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Silas' invasion – mind coitus…
Well, his name wasn't really Silas. Bloggers do this all the time, right?
In the second year of my course for bachelors in engineering at MIT, Manipal, I was acquainted with a certain dude. He and I had mutual friends, a lot of them. For the purpose of this post, let's refer to him as Silas. Silas was quite vastly knowledgeable and we had a lot of shared interests. We spent a lot of time discussing theories of everything at length – a common occurrence with budding engineers. Silas was the only one, among my very limited circle of friends, who truly believed the many impossible seeming, albeit true, stories I told him. The kind of connection (for lack of a better word) we had was something that I had never experienced before, so naturally my immune system made every attempt to prevent our bonds from strengthening.
As it turned out, I wasn't the only one experiencing internal torment. Every mutual friend, of his and mine, had similar complaints. It took me longer to get there and when I did, I started to notice that most of the time, he would force feed us stories from his dreams, tidbits about his girlfriend and, at times, the girlfriend's whereabouts in those dreams. The stories were messy; they've scarred us beyond repair. Until now, he's been the the only one who could, with just his words, make me nauseated. I couldn't help the fact that I knew the names he'd given to his girlfriend's boobs and her southern trench. Nevertheless, I can't but admit we all did have a lot of fun that year.
Sadly, the year ended with Silas screwing up his academics to such a degree that he had to leave the institute and go back home to start afresh. We all patiently waited for the nostalgia to kick in. Ah! Those were the days. We did a lot of crazy… wait! We didn't really miss Silas. It got really weird the next couple weeks because we actually talked more about how we didn't miss him. I did try to keep in touch for a while, though, which at this point was a mere convention. After a while, I entered a phase of resentment toward him. I was overwhelmed by the realisation that I had been stupid all this time. I started firing insults his way, subtly mentioning how he wasted two years of his life and one year each of two of his friends. It seemed as if Silas was a few brain-cells short of being a half wit; he kept replying to those insults as if it were a wordplay session.
I de-friended him on Facebook, because that was somehow the worst I could do at the time – my life was pretty dull. I decided I wanted to have nothing to do with Silas ever again. I vowed to punch him once for every second he stays within a 2 metre radius from me. The next term began and I started living in a house of my own far away from my friends in the hostels. I actually liked it better now – I was not expected to meet anybody on short notice and if I ever did have a long enough chat with my friends it would be over the phone or online or a previously agreed upon scheduled meeting.
None of them knew my address, and unless they were willing to follow me – I know some have tried, more flattering than creepy – or knock on every door in the building, they'd not know it. So, you might imagine my surprise when, one particularly not-quite-fine morning, I was woken by an unexpected knock on the door and it turned out to be none other than the last person I'd ever have wanted to see.
Yes, Silas was at my door. What I did next would be the first on the list of reasons I'd want to kill myself (and I did). I had absolutely no idea what was preventing me from swift kicking him at the sack of testicles – they also had names, by the way.
I said, 'Why don't you come in?'.
Yeah, I invited the vampire into my house. He got in, took a seat and started talking about whatever it was that happened in his life since he left for home. As he puts it, during his time at home, he "found his true passion" – he still wanted to continue his course for bachelors in engineering. The epic screw-up didn't faze him much and he appeared determined to try and try till he succeeds, whatever that meant. He convinced his parents to let him do so at Manipal itself so that he needn't have to re-create an already established friend circle. He would, effectively, lose only a year and clear all his subjects in the mean time.
'Yawn, I'm tired, dude. Long journey.', he said and asked me if he could rest at my house for a bit. Maybe, I wasn't thinking straight at the time; I pointed to the bedroom. As he rested, I kept asking myself, 'Is something wrong with me?'. Was he really just going to "rest for a while"? I have been known to be pretty optimistic but realism kept the fight on.
In the past year when I lived at the hostels, Silas made it a habit to sleep in at least once a week. It was great for him and his roommate – he gets to experience the Air-Con for a day and his roommate had one less day of troubles. The only casualty in this arrangement was me. It just sucked and yet, I didn't know why I always let him in. He would just show up at any moment and tell me that he needed a place to crash. Every time, I would let him stay, thinking it could do no harm. He would wake up in the middle of the night and strengthen the evidence against it. He'd start gaming on my laptop whenever he pleased; I used to be too sleepy, at times, to even care what he was up to. That is just the tip of the iceberg.
Silas would wake me up from time to time and make me give up the only bed at the room to have some sleep. I've always been a good host and I let him do even that. Besides, I like proving I can do stuff – like, in this instance, sleep on a chair or the floor and waking up without a back-ache. I kept pondering the stuff I could do with the DNA samples he left behind in his uncontrolled drool sessions. He wouldn't even bother leaving me alone the next day. He would stay and continue using my laptop to watch TV shows. Silas might not know it, but he has ruined many of my priced hassle-free sundays that way.
I decided to tell Silas that he was being imposing. So, I went to him and talked about how I couldn't let him in my room any more. He used every trick he could to subvert that. 'Whatever I do in your room will not disturb you in any way. You can do whatever you want just the way you did.', said he, a man of vast knowledge of how to a person ought to be manipulated. I argued for a bit, being proficient at spotting mind-control, but there is always an endurance limit. So, I cut to the chase and told Silas that he was never allowed back to my room – my room, my rules.
A few days later, we had our in-semester examinations. Silas coaxed me into letting him stay at my room because he would, as he put it, "fall asleep at my own room and fail my test". I let him stay after some pestering. I had to admit, though, he was right – if he would have been at his room that day, he would have fallen asleep and failed the test. Unfortunately, there was no way to test that statement for logical fallacies. On the one hand, he didn't go back to his room and yet, he managed to fail his test. Of course, that would make perfect sense if he actually believed my room was his own now.
I discussed his behaviour with our mutual friends and most of what they had to offer was laughter. They usually spoke along the same lines – your problem, you solve it. One of them said and I quote, 'Dude! He is the Silas. He had been doing this to us for a long time and we always wanted him to get off our backs. He is now yours. You're screwed.'
Where were we?
Oh yeah! Silas took "a nap" in my bedroom. I was pretty tired from hearing of his chronicles. I had taken a nap too; I was up at around 8 in the evening. I saw him still asleep. I woke him and reminded him that he had to…
Wait?! He didn't tell me anything about where he was going after that. I expected the absolute worst I could which was him pleading to stay a little longer. I didn't know if it was just downright predictable but his words, 'Dude! I don't have a hostel room yet; can I stay here until then?', certainly seemed like it. I was pretty pissed and told him to get out of my house at that very instant. Surprisingly, he complied.
The next day, I got up and ready for college and was about to leave. At the threshold, I truly wish I had stepped out without looking down. Silas was lying asleep outside my door with my foot 2 inches above his throat.
The thing that happened next was a total blur; I don't recall what could possibly change my mind that time. Was I a masochist of some kind? Did I need professional help? Those were questions I asked myself when I permitted him to stay. I did lay out a few conditions though. First, he should not mention living in my apartment to anybody and, second, he should find a different place to live during my parents' routine visits. Silas agreed.
This takes me back. There have already been countless times I've been victimised through Silas' unnaturally stupid ways of handling things. One time, he asked me to accompany him to get printed copies of the question sheets of examinations held in the years before us. I waited at the photocopying stall with him for about an hour. When it was, finally, the time to pay the guy, he suddenly remembered he only had money enough to pay for about a twentieth of all the papers. Of course, he had other plans for that money – recharging his girlfriend's prepaid phone. Obviously, I ended up paying for it.
So, he lived at my house peacefully, for a while. In a few months, however, he got frequent calls from his girlfriend – let's call her Ms. Schmidt; I like European names. Apparently, she was coming to Manipal for a few days. That, to me, meant I could uproot the, now quite a menace, Silas forever. He'd want some privacy and would thus stay in a lodge close by. But, he has a peculiar way of surprising people – this one pretty unpleasant, might I add. He brought her to my house. It was a nightmare; literally, as it turns out. For the next few hours – hundreds of them actually (the universe is my time-scale) – I was in a state of depression. See, I had to borrow his amazing noise cancelling headphones to shut my ears and keep my mind open about coitus.
Schmidt left in a few days and I was left with a Silas. Not for long though. Once in a couple months, he'd made sure I'd get his money's worth off his headphones. By the end of the year, I had grown accustomed to it; I began to discover that I had started to evolve some special skills. I was able to hallucinate at will, imagine and visualise things and people as if they really existed and I achieved one of my lesser dreams – the gift of voluntary noise cancellation.
The new academic year had arrived and Silas failed to make it to the third year, again. He discovered he hadn't much in-semester scores to clear his pending subjects easily. So, Silas did some brainstorming – my brain did the storming – and he arrived at the conclusion – my conclusion – that it would be better and more effective to repeat the second year completely. Only this time, he'd go for every class as if second year never happened, either of the two times. I was now in my fourth and last year of engineering. Ah! Last year ever of this nonsensical past time known as studying. All I had to do was complete that last formality and start working.
I was psyched, but you and I, both, know by now that it won't last long. Silas didn't get a hostel room because he never made it to the allocated room list, because those rooms are awarded on merit. I hated myself that day for living life. I tried pulling some strings at the college, only to find out that Silas hadn't even applied for a room. He made some other arrangements – got his dad to sign a blank cheque for the hostel and wrote his name in it instead. He offered me part of that money to begin staying on rent this time, as if it was any better. I'm a benevolent god. And yeah! I'd get some extra money for my final project that year, so I agreed.
I graduated that year. My project was mostly financed by my parents and Silas' money definitely helped. I then got some electronics intensive companies to sponsor me a small business I started. I'd provide designs and tutorials in return for free components and a huge pile of money. It still seems weird how much I could make out of a simple thing like that. I visited my home – the home sweet home at Bombay – once a while but I'd get bored and come live in Manipal again. I had never liked staying away any better. The frequency at which I visited home after a few months kept reducing and it eventually just came to a stop. I had grown into a workaholic. I worked, day and night, to create something new and everything I had to offer had buyers. I actually settled in Manipal – the last place I'd imagine settling down, which meant I could have guest lectures in MIT all the time. That was another one of my lesser dreams becoming a reality. I knew I could do better than that disaster of a lecture I first attended.
I tried hard to do my part to change the system of the institute and, later, other institutes. Manipal was the place degraded my life to levels I couldn't imagine and yet, I decided to help them out. I built kits that could be used by the students to demonstrate any of the few thousand phenomena they had learnt in theory. This was not invading the prevalent teaching practises and I didn't violate any of their laws being an ex-student. Surprisingly, they changed their system in a few years to accommodate my business into their curriculum. I was asked to place their students in my company. My life got brighter. The sun seemed brighter and warmer on my skin than usual.
As for Silas, he still lived under my roof and was in the process of graduating. He had different obsessions every year. They either didn't interfere much with anything I did or I grew accustomed to his nonsense. I had episodes of an annoying nag at the back of my brain from time to time. I remember this one time when he used my position in the university and his, now well known, guest status at my house to somehow extort the faculty into waiving off the rule of graduation-in-8-years-or-less for him. I was about the big picture. Maybe, I could use the university's compromise to their disadvantage if I had to lash out some day. Plus, I got someone who would, what might seem permanently, take care of all the maintenance of the house. You might find it hard to believe that Silas took fourteen years to graduate. I didn't know what was happening. Did his parents just give up? Why the heck are they not cutting him off?
He really didn't actively disturb my life as much as he did twelve years ago, but I always felt something was off. He managed to stick to that one girlfriend, Schmidt, and stick it to her, if I may. Which girl would be stupid or patient enough to be by the side of a guy who can't get his shit together? Never mind that. Shortening that story, Silas and Schmidt got married and he finally moved from my house to live at his wife's place. My life was back to… well, not back to anything, but better than ever.
I'm not a believer in luck but Silas' departure and an immense boom in my business happened way too close, for many an illiterate folk, to have been considered a co-incidence. He was like a lucky charm, but, you know, in the negative way. Silas, in a way, kept me from progress leaps, and I don't know if that was a good thing or not, but I'd have liked having much more money a few years ago.
Maybe, just maybe, there was a slight possibility I was starting to develop symptoms of schizophrenia. The world around me stopped making sense. Days were unusually bright, which I think was a pretty usual occurrence now. Nights, however, were bright enough to toast a vampire. At times I would just feel like I've been plugged into the Matrix and somehow what I was seeing was simulated reality. I always felt like I was wearing cotton gloves when I had nothing on.
For three years, other than my disinclination to getting tested for mental disorders, there wasn't much that kept me worried. I was on top of the world, looking down at creation, and nothing could faze me. Well, almost nothing. Nah! There is no way Silas would show up. What if he does? Great! Now there are two things that bother me.
Even I'd doubt random co-incidences if they just keep happening, but it did. Three years after they left for good, Silas was back. This time with a kid. I'm a bit fuzzy on the story but apparently, Silas sold his house because he could not get a job, so he decided to stack up his life savings from his properties and continue to live in my house because, he says, 'Dude, you don't have anyone who'd take care of you.'. I started questioning myself, 'Why am I not getting him out?'
'Huh?!', said Silas, which made me realise I actually said that out loud.
'Dude! YOU'RE NOT EVEN MY BROTHER.', said I knowing full well he got the message loud and clear. I swift kicked him in the chest and shut the door.
My brain went into overdrive and I thought to myself, quietly this time, 'Where have I seen this happen before?'. I searched for my laptop and found it along with some hard disks. 'Ah! I remember those. I used to store all my TV shows on that one hard disk. I was a huge computer enthusiast once, wasn't I? Where did all that go?', I thought to myself. I browsed the disk and found a beloved show named Two and a Half Men.
I started a TV show binge and watched the whole series from start to end. By the 7th season of the show, I realised my life was getting very similar to that story, by the way, Silas recommended I watch. Silas, as I remember was very similar to the character Alan who lived off his brother's wealth and then continued to live in the same house now belonging to a complete stranger after the death of his brother. So, I was essentially the same as Walden Schmidt who just co-incidentally happens to have the last-name I chose to give Silas' girlfriend for this story – total co-incidence, honest!
I went through many other TV shows after that to divert my mind off the sad similarities between my life and, what was now no longer, a sitcom, to me. Then I moved on to movies. I watched the Matrix trilogy a few dozen times. A little deeper search and I came upon something that would open my eyes – Inception.
Inception was an awesome movie; it still is 15 years later. I liked it a lot as I could relate to all of the concepts discussed. I've been a practitioner of lucid dreaming for over 20 years and while the movie doesn't depict the truth accurately, it did pretty close.
Time in the real world does seem to fly slower while dreaming – I never imagined how slow it could truly get. I exercise my mind in my sleep and try to look out for real world stimulus to interpret or to move my real body while continuing to sleep and dream. I'm experimented quite a bit and found that it works.
There was one disadvantage I failed to anticipate. The problem of falling into a limbo is a real danger as one starts to practice lucid dreaming too often. Once you get the hang of it, your mind fights your foreign invasion of logic into the most illogical territory of the subconscious. When you dreamt unconsciously your brain did everything automatically, but if you become aware of dreaming, your brain tries everything possible to make you forget that and keep you in a state of rest. This particularly turns ugly when you dream something that complies with every law of real world physics and real world logic. Still, it was a rare occurrence. But the law of large numbers wasn't on my side this whole time.
I suddenly came to my senses, maybe. Lots of questions flooded my mind. Why was I letting Silas get back into my house every time he asked? Why was it that every day seemed brighter than the previous? Why did my hands feel weird? How did Silas get my address? And most important of all – why have I kept away from my gadgets for all these years?
I went down to the pool for a swim; after a thorough session as I lay floating, I started to think my entire life over.
My childhood was awesome; I always considered myself different from the others. I had far keener sense of the world than most. Maybe I was reading too much into it. Maybe I wasn't just observing the world but creating it as well. I began to entertain the possibility that the last few years might have had me living in a universe with modified physical laws. Was I doing it? Do I have superpowers?
I tried drowning myself. As I held my breath I tried remembering my family. I had lost all contact with them in these years. I couldn't stand being away from them, once upon a time. What happened? I remembered waking up exhausted and crying from all of the horrible nightmares I had about them passing away. It was pure agony where I was stuck for about fifty years each every single time. Damn! Those dreams were so realistic, I kept confusing reality with those dreams. When I was 19 in reality I was already 19 about thirty different times.
Hmm, where was I now? Oh right! I was underwater and not dead yet.
I realised I was, at present, experiencing nothing but a dream gone south. Having realised this, I bent the laws of the environment to test my hypothesis. I had it all in control. Great! Lower the brightness… and it didn't. The one thing I couldn't change was the one thing I desperately wanted to. I flew up to my house, because I could now. I took some rest but I didn't need any. Somewhere between making it rain violently and experimenting with the planets of the solar system, I came to a realisation.
I located Silas and teleported in front of him. He smiled and was just about to say something. I didn't let him.
'Avada Kedavra'
I murdered him. My felt my soul split, but I brought it back together. I tried some Dragonball Z manoeuvres which were fun – always a Dragonball Z fan.
I went back to my apartment, which seems boring now since the entire universe was my oyster then. I decided to jot down all the problems I'd like solved. The most important one on the list was that I didn't know when the dream began. I tried hard to think when it was that I started dreaming but I couldn't come to a conclusion. The change in the laws of physics in dream-world must've happened so slowly that I couldn't mark it precisely.
Did I only start dreaming recently? This would means Silas is just a few minutes away and I'd have to live with that sick reality if I wake up. Of course, waking up later is just watering down the problem.
Was I a child when I started dreaming? That would be awful too – I had a great childhood, but I have already seen at least ten years past it since then, not to mention the numerous fifty year dreams within dreams. The only good thing that could come out by waking up into my childhood is that I'd actually be the one who conceived of the idea behind Inception, Two and a Half Men, the Dragonball series, and all the TV shows I liked a lot in the second half of my life. I could just wake up and be the one who created these shows; that is, if the world, I wake up in, was the same as in my dreams since…
Is my entire life a dream? What if I'm just a living being that looks nothing like those in my dreams? In such a case it would be a stupid decision to end it all and wake up. Then again, from Matrix, I know I could be living a life that is not real in the slightest.
I decided to wait. I could not think anymore; maybe this was my reality now. Maybe I really did learn how to fire beams into people I didn't like. Maybe I could cause meteors to strike the earth as I pleased. Maybe every thing I felt all my life was not true. I waited for a sign, but in the meanwhile, I played with my powers.
As a few years passed I noticed nights got as bright as a normal day. The moon had stopped being visible. The sun would just scorch everyone around and I had to fix them all up at the end of the day.
Luckily for me, there was a way out. One fine night there was an earthquake, a wave so strong it shook my whole world. How could it? I had it fully under control. Soon enough, the world felt aftershocks. After about an hour of enduring these waves of doom, there was thunder, but no noticeable lightning before it. Somehow, I knew it was time to die. Maybe, if Silas had never come across it would happen in a different way. I used my new found powers to create an energy source strong enough to blast myself to smithereens. That happened, and nothing.
I was felt completely powerless now. I was higher in the atmosphere scorching from all the concentrated sunlight in the ionosphere. As I fell back toward earth, I felt more and more calm and I wasn't scared to die. I hit the ground in a couple minutes with a thud soft enough to keep me alive. I began to hear a sound – a ring from a phone. The phone was barely a few inches left to my head from where I had fallen. I mustered enough strength and reached it, peered at the screen and discovered it was an alarm. I put the alarm on snooze.
I'm felt my life getting out of me and in a few seconds I was dead. I hoped for my afterlife to take over. At least, I tried. Wait! No, I don't believe in such things. What is going on???
A few seconds later I opened my eyes to see a daylight, and it was good. Is this my afterlife? Was there no better beginning to an afterlife than waking up at my bed in my house? Just then, I heard the same annoying ring before I succumbed. Ah! This was just my phone. Did I get to carry my phone to the afterlife with me?
Wait?! Afterlife?
I just laid down for a while with my eyes shut until I was able to move my limbs perfectly. I counted down from three and had a peek at what was in front of me. It was the very familiar ceiling of my bedroom in my Manipal house. I had a headache when I finally got up from the bed. I was still anxious to know which day it is when I woke up? As I started walking into the living room I made deductions.
Since it was my house in Manipal, I'm definitely older than 20 years. Maybe Silas had gone out at the time. I walked into the hall and found my long lost laptop on the coffee table. I hadn't used it since I completed my engineering course, which meant I'm younger than 22. Of course, the true answer was right on the screen. It was September 12th, 2011. I looked around for books, and found I had my Mech Lab, of the fifth semester, that day; disappointed. I called home and told I wasn't well and that I wouldn't be going to college that day.
A lot happened after that. I got in touch with my long lost friends and found out that Silas never came to my house. I had lost all my superpowers and worst of all, I didn't get to create all of those awesome TV shows. My blog list was open on IE9 in Windows 7. Wow! I hadn't progressed much further in my dream which was really sad. I created a new blog for casual writing and got busy with this very post. Every bit of the story is true, by the way.
There's just one thing I hated as much as it made me happy – this corrupt world. I hated the fact that I woke up in a place that was run by the most corrupt the world has known. I'm happy, knowing the idea of corruption was not conceived by me.


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HERESTOFIGHTIN Rock and Roll Throwdown
This is going to be a big old fashioned party! We are teaming up with Two Faces West to throw down some serious jams and you're going to hear a bunch of new music that we are working on. The party gets started at 10pm and we'll close this place down if not burn it down by the time all you crazies are done. $5 cover and drink specials all night long

subset: commoncrawl


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The Best Maid Cafe Outside of Japan
I love Japan. I travel there and will be living there soon. With that being said, when I want to get those feels from my time there I go to the closest thing there is, In Los Angeles. That place for me is Arcane Maid Cafe. The first time I experienced the cafe was when I went to an anime convention. After that I was hooked. Its as close to Akihabara in the united States as you can get.
Here are some excerpts from their Facebook:
Arcane Café is a fan-run gaming Maid Café dedicated to entertaining guests, providing refreshments, and having fun!
Arcane Maid Cafe is an American Akiba-style Maid Cafe dance group created by fellow convention enthusiasts in 2016. Currently there are a total of 30 active members of Arcane Maid Cafe consisting of entertainers, operations, and security personel. The entertainment group has since performed at several conventions and has hosted standalone events in the greater Los Angeles area.
Arcane Maid Cafe has toured California as a travelling maid cafe to events such as Anime Impulse 2016 (Awarded best Sub-event 2016), TitanCon 2016, PGCLA Pokemon Themed Cafe, Arcane Cafe Standalone, and Aniplex's AkibaFest 2016.
Talents who have engaged and performed at the Arcane Maid Cafe include: Stephanie Yanez (Anime Expo Talent Award Winner), Larry Bear Cosplay, Danny "D-boy" Gonzales (CEO of Ninja Con).
Arcane Maid Café can be found on their website as well. (http://arcanecafe.com) Presale tickets are usually priced and on sale for $10.00 and $30.00 for all day VIP tickets. The price can go up from there depending on venue. If you are making a trip out to LA or live there and want a taste of Japan then I recommend this place for sure.
You can find me on Social below:
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Until Next time Geek Impulse Fam, Live For The Flips!!!


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Pedal party wraps up Bike to Work Week
Since the beginning of May — National Bike Month — Christy Chamberlain has ridden her bike 135 miles.
"We have made the most of bike month," she said.
She and her husband, John, participated in the Ride for Reading program, delivering books by bicycle to Mark Twain and Fremont Elementary schools. They also rode to and from school with their neighbor, Luke Wold, 8, on Bike to School Day, as well as other organized rides.
"We have immensely enjoyed all the events that have been scheduled," Chamberlain said.
As a conclusion of Bike to Work Week this week, cyclists took a break at the Firkin and Fox for an outdoor dance party and raffle.
It was one of the final events organized this month by Muscle Powered, a nonprofit focused on improving walking and cycling in Carson City.
Rob Webster, vice president of the Downtown 20/20 group, which is working to revitalize downtown, said he has participated in the cruiser rides.
"This is the type of activities we'd love to see more of," he said. "I'm totally energized, totally supportive of it. Love it, love it, want more of it."
Awards were also presented at the party, with most miles ridden in a public organization going to the Rough Riders team from the Nevada National Guard.
Tom McElroy biked to the Guard headquarters every day this week. He said it was a good way to get in his required exercise.
"We're soldiers," he said. "We have to pass fitness tests. Fitness is mandatory for the National Guard."
In the private sector, the law firm of Allison MacKenzie has won the same award for the past several years.
"We had to defend our title," said Deidre Reid. "But we lost."
This year, the honor went to Sierra Controls LLC., which racked up 430 miles.
However, John Brooks said it's not over.
"We'll bring it," he said. "Next year, it's on."


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Le Jeudi 8 Mars 2012 à 11h00 en Salle 1 - Tour IRMA
Séminaire de Mr Ludovic METIVIER (ISTerre, Université Joseph Fourier)
A Preconditioned truncated Newton method for Full Waveform Inversion
Full Waveform Inversion (FWI) is a promising tool for seismic imaging. This method aims at estimating subsurface parameters such as the pressure wave velocity, the shear wave velocity, or the density, from local measurements of the wavefield. Based on a wave propagation model, the FWI method consists in minimizing the distance between this measurements and the predicted data given by the wave propagation model. Classical procedures such as the preconditioned steepest descent, or more recently the quasi-Newton l-BFGS method are used to perform this minimization. We are interested in the design of a method that accounts more accurately for the influence of the second order derivatives. The Hessian operator has a strong impact on the quality of the reconstructed parameters, in terms of amplitude estimation and image resolution. We thus investigate the possibility of using a truncated Newton method. In this framework, the Newton descent direction is computed at each iteration by solving a linear system using a matrix-free Conjugate Gradient (CG) algorithm. The algorithm results in two interlocked loops : at each outer nonlinear Newton iteration, a linear system is solved using the CG algorithm. This approach requires however
- the capability of computing efficiently Hessian-vector products,
- a well-suited stopping criterion for the CG inner iterations
- a preconditioner for the CG inner iterations
In this study, we present these three key ingredients. Numerical results on a 2D benchmark model demonstrate that an interesting speed-up in convergence can be obtained, compared to the l-BFGS algorithm.
Mentions légales - contact: Webmaster


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Parasound recently unveiled its home theater products during Cedia 2008. The range of products includes stylish HALO C3 pre/pro, NewClassic HDP70 surround sound preamp/processor and NewClassic HDR77 home theater receiver. All the products take full advantage of HDMI.
The on-board Faroudja DCDi scaler in all the products enables analog video transcoding, HDMI video switching and upconversion to full 1080p digital output. The support for Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, PCM, DTS-HD Master Audio and DTS HD High Resolution Audio makes them stand out in the industry flooded with such products.
The products based on "iPod Link" technology pulls video in component format and access the iPod audio stream. The five inputs and one output make them better than their counterparts. While the HDP70 is priced under $2,500, the HDR77 is priced under $3000. Also the Halo C3 is available for under $3,500.


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October 29, 2020
City of Beverly Hills Cases: 753
October 29, 2020: L.A. County Sees Highest Number of New Cases Since Late- August; Public Health Reports 19 New Deaths and 1,745 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Los Angeles County
October 23, 2020: Updated LA County Safer at Work Health Order
October 14, 2020: AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS ADOPTING EMERGENCY REGULATIONS RELATED TO HALLOWEEN 2020
October 1, 2020: LA COUNTY ANNOUNCES REOPENING TIMELINE FOR NAIL SALONS, CARDROOMS AND INDOOR SHOPPING MALLS WITH LIMITED CAPACITY
September 1, 2020: AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS ADOPTING EMERGENCY REGULATIONS RELATED TO RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL TENANT EVICTIONS
September 2, 2020: LA County Now Permitting Hair Salons, Barbershops to Reopen Immediately With Limited Capacity
August 6, 2020: Residential Street Sweeping to Resume August 17
August 5, 2020: CITY COUNCIL AMENDS URGENCY ORDINANCE REGARDING EVICTIONS AND RENT PAYMENTS FOR SMALL COMMERCIAL TENANTS
July 13, 2020: Governor Newsom Orders Immediate Temporary Closure of Additional Indoor Operations
July 1, 2020: Governor Newsom Orders Closure of Indoor Operations at Restaurants
June 29, 2020: LA COUNTY ORDERS BARS AND BEACHES CLOSED
June 19, 2020: City of Beverly Hills Updates Regulations Related to Temporary Commercial Tenant Eviction Moratorium
June 19, 2020: City of Beverly Hills Urgency Ordinance Related to Residential and Commercial Tenant Evictions
June 18, 2020: LA County Approves Reopening of Additional Businesses Including Personal Care Services
June 11, 2020: LA County Moves to Stage 3 Reopening
May 29, 2020: LA County Now Permitting Hair Salons, Barbershops and In-Person Dining to Reopen Immediately with Limited Capacity
May 28, 2020: Expedited Metro Purple Line Work in Beverly Hills to Continue Through June 15
May 26, 2020: LA County Now Permitting All Retail to open at 50% Capacity
May 25, 2020: Letter to Governor Newsom Requesting Non-Essential Retail and Restaurants to Reopen
May 21, 2020: City of Beverly Hills Parks to Remain Open through Memorial Day Weekend
May 13, 2020: LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH ANNOUNCES CURBSIDE/DOOR-SIDE PICK-UP NOW PERMITTED FOR ALL BUSINESSES
May 7, 2020: LA County Department of Public Health Announces Curbside Pick-Up Permitted for Certain Businesses Beginning May 8
May 7, 2020: City of Beverly Hills Parks to Close Saturday Evening through Monday Morning
May 5, 2020: Updated COVID-19 Urgency Ordinance
April 28, 2020: City Council Amends COVID-19 Urgency Ordinance Regarding Elective Procedures
April 23, 2020: Beverly Hills City Council Creating COVID-19 Business Recovery Assistance Task Force
April 14, 2020: CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT CANCELS SPRING ART SHOW DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC
April 10, 2020: LA County 'Safer at Home' Order Extended to May 15, 2020
April 9, 2020: BEVERLY HILLS ORDERS FACE COVERINGS IN PUBLIC
April 9, 2020: CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS PARKS TO CLOSE SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING
April 7, 2020: Los Angeles County COVID-19 Testing Information
April 3, 2020: All BHUSD Premises are Physically Shut Down - Home Learning Extended Through the School Year
April 2, 2020: Temporary Full Closure of Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills Now in Effect
March 20, 2020: Safer at Home - Do's and Don'ts
March 20, 2020: Video Message from Mayor Mirisch
March 20, 2020: City of Beverly Hills Human Services Division Offers Vital Services for our Most Vulnerable
March 17, 2020: FULL ORDINANCE - City Orders Non-Essential Retail Stores Closed to the Public
March 16, 2020: CITY OF BEVERLY HILLS ORDERS NON-ESSENTIAL RETAIL STORES CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
March 16, 2020: CITY COUNCIL TO HOLD SPECIAL CLOSED SESSION MEETING TODAY AT 1:30 P.M. FOLLOWED BY EMERGENCY PUBLIC SESSION
March 16, 2020: Beverly Hills Temporarily Closes La Cienega Tennis Center, Roxbury Park Tennis Courts and Greystone Mansion & Gardens
March 15, 2020: Beverly Hills Declares Local Emergency - City Hall Closed to the Public
March 13, 2020: Beverly Hills Launches New COVID-19 Hotline
March 13, 2020: ROXBURY AND LA CIENEGA COMMUNITY CENTERS CLOSED
March 12, 2020: BHUSD Schools to be Physically Shut Down March 13-April 5
March 12, 2020: Beverly Hills Temporarily Closes Public Library and Suspends City Sponsored Activities and Events
March 11, 2020: Beverly Hills Mayor and City Council Creating COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) Advisory Committee
March 4, 2020: Joint Statement from Westside Cities Regarding Current Response to Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The COVID-19 Hotline Number is (310) 550-4680.
Monday-Friday | 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
This is a service of the City of Beverly Hills to provide general information and resources, and does not constitute medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider regarding questions surrounding treatment and diagnosis.
The City continues to receive updates from and participate in planning regarding the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) with both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH). The City is being proactive and is in regular communication with our local and national partners to coordinate potential response.
The City's Emergency Operations Center is open each day at the highest level and emergency personnel are well trained and ready to respond.
To ensure the continued health and safety of our community, the City of Beverly Hills has provided some tips for practicing good hygiene and staying healthy such as:
- Keep touchpoints clean – these are places that many people touch; such as door handles, counters, phones, keyboards, remote controls, etc.
- Wash your hands– wash many times during the day, for at least 20 seconds. If you can't wash your hands, use hand sanitizer.
- Maintain good personal hygiene and avoid touching your face.
Avoid contact with people who are sick or if you feel sick stay home. Also, consider reducing unnecessary close contact with others by avoiding handshakes or hugs.
The public is reminded to keep in mind these key points regarding the current status of the Novel Coronavirus in the United States:
- The term coronavirus refers to a family of viruses of which the COVID-19 is a part.
- View the CDC Page on Current Cases in the United States, the CDC FAQ Sheet and view the LACPH FAQ Sheet.
- The United States has implemented strict quarantine and monitoring of those returning to the United States.
- The City continues to plan for all emergencies and specifically a potential pandemic causing a need to social distance.
This is an evolving situation and people are reminded to be prepared for any emergency and to stock up on food, water, and other basic necessities.
If you have concerns about individuals that are not wearing face coverings or businesses that are not following the mandatory LA County Public Health Protocols, please contact Beverly Hills Code Enforcement at 310-285-1119.
As of October 20, 2020, the City has issued a total of 395 citations.
- Updated Safer at Work Order (10.23.20) - Lists businesses that can reopen
- State of CA Blueprint for a Safer Economy
- Managing Non-Compliant Patrons and Visitors (08.10.20)
- APPENDIX A: Protocols for Social Distancing (10.05.20)
- APPENDIX B: Protocols for Retail Businesses Opening for In Person Shopping (10.05.20)
- APPENDIX C: Protocols for Warehousing, Manufacturing, Logistics (07.18.20)
- APPENDIX D: Protocols for Office-Based Worksites (08.07.20)
- APPENDIX E: Protocols for Shopping Center Operators (10.23.20)
- APPENDIX F: Places of Worship Protocol (07.17.20)
- APPENDIX G: Protocols for Vehicle Based Parades or Drive Thru Events (10.13.20)
- APPENDIX H: Nail Salon, Hair Salons/Barber Shops (refer to APPENDIX R)
- APPENDIX I: Restaurants, Breweries and Wineries (Update coming soon)
- APPENDIX J: Music, Television and Film Production (08.18.20)
- APPENDIX K: Day Camps (08.11.20)
- APPENDIX L: Gym and Fitness Establishments (08.11.20)
- APPENDIX M: Museums, Galleries, Zoos and Aquariums (10.04.20)
- APPENDIX N: Professional Sports Leagues and Facilities Opening for Training Sessions and Spectator-Free Events (08.29.20)
- APPENDIX O: Campgrounds and RV Parks (08.21.20)
- APPENDIX P: Hotels, Lodging and Short-Term Rentals (07.17.20)
- APPENDIX Q: Cardrooms (10.22.20)
- APPENDIX R: Hair Salons, Nail Salons and all Person Care Services (10.23.20)
- APPENDIX V: Miniature Golf, Batting Cages and Go Kart Racing (10.23.20)
- APPENDIX T1: Reopening Protocols for K-12 Schools (10.21.20)
- APPENDIX T2: Protocol for COVID-19 Exposure Management Plan in K-12 Schools (10.18.20)
- Protocol for Outdoor Playgrounds (10.01.20)
- Protocol for Drive-In Movie Theaters (10.05.20)
- Protocols for Wineries and Breweries for Outdoor Dining Operations with Modifications (10.06.20)
- Protocol for Programs Providing Day Care for School-Aged Children
- Customer Safety Guidelines: Curbside Pick-Up
- Business Safety Guidelines: Curbside Pick-Up
- State Guidance by Industry
- State Guidance for Future Restaurant Dining (County by County Variance Section)
- Roadmap to Recovery Infographic
- State of California Resilience Roadmap
On May 29, 2020, the LA County Roadmap to Recovery added restaurants to the list of businesses that can reopen for in-person service. Lower-risk retail and other services, such as barber shops and hair salons, can also reopen with limited occupancy.
#OpenBH is the City's process for allowing businesses to temporarily expand their services to adjacent areas such as parking lots and the public right of way (sidewalks) through a Special Event Permit. Please see below for all details, and email firstname.lastname@example.com with any questions.
To complete an #OpenBH special event permit for outdoor dining, applicants need to complete the following for administrative review by City staff:
- Special event application
- Certificate of insurance, naming the City as additionally insured. Additional information on the City's Insurance Policy for permits can be found online.
- Layout that following social distancing protocols
All restaurants reopening for onsite dining, indoor and out, must follow the County's protocols (Appendix I). Additionally, they have provided a toolkit for additional help online here.
View the current list of businesses that have utilized the #OpenBH program HERE.
For questions, please call the Special Events Office at (310) 285-2408 8am-5pm Monday through Friday.
To find out which Beverly Hills restaurants and markets are currently offering takeout and delivery, please view the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce's list HERE.
Currently, street sweeping regulations are being relaxed until August 17, 2020.
Contact us at 310-285-2196 for temporary residential permits and be prepared to demonstrate proof of residency.
In the commercial district, the City will accommodate parking in front of restaurants to allow for easier access for 'to-go' dining.
If you have citation questions related to an exemption you should have received, contact us at 310-285-2196 Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Some of the City's parking structures have limited payment options. To view to list of parking garages, hours and more, visit our dedicated parking page HERE.
Beverly Hills Residents with residential parking permits may park at no cost at four City public parking garages, view the list HERE.
- NEW: BH Residential Tenants - Rent Reduction Form
- NEW: Los Angeles Residential Rental Assistance Program (for tenants residing in the City of Los Angeles)
- Virtual Senior Fitness Classes and More, Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce
- LA County Animal Care and Control (Fostering Opportunities)
- The Amanda Foundation
- State of CA Financial Assistance
- L.A. County Business and Worker Disaster Help Center
- Information regarding Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) and Novel Coronavirus
- Los Angeles County Public Health (LACPH) Fact Sheet (PDF)
- Los Angeles County Public Health Fact Sheet (Farsi) (PDF)
- (LACPH) What You Should Know Infographic
- (LACPH) What If I'm Exposed
- (LACPH) How to Cope With Stress
- (LACPH) Cleaning in Group Settings
- (LACPH) Cleaning in the Home
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Unemployment and Paid Leave from EDD
- SCE Response
- Clean Power Alliance's COVID-19 Relief Program
- SoCalGas Response
- SoCalGas Resource Toolkit
- ATT Internet Response
- FAQs regarding animal control and COVID-19
- Pet Owners FAQs
- Housing Rights Legal Services and Senior Legal Services:Bet Tzedek Legal Services
- Homeless Services
- Food Security
- Where to lodge complaints- Price Gouging
- Call 1-800-952-5225
- Fill out an online form HERE
Federal Programs
- Small Business Administration Approved Lenders for Paycheck Protection Program Loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) – forgivable loans up to $10 million
- SBA Disaster Assistance – Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Loans – up to $2 million in loan assistance
- EIDL Loan Advance – up to $10,000 loan advance regardless if approved for EIDL loan
- SBA Express Bridge Loan Program – up to $25,000 express loans
- SBA - Debt Relief Program – will pay principal, interest, and fees on existing loans
- US Chamber of Commerce Resources
- CA iBank Disaster Relief Loan Guarantee Program – up to $10 million loans
- EDD Tax assistance: Employers experiencing a hardship as a result of COVID-19 may request up to a 60-day extension of time from in the EDD to file their state payroll reports and/or deposit state payroll taxes. A written request for extension must be received. Call the EDD Taxpayer Assistance Center (1-888-745-3886)
- Employment Development Department: Unemployment Insurance Work Sharing Program
- Notice From Landlord to Commercial Tenant Regarding Required Meeting to Negotiate Rent Payment Schedule
- LA County Employer Assistance Grant Fund – up to $10,000 grants
- LA County Small Business Recovery Loan Program – Loan up to $20,000 for any for-profit business with 25 or fewer employees
- LA County Property Tax Relief – Request Penalty Charge Waivers
- LA County Business and Worker Disaster Help Center – Resources for Employers and Employees
- LA County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) – Resources for layoff aversion and access to capital
- LA Regional Small Business Development Center (LA SBDC) – Resources for access to capital, pivoting your business model, training and loans
- Jewish Free Loan Program – up to $10,000 loans
- Solid Waste/Trash Service Pausing - Businesses can adjust City of Beverly Hills solid waste/trash service charges if not open during this time (call 310-285-2467 or email firstname.lastname@example.com)
- Monthly Parking Pausing - Businesses can adjust City of Beverly Hills monthly parking charges if not using during this time (call 310-285-2467 or email email@example.com)
- Clean Power Alliance's COVID-19 Relief Program
- LA County Safer at Work Order (updated October 23, 2020)
- Managing Non-Compliant Patrons and Visitors (updated August 10, 2020)
- City of Beverly Hills Face Covering Mandate – Face coverings must be worn any time you are out in Beverly Hills including while working in essential businesses (updated May 5, 2020)
- City of Beverly Hills Updated Order on Commercial and Residential Tenant Evictions/Third Party Delivery Service Commission – Additional protections for commercial and residential tenants during COVID-19 and Third Party Delivery Service Commission (updated September 1, 2020)
Printable Graphics and Flyers
The COVID-19 Business Recovery Assistance Task Force is comprised of local business leaders to plan for the recovery and develop strategies for success for our business community as Beverly Hills prepares to re-open following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The members of the Task Force bring decades of Beverly Hills business, hospitality and tourism experience to this critical dialogue and will lead an even more diverse group through discussions as the business sector emerges from the pandemic.
For more information on the Task Force and how to share your expertise please contact Laura Biery, Marketing and Economic Sustainability Manager, at firstname.lastname@example.com
The first virtual meeting of the Task Force was held on Tuesday, April 28 at 4:30 p.m. Watch a recording of the meeting HERE.
Future meetings agendas will be posted HERE.
The COVID-19 Kindness Task Force is comprised of community volunteers coming together to help our seniors and most vulnerable.
We are taking action – virtually and safely – to help meet their everyday needs and to bring community back to those in isolation brought on by social distancing.
Community members helping community members
The City's Medical Advisory Task Force is comprised of medical professionals who advise the City Council and provide information, resources, analysis and best practices related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Recorded meetings can be viewed below:
The State of California, the County of Los Angeles and the City of Beverly Hills have declared a state of emergency in response to the ongoing public health concerns surrounding COVID-19. Protocols for reopening businesses first begin at the State level. After the State announces an industry can reopen, LA County Public Health will asses the timing and method for reopening businesses locally in cities including Beverly Hills.
To promote and protect public health, Beverly Hills City Hall is currently closed to the public until further notice and will operate as a virtual City Hall.
- With LA County's new Health Order, can my business re-open?
- Are restaurants closed?
- Does the City of Bevelry Hills have updated guidelines for Consultants and Contractors in relation to the COVID-19 emergency?
- Are parking restrictions lifted in the City?
- Is the City closed to the public after a certain time each night?
- How do I report a business that is possibly open and not following the Health Order?
- Are businesses allowed to board up their windows?
- Who is responsible for providing direction to the City regarding an infectious disease protocol?
- Is City staff trained to deal with Novel Coronavirus?
- What can I do to prevent contracting the Novel Coronavirus or any other viruses?
- What are symptoms of Novel Coronavirus?
- What should I do if I am feeling sick?
- What should I do if I've been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19?
- How do I get tested?
- Who is at risk if they come in contact with Novel Coronavirus?
- Are schools closed?
- How can I support my neighbors and the elderly in my community?
- Do I need to wear a face covering in public?
- Do I need to wear a face covering on private property?
- How do I report businesses or individuals not wearing face coverings?
- How do I make my own face covering?
- Can I travel?
- Can I still attend events?
- Where can I find additional information about the Novel Coronavirus?
- Call to check in on any neighbors or elderly community members and see whether they need any assistance.
- Know what medications your loved one is taking and see if you can help them have extra on hand.
- Monitor food and other medical supplies (oxygen, incontinence, dialysis, wound care) needed and create a back-up plan.
- Stock up on non-perishable food to have on hand in your home to minimize trips to stores.
- If you care for a loved one living in a care facility, monitor the situation, ask about the health of the other residents frequently and know the protocol if there is an outbreak.
The following City facilities are closed to the public until further notice:
The following City sponsored activities and events have been postponed until further notice:
City Clerk: (310) 285-1000 or (310) 285-2400
City Attorney: (310) 285-1055
City Treasurer: (310) 285-2411
City Auditor: (310) 285-6866
City Manager: (310) 285-1014
Community Development: (310) 285-1141
Community Preservation: (310) 285-1119
Code Violations: (310) 285-1119
Rent Stabilization: (310) 285-1031
Community Services Administration: (310) 288-2220
Community Services Registration: (310) 285-6850
Finance: (310) 285-2424 / Utility Billing (310) 285-2436
Human Resources: (310) 285-1067
Information Technology: (310) 285-2590
Public Works: (310) 285-2467 or ask email@example.com
Fire Department (Non-Emergency): (310) 281-2700
Police Department (Non-Emergency): (310) 550-4951
For an emergency, call or text 911.
The City of Beverly Hills has a mass communication system to notify citizens of an emergency or disaster. If you live or have a business in the City, your landline phone is already included. Go to Emergency Telephone Notification Sign Up to add your cell phone, email address and other information.
For emergency information specific to the City of Beverly Hills, go to the following sources:
Radio: 1500 AM
TV: Channels 10 and 35
Twitter: www.twitter.com/beverlyhillsoem
Text: BEVHILLS and BEVHILLSPD to 888777 to receive text message alerts
For further information, contact Emergency Management at (310) 285-1080.


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Young&BosSHE is the storytelling platform dedicated to young professional SHEs of all races, ethnicities, religions, genders, abilities, sizes, and classes. We want to hear your personal story, whether it's one of success or challenge. We accept posts in the form of standard blogs posts, stream-of-conscious writing, letters to your future or former self, apparel, crafts and arts like cross stitch, haikus–seriously, we want your creative and unique voice!
Blog posts must be 300-1,000 words and written in English and/or Spanish (with translation of Spanish posts into English provided by you).
Examples of topics for posts include but are not limited to:
- Your past challenges, stumbles, obstacles, or learning experiences
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- Your personal experiences navigating living and working as your best and truest self
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It goes without saying, but our lawyer is making us point out that there are some posts we absolutely will not accept. Those posts include anything that we determine is:
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Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav abused the media over his alleged comments of beef eating saying that he was grossly misquoted by the media.
In an interview earlier this week Lalu Parsad Yadav spoke about the people who eat beef and how beef is eaten by Hindus in foreign countries as well as India itself. Many BJP leaders including Giriraj Singh and Sushil Modi launched an attack on Lalu Yadav on this comment which was made during an interview with the media on October 3, 2015.
The outspoken Lalu Parsad Yadav has been criticizing PM Narendra Modi in the past few weeks, and perhaps now on his slip up the BJP leaders are taking advantage and repaying the debt.


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(Seriously, I need a nap)
21 days of fasting and prayer
I didn't feel like I should really fast from
food, mostly, because I have basically been fasting food for 915 days.
But whatever.
I did feel led to "fast" from Facebook. And not necessarily from the "things" of Facebook. But just from the distractions of life.
As my fingers got the "shakes" to check it, I would re-focus. It's been good.
But in a social media driven world...it almost felt like I was missing out. At first.
Then as days went on, I realized I wasn't. Because life was happening all
Around me. I was glad I was fully present to see it.
Chapman began learning to play the piano.
2 of our 3 cars needed new tire$.
My hard drive in my laptop crashed. Dead. Laptop. {insert nervous twitch here}
Mason transferred to UAB.
I attended 2 funerals of people I loved dearly.
I helped a friend serve at her sons 16th birthday ceremony.
We saw a few snowflakes in Alabama. I didn't leave the house :)
My sweet pup, Jack, had his second birthday.
I sat with a friend at the hospital while her daughter had a brain tumor removed.
We spent a few more nights with Pop in the hospital.
Alabama won another National Championship.
21 days of prayer and fasting makes me tired. Early mornings aren't my jam.
My niece, Kaitlyn, got engaged. Wes is one lucky fella.
All in all, it's been a great 21 days. I'm
Pretty excited to re-connect, but thankful for the new approach.
After all, life is about loving people. And loving ON people.
I can do that pretty well, with Facebook. But I've done ok without.
Maybe balance is the key.


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A nist file extension is related to the audio file format used by Hidden Markov Model Toolkit.
Software that open nist file
NIST file extension - HTK NIST audio data
What is nist file? How to open nist files?
File type specification:
nist file icon:
The nist file extension is associated with the audio data files stored in the 8, 16, 24, 32-bits PCM mono, or stereo sound format.
(Short ints,mono,NIST header:1024 byte, used in TIMIT)
NIST data are related to the HTK (Hidden Markov Model Toolkit) and SPHERE (Speech Header Resources).
The default software associated to open nist file:
Hidden Markov Model Toolkit (HTK)
Hidden Markov Model Toolkit (HTK) is used for speech recognition research although it has been used for numerous other applications including research into speech synthesis, character recognition and DNA sequencing.
List of software applications associated to the .nist file extension
Recommended software programs are sorted by OS platform (Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android etc.)
and possible program actions that can be done with the file: like open nist file, edit nist file, convert nist file, view nist file, play nist file etc. (if exist software for corresponding action in File-Extensions.org's database).
Click on the tab below to simply browse between the application actions, to quickly get a list of recommended software, which is able to perform the specified software action, such as opening, editing or converting nist files.
Software that open nist file - HTK NIST audio data
Programs supporting the exension nist on the main platforms Windows, Mac, Linux or mobile. Click on the link to get more information about Hidden Markov Model Toolkit (HTK) for open nist file action.


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I'm numb, havent cried yet? I can't , it just won't come out. I don't know when it will hit me, but I know I'm so disappointed with the end result from lucky no.5. Turns out she wasn't so lucky after all. A big fat fucking negative 😦
That's it now, we are done. We are emotionally and financially finished. I have a beautiful miracle nearly 4 year old – who I don't take for granted ever. He gets told everyday how lucky I feel to have him.
I just hope he is not lonely like I was as a kid, I just have to make sure he has the best life I can possibly give him.
I will still keep an eye on all you girls and your journeys as I cannot thank you all enough for your support during this horrid and emotional rollercoaster journey while I've been "typing it out".
Praying for you all to get your beautiful babies, never give up on your dream 🙏🏻🌺🌟⭐ xxx 👧🏻


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Call Center Sales Pro
We find more business for your call center so you can focus on what you do best.
Call Center Sales Pro was formed by Janet Livingston to help outsource call centers and telephone answering services take the pain out of growing their business. They do this by providing sales and marketing services, as well as in helping clients maximize the value of their existing customer base. "We can find money by optimizing our clients' current customer base to help pay for our sales and marketing services," says Janet.
First, Call Center Sales Pro helps their clients find lost revenue. They analyze billing rates, individual customer profitability, and the amount of work required to service each account. Armed with specific information they implement a new rate structure, on an individual customer basis, to make each customer profitable. They also look to sell them additional services that will benefit the customer. Sometimes they do both. The result is increased revenue for their clients.
Then Janet and her team look at bringing in new business. They take a consultative approach. They look at the client's operation, their current service rates, the inherent strengths they have in serving their customers, and their operational, growth, and revenue goals. Based on this information, a profile of their client's ideal customer is developed. Then the Call Center Sales Pro team targets customers who are a good fit to match that profile. With this approach Janet largely functions as a consultant, but she prides herself in being "the closer." In finding these accounts, a key paradigm is that they do not sell based on price. All new accounts must be profitable from the beginning.
This initial process takes time and requires focused attention. To make sure they serve each client well, Call Center Sales Pro will only take on one new client at a time. After a few months, with the basic processes in place, they can consider adding another client.
Call Center Sales Pro CEO, Janet Livingston, is a call center and telephone answering service veteran, with twenty–two years of industry experience. She functions as a revenue growth authority helping leading telephone answering services and call centers expand their businesses and increase profitability.
"Most outsourcing call centers and answering services do a great job at customer service," Janet explains. However, sales and marketing is often not one of their strong areas. "That's where we come in." Call Center Sales Pro can add five to ten quality sales per month for each client, month after month. It is sustainable, and it is manageable.
Contact us today for a free, no obligation consultation on how Call Center Sales Pro can grow your business.


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Mrs Taylor, in class 2, has had to have an operation and, therefore, will be away from school, probably until Easter time. I am sure you will join with me in wishing her a speedy recovery.
The E-Cadets had a great experience this week by recording themselves for the upcoming Safer Internet Day (Tuesday 9th). They will be on the Ecadet radio on Tuesday and you can follow this link to hear them, https://www.ecadet.zone. In addition, the E Cadets will be leading the events in school this week, so look out for the QR codes in school.
You will notice the we have placed some cones in front of the school, this is to prevent anybody parking by the gates or dropping off as we still have an issue with this. Another problem is that some parents are parking on the grass verge and even on the pavement. Local residents are, quite rightly, complaining about this. I realise that it is difficult when collecting children, however, the safety of everybody should be paramount.If you have any suggestions to ease the congestion, especially at the end of the school day I would love to hear from you.
We had a positive parent committee meeting this week. Thanks to those who attended, I will mail out the minutes after half term. Anyone who is interested in joining us is more than welcome. 1 discussion was around the PTA. I know that they are desperate for help in organising events and I would urge anybody who can to offer some help. The PTA will be organising a cake sale for Friday, please see the newsletter for more details.
Finally, after half term, we will be cutting down on the amount of paper coming out of school. Those parents who have their names on the mailing list will receive an e-mail only. I hope those who do not have an email contact will send their address in.


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Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us!
If you would like to make a reservation or schedule a tour, please call us at (906) 786-5308. We do not recommend sending an email or posting to our facebook page. We can better assist you over the phone.
For kennel hours and special holiday hours & closings, please visit our facility page.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Phone Number: (906) 786-5308
Golden Acre Kennels Pet Boarding Facility
3685 9th Lane
Bark River, MI 49807
(Located in Ford River, MI)


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Episode #182: All-New SPM 52 (point)NOW! Dawn of Future Past!
Posted on: May 26, 2014
Written by: adminAnd we're back. On this podcast we're joined by JoshWill from Foshkos and we review SAGA #19, The Last Broadcast #1 and the incredibly late Forever Evil #7. Listen in! Was Forever Evil #7 worth the wait? Head over to our podcast Facebook page and let us know.
Categorized Under: Comics Movies Previous Podcasts


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SkinnyGossip Royal
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2012
- Posts
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- Karma
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Forgive me if this has already been shared
I love the video, but definitely have other opinions about this photo she posted 6 days ago...Forgive me if this has already been shared
I guess that's why she's doing that video ahahaI love the video, but definitely have other opinions about this photo she posted 6 days ago...
It's actually a reupload of an old video lolI guess that's why she's doing that video ahaha
She recently had a baby and is still working on losing the post pregnancy weight
the main reason Women signed her (and she stated this in one of her videos) is because she got extremely lucky a family friend works at the agency and basically gave her an in.I don't get why women signed her, she's so commercial and I feel like Women is a very high fashion agency. She's always posting videos of her eating at restaurants and needs to relax on that. She said her dream was to do brandy and that's whats she's doing so I guess she's living her "dream". You would think that a Models dream would be to walk for like Versace lol.
Wonderful video! What a smart and mature young girl. But the comments!! Do people realise modelling is a job? As in..if you're told to do something and just refuse you will no longer have a job?Daphne De Baat - definitely not skinny but its nice to finally see someone being real about losing weight for the industry and that models cannot eat whatever the hell they want and that doing that DOES have consequences. The comments section is a disaster though...
This assumes the greater lot of Youtube commenters and "body-posi" Instagram teens alike exercise critical thinking skills on a regular basis.Do people realise modelling is a job? As in..if you're told to do something and just refuse you will no longer have a job?
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"Who cares if someone weighs 60 kgs or 65 kgs?"Wonderful video! What a smart and mature young girl. But the comments!! Do people realise modelling is a job? As in..if you're told to do something and just refuse you will no longer have a job?
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Love this girl!! She's got such a fun personality I adore watching all her videos but the modelling ones are of course especially fun!Grace Booth, who quit modeling in 2016 to study baking (lol) has a Youtube channel, and she reacts to her old show videos in this video. She actually had massive potential, she was with The Lions, Oui, Women, and Select, and had a YSL exclusive in 2015. Kind of a shame she quit so early.
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Anyway, here's her video-
I gained 7 kilos last pregnancy and felt every ounce, it's a huge difference."Who cares if someone weighs 60 kgs or 65 kgs?"
Do people realize that the skinnier you are the more of a visible difference each kg or lb of weight makes?? 5 kg is SO MUCH. If weighed that much more I would 10000% be out of work lol
She also posted a Twitter thread on her experiences and it's basically exactly the same as the video sans some crying. In case you do want to watch the video, I suggest increasing the speed to 1.25. I gave my thoughts in the SMM/bad agencies thread, but yeah in short I think the Brazil thing is pretty inexcusable from her agency and I have no idea why they would go so far as to sue her to keep her in her contract- maybe it was to "make an example of her" to other models as she said in the video, and that's pretty evil. I also honestly don't know why they bothered her about her measurements seeing that she doesn't do runway or HF and she looks fit (she was 5'10 and 112 lbs at the time). I recall her hip being a 35 which I thought was on the smaller end for models in her lane, idk. But also she was kind of being defiant about it, like if she KNEW she was a pear shape and working out would build muscle, then she would have just ate less and skipped the workouts to get her measurement down.i know she has been previously discussed in this thread, but alexandria morgan posted another quite ~dramatic~ video about her bad experiences as a model, and although i find some pretty standard (getting told her thighs were too big), i'm curious to know how some of you involved in the industry feel about her brazil experience...
(if you don't feel like watching a 50 mins video, she basically talks about her struggle with being called healthy and "well fed", legal problems with her former agency and being sent for a shoot for GQ in Brazil. that shoot ended up being a bunch of businessmen wanting models to act as arm candy during the rio olympics, and her agency was apparently okay with that)


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Alternative Education/Schools
Public schools that offer the basic elementary or secondary curriculum plus creative electives in an informal instructional setting which features an approach to teaching and learning which emphasizes the students' right to make decisions and that views the teacher as a facilitator of learning rather than as a transmitter of knowledge.
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