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For forums, blogs and more please visit our
Developer Tools Community.
By: Tim DelChiaro
Abstract: Agenda for the final day of the CodeRage online Delphi developer conference
See any late schedule updates at http://www.embarcadero.com/coderage/coderage-7-delphi-sessions
Haven't registered yet? Click here to register and start attending sessions.
FireMonkey 3D Programming in Delphi XE3
The FireMonkey framework available in RAD Studio XE3 contains a number of enhancements for creating cross-platform 3D applications, including new material system based on GPU shaders and enhanced "TModel3D" component. Join this session to see how easy and funny 3D programming with FM2 can be!
Paweł Głowacki - Embarcadero
HTML5 Builder Mobile Development & Deployment
Learn how to build client and server mobile applications using JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3 and PHP with connectivity to leading databases and deploy to iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone. Also covered in this session is mobile user interface styling, and how to use the included HTML5 components like the multimedia component for rendering video and audio in your mobile applications.
Sarina DuPont - Embarcadero
Introduction to the JCL
This session covers what the open source Jedi Code Library (JCL) provides. This session also discusses some of the best known areas of the JCL such as its JCLDebug.pas unit as well as many of the lesser known areas, that can really simplify what you do.
Robert Love - State of Utah
PRODUCT ADDRESS: InterBase
Sriram Balasubramanian - Embarcadero
VENDOR SHOWCASE: AnyDAC Local SQL Overview
AnyDAC for Delphi introduced the Local SQL feature, allowing you to use TDataSet objects in SQL queries. Local SQL offers feature-rich SQL engine based on the SQLite query processor, good performance and stability. This session shows Local SQL applications, and explains how to configure and use Local SQL.
Dmitry Arefiev - DA-SOFT Technologies
Discover LiveBindings Advanced Features
Jim Tierney - Embarcadero
Using jQuery with DataSnap REST Applications
An overview of the architecture and features of Delphi DataSnap REST applications, an introduction to jQuery, and how to use it in practice to improve the website of the model (including using a few jQuery components).
Marco Cantu' - Wintech Italia Srl
To be determined
HTML5 Builder Multi-tier Application Development
This session shows how to create and use a DataSnap REST Client Module to access a Delphi DataSnap server and call the functions exposed by the Delphi DataSnap server. DataSnap is a technology that enables RAD creation of multi-tier web applications. We will use HTML5 Builder to create a client-side web applications that interacts with DataSnap. A DataSnap REST client module is a data module that lets you access a DataSnap server. You can then include that data module in another data module or a web page to be able to call the functions exposed by the DataSnap server.
Al Mannarino - Embarcadero
Effective Business Objects in FireMonkey
This session will show how to build a business-type multi-platform application that is built on top of Aurelius ORM, consumes it's data by connecting to a REST Service and presents the data by utilizing LiveBindings.
Olaf Monien - Developer Experts, LLC
VENDOR SHOWCASE: CodeSite Express vs CodeSite Studio
CodeSite is an advanced debugging and application logging system that gives developers deeper insight into how their code is executing. CodeSite Express, which is included in RAD Studio, provides core logging functionality but does not include the full range of capabilities that are available in CodeSite Studio. In this session, the core functionality of CodeSite Express is demonstrated along with a several examples of the more advanced features of CodeSite Studio.
Ray Konopka - Raize Software
VENDOR SHOWCASE: Effectively Using Raize Components
Raize Components is a user interface design system for Delphi and C++Builder. At its center is a collection of more than 125 general-purpose native VCL controls. This session will demonstrate how developers use Raize Components to build sophisticated user interfaces in less time with less effort. In addition, specific attention will be focused on new RAD Studio features such as VCL Styles and how they can be leveraged in Raize Components.
The schedule of sessions & speakers are subject to change without notice.
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The power to make a difference lies within us all. Nothing could demonstrate this fact more clearly than the recipients of this year's Balipara Foundation Awards – ordinary men and women with extraordinary achievements.
Designing Holistic Models for Human- Centric Community- based Conservation
RuFu is a holistic plan encompassing all human needs and one, which allows wildlife to thrive alongside. The objective is to develop implementation plans for RuFu
Some of the themes would be – Water Accessibility, Turning Waste to Wealth, Green Energy, Education Reforms, Sustainable Housing, Local Economies, Transportation, Technology & Healthcare.
Carbon Negative Jobs for the Future
This session will focus on the integration of conservation efforts and employment generation or promoting alternative livelihoods that are environment friendly if not carbon negative.
Community Forests or Protected Forests?
This session will focus on forest fringe communities and how social and economic empowerment of these communities is imperative to the survival of our forests.
The Classroom is Wild
Natural Spaces have significant benefits for everyone. But how do you go about creating one? This session will enhance and exchange practical and effective ideas for incorporating nature play and knowledge into our programs and curriculum. We will explore innovative models of education for sustainability through community-integrated, entrepreneurial learning in a natural environment.
Using Tourism to fuel conservation efforts and enhance public awareness
This session will focus on how a rich bio cultural heritage and conservation efforts to protect this heritage can be combined with adventure and wildlife tourism as a way of generating employment and raising awareness.
Biodiversity Assets vs. Human Aspirations Complementing the Future of Economics with Mindfulness
This session will explore the topics of creating a valuation model of our natural assets and alternative ways in which we can finance conservation efforts. We will explore alternative business models such as crowdfunding, impact investing to build social impact funds, etc.
From Water to the Sun
This session will focus on renewable energy and discuss remote and off- grid energy solutions and also ways of converting waste matter to energy.
The Ground Water Conundrum
This session will explore reasons for water scarcity and how one can make the most of excessive rain falls and traditional water cannels and perennial sources of water. In addition, this session will discuss water filtration possibilities for remote and off- grid locations.
Technological Innovations and the Solutions
This session will discuss about the technological innovations and it's use to safeguard the numerous animal corridors and finding solutions for averting the planet's environmental collapse and reversing its accelerating rates of habitat loss and species extinction.
Climate Change in the Eastern Himalayan Biosphere
The objective of the session is to address gaps and needs in implementing solutions for climate change and its aspects.
Elements Essential for Developing and Implementing Keystone Species Conservation Programmes, using the Elephant as a Mascot
The focus of the session lies in creating a viable platform for global stakeholders from Elephant Science and Conservation to come together for the purpose of networking, collaborating, and brainstorming integrated solutions and targeted action plans for the preservation and conservation of this most iconic species.
Law & Policy – an Environmental Perspective towards Effective & Inclusive Policies for Ecosystems
This session will explore reforms required in governance & policy that will have a lasting impact on making conservation more participatory, hence, more effective. We will explore how we can leverage effective and inclusive policies for ecosystems.
The Role of Print, Social & Digital Media in Conservation
This session will explore the role of media in shaping environmental awareness, relevance of responsible reporting and engaging story-telling to reach out to the masses.
Learning from the People of Land
This session will explore Conservation through the world of botany, address issues and evangelize innovative ideas for Community-based Conservation.
Since 2013, Balipara Foundation has highlighted and invested in the efforts of societal entrepreneurs who are working tirelessly to create social, economic and environmental impact in protecting the essential natural resources and restoring the beauty of the Eastern Himalayas. Through the awards, we seek to focus the spotlight on these ecological crusaders and their work by publishing the case-studies of their work. Since inception, they have highlighted over 53 case studies ranging from the protection of endangered species and threatened habitats to the promotion of environmental education, tourism, products and services, emphasizing the interdependence between nature and ecology.
Balipara Foundation Awards 2017 will be held on the evening of 3rd November 2017 where we will recognize 10 new ecological crusaders from the Eastern Himalayas. It will feature the Rabindranath Barthakur Memorial Lecture Series, which invites speakers to inspire and energize these ecological crusaders. We are pleased to invite His Excellency President of Central Tibetan Administration Dr. Lobsang Sangay to deliver the memorial lecture this year. In the past, the memorial lecture has featured eminent speakers such as Dr. Ashok Khosla, Mr. Shyam Saran and Professor Gunter Pauli. In 2016, the lecture was delivered in a unique jugalbandi between Mr. S Ramadorai (Technology) with renowned flautist Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia and Mrs. Mala Ramadorai (Music).
To send in your nominations, please write to us at: firstname.lastname@example.com
We seek your continued participation and long-term support for the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum and Balipara Foundation Awards 2017.
|Recognizing Ecological Best Practices in the Eastern Himalayas & Late Shri Rabindra Nath Barthakur Memorial Lecture
|Event Date
|3rd November 2017
|Vivanta by Taj, Guwahati, Assam, India
The power to make a difference lies within us all. Nothing could demonstrate this fact more clearly than the recipients of this year's Balipara Foundation Awards – ordinary men and women with extraordinary achievements.
The Annual Balipara Foundation Award was conferred to Dr. Dhan Bahadur. Gurung from Bhutan for Ecological Restoration in the region. The Award was presented by renowned television Journalist Bahar Dutt
The Naturenomics™ Award was conferred to Sagir Ahmed for his sustainable use of waste coconut shells in Assam. The Award was presented by Robbie Hart, an Assistant Curator at the Missouri Botanical Garden
The Green Journalist Award was conferred to Amit Patro from Sikkim for reforming the role of Publications as a tool for raising awareness on socio-economic empowerment of the Sikkimese Society & environmental causes in Sikkim. The Award was presented by Priyanka Bista,...
The Eastern Himalayan Conservation Award goes to Joint Forest Management Committee of Bhairabkhunda for their afforestation work in the conflict & violence infested area of Udalguri resulting in to more forest cover and shelter to the Wildlife in the region. The Award was presented by...
The Green Guru Award goes to Dr. Sourabh Deb of Tripura University for inspiring a new generation of environmental stewards through education for sustainability and compassion for Nature. The Award was presented by Elsa Hart, an American Novelist and Climate Change Research Specialist in China...
Young Naturalist Award was conferred to Hiskiya Sangma who has leveraged technology & Storytelling to raise awareness on Wildlife Conservation & to highlight environmental stewards. The Award was presented by Khun Rochana Dardaranada, Thailand's first speech pathologist
The Food for the Future Award was conferred to Krishna Bodo of Omita Gaon (Assam's papaya village) where under his initiative Community based farming are changing rural livelihoods. The Award was presented by renowned botanist Scott McMahan from the Atlanta Botanical Garden...
The Nature Conservancy Award was conferred to Bhutan Glory Eco Club (Tsuseki & Limthure) for shifting the mindset of the youth of Nagaland through awareness and education, from a hunting culture to connecting to Nature and preserving our natural heritage. The Award was...
The first recipient of the Rangers & Guards of the Eastern Himalayas was Forest Ranger Khagen Bhuyan from Assam for his valuable contribution towards synergizing community conservation and Wildlife conservation. The Award was presented by Prerna Singh Bindra, who has been...
Our second Winner was Forest Ranger Chakrapani Rai from Assam for his resolve to wipe out poachers from the region in order to protect the Natural Heritage. The Award was presented by Gen (Rtd.) Arun Sahni
Our third recipient of The Forest Rangers and Guards of the Eastern Himalayas was Forest Guard Zakhuma Don from Mizoram for his relentless anti-poaching patrols and for leveraging technology and innovation to create a rich repository of natural history in audio-visual. The...
The fourth Ranger & Guards of the Eastern Himalayas goes to Forest Guard Jampel Lhendup from Bhutan for effectively using Technology to deepen Conservation Impacts. The Award was presented by Arita Kashyap, Eco-Fashion Designer, India
The fifth Ranger & Guards of the Eastern Himalayas goes to Forest Guard Santiram Chetri for his long-standing beyond the call of duty service to protect the inhabitants of Kaziranga National Park. The Award was presented by Robbie Hart, Assistant Curator, Atlanta Botanic...
The Special Recognition Award - Environmental & Social Activist was conferred to Mainu Marak from Sonitpur, Assam for socio-economic upliftment of rural women in her village. The Award was presented by Prof. Peter Mortimer at the Kunming Institute of Botany, a specialist...
The Special Recognition Award - Pioneers of Long Distance River Cruising in India was conferred to Assam Bengal Navigation Jahnabi Phookan & Ashish Phookan for pioneering long-distance river cruises in India. The Award was presented by Prof. Koyuu Furusawa, Kokugakuin...
The Lifetime Service Award was conferred to Former Cabinet Minister, Govt. of Manipur, Haokholet Kipgen for embodying the core values of sustainable development through Foundation for Environment and Economic Development Services. The Award was presented by His Excellency...
Khun Sivaporn Dardarananda is a Secretary General of Elephant Reintroduction Foundation. Taking forward the vision of her Majesty Queen Sirikit, Khun Sivaporn Dardarananda has under his leadership and team of researchers, scientist, rangers...
Eastern Himalayan Elephant Princess, Priyanka Yoshikawa is the winner of the coveted Miss World Japan, 2016 title. A half Indian and a half Japanese, Priyanka represents the bio cultural heritage of both Japan and India.
Parbati Baruah affectionately known as The Queen of Elephants, is the daughter of the legendary Prakhitish Chandra Baruah (Lalji) known for his knowledge and passion for elephants.
The Natural Green cover of Taj has been maintained with sustainable actions and is the ideal nature getaway for meaningful green experiences. Their farm to table food, green vistas outside their hotel windows and local trees and shrubs maintain ecological balance and allows one to experience the length & breadth of Taj's green hospitality.
Our host, Taj has been supporting the cause of nature conservation in the Eastern Himalayas and have lent their unstinting support to the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum. Their sustainable actions and mindful Tourism experience makes it a perfect destination to host the multi-disciplinary platform of the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Platform to foster community conservation in the region. And to offer the participants, guests and dignitaries a bio-cultural experience and allow them to soak in sustainable living. While driving ideas, solutions and actions towards a sustainable planet.
"Vivanta by Taj", Guwahati is a thriving eco-tourism destination of North East of India and is the trendiest place in town. They integrate local with modern experiences giving their guests a holistic experience of the natural and cultural diversity of the Eastern Himalayas. Guests are given a warm traditional welcome with saffron & a traditional Assamese scarf, the "Ghamosa" and a refreshing welcome drink Thekera- a nondescript fruit with awesome health benefits, cooling, souring and that aids digestion.
With a special focus on bringing glocal cuisine to the platform, they use seasonal products from their kitchen garden and call the experience "Locavore" and "Zero-mile cooking" leveraging most of the ingredients sourced organically and from local markets. They offer delicious smorgasbord of North east local fruits and a lip-smacking array of visually appealing and tantalizing the taste-bud vegan meals. They ensure maximum optimization and minimum waste as a policy. Segregated, recycled and appropriately disposed.
The natural green valley of Assam, its breathtaking scenery of green plains and blue hills at a distance is the picturesque view surrounding the Hotel grounds. The property is a fly ash brick hotel! I.E. pre-mixed concreate blocks - hence less water has been used during construction itself. Taj believes in reducing consumption and wastage of water by installing low flow fixtures and controlled pressure points. Practice rainwater harvesting for ground water harvesting and implementation of power conservation through installation of low power LED lamps. With a state of the art Sewage treatment plant, treated water goes directly to the gardens. An example of using sustainable design for architecture and glass paneled long windows, it beams of daylight, breath of fresh air and rhythm of life.
Its cozy green nooks of tranquil and abandon are a cradle for creativity and genius. Taj offers many opportunities to connect with nature from within the property and to practice sustainable living. Tree plantation and green cover, go hand in hand to craft a natural habitat for many species of birds and bees. Gifting a plant, gifting greenery to back wonderful memories and a piece of North East, nurturing nature is at the root of all of activities at the venue. It is an oasis of peace and tranquility. Taj is a treat for wildlife and nature lovers.
In our effort to create a global ecological footprint and to spread the message on promoting Eco- destinations in the region, Vivanta by Taj will be our host at The Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum 2018 & 2019.
The distinctive richness of the Eastern Himalayas can be attributed to its colorful biodiversity, numerous niche ecosystems, and vibrant communities. Understanding the dynamics, structure, and functioning of these systems adds an enormous complexity to not only their conservation and restoration, but also in engaging stakeholders and finding innovative long-term solutions.
Founded on the principle, "Real Innovation happens at the edges of disciplines", the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum provides a platform to foster multi-disciplinary collaboration and innovation. Launched under the aegis of 'Asian Elephants in the Wild Talk' and 'Balipara Foundation Awards', in 2016, it was rebranded as the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum, to expand the conversations beyond single-species conservation.
Thus far, the forum has seen the participation of over 1400 individuals from 20+ countries, and representatives from 22 Indian States, including Scientists, Botanists, Conservationists, Ecologists, Administrators, Government and Forest Department officials. This multi-disciplinary group discussed a broad swathe of issues with a special focus on the plight of Asian Elephants in the wild and in captivity.
To further elevate this dialogue, Balipara Foundation is delighted to announce the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum,2017. The Forum will be held on 2nd and 3rd November 2017, in Guwahati, Assam, India.
At the Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics™ Forum, 2017, the conversations will revolve around the theme of Communities Conservation and Botany. Since inception, we have challenged and questioned the narratives that drive conservation efforts the world over. This has allowed us to develop & implement socially participative conservation programmes and propose the concept of Rural Futures or RuFu as we like to call it. RuFu is a holistic plan encompassing all human needs and one, which allows wildlife to thrive alongside.
The plenary sessions will explore the role of Botany and Communities in the Conservation of ecosystems through the lens of Naturenomics™, Innovation and Information and implementation plans for RuFu. We will explore discussions on understanding the role of the Guardians of Creation and how they are engaging in conservation in a way that supports their local economies and livelihoods and, exploring reforms required in governance & policy that can have an impact on making conservation more participatory, hence, more effective.
Communities, Universities, Government, Non-Profits, Donors and Media Professionals from around the world will engage in a dialogue to explore business models, policy reforms, technology, etc., to identify drivers and innovative ideas for community conservation.

subset: commoncrawl


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It's 2016 and I'm walking the Camino this year! "What? Again?" I hear you say… but there is a reason.
They Picked Me!
Last year Maggie (my lovely Aussie friend) and myself walked through snow, ice, rain, sleet, fog and bitter bitter cold wind from Orisson to Roncesvalles.
No Room at the Inn?
Last night we stayed in the fabulous Roncesvalles monastery albergue. This place must house 300 pilgrims…maybe more like 400. They have a laundry room where for 2.70 euros they do all your washing and deliver it still warm to your bed. There is a huge catering style kitchen and a bank of self service machines with ready meals and snacks and drinks. There is a rather plush wifi room but sadly wifi yesterday was on the blink. And you have little cubicles of 2 or 4 with very comfy beds and super bathrooms. It is a 5 star albergue!
You are what you eat!
I didn't sleep well again last night. I was really tired but restless. I shared a room with 11 others including Hogni and five french ladies travelling together in a group. They are all lovely but they kind of exploded their gear everwhere and also closed all the windows and turned the heating up. I was hot and needed to go to the loo, but in the darkness I was afraid I would trip over all their stuff. So I lay there trying to convince myself I could sleep.
And we're off!
What a surreal experience, leaving home, saying goodbye and knowing that I won't be back for 7 weeks!
So we arrived… I learnt that I really really don't like heights! Gerry reckons that travelling up a mountain with me was like travelling with a tourettes sufferer… But really… do the roads have to be so narrow!?


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LOCKPORT – A short-term solution is being used to open Gougar Road between 147th and 151st streets in Lockport.
Lockport city officials announced Thursday in a news release the roadway should open Friday. Barricades north of Gougar Road and 147th Street will be moved to allow vehicles to travel from 151st Street to Lemont Road by taking 147th Street.
City officials said in the news release this is a short-term solution with the Will County Division of Transportation for the next several months to resolve the issues that caused the road to remain closed for nearly two years.
City Administrator Ben Benson said city officials also were thankful for Will County Executive Larry Walsh Sr. working with them on the issue.
The opening of Gougar Road has been tied up in a Will County condemnation lawsuit with several property owners in the area. On Nov. 20, the Will County Board authorized the Will County State's Attorney's Office to proceed with the condemnation case.
"[Will County] allowed us to come up with this temporary plan as the case plays out," Benson said.
Nick Palmer, the county executive's chief of staff, said the condemnation suit still is continuing. He said the county's goal in the case is to keep the roads safe for all residents and businesses.
The long-term solution will be to install a split-phase signal at Gougar Road and 143rd Street and then remove all the barricades completely, city officials said in the release.
Lockport city officials closed Gougar Road and 147th Street in May 2014 to make way for road improvements. After the work was completed, the road remained closed to through traffic because of safety issues.
City officials wanted a traffic signal on 143rd Street at Gougar Road to keep the road safe, but Benson said last year property owners in the area were not cooperating in the acquisition of property needed to put a signal there.


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The U.S. Department of Justice said a Milwaukee man has pleaded guilty to five counts of sex trafficking charges.
Najee Moore, 23, pleaded guilty to five counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering in U.S. District Court.
Court documents state Moore engaged in force, fraud and coercion of both minors and adults in commercial sex acts in Milwaukee and other locations.
Investigators also said he used a website to promote his activities.
Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels said "Bringing human traffickers to justice is a top priority of the Department of Justice."
"Child prostitution remains a persistent threat to children in Wisconsin and across America," said Robert Shields, special agent in charge of the Milwaukee Field Office of the FBI.


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For many years, banks have been advised to focus on customer experience and it has become very much a C level issue, with some banks going as far as appointing a Chief Experience Officer. Wikipedia defines Customer Experience as:
"Customer experience (CX) is the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship. This interaction includes a customer's attraction, awareness, discovery, cultivation, advocacy and purchase and use of a service."
However, for many of us not from a marketing background, we couldn't see the fuss. Surely every bank makes their website as attractive as possible, or their online banking as easy to use as possible? Can banks really compete solely on this kind of "experience"?
Of course, as a technologist, I am not meant to understand; this is the domain of the creative marketing teams. However, even speaking to bank marketing managers I found many lacked clarity about their customer experience strategy, sometimes not even understanding that a strategy was required.
Yet if you swap the word "experience" for "proposition" and start talking about "customer value propositions" things start to make much more sense. Indeed banks that shifted their focus like this even publish their customer value propositions online. For example, OCBC in Singapore make clear it is the solid credit rating, best in class products and expertise that provide a compelling proposition of leadership for their customers.
Charryse Scapignato of Macquarie in Australia, provides a useful six point checklist of how to create a strong value proposition.
- Does it resonate with your target market?
- Is it clear, simple and succinct?
- Does it really set you apart?
- Does it sound good when you say it out loud?
- Could it trigger a conversation?
- Is it true?
For digital banks, creating a highly targeted offering for finer segments will allow them to successfully differentiate and provide value to customers. After all, many banks will claim to have fantastic customer service, market leading products or easy access through any channel.For example, in the UK looking at the student segment identifies over 2.3 million students in higher education, of which 1.5 million are first time degree students. Or if you take micro-business, and consider those with less than 9 employees, there are over 5 million. The point is that "niche" segments can be large opportunities and high street banks are still treating these like generic banking customers.
For digital banks, without the legacy of requiring "physical presence" and traditional marketing like printed brochures, there is a huge opportunity to leverage their cost advantage with targeted offerings for these segments. However, whilst the vehicle might be banking, the destination has to be a clear differentiated proposition specific to that market.
For students, it might be "the most rewarding bank" – a bank that seeks to understand all your preferences, hobbies and habits, and turn those into rewards and freebie promotions. After all, how many students would turn down a discount to see their favourite band or get a cheap meal? For micro businesses, it might be "the bank that works for you" – a bank that helps them easily keep track of business expenses, helps them with tax returns or offers to find the best P2P funding.
Whilst customer experience is important, banks wondering how to beat challengers should look to define a clear customer proposition by leveraging the benefits of going digital. As Bill Gates poignantly said, "Banking is necessary. Banks are not". A focus on customer experience for banks only improves an existing bank; a focus on customer proposition can help redefine banking services. The former is cosmetic; the latter is transformational!
On the same basis, a bank's approach to big data and API's can also enhance or limit transformational banking… More to follow in my next post.


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- Assistance in completing the required permits, authorizations, and Veterans forms
- Social Security notification
- Transportation from the place of death (Kent County)
- Cremation Process
- Cremains returned in a basic container (urns available upon request)
- Free Obituary posting on our website
Newaygo, Muskegon, Ottawa, Allegan, Barry, Ionia, and Montcalm - Simple Direct Cremation $1095
Please call if you don't see your County listed, and we will provide you an estimate based on your location.
Services of West Michigan is a referral service directing families to the affordable services offered by the Stegenga Funeral Chapel. All services are fulfilled by the caring staff of the Stegenga Funeral Chapel at either of their two locations in Belmont or Wyoming.


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So, this is an interesting question to think about…
If you were to break a piece of spaghetti randomly twice, to yield three smaller pieces, what are the chances that your three pieces would form a triangle?
I encourage you to take some time to think about this before reading my solution.
I had a little intuition based on the triangle inequality, which says that for any pair of sides of a triangle, their sum must be greater than the third side: a+b>c.
After making that guess, I actually tried to prove this to myself geometrically before moving to try a simulation via computer program, so I guess I'm still a mathematician at heart even though my current teaching load is all computer science courses! 🙂
The outer triangle, AEF, is the probability space for the spaghetto we're talking about, assuming (without loss of generality) that the original spaghetto has length 1. The x-axis represents our (random) choice for the first break, which could be any number between 0 and 1 with equal/uniform probability. Let's call the random number chosen x*. The y-axis then represents our (random) choice for the second break, which is now constrained with an upper bound of 1-x*, based on however long our first broken piece was (thus the hypotenuse of the right triangle, y=1-x). Only two breaks (or, equivalently, random numbers) are needed, 0≤x*≤1, and 0≤y*≤1-x*, since the third piece is completely determined by the first two, as 1-x*-y*.
Within our probability space, the bluish-green region in the lower right is out-of-bounds for trianglehood, since an initial break of my first piece x*>0.5 would mean that I'm left with a piece less than 0.5 which still needs to be broken into two, and that means those two pieces could never sum to more than my first piece (the triangle inequality). The magenta region near the top is similarly off-limits, even if my initial break is small enough, if my second break yields a y*>0.5, the first and third pieces could never sum to more than the second. Finally, the yellow region near the bottom represents non-triangles where both the first and second breaks are two short, yielding a combined sum less than 0.5, and therefore a third/final piece greater than 0.5 which would dominate the first two and thus not allow triangularity to flourish from our three pieces of spaghetti.
So the only triangularly-valid region is the center, which is 1/4 the total area of our probability space.
After becoming certain of this answer, I did mock up a quick random number generator function in Python:
While this was indeed closer to 0.25 than any other option in the initial poll, the fact that I ran 10,000,000 trials and got consistently less than 0.2 (and not closer to 0.25) does worry me that I coded one of the assumptions wrong. I'm still 99% certain that 0.25 is the correct answer. But if anyone spots a program error, or a logic error, please let me know!


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Director of Project Services
Professional Experience
Jonathan Perrelli is a director of project services for Robert Half Legal eDiscovery Services. He previously held the role of project services manager for the company and served as division director for the company, earning recognition and multiple awards for his sales and leadership skills managing full-time and temporary placement. Prior to Robert Half Legal, Mr. Perrelli worked for several legal recruiting firms where he held management-level positions. After serving as assistant investigator for the California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General, he was an attorney in private practice for several years. Prior to this, he was employed as a law clerk/paralegal for a midsize law firm. Mr. Perrelli brings more than 18 years of legal services and recruiting industry experience to his current role with Robert Half Legal.
Areas of Expertise
Mr. Perrelli works closely with law firms and corporate legal departments to provide highly skilled legal professionals and project professionals for a variety of initiatives, including litigation, mergers and acquisitions, document and eDiscovery review.
- Juris Doctor, University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law
- Bachelor of Arts, University of San Diego


text: TMG solvers for NX is just a solid module the computer software which simulates as well as analyzes the thermal practices of varied commercial product. Therefore TMG solvers for NX may be the gathering of CAD/CAE and CAM instruments that have been integrated for making the most of the productiveness. …Read More »


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I allow myself to indulge in eating Rice Krispies Treats every once in awhile. I decided that one of my favorite snacks needed a better box to store them.
The container was made with a combination of power tools and hand tools, and was assembled with only cut nails (no glue). The wood was a 'white wood' cutoff from the big box store. It was a fun build – hope you like it.


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A legitimate question one could ask of the left these days is "When does a fear become a phobia?" If you Google the word "Islamophobia" you instantly get 4,360,000 hits and the word appears daily in almost every major publication, multiple newscasts, and reams of political thought. For the left, it has become an accusatory term to be used against anyone who expresses concern over Islamic terrorists, Syrian refugees, or the silent Christian genocide taking place in the Middle East. But is it an accurate term or is it a bastardization of the language? Where exactly on the scale do we flip the switch from fear to phobia?
Many activities involve a certain level of fear. Let's take a look at crossing the street. An average person who crosses the street has a background level of fear in his mind that he could get hit by a car. Almost 100% of the time that fear is so far removed that it never really makes it to the conscious level; it's embedded back in there from his childhood when his parents taught him how to cross the street. Moving up to a slightly higher spot on the fear scale, maybe our street-crosser notices that a car is coming from one direction and is forced to decide when to cross. At this point, some small level of fear may cause him to choose to wait rather than make a dash.
As the amount of vehicles increases from one car to two, the speed increases, and the decision eventually becomes about "traffic" rather than single cars the level of fear goes up slowly but surely. We can imagine ratcheting up the fear further by adding larger and faster vehicles (a speeding concrete truck is slightly more worrisome than a slow-moving Smart car) or adding the element of surprise (a vehicle that surprises you when you thought none were coming can definitely raise your heart rate).
Let's imagine some even higher levels of fear of street crossing. Let's say for some emergency reason our street-crosser decides he must cross an Interstate highway. Maybe it's a medical emergency or he has to save his dog. Now, there is a palpable fear. His brain is shouting at him, "I better be careful. If I make the wrong choice here I could get hit by a car and killed!" Now we are to the level of real heart pounding fear. Let's look at one final level of street-crosser's fear. Let's imagine a person who, on a clear sunny day with not a car in sight in either direction and absolutely zero real danger of having a problem crossing the street, is totally paralyzed with fear at just the thought of crossing the street.
So where does our fear of crossing the street become a phobia? The dictionary says a phobia is "a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it." By this definition it seems that all of the fears we looked at for our street-crosser except the last one were normal, healthy survival mechanisms. The point where we flip the switch from fear to phobia is when the fear is no longer rational.
So, transferring this to our national discussion of Islamic terror, the question becomes is the current level of fear rational? It seems rational to have a certain amount of fear that the Paris attacks could be duplicated by Islamic terrorists here in the U.S. Many of our cities, our gatherings at sporting events, and our restaurants are almost identical. They only needed 11 terrorists to kill 130 people. We now also know that the death toll could have been much higher. The plan was to detonate a suicide bomb inside a soccer stadium (think Patriots football game in the U.S.) and then two more detonations outside the stadium when the panicked crowd rushed out. This plan was foiled when an alert member of security noticed the first bomber's vest.
It also seems rational to have a certain level of fear that Islamic terrorists might try to infiltrate the flow of Syrian refugees. One of the 11 Paris attackers did just that. Those with such concerns have been mocked by the President as being "afraid of widows and orphans" as if such fears were ridiculous or irrational. Does it still seem irrational however when we realize that one of the Paris attackers was a woman? A woman who tried to entice a police officer to come nearer by pleading for help just before she blew herself up? Is it rational to be concerned about the influx of those the President mocks as "orphans" when we realize that the Boston bomber Tsarnaev brothers came to the U.S. when they were ten years old?
Amazingly, at this point in my writing of this post, Islamic terrorists did attack here in the U.S. In San Bernardino two terrorists claimed 14 lives and were suspected to have another attack planned. One of the attackers was a woman. Should we still be unconcerned about "widows and orphans" Mr. President? CBS also reports this morning that the woman, Tashfeen Malik, passed DHS counterterrorism screening. It now seems extremely rational to demand an even higher level of screening than we now provide for the entry of Syrian refugees if we decide to allow any at all.
And, finally, there are multiple reports that an individual in the neighborhood where the terrorists lived witnessed large numbers of packages arriving, large numbers of Middle Eastern men coming and going, and work going on in the garage late at night. Although suspicious of these activities he did not report it to anyone because he feared he might be accused of profiling. In this case it seems the problem is not Islamophobia but Islamophobia-phobia (an irrational fear of being called an Islamophobe). This is the fear that Islamic terrorists want to cultivate and our current administration is helping them do it.
Let's cut to the chase on Islamophobia in this country. There is no irrational fear. There is fear. It is completely rational and highly deserved. It needs to be addressed. You could make the case that it is currently being ignored by our government officials but let's just say that it is not getting the attention it requires. Worst of all, our current administration mocks those who demand stronger actions as victims of a phobia.
Is it not more irrational to stick your head in the sand and invite tens of thousands of Middle Eastern refugees into the country when you cannot properly screen them? Especially, when ISIS has told us they would infiltrate them and have already done so in other places? Real fear is a survival mechanism which must lead to action if you wish to survive.
All we really have to fear is the fear of Islamophobia.


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$6.00 / Sold Out
new 16 page zine. old story, originally published as "arrette ce'st ici l'empire de la mort" by space face books in 2012, this was the first officially published (by somebody else) MM&O story. new edition features new epilogue strip, new covers. black toner on pink stock. edition of 500.


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Did y'all know that last weekend was NYC's bridal market? Brides did a great job of posting all the latest runway looks (which will be the designers' Spring 2016 lines), and of course I eagerly devoured each photo slideshow. Here's the thing about runway bridal fashion, though: Sometimes, I just can't picture the ensembles on actual brides. Many of the dresses (or pantsuits, or crop tops) are just too modern and high fashion-looking for an actual Carolina girl's wedding (examples: here, here, and here). The dresses that caught my eye from bridal market were the ones that I could actually see my friends and family members in. They're still different and unique and fresh, but they don't look like they would only be appropriate on the cover of Vogue. I've collected all of my favorites here to share with y'all…let me know which ones you like best!
1. Reem Acra: Silk chiffon bateau neck dress with embroidered bodice and low back detail.
2. Reem Acra: Bateau neck silk taffeta ball gown with embroidered bodice and low back.
3. "Ella" by Monique Lhuillier: Tulle a-line dress with floral overlay
4. "Roma" by Monique Lhuillier: Chantilly lace strapless corset ball gown with tulle skirt.
5. Ines di Santo: Lace wedding gown with tulle skirt.
6. Maggie Sottero: V-neck wedding gown with lace appliques.
7. Maggie Sottero: Scalloped v-neck a-line wedding gown.
8. Oscar de la Renta: Strapless lace and organza tiered ball gown with sweetheart neckline
9. Marchesa: Strapless tulle fishtail with floral threadwork and architectural seam line.
10. Marchesa: Corded lace a-line dress with bateau neckline and elbow-length sleeves.
11. Amsale: Champagne dress with gold beading.
12. Amsale: Gold beaded strapless ball gown.
13. Amsale: Classic taffeta ball gown.
14. Carolina Herrera: all over lace wedding gown.
15. Carolina Herrera: Vintage lace mermaid wedding gown.
16. Hayley Paige: Geometric print spaghetti strap wedding gown.
17. Hayley Paige: Fitted silk and lace wedding gown with long lace sleeves.
(All photos via Brides, obviously).
Favorites, belles?
xoxo Laura


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SAN FRANCISCO — Kamala Harris was three months into her tenure as San Francisco district attorney in 2004 when a gang member killed a police officer with a hail of bullets from an AK-47. Her announcement within three days of the murder that she would not seek the death penalty set off protests from her fellow Democrats as well as from the police.
Senator Dianne Feinstein stood in front of thousands of mourners at the officer's funeral at St. Mary's Cathedral and urged her to change her mind; Jerry Brown, the once and future governor, was among those standing in ovation. The state attorney general threatened to take over the case, and Senator Barbara Boxer asked the Justice Department to prosecute it.
Ms. Harris, the first person of color elected as this city's district attorney, declared her decision a matter of principle: The death penalty, she believed, discriminated against poor and black people and would not deter more killing.
But death penalty opponents wondered a decade later where that principle had gone when as California's attorney general Ms. Harris appealed a judge's decision declaring the state's death penalty law unconstitutional. She said it was a matter of upholding the law; her critics asked whether she would have similarly defended segregation and statutes against interracial marriage.
Now Ms. Harris is running for president as a "progressive prosecutor." She says she sees no contradiction in the term, arguing that a tough prosecutor can also be a force for reforming the criminal-justice system. But already, mere weeks into her candidacy, she is facing a chorus of skepticism, especially from the left. The death penalty episode shows the tricky crosscurrents that she has had to weather — and that are likely to intensify as she tries to square that circle.
In a dozen years as the top law enforcement official of the city and then the state, Ms. Harris was as much politician as prosecutor, appearing to try to be all things to all constituencies. More practical than ideological, she was defined most by resisting easy definition.
She impressed Californians with her commanding presence — offering a preview of the senator the country would see pointedly questioning Republican nominees during confirmation hearings. But she developed a reputation for caution, protecting the status quo and shrinking from decisions on contentious issues.
Years before ending mass incarceration became a bipartisan cause, she started programs to steer low-level drug offenders away from prison and into school and jobs. At the same time, she touted her success in increasing conviction rates, and as attorney general remained largely on the sidelines as California scrambled to meet a federal court order to reduce its swollen prison populations. She also repeatedly sided with prosecutors accused of misconduct, challenging judges who ruled against them.
And while she summoned righteous anger toward the bank fraud that helped set off the Great Recession, holding out for more money for California homeowners in the National Mortgage Settlement, she said little when the governor diverted some of it to fill holes in his budget.
"She played it very careful," said Laurie Levenson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who served on an independent panel that investigated one of the cases of prosecutorial misconduct while Ms. Harris was attorney general. "She had her sights set on what her future might be, and she realized every day she was navigating a minefield, because she had law enforcement to deal with, she had the public to deal with, the minority community to deal with. I think she was trying to be very careful not to alienate."
She has also had to navigate the shifting politics of crime and race — and the expectations they bring with them.
Ms. Harris began her career at a time when many African-American law enforcement officials were joining, even amplifying, law-and-order calls for stricter prosecution, to stop the drugs and violence victimizing their communities. When she became attorney general in 2011, crime was falling and the debate was evolving. Now, in the era of Black Lives Matter, many in the black community argue that the biggest law-enforcement problem is law enforcement itself, and her record is being assessed against calls for a wholesale reimagination of the criminal justice system — who should go to prison and for how long; indeed, should any but the most heinous criminals go to prison at all?
At the other end of the political spectrum, President Trump has sought to frame the immigration debate around fear of rising crime, teeing it up as a campaign issue for 2020. In the waning days of the partial government shutdown over his demand for a border wall, he tweeted what he called a new Republican theme for the next two years: "BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL!"
Ms. Harris scorns what she calls false choices, and says her critics are imposing them on her record. Those who have worked for her call her disciplined, a characterization she prefers to "cautious." She describes her thinking — about criminal justice, but also about the other issues animating her presidential candidacy, like health care and economic inequality — as scientific. "It's a hypothesis; this is how we can do things better," she said in a recent interview. "You have to inform it with: Where's the empirical evidence? Where is the data? Where is the detail?"
She does not like to be boxed in.
"The thing that drives Kamala Harris crazy above all other things is to get reduced to a demographic archetype," said Sean Clegg, a longtime strategist for Ms. Harris and other California Democrats. "'You are XYZ because you are a black woman; you are XYZ because you're from San Francisco.' She's a complex person like all of us. She's also been the first. That's a lot more difficult than it looks."
A '1999 Version of Olivia Pope'
Ms. Harris, now 54, confounded expectations just by becoming a prosecutor.
She is the daughter of immigrants — her mother from India, her father from Jamaica — who met as civil-rights activists in graduate school at Berkeley and gave Ms. Harris what she calls a stroller's-eye view of the demonstrations of the 1960s.
Most of her law school peers went into civil-rights work, recalled Jeff Adachi, who was a tutor in Ms. Harris's program at the University of California's Hastings College of the Law and later faced off against her as San Francisco's elected public defender.
"You didn't have a lot of minorities who were wanting to be part of law enforcement," he said.
She had to explain to family and friends before taking her first job out of law school, as a prosecutor in Oakland in 1990. As she described it in the recent interview, "When we want to reform systems, it shouldn't and it can't only be from the outside on bended knee or trying to break down the door."
She added, "Let's try and do it from the inside and understand that those people are going to stand in a courtroom and ask for guilty verdicts for people who do harm to the community — and that's consistent with all progressive values."
She earned a reputation as a sharp trial lawyer, and in 1998 became the managing attorney in charge of the career criminal unit in the San Francisco district attorney's office. But she left within two years, frustrated by what she saw as the dysfunction of that office, which had the state's lowest conviction rate and lacked basics like email and enough phones.
She worked for the city attorney, and she prepared to run against her former boss, Terence Hallinan, in 2003.
Ms. Harris had made political and social connections, dating Willie Brown, the powerful speaker of the California House, and serving on the board of the city's Museum of Modern Art. But her polls showed she was a relative unknown.
Mr. Hallinan, a former defense lawyer and a son of a Progressive Party presidential candidate, had infuriated the police department by winning indictments of top brass in a scandal involving the assistant chief's son. Ms. Harris campaigned between Mr. Hallinan and a more law-and-order candidate, on a platform that ran the gamut: professionalizing the office and improving relations with the police, opposing the death penalty and creating programs to steer first-time nonviolent offenders away from crime.
She brought a rare perspective — elected district attorneys are more typically white men; a 2015 study by the Women Donors Network found that just 1 percent are women of color. Communities of color, she argued, wanted tougher treatment for the drug dealers victimizing them; what they didn't want from the police was excessive force.
Almost immediately, her decision on the death penalty in the officer's killing inflamed tensions with the police. But it was pragmatic as well as principled: She knew that San Francisco jurors rarely if ever returned death sentences. And despite the protests, polling showed that the public supported her.
Some contend that the episode spooked her, that she spent the rest of her tenure trying to make amends with the police. Ms. Harris scoffs at the idea, pointing to her diversion program that allowed young low-level offenders to avoid incarceration if they enrolled in school full time and kept a job. "You think law enforcement was supportive of that?" she said.
That program was relatively small, with only about 300 graduates over eight years. Mr. Adachi and others complained that it took only the offenders most likely to succeed. But its recidivism rate was remarkably low: less than 10 percent, compared with 53 percent statewide.
Arguing that students who skip school are the ones who end up in the criminal justice system, Ms. Harris also started an anti-truancy program. She described it as carrot-and-stick: It threatened prosecution for parents whose children were chronically absent, but also helped them with health care problems and other hurdles to getting their children to school.
Critics, though, said it was more stick than carrot, and failed to grapple with the depths of the social problems parents were struggling against.
Either way, the program reflected Ms. Harris's approach to her job.
"Fierce," said Lateefah Simon, a onetime teenage shoplifter who became executive director of a center that helps lift young women out of lives of crime. Ms. Harris recruited her to work in the district attorney's office, instructed her to lose the Pumas and track pants, bought her a suit and told her she needed to understand the penal code. Ms. Harris herself kept an immaculate desk, with little more than a notepad and a keyboard at her fingertips.
Ms. Simon called Ms. Harris "the 1999 version of Olivia Pope," the impeccably tailored, steely-in-a-crisis hero of television's "Scandal."
"She's not easy," Ms. Simon said. "If you beat up a woman in front of her children, you are going to jail. At the heart, she is a prosecutor. She wants to hold people accountable."
Suzy Loftus, who started working for Ms. Harris as a campaign volunteer in 2003 and is now running for district attorney, recalls Ms. Harris's instruction as she swore her in as a prosecutor: "When you go into court tomorrow," she told her, "you look the judge in the eye and say, 'Suzy Loftus, for the people.'" ("For the people" is now the slogan for Ms. Harris's presidential campaign.)
"It's professional and it's about dignity," Ms. Loftus said. "But it's also about giving dignity to people who are most impacted by the system."
But it was Ms. Harris's success in increasing conviction rates that became a central boast of her campaign for attorney general in 2010.
An article in San Francisco Weekly that year challenged the numbers, noting that most of the convictions had come from plea deals, and that the conviction rate for cases that went to trial was lower than Mr. Hallinan's, and had dropped over the previous two years. Assistant prosecutors were quoted saying that Ms. Harris had pressured them to take weak cases to trial in an attempt to look tough on crime as she prepared to run beyond the liberal city.
Her office defended her by noting that she had won stiffer sentences than her predecessors, by demanding prison time instead of probation for crimes including robbery and home burglary.
Ms. Simon, who was awarded a MacArthur "genius" grant in 2003 for her leadership on juvenile justice and now leads the Akonadi Foundation, a racial justice organization in Oakland, says she fights with her "radical friends" who think Ms. Harris was not progressive enough on crime. "I say, I'd love to see you run for D.A. and run a better office."
Ms. Harris, she said, had to contend with expectations from all sides.
"She instinctually but also strategically had to think about the way people saw her," Ms. Simon said. "The expectations not just of a black woman elected, but with black folks, they expected so much of her to go and revolutionize the system in four to eight years, which is impossible."
Reform, at a Remove
Ms. Harris ran unopposed in 2007 for her second term — the only San Francisco district attorney to have done so in nearly two decades. And she became increasingly well known nationally, publishing her first book, "Smart on Crime: A Career Prosecutor's Plan to Make Us Safer," as she prepared to run for attorney general in 2010.
She took office at the ideal moment for a prosecutor who wanted to rethink the criminal justice system.
A panel of federal judges had ruled that overcrowding in California prisons amounted to cruel and unusual punishment — prisoners were stacked in triple bunk beds in gymnasiums and dying for lack of medical care — and ordered the state to reduce the population by about 40,000.
The debate over prison crowding had been long-running and contentious, with victims' rights groups and law enforcement officials opposing the idea of prisoner release. Ms. Harris stayed above the fray, as she would on a range of issues throughout her tenure, seeing herself less as a decision maker than as a lawyer serving a client.
She had campaigned to the right of her Republican opponent on the question of easing the state's tough three-strikes law. Once in office, she declined to take positions on ultimately successful ballot initiatives intended to reduce prison populations — one expanding opportunities for parole, the other reducing many nonviolent felonies to misdemeanors.
She argued that because she was tasked with writing the descriptions of the initiatives that would appear on the ballot any public statements on the proposals might create the impression that she had a finger on the scale. This departed, though, from the practice of previous attorneys general.
After the Supreme Court upheld the judges' overcrowding order, the state promised to "promptly" release a significant number of nonviolent prisoners, giving credit for time served. A delay in meeting that promise drew a judicial scolding in 2014. The state's response proved embarrassing, and unsuccessful: Reducing the prison population, Ms. Harris's office maintained, would hurt California's ability to fight wildfires by shrinking the pool of forced labor.
"She really was a sideline player in all the decarceration efforts," said Robert Weisberg, a law professor and co-director of the criminal law center at Stanford. "She didn't stake out a strong position on what to do other than, 'Let's promote re-entry and anti-recidivism programs.'"
The California attorney general's office is large, about 5,000 lawyers, and Ms. Harris said she was unaware of the brief arguing for cheap prison labor. "A previous A.G. said to me, 'You are going to inherit an office of 5,000 mistakes waiting for you every day,'" she said in the interview. "I have always owned that responsibility."
That was also her response to criticism that she had resisted appeals for DNA testing from Kevin Cooper, a death row inmate whose case had been taken up by groups including the American Bar Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. Ms. Harris said she learned of the case in a New York Times column last year — after which she urged testing.
Beginning in the summer of 2014, the nation — and with it, California's attorney general — was thrust into a debate over police brutality, by the deaths of black men in confrontations with the police in Ferguson, Mo.; Baltimore; and other cities.
Ms. Harris won praise for releasing statewide data in a way that informed rather than inflamed the brutality debate: It included numbers on the use of police force but also on use of force against officers. She instituted body cameras for police agents who worked in her office, and offered implicit-bias training for police statewide.
But she declined to support statewide regulations for the use of body cameras, agreeing with local departments that they should set their own standards. And she did not support a bill that would have required the attorney general to investigate police shootings.
Her office was also forced to confront an uproar over prosecutorial misconduct, with judges disciplining local prosecutors for lying and tampering with evidence. It was an issue she had faced as district attorney in a scandal involving drug testing at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab.
A technician had been skimming drugs to feed her own habit, and Ms. Harris's chief drug prosecutor had warned that she was sabotaging evidence. Ms. Harris said she only learned of the problem several months later, when it was revealed publicly.
A judge then ruled that the district attorney's office had violated constitutional protections requiring prosecutors to turn over any information that might damage witnesses' credibility, and criticized the office for failing to tell defense lawyers about crimes or misconduct on at least 60 police officers' records.
Ms. Harris responded by accusing the judge of a conflict of interest because she was married to a defense attorney who had handled a case involving the lab. (A court rejected her motion.)
As attorney general, Ms. Harris defended prosecutors by appealing judges' rulings — dropping one appeal, during her Senate campaign, only after a video of judges criticizing her office went viral.
In a case in Orange County, a public defender had discovered that the district attorney's office was strategically placing jailhouse informants, offering them leniency if they could coax confessions from fellow inmates. A judge found that the district attorney's office had lied to him about the use of informants and withheld potentially favorable evidence from defense lawyers.
When the judge disqualified the entire office from a death penalty case, Ms. Harris appealed, accusing the judge of abusing his discretion. While she opened an inquiry into the case at hand, she rejected repeated calls for a broad investigation of the prosecutor's office.
In the recent interview, Ms. Harris said her decision reflected her experience when others had tried to disqualify her from the San Francisco death penalty case. It was up to voters, not the attorney general, she said, to remove elected prosecutors. "I knew misconduct had occurred, clearly it had," she said. "And it was being handled at the local level."
Frustrated by her refusal to investigate, Erwin Chemerinsky, then the law school dean at the University of California, Irvine, joined with a former attorney general to ask the Justice Department to examine what they believed was a pattern of civil rights violations in the prosecutor's office. Their letter was signed by 25 prominent law professors, prosecutors and defense lawyers.
"Twice Kamala Harris called on my cell and said she was on top of it and looking into it," he said. "To my knowledge, the California A.G. never did anything with regard to the scandal."
Professor Chemerinsky emphasized that he admired Ms. Harris's work as a senator. But, he said, her office's decisions on Orange County were "outrageous."
"Their reaction ranged from silence to criticizing the judge who found the misconduct," he said. "Never did they attempt to be a force for reform."
Both, Not Either/Or
In September 2011, Ms. Harris announced that she would not sign the National Mortgage Settlement, negotiated by the Obama administration with the banks at the center of the foreclosure crisis. What happened next, Ms. Harris and her supporters say, illustrates her agility in balancing competing interests.
The proposed settlement essentially gave the banks amnesty against further prosecution. Ms. Harris wanted to leave open the possibility of investigation and lawsuits, and promised Californians to lock up the bankers responsible for the fraud.
As the top prosecutor for the state with the bulk of foreclosures, she had the power to determine the fate of the deal. The lobbying was intense — from housing groups, from homeowners, from the Obama administration. "It was a constant tension between speeding the relief quickly in the middle of the crisis or taking the time to go through this investigation, which could take years, while people were losing their homes every day," said Brian Nelson, a deputy who helped Ms. Harris negotiate the deal.
She did not kill the settlement. She emerged with a better one: The banks agreed to $18 billion in debt reduction that Ms. Harris said would allow California homeowners to stay in their homes, and the national agreement included $2.5 billion for a fund to provide educational counseling and other services for those in danger of foreclosure.
But critics, especially on the left, have long said that the settlement was no grand bargain. It did not require banks to pay much out of pocket; $4.7 billion of the $18 billion in relief came from forgiving second mortgages, many of which the banks would have written off anyway because they were so severely underwater, and $9 billion came from homeowners selling their homes for less than the value of their mortgages, meaning that homeowners did not stay in their homes.
Ms. Harris retained the right to investigate and pursue claims against the banks, winning $921 million against five institutions. But no one went to prison; she explained to voters that she was frustrated, too, but the state could go only "where the evidence took us."
And most of the $410 million California got to help at-risk homeowners never made it to them; a judge found that Governor Brown diverted $331 million to plug budget holes. Ms. Harris recused herself from defending the governor because of her role in the settlement. She rebuffed housing advocates' requests to meet with her, offering little more than a brief statement that the money should go to homeowners.
Her decision to fight the ruling that had struck down California's capital punishment law in 2015 created similar disappointment among those who had applauded her refusal to call for the death penalty in San Francisco.
"This was not a situation where they were compelled to respond," said Hadar Aviram, a law professor at Hastings who started a petition against appealing. "They could have done nothing."
The public, however, had three years earlier rejected a ballot initiative that would have abolished the death penalty in California.
In the interview, Ms. Harris said that as attorney general she had had to represent her client, the governor, who supported the death penalty appeal. Even so, she had cited her discretion in deciding which cases to pursue when she declined requests to defend Proposition 8, a successful ballot initiative defining marriage as between a man and a woman, in federal courts.
Once again, she said, her critics were framing a false choice: She could defend the death penalty for a client and still be opposed to it personally.
Just as a prosecutor can be tough but also progressive.
"One human being kills another human being, a woman is raped, a child is molested — are we really saying there should be no consequence and accountability?" she said. "I believe it is consistent with knowing that there is bias in the system, knowing that there are deep flaws in the system, knowing that there has to be reform of the system."
She added: "Are we really saying that you're either that, or you believe that there should be serious consequences for people who commit serious crimes? I am both."


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I received a couple products for this review the first is the 5 1/2 in comet nail file. We got the one with the green Swarovski Crystals on it. It sells for $15.95. They come in other colors and designs, I think they are all beautiful and the quality is amazing. Its a great file for you manicure box its larger size works well on both fingernails and toenails. The Swarovski crystals are beautiful and have held up well. I usually have a hard time finding a nail file I love. I have very brittle nails that chip easily and I often find my self frustrated with regular nail files. I was excited to try out the GlassFuzion file and wanted to put it to the test. Me and the girls had a manicure pedicure night and we did everyone fingers and toes. It worked so well I was surprised at how smooth my nails turned out after I filed them no chipping or splitting. My mom even loved it and she has hard nails that most files leave rough and unfinished looking. Her nails came out so beautifully that she ordered one for her self and my sisters for Christmas. Cleaning it its so simple and easy, just rinse it under warm water you can even add a little soap if you wish. It comes clean and looks just as new as it did before you filed your nails with it. I love that it wont wear out. I go through regular nail files very quickly. Its amazing to me that I wont have to keep wasting money to buy new files every month. The files are worth the little bit extra that you pay. I would love to have one of the 3 1/2 in files to carry in my purse. I am always needing a file for the girls.
The Spa Bar foot file. AMAZING !!!! the Spa Bar measures: 6.25"x 1.25" x 0.25" and sells for $22.95 and worth every penny. It comes in lots of colors so i am sure you can find your perfect one. I received the green one its a very nice color of green. (I would love a blue one). I have really tested this out with summer ending I have some crazy rough feet. I admit it my feet take a lot of abuse. They are rough from walking around barefoot and they are calloused from my steel toed work boots. I decided it was time to make my feet soft and smooth again. The Spa bar foot file did the job better than anything I have ever tried before. I have tried the sand paper foot files. The scary cheese grader file that was out on tv a few years a go. Nothing has worked quite like the Spa Bar. Its got two sides one is slightly rougher than the other so you start with it. It will get rid of all the really rough stuff if you feet are really really bad you might have to rinse it off. Then you flip it over to the not so rough side and you finish it off this side smooths out anything that's still left and gives your feet a nice silky smooth feel. You simply rinse your feet off after that an apply your favorite foot cream. I used Glass fussion's foot cream because they sent me a little sample tub and I am a sucker for trying foot creams. It smells so good and re-hydrated my tired feet. We all know how tired a moms feet can get and a good foot cream is a wonderful experience at the end of a long day.
|The Hard case is the green tube on top
I also received a Hard Case File Protector they are a hard plastic case that comes in two sizes one fits the 3 1/2 in nail file sells for $3.25 and the other size fits the 5 1/2 in file and sells for $3.75. I got the green one to match the file they sent me. Its a very nice color and fits the file well. I love that I have something to protect my crystal glass nail file if I want to stick it in my purse or makeup bag when I travel. Because this file is defiantly going with me when I leave home I love it so much I wont use anything else now.
Disclosure: I received this product at no cost for review. All opinions are my own or what my kids thought of the product.


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K'rag growled, the sound rattling in his throat like clacking stones. The mountain had been his home since childhood. It's rocks and crevices had shaped his mind – sharp and unyielding, and body – tough and sinewy.
While he still towered over the little folk that now infested the once-silent city below, he was small for a giant; unlike the brutish bull male that was swaggering up the slopes towards his cave, nostrils flaring as he followed the smell of roasting meat.
Perfectly camouflaged, the smaller giant studied the intruder – a hill giant judging by his hulking build and savage attire, yet comparatively well-dressed with huge skull shoulder armour, leather sandals and gold lip piercing. A noble then – as much as any hill giant could be called noble – cast out in some dynastic feud and left to fend for himself.
All well and good, but, noble or not, he would have to fend for himself elsewhere… K'rag tensed as the hill giant struggled up onto the ledge. Quick as a flash the smaller giant darted out and brought his stone club crashing onto the larger giant's foot.
Howling, more with surprise and bewilderment than pain, the intruder clutched his foot, hopping around as he sought to find his invisible attacker, who had retreated back into the rocks. K'rag couldn't help but chuckle at the sight, as the hill giant pogoed about the ledge before slipping on some loose stones.
With a yell he disappeared over the edge and tumbled down the steep slope, bouncing off boulders. K'rag peered over the ledge and watched the battered giant pick himself up, roaring empty defiance at whatever it was that had attacked him before limping off with as much savage dignity he could muster.
K'rag shook his head – it was always the same with these young bulls… He returned to his cave – his meal was just about cooked as he liked his meat rare. It had taken him hours to prise the armour off this one, and he was determined to enjoy it in peace.
Deciding to add a giant to my Frostgrave bestiary, I had already bought the Reaper Bones Stone Giant before coming across the other one whilst mooching around my local Poundland. It's an action figure from a range called 'Journey to Creation' or somesuch – worth a punt for a quid!
The original paintwork was frankly shocking, but a spray of undercoat revealed quite a lot of nice detail. It also came with a huge club, but I decided that this would make storing the figure problematic, so I cut off one of the spikes, which he now uses as a dagger. Both 'minis' painted up really well, so now I have two giants!


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So why do I want to blog? I have to say right up front that for me it's all about learning. I really enjoy learning new things, getting clarity on things I think I already know, and sharing and testing my knowledge. Technology continues to provide new tools to make learning easier and more effective, and neuroscience continues to contribute insights into what learning really consists of, at least at a physiological and psychological level. So we have new tools and new insights; learning just keeps getting more exciting, piquing my curiosity more and more.
And then there is the writing; I enjoy writing. Academic writing, as Steven Pinker stated in his recent book on style, is usually in the classic vein: the author is an authority on the subject matter and wants to share his knowledge with the reader. I plan to do some of that, but I resonate more with the essayists who say they write to clarify or even to learn what it is they are thinking.
And I am of the "all of us is smarter than any of us" school, so I want to elicit feedback, to get readers' thoughts on the ideas we explore.
So my initial goals for this blog are twofold:
- to entertain, inform, motivate and inspire readers to take responsibility for their own learning and experience the enjoyment I have found; and
- to gather feedback to distill guidelines and identify tools to facilitate that personal learning.
I have always carried a notebook, paper DayTimer or later an electronic todo list; and I have always felt like a productivity drop out. I admire what David Allen has done with Getting Things Done–the flowchart is a very helpful visual–and I've always felt compelled to look not only at accomplishments but what they have meant to me. So I envision creating a tool I'll call LML which stand for "lovin my life', or for those who subscribe to the philosophy that life is about learning from the challenges and successes we face every day, LML is for "learnin more lessons". So the customized tool would be about not only getting more done but also about creating and savoring enjoyment, meaning, and all those other positive emotions that uplift our lives. I'll come back to LML in future posts.
Who am I? I was born the sixth of ten children, attended parochial school through college, then obtained an PhD in physics at a state university. I worked initially for the mother of all bureaucratic institutions–Ma Bell, albeit in the very innovative Bell Labs branch. I also managed technical teams in several startups, and spent the last fourteen years of my career sharing what I had learned about shaping technology to create value with students in the business school of a private university. Upon retirement, I was granted the title of Clinical Professor Emeritus of Business Information and Analytics. I originally viewed my current state as an encore, but now I think more in terms of starting over. I want to revisit, explore, challenge, solidify and share the learning I have been blessed with over the past 70 years.


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GVC ONLUS, Group of Civil Voluntary Work, is a non-governmental non-profitmaking association, founded in 1971 in Bologna, recognized by the Italian Foreign Ministry and by the European Committee, which deals with international cooperation. Together with the associations of the civil society, the local governments and administrations, it realizes programs for the reconstruction and the development in different sectors: education, water and reclamation, socio-productive development, management of risk, nutritious safety, health, environment, etc,.
GVC also manages projects of humanitarian emergency with the funding of the European Committee (DG ECHO), of the Foreign Ministry and United Nations.
GVC is a secular and independent organization that since 40 years acts to build a better world, fair and supportive.
GVC is convinced that is an ethic and moral value fight the injustices, the abuse of power, the absence of respect for human rights, the persistence of situations of slavery and exploitation, the dispossession of natural resources. GVC chooses the international cooperation as an instrument to realize projects of development and humanitarian aid in support of the disinherited populations and those hit by wars and natural calamities. GVC works with a philosophy which sees protagonists the beneficiaries of its projects who are the real actors of their progress.
GVC promotes actions of advocacy, information and awareness campaigns on the problem of development, connected with the Italian, European territory and in the Countries where this problem is present.


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Design of High-Rise Buildings
The continuing economic prosperity and population increase in the urban areas point toward a future with increased activity in high-rise construction of residential and office buildings. However, construction of high-rise buildings can be economically attractive only if the structural engineers can have comprehensive understanding of the structural behaviors of various systems on one hand and the practical sense of the construction problems on the other.
Steel building construction is only about 100 years old and an enormous amount of progress has been made since the beginning. The use of cast-iron and wrought-iron has long been replaced by high strength steel. Fabrication and erection techniques have been considerably improved and mechanized. Yet while the strengths of steel have gone up, the Modulus of Elasticity remains the same as it was just when iron was first found by man. It is left to the structural engineer to compromise the modern high strengths of steel with its "pre-historic" modulus elasticity on one hand and the not-so-advanced fabrication and erection techniques with the increased labor cost on the other.
The purpose of this paper is to briefly discuss the various aspects of a multi-story structure with particular reference to the latest AISC Code and point out the interpretations of the theory and practice involved in each case that may lead to more efficient multi-story structures.


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Who are we?
- Carol Kay – Chair of the Governing Body
I have been a governor now at Burntstump Seely Primary for over for three years, and chair of governors for almost 2 years. I am a foundation governor which means that I was appointed by St Paul's Church to be on the school governing body. As well as leading the local governing board I have responsibility for monitoring school improvement, for making sure that safeguarding policies and practices are in place, for checking how the fund for disadvantaged children is spent and helping with the appraisal of our headteacher.
I have worked in primary schools for over 35 years, first as a class teacher and then later in my career as an assistant headteacher, and finally as an acting headteacher.
Although now retired from teaching I am still passionate about education and enjoy coming into school to meet and talk to the staff and children, watch concerts and plays as well as to attend meetings.
- Sally Baylis - Foundation Governor
I am the Vicar at St Paul's Church, Daybrook and have been on the Governing Body at Burntstump Seely for just over eleven years. I enjoy sharing worship at the school and helping to develop our Christian ethos.
- Sophie Bennington – Parent Governor
I have been a Governor since October 2017 when I was elected onto the Body as a Parent Governor. I am also the Link Governor for Health & Safety and Data Protection. My son has attended the school since January 2016, with his little brother due to join the Foundation Unit in September 2018.
My professional background for many years has been within Financial Services & Infrastructure Management. Many of my roles have involved the implementation of company policies, procedures, IT, project management & Health and Safety.
As a parent, I want to support the school in being the best it can be, providing a space where our children can feel valued and encouraged to reach their own goals and aspirations.
I am extremely proud of our school and passionate about the continued improvements taking place.
I believe Burntstump Seely is going from strength to strength and I look forward to being part of this in the years to come.
- Sue Ellis – Foundation Governor
I have been a foundation governor at Burntstump Seely since November 2016. I am a retired hospital pharmacist and parent of four adult sons. I am interested in education and am keen to be involved in enabling children to achieve their potential. Being on the governing body of this friendly caring school is a privilege as it becomes embedded into the Southwell and Nottingham Multi-academy Trust . I am particularly interested in promoting the distinctive nature of a church school. From my professional life I have transferable experience of staff appraisal, staff recruitment, inspection frameworks and risk management. I endeavour to offer my full support to the Head teacher and all staff as the school strives to achieve "Good" Ofsted status.
- Tina Goodridge – Parent Governor
I was elected as parent governor in November 2017. I have lived in Papplewick since 2009 and have found the village, with the school as a central figure, to be a warm, welcoming community.
My daughter, Sophie, joined Arnold Burntstump Seely Cof E Academy Primary school in September 2013 and is very settled and happy in her class.
My desire to be part of the school's Governing Body derives from a genuine interest in school improvement at all levels and a deep rooted belief in the importance of education for all. My own background is embedded in nursing and the desire to care for all individuals. I have a special interest in the SENCO link due to having an older son who suffers from autism.
My personal experiences with my son, who struggled to read at any early age, lie with literacy especially the importance of developing reading skills from an early age. I also have a sound knowledge of how to support children with special educational needs and those who are more able. Ensuring an inclusive curriculum for all is therefore important to me.
I hope that some of my skills will be useful to support Mrs Gabb and the staff and governors as they continue to develop what is already a good school into one that can be outstanding in many ways.
Governor Membership list September 2018.docx
Minutes from Governor Meetings:
Burntstump Seely 2017 Autumn Mins.doc
Burntstump Seely 2018 Spring Academy Mins.doc
Burntstump Seely 2018 Summer Academy Mins.doc
AccountabilityPanelMeeting11thOct18 (4).docx
Autumn Term Minutes of the Full Governing Body Dec 2018.docx
Minutes of Full Governors Spring 2019.docx
Governors Record of Attendance 2018-2019.docx
Register of Business Interests Forms 2019-20.pdf


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District 2 Candidates Talk Phoenix City Manager Replacement
District 2 incumbent Jim Waring and challenger Virgel Cain talked about the pending departure of Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos at a KJZZ election forum Thursday night. Cavazos will leave Phoenix for the same position in Santa Ana, Calif. after receiving a $78,000 raise last year. Both candidates disagreed with the raise, and they are willing to look elsewhere for a replacement to Cavazos. Waring said the new city manager does not have to be from within.
"I would normally probably like to see someone external. No reflection on the internal candidates from the city of Phoenix for the police chief job, but I think sometimes change is healthy," Waring said.
Cain said an outside search would be expensive.
"And I'm not saying we shouldn't do that, I think we need to look inside first, because I think it's going to cost us less money," Cain said.
Cavazos will leave for Santa Ana in mid-October.


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Nurses have a tremendous impact on patient outcomes whether the patient is receiving care in a Spokane ER or a rehabilitation hospital in rural Kentucky, and while nurses of all education levels work hard on the frontlines of health care, some fascinating research is showing over and over that better educated nurses mean healthier patients. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), "education enhances both clinical competency and care delivery." From lower patient mortality to lower infection rates, here are six ways patients do better when the nurses providing their care are better educated.
1. Lower Patient Mortality
Dozens of studies from around the world have shown a lowered patient mortality associated with nurses who go beyond the RN to the BSN. Facilities saw just a 10 percent increase in nurses who were baccalaureate-prepared, their patient mortality decreased by as much as 9 percent to 11 percent, whether that facility was in South Korea, Canada, or the U.S. This research is part of the reason why many hospitals are working toward a goal of having 80 percent of their nursing staff be in possession of at least the BSN degree by 2020.
2. More Integrated Health Care
Modern medicine is highly specialized, which can mean exceptional care when it's provided in a well-integrated manner or disjointed care if it is not. Because demands on nurses within all settings continue to grow due to more and more complex delivery systems, a better educated nursing staff is essential to providing more integrated and streamlined health care for patients all across the spectrum of care. Nurses need to function as full members of a health care team so that by understanding the myriad ways in which treatment, care, and the intricacies of disease can affect a patient's health and outcome, they can offer the patient care and team assistance that ensures higher quality outcomes. More education and training can help nurses do this more effectively.
3. Fewer Complications
A study funded by INQRI (Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative) focused on 100 NICUs around the United States to see what effect a better-educated nursing staff operating at full levels would have on this vulnerable population's outcomes. Babies tended by teams of nurses with better education and more support had fewer complications than babies tended by less educated nurses who lacked adequate support, which led the study's authors to conclude that education plays a vital role in lowering complications among patients.
4. Lower Infection Rates
The risk of infection is a major problem in many health care settings, especially infections that are hospital-acquired. Studies have shown that when nurses are better educated, infection rates go down — even in high-risk places like the ICU and NICU.
5. Better Pain Management
Ineffective pain management is a health care issue that directly affects patients' quality of life, and in addition to the emotional and physical tolls it exacts on patients and their families, it's estimated that poor pain management costs the U.S. billions of dollars in lost wages and unnecessary spending each year. Nurses with more education are better qualified to address pain's complexity, leading to better patient satisfaction inside and outside of health care settings.
6. Improved Discharge Processes
Unnecessary readmissions cost hospitals, taxpayers, insurers, and individuals tens of billions of dollars each year. One in five elderly patients find themselves readmitted to the hospital less than a month after discharge. A problem that costs Medicare — and the taxpayers shouldering the bill — $17 billion annually. Because of this excessive cost, policymakers are trying to find more effective and cost-beneficial ways to transition patients out of health care settings back into their homes in a way that not only streamlines and improves the discharge process, but also lowers the rate of readmission. Researchers have found that increased nurse education, less hours of overtime worked, and adequate nurse staffing levels lead to a greater patient readiness for discharge, which lowers the chance and rate of readmission as well as follow-up emergency room visits.
The complexities of health care aren't going away any time soon, and as long as nurses provide the direct care patients need to recover from illness and injury, nurses are going to have to keep step with those complexities. From nursing homes and home health to rehab hospitals and ERs, better educated nurses lead to better patient outcomes from the time a sick person enters the building until long after he leaves.


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Top of mind words to describe my ideal creative work space. As I inch closer and closer to having a room of my own again, I realize that because it's such a small space, I will have to be super creative and intentional about how I use it. I've always been a believer in restraints being the mother of good design. We'll see…….
One of my favorite tools to help me formulate ideas and get tips about how to create the most ideal space I can is Pinterest, of course. My Space to Create board is where I have been keeping most of my ideas. I suppose Pinterest is basically the modern day version of old magazine photos that we used to cut out in "the old days" and keep in our inspiration binders- that wasn't just me was it?
The practicality of the above photo….. love the sturdy cutting table with shelving.
Look at all this colorful efficiency! Love the way the pegboard is used here and I think drawers for fabric scraps and such would be great, although it would take discipline to keep them organized.
But I want it to feel as Zen like as this photo!! Aaahhh, that natural light!!!
So how do I make my space look and feel pleasant, dare I say, pretty, and uncluttered and have it still be functional, busy and productive. I mean let's face it, some of the photos I look at of these rooms I fear will only serve to make me feel completely unworthy! Not a scrap in sight, no kids toys strewn about, no half finished projects tucked into the corners, everything neatly in its proper place. Does anyone actually work in these rooms? Joking aside, obviously these are inspiration photos and I need to keep in mind they do not look like this everyday. These photos are inspiring, full of great ideas and awesome hacks (pegboards have never looked so good) I never would have thought of and sometimes just pure eye candy for creatives.
What are some of your guiding principles when considering your ideal creative work space? Where do you go for inspiration? Is functional or aesthetic more important? Can I achieve both? Just some of what's on my mind as we enter into this new year! May 2018 be full of new and exciting endeavors and continued inspiration.


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When my daughter met Oprah a few months ago while she was visiting Harvard University with Lady Gaga (who she met as well) my love for Oprah skyrocketed – which I didn't think was possible! As an African-American woman who came from poverty and worked her way to the top I have nothing but admiration for her. My daughter was truly in the presence of greatness the day she met Oprah. Being the only person to meet Oprah during her visit to town, I feel very lucky for my daughter to have had that opportunity, and I just know she'll meet Oprah again 🙂
So you can imagine how excited I was to hear about the recent collaboration with O, The Oprah Magazine, Zappos.com, and DailyFeats and their new initiative 'Random Acts of O' to spread kindness and make the friendlier place. Of course I had to get involved! Over the course of six months readers can participate in monthly challenge based on issue themes via a FB app, and O Magazine and Zappos.com will also bring kindness experiences to life via real-world stunts, surprises, and rewards for doing good! Good deeds now don't go unnoticed! Via this FB app you can track your good deeds, share them with friends, and win prizes!
First challenge: Pledge to Read! Using their FB app you can pledge to read one of the 20 books featured on O Magazine's Books of Summer list. Of those that pledge 50 will be randomly selected to win a sweet tote bag filled with all 20 books on the summer list!! But wait…it gets better! Once 50,000 pledges have been collected, $5,000 will be donated to Teach for America, a program that works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunities for children facing poverty. Amazing! Looking for a book to read this summer? Want to enter to win 20 books? Want to help kids facing poverty? Head over and pledge your commitment today! Couldn't be any easier!!
This is a truly special initiative, and something that means a lot to me, not only because I love Oprah and love to read, but because a few years ago I collected 500 books to send to an impoverished school in Zimbabwe. On June 27th, O and Zappos.com will also thank the new Teach for America recruits at St. John's University in Queens,NY.
I've already pledged to read Wild & Tell The Wolves I'm Home – Will you pledge?


text: PSL scientists run model simulations to compare the effects of various climate forcing signals on the atmosphere over time. This page allows you to download monthly output from some of those simulations. See the documentation pages for more information. The boxes below allow you to refine a search for particular data available in this collection. Each box provides a list of all available selections for that option, so some combinations of selections will find no data. You can skip a particular box to search for all available data with that option. Refine your search using the boxes and use the Search button to search the database. If any data is found that matches your search, a list of available files will be displayed to the right of the boxes. Use the Download Data button to download any of the checked datasets in the list or the Get Download Script button to retrieve a shell script to download the data in the background. Send any questions or problems to firstname.lastname@example.com