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Hub City Elite Academy | September 27th
Event Description
|September 27th
Grades: 6th - 8th
Registration: 2:30pm - 3:00pm
Camp: 3:00pm - 5:00pm
Location: NSU Football Practice Field
Cost: $40
This will be a series of consecutive Sunday's for your Young athlete to come and work on improving their football position specific skills with the help of college coaching to help them get a jump on the competition.
What to bring: Cleats or tennis shoes, proper clothing for the weather, pads are optional for this camp
Sanford Health has recommended that each participant be screened daily upon arrival to the respective facility. Screening will be done by infrared thermometer by coaching staff members. Campers will be asked the following 2 questions upon registration: Have you been diagnosed with COVID-19, and have you been in close contact with anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19? All camp materials will encourage campers, staff, campers, and their families about when they should stay home and when they can return to camp. Each registration form will include the following language:
- IF you are sick or have recently had a close contact with a person with COVID-19 please stay home.
- Staff members, campers and their families will be required to stay home if they have tested positive for or are showing COVID-19 symptoms.
Parents/Guardians during camps
- It is not recommended that parents stay in the facility during camp. After the parent/guardian drops off and assists with child check-in, parents should leave the facility.
- IF the parent or guardian feels that they must be present in the facility for the duration of the camp, they will be encouraged to wear a mask at all times and practice social distancing at the facility.
Open to any and all entrants; limited only by number, age, grade level, and / or gender.


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8 Weeks to DIY Holiday Décor: Week 4 – Kitchen & Dining Room
November 3rd, 2018 • Contributor: Tiffany Isbell, Team Cricut
Oh, it's time for the next stop of our holiday preparation – let's get our kitchen and dining rooms ready for their debut!
To start at the beginning, check this out: Mantel Collection. As usual, let's jump into the supplies list. Order the supplies you need and get an extra discount with our special holiday promo code: 8WEEKDIY for an additional 10% off all your materials (excludes Cricut machines & Cricut Access and needs a $50 minimum purchase).
You should have left over material from the past few weeks to use for some of the projects this week too! Here are the Cricut supplies you will need:
- Everyday Iron-0n, Black/Red/White
- Patterned Iron-on, Rustic Lodge
- Glitter Iron-on, Sangria Sampler
- Permanent Premium Vinyl, Frosted
- Removable Premium Vinyl, Patterned Rustic Lodge
- Permanent Premium Vinyl, Black/Forest Green/Red/Silver
- Party Foil, White/Red/Gold/Silver
- Glitter Vinyl, Green
- Adhesive Foil, Red
- Christmas Delivery Fat Quarters (coming soon to Cricut.com!)
- Fusible Fabric, Riley Blake's High Adventure
Here are the other supplies you will also need. These are all essentially bases for you to decorate so feel free to find styles that fit your taste:
- (1) forest green tablecloth
- (6) wine glasses
- (1) glass pitcher
- (1) gold ice bucket
- (6) gold chargers
- (1) khaki table runner
- (2) plaid green and white dish towels
- (2) red and white houndstooth dish towels
- (4) white ceramic mugs
We're using the same color palette – white/cream, grey, forest green, black, and a few scattered pops of red. You'll see the same imagery too – vintage trucks and pine cones.
Let a warm, cozy drink fill you up with a great set of mugs that you can customize with either your last initial monogram or your family's first initials! Simply slice out the letter from the truck image in Design Space, and you're all set!
Pinecones are on both the glasses as well as a dainty pitcher. This is something you can easily break out for an evening with friends without having to dress up an entire tablescape! And it still fits into your house holiday theme.
Once again, the layering on the ice bucket as well as the reversible table runner is the key piece to getting the truck right. I forgot this in my excitement and energy (and love of a fast craft!) and ended up ironing on over my steering wheel piece of the truck. The layering order is really important so head over to our instructions in this post.
The best part about this reversible table runner is that we snuck in a little Thanksgiving too so you can instantly go from one holiday to the next while you get out all the rest of your décor later!
The chargers are also something that you can use interchangeably! We used the removable vinyl so you could keep the pinecone in place and change out the phrase. Go from 'Give Thanks' to 'Peace on Earth' in just a few minutes.
Confetti can either be a blessing or a curse. We actually cut ours larger so that it could be sprinkled as decoration on your empty table without having to keep a full tablescape up when no one's around.
For easy kitchen garb, we made 3 different hand towel looks to match different pieces of the overall décor scheme. That way, you can have a new feel each week – from trucks to trees to mailboxes for Santa!
Whew! I can't believe we're halfway through our series. Coming down the home stretch to Holiday Season!
Up Next Week: Everywhere Else Around The House
12 thoughts on "8 Weeks to DIY Holiday Décor: Week 4 – Kitchen & Dining Room"
Pingback: 8 Weeks to DIY Holiday Décor: Week 3 – A Custom Holiday Tree | Cricut
Maybe we missed it, but it looks like it's been two weeks and there haven't been any updates. If I missed them, will you please send me the link?
Will the vinyl on the mug come off when washing? Also would you recomend hand washing?
Hi. If you use permanent vinyl and handwash your mug, it should have lasting results.
What happened to the last 4 weeks of the 8 week series?
Mike Gutting, I am sure they are coming our way over the next 4 weeks! I hope so!!!
Hi. You can see Week 5 now here: https://inspiration.cricut.com/8-weeks-to-diy-holiday-decor-week-5-around-the-house/
Yes! I've been looking every couple of days since Nov 10 for the rest of the series.
Can the cricut maker.cut out different circles and squares on the same page even if you don't do it at the same time. I guess what I am asking can you tell it where you want the circle to be cut out on a page that has been used before.
When you go to cut it. you can move the designs around on the mat preview, so you could move it to be on an uncut spot on such a page.
Does the official website sell machines on payments? I saw a few years ago they did but I cannot find info on it now. Please give me details
Hi. You can get our machine by payments on HSN and QVC.

subset: commoncrawl


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Andy was under tremendous stress. He was not in his comfortable bootstrap business anymore.
In spite of the 24th month into his online startup, the tunnel was long and the light was nowhere in sight. His HR Manager told him that the company had problems paying the salaries of the 30 full-time programmers under his payroll. Just 6 months ago, Andy had no choice but to fire his close friend who was helping his company as a freelancer.
Things were very much different two years ago. Andy and his partners had just secured a $ 400,000 fund from a Japanese company that invests in internet businesses. Everything was falling into place as planned. A top executive from the same Japanese VC even resigned from the company to form a partnership with Andy in this new internet startup.
Both Andy and his Japanese partner are experienced, online entrepreneurs. Andy happens to be one of the pioneers in internet business that popularized the use of SEM (Search Engine Marketing) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) in affiliate marketing in Singapore. Who would expect things to go wrong even when these two titans were to join forces in the app business? I mean, these guys eat, sleep and breathe internet, for God's sake!
The experience left a deep scar in the way Andy views entrepreneurship. Prior to getting those Japanese funds, Andy was as carefree (I could use "happy") as a lark. He answered to no one, except, maybe to his wife. He did everything as he deemed fit. Prior to dabbling in the internet business, he runs a successful fish food business as a sole proprietor. He still does. He needn't dilute himself for public scrutiny, unlike after taking money from others.
Look here. I did not write the story above to scare you away from getting fundings. Neither am I trying to vouch for the way of a bootstrap business. My aim is for you to be more informed before jumping head over heels in love with the first suitor that appears. Read more about the different kind of funds before you proceed further.
Your business should continue in a bootstrap mode if …
Now, not all businesses need to go global. Before Andy started his new venture into the mobile app business, he owned a fish food business. He started the fish food business after he made a windfall from the sales of an apartment that he bought by sheer good luck. There weren't any investors involved in the business.
The husband and wife partnership was on a roll. Their new business coincided with the popularity of a new breed of ornamental fish that skyrocketed among the Chinese communities around the world. Andy's business acumen enabled his new startup to capitalize on the trend. Their growth was enormous. Dealers from Indonesia, Singapore, and other South East Asia countries cam knocking on his door for distributorship rights.
His fish food business continued to flourish. Andy leads a carefree life for some good years before he became restless. Well, he gets his wishes granted, I guess.
Once you have taken business funding, you can kiss your 20-year business goal goodbye. As a corporate man for 10 years, I had tried warning Andy about what to expect when he took up the new challenge. Anyway, I did not expect him to listen though.
He expected himself to become the latest internet star when his team embarked on a grilling fundraising quest. I remember he used to tell me excitedly on his near misses in landing the few funds that he pitched during the earlier rounds. One thing for sure, you seldom become a business superstar by merely operating a regional bootstrap business. It doesn't happen that way.
When he finally landed the $ 400,000 deal, he was overjoyed. I still recall how he announced his conquest on Facebook. I actually asked for an opportunity to work with him as a freelancer because of my new interest in the online business.
The fairy tale victory did not last long. The VC wanted Andy to submit performance reports regularly. The new company had to follow a series of metrics that measured their performance on a monthly basis. For the first time in his life, the entrepreneur had to work hard to achieve a set of lifeless KPIs. Not only that, they wanted him to report to a board and explained his every misses.
After two years of sleepless nights of worries, Andy and team finally decided that the business model was flawed. When they sounded out their findings and suggested to pivot from their original model, the VC went ballistic.
The Japanese summoned the partners to Japan for a tedious questioning about their decision. As a result of the meeting, Andy had to prepare a new business plan and a whole new series of short term KPIs for scrutiny. Not only that, talents were leaving their startup in droves due to never-ending cash flow problems.
After languishing in bouts of intense boardroom meetings, Andy decided that he had enough of those nonsenses. He made up his mind to revert the model back to a bootstrapping business model. He wanted full authority in deciding the next direction of his business legacy.
Instead of pitching for the next round of life-saving funds, they rebooted the whole business model. The funds did not come with no strings attached. Even with the $400K, Andy had given up a sizeable portion of the newco's equity to the Japanese. If they get another round of funding, the partners would end up giving up more equity. No thanks to the company's bad performance.
That's the harsh reality of VC investment. No doubt, they want you to succeed, but usually not on your terms. Their business model always has an exit strategy. Founders seldom carry the same mantra. We always want the best for our startup.
As a result, Andy's online business is currently in bootstrap mode. As they have tried to scale the project too fast in the past, they are now facing a monumental task to bring the game closer to home. It is easier to grow a lizard into a crocodile than the other way round!
But on the other hand, there are times you need to raise funds.
It would be a great idea to get business fundings if you are in the game of selling businesses. Most serial entrepreneurs fit this bill. This breed will start a business, get bored, and go on to start another one. You can read more about them in this article from Investopedia.
It's common sense. The modus operandi of a serial entrepreneur requires a vast amount of monies. A bootstrap model will never make the cut. The VC's model of "arbitrage investing" works perfectly with the short term view of this kind of entrepreneurship. Both of them will simply cash out when their investment makes some money in the short term.
The only time when you call the shots is when you own something the VC badly wants. This applies to local brands renowned in the region, like the famous energy drink, Red Bull.
Look here. I'm not saying that the Red Bull energy drink gets to where it is through the help of venture capitalist. Out of sheer luck, the drink was already well known among truck drivers. The best marketing campaign is always via the word of mouth. Imagine how the words spread when these drivers mingle among themselves when they go on their regular cross country spree.
Truth be told, if you have a brand like Red Bull, you don't even need business fundings. But this is a great example of when to leverage on investment money. You gotta know the strength of your brand first before you can convince the VCs that you are merely giving them a chance to ride on a success. Your brand's credential will determine who is the alpha; you or your investors.
As you can see, I am a total bias jerk when comes to choosing between a bootstrap business or a funded company. Honestly, how can I rid the bias after going through the first-hand experience of my friend in such predicament? In addition, trust the real-life stories of startups in Silicon Valley that receive business funds that span from the time of the dot com bubble. Borrow if you must but be vigilante when it comes to your company's controlling stake.


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Threat of violence hangs over Kenya elections
Kenya is about to elect a new president. But there are fears that the country could descend into the same post-election violence that marred the 2007 elections after the results were heavily disputed. There could be a further worry for the country, however. One of the two leading candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court at The Hague for crimes against humanity.
KENYA is approaching the March 4, 2013, general elections with growing apprehension.
The disputed result in the 2007 presidential election led to 1,300 people being killed and around 600,000 displaced after riots sparked internal chaos.
Unlock the report
Secure, instant payment by credit card
Who will benefit?
- Report is targeted to the decision makers in cross country manufacturing – suppliers, manufacturers, logistics.
- Also considered useful for the administrative university facilities, to better understand the possible effects of current decisions.


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All our cottages in our collection bear our signature style and attention to detail. The facilities vary from place to place, as they have different owners, with different preferences, so please check if something is vital to you. However, all are exceptionally well-equipped and many come with a host of extras.
All Retreats properties include a minimum of the following:
Electricity and heating
A starter supply of logs is available where applicable. To purchase more during your stay, visit the petrol stations at either Seahouses or Embleton.
Bedding and towels
Beds are fully made up for your arrival. Most of our duvets and pillows are hypo-allergenic but if this is essential to you, please check to confirm (NB. duvets and pillows cannot be changed in a cottage). One set of towels is provided per guest (excluding beach/swimming towels). Additional linen or towels can be provided by special request (extra charges apply).
A welcome tea tray of milk, tea, coffee and sugar and a bottle of wine
These items vary from cottage to cottage. To top up during your stay, see our shopping page.
Well equipped kitchen
Each Retreat has an oven and hob, fridge, freezer (some just small depending on the cottage), dishwasher, microwave, kettle and toaster. Also, pots, pans, utensils, serving dishes and baking ware.
There will also be a starter supply of kitchen roll, dishwasher tablets, toilet roll, washing up liquid, tea, coffee, sugar, salt and pepper.
Coffee maker
Either a filter machine or a cafetiere, some may have specialist machines such as a Nespresso or Gaggia. There will be a starter supply of ground coffee or pods, but if you like your coffee as much as we do, you may want to add some to your shopping list.
Laundry facilities
Washing machine and tumble dryer (some combined washer/dryer). Iron and ironing board.
Cleaning items
Vacuum cleaner, mop, bucket, dustpan and brush, tea towels, dish cloths, and oven gloves are provided.
Bathroom amenities
At least one hairdryer and complimentary toiletries for the first night of your stay, plus sewing and first aid kits.
If there is outdoor space at your Retreat, there will be outdoor seating, normally a table and chairs.
Entertainment and communication
At least one TV (most have more) with at least one DVD player. Music systems ranging from CD players (with small collection of CDs), most have iPod docking stations and some have Bluetooth sound systems.
Selection of reading materials, from coffee table lifestyle books and magazines to novels for great holiday reading. Plus tourist information and Retreats welcome folder so we can point you in the right direction of our favourite things to see, do and eat.
Combination code key safe (enclosing the key!) for independent arrival at any time.
Phone landline with honesty box or use of 'pay as you go' mobile where specified. Free WiFi, although please understand we cannot guarantee the speed or connection reliability of the internet or phone line, especially in more outlying areas. This is often in the hands of BT.
For children
Toys and games, depending on the child-friendly rating of the cottage. Optional complimentary extras for babies of a travel cot (bring your own cot linen) and highchair, on request.


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Over at the awesome Vintage WannaBee, Nichelle is having a Sylvine Jewelry Giveaway! The jewelry is so pretty and at a very reasonable price which is suprising. Go over and enter in for your chance to win some cool stuff! Ends Jan. 29th. http://vintagewannabee.blogspot.com/2011/01/sylvine-jewelry-giveaway.html
Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner
6 years ago


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Miranda Cosgrove Just Got The Trendiest Haircut Of The Year & It Looks So Good
It seems like everyone is rocking a bob or a lob, a long bob, this summer, and Miranda Cosgrove is the latest star to make the big chop. See her dramatic new hair makeover by clicking below!
Miranda Cosgrove's hair makeover is fire! The former Nickelodeon star, 24, showed up at the Despicable Me 3 premiere in Los Angeles on June 24, and showed off her sexy new 'do! The actress and singer rocked her cute new bob, styled in undone waves. Her hair looks about 8 inches shorter than it was for the Kids' Choice Awards in March. We absolutely LOVE IT. It looks so fresh and modern and it's perfect for the summer heat!
Miranda looked amazing at the premiere wearing a white J Mendel dress. Her yellow pumps were a nod to the movie, and fit in perfectly at the premiere…on the yellow carpet, of course! She was styled by Jessica Paster. Her hair was cut and styled by Michael Sparks. Her stunning, glowing makeup was thanks to Kindra Mann. Her eyes were lined and her lashes looked dark and full. Her lips were nude and her cheeks were glowing with perfectly placed highlighter!
The lob and the bob is everywhere this season — from Khloe Kardashian's curly bob to Shay Mitchell's angled lob, these new short haircuts are EVERYTHING for summer. We're totally obsessed and heading to the salon ASAP!
HollywoodLifers, are you obsessed with Miranda Cosgrove's bob? Do you love her hair makeover?


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OLD Halesonians let slender first half lead slip away to second half defeat at Stoke-on-Trent.
Halesonians started off strongly with a dominant scrum which lasted throughout the game and within a minute of kick off destroyed Stoke scrum to gain a penalty, kicked by Luke Fenton to go 0-3 up.
From the kick off, Old Halesonians enjoyed attacking play and repeated the performance of the scrum, resulting in a second penalty again kicked by Fenton to go 0-6 up.
Stoke started to get a bit of play resulting in Old Hales giving away the next penalty, successfully kicked by Stoke to make the score 3-6.
Old Hales remained dominant and had most of the possession but an error gave Stoke the opportunity to score the first try of the game and convert it to make the score 10-6.
Just before half time, Old Hales suffered two serious injuries, a broken wrist for Dan Smith, meaning he will miss the rest of the season and concussion to Andy Holloway, likely to finish his rugby career because of risk to his health.
The rest of the half was dominated by Old Hales who pushed over the Stoke scrum for Kieran Haynes to score a try, conversion missed to make the half time score 10-11.
After the restart, Stoke took advantage of the slope and scored two tries in quick succession, both converted to make the score 24-11.
Both sides then performed well, both attacking play and defending well but Old Hales started to give away penalties, one of which resulted in Stoke kicking to the corner and from the resulting line-out scored another try which was converted to make the score 31-11.
The game looked to be running away from Old Hales but they held their heads high and continued to attack resulting in a well worked try by flanker Brad Cogzell, converted by Luke Fenton to make the score 31-18.
Stoke started to gain momentum and before the end of the game managed to score another converted try to make the final score 38-18.
Head Coach James Angove said: "Given the two injuries we sustained today, along with unavailability due to both injury and life circumstances, we are now very short of players who have have first team experience.
"We will look to our supporting club teams where we have strength in depth to cover critical positions in our first team and we will look to gel these players into the first team in training this week ahead of our re-arranged game away at Ludlow on Saturday."
Report submitted by Old Halesonians


text: Andrew Bayer 'Once Lydian' Anjunabeats admin Thursday, October 6, 2016 - 18:20 Facebook Twitter WhatsApp "This is the recent solo release from the hottest man on Anjunabeats! It perfectly combines all current genres from trance to tech house to big room. Works every time we play this in a set." 0.0


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Babylon, NY Marcus & Millichap, a leading commercial real estate investment services firm with offices throughout the United States and Canada, has completed the $2.3 million sale of 101 Deer Park Ave., a 8,000 s/f building.
Tim McCaffrey and Michael Tuccillo of Marcus & Millichap's Manhattan office had the exclusive listing to market the property on behalf of the sellers, John, Kevin and Dennis Murphy who have been running the building as a sporting goods store. The building is well known in the Babylon Village community as the Sports Shack, for over 35 years. "As a Babylon village resident myself, I was pleased to help broker a relationship between the sellers and a local buyer," said McCaffrey.
The Murphy brothers will continue to operate the store at the current location for another few months before relocating their business to another location to be determined. Dennis Murphy said, "We just celebrated 35 years of business in the village and the local support has been great. We look forward to maintaining that local following and we're excited about the next stage of our business."
Known for its large selection of great restaurants, shopping and businesses, Babylon Village hosts multiple community events throughout the year that attract visitors from all over the region. The subject property is located just miles from the Long IslandRailroad Station offering 60-minute express service into Manhattan. The 2010 census shows a population of just over 12,000 residents, 4,585 households and a median household income of $127,407.


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My AARP Medicare Advantage: If you want to select the medical advantage plans for the person concerned, the person could be you or maybe you want to select for the other person, then you have the right to select any united healthcare medicare supplement plans so that in case of an emergency your life could be saved. Choose from a wide range of plans and decide according to your needs and requirements.
The company makes the plans easier so that the plan works successfully for the customer.
My AARP Medicare Advantage
What do you mean by Medicare Advantage? The first question arises in the minds of people before buying this care plan. So no need to worry as here we will tell you a lot easier version of the Advantage plan so that you could understand in an easy manner of what is my aarp medicare login advantage plan.
There are several Medicare Advantage plans which are offered by various companies so that people can save their health. It is the combination of Part A and Part B i.e. it covers the hospital as well as the doctor's fees. There are also several other benefits which are associated with this plan. Medicare Advantage Plan is also covering the drugs and also known as MA-PD and also the prescription of the drug by the doctor.
The AARP medigap plans of medicare advantage come with no spending of any extra cost. In order to do, the registration for the plan you have to have the original Medicare plan and also the plan is covered in Plan B.
Benefits for Medicare Complete Plan
These are the following benefits which are there for the premium plans as described below.
- There is a plan of the month which includes the medicare part B premiums which have no cost.
- Hearing and the annual hearing aid is also covered in the plan.
- The eye examination is also covered in this plan.
- The plan covers worldwide emergency, if you have an emergency in any part of the world then also you could avail the benefits.
- The preventive services like the physical and routine checkup with the benefit of the flu shot is also covered in this plan.
- The doctors visit with the medical aid services are also covered in the plan of united healthcare patient login.
My AARP Medicare Advantage – Some extra Benefits
If you are satisfied with the above advantages then we are proud to tell you that you will get more advantages than the above plans. These plans are mentioned below. Please read the below mention plans also so that you may get convinced with a set so that you may develop more interest in taking these plan of AARP medicare supplement provider login.
- If you are having the eyewear then the glasses are also covered.
- A personal nurse is also allotted to you with 24 hours of medical advantage.
- Several of the drugs are covered in these medical plans.
- A large network of people around is also covered in these plans.
- This plan also covers several of the other AARP medicare supplement plans which are not covered in the normal plan.
AARP Medicare Complete Providers plans protected by the United Healthcare and furthermore, it will package your advantages into an extremely straightforward arrangement and furthermore it will incorporate a portion of the projects which will be useful for you to carry on with a sound life. These accessible plans don't deny your AARP united healthcare providers medicare inclusion for prior conditions and furthermore, they needn't bother with a physical test for the enlistment or for the enlistment too.


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I have been suffering from an ear worm lately. No, it's no the latest superbug...you know it's one of those songs that gets into your head and just won't go away. I had always liked the chorus but hadn't really listened to the words of the verses until just recently.
Our oldest got a Kid's Bop CD and this song was on it. I listened and listened and then looked at the words more closely.
Listening to the words brought up some memories that I hadn't really thought about in a long time. I was reminded of a few people from my past...Jerry and Tori. I had known Jerry from the time I was in kindergarten. We went through school together...sometimes in the same class others not so much. In high school we were in the same science class...I'll never forget the day that Jerry decided to stick his pencil in a plug of the desk just to see what would happen. When flames came shooting out Jerry was sent to the Principal's office. When he returned back to class, I was granted a new lab partner...and our friendship grew. We worked together in our after school jobs and just hung.
I was in college when I got the call...my friend Della called to let me know that there had been a tragedy. Jerry was dead. He had gotten stoned and had a fight with his girlfriend. She threatened to not let him see their daughter any more...and he couldn't handle it. Between the desperation he felt and the drugs surging through his body he decided to take his own life. I never really got to say goodbye to Jerry...his funeral was during finals week and I couldn't get away. Every once in a while I miss that old friend.
Then there was Tori...a girl who had been one of my students when I taught. She was also a drug tragedy...one day she came into my class asking about drugs and drug abuse and the next day she had died in a car accident. She had been inhaling an aerosol can's fumes while driving and hit another car head on. I still have a picture in my teaching stuff of her with her class.
Jerry's been gone for 17 years now...Tori's been gone for 14. But their memories remain.
With these two in my mind, I read the story about this song. According to The Fray's lead singer and songwriter, Isaac Slade, this song was influenced by his experience while working as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens. There was a boy who was 17 at the camp who was dealing with a lot of issues and no one could figure out what to do to help him. One thing that the young man needed was support from those who cared about him.
The lyrics can be found here.
And here is the video.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Jerry and Tori
I have been suffering from an ear worm lately. No, it's no the latest superbug...you know it's one of those songs that gets into your head and just won't go away. I had always liked the chorus but hadn't really listened to the words of the verses until just recently.
Posted by Carol at 10:37 PM 0 comments
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Go Cleveland!!!
It may be time to break out the ol' Indians flag.
My friend from college, Jim Vanderpool is most likely beside himself.
Posted by Carol at 11:20 PM 0 comments
Why Is She Like That?
As I've written before, I've been watching The Biggest Loser. I definitely have my favorite trainers. In prior seasons I was really fond of Bob...he's so supportive and kind in the way he helps his team lose weight.
Jillian was not one of my favorites because I always thought she was mean. But, when I saw a lot of my water aerobics instructor in Jillian, I gained a lot of respect for Jillian...I saw in her "meanness" a caring...when I found out one season that she had struggled with her own weight, I became even more fond of her.
Last season, Jillian was gone...and replaced by Kim. I don't know if it's her Barbie doll appearance or what, I just don't think she's that great of a trainer. I was watching the show and thought...what is her deal?! Then last night Kim tried to influence the vote of her team by encouraging them to vote their only woman off. I don't understand what's up with Kim...I don't really get her workout techniques...nor do I think she is that greatly supportive of her team.
If push came to shove, I'd love to have a trainer again like Jillian...when I was working out with Mary's direction (my aerobics instructor) I lost more weight and inches than I did when I was walking 3 miles and riding the bike 5 miles three times a week. Mary coached you in ways that were tough yet caring...yeah, that's what I'd like. Maybe the trainers should be voted off....
Posted by Carol at 6:27 PM 0 comments
Labels: Biggest Loser
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Girls of the 70s and 80s Remember
I got an email today from one of my longest and dearest friends...it was a forwarded email which I usually just glance through and that's about it...but the first picture caught my eye and I had to read more. I called my oldest over to share with him some of these pictures and memories.
I may have forwarded this to some of you, but others of you can enjoy this too.
If you were a girl who grew up in the 70s and 80s, if you just grew up in the 70s or 80s or if you had children who did...these pictures will bring back some memories....enjoy!
If you were a girl in the 70s or 80s you had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked. I didn't have that but knew some who did.
You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it. Mine was blue with a white daisy basket.
You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels...the wheels on mine were red.
You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!) OK yeah, maybe.
You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island. Nope, but I did want to visit it.
You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie" not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill." People sometimes thought you were a boy. Mine was a pixie.
You had rubber boots for rainy days and moon boots for snowy days. Yeah! You owned a "Slip-N-Slide", on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once. Nope Mom thought they were too dangerous.
You owned "Klick-Klacks" and smacked yourself in the face more than once! Nope
Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession. I didn't have a Holly Hobbie sleeping back but my parents still have my Hollie Hobby sheets that they break out for the twin spare bed when we're in town.
You wore a poncho, gauchos and knickers. I'm ashamed to say yes, yes and yes.
You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon. Uh, yeah.
You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits, or the Sunshine Family. Was Marie anyone else's villian as they played Barbies? Mine lost an arm so she was the evil lady. I didn't have the Sunshine Family, but knew people who did.
You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once. Mine didn't have a trapeze, it had a glider and a slide...my dad dug deep, deep holes for the legs to go into which made the swing set go up and down as you swung higher and higher but it kept it from tipping.
You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. Yeah, with the little dangly bead ribbons.
You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with the hard sole & the buckle). Nope. You also had a pair of salt-water sandals.
You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture. Go Half-Pint!
...and you despised Nellie Oleson!
You wanted your first kiss to be at the roller rink! All skate!
Pong! ("video tennis") was the most remarkable furturistic game you've ever heard of!
Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it pretty with the comb you kept in your back pocket. Mine was a pink tie dye color.
When you walked, the "wings" flapped up and down, it looked like you were gonna "take off".
You know who Strawberry Shortcake is , as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. With the thermos inside some were glass inside and broke the first time you dropped them. I had a Holly Hobbie lunch box...it was metal....but it had no thermos.
You are your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend. I was partial to Bo.
YOU had Star Wars action figures, too! No...but I did dress like Princess Leia.
It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags! It was a big deal...we wouldn't do the sleeping bag thing. I still love that movie...has to be one of the best!
You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy?" Oh yeah...Shaun...Da Do Run Run."
You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album. Only had Grease...on 8 track.
You tried to do lots of arts and crafts like yarn and popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those wierd potholders made on a plastic loom. Yes, yes, and yes. My parents still have some of the potholders I made.
You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.
You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat. Nope, no subscription...but my dad would buy me a Tiger Beat or comparable each week when he went to the news stand.
You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books. Are you there God, It's Me, Margaret. Loved Judy Blume.
You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics. (??It's not??)
You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs. Yeah buddy.
You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. Not so much, but I do remember my mom said they were half naked shaking their butts.
You drowned yourself in Love's Baby Soft - which was the first "real" perfume you ever owned. Didn't everybody?
You glopped your lips in Strawberry roll-on lip-gloss till it almost dripped off. I can still taste that nasty strawberry flavor.
Posted by Carol at 6:15 PM 0 comments
Labels: growing up


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Plant lice or aphids leave a sweet liquid, and this is sought by ants that feed on it. In this way, the ants will carry it all over the tree or on the whole plant. This sweet liquid favors the appearance of black mold or plant's fungus which looks like black powder. It spreads all over the plant's leaf and root. And if you can't control or get rid of aphids, use the following homemade solutions to get rid of plant's mold and mildew.
Homemade pesticides to get rid of mold on plants
1. Add 1 liter of whole milk in an 8 liter (sprinkler) container and fill it with water. Sprinkle this liquid over the roses or other plants affected by mold or mildew, and those black stains will disappear.
2. Or you can prepare a puree from 3 fresh green peppers (fresh or preserved) and 2-3 garlic cloves. You can place them in a blender. Add over this puree 3/4 teaspoon of liquid soap and 3 cups of water and allow it to stand for 24 hours. Strain this mixture through a piece of gauze, and spray the obtained liquid over the plants, taking care that the liquid to cover the entire surface of plants, especially the molded area.


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Website visitors can now look up flight details by the destination name and flight code, and now also by IATA airport code.
For example, flights related to Heathrow (LHR) can be found by entering "Lo" or "Lhr".
You can still also enter the airline code, in which case the result consists of all flights from the airline for the subsequent 24 hours.
The search function is available on the "I'm departing", "I'm arriving", and "I'm dropping off / picking up" pages of individual airports and on the list pages of arrivals and departures.
You can try out the search features on Helsinki Airport's "I'm departing" page, for example.


text: Business Business news Home Builders Association of F-M's Growth for Second Quarter Remains High By John Corley • Aug 3, 2016 John Corley The Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead announced today that their housing permit growth has remained strong through this years second quarter. The growth is down slightly compared to last year, which had been the best year since 2005, but their overall growth remains high. Tom Spaeth is the president of the Home Builders Association of Fargo-Moorhead, and he says steady growth is aided by weather. "Until recently the dry weather was very favorable to construction, we've had a few weeks of rain here that slowed a few things down." Global Trade Challenges Can Often Come From Home By Todd McDonald • Apr 1, 2016 Global trade can have its challenges for an exporter as well as an importer. Participants at a North Dakota Trade Office event this week found out the challenges can come from with-in our borders as well as abroad. Todd McDonald has details... DSU: Strom Center to Close By Todd McDonald • Mar 30, 2016 After opening its doors near a decade ago, the president of Dickinson State University says the Strom Center is set to close in mid-April… "The idea was, hopefully, that if you could help people with entrepreneurship and ideas that the prosperity in rural areas would then pick up and people would be more apt to remain within the state. That idea then went forward to actually the opening of the Strom Center, August 24th of 2007. It was mainly due to the generosity of Jerome and Rosie Strom." +100 Companies Attend UAS Industry Day By Todd McDonald • Feb 26, 2016 A day-long conference in Fargo, Thursday, gave representatives from the UAS industry a chance to look at what is being achieved and what frontiers exist for the developing technology… Reporter Todd McDonald has details… Grand Sky Marks First Anniversary By Todd McDonald • Feb 22, 2016 Grand Sky Development Co. The President of Grand Sky Development Company says a lot has been accomplished in the first year of operations at the Grand Sky Tech Park, and look for the progress to continue in year two. Prairie Public reporter Todd McDonald had a chance to talk with Grand Sky President, Thomas Swoyer, Jr. and files this report... Novermber Economic Index Lags By Todd McDonald • Dec 1, 2015 A Creighton University economist says with energy prices down and ag commodity prices still depressed, the region has fallen into an economic slump. Reporter Todd McDonald has details... ND Exploring New Trade Ventures In India By Todd McDonald • Nov 4, 2015 A group of North Dakota business leaders are developing plans to take part in a trade mission to India. Reporter Todd McDonald has details... Interest Rate Discussions Continue By Todd McDonald • Sep 16, 2015 American Crystal: Weather & Shipping Hurt Growers 2014 Payment By Todd McDonald • Dec 5, 2014 The President and C-E-O of American Crystal Sugar says the 2014 sugar beet payment for growers will be what he calls "a miserable 37-dollars-per ton." Dave Berg says at that price he is expecting to see some growers lose money on this year's crop. Berg says this year's crop was challenged from the beginning… ND Looks At Trade Potential With Singapore By Todd McDonald • Nov 12, 2014 Over the past several years the North Dakota Trade Office has been working to build trade relations between North Dakota and Singapore. Ashok Kumar Mirpuri is Singapore ambassador to the United States and had the chance this week to meet with area business leaders about the trade opportunities that exist with Singapore. He says it's an ideal situation to talk about because North Dakota and Singapore are two very unlikely partners… Pages« first ‹ previous 1 2 3 4 next › last »


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I've been buying lots of children's books recently. I hope that one day we'll have the children to share them with. But I've enjoyed re-reading some childhood classics, if nothing else. The Goosebumps books especially are a trip down memory lane.
Do you remember any of these children's books from your own childhood?
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Joanna was sleeping when two throbbing cocks and huge dildo was pretty ready for dirty action!
She shrieked with fear and tried to tear from his hands, but he quickly pressed her to the floor, cuffed her hands behind her back and thrust his cock between her clenched lips. Alex got drunk and tried to hug his sexy housemaid, but she replied him with a smack.
Angered and horny, he decided to punish this insolent slut.
Campus life is fun and it opens great opportunities to meet sexy girls, date and fuck them, but Tom and Andy had another plans for Joanna.
Since her neighbor left for holidays, it made no trouble to break in her room having opened it with a stolen key.
He began scolding her but she just laughed at his worried expression, so he decided to give her a lesson she\'d never forget.


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So here we go again. Round two for Manchester United's attempt to sign Umaro Embalo from Benfica.
It's with quite a surprise that we've read the player is 'close' to joining the Red Devils today, according to a report from Portuguese newspaper Correio da Manhã.
The story claims talks between the clubs 'intensified' during the past few days and there's a €20m agreement which is 'practically closed'.
This would be the minimum price that Benfica will sell the 16-year-old for. Manchester United have only raised their bid because they truly believe in his potential, and want to avoid competition from several other sides who are said to be interested.
Correio da Manhã also claims the player 'sees the Manchester United move with good eyes', which isn't exactly shocking information at this stage.
In case you can't recall, the teenager was heavily linked to Manchester United in November, when newspaper Record claimed the deal was done.
That story soon disappeared, especially when RB Leipzig started talks for him.
The German side were said to be close to signing Embalo for this same amount, as the player even travelled to Germany, but some details couldn't be agreed with his agent. Some papers claimed it was the commission, but representative Catio Baldé denied that, and left the door open for the summer transfer market.
At that time, it sounded like Manchester United would never pay such amount for a 16-year-old, but maybe after seeing that the competition was real, the club changed their mind.
Let's just not jump the gun this time and wait for other sources to confirm it. For now, only Correio da Manhã has such info.


text: galah66 Report post Posted 19December, 2018 Time has come to buy another car. Must be an 84-85 model and coupe only. Looking at only OZ delivered and below 160,000km's in excellent condition. If you have a car or know of someone selling i would be grateful for any leads!! Cheers - Rob 1 Carrera86 reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Gevrey-Chambertin Les Crais – okay, if I was being picky, the chardonnay grapes are a little large 😉
In the last 24 hours I did three things I'd never done before (well, almost never…!) I ate a burger and chips approaching midnight after Friday's late harvest finish, then today I had a nutella-filled doughnut for dessert (maybe the French description is more 'come hither…'), and finally today, I triaged Gevrey villages grapes that would put most grand crus to shame – just lovely stuff – after the trudge of hard triage yesterday, I could almost sing!
Given the previous (late) evening's culinary exploits, I chose to start the day with a run to Pommard and back; it was lightly, but incessantly raining, probably not a lot of fun in the vines! We assembled the various parts of our triage machine and about 10:45 began our assault on the grapes from Gevrey – lieu-dit Les Crais which neighbours La Justice – gorgeous grapes (see the picture above) that really put yesterday's Charmes-Chambertin to shame in terms of cleanliness and form – one assumes not taste!
Lunch today was more of celebration of the boss's birthday as we were simply too busy yesterday (La Romanée excepted!), paraphrasing Hilaire Beloc, I don't remember the food, but the wine was 2004 Cristal, 1993 Meursault and 2002 Clos des Lambrays. I can't remember the last time I experienced such a joyous trio of wines, they were that good!
Back to work after the Brillat-Savarin and the doughnut, the second tranche of our Gevrey Les Crais – from older vines – and possibly slightly cleaner (toss a coin) but I thought the cluster shape and smaller berries of the young vines more interesting. Of-course with grapes in such great condition, we didn't need the blade, but with more Volnay coming in the afternoon, its return was mandated. Oh, and what an afternoon for picking – close to torrential rain for a few minutes, and incessant between 2-3pm – definitely very shitty in the vines…
Next on the triage table was Volnay Billard (villages-level) for which we decided to re-install (queue the Superman music) 'the blade'. You can see where it sits in the process, and how how it works, sort of, below – the last part shows where the air deflects the lighter berries that pass through the second vibration 'table' after the de-stemmer – well it would I was a half-decent videographer 😉 Anyway the grapes were surprisingly good – minimal triage was required, only to watch out for the rare spot of rot, and under-ripe clusters. Lastly we had some more Gevery-Chambertin Les Crais. Sadly not quite to the standard of this mornings batches as there was more bigger-berried bunches and more rot – occasional cases of fruit were just like this morning though, and clearly no worry as we were using (queue Superman music again) 'the blade'! There was blue sky and a little sunshine by 18:00 and they say summer will return next week – let's see. Triage finished at 19:30 (Ooh! Early!) Potentially we may be finished by about 21:15 🙂


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In the effort to "green" existing buildings, building maintenance professionals are often on the line, fighting design limitations, toxic materials introduced from the outside environment as well as from furnishings and decorative materials inside the building, heavy traffic, tight budgets, and chemical manufacturers that don't understand the issues.
Whether you manage an in-house staff or are a contractor, we can help you identify the issues, develop a strategy for success, and most importantly, implement that strategy to realize success in improving the quality of the indoor environments in your customers' facilities. We can help you meet your customers' demands for healthier buildings using environmentally preferable products, equipment, and systems.
Please contact us for more information about our services tailored for your profession and don't forget to sign up for our DestinationGreen, the only newsletter dedicated to helping salespeople in the cleaning industry understand the issues surrounding Green Cleaning so they can better serve the needs of their customers.
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- Home
- Spruce White, Organic
Product Description
Picea glauca
Harvested and distilled in Quebec's Laurentian forests
Ethically and mindfully picked and distilled in the remote forests of Quebec, this is a wonderful evergreen, great for all kinds of coniferous uses.
All our evergreens are good for inner strength and can help with questions involving which path to take in life. The sweetness of the needles combined with the sturdiness and strength of the trunks and branches all exhibit a quiet strength. Spruce is good for sitting in that quiet place inside, and making it one's home. Spruces are like martial arts.
Blends well with Eucalyptus radiata, frankincense, lemon, lemon myrtle, lemon verbena, spike lavender, white rose, rosemary, white sage, tea tree
Try all our evergreens: balsam fir, himalayan fir, black pine, red pine, scots pine, hemlock spruce, black spruce


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Tree Planting and Forest Management Landowner Workshop – Bancroft
February 16th, 2019
Interested in growing a healthy forest on your open land? Forests Ontario and its partners can help, including providing information on available funding; learn more by attending a free landowner workshop. The workshop will offer information on forest management and stewardship, tree planting funding and other financial incentives for establishing and managing your forests.
Presentations by forestry experts will include a variety of topics, such as:
- 50 Million Tree Program
- Managed Forest Tax Incentive Program
- Private Land Tree Planting Program
Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited and pre-registration is encouraged.
Event runs from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., check-in begins at 12:30 p.m.
- Location
- Faraday Community Centre 29860 Ontario 28 Bancroft, ON K0L 1C0
- Link
- www.eventbrite.ca
- firstname.lastname@example.com
- Phone
- 416-646-1193


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Part #: 50530103
Bucket Cover - 24" X 24" - Heavy Duty Vinyl for Single Man Buckets
Material: Vinyl
- Made from 22 oz. Vinyl, these premium heavy duty covers feature an elastic band around the bottom with pockets underneath for a 1"x4" wood slat support to help repel the elements. Wood Slat Support not included. These covers also have an elastic tether with a D-ring clip to help secure the cover. Fit 24" x 24" buckets. Actual measurement is 28" x 28" with a 3" skirt. (See Bucket Cover Measuring Guide)


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UAH donated 351 persons
Total required 439231 UAH
Vitalii, 26 years old, Odessa city
wounded near Savur-Mohyla (high-explosive consequences of combat injure)
Help, support...
Vitalii, 26 years old, Odessa city
wounded near Savur-Mohyla (high-explosive consequences of combat injure)
Vitalii, 26 years, soldier of 28th Guards mechanised brigade, he was wounded on August 14, 2014 near Savur-Mohyla village (Donetsk region.).
Left leg: high-explosive consequences of combat injure
- incorrectly united fracture of the left tibia on the edge of middle and lower thirds with varus and antecurvation deformity
- varus deformity of the left foot with severe pain syndrome.
Course of injury in the event of non-use of cellular technology: 1.5 year passed from the date of injury, but the soldier still cannot fully load his leg – he is concerned about the severe pain and edema in the area of the lower leg and foot. In addition injured foot of the soldier is a few centimeters shorter due to significant distortions. The soldier needs to overgo several operations to help restore the natural state of the foot and lower leg, and the soldier will live a full life.
Required treatment: reconstructive and restorative treatment of leg and foot, which helps return his leg function to the uttermost.
Cost of treatment with Medical Center discount 36%: 347 260 UAH
Detailed costs for diagnosis and treatment:
- Examination and expert advice for treatment (study of cells, blood, urine, control X-rays, EKG, etc.) – 14 155 UAH
- Fence fragment of the fibula bone marrow and red (discount 40%) – 16 350 UAH
- Periosteal cells 20 million (discount 30%) – 28 000
- MSCs from bone marrow, 60 million (30% discount) – 64 400
- The total cost of reconstructive and restorative treatment (40% discount) – 177 434
More information about the wounded
Vitalii is a soldier of 28th Guards mechanized brigade (Odessa). He was wounded on August 14, 2014 near Savur-Mohyla. At the time of a heavy mortar attack the tank, where Vitalii was, fell from the road bridge. Hero injured left leg (foot and lower leg) and abdomen. One of his blood brothers who was in the tank – died.
After the injure Vitalii was treated in the field hospital in Rozivtsi. Then he was sent to Kiev, and then – to Odessa, where mainly lower leg soft tissue was treated. He has undergone 6 operations on the leg.
In November 2014 in hospital he underwent plastics and Ilizarov apparatus mounting. Then Vitalii received 3rd disability status and was dismissed from the Armed Forces of Ukraine as unfit for service. Since that soldier has being suffered by persistent pain in the foot and lower leg after an hour of walk. In evenings foot greatly swells. He was advised to seek the assistance of a social project "Biotech Rehabilitation of the Injured" by volunteer Olga Dombrovska from Odessa hospital.
Vitalii is a professional soldier, took five years of service immediately after the Army. He joined ATO at the beginning – in March 2014. He participated in the battles of Krasnodon, Heorhiiivka, Savur-Mohyla.
Vitalii lives in Odessa. It is interesting that before the war he was into professional sports – single combats. He played for the city team on championships. Let's help the hero return to normal life!
Chronology of treatment
Extend the tendons
September of 2017
He was performed a surgery on the foot – tenolysis (release of tendons from scarring), as well as the first stage of extension of the Achilles tendon using the method of Ilizarov
Operation on a tendon
May of 2017
The purpose of the operation – to extend flexor tendon of the toes that will significantly increase the amount of movement.
October of 2016
Discontinued gypsum, soldier actively developed leg and returned to normal life
Control checks
July-October of 2016
control checks and tests, observations over the results of the bone restoration
2 Stage of treatment
May of 2016
insertion of 3D-gel with the chips of osteoplastic material and autologous stem cells into the places of bones defect


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Vintage 2018
Four great vintages in a row for Côtes du Rhône and RhôneValley AOCs
2018 gives Côtes du Rhône and Rhône Valley winegrowers and négociants cause for celebration as it proves to be the fourth in a series of outstanding vintages, widely acclaimed by wine critics and consumers alike.
Good weather, healthy vineyards
Although the 2018 growing season wasn't the same for everyone (some areas were badly hit by downy mildew), harvesting throughout France's second largest AOC winegrowing region took place in balmy summer conditions.
The weather was excellent throughout September, with fairly cool and sunny conditions, low humidity and an appearancefrom the Mistral, all of which helped the grapes ripen fully, and ensured they remained in excellent health.
"September's terrific weather has been a key part of this year's success; we've been able to harvest our fruit at peak ripeness", reports Michel Chapoutier, President of Inter-Rhône.
"With September being so sunny", he continues, "our main focus has been to preserve acidity and potential minerality in our whites, while the Syrahs have made the most of their phenolic complexity and have achieved excellent levels of physiological ripeness."
Vinification progressed smoothly. Alcoholic fermentation was quickly completed, followed swiftly in many cases bymalolactic fermentation. Meanwhile acidity levels remained very low, requiring remedial work in the winery.
"And then there were four! After the 3 unbelievable years we've had since 2015, the end of this year's growing season and September's dramatic temperature swings have given us yet another outstanding vintage," exclaims Philippe Pellaton, President of Côtes du Rhône and Côtes du Rhône Villages AOC.
Early estimates show that harvest yields are set to be at the lower end of the 5-year average, but higher than in 2017.
Aromatic whites and rosés in the south
Denis Alary, co-president of the Cairanne appellation (newly promoted to Côtes du Rhône Cru status), reports that hiswines are "very pleasing and full of flavour, with good colour and finesse".
Whites and rosés arehighly aromatic, retaining plenty of freshness. 2018 has been a particularly good year for Roussanne and Clairette, two very expressive varietals.
Rosés are brim-full of fruit. Acidity is low, but the wines have more body, roundnessand sweetness, making them deliciously quaffable. The rosé market continues to grow exponentially, thanks largely to the variety of styles, coloursand grape varieties available, attracting ever-increasing numbers of new consumers.
Reds show a broad spectrum of colour, with intensity varying according to ripeness. In terms of structure, the reds are smooth and supple with molten tannins – the result of good ripeness. Generally speaking, 2018's Syrahs are superb, with soft, gentle tannins.
Grenaches are already showing scents of raspberry and grenadine, with peppery overtones. "This has been a good year for Grenache, the Côtes du Rhône's keygrape varietal. The weather gave us a chance to leave the fruit hanging long enough to ripen fully. Mourvèdre, Carignan and Marselan are a perfect complement; we can look forward to fine blends with excellent textures," continues Philippe Pellaton.
In Lirac, an historic right bank Côtes du Rhône cru, appellation co-president François Miquel adds that "2018s already show excellent quality, and we have every reason to believe that quantities will not disappoint either."
And finally, Réjane Pouzoulas, co-president of the Rasteau appellation which produces mainly reds but also the naturally sweetVins Doux Naturels, reports that 2018 is a "Top-of-the-range vintage. Initial tastings show good complexity, lots of depth and a very broad range of flavours."
Not to be outdone – the Rhône Valley's northern crus
In the north, initial tastings also promise wines of remarkable quality with dense,velvety tannins and good sweetness. Whites show a tremendous range of aromas and flavours, while Syrahs are juicy and intensely coloured with a pleasing tannic structure, promising a good vintage despite potentially low acidity.
Jacques Desvernois, co-president of the iconic Hermitage appellation, is very happy with the 2018 vintage. "2015, 2016 and 2017 were all great years; 2018 also looks set tobe an outstanding vintage, judging by what we've seen already – good structure on the palate and luscious, molten textures."
Yann Chave, co-president of the elegant,easy-going northern appellation of Crozes-Hermitage,admits to being pleasantly surprised by the balance in this year's wines – "quite astonishing for such a warm year. Good yields have helped usavoid the problems of over-concentration, and our 2018s retain their classic blackcurrant and raspberry flavours along with some pleasingly elegant tannins."
Christophe Pichon, co-president of the Condrieu appellationfamous for its superb Viognier wines, is equally enthusiastic. "Quality and quantity! This is THE greatvintage. We've got good acidity and excellent freshness."
Equallygood results in the Rhône Valley appellations
"We had to wait patiently for the grapes toreach full maturity, but at the end of the day we've got extraordinary colour, a superb range of very pronounced, very rich aromas with plenty of fruit. Our 2018 wines will have all their traditional finesse," says Samuel Montgermont, co-president ofthe Ventoux appellation located in the foothills of Mont Ventoux, the 'Giant of Provence'.
Joël Bouscarle, co-president of the neighbouring Luberon AOC, renowned for the admirable freshness of its whites and rosés, confirms that "Our wines will be centred on fruit and flavour, with good concentration, pleasing textures and supple, elegant tannins."
Right across on the other side of the Rhône Valley vineyards, Etienne Maffre, co-president of Costières de Nîmes, the most Mediterranean of all the Rhône Valley appellations, notes that the wines there "showgood balance, plenty of finesse and excellent aromatic potential, promising agreat vintage."
So initial results are consistent throughout the Rhône Valley, confirming that winegrowers and négociants should be inspired by this year's raw materials, and deserve to be proud of their work.
Meet winegrowers and négociants and discover the new vintage at:
Wine Paris – 11-13th February 2019 – HALL 4
Prowein – 17-19th March 2019 – Hall 11 E80
Découvertes en Vallée du Rhône – 15 – 18th April 2019 – Ampuis, Tain l'Hermitage, Avignon


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I wrote this post while studying Exodus for a series we did at Journey called, Crossings.
During this series we looked at some of the key events before, during, and after the Israelites' crossing of the Red Sea and their crossing into the Promised Land.
In Exodus 3:4,5 we read:
God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." Then he said, "Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground."
What did God ask Moses to do? Take off his shoes.
I see several important qualities of this request.
1) It was simple.
Not everything God asks us to do is going to be difficult.
Sometimes we over-complicate faith with 1) fear. What's it going to cost? Can we afford it? What if people get upset? What if we fail?
Sometimes we also over-complicate faith with 2) false projections on God of what He's really saying. We know that you can't just be forgiven by confessing your sins to God. No, you have to pay some sort of penance. You can't just be healed by God, you have to make $1000 "donation" to the ministry as a "seed" of faith. You can't just be saved by accepting Jesus, you have to do a bunch of good deeds too to earn God's love.
If God asked you–right now–to simply take off your shoes, what would you do? I pray that, wherever you are, the room would suddenly reek of foot-odor!
2) It was strange.
Take off my shoes in the middle of nowhere?!?
Shoes were essential to freedom. One couldn't travel—especially in the wilderness—very far without a good pair of sandals.
God may call you to take a strange action.
He asked Noah to build an ark in his front yard.
He asked Abraham to put his only son on an altar.
He asked the Israelites to walk through the Red Sea.
He asked the Israelites to walk around the walls of Jericho once a day for 6 days and then 7 times on the last day.
3) It was significant.
Well, it didn't seem very significant at the time but–from our perspective in time–we know that his simple act of obedience was very significant.
Moses didn't know it at the time, but he was standing on holy ground and the removing of his shoes was very significant.
We seem to think that something is only significant if it's viewed by over 1 million people on You Tube, aired on prime-time TV, or covered by Fox News. The only witnesses to this significant event were God, Moses, and some sheep.
Sometimes the most significant events in our lives happen in private.
You're praying alone in bed at night, when God gives you peace about an important decision.
You're sitting at your cubicle at work prayerfully confessing a specific sin to God when you know that you know that you know you're experiencing the amazing grace of God.
You're sitting in your car at a stoplight when–through the words of a Christian song on the radio–you suddenly realize how to handle the difficult situation you've been praying about.
This event reminded me that we don't know the end of the story. We can't see from God's perspective, so it's always best for us to simply trust Him and do what He says–even if it results in wafting foot odor.


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Ole Dry Pond™ Dog Boxes are constructed of aircraft grade Aluminum. They are lightweight and durable.
Our boxes feature vents that allow the box to be used year-round.
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For those of you who know me or have worked with me in the past 7/8 months, you will have learned that I have made the decision to begin meditation and mindfulness. It has been quite transformative in my life.
This past week the focus of our mediation was about control. It was quite amazing because I really do find that this is one of the biggest struggles of new parents… this idea that we can control our children and especially around eating and sleeping. We feel like if we just got them on a certain schedule that they would sleep. If we just read x book, they would sleep. If we just sleep trained (or did not sleep train), they would sleep. The sleep industry is feeding this idea that we can control sleep. Sleep is not within our conscious control. If I tell you to go to sleep right now, you are not going to fall asleep and in fact, the pressure to fall asleep makes it even worse. All of the strict schedules, and sleep training that forces your baby to shut down leads you to believe that you have control over their sleep but you do not.
The greatest lesson in parenting (in my opinion) is understanding that you cannot control. The more you try to control, the more a child pushes back. As Dr. Shefali says, "Letting go of control over our children is probably the hardest spiritual task we face as parents."
I often work with families who are holding onto way too much control and their toddler is struggling with eating, sleeping and eliminating (the three things they can control).
This talk was really great because it was a great reminder that we control very little in life. Dr. Shefali explains, "The only thing we can control in life is how we choose to feel. No one or nothing gets to dictate this." and yet… we also feel like we get to control our children's emotions by shutting them down, distracting them or stopping them. We shut down their emotions because they make us uncomfortable.
We do not even have control of our own thoughts and emotions so how do we expect to control another human being? The more we try to control and it does not work, the more stress we have. When we let go of the idea that we can control our children, and their sleep, the stress starts to disappear. As I have mentioned over and over, our children mirror back everything that we are feeling in that exact moment. If we are not ok, or we are stressed, they are stressed. I would really challenge you to let go a bit.
I am challenging you to LET GO…
The following is the talk given by (and written by), G.Arnaud Painvin, MD, FRCSC is a Zen Master & Dharma teacher
Being in control…are we ?
It is a wonderful thing to be in control…or to believe that we are.
When you are in control, you can pick what you want to do and when and where to do it.
You can go left or right, eat this or that, start a hobby, change car, job and partner, etc…
The world and life seem to be under our control and this feeling is nice to our ego.
So, for most of us, we believe that we are control of our destiny as long that each of us believes there is such a thing. Is it reality or illusion?
There is indeed sort of hidden destiny for each of us. If so, we are not in control of it at 100%.
There is no destiny at all. If so, we cannot control something, which does not exist.
In Zen, the metaphor for the mind is a monkey continuously jumping from one branch to the next or to a wild bull. Both are not tamed.
Regarding thinking:
We are "day sleep walker" and "thinking zombies" as Zen says.
Our mind produces around 90 to 100 thousands thoughts a day and only very few of them are useful such as making decisions. The rest is pure static noise, a permanent inner voice impossible to control at once. Being in the past and future all the time is a perfect example of uncontrollable fictional thinking. Thoughts do exist but are not real despite the fact that we produce them.
Regarding our emotions:
Most of the time we are not either in control of our emotions /feelings either positive or negative ones.
If we are able to manage some of the negative ones by accepting them as they are, it gives us a sense of control but it is transient since a new one will pop out.
Most of the time the lack of emotional management strikes and our pain, dissatisfaction, unhappiness, fear, etc. are running wild. When that happens, we feel out of control. This is where meditation becomes essential.
When it comes to love, control is tricky too.
We don't decide to be in love. We fall in love. Boom! Emotional reaction at sight. Thinking comes later.
Our ego and hormones are in total control, at least foe a little while.
In fact, love and hatred are those strong feelings where we enjoy to lose control.
In those moments, we believe in destiny and we go with it for the better or the worse.
Similar to our thoughts, we have the tendency to believe in our illusions, judgments and mind-set, giving the feeling of control. Feeling being in control is one of these strong illusions probably ego-driven.
As far our body is concerned: Are we in control of its functions, diseases and aging?
Regarding our environment, people and events, what, when and whom do we control?
Finally: change is everywhere and continuous. Everything is transient around us and within us.
This is life. So, do we control ongoing changes? Not so.
Here is a little homework for you:
Write down a list of things, events, situations and people that you believe you are in control
(score from0 to 5 with 0 as no control and 5 as full control).
Accepting this obvious reality that we do not control too much of anything does not mean to be defeatist, resigned or pessimistic. We still have to act and strive for the best.
If we cannot even control our body and mind, how, on Earth, can we expect to control the external world?
Thinking that we control can be stressful…………….. for fear of loosing it.
However, thinking of not controlling too much will bring you closer to serenity.
This is something that is worth a lot of reflection. Let go of control and write me a note below to let me know if you noticed any changes.


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|Type of post:
|Chorus news item
|Posted By:
|Paul Searson
|Date Posted:
|Fri, 11 Oct 2019
|Have you ever wanted to sing but not sure your technique is right?
Do you want to sing to the best of your ability rather than abuse your voice over those high notes?
Fancy singing in a capella harmony with other guys?
Then this is the course for you.
We are offering a free 4-week course on Wednesday evenings starting November 6th till 27th November and finishing on Wednesday 4th December with an open rehearsal and showcase for friends and relatives.
The course will take place at the Harrington School (on the same site as The Wilsthorpe School, Long Eaton, NG10 4WT).
Grand Central Chorus Music Directors will support you through the course along with singing members. Formal coaching will be from 7.30pm – 9.00pm with the opportunity to stay on till 10.00pm learning how coaching techniques are applied to a larger group. All teaching material - teach tracks and sheet music - will be provided.
Singing is proven to enhance wellbeing (British Lung Foundation) and is an excellent way to improve your voice, your confidence, your breathing and your social life! With this in mind you might want to consider joining Grand Central Chorus after the course!
For more details, and to register for the course, call or email Bryan on 07549 049551 (firstname.lastname@example.com), or click here to register for the course online.


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Why did I do what I did ? Why did I say what I did ?
Actions and reactions, for reasons based on beliefs about ourselves and the world, push us up and down, forward and backward, into something and out of something.
Living is choosing an action or a reaction toward something or someone. We want the happy things, happy people, happy places and happy activities.
Life is that experiment of events chosen by us or forced upon us that is sometimes a struggle and sometimes a fortunate "right" move.
Why we choose whatever we choose depends upon free will, opportunities from connections, a calling of some sort, either from outside or inside of us.
Why ? because of love, of fear, of desperation, of shame, of loneliness, of hopefulness, of a helping hand, of another chance, of needing to save this only life we know and want to enjoy.
If I ask myself every morning , "why am I going to do, to go, to commit, to involve myself in what I plan for today ?", I might have a clearer vision of awareness and of where the control of and for my life really comes from: within me and my choices for life, or from someone else tactfully manipulating my time and life for their gains and dreams.
The end.


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Prophesee is the inventor of the world's most advanced neuromorphic vision systems.
Prophesee's patented sensors and AI algorithms, introduce a new computer vision paradigm based on how the human eye and brain work.
Like the human vision, it sees events: essential, actionable information in the scene, not a succession of conventional images.
This event-based method allows for unprecedented speed (>10 000fps), dynamic range (>120dB), data volume (10x to 1000x less) and power efficiency (<10 mW). Prophesee bio-inspired revolution opens a new path to absolute efficiency and safety in autonomous driving, IoT and Industry 4.0.
Prophesee reveals the invisible.Company type
Distributor, Industrial Integrator, Manufacturer Vision Components, Research Facility / Institute, System Solution Provider
Application Engineering, Industrial Integration, Maintenance, Research
, Application-specific Software, Area Scan, CIS (sensor technology), CMOS (sensor technology), CMOS Image Sensor, Code Reading, Custom Development, Embedded Software, Embedded Vision Device, Fixed Focal Length, High Speed, High Speed Analysis, Identification, Industry-specific Software, Inspection 2D, Inspection 3D, Interface, IR, Line Scan, Low light, Microscopic, Monochrome, On-board Image Processing, PC / IPC, Quallity Control in general, Robot Guidance 2D, Robot Guidance 3D, Scientific, Smart Camera, Sorting, Surface Inspection Discrete Objects, Tracking, Vision Processor Board, Vision Sensor, Zoom


text: Link, who had defeated the evil Ganon and regained peace in Hyrule, had not enjoyed the achieved tranquility for long, and eventually becomes restless. Feeling in need of training or enlightenment, he embarks on a journey and sails across oceans in a small sail boat. Eventually Link completes his training in foreign countries and begins to sail back to his home, Hyrule. But then suddenly the seas turn rough as the skies become dark, a thunder storm is stirring up. Link tried to valiantly fight the strong currants of the waves, even tying himself to the ship with some rope. But a bolt of lightning strikes the ship and everything turns dark.


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Blair Jolly Elliot
Blair Jolly Elliot, born in Los Angeles, started dancing at the age of eleven. She summited Mt. Kilimanjaro via the Western Breach (age 11), sailed in the Flanders Youth Regatta in Nieuwpoort, Belgium on the U.S. National Team (age 12), and competed in the Junior Olympics for swimming (100m butterfly, age 8). Blair studied dance at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where she received her BFA. Blair worked on Alex Crozier's film The Millennial Experience as a performer and as a part of the production team, with principal photography taking place in 2018. In 2019, Blair played Anybodys in The 5th Avenue Theatre's production of West Side Story. This is Blair's 6th season with Spectrum Dance Theater.


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Join us on Sun, August 19, 2018, 12:00pm-2pm at Athletic Outcomes for a full body workout and chat about nutrition. RESTART CBD is one of the sponsors of this event. Cost: $30 • Register today
Athletic Outcomes is a studio dedicated to both Training Hard & Recovering Smart. We understand how important it is to take care of your body so we're hosting another Women's Self Care Sunday from noon-2pm.
We will start the Womens Self Care Sunday event with a full body workout lead by AO's super lady coaches followed by a nutrition chat all about pre and post workout food idea. Always wondering exactly what or how much to eat around your workout hours? Well, this chat will be perfect for you.
After the session, mix and mingle with your fellow women of wellness & enjoy food/drink and take home some sweet swag bags filled with goodies from our sponsors!
Sponsors included:
Where: Athletic Outcomes
2301-A East Riverside Drive, #50
Austin, TX 78741
Ever wanted to learn about CBD oil? Join our RESTART CBD events to learn about the health benefits and uses of CBD oil. CBD is non-intoxicating and does not cause any high or intoxication.
RESTART CBD Oil is processed on a small farm in Kentucky, a state with strict hemp laws and regulations. Sun-grown without herbicides, pesticides, or solvents. Our oil is 3rd party tested guarantees potency and ingredients. Our CBD Oil contain no fillers, no flavorings, no sweetners and no no preservatives. RESTART CBD oil is based in Austin, Texas.


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Urfa chiles and black garlic have recently fell on Chef Jodi's radar – and have quickly become her go-to ingredients during her cooking classes and team building events.
Urfa is a Turkish chile pepper that comes from the town of Urfa, in the south of Turkey on the Syrian border. It is distinctive for its purplish-black color, irregularly sized flakes and intriguing salty-sweet-smoky-sour flavor. These premium peppers are picked and cut, dried in the sun by day, then wrapped at night to preserve their natural oils. This "sweating" process gives the chiles an oiliness and almost-damp texture, along with a delicious earthy flavor and smoky aroma. It also has hints of chocolate, with a mild dose of spiciness.
Black garlic has also become a popular spice in Chef Jodi's recipes lately. Black garlic is a type of caramelized garlic first used as a food ingredient in Asian cuisine. It is made by heating whole bulbs of garlic over the course of several weeks – a process that results in black cloves. The taste is sweet and syrupy with hints of balsamic vinegar. Chef Jodi loves to make black garlic into a paste and mix with olive oil and then throw it on a protein or vegetable for amazing flavor. The possibilities are endless!
Both of these wonderful spices can be purchased online or in-store at Savory Spices – www.savoryspices.com. Happy cooking!
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My Swat Story: Special Assistant Chelsea Hicks '14
She Came to Swarthmore for the Students
"I was introduced to Swarthmore by a student whom I ran track with in high school. During a campus visit, she graciously introduced me to her friends across campus, and I was immediately sold. Those initial interactions were brief, but in those moments I was struck by the close community and the conversations among students."
Working at Swarthmore Expanded Her Perspective
"As a student, Swarthmore very much so felt like a bubble: living in a small community, with a strong culture of intellectual pursuit, and often little time off campus. As a staff member, both in the Investment Office and now in the President's Office, I've come to see Swarthmore within the broader context of the world. What is Swarthmore doing to contribute to the greater good? How do we understand the role of higher education in solving the issues of our modern age?
"I am constantly learning from the evaluation and re-evaluation of my own student experience as well as from my recent understanding of Swarthmore within the broader world."
She Loves Working with President Smith
"It is an amazing experience to work so closely with President Smith. In this position I have the invaluable opportunity to witness firsthand what it means to be a leader—and in particular a black woman leader—of a globally recognized institution. President Smith approaches her role with care, attentiveness, and humanity. And she does it all with a wonderful sense of humor!"


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Chiang Rai News
Tour Bus Overturns in Route to Phrae, 20 Passengers Injured
PHITSANULOK – Approximately 20 passengers of a tour bus bound for Phrae Province from Bangkok were injured when the bus overturned after the driver reportedly tried to avoid a head-on collision with two racing motorcycles.
According to Thai PBS the accident took place about 2 am on Monday on a detour route near Wat Wang Hin, Tambon Chomthong, Muang district of Phitsanulok.
All the passengers were later rushed to Ruam Paet and Inter Vechakarn hospitals in Phitsanuloke for medical treatment.
Mrs Charuwan Rattananont a passenger o the bus said she felt the bus shaking before it ploughed into a ditch in the middle of the road and turned one side up.
The driver, 43-year old Mr Apichai Saowakhon, claimed that he saw two racing motorcycles were heading toward his direction and decided to make a sudden swerve to avoid hitting the motorcycles.
However, the road there was under repairs and made it difficult for him to control the bus resulting it to lose control and plunge into the ditch.
Police said that they will question the passengers first and would subject the driver to breathalyzer to find out whether he was drunk while driving or not.


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Learn to Knit Socks
Learn to knit socks in no time at all and enjoy every minute of learning. I learned a few years ago, but I revisited VeryPink's pattern recently in order to use up leftover yarn. The socks pictured below were knit with Lion Brand 100% wool. I'll wear them to bed this winter when I know my feet will be cold.
I followed the instructions provided by VeryPink; instructions that were updated this month to make it even easier for beginners to learn. The tutorial is $8.00 and comes complete with a pattern and step by step video instructions. You won't regret spending the money.
You'll use a set of size US 5 (3.75mm) double-pointed needles and worsted weight wool yarn to knit the pattern. Beginners will appreciate the larger needles and worsted weight yarn, as starting with sock weight yarn and size US 2 needles can be intimidating.
Wool yarn should always be used for sock knitting. Not only is wool an all-season material, but it also holds its shape wonderfully. You'll want to handwash your socks after knitting them and then block them on forms. Every wash thereafter can be done using the delicate cycle on your washing machine. After washing via the machine, air-dry the socks flat.
If you have some leftover worsted weight wool in your stash, knit yourself a pair!
Here's a look back at the first pair I knitted eight years ago.


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Live music and a classic film — it's a winning combination. Holiday classic Home Alone featured composer John Williams' delightful score performed live by the Colorado Symphony as the film was shown on large, suspended screens in Boettcher Concert Hall. It was a fun experience working in the entertainment space with professional musicians in order to engage holiday audiences in a special way!
Looking for High-Impact Ideas for Your Next Event?
Have you visited our Lookbook recently? It's full of ideas and short videos that help meeting and event planners design and produce exceptional events.
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- 5 Key Trends for Meeting Planners
- Cost-Effective Alternatives to Pipe and Drape
- Event Design in Unconventional Spaces
Visit our Lookbook and get new ideas for your next event: www.ceavco.com/lookbook
Also, every month we share simple, cost-effective tips and trends that can give meetings and events a massive impact. Join our mailing list and stay in the know. Sign up today! www.ceavco.com/newsletter
Home Alone in Concert: CEAVCO Supports the Colorado Symphony
What did our crew do over the Thanksgiving holiday? They supported the Colorado Symphony's Movie at the Symphony: Home Alone in Concert. Here's a photo of our truck in downtown Denver en route to the concert. Big thanks to Paul Trotch, Joshua Fortenberry, and Troy Johnson for the great work – the event was amazing!


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Hidden from public view, stored in a museum vault in Wrocław, Poland is a scale model known as the Plastic Panorama of Old Lwów. The model's title does not quite do it justice. For one thing, the panoramic model is not really plastic. Among the materials used to construct it included lead, sheet copper and fine pasteboard, not exactly what most fine works of art are made from. The model was also more than just a panorama. It was an intimately detailed reconstruction of the city of Lwów (Lviv, Ukraine today) as it looked in the mid-18th century just prior to the end of Polish rule and before the Austrian Habsburg takeover of the city. The three dimensional model was done with exacting historical accuracy, featuring the streets and buildings of Lwów with everything done to a scale of 200:1. The panorama in all its exquisite details was unprecedented. It was both an immaculate snapshot of Baroque Lwów and a reflection of the vision of its creator, Janusz Witwicki, an architect and art historian. Witwicki managed to continue work on the Panorama during some of the 20th century's worst geopolitical upheavals, before he too was consumed by the maelstrom that ended Polish Lwów.
A Baroque Vision – Witwicki Recreates Old Lwów
Janusz Witwicki was born in Austro-Hungarian Lemberg in 1903. His father, Wladyslaw was a highly acclaimed professor, known for his teachings and writings on psychology, philosophy, aesthetics and art history. Janusz also showed an affinity for art history as well as an obsessive fascination with Lwów's architecture. He cultivated this interest at one of his first jobs, working in the office of Lwów's conservator of monuments. He went on to follow his father into teaching, soon gaining an assistant professorship at Lwów's prestigious technical university. In the late 1920's Witwicki discovered his true calling when he was selected to design models for the Lwów pavilion at the Polish National Exhibition in Poznan. He constructed many fine replicas for display. They bore an astonishing resemblance to the architectural works of his hometown.
Just two years later, while in Paris, Witwicki was inspired with the idea to create a model of historical Lwów as it looked in the waning years of the Kingdom of Poland. His panorama would focus on Lwów during the Baroque period. This era appealed architecturally to Witwicki since it was the antithesis of the neo-classical and secessionist influences that had been the hallmark of Austrian imposed architectural modernity on Lwów. Fortunately for Witwicki, 80% of the Baroque era buildings of Lwów's Old Town had survived Austrian rule. He would be able to perfect his model by closely studying many of these original buildings still extant from the cityscape he strived to recreate. Witwicki's objective was not just to reconstruct the past, but also to showcase the enduring Polishness of the city. In this frontier city of the Second Republic of Poland, Witwicki would help promote nationalism by evoking the glorious Polish past of Lwów.
From the early 1930's until the end of his life Witwicki was in the grip of an obsession. He spent hundreds of hours surveying and measuring buildings to ensure the precision of his models. Many days were spent digging into the city's archival holdings where he would pour over maps, sketches and paintings that accurately represented mid-18th century Lwów. Witwicki was not alone in this pursuit. He put together a team of specialists, including architectural engineers and modelers who could help create the Panorama. He used his own financial resources to pay for much of the early work. As the project grew, so did Witwicki's need to bring in greater financial backing.
In 1939 he was able to convince the city to pay one-third of the costs for the creation of the Panorama. It was a hard won success that would soon turn to disappointment. The city only paid a small portion of what they had promised. Perhaps there would have been more funding, but everything changed on September 1, 1939 when World War II broke out. Nazi Germany mercilessly attacked Poland, heavily bombing Lwów from the air on the first day. Less than three weeks later Soviet forces invaded Eastern Poland. Within a matter of weeks the Soviets had occupied Lwów. Work on the Panorama was temporarily frozen. Though models of the larger buildings had been completed, Witwicki's grand project was now threatened, as would be his life.
Against All Odds & Two Ideologies
Between 1939 and 1944 Lwów suffered three tyrannical occupations in succession. Witwicki suffered almost as badly as the city did and was lucky to escape with his life. He was arrested on three separate occasions. At one point he was forced to bribe the Nazis in order to regain his freedom. Incredibly, he continued to work on the Panorama. He audaciously petitioned the Nazi German city administration for access to archival resources so he could continue his work. At the same time, several of the twenty specialists he employed on the project were members of the Polish underground. The occupation authorities did allow his request to go forward. It seems that Witwicki's perseverance had paid off. By the time Soviet rule over the city was established in 1944, none other than Nikita Khrushchev, now in charge of the Ukraine, paid a visit to Witwicki's studio. He was highly impressed with the Panorama, even offering words of support, but Khrushchev also acknowledged that politically the Panorama did not fit with Soviet plans for the city. The Polish community was starting to be hollowed out.
This process would force over one hundred thousand of Lwów's Poles to move west into what had been eastern Germany. The city's future was to be Soviet, with an overwhelming ethnic majority of Ukrainians. Witwicki had been able to dodge the worst excesses of the war, but its aftermath was turned into an entirely different matter. He was an ethnic Pole recreating a marvelous Polish historical model of the city. The Soviets did not completely oppose his work. Instead they suggested that it be altered with a greater Ukrainian influence. A Ukrainian director was installed as head of the project. There was little doubt that Witwicki was losing control over his beloved Panorama. With Poles being forced to leave the city by the thousands, he knew that it was just a matter of time before the Panorama was confiscated. This was what exactly happened in April of 1946.
Rather than wait for the situation to worsen, Witwicki directly petitioned Khrushchev and Stalin to allow him to leave for Poland with the Panorama. Strangely enough his request was granted. Soviet authorities in the city had other ideas though. They opposed the Panorama being taken out of the city. In Stalin's Soviet Union a local or regional official would hardly ever chance overriding an order from Khrushchev or Stalin. To do so was a virtual death sentence. What happened next, while not surprising, is perplexing. On July 16th, only three days before Witwicki was due to leave for Poland three men from Moscow met with him. They claimed to be newspaper correspondents, but most likely they were NKVD (precursor to the KGB) agents. Witwicki was murdered by these men. His wife, Irena was not allowed to view his body.
The whole sordid episode had the hallmarks of a Soviet conspiracy, leaving questions that could never be answered. Who exactly ordered Witwicki's murder has never been discovered? Was it local officials acting out of malice? Had Khrushchev and Stalin played a cynical game with Witwicki? Were they really going to allow him to leave for Poland with the Panorama? Strangely enough the answer may be yes. Not long after the murder, the widowed Irena was given permission to leave for Poland and take the Panorama with her. It ended up at the Polish National Museum in Warsaw before being taken to Wrocław where the majority of Lwów's Polish community had been resettled. It would stay in storage until the Iron Curtain fell.
The Light Of Display – A Model City Vanishes
In the early 1990's Janusz Witwicki's unfinished masterpiece, the Plastic Panorama of Old Lwów was put back on display at the Museum of Architecture in Wrocław. For the first time in decades, the public was able to marvel at its exquisite re-creation of a Lwów that had been lost to history and then recreated through an obsessive study of history. Only through sheer will, force of personality and single mindedness had Witwicki managed to bring old Lwów back to life. If only for a moment Witwicki had managed to defeat time and accurately represent a past that had all but vanished. Then the moment passed. In 2003 the Panorama was once again placed in storage. Fortunately, it has come to light in more recent times. Following a very extensive conservation process in September 2015 the model went on permanent exhibit at the Hala Stulecia in Wroclaw.
* Special thanks to Eve Chrzanowska Parsons (Grand-daughter of Janusz and Irena Witwicki) for her invaluable assistance with this article.