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Feb 3, 2014 10:50 AM
The ease and fluidity of the Tinley Road Lattice Top ($59) make it a must-have for every fashionista this season. The lattice yoke and V-neckline are super flattering. We're loving the creme color, but it's also available in black.
If you've got a product or service that you'd like to promote on Outblush, click here to find out about our advertising opportunities.
Outblush is a blog for girls who love to shop. Our staff digs up the best clothes, home stuff, beauty items, and more. New items are posted every day — bookmark us and check out:


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By Gary D. Robinson
Friday, May 01, 2009
I remember looking up a long, tall water slide. I thought it would be a great thrill to ride down. As I stood there looking up at the top, however, I decided it was too high a climb, too long and too fast a slide. I chickened out. I didn't try that slide. I've always regretted that I didn't.
I want to tell you something you've suspected all along: Faith is a challenge. It's a long climb. A long wait. A sudden surrender to gravity and speed and spray with the outcome often clouded by fear and doubt. It takes faith to take what we value most, place it at the top of a long, long chute and ... give it a push.
Just ask Abraham: "Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, 'Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied. Then God said, 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about'" (
"Your only son," i.e., his only promised son. Decades before, Abraham had been promised a son. Isaac was conceived and born as a result of God's promise. Isaac appeared when Abraham and Sarah were very old, way past the age when people have kids. But God had promised Abraham that He would keep His promises to him through Isaac and his children. So God gave Abraham Isaac and now ... God asks for him back?
How does that strike you?
This is madness. That's what I thought—but not about Abraham sacrificing his son. God had never made such a request of me. No, I thought "madness" as it slowly dawned on me that God wanted me to give Him ... a portion of my income.
It wasn't just the idea of giving 10 percent. Even at the time, I didn't think 10 percent was so much. What seemed crazy to me was to give anything when we were so deeply in debt! We couldn't pay our bills. We couldn't keep our cars in good repair. We owed everybody and his brother—and everybody and his brother harassed us over the phone. Now, Barb and I were suddenly staring in the face the challenge of giving somebody else's money to God (or so it seemed at the time).
This is crazy! Surely God wants us to get out of debt first! Then we can worry about giving properly. Heck, when we get out of debt, we can give more than 10 percent! Why would God require this at this time? It would thwart His purpose, wouldn't it?
Unlike Abraham, I've never been asked to give up my own flesh and blood. It's a good thing! For a while, I had a real hard time with the idea of giving period. It just seemed too great a contradiction.
As for what God told Abraham to do, doesn't it seem the supreme contradiction? To make a couple wait 25 years for a child, then require the child's life?
This is the challenge of faith. God never asks for that which means little to us. Invariably, it's something we've worked hard for or waited a long time for; something—or someone—we're thoroughly invested in. Not only that, it's something God Himself has given us.
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (
What happens when God wants them back? Maybe we don't hear Him asking. Maybe it just happens. I remember my aunt grieving for her mother, my grandmother. She kept saying, "He took her. He took her." I was a Bible college freshman at the time and knew all things. I tried to set my aunt straight: God hadn't taken Mam Maw. She'd just died, that's all. As I've gotten older, I've learned that such "comfort" only makes God seem less real. When we're grieving over a loss, it isn't so hard to believe in God. What's hard is seeing His purpose, believing that God is still good. That's why giving up some-one we love can be the hardest test of our faith.
It's a hard test, yes, but one people can and do pass—if they see the reasonableness of faith.
"By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, 'It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.' Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death" (
I once heard the writer Garrison Keillor chastise a group of reporters for paying too much attention to certain goings-on in Washington. He said something like, "You make cliffhangers where there are no cliffs."
Is that what we do with Abraham, turn a straightforward story into an emotional cliffhanger? Because God tells him to take a knife and kill his son, the most unheard of thing I've ever heard of, I think Abraham must've had a really hard time with it.
Yet record doesn't report that Abraham wrestled with God over this. It doesn't show him questioning God.
"So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. Then Abraham said to his young men, 'Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you'" (
Notice Abraham doesn't hesitate. The morning after he hears from God—early that morning—he gets up, saddles up and doesn't let up until he ends up at the place of sacrifice.
Does that seem cold and unfeeling, even mindless? If you've read Abraham's story (Gen. 12-24), you know he was no mindless cog in a God-machine. He had a will of his own, and he used it. If you're familiar with the record, you also know that Abraham had been walking with God through all kinds of circumstances for 25 years. By the time he takes this boy on this trip, another 18-20 years have passed.
So how long has Abraham walked with God? Forty to 45 years. Through all those years, do you think it's just possible that he would've come to the conclusion that God could be trusted? God had seen Abraham through years of wandering, family conflict and anxiety. He'd protected Abraham in battle. He so liked the man, He even let him bargain with Him: "Will you destroy Sodom if there are 50 righteous people…45, 40, 30, 20, 10?" (Financial guru Dave Ramsey's motto is "Never pay retail!" Now I know where he got that!)
God had promised a son to Abraham more than once. When Abraham and Sarah took the matter into their own hands, when he slept with her servant Hagar, God didn't accuse, God didn't renege. He simply said, "This child won't be your heir. You will have a son by Sarah." Abraham laughed at that. So did Sarah. So God said, "Fine! We'll call the baby Laughter. Through Isaac (meaning "he laughs") you will become a great nation."
As the record shows, it all happened just as God said it would. So, the question before the house is, can God be trusted? What is the evidence? A promise kept after decades of mercy and love. In addition, God had told Abraham that this great nation he would father is starting with none other than Isaac. So, you're Abraham. Looking at the evidence, what do you conclude?
Speaking of evidence, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went camping in the country. Sometime in the night, Holmes awakened his friend. "Watson, look up. Tell me what you see."
"I see the night alight with a million stars."
"What does that suggest to you?"
"It suggests to me that the universe is vast and that we are quite small. What does it suggest to you, Holmes?"
"Elementary, Watson. Someone has stolen our tent!"
The great thing about the Great Detective is he never lets emotion cloud his reason. He looks at the evidence and makes his deductions.
So did Abraham: "What are the facts in the case? God has shown me His mercy again and again. He has never failed me in the past. He has gone to great lengths to insure that Sarah and I would have this child. He tells me that my posterity is assured through Isaac. Conclusion: If I go so far as to kill my own son, God will surely raise him from the dead."
Like Sherlock Holmes without his tent, Abraham looks up at the night sky, alight with a million stars. He remembers what God has told him: "Can you count the stars, Abraham? So will your descendants be." And the choice is made.
How'd that work out for him and Isaac? You know the story. He bound his son. He laid him on a pile of wood. He took out his knife… And God stopped him. But He didn't stop blessing him. Thus does faith triumph.
Abraham's faith was reasonable, resolute and rewarded. When tested, he trusted; and so he triumphed.
What would've happened if Abraham hadn't obeyed? What would've happened if he'd hung onto Isaac? I imagine him scurrying away from the altar with his son, leaving the hateful knife on the ground. What happens as the years roll on? I imagine that every time he looks at Isaac, Abraham sees his failure. In a misguided attempt to prove his love for the boy, his gratitude for him, he gives Isaac whatever he wants, never spanks him. He spoils him rotten—until he wishes he'd never laid eyes on him.
I can also imagine Abraham going the other way, mistreating Isaac. Because he loathes himself, he lashes at his son, driving the boy away from him.
Think about those possibilities. Now ask, can we really keep what we won't let go of? Is this why some people wind up lonely and bitter and resentful? They've learned only to take, never to give; they hold on too tightly? The more they squeeze the faster it runs out their fingers.
We think of our children as extensions of ourselves. That's why some people can't let go of their kids, can't let them grow up, can't let them mess up. So their children become an even greater source of sorrow.
Look down, beloved. What's at the end of our wrists, open hands or closed fists? What are we holding so tightly? Spouse, children, career, money, routine? The traditions of our church? Can we really keep what we won't let go of? Perhaps we can, but not without regret.
The great movie Casablanca shows Ilsa having to choose between Rick, the man she loves, and Victor, the man she married. She must choose between her flesh and her ideals. It's a true faith-choice. Rick knows that the greater good can only be served if Ilsa gets on the plane with her husband:
Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.
Can you imagine aged Abraham in agony, wondering why he'd gone so far in faith only to fail at the end? Let's imagine ourselves in later years. Will the end find us people of integrity ... or despair?
I've always regretted not going down that water slide—climbing those flights of steps, higher and higher, standing at the top of a long, aqua-blue chute, surrendering to speed and spray, making a big splash at the bottom. I've always regretted failing that challenge—a challenge of faith.
Remember the words of the old song?
But we never can prove
the delights of His love
until all on the altar we lay
for the favor He shows
and the joy He bestows
are for them who will trust and obey.
God isn't a robber. He's a giver! God gives and gives and gives. He gives us stuff to use. He gives us people to love. He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ. Indeed, what God stopped Abraham from doing, He Himself did. He didn't spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all.
You tell me, then, beloved, is it or is it not reasonable to trust God with everything we have? If it is reasonable, why should we hold anything back from Him?
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you offer your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service" (

subset: commoncrawl


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The X-Men film franchise has accumulated a large fan base since releasing "X-Men" in 2000. The newest addition to Marvel's mutant universe is "X-Men: Days of Future Past," an exciting film that is set to follow Hugh Jackman's Wolverine as he goes back in time to prevent a disastrous event that would put both humans and mutants in grave danger. For viewers who are unsure what to expect, here is everything that audiences need to know about the upcoming installment.
An Explosive Plot
In "X-Men: Days of Future Past," the presumed-dead Charles Xavier and the villainous Magneto work together to confront Wolverine, hoping to send him back in time to convince their younger selves to avoid creating an event that would spell doom years in the future. Wolverine travels back to the 1970s, encountering the young Magneto and Professor X as well as Mystique, Beast and others. From his first moments in the new era, it is clear that the present-day mutant has his work cut out for him.
Bringing Two Timelines Together
"X-Men: First Class" was unique in the superhero franchise in that it introduced the origins of the mutant race as a whole, showing viewers how iconic characters such as Professor X, Mystique and Magneto came into being. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" uses the prospect of time travel to bring together the timelines and characters of "X-Men: First Class" and the rest of the series in a surprising way. This means that Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will be reprising their roles as Wolverine, Professor X and Magneto, respectively.
Based on the Marvel Comic of the Same Name
The premise of the film is based on "Days of Future Class," a storyline that appears in Marvel's "The Uncanny X-Men" in two issues released in1980. In the comic, the mutant known as Kitty Pryde brings the X-Men back in time to prevent a catastrophe. Pryde will also be appearing in the film and, according to Singer, plays a large role due to her time travelling abilities. Interestingly, the year from which the X-Men are sent back in time is 2013, the year in which filming began for "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
Direction by Bryan Singer
The installments in the X-Men film series have been brought to life by various directors over the years, including Bryan Singer, Brett Ratner, Gavin Hood and Matthew Vaughn. Singer, who directed the first two films in the franchise, returns to the director's seat for this installment. This is exciting news for X-Men fans, most of whom find that Singer's films are some of the most entertaining and well-paced in the series, always staying true to the comics. Audiences can expect the same fast-paced action and colorful directing that made the first two films so iconic.
The Promise of a Sequel
In December of 2013, director Bryan Singer confirmed that a sequel for "X-Men: Days of Future Past" was in progress, and it would be released in May of 2016. The sequel, which has already been given the title "X-Men: Apocalypse," promises to examine the history of mutant kind and is set to take place in the 1980s. Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult have confirmed that they will be reprising their respective roles. Dedicated fans of the X-Men franchise are eagerly awaiting further news about the upcoming sequel.
"X-Men: Days of Future Past" has everything it takes to become a great superhero movie, and audiences will decide for themselves if it lives up to the hype when it is released on May 23. Although the film does not prominently feature favorite characters like Storm and Rogue, its interesting premise and great actors guarantee that this will be a film worth watching.


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By Katie Perttunen
June 10, 2013 | Vol. 94, No. 135
Katie Perttunen/Daily Globe
Glen and Linda Gilbert get ready to ride 50 miles at Lupine Junefest on Saturday in Mercer, Wis. This was the second year the couple from Shawano, Wis., had participated in the race.
MERCER, Wis. — Saturday was a beautiful day for a bike ride for the 148 riders gathered in Mercer to celebrate Lupine Junefest, despite a lack of lupine this year.
Linda and Glen Gilbert from Shawano, Wis ., enjoyed their second year at the race on their tandem bicycle.
"It's the only time he listens to me," Linda Gilbert said from the front of their two-seater.
The Gilberts planned to ride for 50 miles on Saturday. The festival also offered planned routes for 10, 20 and 26 miles.
Festival officials said the odd spring weather has made lupine — the purple and white flower namesake of the annual event — hard to find this year. A few lupine in a vase graced the registration table at the race.
The event also featured numerous booths of crafts and an antique car show in Carow Park.
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One of the most powerful Iranians in the nation, theocratic or otherwise, has unequivocally stated that upon the return of the Islamic messiah, he will personally take it upon himself to execute Western leaders, as reported by the right-of-center news portal The Daily Caller on March 16, 2014.
Contrary to both Secretary of State John Kerry and the Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel referring to the hierarchy in Tehran as the "elected" and "legitimate government" of the nation, it's actually the Assembly of Experts that chooses the Iranian Supreme Leader.
And one of the few members of Iran's all-powerful Assembly of Experts, the Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani who declared:
When Imam Zaman ['Mahdi,' the last Shiite Imam] comes, he will behead the Western leaders.
However, Imam will not harm the oppressed nations.
As noted by The Daily Caller, the belief of the Shiite branch of Islam is that:
At the end of times, the 12th Imam, Mahdi, a ninth century prophet, will reappear with Jesus Christ at his side, kill all the infidels and raise the flag of Islam in all four corners of the world.
He's the Christ, but not the Messiah ...
According to Al-Islam.org's Ahlul Bayt Digital Library Project, Jesus is commonly referred to specifically as "Jesus Christ" by Shia world-wide.
The on-line Etymology Dictionary, the Anglicized Christ is defined and has its roots:
From Latin Christus, from Greek khristos 'the anointed,' translation of Hebrew mashiah.
In a curious theological turn, despite referring to Jesus as the Christ (Messiah), Ayatollah Kashani as well as the rest of Shia Islam don't consider the Biblical Jesus as being the Messiah of all mankind foretold of in the Old Testament, and subsequently revered as by Christians.
Organizations ranging from Cambridge University, to Abu Dhabi University, to the Canadian government all turn to Al-Islam.org as a definitive reference point for all things concerning Islamic sacred writ.


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RCMP offer safety tips for the Canada Day long weekend
Posted Under: News and Information
Nova Scotia RCMP expects that the Canada Day weekend will be busy with people visiting the province and residents traveling to visit friends, festivals and events.
Motorists traveling Nova Scotia's highways and roadways, heading to cottages, camp sites and beaches this weekend can expect to see RCMP officers conducting checkpoints across the province to help keep our roadways safe.
This long weekend is one of the busiest for holiday traffic. The increase in traffic can lead to the increased possibility of becoming involved in a collision if you aren't careful or completely focused on your driving.
Here are a few things to keep in mind this long weekend:
- Watch for increased pedestrian traffic. The children are out of school and many adults are now on vacation.
- Plan a safe ride home or plan to stay – don't drink and drive.
- Slow down, keep your distance and buckle up – make sure to arrive at your well deserved vacation destination safely.
- Don't push your limits on, or in, the water – remember life jackets save lives and alcohol and water don't mix.
- Do not leave valuables in your vehicle or unattended on the beach.
- Be responsible with your alcohol, both with consuming and transporting.
- Call 911 if you see an impaired driver.


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Wall Street maintained its momentum today, closing at a record high for the second-straight day, but the retail sector took a modest step back from its peak.
The S&P 500 Retailing Industry Group fell 0.4 percent, or 2.98 points, to 722.35 points, after setting a new high water mark Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.3 percent, or 42.47 points, to 14,296.24.
While good for Wall Street and a positive sign that investors see better times ahead, the record levels do not necessarily mean the U.S. has moved beyond its economic troubles. The economy is still weak, propped up by very low interest rates and threatened by deficit wrangling in Washington.
Among the fashion-sector decliners were American Eagle Outfitters, down 10.1 percent to $20.27, and Maidenform Brands Inc., 9 percent to $16.96. Both companies served up disappointing outlooks in their quarterly earnings update this morning.
And J.C. Penney Company Inc. continued to slide, falling 3.5 percent to $14.43. Key investor Vornado Realty Trust sold off 10 million shares of the company earlier this week and Wall Street is growing increasingly antsy over the lack of traction from chief executive office Ron Johnson's reinvention of the chain.
Citi analyst Deborah Weinswig downgraded Penney's stock to neutral from buy and gave it a target price of $15.
Weinswig said she came away from a visit with the company's top brass, including Johnson, "more concerned that [Penney's] return to topline growth will take longer than expected."
"We continue to be supporters of the company's long-term vision, including its shop strategy and new brand launches," Weinswig said. "However, we are less convinced that the course-correcting strategies being implemented around pricing and marketing will drive meaningful sales improvement."
In Europe, markets mostly lost ground after Tuesday's rally to multi-year highs. Milan's FTSE MIB fell 0.5 percent to 15,899.70, while the CAC 40 in Paris dipped 0.4 percent to 3,773.76. The FTSE 100 in London was roughly flat 6,427.64, as the DAX in Frankfurt was up 0.6 percent to 7,919.33.
The euro was trading at $1.30 against the dollar, while the pound was worth $1.51 and the Swiss franc fetched $1.06.
Retail and luxury stocks also saw a downturn, with most stocks losing ground. Among the day's biggest decliners were Inditex, down 1.4 percent to 106.10 euros, and The Swatch Group, 1.2 percent to 94.15 Swiss francs. Mulberry's stocks dipped 0.1 percent to 12.99 pounds after Hermès International issued a denial saying that it was not going to buy out the British brand. PPR was flat at 176.80 euros as rumors circulated that it is planning to buy Italian jewelry brand Pomellato.
Among the day's strongest gainers were Asos.com, which climbed 3.3 percent to 29.70 pounds, and Brunello Cucinelli, which advanced 1.6 percent to 16.95 euros.


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The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund takes our stewardship of your donations seriously. The programs we fund are designed to help us achieve our mission of preserving the legacy of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, promoting healing and educating about the impact of the Vietnam War.
Our audit committee meets regularly, and its members lend their financial expertise to the goal of using VVMF's funds wisely and ensuring that our financial information is transparent and accessible to any interested parties. In addition, VVMF meets the Better Business Bureau's Wise Giving Alliance Standards for Charity Accountability.
Below you will find copies of VVMF's Annual Report, audited financial statements and 990s—the most recent versions, as well as reports going back several years. We appreciate your support of VVMF and look forward to partnering with you in the future on our important programs.


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For the week of
May 06, 2011
- carolinajournal.com
Reaction of the Week
RALEIGH — A high-speed rail proposal for North Carolina would create "substantial" risks for taxpayers, while doing little to nothing to
reduce traffic, help the environment, cut energy use, or create jobs. A
new John Locke Foundation Policy Report cites these reasons and others while urging state leaders to walk away from high-speed rail.
"North Carolina should return the federal high-speed rail grant funding,
withdraw its pending application, and seek no more funding for
passenger rail," said report author Wendell Cox, international public
policy consultant for his firm Demographia.
"The N.C. Department of Transportation trumpets the supposed benefits of
high-speed rail for this state, but this new analysis from a recognized
expert in the fields of urban growth and transit policy shoots each of
DOT's arguments down," said Joseph Coletti, JLF Director of Health and
Fiscal Policy Studies. "After reading this report, there should be no
question that high-speed rail makes no sense for North Carolina
Cox's report arrives as North Carolina legislators consider whether to
accept $461 million in federal stimulus funding for high-speed rail.
Federal grants awarded to the state to date total $545 million, while
N.C. DOT has applied for another $620 million, according to the report.
Far from being "free" money from Washington, strings attached to the
grants would require subsidies from North Carolina taxpayers. If
construction costs and ridership figures miss projections, those
subsidies would be even higher than expected.
CJ: Fiscal stalemate continuesRALEIGH — A fiscal game of chicken between
Republicans and Democratic Gov. Bev Perdue continued this week as the
GOP-controlled House passed a budget for the new fiscal year that lands 4
percent below Perdue's spending target.
CJ: Emotions raw during hearing on abortion billRALEIGH — Members of a House judiciary
subcommittee heard emotional testimony Wednesday on a bill to provide
more information to women considering an abortion prior to the
CJ: Billy Packer questions state environmental callsRALEIGH — Much like a basketball coach working a
referee on the sidelines, all former CBS sportscaster Billy Packer
wants from state environmental officials is consistency.
CJ: Tea Party activists say they are alive and well RALEIGH — Although fewer Tea Party activists
took to the streets this tax season, the movement is growing and
stronger than ever, supporters say.
CJ: Core curriculum a mixed bagRALEIGH — All North Carolina colleges and
universities claim that they require undergraduates to take courses in
"core" subjects such as composition, mathematics, and science. But a new
Pope Center survey that scrutinized and quantified those claims shows
that many schools fall short.
Monday, May 09, 2011 at 12:00 p.m.A meeting of the Shaftesbury Societywith our special guest John G. RedmondIf Great Schools Are So Important, Then Why the Glacial Pace for School Reform?
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 5:45 p.m.A Special Forum and Book Signingwith our guests Paul H. Bergeron and David O. StewartThe Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson:
An Examination
Friday, May 20, 2011 at 1:00pm-4:30pmA Citizens' Constitutional Workshop in Franklin, N.C. with presenters Dr. Troy Kickler & Dr. Michael SaneraWhat the Founders and the State Ratification Conventions
Can Teach Us Today
Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 1:00pm-5:30pmA Citizens' Constitution Workshop in Murphy, N.C. with presenters Dr. Troy Kickler & Dr. Michael SaneraWhat the Founders and the State Ratification Conventions Can Teach Us Today
Capital Quotes
"This chapter belongs to us. These children belong to us."— Gov. Bev Perdue, as quoted by the N.C. Association of Educators, at a Raleigh rally against cutting state educational spending.
"I was sent here to bring some sanity to the budget process in Raleigh. I'm very proud of the budget that we're about to pass."— First-term Rep. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort, as quoted by the Associated Press, talking about the budget that the House passed.
"As a legislator I have never really felt connected to what goes on at the ports."— Rep. Carolyn Justice, R-Pender, talking to the Wilmington Star-News about the N.C. State Ports Authority. The Ports Authority will likely soon become part of the N.C. Department of Transportation, though what impact that will have on its autonomy remains to be determined.
"The bad choice of dance partners made by the department is a fiscal mistake that should be absorbed by the city as a whole."— Chris Baker, president of the Stoneybrook Cottages homeowners association in Durham, as quoted by the Durham Herald-Sun, arguing that Durham should pay to complete infrastructure that the neighborhood's developers never completed. The city required developers to provide insurance to cover the cost of completing roads and drainage facilities in Stoneybrook Cottages and eight other subdivisions should the developers go out of business. The developers did fail but the insurance proved inadequate to cover the cost of completing the work.
On The Air This Week…
This week on C J Radio…
JLF's Joe Coletti refutes myths about the benefits of so-called high-speed rail; Eli Lehrer of the Heartland Institute recommends changes to the state's auto insurance system; Rep. Jonathan Rhyne Faison (R-Lincoln) debates Rep. Bill (D-Orange) over medical malpractice lawsuits; attorney Philip Romohr analyzes 2010 N.C. Supreme Court decisions; Carolina Journal's David Bass discusses social legislation making its way through the General Assembly.
This week on NC Spin…
Join moderator Tom Campbell
for another week of political discussion and debate on the most
intelligent television talk show in the state. Topics this week: Second worst roads in the nation; barriers to terminal groins; trust funds or slush funds?; and cable bill bans municipalities. This week's panelists: John Hood, president of the John Locke Foundation; Chris Fitzsimon of NC Policy Watch; Charlotte Observer associate editor Jack Betts; and political consultant Brad Crone.
Material published here may be reprinted provided the
Locke Foundation receives prior notice and appropriate credit is given.
© 2016 John Locke Foundation,
, (919) 828-3876
Web design by DesignHammer, a Raleigh-Durham web design company


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Want to write for OneDirection.net?
If you're 1D fan, with a talent for writing, and want an opportunity to gain some experience, and get your articles read by thousands of fans?
We won't be able to pay you initially, but you can gain real world experience in how a modern, internet magazine is run, and showcase your talents to the world. If we like you and you display a natural ability for writing, who knows what could happen in the future.
Send us an email to firstname.lastname@example.com and send us a couple of examples of your writing, along with a paragraph or two as to why you want to write for us.
Our Team
The OneDirection.net team is based right here in the UK, the home of One Direction. We've got our own office in Manchester, where we work all day long to bring you the latest 1D news and amazing features. As well as our UK team, we've also got several freelancers based across the world, making OneDirection.net a truly global news site.
Chris Buckley
Chris is our editor, in charge of keeping the site looking awesome and making sure all of our articles are keeping you Directioners right up to date. He made the site back in 2010, after seeing One Direction on the X Factor, and we're still here bigger than ever a few years later! Away from the site, Chris goes running and plays football, and is also a big internet geek. Although Chris has a cat called Tiddles, he pretty much ignores her to spend time with the clear favourite – Buddy the dog!
Emma Clure
Emma is our resident 1D UBER FAN, and spends her days at our HQ producing videos, writing about the band, and generally making sure we're all up-to-date with everything that's happening in the 1D world. She's accompanied by a mini cardboard cut-out of Zayn Malik which sits on her desk and brightens her day.
Jamie Swain
Jamie is a rare male Directioner, and works alongside Emma to fill the site with some good quality content. Obviously, it's a tough choice, but if pressed for an answer, his favourite member is Liam.
Dominic Marsat
Interests: Technology, walking George his beloved dog, and stocks & shares. Also a big fan of online gaming, and there's nothing more he likes than playing a few deathmatches online! Fave games? Half-life & quake, both from yester-year.
- /


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Is there a way to convert a PDF document into an eBook format such as epub, azw or mobi? I am looking for an application, which is fast in conversion. I have just tried calibre. After 10 minutes not even 2% of the conversion have been reached. So please no calibre. CLI is preferred.
You should try
If the PDF file consists of images (without OCR info), you have to go for an OCR solution, which is much slower.
I have successfully used the OCR method as well on PDF text which was scrambled (by positioning the individual characters on a page in a non-linear fashion). Then you use e.g.
I generally use Calibre, to convert from the various formats (epub, mobi, and pdf). It's pretty straightforward to convert with it, here's a screenshot, there are others and a video tutorial as well.
I had to do this for a PDF file once, and this was the result (using pdftohtml from poppler):
Feed the zip to Calibre and convert to EPUB. Filter all CSS properties (such as colors, fonts).
Every PDF file is different - there is no definitive solution. The above worked for one specific case - you have to weak pdftohtml/pdftotext and then tweak the output to fit your needs.
If this fails and you have to resort to OCR, I've had some luck with cuneiform. But also try tesseract, ocrad, gocr. However all of those require manual labor for a good result.


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Finding My Exercise Niche
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
I have never been a big fan of exercise. I find controlling my calories way, way, way easier than fitting in exercise. I hate being out of breath, sweaty and in pain. Plus the time just never seems to fit in my schedule. I have tried running, but I don't feel that "floating on clouds" thing that everyone else seems to and instead of being able to let me mind drift like I have heard about all my brain is thinking is "please stop running!!!" I have tried other exercises like bike riding which is by far better than running, but I live in a downtown area and fear the traffic. My apartment complex has a gym with an elliptical which is not bad, but I get bored of the one view scenery. The closest I have come to really looking forward to exercise is when I was in college and was enrolled in a TurboKick class. It was fun to be in a group and you were held accountable to finish the work-out that you started! Plus, the exercises kept changing, so I never had the burn out feeling in my muscles like I do with running. The downside now is that in college it was free, but now it would cost quite a bit to be able to attend on of those classes. Sooo with all that said, in the end I have gone through a lot of my weight loss journey without any scheduled exercise other than occasional walks in the evening and the jogging I do around the hospital all day at work. Surprisingly I have still been able to lose weight which I feel really fortunate about. Today I tried something new, because even after all the exercises I have tried I am determined to find something I love. The thing I tried? Yoga! It is not a cardio exercise, but it is a step in the right direction to helping me love exercise. I like that you work many muscle groups to hold challenging poses that flow from one to the next. With yoga I can get my mind to that reflecting place that some people get with running. Today I went through a series of poses at sunset which was a nice way to say goodbye to the day. I won't lie, a lot of moves were above my level currently, but I modified them to my ability.
Some day I hope to be able to do this (many many many some days from now):
Peacock Feather Pose
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I love yoga. I took a few classes, which I'd recommend so that you know how a pose is supposed to feel, but in the past several years, I've just done videos (I hear you about the 'free' thing). I don't know all the ins and outs, but there are different styles, some are more intense (and feel more like cardio) than others. Explore and enjoy!
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Still looking for mine.
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You'll get there! Just believe and work towards your goal each day.
1193 days ago
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|Green Promoted to Associate Head Coach
MOSCOW, Idaho—University of Idaho women's basketball assistant coach Jordan Green was promoted to associate head coach on Monday as announced by head coach Jon Newlee.
"It has been great seeing Jordan's professional development over the years he has worked for me," Newlee stated. "After starting his career as a volunteer assistant coach at Idaho State and helping to build two separate championship programs alongside me, I know he is deserving of the responsibilities of an associate head coach. I appreciate all he has done and have no doubt his great work will continue in his new position here at Idaho."
Green has had a major impact in recruiting and scouting during his time on the Vandal bench, helping the team to the 2013 NCAA Basketball Tournament and winning the 2013 Western Athletic Conference Tournament. He has helped coach Idaho's post players, developing them into the top rebounding team in the Western Athletic Conference in the 2012-13 season. Under his guidance Alyssa Charlston earned First Team All-WAC honors in 2012-13.
Formerly an assistant coach at Idaho State, Green worked under Newlee from 2004-08. In his time at Idaho State, Green helped the Bengals to two Big Sky championships, one NCAA tournament appearance, and two appearances in the WNIT.
Green played basketball collegiately at George Fox University, where he was a three-time team captain and an NAIA All-America Honorable Mention. He earned his bachelor of science in education from George Fox in 2001, and received his master's in athletic administration and physical education from Idaho State in 2005.


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Quincys Take Center Stage
Our fall exhibit, Josiah Quincy: A Lost Hero of the Revolution officially opens on Saturday, and we hope you'll come by and see what we have on display. The show will be open to the public without charge, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 22 January 2011, except from 24 December 2010 - 1 January 2011, when the Historical Society is closed for a brief holiday season respite.k
Our October Object of the Month complements the exhibit: it's a watercolor of Col. Samuel Miller Quincy (1833-1887) in his Civil War uniform. Col. Quincy was the great-grandson of Josiah Quincy, Jr. "The Patriot," and edited his ancestor's legal notes (while stationed at Port Hudson during the Civil War, as Peter Drummey notes in the Object essay). He later served as "acting mayor" of New Orleans.
The exhibit celebrates the publication by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts of the final two volumes of Portrait of a Patriot: The Major Political and Legal Papers of Josiah Quincy Junior, edited by Daniel R. Coquillette and Neil Longley York, the first modern edition of the complete works of Josiah Quincy, Jr. (1744-1775). A brilliant young attorney - he was only twenty-six when, with John Adams, he defended the British soldiers in the Boston Massacre Trials - Quincy was an ardent spokesman for the cause of liberty in Revolutionary Massachusetts, although his early death has made him less familiar today than many of his contemporaries.
The exhibition focuses on the Historical Society's manuscript sources for the new Colonial Society volumes, including Quincy's political and legal commonplace books, travel journals (he was a harshly critical observer of slavery in the American South), and the law reports that his great-grandson, Samuel Miller Quincy edited. In the exhibition, Josiah Quincy, Jr.'s personal papers will be shown in the context of the MHS's enormous archive of Quincy family papers--letters, diaries, drawings, artifacts, and paintings that document eight generations of this extraordinary family--including the watercolor portrait of Samuel M. Quincy on display as our Object of the Month.
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No man is an iland
Latest posts | Feed | ...email marketing advice by Mark Brownlow
OK, this is obviously good PR for the company behind it, who happen to offer email security products. But...what a nice little website.
For those curious about spam, where it comes from and through which enslaved computers, here's a collection of constantly-updated charts and maps to warm your souls.
You can see, for example, a heat map of the world based on spam sent - no prizes for guessing which country is the hottest source of spam.
Dig further for more spam tidbits and information on various email senders.
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Goodness, a sane article on email and RSS from a marketing perspective.
Rok Hrastnik does two jobs with this article. First he dissects the semantics of the situation, differentiating between content and how it's delivered, and thus explaining the relationships between email, RSS, blogs and e-newsletters.
Then he offers up a collection of ideas as to how you might use RSS and email marketing as complementary marketing tactics.
Jeanne Jennings puts her finger on the heart of the email marketing debate. If you believe (like me) that opt-in, ethical email marketing is the way to build success and brands, then that policy needs consistent application.
Jeanne points out situations where marketers and companies apply their opt-in rule selectively, which often leads to trouble, expense, bad PR and disgruntled customers.
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Denise Cox throws out some suggestions on how to answer the age old question of newsletter length.
She uses ideas about people's reading and clicking behavior to suggest what might work best in the context of your needs.
There's always the option of asking readers what they'd prefer, too.
Senators Brett Davis and Ted Kanavas have put forward a Can-Spam bill for Wisconsin. Given my ignorance of all things legislative at state level, I have no idea whether this is just PR or will actually get passed into law.
Interesting to note though that it proposes banning "the manufacturing, sale, or marketing of software that can be used for the purpose of 'farming' e-mail addresses" (presumebly meaning extractor software, but might some legitimate email tools fall under this?).
It also includes a provision granting legal immunity to ISPs who "in good faith, block legitimate e-mails in their effort to block SPAM."
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Those keeping an eye on developments at the big providers of email addresses should note that Gmail - Google's free web-based email service - left beta last week and opened up to everyone. Well, sort of.
To activate an account you need to have a US mobile phone number to receive the relevant invitation code. This process is to stop spammers from grabbing multiple accounts. Other countries are set to follow shortly.
So if you never had the chance to set up a test account there before, now you can (if you have the right phone). Then you can see all the wonderful things the interface does to your carefully crafted HTML email promotions.
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I spent some part of last week failing to get to grips with the key email authentication technologies. Anyway, as luck would have it, the folks at eNewsletter journal pointed me at this useful reference site about one such technology.
Hosted By Microsoft, the prime drivers behind Sender ID, it has a range of information, as well as pointers to a couple of useful tools for marketers trying to understand how to adapt.
Al DiGuido is erupting with optimism in this article. Looking forward to a bright and bold future, he highlights various ideas and practices that are already taking email marketing to a better place.
It's not just about how to boost responses to promotions, either. He also preaches the holistic bible - that email is a much more flexible tool that should be used in more innovative ways than just point and press marketing.
One nice idea he cites, for example, is sending people a copy of their live chat conversation with customer service via email.
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The results of a recent survey suggest that a third of the UK's top B2C companies aren't complying with UK (EU) anti-spam legislation.
Now, the survey was done by a database management company and I don't know the methodology used. But clearly a significant number of large professional corporate marketing departments aren't obeying the law.
I don't get this.
The legislation was in place December 2003. It was all over the marketing news. How long does it take to comply? And if the marketing cream aren't upholding basic email privacy requirements, what are the marketing non-cream doing?
Just like with the FTC survey that found many net retailers failing to observe the (frankly lax) Can-Spam requirements, you have to ask whether we have any right to moan about spammers and the collateral damage caused to legitimate email by anti-spam efforts and mechanisms.
"Physician heal thyself", to quote a religious source.
The more crappy unwanted commercial email gets sent to people, the harder it is to get people to respond to any commercial email.
Goose. Golden. Egg.
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Karen Gedney gathers together a pick'n'mix selection of ideas for improving your email marketing results, based on past columns and current thought. Everything from vendor selection to copywriting approaches.
Must be some things in there for you to mull over, adapt or implement.
She also puts out a call for examples and case studies, so perhaps a PR opportunity for you there...
Corporate blogs are sprouting up like snowdrops in spring. And here's one from Janine Popick, the co-founder and CEO of email service provider VerticalResponse.
It's new, but so far it looks to be a mix of case studies and advice, with a little flavoring of company PR in there.
For more email marketing blogs, check this list.
And since we're on the subject, things may get a touch quiet round here as I seek to convert from one blog software to another. Wish me luck.
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Allow me to drift marginally off-topic and point you to this interview with Chris Maher.
He argues essentially that marketers and advertisers need to take a look at themselves and question their role in the complex structure that is the world around us.
If nothing else, it's always inspiring to read measured words from those whose reading isn't limited to the business weeklies.
I won't trouble you with my own philosophical slant on life, love and banner ads, but there is a reason why this particular blog is called "No man is an iland."
Kevin George of Quris reviews the state of the spam situation from the viewpoint of large corporations.
After considering the present and future of Can-Spam legislation, he looks at the status of authentication and accreditation efforts.
He finishes with some advice on what the Fortune 1000 can do to help defeat spam and improve their own email marketing results in the process.
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This EmailSherpa article looks at ways to make better use of a B2B house list.
Rather than take the traditional periodic newsletter approach, Smith Content got a little more sophisticated, using various email approaches to different segments with different goals.
Wendy Roth of Lyris runs over some bounce basics - what are they? What are the different types? And what useful information do they tell you?
She also addresses various deliverability scenarios, such as when perfect delivery suggests you actually have a problem on your hands.
A view from Microsoft on New Zealand's new spam legislation, which requires commercial mailing lists to be opt-in only.
The article centers around proving (or not) whether existing addresses on your list are permission-based, and the need for more clarity on the role of pre-existing business relationships.
One argument put forward is that if you go back to an old list to confirm permission, you'll lose a lot of names.
For which the counter-argument might be that if they're not confirming their interest, then they're probably not that valuable to you anyway.
If they can't be bothered to confirm the opt-in, they're unlikely to be opening, reading and responding to your emails.
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Brian Quinton talks with Pivotal Veracity's Deirdre Bird, who reveals detailed criteria for choosing an email service provider based on their ability to ensure the best delivery rates for your emails.
It's pretty strict stuff - I'm not sure that very many ESPs would satisfy all the requirements.
As well as stating what you look for, Bird also explains the whys and wherefores of the selection criteria. So the article has a strong educational value in its own right.
Not to mention it will fray a few nerves at your service provider when you wave the article in their face.
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Linda Schumacher offers up some suggestions for getting more people to sign-up to your house list, and for ensuring those addresses are of the highest quality.
Some basic best practices to use as a checklist for your current and future efforts.
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Well, it's not like anyone expected anything different to come out of this study by JupiterResearch. No doubt you're not falling off your chair with shock.
Setting aside the cynicism, this press release has some useful numbers and insights to wave at skeptical bosses about the likely revenue and profit benefits of moving your email marketing efforts to a higher level.
This survey by Nielsen/NetRatings confirms that RSS has potential, but is still not ready for the big time.
Of those individuals who actually read blogs, just over 11% use RSS to do so, in one form or another.
The remaining 89% don't. And almost two thirds of blog users either never heard of RSS or heard of it but don't know what it means.
Given that blog readers themselves are a small proportion of total Internet users and you understand the comments about not being ready for the big time.
Brian Livingston really doesn't like the new laws in Utah and Michigan. In his latest article on the subject, he finds more ways they might be counterproductive and actually hurt those they're trying to protect.
He also talks with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who intend to launch a legal challenge to the laws. Businesses troubled by the new and costly requirements for compliance should pay close attention.
Jeanne Jennings takes a hard look at the practice of email appending. After defining what it is, she tackles two key questions:
1. Which of the two varieties of appended address lists make the most sense?
2. Does email appending per se make sense?
It's an interesting read, not least because it shows just how important it is to crunch all the numbers and consider all the alternatives and scenarios before reaching decisions.
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Steve Spencer explains how the new Utah and Michigan email laws work and why they're likely to cause more problems than they solve.
As well as the usual arguments about punishing legitimate marketers, Spencer raises another issue: data protection.
Two metrics to have in your reports are churn and fatigue. Loren McDonald of EmailLabs defines them, shows how you calculate them, gives some benchmark estimates of what to expect, and then offers up some advice on how to improve the numbers.
Churn refers to the gradual loss of subscribers through unsubscribes, hard bounces etc. Fatigue refers to declining response rates, largely through increases in subscriber inactivity.
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Derek Harding discusses how various organizations use special email addresses to find out who is sending unsolicited email. (The addresses are never knowingly signed-up to anything, so the theory is that any email they get must be spam).
He offers advice on how to avoid getting one of these addresses subscribed to your own list, and what to do if for some reason you have got one in there (other than panic).
A new service involving a bunch of big email marketing players offers an independent audit of your email deliverability practices and results.
Even if you don't plump for the audit, which looks to cost in the low four figures, there's lots of indirect info here about the kind of things you need to consider when it comes to lifting delivery rates.
Although the article reads a little like an ad for a South African email service provider, it offers a nice overview of the deliverability problems and pitfalls faced by marketers.
It also runs through some of the vocabulary used...words like greylisting, tarpitting and throttling. The latter two are what your boss does to you when your open rates fall below 30%.
Karen Gedney reports on a very simple email promoting two specialist events for technologists.
At first glance, it seems ludicrously plain, but a closer look reveals some useful insights and suggestions, particularly with regard to B2B event marketing.
Horses for courses. There are no silver bullets that work everywhere - it's about finding the right approach for a specific audience.
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It's not all bad news on the spam front. Both AOL and Microsoft are going after spammers in the courts, taking their assets and then using the gains for relatively good purposes.
In AOL's case, giving their members a chance to win confiscated gold and cars. In Microsoft's case, giving money away to community projects.
The Economist.com has an overview of the past and present spam situation. The article outlines the problem, traces the impact (or lack of impact) of legislation and reports on some legal victories by the likes of Microsoft.
Funny world though when spammers get more jail time than rapists.
If you can say no to the inevitable RSS Kool-Aid, Bill Flitter begins a nice overview of the practice and potential of RSS advertising.
In this first article, he sets out the background to RSS and its immense potential.
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Jeanniey Mullen takes a fresh angle on asking sign-ups to self-select the content they require.
Traditionally, recipients receive either whatever email content marketers choose to put in their subscription. Or they receive content related to whatever choices they made on sign-up.
This situation gets more complex as marketers use click tracking and other metrics to segment their audience and refine content based on past behavior.
Jeanniey opens up a debate on giving subscribers control over the content they get. Interests change - how do you deal with that in the context of giving subscribers control? Can you rely on the subscriber communicating interest changes themselves (probably not)? Interesting topic...
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Here's a scan of the form part of a "Sign-up for our newsletter" postcard distributed at the checkout of one of my local furniture stores:
Spot the problem? The amount of space available to handwrite an email address is way too small; 4 cm or about 1.5 inches. I bet they have a high percentage of bad addresses once someone transcribes these into a PC.
A great tip I got from a marketer at hotel chain Affinia a while back was to include boxes (one box per letter) on the email address entry line to cut out transcription errors.
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A key court ruling in the USA which implies that ISPs and similar organizations (like a university in this case) can enforce their own anti-spam filtering, even if the emails subsequently blocked conform with Can-Spam.
The important point (and reminder) here is that compliance with Can-Spam is not enough. Again: complying with Can-Spam makes an email legal, but doesn't get you close to the kind of list management best practices that help ensure your mail gets delivered and past anti-spam filters and blocks.
Not to mention read and welcomed by recipients.
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One of the biggest problems cited by email marketers has nothing to do with the emails, delivery or customer response, but all to do with getting decent levels of support and interest from senior management. Hence this cartoon.
In this article, Karen Bannan gets a couple of execs to provide some handy tips on how to get visibility and buy-in for your efforts from CMOs and CEOs.
The folks from vendor Return Path offer up a simple list of potential problems identified through an analysis of your metrics, such as low open rates, or high clickthroughs but poor purchase numbers.
For each problem, they list one or more possible issues which might explain the trouble, for you to explore and deal with as necessary.
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Bill Nussey continues his one-man crusade to drive email marketing onward and forward.
In this article, he essentially describes how gaining permission is just the starting precondition for modern email marketing.
We should now be aiming higher - at building what he calls email brand value, based on a holistic, strategic view of email marketing as more than just a series of standalone campaigns.
That means engaging the customer through appropriate targeting and relevancy. Hear, hear.
If you want a checklist of things to do to improve your deliverability, this is pretty much it. A whole host of tips, suggestions and recommendations from Kirill Popov and Loren McDonald.
They cover such issues as permission practices, W3 standards compliance, list hygiene, ISP relationships, identity and reputation management, certification, testing and more.
A look at how a tea retailer went about creating a successful e-newsletter and building a list.
There's a nice bit about how they actually let subscribers determine the newsletter's contents. And important anecdotes about the difference between online and offline customers, and how this affects your approach to email content.
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And since we're on the topic (see below post), Jeanne Jennings has her own selection of tips and reminders to improve the value you (and your subscribers) get out of the list welcome message.
Welcome messages are low-hanging fruit, one of the elements of an email marketing strategy that often gets overlooked in the search for bountiful segmentation and other techniques. Spare some time to take another peek at those automated list management emails.
Nick Usborne is a name synonymous with (copy)writing for an online audience. In this article, he bemoans the fact that too many people think the "auto" part of autoresponder applies to the tone of the message rather than the means of delivery.
He then goes on to offer several tips to breathe life (and success) into these kinds of sequential emails. Particularly useful for those list confirmation and welcome messages...
Instead of taking pre-paid orders for temporarily unavailable products, eHobbies tried an alternative. They don't take the pre-order, but invite people to sign up for an email alert that goes out when the item is in stock.
As soon as the warehouse receives new inventory, this triggers an appropriate alert to go out immediately to relevant customers.
The article reports on the results and includes various insights about likely conversions, customer satisfaction issues (the main driver behind the change), benefits regarding supplier relationships and when not to use this approach.
This all fits in nicely with the idea of action-driven email marketing, as opposed to campaign-driven email marketing.
Brian Livingston follows-up his previous article on new email marketing laws in Michigan and Utah with a further assault on the underlying premise of the legislation.
As well as reinforcing his earlier criticisms, he also highlights the likely (high) costs to legitimate email marketers and reports on a teleseminar held on the topic by the Institute for Spam and Internet Public Policy.
Since the potential financial burden involved with compliance is so high, I'm sure we'll hear much more on this.
The case study essentially promotes a new vendor service, but I can forgive that since it's an interesting and innovative one, namely image personalization.
What that means is that images in the body of an email can be personalized just like the opening text salutation. So a photo of candy hearts, for example, includes one with the recipient's name on it.
The clever technology to produce personalized images on-the-fly is definitely worth a look and some creative thought. Only addendum would be to remember to design the emails to work for those who won't see images in their email client, as is increasingly the case. Very cool, though.
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The FTC drew up a list of 100 top retailers on the Internet, signed up for their email offerings, waited a bit, unsubscribed and then waited to see if they still got any email.
The results? 89% of retailers complied fully with the unsubscribe requests. This is described as a positive result by the FTC.
So 11% of top e-tailers still aren't fully obeying unsubscribe requests?
Given months and months of coverage and hoohah about Can-Spam, not to say email marketing best practices, I'd rate 11% as pretty disappointing.
Especially when you think of all the not-so-top retailers likely even less clued in to legislative requirements and the nuances of permission-based marketing.
Maybe before we complain about spammers, we should get our own houses in order.
This article looks at how legislation has added constraint on constraint to mass marketing and is forcing marketers to be more sophisticated, selective and relevant.
Included in the analysis is a look at the impacts of Can-Spam, with the general tenor of the article being that legal compliance is akin to applying basic best practices, and thus no bad thing really.
(Notwithstanding the occasional problem with legitimate marketers suffering from legal constraints because of ignorance, ineptitude or pure misfortune.)
A super article for the creative types. Author Mark Wyner goes into loving detail to describe his technique for ensuring the integrity of his HTML email designs based on CSS style tags.
He also describes the idiosyncracies (when it comes to handling CSS tags in HTML emails) of various email clients and web-based email systems like Gmail and Yahoo.
Excellent information for those looking to create nice-looking emails that look good across different clients and applications.
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UK consumer survey with insights into what people don't like in emails. Perhaps some implications for customer service and transactional emails in particular?
Seems it's probably not a good idea to end your order confirmation mails with a few kisses in a pink font.


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Water Access Licence Statistics
This information applies only to Water Access Licences under the Water Management Act 2000
Note: the calculation of Water Made Available may be affected by licences that have been cancelled or created part way through the financial year selected.
Disclaimer: The NSW Office of Water does not warrant the data is current nor does it warrant that the data or the data capturing processes are free from corruption or error.
Privacy: The information provided is limited to meet the requirements of section 57 of the Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998.
More information: Should you require further information or technical assistance, please submit your request to email@example.com or contact 1800 353 104.


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Breaking News
Hot links: The week in Middle East retail property newsHere's what local news sources are reporting about retail property in the Middle... — 06/28/2016
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Shopping Centers Today Iberoamérica is the leading magazine covering Latin America's rapidly growing retail real estate industry.
SCTWeek is the weekly update of breaking news in the retail real estate industry. This free newsletter is published every Friday.


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Review by: Brian Cross – Photos by: Diana Guay
After being forced to cancel their appearance on the Ensiferum tour last fall due to immigration problems, Sweden's legendary Hypocrisy finally made it back to the Worcester Palladium on May 28, 2010. And they brought some friends along for the "Long Time, No Death" tour…
The night opened with everyone's favorite pirate metalheads, Swashbuckle. It was their job to warm up the crowd, and they accomplished their mission using their trademark blend of thrash and humor. C'mon, how can you not love a band that dresses up as pirates, blasts the crowd with a wall of metal, and wraps everything up with ridiculous comments? Let's not forget the band's hilarious potshots at tourmates Blackguard, either. Of course, that didn't stop Blackguard
vocalist Paul Ablaze from joining the band onstage for Swashbuckle's new song "Raw Doggin' at the Raw Bar," which will appear on their new album "Crime Always Pays" due out later this year.
As you might've guessed, Blackguard were up next, marking their fifth performance at the Palladium. They never fail to deliver, even with all six bandmembers crammed on the Palladium's tiny upstairs stage. Montreal's finest extreme metal outfit played their hearts out, pulling fans away from the bar and into the circle pit. Blackguard is another band that's perfect for warming up a throng of metalheads; they have a new album on the way, too, and the new track "Farewell" was a welcome part of their set list.
Switching gears a bit, fans got their blackened death metal fix when Hate hit the stage. Hailing from Poland, the corpsepainted death dealers tore up the venue with tracks off their latest album "Morphosis," whipping the headbangers into a frenzy. Top that with some intense blastbeats and brutal riffing, and you ended up with one hell of a potent set. If these guys windmilled any harder, they would've created a hurricane.
Sweden's Scar Symmetry was the final opening act. The band has quite a fanbase in New England, if the stage-rushing crowd was any indication. Not many bands can pull off having two vocalists, but Scar Symmetry found the proper balance between clean vocals and death growls. Their take on melodic death metal pleased their fans in attendance, and it's a safe bet that they earned many new ones. In fact, it seemed that many members of the crowd came to the show just to see Scar Symmetry, even though they were just an opener.
After four impressive opening bands, it was time for the icing on the proverbial cake: Hypocrisy. The band's been around for two decades, so they had a lot of ground to cover. Many songs were taken from their most recent effort, "A Taste of Extreme Divinity," but past favorites like "God is a Lie" and "Let the Knife Do the Talking" managed to sneak into Hypocrisy's performance. The band's tightly integrated live performance has lost nothing over the years, with a death metal rhythmic assault that is tough to match. At the end of the night, Hypocrisy closed their set with a perfect encore: their popular alien conspiracy song "Roswell 47."
A wide spectrum of extreme metal was represented when Hypocrisy and friends hit the Palladium, and it's a safe assumption that they'll all be back again soon to provide solid entertainment for their legions of fans.
For more information on:
Swashbuckle :
Blackguard :
Hate : www.hatesatanic.org
Scar Symmetry : www.scarsymmetry.com
Hypocrisy : www.hypocristy.tv


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It's always cool to hear different versions of songs you love from the artists that did it originally. They have to change things up so they don't get bored. Here's the Offspring with Emily from a newer band called Dead Sara. It nice laid back version of the song. Check it out with a write up from Rolling Stone.
Return to: Kinard's Blog Blog


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[SMH | Text-only index]
Date: March 23 2013
Laura Linney is talking mistresses. Specifically political mistresses. ''I think there are a lot of them in every scenario,'' says the American actress who played the wife of one American president in the mini-series John Adams and is now the secret lover of another in the movie Hyde Park on Hudson.
''Whether you're talking about an American president, or leader of a foreign country, or the head of the company, people have liaisons all the time,'' she says.
''And people have long-term relationships that are deeper than friendships - a little more important, a little more profound - regardless of whether they are sexual or not. These relationships have happened since the beginning of time and will no doubt keep happening.''
Linney, whose warm vulnerability and intelligence on screen have earned her Oscar nominations for You Can Count on Me, Kinsey and The Savages, plays Franklin Delano Roosevelt's secret mistress Daisy Suckley in Hyde Park on Hudson. Bill Murray is the charismatic president juggling a messy personal life during a historic visit by stammering King George VI - yes, the one from The King's Speech - to seek US support for Britain weeks before World War II.
One of the movie's concerns is how public and private relationships have changed since FDR's liaisons were considered off limits and photographers politely avoided shots of him being carried or sitting in a wheelchair because of his paralysis from polio.
Linney believes the more open attitude to private matters is awful for most people. ''It's not just as far as relationships are concerned, it's also people with their children, people who are going through a hard time, if there's an illness or if, god forbid, an accident,'' she says. ''Reality as entertainment has taken on a whole other force and no one is immune - no one.''
Reality as entertainment was predicted, of course, in one of Linney's best films, Peter Weir's The Truman Show. ''Isn't that amazing,'' she says. ''How brilliant was Peter Weir to tap into all of that.''
In an acclaimed film, theatre and television career that also includes Love Actually, Mystic River and television's The Big C, the Juilliard graduate has also worked with Australian directors George Miller on Lorenzo's Oil and Ray Lawrence on Jindabyne.
''There's a delicious twinkle behind the eye of all of those directors and there is a fierce intelligence, which I love being around,'' she says.
To prepare for her role in Hyde Park on Hudson, Linney read Daisy's diaries and went to her home on the Hudson River. ''The letters and the diaries that were published gave you a sense of the voice and her cadence and the language she used in terms of affection and things like that.
''But the house was really incredibly beautiful. You go to this beautiful home, which is now a museum of her entire family, go into her room and seeing what she surrounded herself by was just incredibly helpful.
''She lived to be almost 100 years old. And she never married. But she woke up every morning to a large, large lithograph of FDR right across from her bed. Next to that was a vitrine filled with little knick-knacks that he had bought for her.
''FDR famously had a dog named Fala, a black Scotty, and the dog became symbolic of him and his presidency. And when I found out that Daisy was the one who gave him Fala that was a bit of information that took me back the most. I had no idea that his connection to Fala led right to her.''
Linney, who says she was an ''imaginative, shy but active kid'', learnt lessons from her playwright father that have helped her acting career.
''He certainly taught me early on what to look for, where to place my priorities and what makes a good story and why. He was a huge influence.''
So do these presidential and mistress liaisons still happen? ''I have no idea,'' Linney says. ''But I have to say that I love watching the Obamas together, more than any other presidential couple.''
Hyde Park on Hudson opens on Thursday.
This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited.
[ SMH | Text-only index]


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Warren Buffett on Banks, Newspapers, Ajit Jain, and Bitcoin
A recap of Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting and the always intriguing things Buffett had to say.
The Warren Buffett extravaganza is now over. The Oracle of Omaha discussed a range of subjects at
Berkshire Hathaway's
(NYSE:BRK.A) annual meeting, from his birth in November 1929 to what keeps him up at night. The media, shareholders, and analysts were able to ask Buffett and Charles Munger, Berkshire's vice chairman and Buffett's right-hand man, a variety of questions for several hours. Some of the tough questions that Quartz had wondered about came up during the gathering. This is what we learned:
1. On Newspapers:
Despite constant proclamations about the death of print media, Buffett is a fan of newspapers and bought more than two dozen of them over the last year. One of the meeting attendees asked Buffett a rhetorical question about whether there are other businesses with better rates of return than newspapers. That question drew applause.
Buffett said he expected his burgeoning print empire to earn a return of 10% after taxes, although he acknowledged that wasn't going to have much of an effect at Berkshire. But he has a soft spot for them, saying Berkshire wouldn't have made that kind of move for any other business.
2. On Coal:
Berkshire's biggest deal ever is still the $26 billion purchase of railroad Burlington Northern Santa Fe in 2009. At the time, it was a bet on coal and the transportation of it using Burlington tracks. But coal's popularity has fallen off since then. That hasn't hurt Berkshire, yet at least, since it has taken advantage of the natural gas boom in the US and the transportation of it.
Buffett said as a result, the gains from the railroad business represent "significant money." And he credits Burlington's strong performance as one of the reasons why Berkshire is the fifth most valuable company in the world. Applause, applause.
3. On Goldman:
Buffett famously saved
Goldman Sachs
(NYSE:GS) during the financial crisis, injecting $5 billion into the bank. As a result, he is now one of the bank's largest shareholders. At the meeting, Buffett said he believes the banks are stronger than they have been in years and are engaging in less risky behavior. He also noted that Berkshire is the "800 number" that is called when there is a market panic—that's when the "naked swimmers" turn to it for help.
4. On Buffett's Successor:
Given that Buffett is 82, one of the most critical questions surrounds his succession. Berkshire has made some moves recently that hint at longtime Berkshire lieutenant Ajit Jain possibly taking the helm after Buffett. Jain is in charge of Berkshire's insurance investments.
There were several questions that touched upon who will succeed Buffett, most of which he dodged. Buffett did say the issue of succession is the top topic discussed at every Berkshire board meeting, and directors are in agreement on who that person should be. But when asked directly if that person was Jain, Buffett just said Jain is "remarkable in a lot of ways." Munger also advised that his relatives in the audience shouldn't be "so stupid" to sell their shares after Buffett is gone, to which Buffett added, "That goes for the Buffetts, too."
5. And Most Importantly, on Bitcoin:
Munger said he had no confidence in bitcoin being a universal currency while Buffett said he didn't know about it. "I'll put it this way, of our $49 billion [in Berkshire cash], we haven't moved any of it to bitcoin," Buffett said.
This story by Gina Chon originally appeared on
More from Quartz:
The Worst Possible Cybersecurity Breaches Could Be Far Worse Than You Imagined
Sagging Demand for Exports Is Dragging Down Economic Growth Everywhere
Why 'Iron Man' Robert Downey Jr. Is on Sina Weibo but Not Twitter
No positions in stocks mentioned.


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Simple example of WaitScreen component
By lukas on Mar 07, 2006
Open Properties of the new SimpleCancellableTask and you can define Executable Method Body. The Executable Method Body is the code that will run on the background when the WaitScreen appears on the screen of the device. Note that the WaitScreen can end either with Failure or with Success. When the SimpleCancellableTask ends without an exception then it will continue to the Success screen otherwise it will go to the Failure screen.
I created a simple example that connect to internet and shows a price of a stock. I reused some codes from QuotesMIDlet.java
The main problem that found when I was creating the example was that the simpleShockPriceTextBox component is created and used in setNextDisplayable method of the WaitScreen before the data are downloaded from network. I had to add call of setString(...) of the showShockPriceTextBox at the end of the Executable Method Body of the SimpleCancellableTask. It updated the value correctly.
I tried a different approach before. I set showShockPriceTextBox=null and hoped that it will re-create the component again with the right values but it didn't worked in that way


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|Contact us by phone:
|(800) 309-1500
|Contact us by fax:
|(800) 436-2618
|Contact us by mail:
|Free People Direct
5000 S. Broad St.
Bldg 25
Philadelphia, PA 19112
|Contact us by email:
*You only need to hit send once, your message will be delivered!
You can also email us at email@example.com – we love hearing from you!
Page 1 of 0


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Pineapple sage is a lovely scented herb that has both medicinal and culinary uses. It grows as a tender perennial in zones 8 to 11, and is indigenous to Guatemala and Mexico. It gets its name from the mild pineapple fragrance of its green leaves. Taste-wise, it is not as strong as common sage, and adds a nice mixture of light sage and citrus to food and beverages.
In addition to its culinary and medicinal qualities, pineapple sage makes a beautiful addition to the garden, as it grows quickly into a shrub, from 3-5 feet. Hummingbirds and butterflies love this plant because of its scent and its red, trumpet-shaped flowers (which usually bloom in the south in August and later further north).
Cooking with Pineapple Sage
For some reason, you can't find fresh pineapple sage in grocery stores or supermarkets. Perhaps it's because many people just don't know how to use it. That's unfortunate, because it is as easy to cook with, as it is to grow. Those cooks who use it just grow it in their gardens.
Here are just a few suggestions for the culinary uses of this non-fussy plant.
• Roughly chop the leaves and add to pound cake. It adds a wonderful flavor.
• Use the more tasty younger leaves to flavor a tropical fruit salad.
• Instead of using common sage, add pineapple sage to lemon zest, garlic and butter to make a delicious poultry rub. You can also stuff the rub under the skin before roasting a chicken or turkey.
• Make a pesto out of it instead of using basil.
• Set the leaves on top of fish while baking or grilling.
• Steep the leaves in hot water for a delicious tea. You can also put the tea in the refrigerator for ice tea.
• Use it to make jam.
• Pineapple sage makes a great garnish for mixed drinks, and is a delicious ingredient to add to a piña colada.
• Add to vanilla ice cream for a tangy pineapple flavor.
• Make a salad dressing by combining pineapple mint, olive oil, and rice vinegar.
• For a fruity spread, mince the leaves and edible red flowers into cream cheese.
• Knead a handful or two of chopped leaves into bread dough.
• Dry the herb, stems and all, for use during the winter months.
Medicinal Uses
Many ancient cultures, including Greeks and Romans, used pineapple sage to treat indigestion, heartburn, and to balance the nervous system, usually administered in the form of tea as a general tonic. Traditional Mexican medicine still uses it to treat anxiety and lower blood pressure.
There is scant scientific research to support any of the medicinal uses, although a preliminary study showed the potential of pineapple sage having anti-depressant and anti-anxiety properties in mice.
There are so many uses for pineapple sage, that there simply is not enough room here to list them. Just use your imagination, and your pineapple sage plant will give you years of enjoyment.
Before using it in any form, make sure the herb in question is truly pineapple sage. Also, always check with your doctor to make sure that pineapple sage or any herb you ingest is not contraindicated for any condition you may have or for any medicine or supplements you may be taking.


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Been spoiled over the last several years and could just take my carry gun out and leave on it on the night stand.
Now My grand children have come to live with me. I was kinda worried about screwing with trigger locks or locking my gun in a safe every night . I read the reviews for this product on amazon. It sounded to good to be true. But this thing works great. Very quick and easy to open and close. Fits on the night stand. I've got 3 guns in it and 4 at night.
Amazon.com: BARSKA Biometric Safe: Sports & Outdoors


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Say It Ain't So: Thomas Lee Turns Cautious on Stocks
The notoriously bullish Thomas Lee is waving a warning flag regarding the stock market.
Lee J.P. Morgan chief equity strategist and a prominent stock bull, is recommending investors step aside in the short term and look to buy the dips in the months ahead.
"As this rally has matured, the risk/reward becomes less favorable as markets develop vulnerability to downside surprises," Lee wrote in a research note Friday morning. "We have reached that point this week, where incremental 'fresh money' will find better entry points in the first half of the year."
He's advocating some near-term caution and sees a "better entry point in the 1400-1450 range for the S&P 500, which could happen amid rising gas prices and the payroll-tax hike which appears to be crimping consumer spending.
"In other words, it is challenging to see the elements to support a big lift in equity prices from these levels," Lee says.
Stocks are rebounding Friday following the biggest back-to-back decline of the year. The Dow recently rose 36 points, or 0.3%, to 13919, after earlier advancing as much as 75 points Hewlett-Packard Home Depot and Bank of America are leading the blue chips higher.
The S&P 500 rose 6 points, or 0.4%, to 1508, although it's on pace to snap its seven-week winning streak.
While Lee is turning cautious in the near term, he isn't relenting on his longterm bullish forecast. Following some anticipated turbulence over the next few months, he expects a second-half rebound will lift the S&P 500 to his previously anticipated year-end target of 1580.
"The underlying elements to support the secular bull market remain inn place," he says. "Investors still do not trust equities and we see plenty of room for optimism to improve long-term."
But over the next few months, caution should prevail.
"We realize many of our clients do not like to be short-term oriented and our bigger picture is unchanged," Lee says. "But for incremental dollars, we prefer to fade strength short-term and would focus on higher-quality names."
–Kevin Kingsbury contributed to this post.
For more MarketBeat and other streaming markets coverage from The Wall Street Journal, point your mobile browser to wsj.com/marketspulse.


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text:
Social Work Jobs
What Kinds of Social Work Jobs Are Available?
Social work is an incredibly broad and diverse field; it offers an almost limitless range of career options. Social workers work in a variety of settings, including hospitals, non-profit organizations, mental health centers, schools, advocacy agencies, community organizations, and government offices.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, social work employment opportunities are expected to grow at a rate of 25% between now and 2020, which is faster than average. This means it's a great time to become a social worker. Demand will be particularly high for social workers employed in the fields of healthcare, substance abuse, and social services (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012-2013).
With a degree from an accredited school of social work, you can enter any of the following fields:
- Mental health services
- Military social work
- Adoption and foster care
- Family preservation services
- Child protective services
- Homeless services
- Hospital social work
- Health and wellness services
- Outpatient health services
- School-based social work
- Psychiatric hospital services
- Domestic violence services
- Services to persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities
- Services to older adults
- Faith-based services
- Advocacy services
- Grant management
- HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services
- Addictions prevention and treatment services
- Services for justice-involved persons
- Crisis intervention
- Hospice and palliative care
- Nonprofit management and support
- Community organizing and intervention
- Housing services
- Guardian ad litem
- Disaster relief


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The Weekly Reader is back. After a brief hiatus, the Reader has returned with a vengeance. As always, the roster of great reads brims with excellence. Enjoy.
Story of The Week ...
Gregg Williams: "Never
Doubted I'd Coach In NFL Again." The Tennessee Titans threw Gregg Williams a
career life preserver when they offered him a job on their defensive coaching
staff. Jim Wyatt, the fine Titans beat writer for The Tennesseean, says the excommunicated former Saints defensive coordinator has brought a swagger to the Titans' defense this offseason. Many of
Williams' comments will sound familiar to Saints fans. "Never, ever apologize for competing," Williams said. "We want to be as attacking as we can on defense. And we want to be able to set the tone against who we play against." And there's plenty more from the loquacious, controversial Williams.
More Sports ...
Why Sedrick Ellis Is A Good Fit For The Bears. The ex-Saints defensive tackle is happy to be in Chicago but he sounds like he's making excuses for his subpar play in New Orleans the past few seasons. Ellis: "This is the style of defense that caters to defensive linemen getting up the field and playing fast, which is what I got drafted for in '08," Ellis told NBCChicago.com. "The last couple years I haven't been able to do that as much, but now I have my chance."
Life In A Fishbowl Suits Pierre Thomas. The veteran Saints running back loves the Who Dat Nation but admits he enjoys getting away from the intense scrutiny when he can. "You really don't have much freedom," said Thomas, who isn't complaining. "If I'm here in Chicago, I have a chance to sit back and kick it with some friends. In New Orleans, there's none of that. I don't mind but it's constant. I don't have a chance to be myself and just have fun."
Feeling Mutual For
49ers, Seahawks. ESPN.com's Jeffri Chadiha on the NFC's newest - and
perhaps fiercest - rivalry: Seattle-San Francisco. Their bi-annual battles will be must-see TV for football fans.
Who Is Elfrid Payton? The basketball world hadn't heard of Elfrid Payton before last week. Then the Gretna native and John Ehret product lit up the tryouts for USA Basketball's 19-under team, which will compete in the FIBA world championships this summer.
Aaron Rodgers Talks Success, Pressure And Life In Green Bay. By and large, I'm not big on Q&As, but this one by the Green Bay Press-Gazette with Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers was excellent. Rodgers admits money has changed him (not the way you think) and even admits he shops at Piggly Wiggly.
Browns New Brain Trust Has Turner And Little Else To Lean On. Since the Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009, Cleveland Browns fans officially replaced the Who Dat Nation as the NFL's most tortured fan base. And if this ominous story by Jason La Canfora is accurate, their frustrations will continue in 2013.
Off the field ...
Silicon Bayou Rising: New Orleans' Drive To Be The Next Great Tech City. New Orleans' post-Katrina ambition to become the Tech hub of the South has been well documented. This TheVerge.com story tries to advance the narrative by answering two important questions: Can the Big Easy remake itself as the Silicon Bayou? And if so, how will that change the city?
The Night Tony Soprano Disappeared. Late actor James Gandolfini was seemingly as tortured as the character he famously played on "The Sopranos." GQ correspondent and New Orleans resident Brett Martin takes us inside the haunted minds of Gandolfini and the show's creator David Chase in this fascinating GQ feature, which was adapted from Martin's forthcoming book "Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution, from "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" to "Mad Men" and "Breaking Bad," scheduled for release July 3.
Booz Allen, The World's Most Profitable Spy Organization. Few Americans had probably ever heard of Booz Allen before one of its employees Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the wiretapping procedures of the NSA. Bloomberg introduces us to the McLean, Va.-based company that reported $5.7 billion in revenues last year thanks largely to government contracts.
Whatever Happened To The Jerky Boys. In 1995, The Jerky Boys starred in their own feature-length movie and were nominated for a Grammy Award. Then almost as suddenly as they appeared on the scene, they vanished. Matt Caputo of Maxim.com chronicles the spectacular rise and fall of Johnny Brennan and Kamal Ahmed aka The Jerky Boys.
Behind Cry For Help
From China Labor Camp. A desperate man imprisoned in China's labor camps
issues a cry for help via handwritten notes he secretly hides in packages of
Halloween decorations. Years later a mother of two 5,000 miles away in Oregon
discovers one, leading to reform albeit a slow, resisted one.
John McPhee, The Art Of Nonfiction, No. 3. "A Sense of Where You Are," McPhee's fascinating profile of Princeton basketball star and future U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, was one of the first sports books I read. In this Q&A with McPhee by longtime New Yorker writer Peter Hessler for the Paris Review, we gain insight into the McPhee's legendary writing process and how he picks the subjects for his books and stories.
Unnatural Disaster. An infuriating story about how mortgage lenders are strong-arming the victims of the Moore, Okla., tornado. New Orleanians can unfortunately relate to this one.
Short stuff ...
Overzealous Recruiting, Part I: Kentucky sent 115 handwritten notes to a QB recruit in a single day.
Overzealous Recruiting, Part II: Kentucky (Noticing a trend here?) also offered a scholarship to a 13-year-old defensive back.
A Perfect Fit: New Saints tight end Benjamin Watson already loves New Orleans.
Bolivian Justice: Villagers bury alive a man suspected of raping and murdering a local woman.
Why Tipping Should Be Outlawed: My friends in the service industry might recoil but the author constructs a solid argument.
The Next Drew Brees?: Purdue commitment David Blough has a lot in common with the Saints star quarterback.
Books vs. E-Readers: The death of the printed word has been greatly exaggerated according to research by Matthew O'Brien of The Atlantic.
Jeff Duncan can be reached at email@example.com or 504.826.3405.


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Board of Game and Inland Fisheries Meeting
Wednesday, February 6, 2008 - 1:00:00 PM
The Board of Game and Inland Fisheries will meet and intends to hold a closed session for the purpose of addressing personnel issues, including possible consideration of candidates for the position of Director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Any possible selection of agency director would be conducted by Board action in open session following closed session deliberation. Beyond such possible open session action, the Board does not plan to discuss other matters or conduct additional business in open session.
Listen to this meeting
|Entire Meeting
The above audio files require Flash Player to be installed on your computer. It is available as a free download from Adobe's Web site.
Note: if you are deaf or hard of hearing, the Department will provide a transcript of any of the above meeting segments. Please e-mail or call (804) 367-9231 or (804) 367-1000 for V-TDD.


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pygtkconsole pygtk tutorial update
By bnitz on Aug 24, 2006
OpenSolaris Nevada build 46 contains GNOME 2.14.x, python and pyGTK. The pyGTK tutorial has an example of a program which lets you play with Gtk widgets from the python console. Unfortunately the example is based on an earlier version of pyGTK in GNOME 2.14, this should work:
>>> import pygtk >>> import gtk >>> w=gtk.Window() >>> b=gtk.Button('Hello') >>> w.add(b) >>> def hello(b): ... print "Hello, World!" ... >>> b.connect('clicked',hello) 6 >>> w.show_all()Python is pretty cool, but some of the bindings aren't necessarily write once, run everywhere yet.


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UMB is making some enhancements to its online banking service. These enhancements are the result of feedback and suggestions weve received from YOU. The enhancements include paperless statements, upgraded bill pay, extended support for Money and Quicken products, and more.
Click Next to see what's new and different in UMB online banking.


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You are viewing only positive comments
I ordered two minarettes - one plum, the other pear. Both arrived extremely well packaged and in excellent condition. The free 'guide' proved to be a fairly sizeable book - I would ahve considered buying this if I had seen it in a bookshop. The book was full of information about ALL types of fruit growing, with details on root stock, feeding etc. It gave me confidence.
Added to this I received 12 strawberry runners free as well. Although in a plastic bag, these were in good condition, and did not look as though they had spent too long hanging around (no yellow leaves or soft premature shoots).
I would certainly buy from them again.
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