
- 7 July - Founding of Katipunan (special and unofficial)
- 22 July - Mabini birth anniversary (special and unofficial)
- 24 to 31 July - Disaster Readiness and Awareness Week
- 23 to 30 August - National Stand against External Aggression
- 29 September - Constitution Day
- 30 November - Bonifacio birth anniversary (special and unofficial)
- 21 December - Defense Day
In accordance to CPE Decree 7, the State of Ariana conferred honorifics to the following citizens:
- Star Citizen Star citizens are the first three citizens of Ariana, which are now represented by the three stars in the Ariana coat of arms.
- Silver Citizen The Silver citizen is the 25th to enlist as an Ariana citizen.
- Gold Citizen The Gold Citizen is the 50th to enlist as an Ariana citizen.
In accordance to CPE Decree 9, the State of Ariana conferred the military accolade, Order of Novales, to three citizens.
The state was reclassified against the regarded classification of micronations on 10 December 2010. Ariana was last classified 12 July, the first month of the state.
- Boodlesmythe-Tallini System: 5th world, with the best at 5th world (last revision: 5th world)
- Linden's Revised System: 4.0, One of the most significant micronations (last revision: 2.8)
- Dresner's System: 3.8, a very average micronation, they exist en masse, no need to ignore them (last revision: 2.4)
- David's Micronational Potential Index: 4.4, equivalent to a 5-month old micronation that is almost ready to stop using the system (last revision: 3.8)
- Matthew's Democracy System: 3.0, fair democracy that needs improvement (last revision: 3.0)
Ariana was one of the few micronations that have been classified against the renowned Democracy Index compiled by the Economist. Ariana was last classified 11 June 2011.
- Electoral process and pluralism (12 indicators) - 8.30
- Functioning of government (14 indicators) - 7.50
- Political participation (9 indicators) - 7.78
- Democratic political culture (8 indicators) - 9.38
- Civil liberties (17 indicators) - 8.24
Overall rating - 8.24 (Regional average, 2012 - 5.56)


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Mousse Treatment Balm Care Sante 5.1oz Balm
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(as of 04/27/2016 08:23 UTC)Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product..
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Mousse Remedy Balm Care by Sante 5.1oz Balm Mousse Treatment Balm Care five.1oz Balm Sante Mouse Therapy Nourishes and protects broken colored or permed hair. Wheat proteins and moringa extract offer natural shine and boost damaged hair framework. Expertise for yourself the regenerative positive aspects to the two texture and visual appeal of your hair. Instructions Application right after shampooing massage during your towel-dry hair. Do not rinse out. Other Components Water Alcohol Glycerin Coco Glucoside Sodium PCA Arginine Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein PCA Ethyl Cocoyl Arginate Moringa Pterygosperma Seed Extract Parfum (Vital Oils) Warnings Hold out of attain of youngsters. As with all dietary dietary supplements consult your healthcare specialist ahead of use. See product label for much more data.
- Sante


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Jos. A. Bank Drops Buy 1 Suit, Get 4 Free� Promos
For years, Jos. A. Bank has advertised suits "Buy 1, Get 2 Free" all the way up to "Buy 1, Get 4 Free", but that practice has come to an end. It is not being discontinued because some sharp Attorney General went after them for using inflated regular prices as a means to be able to offer all the free items, but rather because sales were dropping.
Shoppers may have come to view their suits as poor quality, because after all, how could anyone give away three suits for nothing if they were really $700 suits? No store could. The company's frequent BOGO ads even became fodder for this great Saturday Night Live skit:
The Washington Post reports that just last month, the company ran its last BOGO sale, and explains why the new owners made the change.
So what's their new way of advertising? Here is how they promoted their Veteran's Day sale on television and online.
They are reverting to the tried and true "percent off" and 2-fer type sales.
Alan A. wrote to us to share what he observed in a Jos. A. Bank store in Illinois. He was interested in buying "Travelers shirts" which were on sale for 50% off. He found identical shirts some marked with the regular price of $60 and others marked $79. Being of sound mind, he selected the cheaper one, but it rang up at $79 before the discount. After a bit of a tussle, he was able to get half off the $60 marked price.
Sure enough, the regular price used to be $60, and now it is $79.50. Had the regular price remained at $60, a two for $99 sale would not have looked as attractive.
During our consumer's visit, he encountered a similar problem with a pair of khaki pants. They were marked $75, but rang up at $99 (before the sale discount of 40% was deducted).
What's the explanation other than the manipulation of regular prices in order to seemingly offer big discounts? No, that really appears to be the explanation. The checkout clerk said the store hadn't yet finished repricing the goods (presumably only in one direction — up).
Now, a month after Jos. A. Bank discontinued their "Buy 1, Get 3 Free" promotions, sales plummeted even further. This is yet another example demonstrating that shoppers like to be fooled into believing they are saving a bundle when they really are not. (Witness J.C. Penney bringing back deep discounts off inflated regular prices after the use of honest regular prices caused sales to drop.)


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When we're in Saudi, camelman thinks he's a donkey. Consider this: since I cannot drive myself or even go out for a walk around the neighbourhood by myself, I am completely dependent on camelman to cart me around. Whatever my whim, camelman is at my beck and call.
When I need to renew my exit-re-entry visa (so I can return to Saudi the next time), who goes to the visa office to line up for hours on my behalf? Camelman. When we tried to get a 1-year multiple re-entry visa (difficult to get, unless you have wasta), who went to the majlis to speak on my behalf? Camelman (but it was all for naught). When I have a craving for Mama Noura shawarma, who goes out to fetch the take-out to satisfy my appetite? Camelman. When I need to get out of the house for some exercise, who takes me out for some air? Camelman. When I have an appointment at the university, who delivers me? You betcha – camelman! All this while he has to juggle his own work schedule and social engagements.
Life of a Saudi guy = donkey work.
How much more efficient Saudi life could be if only they allowed women to drive!
Speaking of donkeys … beware the 'meat' option next time you are on a Saudi Airlines flight: http://www.emirates247.com/business/donkey-meat-on-saudi-arabian-airline-2011-06-13-1.402522


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I sent several emails to Asaduddin Owaisi and messages through my facebook posts requesting him to sit on dharna for Abdul Qadeer's permanent release ( he has only been granted one month's parole during Ramzan ), but Owaisi did not even have the courtesy to reply to me. He may be on Umrah, but he must have known of my appeal. If he was so inclined, he could have sent an email or message from Saudi Arabia or wherever he is stating that on his return he will sit on dharna.
Some persons who appear to be his chamchas commented that Owaisi has donated money to Abdul Qadeer, but that was not my request.
I am in America, but as soon as I am back in India, which will be shortly, I will sit on dharna for the permanent release of Abdul Qadeer (though where I will sit I have not yet decided ). But Owaisi is adamant that he will not sit on dharna.
So who really represents Muslims in India, Owaisi or me ? To me, Owaisi only appears to be a dramabaz and demagogue. He is only a politician, and everyone knows what kind of people Indian politicians are.
As for me, I am not in politics, and I do not seek the votes of Muslims. In fact I have been often critical of some backward Muslim practices e.g. wearing burqa and oral talaq, just as I have been often critical of some backward Hindu practices and beliefs e.g. looking down on dalits and regarding cow as one's mother . But whenever there was any atrocity against Muslims I raised my voice against it.
I only wish to serve my country, without wanting anything in return.