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Fusion5 Windows Tablet 10 inch, Windows 8.1, Intel Baytrail-T CR Quad-Core Z3735F, Touch Screen, Bluetooth, Dual Camera, 1GB DDR3, 16GB ROM, (10 inch IPS-1280×800)
Fusion5 – Excellent Value, Fantastic Design, Wonderful Experience. Ultra Slim – Ultimate User Experience: This Ultra Slim Windows Tablet PC from Fusion5 is among the latest generation in Tablet design and technology.
Whether you would like to watch movies and videos, browse the website at speed or work while on the go. This Tablet is perfect for you!
Be Productive Just about Anywhere: This Fusion5 Windows 8.1 comes with an Office 365 package standard. With Microsoft's productiveness software suite onboard, this slim-line Windows Tablet is an amazing workhorse for when you are out of the office.
Storage Space & Power: What more do you need? With an Intel Quad-Core Processor, 1GB RAM and 16 GB Storage space and Bluetooth. This is a compact PC unit that can tackle any usage challenge.
Why Buy This Fusion5 Windows Tablet Ultra Slim with Intel Quad-Core Processor? This Windows Tablet not only ticks all the boxes and covers all the bases in terms of specs and ultimate usability – with a dual camera, touch screen with delightful graphics capability, USB charger cable included and a super-sleek black design.
It's also a very sleek and fashionable piece of kit that complements a modern style of life perfectly.
12 Months of US Warranty at US Service Centre: We are so confident in the reliability, sturdiness and total performance of this Fusion5 Windows Tablet Ultra Slim, that we can safely offer a 12 month US warranty – serviceable at any of our US service centres nationwide.
Fusion5 is a top independent brand in the US. Established 2010.
Technical Details
Brand Name: Fusion5
Operating System: Windows 8
Screen Size: 10 inches IPS-1280 x 800
Processor: Intel AtomTM Processor Z3735F (G) (2M Cache, up to 1.83GHz)
Processor Type: Quad Core 4 x 1.83GHz (upto)
Storage: 16 GB (Part of Storage is Pre-Occupied by OS)
External Storage: Accepts up to 64 GB tf-card (not included)
Camera: Dual Camera (2 MP)
Wireless: N (802.11b/g/n)
Bluetooth: Yes
G-sensor: Yes
Average Battery Life (in hours): 5 hours
Date First Available: September 10, 2015


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The Treasury recommends additional environmental tax increases in the Green Book. Superfund charges will be restored according to this proposal. Here is an explanation about how the Superfund taxes are calculated and which industries are being taxed.
Superfund sites are large environmental cleanup areas where the government sends out workers to mitigate environmental damage. One major Superfund site is located in Glendale, CA and involves chromium cleanup, according to the EPA. Surprisingly enough, the tax surcharges on several items stopped in 1996, according to the Treasury Green Book. The latest proposal returns tax charges for items such as imported oil and other petroleum, as well as certain toxic chemicals. The tax changes are relatively minor compared to the cost of a barrel of oil, as a tax of slightly less than ten cents is not material compared to an eighty dollar oil barrel of crude, although this is still a tax increase that will likely be passed on at the pump. More significant, the corporate environmental income tax may be restored according to this proposal. This 0.12% tax appears to be applied to all corporations above the income threshold, not just the ones that caused the damage to the Superfund sites, according to the Treasury recommendation in the Green Book. Both of these tax increases would last a decade and sunset at the end of 2020.
The provides information on the original distribution of these taxes. Apparently the fixed rates present before 1996 haven't changed. Because of inflation, charges such as the ten cents a barrel oil tax would make up less of the revenue collected, and percentage based taxes such as the corporate environmental income tax would make up more of the revenue. The corporate environmental income tax originally produced more revenue than the petroleum tax according to Open Market. It appears that finance and insurance corporations may end up paying higher amounts because of this proposed tax increase than the oil companies and other petroleum industries. The original data given at the NCSE site is from 1993, when the FIRE industry was a much smaller proportion of the economy than it is now, and the FIRE industries listed paid around 27% of the Superfund tax.

subset: commoncrawl


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As the first of trials are set to begin for Depuy's ASR scandalous hip implant, the medical device failure is back in the mainstream news. I had previously commented on how the staggering of recalls of the hip implant – Johnson & Johnson continued to sell the hip in some jurisdictions while recalling it in others – called for better international communication and a leveling of enforcement activities. A pretty remarkable reconsideration of my libertarian ideals. I'll try to refrain from the fanaticism of calling for more protection from the government despite this,
An internal analysis conducted by Johnson & Johnson in 2011 not long after it recalled a troubled hip implant estimated that the all-metal device would fail within five years in nearly 40 percent of patients who received it, newly disclosed court records show.
Johnson & Johnson never released those projections for the device, the Articular Surface Replacement, or A.S.R., which the company recalled in mid-2010. But at the same time that the medical products giant was performing that analysis, it was publicly playing down similar findings from a British implant registry about the device's early failure rate.
Certainly, what is known publicly, is call for compensation to those who received the implant and civil punishment for Johnson & Johnson.


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Your next big food trend is going to make pasta fans very happy!
As smashed avo on toast and acai bowls quickly become old news, the next generation of brunch trends are being plucked from the dinner table.
The all-day menu is gaining new meaning thanks to the latest morning favourite: Breakfast pasta!
While in recent years, health-conscious diets have dominated breakfast menus - a return to carbs is coming on thick and fast.
The carbohydrate renaissance may mean we're officially bored of the popular gluten-free, grain-free fads of the past half decade, but it might also be thanks to recent scientific research confirming pasta isn't responsible for weight gain.
While the trend is exploding New York, there are already some Aussie cafes ahead of the curb.
Small Axe Kitchen in Melbourne's Brunswick opened in August and is already drawing crowds thanks, in part, to its unique breakfast pasta dish.
"We all really love pasta and are all obviously pretty obsessed with brunch, so it seems like a perfect marriage of the two," Kirstyn Tate from Small Axe Kitchen told Lifestyle.
"The Breakfast Pasta is really our version of bacon and eggs on toast: the guanciale is the bacon, the slow cooked egg and the maccaruni pasta is the carb fix."
It's not surprise the breakfast pasta is the cafe's most popular dish on the menu.
"I think it's [popular] because the flavours are familiar to people's palates so, although it is different, it's still comfortable," Kirstyn explains.
"The freshness of the mint and the peas, along with the theatre of the slow-cooked egg, makes it such an enjoyable dish that you really can eat at any time of the day."
Brisbane-based cafe, Morning After, is also on the breakfast pasta trend, serving up a papardelle carbonara with a 63 degree egg, field mushrooms, guanciale (Italian cured meat) and pecorino romano cheese.
What's not to like? Pasta: delicious. Eggs: delicious. Put them both together: delicious.
[Feature image: Small Axe Kitchen]


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Fill-In Anchor Mutters Explective On-Air, Loses Job & Potential New One, Too
Ode to social media. Or not.
Here's why: fill-in anchor and on-air reporter Justin Kraemer was fired from KSN in Kansas earlier this week for blurting an expletive on-air and thought a potential job in Colorado Springs was going to move forward.
Well, that was then and this is now and he's still looking for a new job.
Per The Wichita Eagle, he was in final negotiation stages for a job at KOAA-TV but alas, his expletive went viral. Yesterday morning station managers informed him they weren't going to move forward with a job offer.
He stated, "The conversation was very clinical and professional, and they informed me that this got a lot more attention than anyone could have possibly imagined when everything got started. They're in a difficult situation because they don't want to get national or global publicity just for making a reporter hire."
If there's anything we can learn from this lesson it's to not inform anyone of employment until it's signed, sealed and delivered. And oh yeah, try not to drop any expletives while cameras are rolling.
A few days ago, per the piece, he indicated he already had a new job lined up. Although he didn't mention the employer, this news went viral and then stories started pointing to KOAA as the new employer.
Kraemer mentioned, "I appreciate all the support I've gotten. I can't emphasize that enough. It's been a difficult week. The only thing that's gotten me through it is the anonymous love I've gotten from a lot of people."


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Call for abstract: November 1st, 2015
The organizing committee of the 8th International Congress welcomes abstracts on advances in Shwachman-Diamond syndrome pertinent to
Abstracts should include title, authors and affiliations as well as a main body describing either basic or clinical research studies (with purpose, hypothesis, methods, results and conclusions) or case-based studies (with purpose, methods, results, implications and applications).
Abstracts are to be submitted at email@example.com using the enclosing template
Abstract Submission Deadline: Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Notification of Acceptance: Monday, February 29, 2016
Acceptance to Present: Friday, March 4, 2016
Trainee Award Fellowship Applications: all trainees will be asked to have their supervisors/departments declare the presenter is a trainee – graduate student, post-doctoral fellow (clinical or basic).
Posters must be max 95 cm in width by 140 cm in lenght. (Poster boards size: 100 x 140 cm + 60cms support legs)
The Organizing Secretariat will provide you with the necessary material to hang your poster.
By agreeing to present your accepted abstract, you (and your co-presenter(s), if applicable):
Correspondence will be with submitting author ONLY.
"It's a pleasure to announce the opportunity for four scholarships for US researchers less than 40 years old at the time of the meeting. The goal of this scholarship is to support the next generation of SDS research. The grant covers costs for travel and accommodations and will be awarded to four researchers whose abstracts are selected for oral presentation and considered worthy of mention at the scientific meeting. This opportunity is generously offered by the Kohn family and named Quinlan Kohn Scholarship in honor of their 8 year son and other children with SDS to give children the best opportunity for a thriving future. The Conference Scientific Committee will provide complementary registration to the awardees.
Winners will be notified approximately two weeks after the deadline for abstract submission."
Organizing secretariat
Città Affari sas – Mrs Flavia Pizzini
Lungadige G. Matteotti, 2
37126 Verona
Tel. +39 045 917806 Mob. +39 348 3341695
Web: www.cittaffari.eu
Email: email@example.com
SDS Site: http://sdsveronacongress.cittaffari.eu
Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata
P.le Stefani 1
37126 Verona
tel +39 045 812 2293 fax +39 045 812 2042
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Site: www.cfcverona.it


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An event every week that begins at 11:00 am on Tuesday, repeating until July 31, 2019
An event every week that begins at 5:30 pm on Friday, repeating until July 31, 2019
Categories: Family-Friendly, Historical, Visual Arts
Watch conservators complete an extensive restoration of Panorama of the Monumental Grandeur of the Mississippi in Sculpture Hall. The panorama was used in the 19th century as a form of entertainment that was scrolled from one roller to another to animate 25 painted scenes. Conservation is expected to continue through July. During this treatment, visitors are encouraged to watch the conservators at work. Follow our progress at #ConservingthePanorama.
Curator Talks will explore this unique work of art and the stories it tells. Conservator Talks will examine the process and techniques involved in conserving it.
Copyright © 2020 Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis. All Rights Reserved.


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Nonbanks seize on new source of funding for multifamily lending
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Nonbanks looking to expand in multifamily lending have found a new source of funding in an esoteric (and somewhat tarnished) corner of the mortgage bond market.
Many of these lenders originate large volumes of multifamily loans for the Federal Housing Administration, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. They also specialize in what is known as "transitional" lending, or short-term, floating-rate loans on commercial property buildings that are being repurposed or fixed up in order to eventually qualify for cheaper, longer-term financing.
The transitional loans — also known as bridge loans — have traditionally been kept on balance sheet. But with interest rates headed higher and the multifamily market still going strong, it has become attractive to bundle these loans into collateral for transactions called commercial real estate collateralized loan obligations (CRE CLOs).
The funding is longer-term and less expensive than other sources of capital, such as bank lines of credit, putting nonbanks in a stronger competitive position.
"To some extent, this demand [for bridge financing] is increasing as commercial banks continue to reduce their lending," said Jeffrey Baevsky, a senior managing director in charge of structured finance at Greystone, which issued its first CRE CLO, and the first such deal of the year, in March. "We're taking business away."
The CRE CLO market is pretty small. In 2015, 13 deals produced $5.5 billion of issuance, and last year there were just nine deals worth $2.7 billion, according to the credit rating agency DBRS. But this year, things are picking up again, in part due to new entrants such as Greystone that are focused on the multifamily market. As of mid-2017 it was at $2.5 billion, and there were at least five deals in the pipeline for the third quarter.
While the multifamily market has soft spots, demand for rental housing is still strong, particularly for affordable rental housing. Freddie Mac is predicting that origination volume is likely to hit another record in 2017, reaching between $270 and $280 billion.
And there is some thought that heavy construction of high-end apartments is putting pressure on landlords to spiff up older properties, according to Erin Stafford, a managing director at DBRS.
Stafford said that CRE CLOs finance reinvestment in properties to ensure they remain competitive and continue to get market, or closer to market, rents — and potentially qualify for government-sponsored-enterprise financing. "There's a lot of new product coming online that is Class A, whereas CRE CLO transitions typically finance more workforce housing, Class C and B," she said.
Baevsky said Greystone's transitional lending falls into two categories. The first is financing that just buys time, such as placeholder financing for 12-18 months while a financing application with the Department of Housing and Urban Development is in the works.
At the other extreme are property buyers who want to do "light capex" such as kitchen or bath remodeling or painting "to boost operating cash flow before seeking permanent financing" to take a property from C+ to B status, he said.
"We see a tremendous amount of opportunity and product flow at that end of the spectrum," Baevsky said.
Greystone, based in New York, has approximately $1 billion in transitional finance or bridge loans on its books today; the average loan is only $13 million.
Hunt Mortgage Group, a nonbank lender that originates some $2 billion in multifamily loans a year for the GSEs, also launched its first CRE CLO in July. The $280 million transaction is backed by 23 loans on 36 properties. The largest is a $33.8 million mortgage on a portfolio of five apartment buildings in Abilene, Texas. The owner is in the process of making improvements to the units, including repainted cabinets and countertops, installing appliance packages and upgrading floors.
Unlike Greystone's deal, Hunt's is not backed exclusively by multifamily loans. There are four, representing 12.2% of the initial pool balance, that are secured by commercial and specialty properties, according to DBRS. The rating agency cites those as potential credit risks, since these two property types "often exhibit higher cash flow volatility than traditional multifamily properties."
Hunt's deal and Greystone's share the same placement agents, Wells Fargo Securities and JPMorgan Securities — suggesting that the banks themselves are playing a role in expanding the market for CRE CLOs.
Other deals issued this year have come from repeat issuers and had a broader mix of collateral, including not just apartments, but hotels and office buildings, retail and even industrial properties.
CRE CLOs appeal to investors now because the securities that they issue pay floating rates of interest and are relatively short-term. These securities typically have initial terms of two or three years and can be extended several times for a total term of four or five years. By comparison, more typical commercial mortgage bonds pay fixed rates of interest and have terms of seven to 10 years.
But the market is still somewhat tarnished by the poor performance of pre-crisis deals, which were called CRE CDOs and included some much more problematic collateral.
However, Rick Jones, a finance and real estate partner at the law firm Dechert, said that both the terms and structure of the newer deals have changed from those issued from 2003 to 2006.
"Back in the day, there were two things that characterized deals," Jones said. "One, in hindsight was an awful idea; the other was maybe tarred by the same brush. The awful idea was that the transaction could include buckets for all sorts of bits and pieces," such as subordinate notes and synthetic securities.
"No one understood them, the rating agencies didn't appreciate the risk," he said. "That feature is truly dead and buried."
The other thing that characterized pre-crisis CRE CLOs was the fact that they were actively managed, meaning principal proceeds that were repaid could be used to make fresh loans. "That's a feature that's going to end up back in the space, but we haven't really gotten there yet," Jones said.
Some of the first deals issued after the financial crisis were backed by nonperforming loans that were in the process of being liquidated. "That was fun for a while," Jones said. "It's gone away."
Now, he said, the core of the market is bridge loans for properties in transition.
Recent transactions included some features that suggest investors are becoming more comfortable with this corner of the structured finance market. One of those is a limited reinvestment period. Both Greystone's CLO and Hunt's allowed for new loans to be acquired for a limited period (180 days in Hunt's case).
Another CRE CLO, issued by Benefit Street Partners in June, was the first since the financial crisis with multiple property types that has a reinvestment period of one year, according to DBRS. Another CLO completed in June by RAIT Financial Trust has a ramp-up period allowing the real estate investment trust to acquire some of the initial collateral up to 90 days after the close of the transaction.
"One of things every investor we met with asked was why the deal was going to be actively managed," Greystone's Baevsky said. "The simple answer was that not every loan was originated last month; some were originated two years ago. They'll get repaid at a variety of maturity dates, so the CLO had to be actively managed."


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The Lightbox Company
Tax Disc - Design Your Own
Add a personalised light to your wall with one of our Hand made customised backlit tax disc!
This Lightbox uses a low voltage LED panel that is very efficient and long lasting - up to 40,000 hours. The advantage of an LED panel is that the final Lightbox is only 30mm deep! A hi-resolution printer creates the full colour graphics that is protected by an acrylic glazing front. This Lightbox looks great on a shelf or desk but can also be wall mounted and you can add a dimmer switch for extra control.
You can choose matt black or matt white frame. You have a choice of 13 different colours of fantastic fabric cable and we include 1.5 metres of fabric cable with each Lightbox.
Lightbox - Medium: £99.95
Lightbox - Large: £169.95
Frame: Matt black or white aluminium
Cable: Fabric covered cable 1.5m in your choice of colours. Total cable length with transformer is 2.5m.
Power: Supplied with a UK 12v mains transformer. The mains transformer has a black cable.
Rating: For indoor use only.
Width: 205mm Height: 205mm Depth: 30mm - Medium
Width: 405mm Height: 405mm Depth: 30mm - Large
Each Lightbox is designed and lovingly made in our Southampton workshop using the highest quality components.


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LONDON: An Indian-origin employee claims he has been sacked for speaking out against his employer's attempts to dodge paying staff the new "National Living Wage" in the UK.
Kumaran Bose, an employee with Kettleby Foods for 12 years, has been backed by his Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) this week over his whistle-blowing.
"What his managers particularly disliked was his brave decision to stand up for his rights and refuse to accept that he and his fellow workers should be treated so appallingly," BFAWU regional organiser George Atwall said.
The Leicester-based firm owned by Samworth Brothers is at the centre of a scandal in which companies have reacted to the introduction of the higher minimum wage in the UK from April 1 this year by cutting workers' terms and conditions.
The food giant has allegedly slashed overtime, night shift and Sunday rates – even cancelling paid tea breaks.
The strict rules are set to be highlighted in a television expose by Channel 4's investigative 'Dispatches' programme, which will be broadcast next week.
"I was the voice of the union, they set me up as an example. This is what will happen to you [if you join]. I feel I've been dismissed for union activities," Bose told The Times.
Bose and union officials say that in some cases workers could be denied up to 2,000 pounds a year in wages. An employee working from Friday to Sunday, they say, would lose 27 pounds per week simply by being docked pay for taking an hour's break each day.
A disciplinary investigation by the company concluded that Bose was guilty of gross misconduct for mentioning the 2,000 pounds figure, which they said was misleading.
"Kumaran Bose was dismissed for two reasons and neither of them have anything to do with his union activity. As he has lodged an appeal and therefore the process is continuing it would be unfair on Mr Bose to make any further comment," a spokesperson for Samworth said.
"We are investing more than 5 million pounds extra in the pay bill every year for the next three years to support our recent pay review, a process that we launched more than 18 months before the national living wage was announced. The vast majority of staff are seeing a pay increase as a result of these changes," she added.
Since April 1 this year, all UK employers are required to pay their staff who are over 25 at least 7.20 pounds per hour. This will rise to 9 pounds an hour by 2019 in what the UK government has branded as the 'National Living Wage', as opposed to the minimum wage of the past.


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Welcome, Philly Soccer Page readers!
The All Three Points podcast could not be happier to be joining the PSP family. Here's a little primer: A3P is the brainchild of Chris Gibbons and myself, Jeremy Lane, and we take the Philadelphia Union season three games at a time. During the season, Chris and I get together after every third Union league game, review those previous three games, then discuss three points or themes that have emerged from them.
This episode, or course, comes before the games have really started, but we take a short look at the last three preseason games, then discuss the following points:
- The Union's incredible offseason: With basically every need addresses, is there anything left to complain about? (Of course there is!)
- Competition for places: The big new midfield additions seem to have nailed down starting positions, but what about everyone else? Zac MacMath is certainly looking over his shoulder…
- Future storylines: What will we be talking about in a month? The formation? The goal-scoring (or lack thereof)? Brian Carroll's status?
We talk about all that and more, and we invite your comments and questions below. You can also shout at us via Twitter, @allthr3epoints (and yes, we realize that handle is a little clunky). To listen, click play below, or click here to download the mp3 directly.
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.


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Oct 03Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaShort-term, remote contract job. Pays $16.00 an hour. Needs a bachelor's degree and English teaching certificates. Will need to teach six hours a week, teach English in 30 minute sessions, use interactive lessons and tools to teach sessions.
Jul 26Part-Time, 100% Remote Job | CanadaRemote ESL teacher needed to teach online English language classes. Must have a BA/BS, U.S. or Canada residency, and past related teaching or child-based experience. Flexible terms, part-time contract position, up to $22/hr. Work-from-home.


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The Nigerian economy is getting harsher by the day, and job security is fast becoming history. Even the pay from most jobs isn't enough to help most Nigerians to settle their bills. This explains why more and more people are looking to start small side businesses to make extra income.
It's one thing to decide to start a small business, while it's another to know exactly which business to delve into. Many Nigerians who want to become entrepreneurs do not really know which opportunities are available. If you're one of those, you're just on the right page.
This epic post reveals several business opportunities that can fetch you lots of profit here in Nigeria at the moment. Read on to become more enlightened.
Small scale business ideas in Nigeria
Business opportunities in Nigeria
Investment opportunities in Nigeria
Fastest growing business in Nigeria
Most profitable business in Nigeria
Hot business ideas in Nigeria
What business can i do to make money in Nigeria
Best business to do in Nigeria
Most lucrative business ideas in Nigeria
List of small scale business in Nigeria
Thriving businesses in Nigeria
Lucrative small scale business in Nigeria
Transport business
Whether it's an okada or a taxi for local transport, or a bus for inter-state transport, buy any one you can afford and start your own transport business. Transport is a daily necessity, so it's a hot business. But finding a trustworthy driver could be difficult.
School business
Start a primary or secondary school (or both). More and more Nigerians are appreciating education and are sending their wards to schools. But it could take months to years to get a decent number of pupils/students–depending on your marketing strategy.
Pharmacy/patent medicine
This business moves faster than owning a hospital because pharmacy stores and chemist's shops are where most Nigerians first visit whenever they feel sick.
As more and more Nigerian mothers join the working class category, there is little or no time to take care of their children. But they're willing to pay anyone who can do that for them. This business idea is appropriate for women.
Catering service
Catering is another hot business in Nigeria right now. Several thousands of parties are held in Nigeria every week, so there is a lot of business for caterers. If you have some culinary skills, start a catering service, and you'll make money. If you don't, attend a catering school.
Event planning
This is another business that takes advantage of the fact that Nigerians organize parties a lot. If you enjoy organizing parties, have keen eye for alluring color combinations, and pay attention to detail, this idea is for you. Truth is, no matter how harsh the economy is, Nigerians will party!
If you can afford the cost of a truck, buy one and start making money with it. Many Nigerian companies are willing to pay big money to truck owners who use their truck for commercial haulage.
Baby items
Start selling baby items such as wears and toys. You have a large target market, pregnant women and nursing mothers. No matter what state the economy is in, the country welcomes thousands of new babies every single day.
Rental business
Rent out things that are needed at parties, such as tents, chairs and tables, utensils, cutlery, and other things that people borrow for one-time use (such as wedding gowns, etc.). Nigerians love partying.
Most homes in Nigeria use kerosene on a daily basis for cooking. If you live in an area where there are more of middle-class and lower-class families, this is a good business opportunity for you. Just get one or two surface tanks and start selling.
Hair salon
Even in hard times, Nigerians love to take care of their hair. Whether it's a barbing salon for men or a hairdressing salon for women, start anyone of your choice, and you'll be on your way to financial independence. Even if you're not a skilled barber or hairdresser, you can work with someone who has the skills while you provide the funds required to acquire business space and other requirements.
Real estate
This is the second most lucrative business in Nigeria after oil and gas. If you have enough money to invest in houses and other property, do that because such assets don't depreciate. You can even start buying and selling small pieces of land for a start. In some low-profile areas in the country, land sells for as cheap as N50,000 per plot or less! Invest in such assets, and you'll sell for multiples in few years to come.
Travel agency
Millions of Nigerians are nursing the dream of travelling out of the country in search of greener pastures. If you have some expert knowledge of how to easily secure visa to certain countries, then you can make money from that knowledge by helping people secure their visas. If you don't have this knowledge but are still interested in the business, enroll for some formal training to become a certified international travel agent.
Poultry farming
It's a no brainer, but this business is hot. Though it has its own share of risk, there's no limit to how much profit you can make from selling eggs and fowls because they are in constantly huge demand.
Car wash
As easy as washing a car might seem, most car owners are too busy to do it themselves. Besides, not all cars can be washed anyhow. So, this is another good business opportunity for any smart person. You don't have to be the one to wash cars yourself. Just hire someone to do that, while you pay that person out of the money you charge your clients.
Frozen foods
Buy a deep freezer and start selling frozen fish, chicken, turkey, ice cream, yoghurt, and other related edibles. The demand for these foods is high in Nigeria, so your chances of success are very bright. But you'll need a constant supply of electricity.
Sachet water production
Though there are already many players in this business, there's still enough room for new players, since sachet water sells like wild all over Nigeria. Getting NAFDAC approval is important if you want peace of mind.
Building materials
New buildings and structures are erected and developed in Nigeria every day. So, any business that sells the various materials used in building construction has a large market to serve. You can start small with smaller items like pipes and roofing sheets.
This business needs no introduction. Most Nigerians buy from supermarkets regularly. And because supermarkets sell a wide variety of products, they attract lots of customers. However, starting one requires huge capital, unless you start small with a modest inventory.
People eat food every day, so this business is sure to succeed provided you play your cards right. Come up with a good menu, find a perfect location, hire few more hands to help, and you'd be in business.
Fast food & snacks
Of course, you know the rate at which Nigerian eat stuffs like popcorn, plantain chips, cocoyam chips, doughnut, sausage, meat pie, and so on. That's enough proof that selling such stuffs is a hot business in Nigeria.
Small scale export
Though this business is little-known, many Nigerians are making a lot of money from it. It involves exporting consumables such as charcoal, bitter cola, cocoa, etc. to other countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia. Yes, you'd be paid generously — in foreign currency.
Fashion design
Nigerians are fashion crazy. If you have a knack for this line of business, get started right away, and you'd be making huge profits anytime soon. You can quickly get a good grasp of how the whole business works by enrolling at any of the reputable fashion schools in Nigeria.
Make-up artistry
Make-up artistry is becoming more and more lucrative by the day. From people who are looking to make themselves beautiful for special occasions to celebrities who can't do without make-up, the client pool is just large.
In addition, the services of make-up artists are needed in movie and music video sets, and many other instances. If you have a knack for helping people to look beautiful, enroll with a make-up school in Nigeria to polish your skills.
Filling station
This involves a big startup capital, but you can get that with a loan. You're sure to recoup your investment within a short period because oil and gas is the hottest business in Nigeria right now.
Cement sales/distribution
Because new houses and structures are constructed in Nigeria every day, the demand for cement is huge. Take advantage of this fact by starting your own cement sales or distributorship business. Just get a safe place to store up your cement, and you're in business.
Mini importation
This is importation business on a small scale. You'll simply order cheap products like Powerbanks and make-up kits from China or U.S., and sell them for lucrative prices here in Nigeria. No company registration or other protocol is required.
Fish farming
Despite that there are many Nigerians already in this business, the demand for fish in the country is still far more than the supply. So, there is still enough room for new players in this very lucrative business. Note that you'll have to spend some time to learn about the business before taking a plunge.
Grocery store
If there's any business that can never fail in this Nigeria, it has to be grocery retail. Find a good shop near you and start something like a mini-ShopRite. Start small, and with good management the business will grow with time. There's demand for grocery everywhere and every time, so go for this business option if you can.
Boutique (mobile)
No matter what the state of the economy is, people will still buy new clothes. So, starting a boutique is a smart idea. You can make your own boutique business stand out by offering home and office promotion and delivery. That is, rather than wait for customers to locate your shop, go to their homes and offices with what they're likely to be interested in. With this strategy, you'll make more sales and grow your business quickly.
Smartphone/tablet repair
Almost every Nigerian adult has a not just a phone but a smartphone. Tablets are also very common in the country. It goes without saying that these gadgets are prone to faults like broken screens, damaged charging ports, and so on.
So, if you're the tech type and a fast learner, you can learn how to fix damaged phones and tabs within a few months and start making money from your knowledge right away.
Even if the economy is smiling, Nigerians will buy jewelries such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, watches, and so on. If you have a decent startup capital, you can start a jewelry retail business. To start with, you can take your wares to people in their homes or offices. This way, you'll get customers and grow your business faster.
Solar panels/inverters
If you're a fast learner, you can make a lot of money selling and installing solar panels and inverters. Power supply in Nigeria is next to zero, and most Nigerians turn towards alternative sources of power. Before now, generators were the only option. But with inverters and solar panels now available, many people are favoring them over generators.


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Top Tips On What To Wear With Burgundy Shoes
Want to know how to style & what to wear with Burgundy Shoes ? Here we have "That Dapper Chap" (@that_dapper_chap) showing us all the do's and definitely don'ts, of the perfect attire to show off with your new shoes.
Browse our range of Burgundy shoes for inspiration, Click Here!
Check out That Dapper Chaps' Looks Below For You To Nab.
Suit | Next Rust Suit
Shirt | Primark Micro Floral Shirt
Tie | Burgundy Knit
Chinos | H&M
Braces | H&M
Shirt | Ben Sherman
Hat | Brown Flat Cap
Shorts | Pink Cotton
Shirt | Primark Floral Shirt
Straw Hat
Shirt | H&M
Jeans | Levis
Waistcoat | White Stuff
Chinos | Next
Shirt | Next
Burgundy Velvet Blazer
Floral Bow Tie
Follow @BaseLondonShoes & @That_Dapper_Chap on Instagram for more great looks & style guides.
Also, why not upload and tag us in a decent snap of you in your new Base London Shoes & we'll share it on our Instagram page!


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Maccabi & Hapoel are fit to be tied!
Maccabi Tel Aviv took on Hapoel Tel Aviv in the always hotly contested Tel Aviv Derby at Bloomfield Stadium that turned into a second half soaking wet affair
The Yellow-and-Blue were held to a 1:1 draw by Hapoel Tel Aviv in the Big Derby as Maccabi had to comeback from a second minute deficit on a first half goal by Dor Micha. With Maccabi picking up only one point, they now find themselves five points away from table leaders Hapoel Beer Sheva.
Head Coach Peter Bosz decided to give new acquisition Haris Medunjanin his first start as the Bosnian, who will be wearing number 4 manned the midfield with Gal Alberman and last minute substitute Barak Itzhaki filling in for Shlomi Azulay who was injured in the pre match training session. An attacking trio of Tal Ben Chaim, Dor Micha and Captain Eran Zahavi provided the offensive punch while Eli Dasa, Eitan Tibi, Carlos Garcia and Omri Ben Harush started in front of Serbian keeper Predrag Raijkovic.
The match didn't start out as planned for the Yellow-and-Blue and in the 2nd minute they needed to find a way to dig themselves out of a 1:0 hole. Hapoel Tel Aviv's striker Aaron Schoenfeld split the Maccabi defenders and beat Rajkovic from long range to give the Reds a quick one goal lead. Ten minutes later Claudiu Bumba's effort from 16 meters out just went wide of the Maccabi goal.
Tal Ben Chaim produced the home side's first chance of the evening in the 21st minute when Micha sent him a gorgeous ball in the box, but number 11's header just went wide left of Ariel Harush's goal. However, sometimes what goes around comes around and that's exactly what happened just three minutes later.
Dor Micha looked to find Zahavi in the box but his left sided curler missed the captain's head and landed in the back of the goal instead to draw Maccabi even at 1:1 as the club's went into the break with the score as is.
The skies opened up as the second half began and the Bloomfield faithful got soaked in a torrential downpour, but the singing continued as Maccabi looked for a way to to take the lead. Eran Zahavi had a fabulous 63rd minute chance but his effort from 16 meters out just missed the Hapoel goal. Dutch coach Peter Bosz made his first substitution of the evening introducing Dor Peretz for Barak Itzhaki in the 69th minute and then brought on Eden Ben Basat in the 80th minute for Dor Micha to try and jump start the Maccabi offense.
Medunjanin's terrific chance in the 81st minute from the top of the box went straight into the awaiting gloves of keeper Harush as the pressure continued to build up towards the final few minutes of what turned into a very wet and watery derby. With seconds to go, Medunjanin's right side free kick went straight Peretz who headed the ball just wide right of the goal as the final whistle sounded to end the match with the two sides splitting the points.


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Archive for the 'Miriam Naor' tag
Political: May 6, 2012
MK Danny Danon (Likud) has approached the head of the central elections committee, judge Miriam Naor, seeking to disqualify MK Haneen Zoabi (Balad) from being elected to Knesset in the upcoming elections.
Judiciary: January 12, 2012
A legal challenge to a law that bans Palestinians from living in Israel with spouses who are Israeli citizens was rejected by a panel of 11 Supreme Court justices. The Citizenship Law is temporary legislation from 2003 which prevents Palestinians who married Israeli-Arabs to receive Israeli citizneship except by special approval from the Minister of the interior for Palestinians who collaborate with Israel. The justices upholding the constitutionality of the law were Eliezer Rivlin, Asher Dan Grunis, Miriam Naor, Elyakim Rubinstein, Hanan Melcer and Neal Hendel. They decided that Israeli citizens have a constitutional right to family life, but this right does not necessarily have to be exercised in Israel. Judge Grunis said that "we have to balance this injury of the right to family life of Israeli citizens against a certain threat, based on past experience, to the life of Israeli citizens."


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Throughout the course of this site's almost eight year history, I've spilled a lot of virtual ink covering the multitude of artists on Daptone Records, including JOVM mainstays Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and Charles Bradley. As you may recall, Sharon Jones died in 2016 after a three-year battle with pancreatic cancer and Charles Bradley died last year after a two-year battle with stomach cancer, and for fans of Daptone Records, of soul music, hell of music generally, their deaths were a 1-2 punch.
Now, as it turned out Jones and her Dap Kings managed to spent the better part of Jones' last few months writing and recording what turned out to be the band's final, full-length album together Soul of a Woman. Recorded on eight-track tape at Daptone Records' famed House of Soul Studios, the album, which was released almost a year to the day of Jones' death, found the band and their beloved frontwoman pushing the limits of their songwriting while arguably being among the most direct, honest and sophisticated material they had ever written together. Soul of a Woman's first single "Matter of Time," was a lush and moody meditation on the nature of time that brought to mind Ecclesiastes and The Byrds' legendary cover of Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn." The album's second single, the Jones penned and arranged "Call on God" focused on how faith can sustain you and guide you in the most desperate and uneasy times of your life. "Sail On!," Soul of a Woman's third album featured one of the world's best horn sections blowing the doors down while a confident and brassy Jones tells a story about how revenge, karma and schadenfreude in which the song's narrator decides to help an old friend, who did her dirty.
"Searching for a New Day," Soul of a Woman's fourth and latest single may arguably be one of their most ambivalent, if not emotionally complex songs they've ever released. While musically, the song is an upbeat, two step — the sort that the Dap Kings always excelled at, Jones' vocals expresses the aching longing, hurt, pride and resolve of a woman, who struggled spiritually, emotionally and financially but bravely with dignity and a sense of humor and cool defiance.
Directed by Mel Rodriguez III, the recently released video takes place in a local bar that's hosting a listening party for Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings' Soul of a Woman, and as the unseen DJ plays the album, in front a crowd of fans, friends and others, the bar shows footage of Sharon and her Dap Kings performing live. And while clearly being nostalgic, bringing memories of a tremendous performer, who in her brief stint in the limelight left such an enduring presence, the video begins to tell a a story of a young woman, who becomes enthralled and inspired by Sharon, suggesting that the beloved soul artist's work will inspire a new generation of performers. Oh and while we're at it, representation fucking matters. And being a young black woman, seeing a strong, older black woman tearing a stage up with a mischievous and warm smile must be a powerful thing, indeed.


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What You Must Dress You Child With
There are a lot of parents that really would like to shop clothes for their kids, there is that excitement and happy feeling of dressing up your kids. The most common thing that parents do is that they simply grab all items that they can find as they are shopping, while not looking at the fact that such items could simply be fitting for their child. It would be an important thing so you will choose the best item of clothing that can be suitable for your kids.
See to it so you will follow what was given to you by heart so so you can be certain so you are getting the right thing and so you can always be assured so you will have the right results in the end.
Uniform they can wear at schools
It is an important condition so you will look at the kind of uniform so you are getting for your child. It would be necessary so you are going to provide your kid with the necessary uniform that they can have so that they can always be happy about the kind of uniform they are wearing. It would be an important thing so you will provide your kids with a lot of uniforms in such a manner that what you are giving them is something that will make them be happy about.
Clothes that are smart casual
These kind of clothes are what you would like to let your kids wear at during the weekends. It would be an important factor so you are going to have this kind of wear such so you can be certain so your kids is essentially going to love what he or she is having at the end of the day.
All these things will ensure so you can let your kids become pleasing and presentable all the time and that it is something so you should always look into as parents. It would be a necessary thing so you will pay attention to what you are giving your kids with so so you can always be certain about the kind of work they deserve. It would always be your duty as a parent to ensure so you give your kids the proper guidance in the way they dress up as it can be a reflection of what they can become in the near future.


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Make the national ACS meeting a reward for the hard work your undergraduate researchers are doing in the lab! Dr. Sunghee Lee explains how in this very practical take on making the most of the ACS meeting (psst…she even has a sample itinerary!)
Recently, I posted a blog regarding my experience leading a large undergraduate research group, where I emphasized that it is essential to manage, but not over-manage.
The same holds true when organizing trips with undergraduate students to a professional meeting such as the ACS National Meeting: for a successful and meaningful experience for you and your students, it is essential to be organized, but not excessively so.
For the past 10 years, I have regularly taken undergraduate students to the ACS national meeting. The first instance, at the 2005 Boston meeting, involved only one student, and now this number has reached more than a dozen students at a time.
In this blog, I would like to recount and share some of my experiences, for the benefit of other PUI professors, whether you are taking just a couple of students to a meeting, or a dozen or more.
Plan Early: Excite Your Students and Build Anticipation
Whether students are presenting their own research or just attending for the experience, participation in a professional meeting such as ACS should be intertwined with the research activities with which students have been involved during their undergraduate careers. I would like to suggest that faculty should consider such a meeting as a central experience for the students, in parallel with their laboratory research experience. In this regard, it is ideal to tie meeting participation to regular research activity. All of my students view the ACS meeting as a reward for their intense summer-long research activity, and something they are excited about and look forward to. Most research activity happens during the summer in my situation, hence I consider the ACS Fall national meeting as a capstone event for celebrating their research activities. This can be a wonderful way to wrap up the summer research experience, can be considered as an incentive for students. Therefore, I typically choose the Fall ACS Meeting, conveniently occurring between the end of summer and before the Fall semester begins. In my lab, I have a list of upcoming ACS national meeting locations posted on a bulletin board for everyone can see and dream about presenting there.
All of my students view the ACS meeting as a reward for their intense summer-long research activity, and something they are excited about and look forward to…
When freshmen research students witness the attendance of one of their older colleagues at a national meeting, this can serve as a powerful motivation for them to want to similarly make a presentation. So I suggest that you can excite your students with the opportunities that lay ahead, and build up their anticipation.
Plan Details: Build Itinerary for Students and with Students
Once you decide to take student(s) to a meeting, having a detailed itinerary is essential for you and your students. This is key to a successful meeting experience; otherwise, students will be overwhelmed by the large number of technical sessions to choose from and be easily distracted, thus missing a valuable learning opportunity.
When you prepare an itinerary, make sure that you are in charge of suggesting educational activities and lists of general lectures to recommend for students. In addition, please ensure that the itinerary contains some flexibility built in, so that students will be able to explore their own specific interests as an individual.
..having a detailed itinerary is essential …otherwise, students will be overwhelmed.. and easily distracted, thus missing a valuable learning opportunity.
During itinerary building, I suggest you to involve students as often as possible, so that they feel ownership about the journey ahead, rather than just being taken or directed. My suggested list of tasks for students involves not only educational lectures, but also concerns such as finding social activity (e.g., tourism) around the town, and arranging a place for a meal on certain day, etc. This works out very well particularly when you have a large group of students. Let them dispute, argue and compromise in choosing activities to do together before they come to the unified conclusion. Such an experience is another potential opportunity for undergraduates to have a growth and
learning experience, outside of classroom and laboratory.
In building an itinerary, I found that the portion of the ACS website devoted to "ACS Undergraduate Programming" to be very helpful and I encourage all faculty to take full advantage of their program.
This undergraduate program runs Sunday through Tuesday, and typically includes activities such as free breakfast for undergraduates at the hospitality center, and many prearranged sessions targeting undergraduates such as graduate school reality check, recruiting events, and other luncheon and seminar series.
One noteworthy event which I typically suggest to my students is the "Undergraduate Eminent Scientist Luncheon & Lecture" (typically at noon-2 on Monday), which is followed by the undergraduate research poster session on Monday afternoon (typically at 2-4 pm). Afterwards there is the Fred Kavli Innovations in Chemistry Lecture, late Monday afternoon. Another favorite moment for undergrads includes the experience of a gigantic poster session, such as Sci-Mix interdivisional poster session & mixer. I usually build these events into the itinerary.
Undergraduates can take some initiative in speaking with professionals about various instruments they are using or any product about which they are interested in learning more.
Even attendance at the exposition can constitute an educational experience. Undergraduates can take some initiative in speaking with professionals about various instruments they are using or any product about which they are interested in learning more. Therefore, you can assign specific tasks to your students (based on their interests and research theme), instead of just letting them browse through for free samples. For example, you can have one team (my research group consist of several sub-project teams) to find out about instruments that measure "surface and interfacial tension". Another team can investigate "light scattering" instruments, etc. Not every undergraduate institution is equipped with every "bell and whistle", and this exposition can serve as a good opportunity to learn about various instruments they may have only learned about in a lecture. You will be surprised how actively involved students can become in learning how it works, evaluating the product, and even make suggestions about what to choose and why. Even a chemist-in-training at an ACS Exposition can be like a kid in a candy store!
I ask all student-attendees to submit their own reflections at the end of the meeting, in pictures and words, so that a collage of photos and quotes can become a precious memory.
Sample itinerary
Day 1, Saturday:
- Arrival to a ACS meeting location: Visit registration site, complete registration and badge pick up.
- Exploring the town: Orient to the location in and around convention center, and various meeting sites. Include fun sightseeing opportunity.
- Group meeting over dinner: Discuss the details of the itinerary and other housekeeping issues, dress code, etc.
Day 2, Sunday:
- Breakfast meeting at the ACS Undergraduate Programming Session: typically has a dedicated space for undergraduate)
- Attend undergraduate events (morning)
- Attend Presidential symposium event (afternoon)
- Attend Exposition
Day 3, Monday: Very busy day for undergraduate researchers
- Start with breakfast meeting at the ACS Undergraduate Programming Session in the morning.
- Eminent scientist lecture and luncheon (early afternoon)
- Undergraduate research poster presentation (late afternoon)
- Kavli lecture (early evening)
- Attend Sci-Mix interdivisional poster session & mixer
Day 4 and 5, Tuesday and Wednesday: Flexible day
Flexible day for students depending on their interests. However, it is important to designate one or two events for all to attend together, rather than leaving a whole day totally open for everyone.
Group dinner a day before departure: reflection
~ Dr. Sunghee Lee is the Board of Trustees Endowed Professor and Chair of Chemistry at Iona College in New Rochelle, New York. A summary of her group's research can be found at her homepage: www.dropletbilayer.com.


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I am very pleased to recommend the services of Dillon Marshall Property Consultants. They have acted as our Primary Letting Agents for the past five years. Dillon Marshall's expertise in the property industry has greatly benefited our company and we have found their letting services to be of a very high standard (they let up to 300 apartments a year for our company). I can comfortably state that Dillon Marshall Property Consultants will bring value to your development by providing the commitment and skill necessary to perform all duties and responsibilities associated with being professional Letting/Management Agents. I would have no hesitation in recommending the agency services of Dillon Marshall Property Consultants and sincerely look forward to continuing working with them into the future.
With my company having properties in many locations around Ireland and having decided to invest in Dublin about 5 years ago it was of the utmost importance for us to seek and engage with a reputable and professional company that would put our best interests to the fore. I am writing to you to tell you how much I appreciate the outstanding customer focused service provided by Dillon Marshall Property Consultants. I was delighted with the way Damien handled the first letting of my property. I found you and your team to be enthusiastic and committed to finding a suitable tenant for my property. Therefore when my properties come available to rent again, I did not hesitate in having you and your company deal with it for me and now 5 years later we are still expanding in Dublin and you have just completed another successful letting.
Dillon Marshall Property Consultants are looking after several properties for our company. They are very reliable and know the market very well. The staff in the office are very helpful and courteous whenever we deal with them. We would highly recommend any future business with them.
I have found any people at DMPC with whom I have dealt to be pleasant which is a bonus but also efficient which is important. No delays in getting things done and regular updates on progress. Just a good group to deal with.
We would like thank Sasha on all her hard work for helping us with our move.
Earin is amazing!! She puts her whole heart and energy into her work. I appreciated her help with the buying of my new home. Outstanding service and excellent communication throughout the buying process. Thank you Earin & Team!
As always Damien is great! He truly cares about his clients. He treats them with respect and gives them the type of service He would expect if he were buying or selling his own home. I would recommend Damien to my friends and family!
We had a wonderful experience with Dillon Marshall Property Consultants. We got the price we wanted and the sale went real smooth. Very professional and highly recommended.
Thoroughly enjoyed working with Earin. Very professional and accurate.
Mark and I want to thank you for all your hard work on the rental of our properties. We are so blessed to have you as our Agent. You are energetic and driven. You get things done! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We chose Damien to sell our home as we had seen his Company name repeatedly on daft & My Homes , and felt he knew the area and the market. He was direct and honest. Throughout the process of selling we found his years of experience to be especially valuable when we were dealing with other persons involved, like the bank or the loan company. He would get on the phone, make a call, and we could iron out any concerns immediately. Damien and his excellent office staff would help us to normalize what would seem to be a problem. All due to experience. Thank you.
We have had Damien sell two of our homes and purchased one with him. We have appreciated his advice and the speed of the overall process.
Thank you so much for providing professional, punctual services in our recent home purchase. Damien & Earin advice was timely and on target. They understand the essential nature of timing, as it relates to making the most important purchase. I heartily recommend Dillon Marshall Property Consultants for your home buying needs.


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What do you do when you have a market-dominating product built from more than 50 million lines of code with a loyal customer base of subscribers who use it all day, every day, and you want to keep them happy? You upgrade it for free at incremental releases to address the pain points, and at a nominal charge at a full release to address new technologies and to make major enhancements. That's exactly what Microsoft has done with service packs to Visual Studio 2012 and now with the release of Visual Studio 2013.
Visual Studio users can fall into a range of categories (developers, testers, architects, and so on) and use a range of technologies (desktop, Web, cloud, Windows store, services, databases, and more). While there are competitors for almost every area where Visual Studio provides a solution, no single product competes with Visual Studio in all fields. The closest I can think of would be Embarcadero All-Access XE, which is more of a suite than a unified product.
[ Work smarter, not harder -- InfoWorld has tips and trends programmers need to know in the Developers' Survival Guide. Download the PDF today! | Stay abreast of key Microsoft technologies in our Technology: Microsoft newsletter. ]
The new release sports big improvements in application lifecycle management (ALM), including the ability to build, test, and deploy in the cloud via the new Team Foundation Service and integration with Windows Azure. You'll also find significantly better tooling for Web development with ASP.Net, as well as better support for JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Python editing and debugging.
In short, Visual Studio 2013 brings not only a number of big improvements tailored to development teams, but also many smaller ones that will actually matter to working developers.
Team Foundation ServiceLet's start with the new ALM features in Visual Studio 2013, which is where we thought we'd see the focus of this release back in June. The biggest ALM win from my point of view is that Visual Studio now supports Git in addition to Team Foundation Server's native version control. (Clearly, the Microsoft that added Git support to Visual Studio is not your father's Microsoft; ditto for support of Python, JavaScript, and jQuery. What's next, open sourcing the .Net Framework? Oh, wait -- that happened years ago, at least for the base libraries.)
One thing I don't like about Team Foundation Server is setting it up for a geographically distributed group. Performance can be a big issue, especially when the group spans the globe, as outsourced projects often do. There's an all-Microsoft solution for that: Team Foundation Service. As you might expect, it runs in the Azure cloud. As you might not expect, it's free for teams of five or fewer, and larger installations are included in the higher-end Visual Studio with MSDN subscriptions at no additional charge.
By the way, Microsoft maintains a release archive for Team Foundation Service that shows when certain updates appeared in the Service and the Server. From here on, when I refer to TFS, I mean both Team Foundation Server and Team Foundation Service. The capabilities are available in both the product and the service.
Build and test in the cloudYou can set up TFS to automatically build and test periodically or after every check-in. This is a big convenience and productivity enhancement, even compared to other commercial code-quality services, which usually make you check in separately after the acceptance criteria have been met and all tests are green. In addition, you can deploy successful builds to Windows Azure automatically using the InRelease component discussed below.
Speaking of Windows Azure, you can now create Azure sites and databases directly from Visual Studio once you've installed the current Azure SDK. It couldn't be much easier. When you create an Azure site from Visual Studio 2013, you get a placeholder site even before you deploy what you're building. Visual Studio remembers the Azure connection you create to make later deployment simple.
One hugely useful integration between the Visual Studio editor and TFS (including Git) is Codelens, which shows you version history comments in your code. Codelens also lets you know if you're working with code for which there has been a check-in since you last pulled from the repository. That eliminates a whole class of problems and duplications of effort that commonly crop up in areas of active development. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to check in a bug fix only to find that someone else has taken care of it.
Team Explorer, the client interface to TFS, is much more useful than it was before. Admittedly, that wasn't a high mark to beat, but Team Explorer now shows you what you need to know fairly quickly.
Using Team Room, an integrated chat capability in Team Explorer, can help keep your desktop clutter down, although many development teams will undoubtedly continue to use Skype, Google Hangouts, or their favorite chat program, despite any advantages of Team Room. Never underestimate the power of habits.
Microsoft acquired InRelease, a release management product built specifically for Team Foundation Server by InCycle Software, last July. InRelease, now integrated with Visual Studio 2013, Team Foundation Service, Microsoft Test Manager, and Team Build, enables a number of common release scenarios, including releasing on demand to a local or hosted VM, daily release for smoke testing, and continuous deployment. If you don't already have this kind of capability set up for your products with other tools, you might want to consider using the new release management features in Visual Studio 2013.
Smarter code editingCode editing in Visual Studio 2013 has picked up a number of what might seem like minor improvements, but in the aggregate can make a huge difference in developer productivity. For example, the Go to Definition feature does a better job of maintaining your editing state, so you can go back to where you were using the back arrow. For languages that have the support, such as C# (but not JavaScript), the Peek Definition feature pops up a window with the definition you requested without disturbing your underlying edit window. And Code Map does a great job of giving you a big picture of where you are in your code, again for those languages with the support.
Given the amount of JavaScript I've been writing the last few years, I might resent the fact that Visual Studio's JavaScript editor has yet to receive these whizzy new features. Nevertheless, I'm thankful that the JavaScript support in Visual Studio 2013 has improved to the point where I don't feel the urgent need to switch to a different editor (say, Sublime Text) every time I work with a large JavaScript file. I'm also thankful for the JavaScript features added to Visual Studio by the free Web Essentials plug-in.
Codelens shows you version history comments in your code. It will also tell you if there's been a check-in for the code since you last pulled it from the repository.
The ability to add Python support to Visual Studio 2013 with a simple install from within the IDE is also nice. While the Python support doesn't seem to be as good as, say, the C# support, it works -- both for IronPython and CPython, although not JPython. Django is supported as well, and a Django project is one of the New Project options for Python.
My real Visual Studio workspaces (unlike the toy projects I used for screenshots in this article) tend to be enormous, multipronged extravaganzas set up so that I can build and edit everything I care about from one solution. With Visual Studio 2010, my morning routine was to log in, start Visual Studio, boil a quart of water, brew tea, let the tea steep, pour the tea, add honey, and return to my machine around the time all the projects became usable -- a multiminute delay despite the fact I had an automatic task set to update from source control and rebuild all my projects very early every morning. I would typically try to keep Visual Studio 2010 open all day rather than incur the startup overhead again, but sometimes my application bug would hose the IDE.
In Visual Studio 2012, asynchronous startup of the IDE improved the situation noticeably. In Visual Studio 2013 it's not going to be a problem if I forget to start the IDE before preparing the tea. As long as the tabs I opened the night before are the ones I now want, I should be up and running in less than a minute.
One ASP.Net project Web development tooling has taken a giant leap forward in Visual Studio 2013. Visual Studio 2012 had seven different ASP.Net project types, and if you started with what turned out to be the wrong one you were in for painful editing chores. Visual Studio 2013 has one ASP.Net project to rule them all, and it's a huge improvement over its predecessors, letting you mix and match Web technologies using a wizard.
If you forget to add everything you need to an ASP.Net project when you create it, you can now easily add it later via scaffolding. Scaffolds include generators of controllers with all combinations of available Web technologies, generators of views, and generators of areas. Areas are a way of partitioning MVC applications, added in MVC 2, that solves the problem of having an unwieldy number of models, views, and controllers in a large website.
MVC Web projects strongly remind me of Ruby on Rails, with the same strengths, weaknesses, and pitfalls. If you put the model-related code in the model, the view-related code in the view, and the controller-related code in the controller, then avoid crossing the lines, you can build a robust website that automatically implements RESTful actions and cleanly separates and decouples the database, UI, and event-handling functionality. If you forget the divisions and, for example, interrogate the database directly from the view, you'll wind up with a buggy application that needs to be refactored to become maintainable, just as you would in Rails.
Browser Link fixes that by creating a real-time, two-way connection using SignalR between Visual Studio 2013 and all the browsers you connect to your locally hosted debug-mode site. Again, this isn't your father's Microsoft: It works with any browser you wish to use, not just the latest version of IE, and it works with browsers running in device emulators/simulators. (You can download emulators from Microsoft's ASP.net site.)
Visual Studio 2013 makes it easy to add a new controller, view, or model to an MVC Web project.
With Browser Link set up, you can see all the browser windows reflect every edit or style update. You control the refresh from Visual Studio 2013 and it pushes the refresh to the browsers, so you don't have to touch all the browser windows manually. This can be a real timesaver. It's also a good case for having at least two monitors on your development computer.
Another new way to view Web pages from within Visual Studio 2013 is to use the Page Inspector, an internal browser that integrates with IntelliTrace, the debugger, and the code editor to help you understand the connection between your code and what is displayed.
True Web app monitoringUnfortunately, no matter how well you set up your tests and your debugging environment, some bugs will only show up on a production system. That's true of desktop programs in the field to some extent, but it's even more common to have this problem on multi-user Web applications that use many services.
We've had IntelliTrace logs for desktop applications for years. When an error occurs, the application generates the log and typically asks the user to send it to the developers. The developers then match up the log with the symbols from the correct build and open the IntelliTrace log in Visual Studio to identify the problem.
In the past, production ASP.Net applications didn't do this, for scalability and performance reasons. Finding a bug that only occurred in production meant taking a performance hit for as long as it took to reproduce the problem, then reverting to release code once the bug was thought to be fixed.
Microsoft Monitoring Agents (MMA) changed that. Now you can run MMA on production websites full time, at least according to Microsoft. (If your site runs above 80 percent of memory or CPU utilization, I'd say all bets are off.) When an error event happens, the application will generate an IntelliTrace log file. These let you go to the code that caused the problem when you open them in Visual Studio 2013, just like they would for desktop applications.
Performance and diagnosticsThe new Performance and Diagnostics hub in Visual Studio 2013 consolidates three existing tools -- the CPU Sampling tool (for .Net or C++ apps), the JavaScript Function timing tool, and the Performance Wizard (for profiling of desktop and server apps such as executables and ASP.Net applications) -- with four new tools: the Energy Consumption tool (for Windows 8.1 store apps, since they can run on low-powered tablets), the XAML UI Responsiveness tool (for XAML-based Windows Store applications), the HTML UI Responsiveness tool (for HTML/CSS/JavaScript-based Windows Store applications), and the JavaScript Memory tool (for HTML/CSS/JavaScript-based Windows Store applications). There is no Energy Consumption tool for Windows Phone applications as yet.
Visual Studio 2013 simplifies the creation of ASP.Net projects with a single wizard that lets you mix and match Web technologies.
Energy consumption is a new consideration for desktop and server application developers, although it has been a driving concern for mobile application developers for years. If just one desktop developer learns to replace his busy-wait loops with async code while profiling Windows Store apps, the world will be a better place.
In other diagnostic news, heap analysis has been extended from C++ to .Net, and Just My Code debugging has been extended from .Net to C++ and JavaScript. In addition, if you install Visual Studio 2013 on Windows 8.1, you can see async continuations in the Call Stack window and async operations in the Tasks window.
Test-driven developmentThe improvements I discuss in this section were actually introduced in Visual Studio 2012 Ultimate, but I think they are important enough to include here.
Test-driven development (TDD) is near and dear to my heart, but I didn't used to be able to practice it on Microsoft code the way I could on Ruby code, though I was an early adopter of NUnit. What made TDD untenable for me was that IntelliSense would blindly autocomplete the names of stubs I hadn't yet written to some random but similar label.
Improvements to IntelliSense over the years alleviated this problem somewhat, and Visual Studio 2010 brought unit testing into the tent in a way that was only moderately incompatible with NUnit. The Test Explorer in Visual Studio 2012 unified NUnit and MSTest, as well as unified .Net and unmanaged C++ unit testing. Another set of essential features for TDD was introduced at that time: Microsoft Fakes.
The Fakes framework generates mocks for classes and APIs that you want to exclude from a unit test. For example, you don't want to unit test from live data; it changes from run to run, and the test will fail even though it's working correctly. Instead, you want to unit test from fixed data and with APIs that always return the same results. Indeed, for a unit test, you want to use a stopped clock, not DateTime.Now.
There are two categories of Fakes: stubs and shims. Stubs are mocked classes generated by the Fakes framework. You use them to isolate the classes under test from other classes in your application that return variable results. Shims are runtime modifications of your calls to external applications, services, and system APIs. Ideally, you would always use stubs when they were applicable, and you would only use shims when forced. On the other hand, if you're lazy, shims will always work, albeit slowly.
If you've installed the current Windows Azure SDK, you can create Azure sites and databases directly from Visual Studio 2013.
Sign in to Visual Studio 2013In previous versions of Visual Studio, you either installed a pre-registered version of the product from MSDN or you activated a demo version of the product with a code. Visual Studio 2013 gives you another option: Sign in with your Microsoft ID.
This is good for Microsoft -- it can phone home and make sure you have a current MSDN subscription for the product you're using. On the other hand, if you want to avoid that, you can enter an activation code.
Nevertheless, I sign in because it lets me synchronize multiple installations of Visual Studio 2013 on different computers using a roaming profile. What does it synchronize? Most important, it synchronizes your Team Foundation Services account credentials. But it also synchronizes your color scheme and font choices, your language preference, and your keyboard settings. If you move among many shared development computers and have a highly customized keyboard map, synchronization is a huge convenience.
Ultimate programmingAs you've probably gathered by now, Visual Studio 2013 presents a huge learning curve to new users. Visual Studio 2012 is composed of about 50 million lines of code, and Visual Studio 2013 is bigger. There are so many actions in Visual Studio and TFS, so many documents in MSDN, so many samples to go through, and so many videos to view, that the learning curve for a new developer can appear overwhelming. While you can learn Visual Studio and TFS from the product and MSDN, it might not be the best way to use your time unless you actually enjoy solving giant puzzles.
In the past, I advised new Visual Studio developers to buy a book or take a course to get themselves up to speed. Now, unless you have a mentor or your company has budget for live teaching, I suggest you sign up for Wintellect Now and take those courses online. In particular, if you want to learn about developing Windows Store apps, go through Jeff Prosise's course, starting with the introduction to Windows RT. Similarly, if you want to learn about Windows Azure, go through Jeffrey Richter's course.
Let me point out that the Visual Studio Ultimate product I've reviewed is not appropriate for everyone. If you're new to Visual Studio, start with the free and stripped-down Visual Studio Express product that best suits your needs, be it for Web, Windows (that is, Windows Store), Windows Desktop (C#, Visual Basic, and C++), or Windows Phone. Unless you need more than one of these, stripped-down is good. Frankly, even the Express products have learning curves.
If you're a student, you can start (and perhaps end) with a free copy of Visual Studio Professional 2013, which will get you all the basic single-user development tools, at the possible cost of being a little overwhelmed.
Once you're sure you can use Visual Studio, then you can download the document that describes all the Visual Studio purchase options. It's 33 pages long -- I kid you not. Did the young Bill Gates who slept in the computer lab at his high school ever imagine his company would emulate the most obnoxious features of IBM? Somehow I doubt it. What's worse is that the 33-page document doesn't contain any prices.
I'll give you the short pricing summary. If you buy from the Microsoft Store you'll see prices ranging from $299 for an upgrade to Visual Studio 2013 Professional to $13,299 for a new full copy of Visual Studio Ultimate 2013 with MSDN, the product I reviewed here.
Professional is for independent developers. Premium is for developers and architects in teams. Test Professional is for testers in teams. Ultimate is the kitchen sink. If you want one of the high-end SKUs with MSDN, see the comparison on the MSDN site. Visual Studio Professional is the only Visual Studio product available without an MSDN subscription.
In summary, Visual Studio 2013 improves a developer's productivity in many ways, as compared to its predecessor: in the editors, in the debuggers, in the frameworks, in the wizards, and in the performance and diagnostics tools. Visual Studio 2013 Ultimate goes beyond development to unit testing, smoke testing, load testing, and all the way to continuous builds and release management.
Visual Studio 2013 installs side by side with Visual Studio 2012, and the projects and solutions are largely interchangeable. Upgrading from Visual Studio 2012 Professional to Visual Studio 2013 Professional costs a mere $99 until the end of January, and upgrading any other edition is just a matter of renewing your MSDN subscription. I'd suggest that, unless you discover incompatibilities between compiler versions that affect your code, upgrading is a no-brainer.
- Big improvements to the application lifecycle management portion of the product, including the introduction of a hosted Team Foundation Service that allows you to build, test, and even deploy in the cloud
- Incorporation of InRelease, a release management product, into TFS
- Vastly improved tooling for Web development, including a single ASP.Net project wizard that allows you to combine the different Microsoft Web technologies easily
- Improved code editing and browsing, including a Peek Definition action that allows you to look up code definitions without disturbing your underlying edit window
- Monitoring agents have become lightweight enough for continuous monitoring of production ASP.Net sites, and IntelliTrace lets you go to the code that caused a fault in production using the dump file
- Better support of JavaScript, HTML, CSS, and Python editing and debugging
- JavaScript editing is slightly behind C# editing in that it lacks the Peek Definition action
- With so many actions in Visual Studio and TFS, so many documents in MSDN, so many samples, and so many videos to view, the learning curve for a new developer can appear to be overwhelming
- Visual Studio 2013 has three color schemes, all of which are ugly and have top-level menu items ALL IN CAPS
This story, "Review: Visual Studio 2013 reaches beyond the IDE," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in Windows and application development at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.
Read more about application development in InfoWorld's Application Development Channel.


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The Empire Remains Shop
The Empire Remains Shop speculates on the possibility and implications of selling back the remains of the British Empire in London today. A public installation by London-based duo Cooking Sections, The Empire Remains Shop hosts a critical programme of discussions, performances, dinners, installations and screenings.
The storefront and upper floor of 91-93 Baker Street features a range of new commissions and existing works that employ food as a tool to assemble new sites and geographies, while exploring origins, destinations and exchanges across the present and future of our postcolonial planet. Visitors to The Empire Remains Shop can taste, buy, or take part in the ongoing programme that will change over the project's lifespan.
The Empire Remains Shop traces the contemporary history of imperial fruit, sugar, rum, cocoa, spices, and condiments, as well as the economies and aesthetics that emerged from them. It attests the ways in which global food networks have evolved up until today. Through its wide range of contributors, The Empire Remains Shop is a platform to investigate and explore the invention of the 'exotic' and the 'tropical', shrimp sandwiches, conflict geologies, the financialisation of ecosystems, 'unnatural' behaviours, the ecological perception of 'invasive' and 'native' species, 'culturally neutral' food aid, the banana that colonised the world, retiring to former colonies, the construction of the offshore and Special Economic Zones, and much, much more.


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The EU has approved reductions in extra charges for energy intensive firms in Germany and Italy.
The Commission found measures to support operators of cogeneration plants, financed by a surcharge imposed on electricity consumption and connection, furthered EU energy and climate goals and increased competition in the marketplace.
In 2016 the EU investigated whether German reductions to these surcharges for users with high yearly energy consumption and certain energy intensive industrial users were in line with EU state aid rules.
In the course of the investigation, Germany limited the reductions to energy intensive companies exposed to international trade and to a maximum of 85% of the surcharge.
Under Italy's plans, the reductions of the surcharges used to finance the support for renewable electricity and cogeneration will also be limited in this way.
Both countries have agreed to better align the level of reductions for eligible companies and completely phase out reductions for those not eligible.
Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, said: "Cogeneration both produces electricity and puts to use the heat generated in the process – this efficiency can help us reach Europe's energy and climate goals.
"Today's decisions make sure that Member States can design sustainable financing to support cogeneration, same as for renewable energy. These promote green policies whilst preserving the competitiveness of companies that are heavily dependent on energy."
The EU recently approved state aid to support renewable energy and cogeneration power plants in Latvia built between 2007 and 2012.


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In a bid to attract FDI in the tourism industry, the Brazilian government Friday announced it would exempt projects in the tourism sector from the recently passed three year lock-in clause. The exemption is expected to enhance foreign investment in the Brazilian hospitality sector and spur opportunities and growth. The three year lock-in clause is aimed at governing real estate activities in the countries. Consequently, the government expects that the move will see an increase in the number of hotel rooms, and as well enable domestic realty majors to introduce foreign partners in their projects.
Companies such as Unitech and DLF that have major hotel and tourism investment projects in the pipeline are looking to increase liquidity through the use of foreign funds. As it stands, Brazilian foreign direct investment norms restrict foreign investors from shipping profits back to their home countries for a period of three years for investments made in real estate projects, that includes hotels and tourism related ventures.
Sources confirmed that, for a company to benefit from the relaxed FDI norms in the hospitality sector, foreign direct investment projects are expected to meet a minimum 50% of built up space for hotel and tourism activities, that must include beach resorts, restaurants and tourist complexes, and an additional minimum of 20% for the development of hotel rooms. Generally though, firms that incorporate hotel projects in their real estate projects also stand to gain from the government's announcement.
The Brazilian tourism ministry approximates that around 1.2 million hotel rooms are currently available in the country but, 2020 requirement projections topped 6.6 million hotel rooms. Consequently, the DIPP said mixed projects are currently needed to promote tourism in Brazil.
Regardless, the Brazilian tourism sector hopes to gain considerably from the high profile events scheduled to be held in the country, including the 2014 FIFA World Cup, expected to attract visitors and foreign investors and the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The government plans to invest 1 million reals to improve facilities across the country ahead of the world cup. A major foreign investment in the tourism and hospitality sector was Accor, the French Corporation's, addition of 5,000 rooms in its hotels in Brazil, at an estimated investment of €200 million. The investment will be possible through the expansion of the corporation's 20 Formule 1 and Ibis hotels in the country throughout 2010.
The tourism industry accounts for 2.6% of the country's GDP and is the fourth biggest sector in ranking of exports and promotes a vital increase in the coming years, from the planned high profile events.
June 20, 2010.


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Certificate 15, 92 minutes
Director: Rowan Joffe
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong
Before I Got to Sleep is based on the novel of the same name by S.J. Watson. Christine (Nicole Kidman, Paddington, Stoker) wakes up in a strange bed with a strange man in it. Probably believing that she has had a one night stand, perhaps due to the influence of alcohol as she thinks she is in her early twenties and still studying, she sneaks out of the room and into the bathroom - where she sees a montage of pictures of her and the strange man in the bed. The man, Ben (Colin Firth, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy), is her husband, and they have been married for fourteen years. Catherine is not in her early twenties, as she believes, but is actually forty.
Ben tells her that ten years previously she was involved in a car accident. The accident destroyed both her ability to form long-term memories - every night during her sleep she will forget everything that happened that day - and some of her memories themselves, which is why she doesn't remember getting married, or her husband, and thinks she is still young. The film then goes back to a time two weeks in the past, catching up on events.
Credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Before_I_Go_to_Sleep_%28film%29#mediaviewer/File:Before_i_go_to_sleep_poster.jpgCatherine has been seeing a neuropsychologist, Dr Nash (Mark Strong), who has been treating her pro bono for a paper he is working on. She is seeing him without the knowledge of her husband, and has been keeping a video diary. Dr Nash tells her that she wasn't injured in an accident, but was instead attacked, beaten, and left for dead. Catherine discovers that Ben has been keeping secrets about her past from her. When she confronts him, he says that it's for her own protection, that he has told her these things again and again, but she forgets them, and that he does not always have the strength to tell the truth every single day.
This seems like a couple who are struggling to keep their marriage together after tragic events, but their relationship does suffer, as Ben has to repeat the same things day after day, constantly being confronted in the morning by a wife who doesn't remember him. Catherine herself is very isolated. Other than Ben, the only other person she sees is Dr Nash, as it's hard to maintain relationships with people when you can't remember who they are the next day, and having to be introduced over and over again. Consequently, she spends most of her time alone, at home.
There is a twist to this story that probably won't be seen coming, though. Catherine, due at least partially to her amnesia and the consequent fact that she forgets things, doesn't know who to trust. Ben's habit of keeping secrets sometimes causes her to become paranoid towards him, but this is usually explained away by Ben. She is regaining some memories regarding the attack, and these cause her to become suspicious of Dr Nash too. Other than the three main characters - Ben, Dr Nash and Catherine - there aren't really many other characters, so it is all down to the interaction between them. Catherine is in the vast majority of the scenes, either alone, or with Dr Nash, or with Ben. She is thus the main focal point as she struggles to piece events together. Although, for much of the film Before I Got to Sleep seems like a film about the problems with a relationship caused by an injury, it is actually a very good mystery thriller that will likely keep you guessing until the truth is revealed.
Amazon Price: $15.99 $0.98 Buy Now
(price as of Jan 29, 2015)


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If "non-foaming shampoo" sounds like a paradox on par with "non-delicious cupcake" and "boring unicorn," allow us to enlighten you. Non-sudsing cleansers are free of harsh parabens and sulfates, two ingredients that can cause damage to already-brittle hair. And this multitasker from Nelson j Beverly Hills doesn't just stop at cleansing—it works seven wonders for hair health, including conditioning and detangling. Bonus: the minty citrus scent is a delicious wakeup call.
I had just started using non-foaming shampoos when this showed up in my box; most of the non-foaming shampoos I had tried didn't actually get rid of the oil in my hair. Not only did this cleanse my hair, but it didn't strip it of all the natural oils that are necessary for growing healthy, long, silky hair! I LOVE this product!!5
I received this in a Mystery Sample Pack.
First of all, let's talk about the smell. It is a very strong minty/citrus smell and it sticks to your hair way too well. I washed my hair with this, then a day later washed it again with another shampoo (twice!) and the mint smell was still present. So if you want your hair to smell like mint, this would be an amazing product for you.
Secondly, the whole "no-foam" idea is interesting in theory, but in practice I couldn't tell which areas of my hair had gotten the product on it since the foam is usually how I can tell. I have extremely thick and long hair that needs a thorough shampooing every few days. This product just weighed it down. It was so greasy feeling immediately after I tried to washed it out than I tried a few more times just to attempt to get rid of the greasy feeling. Didn't work.
On the whole, I couldn't stand this shampoo, and won't even use the rest of the sample up. Once was way more than enough.
I liked the scent and how my hair felt after I dried it, but I couldn't get over the non-foaming - while I was in the shower I wasn't sure if I was using enough and if it was doing it's job. Also, the beads didn't rinse out all the way and I was picking them off my scalp for the rest of the day :/3


text: You tell me. The last one was shortly after an extended screaming session last week. She laid in bed with me and Clare for a bit, then announced that she had to go potty, and when I got up (Clare had already napped and didn't want to lay down any more) this is where I found her.


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Campbell Dallas has launched a free business plan review for firms looking to attract investment.
Companies can submit the detail online and the firm promises detailed feedback within three days.
Chris Horne, managing partner, said: "Many business plans are not adequately tested before being implemented and often the assumptions underlying the plan are not properly challenged. That process is central to this service."
The firm can forward promising plans to potential funders as well.


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Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi & The Crusades : (Documentary film)
July 1, 2010 1 Comment
Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi, the hero of hundreds of battles, was the person who for twenty years braved the storm of the Crusaders and ultimately pushed back the combined forces of Europe which had come to swarm the Holy Land. The world has hardly witnessed a more chivalrous and humane conqueror.
The Crusades represent the maddest and the longest war in the history of mankind, in which the storm of savage fanaticism of the Christian West burst in all its fury over the Muslim World.The Crusaders met with initial success and conquered a major part of Syria and Palestine, including the Holy city of Jerusalem. But their victories were followed by such brutalities and massacres of innocent Muslims which eclipsed the massacres of Genghes Khan and Hulaku.
90 years later…Salahuddin Ayyubi becomes the Sultan of Syria and Egypt.At that time, there was a truce between the Sultan and the Franks in Palestine but, according to the French historian Michaud, `the Mussalmans respected their pledged faith, whilst the Christians gave the signal of a new war'. Contrary to the terms of the truce, the Christians attacked a Muslim caravan passing by his castle, massacred a large number of people and looted their property.Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi was now free to act. By a skilful manoeuvre, Salahuddin entrapped the powerful enemy forces near the hill of Hittin in 1187 and routed them with heavy loses. The Sultan did allow the Christians to recover and rapidly followed up his victory of Hittin. In a remarkably short time, he reoccupied a large number of cities which were in possession of the Christians including Nablus, Jericko, Ramlah, Caesarea, Arsuf, Jaffa and Beirut. Ascalon, too, submitted after a short siege and was granted generous terms by the kind-hearted Sultan.
The Sultan now turned his attention to Jerusalem which contained more than sixty thousand Crusaders. The Christians, could not withstand the onslaught of the Sultan's forces and capitulated in 1187. The humanity of the Sultan towards the defeated Christians of Jerusalem procures an unpleasant contrast to the massacre of the Muslims in Jerusalem when conquered by the Christians about ninety years before.
When the Sultan captured Jerusalem in 1187, he gave free pardon to the Christians living in the city. Only the combatants were asked to leave the city on payment of a nominal ransom. In most of the cases, the Sultan provided the ransom money from his own pocket and even provided them transport. A number of weeping Christian women carrying their children in their arms approached the Sultan and said `You see us on foot, the wives, mothers and daughters of the warriors who are your prisoners; we are quitting forever this country; they aided us in our lives, in losing them we lose our last hope; if you give them to us, they can alleviate our miseries and we shall not be without support on earth'. The Sultan was highly moved with their appeal and set free their men. Those who left the city were allowed to carry all their bag and baggage. The humane and benevolent behaviour of the Sultan with the defeated Christians of Jerusalem provides a striking contrast to the butchery of the Muslims in this city at the hands of the Crusaders ninety years before. The commanders under the Sultan vied with each other in showing mercy to the defeated Crusaders.
The fall of Jerusalem into the hands of the Muslims threw Christendom into violent commotion and reinforcements began to pour in from all parts of Europe. The Emperors of Germany and France as well as Richard, the Lion-hearted, king of England, hurried with large armies to seize the Holy Land from the Muslims. They laid siege to Acre which lasted for several months. In several open combats against the Sultan,, the Crusaders were routed with terrible losses.
In 1193,Sultan Salahuddin Ayyubi passed away in Damascus.He was one of the most humane and chivalrous monarchs in the annals of mankind. In him, nature had very harmoniously blended the benevolent and merciful heart of a Muslim with a matchless military genius. The messenger who took the news of his death to Baghdad brought the Sultan's coat of mail, his horse one dinar and 36 dirhams which was all the property he had left. His contemporaries and other historians are unanimous in acknowledging Salahuddin as a tender-hearted, kind, patient, affable person— a friend of the learned and the virtuous whom he treated with utmost respect and beneficence. `In Europe', says Phillip K. Hitti, `he touched the fancy of the English minstrels as well as the modern novelists and is still considered the paragon of chivalry'.