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San Luis Obispo Blues Society will kick off its 2017-18 season with the Kenny Neal Band on Saturday, September 23 at the SLO Vets Hall (801 Grand Avenue). The show opens at 8pm with the Cinders. Admission is $20 for Blues Society members; $25 for the general public 21 and over. Tickets may be purchased in advance at Boo Boo Records and Cheap Thrills in San Luis Obispo. Free dance lessons are offered by SLO Dance at 7:30pm.
About KENNY NEAL
Swamp blues artist Kenny Neal is a singer-songwriter best known for his mastery of guitar and harmonica. He is one of those natural musicians who can pick up pretty much any instrument and make it sound good. He tours and records with a band composed mostly of family members, and the deeply rooted relationships are evident in every note. Neal's music celebrates both the joys and acknowledges the losses of life. It's a very personal sound that everyone can identify with; musically, a laid-back Cajun rhythm, augmented by funk, zydeco bounce, and soul, Acadiana style.
Kenny Neal was raised in Baton Rouge and began playing music at a young age, learning the basics from his father, singer and blues harmonica player Raful Neal. Family friends like Lazy Lester, Buddy Guy and Slim Harpo also contributed to Kenny's early musical education. At age 13, he joined his father's band and began paying his musical dues. Four years later, he was recruited and toured extensively as Buddy Guy's bass player.
Since 1987, Kenny has released a series of consistently lauded albums featuring his laid-back, Baton Rouge blues, with a modern spin on the Louisiana sound he grew up with. His 2004 release with Billy Branch, Double Take (Alligator Records), garnered a W.C. Handy award for Best Album. In 2008, Kenny released Let Life Flow (Blind Pig). The title track, a soulful ballad about seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, won a Blues Music Award for "song of the year". Hooked on Your Love (Blind Pig, 2010) contains a musical gumbo of swamp-boogie, R&B, and straight-ahead blues. His recent release Bloodline (Cleopatra Records) has received a Grammy nomination for best contemporary blues album.
Kenny has relocated back to Baton Rouge to be with his family, but realizes that life on the road is his life. His band includes brothers Fredrick Neal on keyboards and Darnell Neal on bass, Bryan Morris on drums and Alphonso Guillary on horns. Check out their website (http://www.kennyneal.net).
The Cinders is an electric blues band featuring Dorian Michael on guitar and Brett Hoover on vocals. The music has Chicago 1960 as its starting place but doesn't make any attempt to sound like it. The music gets played in an organic contemporary fashion that acknowledges the fact that middle aged guys in the 21st century are influenced by a lot of phases of 20th century blues and rock 'n' roll. And it all gets blended together and played with a great amount of spontaneity. It is a real blues band, no lack of intensity here.
The Blues Society counts on volunteers to produce and staff its concerts. At the shows, volunteers set up, sell tickets and drinks, or clean up after the show. Volunteers get free admission to the show and two drink tickets. If you have extra time and energy to contribute, please call the volunteer line (805) 541-7930 and we will contact you.


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The Beatles - A Day in The Life: September 23, 1968
Sunday, September 22, 1968
Recording: Happiness Is A Warm Gun
Monday 23 September 1968 Studio
Studio Two, EMI Studios, Abbey Road
Producer: Chris Thomas
Engineer: Ken Scott
One of the White Album's highlights, Happiness Is A Warm Gun, had its first recording session on this evening.
The session took place from 7pm-3am. The Beatles recorded 45 takes of the song, which had the working title Happiness Is A Warm Gun In Your Hand. John Lennon played electric guitar and sang a guide vocal, George Harrison was on another electric guitar, Paul McCartney played bass, and Ringo Starr was on drums.
The song's various changes in tempo and time signature resulting in a number of breakdowns. The following evening they taped another 25 attempts, which eventually resulted in a usable backing track.

subset: commoncrawl


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Author: Ashley Marie Witter (Adaptor/Illustrator), Anne Rice
Pages: 256
Published: November 20, 2012
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Sequential Art, Paranormal
Rating: 5/5
I absolutely loved this graphic novel. After reading Interview with the Vampire a few months ago, this was the perfect refresher on the story while including some brilliantly drawn illustrations. I felt that the graphic novel was way creepier than the actual story.
From Goodreads: "A richly-illustrated adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, told through the eyes of the vampire Claudia, who was just a little girl when she was turned by the vampire Lestat. Though she spends many years of happiness with her two vampire fathers, she gradually grows discontent with their insistence upon treating her like a little girl, even though she has lived as long as any mortal man…and her lust to kill is certainly no less than theirs…"


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Luckily for me, this is the perfect day to showcase some raw fusion food.....
One thing I love about raw food fusion, is that you still get the warmth and comfort of hot food, which on days like this is soooo great, along with the freshness and nutrients of the raw to help put a spring in your step! I feel that this kind of eating is a lot more suited to our climate here in the UK than 100% raw, though that is a personal opinion as there are a lot of raw foodists here who thrive on all raw. This I think is the key, everyone is different, and the super great thing about this recipe, is that it is so flexible, it pretty much suits any person.
I serve this sauce up on just about anything. It is great on cooked wholemeal spaghetti (the girls adore this), raw courgette 'pasta', as a sauce over adzuki bean loaf, and even as a dressing to name but a few. I love it best on gnocchi though, for me it is the perfect 'zingy' partner to those soft little dumplings.
Making gnocchi with squash rather than potatoes is just another way of getting even more nutrition into the meal, as well as tasting good and looking very pretty and appealing. Gnocchi is traditionally made with an egg added, but I find this recipe works very well without it, making it a great vegan dish! It does make the dough a little more delicate though, so be gentle with it.....!
Raw Pomodoro sauce (serves 4)
6 large (ish) tomatoes
1 small clove of garlic, finely diced or grated
pinch of sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 red bell pepper, roughly diced
6 sun dried tomatoes
10 kalamata olives, stones removed
Blitz everything together in a food processor till well combined, with a very slightly chunky texture to it. You can blitz it totally smooth in a blender if you prefer, but I think it is tastier with a bit of a bite left.
That's it! It is so simple and tasty, we prefer it over a regular cooked pasta sauce.
Squash or pumpkin gnocchi
1 butternut squash or small pumpkin of your choice
2 cups of kamut or wholemeal spelt flour, plus extra for dusting
1/4 nutmeg, finely grated
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Roast the squash at 180 degrees for around 40 mins until soft. Remove from oven, cut in half and scoop out those seeds. (you can save the seeds if you like to roast, they are delicious sprinkled with sea salt and paprika). Leave to cool.
When the squash is cool, scoop out the flesh, discarding the skin, and blitz in a food processor, or mash by hand until smooth. Turn out into a bowl. Season with the salt and nutmeg, then start gradually adding the flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time.
This part is tricky and you need to rely on your judgement. Depending on the size of the squash you used, and the moisture content, you may need more or less flour. What you are looking for is a very soft dough. It should hold together, but still feel airy, light and soft to the touch, it will feel very delicate- but that is exactly what you want, we aren't looking for rock hard dumplings!
Turn the dough out onto a well floured surface. Cut it into quarters, and roll each quarter into a long sausage shape, about 3cm in diameter, keep the dough well coated in flour to stop it sticking.
Next, cut it into little bite size pillows, about 2cm in length, pop them on a lightly floured tray as you go, to keep them from sticking, keep going until you have used all the dough.
It is at this point, that if my Mother in Law were here, she would turn them into the most beautiful curved little gnocchi just by using a fork, but try as I might, I just can't get the hang of it, so mine remain as little pillows!
Fill the largest pan you have with water and bring it to the boil, add a dash of extra virgin olive oil, to help stop the gnocchi sticking, then add the gnocchi to the pan with a slotted spoon. Don't add them all at once, you'll probably need to do around 3 batches. As the little dumplings float to the top, remove them with a slotted spoon, and place onto a dish which has a little of the raw pomadoro sauce on it. When all the gnocchi are cooked and dished up, pour the rest of the sauce over them, and you're ready to serve!
|I like to serve this with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, lots of fresh ground black pepper and some torn up basil leaves.


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Congratulations to the following Concord High School athletes who were recognized in a ceremony on Thursday, February 8 for signing letters of intent to continue their academic and athletic careers next year in college.
Josh Gorball – Grand Valley State (Football)
Stephanie Hartpence – Trine University (Track & Field)
Gage Jones – Anderson University (Lacrosse)
Grant Magnuson – University of Indianapolis (Football)
From left: Grant Magnuson, Josh Gorball, Stephanie Hartpence, Gage Jones.
Josh Gorball
Stephanie Harpence
Gage Jones
Grant Magnuson


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For those that missed the news late last week, Facebook is preparing something big for our Android smartphones, and are hosting an event this week to show the world. With rumors regarding their own Android OS skin like the Kindle Fire, a Facebook Phone built from the ground up, or even just a Home Launcher. Today however, we have the hardware details on the actual device.
According to multiple reports, tips, and leaks it looks like Facebook will be replacing the stock Android launcher with their own. Just like TouchWiz and Sense covers stock Android, only it won't be as deeply intergated. This will mainly function over your main screen and add a few things to the app tray. Just like a home screen replacement launcher.
However, since we already covered those details earlier today, this is about the hardware. If the post and details from AndroidPolice are accurate, here's what to expect hardware wise from the already confirmed HTC Myst 'Facebook Phone'.
• HTC Myst on AT&T with 4G LTE
• 4.3-inch 720p HD display
• Dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor
• 5 megapixel rear, 1.6 front camera
• Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean covered in Facebook
• Sense UI 4.5 (not new Sense like the One)
• WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, etc.
• and more
This is not the first time we've seen or heard the name HTC Myst, and those specs have been tossed around a few times in the recent past too. It cleared the FCC last week with AT&T 4G LTE. However, with the actual Facebook Home APK leaking earlier today attached to this hardware, it makes sense that this will be the first device to launch with the new service.
Essentially it appears that Facebook and HTC are aiming for the mass consumer market and will be offering what is clearly a mid-range Android device covered in everyone's favorite social network – Facebook. We're expecting the event on April 4th to reveal this smartphone (with a different name than Myst) Facebook Home, AT&T as the carrier, and hopefully it will be free with a new 2-year contract. We'll be live with Facebook for all the news so stay tuned.


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A history in Christmas Jumpers
For the first time this year we are hosting a Christmas Jumper Along, starting this weekend, with Suzanne Stallard our wonderful teacher. There will be 4 sessions in which you will be assisted in choosing a project, encouraged and helped with your knitted item. Please note, your jumper/cardigan does not have to be Christmas themed in any shape or form.
As knitters we have all been asked, 'Can you knit me a [insert item here]?'. But over the last few years there has been a huge resurgence in the 'ugly' Christmas jumper. (All i can see is the incredible craftsmanship, charting and patience which must have gone into making such an extravagant and amazing garment.)
Christmas Jumpers along with all hand knits and hand made clothes were considered elegant pieces that would last a life time…
However with the 70's came the most outlandish and garish Christmas Jumpers, with swathes of bright reds and greens, over sized snow men and reindeer motifs. The trend eventually passed. But as we look back at old family photos and feel nostalgic we want our Christmas jumpers back.
Here are some wonderful examples of 70's/80's Christmas Jumpers found in Beyond Retro.
So lets take Christmas Knitting back, and not coined with ugly or hideous, and especially not calling Colin Firth 'cringe inducing'.
As with most of our projects we want the item to last the test of time, to be well fitting and the yarn amazing to work with. So on the final run up to our Christmas Jumper Along we thought we would share some ideas and inspirations.
From Left to right top row… Ninilchick Swoncho by Caitlin Hunter, Spearheads by Jared Flood, Strokkur by Ysolda Teague, Galloway by Jared flood, Grettir by Jared Flood and Skogafjall by Dianna Walla.
(Shhhh, we are just received Marie Wallin's new Shetland book this week! Keep an eye on our website!)
Until next time… happy knitting!
A Brief History of the Ugly Christmas Sweater


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Nearly one fifth of the calories Americans consume daily come from beverages, according to a study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.1 In fact, sweetened beverage consumption has increased drastically over the past few decades. A recent report from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey revealed that half of Americans consume at least one sugar-sweetened beverage per day. The study also found men consume an average of 178 calories per day from sugar sweetened beverages and women consume 103 calories per day.2
What many people fail to realize is being mindful of beverage calories is equally as important as minding our food calories. Why? They all count! What's more, calories in liquid form don't satisfy hunger as effectively as calories consumed in food form. Those consuming large amounts of beverages each day end of up consuming more total calories, which often leads to weight gain.
So what should we be drinking and what should we cut back on? As liquid calories add up, following are guidelines on how to select what you sip.
Drink up on…
—Water. Drinking water is vital to your health. Not only does it transport nutrients and oxygen into your body's cells but it also keeps your body, skin, and brain hydrated. Plus water quenches thirst and has zero calories.
—Skim or low-fat milk. There are many nutrients in milk. Benefits include calcium for healthy bones, phosphorous, magnesium, protein, vitamin B12, vitamin A, zinc, riboflavin, vitamin C and most widely-known, vitamin D. This nutrient-packed beverage provides a lot of nutrients per sip.
—Soy beverages. Soy milk, which is made by grinding soaked soy beans in cold water, is a common alternative to cow's milk and has great health benefits, too. It contains natural compounds known as "isoflavones" that help reduce LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also increases calcium retention in the body, which contributes to bone health.
Drink in moderation…
—Alcoholic beverages (adults only). Limit yourself to no more than one drink per day for women, two for men. And remember, a drink is one 12-ounce beer, one 5-ounce glass of wine, or one 1.5-ounce drink of distilled spirits, each contributing 100-150 calories. Be aware: alcoholic drinks are high-calorie drinks that add up fast.
—Fruit juice. Fruit juice doesn't offer any greater benefit than what you can get from eating a whole fruit. In fact, often the juice has a lot more calories and sugar added; and no fiber. If getting enough fruit in your diet is an issue, think about adding a 4-ounce glass of juice per day – just be sure it's one that is low in added sugar.
Avoid if you can or consider making drastic cutbacks on…
—Soft drinks. Besides packing on the pounds, soda can have a serious impact on your overall health, if consumed in excess of 12 oz a day. Limiting consumption is important. A recent study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Nutrition found an increased risk of stroke in people who consumed more than one soda per day.3
—Sugar-sweetened tea and coffee drinks. Yes, they might be delicious but don't let your special coffee or tea order fool you. These drinks are often made with two percent or whole milk and can contain up to 800 calories and a third of the daily recommended maximum intake for saturated fat. To keep these choices in check, try limiting your coffee and tea choices to under 150 calories a day. For Starbucks fans, here's a helpful list of smarter and healthier options for getting your caffeine fix.
— Sweetened sports drinks. Unless you exercise for over an hour, you do not need the extra sugar calories nor electrolytes from these drinks. Why drink the calories you just burned?
–Energy Drinks. Promises of energy in these sugary, caffeinated drinks rarely justify the caloric overload you'll consume.
— Vitamin enhanced water. It's just water, right? Wrong. It may include a few extra vitamins but more often the reality is that it's chock-full of sugar. Be sure to check the label. When there's more to the ingredients than water and natural flavors, reach for something else.
The bottom line – re- think your drink and enjoy the beverages that offer you the most for each sip!
For more ideas on heart-healthy eating, check out The Cooper Clinic Solution to the Diet Revolution: Step Up to the Plate (2009). My guidebook of tips makes healthy eating fun and more manageable. Connect with me online at @GeorgiaKostas and Facebook/Georgia Kostas Nutrition and visit: http://http://www.georgiakostas.com.
This nutrition information does not address individual health conditions. Please consult with your physician or registered dietitian to meet specific health and dietary needs.
1 "You are What You Drink." University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. March 2011. http://www.cpc.unc.edu/projects/beverage
2 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2010. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm
3 "Soda Consumption and the Risk of Stroke in Men and Women." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. May 2012. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2012/04/03/ajcn.111.030205


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It was really straight forward to use and set up, I'm very pleased. I have another two invoices to put in now as well, both for Letters Before Action
We have not used this type of service before, but since using it we have had positive results in securing invoice payment. It's very straight forward to use and convenient, so we are happy with the service
Zara, Administrator, Catering Solutions
Debt Guard are one of the few debt recovery companies offering their services for small debt amounts, most were not interested. They sent the debtor a late payment letter and added late payment costs which I didn't realise that I was entitled to. The client paid immediately! I will be using their services again now that I know how easy (and cheap) the service is. Highly recommended.
Robin Utrackik, Owner, Northern Studios
I would take legal action again if required and would like to see tougher Government action on late payment.
Peter Elliott, Owner, All Steel Fabrications
I must admit the legal letters have worked extremely well and helped me recover overdue fees of £2,084, £1,800 & £1,200 respectively. It is great to find a solution to this problem that is cost-effective and I've had no problems at all with the service.
Dave Reed, Finance Manager, BS Initiative
I've used the service twice and it has helped to secure invoice payment, so I am very happy with it. The system is also very easy to use.
Joanna Lovell, Administrator, Uprise Print.
Unlike some other debt recovery firms, this service caters for small businesses wanting to chase lower value invoices at occasional times of the year. As my time is at a premium, I want to be able to do this easily and Debt Guard is a very effective way to improve my cash flow.


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How One Advisor Gave a Student the Confidence to Network His Way Into an International Bank
November 3, 2016
When Nisarg Shah first began looking for jobs, he wasn't sure whether his background would land him the career that he wanted. Nisarg knew that his undergraduate degree in engineering and banking experience in India gave him a unique, analytical edge, but he wasn't sure if he could easily break into consulting and business strategy in Canada. After some initial unsuccessful efforts to land a job, Nisarg found his confidence waning, and thought perhaps his engineering background—and status as an international exchange student—might be to blame.
As he finished his MBA at Ryerson University in 2015, Nisarg was referred to The Career Advisor Platform by the school's career team. There, he first met his advisor Andrew Witzke, formerly a senior analyst at A.T. Kearney. Instead of settling only for a phone call, Andrew suggested that he and Nisarg meet up for coffee in person, where they discussed how to approach and apply for the types of jobs that Nisarg was most interested in.
"That really set me on the right path," said Nisarg. "Andrew was really straightforward."
"…you will find jobs, but this isn't the right time. Be persistent."
Andrew explained to Nisarg that, though the job market was difficult at the time, Nisarg still had an excellent resume and solid experience, and would simply need to make sure that he talked to more people in the industry to gain the contacts necessary to break in. Furthermore, he reassured Nisarg that his exchange student status was actually a benefit, rather than a drawback, given that many companies were looking to recruit diverse thinkers. Nisarg remembers that Andrew told him, "You will absolutely fit into these roles, and you will find jobs, but this isn't the right time. Be persistent."
This advice was a game-changer for Nisarg, who noted that in his own culture, something as simple as reaching out via LinkedIn and inviting an industry player to coffee would be frowned upon. Breaking through that internal barrier helped Nisarg gain access to a novel tool of connecting and networking—buoyed by the added confidence Andrew had given him by assuring him his resume was strong. Timing, emphasized Andrew, was more to blame than Nisarg's unique background.
Andrew himself first heard about The Career Advisor Platform when Queen's University, his alma mater, reached out to him to ask if he'd be an advisor for students on their platform. "I thought it was a great initiative, primarily because it formalized what was already happening informally," explained Andrew. He said that with every advisee, he tries to focus on building out a specific plan that helps them understand the flow of recruiting and how to use their time most effectively.
Nisarg, Andrew says, was already an advanced candidate with an impressive resume. He viewed his key value as an advisor as his ability to explain the nebulous, often mysterious industry of consulting to Nisarg, who had had little experience thus far in such an industry. "I love the platform," Andrew said. "I think it's very valuable. I frankly wish that I had it."
"It's not about getting the job. It's about getting the perspective on the job market."
Now, Nisarg works as a business analyst for Scotiabank, where he also serves as a project and program manager for some of their retail projects, using his aptitude for numbers and analysis in the industry he had always hoped to break into. For that, The Career Advisor Platform has been key.
"It's not about getting the job," Nisarg emphasized. "It's about getting the perspective on the job market. Those little things make a lot of difference."
About the Career Advisor Platform
The Career Advisor Platform at Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management connects students with industry experts for one-on-one career advice, mock interviews, and resume critiques.


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Raptor Center
Partners for Tourism
The castle is located directly on the Burgenstrasse and the Neckarsteig, the Neckar Valley cycle path is in sight and the Neckar also offers sporty to comfortable transport possibilities. For every speed and for every distance, our region offers varied possibilities for planning your leisure activities from here. We have put together a small selection for you here:
The Burgenstrasse
Explore the neighbouring castles and palaces, it's worth it! Our tour suggestion connects 12 of our neighbouring castles and palaces with us over a distance of about 100 kilometres.
Burgenstraße between Mosbach and Heilbronn
Hiking Trail Neckarsteig
Hiking on the Neckarsteig in the Neckar valley is a real insider tip. Those who walk the 128 km from Heidelberg to Bad Wimpfen will experience pure nature. And passes right through the castle!
Neckar Valley-Bike Trail
Guttenberg Castle is one of the highlights of the 366 km long Neckar valley-bike trail . The castle can be reached on the charming > stage from Gundelsheim to Mosbach.
Rad Routenplaner BW
Information Portals of The Region
The tourism communities Odenwald and Kurpfalz, as well as Heilbronner Land, offer on their homepages detailed information to further offers of the region.
Heilbronner Land
WaldNetzWerk e.V
The association
WaldNetzWerk e.V.
offers extracurricular educational programs with attractive activities in forest and nature for children and adults, for individuals and groups.
Kaiserpfalz Wimpfen
Bad Wimpfen is dominated by the historic old town. The Middle Ages come to life again at city tours, children's programs or in the museums of the largest imperial palace north of the Alps.
Bad Wimpfen
Sole-Heilbad Bad Rappenau
Let your body, soul, and mind relax in the saltwater spa in Bad Rappenau.
Sole-Heilbad Bad Rappenau
Boat Trips
The Haßmersheimer ferryman Bernd Raudenbusch brings you with his lovingly converted excursion boat "Patriot" directly to the pier Neckarmühlbach.
Boat Trips
Chateaux and Gardens BW
Discover over 110 known as well as unknown state and private residences, castles, monasteries, pleasure palaces, gardens and parks of the Baden Württemberg regio.
Schlösser Burgen Gärten Baden-Württemberg e.V.
Langenburg Castle
The highlights of the fairytale castle grounds include special tours of castle and car museum and the princely garden days.
Langenburg Castle
Götzenburg Jagsthausen
The Castle hotel Götzenburg, headquarters of the knight Götz of Berlichingen is, every year as part of the Castle Festival venue of world literature.
Götzenburg Jagsthausen
Crow River Tipi Camp
The Indian village lies wildly romantic on the banks of the Neckar in Haßmersheim and offers outdoor adventures with canoe rental or organised canoe tours and archery.
Indian village
Canoe and Bike Tours
Medieval castles and picturesque city silhouettes make the canoe tours on the Neckar so particularly appealing. Tours from 2 hours with destination Neckarmühlbach.
Contact us
Burg Guttenberg
Burgstraße 1
74855 Haßmersheim
+49 (0) 6266- 388
Individual Offer
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© Burg Guttenberg 2017-2019
2778170 visits since April 14, 2019. Ca 5805/day.


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Theme of the Week is a post where we ask readers like you to comment with ideas for a particular theme. What ideas and suggestions do you have? What game, craft, apparel choice, theme meal, evening activity, special event, song, skit, or anything else would you do at camp if your theme was…
Myths and Legends
Below are five suggestions. Got a suggestion? Leave it in the comments area below.
- Have Merlin do a magic show as though he is performing for King Arthur. Hire a magician if you don't have a person on staff that can do some magic.
- Have cabins choose a Greek god as their "mascot". They can dress their counselor up as that god. Have them make signs like, "This is the cabin of Apollo." Have the "gods" compete in a celestial Olympic Games.
- During crafts campers can use modeling clay to create their own mythical creature. They can paint it as well. Personally, I would like to see a dragon/unicorn hybrid.
- Hold a game of flash light tag or capture the flag and the teams can be vampires vs. werewolves.
- Have scripts for campers or staff to act out that are based on Greek mythology, Indian folklore or even fables like Jack and the Beanstalk or The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs.


text: Montréal, Quebec: Canadian group CGI reported fiscal 2014 first quarter revenue up 4.4% to CAN$2.64 billion. Net earnings were up 51% to $207.9 million, excluding Logica related integration costs of $22.6 million. During the quarter, the firm booked $2.8 billion in contract awards, of which 45% was new business, for a book to bill ratio of 107%. "We delivered very solid performance in the quarter as we continued to leverage our expanded global scale and capabilities to the benefit of our clients and investors," said Michael Roach, President and CEO.


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3. Sir Charles Barkley
Sir Charles Barkley is a French Bulldog from gorgeous Seattle, Washington. His mom and dad began its Instagram profile when the doggy was only a few weeks old but still residing at its breeder's home. The well-known bulldog enjoys rooting not only for Seattle teams but, in addition, for his daddy's team- namely the Chicago Bulls. Snorting, consuming, moving, spending some time with buddies or loved ones and meeting brand new friends are a few of Sir Charles Barkley's preferred activities.


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ROCHESTER — The unadjusted June 2013 unemployment rate for New Hampshire was 5.1 percent, unchanged from the May rate which remained at 5.1 percent after revision. The June 2012 unadjusted rate was 5.7 percent, according NH Employment Security.
The state's jobless rate held steady over the month, despite the labor force increasing by over 8,000 people (up to 749,550), because there were 711,290 residents holding jobs in June, a rise of almost 7,500 from May.
These numbers tie in with the separately calculated Current Employment Statistics (see below), which are a truer reflection of the state's economy.
County, town and city rates
The counties of southeastern New Hampshire recorded the following unadjusted jobless rates in June 2013: Belknap County was at 4.7 percent, Strafford County was at 5.0 percent, Carroll County posted 4.5 percent and Rockingham County stood at 5.5 percent.
The communities in the Rochester Times/Foster's Daily Democrat area posted unadjusted June jobless rates as follows: Alton — 4.3; Barrington — 4.7; Brookfield — 3.7; Dover — 4.1; Durham — 6.4; Epping — 5.7; Exeter — 5.1; Farmington — 4.7; Greenland — 4.0; Hampton — 5.3; Hampton Falls — 6.8; Kingston — 6.3; Lee — 3.9; Madbury — 4.6; Middleton — 5.6; Milton — 4.8; New Castle — 4.7; New Durham — 5.9; Newington — 4.2; Newmarket — 3.7; North Hampton — 4.8; Northwood — 4.7; Nottingham — 4.7; Ossipee — 5.8; Portsmouth — 3.9; Raymond — 5.8; Rochester — 5.7; Rollinsford — 4.2; Rye — 4.6; Seabrook — 7.4; Somersworth — 5.3; Strafford — 4.7; Wakefield — 4.5; and Wolfeboro — 4.4 percent.
National picture
The national unadjusted rate for June 2013 was 7.8 percent, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the May rate, and a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from the June 2012 rate.
New Hampshire's June performance was sufficient to elevate from 11th to the seventh best jobless rate in the United States. Top of the table are North Dakota (3.2 percent) and South Dakota (3.9 percent), while Nevada (9.9 percent and Illinois (9.8) percent are at the bottom of the heap.
Elsewhere in New England, Vermont's unadjusted rate for June was 4.8 percent, Maine was at 6.8 percent, Massachusetts posted 7.4 percent, Connecticut's rate was 8.2 percent and Rhode Island's rate was 8.5 percent (which is two percentage points better than the start of 2013).
On July 26, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued its Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization for States for the 12 month period ended June 30, 2013.
All of the jobless percentages given above are known as U-3 rates, which do not take into account so-call "discouraged workers" or people working part-time, who would like a full-time job.
The U-6 rates are released every three months, and measure total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.
The average U-3 (official) unemployment rate for NH over the 12 months ended June 30 was 5.5 percent, while the U-6 rate, which is a fuller assessment of the economic situation, was 11.1 percent. The rates for the United States were 7.6 (U-3) and 14.3 (U-6).
The BLS site notes: Persons marginally attached to the labor force are those who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for work. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Survey of employers
New Hampshire's Current Employment Statistics for June have also been made available, these being derived from a survey of employers across the state, rather than from household surveys, which are the source of the figures above.
In June, there were an estimated 652,100 jobs in New Hampshire, which is up 10,500 over June 2012. The June number is also 9,700 up over the month, and an indication that some summer jobs are being created this year.
The private sector added 14,400 over the month and 10,200 over the year, while the public sector (as education facilities wind down for the summer) lost 4,700 jobs over the month (which will be picked up again in September) and gained 300 over the year.
The Construction sector, in June, employed 24,800 people, up 700 over the month and up 1,600 over the year.
Manufacturing, with 66,500 jobs is up 800 jobs over the month, and up 100 over the year.
Retail, with 96,500 employees, is up 2,200 over the month, as is seasonally expected and up 1,000 over the year.
Health Care and Social Services, back on a growth track, had 87,300 employees in June, which is up 500 over the month and up 1,300 over the year.
Leisure and Hospitality, which always tacks on jobs as summer approaches, has leapt upward. It now has 74,500 workers (more than manufacturing). This is up 8,200 over the month and up 3,800 over the year.
Government jobs are divided into federal, state and local subcategories. There are now 7,300 federal jobs, up 100 over the month and down 100 over the year.
In June, there were 22,800 state jobs, including those in education, where the drop is located. This number is down 3,000 over the month, but up 700 from a year ago.
In June there were 59,300 local government jobs (including teachers), which is down 1,800 over the month, and down 300 over the year, with the monthly loss attributed to a shrinking of educational services.
To view a full table of Current Employment Statistics job sector data, visit www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/statistics/ces-data.htm and click on June 2013 Not Seasonally Adjusted "Over-the-Month."


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Diseases Home > Raynaud's Self-Help Strategies
Doctors typically recommend measures that patients can do themselves when dealing with Raynaud's. Self-help strategies that can be used to help treat or avoid Raynaud's attacks include: taking action during an attack, keeping warn, and learning to control stress. By learning these and other Raynaud's self-help strategies, you can better control the situation during an attack and avoid potential complications.
Several non-drug treatments and self-help measures can decrease the severity of Raynaud's attacks and promote overall well-being. These Raynaud's self-help strategies include:
- Taking action during an attack
- Keeping warm
- Controlling stress
- Not smoking
- Exercising regularly
- Seeing a doctor if questions or concerns arise.
Take Action
An attack should not be ignored. Its length and severity can be lessened by a few simple actions. The first and most important action is to warm the hands or feet. In cold weather, people should go indoors. Running warm water over the fingers or toes or soaking them in a bowl of warm water will warm them. Taking time to relax will further help to end the attack. If a stressful situation triggers the attack, a person can help stop the attack by getting out of the stressful situation and relaxing. People who are trained in biofeedback can use this technique, along with warming the hands or feet in water, to help lessen the attack.


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I wrote last week of the destruction wrought by the West, to itself too, by its cynical support for terrorists when it sees them as helpful. But while I deplore what it did to Sri Lanka, we in Sri Lanka must also recognize that we contributed to the disasters that have overwhelmed us in the international sphere, beginning with the hunting down of this country in March 2012. It is simply the frosting on the Western cake that now our own Foreign Ministry is supporting this vendetta.
But while the Clintons and Millibands and sadly the Camerons of this world are guilty of double standards, reinforced by the hound dog mentality of Rice and Power and Donohue and Sisson and Chilcott and now Dauris, we must also recognize that much of the running is done by idealists with no capacity to sift evidence. The latest report emanating from Australia with regard to General Gallage is typical of how myths become entrenched in stone if not immediately exploded.
I can understand Dayan Jayatilleka's current admiration for Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and I share his view that he is perhaps the most competent and least selfish of those who ran things under the last government. But there were weaknesses, which as Dayan noted both he and I drew attention to.
In this context I should note that, while I stand by what we wrote about Weliveriya, the aftermath raised my admiration and affection for Gotabhaya. Unlike others in government who undermined me behind my back, Gotabhaya was direct, and called me up and shouted at me. And what he stressed was not so much the content of what we had written – he agreed that there needed to be an inquiry into what had happened – but the fact that I had signed a petition along with enemies of the government.I thought he was referring to Dayan, and refuted this, but later I realized that he was probably referring to Mr Weliamuna. I had indeed wondered when Tamara told me that Weliamuna had signed the petition, since I knew that he was hostile to the government – unlike I think all others who had been solidly behind it with regard to the victory over terrorism – but at the time I did not know that Weliamuna was not the principled advocate of transparency he pretended to be.
Gotabhaya shouting at me was unusual though, for he tended usually to clam up when he was irritated. Where he should have confronted unfair opposition direct, he tended to ignore it, perhaps thinking that there was no point in dealing with those who were prejudiced. But this was a mistake, and he should rather have drawn attention to egregious and unfair interference, as in the case of the American Political Officer, Paul Carter, who tried to suborn army officers. Indeed this might have helped the then Ambassador Patricia Butenis since, though she too was intent on the Clinton agenda, she was basically decent and had marked differences with Carter.
Saddest of Gotabhaya's lapses was the fact that he did not respond to the Darusman report. After that report was issued, both he and Basil published accounts of what had happened during the conflict, but they did not address allegations head on. I told him this, when I was called in at the end to advise on the book his staff had produced, but his response was that that was not his business. When I told him that it had to be done, he told me that that would be done by the Chief of Defence Staff, but when I checked with Roshan Gunatilleke I found that he had had no clear instructions and no resources.
It was left to me then to engage in detailed refutation, but of all government officials only Nivard Cabraal was interested. The Foreign Ministry, in thrall by then to those who were working to a Western agenda, ignored the book. Now, five years later, Sarath Weerasekera and his associates have also done their best, but this will have no impact since the panjandrums in Geneva happily ignore, with regard to what they dislike, what has no official status.
With Mangala's doctrine of guilt and breast beating dominating our official pronouncements now, there is no hope unless the President gets his act together. But it is sad that a government that believed in what its forces achieved did nothing then to deceive them. And, as Dayan pointed out recently, it is more than sad that, after he had shown during two very tough years how to deal with unfair criticism, he was replaced summarily, and Sri Lanka was placed 'under the stellar leadership of Mohan Pieris, who had unmasked himself as a pompous stooge and woefully inadequate for the task, and Sajin Vaas Gunawardena, the Rajapaksa nuclear family's poster boy of "Thug Diplomacy".
What drove Mahinda Rajapaksa to such madness? One problem is that, despite his brilliant leadership in adversity, he is easily swayed by hangers on. Indeed, there had been a problem even earlier, in that Dayan was told to come home in March, the President having given in to the demands of the Foreign Minister. Dayan, it should be noted, had not helped matters by making clear his contempt for Rohitha Bogollagama, and indeed also belittling the Secretary, Palitha Kohona, who did nothing to defend him (though when Dayan was sacked in July, Palitha, though he did not stand up for him, refused to sign the letter).
Saddest of all, no one else except for me stood up for Dayan, nor even contacted him after his dismissal. I told both Mohan Pieris and Mahinda Samarasinghe that they should, but they avoided him like the plague. It was indeed only Mahinda Rajapaksa who, having perhaps realized he had blundered, took Dayan with him to Vietnam at the end of that year, and famously told him, after Dayan noted that he had been avoided, that that was understandable after the way he had been treated. Dayan cited that as an example of Mahinda's charm, making it clear, though ultimately he was responsible for the sacking, that it was others who had precipitated it.
So for five long years we were defenceless before the world, the running being left to Kshenuka whose allegiances and predilections were with the West, as Tamara found when she discovered concealed correspondence between Kshenuka and the American representative in Geneva Eileen Donohue. Tamara promptly informed the President who got her down to Colombo, but she was then bullied by GL and Sajin who tried to stop her seeing the President.
On that occasion she saw him, got clear instructions, and worked swiftly in Geneva so that the Canadians, being used as cat's paw by the Americans, had to back down. But Eileen told her that they would get us next time, and so it proved, with much help from their friends in Colombo. Tamara was completely sidelined, GL after he had served his turn by putting Kshenuka and Sajin in charge was also sidelined, and as Dayan put it we lost, disgracefully (though not by as large a majority as the West had lost by when Dayan held the fort).
I think Mahinda dimly understood what was going on, for three times, once in September the previous year and twice in March he asked me to go to Geneva. Earlier, after the Darusman report came out and Mahinda Samarasinghe was called back to the mast and said he wanted to put together the old team again, I told him that was not possible with Dayan not there, and refused to go with him to Geneva though I said I would help him as possible in Colombo. Having then also refused the President twice, I was told that I should be more gracious, so I did go in March 2012 and found such a shambles that I was glad I had arranged to leave early, before the vote.
Earlier, at the beginning of 2011, I had been instrumental in getting Dayan back into service, when I suggested to the President that he send him either to London or New York. That Mahinda was unwilling to do, but he told me he would appoint Dayan immediately to either Brussels or Paris, and – to my disappointment since I thought Brussels would give me a wider range – he chose Paris. But he was subject to relentless persecution by Sajin and Kshenuka, while G L, for whom he had previously had a high regard, using him on occasion in Geneva, did nothing to support him.
After the March 2012 disaster, those arguing for subservience to the West had Tamara dismissed – even though real friends of Sri Lanka, such as Lord Naseby, had made it clear that she was the only bright spot in the dismal performance we put up. And, as Dayan notes, 'The Rajapaksa administration did not have the common sense to send me back in to Geneva to reverse the situation after the 2012 defeat, though I had finished my stint in France by January 2013 and could easily have been deployed in the Geneva arena. The resulting "deluge" continues to this day, sinking Sri Lanka deeper by the UNHRC session.'
Can we recover? Of course, but that will need swift action by the President. Unless he has indeed decided that he had better abandon SLFP principles, he must realize from the list of those who sponsored the resolution that Mr and Mrs Bandaranaike must be turning over in their graves. All 27 members of the European Union are there, this being one Western way of raising numbers even though we know that they work in terms of uniform foreign policy. Then there are four more long established European countries and another four hived off from Yugoslavia. Two former communist countries now firmly in the Western orbit, Albania and Georgia, are also there, plus seven which are unquestionably Western in orientation, though two are in the antipodes, two in East Asia (Japan and Korea) and Israel, conveniently created in the Middle East when the UN was even more obviously run by the West.
Only the Ivory Coast and Indonesia are there from the areas on which the Bandaranaikes based our foreign policy. I suspect the President, our first leader to visit Russia since Mrs Bandaranaike, knows what is going on. Whether he will have the courage to act however is another question. Sensibly he took Mahinda Samarasinghe with him, and though there are those who think Sarath Amunugama would be safer, I think Mahinda's work in Geneva before the deluge shows that he knows how to work things, to do what he can and find able people to do what he needs support for.
Dayan has shown himself willing to let bygones be bygones, in that I suspect that, whereas Mahinda only ignored him after he was sacked, Gotabhaya was amongst those who thought his removal a good thing in 2009 – Dayan had warned him about excessive reliance on Israel and the Israelis who certainly had much influence with Gotabhaya then were deeply opposed to Dayan.
But all three of them, whatever their differences might be, will want to serve Sri Lanka than alien agendas, so I hope the President moves swiftly to arrest the current especially egregious March of Folly.
Ceylon Today 28 March 2017 – http://www.ceylontoday.lk/print20170101CT20170331.php?id=18035


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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
It has been a long week of voting on the House floor. As I mentioned in my last e-mail, you can watch House debate live on TVW at www.tvw.org. We will be working late into the evenings and weekends.
This e-mail update is focused on transportation. You have probably read about the majority party's tax package. I hope you have also read about the needed reforms I, and other representatives, believe should be enacted before we even begin discussing an increase in gas and other taxes.
The House majority party recently proposed a $10 billion transportation tax package, which includes the following:
- 10-cent gas tax increase phased in over five years that would increase the gas tax to 47.5 cents per gallon (doubled since 2003);
- An additional tax that would likely add 2-3 cents per gallon;
- Reinstating the motor vehicle excise tax that voters abolished by an overwhelming majority;
- A county auditor/state fee increase of $5 and $12 for title transfer;
- A new tax on bikes of $25 for bikes valued at $500 or more; and
- A 15 percent weight fee increase on truckers that will increase the cost of goods.
I cannot support their proposal. Before we ask more from taxpayers, who are struggling just to make ends meet as it is, surely we need to first take action to stop the waste at the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). Just this week we learned of design errors by WSDOT on the pontoons for the 520-bridge in Seattle that will cost taxpayers, brace yourself, $100 million. That's an inexcusable amount of waste.
In our own area, WSDOT poorly designed a Highway 16 off-ramp over Nalley Valley that resulted in a hit to the taxpayers of $1 million. Here are my proposals to try to address this critical problem:
- House Bill 1986 – This bill requires WSDOT to report engineering errors and explain what went wrong, how they plan to correct the error so it doesn't happen again, and the disciplinary action taken against those responsible for wasting the taxpayers' money.
- House Bill 1987– This bill would end WSDOT's role of designing most roads and bridges and contract out the function to ensure that if errors occur, we can hold the outside contractor responsible for unnecessary costs.
I sponsored House Bill 1986 because we need more accountability to help WSDOT stop wasting taxpayers' hard-earned money. And, I sponsored House Bill 1987 because the best fix would be to require WSDOT to stop doing design work on most projects altogether and shift the risk of design errors to outside contractors so we can recover costs from the contractor instead of the taxpayer. You can watch my video update on these transportation reforms here.
What's next with the transportation budget, taxes?
The next step is for the transportation budget and the majority party's tax package to come to the House floor for debate and a vote. However, I hope that we instead bring my reform proposals, and other smart reforms like them, to the floor and pass them before new and higher taxes are considered.
I believe there is strong bipartisan support for our reform measures. I hope we can advance them so we can fund our critical transportation infrastructure in a way that moves people to work and goods to market efficiently.
Your input is needed…
Now is the time I need to hear from you about the proposed gas, excise and other tax increases to pay for transportation projects and the reforms to make our transportation dollars go much further. I encourage you to take my survey by clicking on the link above, but you can also access it here. Please call or e-mail me with your thoughts. My contact information is below.
Steve O'Ban
28th Legislative District
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web site: www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/oban
424 John L. O'Brien Building – P.O. Box 40600 | Olympia, WA 98504-0600
(360) 786-7890 or Toll-free: (800) 562-6000


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"The Call of Duty Endowment has exceeded expectations and continues to benefit the lives of veterans and their families, significantly giving back to those who sacrificed for others," said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard and co-founder of the Endowment. "With U.S. and U.K. veteran unemployment and underemployment challenges persisting, I am thrilled to continue our efforts with an ambitious goal of securing employment for 100,000 veterans by 2024."
When the Call of Duty Endowment was established in 2009, its initial goal was to identify and fund best-in-class organizations to place 25,000 U.S. veterans in jobs by the end of 2018. That goal was met two years early, and was subsequently revised to place 50,000 veterans into high-quality jobs by 2019.
"The Call of Duty Endowment is making a remarkable impact in the lives of our veterans," said General James L. Jones (USMC, Ret.), Co-Chairman of the Endowment. "High-quality, meaningful employment is imperative to their successful transition back to civilian life and the Endowment's focus on these efforts is unmatched."
To help place veterans in high-quality jobs, the Endowment works with carefully vetted, high-performing veteran employment organizations through its prestigious Seal of Distinction program in partnership with Deloitte. The Seal of Distinction program bestows awards annually to the highest performing non-profits that meet the Endowment's benchmarks in effectiveness, efficiency, and integrity in placing veterans in high-quality jobs. In 2017, the Endowment expanded its reach overseas, identifying and forging partnerships with a select group of U.K.-based veteran's charities.
"Placing fifty thousand veterans in meaningful jobs is significant—that's the equivalent of more than half the U.S. Army's annual recruit class. By finding and funding world-class organizations and with the unwavering support of Activision Blizzard, we were able to reach our goal ahead of schedule," said Dan Goldenberg, executive director of the Endowment. "Our approach is to marry common sense business practices with philanthropy, which enables us to place vets in jobs at about 1/6 the cost per placement of U.S. Department of Labor efforts. We are proud of, and share this achievement with, all of our grantees who have worked tirelessly towards our shared goal."
To date, the Endowment has awarded more than $28 million in grants to Seal of Distinction recipients, and Activision Blizzard has donated over $31 million to the Endowment—at an average cost-per-placement of $505, year-to-date. In addition to providing funding to leading veterans' employment organizations, the Endowment partners with its grantees to provide advice and support aimed at helping them sharpen their already top-notch operations.


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Information Integration for Advanced Travel Information Systems
ATIS (Advanced Travel Information Systems) are complex systems, dealing with a large amount of heterogeneous data from various sources. The exchange and integration of such data is therefore demanding, particularly for small mobility service providers with few IT (Information Technology) resources. To face this problem, this work illustrates an IT infrastructure to support information and service integration. On a conceptual level, this paper presented a travel information system architecture and respective information flows between components, e.g., intermodal routing, pricing and accounting. As realization, the authors developed and tested a communication adapter that enables and eases information exchange between the ATIS and heterogeneous second party service providers, e.g., carsharing operators. Furthermore, it developed a method of extending traditional public transportation routing using the exchanged information about sharing services. This enables travelers to query intermodal itinerary information combining public transport, bikesharing as well as carsharing services using a single application. The overall system was tested in a three-month testing phase. Initial results are promising.
Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering 4 (4): 177-185. DOI: 10.17265/2328-2142/2016.04.001.
- Markus Beutel
- Sevket Gökay
- Wolfgang Kluth
- Karl-Heinz Krempels
- Fabian Ohler
- Christian Samsel
- Christoph Terwelp
- Maximilian Wiederhold
Published in
Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering , issue 4 , volume 4 , p. 177-185 .


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IRS v. Coinbase: Some Bitcoin Traders May Have Reason to Worry
Simply exchanging or trading bitcoins does not necessarily mean you owe additional incomes taxes. But, like with trading any real currency, stock or commodity, or selling any property, if you earned gains from bitcoin, you have to report that as income to the Internal Revenue Service.
And then there is the outright mining of virtual currencies, which can produce profits or losses (the value of the cryptocurrency mined versus the cost of mining equipment, utilities to keep the equipment running, and so on.)
Now comes the possible moment of reckoning for bitcoin traders or miners: A federal district court has ordered that San Francisco-based Coinbase, the largest U.S. exchange for bitcoin and other virtual currencies, should turn over its customer account information to the government for the years 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Many bitcoin and other digital currency users are concerned that the IRS will get their account information from Coinbase. And the result might be audits to see if incomes gains were properly reported to the IRS.
Nonetheless, bitcoin traders have time to put their financials in order if they need to. Coinbase said it is committed to customer privacy and will oppose the government's efforts to obtain its customer account information. Coinbase and the IRS may eventually reach a settlement, with the government more tightly defining the category of users or a threshold for the amount or value of transactions that the agency is seeking. Although, the IRS will not reveal those specifics if a deal is reached.
If you had a Coinbase account in 2013, 2014 and 2015 and you reported your bitcoin income, you have nothing to worry about. If you did not report the income from your Coinbase transactions, you may have a problem.
Daniel Winters, the owner of Global Tax Accountants and a specialist in bitcoin and cryptocurrency taxation, writes for CoinDesk that you should consider filing an amended return.
"To avoid this situation, you may want to consider filing amended tax returns to report any bitcoin income which was not previously reported," Winters says. "You should contact your tax advisor if you want to discuss your individual circumstances."


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An Introduction to Treatment of OCD
Prior to the late 1960s, OCD was generally considered unresponsive to a range of conventional therapies. Traditional talk therapy based on psychoanalytic principles was rarely successful in reducing the severity of obsessions or compulsions. Understanding and working through the symbolic meaning of obsessions may have enhanced some patients' understanding of the workings of their minds, but it proved insufficient in turning the tide of obsessive-compulsive behavior. The success rate with a range of different medications was just as disappointing.
Two developments mark the beginning of the modern era in the treatment for OCD. First, the British psychologist Victor Meyer reported in 1966 that two cases of OCD had responded to a behavior therapy technique later referred to as exposure and response prevention. Behavior therapy attempts to modify maladaptive behaviors by employing strategies that focus on the present.
Second, several European psychiatrists reported in the late 1960s and early 1970s that a medication called clomipramine was effective in a series of cases of OCD. In a number of subsequent studies conducted around the globe, behavior therapy and serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs), of which clomipramine is an early example, have each been established as effective treatments for OCD. The most broadly effective treatment for OCD appears to be a combination of an SRI and behavior therapy.
Since it was first introduced for OCD, exposure and response prevention has undergone considerable refinement by several noted behavior therapists, including the English psychiatrist Isaac Marks, and by the psychologist Edna Foa, now at the University of Pennsylvania.
Exposure consists of confronting the patient with situations that evoke obsessional distress; response prevention consists of instruction to abstain from compulsive rituals, sometimes supervised by significant others or clinical staff. The aim is simple enough: to teach patients with OCD that they can master anxiety provoked by obsessions without performing rituals. They learn through repeated exposure that the obsessions eventually will disappear.
The successful application of these techniques requires the skills of an expert therapist and the full commitment of the patient. At least 10 to 20 hours of treatment and practice are required to achieve a favorable outcome. Success rates as high as 80 percent have been documented. However, behavior therapy may not be suited for everyone. OCD patients with depression, obsessions alone, or who are nearly convinced that their fears are valid, seem to do less well with behavior therapy alone.
Unfortunately, not everyone responds to treatment for OCD. Despite recent advances in behavior and medication treatment, about one-third of people with OCD fail to experience improvement. This underscores the need for ongoing research into the causes of OCD so that new and better treatments can be developed.
There is reason to be optimistic about the future. Interest in OCD has exploded and we seem to learn more about it every day. The first step is to recognize that you or your loved one may have OCD and that help may be just around the corner.


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We don't wanna make a big song and dance about it (we'll save that for our classes), but it's a pretty great place to work too. Whether you're a personal trainer or running the whole gym, we'll provide a friendly, place where you can learn and improve that is flexible to your needs. It's not all bean bags and massages though, we push everyone to challenge their limits (sometimes further than they think they can go), because it's how you'll get the most out of your body or your career.
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These are superb.
Street Photography NY
42 thoughts on "Street Photography NY"
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The Aviator (2004 film)
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|The Aviator
Theatrical release poster
|Directit bi
|Martin Scorsese
|Produced bi
|Michael Mann
Sandy Climan
Graham King
Charles Evans, Jr.
|Written bi
|John Logan
|Leonardo DiCaprio
Cate Blanchett
Kate Beckinsale
John C. Reilly
Alec Baldwin
Alan Alda
Jude Law
|Muisic bi
|Howard Shore
|Robert Richardson
|Eeditit bi
|Thelma Schoonmaker
Forward Pass
Appian Way
Initial Entertainment Group
|Distributit bi
|Warner Bros. Pictures
Miramax Films
Release date
Rinnin time
|170 minutes
|Unitit States
|$110 million
|Box office
|$213.7 million[1]
The Aviator is a 2004 American biographical drama film directit bi Martin Scorsese, written bi John Logan. It starns Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn an Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner. The supportin cast featurs Ian Holm, John C. Reilly, Alec Baldwin, Jude Law as Errol Flynn, Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, Kelli Garner as Faith Domergue, Willem Dafoe, Alan Alda, an Edward Herrmann.
References[eedit | eedit soorce]
- ↑ "The Aviator (2004)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- 2004 films
- Inglis-leid films
- 2000s drama films
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- American aviation films
- American biografical films
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- Biographical films aboot businessfowk
- Film scores bi Howard Shore
- Films aboot filmmakkin
- Films aboot aviators
- Films based on biografies
- Films directit bi Martin Scorsese
- Films featurin a Best Drama Actor Gowden Globe winnin performance
- Films featurin a Best Supportin Actress Academy Awaird-winnin performance
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- Howard Hughes
- Miramax films
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- Obsessive–compulsive disorder in fiction
- Screenplays bi John Logan
- Warner Bros. films
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Farewell to Tarwathie
Listen – the lyrics laud
Iceclad coasts, land
Barren and bare, no bird
To sing to the whale.
Celebrating sea sojourns
Ships well rigged, heavy with supplies
Comrades hunting to battle
Water, waves, the whale
Listen – the singers' voices recall
Our great grandfathers' craves
For adventure, for riches
For the love of their lass on return
Rewrite – we laud the lyrics but
Yearn to cut free the carcass
From the blubber of history's burden
To reveal the bones of awe.
Petra Vergunst
Petra writes: "The poem is inspired by the whaling exhibition in the Arbuthnott Museum in Peterhead - the town from where a hundred years ago whaling vessels used to depart. The poem refers to the folksong Farewell to Tarwathie. I have written it as part of my project Sharing at the Shoreline (see http://www.musicforcommunities.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/sharing-at-shoreli...). My general blog address is www.musicforcommunities.blogspot.com."
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All poems from our Poetry Map of Scotland are subject to copyright and should not be reproduced otherwise without the poet's permission.


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The reception desk images to the left are just some we have built. Using Pinterest below, we show you a collection of more custom reception areas that can be achieved.


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Rebecca Cox wrote: > I was discussing markup for abbreviations and acronyms the other day and it was suggested that it might be useful to add in a full stop between each letter, where the term should be pronounced letter by letter rather than phonetically, so as to force screen readers to do so. > > For example <acronym>B.B.C</acronym> for BBC. Purely from gut feeling I'd say that no, you shouldn't put those extra full stops in there, as it's the screen reader's responsibility to read out the acronym correctly. You're already giving enough of a hint by wrapping it in the correct element. Otherwise we end up coding to the whims of specific user agents again... (Of course, this is the purist/elitist in me speaking. If you find that a large percentage of your current visitors are indeed having major problems understanding your pages because their screen readers are mistakenly trying to pronounce an acronym that should be spelled out, then it may well be a necessary evil to sully your writing style). -- Patrick H. Lauke __________________________________________________________ re·dux (adj.): brought back; returned. used postpositively [latin : re-, re- + dux, leader; see duke.] www.splintered.co.uk | www.photographia.co.uk http://redux.deviantart.com __________________________________________________________ Web Standards Project (WaSP) Accessibility Task Force http://webstandards.org/ __________________________________________________________Received on Monday, 10 October 2005 01:46:54 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Friday, 17 January 2020 20:36:26 UTC


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Amir Noorbakhsh
Purpose - The main purpose of this study is developing an appropriate and coherent objectives and strategies for the development and the production of the cement industry.
Design/methodology/approach - This research is focused on the significant trends that surely effect on the economic structure of the cement industry. In this regards, subjects such as the available technology, the rehabilitation, the management, the manpower resources and the decision making process have studied. In fact the cement industry plays a very important role in the economic and the social development. Therefore determining the appropriate strategic for cement industries is also so important.
Findings - In this study, a model which generates the strategies has been developed for the cement industry. It is also applicable for every sector of industries. The main problems in this planning which should to be paid attention are the role of each cement plants as an element and the role of factories generally. After developing the strategies, a list of operational plan is generated for each strategy.
Originality/value - Development can not be achieved outside the scope of planning, so new methods and strategies should adopted for managers. The originality of this article is to study and develop the goals and strategies of the cement industry.
Keywords - Strategic planning, The cement industry, Aims of the cement industry
Paper type – Research paper
- Introduction:
According to national and regional crises that have occurred during recent years, the necessity of government intervention and the use of national support have been realized to the form of macro programming. Development is achieved only in the context of planning, so this study adopts ways that managers have what program and what are their strategies, to present the more awareness as far as possible. The strategic plan is a response to the long-term effective planning and implementation of the strategies. Unlike conventional methods, this kind of planning In addition to internal factors has considered external factors and environmental deals. Therefore, it can be a tool to determine the future activities. Changes of environmental conditions is including such as the oil crisis, economic and social changes, political and so on.
Programs with strategic thinking designed for the final profit organizations and authors who presented a model of strategic planning focus on a company individually. Those companies, in formulating and evaluating strategic plans within available resources, strengths and weaknesses and environmental factors have led to the development of the company in connection with the planning branch of industry is not paying enough attention. Strategic planning is organized effort and systematic to make fundamental decisions and basic actions that these form the company and the interactions of an organization with other institutions in the legal framework (Plan and Budget Organization,1999 and E. Lawrence, 1999). A strategic plan has seven identified elements (Iran Data Processing Company, 1997 and George A. et. al. 1999):
- The mission of the organization (determining what?)
- The strategic Analysis (determining why?)
- The strategy (determining to which direction?)
- The long-term goals (defining when and how?)
- The Integrated programs (determining when and how?)
- The financial forecasts (determining the estimated financial the above elements)
- The executive Summary (determining the above elements)
Production is the most important element of any economic system. In other words, the production functions form the contents of each economic system. Thus, first of all it is necessary to investigate the production element of the system for measuring the accuracy of the economic system. Because the production of useful goods or services in addition to the above-mentioned vehicles and equipment require planning as well (P. Forbes, 1999).
In this study is that with the support and experience of existing, well-organized and organized efforts to help the cement industry professionals to take decisions and measures taken fundamental, presents a picture of the country's cement industry to identify new strategies and helps the industry in identifying strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats. In this research, the performances in key areas such as production, consumption, foreign trade, and other economic indicators were evaluated on the basis of its analysis of the factors could be identified. Therefore, this paper presents a clear picture of the problems and bottlenecks in the cement industry.
The overall purpose of this research is developing an appropriate and coherent objectives and strategies for the development of the cement industry. So the lack of strategies corresponding to the new environment of plants can develop major problems in the cement industry and makes its development risky. Development can not be achieved outside the scope of planning, so new methods and strategies should adopted for managers. The aim of this article is to study and develop the goals and strategies of the industry.
- Research methodology
In this study informations about the production and consumption of cement in the world and the raw materials used in cement production and how cement has produced from it have presented using books, magazines and websites, and then, the performance of the cement industry (past and present performance of key variables such as production, consumption, foreign trade, exchange and Price) will be evaluated using the information of both the cement and its process and the planning and strategic management, and some problems, limitations and strengths and weaknesses of the industry will be found using the current situation. New strategies of the industry will be to identified using proposed methodology, and opportunities and threats that the cement industry has faced will be determined. Finally, the results of this study in terms of concepts, the evaluation of the views of experts in the cement industry, understanding of the internal and the external industry environment, followed by the statistical analysis and the proposed methodology and the proposed strategy will be discussed extensively.
- The mission of cement industry:
The missions and purposes of the cement industry explain the concept of this industry. The mission of an industry must have the following characteristics (Hamidizadeh, MR., 2002; Sheikh Abu Masood, A., 2003 and Shani, M., 2004):
- Long-term
- Permanent
- Should be a result of shared values and beliefs.
- Should not be only a quantitative mission, but should also be have a qualitative value.
- should not be limited to the industery itself, but also should have a consideration for the fields outside that specific industry.
- should have been defined specifically for that industry.
Therefore, taking into consideration the genral purposes of the industry and identifying the internal and external factors, one can suggest the following missions and objectives for the cement industry:
3.1. Mission:
To provide different types of cement with high quality and low prices for different sectors of society.
3.2. Objectives:
- Expansion of geographical coverage and access to new markets
- Guidance and support for the development of international markets and export
- Improving the quantity and quality of products
- Achieving self-sufficiency in the field of technology and ability to produce efficintly and economically
- Promoting suitable consumer culture
- Aims of the cement industry:
Although the missions and purposes of the cement industry explain the concept of this industry, considering the analyses performed for identifying the inner and outer environments of the industry, the following basic aims can be suggested. The aims are set in such a hierarchy that one can start with the missions and move on to the qualitative objectives and determine the course of action. Afterwards, one can tend to define the quantitative objectives and determine the extent of the progress (Aria Nezhad et. al., 1992).
In this section, in order to define each one of the quality objectives the following factors are recommended. Considering the objectives and basic goals mentioned above one can present a collection of qualitative goals in factories and industry, which is presented in tables 1 and 2.
Table 1. lists of the goals of quality (factory)
Table 2. lists of the goals of quality (industry)
The strategic outcomes that the mission and the aims of the institution should yield are investigated. These results reflect the desires and expectations of the industry in its different fields of activity in a broad sense. Therefore, one can determine the necessary strategies and policies needed for acieving the desired outcome, by determining the aims. According to the targets that are mentioned above, preparation for achieving the aims is outlined in the following sections.
- Modeling and formulation of strategies:
Following issues that were discussed in previous sections, the next important
identifying active forces in the defined framework and summarizing briefly them in simple terms that indicate a causal relationship between them. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a model that has taken a comprehensive perspective of the status of a branch of industry, and could present a visible illustration of the complex environmental and local issues, and this model should effect strategically. Therefore, different methods can be used to identify key factors that affect the decisions directly in the process of modeling, and the strategies that must be taken for it to be identified with the knowledge and full understanding about the different options (Saebi, M., 1999).
5.1. Strategic planning scenarios of the industry:
Although factors affecting the industry can not specifically be studied and also can not clearly be stated, we can see trends in process, and analyse their effectiveness and impact to model them expressively.
Opportunities and threats inherent in the industry are vague in the competitive world due to unfamiliarity of competitors and their relative position. Today, trade and commerce are more aligned with economic trends, therefore, the outcome of domestic and international economic trends and its effects in the industry should be examined. Also the political and international forces are important for each branch of industry, such as changing relationships between developing countries export, the relationship between private and public institutions in national policies and so on.
5.2. Factors that affect the cement industry (domestic and foreign):
- International environment (regional)
- Public environment (including laws - socio - economic - political - national - cultural)
- Operating environment (including customers - the market - technology - suppliers - creditors)
- Internal environment (including financial - administrative - technical - organizational - Management - Business - personnel)
respectively is including international environment, the general environment, the general environment, operational environment and internal environment.
In such a competitive market, objectives are optimal use of the opportunities and strengths so as to overcome internal weaknesses and environment threats.
To avoid a family of the manufacturing industry from narrow-mindedness and aggressive behavior to each other and to achieve the maximum common benefit without resorting to force and collusion with appropriate methods, that require the analysis including the following:
- the conditions according to which, each of the companies pursue the objectives of the company and also the industry purposes.
- circumstances in which the profits and benefits resulting from the collective efforts to be returned to its manufacturing plants.
- circumstances on which any of the companies operate based on their domestic and foreign abilities.
- circumstances in which the conduct and performance of companies are deliberate and predictable, and many other cases of this type can be named.
It is obvious that planning for such behaviors will lead to a comprehensive strategy that we are going to model it in this series.
For this purpose, a comprehensive overview of the industry are discussed. Therefore, the method of strategy formulating in this study has been developed from general to components. For example, after the formulation of the strategic nature of the industry and determination of the direction of its movement, Industrialist can make tailored decision to each industry sector and can follow strategic lines in accordance with the condition of the factory. Then, every plant can be studied as a whole within its competitive environment, and functional level strategies such as strategies of production, commerce, etc., and formulate plans of action tailored to each sector (It should be mentioned that strategies and plans of action for each factory are outside of the scope of this study). It is essential for the users of model that up to date the model and follow steps of performance. For this purpose, strategic management should be constantly evaluated and updated accurately, and takes new decisions at the same time with changes of the model elements, and according to changes, organizes executive and operational measures.
- Since different models of organizational strategic planning, business and convention task is studied, thus any model as a provider of complete version cannot be seen for the strategic planning branch of industry. In this regard, a number of problems in traditional models can be considered as follows:
- Excessive generalization of models and utilization of tools based on the upper and lower levels, which is a simplification.
- Existing models do not provide the opportunity to examine all the factors affecting the industry.
- In traditional models are more considered competitors, buyers and sellers, and are less emphasis objectives and internal facilities.
- Most models provide an incomplete picture of the relationship between the products, services and markets.
- In the existing models the criteria for judging the acceptability of planing are not determined.
- existance of complexities and ambiguities in analysis of some information needed for the existing models and in the definition and innacurate measurement of parameters.
- lack of attention to the fact that the strategic branches of industry need more than market shared test, profitability, and so on (distinctly and individually).
- Simple and general strategies which are suggested by existing models usualy do not reflect the variety of possible options.
5.3. Development of the proposed strategic planning model of a branch of industry (Power – age model):
The industry evolves and grows after its emergence. After some ups and downs, its vital energy declines and enters a new period of its life which is imitation and decline (Figure 1). This cycle exists for all the industry and also for factories within each industry. Although different units and industries can experience different time and place conditions in different stages of the final cycle.
Figure 1. the cycle of Industry
In order to determine in which stage of final cycle the industry is, one needs to categorize the problems of the industry and analyze behavioral characteristics of it (analysis of strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Afterwards one can develop appropriate strategy in accordance with the conditions and characteristics of each period.
The power - age strategic planning model is a tool that facilitates performing this tasks. Table 3 shows the decision matrix of this model.
Table 3. the matrix of Power – age model
- The strategic concept of the cement industry
The strategic concept of the cement industry has two parts, the stability and the development. This confirms the theory that although the average of the cement industry is the stable but its magnitude of the changes is stable or developing.
Two types of strategies have been developed. General strategies, including strategies that should the industry must follow them in different periods of its life, and specialized strategies are due to the specific conditions and characteristics of the cement industry and internal environment and surrounding it. Therefore this part of the research is included strategic options and issues of the industry. Obviously, mechanisms should be used in order to evaluating and selection of strategies, that will be discussed in the next section. Finally, proposed strategic plan will be presented.
- Evaluation and selection of the strategies
Evaluation and selection of the strategies are very important due to its fundamental role in acceptance or rejection of the strategies and their prioritization. For this purpose, strategies must be prioritized according to each degree of importance.
Aims of this section are the following:
- Selection of best options for the purposes of selecting the best in the industry
- Selection of top choices according to procedures
Table 4. descriptions of the strategies
7.1. Prioritization of strategies from a stand point of matching with the objectives and procedures:
In this section, prioritization of strategies from a stand point of matching with the objectives and procedures is investigated, because of its importance for choosing the strategies. For this purpose, after recognition and analysis of the aforementioned environmental factors, and after determining the objectives and missions of the industry, it is possible to recognize the procedures and assumptions and their positive and negative effects on the strategies. Each one of the procedures have a different effect depending on the type of activity and external environment of the industry. We will use the following tables for determining the priority of the strategies from a standpoint of matching with the objectives and processes. Using the Table 5, and assigning weights to the objectives according to experiences of experts, matching of the strategies with the objectives is investigated using a scale of one to five. Finally, after calculating the weighted scores and their sums, it is possible to determine the priorities of the proposed strategies. Moreover, in order to investigate the effects of the procedures, Table 6 presents the most important recognized procedures of the cement industry, together with their assumptions. A scale of +5 to -5 is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the procedures. It is possible to investigate the priority of the strategies from a standpoint of their matching with the procedures, calculating the positive and negative effects of each one of the procedures. Table 7 serves the aforementioned purpose.
Table 5. prioritizing strategies after adaptation of the objectives
Table 5. prioritizing strategies after adaptation of the objectives (continue)
Table 6. effect of processes on cement industry
Table 6. effect of processes on cement industry (continue)
Table 7. prioritizing strategies after adaptation of the processes
Table 7. prioritizing strategies after adaptation of the processes (continue)
After the calculation of adaptability of each proposed strategies accoording to the procedures and the objectives, combination priorities of strategies can be outlined as follows. Obviously, the given priorities do not lead the implementation of strategies solitarily, but those are a tool to help managers to make correct decisions. Two selected priority was discussed In the section of the evaluation and the selection of strategies. Aassessment of strategies do not follow any particular method and perhaps the most accurate, the most determined and the most comprehensive assessment methods cannot predict certain problems that may arise during the implementation of a strategy.
- Conclusion:
According to research literature in this study for the strategic planning and the identification of the cement industry, a series of strategies were developed using the proposed method. In other words, the aim of this study is to create a set of strategies to help components of the industry, which would use opportunities and strengths in order to eliminate the limitations and weaknesses.
According to the procedure that is proposed to development of the strategy, finally, the strategies for responding to the fundamental needs of industry to set objectives and missions have been developed. The proposed strategies are including:
- Developing,implementingandimprovingoperationalsystems,includingmaintenance,productionplanningandcontrol,qualitycontrol,etc.inordertooptimizingproduction,increasingmachineavailability,increasingproductivity,reducingwaste,etc.
- Exchangeand utilization ofresearchresultsandthedevelopmentwithinthecementindustryinordertoincreasngefficiencyandeffectivenessinallareasoftheindustry.
- Rehabilitationandmodernizationofexistingequipmentwithnewtechnologyin order toincreasingcapacity of equipment and production,reducingenergyconsumption,improvingproductivityandreducingcosts.
- Design,establishmentandstrengtheningofqualitycontrolsystems and ensuringthequalityofproductstoimprovethequalityofproductsinaccordancewiththe nationalandinternationalstandardstofacilitatethedevelopmentofexportsandincreasingproductivity.
- Continuousreductionofcostsandreducingthecostofproduction.
- Utilizing of thenewtechnologytoreplaceoldand worn-outproduction and strengthening themonitoring system andevaluationin order to componentsandenergyconsumptioncontrol.
- Theuseofnewtechnologytoreplaceagingequipmentandstrengthenthemonitoringandevaluationofthe oldproductionlineinordertocontrolconsumptionandenergycomponents.
- Planningandorganizingfortheoptimalutilizationof power and expertism facilitiesandpromotingthecapacityofthefacilitytoachieveindustrialself-sufficiency.
- To removeorreducethesurplussectorsandactivities.
- Considering competitionindomesticandinternationalmarkets.
- Marketingandsalesabroadand giving global trust incementexports.
- planning,implementingandcontrollingthesalesandmarketingactivitiesand acceleratinginobtainingmarketinformationandattractingcustomerstoincreasecompetitivecapacityindomesticmarketsandincreasingprofitability.
- Promoting properconsumption culture,usingadvertisingsystems,efficientsalesanddistribution.
- Revisingtheorganizationalstructureofmanufacturers in accordance with major and minor objectivesset.
- Developing,modifyingandcompletingrulesandregulationsand necessary procedurestosupporttheinvestmentandattractingforeigninvestors
- Partnershipandalliance in activities,research,investment,stock,andsoon.
- Determining the price so that sales and earnings will be maximized.
- Strengtheninghumanresourcesplanning.
- Optimizationofallprocessesaccordingtothecommunicationmethodsandexchanginginformationbetweenprocesses.
- Developmentandestablishment ofinformationsystems and increasingoperationalcoordinationbetweenthecementplantsasafamilyofindustry.
- Increasingrevenuesandimprovingprofitabilityand roviding financial resources.
- Prioritizingthe projectsbasedonreturn of their investments and performing theprojectsbasedupontheprioritiesaccording to suppliablesourcestoreduceimplementationtimeandinvestmentcosts.
- Evaluatingthecompany'sfinancial(costof production factors,assets,depreciation,etc.)basedon dollar exchange andaccuratecalculationofthecostofdepreciationinordertoimprovethe reported profit,taxcutsandimprovingliquidity.
- Strengtheningthe planning systemandbudgetingfortheconstruction of cement in accordance with programs of plants construction and operation.
- strengtheningindustrialhygieneand controlling infectiontoreducethedamagetotheenvironmentandpeople.
- The development,improvementandconsolidationofmanagements and expansion of productivity.
- Improvingthelevelofknowledge,experienceandskillsofthelaborforceto productivity andoptimizing oftheuseofmachinery,equipment,increasingproductionefficiency,reducingwaste,improvingqualityandproductivity
- To select,organizeandoptimizetheuseofrawmaterialsuppliersand domestic and foreign creditors, in a appropriate way forthe companies productionsystemandthecommunity conditions.
The most important element of any economic system is production. In other words, the content of any economic system is including the production functions. So to evaluate the accuracy of the economic system, first of all it is necessary to study the elements of production in that system. To perform that we need planning in addition to the facilities and resources. On the other hand, in competitive today's world, success in an industry is depended on the way that it manage the resources. This requires a comprehensive and systematic planning and setting purpose. Evaluating the limitations and potential of the industry and obligations issues due to the effect of international factors should be included program performance.
- References:
Aria Nezhad, Mir Bahador Gholi, production planning, south of Tehran Azad University Press, 1992.
- Lawrence, strategy Thinking, 1999.
George A.Steiner, Strategic planning, What every manager must know, 1999.
Hamidizadeh, MR., strategic planning, Samt press, 2002.
Iran Data Processing Company, documentation of the evolution of the system, the system advisers, 1997.
- Forbes, Handbook of strategy planning, 1999.
Plan and Budget Organization, planning system: the third program, Iran, 1999.
Saebi, M., strategic management (strategy process), State Management Training Center, 1999.
Shani, M., Strategic Planning for Managers, Industrial Management Organization, 2004.
Sheikh Abu Masood, A., strategic planning and its application in management, Arkan Press, 2003.


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ENGL 2010 — Intermediate Writing
The assignment that I'm including in my ePortfolio to represent this course is a paper that I wrote for the class. This paper is a profile on Monument Valley, Utah. We were required to research and write a profile, which was a major assignment for the course. The profile had to include visuals.