text:
Medicare Integrity Program:
CMS Used Increased Funding for New Activities but Could Improve Measurement of Program Effectiveness
GAO-11-592: Published: Jul 29, 2011. Publicly Released: Aug 29, 2011.
Additional Materials:
- Highlights Page:
- Full Report:
- Accessible Text:
(202) 512-5154
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
The Medicare program makes about $500 billion in payments per year and continues to have a significant amount of improper payments--almost $48 billion in fiscal year 2010. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Medicare Integrity Program (MIP) is designed to identify and address fraud, waste, and abuse, which are all causes of improper payments. MIP's authorizing legislation provided funding for its activities and subsequent legislation provided additional funding. GAO was asked to report on how effectively CMS is using MIP funding to address Medicare program integrity. GAO examined (1) how CMS used MIP funding to support the program's activities from fiscal years 2006 through 2010, (2) how CMS assesses the effectiveness of MIP, and (3) factors CMS considers when allocating MIP funding. GAO analyzed CMS budget and other documents, interviewed CMS officials, and examined the agency's method of calculating return on investment (ROI), a performance measure used by CMS to measure the effectiveness of MIP activities.
CMS used the increase in total MIP funding received, from $832 million in fiscal year 2006 to $1 billion in fiscal year 2010, to expand MIP's activities. The additional funding supported oversight of Medicare Part C (Medicare benefits managed through private plans) and Part D (the outpatient prescription drug benefit) and agency efforts to examine the claims of Medicare beneficiaries who also participate in Medicaid--a joint federal-state health care program for certain low-income individuals. CMS officials also reported that CMS was able to move some funding from activities, such as provider audit, to other activities because of savings achieved from consolidating contractors. The largest percentage increase from this redistribution went to benefit integrity activities, which aim to deter and detect Medicare fraud through proactive data analysis and coordination with law enforcement. Although CMS has reported that the agency measures MIP's performance with goals related to reductions in the improper payment rates for Medicare fee-forservice, Part C, and Part D, CMS officials with direct responsibility for MIP generally do not connect measurements of effectiveness of MIP activities with the CMS goals of reducing improper payments. These goals to reduce improper payments, which were reported as goals previously and for fiscal year 2012, are particularly important in light of the President's Accountable Government Initiative, which aims to reduce overall improper payments by $50 billion by the end of 2012. In interviews with GAO, CMS officials with direct responsibility for implementing MIP activities generally did not connect the measurement of effectiveness of MIP activities with these CMS goals to reduce improper payments and instead cited other measures of effectiveness. This suggests that CMS has not clearly communicated to its staff the relationship between the daily work of conducting MIP activities and the agency's improper payment reduction performance goals. Because MIP will be central to CMS's efforts to reduce Medicare improper payments, MIP staff need to understand how their work supports these goals. In addition, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires CMS to report annually on the use of funds for MIP and the effectiveness of the use of those funds. One way that CMS already measures MIP effectiveness is ROI, which CMS calculates as savings from an activity in relation to expenditures. CMS calculates ROI for most of its MIP activities, but the data it uses have two flaws. First, ROI calculations are not updated when program expenditure data, a key component in the ROI calculation, are updated, which may lead to an incorrect ROI. Second, CMS does not have reliable information to determine the amount of MIP spending by activity for one type of contractor that received about 22 percent of total MIP funding in fiscal year 2010. It will be important for CMS to correct these flaws to ensure reliability in ROI reporting. CMS considers a variety of factors when allocating MIP funding. Based on a review of the documents submitted to justify funding of specific MIP activities, CMS may consider the prior year's funding level, the consequence of not funding, and the performance goal that the activity is intended to meet. GAO recommends that CMS communicate the linkage between MIP activities and the goals for reducing improper payments and that CMS expeditiously improve the reliability of data used to calculate ROI. The Department of Health and Human Services concurred with these recommendations.
Recommendations for Executive Action
Status: Closed - Implemented
Comments: In its comments on our draft report, CMS concurred with our recommendation to clearly communicate to staff the linkage between GPRA and PPACA performance measures related to the reduction in improper payments and other measures used to determine the performance of MIP activities. In 2014, CMS indicated that its Strategic Plan for Program Integrity (PI Strategy), which the agency said it developed in 2013 as part of the larger CMS Strategy as PPACA was implemented, was developed by senior leadership and served as a mechanism to involve staff in linkages between their work, GPRA measures and PPACA performance measures. The Strategic Plan was provided to GAO in Sept. 2014. Specifically, CMS noted the PI Strategy was developed by a cross-agency senior leadership group, led by the Center for Program Integrity (CPI) and staffed by the Strategy Management Group (formerly the Center for Strategic Planning (CSP)), the Chief Performance Officer (CPO) and performance staff from the Performance Management Group all located in the Office of Enterprise Strategy and Performance. The strategic objectives are reinforced by performance measures, many of which are GPRA performance measures, and by key initiatives which are regularly tracked. Additionally, CMS stated that the Performance Integration Team (PIT) chaired by the CPO has been kept apprised of all developments in the CMS Strategy and the PI Strategic Plan, and its cross-cutting agency priorities and initiatives. This PIT, which includes representatives across CMS, including CPI, continues to be a useful forum for sharing performance-related information, bringing performance efficiencies and best practices to CMS and understanding the CMS Strategy. CMS stated that the CPO also continues to brief Agency leadership ? including CPI leadership -- on CMS performance issues, including requirements of the GPRA Modernization Act, and alignment of CMS performance measures with HHS and CMS Strategic Plans.
Recommendation: To enhance accountability and sharpen the focus of the agency on reducing improper payments, the Administrator of CMS should clearly communicate to staff the linkage between Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) performance measures related to the reduction in improper payments and other measures used to determine the performance of Medicare Integrity Program (MIP) activities.
Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Status: Open
Comments: In its comments on the draft report, CMS concurred with our recommendation to periodically update ROI calculations after contractor expenses have been audited to account for changes in expenditure data reported to CMS and publish a final ROI after data are complete. According to CMS, the agency will update the ROI when there has been a material change in the data used in the calculation and, at a minimum, will revisit the ROI annually to account for revisions in contractor cost reports and updated savings information. CMS indicated that it had reviewed the data used to calculate the fiscal year 2011 ROI and developed a revised ROI, which was under review as of June 2012. However, CMS did not indicate that it intended to regularly update its ROI after contractor expenses had been audited. As of September 2015, we are awaiting an update on the status of this recommendation from HHS. We will update the status of the recommendation when receive additional information.
Recommendation: To enhance the reliability of data used to calculate the MIP ROI, the Administrator of CMS should periodically update ROI calculations after contractor expenses have been audited to account for changes in expenditure data reported to CMS and publish a final ROI after data are complete.
Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Status: Closed - Implemented
Comments: In July 2011, we reported that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to report annually on the use of funds for the Medicare Integrity Program (MIP) and the effectiveness of the use of those funds. One way that CMS measures program effectiveness is through calculation of return on investment (ROI); however, we reported that the data CMS used to calculate the ROI had several flaws, including a lack of reliable information to determine the exact amount spent by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MAC) on individual MIP activities. We reported that, to enhance the reliability of data used to calculate the MIP ROI, the Administrator of CMS should, among other things, complete the implementation of data system changes that would permit CMS to capture accurate MAC spending data, thereby helping to ensure an accurate ROI. In response to our recommendation, CMS reported in 2014 that changes were made in the CMS Analysis, Reporting, and Tracking (CMS-ART) system that allow the MACs to submit final estimated cost proposals (business proposals) and monthly cost reports electronically to CMS. Officials stated that CMS-ART supports the agency's efforts to monitor, review, and analyze actual costs incurred (reflected in the monthly cost reports) versus projected costs and hours agreed to upon the contract award (reflected in the business proposal). Implementing these data system changes helps to ensure reliability in ROI reporting, thereby improving CMS's ability to assess the effectiveness of MIP activities.
Recommendation: To enhance the reliability of data used to calculate the MIP ROI, the Administrator of CMS should expeditiously complete the implementation of data system changes that will permit CMS to capture accurate Medicare administrative contractor (MAC) spending data, thereby helping to ensure an accurate ROI.
Agency Affected: Department of Health and Human Services: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Explore the full database of GAO's Open Recommendations »
Feb 10, 2016
Medicaid:Changes to Funding Formula Could Improve Allocation of Funds to StatesGAO-16-377T: Published: Feb 10, 2016. Publicly Released: Feb 10, 2016.
Jan 19, 2016
Medicare and Medicaid:Additional Oversight Needed of CMS's Demonstration to Coordinate the Care of Dual-Eligible BeneficiariesGAO-16-31: Published: Dec 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2016.
Medicaid Managed Care:Trends in Federal Spending and State Oversight of Costs and EnrollmentGAO-16-77: Published: Dec 17, 2015. Publicly Released: Jan 19, 2016.
Jan 14, 2016
Drug Safety:FDA Expedites Many Applications, But Data for Postapproval Oversight Need ImprovementGAO-16-192: Published: Dec 15, 2015. Publicly Released: Jan 14, 2016.
Jan 5, 2016
DOD and VA Health Care:Actions Needed to Help Ensure Appropriate Medication Continuation and Prescribing PracticesGAO-16-158: Published: Jan 5, 2016. Publicly Released: Jan 5, 2016.
Dec 18, 2015
Defense Health Care:Research on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to Treat Traumatic Brain Injury and Post-Traumatic Stress DisorderGAO-16-154: Published: Dec 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2015.
Medicare:Increasing Hospital-Physician Consolidation Highlights Need for Payment ReformGAO-16-189: Published: Dec 18, 2015. Publicly Released: Dec 18, 2015.
Dec 7, 2015
Medicaid Financing:Questionnaire Data on States' Methods for Financing Medicaid Payments from 2008 through 2012 (GAO-15-227SP, March 2015), an E-supplement to GAO-14-627 [Reissued on December 7, 2015]GAO-15-227SP: Published: Mar 13, 2015. Publicly Released: Mar 13, 2015.
Dec 2, 2015
Centers of Excellence:DOD and VA Need Better Documentation of Oversight ProceduresGAO-16-54: Published: Dec 2, 2015. Publicly Released: Dec 2, 2015.
Nov 30, 2015
Nursing Home Quality:CMS Should Continue to Improve Data and OversightGAO-16-33: Published: Oct 30, 2015. Publicly Released: Nov 30, 2015.
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text:
Can you clone a Mac OS X boot volume (specifically a "Mac OS Extended, Journaled" a.k.a. JHFS+ volume) directly to another, larger volume using
ddrescue or even
dd, and have the target volume end up as a perfectly working, bootable volume?
In the past, I've used
ddrescue to make a raw .dmg backup of a Mac OS X boot volume of a dying hard drive, and then "restored" that .dmg to another volume via Disk Utility, but in this case I don't have the spare hard drive space to store the intermediate .dmg file, so I'll need to invoke
ddrescue to directly clone the dying volume to a new volume. But I'm nervous that using ddrescue to do this directly, rather than using Disk Utility for the restore portion, won't leave things set up correctly so the resulting volume won't be bootable.
I have to use ddrescue because I'm dealing with a failing hard drive again. SMART Utility says it has only a single pending bad sector out of a 500GB drive, so I feel like my odds of not having any critical data on that bad sector are pretty good. The part I'm worried about is whether a raw block-by-block clone of one volume to a slightly larger volume might not leave the target volume set up correctly somehow.
Has anyone done this before on Mac OS X and can vouch that it works?
Update: Had to post my own Answer ("No", or "Not in the way I tried"), but I'd be happy to Accept a different answer if someone else can provide instructions for successfully doing this.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
When Can a Pregnant Dog Get an X-ray to See How Many Pups She's Carrying?by Betty Lewis
You've been anxiously awaiting Josie's delivery date, wondering how many bundles of joy to expect. Though you've been keeping a close eye on her, it's hard to guess how many puppies she's carrying. The vet has a few ways to get a puppy head count to help you get ready.
Counting Puppies
X-rays can distinguish between pregnancy, false pregnancy and thickening of the uterus in dogs, and are the most accurate estimate of litter size. Josie shouldn't have X-rays before her 45th day of pregnancy, as the radiation could harm her pups. The vet can give you an estimate of her litter size earlier, around the 28th day of pregnancy, by palpating her abdomen. At that point her pups are small, vulnerable embryos, so palpation should only be done by the vet, who will know where and how to feel for puppies without damaging their fetal-placental units. If you really can't wait, at 21 days an abdominal ultrasound can estimate litter size. Ultrasonography is safe and doesn't use radiation, however, it's not as accurate as X-rays for counting pups.
Photo Credits
- Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images


text:
Roast chicken makes a great meal in our house. I especially like it as it's so easy to make and there is usually enough chicken leftover to feed us the next day too. This time I tried a new way of preparing roast chicken by cooking it in an oven bag with lots of garlic butter and all the vegetables too. After all, who could say no to garlic roasted chicken with buttery vegetables and a buttery garlic sauce?
It sounds simple and it was. I was trying out my new Look Oven Bags for Roasting from Just Catering Supplies and I wasn't disappointed. The idea behind roasting in a bag is that the meat will stay moist and tender as it cooks and because everything is in a bag it definitely saves on washing up afterwards too. No more scrubbing away at stubborn burned bits on the roasting tin! And no need to clean the oven either!
I put the chicken, vegetables and stock into the bag so I had a perfect one pot meal. I just needed to reduce the sauce a little afterward. Normally I would have roasted the potatoes to go with the roast chicken as we love crispy potatoes and of course with this method the potatoes aren't crispy but they have absorbed the buttery garlic flavours of the sauce and the chicken and so are still really tasty, as are the carrots and sweet potatoes.
As the chicken is in a bag you can't insert a skewer to test if it is cooked but you should still be able to pull on one of the legs using an oven glove, if it comes away from the bird easily then the chicken is ready.
- 30g butter at room temperature
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Whole chicken (mine was 1.7kg)
- 4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
- 3 carrots, peeled and cut in half
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
- 50ml chicken stock
- Heat the oven to 180C
- Mash the garlic into the butter and then spread it over the chicken.
- Put all the vegetables into the roasting bag on a baking or roasting tray. Put the chicken in the bag on top of the vegetables. Pour the stock into the bag and fasten the bag using one of the ties that comes with it.
- Put it in the oven for 2 hours. If your chicken is much larger or smaller you may need to adjust the cooking time. As you can't check very easily if the chicken is cooked then it's best to overestimate the time as it will still stay moist in the bag.
Feel free to add more vegetables or to use different root vegetables depending on what you like best. If you are unable to get these oven roasting bags then the same dish could be created by covering the roasting dish with some aluminium foil but removing it for the last half hour of cooking so the skin browns too. You might also need to add extra stock as more would evaporate as it cooked.
This is my Recipe of the Week at A Mummy Too. I am also linking to Tasty Tuesdays at Honest Mum.


text:
Georgios Venetopoulos
Charlotte Russe - Poem by Georgios Venetopoulos
The rain began with striking thunder noise,
the falling drops were pelting on his head;
his bomber's jacket, after shave and poise
anticipated just, her tall spikes' tread.
Her stumbling light steps were quick and graced;
- oh, sightly maid, that fondling drops wet,
he smiles; she smiles, so rarified and laced,
her acrobatic charm and walking fret.
Her wet, Venusian bends enthrall his brain;
those curvatures must be explored and felt,
his tips will tangle in her moistened mane,
her feminine perfume and garter belt!
Athletic is his run upon the quay,
as lightning strikes around, of Zeus wrath,
in style he throws his rendezvous bouquet,
her manicured lithe fingers long to catch!
A flash demolishes the rose bouquet,
another strikes upon his buckle's brass;
resembling Nureyev at ballet
with Dame Fonteyn, he proves his dancing class!
She joins his dance beneath November's rain;
thus, he forebodes her lustful flames and cries,
uncorking the Dom Pérignon champagne,
receives a third flash on his manly prize.
Embraced they dance beneath the rain and kiss
Mille-feuille creamed her finger tips, will fuss
to tease his buds, while deponent his lips
descend to slowly taste her 'Charlotte Russe'.
Poet's Notes about The Poem
(humorous-erotic-light poetry-Iambic pentameter)
Comments about Charlotte Russe by Georgios Venetopoulos
Read this poem in other languages
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
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Georgios Venetopoulos's Other Poems
Famous Poems
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Maya Angelou
Still I Rise
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The Road Not Taken
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If You Forget Me
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Caged Bird
Maya Angelou
Rudyard Kipling
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
Robert Frost
A Dream Within A Dream
Edgar Allan Poe


text:
Senate debates
Thursday, 29 November 2012
- Senate Publications Committee; Report (1 speech)
On behalf of the Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Publications, I present the 22nd report of the Publications Committee. Ordered that the report be adopted.
- Regulations and Ordinances Committee; Documents (1 speech)
On behalf of the Chair of the Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances, Senator Furner, I present a volume of correspondence relating to the scrutiny of delegated legislation for the...
- Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee; Report (5 speeches)
Pursuant to order and at the request of the chairs of the respective committees, I present the report of the Education, Employment and Workplace Relations References Committee, The adequacy of...
- Senators' Interests Committee; Report (1 speech)
I present the report of the Standing Committee of Senators' Interests on the code of conduct inquiry, together with submissions received by the committee. Ordered that the report be printed. In...
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text:
Marge Pin Up September by SideshowBobLoverWatch
©2011-2016 SideshowBobLover
I've used a new style of shading. And it comes out better than I thought. The colors aren't really original colors. They are my creation, I MUST learn to mix own colors...<< But it's (beside December) my best Marge Pin up picture. I fight with the proportions. It sounds easy to pick up a head on a body, but it isn't. And please no comments about the BG- I know it's always the same XD I love the wine in this picture. It looks tasty...XD
Hope you like it!
Marge Simpson (c) Matt Groening
Artwork (c) Me
Hope you like it!
Marge Simpson (c) Matt Groening
Artwork (c) Me
hey, this is mage is great but I have a question ......What program you used for this wonderful project? because this is very cool
me gusta tu trabajo te felicito, es realmente grandioso y muy profesional, te admiro, espero sigas asi
I have been looking for this picture for ever and ever. Thanks so much!!Very Nice
Sexy one of Magre here
Nice work!
Hehe, wow this is another lovely Marge. I love the new shading style. Very sleek and clean. ^_^ Great job.
another great marge!
Well, I like it ~ I think she looks awesome. I love her outfit (God I WANT it!), the shading is nice and the colors are spot on. She looks proportioned pretty much correctly (*maybe* a little thin in the calves but that's all I can see) but honestly I think it's a kick-butt picture.
Very nice work on Marge.


text:
With more than 4,000 hostels worldwide in fantastic and unique locations. Find your dream experience Hostelling International
Sorry, this content is not currently available in the mobile view. Switch back to desktop view to access this page.
Cáceres - Albergue Juvenil Alberjerte
In the heart of Valle del Jerte. Modern and spacious facilities. Restaurant, coffee shop, garden. Activities in nature.
Prices are non-member prices


text: Purchase the basketball shoe Stick'um mat so that you and the rest of your team can step on it before entering the court. This will increase traction and eliminate slipping. Make sure to restep on the sticky mat during every timeout because the Stick'um does wear off during the game.


text:
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Posted on December 4, 2014 at 11:17pm 0 Comments 0 Likes
"Put Ups" vs. "Put Downs" (Click Here)
"A young student approached me and shared her experience regarding bullying that had disturbed her...."
"Not only they were looking for something appreciable in others, but also more importantly they were learning to look at the 'Glass half full rather than half empty'."
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Wednesday,October 22, everyone is encouraged to come together and wear #Orange to send a message of support, http://goo.gl/qdI9TY…Continue
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In general people have some very universal, shared and abstract ideas about Peace, that do not always have any real meaning in people's immediate lives. Click on the following link to find out how how women are engaging marginalized communities, and empowering them; contributing towards sustainable peace.Continue
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All of the nine Jefferson High School students participating in the "In Their Own Words" anti-bullying campaign have witnessed different types of bullying on their campus.
Read Entire Article. Click Here: …Continue
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Nice to be in contact with you.... I hope we can work together
Dear Mr. Ali,
Welcome to join Peace Network today, the great platform for peace-makers around the world. Please share your experience and achievement with other colleagues.Peace.


text:
Latest news from the Pacific Northwest
Local News
< MyNorthwest
Leavitt leading in early Vancouver mayor returns
VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) - Incumbent Tim Leavitt is leading in early returns in the Vancouver, Wash., mayor's race.
Leavitt was leading Bill Turlay by 54 percent to 46 percent Tuesday night.
The Columbian reports ( http://is.gd/CJsK3m) that much of the campaign has focused on the proposed Columbia River Crossing.
When Leavitt defeated then-Mayor Royce Pollard in 2009, he campaigned against tolls. After he took office, he said tolls would be a necessary part of a new bridge financing plan.
Turlay has campaigned on a platform of opposing the bridge and light rail project unless major changes are made to the plan and its finances.
Information from: The Columbian, http://www.columbian.com
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
Doxie by StressedJennyWatch
©2013-2016 StressedJenny
I want one, but they are cheaper to draw.
I have two! One is a brown long hair like this. The other is a short haired black mini. Rusty Malone and Dalilah Belle. They are my cute little brats 😁
Your style! I DIE.
AAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! this reminds me of my dog SAMMY! and i totally agree.....
they r so much cheaper to draw even though i got mine for free
I have two! I love this. :3
Dachshunds are just little perfect creatures, they are like little long hairy persons that walk in four legs xD they simply are your best friends, I totally love my dachshund <3
I can't describe how amazing it is to have a dachshund or adopt a pet
I can't describe how amazing it is to have a dachshund or adopt a pet
I warn you. Once you are owned by one you can never go back. they are wonderful dogs. I had mine for almost 17 years. And I still miss him.
This is so adorable.And you got "The Look" so perfect.
Check to see if you can adopt. So many are in need. Or even foster.
This is so adorable.And you got "The Look" so perfect.
Check to see if you can adopt. So many are in need. Or even foster.
i'm not so much of a dog-person but this one got me goin »awwwwww …« instantly! ^^
Please take mine -_-
This looks great ^^ dachshunds are my life we have four of them in the house ^^
They are thee BEST!!!!!!!
Aww, My friend has a doxie! <3 Just like this too!
I have a doxie named Sophie. They are worth it! Or look to see if there's a rescue near you. She's very loyal, and snuggly.
Oh I love it. What a pretty long hair, though I am partial to wires.
eine kleine wiener dock
tell me about it. we bought one in japan for like 200 dollars and I was told that was cheap... 0_o
omg i have two minis and they are like the sweetest dogs ever
you should totes get one ;u;
you should totes get one ;u;
It's so cute.
I have one of these dogs. they are so cute also a munchkin cat, thats basically a sausage dog cat.
also this art is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
also this art is beautiful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have 2 miniatures and they are the love of my life! This one looks like the one I had when I was little... Megan... very beautiful!
Too cute! I love it!
They're precious dogs- I have 2
Omg so cuute!
I have one.!!.well, She was a gift, so Idk maybe think she's cheaper to draw and cheaper to love ♥
I have one.!!.well, She was a gift, so Idk maybe think she's cheaper to draw and cheaper to love ♥
Honestly the best dogs.... they act like babes their whole lives. <3
I love mine!!!! They are precious, I have five! haha
Hahaha! Me too! Beautiful, cute drawing!
What a cutie!!!!!
Aw, it's cute~ :3
So cute, and so true
so cute!!!! I miss my little hot dog (can't spell the original name for them to save my life). *sighs* RIP Dexter
They are cute but have such a temper ^^
Mine is 13 and he's such a devil...
and grumbles like an old man when mad x'D
Mine is 13 and he's such a devil...
and grumbles like an old man when mad x'D
cannot see it
as someone said above, call a local shelter (or several) and tell them you are looking for that race. some people buy puppies and then, sadly, get tired of them pretty fast. the shelters will gladly call you when they get them.
So cute! You really nailed their look, that's their default expression. XD
Hehe, cute!
Naww... Reminds me of Lady.
Awww!!!! Such a cute little weenie dog!!!!!!!! I want one too!!!!!!!!! But my other dog would never forgive me!
This is just.. ADORABLE.
My grandparents had a doxie, and she was the nicest dog I've ever met.
My roommate has 2 of these little boogers, and they've both got me firmly wrapped around their little digger paws. Lovely picture! : )
Dat pwetty doggie
That looks so cute
I have four short haired mini doxies and I love them greatly, but man are they barkers.
I love love looove Doxies!! And this picture is just TOO CUTE!
We have three doxies. <3
Best dogs in the world.
Best dogs in the world.
I have one, such a sweetheart. Maybe check in with a local shelter?
aw looks kinda like my doggy


text:
The year was 1989. The day was June 2. A little movie was released that would go on to inspire Walt Whitman wannabes the world over.
Yes, Dead Poets Society is 25 years old today. Wanna feel ever older? Look what other neo-classics premiered the year baby Hayden Panettiere was born:
1. 'Batman'
2. 'Parenthood'
3. 'Dead Calm'


text:
Sunday at the Lake by RoieGWatch
©2007-2016 RoieG
Ain't nothing like an easy sunday afternoon at the lake to relax
Infrared photography
Infrared photography
hi, i was wondering if this wasn't copyrighted or anything, if i could use it in a photo manipulation, i was thinking of putting a shirtless guy with angel wings in the water, with a moon in the sky but i wanted to make sure that it was ok with you first. i will credit you as the original owner of this photograph, and i will link you back to the finished piece. But i understand if you do not want me to do this and will completely respect your decision. Thank you.
I am absolutely fascinated with infrared photography! I never knew about it until a few years ago and it's just so captivating... and seriously so much more beautiful, then what we see! I wish you could get a infrared operation done to your eyes I'd totally get it!
Is this real? It is stunning!
Beautiful !
This is such a beautiful shot! Sorry I couldn't be more origional with my comment haha! I'm lost for words! Xo
Truly amazing photo
amazing shot.. love this !
i love the contrast betweeen the bright white and blue
what a beautiful place
what a beautiful place
nice shot
beautiful scene!! love the reflection.
are those cherry blossoms?
beautiful scene!! love the reflection.
are those cherry blossoms?
wow, what a beautiful scene
For a second there I thought you caught the scene frozen. It reminds me of the lakes in the mountains around here during the winter, kind of eerie really.
I wish we had frozen lakes indeed... but it never gets below 10 degrees Celsius here
Very Coll this Infrared Photo!!
Great IR! Very peaceful scene!
beautiful shot! i love the symmetry and the colors. very lovely...
definitely a very relaxing shot
Amazing! Absolutely amazing!
Wow, that's breathtaking! I love this shot, lovely work!
wow, what an amazing photo. ^.^
Most Beauty naturalPerfect Job Flash
Wow, that looks really cool!! ^_^
the picture is amazing!!!
I can't even imagine how amazing it would be to see it in person.
the picture is amazing!!!
I can't even imagine how amazing it would be to see it in person.
Infrared shots are so peacefull , nice shot !
Beautiful shot! What lake? I met another Israeli photographer while taking some shots of surfers, said he met you and that your work is amazing I'm thinking of maybe doing a day where a bunch of us can meet up and take photos - should be interesting. Well anyways i'm in Netanya at the moment too. Compliments on the beautiful IR.
thanks for the complements.
sadly, latlely I almost have no time to photograph at all.
maybe next month, god willing
sadly, latlely I almost have no time to photograph at all.
maybe next month, god willing
the middle part of the image have a different colour, what kind of lens where you using? Zoom maybe?


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My New Home by piskieheartWatch
©2009-2016 piskieheart
This isn't actually one of the nicer parts of Cambridge but there's something about it that sums up what I love about it... the bikes, the colour of the trees, the relaxed atmosphere... mm
This is about ten minutes walk from where I am currently living.
This is about ten minutes walk from where I am currently living.
It looks really nice there, you're really lucky.
This shot looks so timeless If I didn't know any better, I would have thought this was a shot taken from a street from decades ago, I think it's the bikes,
Ohh, Autumn.
What a pleasant looking spot. I'm quite jealous. Love the lighting as well, very well done.


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Teaching Critical Literacy in English Classroom
Bal Krishna Sharma
Thank you for vising this blog and and this resource section.
This resource is for teaching critical literacy in English classrooms– an important aspect of localizing English teaching practices. The materials and lessons shared here were designed to fulfill requirements for one of Bal Krishna Sharma's courses– Localizing TESOL– at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. All these materials and lessons are based on a theme "Issues in Nepalese Society" and they address the teaching items (grammar, vocabulary and other language functions) in the high school Grade 9 English textbook. I have designed these materials approximately for three lessons consisting of 60 minutes each—totaling three hours. I have included the news reports, articles, and pictures and videos that go with the chosen themes. The purpose of these materials is not replace but to supplement the existing textbook materials with the new materials, lessons and activities of my own design. Download and read introduction and background for designing those materials by clicking below.
The materials can be used to teach the following three lessons:
Lesson 1- Domestic Child Labor
Lesson 2-Men and Women in Education
Lesson 3- Marriage and Dowry Practice
I have designed these materials keeping in mind of the background of English teachers and students in Nepal. However, interested teachers can adopt and adapt these materials according to their needs.


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76207 Views 6 Replies Latest reply: Feb 10, 2008 7:23 AM by matttye88
Goshia Feb 9, 2008 7:16 AM
in response to angelj SolvedIt all depends on the length of the song. I have 800 songs on my phone and still have 2GB free.
I would guess around 180-200 songs per GB.
Message was edited by: Goshia
Nathan C Feb 9, 2008 7:56 AM
in response to angelj Helpfulangelj,
It depends on the length and encoding used for the song.
For a 128kbps bit rate song, it is approximately 1 MB per minute. For a 256kbps bit rate song its approximately 2MB per minute. Leave a little overhead for things like album artwork, ID3 tags, and some things to do with how drives store data (block size for one), that is about 100 minutes or 500 minutes per gigabyte. iTunes DRM protected songs are encoded at 128kbps bit rate. iTunes Plus songs are encoded at 256kbps bit rate. Most songs are about 4 minutes on average. If we use that as an average we are looking at about 125-250 songs per gigabyte.
The iPhone and iPod touch do have some space reserved for system software as well. Figure roughly 7GB of storage is available. That would be 775-1750 songs per 8 GB iPhone with 4 minute songs.
Hope this helps,
Nathan C.
angelj Feb 9, 2008 7:50 AM
in response to Nathan CThanks for the info, it was a big help.
hexonxonx Feb 9, 2008 3:08 PM
in response to angeljOn my 8GB iPhone, I have fit as many as 1400 songs. These were all songs purchased on iTunes so most were 128 kbps and a few hundred were 256 iTunes plus.
I haven't seen how many I can fit on my 16GB yet, I barely have 1319 songs so far that I have loaded.
James Olson Feb 10, 2008 5:30 AM
in response to angeljI went back and returned by 8gb to the 16gb, luckily I had a few days left on my 14 day rtn policy and that went really smooth, paid my 10% restocking fee and out in 8 minutes. But anyway, I have now exactly 3700 songs on my 16gb phone and have 2.05gb left, I have a few pictures on the phone but not many, maybe 10 or so.
matttye88 Feb 10, 2008 7:23 AM
in response to angeljI have 596 songs on mine with 2.1 GB available and a lot of my songs are 5/6 minutes or longer.


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Results 16 to 30 of 36
Thread: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
-01-21-2010 #16The Optimistic Lamb Guest
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
Lefevour is good. I'm wondering what makes him a 3rd round prospect though? Clausen has character issues. McCoy and Bradford have durability issues. Tebow has mechanical issues. Pike is all the above. What's Lefevour's problem?
Last edited by The Optimistic Lamb; -02-06-2010 at 05:07 PM.
-01-21-2010 #17
-01-21-2010 #18
-01-22-2010 #19
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
During the rest of the season, the majority of the time, Bulger or Boller had more than ample time to throw a deep ball. It's because our receivers cannot get separation, or does not have enough experience/talent to shake off defenders.
-01-22-2010 #20Registered User
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Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
Pike is too scrawny, he won't pack on the weight and will never be an NFL starter. He looked good playing a weak schedule.
McCoy is a leader, I like that, and to me would be the Rams best QB effort this draft
-01-23-2010 #21
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
I would love to get Dan LeFevour.. I like him more than any other QB in this draft :S
-01-23-2010 #22
-01-31-2010 #23
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
After watching the senior bowl, both LeFevour and Pike look to be handling snaps under center very well!
-02-01-2010 #24
-02-01-2010 #25
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!A defeated look of consternation, dissappointment, or even pain. The name derives from the look one often gets when challenged by a large BM.
-02-01-2010 #26The Optimistic Lamb Guest
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
Last edited by The Optimistic Lamb; -02-01-2010 at 05:41 PM.
-02-02-2010 #27
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
But if we pick up a guy and he does good this season, how would we be able to get Jake Locker next year? We would have a bad pick in the draft..
-02-02-2010 #28The Optimistic Lamb Guest
-02-02-2010 #29
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
Because there is not 1 QB in FA that is young. or at least productive. If Mike Vick can barely lead the falcons to what.. 1 appearance to the playoffs what makes you think he can do it here. The next best is what, Chad Pennington? ahaha. And you want to pick a young guy you can develop under somebody and id love to be able to do that with Locker.
-02-04-2010 #30The Optimistic Lamb Guest
Re: SOSA's MOCK DRAFT v1.0!!!!
It would be wonderful to find a legit QB in FA and save us a first round pick. If not Locker would be good.
Last edited by The Optimistic Lamb; -02-04-2010 at 12:33 PM.
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Monday, 14 September 2015
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
'Each time it begins in the same way, it doesn't begin the
same way, each time it begins it's the same.'
Remarkable and sustained fury. I have not read a book that more tangibly captures the othered experience than this. The impact is as a bludgeon knocking you into another shape, yet the writing is as fine and crafted as a blade. Every word of Citizen, every image, beats you round the head saying 'this is my world, this is my world', challenging you to overlook it. There is no ignoring Claudia Rankine's Citizen. This is what literature is and can be.
'Words work as release - well-oiled doors opening and
closing between intention, gesture. A pulse in a neck, the
shiftiness of the hands, an unconscious blink, the conver-
sations you have with your eyes translate everything and
nothing. What will be needed, what goes unfelt, unsaid -
what has been duplicated, redacted here, redacted there,
altered to hide or disguise - words encoding the bodies
they cover. And despite everything the body remains.
Occasionally it is interesting to think about he outburst if
you would just cry out-
To know what you'll sound like is worth noting-'
Friday, 29 May 2015
Wilding the Tame: Two Encounters with Wolves
The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall (Faber, 2015)
Two (artistic) encounters with wolves over the last couple of weeks have got me thinking about our relationship with the wild in ourselves and in nature, and whether there is a difference between the tame, and the domesticated. And just how easy it is to romanticise the wild from an urban lifestyle, without really experiencing it as it is.
Wild Works new site-specific immersive story, produced at Felbrigg Hall in partnership with Norfolk and Norwich Festival, takes us on a fairy-tale adventure that mirrors the Greek myth of Calisto - the nymph turned bear - and the unusual life of Peter the Wild Boy, an eighteenth century boy found living wild in the woods of Northern Germany and brought back to live in the UK.This is what Wild Works do: they set up camp somewhere, meet people, uncover stories, and produce theatre that has that place and those stories at their heart.
In this one, we begin with a warning: do not stray from the middle of the paths - wolves are about, and our safety cannot be guaranteed. Nor can it be for Rowan, mute orphan and heroine of this show, who plays her wobbly fear with strained abandon. We first meet her amid the orphanage of Mother, a prim and austere woman who has dedicated her life to creating civilised order and ladylike manners in a manicured house on the edge of a dark forest. But Mother likes to scare her orphans into propriety. and when Rowan is sent out into the woods with a shotgun, she begins an odyssey that takes in an erotic encounter with some sort of wild stag-man, a pack of wolves, a child, and an inter-generational conflict with Mother and her harem of order.
We're guided around the forest by a murder of crows: they narrate the story and entertain us on the long walks between scenes. The female crow, with her esturine squarking runs away with the show, so fantastically does she capture the playful inquisitive intelligence of the crow.
There are other triumphs, too - a puppet of a young daughter taking her first steps in the wolf pack; the image of mother riding upright on her horse before the great grandeur of National Trust's Felbrigg Hall; and the way that an hour in we realise we have left the path and are totally lost in the woods with no idea which direction lies civilisation. The sun has sunk, the sky is a blueish grey, lighter than the treetops shadowed against it. There are candles lighting our path, sometimes a blue tinge to our destination, but either side is darkness and unknown.
If there is a criticism, it is that of many large-scale site specific works - the shepherding of an audience takes time and, for all the efforts of the crows, breaks the intensity of the story. And while the story they tell feels wild and unrestrained, following a line of theatre goers doesn't. I found myself taken out of the story too often to fully immerse, which after the intensity of A Girl is a Half-formed Thing the night before, was a shame.
There's also a sense of romanticising the wildness. This feels like a story for an urban arts audience. Perhaps I just wanted some proper danger and uncertainty! But its an amazing spectacle nonetheless.
What Sarah Hall does in The Wolf Border is simultaneously less dramatic, and more creative. The novel is about transition and change, mutability, and an interaction between the tame and the wild, voluntary, changeable, permeable. Rather than looking to a mythical past for her story, she sets it the UK today, telling a story of rewilding a tame landscape as the old-order begins to break-down, and wild new possibilities open up in a newly independent Scotland. It's a cunning tale from one of the wildest of UK writers: Sarah Hall's oevre is packed with tales of altered landscapes and characters longing to throw off the shackles of conventional life for something altogether more elemental, physical, less governed by the mind.
The heroine here is Rachel Caine, refugee from a bohemian mother, who has for years been working as a wolf expert in the US. But her life is in transition, and following her mothers death and an unexpected pregnancy, she decides to accept the offer of an Earl who has an eccentric plan to reintroduce the wolf to the UK landscape on his vast estate. In language that is scented to the earthy, metallic Cumbrian landscape, we almost feel as though Rachel is some sort of shamen figure, totemically running free alongside the pack, guiding them towards their natural home. If there is a philosophy underpinning this book, it is that we cannot escape our nature, that we are all part tame, part wild and both parts will get us in the end.
This is reflected in the narrative of Scottish Independence, which sits alongside the main plot. But what starts as a naturalistic presentation of the UK over the summer of 2014, begins to become altered as the vote goes the other way, and the public schoolboy Westminster power-base is challenged. The portrait of Scotland is slightly one-dimensional; a rugged antithesis of ennobled England. But the border is both physical and metaphorical, a transition of mindset as well as of landscape.
Sarah Hall's writing is swift and enthralling, the plot sucks you in and her very real characters enchant. She's one of my favourite British novelists, and her perspective that sits somewhere between naturalist and farmer is an unusual one in the often too bland middle-England literature. There's much familiar about this tale, in setting and atmosphere. It feels like Haweswater meets The Carhullan Army, and I flew through it in a couple of days - very quick for me! - starting on a train from Lancaster to London as I mourned the fading Cumbrian landscape behind me. There's a thrill in the wild, it calls to us like a romantic longling for something we feel we've lost. Something human, though. Governed, by our fantasies and imaginings. Wolf's Child taps right into this, and is limited by it. But The Wolf Border takes a step further, exposing that longing as an empty misunderstanding, and presenting a wilderness that is. It just is. That's Sarah /Hall's brilliance.
Thursday, 14 May 2015
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing: The Play
Tonight's theatrical Norfolk and Norwich Festival adventure took in the stage adaptation (by Annie Ryan) of Eimear McBride's prize-hoovering novel A Girl is a Half-formed Thing. As with the book, it's a difficult to watch but impossible to look away masterpiece, a verbally instant and insistent barrage of emotion and experience. Guttural.
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing follows the inner narrative of a girl from the womb to twenty, her relationship with her sick brother, and search for herself. It has attracted 5-star reviews from nearly everyone who has seen it, and is performed as a one-woman show by Aoife Duffin who is simply mesmeric. Hers is a performance to shape a career. Duffin holds the stage without much movement or action, and conjures characters with a slight inflection of the voice of posture. She is utterly convincing and untouchable on an raised up stage. Sometimes, so embodying the role, it feels as though she is a child playing make believe alone in her bedroom. How she can go through that visceral performance night after night and not be a gibbering wreck is anybodies guess.
And for the audience a difference from the book. Because with a book you can always put it down, but here together in a theatre it is relentless. There is nowhere nowhere to hide. It's Excoriating. I came out tense and wordless. All around was stunned silence and soft checking each other was okay after it all. The impact and power of those words and that body and voice were written all over our faces.
A Girl is a Half-formed Thing is playing at Norwich Playhouse until Saturday 16th. Go and see it if you can. It is, it is, it is it
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
What Will Have Been - Circa at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival
capillaries, filaments,
delicate networks...
something sustains us
in tension.'
George Szirtes
Wednesday, 1 April 2015
Book Review: Any Other Mouth by Anneliese Mackintosh
In the epigraph, Anneliese Mackintosh states: '68% happened; 32% did not happen; I will never tell' and this teasing game of fiction and biography that she sets in motion parched my mouth with anticipation for what was to come. It doesn't matter whether the work that follows is a searing and amazingly frank account of a life lived in the fast lane, or a cunning character study through fiction. The writing is first rate: quick, luscious, direct. Her approach to language mirrors her protagonist's approach to life: she charges at a thing, she doesn't shirk, she tells stories full of heart that make the spaces between people feel less vast than they sometimes might.
One of the joys of reading is in discovering different ways of living life, different responses to the challenges and joys it throws up. We most often do this by reading about cultures other than our own, and at times the more harrowing the better in this sort of reading. (See the universal love of Khaled Hosseini's pity-porn novels of Afghanistan for one example.) But we are sadly less willing to read books that present a different view of life in our own society, or that treat with empathy subjects we would rather believe did not happen. In this searing, unflinching book, we get a first-hand view of one experience of life with Borderline Personality Disorder. It is a book that asks us to reappraise our expectations for behavior, often uncomfortably so. And that, in my opinion, is one of the things that the arts should be all about.
In its nihilistic rejection of convention and vibrant lust for life Any Other Mouth reminded me of AM Homes brilliant novel Music for Torching. But much more than this exciting, blackly comic read, it feels important too. Important, as understanding perspectives on life different from your own always are. It may be a bit of a Marmite book, and will undoubtedly provoke some anger by some people who feel the content is not always 'appropriate' but perhaps because of this, it is a book that should be widely read. Any Other Mouth is engaging, unexpected, gripping, poignant, shocking and exciting. A great read.
(Note: One word of caution: the blurb for this book doesn't really make any sense! How do you react when you discover your boyfriend is cheating on you with his dead grandma? You don't. It's doesn't happen like that! Don't be put off, Any Other Mouth is not as ridiculous as the blurb suggests!)
Friday, 20 March 2015
What is Literature? Thoughts from the International Literature Showcase
What Is Literature
It is being listened to. And it is listening hard: opening the ear and the eye and the heart to that which has never been part of you, and that which has lain within you all along.
It is itself. And this is enough. And it is incomparably bigger.
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
On Literature Festivals, Power, and Process – a week in South America
Saturday, 6 December 2014
In Praise of...
Megan Serena Ruddock
Megan is my beautiful talented generous considerate hilarious kind wife. We have been together 12 years, and married for 10. We met when I was still a teenager and I fell for her immediately. Of course I did! She sent me an album that remains one of the best things I've ever heard and we talked endlessly. But what is remarkable is that she saw in my skinny lonely immaturity someone worth knowing. And every day since she has supported me in feeling that I could make anything of my life. She has made sure I felt loved, challenged me when I needed it, and ensured I never got too big for my boots. She is my best friend and the best thing that has ever happened to me. I don't tell her that enough.
Megan is the bravest person I know. She moved to a whole different country by herself and has built a life here. And she has the bravery to stand up for what she believes in regardless of what it costs her. She's driven by this moral code to be considerate to everyone, to do no harm at all, and to support and empathise with those who need it most. She cares for everyone, from the snail on the pavement in the morning to the person pushing everyone away. She's a champion of the disadvantaged, the very epitome of what a good Christian should be.
Megan isn't afraid to be herself. She drinks absinthe at lunch on accessions. She often describes herself as simultaneously 10 years old (she just started collecting Sylvanian Families) and 70 (last year she took a course in Ancient Hebrew!). But she is also 21 and 39 and 47 and 53 and every other age there is. I can't list all the courses she had taken or signed up for. She is a polymath: everything interests her in some way or another. She is the self-development Queen, there is nothing about her she isn't prepared to interrogate, challenge and improve if she doesn't like what she finds. And she's quite probably the best quiz team player in the world!
Megan is also hilarious. No one I have ever known has such a sly, black humour, as she does. She is brilliant at word play, and she's self-deprecating and finds humour in herself at every turn. When she laughs her whole face comes alive and her eyes sparkle. She has this mini-smile wrinkle above her top lip that appears when she smiles - it never ceases to make me happy. I think her laughter is the best thing in the world. It is explosive and all encompassing and feels like freedom.
We have fun together. She is the creative genius behind Cheers (possibly the worlds most comprehensive stuffed animal society). She invented Dogwarts (stolen by Aardman as a joke in Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit), and basically wrote the penguin and lemur characters for Madagascar. To our cats she is the sporty chaser, the trick trainer, the treater. She scoops them up and gives them medicine. And they love her for it because somehow they know she would never do anything bad to them.
Sadly life isn't always as kind to Megan as she is to it. She's had a pretty tough time these last few years with people not realising how infinitely capable she is. With people treating her horribly. And that sucks for her, it really does. But what I find remarkable is that she has this amazing capacity to take a bad hand and keep fighting. Nothing lessens her belief in people, her hope that tomorrow will be better, or her desire to turn today around.
Megan shows me what goodness is. She's so much better than I am. And I would be nothing without her. I love her with all my heart. And I thought you - and she - should know this.
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Brief thoughts on Remix Summit London day 1
Remix Summit is a global network of conferences that bring together culture, technology and entrepreneurship for an intensive set of discussions and presentations on some of the cutting edge work happening in these areas. I attended day one of the two day event, hosted at Google Town Hall in the heart of London's West End, which featured presentations by the likes of Tate, Secret Cinema, the Mayor of London's cultural office, and Manchester International Festival. Some were excellent, and there were interesting conversations around them. But overall the day proved frustrating for a number of reasons. Here are a few quick thoughts and some challenges for Day 2 tomorrow.
1. On whose terms? I probably should have realised that a conference backed by technology and media partners Google and Bloomburg would be technology centred. Nothing wrong with that: I'm writing this on my Galaxy Note 3 while listening to music on the same device, and have been tweeting throughout the day. I like technology. But the traditional arts world felt sidelined. Almost everything that was discussed was through a commercial or tech prism, focusing on how technology built communities and reached wide audiences. It sometimes seemed that technology was being seen as the savior of art. That without it, art stayed behind locked doors in austere buildings. As though standing in a gallery or on a street corner admiring a painting, sitting forward in the midst of a play, reading a book, singing along to an album, or feeling that yearn to move in the midst of dance were not enough if they weren't somehow augmented by a screen.
Clearly this is problematic. Despite a day filled with words, it is the experience of reading Liz Berry's Black Country on the underground this morning that will stay with me. There has to be a place for quiet, calm reflection, or loud furious reflection in this world and the arts provide this. We don't always have to be doing things on digital and social media platforms to be producing great work.
As Fabien Riggall said: 'We want to use technology, not be used by it'.
How we in the arts articulate different values and challenge the profit-chasing bubble thinking of the technology world may be one of the challenges for day 2.
2. There is a world outside those ivory towers. Be they the towers of national arts organisations or multinational conglomerates, there was an absence of social responsibility today. The Barbican aside, no one gave any prominence to social deprevation or how technology, culture or entrepreneurship could work to improve the lives we live and reach those whose horizons are narrowest. We talked briefly about art for arts sake, and the whole day seemed to be technology for technologies sake, and while I admire and value this there also needs to be time for art, technology and culture that works with real people and changes communities. A deliberately provocative comment towards the end of the night suggested that art in the regions was basically just community theatre and all a bit naff and amateurish. This pissed me off! It is absolutely possible to produce excellent work that is made in and with communities and makes those places better to live in. It's time to end the dichotomy between excellence and instrumentalism. We can (and many do!) do both!
3. Stop telling me how great your work is. I thought this was a conference not a sales pitch. I'm not trying to silence good work, but some ideas, some perspectives, some challenges. All these would have made for a broader and more impactful conversation.
4. Don't over programme! It is something everyone who produces events should remember. That a good event is often the result of time to breathe, to ask questions and challenge thinking, to share and drill down. With 3 or 4 people often speaking in only a 40 minute event, time was squashed. At one point a speaker was interrupted, quite rudely, mid flow. There needed more space. Less is more.
Where an individual was given time to talk, they were worth listening to. Alex Poots from Manchester International Festival was fascinating on the importance of giving power to artists. Sir Nicolas Kenyon from The Barbican was equally inspiring on working with local communities and the subtle shifts technology can give to a wide range of different productions. And Fabien Riggall from Secret Cinema told stories and gave more than just a sales pitch, he presented a vision and a story and a call to action.
Sadly, and despite some interesting speakers, the panels were largely sales pitches mashed together. Which was a shame.
5. Hosting is a responsibility, not doing it well is rude. If you advertise an 8am breakfast start, deliver that, or at least apologise for keeping guests hungry and waiting an hour to be let in. And then make sure there is sufficient cups and sandwiches and teabags for everyone. It's basic stuff, sadly.
And to finish it off, my quote of the day:
'Those who aim to give the public what they want begin by underestimating the public taste. They end by debauching it.'
TS Eliot
Monday, 10 November 2014
What Price Peace? A Sunday Assembly 'sermon'
For more information or if you are interested in joining Norwich Sunday Assembly, visit the website here, or find out more on Twitter or Facebook.


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Tue 15th Jul
@ Somerset House, London
Also appearing: Kyla La Grange
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Summer Series at Somerset House: Bastille + Kyla La Grange
In one of London's most spectacular settings, Summer Series at Somerset House with American Express® will run this year from 10th – 20th July 2014.
London's intimate live music festival will play host to a typically eclectic and impressive array of headline artists alongside hotly tipped acts.
Virgin/EMI signings Bastille deliver bewitching electro-pop. Fronted by Dan Smith, the band got their name due to the fact Dan's birthday falls on Bastille Day. He also wanted something neutral yet evocative enough to describe his rhythmically and melodically inventive pop music. Since their inception in 2010, the band have steadily built up an ever-growing audience, resulting in debut album 'Bad Blood' reaching the no.1 position in the UK album charts in March 2013. It has gone on to be the biggest selling debut album of 2013 so far with nearly platinum sales and is one of the top 10 biggest selling albums of the year.
Bastille tour dates
Kyla La Grange
Kyla La Grange is a former Cambridge philosophy student whose songs are inspired by the "epic sadness" of Cat Power and Elliot Smith. The Watford-born daughter of hippy parents, she began writing songs aged just five.
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Venue Facts
Venue: Somerset House
Website: somersethouse.org.uk
Enquiries: 0207 845 4600
Bookings: 0207 413 3399
Disabled Bookings: 0207 845 4600
→ Charing Cross 7 min walk
→ Temple 2 min walk


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SL Police entices Sinhala students to confront Tamil students at University of Jaffna
UN Rights Chief cites IC for rejecting release of Tamil POWs
NYT confines justice to US paradigm
Rajapakse, a war-criminal in hiding[TamilNet, Friday, 21 January 2011, 00:47 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President, Mahinda Rajapakse, purportedly on a private visit to the U.S. is likely to remain in hiding with his physical whereabouts kept secret from the public to avoid another embarrassing battle with diaspora Tamils. While, as a matter of jurisprudential fairness, US Ambassador Butenis's acknowledgment that Rajapaksas have committed possible war-crimes in Sri Lanka should trigger a Justice Department investigation, Rajapakse would not have attempted to enter U.S. absent assurance from the State Department that he will not be subjected to any legal procedures. Rajapakse will also be aware that, unlike in the UK, in the US private citizens cannot apply for an arrest warrant.
Professor Boyle of University of Illinois has called "liberal" Obama administration's conduct in allowing Rajapakase into the US as "Machiavellian Realpolitik at its worst."
In December, suspect Sri Lankan war criminal, Major General Chagi Gallage, who came as part of Mahinda Rajapaksa's entourage to London, escaped arrest by his premature departure from Britain. "An application [for arrest warrant] was lodged at Horseferry Road magistrates court, central London, but inquiries by Scotland Yard established that Rajapakse contingent had made a hurried exit," British media reported of the Rajapakse entourage's agonizing predicament in Britain.
Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) in the US permits foreign nationals to seek relief in Federal court for actions that violate the law of nations or a U.S. treaty. U.S. courts have interpreted violations of the law of nations under the ATCA to include crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide, torture, rape, and summary execution. Private citizens in the US can file a civil claim against Rajapakses. Legal battle will detemine if head of state immunity will apply to senior Rajapakse. Ex-Army commanders and non-Head of State defendents will not be immune from ATCA charges.
Rajapakse's predicament in the US, and earlier in the UK, highlight what future holds for the politicians who held positions of "command responsibility" in Sri Lanka and the Military Commanders on the ground who obeyed the orders during the Vanni massacre in the first five months of 2009.
In Western liberal democracies the freedom of movement of suspect war-criminals will be severely restricted due to diaspora and local political pressure, and visits will likely be clandestine without the glare of publicity.
The situation is unlikely to change, and the alleged criminals have to always find ways to avoid getting caught in foreign legal nets, unless an internationally acceptable independent investigation that establishes accountability for the massive Tamil civilian deaths is carried out.
21.01.11 Rajapakse, a war-criminal in hiding
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SL Police entices Sinhala students to confront Tamil students at University of Jaffna
07.02.16 23:34
UN Rights Chief cites IC for rejecting release of Tamil POWs
30.01.16 06:59
NYT confines justice to US paradigm
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Wrap Up With 25 Afghan Patterns from Red Heart Yarn
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Pink and Blue Single Shell Ripple Afghan
By: Roseanna Beck
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This colorful afghan will look great on any couch or bed. Give it as a gift to anyone who likes to stay comfy and warm. The Pink and Blue Single Shell Ripple Afghan by Roseanna Beck is beautiful and soft.
- Red Heart Yarn:
- 650 yds. White Red Heart 4-ply yarn (W)
- 165 yds. Light Blue Red Heart 4-ply yarn (B)
- 165 yds. Petal Pink Red Heart 4-ply yarn (P)
- H crochet hook or size needed for gauge
6 dcs = 2"
4 rows = 3 ¼"
Size: 37" x 37"
Stitch Guide:
Chain (ch), Single Crochet (sc), Double Crochet (dc)
Special Stitch – Shell (2 dc, ch 2, 2 dc)
Note: Work all rows in back loop.
Row 1 – With white ch 124, dc in 4th ch from hook , dc in each of next 4 ch, 3 dc in next ch, dc in each of next 6 ch, *skip 2 ch, Shell in next ch, skip 2 ch, dc in each of next 6 ch, 3 dc in next ch, dc in each of next 6 ch, rep from * across, ch 3 and turn.
Row 2 – Skip 1 dc, dc in each of next 5 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in each of next 6 dc, *Shell in Shell, skip 1 dc, dc in each of next 6 dc, 3 dc in next dc, dc in each of next 6 dc, rep from *across, ch 3 and turn.
Rep Row 2 for color scheme as follows: (47 rows) 3W P W B W P 3W B W P W B 3W P W B 3W P W B 3W P W B W P 3W B W P W B 3W
With white working along both side edges (sc, ch 2, sc) in each dc across.
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Member 2087307
May 08, 2011
To: njdlc15 8115646 shell in shell means you put the shell in the ch 2 space between the 2 dcs that make up your shell 2 dc ch 2 2 dc shell goes here hope this helps.
njdlc15 8115646
Mar 24, 2011
What does shell in shellmean Iam making this blanket and I am confused over this direction?
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How to make okonomiyaki by BrocXWatch
©2011-2016 BrocX
Some people actually liked that oyakodon no tsukurikata that I made so I decided to document me making okonomiyaki
it is hard to understand that type of text... could u use another one next time or add the text also underneath the title and pic?
Aha I totally understand about ''cleaning your stuff before taking pictures''! T_T And is it just me or is that spray can whipped cream on top of the okonomyaki at the last picture?! or is my brain failing me...
oh, of course not, it' mayo . But now that you said it, it does look like whipped cream a little, doesn't it ?
id fail with the flipping haha
to be honest, so did I, worry not, its pretty easily fixable, unless you totally rip it apart
i love oonomiyaki
i feel hungry now
you could even put some okonomiyaki sauce on it along with mayo
i love oonomiyaki
i feel hungry now
you could even put some okonomiyaki sauce on it along with mayo
ah but of course, it is supposed to go there, I just wanted to illustrate that you can put pretty much anything there
normally i have it in the restaurant
but i've been meaning to give it a go
for quiet a long time
but i never get to it 'cus i'm worried about when i flipping it over
it would get destroyed


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Cronk re-signs with Melbourne Storm
THE Melbourne Storm have re-signed champion halfback Cooper Cronk to a four year deal, worth a reported 2.2 million dollars.
QRL Intrust Super Cup Preview - Round 4
A full preview of Round 4 of the Queensland Intrust Super Cup.
Titans clarify financial position and misleading reports
THE Jetstar Gold Coast Titans wish to clarify some key information regarding the club
Hindmarsh confirms retirement plans
ARGUABLY the greatest player to have pulled on a Blue and Gold jersey, Pirtek Parramatta Eels captain Nathan Hindmarsh has tonight announced he will retire at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
Roosters celebrate Men of League Heritage Round
THE Sydney Roosters will celebrate the 10th anniversary of their 2002 Premiership win against the New Zealand Warriors in this weekend
VB NSW Cup Previews - Round 5
A full preview of Round 5 of the VB NSW Cup thanks to the NSWRL.
Off the Wall
THE NRL must be more pro-active on club viability!
2012 NRL Match Previews - Round 5 (Heritage Round)
PAUL returns with his previews of NRL Round 5 - the Men of League Heritage Round!
V for Vic Arious
VIC does the time warp with the Men of League...
NRL Draw Update - Round 11 & 12
ALL the match fixtures for Round 11 and 12 of the 2012 Telstra Premiership.
NRL Injury and Suspension Summary - Round 5
ALL the latest injury and suspension news in one place heading into the fifth round of the NRL!
This Weekend's Teams - March 30-April 2
THE one place you can find ALL four sets of teamlists in one handy place - it's THIS WEEKEND'S TEAMS for Round 5 of NRL, VB NSW Cup and Toyota Cup, as well as Round 4 of QRL Intrust Super Cup.
VB NSW Cup Teams - Round 5
ALL the teams for Round 5 of VB NSW Cup thanks to the NSWRL.
QRL Intrust Super Cup Teams - Round 4
THANKS to the QRL, check out all the teams for the next instalment of the Intrust Super Cup, with Round 4 ahead this weekend.
Toyota Cup Teams - Round 5
ALL the Toyota Cup teamlists ahead of Round 5 of the National Youth Competition for Under 20's.


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Ag industry to miss Combest's House leadership on farm issues U.S. Rep. Larry Combest's resignation from Congress took many in the agricultural industry by surprise Tuesday, and most agree that his House leadership on farm issues will be sorely missed.
Has your Medicare supplement had a rate increase? Most all of us complain about the high cost of health care but very few people do anything about it. What can you do - especially if you are a senior citizen with limited resources?
SANDLIN - CIRONE Stacy Sandlin and Joseph Cirone announce their engagement. Stacy is the daughter of Jim and Becky Downey of Pampa. Joseph is the son of Jim and Teresa Cirone of Pampa.
The Rev. and Mrs. Wendell L. Horn of Levelland announce the engagement of their daughter Jessica Beth Horn to Warren John Hill of Lubbock. Warren is the son of Ms. Carla Torres and the late Mr. John Hill.
Wildfires postpone BYU-San Diego State SAN DIEGO - The BYU-San Diego State football game scheduled for Saturday night has been postponed until Dec. 1 because Qualcomm Stadium is being used as an evacuation center for residents displaced by wildfires.
Crop cops work to crack trade in stolen avacados VENTURA, Calif. (AP) The Sherlock Holmeses of Ventura County orchards are on the prowl this season for avocado thieves, most of them narcotics users hauling the fruit away in shopping carts.
Agriculture Department study shows need for new anti E. coli measures WASHINGTON {AP} About half the cattle at the nation's feed lots carry the deadly E. coli bacteria during the summer making it at least 10 times more common than previously thought, government research shows.
Hubbard - Mesker Elizabeth Hubbard and Bobby Mesker are pleased to announce their engagement. They plan to be married August 6, 2005 at Broadway Church of Christ. Mr. & Mrs. Bill Collette Kim Seitsinger and Bill Collette were united in marriage May 28, 2005 in Frisco. Births Mr. and Mrs.
SEC files suit against i2 execs WASHINGTON (Dow Jones/AP) - The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed civil charges against three former executives of i2 Technologies Inc., accusing them of reaping about $140 million by playing key roles in a $1 billion revenue misstatement.
At the movies Curious George (?) Based on classic stories about an inquisitive monkey who has entertained children for more than 60 years, this animated comedy follows George on a new escapade. Naturally, he gets in trouble.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ©2014. All Rights Reserved.


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How old should a child be to sit in the front seat?
Im sure children should be 12 years and over if they are to sit in the front seat of the car im i right?
DS is 10 and tall so sits in the back of the car without a booster seat but with 3 LO's it would be much better for him to sit in the front with me when possible as my other two are in car seats which leaves DS with very little room, but i think i read some where they must be 12+ by law! but i see much younger children eg 6,7,8 year olds arrive and leave school in the front seat of their parents cars every day!
- Join Date
- Apr 2007
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- 21,564
Thankyou Jeanette, that is a help thanks again


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they're back! by DetkefWatch
©2013-2016 Detkef
how to train your dragon 2 looks amazing, I'm praying to the gods of animated movies that it'll be a success.
I remember how much fanart I did for httyd1, that might happen again ._____.
I remember how much fanart I did for httyd1, that might happen again ._____.
Amazing detail and coloring! Love it!
Just saw it last night. AMAZING.
Very cool
I love this couple!
Bravo on capturing these two's personalities!
so real
so real
Dat helmet tho....
Ahh this is phenomenal!
oh man this is amazing art here!! Soo excited for this movie!!
This is real sick art mate loving it!
This is amazing!
Hmmm, a second? this i gotta see
lol die hard fans found out about the trilogy of HTTYD when the DVD came out XD Where you been?
Oh wow, THIS looks amazing!! I love their fluid pose!! I can definitely feel their ascension. So awesome!
Looks nice! Pretty badass outfit.
(BTW, in the thumbnail, that saddle makes him look like he has an ant's abdomen. )
Duuuude. Niiiiiiiiiice work. Omg.
love it
YES, more fanart for httyd.
Also, i pray to Loki/Loke that it will be a good movie.
Also, i pray to Loki/Loke that it will be a good movie.
COME OUT NOW PLEASE. Btw, that helmet, yes just yes
This is truly gorgeous. So much talent! The lighting and details are spot on. All aboard HTTYD2!
i'm ready for the fanart this is amazing!
Never heard of it till I saw this picture, GREAT JOB!
Today I saw the trailer for the FIRST TIME at the cinema and me and my sister had to cover our mouths because we were screaming whit EXITMENT !!!! CANT WAIT FOR THE MOVIE , CHARACTERS and ..... TOOTLESS !!!! :3 IM A NUMBER 1 FAN !!! SO IM GIVING YOU 2 THUMBS UP !!!!! AWESOME DRAWING !!!
WAITTHEY'REMAKINGASEQUEL!!? *iconsqueeplz*
Yayyy Toothless is back!!!!
Nice work Detkef~! ! !
I'm reeally excited for this one to come out...
Just know that my prayers are with yours...
this is outstanding, wow...
This looks amazing!!!! You are always going to be my favourite!
Seriöst?! vart kan jag finna trailern? snygg illustration! -u-
aaaah, this was like my favorite animation movie ever. I watched it a gazillion times. I really hope that the second one will be as great and much greater
Wow this looks so amazing!
Oh god what, I haven't heard anything about this, I must go look now. THAT MOVIE WAS EPIC.
There will be a second movie?
There will be a second movie?
Totally EPIC!
OMG that's amazing! Toothless looks so badass!
This is so amazing!!! ♥
*dies of fangasm*
amazing job


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Everything We Learned From Our BioShock Infinite PC Hands-On
Information about BioShock: Infinite has been somewhat hard to come by of late — until this week, when we got a chance to sit down with the opening three hours of the game ourselves. Having played a fair amount of BioShock: Infinite, we've learned a lot about the world, the game, the characters and the technical aspects.
Check out our big-ass hands-on preview of BioShock Infinite, and read on for the Cliff Notes version of every single piece of information we discovered from our playthrough.
Broad Strokes
- It's BioShock, through and through. In fact, one of the major elements (or perhaps themes) of BioShock: Infinite is alternate realities (hey, maybe that's what "infinite" means?), and this game could be an alternate reality take on the original BioShock. There are many, many similarities between the two games and the way the story unfolds.
- The city of Columbia is built on religion and institutionalized racism. Its leader, Father Comstock, is a religious prophet, and the city's inhabitants take to the worshiping Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Ben Franklin alongside Comstock himself.
- Religion plays a very major role in everything that goes on in the game, at least in the early going — Booker's arrival into Columbia is, literally, a baptism at the hands of a strange priest. Expect to deal with intense beliefs related to American history and the Founding Fathers — and likely, comments on both as well as religion in general — throughout the game.
- The city's buildings are separated into pieces, so you'll often find your way blocked when you try to move through Columbia because a particular island has floated off somewhere else when you arrive. This is the major reason for all the hiking and rail-riding you do.
- Racism isn't just present in Columbia, it's rampant. The major trigger event that sets everything off is a raffle, the prize for winning being the chance to throw a baseball at a bound interracial couple on a stage.
- The Vox Populi, a populist revolutionary movement fighting Comstock and his police force, seems to consist primarily of racial minorities — their drive may well be more about equality than economics.
- The world is untrustworthy, or at least, Booker's perception of it seems to be. There are flickering objects throughout Columbia that seem to be the city taking advantage of its alternate reality "tears," but then again, there's a lot going on that suggests what Booker sees might not be trustworthy.
- Speaking of weirdness and alternate realities, when you do play the game, pay careful attention to the audio. A number of popular, well-known songs make their way into ambient noise of the game — suggesting, again, that either Booker's point of view is suspect, or that Columbia's world represents an alternate reality to our own.
- In addition to the main quest, which will update with objectives over time, players will also have optional side quests that pop up occasionally. At one point, Booker finds a key with no nearby lock to open; the game advises you to backtrack to find its use.
- The world isn't open, but that isn't to say that Columbia isn't big. There were several areas in which I didn't explore everything for time considerations, but there were definitely additional areas and buildings I could have visited.


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Last year was a disastrous year for global financial stocks.
This year could be different.
In the European Union (E.U.), banks underperformed every other industry group last year, due to concerns about their loans to troubled European countries such as Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain (PIIGS). As bonds of all of the PIIGS tumbled, investors feared that the big banks would have to raise billions in capital by issuing shares, thereby diluting existing holders' stakes.
In the United States, the main problem facing banks last year was continued weakness in the housing markets and accusations of improper foreclosure practices at the country's largest lending institutions. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) was hit particularly hard in 2011 and was among the five worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 Index for the year.
But 2012 couldn't be more different. The banking sector of the Bloomberg Europe 500 Index is up nearly 20% so far this year, doubling the performance for the index as a whole. And in the U.S., the S&P Financials Index has been the leading sector in the S&P 500.
Team Jeb: Rubio is a phony on family values given some of the hip-hop he listens to; Update: Team Jeb responds | Allahpundit


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Cubee- Halo ODST by hrdrckr33Watch
©2009-2016 hrdrckr33
Yep- it's the Rookie from the upcoming game Halo 3 ODST. Cubeecraft Orbital Drop Ship Trooper. Credit goes to chris beaumont and madbox20 for the colored body. more info on cubeecraft at cubeecraft.com or go to ign.com and run a quick search on odst for more info on the game.


text:
Stryker Corporation announced it "will cut 5% of its global workforce by the end of next year to reduce costs in the face of new fees on device makers required by the U.S. health care law," reports the Detroit Free Press. According to Stryker, "job cuts will reduce annual pretax operating costs by more than $100 million beginning in 2013, when the medical-device excise tax is scheduled to take effect."
Stryker was founded by Dr. Homer Stryker, a Michigan orthopedic surgeon, to improve the quality of health care for his patients. Ironically, two of his grandchildren Jon and Pat Stryker have donated millions to democrat candidates and leftist causes that support Obamacare — the very law cited above which destroys the health care their grandfather advanced and kills jobs. Yet, the siblings are often called "philanthropists" and even list themselves as such for political contributions. Stryker employees won't think the siblings very charitable considering the their political contributions have led to workers' job losses.
But workers are the little people.
Jon Stryker, worth $1.1 billion and number 375 on the list of Forbes 400 richest Americans, has donated $2,658,193 to democrats candidates, including Barack Obama and Charles Schumer, political action committees, 527s, and democrat party funds between 1999 and 2012 election cycle based on a search on Open Secrets.
Forbes lists Pat Stryker, one of the infamous "gang of four," at number 331 worth $1.3 billion. Maybe granddad Stryker liked Pat better than Jon, or sister Ronda best of all. At number 171, Ronda Stryker is worth $2.3 billion, but doesn't donate much politically according to Open Secrets. Sister Pat, on the other hand, has donated $2,979,292 to democrats such as Barack Obama and one-term Congresswoman Betsy Markey and their leftist causes between 1999 and 2012 election cycle.
Both Jon and Pat are routinely in the top 15 donors to 527s. Maybe Jon and Pat can set up a fund for the Stryker employees their political donations helped to displace.


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El Viajero Cartagena HostelCartagena, Colombia
Great place and friendly staff that's always helpful. 10 minute walk to the Clock Tower and 2 minute walk to the nearest square.
- Novice Nomad
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One World LodgeCape Town, South Africa
Matt was very helpful during the check in process and informative on the various activities in Cape Town. The location was excellent as it was in the heart of Long Street. The lodge has a total of 3 rooms and was very cozy. Loved this place and would totally stay here again!
- Novice Nomad
- Male, 25-30
- (9 reviews)
HI Copa HostelRio de Janeiro, Brazil
great place with a professional staff.
- Novice Nomad
- Couple, 25-30
- (9 reviews)
Aji HostelSantiago, Chile
Yele and Adaline were awesome at making my stay in Santiago fun! Friday nights BBQ for 6,000 pesos ($15 USD) was worth every penny! Good people, lots of meat and lots of beer and wine! recommended!
- Novice Nomad
- Male, 25-30
- (9 reviews)
Living Cat's HostelMadrid, Spain
Second time staying here... very comfortable, beautiful courtyard and cheap beer! really fun
Equity Point CentricBarcelona, Spain
Very clean place and has 2 cool bars! one in the room and one on the 2nd floor!!! rooms were clean and the people were great. beware of pickpocketers outside the area, as well as a lot of parts in Barcelona.
SPB HostelSt Petersburg, Russia
Andrew, who worked the front desk, was very welcoming and made this place felt like home!!! He also recommended so sight seeing too that were great!
Alice Lodge BackpackersAlice Springs, Australia
Hostel is at a great location, a 5 minute walk to the center of Alice Springs. The staff, especially PJ, was very helpful and made my time there great. Highly recommended.


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Garnet Hill Metallic Woven Storage Baskets
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Elbow-Patch Fair Isle Sweater - Girls
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Her favorite skinny jeans, in fine-wale corduroy! Oh so soft, in playful prints and bold colors, this wardrobe essential has five-pocket styling, great stretch, and a flattering silhouette. * Slim fit * Five-pocket styling * Adjustable waist * Zip fly with easy-on snap closure * Full length * Lower rise at front, but with good coverage at back * Cotton/spandex * Imported


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The Red Sox have signed Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo, according to several published reports.
The deal is for 7 years and $72.5 million, according to ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes.
Castillo, 27, will join the Red Sox this season, the report said, with his likely position being center field.
Castillo is expected to undergo a physical in Boston on Saturday.
The views expressed are not those of this site, this station or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our terms of use.blog comments powered by Disqus


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Reviews, reviews, reviews...
FreakScore is a weighted average of all aggregated professional and user review scores.
Read more
This product has a FreakScore of 5.6
out of 10 based on 45 scores.
Brews a fresh, hot cup of coffee into a thermal 15 oz. (450 ml)
Read more
Great Deal: $19.99


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Welcome to Our Home: Knit and Crochet Ideas from Red Heart
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Pink Grapefruit Dishcloth
1 Comments
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Get your kitchen ready for summer with this cute Pink Grapefruit Dishcloth. This beginner crochet pattern works up quickly and is a great way to practice your crochet skills. It's also a fun and easy way to practice changing colors. Make one or several in all your favorite bright summer colors.
- 1 ball Lily® Sugar 'n Cream® (Solids: 70.9 g/2.5 oz; 109 m/120 yds) in Tangerine (version 1 only)
- 1 ball Lily® Sugar 'n Cream® (Solids: 70.9 g/2.5 oz; 109 m/120 yds) in Motion Stripes (version 2 only)
- Size 5 mm (U.S. H/8) crochet hook or size needed to obtain gauge
- Large eye blunt-ended needle
Gauge: 13 single crochets and 14 rows = 4 inches [10 centimeters].
Approx 8 inches [20.5 centimetres] square.
Chain 26.
1st row: 1 single crochet in 2nd chain from hook. 1 single crochet in each chain to end of chain. Turn. (You should have 25 single crochets at end of row.)
2nd row: Ch 1. 1 single crochet in each single crochet across row. Turn. (You should have 25 single crochets at end of row.)
Repeat last row until work from beginning measures 8 inches [20.5 centimeters].
- Fasten off. Weave in ends.
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aubu1964 9524488
May 01, 2013
Can you do this pattern by knitting it. Please send me a respond please. Greatly apprecaited.
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Could anyone out there who's prestiged any of their weapons tell me, do you keep your weapon camo or do they all have to be unlocked again? The weapon prestige description gives the impression that you only have to unlock all the attachments again, rather than the camos, but I'd like to know for sure before I decide.
You keep the camos.
Thanks mate
Your weapon resets to level 1, so you have to earn your attachments again.
You keep all your camos and your progress, so if you had 50 headshots before you prestiged the weapon, you still have those 50, and only need 50 more to get to Kryptek. This is awesome.


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Nick Toogood - 27/08/12. Pershore Plum Festival 2012. Festival mascot Prunella Plum dances a merry jig. (9460720)
Sarah Taylor / / News
Led by giant plum Prunella, accompanied by the Plum Charmer, and on their very own trike, a parade down the purple-bedecked High Street cheered on by the locals, will be followed by revelry in the local pubs, restaurants and eateries.
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