text: UPAC & ENG Safety Guides UPAC & ENG Safety Guides July 19, 2018 UPAC Safety Guide Developed by the HAI's Utilities, Patrol and Construction Committee, the "UPAC Safety Guide for Operators" is designed to offer general information and recommendations to mitigate associated risks for individuals and companies involved in utility patrol and inspection and for those involved in power line construction and related maintenance operations. It also provides utilities an aid in selecting qualified contractors for these operations. ENG Safety Guide The HAI Electronic News Gathering (ENG) Committee developed this "E-N-G Aviation Safety Manual" to serve as a guide to assist operators in developing their own safety materials. This manual of recommended procedures and guidelines was developed through a cooperative effort with the National E-N-G Helicopter Association (NEHA) and in consultation with industry experts and representatives from the FAA, NTSB and HAI.

subset: commoncrawl


text: Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums :: View topic - Hi~!! Are you like dogs??>ㅅ<// Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Students and Teachers from Around the World!" FAQ Search Memberlist Usergroups Register Profile Log in to check your private messages Log in Hi~!! Are you like dogs??>ㅅ<// Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Making Friends View previous topic :: View next topic Author Message parkJoined: 10 Jul 2003Posts: 1 Posted: Mon Jul 14, 2003 8:46 pm Post subject: Hi~!! Are you like dogs??>ㅅ<// Hi!! nice to meet you!>ㅁ<// My name is Park Su-Jung..juat call me Perk. I'm from south korea and 17 years old,high school student. I love dogs!! and I like comic books. How about you??? I like korea singer SHIN-HWA.Do Happen to know?? But I like dogs more than SHIN-HWA.. please reply me my e-mil address is [email protected] Bye~Bye~! Back to top Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums Forum Index -> Making Friends All times are GMT - 8 Hours Page 1 of 1 Jump to: Select a forum Student Forums----------------ComputersCurrent NewsCultureEnglish SchoolsFamilyFilm and CinemaFoodHealth and FitnessHelp CenterHobbiesHolidaysLearning EnglishLiteratureMaking FriendsMusicOpinionsPetsScienceSportsThe Strange and MysteriousTOEFL and Other English ExamsTravel You cannot post new topics in this forumYou cannot reply to topics in this forumYou cannot edit your posts in this forumYou cannot delete your posts in this forumYou cannot vote in polls in this forum Dave's ESL Cafe is maintained by the one and only Dave Sperling. Banner Advertising | Bookstore / Alta Books | FAQs | Articles | Interview with Dave Copyright © 2018 Dave's ESL Cafe | All Rights Reserved | Contact Dave's ESL Cafe | Site Map Teachers College, Columbia University: Train to Teach English Here or Abroad Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group


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The world-renowned NAMM gathering at the Anaheim Convention Center doesn't begin until Thursday, and its most-anticipated moments (like the Elton John-led event for Yamaha's 125th anniversary inside Disney California Adventure) won't happen until the weekend.
But a media preview on Wednesday provided a chance to get an early look at the new music-related products on display through Sunday at the National Association of Music Merchants' annual trade show. NAMM President and CEO Joe Lamond said this year's gathering is expected to attract more than 100,000 people for the first time.
"The NAMM show is where the global music industry comes together," he explained during an appearance with Grammy-nominated guitarist and former New York Yankee great Bernie Williams to discuss the importance of music education. "There are products made today that will be played by our great-great-grandchildren."
Lamond also praised Orange County for welcoming NAMM attendees every January, noting that the music show was first staged here in 1976 at the Disneyland Hotel.
As is typical, there was no shortage of names to check out even during an advance stroll through the massive hall. Highlights of the day included a performance by Young the Giant singer Sameer Gadhia, who utilized his TC-Helicon VoiceLive 2 to create layers of vocal parts he improvised on the spot, creating a fantastic experimental soundscape with Radiohead shading that had video reporters riveted.
No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont also turned up to share a few licks on behalf of Laguna Hills guitar manufacturer GJ2, co-founded by Grover Jackson. "I was a rock music lover," Dumont mentioned, recalling the sound and feel of Jackson guitars back in the day. "I get the same feeling today as I got all those years ago."
Another gifted guitarist, Alex Skolnick of Testament, showcased a new 40-watt Peavey amp ideal for both acoustic and electric players as well as bassists. But what got onlookers excited was his speedy fretwork. He later played an impromptu set with jazz players Jon Barnes (trumpet) and Malcolm Turner (bass) that revealed his chops extend beyond metal's loud and lightning-fast demands.
Music history was also celebrated: violin virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn played her "Red Mendelssohn" Stradivarius built in 1720, movingly performing John Williams' theme for Schindler's List. In an age of digitally enhanced everything, it reconfirmed the power of a single acoustic instrument when it's in the hands of a master.
Much newer creations that were unveiled included a series of boutique amplifiers created by Sacramento-based Fargen Amplification, featuring John Lennon's artwork. Taylor Guitars showcased "The Grand Orchestra," its successor to the Taylor Jumbo guitar and the largest acoustic model it has made.
"It's distinctly original and not a borrowed design," said Andy Powers, a master builder with Taylor and primary designer of the instrument. "It's louder and has a huge, powerful sound."


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Last month, I wrote about the relation between workplace stress and job performance, and how owner/advisors can keep their performance near peak levels without falling into the downward spiral of too much stress (See "Stress for Success," Investment Advisor, August 2012). This month, I'll explore how firm owners can use the Yerkes-Dodson stress curve to help keep their employees near peak performance as well.
In our work with advisory firms, we've found that keeping employee stress at reasonable levels is one of the key elements for advisory firm success. Too little or too much stress will cause employee job performance to drop. To maximize productivity, owner/advisors need to be aware of the issues involved and take proactive steps to manage stress levels throughout their firms.
In case you missed it in the August column, the Yerkes-Dodson stress law states that when you're talking about either physical or mental performance, we all need some stress to motivate us to perform well, but too much stress will hamper our ability to perform. How this works can be seen in Figure 1 (see left): As stress increases, performance levels go up, too, but only so far. After that, increased stress levels cause performance to go down.
Unfortunately, once we get past our optimum stress level (which is different for everyone), a lot more than our performance can go down. Typically, when performance begins to decline, we try harder, which increases our stress and causes our performance to further fall off. The resulting frustration, fear of failure and fear of the consequences of poor performance can lead to all sorts of psychological issues from irritability and absenteeism to problems at home, breakdowns and substance abuse. In a business, it can also lead to high turnover rates, which is one of the biggest problems facing independent advisory firms today.
We've found that owner/advisors can take concrete steps to help keep employees off the back side of the Performance Stress Curve and happily performing at optimum levels. The first step, of course, is for owner/advisors to stay off the downside of the curve themselves. By far, the No. 1 cause of overstressed employees is overstressed employers.
The next step is to make sure that employees understand the relationship between stress levels and performance, and their own happiness as well. We find it's helpful to give each employee a copy of the Yerkes-Dodson graph and to talk to them as a group about the relationship between stress and performance. It's important to point out that your aim is to help keep them happy and productive, and to do that, it's important to stay on the front part of the curve. What's more, while peak performance is good, it's also very close to starting down the back side of the curve. Consequently, their goal should be a high level of performance that's comfortably near but not too close to the top. During periods when peak performance is necessary, it's very important that it should only be sustained for short periods, followed by allowances for reducing high levels of stress before they become a problem.
Examples, especially examples from the owner's own experience, of how stress affects their performance and what they do to manage it can be useful. It's also helpful to let the employees talk about stress and performance themselves, give their own experiences or what they might have observed in others, and to ask questions. The objective is to be sure they understand how stress can affect them, and that working together, they—and their employer—can manage their stress to keep it at a comfortable, productive level.
Then, still in a group setting, we make it real for them by asking them to put an X on their graph to show where they are on the performance curve. It's important to make clear that employees' self-assessments will not be used to evaluate their performance, rather to help both of you keep their stress at a reasonable level. At this point, our owner/advisors always ask, "How do I know they will tell the truth?" The answer is they won't: They'll lie. Yet, our experience has taught us that they'll only lie a little, and their obfuscation will be predictable.
It's human nature to try to make ourselves look better, especially in front of authority figures. In this case, that means showing one's stress in a slightly better light than it really is. If an employee believes their stress and performance falls on the front side of the curve, they'll invariably put their X a little to the right of where it should be, showing their performance to be a little closer to peak and their stress level to be slightly higher than they believe it is. Conversely, if an employee knows they are overstressed and past their peak performance, they'll place their X at a slightly higher performance and lower stress than it is.
After adjusting for their self-improved fudge factor, we've found that employees are usually very accurate at assessing their own stress levels. Still, we find that it's valuable to confirm those evaluations. To do this, we ask firm owners or employee managers to evaluate the behavior of each employee, particularly their verbal and non-verbal communication, their work product and their general body language.
The good news is that the behavior of someone who's overstressed isn't hard to spot once you start paying attention, especially for owners who can use their own responses to stress to relate. The biggest red flags are dramatic changes in behavior, including a decline in job performance, recurring anger, irritability, frequent outbursts, frustration, abnormally long or unusual working hours, missed deadlines, compulsive behavior, little or no time for meetings or other inter-office communication and a tendency to isolate themselves from the rest of the staff.
When employee self-evaluations and owner observations confirm that employees are operating past their peak performance, it's time to step in and work with them to reduce their stress, which almost always improves their performance. Often the solution is to have them take a vacation and then build more time off into their weekly work schedules. In other cases, employee work loads need to be adjusted. Usually employees' day-to-day jobs have good stress-to-performance ratios: It's the additional "projects" that put them over the edge. Once we spread projects out over longer periods, stress levels usually drop dramatically.
Managing projects poorly is only one of the ways that firm owners increase employee stress levels. The larger issue is shooting from the hip: failing to consider the ramifications of what employees are being told to do. When asked, employees almost always point to owner/advisors returning from conferences with an ill-considered to-do list as one of the biggest stress generators.
Owners also often fail to realize that when they are venting about a problem or brainstorming an idea, their good employees will start making plans about how to make those ideas happen. If the owner later decides to do something else, as all too often happens, employees feel confused, unappreciated and stressed. Owners need to realize that what they say sets the strategic direction for their firm and carefully consider what and how they communicate to their employees.
We find it's most valuable to have employees evaluate their stress levels as frequently as practical. Once a week isn't too often, but once a month is usually more manageable. Not only does that help owner/advisors keep a handle on stress levels, it creates a record that can be reviewed to identify particularly stressful tasks or recurring high-stress periods. Understanding why and how employees get stressed enables employers to manage stress levels and keep productivity consistently near peak levels. We've found it's so critical to business success that we don't even do job reviews any more—we do stress reviews instead.


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We can provide training & also consultancy in many SAP Training Kolkata Patna Lucknow. If you want to make sure that you hire some consultants with significant industry experience in Sap then you have come to the right place.
Prism is an corporate training firm Delivering SAP Training Nagpur Nasik & also in Mumbai, Pune & Bangalore. We have provided corporate trainings across INDIA in other locations as well including Hyderabad, New Delhi, & also in Noida,Gurgaon Kolkatta & Chennai as well.
Our consultants have worked for several years in Sap consultants roles for high profile companies and also have delivered training to several Our Clientss and individuals.
SAP Training Kolkata
Among some of the courses we offer in Sap are as follows:
- SAP Financials (FI/CO)
- SAP Treasury and Cash Management (TR)
- Training on SAP Compliance Management (CM) and Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance
- SAP HR and also SAP Payroll (HR)
- SAP Sales and also Distribution (SD)
- Training on SAP Logistics (LE)
- SAP Production Planning (PP)
- Training on SAP Materials Management (MM)
- SAP Project Systems (PS)
- Training on SAP Quality Management (QM)
- SAP Plant Maintenance (PM)
- SAP Service Management (SM)
- Training on SAP Warehouse Management (WM) and also Inventory Management (IM)
- SAP Barcoding (RF) and aslo SAP RFID
- SAP Basis and also SAP Security
- Training on SAP ABAP Development and also SAP Reporting
- SAP Data Archiving
- SAP Workflow
- Training on SAP NetWeaver and also Web Application Server
- SAP Enterprise Portals and also iViews
- SAP Hana
- Training on SAP Business Warehouse (BW)
- SAP Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
- SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer (APO)
- Training on SAP Strategic Enterprise Management (SEM)
- SAP E-Procurement (EBP)
- SAP Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)
- Training on SAP Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)
- SAP Project Management
- SAP BI & also SAP BO
Courses can be customized according to Our Clients needs.
For training from other vendors like IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Java etc browse our website further


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ROM crack flashers, here is some good news for you. ROM Manager, which was once the must have app for every advanced Android user who used to flash custom ROMs on his device on a daily basis, is getting a major makeover.
Koush, the developer of ROM Manager, has been working on a UI and functionality upgrade for the app since the last week. While the new UI update is not yet out, he pushed out a new update for ROM Manager that adds a very nifty option to transfer you nandroid backups to your PC or vice versa.
The whole process is pretty simple, and users just need to enable the download server on their Android device via ROM Manager. Then, users can access this download server from their PC's web browser and transfer nandroid backups to and fro.
This new feature should it make much easier for ROM Manager users to transfer those gigabytes of nandroid data from their phone to their PC or vice versa. The new update (v184.108.40.206) is already live in the Play Store and can be downloaded from here.
Koush is also working on a major upgrade for the Xperia S that will bring with it an updated UI, OTA ROM updates with delta updates and much more.


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UO Wushu founder Daniel Wu has two new movies this fall – Tai Chi Zero/Tai Chi 0, which he helped produce, and The Man with the Iron Fists, where he plays a character named Poison Dagger.
Tai Chi Zero – the first of two movies from Daniel Wu and Stephen Fung's studio, Diversion Pictures – follows Yang Lu Chan (Yuan Xiachao) on a journey to learn the secrets of Chen-style tai chi. It's sillier and much more lighthearted than it sounds. The sequel, Tai Chi Hero, was released in China around the same time as Tai Chi Zero debuted in the U.S. (10/19).
The Man with the Iron Fists premieres today (11/2). The film is set in feudal China and stars a blacksmith (RZA) fighting to protect his village from various miscreants searching for treasure. Other stars include Lucy Liu, Russell Crowe, Cung Le, Byron Mann, Rick Yune, David Bautista, and Jamie Chung.
Members of UO Wushu really enjoyed Tai Chi Zero's Portland premiere and are very excited to see The Man with the Iron Fists after tonight's practice.


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Underneath it all, the base layer can be the difference between an unbeatable powder day and an afternoon spent drying out in the lodge. That's because this crucial piece of clothing is in charge of delivering comfort and performance at the next-to-skin level where it's arguably the most important.
For the 2013/2014 ski season, these eight base layers boast breathable, condition-chameleon capabilities for the ultimate garment that has your back all day while never getting in the way of your ski experience.


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What's this lump?
My girlfriend had found a lump inside her vagina. What could this be?...
Where does the flow go?
What happens to natural female lubricant (or any other moistness) after intercourse? I have asked many of my friends (both male and female) this question and no one can provide a sufficient answer. All the information I have so far been able to glean on the subject is that the vagina is a "self-cleaning organ." I'm not stupid....
Is something wrong with the way I ejaculate?
When I ejaculate my semen doesn't squirt out the way porn stars do it. It just sort of flows out. I was wondering is there some way to make that happen? Or does it happen over time?...
Are you supposed to shave?
Are you supposed to shave pubic hair before sex? Any of it?...
I'm not feeling anything, and lesbian sex doesn't leave me many options.
I am 16 and I'm a lesbian. Recently me and my girlfriend and engaged in sexual activities, but the weirdest thing is that nothing she does to me feels good. Us being in a female on female relationship doesn't really leave us with many options. So obviously we have run out of options and now I'm struggling for answers. Why is it that nothing she does to me feels good? I even try masturbating....
Heavy petting and kissing... can I be pregnant?
I am 20, in India, and my periods are irregular: I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. I've never had sex in my life, not even a thought of doing so before marriage. Somewhere around the the 18th of May, we were alone and talking together and God knows how, my boyfriend and I just indulged in heavy kissing on bed with clothes on for say 3-4 minutes....
Three questions about taking the birth control pill (and plenty of answers)
I had sex with no condom 3 days before I started my period, AND 1 day after I started my period. I'm on birth control BUT I was at the end of my 1st pack I have ever took (taking the non-active pills) and I don't exactly take them at the exact same time every day but pretty close....
Is masturbation good for your health?
Is masturbation is good for your health?...
Can you make yourself pregnant by putting semen in your own vagina?
My best friend recently confided in me that immediately after her boyfriend ejaculated on her leg, she swiped some of the semen with her fingers and proceded to enter them into herself in hopes to get pregnant. We were talking about this and I asked if you actually could get pregnant this way and neither one of us knew the answer. Now that's my question for you....
We wouldn't get pregnant..not us.
Hi in 16 turning 17 and its my first time on here and I find it very useful. I am soo glad that I finally found help. I've been dating my boyfriend for eight and a half months now, and we've had sex numerous times since....
No pill, no condom, and now, no period.
I typically start my period at the end of a month and then it continues to lead into the next month. Last month, I ended on the 4th and then had another period in that same month on the 21st-26th. This month, I have yet to have a period. My periods are a little irregular seeing as there have been a few months where I have technically had 2.....
I'm 13, and want to have sex: will it hurt?
I really want to have sex for the first time. But I am only thirteen. I know vaguely what to do and I know to use protection. But I was talking to my 17-year-old cousin (who has had sex before) if it hurt his girlfriend the first time. And he had said that she was screaming and she felt as if she wanted to die. This information scared me a little too much for comfort....
White goo in my pants: is that normal?
I always get a sticky white goo in my pants, when I wipe it off it sometimes looks a bit yellow. It doesn't itch, smell or I don't suffer from any pain with it. What do you think it is, and who do you think I should see about it? ...
I didn't wash my hands after giving a handjob: am I pregnant?
My boyfriend and I were making out last week, and it was our first time masturbating each other. He got me off first (he still had his boxers on) then after I came, I gave him a hand job. After he came, he put on his boxers, and we lay there kissing for a bit. His wet boxers against the area slightly above my pubic hair but still within my 'triangle'....
BDSM fantasy: will it limit my sex life?
I have serious problems becoming sexually aroused without fantasizing about certain BDSM-like scenarios. I've been having fantasies of that sort for a really long time- years before I even knew what BDSM was- so I was thinking that my problem might just be that I'm used to these types of fantasies and only fairly recently started trying to use other means to get myself off, so to speak....
I like him, and he wants to have sex but I really don't.
I really like this guy and now he has asked me to have sex I am under age and I don't really want to do it but I really like him but he just wants to mess about and I want more of a committment. I really don't know what to do, so confused. HELP PLEASE....
He's really into sex... but I'm not so sure.
Hey. I have been going out with my boyfriend for a year now and he is really into sex. I am worried about it though. Whenever I'm at his house he always tries to touch me, but I don't want to be tight so I let him. Now he is hinting on sex! I am so embarrassed because I have nobody to speak to this about, my Mum died when I was little so I REALLY don't want to talk to my Dad about sex. Help!!! ...
I didn't orgasm: does that mean I'm still a virgin?
I had my first real sexual experience a few months ago, but I don't really like to talk about it. The problem was that I guess I was a little too anxious and I didn't go about it quite the right way and as a result, I never reached orgasm. I am also not too sure if she did either, I can't even remember....
Does the woman on top really feel good to guys?
Me & my boyfriend have been going out for about a year & just recently started having sex. Every time we've had sex so far I've been on bottom & last night he asked me to be on top. I was nervous but went for it anyway...well, I had no idea what to do once I was up there. I thought about "riding" him (it wasnt too hard to figure out how to ride him) but is that really pleasurable for guys?...
Anal sex panic, and some good reasons to step the heck back.
Hi it's me again, I asked you a couple weeks ago about anal seepage after anal sex. Well we DID engaged in full anal foreplay before anal sex, was very patient about it, I relaxed my muscles the whole time, and used TONS of lube. So we tried it again like that and I still had white/clear mucus seepage come out, but it was worse this time there was more blood....
I only had unprotected sex once: could I be pregnant?
This was my second time having sex with this boy we were like fuck buddies and hardly knew each other, we only had sex one time and I'm not on the pill I told him that....
How one goes about learning to share their sexuality with another person?
I was wondering how one goes about learning to share their sexuality with another person? I'm 21 and a virgin (older virgins do exist!) for personal and religious reasons. My relationships thus far have consisted primarily of a series of bad first dates... until recently, that is. 3 weeks ago I met a 31 year old man who has opened my eyes to so many things....
I feel too tight: should I use painkillers during sex?
I am a small girl and I am tight and it hurts if I try to put anything to big inside me. I have 2 vibrators and a dildo. One of the vibrations goes in with no hassle the other one is a little bit bigger and its not as easy but and I have a dildo but when I try to put the dildo in it hurts like a burning pain. I bought the second vibrator to loosen me up and I hope it's working......
How Can I Tell if HE Is a Virgin?
I'm with my boyfriend for over a year and he's always asking me if I'm a virgin and of course I am. But how can I tell that he's always a virgin too?...
Condom + EC + negative pregnancy test - period = still worried
Hi, I'm 19 and I have a question about my late period. My boyfriend and I had sex for the first time about 2 months ago. We are both virgins and we were both very careful. We used condoms that were kept in a dry place, and that were not expired. I, however, am not on the pill, and the condom was our only preventative method....


text:
Make is a fully responsive and retina ready for corporate, agency, nonprofit, freelancer or general business. It's built with Bootstrap and well coded so very easy to edit and change things. You can modify layout, styling, colors directly from within the backend.
Click to watch Video Tutorials!
Shortcode Generator
Creating websites has never been so easy. Shortcode Generator provides a convenient interface for creating pages. All available shortcodes are listed below.
Advanced Theme Options
Customize your website according to your tastes. You can change the layout, styling, colors directly from the backend. Over 700 fonts Google Fonts to choose from.
Responsive Design
Make is 100% responsive. Items on the site are suitable for every screen resolution.
Retina Ready
High resolution provides the best quality images on any device.
Extensive Documentation
In the documentation you will find all the information about template installation, and video tutorials.
Don't forget vote
- Advanced Admin Panel
- Shortcode Generator - Accordion
- Built on Bootstrap
- Retina Ready
- Fully Responsive
- Parallax Effects
- Revolution Slider
- Layer Slider
- Ajax Portfolio – Isotope
- Ajax Contact Form
- Smooth scrolling
- Content Carousel
- Unlimited Colors
- 400+ Icons
- 700+ Google Fonts
- 4 PSD Files
- Excellent Support
- Extremely easy to customize
- Video, slider, image in Blog
- Video Tutorials
- Extensive Documentation
- Alerts
- News
- Columns
- Slogan
- Text
- Title
- Clients
- Content Box
- Callout Box
- Contact Details
- Contact Form
- Clear Floats
- Diagram
- Divider
- Number Details
- Portfolio
- Tabs
- Team
- Testimonials
- Toggle
- Icon
- Pricing Tables
- Isotope
- Localscroll
- ScrollTo
- Flexisel
- TimeAgo
- ResponsiveSlides
- Parallax
- Sticky Menu
- Bootstrap
- Font Awesome
Demo images (NOT included in the package) http://www.shutterstock.com/
Live preview images are from Flickr. We are not distributing these images via download pack. We have placeholder images for each instance.
ChangelogVersion 1.6.1 (recommended only for new instances)
-Fix problem with gallery post type -Fix problem with contact form (now server is default sender, not user e-mail) -Shortcode contact details now don't required all fieldsVersion 1.6
-Add slideshow in portfolio -Some Fix -OptimizationVersion 1.5
-Fix bug with WP editor -Add link field for clientsVersion 1.4.1
-Wordpress 3.9 ready -Fix bug with menu links scrollingVersion 1.4
-Add shortcodes: video and google map -Fix bugs with styles -Update documentationVersion 1.3
-Better view creating shortcode -Fix pricing tables -Improving change pages to onepage -N-team fix -Problems with arrow header fix -Fix some bugVersion 1.2
-New preloader -Fix portfolio -Edit WP admin bar when user is online -Fix menu -Fix testomonials -Update revolution slider -Add layer sliderVersion 1.1
-Update parallax script -Fix error with portfolio -Fix z-index errorVersion 1.01
-Add PSD files -Update contact form -Update blog design -Fix menu -Add shortcode title -Change default page to full page (without sidebar)


text: The goal of Silberkinder Weims is to celebrate the unique and versatile Weimaraner by producing healthy, birdy, highly trainable dogs of excellent temperament that can bring joy to their owners in the show, obedience, or agility ring, or in the field. All breeding stock are screened and OFA certified for hips and elbows, and are registered working therapy dogs. Most also have their heart, thyroid, and eyes certified. We don't breed very frequently, often only every other year or so.


text: The MICRO MOD-U-BEAM®, narrow LED 244, is a diminutive luminaire constructed of quality components to insure longevity of service. Built in our New York factory, the unit features welded construction, a post powder coated finish and the latest in LED technology including several standard lumen packages and color temperatures for any project requirement. MOD-U-BEAM® is fully customizable and can be transformed to meet jobsite challenges. Available in surface, suspended, ADA wall and recessed versions as well as a direct/indirect version of the pendant and ADA wall.


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Is anyone surprised to see new technology being implanted into our fibers, textiles, clothing and accessories? Of course the next step will be placing the chips under our skin, but until then, let's see how we can find ways to enhance the fashion experience. GPS chips in our pets used to sound crazy too….
A number of years ago, we had a student designing batteries into her custom-made school bags and brief cases to recharge the new hit toy – cell phones. Now we are seeing plug-in dresses and shirts!! We are exposed to the sun much of our commuting and recreating days. So why not put our "outer layer" of clothing to work? This is a natural fusion of bringing techies together with fashion creatives. The geek look is fine for some, but there are those who want a fashionable look for their appearance.
You may have seen the new ideas from Dutch fashion designer Pauline van Dongen, who started her sustainable company: Wearable Solar. Images from her website show some of the possibilities to integrate energy producing solar panels into clothes that will power up your digital devices: paulinevandongen.nl/project/wearable-solar-video/
The art and science of "intelligent clothing" is an enticing subject for future thinking design and technology students alike. New partnerships are developing across formerly separate lines. And whether it is technology influencing fashion design or the reverse, we are being influenced to integrate technology into much more of our lives.
An early adaptation is with E-textiles that are making it possible to monitor one's exercise routine and general health.
Our research turned up these examples:
➢ A new cancer-detecting bra is in the lab being designed to forewarn of a potential breast cancer.
➢ Sportswear that monitors your workout routine – heart rate and calories burned; injury prone patterns to correct…
➢ Google Glasses of course and Contact lenses to test for glucose levels
➢ GPS Bracelets are functional and decorative
➢ The D-Shirt — Digital Shirt by Cityzen Sciences
➢ BlackSocks app with RFID chips to keep your socks paired for life!
➢ Diapers that track a baby's kidney function and potential medical issues…
And we recently observed how Ralph Lauren is getting in on this new wave with his PoloTech fitness-tracking compression shirts worn by the ball boys during this year's U.S. Open tennis tournament in NYC. Working with OMsignal, a Canada-based biometrics firm, they are testing for heart and breathing rates and the stress level of a person's workout. The measurements are read on a Bluetooth-connected Smartphone.
We are reminded of the saying: "The future is now!" And Ralph Lauren, Pauline van Dongen and others are running on fast-forward to bring these new ideas to us NOW:
This adds a whole new meaning to "dressing smart"!
What apparel fashion tech have you seen or tried?
Arthur & Peggy Winters co-teach SXB 200 Brand Marketing Communications for Image & Meaning and SXR 050 Intro to Branding: The Art of Customer Bonding.


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I Heart Design: Remarkable Graphic Design Selected by Designers, Illustrators, and Critics
What makes a particular design — the familiar Coca-Cola bottle, say, or the vivid yellow Kodak film box — significant and unforgettable?
I Heart Design: Remarkable Graphic Design Selected by Designers, Illustrators, and CriticsPublisher: Rockport
Length: 216 pages
Price: $45
Author: Steven Heller (editor)
Publication date: 2011-03
What makes a particular design -- the familiar Coca-Cola bottle, say, or the vivid yellow Kodak film box -- significant and unforgettable?
That's the question that I Heart Design aims to answer. Steven Heller, a former art director at the New York Times, asked 80 experts in the field -- including designers, typographers and academics -- to each pick an influential example of graphic design that resonates beyond the context in which it was made and place it within the historical framework of the discipline. Heller also asked them to explain why these particular pieces move their souls.
"Design triggers something in all of us that may be solely aesthetic or decidedly content driven, but in the final analysis, we are drawn to it through the heart and mind," Heller writes in the introduction, "...What is it that touches the heart, as well as brain and eye, equally?"
The result is a handsome book -- with its Milton Glaser-inspired title -- that entertains as much as it inspires.
The personal pronoun in the title rings loudly through most of the essays. Take the selection by artist-designer Edwin Schlossberg (husband of Caroline Kennedy). He gushes about "I Object Defy Myself," his own 1964 copper relief that alludes to Jasper Johns' work of the same period in its use of stenciled letters. (Schlossberg's choice of his own work trumps any notion that the choices here might be selected objectively.)
Selections run the gamut -- magazines, logos, posters, maps, illustrations, architecture, album covers, sculptures, film title sequences, everyday objects and other ephemera.
Shepard Fairey picks John Van Hamersveld's "Pinnacle Hendrix" poster, citing it as an influence on his Andre the Giant images. Fairey writes that Van Hamersveld's iconic work possesses all the criteria of a "perfect image," that it's impossible to imagine the work any other way or to improve upon it. Van Hamersveld's posterized black-and-white style informs much of the graffiti, street art and fine art today, including Fairey's images (the Obama "Hope" poster), Banksy and his possibly manufactured alter ego, Mr. Brainwash.
If these artists and their designs are unfamiliar to some readers, others won't be. The CBS logo is celebrated by two of the book's contributors -- designers Sagi Haviv and Woody Pirtle -- who elaborate on its simplicity and effectiveness in terms of sheer communicative power. Designed by William Golden in 1951, the logo quickly reached iconic status. Pirtle says it is "unlikely to ever become dated," and Haviv uses it as a benchmark to reach for -- the logo, for him, "stands like a beacon, not only for the modernist ideal, but ... for good design."
One of the more obscure discoveries is offered by designers Ivan Chermayeff and Steff Geissbuhler, who both chose a poster created by Armin Hofmann for a Swiss theater production of Wilhelm Tell. Each makes the case that good design speaks to its intended audience by calling upon presumed understanding of the subject and then triggering different associations and interpretations in each viewer's mind.
Some of the short essays get bogged down by their academic tone, but in general, readers will enjoy clear discussions of the ability of the best designs to inform, distill and clarify information and, ultimately, to cut through the visual cacophony that litters our lives.


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Wendy Lecker: Tests fail at measuring student growth
Recent research by the University of Texas has revealed a major flaw in the design of tests like the Connecticut Mastery Tests. The research raises serious questions about the use of these tests to judge a child's performance, a school's success, or a teacher's ability to do his or her job.
The flaw derives from the development of what are called vertical-scale scores.
These are the scores and graphs parents see on the back of their children's CMT reports that claim to demonstrate how much a child has grown in math and reading over three years.
In developing this scale, the state Department of Education's aim was to compare test scores from different grades, to see "growth," even though different content is covered in each grade, and different skills are taught. This is like subtracting apples from oranges.
To overcome this hurdle, the architects of the vertical scale made a giant assumption: that "math" and "reading" are uni-dimensional, they progress in a linear fashion and that all children follow the same path. As any parent of two or more children can testify, reality is much more complex.
Using this faulty assumption, in 2007, the DOE administered supplemental tests in addition to the CMTs. These tests were short and were "off-grade." For example, third graders were given a section consisting of items from the fourth-grade CMT. The DOE then compared the distribution of third graders' scores on the sample test to the distribution of their scores on the third-grade CMT. From this examination of how third graders scored on items that were common to a fourth-grade test, they constructed a scale that they have been using to measure "math" and "reading" achievement for all students.
But that's not all. Although third graders would have had little-to-no experience with the material on the fourth-grade test, the DOE assumed that their score on the short, out-of-level test was a valid measure of student learning. I asked the DOE architect of the scale how one section of sample questions provided an accurate picture of math or reading achievement. He provided no answer and instead referred me to the public relations department.
The DOE also decided what point on each scale represented appropriate achievement levels for each grade; i.e., what the "cut scores" were. Score above this point and you are "proficient." Score below it and you "fail." As the late education expert Gerald Bracey explained, cut scores are set by deciding in advance what percentage of students you want to fail; a procedure that is "both arbitrary and political."
So, what does the vertical-scale score tell a parent about how her child has progressed in math or reading? Not much. It is a rough approximation of what someone has called math or reading achievement.
The DOE claims that these vertical scales are tools to improve instruction and improve schools. However, as testing guru W. James Popham told me, scale scores have "essentially no diagnostic value whatever to teachers, parents or students."
Not only are the vertical-scale scores of questionable use for anyone other than statisticians, the work of the Texas scholars, Walter Stroup and Vinh Huy Pham, raises the question of whether the development of vertical scales has rendered the CMT itself of little value in measuring our children's learning.
A ruler cannot be a stable measure if its scale changes with each test. In order for this vertical scale to maintain its integrity, then, the difficulty level of the test must remain constant. Questions that are deemed too easy are jettisoned.
As teaching and learning become more effective, questions may become "too easy." However, it is precisely those types of questions that test-makers will throw out in order to keep the vertical scale constant. Thus, instead of measuring "growth," the test hides it.
In maintaining the constancy of the vertical scale, the CMT becomes an instructionally insensitive test. It does not measure what goes on in the classroom, because if it did, that would distort the vertical scale. To oversimplify Stroup's conclusions, what we are left with are tests that only show how good a test-taker a child is.
As the evidence mounts that these tests cannot measure our children's learning, it is time for parents, students, teachers and taxpayers to demand that our elected officials rethink this costly, yet unaccountable, accountability system.
Wendy Lecker is a former president of the Stamford Parent Teacher Council and was staff attorney at the Campaign for Fiscal Equity, plaintiffs in a school funding lawsuit in New York.


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Mystery mini-shuttle launched into space
First re-flight of experimental craft scheduled
A top-secret mini-space shuttle has blasted off from Cape Canaveral.
The Air Force launched the unmanned spacecraft Tuesday aboard an Atlas V rocket.
It's the second flight for this original X-37B spaceplane. It circled the planet for seven months in 2010. A second X-37B spacecraft spent more than a year in orbit.
These mystery machines are about one-quarter the size of NASA's old space shuttles and they can land automatically on a runway.
The military isn't saying much if anything about this new secret mission. But one scientific observer, Harvard University's Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, speculates the spaceplane is carrying sensors designed for spying and likely is serving as a testbed.
The two previous secret flights were in roughly 200-plus-mile-high orbits.


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It's around that time of day again - when precious metals are sold hard for whatever reason you care to come up with (collateral requirements, margin calls, alchemy perfected). However, today there is a more mundane reason: Goldman Sachs has suggested its clients sell Gold on the basis that the gold cycle will turn in 2013 thanks to improving US growth offsetting the need for further Fed easing. Of course, Goldman telling its clients to 'sell gold' means Goldman is...
Via Goldman:
Gold prices range bound in 2012 despite perfect set up
Gold prices have remained range bound in 2012, despite a steady decline in US real rates and rise in central bank holdings that would ordinarily be supportive. To understand this dislocation we expand our modeling of gold prices to include the impact of the US Federal Reserve easing. We find that gold prices "look through" easing that does not require Fed balance sheet expansion –like Operation Twist – increasing instead on announcements of easing through expansion on the Fed's balance sheet.
Improving US growth outlook offsets further Fed easing
Our economists forecast that the US economic recovery will slow early in 2013 before reaccelerating in the second half. They also expect additional expansion of the Fed's balance sheet. Near term, the combination of more easing and weaker growth should prove supportive to gold prices. Medium term however, the gold outlook is caught between the opposing forces of more Fed easing and a gradual increase in US real rates on better US economic growth. Our expanded modeling suggests that the improving US growth outlook will outweigh further Fed balance sheet expansion and that the cycle in gold prices will likely turn in 2013. Risks to our growth outlook remain elevated however, especially given the uncertainty around the fiscal cliff, making calling the peak in gold prices a difficult exercise.
Gold cycle likely to turn in 2013; lowering gold price forecasts
We lower our 3-, 6- and 12-mo gold price forecasts to $1,825/toz, $1,805/toz and $1,800/toz and introduce a $1,750/toz 2014 forecast. While we see potential for higher gold prices in early 2013, we see growing downside risks. As a result, we find that the risk-reward of holding a long gold position is diminishing and recommend rolling our long Dec-12 COMEX gold position into a long Apr-13 position and selling a $1,850/toz call to finance a $1,575/toz put to protect against a decline in gold prices. Since 2009, this strategy achieved a better Sharpe ratio than a long gold position.