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Head Start Centers Feeling 'Sequester' Pain
Federal aid cutbacks affect students, staff
When the automatic federal budget cuts known as sequestration went into effect in March, Margaret Molloy and her staff at a Head Start agency in the Tucson, Ariz., area started looking for places to make cuts.
Child-Parent Centers Inc., which oversees 40 centers serving nearly 2,800 children in the southeastern part of the state, made plans to scale back on classroom supplies, learning materials, and conference travel. Some center maintenance, such as painting, would be deferred the upcoming school year.
But with personnel costs taking up the largest share of the agency's budget, the Arizona agency is also going to eliminate 160 slots in Head Start and Early Head Start when the program resumes Sept. 1, saving the cost of 10 teachers, six assistant teachers, and some administrative support staff.
"These are, by far, the most serious cuts I've experienced," said Ms. Molloy, who has been involved for 40 years with Head Start, which is overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The reduction in the number of children served through the program for low-income children will have a direct effect on schools, she believes.
"The emphasis on increased academic readiness for kindergarten is huge," Ms. Molloy said. "Every child who doesn't have an opportunity to be kindergarten-ready is really hurting the economy in the long run."
Automatic Reduction
The sequestration cuts, which affect a broad range of federal programs, were put in place in 2011 as part of a deal to raise the country's debt ceiling. The cuts were intended to prod lawmakers to make a long-term deal to address the budget deficit, but that never happened. Without congressional action, the budget will be reduced $1.2 trillion over the next decade, including $55 billion over 10 years from the hhs.
Head Start and Early Head Start serve nearly a million children and families. The programs were funded at nearly $8 billion in fiscal 2012, marking a period of extended growth due in part to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The sequestration cuts, which represent a 5.27 percent reduction for Head Start from fiscal 2013 spending, take Head Start funding back to approximately $7.6 billion, which is close to where it was in 2008. The administration has framed the reduction as the loss of 70,000 slots.
And while lawmakers have been quick to end a furlough of air traffic controllers because of flight delays, there has not been the same traction to stave off Head Start funding reductions.
"Our parents, like so many of us, use all their resources just to make do. They're not hell-raisers as a rule," said Joyce Farmer, the director of the Knoxville-Knox County Head Start program in Tennessee.
Paring Enrollment
But many parents are trying to make the impact of the cuts known.
Jolie Whatton has two children who have gone through Head Start. Her daughter Gavyn, 6, is finishing her kindergarten year and spent a year in Head Start. Her 2-year-old son Breyan has been enrolled in Early Head Start since he was 6 months old.
Ms. Whatton, who lives in Tucson, has helped her center collect 1,200 letters and signatures in support of Head Start and is trying to get a personal meeting with U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
She said that without Head Start, she would have to pay $1,000 or more a month for child care that doesn't have the educational component that is embedded in the federal program. Losing 160 slots "is a huge cut for us. We feel lucky that we didn't have to cut immediately," she said.
Head Start grantees have some flexibility in how they will absorb the reduced funding in order to reduce the effect on children currently enrolled, including ending the school year early or starting the year later than planned. If at all possible, the Office of Head Start says that programs should try not to disrupt children who are currently enrolled.
Still, Head Start participants are feeling the impact of sequestration. Two Head Start programs in Indiana, for example, recently received publicity for removing 36 children this year through a random lottery.
Chuck Parr, the president of Riverbend Head Start and Family Services in Alton, Ill., said his agency, which serves about 950 children, made immediate cuts when the sequester went into effect. The agency, which runs centers in Madison County near St. Louis, ended its program year two weeks early, and all 12-month employees are taking four furlough days.
When the program year resumes, the agency also plans to close a center that housed a 68-child program. Thirty-four of those slots will go away; the remaining 34 will be transferred to a Head Start program a few miles away. The agency is also paring about 22 children from its Early Head Start rolls. The savings will total around $425,000, Mr. Parr said, but the reduction in spaces will mean that it will be even harder to move off the agency's waiting list of about 300 children.
"Early childhood doesn't seem to have the voice that other industries have," Mr. Parr said.
The Knoxville-Knox County agency also chose to end its service year two weeks early, wrapping up its program last week instead of continuing through May 24 as planned, Ms. Farmer said.
The agency also plans to accept 70 fewer Head Start students in September. Ms. Farmer noted that the program was already turning away applicants; usually about 1,400 to 1,500 families would apply for the approximately 1,000 slots that the center once had.
Meleena Lamb has a 5-year-old son, Nathaniel, in one of the Knoxville centers. He started the program as a shy boy with some speech disabilities, but through the services he has received in Head Start, Ms. Lamb said she thinks he'll be able to start kindergarten ready to keep up with his peers.
"He is a totally different child. His vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds," said Ms. Lamb. Her options in the area would be day-care centers "where they're going to sit him in front of a TV," and, at more than $100 a week, even that would be unaffordable for her.
"I just hope that the people who should be paying attention are paying attention," Ms. Lamb said. "This is not about a balance sheet. These are children."
Ms. Farmer, the director of the Knoxville-Knox County agency, said that she doesn't anticipate a change in Head Start funding unless a congressional election brings in more lawmakers willing to compromise and end the sequester. But if more funding comes from the federal government, she said the center is prepared to quickly expand to enroll more children.
"There really will be better days," Ms. Farmer said she tells staff members and parents.
Vol. 32, Issue 31, Pages 17-18Published in Print: May 15, 2013, as Head Start Centers Feel Sequestration Pain
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The Tiger Club – Mephisto Island
Opening with 'Habanera', The Tiger Club's Mephisto Island is a loungey, sprawling set of instrumental tunes that give the impression that the tongue is firmly in its cheek.
With its latin guitars and shuffling percussion, things start out with a real sense of fun. 'Showdown At Mezcal Flats' conjures up the impression of a spaghetti western, making it the perfect music for a Tarantino film, while 'GreenGoddess' slips back into more of a cha-cha groove, its cheerful piano notes ringing out calling people to dance. 'Apeliotes' turns towards somewhat darker territory, keeping things intriguing the whole time, always with an undercurrent of danger running throughout. Overall, Mephisto Island is simply packed to the brim with fun tunes – 'Lemon Zest' positively fizzes with effervescence, while 'Entrance Of The Tigers' is a real show stopper of a tune, with its screaming guitars and parping brass. Across the album, there is plenty to discover in terms of variety and aesthetic, despite it staying more or less true to the lounge style throughout. 'Behind The 7th Veil' paints a rich and heady ambience of an exotic kind, while 'Order Of The Seeing Eye' has glimmers of marching band tones going on. Overall, it's probably fair to say that Mephisto Island is a pretty niche album, but that doesn't mean it can't put a smile on your face, and it is without a doubt the ideal soundtrack to your next cocktail party.

subset: commoncrawl


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CEO of Free Agent Source to Give Talk on the Powerful New Role of HR at NCHRA Conference
San Francisco, CA -- (SBWire) -- 05/18/2016 --Steve Pruneau, CEO of Free Agent Source, will give a presentation on The Powerful New Role of HR at the NCHRA Conference in San Francisco on June 7. The Northern California Human Resources Association serves a constituency of 20,000.
The presentation promises to be of explosive interest to companies looking to compete more effectively during rapid economic change. Pruneau will identify where HR needs to evolve, because the workforce that companies have now isn't the workforce they will need next year.
"HR is losing relevance," says Pruneau, "right along with permanent employment. The emphasis on permanent employment from the 1950s can't change the new economic reality. The last 50 years has seen a shift in the nature of work, from stable customer requirements and slowly changing technology to a project based economy and an increase in variable demand. HR Heroes will not only save HR, but revitalize it."
The powerful new role of HR is about HR professionals making their companies thrive as economic cycles change more swiftly and company leaders face increased economic uncertainty. HR professionals will regain their essential role not in spite of, but because of, the rise of the contingent work force and the project based economy.
Says Pruneau, "We call HR Professionals heroes when they step rightly into the pivotal role they must play in the new organizational infrastructure. There, they bolster the new economy, and that's exciting and powerful."
Steve Pruneau, a Vanderbilt MBA, and founder of Free Agent Source, Inc. He helps businesses develop agile HR programs. He is a solution architect and project manager with a multi-national system implementation background in HR, Payroll, Time and Labor, Labor Cost Reporting, and Accounting. Steve's experience spans multiple industries, including telecommunications, entertainment, retail, manufacturing, financial services, airlines, hospitality, and publishing.
Steve will be one of five notable speakers at this prestigious and important conference. Event details are at visit: http://www.nchra.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=772098
About FAS
Free Agent Source provides consulting services to organizations that want to be extraordinarily competitive in the emerging economic climate. FAS transitions companies smoothly to a sustainable, flexible workforce - optimizing HR, IT, Legal, and Accounting Departments to sustain and support intensely competitive operations.
It starts by scheduling a Workforce Assessment, which companies can do easily at www.freeagentsource.com
Daniel DiGriz
Free Agent Source
Media Relations Contact
Daniel DiGriz
View this press release online at: http://rwire.com/690167


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The DEATH of the PHYSICIAN SCIENTIST
In this article published in JAMA Dermatology we demonstrate that MD-only physicians with NIH-funded research programs will become nonexistent in the near future if the current downward trend in federal funding continues. When tracked against PhD and MD/PhD researchers, physicians with ONLY and MD degree are losing funding at a dramatic rate. For more on this topic please see our article in JAMA Dermatology (Click Here-> http://bit.ly/Fundtrend).
Figure Legend: Graph-> The dollar amount of NIH grants awarded to investigators with MD degrees has decreased significantly (β = −1.35, R2 = 0.81). Meanwhile, the trends for MD/PhD and PhD investigators are not significant (β = 0.25, R2 = 0.15 vs β = −0.24, R2 = 0.03, respectively).
For more interesting trends please see our recent article in JAMA Dermatology-> http://bit.ly/Fundtrend


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One Minute Paper Airplanes
|In stock
These high flying paper planes are incredibly easy to build, with pop out parts that you simply staple together in less than a minute - so you can start flying them immediately. The ingenious designs - with special paper and custom rubber band catapult - allow you to spend your time flying these great planes rather than making them.
Easy to assemble and amazing to fly, these beautiful models are guaranteed to impress everyone as they sore gracefully from one end of your local park or field to the other.
Approximately 5 inches when assembled.
0 stars based on 0 reviews


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Monday - Friday : 8:30am - 5:30pm
Emergency 24 Hr Message Service (same number)
Calls charged at Local/National rate.
Why not drop us an email? We'll get back to you as soon as we re-open.
Take a look at our frequently asked questions page, you may find what you are looking for there!
This show is not currently on sale, please enter your details below and we'll notify you as soon as it becomes available.
If it's a trip down memory lane you're after from your break in London then we'd highly recommend our Jersey Boys theatre packages; these perfectly combine a toe-tapping West End show with a stay in a top London hotel.
The show itself is sure to strike a chord with those who love and fondly remember "The Four Seasons" - The Four Seasons one of the most successful bands in pop music history.
Jersey Boys the musical tells the story of how the group came to be, their rise to fame and their difficulties along the way.
The show is told in four parts with each section unfolding from the outlook of a different band member. The sensational production features their greatest hits including:
• "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
• "Sherry"
• "My Eyes Adored You"
• "December 1963 (Oh, What A Night)"
All this and more are guaranteed to get you bopping along on our Jersey Boys theatre breaks.
With our Jersey Boys theatre breaks you can expect to see a show packed with spectacular sets, dazzling trademark blazers and the catchy, nostalgic tunes of The Four Seasons.
The show's unbelievable vocals are a thing to behold; Valli's famous falsetto, Guadio's impressive tenor, DeVito's baritone and Massi's bass vocals are replicated impeccably. Although, you do not have to be a vocal expert to appreciate this stunning show as you'll be engaging with a rip-roaring storyline and its fusion with definitive rock & roll. For a snippet of the show, you can watch the official Broadway trailer here.
Booking a Jersey Boys theatre break with TicketTree is a fantastic way to see a top show in London and stay at a hotel of your choosing. We have lots of hotels to choose from, so whether you're looking for a central stay or a suburban getaway, we've got it covered!
"It will be some time before London says Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye) to the phenomenal Jersey Boys" - The Telegraph
"Jersey Boys is a genuine classic" - Time Out
"The dynamics in the quartet form the energy for the songs, which are sheer joy from start to finish" - What's on Stage
Jersey Boys theatre breaks may be inappropriate for anybody under 12
With Jersey Boys, you can keep costs low by booking tickets Sunday-Thursday, where Gold tickets are discounted heavily most weeks of the year. Sundays are especially good: you can get some incredibly cheap theatre breaks as it's generally the cheapest night of the week to stay in a hotel.
Tuesday to Saturday evenings @ 7:30pm
Tuesday & Saturday matinees @ 3:00pm
Sunday matinee @ 5pm.
Running time - 2 Hours, 45 Minutes
Booking until - 26/03/2017
Contains strong language
Denman StreetPiccadilly CircusLondonW1D 7DY
Nearest tube - Piccadilly Circus
Seating information - The theatre is split into 3 tiers: the Stalls are at the ground level, with the Royal Circle on the 1st floor and the Grand Circle at the top.
Facts, behind the scenes, trailers and more!
If you are booking a break more than six weeks in advance you can choose to pay just 50% of your package price at the time of purchase and settle the remaining balance a month before you travel.
Add rail to your package and save up to 50% on 'pay on the day' prices. We offer great value, flexible travel options to make your trip hassle free!
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Physical therapists should be considered central to disaster management, and an intrinsic part of planning for and responding to events such as earthquakes and floods. That is the message of a major new WCPT publication.
The report points to the need for high quality rehabilitation after disasters. But it also emphasises that the role of physical therapists is not limited to direct provision of rehabilitation. It embraces preparedness and recovery and can include assessment, coordination, psycho-social support and advocacy. The in-depth report emerged from discussions between WCPT and physical therapists involved in humanitarian responses, who identified a need to advocate for rehabilitation professional involvement in all phases of disaster management.
It was informed by a project advisory group including representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mèdicins Sans Frontières, CBM International and WCPT member organisations in Japan and the Philippines. "It is an impressive document, very timely, and will be a great resource for physical therapists, in particular those involved in the disaster continuum as well as student education," said WCPT Vice President Margot Skinner, who was a member of the project advisory group. This month marks the fifth anniversary of a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
"For Japanese physical therapists who have experienced earthquakes and other disasters, the report is well organised and has structured information reflecting on their own activity and describing activities and practice in other disasters," said Kazuto Handa, President of the Japanese Physical Therapy Association. WCPT's Professional Policy Consultant Catherine Sykes co-authored the report with Pete Skelton, a London-based physiotherapist and Rehabilitation Project Manager with Handicap International who has worked as part of emergency responses in Nepal, Gaza, Iraq, the Philippines, Libya, Jordan and Haiti. "Disasters are a growing global problem," said Pete Skelton, "and while there is often a huge amount of goodwill from physical therapists around the world after a disaster has struck, it can be difficult to know how best to help. When properly prepared, physical therapists can play a vital role in disaster response, but sometimes well intended volunteers can undermine existing locally led emergency work."
"This guide provides essential information to those interested in national or international disaster response, introducing key international guidance and evidence. Critically, it is also designed to help physical therapists plan and prepare for disasters before they occur, and to support those who are re-building after a disaster has hit." The Nepal Physiotherapy Association (NEPTA), which played a major role in organising physiotherapy response following the major earthquake in April 2015, was one of the organisations providing case studies for the report. Others included Handicap International, ICRC and CBM. "The vital responsibilities for the physiotherapist during the early days of the adverse situation were: triaging injuries, safe transfers, proper positioning of patients, early mobilisation including bed activities, supply and user training of mobility aids," said Nishchal Shakya, the NEPTA President.
"We have now realised that this was an opportunity for physiotherapists to prove their value as an integral part in the health system." The report, The Role of Physical Therapists in Disaster Management, is available for download from the WCPT website.


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All life is sorrowful, but very, very sweet.
Ice apples and firelight.
Wolves, darkness and the road to the Ghost World.
Under a freezing arctic sky, a wolf carries a dying baby to a village door.
The villagers adopt him, naming him Vulchanok, 'Little Wolf.'
He grows to be a happy child but, by night, the wolf enters his dreams. She leads him to the Ghost World and makes him a shaman. The villagers begin to fear him.
Vulchanok becomes a lonely man. By night he looks for visions in a spinning ice-apple. He sees a beautiful, red-headed girl who is also alone. Taking up his goshawk skin, he flies to her window.
Hundreds of miles away, the penniless orphans, Glev and Kristiana, live in the Czar's palace. Every day Glev searches for a nobleman to marry his sister and make them both rich while Kristiana remains alone in their room. A noblewoman must not be seen in public.
Kristiana comes to love Vulchanok but to be with him she must shame and dishonour both herself and her brother. She must learn to work, though she has never lifted anything heavier than the page of a book.
Can the love between Kristiana and Vulchanok survive Glev's anger and Vulchanok's enemies?


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The re-integration of the Jewish group into Danish society after the liberation in 1945 was actually carried out without any particular attention. This was, however, not an automatic process. The Danish state would not, and could not, accept a social degradation of the Jewish minority, who had lost housing, businesses, property and fortune and, in many cases, had gone into debt to finance their escape.
The Danish unity government, established after the liberation, passed the Law of Compensation to the Victims of the Occupation in October which naturally included the Jewish group. The law provided access to tort compensation for those persons who had been deported, but also covered aid to re-establishing housing and businesses, aid for studies and re-payment of debts incurred in fleeing. The Danish state thus assisted to a considerable extent – post hoc – in the financing of the Danish Jews' flight to Sweden. Both the collective and the individual memory are virtually blank with regard to these economic issues, which prompted memories – and still do – of moral dilemmas and personal defeats.
The law of compensation covered as a rule only Danish citizens. The applications of German and Czech Jews were rejected. On the other hand, dispensation was routinely given to Russian and Eastern European Jews who had immigrated to Denmark in the years after 1900, but who had not yet applied for, or obtained, Danish citizenship. A total of 1.1 million kroner was paid out in tort compensation to those deported to Theresienstadt. 77% of the deported thus received compensation for their imprisonment.
Further, it is estimated that through the compensation law the Danish state contributed directly with at least 700,000 kroner to the financing of the Danish Jews' flight to Sweden. This amount was paid out for repayment of debt incurred during flight, or as compensation for personal effects and property sold to pay for transport to Sweden.
The compensation law has been amended several times since 1945. The 1969 amendment granted compensation to those who had sustained injuries that now caused a 50% disability. Moreover, the change in the law meant an increased recognition of mental illness, for instance as a result of the diagnosis of concentration camp syndrome. In 1986 another amendment of the law made a disability of 25% sufficient for compensation.
A few days after the liberation "offices for special affairs " were set up in the larger towns in Denmark. An office that covered Copenhagen and the suburbs of Frederiksberg and Gentofte – the Central Office – led the way for the rest of the country. The task was to provide immediate help and restitution to the victims of the occupation and ensure the repatriation of the refugees in Sweden. 4,200 former Jewish refugees received help and made up 25% of the clients of the Central Office. The numbers indicate that on return at least half of the Danish Jews needed, and received, economic assistance.
As the Danish refugees came home from Sweden during the summer of 1945, it became clear that many could not return to their earlier homes. In total, 1,534 former refugees and deportees passed through a camp in Denmark before they could establish a new home there. In the period from May 1945 to May 1946 there were in all 6 camps in Denmark. 90-95% of the residents were Jewish.
The acute needs for economic assistance, housing, and compensation have disappeared from both the collective and the individual memory. Probably many viewed it as shameful to receive public assistance. In addition, the compensation cases caused painful conflicts, since theft and misuse by other Danes had caused the greater part of the Jewish families' losses. Public debate of such cases combined with a discussion of the reasonableness of the sums demanded of the Danish Jews for the crossing to Sweden could have driven a seriously disruptive wedge into Danish society.
Now you can catch a glimpse behind the scenes at the museum, and see what else is going on. Follow us @thedanishjewishmuseum
Get a discount of 10% at selected cafés by showing your ticket from the museum (Photo: Eddie Michel Azoulay).
- an exhibition about Jews in Denmark
The exhibition is a broad story of Jewish life in Denmark and focuses on co-exixstence and indentity through 400 years. Read more...
September - May:
Thursday: 12:30 - 18:30
Friday- Sunday: 12 - 17
Monday - Wensday: closed
June - August
Tuesday - Sunday: 10-17
Monday closed


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You don't need a referral to come to Montrose – just contact us and find out how we can help.
We do welcome referrals from fellow providers, Support Coordinators and other community supports.
Our friendly intake team will help get your client registered with Montrose as quickly as possible and can advise on appointment availability and therapy staff skills.
Therapy services are available in Brisbane, on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Slacks Creek, Toowoomba and Ipswich. Clinics are also offered in additional locations.
See all our locations here.
Physiotherapy helps improve your balance, coordination and strength through tailored therapy, exercises and informed advice. Our therapists will work with you to help you meet your movement, mobility needs and gross motor goals.
Our team of occupational therapists help you to build the skills and confidence to take part in everyday activities. They can help you break down challenging activities into manageable tasks and gradually build on your strengths.
The Speech Pathology team specialises in assisting children and adults who have difficulty with speech, reading, language, communicating and swallowing.
Our Social Workers are there to support individuals and their families.
Need a break, want to try new activities or enjoy the independence of spending time with friends? Our Getaway offers it all.
Lifestyle and Leisure is all about you and getting the most out of life. Specially designed for young adults, it's all about getting out, being active and learning new things.
People with a disability or mobility issues know the challenge of finding somewhere genuinely accessible to provide a care-free holiday. We provide accessible accommodation on the Sunshine Coast. Find out more here.
To make a referral or discuss with one of our team members, please contact us on 1800 193 362 or download our referral form below.


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Uberdownloads Blog
Let's face it; typing has become just as important of a skill as reading, writing and arithmetic. Just as you practice reading with your children, writing their ABCs and teaching them basic math to get ahead of school children now need to practice typing.
Tux Typing is an easy to use, fun and designed to teach your child typing while cleverly camouflaging itself as a video game. Your child will help Tux the penguin feed himself fish and shoot meteors out of the sky by pressing the right letters on the keyboard. With five different scenarios inside of both games and four difficulties your child will be working with Tux for a long time.
The first scenarios are designed for young children learning their ABCs at the same time that they learn to type. During this scenario there are only letters to be recognized and the correct keys typed, which makes this particularly helpful for both typing and learning to recognize letters. As the difficulty of the scenario rises, the letters come along faster, increasing a child's typing and recognizing speeds. Use of this program can result in a child knowing how to type before they can spell.
The remaining scenarios are for increasingly more advanced readers, differentiating between short (3-4 letter), medium (4-6 letter) and long (5-7 letter) words. As the difficulty of these scenarios increases, the benefits can be felt by just about anyone. Most adults will have trouble keeping up with the long word scenario on hard difficulty so don't think of TuxTyping as just a tool for your young children but also older children and for yourself as well.
The final benefit to TuxTyping is probably the best: TuxTyping is freeware. Freeware means that you can try Tux Typing right now at no cost. TuxTyping is distributed through the GNU license, one of the most popular freeware licenses.
If you have children or you need to learn to type yourself, then you can't go wrong with Tux Typing because if you download it and find you need something else then you haven't lost a thing.
You've just opened a new DVD and slid it into your computer, your brother in Albuquerque has just sent you video of the new baby or you want to watch your favorite show online. You push the play button and…nothing.
Nothing happens.
Your media player sits there black and silent, maybe it is good enough to give you an error or maybe it gives it everything it's got and plays you some sound with pretty swirly pictures instead of your video.
What's just happened? What's wrong? Well, how are your codecs?
What are codecs anyway? Well, to put it simply, your video gets all scrambled up and compressed while it's stored on your computer or DVD. A codec is the key to unscrambling your video file and without it your computer doesn't know what to do with the file you're trying to play.
Why didn't my media player come with a codec?
Your media player did come with a codec, but every media player has its own codec, as does every different type of media recorder and chances are that whoever made your video had a different one. To make it more complicated, you might even have the right codec for your file, but new codecs are released all the time and your codec might be outdated.
Don't give up.
Many codecs are available for download online. Codecs are absolutely free because the people who make them want you to use their products, but there are a lot of codecs out there and, short of searching for each and every one, your best solution is to download a codec pack or a media player that comes with most of the codecs you will need.
What a hassle.
There is an easy solution.
Meet VLC Media Player. VLC Media Player comes equipped to play most video codecs and file formats. VLC replaces your current media player and allows you to play just about any video you can find.
VLC is a freeware medial player which means it is free to try and free to use. Even better, VLC Media Player has the capability to repair and play damaged video files so if it turns out that the codec is not your problem then VLC is still your best bet to play your files.
Download VLC Media Player now, install it and be watching your videos in just a few minutes. It's just that easy.


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This project is old, but i will get them back to you. Is a replacement of an industrial welding machine used for trigger ignitrons.
The main idea was to make an LCD interface displayed menu to set the necesary adjustments inserted via keyboard. The menu must sustain:
- Percent of welding level to apply
- Trigger Pulses Max value
- Time inversion
This is the basic diagram of the requierements of full implementation.
Before start to implement is a good way to do all the thigs on a paper or discuss it. Beacause we don't have a RTOS (Realtime Operative System), we developed a finite state machine to assist us as the operative system. This approach was very clean and helpfull.
Finally you can see a photo of the parcial implementation board. And now, we will try to implement the simulation on the hardware.
This is the firs try of the zero cross detector board.
This is the main controller board, it has the necesary inputs and oitpus to controll the process.
Well, thats all, if you want, you can see the full report. All the software was made in C using a Freescale MC68HC908GP32 microcontroller and Freescale Codewarrior.
Unfortunately, i don't have all the source code. This is an extract of code and what it does.
A related document better explained is the Resistive Load Control With Microcontroller, see it.


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Listen free for 30 days
Ninja Meerkats: The Clan of the Scorpion/ The Eye of the Monkey
Narrated by: David Thorpe
Length: 2 hrs and 17 mins
Categories: Children's Audiobooks, Action & Adventure
Hidden in the remotest reaches of the Red Desert, in a place called Mystic Rock, legend tells of an elite fighting force of ninja meerkats - The Clan of the Scorpion. Under the guidance of the Grandmaster One-Eye, these four warriors are sworn to protect the world from their age-old enemy, the Ringmaster...When the world's rarest tiger is stolen from a locked cage, the meerkats set about tracing the thief. Could this be the latest venture of the evil Ringmaster? When an enormous precious stone, rumoured to possess the power of invincibility, disappears, The Clan set off to investigate. On their arrival, they encounter the ancient guardians of the lost stone, the Shaolin monkeys. But are they friends or foes...?
©2012 Gareth P.Jones (P)2012 Oakhill Publishing
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Beginner's Guide To Tracking Website Visitors With Google Analytics
Category : Business Tools
Beginners Guide to Google Analytics
PSA: This post is for Google Analytics newbies. It covers the very basics on how to set up a Google Analytics account and start tracking your website traffic. In this Beginners Guide to Google Analytics, learn how to start tracking your website traffic.
What Is Google Analytics?
Google Analytics is the Gold Standard of website visitor tracking tools.
It's free, it can be used by anyone with a website and a Google / gmail account and it will suck you down a rabbit hole of charts, stats, goal tracking and the stark reality of how your website is really doing. Haha!
We won't go down into the depths here, but merely get you started using the tool so you can – first and foremost – get an overview of how many people are visiting your site and which pages they are viewing. The many more in-depth features of Google Analytics will be covered in future articles.
Why Should You Add Google Analytics To Your Website?
If you're not currently using a website analytics tool, you probably don't know how many people visit your site on a daily basis, where they are from, how long they stay and which pages they spend the most time on. This is vital information to know if you're reaching your target audience at all.
And you NEED to be able to see visitor trends over time to know if your marketing efforts are having any impact.
Let's get started.
How To Set Up A Google Analytics Account
- Click here to go to Google Analytics.
- If you have a Google account, click Sign in. If you don'tt have a Google account, you'll need to Create an account first.
- Once you have signed in to your Google account, click Access Google Analytics and Click Sign Up.
- Fill in your Account Name (probably your company name), Website Name (this can be your company name again or your url or whatever is useful to you), Website URL (www.yourdomainname.com), and select an Industry Category and Reporting Time Zone.
- Under Data Sharing Options, check the boxes next to the options that you want.
- Click Get Tracking ID.
- Accept the Google Analytics Terms of Service Agreement that pops up.
- Copy the Tracking code that displays. This is not the Tracking ID number, but the several lines of code below that.
"I Can't Find The Code"
If you've lost the code before you could copy and paste, never fear. Just click on Admin in the navigation panel and you'll see your new site divided into 3 columns of links. In the middle column, under Property, click on Tracking Info and then Tracking Code.
Where To Add It On Your Site
There has been quite a bit of discussion about this and Google's recommendation has even changed over time. Here's the latest: The tracking code should be in the <head> portion of your site, preferably before any other javascript code. If you're not sure how to do this, give the code to your web administrator and they'll know what to do.
If you're using WordPress as your website content management system, there are any number of plugins that can do this for you. You may already have one installed. If not, we recommend the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin. If you use this plugin, all you need is the Tracking ID number, not the code itself.
Check Your Real-Time Stats
Go back to Google Analytics and click on Reporting. If you haven't yet, bookmark this page because you'll be visiting it often to see how your site is doing.
Your page probably looks like this:
Now, it'll take 24 hours or so before your reports will start showing traffic and trends over time, but right now, we can make sure your tracking code is properly installed and doing its job.
First, make sure your website is open – in another tab or window. In Google Analytics, click on Real-Time (on the left) and then Overview. You should see that the report is tracking visitors Right Now. If not, go grab that tracking code again – make sure you get all of it – and re-install in your site.)
Check Your Reports
In the next day or so, you'll see visitor tracking showing up. Here's the first place you want to look, in my opinion – to get your feet wet with these reports:
On the left, click on Behavior -> Overview -> Site Content -> All Pages.
This will allow you to quickly see visitor counts by day, week and month and also to see which pages are most visited and for how long.
Remember, this is merely a beginners guide to Google Analytics. We've barely scratched the service. There is a TON that Google Analytics can show you and if you're a numbers and charts nerd like me, you're in for a new addiction – I'm sorry. Enjoy!


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I went to the pier outside of the Torpedo Factor in Alexandria last night to attempt some long exposure waterscape shots. My goal was to produce some ethereal like scenes found in the works of my favorite photographer Michael Kenna. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to isolate the shots from the surrounding signs of "civilization" such as the blinking lights by the shore and the passing of boats. Also I found that the 30-second exposure limit on my D90 is not long enough to produce a silky mirror surface given the wind factor. Excuses aside, I'm just not good enough yet. Out of all the shots I took I like this particular one, though I can't really explain why.
Some stats: Exposure: 10s, Aperture: f/11, Focal Length: 24mm, ISO Speed: 400. Cropped and resized in Photoshop.
The picture has a certain softness to it… I'm becoming more interested in landscape in an art sense over the last few years as I've been too busy to really take he camera out of it's bag very often. I see a lot of these super crisp pretty landscapes that don't depict anything more than the iconic stark cliffs of the Tasman Peninsula or a significant landmark….
… so I've become more interested in sculptural form and looking for some balance in the environment (married to an artist, she's probably bent my head inside out)… so I've been just taking hand-held landscapes and sitting the D90 on the occasional rock exploring that sculpture idea… composition. My MBA ends in about 7 weeks so after that I'll take those shots and the ideas I've been playing with and the camera and the tripod and buy a remote and start working on the technique.
Same with skill… I adore some of Tiberio Fanti's work but have no hope of reverse engineering his work.
On page 85-86 of the D90 user's manual I think with Manual it says that you can hold the shutter open with a remote or manually (when set to Manual only)… for as long as you like. Rather than the timer option.
But I may be wrong… I've just been reading the manual again recently…
I think next year I'm enrolling part time in a Master of Fine Art and Design, if they'll have me, to study art Photography – a continual learning thing.
And as you may realise I'm a sucker for black and whites :-)
I also love taking landscapes out of car windows at 100KM per hour… which takes a little practice but provides a kind of dynamic effect that, although unprofessional, is something I enjoy the results from :-)
I was trying long exposure shots too this weekend too. Was experimenting with the bulb mode using the Nikon remote I bought to get exposures longer than 30s. Nothing worth showcasing yet though I am not sure if you've seen some of my old light paintings.


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How Does Technology Affect Teens?
November 29, 2017
How often do you find yourself using technology? It is very rare nowadays not to see teenagers using technology. According to the article "Technology's Negative Impact On Teens," "Everyday an average teenager spends up to 8 hours on electronic devices, which is more than 56 hours in one week." Technology has a negative impact because it is an attention deficit, it can cause depression, cyber bullying, and it does harm to the physical health of a teen.
Technology is an attention deficit because many kids while doing homework have a phone, laptop, or even TV in front of them, which they constantly are going back and forth from homework to answering a text, or looking at a computer screen, or even going back to watch the television when the episode comes back on. This is known as multitasking; teens are not giving their full attention on school work so they are not doing their best work they could give. Technology is an attention deficit because it makes it so kids don't give their full attention to one activity.
Technology can cause depression because social media shows things such as what the "perfect body" looks like so many people get picked on for being too fat or too skinny. Social media makes teens think that there's a certain way they need to look and it makes teens compete to make themselves look like they have a better life than others. It also causes teens to have trouble being social, being face to face instead of through screen to screen. Many kids get so used to talking through a phone that they don't know what to say in person. According to the article "Study Links Mobile Device Addiction to Depression and Anxiety," "People who self-described as having really addictive-style behaviors toward the Internet and cellphones scored much higher on depression and anxiety scales." Technology can cause depression because it convinces teens that there is this such thing as the "perfect body" and it makes teens struggle with communication person to person.
Technology has a huge impact on cyber bullying because many teens feel they can say something through social media instead of face to face. According to the article "New National Bullying and Cyber bullying Data," "34% of students had experienced cyber bullying in their lifetime (17% within the last 30 days). Four out of five of the students who were cyber bullied said mean comments were posted about them online, while 70% said someone spread rumors about them online. Notably, nearly two-thirds (64%) of the students who experienced cyber bullying stated that it really affected their ability to learn and feel safe at school." Some teens say they do it through social media because they don't have the courage to say it to the person face to face because they don't see their facial expressions. They don't have to see the pain they caused. Technology places a huge role in cyber bullying.
Technology is also bad for teens because it causes physical health decrease. The amount of teens that go outside and play without any technology has decreased rapidly. The article "The Physical Impact of Technology on Children" said, "According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 10.4 percent of preschool children and 19.6 percent of children ages 6 through 11 are obese." Technology is a huge reason why obesity has and is currently increasing. Teens would much rather use technology and binge eat instead of putting down the technology and going outside to play. The article "Rapid Increase of Worldwide Laziness as Global Physical Activity Levels Decline" said the future is only going to get worse. "The researchers also projected that things will only get worse in the future. Researchers using the metabolic equivalent of task (MET), used to measure the amount of energy spent on completing a task, determined that by 2020 an average American will spend around 142 MET hours per week. According to the researchers, the British will reach those levels by 2030 and Brazil and China will have similar physical activity levels as Americans and the British by 2030 as well." Technology has a huge negative impact on the physical health of teens and it's only supposed to get worse.
Technology has a huge impact on our everyday life, but we don't realize it. It negatively affects teens because it is an attention deficit, it can cause depression, cyber bullying, and it does harm to the physical health of a teen. Next time you use technology see how much time you spend on and how much it influences your opinions and life.
Hello, my name is Hannah Brewster and I have a passion for working with animals. I also can't wait to graduate! See you later cool cat.


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A day or so back, Sheila left a link in the comments to the blog of John Redwood, MP. In it, he wrote:
Let us begin with the vexed question of tobacco.
I am a non smoker. I accept the medical advice that smoking can be damaging to your health. I decided not to smoke as a teenager, when I discovered that my lungs rejected smoke when I tried a cigarette. I always disliked the smell of tobacco smoke, and the taste smoking left in my mouth.
I don't know about anyone else, but I've always found John Redwood a bit creepy. When he first appeared on TV, he used to have an weird, convulsive neck movement, which sort of looked like he was screwing his own head back on. And he had zero sense of humour. He was perhaps British politics' Mr Bean. As Welsh Secretary, he was once caught mouthing the wrong words for the Welsh national anthem.
And I can well imagine he was the sort of creep who couldn't smoke a cigarette without first calling an ambulance. In fact, he's probably the sort of creep who would never have tried a cigarette in the first place unless someone had sat on his chest and forcibly stuck one in his mouth. Same probably applied with beer and spirits. I bet he never learned to ride a bicycle either. Or roller-skate. Or climb trees. Or swim.
I am also a freedom lover. If tobacco remains a legal substance I have no wish to stop others smoking in ways which do not annoy others.
This is bollocks. John Redwood voted for the UK smoking ban. Anyone who did that is not – repeat, not – a freedom lover. He may have done any number of freedom-loving things in his life for all I know, but the smoking ban provides the true and exact measure of love of freedom. Vote against it, and you were a paragon of freedom. Vote for it, and you were an authoritarian little shit.
And it's 'annoyance' that matters to him, not health, it seems. He doesn't smoke, and he doesn't like anyone else smoking either. And he's quite happy to ban whatever he doesn't like.
The law has moved on, and now favours the majority who do not smoke and controls the places where smokers can smoke. Today the issue is should the law be moved further?
Is there somewhere that smokers can smoke?
And is that the issue? Does he really want to tighten the law further? Well, yes, he clearly does. He's not just a non-smoker; he's an antismoker:
Should government leave things as they are? Should it ban more advertising/promotion like the packet designs? Should it make smoking illegal?
No option there to relax or repeal the sodding law. But then, what else is to be expected from a tyrannical little scumbag?
I left a comment on the blog, pithily summarizing the above arguments. It didn't get through moderation, somehow or other. Clearly a self-important little twat like John Redwood doesn't like being criticised. But then, is that much of a surprise either?
And most of the comments that did get published weren't supportive of him either. But then, none of them suggested that he go screw himself with his own front door knocker, I suppose.
But for me it illustrated yet again something that has been a constant for the last six years. And that is that, as soon as some public figure is revealed to be an antismoker, any good opinion that I may have had of them completely evaporates within the space of a few seconds. And conversely, when I find out that some public figure smokes, my opinion of them jumps instantly.
I even think that if I found out that Jack the Ripper occasionally enjoyed a cigar, I'd feel a surge of new sympathy for that much-misunderstood (and normally kindly and considerate) man. Perhaps it was that those unfortunate harridans hated smoking, and were busily telling him to stub it out, or go outside and take his filthy habit with him, when he sort of snapped, and began to unfasten the straps on his black bag. And who wouldn't?
John Redwood seems to be quite thoughtful, and writes lots of stuff on economics, some of which I might even agree with. But I never read any of it. Because he was one of the MPs who voted for the smoking ban in February 2006, and I'll never forgive him. Nor any of the rest of them. And it has poisoned everything. It's the only thing I can remember about any of them. Like with Jack the Ripper.


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Monthly Archives: October 2013
Eating Gluten-Free in Taos
Admittedly, Charles and I have some favorite road trip restaurants. These places usually have some sentimental value, as we've been going to them for years and years. Such is the case with Taos Pizza Outback. It's just a funky little … Continue reading
Go Naked at Subway for a Healthy Lunch
Subway has become a staple lunch stop for us on road trips, because they have a nice core selection of healthy sandwiches that have between 250 and 300 calories, and are somewhat reasonable in the sodium content. This however, is … Continue reading
Mexican Chicken Pasta
Not only is this recipe very flavorful , but it's also low in calories and sodium. And when I make it with rice pasta, it's also gluten-free. Ingredients Chicken 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast 1/2 t ground chipotle chili … Continue reading
Chipotle Chicken Lettuce Wraps
This recipe took a bit of trial and error. Originally it called for 3 T of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and it was very, very hot. I cut back the chipotle and added in a bit of salsa to … Continue reading
Teriyaki Burgers
In my ongoing quest to find more non-sandwich lunch entrees, I happened across this recipe. I decided to tweak it a bit by making my own lower-sodium teriyaki sauce. The result was yummy and low-calorie. Be forewarned though, these burgers … Continue reading


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2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid SUV Review
2016 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
The rise of the Hybrid SUV is coming, and Toyota is leading the way with its new RAV4 Hybrid…
What is it?
The RAV4 is Toyota's longstanding seller in the mid-sized SUV segment. The latest generation model is more refined than ever and is now available with Toyota's proven hybrid technology. There's no doubt about it, the petrol and electric-powered RAV4 Hybrid is a breath of fresh air in the SUV segment where the vast majority of its rivals are diesel-powered. The Hybrid will most likely appeal to those who value low running costs and a truly tranquil driving experience, but that said, it's considerably more expensive than the entry diesel models. Carzone recently spent time with the RAV4 Hybrid to see just how much it differs from the norm.
What is it like?
The RAV4 is sleekly styled on the outside with new silver trim on the front and rear bumpers, a restyled front grille and new LED headlights. On the Hybrid model, subtle blue detailing in the Toyota badges hints at its electric genes, while inside it's incredibly spacious up front with sturdy plastics, soft touch leather on the dash and the cabin feels quite airy and bright.
Thanks to its high ground clearance, the RAV4 gives a commanding view of the road and the dashboard leans towards the driver making it easy to reach. The LCD touch screen disply is easy to read and features clear buttons and switchgear, although it isn't quite as vibrant or interesting as its rivals. There are plenty of storage areas throughout the cabin with cubby holes, cup holders and a useful area under the dash to set down a smartphone. Rear seat passengers will certainly be kept happy on longer journeys as there is ample leg and head room even when the front seats are pushed back, while boot space for the hybrid comes in at 501 litres, slightly less due to addition of a battery pack beneath the floor.
On paper, the RAV4 Hybrid's powertrain makes for an interesting proposition. It is powered by a 2.5-litre petrol engine in conjunction with an electric motor that produce a combined power output of 194bhp. This means 0-100km/h is possible in just over 8 seconds; quite impressive for an SUV, and a particularly green one at that! Torque isn't as strong as the regular diesel RAV4 however, which means it has to be revved hard to accelerate quickly. Whether in petrol or electric mode, the RAV4 Hybrid is impressively quiet on the road, and the suspension does a good job of soaking up bumps on back roads and giving good feel through turns, though the regenerative braking system which charges the battery does take getting used to.
The RAV4 Hybrid is sure to please Irish buyers with its low Co2 emissions output and strong fuel economy. The front-wheel drive version that we drove returned 6.0 litres per 100 kilometres in economy while annual motor tax comes in at €200. There are three levels of specification to choose from with Luna, Luna Sport (which we drove) and Sol, and all are well equipped at this price point, with lots of safety features, cruise control and keyless entry the highlights. Our Luna Sport test car featured nice additions such as 18-inch black five-spoke alloy wheels and heated seats inside.
Carzone verdict: 4/5
For such a large and spacious SUV, the RAV4 Hybrid is incredibly efficient and affordable to run. The only other mid-sized SUV on the market right now which is comparable to it in terms of technology is Mitsubishi's Outlander PHEV, but that's a Plug-In Hybrid and over €10k more expensive. Many buyers will opt for the cheaper diesel-engine RAV4 over the Hybrid, but this is where Toyota is concentrating all of its development and it definitely shows in the driving experience. So far in 2016, 10 percent of all RAV4 models sold in Ireland are Hybrid-powered and we can only see this growing into 2017 as awareness of the model grows with Irish buyers. The rise of the Hybrid SUV is coming, and it's clear to see that Toyota is already leading the way.
Test Car Details:
Model driven: Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Luna Sport
Prices from: €37,950
Price as tested: €39,850
Annual Road Tax: €200
Engine: 2494cc four-cylinder Petrol/Electric Hybrid
Power/Torque: 194bhp, 210Nm
Top Speed: 180 km/h
0-100km/h: 8.2 seconds
Transmission: Automatic
Body style: 5-Door SUV
Boot Space: 501 litres
Euro NCAP Safety Rating: 5 Stars


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I'm a big fan of DailyLit, a free service that offers *also free* classic books in the public domain (copyright expired), presented electronically in bite-size e-mailed excerpts. (Other, newer books are sometimes made available by current nonfiction authors and contemporary writers like Cory Doctorow, who wrote Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, an enjoyable 2003 sci-fi novella set in, that's right, a futuristic Disney World.
Sometimes there's a small charge for the e-book but there's plenty for free.
You can choose how often or on what days you wish to receive installments. For instance, progam your DailyLit selection to, say, e-mail you every weekday morning to enjoy for a few minutes with your morning office coffee, or arrange a midday ping to liven the mid-afternoon slump when you're an at-home parent seeking a couple of grownup minutes.
And it's not just for adults, of course — a busy older child can pick up a daily installment while riding the bus to school or on the way to soccer practice. DailyLit offers great juvenile titles too, like Little Women, E. Nesbit's The Enchanted Castle and The Three Musketeers.
A new update I just received from DailyLit yesterday announces new books and features, including a To-Read queue, reader ratings and reviews, and a members page.
So no more feeling like you accomplished nothing today — you did squeeze in 10 minutes of Oscar Wilde, and you should feel good about that.
posted by Janie McQueen, author of The New Magic Bookshelf: Finding Great Books Your Child Will Treasure Forever
Visit magicbookshelfonline.com


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Red Bull is perhaps genuinely the fastest car on the Shanghai circuit, officials of the Austrian team agree.
Red Bull is perhaps genuinely the fastest car on the Shanghai circuit, officials of the Austrian team agree.
Although Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber qualified first and third respectively in China, it is true that their RB5s were carrying less fuel than the previously dominant Brawns.
"We have an excellent car," team boss Christian Horner told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport.
"With fuel the Brawn is faster, but you see the true speed in Q2 when everyone is empty," he added.
In Q2 on Saturday, both Vettel and Webber were still faster than Brawn racers Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.
More worryingly for Brawn, Red Bull designer Adrian Newey is yet to complete his design for a 'double diffuser', which can only be fitted to the car around the time of the Monaco grand prix late next month.
"With our car (to have a double diffuser) we have to modify the transmission and the rear suspension," Horner revealed. "It is potentially a very big step forward."
Former Red Bull racer, and current team reserve driver, said in Shanghai he is not surprised that the Milton Keynes-based team is now among the very best on the grid.
"It all seems highly logical to me because there has been a steady, but marked, upward trend at the team and now we are seeing it come to fruition," he said in his BBC column.
"Not only do I expect the team to capture their maiden victory this season, I expect them to win more than one race," the Scot added.


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Stan Freeman and Michale McComis of ACCSC discuss recent events in Congress and Dept. of Education
The California Association of Private Postsecondary Schools is pleased to announce that Stan Freeman of Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville and Michale McComis, Executive Director of the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools & Colleges or ACCSC, conducted a presentation on the recent events occurring in Congress and at the U.S. Department of Education, including proposed Legislation and the Negotiated Rulemaking recently concluded, at the CAPPS policy conference April 14th and 15th in Sacramento. For more information, visit CAPPS.


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Information as a next state of evolution
I believe human is one of the most evolved species on this planet.
Human being went through long time evolution that let us be the most powerful creature on the earth. Our body reached the highest level on the curve of the current evolution. There are also zillions other creatures that started to shape at about the same time and evolved in various kinds of complex beings but none of them has such a mental capability as we possess. All these creatures (including us) were designed in order to survive on this planet as long as it will be sustainable.
Not only the creatures evolved but the whole nature on the planet evolves. It evolves in the super complex system that learned how to utilize the local sources which are powered by the sun light. If all the fauna and flora stay in harmony we will all live here together until the sun burns down.
This system reached the present state after about 4.54 billion years when the earth had started to form. Not speaking of the universe evolution, which inevitably plays a key role in this process. The sun formed 4.57 billion years ago and "will stay with us" another 5 billion years as scientists declare.
Seams like we stay in the middle of some evolutionary cycle. The live reached the level that it can survive height temperature differences such as it were during the ice age or high temperatures as are present now. We will all agree that temperature and light is essence of live. If the temperature goes down or up outside of the living standards nothing on this planet will survive or at least animals won't.
Here we are, a beings who advanced outside of the common evolutionary process and thanks to it's unique brain developed something unseen by now. We found out an Information. An Information that holds our memory and can even progress and develop in countless ways. Something that exists by it selves, that can boundlessly stretches or multiply. Another dimension.
This dimension is not unique to universe. It is a natural part of it. We just realized it exists. Moreover we found similarities between our inner; mostly mental processes and the Information. We put our memory in to the mass of many kinds event into an atom and we won't stop there. I consider this condition as natural process of evolution.
The life as we know now can exist only thanks to super unique circumstances and it won't stay forever. If any being or identity can outlive this unique situation, it has to leave it's cocoon and transform into another kind. ..and won't be donkey. A kind that is less unique and can live as long as the universe will exists. A kind that is part of the common universe matter.
This cannot be in any temporary form. A mass is not stable enough, it deteriorates too fast. What can exists and be transformed in any form is the Information. It can be "written" in the a piece of stone, into a DNA, into an atom or string of light or exists just like that as any other dimension exists without any supportive medium.
I won't mention here all the East or European theories of a Superbeing who is all and nothing, and we are all part of it. Although if any of that is true then the Superbeing is the Information.
Despite all the mentioned reasons of natural evolution there is one more thing to be aware of. Natural parts of the evolution are also full of failures after failures. And I believe that we are actually one of those failures. Before we even penetrate the very first layer of our body cocoon, we destroy the ambient we need for the actual body functions. There won't be any metamorphosis because we will have no state from which to transform.
I carried this thought about 7 years in my head and finally it has "materialized".
Thanks for reading.


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2004 RR Pinot Noir
92 WA: Though light in color and potentially an early drinker (two traits that are common for 2004 Oregon Pinots), the 2004 Pinot Noir RR Ridgecrest Vineyards is outstanding. Its superb aromatics display Asian spices, red cherries, plums, and candied black cherries. This medium to full-bodied effort is rich, dense, well-balanced, and sappy. A concentrated wine, it boasts considerable cherry-dominated fruit in its long character. – The Wine Advocate


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Timothy Zoll, the spokesman for the Ferguson police department who characterized a makeshift memorial to Michael Brown as a "pile of trash in the middle of the street," has been placed on unpaid leave. As I discussed here, when the Washington Post contacted Zoll after a motorist ran over the Brown "memorial," Zoll responded (in part) by saying "a pile of trash in the middle of the street; the Washington Post is making a call over this?"
Zoll, an 11 year veteran of the police force, initially denied making the statement in question, according to a statement by the department. He must now await disciplinary proceedings.
I sympathize with Zoll. However, it seems clear that, in this hyper-sensitive age, he's not cut out to be a police spokesperson. A different job in the department would suit him better.
In an era when a thug who attacks a police officer after robbing a store can become a martyr, a collection of bric-a-brac deposited in the street can be his memorial. And a police spokesperson who ridicules the idea can find his career in severe jeopardy.
I hope that whatever action the Ferguson police department takes in this case won't be influenced by a desire to appease the pro-Michael Brown mob. Unfortunately, it seems clear from the department's statement — with its talk of "creating a trusting relationship with the entire community and taking impactful steps to improve the effectiveness of the department" — that appeasement will be a major consideration.
In this hyper-sensitive age, it usually is.


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Beauty fans, IPL fans and lovers of electric toothbrushes, are in for a treat with the Boots January Sale 2020, which is now live. The Boots sale is bursting with top deals right across fragrances, beauty, makeup, grooming, electric toothbrushes, hairdryers and straighteners, and so much more besides. It's a great time to stock up on beauty essentials if they happen to be on sale for lower than their normal price.
In a hurry and want to start shopping? Here are some handy links for you…
- Boots January sale: view the entire sale
- Boots January fragrance sale
- Boots January electrical beauty sale: hairdryers, IPL
- Boots January beauty and skincare sale
- Boots January nursery essentials
If you have the budget, it's also a fun time to treat yourself to something new that you've been hoping to snag a juicy discount on. There are also toiletries and nursery essentials on offer too, with everything from car seats to pelvic floor trainers.
There are hundreds if not thousands of items on offer at the Boots Boxing Day sale, so you're guaranteed a bargain depending on what you're shopping for.
As for us, these are the deals we'll be taking home from Boots today...
Boots January sale: fragrance deals
DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom |
Was £55 | Now £27.50 at Boots
Sometimes you just can't beat a super fresh and light-hearted scent, which is exactly what you get with this fruity DKNY perfume. Expect a brimming bouquet of fruits and florals, with notes of vibrant jasmine and the sweetest apples you've ever tasted. Are we being dramatic? Sure! But this is a sweet little perfume with a big discount.View Deal
Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium 50ml |
Was £75 | Now £49.99 at Boots
You can rely on fragrances from YSL to make an impact, and this "glam rock fragrance" is certainly no different. It's described as having notes of black coffee, white florals and vanilla, and the gift set comes with a Black Opium Eau de Parfum 50ml bottle and two complimentary black opium 50ml body lotions – now £25.01 off.View Deal
Lancôme La Vie Est Belle 50ml |
Was £75 | Now £49.99 at Boots
Roll up, roll up, for this excellent Lancôme La Vie Est Belle 50ml gift set deal, saving you more than a third off the original price. The scent features Concrete of Iris Pallida, Jasmine Sambac, Orange Blossom and Patchouli Essence, and comes with a 200ml of body lotion.View Deal
Hermès Twilly D'Hermès 85ml |
Was £108 | Now £71.99 at Boots
There are big savings to be had on this Hermès Twilly D'Hermès gift set in the Boots Boxing Day sale: one 85 ml Eau de Parfum spray, one 7.5 ml miniature Eau de Parfum and one 80 ml moisturising body lotion, now more than £36 off. The fragrance features hints of ginger, tuberose and sandalwood given a new twist.View Deal
Didn't find what you're looking for here? View the entire Boots Boxing Day fragrance sale.
Boots Boxing Day sale: great deals on gifts
Yankee Candle Classic Large Christmas Cookie Candle Jar |
Was £23.99 | Now £11.99
Buy it now and enjoy it all throughout the Christmas and New Year period. This is one of our favourite Yankee Candle Christmas scents, and smells like sugary, freshly baked cookies. It's a warm scent, with delicious hints of cinnamon, vanilla bean and melted butter.View Deal
Soap & Glory Sweet Tin-Tations |
Was £60 | Now £30 at Boots
Get a vibrant kaleidoscope of candy canes, cakes, chocs and more in this excellent Soap & Glory package, designed in collaboration with graphic designer Zuki Turner. You can get the whole lot for half off at Boots right now.View Deal
Fenty Beauty Moroccan Spice | Now £21 at Boots |
Was £42 Spice up your life and your look this winter with a super-generous 50% discount on Fenty Beauty's jaw-droppingly gorgeous eyeshadow palette. Get your brushes out and play around with the 16 different shades inside, creating versatile looks to take you from office to night out with ease.View Deal
Real Techniques Glitz & Glam Gift Set |
Was £60 | Now £30 at Boots
Treat a special someone (or yourself) to this Real Techniques Glitz & Glam Gift Set, now half price in the Boots Boxing Day sale. The pack includes brushes, concealers and sponges, as well as a compact mirror, a carry bag and a liquid and cream foundation. At this price it's one of the best-value packs we've seen.View Deal
Boots Boxing Day sale: make up deals
No7 Treasured Treats | Now £30 at Boots | Worth £104.18!
Is this the mother of all No7 Black Friday deals? The No7 treasured Treats gift set is worth over £104, giving you a saving of £69.18. It's packed with 9 Boots No7 faves, including the No7 Dramatic Lift Mascara (Mini) for longer, plumper lashes, and the picture-perfect Airbrush Away Primer.View Deal
Benefit Makeup Megastars | Now £32.50 at Boots Worth £80.50!
This gift set packs in four best-selling Benefit cosmetics beauties, including a full size BadGal Bang! Bigger Badder volumising mascara in Intense Pitch Black, a full-size Gimme Brow+ gel, a mini POREfessional Pearl Prime for radiant skin, Cookie golden-pearl highlighter and a travel-size makeup bag to house your kit.View Deal
No 7 Core Collection Make Up Brush Set |
Was £30 | Now £22.50 at Boots
Enjoy a saving of £7.50 off on No 7's popular make up brushes set. You get a foundation brush for creating a flawless finish, plus a concealer brush, eye shadow colour brush and a full blusher brush for creating a pretty flush across your cheeks.View Deal
Estee Lauder Pure Colour Envy Lipstick Gift Set |
Was £54 | Now £36 at Boots
The Boxing Day deals just keep on coming at Boots with this excellent lipstick gift set from Estee Lauder – get full-size lipsticks in Emotional, Insatiable Ivory, Carnal, Powerful and Insolent Plum shades and look your best during 2020. Now reduced by a substantial £18.View Deal
Didn't find what you're looking for here? Check out the Boots Boxing Day beauty and skincare sale
Boots Boxing Day sale: electrical deals
Braun Series 9 9399PS Electric Shaver |
Was £449.99 | Now £224.99 at Boots
Get a nice close shave and save some money at the same time with this Braun Series 9 electric shaver, now £225 off at Boots for Boxing Day. The shaver features five separate elements for a close shave, and it's suitable for wet or dry shaving. It also looks the part too, with a stylish golden finish.View Deal
Oral-B Genius 9000 Rose Gold Electric Toothbrush | Was £300 | Now £100 at Boots
This ultra clever electric toothbrushes gets a giant discount. It alerts you if you brush too hard, which could damage your enamel, has a built-in timer, and shows you how well you're brushing your teeth. Multiple cleaning modes include whitening and tongue cleaning.View Deal
Philips DiamondClean Sonic Electric Toothbrush |
Was £299 | Now £89
Philips has designed this electric toothbrush to remove up to 10 times more plaque than a standard toothbrush yet without harming your enamel and gums. It's also good at gently whitening teeth and removing unsightly surface stains that can build up over time. There's five cleansing modes to choose from too,.View Deal
Panasonic Nanoe Hair Dryer Rose Gold |
Was £109.99 | Now £59.99 at Boots
This is a lot of hair dryer for a much smaller Black Friday price tag. Plus it looks gorgeous with that rose gold accent. The Nanoe Hair Dryer is designed to retain the moisture balance in your hair to help protect its natural shine. There's also a quick-dry nozzle that dries hair from the root to better protect your scalp. Diffuser included.View Deal
BaByliss Straight & Curl Brilliance Rose Gold Straightener |
Was £119.99 | Now £50 at Boots
Create a smooth, sleek finish for glass hair one day, then bouncy curls or boho beach waves the next, and all from just one hair tool. The Straight & Curl features variable heat temperature settings to help protect your hair from the damage caused by styling with extreme heat, with Ionic tech helping to control frizz and fly-awaysView Deal
Remington Curl Revolution |
Was £99.99 | Now £46.99 at Boots
Want easy, bouncy curls in a jiffy? Remington promises just that with Curl Revolution, a stylish curling wand powered by Instant Curl technology. What's that? A rotating barrel designed to handle all the curling and twisting for you. The coated barrel helps to create a smoother finish to your curls.View Deal
Fitbit Ionic smartwatch |
Was £219.99 | Now £189.99 at Boots
It might just be the case that 2020 is the year you stick to all those resolutions, and the Fitbit Ionic will help you: it's a very capable smartwatch, which will take care of all your health and fitness tracking needs, and it's currently £30 off in the Boxing Day sale at Boots.View Deal
Didn't find what you're looking for here? Check out the Boots Boxing Day electrical beauty sale.
Boxing Day sales from around the web
- Amazon.co.uk – massive sale on now
- Argos – save on toys, tech and more
- AO.com – big electrical appliance sale on now
- ASOS – save up to 50%
- Boohoo – up to 80% off!
- Boots – save on beauty products and more
- Blacks – cut-price jackets and boots
- Carphone Warehouse – packed with discounts on top-name phones
- Currys – cheap 4K TVs, laptops and more
- DFS – big discounts on sofas
- Dreams – save on mattresses and beds
- eBay – discounts on pretty much everything
- ExpressVPN – save on a subscription from the best VPN company
- Jack Wills – up to 30% off
- Jessops – save on cameras, lenses and more
- John Lewis – homewares, electronics and more
- Homebase – the big sale is live
- Levi's – save up to 50%
- Living DNA – DNA testing kits are reduced now
- Lovehoney.co.uk – up to 50% off
- Microsoft – discounts on Surface and Xbox products
- New Look – up to 60% off
- Newegg – discounts on laptops, computers and parts
- Next – at least 50% off all sale items
- Now TV – discounts on entertainment, cinema, kids and sports passes
- River Island – save up to 60%
- Samsung – save on phones, TVs, smartwatches and more
- Simba – save on mattresses and sleep bundles
- Superdry – Superdry clothes at super savings
- Timberland – save up to 40%
- Topshop – save up to 70%
- Topman – reductions of up to 70%
- Wiggle – discounted active wear
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Year, Departure Type
Select small group departures (averaging 24 Tauck guests), or classic departures, and the year you would like to travel.
TAUCK EXCLUSIVE – Stories by Ken Burns" are filmed narratives featuring insights by award-winning filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein based their upcoming PBS documentary series The Vietnam War
On-Tour Air included (5 flights)
A buggy ride through the Old Quarter of Hanoi, a cyclo ride through the remains of Imperial Hué
Guided visits to UNESCO World Heritage Sites including Angkor, Hué and Hoi An
See Bangkok's golden Reclining Buddha, Hué's Imperial Citadel on the Perfume River, and the Cu Chi Tunnels of Vietnam
Discover Southeast Asian life on the water on a cruise along the Perfume River in Hué, through the klongs of Bangkok, and on Siem Reap's Tonle Sap Lake
Guests should be able to easily walk one to two miles, which may include climbing one or two flights of stairs and walking over uneven pavement, groomed hiking trails or cobblestones. Standing up to one hour or more may be required.
Often robust – may include long days, active sightseeing, early starts, evening activities, significant travel times.
Experiences of a lifetime
Days 2 – 7
Our development team worked with award-winning filmmakers Ken Burns, Lynn Novick and Sarah Botstein to bring personal insights, stories and themes from the PBS documentary series The Vietnam War to life in filmed on-tour vignettes – "Stories by Ken Burns" – produced exclusively for Tauck guests traveling on Indochina: Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos and Vietnam, Cambodia & Thailand.
Day 9
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Angkor contains hundreds of temples and palaces built by Cambodia's Khmer people from the 9th – 15th centuries… all enveloped by forest until the early 20th century. Built in the 12th century as a Buddhist university and monastery, jungle-clad Ta Prohm Temple is one of Angkor's gems. Left in the clutches of centuries-old vines, its delicate reliefs are covered by creeping plants and its massive stones are cleaved by green; the effect is otherworldly yet magnificent.
Day 12
Outside Thailand's city of Chiang Mai, the people of the region's remote, rural hill tribes farm and observe traditional ways of life. Each tribe has its own language, beliefs, customs and crafts... and its people are happy to share them with visitors to their colorful villages. Meet members of the Palong, Padong and the "long-necked" Karen tribes, whose women are known for the distinctive, traditional brass rings worn around their necks – which you can try on yourself.
Nights 10, 11 and 12
Nestled among emerald gardens and terraced rice fields, the spacious pavilions and luxury villas of Four Seasons Resort Chiang Mai exude the vibrant, welcoming spirit of Northern Thailand. Revel in intriguing design details, from handpicked Siamese artwork to authentic Thai cotton furnishings. Polished teak floors and overhead cooling fans add a touch of classic tropical style. Each accommodation is crafted for outdoor living; large windows let in the lush vistas, while your open-air Thai veranda (sala) is ideal for immersing in the scenic surroundings.
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Your Journey
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Our small group departures, averaging just 24 guests, are designed for travelers who want more time to experience each destination up close and personally. One of the benefits of small group travel is the personalized service and attention you'll enjoy. Small groups enable our Tauck Directors to spend more time in the places you explore with more opportunities to connect with them. Smaller groups foster camaraderie and lasting friendships among like-minded travelers; you'll engage more closely with local experts and enjoy enhanced insider access, ease of travel and freedom to linger longer.
Traveling solo doesn't mean traveling alone – with Tauck, it means camaraderie on a journey with like-minded travelers who share similar interests, enjoying the spirit of travel that makes exploring the world a necessary part of life – and sharing the special travel experiences found on Tauck's guided land trips and cruises that create lifetime memories. For 90+ years, solo travelers have found a special "travel" home with Tauck in destinations the world over – and we're offering solo travelers an additional reason to travel with Tauck – special Solo Traveler Savings on select departures.
Traveling with Tauck ensures more than a memorable travel experience; it also enables you to take advantage of additional do-it-for-you travel services that take the hassle out of arranging them yourself. As an added service, we can make flight arrangements for your journey, if your travels originate in Canada or the United States, offering you a number of welcome advantages. With Tauck, you can reserve your flights now and pay later when tickets are issued; benefit from Tauck's lenient change and refund policies; earn Frequent Flyer mileage on most airlines; and more.
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The Tauck Experience
Reviews and Forums
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Most Memorable Moment:
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We decided to go on the Southeast Asian trip after many of our friends traveled there. I had my reservations since my brother served in Viet Nam in 1970. I had my reservations totally disappear because of the QUALITY of the Tauck Team that led us through Viet Nam, Cambodia, and Thailand. our Tauck Director was OUTSTANDING. The local guides, A+.
Most Memorable Moment:
There were many. One was meeting the pre school children. I sat down with one of our local guides and said to him that the children are our future. He looked at me and said that over the entrance to the school it said, The Children Are Our Future. Our Tour Director and local guides took us to many historical places. I took over 1200 pictures!
This was our 18th trip with Tauck and it was one of the best trips we ever experienced.
Most Memorable Moment:
It is hard to pick just one thing. We enjoyed all three countries. The Four Seasons Hotel was fantastic. The food throughout the trip was very good. Uur tour guide did a great job getting the group from place to place. He made traveling very easy. The Temples that we visited were amazing.
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Book Today... And Travel Dreams Begin
Call us, or call your travel advisor, to book your preferred departure date today – and explore our beautiful brochures to find your inspiration for your next journey.
Book Today... And Travel Dreams Begin
Call us, or call your travel advisor, to book your preferred departure date today – and explore our beautiful brochures to find your inspiration for your next journey.
To help you plan your trip, here's an overview of average temperatures, weather conditions, and what you might expect from Mother Nature.
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