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The MILAF meetings
The MILAF meetings: Enabling early career scientists for interdisciplinary research on land-atmosphere feedbacks.
Mentoring of early career scientists is commonly an integral part of projects funded by the US National Science Foundation. In the context of the RAINS [i] project, setting-up a mentoring workshop was the responsibility of the two most senior of the RAINS PIs – David Sands (Montana State University, Bozeman) and myself. The workshop has turned into a series of meetings and has added a dynamic branch to the network of scientists working on bioaerosols and land-atmosphere feedbacks. Happily, the transformation of the initial workshop into a series of meetings and into a tight-linked community arose by popular demand. Nevertheless, it corresponds to our intention to create common goals for research on land-atmosphere feedback – launched with the 2006 Microbial Meteorology meeting – and to create a cohesive and cooperative community.
[i] Research on Airborne Ice Nucleating Species, NSF Dimensions: Collaborative Research Program, 2013-2016 The MILAF meetings were organized with funds from the RAINS project, from INRA's Plant Health and Environment division and from the European Academy of Bolzano (EURAC).
The RAINS project was motivated by the potential of ice nucleating microorganisms in the atmosphere to use precipitation as a dispersal strategy and the eventuality that this could result in feedbacks between land sources of these microorganisms and the atmosphere. The project was born in a period of growing concern that science needs to facilitate research on interdisciplinary questions of broad importance for society and for the environment (see Nature's special issue on interdisciplinarity). The goal of RAINS' mentoring workshops has been to enable a corps of early career scientists with passion for research about Microorganisms at the Interface of Land-Atmosphere Feedbacks (MILAF), with excellent disciplinary competences, and with strong wills to engage in interdisciplinary research in spite of the potential obstacles and inconveniences. Here is an account of how the MILAF meetings are becoming an important stimulus to setting and advancing a research agenda on land-atmosphere feedbacks.
Scouting and stimulating talent. As organizers, our goal was to create an open and informal forum for the exchange of ideas among i) talented early career scientists with high potential to contribute to the bioprecipitation research community in the future, ii) the Principle Investigators (PIs) of the RAINS project, iii) additional mentors with competences outside the expertise of the RAINS PIs, and iv) stakeholders representing perspectives from legal systems, land use and reforestation movements and enterprises, and the direction of research institutes. Early career scientists were selected through an application procedure that included, in addition to a CV, a 2-page essay on how they foresee themselves contributing to the theme of the workshop in the coming decade, the grand research challenges to which they want to contribute and how their participation in the workshop would facilitate achievement of their goals. After hours of discussion among four of the RAINS PIs during a pleasant train trip from Avignon to Switzerland, 14 early career scientists were selected. Although our selection criteria focused on excellence and the capacity to contribute to an interdisciplinary group, we also ended up with an equal balance of women and men from the physical and biological sciences.
The workshop format was initially perceived as unconventional by some of the RAINS PIs, but we felt that it would maximize discussion and interaction of participants. We favored question sessions, ensuing discussions and break-out groups more so than formal presentations of each person's research (Fig. 1). To jump-start the process of getting to know each other, before the workshop everyone uploaded to the shared Dropbox folder a half-page brief CV with a photo. And to maximize the efficiency of our interactions, a reading list of 30 core papers was provided 3 months before the workshop (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Participant list, program and the reading list for the first MILAF meeting (Oct 2014, Ste. Maxime, France). Click here for the full file
Creating a community with long-term goals. The format of the first meeting revealed that many of the participants were, themselves, inherently polyvalent, multidisciplinary and very skilled in interdisciplinary communication. Perhaps it was this realization among the participants and the solace and excitement of working with like-minded colleagues – a rarity in a world reigned by well-defined disciplines – that we rapidly moved to defining long term goals for our nascent community. We felt that our future interactions could focus on 5 types of activities:
- Coordinating research activities that target the main scientific challenges that we identified for the upcoming decades
- Promoting the cohesiveness of the bioprecipitation community, mentoring young scientists and fostering deployment of interdisciplinary competences
- Creating a sense of urgency and educating the public
- Identifying and engaging stakeholders
- Translating research into practical applications to mitigate drought.
We specified the details underlying these activities in a more precise plan for the upcoming decades (Fig.2)
Figure 2. MILAF-2014 conclusions: Challenges for bioprecipitation research. Click here for larger pdf version
This plan oriented two subsequent videoconferencing meetings (21 May and 29 0ct 2015, ca. 15 participants each meeting) that were coordinated by Christopher Carr (MIT) and myself. These meetings revealed that participants had continued networking since the 2014 meeting. Videoconferencing also served to reinforce the desire for another in-person meeting. With contributions from a few outside sources, we managed to stretch the NSF funding to organize MILAF-2016 at the European Academy of Bolzano, Italy in March 2016. Additional early career scientists and mentors were brought in to re-inforce the activities of the working groups that were emerging from MILAF-2014. The program included formal presentations of research and also allowed several early career scientists to take leadership roles in pushing forward the main research themes (Fig. 3). It also included a stimulating visit to Bolzano's South Tyrol Museum of Archeology and an overview of the research to identify the origin of the Helicobacter pylori strain in the stomach of the 5300 year-old Iceman mummy housed by this museum.
Figure 3. Participant list and program for MILAF-2016. Click here for the full file.
Achieving goals. The MILAF meetings sparked camaraderie and cohesiveness of the participants and the budding of diverse initiatives to achieve the goals we identified. Here are our major achievements.
- Coordinating research activities that target the main scientific challenges for the upcoming decades
Directly measure microbial flux and create relevant tools. Quantification of the flux of microorganisms or of ice nucleating particles (INPs) over land has stagnated since the publications of Lighthart and of Lindemann in the 1990's because of the complexity of the required experimental field set-ups. Via the MILAF meetings a few scientists have joined forces and shared materials and competence to simplify the techniques and to obtain direct measurements of flux. During MILAF-2014, Yves Brunet (INRA-Bordeaux) led a really informative discussion about the physics underlying flux and different approaches to its measurement for microorganisms based on the gradient method and on relaxed eddy accumulation (see Yves' work on REA flux measurements). As part of his PhD thesis research, Federico Carotenuto (Univ. Innsbruck and CNR IBIMET – Florence, Italy) was attempting to measure microbial flux and simplify the task of the gradient method. He came to Avignon to hone his skills -and where I made an instructive video of his work.
After meeting Danny O'Sullivan (University of Leeds, UK) at MILAF-2016, they launched a collaboration to set up a field campaign to investigate emissions and characteristics of ice nucleating aerosols in England's atmosphere (Fig. 4). The campaign is bringing together expertise in the chemical, atmospheric, and biological fields needed to tackle this complex topic. And importantly, manuscripts are in the making.
Figure 4. Microbial flux platform set up by Danny O'Sullivan, Federico Carotenuto and colleagues from the University of Leeds (autumn 2016).
Build evidence from field campaigns for the impact of biological aerosols on precipitation. Hari Mix (Santa Clara University, California) and Jessie Creamean (NOAA, Boulder, Colorado) are collaborating on Hari's NSF RAPID project on "Investigating the mechanisms driving extreme precipitation in atmospheric rivers with an integrated stable isotope and aerosol chemistry approach" where they will link isotope, INPs, and compositional measurements of rainwater samples in California during the CalWater 2015 field campaign. Their current analysis focuses on evaluating relationships between these parameters and air mass source and meteorology during atmospheric river events. The goals of the project include an examination of the rainout of bioaerosols on coast-to-interior transects in northern California. According to Hari, this work was largely motivated by the research of another MILAF participant Emiliano Stopelli (University of Basel, Switzerland) (viz., Stopelli et al 2015) and whom Hari was really happy to meet at MILAF-2016.
Elucidate and explicate component processes and limiting factors of bioprecipitation feedback. The process of bioprecipitation feedback implies an increase of cloud-active aerosols after rainfall and their effect on subsequent rainfall. To ferret out the component processes of bioprecipitation, we need to select cohorts of field sites where specific hypotheses about processes could be tested. Therefore, the task of developing criteria for creating these cohorts has become an important goal for bioprecipitation research. We developed these criteria as described in a previous blog post. The MILAF meetings contributed to this work by bringing to our attention the expertise of Jessie Creamean (NOAA, Boulder, Colorado) in atmospheric sciences and her capacity for teamwork in constructing the scientific arguments underlying the link between rainfall patterns and biological aerosols. She accepted our offer to participate in the development of these ideas and to interact mostly by email with statisticians, atmospheric physicists and microbiologists on several continents through multiple revisions of our manuscript to achieve publication of our method (Morris et al 2015).
Coordinate field campaigns. This goal is of utmost importance to account for geographic and land cover variability in the amount and types of bioaerosols in the atmosphere and their possible impact on atmospheric processes. To get the ball rolling, Pierre Amato (CNRS, Aubière, France) and Emiliano Stopelli and Franz Conen (mentor) (both from University of Basel, Switzerland) are verifying whether their recent observations in support of the bioprecipitation hypothesis from the Jungfraujoch observatory in Switzerland are valid more broadly. An observatory was set up in October 2015 in France (Fig. 5) for monitoring ice nuclei in precipitation, including meteorological and biological data, ice nuclei concentration and rain water atmospheric isotope ratios. One entire year of data (ca. 100 rain events) has been collected so far.
Figure 5. Site of the observatory in France to confirm bioaerosol observations made on the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland.
- Creating a sense of urgency and educating the public
To address the need for outreach and educating the public identified during MILAF-2014, Renée Pietsch (Virginia Tech) developed a lesson on biological ice nucleation as part of her Ph.D. thesis work that was just published in the Science Teacher (Turning into ice: Teaching ice nucleation and the global water cycle).
Jessie Creamean (NOAA, Boulder, Colorado) has become the aerosol working group leader for the IASOA (International Arctic Systems for Observing the Atmosphere) and has been encouraging other MILAF participants interested in Arctic research to join the group.
Participation in the MILAF meetings pushed several of the mentors to become more engaged in creating a sense of urgency for understanding the land-atmosphere link. Jane Cohen (University of Texas School of Law, Austin), David Sands (Montana State University, Bozeman) and I participated in the conference sponsored by WeForest that led to the policy brief about the importance of vegetated land cover in the water cycle described in an earlier posting. The fruit of the interdisciplinary conference sponsored by WeForest has also become a manuscript that we hope will be accepted shortly (to be announced later).
- Promoting the cohesiveness of the bioprecipitation community, mentoring young scientists and fostering deployment of interdisciplinary competences.
Strive to set up more collaborations relevant to bioaerosols and their impact on the atmosphere. There has been an exceptional flurry of efforts to continue working together on diverse subjects:
- Jessie Creamean (NOAA, Boulder, Colorado), Erik Thomson (University of Gothenburg, Sweden) and Tina Santl-Temkiv (Aarhus University, Denmark) submitted a proposal on "Riders on the storm: Microbe-aerosol-gas interaction as a mechanism of active aerial cell dispersal" to the Human Frontier Science Program this year.
- Jessie has also brought David Schmale (mentor) (Virginia Tech) on board to help analyze aerosol samples that she collected in summer 2016 on a cruise in the western Arctic Ocean in terms of the INPs, the overall aerosol composition and culturable bacteria.
- Thanks to an announcement provided by Tina, Jessie (as PI), Christopher Carr and Brent Christner (mentor and PI of the RAINS project) (University of Florida, Gainesville) have a proposal pending with NSF Arctic System Sciences for the MOSAiC field campaign. It is a $3.2M project to understand aerosol properties in the context of clouds during a year-long trans-Polar drift cruise. They have proposed to deploy a series of aerosol and trace gas samplers and collectors to develop an unprecedented characterization of high Arctic aerosols over the course of an entire sea ice cycle. Franz Conen, Erik Thomson and Tina Santl-Temkiv will be external collaborators on the project.
- To add on to her initiatives to exploit Arctic contexts to understand the interaction of bioaerosols and the atmosphere, Jessie (as PI) and Chris are constructing a proposal to the Arctic Natural Sciences program to conduct filter-based and real-time measurements on the upcoming joint US/SE summertime cruise on the Oden in 2018. This cruise will align with a cruise this coming summer and with MOSAiC, but focuses on biological and biogenic cloud nuclei in the eastern Arctic Ocean.
- Christopher Carr led up a proposal to NASA's biodiversity solicitation – including colleagues in the MILAF network and other scientists – specifically geared to fund development of an exploration aerobiology sampling campaign for NASA.
- Chris also set up a collaboration with Noelle Bryan (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge) and Brent Christner to sequence the genomes of bacterial strains that Noelle collected from the stratosphere and to perform de-novo genome assembly using single molecule sequencing.
Create more opportunities to meet and to expand our community. To enrich the context that has been established by the MILAF meetings we are planning for future meetings. Erik Thomson and I have recently succeeded in obtaining funds through the University of Gothenburg, Sweden to organize a meeting in the same spirit as the previous MILAF meetings. So you should be hearing soon about the next MILAF meeting.
Below are photos from MILAF-2014 and MILAF-2016 to further illustrate the settings and ambiance of these meetings.


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Price: £15.00
Quantity: 1 available
Book Condition: Very Good
Slight shelf wear otherwise in Very Good condition. With bibliography and index. S36.
Title: North-East Identities and Scottish Schooling.
Categories: Scotland North-east, Scottish History,
Publisher: The Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen: 2005
ISBN Number: 0954568222
ISBN Number 13: 9780954568221
Book Condition: Very Good
Type: Book
Item: 1.00 Item
Seller ID: 003390
Keywords: Scotland, North-East Scotland, Scottish Education, Scottish Educational System, Education,

subset: commoncrawl


text: In 2013, the United States economy appeared to have at last emerged from the hangover of the Great Recession, with economic indicators picking up across the board and stock markets roaring ahead. For good reason, there is a great deal of optimism regarding economic growth. At the same time, perils lurk and several long-term challenges give cause for economic pessimism.


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When they were buying swimsuits in the shopping mall, Mimi caught sight of Illya "resupplying" Kuro. Ever since that day
though, she's been unable to stop herself from imagining naughty things. Then, after a few words from Suzuka, Mimi awakens! Illya and Kuro are forced to face the new rose-colored tone Mimi's mind has taken.
Get the latest updates on show information, news, and more.


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Cooper Brownlee and the Focal Point crew have a new web series called Into The City. This is their first edit and it's quality. Sessioning in the heart of Melbourne with the crew, this is a visual feast. Looking forward to the next instalment.
INTO THE CITY – MIXTAPE #1 from FOCALPOINTBMX on Vimeo.


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Research Repository
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Clayton, Berwyn, Figgis, Jane , Butorac, Anne, Dave, Meyers, Dickie, Mary, Malley, Jeff and McDonald, Rod (2007) Advancing equity : merging 'bottom up' initiatives with 'top down' strategies. Project Report. National Centre for Vocational Education Research NCVER.


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Most Recent
Public-Private Partnership is an effective tool for poverty alleviation:...
October 19, 2020: Poverty alleviation has not attained the level of political priority in Pakistan given its importance and urgency stated by Sheikh Sultan Rehman, Vice President FPCCI during an interactive webinar on "Interactive Webinar on Poverty Alleviation in Pakistan: Challenges and Way Forward" organized by FPCCI Head Office Karachi.
He further said that poverty alleviation is not an option, and all the segments of the society must realize their responsibility towards the alleviation of poverty from the country.
The meeting was attended by representatives from leading public and private organizations including Dr. M. Ali Kemal Economic Policy Adviser from Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Support Unit GoP, Dr. Shahid Hussain Javed Senior Economist from State Bank of Pakistan, Mr. Jawad Rehmani representative from National Rural Support Program, Ms. Maryam Anas Ganaie from Small Medium Enterprises Development Authority, Ms. Aisha Salma & Mr. Shehryar Shahid from Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund, Ms. Madiha Hasan, Provincial Focal Person from Benzair Income Support Program, Engr. M.A. Jabbar, ForA dead FPCCI, Prof. Dr. Abdul Jabbar, renowned Economist, Ms. Nazli Abid Nisar, Former Vice President FPCCI, Commodore (R) Sadeed A. Malik Kashir, Dy. Convener FPCCI Standing Committee on Technical & Vocational Education & Training and Pir Muhammad Yaquib Chishti.
During the discussion, Mr. M Ali Kemal highlighted the different techniques for poverty data collection in Pakistan, at present around 24% of our population is living below the poverty line while 19% are the vulnerable. He further encouraged strong coordination between public and private sector for the economic development and poverty alleviation in the country.
Sharing the details regarding the initiatives taken by SBP, Dr. Shahid Hussain Javed said that all the financing schemes of SBP aim to generate economic activities which are essential to provide income generation opportunities for the poor. Ms. Aisha Salma was of the opinion that government's target to reduce poverty rate from 24% to 19% can be achieved by inclusive growth, participation of women in the economy and education.
Appreciating FPCCI, Ms. Salma further said that private sector must play its social responsibility to the maximum. Ms. Madiha Hasan shared that BISP disbursed around PKR160 million during lockdown. She also said that apart from providing cash assistance, Ehsaas Ministry is also working on education, nutrition, awareness on population control in the rural and remote areas. Ms. Maryam Anas highlighted the significance of SMEs and said that promotion of micro, small and medium enterprises is an important tool for dignified employment generation for the poor and unskilled/less educated class of population. Mr. Jawad Rehmani said that NRSP is working at grass root level for the community development, education, health and the entire primary and secondary aspects of increasing poverty in rural areas.
Engr. M.A Jabbar said that the available data related to poverty measurement in the country in not accurate and expressed his concern over the increasing rate of vulnerable in the country. He further suggested the need of correct utilization and mobilization of resources to the lowest to get positive outcome from government's poverty alleviation strategies. Prof. Dr. Jabbar criticized the performance of public sector organizations and ministries working for poverty alleviation in country and stressed the need of taking purchasing power parity (PPP) while measuring poverty strong public-private partnership and political will for the better of the poorest segment of the population.
Mr. Sadeed Anver Kashir emphasized on the need of effective poverty alleviation policies particularly for the people depending upon the agriculture income sources. Pir Yaquib identified the significance of population control in the process of poverty alleviation in a country. Ms. Nazli Abid Nisar suggested financial support to the micro level workers without which it will be difficult for the government to contain and reduce the poverty in Pakistan.
While concluding, Sheikh Sultan Rehman said that the government cannot alone reduce the poverty in our country and hence it's the social and religious responsibility of private sector, community and civil society and they must work together for the alleviation of poverty.
Press Release
Gold price increases by Rs 350 on Monday
October 19, 2020 (MLN): The price of 24 karat gold increased by Rs. 350 on Monday to Rs. 116,000, against the price Rs. 115,650 reported on Wednesday.
According to the data released by the All Sindh Saraf Jewellers Association, the price of 10-gram gold also increased by Rs. 300 to Rs. 99,451 against the price of Rs. 99,151 reported yesterday.
The price of per tola silver of 24 Karat and 10-gram silver remained static Rs. 1,260 and Rs. 1,080.24, respectively.
The gold prices in the international market increased by US $12 and traded at US $1,912, the association reported.
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PRL appoints Tariq Kirmani as the Chairman
October 19, 2020 (MLN): The Board of Directors of Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) has appointed Mr. Tariq Kirmani as the new Chairman of Board of Directors, with effect from October 16, 2020.
Mr. Tariq Kirmani has more than 45 years of multifaceted experience in the corporate sector, both domestic and international.
During his career, he has served as the Managing Director of PSO and Chairman & CEO of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC). He has also worked as a Director on the Boards of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (PIAC), Professional Education Foundation (PEF) and Family Educational Services Foundation (FESF).
He also served as the Chairman of Greenstar Social Marketing (GSM), United Bank Limited Fund Managers and Oil Companies Advisory Council (OCAC). He has previously served on a number of Boards of multinational and public sector companies such as Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL), Pak-Arab Pipeline Company Limited (PAPCO), Pakistan State Cement Corporation (PSCC), Pakistan Telecommunications Limited (PTCL), Pakistan Private Infrastructure Board (PPIB), Board of Governors, LUMS, Lahore and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
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Mari Petroleum records a 21% growth in earnings during...
October 19, 2020 (MLN): Mari Petroleum Limited has reported earnings of Rs. 9.06 billion (EPS: 67.96) for the quarter ended September 30, 2020, i.e. 21% higher than the profits made in the same period of last year.
The net sales of the company went up by 14% owing to an increase in the overall gas production, as well as depreciation of the local currency against the US Dollar.
On the other hand, the exploration and prospecting cost fell by 40% on account of less expenditure incurred on prospection activities. According to Ismail Iqbal Securities, the decline in exploration expenditure would likely have been due to the nature of seismic activity while the company did most of the activity in 2D format.
The fall in the income from the seismic unit resulted in a non-core income of only Rs. 289 million, against other expenses of Rs. 507 million recorded during the same period.
Financial Results for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 (PKR'000)
% Change
Gross sales to customers
Gas development surcharge
General sales tax
Excise duty
Gas infrastructure development cess
Operating expenses
Exploration and prospecting expenditure
Other charges
Other income/(expense)
Finance income
Finance cost
Profit before taxation
Provision for taxation
Profit for the period
Earnings per share
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Closing Bell: Slothful yet Green
October 19, 2020 (MLN): The capital markets remained range bound today as lack of fresh triggers, continued political noise and FATF review which is just around the corner, influenced investors to take a cautious trading approach. The KSE-100 Index concluded the trading session in the green zone on Monday with a gain of 176 points or 0.44% increase to close at 40,340 level.
According to the closing note by Ismail Iqbal Securities, Energy sector stocks (mainly heavyweight E&Ps, IPPs) remained in limelight as Government is working on transfer of DISCOs to provinces (major reform), adjustments in power tariffs for increasing consumption and finalization of K-Electric acquisition by Shanghai Electric.
The Index traded in a range of 423.35 points or 1.05 percent of previous close, showing an intraday high of 40,491.85 and a low of 40,068.50.
Of the 93 traded companies in the KSE100 Index 56 closed up 35 closed down, while 2 remained unchanged. Total volume traded for the index was 182.42 million shares.
Sectors propping up the index were Fertilizer with 88 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 31 points, Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 19 points, Transport with 15 points and Vanaspati & Allied Industries with 14 points.
The most points added to the index was by ENGRO which contributed 62 points followed by EFERT with 23 points, MARI with 20 points, MEBL with 16 points and PIBTL with 15 points.
Sector wise, the index was let down by Commercial Banks with 15 points, Tobacco with 5 points, Cement with 5 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 4 points and Insurance with 3 points.
The most points taken off the index was by HBL which stripped the index of 13 points followed by MCB with 12 points, POL with 5 points, PAKT with 5 points and NBP with 5 points.
All Share Volume increased by 65.36 Million to 319.56 Million Shares. Market Cap increased by Rs.22.74 Billion.
Total companies traded were 392 compared to 391 from the previous session. Of the scrips traded 233 closed up, 140 closed down while 19 remained unchanged.
Total trades increased by 7,441 to 97,001.
Value Traded increased by 0.23 Billion to Rs.7.96 Billion
|Unity Foods
|Pakistan International Bulk Terminal
|Fauji Foods
|Kohinoor Spinning Mills
|Hascol Petroleum
|Azgard Nine
|TRG Pakistan
|Pakistan Refinery
|Lalpir Power
|Vanaspati & Allied Industries
|Textile Spinning
|Food & Personal Care Products
|Textile Composite
|Oil & Gas Marketing Companies
|Technology & Communication
|Power Generation & Distribution
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Environmental concerns over sewage leaks in town
A serious sewage leak in one of Co Longford's busiest commercial estates could present major environmental problems unless it is swiftly dealt with, it emerged this week.
Cllr Michael Connellan said a spillage towards the rear of Longford town's Templemichael Industrial Estate could throw up far-reaching ecological issues given its close proximity to the Camlin River.
The Fianna Fail politician, who claims to have received several phonecalls over the issue, also hit out at local authority officials' response to the discharge.
In a statement to the Leader, the council denied the leak had affected water quality, despite photographs appearing to show raw sewage being just yards from the banks of the Camlin River.
Responding to those assurances, Cllr Connellan dismissed those claims, saying serious question marks still needed to be addressed by the council's environmental department.
"I am disappointed with the response from the County Council," said the Longford town solicitor. "It is important to ascertain when the leak was reported to the County Council and how long it took the Council to be proactive and clean the spillage. To my mind, the leak certainly caused damage to the ecological system and the fish life in the Camlin River, which runs adjacent to the spillage location, and certainly posed a health risk considering its close proximity to the covated Mall Complex."
Cllr Connellan, who brought the Leader to visit the scene of the spillage in recent days, also raised doubts about how seriously the matter had been taken by the council when dealing with its subsequent clean up.
"You can visually see people walking along the Mall Complex where the spillage occurred and they are oblivious to the raw sewage that's nearby. From when the leakage on the Ballinalee Road was reported to the Inland Fisheries Board it took the council approximately a week to clear the sewage leak. Such a delay is simply not good enough," he added.
It's understood representatives from the Inland Fisheries Board attended the scene before notifying the council. A spokesperson said the matter had now been handed over to the local authority who were dealing with the issue.
A statement, meanwhile from Longford County Council, denied any lasting environmental threat, but advised members of the public to refrain from entering the area whilst the clean up operation is underway.
"The sewage discharge that occurred does not pose any threat to the safety of drinking water supplies," it stated in an email to this newspaper this week. "Any effluent that may have entered the Camlin River is likely to have been very much diluted by the heavy rainfall and subsequent high flows in the past few days.
"The cleanup operation underway will minimise the likelihood of any serious impact on the Camlin water quality. As a precaution, children and pets should not be allowed to enter areas where sewage spillages have occurred for at least the next two weeks."


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New iPad: 1.44 pounds; 0.37-inches thick
Nexus 10: 1.33 pounds; 0.35-inches thick
Apple's iPad rose to fame as one of the thinnest and lightest devices on the market. But, Google's Nexus 10 has it beat.
At 1.33 pounds, Google's tablet, which was actually manufactured by Samsung, is one of the lightest 10-inch tablets available today. It weighs less than both Apple's Wi-Fi-only and Wi-Fi Plus Cellular iPads, which weigh in at 1.44 pounds and 1.46 pounds, respectively.
The Nexus 10 is also about 0.02 inches thinner than both new iPad models.


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Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Working and Weaving
I did manage to find enough time to make the baskets in this picture. Our sales in the Basket Shop are wonderful. I was a little fearful with the economy the way it has been, but I've been pleasantly surprised by the number of baskets that we've sold.
I have developed a medical condition, it's called "Seasonal Carpal Tunnel". I'm sure that some of you have suffered from this condition as well. It's caused by repetitive spraying of stain remover on baseball pants that have red clay and grass ground in all over. My sister did get a kick out of my self diagnosis, I told her just wait a few years as her son is only 4 but will be on the ball fields soon enough.
For posterity purposes I must publish these next 2 photos on my blog. Our oldest son LOVES baseball and will play any position with eagerness, except catcher. His current team is lacking in the catching department and his Coach (affectionately known as Dad) forced him into playing the position. In his 7 years of playing ball he has never before been the catcher, as a proud mother I must say "Good job behind the plate Chewy".
6 comments:
Ann, It's good to see you posting again! I wondered if you were busy with end of school activities, but it looks as if you've been up to your elbows in basket weaving instead. Wow! Your baskets look great and you have a professional looking "catcher" in the house, too.ReplyDelete
Love the baskets and ya know...every team needs a catcher too...LOL I know my girls have never played it but they would if dad asked them to...DiannthaReplyDelete
Welcome back! Missed reading your blog :)ReplyDelete
Our oldest son played catcher for years. He liked the fact that there was always some kind of action playing that position. He still plays on city leagues even though he is all grown up and married. His advice to all other catchers is, "always wear a cup!". :)ReplyDelete
Welcome back to blog land. Your baskets look beautiful and I'm so happy to hear that sales continue to be good.ReplyDelete
I thought maybe your computer had finally bit the dust, because you posted a while ago that you were having problems. Glad to see you are back at it and those baskets are wonderful.


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Dina Caliente is a Sim featured in A Sim's Tale series. She is daughter of Katrina Caliente and the late Flamenco Caliente, and twin sister of Nina Caliente.
This version of Dina introduced as the main antagonist in A Sim's Tale: Book 2. In the story, she is rival of Leona Redfield. however, the two reconciled and became friends.
Dina returns in Book 3 as a minor supporting character and had no much role.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Dina was born in Hidden Springs. She was the younger of the twin daughter of Flamenco and Katrina Caliente. She and Nina were very close to her parents, especially Flamenco who was a good, caring father. Both Dina and Nina's life and personality changed forever after Flamenco's died in a fire. Dina was the one who most affected by her father's death since he died saving her life. She and her family then moved to Sunset Valley after Katrina's old friend, Cornelia, visited them. When visiting Central Park, Dina met Leona for the first time. The two eventually became friends thanks to Leona's kindness toward her. Unfortunately, their relationship became strained during their freshman year in high school. Both Dina and Leona were good in sports and were recruited to the school's women basketball team. Dina felt that she was overshadowed by Leona since she saw Leona's ability was much better than her. She became more jealous when Leona crowned as MVP and became popular. To make matters worse, Dina once had a boyfriend, but they broke up after she learned that her boyfriend also admired Leona and even, asked Leona for a date. Leona rejected his proposal, of course, but it made Dina completely despise her. During the training session, an angry Dina attacked Leona in front of their teammates. A fight broke between them which causing them suspended in a match.
Since her feud with Leona started, Dina's personality changed too much. She became arrogant and selfish. She even disrespected Leona as the team's captain. Her relationship with Leona was getting worse after the two fight for the second time after Leona tried to defend a girl bullied by her and Nina. They stopped by their teacher/coach and got suspended again from team and won't be signed for the next tournament. Dina blamed Leona for it, swearing she would made Leona suffered, starting with sending some bullies to attack Leona before proclaimed that she would do it by herself. During the prom, a fire occured. Dina was trapped inside the burned building and unable to ran after she broke her ankle. Fortunately, Leona appeared and attempt to rescue her. Dina was shocked when she learned that Leona still considered her as friend. The two finally rescued by the firefighters. At the end, Dina apologized to Leona for everything she does, becoming friends for once again.
After graduated from High School, Dina and her sister, Nina enrolled in an unnamed university, taking Fine Arts major. According to Leona, Dina and Nina's flirt personality was never changed as they known to had several boyfriends in their university. During their semester break, Dina and Nina returned to Sunset Valley to attend a reunion with Leona and their group.
Relationships[edit | edit source]
|Relationship level
|Nina Caliente
|Katrina Caliente
|Leona Redfield
|Best Friend
|Bella Bachelor
|Darlene Bunch
|Kaylynn Langerak
|Mortimer Goth
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- Since I was unable to download Barnacle Bay, so I decided to made my own versions of Dina and Nina in CAS.
- To distinguish her from her her original counterpart and other fanon versions, I made Dina as a teenager.
- In chapter 7, when Dina flirting with Mortimer, it's a tribute for their relationship in The Sims 2.
- Dina is the first, and so far, the only main antagonist of A Sim's Tale series who reformed and made peace with the protagonist.
- Dina's appearance in Book 3 is based off her appearance in The Sims 2.


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Contributor Josh Davis is a 5-time Olympic medalist and the Manager Partner the Mutual of Omaha BREAKout Swim Clinics.
February 12, 2013 Three significant men were born this day in history. Arguably the greatest US President, Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky in 1809. Charles Darwin, the British naturalist whose ideas changed the world, was also born that same day in 1809. And in my opinion, the greatest US middle distance freestyler was born 29 years ago in 1984 in Michigan.
No other 200 and 400/500 freestyler in US history has had more dominance and longevity than Peter Vanderkaay. PVK, as we call him, deserves a special thank you as we celebrate his life and 10 years of service to USA Swimming (2003-2012). Here is an interview I conducted with Peter today.
JOSH: What was it like growing up in Rochester, MI and when did you start swimming?
PVK: Rochester is a nice suburb of Detroit and I have great memories going to one of the many lakes with my 3 brothers and parents. It was a natural progression for us to start swimming at the neighborhood summer league when I was 7 and then ultimately the Oakland Live Y'ers club team. I really had a great childhood. I chose to represent the Oakland Live Y'ers at my last trials in 2012 as a way to honor my old coach Jeff Cooper and the club that gave me such a great foundation.
JOSH: What was your most embarrassing moment?
At 8 years old I was invited to my first big meet at the IUPUI Aquatic Center. I was asked to race on the 9-10 relay with the 'big boys'! My mom drove me 4 hours to Indy for this one relay race. I was so pumped to impress the older guys that when I went to do my turn I completely missed the wall and pushed off with nothing but water. I disqualified the relay and got back in the car and sulked the four hours back home. Thankfully my mom giggled the whole way and told me not to worry about it. Even though I wasn't laughing at the time I can laugh about it now. My performance on relays got much better after that.
JOSH: You embody the ideas that your birthday mates stood for. Lincoln, who turns out was same height as you 6'4, was a late bloomer and had a "never give up" attitude and Darwin gave us "survival of the fittest". You talk about at the clinics how you were not this amazing age group swimmer. How did you stay motivated in middle school and high school?
PVK: I trusted that the consistency would pay off. I knew I would grow someday. I knew that the hard work would come back to me and help set me apart. I quickly noticed that the amount of effort and focus I put in was directly related to the success I put out. Plus I enjoyed the social aspect of being with my brothers and friends.
JOSH: You graduated high school in 2002 and then 2 years later you're on the gold medal podium in Athens with Michael and Ryan! What were the ingredients for that kind of trajectory?
PVK: My senior year I broke the Michigan state record in the 500yd free with a good time of 4:23. That's when I thought I could be on track for good things at the University of Michigan and possibly the USA team. When I arrived at Michigan some of my training partners were Klete Keller, Chris Thompson, Tom Malchow, Dan Ketchum, and Davis Tarwater. Obviously being pushed by these guys under the great John Urbanchek was huge. So great coaching, growing up, getting stronger, improving technique and, again, more consistency all came together to get me to my first Olympics at 20 years old.
Here's what Coach Jon Urbanchek said about PVK today:
"I texted PVK at midnight last night because I wanted to be the first to wish him Happy Bday in this last year of his 20's. I had the privilege of coaching a Vanderkaay swimmer for 12 years in a row. Obviously Peter, like his brothers, was a coaches a dream. Very seldom do you come across someone who is so coachable, works so hard and is a team player. He did a great job in London as team captain and when people here the initials PVK they think greatness. His club coach Jack Cooper and his family is who really made Peter and I just got to put the icing on the cake. I just wanted to be the first to wish him Happy Birthday and glad to call him a friend for life."
JOSH: You were a key contributor to the USA 4×200 Free Relay (my personal favorite also) for 8 years (2004-2011). What was your favorite relay memory?
PVK: Probably that first one in Athens was my favorite because it was so close. Touching out the Aussies by .13 hundredths to get the gold was so exciting. Also to anchor the 2008 Beijing relay and be 3 body lengths ahead and the only person on the TV screen was kind of cool too.
JOSH: You've been on the US National Team for the 400m free from 2005 to 2012 and you still have the American Record in the 400scm (3:34.81) and the 500yd free AR (4:08.54). I also think it's great that you did that 500yd free record swim at an in-season meet in your hometown of Rochester, MI. Of all your individual races which one was your favorite?
PVK: The 2008 Trials 400m free was a great "dog fight" between Larsen Jensen, Erik Vendt and I but personally, getting the bronze in London meant the most. After getting 4th in Beijing and then in 2012 I dropped 3 seconds from Trials(3:47.67) to the London Games (3:44.69) to finish my career with an individual medal was pretty special.
JOSH: I have an image of you swimming at the OTC in Colorado Springs during Christmas training in January of 2008. The whole Michigan team and even Phelps was broken down and swimming pretty slow. That particular day you were the slowest but you seemed to be the least worried about it. Honestly, even I was a little worried. But a month later you swam the fastest 500yd free ever and had a stellar Beijing Olympics qualifying for 4 events. How do you stay focused thru fatigue?
PVK: Those times of fatigue are going to happen but you have to stick to the plan. If you're constantly deviating from the plan you're not going to reach your goals. I learned these lessons progressively in high school and college but I was always watching other successful people. I trained with Phelps for 4 years and Lochte for 2 years and they weren't the fastest every day. They did their best, held the stroke and just kept showing up. I was always learning from the greats I trained with on how to focus on what you can control and enjoy the journey.
JOSH: You and your 3 brothers (Christian, Peter, Alex and Dane) all swam at Michigan, all of you were outstanding students, and all of you have a reputation for your work ethic, politeness and humility. What is something your mom and dad did to raise such great men?
PVK: They were always just so positive and supportive. Even when all 4 of us were racing at the 2008 Olympic Trials, they were just as excited to cheer for my 3 brothers as they were for me. I am so thankful for my parents love and support.
JOSH: What is your present vocation and goals for the future?
PVK: I am now retired and working with an internet company and once again trusting that the hard work and consistency will pay off. I still love to do clinics and pass on the lessons I learned to the next generation of swimmers.
JOSH: I would like to say a big congratulation to your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Vanderkaay! Thanks for raising a great son! And thank you Peter for all your efforts and leadership on the USA Team these last 10 years. Happy Birthday PVK!
PVK: Thanks Josh I look forward to racing you and the kids at a clinic soon!
If you would like to have Peter come to your team or any of the 50 Olympians available for clinics contact www.breakoutswimclinic.com.
About Josh Davis
Family man. Business man. Swimming ambassador. Josh Davis successfully balances speaking engagements, conducting swim clinics and spending time with his growing family. He's developed into a world-class motivational speaker, broadcaster and swim clinician. Josh reaches thousands of young swimmers as the embodiment of the sport's values.
Silver 400m freestyle relay
Silver 800m freestyle relay
Gold 400m freestyle relay
Gold 800m freestyle relay
Gold 400m medley relay
Follow Josh Davis on Twitter here.
Fan the Mutual of Omaha Breakout Swim Clinic on Facebook here.


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Southbank Bristol Arts Trail coming soon
I am busy making some new jewellery for the Southbank Bristol Arts Trail on the 18/19th May. I will be in the Southville Centre along with plenty of other talented artists including Emily Ketteringham who designed the brilliant posters. If you are local to Bristol do come along and say 'Hi!' I am going to be doing a little market research over the weekend and will draw one of the participants at random to win a Cara Jane prize to say thank you!
I have recently finished a couple of the pieces I started in pre/post Synergy workshops whilst in Atlanta.
Here's a five star bead I made in an amazing 2 day workshop with Dan Cormier (if ever you get the chance to work with Dan do I learnt so much from him!). Dan has taught me to slow down and to pay more attention to what I am doing – it has changed my whole polymer experience for the better!
Here's one of the 11 Bauhaus style lentil beads from Angela Garrod's 'Secession' necklace workshop. They are quite involved beads but an amazing result! Thank you Angela for showing us how to create such neat looking work.
I will have some new workshop dates to share with you soon and hopefully plenty of new work too!


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With January, comes the new year, new weather and new things to do in your garden.
1. In the first week of January, wrap recently planted evergreens with burlap to avoid wind and snow damage. Also, don't forget to rotate houseplants and keep away from heat sources!
2. Once you take down your Christmas tree, don't throw it all away! Trim branches and use as mulch over your precious garden beds! But don't forget, avoid walking on frozen turf outside or you will shatter grass blades causing noticeable damage in the spring.
3. Once the temperature is above 40 degrees, spray your broad leaf evergreens with an anti-desiccant to protect from the harsh winter damage.
4. By the fourth week of January you should start parsley, onions, and leeks indoors in a dark location. Once they begin to sprout, move them into a bright spot! Also begin to prune dormant fruit trees but make sure to complete the task before the end of March.
5. In the last week of January, there is a bit of maintenance that should be done. Firstly, you should cut branches of forsythia, dogwood, honeysuckle, lilac, quince, and redbud, and place them in vases to force early blooming indoors. Secondly, you should begin the slow grow of annuals like ageratum, nicotiana, snapdragons, and verbena indoors. Thirdly, African violets and other flowering houseplants should be deadheaded. And last but not least, hold a steaming pot of water over frozen ponds to melt an opening in the surface that will release trapped gases that can poison fish (also those fish need to get some air too!)
Just a tip, avoid using salt to melt snow, its toxic to most plants. Instead you should try using sawdust, sand, cat litter, or even good old fashioned elbow grease!


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Experiences should be self-evident in their natural environment
Busy commuter stations are hardly conducive to good experiences, but standing at London's Kings Cross yesterday, I was particularly struck by this example of how design can go awry. There are some lessons for digital industry here.
In the middle of the concourse stood a branded desk, backed by a large, free-standing poster. It was, no doubt, advertising something to the hordes of commuters who pour through Kings Cross every evening. However, it was most noticeable not for the quality of its design or the interesting product it was promoting, but for the ragged, hand-written notice someone had added to mitigate the major flaw in its design.
Here it is in context. Perhaps you can guess the problem?
By the look of that large crease in the bottom of the poster, someone had already tested the structural properties of this 'wall' by leaning themselves or their luggage against it and getting a nasty shock as the thing collapsed in on itself. It's what people do in stations, particularly stations like Kings Cross where this no seating on the main concourse, and commuters look for things they can lean against as they wait for their trains to be announced.
You can often do a quick check on how well suited public installations or architecture are to their environment by counting the number of signs which have been added to the physical fabric of the space. If you have to explain the experience to people or warn about its pitfalls, the chances are it isn't fit for purpose.
I see these same issues occurring time and time again in digital industry, where product iterations are conducted in labs far removed from the environments in which the customers will experience the product. The situation is further compounded when those responsible for product development are different to those responsible for the user research.
This poster provides a succinct example of exactly that problem. The designer who put together the attractive branding for this pop-up poster and desk probably thought they did a great job – within the limitations of how they understood their role. Unfortunately, however, the overall experience it delivered was not fit for purpose, because it was designed without consideration for the environment in which it would be used.


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Hello Lovelies!
We want to take a few minutes to share with you why we're searching for better bath and beauty products. We're looking for products with minimal ingredients that are natural, organic and wholesome. We're looking for products that align with our ethics and don't harm the environment or wildlife.
Before we talk about the alternatives, let's understand the problems we have with conventional personal care products.
It basically boils down to three main issues…
// A desire to reduce our exposure to potentially harmful chemicals and toxins.
// Concern over the environmental impact of certain ingredients.
// The ethical impacts and social responsibility issues surrounding certain ingredients.
Let's dive right in shall we?
Chemical Ingredient Exposure
First off we want to make clear that we don't take an alarmist approach on this. There's a lot of misunderstanding and fear mongering when talking about vilifying chemicals.
The term "chemical" is almost always used incorrectly in this context. 'Chemical' just means a form of matter, or substance, that has a consistent composition and properties. Everything contains chemicals. Water is a chemical, it's a stable mix of hydrogen and oxygen to make molecules of the chemical water.
The ingredients in any natural product contain the many, many chemicals that make up the original ingredients. We don't list the chemical components of an avocado on a label but they are at least as unpronounceable as the "chemicals" we're cautioned to steer clear of.
Let's dispense with the rhetoric claiming that all chemicals are bad and get a clearer picture of what we're actually trying to avoid.
We want to eliminate the artificial and potentially harmful compounds that are added to most mass market personal care products. The David Suzuki Foundation created this list of the 'Dirty Dozen' ingredients that we should look out for. A survey by the foundation found that about 80% of products that subjects listed as using regularly contained at least one ingredient on this list.
Our concern isn't so much with the small exposures we would receive using a product occasionally, it's with the constant barrage of exposures day after day. How many products do you use in a day? Think about it for a minute… toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, antiperspirant, face lotion, body lotion, lip balm, hair product. That's 9 products already and we haven't even gotten to make up yet.
The body is good at cleaning up minor toxic exposures, but I don't think the wear and tear inflicted on our cells from dealing with multiple exposures every day for years on end is something to take lightly. Not when alternatives are easily available (more on that in a minute).
Environmental Impact
Many common ingredients have a dark history you may not know about.
Palm oil is made from the fruit of oil palmtrees and is used in a huge number of every day items including cosmetics and personal care products. It's being harvested unsustainably causing huge areas of deforestation and contributing directly to driving orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhino's towards extinction.
Squalene is a type of shark liver oil used in moisturizers and other products. Sharks are being hunted mercilessly and wastefully and their population declines are causing permanent changes to ocean ecosystems. You may not want to swim with sharks, but the ocean needs them. Similarly named Squalane is a plant based substitute but it is more expensive so many manufactures choose the cheaper, shark based additive.
We can't forget the environmental impact of all that excess packaging most brands have. So much needless garbage (plastic garbage, the worst of all) is produced by wrapping all those little jars and tubes within an oversized blister pack. On top of that we throw out all those tubes and containers of product once we're done with them. Waste on top of waste.
Lastly, at the end of the day, where does all the makeup and hair product go once we cleanse ourselves? Where does all the soap, shampoo, conditioner end up? In our lakes, rivers and oceans. In the case of the recently outlawed plastic microbeads, even IN fish. The bottom line is that there's no washing this stuff "away". We're one planet, there is no away, we're just adding more and more waste to our ecosystems without enough consideration for the consequences.
Ethical Issues
It's not only the obvious ethical issues surrounding environmental and species damage that concern us. We also care about the social responsibility surrounding ingredients. We think fair trade is important and that everyone involved in the production and manufacture chain deserves a fair wage and safe working environment.
We also want to note the fact that many personal care products contain animal products derived from the food supply chain. Gelatin and tallow are common ingredients and are made from rendered animal remains leftover after the saleable parts are removed.
If you are vegetarian or vegan you may decide that you want to avoid these ingredients based on the same principles you base your diet choices on.
Of course another biggie is animal testing. As much as it's outdated and there are better, proven ways to test without animals, they're still subjected to the cruelties of cosmetics testing. Companies are required to prove safety, but they are not required to prove that through testing on animals. There are other ways and no reason not to use those alternatives.
How do we do better?
Good news! The concerns we share are becoming more common and mainstream. As people learn more about the advantages of natural, sustainable lifestyle the market is (slowly) beginning to shift to support that. More businesses are answering consumers calls for natural and ethically produced products. Here are just a couple we're familiar with…
// Ashley Asti : One of our favorites. Committed to nontoxic ingredients, environmental stewardship and giving back.
// EccoBella : EccoBella: Offers a range of organic, vegan, minimally packaged products.
// LUSH Cosmetics : One of the bigger name brands in the game. Ethical ingredients sourcing practices, minimal packaging and no use of animal testing.
You can also make most of your own personal care products yourself and it's easier than you might think. A few basic ingredients like coconut oil, shea butter, beeswax and your favorite essential oils will get you started. We'll be sharing plenty of DIY beauty in the coming months if you're feeling motivated!
So dear readers, what do you think? Have you considered making your beauty routine a little more natural? Has anything been stopping you from trying a natural brand instead of your favorite conventional one?
Much Love,


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All that hassle can add stress, months to the process, and in the end after paying the agent's expensive fees, you may or may not be ahead of the game.
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- Helpful Resource for Understanding Foreclosure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreclosure
- Helpful Resource for Understanding Shorts Sales & HAFA Program : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_sale_(real_estate)
- Helpful Resource for Understanding Economic Depression : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depression_(economics)


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By Katja Schindler, Creative Director
October 13, 2014
There are many things that come together in order to create a successful communication piece. Obviously, there is a client who has a service or product to promote. There is also strategy and research that inform a creative direction. And finally, there is a lot of noodling that takes place between writers and designers to come up with the perfect idea. The magical formula of words, colors, images, fonts, tone…
But sometimes, as it happens in our line of work, the perfect idea might not seem perfect to the client or the account manager, and that sparkly idea gets kicked back and forth, thrown around, beaten down, budgets get cut, seasons change, and before you know it, everything is passé.
Yes, feedback is a very important part of the process. Crucial. We all understand that. Us "creative folk" go to school to learn our craft, the ins and outs of typography, design history, wordsmithing, and…to develop a thick skin. We expect our ideas to be challenged, questioned and sometimes even torn apart. We don't take it personally. Because the choices we make as creative professionals are not personal.
That being said, there are some things that can drive your creative team a little crazy. Comments and feedback that we think lessen our product, tarnish the shine, diminish the potential for creating the best work we can for our client. So we humbly offer up some thoughts on how to get the best creative from your Creative.
Not to be repetitive, but…it's not personal
There will be times when you, as a client, react to a design. You just don't like it, but you are not sure why. Or maybe you know exactly why. You hate the color purple, and it's all over the website. There is nothing wrong with disliking a color. But remember, this isn't about you. Or the designer. It's about the intended audience. That demographic may love the color purple.
Come again?
The creative choices we makes are not random. We make decisions based on the strategy that was established for the project. Everything from the font, to the copy tone, to the color palette. We select colors based on established brand standards, or based on what we think will best communicate the message. We select fonts that we know will resonate with our audience, not just the hottest one on the block with the funky name.
A better idea….
- Ask the art director why they chose a certain color/font/image/word. Discuss why you don't think it works.
- Ask yourself, and your creative team: does the design reflect the strategy? Does it communicate to our target audience, even if it might not resonate with us? Be honest.
Frankenstein was, indeed, a monster.
It happens all the time…the creative team presents two concepts, and as a client, you like different parts of each execution, so you ask the creative team to merge the concepts into one. Frankenstein the design, if you will.
While this may seem like the best of both worlds, blending your "favorite flavors" into one, it is the quickest way to dilute the strength of a communication piece right out of the gate. Remember what happens when you mix all your paint colors together? Nope…you don't get a rainbow. You get a muddy brown.
Because the creative process is like a stew. Copy and creative mingle and evolve together. Once you start separating things, the thread that ties a concept together is broken, and the overall communication is weakened. It truly does. Every time.
A better idea….
- Discuss the merits of each execution, talk about what is and isn't working.
- Select a single execution and ask the creative team to look at how any deficits can be resolved. Leave it up to the design team to decide whether or not there is a way to incorporate elements from one concept into another.
A short leash might work on a dog…
Most people understand that it's best to give creativity some room to emerge. But every once in a while a project comes around where the feedback closes in tighter and tighter…squeezing out every last inch of creative breathing room.
What are you talking about?
We're talking about feedback that is so specific that it basically tries to pick up our mouse and do our job for us. Certainly, there might be valid changes that need to be made. We understand this. But the more creative direction that gets dictated to the creative team, the less of our expertise you will see. And we like to think we are good at what we do!
Throw us a bone!
Give us some line. We'll show you what we can do. Need something changed? We love solving problems in an artful way, tweaking the layout just so, changing a word to make it all sing. It's what we do. It's what we are being paid to do.
Dream Big!
We know that you live and breathe by the success of your business, and that you probably have sleepless nights strategizing, or worrying about how to address challenges. The same holds true for us. Yes, we might toss and turn over pantone colors and over-used words, but we go to bed dreaming about the success of your business, too. Because we care about doing the best we can to communicate to your audience.
We hope these are helpful reminders, things to keep in mind as we all strive to reach our collective dreams. Of course, in the end, we are happiest when a communication piece achieves its strategic goal, and you love it too – purple, white space, fancy fonts, and all.
If you work in Creative, is there anything you'd change or add? And if you're on the client side, what's your strategy for working with your Creative team?


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Red Wolf Softball Team Represents ASU Well In National Tournament
COLUMBUS, Ga. — Arkansas State's softball team fell short of its goal to win the National Club Softball Association (NCSA) World Series in Columbus, Ga., but picked up a lot of experience and represented ASU well in only the second season of the program.
"We are so proud of these players," said April Arford, who founded the softball club program in 2011. "They have worked so hard and played hard and the players gave each game all of their hearts."
The Red Wolves played six games in a two-day period, winning three. The eighth-seeded Arkansas State squad opened play with 16th-seeded Central Florida Friday morning and handed the Knights a 4-1 loss. A 3-2 setback to Ohio State came in the afternoon. A-State took on top-seeded Air Force and defeated the Falcons, 6-4.
One of the most exciting victories for Arkansas State came against Navy with a 10-0 win in five innings.
"Ashley Snow, our catcher, hit a grand slam in that game against Navy and our pitcher Shea Cothren had 11 strikeouts in three innings," continued Arford. "Everyone gave great effort."
The Red Wolves suffered a heartbreaking loss to the third seed, University of Antelope Valley from Lancaster, Calif., dropping a 6-5 decision.
"We were able to hold 4-0 for five innings," said Arford. "Antelope Valley had two hits in the fifth to drive in three runs in the sixth. ASU scored once, making the score 5-3. But, in the bottom of the seventh, Antelope Valley hit a walk off a home run, scoring three runs to win."
Arkansas State, which finished sixth overall in the tournament, fell to the University of Illinois, 18-1, at the end of the day. Antelope Valley, who were undefeated in the tournament, ended as the World Series champion.
"We had already played two games prior and the weather was much more humid and hot that our girls were used to," concluded Arford. "With those combinations, we were worn down, but these players really played great."


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Here are some tips to help you be successful:
You will face many adjustments during your first semester at Marywood University. Here are some tips to help you make a successful transition to college:
- Be prepared to possibly change your major
- Attend class
- Know the course syllabus
- Don't procrastinate
- If you need help, get it early
- Practice good time management
- Study!
Academic success may require making repeated adjustments while working toward your degree.
Making the Most of the Advising Process
Each Marywood University student is assigned an academic advisor to provide information and guidance in selecting, planning and completing their academic program. The adviser helps the advisee to understand the relationships among the courses, programs, undergraduate research opportunities, internships, study abroad programs, and other academic experiences provided by the university. Here are some dos and don'ts for a successful advising experience.
- Take advantage of the opportunity to talk with your advisor even though you've talked with friends.
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- Become knowledgeable about the relevant policies, procedures, and rules of the university and your academic program. Ultimately, you have the responsibility of know the requirements to successfully complete your academic degree at Marywood University.
- Come to advising sessions unprepared.
- Avoid academic advisement as long as possible.
- Wait until registration periods to see your advisor.
- Mislead or withhold information from your advisor.
- Assume your advisor has all of your records.
- Assume your advisor will tell you automatically everything you need to know.
- Assume your advisor will remember what you talked about from one appointment to the next.
- Assume that only your advisor needs to be familiar with the university rules and regulations.


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Former Ghana International, Joe Addo has made a scathing attack on ex-Black Stars manager, Avram Grant for not creating competition in the team.
Joe Addo was sharing his thoughts on the Black Stars' World Cup campaign on the Football Legend Night Show on Friday, 17th, November 2017 when he said this.
According to Joe Addo, "Some players had in their mind that, the National team is for them. Avram Grant made it that. Instead of creating competition for them, he made it easy for the boys who were playing starlets have their way and so complacency came into the team."
He added that, the players thought they have been to the World Cup three times and so they are going to cruise over the cranes of Uganda and lo and behold it didn't work.
Ghana could not make it to a fourth consecutive World Cup after they finished third in Group E behind the Pharaohs of Egypt and the Cranes of Uganda with seven (7) points from six games in the qualifiers.
Send your news stories to and features to . Chat with us via WhatsApp on +233 55 2699 625.
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- Read all related articles


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Buying a home can be a very emotional experience. Finding the perfect fit for you and your family can be challenging enough without having to worry about the burden of finance. At Strategic we understand this only too well. Through our unique and comprehensive process, we ensure that we provide you with the correct solution in the most timely and effective manner.
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There's a giant hole in the ground along Highway 3 next to the Steeple Center and a giant mound of dirt next to that. Both mark the long awaited progress on The Rosemount: Senior Living at Steeple Center.
Spokeswoman Nicole Claeson said the goal is to have construction on the senior housing facility, which is being developed by the Makado Group, done in November and have residents move in around Thanksgiving.
The facility will be operated by Augustana Care, a non-profit housing and health care provider for older adults.
The 130,000 sq. ft. building will include 40 independent-living apartments, 21 assisted-living apartments, 12 care suites, 18 memory care units and 1 respite care unit. The units will range in size from 350 sq. ft. in memory care to 1,100 sq. ft. apartment suites.
Additionally, The Rosemount will feature a number of amenities including a wellness center, library, salon, massage and aromatherapy suite, bistro, children's play area and memory care garden.
To help residents live full lives, programming will also be offered. The facility will be linked to the Steeple Center, which will offer arts and education programs as well as events. The city of Rosemount owns and operates the Steeple Center.
"Linking to The Steeple Center and all of their programming is a win all around," said Mark Appelbaum of the Makado Group, The Rosemount's developer. "The city supports and is supported by a vibrant older community and the extended community also benefits."
While construction continues, Claeson anticipates marketing materials will be available soon.
The Rosemount will have a sales office and model apartment in The Steeple Center. Call 651-322-4222 or visit therosemount.com for more information.


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A sumptuous béchamel can turn the humblest of vegetables into a feast. A tangle of wilted bitter greens, a swathe of sauce and suddenly dinner isn't so basic. I am partial to such creamed greens alongside grilled steak, or atop a baked potato.
Knobby brassicas, such as Romanesco, cauliflower and broccoli, turn plush and sweet after a time beneath a béchamel blanket and need only a robustly crusty bread and a drop of chili oil as accompaniment. Here, onions start off braised in chicken stock; then, once they are soft enough to acquiesce to the sharp tip of a knife, they are cored and stuffed with a pork filling and returned to the steamy heat of the oven. After that, enter the béchamel – technically a mornay, as there is cheese involved – spooned over the plumped onions, then oven-bound again so the filling cooks, the onions turn truly tender and the sauce mingles with the stock from the initial braise and the juices from the onions. In the end, with crisped ham for a salty counterpoint and a textural shift, the dish is the spoonable sort of comfort meal that I'm craving on these damp days. All it needs is a crisp, fresh salad on the table, or maybe some buttered noodles or fregola if a heartier meal is called for.
I must say, it also feels industrious to make a meal mainly from a pantry staple such as an onion, a modest amount of meat, using up the spent Parmesan rinds I keep in the freezer. Once again, béchamel works its magic.
Béchamel braised onions
Serves 6
- 6 medium onions
- 1/3 cup chicken stock or water
- Medium grained kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon good olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 3 rosemary sprigs
- 8 sage leaves
- 1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 9 ounces ground pork, preferably not lean
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk, warmed
- Parmesan rinds, optional (see above)
- 2 ounces Gruyère, finely grated
- Nutmeg, as needed
- 6 slices Westphalian ham
Preheat an oven to 375 F.
Trim enough from the bottom of the onions to give them a flat base, but try to leave most of the root intact. Flip over and slice the top to expose all the layers; 3/4-inch or so. Remove only the thinnest peel from the outside. Set prepared onions aside in a baking dish that holds them snugly. Pour the chicken stock into the pan, cover with foil and bake until barely tender, 30 minutes or so.
Pull the onions from the oven. Carefully peel back the foil and reserve. When the onions are cool enough to handle, use a melon baller or a small, sharp spoon, to hollow out their centres, leaving 2 or 3 layers on the outside and a sturdy base. Season the cavities.
Chop the onion trimmings finely. In a medium pan over medium-low heat, warm the oil. Scrape in the chopped onion and sauté until thoroughly cooked and lightly caramelized, around 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 1 minute more.
Finely mince the leaves from two of the thyme sprigs, one of the rosemary and two of the sage. Keep the remaining herbs for later.
Stir the minced herbs into the onions. Add the breadcrumbs to the pan and season assertively. Take the pan off the heat and let it cool, then stir in the ground pork. Pack the mixture into the empty onions, re-cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes more.
While the onions braise, make the béchamel. Melt the butter in a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Once foaming, stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk in a slow, steady stream. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking all the while. Then, turn the heat all the way down to maintain a simmer. Tuck in a Parmesan rind, if using, and stir in all the cheese. Season with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg. Keep on a low flame, stirring regularly, until the timer for the onion dings.
When the onions are done their 10 minutes, remove the foil and discard. Pull the parmesan rind from the béchamel. Pour the sauce on and around the onions. Return the baking dish to the oven for 10 minutes more, then baste the onions with the sauce, strew the reserved whole herbs in the pan and drape the onions with torn slices of ham. Bake for a final 10 minutes, at which point the filling should be cooked all the way through – test this by inserting a skewer into the middle and feeling if it is hot – and the onions supple. If not, return them to the heat until this holds true. Let stand for five minutes, then serve.


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Facebook For Dummies
I was in shopping around over the weekend and I happened to walk past the book store and happened to see Facebook For Dummies. There is even a Facebook page devoted to this book.
I mean seriously who would buy a how to for a website that continually changes and adds new feature sets as often as Facebook does?
1 Comment to Facebook For Dummies
dummies would buy it!
also: "if you make something idiot-proof god will build another idiot"
nibbler on
February 15th, 2009