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#MealPlanningMonday - 15th April/
I know I know it's been a few weeks since I last took part and that is mainly due to various members of the family being ill, both the girls have had chickenpox over the last month and we've all had the flu and then last week we were away at Butlins...but now I am back. As the girls are getting older we are now trying to have meals where we all eat the same. It's not going to bad and they seem willing to try new things which makes it a lot easier at dinnertime.
So here is this weeks meals
Grilled Salmon with New Potato Salad
Spaghetti Bolognaise with Garlic Bread
Hot Dogs with Chips
Quorn Meatballs with Rice
Tuna Wedge Bake
It's maybe not the most adventurous menu but most of it the girls have asked for so fingers crossed they eat it all up.
I can't wait till the salad bits we can actually get out of the garden rather than having to buy it.
I hope you've all had a good week and I look forward to seeing what others have planned for the week


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Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras
The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra experience provides extraordinary music education in pursuit of musical excellence. The program aims to inspire in our students a strong sense of character, discipline, commitment, and community. The ensembles are inclusive, diverse, and accessible to all students, regardless of financial resources. High-quality ensemble training is led by Charlotte Symphony Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees and professional Charlotte Symphony musicians, who provide a nurturing environment through which young musicians create lasting bonds in music and friendship. We offer regular performance opportunities throughout the city, including the Belk and Knight theaters, plus access to the Charlotte Symphony's renowned Music Director, Christopher Warren-Green and international visiting artists, such as Joshua Bell.
Follow us @cltsymphonyyo
About the ConductorChristopher James Lees serves as the Resident Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony and has 15 years of experience conducting secondary, university, and honors-level orchestras all across the country. In addition to his extensive professional work, he also has served on the college faculties of the University of Michigan, Kent State University, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
The Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra Conductor Chair is made possible by a generous gift from The Symphony Guild of Charlotte.
EnsemblesThe Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestras are composed of two groups--the flagship ensemble, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra (CSYO), and the training orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony Youth Philharmonic (CSYP). Membership in both is by audition. The CSYP engages primarily students in grades 4-9, and the CSYO, students in grades 8-12.
Access to the Charlotte Symphony
Sectional coaching is provided by Charlotte Symphony musicians, including but not limited to the Concertmaster and musicians holding principal and chaired positions.
Music Director Christopher Warren-Green makes regular visits to work with both orchestras.
CSYO musicians will have the opportunity to perform side-by-side with members of the CSO.
|2019-20 Schedules
2019-20 CSYP Schedule
2019-20 CSYO Schedule
For more information about this program, please contact: Chelsea Singer, Youth Orchestra Programs Manager, 704.714.5131

subset: commoncrawl


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Powered by two Professional Home Economists, River City Cookery aims to help individuals improve their food knowledge and food skills by providing credible information and tested recipes.
Elisabeth Harms, PHEc
Elisabeth is a passionate baker and cook who loves to document her tasty treats. She is a professional home economist, with a Bachelors of Science in Human Nutritional Sciences. You can read about her fabulous creations and exploits at In the Kitchen with Yolanda.
Melissa Gabbs, MSc, PHEc
When not in the kitchen you can find Melissa kitchen-adjacent: planning her next meal or writing about the one she just created. She is a professional home economist and has a Masters of Science in Human Nutritional Science. Melissa also blogs at Mango About Town and is a contributor to Home & Family.


text: Hidden Mountain Resort offers an indulgent retreat for visitors to Sevierville, Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg. The Smokies' first log cabin resort was established in 1981, and now includes properties at Hidden Mountain East & West, as well as the Dell Class-A motorcoach resort, & range in size from one bedroom romantic suites up to a stunning 14 bedroom lodge on the river. Unit amenities include free daily housekeeping, mountain views, hot tubs, cozy fireplaces, fully equipped kitchens, game rooms and much more. Resort amenities include a 24/7 office, award-winning swimming pools, fishing ponds, picnic pavilions, walking trails, gazebos and our beautiful Lodge events center, for weddings, reunions & retreats. Central location for visiting Dollywood, WonderWorks, the Apple Barn, outlet malls, restaurants, and of course, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.Read More


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Politics & Government
Florida Obama donor shares in inauguration festivities
To the list of celebrities like Jamie Foxx and big-name donors such as George Soros giving the maximum to help pay for Barack Obama's inauguration, add one more name: Raul Pedraza, a Miami business owner who until this year hadn't given a cent to a politician.
After contributing what he says was "lots" to Obama's presidential campaign, Pedraza has pledged $50,000 to defray the costs of producing an inauguration expected to draw two million people to the Capitol.
For his hefty contribution, Pedraza, the president of Magno International, a Doral-based international transportation company, will gain coveted access to all official inaugural events, including the swearing-in, seating at the parade and tickets to the inaugural balls.
The access isn't as important as seeing that Obama's presidency is celebrated, "first class," Pedraza said.
"It's one of those things for the country, it's prime time and it needs to be done right," Pedraza said.
Unlike past inaugural committees, Obama's committee is not accepting contributions from corporations, political action committees, labor unions, current federal lobbyists, non-U.S. citizens or registered foreign agents. It has also capped individual contributions at $50,000, although some donors are bundling up to $300,000. (In contrast, fundraisers for President George W. Bush put a $250,000 cap on individual contributions to his inaugural committees.)
Among Obama's Florida bundlers: Democratic fundraisers Chris Korge of Miami and Mitchell Berger of Fort Lauderdale and Kirk Wagar, who served as Obama's Florida finance chairman.
It will be Korge's third inauguration. He said he's contributing to help ensure a successful event – the inaugural committee has opened the entire National Mall to the expected flood of observers.
To read the complete article, visit The Miami Herald.


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LM de-emphasized, NTLMv2 emphasized in Vista
What to look for in a wireless data network
EqualLogic banks on simplicity, price to make local inroads
VoIP security fundamentals, Part 2
Free open days on software licensing
Manchester City Council seeks £3bn for road pricing system
IT support staff 'feel valued' by their employers
Mittal finds 'middle way' to savings
Online sales to hit £28bn by 2011, says report
IT staff look to head North, but London is place to start
IT rank and file nervous about inadequate security
Security Blog Log: Scrapping Patch Tuesday a bad idea
Survey: Companies disregard data security breach risks
Argyll and Bute Council buys £1m Steria call centre
London Stock Exchange runs second live test on Tradelect platform
Virtual models point way to datacentre efficiencies
SMEs 'failing to keep up with web developments'
Credit Suisse opts for Centrasite SOA governance system
Phishing attacks on the rise
Antispyware bill finds favour with businesses
Storage Decisions showcase revealed
VoIP advice from the trenches
Hospital goes wireless to improve night shift care
SEC clarifies SOX guidance
Data deduplication hot despite hard drive explosion
Data retrieval strategies: Retrieving email and database archives overview
VoIP security fundamentals, Part 1
Hewden updates network and services with renewed BT deal
Interop: updated software, new security features
Microsoft NAP-TNC compatibility won't speed adoption, users say
Department of Health sets up home healthcare IT trial
Cardiff University builds UK's largest wireless Lan
McAfee launches IPS for 10g networks, but is IT ready?
Everyone wants NAC ... kind of
Microsoft fixes Office 2007 patch issues, releases MOICE
Symantec, Huawei form joint storage, security company
Sourcefire, Nmap deal to open vulnerability scanning
IETF approves new weapon to fight spam, phish
RSPB implements virtualised disaster recovery
Microsoft investigates new Office zero-day flaw
Cisco, EMC partner on SAN encryption
Server shipments and revenue up for the first quarter 2007
Royal Academy finds information management is music to the ears
Novell and EFF form alliance to reform software patents
Vista has had 'no major effect on PC sales'
Next move: How do I move from teaching into IT?
Dell to boost support with reseller strategy
Google factor could boost on-demand apps for SMEs
Plusnet webmail users suffer spam deluge after data breach
Avis drives financial shared services with CODA
Government seeks network security specialists
Intel gets greener with lead-free chips
Brittany Ferries floats online self-service enquiry system
Microsoft releases Office document security protection
Lenovo and IBM expand global alliance to address business market
All London NHS trusts now using Pacs digital X-ray system
Marks & Spencer to spend £450m on supply chain revamp
Nestlé extends global services deal with BT
WanOP, branch offices the focus of future network wares
Government asks IT suppliers to bid for road pricing scheme
Shoe retailer Faith cuts call costs with Mitel IP telephony system
Barclays enables mobile banking for 1.9 million customers
Swindon and Milton Keynes top the UK broadband league
Friends Provident opts for Genesys intelligent telephony
Canon improves supply chain accuracy through ERP
Microsoft Windows Vista: Security feature reviews
Mitel acquires Inter-Tel, signaling more consolidation to come
Microsoft unveils unified communications devices
Selling network certification: How to talk up your credentials to current and future employers
Comms network for Queensland Cotton
IT directors need mobility competency centres, says Gartner
Two-thirds of businesses lack mobile integration plans
Technology consumers ready to jump ship over poor service
IT downtime the main irritant for office workers
United gets comms on tap with £13.6m deal
Unison opts for IP telephony
Voice over WLANs: The role of VoWLAN solutions
P&O's e-mail management is now plain sailing
Solihull fights crime on local estates with £2.5m IP-based CCTV network
IT security professionals face tighter accreditation
Accreditation to help stop hard-sell tactics
Placements lead to jobs for computing students
Make firms bear the cost to improve information security, says Schneier
An open relationship can yield big benefits
Your way through the legal maze
How jobs in data storage will change
Web 2.0 can work for storage
Ofcom investigates 11 for mis-selling
Check wider costs before moving to dual-core mobile chips, says Gartner
IBM claims fastest chip
SAP moving all products to SOA this year
Bank set for multimillion-pound savings from procurement upgrade
Your shout: IT support, records management, perimeter security
Mobile instant messaging enhances company's business processes
EMC users push for better power consumption
Cisco warns of new IOS flaws
Only a third of government IT projects succeed, says CIO
Mittal scraps global standardisation plan
Harmful effects of Wi-Fi scrutinised
Suffolk unifies communications with Cisco


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Jason Dean
Managing Director, Portfolio Optimization
Download vCard »
Jason Dean leads Pennybacker's portfolio optimization team. His responsibilities include management of portfolio investments, coordinating the firm's principal investment management, and fund reporting.
Prior to Pennybacker, Jason held a graduate level internship in the investment and development group at Grosvenor in San Francisco. At Grosvenor, he underwrote and analyzed more than $500 million in multifamily, mixed-use, and office development and investment opportunities. He also developed tools to manage over $100 million of complex land acquisitions. Jason was previously a director at AIMCO where he guided the $80 million re-development of 126 premium units in Core Madera, California and was responsible for asset management of AIMCO's Bay Area portfolio of more than 2,500 multifamily units. Jason's career began as an assistant project manager for Project Management Advisors, Inc., a real estate consulting firm. His responsibilities included equity investor due diligence management, RFP generation, bid analysis, and budget oversight.
Jason earned his MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, with an emphasis in real estate and finance. As an undergraduate at Purdue University, he achieved a BS in Construction Engineering with a minor in Mechanical Engineering. Jason is a an active member of the Urban Land Institute and a Level II candidate in the CAIA program.


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When it comes to regular entertainment, you need look no further that The Red lion!
With the huge garden at the rear of the pub, there are slides, swings and various out door activities for kids, not to mention the provision of bouncy castles and other inflatables during the summer months.
For the adults, it is non-stop. On the patio you can enjoy the prospect of barbeques, outdoor discos and live bands, themed organised charity events, and much more.
The fun doesn't stop there! Right throughout the year, come along and be entertained with a weekly line-up of events.
Can you hold a tune or play a note? Then join in with our occasional Jam Night for a Whole-lotta-fun! Then it's scrum-down frolicking with a weekend feast of entertainment action with Disco's, Live Bands and more.
However, if you just want to share an intimate moment with a friend, or have a quiet mull over a pint, then you will feel equally at home. There is plenty of room at the Red Lion – both in and out, to choose what you want to do.


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Courtesy of Mani Bagga of Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate
Beautiful Custom Built 2 storey in Montrose Estates boasts over 2518 sqft, 4+1bdrms, 3 baths & dbl att gar. This gorgeous home offers spacious entry, formal living room with large windows letting the natural sunlight pour in. Adjacent is the dining room perfect for entertaining, leading to the large Kitchen featuring tons of cabinetry, island & walk in pantry.$5000 APPLIANCE CREDIT offered to the buyer, so you can choose you're own appliances. The open concept floor plan gives direct access to the breakfast nook & large living room with gas fireplace. The back deck is easily accessible through the breakfast nook. 3 pce bath & den/bdrm complete this level. Upper level boasts large & bright bonus room, spacious master w/5pce ensuite, 3 additional bdrms & 4 pce bath. The unspoiled WALKOUT basement awaits your personal touch. Welcome home!


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Wilderness Tips (Margaret Atwood)
I enjoyed reading this collection. It was a pleasant bedside table read. It didn't blow me away, but I did end up reading the whole thing, so there you go. There's lots of Canadian summer camps and intense friendships between young girls in the style of Cat's Eye (which seems to be everyone's favorite Atwood novel, at least among people I've met here). Extra martial affairs, smoking, scummy men, a tumor dressed up as a chocolate truffle (courtesy of "Hairball," probably the book's most crowd-pleasing gruesome tale). We also get two prehistoric preserved men, in swamps and ice respectively ("The Bog Man" and "The Age of Lead"). I think my favorite stories were "The Bog Man" and "Uncles," the latter being an especially exceedingly mysterious tale. I couldn't figure out if the narrator was criticizing the main protagonist or merely observing her. It also had a really intense theme, asking what does it mean to be a "successful" woman, as opposed to a performing little monkey, desperate to please the men in your life who are constantly on the sidelines, watching and nodding in approval. It was cool.
I did not particularly care for the title story (too many characters, none of them interesting) or the ones like "Isis in Darkness" in which the themes were too explicit (women as empty receptacles for men = bad, etc). But I liked how a lot of these characters are capturing the sense of a "lost age" for my modern day oblivious self–the 50's and 60's, the days of bobby-pin hairdos, milkshakes, excessive smoking, and omigawd should I sleep with him. So I appreciate that aspect of these stories, the way they're capturing a very specific time and place. I also liked how they played with time a lot (very reminiscent of Alice Munro in that sense)–some very big time jumps take place here. And to put it plainly, these stories are very readable. Straightforward. Well-plotted.
I'll always respect Margaret Atwood for doing her own thang. Does she have to slave away to make her writing seem this well-crafted or is she just the ultimate consummate professional? Either way, here's a poem that she read last night at the reading I attended, which I really enjoyed (it helps that I'm a sucker for anything cat-related).
All the Fires the Fire (Julio Cortázar)
Wow, do I need to read more Cortázar. This is the kind of book that makes you want to write–the stories are insanely experimental and ambitious and makes so much else of what you've read (or written yourself!) seem so inevitably bland and tame. We get bizarre, surreal scenarios treated with the utmost seriousness, like the traffic jam in the opening story ("The Southern Thurway"), which gradually evolves into… I don't even know, a parable for the formation of civilization? A commentary on barbarity and communities? It's the kind of story where you don't even bother asking a question like "why don't they just start walking?", because Cortázar does such an amazing job at getting you to accept this absurd reality.
In terms of surrealism, we also get extremely experimental narration in pieces like "All Fires the Fire," where we get alternating paragraphs switching back and forth between ancient Romans in a gladiator arena and a couple arguing in their apartment. What do the two have to do with each other, you may ask?! Never fear, Cortázar makes it pay off and even make sense, in a strangely inexplicable way. There's also "Nurse Cora," in which the first-person narrators switch MID-PARAGRAPH, and yet you still somehow never lose track of who's speaking. Here's one example: "I wonder if the baby's warm enough with that blanket, just to be sure I'll ask them to leave another one in reach. Of course I'm warm enough, a good thing they finally left, Mama thinks I'm a kid, and she makes me act stupid." (66) HOW DOES HE DO THIS, HE IS DEMONSTRATING SUCH RAZOR SHARP PRECISION AND CONTROL OVER THE NARRATIVE, HE MUST HAVE EDITED THIS UNTIL IT WAS AS TIGHT AS A DRUM, I AM SO JEALOUS AND IN AWE.
This is the kind of book that creative writing students would really benefit from studying. Bolaño was right, Cortázar is a badass and a must-read. I'm looking forward to reading more of his collections; they're gonna be truly yummy to savor.
Give Me Everything You Have: On Being Stalked (James Lasdun)
I ended up buying this book after attending a talk by the author. I think it is the first time I ended up purchasing a book based on said talk, without having previously read anything else by the author in question. It was just one of those talks where I was like I just have to buy this book in order to find out what happened (here are some articles that provide the general gist of the situation). His story of being Internet-stalked by a former student is SO compelling and gripping and horrifying and other strong makes-you-want-to-know-more adjectives. It makes you want to, like, not use the Internet ever again. It also strongly reinforces the inevitable fact that there are some CRAZY ASS BITCHES out there. The good thing is that said crazy ass bitches make you feel better about yourself–it's like oh, okay, at least I'm not an INSANE STALKER; I can't be doing too badly if I haven't gone down that road, right?!
Apparently it's very easy to find out the stalker's identity on google (it personally took me 5 minutes). The number one lesson I learned from this book is Do Not fuck around with crazy people on the Internet. Lesson number two is that if you want to be a highly efficient stalker (or "verbal terrorist" as she calls herself), you need to have a LOT of time on their hands–for example, the girl in question spammed her victim's editors, wrote negative reviews on Amazon and the Guardian, emailed his colleagues and bosses, STOLE HIS IDENTITY, and harassed several other Iranian-American novelists she accused of stealing her ideas. WHAT THE HECK. I am in awe of her time management skills & sheer commitment.
The other thing I thought was really interesting about this book is that I was surprised that the author didn't come right out and blatantly say I was attracted to this girl and wanted to sleep with her (this is a question that the New Yorker article also raises). I mean just from the prose and the way he described her… it seemed kinda obvious that that was the case. To his credit, he does acknowledges it somewhat (writing at one point that if he wasn't married, things between him and her would have been different, etc), but in a book that is otherwise so honest, I'm surprised he didn't just come right out and make it explicit. It's like there's no shame in that man! Just come right out and say it! But instead he makes it sound like they were "friends," he respected her work and was interested in knowing how she was doing, etc. But as a creative writing student myself, I would NEVER, EVER, EVER correspond with a professor of mine the way that this girl does pre-stalking–even one that I considered myself to be on "friend"-ly terms with. What female former student "friend" of yours would send you updates about her dating life? There is no way that would EVER, EVER be appropriate. I mean I guess it is really easy for me to sit here on my highhorse and be all wah-wah finger-wagging judgemental. But yeah, that was just the one thing I thought was interesting–that he wasn't more direct about the sexual attraction. But I don't judge, man. Irregardless, what a thing to go through.
Operation Massacre (Rodolfo Walsh)
I can't believe it took me so long to actually read this book! I read excerpts as an undergraduate in Spanish but never got around to read the whole thing until now. I guess I'm lazy and wanted to read it in English, because I read so much faster in English than Spanish. WHATEVER!
I've always been a big Rodolfo Walsh admirer. I think he is the epitome of a Badass Writer. I loved reading his biography, and the two quotes of his I have posted on the sidescreen of this blog have always been very inspirational to me. Operación masacre, about a 1950's Argentinean police-enforced execution gone wrong, is his most famous work and apparently some people call it the first example of true-crime literary journalism, beating In Cold Blood by a decade, which I find very intriguing.
So what did I think of the book? In terms of a reading experience, the first two parts (describing the victims and the titular massacre as it unfolded) was extremely gripping, an excellent combination of literary techniques and investigative writing. Part three was less interesting to me, as it's an endless litany of evidence about the case–quotes from the judge, police reports excerpts, etc. I also struggled sometimes understanding what was going on in terms of the political & historical context (the footnotes help, but boy oh boy, is the history of Argentinean electoral & political party politics dense–the book made me feel like such a dummy at times!). But I understand why Walsh felt compelled to include that evidence-based material–the point of the book, after all, is to PROVE something that happened that the state denied.
It was interesting to read this book right after 2666, another book that uses extremely forensic, fact-based language and is also famously based on true-life horrors. In Walsh, we get this evidence-based language because it's functioning as testimony: the specific details and the concrete facts are giving the event meaning by proving that it happened. They work as a way to provide clarity to the text, by making it seem more real and memorable for the reader. The most striking example we get of this is that of the "phantom tree"–a tree that looks solitary from one specific angle, but from any other you realize that it's actually many. Walsh writes that "it was fascinating, worthy of a Chesterton story. Moving fifty paces in any direction, the optical effect would disappear, the "tree" would split into many trees. At that moment I knew–it was an unusual kind of proof–that I was at the scene of the execution." (79) I find this idea equally fascinating–that it's the "unusual kind of proofs," the details that seem more fictional than realistic, that give a story its truth-value.
In Bolaño, though, things are a lot more murky and chaotic, and investigations are significantly less direct and straightforward. "How can you narrate horror without just reporting on it?" Ricardo Piglia asks in the extremely well-written afterword, and this question, I think, is key when considering both Bolaño and Walsh's intentions. This is definitely an idea I hope to develop further, about the ways in which literature can not just Show and Tell, but also be more subtle, and make the readers See and Understand by NOT showing or telling the essential–by being more elusive or elliptical.


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We Updated the Classic Cement Handprint DIY Gift for Stylish Moms
You know what I'm talking about — those cement tiles that your mom put in her garden. Well it's 2016, so it is time for a DIY remake of this overdone Mother's Day gift. We bring you the thumbprint necklace! This piece is delicate and versatile. From far away, it's a cute pendant tassel necklace, but up close, it is so much more. You'll have mom in tears with this personalized necklace.
— white Sculpey
— Opal Sculpey
— 18-inch necklace chain
— 12 inches of chain
— beads
— jump ring
— gold paint
— eye pins
— pliers
— scissors
1. Roll out a piece of white clay about 1/8-inch thick and press your thumbprint into the piece. Cut out your thumbprint so you now have an oval shape.
2. Grab a piece of the opal clay and cut out an oval piece to match the size of your thumbprint.
3. Sandwich an eye pin in between the two pieces of Sculpey. Use your fingers to melt the edges of the clay together. Watch out! Don't mess up the thumbprint!
4. Bake for 15 minutes in a 275 degree Fahrenheit oven. Once it has cooled, paint on a thin layer of gold paint to fill in the crevices of the thumbprint.
5. Add beads onto the eye pin, and then use pliers to create a loop on the top.
6. Use jump rings to attach the jewelry chain to the top of the pendant and a chain tassel to the bottom of the pendant.
Roll out your white Sculpey to about 1/8-inch thick and press your thumbprint right into the clay. Cut out the oval shape with scissors and smooth the edges with your finger. Remember – don't mess up the thumbprint! But if you do, you can smooth it out and try again.
Roll out the opal Sculpey and cut an oval around the shape of the thumbprint. Place the eye pin on top of the opal Sculpey and then the white Sculpey on top of that. Use light pressure to melt the edges of the Sculpey into each other. I'll remind you again – always avoid squishing your thumbprint.
Bake the piece for 15 minutes in a 275-degree oven. Once it's cool, use your finger to fill the crevices with gold paint. Wipe excess paint off with a paper towel, just like you would when applying stain to wood.
Add beads to the eye pin, and then secure in place by creating a second loop with the jewelry pilers.
Use a jump ring to attach the pendant to the jewelry chain.
Finish off the necklace by adding a chain tassel with another jump ring. Not into chain? Try an embroidery floss tassel!
We love the mystery behind this pendant necklace. From a quick glance it looks like a bead or a druzy, but Mom will know that it's your special, unique thumbprint.
Jen stepped in to model our Mom's Day necklace. Her daughter is a bit too young to complete this DIY on her own (ahem, she's 2!), so this would be a great present for Jen and her daughter to gift to grandma!
Show us your project by tagging us on Instagram + using the hashtag #iamcreative!
DIY Production and Styling: Kelly Bryden
Photography: Brittany Griffin and Kurt Andre
Brit + Co may at times use affiliate links to promote products sold by others, but always offers genuine editorial recommendations.


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New Year Edition Deadline
If you want to promote your business to local people in one or more of our magazines, our next edition is February/March 2018. Do get in touch by Monday 15 January at the very latest, to see how we can help.
You can call Tina on 07952 591031 or drop her an email firstname.lastname@example.com. Any story request, events and group details can be emailed to email@example.com.
Alternatively you can give the office a ring on 01684 252242 or you can visit one of our websites: www.allaboutmalvernhills.com & www.allaboutworcester.com – you will be able to read through our current magazines to see what they look like and if it is something for you.
You can download our media pack here.


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Welcome to WebmasterWorld Guest from 184.108.40.206
Forum Moderators: buckworks
[edited by: Habtom at 9:06 am (utc) on June 25, 2007]
We currently email repeat customers a monthly 6-day coupon good for free shipping. We get a nice kick in orders at huge expense.
Pretty much a wash.
My shipping charge is about 15% of my average order size, so with unconditional free shipping, the price of every item has to increase to make up for it, even though only the price of the first item purchased really needs to be increased. I've tried free shipping and x% off 2 or more items to balance that out, but it didn't work so well. I think it was too complicated. People like policies like this: Free Shipping.
We've tried the 5 and 10% discounts, and those work okay; we've tried free shipping on some items, and it didn't seem to make a big difference. We tried gift cards, but those tanked - I'm thinking of trying gas cards, though. More useful for B2B customers maybe than a gift card.
A point I forgot to make is that unconditional free shipping doesn't encourage a large order size.
A customer can come into most stores, spend half an hour browsing and asking your staff questions, and then leave without paying. Likewise, a customer may buy something worth pence/cents having taken full advantage of your air conditioning/heating, lighting, off-road parking, and possibly even toilets - you are almost certainly at a significant loss.
You should look into shipping usps for 0-5lbs. 1lb costs only 4.60 to ship anywhere in the us including puerto rico, guam, hawaii and alaska.
We have found anything less than 5lbs is much cheaper to ship postal with delivery confirmation. They also have flat rate boxes and we have shipped VERY heavy items that way for about 9.00 in the us.
On the rest of the subject, we have found that free shipping on expensive items does help boost sales but when we did free shipping for all we basically lost money or broke even across the board unless we raised the sale price.
For those shipping UPS over 200 pounds per order (not per box) then I would urge you to consider Hundredweight pricing. We have found it can be even cheaper than shipping by the pallet.
we could have an order at 5:59, call it in at 6:30 and the driver be there at 7:45 and USPS Driver be going at that pizza slice, fearlessly, and sipping BUD at that time, at least where we are.
And Yes Free shipping does indulge more orders, but it puts a dent on the profit margin.
From NJ to VA, 2LB package, $100 value
Delivery 2 days (not 2day � but ground) ===$8.47
USPS Priority
With signature confirmation and insurance for 100 buks is $ 9.05
But then again, ALASKA or overseas USPS is a WINNER
Prints the label.
Delivery confirmations are 1/2 price.
Calculates multiple costs.
Creates Customs forms.
You have to apply your own postage.
Does not calculate insurance.
jsinger - just curious if you tried free-shipping for all products for all customers straight off, and plastered across the site?
Our free shipping coupon doesn't appear on the site. Mailing list customers get a coupon that applies to any purchase over a certain minimal amount.
Don't assume The Big Boys use free shipping for merchandising or "bottom line" reasons.
IMO, publicly owned Dot Coms use such gimmicks to "manage" revenues at the end of a financial reporting period...often to meet Wall Street expectations or to juice bonuses (gasp!)
(sorry if I've said that often before, but I think its worth repeating)
This is the problem. If the average order is only one or two items, the cost per item for shipping is very high. You need to increase the number of items in an order. so the cost for shipping them ppc, goes down, and profit goes up.
For exmaple. Let's say you sell vitamins at $6 bottle that cost you $2 a bottle wholesale. How much does it cost to place one bottle in a 6"x"6"x6" box with packing, versus 6 bottles in that same box with less packing?
Let's say it is $8 just for example to ship one bottle with the cost of the package, packing and the weight of the bottle. Is your consumer going to pay you $14 for that bottle of vitamins? Not if he is smart.
But, if you can add another five bottles to the package, the cost of shipping this package will likely be $10, only $2 more. This makes the cost per bottle only $1.66 per bottle instead of $8 per bottle.
Because vitamins are light weight, the cost goes up very little when you add more bottles to the package. But, you now have the profit of $4 per bottle on six bottles of vitamins, or $24 profit for one package to be shipped, instead of $4 for one bottle in a package. Now... you can offer free shipping and make more profit on that order, than if you sold only one bottle for the order.
So... you offer a sale. Buy 5 bottles get 1 bottle free AND as an added bonus you get free shipping.
You have now tempted the customer beyond what he can resist, and have made your product a better deal than your competitors'.
Let's break it down. Most customers visiting a website to make a purchase, make one purchase and don't return. There are many reasons they dont' return. Some no longer need or want the product again. Some can't find you because they forgot to bookmark you and lost the receipt. Some bookmarked you but changed computers. Most can't remember your site name (that is your fault entirely. You could have avoided that by selecting a better 'sticky' domain name). The reason doesn't matter. Return visitors who repeat buy are a low percentage across the web. This is why you need to make as much profit off each CUSTOMER as possible not make as much profit off each PRODUCT as possible,for the best possible monthly/annual bottom line.
Taking the example above, you would have made $4 on the customer IF he bought only bottle. But, now, he has bought 6 bottles.
6 Bottle Order Total: $30 ($6 x 5 bottles, one free)
Cost of 6 bottles wholesale $12
Profit before shipping: $18
Then you paid for shipping, which we said was $10. Your profit off this customer is now $8 instead of $4 AND you paid for shipping. Multiple that by 100 customers in the month because your sale is hard to resist, and you have now earned $8000 off that one product for the month ($8 profit on 100 customers)
If without the sale, you might have sold only three bottles of vitamins in the month, because with the shipping the total cost is outrageous, you have just cleaned up big time. Plus, instead of the visitors coming, seeing vitamins they like, then discovering the shipping made them beyond reasonable, and they start clicking that BACK BROWSER button fast and furious to go back to the Google search results to find a competitor, they will come back, even as a low percentage, instead of never coming back at all.
But, please, do not stop there. Don't just put one item on sale and offer free shipping. Offer it on every other light weight product you have, where adding a few more in a package will increase the shipping only slightly.
Place a box on every page of your site that lists the product that are included in "Today's Free Shipping" promotion, to cross market the theme.
Also remember this. While your supplier may have been charging you $2 for a bottle of vitamins when you were selling only a few bottles a month, what kind of deal might he offer you if you were selling 600 (100 orders of 6 bottles) bottles a month? Maybe you would get them for $1.80, saving another $120. You now have $120 to help cover the cost of those free bottles you gave in the promotion.
For the 600 bottles ordered, you gave away 100 free. Your cost at the old wholesale for the free bottles was $200. But, at the new wholesale price, you lowered your cost not only on the 100 free bottles you gave away, but also on the 500 you sold. The cost of the free bottles to you now is only $80 after you negotiated the new price of $1.80ppc for the 600 bottles.
Your supplier doesn't care if you are selling the bottles or giving them away free of charge. That free bottle in every six you sell in the promotion, still counts toward your total volume with the supplier. Ask for a deal now that you are ordering more from him/her and increase your profit some more.
Not only that, you will likely get a better deal on the shipping supplies, as you buy in higher volume, further reducing your overhead, and increasing your profit.
Now, I hear the nay sayers, I've heard the whining a thousand times before. "Yeah, but I am working my fanny off for only double the profit off this customer." Yes, you are. I will remind you that you are doing that sitting at a machine in your leisure, likely at home, in your pajamas, and your life is pretty easy if only you could make more money.
If you refuse to work the business and put the extra effort in, where will you be a year from now? Waiting tables, digging ditches in the heat, working 12 hour shifts in a hospital, all for THE MAN.
Either you will do what you need to do in order to survive on the web, or just run back to THE MAN, and let him make his profit off your back.
My wife and I have been at this (web biz) since 95 and have tried almost every thing legal (no spam lists etc) to try to make sales grow on purpose. Our good news/bad news is we make and sell items to a niche market, a subset of the jewelry and gifts market. Some special pieces we make at our home shop, some we buy for resale. Many are one of a kind items. Unfortunately most of our products are not what I'd call consumables, a customer just needs / wants one or two for a self treat or gift giving occasionally. They do not get used up like candy, makeup, or vitamins etc. There are some add ons we sell to go with the main items but even they are not always needed or necessary for the customer.
There in lies the rub. Jane's observation in regard to the customer finding your site and making a purchase , then going away, maybe for ever is very true. We always pack in at least two or three business cards with each order and recently started adding our simple logo to the gift boxes we put the products in, and added the stickers to the outside of the shipping padded envelope or box.
Low and behold I have started to see more and more searches from Goog and the like with just our website name - as the search term. I'd like to think its a result of postal , office employees or friends that have seen our shipping packages laying around.
Jane's model of making the most profit from each customer rather than each product is very sound I and I will think on that seriously for a while, thanks again Jane.
Our current free shipping offer is if order is over x$
then free S&H, our least costly items sell for $5.00 and most costly several hundred, and weight is from 3 ounces to over 20 pounds plus, very difficult to balance out that kind of spread with S&H offers, but Lord knows we've tried over the years. We are trying a new thing for us which should help with more robust repeat sales, going to make instruction DVDs and maybe even put them online in password protected area for immediate viewing after purchase while they wait for the DVDs to be mailed. Also sell supplies and tools and kits needed to make the projects. Have already invested $2K in new HD camcorder, lighting, sound equipment etc, still not done , need more PC horsepower and newer video editing SW. When will it ever stop?
Offering free S&H across the board has never doubled our sales just a slight up tick maybe. So I'm not a big fan.
Good luck to all.
And Jane, you're GOOD!
Mike McKnight, frying in old Sun City AZ - 110 today and tomorrow and the rest of the summer!


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GATSwatch.org > GATS Debate > Education
GATS Basics
GATS Debate
Brief on General Agreement on Trade in Services
Submitted to the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade by the Canadian Federation of Students, 15 October 2019
"The WTO and the Millennium Round; What is at stake for Public Education? Common concerns for workers in education and the public
Joint publication, Education International and Public Services International, October 1999
The Future of Education Under the WTO
Peter Frase and Brendan O'Sullivan, 180/Movement for Democracy and Education, 1999
Background Paper on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and Post-Secondary Education in Canada
Robert Clift, Executive Director Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia (CUFA/BC), 29 November 2019
The Canadian Teachers Federation and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
GATS to impact on public education
Sally Edsall, Research Officer, New South Wales Teachers Federation (Australia), August 2000
The WTO and the GATS; Why Teachers Should Be Concerned
Harvey Weiner, Deputy Secretary General Canadian Teachers' Federation, 10 October 2019
Globalization, Trade Agreements and Education: Trade deals prevent governments from protecting education
Larry Kuehn, Director of Research and Technology, British Columbia Teachers' Federation, Canada
Keep Public Education Out of Trade Agreements
Larry Kuehn, Director of Research and Technology, British Columbia Teachers' Federation, Canada (Text of a talk at the World Forum for People's Education, Santiago de Chile, November 2000)
The Education Industry: the Corporate Takeover of Public Schools
Globalization, Trade Agreements and Education
Globalization is about more than just the economy. Trade agreements have an impact beyond international exchanges of goods. Collection of articles on the website of the British Columbia Teachers'
Collection of papers presented at a conference organised by the Hemispheric Initiatives for Democratic Education in the Americas (IDEA) in Quito, Ecuador, October 1999
GATSwatch is a joint project of Corporate Europe Observatory and Transnational Institute
Paulus Potterstraat 20, 1071 DA Amsterdam, The Netherlands


text: Fujian Yinxiang FineChemical Development Co., Ltd. (formerly known as Jinjiang Daily ChemicalsPlant) was founded in 1988 and was renamed in 1994. As a production andR&D-oriented comprehensive conglomerate high-tech enterprise that covers anarea of 40 thousand square meters and a building area of over 37 thousandsquare meters, Yinxiang has an annual capacity of more than 80 thousand tons. Atpresent, the company owns 170 sets of equipment for chemical production, morethan 70 analytical and detecting instruments (including gas chromatograph,ultraviolet spectrometer and other relevant analytical and detectinginstrument), and a R&D center, with products mainly involving textilechemicals, paper chemicals, daily chemicals, biological enzymes, fluorescentwhitening agents and water treatment agents. Apart from having more than 20professional and technical personnel (including 2 senior engineers and 7engineers), the company also maintains close technological cooperation andfriendly communication with international and national famous enterprises, aswell as a good cooperative relationship with domestic prestigious universities...


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Court Victory: "Thank Heaven and Thank HSLDA"
The González family, who reside near Alicante, Spain, were giving thanks to God and to HSLDA after a judge dismissed their case this week. The family were facing a possible order to send their child back to school after prosecutors brought the case over homeschooling. HSLDA filed a brief and spearheaded an international petition for the family.
In Depth
Read the legal brief authored by HSLDA >>
(requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)
"The judge dismissed the prosecution's case ... we believe that your report has been very important for the judge's decision. Thank you all, thanks Mike, and thank heaven," Mila and Rodolfo Gonzalez wrote in an email to Michael Donnelly, HSLDA's director for international relations.
The González family were very concerned that after having homeschooled for a year they might have to send their son to public school. The family were in court for an initial hearing this past Friday, September 9, where they submitted the HSLDA brief along with other evidence and material. The family had been prepared to wait for months as the court deliberated. But it was clear that the Spanish judge had been influenced by the international petition and HSLDA's brief over the weekend when she dismissed the case early Monday morning, allowing the family to continue to homeschool their son.
Donnelly, who met the family in a recent trip to Spain, said he was pleased by the result. He was especially delighted by the positive effect of the HSLDA brief and a petition signed by homeschoolers from all over the world. The petition—supported also by ALE— Asociación por la Libre Educacion, the largest national homeschooling group in Spain—garnered nearly 1,200 signatures in a just a few days.
"This is an important victory for the González family, and I'm sure it's encouraging for other Spanish homeschooling families. Our staff translated the brief in record time, so that it would be available for the hearing. It is exciting to hear that the judge was influenced by it. We are grateful to the thousands of homeschoolers in America and internationally who took action to support this family by signing the petition. By working together we can advance the cause of freedom for home education," he said.
HSLDA received a simple, one-line email from the family's attorney Monday morning after the judge released her opinion. Joaguin Rodriguez wrote to HSLDA: "Hemos ganado!" which means, "We won it!"
The family expressed their appreciation for HSLDA's involvement.
"Everything in our situation is becoming easier, thanks to HSLDA," wrote the González family in an email to HSLDA. "We believe that your brief was extremely important in the judge's decision," said Mila González. "Such a clear resolution in our case is great news. The judge completely dismissed the prosecution's case, which means that our son can remain a homeschooler!"
There are other families in Spain who face difficulties over homeschooling. HSLDA believes it helps all homeschoolers when we fight for freedom wherever it is threatened. To support HSLDA's work internationally visit the Home School Foundation and consider contributing to the international fund.
| Other Resources
"Homeschooling Situation Becoming Urgent"


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Examining the Routing Process
The routing process starts with a source computer that makes the first decision in the routing steps, which is illustrated below. Not shown in the figure is the implicit route that each router would have for any network segments on which the routers interfaces are directly connected. The routing process goes like this:
The source computer at 192.168.1.25 wants to send data to the computer at 192.168.100.75.
The source computer consults its local routing table, which, for simplicity, has only one routing entry for its default gateway (Router1).
As the data arrives at Router1, Router1 looks at the destination address of the IP packet.
It then scans through its own routing table to determine that the data should be sent off the network over Router2 as a route to the destination.
As the data arrives at Router2, Router2 looks at the destination address of the IP packet.
Router2 determines that it does not have a specific routing entry to the destination network, but does have a default route or gateway of last resort, so Router2 passes the data on to Router3.
The data arrives at Router3.
Router3 has two entries in its routing table: one for the network of 192.168.100.0 through Router4 and one for the host (denoted by /32 in the routing table) of 192.168.100.75 through Router5. In this case, Router3 chooses the most specific routing table match to the destination address. Router3 then sends the data to Router5.
Router5 looks at the destination address of the IP packet.
Router5 reviews its routing table, and finds that it is directly connected to the destination network. In that case, it sends the data directly through the interface configured for the network 192.168.100.0, which gets the data to 192.168.100.75, the final destination.


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Raucous Ravenhill a marvel to take pride from during Ulster Saracens clash
Afterwards, it was the desolation that struck you. As the last stragglers were rounded up and sent on their way, Ravenhill was enveloped in virtual silence with all that remained being the detritus of nearly 17,000 people blowing about the place and the less than raucous noise of those beginning the unenviable night shift task of clearing it all up.
Rugby round up Newsletter
The emptiness of the stadium reflected the emotion of most those who had watched Ulster's European exit unfold in dramatic fashion few hours earlier – though, admittedly, those final knots of spectators had somehow found it within themselves to be enjoying the occasion.
And that despite Jared Payne's red card and the impact it had on the contest.
After all, it had been a great night out with a pulsating game of rugby thrown in as well. True, but this was supposed to have been Ulster announcing themselves as European contenders on the night that their redeveloped stadium came of age.
Well, at least they got the stadium part right and, let's face it, sport has an uncanny way of not working out the way you hoped.
Afterwards, the quietly spoken Saracens coach Mark McCall, local lad and former Ulster coach, even made mention of how his side had not been prepared for the earth-shaking atmosphere.
The noise levels were truly raucous and echoed all around the ground throughout. The white flags flew and the support poured out onto the turf, lifting Ulster with it as the 14-man side took Sarries right to pretty much the last minute.
For those with long memories, the only atmosphere comparable to Saturday night was when Ulster saw off Stade Francais in early January 1999 on their way to winning an epic final. On that day there were officially 20,000 crammed into the old ramshackle ground but goodness knows how many had made it through the turnstiles.
And yet for sheer intensity of support, last Saturday probably topped what McCall – then still part of the playing squad – and all others who were at Ravenhill that day managed to experience.
Yes, it was a defeat – and one that may have done incalculable damage to Ulster's ambitions for the one piece of remaining silverware now on offer – but the outpouring of emotion that ratcheted up from late afternoon on made the hairs on the back of your neck stand.
The newly completed stand has now perfectly enclosed the new Ravenhill and with paying punters occupying every tier, the crescendo of ever increasing volume from the tightly packed ground washed in waves across the green sward. Payne's red card – played on the big screen as referee Jerome Garces pondered his decision – only further upped the ante in the ground as firstly his harsh dismissal was greeted with boos.
And how the team responded with a display that had the crowd on the edge of their seats throughout and might have even brought the win so many had craved.
But they fell short and all that remained was a final rendition of 'Stand Up' as the ground rose in praise to a magnificently brave Ulster effort. And then that desolation as silence gradually fell.
Belfast Telegraph


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|Album storage system - Save (and view) your partially solved, solved and new puzzle choices.
Sudoku X4 includes a game engine that generates new puzzles at the touch of your finger. The most challenging puzzles require expert techniques such as Franken Fish, Finned Swordfish and XY Wings, with no guessing required, of course. Our friendly user interface makes solving a pleasure, offering different colored inks, a timer and complete undo/redo capabilities.
The original Sudoku X4 runs on the iPhone/iPad/iPod. Sudoku X4 HD is the High Def version for the iPad. Android version coming soon!


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Hello everyone! Happy Sunday, wherever you are in the world!
My neck of the woods has been filled with art. FINALLY! The last couple of pieces I did seemed to completely break through my art block and confidence issues, and now I feel much happier and calmer because I'm creating again.
Something else that's been making me feel happier this week is my journey to become healthier. My weight loss is progressing ever downward, but I think I needed a bit of a boost by tracking my calories instead of carbs. There have been times, when counting both, that I realized I'd hit my carb limit but had only consumed 800-900 calories in one day, and really a woman (especially one of my girth) shouldn't be dipping below 1,200 on a day-to-day basis! So now I'm counting calories but trying not to stress too much over it! I'm getting there, slowly but surely.
Every little healthy change counts. This is a marathon, after all, not a quick race.
Here's the week in photos!
Monday, Feb 27
Tuesday, Feb 28
My gorgeous earrings from Rags for Gypsies! Poppy truly makes some fabulous stuff and I'll feel like a goddess when wearing these.
Wednesday, March 1
Hold on, is this me actually wanting to work on more art? Wowza!
Thursday, March 2
It was a very chilly and breezy day for my walk, but I was cheered by the sight of bright daffodils and crocuses in full bloom across the village!
Friday, March 3
Happy purple mail! I ordered Jamberry nail wraps through my mom's party, and they arrived super fast! I can't wait to wear them all!
Saturday, March 4
On the way home after another good shopping Saturday with Elaine and Nanny Pat.
Sunday, March 5
A nice, rainy evening with a cozy cappuccino (with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger sprinkled in). Also, that spray bottle has a lavender oil mixture inside for a calming atmosphere…


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A Sculptor's Tails
A lifetime of memories and love captured for eternity
Am I a Cockerspanielaholic or do I own a Cocker?
I think that those are the two questions I have been asked the most since I started dog sculpting. Strangely the answer to both is no.
You may be wondering why I have been asked this so often. Whilst the website might give you a bit of a clue, if you saw my stand at a dog show last year you would know the answer. It was full of Cocker Spaniels! Especially towards the very last couple of shows I did.
At first thought that may seem a little mad. But give me the time to explain my reasoning behind it and I feel it will make a lot more sense. Or at least I hope it will!
This whole thing (the dog sculpting business) started when I was commissioned to sculpt a couple of Cocker Spaniels to be cast as bronzes for a 50th birthday gift. I was so very pleased with the way that they turned out that I decided to take the clay sculpts out to a dog show to see what people thought of them. To see if there was any interest from anyone else in having their dog sculpted. I got a lot of positive feedback and decided to step further into this.
To start with I only had those two clay sculpts, I realised I needed to have some more work to show. I also realised from talking to people that it would be better to have a range of work at different prices, bronzes are beautiful but not everyone can afford one.
The long and short of it is that when I realised I needed more of a range of work I also realised that I needed to have samples for each of the various products I wanted to offer. I decided that the easiest way to show a good comparison between the various products would be to use one dog as a prototype for all of them. After obtaining the permission of my client to use the photos I had, I did just that.
So yes I am completely surrounded by Cocker Spaniels right now but that will change over time as I sculpt more dogs and more breeds of dog. In fact I have already started this with the dogtobersculpt project which has given me quite a few relief sculptures and I have a few ideas about which breeds to do next for the busts.


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If you own a swimming pool, then you know how many memorable moments you've had there with your family and friends. But you may also recall missing a moment due to a sudden outbreak of algae.
These are the two most common issues that confront pool owners and wise caretakers know that the best course of action is to prevent them before they happen. But maybe you've cut corners here and there and tried to get by with lower quality products or skipped a step or two to save time.
Now green or cloudy water occurs more often than you'd care to admit. And don't forget about the added expense of using more chemicals and the extra time it takes to get your pool back into shape.
The exclusive BioGuard Tru•Blue Promise program can be found only at the best BioGuard dealers like Buddy's Pool & Spas. With this Promise, we'll be sure you're using quality products designed for ultimate prevention, that you're using them properly and that you're testing your water with the most in-depth analysis available.
By using our proven products and following our advice, the chances of algae or cloudy water are dramatically reduced and you'll have spectacular looking water all season long. But the best part is that if you're loyal to the Promise and you still end up with algae, we'll give you everything you need to fix it for FREE.
Now that's peace of mind that ensures you'll never miss a moment again in your pool. Stop by and chat with your friendly, helpful BioGuard pool expert and learn exactly how the program works or keep on reading for more details.
All pool season customers who:
Use a chlorine sanitizer (salt, bromine or biguanide systems are not eligible at this time)
Purchase at least one qualifying product from each of Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3. The qualifying Step Products are:
Step 1/Sanitizers – all SilkGuard® products (1" SilkGuard ®Tabs, 3" SilkGuard® Tabs, SilkGuard® Sticks, Smart SilkGuard® Sticks)
Step 2/Shock – Smart Shock®, Easy Shock N' Swim®, BurnOut® 3, BurnOut® 35, BurnOut® 73
Step 3/Algicide – Back Up® 2, Algae All 60®, Banish®
Continue to use only eligible BioGuard products and follow suggested treatment routine
Get water tested regularly at this BioGuard Dealer and perform recommended water balance adjustments
Bring a water sample to Buddy's Pool & Spas for an ALEX® Water Analysis
Once the issue is verified, Buddy's will provide a FREE BioGuard Tru•Blue Promise Solution Kit containing products recommended by ALEX to fix the issue
Click here for complete program terms and conditions
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text:
|Amazon USA Amazon UK Goodreads
Review by Anniek
Kat is married to Jack, but is sick and tired of feeling lonely. In an attempt to attract her husband's attention again she flees to Raven's cottage, taking Jack's cat Mister Snuggles with her. She inherited Raven's Cottage from her aunt and Kat quickly settles in, running the attached coffee shop and bookstore. Raven's cottage was once the home of a witch named Magik Meg and the locals believe the cottage is still haunted by her. Ever since Kat arrived strange things keep happening. Is this the work of Magik Meg or is it someone else?
Kat has a very down-to-earth personality. She always looks for logical explanations first when something's going on. Kat had a terrible accident eight years ago and she never regained her memories about that frightful day. I couldn't wait to find out if she'd ever know what happened. I also enjoyed reading about how she overcomes her fears and she's so resourceful and smart. Kat's talented in many ways, the cookies that she bakes made my mouth water and I would have loved it if I could visit her coffee shop and bookstore in real life.
Something Wicked is a story full of suspense and magic. I've always been fascinated by stories about witches and their magic. I loved it that Louise Marley tells the stories of both Kat and Meg. They go really well together and I loved their natural flow. Kat and Meg both have mysteries surrounding their lives and I was hooked from the start. Louise Marley knows how to write a magical story and definitely managed to enchant me.
If you love magical stories about witches and like a good mystery, Something Wicked will definitely put a spell on you.
Free book
Something Wicked is free on Amazon until October 31st.
If you'd like to check out all freebies and promotions by Louise Marley visit her wonderful website.


text: Summer is here, and along with it, the perfect time for a swim! Of course, if you are prone swimmer's ear it can be a different story. Swimmer's ear is an external, non-contagious ear canal infection. Water trapped in the ears can irritate the skin or cause infection. Doctors generally prescribe antibiotic treatments, and also have patients keep out of the water for 10 – 14 days. That's 14 days of fun in the sun lost! Try AquaNots! AquaNots prevent moisture from entering the ear canal. They are optimal for swimming, water sports, and showering to prevent infection. AquaNots float and feature finger grips for easy removal. You can choose from a multitude of colors, and if you can't decide, you can swyrl up to three colors! Now, that is fun in the sun!


text:
Vivacious and Sensual Dots Tulle Sweetheart Neckline Drop Waist Cocktail Dress by Hannah S Style 27646
Saunter into the room in this hot little Hannah S 27646. This pageant dress features a sweetheart neckline, strapless glitter tulle bodice with beaded detail down its center and a flare dress with a metallic ruffled mini skirt with multiple tiers of tulle fabric. This Hannah S dress is perfect for recognizing your achievements on your graduation, observing the holidays, dancing the night away at homecoming, attending a party, turning sweet sixteen, or any once in a lifetime event you may be attending.
FREE SHIPPING!* Usually ships within 3-5 business days. We ship worldwide. We offer Low Price Guarantee. We don't collect sales tax outside the state of Illinois. We are an Authentic Authorized Retailer.
This dress may NOT be returned. All Sales Final. Please refer to our return policy.
Fabric: Dots Tulle
Available Colors: Red/Gold, Turquoise/Silver
Available Sizes: 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30
- Fabric: Tulle
- Neckline: Sweetheart Neckline
- Silhouette: Drop Waist
- Item #: 27646 HOW
- Manufacturer: House of Wu


text:
Images: JPL
Scientists studying satellite data have discovered the world's longest wake of wind, trailing westward some 3,000 kilometers behind the Hawaiian Islands (see image). Though small in size, the islands apparently exert considerable influence over a sizable stretch of the Pacific Ocean. The new research, reported in the current issue of the journal Science, describes how.
Situated in the path of tradewinds from the northwest, the Hawaiian Islands force the air flow to split, flowing around the islands such that the winds in their lee flow weakly, while the flanking winds are fairly strong. These effects are reflected in the ocean surface, which is generally smooth underneath the weak winds of the wake and rough under the strong winds outside the wake. Each island has its own wake, which dissipates fairly quickly. About 300 kilometers downwind, however, a single, broad wake takes their place.
To uncover the mechanisms that sustain this wake over such a great distance, University of Hawaii researcher Shang-Ping Xie and his colleagues consulted observations of winds, clouds and sea surface temperature (SST) from the Tropical Rain Measuring Mission satellite. A complex chain of interaction among these three factors, the team determined, forms the feedback system that generates the Hawaiian wake.
In addition to explaining the lengthy wake, the new work may have broader significance. "Our results demonstrate that surface winds react to modest subtropical SST variations as small as a few tenths of a degree," the authors write. "The simulation of the far-reaching effects of Hawaii can serve as a test for the next generation of high-resolution climate models."


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The RJC is pleased to announce that Why Me? has been awarded the Restorative Service Quality Mark (RSQM).
Jon Collins, the RJC's chief executive, said:
"I would like to congratulate Why Me? for successfully completing the RSQM. This indicates the commitment it has to guaranteeing the highest standards in restorative justice."
Baroness Newlove, the Victims' Commissioner for England and Wales, has called for more victims of crime to be offered restorative justice.
Her comments come after the release of the second part of her review looking at the quality of restorative justice services, which highlighted that only 4.2% of all victims were being offered the chance to meet with their offender.
International Restorative Justice Week (20-27 November) begins today and once again, it's going to be an exciting period for the restorative practice field.
Voting is now open in the 2016 election for the RJC's board of trustees. The board is the RJC's governing body and plays a vital role in guiding our work. The elections are our members' chance to have a say in who carries out these important roles.
The RJC board is made up of a maximum of seven membership trustees elected from and by the membership and six council trustees appointed for their specialist skills and experience.
The RJC is pleased to announce that North Wales Police has been awarded the Restorative Service Quality Mark (RSQM).
"I would like to congratulate North Wales Police for successfully completing the RSQM. This achievement is proof of its commitment to offering the highest standards of restorative justice."
Restorative Justice Council KLIC Innovation Drive King's Lynn Norfolk PE30 5BY
Contact us: firstname.lastname@example.com
RJC Patron: HRH The Princess Royal
RJC is registered charity number 1097969 and company 4199237. VAT reference #165 3583 91
© 2016 Restorative Justice Council


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Attracting more developers to Cloud Foundry's cloud native application framework is the top priority for the open source foundation's new boss, Abby Kearns.
Kearns took on the role as executive director late last year, following the departure of former CEO, Sam Ramji, who joined Google's enterprise cloud division. Meanwhile, Chip Childers became the Foundation's CTO.
The reshuffle followed a solid year for Cloud Foundry, adding new members including Google, Bosch and Volkswagen, while the Foundation has updated its strategy around containers with the transition to a new container manager system, Diego.
There are now 2,800 code contributors and 140 full time committers for Cloud Foundry and, in a wider context platform as a service - which has lagged way behind other cloud delivery models - is gaining ground too, with revenues expected to grow at 18.5 percent a year according to Gartner.
However, adoption remains at a relatively early stage in comparison to IaaS and SaaS and Kearns says that attracting more developers is a key part of expansion plans in the next 12 months.
"Cloud Foundry is one of those rare products where it has tremendous adoption and no one really knows about it - it is like the best-kept secret," says Kearns. "While that is fun and all, I would like it to be a little less of a secret. So we are going to spend a lot of time this year building awareness."
This means building out an ecosystem of services around Cloud Foundry to support developers, Kearns says, as well as catering more to programmers at the Foundation's Summit events. While Cloud Foundry is aimed at easing the process of application development, only a third of attendees at its annual US Summit were developers.
"If you go to all the events this year you will see that there is a very different tone," Kearns says. "We are actually going to be targeting developers as well as the operators, so we will build out tracks and focusing on developer and language communities and make summits a place where developers can go and network and learn about developing applications on Cloud Foundry."
Enterprise PaaS challenges
A number of large enterprises are now using Cloud Foundry to build new applications. For example, Volkswagen is using a combination of OpenStack and Cloud Foundry to create new connected car and mobility service software more quickly. Most of the large UK banks are using the technology to some degree, according to Kearns. See also: Volkswagen continues open source cloud push with Cloud Foundry
However, one of the challenges for growing enterprise adoption of Cloud Foundry is that it can require an overhaul of internal processes. Adopting new development practices and modern application architectures is as much a cultural issue as a technical one, Kearns says. This is reflected in how Cloud Foundry is used by customers. For example, vendors such as Pivotal and IBM are focused on helping businesses understand continuous delivery and test-driven deployment as well as selling them software tools.
"Cloud Foundry in enterprise organisations is often used as a shim, a forcing function as it were, for digital transformation," Kearns says. "So it becomes a technology that is enabling that business transformation."
"That shift is difficult to undertake and not just for developers and operators but the business as a whole, because it is asking you to really rethink the way that you think about your entire organisation and the role technology plays in it."
She adds: "It is not just pulling developers and operators closer together, it is what are we developing, what is the product, how do we iterate, take in customer feedback and point that back into a new product or new technology, how do we hire or retain talent, what does that look like, how do we manage the financials and investments towards the future."
Lessons from OpenStack
There are clearly parallels to be drawn between Cloud Foundry and OpenStack, the open source cloud project which targets the infrastructure as a service layer in data centres. Kearns says that the Cloud Foundry Foundation has learned from both the successes and struggles of OpenStack.
"We have learned a lot from them but we have also taken a very different path," she says. "Cloud Foundry has evolved and operates very differently from OpenStack in terms of how development works. But there are a lot of things we have taken from them - like OpenStack Days which are really community-driven events. They gave us all of the information to create the Cloud Foundry Days we rolled out at the end of last year, so we have definitely learned a lot from the path that they paved for us and obviously Cloud Foundry and OpenStack is a compelling use case for many users - Bloomberg, Yahoo Japan to name but a few.
"But I think we will learn from some of the struggles on integrity of the technology and from how the technology evolves. We have kept a tighter grip and opinion on the technology to ensure that it doesn't become something so cumbersome and complex that users cannot run it at scale."
Concerns were raised around support for OpenStack last year with two big backers - HPE and Cisco - reducing their involvement to some degree. For HPE this meant the sale of its OpenStack and Cloud Foundry assets to open source software vendor Suse (although HPE will continue to sell both services).
"It is interesting," says Kearns. "I am excited to see where SUSE takes the OpenStack and Cloud Foundry assets and the technology and what they do with it. They have obviously a great story with their Linux distribution as well as Ceph and I am excited to see what they are going to bring to the table both in terms of committers and contributors. But as a member of our board their voice will mean a lot as we think about the strategy for Cloud Foundry."
This story, "Cloud Foundry targets developers to spark enterprise adoption" was originally published by Computerworld UK.


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Faith isn't powerful for a Christian just because he believes. It is the One in whom we have faith that matters.
God declares His goodness, His righteousness, love and faithfulness. In this life it can feel like we've been forgotten or abandoned but God isn't ignorant our circumstances. His desire is that people would cry out to Him, trusting Him.
Our faith should produce in us an expectation that God absolutely will act on His righteousness and most often we benefit directly from His action but our expectation cannot be that He will act in a manner that we define for Him nor that He will act at a time we choose. That's frustrating because we can get lost in our circumstances but He promises that He is near to the broken hearted.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalm 34:18, ESV
He is not slow to respond nor indifferent. He is not callous but sometimes we, His servants, don't act to care for those He would have us care for and sometimes the death that comes from sin bears fruit in this world because of humanity's and each person's rebellion to God.
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
James 1:15, ESV
My intent is to tell you in this episode that God is good and although we may wait years on Him, that does not change His goodness nor His dependability. We'll look at a couple of examples from the Hebrew testament that demonstrate we can believe God even when He doesn't deliver an answer as soon as we wish He would.
- Abram is not THE first example of faith in the Bible but he is the first example used in the podcast and Abram is the first time we hear that it is through someone's faith that God accords righteousness to the person.
- God did not circumcise Abraham; He gave the command for circumcision to Abraham.


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Langtang Heritage Trek:
The number of days required for Langtang Heritage Trek will be dispersed as:
- Trekking Days: 12 Days.
- Kathmandu Stay: 03 Days.
- Departure Day: 01 Day.
"Walking is the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise."
NOTE: "Langtang valley, the closest trekking destination to Kathmandu is the site of largest single catastrophe of 2015 earthquake that got immeasurably wrecked. Witness the transformation over this fascinating Langtang after 2015 earthquake".
Legend speaks that the valley of Langtang was discovered by a Lama (Buddhist Monk) while he was looking for his runaway yak. However, after this incident the monk named the valley as Langtang where Lang means 'yak' and tang means 'follow'. Established in 1976 as the first Himalayan National Park, Langtang lies directly to the north of Kathmandu. It opens before us with extravagant landscape, soaring mountains and deep gorges. The Langtang Heritage Trek takes you to the exquisiteness of the mountainous region and its people, popularly known as the Tamangs. Similarly, they have their distinctive Himalayan life style and beautiful Tibetan Buddhism culture which is exceptionally unique.
Regardless of being reasonably less visited area, trekking here is pleasing, with untouched valleys and abundant flora and fauna. Trekking through this region is beyond belief and considered one of the most beautiful valley. In reality Langtang Heritage trek is 'a journey of a lifetime'.
The Trip Profile:
Langtang Heritage Trek gives you the real trekking experience with its basic facility, unaffected culture, sensational views and beautiful people. However, the trek starts off with a delightful drive over an undulating roadway that swings along with an altitude variation. Getting to Syabru Besi, a beautiful small town situated close to Langtang River (Bhote Koshi) is truly very stirring. Additionally, this river has its legends in connection with the holy GOSAIKUNDA LAKE.
Next morning our trail pleasantly cruises over the ancient farming terraces and climbs up to the ridge with a spectacular view of Ganesh Himal range. Overnight in Ghatlang is thrilling. This primeval village popularly known as "Black Village" is interestingly incredible with its traditional setting. Overnight stay in Ghatlang gives you ample understanding of the fabulously retained ancient Tamang culture.
Join Nepal Pyramids for Langtang Heritage Trek and feel the difference.
Short Itinerary
- DAY 01: Arrive in Kathmandu (1,400 m/4,593 ft)
- DAY 02: Half day city tour / afternoon trek briefing and preparation / welcome dinner.
- DAY 03: Drive to Syabru Besi (1,460 m/4,790 ft) 8 - 9 hours
- DAY 04: Trek to Gatlang (2,238 m/7,342 ft) 5 hours
- DAY 05: Trek to Tatopani (2,607 m/8,553 ft) 5 - 6 hours
- DAY 06: Trek to Thuman (2,338 m/7,670 ft) 5 - 6 hours
- DAY 07: Trek to Timure (1,762 m/5,780 ft) 4 hours
- DAY 08: Trek to Khangjim (2,235 m/7,332 ft) 5 - 6 hours
- DAY 09: Trek to Lama Hotel (2,410 m/7,906 ft) 5 - 6 hours
- DAY 10: Trek to Langtang (3,430 m/11,253 ft) 6 - 7 hours
- DAY 11: Trek to Kyanjin Gompa (3,830 m/12,565 ft) 4 hours
- DAY 12: Rest day at Kyanjin Gompa and morning excursion to Kyangjin Ri (4,770 m/15,649 ft).
- DAY 13: Trek to Lama Hotel (2,410 m/7,906 ft) 7 - 8 hours
- DAY 14: Trek to Syabru Besi (1,460 m/4,790 ft) 5 - 6 hours
- DAY 15: Drive to Kathmandu
- DAY 16: transportation to International airport.
Important Note
The above itinerary is simply a guideline and is subject to alteration as per the circumstances. Your Group Leader is solely liable to bring about changes in the best interest of the group.
Is Langtang Heritage trek difficult?
What is the transportation facility like?
What is Tea house trekking?
what is the effect of 2015 Earthquake like in Langtang?
What to expect regarding Food and Accommodation?
What physical requirement is necessary?
Is it feasible to trek during winter?
what equipment's does Nepal Pyramids provide?
Can we customize the Langtang Heritage trek?
Drinking water arrangements?
how to you handle slow walking people?
Do I need to have travel insurance?
what about charging batteries, hot-shower and Wi-Fi facility?
Over trivial cost all tea houses provide you with super-hot showers, if not hot-bucket shower is always available.
Not all but most lodges provide you with Wi-Fi over some charges but not always reliable.
⭐ The trail takes you through the remote, untouched and time-honored Tamang settlements with diverse terrains, picturesque view of high summits including Ganesh Himal and Langtang Lirung (7227 m).
⭐ To be in the traditional village of Syabru Besi and Ghatlang (the black village) is overwhelming.
⭐ Opportunity to bath in the natural Hot Spring at Tatopani is exclusively new adventurous experience.
⭐ Walk around the Rasuwagadi, the border between Nepal and China gives you the history of Nepal-Tibet relationship.
⭐ This Epic trek to Tamang Heritage trail and cultured villages is an exceptional opportunity for both trekkers and nature lovers that offer anyone with thrilling wilderness, exquisite local architecture, ancient monasteries and extraordinary way of local life.
⭐ To value more of local society of this astonishing region one can always take pleasure in experiencing the excitement of home-stay in few of the Tamang villages.
Detailed Itinerary
"If you seek creative ideas go walking"
Langtang valley, the closest trekking destination to Kathmandu is the site of largest single catastrophe of 2015 earthquake that got immeasurably wrecked. Witness the transformation over this fascinating Langtang after 2015 earthquake.
DAY 01: IN KATHMANDU (1,400 m/4,593 ft)
Soon you land in Kathmandu airport your group leader will be there to greet you and transfer you to the hotel. Despite, the capital city of Nepal certainly being the busiest with hectic traffic it undoubtedly has a strong appeal with local splendor and vigorous activities around, where you can simply relax and take pleasure in the fun of driving through the unfamiliar roads.
• Pick up from the international airport.
• Transfer to hotel by your Group Leader.
• Short preliminary briefing.
• Arriving early gives you an opportunity to explore Kathmandu.
• Welcome dinner and getting to know each other.
Today would be the most exhilarating day where your leader introduces you to our city tour expert who guides you to the most pious Hindu and Buddhist religious place that are listed in the world heritage sites and elucidates you the entire mysticism over its existence.
• Breakfast depending on your choice and preference.
• Meet-up at 9 am for the tour.
• Visit to Boudhanath Stupa and Pashupatinath.
• Lunch on your preference.
• Getting together for trek briefing as per the time given by your leader.
• Distribution of company's trek equipment's.
DAY 03: DRIVE TO SYABRU BESI (1,460 m/4,790 ft) 7 – 8 hrs.
120 km / 74 miles drive to Syabru Besi in a private jeep is a thrilling experience and very entertaining giving you ample opportunity to know how locals live up to drive through these winding roads in local bus which are often enormously packed. We enter into the territory of peace loving ethnicity of Tamangs.
• Early wake up call to skip any uncertainty of traffic jam, 7/8 hours' drive.
• Fabulous scenery while cruising through this sensational slender road.
• A very relaxing multiple breaks gives you time to stretch and enjoy.
• We enter into a different district of Nuwakot and Lunch stop at beautiful Trishuli Bazaar.
• Being in Syabru Basi, a small town unlike Kathmandu will definitely add more excitement to your anticipation.
DAY 04: TREK TO GATLANG (2,238 m/7,342 ft) 5 – 6 hrs.
Today we hit the trail with an interesting steep switchback of 500 m accent to the small settlement of Bahundanda at 1919 m. Effortless walk to the village of Chauwatter for lunch with glorious view of mountains and deep gorge valleys is genuinely adventurous. Next 2 hours walk will ultimately takes us to the village of Ghatlang, a very primitive style village also very popularly known as "Black Village".
• Unbelievable hike through the terraced field.
• Grand view of Goljung village and Chilime Hydropower water reservoir.
• Lunch at Chauwatter village is another attraction.
• View of Ganesh Himal and Langtang range is electrifying.
• Overnight stay at primitive village of Ghatlang is a bewitching experience.
• Small excursion around the primitive village is very sensational.
DAY 05: TREK TO TATOPANI (2,607 m/8,553 ft) 5 – 6 hrs
Today we descend down through the ancient trail with series of longstanding Mani (prayer) wall that guides us to the main trail of Chilime Hydro project. After the suspension bridge we climb to the settlement of Gonggang at 2227 m for lunch. Next 2 hour hike takes us to Tatopani (Hot water) that used to have natural hot spring with pools for relaxation. But the 2015 earthquake have dried up the source of natural hot spring which now is more of a deserted place to stay overnight.
• After breakfast today's walk is delightful with series of small settlements and Mani walls.
• Landscape views are stunning.
• Typically organic lunch at Gonggang is quite an experience.
• Grand view of Chubur himal
• Dip at natural hot spring may not be possible but chilling out with a good book or a chilled beer is recommended.
NOTE: hot spring may be under renovation after the 2015 earthquake.
DAY 06: TREK TO THUMAN (2,338 m/7,670 ft) 5 – 6 hrs.
After the soothing overnight stay at Tatopani we walk an undulating trail that guides us to a very typical stone built village of Brimdang at 2800m. With an outstanding view of Ganesh himal we climb to Nagthali for lunch, a meditation Center with the most beautiful natural setting and spectacular views of mountains. After lunch we descend through the forested trail to the stone village of Thuman.
• Incredible hike through the dramatic forest setup.
• Nagthali for lunch with mesmerizing views of Langtang, Sanjen, Kerung and Ganesh Himal, it's worth a break.
• Walking down to Thuman through woodland trail is electrifying.
• Overnight stay, marvelous dinner and chill out.
• Briefing by your leader and entertaining activities.
DAY 07: TREK TO TIMURE (1,762 m/5,780 ft) 4 hrs
2 and ½ hour steep descend down to the Bhote Koshi Gorge (Tibetan river) that flows into Nepal through the Tibetan plateau is something remarkable. After we cross the suspension bridge we walk up to the main highway that connects the Tibetan border. Another 30 min walk will land us to the settlement of Timure.
• Breakfast and steep descent down to Bhote Koshi Gorge.
• Despite no mountain view Timure is admired for its mix culture and its time honored farming terraces.
• Lunch at Timure and afternoon excursion to the border point, Rasuwagadi.
• Know the war and trade history between Nepal and Tibet.
DAY 08; TREK TO KHANGJIM (2,235 m/7,332 ft) 5hrs
Soon after breakfast we set off walking to the other side of the valley separated by the river Bhote Koshi (Tibetan River). Leaving the highway we ascend to the village of Pelku with an impressive view of terraced farm-fields and Lingling village. After lunch the undulating trail takes us to the Tibetan cultured stone built village of Briddim. Next hour of effortless trail takes us to beautiful settlement of Khangjim.
• Appealing walk to the other side of the valley.
• Looking back you can see Thuman and the deep gorge we walked the other day.
• Dramatic sight of the ancient farming terraces and deep valleys.
• Lunch at view point restaurant with organic food.
• Overnight at traditional basic settlement of Khangjim.
DAY 09: TREK TO LAMA HOTEL (2,410 m/7,906 ft) 5hrs
The trail ascends for about an hour till we get to the ridge line with a great view. Another 2 hours undulating walk guides us to yet another beautiful Tamang village of Sherpagaon at 2563 m where we will have lunch. Leaving Sherpagaon we climb the initial 25 minutes and the gradual downhill walk will eventually takes us to the village Rimche. Additional 25 minutes takes us to Lama hotel, a small village fenced by lush green forests is located at the banks of the wild Langtang river.
• Incredible hike with awesome landscape setting.
• Lunch break at Sherpagaon is worth it.
• Walking to Lama hotel through woodland is electrifying.
• Overnight stay, despite the basic accommodation marvelous dinner and chill out follows.
DAY 10: TREK TO LANGTANG (3,330 m/10,925 ft) 6hrs.
Leaving Lama hotel we set off into the woodland trail of rhododendron, pine and maple. This 3 hours gradual up walk to the village of Ghodatabla into the lush forest is electrifying with so much floras to see and may encounter few wildlife. After lunch gradually we leave the tree-line area and get into the alpine with the grand view of Langtang Lirung 7227 m. Eventually walking into the wider version of the Himalayan trail we get to Langtang village which was utterly ravaged by the 2015 earthquake taking countless innocent lives.
NOTE: after the 2015 devastating earthquake the village of Langtang is under restoration since the village was of single mass catastrophe. A change in overnight stay is possible.
• Incredible hike through the dramatic forest setup.
• Being in the shade away from harsh days sun is soothing.
• Lunch at Ghodatabla is another attrachtion.
• Getting into alpine leaving the tree line is adventurous.
• Numerous prayer wheels, prayer flags, chortens, and prayer walls gives you the Tibetan Buddhism understanding.
DAY 11: TREK TO KYANJIN GOMPA (3,730 m/12,237 ft) 4hrs
Leaving Langtang we set off into the wide Himalayan meadow where the valley opens further before us with an outstanding view of snow-capped mountains surrounding us. Today's short walk through several small streams with multiple small bridges and boulder tail guides us to dramatic settlement of Kyangjin Gompa.
• Unbelievable hike into the Himalayan meadow with remarkable view.
• Thrilling experience being into the thin air.
• View of Langtang Ri (6370 m.) and Langtang Lirung (7245 m.)and other neighboring peaks.
• Being at dramatic setting of Kyangjin Gompa is incredible.
• Lunch and free afternoon for self-exploration.
Early wake up call for morning excursion to Kyangjin Ri 4300 m for the sunrise view along with spectacular panoramic mountain view. We head back down to lodge for breakfast and explore the area that includes the ancient monastery and the Cheese factory. After lunch we hike to the glacier of Langtang Lirung.
• Fabulous sunrise from Kyangjin Ri.
• Ample opportunity for photography with majestic surrounding mountains at the backdrop.
• Visit the monastery and the cheese factory with its history.
• Explore to Langtang Lirung glacier is another attraction.
• Free afternoon for fun activities.
DAY 13: TREK BACK TO LAMA HOTEL (2,410 m/7,906 ft) 5 hrs
From Kyangjin we retrace our trail back to Lama hotel through the same lush forest trail following the Langtang river. Via Langtang village and Ghoda Tabela we descend all the way passing through several prayer walls and traditional Tamang village we get to Lama hotel.
DAY 14: TREK TO SYABRU BESI (1,460 m/4,790 ft)
After breakfast we descend the steep trail through woodland following the Langtang River to the beautiful settlement of Bamboo. Through the forest of bamboo and pine we further descend to several other traditional cultural Tamang settlements and eventually after crossing the suspension bridge we get to Syabru Besi, a beautiful town. It's time to relish and recall.
• Being it a last night fun activities follows with dancing, eating, drinking and tipping.
After breakfast we drive back to the capital city of Kathmandu with yet another pleasant view of beautiful landscape, mountains, ancient farming terraces, villages and gorges. We retrace our route with lunch at convenient point. Back to civilization.
Day 16: DEPARTURE DAY
Depending on your flight schedule airport transportation will be provided. Your leader will be there to send you off home.
Dates & Cost
|Trip Start Date
|Trip End Date
|Book Now
Cost Includes
✅ National park entry fees, conservation fees, trekking permit, TIMS permit.
✅ Airport pickups and drops facility on both Domestic and International flights.
✅ Three star twin bed sharing hotel Accommodation in Kathmandu on Bed / Breakfast basis.
✅ Welcome dinner in a typical traditional Nepali restaurant.
✅ Half day guided city sightseeing with paid entrance fee.
✅ All Government and Local tax.
✅ Fundamental trekking gears like sleeping bag, down jacket fleece liner etc.
✅ All Ground transportation to and from preferred destination as per the itinerary.
✅ Tea-house accommodation or tented camp as per the trek.
✅ Properly boiled hot water for drinking every morning and evening.
✅ Meals (Lunch, dinner, breakfast with hot beverages) during trek.
✅ An accomplished trekking Group Leader and assistant guides.
✅ Oxygen cylinders and an all-inclusive medical kit on all trips.
✅ Take away Nepal Pyramids duffel bag, T-shirt and trekking Map.
✅ Local staff insurance.
✅ Porter service.
✅ Porters' Clothing.
Cost Excludes
❌ Fee levied on Nepali visa.
❌ All personal expenses including Food while in Kathmandu.
❌ International flight fares.
❌ Medical examination or emergency rescues.
❌ Donations.
❌ Staff Tipping.
❌ Extra night accommodation in Kathmandu on early arrival.
❌ Travel or medical insurance.
❌ Optional tours and sightseeing or any activities during free time.
❌ Other personal expenses – laundry, battery charges, shower etc.


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Online services
My Student Centre (MySC)
mySC is an online system which allows you to manage your administrative needs whilst studying at Federation University Australia (FedUni).
Student email
Microsoft Outlook is FedUni's email system for official correspondence. Students are encouraged to check their official FedUni email accounts regularly.
FedUni's official learning management system is Moodle. It is the primary means for communicating course materials and announcements to students.
FedUni merchandise
Shop online at FedUni Store - the online retail outlet of Federation University Australia.
FedUni Stores stock many FedUni-branded items, giftware, and stationery. A merchandise cabinet is located on Level 5 near the student break out area. Items can be purchased online and sent directly to you.
So go ahead, have a browse - if you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact us via email or talk to the staff at the Brisbane Service Hub.


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The Virtual Community of Practice is an online community hub facilitating collaboration among Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and the academic sector in the area of digital technology adoption.
Why join the Virtual Community of Practice for Digital Adoption?
As a business leader:
- Learn what digital advantage is;
- Explore digital technologies with great business benefits;
- Discover digital adoption best practices, barriers, experiences, and roadmaps;
- Connect with talented and resourceful individuals;
- Develop e-leadership skills and learn about critical competencies required in digital economy.
As a researcher:
- Reach business leaders for consultation;
- Collect data and information, learn from industry;
- Assist the progress of digital adoption in Canada, share research and insight;
- Start new research projects on technology adoption.
Cyber Security Discussions to start January 18, 2016
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Advantages and disadvantages of digital technology?
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How to adopt digital technology?
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Mobile technology adoption
6 members
active 3 years, 10 months ago
Digital adoption issues: Drivers, barriers, skills, resources and others
21 members
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Which digital solutions for each purpose?
10 members
active 3 years, 10 months ago
Big Data – Discussions to start January 18 2016
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