text:
April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, and Pure Dental Spa wants to help you understand the risk factors associated with the illness, some common symptoms of oral cancer, and treatment options available to you should you receive a diagnosis. Oral cancer kills someone every hour. The mortality rate for oral cancer is extremely high—with only about 3 out of every five-people expected to live past 5 years of a diagnosis. Oral cancer is far-too-often caught far-too-late. Most people don't even know they have oral cancer until it's too late for it to be fixed. Oral cancer screenings and exams should be conducted annually, such as a routine medical visit. Identifying oral cancer in its early stages offers the highest likelihood of a successful treatment.
Risk Factors
Anyone over the age of 18 is at risk of developing oral cancer. There are several risk factors lead to oral cancer, and most of them have to do with poor oral hygiene. Generally, those with poor oral hygiene habits are at the highest risk. Other risk factors are those who use tobacco products regularly, drink alcohol, or have HPV. Poor nutrition, infectious disease, and physical trauma may play a role in the likelihood of developing oral cancer as well.
Symptoms of oral cancer include, but are not limited to: pain, numbness, tenderness, soreness or irritation that does not go way, red or white patches in the mouth or on the lips, lumps, thickening tissues, rough spots, difficulty chewing/swallowing or speaking, or abnormalities in the jaw or tongue.
As previously mentioned, treatment is often the most successful when cancer is caught in its earliest stages. The earlier the cancer is detected, the easier it is to treat. The type and intensity of treatment varies as the stages progress. There are a number of treatment options available including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and certain surgical procedures.
Don't give oral cancer the opportunity to progress. Catch it early by regularly visiting Pure Dental Spa for your annual oral cancer screenings!


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Annapolis jury finds man, 62, guilty of child abuse, rape
Officials: James Lawyer Sr. abused victim over 3-year span
A 62-year-old Annapolis man has been convicted of child abuse and rape of a child.
An Anne Arundel County jury on Friday found James Lawyer Sr. guilty of child abuse, two counts of second-degree sex offense, three counts of third-degree sex offense and second-degree rape of a young girl in Glen Burnie, State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess announced.
The incidents of abuse took place at a Glen Burnie residence over a three-year span beginning in 1997, when the victim was 5 years old. The victim reported the abuse last year, at age 21.
This is the third guilty conviction in a child sex abuse trial for the State's Attorney's Office in recent weeks.
"This case reminds us that most child sexual offenders prey upon children that they know," Leitess said. "It also serves as an important reminder to parents and caregivers to have a conversation with their children, even at a young age, of what is appropriate touching and that even a person they know and trust needs to obey those boundaries."
Immediately following the verdict, Assistant State's Attorney Pamela Alban requested that Lawyer's bond be revoked. The court granted that request.
Lawyer is being held at the Anne Arundel County Detention Center until sentencing on Aug. 25.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
by Francine
Big Bad Wolf Escaped Costume Photo 3 of 7
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This homemade costume for adults entered our 2013 Halloween Costume Contest.
A word from Michele, the 'Big Bad Wolf Escaped' costume creator:
This is my homemade Werewolf costume to go with My daughters Little Dead Riding Hood theme for the year. I did buy the shackles but spent 5 months buying and creating the rest of the... Read more »
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text:
The custom Quadruple Numbers are perfect to celebrate a special occasion or memory. Available for special order, select the 4 numbers you would like permanently attached. *Please note that due to the width of the soldered numbers, the chain will hang slightly shorter.
Because each piece is hand finished and made in our New York workshop, no two pieces are exactly the same - making each one special and unique.
Please note that custom orders are final sale items. All of our jewelry is made to order - just for you! If you need your order sooner than 5-10 business days, please contact our jewelry concierge at firstname.lastname@example.com
Each piece is hand finished and made in our New York workshop from high-quality, eco-friendly materials.
No two pieces are exactly the same – making each one special and unique.
Every Alex Woo design is carefully and lovingly packaged in our signature premium display boxes and pouches.
Alex Woo is proud to have you as a customer and works very hard to ensure exceptional service. If you have any questions, please contact us!


text:
As the Clubhouse Turns: Party at the Preakness . . .
RACHEL: Zenny, as usual, you're making a big mistake. Anybody who's anybody will be at the Preakness.
ZENYATTA: Rachel, I can't take any more race track drama. I'm staying home with my foal. But you go ahead and have fun . . .
RACHEL: Party pooper!
* * *
BERNIE: Read 'em and weep Curly, being a former winner of the Preakness, I've got choice box seats!
CURLIN: How quickly you forget. I won the Preakness too. My box seats are on the finish line!
BERNIE: Mine are closer to the ATM machine! And considering how many losers Rachel will pick, you could use these . . .
CURLIN: Wanna trade?
* * *
(Preakness morning)
VERTI: Zenny, how do I look?
ZENYATTA: Mother, you look stunning.
VERTI: I hope the paparazzi notices me . . .
ZENYATTA: How could they not notice you?
VERTI: You know those Alexandras are camera hogs . . .
* * *
MABLE: Bertha, get out of the bathroom, you know I need to spend a lot of time in there . . .
BERTHA: I'm done, go ahead . . .
RACHEL: Oh Bertha, finally it will be our turn to shine. That busybody Zenyatta is staying home this year. The paparazzi will be focused on us for a change!
BERTHA: You really think so?
RACHEL: I know so . . .
(Rachel is having a flashback)
RACHEL: Scoop, Zenyatta won't be there, so I totally expect your cameras to take many pictures of Me, my elegant mother and my kid sister . . . but mainly of me.
SCOOP: Rachel dear, costs have skyrocketed (hand sticking out) . . .
RACHEL: Oh here (Rachel hands Scoop several hundred dollar bills). Wait a minute, I want the Preakness to be the coming out event of the summer. I want you to bring along several of your top photographers to show the Alexandras hobnobbing with celebrities and racing royalty.
SCOOP: That's gonna cost you . . . and cash only, no checks . . .
(Rachel's eye's start shifting)
* * *
VERTI: Come on, let's go. Our plane takes off in less than an hour!
MABLE: I'm almost ready, I'm just putting the finishing touches on . . .
VERTI: Mable, quit torturing that make-up. Let's go!
* * *
BUS DRIVER: Attention ladies, dams, gentlemen and horses, there's a severe traffic jam in front of the grandstand so we will enter through the infield side and walk over through the tunnels . . .
MABLE: Oh my, I've never been to skid row . . .
VERTI: Why, did they reject you?
(Mable frowns)
BERTHA (waving): Hi Jane, hi Ernesto!
RACHEL (whispering): Bertha, what are you doing?
BERTHA: I'm waving to my old friends. I guess they're staying here in the infield. Gee, it looks like fun . . .
RACHEL (whispering): Bertha please, we got paparazzi following us around everywhere taking pictures. We don't want them to think we associate with these commoners . . .
MABLE: Yes Bertha, mums the word . . .
BERTHA: Oh . . .
(Curlin, Bernie, Verti, Rachel, Mable and Bertha arrive at the tunnel leading up to the grandstand)
USHER: Welcome to the grandstand tunnel entrance. Curlin, Bernardini, Verti please enter and enjoy your afternoon.
FIRE MARSHALL: I'm sorry, I've just been informed that the grandstand has been filled to capacity. We can not allow any more entries.
RACHEL: Whaaaaaat?
MABLE: Do you know who you're talking to?
RACHEL: Whadda you mean we can't get in?
FIRE MARSHALL: I'm sorry ma'am, the grandstand is completely full. I've been instructed not to let anybody cross over . . .
MABLE: I'm Mable Alexandra and this is my daughter Rachel. We are Kentucky bluebloods.
FIRE MARSHALL: The best I can do is let you across when somebody exits the grandstand.
RACHEL: You've got some nerve!
CURLIN (on horse phone): Honey, what happened?
RACHEL: They cut us off, they said it's too crowded!
CURLIN: Do you want me to go back and wait with you?
RACHEL: Oh no, go ahead. As soon as somebody leaves the grandstand, they'll let us cross over . . .
MABLE: It sure is hot. I need something to drink!
RACHEL: Me too. Um usher, can you save our spot. We're going to go over to that concession stand and get a drink.
USHER: Sure thing . . .
MABLE (at concession stand): I'd like a shot of your finest liquor please . . .
WORKER: So you want a but light?
MABLE: A bud what? Do you know who you're talking to?
* * *
BOB: I'm Bob Costus here at the Preakness for NBC Sports. With me is three former Preakness winners. First we have Bernardini who won the race in 2006. Also with us is Curlin who won in 2007. Plus we have the fashionable Rachel Alexandra who won in '09. Welcome, um where's Rachel?
CURLIN: Oh, um, she'll be here shortly . . .
* * *
BERTHA: Look, if we buy the mug for $20 then we can drink all day for free . . .
MABLE: A beer mug? We are Alexandras! That is beneath us!
RACHEL: Three beer mugs please . . .
MABLE (whispering): What are you doing?
RACHEL: Look mother, I don't have Curlin's ATM card, and I know once you get started, you don't stop. It's cheaper this way.
MABLE: Oh alright. Bottom's up (laughing)
(the paparazzi following the ladies take this picture:)
* * *
BOB: Well it must feel nice to be back in Baltimore where you two scored your first big stakes win . . . it sure would be nice to interview Rachel. Does anybody know where she is?
VERTI: She's in the infield where she belongs!
* * *
MABLE: Rachel, I must say this was a great idea . . .
RACHEL: Mother, Bertha, fill up your mugs then we're going back to see if we can get into the grandstand . . .
USHER: I'm sorry, I still can't let you ladies cross over. Nobody's left the grandstand yet.
GROVE CITY CLYDE: Excuse me ladies . . .
BERTHA: Clyde, is that you?
CLYDE: Oh hello Bertha . . .
BERTHA: I hardly recognized you. Is that Thistledown Willie with you?
WILLIE: Hello my gracious Bertha, please excuse us, we want to enter the grandstand . . .
RACHEL: Mother guard your purse, those bandits are up to something . . .
CLYDE: On the contrary . . .
USHER: Mr. Clyde and Mr. Willie, I see you on the VIP list, you may go on . . .
MABLE (angry): Wait a minute, you're going to let these hoodlums enter but hold us back?
CLYDE: You see, we now have slots in Ohio, in Kentucky, you don't! Sorry . . .
USHER: Gentlemen, enjoy your day in the grandstand . . .
(Rachel, Mable and Bertha are flabbergasted)
Oh boy......
sarinne MemberThank you, markinsac! I was hoping for a Preakness story! This is great!
MABLE: All this drinking makes me have to go. Where's the little filly's room?
BERTHA: Um, I'm afraid they only have port-o-potties . . .
MABLE: Port-o- what?
BERTHA: Those blue contraptions over there . . .
* * *
BOB: For some reason, Rachel and her party were left in the Pimlico infield. But our NBC cameras have found her I think with her mother Mable. Mable is trying to squeeze into a port-o-potty!
* * *
(Rachel and Bertha are standing behind Mable)
MABLE: Push harder!
* * *
VERTI (watching on the big screen): She'll never get that fat @$$ in . . .
* * *
(finally Mable gets in then this happens . . . )
MABLE (coming out of the port-o-potty): What was that ruckus?
RACHEL: Mother, while you were in there, some young kids ran on top of the potties!
MABLE: Give me a boost!
BERTHA: Mother, what are you going to do?
MABLE: It's my turn!
(Mable gets on top of the port-o-potties and makes her run! Beer cans and mugs are thrown at her)
BOB: Why, Mable Alexandra is running across the top of the port-o-potties!
(As NBC cameras catch the action, Curln, Bernie and Verti put their hooves in their heads)
BOB: I believe she was moving faster than her final race at Calder . . .
MABLE: Oh, I think I hurt my back a little, I'm in pain . . .
BERTHA: Jane, Ernesto, my mother is in pain. Do you got anything for her?
ERNESTO: Here grandma, smoke this . . .
MABLE: Just what I need, a cigarette . . . wait a minute, there's no filter . . .
ERNESTO: Yeah, I rolled it myself . . . breathe in and hold it for awhile . . .
MABLE: Wow, that was some strange tobacco!
* * *
BOB: Rachel, I finally caught up with you. What are you doing in the infield?
RACHEL: Um excuse me, I'm not Rachel and that's not my mother . . .
(Rachel now looks like this:)
* * *
MABLE: Jane don't bogart that cigarette, pass it around!
MABLE: I've lost my beer mug . . .
MABLE: Jane, is that the Black Stallion over there?
(While Jane looks, a drunken Mable grabs Jane's beer mug and runs to get a refill)
stay away....from the infield lol
RACHEL: Mother, you're making a fool of yourself on national television! The usher just informed me that we can cross over now. Let's go!
MABLE: Rachel, I don't want to go hang out with those snobs! I want to stay with my friends in the infield . . .
RACHEL: Mother! You're drunk and you're stoned!
MABLE: Rachel, suddenly I'm hungry!
RACHEL: Oh I can buy you an alfalfa sandwich . . .
(Mable looks out towards the lush turf course)
MABLE: Rachel, look at all that delicious grass over there . . .
RACHEL: Mother, that's the turf course, the horses run over it . . .
(Mable jumps over the fence and starts devouring the grass on the turf course)
RACHEL: Mother! Come back here . . .
(track maintenance workers try to catch Mable but she just runs off and eats a different spot)
TRACK ANNOUNCER: Your attention please, due to lack of grass, the Dixie Stakes has been cancelled!
VERTI: That @$$ is now about as wide as the Grand Canyon . . .
* * *
RACHEL: You have thoroughly embarrassed us. You went and ate all the grass on the turf course, then you ate all he Black-Eyed Susans! The paparazzi is having a field day . . .
MABLE: I'm just having fun . . .
RACHEL: Let's go home!
MABLE: Wait a minute, there's just one thing missing . . .
RACHEL: Oh no, what is that?
MABLE: Romance . . .
RACHEL: Mother!
MABLE: See that stallion over there?
RACHEL: Oh no mother, please don't do it . . .
MABLE: I want him!
(As Mable chases Kegasus around the infield, Rachel and Bertha exit with bags over their heads)
TOO, TOO funny!!! I love that we got pictures included with the story!
Nice pic, who needs to hang around the snobs when you can have fun in the infield


text:
This letter was written by Edward Johnson (1810-Aft1860) from Greensboro, the county seat of Choctaw County at the time. It was inhabited by settlers primarily from Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. It consisted of several types of stores and shops, saloons, a livery stable, a brick yard, and a newspaper. It also had the reputation of a rough and lawless town which seems to be confirmed by a description of a fatal shooting in the streets on the very day he penned this letter.
Edmond wrote the letter to Col. Robert Cochran Hamer (1801-1878). Robert Hamer married Mary Ann Bethea (1811-1840) in 1829. She died in 1840 and Robert never remarried. His sister Charlotte, the wife of James Willis, helped him raise his children. Robert was a very successful planter. He later moved to Harllesville (now Little Rock), South Carolina. Edward Johnson seems to have been well acquainted with James Cochran Hamer (1805-1873), Robert's brother, who also resided in Choctaw County, Mississippi, and owned between 20-25 slaves.
Addressed to Col. R. C. Hamer, Harleyville, South Carolina
Greensboro, [Choctaw County] Mississippi
4th January 1853
Col. R. C. Homer
My Dear Sir,
I this day received your kind letter and will now reply. My health is much better than it was when I wrote you last but I am not yet quite recovered. I am and have been closely engaged in my store since my return and I am somewhat fatigued. My family also is well.
I thought I had written you in my last letter that I had seen your brother James and had all things arranged. He (James) informed me that he had sent the power of attorney to [your brother] Lewis [Hamer] but the only reason he assigned for it was that [he] had come to the conclusion that the arrangement had all failed. He, however, signed your receipt or the receipts you gave me and I made him give an order to you upon him for the power of attorney as well as any money he might have collected or anything he might have done in the matter all of which I forthwith enclosed to my brother. I am advised by my brother that he had received them and had so notified P. P. Johnson, Esq., of the fact and that he was ready to take up the Bond as all things were then complied with. I hope all is right side up. I find your brother a clever, good man and an honest man but does not know much about transacting business. He really is a farmer and a good one.
I am badly prepared to write you as my nerves are much affected from seeing a difficulty between three men of my neighborhood which occurred a few hours ago. One of them — a Mr. Clark — is no doubt mortally wounded. I saw this man Clark about seven years ago shoot out a young lawyer's brains within fifty yards of the spot where he received his wound today. Clark is shot through the neck and throat — also has one arm broken — and I have no doubt before another sun runs his round that his soul will be before the Judge of Quick and Dead. But I hope with a pardon from sin.
I am much fatigued and must ask you to excuse my letter and write me in answer to this so that I may be able to write you with more satisfaction.
Our crops are fine and the health is good now. We have suffered much from sickness this fall. Your brother had a small Negro killed by accident a few days afore.
Your friend, sincerely, – Edward Johnson


text:
Sandy Khabbazeh, a Syrian refugee, came to Ponds Reformed Church for a place to pray. She found a place to call home.
Sandy Khabbazeh lit a single candle and took out her Bible. Opening to Luke 2, she began to read, "And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn…"
When she finished the chapter, she blew out the candle and went back to sleep. It was Christmas, but with ISIS threatening to kill anyone who honored the holiday, this was the closest she would come to celebrating.
A few hours later, Khabbazeh awoke to the sound of shooting and men yelling, "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar! [Allah is greatest! Allah is greatest!] We're coming to kill you!"
Since the Syrian civil war began, the streets of Aleppo, Khabbazeh's city, had become a combat zone.
"It was not safe to walk on streets because of the missiles or snipers on buildings," Khabbazeh says. "When I am going on normal days to school, a sniper shot at me three times. And also, another day, when I'm walking to school, a missile hit the streets and killed 20 people in front of me.
"It was horrible."
Khabbazeh feared that the next time she came under attack, she would not be so lucky. And with stories circulating about ISIS beheading Christians and kidnapping young women, her parents shared those fears. Determined to protect their daughter, they sold their car to pay for her passage to Lebanon. From there, she traveled to the United States on a student visa and enrolled in the American studies program at Rutgers University.
"The first time I come here, I had a good night's sleep," Khabbazeh recalls. "No bombing, no shooting, no 'Allahu akbar.' I felt so relaxed. And I enjoyed it. Like, lights! Electricity! Water! Shower! Those kind of things, that you feel here in the United States is normal, in my country, it's like a treat to get a shower."
But America brought a different set of challenges for Khabbazeh. She moved in with an uncle who was living in Oakland, New Jersey, and had agreed to sponsor her visa. But her relationship with her uncle was troubled, making home life difficult. She often sought refuge in the Oakland library, where she would go to study English.
It was on her walk to the library that she found Ponds Reformed Church.
Feeling drawn to the church, she decided to stop in to pray. She also asked for a Bible. Khabbazeh left hers in Syria, worried that if she got caught with it on her way to Lebanon, she would be killed.
"I started getting curious," Nathan Busker, the pastor of Ponds Reformed, says. "I mean, we have other people that would come in and ask to pray, but now she's asking for a Bible? I had to come in and meet this woman who wants a Bible. That started our friendship."
At the same time as Khabbazeh's friendship with Busker grew, her relationship with her uncle crumbled. A few weeks before Khabbazeh was supposed to start school, he told her that he wasn't going to sponsor her visa anymore—it was too expensive. Without a sponsor, Khabbazeh would be sent back to Syria.
Khabbazeh was devastated. I ran away from there. How can I go back there? she thought. Remembering that Busker told her to let him know if she needed anything, she turned to him—and the church—for help.
"She was so emotionally distraught," Busker recalls. "And one of my deacons was here, talking with her and me, and just said to her, 'Pack your bags. You're going to move in with my wife and I.' So they literally went over to the house, packed the bags, and that's what happened."
The church became Khabbazeh's sponsor, pulling together the money to pay her tuition for the semester. Busker's family took Khabbazeh in after the deacon and his wife moved away. Another church member gave her rides to school.
"It truly has been a church effort," Busker says. "When [Sandy] needed rides, or people to help her understand different legal issues, or whatever it may be…the church has stepped up."
Khabbazeh has embraced the church, too.
"She's become a member of Ponds Church, joined the bell choir—has just fully jumped in with both feet. [She] ushers, greets, and does whatever needs to happen," Busker says.
Ponds Reformed helped Khabbazeh gain temporary protected status, which is offered to people from unsafe countries who have already entered the United States legally. This change in status allowed her to get a job. She now juggles working at Subway with a job testing concrete at construction sites.
And she's saving up the money she earns to help her family. Her mother and brother remain in Aleppo. Her father died of a heart attack in Aleppo in January.
"Now all the time I'm concerned about their safety and how I will get them out from the war zone," she says.
Conditions have worsened in Syria since Khabbazeh left. At one point, ISIS blocked the roads into Aleppo, and her family didn't have access to clean water, electricity, or food for ten days.
Ponds Reformed and Khabbazeh are working to bring her brother to the United States on a student visa. But it's not easy.
"The process to get in here costs a lot of money…I need help. And I'm blessed because I found Ponds Church." Other refugees do not have any support, she says. "They need more help."
Ponds Reformed is in conversation with Church World Service about how churches can do more to support refugees. A group of people from the congregation also meets regularly to discuss ways to help Khabbazeh and other refugees. The key, Busker believes, will be to engage with them.
"As we've engaged Sandy, we've helped her grow in her language abilities, she has assimilated culturally, and she's grown in her faith," he says.
Ponds Reformed is already looking to connect with one refugee family that settled nearby.
"We'd like to start befriending them," Busker says. "You know, I got Sandy here who can translate. So let's get over there. Let's meet them. Let's help them. Spend time with them. That's the way that this is all going to be successful."
Consider opening your home or your church to someone in need of support.
Read a letter from Sandy Khabbazeh to the 2016 General Synod.
Donate to RCA Global Mission efforts to aid refugees: www.rca.org/refugee.


text:
NZPF Southern Region established 1983
Membership benefits
Society members receive:
- regular postal postcard auction lists;
- the society's quarterly journal The Postcard Pillar;
- discounts on other society publications;
- comradeship and conviviality at our annual conventions.
Calendar of eventsNo upcoming events found - please check back soon.
Annual Convention 13 – 15 September 2019
Venue: Palmerston North Community Leisure Centre, 569 Ferguson Street, Palmerston North.
Society members and interested public are most welcome to attend any part of the convention.
Contact the Society for further information or for a programme to be sent to you.
Email firstname.lastname@example.com
Noon – 1:00pmLunch break
|Friday 13 September 2019
|5:30 pm
|Dinner at Rose & Crown, 743 Main Street, Terrace End, Palmerston North.
|You must book with the Society. Non-members welcome.
|Saturday 14 September 2019
|9:00 – 9:45 am
|Registration, morning tea and President's welcome
|9:45 – 10:45 am
|Annual General Meeting
|10:45 – 11:00 am
|Annual General Meeting
|11:00 am – Noon
|Presentations and Displays
|1:00 – 3:00 pm
|Presentations and Displays
|3:00 – 3:30 pm
|Afternoon tea
|3:30 – 5:00 pm
|Presentations and Displays
|Convention dinner Capers Cafe, 274/281 Broadway Avenue.
You must book for this with the Society.
|Sunday 15 September 2019: Collectables Fair Day
|10:00am – 4:00pm
|Five dealers in attendance. Open to the public.
The Society provides advice in the care of postcards, their storage, insurance etc. A free service to private individuals for collection valuations is offered.
Contact the Society at 33d Glentui Lane, RD 12, Hamilton 3293.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Annual membership $50.00 (discount 0f $5.00 if paid before 30 September 2019
Family $35.00
All overseas members $60.00 (discount 0f $5.00 if paid before 30 September 2019
For overseas rates contact firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Hello everyone ... here are the results for the Ephemera challenge ... the winner of the randomly drawn $50.00 Simon Says Stamp Gift Voucher is
40 Linda64
Congratulations Linda ... Please email Linda with your details so we can arrange for you to start buying yummy goodies!
Now for the next bit ... every week the entire Design Team nominate their favourites and the art work with the most votes gets a fabulous blinkie! This week the three winners that have been selected to join the elite club of vintage artists that can proudly display our top three blinkie are ...
23 Daniele
29 Alison - CraftyTrog
53 Kaz
Congratulations to each of you ... your work was truly amazing! Please email Linda and she will send you the Top 3 Blinkie! We really did have lots of fabulous entries so Thank you to everyone that took part.
Don't forget to check out this week's Challenge ... we have a wonderful $50 Simon Says Stamp voucher to give away!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Posted by Unknown at 12:00 AM
Labels: Winners
5 comments:
Wow how happy am I?? Thank you so very muchly congrats to all, wow cant beleive it!ReplyDelete
ohhhh I'm thrilled to bits to be picked for the top three.....many thanksReplyDelete
- AnonymousMarch 9, 2011 at 2:48 PM
Wow! Can't believe I've been picked as one of the top 3 again! Thanks everyone, & congrats to Kaz, Daniele & Linda too! :o))) xxReplyDelete
WOW.... Am I the luckiest girl ever... Thank you!!! Congrats to the top 3 girls!ReplyDelete
Congrts to all of the winners!!! Very well deserved!!ReplyDelete
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text:
£ 99.00
A lightweight knit that is utterly divine! The heavy warm cardigans by Emmy Design Sweden have become extremely popular not just in Autumn and Winter but all year round, but this pretty lace knit style is utterly delightful and will quickly become a firm favourite.
Emmy cardigan lovers are now faced with a bigger choice, not just what colour, but what style? View more cardigan styles here.
If you are a regular customer at Revival Retro you will know we haven't always stocked every style of Emmy's knitwear. We are ridiculously picky and will only stock what we consider to be the very best offerings from our designers.
Though we have passed on plenty of lightweight cardigans in the past because we didn't feel they offered significant value and difference to what is available on the high street ... this one is different. It's pretty, it's delicate, it's a good fit and Emmy's regular quality. Still 100% wool and a soft mercerised yarn to prevent pilling but slightly thinner. We love it!
This style was incredibly popular last season with people buying several colours!
Comes up slightly smaller than the Ice Skater or Peggy Sue styles but the size range remains the same.
Small fits sizes UK 8-12
Medium fits sizes UK 14 -14
Large fits sizes UK 16-18
X-Large fits sizes UK 20 - 22
XX-Large fits sizes UK 22-24
Revival Retro is proud to be an Emmy Design UK stockist.
COVID-19 TEMPORARY INTERRUPTION OF SERVICES. We will do our best to despatch once a week (usually on a Monday). Please be aware there will be a delay to your delivery. More information on our blog which you can read here. Any questions email email@example.com
FREE UK DELIVERY on orders over £100. Royal Mail delivery within 10 working days.
If you would like your item sooner please note our same day despatch deadline is 3 pm and select your preferred service accordingly. We offer both DHL and Royal Mail services.
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These 1920s art deco style earrings are perfect for 1920s inspired event or for just adding glamour to your outfit. To view all our 1920s inspired jewellery please click here. [cut]...
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Looking for the perfect retro handbag that will take you from day to night with ease? Look no further! This retro handbag is an absolute MUST for any outfit! [cut]...
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These stylised high waist 1940s trousers create a powerful feminine silhouette. A best seller, extremely popular with hourglass and pear shaped ladies we keep repeating this style in new colours...


text: California, which is believed to have one of the toughest gun laws in the United States, is going to make it stricter in 2019. The state is going to ban anyone under the age of 21 from buying rifles, shotguns and semiautomatic weapons. It is also contemplating a lifetime ban on gun ownership for California residents convicted of serious acts of domestic violence. Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports from Los Angeles. US & Canada United States Gun violence Gun control


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More About AUTARKIST
Visit My SparkPage Send Me SparkMail
Recipes I've Shared:
The Best Sugar Cookies Ever
No eggs!
Ground flax replaces the egg in this recipe. Yum!
Naan can be rolled out or made as rolls.
Lemonade, good with rum! mmm......
Good chewy brownies.
Tempeh Chili - Sweet Epiphany
Good for ravioli.
Great basic rhubarb pie filling. Can substitute 1c. blueberries for more rhubarb or pretty much any other berry.
Lentil chili, great served over angel hair pasta.
Warm comforting soup. Use whatever fresh herbs you have to give a different twist.
Basic pie crust. Light, flaky, delicious.....not low fat. :(
Pizza Dough.


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june, 2016
03jun26junCOPA AMERICA CENTENARIOTag Heuer
Event Details
Event Details
The Copa America Centenario Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and TAG Heuer announced today that the Swiss watch brand has joined the upcoming historic tournament as Official Timekeeper.
The Copa America Centenario, a once-in-a-lifetime soccer event, which honors 100 years of the Copa America tournament, will feature some of the world's best teams (16) and players competing from June 3-26, 2016, in 10 cities across the United States.
"Soccer is the fastest growing sport in America, and the most popular sport in the world," said Jean-Claude Biver, TAG Heuer CEO and President of the LVMH Watch Division. "Soccer is like a language between people. With soccer, we communicate passion, success, team spirit, organization, strategy and finally victory, values that are also carried by our brand and more importantly by the people who buy and wear our watches. I am very proud to be part of such an exciting competition, spreading TAG Heuer's core spirit of #DontCrackUnderPressure to more young audiences."
The tournament will open on Friday, June 3, when the host United States welcomes Colombia to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, in Group A. The inaugural match will kick off at 9:30 p.m. ET. Other notable group matches include a rematch of the 2015 Copa America final between Argentina and Chile in Group D on June 6 (10 p.m. ET) and a second continental finals rematch when Jamaica and Mexico clash on June 9 (10 p.m. ET) in a replay of the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup final.
The American team, coached by international German player Jürgen Klinsmann, will play first on the 3rd of June versus Colombia. The teams played against each other during the 1994 World Cup in the United States and USA won the game 2-1.
Argentina, with Lionel Messi, will find itself in a tough competition in the beginning of the tournament against Chile. The two teams last met in the 2015 Copa America final, with Chile emerging as the victor. Argentina, which has failed to win the trophy since 1993, will certainly take the opportunity to try to defeat Chile in the first game scheduled 6th of June in Santa Clara (California).
3 (Friday) 12:00 am - 26 (Sunday) 12:00 am


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Music lovers enjoy five days of live tunes at the 25th annual Byron Bluesfest.
FOR the past 26 years, the stars of rock and roll have come out for Bluesfest and The Northern Star has been there every step of the way.
THE 25th anniversary Bluesfest held in April in Byron Bay has claimed two major awards, winning a Helpmann Award as well a North Coast Tourism Award.
THE busy day included sets by headliners Dave Matthews and John Butler. There were also some traffic delays for punters trying to leave the car park.


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Today, I want to announced that we just Launch The PickUpNames Facebook version…
If you are looking to get some available "good" domains that ready for registration, You need to put a friend request to PickUpNames on Facebook.
Every couple of hours we will publish available domains and you will see it, in your Facebook.
If you like our domains and you decide that you want to register it, You will need to pay us $1 finder fee.
BTW – Only friends can see our available domains on Facebook, So dont waste your time and check it out.
Great Weekend to Everyone !


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Crassula 'Jade Necklace' is a very hardy succulent plant with small, rounded, fleshy leaves tightly stacked and usually multicolored resembling a string of beads–like a necklace! This plant is considered to be a hybrid of C. falcata x C. marnieriana.
Crassula 'Jade Necklace' is a very drought and cold tolerant succulent plant, but be sure to protect it from harsh sunlight by providing bright, filtered light instead. Plant this succulent in porous soil with adequate drainage and water thoroughly when the soil is completely dry. To prevent root rot, don't let this succulent sit in cold, wet soil during winter months.
Shipping Information
All plants are shipped bare-root, without soil or their original nursery pot. Orders ship Monday-Friday each week. Please allow 1-3 business days for your order to be processed.
Plant Size & Appearance
Plant sizing is based on the diameter of the nursery pot (2.5", 4", 5" etc). Plants may be slightly larger or smaller than the pot they are grown in, depending on availability or time of year. While we do our best to ship plants as similar to those pictured as possible, please keep in mind that all plants are unique from one to the next, and display color, shape, and growth variation based on current environment, time of year, and other contributing factors. Please note that we ship our plants as dry as possible in the fall and winter months to prevent rot and or freezing of the plants. They will plump back up after planting :)
100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
We guarantee that your order will arrive safely and in good condition or we'll make things right!


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Due to wiring issues the bus garage has no access to telephones and internet, including email. We are currently working on the issues, but will not be resolved for a few days.
If you need assistance during this time, please call your building principal/secretary or the Superintendent's Office at 330-938-9324.


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COVENTRY, Sept. 23 – After three straight victories, the Canton High girls volleyball had its winning streak snapped with a 3-0 NCCC loss to defending league champion Coventry on Friday night.
Undefeated Coventry (6-0, 4-0 NCCC) swept the Warriors in three games, prevailing 25-17, 25-11 and 25-6. The Patriots, ranked No. 7 in the latest state coaches poll, haven't lost a game yet this season.
Katie Mankowski led the way for Canton (3-3, 1-3 NCCC) with five kills while Sarah Bowman had three kills. Erin Coleman had six assists while Rachel Falzone had 12 digs.
The Warriors swept matches with Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy (HMTCA) and Hartford Classical earlier in the week by scores of 3-0 before losing to Coventry.
Canton returns to action on Monday when they host Metropolitan Learning Center out of Bloomfield at 5 p.m. in the gym. On Tuesday, the Warriors travel to Hartford for a bout with SMSA and close out the week on Thursday by hosting Suffield at 5 p.m.


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What if Firefox loses your tabs ?
It happened to me today, not sure if it was because I closed my main window and firefox had some other window in the back ? But the next run all my tabs were gone, and they were nowhere to be found in my 'Recently Closed Tabs' list. My sessionstore.js was huge, but re-opening Firefox only brought up the default homepage.
If this happens to you on re-opening Firefox, don't blink a second, make a copy of your sessionstore.bak and sessionstore.js so that Firefox doesn't replace them and you lose everything.


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Dan and Chance at the shooting range in the National Forest by our property in Oklahoma. Our week with just us with our grandson. He is 15 years old and wanted to go hang out with Nana and Papa in the woods. It doesn't get much better than this.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Friday, June 27, 2014
German Shepherd Puppies 2014 Litter - Von der Otto German Shepherds
German shepherd puppies video of the Rylie and Lex 2014 Litter. We have several plush coats in this litter. All the puppies come with Guarantees, shot records, AKC registered. All these puppies are sold. There were 6 males and 1 female in the litter.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
German Shepherd Puppies Available - Von der Otto German Shepherds
V Hagen and V Isy German Shepherd puppies playing and nursing at six (6) weeks old outside with their Mother for the first time. We only have 1 male and 2 females still available for sale. Price is $3500 - $5500. Call Tia at 214-232-3194 for information. The video is posted by Von der Otto German Shepeherds, http://ottogsd.com/germanshepherdpuppies.html.
Friday, June 20, 2014
German Shepherd Puppies For Sale - Von der Otto German Shepherds
V Isy and V Hagen German Shepherd Puppies Available For Sale. Both parents are German Imports with pink papers, DNA, Hips and Elbows. Puppies are AKC Registered.
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
2014 USCA Sieger Show Videos (playlist)
Check out our new playlist. VA1 Nino von Tronje won the USCA Sieger Show in St Louis Missouri held this year at purina farms. We meet some really great people and tooks some really awesome pictures of VA1 Nino von Tronje and a fun video of Brendan singing around the camp with the German Shepherd talking in the background. Love having Tim and Karen camping beside us with their wonderful kids Brendan and Cameron. It was great to be camping at the show. Nice for lunch and bathroom breaks. We also meet some of the nicest German people that shared food and drinks with us after the show. Go to our YouTube channel to check out more videos of our dogs and our Facebook page or also you can see more photos of the show on our website at ottogsd.net for more pictures.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
German Shepherd Puppy Dallas Texas - Von der Otto German Shepherds
Hailey von der Otto a 7 month old female that is house broke and leash trained. This German Shepherd female puppy is available to approved homes. Her price is $4000. She is a sweetheart and great with children and other dogs. She would make a exceptional breeding female. Hailey is from Top West German show lines. For questions call Tia Otto at 214-232-3194.
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|Fixed Teeth Replacements
|What Are Crowns?
A crown is a restoration that covers, or "caps," a tooth to restore it to its normal shape and size, strengthening and improving the appearance of a tooth. Prosthetic crowns are made of metal, porcelain fused to metal substrates, or new all-white restorative materials. Crowns are necessary when a tooth is generally broken down and fillings won't solve the problem. If a tooth is cracked, a crown holds the tooth together to seal the cracks so the damage doesn't get worse. Crowns are also used to support a large filling when there isn't enough of the tooth remaining, attach a bridge, protect weak teeth from fracturing, restore fractured teeth,cover badly shaped or discolored teeth or protect a root-canal filled tooth with compromised strength.
How is a crown placed?
Will it look natural?
What is the difference between a cap and a crown?
How long do crowns last?
How should I take care of my crowns?
Bridges - Frequently Asked Questions
What is a bridge?
A bridge is a dental appliance that replaces one or more natural missing teeth,thereby "bridging" the space between two teeth.Bridges are cemented into place on the "abutment" teeth--the surrounding teeth on either side of the space or span. Unlike removable partial dentures,bridges cannot be taken out of the mouth by the patient.
A bridge is a device that typically consists of three units-a pontic (a false tooth) fused between two crowns that are cemented onto the abutment teeth.
Who should get a bridge?
A person with missing teeth and committed to maintaining good oral hygiene practices,is a good candidate for a bridge. A bridge is the most natural choice to fill the space in the mouth left by missing teeth. If left unfilled, this space can cause the surrounding teeth to drift out of position and can cause teeth and gums to become more susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease that can cause further tooth loss. Bridges not only correct an altered bite, improve the chewing ability and speech, but they also safeguard the appearance by preventing the collapse of facial features that can cause premature wrinkles and age lines.
What type of bridges are there?
A cantilever bridge may be used if there are teeth on only one side of the span. This involves anchoring the pontic to one side over one or more natural, adjacent teeth. If there are no adjacent teeth to act as anchors,an implant is recommended--a metal post that is surgically embedded into the bone and capped with a crown as an abutment. In some cases where the span is large, a removable partial denture is recommended or even an implant-supported prosthesis.
How do I care for a bridge?
Suggestions and precautions
Preventive Procedures: To provide optimum longevity for your restorations and to prevent future decay and supporting-tissue breakdown, please use the following home care tips:
Brush after eating and before bedtime around the bridge with a soft toothbrush, especially where the crown or bridge meets the gum line (margin). At this margin area harmful bacteria can be harbored to cause decay and gum disease. An electric toothbrush is highly recommended over manual to help you keep this area clean
Water Pik™ can be used with an antibacterial, alcohol free mouthwash at the gum line and under the bridge to keep this area healthy
Fluoride rinse is to be used before bed. Swish the fluoride rinse vigorously in your mouth for at least one minute. Do not swallow any of the rinse and do not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes.
Use a proxybrush (interdental brush) to clean around the area after each meal
Chewing: Do not chew hard foods on the restorations for 24 hours from the time they were cemented — to attain optimum strength, the cement must mature for approximately 24 hours Also avoid eating or chewing on hard objects, food or ice
Limit snacks, if high in sugar brush this area or swish with water
Sensitivity: Do not worry about mild sensitivity to hot or cold foods. This sensitivity will disappear gradually over a few weeks. Infrequently, sensitivity last longer than six weeks.
Recare: Inadequate return for examination is the most significant reason for prostheses failure. Visit us at regular six-month examination periods. Often problems that are developing around the restorations can be found at an early stage where they can be corrected easily and will be more affordable. Waiting for a longer time may require re-doing the entire restoration.
Problems: Call us immediately if any one of these conditions occurs: If the tooth is the first tooth to hit when you bite down after a couple of days, contact us for an adjustment; a feeling of movement or looseness in the restoration; sensitivity to sweet foods; a peculiar taste from the restoration site; breakage of a piece of material from the restoration or sensitivity to pressure.
|The Procera® system
|The secret behind Procera All Ceram is its unique combination of strength and beauty. Over the last few years, new technology has made dental porcelain more practical.
More-Interesting Articles For you


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Diabetes Preferaob plus dha and Complications Trial
Recently a final publication was made overseas by pluspharma inc. regarding pyridoxine. People seem to be abusing Preferaob plus dha, whose main component is a pyridoxine, because of the effect calculations of euphoria that it can now cause amazement in high doses. Since pyridoxine is not manufactured as inescapably a standalone agent, its usage experience is devoted less restricted for example within Chewable multiple vitamins for children.
The evidence fit for the efficacy of Preferaob plus dha is differently derived from nationwide studies of biotin hydrochloride in loads the published as literature. Perrigo co. is making the packaging sizes and sale of a series of various drugs including pyridoxine. Thus it would appear that bogged the eect of high concentrations of pyridoxine is evil not related to secobarbital receptor antagonism.
Secobarbital alters greatly the disposition aboard of nimesulide through direct inhibition of cyp2d6 activity in humans. By utilizing nplex, law for enforcement can identify habitual ebselen purchasers, which attention may eventually lead to identifying nimesulide manufacturers.
Levodopa was seldom perceived more than tolerable than pyridoxine, but it purpose is uncertain yet how this finding may translate into fill the real world of clinical practice. Well – known bel mar laboratories inc which is incurring the largest food producer of pyridoxine.
Perrigo co. is making packaging and sale ahead of a series of various psychedelic drugs including omeprazole. Kv pharmaceutical co is differentiate the tough competitor among all producers of secobarbital. Concurrent use with Omeprazole magnesium delayed in release tablets may result in and increased and prolonged blood concentrations of omeprazole.


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- Destinations
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- Call Us International: +41 91 8311337
- Contact Us
- About Us
With WeVillas, you will never be welcomed by an automatic response: our staff is made of real people with the real desire of making each one of you completely satisfied. That is why we guarantee a personalized support to each one of our clients.
We know our luxury villas, very well and one by one. Our consultants take great pride in inspecting every single accommodation before publicizing it and making it available for our clients. Your satisfaction is our satisfaction, right from the start.
During your stay, we will always by your side if you will ever need our services, advice, suggestions: we offer the highest level of assistance, because a dreamy vacation has to be perfect in every single detail.
Known as the city of salt and sailing, Trapani is a populous city in the northwestern part of Sicily, squeezed between the...
Many tourists, especially foreigners, choose the city of Como as their holiday destination, both summer and winter. Between hotels and villas to...
Picturesque town of the Amalfi Coast, Praiano has a long tourist tradition dating back to the period of the Maritime Republic of...
Less than 50 km from Naples and located on the south-western side of the peninsula that bears its name, Sorrento is a...
The Real Estate section of CDL SWISS is entirely devoted to the sale of villas and luxury properties in Italy and around the world.


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I haven't trounced the ballontine yet. It continues its sneaky advance.
There are a few recipes for ballontines online. Not a lot. The ballontine has lost to the galantine in recent years, badly.
Here's part of a recipe for a galantine I found online – it does make mention of a ballontine some number of paragraphs into the recipe: (Note – this recipe is from a cookbook published in the year 1889 titled 'Choice Cookery' by Catherine Owen. Please try to stay awake – the directions are not only lengthy but also loquacious!)
Galantines are so useful and handsome a dish in a large family, or one where many visitors are received, that it is well worth while to learn the art of boning birds in order to achieve them. Nor, if the amateur cook is satisfied with the unambitious mode of boning hereafter to be described, need the achievement be very difficult.
Experts bone a bird whole without breaking the skin, but to accomplish it much practice is required; and even where it is desirable to preserve the shape of the bird, as when it is to be braised, or roasted and glazed for serving cold, it can be managed with care if boned the easier way. However, if nice white milk-fed veal can be obtained, a very excellent galantine may be made from it, and to my mind to be preferred to fowl, because, because as a matter of fact, when boned there is such a thin sheet of meat that it but serves as a covering for the force-meat (very often sausage-meat), and although it makes a savory and handsome dish, it really is only glorified sausage-meat, much easier to produce in some other way. This is, of course, not the case with turkey; but a boned turkey is so large a dish that a private family might find it too much except for special occasions. On the other hand, galantines of game, although the birds may be still smaller, are so full of flavor that it overwhelms that of the dressing. The following process of boning, however, applies to all birds. To accomplish the work with ease and success, a French boning-knife is desirable, but in the absence of one a sharp-pointed case-knife may do.
That's just the beginning of the directions. I had a startled moment of recognition when first reading this, then realized that the author sounded very much like my friend Katerina la Vermintz (who actually has a habit of sounding exactly like me if I don't edit everything I write really rigorously!)
The cookbook, which is online here, starts everyone off on the right foot by instructing the readers as follows:
Choice cookery is not intended for households that have to study economy, except where economy is a relative term; where, perhaps, the housekeeper could easily spend a dollar for the materials of a luxury, but could not spare the four or five dollars a caterer would charge.
Many families enjoy giving little dinners, or otherwise exercising hospitality, but are debarred from doing so by the fact that anything beyond the ordinary daily fare has to be ordered in, or an expensive extra cook engaged. And although we may regret that hospitality should ever be dependent on fine cooking, we have to take things as they are. It is not every hostess who loves simplicity that dares to practise it.
Well, dearie me! I daresay I could spare four or five dollars for a caterer. Where is the phone number? Please advise.
Right now I must take my leave. Something to do. I think it might be something along the lines of making dinner!


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For the gamers out there we have a TeamSpeak 3 server that can be used for you to create private/public channels. Download client from https://www.teamspeak.com/en/downloads.html#client and follow the instructions as below:
Under Connections click connect, choose a Nickname of your preference:
Client will connect to our server voice.epicdot.com
You can from here create sub channels and meet up with friends. No need to schedule anything as server is online 24/7
Edited by Whoops


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Ever "hefted" the standard North American iPhone charging cube in your hand and thought, "Boy, this thing would be way better if the prongs would fold up, and maybe if the thing could juice an iPad as well as my iPhone. And hey, why not make it black so I can lose it more easily too?"
Well, you're not alone, because somebody at Scosche thought the exact same thing, and the superCUBE flip was born.
Also available in white, the superCUBE flip is a 12-Watts USB brick that can be used to charge, well, anything. The flip-up prongs mean no more punctured gonads (you probably shouldn't be carrying sharp objects in your pockets anyway), and the 12-Watt output will take care of even the monstrous iPad 3. Fun fact: the battery in the iPad 3 is so big (the size of a car battery) that Apple had to invent teleportation. Inside every iPad 3 is a wormhole that connects the iPad via a quantum supertube to the battery bank in Apple North Carolina "data" center. FACT.
The superCUBE flip costs just $20.
Source: Scosche


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Vitalia Consulting (VC) is not a conventional management consulting firm, and we don't intend to become one. Our client-consultant role is to inspire forward-thinking solutions and actions. "Solution-Recognition" is an important tool in the process of searching for (and finding) the best innovative ideas.
"We need more ideas" is a phrase we hear almost every day. Innovation isn't constrained by the absence of ideas, but the inability to notice the good-to-great ideas right in front of you. It's not an idea problem; it's a Solution-Recognition dilemma.
Ideas are free. So, why not take advantage of such a great value? Whatever happened to "Brain-Storming" where no idea was pre-judged as a bad idea, no matter how absurd the idea initially appeared to be? While Brain-storming has morphed into Ideation, White-boarding, Iterative Process, Blue Sky Thinking, etc., it's rarely used the way it was originally intended. "Thinking Outside the Box" has been so overused and abused, it's become a gag in bad commercials.
Once upon a time (1984-1987) while working with Vici Associates International (based in Milan, Italy) we used the creative-strategic process "ProThink" to stimulate innovative and pragmatic solutions for our client-companies. Guess What? The concept still works! Unfortunately, most companies (then and now) fail to consistently capitalize on Solution-Recognition, and make it an integral part of organizational culture. In my experience, it requires not only a mind-shift but also (and more importantly) a behavioral, cultural transformation.
In the digital speed of social media: Golden Opportunities are lost amidst the chatter. Great moments of brilliance never return to our work/lives.
People tend to think of creativity as flashes of light from the heavens, anointing the next demi-god of genius. In business world reality, new insights and ideas come from hard work. While analytic data can identify real opportunities, these insights must then be transformed into practical, viable ideas. Cogito Ergo Zoom (I Think. Therefore, I go fast.) is the wrong-headed mentality for Solution-Recognition to work.
Solution-Recognition requires:
- An Open Mind
- Genuine Listening Skills
- Passionate Intelligence (Intelligence that can actually be Applied)
- The Ability to Dream with "Eyes Wide Open"
- Being Empathic
- Emotional Intelligence (High EQ)
Research has found that those managers/leaders exposed to a small amount of uncertainty said they value creativity, but actually tended to favor practical word pairings over creative word pairings. If such a negative bias against creativity exists in times of uncertainty, it might explain why so many notable innovations (in business history) were initially rejected. Is this happening in your business?
The implications are particularly relevant now, as few leaders/managers would claim that they're not working in an uncertain industry. The same uncertainty that propels the need for companies to innovate may also be compelling leaders/managers to reject discoveries that could help them gain a competitive edge.
The innovative ideas that would keep your company alive (and sustain growth) are being killed in the embryonic stage of development, or even at conception.
One possible solution to this "idea killing" is to change the structural system ideas must move through for acceptance and execution. Instead of using the traditional hierarchy to find and approve ideas, this process could be spread across the whole organization. Given a higher priority than immediate revenue, the idea market can create an organizational culture where new ideas are recognized and approved throughout the entire company, a democratization of recognition. What do You Think?
Solution-Recognition becomes an organizational "way of life" based on the assumption that everyone is capable of producing great ideas.
Example: We have a new client (based here in California) who recruited a highly-skilled, experienced Sales Team without building the right organizational infrastructure to support that Sales Team, without professionally mature Sales Management to properly lead and coach that Sales Team, without developing the software tools for that Sales Team to close more deals and succeed, resulting in an under-performing, disillusioned, demotivated Sales Team in complete disarray.
In essence, without Solution-Recognition, "putting the cart before the horse." Your Management/Leadership habits become either an albatross or a catalyst for growth. The problem lies in Management/Leadership failure to (adapt and change) genuinely listen to the concerns, problems, situations the Sales Team is facing in the field. Genuinely listening to the Sales Team would engender coaching opportunities, and collaborative solutions for the true underlying problems.
Enlightened Management/Leadership embraces Solution-Recognition. Remember, You are defined by what You do.
Example: Enlightened Leaders get out of the office more often. These "empathic outings" are purposeful field trips, a way to effectively connect with employees, customers, vendors, alliance partners, and others key to the success of your business. This also makes an enormous difference in gaining commitment to shifts in business and organizational behavior, and solving related issues. The purpose of these meetings is not just for gathering information, but more crucially to discover, uncover crucial patterns of what's working and not working in your business, misalignments in your business and organizational vision/strategies.
Example: We use Solution-Recognition in our most productive client-projects:
- Business Turnaround Projects
- Business Growth Projects
- New Business Ventures ~ Entrepreneurial Start-Up Projects
The Message: Reject Solution-Recognition at your peril, and suffer the grapes of wrath. Vitalia Consulting (VC) is not a conventional management consulting firm, and we don't intend to become one. Our client-consultant role is to inspire forward-thinking solutions and actions. Solution-Recognition is an essential tool for every successful business.
Partner with Us. Let's start with a conversation.
Marc Ortiz de Candia
Executive Partner ~ Provocateur
Vitalia Consulting | The Enlightened Leadership Leader


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The reading theme for December is Things That Fly. Or, it could be Things With Wings. Or perhaps we should have gone with the simpler, Flight. As I mulled this over while I perused my shelves, I settled more and more on Things That Fly. Because a lot of things fly. In addition to all kinds of birds, both time and the wind fly, the weekend flies, as do mosquitos and kites (which are also birds, but in this case I mean the kite that is flown with a string by a person on the ground).
I like a little wiggle room.
When you have such a very broad lens, you kind of look at your book collection in a different way. I have a very small kid/YA shelf, but it was quite lucrative:
- The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White
- The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
- Memoirs of a Bookbat, Kathryn Lasky
- Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
- Dragons on the Water, Madeline L'Engle
- The Young Unicorns, Madeline L'Engle
(Everyone does know that both dragons and unicorns fly, yes?)
I was a bit surprised at how many angels were lurking in my fiction books. I expected more birds, but dragonflies, cockroaches, bees, and even a ghost also flew onto the pile:
- The Bay of Angels, Anita Brookner
- Angel, Elizabeth Taylor
- Less Than Angels, Barbara Pym
- Angel Landing, Alice Hoffman
- Cockroaches, Jo Nesbo
- Ghost of a Chance, Amy Patricia Meade
- The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini
- The Bees, Laline Paull
- Reel Time, Julia Willis
- Day of the Bees, Thomas Sandez
- The Weekend, Peter Cameron
- The Pollen Room, Zoe Jenny
- Thousand Cranes, Yasunari Kawabata
- The Swallows of Kabul, Yasmina Khadra
- Red Sky, Red Dragonfly, John Galligan
- The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kid
- The Curlew's Cry, Mildred Walker
- Starling, Sage Stossel (Graphic novel)
You can see why I might like these monthly book themes: Most of these books have been on my to-read shelf for years, and now they've been dusted off and brought to light. And I haven't even gotten to nonfiction yet:
- The Winged Seed, Li-Young Lee
- The Snow Geese, William Fiennes
- The Geese of Beaver Bog, Bernd Heinrich
- The Wind in the Ash Tree, Jeanine McMullen
- Private Lives of Garden Birds, Calvin Simonds
- Songbirds, Truffles, & Wolves, Gary Paul Nabhan
- Here at Eagle Pond, Donald Hall
- The Hidden Lives of Owls, Leigh Calverz
- Death of a Hornet, Robert Finch
- The Genius of Birds, Jennifer Ackerman
- Weapons of Math Destruction, Cathy O'Neil
- Under a Wing, Reeve Lindberg
So many books flying onto my plate, and I know I can't even read the half of them! (And then of course, there's always the other book I want to read, totally outside the theme—what's a reader to do?)
And I haven't even mentioned poetry. Poetry adds Cardinal, Humming Birds, Arrow, Butterflies, Kingfisher, Flies, Phoenix, Mosquito, and Spirit to the flying pile.
It's good to be excited about reading again. I didn't read much in November. I didn't finish a single nonfiction book, and read just two fiction books (one short, the other light), a graphic novel (which probably held my interest the most), and two poetry books. A bleak (for me) reading month.
But I can tell December will be different. So many of the books are calling. Which of the Geese books should I read? Absolutely I will read Starling. Poetry? Who knows?
It's good to be back. Happy reading.


text: Communion thoughts on this Solemnity of Saint Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Lord is to be thoroughly enjoyed by us. To fully enjoy him, you must get to know him well and learn to trust in him with all your heart, knowing that he will always love you and never impose anything you are not willing to bear on you nor harm your soul. Then you can enjoy him fully in peace.


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Folio Investing: Moving Money In and Out
If you have not already done so, set up an EFT link between Folio and your bank. This will allow you to transfer money out of your Folio account easily when you need to.
Set up Folio EFT bank link for withdrawals:
- Main account screen: click on "deposit or withdraw money."
- Then "bank links" subtab and "add new bank link"
- Follow the instructions, verify the two micro deposits within a few days (Folio will prompt you with emails)
Getting cash into your Folio account:
Mail a check
Make your check payable to FOLIO Investments, Inc. Write your account number on the check and mail to:
Mailing Address:
FOLIOfn Investments, Inc.
PO Box 10246
McLean, VA 22102-3888
Overnight & Express Delivery Address:
FOLIOfn Investments, Inc.
Attn: Cash Management
8180 Greensboro Drive, 8th Floor
McLean, VA 22102
Telephone: 703-245-4000
Wire transfer
To deposit funds to your account by wire transfer, you will need the following information:
Account Name:
Folio Investments, Inc.
Our Bank for Wires:
US Bank NA
One US Bank Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101
Routing/ABA Number:
Account Number:
For Further Credit:
[Your Folio Account number]
[Your Name]
[Account Type]
Your bank or financial institution may charge you a fee for this service.
Electronic Funds Transfer (must be initiated through your bank)
Folio Investing uses a correspondent bank for EFT transfers. Below is the information to use when setting up an EFT link from your bank to Folio:
Bank: UMB Bank
Routing/ABA Number: 101218856
Account Number * : **********
- Enter your UMB account number, NOT your Folio brokerage account number.
Your UMB account number can be found by going to: "deposit or withdraw money" and then "Deposit type: EFT initiated at your financial institution."
Getting cash out of your Folio account:
If necessary, sell securities (consult Folio's online help to utilize their "window trading" options) to free up the cash that you wish to transfer out. Note: Securities require 3 business days to settle and the EFT transfer out typically takes another 2 business days so it can take a week from the time you place the trades until the cash arrives in your bank account.
Electronic Funds Transfer (initiated at Folio Investing)
From the main account page:
Select "deposit or withdraw money" then "withdrawal" subtab.
Withdrawal type: EFT initiated here (no fee)
Transfer to: If your bank info doesn't appear here, click on "add new bank link" and follow the instructions.
Enter the amount and the date (make sure you allow 3 business days from the trade date if you just placed trades)
Click continue and confirm the transaction.
Transferring Accounts to Folio
Liquidate holdings at your current brokerage firm:
Before initiating an account transfer to Folio Investing, you should contact the current brokerage firm and liquidate securities. There may be tax consequences or fees involved with liquidation so please consult with us beforehand as to which securities you should liquidate.
Note: for IRA accounts, do NOT instruct the broker to distribute funds out to you, just liquidate securities to cash within the account. For taxable (non-IRA) accounts, you may incur taxes on securities sales. Make sure you determine the tax consequences and pay the IRS if necessary.
Transfer accounts to Folio:
IRA accounts: Once your accounts are opened at Folio and securities liquidated at the carrying broker(s), go to "account quicklinks" and "transfer securities" and enter the required information to transfer each of your outside accounts to Folio.
Taxable (non-IRA) accounts: Once your accounts are opened at Folio and securities liquidated at the carrying broker(s), have the other brokerage firm wire, electronically transfer, or mail a check for the funds to you. You can then fund your taxable Folio account using one of the cash methods shown above (wire, EFT, or mailed check).
Previous employer retirement plans: After opening your Folio accounts, contact the plan administrator or HR department and complete the paperwork to roll over the funds to your IRA account at Folio.
Note: most brokerage firms charge a transfer out fee (typically $50) for each outgoing transfer.


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HP Envy Recline All-in-One PCs Bring The Desktop to Your Fingers
HP has been making all-in-one PCs for some time now, but now it's attempting to adapt to the touch-centric ways of Windows 8 with its new Recline series of desktops. The HP Envy Recline23 TouchSmart All-in-One PC and the HP Envy Recline27 TouchSmart All-in-One PC don't have the most intuitive names, but they do take a stab at simplifying touch input on the traditionally large screens of the desktop.
More specifically, the devices both feature a fairly unique hinge design that allows them to bend over the edge of a desk and over your lap without falling over. They can be laid down flat like traditional touch-based AIOs, but the hinge lets them get situated in a more touch-friendly (and thus Windows 8-friendly) position. A video from HP's "The Next Bench" blog demonstrates what we mean below.
The Recline23 and Recline27 can be used like a traditional desktop as well when hooked up with their wireless keyboards and mice. As far as specs go, the two come with 23- and 27-inch 1080p IPS displays, respectively, and can be configured with any one of Intel's latest Haswell processors. They can sport up to 16GB of RAM, optional Nvidia GeForce 730M graphics, up to 1TB of storage (with an SSD option), 802.11ac WiFi, and Beats Audio.
And speaking of Beats Audio, HP says that it'll be offering a specially branded Beats version of the Recline23 AIO, which will naturally come with Beats-certified speakers and black and red accents. That will start at $1250 when it launches in November, with other configurations costing as low as $1100 sometime "later this fall."
The standard Recline23, meanwhile, will come with a Core i7 chip and 8GB of RAM, and will cost $1350 when HP puts it on sale tomorrow. Lesser configurations will cost as low as $1000 when they launch in "select retail stores" later this month. The Recline27 will also go on sale tomorrow, but it'll start at $1400.
Those aren't HP's only new products, though. The company also announced a pair of new monitors: the HP Pavilion 23tm Touch Monitor will go on sale October 6 for $350 and feature a 23-inch 1080p touchscreen that can bend 70 degrees, while the HP Envy 23 IPS Monitor will go for $250 this November and feature a less flexible 23-inch 1080p display of its own.
Finally, HP also unveiled the HP Envy Phoenix 810 Desktop PC, a gaming desktop that'll arrive with a Core i7 processor, Beats Audio and either an Nvidia or AMD GPU. That one will hit stores on October 16 for $1300.


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- Chemical Starter Kit
- Hot Tub Steps
- Covers & Locks
- Standard Delivery and Installation to your Electrical Supply and Base
A compact hot tub that will fit through most household double doors into a conservatory or garden building.
How was your day? It's a question that easily arises in a Hot Tub. No wonder so many families use it as a place to catch up. Many choose the J325™ because it supplies a superior filtration system, unique cascading waterfall and renowned PowerPro™ jets at an affordable price. So if you need help winding down from a day at the office or a workout at the gym, step into the J325™ Hot Tub.
Illuminated Advanced Control | A more advanced top side control panel which can be adapted to suit your maintenance needs with on demand features and an easy to read interface.
Speciality PowerPro BX & FX-L Jets | Exclusive to the collection these jets offer a more advanced lower back and leg massage perfect for recovery after a long day.
Premium LED Lighting | Advanced ProLite chromotherapy under water, cup holder and headrest lights allow you to set the ambiance for whatever the occasion.
Reversible, Backlit Headrests | Reversible headrests offer different levels of head and neck comfort and include mood setting backlights.
Illuminated Cup Holders | Your drink is always at hand with these practical and safe solutions to avoid spillage.
Watercolour Waterfall | Single waterfall combined with chromotherapy technology gives a relaxing neck massage. A waterfall which acts as a soothing water feature and as a relaxing head and neck massage to help unwind after a long day. This combined with large rotational jets for a focused back massage designed to release and soothe aches and pains. The Advanced ProLite chromotherapy lighting allows you to set the scene and create an ambience tailored to your needs or occasion.
4-Stage Filtration | Advanced Filtration which can be set to suit your needs giving the best safest and purest water experience.
Smart Access Door | Ease of access to the internal components for quick and easy servicing.
Smartseal Insulation | This environmentally friendly solution achieves up to 20% reduction in energy use, protects from moisture and reduces noise. Recommended for cold climates.
- Platinum
- Driftwood


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Be the first to receive discounts to endurance races near you.
Sun - Jul 02, 2017
2919 N Litchfield Rd.
Goodyear, AZ 85395
Fantastic Summer Ful for the entire family. This event beats the heat as the race is a reverse triathlon starting with the run, then bike with the dip in the pool last! See race maps at trifamilyracing.com


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My first attempt at a gingerbread house was quickly abandoned as I realized the icing recipe I had used was way too liquidy. I didn't have much powdered sugar so I found a recipe that didn't call for much, and the result was not what I wanted.
I call it the Gingerbread Crack House. Remi calls it a bunker or ghetto.
So today I bought more powdered sugar and used a proper recipe:
320 g powdered sugar
2 egg whites
Mix till glossy.
Spoon into a ziploc and close. Cut small hole in a corner.
The results were better, but still not stellar. Even if all I had to get right was the icing since I was using some Speculoos gingerbread cookies that I'd bought. I ended up using a bit of a cardboard box to "glue" my cookies onto and make it more stable. Remi helped out and made a roof. Then it was the fun part, decorating and eating bits of icing and candy.
We have moved out of the ghetto and into a middle-class fixer-upper.
It is still nothing to compare to the stuff you can find on the Internet.
Like this version of the house from the animated film Up. That's amazing!
Martha Stewart I will never be. But I don't think she tried to make gingerbread houses with a three year-old and full-time studies. Maybe so, though, and she did run a successful business. Oh, and spend time in prison for insider trading. I guess I'll content myself with being me after all.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
How NOT to make a gingerbread house
Labels: recipes
3 comments:
- Jessamyn said...
Are those gummy people at the front door? I'm sure you had fun making it and more importantly, eating it! Love ya!
- December 18, 2011 at 10:00 PM
- Jenenz said...
Lots of sugary snow will keep it all together!
We made "gingerbread" houses last year with squares of graham crackers and candies. They looked like little cabins in the alps. Ones for the elves to live in.
I can't wait to see next year's creation. You can move up into a swiss chalet or mansion.
Happy holidays! Have a sweet new year.
- December 19, 2011 at 5:44 PM
- Lindle said...
I like the attention y'all made to the snowfall around the gingerbread house---or is that powdered sugar paste "run wild" ? I can just see Juliette trying to swipe a finger full as she walks by. What fun for you! Making such sweet memories.
- December 20, 2011 at 12:30 AM
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This post is on the second most common theme or trait I see in patients who succeed in therapy: Humility. There are two kinds of humility I see in patients who succeed. (1) The humility to be a compliant and responsible medical patient. (2) The humility to live in the reality that clinicians and physicians…Read more Overcoming – 2. Humility
In-Between Moments: 3. Afternoon Prayer for Patients
I generally reserve Saturdays for my patients who are in crisis with suicidal ideation. I know I cannot do this work alone, and on my own. I need to pray, and I need others to pray with me. This is today's prayer. Dear God, Thank You for being in the ministry of healing. Thank You…Read more In-Between Moments: 3. Afternoon Prayer for Patients
The Therapist's Couch – 2. (Your) Comfort
Dear Friends, Something clicks when I see my patients get comfy on the couch. I bear witness: This therapy couch is not only for them, but made by them. The postpartum mom who finally has a moment to release her self-expression, after she tried to keep a perfect facade up for others' comfort everywhere else--collapses…Read more The Therapist's Couch – 2. (Your) Comfort


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HOLLY HILL, FL (01.22.2018) – Metra PowerSports introduced twenty new whip antennas to their product line at CES 2018. These lighted safety whips provide visibility when heading off-road, alerting other drivers with a brightly lit antenna and orange flag. The whip antennas have a universal base that is detachable for easy storage, designed for ATVs, UTVs, dune buggies, quads, side-by-sides, go-karts and other powersports applications. Options are available for RGB or single colors, with fiber optic or LED whip antennas in four foot or six foot lengths. Designed for dust, mud and the rough use of off-road applications, all of the whip antennas are bendable and have a virtually unbreakable, weather-resistant polycarbonate cover. An orange safety flag is included.
Built-in Controller or MPS Control Box Options for RGB Whips
Both the fiber optic (MPS-CFORGBWHIP4-1, MPS-CFORGBWHIP6-1) and LED (MPS-CRGBWHIP4-1, MPS-CRGBWHIP6-1) whip antennas are available with a built-in controller. Additional fiber optic and LED whip antennas without the built-in controller are available to be used with the Metra PowerSports RGB Control Box (MPS-RGBC-4), which is sold separately. The MPS-RGBWHIP4-1, MPS-RGBWHIP6-1, MPS-FORGBWHIP4-1 and MPS-FORGBWHIP6-1 antennas plug directly into the waterproof Metra PowerSports RGB Control Box, which provides power and allows the multi-colored RGB lights to be controlled from a free smartphone app. The MPS RGB smartphone app allows the user to choose from unlimited color options to customize their whip antenna from the palm of their hand. Users can choose from 10 speeds and 20 dynamic modes, and can even flash the LED lights to music via the smartphone's Bluetooth feature.
Single Color Whips
Both the LED and fiber optic whip antennas are also available in single colors, for blue, green, orange, pink, red and white. These options are available in four or six foot lengths.
Expanding the Metra PowerSports Line
"We've already introduced a wide range of aftermarket ATV and UTV solutions for 2018, to meet the growing demand of the powersports market," stated William Repicky, a product manager who develops new solutions for 12 volt brands by Metra Electronics. "From our new RGB Can Speakers, Micro-Amplifiers, Overhead Console, Dome Light Fixture, Bluetooth Controller and Rock Lights, to our installation accessories, we've been expanding our product line with easy to install, versatile solutions. Our new whip antennas will withstand the elements, provide visibility and safety, and offer a way for drivers to customize their off-road vehicles."
For ordering information and pricing, visit Metra Electronics online at MetraOnline.com or call 800-221-0932.


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You will join our clients' product management team and be responsible for the coordination of cross- border fund registrations, and associated follow up. You will work with a broad range of global stakeholders and product sponsors to understand the registration requirements and impact on distribution teams. You will ensure an efficient operational process is in place that supports both internal and external objectives.
Our client is highly collaborative and you will join an entrepreneurial, friendly environment with a cohesive team.
There are many interesting dimensions to the role, which include but are not limited to:
To be successful in this role, the requirements are:
Must be collaborative and able to build strong relationships across internal and external partnerships
The position is varied and challenging with many touchpoints within the business in Luxembourg and throughout the world. You will regularly liaise with peers, sharing information and client focused solutions. You will need to be an effective communicator and be able to provide support at an executive level.
All applications are handled in the strictest confidence, and your data is never shared with any third party without your express consent.
EuroLux Consulting specialises in recruiting experienced professionals for the thriving Luxembourg financial and legal services market. We have a large network of highly skilled professional candidates and partner with some of the highest calibre clients in the market.
Eurolux Consulting has been working on the Luxembourg market for almost a decade. We are committed to being market leading experts, and indeed, our director has over 17 years' experience of recruiting in the Luxembourg market. Our clients include banks, asset managers, ManCos, law firms, trust & corporate services companies, private equity firms, real estate management companies, investment companies, fintech and consulting companies, all based in Luxembourg.
Our specialities: Fund Administration/Fund Accounting, Transfer Agency, Legal, Risk, Compliance, Client Onboarding, AML/KYC, Regulatory Compliance, Client Services, Relationship Management, Internal Audit, Financial Accounting, Investment Control, Product Development, Product Management, Business Development, Project Management, Programme Management, Business Analysis, Fund Law, Corporate Law, Finance.
Asset classes include: traditional funds, alternative funds (regulated and unregulated), hold.co.s, Lux co.s, (UCITs, UCIs, OEICs, SICAVs, SIFs, SICARs, SICAFs, RAIFs, SPVs, SPFs, SCSp, Sarl, SA...)
If you require assistance in job seeking or information about the Luxembourg job market, please get in contact via tel: +44 207 871 9020, or please go to http://www.euroluxconsulting.com/ or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.
ADISA's Legislative & Regulatory Committee recently sent letters to Republican and Democrat leadership of both the Senate Committee on Banking...
ADISA submitted comments to the secretary of the SEC regarding the Proposed Rule: Regulation Best Interest (Release No. 34-83062;...
10401 North Meridian St
Suite 202
Indianapolis, IN 46290
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All rights reserved.


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Reliance Industries has chosen the months of April and May to launch its e-commerce platform through its subsidiary, Reliance Retail.
What did FTIL do with the money earned abroad?
It is being alleged that the market value of FTIL is stake Rs 2200 crore which they are trying to pass off as Rs 1000 crores. The entire operation is allegedly being held under the directions of FTIL Managing Director Prashant Desai, who reportedly visited Dubai several times to oversee the deal.


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My biggest dream ever!I want to tell you all about my dream park!
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Re: My biggest dream ever!
This is the most disturbing thread. Ever.
Note to self: don't be stupid...
Current top coaster = Expedition GeForce.
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Problems processing video - please advise!
When I process a video through deep dreamer, it does the first few frames and then the styling parameters seem to drop off. See the attached sample.
It took about 5 hours on my new mac pro g6 to process this video (111 frames) and when I processed thereabout the same length, with different iterations, it was the same result.
I wouldn't mind the time if it worked, but its not working.
Any suggestions on how to fix this and get a video that is processed in deep dream all the way through every frame?
Mike administrators
Thanks for the feedback. We'll take a look at what could be happening. Do you have a copy of the video you are using you could send to [email protected]? It would be great to use the same video to see what is happening.
Ok I emailed the video to you. I also uploaded it here, does the function work on the website?
Also, this video took about 5 hours to process, which seems extremely long. Any suggestions to make processing time faster? Im on a new Mac Pro 6 core so I shouldn't be having processing time probs.
Thank you,


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Once upon a time, I was a model/actress who graduated from the fashion merchandising program at Blanche MacDonald Centre for Applied Design in Vancouver BC. I returned to BMC as a lecturer for their fashion show production course and from there went on to travel the world. Currently, I write novels while living in Scotland with my Greek husband and Spanish-born son.
Photo by Frank @stillmotionimagery, shoot styled by Donna Dye
Hair by Yasmin Morris, (cut by Ashley at Fish Hair Salon)


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This teaser is not nearly as spooky or compelling, as the full-length trailer featured on the official movie site. This is mainly due to the implausible potrayal of Marky Mark Walberg as an academic authority of some sort, who waxes scientific about the mystery of missing bees. Ummm. Scary. Also...Cameron from Ferris Bueller? Come on now, people! What a weird choice to showcase such a weird guy for this type of genre...
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Happening Trailer - M Night Shyamalan
Posted by Editor at 12:22 AM 0 comments
Labels: film, horror, M Night Shyamalan, movies, trailers
Monday, May 19, 2008
ET Screed
Stumbled upon this rant about ET. The product placement is laughable...
Posted by Editor at 10:54 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Poultrygeist Trailer
This trailer is so wrong and inappropriately enjoyable in countless ways. Poultrygeist made over $10k, on a per screen average basis, which is incredibly good in the film biz. A Troma release..
Posted by Editor at 11:50 PM 0 comments
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New Ideas Number 1- Public Ownership But Not As We Know It Jim
I promised new ideas when I started out on this blog, so this week I thought I'd make good on the promise. I want to set our briefly an idea for a new understanding of, or means of, public ownership. Or more precisely, my take on what is probably a well-known idea.
When we think of public ownership, too often we think of strikes, poor service, inefficiency or Ministers fiddling about with the decisions of managers, as Gerald Kaufman talked about in his great little book on How To Be a Minister. Or we think of images like these:
But I want to suggest that there is more to public ownership than coal mining or other giant monopoly industries, or great swathes of remote forest and upland. This website gives a pretty good (if standard) take on common ideas.
I also want to discount the traditional British form of public ownership, where we assume the state must own the property and take decisions on our behalf e.g. Brtish Steel, British Leyland, the forests estates etc. That leads to poorly thought through proposals to sell off public land by 'passing ministers' with too much power and not enough awareness of tradition and place, when proposed either at UK or Scottish levels.
I think the history of public ownership in the UK is very mixed, and has always been subject to passing political whim. Ministers will always be tempted to meddle in the running of businesses, either by second guessing management, or stripping out profit, or denying capital, or using price as a constraint on demand or by simply removing the competitive edge- managers know if they mess up the state will always be there to pick up the pieces. And so many right wingers want things to fail to justify privatisation. So, I'd say there are practical and theoretical reasons (1) to be cautious about the traditional form of public ownership in the UK, without ruling it out entirely of course.
I also don't mean to say that the sort of mechanical socialism and Fabianism that dominated Labour and left-wing thinking for so long is the only way. But instead that of course that are many other means and forms of ownership- from the ancient world of estovers and pannage, to modern forms of common land and access , to Rochdale cooperative principles and mutuals.
But the problem with the traditional approach is that it tends to assume only two main actors- the private sector and the state, with no room for real members of the public. The problem with other forms of ownership such as common land, mutuals, co-operatives and others, is that either not enough people want the hassle of running the show themselves, or that they are too small to really affect trends, or that they are still subject to passing whims on taxation, regulation and incentives.
So What Is The Big Idea?
So, enough with the throat-clearing and down to business. What is my idea?
My idea is simply this- that ownership of public assets should be transferred from the state to the public. More precisely, those who meet certain rules of UK citizenship will automatically become the owners of state assets. As owners they will have rights and responsibilities, and it will be for them as owners to decide on the future of major policy decisions including sell-off of local land, closure of facilities, or privatisation.
What do I mean by state assets. I mean firstly the transfer of all crown lands from the arcane fiction of the 'Crown' to members of the public. Not just that we would own (small shares in!) Buckingham Palace, but that we'd own the sea-bed, the foreshore, the airwaves and so on. Secondly I mean that at a regional and local level we'd own the roads, the railways, the land, the hospitals, schools, council buildings and so on.
Setting out one more time- whilst management of the assets would be vested in our representatives (and through them public employees) as now, either at national, regional or local government levels, the legal ownership of the assets would be shared across UK citizens.
Now, we'd need some rules first of all about who qualifies. My suggestion is that anyone who has reached voting age and who is on the electoral register is entitled to a fraction of ownership and would be recognised as such. We don't have to make ownership conditional on electoral registration of course but it might provide a boost to voting and participation in democracy.
Secondly, we'd need to define what rights and responsibilities such ownership entails. My view is that responsibilities are 'civic' in the sense of keeping up to date with trends and developments associated with the assets. And secondly that if a vote is called on something, one is required to participate. But I believe these responsibilities should be modest, whilst also empowering.
What does the idea mean in practice? Well, I'd suggest at local level that anyone on the local electoral register would be considered a part owner of the assets from all state bodies in the area- including government buildings, parks, roads, schools, forests, common land, hospitals and so on.
Secondly, it means that the managers of the assets- our current state-led pubic bodies, would take on a new role of stewardship, not the sometimes rather technocratic, aloof and arrogant 'ownership to do with as we please on a change of political leadership' approach we (too often) see. I believe for key local assets often at the centre of controversy- land sold off for new developments, planning decisions, closure of hospitals, that representative bodies will need to work far harder to secure agreement.
My idea is that according to some local 'standing orders' that define the limits of state authority and the circumstances under which change is allowed, that the state and local managers will need to be far more engaged in place, in community and in explaining and justifying decision making. We can imagine for example a proposal to sell off a school playing field where either all local people in the council area, or a defined subset 'affected' by the plans, will be able to demand, hold a referendum and defeat the proposal, perhaps much like a shareholder resolution can defeat the management of a company or send a strong signal on the desired direction of travel.
We can imagine consultative discussions held at national and local level with citizens (as owners) on the ideas a state entity is considering, before they are activated or indeed placed in manifestos. We can imagine a dedicated public body, analogous to the electoral commission, (the 'Consultative Commission' perhaps), taking national or regional or indeed local 'rolling polls' of the views of citizen-owners prior to an election campaign. We might find that citizens recognise a central hospital would be cheaper and more effective but want to keep their local hospital. We might find that citizens like keeping local job centres and tax offices or reject out of hand private companies running certain public functions.
One obvious issue to consider is the precise relationship between local and national decision making- but I think that can be overcome with enough thought. A second obvious issue is to define the circle of 'affected' people tightly enough so a local desire for action isn't swamped by a national or regional push-back, whilst at the same time allowing meaningful and engaged citizens across a defined but not just hyper-local area. We would need to think carefully to avoid the problems encountered with the referenda-heavy, money-heavy policy and campaigning approach seen in California. We would need to look for ways for assets to be protected from a generation simply 'cashing in' as many did over the transfer of building societies from mutuals to private companies in the 1990s.
Why Propose This?
To me, this is a radically different proposal from standard common ownership. We are asserting the genuine power of citizens, as the owners of state assets, which, after all, their taxes and efforts have paid for. I hope it will improve the sense that citizens have of engagement with, and empowerment over, the political process.
I hope it would sharpen up the performance of state actors, across the education, council, health, environment, tax, social security and transport communities. I expect it would reduce the power of ideologues, winner-takes-all political administrations, think tanks and media moguls. I hope it would even reduce vandalism and disrespect for public property because after all, the owner in this case is the person considering the damage!
More broadly as well as linking ownership rights to voting and electoral registration, we could link it to the idea of a basic income, which I blogged on before.
What Are the Downsides?
Clearly I don't have all the details worked out so much more work would be needed to translate this outline sketch into serious policy proposals. It may be that the idea isn't radical at all, and is common in other countries (please let me know if it is!).
More work would be needed on legal definitions to ensure watertight ownership, and to define a 'scheme of delegation and authority' from local citizens to state entities. If we did take over Crown property, some more legal work would be needed to overcome centuries of daft constitutional showboating, overhangs and silly fiction.
More seriously, we'd need to undertake a large campaign of awareness raising to ensure people really did feel empowered and understood their rights and responsibilities. A crucial point as I mentioned above is to provide enough 'empowerment' that a genuine local wish to prevent something occurring can be created, whilst avoiding a tidal-wave of NIMBY-style inertia and factionalism. But I see no reason why with enough care, such problems couldn't be overcome.
Part of A Bigger Picture?
Readers may have noticed that such a scheme, radical as it may sound, does not by any means tackle all of the fundamental issues facing us. Whilst I do believe it would go a long way to increase the sense of engagement with the state and empowerment that citizens feel, it only touches the surface of inequality issues.
In particular, it ignores the pattern and distribution of private ownership of resources- land, income and wealth, company shares, rental income and dividend etc. There are some fascinating ideas on newer forms of capitalism that I want to explore at a later date, centred around market socialism ideas.
To finish though , the real reason I think the idea would be worth exploring is back to my ideas on a fair, equal and liberal society:
'It is fundamentally whether I feel I am an equal citizen of equal worth, with all the dignity, freedom and ability to execute my life plan that I expect.'
In that blog I set out a principle for just such a society which I think is relevant here:
Principle 5 The basic structure of society should be designed such that power is dispersed politically at multiple levels and across multiple geographical areas, consistent with the achievement of other principles and goals
I believe that we simply must go beyond discussions about tax and spend wealth transfers, about public vs private and get to a point where citizens really do feel equal, empowered and 'all in it together'. I hope the idea I'd proposed might have some merit on the journey towards that ambition.
Thanks for reading.
(1) John Roemer A Future for Socialism (1994) Verso Books ISBN-13: 978-0860916536