text:
Preventing Childhood Obesity: Helpful Tips
There are an alarming number of overweight children in the U.S. today. In fact, most studies show that about 20 percent of children ages 6 to 11 are overweight, while the number of obese children as nearly doubled in the last 20 years. Worst of all, it can be very difficult for children to shed their bad eating habits and extra weight as they get older, resulting in more overweight and obese adults in the long run. As a parent, it's important to set good examples as far as ways to eat healthier and selecting nutritious foods. Below are some helpful tips for parents who want to get their children on the right track and prevent childhood obesity.
Choose Healthy Foods
This is the most obvious way for parents to help their children reach a healthy weight, but in some cases, it can be the most difficult. It's important to include all family members when focusing on healthy food choices so that every child sees the importance of this lifestyle. It's also helpful to get involved by asking your child to try new things or by taking steps to make their favorite dishes healthier. Here are a few of the best food choices for developing healthy eating habits in children:
- Fruits and vegetables: Utilizing fruits and veggies as snack items can be a great way to get your children eating healthier. Make a point to keep your fridge stocked with things like broccoli, spinach, carrots, apples and oranges.
- Whole grains: Look for breads, pastas and cereals made with whole grains. In many cases, you can also find products in this category that have also been fortified with calcium and fiber.
- Lean proteins: Choose lean meats that are healthier for your children and will also help keep them full. Chicken breasts, turkey breasts, fish and seafood are all excellent selections in this category. Additionally, you can add egg whites, beans or tofu to meals for an extra protein boost.
- Water and milk: It's best to stick to water and skim or non-fat milk when looking for beverage choices. Fruit juices, sodas and most other drinks contain tons of sugar and calories. Even worse, these liquid calories are digested more quickly, so kids can drink a ton of soda or juice without feeling full at all.
- Low-Fat dairy: Once a child is about two years old, they no longer need whole-milk dairy products. Instead, look for fat-free and low-fat dairy products like yogurt, sliced cheese and string cheese. These make for great healthy snack options.
Develop Good Eating Habits
While choosing healthy foods is the best step to prevent childhood obesity, it's also important to set up boundaries and routines that encourage healthy eating. Getting your kids involved is a great way to show them the importance of these habits. Here are a few ways you can developing healthy eating habits in your children:
- Opt for healthy snacks: Don't buy a ton of calorie-rich and high-sugar snacks for your home, even if they are more convenient. Instead, chop up fresh veggies and make them available to your kids at all times. Make sugary snacks a special treat that kids can look forward to but don't always have access to.
- Involve your kids in the cooking: Make dinner time a family affair by getting your kids involved in the cooking. Whether it's setting the table, chopping up vegetables or tossing a salad, it's important to show children that cooking is not only a part of a normal routine, but that it's also fun.
- Never skip breakfast: There are numerous health benefits for eating breakfast, so make sure your child isn't skipping out on the most important meal of the day. Just make sure to choose healthy options, like oatmeal with fruit or a whole grain cereal.
Get Active
Children also need to stay active in order to avoid becoming overweight or obese. As a parent, it's especially helpful if you set a good example by being active yourself. Get your kids active for a minimum of one hour a day. Place restrictions on when they are allowed to watch TV or play video games in order to get them motivated to exercise outside. Here are some great ways to get active with your kids on a regular basis:
- Go for a bike ride.
- Fly kites in a park.
- Take a walk around your neighborhood.
- Play hide-and-seek.
- Jump rope or play hop-scotch.
- Create a scavenger hunt in your house or yard.
- Sign them up for after-school sports.
Consult your physician before making any major changes in your child's diet. Also, keep in mind that a doctor should be consulted before determining that a child is overweight. In some cases, a certain disease or condition could be the cause of weight gain rather than food choices. It's important to explore all of these options before deciding on the best way to help your child reach a healthy weight.


text:
October 24, 2016
Mayo Clinic and Arizona State University teamed up to launch the Alliance for Health Care, a model for health care education and research. The first project involved with the alliance will be a 150,000-square-foot, $200 million Health Solutions Innovation Center. Construction on the facility will commence in 2017 on the 25-acre site next to the Mayo Clinic Hospital campus at 5777 E. Mayo Blvd. in Phoenix.
The development – and alliance – comes at a time when Mayo Clinic is expanding its medical school to Arizona in 2017. With that, the health care organization is collaborating with ASU to develop a specialized curriculum and certification in the science of health care delivery.
Read More at Phoenix Business Journal
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Amy Sorter
Tags: Development

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Sacred Heart is a unique amulet in Dragon Age II.
Acquisition Edit
- Received from Alistair during the Act 2 quest Demands of The Qun.
Note: If a pre-built history or Dragon Age: Origins save was used where Alistair was made King, killed or exiled, Stroud will be leading the Wardens and will give Hawke the Warden's Promise ring instead.
Notes Edit
- If Alistair was in a romance with the Warden, he says that the amulet "belongs to the love of my life...but she's always finding things like this."
- If Alistair was in a romance with a Warden who died, he states that it belonged to the love of his life, but "she doesn't need it anymore."
- If Alistair was not romanced and the Warden died, he says that it belonged to a friend but "he/she doesn't need it anymore."
- Under any other circumstances Alistair will say it belonged to a friend.
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.


text:
Your browser is not supported.
The latest version of Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge is required to use this website.
Click the button below to update and we look forward to seeing you soon.Update now
Optimize and simplify the way your legal department works with our legal operations platform for managing service requests, matters, documents, contract lifecycles, outside counsel and more.
Assemble a complete legal solution portfolio in one secure hub—improving internal and external engagement while consolidating legal operations activity.
Standardize the legal service request process, analyze intake data and enable your business customers with self-service contract assembly and legal guidance.
Centralize all matter information and collaboration in one place for complete visibility and analysis of your legal team's workload, activity, spend and risk.
Manage contract creation, review, approval and execution, extract and track key terms using AI tools, and visualize risk with reporting dashboards.
Store, update, access and share matter documents and correspondence securely from anywhere with integrated, powerful document management capabilities.
Collaborate and communicate on matters and projects easily with external lawyers and providers—ensuring certainty and transparency.
Dr. Christian Ries
General Counsel (SVP) at HelloFresh SE
Quickly surface real-time insight in engaging charts, graphs and dashboards.
Plan and deliver work more efficiently with agile task-based project management tools.
Automate and optimize legal workflows to enhance team efficiency and responsiveness.
Capture, manage and share legal knowledge and insight to drive better decision-making.
Build business-facing solutions to enable self-service for low-value, routine legal work.
Get out of email with social collaboration tools that improve communication.
Automate tasks and notifications to ensure all stakeholders are kept informed.
Track performance and operational data to identify risk and make informed decisions.
In-house teams face constant pressure to deliver more in the face of growing demand. Whether you want to streamline the way your team works and engages, leverage metrics to make informed decisions, or simply demonstrate the value of your department—HighQ is here to help.
Discover how the concept of a legal hub can transform how your corporate legal department collaborates and engages with people inside and outside your organization.
Read about the challenges facing in-house teams today and learn how to create a legal hub to achieve the ideal state for a technology optimized legal department.
Hear how in-house lawyers are solving the problem of being inundated with low-value work that keeps them from providing more valuable strategic advice and outcomes.


text:
As I sang the third verse of that hymn, I thought of my love for my own sons, and of our understanding of "God" as including both Father and Mother, and I was overwhelmed at the thought of not just a Father 'sending his son' but of a mother--what if I were asked to send my son. Somehow viewing it from a motherly perspective made the atonement infinitely more personal for me: voluntarily sending one of my sons to give his life for my other children. Truly, I scarce can take it in! In all honesty, I don't know whether I would be able to do it.
And when I think that God [her] son not sparing
Sent him to die
I scarce can take it in
Then sings my soul my [Mother] God, to Thee
How great Thou art!
How great Thou art!
(Hymns # 86, v. 3)
I was overwhelmed.
The brilliant white waxing moon shone through my bedroom window, illuminating my entire bedroom in spite of being only a crescent. As I absorbed the moonlight I pondered on nature and the beauty of the universe, and thought it was no wonder that ancient cultures had attributed feminine deity to the moon.
Of course, I then turned to the one hymn that openly acknowledges Heavenly Mother, and it does so in such a straightforward and pure way.
O my Father, thou that dwellest
In the high and glorious place,
When shall I regain thy presence
And again behold thy face?
In thy holy habitation,
Did my spirit once reside?
In my first primeval childhood
Was I nurtured near thy side?
For a wise and glorious purpose
Thou hast placed me here on earth
And withheld the recollection
Of my former friends and birth;
Yet ofttimes a secret something
Whispered, "You're a stranger here,"
And I felt that I had wandered
From a more exalted sphere.
I had learned to call thee Father,
Thru thy Spirit from on high,
But, until the key of knowledge
Was restored, I knew not why.
In the heav'ns are parents single?
No, the thought makes reason stare!
Truth is reason; truth eternal
Tells me I've a mother there.
When I leave this frail existence,
When I lay this mortal by,
Father, Mother, may I meet you
In your royal courts on high?
Then, at length, when I've completed
All you sent me forth to do,
With your mutual approbation
Let me come and dwell with you.
(Hymns #292)
|Moon Goddess by Josephine Wall
I did not come to Mother Wheel with the intent to develop a relationship with the Divine Feminine (our Heavenly Mother). I have always liked the idea of Her, but have honestly never given Her very much thought. I came to Mother Wheel with the intent to observe the passage of seasons and increase my connection to cycles and awareness. However here we are not even two weeks into the year and I find that the simple willingness to acknowledge Heavenly Mother is broadening my understanding of (and relationship with) Deity in ways I had not anticipated.


text:
The editableCssRules style allows to specify a regular expression (without flags) that will be used to match the selector of CSS rules to allow the fill and stroke colors inside that rule to be configured via the format panel:
The style can be added via Edit Style (Ctrl+E) to any SVG image that is not a link. Such embedded SVG images are added via File, Import or by drag and drop from the filesystem.
For example, consider the following SVG:
<svg version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" viewBox="0 0 250 250"> <style type="text/css"> .st0{fill:#a2a2a2;} .st1{fill:#8e8e8e;} .st2{fill:#ffffff;stroke:#ffffff;} </style> <path class="st0" d="M237.5,227.9c0,5.3-4.3,9.6-9.5,9.6c0,0,0,0,0,0H22.1c-5.3,0-9.6-4.3-9.6-9.5c0,0,0,0,0,0V22.1 c0-5.3,4.3-9.6,9.5-9.6c0,0,0,0,0,0h205.9c5.3,0,9.6,4.3,9.6,9.5c0,0,0,0,0,0V227.9z"/> <path class="st1" d="M237.5,227.9c0,5.3-4.3,9.6-9.5,9.6c0,0,0,0,0,0H89.6L44.8,192l27.9-45.5l82.7-102.7l82.1,84.5V227.9z"/> <path class="st2" d="M197.1,138.3h-23.7l-25-42.7c5.7-1.2,9.8-6.2,9.7-12V51.5c0-6.8-5.4-12.3-12.2-12.3c0,0-0.1,0-0.1,0h-41.7 c-6.8,0-12.3,5.4-12.3,12.2c0,0,0,0.1,0,0.1v32.1c0,5.8,4,10.8,9.7,12l-25,42.7H52.9c-6.8,0-12.3,5.4-12.3,12.2c0,0,0,0.1,0,0.1 v32.1c0,6.8,5.4,12.3,12.2,12.3c0,0,0.1,0,0.1,0h41.7c6.8,0,12.3-5.4,12.3-12.2c0,0,0-0.1,0-0.1v-32.1c0-6.8-5.4-12.3-12.2-12.3 c0,0-0.1,0-0.1,0h-4l24.8-42.4h19.3l24.9,42.4h-4.1c-6.8,0-12.3,5.4-12.3,12.2c0,0,0,0.1,0,0.1v32.1c0,6.8,5.4,12.3,12.2,12.3 c0,0,0.1,0,0.1,0h41.7c6.8,0,12.3-5.4,12.3-12.2c0,0,0-0.1,0-0.1v-32.1c0-6.8-5.4-12.3-12.2-12.3 C197.2,138.3,197.2,138.3,197.1,138.3z"/> </svg>
The CSS rules in the style section at the start of this SVG define the st0, st1 and st2 CSS classes, which are used to style the SVG paths. The regular expression to allow the colors inside all rules to be configured is .* (meaning match any character between zero and unlimited times). To allow just st1 and st2 to be configured, the regular expression is \.st[02] (a dot followed by st and either 0 or 2):
Here is an example.
Note that the use of semicolons is not allowed in the value of styles, as it is used to separate key=value pairs in the cell style.
This feature is available in draw.io 8.7.0 and later.


text:
Central Vacuum Accessory Kit w/ 35 ft. Hose With Sebo et-2 Power Head
$595.99 $545.00
Free Shipping!
This very high quality accessory kit is one of the best you can purchase and it's built to last years of use.
It is smooth and brings up deep down dirt in your carpet.
The SEBO head works great with all types of carpets.
It has a very strong belt that rarely ever wears out with reset if you get a sock caught in it. If that happens it will turn off the roller brush automatically.
It offers a low weight setting for bare floors med for low pile carpets and high for high pile carpets.
- Easy to maneuver around furniture with it's 180° steering ability.
- L-Shaped easily clean edges and under counters.
- Excellent for pet hair removal.
- Convenient clog removal door.
- Has a 15 inch Arctic White roller brush with a four level manual brush height adjustment.
- Brush obstruction warning light with automatic shut off.
- Manual brush shut off provides straight suction cleaning of delicate rugs and hard floors.
- Five year manufacturer warranty.
This Kit includes:
- 35 Ft crush resistant hose with On/Off switch.
- Hose is universal and can be set up with the 7 ft. pigtail cord on the end of the hose that plugs into the wall.
- Telescopic wand tube.
- Hard floor brush with extra wands.
- Dusting brush, narrow space tool, hose hanger.
- SEBO ET-2 electronic power 120V brush.
- 1800-695-8263


text:
Antonio Bastardo mere seconds after he closed the game for the Phillies. Shortly after he was interviewed about the big win…
A couple of Philadelphia legends hooked up at Citizens Bank Park this afternoon when 67-year old Phillies skip Charlie Manuel invited 46-year old WBC Lightweight Champion Bernard Hopkins down to give a little motivational speech to his team. And unlike that time Donovan McNabb ignored him when he did the same for the Eagles, the Phillies seemed to relate to the champ.
The Press of Atlantic City's Susan Lulgjuraj (I *dare* you to pronounce that correctly) was on hand and said Bernard's message was simple — stay hungry and always act like you're the underdog. Sure, it might sound a bit cliché, but you have to remember that the guy delivering this message could whoop everyone's ass in that room.
When that's the case, you tend to listen a little more closely.
After The Executioner talked to the team, he stepped on the field to chat with reporters, and was his usual hilarious self. Watch the video after the jump, but I've gone ahead and transcribed my favorite exchange:
Reporter (Marcus Hayes, I think): What's the highest level of baseball you ever played?
Bernard Hopkins: I was on Broad St. about thirteen years old I was chasing somebody up the street with a bat.
Reporters: [laughing]
B-Hop: [dead serious] Literally. I'm not proud of that, I don't know the guy, I hope he's still around. But I remember that — seriously — it was at Broad & Glenwood.
Reporter: How about a bat and a ball?
B-Hop: See — he didn't say that!
Again, watch the rest of the (highly entertaining) Q&A session after the jump.
Boxing champ Bernard Hopkins pays Phillies a visit | Press of Atlantic City
Bernard Hopkins talks to the Phillies [Video] | Delco Times
7:05PM on CSN and ESPN
Vance Worley (2-1) 2.83 ERA
PHILLIES: Vanimal was working on a no hitter of his own last time he pitched against the A's, unfortunately his pitch count was higher than me this past weekend. Sorry for that lame analogy. But it explains the missing game threads.
John Lackey (5-6) 7.36 ERA
RED SOX: I have a feeling the Red Sox are going to hit Worley pretty hard, so hopefully the Phillies beat up on this troll equally as bad.
Thanks to James Fayleez for the Clarence Worley pic.
According to Mark Zuckerman of Nats Insider, The Nationals have inked former Phils left-hander JC Romero to a AAA deal. He'll be playing in Syracuse with the Sky Chiefs until the Nats need him in the big leagues again.
I'm not really sure why Romero would turn down a minor league assignment from the Phillies only to turn around and accept one from the Nationals. Maybe he wanted to be with a team with a shot at the playoff– HAHAHAH I'm sorry, I couldn't even get it out. I thought I could, but nope. HAHAHA
Cliff Lee would have would thrown a no-hitter last night if it weren't for one complete dick of a beatwriter. The Inky's Matt Gelb bucked tradition and violated the rule that you don't talk about a no-hitter that's in progress.
Gelb's reaction to the angry responses he received was basically "Psh. Whatever, nerds." And OF COURSE immediately after that, Marco Scutaro singled to break up the no-no in the sixth. In reaction, Twitter banded together to reveal all the other things that the one we affectionately refer to as the Koala spoiled:
I started things off. Not to toot my own horn, but I'm hilarious.
Loctastic is evidently making a very obtuse Die Hard reference or something.
7:05PM on PHL17 and MLB Network
Cliff Lee (8-5) 2.87 ERA
PHILLIES: Cliff Lee could care less who the Red Sox are. That being the case, why not throw his third straight complete game shutout?
Josh Beckett (6-2) 1.86 ERA
RED SOX: Josh Beckett leads the league in ERA this year but I feel like the Phils usually hit him pretty well. Also I hate him and wish him nothing but the worst today.
As you have probably heard, Phillies closer Ryan Madson was placed on the 15-day DL this morning with what is being described as a right hand contusion. The time missed isn't what's worrisome here (the DL stay is retroactive to June 18th, so he's available to rejoin the team on July 4th), it's the severity of the injury.
Last week, Charlie Manuel folded under questioning and told reporters that Madson had a "feeling" or "tingling" in his hand. And while I'm certainly no doctor, numbness of the throwing hand doesn't sound like a promising injury for a pitcher. I guess the good news is that the injury actually occurred during a game on May 20th vs. the Rangers when David Murphy hit a bouncer that came up and whacked Madson on the outside of the right wrist. So it was at least tolerable.
Although since then, Madson has pitched in 13 games/13 innings, and gave up 6 earned runs, a .352 OBP against, with 11 K's and 4 walks. Probably his worst stretch of the season.
Head after the jump for the .gif of the play the hit Madson's hand…
- Tony on Philadelphia Phillies 2011 All-Star Representatives
- Shane Victorino on Blue Jays fans litter the Rogers Centre outfield with trash
- Ghettoduce on As if you needed some motivation…
- Johnny Don on As if you needed some motivation…
- Cholly on Open Game Thread: 7/5 Phillies at Marlins


text:
Skip to Content
Rush Copley Medical Center
Home > Make an Appointment
Thank you for choosing Rush Copley. We are always working to make scheduling your appointments faster and more convenient. Please select the option that best fits your needs.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with a doctor you have not seen before, you can make an appointment online directly from your computer or smartphone. Our online scheduling tool allows you to easily search for a physician by specialty, location and preferred date.
Endocrinology -->Family Medicine-->Internal Medicine-->Pediatrics -->Gastroenterology -->Gynecology (not including pregnancy care) -->Obstetrics (pregnancy care) -->Pulmonary Medicine/Sleep Medicine -->Surgery - Plastic and Reconstructive -->Urology -->
If you are an existing patient looking to schedule a follow-up appointment, visit rushcopley-mychart.rush.edu to make an appointment online with your doctor's office directly.
Need help making an appointment or not sure which doctor is right for you? Review the variety of specialties Rush Copley Medical Group offers and submit an appointment request form. A representative from Rush Copley Medical Group will contact you by the end of the next business day.
You have several options when it comes to needing care right away:
© Copyright 2020 Rush Copley Medical Center • 2000 Ogden Avenue; Aurora, IL 60504
Main: 630-978-6200 • Physician Referral & Information: 630-978-6700 or 866-4COPLEY (866-426-7539)


text:
Assist by working in the organic fruit and vegetable gardens, take care and manage the animals and work in the tree nursery and with the reforestation projects.
Prices from $1,195
Ecuador is a pocket-sized slice of beautiful South America. Despite its diminutive size, it is bursting with vibrant culture, mesmerising landscapes, exotic tropical wildlife and pristine habitats. It encompasses the all-consuming emerald Amazon, rich in natural resources and home to a wealth of fascinating creatures. Ecuador has a picture-perfect capital painted in pastel colours, alive with cafés, clubs, bars, churches and museums. Markets where friendly locals sell their wares are surrounded by the hustle and bustle of traditional street life. In contrast, the peaceful and serene Andes provide a home for indigenous mountain communities and enigmatic mountain creatures alike. This captivating country contains a culture that is expressed in an abundance of wholesome and delicious cuisine, diverse musical forms and colourful festivals that will enliven your senses. Whilst it is one of South America's tiniest countries, it has everything you could possibly want, including stretches of white sand beaches, expansive plains, steamy jungles and spectacular mountains. All this and more is waiting to be discovered on your spectacular Ecuadorian adventure!
A variety of qualifications are available on many of our projects. For example, BTEC certificates and diplomas on our Group conservation projects and TEFL certificates and BTECs on most of our teaching projects. You may also be able to gain a CoPE to support your university application. For more information on these qualifications, please see the qualifications section of our website or ask your volunteer advisor.
Ecuador is a very poor country and fluctuating oil prices, the 1990s Asia crisis, and the effects of the El Niño climate phenomena, which cause considerable damage to the infrastructure and harvests have led to a decline in living standards for much of the population. In 1999, according to the World Bank, 69% of the population live below the poverty line, of these 34% in absolute poverty.
The Frontier-Ecuador Ecuador Project aims to build skills in poor rural and urban communities throughout the country, giving them better chances to succeed in the future. It also aims to foster environmental regeneration by improving facilities for ecotourism.
You will work and learn on an organic farm and reforestation project in the northern Andes. The cultivation of thousands of native trees provides the means for the communities to undertake essential reforestation activities, as well as develop sustainable agriculture projects as alternatives to environmentally destructive agriculture and industrial practices. Reforestation projects assist in the control of erosion, improving water supply and soil quality, and bring important biodiversity back to the region. The reforested areas have the capacity to neutralise or absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide, one of the greenhouse gases contributing to global warming and climate change. This project also operates as an organic farm, cultivating fruit and vegetable and livestock, and testing out and employing methods of sustainable agriculture.
Volunteers are essential to the success of this project. Volunteers assist by working in the organic fruit and vegetable gardens, taking care and managing animals and working in the tree nursery and with the reforestation projects. Whilst undertaking this work, volunteers learn about organic agriculture, agro-forestry, animal management (cows, pigs, llamas, guinea pigs etc.) and the conservation of native forests.
You'll fly into Quito where you'll be met by the friendly in-country project staff. After acclimatising and receiving orientation you will be transferred to your project location, 1.5 hours north of Quito in the Andes.
You will stay in a comfortable shared volunteer house at the farm. The house has basic facilities and is located close to where you will be working.
You will be provided with three meals a day based on freshly harvested organic vegetables grown in the garden. Your diet will consist of a variety of nutritious and delicious local dishes. Vegetarians will delight in the varieties of rice and bean combinations that are available!
Ten Most Recent Reviews for This Project
Read more
Back to reviews
Volunteers are welcome to explore this fascinating region, where bars, open-air restaurants, cafés, museums, and famous monuments are in plenty! A range of cultural and adventure trips can be arranged, talk to your hosts and book these directly and help to support the local community.
2 weeks
Extra week
Monthly (please arrive on the first Monday)
This project is not available on the following dates in 2019:
The school will be closed on these days:
New Year: 1 January
Carnaval: 4-5 March
Good Friday: 19 April
Labor Day: 1 May
Battle of Pichincha: 24 May
Indedpendence Day: 10 August
Guayaquil Independence Day: 12 October
Day of the Dead: 1 November
Cuenca Independence Day: 03 November
Christmas: 25 December - 01 January the school is closed
You can join this for a minimum of 2 weeks
For detailed information on flights, visas and insurance, click here.
Please read our legal statement regarding the running of NGO projects.
To apply for this placement, click on "Apply Now" below. Fill in the short application form and one of our advisers will then call you back to answer any questions and make sure this is the perfect placement for you. Applying doesn't cost a penny and you won't pay anything until you're completely happy and you're ready to reserve your place.


text:
Moving on from the Night Elf Brothers and the Sisters of Light and Shadow, the following heroes of the Alliance are not related by blood, race, class, or even philosophy. They may have met over the years and formed friendships with one another, fought in separate groups on the same side of a battle, or never heard of one another at all. They share one thing in common: a desire to safeguard Azeroth and the citizens of the Alliance from the threats that seek to end them.
Also I created them, I guess.
Heroes of the Alliance
Grimslash, Worgen Fury Warrior
Archibald Grimslash had spent his formative years watching his father become twisted by the hatreds which fuelled the Gilnean civil war. The gentle-natured father of his youth slowly began to fade away, replaced with a resentful and explosive man who opposed King Genn Greymane's decision to isolate Gilneas from the Alliance. This opposition began as outrage, and escalated into militant extremism when others took up the cause. Although Archibald didn't particularly disagree with his father's cause, all he knew was that the man he had looked up to was gone, consumed by rage, and eventually he succumbed to a heart attack during a particularly violent argument he'd had with a prisoner. Shortly after this incident, Archibald visited his father's prisoner – a man named Spencer Humphrey – and almost lost his own temper, blaming Spencer for his father's death. Immediately noting the similarities between him and his father, however, Archibald managed to restrain himself, and vowed never to let rage drive him as it had his father. He later visited Spencer in an attempt to understand his way of thinking, and whilst the two of them disagreed on many political issues, they became unlikely friends.
When Gilneas fell under siege from the crazed worgen, Archibald's first thought was of Spencer and the prisoners who were unable to escape from their manacles. Upon reaching his friend's cell, Archibald found that he'd been attacked – and was already turning. Attempting to reason with the rabid prisoner failed, and for the first time, diplomacy was replaced with violence between them. Spencer broke free and struck Archibald hard across the chest, and he slammed into a wall, falling unconscious.
That was the last lucid moment Archibald would experience for a very long time.
Years later, Archibald felt himself struggling to wake, as if from a coma. As his vision swam into view, he found that he was crouched on the forest ground, blood pooling around his claws, a night elf twitching beneath him as the life left her body. Startled, he fell backwards, whimpering. He held his bloodstained paw in front of him, gaping in horror as the fur receded from it and it returned to the form of a human hand – albeit still stained with the blood of his victim.
The remaining night elves who had saved him told him that they had performed something called the Ritual of Balance on him, but he had broken from his restraints shortly before it could be completed, slaying one of his saviours moments before returning to his senses. They told him that he had been turned, along with many other Gilneans, during the fall of their homeland from an invasion of worgen, and that while most had been saved with this ritual, Archibald was one of the few that had evaded them in the years after. He had come to be known as a notorious feral beast of Duskwood, where he had eventually settled to roam and hunt. He had killed many in the region over the years.
The night elves told him that many Gilneans used their worgen abilities for the good of the Alliance, which they had re-joined, but Archibald was disgusted with himself. Vowing never to let his worgen form free again, he abandoned the night elves in the dead of night and headed north, with no real plans other than to try and outpace the unending rage that now flowed through his veins.
Eventually, Archibald entered the frigid dwarven land of Dun Morogh, and encountered a travelling band of pandaren monks who had arrived from across the sea to teach the dwarves and gnomes the way of the monk. Archibald told them his story, and whilst the pandaren had enjoyed little success in training worgen monks beforehand, they agreed to let Archibald join their sessions and try to soothe his raging spirit. Archibald trained with them for some weeks, but found himself feeling clumsy and isolated in lessons.
Eventually, a band of trolls that lived in the region launched a surprise attack on the band of monks, and seeing his tutor struck down before his eyes, Archibald Grimslash lost himself to rage. Before he could think twice he had transformed, and had snatched up a pair of axes from a fallen troll. Grimslash launched his attack; his was a dance of death as he used his enhanced lupine senses and strength to dart from troll and troll, dispatching them with ease. While the monks struck with pinpoint accuracy and careful agility, Grimslash merely cleaved through whatever troll stood before him. When the fight was over he stood victorious in the crimson snow, feeling more at one with himself than he had since Gilneas. The rage had not abated, but his bloodlust was sated. For now.
It became clear to him that he could never be the same person he was before the invasion of Gilneas. Never would he be able to keep his promise of keeping his temper; nor would he let his worgen self sit idly by while his killing edge could be used to save others. Looking at the carnage around him, he knew he should have felt horrified by what he had done, but found that his view on the world had changed. Abandoning the ways of the monk, Grimslash thanked his remaining tutors and cleaned his axes, leaving to rejoin his people.
Writer's comments: As World of Warcraft has progressed, Blizzard have given player characters of new races or hero classes more linear origin stories. Due to this, characters like Stalward, Virizard and Grimslash are difficult to come up with unique origins for. I've been mostly trying to add flair to their stories either before or after they underwent their respective changes, whilst respecting the game's own lore for their origins.
Also, if the faction leader can be called 'Genn Greymane' despite not being a worgen for most of his life, I can definitely get away with 'Archibald Grimslash'.
Adamant, Dwarf Retribution Paladin
Adamant Stoutwhisker enjoyed a typical dwarven upbringing amongst a rowdy, tavern-going family. Many a long and raucous evening was spent drinking away in Kharanos in his adolescence, and when he grew older and yearned for independence, Adamant moved to Loch Modan and took up fishing in-between nights at the tavern. As time passed, many of Adamant's friends grew troubled with world-shaking events such as the invasion of the Horde and the onslaught of the Scourge, and left to lend their aid to the Alliance. Adamant didn't begrudge them this, but he preferred the peaceful life of fishing in the Loch and drinking with his friends, so he simply befriended whatever newcomers appeared, and continued as he was.
One night, a grizzled human veteran deigned to suggest that Adamant was too dismissive of the sacrifices made for his way of life, and the drunken dwarf was quick to anger, ending the evening in a bloody brawl with the man. Ashamed – and easily beaten – he tracked the human down the next day to apologise. The old warrior accepted his apology, but added that the Alliance always needed more heroes in an increasingly dangerous world. He extended a hand of friendship. Ashamed, Adamant skulked away.
The following months were a dark time for Adamant. His drinking became less an exercise of leisure and more of a compulsion, an attempt to drive away the nagging feeling that he was every bit the coward that the old man had accused of him. The dwarf found himself listening in on the news of the world – of how a young human Prince had fallen under the sway of the Scourge, how entire cities were falling to the plague of undeath – and the knot of unease in his stomach only grew. Yet still he remained at the Loch.
Eventually, news reached him that the grizzled veteran who Adamant had fought with many months ago had fallen in the fight against the Scourge. A service was to be held at the graveyard south of Andorhal, where Uther himself was buried. Adamant had heard of his friends dying in the line of duty before, but something about this human's sacrifice affected something deep within him. Sobered, Adamant rose from his stool and abandoned his tankard. The next morning, he set off for the Plaguelands.
When Adamant reached the warrior's grave to pay his respects, he was horrified by the state of the land around him. He'd heard the tales – heard reports in excruciating detail – but even as the other dwarves were moved into action, Adamant had remained content to drink with his friends, comforted by the notion that the Alliance existed to allow dwarves like him to live unaffected by the perils of the world.
The veteran was right, Adamant realised. He wasn't just ambivalent. He was complacent, lethargic, and cowardly.
As Adamant rose to leave the grave, he was ambushed by a mindless undead that had ambled unnoticed into the area. With no time to think, Adamant reached for his mace – a family heirloom – and struck the creature down, his simple weapon gleaming with a golden, holy energy.
Astonished, Adamant surveyed his arms, and felt the same holy energy running through his veins, fortifying him and lending to him a vigour that purged the lethargy from his bones. His muscles brimmed with the anticipation of action, with a newfound might, and with the thirst for holy retribution.
The Light had chosen Adamant to be worthy of wielding its power upon sensing his newfound conviction to make amends. Wasting no time gawping, Adamant seized this opportunity and immediately headed north to Hearthglen, to pledge his allegiance to the Argent Crusade and seek tutoring in the ways of the paladin.
Writer's notes: I'd like to mention that the veteran's judgement of Adamant as a coward for living a regular life isn't supposed to apply to situations outside of Warcraft. In Azeroth at this point in time, the entire world was in peril on a regular basis, and it stands to reason that a more militaristic way of thinking would be a popular mindset in this social context, especially among the valorous humans and dwarves towards young and able-bodied people of their race opting to live a peaceful life among the dire conflicts. This mightn't even be the ruling mindset – simply an interaction between an ageing veteran who has seen his friends die in the field to a worthy cause, and a drunken dwarf who lives in open ingratitude towards the sacrifices of said friends.
On a lighter note, Adamant is the only character I've ever paid to change the name of. He spent his first hundred levels as… Smotencore. Ech.
Khallus, Human Assassination Rogue
After retaking Stormwind during the Second War, King Varian Wrynn employed the Stonemason's Guild to rebuild the sacked city. When the nobles of Stormwind refused to pay the workers for their labour, the Stonemasons rioted, and after Queen Tiffin was killed during the chaos they retreated to the outskirts of the kingdom, forming the Defias Brotherhood. Khallus was raised within the Brotherhood to believe that the kingdom of Stormwind was a tyrannous empire, and that the Alliance was a malignant and corrupt organisation. He was trained in the ways of assassination by his mother and father, poised to become a sharply honed weapon of the Brotherhood that would infiltrate the city and execute the nobility. Eventually, he grew into adulthood and completed his training, and was sent on his first mission – to execute a heinously corrupt lord currently lodging in the Trade District.
While skulking in the shadows and waiting for the right moment to strike, Khallus was privy to the discussions of lords and ladies, and though he was only in his target's chambers for a few hours, he learned enough to know that the nobles of Stormwind were not as malicious as he was led to believe. A few conversations weren't enough to undo years of indoctrination, but they were enough to give him pause, to withdraw and do his own research. Over the following weeks, Khallus discovered that Lady Katrina Prestor – the black dragon Onyxia in disguise – had influenced Stormwind's nobles into refusing to pay the Stonemasons. It turned out that the lords and ladies weren't to blame for the tragedy that formed the Defias Brotherhood.
Not entirely.
Returning home to Westfall, Khallus informed his parents of Onyxia's now-forgotten plot to forge the Brotherhood as a weapon to destabilise the Alliance. To Khallus' surprise, his parents already knew. Worse still, they didn't care. They pointed to the ongoing famine in Westfall as one of many signs of Stormwind's neglect. Khallus didn't disagree, but he told them that surely it was in their best interests to stop hindering the Alliance so that they might get a better foothold in the region, that perhaps they could then help. But his argument fell on deaf ears. He was being idealistic. He was being ungrateful. If his parents hadn't scooped him up during the riots, he'd be nothing more than a street urchin, begging for coppers in the streets of Old Town.
Khallus was stunned. He hadn't known he was adopted – nay, stolen. After weeks of soul searching, he eventually made up his mind and escaped from the Brotherhood in the dead of night. But he would not go to Stormwind; his lack of faith in the Brotherhood did not absolve the human kingdom of its own crimes. Instead, he became a nomad, eavesdropping on rumours of local troubles and using his abilities to assassinate the cause of the issue, efficiently and ruthlessly. He worked not for the Alliance as a whole, but for the individuals who were being affected or sent to fight whatever evil was marked for death. His was a life of isolation, extermination, and a bloody quest for redemption.
Writer's notes: Khallus is the character I made to level through the game without dungeons or heirlooms, to read the quest text and take note of the story. In light of this, his story is one that fits that of the player character questing through zones, eliminating threats and helping individual peoples in need.
Elismyr, Gnome Windwalker Monk
Elismyr never found that she never possessed the mirth and bombasity that her race became known for. She was adopted into a family that paid little attention to her, and her shy nature removed her from many possible social groups. As she grew into adulthood she felt as if she were an outcast, and was preparing to leave Gnomeregan and trek for places unknown when an engineer named Fizzik noticed her dour, broken expression. Fizzik summoned up the courage to approach her and ask her why she was heading out of Gnomeregan at this time of night with what appeared to be all her worldly possessions. Having nurtured a growing resentment of her people and their extroverted ways, Elismyr responded harshly, and strode past him out into the frosty wilderness of Dun Morogh.
Fizzik was no lone spirit and was somewhat affronted by Elismyr's hostility, and so didn't immediately go after her. But as he continued to work on his mechanostrider by the entrance to Gnomeregan, unease began to settle in his mind, and he imaged the young gnome being assaulted by troggs, or wild boars, or frostmane trolls. Grumbling to himself, he mounted his mechanostrider – he'd only been making some minor modifications – and set out to find her. Not many gnomes left Gnomeregan, let alone at the dead of night. It was a big world for a small people such as they.
Fizzik followed her footsteps through the snow, and eventually found her struggling on through a growing snowstorm. She whirled as she heard his approach, and scowled at him with recognition. And yet, despite her extensive planning she had left with little experience of the outside world, and found that even through her furs, the snow contained an icy bite. Plus, the shadow of a large bear loomed through the fog. Elismyr decided that she'd return to Gnomeregan with the nosy engineer, just for the night. She'd leave in the morning.
But she never did. Despite rocky first impressions, Elismyr and Fizzik grew to be close friends, and eventually fell in love. Fizzik grew to appreciate Elismyr's quiet persona, a rare trait indeed for a gnome. And in turn, Elismyr learned through Fizzik that despite the cheerfulness and outgoing nature of many gnomes, these traits often belied a more sincere understanding of the world, and an innate desire to invent new and wondrous technologies for the benefit of all. Elismyr no longer resented other gnomes. After a decade together, the two gnomes married in a well-attended ceremony.
They would enjoy their married life for a scant few years before tragedy struck. An ancient menace besieged Gnomeregan during the time of the Third War, and Fizzik and Elismyr decided to retreat to the young settlement of New Tinkertown while the warriors attempted to save Gnomeregan. Fizzik insisted that Elismyr go on ahead with some of his friends, as he believed that one of his devices may prove useful to the defenders. He promised he would join her in New Tinkertown the next day. Reluctantly, she let him go.
Fizzik never returned.
Elismyr was devastated with grief. She felt wronged and abandoned, though she knew Fizzik was not to blame. She felt isolated and bothered by those around her all at once, and began to regress into her former misanthropic ways. These tumultuous feelings did not heal with time, and Elismyr grew to be a bitter, solitary gnome on the edge of New Tinkertown, sometimes going weeks without talking to another soul.
Eventually, talk of a new race of people called the Pandaren came to Elismyr's attention. The news was old, of course; Elismyr rarely engaged in idle gossip. These Pandaren lived by the way of the monk, an ideology as much as a way of fighting. They believed in a harmony of the soul, the importance of being at peace with oneself. A band of them had recently arrived in Dun Morogh, and were accepting trainees. A few years ago, when her grief was still raw, Elismyr wouldn't have bothered. But after many years of struggling with her own mind, the idea grabbed hold of her. Without a word to anyone, Elismyr gathered up her meagre possessions and left. She would never turn back.
Writer's notes: Elismyr is part of the reason why I took so damn long to write this third Volume. I am, historically, a hater of gnomes. They are small and crude and irritating. But monks are not any of these things, bar small, if you so choose. And so I created Elismyr, a gnome in race only. I wanted her to be more of an introvert, an outsider, as I feel any gnome who wishes to pursue the ways of the monk would be. Also, I thought it would be hilarious to kill giant Pit Lords as a tiny, zen-fuelled gnome with some powerful palms.
Coming next: Champions of the Horde, Allied Races and short stories from the perspectives of some of my characters, during the most important moments of their lives. My Druid Kritigri may have something to say about the Burning of Teldrassil.


text:
11 Sleep Hacks For Parents Who Are Desperate For Shut Eye
Who needs an alarm clock when you have children? Those little love nuggets have not only stolen your heart, but they've hijacked your sleep. Whether you have a newborn, toddler, or school-aged children, a decent night's sleep is something you don't take for granted. You know a solid slumber is out there somewhere, you just need to find it. Looks like it may be time to start using some sleep hacks for parents that actually work and can make your dreamtime sweeter.
Yes, they do exist! And the best part is, you can start implementing these tricks for better sleep tonight. No prescriptions or expensive equipment necessary — just a few changes to your routine are all you need to start enjoying the quality of sleep you dream of (or would dream of, if you weren't being woken up every two hours). Keep in mind, things may never be perfect. Life with kids is unpredictable whether it's day time or after dark. But at least you can find some hope in the fact that even if it isn't perfect, it can be better.
Before you start thinking that you are sentenced to three hours of sleep a night, try out some of these 11 sleep hacks for parents who aren't getting enough sleep at night, and say good bye to tossing and turning.
1. Put On The Red Light
Exposure to light at night has been shown to affect sleeping patterns. And the worst offender: those blue lights emitted from electronics. But to keep yourself from tripping over your shoes when cruising your bedroom after dark, Harvard Health suggests using red lights. According to their research, "red light has the least power to shift circadian rhythm and suppress melatonin."
Maxxima Red LED Night Light, $10.99, Amazon
2. Take Melatonin
Whether it's trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, a little does of melatonin may be the solution. Melatonin is a hormone the body produces to induce sleep, and ,as The National Sleep Foundation pointed out, just one to three milligrams of melatonin can help you sleep better. Pick up this supplement at any health food store and see if it bring on the slumber you've been missing.
NOW Foods Melatonin, $10.19, Amazon
3. Hang Blackout Curtains
Deck out your bedroom in darkness with some blackout curtains. According to Health magazine, light stops melatonin production, which will make it harder for you to stay asleep at night. Try swapping out regular curtains for blackout curtains and hibernate like a bear in a cave.
Deconovo Blackout Curtains, $14.99, Amazon
4. Nap And Nap Alike
If you have a baby or child that still naps, take a page from their well rested book, and grab a nap yourself. Mayo Clinic suggests that napping when your child naps can help you get more sleep and feel refreshed.
5. Resist The Afternoon Latte
It's no surprise that an exhausted parent may be reaching for a cup of coffee come 3 p.m., but that little dose of caffeine may do more harm than good. As Psychology Today reported, caffeine disrupts sleep patterns and can interfere with your body's relaxation when bedtime rolls around. If you just can't seem to imagine your life without your post-lunch java, try cutting yourself off by 2 p.m.
6. Get Some Vitamin D
Can't sleep? Grab a little sunshine. As Forbes reported, sunlight helps promote good sleep because it helps your body set rhythms. Just as darkness triggers the brain to sleep, sunlight helps remind the brain that it is in the wake cycle of the day. Your body relies on these distinct cycles for healthy sleep patterns.
7. Cut Back On Sugar
To get more Zs at night, try decreasing your sugar intake throughout the day. Science Daily found that sugar disrupts sleep, by causing people who eat more of it to wake more often throughout the night. For longer stretches of uninterrupted sleep, they suggest upping your fiber intake and passing on the third cookie.
8. Practice Restoative Yoga
A little namaste goes a long way. To prepare your body for a glorious night of sleep, Yoga Journal recommends these 15 yoga poses for better sleep. And yes, this counts as your exercise for the day.
9. Power Down
You may want to think twice before scrolling through those last updates on your handheld device — at least when it's close to bedtime. As The Washington Post reported, using devices before bed disrupts sleep, since the blue light screens inhibit melatonin production. To get a good night's sleep, put the devices down a few hours before closing your eyes.
10. Tag Team Night Duty
If you are fortunate enough to have a partner in parenting, take turns with night duties. As Mayo Clinic pointed out, splitting up parenting tasks at night and taking turns, will help both of you to get more rest, overall.
11. Try A Cup Of Chamomile
If you can't have your afternoon coffee, then get yourself some nighttime tea. Reach for a cup of chamomile tea before you hit the bed. As Reader's Digest reported, chamomile increases glycine, which leads to sleep by acting as a mild sedative. So raise your cup and toast to a better night's sleep, even if your little ones do their best to hijack it.
Stash Premium Chamomile Tea, $15.95, Amazon


text:
I was just thinking that some aspects of Incident Response can be done while mobile. It would be interesting if I was on the beach and able to troubleshoot issues on a mobile phone. Five years ago I created a project for my interns to allow remote command-line management of systems through AIM, which you could do from a mobile phone. Although it wasn't a "secure solution", it was pretty nice.
Thank you iPhone and TouchTerm, now I can do it securely. The iPhone does support VPN connections and TouchTerm allows you to establish SSH connections to systems from the iPhone (for $FREE)!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Incident Response on the iPhone
Posted by Marcus J. Carey at 10:11 PM
Labels: General Security
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text:
Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam raked up a fresh controversy after an unexpected Twitter rant against 'azaan,' following which he was mercilessly trolled on the social media.
Since then, while a few Bollywood and TV personalities have sided with the ace singer, many have condemned the way in which Nigam expressed his anger.
Former Bigg Boss inmate and actor Ejaz Khan didn't mince words while criticizing Nigam and said he had ridiculed the religion of late legendary singer Mohammad Rafi, who he considered his Guru.
'First, I would like to clearly state that 'Azaan' was taking place and it will take place. We should respect all other religions. When the Ganpati festival begins, whole Bombay remains shut for 10 days, we don't even complain. Has Sonu Nigam been sleeping for the past 50 years?' Khan said.
'And Sonu Nigam, who considers Mohd. Rafi his Guru, has ridiculed the religion of his Guru. These type of statements have the capacity to rile people up. I urge him to stop targeting one particular religion,' he added.
Sonu Nigam, a day before, lost several fans after he went on a religious rant, early in the morning. On being woken up to the sound of azaan, the singer took to Twitter to slam the practice.
Terming it as 'forced religiousness,' he tweeted, 'God bless everyone. I'm not a Muslim and I have to be woken up by the Azaan in the morning. When will this forced religiousness end in India.'


text:
I was glad to see that Reginald took another shot at the issue of important Roman Catholic bishops publicly going wildly wrong on doctrine (link). Unfortunately, he still doesn't quite get it.
First, he argues that fallibility of bishops does indeed explain why they sometimes get doctrine wildly wrong. No doubt. Again, no one suggested otherwise.
Then he goes on to say that "He seems furthermore not to understand that the gift of infallibility is a gift of the Holy Spirit." (bold in original) I do understand that this is the claim that is made, but there are two issues with this:
1) There's no reason to believe councils of bishops like Zollitsch are the kinds of councils that would have such a gift (even if any councils would).
2) If anything that is not infallibly taught by Reginald's church could be wildly wrong because it is fallible then Reginald is imprudent in not limiting his acceptance of his church's doctrines to those things infallibly defined (assuming he could somehow figure out what those things were – which is a job in itself).
But the more important bottom line is that we see that Reginald is just taking his church's say-so on faith. He not only swallows the wild errors of Zollitsch but of the Arians as well (he says so himself). It's no big deal to him that what he views as his church is not preserved from gross heresies. He doesn't think this is a problem, because he doesn't realize its implications.
He doesn't see that it may be that a heresy (or bundle of them) has actually prevailed in the church of Rome and that he is an heretical sect rather than being in a Catholic church (notice the important difference in this case between "Catholic" and "Roman Catholic").
Notice what he says: "But the gift of infallibility doesn't work like that. It extends to the college of bishops under certain conditions, and to the Pope under certain conditions." (again, the bold is his) As usual, he's missing the point (as though we don't know that his church's position is that the college of bishops isn't always infallible and that the pope isn't always infallible). But his comment is actually revealing in the point that it raises: what are these conditions and where did they come from?
We know where the conditions for the pope's infallibility came from (Vatican I), but what about the conditions for the college of bishops (this issue is a sort of logical precursor, since Vatican I was a council). Was it decided by a previous council? By a previous pope? Or is it just something that Reginald read from some fallible source that might be pulling a Zollitsch or an Arius.
Is Rome's claim to authority simply a circle – "we are authoritative because we say so" – or is Reginald willing to admit that he doesn't rely on a circular argument but on faith in his church itself (a misplaced faith if Zollitsch is any indicator). I guess we'll see.


text:
Histology Supplies and Histology Reagents That Improve Your Lab's Efficiencies, Performance and Outcomes
General Data's comprehensive line of histology supplies and histology reagents will enable your lab to handle and process tissue samples effectivley, efficiently and economically. We supply the best reagents, marking dyes, paraffin, cassettes, slides - everything your lab needs to deliver optimal clinical outcomes and highly accurate results.
Where Histology Supplies Are Used
General Data has announced that it has acquired Triangle Biomedical Sciences Inc., (TBS) of Durham, North Carolina, a leading manufacturer and supplier of instrumentation, reagents and consumables...


text:
Cruise to the Panama Canal on October 19-29, 2012 on the Ziudurdam, a Holland America Ship for 10 days, roundtrip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
We will visit Aruba, Costa Rica, Panama Canal, Curacuo. Rates start as low as $899.00 pp
double occupancy for an Inside Stateroom. Oceanview Cabin as low as $1299.00
pp double occupancy and for a Balcony Stateroom as low as $ 1499.00 pp.
Air, Cancellation Insurance and transfers are additional. Call us for more
information or for a brochure, 413-596-6587 or write to Happy Louie, 6 Aspen Dr.
Wilbraham, MA 01095.....Don't delay, join us today, enjoy life. Cruising is your
best vacation....


text:
End-to-End Delivery
The intuitive nature of Adaptive Insights results in low implementation timescales and training requirements. And we're focused End to end Delivery enabling you to realise the value of your investment in the shortest timescales.
We bring a unique combination of product expertise, best practise knowledge and real-world experience to help you realise the true value of Adaptive Insights in the shortest period of time.
What sets us apart? It's the quality our people. That's why we're proud of 100% client satisfaction. We're committed to delivering the very best experience for our clients, that's why we're proud of our long-standing customer relationships.
Clear Plan is a leading and one of the most experienced Adaptive Insights' partner's in the UK. From initial product enquiry, to our customised trial, through to a deployment, we offer a personal and dedicated service. You'll always work with the same team from initial product demonstration through to deployment and beyond.
We're customer focused, ready to listen and adapt to your working practices and culture. We'll work at a pace that suits you, with requirements that match your needs, so you are confident you have the right solution to drive your business forward.
The intuitive nature of Adaptive Insights results in low implementation timescales and training requirements. And we're focused End to end Delivery enabling you to realise the value of your investment in the shortest timescales.
Through a detailed design workshop, we'll work together to establish and agree on project success. During this phase we review existing practices and materials, existing spreadsheets and gain a broad understanding of users, roles and submission processes. It is important to conduct an early identification of key challenges across revenue modelling, personnel modelling, cash flow and balance sheet. We will conduct a walk-though of the design to ensure optimum fit; agree project structure, phases and timescales, and clear deliverables. The end result is a formal schedule and detailed project plan that helps us all reach your ultimate solution.
Your model is designed using organisation structure, chart of accounts, dimensions/attributes and assumptions. We create sheets containing formulae and calculations; format and display which we test and review with you. We undertake incremental linking: assumptions and drivers to sheets; sheet-to-sheets; sheets to CoA. This is an iterative process to ensure design and build meets your requirements at all times.
Deployment includes end user roll-out, training materials, workshop and train-the-trainer activities. Documentation is the final handover and finance then becomes the full owner of the solution with ongoing support from Clear Plan.
Accelerate Your Financial Cycle by 70%
The most important part of your business is your clients. In order to provide them with the best service, you need to ensure you have the right resources and can bill accordingly.
Adaptive Insights enables you to build more effective revenue plans by helping you plan and forecast billing rates, resources, and project plans. Automate revenue recognition and reporting based on milestones or the percentage that a project is complete.
The cloud-based platform establishes a consolidated source of accurate data for planning and reporting. Managers distributed across hundreds of projects can enter budgets and submit plans knowing that they're accessing consistent and accurate performance metrics and KPIs.
We help firms move their headcount, project, resource, and revenue planning processes to the cloud, accelerating finance cycle times by as much as 70%.
Improve Retention and Reduce Churn
Adaptive Insights provides software-specific metrics and templates for budgeting, forecasting, scenario modelling, dashboards, and reports.
The intuitive dashboards let you continuously visualise and explore subscription revenue metrics, such as MRR and ARR, annual contract value (ACV), and average revenue per account (ARPA), so that you can accurately plan investments in marketing, development, and sales. Track and gain insights from underlying customer metrics, including customer acquisition costs (CAC), customer lifetime value (LTV), churn and renewal rates.
The result is improved sales and revenue forecasting, and insights that help to improve customer retention and reduce churn while reducing acquisition costs.
Make Every Pound Count
We understand that each non-profit has its own unique needs. Whether it's managing multiple revenue sources or retaining and engaging donors we have you covered. We can help you:
We can help with planning all your fundraising activities while being responsible stewards of funds from patrons and benefactors. We understand the importance of making every pound count.
Streamline Financial Reporting to Drive Business Growth
We understand the speed of the industry and the need to have everything at your fingertips. Clear Plan can give you the tools to plan budgets, understand client value, manage teams and ultimately grow the business.
We enable you to build more effective revenue plans by helping you plan and forecast billing rates, resources and project plans. Automate revenue recognition and reporting based on milestones, accruals or actualised billing.
Our Cloud-based solutions establishes a consolidated source of accurate data for planning and reporting. Managers across any of your accounts can enter budgets and submit project plans, ensuring that you have one source for consistent and accurate performance metrics and KPIs. The intuitive dashboards let you continuously visualize and explore revenue metrics allowing you to instantly see the status of operational and financial KPIs.
We deliver headcount planning capabilities that let you align resources against projects so you can manage client demand more efficiently. Model employee costs, billing rates, and utilisation assumptions. Compare scenarios, and analyse their impact on project profitability. Plan and report on payroll and fully loaded employee costs to better manage expenses. Integrate and consolidate data from HR and other business systems to get faster and more accurate visibility into personnel and services costs.
From resource management to revenue recognition, from project planning to flexible reporting capabilities, we help agencies gain deeper insights into profitability, so you can make smarter, strategic decisions to drive the business forward.
Plan Smarter, Report Faster, Analyse Better
Slow economic growth, market saturation, and a complex regulatory system can cause a wealth of challenges for your business. Clear Plan can help you streamline FP&A, performance management, reporting, and compliance processes.
We deliver flexible reporting capabilities to help you gain deeper insights into profitability (by product and service), so you can make smarter, strategic decisions.


text:
Some ideas are just brilliant. Even me, critic of the year, can't say bad things about this idea:
Lawyers going on mat leave is a popular topic around the water cooler in law firms big and small. Let's bring the issue out into the forefront and make things easier for the mommies!


text:
Providence Medical Group is seeking a full time, board-certified or board-eligible Infectious Disease physician to join the reputable, collaborative team at Olympia Infectious Disease. Enjoy privileges at both Providence St. Peter Hospital and Providence Centralia Hospital and serve an interesting, complex patient population. Enjoy meaningful service and outstanding quality of life in the scenic Pacific Northwest.
Where You'll Work
Providence Medical Group - Southwest Washington is an organization of employed physicians and advanced-practice clinicians, providing services in two hospitals and 38 Primary and Specialty Care Clinics within 5 counties in the South Puget Sound region. With more than 300 employed medical providers in 22 specialties, the group offers highly coordinated care for patients by using a shared EMR system. The National Committee for Quality Assurance has recognized its primary care clinics as patient-centered medical homes.
Where You'll Live
Olympia is on the southern tip of scenic Puget Sound, which offers an abundance of activities from beachcombing to salmon fishing to sailing. Olympia and its primary neighboring cities of Tumwater and Lacey have a population of 250,000, offering an abundance of culture, entertainment and an outstanding school system from elementary through university, including The Evergreen State College and Saint Martin's University.
Who You'll Work For
Providence Health & Services (PH&S) offers a comprehensive range of health and social services at more than 20 hospitals, 400 clinics and hundreds of locally driven programs across four western states: Alaska, Montana, Oregon and Washington. With multiple Magnet and Pathway to Excellence designations, PH&S is committed to its 100-year mission of serving the poor and vulnerable by providing compassionate care to all who need its services.
Equal Opportunity Employer including disability/veteran
Job ID Number: 12359
© Copyright 2019 Indiana Osteopathic Association. All rights reserved.Indiana Osteopathic Association (IOA)3200 Cold Spring Rd, Evans Center Suite 107Indianapolis, IN 46222(317) 926-3009


text:
Mossell, N.F.
Oh harvest sun, serenely shining
On waving fields and leafy bowers,
On garden wall and latticed vine
Thrown brightly as in by-gone hours;
Oh ye sweet voices of the wind,
Wooing our tears, in angel tones;
Friends of my youth, shall I not weep?
Ye are still here, but they are gone.
I see the maples, tossing ever
Their silvery leaves up to the sky;
Still chasing o'er the old homestead's walls
The trembling light, their shadows fly.
Familiar forms and gentle faces
Once glanced beneath each waving bough,
And glad tones rung; shall I not weep
That all is lone and silent now?
Nay, for like heavenly whispers stealing,
Comes now this memory divine,
Where thy clear beams, Oh sun of autumn,
Through the stained windows richly shine;
A solemn strain, the organ blending,
Like a priest's voice, its glorious chord,
Is on the charmed air ascending;
"Come, let us sing unto the Lord."
And while the earth, year after year,
Puts all her golden glory on,
And like it, God's most holy love
Comes now, with every morning's dawn,
"Singing unto the Lord," I love,
With all the hosts that speak His praise.
I may not walk the earth alone,
Nor sorrow for departed days.
I know the friends I loved so well,
Through the years of their life-long race,
Lifted sweet eyes of faith to God,
And now they see His blessed face.
Thou, Lord, forever be my song,
And I'll not weep for days gone by;
But give Thee back each hallowed hour,
A seed of immortality.
Here and there, from this garden of poesy, we have culled a blossom; but how many gardens of beauty have we not looked upon? And yet, we must close, knowing "the half hath not been told."


text:
Effects of Zolpidem CR® in Sleep and Heart Recovery in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit Patients
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01920334
Recruitment Status : Unknown
Verified August 2013 by Patrick Rademaker Burke, Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa.
Recruitment status was: Recruiting
First Posted : August 12, 2013
Last Update Posted : August 12, 2013
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
A double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study will be conducted in cardiac ICU patients who had been diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome, using a sleep promoting drug (zolpidem controlled release).
The study hypothesis is that sleeping better can improve the heart recovery in patients with a diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome.
|Condition or disease
|Acute Coronary Syndrome Sleep Deprivation
|Drug: Zolpidem CR 12.5mg Drug: Placebo
|Phase 4
The environment of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is notoriously inhospitable to patients who experience a period of sleep deprivation (SD). Recent research has shown that SD, even in the short-term, may be related to echo and electrocardiographic changes that may potentially be predictors of cardiac arrhythmias.
The objective is to evaluate the effects of early treatment with zolpidem controlled release (CR®) compared to a placebo on clinical and polysomnographic parameters for patients in a cardiac ICU who had recently been diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome.
A double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study will be conducted in cardiac ICU patients who had been diagnosed with acute coronary syndrome. The patients in group A will receive placebo and patients in group B will receive zolpidem CR® 12.5 mg from the first night of hospitalization until their discharge. Patients will undergo overnight full polysomnography on the first night in the ICU and will complete a sleep diary with a visual analogue scale to evaluate sleep quality in the morning after the first 3 nights of hospitalization. The results of the routine ICU laboratory tests including the serum levels of cardiac enzymes [troponin T and creatine kinase MB (CK-MB)] will be collected preceding the first dose of the drug/placebo, and then daily thereafter.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Estimated Enrollment :
|100 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|Quadruple (Participant, Care Provider, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Effects of Zolpidem CR in Sleep and Clinical Outcomes of Patients in Cardiac Intensive Care Unit
|Study Start Date :
|July 2013
|Estimated Primary Completion Date :
|October 2013
|Estimated Study Completion Date :
|January 2014
Experimental: Zolpidem CR 12.5mg
Patients receive zolpidem CR 12.5mg at bedtime from the first night on the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit until their discharge from the hospital
Drug: Zolpidem CR 12.5mg
Patients will be given zolpidem CR 12.5mg each night for, at least, 3 consecutive nights, including the first night on the Cardiac ICU, when the undergo a full-night polysomnography
Other Name: Stillnox CR 12.5mg
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
Patients receive placebo at bedtime from the first night on the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit until their discharge from the hospital
Drug: Placebo
Patients will receive placebo pills at night, according to their usual sleep time, from the first night on the Cardiac ICU, until their hospital discharge
- Sleep efficiency [ Time Frame: 1 day - the first night ]A full-night polysomnography is conducted in the first night on the ICU
- Troponin T [ Time Frame: Within the first 3 days after an acute coronary syndrome diagnosis ]The serum troponin T is measured previously of the intervention and daily for 3 consecutive days
- Creatine-kinase MB [ Time Frame: Within the first 3 days after an acute coronary syndrome diagnosis ]The serum creatine-kinase MB is measured previously of the intervention and daily for 3 consecutive days
- Sleep quality analogue visual scale [ Time Frame: 3 consecutive mornings ]After receiving the drug or placebo at night, the next morning the patients fill in the sleep quality visual analogue scale
- The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [ Time Frame: 1 day, before the intervention ]Before the patient receives the drug/placebo, he fills in the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index
- Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ Time Frame: 1 day, before the intervention ]Before receiving the drug or placebo at night, patients fill in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale
- Insomnia Severity Index [ Time Frame: 1 day, before the intervention ]Before receiving the drug or placebo at night, patients fill in the Insomnia Severity Index
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 75 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Patients from 18 to 75 years of age
- Diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome
- Capable of swallowing pills
- Capable of filling in the questionaires
Exclusion Criteria:
- Class IV heart failure according to the New York heart association functional class,
- Patients in a coma
- Patients receiving mechanical ventilation
- Patients who regularly use benzodiazepines or other medications for inducing sleep
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01920334
|Contact: Patrick R Burke, MD
|Contact: Dalva R Poyares, MD PhD
|Hospital São Paulo
|Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil, 04023062
|Contact: Patrick R Burke, MD 55-11-964288591 firstname.lastname@example.com
|Contact: Aline G Bittencourt, MD 55-11-964287637 email@example.com
|Principal Investigator:
|Patrick R Burke, MD
|Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa
|Responsible Party:
|Patrick Rademaker Burke, Sleep Medicine PhD Student, Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
1442/11, Ethics Committee
CardioHE, AFIP ( Other Identifier: AFIP )
|First Posted:
|August 12, 2013 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|August 12, 2013
|Last Verified:
|August 2013
coronary disease
heart diseases
Sleep Deprivation
Acute Coronary Syndrome
Myocardial Ischemia
Heart Diseases
Cardiovascular Diseases
Vascular Diseases
Sleep Wake Disorders
Nervous System Diseases
Neurologic Manifestations
Signs and Symptoms
Mental Disorders
Sleep Aids, Pharmaceutical
Hypnotics and Sedatives
Central Nervous System Depressants
Physiological Effects of Drugs
GABA-A Receptor Agonists
GABA Agonists
GABA Agents
Neurotransmitter Agents
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action


text:
|Home >> Community >> Classes
MY REVIEWS ABOUT DR NKOSI +27820502562 WEBSITE www.fastsolutiontemple.com THE BEST ONLINE SPELL CASTER.
Hello every one my name is Diana, I want to use this golden medium to appreciate Dr Nkosi a great spell caster for helping me retrieved back my relationship with my ex lover after another girl use a black magic to take him away from me, he turned back on me for quite a long time now (6 months ago). Dr Nkosi performed a permanent reunite love spell for me and within 48 hours after the spell had been cast I received a text message from my ex begging for us to come back together again, saying that he is sorry for the pains and tears he had caused me and that he will not do such thing to me again in his life. I was surprised but later accepted him back again. Anyone that is having the same problem should contact DR NKOSI for help via Email: email@example.com or Email: email@example.com Call & Whatsapp+27820502562
It is ok to contact this poster with commercial interests.


text:
Baylor's new stadium opened to rave reviews and the 10th-ranked Bears looked pretty good, too.
Bryce Petty accounted for three touchdowns in the first half and Baylor's smothering defense had eight sacks in a 45-0 victory over SMU at sparkling McLane Stadium along the Brazos River.
"That's what it has been all about ... just unveiling the stadium and the atmosphere," coach Art Briles said. "There were some distractions. I don't think I have ever coached in a bigger game."
The latest news from around North Texas.
On the day a statue of Robert Griffin III was dedicated, Petty extended his streak with at least one touchdown pass to a school-record 14 games, breaking a tie with Baylor's only Heisman Trophy winner.
Griffin was on hand for the Bears' first game on campus since 1935. After Sunday's statue dedication more than three hours before kickoff, the Washington Redskins quarterback was on the field before the game. He gave the invocation and took part in the opening coin toss with former President George W. Bush.
Once the game got started, Petty took a bruising shot to his lower back on Baylor's first offensive drive. The reigning Big 12 offensive player of the year then moved gingerly at times, often grabbing at his back and side between plays. He did not play in the second half.
"It's nothing that serious. Everything's good," Petty insisted afterward. "I'm already feeling a lot better."
While he missed on a couple of passes he would usually complete, Petty was 13 of 23 for 161 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a score that made it 31-0.
"He had a couple of throws -- he had guys in space and missed them. We knew something was wrong, that's not Bryce at all," Briles said.
Along with Petty getting hurt, top receiver Antwan Goodley did not play after the first quarter because of a tight quad that also bothered him during fall camp. He didn't have a catch for the first time in 18 games.
Briles said he hopes the situation for Petty and Goodley is day to day. The Bears have a short week before playing their second game at home Saturday night against Northwestern State.
SMU (0-1) was held to 67 total yards, its fewest since coach June Jones took over in 2008. The Mustangs were shut out for the second time in their last three games.
"What allowed the game to be won tonight, the way we dominated defensively," Briles said.
Jones' predecessor at SMU was Phil Bennett, who is in his fourth season as Baylor's defensive coordinator.
"We scripted a lot of things to get the ball out quickly," Jones said. "It's hard for a quarterback to step back and throw anything when he doesn't have time."
The Mustangs completed 21 of 39 passes for only 91 yards, also a low for Jones at SMU. The trio of quarterbacks -- starter Neal Burcham, Davis and redshirt freshman Kolney Cassel -- had minus-58 yards rushing on 10 carries, including all those sacks.
Baylor (1-0) led 24-0 after the first quarter, including TD drives of 6 yards after an SMU fumble and 4 yards after Levi Norwood's 45-yard punt return.
Petty had completions of 15 and 13 yards to Jay Lee before his 5-yard TD run made it 31-0. Petty got hit again going into the end zone and was slow getting up, but played two more series
"Putting those headphones on (after halftime) brought back bad memories," said Petty, who finally started last season as a fourth-year junior. "At the same time, you have to know yourself, you have to know your limits."


text:
11/13/2017 0 Comments
Week of November 13-17
Hello from Arrowhead! We are plugging right along here, still learning every day in many ways! It's almost time for Thanksgiving break too. Don't forget: we only have school Monday and Tuesday of next week. If your child is going to be gone for either of these days, please let me know so I can arrange for make-up work.
What are we learning?
Math: We are working on decimal place value and comparing, ordering, and rounding decimals to the thousandths place.
ELA: We are reading biographies and looking at investigating nature. We just finished our MT Tribal Nations expository papers and we are working on writing narratives.
Social Studies: We are starting our European Explorers unit of study. We will be looking at the reasons why Europeans were exploring the Americas during the 1400s-1800s, and we will be learning general information about 17 explorers.
Science: Students are working on coding with Mrs. Seab and Mrs. Eagle.
Leave a Reply.
Hello from Arrowhead 5th grade! This is the website for Mrs. Peter's fifth graders. Look here for exciting news about what's happening at school as well as weekly updates about what's going on in class.
Past Updates
October 2018


text:
WHAT'S your major? It's the defining question for college students — and the cliché that's launched a thousand friendships and romances. It's also a question that has become harder for students to answer.
Blame it on the growing number of possibilities. Colleges and universities reported nearly 1,500 academic programs to the Department of Education in 2010; 355 were added to the list over the previous 10 years as colleges, to stay competitive and current, adopted new disciplines like homeland security and global studies, cyberforensics and agroecology.
At the University of Michigan and Arizona State University, students choose from a dizzying 251 and 250 majors, respectively. DePaul University in Chicago offers 24 more majors than it did in 2002, for a total of 98.
And graduating with a double (or triple) major, minor or concentration as a way to hedge bets in an uncertain job market has become increasingly popular; the number of bachelor's degrees awarded with double majors rose 70 percent between 2001 and 2011, according to the Education Department.
Some students go to college knowing exactly what they want to do. But most don't. At Penn State, 80 percent of freshmen — even those who have declared a major — say they are uncertain about their major, and half will change their minds after they declare, sometimes more than once. How to decide?
Colleges and universities have vested interests in students declaring early. Retention rates for declared students are better, and they are more likely to graduate in four years. But college officials also recognize that deciding on a major can be overwhelming, especially when coupled with the fear that a wrong choice will result in added semesters and tuition. "Students no longer have the luxury of stumbling into a major or making mistakes," says Neeta P. Fogg, a research professor at Drexel University's Center for Labor Markets and Policy, and a co-author of "College Majors Handbook With Real Career Paths and Payoffs."
"Exploratory" is the new undeclared. Colleges have moved away from the negative-sounding "undecided" label to encourage students to experiment with unfamiliar disciplines and, perhaps, discover a passion and career path. "We want to remind them that they have an active role" in their academic choices, says Mary Beth Collier, the dean of academic advising at the State University of New York at New Paltz. At SUNY, exploratory students are urged to try new subjects using general education electives.
Ms. Collier tells students: "You've taken the same six subjects since kindergarten. If you don't know your major, don't come here and take the same subjects expecting to figure it out.*" That can mean fulfilling a U.S. studies requirement with a political science or black studies course instead of a rehash of U.S. history that you should have learned in high school.
Some schools have made exploration official. At the University of Florida, where 61 percent of students change their majors by the end of their second year, there are three exploratory tracks — engineering and science, humanities and letters, and social and behavioral — that students can declare for three semesters before choosing a specialized major. At the University of Cincinnati, undecided students can enroll in an exploratory studies program.
Advisers caution: Don't abandon subjects that you may need later. Students often don't realize that many popular majors — psychology, social sciences, business — have math and science requirements. You might have to forgo majoring in economics, for example, if come junior year you have to make up courses in calculus and statistics.
This requires thinking ahead, says Fritz Grupe, the creator of MyMajors.com and an emeritus professor of computer science at the University of Nevada. You may not know what to do with the rest of your life at age 18, but you can cover your bases with prudent planning. Some majors have a curriculum that follows a tight sequence of courses. It's easier to switch out of engineering than it is to take it up (if that's possible at all) later in your college career.
The "biggest mistake" students make, Dr. Grupe adds, is failing to research what's required of the major, and the profession. Nursing may sound attractive because "you like to help people," he says, but nursing students take the same demanding math and science curriculum as pre-med students, and the work is often technical and not for every kindhearted soul.
Colleges "do not make decisions in a vacuum," Dr. Fogg says. They are constantly tweaking their offerings. The Department of Education's list shows clusters of new programs in established fields of study that mirror scientific, cultural and societal developments. Some are cross-disciplinary or specializations, like biosystems engineering, clinical nurse leadership, computational biology and international policy analysis.
Quirkier additions to the list obviously reflect marketplace trends and student demand, like culinary science/culinology, digital arts, casino management and sports communication. At Montclair State University in New Jersey, which offers 300 majors, minors and concentrations, a new fashion studies major has been hugely popular, thanks to the university's proximity to Manhattan; with Madison Square Garden and Giants Stadium in sight, it also saw opportunity in a sports industry and event-planning major within its business school.
Still, it's difficult to predict the employment market, says Michele Campagna, the executive director of the Center for Advising and Student Transitions at Montclair State. Many students choose majors they think will lead to jobs, but "four years from now," she says, "freshmen will be applying for jobs that don't even exist today."
Most employers are looking for transferable skills — the ability to problem solve, work in teams, write and communicate, and think critically, says Ms. Collier of SUNY New Paltz. These can be developed in any liberal arts discipline. It makes no sense, she says, to "suffer through a major" because you think it will lead to employment. "We tell students, 'Find a major that makes you intellectually engaged, that expands your brain and deepens your understanding of the world.' "
At the same time, cautions Dr. Fogg, the stakes for college students today couldn't be higher: 41 percent of graduates are employed in jobs that don't require a college degree. Many employers today lack the resources and patience for on-the-job training, she says, and are looking for college graduates who are "shelf-ready employees." So pick up professional direction, job-related skills and work experience, she says, and of course follow your heart.


text:
Leica Summicron-R 90mm f/2 is one of five telephoto lenses that Leica offers in its lineup of SLR range of cameras. The first version of the lens was released in late 60s but the company has revised its design a few times with the most recent one, APO Summicron-R 90mm f/2, released in 2002. The version tested in this review was an E55 model, which preceded the current APO version of this lens. The serial number of the tested lens is 3342985. The E55 variant of Summicron is quite readily available on the used markets like eBay, with good copies selling around US$450 (as of October 2007).
The optical construction of the lens consists of 5 elements in 5 groups - quite a simple design when compared to some modern alternatives like Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 which has 9 elements in 7 groups or Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF which has 9 elements in 8 groups. The build quality of the lens is superb, as expected from a Leica lens and rivals anything you can find on the market. The metal barrel is super solid as are the focusing and aperture rings. The lens looks and feels very sturdy, almost heavyweight, measuring 59 x 70cm (2.3 x 2.7in) and weighing 550g (19.4oz), Although the barrel extends a bit towards close up, adding another 20mm or so to the total length. The minimum supported aperture is f/22, the minimum focusing range is 68cm (2.25ft) and the filter size is 55mm.
As most Leica R lenses, Summicron 90mm f/2 E55 is easily adaptable to a number of alternative mount systems, including Canon and Micro Four Thirds. You can in theory adapt it to Nikon system as well, but you'd need to replace the mount, since Leica's register flange is too close to Nikon's to use a regular adapter. Within the scope of this review, the lens was tested on Canon's 10Mp APS-C type 400D, 12Mp and 21Mp full frame Canon 5D and 5DMk2 cameras. Since the lens was designed for traditional 35mm cameras, if you're using it on APS-C type body with 1.6x crop factor, the EFOV of the lens will be 144mm.
|Lens Composition
|5 elements in 5 groups
|Angular Field
|~27 degrees
|Minimum Focus
|Focusing Action
|f-stop Scale
|f/2-f/22, manual
|Filter Size
|Lens Hood
|Lens Case
Leica's lenses always feel like a solid chunk of glass and metal fused in a high-tech lab, and Summicron-R 90mm f/2 E55 is no exception here. The feel of precision when you rotate the focusing ring, resistance of the telescopic built-in hood, satisfying clicks of the aperture ring - all leave an impression of quality engineering, particularly when you compare this lens to other lenses in the class. Only Carl Zeiss and to a much lesser degree Voigtlander lenses leave you with similar feelings, but even then Leica reigns supreme in build quality. Not to say that the lens is completely without drawbacks - the metal knurled focusing ring is fairly thin and is a little bit uncomfortable to grip. The ring itself rotates for about 270 degrees when going from the infinity to the closeup, giving you sufficient amount of precision during focusing.
Despite of its 'chunkiness', Summicron-R 90mm balances quite well on mid and large cameras like Canon 5D and 1Ds series, with the center of weight positioned at the base of the camera's mount. On lighter cameras like 400D the weight is shifted slightly towards the front of the lens, tipping the combo down when the lens is extended towards the close focusing distances. With either small or large cameras, hand-holding the camera/lens combo is not challenging, since the lens is not particularly heavy.
I found Summicron-R 90mm f/2 quite easy to focus - with the lens remaining at f/2, the viewfinder of Canon 5D/5DMk2 remained bright and clear. At close focusing distances you can completely rely on your eyes for focusing the lens, but at around infinity you would benefit from an AF confirmation adapter, assuming you're using the lens on an alternative mount of course. Your mileage with the adapter might vary somewhat though, depending on the adapter quality - I've changed about half a dozen Leica-R/EOS adapters before finding one that was accurate enough during focusing. Even then, as you focus the lens, you will discover that in many situations, particularly at closer distances, the camera would give you a focusing confirmation not at a single unique focusing point, but within a small range - the front to back focusing with adapters is quite common and you would often need to practice with the lens a little bit to understand where exactly you are focusing. In my case, I discovered my most accurate adapter front-focused consistently on all Leica R lenses (but did so in a very predictable, uniform way) and so I took a habit of taking the pictures at the rear end of the focusing confirmation range, which consistently gave be best results.


text:
Its funny that i wrote my first love letter to my husband after a year of our marriage. But thats is the best part of it.
I got married on Jan 31st. But for me i got married on thr Christmas eve. Our's was a.. um.. well arranged love marriage. Our family friends made us to meet and in just 3 or 4 days we decided to get married. In a month we were engaged and in 4 months we were married.
Both of us have the same POV regarding relationship and it follows " Lets not go around with dating and then getting to know and so on. Lets get married and then lets know each other." For both of us it was like an adventure rollar coaster ride. Adrenaline and so much.
So this love letter i wrote was not a surprise to him. But was full of surprises.
It goes like this
This is something that i wanted to tell you long back.How can you be sooooo charming and uuffffffffffff bloody hootttttt, making me want you all the time. You are like fire for me, the heat never leaves. Whenever i feel its going to be a show night i m excited to levels you can't imagine. its like the first time.That adventure peak you took me on Christmas eve is still there. It feels like tht same night. For more than 500 days and nights its been the same, that thirst and desire is same. The excitement is same from day one,Its still there.. i ll never get enough of you ever. You have grown in me like the root of a giant tree.It goes deeper in me day by day. I love you and desire you, each and every piece of you day after day… It's like a thrill, an Excitement, an Adventure. Something that makes me do all kind of weird things.. wish for all weird things. Simply you drive me crazy. YOU are irresistibly.My fox.I m yours only yours and i ll never ever get bored of you, because you are that spark that set whole of me, my whole world to fire.


text:
Fitness equipment
You don't need much to get your fitness on. I have a home gym. We took a spare room and made it the gym. We've had it for years and use it off and on. My family is now on a fitness phase and we are using our room quite often. I don't need much equipment but my husband is a big guy so we have a weight machine. I love my exercise bike. We got it from Costco a few years ago. It's a spinning bike. We even have cycling shoes that clip in the peddles. I use kettle bells and medicine ball for resistance training. We put rubber mats on the floor. This makes it cool to do cardio. I put a flat screen in the corner so I can do on-demand exercise or DVD's. We added a ceiling fan so I don't faint. I know everyone doesn't have room for a home gym. You don't really need all this stuff. When my husband and I exercise at the same time, I will grab my kettle bells and go to another room. I like to change-up my routine to keep from getting bored. So I often just grab my stuff a go outside. I think my favorite equipment is my heart rate monitor. I have a polar F 7. It has a strap which I don't actually mind. It's essential to check my calories burned. I don't want to overestimate. Whatever your fitness style is the most important thing is to get it done. Don't let lack of equipment prevent you from exercising.


text:
After I turned the llamas out, I managed to sneak up and catch Vinnie's girls and shut them in the buck pen and its small outdoor paddock. Then I hauled Harley's girls over too.
I tell you, these four girls are just the most wild things you've ever seen. This morning, I managed to bribe them into the buck room with some sweet feed. Then I went out and around the building and shut the door from the outside. They were trapped!
Then my nephew came and helped me load them onto his truck, so I could take them to the sale barn. They were literally bouncing off the walls and trying to jump out the window when we went to catch them. Really wild things! I must say, it was the second longest line I've ever seen for unloading once I got to the sale barn. I'm glad it wasn't August hot since we had to wait so long.
It literally took me an hour from getting in line to unloading the girls. Finally, I left them safely at the sale barn.
Now the only thing I have left to figure out with the whole copper deficiency is how to get the goats their minerals in a way they won't just dump them on the ground (I'm talking to you Fionn and Xerxes) and encouraging the March/April babies to eat those minerals.


text:
The Semantics Toolkit (SemTk) is a research project of the Knowledge Discovery Lab at GE Global Research in Niskayuna NY.
It is an open source project intended to provide easy interactions W3C semantic tech stacks, starting with Virtuoso. It includes drag-and-drop query generation and data ingestion.
|sparqlGraph - our flagship tool for semantic data scientists
|sparqlForm - simplified end-user front end for select queries
This demo server is hosted on AWS. The tools are fully functional and available for your use. The Virtuoso triple store is for temporary use only. It is automatically and frequently wiped clean. The documentation explains how you can use this instance of SPARQLgraph with your own local triple store.