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Austell Property Management
Let us manage your Austell rental property
We employ professional managers who will assist in helping you enjoy a quality of life free of the hassles that come along with managing your rental property(s). We treat your home like it's our own.
Backyard Realty Group's Services for Owners
- Full Property Management Services
- Marketing and tenant location
- Thorough tenant screening
- Monthly rent collection
- 24/7 emergency response
- Oversee maintenance issues & vendors
Backyard Realty Group's Services for Tenants
- Rent Collection
- Oversee maintenance issues & vendors
- 24.7 emergency response
- Liaison between you and the owner
Why Use a Property Manager for your rental?
The idea of having to pay a particular percentage of the monthly rent to a property manager can seem somewhat discouraging however the cost is very much worth it! Once you see all of the things our full-service property managers can do for you and your rental property that hesitation will subside! Having a property manager handle all of the stress of your rental property provides numerous benefits such as:
- Setting an appropriate rental amount. Professional managers are also Real Estate Agents who understand the real estate market and know how to help you set a rental price that is sure to bring a quality tenant.
- Managers can screen your tenants in numerous ways such as running their credit, eviction record, criminal background, etc which saves you time and money.
- Managers know contractors and inspectors and will ensure that your rental is ready for the market and is up to code.
- The Georgia laws for property management can be confusing and property managers stay current with regulations and industry standards, so you don't have to!
- The management fee can be considered a tax-write off (check with your accountant to ensure you qualify for this write-off).
Managers act as a liaison between you and your tenant which comes in handy for numerous reasons. We take the personal relationship out of finding and managing a tenant. Our managers also handle all of the negative situations that may arise which takes the burden off of you. For example: If a tenant does not pay their rent on time the manager will work to collect it. If a tenant needs to be evicted for any reason the manager can handle that as well.
Want more information? Let us tell you even more benefits about using a full-service management company. Request a proposal and we would be more than happy to meet with you regarding your property management needs!
Why use Backyard Realty Group for your property management needs?
We are educated!
The Georgia Landlord Tenant Laws can be confusing! Our properties managers are constantly educating themselves about industry standards and regulations. Let us worry about all the technical issues while you relax and enjoy the fact that your rental is in good hands!
We handle all the hard stuff!
You won't need to worry about getting a phone call at 2am from a tenant if there is an emergency or maintenance issue, we will handle it all! We work closely with contractors and will work to resolve any issue at the best price possible to ensure that we will protect your investment.
We have a great marketing team that works hard to make sure your rental gets the exposure it deserves!!
Once a management agreement has been signed we will heavily market your property to find a tenant. We list our rentals in FMLS, Backyard Realty's Website, our agent's and property manager's websites, and numerous other rental property sites such as Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, our company Social Media pages, HotPads, Rent.com, among many others. We will show your property to any prospective tenants and answer all of their questions.
We will screen each applicant to make sure that they are the right tenant for your property!
We make sure to properly check each applicant to get the information you need to make an informed decision on who you would like to rent your home. We will run all applicants credit information, past eviction records, criminal background, sex offender's registry, etc. We all verify employment, check references and call past landlords. We will compile all of this information on all applicants to see if they meet our approval criteria. If they do not meet our approval criteria we will provide a summary of information to you for your approval or denial. We comply with all local and Federal Laws including Fair Housing.
We have over 30 years experience in the property management and real estate business!
We know how to handle just about any situation that may arise with your property and tenant. We have experience working with tenants, filing evictions, getting past due rent collected and dealing with maintenance and emergency situations. This experience helps us to continue to manage homes throughout the Metro Atlanta area. Our Property Managers work as property managers full-time and are licensed Real Estate Agents. The Broker of Backyard Realty Group also owns several rental properties so we understand the issues that owners worry about daily. Our motto is to handle your property like our own!
Management Process
Our full-service management includes managing your property, managing your tenant and managing your money to ensure that everything runs smoothly.
How we manage the home
First and foremost we manage your home as if it was our own. We want to make sure to protect your investment.
We will manage the maintenance issues with your property. No matter the age of a home, things break or need repair sometimes. If a tenant has an issue we will coordinate the maintenance to ensure that things are fixed in a timely fashion for your tenants. We only use licensed and insured contractors and will compare contractors to ensure we find someone who will meet all expectations. We pre-screen all contractors before hiring them to work on a home and will fire any contractors that do not meet our expectations.
We will handle all emergencies. You will not have to worry about receiving a phone call from a tenant at 2am! Our tenants have our after hours phone number to ensure that if an emergency situation arises they can contact us.
We will ensure all safety precautions are taken. We will check the smoke alarms, locks, look for signs of mold, etc before placing a tenant in the property. We will also respond to any safety issue a tenant may have.
How we manage the tenant
Our property managers represent you, the homeowner, and we will do our best to ensure that you are satisfied with our services.
We collect the monthly rent from the tenant in a timely fashion. We will communicate with you all issues that arise such as late rent, non-payment, etc. We will call the tenant for you to collect past due rent, file an eviction on your behalf if needed, file garnishment of wages if the situation arises, send the tenant to collections, etc. We will take every step possible to ensure that the owner receives their rent money.
Enforce the lease. Enforcing the terms of the lease is our most important job. We will drive by the property and complete property inspections to ensure that the tenant is taking care of your property and to ensure that they are not in violation of their lease agreement.
We will carefully screen each potential applicant so that you may choose the best tenant. We will communicate with the tenant on all issues so you can sit back and relax.
We will coordinate all move-in and move-out inspections with the tenant and keep you informed on what is going on.
How we manage your money
We have strict guidelines here at Backyard Realty Group about how your money is handled. We follow the Georgia law and the Georgia Real Estate Commission money handling guidelines.
We collect the monthly rent from your tenant every month. The rent is due on the 1st of each month and late after the 5th. We will impose any late fees or delinquent fees when necessary.
Rent money is placed into an insured trust account and each rental property has its own record.
We will disburse the rent to you each month after it is received by the tenant and has been processed. You have the option to have a check mailed to you or to receive your funds by electronic transfer.
Each month you will receive a detailed summary of the rent received along with invoices for contractors (if applicable).
Every year we will provide you with a 1099 that includes rent collected for tax reporting purposes.
Austell Area Information
Austell is a city in Cobb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,581 Wikipedia
Request a Proposal
If you are interested in getting more information on our property management services please feel free to give us a call today at (770) 517-1761 or fill out the form below to have a manager contact you. This form is used for us to compile information about your property so we can properly discuss your management needs with you.


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Relative of U.S. Marine who shot 2 colleagues, then himself: 'He wasn't the type to do stuff like that.'
QUANTICO, Va. -- A Marine who shot two of his colleagues to death and then killed himself was a tactics instructor at a school that tests Marines who want to become officers, military officials said Saturday.
Sgt. Eusebio Lopez, 25, gunned down 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Sara Castromata and Cpl. Jacob Wooley, 23, on Thursday night inside barracks at the Marine Corps Base Quantico in northern Virginia. Other than to say the three Marines worked together at the school, military officials have not described their relationship or released a motive for the shooting.
Lopez, of Pacifica, Calif., was a teacher whose specialty was machine gunner. He joined the corps in May 2006 and deployed in support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Castromata, of Oakley, Calif., was a warehouse clerk who had been in the Marines since December 2011. Wooley, of Guntown, Miss., was a field radio operator. He joined the Marines in February 2010.
Lopez was an instructor at officer candidates school, known for its grueling 10-week program that evaluates Marines on physical stamina, intelligence and leadership. The candidates must complete obstacle courses, hikes of up to 12 miles in full combat gear and take classes on navigation and tactics that help them in the field, according to the school's website.
Lopez's great-grandfather, also Eusebio Lopez, said the Marines contacted their family on Friday night.
"They told us they were investigating more, and they'd let us know. He wasn't the type to do stuff like that," said Lopez, 81.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press

subset: commoncrawl


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How to Remove Mascara | Video
Stop! You're Removing Your Eye Makeup All Wrong
If you wake up in the morning and still have rims under your eyes (after scrubbing your face the night before) or find that your eyelashes fall out every time you take off stubborn mascara, then you're probably removing your eye makeup wrong. Since the skin around that area is so delicate and prone to wrinkles, it's important to master an artful take-off routine now. Quick tip: don't spend your money on eye makeup remover! See alternatives to removing even the most stubborn waterproof mascara, and learn the right techniques to remove makeup without creating fine lines.
On Kirbie: Junk Food top


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A drinks cart, a side table, or a library caddy...this handsome table's fun shape and galley rim make it an elegant solution for wherever you'd like items held securely in place. Dapper in black lacquer, we love this tall server with polished gold ferrules.
In stock
Work surface with gallery and mirror insert above open shelfBrass casters
Crafted From: Hardwood solids
Be the first to review this product
Century Product Care


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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first OregonLive.com user to add photos or videos of Save-A-Lot
Albertson's Food & Drug can be found at W 6th St 1218. The following is offered: Drug Stores. The entry is present with us since Sep 7, 2010 and was last updated on Nov 12, 2013. In The Dalles there are 1 other Drug Stores. An overview can be found here.
Save-A-Lot is located at 1216 W 6th St, The Dalles, OR. This business specializes in Grocery Stores.
Contractors Northwest is located at 1215 W 6th St, The Dalles, OR..


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Some friends and I decided to get together and share with you some fun Mother's Day ideas. Because Mother's Day is awesome. I found myself in something of a conundrum when my original post idea turned into an embarrassing kitchen disaster. Like really embarrassing. Like, so embarrassing, my son wanted to turn my dessert into a practical joke by feeding it to his brother. Yeah, I felt super awesome when he said that out loud.
I went back to the drawing board and made a cupcake that involves my own mom's favorite things: chocolate and diet coke. And this one was no disaster at all! In fact, it was super easy, pretty quick, and really delicious. Which makes it the perfect thing for Mother's Day.
I had some serious mothering moments recently, when
my husband and I my son was studying for a math test. I borrowed my daughter's Ikea whiteboard/chalkboard easel, which has been worth every penny Santa spent on it, and set it up by the kitchen table for full classroom effectiveness. I also borrowed her dry erase markers in 6 colors. I'm a big fan of using different colors.
Long story short, we struggled, cried, yelled, and worked our way through several hours of math review. We had moments when we wanted to throw in the towel. Or throw dry erase markers at each other. Or throw ourselves in bed. Those, my friends, are the moments when you need cupcakes. Heavenly, rich, chocolate cupcakes.
Here's a math problem for you. Let's assume you're doing the Weight Watchers Points Plus plan. How many points are 1 cake mix + 1 egg white + 1 can of Diet Coke divided by 12? Okay, okay… I'm not doing Weight Watchers. But I've heard the answer is 5. FIVE POINTS EACH. Which is pretty awesome, for a cupcake. (Where did I hear this, you ask? All over the place. Notably, at Skinny Taste, although that version had two egg whites, and no frosting.)
Here's a fun fact you should consider, though. The box of cake mix is supposed to make 24 cupcakes, but when you do it this way, the cake will be denser, and will therefore not go as far. I ended up with 14 cupcakes, although I'll admit that a couple of them were on the small side.
A chocolate cupcake and diet soda break really did help when my brain was hurting from all that math.
I really hope
we he did well on that test.
My friends and I are thrilled to get together and show you some of our favorite Mothers Day ideas. Please visit everyone's site and see what they created for you!
1. Barb at Second Chance to Dream created this Succulent Book Planter.
2. Connie at Measured By The Heart created this Bath Cream Sundae, and included some printable gift tags.
3. This one is me. I'm hoping you already know that.
4. Natalie at North Shore Days made these Button Charms.
5. Adele at Mammy Made made this Mothers Day Wall Hanging.
We hope you are inspired to give your Mom some love this Mother's Day!
- 1 box Devils Food cake mix
- 1 can diet cherry cola
- 1 egg white
- 2-3 T. butter, softened
- powdered sugar
- Combine cake mix with egg white and 10 oz. soda (about 1¼ cups).
- Scoop batter into lined cupcake pan, and bake according to package directions. (Mine was 350 degrees for about 18-20 min.)
- For frosting, mix butter with about 1 oz. diet cola, and powdered sugar. Add sugar until frosting is desired consistency.
- Frost cooled cupcakes.


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Ilya V. Ponomarev, a deputy of Russia's Duma's Hi-Tech Development Subcommittee, has leveled shocking charges against a businessman, Pavel Vrublevsky, who served as a top anti-spam advisor to the nation. According to an open letter (PDF, translated) from Ponomarev to Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), Vrublevsky was actually masterminding a spam/scareware scheme, while being paid to prevent it.
Vrublevsky founded ChronoPay, a company that processes online payments. The company has a great deal of legitimate business including lottery tickets and airline tickets. It also deals with "high risk" internet transactions such as payments on online pharmacy, adult, and internet gaming sites.
However, security researcher and journalist Brian Krebs of The Washington Post raised concerns last year when he spotted a large number of payments from spam, malware, and scareware (fake antivirus programs, etc.) being funneled through ChronoPay.
According to the new allegations from Ponomarev, who followed up on Krebs' investigation, Vrublevsky has been leading a double life under the screenname "Redeye". Redeye created Crutop.nu, an adult forum that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission warns is a haven for spammers and a place "where criminals share techniques and strategies with one another."
In the letter Ponomarev elaborates on these dirty dealings, detailing:
They include trade in pornography on the Internet that contains scenes of cruel violence, real rape, zoophilia, etc. (etu-cash.com, cash.pornocruto.es), unlawful banking business focused on laundering of money generated by a range of criminal activities in order to escape taxes using fethard.biz and acceptance of payments for illegal sale of music files mp3 which violates author's rights of performers and illegal trade in drug-containing and controlled prescribed drastic preparations via on-line chemistry networks (rx-promotion.com, spampromo.com), and illegal mass spam distribution all over the world, as well as sale of malicious software under the guise of anti-virus software.
The kicker, though, is that Vrublevsky works as a government employee as a top official in the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communication, a group tasked with preventing spam. In 2007, the MVD tried to investigated Vrublevsky only to have their investigation fall apart when the chief investigator quit and went work for Vrublevsky.
Ponomarev complains, "We have here a merger between a criminal element and the government power which is unacceptable and inadmissible in any civilized society."
Vrublevsky claims that he is innocent and that Ponomarev was paid off to file the complaint. And he insists he has nothing to do with "Redeye" or Crutop. However, Crutop and ChronoPay share a common Google Analytics code, and for some time the WHOIS domain name record for Crutop was the same as ChronoPay's listed address. And a 2003 Netherlands Chamber of Commerce document (PDF, untranslated) lists Vrublevsky as the registrant of RED & Partners B.V. -- owner of Crutop.
Russia and Eastern Europe have long been shown to be home to some of the world's biggest spamming rings.
Source: DailyTech


text: Nutrition Articles All Categories Aging Anti-Depressants Anti-Inflammatory Anti-Oxidants Arthritis B vitamins Back Pain Blood Clotting Blood Pressure Blueberry Bone Health Boswellia Serrata Bowel Health Brain Bruise prevention Calcium Cancer Prevention Chiropractic Chondroitin Sulfate Cinnamon Copper C-reactive protein (CRP) Curcumin Devil's Claw Diet Dietary Supplement Disc Nutrition EFAs Fall Risk Fiber Fibromyalgia Fracture Prevention Fruit Headache Healthy Lifestyle Heart Health Herbal Hypertension Immunity Support Kids Knee Pain Relief Magnesium Mediterranean Diet Melatonin Migraine MUFA (good fats) Multiple Sclerosis Multivitamin Muscle and tendon Natural Pain Relievers Nutritional Status Osteoporosis Osteoporosis Protein Smoking Teens Tryptophan Vegetables Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin D3 Vitamin E Vitamin K Weight Loss Wellness Chiropractic Care of the Gut 03/05/2019Aaron Chiropractic Clinic shares with Fort Wayne chiropractic patients that their gut's health is vital and influential to conditions like back pain, arthritis, scoliosis, and inflammation. Melatonin and Light Therapy for Disc Degeneration 02/05/2019Fort Wayne chiropractic pain relief for disc degeneration at Aaron Chiropractic Clinic may be enhanced by melatonin and light therapy. Mediterranean Diet Good for Fort Wayne Knee Pain & Life Quality 01/08/2019Fort Wayne knee osteoarthritis and quality of life bettered with Mediterranean diet. Aaron Chiropractic Clinic also used adapted Cox Technic principles for knee distraction. Vitamin Deficiencies Linked to Fractures in Women 12/11/2018Aaron Chiropractic Clinic checks for vitamin deficiencies in Fort Wayne chiropractic postmenopausal women patients as such may increase their risk of fractures. Avoid a S.A.D. Diet to Avoid Inflammation and Pain 11/13/2018Aaron Chiropractic Clinic shares with Fort Wayne chiropractic patients how a S.A.D. diet starts about inflammation and pain. Calcium Plus Vitamin D Reduces Fort Wayne Fall Risk10/16/2018Fort Wayne chiropractic patients who are at risk of falling may find that their risk if reduced by taking calcium. Chondroitin Sulfate For Fort Wayne Neuropathic Pain 09/18/2018Treatment for Fort Wayne neuropathic pain related to sciatic nerve irritation eased with chondroitin sulfate and chiropractic treatment. Fruits & Vegetables Reduce Fort Wayne Inflammation, Risk of Osteoporosis, and Even All-Cause Mortality 08/21/2018Fort Wayne chiropractic care includes nutrition advice like eating fruits and vegetables to reduce inflammation, risk of osteoporosis, and all-cause mortality. Fort Wayne Chiropractic Care Encourages Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors 07/24/2018Fort Wayne chiropractic patients who have healthy lifestyle behaviors experience relief from back pain and reduce their risk of futureFort Wayne back pain. Fort Wayne Chiropractic Nutrition Plan with Vitamin B for Neuropathy Pain 07/03/2018 Fort Wayne neuropathy pain care at Aaron Chiropractic Clinic often includes a suggestion of nutritional supplements with vitamin B. 10 Items Per Page 20 Items Per Page 50 Items Per Page 100 Items Per Page Page: 3 of 13 12345Next »…13


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Freedback is brought to you by Wondermill Webworks (Est. 1998), a Canadian company building useful online tools and services. Our sites have been featured in USA Today, awarded Yahoo's "Incredibly Useful Site of the Day", and have served 250 million people since we first opened our doors.
Freedback has served 10 million people so far and grows more popular every month. A big thank you to our customers for their support and continued business. We look forward to serving you and continuing to improve the services we offer for many years to come.
If you have any ideas or comments, we'd love to hear from you.
—The folks behind Freedback:
Judd Vinet, Barb Ward, Ned Holets, Roben Kleene and Aaron Dragushan


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CoderDojo - Joondalup Library
Date: 20 November 2019
Start Time: 4.00 pm
End Time: 5.00 pm
End Time: 5.00 pm
Venue Details:
Map and Directions
Joondalup Library
102 Boas Avenue,
Map and Directions
Free Event
CoderDojo is a volunteer led movement running free coding clubs (Dojos) for young people. At a Dojo, young people learn how to code, develop websites, apps, programs, games and much more. Dojos make development and learning to code a fun, sociable and awesome experience.
Bring your laptop (if you can) and share what you have been working on!
Please note, there are only three library laptops available and unfortunately these can not be reserved.
Ages 7 to 17 years.
Please be aware that there is limited free parking at Joondalup library. Details of parking locations and fees can be found at the City's Parking webpage.
For further information contact the City on 9400 4751.


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Avast prides itself on championing the causes and communities our employees care about. We work every day to make the world a little better, safer, and more connected. Volunteering - encouraged. Charity events - supported. Community outreach - definitely. Together, we know we can help make all of our communities more successful.
We are proud to be shaping the future of cybersecurity and digital life. Through our presence at major conferences like CyberSec & AI Prague, RSA, Web Summit, DEF CON and Mobile World Congress, our experts provide thought leadership on everything from data and privacy regulations to the challenges presented by IOT and emerging smart technologies. We organize hackathons, tech meetups, and support cutting edge research in threat detection technology - moving the field forward every day.
Avast donates a percentage of its profits to the Avast Foundation, which received the Czech Republic's United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Expert Jury Prize for its palliative care program and contribution to Czech society. Avast employees can also nominate local or global causes that are close to their hearts to receive Foundation funds. In 2020, the employee fund supported 157 organizations with projects in 16 countries — all nominated by Avastians!
Avast рекомендує використовувати
БЕЗКОШТОВНИЙ веб-браузер Chrome™.


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andrea sketch
Drawn from this photobooth strip.
I know that she'll be embarrassed by this attention, but I don't care. My wife is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. And I adore her with all my heart.
8 comments:
she is beautiful, inside and out-ReplyDelete
I read her blog and I just loved her post about taking the kids to leave little notes for people. notes they'd written. about the homeless lady, and her concern for the woman's dignity and feelings. and how your little girl, with a wonderful heart like her momma, but a child's mind and no cares for dignity and other adult thoughts, just left her a little note, because she wanted to.
something about a happy family that just makes everybody happy.
- AnonymousOctober 16, 2007 6:10 PM
J. (above) said it just right... something about a happy family makes everybody happy. I don't think I've ever left a comment for either of you, but I have been following you for quite some time, lurking about grinning ear to ear, revelling in the magic that is the life the two of you have created together. I showed your blogs, your photos and your art to my husband and we are both semi-convinced that you are a make-believe family connocted from flower pollen, bubbles, photobooth chemicals and the imaginations of the whatever great and sparkly cosmic genius created the likes of Brad Bird and Tim Burton. And fully convinced that you are the most adorable family ever. EVAH!ReplyDelete
Thank you for that!
xo Melanie
You guys are great! I love to see people in love. Me and the missus are gettin' ready to celebrate 10 years of marriage and we still are totally googly-eyed about each other.ReplyDelete
The world would be a better place if more people had what we have.
All the best!
This IS beautiful and so is she! I agree with J and Melanie - What an incredible family you have.ReplyDelete
well, I thought I'd come back to tell you what an amazing artist you are. that is a lovely portrait and I think it captures your wife, from the pictures I've seen and what she's written.ReplyDelete
I'd have an insight into her personality from that drawing...and that's amazing.
so, I came back to give you your due. my husband is an artist, and though I appreciate and love art I'm not as surprised by people just creating something as I used to be. still love it, just know it happens. if you know what I mean.
Thanks guys, for all the great comments! Anonymous, the truth is -- yes, we are fully make-believe, complete with swirly-curls, pixie dust and bubbles. It's just a pain in the butt to clean up all the pixie dust laying around the house.ReplyDelete
j -- thanks for checking out my artwork. I've been neglecting my drawing skills lately, so hopefully posting some of my sketches will get me jazzed in drawing again.
- AnonymousOctober 17, 2007 11:26 AM
it's just one of the cool things in the world that you two found each other -- i enjoy both your blogs and just enjoy being able to see your stories unfold. thanks for sharing!!ReplyDelete
thank you, love. I'll admit to a little bit of blushing over the attention. but okay, yes I also secretly love the attention. nothing so lovely as seeing myself through your eyes. xxoxoxoxoReplyDelete
to everyone else who left such kind, kind comments here... thank you so much.


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Recipe from Linda Howerton of Louisiana
1 1/2 pound pork loin cut into bite size pieces
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup cut onions
1 cup cut celery
1 lg. tin diced tomato
1 sm. tin tomato paste
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
Mix all ingredients in slow cooker and stew for the day on medium. Keep an eye on it though depending on your cooker. Add whatever spices you like (I use Toni's seasoning). Serve with garlic toast.
*DISCLAIMER*: The information contained in or provided through this site section is intended for general consumer understanding and education only and is not intended to be and is not a substitute for professional advice. Use of this site section and any information contained on or provided through this site section is at your own risk and any information contained on or provided through this site section is provided on an "as is" basis without any representations or warranties.


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Russellville Middle School students found a unique way to provide comfort and cheer to local cancer patients.
Students, their parents and teachers will distribute 42 quilts Thursday to Saint Mary's Regional Health System to be given to cancer patients.
Seventh-grade history teacher Liz Scott and seventh-grade math teacher Becky Westbrook have worked with students during advisory class to create and provide lap quilts for local residents. Students work on the quilts each day during advisory period, which is a nonacademic class period and must keep with their academics in order to work on the quilt project.
Many students had never threaded a needle before beginning the project, yet they became quite skilled at the process of quilt making. Makayla Cotton said she had never sewn before beginning the project this year, but she plans to continue sewing.
"I really hadn't sewn before," she said. "My grandmother said she would teach me some day, but she hasn't. It has been lots of fun and I really like being able to make something for people that really need them."
The majority of the students were like Cotton — they either had no desire to sew or had little experience with sewing, much less quilting.
"I really wasn't interested in sewing," Brooke Owens said. "I really like it more than I thought I would. It's also really cool to give back to the community."
More than just learning the art of quilting, these students gained valuable lessons in vocabulary, communication, teamwork, problem solving, time management and extra insight into math and history lessons.
The students cut the fabric, design the pattern, pin together the pieces and quilt the finished blanket together. Upon completion, each students sews a heart label on the quilt with his or her name and a message.
Scott spear-headed the quilting project in 2006,when she moved to the Russellville School district from northwest Arkansas. Scott worked with a nonprofit that made quilts for at risk babies and then became interested in quilts for cancer patients after her own mother was diagnosed with cancer in 2005.
"My brother and I would go to chemotherapy and radiation with my mother," Scott said. "It was always so cold in the chemotherapy rooms. It has to be kept cold so germs don't spread, but I noticed my mother's discomfort and decided this was a worthy project."
The quilting project is also near and dear to Westbrook. Her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and actually received a quilt made by the students.
"It really is a great project," Westbrook said. "I still have the quilt they made for my grandmother."
Scott and Westbrook purchase material themselves and occasionally receive donated money and supplies. Walmart donated money this year and Westbrook said one quilt recipient was so grateful for her lap quilt, she sent gift cards to purchase additional supplies.
Scott joked the quilts made in the math class are always straighter.
"Mrs. Westbrook actually quilts and her students' quilts are always very symmetrical," Scott said of the quilts made in Westbrook's class. "All the students really do a great job and work really hard. It's amazing to see how excited they get about the project."
Scott said the students donate an average of 30 quilts each year.
Anyone interested in donating materials may contact the Russellville Middle School at 968-2557.
From couriernews.com – article by Heather Sprinkle.
Link to article: http://www.couriernews.com/view/full_story/18695332/article-Stitched-together


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Article content
With 22 seconds left in the first quarter at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif., Los Angeles Lakers stars Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard strolled on to the floor and were greeted with a spirited ovation from the near-capacity crowd of 10,500.
Neither had dressed for the pre-season game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Bryant, who had played in the team's first exhibition game three days before in Fresno, Calif., sat out with a mild right shoulder strain while Howard was still recovering from off-season back surgery.
As Howard made his way to a pair of empty seats directly behind his teammates who were waiting to get into the game, Bryant directed the big man toward the first row. And then, with a wave of his hand, like a 16th-century English king ordering some unfortunate to the tower, Bryant motioned for the players to give up their seats and slide down so he and Howard could sit where the action is -- never mind that they weren't even playing. Talk about big-timing.
Bryant, of course, has earned the right to sit anywhere he wants -- in the head coach's chair if he so desires. After five NBA championships, 14 all-star selections, an MVP and two scoring titles, Bryant is an NBA legend, a Laker who carries more weight than anyone else in the franchise, including head coach Mike Brown and GM Mitch Kupchak. So when he says jump, or in this case, move, to a group of younger players, they don't hesitate, even if Howard looks a little uncomfortable taking an active player's spot.
Bryant is probably the biggest star in Los Angeles, a bigger hero locally than all the actors and musicians who call Tinseltown home. There's a near-unworldliness to his presence as he walks on the arena floor. A little girl sitting in the front row directly behind the boards (Citizens Business Bank Arena is home to the Ontario Reign of the East Coast Hockey League), breaks down in tears after Bryant looks over and waves. He is a star of stars, in a city packed with them, and will probably never lose his aura in southern Cal.
But here's the thing: Bryant has won five NBA titles, but his aging Lakers lost in the Western Conference semi-finals the last two years in a row and if Kupchak hadn't gone out and drastically re-tooled during the off-season, it's likely Bryant would have spent his final years with the purple and gold performing his on-court magic for a club on the downslide -- and winning nothing. And that would never do. These are the Lakers, next to the New York Knicks, the marquee team in a league all about marquee teams (and the rest of the league be damned).
And so with Bryant's compliance (reportedly following his orders), Kupchak went out and blew the NBA out of the water, dealing for Steve Nash, one of the world's premier point guards, and then Howard, arguably the best centre in the league. The idea, clearly, obviously, is to win now. And with Bryant, Howard, Nash, as well as veteran mainstays Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace, the Lakers are again one of the most talent-laden teams in the NBA, if not in recent league history. You could make the case, and loyal Lakers fans certainly do, that L.A. has more star power than the defending NBA champions Miami Heat, with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen.
With the 26-year old Howard, whom Kupchak acquired in a four-team deal on Aug.10, the storied franchise has a superstar they can build around for years to come once Bryant retires (and Bryant made plenty of noise last week about retiring when his current deal expires at the end of the 2013-14 season).
It's said that the fun-loving, larger-than-life Howard wanted to play in L.A. because, well, it's L.A., and we all know that NBA stars want to play where it's hip and cool. His previous requests to be traded to the newly hip Brooklyn Nets failed to come to fruition. Nash, on the other hand, is in his 17th season in the league and has never won an NBA championship. And this final three-year contract (worth $27 million) represents his last kick at the can. Playing in L.A. also keeps him close to his three kids in Phoenix.
"In principle a good fit," said Nash, following a team practice at the Toyota Center in the L.A. suburb of El Segundo. "It's really early to say how it will play out, but I'm really enjoying it so far, and it's been a pleasure to be here."
So far, from what everyone says, and from Nash's play in three pre-season games, it looks to be a good fit at both ends. In Nash, the Lakers get a pure point guard. More importantly -- and this comes from Bryant, coach Brown, and any number of veteran players on the team -- they get the quintessential "good teammate," a floor general who leads by example through an incredible work ethic (one of the underrated qualities Bryant also brings to his game), his ball-handling and ball distribution and his leadership qualities.
"One thing I really like ..." said veteran forward Metta World Peace. "Put basketball aside. He's a very good person. That's it. And he's very smart. I appreciate Steve because he's a good person. And it has nothing to do with basketball, you know."
MWP said in all their years playing against each other, he never really got to know the Victoria, B.C., native, unlike Bryant, who was drafted the same year as Nash (1996).
"But I heard a lot of great things about him and he's proven it right. He's a really good person," the player formerly known as Ron Artest added.
Of course, the flamboyant MWP didn't leave it with that, launching into a tirade so passionately complimentary that Don King would have blushed hearing it.
"Nash is amazing," MWP said, following the Lakers' 93-75 loss to the Trail Blazers. "He can pass the ball, man. I see the passes (but) I don't even see them half the friggin' time. Half of the time, I have to get back on defence because we just scored (and I'm thinking) what just happened?"
"Nash should do a Vegas show, a magic show," MWP continued. "He should just do a Vegas Magic show. They should put his picture on the Flamingo Hotel with a picture (of him) spinning the ball, with his tongue out, with a bunch of strippers around him, with a hat. Naked with a hat covering his front. He's amazing."
A day later, back at practice, Nash was asked if he had heard what MWP had said about him.
"That I was smart and white?" Nash joked.
A reporter gave him the jest of MWP's Vegas spiel.
"I don't know how he comes up with this stuff," Nash said, with a laugh. "I think he's the one who needs the show ... desperately."
Nash played 25 minutes against the Trail Blazers and recorded four assists, two steals, four rebounds and 13 points. To the delight of the crowd, he made some typically stunning plays, including a behind-the-back pass to Gasol in the paint as he cut under the basket. Gasol missed the layup but was fouled and scored both frees. Nash's stats from the game would have been more impressive if some of his teammates, Gasol in particular, who went 3-for-12, had been able to make some shots.
The Lakers have started the pre-season under Nash going 0-3, but they know what they're getting in the 38-year-old Canadian point guard. Bryant described Nash as "scary good" and vowed that he won't have any problems playing along side a guard that has lead the NBA in assists five times (meaning that if Nash runs the offence, so be it).
But that's the big question. Can five ego-driven, highly paid stars co-exist on the same team -- and win?
For coach Brown, the Lakers have to win. The second-year L.A. head coach's job very likely rides on it. And Brown realizes as much, joking that if Bryant and Nash can successfully come together, they'll call the team's new offence the "Brown Offence." But if they can't get it together, they'll name it the "Jordan offence" after assistant coach Eddie Jordan.
It will fascinating to watch this Lakers team. They have to at least make it to the NBA Final, otherwise the season will be considered a failure, given the vast talent. And that brings a ton of pressure, much of it on Nash. Bryant and Gasol have won before. Howard is only 26 and has many good years ahead of him. For Nash, it's his last shot.
"That's fine," he said, when asked about the pressure. "There should be pressure on this team. We've got a lot of talent and expectations."
The key is for Nash to learn the Lakers' new Princeton-style offence as quickly as possible and figure out how to best utilize his star teammates ... to keep Bryant, Gasol, Howard, MWP and everyone else on the floor happy and productive.
"It's really going to take the whole year to really get comfortable and cohesive and hopefully we can improve throughout the year," said Nash. "But right now, at this stage, I think we're seeing a lot of positive things.
"I want us to improve and grow throughout the regular season and the playoffs," Nash added. "We should always be getting better. So, I'm not looking for us to be a finished product by the end of the pre-season. It's going to take a long time to really understand each other and have that feel and connectivity, and go through moments on the court and duress on the court where we can get a better understanding of each other.
"Nash makes the game easy for everybody," added coach Brown. "I mean we can have a breakdown and Nash would make the breakdown look pretty. I just love watching him play, I love working with him, he's a terrific guy and he's going to help everybody look good on this team."
He'd better, or it's going to be a long three years in La La Land.
Steve Nash and new teammate Kobe Bryant have never been close friends.
But there's always been a ton of respect between the two NBA stars.
"We came in the draft together, so we've known each other for years," said Nash. "I have a great respect for him. But having worked with him, I really have an appreciation for his understanding, intelligence, attention to detail, his technique and obviously his competitive fire. I think everyone's aware of that."
Both Lakers have been NBA MVPs, all-stars numerous times and are Hall of Fame material. And both could have been had by the Toronto Raptors, and a lot of other teams, back in 1996. In that draft, considered one of the best in history, Bryant was picked 13th overall by the Charlotte Hornets (and traded to the L.A. Lakers) out of Lower Merion (Pa.) High School and Nash two picks later by the Phoenix Suns out of Santa Clara. The Raptors picked Marcus Camby with the second overall pick. Allen Iverson was the first overall selection by the Philadelphia 76ers. The 1996 draft produced three players who won NBA MVPs (Iverson, Nash and Bryant) and seven others who became all-stars (Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Ray Allen, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Stephon Marbury, Jermaine O'Neal, Peja Stojakovic, Antoine Walker). Another future all-star came out of that year was the undrafted Ben Wallace. Eight players from this draft have been named to at least one All-NBA Team, the most among any draft.
"A lot of successful careers," said Nash. "It's interesting to watch the career arcs and dives and the different story lines. Overall, just a great draft."
tap here to see other videos from our team.


text: We invite you to know us before you need us. Contact our Admissions Director who can arrange for a private tour of the center or for a personal care assessment either in the hospital or at home. Please use this form and someone will be in contact with you as quickly as possible. Or, you can call the center directly and ask to speak to the Admissions Director.


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Somerville school locked down after nearby break-in, chase
2 armed men arrested by Somerville police
After a chase through East Somerville streets and lockdown of the Healey School and the St. Polycarp apartment complex, police caught an armed man who tried to break into a Derby Street home Monday morning, our news partners at Wicked Local/Somerville reported.
According to Chief Thomas Pasquarello, police responded to reports of a break-in at 62 Derby Street at 10:30 a.m. The immediately arrested a man with a gun, but another man fled the area.
Police reportedly chased the second man, who also had a gun, to St. Polycarp's and lost him in the complex.
They ordered a mandatory evacuation of 15 Memorial Road and placed the Healey School under lockdown, and urged residents to stay inside and lock their doors.
Pasquarello said police then went door to door in the complex, searching for the suspect, who was described as a white man with blond hair in a blue hooded sweatshirt.
They reportedly found him in a maintenance building with a gun. Police arrested the man and no shots were fired.


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Mike Adams
Natural News
April 18, 2013
Natural News has now confirmed that at least five private military contractors were operating on scene at the Boston marathon, and that they all carried black backpacks which look very similar to the backpack carrying the pressure cooker bomb (see pictures below).
The mainstream media is completely censoring any mention of these "Craft" operatives, pretending they don't even exist. Only the alternative media is conducting real investigative journalism on these bombings. The mainstream media isn't interested in the truth; they only want to spin the attack into a new way to somehow blame conservative Americans for something they had no part in.
Thanks to the help of researchers posting on 4Chan, plus a bit of our own analysis, we've been able to bring new research to light as you'll see in the photos below.
Who is this guy and what is he holding in his hand?
The following photo was snapped mere moments after the first bomb detonation. Many people are asking, "Who is this guy?" and why is he dressed in combat boots and military BDUs (pants)? More importantly, what is he carrying in his hand?
We were able to get a close-up of the object in his hand:
With a bit of research, we were able to confirm this object is an "Inspector Radiation Alert" device that detects the kind of radiation which would be produced in a dirty bomb attack or a nuclear attack:
This immediately brings up all sorts of questions, such as: Who hired this guy? Whose side is he on? Why would he anticipate the need for a nuclear radiation detector? What kind of private military operative routinely carries such expensive gadgets?
Four more operatives with the exact same uniforms
As we browsed through the photos, we located four more private military operatives with the exact same dress: Tan combat boots, tan BDUs, black jackets, black backpacks and tactical communications gear.
Here's a picture of three of these men reacting to the explosion. The one in the middle is the same guy in the radiation detector photo, above:
There are several things worth noting in this image:
1) All three of the men look surprised, even shocked by the events. This might argue against their prior knowledge of the bombings.
2) The object in the right hand of the man in the middle may resemble a small handgun, but I'm sure it isn't. Why? Because no highly trained private military operative would carry a handgun with a "pincer" grip as appears in the photo. A proper grip on a handgun is far deeper into the palm. This object is most likely the same radiation detector shown above, just captured from a weird angle with a flapping leather case of some sort.
3) The man on the left, an older gentleman, appears to be holding an object in his right hand which seems capable of being actuated with his thumb.
4) The man on the right reveal "The Craft" skull logo on his shirt because his jacket just happened to open up for this photo (see below).
Here's a photo comparison of "The Craft" logo on his shirt:
Here are two more operatives on the scene, wearing the exact same uniform:
If you look at the hat for one of these men, you can clearly see "the Craft" skull logo on his hat:
Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle was also a member of The Craft. He was murdered by one of his close friends a few months ago. The appearance of The Craft operatives at the Boston marathon bombing raises new questions about Chris Kyle's death:
Here's Chris Kyle on national TV wearing the "Craft" hat:
Here's the Craft motto, which says "Violence does solve problems."
If you still doubt these are "Craft" operatives, check out The Craft website where all these images, logos and uniforms are instantly confirmed.
Bomb bag resembles the black backpacks worn by The Craft operatives
Here's where all this gets incredibly spooky: The backpack that carried the pressure cooker bomb looks very similar to the black backpacks worn by The Craft operatives:
Here's another view of the "Craft" skull logo on a training shirt, taken from their own website:
This photo shows The Craft operatives at a trade show. Everybody is wearing the trademark tan combat boots and tan BDUs:
What does it all mean?
First off, let's get the attacks of the moron trolls out of the way — people who will say these photos are a "conspiracy theory."
How are photos of actual people at the event a conspiracy theory?
They aren't. In real police work, they're called "evidence," and the people in these photos should be persons of interest.
But they aren't. The entire mainstream media and law enforcement apparatus is now pretending these men don't exist. (Now that's their conspiracy theory!)
We all know, however, that The Craft operatives don't work for free. They aren't a band of volunteers. And that means somebody paid them to be at the event.
Who paid The Craft to be there? And what was their mission?
Why is their existence at the Boston marathon being memory-holed? Why are they not "persons of interest" in the investigation?
Why do they carry radiation detectors? What's in their backpacks? (A ham sandwich?)
The fact that the media refuses to even acknowledge the existence of these private military operatives is quite telling all by itself.
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Nokia 808 PureView needs no introduction! Even though it runs on the outdated Symbian Operating System, this handset has gained a lot of attention, thanks to its amazing camera. The Nokia 808 PureView was announced and showcased at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 in Barcelona. This handset is the successor of the highly popular Nokia N8 smartphone. The Nokia PureView 808 sports a high-resolution 41 megapixel sensor with Carl Zeiss optics.
The Nokia 808 PureView is the first smartphone to feature Nokia's award-winning PureView technology. This handset has received multiple awards, including Best Mobile Device at the MWC 2012 as well as the Best Imaging Innovation award from the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). Nokia has already launched this device in most of the European and Asian markets. The compnay has also announced the unlocked version of this device for the US market. However, the folks living in the UK were left behind.
The Nokia 808 PureView was already available for pre-order at Amazon UK from the last few months, but the exact release date was not announced. Now, Nokia customers in the UK can finally get the much-awaited Nokia 808 PureView before the end of this month. If you are still unaware of the complete features, then check out the specs below.
Nokia PureView features a 4 inch ClearBlack display, sporting a resolution of 360 x 640 pixels, 1.3 GHz processor, Symbian Belle OS, 1 GB ROM, 512 MB RAM, 16 GB internal memory, MicroSD card slot, 32 GB expandable memory, Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP, A-GPS, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA Connectivity, 3.5 mm headset jack, Dolby Digital Plus, up to 540 hrs of stand-by time, up to 6 hrs 50 mins of talk time and a 1400 mAh battery.
The Nokia 808 PureView will go on sale in the UK from June 30. This handset is available only in Black and White colors. It comes with a price-tag of £499 (approx. $780). To get this device, head over to this page at Amazon UK.


text: TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - If you walk the streets of downtown Tampa and spot a few bees buzzing around the flowers and crepe myrtles, there's a good chance those bees belong to Paul Maney, and those bees live in a hive sitting on the roof of Maney's downtown law firm office. The full-time family-law lawyer has become a part-time beekeeper. And with lots of help from his daughters and wife, Maney has become perhaps the only agricultural operation amid the skyscrapers of downtown, with Tampa Urban Honey starting to appear on a few grocery store shelves. "The city may have no idea why all the crepe myrtles are flourishing so much around my office," Maney said, pointing to his rooftop. "But those are my bees pollinating all over them." Tampa's hyperlocal food producers are nowhere near as advanced or diverse as urban farming hotspots like Brooklyn or San Francisco. There are a few local egg producers. There is Healthy Heritage that supplies meat to local farmers markets, and The Dancing Goat operation supplies goat milk and cheese. The Poor Old Webber's Land & Sea market has a wide collection of veggies, meats and dairy from Florida producers. But for the downtown area, the Tampa Urban Honey company could hardly get more local. Maney's honey is for sale at several local markets, including the independent Duckweed Urban Market at the base of the Element residential tower downtown. And it's commanding a nice price: $8 for an 8-ounce bottle and $15 for a 1-pound bottle - all from a hive that produces 100 to 200 pounds of honey a year - with the proceeds going into a college fund for Maney's daughters. *** Maney grew up in Hyde Park helping his older brother keep a hive, and he recently caught the bug of urban farming. For a time, he kept a hive on the balcony of his condo on Harbour Island. That's until a painting project on the building (and his neighbors) encouraged him to move the hive. What might seem like a perilous task simply required wrapping blankets around the hive structure (with the bees inside) and carrying it to the roof of his office on East Madison Street. Nearly all the bees learned the new location, but the few that returned to the condo he tried to collect and relocate. Maney and his family have learned a lot about the myths and truths of bees. Yes, each hive has only one queen. Newborn bees function as "nurses" to nearby larvae until they're old enough to become "guard" bees to protect the hive entrance, and then they become "harvesters" that fly around in search of nectar. The harvesters will hover in front of the hive in a cross pattern over and over to imprint the image of their hive's location to find their way back home. Yes, honeybees sting. Their natural foes are weather, disease, birds and dragonflies, which can carry a bee off to feed on it. An average size hive may hold 20,000 to 60,000 bees. Honeybees aren't territorial, so an area like downtown may have bees from many hives, and bees will fly 1 to 3 miles in search of nectar. Maney's bees cycle among the flowers around the Channel District, the mangroves around Harbour Island, the trees of Seminole Heights and the bottlebrush flowers downtown, with each phase infusing the honey with a distinct flavor. A current batch on store shelves was likely harvested by the bees this spring, and it has such a dark color and flavor that it almost resembles molasses. There's a widespread belief among adherents of the homeopathic movement that eating locally produced honey helps with allergies . Because the honey has trace elements of pollen compounds, that helps the body grow accustomed to the chemical makeup of nearby pollen without triggering an allergic reaction. That's also why honey from bees in orange groves tastes different than honey from wildflower fields or downtown Tampa. Unfortunately for people who suffer amid clouds of oak pollen, bees tend not to favor oak trees. Another myth: Puffing smoke around a hive as beekeepers do doesn't stun bees. Rather, the scent tricks bees into thinking a forest fire is near so they better hunker down to "wait for the signal to bug out," Maney said. That's the time to harvest the honeycombs, which Maney pulls out, using a hot knife to delicately slice a layer of wax that holds the honey in the comb. With a makeshift centrifuge, he spins the honey out for filtering and bottling. Even the various rows in the honeycomb will have different flavors as the bees are collecting nectar from different flowers through the year. *** To help out "newbees" to the local honey movement, there's a Florida State Beekeepers Association, with a local chapter in Seffner that holds seminars and meetings every second Tuesday. A few local beekeepers have businesses transporting hives as far away as California and New England as a portable pollination service for farmers. Meanwhile, the home beekeeping movement has grown so sophisticated that you can buy a pack of bees, a queen bee and hive starter kit for less than $100 online - and yes, the bees travel live through the U.S. mail. Recent changes in Florida law have opened the door to more "cottage" agricultural projects such as beekeeping. Maney's daughters are big helpers in the project, which involves preparing the jars, labeling the lids and counting the money . Increasing production would mean adding more hives, Maney said, something he has considered. Given that the Duckweed market sold out of his honey last week, that may influence his decision to keep up with demand. http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/article/339927/8/Tampa-lawyer-sets-up-downtown-bee-hive


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When C1 detects a phase file there will be,in this window,alist of any LCC calibration files you have saved and can apply where neccessaryMark[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=61390\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
I recently had the opportunity to test a Phase p45 back side by side with a Leaf Aptus 75 in my studio.My setup: Camera: Cambo Ultima 23 view camera, Lens: Schneider Apo-Digitar 120mm/5,6 Macro, Light: 1 strobe softbox apx. 1m above subject.See the test images with 20mm shift and make your own conclusion!http://homepage.mac.com/reklamefoto/FileSharing19.html The P45 images are processed in C1Pro software without LCC.The Leaf images are processed in Leaf Capture 10.[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=62796\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Is there any reason why the test frame >P45_shift20mm+LCC.tif< appearsoverall green AFTER the LCC correction has been applied ?I'm not a fan of the LCC routine and,as such,will more likely consider the A75,but frommy experience using a properly done LCC file results in an almost perfectly corrected imagewhich this frame clearly is not.Mark[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=62850\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
Mark: I don't think he actually applied the correction to image shown, but rather just posted the correction file so folks could see what it looked like.
The Leaf backs have other problems that the Phase backs do not have. Lousy software for one and it's Mac only for now.
JackI'm not so sure. The frame that I mentioned (P45_Shift20mm+LCC.tif) is accompaniedbe a line of red text that states "Lens Cast Correction added in C1 Pro". Seems to indicate thatthis frame has had the correction applied.Mark[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=62931\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


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Two groups affiliated with independent broker-dealer Securities America shared news Monday on how they expect to recruit both more hybrid advisors and wirehouse reps to their platforms.
Arbor Point Advisors — formed by Securities America and NorthStar Financial Services Group as a joint venture in July to support hybrid advisory firms — has hired Jeffrey Schmaltz as a regional sales director in Fort Worth, Texas.
"When hiring a business development professional, we strive to find someone who already understands the complexities associated with the independent advisory model," said Curtis Reed, president of Arbor Point Advisors, in a press release. "Jeff's years of experience working with large, complex advisory firms, and being an advisor himself, make him the perfect addition to our team. His leadership and insight into the ever-changing investment advisory landscape has helped hundreds of firms grow, compete and succeed."
Schmaltz began work in the financial services industry in 1986 as a Fidelity Investments representative in Dallas. He was with Bear Stearns from 1989 to 1995, when he returned to Fidelity Investments. He joined the institutional division of Fidelity in 2001 and became responsible for developing new business relationships with advisors in transition, RIAs, family offices, broker-dealers, financial planners and consulting firms.
Securities America, which is owned by Ladenburg Thalmann (LTS) and has about 1,700 affiliated reps, says Arbor Point's platform allows hybrid advisory firms "to better serve fee-based clients directly with major custodians such as TD Ameritrade, Schwab and Fidelity Institutional, while retaining the ability to seamlessly service their commission-based accounts."
When Securities America announced the formation of Arbor Point, Reed said that RIAs with $50 million to $250 million in client assets can have trouble keeping their overhead costs under control.
"For every advisor with $1 billion in assets looking to form or join an RIA, there are hundreds of firms with $100 million who need the same support to serve their clients," he explained in a press release. "We're not an RIA consolidator. We're a support platform — an RIA 'easy button,' so to speak — for independent advisors who want the freedom to choose a custodial firm and serve their clients the way they want."
Both Securities America and Arbor Point are based in La Vista, Neb.
New Partnership
Meanhile, John C. Lindsey, an advisor affiliated with Securities America in Thousand Oaks, Calif., has launched a website to share information and support for wirehouse reps thinking about going independent. TheBoldAdvisor.com includes details on Lindsey's move to independence from Edward Jones.
"I have been getting calls and emails from advisors all over the country who are emboldened by my story, but who have struggled to move the ball forward and make their own transition to independence," Lindsey said. "With the Bold Advisor website, I hope to give wirehouse advisors some of the tools and support they will need during this move. This process can be extremely stressful and many advisors don't know where to begin the journey."
Two court rulings that went Lindsey's way "make it clear that advisors are free to service clients who wish to follow them from the wirehouse," he says on his bio page. "Bottom line, firms can do nothing to stop clients from working with the advisor of their own choice."
After 16 years with Edward Jones, Lindsey partnered with Securities America branch office Cooper McManus in April 2012. Cooper McManus is an SEC-registered investment advisory firm with more than 40 advisors.
"Going from the captive environment to the independent model can be overwhelming, and the transition can cause a lot of frustrations for the advisor," said Arthur Cooper, managing director of Cooper McManus, in a statement.
"When advisors make the move to the independent world, they realize they are facing a significant learning curve — not just by having to master a new operating system, but also because they are now responsible for every small detail of keeping an office up and running that used to be handled for them," Cooper added.
Lindsey, a CFP, had $100 million under management when he joined Cooper McManus in April 2012. He currently has $120 million in client AUM.


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Here the term "restoration of original marking" applies to any object that man has placed his mark upon and now deems worthy of restoring as well as the reproduction of the object itself, all at the lowest cost regardless of the value.
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Alliance PartnerBack to Alliance Partners
Harris Primary Academy Beckenham
Opened in September 2015, we are one of Beckenham's newest schools, but are part of a Federation of Free Schools and Academies with an established track record in London.
Our aim is to make sure that, from the first day of their education, our pupils have a truly happy experience of school. This means teaching them to become confident learners and nurturing each child's personality and character.
As a brand new school, we are able to hand-pick our teachers and support staff. This is already happening and we all look forward to meeting as many local parents and children as possible at our Admissions Events.


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what a different kind of star wars movie. I liked the touch of keeping the tech the same outward 'level' that it appeared in the old 1970s movies.
my second fave movie after Empire..
Rogue one
Movies, Albums, Games, whatever. Tell us what you thought!
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text: I'm using the Cross-Browser Marquee script. But I don't want any color in the background. I want it transparent so the wallpaper of my web page shows through if you will. I thought perhaps I could just change the marqueebgcolor variable and was able to change background colors but couldn't get transparency. Can someone show me what to do? Janet


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I don't usually like to write about behind the scenes videos on here because let's be honest they're usually pretty boring but today I have to break that rule. Today we have a clip from the set of "Machete Kills" featuring the one and only Sofía Vergara. Yes she's wearing next to nothing in the clip and yes it's 100% creepy that this was actually posted on her son's video blog but I think the first point outweighs the second. You try to tell me I'm wrong.
Exciting news has come out of Jamie Lee Curtis' camp that the original scream queen will be making her first and last appearance at a horror convention this coming November. She's stopping in to a special Horror Hound Weekend in Indianapolis from November 16-18 for photo signings, QA and I hope drunken fire tossing in the courtyard. All the money she makes over the weekend will go to Starlight Children's Foundation so if she does end up tossing around the devil stix please drop a 20 in the hat on the ground.
The good folks over at The Scream Factory have dropped knowledge that they will be releasing blu-ray editions of the classic horror flicks "Terror Train" and "The Funhouse" on October 16th. Both will be chock full of special features including audio commentaries, photo galleries and trailers. Only one of them will feature a train though while the other will take place at a carnival. Try to guess which is which.
Attacking people with a sword is pretty awful but I'm sure even the victims have to admit you kind of look like a bad ass. If you happen to have a peanut butter sandwich in the other hand though you kind of just look like a crazy guy. Devil's in the details.
Having your genitals grabbed by the maid when you're 14 can be a pretty traumatic experience but at the end of the day you'll probably just end up bragging to your friends on the playground. Unless of course that maid turns out to be a cross dressing man. Then you're going to file some charges. It's called evolution folks.


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NPPA Joined by 17 Groups Protest Forest Service Photo Permits
October 1st, 2014 by Alicia Calzada and tagged Access, first amendment, free speech, journalist, law, Legal, Mickey Osterreicher, national press photographers association, photographer, photojournalist
The National Press Photographers Association, joined by seventeen news organizations, photographers' organizations and First Amendment advocacy groups sent a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief, Thomas L. Tidwell, opposing the Forest Service's proposal to make permanent its interim directive on filming in the nation's wilderness areas. The letter expressed the groups concern that the proposal would apply new criteria in deciding whether to issue a permit for filming in Congressionally-designated wilderness areas as well as the permanent directive's vague language and failure to make a clear distinction between still photography, film and videography for newsgathering purposes and "commercial" film and still photography.
Tidwell has been quoted recently in the media as saying the "US Forest Service remains committed to the First Amendment," but Osterreicher, on behalf of the organizations, explained in the letter that the language of the "provisions in the draft directive" does not make it clear that it does "not apply to news gathering or activities" and urged the Forest Service "to work closely with us to craft an unambiguously worded policy that protects not only our natural resources but our First Amendment guarantees."
The letter also expressed the groups concern "not just for individuals traditionally identified as newsgatherers, but also for freelance visual journalists and members of the public who may use cameras on a speculative basis to photograph or film activities on public lands without an assured media outlet for their work."
Of even greater concern to the group is "that a permit could be arbitrarily denied because a member of the Service with such authority might believe that a news story did not comport with the vague notion of protecting 'wilderness values.'" The group contends that "the proposed permanent policy limits far more speech than is necessary to achieve the government's stated purpose. Not only does requiring a permit for ordinary newsgathering create a chilling effect on freedom of speech and of the press, but also granting/the Service the ability to deny such a permit in the case of a journalist or news organization would, we believe, create an unconstitutional licensing obligation or – worse – a prior restraint on those newsgathering activities."
Those joining in the letter were: American Photographic Artists, American Society of Media Photographers, American Society of News Editors, Associated Press, Associated Press Media Editors, Associated Press Photo Managers, Association of Alternative Newsmedia, Digital Media Licensing Association, National Federation of Press Women, National Newspaper Association, National Press Club, Newspaper Association of America, North American Nature Photography Association, Radio Television Digital News Association, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Society of Environmental Journalists and Society of Professional Journalists.
Posted in Access, First Amendment, First Amendment rights, National Press Photographers Association, News Photography, Newsgathering, NPPA, Permits, photographers, Photographers' Rights, photojournalism, US Forest Service | No Comments »


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Spread from Winter Lullaby- 10.5" x 21" , acrylic
This week's Illustration Friday topic is "Swarm". I admit, I rarely have time to create something new specifically for Illustration Friday, but I enjoy participating in the forum. If you are not familiar with the site, you should check it out. It's an excuse to be creative and share with other artists and fans. There is a different theme posted every Friday and hundreds of artists contribute to it each week.
Detail from Winter Lullaby
This piece is the second spread from my picture book Winter Lullaby. Written in question and answer form on alternating spreads, the text simply and poetically explains where animals go in the winter. The opener poses the question "When the breeze blows the petals off the flowers, where do the bees go?" Turning the page, this particular painting illustrates the answer, "inside their hives 'till spring arrives". It's a quiet bedtime story for young children that happily is still in print. You can find it here.


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Bank executives have gotten the message: customer experience is critical to maintaining market share in the face of pressure from nontraditional competitors.
In a survey released Wednesday, KPMG found senior bank executives focused on improving their customers' experience and transforming their business strategically, operationally and structurally.
Nearly a third of respondents said wealth management would be their biggest revenue growth driver over the next one to three years.
Asked to identify the top three drivers of transformation for their business over the next three to five years, 47% of executives cited "customer demand/changes in customer focus, buying patterns and preferences," 43% said "coping with the change in technology" and 37% chose "domestic competition."
KPMG noted that previously regulatory change rather than customer demand had driven significant changes in banks' business models.
"The banking industry is at a critical juncture where it needs to transform on a number of fronts — most importantly, upgrading old and implementing new technology to enhance and simplify the customer experience," Brian Stephens, national leader of KPMG's banking and capital markets practice, said in a statement.
"In addition to tougher competition and regulatory demands, consumer dynamics and preferences are evolving. In order to compete and succeed, banks need to become more advanced and agile to effectively meet customer expectations."
The KPMG survey, which was conducted during the spring, captured the responses of 100 senior banking industry executives.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents represented banks with more than $250 billion in assets, 12% banks with between $100.1 billion and $250 billion, 15% institutions with between $50.1 billion and $100 billion, 17% banks with between $20.1 billion and $50 billion and 18% banks with less than $20 billion in assets.
Fastest Growing Customer Segments
While banks look to transform themselves, they must also focus on different customer segments. Asked which customer segments presented the greatest growth opportunity, 27% of the bank executives surveyed cited the top 10% of income earners, up from 25% in last year's survey.
The unbanked and underbanked represent the fastest growing customer segments — nearly double in survey responses from last year. Twenty three percent of executives chose the underbanked, up from 12% in last year's survey, and 13% cited the unbanked, up from 5% last year.
Nontraditional competitors, such as retailers, have already started gaining market share from this market segment, KPMG said.
IT and Mobile Technology
Executives in the survey said technology would be instrumental in their efforts to strengthen customer relationships.
One-third of respondents said upgrading and simplifying core platforms that communicate across the enterprise would be the single most important IT investment over the next 12 months. They expected upgrades to provide efficiencies, contain costs and enable a better customer experience.
Bank executives also continued to focus on mobile technologies, with nearly a quarter of those surveyed saying that enabling mobile payments was a key IT-related investment priority (relative to the customer interface) for their banks over the next year.
"Mobile payments offer functionality and enhance the ability for banks to connect with consumers for other services such as discounts and loyalty offerings, in addition to the convenience factors," Judd Caplain, KPMG's national advisory industry leader for banking and diversified financials, said in the statement.
Regulatory Challenges
Bank executives still identify regulation as a growth barrier, but in the new survey only 41% said it was the number one barrier, compared with 72% who said that in last year's survey.
As for specific factors that negatively affected their bank's growth, 55% of executives said "regulatory compliance costs," 40% cited "regulatory limitations on products and services" and 36% pointed to "weak loan demand."
Sixty percent of survey respondents reported that regulatory requirements accounted for as much as 10% of their total operating costs, while 22% said it accounted for 11% to 20% of total operating costs.
"This significantly adds to pressure banks are already feeling to keep costs down to deliver the returns investors expect while also raising the higher levels of capital now required," Caplain said.
Other findings
Thirty-two percent of respondents said asset and wealth management would be the top revenue growth driver over the next one to three years, 28% said it would be commercial and industrial loans and 21% indicated broker-dealer and capital market activity as the main growth generator.
Thirty-eight percent of those polled expected their company's revenues to increase by between 1% and 5% over the next 12 months, while 31% expected a 6% to 10% increase, 9% an increase between 11% and 20% and 3% a more than 20% increase.
Check out 10 Ways Regulators Can Improve Dodd-Frank on ThinkAdvisor.


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Indy, Day 2
by, May 11th, 2013 at 10:12 PM (2236 Views)
Had a fantastic time at the form/stalker dinner last night, meeting lots of new folk. One of them (same age) actually has a son the same year same college as Fort Son. Small world. Had a semi decent nights sleep for a traveling insomniac. The only am emergency was that Teen Fort lost a contact in the am and hadn't brought any replacements. Ack. I've learned the hard way to pack extras after swimming a one eyed day at Zones one year. In any event, I had a great day two and am so excited I fear I wont fall asleep.
50 fly, 25.70, NR/PR
I really thought that I would not swim faster than Zones where I had perfect walls. In fact, I had a wager on it. But I decided to use my nose clip for the first time in fly and took an extra kick on the second length. That and a little more rest allowed me to shave off .2. I did have a slight glide at the turn. The ever witty Ellen took a vid (thx!) and I counted 13 strokes. I didn't quite take the whole 30 meters UW, but was fairly close. Comparing vids, I can see my DPS has improved in fly since Greensboro; it felt long and powerful. Very happy about that swim.
I hadn't swum the 100 IM in SCY in 2 years and never at nationals, so was a tad nervous. But very caffeinated! I missed the NR by .2 and it was all in my breast to free turn. I glided in and then, brain fart, didn't SDK off the wall. Maybe my legs where telling my brain they were done. I wanted at least a body length lead at the 50, and went out n 27.7 (12 + 12 SDK). Fast, but it didn't feel excessive. Did not have a particularly speedy evil leg, and lost some ground there to a real evilstroker. But my free leg was fairly solid and I pulled away a bit at the end. So psyched about the time! A PR by 2 seconds.
Really hoping for some sleep tonight. Tomorrow 100 back and 50 free. It could be the first nationals ever where I don't scratch an event. . The speedy Water Rat beat me to it!


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Gunmen assassinate peasant leader in Paraguay
Gunmen murdered one of the surviving leaders of a peasant movement whose land dispute with a powerful politician prompted the end of Fernando Lugo's presidency last June.
Vidal Vega, 48, was hit four times early Saturday by bullets from a 12-gauge shotgun and a .38-caliber revolver fired by two unidentified men who sped away on a motorcycle, according to an official report prepared at the police headquarters in the provincial capital of Curuguaty.
A friend, Mario Espinola, told The Associated Press that Vega was shot down when he stepped outside to feed his farm animals.
Vega was among the public faces of a commission of landless peasants from the settlement of Yby Pyta, which means Red Dirt in their native Guarani language.
He had lobbied the government for many years to redistribute some of the ranchland that Colorado Party Sen. Blas Riquelme began occupying in the 1960s.
By last May, the peasants finally lost patience and moved onto the land. A firefight during their eviction on June 15 killed 11 peasants and six police officers, prompting the Colorado Party and other leading parties to vote Lugo out of office for allegedly mismanaging the dispute.
Twelve suspects, nearly all of them peasants from Yby Pyta, have been jailed without formal charges since then on suspicion of murdering the officers, seizing property and resisting authority. The prosecutor had six months to develop the case and will present his findings Dec. 16.
Vega was expected to be a witness at the criminal trial, since he was among the few leaders who weren't killed in the clash or jailed afterward.
He wasn't charged because he was away getting supplies when the violence erupted at the settlement erected by the peasants inside Riquelme's ranch, the Naranjaty Commission's secretary, Martina Paredes, told the AP.
"We think he was assassinated by hit men who were sent, we don't know by whom, perhaps to frighten us and frustrate our fight to recover the state lands that were illegally taken by Riquelme," she said.
Riquelme, who died of natural causes about a month after the battle in June, occupied the land during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, whose government gave away land for free to anyone willing to put it to productive use.
A local court in Curuguaty upheld Riquelme's claim to the land years later. Lugo's government later sought to overturn the decision, but the case remains tied up in court.


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DSOGaming writes: "Okay PC gamers, we've got some bad and some good news for you today. The bad news is that BeamNG's drooling physics engine will be moving from CryEngine 3 to the Torgue 3D engine. The good news is that BeamNG is preparing a new racing game that will take advantage of this extraordinary physics engine, and released a new video that can be viewed below."
That's bad news? Cryengine is nothing but a resource hog of an engine, give me an engine that can run games 60+fps any day over one that looks a bit better but runs like crap.
Anyhow, i can't wait to see what Source engine 2 is like, now that will rock. I'll upgrade my graphics card for sure when that one is released.
Just imagine next-gen GTA with this physics !


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Taste of Country Music Festival Schedule and Single-Day Tickets Released
The schedule for the inaugural Taste of Country Music Festival has been released, with Willie Nelson and the Family Band, Trace Adkins and Lady Antebellum headlining one night each at the June 13-15 music and camping festival at Hunter Mountain in Hunter, N.Y. A full list of artists playing each day and single-day tickets are also available as of this morning (April 24).
Nelson will play after Parmalee and the LoCash Cowboys on June 13. The next night Adkins will headline a six-act lineup that includes Montgomery Gentry, Justin Moore, Craig Campbell, Blackberry Smoke and Rachel Farley.
On June 15 Lady Antebellum will take the stage after sets from Billy Currington, Hunter Hayes, Joe Nichols, Gloriana and Dustin Lynch. Three-day tickets are still available, but now fans can get single-day and two-day tickets for the festival at TasteofCountryFestival.com. You'll also find camping options and prices, as well as a list of area hotels within driving distance of the scenic venue.
Fifteen artists and thousands of country music fans are eager to converge on Hunter Mountain for idyllic late-spring music festival. The venue is just a two-hour drive from New York City. Be sure to check out VIP and Super VIP packages.


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Welcome to our website! As we have the ability to list over one million items on our website (our selection changes all of the time), it is not feasible for a company our size to record and playback the descriptions on every item on our website. However, if you have a disability we are here to help you. Please call our disability services phone line at 567-301-2450 during regular business hours and one of our kind and friendly personal shoppers will help you navigate through our website, help conduct advanced searches, help you choose the item you are looking for with the specifications you are seeking, read you the specifications of any item and consult with you about the products themselves. There is no charge for the help of this personal shopper for anyone with a disability. Finally, your personal shopper will explain our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service, and help you place an order if you so desire.
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Launched in 1968, Van Cleef & Arpels' iconic motif rapidly becomes an emblem of the Maison. For over four decades, women have loved the enchanting contours of this lucky-charm motif. It is a potent symbol of luck, health, fortune, and love.
Born as a long, plain yellow gold necklace, the Alhambra® collection has always displayed a timeless elegance. In the years following its launch, the collection was broadened to include a rich variety of models and colored stones. Today, the white mother-of-pearl model remains the Maison's bestseller.
Lucky Alhambra® long necklace, yellow gold, white and grey mother-of-pearl, malachite, camelian, tiger's eye
Sweet Alhambra® earstuds, yellow gold, white mother-of-pearl
Magic Alhambra® Between the Finger™ Ring, white gold, white and grey mother-of-pearl
Vintage Alhambra® long necklace, pink gold
Magic Alhambra® necklace, white gold and diamonds
Lucky Alhambra® Between the Finger™ Ring, yellow gold, tiger's eye, white mother-of-pearl
Vintage Alhambra® timepiece, yellow gold, white mother-of-pearl, satin strap, Swiss Quartz movement
The collection has also been enriched with a series of graceful watches. With their distinctive curves and round bead setting, these stylish timepieces remain true to the spirit of the Alhambra collection.
Elegant or disarmingly simple, understated or sophisticated, this iconic motif remains unrivalled. Loved by all, there is an Alhambra item to match every day, every mood, and every personality.


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|Religious affiliation:
|Pentecostal Holiness Church
|Institution Type:
|Private not-for-profit
|Campus Setting:
|Southwest Large suburb
|Highest Degree Offered:
|Master's degree
|Level of Institution:
|Four or more years
southwestern christian university is a positive uplifting place of study. vvery supportive and helpful to students. they have surpassed any expectations i have had in reguarding any online university.…
Southwestern Christian University offers on campus and off campus classes or degrees online. The student services staff at this University is friendly and goes the extra mile to be helpful.…
I enjoy SMU's community. The small class size has helped me achieve success. The faculty is very helpful.…
Has teacher that are spirit fill. Teacher that care about your future. Also small class size. …
SCU is an excellent place to learn from incredible professors. Each professor deeply cares about the well-being of their students. It is great learning a biblical perspective in in any…
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text: Sheilah Plumley: I have always loved drawing and my art was my dream. My first prizewinning painting was done when I was about ten years old. It was a painting of Fry's Chocolate factory with a field of buttercups in front. It was a national competition by Frys and I won first prize - a huge box of watercolour paints, brushes and paper. That was the start. I would have loved to go to Art College but was encouraged rather to follow academic studies. So for most of my life, art has just been a hobby, but in the last fourteen years I have been able to devote more time to my art, and have received commissions in portraiture of people and animals. After winning prizes for some of my paintings I am now selling more paintings and find they are becoming popular. I have had no formal training, but in the last seventeen years my work has improved through practice and tuition. I love painting and I do not specialise in any subject, so my art is varied and my passion is watercolour. I also paint in oil and acrylic. Among my subjects are flowers, animals, landscapes, portraits, the sea, still life and scenery. I love to give paintings to my friends. So boredom is not on my list. Thank you for visiting and keeping my dream alive. There is much more to come. Keep looking to see more paintings and drawings. contact - email@example.com


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Countdown for GOCE: launch simulation for ground team
The Mission Control Team at ESA's Space Operations Centre (ESOC) are in intense training for next month's scheduled launch of GOCE.
GOCE, the Agency's Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer, is scheduled for lift-off at 16:21 CEST, 10 September, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. The spacecraft arrived in Russia on 29 July on board an Antonov-124 cargo aircraft.
On 14 August, members of the Mission Control Team were on console in the Main Control Room at ESOC, Darmstadt, Germany, for a
12-hour simulation of the mission's countdown and launch phases. The simulation included practicing immediate reactions in case of any unexpected problems with the ground segment or the spacecraft.
Supported by experts throughout ESOC
The overall Mission Control Team is led by Flight Operations Director Pier Paolo Emanuelli and comprises a dedicated
13-person Flight Control Team, joined by an extended team of engineers from Ground Operations, Flight Dynamics, Software Support, Computers & Network Support, and ground stations.
Additional expertise is provided from ESOC in the areas of training, documentation and facilities management.
Orbiting at an exceptionally low altitude
"The GOCE mission team are receiving excellent support from our colleagues at ESOC. GOCE is a challenging mission and will orbit at an exceptionally low altitude of just 268 km, so spacecraft control is very critical. The simulations campaign is close to the end and we are fully ready to support the launch in September," said Emanuelli.
The slender, 5m-long satellite is designed to orbit at such a low altitude because gravitational variations are stronger closer to Earth. The mission's objectives include mapping Earth's gravity field in unprecedented detail.
The GOCE team will undergo intensive training, simulations and work-ups between now and the launch, with a strong focus on practicing for LEOP - the Launch and Early Orbit phase - the crucial first steps in GOCE's mission beginning after the satellite separates from the launcher's upper-most stage.
The highlight of the 14 August training was establishing and testing the voice and data communication links between ESOC in Germany and the Launch Control Centre at Plesetsk, Russia.
The GOCE team conducted previous simulations in July and August, and have spent the past months defining and confirming procedures and plans covering all possible nominal and contingency situations.
Flight control team engineers have also been working intensely to ensure that the ground segment - the computers and software here at ESOC - is ready to support the mission.
On 5 September, just five days prior to launch, a full launch and LEOP rehearsal will be conducted at ESOC.
Editor's note:


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Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the biotech firm Nimblegen Systems Inc. have successfully tested a technique for identifying newly recognized DNA variations that may influence disease risk.
Rather than focus on errors and alterations in DNA sequence, the new technique highlights variations in the number of copies of a particular gene. Additional copies of a gene may lead to overproduction of that gene's protein, and this may affect both easily identifiable traits such as body size or more difficult-to-discern traits such as cancer risk.
Scientists report in Public Library of Science Genetics that they refined an analysis technique to assess variations in gene copy number in 20 different mouse strains. According to the paper's lead author, this budding area of study is likely to have wide-ranging implications for scientists' understanding of how DNA variations contribute to human health and illness.
"Right now, our results and other early assessments of human and other mammalian genomes are suggesting that about 10 percent of the genome features copy number variations," says Timothy Graubert, M.D., assistant professor of pathology and immunology and of medicine. "That's a huge number. As a percentage of the genome, variations in gene copy number could explain more person-to-person variability than the single-letter changes in the genetic code known as SNPs [single nucleotide polymorphisms]."
Graubert's lab uses human samples and mouse models to study leukemia, cancer that occurs in the bone marrow cells that make blood cells. Using Nimblegen's technique for assessing gene copy number, they identified approximately 80 variations in the number of gene copies in each of the mouse genomes. Graubert will incorporate the results into his lab's search for genetic factors that protect against or increase susceptibility to leukemia.
Much of the analytic work was led by graduate student Patrick Cahan and postdoctoral fellow Deepa Edwin, Ph.D. The 20 mouse strains were previously selected by the Mouse Phenome Project, which is assembling a database of how changes in mouse DNA affect mouse characteristics. The project is headquartered at Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine. For their analysis, researchers compared the genome of each of the 20 mouse strains against that of the prototypical research mouse strain, C57BL/6J.
"That's the 'plain vanilla' mouse genome," Graubert explains. "Just like the reference human genome sequence that is used to identify genetic differences between human individuals, the C57BL/6J mouse genome is the one we understand best and the standard against which other mouse genomes can be compared." Nimblegen's technique for rapid analysis is known as oligonucleotide array comparative genomic hybridization.
"The copy number variants we describe in this paper are numerous and fairly large?they vary in length between two thousand and two million DNA base pairs," Graubert says. "Datasets this large require a lot of analysis to be sure that what you're seeing is real, so we really worked hard to prove that these gene copy number variations are real and validated many of them using other technologies."
Graubert is working with Nimblegen to conduct a follow-up analysis of gene copy number variation in the mouse strains using an even more sensitive version of the technique. They are also testing how changes in gene copy number are reflected in RNA, the order slips for assembly of a gene's protein that are copied from DNA.
"The prediction is that if you have a higher gene copy number count, you'll see more RNA from that gene," he says. "But we need to test that on a genome-wide scale."