text: The movie's release coincides with a thaw in Indo-Pak relations Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is scheduled to visit Islamabad next month for a regional summit, and his deputy, Lal Krishna Advani, known for his hardline stance on Pakistan, took time off on Saturday to watch the 270-minute LoC-Kargil. LoC stands for Line of Control, a 760km de facto border dividing the Himalayan region of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. The film was launched with much fanfare over the weekend in major Indian cities, even as the two neighbours try to mend relations. India and Pakistan have also announced a ceasefire on the heavily-militarised Loc. Director defiant J P Dutta, the director, producer and writer of LoC-Kargil, shrugged off criticism that his multimillion-dollar magnum opus was jingoistic. "Just because peace efforts are on does not mean we should forget our fallen heroes" JP DuttaMovie director"So what?" he said of the timing of the film which casts 38 top Bollywood actors including Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Abhishekh Bachchan, Akshaye Khanna, Kareena Kapoor, Rani Mukherjee and Raveena Tandon. "When our prime minister went to Lahore with a peace message, the Pakistani army was plotting the attack on Kargil. Wasn't that the wrong time? "Just because peace efforts are on does not mean we should forget our fallen heroes," Dutta told reporters at the movie's premiere in New Delhi. Vajpayee took a bus to Lahore in February 1999 and four months later thousands of Indian troops fought to dislodge Pakistan-backed fighters who had crossed the peaks of Kargil. More than 1,000 combatants died on both sides during the six-week bloody conflict that took India and Pakistan to the brink of their fourth war since 1947, two of them already fought over Kashmir. "If the Americans can make Pearl Harbour to justify the nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, why should we shrink from making a film to pay tribute to our soldiers?" Dutta said. Criticism But prominent film critic Nikhat Kazmi felt Dutta could have spruced up the massive film. "The soundtrack is one long volley of gunfire, punctuated by half-expletives which does not help to lessen the tedium" Nikhat KazmiFilm critic"Too many characters. Too many stories. Dutta fails to whip up the emotional quotient of the film. "The soundtrack is one long volley of gunfire, punctuated by half-expletives which does not help to lessen the tedium," Kazmi wrote in The Times of India newspaper. But the right-leaning Pioneer daily stuck to the nationalist script in its review, as did the film buffs who screamed to fill in the expletives that had been censored out of LoC-Kargil. "The film makes us remember these courageous soldiers who never returned to their beloved ones... in order to protect the country," The Pioneer said. Cinema-owners are also laughing their way to the bank as they pack in full houses for LoC. Bollywood has only started to rebound in the past year after suffering repeated duds at the box office. "We are booked for days in advance and the best part is that the high and mighty of the country are queuing up for a ticket to watch LoC," said Ratan Shetty, general manager of New Delhi's upscale Chanakya theatre. SOURCE: AFP


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Imagine my disappointment on Sunday night when, sitting on my couch eating Chipotle in front of the television, none of the Miss America hopefuls with disabilities made it into the coveted top 15.
This year we had a few contestants with disabilities including Miss Iowa, Nicole Kelly, who was born without a left forearm and Miss Arizona, Jennifer Smestad, who was diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome at the age of ten. These contestants follow the likes of Miss Montana, Alexis Wineman, the first contestant diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, who appeared in last year's competition. And, of course, the infamous Heather Whitestone, Miss Alabama (1994) and Miss America (1995), who was our first "Miss Deaf America."
The rhetoric surrounding disability in beauty competitions has largely focused on the tragedy of the occurrence, the necessity of "overcoming" the disability, and the "inspiration" one can be for others (both people with disabilities and young girls). These constructions shouldn't surprise us because these narratives are pervasive tropes in pop culture.
Even though our hopefuls didn't articulate their experience with disability in a particularly "social model"/progressive manner, I was still pulling for them to place in the top 15 so their presence would be felt my mainstream American society. The closest we got was Miss Florida, Myrrhanda Jones, who was competing with a knee brace after tearing ligaments in her right knee during the preliminary talent competition. In an interview during the competition, Lance Bass assure the viewing audience that it "doesn't effect the judging at all." Thanks for that, Lance.
Miss Iowa and Miss Arizona both planned to speak about their experiences with their disability, but, alas, we did not have the opportunity to find out what that would entail. We did, however, get a consistent message from sponsors about "overcoming," "inspiring," and "being all that you can be." Once contestant's pre-taped interview mentioned how her brother was an inspiration to her (if anyone in cyberspace remembers who this contestant was, please let me know—I've been scouring the internet for the video clip/contestant's name and can't find it anywhere!).
Finally, Miss New York, Nina Davuluri, our newly crowned Miss America's platform is "celebrating diversity through cultural competency." She stated in a recent interview, "Miss America is evolving as the diversity in America evolves."
This year's trend of "overcoming," "inspiring," and "being all you can be" was supported by contestants, sponsors (ranging from cosmetics you buy over the internet, to hotels) and, in a slightly different way, by our new Miss America 2014. It'll be interesting to see what next year's theme is and if our theme of inclusion and diversity is supported by the presence of even more diverse bodies in Miss America 2015.
Hey, a girl can hope, right?

subset: commoncrawl


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The National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Colorado Springs, Colorado, has issued a correction to a study disputed by CrossFit.
The erratum will appear in the October 2015 issue of the NSCA's Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, where the study was originally published in 2013. The study's results are disputed in lawsuits filed by CrossFit and the owner of a Columbus, Ohio, CrossFit Gym involved in the research.
A panel of reviewers examined new information regarding questions raised on the reasons described in the article for subjects not completing the study, and the NSCA issued the erratum on the recommendation of the reviewers, according to a NSCA announcement.
The erratum reads as follows:
"In reference to Smith, MM, Sommer, AJ, Starkoff, BE, and Devor, ST. CrossFit-based high-intensity power training improves maximal aerobic fitness and body composition. J Strength Cond Res 27(11): 3159 – 3172, 2013, the authors have stated that the reasons for participants not completing follow-up testing, as reported in the article, were provided to the authors by the club owner. The club owner has denied that he provided this information.
"After the article was published, 10 of the 11 participants who did not complete the study have provided their reasons for not finishing, with only 2 mentioning injury or health conditions that prevented them from completing follow-up testing.
"In light of this information, injury rate should not be considered a factor in this study. This change does not affect the overall conclusion of the article."
In the NCSA article, Ohio State University researchers examined 53 CrossFit participants who participated in an annual 10-week challenge at a CrossFit owned by Mitch Potterf. The results showed CrossFit-based high-intensity power training significantly improved maximal aerobic capacity and body composition in subjects of both genders across all levels of fitness, according to the abstract.
The original article also stated that 11 subjects dropped out of the training program, and of those, two subjects cited time concerns and nine subjects (16 percent) cited overuse or injury for failing to complete the program.
The article stated the percentage was "notable" and "may call into question the risk-benefit ratio for such extreme training." Researchers also noted CrossFit-based programs "may not be worth the risk of injury and lost training time."
CrossFit filed a complaint against the NCSA in U.S. District Court in 2014, alleging that the claim in the study that nine participants dropped out of the study due to injury or overuse was false. CrossFit's complaint charges false advertising under the Lanham Act, false advertising under the California Business and Professions Code, and unfair competition under the California Business and Professions Code.
CrossFit's Motion for Partial Summary Judgment on the Element of Falsity filed on January 30 was denied by U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino on July 20. In the motion, CrossFit contended the information of 12 participants was not used to complete the study and obtained 10 sworn declarations from the participants. (Two study participants chose not to submit declarations.) Of the 10 declarations, none stated injury or overuse from the challenge as reasons for dropping out of the study.
NSCA argued to the court that fairness requires it be permitted to obtain testimony and evidence to allow it to contest the motion on its merits, which Sammartino cited in denying the motion as premature. The suit remains open and in discovery. A mandatory settlement conference is scheduled for March 10, 2016.
In February, Potterf filed a complaint in U.S. District Court against Ohio State University Professor Steven T. Devor and Ohio State University under the Federal False Claims Act. That suit also claims the conclusion that the nine who failed to test out because of "injury or overuse" is false. That case is in discovery.


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Is Petrobras Stock Price Finally Bottoming Out?
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (NYSE: PBR), known as Petrobras to most U.S. investors, may finally be closer to a bottom in its stock price. While U.S. oil giants have hung in there, Petrobras shares just seem to keep rolling over with lower and lower share prices for its American depository receipts (ADRs) in New York trading. The latest hit to the stock was last week when the Brazilian oil giant denied a tax injunction, making it in ineligible in government tenders coming up in October. Jefferies is coming to the rescue for Petrobras with what looks and feels like a bottom-fishing analyst upgrade.
Jefferies raised the official rating to Buy from Hold, because its upstream progress looks encouraging. The firm thinks that Petrobras may meet its production targets. There is even hope that the recent price hikes in the downstream assets imply that government will allow Petrobras to have lower losses than it has seen. Jefferies also sees a negative free cash flow gap closing in the next three or four years.
Petrobras also has an U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing out indicating that its board of directors approved the restructuring of its petrochemical portfolio last week, as well as the subsequent merger of its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The move will be submitted to a vote by shareholders in the near future.
Petrobras ADRs are up 1.6% at $15.89 after an hour of trading on Monday, against a 52-week trading range of $14.40 to $24.83. The consensus analyst price target is represented as $25.31 according to Thomson Reuters.
As a reminder, Petrobras shareholders are not really in control here as the company is effectively government dominated, and also given solid ownership by its labor groups.


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There are several methods for rebooting, including
- ACPI Reset command
- load a 0-sized IDT and issue an interrupt (that'll triple fault and reset)
- Use the 8042 keyboard controller to pulse the CPU's RESET pin
- Use the ResetSystem runtime UEFI service, if available.
ACPI reset command
ACPI 2.0+ defines a "reset register" that can be used to reset the PC. According to the ACPI specification, all hardware must be reset after using this mechanism. In the FADT, there are several General Address Structures. Take a look at the FADT page for details. The FADT structure contains a generic address structure called ResetReg, followed by a byte called ResetValue. This is an optional feature and software must check support for it by checking if the FADT is version 2 or newer, and then testing if bit 10 of the Flags field in the FADT is set. After that, software can reset the system by writing the value in ResetValue into the area pointed to by ResetReg. ACPI says the ResetReg can only be located in I/O bus, PCI bus or memory-mapped. If it is in the I/O bus, simply do:
outportb(FADT->ResetReg.Address, FADT->ResetValue);
If it is memory-mapped, simply map the memory pointed by ResetReg->Address somewhere in the virtual address space, and write ResetValue there as an 8-bit operation.
TODO: Determine how PCI bus resets work.
Short code to do a 8042 reset
void reboot() { uint8_t good = 0x02; while (good & 0x02) good = inb(0x64); outb(0x64, 0xFE); halt(); }
Annotated code for reboot()
/* keyboard interface IO port: data and control READ: status port WRITE: control register */ #define KBRD_INTRFC 0x64 /* keyboard interface bits */ #define KBRD_BIT_KDATA 0 /* keyboard data is in buffer (output buffer is empty) (bit 0) */ #define KBRD_BIT_UDATA 1 /* user data is in buffer (command buffer is empty) (bit 1) */ #define KBRD_IO 0x60 /* keyboard IO port */ #define KBRD_RESET 0xFE /* reset CPU command */ #define bit(n) (1<<(n)) /* Set bit n to 1 */ /* Check if bit n in flags is set */ #define check_flag(flags, n) ((flags) & bit(n)) void reboot() { uint8_t temp; asm volatile ("cli"); /* disable all interrupts */ /* Clear all keyboard buffers (output and command buffers) */ do { temp = inb(KBRD_INTRFC); /* empty user data */ if (check_flag(temp, KBRD_BIT_KDATA) != 0) inb(KBRD_IO); /* empty keyboard data */ } while (check_flag(temp, KBRD_BIT_UDATA) != 0); outb(KBRD_INTRFC, KBRD_RESET); /* pulse CPU reset line */ loop: asm volatile ("hlt"); /* if that didn't work, halt the CPU */ goto loop; /* if a NMI is received, halt again */ }


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You are here
RMS in the Neighborhood
New L.I.F.E in Albuquerque
The L.I.F.E. Program stands for, "Liberty in Financial Education" and it will begin this month through a partnership between St. Timothy's Lutheran Church Albuquerque, the Rio Grande Credit Union, and Zia Elementary School. Our work with Ruth Hoffman and Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-NM called us to stand up against the devastating impact of predatory lending in New Mexico. St. Timothy's is located in an area inundated by these lenders. L.I.F.E. is St. Timothy's response.
Qualifying families from Zia will be given an application to the L.I.F.E Program, which includes 10 weeks of financial education followed by 24 months of financial incentives that allow families to put to work what they have learned in the 10-week program. Below are the basics:
- Participants will attend at least 9 out of 10 one-hour sessions of financial education offered by a certified Financial Educator .
- Upon completion of at least 9 of the 10 sessions, St. Tim's will assist families in opening a savings account at Rio Grande Credit Union with a $100 beginning balance.
- This small grant of $100 will be provided by the St. Timothy's Mission Endowment Fund and is intended to give families a small head start in building financial capacity.
- Over the next 18 months, St. Timothy's commits to matching the deposits families make to their savings accounts up to $10 per month.
- At the end of the program, if families take full advantage of the matching grant money offered by St. Timothy's, they will have a savings account with a balance of $480 plus interest.
With their partners at Rio Grande Credit Union, Zia Elementary, and Lutheran Advocacy Ministry, St. Timothy's is indeed, Christ's Church, Better Together!
Read full description of their ministry
Congregations becoming Safe Stops in the neighborhood
It was about 1 o'clock in the morning, and we had just finished up a call for service. I was doing a ride-a-long with a police officer. The call load had died down, and it was now time to get caught up on the paperwork from the busy shift. I joked with my officer that he didn't need me as a chaplain in his car, what he needed was a secretary. The calls we were on that night required quite a bit of documentation. We pulled into a dimly lit church parking lot, and the officer began writing at his desk – a clipboard and steering wheel. As I sat next to him thinking about what it looks like for me as a chaplain to support this officer, I wandered why we were sitting in the parking lot of this church instead of going in. The Safe Stop program began to take shape.
Safe Stops are essentially a substation for officers located in a church. The Safe Stop is a non-contact office that is away from the public's eye. The Safe Stop is a place that officers can grab a cup of coffee, cold drink, snack, and write a report if needed. Officers have to continually be vigilant of their surroundings, and the Safe Stop is often the only place of peace and rest in an officer's busy day.
This idea was born from recognizing a need, and meeting that need. Our vision as chaplains is to "serve those who serve us". I think this applies to us as the church as well. The Safe Stop program is currently in two Rocky Mountain Synod churches and growing. I believe the program has been successful because we as the church came along side our law enforcement community and accompanied them in their journey. Augustine challenged us with "it is solved by walking". Accompaniment gives life when we justly walk the journey with others.
Scott Moore serves as the Lead Chaplain at the Wheat Ridge Police Department and serves as the Director of Mission, Youth and Family Ministries at a RMS congregation. He has served his congregation for 19 years and the police department for 2 years.
The Long History of Lutheran Advocacy
Peter Severson, Director of Lutheran Advocacy Ministry-CO
In my role I visit a lot of congregations to tell the story of our faith-based advocacy work in the Rocky Mountain Synod. Usually, I begin that story in 1984, when the congregations of one of our predecessor denominations decided to organize formal Lutheran public policy offices for Colorado and New Mexico in response to threatened federal cuts to our social safety net. Thanks to all of our congregations, we have been engaged in full-time advocacy for over 30 years. But even that doesn't tell the whole story. In fact, did you know that the Rocky Mountain Synod has been advocating on public policy issues for over 125 years?
Consider this excerpt from the minutes of the First Annual Convention of the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, held at St. Paul's English Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denver, Colorado, October 28th-November 1st, 1891:
"The following resolutions of the General Synod were presented and adopted as a whole:
WHEREAS, The continued existence and the permanent prosperity of a nation cannot outlive the virtues of its people; and…
Whereas, There is a growing tendency to divest the Sabbath of its Divine authority…
Resolved, That whilst we deplore all forms of the violation of the Sabbath…we do express our most unqualified condemnation of that part of either State or municipal legislation that permits the prosecution of a traffic [in strong drink] on that day which is not alone useless and wicked, but which is a disgrace to the civilization and the Christianity of the nineteenth century…"
Wow! Strong words about strong drink. While our attitudes about temperance today have shifted somewhat, it's nonetheless powerful to see that the church felt it necessary to speak on what was an important topic of public conversation in its time. This is no less true today: we as a church are always engaged in faithful reflection about public issues and speaking out in places where our voice can make a difference. Our advocacy is grounded in the gospel, the theological understandings of our church, and in our unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of the most marginal and vulnerable people in our communities.
Share these stories in your bulletin or newsletter!
How is your congregation or ministry "In the Neighborhood"? Share your story, pictures, or description of your ministry with Deacon Erin Power


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Solo Oil : the jackpot #investments
Many investors make an investment in a small company and hope they make it big. I have high hopes that Solo Oil will make it big with its shares in oil discoveries both in Tanzania and in the UK.
The UK
In the UK, the company owns a share in an oil discovery near Gatwick Airport that was referred to in the press as the 'Gatwick Gusher'. That find is significant and there is now a planning application in for a second exploratory well. However, it is their share of a discovery in Tanzania that has private investors excited.
Solo Oil isn't an oil company as such, they are an investment company with expertise in oil discovery and development. In Tanzania, they provide investment to a company called Aminex who actually do the drilling. In Tanzania, they already have a well, producing gas that is being sold at the well-head to the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation. Solo holds a 7.125% working interest in the Kiliwani North field and gas sales. Those gas sales are significant and flow tested at 20 million cubic feet per day of gas. The money from the gas sales is funding the drilling of another well, NT2, farther into the reservoir and that will be spudded around the middle of December. The company is so confident of success that they are preparing to drill yet another well, NT3 and are preparing the foundations for that. Solo's share of the cost of NT2 is around 2.5 million dollars. Neil Ritson, the chairman of Solo has suggested a share price of 1p by next year which doesn't sound much but is triple what it is now.
Solo Oil: the long term
The obvious strategy is to keep reinvesting the returns and acquiring a bigger stake in new developments. Solo has a 7.125% working interest in the Kiliwani North field and gas sales. However, they have a much larger stake at 25% in NT2 which could bring in much greater returns for both Aminex and Solo. If the share price reaches 1p, as forecast next year, what happens then? Can more wells be drilled and the oil field be exploited further? It is a huge oil field and so for a small company like Solo, there could be a massive upside to this investment. Horse Hill in the UK could come good in subsequent years too and so I won't be in too much of a hurry to sell if they do find gas and oil at NT2. This could literally be the jackpot for small investors. We are relying on the good faith, expertise and integrity of the board of Solo Oil.
Other companies
Solo Oil was the highlight of my week going up from 0.25 to 0.27 and I'm hoping that is just a sign of things to come. My shares in the AA also made some progress and I'm looking at a return on those. RSA Insurance made a little progress and I might sell those soon. Tesco has been making good progress too, as have Taylor Wimpey. Falling back this week have been the pharmaceuticals; GSK, Immupharma and Verona Pharma. I'm not quite sure why they are falling but it could be because of political changes in the US.
Remember that I don't give advice in these investment posts. I just make observations and relate personal experience and views. If you would like to subscribe to this blog just enter your email address at the top of the sidebar or follow me on Twitter for updates. You can also find links on my Facebook page.


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As a commitment to provide the premium quality products to our customer with the quality life of our employees, Sabina Public Co., Ltd. complies with international institution certificate.1. Swiss Textile Testing Institute of Switzerland
2. Certificate of Compliance from World Wide Responsible Apparel Production or Wrap
3. The certificate of free drug factory or White Factory Certificate from Department of Labour protection and welfare, Ministry of Labour
4. The certificate of co-operation to comply with standard labour law.
5. The certificate of standard testing of skill development.
6. ISO 9001:2008 certificate – The certificate of quality & service control.


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Decided it's time to sell this low-mileage Goose.
She's rock solid, and it ready for long trips, or just soaking up the miles.
'Guzzi's are simple locknut and screwdriver style adjusters, easily accessible, and simple to do.
No shims needed!
90 degree vee, dry multi-plate clutch, so it sounds very familiar...


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What Happens When a Selectwoman Challenges the Town of Piermont? – Part 1
If you still don't understand that your own NH town is a good place to start draining the swamp, please read on…
Piermont is a small town in Grafton County, New Hampshire. When we say small, we mean it — the population of Piermont was a mere 790 at the 2010 census.
When Teran "Terri" Mertz, wife of George Mertz, Commander, USN (Ret) was elected to a seat on the 3-person Selectboard in 2016 for a three-year term, she never expected that her attempts to insure the town simply follow rules and procedures would lead to harassment, threats of arrest, and even an attempt to ban her from entering the town offices.
Sound familiar? This is all too often the case in small towns that have tight-knit operations and receive little to no scrutiny from the taxpayers.
So, what exactly what did Ms. Mertz discover? Mertz suggested that her two male colleagues, Randy Subjeck and Colin Stubbings, violated New Hampshire's Right-to-Know law by holding illegal meetings, making payments to vendors without having followed legal contract procedures, and mismanaging meeting minutes, for starters.
When she began questioning their actions, she immediately found herself under personal attack from not only both of them but one of the Town attorney's who made specious "rulings" against her, not to mention those "citizens" who benefited from the alleged corruption.
After months of attempting to work with the other Board members, their offenses and personal attacks against her only increased to the point where she had no choice but to file a Right to Know suit against them dated July of 2016 in Grafton County Superior Court [215-2016-CV-00168]. The case has now advanced to a final two days of hearings in Grafton Superior Court on March 21 and 22, 2017.
The lawsuit alleges in part:
– Selectmen Stubbings and Subjeck, acting in concert with one another, have repeatedly and consistently caused the defendant, Town of Piermont, to violate the State of New Hampshire rightto-know law, specifically RSA 91-A:2, RSA 9r-A.2-a, RSA 91-A:3, II(c), and RSA 91-,{:4
– The town has not provided meeting minutes in a proper or timely fashion
– Citizens are being hired and paid without proper contractual agreements, sometimes made without discussion or being voted on at any Board meeting, despite the fact that Selectwoman Mertz objected to such agreements when she heard about it in a nonpublic session held at the request of the citizen in question
– That she, Mertz, was subject to coercion when she refused to go along with what she felt were illegal procedures
– Meetings that should have been public were held in private, and for an invalid reason, specifically on May 5, 2016 and her subsequent request to correct the matter was ignored
– Meetings that were supposed to be public were not properly noticed
– Mertz suffered public denigration over the issue of her business cards which she had printed when the town was taking too long, which referred to her as "Selectwoman", which is legal according to NH RSA 2I:28. She was attacked for titling herself as "Selectwoman" instead of "Selectman" as Stubbings and Subjeck apparently preferred
– Job hirings for critical town office positions were not properly approved or advertised per law
– The court is asked to find that the Town of Piermont has violated
RSA 91-A on one or more occasions and that Selectmen Stubbings and Subjeck have
caused those violations to occur and that they be fined and required to correct their actions and receive remedial training in addition to paying all attorney's fees and expense
– As a result of Selectwoman Mertz's efforts, she and her husband have suffered extreme alienation and public threats, including unwanted visitors to their property, and financial hardship such that they are seeking lawyers fees which are now in excess of $60,000, and projected to go much higher because Selectmen Subjeck and Stubbings have rejected all reasonable offers of settlement. Apparently, as long as the Town continues to pay for their defense, they are happy to spend the taxpayers money to protect themselves.
The problem the citizens of Piermont face was best stated in a recent Right to Know NH article:
"Unlike the citizen who filed the lawsuit, public officials don't bear the burden themselves. Public officials, use taxpayer money to hire lawyers to fight on their behalf against the citizen's right to know. They spread their financial risk across all the unwitting taxpayers within the community. The deep pockets of taxpayer funding and trivial personal financial risk, breeds disincentives for public officials to resolve the citizen's complaint outside of court."
The question is: "When will the citizens of Piermont wake up to the corruption rampant in their town?"
This lawsuit alleging violations of the Right to Know laws is not the end of it.
Coming in Part 2 will be Piermont and allegations surrounding issues of attempts to defame the Mertzs, inconsistencies with tax assessments by Avitar, and residents with unpaid taxes.


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In 1985, William J. Adams founded Advanced Computer Solutions (ACS), out of his lifelong passion to constantly improve performance and system operation through the thorough analysis of proprietary hardware and operating systems. At that time, Bill decided to build and brand his servers and workstations by hand-selecting the best combination of components to maximize performance and system dependability.
Bill first launched ACS out of his home and envisioned someday offering top-level technology services and solutions to local businesses, a concept that was nonexistent at the time. A mere three years later, his customer base had grown considerably, and Bill was able to hire, train and develop dependable, skillful engineers.
ACS moved their corporate headquarters to North Easton Massachusetts, and along the way, continued building and developing a strong, diversified team of experienced engineers, always instilling the primary goal of providing best-in-class service & support.
By the mid-90s, ACS incorporated into ACS Services Inc. and was being referred by competitors and customers alike. The company became known for resolving issues quickly and accurately, servicing businesses all over New England, which confirmed its position as a leading tech support and service provider in the Northeast. ACS had earned a reputation for delivering top-line solutions within budget. In fact, as their client base continued to strengthen through word of mouth, the team realized they were fulfilling a need, not only for IT experts but also for trusted advisors in the technology field.
With an average growth rate of 30% per year by 2001, ACS relocated its headquarters again, doubling their office space. The company expanded again in 2006 by leasing space in Cambridge to create ACS Cloud Services Offering, and then again in Marlborough. In 2007, ACS opened a remote workplace in Boston as a satellite sales office and was recognized by Fast Growth 100 and Inc. 500. They were also featured in CRN magazine as a leading supplier of technology services.
Today, ACS resides in a 10,000 SF Technical Operations and Data Center, located in Brockton, Massachusetts, employing over 30 individuals. Strategic partnerships with key industry vendors, such as Microsoft, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, ConnectWise, and Data Gravity, have helped fuel this hyper-growth and allowed ACS to build its track record of client success stories throughout the Northeast, with accounts being serviced across the United States.
© Copyright 2019, ACS Services, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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Life, mankind, the news on TV, and Sunday mornings cannot be all that bad.
In case there is no beer in the fridge, no fridge in house, or no place with cool beer in town, suspended (free) English coffee from Paris (what else ?) is available http://cestalire.wordpress.com/2014/01/27/british-coffee-please/
And, for those in a hurry, those who like it short, or those with a nostalgy for their sexy Roman Holiday, there's always expresso "à volonté"http://cestalire.wordpress.com/2014/04/08/certains-laiment-court/
But the Real Thing is, of course, French Coffee (and the best thing is, it's free) http://cestalire.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/un-e-cafe-suspendu-au-hasard/
Renaud Favier – April 27th, 2014


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The role of leadership and supervision in American business is gaining increasing recognition. Just as society looks for a leader to define its purpose and lead it forward, business is concerned with the selection and development of people who can successfully invent, make, sell and provide services to set their enterprise apart from its competition and solve the many perplexing problems that confront them.
Management techniques of the last several decades -- management by objectives, diversification, zero-based budgeting, value chain analysis, decentralization, centralization, quality circles, restructuring, management by "walking around" etc. -- have not had the significant, long lasting affect that some of the tried and true, but often forgotten, strategies of supervision can offer.
One fundamental change in the strategy of managing in today's environment is the concept of coaching rather than managing. Many businesses have rightly redesigned their work flow around processes. These processes enable the creation of process teams, in other words, a person or group responsible for an entire business process. Team supervision, commonly referred to as coaching, demands more education than training. The difference is execution. Training generally implies learning the skills necessary to perform a particular function. Training someone in the art of collections becomes very focused on that function. However, education expands the scope of the collection function to understand the role of cash flow to the business, the impact on sales and marketing, and the relationship of collection to the credit extension philosophy. Training teaches skills, education teaches the job.
There are several strategies found useful in the art of successful leadership and supervision.
Self Esteem
When you make someone feel important, you gain their willingness to work for you.
Here are some techniques to improve self esteem:
Become a Good Listener
Generally people do not know how to be good listeners. People usually only remember about half of the information they are told. Below are some points on becoming a good listener.
Planning is one of the key management tools. Certainly all of our companies have short, and long range plans. Through planning, we decide a course of action to achieve goals and accomplish objectives. Planning prepares us for how to perform in the event certain things happen.
People at all levels must feel they are needed. You cannot motivate a person if they do not feel essential to the process.
Ways to make a person feel needed:
Communication is the key to motivating. Listening (see prior note) is an important factor.
Show enthusiasm about your work and that will help to set a work ethic thus motivating others.
Set goals for those you supervise. Also, help them achieve the goals by giving them the opportunity to get things done. Do not set unrealistic goals.
The art of dealing with people when they fail to do their job or they behave abnormally. The better you know an individual, the better job you can do of disciplining him. With some people, you need to be firm, or even demanding. Others, just a hint of a suggestion for change is all that is necessary. Here are a few strategies on making one of the most distasteful acts of supervision a little more palatable:
Handling Personality Problems--a very touchy situation.
Here are some things to do and not to do when dealing with such situations:
Remember, misery loves company...do not become entangled in the problem
A skill that really requires disciplining yourself that will in turn allow you to supervise better.
How to make your job easier.
If the answer to most of these questions is "yes," then maybe you have not yet adopted one of the KEY skills of managing, the art of delegation. This is particularly important if you have hopes of moving up in the organization. Your skill in delegating could be a major factor in deciding whether you can handle greater responsibilities and a greater job.
A SUCCESSFUL LEADER gets things done through others.
Unfounded reasons for this are:
Remember it is to your credit and it exhibits confidence in your skills as a supervisor to place competent people around you. Delegation is a requisite of good supervision. It supports trust and confidence in those you supervise and enables them to handle the tasks that will free you to do more important work.
Here are some suggestions for making delegation successful:
This newer strategy may in-fact be the culmination of all the points above. Simply put, empowerment is delegation taken a step farther. In delegation, the supervisor is not only accountable for the results, but also assumes some responsibility since in most cases the delegated tasks most often are the job of the supervisor. Empowerment is the total, unmistakable passing on of responsibility to a person or team to accomplish a job or perform a process. As coach or supervisor, you maintain accountability for the overall outcome or results of the process.
Empowerment brings with it a challenge for the organization to provide state-of-the-art systems, education, tools and most importantly support to the team for maximum performance. Applying empowerment frequently shifts ownership of a function or process from a traditional supervisor to a group, and with that ownership transfer; pride, job satisfaction, motivation and creativity develop.
A supervisor or coach who loses contact with her team or group will fail. Therefore, it is important for any supervisor who is a leader to remember that he must maintain close contact with the group if he is to function as a coach or supervisor. Many supervisors fail not because of limitations on their own general ability; but, on their inability to delegate, listen, plan, motivate, discipline, and empower.
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The UAE of today is a million miles away from what it was even just a few decades ago. It is, by all measures, a wealthier, more prosperous, and more cosmopolitan country.
Much of that growth has, however, come off the back of its massive oil reserves. While that oil wealth has served it well, the government has had an eye on a different kind of future for some time now.
Recognising that no resource-based economy can last forever, it's pushed for a more knowledge-based economy with a number of initiatives focused on innovation, all corresponding with Vision 2021.
Here are a few of the most high-profile of them.
Government innovation centres
Over the past few years, the UAE government has opened up several government-funded innovation centres.
The Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, for instance, aims to stimulate the culture of innovation within the government sector.
The centre offers an innovation diploma programme in conjunction with Cambridge University, houses innovation labs which aim to inspire innovative ideas and find solutions to the challenges that face government entities, and hosts Ibtikar talks, which seek to enhance national cooperation between the various government entities and to stimulate innovation in key sectors.
Innovation Week
Launched in 2015, the annual UAE Innovation Week is a nationwide celebration of innovation for everyone in the UAE.
Events during the week include a family-oriented carnival, hackathons, workshops, and lectures hosted by both government and private sector players.
In 2018, Innovation Week will become Innovation Month.
"The UAE Innovation Month will see major events in each emirate and will be open to all people throughout the month. it will also witness a lot of global innovation-related events. During 2017, we will announce a number of leading initiatives that will back innovation in the UAE", said Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi — Minister of Cabinet Affairs and the Future and Chairman of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Committee – on the occasion of the launch.
Dubai Future Accelerators
Launched in 2016 by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, the Dubai Future Accelerators aim to enable the rapid deployment of transformative technologies.
According to the UAE government website, the "accelerators are programmes and integrated systems designed to help entrepreneurs and innovators turn their ideas into successful companies".
Among the technologies explored by the accelerators are:
- the application of cutting edge technologies like artificial intelligence and robotics
- 3D printing
- biotechnology
- new business models and best practices.
DIC Innovation Hub
Dubai Internet City (DIC) launched its Innovation Hub in 2014, 15 years after its own founding.
The idea behind the hub is to create a vibrant community of innovators exploring new ideas in technology, new media, smart education and the sciences
When fully completed in 2019, the Hub's 15 000 strong workforce will be part of a community that facilitates idea creation, networking, knowledge sharing and dynamic industry events.
While Tecom, the group which runs DIC (and by extension the hub) is a sovereign entity, it does work extensively with the government to ensure that the country is as innovative as possible.
Funding for Innovation
One of the hardest things when it comes to promoting an innovation is ensuring you have enough capital to get it off the ground.
In a bid to alleviate this issue, in 2015 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched an AED2 billion innovation fund.
Open to individuals and organisations, the fund provides financing solutions and the necessary guarantees to innovative entrepreneurs in order to make it easier for them to get business loans to finance their projects and help them turn their ideas into actual projects.
The fund prioritises renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space sectors.
Looking forward
The UAE government's focus on innovation has already paid dividends, with the company named as one of the top 10 countries for community innovation earlier this year.
Will it be able to build on that success? Only time will tell, but given the determination and resources the UAE government has put into encouraging innovation, you wouldn't bet against it.


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COVID Capers 2
As our economy starts to re-open, and some of us are getting back to work, news is mixed for us at Masamba Samba School. On the positive side, it looks like the schools will be re-opening in September, which might … Continue reading
Mid Term, No Break!
With most of the schools here closed for the mid-term break, we have a bit of space and time to do something a little different. Of course, being around for so long, and having worked in practically every community in … Continue reading
Countdown to the Holidays!
What a brilliant week! The end of the school year is always a strange time for us at Masamba, as all normal activities cease, and all sorts of challenging and fun projects present themselves. Some of our existing projects are … Continue reading
Back in the Community
August is usually a pretty quiet month for us here at Masamba. Most of the educational institutions and youth projects we work with are shut for the month, or operating a reduced service. As many people are on holidays, there … Continue reading
Posted in Community, Community/Education, Gigs, Youth Music Tagged community, Development, drumming, Fundraising, masamba, RiverRock, support, Thirstforbetter Leave a comment
June Statistics
We had a really busy, and a really good month of June. It was also a good balance between the community see of the work, and chances to perform at some quite high profile events. We blogged lots of little … Continue reading
Is June over yet??
As the end of June draws near, it's worth looking back at what has been a fantastic month for Masamba. However, right now, there is too much in the immediate future to allow for that! On Monday, we began a … Continue reading
Cramming Time!
As many students will know, as the end of the year approaches, a bit of cramming is usually in order. Week, it's the same in the Masamba camp over the next few weeks, we will have to go to school … Continue reading


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A quick guide by Dan Emery - originally posted to the Ponoko Blog.
As mentioned in our post on Raster Fill Engraving - during that process the laser beam moves back and forth over an area to remove material and the intensity of the pulses controls how much material is removed.
With vector engraving the laser traces along the line and the power of the beam is varied to control the depth of the engraving. This can be very detailed and accurate.
The heaviest vector engraving is about 0.5mm deep and the light vector engraving is just enough to leave a mark on the surface of the material. The width of the engraved line is about 0.3mm depending on the material.
Click on the photos to see the engraving results on a selection of materials:


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Women Reveal Biggest Turnoffs On Guys' Tinder Profiles
It's the nature of the game. You're going to get judged in a split second on Tinder, meaning you need to get that first impression right.
The smallest thing can be off-putting in a profile, and Elite Daily has honed-in on what makes women immediately swipe left – and it seems the recurring unattractive traits are to do with vanity in photos, or hiding your face.
At the end of the day, the aim is to meet in real life so they're going to find out that you're 5'8 anyway… so you may as well be up front about it.
Ricki, 27, explains how a smile goes a long way:
If men aren't smiling in their pictures, it means they either have really bad teeth or they have zero sense of humor. If they use screenshots of their snapchats, unless it is extremely hilarious, I don't want to see it until we are Snapchat friends.
If I see the same girl in every picture, I'm going to assume she is your recent ex-girlfriend, and you don't have any good pictures of yourself since you guys broke up.
Also, if you're showing off the Grouper you just caught on your dad's fishing boat… boy, bye.
When someone's profile is over-flowing with selfies, Mariah, 27 said it comes across as 'conceited':
A mirror selfie comes off very conceited. He really can't find one candid picture of himself that does his looks justice? It also comes off like he is way too concerned with looking perfect.
Alyssa, 25 is an immediate swipe left if photos are professional head shots, saying: "No one looks as good as their head shot. Plus, they look super sterile and impersonal."
Moving past the face in the photo, the background, context and activity you're doing are pretty important as well.
Gabriella, 25, doesn't just want scenery:
I'll swipe left if all of their photos are on a mountain or a waterfall three miles away. One is cool and shows you're adventurous, but I can't see you, bro.
Also, having pictures of heavy drinking or funneling beer in a frat from years ago is just not attractive.
It's an unspoken rule of Tinder that, if someone uses group photos, it is highly likely they are the shortest/worst looking one.
Maddie, 27, can't be bothered to investigate and find out which one you are:
If someone has five pictures on their profile, and all of them are group photos, most of us will assume you're the shortest, most unattractive one in the photo and/or don't have time to play detective and match your face in each photo.
Also, to whoever was the first girl to have balls and flat-out ask her online match how tall they were, thank you. "5'8″ if you care" is an appreciated note, and if you fall under 5'9″, I'm swiping left.
Anna, 24, is not a fan of sunglasses in every photo:
If you have sunglasses on in every single picture, I'm swiping left. I know you want to show off that one time you went on a boat with all of your buddies, but how am I supposed to tell you apart from all the other 6-foot brunette men I go for?
You can't even help this one from 24-year-old Christina, it's just down to luck:
Anyone with my brother's or ex-boyfriend's names are an immediate left swipe. You better be a real dime piece if your name is 'Chris'.
Janet, 24 sums up all of the above in some brutally honest advice:
If you're not smiling in any of your photos, that's a turnoff. Why so serious? And if you're partying or wasted in every photo, that's too intense for the opposite reason.
No matter how nice your muscles are or your expensive watch may be, those photos just make you seem superficial – even if you're not.
So, not too many things to try and get right then…
Topics: Life


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Sultan Abdullah Muhammad Shah Sultan Perak ke 26 telah di buang negeri ke Pulau Mahe, Seychelles sebuah kepulauan jajahan Perancis pada 21 July 1876 kerana dituduh bersubahat membunuh Residen Perak yg pertama James WW Birch.
Putera Baginda Raja Mansor telah belajar bermain biola dan lagu La Rosalie ciptaan Pierre Jean de Barrenger ( 1780-1857) sangat popular ketika itu.
Pada tahun 1888 Raja Mansur telah mengiringi Sultan Idris Murshidul Azam Shah ke England menghadiri pertabalan Queen Victoria. Apabila sampai disana Pihak British bertanyakan lagu Kebangsaan Negeri Perak tetapi Kerajaan Melayu tiada lagu Kebangsaan melainkan Nobat. Tetapi kerana tidak mahu mengaku kalah Raja Mansur telah bersiulkan lagu La Rosalie dan mulai dari itu Lagu Itu telah resmi menjadi Lagu Kebangsaan yang pertama di Bumi Malaya dan berjudul 'Allah Lanjutkan Usia Sultan '
Setelah itu sebuah Kumpulan Bangsawan Indonesia telah mendengar lagu Rosalie di Singapura dan menamakannya Stambul Satu sebelum merakamkannya semula sebagai Terang Boelan.
Pada tahan 1947 Felix Mendelssohn menyanyikan semula dgn tajuk Mamula Moon dan popular seluruh dunia.
Pada tahun 1956 kerajaan Malaya telah Menubuhkan committee bagi mencari lagu Kebangsaan bagi persediaan Sambutan Merdeka 1957. Lagu itu terpilih pada 5 Ogos 1957 setelah gagal mendapat lagu yg sesuai.
Lagu itu telah digubah semula olih
Alfonso Soliano (pemimpin Orchestra Radio Malaya), DSP Croff (Pengarah Muzik Band PDRM) dan A.T Reed (Pengarah Radio Malaya).
Senikata Negaraku pula telah digubah olih sebuah panel yang di perkenankan olih DYMM Raja Raja Melayu.
Pada Malam 31 Ogos 1957 Negarku diperdengarkan buat pertama kalinya di Stadium Merdeka.
Editorial from Sin Chew Daily News last Sunday, featuring Negaraku and, of course, Kak Saidah's book, Rosalie and Other Love Songs.
Translation below.
Sin Chew Daily News
Editorial – Sunday Latte (19th March 2017)
My Home Country (Negaraku) and Feelings about Rosalie
By Zhen Ding Xian
Caption for picture– Rosalie: Origins of Negaraku
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the national day, and the authorities are beginning promoting a series of activities with the major theme "Negaraku".
"Negaraku" is also the name for the national anthem of Malaysia; just the mention of Negaraku, the ear will ring with the pleasant tune of the national anthem. We had heard of numerous national anthems of the nearly 200 countries, but, in my view, in terms of the melodious tune, Negaraku can, without much dispute, be listed as one of the top three.
This reminds me of a dinner gathering a month ago in my friend's place. One beautiful and elegant Malay lady approached me in the midst of a casual conservation, and introduced herself, in fluent English, as Datin Saidah. She wanted to talk about a cover story reported earlier in Sin Chew Daily.
The title of that cover story was: Negaraku, a French song.
Datin Saidah believed that the report lacked comprehensiveness and led to a certain misunderstanding among public communities, and hoped that this condition can be rectified.
She talked on many points, but owing to my vague impression about that story, I was not so very clear about many of them. But she seemed to know very well about the article, and recounted it effortlessly as if she memorized it all by heart. Of course, her knowledge about the article must be from quotes from others or through translation.
I was a bit surprised to find that a report from a Chinese newspaper can lead to such an energetic response from a Malay lady.
When I was backed at office, I searched for that article. The content is generally about quotes from conservations with the historian, Khoo Kay Kim, who pointed out that Negaraku does not originate from Indonesia, but was a song, named La Rosalie, written by a French, Pierre Jean, about a hundred years ago.
After re-reading the article, I did not see much issue about it, and so gradually lost sight of the whole matter.
A week later, I received a parcel with a hard-covered book in it, titled Rosalie, and the author is Saidah Rastam.
She is the Datin Saidah whom I met before.
Datin is a composer and also a researcher on Malay musical history. She read laws in her early years in UK and practiced laws for a few years after coming back to Malaysia, and now returns to her beloved music. She is also related to the Perak royal family by blood.
The first chapter of the book is none other than 'Rosalie: the Origins of Negaraku'.
Datin has made an in-depth research, and narrated in a detailed way about the origins of Negaraku, and how it became the national anthem.
British resident, JWW Birch was assassinated in Pasir Salak, Perak during the colonial period. As punishment, Sultan Abdullah of Perak was sent into exile by the British colonial power to the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. The old sultan gazed at the sea everyday and listened to the song, Rosalie, played by local French musical band.
The lyrics of the song relate to sentimental nostalgic affection to a girl by the name Rosalie, but what the sultan thought of was his faraway country.
Later on, the song became a favourite of the prince, Raja Chulan, when he visited his father in the Seychelles. After his return to the palace in Perak, he regularly hummed with the tune of the song, and everyone in the palace thus became familiar with it.
In this way, the song, Rosalie, spread from the palace into among the ordinary people. Matched up with different lyrics, some became love songs, some as lullabies. From the Malay Peninsula, it reached out into Indonesian archipelago with the most famous version known as the Terang Bulan. Over time, some said the song came from Indonesia.
A few years later, a team of delegates from Perak was invited to visit Britain. For the sake of ceremonial etiquette, the Perak delegation was asked to provide a state anthem of Perak for performance purposes. However, there was no state anthem for Perak at that time, and the song, Rosalie, came to the mind of Raja Mansur (the elder brother of Raja Chulan). He, therefore, hummed out the tune of the song to the British musical band to be performed as the state anthem.
A year before Merdeka, in 1956, Tunku (Abdul Rahman) set up a national anthem committee, headed by him, with the purpose of selecting a national anthem from around the world for the new country.
With the generous reward of ten thousand dollars, there were very good responses, receiving 514 pieces of work from Britain, USA, Europe, Australia, Turkey, India and Malaya.
Tunku did not feel satisfied with these pieces, and so none was accepted after the reviewing process.
After this, the committee made requests to some of the top composers of the world, some of whom were venerable masters of the musical world of that time.
These composers submitted their entries, but Tunku again felt not satisfied and rejected all.
Everyone was worried as Merdeka day was getting closer and closer, but the national anthem was still elusive.
Finally, Tunku thought of the graceful tune of the charming Rosalie/Terang Bulan, and decided right away that this will be the national anthem. This is the Negaraku.
Whose piece of work is Negaraku? Pierre Jean?
No one really knows for sure. Pierre is celebrated for writing lyrics, but not as a composer; furthermore, later research about his works does not revealed that they included Rosalie.
Perhaps, it is a piece of work without known authorship, and of unknown origin. This, however, does not hinder its wide distribution with a variety of versions appearing in French, Malay, Dutch, English, and Chinese languages. There exists this deeply ingrained sense of affection, be it that between lovers, among family members or towards a country, that transcends what language the song may appear in.
It does not matter if it is from France, Seychelles, Indonesia or the USA. It is not that important anymore.
What influenced Tunku in making that final decision is the sensual melody of the song that conveys the feeling of love; that love that is contagious that binds different people together in the embrace of the home country.
This love is fully expressed in the lyrics: the nation progressively marching on with her people feeling happy and blessed and united together.
This is the love that comes with the 60th anniversary of the foundation of the country; we should not let it down.
Whatsapp's small group discussion


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PP Shri Prakashrao Prabhune Maharaj
Life sketch of PP Shri Prakashrao Prabhune Maharaj
The Spiritual Master, P. P. Shri Narayankaka Dhekane Maharaj bid farewell to the world on 5th November 2012, who was the founder member and the chief trustee of P. P. Shri Loknathtirth Swami Maharaj Mahayoga Trust. He desired that sitting trustee and one of the founder members of the trust, P. P. Shri Prakashrao Prabhune Maharaj be his successor as Chief Trustee. Late November 2012 P. P. Shri Prakashrao Prabhune Maharaj assumed the charge as chief trustee.
P. P. Shri Prakashrao Prabhune Maharaj was born in the city of Aurangabad, Maharashtra State (India) on 24th October 1949. He passed his Bachelor of Engineering (Electrical) degree in first division and was a merit scholar in the engineering college. He superannuated on 31st October 2009, as Deputy General Manager from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., Aircraft Division, Nashik which manufactures and overhauls MiG series fighters and bombers.
During his employment, he received training in Russia and later in France for upgradation of MiG aircraft. He bagged many awards during his service such as Research and Development Award during National Seminar On Aircraft Upgrade, Engineering Achivement Award by Institute of Engineers, India and so on.
In June 1961, P. P. Shri Narayankaka Dhekane Maharaj, who was a government servant, was transferred to Nashik and P. P. Shri Prabhune Maharaj came in contact with him. P. P. Shri Prabhune Maharaj was initiated into Mahayoga by P. P. Shri Narayankaka Dhekane Maharaj and later declared his as his Spiritual Heir and wished him to continue his mission.
Nourishing a desire that every human being be follower of Mahayoga, P. P. Shri Dhekane Maharaj till his last breath kept propagating Mahayoga. P. P. Shri Prabhune Maharaj, following the footsteps of P. P. Shri Dhekane Maharaj, visited all over India explaining Mahayoga to the aspirants.


text: Trade Commissioner Lamy's approach has won approval At its ministerial meeting on Monday, EU foreign and trade ministers backed the strategy of Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy for a draft World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal, but called for the accord to take more account of EU interests. Lamy had been under particular pressure from France, which fears too many concessions over the EU's 40bn euro ($48.6) farm support budget, of which it is the biggest beneficiary. "We now have a very strong and clear mandate with a lot of political energy, which is what we need," Lamy said. "We now have a very strong and clear mandate with a lot of political energy, which is what we need" Pascal Lamy, EU trade commissioner The ministers' final statement gave him broad backing to seek a "balanced framework", but omitted more precise wording on how Lamy should conduct agricultural negotiations. The central theme of the WTO talks is the politically sensitive issue of making agricultural markets fairer as well as reducing trade barriers to industrial goods and services. The EU has offered to reduce domestic farm support and end export subsidies, but it wants to protect farmers who produce products deemed sensitive, such as dairy goods and beef. Lamy said the US had to reduce or limit its export aid and reform its $51.7bn six-year farm bill, estimated to boost US crop and dairy subsidies by 67%. France has strongly opposed Lamy's offer in WTO talks to end agricultural export assistance if other countries such as the US make similar efforts over subsidies. SOURCE: Agencies


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Gymnasts Back on the Beam
The University of Arizona gymnastics team opened its season last week and will have its first home meet on Jan. 16 at 7 p.m. in the McKale Center.
And mark your calendars: The Pac-12 Network will televise the Wildcats' home meet against rival Arizona State on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m.
With 13 gymnasts returning for coach Bill Ryden, three freshmen were added to the roster: Madison Cindric, a physiology major; Kennady Schneider, who is studying journalism and photography; and Victoria Ortiz, a criminal justice major.
Cindric, a native of Lantana, Texas, was a Junior Olympic National qualifier in 2011 and was awarded third in the the Junior Olympic National all-around in 2013. She also was a Junior Olympic team member in 2013.
Schneider, from Henderson, Nevada, previously competed for 10 years at Gymcats in Las Vegas. She qualified for nationals in 2012 and 2014 and also for the National Invite Tournament in 2014. She was the state bar and floor champion in 2014.
Ortiz, from Tucson, qualified for the National Invitational Tournament in 2014.
The Jan. 16 quad meet also will include Illinois-Chicago, Sacramento State and Wisconsin-Stout. After the home opener, the Wildcats will head to the University of California, Los Angeles, for a Jan. 19 meet that will air on the Pac-12 Network. For coverage of Arizona gymnastics, follow the team on Facebook and via Twitter, @AZGymnastics.
(Photos courtesy of Arizona Athletics)


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When thinking about Search Engine Optimization, it's appetizing to apply on what's occurring behind-the-scenes and carelessness bigger agency to access exposure. Whether you're anon ambidextrous with SEO or searching to acclaim your absolute SEO attendance with access for added exposure, it's important to consistently focus on developing and growing your digital internet marketing strategy.
On-Page SEO vs. Off-Page SEO Factors
When you look at SEO, it's important to understand the difference between on-page and off-page factors. While these two groups plan calm for the greater acceptable of accretion rankings and active traffic, they're different ventures. According to this accessible infographic that divides SEO success factors into a alternate table design, on-page elements accredit to content, HTML, and website architecture, while off-page elements cover links, trust, social, and personal.
- On-page Optimization Factor : When the boilerplate banker or abecedarian thinks about SEO, things like keywords, HTML structure, meta descriptions, headlines, website speed, and crawlability appear to mind. These are the on-page factors and are actual important; however, you can't overlook about off-page elements.
- Off-page Optimization Factor : These are abundantly accompanying to cast acquaintance and acknowledgment and cover things like backlinks, website and cast authority, amusing acceptability and shares, and bounded location.
Being acknowledged at SEO and maximizing acknowledgment requires you to pay absorption to both sets of factors.
With the GOAL of acceptable brand awareness and SEO accomplishment in mind, let's yield a attending at some of the best SEO-boosting tips to pursue:
- Add high-level content: The amount one tip is acutely to aftermath high-level content. What that agency is autograph agreeable that satisfies both animal readers and the seek engines. When you're able to do this, you can affect both on-page elements like agreeable superior and keyword relevancy, as able-bodied as enhance off-page elements like authority, trust, and identity. While you never wish to let keywords behest your absolute agreeable strategy, it can be accessible to alpha with a accumulation of accordant agreement and use those niches as ablution credibility for added all-embracing content.
- Create Eye-catchy landing pages: If you're not borer into the ability of custom landing pages, you're missing out. They accommodate a abundant befalling for active targeted cartage to your website and architecture assurance with a specific audience. Thanks to convenient accoutrement and plugins, even those with little architecture acquaintance can ability sleek, high-converting pages. The ambition for landing pages is to accumulate the bulletin brief, while application accordant agreeable and alternate elements to appoint with readers.
- Acquire High Quality links: Authoritative backlinks accept consistently been an important off-page agency for SEO. While purchasing links can advance you down a glace slope, advance in awful accordant bedfellow blogging opportunities and industry partnerships can acquiesce you to enhance cast acquaintance and access acknowledgment over an continued aeon of time. In accession to bedfellow blogging, there are affluence of added agency to acquire backlinks. These cover abutting and accommodating in blogging communities, answering questions in bulletin boards and amusing communities, bond to your blog in appointment signatures, commenting on added blogs in adjustment to body a acceptability or enhance anticipation leadership, and more.
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Let's be honest, how many of us would have ever expected the Oilers to fire Todd McLellan and replace him with Ken Hitchcock? I was driving into work today and my phone absolutely exploded and when I looked at what was going on, I was shocked. If I'm being honest, I'm still trying to process where we're at and how the Oilers ended up landing on Hitchcock as the solution to what's going on here. Needless to say, I was very interested to see what Peter Chiarelli had to say about this move… that I personally think Bob Nicholson made.
When asked for a timeline on what made
Bob Nicholson him decide that a coaching change was needed, Chiarelli pointed to the recent run of games as the start of the process.
"Certainly our last little stretch has given me a lot of pause for thought and with all the parity in the league I thought now was the time to do it" -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
Pretty tough to watch the flawed team you built get dummied like that, I guess. Sorry, that was rude and I cut you off. Please walk us through your thinking and when it really clicked that now was the time to make a move.
"It really came up after the Sunday game." -Chiarelli on making the decision to fire Todd #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
Yeah, I can see how getting pumped by a terrible team would make you think that something was wrong, but the team left for San Jose yesterday morning so when did you tell Todd?
"I told him early this morning and he was obviously disappointed. He's a good man and we talked about a number of things that will remain private. We've all been fired before and it's not a good situation." -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
Oh man. The poor guy had to travel with the team only to get fired in the city that he last worked in. Dude, that is so lame but at least he still has a house there so he can head home to relax. Does he get a lift back with you guys to Edmonton to pick up his stuff? Awkward.
"Unfortunately, Todd had to come with us and it was certainly not planned." -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
But you just said you more or less made the decision on Sunday night after the Vegas game. Why didn't you do it yesterday morning before the flight out? Hitch not locked in yet? Probably not locked in yet, huh? Frankly, that's the only thing that makes sense is that he hadn't agreed to come aboard yet because if you knew this was happening and still brought Todd with you then that is a greasy move imo.
"I just saw some reversion back, so I can't tell you. This isn't scientific. There's a sense and a feel. You talk to people." -Chiarelli on McLellan #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
Riiiiiight. Anyway, let's get to the man himself.
On Ken Hitchcock being the man for the job
"There's still a lot of runway left in this year and we felt that a new voice would be helpful" -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
With 20 games in the books, it makes a lot of sense that the Oilers would want to make a change now rather than let things carry on this way, but I'm still not sure all of the blame should be heaped on Todd McLellan either. He's not the one that put this roster together, though he certainly did make some odd choices with the cards he was dealt.
"I had the experience of working with Ken in Sochi. Obviously his track record is impeccable. He's a very good techtician." -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
While it is true that they worked together in Sochi, I still can't help but feel like this is a Bob Nicholson move more so than a decision Chiarelli would have made. I mean, the guy retired twice already so it must have taken someone with some major Hitchcock pull to get him back in back in the mix. Gretzky? Nicholson? The tinfoil had theories can go on forever, but what was it about Mr. Hitchcock that makes you feel comfortable with putting him in place?
"He knows how to inject system structure and execution in a short period of time. I though he was the right person to the job." -Chiarelli on why Hitchcock #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
If there's one thing we know about Ken Hitchcock, it's that he is a guy that demands the attention of his players and that they're all on board with the game plan. Could that have been an issue here?
"He can instill something in short order and execute and direct it. He's going to be here for the year and evaluate at the end of the year." -Chiarelli on Hitchcock #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
That's a positive, I guess. I mean, time is running out and we need the train to get back on the rails in short order so making improvements is something that needs to happen now. On the other hand, we're not going to see McDavid trying to play the trap, are we?
"He does have elements of his game that are defensive… and that's important." -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe a more defensive style is exactly what this team needs. Maybe Hitchcock will come in and teach these boys the beauty of playing on both sides of the puck, something that has been sorely lacking over the years. Maybe? Anybody? I guess we'll see.
"He's very excited and motivated" -Chiarelli on Hitchcock #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
I really hope so. The guy is now 66-years-old and came out of retirement for this gig so we're going to have to wait and see what he can do. Right now, I'm just trying to keep an open mind and see how this plays out.
On the new assistant coaches
Obviously, the Oilers hired a bunch of new assistant coaches this summer and people wanted to know what was going to happen with them.
"The assistants will remain." -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
Now that I'm really thinking about it, I'm almost surprised they didn't just bump Gulutzan up a level but they clearly wanted to bring in someone with more experience that could instantly command respect.
On integrating the youth
One concern I was seeing on Twitter was how an older coach like Hitchcock would be able to handle young players like Puljujarvi and Yamamoto, and I think that's valid so I was happy to see the question get asked.
"We talked about a number of things, including integrating some youth." -Chiarelli #Oilers
— OilersNation.com (@OilersNation) November 20, 2018
When he was in St. Louis, Hitchcock worked well with a young Tarasenko and helped him become the dominant force we know today. Before that, many moons ago in Dallas, Hitchcock also gets credit for helping Mike Modano become a better two-way player so there's hope here that he can continue that run. That said, I don't know enough about his record with young players to really be able to comment so we'll just have to wait and see how he uses the kids and how he helps them along in their development.
I'm trying to be positive here so I'm going to go ahead and say that I'm happy the move was made now and not two months in the future, but I still can't help but feel that both the coach AND GM deserved the axe. At some point, you have to blame the guy that felt building a team with three nails and a bunch of used chewing gum was a good idea, but it's the NHL way for the GM to get at least one coaching change first. That's not to say that Todd McLellan doesn't deserve some of the blame here, he definitely does, but I also believe he took the bullet for a mess that Peter Chiarelli created. That's life in the streets, though, I guess.
At the end of the day, it's going to take some time to truly process this move and see what Ken Hitchcock is able to do with the roster. Right now, I don't really know what to think, it's going to take some time to process, but I'm going into this thing with an open mind and a hope that Hitchcock will be able to get more out of this roster. Throughout his career, he's shown the ability to get teams moving in the right direction over the short term, but he'll have his work cut out for him because this team looks very fragile right now. I guess we'll see how/if that changes in the Hitchcock era.
What do you guys think?


text: kreso Posted August 22, 2013 ....see the point? why all the arguing, then? I don't see discussions as arguing. Be that as it may, we can always agree to disagree about something. I'm not saying SCS fighters wouldn't do themselves a huge favour by finishing of party members, but it may lead to very stupid behaviour on their part. The current solution is fine. If you really want your disabled charaters dead, you can install aTweaks Undead, Demons, Elementals and you''ll have a blast, believe me. It even installs on top of SCS . Quote Share this post Link to post


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Hi crafty folks! Today I want to share a vintage-style American dream tucked inside the 4" x 4" Mini House Room Box. This young couple is just starting out and have saved their pennies for a home. Let's build it!
First thing is a bit of a warning that this is an image-heavy post. A lot goes into home construction. ::nod nod::
I measured and cut vintage ledger paper to cover the back wall (including the attic area) and side walls.
Brick is my favorite construction and this young couple deserves the best! I used the Brick Wall 2 stencil and molding paste on the back and sides. Allow it to dry overnight.
For the roof I used the pointed Chipboard Shingles. I gesso'd a bunch then cut them down to 4 points each, which allowed me to stagger the points. Next thing was to glue them down and allow to dry, then cut with heavy duty scissors. I tried to use a guillotine paper cutter but the shingles were too thick. A little sanding helped to clean up the cuts.
Time to paint the bricks! This isn't a real brick factory so I had to paint them... You know how it is. I've made bricks a couple of ways so far, and this time I used my education teammie Nicola Battilana's video tutorial. It was very helpful!
I glued tiny little rocks to the base and let it dry overnight.
So back to the roof! I needed to cap it off. My idea was to cut a piece of thin chipboard, score it, and glue it down. In the second photo, you can see I found a big enough blank in the middle of another GSL Cut laser cut. Yay!
To finish off all the roofing edges I mixed molding paste with black gesso (even though the photo shows acrylic paint -- oops). I carefully applied it to the peak and all the edges in layers, allowing it to dry each time. It took a couple of layers to fill it all in and look like roofing tar. Or whatever that's called. The black stuff!
For an inside element I used a piece of felt (just because it was close by) to dab black paint on a Filmstrip Mini Sheet then cut down photos of the couple.
And finally, they moved in!
Here's a view of the filmstrip and see their first house number plate? That's from the white set of Faux Metal Number Plates. There is a mini wood spool popping out from the back wall.
Here's a finish view of the roof peak. See how I softened the edges with the molding paste mixture? Once that was dried I did a bit of finish work with a fine sand paper and coated it all with flat black paint.
GSL Cuts Used
Mini House Room Box 4x4 Open #D13WB
Chipboard Shingles - Pointed #D119P
Brick Wall 2 #D42D
Filmstrip Mini Sheet D12J
Faux Metal Number Plates (White) #LN042114001


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A home inspection report will highlight a list of home repair issues needing attention before you complete the purchase transaction.
Regardless of whether the house you want to buy is a new construction or decades old, you will always need to make a request for repairs.
Repairs can run the gamut from major plumbing or electrical issues to minor tile chips or floor scratches.
Keep in mind that it is unlikely that the sellers will repair the tens (or hundreds) of line items on your fix-it wish list.
Therefore, it is important for a buyer to have clear and reasonable expectations when making home repair requests.
Leverage Home Repair in Your Favor
Let them hear it from a pro: hire a professional, experienced home inspector to fully inspect the home you have your eye on.
Aside from determining whether the house is in good enough shape for you to invest your hard earned money in it, having an official inspection report will give you an edge at the negotiation table.
Telling the seller you want the porch repaired because it feels shaky will not hold weight unless a professional home inspector submits a report about the porch's structural damage.
Each Home Repair is Not Equal to the Next
If the home repair is relatively minor in cost or a non-safety issue, it may not be worth making an issue over it. Valid buyer repair requests are generally significant issues uncovered by a thorough home inspection.
Any items obvious when you initially look at the house—like cracked sidewalks or peeling paint—should be stipulated in the purchase offer and not requested as a home repair later in the process.
Common Home Repair Requests
Here are some items commonly found on buyers' home repair lists, although sellers may or may not be willing to fix them:
-Upgrading ungrounded electrical wiring if the house was built before the 1960s
-Replacing old-style galvanized water pipes or any leaking pipes
-Making roof repairs
-Changing disintegrating sewer pipes
-Upgrading heating/cooling systems and water heaters
Required Home Repair Items
Items a seller must fix are these:
-Any water penetration issues, such as a wet basement or moldy walls
-Local code safety violations, such as missing handrails or an unstable deck
In addition, any repairs listed on the appraisal report must be fixed.
For example, if a structural problem was noted on the appraisal, a lender may not be willing to release funds to the buyer until that home repair is made.
In many cases, the seller may opt to offer you a cash credit for the cost of the repair, rather than taking the time to have it repaired themselves.
This is actually in the buyer's favor, as the seller no longer has a vested interest in ensuring the job will be done right.


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Welcome, everyone, to the final round of the 2017 Watchers on the Wall Awards! Every year we celebrate the best of Game of Thrones, as chosen by the fan community. We've gathered up your suggestions for all our nominees, and after the preliminary round of voting, narrowed it down to just five candidates in each category. Now it's time to get down to it, and choose the true winners of season 7!
We're kicking off the fun with a pair of big categories- Best Leading Actress and Actor of the year. These are the stars who led the show and their storylines. They're the backbone and the beating heart of Game of Thrones. Which leads reigned supreme in season 7?
(And before you ask- if you don't see your fave in these polls, they were most likely placed in the Best Supporting category based on your nominations!)
For Best Actress, the nominees are:
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister
Sophie Turner as Sansa Stark
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark
For Best Actor, the nominees are:
John Bradley as Samwell Tarly
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister
Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister
Kit Harington as Jon Snow
Final round rules: To choose winners, cast your vote in each category in the polls below. In the finals, unlike the preliminaries, fans have one vote to cast in each category. At the end of 72 hours (Sunday 12/03/17 at 12PM ET), the performer in each category with the most votes will be the winner! The results of the polls will be revealed during the live Watchers on the Wall Awards ceremony, specific date to be announced in the near future!


text: Congratulations to Andrew Todd on being elected as the new President Elect of the Water Quality Section. Professionally, Andrew works as a research biologist, conducting research on the impacts of diverse stressors (e.g. acid-rock drainage, climate change) to cold-water rivers and streams for the USGS. In recent years, he has worked as a contaminants biologist at the future Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge site, and as the primary project scientist for Trout Unlimited's Colorado Water Project. Andrew received a bachelors degree in biology from Williams College, and masters and doctoral degrees in environmental engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder. When not at work, Andrew is an avid trail runner, fly fisherman, and craft beer drinker. Come to the business meeting and welcome him to the section.