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What is Airbnb?
It is an online marketplace where potential renters known as "guests" can meet possible landlords known as "hosts" to share their space. The type of space the hosts can list can either be a room and entire apartment, house or even a caravan. Pretty much anything, where guests can sleep, can be placed onto the online marketplace. The duration of the stay of the guests could be long term or short term, depending on the lease agreement that both parties agree to. Most booking on Airbnb range from 1-day to 3-months.
You can access Airbnb by using your you PC or Mobile phone. The registration process is simple and open to anyone that is willing to join. Moreover, it is free to sign up and you only pay once a booking is made.
The guests can customize their respective search engines to filter results that fit their particular tastes and preferences of accommodation. The price of the accommodation is set by the host and real bargains can be found. Keep in mind that these charges are bound to change according to the season, just like the hotel industry.
The host and the guest can communicate with each other before booking. Once the guest decides that like the hosts' space they can make a booking. The host has a maximum of 24 hours to either accept or cancel the new guests request. If everything goes as planned, they both meet and agree on the terms and principles of accommodation. To learn more about how to start an Airbnb visit our guide
History of Airbnb
The initial title of the Airbnb was "Air bed and breakfast". The original idea of this platform took place in 2007 where two roommates, Brian Chesky, and Joe Gebbia failed to raise enough cash to foot their rental expenses for their apartment. The two came up with the idea of getting an air mattress and renting their living room as bed and breakfast for a conference that was in town.
In 2008 the two joined forces with Nathan Blecharczyk to help build the site and respectively got their first two bookings at SXSW.
To help raise fund, they customised cereal boxes for the upcoming election. Called Obama O's and Cap'n McCain's. They sold all 500 boxes help them raise nearly $30,000 that they put into the business.
By the time 2009 was reaching, the economies of scale and the influence of their site in society had already spread and they joined Y Combinator.
During this time in Y Combinator, they realised they had an issue with traction in New York where they had most of their hosts. They flew to New York to attempt to figure out the problems. This resulted in hosts telling them that they were not doing a good job of showcasing their apartments. "The photos were really bad and you couldn't see what you were paying for". They rented a professional camera and started taking pictures themselves. The new photos attracted more bookings and the revenue they were getting from NYC had doubled.
When 2009 March came, the title of the organization changed to Airbnb.
In 2011, Airbnb began spreading its physical wings. It opened another branch in London. The increase of more international branches of the Airbnb created the idea that its economies of scale were skyrocketing every financial year. By 2013, the firm recorded over six million and close to 250, 000 property from all corners of the world. In 2015, Airbnb partnered with TESLA motors and Cuba International. Lastly, in 2016 when President Trump banned immigration in the United States, Airbnb donated 13 million to accommodate everyone that had been rendered homeless by the Trump's move.
What do Airbnb Charge?
Airbnb work on a commission model that they take for each booking. Unlike more traditional websites like booking.com where the hotel pays all the fees, Airbnb has spilt the fees between the guests and hosts. Hosts are charged 3-5% per booking depending on the cancellation policy and guests are charged between 6-12% depending on the type of property they rent.
The Future of Airbnb
The future may have various effects on the tourism and business industry, what is Airbnb doing about this.
Positive Effects
• Effect on Airbnb Company
Currently, Airbnb Company operates in more than fifty thousand countries and has over one million homes. More than one hundred and sixty million visitors get accommodation from Airbnb homes every year. Judging by the trend at which the company is gaining profit, the company will be at an incredibly high business level come the next three or five years. The rate at which tourists are using the Airbnb to rent vacation homes increases with every season. Following the statements of Joe Zadeh, an Airbnb Chief based in the United States, Airbnb will soon provide other luxuries such as helicopters and yurts to allow visitors to have improved personal experiences.
• Airbnb and Tourism
Airbnb boosts the tourism industry by encouraging tourists flock countries every season. A lot of people love to travel, but the cost of luxury hotels may keep them from visiting various tourist destinations. Since the founding of Airbnb, the number of tourists visiting the involved countries rises. The reason for the increase in the number of travelers is that they are sure they will find high-quality properties to rent which are less expensive compared to the price of hotels. Suppose a guest finds a home that is affordable and matches the standards of luxury hotels, he or she will not think twice regarding renting the place. Many tourists look towards saving money while on vacation and Airbnb provides them with the opportunity to do so.
• Airbnb and Corporate Clients
The improvement of the Airbnb Company shows that it is ready to do business with high-profile clients. For instance, celebrities, politicians, high-class people in business and other individuals with high statuses show interest in Airbnb properties. The Company also provides high-class homes that match the standards of high-end hotel rooms. Moreover, corporate clients prefer exclusive privacy and hotels may not offer the level of privacy that such clients need. Airbnb's future is bright because high-profile clients are a major benefit to the company. Suppose corporate clients begin to book vacation homes more than they pay for luxury hotel rooms, Airbnb Company will gain more profit than it predicted.
Negative Effects
• Uncontrolled Listing on Airbnb
The owners of Airbnb properties are benefiting as the number of tourists continues to hike. Soon every homeowner with a luxury home will want to list their homes under Airbnb Company. The uncontrolled listing of vacation homes under Airbnb will make it difficult to decide the best properties for travelers. Also, tourists are likely to have a difficult time selecting spaces that match their expectations. Airbnb listing is incredible, but overcrowding of properties is not good for the company.
• Effect on Hotels
The more the interest for booking Airbnb properties increases, the fewer tourists book hotel rooms. Hotels are also part of the tourism and hospitality sector. The future of Airbnb threatens the future of hotels because of the stiff competition that will arise between the two. Tourists will always choose high-standard spaces with affordable prices. Hence hoteliers will need to take their game to an advanced level to win the hearts of travels. Otherwise, hoteliers will have a hard time competing with Airbnb regarding customer attraction.


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Buffalo Pedal Bikes Bar Crawl
June 9, 2017 @ 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm$25
Pedal Bike Bar Crawl leaving from 319 Elm St. in Downtown Buffalo. We will stop at two bars, and one drink will be provided at each location. Tickets on sale May 8th at the SBI Ticket Offices (221 Student Union and 350 Harriman Hall) for $25 each. 2 per UB ID. Limited quantity available. First come, first served. All sales are non-refundable.
SBI Ticket Office Summer Office Hours (starting Tuesday, May 30th)
North Campus (221 Student Union): Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 11:00am – 3:00pm
South Campus (350 Harriman Hall): Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 11:00am – 3:00pm

subset: commoncrawl


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It seems like I'm having trouble with my Studio 4 detecting Notion 6.
Based on previous posts and tutorials, I have done the following:
- Disabled the ReWire option in Notion, and checked the "Allow Network Discovery" option.
- Checked the "Allow remote apps to discover this DAW" box in Studio one.
- Restarted both my computer and the softwares (at least 6 times)
Actually I have no problem sending data from Notion to Studio One. But for some reason, the "Song" menu in Studio One does not even include the "Send to Notion" option, sadly I can't see it anywhere.
I wonder if anyone has any ideas on this?
Thanks in advance.
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Our Group organises 3000+ Global Conferenceseries Events every year across USA, Europe & Asia with support from 1000 more scientific societies and Publishes 700+ Open Access Journals which contains over 50000 eminent personalities, reputed scientists as editorial board members.
Metachromatic leukodystrophy is an inherited disorder characterized by the accumulation of fats called sulfatides in cells. This accumulation especially affects cells in the nervous system that produce myelin, the substance that insulates and protects nerves. Nerve cells covered by myelin make up a tissue called white matter. Sulfatide accumulation in myelin-producing cells causes progressive destruction of white matter (leukodystrophy) throughout the nervous system, including in the brain and spinal cord (the central nervous system) and the nerves connecting the brain and spinal cord to muscles and sensory cells that detect sensations such as touch, pain, heat, and sound (the peripheral nervous system).
Causes: Metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) is usually caused by the lack of an important enzyme called arylsulfatase A. Because this enzyme is missing, chemicals called sulfatides build up in and damage the nervous system, kidneys, gallbladder, and other organs. In particular, the chemicals damage the protective sheaths that surround nerve cells. The disease is passed down through families (inherited). You must get a copy of the defective gene from both your parents to have the disease. Parents can each have the defective gene, but not have MLD. A person with one defective gene is called a "carrier." Children who inherit only one defective gene from one parent will be a carrier, but usually will not develop MLD. When two carriers have a child, there is a 25% chance that the child will get both genes and have MLD. Late infantile MLD symptoms usually begin by ages 1 - 2.
Symptoms: Juvenile MLD symptoms usually begin between ages 4 and 12, Abnormal high muscle tone, abnormal muscle movements, Behaviour problems, Decreased mental function, Decreased muscle tone, Difficulty walking, Feeding difficulties, Frequent falls, Inability to perform normal tasks, Incontinence, Irritability, Loss of muscle control, Nerve function problems, Personality changes, Poor school performance, Seizures, Speech difficulties, slurring, Swallowing difficulty.
Diagnosis: Tests that may be done include: Blood or skin culture to look for low arylsulfatase A activity, Blood test to look for low arylsulfatase A enzyme levels, CT scan, DNA testing for the ARSA gene, MRI, Nerve biopsy, Nerve signalling studies, Urinalysis, Urine chemistry.
Diagnosis: Tests that may be done include: Blood or skin culture to look for low arylsulfatase A activity, Blood test to look for low arylsulfatase A enzyme levels, CT scan, DNA testing for the ARSA gene, MRI, Nerve biopsy, Nerve signalling studies, Urinalysis, Urine chemistry.
Treatment: There is no cure for MLD. Care focuses on treating the symptoms and preserving the patient's quality of life with physical and occupational therapy.
Prevention: Genetic counselling is recommended if you have a family history of this disorder.
In Belgium, We report the case of a 23-year-old woman who presented with an adult form of metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD) evolving over one year with a progressive neurological deterioration. A non-myeloablative matched related haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with concomitant mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) infusion was performed. Engraftment occurred rapidly with no significant toxicity or side effects following the MSC infusion. At a follow up of 40 months, the patient had a stabilisation of all neurological manifestations of her disease. This case report suggests the feasibility and the potential efficacy of reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic HSCT combined with MSC infusion for patients with the adult form of MLD.


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Warwick Appliance Repair performs refrigerator repair in Warwick, including professional services to repair ice makers that are not working. Learn about common ice maker failures below:
Refrigerator ice makers are one of the most convenient inventions of all time. This is a small luxury a lot of people might take for granted. Refrigerator ice makers are relatively simple machines that don't have a lot of complicated components that can cause problems.
Like with any repair, there are basic things that should be reviewed before thinking the worst. And, remember, if necessary, you are able to replace an ice maker without replacing the entire refrigerator, depending on the model. First, let's review some of the causes for an ice maker failure.
If your ice maker is making ice but it is not dispensing the ice cubes it is usually a mechanical issue opposed to an electrical failure. This happens when reorganizing food around in the freezer, you accidentally jam the control arm up or down. A lot of the time the ice maker can be jammed with something else, including a chunk of ice. So, check to see if there is something blocking this from operating properly.
Before beginning the process of clearing out the freezer, check that your ice maker is on. This can be done by pulling the control arm in the down position. Sometimes, moving things around in the freezer might put it into the off position. If the control arm is free, then there might be food jammed inside the ice maker or it is not receiving a good connection.
If the control is down and there is ice but it is not dispensing it, this could be an electrical or mechanical problem. This is going to need a bit more diagnosing. Ready to get started? First, we have to inspect the electrical connection. This can become unplugged from behind the freezer or refrigerator when shifting or moving the freezer contents.
To check this, unplug the fridge and slide it out from the kitchen wall. Turn off the freezer's water supply. Locate the connection on the rear of the inside of the freezer unit. Basically this is what plugs the ice maker into the freezer. Ensure that it's actually plugged in the right way.
Then, remove any ice that is inside of the ice maker. This can be completed by adding a bit of water to help get the ice that's in there out.
Once done, restore power to the refrigerator and turn on the ice maker. It might take the solenoid component a few seconds to engage and fill the mold. When the mold is full, wait around 4-5 hours or so to see if you've cleared the problem.
Other ice maker issues that will cause your ice maker to not produce ice are frozen water lines. The water lines might be clogged with frost. This is an easy issue to fix.
First, unplug the freezer and find the shut off valve. Turn the water off and then grab a hair dryer to heat up the water line or let the freezer sit turned off for a few hours until the line is thawed.
There are some models that have a water filter that can freeze or ice up. For these situations, finding the water filter is the first step. Then repeat the same process that was done for the iced line.
If an ice maker isn't making large enough cubes of ice, there is a problem with the ice maker settings. To adjust the settings, take the top part of the cover of the ice maker off and locate a standard dial that displays plus and a minus signs. To do this, you could need a flat head screwdriver.
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Metro Exodus, soon to be released survival shooter game, will change its store. Deep Silver, the publisher of the game announced their partnership with Epic Games, meaning that Metro Exodus will be released on February 15th, 2019 only on Epic Games store.
Klemens Kundratitz, CEO of Deep Silver explained that "generous revenue terms" Epic Games store offers to publishers allows them to invest more into content creation and the benefits for the fans:
"We are delighted to partner with Epic to bring the digital PC version of Metro Exodus to market. Epic's generous revenue terms are a game changer that will allow publishers to invest more into content creation, or pass on savings to the players. By teaming up with Epic we will be able to invest more into the future of Metro and our ongoing partnership with series developer 4A Games, to the benefit of our Metro fans."
Metro Exodus was until now available for pre-order on Steam, but with this new partnership between Deep Silver and Epic Games, ability to purchase and pre-order the game on Steam will soon be removed.
Customers, who already ordered the game, don't have anything to worry about, assures Steam. In the announcement Steam published on their website, "any customer with an outstanding pre-order for Metro Exodus on PC through Steam will receive their game as expected".
Announcing this news, Steam also published on their website statement about their ended collaboration with Deep Silver:
The game will be available for purchase on other stores, including Steam, on February 14th, 2020.
This is not the first publisher leaving Steam. This month Ubisoft also decided to end the partnership with Steam and transfer the sale of Division 2 to Epic Games store.
Metro Exodus, the newest installment in Metro series developed by 4A Games, will be available for PC, PS4, and XBOX ONE. This first-person shooter video game is set in post-apocalyptic Russia, devastated by a nuclear war. The events in Metro Exodus take place in 2036, 2 years after the "Redemption" ending of Metro: Last Light.


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Georgie's Jewelry
Regular price
A stunning personalised Star Necklace, in Rose Gold Plating, how unique, and trendy, grab yours today, or purchase as a gift for the shining star in your life.
Chain Size 18" (45cm)
Please allow up to 15 business days for custom made, shipping and handling.
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Friday, July 27, 2007
Lily Dale, City of Light
Note: Blog written while still bleary-eyed from whirlwind trip to Michigan to visit ailing parents.
We enjoyed the Festival of Mystery this past May. In our travels from author table to the next, we happened upon Wendy Corsi Staub, an enthusiastic novelist with sixty novels to her credit. Much to my delight, she authored In the Blink of an Eye, a fast paced page turner set in one of my favorite places in the whole world--Lily Dale, New York. Wendy's characters are well-developed, the plot intricate, and her writing spell binding.
Back to Lily Dale, though. It's only a three hour drive from Pittsburgh and a half hour beyond Chatauqua Institute. Chatauqua is much larger and grander than Lily Dale, which sits beside a tranquil little lake. Lily Dale's summer cottages aren't kept up as well, and you can find moss on some of the roofs. It's a Spiritualist camp, started in the 1890's, and those who've studied do hands on healing and operate as mediums.
A medium brings messages through from the other side. They talk with dead people, many times relatives or friends, sometimes pets. They offer no guarantee as to who will come through for you, and you may not hear from the ones you want. The spirits decide who comes forth.
This you can do via a private reading or one of their public sessions. My favorite spot is the Inspiration Stump service, with its benches set back well within a forest of tall, ancient trees. Usually five or six mediums do several readings each, picking people from the crowd.
I've been read several times over the years. A few weeks ago, I received a message from medium Peggy Rogers from my maternal grandmother. She said I'd changed a lot over the past twenty years. I've come from a mild, please-everybody-else person to someone who operates independently and takes on leadership roles. Another medium gave Alan and me a tandem reading, saying our heart energy was especially strong and Alan's father (deceased many years) blessed our union.
Lily Dale offers workshops during the season mostly, teaching everything from Reiki to healing with stones to sweat lodges and ghost walks. And of course, probably the most important place within the gates is the Crystal Cove gift shop. Quite a treat, and you don't want to miss it. And the cafeteria's important, too.
Mostly, I treasure the sense of peace I always enjoy there, the rest and relaxation of this lakeside community from the 1880's.
But of course, I don't think there have been any real murders in Lily Dale, just the fictional ones of Ms. Staub. The killer wouldn't have a chance, for the spirits would certainly tell on him or her.
8 comments:
Cathy -
I agree - Lily Dale is a fascinating place, even without a murder mystery. With the little houses and old winding streets, it feels like stepping back in time a hundred years or so. And, although I'm generally scared of ghosts, I spent two nights in the old haunted hotel without any problems.
I've never been to Lily Dale, though I've heard a lot about it. Your blog has inspired me to go! I'm planning my training schedule for 2008, which means I have to block out my vacation schedule for next year, and all the places I want to go on vacation next year (Hawaii, California, Florida) I can't afford. But maybe I could go to Lily Dale! What sort of places are there to stay?
Gina, was it the Maplewood Hotel you stayed in? I've always stayed at the Leolyn Hotel just outside the gates.
Tory, besides the two old hotels (no heating or air conditioning) there are maybe eight of the cottages that rent rooms on the grounds. We're trying a new place in August. There probably isn't enough to do there for a long period of time unless you're taking workshops, but there's Lake Erie and the Presque Isle bike paths on the way up and back. I have an extra Lily Dale catalog for this year if you want it.
This isn't exactly the same topic, but close. How many of you believe in the use of psychics to solve crimes? Are they for real or not? Do they really help?
Lee, that's a hard one. I think a lot of people pick up true psychic impressions, but those impressions are like dreams -- multi-faceted, couched in symbols, and very difficult to accurately interpret. And I find it hard to believe that anyone can accurately focus psychic inquiries.
I've had many psychic experiences myself, but none have involved solving crimes, although I did participate in a group attempt shortly after 9/11 to psychically locate Osama bin Laden. As you may have noticed, he is still at large.
To follow up on my last comment, one of the best explanations of the focused use of psi I've ever read is River Dreams by Dale Graff (http://dreamtalk.hypermart.net/member/files/dale_graff.html), who was involved in Project STARGATE. That was a Dept. of Defense program that explored the use of psi for military intelligence.
We just did Lily Dale last weekend. There were 4 of us, two of us have been there before, and the other two have not. We all paricipated in the Healing Temple, walked down to Inspiration Stump, where two of us felt severly light-headed the closer we came to the stump.
As we were all headed toward the exit of the woods, the light-headedness... discipated. It was a very weird feeling.
We also brought a picnic lunch with us, which we shared down on their little beach.
We each had a reading done by seperate mediums, and we were very impressed by the information that was conveyed to each one of us.
I don't know, but I think there's something special about Lily Dale.
It's a very quiet, calm, peaceful, and relaxed feeling while you're there. Neither one of us could explain it, but we were all very tired when we decided to leave in the late p.m.
We all plan on going back again next year.
Of course, I would definitely NOT recommend going to Lily Dale if you're someone who needs to be constantly entertained.
Try staying at Jewel on the Lake it's awesome! We have tried different places but this guest house seems to be the most comfortable.


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Okay, I know I keep writing about the food here but a lot of home life revolves around it. My host mom makes me breakfast, and I often help her fix dinner in the evenings after class. Here are some descriptions of recent eating occasions: big Sunday lunch w/ my host family, birthday celebration for Andy, and cluster cooking day. Pictures below, too!
I experienced my first Ukrainian "Sunday Dinner" last weekend. Not sure if it's tradition or was just for the special occasion (Teachers' Day, the first Sunday in October) but friends of Anya and Serhiy came over and we proceeded to eat, toast with vodka/wine/juice, and socialize for four hours (2-6pm)! I think I consumed 2-3 meals' worth of food over those four hours: fried fish (риба); more delicious beet/carrot/potato/onion/pickle salad; fresh farmers' cheese (сир; SO good!); an excellent egg salad-type dish; boiled and buttered potatoes; varenyky (вареники) filled with cherries or cheese; homemade tomato juice (сік, or сок in Russian); homemade peach-cherry juice (компот); watermelon (кавун); chocolates (шоколад)… It was fun to meet more Ukrainians and show them some photos of my life and family. They all agreed that I look a lot like my dad! This is true. Taught them some new words in English (watermelon!) and learned some new Ukrainian words.
My cluster had our "cooking day" – mandatory for each cluster to do during PST – this Friday. We decided on an "American" dish and a Ukrainian dish, with Andy's Spanish rice thrown in for flavor (and flavorful it was!). The "American" dish vote was for pizza, so we used Kate's host mom's incredible pizza dough to create deep-dish style pizzas – for lack of a baking sheet that fit in Natalya's oven – with cheese (сир), sausage/pepperoni (ковбаса), peppers (перець), onions (цебуля), and parsley (петрушка). Natalya made Ukrainian пампушки ("pampooshky"), which are like fried dough with chocolate inside. YUM. We declared cooking day a success and decided to try and do one fun thing a week for cluster bonding!
|"Sunday dinner" at my host family's house — salad, varenyky, tomatoes, fish, egg salad stuff, compote, tomato juice…


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How to Run a Caliphate
July 9, 2019 Leave a comment
On 29 June 2014, the group that until then had been called Isil or Isis renamed itself Islamic State and declared that it had established a caliphate under its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Using modern tactics and archaic violence it had expanded the territory under its control at spectacular speed, seemingly unstoppably. Its ranks swelled and swelled with new recruits impressed by the scale of its victories. Supporters travelled in large numbers from North Africa and Europe to become part of the society it had pledged to create. Strict justice, revolutionary energy, old prophecies fulfilled: its millenarian ideology included plenty that appealed to young men of a certain type. Sweeping across Upper Mesopotamia, its fighters summoned up memories in the European mind of Timur and the Golden Horde. But these weren't primitive rebels. They came – echoing American claims in Iraq – as builders of a state.
June 20


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Self-described "aggregator of data and images" Mishka Henner is probably best known for his landscapes built with Google satellite imagery. For his first solo show in the U.S., the artist combines that technique with extensive documentary research and internet-sourced collage to address topics ranging from the sex trade to the oil market.
Can't make it? Mishka's work will also be on display at the upcoming New Photography exhibition at MoMA.


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K. I will repeat for the thousandth time that, if they never say anything else of me, I hope my kids say that they know they are loved and adored. I love hearing from school that they can tell Ace and Lily Kate are siblings because their friendly/ snuggly personalities are similar.
Ace is SUCH a great big brother lately. Lily Kate has many "unreasonable" moments and he helps me try to calm her down in a million different ways. He will show her videos on my phone when she's irate.
Not that this princess EVER gets irate.
(Funny story about this outfit. We decided to take an Easter treat to our neighbors right before the holiday. This is how Lily Kate was dressed. We had never met them before. What's even better is that the only pair of clean bloomers I had were brown with white polka dots...and the size is 12 month so she looked more like an "adult" snow white with poopy-colored britches.)
Personality trumps all people!
Ace is in TBall for the second time. We are really proud of how he's doing. As a parent, you never want to have the whiney kid, or the one that's picking flowers, or the one that eats dirt. Well, we went through all that last year so we could only go up, right? He still has his moments (not eating dirt though, thank goodness) but he's making it around the bases and making some clutch plays.
Nothing beats these two in my book.
Let me take a moment to give Jonathan some props. He has taken on more than his share this past tax season and I'm really thankful for every bath he's given these two, every poopy blow-out he's changed and every bedtime he's handled. He's come a long way from our early parenting days.


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Chant & Polyphony Choirs
Our Gregorian Chant Schola serves as the principal choir for the Traditional Latin Mass on Sundays and feast days. The Schola is open to men of all ages. Newcomers are always welcome - our veteran chanteurs are extraordinarily friendly and patient teachers. On certain solemn occasions, the Schola is joined by a small group of women to sing motets and polyphonic Masses. Choir members occasionally come together for special rehearsals, but mostly practice on their own at home, with the help of scores and recordings available on line at http://www.ccwatershed.org. If you would like to join the Chant & Polyphony Choirs, please contact Michael Olbash at [email protected].


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Chickens are soulful animals, Phil Tompkins says. "They walk up to you and talk to you," he says. "They want to interact with you. They're like a cat or dog, except they're a chicken."
That vision of affability, along with the animal's more obvious role in the food chain, are among the reasons that Mr. Tompkins and his wife, Jenn, who describe themselves as homesteaders living in western Pennsylvania, decided earlier this year to start a business called Rent the Chicken. For $350, the couple will deliver to customers a pair of egg-laying hens, a coop, a supply of food and a water dish for a rental period typically lasting from May through November.
Rent the Chicken is one of a handful of backyard-chicken rental businesses that have cropped up in states around the country, including Michigan, Massachusetts and Maryland. They join what is known as the sharing economy, a growing category now estimated at $3.5 billion that includes companies offering products or services without transferring ownership.
Most such businesses fall into two categories. There are so-called peer-to-peer businesses, like Airbnb, RelayRides and SnapGoods, which allow people to rent out their houses, cars or just about any other possession they might not be using for a short time. And there are those like Rent the Chicken and the couture-rental service Rent the Runway that follow a more traditional model in which a business owner buys goods and rents them out.
The enthusiasm for backyard chickens grew partly out of the local food movement. For those who think the best way to ensure high-quality ingredients is to oversee the growing process personally, tending to egg-laying chickens seems a fairly natural extension of cultivating gardens.
As their ranks have swelled, hen tenders have received online advice from sites like BackYard Chickens, a service that helped popularize urban poultry and which has a thriving message board (nearly 900,000 posts on incubating and hatching eggs alone). But even with all this information, many newcomers don't truly understand what chicken-rearing entails.
"You saw people on Craigslist who had these chickens they were trying to get rid of," says Leslie Suitor, co-owner of Rent-A-Chicken, a business based in Traverse City, Mich., that has no connection to Rent the Chicken in Pennsylvania. "They didn't know what they were doing."
Ms. Suitor, who founded her company in 2009 with her husband, Mark, saw several problems bedeviling chicken owners. One was that they were often accidentally buying rooster chicks, which, of course, did not produce the desired eggs and made a disquieting noise. Some owners also incorrectly assumed that they would start eating organic, farm-fresh eggs for breakfast the morning after they brought home chicks, not realizing it can take several months or more for hens to mature and begin producing them.
Ms. Suitor's company avoided these problems by delivering only hens in their egg-laying prime. "They get the payback right away," she says, adding that many customers grow attached to the rental birds and eventually buy them at $20 each.
Renting-to-own is not the most economical approach to raising hens. Building a coop and buying a pair of chicks from a feed store can run as little as $100 to $200 by some estimates — less expensive than a summerlong rental. The point, however, is not to save money, but to test a risky purchase before making a commitment.
As Mr. Tompkins of Rent the Chicken puts it, "We allow someone to chicken out if they don't want the chickens."
The chicken-rental companies also provide expertise. "Our customers can read all the books and learn it on their own," says Douglas Cook, education director of Land's Sake farm in Weston, Mass., which rents for two-week terms, "but they want somebody like me who can answer all their questions and talk them through the whole thing as a coach."
The Tompkins operate in the greater Pittsburgh area and the Suitors cover a roughly 100-mile radius from Traverse City, but both routinely receive requests from around the country.
Because hens can't be shipped very humanely or economically over long distances, the Suitors will begin licensing the Rent-A-Chicken name to farms in other parts of Michigan and in Illinois for a small fee. By next spring, they hope to extend their reach into the Chicago and Detroit areas, among others, via these partnerships. (Not all cities and counties permit chickens, so prospective customers should check local laws before ordering.)
This licensing model is a reasonable approach, says Arun Sundararajan, a professor in the Stern School of Business at New York University who studies the sharing economy. But it's susceptible to problems.
"They run a higher risk of bad consumer experiences," he says. This is because the partner farms may have excellent chicken-raising skills, but may lack customer service abilities. "It's likely to be a new consumption experience for most people," he says, "so you have to hold their hands."
Customer service has been a top priority for Jennifer Hyman and Jenny Fleiss, founders of Rent the Runway, which also offers a nontraditional service: clothing rentals. The role of their customer service specialists has changed over the last four years from explaining renting logistics to offering fashion advice and pep talks.
"We've found this kind of hand-held service is really what a customer needs to build comfort and trust," Ms. Fleiss says.
She and Ms. Hyman, like others in the sharing economy, see themselves as providing an experience, rather than just a dress or necklace. That's true of the backyard chicken business as well.
"We're in this new age where it's gone from the accumulation of things to the accumulation of experiences," as Ms. Hyman sees it. "If it's more efficient to rent a certain portion of your barnyard animals or your clothing or furniture, you're going to do that. If you don't need more items to create those experiences for you, you're probably not going to buy them."


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In this issue:
Pakistan's e-commerce market nearly doubles to Rs40bh
Pakistan's e-commerce market almost doubled in fiscal year 2017-18 as digitalisation paved the way for the services sector to increase its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP)
Pakistan Enigma: Why Is Financial Inclusion Happening So Slowly?
2017 Global Findex revealed only modest growth in financial inclusion since 2014, with 21 percent of adults having accounts.
China's 'Belt and Road', e-commerce to redefine shipping lines
The face of global shipping may be altered and seaborne trade flows and patterns redefined in the wake of new factors such as digitalisation, e-commerce and the China's 'Belt and Road' initiative which are increasingly unfolding.
SBP to Regulate Fintech, E-Money & EMIs
In order to achieve financial inclusion through different services, State Bank of Pakistan has planned to regulate fintech and companies dealing with electronic money or Electronic Money Institutions (EMIs) throughout the country.


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Hawks close in on card swooping syndicate
A 49-year-old man, who is already in custody at St Albans Prison in Port Elizabeth, has been charged by the Serious Commercial Crime unit of the Hawks as the 13th suspect of an alleged ATM card swopping syndicate. The man, who is in prison for an unrelated case , was charged last week Wednesday with Fraud and is expected to make his first appearance before the New Law court in Port Elizabeth in January 2017.
It is alleged that in 2015, the suspect, together with Luthando Ngesi (20), Linda Aba (36), Simpiwe Bulelani Twalo (27), Bruce Lee Mawela (38), Luthando Mfini (29), Lazola Mjekula (30), Sandile Sicolo (34), Ntsikelelo Giba (56), Mzimkhulu Mqaba (47), Caroline Bundwini (42), Siviwe Mpapela (24) and Lungile Anthony Billy (41), conducted ATM card swopping at various ATM machines around Port Elizabeth.
The first suspect to be arrested was Ngesi on 3 December 2015. The last suspect who was arrested was Billy. He was arrested in November 2016.
The Hawks in the Eastern Cape would like to caution the public to be extra vigilant during this Festive season as it is during this time that ATM card swooping crimes are most prevalent. Do not allow anyone to help you when performing a transaction at an ATM, only receive help from the staff of the bank. If your card is swallowed by the machine, immediately phone the number written on the ATM machine where you can cancel your card. Card swooping and the withdrawal of the cash all happens in a few minutes, therefore, phone the number immediately and cancel your card in order to prevent loss.
Source: Government of South Africa


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(212) 769-4851 Fax: (212) 769-4863e-mail
441 West End Ave. Suite 1K. NYC 10024
The PerDev Approach
Understanding Learning Differences
The ability to learn is an essential part of life. Each of us absorbs, processes and uses information to survive. But we don't all learn in the same way, and we don't all learn as well. Hidden difficulties in processing and using information gathered by the senses can interfere with comprehension, analysis, communication, safe driving, priority making, decision-making and many other critical aspects of life. Some with these problems are actually diagnosed with learning disabilities. Many others are simply labeled as poor performers.
Visual perception, visual memory, auditory memory, gross motor skill and balance, fine motor skill, analysis and synthesis and their integration - all are fundamental perceptual tools we acquire in early stages of our lives. Difficulty in the development and use of any of these tools can cause a chain reaction of educational and emotional difficulties that affects nearly everything we do.
At PerDev, we believe many learning differences are the result of bumps in the road of early perceptual development. Addressing perceptual difficulties can significantly reduce barriers to performance by allowing each individual to develop personal tools and strategies, empowering them to achieve goals, reduce stress, and feel more confident in many aspects of their life.
Closing Perceptual Gaps
PerDev uses an integrated, hands-on therapeutic approach grounded in accepted developmental theory. We focus on the development of basic perceptual tools, recreating the natural developmental sequence and helping the individual close perceptual gaps to improve performance. The process begins with an individualized evaluation to identify specific problem areas and how they relate to early perceptual development. Using this information, PerDev develops an individual program of activities and exercises constructed around identified perceptual strengths and perceptual needs.
- Body Image and Body Balance
- Gross and Fine Motor Control
- Eye-Hand Coordination
- Spatial Orientation
- Auditory/Visual Memory and Processing
- Visual Analysis and Synthesis
- Cognitive and Metacognitive Strategies
- Integration of all developmental functions.
Our Work is Play
At PerDev, work is play.. play that provides practice in problem solving, concentration and communication. Each individual follows their own program of specially sequenced games, puzzles, and activities designed to increase awareness and foster personal growth. This guided practice gives repeated mediated experience with the essential connection of mind and body, and of thought and action. Doing so allows the individual to better understand sensory input on both a conscious and subconscious level, improving his or her sense of control over learning processes and performance. The result? PerDev doesn't teach "tricks" - it improves the individual's ability to learn.


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In her TED talk, Catherine Mohr Builds Green, Mohr articulates a suspicion I often have when trying to figure out the "right" thing to do by our planet: that there are an awful lot of people "long on moral authority and short on data trying to tell us what to do."
While these tips may be well-intentioned, you really have to figure out for yourself what really makes a difference. Often they are trying to get you to buy a new product? Are you missing the elephant in the room? Mohr has an anecdote comparing several different ways for wiping up a spill: using a paper towel, sponge, cotton towel. Her illustration shows a funny obsessiveness with finding out the truth that I can identify with. Some of these truths can be trivial, but there's still something interesting in the process of discovery.
Then she takes the obsessiveness to the ultimate level by making spreadsheets comparing different building methods for her new house. She writes about the process on her website, 301 Monroe. Her spreadsheet takes a little effort to pore through, but she has clearly put a lot of time into researching the relative effects of lots of different materials used in building a house. For comparison, she includes the effects of other activities that we are more familiar with, such as driving and flying.
Still, is "embodied energy" the right measure for making comparisons? Tons of CO₂? Water use? A different measure could lead to a different "right" choice. Everything we do or use involves tradeoffs, and we should take care that the tradeoffs are worth the worry, and that they make sense. Mohr gives real examples of how the answers are not always obvious!


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Have you already tried to use email to market your business but not gotten the results disappointing? Are you uncertain how to begin utilizing marketing technique? You've come to the right spot! This article offers several useful tips that will enable you to create compelling emails possible to obtain success with email marketing.
Only send your emails to clients and people who have give you permission to contact them.Mailing people who are unfamiliar with you or your product may come across as spam. This ambiguity can lead to a deletion of the email, which in turn just wasted your efforts.
If you don't have permission, you may get lots of spam complaints and even lose otherwise loyal customers.
You should avoid boring or overwhelm your customers with too much content in the emails you send out. Focus on one topic per email and write a short copy which entices your customer to click through to read more.Your customer base will greatly appreciate not being bombarded with too much unnecessary information.
Proofread anything you send them out. It is important that all the emails be error free. You should also test the layouts of your emails to make sure everything shows up correctly. Additionally, if you use email links, test them for functionality.
Use a number of different resources to learn about how to successfully utilize email marketing. There are lots of information available online about this. You may also look into joining a class or a workshop about internet marketing in your area.
Test the format of your emails. Always put the most essential information and all new offers on the top of email messages. You must try different formats in order to determine which gives you lots of response. Once you determine the format that works for your customers, continue to use them. This way your customers form expectations about future emails and lets them easily find the most important parts of your emails.
Provide your subscribers with special articles and things they might not can locate on your website. Also try including special offers which are exclusive for your products and services. Send out greetings on holidays, and remember to not only email when you desire something of your customers.
Avoid using too many images in your marketing newsletters.
Because of this, you need to create a template that will let you incorporate your company colors, company logo and fonts from your site into your emails. This will instantly let your readers.
If you do not, you'll have a risk of losing your customers' trust and their interaction with you, which ends up giving your company a bad name. Some ISPs may even blacklist your emails, which can have a negative impact on your business.
A tool like email marketing is great to use, but its effect can only be utilized if you know what you're doing. This article has given you all the tools you need to be successful. Apply the tips you've read, and it won't take long before you're seeing great results.


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Hire professionals from the top app development agency in Leicester.
View our app development examples here.
Perhaps you need to develop an iOS app or an Android app, or you would like advice on the best platform for your mobile app. Whatever your needs, we are a specialist app development company with many years experience developing mobile apps, and we can help you.
App development process
At Creative.onl we follow a thorough design process to ensure our app development customers get the best possible result. We focus on the end user to ensure a delightful user experience.
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When you have approved the design work, then we move onto development. This involves developing your mobile app based on the designs. Then, thorough testing to identify any problems before launch. If you need help with a wider launch strategy including things like a marketing website and graphic design, we can also assist with those.
App development examples
We have developed apps for many organisations from our Leicester location. Our first in-house app product is a personal productivity tool called Reflect. Another example is the iOS and Android apps we designed and developed for Vineyard Churches. Notably, we also created an iPad app for leading headphone manufacturer Sennheiser.
App development Leicester: why choose us?
We pride ourselves on customer service. Being a service business, we only thrive if we delight our clients. Lots of our customers have been using us for a number of years, which we like to think highlights the importance we put on relationships and good service.
How to get started
First you should think about your app monetisation plan and your digital strategy if necessary (we've written a research article on digital strategy here). If you need help with those, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Further reading: app development guides
To get you started, we've written a collection of expert articles about app development:


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"Fuller House" Season 4 is starting production "pretty soon," "Full House" creator Jeff Franklin.
After what Variety described as "numerous complaints about Franklin's behavior," Warner Bros. TV issued a statement saying they would not renew his production deal, and "he will no longer be working on 'Fuller House."
Candace Cameron Bure talked to ET about heading back to work soon for Season 4, and they asked her for reaction to Franklin being dismissed from the show. Here's what she said:
"Jeff is a dear friend and he's been a wonderful showrunner and he will be sorely missed from all of us. But the show must go on. We'll do that and we hope that we will have a great season."
The show has gone on without him before. Franklin left "Full House" as showrunner after Season 5 to work on "Hangin' With Mr. Cooper." Last year, Franklin told CinemaBlend that the first episode of "Fuller House" was like his last episode of "Full House," since he wasn't happy with the way the original show ended:
"I do regret that I didn't stay involved with 'Full House' for its entire run. I was a little mystified at some of the creative decisions that got made in my absence. Some of the things that I'm doing on 'Fuller House' sort-of try to address some of the missteps that I think the show took in its last couple of years and get back to where I feel the show should be."
After the news of his departure was revealed, Jeff Franklin shared an Instagram post with his "Fuller House" stars:
But the show must go on.
Candace Cameron Bure told E! she wants even more heartwarming content in Season 4:
"What's most important to me is as much fun as we have on that show, it's always about the heart and lessons that are learned as families. I really want to make sure we bring that in in Season 4, even more than we have in any other season."
Netflix hasn't set a premiere date yet for Season 4.
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Together they conducted six "Peer to Peer Pathway Panels" during lunch for 8th grade students to learn about programs directly from high school pathway students and teachers. The panels give students the opportunity to share first-hand their experiences in pathways such as engineering, sports medicine, construction, automotive technology, fire science, and animal science. The 8th graders heard about hands on learning, industry partnerships, and course curriculum and were encouraged to ask questions so they could make informed decisions about the pathways they may want to explore in high school.
Another great way for all Arroyo Seco students to learn about high school pathways is during the annual Elective Opportunity Day scheduled every March in the Arroyo Seco MPR. Students from every pathway and elective set up displays and samples of their work in a trade show-like environment, so students can interact and learn about the many choices available at Saugus High School.


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There are plenty of ways to turn up the heat in the bedroom during the colder months.
Experimenting with new moves is an easy way to send sparks flying.
If you're feeling festive, you may want to give the Christmas Wreath position a go.
Here's how to pull off the kinky technique this November.
In celebration of the festive season, many couples have been trying out the Christmas Wreath position.
As the technique encourages you to entertwine yourself around your partner, it resembles the decoration.
To pull off the move, the penetrator is required to sit cross-legged.
Facing towards them, the woman should then sit on top off their crotch.
In a twist on cowgirl, she should then wrap her legs around her partner's waist.
As the woman is on top, she can set the pace of the romp.
The dominator is also able to adjust herself so her lover hits all the right spots.
For this reason, the festive technique is a great one for the female orgasm.
You can bring yourself to climax even quicker by experimenting with toys.
Bullet vibrators are some of the easiest to use, as they can lie on the clitorous without getting in the way during sex.
Once you've nailed this position, why not give these techniques a go.
Women are loving Queening as it's a great way to bring you to climax.
For men, X Marks The Spot is the perfect move for those who aren't very well endowed.
And here's why tantric sex has taken off in 2018.


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I am so glad that you decided to visit.
I am Linda, a super mom in training.
I blog about my crazy and hectic life with 3 kiddos.
AND IT CAN GET C-RAZY around here
Ahem . . .
JUST PLAIN GONE....insane that is
I also like to spread the LOVE.
I feature my pals a lot.
I also host giveaways, on occasion.
Oh, and how could I forget about Hunky Hubby. We like to go on HAWT dates every year or so.
I document those too!
Anyway, take a looksie around.
Come back real soon.


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Four Easy Ways to Sneak Activity into your Day
During all the hustle bustle, you have to find time for self-care. The folks that know, like the U.S.Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and The American Heart Association, recommend that adults get 150 minutes of exercise per week. We know what you're thinking. Say what?
Say, yes! You can keep werkin' on your fitness and do everything else too, so let's lean in to some easy ways you can sneak activity into your day.
1. Everything is exercise
That's right, it is, and here's how: wake up, then do one minute of crunches or sit ups right there in your bed. Waiting for the coffee to brew? Put your hands on the counter and do some push ups. Do squats while you brush your teeth. Switch hands to work both arms while you blow dry your hair. Squeeze your glutes on your commute to work. Do side bends in line at the copier. Stuck at your desk? Do spinal flexion and rotations. Try calf raises while you wash your hands. Always take the stairs and walk everywhere you can. There you go. See? Everything is exercise.
2. Wake up earlier
We know. That's not what you wanted to hear, but until we can get more hours in a day, this is how it's going to have to be. Try this: wake up five minutes earlier. Take that five minutes and do one minute of each of these exercises with no rest in between: high knees, alternating lunges, push ups, jumping jacks, tricep dips (on the floor in reverse tabletop position or with hands on a low table or seat of a chair). There. How do you feel? That's right! Like a beast who can do it all!
3. Split it up
150 minutes of exercise per week breaks down to about 21.5 minutes per day. To some people, that's a perfectly digestible amount, but when the going gets busy even 20 minutes can feel like too much of a time commitment. But, what if you split it up into two 10-minute sessions or a few five-minute intervals throughout your day? Yeah, you might get a little sweaty, but that's what freshen-up wipes and deodorant spray are for! It can be as easy as doing 10 minutes of intense, sweaty cardio first thing in the morning and then use 10 minutes of your lunch for strength training one body part per day with a set of light dumbbells or resistance bands kept at your desk. YouTube is a great resource for these types of quick routines. There's even studies that suggest short bouts of exercise may be just as effective as longer sessions, so hey – this could actually work out great for you!
4. Order in
Not food, silly. Your exercise classes! Bring fitness to your office with programming by pros like Goomi Group. Imagine having daily 30-45 minute fitness and yoga classes on site at your office – it would be easy to schedule in and show up! Plus, you'd deepen the connection to your co-workers forming a community of wellness warriors. Trust us, we've seen it happen time and again. Working out at work is not only a convenient way to squeeze activity into your day without sacrificing time away from the office, but you'll reap all the benefits of raising your heart rate during your work day like increased vitality, improved mood and heightened energy!
Ready to pencil in some programming at your workplace? Goomi Group brings the best instructors right to your job site for group exercise classes, yoga, health fairs and more. Squeeze in a moment to browse our site for more info: www.goomigroup.com


text: Happy Birthday to the 2nd born dog, Sir Argus Fezzik the Giant, today he is ONE. Weighing in at a 110lbs he believes he is a lapdog but does not believe in personal space. With his ginormous paws, his baby face and lack of neck he tends to draw a ton of attention whereever he goes. Argus has plenty of nicknames, Thunder (to Josie's Lighting), The Kool-Aid Man, Tank, Piggie (for the constant grunting) Oaf, Fuzzy Wuzzy (as in the caterpillar, that is what he looks like from above since he has no neck) and wimp. Don't let the photo fool you; he is the happiest, sweetest thing on 4-paws I have ever met. He thinks he is a cat, loves to crawl into spaces he really should not attempt and has these twitches he does when he wants attention, that one day might put him or one of us through a wall. His favorite place to sit is in front of the refridgerator doors if you are trying to get something out of it, if not, then anyone's foot will do — Happy Birthday Argus thanks for being part of the family.


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Four-wave mixing near resonance in an atomic vapor can produce relative intensity squeezed light suitable for precision measurements beyond the shot-noise limit. We develop an analytic distributed gain/loss model to describe the competition of mixing and absorption through the non-linear medium. Using a novel matrix calculus, we present closed-form expressions for the degree of relative intensity squeezing produced by this system. We use these theoretical results to analyze experimentally measured squeezing from a 85Rb vapor and demonstrate the analytic model's utility as an experimental diagnostic.
© 2011 Optical Society of AmericaFull Article | PDF Article
OSA Recommended Articles
Neil Corzo, Alberto M. Marino, Kevin M. Jones, and Paul D. Lett
Opt. Express 19(22) 21358-21369 (2011)
C. F. McCormick, V. Boyer, E. Arimondo, and P. D. Lett
Opt. Lett. 32(2) 178-180 (2007)
Prasoon Gupta, Rory W. Speirs, Kevin M. Jones, and Paul D. Lett
Opt. Express 28(1) 652-664 (2020)


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Ranking at 154 on the Human Development Index, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one of the least developed countries in the world. Similar to other countries with a health worker crisis, five women die in childbirth every day in PNG, and five and a half percent of children die before they turn two years-old. Many children suffer from malnutrition, pneumonia, and diarrhea and almost half of children under five are stunted.
Roughly 87% of PNG's population lives in rural areas where, due to the very rugged terrain, access to health care is very limited. With one doctor per 20,000 population, there is a significant need for more health workers, specifically in rural areas.


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Thanks to Bill Gutelius at Active Imaging Systems for the heads up on this contest being sponsored by Michigan Tech. The winner gets a 3D printer.
The contest is a challenge to design things that advance the cause of peace. This is an open-ended contest, but if you'd like some ideas, ask yourself what Mother Theresa, Martin Luther King, or Gandhi would make if they'd had access to 3D printing.
- low-cost medical devices
- tools to help pull people out of poverty
- designs that can reduce racial conflict
- objects to improve energy efficiency or renewable energy sources to reduce wars over oil
- tools that would reduce military conflict and spending while making us all safer and more secure
- things that boost sustainable economic development (e.g. designs for appropriate technology in the developing world to reduce scarcity)


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From Harper:
Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure:
We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.
***SPOILER ALERT! The following review contains spoilers for Delirium and Pandemonium. Read at your own risk.***
When we last left Lena, she was neck deep in the Resistance, fighting for the right to love. She managed to rescue Julian from the cure and the pair were learning to love (or in Lena's case, learning to love again). But then Alex—glorious Alex!—shows up, scarred and deeply changed. In Requiem, the final installment in Lauren Oliver's heart-pounding dystopian trilogy, Lena is struggling with her feelings for her new love and the man she never stopped loving, all the while fighting to survive in the Wilds with Raven and their motley band of resisters.
Requiem is told through the alternating perspectives of Lena and Hana. Given that the other books were told in Lena's voice, I was all prepared to jut out my bottom lip and pout when I saw that I was getting less of Lena's story. I was wrong to judge so quickly. Hana's voice offers an interesting perspective on the cure and how it changes emotions. She also has some very shocking revelations that I did not see coming. Lena's chapters are raw and gritty. She shows us more of the Wilds, the Invalids, and both sides of love's sharp razor: the good and the bad. As the end gets closer and closer, and Lena and Hana's stories begin to merge, the suspense will have your ears humming with the sound of your racing heart. It is no easy feat to walk away from this book.
Oliver's writing is once again spot on. She is a master of selective words. A few words, one carefully crafted sentence, and your heart is either flying or breaking. She tells a beautiful story.
My one complaint about this book, and it is a small one, is simply that I wanted more Alex. I fell in love with him in Delirium, and then spent all of Pandemonium mourning for him only to find out that he was miraculously alive (thank you Lauren Oliver!); I just wanted more.
Well folks, we have come to the end, but in many ways it feels like the beginning. Requiem ends powerfully, epically, streaked through with sadness and bursting with unquenchable hope. I have nothing but love for this series about a world fighting over love, and I am sorry to say goodbye to it.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (4.5/5 hearts)
Also be sure to check out my reviews of Delirium and Pandemonium.


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Time To Think
Time To Think
Since I began running around five years ago, with the exception of races, I log most of my miles with our dog, Barkley, or alone. This gives me a lot of time to think as Barkley's not much of a conversationalist. When I played golf, after a shot, I would be thinking about the next shot. When I fished, I was busy trying to think like a fish. In running I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the next mile unless I am having a bad running day. Then I think about every mile and why am I doing this? Someday I will probably write an article about why I run instead of playing golf or fishing. I have thought about that while running. Like I said, I have thought about a lot of things while running.
Today I was thinking about pacing strategy for the upcoming marathon I am scheduled to run later this month. I was practicing running a pace that will help me survive to the end and hopefully better my marathon time I set in January. My schedule today called for a steady pace for twelve miles and then running the last four miles faster. It was a nice theory but didn't pan out in reality. I was able to maintain the pace but didn't get faster those last four.
I looked back at my pace for the marathon I ran in Florida in January and wonder if I will be able to do the same at the end of the month based on today's performance. Running in a race always brings something extra out in me but the fact that there are less hills than I am accustomed to will be a benefit. I know I will face hills in Louisville in Iroquois Park but a lot of the course is relatively level which gives me hope.
In the neighborhood where I run, there are hills in every direction. I would find a more level place to run but due to my business responsibilities I must stay near to home so I can respond relatively quickly if I get called into work. On a typical route through the neighborhood, I can run between 5 to 6 miles before I start repeating the route. This means for a 16 mile run like today, I run the same route 3 times, repeating the hills, over and over again.
During my time of thinking while running, I have classified the hills based on terms I encountered while in mortuary school. I told you I have time to think about a lot of things, some of them are pretty random thoughts. Occasionally I will read a couple different terms on death certificates that brought these words to mind. The first term is "acute". This is not to be confused with "a cute", as in, my new grandson is a cute baby. The acute I am thinking about would be like, acute myocardial infarction. This is fancy way of saying heart attack, which I am trying to avoid by running. What I remember from pathology class was that acute meant a medical condition that had a sudden onset and could be severe in nature. Several of the hills in my neighborhood are what I consider to be acute hills. They come up on me quickly and are steep but don't last too long, thank goodness.
On the other hand, some of the hills are "chronic" hills. Chronic, as in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease better known as COPD, another term that shows up on many death certificates. Chronic means that the condition comes on slowly and increases in severity over a longer time. Chronic hills are like that, the incline is gradual but they seem to go on forever.
Which is harder to run? Running down acute hills is difficult since it brings pounding on the joints and is probably why I have a black toe nail. If you try to run down acute hills too quickly, you could get your body moving faster than your feet and take a tumble. A couple of the hills I run have an acute uphill following an acute downhill. Getting momentum going downhill running just doesn't have the same effect as building up speed going downhill on a bike which helps you get up the next hill without having to downshift. You hit that uphill while running and the momentum goes out the window. Parts of the routes I run in my neighborhood are out and back, meaning I get to run down and up these hills and turn around and run them again the opposite direction. I like to think of it as building character. What's the old adage? What don't kill you will make you stronger.
Chronic up hills are real time killers, especially if you are running them into the wind, something I have done a lot this spring. Which brings up a question. Why do you feel a head wind but you don't feel a tail wind? Running down chronic hills allows you to take advantage of gravity and pick up some speed while not pounding the knees like you do on acute hills. It's like coasting on a bicycle. Sometimes when doing interval runs, I put off my slow intervals and do them going up and pick up the pace on those chronic downhills.
Runs, like life, would be pretty boring if there were not up hills and down hills. I don't mind the ups nearly as much as I once did. I have found that the more acute hills I run the less they irritate me when I face them again. They sure do make me appreciate those long chronic downhills.


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Make sure before you head overseas that you've got the best card for booking flights, hotels and spending on your holidays.
Using a credit card to pay for your travels can earn you rewards, such as Avios or Virgin miles, as well as giving you protection on purchases you make overseas.
Compare travel credit cards
Compare credit cards that could be useful for overseas travel.
However you will need the right kind of card to get the best rewards. Travel cards can largely be divided into two categories:
- Cards that are good to book your flights and hotels
- Cards for everyday spending overseas
1. Booking flights and hotels
It's always a good idea to book a flight or pay for your hotel booking on a credit card, manly because of the purchase protection you'll enjoy.
Most credit card purchases benefit from protection under 'Section 75' of the Consumer Credit Act. Which allows you to claim your money back though your credit card provider if the hotel or airline goes bust.
Avios vs APR
Many airlines have credit cards that offer reward schemes and frequent flier miles (ie Avios points and Virgin miles). A few big purchases on these cards could give you enough points to fly somewhere exotic for free.
However, the cards that give the best airline rewards are often the most expensive, charging either high interest or annual fees.
So it's a trade off between price and rewards, but if you're a frequent flier who always repays your card balance, getting a rewarding airline card could be the best way to go.
What to look out for
- Make sure you can repay your full balance at the end of each month, or the interest charged could dwarf the value of the points you receive.
- If you can't repay your card in full at the end of each month you'll likely be better off buying your flights with a 0% interest purchase card.
- Don't use one of these cards overseas, unless it also gives you fee-free overseas purchases.
- Check when paying for your hotel that your transaction won't count as a "foreign" one, if this is the case you may end up paying overseas usage fees.
Make sure you know all the facts about using credit cards abroad before you travel.
2. Travel money and spending overseas
Using a credit card for your overseas spending is convenient and as with booking flights offers you payment protection over your purchases.
But the problem is that a typical credit card will charge you a fee for overseas use (normally 1-4% of the transaction or minimum charge of £1-£3), but there are cards especially designed for travel, which are fee free to use overseas.
What to look out for
- Check it's free to use in your destination - often credit cards will have no overseas usage fee in Europe, but will charge for worldwide use. A select few are fee free, wherever you are in the world.
- Don't withdraw cash - A card will charge you cash advance fees to withdraw money and possibly charge higher interest rates too (just like it will in the UK), the same applies for buying money at bureaux de change. Also check the ATM doesn't charge an extra fee.
- Exchange rates - You're not likely to get the best available exchange rates with a credit card, and you could be better off buying your travel money beforehand, or using a pre-paid travel money card.
Compare travel credit cards
Compare credit cards that could be useful for overseas travel.


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Manchester City will reportedly consider groundsharing with Manchester United if their rivals push ahead with plans to redevelop Old Trafford.
The Red Devils are currently weighing up the pros and cons of extending the Sir Bobby Charlton stand, which managing director Richard Arnold has described as "a very complex engineering challenge".
Should United chiefs give the green light for construction work to begin, the club could be left without a home for at least one season.
According to The Sun, Man City may offer to help out by allowing United to play at the Etihad Stadium if they are willing to meet the high rent costs.
The clubs previously shared City's old Maine Road home for eight years after Stretford was bombed during the Second World War in 1941.


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Party Time
Hi friends - I'll be off the computer for the rest of the week to party. And by party, I mean to work. I'll be getting ready for an upcoming awesome backyard entertaining series for ManMade. This will be the first time I've had people over to my new house, so I kinda gotta finish unpacking and put up lamps and hang stuff on the walls. But, the event is shaping up to be something amazing.
To make it a success, ManMade is partnering with Murphy-Goode Winery. We have a Pinterest board to keep track of all our ideas, recipes, and entertaining tips. Check it out here: How to Host an All-Out Backyard Barbecue
See you on Monday. Or, if you happen to live in the Portland, OR area and wanna stop by on Saturday, send me an email. It'll be great to meet you.


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THUA THIEN-HUE (VNS) — A plane had been recovered from the sea off the coast of Lang Co town in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, the local administration announced yesterday.
The plane was believed to have plunged into the sea near Phu Loc District, 60km south of Hue, during the war.
The administration has yet to identify the plane as American or French.
Ba Hop Company, which won the rights to recover the plane, said the engines and tyres had been sent to the company's warehouse in Da Nang, while other parts were being examined at Phu Loc's military headquarters.
Landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) clearance is taking place in the area ahead of the long holiday this week. — VNS


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One of the easiest ways to take control of your speech as you begin to learn how to speak English with a refined, standardized American accent is by creating a running list of all those words you believe you habitually mispronounce during the course of a day. This list, in turn, can be used by your accent coach to get a better idea of what areas you need to work on.
The words to be featured on this list are those you don't bother to correct yourself on while speaking conversationally. Either because you don't want to draw undue attention to the error and interrupt the flow of conversation, or perhaps because you don't know exactly what's wrong with your pronunciation of a word such as "athlete" and don't feel comfortable pronouncing it any other way.
Besides, you've probably heard native English speakers pronounce numerous words in ways that appear to deviate substantially from the phonetic spelling assigned to said words in the dictionary. What exactly is the problem here? The truth is that there are many words in the English language that are mispronounced by native English speakers every day, with many of them being completely unaware of their mistakes.
Fortunately, with the aid of the aforementioned personalized frequently mispronounced words list combined with the words below, you can stay ahead of the curve by learning how to speak English more clearly.
Common mispronunciation: athelete
People tend to mispronounce the word athlete because they keep on adding an extra syllable in the middle of the word. There should only be two syllables when enunciating the word. For the word athletic, the acceptable pronunciation consists of only three syllables, and not four.
To say it correctly: Remember, it just has two syllables. It's pronounced ath-leet, and not ath-A-leet. For the word "athletic", the pronunciation is ath-let-ic, and not ath-let-A-tic.
Common mispronunciation: perscription
This is what you get when you go to the doctor, and she gives you a note to take to the pharmacist. The issue with pronouncing prescription is the prefix "pre." Most people confuse it with another valid prefix, "per." Also, people tend to mix up the "re" in the first syllable with "er."
To say it correctly: Be mindful of the correct prefix. It's pronounced as PRE-scrip-tion, and not PER-scrip-tion.
Common mispronunciation: close
Though they may sound nearly identical, the words "clothes" and "close" are not homonyms. Most mispronunciations of the "clothes" can be attributed to a tendency to reduce the word down to a single syllable, overlooking the presence of the soft TH sound in the middle of the word.
To say it correctly: The letter E is silent. Make a long z sound to stress the end of the word.
How to Speak English: Where to Learn More
Accent Pros has a continuing series on how to speak English, including common English phrases and American idioms. Be sure to check out other blog posts to find your favorites. Ready for a complimentary accent reduction tutorial or afree accent screening? Check out our on-line accent reduction courses available to students with accent reduction goals all over the world. For consistent access to our idioms series and other how to speak English tips Like us on Facebook or Follow us on Twitter


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Over the past few years you may have received "Canvas Community Newsletter" emails from time to time, containing links to top trending community content such as feature ideas and blog posts. These newsletter emails were automatically generated by our community platform software, Jive. Some people liked these updates but there were a few problems with them as well. For one, we didn't have any control over what the algorithm deemed to be trending and sometimes the reasons why something was identified as such were not at all clear. Also there was no way to opt out of them. Ultimately we decided to have the update emails disabled in Jive.
If you are interested in receiving digest style updates via email, please check out the options available in your Preferences. You might also want to keep track of the people, places and content that you follow via the news feed: https://community.canvaslms.com/news?channel=recent. For more information on following and news feeds please check out the documentation in Community Getting Started area here in Meta.


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Shopping for someone else but not sure what to give them? Give them the gift of choice with an EZ Organic Shop $10 gift card.
Gift cards are delivered by email and contain instructions to redeem them at checkout. Our gift cards have no additional processing fees.
After you purchase a gift card, you will receive an email that contains a unique gift card code that can be used at checkout to redeem its value.
Can a gift card be used more than once?
Yes, provided there is still a balance remaining on the card.
Can more than one gift card be used towards a purchase?
Yes. You can redeem another gift card during checkout.
How do I check my balance?
Please email us at email@example.com and we will check your balance for you.
How can I access gift cards which were misplaced or never received?
You can click Resend gift cards from your order confirmation email. This link will only work if your order has been fulfilled.
Can a gift card be used to buy a gift card?
No, you can't use a gift card to buy another gift card.
Can a gift card be used to pay for shipping?
Yes, gift cards are applied to the final order total which includes shipping.
Can gift cards be used in conjunction with a discount code?
Yes, gift cards are a form of payment.
You will receive email confirmation when your item/s are ready.
Please bring order confirmation. Ring the bell on arrival, and we will meet you at the door with your items.
A signature will be required when receiving your items.
Pickup Times: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm.
Address: 15 Kendall Street, Clyde 2142, NSW Australia
Within 1-2 business days.
Standard Delivery:
Flat rate $12.95 for orders up to $29.95 nationwide.
Flat rate $8.95 for orders $30 up to $99 nationwide.
FREE delivery for all orders $99 or more.
Express Deliverycalculated at checkout based on the weight of your item/s and delivery address.
Brisb | Syd | Melb | Canb – 1-3 working days.
Adel | Hobart - 2-3 working days.
Perth | Darwin - 5-10 working days.
Regional WA | NT - 8-12 days.
Standard Delivery: Shipping fee is calculated at checkout based on the weight of your order.
*FREE International Delivery for orders $300 AUD or more when you apply discount code 'FREESHIP'.
Asia: 6-12 working days.
Oceania (excl AUS): 3-8 working days.
Europe: 4-10 working days.
Americas: 4-10 working days.
Due to COVID-19, international deliveries may take up to 1-2 months to arrive depending on your location.
Items placed on pre-order will despatch from our warehouse within 1-2 weeks.
Bulk orders ($2k+) only: a 20% surchage will apply to the total value of any cancelled/returned pre-order items.
Get discounted rate of 7% OFF for all orders $2000+ AUD using discount code 'bulk2rdi' at checkout.
If you would like to order more than what is available in our store, please email us at email@example.com.
After you have placed a bulk order, photo ID with address will be required for verification purposes before we can despatch your items.
If the order value drops below $2000 at any stage due to cancellations, the bulk discount will no longer apply.
A 20% surchage will apply to the total value of any cancelled/returned bulk order items (pre-order items only).
Within a few mintues you will receive an order confirmation email. And within 1-2 business days you will be notified that your order has been despatched.
If you opt for SMS tracking updates (free) or Facebook Messenger updates, you will also receive an update of your order at every step of the way via SMS and/or Messenger.
We treat every order from all our customers with extreme care. Your item will be carefully packed with bubblewrap/cushioning to ensure everything arrives in mint condition.
All purchases on our store come with a guaranteed 90-day full refund money-back from the date of purchase.
To be eligible for a return, your item must be unused and in the same condition that you received it. It must also be in the original packaging.
To complete your return, we require a receipt or proof of purchase which is to be sent to firstname.lastname@example.com. Please do not send your purchase back to the manufacturer. Your refund will be processed and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment within a certain amount of days.
We only replace items if they are defective or damaged.
If you need to exchange it for the same item, please contact our customer support team at email@example.com.
Please attach to the email clear photos of the product showing any defects or damage and specify which product this pertains to. We will then issue a Return Label (PDF) shortly after which will cover the shipping & packaging to return the defective item to our warehouse.
Simply present the Return Label at Australia Post along with the returned item. Please inform us as soon as you have sent the item; as soon as the tracking number for the returned/exchanged item activates we'll send out your replacement.
If your order is delayed and it is well past your expected delivery date, you will be required to launch an investigation with Australia Post to locate your item. We cannot do this on your behalf as Australia Post require the customer to raise the investigation directly.
If your order doesn't arrive within 30 days of the expected due date, we are happy to provide a refund in full. This will allow additional time in case your order does arrive.
If your order does arrive after a refund is processed...
At House of Knives, we're always working on making our store as secure as possible for everyone. That's why, after placing your order, we may ask for a government ID or have you confirm your legal name and add your address.
This information helps us keep House of Knives secure, fight fraud, and more.
"Our mission is to inspire everyone to achieve their best self, by having access to the best and purest ingredients to help them lead a life full of energy, passion and joy."
My name is Kentaro and welcome to EZ Organic Store! As a family owned online retailer we are passionate about having the best range of organic powders, supplements, herbs, creams and oils to help you achieve your optimal health while providing the optimal shopping experience for all our customers.
We have handpicked the best brands to ensure you are receiving premium, top quality organic products.
All our products come with full manufacturer warranty, and if for any reason you are not satisfied with your product, we will refund or exchange your item no questions asked.
With our range of unique and wide range of organic supplements, teas, oils, powders and snacks, you are bound to leave with a smile on your face.
We are constantly adding new and in-demand products so make sure to subscribe to our mailing list and watch this space!
If you have any questions, comments or feedback we would love to hear from you.
Hours: 9am-6pm (Mon-Fri).
Phone: 1300-309-428.
Email: email@example.com.


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Half Shell Egg Chair
As low as A$185.00
In stock
- Chair: L 102 x W 85 x H 109 cm
- Stand: 196 cm
- Base: 94 cm diameter
- Total weight: 23 kg
- Weight Capacity: 120kg
- Chair material: PE Wicker
- Cushion Material: Polyester
- Frame Material: Metal
- Product Care: Chair can be washed with mild soap and water. Cushion cover can be machine washed.
- Durability: UV Resistant
Cushion Colors:
The unique Half Shell Pod Chair allows you to relax in comfort in both the indoors and outdoors. This chair features a hand-woven PE wicker bird nest like frame design leaving you with an uncaged free experience. The chair is fully hand-woven and made from all weather synthetic PE wicker which is extremely durable, UV resistant and waterproof in all Australian climate conditions.
The stand and base are powder coated which is more resistant to chipping, scratching and fading creating a heavy duty finish.
The included 2.6kg cushion with arm and head rests is available in a variety of colours and is easy to care for.
Replacement or additional cushions can be purchased separately.
Simple assembly required.
Write Your Own Review


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When I was a young boy, I spent quite a bit of time with my grandma at her house. We would do all kinds of fun things such as laundry with a clothes press, gardening, baking, cooking, looking at photos, reading, playing farm with the toy tractors, and going for walks around Orange township. God was very important to her and I can remember one verse in particular that she would show me. It was Philippians 4:8 and I will give it here in the KJV because that is the way it was read to me as a kid.
Philippians 4:8 (KJV)
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
My grandma told me then that I should put this verse in my heart because it was the key to everything. To be honest, I didn't think too much about it at the time. I was more interested in exploring, playing, and having fun.
As time passed, I began to realize that this single passage from the New Testament contained within it the secret to living a joy-filled life. By applying this verse to our daily lives, we can amplify the joy we experience in our marriages, relationships with family and friends, parenting, and in our lives as a whole. It is such an important verse, that author, Tommy Newberry, wrote an entire book about this verse called The 4:8 Principle.
If you want to experience vibrant health and abundant energy, it is essential that you consume certain foods and drinks and refrain from consuming others. The exact same is true if you want to lose weight or put more muscle on your frame. You have to say yes to the foods that lead toward your goal and no to those that lead you away from your goals. While this seems like common sense, it is not always common practice for those desiring to reshape their physical bodies or increase their energy levels.
Progress towards joy begins the same way, with a firm decision to cut back on joy-reducing thoughts and increase joy-producing thoughts. To put it simply, you have to change your mental diet. You have to think this and not that. If certain thoughts don't bring you joy, then you need to learn to discipline yourself not to think those thoughts. After all, joy is the sum and substance of emotional health.
The book of Proverbs contains a verse that speaks to this directly.
Proverbs 10:28 (NIV)
28 The prospect of the righteous is joy,
but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
Many well-meaning individuals desire to be leaner or more energetic but then continue to indulge in a diet and lifestyle that takes them in the opposite direction. Consequently, they do not reach their goal.
Many with the goal of increased joy run into the same predicament: they keep consuming a mental diet mismatched with their goal. In both instances, there is a major disconnect between the desired objectives and the daily behavior.
I have one important question that I want to leave you with. Really give this question some thought today.
What kind of diet am I currently feeding my mind and soul?


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DARPA's Strategic Technology Office is hosting a Proposers Day to provide information to potential applicants on the structure and objectives of the new Collection and Monitoring via Planning for Active Situational Scenarios (COMPASS) program. COMPASS aims to help military decisionmakers gain clarity on adversary intent during complex, multi-layered gray zone conflict and then provide high-fidelity intelligence indicating how to best respond. The program will mix artificial intelligence, game theory, machine learning, modeling, simulation, control systems, estimation, and other fields. Additional details are available at https://go.usa.gov/xQqjt.
Please address administrative questions to firstname.lastname@example.com, and refer to the COMPASS Proposers Day (DARPA-SN-18-41) in all correspondence.
DARPA hosts Proposers Days to provide potential performers with information on whether and how they might respond to the Government's research and development solicitations and to increase efficiency in proposal preparation and evaluation. Therefore, the COMPASS Proposers Day is open only to registered potential applicants, and not to the media or general public.
Full COMPASS program details will be made available in a forthcoming Broad Agency Announcement posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website.
You are now leaving the DARPA.mil website that is under the control and
management of DARPA. The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute
endorsement by DARPA of non-U.S. Government sites or the information,
products, or services contained therein. Although DARPA may or may not
use these sites as additional distribution channels for Department of
Defense information, it does not exercise editorial control over all of
the information that you may find at these locations. Such links are
provided consistent with the stated purpose of this website.
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Rivera Conference
Conference Will Honor the Legacy of Tomás Rivera
The April 24 event will celebrate the contributions of the late UC Riverside chancellor and award-winning writer.
(April 14, 2009)
NEWS MEDIA CONTACTName: Bettye Miller
Tel: (951) 827-7847
E-mail: email@example.com
Tomás Rivera
"It's been 25 years since his death and we're still celebrating him," said Carlos Cortés, professor of history emeritus at the University of California, Riverside.
The annual Tomás Rivera Conference on Friday, April 24, will honor the legacy of Rivera, who was UCR's chancellor from 1979 to 1984. The event will commemorate the 30th anniversary of his appointment as chancellor and the 25th anniversary of his death. The conference theme is "From the Fields to the Stars."
Screenwriter Ligiah Villalobos, who wrote the hit film "Under the Same Moon" ("Bajo la Misma Luna"), will introduce her film in the evening program and will conduct screenwriting workshops in the afternoon. Other conference highlights are an art installation of a life-size car made of burlap, "My '61 Ford," by Adán Avalos, an exhibition of previously unreleased photos of Rivera and other Hispanic writers by Michael Sedano, and the screening of Villalobos' "Under the Same Moon."
All events will be held on the UCR campus and are free and open to the public.
Registration is requested as seating is limited. For program information and registration go to http://creativewriting.ucr.edu/TomasRiveraConference/index.html.
Rivera was the first Hispanic and first minority chancellor in the UC system. He died in 1984 after a heart attack.
Friends recall him as a gentle man of great warmth, a giant in Chicano literature who overcame tremendous obstacles to excel as an author, professor and university administrator.
Rivera was an award-winning writer of poems, short stories and literary essays who was the first winner of the Quinto Sol Award in 1971 for "… y no se lo tragó la tierra" ("… and the Earth Did Not Swallow Him"). Quinto Sol was a publishing company that focused on Chicano literature.
He populated his work with characters drawn from the migrant workers and Hispanics he grew up with and worked alongside.
"Tomás was the storyteller of the people," said Eliud Martinez, UCR professor emeritus of creative writing who achieved tenure the year Rivera was named chancellor. "He linked Chicano literature with Mexican popular culture, and combined sophisticated literary techniques of the modern novel with traditional forms from popular Mexican culture and language."
Rivera never forgot his early years as a migrant farm worker, or anyone who helped him to achieve, Martinez and others said. He helped many others in turn, both as a writer and administrator, by supporting junior professors, and by reading and commenting on academic and creative manuscripts, Martinez said. He also was responsible for bringing the central offices of UC MEXUS to UC Riverside.
"He was extraordinarily approachable and available," said Arturo Madrid, the founding president of the Tomás Rivera Center at Claremont Graduate School and the Murchison Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. "He was encouraging. He didn't dismiss people on the basis of talent or lack of talent."
As UCR chancellor, Rivera brought a sense of humanity to the campus, Cortés recalled.
"What he wrote about was the way he acted as a human being and college administrator," Cortés said. "The individual was so important to him that he gave unselfishly at the individual level," urging 10-year-olds to go to college, encouraging UCR students to pursue their dreams, even playing Santa for children in the campus day-care center.
"The one driving thing in his life was opening the doors of education to families with no college education," he said. "He symbolically opened doors. His willingness to give of himself brought shame to those who would not."
Rivera promoted education for everyone, not just Chicanos, Martinez said. "He believed that for Chicanos an education was very important. He wanted to make higher education pertinent to students of Mexican ancestry."
He was at the forefront of a national bilingual education movement at a time when there were few Hispanic classroom teachers or college professors, Madrid said. Because of his stature as an author, Rivera also validated initiatives promoting the role of language and culture in education, and "connected with educators across the board, from kindergarten educators to professors."
"Rivera's creative work was ahead of its time, his vision of education and community was ahead of his time," said Juan Felipe Herrera, the Tomás Rivera Endowed Chair in Creative Writing and the conference organizer. "With this conference we hope to come closer."
Conference events start at 8 a.m. when Adán Avalos will begin the installation of his life-size burlap car in the lawn area outside the CHASS Interdisciplinary Building, where most conference activities will take place. Avalos recently was the resident artist at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, Calif.
At noon, the Flor y Canto (Flower and Song) Chicano Literature Festival archives will be inaugurated in Special Collections and Archives on the fourth floor of the Tomás Rivera Library. Rivera attended the first festival in November 1973. Michael Sedano, the donor and photographer, will be present.
Villalobos will conduct two screenwriting workshops from 1 to 4:15 p.m. in Humanities 1500. A 5 p.m. reception outside Interdisciplinary 1020 will include music by local guitarist Hector Ceballos. Activities will move to the Interdisciplinary Building screening room at 6:15 p.m. with Carlos Cortés performing an original dramatic solo with Ceballos in homage to Rivera, followed by a screening of "Under the Same Moon." A question-and-answer period with Villalobos will follow.
The conference is coordinated by the Tomás Rivera Endowment/Department of Creative Writing and co-sponsored by Chicano Student Programs, the Tomás Rivera Library and Special Collections, CHASS First, Department of Theatre, Palm Desert Graduate Center, Inlandia Institute of Riverside and the Riverside City College-Academic Support Program.
Contact: Juan Felipe Herrera, firstname.lastname@example.com or (951) 827-5027
The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 21,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.
A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.