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38 U.S. Code § 1729B - Consolidated patient accounting centers
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(a) In General.— Not later than five years after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall establish not more than seven consolidated patient accounting centers for conducting industry-modeled regionalized billing and collection activities of the Department.
(b) Functions.— The centers shall carry out the following functions:
(2) Standardize and coordinate all activities of the Department related to the revenue cycle for all health care services furnished to veterans for non-service-connected medical conditions.
(3) Apply commercial industry standards for measures of access, timeliness, and performance metrics with respect to revenue enhancement of the Department.
Source(Added Pub. L. 110–387, title IV, § 406(a),Oct. 10, 2008, 122 Stat. 4129.)
References in Text
The date of the enactment of this section, referred to in subsec. (a), is the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–387, which was approved Oct. 10, 2008.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 1729B, added Pub. L. 106–117, title II, § 202(a),Nov. 30, 1999, 113 Stat. 1561; amended Pub. L. 107–103, title V, § 509(c),Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 997; Pub. L. 107–330, title III, § 308(g)(7),Dec. 6, 2002, 116 Stat. 2829, related to the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Improvement Fund, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 108–7, div. K, title I, § 113(a)(1),Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 482.
Transfer of Balance
Pub. L. 108–7, div. K, title I, § 113(a)(1),Feb. 20, 2003, 117 Stat. 482, repealed former section 1729B of this title and provided that any balance as of Feb. 20, 2003, in the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Improvement Fund established under former section 1729B was to be transferred to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Care Collections Fund established under section 1729A of this title.
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


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Oktoberfest, Prague
Hello! I have been traveling around, so I wanted to update you!
Last week, among other places, I went to Munich and Prague. I was in both places on business, but it was my first time in either, so it was an adventure.
Munich started out as a pain in my ass. I couldn't find anywhere to stay because of Oktoberfest. My friend Tracy lives there, but she and everyone she knew had rented out their apartments for Oktoberfest. Hostels were all booked up, even as far away as Dachau. Hotels were booked and/or insane rip-off prices- like $400 a night. I finally found one for like $140 which was soooooooooooo painful for me, I've never paid that for lodging in my life (I am a youth hostel girl), but it was just not going to get better, and I didn't want to cancel my plans, so I reserved it. The reservation specifically stated no cancellations whatsoever.
So, the next day Tracy writes me that, oh hold on, she does have a place for me to crash. Ack! I called the hotel and asked if there was any way they could let me out of my reservation, and they said sure, no problem, they hadn't actually charged my card yet since the reservation came in so late at night. Yayyyyyy!!!
On my way to my audition I passed this:
"Toi toi" is opera for good luck- it's our version of how theater people say "break a leg." I don't know how I'm supposed to take it that it was on a port-o-potty.
Anyways, I took advantage of a long wait time to go shopping for the afternoon's festivities. Me and Tracy went to Oktoberfest!! Or "Wiesn" like the cool kids call it. She had been a million times so she was able to show me the ropes.
Soooo fun! I thought it was going to be all touristy and expensive, and it was, but it was still so fun!! Probably a lot of it had to do with playing dress-up. I am going to come up with every excuse I can find to wear this dirndl again and again!!!! (Not hard for an opera singer.) We went on a ride, we drank Willi (schnapps with a pear slice), we managed to find seats in one of the beer tents, had a giant pretzel, socialized with the drunks- the next table over was from Harrisburg, I hope they come see my Gilda there next year!!
Drinking Willi…
We only stayed a couple hours, then I had to go to Prague. I threw my jeans on under my Landhausmode and jumped on a train. Getting to where I was going was a huge pain in the ass. First, for the first time ever this trip, and since I last used a Eurail Pass years ago, a ticket-clicker gave me a really hard time. He tried to say my ticket wasn't valid because I didn't have my fill-in itinerary attached. In retrospect I think he might be right, but I had thrown that out because it was doubling as an optional survey for the Eurail company, and I'd thought that's all it was for. But in all my intimate time with the Eurail Pass I had never had this part attached to it and no one had ever even hinted at asking for it. So I'm just over the border into the Czech Republic and even though my ticket's already been stamped by three people this guy's telling me it's not valid. Well, what am I supposed to do? He let it go but was a huge douchebag about it, "If I ever see you one more time without this I make you pay the ticket" etc etc. Asshole. It also says the ticket's not valid without passport, but he didn't ask me for my passport (and nobody else has yet, even crossing borders). So, my entry into the Czech Republic was not very welcoming.
It only got worse from there. I arrived at the train station after 11pm. I had written down the "station" that my hostel was by, assuming it was a subway. But I couldn't find it on the subway map at all. There was also an S train (probably a regional rail like in Berlin) and some sort of tram that WAS NOT CALLED A TRAM, it was called something complicated in Czech, and I couldn't find maps of their lines. I realized I had no idea what the exchange rate was, and tried to estimate it based on my youth hostel bill. Once I had it figured out, I went to the only ATM in sight to take out what should be enough money to last me the two nights- but it gave it all to me in one big bill. THANKS A FUCKING LOT ATM. To make matters worse, the public transportation ONLY took coins. Where the hell was I supposed to get Czech coins at 11:30 at night? EVERYTHING was closed- EVERYTHING. Even in the central train station.
I decided to figure out where I was going, so I called the hostel for directions, even though it was an international call. (If I'd paid attention, I would have seen that they had included very detailed instructions in the booking email. Yet another case of international unpreparedness.) They told me I needed to take the tram. I'm like, "What's it called, there's a bunch of different signs and none of them says tram." He's like, "No, it's called tram." He told me I needed to take the #5 tram and he didn't know the direction, but I should take the one on the opposite side of the street from the station. Except I couldn't find the freaking tram at all. (It was alll the way towards one corner of the yard in front of the station, not out in front or in back.)
Oh, I skipped the part where I decided to walk to the hostel, because Google Maps said it was a 52 minute walk, and I was like "At this rate that's the fastest way I'm gonna get there" and started walking, but then I realized the Google directions were going over an inaccessible highway. THAT'S when I went back and called the hostel internationally. (I was already paying international data rates to use Google Maps.)
Well I found the tram and waited and waited and waited til everyone had gotten on one but me. By this time I was starting to figure things out, so I deduced how to read the schedules. It was midnight. Under what appeared to say "Monday – Friday" only because it said "blahblah – blahblah" and what else would that mean, on the #5 schedule next to 0 (midnight) there were no listings. This tram didn't run late nights. I had just missed the last one.
I called the hostel back and they were like, "Oops, sorry about that, I forgot. Take a different tram one stop to this other stop, then you can catch a night tram from there." Well the other trams going that way were not coming any time soon so I just walked to the next stop. It was another half hour before my tram finally came. Since I had no coins and couldn't buy a ticket, I just had to get on and hope the police didn't come on checking tickets. (That's how public transportation works in Europe- there's more honor system, but they check once in awhile and if you get caught there's a big fine.) There just wasn't any choice, I didn't figure my chances of getting caught were that great, and anyways, how big of a fine could it be in freaking Prague? It's cheap over there!! So I found my stop (and the hostel) very easily, no "control" (people checking tickets), and there was even a 24-hour pizza delivery place that the receptionist ordered from for me. It was terrible pizza and kinda of a rip-off (for the area), but it was hot food on a long night. I got to the hostel at about 1am, I don't think my pizza came until like 2:30.
So the next day I got to explore Prague!!!
It was cloudy and sorta dreary. I spent a chunk of the morning (afternoon) having phone drama (my iPhone nearly crapped out on me- I got the Sad iPhone), then once I got that more or less straightened out I got to explore the city- Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square, and all around the castle. I just walked and took pictures.
It's hard to pick which pictures to post, if I don't want to be all day at this!
I had a really great dinner, just the kind of thing I wanted- as close as you can get to traditional fare, except vegetarian. Some crepes filled with spinach and cheese, plus some brie with cranberry sauce and like walnuts or something (I forget now) as an appetizer, and a nice big dark Czech beer- the whole meal ran me like $14, and it was nice!! Actually, the only money I spent the whole two nights was the hostel, good food, and a postcard I sent to my parents because I needed change for the subway. (Oh and I guess a few subway tickets once I got change.)
OK srsly though it's late now, I'm out. Happy dreams of beer hall girls.

subset: commoncrawl


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Catalog search
Catalog links
Graduate Bulletin 2013-2015 » Academic Programs and Courses » Counseling, Leadership, Literacy, and Special Education » Educational Leadership Graduate Programs » M.S.Ed. Program in Educational Leadership (33 Credits) » M.S.Ed. Program in Educational Leadership Admission Requirements
M.S.Ed. Program in Educational Leadership Admission Requirements
Note: Students admitted every fall semester; applications due by March 1.
- A baccalaureate degree in a related field (e.g., teaching, school counseling, etc.) from an accredited college or university;
- A minimum 3.0 (B) Grade Point Average from a completed undergraduate degree program;
- New York State permanent or professional certification in classroom teaching, school counseling, school psychology, school social work, or the equivalent;
- A minimum of three years of successful P-12 teaching and/or school counseling, school psychology, or school social work experience;
- Three letters of recommendation: at least one must be from a current or former school site supervisor who can best evaluate the candidate's potential as a P-12 principal, and at least one must be from a faculty member from prior studies who can best evaluate the candidate's potential for success as a graduate student;
- A current resume detailing all past professional employment and any community or professional organization leadership positions, memberships, and service; and
- A 1,000-word essay that discusses the following: a) reasons for wanting to pursue a degree and certification as a school building leader; b) candidate's philosophy on excellence in urban educational leadership, including the specific characteristics that contribute to effective leadership; and c) current assessment of the state of educational leadership in urban schools, including what appears to be the greatest challenges and suggestions for overcoming these challenges.
Candidates who satisfy the preliminary admissions requirements will be invited to a group interview.
Last modified: 8/4/2015


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This is the officiating we've been seeing (not only with Bruin games) is atrocious ! What are they doing ?
Just in tonights Bruins - Toronto game there were so many bad calls . Don't get me started with the game on Thursday. Today Eller of the Habs hits Scott, he goes down , that's not a penalty !! The guy can't skate !!! well it was 5-0 Habs , let give thme a penalty to try and help them . I've been seeing this in games since the start of the season.
Seguin said it well " HORSE SHIIT " ! Stop trying to be stars of the hockey game .
I thought they were supposed crack down on the divers ? Instead those same rats get away with being yellow , flopping cheaters.
Then there's the department of player safety, Simmonds gets elbow , get concussion , leads to 3game suspension . Almost identical elbow on Hamilton but no injury = no suspension. Discouraging.


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In 1872 Von Maur opened its first storefront in downtown Davenport, Iowa. As the company has grown, it has remained committed to the century-old business principles on which it was founded, earning a reputation as the premier destination for exceptional customer service and distinctive merchandise for the entire family. Share in the Von Maur experience with this delightful milk chocolate bar, boasting an all-natural, freshly made recipe sure to be a hit, delighting the tastebuds of both young and old. Contains milk and soybean. May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat.
Department: GiftsStyle: P304012101


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What is RM Cash
Overall customer review score:
Return to Six Six One Sub Shorts Product Page
Reviews by real power sport enthusiasts...your opinion counts to us and fellow riders! Make the best purchasing decision by getting the latest reviews.
Each review submitted enters you into a $100 gift card monthly drawing, and a $500 gift card quarterly drawing!
Comments On Jul 26, 2013:I have mixed emotions about these. The protection is freaking awesome. However, quality...so/so. First they fit me perfectly..not tight or loosely. I wore them out on a long ride--they ripped in the crotch!?!?! I had my wife stitch them back up. We'll see how long they last now, was kind of annoyed.
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Comments On May 07, 2012:These shorts appeared to be pretty good when I pulled them out of the box... however the main seam of the shorts completely blew out the first time I used them!!! I've had a pair of ARC shorts for years with no issue, I guess I should have stuck with ARC!
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Comments On Apr 21, 2012:Really like the Six Six One shorts. More monkey butt protection would be nice but I have no real complaints. Good padding, comfy waistband, legs don't ride up and size chart is spot on even for a guy with chicken legs like me! So far so good!
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Comments On Jan 18, 2012:Well made with a thick amount of semi hard foam on hips and upper thigh area. Athough I hardly ever hurt myself in those areas after a bail,age is catching up with me so I thought this would be the smart thing to do, along with elbow and knee protection.
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Reviews how to use Boyle's law to calculate volume-pressure relationships of gases.
To stress understanding of a concept by summarizing the main idea and applying that understanding to create visual aids and generate questions and comments using a Concept Matrix.
To activate prior knowledge, make personal connections, reflect on key concepts, encourage critical thinking, and assess student knowledge on the topic prior to reading using a Quickwrite.
Explore the relationship between pressure and volume of gases.


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Use this page to discuss script 397 ShowFunc
- Add constructive comments, bug reports, or discuss improvements (see the guideline).
- Do not document the script here (the author should do that on vim.org).
- This page may be out of date: check the script's vim.org page above, and its release notes.
It would be very awesome for a ToggleShowFunc command, so f1 could show/hide it --Halkeye 18:06, July 15, 2010 (UTC)
Uploaded update (1.5.9) that includes this feature. Don't know why I didn't think of it originally. Thanks for the idea!
--dvehrs 18:15, February 21, 2013 (UTC)
On line 295 the definition of function ShowFuncFoldText missed the leading "s:".
function! ShowFuncFoldText()
Should be:
function! s:ShowFuncFoldText()
It will generate error when no ctags binary is found:
ShowFunc exting. (Cleaning up functions) Error detected while processing /Users/tyuan/.vim/plugin/ShowFunc.vim: line 450: E130: Unknown function: s:ShowFuncFoldText
--Dtyall 05:19, February 17, 2011 (UTC)
Already had a similar fix in the version I was using but it appears I may not have uploaded it. Released a new version (1.5.9) that I can confirm does have these issues. Thanks for the report!
--dvehrs 18:15, February 21, 2013 (UTC)


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I bear no particular grudge against the cactus. In fact I have an affinity for many succulents.
What I dislike, though, is believing, for even an instant, that I have been bitten by a rattlesnake.
Especially when I haven't been.
And a prickly pear cactus can put on a pretty convincing performance as a rattler.
Which is impressive, considering the cactus lacks all the characteristics that define the serpent, most notably fangs.
Also, a cactus can't move.
But then a cactus doesn't need to move, because, much like a kid whose older sibling drives a car that their parents pay for, it can always catch a lift.
On my boot, in the case of the cactus if not the hypothetical whelp in the preceding paragraph.
No carless native New Yorker can hail a ride as effortlessly as a pad of prickly pear can.
The cactus' spines have adhesive abilities that would make the chemists in a glue factory go green with jealousy.
After much experience, I'm not sure you even have to actually touch a prickly pear to take it on as a passenger.
If you get within a few inches a sort of magnetic field hauls it aboard, like a feather duster plucking cobwebs from a corner.
On a fine spring day about a dozen years ago I went hiking in the sage hills east of town, near Virtue Flat.I was climbing a scabby slope just below a minor rimrock when a sharp pain, sudden as the stab from a hypodermic needle only worse because there was no nurse standing beside me, lanced my ankle.
I leaped, probably doubling my previous personal record for vertical distance. Possibly I could have dunked. Except I rarely bring a basketball when I go hiking, hoops being uncommon in the backcountry.
I'm sure I looked silly.
I wish I had set up a video camera to record the episode; I might have won some cash by mailing the tape to one of those funniest videos programs.
Except I wasn't, at the time, amused.
I was in fact terrified.
I thought a rattler had struck, and further that its venom was right then coursing through my blood and preparing to wreak havoc on my nervous system.
It seemed not only a plausible explanation — it was as I mentioned a balmy day, ideal for a snake to get some heat in its blood after the long winter — but really the only logical reason for such an immediate and piercing pain.
I looked down, and confusion replaced terror.
A spike-studded object was stuck on my boot. It looked rather like the head of a miniature mace. But I was pretty certain no diminutive medieval ruffians were lurking about, waiting to waylay me.
After a few bemused moments I recognized the thing as a prickly pear, or part of one.
I knew that this cactus, one of two native species common in Oregon, grew in our arid part of the state.
But as I hadn't yet come across any, I was surprised to wind up with a nice specimen impaling my ankle.
I reached down to yank the cactus free.
I failed, and came away with a pinprick in my index finger for my trouble.
In the years since that day I have endured many similar encounters, and as a result have honed my ability to see cactus, much like a soldier who learns to recognize the subtlest sign of an ambush or booby trap.
Even so I end up, more often than not, having to extract at least one prickly pear from my boot or pantleg during a hike.
This happens in part because our local cacti are the antithesis of showboats like the saguaro, which grow as tall as trees and so are easy to avoid unless it's dark or you're addled by drink.
By contrast, the prickly pear pads I've seen rarely are bigger than a golf ball, and they tend to hunker beneath a rock or a sagebrush.
(Which, come to think of it, is what actual golf balls tend to do when I slice a driver off the tee or skull a short iron from the fairway. And I often do.)
About the only reliable countermeasure I've devised is to avoid when possible the south-facing, thin-soiled slopes and stony plateaus which the cactus prefer.
Unfortunately there is an abundance of thin-soiled slopes and stony plateaus around here.
After that first encounter I figured the cactus had always been there, but I just never noticed.
Except that explanation seemed flimsy.
I had hiked the same ground before with no painful interludes; in any case I'm certain I would not have overlooked a cactus attached to any part of my body.
I've brought home much smaller, but similarly tenacious, hitchhikers — ticks, to name an especially aggravating example — and I've never failed to notice those.
And although I've hardly conducted a scientific study (doing so would be problematic anyway, since I'm neither a scientist nor much of a studier), it seems to me that prickly pear have become more prevalent in certain parts of Baker County over the past decade or so.
Since I'm aware of my utter ignorance in such matters, I put the question to Clair Button, a retired BLM botanist.
Clair said it's possible that the cactus could multiply, to a noticeable degree, over small areas during such a relatively short period.
Figuring out what caused such a trend, however, is a vastly more complicated endeavor, he said.
I was afraid he would say that.
Suffice it to say that my experience — traipsing around, prying a prickly pear from my sweatpants on occasion — ranks about as far from peer-reviewed research as you can get.
Still and all, I'm curious.
One of my ideas (I'm not so haughty as to call it a hypothesis and thus saddle it with the expectation of an actual answer) is that the county's climate has changed so as to favor species such as cactus which thrive on aridity.
Statistics seem to lend a bit of credence to that notion.
The decade just ended, 2000-09, was the driest around here in at least half a century.
The average yearly precipitation total during the decade, measured at the Baker City Municipal Airport, was 9.16 inches.
That undercuts by half an inch per year the previous drought champion decade — 1990-99, when the yearly average was 9.66 inches.
The prior two decades were significantly more moist: the 1980-89 average was 11.44; and 1970-79 was 10.37.
The overall average for the airport's entire measuring period, which starts in 1943, is 10.13 inches per year.
That's a lot of numbers.
And I have no idea what they mean, if anything, as regards the possible proliferation of prickly pear cactus.
What I can say, though, is that if drought means more cactus, then I might have to reconsider my attitude the next time I whine about how I want to go for a hike except that it's pouring out there.
Water, after all, just rolls off my rain gear, benign as bathwater.
Cactus cling.
And bite, after a fashion.
Jayson Jacoby is editor of the Baker City Herald.


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You Can't Just Walk Into Target For One Thing
I love Target, or Tar-zhay as we still like to call it. That place has got everything, things you didn't even know you wanted until you walk inside. But if I ever shop there to buy the one or two things I need and walk out with only those items, it'll be the first time. I swear they know my weaknesses for low prices, cute outfits, and impulse shopping. Just yesterday we had run out of paper towels.
The Grub's been trying out this new food we got her and she's been having none of it. Dumps it right on the floor and don't even get me started on how much of it ended up on my clothes. She does not like this stuff at all, and she's letting both of us know about it. We've had to take two of Kevin's suit pants to the cleaners and he made the mistake of trying to feed her in that favorite Ravens T-shirt I got him for his birthday.
Needless to say, we'd been going through paper towels a lot quicker than usual around here and we were running low. I used to think Kevin went through rolls of paper towels fast, but he's got nothing on Elsa. Oh how I long for the days where he would use them for anything and everything around the house; whether it was for drying his hands at the kitchen sink, wiping down the car, cleaning the blinds, blowing his nose – it seemed my Kevin went through a roll of paper towels a day. (more…)


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May 5, 2016
The deaths of three North Carolina icons and a superstorm that left a lasting impression are among the Tar Heel State's top stories of 2012.
Andy Griffith, folk musician Doc Watson and University of North Carolina system President William Friday all died this past year.
Another well-known North Carolina figure went through an embarrassing criminal trial last spring but avoided prison time. A jury acquitted former Sen. John Edwards of a campaign finance charge and deadlocked on five other felony counts, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial.
Superstorm Sandy didn't come ashore in North Carolina, but it chewed up N.C. Highway 12 on Hatteras Island, shutting down the highway for almost two months and leaving taxpayers with a tab of $8 million to $10 million for a temporary fix.
Copyright 2016 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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This zombie is doomed to pirate the high seas for eternity but she doesn't mind it one bit. The Women's Ghost Ship Pirate Costume is a detailed, eye catching, and fun ensemble that you will have a blast wearing out this Halloween. The Women's Ghost Ship Pirate Costume features a tattered gray dress with a lace up front, a jagged cut skirt, and tattered sheer tulle accents. You will also receive great pieces like the boot covers, sheer tulle arm sleeves, necklace, and tulle veil headpiece. All of the tattered tulle accents give this costume a real ghostly appearance. Order yours today.
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The bulls debts were no where near as bad as Salfords are though and the RFL got a stadium out of bailing the bulls out. The RFL won't bail Salford out because there is nothing for them to gain from it. Also if they do bail Salford out why don't the rest in SL just spend whatever they want to the RFL will front the fee.
The League had possession of the stadium lease at Odsal long before the Bulls went belly up, so that;s not an issue.
What's in it for the league is the maintanance of a prescence in a metropolis which used to to be league stronghold, Salford, Swinton, Broughton, Oldham and Rochdale and even Stockport used to be big players from the greater Mmanchester area. This is preservation of a major cog in the heartlands or former heartlands of the game. There is a brand new stadium for showcasing not only league games but International Games, World Cup games and Cup semi finals etc, not some rotting dump in Bradford. Manchester/Salford is a major media and polulation centre. If the game is projected as a Northern based fortress, we should not be demolishing a major gateway to the said North.
As in the Bradford scenario, any league ownership should be just a temporary arrangement until a suitable owner could be found. Don't start nattering on about precedents being set for all clubs to follow the same path, the precedent was set when the Bradford takeover was a serious proposition. The NBA bought the New Orleans franchise on 2010 and ran it until selling it to a new owner in 2011. They also made a profit on the deal, so a league takeover of Salford could be a good move for the preservation of a SL club and maybe a profitable transaction into the bargain.
As has been demonstrated the curve for Salford's attendances is towards the upside, just not enough to make the club sustainable. If the club is saved this trend might result in eventual fiscal viability for the club.


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[ADOBE® TV] [tv.adobe.com] Creating dramatic lens blur, defocusing, and depth of field effects is really easy. Especially if you're wanting to create something like realistic bokeh. But, of course, it's very easy if you have a camera and a lens that actually does that. Well, the new Camera Lens effect and After Effects CS5.5 we allow you to create very realistic lens blur even with footage that was shot in perfect focus, so let's take a look at how we do that. But first I'm going to show you what this finished version looks like. So we take a look here--what we have is our character, and you can see that the focus shifts from the foreground to the background and back again, or background to foreground and back again where we start in focus on his face, the focus shifts to his hand, back to his face, and then we have this light ball that's illuminating and, again, starts in focus as the focus approaches his hand and then defocuses as we move back. This process is known as a rack focus, and I'm going to show you first how we can create the rack focus. The idea here is that we're going to modify the distance settings to create a realistic rack focus, and then afterwards we're going to create that photo-realistic bokeh and evidence all those edge halos as it renders those out of focus points of light, reproducing the exact characteristics of the real cameras and lighting conditions. So in order to do this, I'm going to first start by turning off the effects. Let's go ahead and turn off our Camera Lens Blur on both of these layers, and allow me just to scrub through this so that you can see, in fact, that this entire shot is in focus. It's not out of focus so everything that you saw a moment ago was created in After Effects. So let's do the rack focus. Now to do that, we have to add a blur map. We add the blur map so we can not only defocus the entire layer, but we can actually reduce the depth of field effects directly in that single image. So what you can see here is that I actually have a blur map, and you can take a quick look at that, and you can see if we just zoom back out here--the blur map being drawn on the hand--and if I go up to my BG layer and I turn on Camera Lens Blur, you can see that the blur map layer is set to layer number 4 BG blur map, and we're using the Luminence Channel here. And simply by adjusting the Blur Focal Distance which currently is set to zero, you can see that the hand is in perfect focus. If I raise this now to one, it shifts the focus to his face--back to zero, focus shifts to his hand. We've just created a rack focus--very easily. So now what we want to do, now that we've created that rack focus, let's focus on adjusting the actual look of the light ball in his hand. And for this we obviously want the light ball to be in focus as the camera approaches the hand, and then when it defocuses and moves back to his face, we want to create those circles of confusion, right? That beautiful photo-realistic bokeh, which actually mimics the shape of the camera aperture, and all of this can be done with the Iris Property Settings inside Camera Lens Blur. So let's go up to the light ball layer here, and you can see that we've got this set. Let's go ahead and turn that on, and right away it'll start adding that effect. And if we scrub through it, you can see that now, as the focus shifts back to his face, we begin defocusing on that light ball, and we get these really beautiful shapes here. Now you can see it's using a hexagon. Now if I actually wanted to mimic something like an 85mm Prime f/1.8 wide open, it might actually be a bit more circular. So I can set this to something like octagon, I can adjust the roundness, but the key here is by using one single part of this effect, the Blur Radius, I can very quickly adjust how that's going to look. So simply by adjusting that one parameter, the Blur Radius, we can create those beautiful circles of confusion, that photo-realistic boteh, and really change the look of this. And, again, remember, this was all entirely in focus--brilliant stuff. The best part about this too, is that the AE composition cameras can even use these same settings to get more realistic depth of field blur. Brilliant stuff--it's the Camera Lens Blur feature and After Effects CS5.5. [ADOBE® TV] [tv.adobe.com]
Create Soft-Focus Effects with the Camera Lens Blur Feature in After Effects CS5.5
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About This Episode
Apply realistic blurs to perfectly shot footage to create elegant attributes of a soft focus image with the Camera Lens Blur effect in After Effects CS5.5.
Runtime : 00:03:53 Added : 04/10/2011
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Indoor shapes are ideal for museum-quality and smaller-scale model construction where outdoor shapes have high impact characteristics that provide durability, flexibility and longevity of the model. Plastruct Styrene Structural Shapes are precision-extruded in white styrene plastic.
Angles —
These angles are used for bracing in the construction of heavy steel structures and vertical support legs in light structures. They're ideal for all outdoor or professional model construction where model life is critical. High impact characteristics provide durability, flexibility, and longevity of the model.


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PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh's Tom Savage grabbed his helmet and tried to walk onto the field late in the fourth quarter on Saturday against Virginia when wide receiver Devin Street stopped the woozy quarterback and told him maybe it wasn't the best idea.
"He was a little dazed and confused," Street said. "He was trying to stay in there. I told him to think about the big picture. We need him for the rest of the season."
One that's starting to look brighter by the game.
A week after getting shredded by Duke, Pitt's defense keyed a 14-3 win over the Cavaliers in a victory that in brute force made up for what it lacked in aesthetics. The Panthers (3-1, 2-1 ACC) limited Virginia to 188 total yards and converted a pair of first-quarter turnovers into touchdowns to put together their first three-game winning streak since 2010.
"Two different weeks, two totally different types of games," coach Paul Chryst said. "If we can keep growing and learning and play off each other, then we have a chance to be better."
A lot of that, however, likely depends on Savage. The senior, who is flourishing this fall after missing two seasons while transferring from Rutgers to Arizona to Pitt, was in the midst of a tough day that turned considerably more difficult late in the third quarter.
Savage broke loose for a 14-yard scramble when he slid to the ground. Virginia's Daquan Romero slammed into Savage anyway. Their helmets collided and Savage grabbed his head immediately. No foul was called and Savage took eight more snaps - including a pair of sacks - before being pulled for Chad Voytik on Pitt's final drive late in the fourth quarter
Pitt spokesman E.J. Borghetti said Savage was dealing with "concussion-like" symptoms. Asked if Savage passed a concussion test, Chryst said "he went and saw everyone and we felt that it was best to go with Chad."
Savage wasn't his normal self even before the hit. He took seven sacks in all and was shaken up on several occasions as the Cavaliers (2-2) spent most of the afternoon making things very uncomfortable in the pocket. Savage completed 13 of 30 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions.
The Panthers are off next week before traveling to Virginia Tech for another early season test in the crowded ACC Coastal Division. It's unclear whether Savage will be available, though Pitt's defense showed the Panthers can win all kinds of ways.
Taken to task after getting lit up by the Blue Devils, Pitt defensive tackle Aaron Donald led a group that had its way with the erratic Cavaliers.
"The defense was tired of everyone saying the defense ain't that, the offense is the only reason why Pitt is Pitt," Boyd said. "They felt some type of way about that and did something about it."
Boyd caught seven passes for 111 yards to become just the second freshman in school history to go over 100 yards receiving in three straight games. Still, even Boyd proved he was human, dropping two passes and fumbling near midfield in the third quarter.
Virginia's defense had something to do with it in a game that featured 17 punts, five turnovers and zero momentum. Cavaliers' quarterback David Watford completed 15 of 37 passes for 123 yards and Virginia converted just 3 of 18 third downs and 1 of 4 fourth downs.
"We created turnovers," Cavaliers coach Mike London said. "We sacked the quarterback, and we hit the quarterback. And those types of things, when you do that, you expect the opportunities on the other side to give you a chance to score points."
It never happened.
Two miscues deep in Virginia territory opened the door for Pitt to take command early.
Forced to punt midway through the first quarter, Pitt's Matt Yoklic got off a low line drive that hit at the Virginia 35 and started rolling. Punt returner Dominique Terrell tracked the ball as it bounded down the field then decided to touch it despite having two Panthers right next to him. Trenton Coles fell on the loose ball at the Virginia 19. Four players later James Conner bulled over from 6 yards out, winning a brutal collision with Virginia safety Brandon Phelps at the Virginia 4 then high-stepping into the end zone.
Things only got worse on Virginia's next possession as a snap from center Ross Burbank clanked off Watford's hands. Bam Bradley picked it up and it took the Panthers 41 seconds to double its advantage as Savage hit Street on a perfectly executed fade route in the corner of the end zone.
Virginia's best chance to make it interesting came late in the fourth quarter when Watford led a drive inside the Pittsburgh 5. His fourth-down pass to tight end Jake McGee sailed high and Pitt was able to run off most of the 3:30 remaining.
"We had a lot of drops today," McGee said. "I don't know how many, but it seemed like every pass play we were doing something wrong."


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From Joomla! Documentation
Joomla! plugins enable you to execute code in response to certain events, either Joomla! core events or custom events that are triggered from your own code. This is a powerful way of extending the basic Joomla! functionality. To see where plugins fit in with the overall Joomla! architecture, look at overview.
The Joomla! plugin architecture follows the Observer design pattern. The JPlugin class is derived from JObserver and provides the means to register custom plugin code with core or custom events. The JEventDispatcher class, derived from JObservable, is an event handler which calls all plugins registered for a particular event, when that event is triggered.
- Tutorial:Creating a Plugin for Joomla 1.5
- How to create a content plugin
- How to use plugins in your own code
- Tutorial:Creating an Authentication Plugin for Joomla 1.5
Useful reference: Gallery 2: Embedding: Event-Based Loose-Coupled Integration
Prior to Joomla! 1.5 plugins were known as mambots. Mambots were able to change content only and were based on certain signal words. Since then their scope has been stretched and extended to such an extent that to enhance the meaning of the new functionality the developers decided to change the name from mambots to plugins. Joomla! 1.5 includes legacy support for Joomla! 1.0 mambots.
Joomla! ships with a variety of core events, organised into groups. These are described in the following topics.
This is an alphabetical list of the core events in Joomla! 1.5 together with the group name to which each belongs. Each event name links to more detailed information.
- onAfterContentSave (content)
- onAfterDeleteUser (user)
- onAfterDisplay (content)
- onAfterDisplayTitle (content)
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- onAfterInitialise (system)
- onAfterRoute (system)
- onAfterDispatch (system)
- onAfterRender (system)
- onAfterStoreUser (user)
- onAuthenticate (authentication)
- onAuthenticateFailure (authentication)
- onBeforeContentSave (content)
- onBeforeDeleteUser (user)
- onBeforeDisplay (content)
- onBeforeDisplayContent (content)
- onBeforeStoreUser (user)
- onCustomEditorButton (editors-xtd)
- onDisplay (editors)
- onGetContent (editors)
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May 4, 2016
Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas assumed a new title Monday at the Pitt County Courthouse as the newest member of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board after former Governor Beverly Perdue appointed him to the position before leaving office. Thomas says he's looking forward to serving in a statewide capacity and says he hopes to build relationships that can benefit Greenville as well.
"Anytime someone from your local community has the chance to go and reach out and serve on the state level you bring something back to the community. So I'm just glad to be in that role," said Mayor Thomas.
Mayor Thomas Says his appointment runs through 2015.
Previous Story
Greenville Mayor Allen Thomas was appointed by the governor Thursday to the ABC Commission. He is one of 3 people across the entire state on the board. The agency is under the Commerce Department and its function is to provide control over all aspects regarding alcoholic beverages in the state.
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Credit: © Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Evan Rachel Wood (Sep 18th, 2011)
A glammed-up Evan Rachel Wood dazzles with a slicked-back hairstyle, perfectly combed finger waves and sky-high lashes.
Styling Tip
Blow dry hair using just your fingers to move strands around. Once dry, rub gel on your fingers and comb through your hair to create textured waves. Mist with hairspray to hold the look in place.Try on celebrity hairstyles in the Makeover Studio!


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Viewing 1 to 4 (4 Total)L-gauge as an accepted Model RR standard by the NMRA
David Glenn
Total Posts: 2
I wanted to see if there were any other LUG's or individuals who had started anything relative getting the NMRA to recognize "L-gauge" as an accepted Model RR Standard (Like HO, N, G, O, and etc..)? I didn't want to reinvent the wheel if someone has put time into this type of initiative yet.
The first step is to submit something soon (complete track/gauge standards written out in the NMRA Format) to the NMRA powers that be as a proposal in order to get them to consider it and put it to a vote.
Once accepted by the NMRA as a legitimate scale/gauge (at least in their eyes), then perhaps the Lego Group would consider pursuing a more aggressive marketing strategy with the Lego Train line of products (toys vs. model railroad). We all know that it is seriously lacking support in the form of new kits, rolling stock, and buildings, especially U.S. types of equipment.
Let me know what you think?
David Glenn (I'm a member of the GFLUG/GFLTC: www.gflug.org)
You can email me directly here: email@example.com
Johnny Rocket_486
Total Posts: 21
re: L-gauge as an accepted Model RR standard by the NMRA
Im not sure if anyone has tried before, though it sure would be nice! I agree on TLG aspect of it, and that this might get us a bit more attention.
Elroy Davis
Total Posts: 29
re: L-gauge as an accepted Model RR standard by the NMRA
A few people have tried in the past, though I think the most serious effort was probably close to 10 years ago. It really depends on who you talk to at the NMRA. Some are very open to the idea, even encouraging L-Gauge builders to join based on their public layouts (A few of us earned "Golden Spike" awards in this way at the National Train Show in 2009). Others are very very unwilling to recognize "a toy" as a scale.
One thing that I was told directly a few years ago is that the NMRA wouldn't recognize L-gauge as there was only one manufacturer, and thus no standards for NMRA to lobby for, which sort of makes sense, and opens up the question of "What would the NMRA be able to do for our hobby?"
Personally, the one year that I was a member of the NMRA, I didn't get much value out of it for any of the scales that I model. Their monthly "Scale Rails" magazine was nice. Everything else seemed to be mired in group politics that went back for more years than I've been alive. That's not to say that I wouldn't join again, I just haven't found a compelling need to belong to the organization.
Kees van Liere
Total Posts: 16
re: L-gauge as an accepted Model RR standard by the NMRA
I think that this is a great idea. I don't see why not. As to the "toy" aspect of it. Lego, when used for trains, isn't really a toy. Also I consider things like Lionel more toys than models. This is a good idea and the least someone can do is try. Nothing ventured nothing gained right?
Kees van Liere


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Here is the Language Construction Kit that I have used.
Ahoy, i found this site earlier whilst doing some research for a story i'm writing, but having tried the forum at spinnof.com and having every potential username disallowed, i have returned to ask about constructing languages. The world i intend to set my story in is one i hope to create a rich history for, although the main language will essentially be english, several of the regions will have a different heritage and thus the nationals will have various second languages. By no means will they all be included further really than the mention of their existence, but one of my characters will consistently return to his second language to curse or insult folks. I was hoping that someone here could provide me with a resource in order to aid me toward this end. I fear my knowledge of linquistic technicalities is severely lacking, and i'm wondering perhaps in ignorance how limiting this will be.
also as a side note, there is some truely impressive maps on offer as well as some incredibly valuable insights and information which i intend to make a resource of in the future. My thanks for any help, and my apologies if this post is misplaced, though the forums linguistics tag allows me to think otherwise.
Perhaps imagination is only intelligence having fun. - Albert Einstein
A good friend will come down and bail you out of jail. A best friend will be in jail with you and say, "Dude, we screwed up."


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IUCN's new Director General engages global leaders in Davos
As one of her first acts, IUCN Director General Inger Andersen participated in the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. …
03 Feb 2015 | News story
First international gathering of forest producer organizations underway
The representatives of farmer and forest producer organizations from around the world are gathering today at an international conference held in Guilin, China. The meeting represents the first of its kind in giving the world's many millions of smallholder farmer and community forest producers an opportunity to have their voices heard at a global level. With a large part of the Earth's surface affected by forest producer activities, the conference will seek to support forest producers in improving sustainable management of forest landscapes. …
25 Nov 2013 | News story
Registration now open for the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014
Registration is now open for the IUCN World Parks Congress (WPC), the landmark global forum on protected areas held every 10 years. The event takes place in Sydney, Australia 12-19 November 2014, with the theme 'Parks, people, planet: inspiring solutions' designed to help deliver IUCN's three priority areas of IUCN's work programme. …
14 Nov 2013 | News story
Blog: Climate change adaptation in practice
By James Dalton. 'Nam bilong me James Dalton' – I said as we all did introductions in Pidgin at the beginning of the stakeholder consultation meeting in Gizo, the capital of the Western Province of the Solomon Islands. …
22 Jul 2013 | News story
Manteniendo vivo el espíritu del Congreso del 2012
La UICN se complace en anunciar el lanzamiento de la Plataforma de la UICN sobre las tendencias de la conservación, que ilustra las tendencias para la conservación extraídas de los análisis realizados durante el Foro del Congreso Mundial de la Naturaleza 2012 con base en una selección de talleres realizados sobre los diferentes temas del Congreso. Cada día se elaboró un "Informe sobre las Tendencias", identificando los principales mensajes de conservación derivados del trabajo colectivo. … | English | French
01 Jul 2013 | News story
France and IUCN intensify their efforts to protect global biodiversity
Yesterday IUCN signed a new partnership agreement with France, which aims to support the Union's global biodiversity conservation work, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa, oceans and global governance of natural resources. … | French
13 Jun 2013 | News story
Celebrate World Environment Day - secure nature's food supply
To mark the food theme of this year's World Environment Day: 'Think. Eat. Save' IUCN urges policy makers to pay greater attention to the role that nature plays in boosting global food security. …
05 Jun 2013 | News story
Signs of progress on women's role in tackling climate change
To mark International Women's Day, IUCN is celebrating the progress made in recognising the role of women in national and regional climate change agendas. …
08 Mar 2013 | News story
Energy: A gender issue
Energy is essential to nearly all aspects of our lives but it means different things to different people. In the developed world energy can mean petrol to run cars, electricity for lights and computers. In the developing world, it can mean survival: being able to boil water to avoid disease. Millions of people, mostly women and children, spend many hours a day collecting fuel for heating and cooking. …
05 Mar 2013 | News story
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SEED Initiative: 10 years old and growing
The SEED Initiative, a global partnership for action on sustainable development and the green economy, recently marked its 10th anniversary by celebrating numerous projects that are creating jobs while safeguarding the environment. …
08 Jan 2013 | News story


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Prediction of Cognitive Properties of New Drug Candidates for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Early Clinical Development (PharmacogWP3)
- Full Text View
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- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Alzheimer Disease
Drug: Donepezil .
Drug: Placebo
Phase 1
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Allocation: Randomized
Endpoint Classification: Pharmacodynamics Study
Intervention Model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: Double Blind (Subject, Investigator)
Primary Purpose: Treatment
|Official Title:
|Effect of a 15-day Donepezil Treatment on Biomarkers of AD in Healthy Volunteers
- Pharmacog battery [ Time Frame: 15 days ] [ Designated as safety issue: Yes ]
cognitive tests (8 items of the Cantab battery) :
- Motor screening
- 4 tests for visual memory (Delayed Matching to Sample, Paired Associated Learning, Pattern Recognition Memory, Spatial Recognition Memory)
- 1 test for executive functions (Spatial Working Memory)
- 2 tests for attention (Reaction Time, Rapid Visual Information Processing)
- completed by a modified ADNI battery : ADAScog
- fMRI
|Study Start Date:
|December 2011
|Study Completion Date:
|December 2013
|Primary Completion Date:
|December 2012 (Final data collection date for primary outcome measure)
|Assigned Interventions
Active Comparator: Donepezil
Donepezil will be administered OS as of 5 mg- Orally Disintegrating Tablets one per day in the morning over 15 days.
Drug: Donepezil .
Donepezil will be administered OS as of 5 mg- Orally Disintegrating Tablets one per day in the morning over 15 days.
Other Names:
Placebo Comparator: Placebo
The placebo will be presented as tablet comparable to ARICEPT
Drug: Placebo
the placebo will be administered OS as of 5 mg- Orally Disintegrating Tablets one per day in the morning over 15 days.
Detailed Description:
The aim of the present study is to test the effect of a 15-day treatment with donepezil on a mixed battery associating cognitive assessment, imaging and neurophysiological tests in healthy volunteers.
This multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over study is double-blind controlled and is conducted in 3 centers located in France (Lille, Marseille and Toulouse).
18-30 years old, healthy volunteers, without any neurological or psychiatric impairment, will complete 2 test sessions in a randomized order: one with a 15-day treatment with donepezil, the other with placebo, and will be submitted to a mixed battery during the 14th and 15th day of the treatment. The primary outcome of the study will be based on cognitive assessment, imaging parameters and neurophysiological parameters.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 30 Years
|Genders Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- 18-30 year old male non-smoker subjects
- Subject without cognitive impairment or cognitive complaint (Moca>26, Mac Nair scale<15)
- Subject without history of brain disease (severe brain trauma, stroke, cerebral tumor,…)
- Subject without major medical or surgical history
- Subject without current chronic disease
- Subject without current cerebral disease
- Subject without vascular or metabolic risk factor
- Subject without history or current mental disease or addiction (MINI)
- Subject without lesion on MRI
- Subject without abnormal electrical activities on EEG
- Subject without use of chronic treatment or psychotropic drugs or substances
- French speaker subject and able to understand the test instructions
Exclusion Criteria:
- Subject with age < 18 years or > 30 years
- Subject with dementia or cognitive decline identified by Moca < 26
- Subject with history of brain disease (brain trauma, stroke, cerebral tumor,…)
- Subject with major medical or surgical history
- Subject with current chronic disease
- Subject with current cerebral disease
- Subject with vascular or metabolic risk factor
- Subject with history or current mental disease or addiction
- Subject with family history of young-onset dementia
- Subject with family history of chronic or severe neurological or mental disease (first degree relatives)
- Subject with lesion on MRI
- Subject with abnormal electrical activities on EEG
- Subject receiving a chronic treatment
- Subject using chronically or acutely psychotropic drugs or substances
- Subject with claustrophobia or contra-indication to MRI
- Subject unable to understand the test instructions
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01487395
|CHRU de Lille/ Centre d'investigation Clinique
|Lille, France, 59037
|CIC Marseille
|Marseille, France
|CIC Toulouse
|Toulouse, France
|Principal Investigator:
|Régis Bordet, MD PhD
|University Hospital, Lille
|Responsible Party:
|University Hospital, Lille
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT01487395 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|2010_41 2010-023989-51
|Study First Received:
|December 5, 2011
|Last Updated:
|April 8, 2015
|Health Authority:
|France: Agence Nationale de Sécurité du Médicament et des produits de santé
Keywords provided by University Hospital, Lille:
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Alzheimer Disease
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Brain Diseases
Central Nervous System Diseases
Delirium, Dementia, Amnestic, Cognitive Disorders
Mental Disorders
Nervous System Diseases
Central Nervous System Agents
Cholinergic Agents
Cholinesterase Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Neurotransmitter Agents
Nootropic Agents
Pharmacologic Actions
Physiological Effects of Drugs
Therapeutic Uses
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on May 02, 2016


text:
Is it a designer chair, or one destined for daily juice-box battles? The Nuna Zaaz Infant to Adult High Chair masters both, beautifully.
Built from the ground up with clever and practical design, the Nuna Zaaz Infant to adult innovative high chair grows with your baby for years of chic yet sturdy mealtimes. The Nuna ZAAZ high chair is exceedingly safety tested, comfortable, customizes to any size and matches your pre-baby lifestyle.
Smart Design


text:
Search Swinburne Research Bank
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/23982
- Title
- Parallax: essays on art, culture and technology
- Author(s)
- Tofts, Darren
- Abstract
- The essays brought together in Parallax explore the complexity of cultural production of the late twentieth century, a diverse, swirling interplay of traditional artforms, multimedia, cyberspace, and an overall preoccupation with the coming together of humans and machines: a fascinating nexus of art, culture and technology.
- Publication type
- Book
- Research centre
- Swinburne University of Technology. Institute for Social Research
- Publication year
- 1999
- Keyword(s)
- Art; Bacon, Francis, 1561-1626; Beckett, Samuel, 1906-1989; Cultural influences; Cultural studies; Culture; Digital imaging; Joyce, James, 1882-1941; Multimedia; Society; Technological change; Technology
- Publisher
- Interface
- 9057040077
- Publisher URL
- Copyright
- Copyright © 1999 OPA (Overseas Publishers Association).
- Peer reviewed


text: Personnel, key players in the sustainable development policy Jaeger-LeCoultre is aware that implementing an effective policy of sustainable development involves ensuring all its employees agree with the principles it advocates. The Brand has understood that it is necessary to inform them, to heighten their awareness and to involve them in reducing its ecological footprint by inciting them to act in a responsible manner on a day-to-day basis. Staff members of the Manufacture play an essential role and all are encouraged to suggest new initiatives in this field. This approach is facilitated by the presence of around 60 voluntary "eco-agents" spread between the various company departments. Acting as genuine ambassadors of eco-responsibility, their role is to encourage their colleagues to perform daily environment-friendly actions (sorting rubbish, joining carpooling schemes, controlling paper and energy consumption) and to pass on their suggestions to the management. Thanks to the help and cooperation of all its employees who are now sensitive to the need for eco-gestures and to the issues involved in sustainable development, Jaeger-LeCoultre is making its policy of social and environmental responsibility ever more effective. Human resources, the beating heart of the company Because team spirit and motivation are fundamental in moving forward, Jaeger-LeCoultre does all in its power to share a certain number of values with its personnel with a view to constantly improving working conditions. Representing the very foundations of the corporate culture, Jaeger-LeCoultre values have been identified within the framework of a full-fledged and carefully established project in which staff members were strongly involved. These core values are conveyed through a charter that has been circulated to all the personnel. To ensure that everyone adopts these values, they have been interpreted as daily actions in both professional and extra-professional contexts. These include quarterly meetings between the management and personnel to facilitate transparency; the TicTac corporate magazine and the Jaeger-LeCoultre Première news channel screened in the various recreation and refreshment areas to ensure in-house communication; mentoring of new staff members and the many sporting, cultural and family activities organised in order to facilitate integration and weave ties between personnel;as well as the free bus routes enabling employees to arrive at work more rested and to reduce traffic in the Vallée de Joux.


text:
Question details
I grew a habanero pepper plant out of curiosity and not have a small harvest and no plan. Any ideas on how to gently use these spicy gems?
Do you pickle vegetables, Johanna? My son likes to add his own peppers to his own pickled, mixed vegetables - so fresh & distinctive from store-bought versions. David Kelley has a pickling recipe in the former group discussions where he spells out the right ratio of vinegar-strength to salt to keep vegetables crisp that often go soft. We were talking about Asparagas ... Your Habeneros are beautiful!
I've decided to make an Indonesian Sambal Badjak with mine. It will stay good sealed in a jar for a few months.
I use mine for a hot sauce. Put 1 cup water, 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, 1-3 chopped habaneros (depending how hot you want) 1 chopped red bell pepper, 1 Tblsp paprika, 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp salt in saucepan. Bring to boil, simmer 10 minutes, then puree. When cool, store in refrigerator. Lasts for several months. Also freezes well.
I often dry them and have them ready for a variety of uses; recently I dried thoroughly then powdered a batch... great "spicey" addition to chilis!
I made some habanero jelly using yellow bell peppers and habanero s...ooooo, it was yummy! Hot but yummy!
Hot Pepper Jelly getws my vote. Delicious on cheese with crackers or as a "finish" to broiled chicken, steak or pork. I make it in 4 & 8 oz jars and they make wonderful holiday gifts. If you are new to canning and preserving the Ball Blue book is a great "primer", with very good recipes
About us:
KGI is a nonprofit community of over 30,000 people who are growing some of our own food and helping others to do the same.
Join our mailing list:
Connect with us:
Contact us:
Kitchen Gardeners International
3 Powderhorn Drive,
Scarborough, ME, 04074, USA
(207) 956-0606


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Geo-Marketing is a toolset and process for decision support in a long list of industries.
Retail, Financial Services and Health Care are some examples of markets that can profit or lose, to the tune of billions of dollars per year, based on judgments made in the geo-analysis process. Incremental improvements in the content applied to the task yield only incremental benefits in the outcome. Parametric improvements can make a world of difference.
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Sage garners a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American
Towson, MD – The Sage Colleges' men's volleyball team had one player saluted by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors Association) with a selection to the 2013 CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-America First Team. Honored from Sage with a selection to the First-Team was senior Ryan Kramer (Delmar, NY/Bethlehem Central). Kramer becomes the College's first student-athlete named to the First Team, while becoming the fifth CoSIDA Academic All-American.
The Capital One Division II and III Academic All-America® program is being financially supported by the NCAA Division II and III national governance structures, to assist CoSIDA with handling the awards fulfillment aspects for the 2012-13 DII and DIII Academic All-America® teams program.
Kramer was instrumental in the success of the 2013 Sage men's volleyball team this season as the Gators went 30-7 campaign and captured the ECAC Division III North Championship crown and the 2013 Skyline Conference Runner-up title this season.
Kramer, a physical education major at Sage, was named the first recipient of the Dean Sharon Robinson Senior Scholar-Athlete Award and boasts a 4.0 grade-point-average at Sage. He was honored at Sage's commencement last month with a selection as the valedictorian for SCA. He finished the 2013 season with 137 kills and 72 total blocks. He wraps his career with 227 kills (No. 8), 14 solo blocks (No. 7), 79 block assists (No. 4), and No. 5 on career total blocks with 93, while adding 283.5 points (No. 8) in 5 matches played (No. 7)
As a team, the Gators nationally as one of the top programs in Division III. Sage ranked No. 5 in the team statistics in both aces per set (1.84) and win-loss percentage (0.811). Sage is ranked in the Top 20 in five additional categories. The Gators finished the season ranked No. 14 in kills per set average (12.1), while ranking No. 15 in digs per set (10.41) and No. 16 in assists per set average (11.18) and No. 16 as well in blocks per set (2.15). Sage also ranked 20th in Division III with a 0.238 hitting percentage in 2013.


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STM32W series of Wireless MCUs
The STM32W extends the STM32 family to the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless network domain bringing outstanding radio and low-power microcontroller performances.
- Embedded 2.4 GHz IEEE 802.15.4 radio
- Best-in-class code density, thanks to its ARM Cortex-M3 core
- Low-power architecture
- Open platform with extra resources for application integration:
- Configurable I/Os, ADC, timers, SPI, UART
- Main software libraries: RF4CE, IEEE 802.15.4 MAC
With a configurable total link budget up to 109 dB and the efficiency of the ARM Cortex-M3 core, the STM32W is a perfect fit for the wireless sensor network market.
The STM32W series includes devices with 64 to 256 Kbytes of on-chip Flash memory, up to 16 Kbytes of SRAM and is available in VFQFN40, UFQFN48 and VFQFN48 packages.


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This steel-hooded, 36" swing arm lamp has a UL approved ceramic socket for incandescent bulbs up to 100 Watts. It's available in two colors, Black or White.
A wing nut on the lamp prevents the lamp from swinging once you've set it to the desired position. This lamp has large knobs for easy, fingertip locking, and a plastic clamp for mounting to a drawing board or easel.
Replacement clamps are available.
120V. 60 Hz.
Electrical Warning — All electrical products have U.S. standard plugs and voltage. Due to damage that can occur when using incompatible plugs, sockets, or converters, Blick does not ship electrical items or accessories outside of North America or to freight forwarders.


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Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or microscopic organisms into the atmosphere; in particular, when concentrations of those substances cause adverse metabolic change to humans or other species. The most common and widespread air pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
Presently, the greatest occurrences of air pollution are in China, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.[1] Each year air pollution is the cause of millions of human deaths, and even larger numbers of respiratory, circulatory, and cancer-related disease occurrences. Also, indoor air pollution is a significant source of human death and disease—mortality and morbidity—through indoor burning of wood and charcoal (especially in developing countries), tobacco smoking, radon and a host of chemical substances found in paints, printing supplies and cleaning products.
An increase of natural background concentrations to concentrations of a few micrograms per cubic meter of such common pollutants as sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and ammonia may produce, for instance, increased growth of forests; however, higher levels of these chemicals produce such adverse effects on forests as decreased growth, greater susceptibility to diseases and pests, and ultimately to forest die-back.
Air pollution existed in prehistory in the form of volcanic eruptions, wildfires and duststorms and with their associated sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and particulate matter. In the Middle Ages coal burning was outlawed in London while Parliament was in session. However, the phenomenon of air pollution accelerated dramatically due to the increase of emissions since the Industrial Revolution.
In modern history, the first recognition that air pollution is more than a local problem arose with a dispute between the states of Tennessee and Georgia in the U.S. in the year 1907. A legal dispute arose that set the stage for a number of other similar interstate conflicts—that were not resolved fully until Federal legislation of 1955 and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970. The 1955 legislation only provided for research, but the 1970 Act enabled enforcement proceedings for industrial sources exceeding specific standards.[2]
Air pollutants are dispersed in the atmosphere through convective and turbulent movement. In addition, some pollutants undergo chemical reaction with others, particularly in the presence of sunlight, where photochemical oxidants are formed by combination of certain hydrocarbon molecules with oxides of nitrogen.
The transport of air pollutants is studied using mathematical models, that generally can be grouped as follows:
- Point source models, used chiefly for industrial sources;
- Line source models, applied mainly to roadway, train and aircraft sources;
- Area source models, used for such large, two dimensional sources as windblown dust or wildfires; and
- Photochemical models, invoked to study the combination of transport and chemical reactions that produce photochemical oxidants.
The earliest point source model was originated in the early twentieth century, invoking a Gaussian dispersion model for buoyant pollution plumes to predict movement of pollutants, with consideration given to wind velocity, source stack height, emission rate and atmospheric turbulence.[3][4] This model has been calibrated extensively with experimental data for a variety of atmospheric conditions.
A roadway air dispersion model was developed starting in the late 1950s and early 1960s in response to requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act and the U.S. Department of Transportation to understand impacts of proposed new highways upon air quality, especially in urban areas. Several research groups were active in this model development, among which were: the Environmental Research and Technology (ERT) group in Massachusetts, the ESL Inc. group in California and the California Air Resources Board group in California. The ESL group received a contract from the United States Environmental Protection Agency to validate a line source model using sulfur hexafluoride as a tracer gas. Some of the earliest uses of the model were in court cases involving highway air pollution at the Arlington, Virginia portion of Interstate 66 and the New Jersey Turnpike widening project through East Brunswick, New Jersey. Area source models were developed in 1971 through 1974 by the same groups pioneering the line source models, Similarly photochemical models were developed primarily in the 1960s and 1970s, but their use was more specialized and for such regional needs as understanding smog formation in the Livermore and Los Angeles air basins of California.
Emission sources
Air pollution emissions from an industrial complex. Source: Balázs Sudár
Air pollution emission sources are chiefly man-made, and can be divided into several main categories:
- Transportation sources including motor vehicles, aircraft, trains and ships, most of which burn fossil fuels and produce air pollution discharge;
- Agricultural sources that produce methane gases (from livestock and from rice farming) and particulate matter from land cultivation;
- Industrial sources that generate a variety of chemical waste gases (e.g. hydrocarbons, sulfur oxides, heavy metals) as by-products of their manufacturing processes;
- Construction activity that produces particulate and fossil fuel combustion products as well as a variety of paint and solvent off-gasses; and
- Landfills whose decaying organic matter produces methane gas.
Health effects
Air pollution causes deaths numbering in the millions of people per annum, worldwide. Chief causes of mortality are respiratory and circulatory disease, including a significant incidence of lung cancer. It is difficult to separate out the contributions of smoking and second hand smoke versus general ambient air quality, since all of these impacts are cumulative over the human lifespan. Heart disease is particularly strongly correlated with tobacco smoking and second hand derivatives, with the chief pathology being arterial plaque buildup through the customary mechanism of blood chemistry alteration due to depressed nitric oxide production. Respiratory diseases attributed to adverse air quality are chiefly lung cancer, emphysema and other obstructive lung disease.
The pathways of disease are not understood fully for a variety of carcinogenic air pollutants—since there is a vast array of airborne pesticides and other complex organic chemicals that can produce mutagenic as well as carcinogenic effects. In addition, the variety of impacts from heavy metals present in air pollution is not understood fully—due to the long time exposure required for many of the diseases to progress. Furthermore, the impacts of heavy metal pollutants are complex, since many of the locales of most acute impact have dual pathways of impact to the human body: most commonly being via water and via air exposure.
Indoor air quality
The interior of structures is a setting where airborne pollutants can be concentrated, especially in cases where ventilation is less than adequate. The most common pollutants involved in building interiors are: carbon monoxide, radon, volatile organic compounds, asbestos fibers, particulate matter and such biological agents as allergens, bacteria, molds—and a range of pathogens.[5]
Indoor air pollution exposure is responsible for millions of deaths per year, largely through respiratory disease from smoking exposure and indoor wood burning. Also, radon exposure in western countries is a major health risk, with the peril increasing in upscale, well insulated homes, where subsurface radium occurs or where interior stonework has imported a radon producing material (e.g., some granites). In most western countries, there are regulatory standards for many of the commonly occurring indoor air pollutants; however, the total array of chemicals utilized in paints, solvents and household cleaning products is sufficiently vast that all chemicals are not regulated.
Regulatory standards
Although England banned coal burning in London as early as the 13th century, and again responded to an air pollution episode in the same city in 1852—that killed over 8000 people in one season—substantial regulatory responses did not occur until the mid 1900s in the U.S. and UK. The first comprehensive legislation came from the United States in the form of the Clean Air Act of 1963 and Amendments of 1972. These set forth specific ambient air qualtiy standards for all major atmospheric pollutants (carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, total hydrocarbons and particulate matter). Furthermore mandates for national monitoring and an enforcement framework were established. Implementation of these standards was not only promulgated for ongoing emissions, but was integrated into the planning of new projects by coupling to the National Environmental Policy Act.
China established an initial framework for air quality standards in 1982 and added more substantive language in the decade following. That country has had a difficult time implementing air standards due to less than uniform enforcement, and a struggle with economic priorities versus environmental priorities. Consequently, over 40 percent of China's cities did not meet the national standards by the year 2005.[6]
In 1985, the Vienna Convention established an international framework for control of fluorocarbons and other pollutants that could damage the ozone layer. By the early 1990s the European Union had begun to establish air quality standards, but their approach relies heavily on vehicle emissions standards, and provides substantial latitude for industrial emitters, based upon regional economic conditons.[7] By 1994 Australia had implemented a comprehensive air quality regulatory framework patterned after the USA and UK models, including provisions for nationwide ambient air monitoring.[8]
Natural occurrence
Many chemicals at low concentrations are essential nutrients for the structure and functioning of natural ecosystems. Several natural processes contribute to natural atmospheric air pollutants including forest fires, volcanic eruptions, windstorms, lightning and release of turpenes from conifers; however, the extent and damage from these natural sources is a minute portion of the air pollution emissions produced by the activiities of man.
Sulfur dioxide and particulate are produced by volcanoes. Nitrogen oxides are produced by lightning and by certain soil micro-organisms.
- ^ The World Bank. 2005. Air Pollution Emissions. Data statistics report 3.13
- ^ Shepard Krech, John Robert McNeill and Carolyn Merchant. 2004. Encyclopedia of world environmental history. vol. 3. 1429 page
- ^ D.Bruce Turner. 1994. Workbook of atmospheric dispersion estimates: an introduction to dispersion modeling, CRC Press ISBN 1-56670-023-X
- ^ Milton Beychok. 2005. Fundamentals of Stack Gas Dispersion, 4th Edition, Self-published ISBN 0-9644588-0-2
- ^ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2009. Introduction to Indoor Air Quality. U.S. EPA, Government Printing Office, Washington DC
- ^ Zhongguo Gong Cheng Yuan and Zhongguo Ke Xue Yean. 2008. Energy futures and urban air pollution: challenges for China and the United States. U.S.National Academy of Engineering
- ^ Owen Harrop. 2002. Air quality assessment and management: a practical guide. 384 pages. Taylor and Francis Publishers
^ Australia National Government. 2001. Australia, state of the environment: atmosphere. Csiro Publishing. 152 pages


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LAKEWOOD, Colo.—A woman is facing identity theft charges after a waitress was handed her stolen driver's license for identification by a customer at a Lakewood restaurant.
Brianna Priddy said her wallet was stolen on Feb. 13 during a night out with friends.
According to KUSA-TV ( http://tinyurl.com/bd2vhuv), someone used Priddy's identity to write hundreds of dollars in bad checks.
Police are not releasing the suspect's name because the case is still under investigation.
Information from: KUSA-TV, http://www.9news.com


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HUNTINGTON, Ind. (21 Alive) - Sydney Buck rang up 23 points and 4A fifth ranked Homestead moved to 4-0 with an 83-52 romp past Huntington North Friday night.
Karissa McLaughlin added 19 points while Grace German double-doubled with 13 points and 17 rebounds.
Huntington North fell to 2-3 while being led by Hannah Stoffel's 21 points.
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Tutorial continued:
One of the more common questions asked by newer mappers is 'how do I make my mountains / forests' look less blobby in outline? This tutorial is written in Photoshop but it should work equally well in Gimp.
It's probably not the best or most controlled way to break up texture edges, but it works!
Errata: In step 5 render clouds again on top of the existing cloud layer before continuing.
Last edited by ravells; 05-06-2009 at 06:52 PM.
Tutorial continued:
Last edited by ravells; 05-06-2009 at 06:34 AM.
Good stuff ravs, I usually just do a few smaller and smaller pixellate > crystalize filters on my mask.
If the radiance of a thousand suns was to burst at once into the sky, that would be like the splendor of the Mighty One...I am become Death, the Shatterer of worlds.
-J. Robert Oppenheimer (father of the atom bomb) alluding to The Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 11, Verse 32)
My Maps ~ My Brushes ~ My Tutorials ~ My Challenge Maps
Go Ravs Go!!
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Ghoraja Juun, my largely stagnated campaign setting.
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Looking at it again, I think it would work better if you rendered a different set of clouds for the Forest edge layer as otherwise they tend to be mostly overlapped by the broken forest layer...ah well!
I tend to use a drop-shadow and a bit of gaussian blur on my forest edges to give them some depth.
My Finished Maps | My Challenge Maps | Ghoraja Juun, my largely stagnated campaign setting.
Unless otherwise stated by me in the post, all work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
I would absolutely love to read this tutorial, but sadly I'm colorblind.
The red text on the green (or brown or whatever) background is nearly impossible for me to read.
Yes... christmas looks all brown to me... ugliest holiday ever.
There are a couple of mistakes in the tutorial anyway and I should repost it so that it's all on one document and easier to read. Check back here in a few days' time and I'll try to update it for you.
I found the information for the forest the most useful. I had approached the mountains from a different path and seemed to work for me. but the ideas for the forest, expecially the rendering and threshold manipulation really adds realism for my forests. Thanks!
Glad you found it useful, although I have to say I don't use this method any more. Oldguy's coastline tutorial might be a better (faster and more controllable) bet.