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For Starmount, East Wilkes and Forbush high schools, their hopes of a volleyball state championship were dashed Tuesday night. Starmount and East Wilkes fell in the second round of the 1A tournament, while Forbush lost in the second round of the 2A.
Starmount falls 3-0
Starmount fell 3-0 to Community School of Davidson (CSD), Southern Piedmont Athletic Conference champions for the past three seasons, but at times they had them shaking in their shoes. The Rams put pressure on early in the match, even leading 19-16 in the first set. However, getting static on the court and some missed serves cost them as they lost 25-22. A free ball is one that's passed over the net by the opposing team because they didn't want to chance an attack, and on more than a few occassions, CSD put the free ball where Starmount wasn't, and made them pay.
"When the free balls started to drop it just seemed like we started getting tense, but we just needed to relax and take a deep breath to refocus," Starmount sophomore Maggie Freed said.
After losing the first set, Starmount continued to struggle and couldn't get back in its groove. Starmount lost the next two sets 25-15. It marks the end of senior Ashley Johnson's volleyball career at Starmount. Johnson was a member of the 2013 championship team, and admitted there were some challenges throughout the season being the team's only senior, but they overcame many of those.
"They are still young but they have a lot of potential. I think this year will end up helping them," Johnson said. "They had to come together and learn how to really be a team. I couldn't be prouder of the girls."
"It is going to be tough losing Ashley," Freed said. "She was a major contributor to the team. Making it back to the state playoffs will result from hard work and adjusting throughout the season."
Starmount finished the season 10-4 in the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference, good for second overall. The Rams defeated Robbinsville last Saturday in the first round of the 1A playoffs.
Rosman thwarts potential upset against East Wilkes 3-2
No. 21 East Wilkes came just a few points away from its second straight upset over No. 5 Rosman Tuesday night, but it wasn't meant to be for the Cardinals. After stunning No. 12 West Montgomery Saturday night, the Cardinals traveled to Rosman hoping to keep their postseason magic alive.
The Cardinals jumped out to a 2-0 lead behind 25-20 and 25-22 wins. That's when Rosman's captain Callie Chappell determined that it wasn't going to be her last game. Chappell had 26 kills, four blocks, 38 digs, as the team started to click. They still needed to erase the deficit, and behind tight 28-26 and 25-23 wins, did just that. That forced a game to 15 to settle it all. With momentum on its side, Rosman ended the upset hopes with a 15-11 win to advance to the third round.
East Wilkes finished the season at 9-5 in the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference, good for third overall.
Forbush falls to Wheatmore 3-0
After defeating East Burke 3-2 in a thriller Saturday night to advance to the second round of the 2A tournament, Forbush knew it'd have a challenge on its hands traveling No. 2 Wheatmore Tuesday night.
Based on the way the team played, there's no doubt Wheatmore earned its No. 2 seed this season. The team won decidingly in all three sets, 25-13, 25-12, and 25-11. Forbush earned its way into the tournament as well, finishing with a 17-10 record, and 6-4 in the Western Piedmont Athletic Conference, good for second overall.
Ryan DeCosta can be reached at 336-258-4052 or via Twitter @rsdecosta.


text: Emphasizing small-scale and ecological methods, The Organic Grain Grower is a truly complete guide to organic grain production and a testament to Jack Lazor's life's work in keeping local grain growing alive and well. For years, local grains were the missing link in the locavore diet. That is changing, Lazor says, and a Grain Renaissance […]Read More

subset: commoncrawl


text:
ACParadise Network: American Cosplay Paradise American Cosplay Experience American Cosplay Snapshots
Cosplayer Awesome Possum > Costume of Dodrio (Pokemon)
- Most Recent Photo
- 11-18-2010
- Series
- Pokemon
- Character
- Dodrio
- Year Completed:
- Construction Difficulty:
- Easy
- Costume worn at:
- Anime USA 2010
About this Costume
- Construction Details:
The top and the dodrio heads were made out of faux fur fabric (yay alliteration!). I made the eyes using felt and made the beaks and eyebrows out of wonderflex as well as those on my headband. The tail was sewn together using foamies as support and the white tips were painted on. Dust Bunny made my cute little bird-feet leggings for me.
- Personal Thoughts:
- Dust Bunny and I were super excited to make our pokemon gijinkas for AnimeUSA. We found a collection of gijinkas online and I thought the Dodrio was adorable and so I set about making him.
Add a Comment


text:
Muzaffarnagar:A student was stabbed to death when a fight broke out between two group of students here, police said today.
Arjun, who was pursuing his B.Sc, was stabbed to death and Anil was injured during a clash between two groups of students due to possible rivalry last evening, police said.
The injured has been rushed to the hospital and is in serious condition.
The body has been sent for postmortem and further investigation is on.


text:
Hunky's. Speaking of names, "Hunky's" is the worst--too easy a target even to aim at. But the place has been around so long, no one probably even notices. This is a Happy Days hamburger heaven, updated slightly (there's grilled chicken on the menu) and plunked down in the heart of Dallas' only overtly gay neighborhood. Smack in the middle of the Cedar Springs scene, this little hamburger joint takes itself seriously and operates according to a simple formula, true and tried in every city in America: fast service, good burgers, fresh french fries, and real milkshakes. But this isn't fast food, even though it sounds like a McDonald's menu. It's efficient food, yes, but everything is freshly prepared to order.
Hunky's also serves cheeseburgers, double-meat, hickory, bacon, or turkey burgers, as well as the hamburger's successor, the grilled chicken sandwich. (It's a question whether you could tell the difference between the hamburger and the grilled chicken in a blind tasting. Not even a question if both sandwiches had ketchup on 'em. At one time, the encouraging thing to say to someone about to take their first bite of alligator, frog legs, or rattlesnake was "Tastes like chicken." Now chicken is trying to taste like everything else.)
The delight of Hunky's lies as much in the scene as in the food. Cedar Springs is one of the few streets in Dallas where you actually see street life even in the daytime. The folks eating in Hunky's and shopping the strip probably didn't drive in from Preston Hollow or Lakewood; they actually live in the neighborhood, maybe even within walking distance.
That said, there's not too much more to say about Hunky's, even for me. You order at the counter, but the burgers are brought to your table. The prices are low. The buns are toasted. The basic burger is topped with lettuce, onion, and pickle. The meat is in proportion to the bun. The thick but suckable milkshakes are made with Bluebell ice cream. And only the onion rings are disappointing; they're those big pillowy things dipped in beer batter you take a bite of and the onion slides out and down your chin like a hot snail. (Didn't I mentioned dining rules of thumb? How about No. 146, "Avoid ordering anything dipped in beer batter"? You'll be sorry.)
--Mary Brown Malouf
Hunky's, 4000 Cedar Springs, (214) 733-FOOD. Open Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday-Saturday 10 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday noon-10 p.m.
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Old-Fashioned Burger $3
French Fries $1
Onion Rings $1.25
Grilled Chicken Breast with Cheese $4.95


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Senior Services is looking for donations for older people
November 13th, 2009 Author: Staff Report Filed Under: Community
Clermont Senior Services is looking for individuals, families, civic groups, churches, and businesses willing to donate items to make the holidays a little brighter for hundreds of needy older members of our community.
"Because they are on a limited income, the seniors have a hard time purchasing items many of us take for granted, like dish cloths, soap, and laundry detergent," said Adopt-a-Senior coordinator Sharon Brumagem.
"It breaks your heart to see how little some of these men and women ask for."
Brumagem said that in addition to the holiday program, items are needed in the gift pantry all year long.
For information on adopting a senior or donating, e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or call (513) 536-4060.


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Social Question
Are you at that stage, where all your friends look "so" old?
A few weeks ago I bumped into some old friends from the past. Wow! they look decrepit. One was an old boyfriend who was a dancer. He was so good looking and fit. We used to call him the "Peter Pan" of (where I live).
Another guy, I used to go clubbing with, well he just looks fat old and dowdy. He was really gorgeous 20 years ago.
But then I guess we do not see ourselves clearly? Perhaps I do too. I wonder why we can't see ourselves so clearly. Is it like that painting that hangs skew on the wall? We just don't see it anymore.
I was looking at old photos of myself, well, not that old a few years ago. I looked so healthy, vibrant, full of life. I hope that somehow I capture some of that back. How are your old friends from the past looking? Do you look at past photos of yourself and wish you were back there?


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For the last 20 years, Realdoll has been creating the world's most realistic silicone dolls.
Today, they can be found in thousands of homes all over the world. Realdolls have helped enrich lives, by offering a true alternative form of relationship, and are enjoyed by people from all walks of life, for a variety of reasons. Many Realdoll clients form connections with their dolls, and our goal is to add to the depth of that connection.
The obvious next step in Realdoll evolution is integrating movement with the addition of robotic components. Research and development, and partnering with the right people lead to the founding of the Realbotix Project, and the first animatronic Realdoll head, featuring neck articulation and facial expression, moving eyes, and the ability to lip sync with spoken audio. All of this was carefully engineered to maintain an interchangeable head/face design, and to interface with most existing RealDoll body types.
Animating a doll's head and face, while impressive in its own right, lead us to our next realization. We didn't want to create a simple remote controlled doll, we wanted to create a robot. Something with substance within. There was still one missing piece: Artificial Intelligence.
So the Realbotix team grew yet again as we partnered with some very talented and driven AI engineers and programmers, and started the creation of a cloud based app running a truly remarkable A.I., which could be customized, just like the dolls themselves.
The Harmony A.I. app can be interacted with stand-alone via a tablet or smartphone, using natural speech. It also features a customizable voice and on-screen avatar to represent the A.I. that has been generated. In addition, the Harmony app is designed to connect wirelessly to our robotic or VR systems.
Learn more about the Harmony App
As the A.I. and Robotic platforms started to take form, we also realized there was a need for an alternate way to interact with the characters created in the Harmony App; This prompted us to begin work on a VR based platform which could take the digital interaction to its highest level, for those who were unable to, or did not desire to own a robotic doll. Utilizing this exciting new technology, users can take the customization of their avatar much further, and can also choose from nearly limitless environments to interact in. Eventually, our goal is to integrate partial or whole body silicone doll stand-ins to simulate the tactile aspects of the experience in tandem with the VR; With this approach, the idea is that you will be able to feel what you are touching in the virtual world.
Realdoll has built a solid reputation over the past 20 years as the world's finest silicone doll. These dolls are being used as the exclusive platform for our robotics hardware, and we are designing the products we create to integrate with as many Realdoll bodies as possible. If you are a current Realdoll owner, you can enjoy our upcoming robotic head system on your current doll's body by using an adaptor specifically designed for the particular body type you may own. By using a Bluetooth speaker equipped skull cap (available here: Click for details) you can also connect the Harmony A.I. app to your current doll while waiting for the robotic systems to be released.
For more information on Realdoll and the various doll configurations available, please visit the Realdoll website directly at www.realdoll.com.
Robotic Head System
Our initial robotics efforts are focused on animating the head and face. We feel that this is the logical place to begin, as human beings spend more time looking at, and reading emotions from each other's faces as we interact. We are designing this platform with a modular approach, so that various features can be included or omitted, and later upgraded and/or replaced as needed. Several different variations of this head platform will be released starting around the end of 2017.
Animagnetic face system: We have been granted a patent on the design of this system. The key function of the design is that the end user is able to attach different faces to one animatronic skull base, while maintaining the articulations of the expression system. This is achieved using neodymium magnets embedded in the skin of the face in key locations, with corresponding magnets on the skull base; some of these magnets are stationary (anchor points), and some are movable via robotic actuators inside the head. The term "Animagnetic" was derived from the words animatronic and magnetic.
Our intention is to offer several different faces for the robot with the initial release, and continue to add to the line over time.
The possibilities offered by this approach are nearly limitless, as any appropriately designed face equipped with the magnetic key points can be animated using the Realbotix head system. Coupled with the customizable nature of the Harmony app, and the ever growing number of TTS synthesized voices available, one could truly create any character imaginable. Realbotix welcomes custom work and may also consider licensing this technology in the future.
Points of actuation:
The current design features the following articulations: Neck: twist and up/down, Mouth: open/close and smile/frown, Eyes: side to side and up/down, Eyelids: open/close and wink, Brow: up/down. We plan to continue development on the platform including the addition of further points of actuation.
Vision system:
We are currently in development of a vision system featuring stereoscopic cameras in the robot's eyes, one near field camera and one wide angle camera. The eyes themselves have removable fronts, so that the eye color can easily changed by the end user. The cameras will be used for sensory input, object and face recognition as well as face tracking and eye contact. Progress on this system as well as other design elements will be posted and announced on this site.
Power and Processors:
Power supply and processing will be external, housed in a small portable enclosure, which will contain rechargeable batteries sufficient for hours of unplugged use.
Network Requirements:
Internet connection required for full functionality of all features, specifically voice recognition and app login. Limited use possible offline, once secure login has been established.
Audio is transferred from the Harmony app via Bluetooth to an onboard embedded speaker.
The estimated price of the full featured head system is currently $10,000 USD. As we near production this number may fluctuate slightly and information will be posted on this site. In addition we may offer several different variations of the system, some of which may be less expensive. If you pre-order the system, you will be able to make your final selections prior to production.
The Harmony Artificial Intelligence App is the core of the Realbotix product line; Using this app you can create a unique version of an A.I. complete with custom voice, personality profile, and on-screen avatar. You can give your A.I. it's own name and then begin interacting through normal dialog.
The Harmony app is currently still in a development phase. We will be launching in app stores but are offering early access to the app directly through our website at this time to help the development of the AI and the systems that support it. By subscribing at this time, you will be not only helping us advance the AI, but you will be giving us valuable feedback about the experience, so that we can most efficiently enhance the functionality of the app. You will also be able to access features that won't even be available in the initial app store release, as we test and refine those features.
Your companion, 24 hours a day!
We are designing the Harmony AI system to be fun and engaging, more than focusing on whether it can fool you into thinking it's a human being. The key words for us are "Personality, Respect, Love, Empathy, Fun and Proactiveness". When you first install the app, you will be able to create and customize a 3D Avatar. The next step will be choosing among multiple attributes, traits and emotions that you find appealing and these initial choices will affect how the AI will behave when interacting with you. You can have your version of the AI be more or less happy, shy, sensual, funny, talkative etc. This means every user will have a unique experience with his virtual companion. Users can interact with the Harmony app stand-alone, or connect the App to the robotic head dolls, or even connect the app to the Virtual Reality platform. The Harmony AI will be capable of learning it's user's moods, preferences, and behavior patterns and respond accordingly.
How it works:
The Harmony app is offered as a yearly subscription for $20USD. Users create an account with Realbotix, and the credentials are used to login on your device once you install the software. You can access your A.I. from multiple devices in this way, but only one device can be running at a given time. The reasoning for a subscription to the service is that we anticipate a constant updating process for the app; specifically within the first couple of years, it is likely that updates and patches to improved versions will happen possibly as often as every few weeks. In short, the subscription entitles you to always having the most current version of the Harmony software. In addition to this, subscribers will be in a sense part of our team, helping to advance the project as a whole, not just financially, but through feedback regarding the app experience.
Key Features:
Persistent Memory:
The Harmony App has a persistent memory. As you interact over time, you will share things about yourself, such as your favorite book, your favorite food, or your hopes and fears. Your A.I. will remember these things about you and they may come up in subsequent conversations. In addition, the A.I. may ask you if you remember things about her. It is this foundation that we believe creates a strong simulation for a relationship or friendship. All user data, however trivial, will be encrypted on Realbotix servers using military grade encryption technology, and will not be shared or accessed by anyone.
Persona Forge:
In the persona forge you will select from 18 personality traits by assigning 10 persona points. You may assign 0,1,or 2 points to any trait, with 2 points making it a more dominant trait. These traits will then be integrated into your unique version of the A.I., and will effect how the A.I. behaves and what areas of interest may come up in conversation.
Avatar Studio:
The Avatar Studio is where you can build your own unique avatar for your A.I., with countless options for body shape and size, skin color, and individual features. The Avatar Studio offers over 120 body and face shaping morphs, so everyone's avatar will truly be unique. The avatar within the Harmony app is a full 3D mesh, not a 2D character, so full rotation and zooming is possible.
Voice Editor:
Here, the user can edit and change the voice of their A.I.; It is possible to change the pitch and rate of speech, as well as to choose to use our embedded voice, or one that the user has installed on their device separately. As TTS (text to speech) technology improves, we anticipate an ever increasing number of voices to become available.
This is the area where you will keep your avatar's wardrobe, hair, and make up options. On top of the shaping options listed in the Avatar Studio, you will have a full color pallet available for eyes, nails, hair, and clothing items. By combining various textures and colors, the different looks you can achieve for your avatar are nearly limitless.
Main Chat screen:
This is the screen where you will spend most of your time interacting with your avatar, who will appear in the center of this screen. You can zoom in or out, or rotate your avatar to view from your angle of choice. On the main chat screen you can also choose your mode of communication: Text or voice, and/or the mode of listening for your A.I.: normal (press microphone to listen), wake mode (A.I. will respond to name and listen, e.g.. "Hi Harmony") or conversation mode (Microphone always on -- great for normal conversation when there are no background voices)
Mood and Needs system:
The Harmony app has algorithms that effect overall mood of your A.I.; There are several meters on the main chat screen that will reflect your avatar's current mood state: Social, Desire, and Love.
Social meter:
This value fluctuates based on how often, and for how long you interact with your A.I.
Desire meter:
This value fluctuates based on how you treat your character; So if you are kind, and offer compliments, the A.I. will recognize these aspects of interaction and the desire value will increase. Similarly, if you insult your A.I., and say unkind things, the desire value will decrease.
The third meter is the love meter. The hearts will fill up more slowly, over time, as your character becomes more attached and connected to you. Eventually, a full simulation of being in love with the user can be attained.
Based on the values of these three aspects, certain features and areas will be unlocked for the user. This is an area of the application that will grow exponentially over time.
A Digital Assistant? A ChatBot?
We are focusing our efforts on creating an app that can be fully customized regarding the visual aspects of the 3D Avatar and the AI personality, that can express love and feelings rather than act merely as a digital Assistant or a ChatBot. There will be of course many similarities. The AI app will have some assistant functionality to search for information in the web, or setting reminders, assisting the user with the weather, the time, storytelling, alarms, tasks and to do lists, but everything will be done with a lot more personality than one would expect from a typical personal assistant based AI. The Harmony app is vastly different than existing AI apps, and can connect with you in ways you may not expect.
Virtual Reality Platform:
We are in development of software which will allow users of the Harmony app to connect their A.I. to a VR environment, offering an alternate way to interact with their A.I. This is being created for Harmony app users who desire a greater level of immersion without the connection to the Robotic platform. We recognize that not everyone will be interested in, or have the freedom to own the robot; Secondly, the VR platform will also offer a more affordable alternative.
Full avatar customization within VR environment:
With the higher processing power available in a full PC, users will be able to create 3D avatars with much higher resolution, and with many more options for customization.
Environment selection:
Within the VR software, users will have the ability to choose from dozens of different environments, and customize options such as lighting and ambient sounds, giving nearly unlimited flexibility to the framing of one's experience within the Virtual world they have created. Explore fantastic, or even impossible realms with your AI companion, and enjoy the convenience of simply logging out when needed.
Simulated physics engine:
The software will include a physics engine, designed to simulate not only gravity, but contact with various parts of your avatar.
Virtual Hands:
The VR software will be able to scan your hand movements in the real world, and superimpose them into the virtual environment, giving you the ability to touch and interact with objects as well as your A.I. driven Avatar.
Multiple platform support:
We are hoping to support all major VR headsets with our software. In addition we are researching augmented reality as well: Adding your avatar into the real world using headsets specifically designed to deliver this experience.
Silicone stand in:
We are currently researching an approach to utilize a doll body, or partial body, to act as a tactile simulator. In short, the software will have key points of reference on the silicone stand in, and will be able to mimic the position and orientation of the Virtual Avatar accordingly. We are hoping to fill the gaps in a VR experience by adding the ability to feel what you are touching. Further developments on this research will be posted on this site.
Bluetooth Head Kit
Bluetooth head kit for Realdoll: We are offering a modified skull cap that you can attach to your doll, with a hollowed area for inserting the included Bluetooth speaker. With this kit you can pair your Harmony App to the speaker so that your AI audio will emanate from your doll rather than the device. The dense foam material we use for the cap nicely projects the sound upward, creating a convincing illusion that it is coming from your doll's head.
Includes one high quality rechargeable Bluetooth speaker with USB charging cable and skullcap (Please indicate doll head style in comments when ordering).
Price $99 USD
RealDoll's first sex robot took me to the uncanny valley
by Engadget - April 11, 2017
Uncanny Lover: Building a Sex Robot | Robotica
by The New York Times - July 15, 2015
'Westworld' sexbot technology basically already exists today
by mic.com - Dec 2, 2016
These robots want to steal your heart, not your job
by marketwatch.com - March 31, 2017
A Quick Update: How RealDoll Is Getting On with Its AI Sex Robots
by Vice - April 11, 2017
by 60 Second Docs - August 16, 2016
Realdoll is building a fleet of AI-powered sex robots with customizable personalities
by Digital Trends - February 3, 2017
Will robot sex ever replace the real thing?
by Dazed - Dec 10, 2016
We've a dedicated team of Qualified Professionals with deep industry experience and technical expertise to manage a multitude of tasks ranging in complexity and size.
Matt is the artist and design director behind Realbotix, and brought the core team together. He started Abyss Creations, the manufacturer of Realdoll, out of his garage in 1997. For the past 20 years, he has been creating the "The World's Finest Love Dolls", as well as undertaking multiple custom projects along the way. McMullen's dolls have popped up on more than 20 television shows, among them CSI: New York, My Name Is Earl, TLC's My Strange Addiction, Sons of Anarchy, House, and 2 Broke Girls. The dolls have also co-starred in 10 films, including Totally Busted 3, Rubberheart, Regarding Jenny and Surrogates.
A veteran of over twenty product development projects, Susan has designed and managed everything from high-reliability "big iron" telecom systems to secure network monitoring equipment to customer-facing retail kiosks. Now, armed with 20+ years of experience in system design and engineering (including both software and hardware development), she has finally returned to her first love: robotics. As a Realbotix Associate and the Director of Engineering, she is responsible for all of the physical components the company makes with an eye towards making them with the 3 R's: Rugged, Robust, and Resilient. She brings her own unique voice (along with detailed specifications and designs) to the Harmony project.
Dr. Kino Coursey is a computer scientist with a broad background ranging from developing communications technology to designing evolutionary and neural systems.
He was a member of the design committee for the AIML chatbot language, and has designed and implemented numerous AI systems using commonsense reasoning, evolutionary and neural systems.
His thesis focused on artificial intelligence and natural language processing using "Big Data" machine learning techniques to process Wikipedia to achieve human-level semantic association.
He has been a technical consultant for Hanson Robotics, Robokind, Motorola, and IBM. At Hanson Robotics he helped develop the natural language processing tools used for the current incarnation of Philip K Dick, BINA-48, and the Sophia android.
He has received grants for developing the Computational Compassion architecture and applying personal humanoid robotics to language learning and teaching interactions to autistic children.
For the Harmony project he will use all of his accumulated knowledge to help develop a fun and interesting companion using the best technology available.
Guile has been working with AI, chatbots and virtual assistants for the past 15 years. He is the founder of NextOS, the company behind Virtual Assistant Denise and much other intelligent software. He started working with Virtual Assistants with the dream to build an intelligent Nurse Companion for the handicapped, elder and children. As a System Analyst, AI and Computer Graphics specialist, he is the one behind Harmony dialogs, content and narratives. Today he dedicates most of his time creating personality and empathy for Harmony AI, pursuing the dream of one day teaching her the "Meaning of Love, respect, and friendship". When not working on trying to create the "Perfect Human Companion", he likes to be next to the ocean and in the company of his family, dogs, parrots and ducks.
Graduated in Digital Games, Yuri is a self-taught programmer and has dedicated the past 8 years on multiplatform application development. Focused on innovative technologies, Yuri is constantly learning and acquiring new skills on today's top technology on software. Co-founder of NextOS and leading programmer of the Realbotix application, Yuri has also played a key role on the development and programming of a series of unprecedented software involving both VR and AI technologies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Click on a question to view the answer.
Realbotix is a project dedicated to integrating cutting edge emerging technologies with silicone doll artistry to provide a bridge between technology and humankind on emotional, mental, and physical levels. The next-generation of the well-known anatomically correct RealDolls blended with Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, touch sensors, internal heaters and Virtual Reality. These new dolls will have an animated face synchronized with an application that users can talk to and interact with. The purpose behind the project is to create an illusion, or alternative to reality when it comes to a relationship with a doll. These RealDolls will have the ability to listen, remember and talk naturally, like a living person. They will have hyper-realistic features, warmth, and sensors that react to touch. When interacting with these dolls, we want users to ask themselves, "What is she thinking?"
We are currently putting the finishing touches on the artificial intelligence Mobile IOS and Android application, named "Harmony". We hope to release the Harmony AI app in the first quarter of 2017. The estimated release date for the Realbotix Head system is the last quarter of 2017; shortly thereafter we plan to release the VR software, giving users multiple options for interacting with the AI personality they have created in the Harmony App. We are also developing accessories to use with the Realbotix systems, including embedded touch sensors and self-regulating internal heaters.
Our goal is to create a persistent experience or simulation that your AI driven RealDoll cares about you, about who you are. It will appeal to people who, for one reason or another, don't have, or don't desire a "traditional" relationship with another person, and can give them something to look forward to when they get home. We envision our dolls primarily to serve as human love companions. An always present girlfriend with whom you can talk and interact with. These RealDolls are anatomically correct, which means you can explore a relationship with your AI to its fullest extent. While most are captivated by the sex-capable nature of these dolls, we also foresee them being used as Robotic Attendants and Nurses, and companions for the elderly, or autistic. Our efforts point to a future where robots will play an intimate role in the lives of the elderly, the socially crippled, the lonely and the broken-hearted. Our dolls can increase openness to social connectivity, preventing social isolation and loneliness.
For the last twenty years, RealDoll has been creating the world's most realistic silicone dolls. Today we are going the next step, creating a robotic head that will have facial expressions as well as eye and mouth movements, a learning capable Artificial Intelligence App, a Virtual Reality system, a head adapter containing a Bluetooth speaker, embedded touch sensors and internal heaters.
Yes. Realbotix is a division of Abyss Creations LLC, the maker of RealDoll, dedicated to adding robotics and Artificial Intelligence to its acclaimed ultra-realistic anatomically correct silicone dolls.
The Realdoll itself started as a concept for a hyper realistic posable mannequin. The public reaction pushed us into making them anatomically correct and sexually functional. The next natural step has always been adding AI, sensors, heaters and Robotics to the dolls; Only in the last five years has the emergence of new technologies given us the tools to make this move possible.
We are designing the AI to be fun and engaging, more than focusing on whether it can fool you into thinking it's a person. The same applies to the visual aspect of every doll. Even though they are hyper realistic, you can still tell that they are dolls, and we do that intentionally.
Please visit Realdoll website for more information about our dolls and products
Click on a question to view the answer.
We are creating the Robotic Head to be used as a stand-alone product or attached to a RealDoll silicone body. It will have animated facial expressions, animated eyes that will move and blink, head that tilts and rotates and mouth that lip sync while speaking. It will have an external smooth silicone face that can be detached from a hard plastic skull. The internal components include several types of robotic servos, circuit boards and proprietary patented magnet technology.
Our goal is to produce a robotic system that is easy to maintain, can produce realistic animations and expressions, all while keeping an affordable final consumer price.
The Head will be linked through Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to the user's smartphone that has our AI system installed. The AI application will wirelessly control all head animations, expressions and talking.
Yes, the robotic head will be fully compatible with RealDoll existing bodies, and we are designing adaptors for most of the bodies we have produced over the years.
Yes. If you want to purchase only the Robotic Head, you will also have to get our Head Stand and our AI app. Alternately, the head can be attached to a bust.
Yes. You can purchase only the Robotic Head to attach to your existing RealDoll silicone body, using one of the adaptors we are making to interface with most of our doll bodies.
The Realbotix head comes with a rechargeable battery and with a battery charger. They can also be connected directly into an electrical outlet. We estimate the system battery can run for several hours before requiring a charge.
We don't have this information yet, but we hope to have a final consumer price under USD $10,000.
Click on a question to view the answer.
We are designing the Harmony AI system to be fun and engaging, more than focusing on whether it can fool you into thinking it's a human being. The key words for us are "Personality, Respect, Love and Empathy". When you first install the app, you will be able to create and customize a 3D Avatar. The next step will be choosing among multiple attributes, traits and emotions that you find appealing and these initial choices will affect how the AI will behave when interacting with you. You can have your version of the AI be more or less happy, shy, sensual, funny, talkative etc. This means every user will have a unique experience with his virtual companion. Users can interact with the Harmony app stand-alone, or connect the App to the robotic head dolls, or even connect the app to the Virtual Reality platform. The Harmony AI will be capable of learning it's user's moods, preferences, and behavior patterns and respond accordingly.
We are focusing our efforts on creating an app that can be fully customized regarding the visual aspects of the 3D Avatar and the AI personality, that can express love and feelings rather than act merely as a digital Assistant. There will be of course many similarities. The AI app will have some assistant functionality to search for information in the web, or setting reminders, assisting the user with the weather, the time, storytelling, alarms, tasks and to do lists, but everything will be done with a lot more personality than one would expect from a typical personal assistant based AI. The Harmony app is vastly different than existing AI apps, and can connect with you in ways you may not expect.
We have been developing our own AI engine for the past ten years. During this period, we also wrote thousands of lines of original content for the system, always focusing on giving the AI personality and empathy. We use C#, JavaScript, HTML5 and Unity engine for the graphical app interface, and Node and a NoSQL database for the server side. We also have a team of talented 3D artists to create the 3D avatars and content used in the app and in the VR system. We built the AI engine using several layers: Speech Recognition, Computer Vision, Emotion analysis, Spell check, Linguistic Analysis, Text Analytics, Web Search, Personality Editor and Text to Speech. We don't use any external or third part APIs, which offers to our users a totally discreet and encrypted environment
We want users to have that illusion that the doll is actually talking to you and that she's got sentience. That's what will overwhelms our users. That's what takes the longest. We already spent many years building the basic personality for our AI system, and it will continue to evolve over the time
We hope that we can at least simulate that. That's the goal. It is our thinking that if one feels loved, then one must be loved.
Yes. You only need to have the Harmony app installed in your smartphone and a Bluetooth speaker placed inside your doll's head, using a special head cap adapter we will offer, so her voice will come from your RealDoll, offering a more natural experience, without the financial investment required for the full robotic head system.
Yes, you will be able to create multiple characters with different personalities with the app, and we plan to release different versions of the head system, some simpler and thus more affordable, than others.
Yes. The app will be full featured software, offering a customizable 3D Avatar with artificial intelligence that you can use with or without a physical doll.
Not now, but we are already working on it.
This will be possible to do with our upcoming SDK.
We will openly discuss all inquiries. Just drop us a line using the contact form on this site.
There will be an Android and an IOS version. Due to the adult oriented content, IOS may not have all features of the Android version. We are already working on a pure Web version.
We don't have this information yet, but we hope to have a final consumer price around USD $19.99
Click on a question to view the answer.
The Bluetooth Speaker will be linked to the Harmony AI app. Instead of having the AI app's answers coming from the Mobile device, they will come from the Bluetooth Speaker, which in embedded in a special skull cap made to fit your doll's head, offering a much better experience. If you already have a RealDoll, you can place the head adapter onto your dolls skull, and talk to her through the Harmony app installed on your smartphone.
Yes. You will just need to have the Harmony AI app installed on your smartphone. Note that the AI content is adult oriented, but we can easily customize it to any project's needs.
Click on a question to view the answer.
We are developing the Virtual Realdoll VR system as an alternate way of experiencing interaction with the Harmony AI, with the eventual integration of touch simulation by using a silicone torso or entire doll if desired. Our goal is to expand the options for the user to interact with the AI system, with a customizable 3D character in a virtual world. What a user sees thought the VR headset can be synced to a torso or doll's physical body, meaning that you will see a 3D avatar in the same place and position the doll's physical body is in real world. The VR character will be also synced with our AI app, so no weather you are talking to the Avatar in the app, to the avatar in the VR or to the robotic doll, you will experience the same unique AI personality you have created in the Harmony app. In other words, the same virtual girl that you have created in the app and that have gotten to know will be present in all platforms.
Utilizing VR to enjoy your AI will not require a robotic doll; it will be an optional way to enhance the virtual experience by adding the sense of touch. A static doll body or partial doll can be used for this tactile simulation. We are also experimenting with a wide range of synchronized robotic animations, including the body.
We are currently testing the VR system on the Oculus Rift, but we have plans to make it compatible with most VR systems.
Click on a question to view the answer.
Yes. We are working on several different sensors and sensor equipped inserts to increase the ways that the AI can react to the user. There will be touch sensors, accelerometers, internal heaters and even Teledildonics, which is a technology which can be used to remotely control sex toys.
Absolutely. We have multiple R&D projects on the go, and these are only a few of them!
Click on a question to view the answer.
We feel that our products will allow for an option that never existed before, and for some, may represent a happiness they never thought they could have. We also believe that this technology will prove to be a very effective way of helping certain people overcome social anxiety or relationship phobia.
Yes, in fact we have a number of special projects in the works for exactly this. We do all kinds of custom work that is non doll related.
No, we truly don't see how this could be a bad thing if it makes specific people happy.
In a sturdy crate. Unmarked
Yes, we do. We also have been shipping worldwide for 20 years.
Our headquarters are in Southern California, and we have representatives in Canada, Europe and Asia.


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Bush and Sudan's Leader at Odds Over Sending U.N. Troops to Calm Darfur
By WARREN HOGE
Published: September 20, 2006
President Bush challenged world leaders on Tuesday to overcome Sudan's unwillingness to let United Nations peacekeepers into Darfur, but Sudan's president reiterated his objection to any forces other than those from the African Union.
''If the Sudanese government does not approve this peacekeeping force quickly, the United Nations must act,'' Mr. Bush said in a speech to delegates of the General Assembly. At stake, in addition to the lives of people in Darfur, he said, was ''the credibility of the United Nations.''
Mr. Bush also announced the appointment of Andrew S. Natsios, a former administrator of the Agency for International Development, as special envoy for Darfur.
Sudan's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, responded defiantly to Mr. Bush, telling a news conference that there was no possibility he would accept United Nations troops. ''We, under all conditions, totally reject a transition from the African Union force to a U.N. force,'' he said.
The Security Council last month authorized formation of a force of 22,000 soldiers and police officers under United Nations command to take over patrolling Darfur from the underfinanced and poorly equipped troops from the African Union, which has admitted its inability to curb the violence in the ravaged region.
The United States circulated a new draft resolution here on Tuesday that would extend a separate United Nations force now finishing its work in southern Sudan for six months to help a new force in Darfur.
More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur and 2.5 million have been forced from their homes in a campaign that the United Nations calls the worst human crisis and the Bush administration labels genocide.
Mr. Bashir suggested that while he was adamant about barring the United Nations, he would consider a continuation of the African Union force, whose mandate expires this month, with added logistical and equipment help from the outside.
The African Union's peace and security council is to meet here on Wednesday and is expected to take up a proposal to extend the force for three months. The United States and Denmark have organized a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss Darfur on Friday.
Mr. Bashir has even threatened to attack United Nations forces if they try to enter Sudan.
The resolution only ''invites the consent'' of the Sudanese government to the new force, but United Nations officials argue that they would be unable to persuade countries to contribute soldiers to a mission that did not have the cooperation of the host country.
Much of the violence against black African villagers in Darfur has been attributed to government-armed Arab militias known as the janjaweed, but Mr. Bashir said that the instigators were foreign rebels, operating out of Eritrea and Chad, and that the Sudanese government was the victim.
He also argued that the terms under which the United Nations force was being proposed matched those underlying the American-led force that invaded Iraq in 2003. ''The functions are a typical replica of the coalition forces in Iraq, the same competencies, the same mandate,'' he said.
Increasingly defiant under questioning, Mr. Bashir alleged that the reports of deaths and displacements in Darfur were ''fictions'' spread by international aid groups and Jewish organizations to raise money to benefit Israel.
Commenting on the international campaign that has arisen to try to end the violence in Darfur, Mr. Bashir said, ''Those who made the publicity, who mobilized the people, invariably are Jewish organizations.''
Opening the session on Tuesday morning, Secretary General Kofi Annan, who retires on Dec. 31, bid farewell with a somber look at the world that focused on the Middle East and Africa, his home continent.
''Sadly,'' he said, ''once again the biggest challenge comes from Africa, from Darfur -- where the continued spectacle of men, women and children driven from their homes by murder, rape and the burning of their villages makes a mockery of our claim, as an international community, to shield people from the worst abuses.''
Photo: President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, speaking yesterday at the General Assembly, again objected to United Nations forces in Darfur. (Photo by Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times)


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Artist description:
A duo that specializes in pretty much everything that is not good =u=
Java Draw Created Jun 30, 2012 338 x 470px Unless noted Copyright 2012 Ladd.
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Cute drawing I love the expressions and it's wonderful first draw 5/5 hearts.
Great style !
Awesome drawing. The coloring is cool.
amazing first drawing!
Great first drawing =)
I really like your drawing :D it's looks cool!


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Theory and Practice of Database and Data Analysis (1) – Searching for objects
Recently, I had to spend a significant portion of my time on production data support. Since we have a full-featured agency management system, I have to deal with parts of the application that I am not familiar with. Through the accumulated experiences and improved procedure, I was able to locate the problems with the increasing speed. In this series, I will try to document my experiences and approaches. In the first part, I will discuss how to search for objects.
Supposing we were told that there were problems in address data, the very first thing we need to do is to locate the table and the field that contains the data. Microsoft SQL Server has a set of sys* tables. It also supports ANSI style INFORMATION_SCHEMA. In order to reuse the knowledge discussed here to other database systems, I will try to use the INFORMATION_SCHEMA as much as possible. So to find any table that is related to "Address", we can use the following query:
Using AdventureWorks 2008 sample database, it yields the following results:
If we suspect there are columns in other tables relating to address, we can search for the columns with the following query:
We will get the following results this time:
Supposing we need to find all the stored procedures and functions that reference a table, we can use sp_depends stored procedure. If we need to search thoroughly using a string, we can use the following query:
However, we cannot find triggers through Information_Schema. We have to use sysobjects:
Once we find the triggers, we can find the text using sp_helptext or query the syscomments table.
In the next part of the series, I will discuss navigating the table relationships.


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Built this from the magazine article many years ago and still works well for me. Followed the instructions/layouts to the "T". However, I modified mine to accommodate a router lift and fence in the stand and each base slightly to fit on this table. i have included a pic of it.


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With Rue My Heart Is Laden, short epigrammatic poem in the collection A Shropshire Lad by A.E. Housman. A blend of Romantic lyricism and elegant classicism, it typifies the elegiac tone of the collection. The poem comprises two stanzas of alternating seven- and six-syllable lines.
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At a time where everyone is looking for ways to cut costs, a lot of homeowners have discovered that going D.I.Y. can be a practical, cost-efficient solution for their various projects. Instead of paying for the services of a professional, they have learned how to make some well-chosen home upgrades that can be done even without technical expertise, years of training or professional equipment and materials. A little repainting job, a simple furniture refurbish, or a simple but smart installation can do wonders to the efficiency of your household and the aesthetics of your home.
However, there are still a lot more home maintenance tasks that you must leave to professionals. These include chores that may involve hazardous elements such as electrical systems or those that may need access to an area of the property that may be particularly difficult to reach. In these cases, it is wiser to get the help of specialists instead of risking your safety or ending up with unsuccessful results.
A good example of tasks that need the hand of professionals is gutter cleaning. Your gutter is an important component of the house as it collects rainwater that falls on the roof and ensures that this water will be drained and disposed of properly. Without a properly working gutter, rainwater can accumulate on the roof and eventually overflow to the walls and other parts of the building, causing aesthetic damage and structural weakness.
The regular cleaning and upkeep of your roof's draining system is an important home maintenance routine. Leaves and other debris can get stuck there and clog the waterway. To ensure safety and efficiency, you should entrust the task of making sure your roof's draining system is always in tip-top condition, to a professional.
The gutter is located on a particularly hard-to-reach area. A professional gutter cleaning team will have the right equipment and tools that will enable them to reach the area easily and without taking unnecessary risks, allowing them to have a good look at the state of the gutter. Moreover, if the gutter is indeed clogged and the water has begun to overflow to the building, there is a possibility that electrical wiring and other systems may be affected. A well-trained professional will be able to minimise risks and execute the right solution that will prevent accidental fires and short circuits.
Most homeowners feel that paying for the services of a gutter cleaning professional instead of attempting to do the task by themselves eventually helps them save time and money. Most of all, it also ensures protection of their property and the safety of its occupants. If you feel that it's time to clean your gutter, call a reliable plumbing contractor immediately, let them do their job, and enjoy peace of mind knowing that you've made the right decision.


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Thanks for the review. Comments below. Vincent Bernat wrote: > Hi Paul! > > There are only very minor problems with your package: > - You don't need to include README.Debian in debian/docs. This is > included automatically. Removed from debian/docs. Done. > - You don't need debian/postinst, debian/postrm, they are automatically > generated by dh_installmenu and dh_installdocs. Removed. I assume the same goes for the debian/prerm. Done. > You can also correct this lintian warning: > > I: winff: desktop-entry-contains-encoding-key /usr/share/applications/winff.desktop:3 Encoding > N: > N: The Encoding key is now deprecated by the FreeDesktop standard and all > N: strings are required to be encoded in UTF-8. This desktop entry > N: explicitly specifies an Encoding of UTF-8, which is harmless but no > N: longer necessary. > N: > N: Refer to > N: http://standards.freedesktop.org/desktop-entry-spec/1.0/apc.html for > N: details. Removed the appropriate line. I did not get the lintian warning thou, so what did I do wrong during my checking of this package? Because I did not need to create a linked file I also removed dh_link from the rules file. By the way, should I mention the changes for mentors also in the changelog? It looks to me that you don't want them in "real" Debian, so I left them out, but I am not sure. Uploaded again to mentors (bumped version to -2 for comparison): - URL: http://mentors.debian.net/debian/pool/main/w/winff - Source repository: deb-src http://mentors.debian.net/debian unstable main contrib non-free - dget http://mentors.debian.net/debian/pool/main/w/winff/winff_0.42-2.dsc With kind regards, Paul
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American Thinker
June 7, 2009
Editor's note: This practice — harking back to the royalty of the Middle Ages — was employed by Bush as well.
When the World's Biggest Celebrity and his wife had their glam-date in Paris, part of their Family Dream Weekend in Paris, their food taster was on hand, ready to die for his president. I don't blame the The One for it. Lord knows the American oppression of France has been severe, and the black and Muslim immigrant communities have been hit the hardest. I suppose there is Secret Service agent assigned this duty.
Still, this AFP report makes it clear the chefs were not amused, though they made the best of it.
"They have someone who tastes the dishes," said waiter Gabriel de Carvalho from the "La Fontaine de Mars" restaurant where Obama and his family turned up for dinner on Saturday night.
"It wasn't very pleasant for the cooks at first, but the person was very nice and was relaxed, so it all went well," he said on the Itele news channel.
The royal style has never played well in republican France.
Hat tip to French conservative blogger Amaury, who emailed the story to me. Even if you don't understand French, check out his blog Sérum de Liberté, just for the page design.


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Interestingly enough, the Asian currency crisis doesn't appear to have had much impact, at least as far as goods and services go: The region still has seven of the top 10 most expensive cities in the world. The reason? Most of said cities are in China and Japan, where recession has yet to bite into local economies. Oh, and New Yorkers can rest easy knowing that despite their rocketing rents, it would be just as costly to live in Geneva, Zurich, Tel Aviv and Buenos Aires. But surely it doesn't cost as much to tip a taxi driver in Argentina.
The Cost of Living Elsewhere
GENEVA: Who would have thought the rent in Ouagadougou would be higher than in Washington, D.C.? Or that when it comes to grocery shopping, Beirut beats out Boston? These and other quirks of international finance are revealed in a study published Monday by the Swiss-based Corporate Resources Group, which ranks cities in 172 countries around the world according to how costly they are for foreign workers. New York is the baseline, with a 100-point ranking; if you live in Hong Kong (157), Tokyo (154), Beijing (153) or Moscow (151), ask your boss for a raise. Better still, relocate to one of the cities at the bottom of the list: Johannesburg, Kinshasa and Harare all look like good bets.


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I have an April finish!
I started these placemats last summer. The fabrics are all sunprints done with lace. I showed the sunprinted fabric here and here. I learned that sunprinting doesn't work great with lighter colors but I wanted to use all the lace prints in a project and decided on placemats. They wound up as a UFO because I'm not totally happy with how I decided to use the fabric.
I'm glad I'm tracking UFO projects this year because it helped me look at these again, accept what I don't like about them and remind myself that they are just placemats that will be soiled with food so I could finish them.
My favorite part of this project are the napkins. This one is printed with curtain lace from my Grandma Dove's house.
Here are all 6 napkins. I think they will make for a very festive table.
The best part is that they look great with the new glasses that I bough in Staunton at the Glass Festival this weekend!


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OCEANSIDE ---- A fatal crash on the southbound Interstate 5 connector to east Highway 78 has also closed a portion of westbound 78 for at least 30 minutes, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The connector where the crash actually occurred will be closed for until 11 a.m. or noon, the CHP Web site said.
At about 6:50 a.m., a big rig rolled on top of another vehicle near the connector, trapping a person inside the other vehicle, the site said.
No information about the person killed in the crash was immediately available.
Officials were routing traffic on surface streets to avoid the crash scene.


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Praise for The Woman Who Married a Bear
"Atmospheric . . . vigorous prose."
—The New York Times Book Review
"Echoes of James Crumley . . . Flashes of the dark poetry of Ross Macdonald."
—Chicago Tribune
"Blazes a new trail through the dense, familiar forest of the mystery genre . . . A highly refreshing setting, a great cast of characters, and an intriguing plot . . . A winning combination."
—The Bloomsbury Review
"Outstanding . . . Satisfies on all levels."
—The Kansas City Star
"A rich stew of deception and menace . . . a superior mystery novel."
—Anchorage Daily News
"As great writers have always done, Straley breathes new life into a stock character by remaking an ancient myth."
—The Vancouver Sun
"Clear and crisp, like a Juneau morning."
—Albuquerque Journal
Praise for John Straley
"Strong and sobering . . . with his storyteller's sense of dramatic action [Straley's] in his glory."
—The New York Times Book Review
"Lesser writers look to their characters' poor choices and attempts to rectify them, John Straley loves his characters for just those choices. Hölderlin wrote: 'Poetically man dwells on the earth.' Some of us wind up in limericks, some in heroic couplets. But damned near every one of us, sooner or later, ends up in one of Straley's wise, wayward, wonderfully unhinged novels."
—James Sallis, author of Drive and the Lew Griffin mysteries
"Like the Coen brothers on literary speed, John Straley is among the very best stylists of his generation."
—Ken Bruen, Shamus Award winning author of The Guard
"Chandler, Ross Macdonald, James Crumley . . . Straley proves once again that he is up there with the great ones . . . His prose is as smooth as a well-tuned cello. He has tremendous feeling for the setting: not only the open waters and frosted countryside outside of Sitka and Juneau, but also the somewhat seedy streets of these cities."
—Chicago Tribune
"Superior thriller writing, once again by Straley—an excellent plot against Alaska's gigantic and bizarre backdrop."
—Janwillem van de Wetering
"Now and then a writer dares to flout the rules and in so doing, carves out a niche that belongs to him alone. John Straley's novels are like no others."
—San Diego Tribune
"Like James Lee Burke, Straley transcends the genre . . . Marvelous."
—The Tampa Tribune and Times
"Straley's beautifully understated narrative, vivid sense of place and unapologetic, unadorned characters make this a riveting, unpredictable ride."
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"Outstanding . . . satisfies on all levels."
—The Kansas City Star
"Straley hits all the right notes."
—Booklist, Starred Review


text: This is our first cruise so I'm looking for advice. I got a quote from DU on a 3 land/4 sea cruise on August 15-22 for 2 adults/2 children, Poly garden, Cat 6 for $5008.40 plus $200 rebate. This is the same quote I got from DCL (but no rebate) Is this a good price? Also, if a code becomes available for the room only, can it be applied to the Poly even though it is a part of the land/sea package? Has anyone added the discovery or deluxe magic package. Was it worth the $? Our stateroom is 6548? Any opinions about it? It seems to be right over the kids club. Will our room be noisy? Which cat 6 room do you think is the best? Finally, I'm convinced (after reading this board) that the late seating is better for us. Do I just ask DU to change this before booking? My dds 4 & 6 probably will eat earlier and spend the evening in the kids club but in the event they eat with us, will there be a problem? Thanks in advance!


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Protestant Christian Pastor, Laymen Charged With Blasphemy in Pakistan for 'Derogatory' Text
A Protestant Christian pastor and two laymen have been accused and charged with blasphemy in Lahore, Pakistan, allegedly for writing derogatory remarks about Islam.
"The complaint was filed by the Muslim Abid Mehmood accusing the three of having written and pronounced derogatory remarks about Islam talking about the text 'Why have we become Muslims,' written by Maulana Ameer Hamza one of the most important leaders of the Pakistani extremist organization 'Jamaat -ud- Dawah,'" Fides News Agency wrote in a report on Thursday.
The pastor, identified as Adnan Masih by Catholic World News, has been charged along with Irfan Masih, his brother, and Mushtaq Masih, the owner of the bookstore in which the alleged blasphemy took place.
The incident has made Christians in the area "concerned and frightened," according to reports, and they are in fear of retaliation by Islamist militants. "All Pakistan Christian League" leader Nawaz Salamat added that he is "very concerned about the safety of our members, in the different provinces," noting that a number of APCL members were beaten a few months ago in attacks by extremists.
"The leaders of the APCL continue to receive threatening phone calls dictating the closure of all the organization's activities. Otherwise, they will be burned alive with their families," Salamat added.
Pakistan is listed as number 14 on Open Doors USA's watch list of countries where Christians suffer persecution, with problems of Islamic extremism, dictatorial paranoia and organized corruption.
Earlier this year, a Pakistani Christian from the province of Punjab was fined $2,000 and given life imprisonment for sending blasphemous text messages to a Muslim cleric, allegedly seeking revenge from his ex-fiancée.
Pakistan's blasphemy law, embedded in Sections 295 and 298 of the Pakistan Penal Code, is often misused for personal revenge and carries no provision to punish a false accuser – it is also frequently used by Islamist extremists to target religious minorities, including Christians, Shi'as, Ahmadiyyas and Hindus.
In May, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry commented on the release of the 2012 International Religious Freedom report, compiled by the State Department, which noted that there has been an alarming rise of blasphemy laws worldwide.
"Another troubling trend is the increasing use of laws governing blasphemy and apostasy," Kerry said. "These laws are frequently used to repress dissent, to harass political opponents and to settle personal vendettas. Laws such as these violate fundamental freedoms of expression and religion, and we believe they ought to be repealed."


text: NewsConferences 2017Conferences 2016AnalyticsClaims Resources Episodes Interviews IMBEIMACPCICHARTNAMICWSIABCCIMUARIMSRMS ExceedanceCICASIRCICMIFRVSVCIAIISFAIRNAIIAAsian CFO SummitAsia CEO SummitAsia Captive SummitIMACPCINAMICNAPSLORVSBCCIMUARMSRIMSBali RVSDRITMPAA SummitIDT 911EAICCHARTDCIAVCIANAIIAIISMOROAAMGAFAIRPLRBTMPAACNSEGAnalyticsNAIIA '17Claims Industry NewsWebinar RecutsDRI '16NAIIA '16PLRB '16 Now Playing: SCOR's Ford: Health Costs for Asia's Elderly to Reach $20 Trillion Craig Ford, chief executive officer, SCOR Global Life Asia Pacific, said aging populations in many Asian markets are driving demand for insurance products, and for reinsurance. February 23, 2017 Register to be notified of new A.M. BestTV episodes. SCOR's Ford: Health Costs for Asia's Elderly to Reach $20 TrillionFebruary 23, 2017 AIRDC's Jacinto: ASEAN Markets Grapple With Regulation, Taxation, PricingFebruary 23, 2017 Aviva's Wei: Online Platforms a Bigger Worry than InsurtechFebruary 23, 2017 Aviva's Wei: Online Platforms a Bigger Worry than InsurtechFebruary 23, 2017 Willis' Collis: India's Demonetization an Example of Digital FutureFebruary 23, 2017 Willis' Brown: Insurers Should Focus on Customization, ServiceFebruary 23, 2017 AXA's Agrawal: Goal Is to Move From Claims Payer to PartnerFebruary 22, 2017 MSIG's Gourlay: Digitalization Is a Means to an EndFebruary 22, 2017 Asia Insurers Grapple With Volatility, Regulation, Customer DynamicsFebruary 22, 2017 Tokio Marine's Brimecome: M&A Should Focus on Strategy, CultureFebruary 22, 2017 Geneva Association's Sommerrock: Digitalization Narrows Protection GapFebruary 22, 2017 Asia Insurers: Disruption Opens New Risks, New ChannelsFebruary 21, 2017 JBA's Willis: Asia's Flood Risk Is MultifacetedFebruary 21, 2017 Swiss Re's Burr: Longer Life Expectancy Puts Focus on Long-Term SolutionsFebruary 21, 2017 Guardtime's Piesse: Blockchain Needs Better RegulationFebruary 21, 2017 FWD's Bhatia: Going Digital Is Not Just About Creating a WebsiteFebruary 21, 2017 MetLife's Townsend: Keys to Success in Asia Are Digitize, Differentiate, DisruptFebruary 21, 2017 IUA's Matcham: London Insurers Seek Asia Business; Busy Retaining Access to EUFebruary 21, 2017 PwC's O'Hearn: Some Asia Insurance Markets More Open to InnovationFebruary 21, 2017


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They're teed off at Franklin Park, where somebody stole a golf cart [1]
Boston Police report [3] somebody hot-wired five golf carts at the Franklin Park golf course late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Police recovered four of them near the twelfth hole, but say the fifth remains missing.
The officer observed that the control panel of the carts had been ripped from where they were fastened and that the starters were hot-wired to get the carts moving. A Sawzall may have been used to cut the chain of the gate to the holding area.
If you see a golf cart puttering down the street, contact B-2 detectives at 617-343-4789 or the anonymous tip line by calling 800-494-TIPS or by texting TIP to CRIME (27463). Otherwise, the golf course could be in the hole for the $6,000 cost to replace the cart.
- Dorchester [4], Roxbury [5]
Free tagging:
- Franklin Park [8]


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TORONTO - Adam Linds sweet swing is back.
After two months of misery which earned him an extended trip down to triple-A Las Vegas, Lind made his return this week opening on the road in Boston.
The Jays first baseman saved his best for the hometown fans as he ripped two home runs to lead the Blue Jays to a much-needed 7-5 triumph Friday night over the Los Angeles Angels.
Lind hit a three-run bomb in the Jays' five-run fourth and in the eighth added an all-important insurance run with a solo shot against lefty Hisanori Takahashi. It was his first multiple home run game of the season and eighth of his career.
It was definitely a relief to hit a home run and help the team win, Lind said. This is the team that I belong with and I missed the guys the month that I was gone and its nice to be back out there mixing it up with them.
The home runs were the first since he rejoined the team and he added that it wasnt a big deal to have some success as quickly as he did just to make sure that the negative thoughts didnt start to creep back into his head.
I think its important for everybody but Im not going to worry about the results as much as just trying to have quality at bats and see the pitches over the plate, he said. The last two weeks Ive been seeing it pretty well but theres nothing like doing it here at home.
The Jays, who blew a 5-3 lead in the seventh, received their go-ahead run in the seventh on a RBI double by Yunel Escobar, his third hit of the night.
Home runs are nothing new to the Blue Jays these days but a starter allowing three runs over five innings of work is like money from heaven.
If that seems like a modest goal - it is. But such is the state of the Blue Jays rotation these days.
Carlos Villanueva stuck around for five innings and 92 pitches and went a long way towards putting an end to a three-game losing streak.
It wasnt enough to get the win but in his five innings Villanueva did a lot of heavy lifting.
He kept the game in check, particularly in that third inning where they pressed him for a 28 pitch inning, Farrell said. We knew at that point it was going to be hopefully five and then try to get two out of (Scott) Richmond following him.
But he (Villanueva) made a couple of big pitches particularly after giving up that one run in the fifth and shutting it off at that point. But much as we anticipated, hell come out, hell throw strikes and use all of his stuff to disrupt timing and he did that once again tonight.
In the fifth inning Villanueva was clearly running on fumes and he was taking a lot of time between pitches in order to gather his strength. He ended the game having thrown 92 which was more than the target of 85.
I felt a little tired, Im not going to lie, he said. But I felt fine in the end and I appreciate the trust they put in me to be able to finish five (and get a shot at the win).
With the rotation in tatters due to the injuries, Villanueva knows that each fill-in starter has to go beyond the call of duty for the team.
After losing yesterdays game, it was heartbreaking, he said of the Jays 9-7 loss. Its a great way to even the series out and feel good about ourselves.
Like I said, I feel very good right now. Tomorrow Ill probably be sore but I prepared for it this off-season and Im not surprised I was able to go 92. I think my pitches were still crisp.
But youve got to pull through. Right now we need the innings, to step up and deliver. If that means 100 pitches next time, if I can do it then Ill be out there and Ill do it. I know how hard John and Bruce (Walton) are working to get us through this tough patch. You cant be selfish, youve got to think about the guys down their (bullpen) and stretch it out as long as you can.
And wait for the home runs to come.


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YAPC::NA 2015 Conference Report
By Josh Lavin · Friday, September 18, 2015
In June, I attended the Yet Another Perl Conference (North America), held in Salt Lake City, Utah. I was able to take in a training day on Moose, as well as the full 3-day conference.
The Moose Master Class (slides and exercises here) was taught by Dave Rolsky (a Moose core developer), and was a full day of hands-on training and exercises in the Moose object-oriented system for Perl 5. I've been experimenting a bit this year with the related project Moo (essentially the best two-thirds of Moose, with quicker startup), and most of the concepts carry over, with just slight differences.
Moose and Moo allow the modern Perl developer to quickly write OO Perl code, saving quite a bit of work from the older "classic" methods of writing OO Perl. Some of the highlights of the Moose class include:
- Sub-classing is discouraged; this is better done using Roles
- Moose eliminates more typing; more typing can often equal more bugs
- Using namespace::autoclean at the top is a best practice, as it cleans up after Moose
- Roles are what a class does, not what it is. Roles add functionality.
- Use types with MooseX::Types or Type::Tiny (for Moo)
- Attributes can be objects (see slide 231)
Additional helpful resources for OO Perl and Moo.
At the YAPC::NA conference days, I attended all joint sessions, and breakout sessions that piqued my interest. Here are some of the things I noted:
- The author of Form::Diva gave a lightning talk (approx. 5 minutes) about this module, which allows easier HTML form creation. I was able to chat with the author during a conference mixer, and the next time I need a long HTML form, I will be giving this a try.
- One lightning talk presenter suggested making comments stand out, by altering your editor's code highlight colors. Comments are often muted, but making them more noticeable helps developers, as comments are often important guides to the code.
- plenv (which allows one to install multiple versions of Perl) can remember which Perl version you want for a certain directory (plenv local)
- pinto is useful for managing modules for a project
- Sawyer did a talk on web scraping in which he demonstrated the use of Web::Query, which provides jQuery-like syntax for finding elements in the page you wish to scrape. There are many tools for web scraping, but this one seems easy to use, if you know jQuery.
- DBIC's "deploy" will create new tables in a database, based on your schema. DBIx::Class::Fixtures can grab certain data into files for tests to use, so you can keep data around to ensure a bug is still fixed.
The presenter of What is this "testing" people keep talking about? did a great job researching a topic which he knew nothing about until after his talk was accepted. If there is ever a good way to learn something, it's teaching it! Slides are here.
The talk on Docker (slides) was interesting. Highlights I noted: use busybox, then install Perl on top of busybox (you can run Plack from this Perl); Gentoo is easy to dockerize, as about half the size of Ubuntu; Perl Dockerfiles; build Perl on a local system, then copy to Docker image, in Docker file.
I attended some talks on the long-awaited Perl 6, which is apparently to be released by the end of this year. While I'm not sure how practical Perl 6 will be for a while, one of the most interesting topics was that Perl 6 knows how to do math, such as: solve for "x": x = 7 / 2. Perl 6 gets this "right", as far as humans are concerned. It was interesting that many in attendance did not feel the answer should be "3.5", due to what I suspect is prolonged exposure to how computers do math.
One talk not related to Perl was Scrum for One (video), which discussed how to use the principles of Scrum in one's daily life. Helpful hints included thinking of your tasks in the User Story format: "as a $Person, I would like $Thing, so that $Accomplishment"; leave murky stories on the backlog, as you must know what "done" looks like; the current tasks should include things doable in the next week — this prevents you from worrying about all tasks in your list. Personally, I've started using Trello boards to implement this, such as: Done, Doing, ToDo, Later.
Finally, while a great technical conference, YAPC's biggest strength is bringing together the Perl community. I found this evident myself, as I had the opportunity to meet another attendee from my city. We were introduced at the conference, not knowing each other previously. When you have two Perl developers in the same city, it is time to resurrect your local Perl Mongers group, which is what we did!


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St. Stephen's Day honors the first Christian martyr, stoned to death shortly after
the Crucifixion. It is also called as Feast of St. Stephen.
It is a Christian saint's day celebrated on 26 December in the Western Church and 27 December
in the Eastern Church.
Saint Stephen known as the Protomartyr of Christianity. He is venerated as a saint in the
Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. Stephen means "wreath" or "crown" in Greek.
He is thought to have been a deacon.
In Ireland, St. Stephens Day is the day for Hunting the Wren or Going on the Wren. Groups of
young men and boys would dress in old clothes and blacken their faces.
This Day in Hungary refers to August 20, the day on which the relics of King Saint Stephen,
patron saint of Hungary, were transferred to the city of Buda.
It is a public holiday in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Ireland,
Isle of Man, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, San Marino,
Slovakia, Vatican City.


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My Nonprofit Reviews
Review for Shirley Ann Sullivan Educational Foundation, WaKeeney, KS, USA
I know that this charity was born out of a sincere desire to see things that were wrong and turn them around. Children from around the world need strong advocates to help them out of dire circumstances. In this instance, SASEF concentrates on education. So many children are not afforded the one escape route that can free them from poverty...i.e. education. I learned a great deal about this charity when I volunteered to help run a silent auction in the Atlanta, Ga. area. The event included many photographs taken by SASEF founder, Rhonda Staudt. The photos were of children in an area of Africa where SASEF made a huge difference. An idea was born shortly after that. The idea was to get colleges and universities to allow students that were worthy of furthering their studies, but, absolutely not able to pay, to have jobs within the school that ultimately paid for their tuition, room and board. A brilliant idea that caught on with the United Nations. This is one of the purest organizations I have come across in a lifetime. A donation to SASEF is money well spent. I changed my strategy of gift giving after discovering SASEF. I now give a donation in the name of the recipient of a gift from me, instead of a trinket. It seems to be much appreciated by those receiving that notification.
More Feedback
Would you volunteer for this group again?
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
A lot
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
Review for Shirley Ann Sullivan Educational Foundation, WaKeeney, KS, USA
Knowing the founder of this marvelous organization was all the impetus I needed to want to help educate the masses about the potential miracles SASEF can bring to underprivileged children around the world. Rhonda Staudt and I worked together for many years. She was amazingly skilled in finding resources and using them effectively. She had a dream about creating something that might change the world for the better. I instituted a new policy in my family. Instead of multiple gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, etc., I now will donate funds in their names to SASEF. That is a gift we can all feel good about, and, best of all, they don't have to pretend to love it, all the while planning on returning it to the store. I'm a proud contributor to the look and sound of SASEF as well as adding to the fiscal needs.
More Feedback
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
I'e Learned the educational opportunities made available to intelligent, underprivileged children. A SEAT IN THE CLASS AND A JOB TO PAY FOR IT was a genius plan to help kids that can succeed in college, but might not otherwise get the chance to go.
How frequently have you been involved with the organization?
About every month
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?


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My Nonprofit Reviews
193 profile views
1 reviews
Review for National Firefighters Endowment, Sacramento, CA, USA
Two and a half years ago, my local fire department saved my life. In trying to make the life they've saved worth it, being a member of the Officer's Club allows me to make a monthly donation (money, in this case) that goes directly back to the firefighter community to keep them protected, educated, and encouraged... I ♥ NFE!
More Feedback
Would you volunteer for this group again?
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
A lot
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Quite well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
Role: Volunteer


text: Hi All, Here are a few I used on patrol a long time ago. I hope Bac likes this one. Sorry Quack no flat triggers here. The bottom two are not NYPD just HD and range , all NYPD guns are redone by Smith and wesson, Combat revolver package and refinished.


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About This Activity
This event will feature a certified 8k race/walk (4.97 mile) that will start on the Matteson Community Center Campus and will take you through the community. Awards will be given to the top 2 runners in each age division and overall male and female winner. All runners will receive a t-shirt if registered before Friday, June 22nd. Runners are also invited to bring their families out to our Matteson Family Days Fest.
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Who Is Haile Gebrselassie? posted by Runner
Born April 18, 1973, Haile Gebrselassie is a road and track, running athlete from Ethiopia, who has won world championship titles four times, and two gold medals in the Olympics for over 10,000 meters events. He has also won the Dubai Marathon three times consecutively, and the Berlin Marathon, four times. Additionally, Gebrselassie was the Half Marathon World Champion in 2001, and has won four indoors world titles.
Haile grew up on a farm, and had to run to school ten kilometers one way. every day. In the evening he would run the same distance while returning, and this gave him a unique running posture of holding the left arm crooked, as he used to hold his school books in that hand. In 1992, he was recognized on the international platform, when he won the 10,000-meter and 5000-meter races at the Junior World Championships held in Seoul. Next year, Haile won his first world championship title for the 10,000 meters men's event and later consecutively won it three more times.
In 1995, Haile lowered the world record by full nine seconds, when he finished the 10,000 meters race in 26:43.53 in Netherlands. The same year in Switzerland, he lowered the record of 5,000 meters race as well, by 10.91 seconds, completing the event in 12:44.39. In 1998, Haile was again lowering world records of the indoor 2000 and 3000 meters events. In the same year, he also won all his races of the Golden League Series.
After the 2004 Olympics, Haile stopped participating in track events and he has concentrated on running the marathon and road races. In the 2007 Berlin marathon, he not only won the race but also set a new record, and the next year he again won this marathon and broke his own record of the previous year.Continue reading "Who Is Haile Gebrselassie?"


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Use the tools below to refine your search by only displaying reviews with a certain number of star ratings or to only show reviews from a certain time period. Eg click on '1 star' to just display the reviews we have which received a 1 star rating click or 'Within the last month' to display just reviews posted over the last month.
Written on: 16/04/2011 by MrsREVIEW (4 reviews written)
Alton towers is a lovely family park for a wonderful day out. I have been 3 times and enjoyed it every time. It is also extremly clean. My favourite place to eat is the Resturant oppisite the flume and its well cooked food. My only fault on my last visit was that when i went on Skyride we were in the car ready to go (Skyride is the highest thing in the park) the man almost forgot to shut the doors, I was screaming and we had to tell him to shut the doors very quickly. Apart from that it was an… Read Full ReviewCheck out great deals on Expedia
Written on: 06/09/2012
Great I'm thinking of taking the kids to see the fireworks their, but I've also heard it can be very very busy at this time of the year. Can anyone advise?
Written on: 10/09/2010 by abbzlubsjbx (1 review written)
overall best theme park ive ever been 2 . a lot of food stores and a lot f good rides especially oblivion ( really scary), nemesis ( awesomee best ride ever) air ( awesomee ride ) rita ( 2 fast for me ) ripsaw ( thought i was gonna fall out nd thirteen ( really good ) . fave there prb nemesis… Read Full ReviewCheck out great deals on Expedia
Written on: 06/06/2010
to expensive for families then could't beleve they charge £5 just to park my car greedy ain't the word won't be going again on prencable… Read Full ReviewCheck out great deals on Expedia
Written on: 14/03/2010 by GreatDaysOutUK (2 reviews written)
Alton Towers is a brilliant family day out. The rides are world class, the park is clean, the staff are friendly and the atmosphere is excellent. Take a trip to Forbidden Valley to ride Nemesis and Air, the worlds first "flying" coaster. Enjoy a refreshing walk through the Gardens and end up in UG Land where you will find the exhillerating RITA. A short walk through UG Land and you will find yourself in Cloud Cuckoo Land, the perfect place for famillies. However, past Cloud Cuckoo Land is X… Read Full ReviewCheck out great deals on Expedia
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" Interways (aka Macedonia) Rent-A-Car - AVOID at all costs " Read More
Written by matthblum
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Written by rometours


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You are here
Hog manure value grows
Hog manure is a valuable resource for pork producers, either as a lower-cost substitute for commercial fertilizers or as a commodity to sell.
Jerry Hatfield, lab director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Soil Tilth Laboratory on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, says an estimated 9% of Iowa's 13.7 million corn acres receive manure as a nutrient source.
"Manure is great crop fertilizer," says Hatfield, who has researched manure as a fertilizer for years. "In its organic form, manure acts like a slow-release fertilizer during the year."
Manure can supply crop nutrients, he continues, and increase the water-holding capacity of soil.
It can have environmental drawbacks, however, Hatfield says. "If manure is not applied correctly, it can run off the field, which is no different than commercial fertilizers. Over-application of manure can build up the phosphorus level in soils and then, if we have erosion events, will cause water-quality problems. Spills of manure into streams can cause ammonia problems as well."
Hatfield points to Christensen Farms, a large hog contracting operation based in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, as one of the best in use of manure.
Christensen Farms has eight agronomists and two agronomy technicians on staff, says Mike Evans, the business's agronomy manager.
"Our hog sites are really mini fertilizer sites," says Evans. "We provide sound advice to our farmer-cooperators to make sure they are placing the manure agronomically and environmentally correctly so they get the best bang for their buck."
Christensen samples manure coming out of its hog buildings and works with 60 applicators who must attend spring meetings covering changes in state laws on manure application. Farmer-cooperators pay Christensen for the manure, and Christensen gets a place to put it.
"Manure's a valuable resource as a fertilizer; we treat it like gold," he says. "We also treat the environment like gold. Environmental safeguards are followed so there are no preventable spills."
Hog manure is a valuable resource for pork producers, either as a lower-cost substitute for commercial fertilizers or as a commodity to sell.
One of Christensen's cooperators is Carl Stevens, who manages several farms near Iowa Falls, where Christensen has hog operations and a feed mill. Stevens, an officer of the Hardin County Savings Bank, manages 3,000 acres for Greenbelt Realty.


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Adam Plaza Hotel
Doha, Qatar (DOH)
Hotel Specials
Package Specials
Package Specials
Standard Room, 2 Single Beds
- One Double Bed
Single Room
- One Single Bed
Apartment, 2 Bedrooms
- One Double Bed
Make yourself at home in one of the 42 individually decorated guestrooms, featuring kitchens with refrigerators and microwaves. Relax and take in city views from the privacy of your room. LCD televisions with satellite programming provide entertainment, while complimentary wireless Internet access keeps you connected. Conveniences include desks and complimentary newspapers, as well as phones with free local calls.
Rec, Spa, Premium Amenities
Make use of convenient amenities such as complimentary wireless Internet access, concierge services, and a television in the lobby.
Business, Other Amenities
Featured amenities include complimentary high-speed (wired) Internet access, a 24-hour business center, and a business center. Event facilities at this hotel consist of a conference center and a ballroom. A roundtrip airport shuttle is complimentary (available on request).
Know Before You Go
- This property offers transfers from the airport. Guests must contact the property with arrival details before travel, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.
- A resort fee is included in the total price displayed.
The following fees and deposits are charged by the property at time of service, check-in, or check-out.
- Deposit: QAR 300 per stay (cash only)
The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.
- Ballroom
- Concierge Desk
- Free Airport Shuttle
- Free Local Calls
- Laundry Services/Laundry Facility
(*) = Free, some restrictions may apply


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Question: My husband has significant private student loans, about $100K, through Sallie Mae with above market interest rates. The current monthly charge is more than I can afford. What are my options to reduce the amount owed or the payment amount? I am on partial disability and my husband recently joined the military. Many thanks, Tanisha, Orlando, FL
Answer: The first thing I would do is to take advantage of the free legal assistance you can get at offices located on almost every military base, ship and installation. The military lawyers will have dealt with situations like yours many times over. According to www.military.com (a terrific resource on military benefits), military lawyers can do everything from negotiating with another party to drafting wills to personal finance advice. Unfortunately, there is less financial flexibility with private loans compared to federally-sponsored loans. Still, since your husband is on active duty he may qualify for a 36 month deferment from Sallie Mae. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act offers active duty personnel debt protections, too. If his military service affects his ability to pay off debts such as credit cards, mortgage and some student loans the rate on the loan can be capped at 6%. The reduction is only for the time of active duty, but any interest above 6% is forgiven. This is for debt taken on before active duty. Again, the military lawyers will be able to walk you through the options available to you.


text: I am looking for the recipe for stabilizer with formalin to treat the E-6 films after development, provided by Photo Engineer here on APUG. I searched the archive but couldn't locate one that is definitive. Will someone be kind enough to post the link or the recipe? Thanks. Can I buy some ready to use product from Kodak etc? I am using the Arista kit that doesn't come with STAB, unlike the Tetenal kit (quite a bit more expensive here in the US) and hence the question.