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Courses By Worker 4.0 Competencies
As companies undergo a wave of digital transformations, so too must we evolve with the changes. Having basic, technical competencies are no longer sufficient to climb the corporate ladder. For the Worker 4.0, you'll need to harness the power of 3 skillsets – Technological, Adaptive and Technical – to keep up in today's job landscape.
Use Your SkillsFuture Credits*
on your courses
All Singaporeans aged 25 and above received an opening credit of $500 in January 2016. Your credits will not expire and the government may provide periodic top-ups, so you may accumulate your credits.
*subject to terms and conditions
Your SkillsFuture credits can be used on top of existing course subsidies to pay for a wide range of approved skills-related courses to upgrade yourself.
You can use your credits to pay for or offset skills-related course fees by applying for claim(s) starting January 2016. All eligible Singaporeans will be able to access their SkillsFuture credits account via
Popular FAQ
For Self/Individual Registration
To complete the registration process, payment has to be made for the applied course. You will receive an SMS reminder (based on the mobile phone number indicated during registration) once the course is confirmed.
For Corporate/Company Registration
Your Human Resource personnel or the officer-in-charge who completed the registration on your behalf will receive a confirmation letter from us. Please bring along this confi
- For Self individual deferment / transfer / withdrawal, make the request at our Branches at least 14 days BEFORE class.
- For Corporate trainee, inform your HR personnel or IC who registered the course for you at least 14 days BEFORE class. They will contact our Sales who attended to your company.
- For WSH related courses, no retake of exams permitted. If trainee is not yet competent, re-module is for WSQ courses chargeable at $53.50.
- For Language and Literacy & Soft Skills Employability courses, no retake permitted.
- For courses under WSH – a charge of $53.50 is applicable for appeal of results. Appeal can be made only within 2 weeks after release of results. Appeal result will be out after 2 weeks. Appeal fee is re-fundable if appeal is successful. Appeal request is not applicable for worker level courses. Please note that the decision of the appeal is final.
- For courses under Language and Literacy & Soft Skills Employability no appeal is allowed.


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Epson TX209 Printer drivers are software programs, and Epson drivers main job is to convert the data you command from computer to your Epson TX209 printer.
Epson TX209 printer does not work until you install the included drivers and software.
Epson TX209 Driver Downloads and guide to setup
When you have lost the CD for your Epson printer, you can download the Epson TX209 printer drivers and use the drivers to install your Epson printer here
Link download Epson TX209 driver files got directly to Epson server: correctly, no malware, secure and quick download and free
1. Download Epson TX209 printer driver
OS Compatible: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7
- Epson TX209 Printer 32-Bit Driver Download here (15.6 MB)
- Epson TX209 Printer 64-Bit Driver Download here (16.9 MB)
- Epson TX209 Scanner Driver Download here (13.9 MB)
OS Compatible: Mac OS X
- Epson TX209 Mac Printer Driver Download here (22.4 MB)
- Epson TX209 Mac Scanner Driver Download here (27.0 MB)
2. Instructions for installing Epson TX209 Driver Download
Step 1: Open driver download file that you've finished downloading.
Step 2: You need to extract the file first before install.
Step 3: After that extract the Epson TX209 files that have been in the double-click.
Step 4: The installation process will run automatically and you only have to wait a little while.
Step 4: After the installation process is complete then you are able to print with your favorite printer.
Step 6: Do not forget Epson TX209 printer USB cable connection to your computer first.
Download this driver and install both the Epson TX209 series

subset: commoncrawl


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There's nothing quite as depressing as the sound of silence in a cubicle.
The incessant buzzing of the air conditioner and the relentless squeaking of a run-down office chair fills the air, broken only by the telltale sound of an employee attempting to surreptitiously remove the Ceran wrap from his late lunch. Fingers scurry across keyboards, mouses click, and chipper voices answer phones with that identical artificially caring voice they've used for the last 10 years. I sit in the back, as close to the only window as possible, undaunted by the measly view it provides. The sight of the adjacent building, just two feet away, is the only connection I have to the outside world.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is my nightmare.
I have decided that an office is the ultimate prison; one designed to keep its prisoners willingly confined, brainwashed by the sight of the strategically placed metaphorical carrot just inches beyond their grasp. I feel as if I have signed a contract without reading the fine print, ushered ahead to the next important benefit while passing over the sacrifices needed to reach said benefit. Even the fluorescent lights above flicker to remind me of the task at hand, like the most effective of prison guards; jarring and emotionless.
I stare at the computer screen before me and click my pen against my teeth, the scent of Windex and carpet hanging in the air. This is not my computer. This is not my desk. This is Patty's desk, and hers is the bar to which all following cubicles will be measured. Her functional knick-knacks confuse me, and I feel even more out of place. A container of goo meant to make fingers sticky (for turning pages) and a bottle of Germ-ex sit directly next to the keyboard. I do not own a bottle of Germ-ex. I welcome the dirt and grime of the natural world. Oh how I long for the touch of grass…
Next to a colorful array of pens (the likely only allowed form of creativity or self-expression), is a palm tree post-it note container, symbolizing the relaxing beach she has probably desperately been saving her vacation days for. She has months' worth of vacation days saved up, yet her planner hangs on the cork-board to the right, rows of assignments filling it: typing, filing, interviewing, typing, staffing. Is this what my life will soon become? Am the next generation of Patty's?
But the most disheartening trinket of all is the digital calendar on her computer that displays a different "inspirational phrase" daily.
Today's? "Smile. I like your sense of humor." Great, a computer is telling me it likes my sense of humor. I have already discovered that no one in this particular job likes my sense of humor, so it's ironic that a computer would have that opinion. Rather, I think it's mocking me. Mocking my lack of humor and instead exposing my dutiful, uninspiring appropriateness that has replaced it. Within two weeks my wit has given way to internal cynicism. I used to be funny.
My stare is broken by the flicker of the fluorescent prison guard. Back to work. Deep breaths…
That was me, just 4 years ago.
No, I'm serious – that's an actual snippet from an old blog post dated August of 2011. While there is nothing wrong with working in an office, it wasn't for me, and I was definitely not doing well.
Sitting in the office of my first counselor job straight after completing my Master's, I was on the edge of a complete breakdown. I cried all the time. Once, while driving around on a random Tuesday, we passed an enormous house and my husband casually said, "Woah, I wish we lived there!" I replied with, "I wish it was Friday," and burst into tears. Sometimes it didn't even take a trigger; I'd just sit in the bedroom, stare at a pair of "professional work shoes" and cry.
I didn't last long. Within 3 weeks I was fired for following a code of ethics that apparently my employer didn't share with the rest of the mental health profession. I came home, told my husband the news and he and our friend Bill took me out for a game of golf (I drove the cart through a fence) and a night of never-ending beer and buffalo wings, which, as it turns out, is the perfect cure for that 'just getting fired' feeling.
The next day, I told my husband I was changing careers. I told him I needed to do something creative for a living or there was a chance I may just collapse in on myself like a dying star. He agreed.
I had no idea what I wanted to do though, so I made a list. I wrote down every single creative job I could think of…and I mean everything. I listed actor, musician, painter, cartoonist, interior designer, dancer, filmmaker, and about a bajillion other possible jobs. I narrowed it down based on location (I wasn't moving), required education (I couldn't afford to go back to school) and required physical development (it was a little late to start a career as a professional ballet dancer). I was left with a list of 3 options: writer, photographer and cake decorator. On a whim, I chose photographer.
I didn't even own a camera.
Cue the unrelenting skepticism. People thought I had snapped. They thought I was going through a phase. I had been accepted into medical school and was set to attend in the spring – giving up an opportunity like that was nothing short of insane, they said. My husband was the only person who had my back at all times, while others just pretended none of this was happening. Friends asked when I'd be leaving for med school. Family mentioned when they heard of a new counselor position opening up. I was mocked constantly and openly. According to general consensus, I had just made the worst career decision of all time.
But wait…why am I telling you all of this?
Because today, I paid off my student loans.
Today, I paid off $40,000 in student loans that I acquired pursuing degree programs everyone told me would lead to a financially stable and satisfying career, all with money I made from a career everyone told me was the equivalent of financial suicide.
I spent $40k to guarantee myself a "real job" then paid it off with money made from a "hobby".
Suck it, haters.
To be completely honest, I've spent an embarrassing amount of time fantasizing about how I would celebrate when this day came. Perhaps I'd buy a plane ticket to a faraway beach and sit under an umbrella while someone brought me a never-ending supply of margaritas, or better yet maybe I'd take a trip down to the Billings animal shelter and spend the day adopting every single pet in the mothafuckin' place. Who knows, maybe I'd run through the streets of Billings shouting, "NO STUDENT LOANS, BITCHES!" all while throwing dollar bills in the air behind me…and then later going back to retrieve them of course because let's be honest, I still need those and I'm not in a music video.
But now that this day is finally here, all I want to do is write about it. All I want is to let you know that if you're in a similar situation I was in 4 years ago, where you feel completely trapped, depressed and utterly terrified at the idea of starting over, there is a way out.
We have these struggles in every aspect of our lives. Whether it's a career move or a bad relationship, there are always changes we avoid making even when our gut is telling us, indisputably, that something is wrong. We're terrified of all that time and effort (or in my case, 6 years and $40,000) being for nothing. It's not easy, but there comes a point where you either make the decision to keep pouring in resources to a dead cause, or cut your losses and head in a new direction. Remember, time and effort already spent is not an indicator of time and effort to be sacrificed in the future.
Regardless of all the embarrassment and fear that comes with putting yourself out there, sooner or later all of it passes and all you're left with are the consequences of the decisions you've made. Each day is an opportunity to take a small step in a new direction. If you're unhappy, change something. Good things don't come to those that wait; good things come to those that know what they want and work their asses off to get it.
Four years ago I was at the bottom of a massively large financial hole, stuck in a career path I had chosen to pursue, and scared stiff of the embarrassment I would face knowing I'd have to explain my decision to do a complete career 180. And just last week, I was finishing up a shoot at Flathead Lake, and someone mentioned having to go to work the next day and I thought to myself, "I am at work. This is my job. I'm getting paid to be here, right now, sitting in the sunshine on the shoreline of one of the most beautiful places in Montana. This is what I do for a living."
"This is my life now."
For any of you out there on your path to photography, I made something just for you. Something I really, really wish had been there when I first started.
And don't forget to SUBSCRIBE for more posts like this, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well! 🙂


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GBA Annual Ethics Program
On Thursday, June 25, 2015, the Government Bar Association will be holding its Annual Ethics Program. From 3:00 - 5:00 pm in Room 3690 SCLF Addition at the SIU School of Medicine, 801 North Rutledge Street, Springfield, Illinois, GBA will provide two separate discussions for attendees to obtain ethics CLE credits. Cost is $25 for members and $40 for non-members. RSVP to Kerri Tayor at firstname.lastname@example.com by Wednesday, June 24, 2015.
Additional information available HERE.


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We have been down this road before with Trout but this is shaping up to finally be the year that Trout wins MVP in the Junior Circuit. His average may have gone down just a tick but his power has come in stronger than ever as he is on pace for a career-high 39 home runs and is leading the league in OPS and OPS with a tremendous 1.027 and 188, respectively. Not to mention that he is providing his usual tremendous defense and is leading baseball with a 5.3 WAR.
Runner-Up - Jose Bautista, OF, Toronto Blue Jays
Cy Young - Felix Hernandez, SP, Seattle Mariners
This is a tough one as both Hernandez and Masahiro Tanaka have had tremendous years and both are certainly worthy of the award. Both are tied with a 2.10 ERA. Tanaka leads in ERA+ (190 to 179), has a lower walk per nine rate (1.4 to 1.5), strikeouts per nine (9.9 to 9.6), strikeouts per walk (7.06 to 6.23). Hernandez has started two more games, leads the league in WHIP (.919) and FIP (1.95), has a better hits per nine (6.7 to 7.2) and home run per nine (0.3 to 1.0), throws fewer pitchers per at-bat (3.72 to 3.79) and per inning (14.4 to 14.7) and has a lower batting average against (.206 to .217). Fernandez definitely has an average pitching in Safeco Field as opposed to Yankee Stadium, but I would still go with him by a nose.
Runner-Up - Masahiro Tanaka, SP, New York Yankees
Rookie of the Year - Masahiro Tanaka, SP, New York Yankees
This is another top category in it of itself as Abreu has been tremendous for the South Siders. However, Tanaka has not only been an elite pitcher all season long, he may be more or less singlehandedly keeping the Yankees in the playoff race despite having other issues in their rotation and in the lineup. Of course, you can always have the people saying they are not real rookies, either Tanaka or Abreu, but I have never bought into that babble.
Runner-Up - Jose Abreu, 1B, Chicago White Sox
Manager of the Year - Bob Melvin, Oakland Athletics
Nobody seems to know what makes the criteria for this award, or any award for that matter, but I think Melvin deserves it slightly over John Gibbons. Yes, Gibbons has led a surprising team that has been in control of the AL East all season long, but nobody can deny how strong the Athletics have been in terms of being perhaps the best team in baseball despite their noted budget restraints. Melvin has a good roster on paper, but not one I would consider to be the best in baseball.
Runner-Up - John Gibbons, Toronto Blue Jays
This award is wide open at this juncture as you can make legitimate cases for Jonathan Lucroy, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen, Yasiel Puig and some other guys. But I think that the best player all season long in the National League has been Tulowitzki. We all know he plays in a great hitting park, but his numbers are sensational across the board. He is first in baseball average (.353), first in baseball in on-base percentage (.445), second in slugging percentage (.618), first in baseball in OPS (1.064) and tied for second with a 5.1 WAR. And anybody that discounts him because of the team he plays on is a fool.
Runner-Up - Jonathan Lucroy, C, Milwaukee Brewers
Cy Young - Johnny Cueto, SP, Cincinnati Reds
Once Clayton Kershaw gets eligible innings-wise, he may end up winning this award yet again, and nobody would be surprised. That said to the point, the best pitcher in the NL has been Mr. Cueto. Cueto is first in ERA (1.99), ERA+ (194), WHIP (0.836), hits per nine (5.4), innings pitched (124.1), complete games (three), batting average against (.176), on-base percentage against (.238), slugging percentage against (.271), and OPS against (.509). Need I say more?
Runner-Up - Clayton Kershaw, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
Rookie of the Year - Billy Hamilton, OF, Cincinnati Reds
This is perhaps the easiest award to give out, thanks in part to a feeble field and thanks in part to a tremendous season to this point by Hamilton. Everybody knew that Hamilton was going to provide speed and plenty of it to the Reds as he is on pace to steal more than 70 bases. However, his bat has been much greater than expected as he is hitting .283 for the season. He also has been getting better as the season has gone on, great news for a Reds club trying to get into the postseason.
Runner-Up - Chris Owings, SS, Arizona Diamondbacks
Manager of the Year - Ron Roenicke, Milwaukee Brewers
What if I told you before the season that the Brewers would have the best record in the Senior Circuit and tied for the most wins in baseball at this point? You would have thought I was crazy, perhaps more so than already. And while I thought the Brew Crew would have the chance to be a good team, I did not expect this and Roenicke deserves a ton of credit. He has himself a very good lineup, a good rotation and a decent bullpen. This team has played great all year and I see no reason for it to stop anytime soon.
Runner-Up - Don Mattingly, Los Angeles Dodgers


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Today I have a guest blog written by Annika Ziehen aka anysroad, who I have mentioned and referred to in many of my blogs. She is my cousin, close friend, fellow foodie and blogger. Her blog is however not a food blog even though it does come up quite a lot. She is a fabulous cook and despite being 'new' to Cape Town is constantly introducing me to the latest food hot spots. The dish she is writing about is one which she apparently eats almost weekly and has chosen to write about because she knows that I like my recipes to be quick and easy and with locally accessible ingredients.
She cooked it for us yesterday and it was delicious. Simple and so tasty. I loved the fresh rocket, it really set it apart for me. Okay, enough from me... over to Annika:
The dish (I won't call it a recipe as it's not) is something that evolved from a pasta meal a friend once made for a dinner party and a dish they served on a wine farm we went to for my birthday a few years ago. Both evoke my love for grilled cherry tomatoes and I finally understood why a tomato loves the sugar. You could call it "Roast veggie pasta with fresh rocket and a bucket of parmesan cheese." It doesn't have the usual sauce superstars i.e. meat or alcohol, in fact it doesn't even have a real sauce, but I promise it rocks.
Okay, here we go...I promise it's really easy, don't be scared, don't overthink...
First things first – pour yourself a nice big glass of wine. Then boil pasta. Easy enough. The water must cook first before you add salt. This is the order and there is some scientific explanation to it, which my Dad once gave me, but I forgot. Just do it. Any short pasta i.e. Penne, Fusilli, Shells is good. Barilla actually makes nice whole wheat pasta if you wanted to go healthier. I like it because it actually tastes quite non-whole-wheat-y.
Chop mushrooms into quarters and butternut in small-ish pieces and put on a baking tray with cherry tomatoes. Douse them all in lots of olive oil, salt, pepper, and roll around. The tomatoes also get some sugar on top. Into a pre heated oven at about 200 degree for 15 minutes or until the butternut has cooked through. For the last few minutes turn on the grill. Mushrooms should be brown, butternut soft and tomatoes mushy and juicy. Toss together with pasta and top with some rocket, basil and of course lots of parmesan cheese. For this dish I think it's important to get a good one and grate it into big flakes. It just adds another texture to the dish.
Pour another glass of wine. Eat. Smile.


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Some shoe insoles can help with mild back pain. Since suffering with osteoarthritis of my big toe I have had to buy a size larger in shoe size as I cannot bear anything tight near the toe. Consequently the shoes have been too big for my other foot so I have had to invest in some insoles and have been surprised at how comfortable they are.
Most back pain sufferers wear flattish shoes as the pain can be much worse if you have heels on. The position of your feet affects the curvature of your spine. If you have flat feel then the hollow of the curve o fyour lower spine is increased which then leads to a strain on your ligaments.
Shaped insoles can correct your flat-footed posture which will then help relieve some of your back pain.
For the correct type of insole for your back complaint you should really see a podiatrist but you can also, like me, buy a set of 'off-the-shelf' insoles from your chemist or shoe shop.
I certainly could not have managed my pain this summer without the help of insoles and once I have had my foot surgery I plan to discuss my options with my podiatrist as apparently, according to the articles of the type of foot surgery I am having, one thing for sure is that I will walk differently.
If its high heels that are your thing then try to wear them only for special occasions and not every day as they can strain your spine as they alter your centre of gravity and the whole mechanism of your low back. http://www.footinsoles.co.uk/


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Houghten, R. et al, "Strategies for the Use of Mixture-Based Synthetic Combinatorial Libraries: Scaffold Ranking, Direct Testing In Vivo, and Enhanced Deconvolution by Computational Methods", J. Comb. Chem., 2008, 10, 3-19
Recently a collaborator pointed me to the above article by Houghten and co-workers where they describe the use of mixture-based combinatorial libraries for high-throughput screening (HTS) experiments.
Traditionally an HTS experiment will screen thousands to millions of individual molecules. Obviously, it's all done by robots so though you have to be careful during setup it's not like you have to do it all by hand. But the fact is, if it's possible to reduce the actual number of individual screens, life becomes easier and cheaper. Houghten et al describe an elegant approach that does just this.
Enter the idea of mixtures. The concept is quite simple: take a mixture of compounds (ranging from hundreds to thousands) and assay the mixture rather than individual compounds. The first thing that comes to mind is that the individual compounds had better not react with each other. Houghten and his co-workers have published (here and here) a number of studies on this technique and it appears that such behavior is not prevalent or can be taken care of.
Ignoring the possibility of reactions within the mixture, how do we identify the individual molecule(s) that is active? The solution used by Houghten et al is quite simple and elegant. I'll use the example from the paper in question. Lets say you're trying to identify an active tripeptide and have a pool of three amino acids. This gives us 27 possible tripeptides to test. The mixture approach involves the construction of a Positional Scanning Library (PSL). Such a library is composed of three sublibraries, where one of the positions in the tripeptide is fixed. Schematically this would be represented as OXX, XOX and XXO where O represents the fixed position. So lets say our amino acid pool consisted of R, A and T. This means we'd have the following nine mixtures
Here each cell corresponds to a mixture of compounds, all which have a certain position fixed.
So now rather than screen 27 compounds we only do 9 screens since we only screen the mixtures. Now if the active tripeptide is RAT, it's easy to see that the mixtures, RXX, XAX and XXT would show activity. In other words, the active tripeptide can be easily identified from the mixtures that show activity.
Now this is a very simplified example – there may be more than one active tripeptide and they may have differing degrees of activity. So it's not as easy as simply picking out a single active. In general, one would need to identify multiple candidates – but a 100 compounds is certainly better than a 100,000! But it's clear that if a mixture is inactive, that's a whole bunch of compound you could avoid followup on. And as the numbers go up, the gains are more dramatic (2000-fold to 70,000-fold, depending on the technique as shown in Table 3 of the paper).
Of course, peptide libraries are just one possibility. One can consider more general scaffolds (such pyrrolidine bis-cyclic guianidine) with multiple positions of variation. Now since a PSL focuses on the positions of substituents, it's possible to have a mixture containing multiple scaffolds. The authors describe a strategy that rearranges the mixtures such that the new mixtures represent individual scaffolds. Note that in such a scaffold mixture there is no "fixed position" – however what we can do now is to rank scaffolds in terms of their possible activity. Given a ranking, one can then select a scaffold and perform mixture screening with a PSL just for that scaffold.
Another nice experiment described in the paper is the use of mixture libraries for in vivo screening. They used a PSL of 125,000 tetrapeptides (three of the positions were fixed and they had a 50 amino acid pool). The goal was to identify an anti-nociceptive that was known to be in the mixture and had high affinity for the µ-opioid receptor. They tested the mixture of compounds and observed activity (compared to some control mixtures that were known to not contain the active compound). The next step was to fix the second position. On doing so, the mixture size went from 125,000 compounds to 2500 compounds and the activity of the mixture increased 4X. The key thing here is that they were screening a single mixture and not 125,000 individual compounds (which would simply not be possible) – essentially converting a low throughput assay to a pseudo high throughput format.
So it's a pretty cool method, but some issues can crop up. I've already noted the possibility of compounds reacting within a mixture. This could be addressed computationally – identify a set of groups that are known to be reactive (or react with other certain groups) and identify pairs, triples, etc of compounds that have these groups and flag them as possible candidates for such reactions. Or simply have an experienced chemist not include reactive compounds.
Another issue with this approach is that the hits that arise from screening PSL's or scaffold libraries are not necessarily diverse (less so for the former than the latter). In many scenarios this can be viewed as a drawback. But as Houghten et al note, this could be useful for identifying useful activity cliffs. A side-effect of the lack of diversity, is that one can get very nice data on SAR's. Of course, computational diversity analysis methods can be used to enhance the experimental aspects of this procedure, as described in the paper.


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Article: Planning for Your Future (Making a Start)
This article looks at how to go about making decisions on what to do in the future. Should you stay on at school, go to college, get a job or do some vocational training?
The first thing to say is: don't panic! It's quite normal to feel confused by the huge range of options and information available. What you need is a way of sorting through all the ideas and information.
Even if you know what you want to do, it can often seem like the path to get there isn't very clear. So again, a few starters to help clear the way should be useful.
Where to start
Perhaps the best place to start thinking about your future is to look at where you are now - and who you are! This means asking yourself lots of questions.
Start with school.
- which subjects do you enjoy most?
- which subjects do you dislike?
- which examinations have you passed or do you expect to pass?
- which projects and assignments are you proud of?
- do you like learning new things?
- do you like learning by studying or by doing?
Then, think about your skills.
- can you make a list of your skills?
- what are you like at organising people or events?
- what are your communication skills like, for example, in talking, listening, writing, foreign languages?
- do you have any IT skills?
- do you have any practical skills - anything from drawing to fixing bikes to cooking?
When you've made a list of all your skills, think about which ones you most enjoy using.
Now, consider your personality.
- do you get on well with people?
- are you ambitious?
- are you reliable?
- how do you feel about deadlines?
- are you practical?
- do you like responsibility?
- do you like learning new skills?
- do you like new situations and challenges?
- could you work on your own or in a team?
- what are your strengths and weaknesses?
And, finally, look at your interests and the things that matter to you.
- what do you do in your spare time?
- do you like painting, reading, playing an instrument, sport, carpentry, gardening, watching films, listening to bands, or something else?
- what do you want out of life: money, excitement, challenge, fulfilment, security, job satisfaction, success, travel, adventure, status, etc?
Working your way through these questions should help you to get a clearer picture of the kind of person you are and the things you like doing. This will be useful when you start to think about what you might want to do next.
The next step
In the future, your choice could be to:
- leave school and get a job (with training, if under 18)
- carry on in education or training
- take a 'gap year', for example, to travel or do voluntary work
Your choice could depend on how you answered the earlier questions.
It's important to think long-term, as much as you can. For example, you might be happy to go straight into work and earn money as quickly as you can. However, you need to think about your future prospects too. What training will you get in the job? What are the opportunities for promotion like?
If you want to carry on with your education, you need to think about whether you want to learn a practical, vocational subject, like engineering, or an academic one, like history.
If you plan to travel or to do some unpaid voluntary work here or in other countries as part of a 'gap year', you'll need to do some careful planning and save up enough money to support your plan.
Whatever the case, if you know what you want to do and where you want to be in a few years' time, you should spend some time thinking about what you need to do in order to get there.
If you don't know what to do, make a list of the advantages and disadvantages of each of the three choices. And remember, these can be both long- and short-term.
Choosing a career
You might feel like staying on in education mainly because you don't know what kind of work to do. However, sooner or later you'll need to start to try to make a decision.
You're likely to spend a large part of your life at work, so it's a good idea to start finding out about different jobs.
You could make a list of jobs you are interested in, then look into them in more detail. If you don't know where to start, look out for articles online and in magazines and newspapers about people and the jobs they do.
Your school will have careers information you can use, and you might also find it in your local library. Ask yourself what you think about the job and whether you could do it.
Find out which skills and qualifications you'd need in these jobs and make sure your information is up to date. You can get information on careers in a number of ways. You can:
- use Kudos to explore career roles and next steps
- find information in careers libraries, such as at school
- Search online. Sources of careers information can include the websites of major employers and professional bodies.
- talk to Careers Advisers
- ask people about their work
- talk to friends and family
- get relevant work experience
Wherever you get your information and advice from, remember that only you can make any decisions about it.
If somebody tells you something bad about a job, you could make a note of it in a list of disadvantages for that job. Then, try to think of any advantages to balance out the disadvantages.
Once you have a list of jobs or courses that you might want to do, think about how you match up. Ask yourself:
- do you have or expect to get the right qualifications?
- are you missing any relevant skills?
- do you have the right personal qualities?
- is your family pressurising you to do something else?
Try not to make decisions straight away when you hear or read a piece of information. Instead, make a note of it and continue to gather information.
Once you have as much as you feel you need, read through it all and then put it to one side for a few days. If any ideas come to you in this time, write them down and put them with your information.
After a few days, think about your decision. Then, look through your information again and see if you still feel comfortable with your decision.
Other things to consider
It would be a lot simpler if all you had to think about was whether to continue studying or to get a job. But, there are other things that will affect what you do and your decisions will have an effect on other parts of your life.
For example, do you want to leave home, and if so, when? Getting a job might be the quickest route to leaving home but another way is to go to college or university, even if this means hanging on for a few more years.
What if you don't get the grades you want? Will you retake or will you put studying behind you (for now at least)? This is where it's important to have some flexibility in your planning for the future.
There are probably a lot of other things that you need to consider that are unique to you. Try making a list of things that you feel are important to consider.
Writing an action plan
Hopefully, by now you'll feel more confident about planning your future. You'll be aware of the issues to think about, the sources of information and ways of looking at your choices.
Of course, you still need to make sense of everything, so this is where writing an action plan comes in handy. It's a good way of getting your thoughts down on paper.
You can list your skills, note down the things that are important to you and the things you want to get out of your work or study. You can set out your short- and long-term goals and the steps you need to take to achieve them.
But remember, your action plan is only a framework - you need to review it regularly, adding new information and changing it if you need to.
The way you actually write your plan is up to you. After all, no one else has to see it. And what's long-term or short-term is up to you. If you want to plan only up to the next year, that's fine.
But make sure your plan includes all the information you feel is important to your future. It will be a handy reference tool when you discuss career options with careers/personal advisers or other professionals.


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Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace
248 S. Fourth St., Downtown
Web: dirtyfrankscolumbus.com
At Liz Lessner's newest hotspot, you'll find $3 dogs dressed up with everything from kimchee to tzatziki to beef brisket. Slide that decked-out wiener in with a kiddie-pleasure-center-reaching - and cheap - fried side dish, like onion rings, fried leeks, hand-cut fries or tater tots.
Runners-up: Wholly Joe's, Best of the Wurst


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"I've... never touched an ungloved hand before."
— The Nostalgia Critic describing Max and Roxanne, A Goofy Movie review
An Accidental Hand Hold occurs when Alice and Bob reach for the same item and find themselves holding hands instead. This can lead to Alice and Bob instantly letting go, pretending the incident never happened or letting go in disgust with A or B looking sad. Sometimes, Alice and Bob blush, knowing that they're holding hands, but don't act on their feelings. If they're lucky, Alice and Bob can turn to each other, before leaning in and kissing.
open/close all folders
Anime & Manga
- In Hayate the Combat Butler, this happens twice between Hayate and Hinagiku. Once when he is having dinner at her place and staying there for a few days and both are nervous (being alone as Yukiji is late) and try to make tea, winding up clasping hands over the tea pot. They both blush heavily and pause for a minute before Hayate jumps back and babbles about it being an "uncontrollable attraction". The second time happened when Hayate reached for the armrest between them and found himself holding Hina's hand instead at the movies on their first date.
Comic Books
- Peter Parker and Mary Jane do this in Ultimate Spider-Man.
Film — Animated
- In Chicken Little, Chicken Little and Abby are watching the Movie Within a Movie when a romantic part comes up. In the background, you hear movie Little and movie Abby exclaiming things like, "Oh, Ace!" and "Oh, Abby!", while Chicken Little and Abby slowly scoot closer to the tub of popcorn. Eventually, they hold hands, with Chicken Little looking very satisfied and Abby sighing in content.
- This happens between Wallace and Wendolene in Wallace & Gromit: A Close Shave.
- In Chicken Run, Rocky and Ginger are sitting together on the roof of a coop and their wings accidentally touch, which leads to awkward chuckling.
- On the "Pomp and Circumstance" segment of Fantasia 2000, Donald and Daisy, each of whom thought the other had died, reunite when they both reach for the same locket.
Film — Live-Action
- In the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Hermione grabbed Ron's hand in a moment of panic when Harry was approaching the hippogriff Buckbeak. They both realized what they were doing and Hermione quickly let go while shooting him a "don't say a word" look while Ron looked embarrassed and awkward.
- Li Mu Bai touched Shu Lien's hand when she was passing him a cup of tea in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The two of them throughout the movie had been having Can't Spit It Out issues with everyone encouraging them to act on their feelings. This trope was subverted where after Shu Lien set down the tea, Mu Bai reached for her hand and pressed it gently against his cheek.
- A gross but funny version occurs in the film The Dictator when the title character and his love interest find themselves accidentally holding hands... while said hands are inside of a pregnant woman during an attempted delivery.
Live Action TV
- In an early Doctor Who Story "The Tomb of the Cybermen (Part 1)", The Second Doctor and his companions, Jamie and Victoria make their way into a foreboding doorway. The Doctor and Jamie both reach back to take Victoria's hand, but instead grab each others by mistake.
- In the How I Met Your Mother episode "Oh Honey", Ted's passing a bottle of ketchup to Zoey but drops it when their hands touch, due to his previously unknown love for her.
- In The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Zack and Max accidentally hold hand when they reach for the same slice of cake.
- In The Mindy Project, Mindy and Danny accidentally grab hands during some turbulence on their return flight after a business trip. When the turbulence is over, Mindy lets go, but Danny grabs her hand back.
Web Comics
- In Red String, Miharu and Makoto brush hands while reaching into the same snack bowl. They then embark on a hot and heavy make-out session.
- Tellurion has this as the sign something might be going on between the guy and girl.
Western Animation
- In an episode of Regular Show, Rigby reaches inside the popcorn bowl and picks up Eileen's hand by mistake. Eileen smiles slightly, but Rigby quickly lets go of it and turns away from her.
- The Simpsons: When Homer gets the entire town together to form the world's largest human pyramid, it comes crashing down early because Jimbo notices that his and Kearney's hands are touching. They both instinctively pull away, causing the collapse.
- Samurai Jack and Ashi accidentally held hands while fighting the tigers on a large desert creature.


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Who Are You?
Do you ever feel like you're on the "sidelines" of life. Left out. Lonely. Growing up, I did. Even today, I feel excluded sometimes. Why is it that some people always seem to be the center of attention with no lack of friends? I think part of the answer lies in our personality type. But … Continue reading
Too Shiny
Once when my grandson Jayke was about four years old, he told my daughter the reason people couldn't see God was because He's too shiny. Of course Grandma thought that was such a cute thing for a little one to say. It was only recently I found a scripture that affirmed the truth to … Continue reading
Does Jesus Have Tattoos?
Hmm. Good question. Well, Isaiah 49: 16 says, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands." All kidding aside. I'd like to talk about one of my favorite scriptures. Romans 8: 38-39. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present not the future, … Continue reading
God's People
"The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble." Proverbs 4: 18-19. Hmm. Let's see. Would I rather walk in the full light of … Continue reading
Everybody Worries
What? You worry about things, too? Everyone worries—whether it's a young person starting out into the world, parents raising their children, professionals building their careers, the elderly concerned about health, you get the idea. I'm pretty sure writers are in there somewhere. Questions continually plague me. Maybe my manuscript is lacking and my … Continue reading
Count Your Blessings
"Can you meet me at Ryan's Café for lunch?" Lisa's request wasn't out of the ordinary, yet the strain in her voice tugged at Janice's mind while she drove to the café. Something was going on. Although she didn't have a clue what it might be, her heart pounded as she parked and crossed the … Continue reading
Temporary vs. Eternal
A passage of scripture stood out to me recently. 11Corinthians 4:18. "So we fix out eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." It made me think. In the passage, Paul is talking about our future hope when we die. … Continue reading
Elaine Stock Is Here To Tell Us About Her Debut Novel, "Always With You"
Today is a special day for me. I have often mentioned "e-meeting" guests on my blog, but this author I've not only met IN-PERSON, we've roomed together at conferences—twice! Why is that a big deal? Cause I snore!!! Needless to say, my current author guest is a wonderful person with a forgiving, tolerant and generous … Continue reading
Salvation Through Faith
In my book, What God Knew, Tammy asks Michael the difference between God and religion. Michael answers by saying that God is the Almighty Creator, Maker of the universe and mankind. Religion is man's feeble efforts at reaching God, trying to be good enough. But there's nothing man can do to reach God. Only … Continue reading
I have a feeling everyone has regrets about their past. I do, for sure. I regret that I didn't become a Christian until I was in my thirties. Before that time, I did some pretty stupid things and lived only for myself. There is nothing that will change those events or their repercussions. I … Continue reading


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When I was a kid, I used to do a lot of powerboating with my family. My Dad is a very gung-ho kinda guy; anything he thinks is worth doing is worth OVERdoing (which is sort of the unofficial family motto). When he got interested in boating, he didn't just buy a boat – he bought a boat and took every course the U.S. Power Squadron and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offered. Seamanship, Navigation, Meteorology – you name it. He took it. (He got interested in shrimping, and ended up with a commercial pilot's license to take people out for hire 50 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico, but that's a story for another time.) Anyway, once upon a spring vacation, we were cruising along the Intracoastal Waterway in South Louisiana. Dad had us on a boating cruise looking for the grave of the famous pirate/War of 1812 Hero Jean Lafitte – and the location of his secret hideout known as the Temple.
As a kid, the treasure hunting aspect of this fascinated me. The cruising down bayous at about 5 knots (5 nautical miles per hour for you landlubbers) interested me a lot less. Boring doesn't begin to describe. But I digress. [Read more…] about You can't get there from here.


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LG just won't give up on webOS. After implementing the platform for its range of smart TVs, LG is now looking at smartwatches running on the failed platform. And it might just work if the LG Audi smartwatch is any indication.
The Korean electronics giant has made smartwatches before, just last year the company released two Android Wear-powered wristwatches. But what makes the still-officially-nameless product different is its webOS software.
The smartwatch, which is merely a prototype at the moment, comes with a center button, which opens a list of apps with icons wrapped around the card-like interface. In that list of apps are a messaging app, music, calendar, a bunch of voice-enabled apps, email and an Audi app that allows you to control a paired vehicle over NFC. The app drawer also has a dialer, and while it is not known if the wristwatch is capable of making phone calls, The Verge confirms that it has cellular connectivity and the display does show cellular signal strength.
Made of stainless steel, with a leather strap, the display of the wearable has sapphire crystal coating. The watch is also water-resistant. Its design resembles the G Watch R design from last year, but it looks more premium and expensive. The publication also notes that all the apps seem well optimized for the circular screen and look beautiful. Inside the smartwatch sits a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor.
While the smartwatch's name is not confirmed yet, Android Central notes that it heard "LG W" and saw "LG-W120L" as the model name on it. There's no word on when we can expect this smartwatch in the market.


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- URL:http://<geocodeservice-url>/suggest
- Version Introduced:10.3
The suggest operation is performed on a geocode service resource. The result of this operation is a resource representing a list of suggested matches for the input text. This resource provides the matching text as well as a unique ID value, which links a suggestion to a specific place or address.
A geocode service must meet the following requirements to support the suggest operation:
- The address locator from which the geocode service was published must support suggestions. Only address locators created using ArcGIS 10.3 for Desktop and later can support suggestions. See the Create Address Locator geoprocessing tool help topic for more information.
- The geocode service must have the Suggest capability enabled. Only geocode services published using ArcGIS 10.3 for Server or later support the Suggest capability.
The suggest operation allows character-by-character auto-complete suggestions to be generated for user input in a client application. This capability facilitates the interactive search user experience by reducing the number of characters that need to be typed before a suggested match is obtained. A client application can provide a list of suggestions that is updated with each character typed by a user until the address they are looking for appears in the list.
You can provide arguments to the suggest operation as query parameters defined in the following parameters table:
Request parameters
Description: The input text provided by a user that is used by the suggest operation to generate a list of possible matches. This is a required parameter.
Example: text=starbu
Description: Defines an origin point location that is used with the distance parameter to sort suggested candidates based on their proximity to the location. The distance parameter specifies the radial distance from the location in meters. The priority of candidates within this radius is boosted relative to those outside the radius.
This is useful in mobile applications where a user wants to search for places in the vicinity of their current GPS location. It is also useful for web mapping applications where a user wants to find places within or near the map extent.
The location parameter can be specified without specifying a distance. If a distance is not specified, it defaults to 2000 meters.
The location can be represented with a basic comma-separated syntax (x,y), or as a JSON point object. If the spatial reference of the location coordinates is different than that of the geocode service, it must be defined in the JSON object. If the comma-separated syntax is used, or if the spatial reference is not included in the JSON object, the spatial reference of the location is assumed to be the same as that of the geocode service.
Example using basic syntax and WGS84: location=-117.196,34.056
Example using JSON (102100 is the WKID for the Web Mercator projection): location={"x": -13046165.572, "y": 4036389.847, "spatialReference": {"wkid": 102100}}
Description: Specifies the radius around the point defined in the location parameter to create an area that is used to boost the rank of suggested candidates so that candidates closest to the location are returned first. The distance value is in meters.
If the distance parameter is specified, the location parameter must be specified as well.
It is important to note that the location and distance parameters allow searches to extend beyond the specified search radius. They are not used to filter results, but rather to rank resulting candidates based on their distance from a location.
Example (search limit of two miles): distance=3218.69
This option was added at 10.4.
Description: A set of bounding box coordinates that limit the search area for suggestions to a specific region. This is especially useful for applications in which a user searches for places and addresses within the current map extent.
You can specify the spatial reference of the searchExtent coordinates, which is necessary if the map spatial reference is different than that of the geocoding service; otherwise, the spatial reference of the coordinates is assumed to be the same as that of the geocoding service.
The input can either be a comma-separated list of coordinates defining the bounding box or a JSON envelope object. The spatial reference of the bounding box coordinates can be included if an envelope object is used.
Example without spatial reference: searchExtent=-104,35.6,-94.32,41
Example with spatial reference: searchExtent= { "xmin": -13052769, "ymin": 3951172, "xmax": -13019630, "ymax": 3978490, "spatialReference": { "wkid": 3395 } }
This option was added at 10.4.
Description: The maximum number of suggestions returned by a suggest operation, up to the maximum number allowed by the service. The maximum suggestions value can be modified in the source address locator. If maxSuggestions is not included in the suggest request, the default value is 5.
Example: maxSuggestions=10
Description: The response format. The default response format is html.
Values: html | json
Example: f=json
The category parameter is only supported by geocode services published using StreetMap Premium locators.
Response properties
Description: The suggestion text, which can be used in a client application to populate a list of suggestions as a user types characters in a search text box.
Up to five text/magicKey pairs are returned in a suggest response.
It can also be included with the magicKey in a findAddressCandidates request to quickly retrieve a geocode candidate.
Description: A unique ID, which along with the text parameter, links a suggestion to a specific address or place.
Up to five text/magicKey pairs are returned in a suggest response.
After you make a suggest request, the typical workflow is to pass the text and magicKey values in a findAddressCandidates request, which retrieves the result in less time than passing in a findAddressCandidates value by itself.
Description: A Boolean property that indicates whether the suggestion item represents a collection of places, as opposed to a specific place.
The isCollection property is only supported by the ArcGIS Online World Geocoding Service. For all other services, isCollection=false is always returned by suggest.
Example usage
Get suggestions for disney:
JSON response syntax
{"suggestions" : [ { "text" : "<text1>", "magicKey" : "<magicKey1>", "isCollection" : <true | false> }, { "text" : "<text 2>", "magicKey" : "<magicKey 2>", "isCollection" : <true | false> } ] }
JSON response example
"suggestions": [
"text": "Disneyland, Anaheim, California, United States",
"magicKey": "GST7YMc0AM9UOsKtGTyVGST7YMc0AM9UOsE9HhBzOhcGEZhqART4IjTmDbA81gyQOcbtGMytaikZUDkAQNFF",
"isCollection": false
"text": "Disney Store, San Bernardino, California, United States",
"magicKey": "GST7YMc0AM9UOsKtGTyVGST7YMc0AM9UOsE9HhBzOhcGEZhqART4IjTmDbA81gyQOcbtGMytaikZQsoEU5oK",
"isCollection": false
"text": "Disney, Moreno Valley, California, United States",
"magicKey": "GST7YMc0AM9UOsKtGTyVGST7YMc0AM9UOsE9HhBzOhcGEZhqART4IjTmDbA81gyQOcbtGMytaikZQsoKU5x7",
"isCollection": false
"text": "Disney California Adventure, Anaheim, California, United States",
"magicKey": "GST7YMc0AM9UOsKtGTyVGST7YMc0AM9UOsE9HhBzOhcGEZhqART4IjTmDbA81gyQOcbtGMytaikZQsbKUDxK",
"isCollection": false
"text": "Disney CA Adventure-I-5 North Ent, Anaheim, California, United States",
"magicKey": "GST7YMc0AM9UOsKtGTyVGST7YMc0AM9UOsE9HhBzOhcGEZhqART4IjTmDbA81gyQOcbtGMytaikZQB8HUBoA",
"isCollection": false


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This is your weekly reminder that this is not normal.
- It is NOT NORMAL that the president has not responded to the president of Russia saying that the Russian election meddling was due to Russian Jews or other minorities. (Yes, I know the president's grandchildren are Jewish. I don't care, and apparently neither does he.)
- It is NOT NORMAL that the president is preparing to sue to prevent the porn star with whom he allegedly had an affair from giving an interview to 60 Minutes.
- It is NOT NORMAL that the Qataris have damaging information about the president's son-in-law/senior adviser that they are not giving to the special counsel investigating the administration for fear of damaging their relationship with the president.
- It is NOT NORMAL that a business connection of the president's son has met with senior officials for the National Security Council to push a plan that would open up business opportunities in Venezuela.
- It is NOT NORMAL that the secretary of education gave an interview in which she could not answer basic questions about, among other things, the public schools in her home state.
- It is NOT NORMAL for the president to speak at a campaign rally at which he makes numerous false statements, seems to struggle with basic grammar and diction, insults various journalists and members of Congress, and calls for the death penalty for drug dealers.
- The presidential Twitter feed continues to be NOT NORMAL. To be specific, this week it was NOT NORMAL for the president to
- post about the ratings of the Academy Awards;
- continue to complain that the Democrats are abandoning DACA (again, the only reason this is a problem is because the president issued an executive order making it one);
- tweet that "many people [want] the job" of Chief Economic Advisor, which is not, according to reporting, the case;
- accuse the "Failing New York Times" of printing a "false story," as well as arguing that his lawyers "have shown conclusively that there was no Collusion with Russia" (which is not true), referring again to "Crooked Hillary" (so we are back to zero weeks with out a Crooked Hillary reference), and personally attack the journalist who wrote the story, saying that she "is not given access" even though he is known to often call her personally;
- argue that the "Fake News Media" fails to mention Republican wins in special elections;
- argue that the Democrats "slow walked" many nominations, when in fact he has not made nominations for many positions; and
- complain that political pundits are not giving him enough credit when they say his approval ratings are "somewhat low."


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GCUF is the university created in the 'revolutionary' period of general retired Pervaiz Musharaf. It is one of the govt. colleges which were converted to universities in bulk after the 'revolution' back in 2000. It was given the status of university in 2001 and since then this newly born university is in problems.
The biggest of all is the attitude of the administration and students of this university. The administration of the university always tries to create monopoly. They pull each other down to progress and they do not want to bear anyone who is 'outsider'. Here outsider means someone appointed as vice chancellor from an other city/university. The administration is too corrupt, monopolist and seeking for their own benefit from the official funds of the university. Current vice chancellor is on his designation because he has a link with the current governor of Punjab Mr. Salam Taseer, otherwise this person is not of worth to even be considered as a dean of university. Far more superior and having high impact factor officials who can run the university far better are waiting outside to be considered for this post, but the governor just wrote a line on the appointment letter of this vice chancellor 'till November 2010', so he is enjoying this job politically. There are two lobbies in the university, pro-vc and against-vc. And the pro-vc lobby is obviously dominant, always suppressing others and always seeking for their own benefit. The corruption of the administration and illegal usage of the funds let the university at a state that sometimes it does not have funds to pay for daily expenses of the departments e.g. the stationary expenses. There are four blocks in the university, 1 is funded by a former student and it was the very first constructed portion of the newly born university, a new block is constructed by govt. funds and other two are left unreconstructed, the structure is complete but for the furnishing university has not funds and so the case with government which also does not have any funds. Like other universities, it has the problem of political parties. After the rehabilitation of 'democracy' various sub-organizations of parties like PML-N and PPP started showing their power on the walls of university. Now they have groupings within themselves, they quarrel with each other, they break the rules of university but no one can stop them because of their strong political back hand. At last the teaching system of university is too week, their is a reputation of this university in the marked as a time-pass university: people say that it is the best place in Faisalabad where you may go and have a date with your partner. This negative image is being 'positivised' by banning 'couples' and even mixed groups of students sitting in university, they are fined and warned but again the ones with political back hand are exempted. But there are no serious efforts made to create a study oriented environment.
The current problem is related to study. We are always facing new marking schemes, GPA rules, passing criteria and soforth. Same happened last weak when the passing and marking criteria was changed and students showed their anger. The next day a notification was distributed telling that the previous criteria is restored but again there were hidden problems. There was a distinction made in the criteria for morning and evening (which are studying on self finance basis) students. So the rebels created violence, they lambasted the security guards and eventually police was called. After the inner violation they marched towards district council and raised slogans for the removal of current VC. The university remained close last 2 days of previous weak and the signs are still not positive. It looks that this violence would continue. A video is shared here to let you have an insight of the current situation. More can be seen here.


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|Deviant Art
Commission Information [CLOSED] NOTICE TO ANYONE CONSIDERING COMMISSIONING ME IN THE FUTURE
Commission QueueCommission Information
I am a self-published science fiction author, freelance digital artist, and avid gamer living in rural Ontario, Canada. The Calypsis Project is my debut novel and the first in a series of the same name. When I'm not writing about space lizards and future soldiers, you can be sure to find me hunched over a tablet working on commissions or personal artwork.
I'm also a giant nerd who will descend into incoherent squealing while talking about anything Halo related. Especially Sangheili.
*casually rewrites journal entry because the old one felt kinda whiny reading it back*
Well. That year certainly went by fast, didn't it?
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't glad for it, though. While I won't resent 2017 as I have the past few years, it was still a tough year to get through. My financial situation is no better than it was (in fact, it's worse). I'm mentally and physically exhausted 90% of the time, and I rarely have the energy to even socialize these days.
That said, I did accomplish quite a few things in 2017, so I'd like to focus on that.
And with any luck, 2018 will bring more positive changes. It's already looking promising!
My mom, my sister, and I are hoping to go into business together this summer. I'll share more on that later, when the whole thing is a little more set in stone. Right now we're just waiting to see if we get approved for a business loan -- because if we don't, it isn't happening.
Oh! Speaking of next summer, here's a bit of exciting news: I'm gonna be an aunt come June! I mean, technically I'm already an aunt. I'm a half-aunt to my half-sisters' kids. BUT THIS IS DIFFERENT. THIS IS MY TWIN SISTER'S KID WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE. And I'm gonna make it my mission to be the best aunt and introduce this little nugget to all the nerdy shit my sister and I have consumed over the years (though, I'm sure she'll do a damn fine job of that herself. I'm just going to add to the pile).
So yeah, all in all, it's shaping up to be a good year! I hope it will be for you guys as well. <3


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Gorgeous townhome with large, private courtyard plumbed for gas grill. Located in HPISD & on the Katy Trail! This unit has beautiful hardwoods, lots of windows & open floor plan. The large Kitchen with stainless appliances, including Bertazzoni range, exotic granite counters, opens to the Living & Dining rooms creating a wonderful family & entertaining area. The spacious Master suite has a spa-like bath with read more separate shower & free standing tub. Designer finish out & lighting complete this unique home! ***HALF MONTH FREE RENT WITH 31 DAY MOVE IN! FULL MONTH FREE RENT WITH 2 YEAR LEASE & 31 DAY MOVE IN! ASK FOR DETAILS!
This listing is courtesy of the listing agent Trina Rothwell (#0546737), with the office Dave Perry Miller Real Estate.


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Sunday Gathering about love.
Love is extolled as the greatest power in life, and yet we also know it is a tremendous source of pain. How can we put these realities together and live fully and lovingly.
Love as a power can go anywhere. It isn't sentimental. It doesn't have to be pretty, yet it doesn't deny pain.
- Sharon Salzberg


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We have special expertise in handling mass actions, including complex product cases. We understand the regulatory implications for our clients, and we assist with any associated regulatory inquiries or matters.
We regularly defend broker-dealers, investment advisers and their associated persons in investigations and enforcement actions by the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, other federal regulators, and state regulators, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and registered securities exchanges. We conduct internal investigations and assist securities firms in in responding to regulatory examinations and inquiries.
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text:
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My grandfather was very involved with the May Day celebrations in New Westminster from the early 1930s until the mid-sixties. The list of videos on the right are in chronological order and can be viewed by clicking on the year you wish to see, Windows Media player is required. 1939 was a very special year with the King and Queen visiting Canada and New Westminster. The film is in color and has some amazing images.
These videos were transferred from 16 mm film to a computer format, then edited into streaming videos complete with period music and posted on the Internet. I use a system called Typepad for the web pages and Screencast or YouTube to deliver the videos.
There are additional videos at two related sites, click here for more recent May Day films or click here for more vintage historic films.
If you have any questions about this or any media project please call Nick Springate at 604 802-2436 or visit www.GoSee.TV


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Lost Vegas Mobile Slot Review
Lost Vegas is a 5 reel, 243 ways to win slot from Microgaming – the Video Slot carries a dark theme throughout, and is placed suitably in Las Vegas after a Zombie apocalypse.
You'll be able to play in either Survivor or Zombie mode – which you pick right at the beginning – and the mode you choose, determines which Free Spins feature you play.
Playable on desktop, mobile and tablet devices from 30p to £45 per spin, the game is defined in Las Vegas locations that were recognisable following a Zombie apocalypse, and in fairness to Microgaming, they've really outdone themselves with the graphics here: eerie, realistic, and down-right creepy, Lost Vegas is definitely one of Microgaming's better slots yet, and already, players around the world are singing its praise!
Game Features
Both Survivor and Zombie modes feature two random bonuses, and each of these are activated randomly after a non-winning spin.
Firstly, you've got the Zombie Fist of Cash bonus, which is as easy as it sounds – the Zombie's fist appears on screen to reward you with a cash prize.
The second bonus is the Blackout Bonus where the reels are scanned - all the high-value symbols on the screen award a random cash prize, with traditional playing card symbols, including the likes of 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace unfortunately awarding nothing.
The main free spins round is triggered by landing 3 or more risk scatters. This then activates the free spins feature, giving you the chance to win up to 50 free spins!
Wild reels, sticky wilds, and more await you during the free spins, and they're great fun, so definitely consider checking Lost Vegas out if you want a new, fun, and exciting Video Slot Game to play!
Mobile Play
Thankfully, as with most of Microgaming's recent Video Slot's, Lost Vegas is available to enjoy on desktop computers and laptops, AND mobile phones and tablets.
All sorts of device will run the game just fine, and all you need is a steady Internet connection, and you'll be good to go!
Note that if you're playing from an iOS device (Apple), you'll want to use the Safari browser as Lost Vegas is optimized for the default browser; Chrome and Firefox will run the game, but the experience will be nowhere near as good.
Pros Lost Vegas is great fun, and with two playing choices, it's always a different gaming experience!
Cons Hard to find fault here – Microgaming have outdone themselves!


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Russian scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, one of the founding fathers of astronautics, maintained that the first manned space flight would take place no earlier than 2017. As he addressed the festive May 1 procession in Moscow's Red Square in 1935 with a message of greeting in a live broadcast, Tsiolkovsky said:
"In the Soviet Union we have many young flight enthusiasts – children who are fond of making flying models and building gliders and young people flying airplanes. There are tens of thousands of them in our country. They fuel my boldest hopes. They will help my discoveries materialize and train talented builders of the first interplanetary vehicle."
A remarkable prophecy it was. Yuri Gagarin, who at that moment was a little more than twelve months old, would begin his aviation career as an amateur maker of aircraft models. Later, he would join an air club, then become a cadet at a school of military pilots, and eventually start flying fighter-planes… Tsiolkovsky was wrong only in one respect. The first manned space flight followed 56 years earlier than he had anticipated.
Gagarin – the man who ushered in the space era – is in focus of this special feature by TASS.
"The Russian troika is a legend, but will it be able to take you into outer space at least in 100 years from now?" A question like that is said to have been addressed to the Soviet delegation at a news conference of the International Astronautical Federation's congress in Copenhagen in 1954.
In the meantime the Soviet Union was already making plans for the construction of the Baikonur space site in Kazakhstan. In February 1955, the Defense Ministry made a decision to create a test site for experiments with space rocket technologies. Two years later the world's first-ever inter-continental ballistic rocket R-7 was launched successfully there.
From that moment on the events gained momentum with every passing day.
Each time I hear on the radio or read in the dailies about newly launched satellites, my heart jumps. So strong is my wish to fly. Don't you have a chance to meet my request?
The United States, too, was hurrying with preparations for the first manned orbital mission.
In October 1959 seven astronauts who at the moment were in the process of training for the first manned space program Mercury wrote a memorandum with a proposal for establishing contact with their Soviet counterparts, NASA's chief historian William Burry told TASS. The memo was signed by the members of the first space team: Scott Carpenter, Leroy Cooper, John Glenn, Virgil Grissom, Walter Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton. The reasons behind their idea were not altruistic at all, but purely pragmatic ones: at meetings with Soviet counterparts they might obtain valuable information about the Soviet space program.
The memo's signatories argued that the United States would hardly have anything to lose, because almost all details of the project Murcury were already well-known and received detailed media coverage. On the other hand, they said, the Russian space program was classified and any information they might obtain would be dramatically new.
That initiative met with no support from NASA or the White House. The Soviet Union, too, was unlikely to pull the veil of secrecy from anything that concerned preparations for putting a man in space. Even those selected for the first group of cosmonauts realized what they were being trained for only after a long while.
Nobody had the slightest idea what it was all about. Nobody was telling us in those days there will be a special team, a team of cosmonauts Boris Volynov A member of the first team of cosmonauts
In the spring of 1960 twenty trainees were put on the list of the first team of cosmonauts. And in the summer of the same year six candidates for the first flight were selected: Yuri Gagarin, German Titov, Andriyan Nikolayev, Pavel Popovich, Grigory Nelyubov and Valery Bykovsky.
The cosmonauts were to undergo a series of tests to prove they were apt for a still non-existent profession.
It is not romantics for the sake of romantics that should provide the groundwork for a final decision when the selection of the first Soviet cosmonauts is in progress. Space rejects such people. Patriotism, bravery, modesty, ability to instantly make sound decisions, willpower of iron, knowledge and love towards other people – these should be the basic traits of character.
Sergey Korolyov The founder of the Soviet space program
Before putting a man in space it was essential to see how the human body reacts to isolation, pressure fluctuations, anoxemia (lack of oxygen in blood), high temperatures (up to 70 degrees Celcius), zero gravity and high-G effects. Also, all candidates were to possess such qualities as the ability to overcome fear, work under pressure and retain the highest degree of concentration.
The experts and examiners had to take into account a variety of factors: pace of work, emotionality, nature of mistakes, and the degree of self-criticism. Great importance was attached to such quality as temperament. For instance, it was maintained that melancholic types were no good for space missions. Gagarin was identified as a sanguine.
"Response to 'newly-introduced' factors (zero gravity, prolonged presence in the isolation chamber, parachute jumps and other effects) was invariably pro-active: quick orientation in the new environment and self-possession in various unexpected situations are noteworthy… Sense of humor and good-naturedness are one of the distinguishing character features."
It is hard to decide who is to be ordered to face almost imminent death, but it is as hard to decide who of the two or three equally worthy candidates is to be made a world celebrity, destined to go down forever in the history of humanity.
Nikolai Kamanin The head of the first Soviet cosmonauts' training program
Requirements for space travel hopefuls
Under the Soviet government's resolution of 1959 the first cosmonauts were to be selected from the contingent of fighter pilots with long flight records.
By the moment Gagarin started training for a space mission he had 230 hours in flight to his credit.
All candidates were men, no taller than 175 centimeters and having a body mass of 70-72 kilograms. The requirement stemmed from the room available within the re-entry capsule of the spacecraft Vostok.
Age – no more than 30 years.
Flawless health.
All those with chronic diseases or traces of surgeries were rejected.
In 2012, the selection for vacancies in the team of cosmonauts was for the first time made open to all applicants.
Both men and women were free to apply.
Requirements: height from 150 cm to 190 cm, body mass: from 50 kg to 90 kg.
Age: under 33.
As before, the applicants should have no chronic diseases.
Traces of past surgeries are no longer a hindrance, provided post-operation rehabilitation is complete.
Some new requirements, including fluent English, have been added to the list.
On April 8, Yuri Gagarin was appointed the main pilot.
The Vostok spacecraft blasted off from the Baikonur space site at 09:07 Moscow time on April 12.
The flight lasted one hundred and eight minutes. The spacecraft orbited the Earth once.
The Earth was enveloped in a gentle, bluish aureole. The farther away from the surface, the darker it grew, changing shades to turquoise, dark blue, violet and eventually coal-black. With great thrill I was eyeing that new world, looking so unusual to me, trying to take a good look at and memorize everything. Through the portholes I saw amazingly bright, cold-looking stars. They were very far, incredibly far away; yet from the Vostok's orbit they appeared to be larger than from the Earth. Yuri Gagarin
Malfunctioning of the braking system during re-entry caused the descent capsule land not in the designated area, but in the Saratov Region, near the village of Smelovka. The first two people Gagarin saw after the landing were the wife of a local forest ranger and her grand-daughter.
At 10:02 Moscow time TASS wired the report of the first manned space flight. Three versions of the report had been prepared in advance: one was to be used in case of the cosmonaut's death; the other would report an emergency and crash landing, and the third declaring the Soviet Union's success. It was the latter version that was circulated around the world one hour after blastoff.
At the last moment then Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev ordered urgent promotion of Senior Lieutenant Yuri Gagarin to Major. The strictly embargoed package of documents that had been brought to the TASS Photo Service in advance contained a photo of Gagarin wearing a Senior Lieutenant's uniform. In the meantime the text of the report referred to him as an Air Force Major.
Editor Klavdia Vozyanova approached a Soviet Army Major she met on the street near the office of the TASS Photo Service and asked him for help, if he had a minute to spare, of course. The passer-by agreed. The worst problem was with the insignia - the man served in the artillery. The photo retouchers did their job well. The world saw a photo of Gagarin wearing a Major's uniform.
On the same day, April 12, the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party and the Soviet government issued a message to the world. In part, it said:
"The Soviet Union was the first to have launched an inter-continental ballistic missile, to put a satellite in space, to send a space probe to the Moon, to create the first artificial satellite of the Sun and to launch a space probe towards Venus … The triumphant flight of a Soviet man in a spaceship around the Earth crowns our achievements in space exploration."
The working day was "hopelessly ruined". It turned into a holiday. The people looked euphoric. Everyone one could hear the so far unfamiliar name – Yuri Gagarin – pronounced everywhere again and again. Lev Mazurov Space engineer
Two days after, on April 14, the whole nation was honoring the first man in space. It was Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev's personal initiative. The main gala ceremony was in Moscow's Red Square.
Gagarin's flight was a world sensation. All mass media around the world gave it front-page coverage and discussed it at length in editorials and comments. And national radio stations were broadcasting reports about the first manned space flight non-stop.
BBC: Soviets win space race
Evening Gazette: Greatest feat of science in man's history
UPI: News that a Russian had become the first man in space touched off scenes of wild celebrations throughout Moscow today
TIME: Triumphant music blared across the land. Russia's radios saluted the morning with the slow, stirring beat of the patriotic song, How Spacious Is My Country. Then came the simple announcement that shattered forever man's ancient isolation on Earth: "The world's first spaceship, Vostok [East], with a man on board, has been launched on April 12 in the Soviet Union on a round-the-world orbit."
NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE: Russia fires first astronaut into space; Soviet feat wins praise of East, West.
NEW YORK TIMES: Soviet orbits and returns man; Earth seen through porthole in flight lasting 108 minutes. Yuri Gagarin, a Major cited by Krushchev as 'immortal'.
JOURNAL AMERICAN: Reds orbit man, bring him back alive.
THE EL PASO TIMES: We are behind in space race, President concedes
DAILY MIRROR: A fresh-faced 27-year-old Russian family man Yuri Gagarin… Who cannot fail to be stirred by this mighty achievement? Today the Mirror salutes the Russians.
THE HUNTSVILLE TIMES: Man enters space. Soviet officer orbits globe in 5-ton ship. Praise is heaped on Major Gagarin.
EVENING GAZETTE: Air Force Major does a Columbus feat, then reports: I have no injuries or bruises. Greatest feat of science in man's history.
NASA asked the international air sports federation FAI not to recognize Gagarin's record, because, it argued the Soviet designers had not yet devised a way of and mechanism of soft and safe landing of the descent capsule, so ten minutes before the capsule touched the ground had Gagarin ejected himself and opened a parachute. NASA argued that Gagarin should be considered as a parachute jumper, and not as a cosmonaut.
US experts referred to FAI rules requiring the cosmonaut's landing inside the capsule. The Soviet Union, too, was aware that technically the flight did not match the FAI rules well enough, so the details of Gagarin's landing were kept quiet about for another ten years, till 1971.
But even after the official publication of this information NASA's request remained unsustained. The first manned space flight was recognized as the Soviet Union's indisputable achievement.
I want to see our country mobilized to a wartime basis, because we are at war. I want to see our schedules cut in half. I want to see what NASA says it is going to do in ten years done in five. And I want to see some first coming out of NASA, such as the landing on the Moon. Victor Anfuso Member of the US Congress House of Representatives from New York:
US astronauts congratulated their Soviet counterparts despite their deep feeling of disappointment and continued preparations for their own space mission, as Alan Shephard was due to make a suborbital flight on May 5, 1961.
US President John Kennedy congratulated Soviet scientists and engineers upon their outstanding achievements and voiced the hope for constructive cooperation in joint space exploration.
"The exploration of our solar system is an ambition which we and all mankind share with the Soviet Union, and this is an important step toward that goal," he said.
When asked at a news conference later about his attitude to the United States' lagging behind in the space race, Kennedy replied in these words: "As I said in my State of the Union address, the news will be worse before it is better, and it will be some time before we catch up…"
And on May 25, 1961 Kennedy told Congress that the United States should send a team of astronauts to the Moon before the end of the decade.
Alongside some details of Gagarin's historical flight the Soviet leadership's message contained a call for peace and an end to the arms race.
During a two-day international tour, which is sometimes referred to as the Peace Mission, Gagarin visited more than a dozen countries, from Czechoslovakia to Japan, where he was received at the highest level.
For instance, his trip to Great Britain at the invitation of the Foundry Workers' Union resulted in a meeting with the Queen:
I had breakfast in Buckingham palace. Imagine! The Queen received me well. She was very friendly and kind. We discussed the weather, space and impressions. With the Prince we talked about air pilots, flights and new aircraft… I presented the Queen with a book. She looked very glad to have it. And she presented me with a family photograph in return. Yuri Gagarin
Contemporaries were curious how Gagarin managed to cope with so many duties. He was a member of the USSR Supreme Soviet (national legislature), President of the USSR-Cuba Friendship Society, and a representative of many commissions. Also, he managed to keep training for flights, instruct other crews, attend business conferences at design bureaus, visit industrial plants, study and spend time with the family.
"I often saw light in the windows of his apartment well after midnight. This answers all questions," cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov said in his memoirs.
Gagarin was invariably in the limelight. His fans were literally hunting for his autographs. Newly-born babies, streets, parks, cities and even craters on the Moon were named in his honor. Poems were devoted to him:
It was news of the age,
Heed the clear behest
And remember the day,
When that man, slightly tired, returned from his quest.
Goal achieved
Amid bright constellations!
(Mikhail Vladimov)
I recall one day when Gagarin went to the office of a district municipality in Moscow. He'd just learned that his first school teacher had long moved to Moscow but had to live in a semi-basement room. He persuaded the local authorities to help the woman move to new decent housing. And such cases were many. Quite often he welcomed guests from his native Smolensk Region. He did his utmost to extend a helping hand those who came to him with their grievances and to take care of his native region, his Smaller Motherland. He visited lonely old people and neighbors. He used his authority to persuade decision-makers to provide new machinery for farm cooperatives. In a word, I've never met people like Gagarin my whole life! Nikolai Mitrokhin Gagarin's personal chauffeur
Gagarin was rather calm about his publicity.
"I've made many mistakes, just as all other people. I have my own weaknesses, too. It's wrong to idealize anyone. Take a person for what he is in real life. Sometimes I even have a rather uneasy feeling. People may think that I'm perfect, that I'm always a good boy, so disgustingly nice," he once wrote down in his diary.
Gagarin was very anxious about not seeing his name on the lists of future space crews. The Soviet leadership was reluctant to put at risk a man who was the symbol of victory in the space race.
In the end, the worst happened, though. On March 27, 1968 Gagarin died in an air crash during a training flight.
After that his wife was given the letter her husband had written back in 1961, two days before his historical space voyage:
"I have the full trust in our technology. But sometimes a person may stumble on a flat floor and break one's neck. If something happens, don't be dead with grief. Take care of our girls. Bring them up to be decent people, not work-shy loafers. Arrange your own life the way you'll feel fit… This letter of mine is looks somewhat sad, doesn't it? I do hope you'll never see it…"
Gagarin was the first-ever "ordinary" citizen of the Soviet Union who was officially mourned for across the nation. Before, only deceased senior officials were granted such honors.
Gagarin was the founding father of the cosmonaut's profession. He established the "tradition." He proved that it was possible to live and work in space. These days, when other countries' astronauts are getting ready for a mission, each time it turns out that they owe their dream of space flights to Gagarin. Aleksey Leonov
In August 1968, Gagarin was to address the UN Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space with a report on cosmonauts' professional activity. Death intervened. Aleksey Leonov took Gagarin's place to represent the Soviet Union. The range of topics discussed included the outlook for space exploration, future manned flights, exploration of the Moon and many other ambitious ideas. Over the past 55 years many dreams have materialized: the first spacewalk, the first man on the Moon, prolonged space missions and launches of probes towards other planets.
By 2016, hundreds of people have been in space.
Three countries (Russia, the United States and China) have their own capabilities to accomplish manned space missions.
The two most important achievements are the maturation of space from a two-nation "race," to an international collaboration involving more than 100 countries; and the current evolution of the global space enterprise to include private investment and commercial space enterprise on a significant industrial scale. Elliot Pulham Chief Executive Officer, Space Foundation.
Space flights have begun to be looked at as something usual, as a routine affair. Some business people have already predicted the early advent of a new era of affordable "space tourism."
However, any trip in space remains a highly risky affair. Over the 55 years since Gagarin's flight the Soviet Union lost four cosmonauts, the United States, 16 astronauts, and Israel, one. The effects of zero gravity and of space radiation on the human body remain largely unclear.
Yet humanity will go ahead with its quest for new discoveries and for conquering outer space. As some researchers indicate, humanity's underlying motives are not confined to scientists' curiosity.
"Humanity's future is in peril thanks to so-called advancements in science and technology," claims theoretical physicist, Professor Stephen Hawking. He points to "nuclear war, global warming, and genetically-modified viruses" as deadly threats to our existence.
"Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year might be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next thousand or ten thousand years," he warns. "Our only chance of long-term survival is not to remain lurking on planet Earth, but to spread out into space."
"By that time we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race," says Hawking.
And Elliot Pulham, the CEO of Space Foundation, a non-governmental organization in the United States, which popularizes space research, believes the focus must be on the creation of a permanent base on the Moon. His colleague, NASA's former astronaut Leroy Chiao believes that "a Moon base is a logical next step to develop and test hardware and operations, to push towards Mars."
In the meantime, a Russian-European Mission called ExoMars-2016 is on the way towards the Red Planet. It is not a manned mission, but thoughts of developing manned space flights keep visiting scientists' inquisitive minds.
Working together, we can advance knowledge of our planet, our solar system, our sun, and our universe – for all of humanity. Sending human beings to Mars will require all hands on deck – government, industry, academic and international partners and citizen scientists; we need everybody. Stephanie Schierholz Spokesperson for the NASA Administrator
Prepared by: Kristina Nedkova, Aurika Yatsko, Ivan Lebedev, Dmitry Strugovets, Alexey Peslyak, Alexey Payevsky, Irina Yakutenko, Inna Klimachyova


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The British model and renowned photography have paired up in Cara Delevingne by Terry Richardson, which sees the eccentric figures getting a little goofy in front of the camera. The shoot helps to capture the young model's carefree approach in front of the camera and Richardson does his usual thing by aiding the session with his enthusiastic attitude.
Richardson is known the world over for his candid photo shoots with some of the most famous figures from various countries across the globe. Delevingne is the It girl of the moment because of her fast rise to fame through her work with fashion designers Burberry and Chanel, not to mention being named British Fashion Awards 2012 Model of the Year.
There's a lot of energy in this shoot and it definitely helps to make us anticipate what we're going to see next from Delevigne and Richardson, respectively.
Gleeful It-Girl Photoshoots
More Stats +/-
Moody Backyard Editorials
Smirking Cosmetic Close-Ups
Elegant Hippie Editorials
Playful Bedroom Teasers
Jovial Neighborhood Editorials
Cara Delevingne by Terry Richardson is Pretty, Playful and Fun
- By: Michael HemsworthMar 22, 2013
References: terrysdiary & eclectic-society
References: terrysdiary & eclectic-society