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Once you have been blessed by the love and companionship of a dog, you can't quite imagine living life without it. I pined for a new Labrador for years. However, I knew it would be unfair to the dog and to me should I get him while living in a tiny apartment in NY while completely overworked from McKinsey or whatever startup I was running. I bided my time. Finally, post selling Zingy I could afford to have a country house with a big garden and could indulge my childhood dream!
My girlfriend wanted a Rottweiler so we wisely compromised and got both! She looked for breeders, read books on how to select amongst all the puppies, while I was tasked with rolling around the mud and playing with them. I can't tell you how adorable Rottweiler and Labrador puppies are. It's a miracle we ended up with only two dogs! Harvard was born on March 2, 2005 and I first met him 5 weeks after that. He was so white he had been nicknamed "snowball". I have to admit that he was not the puppy we picked. When we came back 2 weeks later to get our dog, he was the only one left. We had driven all this way and he was just too cute not to take home. And thus Harvard entered my life.
My father had named my first Labrador Ucla because it was supposedly the year of the "U" in dog names and he had done his MBA at UCLA. Having gone to Princeton, I thought it would be funny if my lab was called Harvard and was at my beck and call. Little did I realize he was going to be a spastic ball of manic insanity who really should have been named "No!" Over the years, I can't recount the number of times I said: "Harvard, no! No, no, noooooooooo…" as some disaster would inevitably ensue.
As loving and cute as he was, he sure had personality. He always had a knack for doing the stupidest thing he could do at any given point in time. Above all, he was a mischievous glutton, definitely not above using his guile, charm, good looks and every other trick in the book to get food. He had a special knack from identifying weak links, especially kids and newcomers who would underestimate his speed and agility. I can state with certainty that no other dog can steal the food on someone's plate as fast as he could. He would patiently wait for my guests to look away from their meal, and in the blink of an eye, he would emerge from under the table and empty their plate with the speed and precision of a ninja crossed with an alligator.
With regards to food, he was insatiable. Fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and everything in between. He was the ultimate omnivore, always happy to sample everything. Every day he would go into my shower, pondering whether to eat the soap. He would give it a lick and decide it was not for him. Inevitably he would return the next day, just in case the soap had gotten tastier overnight, to give it another try. Years later, he finally bit the bullet and ate it. Knowing him he might have even enjoyed it!
It's hard to imagine how different he was from Bagheera. As poised, elegant, calm and loving as she is, he was always bumbling and clumsy yet providing his own form of adorable aggressive love – kissing you while head butting you and lying all over you.
I recall taking Bagheera to the vet for her checkup. After the vet was done, he opened his kibble box, while she patiently sat and delicately ate them from his hand. When it was Harvard's turn, the second he opened the kibble box Harvard jumped into it, inhaling pounds of kibbles as three orderlies and the vet tried to pull him out of the box.
At the barbeques I organized, he would always pray on the innocent. He once managed to eat over 30 hamburgers and 20 hotdogs. Needless to say, we had to get his stomach pumped and he barely made it. A few months later one of the guests left the kibble box closed, but unlocked, and we found him lying inside it, sleeping right in the middle of the evidence!
Moving to Cabarete agreed with him. While he missed running in the snow, he clearly loved the water and spent his days in both the ocean and the pool when not chasing Frisbees.
Obviously, his devious attempts to steal food continued and he learned to avoid our wrath by doing his extra-curricular eating out of sight. I remember Otilia seeing him discreetly walking out of the room with his head inclined in a funny way. He had opened the fridge. After perusing the contents and realizing we would not let him eat in peace, he expertly took a cereal bowl in his mouth while trying to make a discreet run for it. We managed to intercept his escape attempt this time and even imposed a semblance of a diet on him.
That's not to say he stopped stealing food. With him, it was never really an option as everything agreed with his palate. Of late, he adjusted his diet to his new Caribbean environment. He had taken a particular liking for coconuts, which he would open and expertly strip clean.
I suppose it should not come as a surprise that his untimely demise came from something he ate. He had been so healthy and robust, surviving all his previous attempts to eat himself to death, that it was inconceivable that it would be any different this time. As usual I showered him with love and liquids to help him get through it, but this time it was not enough and his liver and kidneys failed him, and on Saturday he left me forever.
He's been a fixture of Bagheera and my life for the past nine and a half years and it's hard to imagine waking up every morning without his silky ears and scrunchy nose. As much as he loved food, he loved us even more, and leaves a huge hole in our hearts. It's so hard to conceive that he's no longer alive. Just 10 days ago he was healthy and happy, though a bit peeved that I thwarted his attempts to steal the pig we roasted for my 40th birthday.
This is ever the reminder about the fragility of life and our need to make the most of the present. But frankly I don't care for the life lesson, it just sucks and I miss him terribly. That said he did have a fun and glorious life and I hope that he finds himself in doggie heaven around unlimited amounts of food for him to eat without ever being sick.
Harvard, Bagheera and I love you and miss you. Thanks for a decade of unconditional love!]]>
Special thanks to Anne Hamilton for directing and [...]]]>
Special thanks to Anne Hamilton for directing and producing it.]]>
Freakonomics and Superfreaknomics – the bestselling books of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are no longer news to the readers of this blog. However, their new [...]]]>
Freakonomics and Superfreaknomics – the bestselling books of Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner are no longer news to the readers of this blog. However, their new work – Think Like a Freak is worth a shout-out. In Think Like a Freak, Levitt and Dubner use their famed unconventional analysis in explaining the hidden side of things. The readers of Freakonomics will recognize the authors' thinking process and their unorthodox approach. But their compelling story telling and the new topics covered make this work a page-turner for anyone interested in behavioral economics, or in simply thinking outside of the box.
In less than three hundred pages, the book covers topics from politics, business, and medicine to food eating contests and magic. My favorite part remains the story of Takeru Kobayashi, a slim Japanese man who becomes famous after eating fifty hot dogs in a hot-dog eating contest, and essentially doubling the world record. Kobayashi is what Levitt and Dubner define as a Freak. However, it is not an abnormal stomach – the obvious explanation that came through my mind – that makes Kobayashi a Freak, but his thinking and the way he approaches the hot-dog-eating problem.
On the other hand, the obvious can also be our friend. For instance, you will find out why it is harder for magicians to fool children than adults. It is simply because children are more curious than adults and they don't overthink magic tricks. If you want to think like a Freak it is imperative to stay curious and realize that sometimes the solution to what looks like an impossible puzzle is in fact the obvious.
Think like a Freak is about refusing to accept conventional wisdom as fact, and daring to look at the world around you from a different perspective.]]>
Given how massive the industry is, it's shocking how awful the used car buying and selling process is. To sell a car online, owners have to endure the pain of taking pictures, describing their car and posting them on Craigslist, eBay Motors or Auto Trader. They have to receive people at their home with all the security risks this entails, especially for women. After showing the the car to buyers, sellers have to organize getting paid and deal with the paperwork to transfer possession. This is a huge pain especially if there is a lien on the car. Alternatively if they deal with dealers, sellers get 10 to 20% less than the KBB trade-in price (which is already very low) and have to spend hours in the process. Dealers rarely give offers on the phone forcing them to visit 3 or 4 dealers to get a reasonable price. Let's be honest, no one ever said they looked forward to spending 5 hours with a car salesman!
For buyers it's even worse. There is no real way to buy a car online. After doing an average of 9 hours of research, buyers have to reach out to sellers to organize a test drive. This entails further safety concerns, especially if the payment is in cash. Buyers also have to deal with registration and financing. If they are buying offline, they spend an average of another 9 hours at the dealer. They go through a lengthy negotiation process. If they good negotiators they end up paying the KBB retail price, which on average is 54% more than what the dealer bought the car for. Worse buying a used car is fraught with risk given that sellers have more information about the car than buyers, and it's very possible that the car is a lemon. Most states don't have cool off periods and used cars are not returnable once purchased.
As I mentioned in my article The Evolution of Marketplaces, a new generation of marketplaces is emerging that focuses on providing delightful consumer experiences in categories that were essentially broken. This is best exemplified by Uber's massive improvement of the taxi experience. For the past 18 months, I have been spending all of my time building or investing in such marketplaces. As luck would have it, Ale Resnik, a successful Latin American entrepreneur who was helping me manage my angel investments during his second year of business school at MIT Sloan, bought a lemon.
He did tons of research online, went to a dealer and bought a $14,000 Jeep Liberty. Three days later his wife called him from the I-94 while he was working with me in NY: smoke was pouring from under the hood. He took it back to the dealer who made a few fixes, only to experience the same problem two more times. The dealer eventually washed his hands of all responsibility. Ale hired a lemon law lawyer, sued the dealer through the attorney general of Massachussets. It took him three months and a lot of time, but he eventually won, but it was arduous and expensive. There had to be a better way. Beepi was born!
We partnered with Owen Savir, an Israeli entrepreneur who was finishing his second year at GSB and set out to reinvent the used car buying and selling experience by addressing everything that is wrong with the experience. We wanted sellers to be able to sell cars in 3 clicks from the comfort of their home. On Beepi, all a seller needs to do is select the make, model, year and mileage of the car. We then offer a price that is always above the KBB trade-in price and we offer to beat any dealer offer by at least $1,000. If the seller accepts our offer, we send an inspector to their home or office.
Our inspector does a 195 point inspection. Should the car pass the inspection process, the inspector then does all the work necessary to place the car on sale: takes the pictures, writes the description, check the options, etc. Beepi then guarantees to sell it within 30 days or buys it at the price we quoted on the site. We also deal with terminating the lien or financing if need be.
For buyers Beepi organizes registration, financing, extended service and parts warranties and soon insurance. The price is always better than the dealer price. We deliver the car to the buyer's home or office washed and ready to use. To address the lemon's dilemma we offer a 10 day money back guarantee and a 3 month, 3,000 mile warranty for free included in the price.
We are only live in the Bay Area right now but buyers and sellers are loving the service and we are already on a $5 million in sales run rate 2 months after launch!
We look forward to expanding to the rest of the US and the world in the coming months and years!]]>
If you want to hear me embarrassing myself in Spanish, you can listen to the interview at: http://emprendedoruniversal.com/fabricegrinda/
It's also available on iTunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/12-fabrice-grinda-angel-inversionista/id865252986?i=313805747&mt=2]]>
For the past year I have been the proud owner of a HTC One. As the new generation of phones emerged, it became time to re-evaluate [...]]]>
For the past year I have been the proud owner of a HTC One. As the new generation of phones emerged, it became time to re-evaluate my decision. I almost picked the HTC One M8. It's clearly the better looking phone with a finely brushed aluminum body (vs. a generic plastic body for the S5). It has much better speakers. The HTC Sense interface is more streamlined and the HTC One M8 comes in a Google Play edition.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has much better battery life, camera and is water resistant. Some might also point out that the battery on the S5 is swappable and that the screen is marginally better looking. However, I would never carry an extra battery in my pocket and both screens are gorgeous, so I felt those advantageous were de minimis.
I ended up weighing the pros and cons based on what matters more to me on a day to day basis. Based on my personal use, better battery life is paramount. With my old HTC One I could never finish the day without running out of battery. At the same time I take more photos with my smartphone than I listen to music without a headset. The waterproof feature is also a clear plus given my notorious clumsiness. Two years ago I broke 9 iPhones in 1 year (4 of which from water damage)!
Both are great phones and you can't really go wrong with either, but the practical benefits of the S5 tipped the scale in its favor. I will revisit next year with the next generation of phones including the long awaited larger screen iPhone.]]>
Android fostered his renaissance. He had the vision to buy the company without permission (which was not blocked because the $50 million made no difference to Google's bottom line) and to foster its development. He learned to delegate and improved his management skills.
At the same time, despite all of Eric Schmidt's success at Google the company, the company became slower and more risk averse, loth to go for moonshots. Having built up his management experience during his wilderness years, Larry Page had become just the person required to take the company forward with the proper combination of vision, ambition and experience.
Read the full story at: http://www.businessinsider.com/larry-page-the-untold-story-2014-4]]>
Go see it!]]>
All that said Craigslist has tremendous strengths. The site still has extraordinary liquidity and strong network effects. Despite being out of date, the site has three great things going for it from a product perspective: it's simple, super-fast and mostly free.
Despite the obvious improvements that Craigslist could do to its user interface, this should actually not be its first priority. First and foremost Craigslist should focus on content quality. Great ads are the lifeblood of the business. Second Craigslist should focus on traffic quality and make sure the buyers are legitimate. Everything else comes after that.
Here are some suggested changes in order of priority:
1. Pre-moderate all the ads:
The number one complaint that potential buyers (and I use the word "buyer" liberally to mean anyone who is looking at ads) have on Craigslist is that there are lots of fake, spam and scam ads. Worse because it takes a bit of time for the ads to be moderated by the community and for the site to remove the ads, the very first ads we see on the site are the ones with the lowest quality or that have been deleted. This creates a terrible user experience.
The solution is to pre-moderate every ad using a combination of tools and experts per category to keep the site clean. The system automatically flags ads that are too cheap for the type of product / city it's in for instance. It's a lot of work, but it's completely worth it from a user experience perspective as the visitors never see bad ads. No ad should go live without manual review.
Many sites in the world get upwards of 1 million ads per day and manage to moderate them within 30 minutes of them being posted. The moderation team also makes sure that the site stays close to its consumer to consumer roots: no ads are allowed with stock photos or promoting new items for sale. Likewise users are prevented from posting their ad repeatedly.
It's worth noting that given that classifieds are a local or hyper-local, one of the features of the tool is to block postings from foreign countries. If a scammer from Nigeria posts an ad, he (and people from Nigeria) can see the ad, but no one else can see it.
2. Moderate replies to ads:
The number one complaints sellers (and I also use the word "seller" liberally to mean anyone who is posting ads) have on Craigslist is that there are lots of spam and scam replies to ads. There are many ways to address the issue through a combination of automatic tools and manual review.
The moderation tool should automatically block replies to ads from outside the country. It should look to the buyer as though the message has been sent, even though it's actually not sent. Exceptions can be made for specific circumstances. For instance people in Mexico and Canada near the border with the US might be allowed to reply to ads in the US.
Likewise the tool should use the typical keyword analysis to filter spam and scam replies to ads. For instance, all replies with the words "Western Union" should never reach sellers. All replies with known scams (e.g.; "send me $50 so that I can ship you the key") should also not be sent even though we pretend to the scammers that we send them.
3. Move personals and prostitution to another site (or close them):
Women who head households are the most important demographic for classified sites. They are the main decision maker in the purchase of cars, houses, etc. They hire household help (babysitters, cleaning ladies, caterers, etc.).
Our research indicates that these women by and large do not want to be exposed to personals and prostitution as part of their experience on a classified site. Regardless of my personal social liberal leanings, I acceded to their request on OLX and it was one of the most effective things we ever did. Removing personals dramatically increased engagement from what turned out to be our most important demographic.
Craigslist should move its personals to a separate site, e.g.; Craigsonals, or remove them altogether.
4. Offer a first class mobile experience:
The world has already gone mobile. Mobile devices account for over half of the traffic on the web on most sites. Classifieds are no exception. Around half the traffic at OLX and other classified sites is already mobile through a combination of a mobile web offering and iOS and Android apps. In some developing countries where Internet access is predominantly mobile 90% of the traffic actually comes from mobile devices. Shockingly Craigslist has neither a mobile web site, nor mobile apps.
I bet the bounce rate on Craigslist from mobile devices is much higher than from the web. Likewise engagement in terms of page views per visit, time on site, etc. is probably dramatically lower. It's too bad because smartphones and classifieds belong together. Your phone automatically geolocates you, automating the first step of a classifieds site experience. It also makes it extremely easy to post pictures of whatever you are selling.
Craigslist should offer a compelling mobile website and mobile apps ASAP.
5. Change business model:
Craigslist makes money by charging a fee to employers who want to post job listings and brokers who want to post real estate listings in certain cities. Charging a per listing fee is not the right business model. It does decrease spam and scams, but it also decreases liquidity. Having 100% of the good content in a category is a game changer and charging even a little leads you to lose many ads. If you pre-moderate the ads and block international postings, as mentioned in the first recommendation, spam and scams are no longer an issue.
As demonstrated by countless vertical job sites, car sites and real estate sites, professionals are willing to pay to have access to classifieds sites. To the extent Craigslist wants to monetize them, it's better to sell them a subscription package that allows them to post 100% of their inventory on the site.
Another extremely effective mechanism is to sell bump ups and featured placement. A bump-up is typically sold for a one off payment of say $1.99 for the ad to go back to the top upon purchase, or for a subscription where the ad goes back to the top of the results automatically once per day for a week. Featured ads are typically on top or to the side of the results. They are marked as such and appear in the first 2 or 3 positions of the search results of the relevant category on a rotating basis. These can be purchased by both consumers and professionals.
6. Improve the user interface:
When you talk to entrepreneurs about Craigslist, the first thing they always mention is how bad the user interface is. It can definitely be improved dramatically, but Craigslist starts with strong fundamentals as the site is already fast and simple.
That said I would love to redesign the site with a flat design on a 960 pixel grid with a 100% header and footer. The category page would include large thumbnails to help buyers decide earlier whether they want to get the ad details.
7. Add optional features:
This is much lower priority than all of the above, but Craigslist could offer a few optional services to better protect itself from disrupters. The key would be making these services optional and integrating them seamlessly such as not to impact the fundamentals of speed and simplicity.
Some of the optional features and services that come to mind:
Craigslist may not realize it, but it's facing an existential threat. Granted if they do nothing their network effects will allow them to muddle along for a very long time. However, those very network effects would put them in a very strong position going forward should they choose to react and implement the 7 point strategy I outlined above. Globally the market has spoken in favor of my stated strategy: Craigslist has failed to gain traction in the countries that Schibsted or OLX have focused on despite being present there.
It's worth pointing out that Craigslist should implement my recommendations, not in order to make more money (which they could always give to charity if they so wanted), but because it's the right thing to do. By not providing the best site they possibly can, Craigslist is failing on its mission to provide a free public service to the community. I would love to help them make up for those failings.]]>


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Maltese Slowness
March 8, 2010
We are leaping thirty degrees on the temperature gauge today. It's not due to global warming, but due to our travel. The day has finally arrived in which we're headed to Malta, an island in the Mediterranean 288 KM from Tunisia and 93 KM south of Sicily. They've promised me it's warm there. It has to be warmer than here! It snowed in Germany again. The sun is shining though!
So as we head Southeast, I am reminded that the world will keep spinning even as I do not. I hope to blog about the experience. I am told Malta has a rich history ~ pictures to follow!
New Poll ~ Does Daylight Saving Time Give You Jet Lag?
February 8, 2010
Once upon a Null Meridian
October 11, 2009
Ask any transmeridian worker such as an airline pilot, and you'll hear how important meridians are for coordinating air travel and the like.
October 13th marks the 125th anniversary of the Greenwich Meridian that runs smack dab through the lens of London's Observatory telescope in its Greenwich quarter. The world was then divided into 24 time zones in 60 minute increments. At the time, twenty-six countries reached a mutual agreement on the world's y-axis. The equator, having always been the x-axis of the planet, now had a perpendicular companion. Nations such as Afghanistan still tend to use their own personalized understanding of time accounting. But nonetheless, the world's commerce relies greatly on this agreement the folks in DC at the International Meridian Conference agreed upon that autumnal day in 1884. Oh sure, there were minor adjustments with a redefintion of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) called Universal Time, then again in 1972 with UTC (Universal Time Coordinated) based on atomic clocks that reset in case you goof up the settings. You can get them at any store these days. Much to our chagrin, our children tend to set them at odd hours. The other day the alarm went off at 5 am…
The history of time, along with our collective agreement about what time is, is an interesting one. Happy Birthday, GMT. We transmeridian travelers promise not to hold jetlag against you.
Slow en Espagnol
September 24, 2009
In a few hours we're boarding a plane to Barcelona. The late-summer sun has kissed our skin good-bye as we enter the warmer climes of the Spanish coastline. My sister and brother-in-law are making happy suitcase zippering noises, a reminder of adventure and good food to come.
We'll be breathing the slow Spanish air for four days and three nights. Tune in for more stories soon!
The Gift of a Year
September 4, 2009
The phone jangled just as I was shutting down my computer. It was my sister, fresh off her summer beach vacation. She was brimming with ideas and excitment.
"You've got to read this book: The Gift of a Year: How to Achieve the Most Meaningful, Satisfying, and Pleasurable Year of Your Life by Mira Kirschenbaum. It's changed my life!!" She proceeded to tell me how the book lays out a year-long plan to do what you've always wanted to do, but never had the guts/time/energy/money to do it. With compelling case studies of people who took time off for a year to travel, paint or pursue other passions, I got excited for my sister who decided to travel more. In fact, we made plans for our pending trip to Barcelona week after next right then and there.
So when I received a copy of Halfway to Each Other: How a Year in Italy Brought Our Family Home by Susan Pohlman, I was enthralled by her story. She took her husband and two kids to explore life in Italy for a year. The author, who was on the brink of divorce from her then radio producer husband, decided to give her married life another chance by moving her entire existence to the outskirts of Genoa. I fell in love with Susan the moment I cracked the book's spine. Her strength (and admitted weaknesses) make you want to call her up for a cup of cappuccino and a chat.
Susan and her family indeed gave themselves a gift of a year and by the end of it, and the book itself, the reader is richer for their experiences and for the opportunity to explore his or her own chance at renewal by shaking things up just a little bit.
You needn't move to a foreign country to make a difference in your life.
The power of slow dictates that we periodically reevaluate how we are spending our personal bank account of time. For the two authors above it is clear they dedicated some of theirs to a worthwhile cause of self-discovery and joy. We readers are all the richer for their efforts.
Time Zone Dance
September 2, 2009
Nothing makes you more acutely aware of the relativity of time than jetlag.
We returned from our three-week trip to the States in great spirits. Iberia Airlines had vastly overbooked our flight to Munich (via Madrid) so the airline clerk suggested we hop a direct flight to Munich on Lufthansa instead. The children thrust themselves heavenward in a collective expression of jubilation. I hadn't heard the end of it since we flew over on Iberia.
"No personalized monitor screens? No happy-faced flight attendants' Icky bathrooms and an ancient aircraft?"
Before the clerk could blink, I grabbed his arm and screamed replied, Heck Yeah!
In a matter of words, we agreed unconditionally.
My husband, fresh off a sustained state of relaxation (he spent most of his time either in the kitchen cooking or in the hammock reading), praised me for my foresight of coming to the airport a little earlier than necessary.
"We're flying our preferred airline now, all thanks to Mama! She's the one that insisted suggested we leave early. Isn't that great?" So the half-hour we invested saved us five hours of travel time.
Now, back at home, we're engaging in the time zone dance. Meeting halfway to the bathroom at 1 am, my daughter and I blinked at each other in the darkness.
"Why are you up?" I asked her. She wasn't coherent (and I was distinctly unfair in demanding anything more than a mumble). We met again at 3 am, but then all was quiet.
That is, until my eyes popped awake at 10 am, wondering where the time went…
Wednesday Wisdom – Expanding and Contracting Time
August 19, 2009
Mary Westheimer, who works for Arizona-based sculptor Kevin Caron, shares a neat story about how time expands and contracts whenever she places herself in the flow of life. Fearless and calm, she's made it across Phoenix in the time it takes to order a Starbucks double latte skim at lunch time.
Listen in on Mary's story here to find out how you can make time, too. [Listening instructions: Deactivate your pop-up blocker; click on the link, then click on it again. Click on 'open' to listen to the .wav file. It's rudimentary, but it works!].
Vacation Deprivation
June 15, 2009
According to the annual Expedia.com Vacation Deprivation survey, we're in trouble. We don't have much time off, and we don't even take the time off we have.
Studying the vacation habits of employed workers from the US, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, Expedia.com reveals that the French take the most time off (an average of 36 of their 38 vacation days) while US workers limp in last place with the number of days they have available: 13 (it is forecasted that they will take only 10 of them in 2009). Juxtaposed to the Japanese, 7 of their 15 vacation days will be left on the table this year.
I'm in love with my work just like many people I know. But, like my family, I can leave it behind for a few days and still feel good about myself. After all, I am contributing to a higher rate of efficiency by filling the tank, greasing the engine, whetting the knife – you get my drift?
The survey goes on to report that 34% of employed US workers do not take all their vacation days in one year (this trend is rising – in 2008, it was 31%). Thirty-seven percent of employed US adults work more than 40 hours a week (need I mention France's baseline 35-hour work week? Prime Minister Sarkozy has taken measures, however, to loosen the grip of the shorter work week to stimulate the economy.)
More work and less play makes Pièrre, well, less playful. And that goes for us working stiffs, too.
Are you vacation deprived? Do you yearn for the brightness a holiday can bring to your life? What are your plans this summer?
How do you view time?
June 12, 2009
Time is of the essence.
Time is money.
Time is a terrible thing to waste…or was it the mind?
Perhaps time is all in our minds.
If you believe Robert Levine, a brilliant social psychologist from California State University who authored A Geography of Time, time perception is deeply embedded in cultural understanding. For a Brazilian, punctuality is not revered as it is for a German (Lord knows you don't want to be 'late' for a meeting in Germany. Bad, bad, bad!). According to Professor Levine, the higher your social standing in Brazil, the later you are expected to be.
Giancarlo Duranti, PMP, a project management professional who currently resides in Rome, did not know this when he moved to Rio de Janeiro. In fact, he told me in a recent interview that it took the better part of a year before he fully understood Brazilian time perception. He later moved to Cuba, which provided a similar dilemma. He pointed out the cultural clash in particular between monochronic thinkers (linear, one-at-a-time people) and polychronic ones (multitasking, loosely related to time schedule types). Understanding who you are dealing with and from which culture can mean the difference between getting a project done on time…or not at all.
Cultural misunderstandings can lead to ferocious interactions between peoples. We see it every day on the news. Time plays a big role. I claim we need to befriend time as we all have a personal bank account of time to spend. How you define time is up to you.
How do you view time? Friend or foe? Nag or necessity? In the words of my late grandmother, do tell.

subset: commoncrawl


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Book Talk: Eye of the Tiger
This may be the Chinese Year of the Rabbit, but it feels more like the year of the tiger. Actually, I may spend my summer reading all these tiger books making it the summer of the tiger.
Here is the list of outstanding books with tiger in the title: "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua, "The Tiger: A True Story of Vengeance and Survival" by John Vaillant, "Tiger, Tiger: A Memoir" by Margaux Fragoso, and "The Tiger's Wife" by Tea Obreht.
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Why, then, would we look for evidence of socialism only where a state seized by radicals of the Left inaugurates a dictatorship of the proletariat? Or, to lower the rhetorical volume and evidentiary stakes, why would we expect to find socialism only where avowed socialists or labor parties contend for state power? We should instead assume that socialism, like capitalism, is a cross-class cultural construction, to which even the bourgeoisie has already made significant contributions – just as the proletariat has long made significant contributions to the cross-class construction we know as capitalism. What follows?
Who, exactly, represents the left extreme in the establishment blogosphere? You'd likely hear names like Jane Hamsher or Glenn Greenwald. But these examples are instructive. Is Hamsher a socialist? A revolutionary anti-capitalist? In any historical or international context-- in the context of a country that once had a robust socialist left, and in a world where there are straightforwardly socialist parties in almost every other democracy-- is Hamsher particularly left-wing? Not at all. It's only because her rhetoric is rather inflamed that she is seen as particularly far to the left.Freddie De Boer on the lack of left wing discourse in the blogosphere. [more inside]


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Health & Pregnancy
News Related to Health & Pregnancy
Painkillers in Pregnancy Linked to Male Infertility
Nov. 12, 2010 -- Common over-the-counter painkillers taken during pregnancy may be to blame for a global rise in male infertility. Even acetaminophen (Tylenol) may put a developing boy's future reproductive health at risk, suggest findings from a study of some 2,300 Danish and Finnish women by HenriRead Full Article
'Mommy Brain' May Trigger Brain Growth
Oct. 25, 2010 -- ''Mommy brain" -- used to describe that spacey, sleep-deprived state when new moms tend to forget things and act scatterbrained -- may not be the whole story on what happens to women's brains after giving birth. Motherhood may actually trigger brain growth, with changes in areas ofRead Full Article
Season of Birth May Affect Kids' Allergies
Oct. 19, 2010 -- The season in which babies are born could affect their susceptibility to food allergies early in life, new research indicates. Finnish scientists studied just under 6,000 children born between 2001 and 2006 in southeast Finland. About 1,000 were tested for sensitization to food alleRead Full Article
New Clues to Vitamin D-Insulin Sensitivity Link?
Oct. 11, 2010 (San Diego) -- Higher levels of vitamin D in newborns are linked with better insulin sensitivity at age 3, perhaps reducing their obesity risk, according to a new study. "This study suggests that higher vitamin D levels at birth may protect against insulin resistance, which is linkedRead Full Article
BPA in Pregnancy: Cashiers, Canned Veggie Eaters Beware?
Oct. 8, 2010 -- Pregnant women who work as cashiers, are exposed to tobacco smoke, or eat lots of canned veggies may have higher urinary levels of the controversial chemical bisphenol A (BPA), according to a new study. These levels tended to ebb and flow throughout pregnancy, according to the study,Read Full Article
Light Drinking During Pregnancy: No Harm to Baby?
Oct. 5, 2010 - Pregnant women who have up to two alcoholic drinks per week do not harm their children, a U.K. study shows. More than 11,500 children and their mothers were included in the study. Mothers were first asked about their alcohol use when the kids were 9 months old. The children were lastRead Full Article
Poor Sleep in Pregnancy Linked to High Blood Pressure
Oct. 1, 2010 -- Getting too much or too little sleep during the first trimester may increase a woman's risk of developing elevated blood pressure and its related complications later in pregnancy, according to a new study. Pregnancy-induced high blood pressure is a symptom of preeclampsia, a seriousRead Full Article
Study: No Proven Morning Sickness Treatments
Sept. 8, 2010 -- Treatments for morning sickness, the nausea and vomiting experienced by up to 80% of pregnant women, are plentiful, from using acupuncture or eating ginger to taking vitamin B6. But the evidence that any of these treatments work is limited, according to a new review. ''There's no stRead Full Article
Sex Not on Most New Moms' Minds
Sept. 1, 2010 -- When her ob-gyn said she could start having sex again six weeks after giving birth, writer Heidi Raykeil's first thought was, "Can't I have another six weeks?" "I wanted to want sex, but I just didn't," she tells WebMD. "I had absolutely no interest." More than a year later, when thRead Full Article
C-Section Rates Are High and Getting Higher
Aug. 30, 2010 -- Cesarean section deliveries are at an all-time high in the U.S. and are expected to keep rising, and new government-funded research may help explain the trend. Nearly one in three babies are now delivered surgically -- up from one in five just over a decade ago. Previously recognizeRead Full Article


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Welcome to Artcetera. Arts-and-entertainment writers and critics post movie news, concert updates, people items, video, photos and more. Share your views. Check it daily. Remain in the know. Contributors: Mary Abbe, Aimee Blanchette, Jon Bream, Tim Campbell, Colin Covert, Laurie Hertzel, Tom Horgen, Neal Justin, Claude Peck, Rohan Preston, Chris Riemenschneider, Graydon Royce, Randy Salas and Kristin Tillotson.
James Gandolfini
LOS ANGELES -- James Gandolfini's tragic death still weighs heavily on the minds of HBO executives.
"Jim's passing took the wind out of our sails quite a bit," said HBO president Michael Lombardo.
"The Sopranos" star had shot scenes for the highly anticipated series, "Criminal Justice." Lombard said the pilot will be reshot and that they are in talks to recast his role.
In other HBO news from the TV critics press tour:
"Treme" will return Dec. 1 for its final five episodes.
David Milch has written a feature-length script based on a William Faulkner novel. No word yet on if or when it might be shot.
HBO is considering another season of "Family Tree," although Lombardo admitted the numbers for the first season were not as robust as they had hoped.
"Eastbound and Down" may be wrapping up, but the show's creator Danny McBride and Jody Hill aren't entirely leaving HBO. Execs said the duo are developing an idea that revolves around high school life.
"Hello Ladies," a new sitcom about a sap trying to pick up women in L.A., stars and is written by Stephen Merchant. So why is his regular writing partner RIcky Gervais not on board? Merchant says Gervais has had the same girlfriend since he was 20, so the dating world is alien to him.
Larry David's upcoming HBO film, "Clear History," feels a lot like a long "Curb Your Enthusiasm" -- and that's a good thing. David said he wasn't thinking about using the material for another season of "Curb." Rather, he just wanted to try making a movie. When I asked him what was the future of "Curb," he said he really didn't know. "Ask me in six months." Don't worry; we will.
David Bradley is enjoying a moment. Up until now, he's been best known as the sadist janitor in the "Harry Potter" films. But this year is turning into something different. He's got a juicy role in BBC America's very promising mini-series "Broadchurch." He also plays the original Dr. Who in "An Adventure in Time and Space," a look at the making of a TV legend. But he struck pop-culture gold with his small, but pivotal role in the "Game of Thrones" episode simply known as "The One With the Red Wedding." His character ends up killing off several major characters.
"It's amazing how it's generated all these emotions," Bradley said. "I've enjoyed every moment of it. Actually, I've enjoyed it rather too much."
Coming up next: Notes and notions from a party celebrating 50 years of "Dr. Who."
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As the legendary Ivan, the Space Biker, go onboard the "SS Vanguard" research vessel in an old-school yet original classic FPS adventure for Half-Life.
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Song named after E1M2, made by myself. Sorta John Carpenter inspired. This is a little preview for when we release the OST.


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By�Steve Licht
The Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance was formed to stop the proposed Rock Island Clean Line (RICL). Using Iowa farmland for this line (to deliver wind-generated electricity to Illinois) is immoral. There are other �rights of way� that can be used, such as railroad beds, highway corridors and existing electric line paths. One of the things the Iowa Utilities Board rules on is whether or not RICL serves a public use. It�s hard to say that it would.
Is there any greater �public use� of farmland than to produce food for the world? The term public use, by Iowa Code, can be in or out of state. For the utilities board to grant a franchise to RICL is saying that a public use by RICL is more important than farmers. I say Iowa farmers have �tenure.�
The Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance is not against green energy.
The very first letter that landowners received from RICL mentioned eminent domain. Companies such Mid American and ITC are working to bring a more responsible source of wind power to their customers. They are doing so by upgrading existing rights of way, with little use of eminent domain.
As wind energy becomes more prevalent, it is going to be more and more difficult to keep the grids stable. Everyone should be concerned about the unintended consequences related to the RICL. There is a balance within our electrical infrastructure between many energy sources. Projects such as this threaten the stability of reliable energy, and need to be researched to understand the impacts.
Clean Line is misleading the public, from the very name of the company, to jobs, property value loss, economic benefits, health effects, and the list goes on.
If RICL would show a wind map of water areas, you would see that there is tremendous wind over the Great lakes and off the East Coast.
I was at many of their public meetings, and they were very vague in their answers to the public. They have been working on a local and state governments to gain support as early as four years ago, before the landowners even knew about their project. This is not the kind of company we want in Iowa!
The Preservation of Rural Iowa Alliance has worked very hard to be a trusted resource for people to become well-informed. Every Iowan has rights. To know them is hard, though.
The process for these projects are complex. A project of this size by a private company has never been done in Iowa before. If RICL is granted a franchise, there will be more lines like this one proposed. It may be your land the next.
Tell your local leaders, and county supervisors not to support companies such as this. Urge your legislators to support bills that would make it harder for a private company to use eminent domain. Inform the Iowa Utilities Board why you object to RICL in Iowa.
Join with us to fight for your rights. Visit www.iowastopricl.com.Steve Licht farms near Ayrshire in Northwest Iowa and is vice president of The Preservation Of Rural Iowa Alliance. He farms three tracts of land potentially affected by the proposed Rock Island Clean Line project. Comments: email@example.com


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How do you play retro games?
Enter ShadowNet login...
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Peter Warner - Chief of Staff, White House
Governor Sidney Phelps - National Security Agency aka No Such Agency (NSA).
Dr. Tamara Zoren - Economic Adviser
Scanning for possible terrorist countries on the ShadowNet international display *cough*
So the big purple one is Iran, be smaller red one is Iraq. And that hourglass symbol is where I'm going to send my US-made nuclear device!
Iraq: Nuclear weaponry information. Uh, nope no nukes here. What? They still haven't found any WMDs? What US invaded Iraq for WMDs? What Saddam Hussein is already executed and still no WMDs?
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Store diapers in style with the Brianna Diaper Stacker. Featuring a springtime floral pattern with striped trim, this decorative diaper stacker allows you to hide diapers so you can keep them close at hand while keeping your nursery neat and attractive. Coordinates perfectly with the Bananafish Brianna baby bedding and room decor collection.
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Don't miss the event of the year! Buy tickets to our New York and Chicago parties now.
The Insiders' Guide to California
For wine, food, travel and adventure, the Golden State is the perfect place for outstanding and of-the-moment experiences.
California Dreaming
There has never been a better time to enjoy the wine bounty that comes from our own backyard, in California.
Insider's Guide to Los Angeles
Tinseltown's best watering holes and grub spots.
Santa Barbara
From the palm trees and beaches of the Pacific coast, Santa Barbara County defines Southern California's lifestyle: both chic and relaxed.
SLO/Paso Robles
Despite its burgeoning wine culture, Paso Robles happily retains its 19th-century cowboy swagger.
Monterey is attracting a new wave of winemakers eager to explore its potential.
Central Valley
The juggernaut of California's table wine business, the Central Valley is the largest wine-grape growing region in the state.
Livermore Valley
With small producers pushing the charge for higher quality, Livermore's wines are achieving new heights.
Mendocino/Lake Counties
For years, Mendocino and Lake counties served as sources of affordable grapes for its southern sisters, Napa and Sonoma. Now each region is establishing its own identity.
The Napa Valley
Is there a wine lover who hasn't heard of Napa Valley?
Insider's Guide to San Francisco
Drink and eat your way through the foodie-friendly metro.
The Sierra Foothills
Rugged and extreme, the Sierra Foothills is a place where vintners experiment, soulfully searching for magic like the Gold Rushers before them.
California's most diverse county, Sonoma yields some of the world's greatest wines.
Long known for big red wines, Lodi is a fertile winegrower's paradise.
Golden State Tipples
These drinks feature the freshest local ingredients found along California's coast.
The South Coast
South Coast winemakers know the region's scary-consistent climate (also known as perfect, gorgeous and envy-inducing) is what sets it apart from the rest of California.
Four New California AVAs Established
Plus Downton Abbey wines are released.
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Kick-start your ongoing exploration of wine. Through these simple and smart guidelines, you'll discover your own palate.
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2013 Vintage Chart
Wine Enthusiast Magazine's vintage chart is a year-by-year guide to the overall quality and drinkability of the wines from the world's major winegrowing regions.
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Cooking with Wine
Adding wine to your favorite recipe can impart wonderful flavor, but too much or the wrong style can put the kibbosh on a potentially delicious dinner.
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Wine and cheese are two of life's great culinary pleasures, and finding the perfect match can be a delicious endeavor.
Wine Pairings
Each season offers some opportunity, great or small, for the worlds of food and wine to have a graceful pas de deux.
German Wine Facts & Terms
German wine labels can be intimidating: long, foreign words and ornate script are enough to make many consumers head straight for a different section of the wine shop.
Italian Wine Facts & Terms
Italian tradition is so closely grafted to the vine that the good cheer and easy attitudes associated with wine culture are mirrored in the nation's temperament.
French Wine Facts & Terms
The style of French wine echoes that of the French themselves—elegant, well-dressed, showing an appreciation for the good things of life but never to excess.
Varietal versus Appellation Labeling
Throughout Europe, wines are classified by vineyard, village and/or region where they are made. This appellation system is based on precisely defined wine regions, some as small as a single vineyard.
White Wine Information & Basics
Learn the varietal characteristics of white wine grapes.
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Learn the varietal characteristics of red wine grapes.
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Insisting on a good glass is not snobbery; it's common sense.
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Learn to evaluate wine by sight, smell and taste.
Wine For Beginners
Learning to taste wine is no different than learning to really appreciate music or art—the pleasure you receive is proportionate to the effort you make.
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The Knowledge as well as Power System Use a Power of Your Imagination to Acquire Knowledge as well as Power.pdf
Sleep Your Way To Success
Your Right to vote-Constitution and Beyond
More Than Myspace: Using Social Media To Market Products And Services
The Laws of Attraction is your Gguide to an Enlightened and Fulfilled Life
Best Ways To Price Your House To Sell - Strategies And Tips Revealed
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How To Deepen Your Voice Deep Voice Mastery
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Turn your Fear to Power
I took about two years to read this book. I read the first 50 pages about two pages at a time, and I read the last 3/4 of this book in the last week.
The first 50 pages are amazing. If you take the time and do all of the exercises that she recommends, it will take a while to fully practice all of the stuff that she says, but it is well worth it.
I've heard a lot about diaphragm breathing, but Renee did a better job than anyone else on talking about the subject.
I also really liked her exercise of recording your voice, and listing out three positives and three negatives about your voice. This is a very cool exercise, because it forces you to be objective about your voice.
What she says about the power of consonants is revolutionary, and has really changed the way that I speak. So much on speaking and music is vowel-centric, and she explains that, too.
I also really liked how she explained the musical undertone of everyday... read more
I was amazed at how much deeper and stronger my voice sounded, after trying this approach for only a few minutes! I have always had a soft voice, and often had trouble projecting over the background noise in the architecture studios I teach. In spite of wishing for a more effective speaking voice, I don't have time to spend on laborious exercises. The approach presented in this book is easy to understand, and can be done in spare moments, in the shower, etc. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants their voice to sound more professional and confident.
I purchased this book after having read a story in the Boston Globe about speech and how important it is when giving presentations or job interviews. I hoped that this book would give me better speaking skills. To this end, there are some good points in this book, but they are buried between the name dropping and self promoting that the author does will annoying frequency.
For example, the skill that seems to be the cornerstone of the techniques presented in this book is a method of breathing. The author explains that not everyone gets this method at first and describes how one famous client (yet another name drop) required five one hour sessions before she got the hang of it. Yet, the author expects the reader to be able to learn the breathing method from the one paragraph that she dedicates to explaining the method.
In summary, I believe that it is possible to learn some skills from this book, but I wish that the author spent more time explaining the skills... read more
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September 26, 2013 - Industry News
Texas-based Rush Enterprises, which operates the largest network of commercial vehicle dealerships in North America, is expanding in the Midwest with the aquisition of several dealerships in Illinois and Indiana.
Tags: Illinois, Rush Enterprises, Indiana, Dealers
September 16, 2013 - Industry News
M&K Quality Truck Sales has expanded its presence in the Chicago area, opening a parts sales operation in Melrose Park. Serving customers in the west and northwest Chicago suburbs, M & K Melrose Park becomes the company's fourth location in the area, and ninth facility overall.
Tags: Illinois, Dealers, Expansion, M&K
February 14, 2013 - Industry News
CIT Kenworth Chicago has opened a full-service dealership in a new state-of-the-art facility in Mokena, Ill.
Tags: Kenworth, Illinois, Dealers
November 29, 2012 - Industry News
Smith Electric Vehicles announced that it will open an electric vehicle manufacturing facility in Chicago, after Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a voucher system created to accelerate the conversion from diesel to all-electric commercial vehicles
Tags: Industry, Smith, Battery-Electric Vehicles, Illinois
We offer e-newsletters that deliver targeted news and information for the entire fleet industry.
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Fiery Crash Video Paints Portrait of Brave and Caring Truckers
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Freightliner's S2G Propane-Autogas-Powered Truck Chassis
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Peterbilt Adds New Configuration for SmartAir System
Chicago Pneumatic Announces New Impact Wrench
Mitsubishi Announces Idle Limit System Option for Canter Trucks
Fleetmatics Adds HOS Logging to Reveal


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When a baby room takes the place of a man cave, once-cherished leather couches and entertainment centers often wind up curbside, waiting for their ride to the landfill. The Habitat for Humanity ReStore saves furniture from an untimely demise and stocks new and used building materials, using the proceeds to help to create affordable homes for the city's low-income families. Manufacturers, businesses, contractors, and individuals regularly stop in to donate a variety of items ranging from caulk to file cabinets to paintbrushes. The mostly volunteer staff at ReStore spent 2010 keeping more than 730,000 pounds of usable supplies out of landfills and trash mountains.
Most of K Komfort's technicians and engineers draw on more than a quarter-century of experience in improving indoor air quality and lowering energy bills. Having witnessed the evolution of heating and cooling technology, the crew deftly repairs old furnaces and installs efficient, new air-conditioner systems with techniques learned in NARI continuing-education programs. HEPA-approved equipment clears ductwork of pesky particles that cause asthma, allergies, and dinnertime interruptions by nuclear physicists, and filtration systems help maintain fresh air once technicians are out of the picture. Their preferred brand is Carrier, but the service truck is stocked with a library of parts from other manufacturers so maintenance often can be completed in one visit.
Since 1912, four generations of Zimmermanns have stocked the shelves at the 15,000-square-foot Zimmermann True Value Hardware store with durable hardware supplies, gardening equipment, and other home-improvement goods. Shoppers can peruse the aisles to pick up handy items such as screwdriver sets, hammers, and miniature contractors for DIY projects. Standing strong by their commitment to superior customer service, the staff also provides convenient services including knife sharpening, computerized paint matching, and screen repair.
Hardware by Design, Inc. invites shoppers to peruse its 2,800-square-foot show room of copper sinks, decorative towel bars, cabinet hardware, and door hardware. Knowledgeable hardware designers can help homeowners make decorative decisions with house walk-throughs, and the store also offers free estimates. Plumbing fixtures from Mico Designs and California Faucets add touches of fashion and function to showers and baths, and vanities and sinks from Thompson Traders and Rocky Mountain Hardware turn everyday teeth brushing into luxurious ivory massaging. Locksets and knobs from top industry brands such as Ashley Norton, Nobilus, Bravura, and Top Knobs transform lackluster doors and kitchen cabinets into practical works of art.
It might be hard to believe considering its vast array of products, but Sears, Roebuck and Co. began with one accessory: watches. In 1886, Richard W. Sears bought a box of unwanted watches from a jeweler, thinking he could turn a profit by selling them. He was correct and committed to the watch business by hiring Alvah C. Roebuck, an experienced watchmaker.
As time went on, though, their business expanded its umbrella far beyond what people wore on their wrists. Sears became known as the place to shop for almost any appliance, from sewing machines to those magical boxes that create water from nothing and clean your clothes.
Today, the stores stock clothing, accessories, electronics, kitchen equipment, tools for outdoor living, and home decor. This variety is sustained by Sears's proprietary brands—Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard, to name a few—and other national names that populate the shelves.
Eddie Z's Blinds and Drapery dresses dapper wall-holes in a variety of shades, shutters, and other window-covering garments. During a complimentary at-home consultation, a designer will help clients select window treatments, or customers can come to a showroom to observe blinds in their natural habitat. Homeowners can opt to add an earthy accent to rooms with woven wood shades ($72+), or trap runaway air in the insulating compartments of honeycomb cellular shades ($67+). Horizontal-line haters can choose vertical blinds that come in more than 300 colors, styles, and fruit flavors ($55+).


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Winds: Calm
The 2013 SAT scores are in and Coweta County's high schools outscored the state average. Coweta's composite average of 1,475 points on the college entrance exam was 23 points above the state average of 1,452.
"The average scores for each of Coweta County's three high schools were above the state average in 2013, and Coweta's high schools outscored national averages in some instances," said school system spokesman Dean Jackson.
Northgate High School students scored 1,501 while Newnan High School students scored 1,473 and East Coweta High School students scored 1,457. Read More»
Mold was found in several Fayette County schools once the school year began. A number of teachers reported symptoms of allergies and the mold has been removed. Read More»
Peachtree City's McIntosh High School is marked by at least two distinctions this week: An unbeaten football team and the county's highest test score average on the 2013 Scholastic Aptitude Test.McIntosh leads in the SAT race with a 1,644-point average, and Starr's Mill High School is right behind with an SAT average of 1,622. They are followed by Whitewater, Sandy Creek and Fayette County High. Read More»
McIntosh 28, Mundy's Mill 27: The Chiefs (5-0, 2-0) maintained their perfect record and matched their 2012 win total with a win at Twelve Oaks Stadium in Clayton County. After a bye next week, McIntosh will host Whitewater Oct. 11.
Drew 35, Starr's Mill 34: The Panthers (2-3, 1-1) fell on the road in Clayton County and will host Creekside next Friday.
Whitewater 35, Forest Park 8: The Wildcats (4-1, 2-0) took the field Thursday at Southern Crescent Stadium in Clayton County and won their fourth straight. They will travel to Northgate next Friday. Read More»
The Sandy Creek Patriots (3-0-1, 1-0) broke the 50-point barrier for the third straight game, winning 54-19 over the Fayette County Tigers (0-4, 0-1) in a Region 5-AAAA battle in Fayetteville.
After putting up 55 points against Newnan and 54 against East Coweta, the Patriots are averaging 47.5 points per contest and now have a 43-game regular-season unbeaten streak. Read More»
Principal Felecia Spicer at Robert. J. Burch Elementary has been working on forming partnerships with the school's neighbors along Jenkins Road since she came to the school over a year ago.
One of the school's most successful partnerships is with next-door neighbor Sandy Creek High.
Last spring, Sandy Creek's environmental science students made books about animal life and ecosystems for second graders.
They read the books to Burch's students before presenting them to the media center. Read More»
McIntosh is 4-0, Starr's Mill and Sandy Creek also win Read More»
Our Lady of Mercy hosted Athens Academy in its home opener Friday night, and the game went down to the final minute before the Spartans came away with a 20-13 win over the Bobcats, who fell to 0-3.
The visiting team jumped out to a 13-0 early lead, taking the opening kickoff down the field until Michael Santamaria connected with Eric Williams on a 21-yard touchdown pass. At the start of the second quarter after a OLM punt, the Spartans needed only one play to reach the end zone, with Santamaria hitting Williams on a 61-yard scoring play. Read More»
Superintendent Jody Barrow on Sept. 16 gave members of the Fayette County Board of Education a look at his proposed school system goals and objectives and potential revised mission and vision statements.
The idea behind the proposals was to position Fayette students to complete internationally, Barrow noted, as he asked board members for their input in the coming weeks. Barrow said he would bring any revisions back to the board for a vote at a later date. Read More»
The old Newnan Hospital on Jackson Street in Newnan is about to get a new look for the 21st century. Rather than a customary groundbreaking, a "building breaking" ceremony was held Sept. 9 to announce the beginning of the project that will transform the old hospital into the University of West Georgia-Newnan Center that will open in January 2015. Read More»


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Cape Coral Villa Rental Photos and Description
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, large living area, extra large pool area
In the Wischis Florida Home - 'Applebee' the idea is to feel good and relax. Whether you read a good book, enjoy a glass of fine wine or want to spend a cozy evening in front of the television, just do it - you are on vacation.
On 150 m² you will find 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a very nice living area. There is plenty of space and opportunities to enjoy the day. The living room is spacious and equipped with a large LCD TV and DVD-player. Of course you have internet access and wifi.
In the tastefully decorated 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms you will find plenty of linens and towels.
The kitchen is of course fully equipped. Whether at the large dining table, at the breakfast bar or on the terrace: the 'Applebee' offers many beautiful areas for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The large pool area is fantastic to spend a lot of time at the pool.
The pool is a salt water pool, which means no red eyes, no itchy skin - on the contrary: Salt has a positive effect on the skin.
The 'Applebee' is only 3 minutes walking distance from our homes 'Tropical Sunset' and 'Tropical Garden'.
If you are on vacation with friends or parents / in-laws you may want to consider these houses.
Reserve enough space in your suitcase, the proximity to local shopping malls is .
Enjoy a wonderful vacation with Wischis Florida Home.
- Suitability:
- Long-term Renters Welcome
- children welcome
- non smoking only
- pets not allowed


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Ask others: ACM DL/Guide - - CSB - MetaPress - Google - Bing - Yahoo
|Marco Comuzzi, George Spanoudakis: Dynamic set-up of monitoring infrastructures for service based systems. SAC 2010: 2414-2421
|Marco Comuzzi, George Spanoudakis: A Framework for Hierarchical and Recursive Monitoring of Service Based Systems. ICIW 2009: 383-388
|Marco Comuzzi, Constantinos Kotsokalis, George Spanoudakis, Ramin Yahyapour: Establishing and Monitoring SLAs in Complex Service Based Systems. ICWS 2009: 783-790
Selection of 3 from 71 records - George Spanoudakis has 67 coauthorsLast update 2012-09-10 CET by the DBLP Team — Content released under the ODC-BY 1.0 license — See also our legal information page


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Pinch flats usually happen when you hit a sharp rock or ledge and your tire pressure is a little on the low side. When the pressure in the tire is too low to prevent the rock or ledge from compressing the tire all of the way up to the hard rim, your tube is literally left between a rock and a hard place.
Pinch flats usually result in double punctures about an inch apart in your tube. This is commonly known as a snake bite. It happens because the the contact usually occurs on both sides of your rim.


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Lunch with Mancubus
Mancubus's lunch gets rudely interrupted4.54 / 5.00 5,036 Views
Spelunker : Savlonic
Spelunker by Savlonic4.42 / 5.00 12,981 Views
'Chicken Castle'
The quest for a limbless pet.4.38 / 5.00 6,390 Views
Update 7/06/05 - I'm in awe. Not only was this on front page, but it was featured on Attack of the Show?! Um... thank you? A lot?
VIEWERS BEWARE! This movie is slightly educational! A friend and I made this video for a presentation grade in our physics class. We got a 100. ^,^
Despite it's scholastic value, the class (which was almost entirely comprised of seniors deep in the throes of senioritis) seemed to think it was pretty funny... so I'm submitting it. Enjoy.
wow,that was great
@Kateetak.....what is wrong with you?That was very fun and educating+very very well done.The audio was great it had humor good examples...how can you say that it was very bad.for that audio you CANT give a 0....that just shows that your a whiney bitch!
MAGIUS...that was a very good toon,i normali hate sprite movies but that was enjoyable!!!
Thank you for defending my movie! :D
Exelent combination.
Physics and Mario! Perfect! I acutally learned somthing! Make more. I liked Yoshi and waves! Hey, why not make mario human biology and get yoshi to eat him.
I loved it!
I learned a lot from that. I will probably need it later in school. Make more! This is a real easy way to learn things! Way to go! :-D
this flash taught me more math than a year of high school ever could :D
haha good job, keep it up.
Holy crap. I can't even find any math in this movie! What did you do in high school, man?!
Weary orginal :D
A interasting combinacjon of wave knoleg and Maio World. Kids can lear obowt waves and se mario :P
Ps: Coming Next on you Nintendo DS "Mario Phisic" , " Mario Arytmatics " , " Mario Modeling " , "Mario Tenis" :P :D xD
(Just jocking :P)


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A serious short film.
About boners and salami nipples.
Most people's teenage experience condensed into 20 minutes.
Viewed 998 times
Me acordé de Sid de Skins <3 http://t.co/4pAsrNCg3S
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Cordies keeps unruly cables and wires organized and weighted down on your desk, preventing disconnection from your precious digital life! This compact and helpful contraption includes five rubber grips with four slots, taking care of all those loose ends. A clean desk is a clean mind for only $4.99.


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CHICAGO, IL  At a press conference this afternoon, Chicago Bears' running back Adrian Peterson admitted that he cloned himself when he was a child.
"I was six,†the 28-year old Florida native told reporters. "It was one of those cereal box giveaways – you know, a free cloner in every box. It was probably Count Chocula. I used to love Count Chocula.â€Â
The sixth year back out of Georgia Southern admitted to using the device to create Minnesota Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson – "I didn't know any better! I thought I was making a new friend, I didn't think he'd turn out to be a diabolical younger version of myself.â€Â
The two identical children lived out a short, complicated life together at the Peterson household, with both the original and the clone demanding to keep the name Adrian. "I tried to name him Optimus Prime or Bill, but he just kept yelling at me and poking me with a fork until I agreed to call him Adrian, too. That was the worst spring of my life – so much screaming...â€Â


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The state restored MaineCare payments to Augusta-area Umbrella Mental Health and AngleZ Behavioral Health in July, a year after suspending payments.
Houlton joined the conference this season, making an odd number of teams playing the nine-week season.
The chairman of the unions' bargaining committee says negotiations have been one-way, with no counter offers from the company in recent weeks.
Most people working today are the ones who deserve the day off.
Food & Dining
Enjoy a whale of a meal at the Whale's Rib Tavern
"Darkness First" and "Historic Shipwrecks of Penobscot Bay"
To find the obituaries from the Kennebec Journal, please visit this link.
For Morning Sentinel, please visit this link.
Reception held at the Pittston Town Office.
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Archive for Central Zoo
How Does a Sea Lion Get to the Dentist?
How does a sea lion get to the dentist? That's a trick question. Sea lions don't go to the dentist – the dentist comes to them! Or, in this case, the zoo's veterinary intern, Dr. Kami Fox makes the "house call." Dr. Fox recently performed a dental exam on Fishbone, an thirteen-year-old sea lion at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo.
"Training with Fishbone has gone very smoothly and she's very eager to work," states Dr. Fox.
Zoo keepers regularly look into the sea lions' mouths, but the team wanted to employ x-rays to spot potential tooth problems before they become serious. To take x-rays, though, the keepers needed to prepare the animals through training that involved operant conditioning. Zoo keeper Rachel Purcell began by training Fishbone to become comfortable with the x-ray plate in her mouth. "I started by putting a small x-ray plate on a tongue depressor and getting her used to me situating it around in her mouth. After she was doing well with that, Dr. Fox started visiting with the hand-held x-ray machine," she said.
Purcell describes the sea lion's reaction to the new procedure, "Fishbone wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first, especially when it was touching her whiskers, but she soon got used to it."
Dr. Fox noted that Fishbone's mouth is generally healthy and she did not order any treatment at this time. She did indicate some areas of concern that zoo keepers and vet staff will continue to monitor.
Dr. Fox explains the benefit of preventive exams, "Now that we know there are abnormalities associated with several of her teeth, we can continue to monitor her closely with oral exams and periodic radiographs. If any changes occur, we are now better prepared for the necessary dental work. This has been a prime example of how behavior training assists us with preventative medicine so that we can be proactive and provide the best possible care for our animals."
(Click on the photos to enlarge.)
Posted in: Central Zoo, Veterinary Care, Zoo News
Red Panda Cub Gets a Name
She's strong and she's beautiful, and now the zoo's six-week-old red panda cub has a name to match. Zoo keepers have bestowed the name "Maliha" on the little female cub – a name that means "strong and beautiful" in a Nepalese language.
Zoo Keeper Helena Lacey, who works with the red pandas daily, chose the cub's name to reflect her wild heritage – red pandas are native to Nepal and China – and to fit the cub's personality. "I also wanted her name to reflect the whole journey we've been on with our red pandas for the last three years," she said. "Plus, she is a very strong cub, and beautiful too!"
Maliha still spends all her time in an air-conditioned nest box with her mother, five-year-old Xiao, but is gradually becoming more active, Lacey says. "Maliha rolls around, plays with her feet, and stays awake more," she says. "She tries to walk, but her feet still slide out from under her."
Red panda cubs typically remain in the nest box for about three months. This means that zoo guests have little chance of seeing the cub until late August or early September. Zoo keepers monitor Xiao and Maliha via a remote camera mounted in the nest box. This video shows Maliha as she discovers her paws:
Though Maliha is thriving, she still faces other hurdles. "Weaning is a critical time for red panda cubs as they make the transition from mother's milk to solid food," explained Lacey. Weaning occurs when the cub is five to six months old.
The path to the red panda exhibit remains closed to zoo guests in an effort to minimize disturbances for the new family. Guests can sometimes see Junjie, the cub's father, lounging on branches in the exhibit.
Maliha is weighed regularly to ensure that she is receiving appropriate maternal care. She has more than quadrupled her birth weight of 139 grams and now weighs 545 grams (about 1.25 pounds).
The breeding of red pandas is overseen by the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). The goal of the SSP is to maximize genetic diversity in zoo-dwelling populations of endangered and threatened animals.
Red pandas are native to the forested foothills of the Himalaya Mountains in China and Nepal, where they feed primarily on bamboo. They are classified as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Though red pandas share a name with the famed black-and-white giant pandas, the two are not closely related. The name "panda" comes from the Nepalese word ponya, which means "bamboo-eater."
Zoo babies are sponsored by Lutheran Children's Hospital. Click on the photos to enlarge:
First Peek at Baby Red Panda
We're happy to announce that our 30-day-old female red panda cub, born on June 9, has passed a critical milestone and is doing well. These photos give you a peek at the little cub, who remains behind the scenes in the nest box with her mother.
"About half of all red panda cubs die within 30 days after birth," says Animal Curator Mark Weldon. "We are obviously pleased that our cub has made it this far."
This is the third litter of cubs to be born to female Xiao, age 5, and her 6-year-old mate, Junjie. Two cubs were born to Xiao in 2012, and a single cub was born in 2013; none of these cubs survived longer than two weeks. Red pandas are an endangered species.
"We remain cautiously optimistic about the cub," said Shelley Scherer, who supervises the Central Zoo and Australian Adventure. "This cub was born healthy and had an above average birth weight. Xiao is also a more experienced mother, which has certainly been a factor."
"This cub is feisty, squirmy, and chubby," said Zoo Keeper Helena Lacey, who works with the red pandas daily.
Though the cub has survived the first 30 days, she still faces other hurdles. "Weaning is a critical time for red panda cubs as they make the transition from mother's milk to solid food," explained Lacey. Weaning occurs when the cub is five to six months old.
Zoo keepers monitor the duo via a remote camera mounted in the nest box. "They sleep most of the time, but we also see Xiao grooming herself and the cub," said Lacey. Xiao leaves the nest box several times a day to eat climb in the exhibit.
Xiao and her cub spend nearly all of their time tucked in a nest box within the red panda exhibit, where Xiao nurses, grooms, and sleeps next to her cub. This is natural behavior for red pandas, who nest in hollow trees in the wild. Cubs typically remain in the nest box for about three months, which means zoo guests have little chance of seeing the cub until late August or early September.
Three to four times a week, zoo keepers distract Xiao with a tasty bamboo branch and quickly weigh the cub. So far, the cub is gaining weight, and has more than tripled her birth weight of 139 grams to 454 grams (about one pound). Twice a week, they perform a more thorough exam on the cub, checking for any abnormalities.
The cub's eyes are now open, and she makes high-pitched squeals during her weigh-ins and checkups.
The path to the red panda exhibit remains closed to zoo guests in an effort to minimize disturbances for the new family.
The breeding of red pandas is overseen by the Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA). The goal of the SSP is to maximize genetic diversity in zoo-dwelling populations of endangered animals.
Red pandas are native to the forested foothills of the Himalaya Mountains in China and Nepal, where they feed primarily on bamboo. Though they share a name with the famed black-and-white giant pandas, the two are not closely related. The name "panda" comes from the Nepalese word ponya, which means "bamboo-eater."
Zoo babies are sponsored by Lutheran Children's Hospital. Click on the photos to enlarge:
Happy Birthday, Sea Lions!
The zoo's California sea lions will celebrate their birthday this Saturday, June 14. The festivities begin at 11AM and will coincide with the scheduled sea lion show.
Three of our sea lions – Fishbone, Grits, and Cassandra – were actually born on June 14. (Legend's birthday is on May 6.) How does a colony of four aquatic mammals celebrate their special day? With a "cake" and some water games! Zoo keeper Nikki Finch is involved in planning the festivities. "The sea lions will get a very special birthday cake made of fish and ice," states Finch. They will also perform behaviors and play in the water. Zoo guests are invited to the party!
The sea lion show, which happens every day at 11AM and 3PM, is a guest favorite at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo. Sea lions are known for their intelligence, and the zoo's colony has the opportunity to showcase their smarts at the daily shows. Fishbone, Grits, Legend, and Cassandra are trained to perform a variety of behaviors and seem to enjoy the attention from zoo keepers and guests.
The show is fun and energetic, but the zoo also hopes that guests will take an important message with them: Our sea lions eat sustainable seafood and we can, too! By choosing seafood that is harvested and farmed in a way that protects our oceans, we can make a big difference. The zoo has partnered with Seafood Watch to help guests understand why sustainable seafood matters. We even have a free app to help you make better seafood choices. Stop by a show this summer to find out more, and be sure to wish the zoo's sea lions a Happy Birthday on June 14!
Guess Which Animal Weighs 120 Pounds
If you visited the Indiana Family Farm at the zoo last weekend, you might have noticed that our goats got some extra attention from zoo keepers. Many of our guests were curious why the goats were paraded, one at a time, into a nearby barn. It was goat-weighing day, of course!
The zoo keeps a variety of records on each of its animals, including weight. Zoo keepers track each goat's weight throughout the year to look for any fluctuations. Keeping accurate health records, including weight, helps zoo keepers and vet staff monitor for changes in the animals. This in turn helps the keepers and staff to spot potential health concerns early.
"We weigh each goat monthly, or more often if we have concerns about the animal not eating enough," states zoo keeper Chase Caldwell.
With goats, however, keeping up a robust diet usually isn't a problem. Most of the zoo's goats will try to eat almost anything, including maps, purses, shoe laces, and even the scale. "It's a goat thing," says Caldwell. "They like to test everything out to see if they can eat it. We don't even have to train them to step onto the scale. We just put food out and they step right up."
Which goat topped the scale? It was Oliver, a buff-colored male weighing in at 55.3 kilograms (about 120 pounds).
Click on the photos to enlarge:
Posted in: Central Zoo, Farm Animals, Zoo News
From the Island of Madagascar
Say "hello" to one of the zoo's newest residents! Ombe the male lemur joined females Cushla and Kyna last November. Now two years of age, Ombe is fitting right in. Zoo keepers have observed him acclimating to his new troop.
"Ombe developed a strong bond with Kyna right away. They spend a lot of time together and he also interacts with Cushla," states zoo keeper Helena Lacey.
Prior to zoo opening, zoo keepers worked with Ombe using positive reinforcement. "We trained Ombe with small approximations – small steps," Lacey explains. "Training an animal to willingly move from one location to another is helpful for the times when they have to move indoors because of cold weather."
A really big island Off the coast of eastern Africa, the ring-tailed lemur lives on the large island of Madagascar. They live mainly in forested areas.
What do they eat? Lemurs munch on fruit, leaves, bark, flowers, grass, and tree sap. Lemurs eat by holding food with their front feet.
The lemur look Lemurs' bodies are covered with soft, thick, brown-grey fur that is very pale on their chest and stomach. Preening takes up much time of a lemur's time.
All three of the zoo's lemurs display the typical lemur look, but zoo keepers can easily tell them apart. Lacey explains that "Cushla is the easiest to spot because of her short tail. Kyna has a small, narrow face and Ombe is fluffy and handsome."
Swift movers Ring-tailed lemurs are active both during the day and at night. Although they live mainly on the ground, they are very comfortable moving around in treetops. Lemurs escape to these treetops when threatened. They will defend their territory and signal alarm with loud calls.
Uncertain future Less than 10% of Madagascar's original forest cover remains, putting all 30 species of lemurs in jeopardy. The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo is committed to the conservation of wild animals and wild places. Learn more here.
Click on the photos to enlarge:
There's a New Cat in Town
Actually, we have two new cats at the Fort Wayne Children's Zoo! Meet Thor and Loki, a pair of Canada lynx brothers who arrived just in time for zoo opening this week. The cats were shy at first and spent most of their time inside the hollowed-out logs in their exhibit. However, feline curiosity eventually prevailed and the young brothers are beginning to explore.
Canada lynx are carnivorous, so the zoo's lynx eat a special all-meat diet mixed with vitamins and minerals. Both of the cats are eating well and zoo keepers have found a way to encourage them to explore even more. According to zoo keeper Rachel Purcell, "We spread their food around the exhibit. This way they'll come out of the logs and down the hill."
The cats also have distinct personalities. Purcell states that, "Loki is a little more outgoing but Thor's confidence is slowly coming along. On Monday morning they spent an hour exploring near the front of the exhibit. They're both doing well."
Not your household kitty cat Lynx fur is typically yellowish-brown but can include some gray. Their ears boast long, dark hairs that point straight up and act as hearing aids. Adult lynx as well as kittens display this ear trait. Canada lynx also have a black-tipped tail. Lynx have long legs and large, furry paws that act as snow shoes.
A nocturnal loner Lynx usually live alone in a territory that encompasses anywhere from 5 to 100 square miles, and they are nocturnal so they sleep during the day. The zoo's lynx are often spotted napping inside their logs but can become active during the day time, especially in the morning.
A northern resident
Canada Lynx (also known as Canadian lynx) live throughout Canada and in northern areas of the United States. They are typically found in forests but can also live in tundra regions.
The zoo's Canada lynx exhibit is located just inside the front gates, across from the lion drinking fountain. Guests can visit Thor and Loki seven days a week – Be sure to get a look at those giant paws!
Click on the pictures below to enlarge:


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More than 450 people from at least 26 nations are expected to participate in the fourth annual conference sponsored by the Robert B. Daugherty Water for Food Institute (http://waterforfood.nebraska.edu/) at the University of Nebraska and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at The Cornhusker Hotel. Two segments NET will air are: 3:30 p.m. Agricultural Producers Panel featuring farmers from Nebraska, Iowa, Argentina and India and 8:30 a.m., Industry Leaders Panel, presented by Global Harvest Initiative, moderated by Jeff Raikes, CEO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with representatives from Elanco, IBM, John Deere, Monsanto and Pioneer Hi-Bred.
live streaming schedule & on demand videos
|09:00 am
|Nebraska Department of Education: November 2014 NDE Board Meeting
|02:00 pm
|Nebraska Department of Education: December 2014 NDE Work Session
|09:00 am
|Nebraska Department of Education: December 2014 NDE Board Meeting
|Nebraska Heritage: Ash Hollow, Episode 101
|Dr. Robert Manley features Ash Hollow.
|A Sense of Place
|Interviews with American artists on the role of "place" and nature in their art. Artists...
|Plowing Up a Storm
|From 1984, a history of farm protest movements in the U.S., especially those movements which began...
|Maximilian's Journey
|An account of the Maximilian/Bodmer journey along the Missouri river in the 1800's. Illustrated...
|Don Doll's Vision Quest
|Internationally respected photo-journalist Don Doll creates a book of portraits of Lakota leaders...
|Voice of the Plains - John G. Neihardt
|From 1983. Documentary which summarizes career of Nebraska poet John G Neihardt.
|Norman Geske's Last Day of Work
|From 1983. Norman Geske, director of Sheldon Art Gallery, is interviewed on the eve of Geske's...
|From 1983. Documentary on David City, NE. violin-maker David Wiebe. Contains performances by...
|Sandhills Album Heritage
|From 1981. Contemporary nebraska photographers document the Nebraska sandhills.
|Hidden Places: Boom and Bust - The Mining Towns, 103
|From 1980. "Boom and Bust - The Mining Towns" visits three mining towns in the American west....