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THE CONTENDER: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)
Number of Nominations: 1 – Visual Effects (Richard Stammers, Lou Pecora, Tim Crosbie and Cameron Waldbauer)
Number of Wins: Zero
By now, it's widely accepted that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a blind spot when it comes to superhero movies. Even though the decision to increase the number of Best Picture nominees was largely seen as a corrective to the specific omission of The Dark Knight back in 2009, there still haven't been any superheroes in the category since then. (Unless you count Birdman and you shouldn't.)
Granted, there hasn't been an overabundance of superhero movies recently that have really deserved a Best Picture nod. Deadpool's surprise nomination for a PGA Award only raised its Oscar chances from impossible to unlikely. But perhaps more surprising is how poorly superheroes have done across the board, even in categories they might be expected to dominate. It barely requires two hands to count the number of superhero movies that have won any kind of Academy Award: Tim Burton's Batman, Spider-Man 2, The Incredibles (which wasn't based on a comic book but I'll allow it), The Dark Knight, Big Hero 6, and now (sigh) Suicide Squad. If you want to stretch it, we could include Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy, which received a comparatively warm reception from the Academy, and Men In Black, a movie most people either don't realize or don't remember was based on a comic book. That's almost as bad a showing as movies based on toys, games and theme park attractions.
Today, superheroes are an inescapable part of the pop culture landscape, generating billions of dollars and dominating both movie theatres and television. But when 20th Century Fox gambled on X-Men back in 2000, superhero movies were still risky. These days, we seem to get a new superhero movie every few weeks. But that first X-Men movie was the only one of its kind that year and the first real superhero movie we'd seen since Spawn and Batman & Robin fizzled out back in '97.
(Note: Marvel did have its first taste of success with Blade in 1998 but the marketing downplayed its comic book DNA to focus more on bad-ass vampire action. And yeah, M. Night Shyamalan's deconstructionist take on superheroes Unbreakable also came out in 2000 but I think we can agree that it's a different type of beast than the movies we're discussing here.)
Perhaps because it was a little early to the party, the X-Men franchise has never quite received the respect some of its contemporaries have enjoyed. At first, it lived in the shadow of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies. The fact that Bryan Singer's X2 outperformed the original both with critics and at the box office was soon overshadowed by how much Raimi's Spider-Man 2 improved on its predecessor's reputation. Both franchises were damaged by their third installments. But while Raimi decided to cut and run and Sony chose to start over after Spider-Man 3, Fox kept on truckin' after Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand stumbled with critics. After all, the money coming in was still good.
Shortly after the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk in 2008, the X-Movies entered the spinoff/prequel stage with the misbegotten X-Men Origins: Wolverine. While Marvel was being lauded for their ambition and scope, Fox was beginning to look like they didn't know what they were doing with the X-Men. At this point, it would have been easy for Fox to follow in Sony's footsteps and do a hard reset on the franchise. Instead, they doubled down on their previous work with X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days Of Future Past, two movies that allowed them to keep all of the elements that were working and get rid of those that didn't.
The culmination of all these years' worth of world-building, Days Of Future Past is, if anything, a little too ambitious for its own good. By its very nature, it was always going to be a little complicated in its attempt to reconcile multiple timelines. But while the X-Men movies have always featured sprawling ensemble casts, DOFP seems to go out of its way to introduce even more characters, some of whom are barely given more than a minute or two to establish themselves. At times, it feels like the movie should come with a cheat sheet just so you can keep track of who's who.
Still, whenever a franchise can still surprise and impress audiences and critics with its seventh installment after over a decade, it must be doing something right. After Marvel and Sony worked out an arrangement to incorporate Spider-Man into the MCU, fans began to hope Marvel might work out a similar deal with Fox. Besides the X-Men, of course, the studio also has the rights to the Fantastic Four. Since that property has been thoroughly botched, fans would love Marvel to just take control of the FF lock, stock and barrel. But even fans who want the X-Men to fight alongside the Avengers don't want to see these movies wiped clean. Ideally, they'd like the timelines to somehow merge or blend together so that they can be incorporated into the MCU. It isn't likely to happen but it does prove that Fox has made more right decisions than wrong ones when it comes to the X-Men.
Despite fan loyalty, critical acclaim (most of the time) and box office grosses of over 4 billion dollars, no X-Men movie received a single Oscar nomination until Days Of Future Past was recognized for Visual Effects. Why this one? Not that the effects work isn't impressive but is it truly that much better than what had come before?
Well, it is and it isn't, which is probably a big reason why it didn't win (it lost to Interstellar). Visual Effects is actually a tough, somewhat strange category. It's one of those categories where, if the voters aren't all that impressed by the year's eligible films, there can be only three or two nominees or they'll just give it to somebody outright. Some years, it's not unheard of for the Academy to turn this car around and nobody gets an award. Lately there's been no shortage of effects-heavy movies for their consideration but if you want a shot at this prize, be prepared to show audiences at least one thing that is impossible.
The effects in the X-Men movies have always been a bit workmanlike. They're fine. There's nothing really wrong with them, for the most part. But there also isn't anything like the opening sequence in Gravity or that tidal wave in Interstellar that lingers in your memory and has audiences asking how they did that. Claws coming out of hands, girls walking through walls and folks massaging their temples or waving their hands in the air while they manipulate ice or fire or whatever? That's all very nice but we've seen it plenty of times before.
The post-apocalyptic hellscape of DOFP's future scenes and the shape-shifting Sentinels certainly didn't hurt the movie's chances at a nomination. But if one thing put the movie over the top, it was the "Time In A Bottle" sequence featuring Evan Peters' Quicksilver making short work of an attack in a cramped, sprinkler-soaked kitchen. As entertaining as previous entries had been, none of them really had this kind of conversation starter setpiece before. Nightcrawler's infiltration of the White House in X2 came close but it wasn't scored to a Jim Croce tune. Never underestimate the power of a pop song to help land a scene in the film history books.
Even though the X-Men's first time at bat didn't bring home a trophy, there's no reason to suspect Days Of Future Past will be the franchise's last nomination. Even though Hugh Jackman (and apparently Patrick Stewart) are saying goodbye to the series with Logan (out this weekend), the series itself will continue. Considering the rapturous reviews Logan has been receiving, it isn't too far out of the realm of possibility that it may find itself in contention next year. Jackman's 17-year stewardship of the character is unprecedented and an impressive achievement in its own right but arguably the biggest hurdle standing between him and a Best Actor nomination is the calendar. Oscar voters are not known for their long memories and nomination time is a long way away. And while actors aren't often recognized for this type of role, it would be kind of nice to see Jackman's work given the validation of a nomination.
The X-Men movies have been taken for granted for too long. They've been doing this longer and more successfully than most of their contemporaries. And they haven't been content to simply rehash the same formula over and over again. Movies like Deadpool and Logan (not to mention TV shows like Legion) show a willingness to innovate and expand the genre's parameters. After all these years, you'd think they'd have more than a single Oscar nomination to show for it.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past is available on Blu-ray, DVD and 4K Ultra HD from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.


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So of course we changed plans and headed to Santa Fe a few days early!
|The story continues......
The day we arrive we want to find the place where we'd enjoyed delicious sopaipillas three years ago, but have no idea what the name is. Still, driving down the main road there it is! We don't recognize the name, and the parking lot is much fuller than before, but somehow the front is very familiar.
|Just like we remembered - superb!
The drive to Taos north on Hwy 64 passes through the Rio Grande Gorge and parallels the Rio Grande River for several miles. It's amazing and difficult to catch a decent photo.
As the road turns east, away from the river, we can see the huge gorge cutting through the flat plains to the west. It is absolutely incredible! We laugh when we both say "Wow!" As we often do in these places, we talk about coming across that deep canyon as pioneers in wagons - what did they think? - how long did it take to find a crossing?
The Taos Pueblo is both what I'm expecting, and very different. I'm happy to pay the $16/person fee to wander the settlement, and yet a bit uncomfortable knowing that I'm photographing people's homes. Not a large number of natives still live here, but some do. The structures are incredible - multiple stories that have lasted over 1000 years. Big Wow!
Dogs are allowed on leash, but it is a bad idea. "Res dogs" run loose everywhere. Tessa makes friends with the first little pit bull who greets us at the car, but the seven larger ones heading our way are just too much so we leave her in the car. She lets us know periodically that we are horrible humans.
|The original church was destroyed in 1690 by the local natives
|Pueblo architecture
|The location is lovely
|In addition to residences, some rooms are small businesses
|Bread oven
|The buildings are beautiful
|The new church, built in the 1800's, still holds mass every Sunday - no photos inside
|On weekends, many native vendors sell their wares in the courtyard, this day there are only three
Not far out of Taos we begin to see more than just an occasional small patch of snow in the shadows. By the time we reach 8000 feet, the snow is deep under the tall pines. We were just in the flat, brown plains. Wow!
|Tessa checks out the cold, crunchy surface
|Soon she's embracing her inner ski bunny
|Angel Fire Ski Run
|Frozen Monte Verde Lake
Instead of retracing our route, Bill navigates us to the High Road to Taos (in this case it's from Taos) for the drive home.
The pine forest goes on forever.
|Carson National Forest
There are so many wows this trip that it is almost overwhelming. For the grand finale, the sun sinks behind three bands of clouds, the rays shooting up from the top one, while the bottom one is seemingly on fire. Photos still don't do the Wow justice.
We're loving our time in Santa Fe - I think we'll extend our stay :-))))

subset: commoncrawl


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Read about the 2016 Penn Public Policy Challenge Finalists in our Meet the Team series this week, and watch the teams compete in the Finals on February 28th at 1PM at WHYY Studios. RSVP HERE for the Finals.
Beyond the Verdict is one of five teams advancing to the Seventh Annual Penn Public Policy Challenge Finals. The team is made up of students Danny Hosein, Natalie Parker, Eric Stahl, and Persephone Tan.
Our Idea
Philadelphia has a recidivism crisis. Each year, over 30,000 people return to Philadelphia from jail or prison. Due to circumstances largely beyond their control, such as poverty and stigma, two-thirds of returning citizens are rearrested or reincarcerated within three years. Recidivism ruins lives and communities; it costs Philadelphians millions of dollars. The number one barrier to reducing recidivism is a lack of funding.
To combat Philadelphia's recidivism crisis, our proposal has two components:
First, we generate a desperately-needed, dedicated, and durable funding stream by changing Philadelphia's jury compensation default. Instead of continuing to pay the nine-dollar jury per diem automatically, we add a checkbox to the juror summons that requires jurors to opt to accept compensation. When a juror does not select to receive compensation, the nine-dollar per diem will be donated to the Philadelphia Trust for Returning Citizens (PTRC), a new municipal trust.
Second, PTRC will invest that funding to strengthen and expand community initiatives proven to reduce recidivism.
We estimate this small change will result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding annually, which the PTRC will use to impact hundreds of lives per year.
Who We Are
Danny Hosein (Penn Law, JD '16). Danny is from Houston, TX and has seven years of experience in nonprofits and government. Before law school, Danny served in the Obama Administration at the General Services Administration and the Department of the Interior.
Natalie Parker (Fels Institute, MPA '17). Natalie is from Kansas City, KS and currently works for the City of Philadelphia's Office of Innovation and Technology. She has experience in local, state, and federal government. Natalie previously worked for the U.S. Department of State, the Kansas Legislature and the Center for American Progress.
Eric Stahl (Penn Law, JD '16). Eric is from Philadelphia, PA and has four years of municipal and state political campaign management experience. Eric is currently a certified legal intern with the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, where he represents the Commonwealth in Municipal Court. He previously interned with federal prosecutors at the United States Attorney's Office, District of Delaware.
Persephone Tan (Fels Institute, MPA '17). Persephone is from Chinatown, New York. For five years, she served lower Manhattan by working for the New York City Council. As a city council member's housing director, Persephone advocated better access to public services for immigrant and marginalized populations, sought affordable housing opportunities, negotiated land use projects, and organized tenants against landlord harassment.


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A Guide to Getting Started with Budget Bathroom Remodeling
Most people prefer to work on the bathroom when thinking of home improvement projects. At the very least, the bathroom is smaller in size compared to another area of your home like the kitchen. Knowing how much you can afford to spend will make it way easier for you to decide the kind of items that need replacement and where you need to get a bit creative.
By the end of the day, you need to save time, save money, and save frustration in your bathroom remodeling project. Read to discover more tips on bathroom remodeling and how you can make the process less daunting for you.
As much as bathrooms are small in size, you will soon discover no remodeling project can be done half-heartedly. For example, if you install a toilet, and then all of a sudden decide you wanted to move it 4ft to the right, you are looking at another huge budget for that.
The location of a bathroom often seems to be a stumbling block to many citing the difficulty in removing and bringing in new materials into the bathroom. All the movement will certainly be done through rooms and corridors you may wish to maintain clean. How about you try fixing what is already there instead of thinking about a replacement.
Along the same lines, you can save a huge chunk of your budget if you consider refinishing existing items such as the tiles, sink, shower or bathtub. Not moving the plumbing could be another area you can save a lot on as there are so many costs involved in the process. Needless to mention, when you get to save some bucks on your bathroom remodeling project, you can afford that sleek shower system or vanity that you have always wanted to.
Truth be told, ventilation is not the sexiest of topics, but until you know the domino effect it has, you should give it the priority it deserves. The good news is that ventilation fans today are a huge improvement over their old counterparts.
Last but not least, you should know by now that bathroom remodeling isn't one of those DIY projects you may want to take on. Be honest with yourself, if it's a project that you cannot undertake for whatever reason, call in a bathroom remodeling contractor lest you mess up and incur more cost in fixing the mess. You can discover more bathroom remodeling ideas by working with a reliable contractor.


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With this significant extension to RuleStream's current AutoCAD integration, AutoCAD software users can benefit from RuleStream's comprehensive approach to knowledge management which spans sales, engineering and manufacturing operations. By capturing engineering knowledge and using it to automate key business processes across the enterprise, RuleStream's clients have reduced internal operating expenses, shortened lead times, increased sales win rates and increased overall profitability. This seamless integration with AutoCAD software will help custom and complex product manufacturers respond to customer-specific orders more rapidly, accurately and efficiently.
Developing on the RealDWG platform enhances RuleStream's ability to serve companies that use AutoCAD software as their primary CAD system, or otherwise need to generate 2D drawings or 3D models as part of their sales quotation and order fulfillment process. With RealDWG, design rules captured within RuleStream will be able to automatically:
- Generate native AutoCAD documents that are fully compliant with Autodesk's popular DWG file format
- Generate fully associative 2D drawings
- Generate 3D models
- Leverage the reusability of AutoCAD software dynamic blocks
"This partnership is a big win for the manufacturing customer. With the integration of RealDWG into RuleStream's SBE Enterprise software suite, the generation of engineering data has never been easier," said Eric Stover, product line manager at Autodesk. "Whether you're required to produce 3D models or 2D engineering data, RuleStream and Autodesk provide an unbeatable solution for your engineering needs."
"RuleStream is pleased to extend our existing AutoCAD software integration to bring even more value to the AutoCAD software user base - an important area of expansion for RuleStream," said Robert Nierman, chief executive officer, RuleStream. "Users of AutoCAD software will now be able to leverage our leading Standards Based Engineering (SBE) technology for their custom engineer-to-order operations as well as many complex new product development initiatives."
About RuleStream
RuleStream provides solutions that utilize standards based engineering (SBE) principles to capture, manage and reuse corporate intellectual property to automate engineering processes for best in class manufacturers. RuleStream's unique solution acts as a foundation of product-related intellectual property, proven to add value in both engineer-to-order (ETO) and new product development (NPD) environments.
RuleStream customers include the world's most innovative discrete manufacturers in automotive, aerospace, industrial equipment and machinery, custom furniture and more. Business leaders include General Electric and Babcock & Wilcox. RuleStream recently added innovators like Robbins & Myers, McQuay and Goodrich Aerospace. For more information, visit www.rulestream.com.
Autodesk, AutoCAD and RealDWG are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.
RuleStream Corporation
Amy Kenly, +1-781-486-8420
Email Contact


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got bored.
got bored.
IF I hit a wrong key its becaus i kind of like it that way.
I voted for organ, though it is the QUEEN of instruments for me! I had the possibility to have lessons for one year. It was an unforgettable event. When you play the organ it is heaven. The colours you can create, the motions,... wounderful. And your whole body is music: from head to the fingers to the feet! I will never forget this time!
The King of all instruments by far must be the violin. It will destroy all that stand in its path. It dictates to whomever it pleases.
It is our imperfections that make us who we are.
It's gotta be voice ... nothing like using your own vocal cords and mouth to make your instrument! I play the violin because I really like music and it's an instrument I can and will play! I like the brass/wind instruments, but I thought the spit was really gross. That's the only reason I play a stringed instrument instead of something I put my mouth on ... also there's hygiene ... some people pick up other people's instruments and play them. Every time I've seen that happen with a wind instrument I practically got ill. But no one can take my voice and borrow it!
I especially love a good tenor voice. That should be the king of voice music!
Carpe Jugulum
King of Instruments is traditionally well known as the ORGAN.
Site creator, founder (Long time ago )
It has got to be the human voice.
No doubt about that.
Nothing can be as powerful and direct as that. And it's the earliest form of musical expression...way b4 the strings, the harp and blah.
Are you sure the voice is an instrument Daniel? I mean, what do you consider to define an instrument? Anything that makes a noise when we want it to? I thought it had to be an object outside of the body.
It is our imperfections that make us who we are.
Not makes a noise, but makes music! The voice does that.
Carpe Jugulum
Yes I know, but how does one define music? I like the sound of leaves blowing in the wind, but is that music?
It is our imperfections that make us who we are.
Music is sound with time.
Assuming you know about "sound" and "noise."
Leaves in the wind is noise.
IF I hit a wrong key its becaus i kind of like it that way.
My next door neighbour's dumb dog barks with perfect time. It has a better beat than I do sometimes! I would consider that an instrument of torture, so maybe you are right...
It is our imperfections that make us who we are.
Voice is definately an instrument. All what you have to do and care of an instrument, the same with voice. Actually I have a horrible voice, but never mind...
...I'm gonna vote for the Kazoo...just because I can...
Music is what feelings sound like...Anon.
Hahahahaha! Way to go Nox! B)Originally posted by Nox@Sep 18 2004, 11:10 AM
...I'm gonna vote for the Kazoo...just because I can...
It is our imperfections that make us who we are.
I saw the Kazoo also...it is NOT imaginere....


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The California Raisin Industry
There are around 2,800 California Raisin growers and 20 packers who together grow, produce and pack approximately 300,000 tons annually in an area within a 60 miles' radius of Fresno, California – known as the central San Joaquin Valley. Two thirds of U.S. raisin production is consumed in the U.S. and Canada, while one-third is exported to nearly 50 countries with Japan and the United Kingdom being the top two export markets.
The Secret is in the drying
The key to the rich taste of California raisins is in the drying. The grapes are left to dry naturally in the intense sunlight for two to three weeks. During this period the moisture content drops to below 16% and subtle chemical changes take place within the grape, concentrating the sugars and giving the raisins their attractive blue-brown skin.
Raisin Quality Processing
Did you know California Raisins have many stages of checking procedures to ensure you get the highest standard quality of product – every time? Quality Control plays an important part of the processing of the raisins once they are at the plant. Before the raisins are taken from their bins, government inspectors use long prods to take samples from the middle of each box. Strict standards must be met to ensure each box of raisins is free of imperfections. As a result of the focus on quality the California raisin industry has the lowest MRL's and minimal usage of pesticides in the world.
The raisins are then poured into a hopper which feeds onto a series of conveyor belts and drums that remove any remaining stems, or light weight fruit. They are then sent though a brisk vacuum air stream to catch any undesirable material. Then they are size-graded and thoroughly washed. The raisins then move past a laser sorter that uses light beams to determine if anything other than raisins is passing through the stream. If the laser determines something is not a perfect raisin, it instantly sends a small burst of air to knock the imperfection or foreign material out of the stream into a trough below, all at incredibly high speeds. Hand inspections are also carried out throughout the packaging process by quality control technicians to ensure California raisins are the cleanest, highest quality raisins in the world.
California Raisins are inspected under the most rigid standards by both plant quality control technicians and USDA inspectors throughout the packaging process. After final inspections, raisins are automatically weighed and packed in a variety of bulk industrial and convenient retail carton and pack sizes.
California Raisins are essentially dried grapes of the 'Vitis vinifera' Natural Seedless varietal type and are typically dried by the sun, whether it is on a paper trays or dried on the vine. Natural (Sun-Dried) seedless raisins include the Thompson seedless and other newer cultivars such as Selma Pete, Fiesta and DOVine.
Applications and Versatility
California Raisins are one of the most versatile ingredients that every professional baker/chef/food manufacturer should have. Not only are packed with healthy nutrients, but they are also cost effective, helping you to provide interesting and alternative products without exceeding your budget.
Few ingredients are as easy to use as natural California Raisins. California Raisins are a great snack just as they are or can add flavour to almost any favourite product. From simple additions to a fruit and nut mix, their use as a filling, colourant, flavour enhancer, provides manufacturers with hundreds of unique applications in all product categories.
Breakfast Goods:
Containing fibre, carbohydrates and antioxidants, California Raisins are perfect for providing consumers with a healthy ingredient in their breakfast pastries, cereals, and cereal bars.
In baked goods, California Raisins add propionic acid, which acts as a natural preservative. They can also extend the shelf life of baked goods and delay staling.
Fillings, chocolate covered granola bars and fruit and nut clusters demonstrate the exceptional taste and function of California Raisins. Their low water activity and pH make them a stable ingredient with high sweetening properties. They are all-natural and compatible with a wide variety of flavours.
As a Natural Sweetener:
Rich in fructose, California Raisins can be used as a substitute to sucrose-derived sweeteners in sugar-free products. They are used in diabetic food products for their ability to sustain blood sugar levels without causing the 'let down' often associated with high energy foods.
If you'd like to know more, The California Raisin Administrative Committee will be exhibiting at IFE in March, therefore come and visit us on stand No: N1720 at the IFE, Excel during 19th – 22nd March 2017 and we would be happy to discuss how we can help your business.
If you are not visiting IFE contact us anytime via e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Good Friday!!!
As you are getting ready to wrap up your gifts, how about topping them off with a few paper bows? Becky Williams created a great little gift bow with a paper bow that we shared on Monday. Today she shows us how she made the bow.
A pdf file of this tutorial can be found over on the left side of the blog under the 'recipes' section.
Jillibean Soup Paper Bow Tutorial
by Becky Williams
I am excited to share a quick and easy tutorial with you on how to make cute paper bows. This is a great way to use up some of your scraps and add a nice personal touch to gifts as well.
1. First of all, gather your supplies:
-favorite Jillibean Soup paper ( I used some Pasta Fagioli, Soup Staples, Summer Squash Soup and Monster Stew. )
-paper trimmer
-stapler and/or liquid glue
-ink if desired
-twine, ribbon, corrugated and/or canvas shapes, buttons, etc. for bow centers
2. Cut strips of paper to make bow. For this sample bow I cut 3 of each size of 3 kinds of paper:
Cut 3 strips each: ½ inch by 12 inches, 5/8 inch by 12 inches, ¾ inch by 12 inches
*You can also cut strips in the same pattern and can vary the width/length of strips as well as the number of strips you use based on the desired bow fullness.
3. Bend strip in half and staple/glue at center. Do not crease the ends. Make sure that you put the side that you want to have seen on the outside. Do this with each strip for your bow.
4. Overlap pieces and staple or glue, adding pieces until the bow is as full as you'd like.
5. Add desired embellishment to the center of your bow and add to gift for a beautiful handmade touch.
Thanks so much Becky for a quick and easy tutorial that we can do with our scraps!
Now head over to the Scrapbook & Cards Today blog for a GREAT giveaway! ;)
Have a good one!


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shipping outside the UK--the basic royal mail small packet airmail service doesnt have tracking,if you require tracking and expedited service there will be an additional royal mail cost of £5.15GBP ,please contact for more information,'royal mail signed for' has the tracking included--typically shipping to USA is 10 working days up


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About us
Developed for graphic professionals from freelancers to corporate in-house designers, ColorMunki Design provides the freedom and simplicity to select, specify and store color palettes in a calibrated environment, assuring precise color viewing and reproduction. Palettes can then be seamlessly imported into popular design applications including Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and QuarkXPress, as well as other industry-standard applications. Colors can be selected from multiple sources including PANTONE Color Libraries, system-level color pickers, inspirational images, color harmonies and key word searches. ColorMunki Design allows users to quickly and accurately capture colors from any surface, easily calibrate monitors, projectors and printers for accurate display-to-print matching, and verify spot colors for process-safe reproduction in any medium.


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Homebrew: Dynamic Background 2October 8, 2012 1 Comment
A while back, WindowsPhoneHacker released a homebrew application that changed your lockscreen wallpaper automatically. Now, the same folks who brought you that homebrew app for unlocked phones are in the process of updating it.
With Dynamic Background 2, your wallpaper can change in a matter of every few seconds, minutes, hours, etc.
The application should be available to install in a few days.
You can read more at WindowsPhoneHacker


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WIN - WordLock Text Lock and Cable Bike Lock
WordLock® Cable Bike Locks provide maximum security against theft with a heavy duty flexible steel cable. With 10,000 different letter combinations, students can pick words that are easy for them to remember and re-set.
Enter for a chance to win:
1. Become a 24/7 MOMS subscriber enter your email address below and comment that you subscribed along with your email address.
2. If you are already a subscriber just leave a comment that you are a subscriber along with your email address.
Extra entries for each:
- Like 24/7 MOMS on Facebook.
- Vote 24/7 Moms for Best Mom Blog on Parents Magazine click here
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* We received a complimentary WordLock Text Lock and Cable Bike Lock for review no financial compensation was received.
Labels: Giveaways


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If you have yet to visit the Dolomites, we envy you your first sight of this utterly breath-taking scenery. Pretty just doesn't cover it, they are achingly beautiful.
In order to get the most out of your glorious surroundings you can spend all day, every day, whether winter or summer, exploring the mountains by bicycle, on foot or on skis before returning to a cosy hideaway in one of Alta Badia's prettiest villages.
Nowhere does this better than the Rosa Alpina, a perfectly-appointed, chalet-style hotel with Michelin-starred restaurant and well-equipped spa.
While this is no destination spa, we do feel it fits the bill perfectly for a 'pure hedonism' holiday where you can indulge in both healthy exercise and food and wine. Do try out the signature Head to Toe treatment, an indulgent two-hour session including face peel, full body salt scrub and massage.
For a really immersive mountain experience, have dinner and overnight in a nearby shepherd's hut on the hill or even spend a few nights hiking and overnighting in refugios before returning to Rosa Alpina for some well-earned pampering.
The Rosa Alpina offers an indulgent spa for massage and beauty treatments, swimming pool, kids' play area, sauna, library, gym, yoga studio, small climbing wall and, of course, access to the glorious Dolomites.
The rooms are subtly but warmly decorated with good use of wood and soft felts and wools. Suites have a sitting area with wood burner, balcony and large bathroom so we highly recommend these for Red Savannah clients. Families are welcome and there are rooms with small gardens which are ideal if you have young ones needing space to run around safely.
After an active day, enjoy cocktails in the piano bar or read in the library before making your choice between the Michelin-starred Restaurant St Hubertus, the Wine Bar & Grill or the Fondue Restaurant. Other options are right outside the door in the village of San Cassiano.


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We have been putting Evan on his tummy every day to help build those neck muscles! It is a good way for him to get some skin to skin contact with Daddy!
Tummy Time
3 Responses to "Tummy Time"
Keep 'em coming! So cute! Evan looks like he is rasberrying your tummy in one of those pics. Have you tried the rasberry on his tummy? Used to make you kids giggle big time. Although I'm sure you were a little older than this. Love ya'll. Ree
Evan is not gong to find any nourishment there!! Just wait till he has teeth.
These photos are extra cute. Please send more.
Mom and Dad Hill
Does Evan like the Erik special belly roll? As I recall it had the same effect as a Tsumani wave…
Great pictures, everyone of them. Love you guys Jua


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To mark the 15th anniversary of the One Piece anime, the first One Piece theme park will open in Japan.
Details are scant, and currently, there is only a teaser page that says this will be One Piece's "first theme park" (初のテーマパーク or "hatsu no teema paaku") and that it will open at Tokyo Tower. That's all we know!
The teaser site says more details will be included in a future issue of Weekly Jump.
For those expecting something like a Disneyland version of One Piece, don't. I imagine this will be closer to the Weekly Jump theme park, J-World, that opened last year. There are One Piece attractions at J-World, but it's not a One Piece theme park per se.
One Piece Tower [Official Site]
To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft.
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.


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Great story about Larry and Priscilla Larsen, a long time Midlife Dimensions supporter, and dear friend of Jim and Jan Conway.


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Life in the WDMCS 11/24/14
Life in the WDMCS is a weekly feature that highlights what is happening at each of our buildings. If a school is not listed, there was no submission from that building this week.
Clive Elementary
Clive fourth graders attended their annual art field trip to the Pappajohn Sculpture Park and Des Moines Art Center with art teacher Alecia Eggers. It was a beautiful day to learn about color and movement in art! Students were extremely excited to learn about our local art, and have the amazing opportunity to see some of Andy Warhol's artwork, in person, at the latest exhibit: Silver and Suede: Halston & Warhol.
Sixth Grade students at Clive Elementary have been meeting with Officer Woods of the Windsor Heights Police Department for Code 411. Each week Officer Woods talks to the students about a variety of topics including drugs, alcohol, stealing, harassment, and law enforcement. During each class, sixth graders were expected to take notes about what they learned. The final week culminated with the students creating PowerPoint presentations about their learning. Clive students enjoyed every week when Officer Woods was in the school. They really liked the detailed question and answer opportunity she gave them each week.
Clive Elementary would like you to consider helping a child in your neighborhood, by granting a holiday wish. Clive Family Outreach is a program designed to help our children in need. Currently there are 120 students in our program. We have a Giving Tree in the entry way of our school with student wishes attached. If you would like to help, simply take a leaf from our bulletin board and return it attached to the item you are donating. We will be collecting holiday items in the school office located at 1600 73rd Street in Windsor Heights. Please drop off your donation by Dec. 12.If you would like further information on how you can help please contact Clive Elementary 633-5800. Thank you for making the holidays a special occasion for our students.
Crestview Elementary
Crestview fifth grader Grace Derouin, recently completed reading all 17 of this year's Iowa Children's Choice Award Nominees. An avid reader, Grace has a life-long love of dogs, so it's no surprise she'd choose "Saving Zasha" by Randi Barrow (a WW2 story about a German Shepard) as her personal favorite. Grace plans to read the sequel, "Finding Zasha," as soon as she can.
Three more fifth graders have finished reading all 17 of the Iowa Children's Choice award nominees. Jasmyn Tran, Anna VanWyngarden and Natalie Thomas each chose different titles as their favorites. Jasmyn liked "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes, while Anna picked "Hold Fast" by Bue Balliett and Natalie selected "Eight Keys" by Suzanne LaFluer. In March, all students who've read at least two ICCA's may vote with students from across the state for their favorite. Natalie, Anna and Jasmyn will be able to recommend titles to their friends since they've read them all now.
Crestview fifth grader Marina Mihura recently finished reading (and reporting on) all the Iowa Children's Choice books. She chose "Athlete vs. Mathlete" by W.C. Mack as her personal favorite. Congratulations to you Marina, we're proud of you!
November is a busy month in PE for students at Crestview Elementary. The sixth grade is preparing for the district wide sixth grade volleyball tournament at Valley High School. Crestview's boys and girls will compete against all the other schools in the district. The kids are very excited and hope to bring the sportsmanship trophies back to Crestview!
Also, the running club has had a fantastic start. In just over two months, second through sixth grade students have run more than 1,200 miles and five students – third grader Avery Davenport, second grader Piper Broderick, fourth grader Elle Peterson, third grader Gaby Lombardi and third grader Ireland Broderic – have joined the 50 mile club. Good work Crestview!
Crossroads Park Elementary
Crossroads Park sixth graders performed at the Des Moines Art Center for the annual Day of the Dead Celebration. Omar Moreno, Blake Tighe, Margret Rachuy, Ellie Penink, and Annalyce Click told about cultural traditions of the holiday (all in Spanish!) and shared the calacas they created. They rehearsed with Spanish teacher, Allyson Day, for about 6 weeks prior to the performance. The students served as excellent representatives of our school. Crossroads fifth graders created beautiful skull masks under the guidance of art teacher, Christie Engelbert, which were on display in the performance area. They were most popular with the Art Center patrons.
Fairmeadows Elementary
Fourth grade students from Fairmeadows Elementary performed at the Des Moines Art Center for a Day of the Dead celebration. They sang a song and talked about their paper skeletons all in Spanish. The students that participated included Haley Munoz, Sage Boyt, Allison Honz, Katelyn Rose, Isabel Serio, Emerson Drake, Allyson Hoffa, Addyson Kastli, Gunner Schmidt, Jake White
Fifth graders at Fairmeadows Elementary honored our veterans on Veteran's Day by putting on their annual Veteran's Day assembly. The scouts of pack 280 did the flag ceremony and led the pledge for the school. The program started with essay readings about why we honor our veterans. Students in fifth grade wrote essays and three were chosen to be read at the program. The essay readers were Isaac Bartusek, Kelsey Erickson and Jackson Tharp. The fifth grade then sang a patriotic song directed by music teacher, Mrs. Augspurger. Guest speaker, Dan Gannon from the Iowa Commission of Veteran Affairs, told the school how much he appreciated all of the cards the Fairmeadows students made for Veteran's Day. Over 500 cards were delivered around Iowa to various veteran hospitals and homes. The program ended with a slide show, which included pictures that had been submitted by Fairmeadows students of their veteran family members.
Hillside Elementary
The Hillside Girls Club meets every Monday after school and is open to all sixth grade girls at Hillside Elementary. In addition to attending meetings, members volunteer for Girl Club projects at school and in the community. The Club's goals are to increase the girls' self confidence and self esteem, encourage them to work toward goals, and accept diversity.
Hillside's Student Council's focus this year is helping others and making a difference in the community they are a part of. Each month the group concentrations on one organization that they would like Hillside to help. Students at all grade levels rallied to support the causes. In October students collected $2,247.68 during a Penny Harvest for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Currently Hillside is supporting Food Bank of Iowa's Combat Hunger Campaign. More than one-thousand items have been collected in the past two weeks. Students get to vote for their favorite Iowa college football team by placing the items they bring in the team's collection box. Each item is a vote of support for their team. "Student Council really wants to help the students understand that giving back is an important part of who Hillside is," said Kayla Woodke, student council sponsor. "We want them to feel good about helping others and know that when we work together as a school we can help our community."
Jordan Creek Elementary
The Jordan Creek Kids Care Club was named Club of the Month by its national sponsoring organization, generationOn Kids Care Clubs for its activities during Anti-Bullying Month. In October, the club participated in National Bullying Prevention Month in a variety of ways. On World Day of Bullying Prevention, they wore blue shirts in solidarity with bullying victims. In addition, club advisor Melinda Dunnwald led a discussion about respect during which club members were asked to reflect upon the meaning and importance of respectful behavior. A high school community service club was invited to participate in the discussion as well, sharing their experiences with bullying and teaching the younger students how to be caring classmates. The club then watched a video together about making a positive impact on a school through respectful words and actions. The students decided to "leave a positive footprint" on their school by painting footprints on the sidewalk that leads to the front door of the school and writing positive messages on them. They also traced their own feet on construction paper, wrote uplifting comments on them, and continued the path of positivity by hanging the footprints throughout the school building. Through their anti-bullying initiatives, the Jordan Creek Elementary KCC created partnerships with a nearby high school, and their local Home Depot donated $50 worth of project supplies. This Club's efforts involved over 100 students and 20 adult volunteers.
Jordan Creek second grade students recently completed a unit called We the Kids. The purpose of this unit was to understand what the U.S. Constitution is and why it is important, to understand the concept of rights and responsibilities, to understand the role of the U.S. President, and to be able to describe rights and responsibilities of a citizen. Recently, the class took a field trip to the Iowa Capitol. They took a guided tour of the inside of the capitol, and some students were able to spend some time with Governor Branstad. Students learned that our state has a constitution, and we learned about our state government while there.
Circle of Friends is up and running again this year at Jordan Creek. This year we have close to 100 students and have had activities at the pumpkin patch and Science Center, along with our monthly lunch bunches. The kids have enjoyed their time together building friendships!
Westridge Elementary
Westridge second graders kicked off their Native American unit with a presentation from Mike Havlic, Naturalist, from the Boone Y Camp.The students learned what materials Native Americans use, the importance of the directions the Tee Pee faced, how nature and people work together as one, and how to actually build the Tee Pee from materials the Native Americans would find on the land. Each student was responsible for a part of the construction of the Tee Pee. Mike helped the 2nd graders learn the importance of respecting different cultures, and how we can learn from each other even though we are all the same, people of the land.
Fourth graders at Westridge Elementary had the opportunity to listen to an owl speaker from Polk County Conservation. Students learned about different types of owls and their calls. They also learned about the seven adaptations that owls possess and how these adaptations allow them to survive. Aden Artzer from 4A commented, "I learned barn owls are rare and snowy owls aren't." Ryta-Marie Foshier from 4B expressed "Owls are really unique because they have different patterns in their fur." Fourth graders are currently learning about the skeletal system of the human body, as well as bones and muscles. Students enjoyed comparing human bones and owl bones.
Valley Southwoods
Through the mists of time, Napoleon Bonaparte has arrived at Valley Southwoods to proclaim "Vive la France!" After a disastrous stop in Waterloo, Napoleon has made his way to West Des Moines. Students in Wade Petersen's French I class have thus been challenged to conquer Napoleon's beloved country of France. During a two-week unit on France, students took part in a fun team competition that allowed them to review and reinforce all the information they were learning about France. Students learned about the geography, government, culture, and economy of France and its important role in the global society. As a creative way of motivation, students competed as teams to capture as many regions of France as possible; they did this by competing group tasks and challenges against other teams based on the information they were learning. There were also hidden treasures, battle flags, and secret alliances that formed during this heated battle. At the end of the competition, the secret values of the regions were revealed, and the team with the most points won!


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Manfred Sauer Foundation
The charitable Manfred Sauer Foundation wants to contribute to a barrier-free coexistence of people with spinal cord injury and pedestrians and give impulses for conscious living. Paraplegics are at the centre of the foundation's work, but the Manfred Sauer Foundation's services are aimed at all people. The house is open to everyone
The Manfred-Sauer-Stiftung Betriebsgesellschaft mbH
Our range of services includes the restaurant "Die Küche" with banquet rooms, seminar hotel with seminar and conference rooms, health centre with wellness, fitness and a physiotherapist practice.


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Rev Theory VIP Upgrade
The red hot REV THEORY is heading back on the road for a headlining tour and is giving 10 fans for each show, VIP ticket upgrades to not only see the band live, but attend an acoustic performance, receive an autographed poster, AND meet the band in person. Please note that this is NOT a contest, each VIP upgrade is $35 USD and there are only 10 upgrades per show, so get your tickets now before it's too late! And if you haven't already, pick up a copy of Light It Up in stores and all digital markets everywhere!
Tour Dates:
February 20th Tempe, AZ @ The Clubhouse
February 23rd Lafayette, LA @ Punk and Crunk Festival w/ Shinedown
February 25th Jackson, MS @ Touch Night Club
February 27th Greenville, SC @ The Handlebar
February 28th Goose Creek, SC @ The Dive
March 3rd Townson, MD @ Recher Theatre
March 4th Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
March 5th Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom
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The MULTIPROBE S forms the basis of the MULTIPROBE range and is the foundation for the larger MULTIPROBE P and MULTIPROBE RM variants. The MULTIPROBE S is a single chamber surface science UHV system with large multi-technique analysis chamber for electron spectroscopy, UHV scanning probe microscopy and sample preparation. A sample transfer system facilitates the sample transfer between SPM, analysis chamber, and fast entry sample load lock (FEL).
© Scienta Omicron GmbH - All rights reserved


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Cathedral Policy (please read ALL the policies)
Before your child can be baptized, we need the following:
1. Parents need to be registered and active parishioners for at least two months before attending a Baptism Seminar.
2. For parents coming from another Catholic church two letters are needed from their pastor that must include the following:
a. statement that the parents (or the Catholic parent) are active and in good standing with the church.
b. permission is given to have the child baptized in another parish.
3. Godparents: Godparents sponsor the one being baptized in the Church. Thus, it is the assumption of the Church (as expressed in church law) that both Godparents are practicing Catholics, confirmed, and are in good standing in the Church. Therefore we need the following:
a. A Baptismal certificate (re-issued within 6 months) of the Godparent, issued from the church of his/her baptism, which indicates all sacraments received by the prospective Godparent.
b. A letter from his/her pastor stating he/she is in good standing with the Church and an active member of his/her parish/church.
4. Proof of Baptism Seminar
a. Written proof/certificate stating that the parents have been to a Baptism Seminar (Catholic Parish) prior to the Baptism.
b. Written proof/certificate stating that the Godparents have been to a Baptism Seminar (Catholic Parish) prior to the Baptism.
Please submit all the required paperwork to Deacon John one month before the baptism.
Cathedral of St. John Berchmans
Attn: Deacon John
939 Jordan St.
Shreveport, Louisiana 71101


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As I am disassembling all parts of the suspension for cleaning and painting, the rear axle was next: removing the drums, brakes, bearings and check the spicer gears.
As the axle is loose from the car and sometimes extreme forces are necessary to remove the drums, it's a bit difficult to counter the force to tighten the drum puller. But, I bought a almost 100% copy of the original Volvo puller which I thought would have to do the trick..
It worked ok, but it was just too tight. I used a 1,5m long pipe on the wrench, and for several days, heated the drum, banged it with the BFH (big facking hammer) I have, but no help, it did not bulge. At some time during the rampage the drum began to tear apart…
Then, as I allready wrecked the drum, I used a large Kukko puller and this did the trick. Installed the puller again, Heated it up again, and threw a bucket of cool water over the thing. A minute later there was a big BANG like a gunshot and finally it was loose! Victory was mine! Until I realized that this was only the right side………….
BUT, the left hand side came of in like a half an hour of pulling. That was a big relief. It suggests that the RH side really was friggin stuck on the axle. But now I finally can continue with disassembling of the rear axle.
Disassembled and cleaned rear axle, placed upside down to fully drain the oil
Also started with the fuel tank
And out comes an almost new fuel tank!
I also did another small fun job, I cleaned up the oil pressure transmitter.
A piece of art


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Jan 7, 2018 10:50:42 AM by Chris M
Dec 3, 2016 02:48:52 AM by Vladimir G
Hi Kunal,
We are doing great, hope you are as well! Please check the information Tam shared in his opening post and follow-up comments, and let us know if you have any questions.
Sep 1, 2016 09:05:52 PM by Saldy D
Can you just make an option where freelancer can turn off this what so called "interesting job". Because it is totally annoying in my part. It keep on posting job post that was totally forgotten. I am not interested with a job post that was over 4 months or weeks.
Sep 4, 2016 10:24:55 AM by Tiffany S
Apologies if this has been mentioned somewhere else in the thread, but don't forget to factor in the possibility that people are clicking on that particular job BECAUSE it has a big blue "interesting job" banner.
Actual proposals might be a better measure than clicks.
Sep 5, 2016 01:43:53 PM by Miroslav M
Anbother job which is interesting to be flagged.
About the Client
Payment Method Not Verified
48 Jobs Posted
0% Hire Rate, 15 Open Jobs
Member Since Dec 3, 2015
Sep 6, 2016 07:01:56 AM by Miroslav M
Update. Now I saw an Interesting Job which requires knowledge of skills I don't possess. They used tags mentioning skills which exclude me. Can this feature become more personalized taking advantage from skill tags?
© 2015 - Upwork® Global Inc.


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A previous law in South Korea, punished PC Bang owners for being caught with underage children playing games rated 15 and above, has been relaxed to give establishments a "caution" before being shut down, reports GameMeca's Kim Mee-hee.
As of Tuesday, the law that read that establishments "prevent teenagers from playing games that have an 18-and-up rating" has been changed to read "prevent all users from playing games above their age rating." Because the law didn't explicitly mention underage children playing games for 15 and up, PC Bangs with those offenders weren't subject to the mandatory warning given violators of the 18-and-up rule.
Ironically, that created a situation where underage children playing games 15 and up carried a heftier punishment for PC Bangs than teenagers playing games rated for adults. By expanding the language to "all users," that makes sure warnings will be given across the board.
The law's ambiguity and the popularity of games like Overwatch led to some PC Bangs being forced to suspend business activities if another patron reported the fact that an underage child was playing the game. Some establishments went as far as to ban the entry of customers under the age of 15, since the responsibility — as well as the penalty — was solely on the PC Bangs.
Part of the new measures also gave PC Bangs the ability to be open past the schedule of 9 a.m. to 12 a.m. Previously, PC Bangs that also sold food items were restricted in business hours due to that classification, but now PC Bangs are able to have more flexible schedules.


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Price: $25.00
Quantity: 1 available
Book Condition: Very Good
Pages a bit browned. ; A look at what the British visitor calls The Riviera, the French call the Cote d'Azur, and the Italians call Riviera di Ponente. No matter what you call it, it's a fine place to be! No date, circa 1920s; B&W Photographs; 8vo; 320 pages
Title: A BOOK OF THE RIVIERA
Categories: France,
Publisher: New York, Brentano's: N.D.
Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Very Good
Item: 1.00 Item
Order Number: 16046


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The park is surrounded by residential houses and the main entrance to it is in Shirley Way. The pond is the central feature but there is also a large grassed area with two large tables where families can play or have a picnic. Local residents like to walk their dogs around the perimeter of this area which is separated from the central play area by some slightly overgrown meadow land. There is also a smaller grassed area near what we call the beach where ducks and geese like to come out of the pond and graze.
Millers Pond is a popular place for wildlife lovers, bird watchers, dog walkers and families with young children who enjoy feeding the ducks (please read our 'Pond' page regarding responsible duck feeding). It is home to many species of wildlife including mallards, geese, moorhens, coots, cormorants and the occasional heron. The park is also very popular with people of all ages who just want to sit and enjoy being in this ornamental and tranquil 'haven'.
Don't miss the next Friends of Millers Pond Fayre on Saturday 21st July 2018 from 12-4.30pm.
In 2015 SPRA (Spring Park Residents Association) paid for the supply and installation of two new picnic tables in the park. They are there for all to use and enjoy so next time the sun comes out wander down to the park and enjoy the peace and tranquility!
Eric Molkenthin (Acting Chairman)


text: Take Control of Your Comfort Room by Room with Zoning Systems We all have a personal idea of what comfortable is when it comes to temperature, and when one person gets hot it's almost a sure thing that another will get cold. So why not make everyone happy? All you need is a temperature zoning system from Lennox and you can personalize different room temperatures so that everyone is in their most comfortable place. Whether your home has huge windows or consistently has a top floor that is warmer than the lower floors, a temperature zoning system is the answer and will help take care of all your comfort needs. Here are a few other instances where a temperature zoning system may be perfect: House level that's completely or partially under ground Rooms you barely use Stale rooms A room that was added since your heating and cooling system was put in High heating and cooling costs iHarmony® Zoning SystemPrecise comfort has never been so easy to reach than it is with the iHarmony® Zoning System. Not only can you modify the temperature for the entire house, you can target specific areas with only a couple inputs. Oh, you can also change it from your phone so you don't have to get off the couch. Having comfort year-round is now literally at your fingertips with the iHarmony® Zoning System, so why not use everything it has to offer? Perks include: Four-zone capability, allowing rooms to be set to a custom temperature Wireless access offering full control over your home's temperature from your smartphone, tablet or laptop Product Brochure Contact Us to Learn More Harmony III™ Zoning SystemCreating balance in your home as it applies to heating and cooling can be a bit difficult, but with the Harmony III™ Zoning System it just got a little easier. Through directing airflow to specified areas only, you can control your home's temperature with ease. It is truly ultimate comfort control. And with the money you may save by only heating and cooling necessary rooms, maybe you can go buy that toy you've been eyeing. Features include: Outstanding efficiency that may lower your heating and cooling bills when you use it with variable speed heating and cooling equipment from Lennox Four-area zoning allows you to eliminate hot and cold spots Easy integration allows foran almost seamless transition to an unexperienced level of comfort and savings Product Brochure Contact Us to Learn More LZP-4 Zoning System When you talk about flexibility and heating and cooling, great power comes along with it. In this example, the LZP-4 Zoning System gives you maximized comfort along with it as you are able to take control of those areas that never seem to stay the right temperature. The zoning system also has a time delay feature so you know your system isn't always turning on and off, wasting energy. Features include: Excellent energy efficiency— might reduce your energy costs alongside a programmable thermostat Four-area zoning helps make hot and cold spots vanish for good Easy integration with your standard heating and cooling systems so that you can take advantage of the precise comfort that comes with the LZP-4 Zoning System Product Brochure Contact Us to Learn More LZP-2 Zoning SystemEasily split your home into two separate climate-controlled zones when you install the LZP-2 Zoning System. When you need a simple solution to improve your comfort without costing a lot, this system is the ideal selection for you. Crafted to operate with standard, single-speed systems, the LZP-2 Zoning System allows you to truly get the most for your money, which you may be seeing more of when your energy bill comes every month. The system includes: Outstanding energy efficiency— may lessen your energy costs when you use it alongside a programmable thermostat Two-area zoning lets you meet your comfort needs in one zone, without altering the other Easy integration with standard, single-speed heating and cooling systems so you can enhance your home's comfort Product Brochure Contact Us to Learn More Zoning systems may seem a little overwhelming and we understand that, so if you need to ask any questions, let us know. The specialists from Thurston Heating & Air Conditioning in Kearney are here for you, so give us a call at 308-624-3485 or schedule an appointment with our online scheduler to learn more.


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Featuring; Jeff Henderson & Friends, Tom Rodwell & Storehouse, Steve Abel, Oscar, Great North, Swamplands, The Bads, Fagen and the People, Shadow Bat AND Surf City.
Date: Thursday September 26th
Venue: Alleluya, Wine Cellar & Whammy, 183 K'rd Road
Time: 6pm – 1am
Entry: Koha – all donations go toward the City Vision campaign
An evening of music; a chance to meet some of the candidates standing for Auckland Council in an informal setting.
Organised by Rohan Evans, City Vision candidate for Albert- Eden Local Board and proprietor of the Wine Cellar.


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Touring Australia Wide! Get in quick, changes to dates!
Share this...
Lovers, I have made a few changes to my tour dates. Booking in advance is recommended, only sometimes I can accomodate short notice enquiries.
Canberra 5th - 8th of February with Giselle B
Hobart 13th - 14th of February
Brisbane 19th - 22nd of February
Adelaide 27th - 1st of March with Giselle
Melbourne 13th - 15th of March
Darwin 24th - 27th of March
Perth 3rd - 5ht of April
Hope to see you soon!
For bookings email: email@example.com


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New from sector consultancy nfpSynergy is 'Past Imperfect', examining data to try and see what changes in charity areas of activity, for better or worse, have taken place over the last few decades. The areas covered were cancer, heart disease, disability, poverty, and the environment.
There is an overview of the report's conclusions, in 'How can charities change the world?'. There is of course a download link too for the full report (registration required).
Summary headings include:
- Charities tackle big complex problems.
- Attributing success is very difficult.
- Some problems aren't solved by charities at all (and some are).
- Collaborations and partnerships are critical.
- Changing government behaviour is critical
- 'No change' can be a major achievement.


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Not-your-grandmother's B&B
Discover Chapman House, an urban Boutique-Style Bed & Breakfast in the Heart of Nantucket
Be among the first to experience Yankee Magazine's 2013 "Editor's Choice" award for Best Boutique Lodging. Chapman House's 11 guestrooms are Nantucket's ultimate in urban comfort. Hip and stylish, these rooms are the pinnacle of what is "it", offering high design, plush comfort, iPads and Apple TVs. Plus, guests staying in Chapman House will enjoy a deluxe continental buffet breakfast in the breakfast room or outdoor patio.
*The Chapman House welcomes guests age 10 and over.
Each room is designed for two in either one king or queen bed. Smoking is not permitted at our property – including rooms, public spaces and gardens. While we welcome Service Animals, pets – including emotional support animals – are not permitted at our hotel.
Deposit & Cancellation Policies
Deposit Policy: Up to the first three nights of a stay (or 50% if greater than six nights) will be collected per room at the time of booking.
Cancellation Policy: For all cancellations, regardless of circumstance, a 10% service charge will be retained by the Veranda House Hotel Collection. For cancellations made within 15 days of your scheduled arrival, you will be held financially responsible for your entire reservation.


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It used to be that you needed multiple acres to capture the power of the sun, but that is no longer the case. It is easy for the average person to convert to solar energy use at home or at work. This article can help you learn more about solar power and how you can benefit from it.
One positive step toward helping helping the environment is to switch to a solar powered water heater. Water heating systems can have tanks or be tankless, both able to be powered by the sun. A sunny area on your roof is the optimal spot for installation.
You don't have to worry that you'll be tearing up your whole roof if you decide to use solar power. At a minimum, you can replace all exterior sources of illumination with solar powered lamps and light sources. This type of lighting charges all day in the sun so that it can run through the night.
You should have a backup energy source in the event that your solar panels malfunction. You can either get a generator or stay connected to the power grid. If you opt for a generator, ensure that is properly working by doing maintenance at least once a month.
You need to determine if solar is the right fit for you. There are several things to consider. Solar energy can be a must-have for those who live in remote areas where there is no available electrical grid to hook into. Choose this option to lower your project's environmental impact and can afford the greater initial cost.
Solar Energy
If you want to help the planet, consider solar energy panels. Solar energy is about as green as it gets due to the fact that is uses the sun, which is a completely renewable resource. Therefore, you can make a difference by implementing solar energy power.
Think about how you use your energy. You need to know exactly how much power you need on a daily basis before switching to clean energies. These facts are essential if you are to choose an appropriate sized solar power system. Go back over the entire year to see how your energy usage changes throughout the seasons.
There is no need to hook your solar power system onto a power grid in your area. The solar power system provides your home with all the electricity it needs; therefore, you do not have to worry about losing power whenever your city does. This means you can say goodbye to monthly power bills.
Solar is great for families and businesses and can provide massive savings on energy costs and on carbon pollution. If you feel that your lifestyle can benefit from conversion to solar power, explore your options now. Follow the tips presented here to add solar energy use to your daily life.


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I'd like to know if chilkat has any class/method to validate the address, for example:
kkk email@example.com <= should return false for validation email@example.com <= should return true çççfirstname.lastname@example.com <= should return false
No. See the following: http://www.chilkatforum.com/questions/1394/validate-email-addresses
Perfect email address validation is impossible. Some people want syntactic validation, but as Tracy indicated in the link above, there is really no way to do that because there are situations where the "email address" could be a distribution list, an x400 email address, etc. Maybe your app just wants to make sure there's an "@" symbol followed by what looks like a domain..
The other validation is when you contact the SMTP server that owns the email address and you begin an SMTP session and issue the "RCPT TO" command -- to see how the SMTP server responds. For example, maybe you contact smtp.xyz.com for email addresses ending in "xyz.com". The smtp.xyz.com can only know about the email accounts under its control. smtp.xyz.com would know nothing about gmail.com email addresses, or chilkatsoft.com email addresses. Furthermore, there are two problems with trying to validate an email address in this way:
Basically, for email address validation, my answer is: fuggedaboutit
Have a process in place to handle the NDRs (bounce messages) to update your lists.
I just want to validade the address, not againts the servers.
The's so many functions on the web and regex's for it, but all fail some stuff. For example there's the .net way, which fails for me, even that is valid, that is allowing spaces in the local part. MS Way:
Dim mailAddress As MailAddress Try mailAddress = New MailAddress("testing@firstname.lastname@example.com") Catch ex As Exception 'Invalid email End Try


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Ada Chapter 1
Resident Evil 6 Walkthrough and Guide
by vhayste
Ada Chapter 1
You can sneak around if you want to make things a bit easier. It is okay to be seen by one guard – as long as you kill him fast enough not to trigger the alarm. Mutated guards won't trigger the alarm as well but will take more effort to take out.
A cat in a tub
After reaching the part where there are two guards, you can get past them by pushing the gas containers out of the way to reveal a vent underneath. Moving on, Ada will notice more guards and one near an alarm. Get behind cover and take out the two guards in the corridor, then the other one inside the room with the alarm. Going past that corridor and as soon as you take the stairs, you should find this campaign's first emblem.
Submarine Emblem
Follow the path until you reach a locked, decorated room. Try to open the door to update your objective. First, head to the other room and examine the hole in the side. The view's gonna be blocked so check the other side to activate it. Peek through the hole again to see the painting transform.
To open the door, you have to turn the pedestals to make the snake in the painting. Activate the console on the door then exit. Step on the lighted panel so the armed camera gets activated and attacks your enemies.
Continue to the room and loot the items. Activate the projector to get the secret information. The whole sub will be alerted at this point so there's no use going discreet now. Fight your way through more enemies until you reach the cargo hold.
Step on the glowing panels there to activate the security cams and help you take out more enemies. There is a mounted turret in the other side of the hold. You can easily take out the enemy manning the turret by activating the floor panel. Continue past the door and operate the console to unlock the next door that leads to the next area.
Open the door then continue forth. Check behind the pillar as you turn around the corner to find another emblem. Go down to the room below and grab the Assault Shotgun by the workbench. Continue following the path and taking out enemies until you reach the ladder going to the Engine Room.
Submarine Emblem 2
Fight your way through more enemies until one of them accidentally hits a gas tank which will cause a shitstorm of problems. The next sequence is just a straightforward one; you don't have to kill all enemies along the way; just run and make your way to the escape pod.
The hull has been compromised
After this sequence, walk around a bit then use the grappling hook to pull yourself up. Water will start to fill in fast so you have to move quickly. There's another emblem that you can grab during this sequence and it's not hard to miss. Continue until you encounter an enemy. (That's the only enemy you'll encounter in this sequence) The emblem should be beside the stairs.
Submarine Emblem 3
After reaching the temporary safety of the bulkdoor, jump down then continue forth. Destroy the special BOW along the way then vault over the next doorway. Before moving forth, turn around and look in the corner behind to find this emblem. Destroy the crates here as well then backtrack to reach the ladder in the other end of the hallway.
Once there, operate the console to update your objective. You have to restore power by reaching the controls. You can explore the areas and kill more of those insect-type BOWs for more skill points but still, you'll be forced to go underwater to reach the console.
Pull the lever then dive in the water again. Don't backtrack; instead follow the vent until you surface to the other side. Dive down again and surface to reach the jammed doors. Open it up and go through another vent to reach the console.
Restoring power to a disabled sub
After activating, you'll have to answer several questions to authorize your access. During this point, more enemies will attack. Fend yourself and press the buttons as soon as available to give your answers. Once done, use your grappling hook to trigger the next scenes and to complete this chapter.
Authorizing your escape


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Someone once said, "The pearl is the queen of gems and the gem of queens." And just happens to be my favorite piece of jewelry. I wear them no matter what I'm doing or where I'm going. . They make my outfit complete and a little extravagant. Imagine how very happy I was when I started seeing pearls pop up in fashion for spring!
I think a string of pearls with blue jeans is very classy. But ON blue jeans – Awesome!
Dressing up a pair of shoes with pearls – Perfect!
Evening wear and pearls are a no brainier. But these dresses for daytime with just a touch of pearls are just the thing to make a style statement.
How about handbags – It will easily take any outfit from boring to captivating.
Chanel would smile at the re-introduction of wearing pearls in a different way. Pearls are always elegant and graceful. So, get out your needle and thread and sew a few randomly on the front your T-shirt or around the sleeve edges. Dress up a jean jacket. There are dozens of ways to sprinkle them on your clothes and give your spring fashion a lovely upgrade. As Jackie O once said, "Pearls are always appropriate."


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LAKEVILLE — With so many different sights to see all over the country, the diverse wonders of our own backyard can often be taken for granted. An upcoming exhibit by photographer and lifelong Middleboro resident Greg Lessard, "Glory of Massachusetts: A Photographic Journey," is meant to remind us of the splendors and special things that surround us.
LAKEVILLE — With so many different sights to see all over the country, the diverse wonders of our own backyard can often be taken for granted. An upcoming exhibit by photographer and lifelong Middleboro resident Greg Lessard, "Glory of Massachusetts: A Photographic Journey," is meant to remind us of the splendors and special things that surround us.
"Massachusetts is an incredibly beautiful and diverse state," Mr. Lessard says. "Most people believe that you have to travel far away from home to witness inspirational scenes. While it is possible to seek beauty in faraway lands, I contend that most of us drive by some amazing places everyday on the way to work. Photographing places close to home has allowed me to explore my artistry while discovering the world around me."
The exhibit, which premieres July 20 in the Great Ponds Gallery at the Lakeville Public Library, is a collection of images Mr. Lessard has been compiling since 2005. It will be the photographer's first exhibition since November of last year, when he presented "The Year of the Snowy Owl" at the Massachusetts Audubon Society's North River Sanctuary in Marshfield.
"The images (in "Glory of Massachusetts") portray the beauty and glory of Massachusetts through my vision," Mr. Lessard said. "The 30 images include my favorite scenes from Cape Cod to the Berkshires (and) will include some of my classics as well as new releases."
Besides the images themselves, the exhibit will include written excerpts explaining the "stories behind the images." Mr. Lessard also adds that the 30 images are a selection of highlights from a larger portfolio which he plans to publish in book form in the near future.
"I am an artist influenced by the Romantic era of the late 1800s," said the photographer of 20 years. "I identify with the painters of the Hudson River School as well as the participatory photography of Galen Rowell. It is my hope to create beautiful, dynamic images that captivate the viewer, while demonstrating empathy for the subject matter."
One featured piece that illustrates this motive entitled "Buck's Team" was captured during a typical day's work for Middleboro resident and farmer Bob Buck and his team of halflinger horses.
"This image shows Massachusetts as it once was," said Mr. Lessard in the photo's descriptive excerpt. "By carefully including only elements that may have been seen in the past, I have created an image that represents my imagination of history. Can you imagine a hot spring day, with vibrant green grass and aspen leaves being backlit by golden sunlight? A farmer with two beautiful, hardworking horses headed down a lane of freshly plowed earth, drives off into the distance. No cars, telephone poles, cell phones or modern signs of life. Just a man with his team"¦"
While "Glory of Massachusetts" features images taken from and inspired by locations all around the state, Mr. Lessard decided to keep the body of work close to home where it might be most appreciated.
"Many of my images were made in this region," he says. "It made a lot of sense to exhibit the images for people who may recognize some of the scenes as part of their neighborhood. The Lakeville Library has a beautiful gallery and I was thrilled when they accepted my work."
"Glory of Massachusetts: A Photographic Journey" will run July 20-Aug. 30 with an opening reception on Saturday, July 20 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Light refreshments will be served.
"Massachusetts is an amazing place to live," Mr. Lessard says. "Within three hours of driving you can visit mountains, the seashore, rural farms, isolated islands and the big city. Few places offer so much."


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National association partnerships
Streamline payroll, HR, and compliance for your members
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Add value to your chapters' memberships
By partnering with Paychex, your members may be eligible for special pricing on our industry-leading HR solutions, making their memberships even more valuable.
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Our time-saving solutions make payroll, HR, and employee benefits administration easy, helping free your members to focus on what's important — their growth and success.
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Help your members — and your organization — thrive
Remove the hassle of vetting payroll and HR providers
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Our HR solutions can help your members in their efforts to adhere to a wide range of mandatory requirements. Plus, we offer the support of highly trained HR professionals who can act as your members' HR partners, helping them implement effective and up-to-date processes for recruiting, hiring, ongoing employee management, and more.
Give chapters the tools to attract top talent
It's become increasingly difficult to find and retain employees with the right skill sets. Paychex can help your members overcome this challenge with our powerful applicant-tracking solution. We'll help you find top candidates, as well as Fortune 500-caliber benefits, including retirement and group health insurance plans, to help attract and retain employees.


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How to Legally Incorporate at a Cheaper Rate
It can be expensive to try to incorporate a business. Each state has its own guidelines and fees for incorporation of organizations. Despite the cost of legally incorporating your business, however, having a legal corporation can give you access to tax breaks, greater operating freedom and the protection afforded by lawful business practices. When you are ready to incorporate your business, there are several factors to consider.
Becoming Incorporated
Decide if you want to incorporate in your own state or another state. Incorporating in your state of business may be expensive. If you choose to incorporate your business in another state, you must declare your intention to operate as a foreign corporation in states different than the state you incorporate in.
Research the incorporation fees for various states. Delaware, for example, has one of the simplest, most inexpensive incorporation processes. Fees vary widely from one state to another. Choose the state that has the most inexpensive fee for your purposes.
Consider also the various processes of incorporation in the states you research. Although most states have similar incorporation requirements, some may be more complex than others. Decide which state has the least expensive and easiest process of incorporation for your business.
Download or print, fill out and return the articles of incorporation from the secretary of state in the state where you want to incorporate your business. Properly file your paperwork and return it, along with the incorporation fee.
You may begin operating your business after you conduct a required meeting to establish bylaws and appoint your board of directors. For small businesses, this may simply entail deciding who will be the president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. One person may hold multiple titles.
Photo Credits
- Jack Hollingsworth/Digital Vision/Getty Images


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In Paradise
Hardcover, 246 pages, Penguin Group USA, List Price: $27.95 |purchase
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NPR Summary
Joining a diverse group of visitors at the site of a former Nazi concentration camp, Polish-American academic Clements Olin performs research while witnessing personal and political tensions erupting among his fellow participants.
Awards and Recognition
3 weeks on NPR Hardcover Fiction Bestseller List
NPR stories about In Paradise
In 'Paradise,' Finding Understanding In The Ruins Of Horror
'In Paradise,' Matthiessen Considers Our Capacity For Cruelty
Note: Book excerpts are provided by the publisher and may contain language some find offensive.
Excerpt: In Paradise
On e
He has flown all night over the ocean from the New World, descending from moon stare and the rigid stars into the murk and tumult of inversion shrouding winter Poland.
From the airport, a cab takes him to the city and sets him down in an empty square where a row of buses, closely parked, face a cracked wall; the cab is gone by the time he discovers they are locked. (The imprisoned air inside, he thinks, must be even colder than this outside weather.) At the corner café he is informed that buses to his destination won't be available before spring, and that he has missed the morning train he would have caught had he been driven to the depot; there will be no other until evening.
At a loss, he drinks black coffee at the counter, scowling at the unshaven traveler reflected in the dirty mirror. His antiquated Polish is eked out by the primitive English of a young couple who have overheard his inquiries about hiring a car and boisterously endorse the waiter's protest that the cost would be far too high. Concerned that a visitor to their fair land has been inconvenienced, they offer to es- cort him to the small museum he had mentioned: the waiter will keep an eye on his old suitcase. On the way he can admire the Royal Palace and cathedral on Wawel Hill and the St. Mary's Basilica destroyed in the thirteenth century by Asian Tatars and rebuilt in the fourteenth with that strange crowned tower. "Like black icicles!" the girl cries. Thus their guest can at least enjoy the historic center of Poland's oldest city, still so beautiful, they say, because Cracow, like Paris, had been spared bomb and fire in the war. Pardon? Oh no, sir, they giggle, they have never been to Paris!
Exhausted, he trails his merry guides past the medieval Cloth House on the Market Square. Mirek and his love-struck Wanda will not let him visit this city he knows more about than they do without dragging him into a shop to find a souvenir of Poland. Wanda supervises the selection of a silken lozenge of transparent amber. "For delight your sweetheart in America? Beauty gift for Mama?" This golden drop encasing flecks of ancient insects is the very essence of his native earth, yet its acquisition further sinks his spirits. He knows no one who would have much interest in this scrap of fossil tree sap, never mind "delight." He has no sweetheart, only a married lover he does not much miss — in fact, is rather glad to get a rest from — and no surviving family in the New World. Were they still alive, his father and paternal grandparents would have disapproved this trip, having always warned him against returning to this region of southwest Poland just because he happened to be born there. "You have no memory of that place, and our own memories are sad," his father said.
The one thing he will make sure he sees in Cracow is the Leonardo da Vinci portrait of a Renaissance girl holding a white winter weasel in her lap. Long ago, his father had shown him a faded reproduction clipped from an art magazine ("She reminds me so of your dear mother!"). Alas, on this cold Sunday of 1996, Young Woman with Ermine is locked away behind an obdurate wood door. His guides stare at the notice as if hoping that at any moment it might change its mind. Disappointed for their guest and sensing his annoyance, the poor things are looking a bit desperate.
On the return, in an effort to intrigue them, he relates how over the centuries this portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, Count Ludovico Sforza's adolescent mistress, had wandered in times of war and conquest — sealed up in castle cellars, stolen, sold, and finally recovered, only to be confiscated by Hans Frank, now Governor General of Occupied Poland, and displayed in his office in the Royal Palace —
"Is up there!" Eager to contribute, the girl is pointing at the fortress castle looming in the mist on its rock hill over the river. "We can visit!" shouts Mirek, eager, too.
Inside, they are shown the empty office where the Leonardo — and perhaps also a Raphael, never recovered — might have illumined these drab walls, doubtless vaunted as trophies, spoils of war, by hausfrau Brigitte Frank, she who styled herself "a Queen of Poland" as fit title for so grand a personage as the new lady of the Royal Palace. And perhaps it was this Nazi queen (said to have been detested by her husband) who had seen to the theft of "the Cecilia" in early 1945, when this awful family fled the Red Army rumbling across Poland from the east and installed her in their chalet in Bavaria, from where, eventually, she would be rescued by Allied soldiers rumbling across Poland from the west.
"I have always been a student of that period," he explains, embarrassed by their awe of so much knowledge. But as they make their way outside again into the city, he tells his rapt young friends that rather wonderfully, the masterpiece — one of but four known Leonardo portraits of women, including the Mona Lisa and La Belle Ferronnière, both in the Louvre — turned up in Paris and was eventually restored, thank God, to Cracow. "Thanks God!" the lovers agree fervently, at the same time confessing prior ignorance of its existence and also their amazement that a treasure so renowned might ever have been found anywhere in their battered land.
They head for the warmth of that café in Kasimierz, the old Jewish quarter named after King Kasimierz of the sixteenth century — a "Golden Age," he mentions, of benevolence toward Jews, who were fleeing to Poland from pogroms and persecutions all over Europe. However, his companions, though they nod and smile, cannot come up with any comment on all his information, which he'd hoped might stoke a faltering conversation. He tries to mend his pedantic tone but soon falls back on his research for want of a better antidote to their blithe ignorance, instructing them that in former times, their city was a cultural center of this country's Jewish population. After September 1939, when southwest Poland was seized by the Third Reich, the Jews were driven from their houses into a ghetto over near the river, permitting Obergruppenführer Frank to boast that Cracow was the first Judenfrei city in the Occupied Territory.
The girl looks at her companion. Judenfrei? What can he be telling us?
"But of course you know your own history much better than some foreigner who has never been here."
"Not even to Cracow?" the girl entreats him, hand circling to summon up its fabled spell. "But you are speak okay Polish," Mirek says, urging their guest to tell them more about this "Judenfrei": how amusing that in all their lives they have never met a single Jew, not one!
He watches them chortle at the idea of knowing Jews. "I suppose that's not so strange, under the circumstances," he says. "Very few survived the war and scarcely any have returned even today. Small wonder."
"Is small wonder!" Mirek agrees fervently. "Is small wonder!" the girl says. Uneasy, the lovers peer about them for some trace of missing Jews as if these buildings dark with centuries of soot were rife with Hebrew secrets.
Excerpted from In Paradise by Peter Matthiessen by arrangement with Riverhead Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright 2014 by Peter Matthiessen.


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Why are you blaming Muslims for the problems of the West
Reader comment on item: Europe is Finished, Predicts Mark Steyn
Submitted by Lisa (Canada), Dec 1, 2006 at 22:57
You have given them the green cards and you have given them the citizenship, you need them to bring new generations because you are too lazy to make families of your own. Most of the Europeans I know either singles or couples with no kids. Birth controls, abortions, divorce, getting away from your christianity and judism roots, no regards to families tights, forgetting the main message that this great civilization was built on are the main reasons behind all of these troubles.
Have you ever seen a muslim country providing citizenship to westerners except through marriage "only to western women who marry muslim men". Why do you. I just can't understand your whining
The Pope's last message about quoting on Muhammad was not addressed to the muslims it was addressed to Europeans who are ashamed to be even called Christians.
One of the schools in Spain cancelled the Christmas celebrations so not to hurt the feelings of muslims, you tell me, how ridiculous this is?
You want secularism, then taste its fruits
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