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I'm working on a YA r&r. Here's a snippet.
I jump even though I recognize his voice. Somebody's answered my silent prayer and turned on the lights. He's standing on the window ledge, shirtless. A gentle breeze ruffles his hair. He's beautiful and muscled. My heart skips a beat when he smiles.
"Hey," I whisper afraid the girls or Dad will hear me.
He waves. "How are you feeling?"
I'm grinning so hard it's hard to answer him. "Great."
"Come on down," he says.
I shake my head. Dad's still up and his study's downstairs. He'll definitely notice if I leave the house. Dad is pretty strict with us regarding to boys and stuff. That's why I'm amazed my sisters have been brave enough to start kissing.
"Skye?" Claude's voice pulls me out of my thoughts.
"You coming or not?"
I shake my head.
He shakes his head and disappears inside his house. I'm on a high as I prepare to shut the sliding door and call it a night. Claude actually spoke to me. Every cell in my body sings in ecstasy.
"Early bird?"
I jump at the sound of his voice behind me. "H…how…" My voice trails off.
"…did I get up here?" He leans against the balcony railing, still shirtless. "I have skills." He grins.
It's hard to keep my eyes of his wide shoulders, broad chest and abs. "Okay." I don't know what else to say. My face heats up because of his closeness and naked muscled torso.
He holds out a bunch of red roses. "Hope you're feeling better."
"I am and thanks." The scent of the roses are unlike I've ever smelt before. "They're beautiful."
"Grown especially for you." He grins revealing sparkling, white teeth.
My insides melt when he grins. Shit. I had no idea he'd affect me like this once I finally saw him and spoke to him.
"You should put them in some water before they die," he says.
"Yeah." There's a vase with fresh water on my outside table with two yellow roses – from Nina and Dawn. I pop the fresh bunch of roses inside the vase and wonder what to say next. He's still leaning against the balcony railing the minute I turn around.
"Don't you think it's ironic?"
He straightens himself and I realize he's much taller than I imagined. "That I turned out to be such an amazing singer after all and you got your eyesight back."
My heart beats harder. "Yes, you are an extraordinary singer…"
He laughs again. "I'm kidding. Are you always this serious?"
I shrug. "I guess…"
"So have you written any songs since you got your eyesight back?"
"Dozens. Would you like to hear one?"
His smile vanishes. "We had a deal, remember?"


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Regular price £2.00
The blue pattern of the hieroglyphs presented on coaster come from the illustrations as depicted on the Sarcophagus of Seti I, drawn by Joseph Bonomi 1864
The sarcophagus of Pharaoh Seti I is regarded by many as the single greatest Egyptian item outside Egypt. Discovered in 1817 in the Seti tomb in the Valley of Kings, by maverick archaeologist Giovanni Belzoni, the sarcophagus now resides in Sir John Soane's Museum in London's Lincoln's Inn Fields.
Shipping times: Due to the nature of the museum we can only ship orders from Tuesday to Fridays. Orders are sent out the next working day via UK First Class. Delivery to the rest of the world is Standard Shipping and will have different expected arrival dates. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions regarding expected arrival dates.

subset: commoncrawl


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Could the Next Snowden Be a Robot?
Clash of Titans: Robot Makers vs. Robot Hackers
Who has the early advantage, how should industry respond, and how best to cyber-harden a robot?
is by altering their programming to insert barely noticeable "microdefects" into the assembly process."
—Rogue Robots (Trend Micro & Politecnico di Milano)
The BIG wake-up call arrives
The newest game in town for robots is defending themselves from hacking and cybercrime, so say the Financial Times, Forbes, ZD Net, and Information Security, all out with scary articles on the matter.
All of the articles base their information on work conducted by the well-known and respected IOActive Labs, which bills itself as a global leader in cybersecurity consultancy.
IOActive researchers spent "six months testing mobile applications, robot operating systems, firmware images, and other software in order to identify the flaws in the robots."
The end result of that effort was the production of a 17-page report: Hacking Robots Before Skynet.
What we are seeing here is an identical snapshot in time that harkens directly back to the Millennium, when computers first got rocked by global viruses that knocked out millions of computers and caused billions of dollars in damages.
Now it's the robots turn. Robots, as were computers in 2000, are totally vulnerable. They are easy to hack.
And as with computers some 17 years back, robots are going to be the drivers in the launch of a new industry for robot security as well as security for every connected device in the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
That's a tall order
Macquarie Research reckons that the installed base of industrial robots is ~1.8 million units (about equal to the population of Philadelphia).
Cesar Cerrudo, IOActive's chief technology officer and co-author of Hacking Robots Before Skynet, is concerned that robots are hooked up to the Internet with little or no thought about cybersecurity. Putting data behind such a claim was one of the principle objectives of the IOActive report.
The opening chapter of his report dives right to the issues at hand: Cybersecurity Problems in Today's Robots. The chapter covers:
Insecure Communications
Authentication Issues
Missing Authorization
Weak Cryptography
Privacy Issues
Weak Default Configuration
Vulnerable Open Source Robot Frameworks and Libraries
It's an eye-opening, quick read that should be required for anyone who owns or operates an expensive robot working around other expensive machines all the while knocking out expensive products. It's like dominoes waiting to happen.
The seven security challenges from the above list are a starting point for anyone operating even a single industrial robot that is connected in any way to the Internet.
Getting an insurer to underwrite industrial robots may well become near-impossible without the robot being hardened to cyber hacking.
Plus, from what we've learned from the past, cyber-hardened robots are just a logical next step. It's the future of robots, just as it was the future of computers a decade or so back.
Which will it be?
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.
—George Santayana
"I've got news for Mr. Santayana: we're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive." ― Kurt Vonnegut
Lesson for robotics: hacking's backstory
Filipino college student, Onel de Guzman, created the now-infamous ILOVEYOU computer virus in his Manilla apartment in 2000. Disguised as a love letter and sent via email, the virus infected 45 million computers worldwide, causing $8.7 billion in damages while costing another $15 billion to remove.
Of course, ILOVEYOU was not the first computer virus. The first actually dates back to 1971 with the Creeper Virus that spread using the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET). Yes, ARPANET!
The distinction that the ILOVEYOU virus carries is that it is what prompted the rise of today's anti-virus industry. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, by 2004 the anti-virus industry was about $4 billion; in 2017, it's expected to be $120 billion.
That's a 35x increase in 13 years. Market Research claims that it will be $170 billion in 2020. And a Gartner forecast put the current tab at about $81 billion. As you can see from the above, no one really knows for sure what the costs are or will be. Real data is hard to come by, so all sorts of numbers are flying around.
What is known is that the number is very large and that the defensive spend is growing exponentially.
The hacked are silent
Case in point about the lack of information on cybercrime: It early in 2017 that Yahoo! finally admitted that around 32 million user accounts were accessed by "hackers in the last two years using a sophisticated cookie-forging attack without any password." It took two years to get that answer from Yahoo!
Many times the hacked are silent so as not to let on that they are unable to defend themselves…and ashamed to admit that they were brought to their knees by cyber hooligans.
"Life-threatening cyber-attacks"?
IOActive experts told Information Security about "numerous security vulnerabilities in modern robotics systems which could render them susceptible to life-threatening cyber-attacks."
Cerrudo and his fellow expert, Lucas Apa, claim to have uncovered 50 bugs in machines built by six of the biggest robotics manufacturers. When it comes to major manufacturers of industrial robots, six is a huge number, which hints at the possibility that the entire industry was unaware and caught off guard by cyber threats to their products.
A major concern for Cerrudo and Apa is what they call the "huge attack surface presented by a modern robotics system, including OS, firmware, software, remote control apps, cloud services, network and the physical unit itself."
That's just about everything.
A few of the standouts on their "bad list": "Data communications sent in cleartext; no, or easy-to-bypass, authentication; insufficient authorization to protect key functionality; weak cryptography; weak default configurations; weak open source frameworks and libraries and on-consensual sharing of personal data."
What the bad guys could do
Hacking Robots Before Skynet claims that hackers could exploit any item on the "bad list" "to spy on users via in-built mics/cameras; use the robot as a stepping stone into the corporate network or the owner's cloud accounts or even change its behavior in malicious ways.
"Rival firms or cyber-criminals looking to extort victim organizations could subvert the operation of bots, for example, and if the robot has access to customer information, that could also be at risk."
Apa told ZDNet that he's worried that "robot manufactures appear to be repeating the same cybersecurity mistakes as Internet of Things vendors."
"It's the same story over and over again," warned Apa, "after this report some vendors will start to worry about security, but many will continue working in the same way without taking care of security."
The report concludes: "Our results show how insecure and susceptible current robot technology is to cyberattacks, confirming our initial suspicions. Furthermore, many other vendors and robots could be vulnerable to the same issues we discovered, scaling the potential for havoc to much higher and broader levels."
Although IOActive contacted all of the robotics manufacturers mentioned in the report about the dire findings, it also wanted to see a broader dissemination of the report so "the wider public will grow more aware of the issue."
Hence, Hacking Robots Before Skynet made available to one and all as a PDF download.
On insurers and hackers
So then, is it possible for a line of hard-working cobots tending CNC milling machines to suddenly go berserk and start tossing stuff around like an Animal House food fight? Yes, seems to be the wider answer from the IOActive report.
What then about liabilities, damages, interrupted production schedules, and myriad other possibilities that will fall to insurers of robots to underwrite?
"Cyber cover is one of the fastest-growing parts of the insurance world, as a stream of attacks on companies raises the profile of what was once a niche product.
"About $2 billion was spent on cyber insurance worldwide in 2015 — but Allianz thinks that figure could be 10 times larger by 2025."
With robots, writes Toby Redshaw at Insurance Thought Leadership, "the criminal cash flow is a little harder to predict, but IP-connected robots is a space that will grow exponentially over the next decade and be at key points in manufacturing, military and medical process flows. What is the ransom for holding a bottling plant hostage?"
Hostage bottling plants, rowdy cobots, and unconcern over robot vulnerabilities, are alarm bells quickly coming of age in this time of rude awakening. A new industry of cyber hardening of robots is on the rise; insurers will probably balk at insuring non-hardened robots; and the automation juggernaut of the Fourth Industrial Revolution has gained an adversary.
Lots of smart people building robots and robot software will be working double time to protect the globe's 1.8 million robots. Lots of smart people gathering together in clandestine groups on the Dark Web will be working to make lots of money by causing havoc.
As Redshaw concludes: "This is a target-rich environment that is growing faster than almost anyone anticipated. The bad actors are progressively getting better organized, smarter and better built for "success." Interpol, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies do great work, but a lot of it is after-the-fact.
"Enterprises need new approaches to network-centric compartmentalized security. New thinking about upstream behavioral preventative design is needed for robustly secure IoT plays."
It's all shaping up to be nothing short of a clash of titans, who may all wear hoodies like Mr. Robot and be eminently capable of either preserving or taking down a nation's entire robot workforce.


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It has been a bit back and forth for a while, but professional dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy has made his decision: he will not be returning to Dancing With the Stars. The 34-year-old, who had been teasing the news repeatedly since his first win earlier in 2014, confirmed his departure Tuesday, July 29, during an episode of The View.
"I'm done dancing [on the show]," he admitted to a shocked audience. "I feel like it's time. I loved the experience."
According to Chmerkovskiy, he first realized his interest in participating had fallen once he returned to the show full time for season 18. For some reason, things felt very different to him after being gone from the ABC competition for two seasons, beginning in 2013.
He explained that when he came back to the show "it was not the same." Further Chmerkovskiy said, "I was different, probably. When I came back, I saw this amazing talent. I looked at it and thought they can do much more and better."
Although his words may come off as somewhat humbling, there could be ulterior motives. It has been no secret that the sometimes fiery Russian import has wanted to move behind the judge's panel of Dancing With the Stars (DWTS). Even The View hostess, Sherri Shepherd, made sure to further explain that Chmerkovskiy could return to the show in a different role or position.
In fact, he has somewhat gotten his wish twice: once as a guest judge during the season 17 finals in 2013 and again earlier this year, when he flew to India to participate as a judge for their version of the franchise, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa.
"I judge the way it's supposed to be. I know this business, I've been in it, I grew up in it," he stated to talk show host Wendy Williams in May of this year. "Spending 30 years in an industry, I know what I'm talking about."
His road on DWTS has not always been the easiest. Chmerkovskiy is well-known for having a bit of an abrasive attitude toward the show's judges (Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli), has been accused of sometimes pushing his celebrity partners to the point of physical abuse, and has threatened to leave the show on several occasions in the past. After taking off for two seasons, he returned to the dance floor with Olympic ice dancer, Meryl Davis. Commonly seen as the couple to beat, the two of them ended up taking home the coveted Mirror Ball trophy back in May 2014. It was his first win since joining the show in 2006.
Earlier this month, Dancing With the Stars executive producer, Rob Wade, also lent credence to the hope Chmerkovskiy seemed to have, although he also seemed to imply that he would not be back as a dancer. Explaining that Chmerkovskiy would always "be [a] part of Dancing With the Stars" in some form," Wade added that he thought there could be "a number of different things we can talk to him about the way he'd be involved."
By Jonathan Brown
E! News
Guardian Liberty Voice


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...we're preparing for next winter!!!! First of two wood deliveries.
Also, drag racing season has started so Paul was making plans this week to go racing with his friend. He was going to go either today (Sat) or tomorrow. I was secretly hoping for tomorrow.... since if he went today, I'd have to help stack wood tomorrow. If he went tomorrow, he'd stack wood today while I was at work. Any guesses as to which day he went? Today. :(
On the brighter side, I'm SO incredibly happy to see green buds coming out on the trees! And the grass is growing so much it needs to be mowed soon! And the warmer air! And we can open the windows! And all the ice cream places are open!
Gail's Nancy's Scarf, made with Baby Alpaca DK:
Sheila's Brigid Jacket made during the knit-a-long here at the shop, with Cascade 220 Heathers:
Deborah's Bulky Sweater made with Eco wool:
It's not quite done being seamed but she is giving it away to her sister so we won't see it again!
Christine's Nancy's Scarf, made with Rialto DK:
Laurel's double sided baby blanket, made with Jeannee Worsted:


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Holly Hunter's Slice of 'Paradise'
To play Julianne Hough's mother in "Paradise," Holly Hunter channeled her "funny and subversive" sides.
Marking Diablo Cody's directorial debut, "Paradise" follows a good-natured and sheltered young woman (Hough) who survives a plane crash but loses her faith in the process. She decides to go to Las Vegas to experience a looser, more wild lifestyle. En route, she meets two strangers (Russell Brand and Octavia Spencer) who help her, by mistake, discover her true self.
Hunter said Cody called her personally to ask the 55-year-old actress to play her "small but important part."
"In this business you have men watching women and it's so refreshing to see a woman, especially Diablo, take over the reins and write and direct something that's really hers," Hunter told the Journal.


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This resource is no longer available
State and Local Governments Seek Savings in the Cloud
State and local governments are facing the same IT problems as private businesses - shrinking budgets and a need to do more with less.
Add to that, constituents who demand consumer-friendly services, greater efficiency and increased transparency and these government entities need a way to become more agile, increase productivity and optimize their resources.
Access this whitepaper to find out how the cloud can enable these advancements and drive real cost savings.


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Directory Plus theme was released in January 2013 as an absolutely unique theme concept, first time ever on themeforest. You're able to easily set up an online directory portal listing categorized items of any type – companies, shops, websites and so on. We've spent quite a long time developing the theme as many things were changed several times to make it right.
Theme was continuously updated with new features, it was getting better and better. Over the two years Directory WordPress theme received almost 100 free updates, which is remarkable.
Directory Plus Theme Features
- Fresh modern design: Browse all pages and take a look at these beautiful elements, custom post types, all details and advanced tools you can now use right inside WP admin.
- Fully Responsive Layout: We live in the information and mobile world. Give your visitors a change to find what they are looking for no matter where they are . Responsive Design works on phones and tablets such as Apple, Android and Windows devices.
- Style Fine Tuning : Every detail of the theme can be customized from the ground. There are available basic layout and style options and on the top of these, every element on the page can have it's own advanced settings.
- SEO Ready: All basic SEO options are available right out of the box via page builder. Both code and design are optimized for search engines.
- Sidebar Manager: Add as many sidebars as you want. Your website can have one or unlimited sidebars. Right and Left sidebar is possible, you can adapt sidebars height per page.
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- Directory Items: Display items from selected categories or locations anywhere on your website as grid, list or with carousel.
- Taxonomy List: Display categories or locations in grid or list format anywhere on your website. Carousel is also implemented.
- Directory Items info: Shows nice overview of your directory website. Number of items, categories, locations and reviews.
- Job Offers: Every company need people. Adding Job offers to your website can't be easier.
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Download Directory Plus Theme Nulled
Enjoy direct download link that includes Directory Plus 2.7 theme WordPress files, Demo Content, Child Themes, Documentation and PSD files. All Files are 100% Clean and Safe. Please Do Support Developers By Purchasing License If you Like this theme. You will Also get their Full support. Don't Forget to Rate and Leave Your Review.Download Directory Plus ThemeView DemoBuy Now
- Design
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Directory Plus is very powerful theme with lots of options. It may take a little time to learn everything here but when you do, you will really like this theme. They are very on top with their updates. It's Nice to know they are so active.


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Rice U study About 1 million Texans gained health care coverage due
Share2David firstname.lastname@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com U. study: About 1 million Texans gained health care coverage due to Affordable Care Act HOUSTON – (Nov. 17, 2016) – Texas has experienced a roughly 6 percentage-point increase in health insurance coverage from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to new research by experts at Rice University and the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF). This translates into just under 1 million Texans who have gained coverage due to President Barack Obama's health care law.Credit: shutterstock.com/Rice UniversityThe new findings published in the American Journal of Public Health examined the effects of the ACA's Marketplace on Texas residents and determined which population subgroups benefited the most and the least."The recent criticism of the program's high premiums for next year ignores the benefits the legislation has provided to many Texans and the fact that policymakers are now identifying options to slow that premium growth," said research co-author Vivian Ho, the chair in health economics at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy and director of the institute's Center for Health and Biosciences.The researchers analyzed insurance coverage rates among nonelderly Texas adults using the Health Reform Monitoring Survey-Texas from September 2013, just before the first open-enrollment period in the marketplace, through March 2016. They found that gains have been uneven and that the four subgroups with the largest increases in adjusted insurance coverage between 2013 and 2016 were people ages 50 to 64 years (12.1 percentage points), Hispanics (10.9 percentage points), people reporting fair or poor health status (10.2 percentage points) and those with a high school diploma as their highest educational attainment (9.2 percentage points)."Even with these gains, 3 million Texans between the ages of 19 and 64 remain uninsured," said co-author Elena Marks, EHF's president and CEO and a nonresident health policy fellow at the Baker Institute. "An estimated 766,000 of these would likely have gained coverage if Texas had elected the Medicaid expansion offered under the ACA."President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have announced their intent to repeal Obamacare. "Moving quickly to repeal the law would jeopardize the policies of the 1 million Texans who have already gained coverage, and would do nothing for the 3 million who are still uninsured," Ho said. "The ACA was designed to be budget neutral for the federal government — subsidies for people to buy coverage were covered by taxes on insurance companies, medical device makers and others, as well as lower increases in reimbursement rates for Medicare providers. A Republican alternative that is equally successful in covering so many individuals will require careful thought on how this coverage can be paid for without adding to the federal debt."On the federal level, policymakers should focus on reining in price growth from drug manufacturers, as well as physicians and hospitals, Ho said."At the state level, Texas may have an improved chance at obtaining an extension on its Medicaid waiver beyond 2017 that will allow it to continue receiving federal dollars to provide health care for the poor, without a formal link to President Barack Obama's Medicaid expansion," she said. "This approach is likely economically inefficient, but politically expedient to those in office.""Gain in Insurance Coverage and Residual Uninsurance Under the Affordable Care Act: Texas, 2013-2016" was also co-authored by Stephen Pickett, a doctoral student in Rice's Economics Department. Ho is also a professor of economics at Rice and a professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.-30-For more information, to receive a copy of the study or to schedule an interview with Ho, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at firstname.lastname@example.com or 713-348-6775.Related materials:Ho bio: www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/vivian-ho.Marks bio: www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/elena-m-marks.Follow the Baker Institute via Twitter @BakerInstitute.Follow the Center for Health and Biosciences via Twitter @BakerCHB.Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews.Founded in 1993, Rice University's Baker Institute ranks among the top five university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute's strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute's blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog. AddThis


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May 28, 2013
Well tickle me surprised, The Chindividual nominated me for a blogging-type award thing! I'm flattered, and really grateful that I have something to post today because while I took care of pre-vacation blogging, I had no thought of the dry well that would be my brain for post-vacation blogging.
Here are the stipulations, so I am told:
- Use the "official" logo of the award in this post – check
- Link back to the gentleperson who nominated you. Thanks again, Chindividual! – check
- List 10 pieces of information about myself.
- Nominate 10 other bloggers who specifically (in the words of Chin) "who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere."
- Notify my nominees that they are in fact nominees!
So let's get down to brass tacks.
- I just got my city's Yelp Elite squad badge and I'm way too excited about.
- I'm THAT person that falls in love with a song or album and listens to it on repeat for days. Weeks. MONTHS maybe. I don't force others to listen as frequently though, so I'm not THAT THAT person.
- Related to the above statement, my current obsessions are Heartthrob and The Con by Tegan and Sara and The 20/20 Experience by Justin Timberlake. Prior to that it was Camp by Childish Gambino and Cardboard Castles by Watsky.
- Sushi is by far my favorite food, and I just admitted that to myself yesterday.
- To steal some ideas from others: my favorite holiday is Thanksgiving (ALSO FOOD RELATED! Lots of themes through this list).
- Because I feel like it's such a non-issue in my life now: the long-term hiatus on this blog you'll notice from a few months ago is because I was engaged, but then I called it off, and lived my life as it was prior to engagement again.
- I think my favorite movie is Stranger Than Fiction.
- A story that got shared often this weekend as I was in the rainy environment of coastal Oregon: as a child, slugs terrified me, and while they no longer scare me, they still disgust me and I do my best to never look at one.
- I just ate two massive donuts this morning.
- THIS IS SO SHAMEFUL, but I'm just going to do it anyway: I help write a soda review blog called The Fizz Wizards and it's been lacking in content the past week because both of us wizards have been traveling, BUT! we have some great video content coming down the pipeline, and we're funny, and it's about soda so that's fun, right? Check it out if you get super bored some day.
- Edutainment and I recently found each other and let me tell you: great original content! If you want to read some deeper thoughts about games, more than your standard "Me like" or "Me not like," then you should definitely check out the site.
- Another recent discovery! The Rhodes Review has the quick and dirty lowdown on a ton of games, trailers, and upcoming content from everyone's favorite developers. This guy publishes tons of content all the time which is awesome when you a) want the news and b) are bored and need new things to read at work. Check out the site!
- If you came to this blog because you thought I would actually play the games on The List and are disappointed that I'm doing a HORRIBLE job of it, check out Playing the Canon! Joel has some great thoughts about old and new games alike and we have bonded over our need to catch up on old games to buff our game cred.
- League of Legends really befuddled me in the beginning, and frankly still does most of the time when I play. Stumbling across Two HP Too Few's blog specifically about LoL strategy and just general thoughts about the game, the changes in gameplay, the community, etc. has been a really interesting read! Read it, do it, do it, do it.
- Gaming Grad knows his stuff and does a great job not only relating said stuff in a quick, easy-to-digest way, but he also seems to cover all he big new stuff that comes out, to help us all keep up with the young 'uns. Because kids, amirite? This is getting tangential; check out his gaming news site!
- For less traditional, following-the-pulse-of-the-industry gaming news, check out The Video Game Nebula. I love reading Astro Adam's thoughts about games, the state of gaming, and just the funny stuff he puts out on his blog. A great break from obsessively clicking refresh on big sites for the next tidbit of info about next-gen consoles or upcoming game releases.
- If your hobbies extend past gaming (weeeeeird) then check out The Vortex Effect for reviews, updates, news, etc. about a smorgasbord of entertainment news (movies, TV, wrestling, ranting, etc.).
- Ohhhh these guys should've been at the top of the list. What's Your Tag! Funny comic strip, interspersed with gaming news, reviews, and opinion. Seriously, a great read all the time, do yourself a favor and follow these guys.
- I love browser/freeware games, and doing my part to destroy any stigma about the genre. My blogger-in-arms for the same cause is Games That Exist! Deep thoughts about games that are actually deep and not the popcorn genre that so many impose on it.
- And I'll round out the list with a recent collective of bloggers I found, all over at Counter Attack! They do it all: podcasts, news, reviews, editorials, videos, and it's all high-quality content at their labor of love. Subscribe to all of their outlets for great info about the haps around the industry!
Off to tweet to ten people about their awesomeness! Seriously, if you're lacking on content or are want to spice up your current blog roll, check out any of the authors I highlighted above – they're doing great work!


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"Those who have felt the touch of the Master's hand somehow cannot explain the change which comes into their lives. There is a desire to live better, to serve faithfully, to walk humbly, and to be more like the Savior. Having received their spiritual eyesight and glimpsed the promises of eternity, they echo the words of the blind man to whom Jesus restored sight: 'One thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see' (John 9: 25)." Thomas S. MonsonI think Elder Monson was the one I quoted recently. I respect him as an Elder, and I find I really enjoy what he has to say. This quote, which was E-mailed to me by the Church, is no exception.
And what's amazing is how these E-mails seem to connect with exactly what is happening to me each day! One of my friends, Alexis came up to me and said, "You know, you look different... happier in a way. You look good!" And I know what she sees--It's the spirit! I keep the spirit with me. I don't swear like a sailor on fire anymore, and I live the gospel as it was meant to be followed: with complete obedience at any cost. And I'll admit, it costs me a lot at the moment.
The latest update on my mom? The last time I talked to her about the Church, she randomly brought up my wedding and how she'll "have something to say about it" if I marry someone Mormon... I don't really care though. There's nothing wrong with being Mormon. We have the healthiest lifestyle you could ever hope to find, and I know I'm blessed for my faith. That's something that her disapproval cannot take away from me, even if she threatens to try and ruin my wedding. She will only bring the disapproval on herself, not on me and my husband. So it's whatever. It's not in my nature to dwell on things.
I just wonder if she sees the difference in me that everyone else can see now. Alexis wasn't the first to notice. I've had many a non-member guy approach me recently, including one that is very persistent despite the fact that he has met my boyfriend, and I tell him I'm happy with my relationship. And I'm pretty much what you would call anti-social. I don't go looking for other people's attention. I keep to myself unless I have something to say, at which point I'm brutally honest about what I think, and then I retreat to my own thoughts again. That's how I choose to be. I don't need interaction with people to make me feel validated as a person, especially not now that I have the Savior to look unto in every thought (D&C 6: 36)... I believe highly on that scripture because of the peace it brings throughout my day. And I can't imagine my day without the strength of the spirit, or the love of the Savior.
And the great thing about the gospel? Matthew 6: 20-21
Nobody can take it from you.


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Wester Hailes Library
1 Westside Plaza
Tel: 0131 529 5667
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Website: http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/libraries
Library with IT suite and community room, which can be hired out.
Bus Routes: 3, 3A, 18, 20, 21, 30, 32, 33
Upcoming events
Community Learning
Activity search
Search for activities using a keyword like: computer, yoga, art, weekend, Broughton High. Use the advanced search for more options such as the day of the week or type of activity, for example: Art Appreciation.


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Justin Bieber Praises Chris Brown Amid Rape Allegations, Sparks Backlash
By Peyton Blakemore
January 23, 2019
Justin Bieber is sticking by his longtime friend.
Despite recent rape allegations made against Chris Brown, Justin publicly showed his support for the "Freaky Friday" singer on Instagram Tuesday (January 22).
Just hours after Chris was released from police custody, following accusations of aggravated rape and drug violations, Justin praised the 29-year-old singer on social media after Chris shared a video of himself working on some new choreography. "No one can touch you ur the GOAT," which is an acronym for "greatest of all time," Justin wrote. Nick Cannon also issued his support, commenting, "Stay Focused King!"
Fans were quick to bash Justin for issuing his support of Chris, as many believed his comment implied Justin believes Chris over the alleged rape victim. "Both of you are canceled," one fan wrote. Another added: "look... i adore you but that not a comment to make when he is being accused of something really bad. Real or not, your comment is dumb." A third fan simply wrote, "u should just stay quiet."
As previously reported, Chris was arrested in Paris on Monday (January 21) after a 24-year-old woman accused him of raping her in Paris hotel. Chris has since denied the allegations, posting on Instagram: This B*tch Lyin' [...] I WANNA MAKE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR...... THIS IS FALSE AND A WHOLE LOT OF CAP! NNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEERRRRRR!!!!!! FOR MY DAUGHTER AND MY FAMILY THIS IS SO DISPRESPECTFUL AND IS AGAINST MY CHARACTER AND MORALS!!!!!"
While Chris was released without charge the investigation into the incident continues, the AFP reports.
The woman who is accusing Chris of rape recently spoke out in an interview with Closer magazine, shared via TMZ, claiming Chris raped her in a hotel dressing room for 25-30 minutes in what she called a "brutal and violent" attack.
The 24-year-old model, whose name Closer protected — simply calling her by the pseudonym Karima — told the mag she met Chris at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Paris, France on Tuesday (January 15) around 10:30 PM, and then went to a nightclub. She claims the two returned to the hotel, with Chris' crew in tow, around 4 a.m. While Karima acknowledged that she returned to the hotel at her own will she said she was tired but they convinced her to go back to the Mandarin with a group of people.
Once inside Chris' suite, Karima said she went to the bathroom and that's when Chris allegedly followed her and "catches me by the right arm. He makes me enter a sort of dressing room. He closed the door ... it lasted 25 - 30 minutes." She described the encounter as both "brutal and violent," adding she was then "abused" by one of Chris' friends and a bodyguard. Despite being scared, Karima said she ultimately decided to go to the police two days after she was allegedly raped because she didn't want the R&B singer to "be able to do the same things to other girls."
Chris' camp disputed Karima's claims, denying she was ever alone with the "Overdose" singer. Sources connected to him also told TMZ Chris' girlfriend, Amika Harris, "was in the hotel room the whole time." The insider added that there were more than 20 people in the room "hanging out" and listening to Chris' music from his iPhone.
Photo: Getty Images


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A book to learn about the leadership skills they never taught you in Design School
All Design Leaders I know tell the same story: you're super excited with the new role, but it's overwhelming to realise how many things you don't know. We all felt like we were missing a piece of the puzzle, but you don't have to.
I hand over to you in this playbook the lessons, tricks, and skills you need to crush that seat at the table.
You are currently a Design Leader. Maybe you've been one for a while, or you've been recently promoted.
You'd like to be a Design Leader in the future. You want to understand in detail how your role would change and what skills you'd need to succeed.
Your peers - other leaders - seem to know things you don't: from people management to metrics, those are things that no one taught you when you studied design!
You want to get more influence on your organization, but find that there's a gap on the way of thinking and doing between you and your "business" managers.
The jump from Designer to Leader is a tough one because our role becomes quite detached from the craft. The tasks and tools you now need to focus on are entirely different.
Feeling overwhelmed is completely natural. You were great designing, which is why you got promoted. But now the role is so different that you don't feel like you're that great anymore.
Let me tell you something: you are. It's just that no one taught you this before.
You've got 3 choices now:
Look, I'm going to be fully honest here. I put this together thinking of the younger me. I've done it thinking of the times I thought "my goodness, couldn't someone just told me this?". Things could have been so much easier. I wouldn't had to spend soooo much time figuring things out that others before me already did!
Not only that, but during the time I was going through my trial and error figuring things out, my rockiness had an impact on my team. And even the company. Things just simply didn't go as smoothly as they could have. Instead of helping my team more, much of my time was spent getting the hang of my new tasks.
I have no doubt that, in due time, you can learn it all the hard way by trial and error. But why not hack the process a bit and let me hand over all these lessons to you?
From hiring to 1-1s, resolving conflicts, and performance management. Learn everything you need to know to keep the team happy, engaged, and delivering the best work of their careers.
Learn how to provide an efficient environment for your team with communication alignment, as well as standardized tools, processes, licenses, and workflows.
Project Management essentials to lead any project and get things done. Learn how to get the best out of your team, while delivering on time.
Switching your mindset from pixels to high level company strategy is the goal. Learn how to communicate with your peers, superiors, and clients to drive change.
Get to know the power of influence and how to smoothly advocate for your team and for yourself inside and outside your organization. Learn practical tips that you can start applying today.
Learn the essentials of finance, legal, marketing, sales, and support so you can tackle anything that comes your way. Includes a metrics module to track and improve systematically!


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|April 16, 2013
Brisbane's New Royal International Convention Centre Appoints Executive Chef
|Brisbane's new Royal International Convention Centre (RICC) has appointed Sean Cummings as its Executive Chef.
The annual Royal Queensland Show is renowned for showcasing fresh food and produce and now with the opening of RICC at Brisbane's RNA Showgrounds, this show tradition is set to continue all year round.
Most recently Sean has held the positions of Executive Chef at the Park Hyatt Melbourne and Hyatt Regency Auckland, New Zealand.
He has developed his skills extensively over the years both nationally and internationally including The United Kingdom, India and the Pacific region.
As Sous Chef to Harvey Nichols at the Oxo Tower Restaurant in London, Sean experienced first-hand the pace and excitement of working with large teams of chefs on the cutting edge of cuisine.
After London he returned to the Hyatt Regency Coolum as Chef de Cuisine of Fish Tales, the resort's signature seafood restaurant; before jetting off again to India to join the pre-opening team at Hyatt Regency Mumbai as Chef de Cuisine for Stax.
Sean said he was thrilled to be back in Queensland and excited about the tremendous opportunities and challenges that will go hand in hand with meeting and exceeding our clients' expectations.
"I was born in North Queensland and I have a deep affinity for my home state and the amazing produce that is available on our door step, so I'm looking forward to developing menus to really show us off," said Sean.
RICC opened for its very first event -- Soundwave music festival -- in late February and has not stopped since.


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At Jacksonville's Mt. Olive Primitive Baptist Church, Election Protection is holding a late night block party. Election Protection is a coalition of several nominally nonpartisan organizations looking to minimize chaos during the election. Outside Mt. Olive, a bevy of activists and community folks sampled from a crude buffet, and took in some Karaoke.
Inside, lawyers and volunteer poll watchers milled about in a scrum of controlled chaos. "It's the first time a lot of us have gotten together," explained Kush Bambrah, a lawyer with Election Protection. Bambrah had flown in the night before. He wore gym shoes and a buttoned-down shirt, and explained how he came to work in the field of voter protection. "I started the week after the 2000 election," said Bambrah. "It was chaos, just insane. I think this time a lot of the African American community is just ready to go."
Like most of the other activists, Bambrah was especially worried about the prospects of Republican volunteers challenging voters. "Honestly," said Bambrah, "I'm not sure what's going to happen."


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Take the AARP Smart Driver course and you could reduce your auto insurance costs! Learn more.
by Lynn O'Shaughnessy, AARP Bulletin, April 28, 2009
Comments: 0
Establishing a 529 college savings plan is simple. But taking money out can sometimes be dicey, so it's important to understand the rules.
The reason so many families pay for college through a 529 account is its celebrated tax benefits, including the ability to shield the account from taxes for potentially many years. But plenty of unlucky parents have discovered that the tax reprieve isn't always airtight.
Troubles can surface when you start draining a 529 account. If you don't understand the tricky withdrawal rules, you may ultimately face a nasty tax bill. The process, acknowledges Mark Kantrowitz, the founder of FinAid, a college financial aid Web site, is "complicated" and "can give people pause."
Pulling money out of a 529 account seems simple enough. Use a 529 to pay for qualified college expenses and all your withdrawals are tax free. But here's a catch: Your withdrawals can't exceed your college expenses for the year. So if you spend $10,000 on legitimate costs and you withdraw $12,000, some of that $2,000 will be subject to taxes, as well as a 10 percent penalty.
Families get entangled in the excess withdrawal rule in a couple of ways. Some parents inadvertently pull out too much money when they prepare to pay for January's tuition, says Kalman A. Chany, president of Campus Consultants Inc. in New York City and the author of Paying for College Without Going Broke. They withdraw 529 money in late December for an expense that won't occur until the following calendar year.
The other pitfall is mixing 529 withdrawals with the federal Lifetime Learning or Hope Scholarship tax credits, but both are valuable tax credits because they reduce a tax bill dollar for dollar. (Tax credits are far more valuable than tax deductions.)
The maximum Hope tax credit for 2008, for instance, was $1,800 per eligible student, with the requirement that a family spend at least $2,400 in tuition and fees for freshmen and sophomores. The Lifetime Learning tax credit awards a family a maximum tax credit of $2,000, or 20 percent of $10,000 paid for tuition and fees. Income limits exist; for example, both the Hope and Lifetime tax credits begin to phase out at $48,000 of adjusted gross income for single filers and $96,000 for joint filers in 2008.
The trouble occurs when families claim one of these tax credits for the same expenses that they've covered with their 529 proceeds. The government forbids parents to double dip college tax benefits.
"If you claim a tax credit, then the tuition you use to claim the credit can't be used against a 529 distribution," says accountant Joe Hurley, founder of Savingforcollege.com, a comprehensive 529 planning resource.
Suppose, for instance, that you claimed the Lifetime Learning tax credit by spending $10,000 on tuition for your child, and that the $10,000 came from your 529 account. This is a big no-no.
What can you do to avoid triggering taxes? "Most people are going to have to consult an expert," Hurley advises. You can also obtain the rules from IRS publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education, on how to sidestep these problems.
Lynn O'Shaughnessy is a financial journalist based in California.
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text: KINSELLA – Mob rule: the Internet at its most thoughtless and hurtful January 24, 2018 // 0 Comments IN THE SOCIAL media era – in our mad rush to judgment – people get ground up and spat out. Happens all the time. Happens too often. Ask Aziz Ansari, the Muslim [Continue]


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string(5) "index"
Highly respected producer Joey Stuckey is the brains behind the Ladies of the South compilation, a showcase for female musicians from Macon, Georgia. A strong-willed attitude, powerful vocals and the sound of soft rock guitars unite these 12 tracks.
The impetus for the project came from the recording of the first song, What You See Ain't What You Get, by the Shadow Bandits featuring Sue Lu. Joey co-wrote the track with Charlie Hoskyns of The Popes, Will Morrison of Modern English and Paul McGuinness of The Pogues and needed someone with the attitude of Janis Joplin to sing it. Joey says Sue Lu was the perfect choice and it's a stirring declaration of independence for strong women.
The other tracks come from acts recorded by Joey over the past six years.
Danish Cookies Is My Name by Vanessa Moses is the most catchy and upbeat, with a cheeky attitude and Latin rhythms.
Another standout is Lately (Morning Dove, Mourning Sparrow) by Doc Henderson featuring Kim Meeks, about a woman watching her marriage fall apart and it stands a fair comparison to Rosanne Cash.
Stacy Hostler's Something More is beautifully sung with some heartfelt piano backing.
A welcome surprise - a collection of regional tracks from the States which avoid the clichés of Americana.
Andy Nelmes
|Ben Bedford: The Pilot and the Flying Machine
|The Chambers Brothers: Love, Peace And Happiness
The Fatea Showcase Sessions are a series of downloads featuring acts that we've really enjoyed and think that more people should get the chance to hear.Click Here to get the latest session


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Articles on Art and Architecture
"Oh, beauty, ever ancient and ever new." Saint Augustine
Preaching Hall or Temple?
One of the basic principles of modern architecture is "form follows function." In other words, ask what a building is for and it you will know how it should be built. When you are
English Churches Ancient and Modern
I'm lucky. My job as a charity representative means I visit a different parish every weekend. Travelling around Southwest England gives me the chance to indulge in one of my favourite hobbies—church snooping. Any
Wrecking Churches: Iconoclasm or Continuity?
There are few better illustrations of the clash between conservative values and progressive ideologies than the church architecture wars of the last fifty years. Although traditional architecture was dismissed by most Christian denominations, the
Kitsch or Kitchen Sink?
Illustrating Conservatism with Andrew Wyeth and Thomas Kincade In 2012 Thomas Kincade, "America's Painter of Light" died in his sleep at his home in California. He was fifty four. Three years earlier another American
A Little Holy Trinity
The first thing everyone says when they see the new church we are building in Greenville, South Carolina is, "It's beautiful!". This is not the response I hear when they look on the utilitarian,
Living in the Past in the Present
Part of being a Catholic is to live in the past in the present. What I am getting at is the idea that the universality of the Catholic faith means that it transcends not


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Tough Advice.
"Do good, and disappear."
Some words, some advice, tends to stick with us forever. It's great because it's so tough to take. "Do good and disappear" was the essence of his personal code and it really struck a chord with me.
The challenge is truly immense. We all crave recognition, reward, and acknowledgement when we help others or when we accomplish stuff. We all seem to need gratitude and appreciation. It's an insecurity. A weakness shared. Just be a quiet professional he said. Do your job. Let the work you do speak for itself. "Just do good and disappear."
The toughest advice to take is always the best.
"Do Good And Disappear."
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MCA conducts many technical studies and research projects in partnership with member and industry partners. These studies include bulletins, white papers, manuals and reports that ensure that metal is at the forefront of innovation, and proactive with codes and standards.
This document is an overview of the sealant types commonly used in metal building including general guidelines application. The intent is to highlight standardized testing used to compare the performance of various sealant products so the end user can make an informed decision on the correct product for a specific application. Finally, the benefits, features, and limitations of each sealant is presented to provide as a quick reference for roofing professionals, procurement departments, consultants and building owners.
This test method evaluates the wind load resistance of flashings to be installed at the roof perimeter and roof plan transitions of metal roof systems by testing the flashing and its attachment to the supporting structure using line loads.
When the architect thinks about snow, the first issue that comes to mind is loading on the roof, however the design work does not stop there. Retention of snow that has piled up on that metal roof is a real safety concern and steps must be taken to make sure that the hundreds of pounds of material does not come down from that roof all at once posing a safety risk to both property and people. Even at that, the designer's work is not done since the connection of these devices can relate to a number of holes in the roof deck that must now be protected against leaking.
Metal roof materials are common in the building code and are regulated for structural and fire performance in Chapter 15 of the International Building Code (IBC). The service life of metal roofing is typically extremely long however there are instances where changes in roof mounted equipment or roof damage may result in the need for roof repairs.
Metal roofs have long been considered a product of choice for snow areas because of their superior response and tolerance to many of the characteristics of these environments. This technical bulletin will provide the designer with the information required to make a prudent and informed decision through awareness of some general design parameters and snowmelt phenomena.
This Technical Bulletin will educate the industry concerning good installation techniques that should be followed when installing lightning protection systems involving metal construction. Another goal is to dispel myths about metal construction attracting lightning.
This report documents and summarizes the work conducted to determine with reasonable certainty the roof service life that can be expected of a "like-in-kind", low-slope 55% Al-Zn alloy-coated steel Standing Seam Roof (SSR) system when installed today in a like environment using best practices. It incorporates the results of multiple field inspections, independent laboratory analyses of metallic corrosion of roof panels, components and sealants, and includes assessment of all integral ancillary components that impact the end of roof service life.
When a metal roof is employed on a project, it seems to heighten people's awareness of lightning and some question whether or not the use of metallic roofing increases the risk of lightning strike. Metal roofing does not in any way increase this risk.
Most standing seam panel installations require the use of specific fastening techniques to allow for thermal expansion and contraction while also safeguarding against attachment fatigue. This document focuses on clip-attached style standing seam roof systems, and addresses specific details and concerns for proper selection and use of the connection that anchors the roof panel to the roof panel support element.
This document describes best practices for the selection and installation of curbs used specifically on low slope (less than 2:12), coated-steel or aluminum roof systems. Steep slope or architectural roofing is not addressed in this document. Different design considerations for curbs are required for steep slope roofing and for materials other than coated steel or aluminum.
This must-read article from Florida Roofing Magazine will enlighten on the benefits of Roof Coatings.
From MBMA, A MCA Partner Association
This white paper, written by Brian Gardiner of BMG Enterprises, LLC, compares two commonly used methods of retrofitting exiting metal roofs, single-ply systems and metal panels, and illustrates important design considerations that apply. The design consideration include the existing support structure, secondary framing deflection, the existing metal roof properties, drainage, roof fastening, drag load, and fire rating. The paper also contains a brief review of the building code requirement.
This manual addresses the installation of metal roofing material and related accessories and includes information pertaining to both new construction reroofing and retrofit projects.
Download Chapters Individually:
Chapter 2 - Metal Roofing: A Family of Products / History of Metal Roofing
Chapter 3 - Introduction to Metal Roofing Materials
Chapter 5 - Panel Attributes/Profiles
Chapter 6 - Roof Deck Substructures
Chapter 8 - Common Panel Accessories
Chapter 11 - Delivery, Receipt, Storage & Handling of Materials
Chapter 12 - Tools & Field Operations
Chapter 16 - Panel Installation
Chapter 18 - Codes/Standards & Specifications
Chapter 19 - Installer Checklists
This Technical Bulletin is intended to serve as a guide for the application of spray polyurethane foam insulation (SPF) used in metal panel assemblies. Single skin metal walls and roofs are durable and sustainable components of a building envelope system, however the cladding offers no inherent insulation value to the building. To improve the energy efficiency of buildings, insulation, air barriers and vapor retarders are commonly used.
This Technical Bulletin provides guidance when working with different metals used in roofing installations. Most metals used for construction projects are chosen for their strength, corrosion resistance and longevity. However, some metals do not perform well when placed in contact with specific other metals or exposed to certain chemical compounds. Users should be aware of compatibility issues and situations that may affect the performance of the installed roof.
The purpose of this guide is to familiarize personnel with the general knowledge, basic operation, safety, and maintenance procedures followed by standard troubleshooting suggestions for standard roof seaming processes. This is a general guide to be used in conjunction with the material installation guide and the project's erection drawings.
This seven-part series written by Rob Haddock, president of the Metal Roof Advisory Group, Ltd., offers essential, detailed information on metal roofing including the history and material types, appropriate coatings and paint systems, induced finishes, profiles and profiling equipment, metal panel attachment, and the mounting of rooftop equipment.
Download Chapter 1 PDF: History and Materials >
Download Chapter 2 PDF: Metallic Coatings for Carbon Steel >
Download Chapter 3 PDF: Paint Finishes for Metal >
Download Chapter 4 PDF: Induced Finishes for Metal >
Download Chapter 5 PDF: Profiles and Profiling Equipment >
Download Chapter 6 PDF: Attachment of Metal Panels >
Download Chapter 7 PDF: Rooftop Equipment Mounting and Penetrations for Low-Slope Standing-Seam Metal Roofs >
General procedures for identifying a modular panel metal roof, accessing or ventilating a stone-coated metal roof, and ventilating attic fires.
Static and dynamic analyses of metal roof systems using Finite Element Method indicate that Finite Element Analysis is an appropriate tool for the product development of metal roof structures.


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June 12, 2017
All black&white available light shot.
Lights, Contrasts and motif is way WAY better in monochrome...believe me.
ANd yes, i was to lazy to do colors. haha
no reflector, bouncer oder softer used. just this biggish small window
35mm · f/1.6 · 1/200s · ISO 160
1 Comment
rene scheidt - March 10, 2018


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What impresses me most about the new photos of the moon taken by the Chinese Chang'e-2 orbiter is not their beauty (although they are pretty) nor their sharpness (NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter returns higher resolution images). It's the fact that they were unveiled by Premier Wen Jiabao (left).
I can't think of an occasion where a U.S. head of state showed that much interest in a purely scientific (unmanned) space mission. The closest thing I could find after a quick search is this 1965 shot of Lyndon Johnson being shown photos from the Mariner 4 Mars probe, two weeks after the flyby.
More Chang'e-2 photos are at this Chinese-language page at the China National Space Administration. Here's a nice one:


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Thursday, October 09, 2008
Rival Schools at the Echo
I am still reeling from the imminent reunion of Hum but tonight offers another reunion. Rival Schools is playing the Echo tonight. Rival Schools features Walter Schreifels formerly of Gorilla Biscuits and the almighty Quicksand. If you can't make it tonight, you can still catch the Liskfest which will have a set by Rival Schools and Gorilla Biscuits. Get your tickets for Rival Schools tonight here. Check out my review of the show here.
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Starpack Packaging Industry Innovation Awards - Deadline Extended
The Starpack Awards entry deadline was due to expire today, but in response to feedback we are extending the entry deadline to Tuesday 7 November 2017.
There are plenty of award categories to choose from, to match the success factors and innovation of your packaging in the 'consumer', 'business-to-business' and 'manufacturing' categories. The full list of awards can be found here.
You now have extra time to put your entry together. Once your entry is proofed and polished, you can submit it here. All entries must be submitted by midnight on Tuesday, 31 October 2017
Organisers of the Starpack Awards, IOM Communications Ltd and the Packaging Society, look forward to receiving your entry.
The awards ceremony takes place in London on 22 February 2018; we hope to see you there next year.
General enquiries:
Please contact Chia Brooks via firstname.lastname@example.com


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Duolingo, and the Chinese course have changed a lot since this extension was built, The job on my own is too big so I'm going to open source it on GitHub.
If you're interested in collaborating please follow and start this repository:
https://github.com/robincard/chinese-duolingo (It's empty right now).
And, if you're a developer or not, feel free to join the discord which will be for developers and non-developers.
As of 2018; this extension is no longer supported. The information below is for reference only.
This extension allows users to see the meanings of characters as you learn, store character meanings and switch between traditional and simplified.
• Switch between traditional and simplified
• See word definitions
• See a list of word of learned words
• Collect a basket of words you want to learn later
• Re-hear sentences slowly, in a different voice.
If you're interested in reading any Chinese literature published before the 1950s it will be most advantageous to learn the traditional characters. Also, it is easier to read simplified if one has learned traditional Chinese, than the reverse.
Made the delete button in the basket look like the delete button in the skills quiz.
Made the delete button in the basket look like the delete button in the skills quiz.
Release notes 0.9997.1
Small bug fix.
Release notes 0.9997
Added a word basket
Release notes 0.9996
Added 7 lessons and two skills: Entertainment and Restaurant
Release notes 0.9995
Added 4 lessons and 1 skill: Payment
Release notes 0.9994.6
Word meaning fixes.
Release notes 0.9994.5
Added an all words list
Release notes 0.9994.3
Added pinyin to learned words list
Release notes 0.9994.3
Added pinyin to learned words list
Release notes 0.9994.2
Increased built in word bank.
Release notes 0.9994.1
Performance enhancements, clean-up of characters file.
Release notes 0.9994
Bug where traditional was not possible in practice, thanks CharlesE780046
Release notes 0.9992
FIxed bug with 'buy' character
Release notes 0.9991
Added a Taiwanese flag
Release notes 0.999
Learned words feature
Release notes 0.996
Bug fix
Release notes 0.995
Strengthen skills works again
Release notes 0.992
8 lessons and 2 skills added: Location 3 and Hobbies
Release notes 0.991.5
Mouseover hints on type boxes now work on Traditional!
Release notes 0.991.2
Huge bug fix, please update.
Release notes 0.991
Added 7 lessons and two skills People 1 and Time 2
Release notes 0.99
Flag bug
Release notes 0.98
Added further characters and traditional words
Release notes 0.96
Added a further 11 lessons (4 skills) Location 2, Time 1, Family 2, Telephone
Release notes 0.95
Fixes bug whereby ready lessons indicator is shown on non Chinese skills, features now available on Strengthen Skills feature.
Release notes 0.94
Added phrases 1, family 1, phrases 2, greeting 4, drink and time skills
Release notes 0.93
Fixed indicator bug.
Release notes 0.92
Welcome page upon installation
Release notes 0.82
Added 5 lessons; Greeting 3 and Location 1 skills
Release notes 0.81
Disabling of traditional characters now possible. Beta preview of word definitions for Greeting 1, Numbers, Name, Greeting 2, Food 1, Occupation, Contact and Nation now enabled!
Release notes 0.6
Total refactor of the code and I've released the source code at:
Release notes 0.5
Fixed bug that stopped characters showing on load for some Chrome users. Reduced file size from 100Kb to 29Kb
Release notes 0.4
Larger local cache, which has also been hand curated
Release notes 0.3
Bug fixes
Release notes 0.2
Doesn't apply to Japanese Kanji characters.


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Bathroom Design: The Differentiating Factor
About the Provider
American Specialties, Inc. (ASI), located in Yonkers, NY is a leading manufacturer of commercial stainless steel washroom accessories.This Division 10 manufacturer offers washroom accessories specifically designed for educational, healthcare and security facilities as well as manufacturing custodial accessories.
Course questions/comments
(914) 476-9000
Learning Objectives:
- Talk about the elements of great bathroom design and be equipped to defend against any negative design choices
- Understand the importance of collaboration on bathroom design, both with a building owner, manager, and the manufacturer
- Discuss the importance of a restroom experience to building occupants and visitors. Understand how perceptions and functionality of restrooms not only affect perceptions of a whole structure, but also affect the productivity and performance of its occupants
- Discuss how partitions and accessories support bathroom design and better understand the tradeoffs and durability, aesthetics, maintenance, user safety and total lifecycle cost
Provided By:
Available Regions:
Continental US
Design Category:
(10) Specialties
AIA Course Number:


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The (illegal) Israeli eviction of the 20 tents and 200 Palestinians of Bab al-Shams in the West Bank's disputed "E1" is not the end of the story, most observers say, but the beginning of a smart new form of popular resistance that turns the Israeli penchant for citing "facts on the ground" against itself. Photos, Twitter, and more on Israeli lawlessness, what the village means to the author of the original "Bab al-Shams," what it means to many others.
"Bab Alshams is the gate to our freedom and steadfastness. Bab Alshams is our gate to Jerusalem. Bab Alshams is the gate to our return...For decades, Israel has established facts on the ground as the International community remained silent in response to these violations. The time has come now to change the rules of the game, for us to establish facts on the ground - our own land."


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Nassau County's top women practicing law in private and public firms, the courts, higher education and government will come together for an innovative discussion of the issues that impact women in the legal profession in a special "Women in Law Symposium: Gender Equity Program" on October 21, hosted by the Nassau Academy of Law, the educational arm of the Nassau County Bar Association.
Among the speakers at the event will be newly-appointed Family Court Supervising Judge Hope Zimmerman, Nassau County Court Judge Meryl Berkowitz, Hofstra Law School Dean Nora Demleitner, Touro Law Center Assistant Dean Lauren Chite, Nassau County Attorney Lorna Goodman, Chief Deputy Nassau County Executive Marilyn Gottlieb, and Meyer Suozzi English & Klein Managing Partner Lois Carter Schlissel.
"Women continue to make tremendous advances in the legal profession," noted NCBA President Emily Franchina. "This symposium will explore the past, present and future issues affecting female attorneys in corporate and in-house fields, private practice, solo firms, small and large law firms, government and in the courts, through a series of roundtable discussion and networking opportunities, led by the top women legal professionals in the county."
The first part of the program will explore how Title VII has changed the practice of law for women, careers for women attorneys in the corporate and in-house fields, goals and expectations for women in private practice, and a perspective from the bench of women in the courts. Then attendees will break out into smaller groups to discuss work-life balance, flex time and job share, public sector hiring in New York City and Long Island, professionalism, networking and client referrals, setting up and managing a firm, advocating for clients, the administration of government, and the role of women in government and politics. The final part of the program will be a review of the roundtable discussions followed by a cocktail party.
Reservations for "Women in the Law Symposium: Gender Equity Program" are $25 and free for members of the Nassau County Bar Association. Three optional Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits are available for an additional $75 fee. Reservations may be mailed to the Nassau Academy of Law, 15th and West Streets, Mineola, NY 11501, or by credit card by calling the Academy at 516-747-4464.
About the Nassau County Bar Association
Founded in 1899, the Nassau County Bar Association, with a membership of nearly 6,000 private and public attorneys, judges, legal educators and law students, is the largest suburban bar association in the country. NCBA demonstrates its commitment to the community by offering a variety of services for the public, including lawyer referral services, mortgage foreclosure and senior citizen clinics, judicial screening, public education programs and support for the Volunteer Lawyers Project, which provides much-needed free legal services for the indigent of Nassau County. For more information, call (516) 747-4070, e-mail email@example.com, or visit www.nassaubar.org.


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Choose Your Path: Your Guide to Early Childhood Education Careers
You know you want to work with kids someday and you might even think that an early childhood education (ECE) career is in your future. And whether it's something you've known for a while or it's a new revelation, it's exciting to know that you're on your way to achieving your dream, right? But before you get too far ahead of yourself, there are a few things you need to decide first to make sure you're on the right path.
ECE is a big field with many opportunities, which means that the educational process can actually be a little confusing. There are several ways to make sure you end up in an ECE career, but you first need to decide which ECE degree is right for you.
Here's an in-depth look at the different levels of ECE education you can earn and the types of careers those credentials can lead to.
ECE certificate
An ECE certificate lays the foundation for an ECE career. Put simply, it's the credential that's the quickest to earn, which means you can start your career sooner. Of course, that doesn't mean it's better than a two- or four-year degree—what's best depends on your career goals.
You should also keep in mind that earning a certificate doesn't mean you'll never earn an associate or a bachelor's degree—you're free to earn a certificate now and one of those degrees later, after you've had some experience in the classroom.
Where can this path lead?
Teacher's aide
A teacher's aide works under the supervision of a lead teacher and helps out in the classroom as needed. Job duties include working with students on-one-one, assisting with recordkeeping like attendance and enforcing class rules.
Assistant teacher
Instead of, or addition to, a teacher's aide, some school districts employ assistant teachers. Job duties are dependent on job location, but in preschools assistant teachers often help with children's needs such as helping at mealtimes or just providing general supervision.
ECE associate degree
A certificate might lead you down the path you want, but if you're looking for a little bit more responsibility in the classroom consider earning an ECE associate degree. An associate degree can be earned in as little as 18 months. Often the curriculum focuses on the specifics of helping young children learn and gaining real-world experience via internships or externships.
Where can this path lead?
Lead teacher
Being the lead preschool teacher is a big job, but your degree can help prepare you for the ins and outs of lesson planning, making a positive learning environment and general classroom management techniques. If you're exceptionally patient, love to create and have more enthusiasm than most people can handle, those could be signs that you should be teaching preschool!
Child care business owner
Chances are this is one career you won't jump into right away, but having a degree and some experience are sure to help you achieve this dream. Opening your own child care center isn't easy, but you can make it work if you're passionate about it. The first thing you need to do is discover some important steps that are often overlooked in the process of opening a daycare.
If you think you'd enjoy working with children one-on-one in a more homelike setting, becoming a nanny might be the best route for you. Nannies usually work full-time for one family and their job responsibilities vary based on the families' needs and the ages of the children, but often can include meal preparation, organizing play dates, taking children to school and helping children learn to behave appropriately. Being a nanny can be a long-term career choice, or something more temporary if you choose to use your experience to transition into another area like being a preschool teacher.
ECE bachelor's degree
An ECE bachelor's degree takes longer to earn than an associate degree or a certificate, but the range of opportunities for graduates is usually greater. This degree can be especially helpful if you aspire to leadership positions in the ECE world. The curriculum is generally focused on teaching strategies, early childhood literacy, ECE trends and leadership topics.
Where can this path lead?
Program coordinator
Every child care center needs that person to lead the hiring and firing trends, help with administrative tasks and develop the center's programs and activities—that's where the program coordinator comes in. It's a position where you'd have some contact with kids but you wouldn't necessarily be with them for a full eight hours every day.
Training and development specialist
If you think you'd be perfect at keeping up with ECE trends and deciding how to best keep a daycare center's employees skills sharp, you might want to consider becoming a training and development specialist. In this position you'd create training materials, monitor training programs, perform administrative tasks and other duties related to training.
Assistant, center or executive director
This title can vary a bit, but it all means the same thing—child care center directors are responsible for making most of the center's decisions, and assistants help them. These professionals are key to keeping a child care center running smoothly, as their job duties show. Common tasks they undertake include supervising teachers, establishing center policies, meeting with parents and making a budget.
Which road will you choose?
As you can see, many avenues await if you choose to earn an ECE certificate or degree. Deciding which option matches up with your dream ECE career will help you have a straighter path to that career. Each credential leads to its own job options, such as teacher's aide, lead teacher or program coordinator.
In the end, the choice is yours. If you're still not quite sure exactly which ECE career will suit you best, check out best ECE jobs for degree holders to get a clearer picture of your options.


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Welcome to Ichiban
Come and enjoy a relaxing dining experience along with our mouth watering steaks, delicious seafood and chicken. Our experienced chefs will entertain you with their masterful cooking at your table, or just stay at the Bar with full ABC permits for couple drinks, an appetizer or even a meal.
Great for dinner out, anniversary, birthday or special occasion.
We look forward to seeing you at Ichiban tonight.


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The First-in-Class Neuromodulation Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis
Neuromodulation -- From Frontier to Frontline. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating chronic disease with an unmet need for additional therapeutic approaches. Neural-immune circuits that regulate immunity have been discovered, including the "inflammatory reflex." Numerous animal studies, including a standard model of RA, have demonstrated that low duty-cycle electrical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) activates this reflex, thereby reducing TNF and ameliorating disease.


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Want to be multiorgasmic?
Why are some folks naturally multiorgasmic? Female biologic advantages aside, the key player appears to be prolactin. Various studies have shown that prolactin is released at orgasm and plays a role in post-orgasmic sexual "repose". Conversely, various other studies have shown that people with low or almost nonexistent prolactin levels can have orgasm after orgasm after orgasm ad infinitum. Is there any way in which to safely lower prolactin levels and thus help facilitate becoming multi-orgasmic? Perhaps so (The drug bromocriptine can accomplish this, but has side effects that may argue against its use in many folks). The medicinal herb Chaste Tree Berry (Castes Agnes-Vitex) has been shown to reduce prolactin levels in human users.
Kruger TH, Haake P, Haverkamp J, Kramer M, Exton MS, Saller B, Leygraf N, Hartmann U, Schedlowski M, 'Effects of acute prolactin manipulation on sexual drive and function in males,' J Endocrinol. 2003 Dec;179(3):357-65.
Haake P, Exton MS, Haverkamp J, Kramer M, Leygraf N, Hartmann U, Schedlowski M, Krueger TH, 'Absence of orgasm-induced prolactin secretion in a healthy multi-orgasmic male subject', Int J Impot Res. 2002 Apr;14(2):133-5.
Wuttke W, Jarry H, Christoffel V, Spengler B, Seidlova-Wuttke D,' Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus)–pharmacology and clinical indications', Phytomedicine. 2003 May;10(4):348-57.
Posted on May 23, 2009, in Human Sexuality and tagged Chaste Tree Berries, dopamine, Fava beans, L-dopa, multiorgasmic, natural means, Paleodiet, prolactin, serotonin, velvet beans. Bookmark the permalink. Comments Off on Want to be multiorgasmic?.


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We are very pleased to announce that the Houston Business Journal has ranked us as the #1 PR firm in Houston this year.
Source: Houston Business Journal
We are currently celebrating our 25th anniversary and could not be more excited for this honor. We have been fortunate to serve amazing clients in Houston and throughout Texas since CEO Phil Morabito opened the firm in 1987.
This distinction as the top ranking public relations firm represents our dedication to our clients and partners. Thank you to everyone for your continued support, and check back often for more updates related to our 25th anniversary!


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Memory of this encounter popped up recently. I visited Beijing two years ago with our group of tai ji (or tai chi alternatively) practitioners. One day we went to see Tiananmen Square, of course. Our shifu or master, who was born and raised in Beijing, had told us stories about how he and his family used to go to fly a kite there then when his was just a wee boy. And it is a strangely alluring place with the guards, the monuments, its contradictory history as the space of power and of Sunday fun; the gates of the Forbidden City on one side and the Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, seen here in the background, on the opposite side.
We wanted to have a group photograph and these high school kids stopped to help us. After one of them had taken a picture of us Westerners they spontaneously grouped around each of us for more pictures. We had such fun even if we had only a few common words to exchange. Of all the magnificent things I got to experience during this trip (the Great Wall, Forbidden City, the food, ah!) this turned out to be the most affecting one.
I wish I knew their names and where they came from. I so much would like to send this picture to them.
Tiananmen, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, is actually the gate leading to the palatial complex of the Forbidden City. But this translation of the gate's name is not an accurate one. A more appropriate translation would be the 'Gate of Heavenly Peacemaking', the counter part of the gate on the south side of the square, Dianmen, the 'Gate of Earthly Peacemaking.' In between these two gates now exists an open square, a space, a void.
We filled it up for a moment. And every day the people, the ordinary and the power wielding, share that space with each other.


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It was a good show, with a bunch of callers, including a professor from Jeju University, who's studied the Jeju Dialect, and assures us it's a language of its own.
Thank you to Mike Hurt and Rachel for calling, and on Twitter, thanks to @Cocoinkorea, @rjmlee, @DGFEZ, @HJKomo @chrisinseoulsk, and @aaronnamba for their opinions on Twitter, Bora, Charles, Rachel, Danielle and Soyeon for their opinions on Facebook.]
For more information about endangered languages, check out this AMAZING TED Talk by Wade Davis:
And check out the UNESCO "Endangered Languages" map.
Last night, we talked on TBS eFM's evening show about Korea's "Mart Kids" - it was an awesome show, with tons of callers! (Callers are fun.)
Did you learn your parents' mother tongue or not? (I know I didn't); are regional accents where you're from disappearing? Write in!


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Problems that will be addressed include:
- How to reduce workload and stress of planners by providing easy access to transportation-related information, such as: current delays of ships and airlines; current status of the transportation infrastructure, including tunnels and inland waterways; and current status of charters.
- How to plan more efficiently, by directly integrating charters and single drivers into your planning systems.
- How to prepare for unexpected events, such as long delays because of weather conditions, strikes and rerouted airplanes and how to be informed as soon as possible when they occur and provide quick access to information on how to handle them.
GET Service
GET Service
Contact information


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The EU recently reached an agreement with Turkey to send asylum seekers back to Turkey if they come to Europe illegally. The deal will mostly affect Afghan citizens who make up the second-largest group of asylum seekers. The Telegraph reported a few days ago that EU has a secret plan to deport 80,000 Afghan citizens.
Such developments are undoubtedly worrisome for tens of thousands of refugees who risk life and limb to flee terrorism, persecution and systematic discrimination to take refuge in the West. Human rights organisations have already condemned the Turkey deal. Amnesty International calls it 'a historic blow to human rights'.
The irony is that the Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, dubbed the 'mayor of Kabul' due to his limited writ in other parts of Afghanistan, said in his latest interview with the BBC on 31 March that he had 'no sympathy' for Afghan refugees. He had earlier criticised Afghan citizens who risk their lives to reach Europe by saying that 'they (the refugees) think streets of Europe are paved with gold'. Ashraf Ghani, who is accused of being too soft on the Taliban in the name of encouraging peace talks, has reportedly agreed with European countries that Afghanistan will receive all Afghan citizens if they are deported. 'If a person is expelled from another country then you have to accept your own citizens when they return', Ghani told Swedish Radio.
Approximately 146,000 out of the 800,000 asylum applications received by EU member countries from 1 January to 31 October 2015 were Afghans. In Sweden alone, the number of asylum seekers from Afghanistan has increased dramatically. Statistics released by Swedish Migration Agency show that 41,564 Afghans applied for asylum in Sweden in 2015, of which more than half (23,480 applicants) were unaccompanied minors, as compared to 2014 when only 3104 Afghans applied for asylum. In 2010 the figure was 2393 Afghan citizens.
There are many factors behind the rapid increase in number of Afghan refugees.
The deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan
Various reports suggest the security situation has drastically deteriorated in Afghanistan since withdrawal of NATO forces in 2014.
The Taliban has captured new territories even in the northern part of the country, previously believed to be a government stronghold. The taking of Kunduz city by the Taliban in late 2015 proved its increasing influence and boosted its confidence despite demise of leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
The UN's 2015 Annual Report on Afghanistan reports 'a 20 per cent increase in armed clashes' over the previous year. The report further reads: 'In order to assert their influence over the civilian population, anti-government elements continued to conduct targeted killings and abductions'. Between 1 August and 31 October, UNAMA documented 3693 civilian casualties, an increase of 26% compared with the same period in 2014.
Abductions and killings of Hazara civilians in Afghanistan
Hazaras, the third-largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, have been persecuted by successive Afghan regimes. The Taliban killed them en masse in central and northern Afghanistan from 1998 to 2002, as has been documented by human rights groups like HRW. The Hazaras welcomed foreign intervention in Afghanistan 2001 and the subsequent removal of Taliban regime. They wholeheartedly cooperated with international forces for the establishment of a democratically elected government in Afghanistan.
Now, after over a decade of fighting costing billions of dollars, hundreds of soldiers, and thousands of civilian lives, NATO countries have left the people of Afghanistan at the mercy of Taliban. Soon after the withdrawal of NATO from Afghanistan in 2014, the Taliban rapidly gained footholds in many parts of the country, with little to no resistance from Afghan security forces. Mass kidnappings and killings of ethnic Hazaras started once again. Attacks against Hazaras increased in southern and central provinces under Taliban control such as Ghazni, Zabul, Urozgan, Wardak and others.
Taliban factions compete with each other in killing civilians, mostly Hazaras, as a proof of their brutality, with the aim of terrorising the entire country.
UNAMA has reported 'a sharp increase in the abduction and killing of civilians of Hazara ethnicity by Anti-Government Elements'. UNAMA cites a number of examples, such as one incident on 23 February, when 'anti-government elements abducted 30 Hazara passengers from two public buses in Zabul as they were travelling from Heart to Kabul'. UNAMA and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights have detailed Taliban atrocities against Hazaras such as 'slit(ting) throats of civilians, including the children'.
Mass abductions, the cold-blooded massacre of civilians, and the government's persistent failure to provide protection, has created a sense of a helplessness and hopelessness among the Hazara community. Emergence of some Taliban factions as ISIS fighters has further terrorised them. With so little hope for the future, Hazaras are leaving Afghanistan, some for Europe.
Forced expulsions of Hazaras from Iran
The Swedish Migration Agency reports that a large portion of Afghan asylum seekers comes via Iran. Various reports, including one by Human Rights Watch, confirm that the Iranian regime threatens Afghan refugees with deportation if they refuse to fight for Assad regime in Syria. The Afghans, however, escape to Turkey and further to Europe in order to avoid becoming fuel in Syrian civil war. 'Iran has not just offered Afghan refugees and migrants incentives to fight in Syria, but several said they were threatened with deportation back to Afghanistan unless they did. Faced with this bleak choice, some of these Afghan men and boys fled Iran for Europe', reports Human Rights Watch.
'The Syrian war has nothing to do with us. I can't even speak their language. Why should I take part in their war? What has Assad done for me that I risk my life defending him?' Said an Afghan asylum seeker I interviewed in Gothenburg, Sweden. The 21-year-old had fled to Turkey and then to Sweden after, as he claims, being abducted by Iranian forces to be then transported to Syria.
Photo by Flickr user IRIN Photos.


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It's absolutely glorious…or at least it is until my boyfriend has to work from home too. We live in a one bed flat. It's not tiny, but it's not, under any circumstances, big enough for the both of us when we're working.
I work from home the most so according to my internal rule book, the desk belongs to me. It's mine and is covered in my crap. However, according to my boyfriend, because I work from home the most the desk should be his when he deigns to work here. WTF? And somehow this is always the way things play out. I can't be bothered to argue or fight over it so I move onto the kitchen table. And I like it. The room's sunny and it's near the fridge.
All is good for a couple of hours or so and then…"What's for lunch?"/ "What do you think about this?"/ "Have you washed that shirt?"/ "Are you going down the road at all?"/ "Shall we start painting the hall?"/ "Who was the father on Jeremy Kyle?" It's relentless. And it's not just him, it's me too. Because you're both at home it feels like a mufty day at school. We're wearing our pyjamas and therefore things should be fun. And then there's the horrible feeling of obligation - we should at least dabble in a bit of DIY while we're here and we should probably sort out The Death Cellar (which has a padlocked freezer in it. PADLOCKED. And we weren't ever given a key when we moved in. If there isn't a body in there I'll eat 'Ben's' desk).
And then we'll get all competitive. He'll have been quiet for two hours while I'll have been scoping out funny gifs of dogs on the internet. I'll feel guilty so will want to distract him. He'll be sitting there loudly typing away and I'll be furious. How dare he work at my desk, sitting on MY chair? I'll try to distract him and he'll get mad. I'll stomp away and actually do some work. And then he'll get bored and make a toastie and I'll want a toastie so we spend an hour and a half perfecting our toasties.
Basically, what I'm saying is working from home with a boyfriend or girlfriend is a disaster. You'll either end up arguing, painting the hall, watching Jeremy Kyle or making toasties. Which actually doesn't sound at all like a disaster when I read it written down like that. Anyone fancy working at home with me tomorrow?
For more ramblings please follow me on Twitter - @jousmar


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When I'm not trying to help make the Web a better place, I can be found taking off on an impulse adventure, experimenting in the kitchen or playing badminton.
Thanks for dropping by. My name is Jan Cavan Boulas and I'm a designer and illustrator living in sunny Southern California. I design at Automattic, makers of WordPress, the most popular blogging platform (and CMS) in the world. Previously, I designed at SendGrid and NationBuilder. I have always been into anything involving creativity ever since I was little. I took up Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and soon after earning my degree, I worked professionally as a Designer. I took up crash courses in Web design and development while attending college at university, but most of the things I have learned are self-taught through online tutorials and constant self-study. During the course of my career, I've been very fortunate for my work to be featured in both offline (.NET, Web Designer, Photoshop Design Tools Japan, Web Design France, Photoshop Projects New Zealand) and online (PBS, Mashable, Smashing Magazine) publications. When I'm not designing, I go on random road trips with my husband, visit ghost towns, go on a hike, read or cook. I also enjoy photography, volunteering, badminton, arcade basketball and collecting Happy Meal toys. If you would like to connect with me, join me on Twitter or Facebook, view my shots on Dribbble or check out my snapshots on Instagram. You can also send me an email.
Women in Web Design
Amazing Female Role Models
Best Female Designers
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WordPress 3.0
Creative Careers
Website Showcase
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May 2013, Los Angeles, CA
September 2012, Worldwide
August 2012, Los Angeles, CA
July 2011, Indianapolis, IN
November 2010, New York, NY
November 2010, Worldwide
June 2010, Cebu, Philippines
This has long been the new home of Dawghouse Design Studio. With the words "design studio" attached to it, it always made me feel restricted to sharing just design-related stuff and I no longer want that. I want a single place where I can not only talk about design, but anything and everything under the sun. If you're looking for an old article on Dawghouse Design Studio, don't fret, the old version is still available. JanCavan.com was handcrafted with love using Coda and is powered by WordPress. The beautiful typefaces are Titillium Web, Lato and Maven Pro. Photos were taken by Chris Boulas and Kien Pham. I would like to give my sincerest thank yous to online tutorials and resource sites, the countless efforts of people who provide them; my family and friends; to ClickStream Marketing for giving me my wings and all the companies I've worked for, for helping me hone my skills and helping me grow as a designer; and last but not the least, to God — the Alpha and the Omega — without Him, none of these would be possible. This site is dedicated to the loving memory of Tsini.


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Boy battling spinal issues receives honors
A 6-year-old New Mexico boy was made an honorary member of the Albuquerque police and fire departments on Friday.
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry gave Isaac Lill the honors. Berry said Isaac was born prematurely and has issues with his spine but doesn't let his disabilities get in his way.
Isaac has captured the hearts of many baseball fans after becoming a regular fixture at Albuquerque Isotopes games. He has been invited to throw out the opening pitch at a 'Topes game and at Dodger Stadium.
"He doesn't really understand what an inspiration he is. Being able to do the things he does when other people look at him, he's able to do a lot of interesting and great things. Isaac is just a cool kid to do that," Isaac's father, Duncan Lill, said.
Isaac will turn 7 next week.


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(Fr.: gravure en un seul trait; gravure à une seule taille)
Quoting the words of Stannard:
"Another 'Curiosity,' called single line engraving, is sometimes exhibited in engraved landscapes, and sometimes in figures. Take the 'Ecce Homo' for instance, which is effected by the graver starting from a given point, in one continuous, circuitous, wavy, or rather spiral course, making the line vary in substance, as light or shade is desired. Much was thought of it by our dear old friend, Evelyn, who, in his Sculptura, or History of Chalcography, 1662, exclaims, 'Who has not beheld with admiration the incomparable burin of Claudius Melan [sic, Claude Mellan (1598-1688)] (ob. Paris, 1664), celebrated by the great Gassendus, and employed by the most noble and learned Perieskius? The Sudarium of St. Veronica, where he has formed a head as big as the life itself, with one only line, beginning at the point of the nose, and so by a spiral turning of the graver, finishing at the utmost hair, is a prodigy of his rare art and invention, because it is wholly new, and performed with admirable dexterity.'
Thurneisen of Basle (b. 1636), engraved in this spiral style, with a single stroke, after the manner of Mellan, and his performances were much admired. Pittori, of Venice (b. 1703), who was an admirable artist, also engraved in this remarkable manner, but in courses of lines differently disposed from the preceding, running perpendicularly from top to bottom, the shadows being expressed by strengthening the lines as occasion required, producing an effect far more pleasing than could have been expected."
A similar technique was applied to a half-tone process for photomechanical printing by Sartinara, of Paris, in 1887. (Nadeau, Encyclopedia, p. xxx.).
Single line engraving on copper by Claude Mellan, 1649. 416 x 315 mm.
Detail from the above Single Line Engraving. Click to enlarge.