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Welcome to one of the biggest facades in all of sports: The NFL Scouting Combine.
For starters, if it's such a big deal why is it held in Indianapolis?
This is the week known as the Underwear Olympics, where pro football prospects ditch their actual uniforms to run and jump and lift under the watchful scrutiny of NFL coaches and general managers. It's no doubt the world's weirdest job fair.
Sports Connection
Connecting you to your favorite North Texas sports teams as well as sports news around the globe.
Players display talents needed to play the game of football, without actually playing the game of football. It's like pilots flying in a simulator. An oil-paint artist merely sketching in pencil.
While Ebola, American Ninja Warrior and the Ice Bucket Challenge come and go from our fickle culture at warp speed, somehow the Scouting Combine endures. In what is surely the most riveting TV I'll never watch, it's live on NFL Network.
The Combine was exposed as a farce back in 1989, courtesy of Tony Mandarich.
The Michigan State behemoth put on the greatest workout show in the event's history. At 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds, he ran a 40-yard dash (4.65) faster than Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith. He bench-pressed 185 pounds a whopping 39 times, broad jumped over 10 feet and his vertical leap topped 30 inches.
He was a Terminator, a perfect physical specimen seemingly genetically engineered to dominate his position for a decade. After watching his Combine workout, Sports Illustrated proclaimed him the "Greatest Offensive Lineman Prospect Ever" and draft guru Mel Kiper suggested the Dallas Cowboys would "rue the day" if they passed on Mandarich with the No. 1 overall pick.
As you know, the Cowboys picked a guy named Troy Aikman and won three Super Bowls. With the second pick the Packers selected Mandarich, who was cut within three years and started only 47 games in a wholly underwhelming six-year NFL career.
Moral to the story: There is no direct correlation between excelling at the NFL Scouting Combine and playing NFL football. Wowed by his workouts, some scouts projected Ryan Leaf as a better quarterback than Peyton Manning. And nobody – including the Cowboys – was impressed by the 5.01 40-yard dash ran in 2003 by a small-college dude named Tony Romo.
Let me know if any of these all-time Scouting Combine record-holders rings a bell: Donald Washington (vertical jump), Jamie Collins (broad jump), Jeffery Maehl (3-cone drill), Jason Allen (20-yard shuttle), Brandin Cooks (60-yard shuttle) or Stephen Paea (bench press). Only Combine hero whose performance has (so far) translated to stardom in the NFL? Chris Johnson and his 4.24 40-yard dash.
The NFL Scouting Combine isn't the most overrated event in sports, but it's undoubtedly on the short list:
10. Tour de France – Bunch of drug cheaters who'll never drug cheat as well as Lance Armstrong.
9. Kentucky Derby – Because, um, they're horses. Not athletes.
8. Army-Navy – Sorry, not anymore.
7. Indianapolis 500 – Once the "Greatest Spectacle in Racing", it's long been swallowed up and digested into tiny, irrelevant bile by NASCAR and its Daytona 500.
6. Any Heavyweight Boxing Championship Fight – Epic? Really? Fine, then name the current champ. No way you guessed right, because (far as I can tell) there are actually three including an American you've never heard of. Wladimir Klitschko (WBA), Ruslan Chagaev (WBA) and Deontay Wilder (WBC). Once upon a time there was Liston, Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Tyson. Sigh.
5. College Basketball Post-Season Conference Tournaments – Hailed as March Madness, they're merely meaningless foreplay before the real fun begins.
4. Winter Olympics – Sold as a global event, but barely one-third of the world's nations (68 of 196 at Sochi in 2014) participate. And way less than that can relate to events like Ice Dancing, Curling and Biathlon.
3. NFL Scouting Combine – Things tend to change drastically when they put the pads on.
2. Opening Day – Baseball hypes this as a national holiday, but it represents exactly 0.61 percent of the six-month, 162-game season.
1. Heisman Trophy – Not including Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, the last 15 quarterbacks to win the storied hardware: Andre Ware. Ty Detmer. Gino Torretta. Charlie Ward. Danny Wuerffel. Chris Weinke. Eric Crouch. Carson Palmer. Jason White. Matt Leinart. Troy Smith. Tim Tebow. Sam Bradford. Cam Newton. Johnny Manziel. I rest my case.
A native Texan who was born in Duncanville and graduated from UT-Arlington, Richie Whitt has been a mainstay in the Metroplex media since 1986. He's held prominent roles on all media platforms including newspaper (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Dallas Observer), radio (105.3 The Fan) and TV (co-host on TXA 21 and numerous guest appearances, including NBC 5). He currently lives in McKinney with his wife, Sybil, and two very spoiled dogs.


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BERLIN (Reuters) - Cold war buffs will soon be able to roll through Berlin in a mini tank built from East Germany's best known car — the Trabant.
Painted camouflage green and decked out with a fake cannon on the roof, the Trabant tank is the latest attraction tapping into the German capital's unique postwar history.
The brainchild of businessman Maik Fraustein, the "Trabi tank" will start rolling through streets in May, joining the tour company owner's fleet of some 50 Trabants.
"It made sense. Trabants are connected with East Germany and the Berlin Wall, and they're a 'fan car' tourists are attracted to," Fraustein told Reuters. "There are no Trabant tanks."
Long the butt of jokes for their slowness and plastic body, the matchbox-like cars with two-stroke engines have become a cult item in Germany in recent years and a number of companies offer Trabant tours of former East German cities.
Fraustein is confident the pint-sized tank will be a hit, but not everyone in the capital is happy about the mixture of nostalgia for East Germany and warfare.
"Tasteless," is what German mass-circulation daily Bild said of the tank. The chairman of the Berlin Wall Memorial, Manfred Fischer, told the paper the idea was "more than macabre."
"Sure there's been criticism of it," said Fraustein. "But it's a joke that a Trabi could double up as a tank."
Reporting by Eric Kelsey, editing by Paul Casciato

subset: commoncrawl


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The Instagram battle continues.
Last we checked in on 50 Cent's revived feud with Irv Gotti (itself an off-shoot of his IG argument with Meek Mill), Irv had accused the rapper of being a police informant back in the thick of G-Unit and Murder Inc.'s famous beef. His evidence wasn't exactly rock solid, but he did get a rise out of 50, who fired back with a cheap shot at Irv's father, coinciding with a post Gotti had written about celebrating his old man's birthday.
"IRV said he a grown man and his father 82. Tell you daddy I said to hurry up and die punk. Lets get to it no more IG," wrote 50, later deleting his post.
While we saw no retaliation form Irv, Meek did sneak back into the conversation with some advice in the Murder Inc. mogul's IG comments, writing, "Let him drown hisself he showing his cards!"
Naturally, this didn't get by 50, who took a screencap of Meek's remark and posted it up on his own Instagram, captioning the pic with a threat. "I see you bitch, you don't want no parts of me, girl," he taunted. "I'm watching you, now be the same when I see you". This post has also since been deleted.
You can view the various screen caps from the latest wave of shade in the gallery above. Does 50's deletetion of his posts mean this finally might be dying down?


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[Defense Secretary] Gates wants the services to think "beyond Predator and Reaper" and consider quick and dirty ideas like putting "sensors on a Cessna."
- Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell
This is in response to the growing brouhaha over the SECDEF's recent comments about the Air Forces role in war. Here's the rest of today's post from the AFA...
What's Not In?: A task force looking for ways to get more ISR [Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance] assets into the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan will be looking at "the inventory of what we have and can we get it over there," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at a Pentagon press conference April 23. Gates said he wants all the services to see if there are different ways of doing ISR training, so "maybe we can squeeze a little bit more" of them into the battle zone. He wants the task force—to be headed by Brad Berkson, the Pentagon's Program Analysis and Evaluation chief—to look at manned aircraft as well as unmanned and to "see what we have in the other commands here in the United States." After taking inventory, the task force will go to the theater and see if the users "are making maximum possible use of the assets they have." Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell later told the Daily Report Gates wants more unconventional ideas and a willingness to shrug off habits that could be slowing the addition of ISR assets to the war zones. Specifically, Morrell said Gates is unconvinced that UAVs must be operated by pilots, which USAF says is necessary to operate safely in busy airspace. Other services don't agree, he said. It takes a year to train a pilot, and USAF has a limited supply of them. Gates said that "in too many instances, there is a tendency to look out a year or two years or three years in terms of programs and … processes as usual and not enough willingness to think out of the box and how do we get more help to the theater now." Morrell said Gates wants the services to think "beyond Predator and Reaper" and consider quick and dirty ideas like putting "sensors on a Cessna." Gates wants the new task force to make an initial report in just a week and to develop a plan within 90 days. Gates said. "I've found that perhaps the most effective way to get things done around here is to put pretty short deadlines on things."
Air Force Magazine: Daily Report
:: NOTE TO THE FOLKS DOWN @ MAXWELL - Please get on the stick here and get CAP back in the fight... this is your chance. No kidding.
Would I go?
If I was asked. Yes I would.
Would it be for everyone?
No, it would not.
extremis malis extrema remedia
[extreme times call for extreme measures]
No Air Force unit could help spin up an idea like this faster than CAP.
Of course, the idea makes too much sense for the JAGs not to screw it up.
...but a Presidential order, or action by Congress, could get the boots on the ground more resources...
...and maybe, just maybe...
...the Auxies over here could be what the mission needs over there.


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Developers compete at Facebook conference
Michael Balyasny came up with the idea for an application that creates virtual photo tours during his frequent business trips to Ukraine.
Several months of coding later, Balyasny, 24, now hopes to launch his self-funded project, called Eyestride, on Facebook, where it will compete with more than 33,000 applications offering games, virtual pokes, quizzes and other pieces of attention-seeking flair.
"The question is how we are going to break through when we launch, but we are optimistic about it," Balyasny said. "Lots of people love the concept."
Balyasny is among thousands of developers who will gather in San Francisco today at Facebook's second annual conference, all scrambling to secure visibility at the popular Web hangout and tap into the $1.4 billion market for social media advertising.
But some industry observers say that the window of opportunity may be narrowing for independent developers like Balyasny eager to hop on the social media bandwagon this year.
MBA BY THE BAY: See how an MBA could change your life with SFGATE's interactive directory of Bay Area programs.
"I think the bar is going to be higher, given that Facebook has tuned down some of the viral characteristics that made other applications grow," said Andrew Chung, principal at Lightspeed Venture Partners, which invested in Facebook apps by RockYou, Serious Business and Flixter. "It's a very crowded field and just having an idea is difficult unless the investor is very familiar with the team."
Since Facebook opened its platform to independent designers 14 months ago, thousands of applications have mushroomed on once-static pages, often using viral marketing tricks to expand their user base.
"There is a saturation point and people don't want to keep installing all those random applications," said Shelly Farnham, author of the "Facebook Application Ecosystem: Why Some Thrive and Most Don't" report published by O'Reilly Media. "It's harder to get this easy viral growth now that people are more shy about it."
On Monday, seeking to thwart spammers and deal with privacy concerns raised by its vocal users, Facebook introduced a dramatic makeover, while developers received a new set of policies to "prevent applications from creating artificial or inappropriate incentives to use Facebook features."
"Every time Facebook changes the rules, it makes it harder for new developers because investors who back those projects want to see predictability," said Keith Rabois, vice president of strategy and business development at San Francisco's Slide, developer of the Top Friends application, which was shut down for several days this month after Facebook discovered a security flaw. "It's like investing in a foreign country where investors want to see a stable political regime."
While the developers of some of the most widely used applications, such as Slide and RockYou, were able to raise millions of dollars from investors, figuring out what sort of advertising works and measuring its effectiveness has proven to be a challenge for social networks, which has curbed the initial enthusiasm of investors and marketers.
"It has been more than a year (since Facebook opened its platform), and a lot has been learned since then," said Konstantin Guericke, a LinkedIn co-founder and the head of Jaxtr, an online phone service that can be incorporated into Facebook. "There are some people who are upset, but overall Facebook has behaved more rationally, and we have to figure it out together and find the best solution."
This year, Facebook also will be competing for developers with other companies that are opening up their platforms, like Google with OpenSocial and Apple's App Store.
"Facebook is not the only game in town, and its growth has slowed," said Ray Valdes, research director at Web Services Gartner Inc., who expects the company to announce several apps developers as recipients of its funds. "I think Facebook is going to use that opportunity to re-engage the developers, and it will pull out a few carrots from up its sleeve."


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The recent charging of academician Dr Azmi Sharom and the probe on Dr Aziz Bari have sent a chilling effect on academic freedom in the already under-achieving education system.
Despite the concern that none of our local universities ranks within the top 400 world universities ranking, silencing Malaysian academics shows that the Ministry of Education is not bothered about providing space for innovative and creating thinking.
All talk and hype on improving the quality of education look like mere rhetoric and without any substance.
Besides Azmi Sharom, several student activists from local universities were also arrested under the sedition charge.
It is baffling to note that on the one hand the Ministry of Education talks about improving the quality of education by promoting creative and critical thinking but on the other hand it restricts, regulates and censors the role of academics by preventing them from expressing their expert opinions and informed views. Can our higher education centres become world-class universities when the dagger of the Sedition Act hangs over academics' and students' heads? Our Ministry of Education may want to produce and flood the market with graduates who are neither employable nor able to express themselves to their colleagues and audiences.
Well, if nobody employs them, the government is ever ready to absorb them and convert them into their loyal vote bank. That's how we now have 1.4 million civil servants in a bloated government service and they absorb about 40% of the operating budget every year. The university heads along with others holding key posts are political appointees. There is legislation and there are executive authorities that exert their influence in the appointment of Vice-Chancellors and members of governing bodies. Malaysia is one country where academics cannot get a transfer from one university to another to gain new experience or undertake research without the approval of Ministry of Education. In addition to the above, academics are mandated to sign a loyalty oath, the Aku Janji (I Pledge) contract or declaration document that further restricts their conduct and activities inside and outside their workplaces.
The loyalty oath is a pre-emptive move to restrict the freedom of academics. Besides, the Ministry of Education's Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) has reduced higher education centres to being passive and submissive ones.
The loyalty oath is repugnant to the dignity of the academic profession. It implies that without subscribing to the oath, academics will commit or encourage an act of subversion or treason. This is a preposterous assumption that has to be totally condemned by all thinking academics. Both the Universities and University Colleges Act and the Statutory Bodies (Discipline and surcharge) Act (Act 605) are documents that show a blatant curb on academic freedom and university autonomy. Universities are slowly and surely becoming government departments taking orders from higher-ups.
Unless academic freedom is given its due place and respect within a university, significant contributions to the quality of the institution as a whole cannot be promoted to a level of excellence. Every year, the Ministry of Education is allotted the highest budget but the quality of education is sliding downwards all the while.
The yearly examination paper leakages and the frequent flip-flops, including the latest as to whether or not to use forecast examination results to enter private institutions, do not compensate for the huge amount of taxpayers' money spent. Now, taxpayers have to pay an additional new tax – the GST – to narrow the yearly deficit. It's time the Ministry of Education gets its act right and schools itself correctly.


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In a flurry of Mortgagee Letters issued in the past couple of weeks, HUD has changed the landscape of FHA loans--both forward and reverse. How those changes will be interpreted is anybody's guess. Some have already been implemented. Some have a start date of January. The elimination of brokers needing to get FHA approved by HUD is juxtaposed against lenders being responsible for all in the origination channel. Will lenders who wholesale to brokers eliminate that channel altogether? Will those who wholesale exclusively change their business model? [Wholesalers generally have no contact with the consumer.] Will this mean the end of brokers being able to do FHA loans? Will this mean fewer consumer choices?
Well, certainly if wholesalers are concerned about the lack of control over brokers, they may turn to retail and they may sign up brokers as employees to do what they have always done--work directly with the consumer. But, the broker, or former broker, will now only have one lender to choose from. The Account Executives or AEs as they are commonly referred as will need to adapt to become loan officers if there are no brokers to interact with in the future. [Bear in mind that this is merely speculation on my part, but my nearly 30 years in the business have given me a lot of insight.] Brokers without the FHA product will be severely hampered.
The FHA streamline now has more defined terms with respect to payment histories, benefits to the borrower, etc. Many consumers were streamlined even if there was little benefit to doing so. It is not all about the rate. If it takes 5 or 6 years to re-capture closing costs in terms of payment savings, the consumer may very well have been better off not refinancing. Mortgagee Letter 09-32 outlines many of these and other changes in the program. Slowing the default rate is the impetus behind these changes.
If you have a pre-approval that is more than a few weeks old, things may have changed for you, too. Especially if your credit scores hovered around 620. Many lenders are moving those minimums to 640 or higher. And that can mean your approval is no longer an approval. So, it is important to continue to do things to improve your scores. Making payments on time, reducing revolving balances to aggregate of less than 50%, and even watching to make sure credit card companies have not increased your minimum payments. Be diligent and pro-active and be in constant contact with your mortgage professional.


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67 The American Way
Dawsonville, GA 30534
Call Us
Phone: (770) 710-1126
Mon: 24/7
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Looking for a professional custom concrete service in the Atlanta area? You've found the best crew for the job. Whether you need to stain or seal your concrete, you can count on our professionals for the project. Let's sit down and discuss what you need today!


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The different materials and types of rainwater goods and the key points to know for each.
Galvinised Steel Guttering
Galvanized steel guttering is deeper and stronger than plastic, creating a longer lasting rainwater management system that will resist thermal expansion and contraction providing greater joint integrity – ideal in the UK where the weather variations really test gutter joints and offering greater capacity and better flow and discharge rates. Some systems come with manufacturer's guarantees of 15 years although life expectancy should be more like 25 years.
Eco-friendly & sustainable?
Steel is 100% recyclable saving landfill space and conserving natural resources (unlike plastic, created from limited fossil fuels and becoming a nuisance at the end of its useful life).
Steel is lightweight and easy to handle. The 3m lengths make for swift installation. It can be installed by a professional or an experienced DIYer.
Style & Finish
A half round profile is available in either Galvanised Steel or the usual black, grey, white or brown colour-coated galvanised steel off the shelf for next day delivery, but can also be 'bespoke' ordered in almost unlimited colours with an additional surcharge and a longer wait.
Who does it suit?
Has been used to great effect on both contemporary and traditional style buildings.
Plain galvanised material is not advised for projects in coastal regions where salt water can have a corrosive reaction. In these instances, the colour-coated, zinc or copper systems are recommended instead.
Guide Price
Based on standard 115mm, half round, plain uncoated Galvanised Steel gutter our guide price is £18.48 for a 3m length including our current £15% Online Discount.
BUT, from July 2018, it will be just £16.31 per 3m length with the new, incredible 25% OFF SUMMER STEEL DEAL.
Modern Aluminium Guttering
Modern aluminium guttering is lightweight, easy to handle and 3m long lengths make it an ideal choice for quick installation.
Rainclear's SnapIt range literally 'snaps' together with no nuts or bolts – a popular choice for the self-build market. The material lends itself to fabrication which offers flexibility to meet awkward site detailing.
Style & Finish
The SnapIT extruded ranges come in half-round, vintage moulded ogee, deep-flow and contemporary joggle box profiles. There is a choice of matt or 'heritage textured' 26 colours.
Guide Price
A SnapIt 115mm, half round, powder coated extruded aluminium gutter our guide price is £47.24 per 3m length including our current £15% Online Discount (correct June, 2018)
Who does it suit?
Leading choice for the construction industry. With such a wide choice of profiles and matt or textured finish – can suit all types of building projects.
Cast Aluminium Guttering
Cast aluminium guttering should last in excess of 25 years in a normal domestic application system.
It can be installed by a professional or an experienced DIYer.
Style & Finish
Half round is the most popular profile but it comes in Victorian ogee and moulded too. Available pre-coated in 26 standard factory-applied, powder coated options for immediate installation. 80% of the aluminium rainwater systems already in use in the UK have been manufactured from recycled aluminium and all aluminium is infinitely recyclable at the end of its life.
Guide Price
A 125mm, half round, textured black powder coated cast aluminium gutter is £56.31 per 6ft/1.83m length including our current £20% Online Discount (06/18).
Who does it suit?
Looks best on high quality or traditional heritage style projects.
Cast Iron Guttering
Cast Iron guttering, the traditional material for rainwater management that lasts 100years+ with proper maintenance, comes in Half-Round, Victorian Ogee or Moulded profiles; primed, for painting on site,
Guide Price
Based on the 4" half round profile, primed for painting onsite: £25.12 per 6ft length – or pre-painted black, ready to install: £32.59 per 6ft length including our current £45% Online Discount (06/18).
Read our 'Primed or Painted: Which to Choose?' blog to find out why Rainclear would highly recommend spending that bit extra for the factory pre-painted cast iron because the long-term benefits outweigh the initial incremental investment.
As this is a heavier system it really needs to be installed by two people and from scaffolding. A very competent DIYer with assistance would be able to install this system.
Eco-friendly & sustainable?
It may look like an expensive initial investment, but it offers an unrivalled life of 100years+ with proper maintenance, actually making it great value for money. This very long life makes it a great choice for the environment too, as it uses less natural resources over the life time of its installation. It is 100% recyclable at the end of its useful life.
Who does it suit?
Cast iron looks best on traditional heritage style projects and an absolute must on listed properties.
Copper protects itself by forming a patina that ensures an exceptionally long product life span of 100+ years.
No special skills are required to install the copper guttering. The clever design makes installation simple. No soldering, riveting or messy silicone.
Style & Finish
Left to age naturally copper guttering will start to mellow within weeks, changing through various shades of rustic brown and bronze until eventually forming a green / blue patina unique to copper. The time taken for the patina process to start depends on the location of your property, local weather conditions, distance from the sea and other forms of acidic pollution. It may be a more expensive choice initially, but its beauty, durability and recycle-ability – reducing environmental impact – makes it the more cost-effective choice as the long-term advantages far outweigh the initial outlay.
Eco-friendly & sustainable?
Copper is sustainable, it is 100% recyclable with most mined copper still in use today, reducing its environmental impact. Copper guttering is particularly suited for use in conjunction with a copper roof as a means of rainwater harvesting. It acts as an algaecide and fungicide, keeping growths such as moss and lichen to a minimum, therefore keeping gutters clear. Also, it mildly disinfects the water, which is great for putting on plants as it has a balanced pH and is free from chemicals such as chlorine. You get more suds when washing the car and it makes car and window washing smear-free (the streaks and dots are limescale).
Guide Price
Based on standard 115mm, half round profile, our current guide price is £56.38 per 3m length including our current £40% Online Discount (06/18)
Who does it suit?
Copper has been used on both contemporary and traditional style buildings. Its distinct appearance adds a very specific architectural and a real 'eco' statement to most types of building.
Copper is a wonderfully low-maintenance option for guttering systems as it will not require painting or cleaning (if you are happy to allow it to patina with age) other than the removal of debris that may fall into the guttering
- Always place ladders against structures and not the rainwater system
- Check annually to ensure fixing points on brackets remain secure
- Do not clean external surfaces abrasively to retain initial shine. The natural patina (a slow oxidisation of the outer molecular surface) creates its own protection against UV rays, heat, wind & water and so should not be avoided.
Over time, Zinc forms a thin layer called a 'patina'. This patina covers the material and protects it from weather elements, such as sun, wind and water but the change is practically invisible. It is immune to the harmful effects of UV rays. a lifespan of nearly 100 years
Lightweight and easy to install. No special skills required. The clever design makes it simple. Rainclear have produced some brief videos explaining things like gluing in the stopends. You can find these on Rainclear's – You Tube channel.
Style & Finish
Choosing Zinc as a rainwater solution is stylish statement for those after a different, unique finish that will maintain a striking appearance. The 'quartz' zinc Rainclear stock has the colour and texture of 'pre-weathered' zinc.
Eco-friendly & sustainable?
There is no shortage of zinc as a resource and in addition it can be 100% recycled at end of life. Many customers today want to lower their carbon footprint and reduce their impact on the planet. Zinc offers this
Guide Price
Based on standard 115mm, half round profile, our current guide price is £61.46 per 3m length including our current £40% Online Discount (06/18)
Who does it suit?
Quartz Zinc has been used on both contemporary and traditional style buildings. Its distinct appearance; a dark and textured gun-metal grey, adds a specific architectural and eco statement to most types of building. It is ideal if you live in an exposed location or by the coast. Its hard-wearing properties mean Zinc will last up to 50 years even in this most testing environment.
Requiring no decoration or cleaning, just the removal of debris that may fall into the guttering, makes it suitable for commercial, civic and residential buildings.
Visit www.rainclear.co.uk for all your metal rainwater and drainage requirements or get in touch with the friendly, knowledgeable team at Rainclear: 0800 644 44 26 email email@example.com.
Or follow on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn to hear about new discounts and new ranges first.


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Hi everyone, I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk about Lyme disease and how I am so thankful that Lyme disease research has taken steps out of the dark. I've had long term Lyme disease probably my whole adult life. It wasn't until by chance a woman with terrible muscle control who was almost crippled met my mother who asked how she was told my mother about Lyme Disease.. and a few phone calls later I was at my doctor's office being tested. At last I had an answer to what was wrong with me.
That was 14 years ago. Even my doctor at the time had no ideas on how to treat me, what would be next for someone with my stages, or if it were possible that I passed this down to my 3 children.
Today Lyme has become a real disease with real teams of doctors searching for solutions. Today there are books, articles, websites, and gatherings of people with advanced Lyme disease. No longer must I sort through the chatrooms filled with.. sorry.. some pretty strange people, in order to ask " is this normal? "
At one point I was hopeless.. especially after a 2 hour phone call from " the Lyme Disease Association " chairperson who basically told me I was infested with a highly advanced race of aliens and I should pay her to be my guide and join her group at 30 dollars a week, so that I might live symptom free.
I know I will never be symptom free. But I am ok with that, I know that I am going to be alright and I am always thankful to meet others creatively coping with long term issues.


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December 23, 2014
Over the festive period our office will be closed from Wednesday 24th December and reopening on Monday 5th January.
We would like to take this opportunity to extend our thanks for your custom this year and we look forward to working with you in 2015.
Wishing all our customers, friends and families a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Best regards The IME Team


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Last week, the lovely Manda nominated me for a Liebster award. I have completed these posts a few times before, but thought that I'd answer Manda's questions anyway as a fun way to get to know eachother a little better 🙂
- Do you prefer Starbucks or Dunkin Dounts? I'm not sure I've ever visited a Dunkin Donuts! But I do love Starbucks 🙂
- Do you read on a Kindle, Nook, iPad or prefer books? I have an iPad which I use the Kindle app on, but I also still read real books. I think they are better for different situations – I like to be able to lend books to friends and mark pages in them, but I could never have carried 6 books around with me when I was travelling in the Summer – the iPad is very convenient!
- What's you favorite kitchen appliance? Umm I don't really have one. Working in a baording school, I get all my meals cooked for me so don't really use kitchen appliances – there's no way I could live without a kettle though!
- Favorite adult beverage? I love Gin & Tonic, but I would take a Diet Coke over that anyday.
- What's your fitness routine? Do you like it? I don't really have a routine, I am struggling to get back in to the groove after Christmas. It's a medium combination of running and badminton and school games lessons though!
- Why do you blog? I started blogging to keep track of my weight loss journey, then it changed in to a record of my life and a way to meet some great people. Now I can't really think about a life without blogging.
- What's your favorite blog to read? Why? I have lots! Press Play, Ben Does Life & Healthy Tipping Point are high up on the list!
- What's your favorite fashion accessory right now? I generally don't wear many accesories – I'm rubbish at remembering to put them on!
- What's your favorite room in your house, why? My bedroom. Ever since we moved house last year I havea huge room! Because I live away at work most of the time, I love coming home to my own bed and my own personal space.
- What's your favorite food? Curry, Cupcakes, Fajitas!
- What do you hope to Make Happen in 2013? I want to qualify as an English teacher, get back in to a good exercise/healthy eating routine and find a new job that I will be happy in in September. It's going to be big!
Your turn – answer a question! 🙂


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Fairview Park-- Fairview Park Mayor Joseph M. Gaul annexed NASA office buildings and helped to develop pioneer housing for senior citizens.
Gaul died at home Thursday, June 21, at age 81.
"His word was his bond," said Tim Hagan, former Cuyahoga County commissioner. "He had to make some very tough decisions about development. He didn't blink."
Fairview Police Chief Pat Nealon said, "He had a quiet confidence and thick skin."
The Plain Dealer endorsed Gaul in 1991, saying, "He demonstrates the type of level-headed temperament needed to carry out the painstaking tasks that the city must address."
Born in Cleveland, Gaul grew up with bright red hair and a jutting jaw. He won a local Golden Gloves boxing title and graduated from Cathedral Latin High School. He served with the Air Force in Panama during the Korean War and became a sergeant.
Back home, he graduated from John Carroll University. He worked as district sales manager for trucking companies, including Wolverine Express and Central Transport.
He married Joan Adler in 1955 and moved with her to Fairview in 1958. He spent decades as the suburb's Democratic ward leader. He also joined the party's county executive committee and helped many winning candidates, including his brother Francis, long-time county treasurer.
Gaul lost his first race for Fairview council in Ward 2, then won the seat in 1965 and again in 1967. He became councilman at large in 1969, then won the council presidency in 1971 and again in 1973.
In 1975, Gaul won an open seat as mayor. He took the $9,600-a-year job and kept his day job at Wolverine. He lost the seat four years later, regained it for two more terms and lost a final run in 1991.
He negotiated and litigated with Cleveland for years over Riveredge Township, a patch of land north of Grayton Road. The communities finally agreed in 1991 to split it as a joint trade zone, Fairview getting 15 acres with some offices of what's now the NASA Glenn Research Center.
"I'm very elated," he told The Plain Dealer. "I've always described this as a win-win deal for Fairview and Cleveland."
Gaul oversaw a municipal budget of $2.4 million the first year. He launched the city's Family Fun Days. He also helped to create the federally subsidized Willowood Manor senior complex next to City Hall and served on its board from the start until a few months ago.
He was vice chair of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. He opposed fare hikes and pressed for reforms.
"This is a patchwork operation," he said in 1981. "We're always running here to put out a fire and there to put out a fire."
In the 1990s, Judge Nancy McDonnell appointed Gaul as foreman of a grand jury that heard capital cases at Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. "He was really liked by the other jurors and the court staff," said McDonnell. "He was a kind-hearted, cheerful man."
At St. Angela Merici Catholic Church, he was a reader, usher and parish councilman. He jogged and belonged to River Oaks Racquet Club. In 1996, the Ohio Senate proclaimed him "Irishman of the Year."
Joseph Michael Gaul Sr.
Survivors: Children, Joseph Jr. of Chester, N.J., Patricia of Rocky River, Eileen Isdaner of Gladwyne, Pa., Brian of Westlake, Kathleen Burke of Darien, Conn., John of Potomac, Md., Michael of Wayne, Pa. and Megan of New York City; and 22 grandchildren.
Funeral: 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 26, St. Angela Merici Catholic Church, 20970 Lorain Rd., Fairview Park.
Contributions:. Joseph and Joan Gaul Endowment Fund, Catholic Community Foundation, 1404 E. 9th St., Cleveland, OH 44114, or Our Lady of the Wayside, 38135 Colorado Ave., Avon, Ohio 44011.
Arrangements: Chambers Funeral Home, Rocky River, Cleveland.


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Under the leadership of founder Dr. Casey Hogan, Advanced Eye Professionals (AEP) has been providing quality care since 2003. Built largely on word-of-mouth referrals, the practice serves communities throughout the Oak Lawn and Chicago areas, as well as out-of-state and international patients.
AEP is thriving, recently expanding to a fully equipped, state-of-the-art 2400 sq. ft. facility, now employing three associate optometrists, one ICO Cornea/CL resident, and ten employees.
As part of a primary care full-scope optometric practice, each associate doctor at AEP offers a unique specialty. Dr. Hogan is considered one of the area leaders in specialty contact lenses, anterior segment management, and dry eye therapeutic care. With three separate websites focusing on each of Dr. Hogan's areas of expertise, and two DBAs—The Chicago Scleral Lens Center of Excellence and The Chicago Dry Eye Center of Excellence—AEP's digital presence continues to grow, and with it the success of the practice.
AEP is also dedicated to the community. Dr. Hogan has served on several boards, including more than 10 years with the Special Olympics of Chicago, for which she currently serves as president. In 2012, Dr. Hogan was recognized as Humanitarian of the Year by the Illinois College of Optometry. Her passion for her community, her patients, and her practice have helped Advanced Eyecare Professionals become a Best Practice for 2016.


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From the looks of it, Eva Marcille had a beautiful baby shower over the weekend.
On Saturday (Sept. 14), thanks to Real Housewives of Atlanta co-star Cynthia Bailey, the mother of almost three had an amazing "flower child"- themed baby shower.
And the 34-year-old was absolutely glowing:
View this post on Instagram
So much love this weekend. So many memories. And the photographers were definitely there so so many pictures. I'm overjoyed with the love and support I received welcoming this new baby #Maverick 🌻For a girl with no sisters I must say he definitely has a lot of aunties🌻 #FlowerShower
The America's Top Model past winner admitted in a caption that given she's on her third baby, she wasn't necessarily up for the pomp and circumstance.
"Pardon me I must say initially I was not super excited about having a baby shower considering this is my third child. "However, waking up this morning I'm super excited and it is my joy to celebrate the welcoming of my newest Flower Child 'Baby Maverick.' The Sterling clan gets a little bit bigger. Thank you @iamlovely2 @cynthiabailey10 and @ellybevents for making this all possible @Iambarbielee on the beat."
As we previously reported, back in May Eva announced that she and husband Michael Sterling are expecting a baby, who will join the couple's 1-year-old son Michael Todd Jr. and Marcille's 5-year-old daughter Marley Rae.
Take a look at her beautiful baby shower and her girlfriends having a blast!
Eva Marcille's 'Flower Child' Baby Shower Was Absolutely Gorgeous! was originally published on hellobeautiful.com


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His music style is disco and deep house, but he is also influenced by Debussy and Chopin. The artist today is concentrating on live improvised performances.
Rocious's performance will be supported by city-based DJ Dan Lo. The show will begin at 9pm at 5 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street in District 1. Entrance fee is free before 10 pm. — VNS


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From Awakening to Abundance:
2 Free audio presentations available this weekend ONLY!
Adam King
Awakening to Abundance Through Tessera
Adam King is a visionary and nationally known speaker on personal development, business and relationships. He is also an accomplished author, musician, composer and founder of the technology "Mental Auditory Simulation."
Over 20 years ago, he created a unique method called Tessera, which has helped his students around the world to shift into achieving fulfillment, and see the truth behind their suffering and resistance. The results can be instant, life lasting change.
On this call, you will learn:
-How our physiological makeup (identity) limits us from getting what we want
-What our "Memory Shell" is and how it produces suffering, uncertainty and resistance
-How to gain "Parallel Awareness" that can produce massive abundance through clarity and resourcefulness
-How our environment stops us from getting what we want
-How to change it by connecting to source
-A simple technique that will show you how to lower your anxiety in any environment, and allow you to create abundance all at once
Mas Sajady
Be guided to the abundant life that you desire
Mas is a life energizer, infinite healer, and an intuitive consultant. Through two near death experiences Mas Sajady has been gifted with astonishing healing abilities.
Mas helps people all over the world to be instilled with the Pure and awaken their internal "GPS" to automatically and effortlessly be guided towards their fulfilling lives.
On this call you will discover
-How to tap into the fountain of abundance in all areas of
life and uncover truths to change the course of your life
-What the Pureness is and how to get instilled with it.
-Remove self defeating patterns and tap into your creative
-Energize your inner core for rapid achievement


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North American Network Operators Group
Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical
Re: ARIN Policy on IP-based Web Hosting
It's a far-*left* policy - "We're ARIN, and we know how best everyone's resources should be allocated." A far-right policy would be "Here are these IPs you've requested; use them as you will, but don't come whining back to us for more because you underestimated your initial request." This would be far preferable. The SSL issue is a real one, and I don't know how to get around it. One would assume that this would qualify as an 'exception'; however, how are they going to verify what you're using them for? Are they going to nmap your networks to see if you're really running SSL on the IPs you've requested? -- ------------------------------------------------------------ Roland Dobbins <[email protected]> // 818.535.5024 voice Bill Fumerola wrote: > > On Tue, Aug 29, 2000 at 06:43:30PM -0400, [email protected] wrote: > > > Unless something's changed recently, SSL still requires IP based virtual > > hosting. Here's a clipping from the c2.net Stronghold FAQ: > > > > Should I use name-based or IP-based virtual hosts? > > > > Name-based virtual hosts do not work with SSL because certificates are > > sent before server names are established. Secure virtual hosts must be > > either IP-based or port-based. IP-based virtual hosts are more > > convenient, as users would have to remember the port numbers for > > port-based virtual hosts. > > Nothing has changed. There still is a chicken/egg relationship with trying > to do namebased virtual hosts with SSL. > > You have to know which certificate to present based on the name... > and > ... you don't know the name until the certificate exchange is complete. > > Speaking as a application provider who _has_ to have independent sites > running SSL per customer, I still need a 1:1 relationship with IP and > hosts. > > ARIN need to take a hit off the clue-pipe before coming down with > such a far-right policy. > > -- > Bill Fumerola - Network Architect, BOFH / Chimes, Inc. > [email protected] / [email protected]


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Brands We Stock
Mesa Electrical Repair and Installations
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Maricopa County -- Pinal County -- & More
Looking for a few good plumbers in Mesa, AZ? Contact Mesa plumbing today.For your irrigation repair needs, visit Mesa AZ Sprinkler Repair.


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'The 'Safety Orange' Set, standard issue tools used by the Mega-city guard. Although appearing garish and impractical upon first impression, the set's main purpose is to be noticed. Thus ensuring that every citizen is aware, by this bold display, that their safety is of upmost concern.'
'Assembled in modular elements with the a hinged barrel design of the cylinder, allows for a quick transformation from rifle to handgun, or vice versa, for situational use.'
With the goal of creating a clean concept that could later be used as a basis for a final game mesh, I created a rough kitbash in max with elements from Andrew Averkin's kit. I refined the concept in Photoshop, adding finer details, colour and tone.


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Sage Top
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Photographs by Paolo Roversi
Styling by Alex White
Source: Wmagazine
where have you been?
missed you and your elegant posts.
thank you deepblueeagle :)) I'm busy with studying for my exams so can't write much on my blog..BeantwoordenVerwijderen
you have something in my blog :)
when you have time, do not forget :)


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I think I'm finally done licking my wounds over the ending to the Cardinals' season. It was still a thrilling year, and certainly the most exciting 2-year stretch that I can ever remember. And the great thing about being a sports fan os that you can always move on to the next thing. Football is of course in full swing and basketball is getting ready to crank up. There is no sign of hockey on the horizon, but we take what we can get. This was one of those weeks when I couldn't really pin down one subject to talk about, so we;ll just hit on some different things and see what happens.
I have been playing a little game with myself the last couple of weeks. Whenever I pull up to my mailbox, I try to guess how many political advertisements will be inside. Lately you can bet on at least 3, and many times there will be more than one from the same candidate. I'm certainly not trying to downplay this election, and I know it is important to be an informed voter, but in this age of communication when you can put things on the internet at little cost, how much really needs to be spent on these campaigns? 'is it really necessary to have something appear in my mailbox every single day? Couldn't all of this money be put to better use?
This especially gets to me when I hear that organizations such as our local food pantry are struggling because the government is not keeping up with their obligations. Until recently the food pantry received food shipments from the St. Louis Food Bank, but this has ceased for the time being because the state is not paying the bills. They have also gotten cut back severely on USDA commodities from the federal government. Irene Dill, an employee of the diocese who passed away about 10 years ago, told me one time "can you imagine if only part of this money that was used on political campaigns was instead used for justice? Can you imagine what a better place the world would be?" I think her statement holds even all the more true today. Though many of us are still feeling the effects of a less than robust economy, if possible we need to put a little aside to help those less fortunate such as those who rely on the food pantry.
There was an item on the news that caught my eye this past week. A library in Brentwood, MO carries a children's book called "Uncle Bobby's Wedding." The book is about a guinea pig whose uncle is getting married, and the guinea pig is afraid that his uncle won't have time to spend with him anymore. Sounds innocent enough, except for the fact that Uncle Bobby is marrying a male guinea pig. A patron of the library petitioned to have the book removed from the shelf, but the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to keep the book in its collection. First of all, the author of the book says that the focus of the book is on how fearful the guinea pig was that his uncle would not pay attention to him anymore. If this were the case, then why didn't the author show an actual marriage? And why does this have to be portrayed in a children's book where kids will get the impression that this is a "traditional" way to do things. I am all for freedom of speech, and we have a right to express our opinion, but when something like this is being portrayed without a qualifier that this is not the true definition of marriage, then we as Christians need to stand up for what is the truth. Archbishop Fulton Sheen had a great quote about standing up for our convictions: "The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The Tragedy of our time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate conviction."
This weekend the Synod for the New Evangelization will wrap-up at the Vatican. There have been some very good presentations, and I am anxious to see what the final report from the Synod brings out. Timothy Cardinal Dolan has been blogging regularly from the synod, and did so again yesterday. This blog had a bit more of a personal twist, even including an admission that someone in an audience with the Pope can still find his mind wandering. Here is your link:
If you saw the Messenger or saw my Facebook post then you probably read about what will occur in Gallatin County. As you recall, St. Joseph's Parish in Ridgway was destroyed by a tornado earlier this year. This parish was part of a cluster with three other parishes in Gallatin County. After consultation and with data gathered from the "Parish Renewal and Restructuring Process", Bishop Braxton has decreed that the four parishes will be suppressed and that one new parish will be erected at the site in Ridgway where the church was destroyed. The new parish will be dedicated to St. Kateri Tekakwitha who was canonized this past Sunday. This situation was unique in that it was hastened by the destruction of the parish buildings in Ridgway. However, as the data from the process continues to be analyzed, we may certainly see more parishes have to be merged together due to the shortage of clergy, population shifts, etc.
Finally, this Sunday is Priesthood Sunday across the nation, and we thank all of our priests for their continued dedication to their ministry and to the people they serve. The circumstances they must endure continue to be overwhelming as the numbers of priests decline and fewer young priests are coming up to handle the workload. We can show our appreciation by continuing to pray for vocations and by helping our priests in any way we can. We continue to be so fortunate to have the leadership of Fr. Gene to guide our parish. He does so much to show his appreciation for us that there is no way to repay him in kind, but know Fr. Gene that we are so grateful to have you here among us and we wish you continued happiness in your ministry among us.
Have a great week. Fall is definitely here. Peace.


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Ever since Josiah Wedgwood leveraged royal patronage for his brand of pottery, more than 200 years ago, celebrity endorsements have proved an effective advertising strategy for building strong, customer-oriented brands.
Numerous studies on the performance and effectiveness of celebrity-led advertising campaigns have been conducted and, taking into consideration the multi-faceted nature of such deals, the results have been extremely positive; we have seen brand campaigns that have exceeded all expectations, by any measure of success, in practically every sector of industry.
At Celebrity Agent, our experienced group of celebrity agents understand the value that celebrity endorsements have for building brand equity, working closely with our clients to provide them with more effective and influential endorsement campaigns. We can help advise you on everything from choosing the right celebrity to the costs of engaging your chosen celebrity.
Our commitment is to ensure you get the most out of your chosen brand champion, which means we're with you every step of the way, advising you on how to get the most impact from your celebrity. We also take the hassle out of the more routine tasks like booking your celebrity's transport and accommodation.
We also specialise in crisis management, so should your celebrity fall ill at short notice or have to go into hiding after a tabloid scandal, we're never more than a phone-call away from providing you with a well-suited replacement.
We always look forward to working with new businesses and showing you why we're regarded as the go-to agents for all things celebrity endorsement related. Contact us now on our international or UK line to find out more.


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Today I want to talk about proper exercise form. A friend of mine just joined Crossfit and was telling me about an incident. Now before I start, I'm not bashing Crossfit. But I am bashing personal trainers who don't teach proper form and who don't modify exercises for beginners.
My friend is someone who is new to lifting…I personally don't think she should be thrown into a barbell deadlift right away, but she was. The next day she was telling me how her back was killing her and she couldn't even stand up straight because she was so sore. I asked her how much weight she did. She said she asked one trainer who said, "Ummm…just do 95 lbs," which she knew would be too heavy, so she asked another trainer who said 70 or 75 lbs, I can't remember.
There are some major problems here. One being, why is she doing a barbell deadlift as a beginner as opposed to learning proper form with lighter weights first? Two, what are those weights??? And why are these trainers just throwing around random numbers?? She sucked it up and did it, and then couldn't walk up-right for a few days because her lower back was killing her, which usually means proper form was not used during the deadlift.
This actually happened to me once too. I went to a group bootcamp class and one of the exercises was a barbell deadlift. The trainer made it heavy enough for the strongest person in the class but it was way too heavy for me, which I expressed. But he told me to try it anyway. So I did (and couldn't go down far enough either but he kept telling me to go all the way down), and I couldn't walk for a few days because my back was killing me.
I've written about proper form cues for deadlifts before, but I want to talk about it again. Yes, the deadlift does recruit lower back muscles, but your lower back shouldn't be that sore afterwards. You should mainly feel it in your hamstrings and glutes.
Here are a few key things to remember:
- As you lower the weight, keep your core tight, which will keep you from only using your lower back.
- As you lift the weight back up, focus on squeezing your glutes.
- Keep your back flat throughout the exercise.
- Keep your neck neutral, don't look up and crane your neck. Look a few inches ahead of you or down – whatever keeps your neck in line with your spine.
There's nothing wrong with starting with a lighter weight or modifying exercises. And that's what personal trainers are for!! That's what this rant is about. The trainers in the experiences above should have realized that the weight was too heavy, and also been there to provide form cues for my friend so that this didn't happen. It makes me nervous that as someone who is a total beginner to lifting (she's only really done exercise DVDs) she's thrown into barbell exercises and Olympic exercises.
Here are a few glute/hamstring exercises that you can do as you build up to a full deadlift:
- Glute/hip raises –> make it more challenging by adding a plate or barbell onto your hips
- Romanian dumbbell deadlifts –> progress it by increasing dumbbell weight until you feel comfortable with this exercise
- Romanian barbell deadlifts could be the next step from the above exercise.
- Trap bar deadlifts are a good way to take some load off the lower back.
I'd say my favorite would be Romanian dumbbell deadlifts. Easy to progress and you'll really feel it building strength in your hamstrings.
If you don't have a trainer, just do some research on how to progress. Trainers I follow with great tips are Tony Gentilcore and Bret Contreras ("The Glute Guy").
If you do have a trainer, make sure you hold them accountable. Speak up if you're afraid something is too heavy or too challenging for you. There is no shame in that! Better to be safe than injured. Ask them questions about the exercise. What muscles should it recruit? Where should you feel it? What's the point of doing it? What are some modifications?
Okay, rant over
If you're a Crossfitter, how does your gym help those who are totally new to lifting?
Have you had a bad personal trainer experience?
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These small area model-based estimates of subjective loneliness have been produced by Age UK, for people aged 65 and over at Borough level and middle and lower super output areas (MSOA/LSOA) in London.
They are calculated using a model based method using a combination of data from the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA) from 2010-12 and small area Census data from 2011. Further details of the methodology can be found at Age UK.
The different measures included in the data are
1. The 'log odds' of the risk of loneliness among older people
2. The estimated prevalence of loneliness among older people
3. The area ranking for London of the relative risk of loneliness among older people
4. The area ranking for England of the relative risk of loneliness among older people
Background notes:
1. Prevalence estimates: these estimates of prevalence are based on characteristics significantly associated with loneliness which could be estimated at small area level from 2011 Census data. Not all characteristics could be measured from the Census and so these estimates underestimate the true level of loneliness based on national survey and regular polling data. They are designed to be used to examine variation between areas rather than as a true estimate of the prevalence of loneliness in a given area
2. LSOA: Care needs to be taken when using estimates based on LSOA estimates due to other potential confounding factors such as communal establishment within the area such as care homes, hospitals, hospices etc. The risk factors were based on a survey of domestic rather than communal establishments only
3. The main aim of the modelling was to produce small area estimates which are not available for other sources. Borough level estimates are included for context, but alternative estimates at this level may give a more accurate assessment of prevalence
A map of the MSOA data can be viewed on the Datastore.
Source: Office for National Statistics
Request Access to Probability of loneliness for those aged 65 and over
You must be logged in to request access to this dataset.


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- Home
- How We Do It
Taking Stock
- This is designed to help clarify your thoughts and help us establish a clear picture of your overall finances and existing planning.
- An analysis of your current situation will be required which may include conducting research into your existing plans.
Developing a Plan
- This is where you can relax while we work behind the scenes.
- We will research your options to establish the best way forward, and prepare a report outlining ideas and options.
- We will then meet again to discuss the Financial Plan and agree priorities for implementation.
Implementing your Plan
- Once the required actions have been agreed upon, we will guide you through the process to put it all in place. We will take care of the paperwork so that it can be monitored and managed through to completion.
- A full report outlining the actions taken, the reasons and suitability will be provided to you.
Monitoring your Plan
- Regular Planning Meetings & Ongoing Advice
- Telephone and email access to your adviser and support team
- Updates, Valuations & Ongoing Monitoring
- Telephone And Email Access To Your Adviser And Support Team
- Liaison With Product Providers
- File Maintenance
- Regular Client Newsletters
- Confidential Waste Disposal Service
Following our initial discussion, should you decide to go ahead there will be a cost for our professional services. We offer a variety of methods by which this can be paid and we will agree with you the most convenient method. This could be a set fee or a percentage of the amount you invest and can be paid upfront or in some circumstances, the provider may be able to take the fee from the sum you invest. There can be tax implications so it is important to agree to the most suitable method of remuneration for your personal circumstances.
We will also tell you if you have to pay VAT and if there are other costs that might arise in connection with the services we provide to you.


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'A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.' Proverbs 25:26(NLT)
There is a high level of composure and self-control expected of you as a christian. Anything short of this high level is dishonourable.
My friend,as a christian,you should be a great example for others to follow.As the Lord said in Matthew 5:26, you should let your good works shine before men that they may give glory to your father in heaven. The more of a good and commendable example you are to people in shining the light of Christ, the more the glory you bring to your father in heaven through your lifestyle.
As part of your good works, please take SELF-CONTROL very seriously. Without self-control,one is open to the attack of the enemy.This attack could be in form of ridicule,physical assault or even mortal death.No matter where you find yourself,whatever the situation might be,never be out of check.
Let the Holy spirit be your guide. Being in tune with his leading and wholesome obedience to his instructions will help you make the right decisions and stay in control of your emotions in your relationship with people. Never let your reaction be based on what others do to you. People could provoke you intentionally, do not be hasty to react. You are are a heir of the heavenly King,do not let the flesh dictate your response.Rather, base your reactions on the instructions in the Bible-the words of God. The more you base your reactions on God's instructions, the less the tendency of you being out of control of your emotions in your relationship with people.
So friend,be in check,stay in Christ and stay blessed.
How was your day?


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Last night, sitting around waiting for D and B grades to finish, I was chatting to Smax. It was the standard cyclist conversation, asking each other about current form and goals. I admitted to Joel that I was off the pace I wanted, because I had missed a few of the hard efforts I need.
Right now there's three types of thing I feel will help me, and all of them suck.
Repeat sprint efforts. Yarra St is about a 70 seconds, Airlie is about 30, Anderson is about 75, Westbury is about 30. Pick and choose, but both the 30 and the 60 second efforts have merits, but mostly it's about making a poo face.
Repeat punchy hills. 2-7 minutes of threshold, working on keeping things smooth and generating maximum hate for life.
Ergo. This one sort of scares me the most, there's just no external stimuli to help distract you from the evil shit you're doing to yourself. The reverse ladder I worked through before Christmas worked well. It's hard to organise this one due to the noise it (and I) make.
Anyway, these are the sorts of things I need to do to pick up the last few % I want before SKCC crit champs. Losing a few kg to make the machine more efficient would help too.
D: 7.5km
A: 43m
PMPW: 95kg


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Southampton, awaits...
WELCOME to this week's Baggie Shorts.
This week we smash some clocks, stick our shortest fella in goal, recall a time when 'punishment' substitutions were all the rage and ask whether we ought to have stopped that bearded bloke for his autograph.
Oh, and something isn't quite right with our goalposts.
"EC Was Here" was the name of Eric Clapton's 1975 live album, but a year or so ago, it was a case of "Was EC There?" when Albion visited Southampton for Pepe Mel's introduction to the English game.
In the car park afterwards, we swapped stories of our favourite Tapas recipes in order to get acclimatised to the Mel regime – we needn't have bothered - and, as we waited to get away from the ground, a swarthy chap with a beard appeared in the distance.
"Isn't that Eric Clapton?" said Dave Bowler, Albion News writer.
"No, don't be daft, he wouldn't come to our games now," responded Tony Brown, Albion News columnist. He scored a few goals in his time too, but we'll let that pass.
Certain that the man to whom Clapton once gave a gold record must be right about such things, we drove off. Imagine our surprise when we picked up the papers on the Monday to see Slowhand himself pictured in the Southampton crowd…
What's the time at Southampton? They'll never know.
This Saturday's game marks our Foundation Day, which sees Brendon Batson, Blind Dave Heeley and Paralympian Darren Harris complete their Tri-Albion challenge - cycling from Southampton to The Hawthorns.
Joining the trio on their journey is our broadcast guru Ian Skidmore, who clearly falls into the "you can't take him anywhere" camp.
The Saints kindly hosted the cyclists ahead of their rider to enable the safety officer to do a short presentation.
Ian, who was filming at this point, somehow managed to knock a Southampton crest clock straight off the wall during this process.
It smashed in half.
The south coast was the scene of the great Ifeanyi Udeze sadness.
Back in 2003, as we looked to stave off relegation in our first ever Premier League campaign, Udeze was our great January signing, the man who was going to save us. Sadly, Iffy by name, iffy by nature.
We should have taken the hint when, at the press conference organised to unveil him, so nervous was he that the sweat was pouring out of him – for a Nigerian in England in January, this was not a good sign.
Nonetheless, the left-back was starting to find his feet here in England and there he was in the starting XI down on the south coast. Eight minutes in and Telfer looked to have run the ball out of play.
As his manager stooped to pick up the ball that he also thought was going out, Iffy stopped playing, only for Telfer to keep the ball in. He played it infield to Beattie who hit a 25 yard swerver that flew past Russell Hoult and in. It was that kind of season.
You will not be surprised to learn that Iffy lasted a mere 17 further minutes before getting the punishment hook, replaced by Neil Clement. Rumours that he was then required to walk home from Southampton are as yet unsubstantiated.
Southampton's current home is light years away from the old bear-pit that was The Dell, one of the great grounds of old England.
Albion had a pretty lousy record there, the shining exception coming in 1968 for a fourth round FA Cup replay. After 10 minutes we were a goal down, John Osborne injured in the aftermath and watching the game through a fog thereafter. Yet by the break, we were 2-1 up as 'Ossie' was helped back to the dressing room.
He couldn't continue so using perfect footballing logic, we replaced him with one of the big lads like Kaye, Talbut or Astle didn't we? Not exactly, no.
"When Ossie couldn't carry on, I had to go in goal," recalls Graham Williams.
"I had to wear his shirt. He's 6 feet 2, I'm 5 feet 5. The sleeves were too long, I had to tie them up. The gloves were too big. I was in goal at the end where all the dockers were, they were throwing stones and fag ends, hitting me in the back of the head. They had Ron Davies up front, he started laughing when he saw me in goal."
He wasn't laughing at the finish. 3-2 to the Albion.
Meanwhile, who pinched our nets?
Anyway, that's us done for another week. Enjoy the game and look out for updates about our Foundation's Tri-Albion challenge.
And, finally, look out for our Albion News sellers this weekend - they'll be visiting the Vine, the Sportman, Dartmouth Cricket Club and the new Supporters Club venue. You know it makes sense.


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Patrick Henningsen
June 28, 2012
Sometimes it takes just one individual to step forward and 'speak truth to power' to break the spell of public denial and silence surrounding a tragic and unspeakable event.
One of the key components of maintaining any official government narrative of historical events, is that every member of the establishment must remain on the same page as to who, what, when, how… and why a said event took place.
This could not be any more relevant than in the cases of both 9/11 and 7/7, because maintaining total cohesion of the official narrative is necessary in order to hold in place agreed upon terror threat assessments and the public security policies which follow.
At least one police professional in Britain has stepped forward to refute the government's orthodoxy of 'Radical British Muslims' carrying out one of the worst and violent atrocities in the country's history, and this is his story…
In July 2010, a long serving UK Police Principal Intelligence Analyst, Tony Farrell, woke up to a terrible realisation that the cosy, comfortable law enforcement world he had always believed he was part of, had just turned upside down. Awakened, Tony Farrell as Head Intelligence Analyst for South Yorkshire Police in the North of England immediately knew that his previously rewarding and enjoyable career was about to come to an abrupt end with an almighty crash.
After unwittingly tuning into the Alex Jones Show in June 2010, Farrell suddenly awoke to a very different reality after watching documentaries such as Invisible Empire and Police State 4. It was thereafter he dropped upon the apparent lies surrounding the official explanations of the 9/11 attacks. He could no longer pretend it was not real. The compelling evidence showing the despicable Government account of events regarding 9/11 soon became all too plain to see. Rocked to the core, it wasn't long before he realised the same was true for 7/7 in his own country. Farrell's conscience became deeply troubled as, in his position as a Principal Intelligence Analyst of a large UK Police Force, it was required him to regurgitate back to his bosses a government narrative that the main threat of terrorism in the UK came from Islamic extremists and al-Qaeda.
On the fifth anniversary of the London 7/7 Bombings in 2010, when being pressurised into reflecting the putrid lies about terrorism in a threat assessment matrix, Farrell – feeling cornered, alone and isolated – refused to prostitute either himself or his intelligence analysis profession, and told his bosses that the real threat came from within.
Three times he offered up his full analysis to his bosses; three times they collectively closed ranks. His employers tried to make out that he had gone mad, but the Occupational Health Doctor gave Farrell a clean bill of health. This forced his employers to back him – or sack him. They duly sacked him for an 'incompatible belief' – a belief which his dismissing officer admitted 'could be correct'.
For a full year, Farrell battled alone, keeping his case very low profile hoping his previous employers would see sense, be reasonable and reinstate him given his long exemplary record and his honestly held opinions offered up to his previous employers in accordance with professional standards for honesty and integrity.
After contacting alternative media broadcasters Tony Gosling and Richard D Hall, Farrell was soon invited on Alex Jones' show in July 2011, and suddenly became an emergent, if rather surprisingly (as a member of the UK police establishment), different type of figure within the UK's Truth Movement after a self-imposed year in quarantine.
Amidst the institutional denials, the answer was nowhere to be found and so despite the admittance that nobody had tried to grapple with Farrell's shocking analysis.
'Protected disclosure' in the public interest
The main thrust Farrell had was that he was making a 'protected disclosure' about the threat assessment matrix which was being abusively misapplied in UK Police Forces to skew the terror threat, conceal monstrous police state crimes against democracy and unfairly blame Muslims for the atrocities they plainly did not commit. And therein lies the rub: such deceit was allowing a UK Government Counter Terrorism Strategy to be implemented which was tantamount to demonising British Muslims and creating a climate of hatred and fear and facilitating growth areas in secret and unaccountable policing.
On 15th June 2012, represented by British Barrister Michael Shrimpton QC, Farrell had his appeal heard ex-parte before the Employment Appeal Tribunal in a London court. QC Shrimpton is a National Security Author and Strategic Intelligence expert, and has previously appeared on the Alex Jones Show to discuss the death of Dr. David Kelly that occurred on July 17, 2003. While losing the appeal on the day, QC Michael Shrimpton correctly raised the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 as a new issue.
Farrell's comprehensive analysis of the London 7/7 Bombings had been submitted before the Judge to the Employment Appeal Tribunal but this could not be considered in the hearing as a new issue but it can be the basis of an argument to the Court of Appeal. Michael Shrimpton had this to say about the hearing on 15th June 2012:
"Interestingly the learned judge did not say that the Public Interest Disclosure Act point was a bad one, indeed he ruled that it was a fresh point. With respect he was right about that, and on reflection right to say that there would need to be a re-hearing to determine the issue of reasonableness, but the authorities on which he relied seemed to me to relate to cases where the employee had been professionally represented at first instance. With respect the Employment Tribunal could and should have taken the point of its own motion in a case where Mr. Farrell did not have the benefit of legal representation."
Indeed, Farrell may not have the establishment on the ropes… yet, but via his legal case and his other media and public efforts, he is certainly making his presence felt in standing up for truth and justice.
Farrell concludes,"As a professional member of the police force, I'm sworn to a duty of care and to protect the public's interest. It's out of concern for the public's safety that I'm doing this – we need to do something about this, because it's dangerous if we don't".
The Reopen America Back to School Special is now live! Earn double Patriot Points on our hottest items!


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Group Therapy
Connections Counseling offers a variety of groups to meet the needs of all ages, gender and specific areas of focus. Group involvement is typically a duration of at least 90 days with options to continue or become a group mentor.
Groups provide positive group support ranging from recovery, anxiety, depression and other co-occurring topics. As our clients attend groups, they have opportunities to decrease isolation, increase social connections and feel the true essence of acceptance and hope by both peers and staff.
Clinic founder Shelly Dutch started the adolescent program due to a need for teens to have developmentally appropriate treatment to address alcohol and other drug use concerns. As a result of Shelly's commitment to help young people understand their importance and self worth, Connections has incorporated recovering youth mentors into therapy groups and presentations to motivate and guide other teens to make better choices. Active counseling is coupled with sober activities outside of therapy in a supportive group environment.
College Connections
Students aged 18-25 are extremely vulnerable to excessive alcohol and substance use, depression, anxiety and other stressors. College Group provides the only age-appropriate services in Madison focused on creating an environment of recovery and support for students. Mentors are available to assist and motivate students to embrace life and illustrate the possibilities of healthy recovery. This group has weekly sessions at Connections main clinic and on the UW campus.
Young Adult
Young adults are extremely vulnerable to excessive alcohol and substance use, depression, anxiety and other stressors. Connections focuses on age-appropriate services creating an environment of recovery and support for young adults. Mentors are available to assist and motivate clients to embrace life and model the possibilities of healthy recovery.
Adult Coed
This group includes men and women at various stages of life and careers. This group can provide education and support for individuals addressing legal consequences, professional license challenges and other alcohol and substance abuse issues. This group is appropriate for individuals in the contemplative stages of change as well as those who have accepted their substance abuse problems. Mentors provide support to this group.
This group includes men and women at various stages of life and careers. This group can provide education and support for individuals addressing legal consequences. The timing is convenient for people to attend during their lunch hour. This group is appropriate for individuals in the contemplative stages of change as well as those who have accepted their substance abuse problems.
Young Women
This gender specific group provides an opportunity for young women to discuss a variety of issues including trauma, relationships, anxiety, depression and self-esteem in a supportive environment. Participants will develop coping skills and resources to enhance their lives.
This gender specific group provides an opportunity for women to discuss a variety of issues including recovery, relationships, anxiety, depression, pain-management and self-esteem in a supportive environment. Participants will develop coping skills and resources to enhance their lives.
This group provides a forum and continued connection for valued volunteer mentors to collaborate and focus on their later stage recovery successes and challenges. This group of individuals also supports other groups with one or two individuals participating in most of the other Connections groups. Research shows active involvement and participation in treatment for 12 months or more enhances the chances of successful long-term recovery. This program provides a positive platform for such valuable and life altering participation without cost to the mentors.
Opiate Specific
The fast growing local challenges and devastation of opiate addiction, both prescription abuse and street use are well known realities. This group focuses on opiate specific issues including addressing the social stigma attached to loss of control and related social and legal issues. Other group members with similar problems can provide effective support and are therapeutic in developing alternative methods of maintaining abstinence from opiates and other substances.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is a 16 week closed, skill-based therapy group consisting of skill set lessons rotated over the course of four months. DBT has been proven effective in changing behaviors for people with a history of substance use, impulse control issues, eating disorders, anger management, self-harm and anxiety. Skill set focus includes mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.
Meditation group teaches relaxation and centering skills as alternatives to alcohol and drugs, depression and anxiety. This group uses proven techniques to address underlying issues such as grief, abuse and anxiety that are prone to intensify in recovery. The group teaches compassion and growth for self and others.
Art Therapy
Art therapy provides clients an opportunity to explore and concretely express and thus better understand feelings and actions. This group provides a directed environment under the guidance of a board certified expressive arts therapist.
This group uses structured activities and discussion to help clients of all ages gain perspective and clarity regarding how substance use may be impacting their lives. Goals include assisting group members to see how substance use may be affecting their lives and the those around them as well as creating a sense of responsibility around lifestyle choices. This is a four-week course curriculum; new members may start on the first Monday of the month.


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Good morning.
Forgive me for even considering such, but I almost planted an exclamation point at the end of "morning." It is indeed morning as I write. I've eased into light, speech, and a little thought, but that I would even consider assailing your mental ears this early in the day with the kind of volume implied by that loudest of punctuation marks, well, I apologize for almost falling into such brutish behavior. Those two words followed by an exclamation point become a contradiction in terms.
So, settling for the more civil ante meridiem (as in a.m. for morning) greeting, we move on into the day, fire up, log in, open up the computer, delete a few dozen ads and several phishing attempts masquerading as legitimate emails, and peruse this real one: "Note to Committee on Committees Members: Wednesday's meeting regarding the creation of another committee to further complicate the lives and work of the many too many committees already created to complicate our lives has been moved forward by two days."
Here's the question: Is that Wednesday meeting, "moved forward by two days," now set for Monday or Friday?
Okay. Pause. Take your time. Don't lock in your vote and alter your calendar too quickly, but do take notice of your first reaction.
It's clear to me that the meeting is now set for Monday. But I also know, and so do you, that a significant number of other folks will be quite sure that the meeting is now set for Friday. If we're the ones wording the message, we know very well that we'd better spell out the day or confusion will reign. Two groups half the size of the whole will find themselves meeting on two different days four whole days apart. The confusion hinges on that simple word "forward."
According to author, psychology lecturer, and BBC broadcaster Cynthia Hammond in her book Time Warped, the little vignette above illustrates how very practically in our daily world the way we associate time and space and the way we feel about time "moving" separates us into two groups. Hammond says that those, like me, who now plan to head to the meeting on Monday, see time itself as moving "like a conveyor belt," the future coming towards us. Those who plan to meet now on Friday see themselves as moving in time towards the future.
As Hammond writes, "either you stay still while the future comes toward you or you move along towards the future. It's the difference between thinking that we're fast approaching Christmas or that Christmas is coming up fast." Either point of view is defensible; the point is that each of us defaults into one or the other.
I find this sort of thing fascinating. But far more important than whether the future is heading toward me or I'm heading toward the future is the fact that my Father holds all of time and all of the times of my life in his warm hand.
See ya Monday. But my vote is that we cancel and spare the world one more meeting and one more committee.
You're invited to visit my website at http://www.CurtisShelburne.com!
Copyright 2018 by Curtis K. Shelburne. Permission to copy without altering text or for monetary gain is hereby granted subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.


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New posters have gone online for The Rum Diary starring Johnny Depp, Rodrigo Cortes Red Lights starring Robert De Niro, and Zhang Yimou's The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale. Here's what you need to know about each poster: The Rum Diary is the second poster this year featuring Johnny Depp's character and a fish. The international poster for Red Lights poster is the same as the U.S. one except it has a black background and the tagline translates to "The Truth Is The Most Dangerous Of Illusions." Finally, The Flowers of War poster has Bale as a priest admiring a nice Asian lady's cleavage.
Hit the jump to check out the posters. The Rum Diary opens October 28th and also stars Amber Heard, Richard Jenkins, and Aaron Eckhart. Red Lights opens in 2012 and also stars Cillian Murphy, Elizabeth Olsen, and Sigourney Weaver. The Flowers of War has no U.S. release date but it's China's official submission for the Best Foreign Film Oscar.
Here's the official synopsis for The Rum Diary:
Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson, "The Rum Diary" tells the increasingly unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp). Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins). Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property development deals, is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen's financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.
Poster via Hey U Guys:
Red Lights stars De Niro as a renowned psychic who comes under investigation by a psychologist who specializes in the paranormal, played by Sigourney Weaver.
Poster via FirstShowing:
The Flowers of War is a multilingual film set in 1937 and tells the story of a group of people who take refuge inside a cathedral as the invading Japanese Imperial Army takes over Nanking.


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Well I just closed out a department store credit card a few moments ago and will close another one very soon. When asked why I wanted to close my account I said because you want 23.99% interest on what I owe you. I cannot understand why all of these credit card places are increasing the interest rates, it just makes me not want to use them and so the companies will be losing any money they might have made from me now. I have stopped using several of my other credit cards for the same reason. I am sure a lot of you are doing the same as I am. Seems to me if the credit card companies want to make money they should lower their rates so people would want to use them. But the rich just want to get richer and don't care about the common people it seems. What are they going to do when the little people have no more money to give them? Start on each other? One day there will just one person with all of the money in the world, I wonder just what good it will that person?
October 24, 2009
Credit cards
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Berlin Friedenau Schoeneberg
Classic Altbau period Apartment Building for sale
Built 1905
Residential, Apartment house
10 x apartments
Plot size 360 m²
Living space circa 633 m²
Fully tenanted
Price On request
Property lies in Friedenau, a quiet, inner micro district of Berlin Schoeneberg-Tempelhof. Buildings in the sub- district of Friedenau comprise largely architectural styles of the "Classic Altbau Wilhelminian period" , dating from the early 20th century and before.The district was founded in 1871 as an affluent commuter town on the estates of the former Wilmersdorf manor.It is characterised by its narrow, tree lined streets, and small street side gardens; a rarity in Berlin.185 buildings within the district have protected status as cultural heritage sites.
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