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As you may or may not know a hosted ventrillo server costs us money. It isn't much money but it comes out of our pockets. If you have some spare change and can donate to help we ask that you please do. Ventrillo is a very useful tool for the guild as a whole and it would be money well spent. Feel free to donate as much or as little as you would like but don't feel obligated as it is no mandatory. It just helps the guild staff to keep providing tools to make you more successful.
You can donate by following this link HERE.


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Remember that Oscar winning film "The King's Speech"? You don't have to imagine what he went through to overcome his social disorder, it's all an open book and the motion picture proves it is a battle within us that has to be won. At one point in life or another each one of us must have gone through that horrible and humiliating moment of freezing before an audience or simply "chickening" out in a situation that demands steady conversation and for some the dilemma still accompanies them like a shadow in which they have learned to live. It's time to move on however and to accept social anxiety as a problem but one which can easily be solved and forgotten. Here are the ten best ways to avoid/overcome social anxiety problems irrespective of priority:
10. Realize why you are experiencing social anxiety:
is it because you experienced an incident where you just froze on stage and from that day you are unable to carry out stable conversation with anyone or are you simply shy to meet new people because you have no idea how the meeting will turn out? Maybe it's because you are an introvert and fear sharing your ideas and thoughts with others. All of these and a hundred other reasons may contribute to social anxiety problems and realizing why the problem exists in the first place is extremely important. Seeking the root of your fear of socializing is one way to overcome that fear. It is only when the disease is diagnosed correctly that the cure can be sought.
9. Acknowledge the fact that people want to be spoken to:
what if he/she doesn't want to talk to me? It's one of the major questions which might prevent some people from sharing our views with others and speaking in public. Well, it is quite the other way around. People won't refuse to participate in a good conversation therefore the fear of lack of response is inadequate. Every culture openly welcomes a healthy conversation however what must be borne in mind is that you need to start of small and realize the nature of the person being spoken to because exceptional cases do exist and you never know the person opposite to you might be experiencing social phobia as well.
8. Stop thinking what others might think:
this does not mean that you shouldn't think before you act but simply don't think too much. Spending time thinking as to what the other person might think about what you say next or how you act is most likely to lead you never to speak or act at all. In order to avoid social problem one must be mentally prepared to own the words that escape the tongue and mold them in your favor. It is important to start small that is give a certain level of importance to the other person before preparing him/her or rather yourself for a debate. A compliment is usually the best way to initiate a conversation since no one contradicts a compliment.
7. Do something crazy:
go wild and take a challenge. Do something that's daring for you to do so in a public place if a terrible "experience" is what causes the anxiety dilemma. The categories and levels of something "crazy" may obviously vary from person to person. What may be unusual for one person may not be unusual for the other and vice versa. Shouting on top of your lungs for example and laughing out loud or simply wearing an odd attire and accept the experience of people staring at you like a good sport or simply doing something which is so ordinary like walking in high heels for the first time just to prove to yourself that you are ready to change.
6. Practice in front of a mirror:
Noticing your expressions and judging yourself is one of the best way to boost your confidence level. Not just the way you speak but also the acknowledgement of your facial movements and expressions can assist tremendously when carrying out a conversation in public. One of the main reasons why actors, particularly theatrical artists are advised to "practice" before a mirror is because at that moment they themselves are their own audience. Same is the case with a person experiencing social anxiety that they can pass their own judgment about themselves before seeking opinion from others.
5. Make your friends your practice:
figuratively this means practice speaking to your friends before implementing your newly found confidence on others since friends will never discourage you and improve your mistakes instead of criticizing. Once you master your skills with friends or close acquaintances you feel much more accomplished to talk to strangers or distant friends and relatives and gradually the problem might be as if it never existed.
4. Talk to yourself about your problem:
one very effective and simple way of overcoming social anxiety is to discover yourself. This simply means to talk to yourself about what problems you might encounter in a "so and so" situation and what possibilities of a foul up do you have. Next you tell yourself how you would react and how you could to diversified situations that is for example what do you usually do when someone greets you and what you should do. This prepares you for future social encounters and to an extent is the most efficient method of controlling the problem rather than being controlled.
3. Flexibility:
some people often have the perception "this is how we are accept it or leave it". Adapting to varying circumstances is as important as having an opinion of your own. Evolution is the source of existence and every individual must be prepared to learn and experience new situations and talk to new people. This is a skill required in every field and every sphere of life, that is the skill of common speech whether you like it or not. The main point is to understand that people will always turn their backs on a person who does not care to engage in conversation no matter how intellectual he/she might be.
2. Speak less, convey more:
"the habit of common and continuous speech is mental deficiency"-Walter Bagehot. The realization that what you speak is more important than how much you speak is essential in order to succeed in the social world and accomplish one's mission of overcoming every social anxiety that exists within us. Words though simple could mean a lot and it is more important to say something intellectual and comprehensive than something utterly nonsense and meaningless.
1. See a therapist:
If all the above methods are a failure than the best option would be to avail the facility of a good social therapist who would diagnose why do you experience a problem in speech or why you hide away from the world to live in isolation as a loner who wants to be invisible. Similar to many chronic diseases though social anxiety is not a disease it must be treated before it reaches a point where it is impossible to reverse the effects and eliminate the problem altogether. Be mentally prepared with a determination that no matter what it takes this flaw must come to an end. Never hesitate to talk about your problem to a therapist if, even subconsciously you might realize out of the blue that you are getting uncomfortable in social circles or even for instance ordering a pizza is a "task" to you, prevention is always better than the cure.

subset: commoncrawl


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Bible Study – The youth are engaged in Bible study each week through Sunday School, Sunday Evening Bible Study, and Wednesday Evening Bible study. The studies use various curriculums, themes, and presentations. We approach Bible study in a holistic approach so that the youth learn biblical concepts that they can apply to their life situation.
Fellowships – We offer monthly fellowships to help build community, develop friendships, and provide an avenue of Christian fellowship. Some examples of our fellowships include: putt-putt, rock climbing, skiing, cook outs, and fun parks.
Mission Opportunities – We offer at least one service project a month in the community so that youth can contribute to the needs of individuals locally and see where God is working in our community. Some examples of our projects include: soup kitchens, Helping Hands, Clemson Community Care, and VBS.
Each summer, the High School and Middle School groups go on a week long mission trip to share what they have learned through local missions by sharing on a national or international level. The youth prepare through service projects, Bible study, shadowing, and prayer. In recent years, youth have participated in mission trips to Alaska, Washington DC, Wyoming, Jamaica , West Virginia, and Chicago.
The youth center is located on the lower level of the facility. This is the location of most on-site youth activities.
Click on the link above to find out more information on our ministry to families.


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Political Awareness Training
Getting a taste for politics
Parliament is another world – they do things differently there. Well, every organisation is its own world with its particular ways of doing things. Only, what happens in parliament affects us all. In order to have some kind of meaningful dialogue with MSPs, bring influence to bear on pending legislation or simply get your voice heard it's invaluable to know the protocol, how the system works, its procedures and personalities and who's responsible for what.
Our political awareness training offers a real insight into parliament, an effective taster and a plan of action. Delivered by Kirsty Regan, the service is extremely versatile. Topics, areas of focus and desired outcomes can all be agreed beforehand. We offer open courses, conference workshops or in-house seminars anywhere in Scotland.


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- KNIA / KRLS - http://kniakrls.com -
Disposing of Leaves in Yards
Posted By News On October 10, 2012 @ 6:26 am In Today's Local News | Comments Disabled
Leaves are starting to fill up the yards after some nice breezy weather throughout Marion County. Knoxville Community Services Officer Arlene Worrall reminds Knoxville residents they should not be raking leaves into the street or sewer drains. She adds residents are allowed to burn yard waste, including leaves and branches less than three inches in diameter. She says you should not burn trash with that yard waste. If burning yard waste, residents should have a nearby water source and the fire should be supervised at all times. If you don't want to burn your yard waste, Worrall says to bag it separately and leave it with your trash for your trash provider to pick up.
Article printed from KNIA / KRLS: http://kniakrls.com
URL to article: http://kniakrls.com/2012/10/disposing-of-leaves-in-yards/
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2009 KNIA/KRLS. All rights reserved.


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Jeff Stierle and Ashlyn Nicole Shawver play the murderous pair of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett in What A Do's latest production.
- Filed Under
Looking for the perfect way to revel in the horrific autumn festival that is Halloween? Look no further than "Sweeney Todd," playing at Battle Creek's What A Do Theatre through Nov. 17. The What A Do company has a bloody fright-fest in store for lucky patrons at its Dickman Road home.
The stage is set for optimum horror from the start. Screams issue forth from the gloomy, oppressive London-town set as lights flash and machinery clangs and groans from the noise of London's 19th-century industrial sector, a horror show in and of itself.
All of these effects are the brain child of director Randy ...


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Man guilty in furniture theft
Serrano gets minimum: 25 years in prison
SAN ANGELO, Texas - A San Angelo jury found Mark Anthony Serrano guilty and sentenced him to 25 years in prison for theft of property between $20,000 and $100,000 Thursday after a three-day trial.
Serrano, 40, of San Angelo, stole more than 100 pieces of furniture from Trend Furniture store last year. The third-degree felony was enhanced to a second-degree felony because of prior convictions, meaning Serrano received the minimum punishment of the 25 years to life in prison and a fine up to $10,000 the offense carries.
A video interrogation shown during the trial revealed Serrano and another person used a truck and trailer to take the property from Trend Furniture between Nov. 11-14. A witness identified Serrano as the driver of another truck accompanying the truck and trailer one of those nights.
Before reaching the guilty verdict, the jury deliberated for almost two hours after asking to view video evidence a second time.
The punishment phase of the trial began on the heels of the verdict. Serrano's parents took the stand asking for leniency.
"I am not a young person," said Sulema Serrano, the defendant's mother. "I am going to be 69 before long. ... I want to see my son again."
The jury deliberated a little less than an hour before deciding Serrano's punishment.
Serrano refused to be fingerprinted after the guilty verdict was announced and stated several times he had requested a new lawyer but the judge refused. Serrano said the judge — Barbara Walther of the 51st District Court — told him it would delay the start of trial.
Serrano was represented by court-appointed attorney Shawntell L. McKillop.
During closing arguments of the sentencing phase, prosecutor John Best, 51st first assistant district attorney, asked the jury to take into consideration Serrano's history — stating that Serrano has four DWI convictions and had his probation revoked on a robbery charge that sent him to prison.
Best asked the jury to question whether Serrano is the kind of person they want in the community, and to send a message with an appropriate sentence.
Subscribe to the San Angelo Standard-Times
Need Help? Call us at 1-877-304-7763.
Monday-Friday: 6am-8pm / Saturday: 6am-12pm / Sunday: 6am-1pm


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Anelie Belden
Thoroughly Modern Dresden
Fiber artist Anelie Belden of Anelie's Quiltworks began her sewing career working in the fashion industry, which gave her the skills to begin her quilting journey. After owning her own quilt store and teaching quilting in Volcano, CA, she began designing quilts. She has taken the traditional Dresden Quilt design and created new and updated Dresden Designs which are featured in her book titled "Thoroughly Modern Dresden". Not only are the designs modern, they are constructed using a breakthrough piecing technique to improve speed and accuracy. Belden has recorded a program demonstrating her technique with "The Quilt Show", starring Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. She has also taught at Quilt Guilds throughout the country, Houston Quilt Festival, and with Empty Spools Seminars in Asilomar, California. An accomplished quilter, Belden has also had her quilts featured in publications such as "The Art of the Quilt Calendar" and Quiltmaker's Magazine.
Dresden Wall hanging
Price: $12.00
Falling Star
Price: $12.00


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Roblox News Survey 2014Win a game on Steam!
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Place Review: Bus Driver City v3.4
This game is about public transportation, buses. The picture explains the game, 2 buses and the sign says "Bus Driver City 3.4", which means there are a lot of bus drivers. The background is blue, not so interesting. There is also a Double Decker bus like in England? Not much in this picture, so let's get started with the review. When we enter you can either be a Bus Driver or Passenger, I'm going to be talking about the Passenger part first, then the Bus Driver part. Place created by MasterDaniel.
You spawn as a Passenger in a city which is huge, interesting. Go to a bus stop and wait until a bus arrives. If a bus arrives, you want to get on right? Touch the door and see that you need to buy a Ticket, it costs 30 dollars on the GUI to the left of your screen. If you have enough you can buy that Ticket and get on any bus. When you get off a bus, it removes your ticket because you can't keep it. If you'd like to purchase a bus pass, it's unlimited use and only 130 dollars. One issue when waiting for a bus, it takes so long to arrive. There are directions to what part of the city you are in.
Now, the bus driver role, this part is interesting. You spawn where all the other buses are, you can enter one. There's a map with all of the routes on it, you need to memorize your route. So, get on your bus and drive around the city and follow your route. While you drive, it tells you the route you have to follow. There's someone waiting at your stop? Stop there and pick them up! They need a ticket to board your bus. When they have to get off, they stand up and exit the bus. Keep following your route and your done.
Scripting: 3/10, a little bit of scripts here and there, but not much.
Tools: 10/10, what they are needed for, there are enough.
Building: 5/10, the city is easy to build.
General Enjoyment: 10/10, people enjoy this place very much.
Originality: 10/10, never have I seen a place like this.
Creativity: 10/10, same as above.
Deals with Problems: 0/10, problems are that the bus drivers delay so much.
Deals with Lag: 10/10, no lag.
Overall: 6/10, I don't like this place much, I wouldn't recommend this to many people, but if you don't like my review, visit the place yourself and see if you like it.
If you'd like your place to be reviewed, send me a message on ROBLOX and I'll check it out. If I like it, it could be the next review. My username is Refreshingwater. Your place must be completed.
Follow @RNPlaceReviews on Twitter to get up to date on future reviews, contests, and more! That account is shared between me and Banjobug, follow it now!
Posted by LB at 6:39 PM
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Climate Change
The Government of Canada supports an aggressive approach to climate change that achieves real environmental and economic benefits for all Canadians.
The following resources provide information on Canada's action on climate change, climate change science and research, greenhouse gas emissions reporting, and other key topics.
Follow Canada's action on climate change.
Action at Home
- Reducing Greenhouse Gases
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions Regulations
- Helping Canadians Adapt to Climate Change
International Action
- Conference of the Parties (COP)
- Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-lived Climate Pollutants
- Canada's International Support
Canadian Greenhouse Gas Information
Science and Research
- Canada's Sixth National Report on Climate Change (Accessible PDF: 16.40 MB)
- Facts on Canada's Climate Change Action
- Climate financing
- Date modified:


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Jump to navigation
The super committee has failed to reach a deficit-cutting deal. The rising price of food is making it difficult for food banks this holiday season. Environmental organizations like the Sierra Club are also having a hard time getting funding. Author Jeffrey Eugenides talks about work in the first of a weeklong series on how writers document the economy. And Mitchell Hartman takes a look at the recession in California's Inland Empire.


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- WND - http://www.wnd.com -
Congressman grills Secretary Sebelius on HHS mandate
Posted By -NO AUTHOR- On 04/27/2012 @ 10:30 pm In Front Page,Health,U.S. | No Comments
(FOX NEWS) — Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) completely destroys Kathleen Sebelius' claim of 'balance' over her HHS abortifacient mandate, exposing the fact that she completely ignored seeking any legal basis for her mandate, whether it be directly constitutional or based on Supreme Court precedent. She claims to have relied on discussions from her lawyers on the mandate's constitutional basis, however she says there are no legal memos to back up that claim, which means it never happened.
Article printed from WND: http://www.wnd.com
URL to article: http://www.wnd.com/2012/04/congressman-grills-secretary-sebelius-on-hhs-mandate/
Click here to print.
© Copyright 1997-2013. All Rights Reserved. WND.com.


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Fisk President H. James Williams stands in Jubilee Hall in front of a portrait of the Fisk Jubilee Singers, painted in 1873 by Edmund Havel.
- Filed Under
H. James Williams rushed into Fisk University's annual employee Christmas party, fresh from Atlanta with news the campus had waited three years to hear.
But before the university's president could utter a word, the room filled with applause and shouts of congratulations.
Fisk's accreditation is once again secure, its probationary status lifted, the result of rethinking the school's entire way of handling money - a process once so problematic that Williams' predecessor said campus buildings were mortgaged. ...


text: Hi Vivek, A daemon thread group can be creaed using the setDaemon(true) method of the ThreadGroup class. A group's daemon status applies only to the group. Changing a group's daemon status does not affect the daemon status of any of the threads in the group. Furthermore, a group's daemon status does not in any way imply the daemon status of its threads--you can put any thread within a daemon thread group. The daemon status of a thread group simply indicates that the group will be destroyed when all of its threads have been terminated. Thus a daemon thread group can have both user and daemon threads. Hope this answers two of u r multiple choice answers 1. has only demon threads. (False) // can have user threads also. 2. can have non demon threads. (True) // yes see explanation above 3. does not exist after all non demon threads in the group have finished executing. (False) //will continue to exist till all daemon threads and user threads are executing 4. does not exist after all the threads in the group have finished executing. (True) // look at answer above regds. Rahul


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Wisconsin Electric Power Seeking Renewable Energy Generation
NAW Staff, Monday 04 March 2013 - 16:27:16
Wisconsin Electric Power Co. (We Energies) has issued a
request for proposals
(RFP) for annual delivery of up to 150 GWh of renewable energy.
Any of the following products can qualify for the RFP:
Renewable energy (energy plus all current and future associated renewable attributes, including renewable energy credits (RECs));
Wisconsin renewable portfolio standard (RPS) compliant renewable resource credits; or
Michigan RPS-compliant RECs.
Renewable energy sources must qualify for one or more of the following:
the current Wisconsin RPS,
the current Michigan RPS, and/or
any other governmental programs applicable to We Energies.
Sources include (but are not limited to) wind, biomass, hydroelectric, solar/photovoltaic (PV) and geothermal energy. All bidders are responsible for demonstrating that the energy sources and RECs comply with all siting, certification and tracking requirements as specified in Wisconsin and Michigan law. The renewable energy source must be able to do the following:
receive authorization from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin qualifying the facility as a renewable resource under Wisconsin statutes applicable toward compliance under Wisconsin's RPS; and
deliver to and inject its energy into the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) network; a Michigan RECs transaction must be able to receive the required certifications and/or approvals from the Michigan Public Service Commission.
Proposals will be accepted for terms of up to five years, expiring no later than Dec. 31, 2018. Proposals are due by March 8. More information is available
this content item is from North American Windpower
( http://www.nawindpower.com/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.11195 )


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State plans to shift the travel lanes on two Interstate-84 bridges, which cross above Center Street in the Riverside section of Sandy Hook, in preparation for a two-year dual bridge reconstruction project have been delayed for technical reasons, according to a state Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesman.
DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said this week that state officials are reviewing an issue concerning eastbound I-84's existing bridge pavement geometry that must be resolved before a lane shift could be created on that bridge.
That technical review likely would delay the start of the bridge project for one month or two months, or potentially even for one year until a solution can be found and implemented, Mr Nursick said.
The lane shift construction work on the eastbound and the westbound bridges had been scheduled to start on April 1 and to proceed through April 19.
The 100-foot-long bridges are located about 900 feet west of the Housatonic River. The parallel bridges lie about 90 feet apart from one another.
Each of the two I-84 bridges carries two lanes of traffic. When the lane shifts on the two bridges are created, two lanes of traffic will continue traveling on the two bridges, with one of those two lanes occupying what are now road shoulders.
Last August, the DOT awarded Manafort Brothers, Inc, a contract to reconstruct the two I-84 bridges at a cost of $5.9 million.
While the I-84 bridge reconstruction is underway, traffic in Riverside would be detoured and/or halted briefly, as necessary, to allow construction to proceed.
The I-84 bridges have deteriorated sooner than anticipated and thus need to be replaced. The bridges' prestressed concrete beams are in poor condition due to cracking. The bridges were built in 1977 and 1978. Bridges typically are designed to last for 75 years of traffic service.
The bridge project would include replacing the bridges' concrete girders and also the concrete deck slabs. Two-way traffic would be maintained in each direction on I-84 at all times during the construction project through the use of staged-construction techniques.
Because the state right-of-way in the bridge area is approximately 350 feet wide, the state will not need to acquire rights-of-way for the project.
The bridge reconstruction project initially had been scheduled to start in the summer of 2012.


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Wisconsin Occupational Therapist School
Steps to Become an Occupational Therapist in Wisconsin
Wisconsin has very specific requirements in order to gain an occupational therapist (OTs) license to practice. The first step, is acquire the proper education by enrolling in and completing an accredited OT training program through one of Wisconsin's occupational therapy schools. Training comprises of two parts: classroom instruction and clinical supervised hands-on experience, usually in the form of an internship. The program must be approved by both the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) and the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing (DRL). At a minimum, students must graduate with an entry-level post-baccalaureate degree in occupational therapy; however, many colleges offer both master and doctorate degree programs as well. These programs allow students to qualify for the NBCOT competency examination. By successfully passing examination, occupational therapists are officially granted certification.
Next, OTs must obtain, fill out, and submit an "Application for a License to Practice Occupational Therapy" form accessible through the DRL website. This form will request the following information: personal identification data including name, address, phone number, date of birth and training education program details including school name, location, and date of diploma, degree and specialty. A $132 credentialing and examination fee is also mandatory. The exam fee is in reference to a Wisconsin Statutes and Administrative Code test that each occupational therapist must successfully pass to achieve licensure. The application will also ask occupational therapists to attach several supplementary documents like: the "Addendum to Application" form, verifying document proving NBCOT certification, "Certificate of Professional Education" form, and the Wisconsin Statutes and Rules completed open-book examination. Finally, applicants must give detailed information regarding all professional and non-professional practical activities since occupational therapist program graduation. A short questionnaire within the application must be completely filled out as well. OTs must also list any credentials in another state(s). After all information is gathered, send the entire application packet and attached documents to:
Through campus based and online programs, aspiring Occupational Therapists in Milwaukee, Madison and Green Bay, Wisconsin may be able to prepare themselves for the possibility of employment in some of the largest hospitals and healthcare facilities in the state including the Aurora Saint Luke's Medical Center, Saint Joseph's Hospital, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and Saint Mary's Hospital.
Wisconsin DRL
P.O. Box 8935
Madison, WI 53708-8935


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black suede cutout platform peep toe pumps
designer's notes
Add some polish with Prada. For a clean and classic look, sport a beautifully crafted pair of shoes from this iconic Italian design house.
color: Black Soft suede upper Tapered peep toe Leather lined teardrop cutouts throughout Zip closure at heel with leather pull Leather lining Contrast purple leather sole 5�'' covered heel 1'' front platform All measurements are approximate Leather; Italy; style# 320793201


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Solar panels can create the electricity needed to power your business, but there's one thing they won't do: Clean themselves.
For that, local companies are hiring ProSolarClean, a Glen Ellen business whose owners say that dirty solar panels can't generate the maximum amount of electricity.
"You are missing a lot of energy," said Jan Klimes, one of the three partners.
The 2-year-old company has cleaned panels for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the North Marin Water District and several North Bay wineries.
"It makes a big difference," said Greg van Dalen, facilities manager at Ravenswood Winery near Sonoma. "We gained about 15 percent production just from cleaning."
Klimes and partners Karel Jetleb and Richard Nezval started ProSolar after concluding that many companies install solar power systems, but fewer clean the panels that transform sunlight into electricity.
Klimes first sold solar energy systems in his native Czech Republic after working in a California nursery from 2000 to 2008.
Europe's frequent rains greatly help clean the panels, he said. For example, solar energy systems may need just one cleaning a year in Germany. But in California, they may require two to three cleanings a year.
In 2012, Klimes returned to the U.S. and enrolled in a school for solar designers. He became convinced that there was a demand for a solar panel cleaner, so he helped found ProSolar. The company relies on a German-made cleaning system that uses special brushes, deionized water and no chemicals.
At Ravenswood, the winery's maintenance staff cleans about half of the 2,000 solar panels, van Dalen said. But he chose to have ProSolar clean the other half, where the panels are a little more difficult for his crew to reach.


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Age of Apocalypse #1
Written by: David Lapham
Art by: Roberto de la Torre
Published by: Marvel Comics
If your biggest complaint about superhero comics is that they're too bright, this comic's for you.
Lapham takes the twisted version of Marvel's X-universe and straight from the offset begins world building, letting you know that there's going to be a lot going on in this series, a whole load of themes and threads are going to play out and converge than he establishes his cast of characters and in a twist from the norm has you wondering who you're meant to be rooting for, and questioning the motives of everyone!
The biggest challenge of this comic was going to be the word building and making new and exciting twists, so many off the characters in this comic are familiar or based off '616' continuity but this is a dark and twisted version of the Marvel Universe we know and love so Lapham gives us a reference point through the narrative that helps continue the story and links it to '616' and pre-established continuity.
Helping this comparative visually is de la Torre's art and it is sublime! Like Alex Maleev or Michael Lark, de la Torre has a strong pencil style with heavy use of shading and grittiness to emphasise the dark and dystopic nature of this universe. His action shots are dynamic and brimming with energy and stop this dialogue heavy issue from getting too heavy or tiring from page to page.
His panelling work is beautiful and draws the eye easily, even when he transitions from the darker street corners of this universe to the high up and brightly lit Hellfire Club (yes, this world has a twisted version of the already pretty twisted Hellfire Club!!).
Helping these transitions is the noteworthy colour palette of Lee Loughridge, who emphasises the tones set and laid out by Lapham's script and de la Torre's art quite beautifully. His colour palette is rich and looks almost stone washed and emphasises the themes that Lapham is subtly trying to put forward.
Overall, this comic is a dark and gritty story of a dystopic version of the Marvel universe and Lapham looks to world build and bring in other Marvel characters (this issue has a certain swash-buckling blind hero in a new role too). I think Lapham has a long and epic journey in mind and our new characters, regardless of their questionable motivations, have a new, long and exciting journey ahead and I'm definitely along for the ride.
Rating: 8/10


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Michael J Fox, born on 9th of June 1961, celebrates as he turns 52 today. Michael J. Fox was born in Alberta, Canada and is both a Canadian and American citizen. Not only is he a successful actor but a producer, voice over artist and author as well. He starred in the hit TV show Family Ties in the 1980s where he played Alex P. Keaton. He has won several awards including four Emmy Awards and four Golden Globes. Michael J. Fox suffers from Parkinson's disease and is an advocate for research towards finding a cure for it. Michael J. Fox has starred in several great films both as an actor and a voice actor, here's a list of some of Michael J Fox's greatest movies:
1) Back to the Future (1985)- This is Michael J. Fox's best and probably his most famous film. He plays the role of Marty McFly a teenager who ends up in a huge mess after hanging out with Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd). He basically ends up back in time i.e. to 1955 when his parents are in highschool and unwittingly becomes his mother's love interest (talk about a weird plot). He can't go back to the future until Doc Brown can fix his time machine which happens to be a DeLorean. He needs to get his parents to fall in love or else he won't exist. This movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis and is probably one of the best Sci Fi movies of the 80s. It was so popular in fact that it has two sequels.
2) Back to the Future 2 (1989)- The Back to the Future movie was so successful that they decided to make a sequel to it, its plot is just as complicated as the first movie's i.e. not at all. In the movie, Marty's arch nemesis Biff has changed the future and Marty and Doc Brown have to stop him by going back to 1955, the really complicated part is that they cannot be seen by their old selves (who went back in time in the pervious movie) because it would affect the future yet again. This movie is just as brilliant to the first except for the ending which is really just a trailer to the third and final part of the series.
3) Teen Wolf (1984)- If you thought we were going to say Back to the Future 3 you were wrong. That movie was just average and nowhere near as good as the first two parts, Teen Wolf on the other hand is. It's about a werewolf who plays basketball and helps take his high school basketball from last to first place.


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If you desire a smaller print feel free to message me. This is set at the original size. A smaller version is this design set at 393dpi; http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/944243. An even smaller might be better for children's clothing. For my first swatch I actually printed this at 675 pixels/inch with the horses at 1 inch long, it printed great. Though probably 450 would be best for clothing.
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The way the manga has been dragging out lately, I don't even know anymore. I might drop and pick up in like 6 months or so...
Is it just me or is Oku just getting worse as in art or not giving a shit anymore, his designs well, they just look very lazy. Like for example: the giants without their suits just look (imo) horrible. And his character designs, just copy and pasting faces of celebrities. Hey I know he's been drawing for the past 10 years continuously, but like cooooome on.
---------- Post added at 10:59 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 PM ----------
Don't get me wrong the art is still beautiful, but it just doesn't look as good as it did before.


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Paraplanner - Glasgow
- Recruiter
- JWS Resources
- Salary
- salary could be as high as £42,000.
- Posted
- 24 Jan 2012
- Closes
- 23 Feb 2012
- Ref
- Contact
- Jade Gange
- Job Role
- Paraplanner
- Sector
- Investment
Professional Practice requires a Paraplanner to join their offices based in Glasgow, to analyse Client portfolios and produce technical reports for Consultants and Directors. You will be expected to draft reports and letters to Clients on specific Client planning issues, draft and coordinate technical reports and research for presentations and reviews. Additionally you will assist in checking valuations, handle and resolve the day to day queries both relating to new and existing business and provide Consultants with proactive recommendations based on knowledge of Clients. This will be a non-regulated client facing role where you will be expected to attend client meetings alongside a consultant to take notes and produce minutes.
To be considered you will have a full understanding of the administrative procedures relating to the different categories of business and ensure they conform to regulatory and Firm standards as well as all practices and disciplines including Investments, Corporate Pensions and Financial Planning. Full Financial Planning Certificate, Diploma in Financial Planning and educated to at least A Level is essential for this role. Experienced in using Adviser Office (1st Software) is also required. Salary is £negotiable, however for candidates who hold all relevant experience, salary could be as high as £42,000.


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my carputer was installed with delorme usb and Streets and Maps, the delorme software.
it's really bad software. i mean for a touchscreen, its ridiculous. the interface is really a jumble of buttons, no consistent design or anything.
can i replace the software with other gps software even though i have the delorme hardware?
what are the other software options - i need it to read turns to me, and have a database of points of interest. pretty basic really. but ideally could be operated by touch.


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1997: Lifter Puller - "Nassau Coliseum"
Musically, Lifter Puller is a different beast than Craig Finn's current band The Hold Steady. The late 90s Minneapolis alternative rock band channels new wave, art-punk, and early hardcore, contrasting with the classic-rock-influenced masturbatory bar band antics of the Hold Steady. I love both bands but Lifter Puller won me over when I first heard "Nassau Coliseum," off their second album Half Dead and Dynamite. It finds them operating in a similar, if not darker, style to The Hold Steady. After the opening bass notes eerily creep in, a combo of dissonant staccato minor chord stabs while the band's hip-hop-indebted drums complete the rhythm section. After a while, the vocals start up – a six minute stretch of half-sung adolescent nostalgia, seedy youths, police violence, geographic namedrops, and explicit come-ons. There might be less explicit Christianity here, but there's still a familiar theme of troubled youths trying to find redemption in sprawling cinematic narratives.
Describing the back story to "Nassau Coliseum" in an old interview, Finn states: "In 1991, I went to a Grateful Dead show at Nassau Coliseum. Supposedly, it was the biggest drug bust in Grateful Dead history." He avoids any mention of the girl at the song's core. The first verse introduces her and the narrator as two young drunks fooling around on a porch swing. After a drug-referencing verse, the heart of the story unfolds with a flashback to the concert at the Coliseum. The girl is there with the narrator. An unlicensed beer vendor gets busted. A hippie girl selling t-shirts gets handcuffed and beaten. Once we hear that the girl from the first verse has left him, the narrator even admits to being angrily swept up in the spectacle of the hippie t-shirt vendor getting beaten ("I don't regret it/ that I got some kicks in").
Starting with the line "Every hippie that goes home bloody feels like a martyr back in the city," the last verse leads to a triumphant close. After listing thirteen cities, states, and countries, Finn shouts "I wanna fuck you/ I wanna fuck you/ out on Long Island." Nassau Coliseum is located in Long Island if you didn't already know that.
It's this final verse that distinguishes Craig Finn as one of America's great lyricists. At its shallowest surface, the song ends up being about wanting to get laid by an ex at the same place where Finn's narrator had a poignant experience. At its deepest reaches though, like all great Lifter Puller/Hold Steady narratives, the song tries to string together many of the messy loose ends that seem tethered to youth – pain, violence, music, love, drugs, alcohol, sex. There's a catharsis in that final line that reaches down into the depths of what it means to be young and making questionable decisions. The song is one of many to accomplish this feat in Lifter Puller's vastly underrated catalog, a body of work that I highly recommend you take some time to explore.
1970-73: Kraftwerk - Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2, Ralf und Florian
Two years ago Kraftwerk reissued their back catalog, Pitchfork awarded it Best New Reissue, and there was much rejoicing. But three albums from the band's discography were mysteriously absent. In fact, Kraftwerk considers their catalogue to begin with 1974's masterwork Autobahn and have disowned the recordings that preceded it. Not only have these LPs never been reissued, Kraftwerk hasn't even touched the material since 1975. So these things must be complete shit right?
Wrong. While Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2 and Ralf und Florian don't mesh well with um… anything else the band has done, they are all great records in their own right. If nothing else, they show a time before Kraftwerk presented themselves as futuristic robo-musicians and weren't afraid to play physical instruments, actually perform at their shows, or show themselves at all for that matter.
Krafwerk hasn't aged as gracefully as its two companion records, but its flute and organ workouts still stack up favorably against other early krautrock LPs and moments of brilliant distorted violin make it well worth a listen. The real reason to hunt down these albums is the extended flute-synth trance of Kraftwerk 2 and Ralf und Florian. It's pretty damn amazing to hear the transition from hippie jam band to a precisely programed computer ensemble that takes place over these records, and many of the resulting tracks (the hauntingly beautiful flute exhibition "Tonbirge," the propulsive but soothing "KlingKlang," and the bubbly synth piece "Elektrisches Roulette") are as strong as anything off Kraftwerk's better known LPs. It's a shame they have chosen to hide these records, but I guess it makes sense in the end. Just look at that fucking picture up there. Who wouldn't want to forget that?
1974-1995: The Reverend Charlie Jackson - You Got to Move: Live Recordings Vol. 1
While the Rev. Charlie Jackson (1932-2006) is rightly considered, along with Elder Utah Smith, one of the primary guitar-evangelist figures in American gospel music, wading into the waters of his work is an all-encompassing proposition. The Louisiana-based Jackson was known for "being able to play his guitar like a drum," turning down the treble and ramping up the bass in a chunky, rhythmic fashion approaching raga-like hypnosis. Visually, he'd do things like play the instrument behind his head (a sight to imagine in a dimly-lit church), stomping along with a reverent congregation's claps and sways and spinning personal tales of struggle and salvation. Though it's hard to imagine this music outside the sanctified realm, a handful of singles and EPs were recorded and released commercially on the Booker label and his own Jackson imprint in the 1970s – these were collected on the 2003 Case Quarter compilation God's Got It – The Legendary Booker and Jackson Singles. But Jackson recorded many of his sermons on cassette tape and enough of these have survived since his passing that an illuminating series of live recordings is now underway, curated by musicologist and writer Adam Lore on his 50 Miles of Elbow Room imprint. If the first volume is any indication, these will be handsome issues indeed, housed in sturdy jackets with informative booklets and pressed on high-quality vinyl.
Room acoustics and tape hiss give the already-raw Jackson an extra air of immediacy on the opening suite, "What a Time/Morning Train," recorded in 1974. Shuffling rhythm, syrupy tremolo and dusty slide are wrapped in tape phasing and Jackson's vocals maintain a gravelly distance as part of a sonic bellows. The Reverend grew up in Mississippi and played the blues as a teenager, so an electrified delta isn't far from his sacred music – that said, there's a tumbling whorl that envelops "Morning Train," something quite far from stark and deliberate secularity. Low, motoring taps and harp-like whine unfurl from the congregation's ritual movement, making this performance of the gospel standard a rendition for the ages. Though after two strokes it apparently became very hard for him to enunciate ("letting the guitar do the preaching"), one wouldn't know it from the mid-1990s rendition of "I Read My Letter All Night," his quavering tenor filling space around nuanced, biting strings, tambourine and a responsive congregation. Jackson accompanies his wife Laura Davis Jackson in a 1982 performance of "May the Work I've Done Speak for Me/Serving the Lord" that, while perhaps the "straightest" music here, is still powerful in its exploration of masculine-feminine tension. Closing the record is a delicate, hushed, and almost private window on Jackson's prayer, the unaccompanied "When I've done the Best I Can, I Want My Crown." Hopefully, more volumes of live Rev. Charlie Jackson are forthcoming in short order because this is absolutely wonderful music.
1987: Poison Idea - War All the Time
Mixing metal and punk wasn't innovative in 1987, but Poison Idea managed a classic album by adding some much needed intensity into the genre. Each song on War All the Time flows into the other in a natural sequence for maximum impact and the whole thing blows over before you know it, but everything stays in your head, banging against the walls of your frontal bone. All this makes a good album, but what turns War All the Time into an amazing album are the lyrics and their delivery.
The title is borrowed from a book of Charles Bukowski poems first published in 1984 (In 2003 it was also used for a different effect to name an album by Thursday) and it couldn't be more perfect. Poison Idea, along with their Nazi-flirting neighbors in Lockjaw, were nihilist assholes who lived hard and hated virtually everyone who stood in their way. In the formative and proud years of 80s DIY culture they didn't network, talked shit of other bands, and probably didn't even share their amps; they have a nasty reputation they haven't been able to live down or refute (after all, their drummer on WATT, Thee Slayer Hippy, was arrested in 2008 for robbing pharmacies). Bukowski, of course, was a drunken lout who did what he pleased, when he pleased, with whom he pleased, the rest of the world be damned while his typewriter revealed the sensibilities of life turning charcoal black and ashen before his eyes.
Taking malice and ill-will and transforming it into intense art is what Charles taught Poison Idea. Unlike the amateurish finger pointing, sloganeering, and confessional rants of their contemporaries, Jerry A took the negative side of the world around him and expressed it in detail, rendered with words that can be read in a universal manner, expressing everything trivial and worthy of our puke in a language better suited to talk about the beauty of life. It recalled Bukowski's own work (although not his brilliance), describing the crappy world that went into his eyes. And those words remain as true to this day as the band's riffs are brutal.
1996: Zubi Zuva - Jehovah
Released in 1996 as part of the New Japan series on NYC avant-garde figurehead John Zorn's Tzadik label, Zubi Zuva's Jehovah is one of the most bizarre albums I've ever heard. An experimental a cappella album sung by a male Japanese vocal trio in a completely made up language; I've kept the album in rotation periodically in the years since I first discovered it. I thought of it the other day and was lucky enough to find this amazing video from a 2006 tour. Singing a medley of songs from the first (and only) Zubi Zuva album, Yoshida Tatsuya is joined by Atsushi Tsuyama and Makoto Kawabata of Acid Mothers Temple fame.
Tsuyama (in the middle) and Kawabata (on the right, wearing the Degeneration X shirt) weren't in the group for the 1996 album – Jehovah was the handiwork of Yoshida Tatsuya, leader of seminal Japanese band Ruins. Straddling math rock, free jazz, post-punk, prog-rock, avant-garde music, and bouts of insanity, Tatsuya has been one of the leading figures in the Japanese experimental scene since he started playing music in 1985. Heavily inspired by 70s French prog-rock band Magma and its founder Christen Vander (who also invented his own language and genre), Tatsuya has had too many styles, projects, and collaborators to keep up with. He is mostly known for scraping together an aural mishmash of punk's high energy performances, jazz's free improvisational solos, and prog-rock's elaborate irregular rhythmic structures.
The journey from Magma to Ruins to Zubi Zuva is fascinating to me, but a lot of my appreciation for Tatsuya's project lies in its humor. While avant-garde music usually evokes laughter by derisively deriding artists' seriousness, Jehovah evokes laughter because it's an experimental album that succeeds at being fun (at least to freaks like me). It's challenging, uneven, and by no means a masterpiece. Still, it's refreshing to find the stigmas associated with avant-garde music collide with the type of humor associated with a cappella music (see: Glee, Phish's a capella "Free Bird" cover, and a million college a cappella groups who fight the good fight coming up with quirky band name puns in between covering top 40 songs).
While I certainly think it's awesome that the most experimental part of this experimental album might be its boldness to embrace its own wackiness, it seems just as important to address a post from one YouTube commenter (penisreference) who labels the music "hilariously random and super (un?)co-ordinatedly genius." Processing the math behind the madness is part of the excitement inherent in Zubi Zuva. There is a sense of the impossible behind all the zany polyrhythmic vocal chaos. Maybe you can see it in the video easier than you can hear it on the album. While the songs seem silly, they still feel like the work of an expert composer. Shifting freely from one idea to the next, the styles abound: Gregorian chant, Buddhist Shomyo, 90s rap, athletic fight songs, post-punk wailing, hardcore screaming, Indonesian ketjak. Sometimes the structures even incorporate different styles simultaneously; while one vocalist acts out Raymond-Scott-sounding cartoon noises, the other vocalists start to channel 60s Doo-wop groups.
These highly complex, dissonant, difficult, and manic song structures seem common to all of Tatsuya's projects. Zubi Zuva is no different. It doesn't matter if the songs are done a cappella and all the words are sung in his usual made up language. There's just something special and unique at the core of Tatsuya's overall artistic approach. Cataloging varied styles, deconstructing language, and challenging genre expectations, Jehovah comes off like the audio sketchbook of a mad scientist noodling around with the knobs of truly experimental music.
1998: Merzbow - "Intro"
More than any song in Merzbow's big-beyond-comprehension discography, "Intro" is special. It is the opener on the John Zorn produced 1930, the closest thing Masami Akita's project has to a popular album. Record stores that wouldn't normally carry anything so noisy and abstract usually have the 1930 CD collecting dust somewhere. It's Akita's most popular album on Last.fm, rateyourmusic, and iTunes, and "Intro" is almost always the top song. While it may not be his "best" song – or even the album highlight – it is notable for most people as the song that displayed just what Masami Akita was capable of. It was my first exposure with Merzbow and I still remember it fondly.
At just over two and a half minutes, "Intro" is incredibly short by Akita's standards, but it's a perfect encapsulation of the longer form songs that follow. It plays with the shift between extreme quiet and overwhelming loudness much like the final track, "Iron, Glass, Blocks, and White Lights." A wobbly keyboard enters near the end of the track, a tactic later taken to the extreme in the brief synth-storm that is "Munchen." And of course there's "Intro"'s final build that abruptly thrusts the listener into the searing title track, easily one of the most memorable moments in Merzbow's entire discography.
During an interview with Perfect Sound Forever in December 1997 [Word/Full Interview], the very same month 1930 was recorded, Akita claimed to use so much dissonance in his early years as a backlash against the state of conventional music. He went on to say, "now I think the reason I use a lot of noise is because… I just want to use noise for my own pleasure." This is what you hear on 1930: an orgasmic glee in the mess of loops and sounds. It's dissonant – that's obvious – but once you become enveloped in Akita's ecstatic static it is strangely intoxicating.
To the uninitiated, "Intro" is a perfect place to start. But even if you're familiar with "all that is Merz," try for a moment to forget everything you know and listen to the track with a fresh mind, remembering what it was like the first time this crazy bastard taught you what noise was all about.


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Within my iPhone application, I'd like to change the language of the displayed UIKeyboard. How can I do this?
From the iPhone Application Programming Guide:
So it appears there's no way to bring up a keyboard of a different language than the user's preference.
really cant do it programatically, the user must have that keyboard enabled and then they can get to it, you can maybe tell the user they require a non english keyboard in an alert view or something like that.
gives me a Chinese (pinyin) keyboard (you can even dynamically switch between say @"zh", @"fr", @"en" without having to restart).
see also How to force NSLocalizedString to use a specific language