text:
WTI Crude Oil Prices Are Expected To Remain Relatively High Through At Least 2001
Sources: History: EIA; Projections: Short-Term Energy Outlook, May 2001.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI)
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View graphic version
As we just saw, one of the primary factors impacting gasoline price is the crude oil price.
This graph shows monthly average spot West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices. Spot WTI crude oil prices broke $36 per barrel in November briefly as anticipated boosts to world supply from OPEC and other sources did not show up in actual stocks data.
Crude oil prices are expected to be about $30 per barrel for the rest of this year, but note the uncertainty bands on this projection. They give an indication of how difficult it is to know what these prices are going to do.
Also, EIA does not forecast volatility. This relatively flat forecast could be correct on average, with wide swings around the base line.
With the EIA forecast for crude prices staying high this year, gasoline prices can be expected to remain high.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Current Weather: Holland, MI
- Clear sky
Pianist Adam Clark will present a faculty recital at Hope College at 7:30 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
Dr. Adam Clark, Assistant Professor of Piano, will present a solo piano recital. Dr. Clark received his bachelor's degree from the University of California Santa Barbara; his masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and his DMA from the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
This concert is open to the public and free of charge.


text:
Step Up Your Tailgating Game with These 10 Recipes
These are as easy to make as they are to pop in your mouth. You'll love this spicy, crispy starter.
Recipe: Jalapeño Poppers
This is no ordinary sandwich; each element gets a little extra love, elevating it to spectacular.
Recipe: Sassy Tailgate Sandwiches
Petite But Powerful: Grills for Small Spaces


text:
The Curse of the Blitz is a phenomenon that occurs whenever a person repeatedly misses something unbelievably awesome by walking out of a room full of people. It is unclear whether the person's presence/absence is the determining factor in these events. What is known is that it is more than just coincidence and the curse can be passed from one person to another.
Man1: Dude, right after you left the room, the laws of physics disappeared and the laws of awesome, tripled.
Man2: Aw, man...
Man 1: It's the Curse of the Blitz, dude.
Man2: Aw, man...
Man 1: It's the Curse of the Blitz, dude.
by rhastings88 November 28, 2010


text:
Location: Food Safety and Intervention Technologies Research
Project Number: 8072-42000-073-00-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Jan 6, 2011
End Date: Jan 5, 2016
The overall goal of this project is to determine the inactivation kinetics for foodborne pathogens suspended in foods treated using nonthermal process interventions (e.g., ionizing radiation and high pressure processing). 1. Determine gamma radiation D10 values of foodborne pathogens in ground meat and poultry with emphasis on a genetically-diverse set of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC). 2. Determine the effect of product temperature on the radiation resistance of foodborne pathogens suspended in ground meat and poultry products with emphasis on Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC). 3. Determine the high pressure processing inactivation kinetics of foodborne pathogens in ground meat and poultry with emphasis on a genetically-diverse set of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC).
Non-O157 serovars of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are now responsible for over 60% of STEC induced illnesses. The majority of illnesses caused by non-O157:H7 STEC have been due to serovars O26, O121, O103, O45, O111, and O145 which are now considered adulterants in beef and beef products by USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). Currently, there are two non-thermal intervention technologies being used to inactivate foodborne pathogens internalized in ground meat and poultry products, viz., ionizing radiation (IR) and high pressure processing (HPP). There is little data on the use of these technologies to inactivate these emerging STEC in food products. Recently, the use of IR for treatment of meat at non-refrigeration temperatures was approved by the FDA. There is little or no data available to describe inactivation kinetics for foodborne pathogens suspended in raw meat, which can now be irradiated at non-refrigeration temperatures. In addition, there is little information available regarding the association between genetic markers, attachment and aggregation, Shiga-toxin production, virulence factors, antibiotic resistance, etc. as relates to the ability of IR, HPP, or other intervention technologies to inactivate the STEC. The goal of this research is to improve development and validation of intervention technologies, in combination with metagenomics, to provide regulatory agencies the necessary information to complete new risk assessments for foodborne pathogens. We want to know if STEC virulence makes any difference when trying to kill them, and do regulatory agencies and industry need to make policy changes for use of intervention technologies?


text:
"When I was a little girl I used to read fairy tales. In fairy tales you meet Prince Charming and he's everything you ever wanted. In fairy tales the bad guy is very easy to spot. The bad guy is always wearing a black cape so you always know who he is. Then you grow up and you realize that Prince Charming is not as easy to find as you thought. You realize the bad guy is not wearing a black cape and he's not easy to spot; he's really funny, and he makes you laugh, and he has perfect hair."
Taylor Swift (born Taylor Alison Swift in Reading, Pennsylvania on December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician, and actress. Starting her career in 2006, Taylor released her debut single "Tim McGraw" along with her self-titled debut album, which went on to multi-platinum after a stellar debut. In November 2008, she released her second album, Fearless, and earned four Grammys, including Album of the Year. In 2009, Taylor was the involved with Kanye West's famous MTV VMA stunt, interrupting Taylor's win for Best Female Video to declare Beyonce's "Single Ladies" to be superior to Taylor's winning video for "You Belong With Me." She followed her success with her third album Speak Now on October 25, 2010, selling over a million copies in the first week. In 2012, Taylor released her fourth studio album Red, which sold 1.21 million units in its first week! She has been listed in the 2012 Guinness Book Of World Records as the Fastest Selling Digital Album by a Female Artist for her album Speak Now, and Most Simultaneous U.S. Hot 100 Hits by a Female Artist. She also appeared in films as an actress, starring in the 2010 romantic comedy Valentine's Day and in the animated feature The Lorax in 2012. Taylor released her fourth album, Red, in 2012. In 2014, Swift's sound made a complete transition to pop, and she released the pop/synthpop album 1989 in October. It sold over a million copies in its first week of release, and Swift began a worldwide tour for the album in 2015.
Best Known For:
Taylor is best known as a singer-songwriter, releasing such hits as "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," "Blank Space," and "Shake It Off."
Personal Life:
Her string of A-list dudes includes John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal, Joe Jonas and Taylor Lautner, many of whom she's written songs about post-relationship. Taylor's relationship with One Direction member Harry Styles is the subject of Swift's single "I Knew You Were Trouble." Taylor began dating EDM star Calvin Harris in March 2015, but they broke up 15 months later, in May 2016.
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text:
TO BORDER ☞ F'hain, Xberg and Mitte
숙박 가능인원4
침실 수2
면적49 m²
Floor No.0
- 수건
- 부엌
- 인터넷
- 가족 / 아이들과 친근함
Accommodation summary
|Frieden Straße, 10249 Berlin, 독일
|Acceptance rate
|Response time
|A few hours
|Calendar updated
This apartment offers the ideal base for your stay .. Centrally located and nevertheless very quiet opposite the Volkspark Friedrichsahin where you can also make a Pickinick in fine weather (picnic basket and blanket can be found in the apartment
In just a few tram stations (2) or walk (about 15 minutes) you reach Alexanderplatz from where your places such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, Checkpoint Charlie, Berlin Cathedral, Museum Island can explore
Free Wifi / WLAN
The 55 m² apartment consists of 2 rooms +Bathroom and kitchen
Room no. 1:
- Box-spring double bed (2 pers.)
- On request Cot
Room no. 2:
- 2 single beds (2 pers.)
For absolute darkness exterior shutters can be lowered electronically
Microwave, coffee maker, kettle, toaster, pots, pans, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, iron,
with the TV you receive many stations (BBC / TV5 In the whole house Wifi / WLAN is available.
towels, shampoo, hair dryer, first aid kit
For your stay in Berlin you will find diverse information material in the apartment.
there are two supermarkets ALDI or EDEKA these are located only about 300 meters away.
Bed linen is included.
The apartment is for you exclusive use.
A picnic box + Pickinick ceiling are at your disposal if you want to make your time in a beautiful Volkspark Friedrichshain.
I am always available to you from the booking inquiry to the keys during the stay of you .
You have your own key to come and go as you want to.
At 11:00 CHECK OUT is, so we can prepare the apartment for the next guests.
The apartment is located opposite the Volkspark Friedrichshain / middle of the city.
Distance from the apartment:
- 350 m >>> Edeka supermarket
- 350m >>> Aldi Supermarket
- A number of good restaurants are in Bötzowviertel which can be reached on foot in 10 to 15 minutes.
Berlin has an excellent public transport system (AB). So that you can usually reach in 15 minutes drive or a few stops all Berlin sights.
30m >>> bus stop: "Weinstr". (Bus 142)
350m >>> tram stop: "Platz der Vereinten Nationen" (M8, M5, M6)
350m >>> tram stop: "Am Freidrichshain" (M4)
- Tegel Airport: 45 minutes / Taxi
- Schönefeld airport 45 minutes / Taxi
- Central Station: 18 minutes by tram
숙소규정Thank you very much for booking my apartment.
It is very important that the house rules are upheld and followed.
1.Smoking in the apartment is strictly forbidden .
2.Please respect the neighbours in the house. This means no parties in the house between the hours of 10pm and 6am.
3.Parties are not allowed at all in the apartment.
(website hidden) is forbidden to do illegal downloads from the internet.
I reserve the right to to terminate the booking immediately if there is any violation of the house rules without any refund from the booking price.
There will be a charge of 20 euros for the loss of a set of keys.
Enjoy your stay in Berlin
|1 명 이상시 가격
|1980131 ₩ 1박당/
|Check-in before
|환불 규정
Dear Heliodor,
At first , thanks or the nice comment. I have to say, what comes around, goes around. You offered us a very nice and convenient appartment, situated a a very nice spot. The welcoming coffee and drinks were great. Appartment is really good, even for a family with 2 kids ( reminder). Thanks for the hospitality and good luck.
Danke sehr, es war fabelhaft im Berlin.
This hotel apartment was good value for money, neat and practcal. It was only 2 stops with trams (M5,M6 or M8) from Alexander Platz. These trams arrive so frequently you rarely have to wait more than 5 minutes. Also at the tram spot there is a supermarket. Owner was very friendly, highly recommended
Michael and the apartment made our trip over berlin much easier and helpful
Right from the start michael waited to welcome us with open hands.
The apartment was clean and arranged very nice (exactly like in the pictures).
He helped us with information that we needed and from that moment he didnt disturb us to continue with the jurny.
The apartment location is very good in mitte district.
5 min tram from alexander platz and from berlin center.
Iam sure that i am going to see michael again soon..:)
Thanks allot- and enjoy your time in berlin..
Very pleasant stay in Berlin. The apartament was clean and full of comfort. The home owner was on time at the moment of our arrival. I suggest this flat!
We weren't a couple, we were 4 guys and our stay (3 nights) in this apartament was really uncomfortable. When we arrived there, we could see that the floor was very dirty and behind the beds its better dont say nothing because its too nasty. The household and kitchen utensils were dirty too. And finally the apartament was full of spider. We reported to the owner the first night and he said that in second day he would go to the apartament...so we are still waiting him.
Die Wohnung war super central gelegen.Der Park vor der Tür, die guten Einkaufsmöglichkeiten und die Verkehrsanbindung(5min.mit der Strassenbahn zum Alex) waren super toll.Wir sind super nett in Empfang genommen worden bei der Ankunft und haben viele Tips bekommen für kostenloses Parken und gute Lokale.Auch in der Wohnung war vieles vorhanden, wie zum Bsp.Handtücher,Kaffee und Grundausstattung an Gewürzen.Für uns geht der Daumen hoch und wir werden nicht das letzte Mal Gäste bei Heliodor gewesen sein.In Vorfreude auf die nächste Reise sagen wir DANKE für eine tolle Woche.
Die Souterrain-Wohnung ist soweit in Ordnung. Allerdings ist der hintere Bereich des Esszimmer und gerade auch das Bad etwas schmudelig und teilweise renovierungsbedürftigt. Eine Mikrowelle und ein Toaster wären noch wünschenswert. Das Boxspringbett ist sehr, sehr weich. Der Nachbar über der Wohnung war über die 3 Nächte leider nachtaktiv und gut am Poltern. Die Lage der Wohnung ist gut...
Die Wohnung liegt super zentral, nur 2 Haltestellen vom Alex entfernt. Es handelt sich um eine Souterrain Wohnung, wodurch diese jetzt im September oft recht dunkel und kühl war. Wir haben die Heizung angeschaltet und dies funktionierte sofort. Insgesamt mit 4 Betten ausreichend Platz für 2 Erwachsene und 2 Kinder. Der vermieter ist sehr nett, zuverlässig und es hat alles gut geklappt.
Für meine Familie war aber die vernachlässigte Sauberkeit etwas problematisch. Es wurde zwar sauber gemacht, aber leider nur sehr oberflächlich. Sobald man einen Stuhl verstellte fanden sich Wollmäuse und unter den Betten sah es nicht besser aus. Hier sollte der Vermieter nachbessern.
L'appartamento è perfetto per un soggiorno a Berlino la casa è finemente arredata dotata davvero di tutti i comfort, io e le mie compagne di viaggio ci siamo stupite nello scoprire tutte le piccole accortenze che il proprietario aveva lasciato per noi come il cestino da picnic e una coperta perfetti per passare qualche ora nel bellissimo parco proprio di fronte casa. La posizione non è centralissima ma le fermate del bus e del tram sono a pochi minuti a piedi. Grazie al proprietario per la sua gentilezza e cortesia.
- 확인된 숙소의 품질
- 모든 호스트는 전화로 입증되었습니다.


text:
Hello guys i cant find this Brush in my Photoshop cs3!
any can help me!!
here's the actual image of the brush I'm asking for...
here's the link
Try to view it in my twitter account!
You mean you don't see the panel displayed that way? Have tried to reset default brushes? (click on the arrow to the right of the diameter field and reset brushes).A snapshot of what you see might be helpful!Another point to remember is that not all the brushes are available by default in Photoshop.
if you want to upload new brushes out of Photoshop default brushes, then you need to select brush and make upload then you can bring thatto add to your PH,,,
You can find it directly in your photoshop toolbar just click the brush and scroll down.
IN Photoshop all brushes are disclosed in toolbar menu so you can find from toolbar. If you can't find then may be your Photoshop version is not properly installed so try to re-install it.
Your version of photoshop might doesn't have this brush. If you want to use this brush install the new components and this brush.
Well, you don`t have that brush just because it belongs to ILLUSTRATOR not photoshop


text:
Town Square
Skelly signals retreat on $150K PR officer for PAUSD
Original post made by Curious, Fairmeadow, on May 12, 2013
Just two weeks ago, Skelly told the board that the PR posting had attracted several strong candidates. He indicated that two Board of Education trustees would be involved in the final round of interviews and selections. See Web Link.
Skelly said that the district might be able to find a communications director sometime in "the future." The existing notice for the position expires on May 31.
Skelly's statement followed by three days a closed session with the Board of Education to consider his performance. Skelly is scheduled to have another day-long, seven-hour performance review on June 19.
The school board voted to hire a PR officer in the immediate aftermath of the news in January that Superintendent Skelly failed to notify the school board that he had signed a settlement agreement with the US Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. The agreement came after OCR found that the district violated the civil rights of a disabled child.
According to the posting, the PR officer was to "promote a community climate of support for the district" and "cultivate" stories in media that portray the district in a positive light."
The school board's decision to hire a PR officer was met with strong public criticism. Former Paly principal Sandra Pearson wrote in a public letter to the school board that she was "puzzled and dismayed" by the board's decision and invited board members to seek input from teachers on more appropriate uses of $150,000. See Web Link.
The Weekly reported that former school board candidate Ken Dauber told the school board that "The district doesn't have a PR problem, you have a reality problem," and suggested that the $150,000 be devoted to a wellness center at Gunn recommended by a teacher-parent committee. See Web Link.
The Weekly also editorialized against the PR officer, and many community members have criticized the board's decision in online postings and at school board meetings.
Comments (16)
a resident of another community
on May 12, 2013 at 11:52 pm
Curios - Thank you for your on-going follow up and reminders! Some argued that some or all the issues you address are water under the bridge. Seems to me that many keep their initial take about anything. Some do not want to be "confused by the facts". Some are hoping that the issues you mention are just margins, do not reflect anything else. Some think those issues are just the tip of the iceberg. I happen to be reminded of Pandora boxes.
There were many suggestions by those who agreed with the great editorial about systemic issues, as to the way to address these issues. Impartial investigation was mentioned many times. It was clear to me quite a while ago that it was not about to happen, fast. That was the reason that had me address Ken Dauber calling to form Shadow Board. An unusual suggestion, I agree. Understatement. I could not think of any other way to start and collect information ASAP. Recent threads indicate possible trust Mr. Dauber gained. Shadow (anything) is, by definition, formed by the opposition. I thought that a clear ongoing statement was called for, until hopefully some type of formal commission will be formed. A symbolic statement and action. I thought that even if by the end of day no formal commission or other legal action will be take place, no loss here - info being collected by a trusted community member. There may be other ways out there. I was very surprised to see the number of views my open address had prior to my recent reminders about it. link to my open address: Web Link
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 13, 2013 at 2:42 am
Dear Ms. or Mr. Curious:
I am also curious about why our Superintendent, Dr. Kevin Skelly, seems to be constitutionally incapable of being honest with himself or with residents of Palo Alto whom he is supposed to be serving.
I am curious as to why every time the option for him to remove himself from his position (namely resign) is mentioned in these comments the comment has been removed by the editor. It seems like it would be the easier softer way for Dr. Skelly to get on with his life and for our district to move on in a more positive direction. Unfortunately, It is appearing more evident that PAUSD must rid itself of its highest ranking official. He has not been serving anyone except himself (at a huge salary of 278K I might add). He had his contract extended last year at that huge compensation level without telling the Board or anyone else (if you believe that Camille Townsend didn't know which some people have intimated in these comments she may have known) about the Letter of Finding from the OCR. This would be grounds for immediate termination in the world outside of PAUSD. Please, dear editor, leave the resignation suggestion intact. We cannot afford to have Dr. Skelly bring our district down deeper in the mud nor can we afford to pay out the cash settlements that seem inevitable if these OCR violations continue to pile up. This is quite enough. Enough is plenty as my Grandpa used to say when I was a child.
And what to about the board? It seems like there will come a time very soon when the board will implode or sink into a mass of jelly on the floor because of their spinelessness. [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.] It is true that some residents say that there is nothing wrong with PAUSD and that, in fact, it used to be considerably worse "pre-Skelly". I did not live in the district pre-Skelly but it is hard to believe that it could have been much worse.
To all reading this comment: Please come to the presentation this Thursday evening at the Ohlone School from 6-8 where representatives from the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will answer all of your questions. I hope that Dr. Skelly and the school board will attend and particularly Camille Townsend who says she wants more "clarity" on what bullying is. Camille, this is a perfect opportunity to get all the answers you need to do your job. I hope you can make it!
@not curious: this would be your perfect opportunity as well to verify once and for all your point of law referenced in an earlier and related thread.
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on May 13, 2013 at 8:08 am
I am relieved to at least learn that Kevin Skelly is having performance reviews by the board. Actually, since the board has protected him so much throughout all of these scandals that he has caused, the board is probably the least qualified to give him a review.
[Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Duveneck/St. Francis
on May 13, 2013 at 9:02 am
PAUSD: do not hire a "communications officer," PR flack or whatever you want to name this ridiculous, unnecessary, costly position, now or in the future when some think it can be done quietly.
a resident of University South
on May 13, 2013 at 9:34 am
Finally a sign of sanity, if true.
Hey Weekly, it looks like someone is taking you to school on how to do some reporting on the PAUSD beat. How about some followup on this story?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 13, 2013 at 4:03 pm
I agree, curious is doing a great job. I notice there's been nothing on last week's Newsweek release of the best public high schools.
Paly 161
Gunn 583
Web Link
Poway is 317!! Looks like Skelly's old district is doing much better without him...
a resident of Adobe-Meadow
on May 13, 2013 at 8:43 pm
If Kevin Skelly wants to be successful he should reach out to Community members who he refuses to speak to and mend fences. He should reach out to CAC and WCDB in particular. He is responsible for building bridges and he has acted like he didn't care. We have an involved, smart parent body and that should be seen as an asset not a problem. Dauber in particular has been constructive on the homework committee and with data analysis and is a very nice and well respected man. I am sure he would be happy to collaborate yet Skelly refuses to even acknowledge him at board meetings which is pretty rude. We're not paying him to hold a grudge. We don't need PR we need new bridges.
a resident of Charleston Gardens
on May 13, 2013 at 10:32 pm
Dauber is only interested in getting his own way. That's the prime reason he came last in November. Hardly someone who's interested in collaborating. [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on May 13, 2013 at 11:13 pm
@Who's that trotting....
Who do you think is "only interested in getting his own way" in our district? It's the one and only Dr. Kevin Skelly. His way is clearly not the way that will benefit our students as evidenced time and time again by his missteps and downright deceptions.
The truth of why Mr. Dauber decided to throw his hat into the ring is that he genuinely cares about creating a better social/emotional landscape for ALL of our students. He is smart, he is sensitive and he is a great collaborator. I don't know where you got your information from (perhaps the Baten/Caswell and Townsend camps?). He was smeared from head to toe in part by the powers that be because they didn't want the public to have the benefit of a transparent PAUSD Board and senior adminstration. I have noticed that Mr. Dauber posesses much more intelligence than many who hold board or adminstrative positions (watch him in action sometime or better yet have a dialogue with Ken...you may be impressed!). Perhaps the agenda was to keep Melissa, Camille and a newby who has thusfar appeared to be very ineffectual (Heidi) on the Board so that the shenanigans of Dr. Skelly would never come to light. The most ridiculous reason for not revealing that we were in violation of federal law (OCR citing)was according to Kevin "I was too embarrassed" Kevin won't even honor parents who ask questions at meetings that make him squirm. He just says, "next" and moves on to the next question. How's that for collaboration?
a resident of Barron Park
on May 13, 2013 at 11:28 pm
I have a dream, that one day Palo Alto school officials including principals, teachers, and secretaries will treat "all people and students with the same respect, no matter what color of skin, how much money they or their parents donate, whose kids are they, or how smart or disable they are. I know it is just a dream, and will stay like that till we have new people who work just on the benefit of all students not on trying to make parents happy. By working for the students most parents will be happy, but mainly our students will thrive and not end up in mental institution, jail, or dead by suicide. It is time to make the change now, no more violation of student's rights nor discriminating parents. Time to move for a change.
a resident of Charleston Meadows
on May 14, 2013 at 7:54 am
@Also Curious!,
Let's see how curious you really are. You might also consider looking into who sourced the lawyers in the recent case. Quite illuminating.
a resident of Gunn High School
on May 14, 2013 at 8:24 am
During the election, Caswell and Townsend were wholeheartedly in favor of transparency and accountability. Since the election, Dauber (and others, including the Weekly) has called repeatedly for a public investigation and public discussion of the systemic issues in these cases. Caswell and Townsend have been completely silent in response, opting instead to go along with Dana Tom's efforts (frustrated now twice) to discuss these issues only in closed sessions.
I'm tempted to use the word "lapdogs" to describe our school board, except that lapdogs at least get up and wander around occasionally. Our trustees remain firmly planted on our Superintendent's lap.
a resident of another community
on May 14, 2013 at 4:56 pm
@Curious - Thank you!! Please, continue to provide information and reminders. Your posting, above, was extremely helpful. The new info as to PR position, and reminders listing past relevant links - the letter Sandra Pearson sent to the board, for example.
Many wrote prior that knowledge is power. Thank you for paying attention to important details and taking the time to share.
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 15, 2013 at 12:10 pm
I don't doubt the sincerity of Mr. Dauber's concerns. However the saying, "No broken glass and no dead bodies", escapes Mr. Dauber in his methods of communicating and other actions. That is what has hurt him over time.
a resident of South of Midtown
on May 15, 2013 at 12:35 pm
Much more damaging to Mr. Dauber, so far as I can tell, have been vague accusations like this one without any substantiation. That reached a crescendo in the election, aided by folks like Mandy Lowell who spent time and money on the project.
I don't doubt that some people do feel wounded, however. I'm reminded of Truman's saying I read recently, "I don't give them hell. I give them the truth and it feels like hell."
I don't want elected officials who think it is their job to ensure the comfort of those they are supposed to be supervising.
a resident of Crescent Park
on May 15, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Yes enough character assassination on Ken Dauber! Why are we even talking about Ken Dauber? He ran, he lost. In light of what's happened since I wish I had supported him but that's water under the bridge. Why don't we talk about Kevin Skelly, Charles Young and the gang that can't shoot straight over at 25 Churchill. [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]
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Cherries and Berries
By Laura Stec | 4 comments | 435 views
Meeting Other New Parents
By Cheryl Bac | 0 comments | 146 views
One more week to vote!
Don't forget to cast your ballot online. Voting ends May 29th. Stay tuned for the results in the July 21st issue of the Palo Alto Weekly.


text:
this is on their website, does it make any sense to someone who understands the science?
"How does BEE SHIELD™ work?
The properties of BEE SHIELD™ prevent viruses from being able to enter the cellular structures of the bees by not allowing the viruses to attach to the cellular walls of the bee. It doesn't allow pesticides to be able to enter into the bee's cells due to its ability to bind to such reactive elements. BEE SHIELD™ works by preventing the protein capsule of a virus from being able to communicate with the glycoproteins or carbohydrate antenna of the cellular membrane of an organism. This prevents cellular uptake of the virus in the form of endocytosis, a process of which introduces the single-stranded DNA and double stranded RNA into the cellular mechanisms of the cell. This does not allow for viral take-over of the organelles in the cellular matrix, stopping viral reproduction"
Here is what I understand from the above. Think of a virus as a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. and it can only attach to a cell if it fits exactly just like any other jigsaw puzzle piece. A virus must attach to a living cell in order to become "Alive" and multiply. Now this is where the puzzle piece analogy begins to be inadequate. But imagine a typical piece of a puzzle that has two coves and to tongues in order to fit the surrounding pieces of the puzzle. If I had a piece of the puzzle I never wanted to fit I could simply fill in one of those notches or coves. or even slightly change the shape of it and the intended piece of the puzzle will never make an exact fit. and an exact fit is the only thing that will do.
In this case the fit is a match of proteins. or maybe it is easier to think of it as a chemical match. What it sounds to me is that they think they have found a way to alter the chemical make up of the cells in a honey bee so that the chemical makeup of the viruses will no longer fit.
Another way to think of it is in comparison to sugar and water or oil and water. the molecules found in water and in sugar are such that they will connect to each other. but the molecules found in oil and water will not. They are trying to make the bees cells and the virus like water and oil.
How realistic that is I will not comment on.
Everything gets darker, as it goes to where there is less light. Darrel Tank (5PM drawing instructor)
It looks like Robert Russell has started a new business
That mechanism is the cure for the common cold, some forms of cancer if initiated by a virus (HPV and cervical cancer come immediately to mind) perhaps even HIV, in my poor uneducated opinion : )
[QUOTE=rwurster;983115]Old Timer, the only person on BeeSource who's opinion matters to me, whether it be graftless queen rearing, beekeeping, or pointing out snake oil salesmen...
Cheers mate
John Sampson-Tucker County, WV
Starting over. >Back up to 9 hives! All cutouts and swarms.
guess who is scheduled to speak at the montana beek association next month. send your list of questions you'd like me to ask. and i'll try to get a sample.
Yes i know its been awhile since I have posted on here i apologize i have been extremely busy and havent had the time to respond and please provide Justin with questions that I will gladly answer and Dave Wick who has been running samples for me will also be there to eplain what the tests are showing, and I will provide names of who is using it and the results they are getting then your going to really freak out when I say I'm working on a natural foul brood treatment and that it works with flying colors, but hey its hard to have light penetrate a closed mind, but that hasn't stopped me yet so please hit me with the best of what you got and have it ready for the show cause i will be ready for it thank you for your inquires
" foul brood treatment and that it works with flying colors" beeshield
You navy guys will need to help us a bit, our bees are going to have flags.
Julysun elevation 23 feet. 4 Hives, 2 years.
We have only treated AFB so far, I am here in Montana at the moment heard of some new diseases for bees, (Great) found in the gut I will post more when I have more information on it
We evaluated the antagonistic effects of newly identified lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, originating from the honey stomach, on the honey bee pathogen, Paenibacillus larvae. We used inhibition assays on agar plates and honey bee larval bioassays to investigate the effects of honey bee LAB on P. larvae growth in vitro and on AFB infection in vivo. The individual LAB phylotypes showed different inhibition properties against P. larvae growth on agar plates, whereas a combination of all eleven LAB phylotypes resulted in a total inhibition (no visible growth) of P. larvae. Adding the LAB mixture to the larval food significantly reduced the number of AFB infected larvae in exposure bioassays. The results demonstrate that honey bee specific LAB possess beneficial properties for honey bee health. Possible benefits to honey bee health by enhancing growth of LAB or by applying LAB to honey bee colonies should be further investigated.
Dave Wick is an expert on virus. I would like to know what he has to say. Why not post it here or have him post. He's a member.Dave Wick who has been running samples for me will also be there to eplain what the tests are showing
Cam Bishop
The treatment was very successful and we have two different beekeepers using this formula now and feedback from one has shown the same results, the other is just about a week and a half in trials from this date and is documenting results please email me firstname.lastname@example.com and I would be glad to discuss with you the results and how and why the product works
light can neither emanate nor penetrate a closed mind-George Sims
I'm still waiting for you to post Dave Wick's information.
Cam Bishop
> light can neither emanate nor penetrate a closed mind-George Sims
The comment above was in the body of a post, not the signature line. That made me wonder who George Sims is. It appears he is one of those "marketing motivator" types. More info here:
If you want to add an automatic "signature" to your posts, that can be done in the "Settings" tab at the very top of each page.
USDA Zone 7A Elevation 1400 ft


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I am a new beekeeper this year and just got through constructing all the hives and honey supers.
As a disclaimer, I have read a lot and done a couple of different searches on this bulletin board and others.
One thing that there seems to be some disagreement on is whether or not to paint the inside of the hives. The Langstroth Beehive diagram on BeeSource has a statement that indicates all parts of the beehive should be painted (outside, inside, and edges). Most of the advice I have seen on this bulletin board seems to indicate that everyone thinks this is a bad idea. I even saw one posting claiming that it could be harmful to the bees to paint the inside of the hives. And of course, there are also people who dip their hive bodies in various liquids (wax and wood preservative are the ones that I have seen).
Does the woodware last longer if you paint all surfaces?
Do the bees find it objectionable to live in a painted hive?
What do you personally do and why?
I have already built and deployed my hives for this year - therefore this is more out of curiousity than anything else. If you are interested, I decided to paint only the outside surfaces and the edges of the hives.
Thanks for the information and advice.


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New web application crawler
I am about 60% done creating a new web application crawler. My goal is not to replace Nikto or any other tool for that matter, but I am more thinking about an application that we can use in the reconnaissance/information gathering phase.
So far, all my prototypes have been successful. Some of tasks it performs are already done by existing tools, and I know that. My goal is to put some of these existing functionalities plus many new ones in one single tool.
It will hae a GUI and a command line interface. Could be multi-threaded later if people like it. Finally, I will give it for free!
So here are the tasks it can/will do against a web site:
- Create a wordlist
- Find all emails, telephone numbers, fax numbers, etc
- Find names and guest possible usernames based on email address
- Find broken links
- Create a site structure
- Display robot.txt file details
- Find typical html files
- Identify all forms
- Search for login screens
My questions are:
1) What else would you find useful from a tool like this?
2) Output format from the command line version?
I want to launch a usefull tool. Not a script or two...
Thanks for you comments!
(aka H1t.M0nk3y)


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Once a year, full-time appointed staff/faculty and hourly union employees have the opportunity to make enrollment changes for the Medical/Rx/Dental plan as well as the Vision plan.
Open Enrollment is your once-a-year opportunity to make changes to your current benefit election. This is the time to review if you want to maintain your current coverage, which family members you are including on your health plans, which plan you want. The open enrollment brochure distributed in May includes information regarding any changes to benefits or costs of the benefit plans. Changes you request during open enrollment will take effect July 1 . The plan year begins on July 1 and continues through June 30.
Please be aware that decisions made during Open Enrollment are generally binding for the entire plan year. An individual may not make any changes until next year's Open Enrollment period unless he or she has a Qualified Life Event (e.g., marriage, birth, adoption, etc.) and notifies the Human Resources Office of such a change within 30 days from the date of the qualifying event.
All new elections must be received by Human Resources no later than June 10, 2016.
The College will again be providing employee only coverage at no cost to the employee.
2016-2017 Benefit Guide including rates.
2016-2017 Enrollment or Change form
Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC)
Albion College Employee Benefit Plan Document:
Detailed information regarding how our welfare benefits plans are administered.
403(b) Plan Summary Document:
Detailed information regarding how our TIAA-CREF 403(b) retirement plans are administered.
Life Insurance Provider and add-on benefits:
Our life insurance provider is The Principal Financial Group
Federal law allows for a "continuation" of coverage for specific periods of time (18 to 36 months, depending on the reason for continuation) when a covered employee or covered dependent loses medical or dental plan coverage due to:
*End of employment *Death *Divorce *A child losing dependent status
Health plan expenses for a mastectomy shall also include charges for the reconstruction of the breast on which the mastectomy has been performed, surgery and reconstruction of the other breast to produce a symmetrical appearance, and prostheses and treatment of physical complications relating to all stages of the mastectomy, including lymphedemas. Coverage shall be provided in a manner determined in consultation with the attending physician and the patient.
The Albion College Employee Benefit Plan (Plan) maintains a Notice of Privacy Practices that provides information to individuals whose protected health information (PHI) will be used or maintained by the Plan. If you would like a copy of the Plan's Notice of Privacy Practices, please contact the Human Resources Office.


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Learn the keys to success based on the personal experience of experts and veterans of the music business. Instruction, advice and guidance designed to provide you with the tools to make it in the music business of today and tomorrow.
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Armstrong's Virtual Center for Teaching and Learning (VCTL) supports faculty and instructional academic staff in their roles as teachers and teacher-scholars. It aims to promote excellence in teaching by making virtual programming, resources, and consultation available to Armstrong's faculty.
Goals of VCTL
- Facilitate the sharing of the pedagogical knowledge available in research on teaching and learning, through the expertise of faculty and instructional academic staff and the wider USG System
- Provide resources that lead to understanding and use of documented best practices in teaching and learning
- Offer programs and resources that engage faculty in reflections and discussions that encourage purposeful, informed pedagogy


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Skip to Content
If you are seeking a world-class educational experience within a vibrant, Christ-centered learning community, Cedarville is the place for you. Step up to the challenge of our arts, sciences, professional and graduate programs, and achieve more than you ever imagined. Be challenged and transformed by professors who are experts in their fields and invest their lives at Cedarville to mentor and guide students like you.
Cedarville is equipping K–12 teachers with an online graduate reading endorsement.
A full semester teaching experience with significant exposure in both special education and early childhood education settings. The student teacher will work under the supervision of cooperating teachers and university supervisors in each field. Seminars encourage reflection upon the teaching experience and discussion of issues of importance to educators.


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"Corruption is an insidious plague that has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies. It undermines democracy and the rule of law, leads to violations of human rights, distorts markets, erodes the quality of life and allows organized crime, terrorism and other threats to human security to flourish. Corruption hurts the poor disproportionately by diverting funds intended for development, undermining a government's ability to provide basic services and discouraging foreign aid and investment."
- Kofi Anan, 2004, United Nations Convention against Corruption.
Preventing and combating corruption requires a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach. Based on recognition of this fact, Member States negotiated the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which covers five main areas: prevention, criminalization and law enforcement measures, international cooperation, asset recovery, and technical assistance and information exchange.
As the sole, legally binding universal instrument against corruption, the Convention holds great potential as a framework for the prevention of, and fight against corruption. Furthermore, as the backbone for national and international anti-corruption initiatives, it promotes the implementation and application of common standards and best-practices.
ARAC was established to promote and develop the capacity of the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, in Central America and the Caribbean; providing technical assistance to States Parties, and facilitating training in the areas of prevention and the fight against corruption.


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So first off here is a picture of my planet:
That picture might be a bit big but you get the idea... So the planet has it's heights generated on the shader using perlin noise and so it can change in real time. However, it is clear that the scale is all wrong. I need an adaptive quad tree to achieve good looking terrain at space, atmosphere and ground levels. The only problem is... I don't know how to fill the quad tree with the data.
How is the vertex data stored in a quad tree and split? Splitting the quad tree is one thing but splitting the data is another.
My implementation is done like this article - http://acko.net/blog/making-worlds-1-of-spheres-and-cubes/
I create the sphere from a cube by normalizing it. So this brings me on to another problem: I'll need 6 quad trees to split my planet up. One for each face. How will i extract the planes to subdivide them from vertex data?
My last question is how do i actually fill the quadtree with the data. Most examples on the internet all use things such as Ogre/Irrlicht/D3D and i haven't seen any detail on how to do this in OpenGL. Some source code would be a great help. If you require any of my source code to answer just comment and i will attatch it. For example - How could i change this to hold vertex data - https://github.com/veeableful/Adaptive_Quadtree_Minimal Thanks in advance.
A video of the shader noise generation can be seen here:
Edited by Vangoule, 28 January 2013 - 10:42 AM.


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Mix it Up
As regulations tighten, utilities striving for optimum water quality are turning their attention to the distribution system.
It is in the distrubution system that even the highest quality water leaving a treatment facility can significantly deteriorate before reaching customers. Stored water can become stagnant and stratify due to factors such as underutilization, shortcircuiting, pipeline distance and size, solar heating, and inlet/outlet pipe configuration. Under these conditions, especially in the thermally isolated upper layers, water ages and can completely lose its disinfectant residual, the final barrier that prevents bacterial regrowth and protects consumers from waterborne illness. Despite today's advanced treatment and disinfection technologies, water utilities are discovering that the simple process of mixing is a cost-effective way to maintain the highest possible quality water in storage facilities.
Public water distribution systems store larger-than-normal volumes to provide for peak demand, pressure regulation, fire protection and other emergencies, and future growth. Often daily volume levels do not fluctuate more than 5% to 10%, leaving underutilized tanks with poor circulation. Those who designed traditional storage facilities with common inlet/outlets were unaware of the impact of mixing.
Impact of Regulatory Changes
Historically, regulations focused on treatment plant effluent quality with only limited requirements for quality testing in the distribution system. This changed significantly in 1996 when the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was amended to establish more stringent requirements for pathogen removal, including maximum levels for harmful disinfectant byproducts (DBPs). Recent major rule changes include the Stage 2 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Proposed Rule and the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. Together these changes are compelling water utilities to find more effective ways of controlling microbial contaminants while reducing disinfectant byproducts.
Consequently, many utilities are shifting from chlorine to chloramine disinfection because chloramine residuals are more stable and tend to form fewer DBPs. While more cost-effective than upstream removal of DBP precursors, chloramine disinfection has introduced its own problems because as it breaks down it forms ammonia. Naturally occurring bacteria thrive on that excess ammonia.
Lack of mixing also creates conditions favorable for nitrification in chloraminated systems, i.e., warmer temperatures and loss of disinfectant residual to control bacterial regrowth in the upper layers. If caught early, onsite addition of hypochlorite often can prevent full nitrification. If not remedied at the earliest stages, nitrification can result in:
- Further reduction or complete loss of disinfectant residual throughout the entire storage volume
- Elevated bacteria levels requiring a public boil water alert
- Loss of consumer confidence.
More severe events may require tanks to be taken out of service for cleaning at a high cost to the utility. Even when nitrification is caught on time, pumping or pouring straight hypochlorite solution into a problematic tank can increase DBP levels.
While preventing nitrification is the primary reason for reservoir mixing, water utility operators also understand the importance of preventing stagnation. Any tank showing loss of disinfectant residual poses an imminent threat to water quality and unnecessary risk to public health.
A Simple Solution
Costly new treatment facilities are limited in addressing water quality deterioration when the cause is the reservoir itself. Mixing to eliminate stratification and ensure uniform distribution of disinfectants is a viable and effective long-term strategy to control residual loss and associated nitrification. Further, mixing reduces the formation potential of DBPs and can therefore help utilities stay ahead of the upcoming EPA Stage II regulations. While mixing is not on the regulatory horizon, more and more states are recommending a mixing system for all new and rehabilitated tank projects as a best management practice.
Mixing systems are classified as active and passive. Passive systems use the momentum of influent water through directional nozzles to mix. Active systems are powered and sized to deliver a specified mixing performance.
Active systems provide the operational flexibility to accommodate any chemical addition to the tank if needed to boost residual levels, any time of the day or night, without sacrificing storage volume for fires and other emergencies. Giving operators control over mixing in the storage reservoirs, where today most rely upon normal demand and nighttime pumping operations, is a key driver of active mixing technology.
Mixing is a simple, cost-effective, sustainable way to manage water quality in reservoirs, and reflects a shift in thinking toward optimal use of chemicals already in the system. Lightweight submersible reservoir mixing systems can effectively reduce the amount of chlorine-based disinfectants needed while maintaining the highest quality and consistency of water delivered.
Jason Oppenheimer is vice president of marketing for PAX Water Technologies Inc., San Rafael, Calif.


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School children pay special tribute to Lord Nelson - Friday, 16 October 2009
Schoolchildren will discover the history behind the Nelson monument – the historic landmark that's guided sailors safely to shore for two centuries – as part of Fort Nelson's Trafalgar Day commemorations on Wednesday, October 21.
Youngsters from Northern Junior School, in Portchester, will mark the 204th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar by laying flowers at 11am.
Horatio, Lord Nelson, has held a special place in local people's hearts for over 200 years – and his monument stands proudly on Portsdown Hill, opposite the Royal Armouries Museum at Fort Nelson. The monument was paid for by public subscription – including large donations by many of his men.
Royal Armouries' education officer Tony Parry said:
"Lord Nelson was truly loved by his own men. When he died, grown men were crying their hearts out. The monument was funded by public subscription and many sailors donated sums of money that were equal to a year's wages at the time.
"Portsdown Hill is an ideal place to locate the monument as it stands like a beacon which is visible in most weather conditions, even at night, and guides sailors safely into Portsmouth Harbour."
The Trafalgar Day service, held jointly with The Nelson Society, will be conducted by a Naval Chaplain from HMS Collingwood and will include a minute's silence, honouring the 204th anniversary of the Admiral's death at the Battle of Trafalgar. This year also marked the 251st anniversary of the birth of Lord Nelson on 29 September 1758.
Youngsters will also receive a talk from the Nelson Society's Jane Smith, who will explain the history of the monument and hand out information sheets.
They will then enjoy a programme of Trafalgar Day activities at the Fort, including craft sessions to make naval hats, and mock battles.
Meanwhile, the Royal Armouries is marking the day by using a uniformed crew of sailors to fire a recently restored 12-pounder gun, of the kind used on board HMS Victory.
As well as the gun firings at 12 noon and 3pm, the Fort will stage presentations marking the life of Lord Nelson, the Battle of Trafalgar and other great events in British Naval history.
Museum entry is free and there is a whole range of attractions throughout the day, designed to appeal to young and old alike.
Media contact
Joss Loader
Primary PR Ltd.
Tel: 07838 379599
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Notes to editors
Reporters and photographers are welcome at the wreath laying ceremony at 11am (or at the craft sessions – please contact Primary PR to fix a time)
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson houses the national collection of historic cannon and big guns. The museum houses one of the world's finest collections with over 350 cannon dating back over 600 years. The collection originated at HM Tower of London and has been on display in Hampshire since 1995.
- The Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson also tells the story of the Palmerston Forts, built to protect Portsmouth from a feared French invasion in the 1860's.
- Every day, visitors can see one of the big guns fired in salute, watch our resident actors bring to life characters from 1,000 years of history, explore secret underground tunnels and enjoy incredible views from the ramparts. An extensive programme of special event spectaculars takes place throughout the year.
- Fort Nelson is open every day except 24-26 December. April to October 10am –5pm (Wed 11am-5pm), November – March 10.30am – 4pm (Wed 11.30-4pm).
- Admission to the Royal Armouries is FREE.
- Admission charges apply to some events.
- Information line: 01329 233734
- Website: www.royalarmouries.org
- Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
- The Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour with sites at Fort Nelson, Leeds, HM Tower of London and Louisville, Kentucky, USA.
- The Royal Armouries Museum should not be confused with Royal Armouries International plc, the private sector corporate hospitality business.
Download the PDF press release.


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"Cornerstone's consumer insights, deep understanding of pop culture and ability to translate that into strategy and innovative ideas is unrivaled"
— Geoff Cottrill —
GM of Brand & Segments at Converse
Built on the belief that simply reaching the consumer is not good enough, you must inspire
Multi-disciplinary since day one, clients rely on our ability to Create and Amplify with consistent relevancy
Ideas That Redefine. Stories That Inspire. Strategy That Integrates. Positioning That Connects. Content That Influences.
Connecting Through Social. Building Immersive Experiences. Securing Strategic Editorial Coverage. Mobilizing Influential Communities. Delivering Trusted Talent Relationships.
It started with music
A love for it
A deep respect for the craft and its history
The ability to forecast and uncover "what's next"
The experience of developing the strategies that would introduce and create some of music's most iconic acts… Notorious B.I.G., Blur, Kanye West, The Strokes, Outkast, to name a few… organically grew into a global agency that's relied on by brands to credibly position them.


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Customs clearance Can you ship to my country Do I need to pay tax What is the warranty More help
For Mercedes Benz SLK-Class R171 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
Good news: 2015 map are available now
Most of the countries map has been updated to the 2015 newest version, we can offer free dowload link to our customers who want to update the maps. Customers, who ordered the Car GPS DVD from us, please contact us for the 2015 latest version map.
IGO map (IGO 9 Primo ),
for North America (United States, Canada and Mexico), update to 2014
for the whole Europe (including Russia and Turkey), update to 2015
for Brazil and Argentina, update to 2014
for Australia and New Zealand, update to 2015
for Isreal, update to 2015
for Middle East, update to 2014
Navitel map
for Russia, update to 2015
for Kazakhstan, update to 2015
for Kyrgyzstan, update to 2015
for Georgia, update to 2015
for Uzbekistan, update to 2015
for Tajikistan, update to 2015
for Azerbaijan, update to 2015
for Turkmenistan, update to 2015
Unique Selling Point
1. Original user interface design
3. Multilingual interface menu, 14 kinds language optional: English, French, Spanish, Deutsch, Norwegian, Italian, Greek, Russian, Indonesian, Turkish, Lithuanian, latvian, Czech, Portuguese
4. Start screen can show your car logo.
5. Support original car steering wheel control
6. Support bluetooth phonebook contact name. In the market, the others units only can show you the call number when a call coming, but our unit can show you the contact name. It is very convenient for you to know who is calling.
7. USB port at the front panel
8. Support HD video resolution of 1024*768
9. Support outside 500G hard disk
10. Support MP5 playing
Free Gift :
1. Special high quality rear view camera ( night vision, waterproof, shockproof, reversing distance reference line)
2. 8 GB SD Card with free map. Map is available for the following country:
America: USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Chile, Argentina, Costarica, Colombia, Uruguay, Bolivia, Dominica, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, Guyana, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Europe: the whole Europe ( including Turkey, Russia, etc.)
Middle East: Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates
Asia: Brune, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand
Oceania: Australia, New Zealand
Africa: South Africa, Egypt, Lesotho, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana
Customers from other countries still can have 8 GB card as gift but without map.
Key Features:
◆7" digital Touch screen DVD player with 800 MHZ CPU and 256 M RAM, Hight resolution 800*480 HD monitor
◆Compatible with DVD/VCD/CD/MP3/MP4/AVI/DIVX/CD-R/WMA/JPEG format playback and E-book function
◆Original factory panel design, no gap after installation, original wire harness and plug compatibility, you do not need to cut any wire of your car.
◆Support original car steering wheel control, with CAN-BUS box, Your car original steering wheel control will still work on our unit
Digital TV is optional ( If you need, please go to page top to choose digital TV function in Product Option Box. Built-in DVB-T(Mpeg 4), Built-in ATSC and Built-in ISDB-T are available.)
◆Built in FM/AM Radio, support RDS
◆Support IPOD function
◆Auto rear viewing function, can go to rear view camera function automatically when your car in reverse gear.
◆Built in GPS navigation system with dual zone function: (listening music while in navigation mode)
◆Built-in Bluetooth for hands free call, dial keyboard, support phonebook funciton with contact name.
◆2 SD slots: one for GPS map, one for music and multimedia entertainment.
◆1 USB jack in the front panel
◆Audio/Video input (1 video, 2 audio R/L), Audio/Video output (1 video, 4 audio FL/FR/RL/RR), Camera input.
◆TMC function is optional ( click here to know what is TMC )
◆Support outside 500G hard disk
◆Built-in Amplifier
◆Built-in Time and Calendar
◆Electronic & mechanical anti-shock system
◆Button light: orange
◆OSD language: English, French, Spanish, Deutsch, Norwegian, Italian, Greek, Russian, Indonesian, Turkish, Lithuanian, latvian, Czech, Portuguese
GPS Navigation Software Information:
◆WinCE 6.0 CORE
◆GPS Resolution Output: 800*480
◆Support map:IGO,Route66,TomTom,PolNav,etc.
◆Map Language optional: Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian
Question: How can I update the map in future?
◆The map we offer for most of the countries is the 2015 version map, the newest map till now. The map can't be upgraded. The way to update the map is to download new version map from the link offered by us yearly. We can offer the link to our customers for download the new map for free if the map companies come out with new version map every one or two years.
(1) Power cable: 1 harness with CAN-BUS box
(2) GPS antenna: 1 piece
(3) IPOD cable: 1 piece
(4) USB cable: 1 piece
(5) RCA cable: 1 harnes
(6) User manual: 1 piece (in English)
(7) Screws for installation: 1 set
Optional accessories:
Outside box + Gift box + Interior foam
Warranty: 1 year
Menu System Show


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Dann-Messier Finds High Quality in Nashville
OVAE Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier visited Hillwood High School and Nashville State Community College, both in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 16. She moderated panel discussions with secondary and postsecondary educators, business and industry advisory board members, workforce development staff members, parents and students. They discussed education and the economy and gathered information on the development of career academies, including the strategies used to overcome a variety of challenges. Dann-Messier also shared information about the administration's proposal to reauthorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. The proposal aims to increase the relevance and rigor of curricula so that they align more closely with the demands of the 21st century economy and its workforce needs while strengthening linkages between secondary and postsecondary education.
Dann-Messier visited Hillwood High School and Nashville State Community College because their programs implement the types of standards that high-quality programs should meet. By discussing with these institutions the realities of establishing and operating their programs, the Department continues to gather insight it can then apply in refining its efforts to transform CTE programs throughout the nation. The connections between business and industry and the high school academies of Nashville, such as the one at Hillwood where health sciences are featured, have resulted in internships for students and externships for teachers. The participating businesses have found that getting to know students as potential employees, gaining access to well-trained students for involvement in projects, and watching students learn through internship experiences are valuable investments for them. Student interns have benefited from learning, gaining experience and meeting people. Best of all, students have become mentors and provided opportunities to younger students. For example, a graduate of Hillwood is employed by a local business where he now provides job-shadowing opportunities for Hillwood students.
New Procurement Opportunity
OVAE is seeking a contractor for the new procurement Open Education Resources (OERs) to Support Adult Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) Teaching and Learning. This 36-month requirement, ED-VAE-12-R-0023, seeks to advance OVAE's understanding of these emerging technologies and instructional models and to build capacity in the adult education field to utilize OERs for science and mathematics instruction. The Department is currently engaged in market research to identify potential offerors, clarify OVAE's requirements, and remove barriers to maximize competition. Interested parties are invited to participate in a webinar on March 5, 2012, at 2:30 p.m. ET, when the Department will share its vision and goals for the procurement. Please RSVP for the webinar to Colin Alleyne by 2 p.m. ET on Friday, March 2, 2012, at firstname.lastname@example.com. A draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) and Invitation to Submit Capability Statements are available on www.fbo.gov.
New Database Provides Economic Security Data for Families and Older Americans Across the Country
Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW) has unveiled its new Economic Security Database, which provides comprehensive information on the costs for families and older adults to cover their most basic expenses, including housing, food and transportation. Self-sufficiency is one of the optional performance measures in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV). This new tool puts data from official sources at the fingertips of vocational educators, who should find it useful in counseling students and evaluating success in preparing students for high-demand jobs. Specifically, the Basic Economic Security Tables™ (BEST) Index and the Elder Economic Security Standard™Index (Elder Index) are comprehensive measures at the city, county and state levels of the incomes that workers and retired adults of different family types need to achieve economic security.
Additional information, including a step-by-step guide to using the database and the slides from a recent introductory webinar, is available on WOW's website. Those interested in learning more about integrating WOW's data into their work or who have any further questions are invited to contact Emily Wilson at firstname.lastname@example.com or 202-464-1596
Second Round TAACCCT Grants Competition Announced
On Feb 24, 2012, Vice President Joe Biden, Dr. Jill Biden and Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced the second round of the Trade Adjustment Act Community College and Career Training Grants (TAACCCT) program. The announcement was made at the last stop of Dr. Biden and Secretary Solis' Community College to Careers Bus Tour at Davidson County Community College (N.C.), one of nine community colleges in a funded TAACCCT consortium. TAACCCT funding of $500 million from the Department of Labor will help institutions deliver education and career training programs that can be completed in two years or less and are suited to workers eligible for training under the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Workers Program. Grants of $2.5–3 million will be awarded to individual institutions, with grants of $5–15 million available for consortia of institutions.
Proposal requirements include: 1) an evidence based design to improve education and employment outcomes for students, 2) stacked and latticed certifications, certificates and diplomas to increase opportunities for students to earn postsecondary credentials relevant to industry, 3) applications of technology, including online and technology-enabled learning, to teach content to students, 4) cooperation among institutions both within and across state lines enabling transferability and the development of articulation agreements (including building bridges from noncredit to credit-bearing courses), and 5) strategic alignment of the program to industry, the public workforce system, and educational institutions. Partners may include adult education agencies, CTE agencies and postsecondary education agencies. Applications are due by 4 p.m. May 24, 2012.More information about the solicitation may be found here


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Active Holidays
Our active holidays feature special interest outdoor pursuits such as cycling and walking holidays as well as active adventure holidays that incorporate a host of activities such as whale watching, snowmobiling, jet boating and sailing into a touring itinerary. We also offer experience led activity holidays like dog sledging in Lapland or Greenland.
In many respects New Zealand is an ideal destination for a cycling holiday - its uncluttered roads and great hospitality are complemented by mile upon mile of superb scenery. Our New Zealand cycling holidays range from 5-9 nights or can be combined to make a longer holiday. The trips are very flexible because you can choose how far you cycle each day along back country roads and quiet trails. For this reason also, the trips are suitable for cyclists of varying experience and ability.
Iceland and New Zealand in particular with their varied landscapes and natural wonders offer wonderful walking trails of a few minutes to several hours and these are perfect to incorporate into a fly drive holiday. However, if you are looking for extended walking options off the beaten track and multi-day hiking trails amidst some of the finest scenery in the world then our walking and hiking holidays are for you. You can choose from 3-5 days hiking trails in the company of a knowledgeable guide to extended multi-centre trekking holidays.
In Australia you can create your own active adventure on a tailor made holiday incorporating any number of activities such as hiking, cycling and diving. We can also offer small group active touring combining sightseeing and culture with action adventure.
Travelling by dog sled leaves you in no doubt of the part of the world you're in. This exhilarating method of transport is an excellent way to experience the pristine, snow-covered landscapes of Lapland and Greenland. Our Lapland husky sledging holiday gives you the opportunity to drive your own team across the frozen wilderness, while on the remote east coast of Greenland where the terrain is more rugged you can sit back and relax as the driver guides his team across the snow.
You do not have to be super fit to enjoy these holiday, but a reasonable level of fitness will make for a more enjoyable holiday.


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Story highlights
- Running of the Bulls in Pamplona has attracted more tourists in recent years
- Event generates enormous publicity for Pamplona
- Four people injured on first day of this year's bull run
Some call it courage, others madness.
Still others attribute it just to excessive alcohol.
Whatever their motivation, thousands of daredevils from across the globe were on the streets of Pamplona, Spain, on Sunday testing their nerve by sprinting through the city streets in front of six huge, charging bulls.
Risking injury at the horns of a frantic, three-quarter-ton creature may not sound like everyone's idea of a pleasant vacation.
Yet the legendary, centuries-old Running of the Bulls in Pamplona -- part of the annual San Fermín Festival -- has attracted more and more tourists to this small, northern Spanish city in recent years.
What's the attraction?
There's no longer a practical need to herd the bulls through the city streets to the bull ring in the center of town.
The frenetic race is maintained because it's fantastic publicity for Pamplona, as well as one of the world's most memorable tests of bravery and agility.
Amazing and scary
So, what's your chance of injury?
Not as high as the fearful-looking contest might suggest.
On the first day of this year's bull run, among the thousands of runners, only four were treated for injuries.
But maybe they're counting themselves lucky, showing off their bruises as a mark of courage.
After all, it's a sign they almost certainly weren't hiding in a doorway as the bulls thundered past.


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The Best and Worst of Jim Carrey
by Lizerne Guiting
If there's one thing we've come to expect from Jim Carrey, it's physical comedy genius. His signature schtick flaunts a manic, frenetic portrayal of characters; he's arguably the founder of his own genre. His latest film, Yes Man, inspires us to take a look back at his top 5 hits--and 5 he should have said no to. Starting with the worst...
Worst of Jim Carrey #5 - Fun with Dick and Jane
Let's be honest. This goofball parody on Enron wasn't that bad—just forgettable. It seems the characters were created for the robbery scenes rather than the story itself. Remember the Sonny (Tea Leoni) and Cher (Carrey) costumes? How about Carrey's robotic dance number accompanied by sound effects from his voice changer? Yep, the film had its moments.
Worst of Jim Carrey #4 - Me, Myself & Irene
Critics threw Carrey another mixed bag for this Farrelly brothers-directed film about a state trooper with a split personality disorder. Carrey couldn't save the film with his outlandish physical humor, nor could he quite convincingly pull off the personality changes. The outrageous gags and humor are sporadically spread, but the overall movie lacks the novelty of Farrelly fare.
Worst of Jim Carrey #3 - Batman Forever
Easy on the eyes there, buddy! Why Carrey would don a green leotard with question marks and dye his hair red to further his career is beyond me. He definitely let loose with the boisterous role; however, his co-stars weren't as well-received. After getting over the glitz of the colorful costumes, the film runs through the superhero formula with no real suspense. With so many other better Batman films to boot, this one remains Forever low on the totem pole.
Worst of Jim Carrey #2 - The Cable Guy
This black comedy—like Carrey's character—tried too hard to be liked. Then newbie director Ben Stiller took a nice shot at risk, but missed the mark. Moviegoers thought they'd be getting Carrey in a good-guy, likeable role. Instead, his cable guy persona comes off as incessantly needy, annoying and deranged.
Worst of Jim Carrey #1 - The Number 23
Kudos to you if you sat this one through. Just last year, an intriguing marketing campaign shrouded Carrey's film in mystery. What was so compelling about the number 23? Apparently, not much, since the film garnered a pathetic 8% rating on RottenTomatoes.com; the critics agreed. They called it a convoluted, inept thriller, and found more ways to bash it with puns on the title. Ouch!
Now, on to better days...
Best of Jim Carrey #5 - The Truman Show
A man's life is broadcast around the world without him knowing. Leave it to the media to do anything for high ratings. What Truman does in what he believes is the privacy of his own home make for some funny and tender moments. As he figures out his world is a giant studio set, Carrey's determination to break free has us cheering for him the whole way through.
Best of Jim Carrey #4 - The Mask
Imagine a mask that can bring out the crazy alter ego in anyone's personality. Carrey plays a wimp who happens upon the mask when he's on the verge of committing suicide. It transforms him into a cartoony character with green face paint and Chiclets-sized teeth. What's truly amazing is Carrey himself. No need for a magical mask when he's got a plastic face and a flair for zaniness.
Best of Jim Carrey #3 - Bruce Almighty
Carrey flexes his comedic muscles in this laugh-inducing film about a TV reporter aspiring to make it big. With endowed omnipotence, he can part his red soup, walk on water and answer prayers—when he's not busy fulfilling his own requests. He just can't make people love him. Carrey struck a balance between thought-provoking and funny. Auds liked it so much it spawned the sequel Evan Almighty, but its lackluster performance at the box office is a testament to its missing variable: Jim Carrey.
Best of Jim Carrey #2 - Dumb and Dumber
This runner-up spot was a close call. Harry and Lloyd antics live on in the annals of buddy film history for producing gut-busting, cry-your-eyes-out laughs. Carrey perfected Lloyd Christmas' gormless, chip-toothed grin and carried out absurd, implausibly stupid humor, putting a stamp on the Farrelly bros' directorial debut. We dare you to keep a straight face through the scene with the dead bird and scotch tape, or the Turbo Lax scene!
Best of Jim Carrey #1 - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Carrey superbly plays Joel, a heartbroken man who undergoes a procedure to erase memories of his wild and impulsive ex Clementine (Kate Winslet). While reliving his memories before they fade, his desire to remember her is rekindled and he attempts to foil the procedure. Carrey's over-the-top physical humor is downplayed for a more poignant and endearing performance. Charlie Kaufman and Michael Gondry's script couldn't have had a more effective vehicle for telling a fresh and visually arresting story. Carrey runs the gamut of emotions, pulling us through heartache, bitterness, happiness and, finally, hope.


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|"Little, Allan" <firstname.lastname@example.com>
|st: Predicted probabilities after mlogit
|Mon, 5 Sep 2005 16:10:36 +0100
Dear all, I'm trying to calculate predicted probabilities following a multinomial logit regression. My dependant variable has three states - employment (coded 0), unemployment (1) and inactivity (2). I would like to calculate the predicted probability, firstly evaluated at the mean, and secondly evaluated a number of different specified values. However, I am encountering some apparent inconsistencies according to which command I use. 1. If I use 'predict p0 p1 p2 if e(sample)' [option 'pr' is assumed to be the default]. The predicted probabilities are equivalent to the proportion (sample mean) for each category. 2. If I use the 'prvalue' command, the predicted probabilties are different to the above (for example, the predicted probability of being employed is much higher than the sample proportion of people who are actually employed). 3. Similarly, the value given by 'mfx compute, predict(pr outcome(0))' also gives a predicted probability which is the same as the value from 'prvalue', but different to the 'predict' command. Could anyone explain the difference between the predicted probabilities given by the prvalue, predict and mfx commands? I believe that the predicted probability (evaluated at the mean values of X) should be equivalent to the sample proportion in each category - am I right? Thanks for your time, Allan Little Lancaster University * * For searches and help try: * http://www.stata.com/support/faqs/res/findit.html * http://www.stata.com/support/statalist/faq * http://www.ats.ucla.edu/stat/stata/
|© Copyright 1996–2017 StataCorp LLC | Terms of use | Privacy | Contact us | What's new | Site index


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kids left home now i have a room, also have a couple bookcases for some of my cookbook collection
Welcome to the Quilting Board!
kids left home now i have a room, also have a couple bookcases for some of my cookbook collection
Last edited by inspectorcmm; 09-12-2012 at 04:12 PM.
lucky you, love your room every thing is at close range ironing board..
WoW I just love your Sew'in table! and the room too.
May Your Life Be Full of Charity and Love.
You've made a nice space there, so well organized. It will be a pleasure to sew there. Happy Stitching!
Make it a scrappy happy day!
Nice move!! My DH once asked me if I realized that as the kids moved out I filled in their spaces and that he still has his shed out side.
One step at a time, always forward.
Nice room. I dream of one..................
Fabric is like money, no matter how much you have it's never enough.
Nice sewing room love your sewing table!
May you always have Love to Share , Health to Spare, and Friends that Care!
Ours have moved on...but their "stuff" remains....working on that bit by bit. Nice set-up you have there!
Great sewing room. You may need some paint to tone down that floral wallpaper. LOL


text: I have a few family members and friends that do absolutely no maintenance on their vehicles. (other than occasional oil changes). They always complain when a brake job cost them $400-$500 because they need rotors, calipers, and pads. I have a friend that bought a car new and never did anything other than oil changes. After 2 years she had to put front tires on it. The next year she put rears on it. She never rotated them so now she needs fronts again. Another friend had new tires put on his car a year ago. He kept having rim leak issues, so the tire shop convinced him that he needed new rims because the rust was causing "micro perforations", so he bought factory rims and new tires for the car. Then complained that he spent over $1000 in a year and wants to trade it in because it has 90,000 miles on it. (Oh No!) I do not understand how people think that they can just drive and never do anything to maintain their vehicle. It drives me nuts. Don't change spark plugs, buy a new car! My brakes squeak, oh well, It still stops. I just changed plugs out on a 08 explorer with 180,000 miles. The plugs were never changed before. (I was worried about pulling a @Conlan Rose ,broken plug!lol) The specified gap was .050-.052, My gap gauge goes to .095 and the gap on the removed plugs was larger than that. The electrodes were eroded to sharp pointy knife edges. The owner asked me to do a trans service. I told him no way. It was never done before I am not touching it now. I just don't get how people think that cars are like razors, disposable. Either they have the money to waste on a new car every few years or they just don't care. I had a another friend who sold his car that was 6 years old with 80,000 miles because the fuel pump went out. (the theory was, when one thing goes everything starts going) He practically paid the shop to take the car off his hands. The shop still uses it as a loaner car 5 years later! Sorry about the rant, I have just seen so much of this in the last 2 weeks.


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meaning, S-T-U-P-I-D. when we go to the club we don't need ID! uhhh son! you scared you scared! holla! b00p woowoo! suck my back!
Girl: I was on the block tha other day and Duwann came up to me like girl where you been at? i miss yo ass! and i was like damn baby you must be hella stoopz i saw yo ass last night boo!!!
by kitty ta ta April 10, 2008
The vengeful act of crapping on a lover's chest while they sleep.Buy the plush


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Birthday girl donates gifts to food shelf
While most 8-year-old girls ask for makeup, CDs, movies, books, Barbies and American Girl dolls for their birthdays, Rose Loschko came up with a different idea.
The Nisswa Elementary School second-grader wanted to give back to her community for her birthday.
Instead of personal gifts, Rose, the daughter of Mark and Ellie Loschko of Lake Shore, asked her classmates to bring $2 or a donation to the food shelf to her birthday party Saturday, Feb. 16, at the Nisswa Community Center. The result: a little bucket of $1 bills and a table full of nonperishable food items for the food shelf.
"We were in Duluth on a family weekend and Rose saw a commercial on TV about a girl who collected donations for charity," Ellie said. "She said, 'I want to do that when I have a party.'"
And with 20 girls on the invitation list, Ellie said her daughter, who turned 8 on Monday, Feb. 18, didn't need that many gifts.
Instead, this 8-year-old gave a generous gift to those in need.


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LOL, you just describe my day, almost every day! Cleaning up messes, well I suppose some of them are mine to start with! But so very very glad when it is clean so I can mess it up again! (the secret is to take a picture when it is clean!)
I have a question for ya all! Do apples count as a Winter type table topper? I was thinking a nice crisp apple and maybe some pie? Let me know and I might just start making mine now!


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Introducing START
Coffee has historically been a crop grown to satisfy the demand of the developed world at the cost of a lower quality of life for producing communities. Now, the coffee industry has the tools, the energy, and the momentum to create a paradigm shift and redefine coffee as we know it. But, before we can change the coffee world, we have to measure our current baseline and concrete steps already taken, so we can design our intentions around real information. We need a measurement tool. And, now we have one: START.
This world-changing tool will be available on April 28, 2011! START (Sustainability Tracking and Reporting Tool) was developed to fit every member of the SCAA, regardless of size or role in the coffee industry—from producer all the way to retailer. A Q&A about START was recently published on the Fresh Cup website.


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We are going to offer a group purchase on VENTILATED Sheriff Style Bee jackets. These are the exact same ones that most companies are selling (Including MannLake). We all buy from the same manufacturer. These will have the same brass YKK zippers and the rubberized inner webbing. I used one of these last summer and I loved it, I'll be using it this summer as well.
A group purchase is when a certain number of people commit to purchasing an item. Once we hit the sales goal we will then contact you to finalize the order, from that point we will place the group purchase with the manufacturer and then once they get to us we will ship. I have convinced the manufacturer to commit to 30 jackets at a discounted price. So we will need to get 30 people commit to buying a ventilated bee jacket. To get on the list for the group purchase please post a response to this thread that you want to be on the group purchase. Please do not post any personal information such as address or phone number. We will send a link to our website for the group purchase once we reach 30. Mannlake has them for $109, others have them for upwards in the $125 to $150 range. Lets all save some $$ and get a really nice jacket in the process!
Price $89.00 ANY SIZE and shipped free anywhere in USA mainland.


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Yea way to many threads get closed and people getting banned. This is the first forum I been on where I am scared to tell my honest opinion. Anyway nice art
Yea way to many threads get closed and people getting banned. This is the first forum I been on where I am scared to tell my honest opinion. Anyway nice art
Here's my version of my monk with some blademaster flair (started as a monk, became a blademaster somehow =)). I am not quite done yet, apologies for the background, still looking for a good one.
Would like to hear some tipps from you guys.
So much great work in this thread.
Last edited by Baskrik; 2012-08-19 at 07:10 AM.
Guild Housing Suggestion
Individualizing our characters:
Drawing I did tonight during a computer class; my worgen boomkin.
I like the warm colors and gradients, Shiko.
I've finally managed to get an old scanner, but it seems to be dusty inside. These lines are appearing all over my scans. Here are some recent WOW sketches from the sketch book.
:U holy noodles, thread is still alive an kicking.. awesome drawings there Yig
gotta post some stuff soon too
check my stuff out :Y ronidraws.tumblr.com
Thank you kindly, sorry about the crappy scans. Love to see what you have.
last one i did, plan on fixing it a bit sometime later
check my stuff out :Y ronidraws.tumblr.com
Cool, I love night elves. Their insanely huge ears just rock.
Link in sig goes to DeviantArt page. I have a WoW section but I haven't done anything with it for a long time.
Planning to do something for Brewfest though.
i was not crying in the shower
i just realized how i'll never get to meet darth vader and then soap got in my eye - Kylo Ren
My transmog & misc. blog!
Guess I should post this.. I'm not totally dead. It's a work in progress:
Yay Moonkin's back!
Mountains rise in the distance stalwart as the stars, fading forever.
Roads ever weaving, soul ever seeking the hunter's mark.
:x I didn't realize I had been missed.


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Latest topics related to "Bo Scaife"
By Jesse Pugh on March 9, 2012 at 12:36 pm
Amazingly, aside from quarterback, the tight end position may now be the most talked-about by fans. Thanks to record-breaking seasons by guys like Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, teams around the league are all looking for the next big thing at this position. That said, both this year's draft class and crop of free agents don't look like budding superstars; that said, you never know.
Read More
1 pages


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Last week end, I visited a friend's farm. I noticed a strange thing.
There are three almond trees, side by side, of the same age. The one is as dead, the second has just started to bloom, and the third is white as a bride. I know that there are differences in blooming cause of the microclimate every place has, but how about that? Do the trees have a different blooming clock inside?


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Follow us
After more than four years of sputtering, home prices finally bottomed out in 2012, most experts agree, and U.S. homes are expected to gain more than $1.3 trillion in total value by the end of 2012, said listing service Zillow. About 1.3 million homeowners with negative equity -- owing more on their mortgages than their homes were worth -- were lifted out of it by housing-price gains as of the second quarter of 2012, CoreLogic reported.
That should spark more home sales: Homes not trapped under bloated mortgages are easier to sell, and price increases also should spur demand among homebuyers looking to buy while prices are still low.
Mortgage interest rates slid ever downward in 2012, reaching historic lows week after week. Rock-bottom rates helped nurse the recovery by luring more buyers into the housing market and spurring millions to refinance.
The main reasons for low mortgage rates: The Federal Reserve purchased billions in dollars of mortgage-backed securities (bonds comprised of mortgages) specifically for the purpose of lowering mortgage rates; and U.S. Treasury rates, which mortgage rates are closely linked to, fell.
Treasury rates dropped because investors spooked by the turmoil in the European financial markets sought a safe place to store their money -- treasury bonds. The Federal Reserve also put downward pressure on treasury rates by purchasing billions of dollars in them.
The market continued to clear its once-bloated supply of homes, which had swelled during the housing boom. The drop in inventory is a major reason home prices began to rise: Buyers bid up prices because they had fewer homes to choose from. October's inventory of existing homes represented a 5.4-month supply, according to the National Association of Realtors. That was a whopping 21.9 percent lower than in October 2011 and a six-year low.
"The key question in 2013," said Jed Kolko, chief economist of listing service Trulia, ".… is whether prices will rise enough so that for-sale inventory -- which has fallen 43 percent nationally since the summer of 2010 -- will hit bottom and start expanding again."
After a year and a half of negotiation, government reached a settlement in February 2012 with major banks over alleged foreclosure fraud. The lenders are alleged to have illegally foreclosed on thousands of borrowers by forging names on paperwork, a practice dubbed "robo-signing," among other offenses.
Under the $25 billion settlement, the lenders agreed to provide at least $17 billion in relief to distressed homeowners. The settlement's monitor reported that, as of Sept. 30, the banks had extended $26.11 billion in relief to 300,000 borrowers.
The Obama administration acted aggressively in 2012 to try to strengthen government relief programs, expanding the Home Affordable Modification Program and the Home Affordable Refinance Program.
Loosening eligibility requirements and boosting incentives to banks, the government succeeded to some extent. HAMP, which provides loan modifications to distressed mortgages, had extended relief to 1.1 million homeowners, as of November 2012. Meanwhile, HARP refinances are on pace to reach 1 million in 2012 alone.
At the heart of the battle over principal reduction -- reducing the amount borrowers owe on home loans -- were Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which back over half of all U.S. mortgages. Some experts say that hundreds of thousands of borrowers could avoid foreclosure if Fannie and Freddie reduced principal on many of their troubled mortgages.
But despite entreaties from the Treasury, which tripled subsidies provided to investors that approve principal reduction, the government-backed companies' conservator dug in his heels. The director of the Federal Housing Finance Administration, Edward DeMarco, claimed the program could result in losses for taxpayers (who effectively own Freddie and Fannie). Obama has nominated a replacement for DeMarco, and it's possible that a new director could institute a principal reduction program.
Short sales soared in 2012, as lenders continued to embrace the deal as less costly than foreclosure. A short sale allows a homeowner to sell his home for less than his mortgage (or to sell his home "short").
Short sales of homes in foreclosure are currently on pace to outnumber sales of bank-owned properties this year. Daren Blomquist, vice-president of online foreclosure marketplace RealtyTrac, said that short sales of properties not in foreclosure also accelerated, accounting for about 22 percent of total sales in the third quarter.
"This indicates that lenders are more pre-emptively approving short sales on problem loans in their portfolios rather than even start the foreclosure process," Blomquist said.
The threat of a "shadow inventory" -- a pent-up supply of unlisted distressed properties -- has loomed over the housing market ever since the financial crisis began. But in 2012, estimates of the size of that inventory continued to shrink, falling to 2.3 million in the second quarter of 2012 from a peak of nearly 3 million in 2010, according to analytics firm CoreLogic. Experts now think that the shadow inventory is probably not going to hinder a recovery.
Investors raced in 2012 to snap up homes selling at bargain-basement prices and convert them into rental properties. Investors purchased 20 percent of homes sold in October 2012, according to the National Association of Realtors.
"Low vacancy rates and rising rental rates, along with statements by Warren Buffet, helped attract both individual and institutional investors to the single family rental market," ReatyTrac's Blomquist said.
Home construction had limped along for years, as the housing market struggled to clear a glut of excess homes left over from the housing boom. But new home construction soared in 2012, reaching in October its highest level since July 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Builder confidence shot up too, suggesting that builders will continue to break ground on more homes in 2013. Experts say that declining home inventory amid rising demand from buyers is spurring a spike in construction.
"Builders across the country are reporting some of the best sales conditions they've seen in more than five years, with more serious buyers coming forward and a shrinking number of vacant and foreclosed properties on the market," said National Association of Home Builders Chairman Barry Rutenberg.
Barack Obama and Mitt Romney more or less ignored the subject of housing during their contest for the presidency. President Obama shied away from the topic because of his less-than-stellar performance at stemming the foreclosure crisis, while his Republican challenger steered clear of the issue to avoid alienating large segments of voters.
Perhaps most notably, there was practically no discussion of how to reform mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Some organizations, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's conservator, released proposals on how to wind down the two government-backed companies in 2012. It's possible, experts say, that Congress may finally begin to tiptoe toward reforming them in 2013.
The Federal Housing Administration kept the housing market on life support during the sector's meltdown. Lending from private companies to borrowers with subpar credit came to a screeching halt after the bubble burst. But the agency continued to offer loans with small down payments to borrowers with low credit scores.
That led to a swelling participation in the market that set up the FHA for disaster. FHA-backed mortgages skyrocketed from 2 percent in 2007 to 20 percent in 2009, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, which tracks mortgage data. Today, the FHA stands behind about 15 percent.
"Every loan made in 2009, 2010 and a bunch in 2011 were underwater within 6 months," said Guy Cecela, publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance. Now the FHA is staring at a $16 billion shortfall. But it expects to accumulate $11 billion in capital next year, offsetting a large portion of the shortfall, and is taking steps to shore up its reserves -- including selling delinquent mortgages and streamlining the sale of repossessed homes.
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In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Ever Merciful.
Love for All, Hatred for None.
001 Recitation of the Holy Quran by Hafiz Ahmad, Choudhary Hameedullah Sahib is presiding over
002 Recitation of the Holy Quran by Hafiz Mohammad Ahmad Sahib Rabwah
003 Nazm Recitation by N Shafeeq Ahmad Sahib
004 (Centre) Maulana Mohammad Naseem Khan Sahib Nazir General Affairs with prominent dignitaries
005 Prominent personalities on Jalsa Stage with Nazir Sahib Aala (left)
006 A view of Jalsa Stage
007 A view of Jalsa Gah from Jalsa Stage
008 Maulana Tanveer Ahmad Sahib Khadim Naib Nazir Islaho Irshad during his speech in Punjabi language
009 Maulana Tanveer Ahmad Sahib Khadim during his speech in Punjabi language
Copyright © by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. All rights reserved.