text:
Let's talk about ACCA some more now that the initial hype has died down before the anime ends up forgotten over time.
While I have no problem with people praising the storytelling of a product, especially when you consider how much I rail on visual novel anime consisting of nothing but bad storytelling, one big problem I have with the anime fanbase's usage of the term is that they never seem to indicate what said storytelling is for. It's not quite on the same level as world-building in terms of "on its own, it sucks", but I think people forget that there are guys like me who don't care about the overall goals of stuff like FX's Fargo and thus don't care about how good the storytelling in it is. What can I say? I'm a very opinionated guy and make no effort to hide that fact because objectivity on the Internet is just too much of a pain to deal with. However, what I do know is that I have to stamp my foot down when people consider ACCA to be the pinnacle of good storytelling without giving me a substantial reason why.
I've recently been having people who don't care about Scum's Wish telling me why it's bad storytelling – obviously people who don't watch or like Shameless if they think this is exploitative trash that breaks the realism barrier. To which I always respond with "it has a guy trying to change a woman to his own liking, even knowing it's futile, and when someone else convinces her to change, he realizes that he would have never been happy if he achieved his goal. How is that not interesting to you?" If they don't find that interesting, fine, but few people would deny that it's an understandable reason.
Whenever I see someone praise ACCA, you know what they say? Mauve wears both men's clothing and women's clothing, showing she can be badass without discarding her femininity. Fine, but what does that have to do with the plot? The direction given by Natsume Ono and whoever did the soundtrack really puts me in the mood. First off, don't research who makes an anime ahead of time, and second, what's that mood directed towards? There's a difference between Genius Party and Genius Party Beyond you know. The discussions regarding bread are so kawaii. Need I remind you that this is not Lucky Star? This is a show trying to have a plot, and NONE of these praises have anything to do with the story! It's all superficial elements that would be nice in real life, but in fiction, it's nothing but junk food!
And like I said in the review, it all comes down to the dialogue in ACCA and how godawful it is. Don't believe people when they say this "saying one thing but meaning another" style of writing is what most dialogue should strive to be. I could buy that if the "another" meant something besides foreshadowing that has nothing to do with the present, but it always does, and when you're going that vague, being a blunt environmentalist nut can only be considered an improvement. Whenever the characters open their mouths, they're always delivering exposition about the setting or preparing for potentially interesting conversations that we don't get to see.
There was one conversation in the last third of the show where the antagonist was flat-out asked why he took so long to reveal his plans and he said it was so he could familiarize himself with the setting. That is a fucking awful reason to put off the plot for that long. That's world-building for the sake of world-building, one of the many banal storytelling devices bad writers use just to get a decent length out of something. Or JK Rowling when she realized writing movie scripts is different from writing novels.
I've talked before in one of my old Euphonium posts regarding what I consider good dialogue, and while the rules are a little flexible, I still stand by you have to follow most of them. Euphonium itself is a prime example of how far dialogue can carry a story when it's good, especially since there were noticeable moments when said dialogue wasn't really all that, like in both seasons' respective sixth episodes. I've been rewatching Aku no Hana as of late and pretty much every time the characters opened their mouth, their frustration with their own selves dripped onto the screen in order to give substance to the uncomfortable yet expressive rotoscoping. Yes it had a lot of quiet scenes where characters did nothing but walk, but that was so the animation could convey the emptiness of a boring repetitive life, which is a core part of the story. ACCA doesn't have that excuse with its portrayal of "boring office life" because the plot doesn't have anything to do with that.
I'm not sure if I'd call ACCA pretentious, because it feels more like the author just wanted to write what he thought was cool without caring about important things like what happens in it, what the major themes are, and what context it wanted to impart to the audience. Even Angel Beats, the anime that tried to do way too much in regards to cramming in a bunch of concert scenes and fishing in the same scene as a heart-tugging story about people dying due to the unfairness of life, had a goal at the start: a bunch of highschool students angry with the world fighting God, only to discover that said anger was misdirected due to their self-inflicted blindness. What does ACCA have to match that? A less offensive tone at the expense of anything resembling direction? You do realize that just makes your dialogue, and consequently your story and characters, worse right?
Dialogue sounding naturalistic is so goddamn overrated in the writing business. Sure no one wants to sit through the clunky exposition from Marvel's Iron Fist, but if you're still going to be dealing out exposition regardless of how you make it sound, then you might as well make it the Tokyo Tribe style where the main bad guy describes all the gangs through a rap song whilst sexually harassing a topless female cop. Dialogue sounding good is not the same thing as dialogue "being" good. It has to be "about" something interesting, and ACCA never talks about anything I give a damn about.
Because the show literally tells me nothing about the ACCA government besides how it helps to bring peace to the world, with no clarification on how it actually does that beyond saying their are thirteen districts and royalty. The only thing we see of these jobs are inspections, and the most I ever got from them was when Jean went to that mining colony and realized that although they are poor, they're still happy. Imagine if the mining episode from the original Fullmetal Alchemist anime pulled that shit. Most fans would have thought said episode was a waste of space.
And the characters are never given anything interesting to do either. They may be mature and "well-rounded", but that means shit if you don't make use of them. In fact, what are their personal flaws? What are their character arcs? What about their individual philosophies? Jean is a guy who was born into high social status and is put as a centerpiece of the revolution despite not really caring or doing anything about it. That's not inherently bad, but you need more ingredients than that, because that sort of characterization is something a twelve-year could write. And he always reacts like he's a character in a Bioware game with all the unconvincing voice acting and bad facial expressions that zone me out every time I see a character in one of those games speak.
There was one moment when I laughed at the dialogue to this show. It wasn't an intentional one though. It was during the coup in the final episode where the prince is surrounded by guys with spears, about to be overthrown, only for Mauve to talk him down and making him change his ways whilst making sure the bad guys don't get theirs by literally saying "ACCA is important and helps people". That's obviously paraphrased, but it's basically what she says due to how no one in this show wants to talk about the specifics of what ACCA actually does. And when said speech actually works and there's still half the episode to go, I broke down and laughed. Whilst spouting obscenities that Madhouse probably heard from across the globe. I laughed and cursed because I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was one of the biggest "fuck yous" I've seen until Chaos;Child one-upped it the next day.
Do you guys remember No Man's Sky? That really hyped space exploration video game from last year that got backlashed so hard when it was discovered that there was no end goal in regards to all the planetary activities, the locations were all the same only with minor differences, and the gameplay was repetitively tedious? Basically a bunch of C-minus elements thrown in hoping they'd all make an A? That's what ACCA is. Absolutely nothing can stand on its own, so it tries to rely on the novelty of its combination of elements to make something interesting. I'm afraid that's not how quality works, Madhouse. You have to have an A-level backbone, because otherwise you're a resistance army without a general launching an invasion against the enemy country's next-door neighbor.
Minor Quips
- What exactly is the point of Jean's existence in the plot anyways? You could have replaced him with a plushie and it would have made just as much difference.
- Nothing dies faster than hype, so I'm curious how well this anime will hold up a few weeks from now.


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subset: commoncrawl


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29th Feb 2012
Palmers Royal Visit
here at Palmers, we've been celebrating our 175th birthday – we've been trading for 175 years and we are so proud. But Monday was extra special for us as HRH The Prince of Wales came to our Great Yarmouth store to celebrate with us!
The store was looking fabulous and each and every member of staff was looking super smart in their black suits and shining name badges, ready to meet Prince Charles. The day was absolutely amazing, we were all so pleased with how it went and everyone has commented on how absolutely lovely the Prince was, making us all feel comfortable and saying such lovely things about us in his speech.
Prince Charles entered Palmers on 27/02/12. He walked all around the ground floor, met many members of staff in their departments and saw demonstrations from our beauty teams. Then he came upstairs to listen to a little Palmers history lesson by our very knowledgeable local historian, Michael Boon. Afterwards he walked through to our coffee room where he inspected (with hungry eyes!) our 175th celebration cake and met Kirsty, who makes all our cakes in store.
Finally, he came up onto our temporary stage, where we presented him with his own royal celebration cake and asked him to unveil our commemorative plaque. He then made a really complimentary speech, commending family business and all that we have been through.
The celebrations carried on after Prince Charles left with the first of our Palmers tea dances which was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone who took part. We had a wonderful day and could not be happier with how it turned out. We would like to send a massive thank you to Prince Charles for making the day so special and let him know he is welcome to come back any time – perhaps he'll pop by next time he is staying in Sandringham – maybe he'll bring his mum!
Follow the visit on Facebook and Twitter #PrinceAtPalmers. We even made it on the news!:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-17180030comments powered by Disqus


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GTM Research and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) recently released U.S. Solar Market Insight: 3rd Quarter 2013, the definitive analysis of solar power markets in the United States, with strategic state-specific data for 28 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
The U.S. installed 930MW of photovoltaics (PV) in Q3 2013, up 20% over Q2 2013 and 35% over Q3 2012. This represents the second largest quarter in the history of the U.S. solar market and the largest quarter ever for residential PV installations. Even more importantly, 2013 is likely to be the first time in more than 15 years that the U.S. installs more solar capacity than world leader Germany, according to GTM Research forecasts.
The residential market continues its rapid growth. Through Q3, residential PV installations were up 45% year-over-year, driven largely by increasingly attractive economics and by fair net metering policies. The non-residential (commercial) market has seen the most difficulty this year with installations forecasted to stay flat over last year. The utility market continues its consistently strong installation numbers and is forecasted to exceed 1 GW of installations in the fourth quarter. This will be the first time any individual market segment has hit that mark.
At the state-level, California continues to lead the solar PV charge, installing 455MW in Q3. North Carolina moved into the number three spot in total PV installations with 23% growth over last quarter. Other movers and shakers on the state rankings list include Nevada (moving from 17 to 5) and Vermont (from 21 to 12)


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Renee Alway Gossip via New York Daily News (July 2013)
August 22, 2013
On July 18, 2013, the New York Daily News posted an article regarding Cycle 8's Renee Alway and a recent news story about her arrest after a 6-hour standoff with authorities. Here is the text from the article (Posted by Nina Golgowski):
Brutal mug shot of Renee Alway from 'America's Next Top Model' shows aftermath of 6-hour armed standoff
The 27-year-old former model's photo released by the Palm Springs police shows her virtually unrecognizable face covered in cuts and bruises after a June standoff with police.
Being on "America's Next Top Model" might be easier than it actually looks — if a brutal mug shot is anything to go by.
A battered and bruised mug shot of once promising model Renee Alway has been released showing an entirely unrecognizable appearance to the blond woman America once knew and adored.
The shocking face is the brutal aftermath of a six-hour armed standoff with police in California last month, according to authorities in Palm Springs, Calif.
Red bruises and cuts appear under the 27-year-old's eyes and chin. Her face tilts downward — this time away from the camera lens she once shined for.
Alway, who was one of three finalists on the program in 2007, was arrested June 28 and charged with first and second degree burglary, fraud and committing a felony while released on bail.
Police say they found her hiding while armed in the garage of an unoccupied home whose owners were out of the country after concerned neighbors reported seeing a suspicious-looking woman walking around.
A violent standoff with police ensued when an armed man was believed to also be inside the house, bringing the SWAT team in. Alway was the only one found at the scene.
Always' bail was set at $150,000 with a court appearance scheduled for Thursday.
Perhaps even more shockingly is that this was the former model's at least fourth arrest this year, the Desert Sun reports.
Those prior arrests include two in April for grand theft of more than $400, grand theft with a firearm and receiving stolen property.
In June she was arrested twice more for drug paraphernalia, petty theft and fraud, TMZ reports.
To learn more about Cycle 8's Renee Alway, visit her bio page here.
Source: New York Daily News
2 Responses to "Renee Alway Gossip via New York Daily News (July 2013)"
September 12, 2014 at 9:36 pm
"…woman America once knew and adored"? I think "adored" is laying it on pretty think, don't you? She looked WAY older than her age, and she was a mean, nasty gossip.
September 12, 2014 at 9:39 pm
She always looked like she did dope, methamphetamine (perhaps, but not necessarily, crystal meth)! No wonder she looked like she was closing in on her 40th birthday! Jeez, she was only 21 on the show. NOTHING ages a person faster than methamphetamine.


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Leeds United have won the race to sign Sunderland striker Connor Wickham on loan until the end of the season, the second addition since the takeover of Massimo Cellino.
Brian McDermott's side secured the signing of Jack Butland on loan from Stoke City on a 93-day loan last week and have now added Wickham to their ranks in order to further strengthen the club's play-off push despite Cellino's takeover at Elland Road having yet to be ratified by The Football League.
Wickham spent two months of the season at Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday, scoring eight goals in 12 appearances and after being deemed surplus to requirements at the Stadium of Light for the remainder of the season, including the League Cup this weekend, the 20 year old has joined Leeds.
"I need to be playing football," said Wickham. "I'd been playing at Wednesday and I knew there was some interest in me, but I just needed to focus on playing football.
"Once I heard Leeds were interested in signing me there were no other choices and no doubt I wanted to come.
"I played against Leeds earlier this season with Sheffield Wednesday. The potential here is big. There are some players here that I know already, and the team is looking to push towards the play-offs. Hopefully I can help with that.
"I just want to play football and do the best I can, and hopefully push the team into the promotion picture."
Manager McDermott, whose side are seven points adrift of the play-off places with 15 games remaining, added: "We are delighted to have signed Connor until the end of the season.
"There was a lot of competition for his signature, but he was very keen to come and play at Leeds United. He is another young English player who has everything in front of him."
Top scorer Ross McCormack has scored the lion's share of Leeds' goals this season, with 22 in the Championship and Wickham will be hoping to supplement the Scot given the lack of goals elsewhere in the squad.
Manager director David Haigh said: "We're delighted to bring another quality player into the club. Jack showed why we were so keen to sign him with a terrific performance at Middlesbrough on Saturday, and Connor is another young player with a similar pedigree.
"Brian has made no secret of the fact that he has been looking to strengthen, and we're delighted we've been able to support him with two key acquisitions to the squad."


text:
4 days
Employees of federal, state and local governments; and businesses working with the government.
There are no prerequisites for this course.
Course Description:
TOGAF, an Open Group standard, is a proven enterprise architecture methodology and framework used by the world's leading organizations to improve business efficiency. TOGAF helps practitioners avoid being locked into proprietary methods, utilize resources more efficiently and effectively, and realize a greater return on investment. TOGAF is an industry-standard architecture framework that may be used freely by your organization to develop an information systems architecture.
In this course, you will gain the knowledge needed to prepare for and achieve both TOGAF 9.1 Level 1 certification, known as TOGAF 9.1 Foundation, and TOGAF Level 2 certification, known as TOGAF 9.1 Certified. You will learn the technology, structure, and concepts of TOGAF 9.1. In addition to gaining the knowledge and comprehension of TOGAF 9.1, you will learn to analyze and apply this knowledge.
Certification Exam:
During the course, you will receive a voucher allowing you to schedule the TOGAF 9.1 Level 1 and Level 2 certification exam. You will schedule the exams through a Prometric Test Center of your choice. The TOGAF 9.1 Level 1 certification exam is a 60-minute closed book exam. The TOGAF Level 2 certification exam is a 90-minute open book exam. You must pass the exams to achieve certification.
Togaf 9 Certification
This course is conducted and delivered by ITdojo's partners ITpreneurs who holds a TOGAF® 9 Commercial License issued by The Open Group. ITdojo acts as a service provider to ITpreneurs and is not required to be licensed by The Open Group.
What You'll Learn
- Architecture Development Method (ADM) phases in the development of an enterprise architecture
- Architecture Governance in development of an enterprise architecture
- TOGAF Architecture Content Framework
- Building Blocks concept
- Stakeholder Management Technique
- TOGAF Content Metamodel
- TOGAF recommended techniques when developing an enterprise architecture
- TOGAF Technical Reference Model and how to customize it to meet an organization's needs
- Integrated Information Infrastructure Reference Model
- Key deliverables of the ADM cycle
- Partition an enterprise architecture to meet the specific needs of an organization
- Architecture Repository
- Apply iteration and different levels of architecture with the ADM
- Adapt the ADM for security
- SOA as a style of architecture
- Architecture maturity models in developing an enterprise architecture
- Architecture Skills Framework and how to apply it within an organization
Who Needs to Attend
- Individuals who require a deeper understanding of TOGAF 9.1
- Professionals who are working in an organization where TOGAF 9.1 has been adopted
- Architects who will be responsible for developing architecture artifacts
- Architects who wish to introduce TOGAF 9.1 into an architecture practice and who want to achieve a recognized qualification to demonstrate their detailed knowledge of TOGAF 9.1
Course Outline
1. Management
2. The TOGAF 9 Components
3. Architecture Development Method
4. The Enterprise Continuum
5. The Architecture Repository
6. The Architecture Content Framework
7. The Architecture Content Metamodel
8. The Preliminary Phase
9. Architecture Governance
10. Business Scenarios
11. Stakeholder Management
12. Architecture Views and Viewpoints
13. Building Blocks and the ADM
14. Architecture Implementation Support Techniques
15. Phase A: Architecture Vision
16. Phase B: Business Architecture
Catalogs, Diagrams, and Matrices
17. Phase C: Information Systems Architectures
- Data Architecture
- Catalogs, Matrices, and Diagrams
- Applications Architecture
- Catalogs, Matrices, and Diagrams
18. The Integrated Information Infrastructure Reference Model
19. Foundation Architecture
20. Phase D: Technology Architecture
- Catalogs, Matrices and Diagrams
21. Migration Planning Techniques
22. Phase E: Opportunities and Solutions
23. Phase F: Migration Planning
24. Phase G: Implementation Governance
25. Phase H: Architecture Change Management
26. ADM Requirements Management
27. Architecture Partitioning
28. Guidelines for Adapting the ADM:
- Iteration and Levels
- Security


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39: Rap Against Terror
This one unfortunately never had enough time to really pick up steam, but this fellow's overwhelming hatred of both hip-hop and the Taliban made for some amusing exchanges nonetheless.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I broke up with my boyfriend two weeks ago.
thel3igboss: that's a shame, what happened there?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: He wanted to do things that I think are wrong.
thel3igboss: like?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: They are sort of weird and I don't want to get in trouble
thel3igboss: what? drugs?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: No!
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: He wanted to rob a gas station.
thel3igboss: Oh that's just splendid …
thel3igboss: how old is he?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: 16
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: He really likes Eminem and stuff.
thel3igboss: bah
thel3igboss: weak
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: He can benchpress a lot of pounds!
thel3igboss: well, he's weak minded I mean
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: What do you mean? He is a lot smarter than I am.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I am kind of dumb.
thel3igboss: well anyone who goes low enough to want to rob a bank isn't smart at all
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: It wasn't a bank, it was a gas station.
thel3igboss: I meant gas station
thel3igboss: sorry
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: A gas station is kind of like a bank for gas!
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: So that's ok!
thel3igboss: yeah
thel3igboss: why would he want to do that anyway?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Because he wants to release a self-financed rap album.
thel3igboss: uh, then why doesn't he get a job?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Because rappers don't get jobs! Have you ever even listened to rap music?
thel3igboss: yup, both rappers and rap music are pathetic
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But I really liked him! And he had talent!
thel3igboss: Well, he needs to meet the right people and prove the talent; not rob a gas station to have an album produced that might not even go anywhere
thel3igboss: it's all about connections — working forward … not crime.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Have you ever listened to rap music?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Rappers don't rap about networking and handing out business cards.
thel3igboss: I know, it's all about BLING BLING, cars and bitches
thel3igboss: the whole thing is old
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I was his bitch.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I was his bling bling.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I miss him.
thel3igboss: was he black?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: No!
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I would never date a black guy!
thel3igboss: haha ok just making sure
thel3igboss: I wouldn't date a black woman either
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Really?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Sometimes when we would make out he would ask me to pretend he was black
thel3igboss: pretend he had a 10 inch penis instead of a 2 inch one? haha
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: No, he'd ask me to act like he was a famous black rapper.
thel3igboss: eh … ok
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: And he'd wear these big fake wax lips.
thel3igboss: haha ok, now it's getting weird
thel3igboss: role playing and shit
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: He was very dedicated to rap!
thel3igboss: whatever, he'll probably have a mediocre career with it
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I don't know…
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: He probably already has a new bitch!
thel3igboss: such is the life of a rapper
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But I miss him!
thel3igboss: I don't know
thel3igboss: he doesn't sound like a winner to me. you're a pretty girl, you'll find someone else
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Somebody else who can rap as good as he does?
thel3igboss: No, someone who is above anything rap can offer
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I don't understand.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I'm sorry.
thel3igboss: I'm saying you'll find a guy out there who will respect you, but only if you can place yourself above this level that finding a guy who can rap well will be your next boyfriend.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But what if my old boyfriend comes back and rap battles my new boyfriend?
thel3igboss: you're missing the point …
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I'm sorry.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I told you I was a dumb bitch!
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: This ho ain't no good!
thel3igboss: The point I'm making is that you can find a guy who will respect you, and that has other talents than RAPPING
thel3igboss: Forget RAP
thel3igboss: It's not productive anyway
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But if I date some guy and he can't rap and my old boyfriend comes back and rap battles him he'll get destroyed!
thel3igboss: So maybe this new guy will OUTSMART him instead of OUT-RAPPING him
thel3igboss: Rap isn't everything babe
thel3igboss: believe it or not
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: No, I know!
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: There's caring and loving and R&B
thel3igboss: Bah, R&B isn't that much better
thel3igboss: But there's actual singing involved so it's OK
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: So you're saying I should get a new boyfriend who wants to be a r&b singer.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: And rob a gas station with him?
thel3igboss: no
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I'm sorry, I'm not very smart.
thel3igboss: I'm saying wait for a guy who you can fall in love with, regardless of their talents.
thel3igboss: And one who doesn't like rap and doesn't want to rob a gas station
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Should I go hang around the gas station and wait for a guy to rob it and then marry him?
thel3igboss: no
thel3igboss: this isn't going anywhere
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: OK, I guess.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I'm sorry I'm so stupid and lovesick.
thel3igboss: did you ever have something on Islam on your profile at some point? I think I remembered looking at it at one point
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I am interested in the study of Islamic religions.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: It's the whole rap thing.
thel3igboss: Islam is responsible for 9/11 I hope you know …
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: How?
thel3igboss: The Terrorists were Islamic
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But they didn't rap or anything!
thel3igboss: Let me put it this way, Islam doesn't like America. Islam hates RAP music.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Really?
thel3igboss: sure
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But should I hate rap music too? you hate rap music, right?
thel3igboss: yes, rap music isn't good
thel3igboss: you shouldn't like it
thel3igboss: it won't do you any good, having any relation to it
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But terrorists hate rap!
thel3igboss: same with Islam, they're both shit
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: And you hate rap.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Are you a terrorist?
thel3igboss: NO
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But you hate rap!
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: And freedom!
thel3igboss: no no no
thel3igboss: you're missing the point
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: OK.
thel3igboss: rap comes from freedom of speech. Islam hates rap music because it's related to FREEDOM OF SPEECH. I personally don't like rap music because it's my favorite style of music and I think it's a bad influence
thel3igboss: I totally confused you before I apologize for that
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: So terrorists hate rap not because it's rap.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: But because it's freedom of speech?
thel3igboss: No terrorists don't like freedom
thel3igboss: put it that way
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: OK.
thel3igboss: nothing else
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Do you like freedom?
thel3igboss: yes
thel3igboss: I love Freedom, I love America. I hate Islam, and I hate rap.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Was there a lot of freedom in those buildings in New York? Is that why they blew them up?
thel3igboss: yes
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: How much freedom?
thel3igboss: do you know what freedom is?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: It's like money, right?
thel3igboss: no
thel3igboss: Wow … okay, seriously, don't take any offense, but do you go to school?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: …no
thel3igboss: have you ever?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Oh, sure!
thel3igboss: where's your mom at?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Dead
thel3igboss: that's a shame, what happened?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: She was shot in a drive-by.
thel3igboss: for no reason?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Gang stuff.
thel3igboss: She wasn't involved with a gang was she?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I don't think so
thel3igboss: how old was she when she died?
thel3igboss: when did it happen?
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: Twelve years ago
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: She was wearing a Santa Claus suit and she wandered too far into Crip territory.
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: My ex-boyfriend said he was going to write a rap about her!
a_m_b_e_r_4_e_v_e_r: I thought his rap would allow me to come to terms with my feelings.
thel3igboss: I gotta go for right now though, I'll talk to you later


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Serena Williams served up strawberries and cream yesterday on Centre Court and has vowed to produce champagne tennis next for the Queen.
Us star and defending champ Williams, the No.1 seed, cruised into the second round with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Michelle Larcher De Brito.
And her clothes caused as much of a stir as her tennis as Williams wore bright red underwear beneath her outfit.
Williams, 28, said: "We dubbed it strawberries and cream. The red is strawberries and the white is cream.
"But I'll definitely go for something more conservative on Thursday if I play infront of The Queen. Hopefully I'll get to play in front of her - that would be a real honour."


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Junior Course Options
Year 9
Click here for enrolment pack and information.
Navigation Stream
Year 9 Navigation Stream Booklet
Year 10
Navigation Stream
Year 10 Navigation Stream Booklet
This Year 10 Curriculum Guide is designed to help you choose your options for 2020.
It provides you with information about:
Year 10 study is a mix of compulsory subjects and THREE Specialist Learning Areas that you will have to select.
Remember to talk to your teachers, Careers Advisor and parents/caregivers about your option choices. They will have some valuable background information for you.
GOOD reasons for making a Specialist Learning Area choice:
POOR reasons for making a Specialist Learning Area choice:
Note: 13 September 2019. All subject choice forms must be returned to your Form Teacher. Places in classes are limited so you need to return your form on time.
Cambridge High School Curriculum Leaders and Advisors
Subject Choices & Selection Form


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For those with zero fux given to the Christmas holidays, check out Loso's new track in collaboration with Funny Or Die called "IDFWC" which is abbreviated for I Don't F*ck With Christmas. Ironically though Fabolous is releasing his The Young OG Project on Christmas day.
Thought I was the only one that felt this way.


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Hi everyone!
I hope your weekend was fabulous, I know mine was. Today I'd like to share a guest post I did for Abbie over at Needs Salt.
For Needs Salt, I created a Miso Kale & Black Bean Quesadilla that's simply amazing. Sometimes regular quesadillas can be a bit boring and in addition, they're usually not the healthiest of choices one can make. Bummer. But never fear! That's where this quesadilla comes in to save your day (or at least your meal). OMG, more miso too! I swear this is the end of it for a while. Pinky promise.
Bold, tart flavors emerge from the miso while nutrient-packed kale lends a chewy texture. Mashed, creamy black beans combine with vegan mozzarella cheese for a luxurious feel, all while super delicious and super nutritious. Black beans and kale?! I mean, come on!
Check out the recipe over at Needs Salt!


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Brewing the American Dream's program partner, Accion, is a national non-profit small business lender that connects business owners with the capital and know-how they need to build a better future.
With over 20 years of experience lending to small businesses, food and beverage entrepreneurs find a partner they can trust in Accion. When you apply for a Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream loan, you'll find loan consultants who understand your business, a personal lending process that looks at more than just credit, and people willing to go the extra mile to help you succeed. Receiving a Brewing the American Dream loan from Accion also unlocks access to the full suite of benefits the program has to offer, including one-on-one mentoring with Samuel Adams experts and the Business & Brewing Experienceship.
Ready to apply for a small business loan to grow your business?
Food and beverage small business owners can get the capital needed to expand or start a business, purchase equipment, market a business, pay licensing fees, and more!
In just 15 minutes you can be on your way toward applying for a small-business loan.


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Nick recounts what a priceless opportunity it was to teach at a high-quality Christian school in Pakistan.
New Zealand's Good Neighbour rescues food as they point to the Saviour.
The prayer campaign, 10:14, lifts displaced people up to God. Will you mark the 14th of October in your calendar and pray with us?


text: The end of Black History Month 2015 marks an incredible milestone in our 15-year existence as EPIPHANY inc. We were busier than ever speaking at college campuses, hosting Twitter chats and completing post production on Little Brother: Manchild in the Promised Land (Chapter 5, filmed in Tucson, AZ). We feel truly blessed. Most welcome this month was our invitation from the Mayo Clinic's Office of Diversity and Inclusion to present the films of Little Brother and a panel of experts to speak on the public health impact of positive images and encouragement on young men of color. So many specific paths to success on this topic were discussed by a terrific panel of four extremely involved men from the Rochester, MN community. Our program, "A Century of Black Life, History and Culture," was envisioned by my family friend, Dr. Joy Balls-Berry, who I am so very proud of and thrilled that her colleagues at Mayo Clinic get a chance to see her brilliance as well. She is passionate about research and an advocate who champions science. Please click here and on the photos below to see our local news coverage as well! Thank you, Everyone, who celebrated Black History Month this year. Let's make this a year-round conversation that will change a generation.


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Available in the USA only.
The limited edition leather can holster enables photographers and filmmakers to easily attach a can of Atmosphere Aerosol to the outside of your camera bag, on your hip, or any other place where it can be clipped.
The space inside your camera bag is very important. Instead of placing a can of Atmosphere Aerosol inside your camera bag, the can holster clips to the outside of your bag. The reusable can holster also fits standard water bottles.
Can holsters are tight to begin with because it's a leather product. As such, they require a break in period. The more they are used, the quicker they will break in. After they are broken in, the leather will still be tight enough to hold a can of Atmosphere Aerosol securely without the risk of falling out.
Handcrafted in the USA and currently only available in the USA. 100% made from products sourced in the United States. We ship from Knoxville, Tennessee, and also Salt Lake City, Utah.
Material: Full-grain cow hide leather, solid brass clip. The irregularities and variations in the leather are characteristic of the leather adding to its natural beauty, and is in no way to be considered as defective.
Color: Gray
Weight: 3.5 ounces
Warranty: Lifetime guarantee on the craftsmanship.
Limited edition.


text: Show pagesource Old revisions Backlinks Share on ... Google+ Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Pinterest Telegram Kniwwelino Online Documentation The Kniwwelino hardware is a micro-controller development platform that includes a board and a visual programming tool (Kniwwelino Blockly) adapted for kids and an Arduino library. On this page, you will find information on how to use Kniwwelino to realise your own projects, how to install the software on your computer and how to add extensions (sensors, LEDs, motors, buttons, etc.). Please note that this online documentation is still under construction, and will grow throughout the project. Table of contents Materials needed The Kniwwelino board The programming environment The power source Preparations Plug your Kniwwelino Connect your Kniwwelino to a local WiFi Setup the online programming environment My very first Kniwwelino program Sample projects Best friends wristband Best friends wristband version 2 Rock-Paper-Scissors Rock Paper Scissors version 2 Hot Wire Game Interactive door sign Multicolor Lamp Weather Station Programming with Kniwwelino Blockly Matrix Buttons LED Messages Logic Variables Loops Math Text Time Adding extensions to the Kniwwelino Adding external LEDs Adding external buttons Adding a servo Adding external I2C Sensors Adding external Sensors Adding external Analog Sensors Programming with the Arduino IDE Kniwwelino Buttons Matrix RGB LED Messaging / MQTT Community projects Downloads and Links Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Feedback form Recent changes List of changes made in the last three weeks: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) [General Questions] — Kniwwelino 2019/11/12 14:40 Downloads and Links [Instructions to print] — Kniwwelino 2019/11/11 13:57 Preparations [Setup the online programming environment] — Kniwwelino 2019/11/11 10:09


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Passport numbers and personal details of thousands of foreign nationals living in Thailand were readily available to the public on the 27th March due to a data breach on the website when undergoing a test run for police, admitted by the site's developer Akram Aleeming.
The website was openly available to the public and the leak was picked up by social media users which resulted in the website going viral. The website carried an immigration police seal but it used a private Thai web address not usually associated with government sites.
Further underscoring the vulnerability of the site, some users who came across it correctly guessed the password to enter the website's management system: 123456.
The leak comes as the junta-ruled nation pushes forward with a very public crackdown against foreigners overstaying their visas and criminals, with immigration police adopting the slogan 'good guys in, bad guys out'.
The website administrator took down the site at around 2am, unfortunately a little too late for any damage to be reversed and Deputy Prime Minister, Prawit Wongsuwon, ordered the data to be removed without trace.
Spokesman for defence, Khongcheep Tantravanic, noted that expats were concerned about their safety because of the detailed information revealed to the public.
Thai Netizens, a digital advocacy group, tracked down Aleeming, who later took to his personal Facebook account stating that the site had been mistakenly made public during test stages and he later confirmed that the site had been commissioned by Thai immigration police.
Despite the quite obvious error, Major General Thanusilpa, the immigration police commander, brushed the leaks aside, claiming the website contained no important information – despite the concrete evidence of passport numbers, names, home addresses and job roles proving otherwise.
Thai bureaucracy is not held highly for its digital competence. Many websites in Thailand are underdeveloped and therefore vulnerable to even the most amateur of cyberattacks, as demonstrated in late 2015 when internet-based activists managed to take down government servers by simply refreshing pages – a method knows as a denial-of-service attack.
This previous attack was a technological response to the junta's plan to create a single gateway to control all of the web traffic in Thailand. Despite junta chairman Prayuth Chan-cha insisting the project is meant to protect Thai's from online nasties, critics have condemned the plan as intrusive and not technically feasible as authorities do not have the know how and resources to nurture the system.
Hidden behind the façade of its booming tourist sector, Thailand has edged towards a mistrust for foreigners under the junta rule, with officials consistently blaming foreigners for a range of troubles including crime and provoking political and social unrest.


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Hello all
Another card using a paper from Fresh Print Design Series, this set is one of my favourite!! I think I have 3 pads of it….!
Crumb cake is a great name for this colour card – I hope we get some more 'kraft' colours in the new catalogue which is due out 1st July… only Stampin' Up real fans will know the amazing feeling of getting that new catalogue and spending hours and hours and hours…. yes honestly looking and choosing your first items to purchase.
As a demonstrator we get ours a little bit early too, so if you would like to share the fun and become a demonstration then do it now and be ready to getting the goodies early! Check out this PAGE on my Stampin' Up blog to learn more about becoming a demonstrator.
Thank you for stopping by
Stampin᾿ Up! Supplies


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|Devoling Industrial Co,Limited
Country: China
City: Wuhan
Address: Room 601, Floor 8, Shangjing Masion, Panlongcheng Economic Development Zone, Huangpi District, 430300
Phone: Leeou
Number of company employees : 50-100
Approximate annual sales : USD$2,500,000
Percentage of exports : 70%
Website: www.devoling-industrial.com
|Catagory:Agriculture Sub-categories: Agricultural Tools Animal Tags Horse Products
|We can verify that Devoling Industrial Co,Limited has been registered with ExportBureau
from 15/10/2017 to today 20/11/2019 for a period of 2 years and 36 days.
|Report this company
Thank you ! We have sent your message.
The mid-market rates shown here are neither "buy" rates nor "sell" rates. Mid-market rates are derived from mid-point between the buy and sell rates of large-value transactions in the global currency markets. Actual ExportBureau member rates are often better.
|This report should be used only as a guide to build a more informed opinion on potential international trading partners.
click here to update this company information


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GENIUSOBIT: Arthur Lee
The founder of Love, Arthur Lee, has died at the age of 61.
Born in Memphis in 1945, Arthur Taylor Porter adopted the "Lee" at roughly the same time as he cut his first single, as leader of Arthur Lee and the LAGS. Musically borrowing heavily from Booker T and the MGs in style, the LA-based act managed just the one 1963 release before falling apart.
In the wake of the LAGS, Lee concentrated on songwriting, writing (amongst other tracks) My Diary for Rosa Lee Brooks. Not only was this the first Lee-penned tune which was a hit, musicologists also believe it to be the first recorded appearance of Jimi Hendrix making an appearance at a recording.
Lee didn't stop performing totally, though, working with The American Four and providing guest vocals an almost-lost album by Ronnie And The Pamona Casuals.
It was the success of the Byrds which gave Lee the confidence to take making music more seriously: he'd been experimenting with writing in a similar folk-rock style to theirs, and he pulled together Love as a band to make use of material whose time, he believed, had come. Although Bobby Beausoleil (a diletante who managed to combine time in Love with being a member of Charles Manson's murderous cult) claims the name of the band was a tribute to his nickname Cupid, the question 'why weren't they called Cupid then' can never be convincingly answered and the accepted story of the band's name is that it was chosen in a poll of fans. We really wish some acts had the guts to do that today - what would Kasabian have been called if they'd left it up to democracy? Prior to the audience show of hands, Love had been the Grass Roots.
The Love line-up of Lee with guitarists Johnny Echols and Bryan MacLean and bassist Ken Forssi (bass) was joined by drummer Michael Stuart after 1966's self-titled debut. 1967 saw DaCapo and then, later in the year, what's considered the masterwork: Forever Changes.
Having reached these heights, Lee then started on a course which would see him labelled as erratic, difficult and - eventually - a bit nuts. He broke up the group, reformed it, stuck out three largely inferior albums - 1969's Four Sail and Out Here, and 1970's False Start. Only False Start registered much in the way of a reaction, although Out Here did manage a creditable top thirty placing in the UK.
Lee then went solo - although the late 1960s versions of Love were pretty much solo projects in all but name. Vindicator, in 1972, didn't bother the charts; 1973's Black Beauty never came under starter's orders, going down with the Buffalo record label.
The seventies saw Lee trying to reignite Love - the original line-up played together a few times, a new version tried another album which is best ignored out of kindness. He then disappeared for much of the 1980s, claiming to be "tired" of all the "bullshit." More pressingly, he had returned home to care for his father, terminally ill with cancer.
Lee's absence from the circuit may explain his mid-90s renaissance: unlike, say, Rod Stewart or Stevie Wonder, he'd never slumped into a single-album-tour routine dedicated to chip away at his reputation through a mixture of over-familiarity and diminshing returns. When the indie-kids of the 1990s rediscovered Love, it was without a carapace of subsequent disappointment to break through.
1992 saw his first album in ages - and his first decent work for twenty years - with Arthur Lee & Love; in 1993 he returned to the stage, including a gig in Liverpool whose promotion was greeted with bemusement at the time - the sudden pasting up of posters advertising an Arthur Lee date in the city seeming as unlikely as suggestions that Elvis was going to grace the steps of the Liverpool Museum. It did seem as if nothing could derail his comeback.
Until he got arrested.
In 1996, Lee had a minor row with a neighbour with a neighbour which would normally have passed off with little more than a spot of ill feeling. Unfortunately, Lee had waved a gun around, which had brought the cops in, and in a state in thrall to the "three strikes and you're out" concept of justice-mockery, Lee's previous two minor convictions saw him get a twelve year stretch.
Again up went the posters, this time calling to "Free Arthur Lee."
He was eventually released after serving five years. After a brief spell finding his feet again, Lee resurrected the Love brand for yet another incarnation, touring a live version of Forever Changes. Diminishing health led to his decision to quit the group last year; the other members still play as The Love Band, although none of them, of course, were part of the original Love who made the album.
Just how sick Lee was became clear in April this year, when friends and fans started to organise benefit gigs to help Arthur pay for his treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. His battle, though, was to be his last, and he died from his illness on August 3rd.


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Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free Coalition Brings Kick Butts Day Celebration to Walden Galleria
Event, taking place from 3pm to 7pm Wednesday, March 21, to include Youth Expo
BUFFALO, NY — All are invited to stop by Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga for a Kick Butts Day celebration and Youth Health Expo on the mall's lower level near Apple Computer from 3 pm to 7 pm on Wednesday, March 21. Kick Butts Day is a fun way to give people valuable information about the dangers of tobacco use and how to quit. It also is a chance for young people to take a stand and say "We've Seen Enough" tobacco marketing.
"This is a great opportunity to offer a wide range of preventive health information in a fun-filled interactive environment with the goal of creating healthier communities," said Anthony Billoni, Director of the Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free Coalition at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center (Roswell Park). "On Kick Butts Day, kids will have a chance to send an important message that they want the tobacco industry to stop targeting them with advertising."
Nearly a million and a half young people under age 18 will try their first cigarette this year. Research has shown that tobacco marketing is a key factor in causing them to start using tobacco. The more young people are exposed to cigarette advertising, the more likely they are to smoke.
Kick Butts Day and Youth Health Expo sponsors and activities include:
- A graffiti wall where young people can artfully express their thoughts on a tobacco-free community, sponsored by the Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free Coalition.
- Cold turkey samples for those who "go cold turkey" by turning in a pack of cigarettes or signing a pledge to be tobacco free, offered by Subway.
- Healthy lifestyle information and health care coaches from the American Cancer Society, American Red Cross serving Erie & Niagara Counties, BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York, Roswell Park and YMCA Buffalo Niagara.
- Additional sponsors: Auntie Annie's Pretzels, the Buffalo Bisons, Dairy Queen and Mrs. Fields Cookies.
"Kick Butts Day not only challenges people to stop using tobacco but raises awareness about the dangers of smoking and how vulnerable our children are to tobacco marketing," said Meghan Ayers, Marketing Director, Walden Galleria.
For more information about the Kick Butts Day celebration and Youth Health Expo at Walden Galleria in Cheektowaga, NY, contact Sarah Torella, 716-681-7600, ext. 117. For information about tobacco-free programs for healthier communities, contact the Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free Coalition at 716-845-3407 or by email at email@example.com.
The mission of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center is to understand, prevent and cure cancer. Roswell Park, founded in 1898, was one of the first cancer centers in the country to be named a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center and remains the only facility with this designation in Upstate New York. The Institute is a member of the prestigious National Comprehensive Cancer Network, an alliance of the nation's leading cancer centers; maintains affiliate sites; and is a partner in national and international collaborative programs. For more information, visit Roswell Park's website at http://www.roswellpark.org, call 1-800-ROSWELL (1-800-767-9355) or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Annie Deck-Miller, Senior Media Relations Manager
716-845-8593; email@example.com


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Learn. Share. Grow.Arizona's Photographers Coming Together
The Art and Business Of Pet Photography
with Lisa Asp, M.Photog.,CPP
Love pets? Most people do, and Pet photography can result in lucrative sales.
Lisa will be flying in from Minnesota to talk about pet photography, including a live demonstration. This is sure to be an extremely informative, and fun, meeting so don't miss out. Register here to attend.
About Our Speaker


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Audience Engaging Images — The Internet Economy — Video Games Aiding Research — The Evolution of Music Taste — Design Innovation
Mirona, Gruvi's Go Getter
Video gamers solve a biological puzzle that has stumped scientists for years via Aeon Videos
Think it's all fun and games? Think again! Backed by a clever concept, video games players can now help researchers and implement solutions to make us healthier and happier.
Johnny, Lead Developer
How Music Taste Evolved via polygraph.cool
Feeling nostalgic? Want to be reminded of that song that made your ears it's parasitic nest for the summer of 1999? Feel like cringing to the sound of the songs you can't believe reached the top of the charts? Polygraph's got you covered.
Franco, Digital Designer
Be Innovative Without Losing Your Audience via inkbotdesign.com
"In all forms of innovation, the danger (and the thrill) lies in the fact that beforehand you don't know if you're going to succeed. After all, the entire point is to take your design into territory that hasn't been explored before — but that means that you don't always know what's going to happen. And then there is an element of risk involved. You've got to be prepared for that."
Read our report on the pros and cons of Screening Room:
Check out the what we have learned about audience targeting in one of our recent campaigns:
If you would like to know more CONTACT US
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GALLERY: Homecoming 2019
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William "Cody" Brett was born Aug. 23, 1954 in Sandersville, and passed away Nov. 18, 2019 in Milledgeville, at the age of 65. He was born to the late Harold Jerry Brett, Sr. and the late Marolyn Sheppard Brett. Cody underwent a liver transplant in 1985 and defied all odds, living a healthy …
Maredith Byrd Griffith, 99, passed away Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church with Father David Probst officiating. Mrs. Griffith was born in Bridgeport, Tennessee on Sept. 27,1920. After graduating from Cooke County High …
Pamela Diane Boyer, 72, passed away Monday, Nov. 18, 2019. Services will be held at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 22 at the chapel of Moores Funeral Home with the Rev. Steve Severs officiating. Burial will follow at Linton Cemetery. Ms. Boyer was born and grew up in St. Louis, Missouri but lived in Sp…
Funeral services for John Collins will be conducted Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2019 at 11 a.m. in the First United Methodist Church with the Rev. Mack Enfinger and the Rev. Stephanie Caldwell officiating. A private Graveside Service will be held later in the day. The family will receive friends at …
Funeral services for Thomas C. Purvis, 79, will be conducted Tuesday at noon in Lakeside Baptist Church with the Rev. Larry Glover and the Rev. Tim Oliver officiating. The family will receive friends at Lakeside Baptist Church on Tuesday from 11 a.m. until the service hour. Mr. Purvis passed…
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At Micrologic, we have a keen understanding of the unique challenges faced by companies in the Lube and Car Washing industries. That's why we develop and offer complete Revenue Management Solutions designed make your business more efficient and effective by employing faster or simpler working methods.
Our software offers features such as customer tracking, loyalty promotion, time clock, coupon control, prepaid books and wireless handhelds. This means that you get to know your customers much more thoroughly, and can better provide the exemplary level of service to which you aspire. Instead of grasping at straws, futilely trying to guess what potential consumers might respond to, you can use the power of analytics to make smart, informed, decisions.
Micrologic solutions also boost your bottom line — by streamlining operations, increasing sales, enhancing customer loyalty and reducing costs, we make sure that less of your hard-earned revenue goes into worrying and putting energy into logistics, and more goes back into the business or into your pocket.
We're proud to stand behind our product, which is why our customer service program is designed to help you achieve optimal results. We are committed to expanding the scope and capabilities of your business, while becoming a trusted partner in future growth. It's this dedicated service that helps you gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
If your operations could run more smoothly or your profits could be more robust, we'd love to hear from you. Contact one of our representatives today, and let us show you the Micrologic difference.


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|By Reuven Cohen
Article Rating:
|June 2, 2009 11:00 PM EDT
Enomaly, a pioneer in cloud computing, today announced the launch of 10 new global cloud computing service providers who have standardized on and are powered by Enomaly's Elastic Computing Platform (ECP), Service Provider Edition. The service providers are leveraging Enomaly's next generation solution, designed for carriers and hosting providers looking to build a line of business offering Infrastructure-on-Demand or Infrastructure as-a-Service (IaaS) to customers.
Enomaly ECP Service Provider Edition extends the company's open source ECP Community Edition platform, used by more than 15,000 organizations around the world. The new offering makes it possible for service providers to rapidly monetize cloud computing. ECP Service Provider Edition can host Microsoft Windows, Linux, or any other operating system and can be used to host Web sites, power internal business applications, and provide burst capacity. The platform enables users to access and manage virtual servers in whatever quantity they need, on-demand, through a self-service dashboard and a Web-based API.
"We developed the Service Provider Edition of our popular ECP based on partner and customer response," said Dr. Richard Reiner, CEO of Enomaly. "We have seen tremendous response and adoption of the solution from its earliest stages and look forward to rolling out an extensive feature set in the coming months. As always, our focus at Enomaly is customer service and innovation. We are pleased to be able to deliver this next step in the evolution of cloud computing."
Enomaly has been working closely with a global group of cloud computing service providers that have helped define the product direction and the future roadmap. Due to strong demand, the launch program was oversubscribed, and a phase-1 customer group was selected including: 1-800-Hosting (US), CentriLogic (US and Canada), CiberConceito (Portugal), eVirtualCloud (Pakistan and Middle East), Family Hosting (US), ForLinux (UK), MediaWeb / Netsentia (Singapore), Next Wave Network (US), RazorServers (US). Global technology companies including Nomura RI (Japan), RedHat China, a large global telco, and a number of national hosting providers are also working with Enomaly and will be announcing their cloud computing initiatives at a future date.
"We continually strive to adopt new technology with the goal of satisfying the business needs of our customers," said Robert Offley, President & CEO, Centrilogic. "To that end, we were delighted to be selected as a charter customer and work directly with Enomaly to shape the ECP Service Provider feature set. We look forward to working closely with the team to build out our solution and deliver it to customers of Centrilogic."
Availability, Pricing and Support
The Enomaly ECP Service Provider Edition is available for purchase. Companies interested in partnering with Enomaly and offering cloud services should contact Dr. Richard Reiner, rr (at) enomaly.com. For more information, visit www.enomaly.com or email sales (at) enomaly.com.
Enomaly also offers professional services including cloud computing readiness assessment and enterprise cloud computing strategy and planning. For more information please visit www.enomaly.com or email sales (at) enomaly.com.
About Enomaly
Enomaly is a leading vendor of Cloud Computing platform software. The company's Elastic Computing Platform (ECP) provides carriers, hosting providers, and enterprises with the power, flexibility, and compelling economics of cloud computing. Organizations around the world use ECP to deliver Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) for customers, employees and partners; to seamlessly bridge computing tasks between datacenters and public cloud providers; and to experience the increased business agility of cloud computing. Enomaly is based in Toronto, Canada, and has operations in Vancouver, Canada, South Korea, and Ukraine. www.enomaly.com
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Dr. Browne is an accomplished educator with more than 14 years of experience as a math teacher, principal, charter school executive and district administrator. He has worked as a teacher and a school leader in both district and charter schools in Pennsylvania and Delaware and currently works as a district administrator in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Browne was educated at the University of Delaware, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, a Master's degree in Education, and a Doctoral Degree in Education Administration and Policy.
Most recently, Dr. Browne served as the Executive Director of both EastSide Charter School and Family Foundations Academy in Wilmington, Delaware. As Head of School from 2011 through 2014, EastSide Charter School made a tremendous academic turnaround that resulted in EastSide making AYP each year. Over this time, the school's academic proficiency increased 30% in reading and 26% in math, the highest growth of any charter school in the state. During the same period, EastSide students exceeded the state average in meeting their individual achievement targets in Math and in Reading.
In 2015, Dr. Browne won the Ryan Award presented by the Accelerate Institute for "Exceptional leadership in closing the achievement gap in urban K-12 schools." Prior to that he was recognized by the Delaware State Board of Education as one of five Award Winning School Leaders of the Year. Dr. Browne's leadership transformed EastSide Charter School of Wilmington, Delaware and in April of 2014 the school hosted U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who touted EastSide as a model for school culture, staff commitment, and innovative practices.
In 2016, Dr. Browne moved his family to Colorado, where he now serves as the Executive Director of Autonomous Schools for the Aurora Public School District. In this position, Dr. Browne leads the Action Zone – the district's first cohort of state-approved innovation schools. He also oversees all of the district's authorized charter schools. He has become an active leader advocating for collaboration, community development, and educational reform. He participates in various educational and civic groups with the goal of ensuring academic and social access and equity for all students.Lamont Browne, Ed.D


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These stuffed peppers made with spicy seasoned chicken, beans and quinoa are all protein and nutrition. These should be called the power peppers. You can easily sub in rice for the grain, if so desired. Love the way they turned out. The seasonings, chicken broth and cheese give this dish all the flavor you need for a quick dinner. Plus they warm up great the next day.
- 5 or 6 bell peppers, washed
- 1.5 tbs olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 tbs chili powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 18 oz jar diced tomatoes
- 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1.5 cups chicken broth
- 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans
- shredded maxi blend cheese
Slice your bell peppers in half, lengthwise. Remove stems and seeds.
Slice your chicken breasts into small pieces.
Preheat oven to 400 F. Pour 1/2 cup of the chicken broth into your baking dish.
In a deep skillet or pot, heat 1.5 tbs olive oil on medium high. Cook the onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant – about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and seasonings (including salt and pepper to taste). Cook chicken, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, the remaining 1 cup chicken broth and uncooked quinoa. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to a simmer. Cook the mixture, covered for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickens. Next, mix in the beans and allow to cook for a few more minutes. Remove pot from heat and spoon the mixture into each pepper halve, filling them as much as you can. Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven, add cheese to each top and place back into oven until cheese has melted.. about 1 more minute.
Yields 6 servings.
…delicious happens


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At his coming summer Sumo tournament, three of all Yokuzunas, the wrestlers in the highest rank, will all bel Mongolian. Some refer to this phenomena as "Kurofune", Black steamship with Admiral Perry who demanded Tokugawa Japan to open the country.
The history of foreign-born Sumo wrestler goes back to 1960's. And the acceptance of them reflects the change in Japanese society and international relationship.
1960's : Foreigner=American——Hawaii over the rainbow
During WWII and after the war, Japanese government strongly regulated the ordinary Japanese people's traveling abroad. In 1963, the business trip was deregulated, on condition that you do not take out money more than $500.
In1966, the travel in foreign countries were deregulated for everyone.
After being occupied by US Army, "Foreigner" usually meant "American". And the travel destination "over the rainbow" was Hawaii, the nearest state of USA .
And from there came this lovable guy, Jesse, or Takamiyama in 1964. The .first Sumo wrestler from the world outside. He was nominated to top ranking group of Sumo wrestlers
in 1968.
Birth places of the wrestlers in top group then is shown in map.
Follow Jesse!
In 1985, an agreement between the governments of G5 countries to depreciated the U.S. dollar relation to the Japanese yen and German Mark by intervening in currency markets. This "Plaza Accord" accelerated a higher exchange rate of the yen. It allowed affordable travel abroad for Japanese. It also meant for the foreigner, the money you earned in Japan valued more if you go home.
Three more guys from Hawaii followed Jesse. Two of them made the highest rank, Yokozuna.
The end of Cold War
Towards the end of 1980's, the Cold War ended. The Soviet Union had broken away.It strongly influenced Mongolian politics, leading to the peaceful Democratic Revolution and the introduction of a multi-party system and market economy.
Mr Kaifu visted Mongolia officially in 1992, which was the first official visit by Japanese prime minister. Mongolian TV started to broadcast Sumo Tournament.
And there came the descendants of Genghis Khan.
In 2004, the birth places of wrestler spread wide to the central Asia and to former Soviet Union.
More and more young boys came from Mongolia to Japan to be Sumo Wrestler.
On Japanese side, Mongolia became a romantic destination to travel.
Staying at one of their movable home ger, gazing stars above the wild steppe, watching Mongolian Sumo…It was a new experience for those who got tired of Paris and New York. From 2009 to 2010, the number of Japanese traveler to Mongolia increased 24%.
Catch the Inbound travelers!
After the end of bubble, the structure change of Japanese economy was inevitable. In 2002, the government proposed the "Visit Japan Campaign". The number of the inbound travelers kept growing, although there was some decline in 2011, because of the earthquake.
Chinese travelers are the largest group. But when the relationship between China and Japan deteriorates, they cancel the travel seeing the communist government 's behavior, which causes problem to travel industry in Japan.
Halal Certification—Welcome, Muslim People!
Around 2012, some of the hotels in Japan started to serve Halal food. At most of the National Universities, such as Tokyo Uni. or Kyoto Uni., they serve Halal menu at cafeteria.
In 2013, tourists to Japan reached more than 10 million. There is a sift from Chinese to Muslim from South East Asia. The movement to get Halal certification started among service industry. And just in time for this movement, Oosunaarashi joined Sumo in Japan, the first Muslim wrestler, and the first Rikishi from Africa.


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Newtown Creek: Reconstructing the Water's Edge – A Student Projectby on
Newtown Creek is a tributary of the East River and is part of the New York/New Jersey harbor estuary system. It forms the northern border of Brooklyn and the southern border of Queens. In the mid-1800s, the 3.5-mile creek became one of the busiest hubs of industrial activity in the country. More than fifty industries emerged along the water's edge, including refineries, petrochemical plants, glue factories and coal plants. Massive industrial pollution resulted from this heavy activity. What's worse, NYC began dumping raw sewage into the creek in 1856 – something that continues to this day via combined sewer outflows. (source) Currently, factories and facilities still operate along the creek and it was registered as a national superfund site in September 2010.
If that wasn't enough, a coast guard helicopter in 1978 discovered an oil spill that had been leaking since the 1950s. An estimated 17-30 million gallons of oil spread into the water, settling on the creek bed and seeping into the soil underneath local communities. To this day, the spill exists underground and is estimated to course underneath 55 acres of Greenpoint residential, commercial and industrial properties, affecting hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses. (source) Residents have been living quietly in the aftermath of the discovery of the plume. They live in apprehensive fear that the plume, if not addressed appropriately, will have dire consequences on their health and well-being. These numerous contaminations over the years have contributed to the creeks overall failure as a natural ecosystem.
My Recommended Architectural Intervention
As an architecture student, my initial research has focused on these issues which affect the livable quality of adjacent communities surrounding the creek and its neglected ecology. The existing post-industrial sites along the water's edge have created sporadic pockets of terrain vague, areas of land that are under-utilized and undeveloped. Deteriorating bulkhead types in this fragile zone act as barriers against the water and its dynamic natural cycles. This led me to look at a similar issue–the increase in the frequency of strong storms, much like last year's devastating storm, Hurricane Sandy. For my research, I examined opportunities in this extremely vulnerable zone for a series of building interventions that would work with the land and water in new ways.
New zoning patterns, community based programs, and natural wetlands have been my primary focus of research thus far. My proposed building would act to embrace both regular tide cycles and more severe flooding events with the secondary purpose of revealing and educating the adjacent residential population to the dangers of storm surges and sea level rise. The building would implement a system of passive canal locks that control water flow into the spaces within the building during regular tide cycles and storm events. The entire project centers on the acceptance of water infiltration into our lives. We cannot shut out nature whilst living with it on a daily basis.
The building would also aim to be a beacon during storm events, becoming a source for information and supplies to adjacent communities in Brooklyn and Queens. It will also act as a community center and research laboratory with two goals: To conduct daily tide cycle reports and climate based research, and to give residents recreational spaces to connect with the water. This project brings people to the water's edge when most people would avoid going near the water during a storm. In theory the design of the building protects the adjacent community from storm surge. It would solidify the community's connection with its surrounding environment.
Operation Resilient Long Island (ORLI)
Along with my academic research, I am also co-chair of Operation Resilient Long Island, a student led and organized team of architecture students from New York Institute of Technology. With campuses in Manhattan and Long Island, some of the students were directly affected by Hurricane Sandy, including myself. We were formed right after Sandy with the mission to bring new resilient coastal typologies to communities in dire need.
As part of our efforts, we have organized and are hosting a global design ideas competition that looks at the problem that rising home elevations will have on the unique character of these coastal towns. The amalgamation of homes risen 10 feet or more, homes that remain on the ground and new modular-built homes will all disrupt the unique character these coastal towns have. Our goal is to take submissions from this competition and create a publication to present to local towns in the hopes that they might adopt newer and more resilient zoning and building codes. The competition is open to all and submission deadline is July 25, 2013. More info can be found on the Comprehensive Coastal Communities website.
ORLI is hosting a free event, Raise Or Stay?: Reports From The Field on April 25, 2013. "The event will showcase student-led post sandy initiatives from Pratt, New Jersey Institute of Technology and New York Institute of Technology. Speakers from NYC, New Jersey and American Institute of Architects New York will speak on how their local communities and organizations are dealing with Sandy. For more details, visit the Facebook Raise Or Stay? event page.


text: What's Not To Like - Babydoll dress 22:00 This pretty African babydoll dress is available at the Shugakane website. It is by by designer Yiga. Gorgeous isn't it ? I am currently looking for a birthday outfit in a few months time and this little number has made the shortlist. And for only £44.99 I might get it. Just because . ;-) Share This Story Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin this Post Tags: african fabric, dress, Shugakane, Yika Article plus récent Article plus ancien You Might Also Like 0 commentaires Thanks for your comment !Merci de vos commentaires !


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My first post-college job, I was lucky to be surrounded by marketers that tested everything: emails, landing pages, site design, etc. These were true data-driven marketers. For them, gone were the days when they relied on gut feelings to create and optimize marketing campaigns. I wanted to be just like them and let data do the talking.
What is A/B testing? (aka split testing)
Smashing Magazine summed this up well in their Ultimate Guide to A/B Testing:
"You have two versions of an element (A and B) and a metric that defines success. To determine which version is better, you subject both versions to experimentation simultaneously. In the end, you measure which version was more successful and select that version for real-world use."
If you are a visual person, here is a lovely sketch from my notebook. It shows what a basic subject line test might look like. Please forgive my (lack of) drawing skills:
Also, please note that A/B testing is not the same thing a multivariate testing. A/B testing involves changing one variable at at time, while multivariate testing entails changing several variables at once. A multivariate test can be great too but you would need a lot more traffic for the results to be statistically significant. We'll keep things simple for now.
Many marketing campaigns are based on a hunch
Should our call-to-action button be orange or green? What is the best day of the week to send a newsletter? Is it a good idea to use "FREE" in the subject line? Should the subject line describe the contents of the email, or be fun and quirky? Should the email sender be an individual team member, or a generic company email? There are endless opportunities for testing, so here are several marketing tests and results to inspire you.
When it comes to marketing decisions, it's best to rely on data, not assumptions. You may have a hunch that the prettiest landing page will get the most leads (and dollars) but you could very well be wrong. Have multiple variations in mind for a campaign? (ahem: of course you do). Now, A/B test it!
How to get started with A/B testing
First, check out this A/B Testing for Marketing Optimization Guide by HubSpot. Their crew is one of the best when it comes to content marketing and they put out helpful learning tools with actionable information.
Once you are ready to get started, email subject line testing is good way to get your feet wet. It sure was in my case, at least. There are various subject line testing scenarios, but this was the extent of my split tests for the first month or so:
- Finalize copy for an email.
- Come up with three different subject lines (every other variable stays exactly the same).
- Send the three variations to a sample of 30% of subscribers. 10% gets subject A, 10% gets subject B, and 10% gets subject C.
- After 16 hours, pick a winner based on whatever defines "success." This could be open rate, click-through-rate, conversions, or dollars. It depends on what you are trying to achieve for that specific email.
- Winning email goes out to the remaining 70% of subscribers.
A/B testing your next email
I have first-hand experience sending emails and conducting split testing through Marketo, MailChimp, and SendGrid. Luckily, all three automated the testing process, automatically sending the "winning" email (based on my criteria) after the test-run was complete. Whatever email marketing tool you use, check out if A/B testing is a built-in feature. If not, it may be time to re-evaluate the way you manage email marketing.
Test entire site elements
Once you get a little more comfortable with the idea of A/B testing the small stuff you can experiment with testing entire site elements. Instead of changing up button colors or subject lines, you can test two radically different pages against one another. In this case, the two designs would be variables. This kind of testing can yield big improvements so it's worth looking into split testing tools that can handle these kinds of experiments, before you get too caught up focusing on only small tweaks.
Now that you are convinced…
ResolutionMedia has a great step-by-step guide to split testing. Many A/B testing tools automate the process, but it's still important to understand how to pick a sample size and acceptable confidence level, how long to run a test, what the criteria for picking a winner will be (and why), and whether the results are statistically significant or not.
Go forth my fellow data-driven marketers and get testing. Because not testing means losing out on leads and ultimately cash.


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I recently heard about a man studying The History of Ideas. I'm not sure I'd ever heard of this field of study before, and it struck me as both novel and obvious; of course the nature of ideation ..nope, not a word.. anyway, it seems obvious that the manner in which humans form abstract thoughts and all the associated whats and whys are worth cataloging as a matter of human history. Maybe. Honestly, sometimes it feels good to just throw away the old stuff, but based on my experience with humankind, I'm unconvinced we're at a level where we can risk discarding knowledge; we still need to get a handle on what we have so far and to find better ways to help people understand that.
When I went back to college to add a second major to my degree (did not finish), I remember seeing on my instructor's office door some excerpt from some book. I always remember it as either "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius" or "The Unbearable Lightness of Being," because whichever was the case, I hadn't read either book at the time and wouldn't have been able to distinguish between the two based on writing style. Knowing what I know now, I want to say it was Kundera, but in any case, the excerpt entailed the narrator lamenting the pages and pages of knowledge and expression and pedagogy piling up; he observed that words will be written and go unread. Well, I can't remember any of the phrasing, but the idea really stuck with me.
As a youngun, I was taken by the world of artistic [and otherwise] expression, and I always saw myself seeking to offer some contribution of my own. Growing up with the emergence of the consumer Internet [and significant, continued dispossession of the American working classes], however, Kundera's (or Eggers'?) description of the world with the essays piling up seems tame compared to the media culture in which we currently exist circa 2014. In fact, just as I type that, I look down and see a CD of music that features the music of the father of a chiropractor who gave me the disc. As it's on CD and as I do not own a CD player, I've never actually listened to it, but this is how empowered expression is as a result of the culture that has been fostered by the Internet and, more specifically, digital media. And so, now an adult–and having lived through a variety of life experiences in order to get here, the allure and intrigue of self-expression and artistic creation have worn out, and where I once saw clever independent producers, I now see hucksters. Sadly, many of my musical role models are still touring, doubtlessly selling tickets to the same audience as twenty years ago; maybe we'd have a little room to breathe in the marketplace of ideas if some of these has-beens could find it in their hearts to take five.
But before I cross fully into Haterville, let me posit that it's not The Offspring and Wyclef Jean who are responsible for all of today's ills. No, I believe this malaise I feel is specifically related to the disenfranchisement of the middle classes I alluded to in a previous paragraph. Here's the deal: the difference between this blog post and a blog post that makes a blog writer thousands of dollars has nothing to do with the quality of the content in any socially useful terms. The economy of ideas has been sold to privileged young people in privileged western societies as some nebulous panacea that will account for peoples' and society's needs so long as they're articulated in a way that can offer investors and public fund managers a problem to solve, typically by providing financial support to people who have little or nothing to do with the problem in question. If you want to do something in America today, you present your company/product/self as the solution to a problem. In these terms, everyone can agree to synergy.
On the other hand, if you want to do something that is not identifiable as a problem–or if you want to solve a problem that doesn't have an adequately-monied audience/market–good luck, pal. This game of life is about getting paid and getting ahead. Ahead of what is unclear but always forward, forward and towards some kind of ersatz consensus that was handed down from above and presented as a shared group goal. You can forget about political reform, too; authoritarianism and greed are both siblings and cousins. Plus, responsibility takes effort, and effort is harder than no effort.
And that's how I know I'm not contributing anything except more pages to the unread pages of history–because this easy and takes very little effort. Indeed, I ate two tacos while writing this; leisure at its finest.


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It's easy to be skeptical of meal delivery services: Meal delivery services can be expensive, more expensive than buying organic or going to the farmers market! They remove the creativity from cooking by shipping formulaic, recipe-prioritized meals rather than allowing cooks to be inspired on their own! They're a crutch for home cooks! And all that packaging!
And ever since Blue Apron and its look-alikes slid onto the market, I have had those thoughts, too—and some of them I maintain (especially about the packaging). I also wish that I knew more about the production on the other side of the shipments—the people who carefully measure the chives into baggies and the vinegar into mini squeeze bottles. Are they treated well and paid fairly? (What do they cook for dinner?)
I also find that some of the marketing around meal delivery services obscures the very real good in them. No one wants to be spoken to like they're unintelligent, and some companies could do better on that front. One company I found when doing research for this piece maddened me with its promotional video, which features various 20- and 30-somethings mispronouncing the name of the company—Mise En Place—incorrectly over and over again. Mee-zee en ploss. Mize in playce. (That, plus lines like, "No more chopping, dicing, or whatever julienne is.") Respect your audience, guys! C'mon! Encourage us to be curious!
But overall, I'm beginning to think I'm wrong on the topic of meal delivery services. I'm beginning to think—in the wake of researching a piece I wrote last week, "Getting the Lay of the Meal Delivery Service Land"; hearing what our community had to say in the comments; and just sitting with the idea of them—they do a lot more good than otherwise.
It is easy to forget, when you work at a website that aims to inspire home cooks, that cooking isn't fun for everyone. It's not fun for a lot of people. And the added jumble of making it to the grocery store and doing a lot of prep work does make dinner feel a lot farther away (one of the most common claims meal delivery companies make is that they eliminate the need for trips to the grocery store). I hear that: I genuinely love shopping for groceries and cooking, and I still don't always want to cook. I eat eggs for dinner a lot, sometimes too late for it to even be called dinner. Would a box of groceries and a recipe to cook with them make eating a true dinner (i.e. not scrambled eggs in a bowl) at a reasonable hour easier? You bet.
Commenters on "Getting the Lay of the Meal Delivery Service Land" made a lot of good points, too; I was admittedly surprised—and heartened—to hear their positive feedback and successes:
Niknud wrote of the appeal of these kinds of services for folks with families. She explained in a comment that, even while she'd read a fair amount of criticism of meal delivery services like Blue Apron, she started using it periodically during her kids' hectic soccer season: "If I can manage during this trying time of year to get my family to sit down at the table and eat together at least half the nights of the week, I'm calling it a win."
Others, like dmedesha, said that they've noticed that they're actually saving money, since they're eating out less frequently, and wasting less food. "There has been zero waste," dmdesha, who subscribes to the service Hello Fresh, said. "While the sides can be a bit large for two, the excess has made great leftovers. We buy three meals per week, which encourages us to eat at home more than we have in the past. And that is were we see the biggest savings." Yes, maybe ideally there wouldn't be as much packaging, but a drop in food waste (and an increase in savings) is encouraging to hear.
Others still explained that they really did feel as though they were becoming better cooks, and were expanding both their skill and recipe repertoires: "For instance, oranges and collard greens with fried rosemary—such an interesting idea that I've done it, and variations, several times," said MRubenzahl. It's encouraging to hear that a service that could be seen as hampering cooks' natural creativities by removing grocery shopping, finding a recipe, and ad-libbing from the equation is actually stimulating them.
If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them. pic.twitter.com/00YECaHB4D— Nathalie Gordon (@awlilnatty) March 3, 2016
If only nature would find a way to cover these oranges so we didn't need to waste so much plastic on them. pic.twitter.com/00YECaHB4D
I am guilty of having thought that subscribers to meal delivery services—especially services that do all of the prep work for you, including the chopping—were being lazy. This wasn't fair of me; it merited a slap on the wrist, and I got one: I was also among those maddened by the whole Whole Foods pre-peeled orange debacle, in which Whole Foods drew the ire of many after a writer posted a picture of pre-peeled oranges packaged individually in plastic clamshells on the market's shelves. But then NPR reported a story titled "Pre-Peeled Oranges: What Some Call 'Lazy' Others Call A 'Lifesaver'," which raised that, for people with limited mobility (like poor hand strength, for example), pre-peeled oranges and other prepared foods are a godsend.
You could easily substitute "meal delivery services" for "pre-peeled oranges" in the piece's headline and it would still be true: "I have stopped cooking anything I have to chop or slice first," Jennifer Hacker told NPR in the story. Meal services that cut out some of the additional steps—whether it's the grocery shopping or the actual prep work—makes cooking a lot more accessible to people who do have limited mobility, keeping cooking at home an viable option where it otherwise might not have been.
Do I still reserve judgment on a few things? Yes—the services are expensive, about $10 to $15 per serving; there is a lot of paper and plastic waste; and, though many companies have trumpeted their ethical food sourcing, I wonder about the ethics of the labor that goes into producing the boxes. There's the occasionally condescending marketing. But, but, but, if the companies' goals are, as they often claim, to get more people into the kitchen and eating together, they're clearly working.
What's your stance on meal delivery services? What are some of the best arguments for it—or against it? Tell us in the comments.
See what other Food52 readers are saying.


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FocalShift has been very busy this year developing and shipping apps for a number of clients, both here in the USA and around the world. There have been a lot of exciting announcements and product releases from Apple this year; iOS 8, Xcode 6, Swift etc. Not to mention the Watch; something I'm sure we will all be doing a lot of work with in the coming years.
Are you searching for a development partner to build mobile apps in 2015? Our team of expert iOS developers is ready to help! We are currently booking projects for the first half of 2015. We look forward to hearing from you.