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Two baseball games involving Garden City�s 16 and under youth teams will begin action at 6 and 8 p.m. at Williams Stadium Thursday as the 29th annual Clanton Memorial Tournament gets under way.
From Thursday night�s doubleheader, which will send the Garden City Boom against the Liberal Rattlers 14 and Under squad and then the Redhawk Academy will take on Liberal�s Rattlers 15 and Under team, the tournament will continue through Sunday.
There are three age divisions � 19 and under, 16 and under and 14 and under � involving 25 teams. Fifty-nine games are on the docket to be played during the four-day tourney, named in memory of the late Jim Clanton, one of Garden City�s most avid baseball supporters.
There are 11 teams in the 19 and under division, with the Redhawk Academy team and Garden City Elite being the two local teams entered.
Games in the 19 and under division will be split between Williams and Clint Lightner Stadiums. Fansler Field and Academy Field also will be used for games in the two younger divisions.
Championship games in the bracketed 19 and under and 16 and under groups will be played at noon on Sunday. The older group will play at Williams Stadium and the younger division at Clint Lightner.
The tournament is being conducted by the Garden City Recreation Commission.
19 and Under Division
1. Garden City Elite; 2. Liberal Rattlers; 3. Colby Sluggers; 4. Goodland Outlaws; 5. Lamar; 6. SKW/Stix/Spearville; 7. Redhawk; 8. Hooker Horny Toads; 9. Ulysses; 10. WaKeeney; 11. Stevens Co. Militia.
9 a.m., 10 vs. 11 (CL); 10 a.m., 1 vs. 3 (WS); 11 a.m., 8 vs. 9 (CL); Noon, 2 vs. 5 (WS); 1 p.m., 11 vs. 7 (CL); 2 p.m., 9 vs. 10 (WS); 3 p.m., 3 vs. 6 (CL); 4 p.m., 7 vs. 8 (WS); 5 p.m., 4 vs. 5 (CL); 7 p.m., 1 vs. 2 (CL); 8 p.m., 4 vs. 6 (WS).
8 a.m., 1 vs. 4 (WS), 11 vs. 9 (CL); 10 a.m., 2 vs. 6 (WS), 8 vs. 10 (CL); Noon, 3 vs. 5 (WS), 7 vs. 9 (CL). Bracketed games will be played at 2, 4, 6 and 8 p.m. at Williams Stadium and 2, 4 and 6 p.m. at Clint Lightner Stadium.
Bracketed games at 8 and 10 a.m. and Noon.
16 and Under Division
A. Red Hawk; B. Panhandle Arsenal; C. Liberal Rattlers 15U; D. Elkhart Wildcats; E. Garden City Boom; F. Widefield Gladiators; G. Liberal Rattlers 14U; H. Goodland.
6 p.m., E vs. G (WS); 8 p.m., A vs. C (WS).
11 a.m., B vs. D (FF), E vs. H (AF); 3 p.m., F vs. G (AF); 5 p.m., B vs. C (AF); 7 p.m., F vs. H (AF).
10 a.m., A vs. B (AF); Noon, C vs. D (AF); 2 p.m., G vs. H (AF); 8 p.m., E vs. F (CL).
Bracketed games at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. at both Clint Lightner and Academy Field; Championship game at Noon at Clint Lightner.
14 and Under Division
L. SW Hitters 14U; M. Ulysses Ball Club; N. Scott City Outlaws; O. Elkhart Wildcats; P. Liberal Rattlers 13U; Q. DCI Shockers.
9 a.m., N vs. O (FF), M vs. Q (AF); 1 p.m., L vs. Q (FF), M vs. N (AF); 3 p.m., O vs. P (FF); 5 p.m., L vs. P (FF).
8 a.m., M vs. O (FF); 10 a.m., L vs. N (FF); Noon, P vs. Q (FF); 2 p.m., L vs. O (FF); 4 p.m., M vs. P (FF), N vs. Q (AF).
8 a.m., O vs. Q (FF); 10 a.m., N vs. P (FF); Noon, L vs. M (FF).


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Cult of personality
Learn about this topic in these articles:
communism and Stalin
- In communism: Stalinism
…feature of Stalinism was its cult of personality. Whereas Lenin had claimed that the workers suffered from false consciousness and therefore needed a vanguard party to guide them, Stalin maintained that the Communist Party itself suffered from false consciousness (and from spies and traitors within its ranks) and therefore needed…Read More
Mao Zedong
- In communism: Chinese communism
His cult of personality, like Stalin's, portrayed him as larger-than-life and endowed with unrivaled wisdom—as found, for example, in the sayings and slogans in his "Little Red Book" (Quotations from Chairman Mao). After Mao's death in 1976, the Chinese communist leadership began to experiment with limited…Read More
- In China: Seizure of power
Mao's own personality cult, encouraged so as to provide momentum to the movement, assumed religious proportions. The resulting anarchy, terror, and paralysis threw the urban economy into a tailspin. Industrial production for 1968 dipped 12 percent below that of 1966.Read More

subset: commoncrawl


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Florence in love: discover the city following the traces of its most exciting Medieval and Renaissance romances!
Are you coming to Florence with your partner or are you simply keen on fascinating passed love stories and secret passions? Here you find a tour that you can't absolutely miss!
Are you an Italian Food Lover? You have now a new "not to be missed" activity to join, when in Florence!
Twilight, dawn, day & night to remember two unknown Medici members – Discover the Medici Chapels!
We all visit the Accademia Gallery – an amazing museum – often forgetting that there's another place in which we can admire Michelangelo's sculptures in peace: the Medici Chapels.
Florence city centre is cosy but dense, full of churches, squares and history.
Every time I stroll around my hometown I feel lucky, but I must admit I don't know so much about my city… Sometimes you take a place for granted, just because you live there! This is the reason why I decided to book a guided walking tour.
Most of us are going to the Uffizi museum to see masterpieces such as The Birth of Venus and the Allegory of Spring by Botticelli.
Yesterday I discovered an interesting story behind a painting I hadn't noticed.


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Juggle Dream Thuds - 120g - Beach
Additional Information
Additional Information
|Juggle Dream
Product Description
These 120g bean bag juggling balls are probably our most popular. They are a great quality ball for the price, ideal for jugglers on a budget or people looking for a starter set of balls that are a good step up from the standard 'toy shop' ball. Admittedly these aren't quite as good as a 'pro thud' (which we guarantee for a whole year) but the price is a little nicer. These balls are filled with seed and have a nice squeeze to them. The traditional 'beach' colours are 4 panels of blue, red, yellow and green. There can be a very slight weight discrepancy of a few grams from ball to ball, but nothing to affect their performance. Its size means that numbers juggling is certainly possible, though we reccomend just starting out with 3! If you're looking for a first set of juggling balls that look proffessional and juggle great then these are a great place to start. This ball is also available in a number of different colour themes.
Standard cheap and c... Review by Alexander Samuels
Standard cheap and cheerful thuds, bought a set of 30 for my juggling society at university. Most of them are still fine 1 year later however a few have broken without particularly heavy use. They're fine for teaching beginners though and even suitable for practising 6/7 balls. (Posted on 29/10/2012)


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02 Dec WordPress Hosting service — Kinsta Review
The Kinsta hosting company quickly became favorite among users although they are very new in the hosting sphere. Kinsta is actually a premium WP hosting service, which provides a great platform with extreme performances for your websites managing, thanks to its amazing power of server side caching and nginx.
Website hosting consists of two areas, software and hardware. The Kinsta team created solutions which are optimized for WordPress and the needs of its users across the board. On the software side, Kinsta has two very important features, LXD and PHP7. LXD is the backbone of the Kinsta architecture, giving it amazing benefits, such as:
- Complete site isolation
- Automatic scaling
- Backups without server overhead
- Containers per site
All of these amazing features will provide you with a site that runs smoothly with maximum uptime and the highest protection possible.
PHP7 brings a 2 fold increase in site performance, over the previous PHP5.6 version. It decreases server load, automatically increasing stability as well.
On the hardware side, Kinsta choose Google Cloud Platform as a server provider, which gives you the benefits of the largest network in the world.
Kinsta hosting became officially recommended as a well managed host by Google. This is the first managed WP hosting which is exclusively powered by Google Cloud. Google Cloud servers are known to be very powerful, customizable and can scale to virtually any size.
Websites hosted by Kinsta usually have an excellent performance, thanks to the Google Cloud along with a LEMP web stack and nginx. Sites which are being hosted by Kinsta are known to load in just under a second or even less, of course when they are optimized properly.
Get 10% off on all products, use coupon OFF10
The amazing fronted speed comes as a result to the server side caching which the hosting has configured with its fastcgi caching and nginx. This means that your website's pages will be cached for maximum speed without having to use any page caching plugins.
With memcached, Elasticsearch and Redis, more advanced performance solutions are quite possible to speed up your WooCommerce stores and large WP websites. It's also important to note that Elasticsearch and Redis are available for all sites as an add-on, no matter which plan you have, so it's not just for enterprise-level customers.
The Kinsta hosting dashboard has an amazing UX, and besides it looks great with especially detailed analytics.
Developers will be especially happy, as they can easily create staging environments in the Kinsta dashboard, as well backup files with a simple click and easily add redirects.
Also, they make free SSL simple with let's encrypt, and automatically configure the necessary 301 redirects, in order to please SEO enthusiasts and of course Google.
The only backside is the lack of a migration tool, which as per our knowledge, they are working on it and it should be implemented by the end of this year. Anyhow, the good news is that migrations are anyway free with Kinsta hosting.
The amazingly powerful tools of Kinsta will make streamlining workflows and troubleshooting a delight for developers.
Currently, these tools include:
- phpMyAdimn (for management of the database)
- SSH access
- Git for version control on bitbucket or github
- WP – CLI for powerful WP diagnostics
- PHP version switching
- Composer (for dependency management)
- New relic (for advanced monitoring of performance)
Kinsta supports different PHP versions in order to facilitate the testing of compatibility for plugins and themes. You may choose the wanted PHP version from the simple drop down menu.
The Kinsta dashboard is extremely useful for debugging any possible performance issues, and you can easily view logs if you do performance troubleshooting trough codeable.
In addition to everything, Kinsta provides New Relic, which actually monitors MySQL and PHP processing time. ALAX requests are also being monitored by the Kinsta dashboard, which is an excellent way to save time in identifying problematic plugins. Another great thing about Kinsta is that it provides proper WP – CLI and SSH access, and like with other managed providers, no root access is available, but no worries as most users will never need it anyway.
Support is often the most neglected area of hosting companies. Another amazing feature of Kinsta is constant and fast user support. Developers often need assistance with scanning log files or enabling different tools. Kinsta offers fast and efficient customer support at any time. Many users have given excellent reviews regarding this matter, saying that their problems were resolved in a timely manner.
The amazing Kinsta user support team is a great reminder of what actually quality WP hosting support should be.
Kinsta hosting is definitely worth a spin if you need a great looking and easily manageable dashboard for your websites operating on Google's amazing fast platform. Like every other hosting company, Kinsta has some minor drawbacks, but the good news is that they won't affect the majority of its users. Kinsta tries to be as flexible as it can be in order to accommodate to any site customizations.
Below you can see the cons and pros of this amazing hosting company, and decide for yourself if Kinsta is worth it:
- Amazing and easy to use dashboard
- Fully managed
- Daily backups
- Free migrations
- Incredibly speed
- Excellent user support system
- Very easy staging sites and backups
- Developer friendly – SSH, WP – CLI, etc.
- Google Cloud Platform
- Doesn't have migration tool for now, but this isn't really a big deal as migrations are totally free. (As mentioned before, the Kinsta team are working on resolving the lack of a migration tool, and as per our knowledge it may be implemented in 2018)
- No root access (which is the case in most of the hosting companies)
- Some of its features, such as memcached, require Enterprise plans
In our humble opinion, Kinsta is totally worth a try, if you want a beautiful and easily managed website, with an amazing dashboard, which is very easy to use. The Kinsta team puts constant availability and an outstanding user experience before everything else, as they always utilize the latest software and cutting – edge technology in order to power their infrastructure.
Thank you very much for reading this article. Try out Kinsta for your WordPress hosting needs, and share your experience with us below in comments. Also, of you have any other questions regarding Kinsta hosting, or need some additional help from us, feel free to ask below in comments, and we will do our best to help you in any way we can.


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Regular price £4.50
This ADORABLE extra small cactus is a great gift for kids and plant lovers alike or great to decorate home or work with a tiny urban garden! Even includes a tiny clay terra-cotta pot, cute AF.
Approx. 3cm. Please see pictures for scale.
Easy care cactus and includes care card for instructions.
Cactus Care
Cactus Care Tips: The most common question I get asked is 'How NOT to kill your Cactus'
So here it is plain and simple...
Cactus Tips: Luckily our little prickly friends are hearty creatures & are built for mother nature's land of neglect... the desert. The most common cactus or succulent killer is over watering. Your cactus wants 'dry feet' as its typical terrains are dry & arid, so go easy on H2O so the roots don't rot.
Only water when soil dries. This can range depending the environment, but usually once a month in cooler seasons & no more than twice a month in warmer seasons. During the winter cold season cacti and succulents become dormant so you do not need to water them, give them a lil winter break. Ideally use a spray bottle or mister & try not to water the actual plant, but the soil directly around the base.
Your concrete planter porous so the pot itself recreates a rocky base and imitates the natural layers for drainage that the plants enjoy from their desert home. Also each parcel includes a layer of extra stones for the pot bottom to help with drainage for roots & extra acidic cactus soil. As a rule of thumb it's good to re-pot your cactus or succulent every 2-4 years, either if it's grown enough to go up a pot size, but mainly to replenish the soil's nutrients.
Cacti & Succulents prefer light & warmth, but avoid direct sun as they can burn. To assist with growth & flowering use cactus feed in every other watering.
Thank you for your support & I hope your purchase brings you a little sunshine indoors.


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Order by December 1st to ensure your order arrives before Christmas
Regular price
Want to make a statement piece of your own? Here's your chance to customize your own animal bust. These pieces are ready to be painted, bedazzled, or whatever you'd like!
Assembly is required.
Assembly instructions & recommended bonding agent will be e-mailed to customers in order to reduce paper waste.
Material: 0.25" MDF (Medium-density fiberboard)
Dimensions: 8" (Wide) x 9" (Tall) x 1" (Deep)
Shipping: Item will ship within 5-10 days


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(your electronic donation is sent to us electronically – a small % is charged to FrancisCorps by PayPal to pay for processing)
(your electronic donation is sent to us as a check – you have the option to pay a flat fee or deduct the fee from your donation)
P.O. Box 11166, Syracuse, NY 13218
FrancisCorps volunteers have left family, friends and home for a whole year to be of service to people they do not know here in disadvantaged communities in Syracuse, NY. They serve as mentors, teachers, coaches, counselors, companions, and community organizers with refugees, the homeless, the mentally ill, the abused, the elderly, the developmentally disabled, and the young. These young men and women live simply and humbly all so that each day they can go out to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, comfort the dying and in so many ways support those who are affected by violence, exploitation and poverty. They help people rediscover their dignity.
This amazing service, however, is only half of the FrancisCorps experience. While the volunteers are changing lives with the work they do, their lives too are being changed. They support each other through a commitment to intentional community lived through daily prayer, shared meals, sharing of their faith and a common dedication to the service of others. These volunteers are offered support through extensive one-on-one staff involvement, five retreats experiences, and a pilgrimage experience. The young men and women who become FrancisCorps volunteers dedicate a year of their lives to the service of others. The FrancisCorps experience aims to turn that year into a lifetime committed to service inspired by the Franciscan charism.
This life changing service, however, is only possible because of the amazing generosity of individuals just like you. Please join us in supporting these exceptional young men and women and ensure their year of service becomes a lifetime of service.


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Previous Post: Chickamauga I: Muskets and Medicine
In her memoir, Little Doctor on the Black Horse, Harriott Benedict Wickham Barton does not describe the Battle of Chickamauga, because her grandfather David Benedict did not mention the battle in any of the letters he wrote to his wife. Instead, as if it were an afterthought, she added a few pages about the battle at the end of the memoir. In the right order, this, and my previous post, Battle of Chickamauga I – Muskets and Medicine, should be read after Little Doctor on the Black Horse: Post #4 – A Prisoner of War on this website.
Battle of Chickamauga – Part II
by Harriott Benedict Wickham Barton
At sunrise on Monday, two Confederate generals, Forrest [1] and Cheatham, [2] rode into camp, tied their horses and remarked casually that they had come to breakfast. Gen. Cheatham took a cup of coffee and spoke of the pleasure he took in a cup of "choice Ric," but Forrest (evidently somewhat of a fire-eater), refused the unaccustomed luxury. "not," he said, "that I do not like coffee and the like, but because we have been deprived of them by the iron heel of a tyrannical government and a damnable blockade. I scorn to indulge until I can do so in an established Confederacy, whose independence has been won by the strong arm of Southern chivalry!"
Gen. Cheatham laughed dryly and passed his cup of more coffee. Later he spoke sadly of the battle, and of the stamina of the Yankee soldiers. "They fought well, gentlemen. All the glory we can claim is that we hold the field; and against such a foe it is a glory. But dearly bought! Our loss is frightful – equal to yours. A fearful cost of life, fearful! The dead looked as if mowed down in swaths!" It was to be many months before the doctors learned the full story of the battle, on whose fringes they had labored so desperately, and heard how their beloved Gen. George Thomas had earned the title: "Rock of Chickamauga." [3]
Next Post: Chickamauga III: A Cup and a Spoon.
Editor's Notes
[1] So my great-great-grandfather David Benedict broke bread (more likely hardtack) with Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest. At least that seems most likely. In Captive of War [3], Solon Hyde does not mention Doctor Benedict being of the breakfast party, but I see no reason why he would not have been, being an officer. General Forrest, of course, is renowned (or notorious, depending on your point of view) for his tactical and strategic genius during the Civil War. According to Ulysses S. Grant, he was "that devil Forrest." After the war, General Robert E. Lee and Confederate President Jefferson Davis expressed regret that they did not use his talents fully. In Ken Burns documentary about the American Civil War, the late historian Shelby Foote giggled when discussing some of Forrest's more daring exploits. However, the general's reputation today is tarnished by his role in the massacre of black Union troops at Fort Pillow and his membership in the Klu Klux Klan after the war. There is no question what Solon Hyde thought of him. His last words about General Forrest in Captive of War were: ". . . as he rode away, he left on our minds the impression of a man without heart or soul." Check out the Nathan Bedford Forrest article in Wikipedia for details about his life and Civil War career,
[2] In contrast to his low opinion of General Forrest, Solon Hyde held Major General Cheatham in high regard. Commenting on the general's remarks about the battle while at breakfast, Solon wrote: "It seemed to touch him as he dwelt upon the carnage, and recalled the battle scenes with an emotion that forced us to acknowledge him a brave man, honest in his conviction of the justness of the cause for which he fought." Although General Cheatham may have been a better man than General Forrest in Solon's eyes, history does not treat him as kindly. Near the end of the war, in November of 1864, he was sharply criticized for allowing a Union force to slip by his corps, leading to the disastrous Confederate defeat at the Battle of Franklin the following day. For more about him, see the Wikipedia article, Benjamin F. Cheatham.
[3] Harriott's account of Generals Forrest and Cheatham having breakfast with Union medical officers the day after the Battle of Chickamauga come from Solon Hyde's book Captive of War, a memoir of the Civil War experiences of Solon Hyde of the 17th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In addition to his descriptions of the Battle of Chickamauga (which includes how Doctor Benedict and he stayed behind with the wounded as the other medical personnel "skedaddled"), Solon tells of his harrowing experiences as a prisoner of war, to include his time at Andersonville. After the war, he assisted Clara Barton in her work to identify the dead at that notorious prison camp. The book was published in 1900 by McClure, Phillips & Company. That version is now available online at Google Books. In 1996, Solon's great-grandson Neil Thompson republished the book. It is available on Amazon. As an account of what Union prisoners of war experienced during the Civil War, this book cannot be beat. I highly recommend it.
About the Author: Harriott Benedict Wickham Barton (1890-1981) was born in Norwalk, Ohio to Frank and Agnes Wickham. Her father was the youngest of twelve children of Frederick and Lucy Wickham, early settlers of the Firelands, and her mother was the great-great granddaughter of Platt and Sarah Benedict, who founded the city of Norwalk. Educated at Norwalk High School and Wooster College, she became a teacher. She marched as a suffragette and worked for the Labor Department during World War I. After the war, she went west to teach school, and became one of the last homesteaders, proving up a property near Wheatland, Wyoming. She married Angus Barton in 1924 and they raised four children on the homestead through the Dust Bowl and World War II. In the late 1940s, she and her Angus moved to Ohio, where they spent the rest of their lives. During the 1950s and '60s, she wrote "Little Doctor on the Black Horse," poetry, and short stories, some which were published in various journals and magazines.
Next Post: Chickamauga III: A Cup and a Spoon.
Thanks for visiting! Share and like this post below, and on Facebook. Let me know what you think in the comments. I'd love to hear from you!
Filed under: Benedict, Civil War, Norwalk, Ohio, Uncategorized | Tagged: Battle of Chickamauga, Benjamin F. Cheatham, Captive of War, Civil War, Civil War Medicine, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Norwalk High School Class of 1907, Norwalk in the Civil War, Norwalk Ohio History, Solon Hyde |


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Custom Solutions
Our team of experts can create the right solution for your needs.
AirStart has an incredible team of experts with skills spanning the entire aviation industry. From logistics to the back office, our team understands every aspect of your business. When you have a specific need that requires a personalized solution, we will bring our wealth of knowledge and expertise to the discussion.
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The Princess Of Wales
27 Villiers Street, London, Greater London, WC2N 6ND 020 7484 0748
27 Villiers Street, London, Greater London, WC2N 6ND 020 7484 0748
The Princess Of Wales is the best place to be this Christmas. You can expect all your favourite pub classics and drinks with seasonal twists, surrounded by friends and family in the relaxed setting of our authentic British pub. For every reason to celebrate across the festive season, book now and make it a Nicholson's Christmas you'll never forget.
We have a delicious array of dishes to indulge on this Christmas. Book your three-course feast with us today and secure your place ready for the festive season.
When it comes to hosting your festive celebration for colleagues, friends or family, a warm cosy pub is always the perfect choice. Find out more about booking your food and drinks party with us.
Looking for the perfect pub to celebrate with your friends and family this Christmas Day? Book your five course celebration and let us look after you and your loved ones on the big day while you relax.
Please note not all festive menus included in the booklet may be available to book.
To note that all bookings remain provisional at the current time and cannot be confirmed fully until the UK Government provides updated guidance. Once this is the case we will contact you to confirm the details of your booking. Your deposit will remain safe and in the unfortunate event that your booking cannot proceed, we will refund your deposit in full, using the original method of payment.
The information available is, to the best of our knowledge correct, however is subject to change between the time of advance booking and the time of dining.


text: Acrylic on canvas creates texture in this bold palette with navy blue, gray and gold. Hang alone, hang on a gallery wall, sit on an easel, on a table or prop on a shelf. This piece adds softness and texture to any decor. Painted by Melissa Payne Baker, signed and dated just for you or that special someone.


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Wishing For Colder Weather…Okay, Perhaps Not [VIDEO]
I can't get over how mild our winter has been. I really think we need a few really cold days or the bugs are going to take us away this summer!
Then enter this video from Utah on the 21st. Watching the collateral damage of a snow storm is just unreal. The video starts out slow but picks up, there are 3 curb hits, 1 360, about 6 accidents,3 cars in yards, and lots of cars out of control. Even after the drivers were warned not to go down the hill by people at the top and cops. Watch OUT!
I think I will just stick to a thunderstorm.


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We have created a range of bespoke glass desks to complement any office interior.
From glass workstations with slim, minimalist legs, to glass desks with cable management and solid, stainless steel pillars, whatever your business size, there will be a desk for you.
Make your office bright and airy by choosing to invest in a glass desk. Minimalist glass desks are also excellent at making a small room appear larger, as you are able to see the flooring underneath, which will make a room appear spacious.
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We demand excellence, and our glass tables conform to BS EN 12150-2:2004, the updated version of BS 6206.


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At the meeting with the provincial leaders, Ms.Thu said the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee called on the city's state officials, public servants, people to join hands to support flood-hit people in the central and central highlands provinces, aiming to help them overcome flood consequences.
In Phu Yen province, Ms.Thu handed over VND 3billion to local people.
The delegation visited people at Hoa Xuan Nam commune, Dong Hoa district and presented 50 gift packages to 50 the most effected families, worth VND 1 million per one.
Five families who their houses were collapsed completely after the 12th typhoon hit the province received VND 2million per one to repair house.
The delegation handed over also VND 5million to Do Nhu Day Primary School at Hoa Xuan Dong Commune.


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Class of 1995
Tattoos & Onesie
Wear your MHC pride not on your sleeve, but right on your skin! Each 4″ x 9″ sheet contains ten Mount Holyoke-themed tattoo designs to satisfy alumnae of all ages. Tattoos apply easily with water and last five to seven days. Perfect for reunions, mini-reunions, club events, and any time you want to feel close to old MHC. Have a job interview coming up and need a little confidence boost? There's a tat for that. Meeting up with your old sophomore roommate who always thought you were a little too straight-laced? There's a tat for that. Having lunch with Lynn Pasquerella? There are many tats for that.
Each sheet fits into a standard business envelope, so buy a few and mail them to your far-flung alum friends (or leave specific instructions when you order, and the Class of 1995 will do it for you). $7.00 for one sheet and $10.00 for two. Send a check made out to "Mount Holyoke College Class of 1995" to Rebecca Gold at 1 Barrington Pl., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Contact Rebecca at firstname.lastname@example.com for discount rates on bulk orders.
This onesie is perfect for any future alum or their brother! 100% cotton onesie made by Gerber comes in sizes 6 and 12mos. The front reads "Got milk (& cookies)?" and on the bum is MHC. Cute, comfy, and necessary in every baby's wardrobe. $12.00 shipping included. Pay by check made out to "Mt. Holyoke College Class of 1995" and send it to Michelle Chuk (include size and qty). You can also pay by credit card through PayPal.
August 8, 2012


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My Experience at the Benefit Brow Bar
I thought I'd share a little bit of my experience with you after my visit at the Benefit Brow Bar! Maybe this is kinda a review of the Benefit Brow Bar if you'd like to call it that….! I typically either thread or wax my brows at a local salon which I've used for many years. In most cases, since my brows are pretty thick, I go for waxing but on occasion I'll have them threaded. The salon I go to offers both services and they do an excellent job in my experience! They are friendly, clean, and fairly priced so I really have no reason to change up my routine.
Aside from curiosity that is…
I just wanted to give the Benefit Brow Bar a try out and see what I might be missing.
Here's the deets!
So after hearing some of your reviews when I last posted about the possibility of trying out the brow bar I got a little scared! There was talk about the esthetician being to talkative and even pushing product. I dislike aggressive sales reps in stores like Bath and Body Works so I feared that my experience with the Benefit Brow Bar would lead me to some sort of $200 purchase in makeup and other crap I didn't need because I'm the worst kind of consumer who simply has a hard time saying no. I did head into my appointment being slightly scared because of this!
The first thing I did was call up Ulta and arrange for an appointment! It was for 7:30 but EEP I had to cancel it. The next time around I decided just to walk in and hope for the best. Lucky enough I walked right in and the esthetician was there with a smile and happy to take me right away. She was friendly, not too chatty, and she made the entire experience really enjoyable! She wasn't aggressive, she didn't try to sell me Benefit anything, and she just asked some very minor questions, and for the most part she was silent. I was quite comfortable with that because making small talk while having your brows done is not high on my list of comfortable things to do.
The first thing she explained and did was a brow mapping with some Benefit Brow Zings Gel. She just did three lines on my brows to show where my brows should begin and end. She told me that the middle point of my brows was waxed too short and I should grow it back in. I completely agreed as the last trip to my salon a new person did my brows and I felt like they took too much off. After that she proceeded to gently wax my brows.
Honestly, I'm used to a far more brutal waxing. This girl was super gentle and she did waxing in patches so I barely felt it at all. If you're sensitive the Benefit Brow Bar is the way to go because the entire experience is completely relaxing and doesn't hurt at all.
The thing that kinda sorta made me question the waxing portion would be the fact she was dipping into a large wax pot. When I go to my regular place they actually have small disposable pots of wax that they heat up and use exclusively on me. So there is no double dipping….! She did use a brand new stick to apply the wax but once it touched my skin she was putting it back into the large pot of wax. It's safe to say the pot is used for ALL her wax jobs so yeah um…not sure about that. Also it's a little unsettling that the waxing is done right in the middle of the store. I choose to go to the Ulta Benefit Brow Bar which is obviously located in a central part of the store. I felt a little uncomfortable having her wax my upper lip while a few dudes were walking around. Typically when I go to my normal salon they take me into a private back room but this isn't the case with the Brow Bar. I dunno, maybe I'm uptight but I felt a little strange being waxed in public. Total goldfish syndrome!
After the waxing she treated the area with a little cream and began to shape my brows. At this point she did ask me if I filled my brows and I told her no, that I thought it unnecessary since my brows are very dark and coarse already. Unfortunately, this is where things went a bit wrong. Although I liked the arch she did and I thought she shaped my brows very nicely she ended up over filling them with brow powder. She also kinda drew them in towards the middle where we had discussed growing them back so I kinda looked like that dog meme with the brows. Seriously, my two best friends who are completely bitchy gay men completely thrashed me when I left the store and laughed themselves silly! I'm positive they both pissed themselves in their fit of giggles. At first I was horrified but after a minute I couldn't help but join in as I looked ridiculous. I'm not sure why she felt the need to use so much brow gel but it was completely unnecessary. After my friend Jai, produced a makeup wipe to wipe it all off I felt much better and I looked more normal. I actually had a moment of panic because with the brow gel on it appeared one of my brows was longer and thicker than the other but after wiping it off I realized it was because she filled them a bit wonky! Thankfully the arch was perfect and the length and thickness was fine too. I really had to shake my head as anyone can see my brows do not need filling but I guess it's just part of the Brow Bar experience?! I should also mention the brow gel or powder whichever you'd like to call it was a brownish red so it did not match my own natural hair color at all! That made me look even MORE strange!
On that note, I will say it is a little expensive. I had my upper lip done, my brows, and the slight fuzz I have going on below my chin and it set me back $41 plus I left her a $9 tip for a total of $50. Typically the same thing, done by my salon, sets me back $35 and that includes the tip. So I might have to save the Benefit Brow Bar thing for special occasions… She did gift me with a small little sample of Benefit's new mascara as well as their De-Puff Eye Cream which was really nice of her.
Would I go back?
Probably not.
I like where I currently go already. They do a great job, they are clean, friendly, and inexpensive! I would however, recommend the Benefit Brow Bar experience for people that are sensitive to waxing or those who possibly have sparse brows and need shaping maybe (that's a big maybe as you heard my horror story!).
It was interesting and I'm glad I did it but all in all it's a bit expensive and I wasn't completely satisfied with the experience. I could have totally done without the filling and shaping part 🙂
Have you tried the Benefit Brow Bar?
Did you enjoy it?
Do you go often?
Find it too expensive?
Do share!


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Representatives from ConnectiKids, Inc. along with faculty, students and their families from Dr. Michael D. Fox School were joined by Comcast recently to celebrate an $18,000 cash and in-kind grant from Comcast in support of the organization's tutoring and mentoring program, which matches over 250 individual tutors/mentors with over 250 students each year.
The mission of ConnectiKids is to inspire Hartford's children to make positive choices, embrace high expectations and fulfill their potential by providing successful mentors, individualized tutoring, and enriching activities. The tutoring sessions are held at local corporations, state agencies, institutions of high learning, and community based agencies, where employees at these sites, high school students and community members serve as mentors to open new worlds and opportunities to the students involved. ConnectiKids also provides an arts and enrichment program and a summer program, all of which have been supported in part by Comcast grants and public service announcements for the past three years.
"ConnectiKids has been fortunate to work with Comcast for over 5 years. We work hard to promote literacy, while improving the lives of Hartford kids, and we appreciate great partners who are committed to the same cause," said John L. Prescod, Executive Director of ConnectiKids, Inc. "This Comcast sponsorship will help us continue to provide tutoring and mentoring at no cost to our students. Corporate sponsors like Comcast provide much needed resources that allow us to make the impact we do, and to teach our youth the importance of not only education, but life-long learning and the power of positive choices."
The program has impacted the lives of thousands of local students, and has even seen its share of second-generation attendees.
"ConnectiKids is a program where you become a part of a family," said Hartford resident Janitza Fuentes. "As children, my brothers and I attended ConnectiKids and I can honestly say we looked forward to going. My daughter also had a great experience when she attended the program while she was in Hartford public school. She loved reading with her tutor, doing her homework, and interacting with the amazing staff. As both a former student of the program and a parent, this is one of the best programs I've seen for Hartford kids. They really benefit from the tutoring and the relationships they build with the community members who mentor them."
ConnecticKids is also helping to get the word out about Comcast's Internet Essentials, the nation's largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption initiative for qualified low-income families. Households who have at least one child eligible to participate in the National School Lunch Program or who receive HUD-housing assistance, including public housing, Housing Choice Voucher, and Multifamily programs are eligible for the program which provides access to low-cost broadband service for $9.95 a month (including a wifi router) - no price increases, no activation fees and no equipment rental fees. Participants also can purchase an Internet-ready computer for less than $150 and access digital literacy training sessions and materials online, in print, and in person.
"We're pleased to provide this grant to ConnectiKids and appreciate their help to get the word out about Internet Essentials which has connected substantially more low-income families to the Internet than all other private sector programs combined," said Kristen Roberts, Vice President of Public Relations and Community Investment for Comcast's Western New England Region, which is headquartered in Connecticut. "Comcast is a big supporter of mentoring and helping today's youth to develop into the next generation of leaders and we applaud ConnectiKids and their volunteers for all they do to support Hartford's youth."
During the ceremony, a laptop computer was raffled off to one of the students, courtesy of Comcast.
Latest Hartford
About ConnectiKids, Inc
ConnectiKids, Inc., is a non-profit community organization founded by city and suburban volunteers committed to improving the lives of children living in Hartford's Asylum Hill neighborhood and citywide. ConnectiKids began in 1978 when volunteers from the Asylum Hill Congregational Church initially got together to provide a positive summer experience for third grade students at West Middle Community School a public elementary school in the neighborhood. Upon completing their first summer, the volunteers quickly realized there was a greater need for assistance; with help from corporations located on "The Hill" they decided to have occasional after-school tutoring sessions for those students. ConnectiKids is currently in its 38th year of service and works with over 300 children from West Middle Community and MD Fox Schools through both year round and summer programming. For more information visit www.ct-kids.org or call 860-522-8710.
About Internet Essentials
Internet Essentials from Comcast is the nation's largest and most comprehensive high-speed internet adoption program. It provides low-cost high-speed internet service for $9.95 a month plus tax; the option to purchase an internet-ready computer for under $150; and multiple options to access free digital literacy training in print, online and in-person. For more information, or to apply for the program, visit https://internetessentials.com/ or call 1-855-846-8376. Spanish speakers should call 1-855-765-6995.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit http://corporate.comcast.com/ for more information.
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A new build of OSVR, along with its documentation, is deployed to the preview site.
This build updates to both the OSVR core and is numbered 322
Here are the key changes in this build:
- Interconnection is now user-defined. A key attribute of OSVR is that it allows connecting various software components while providing a common interface to the application. For instance, a Razer Hydra component might be connected to a "1-euro" smoothing filter which then connects to hands/left and /hands/right outputs. Previously, these interconnections (or "the routing") were hard-coded. Now, they are defined in the osvr_server_config.json files. In the future, we expect an interactive tool or auto-routing, but for now this JSON file provides greater flexibility in changing components.
- Coordinate system transformations. Another part of osvr_server_config.json allows coordinate system transformations such as swapping axes or rotating on a certain axis. This can help with calibration of trackers that are positioned in non-standard ways. For instance, here is an example setting where some of the bold lines show swapping axes or rotations. BTW, you can leave the tracker view app open when you change this, if you want, and just shut down the server, change the config file and start osvr_server again. The viewer app will automatically reconnect.
"destination": "/me/head",
"source": {
"rotate": {
"degrees": 90,
"axis": "x"
"child": {
"changeBasis": {
"x": "x",
"y": "z",
"z": "-y"
"child": {
"rotate": {
"degrees": -90,
"axis": "z"
"child": {
"tracker": "/org_opengoggles_bundled_Multiserver/YEI_3Space_Sensor0",
"sensor": 1
- Oculus Rift support. This is an experimental plugin that allows using the orientation and position tracker of the Oculus DK2 inside OSVR. This shows the promise of OSVR to support applications across multiple HMDs and can also be used as a debugging tool. If you want to try this out, let us know.
- Hardware redetect. Starting from this release, every time an application launches, osvr_server will redetect the available hardware. This means, for instance, that if you forgot to plug in your Hydra, you don't need to restart osvr_server after you plug it in. Just restart your app.


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Connecting to the Virtual Desktop (PC - XP)
Accessing the Tool Box
Accessing the LinguisTech Virtual Desktop
- Open the Web browser of your choice (e.g. Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox ; if you cannot connect to the Virtual Desktop with Internet Explorer, we recommend that you use Firefox) by double-clicking on the desktop icon or by finding it in the Start menu.
- Go to the LinguisTech home page.
Click on the Language Technologies Tool Box section in the Get Going zone.
- In the Email field, enter your user name (the email address you provided when registering).
- Enter your password into the Password field, then hit Enter or click on Sign in.
- If you want the system to remember your sign-in information so that you do not have to enter it each time you access the Tool Box, check the box marked Remember me.
- You will be directed to the welcome page with a list of your desktops. Click on Connect to begin loading the LinguisTech virtual computer.
- A dialogue box will appear. Select the option Open and click on OK.
- If a security pop-up window opens, click on the box marked "Don't ask me again for connections to this computer" and then click on Connect.
- The Downloads window will open. Double-click on the .rdp file.
- To avoid performing the preceding steps every time you connect to the Virutal Desktop, you can place a copy of the .rdp file on your Windows desktop. By double-clicking on this icon, you can skip right to step 1.7 of this guide without having to resubmit your information.
- The connection will begin.
- A dialogue box may open asking "The identity of the remote computer cannot be verified. Do you want to connect anyway?" If so, click on the box marked "Don't ask me again for connections to this computer" and then click "Yes".
- Click on your profile.
- Re-enter your password.
- You should now have LinguisTech properly installed and should be able to access it without any problems.If you still experience problems, contact our technical support team by email.
- Once the connection is established and the virtual computer is loaded, a desktop that looks like a new computer will appear on your screen. You will see a bar identifying it as the LinguisTech Virtual Desktop at the top of your screen (or wherever the gateway name may appear).To hide the bar, move it from left to right by clicking on the bar and dragging it. You can also hide it by clicking on the pin on the left side of the bar. To make it reappear, bring your mouse to the top of the screen and wait for it to appear. To keep it there, click on the pin again.On the right side of the bar, there are the usual Minimize, Maximize and Close buttons. To see your own computer desktop, click on Minimize. To see the virtual desktop in a smaller window, click on the Maximize button (centre). Please DO NOT click on the X in order to log off.
II. Logging Off
To disconnect from the Virtual Desktop, click on the Start button, and then on Log off.
III. Remote Access
Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) is a protocol developed by Microsoft that provides users with a graphics device interface to another computer. In other words, RDP protocol allows users to connect to a remote computer and use it as if it were directly in front of them.
last update December 13, 2011


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I hate my house. I placed a ring next to my bed instead of in my jewelry box which is what I do EVERY night and it is now gone. Seeing as my wedding ring was found by the refrigerator and the two rings were next to each other, I am now
Spring Cleaning.
Never mind that it snowed 3 inches yesterday; I am getting ready to move to the lake. I have cleaned off my dresser. I have cleaned off my desk. I have looked under my bed (notice the verb was not cleaned.) And I have cleaned out my bathroom. Did I stop there? No. I went through my spices and threw away everything that expired in 2007. I cleaned my fridge. I went through the utility drawer and got rid of the teaspoon and 1/4 cup that I have no clue how I got. I threw away coloring books that someone drew one line on every page so no other kid will color on it because it is used. I got rid of TOYS!!! I organized my knitting. I organized my nail clippers – I have 7 pairs. I found a phone I threw the base away because the phone has been missing for a year (it was in a bin of old clothes that I got out for #3.) I have spent the last 2 days and a box of garbage bags just chucking things. If I didn't want to walk into another room to put something away, I chucked it. If I thought no one would buy it for a dime, I chucked it. I have all my trashy novels in a pile and I think I'm sending them to Heidi because it would be wrong to throw them away. My issues are these, however:
1. Still can't find the ring.
2. I only started the upstairs and my house is a complete disaster. What I am not throwing away is ending up in the living room while I get the energy to put it where it belongs. There are toys, books, and games that need to go into the basement just on the ledge. There are socks just on the floor. There is a mitten on my couch. There is a pile of sheets at the bottom of the stairs because they go in the spare bedroom. I have spent 48 hours and a large garbage can and you can't tell.
Unless you open a cupboard. Then it is alphabetical. The hand soap is in a row under the sink. #3's floods are in the give away pile and his way too big clothes are in his drawer. Socks have partners and underwear is unstained. But it is put away. You can't see anything I have done. The TUPPERWARE is organized but it is in a cupboard. My floors are disgusting and you can't walk through it, but if you open something, WOW!!
Just DO NOT open my closet or the pantry. Give me a break, people, I'm not perfect.


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Here's a common scenario: you're a parent, and you need a push car for your kid, but you don't want the same ones all the other lame parents use. McLaren and toymaker Step2 have the solution. It's called the 570S Step2 Push Sports Car and it's yours for just $80.
Even though this push car is small, it's not wanting for practicality—there's a small storage space under the seat, and a cupholder on the push handle. It's designed to be a smaller, more stylish replacement for a conventional stroller.
It's finished in one of McLaren's signature colors, Ventura Orange, and it even features a race-inspired flat-bottom steering wheel that McLaren says offers "excellent feedback." Steering feel is important, even to toddlers.
The 570S push car comes with Step2's so-called "Whisper Wheels" for a smooth ride, and a speaker that plays engine noises. McLaren and Step2 truly thought of everything here.
You'll be able to buy the 570S Step2 Push Sports Car on Amazon for $80 next month, and it'll hit other US retailers later this year. If $80 seems like a steep price to pay, don't forget that the full-size 570S Spider starts at $211,000. Suddenly, this sounds like a bargain.
Hopefully we'll get our hands on a review unit soon.


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Multiple Teams · Lady Tigers Take Down #3 in the State
The #3 ranked Cement Lady Bulldogs traveled to the Tiger Arena to take on the #11 ranked Union City Lady Tigers for what everyone knew would be great matches all night long. The 7/8th grade won their game 2-0 along with the JH and JV teams also winning 2-0 each. Varsity came out on top


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To view these two giants of wellness talking side-by-side was the highlight of my TV week. Andy Weil, with his full white beard, exudes wisdom when he talks about holistic medicine.
Pointing to bottles of supplements set out neatly on a table, Weil discussed alternative medicines: bottles for the heart and blood pressure, bottles for the immune system, bottles for the brain. After this, he grinned at Dr Oz, jumped into the subject of depression, and mentioned two things that can be helpful.
First, about breathing. Weil illustrated a breathing technique, called 4-7-8 that he promised will make you feel better if you do it for a month:
1. For 4 seconds, breathe in through your nose
2. For 7 seconds, hold your breath
3. For 8 seconds, breathe out through your mouth making a deliberate shushing noise
Do this twice in a row, and twice each day.
Second, about thankfulness. Weil told the audience that gratitude is one key to offset depression. Practice gratitude by making a list every night of ten things that you are thankful for. Although ten seems like a large number, they can be simple things such as thanks for "my eyes that can see", "my daughter who called to chat", "coffee with friends", etc. Weil promised that after a month you will begin to feel better. As many folks realize, this is also a scriptural injunction (see quotes below).
Although I have not read it, Dr Weil has also written a book called "Spontaneous Happiness". While all the ads on TV show slim and smiling folks that have found happiness, for most of us it is quite elusive, and you know this book has to be packed with practical insights on this topic.
The Gray Nomad.
Probing the practice of Christian believers….
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (Thessalonians, chapter 5).
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful" (Colossians, chapter 3).
Please hit one of the SHARE buttons below the blog if you know someone who would be interested in this topic.


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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disability that affects development. The word spectrum refers to the range of symptoms and their severity.
Kids with ASD have problems with social skills, language, communication, and behavior. They may behave differently or repeat the same activities over and over again, like touching the same objects or flipping them repeatedly.
Not all children with ASD have the same problems or behaviors.
The usual signs of ASD usually show up when a child is between 2 and 3 years old, but experts think it begins much earlier, when the brain is starting to develop.
What Is the Autism Spectrum?
In the past, experts talked about several disorders as subtypes of autism. The American Psychiatric Association decided to simplify it and call all of them "autism spectrum disorder."
The spectrum has a wide range. People who are "on the spectrum" could have very different abilities and experiences. Some people with ASD also have special skills in specific areas like math, music, or art.
There are common signs of the disorder, and a child with ASD might show any of the following behaviors:
- Has trouble relating to others
- Avoids eye contact
- Prefers to be alone
- Dislikes being embraced
- Repeats words, phrases, or actions
- Has trouble expressing needs and emotions
- Doesn't get signals from body language, tone of voice, and expressions
- Needs routines
- Is sensitive to smell, taste, or sound
Experts don't fully understand all of the causes of autism spectrum disorder. It seems to be genetic, mostly. And it usually involves more than one gene, so it's complicated.
For instance:
- A person is more likely to be on the spectrum if a brother, sister, or parent is. But it doesn't always run in families.
- About 10% of kids with ASD have a form of genetic disorder such as Down syndrome and fragile X syndrome.
Some prescription medicines taken during pregnancy have been linked to ASD. But they aren't proven to cause the condition.


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If you have resolved to have a healthier start to your day in 2018, you may just want to skip over this article. It may not be the breakfast of champions, but these limited time breakfast cupcakes at Sprinkles look "cereal-ously" delicious!
For the month of January, Sprinkles, at Walt Disney World's Disney Springs and Disneyland Resort's Downtown Disney, will be offering specialty cupcakes with your favorite childhood (ok, maybe adulthood too) cereal sprinkled generously atop this tasty treat.
Start the new year with the most important meal of the day, breakfast…cupcakes! Available for a limited time only, #treatyoself to a bite (or box!) of cereal-ously delicious cupcakes! #Thisweek we're baking birthday cake topped with lemon vanilla frosting and Fruity Pebbles! pic.twitter.com/8NiZuDQfSX
— Sprinkles Cupcakes (@sprinkles) January 1, 2018
Be sure to check the schedule for your favorite breakfast cereal:
- January 2 – 7: Birthday Cake Fruity Pebbles
- January 8 – 14: Banana Cocoa Puffs
- January 15 – 21: Triple Cinnamon Toast Crunch
- January 22 – 28: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cap'n Crunch
- January 29 – Feb. 2: Strawberry Lucky Charms
I do have one question, though. Where are the Froot Loop cupcakes?
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Seamon Whiteside + Associates is pleased to announce that Sara Joyce and William O'Neal have both passed their professional engineering exams.
To pass the professional engineering test, a minimum of four years of working within the profession under a registered P.E. is required. The eight-hour exam covers all specialties of engineering and consists of design, analysis, application and economic questions. It is a significant accomplishment to pass the exam on the first try, which both Seamon Whiteside + Associates employees succeeded in doing.
Sara and William dedicated four months prior to the exam to studying while continuing to work on projects for SW+A.
Sara is a 2005 Clemson University graduate and has worked for SW+A for the past five years. She provided project coordination for civil engineering and construction administration services on two award-winning projects, Moultrie Middle School and
Mount Pleasant Academy.
William, a 2004 Clemson University graduate, has been providing civil engineering services including design, permitting, and construction administration with increasing responsibilities since joining Seamon Whiteside + Associates six years ago. He is also LEED accredited and provided civil engineering services for South Carolina's first LEED shopping center as Rivertowne Place.
Seamon Whiteside + Associates now have 11 Professional Engineers on staff.


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Rolando's Return
While the rest of the world debated the fate of Elián González in late June, students at St. Paul's Academy in St. Paul, Minnesota, wondered whether a less famous native Cuban would be allowed back on the island—their Spanish teacher, Rolando Castellanos.
Castellanos left Cuba in 1978. His parents had fled to the United States a decade earlier, but the Cuban government had insisted that the boy, then 16, stay behind to complete his requisite military service. Eventually, at 26, Castellanos joined his family in the Minnesota town of Sauk Rapids, where he started a new American life: He learned English, married, had two kids, and began a teaching career that led him to the high school Spanish department at St. Paul's, a private K-12 school. He never imagined he'd return.
Then, last year, President Clinton announced that the U.S. government would allow educational and cultural exchanges with the communist state. Castellanos made plans to lead a 12-day study trip with stops at the Plaza of the Revolution and Ernest Hemingway's home in Havana, as well as schools in the capital's suburbs and the city of Matanzas. The feds approved, sanctioning a trip to a country they allowed only 12 American high school groups to visit in 1999.
At St. Paul's, Castellanos is known for designing summer trips that challenge students' language skills and teach cultural awareness. In past years, he and his kids have toured Spain, trekked through the Amazon, and brought school supplies to a village school in the Andes. So 26 students, several teaching colleagues, and Castellanos' wife and teenage children were eager to join him on a visit to a country that has not shared diplomatic relations with the United States for 39 years. Castellanos says he envisioned this trip as a "friendship exchange" between young Cubans and young Americans. He didn't want the trip to focus on his bittersweet relationship with his birthplace; he even omitted his hometown from the itinerary.
Still, the journey turned personal even before the Americans reached Cuba. Preparing to catch a connecting flight in Cancun, Castellanos ushered his group—each member carrying an American passport and a tourist visa—through Mexican customs, but airport officials refused to allow the exiled teacher on the plane without a current Cuban passport and a re-entry permit. Tearfully pleading his case, the teacher produced a valid American passport, a photocopy of his expired Cuban passport, and authorization for the trip from various Cuban agencies. But in the end, the plane carrying his family, friends, and students took off for Havana without him. For 14 hours, he sat, heartbroken, in a Cancun hotel room, declining food, water, and sleep while Cuban officials reviewed the matter. Finally, they granted him the required permit, and, at 1:30 a.m., two days after his crew had arrived, he flew into Havana. A handful of his students and Cuban cousins greeted the emotionally spent Castellanos with the Spanish lyrics of Celia Cruz, a Cuban singer exiled in Miami: "Life is a carnival....It is better to live it singing....There is no reason to cry."
Once in his homeland, Castellanos was overwhelmed by changes he saw on the island. For example, the Roman Catholic teacher had never stepped inside the Cathedral Havana. "When I was a teenager, to go to church was to declare yourself anti-Communist," he recalls. "To declare yourself anti-Communist was to ruin your life." This summer, however, he saw a packed house at a Cathedral mass and heard the sounds of prayer spilling into the street. "I didn't want to cry in front of my students, but I sobbed," admits Castellanos. "I saw hope and joy in the people? faces despite all they had been deprived of for so long."
Students such as 18-year-old Bucky Billington relished the opportunity to see Cuba through their teacher's eyes. "Señor Castellanos saw the Cuba of 20 years ago reflected in the Cuba we saw today," he says. "The dual perspective let us see things we would have missed otherwise."
Though the trip was designed to bring Americans and Cubans together, Castellanos' students point to another bond that resulted—a bond with a much admired teacher whose two-day detainment deeply affected them. Says Billington: "It felt empty to be there—on his island— without him."
—Jennifer Pricola
Vol. 12, Issue 1, Page 15Published in Print: August 1, 2000, as Rolando's Return
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Proteus Biomedical CEO Andrew Thompson describes his company as a pioneer of intelligent medicine -- Proteus embeds computers and sensors inside drugs and devices to monitor in real-time when a patient takes a drug and how they respond to it. Thompson says the service will also include reminders and notices for patients' caregivers or family members to keep them in the loop. And although Thomspon told attendees at CTIA earlier this year that he believes intelligent medicine has a $100 billion market opportunity, Proteus won't be charging an arm and a leg for their service.
"We'll do all of this for the same price as the drugs you buy now," Thompson told California Healthcare Institute during a recent interview. "For one daily price of your medicine you get the drug, the monitoring, the applications and tools, the incentives and the connectivity."
As we have noted before, Proteus' Raisin technology runs on an electric charge generated by the patient's stomach acid. The charge is detected through the patient's body by a sensing patch on the patient's skin. The patch records the time and date that the pill is digested and also measures some vitals like heart rate, activity and respiratory patterns. The information is then sent to the patient's mobile phone and then onto the internet for caregivers to review and analyze.
One challenge for Proteus has been the time that the technology can stay active in the human body. After all, it is running on stomach acid, a rather corrosive liquid. According to a post from the blog Singularity Hub, Proteus has been developing a solution -- ChipSkin. This technology aims to keep Raisin technology and other implantable devices, like pacemakers, around a little while longer by coating parts of the solution in a protective layer to make the electronic bits more resistant to breaking down. The result could be another step toward a continuous internal monitoring system for drug responses and medication compliance.
So when can we expect Proteus' technology to hit the market in the U.S.? Not before it hits the market in China, Thompson told the CHI blog. Developing markets like China can't afford to replicate the entire care ecosystem that currently exists in the U.S., so it's likely they will be more aggressive in rolling out new technologies like Proteus'.
While Proteus isn't likely the only game in town, Thompson believes that his company's biggest competitor is Walmart. Ever the provocateur.
To find out why read the entire interview over at the CHI blog here.
Proteus wins TripleTree's I Award
Proteus Biomedical partners with two drug companies for trials
Proteus Biomedical: We have a $100B market opportunity


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When it comes to boat cabins, it's often the little things that count, and there are lots of those on board
Stingray's 250CS. First off, the overhead leading through the companionway into the cabin is sloped to add
extra headroom—sure to be appreciated by the taller people in your group. The galley also represents
forward thinking. Besides a fiddled counter that helps keep things from flying off when the water gets rough,
the coolest touch si the built-in organizer in the back, which has places to stash bottles of merlot,
silverware, or other items. And because it's deeply angled, what's stowed will stay stowed, even in a sea.
The 250CS' sleeping arrangements will accommodate four and include a midcabin berth with an unusually tall
entrance, above which you'll find an upper locker in an area that's often underutilized on other boats. With
so many little luxuries, you may never want to go back to land.


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Angela and Alison 20028
- Brand: Angela and Alison Long Prom
- Style #: 20028
- Availability: Available to Order
- $412
The fabric in this Angela and Alison style is Tulle
All dresses will be recorded and registered in our books; this is to ensure the same dress is not sold to the same event or area. Click "Items Available Now" to view the size/color combinations we currently have in our in-store inventory. If your size/color combination is not in our in-store inventory, don't worry! We can special order from the designer! *As with all formal wear, fit may vary from one individual to another.


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Tagged: summer
Summers Day in Schönbrunn
If you happen to find yourself in Vienna during a summer heat wave, let me share a little insiders secret trail to heavenly relaxation.
First, take yourself to the famous Schönbrunn Palace and marvel at the resilience of tourists who insist on sightseeing in 36°C and beating desert heat.
Its basically a desert wasteland – with a palace in the middle
Take a left away from the palace, away from the famous rose gardens and meander past the Marionette theatre until you reach these picturesque gates on the right hand side:
Habsburg gardens don't do understatement
Pass through the gates and don't be disheartened by the long, dry and dusty path ahead of you. The trees to the left and right will offer some slight relief from the heat.
The snazzy Austrian man in green pants will definitely outpace you
If you stroll at a relaxed and steady pace for ten minutes, you'll soon reach the following staircase, which may look insurmountable to your heat addled brain, but quite ordinary afterwards…
Your trek up the stairs will be rewarded with this magnificent view over the Egyptian Obelisk monument, the back of the palace and the simmering city skyline.
Take your breather here and admire the view
At this point you will start to see children skipping and locals carrying what looks suspiciously like beach and bathing gear.
Ignore the overly dedicated runner on the right, and follow the family with the swimming bag!
Suddenly, like a mirage (because who could imagine a swimming pool inside the palace grounds??) the Schönbrunner Bad will appear on your right hand side, and it will be a revelation.
A rolling hillside of green, a bright, clean and cooling pool, big enough for lap swimming, the occassional divebomb and lots of poolside lounging. Most importantly, it is cold and wet and so so soothing after your trek to get here.
Simply pick your spot, splay your towel, and kick back for an afternoon of sunshine and relaxation. Of course because this is Austria, there's options for activity available…
This particular round got very intense – volleyball is not for the faint of heart
…but more exciting is the fact that you can order a drink from the on-site cafe and enjoy it while kicking back on the grass.
A secret royal pool including drinks and summery vibes? I'll take that option any day of the week!
Wiener Weekender
Some friends of mine were asking me about the best way to see Vienna as a tourist. How to find something 'other than classical music and Schnitzel'. Slightly outraged on my adopted city's behalf, I replied that there is a huge variety to Vienna, you just need to know where to look! So, to prove the many wonders of this incredible city, I devised a plan for a Weekend in Wien….
Right, it's summer, you've had a long overnight journey and the last remaining days of sunshine are calling you to the water – but you're traveling, you need see the city too! The perfect solution to this dilemma? Krapfenwaldbad:
Beautiful people guaranteed to be in attendance
Krapfenwaldbad has incredible views over the city of Vienna, being perfectly placed near the top of the Kahlenberg Mountain. There are multiple swimming pools, the main one being nicely deep & cold for swimming . Don't expect anyone to be doing laps though, this is serious 'see and be seen' territory for the young trendy locals. It's also relaxed enough that you can while away the day in relative peace. There's an on-site cafe & bar too, so any and all your chill out needs are attended to. Plus, did I mention the crazy awesome views?
That's all of Vienna at your feet!
Ok, now that you're relaxed after a day spent poolside, let the tourist activities begin! First, there's some really excellent gardens to spend a morning roaming around….
That little building up top is a Gloriette, where Emperor's have breakfast – 'cos being an Emperor is kickarse!
…which are conveniently attached to the glorious Schönbrunn Palace. Schönbrunn was the Habsburg's Summer Palace, which, when you see the size of it, tells you just how awesome it was to be Royalty in the Golden Age. The best Apple Strudel & Iced coffee in Vienna can be had in the cafe to the left of the entrance – trust me I have done thorough research on this.
Once Schönbrunn has been conquered, you may find yourself in need of a drink, or just a change of location for further drinks- based activities. The über cool Donaukanal is the perfect location. Wander down the canal steps from the city centre and you'll find brilliant street art, a huge choice of bars, pop-up shacks selling different food & drink, all nestled beside the gorgeous Danube Canal.
'Beach' Bars – bit different to beaches back home!!
Wicked street art along the Kanal paths
Once you've satisfied your inner hipster with a few riverside drinks, I'd round out the day at the the historic Prater Park. Prater is a huge nature reserve and set amongst this leafy gloriousness is Vienna's famous amusement park, home to the worlds oldest Ferris Wheel, built in 1897:
With some slightly younger specimens in front of it.
The park itself has been set up with adults in mind as much as children. Along with loads of awesome rides, there's gigantic Beer Gardens to meet all your Beer & Pork Knuckle desires. There's also adult games like Bowling, Mini-Golf, Clubs if you're very keen and terrifying rides for thrill seekers:
Fear. Pure and simple.
That up there is the Prater Turm, which I absolutely refused to go on, right up until I was strapped in. It was at once terrifying and beautiful – at 117m, this is the world's highest flying swing. The pay-off you get for braving it is stunning views over all of Vienna. It only gets nauseating on the way down, when, near the bottom, they speed up the pace of the chairs swinging in circles. But if you can stand that for 2 minutes, the view is well worth it!
Super cute old fashioned token to ride!
After all that adrenelin, rounding out the day with a sugar hit is highly reccommended.
Fairy floss and chocolate fruit on a stick = heaven.
Exhausted yet?? Well stay tuned…part two of your awesome Weekend in Wien will be posted next!
Spring Awakening!
Its been a glorious few days here in Wien and I am loving the sense that the city is awakening, stretching its limbs for summer and preparing to thrive and hum in the coming months. I wanted to quickly share with you all the last few days' exciting and inspiring moments. Defintely falling in love with the city right now….
1. This mini palace (Schloss? Palais?) I found en route to a lovely little wine and cheese bar after Deutsch class on Tuesday. I loved it because even though I see the grand architecture of the city every day, little corners of the city like this can still take me by surprise with how stunning they are, completely out of nowehere, and still useful in the modern city. Absoloutely gorgeous.
2. Walking towards the Hofburg last night down the back of the Ringstrasse…you can't see it in this photo but I was looking at the sunset behind the Rathaus (pictured), to my right was the Burgtheatre and to my left was the Volksgarten. I was literally surrounded by history, gardens and managed to be there at the perfect time of day. A little moment but its these moments that still make me pinch myself for being here!
3. This was sitting on Heldenplatz, out the front of the Hofburg waiting for the free Symphonic Orchestra concert to start. They were holding it in celebrative memorial of 68 years freedom from the Nazi's. It's actually the first time the Austrian's have 'claimed back' the day. It used to be an excuse for modern day Neo-Nazi's to gather here and 'celebrate' but to combat that kind of negativity the city of Vienna in association with the Mathausen Trust organised a free concert in the park, and as you can see it was glorious. Happiness, beers, frankfurter stands, smiles and celebration of a 'new' Austria, one that is no longer a victim of Nazism, but a survivor. We lounged on the grass, a beautiful collection of Austrian, Swedish, German, Australian and Dutch expats and locals all enjoying the sunshine and stunning surrounds. Couldn't think of a better way to commemorate freedom. The weather really turned it on as well!!
Just look at that picturesque sunset!! Unreal!!
4. Lastly our own little corner of heaven. We had a bit of an Ikea splurge recently but the results have been well worth it. This is our new setup on the back porch – cushioned corner seat, little bench for food/games/glasses of wine and a new plant setup. It gets the sun in the morning and is cosy and protected from the wind in the evening. This was our Sunday brunch, and I can't think of a better brunch spot in all Austria!! Am I getting a bit domestic in my old age?? Surely not! But I sure as hell love a sunny Sunday brunch….
In short, this week I am absoloutely loving my Viennese life!!
Land of no wifi…
Like clockwork of course, the minute I pledge to write weekly, our internet up and dies for a good few weeks. Part of our personal financial crisis but also mostly part of ridiculous service by our internet provide. Thus, we were thrust into a home of no wifi. Only when its gone do you realise your dependancy.
I tried to deny it for the first two days, pretending I was enjoying "being disconnected" and really soaking up the joys of having "more time to ourselves". Truth? Once the weekend was done, it just got annoying and I became a surreptitious internet rat at work, feeding on morsels I could sneak while no-one was standing behind my desk. I'll admit it, I'm a Facebook dependant – I won"t say addict, because I survive with just a morning and evening fix, but realistically its my main source of news, gossip and connection with home. Being overseas gives me a good excuse anyway! So this is just a quick update to apologise for breaking a pledge to write more and to let you know the next few days we'll be playing catch up with photo's, stories and more thoughts on life in Wien as an expat. The good news is, the sun is here, FINALLY and I cannot wait to get cracking with summer fun!!
Meanwhile a few old summer photo's to build the anticipation of the glory of a European Summer!! This is what it means to me….cannot wait!!
View over Mondsee Lake – our favourite stop en route to Tirol
Sunset in Crete
Cliff bars in Croatia


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Related Page
Lacey Rotary Foundation (LRF)
Lacey Rotary Foundation
Founded in 1985 by the Lacey Rotary Club of Lacey Washington, The Lacey Rotary Foundation enhances the club's ability to provide education scholarships and special civic projects for our local community. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, the Foundation expands the club's resources to serve the community at a higher level and allows the broad community to participate. The mission of the Lacey Rotary Foundation is to directly support the education and community services projects of the Lacey Rotary Club by providing a means to allow donors to such programs to receive tax deductible treatment, when applicable, for their respective contributions. The Foundation provides scholarships to local graduating high school students who exemplify the Rotary ideal of "Service Above Self". In 2017, the Foundation awarded $58,000 in scholarships. The Foundation also provides a number of opportunities for community participation in these and future projects via trusts, wills, planned giving, annual member contributions and grants.
- Together with the Lacey Rotary Club the Foundation has given scholarships to the North Thurston students for 46 years.
- The Foundation has given more than $450,000 in scholarships since 2006.
- The Foundation gives 10 scholarships to North Thurston Students every year.
Foundation Board Members for 2020
To make a donation to the scholarship fund:
Make check payable to "Lacey Rotary Foundation"
and mail to:


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Rumor has had it for a long time that the iPhone 4S will become available one day in mainland China, but nobody knew when. The iPhone 4S is already available for purchase in Hong Kong. Today, a new report seems to reveal that Apple will be launching the iPhone 4S in mainland China before the Chinese New Year.
China's People's Daily reports that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology granted China Compulsory Certification for the iPhone 4S on Dec. 22. This means that Apple has met all of the requirements necessary in order to launch its latest smartphone in mainland China. Now you may be thinking this is just another iPhone launch, but really, it is a big deal. Why? Because Apple has just started entering the Asian market, and China offers the world's largest mobile phone market. This translates into a gigantic revenue stream for Apple. In fact, international sales contributed to 63% of last quarter's earnings.
The report also says that the iPhone 4S will debut "at the beginning of January 2012," and will hit the market before the Chinese New Year. That takes place on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. In fact, Chinese New Year is the biggest shopping event on China's calendar.


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Diagnosed at a young age, Taylor doesn't let diabetes affect her ability to be active and fashionable
Manchester, NH, April 24, 2014- According to the Center for Disease Control, diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in children and each year, more than 13,000 youth are diagnosed. For parents and families, having a child with diabetes affects the entire family system, from frequent visits to the pediatrician to daily medication management at school, home and with friends.
Take Taylor Heid, for example. Taylor is an active, 12-year-old, who also has type 1 diabetes. As part of her daily insulin therapy, Taylor wears an intravenous diabetic medical device known to many as an OmniPod, which enables her to maintain a high level of activity.
As a gymnast competing just outside of Pittsburgh, Taylor attends practice at least three times per week while fitting in homework, friends, swimming and cheerleading. Taylor has another way of managing her diagnosis while adding a bit of style to her everyday wardrobe. Enter SleekSleeves.
When Taylor's mom, Barbara, contacted SleekSleeves seeking a product to cover Taylor's OmniPod, "We knew we could help her," Katie Burke of SleekSleeves said. "With Barbara's input, we developed sleeves in youth sizes for coverage of OmniPods worn on the arm or thigh."
Taylor now has sleeves to match her bathing suits, uniforms and everyday outfits. Not only do the colorful fabrics give Taylor style choices, Barbara says, "The sleeves keep the OmniPod in place and protect the insertion point from sunscreen, gymnastics chalk dust and other contaminants."
For SleekSleeves, Taylor's story, among so many others they hear, provides the inspiration behind the entire suite of products and patterns for the company, whose mission has always been to help individuals facing medical challenges to "look good and feel better."


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The design of a sectional sofa can help create something for your space. That is truly unique. A custom cut may be necessary if you have a strange room fit. And in the long run, designing your own sectional sofa will not only allow you the freedom to get exactly what you want. But it can save you money in buying one in a retail store if you are careful about your options. In the case, changing and arranging seating in a room is relatively easy to do with sectional sofa pieces. Different combinations of sections, together with the end table, allow you to redesign the space often by moving parts around. You can combine four or five sections of different lengths. But, all parts must match color and basic design. U shaped leather sectional can also function as a sofa bed simply how pieces are matched or grouped.
Decorate a living room with a sectional sofa to transform the space into a comfortable and stylish place that friends and family can enjoy. Use base color and texture of the sectional sofa to be inspired by the design of the room. Coordinate it with other decorative elements to create an environment that is functional and fashionable. For living room, u shaped sofa sets provides an all-in-one seating arrangement in a living room. Its design works as an independent piece or with other furniture. Including an ottoman coffee table or additional chairs. Turn the sectional sofa to face your seat towards the flow of traffic. If customers come to pay them a visit, they will find this easy-to-approach orientation. Since the room will feel like a great conversation space.
The room needs a private seating orientation not disturbed by the flow of traffic? Just turn the sectional sofa toward a focal point. The shape of the sectional sofa will create a corridor-like configuration behind it. And its orientation makes it easier to walk around the room without interrupting ongoing conversations. U shaped leather sofa for family room provides ample space to sit and a place to stretch on the sofa without having completely finish. In a busy living room, where many things may be happening at the same time. If you place the sofa in the center of the wall, this orientation frees two corners of a desk, floor plans, shelves or other room decoration pieces. You can often break the sectionals into smaller pieces to fit better in a small room.


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Lady Gaga has said that recording a jazz album with Tony Bennett was easier than recording a pop record.
The 28-year-old hitmaker spent two years recording Cheek To Cheek with 87-year-old Bennett, which will be released in the autumn.
Speaking at the duo's taped performance at Jazz at Lincoln Centre in New York City, Gaga, real name Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, said: "I've sang jazz since I was 13 years old, which is kind of like my little secret that Tony found out. So this is almost easier for me than anything else."
Meanwhile, Bennett said fans would be impressed with Gaga's vocal performance on the upcoming album.
"They're going to say we had no idea she sings that well. And they're gonna say they had no idea that Tony dressed so crazy".
"When you come out in your meat dress Tony, nobody is going to know what's going on."
Cheek To Cheek is Gaga's first release since last year's Artpop.


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Messe pour ma mère
Messe pour ma mère is a work in progress. Written in memory of my mother, Josephine Scott, the piece is a simple act of remembrance, pure in spirit and form. The piece uses the words of the Eucharist mass.
The Kyrie (Lord have mercy), is the opening movement; a cry for pity. The form is a triptych, inspired from the shape of the words:
"Lord have mercy. Christ have mercy. Lord Have Mercy"
I have taken the pattern of 3 phrases and used this as a musical structure. Each verse is repeated three times.


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You're always looking for a good recommendation, right?
Chinese food, car mechanic, or the latest tech gadget – we want confirmation from someone we trust that it's a good buy.
Essentially, affiliate marketing is the eCommerce version of product promotion through an online influencer.
Affiliate marketing can be the strategic move you need to increase sales and connect with clients you otherwise would never reach.
- By 2020, U.S. affiliate marketing spend is expected to rise to $6.8 billion.
- 81% of brands use affiliate marketing programs.
- 16% of all online orders are generated through affiliate marketing,
What is affiliate marketing?
Affiliate marketing is one of the only marketing channels that offers a 100 percent return on investment every time. It's one of the only tactics that allow you to pay for marketing spend after the sale.
The affiliate marketing process involves the merchant – that's you – and the affiliate. The affiliate, or publisher, is the company or individual that promotes your products and brand on their website. Your affiliate receives a commission when someone clicks through to your website and makes a purchase.
The best affiliates will have:
- A trusted website that generates traffic.
- Updated content.
- Influence on their audience.
- Valuable content (blog, product reviews, how-to guides).
Since the affiliate is counting on commissions, you'll need a game plan for converting your site visitors to product buyers. It's all about providing affiliates with the highest earnings per click (EPC). Even if you work with the best affiliates, they'll promote your products less and switch their concentration to other eCommerce sites that have higher conversion rates and EPCs, so you need to be strategic in your approach.
With 38% of marketers calling affiliate marketing one of their top customer acquisition methods, it's worth adding to your eCommerce strategy.
Here are 10 ways affiliate marketing will transform your eCommerce business.
1. Indirectly grow your sales team
Your entrepreneurial juices are flowing and you're ready to grow your eCommerce business without limits. If you're just one person or a small group, affiliate marketing can instantly expand your indirect sales team to include experts in your niche and beyond.
Affiliates are skilled in driving quality traffic to your site.
Quality traffic = More conversions.
More conversions = Higher revenue.
Higher revenue = More opportunity to grow your eCommerce business.
A highly qualified indirect sales team that doesn't waste time designing traditional ads, getting them approved, and tracking their progress? We'll call that a marketing win.
2. Improve customer loyalty
Customers that continue to support your brand over time will spend 67 percent more than new customers. Affiliate marketing allows you to benefit from the trust and expertise of your chosen affiliates.
When a social influencer, affiliate marketing blogger, or celebrity signs off on your product, they bring their audience with them. G-Shock has its own set of fans and customers, but now they're benefitting from @elorabee and her nearly 183,000 Instagram followers.
3. Multiple paths to conversion
What does success look like for your eCommerce business? Unlike digital advertising, affiliate marketing allows you to choose what your successful conversion will be through manually setting incentives. Choose from conversions like:
- Sale of a particular product.
- Email capture.
- Filling out a survey form.
- Downloading a how-to guide.
You can manually set incentives through affiliate marketing by offering commissions on the success of your choice. Your eCommerce business is unique, so how you rate success should be just as distinctive.
Plus, affiliate marketing quickly gets your eCommerce website in front of more eyeballs by featuring your products across the web. Instead of working on getting 1,000 new visitors to a product page, you can leverage a high-traffic affiliate site and get visitors to your site that way.
Make sure to work with your affiliate partners to optimize the path to conversion. You should have them focus on your highest average order products and send traffic to your highest converting pages to maximize impact.
4. Better budgeting and ROI
You don't have to spend loads of cash hoping your ads hit the right audience or that Facebook and Google's algorithms won't change overnight.
It doesn't matter if your marketing budget has a couple of commas or you're shaking your piggy bank, affiliate marketing allows you to more precisely budget for marketing campaigns.
It's simple: Choose your conversion target. Offer commissions. Make money.
Because you only pay out when products sell, you can use your marketing budget for other revenue streams – sponsoring social media influencer posts, social media, or unique content creation optimized with your keywords.
Plus, eCommerce affiliate marketing has an incredible ROI. Since you're paying a small percentage for each sale generated (typically 3-10%, based on your vertical), you can see a return on ad spend of 10:1 or more. After factoring in your products COGS (cost of goods sold), profit margin, and affiliate commission, you should still have room for some solid profits.
Most eCommerce affiliate marketing commissions are paid out based on a percentage of the product's sale cost. And you can set different commissions for different affiliate partners. For example, you may want to send a coupon or loyalty site an IO (insertion order) with a commission of 3%, while sending an influential blogger an IO with a commission of 10%. Get creative! Inside your affiliate platform, you can create multiple offers for your affiliates. You just want to make sure you are as competitive as possible – check your competitor's affiliate programs and match or beat their commission rates.
5. Enhance credibility
When an affiliate promotes your service or product, you can use that promotion to add credibility to your business. Use images, icons, or text to publicize where your brand has been used and reviewed.
Chelsea Krost, a top influencer, showcases where her brand has been publicized with an "As Seen On" section on her homepage.
6. Develop brand ambassadors
People are talking about your brand, and if you're not leading the conversation, you may be unaware of what prospective customers are reading. Affiliate marketing puts your brand in the hands of influencers who help create brand ambassadors.
When trustworthy influencers blog about your products, post photos of them or feature them in videos, they're telling all their fans and followers that your brand is awesome. It's approved, and 82 percent of consumers say they're highly likely to follow a recommendation made by an influencer.
According to a survey of more than 4,000 social media users from the U.S. and Europe, an influencer:
- Has 10,000+ followers.
- Is someone who brands contact to help promote products and services.
- Shares info on brands they love and reviews popular products.
- Is considered an expert in their niche.
The influencer's fans become your new brand ambassadors by trying the products, posting about the products, and sending even more traffic to your eCommerce site.
7. User-generated content overload
Have you ever sat down at your computer and had nothing? It's a couldn't-create-something-good-if-the-business-depended-on-it kind of day. One very evident way in which affiliate marketing enhances your eCommerce business is with UGC (user-generated content).
Even for the Instagrammers who don't have mass followings, this can make a difference. Here's why:
- The vast majority of consumers (92 percent) say they turn to people they know for referrals above any other source.
- Twice the amount of sales are generated through word-of-mouth compared to paid ads.
- Nearly three-fourths of all consumers depend on social media for information about a product.
- 84 percent of consumers say they'll go with peer recommendations above all other advertising methods.
When your fans and followers snap photos, leave reviews, or post videos about your product, use that content as marketing power. It's always better to have someone else say what a killer brand you have than to proclaim it yourself.
You need an affiliate marketing strategy to enhance your relationship with customers and strengthen partnerships with businesses and social influencers you admire. While the method will call for your time and energy in the beginning, you'll soon be well entrenched in your specific niche with time to focus on what matters to you – running your business.


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Rates & Prospectus
Class 1A Notes availability may vary depending on the state of your residence. Please contact us for more information on Class 1A Note availability. If you live in another state, the Notes may be available under an exemption from registration. For additional information please contact Ministry Partners Securities LLC at 888-855-0090


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Our green and pleasant land blighted by hate,
Little men with little island mentality –
Make war against democracy,
The weak harnessed to the yoke of injustice –
As the world points fingers.
History starts to repeat
And the words that once dismissed –
Spring to the lips of the scared.
The vision so clear obscured by lies,
As money changes hands,
Truth tellers lie and feed misinformation,
Buzz words like fake news used to undermine,
While the saviour is sacrificed for word and deed,
Those with power snatch power,
While the body count mounts,
Lies on lies and hand picked stats,
While our leaders fund our murders,
As the rule of law is dismissed and ignored,
Victorian poor in the 21th century,
At the same time as the 1 percent laugh,
4 decades of political ideology.
As the red turned purple the blue was bold,
It sold the ground below and your children's hope,
As the old got cold the sick where left alone,
And they tell you it's what you wanted
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They're three close buddies, they're fifteen years old, and they live in a village lost amongst wheat fields. There's also Aurélie Motoros, the village's most beautiful girl. She enters beauty contests and works at the gas station. The plot is about first love, that turns all their lives upside down.
Actors (4)
Production and distribution (2)
Photos (4)
Full credits (14)
Executive Producer :
Screenwriter :
Sound Recordist :
Production manager :
Sound Editor :
Costume designer :
Make-up Artist :
Assistant Director :
Director of Photography :
Assistant Operator :
Editors :
Raphaëlle Martin-Holger, Vincent Tricon