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While as a dad I enjoyed the art and humor in the picture book Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, I wasn't interested in going to the recent movie. But I had to watch some of it anyway, as a silent film, since it showed on the airliner during a flight back from Japan this summer.
The blog title refers to my distracted style of eating, say, if we are having Italian. If the sky-light is favorable and the clouds are mobilized, I'll excuse myself several times to peek out the window, sometimes to run outside with a camera. My urge toward cloudspotting is in its third year and shows no sign of abating. It began with collecting digital time-lapse movies of cloud formation.
Many cloudspotters dislike contrails because they can make the sky look like a poorly-scrubbed blackboard. Atmospheric studies during the airline-banned three-day period immediately after the 9-11 attacks did show a distinct difference in cloud formation over the continental US.
But they can have a beauty of their own. Here's a garden-variety contrail:
Sometimes contrails linger and spread out.
Next is a distrail, meaning where a jet cuts a slot. I've only seen this in low- and mid-level clouds. The reason that there are two parallel slots is that sequential jets on their landing approach were following the same track, but the cloud here, which looks like a stratus nebulosus, was moving from south to north so each jet cut a new slot.
If the air is just right, high-level contrails can create some spectacular loops and whorls as the contrails are caught in the wingtip vortices shed by wings and the tail empennage. I see these less than a dozen days a year. In my limited experience it's most likely early in the morning, when the stratosphere is extremely calm. It may more likely during the turnaround, a brief time of year when there is low windshear in the stratosphere - that's when NASA launches its ultra-high-altitude scientific balloons. (Here's a link to an article I wrote for Smithsonian Magazine about that facility's work.)
At any rate the air up there has to be near saturation or else the moisture (which is always in the form of ice crystals) will sublimate before something interesting happens. Here are two contrail-curiosity photos, the first a smoke-ring of sorts I caught a month ago:
Here's a string of contrail beads, from two winters ago, low on the horizon at sunrise. Like nearly all the coolest cloud displays, these last less than five minutes, so if you want to catch them keep a camera close to hand.


text: So I have wanted to have a blog for some time. I could never really settle on a subject matter so I decided it would just be about life. Family, friends, makeup, getting older and all the random thoughts that go with it. I hope you like it. Hopefully people can relate and I can make some new friends in the process.

subset: commoncrawl


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Air travel can be stressful nowadays with long lines, flight delays and cramped seating. Add luggage, children, strollers and even pets to the mix and you have a veritable powder keg of stress. How can you make travel the relaxing experience it should be? Bring along your favorite essential oils to relieve tension, settle your stomach and promote relaxation.
I never thought about incorporating essential oils into my travel routine until I attended a travel event sponsored by Organic Spa Magazine. When the folks at Lotus Wei sprayed me with Quiet Mind, a mist of clove, citrus and geranium scents, I immediately felt a sense of calm come over me.
Now we all know that our olfactory perception, a.k.a. our sense of smell, can trigger memories, but did you know that it is a scientifically proven fact that aromas have an effect on relaxation.
Some stressful travel experiences come to mind, like the time I took a crowded six hour flight to San Francisco and was seated next the privy. By the time I arrived I felt nauseous and in no mood for the romantic weekend I had planned. Some ylang ylang or lavender mist would have come in handy on that trip. If only I knew then, what I know now.
5 Ways to Use Essential Oils During Travel
1. Combat Dry Cabin Air: Spray a few drops of Aura Cacia's organic daytime Argan or soothing Tamanu facial oil serum on a tissue or unscented wipe to use on your face, neck, and arms to counteract the effects of stale pressurized cabin air that dries out your ski
TIP: Make several types of wipes or tissues and place them in small, zip-top bags and label them. Place all of the smaller bags in a larger zip-top bag and put in a convenient seat pocket where they can be easily accessed and are ready for any situation.
Of course essential oils are not just for air travel and can be used to relieve stress and enhance your relaxation in any travel situation.


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About a month ago, Photos of AKA and Reebok shooting what appeared to be a commercial which we only learnt that it was actually a shoot for a new single by the rapper and the apparel brand.
The first assumption was that they were planning on releasing a capsule collection for AKA, which is not too far fetched, but it appears they decided to focus on the music while AKA is still in album mode.
Practice is a new record, an offspring from that Reebok connect.
Listen and download below


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Clashes on first day of Pope's Brazil visit
July 22 - Police fire tear gas and rubber bullets during clashes with demonstrators on the first day of Pope Francis' week-long visit to Brazil. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
(ROUGH CUT ONLY - NO REPORTER NARRATION) Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets during clashes with demonstrators on Monday (July 22) near the Rio de Janeiro state governor's mansion shortly after Pope Francis spoke there after meeting with President Dilma Rousseff and other government officials. The Pope arrived to Rio de Janeiro earlier in the day amid heightened security with concerns there could be a repeat of the mass, and sometimes violent, demonstrations that plagued several Brazilian cities last month. The government has deployed more than 20,000 soldiers, police and security officials for the papal visit. While some of the measures are routine security provided for any visiting head of state, they are compounded by the popular draw of the Pope, especially because Pope Francis has said he plans to travel around the city in an open-top vehicle and occasionally mix with the throngs expected to turn out to welcome him. The visit comes amid growing economic and social dissatisfaction in Brazil, which is home to more than 120 million Catholics.


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We all know that WinXP likes to keep itself held together, and how it doesnt like you uninstalling certain components. Well The Picture and Fax Viewer, is one of these programs which can cause problems if removed incorrectly. It can be disabled safely as follows: [Start] [Run] type regedit and …Read More »
Disable Windows Logo Key
I was recently playing games and this nasty windos logo key keep annoying me , cause i often accidently clicked it , and i start to search a solution to solve my problem, and found the following article in microsfot website, and it did work, hope this helps, thanks! CODE …Read More »
Disable Compression On Xp, NTFS partition, Disk Cleanup
On an NTFS partition, Disk Cleanup can compress old files to save space. But calculating the savings and performing the compression often take a long time, and on some systems, Disk Cleanup hangs during the process. If that happens, or if you don't care to wait, use this Registry tweak …Read More »


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(Just don't go on to the second page of that comic unless you want to see way too many uncensored penises. How many is "way too many," you ask? WELL APPARENTLY IT'S FOUR or, well, two, but twice each)
But now, let's move on from penises entirely, and instead talk about lesbians! That's right, it's Scratchtavia time; head down below the break for my review of of Shukumei's Fun With Changelings.
Impressions before reading: "Changeling comes to Ponyville, has to overcome prejudice" isn't, and never has been, a particularly original premise... but that doesn't mean an author can't put a unique twist on it. More concerning to me is that the description includes the sentences "My bid to make "Wubsy" a more official part of the fannon. Check the source of the fic image to see the comic that started it all." Stories based on comics don't have a great track record 'round these parts, and a novel-length example of the same seems likely to be pretty heavy on filler. Still, nearly a half-dozen editors and pre-readers are credited, including at least a couple of names I recognize, and that gives me some hope going in.
Oh, and I'm pretty sure this fic is pre-S6. Call it a hunch.
Zero-ish spoiler summary: One of the changelings from Chrysalis's failed invasion of Canterlot ends up love-blasted to Ponyville, where Vinyl Scratch defends it. However with that attack still fresh in everypony's minds, keeping it hidden is a clear necessity... especially once zealous anti-changeling patrols and changeling-blocking domes become part of the small town's "charm."
Thoughts after reading: This story falls into a trap which I've seen claim many changeling fics with its general premise, so I'm going to take a moment to dive into it.
In a story where a good changeling (or in some cases, a changeling who learns to be good) must overcome the prejudice of the townsfolk, either changelings as a race must be misunderstood, or the story's focal changeling must be unusual or exceptional in some way. Additionally, there must be some good reason why the ponies as a group are so changeling-phobic. Not all stories that take the first path accomplish this, but most of those which take the "exceptional protagonist" route (including Fun With Changelings) don't particularly struggle here; after all, the reason the ponies as a group are distrustful is because they're basically right to be, and the protagonist is a unique outlier.
Where this story, and many like it, fail, is in recognizing that those townsponies are right. In the particular case of this story, changelings are part of a collective hivemind, and changelings separated from that hivemind generally die quickly. "Wubsy" is a previously unheard-of exception, who not only survives but achieves consciousness, free will, and general higher thinking abilities. Which is all well, as far as it goes... but the story misses the important point, "since something like Wubsy has never existed before, and since there's no reason to believe that something like that could happen, ponies are completely justified in not allowing for the possibility that this supposedly impossible thing could happen when confronted with a situation perfectly explicable by normal means." Really, it's just an extension of the whole "extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence" principal.
So when the bigotry of the townsponies is lambasted because they immediately assume that all changelings are bad news, it's a bit hard to swallow. It's not really bigotry if it's a demonstrable truth which holds up to research and all past study, is it? Likewise, the heavy-handed parables which the fic draws between sexuality and changeling-ness are, at best, misinformed, and at worst, highly offensive; they would seem to suggest that all homosexuals are, in fact, horrible monsters, and that the existence of any "good gay" would be a new and unforeseeable appearance.
Then again, I suppose it's true that there still are some people in this world who would argue that all homosexuals are monsters... but I rather doubt the story's intent was to suggest that their logic is entirely sound.
The problems with the story extend far beyond that, though. Most notable is that all of the characters have a maddening tendency to expound upon their feelings and motivations out loud. Take Octavia's apology to Vinyl after she calls her out for being careless and risking exposing Wubsy:
"Vinyl," she said, her voice still firm but not near as volatile. "I'm not going to apologize for what I said. It's something you need to seriously think about. But I am sorry for how I said it. I lectured you like a foal and I shouldn't have done that; I know you understand how serious this is and I pressed the issue because I was angry and scared. I lashed out at you when you didn't deserve it. I'm going to go to bed now because it's been a very stressful day. I hope you can forgive me enough to come sleep in the bed with me."Despite what you might think, this is a fairly representative example of how characters talk to one another throughout the story. And, feeding back into what I talked about up above, it means that characters are almost always self-aware about times when they should feel guilt... or rather, when the author has decided that they should feel guilty.
On the question of Equestria's morality in general, I'm of two minds. On one hand, several of the more seemingly unbelievable bits of characterization (e.g. the bloodthirstiness of Ponyvillians) are given in-universe explanations. But on the other, a number of elements one is simply forced to accept as they appear on the face of it--say, the creation of a paramilitary force that's half-gestapo (right down to the brown shirts!), half-keystone kops. Oh, and Twilight was personally involved in their creation, at Celestia's request. That's a tough pill to swallow.
When the story isn't dwelling on these kinds of things, it has a vaguely pleasant slice-of-life feel to it. I say "vaguely pleasant" because most of one's enjoyment will center around whether one finds precisely archetypal Scratchtavia fluff (She's wacky and kinda dumb! She's uptight and refined!) rewarding. I don't particularly, so I didn't particularly--but that's because I'm not the target audience for this kind of thing, and I know it. I suspect that readers who enjoy a few pages of Exactly The Kind Of Banter You Expect When You Hear The Word Scratchtavia™ will find this fic very competent in that regard. But in the end, it's the cement between a lot of very questionable bricks.
Meanwhile, there are a lot of questionable decisions in the field of... not so much writing, but just basic knowledge. The most glaring of these is what appears to be an extension of the old "bashing someone over the head knocks them out cold for a few hours, with no lasting effects" trope. Now, although that's obviously not how concussions work in real life, it's not something I'd think to complain about in a story. Here, though, the author applies the same logic to breaking a pony's neck, which was baffling enough that I had to read the scene three times to make sure I wasn't misinterpreting what I'd read. Other basic knowledge errors peek through as well, but to be fair, that's the biggest one by a country mile.
Star rating:
One good thing I'll say for this fic: its technical editing is quite strong, and that's definitely not nothing. Beyond that, though, the most effusive bits of praise I can think of mostly consists of things like "I've seen other stories do so-and-so worse."
Recommendation: Stories of this kind are written explicitly for people who already know that the changeling is the good guy, and who don't need any sort of in-story (in-universe, in-context...) justification for casting characters who disagree in a villainous light. If you are that sort of reader, enjoy fluff about the relevant ship, and don't mind characters regularly narrating their feelings, this would be worth consideration. Otherwise, this is probably one to pass over.
Next time: Fire Spores, by applecinnamonspice


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Dealing With Haters by Talking Up Your Achievements
I have a friend who has taken to reading my blog and then criticising the things I have written about. "Hash browns?" he'll text, "…how lame!" or "I can't believe you write a whole post on what you wear – how vacuous."
I have noticed that people really love to criticise people who are doing things that they wish they had done themselves. The friend I am describing is an artist, or should I say, should have been an artist but was too lazy to ever do anything about it. He would spend hours and hours telling me about projects he hoped to do one day – and you guessed it – they never get done.
Tall poppy syndrome
This is something we know very, very well in Australia and I can say that it does not exist so much in the UK and in the USA. According to Wikipedia: Australia's usage of the term has evolved and is not uniformly negative. In Australia, a long history of "underdog" culture and profound respect for humility means that we cannot tolerate someone we perceive to be "up themselves" or full of pride. This may be a historical consequence of Australia's English feudal heritage. Our Australian convict history set up an us and them mentality, or the "Tall Poppy Syndrome".
Got that? A profound respect for humility.
I understand a little about this syndrome because I spent a couple of strange years in the American school system as a child. From the ages of 6 to 8, I was allowed to freely express my little heart out, and I enjoyed school almost every single day. My teacher was American and many of my fellow pupils were too, with lots of internationals thrown in. The school I went to was the American Embassy School in New Delhi.
Aussie kids vs. American kids
Problem was, when I got back to Australia, everyone thought I was "up myself" which is an Australian expression meaning vain and boastful. Children in Australia are not taught to speak their minds, they are not taught to broadcast their achievements. This is painfully apparent to me when you see a little kid being interviewed on the news after a house fire or something. When the newsreader puts the mic up to the mouth of an Aussie kid and says, "What happened?" the Aussie kid will say (even if they are as old as 8 or 10), "Ummmmm….eerrrr. I…. dunno. There…. uh… was a fire."
Whereas if you ask an American kid in the same situation, "What happened?" he'd be able to say, "I saw the fire approaching and I ran to the house to get my dad. My dad was able to get my mother and dog out of the house and we called the fire brigade."
American kids are taught how to speak up for themselves. Aussie kids are not.
Acting in LA and talking yourself up
I have a friend who moved to LA. She and her husband are established actors with many film and TV credits under their belts. She too pointed out to me that Americans don't have as much trouble talking up their achievements as Aussies do. Typically, in Australia if someone asks how you are going with work, the appropriate thing to do is to downplay your achievements, The more you have actually achieved, the less you are encouraged to say.
So my friend in LA would find herself in a dinner party conversation, talking about her acting work and totally downplaying it, which she said actually confused LA-types who were much more used to people talking UP their achievements than talking them DOWN.
Australians HATE airs and graces
Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald has an opinion on this: "(Australian) Citizens know that some among them will have more power and money than others… But according to the unspoken national ethos, no Australian is permitted to assume that he or she is better than any other Australian. How is this enforced? By the prompt corrective of levelling derision. It has a name—The "Tall Poppy Syndrome". The tallest flowers in the field will be cut down to the same size as all the others. This is sometimes misunderstood…It isn't success that offends Australians. It's the affront committed by anyone who starts to put on superior airs."
Personally, I find that some of the most successful people I know talk themselves UP. One of the radio announcers I produced for was a master at this. He constantly talked up his talent, his show, his co-host, his guests and made them sound more professional and more important than they were. And you know what? It worked. In the ten years I knew him I saw him go from a nights announcer to the number one music jock in the country. He now earns two million a month, from what I have been told.
So talk yourselves up, people! Don't let people cut you down. They're probably just envious that they aren't doing anything with their lives and you are.


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Citizens are more and more unsatisfied about institutions and governmental authorities due to their difficulty to find offices and services. Digital Signage is the perfect solution to solve these problems with technology and community involvement. Multiple monitors controlled from a centrally-administered console allow to show new laws, documents, public news, weather forecast, waiting time and alerts in the same time to different places. These ideas are far only few clicks with Voome Jade Corporate Edition.
• Updating employees and citizens on new laws and current regulations • Engaging citizens with information on how to move in the complicate world of bureaucracy • Lounge rooms entertainment and advertising
• Dynamic indications with directional arrows for visitors • Queue management


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ESU celebrates $58,034,736 in gifts to Now & Forever campaignFebruary 18, 2017
What was publicly launched in February 2013 as a five- to seven-year challenge to raise $45 million has transformed Emporia State University and launched Hornet Nation — a community of dedicated and loyal donors.
"Now & Forever: The Campaign for Emporia State University" has already made a lasting impact on Emporia State and its students — raising not $45 million, but $58,034,736. It is the largest philanthropic movement in Emporia State University's history. The total was announced at a celebration Saturday evening at Emporia State.
Beyond the dollar amount raised, the campaign has had a meaningful impact on students, faculty and staff.
New, generous professorships and scholarships are helping Emporia State recruit and retain scholars. Two of those opportunities include the Dr. John C. Rich Distinguished Accounting Professorship and the McPherson Family Scholars.
Andy Eleazar Renteria, chemistry and physics major at Emporia State, is one of the many students impacted by funds generated through the campaign. Renteria's parents are working-class immigrants from Mexico.
"They have fought relentlessly through countless obstacles to provide financial security to my family, and they are unable to contribute very much to my education financially," Renteria said. "But everyone deserves to go to college regardless of income.
"Scholarships from the Now & Forever campaign provide me with the security of knowing that I can focus on my next quantum mechanics exam or the chemical reaction going on in the lab without stressing about affordability."
Newly renovated facilities provide contemporary, functional spaces and amenities appropriate for 21st-century students. Emporia State University student Moira Pyle, junior marketing major, said she, along with other business students, will benefit from a learning commons on the first floor of Cremer Hall.
"This renovation and innovative design perfectly describes the impression I had first received at Emporia State," Pyle said. "This creates a sense of ease and availably of having all program and resources all on the same floor. Not only is this place more accessible, but the modern style is what all students will be greeted with as they enter the building. This is a major attraction to new students and families as they visit Emporia State."
Welch Stadium renovations, including new Jones Field turf and running surface for Zola Witten Track, along with the Dennis Shogren Scoreboard were made possible by donors through the Now & Forever campaign. New softball stadium turf and creation of the Baxter Sports Medicine Center further complement the list of Athletic facility upgrades.
The Now & Forever Campaign has had a lasting impact on Kathryn Flott, elementary education major and Lady Hornet basketball player.
"I honestly cannot tell you where I would be right now if it wasn't for Emporia State University," Flott said. "Chances are, I would not still be playing basketball, because I wouldn't have had coaches that believed in me like they do here. I am beyond grateful for what the generous gifts to the Now & Forever campaign have done for not only me, but countless other students as well."
The wealth of opportunities that have already been created as a result of the Now & Forever campaign will continue to grow, as 40 percent of the total came in the form of estate gifts.
"We are grateful for everyone who has participated in this exceptional opportunity to continue Emporia State's commitment to its current students, and those who'll be learning here in the future," said Emporia State President Allison D. Garrett.
About Now & Forever
Now and Forever: The Campaign for Emporia State University, set out with a working goal to raise $45 million through the most comprehensive campaign in university history. Determined to build spirit, camaraderie and a sense of pride in Hornet Nation, we decided to share our victories. By ringing Silent Joe during each celebration, we announce to the world that the Hornet Nation is Silent No More.
Check out our students' achievements and accomplishments on Emporia State's meritpages.com site


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Gale Tracey AMP
September 2010...So you think you want a mortgage broker?
Good for you. You're about to make what is likely the most significant purchase of your life; it's good to get some financial advice. Stop thinking of a mortgage as a big fat loan – and start thinking of it as a tremendous financial tool. Properly structured, the right mortgage can build your wealth, protect you from a financial downturn, and save you thousands of dollars. An experienced, skilled mortgage broker is going to give you the best overall view of what's out there for you in the marketplace – and can tailor a mortgage that suits you perfectly.
Firstly, understand that your bank – great as they are at your day-to-day banking – may not always be the right choice for your mortgage. That's because there are many options for getting a mortgage in Canada – including about 50 major lenders. Your bank represents one available lender – and it doesn't always make sense to restrict yourself to a single lender. That's where mortgage brokers come in. Homebuyers are increasingly savvy, demanding more information, more choice, and better value with their mortgages. And that's why they've been increasingly turning to professional mortgage brokers, who can offer almost instant access to rates and features from a huge range of lenders.
How do you pick a good mortgage broker? Here are a few questions to ask:
1. How long have you been a mortgage broker? Experience is critical, as it is in every industry. But sometimes a fresh young broker is working with the support of an experienced broker – so ask about that person too. Your young broker may be dynamite – and can lean on a more experienced planner if needed. It's actually a good sign to see this kind of mentoring in the workplace; it shows they're in it for the future. Don't be afraid to ask what the broker's annual volume is. A broker doing over $10 million annually is not that "young' in terms of mortgage transactions experience..
2. Do you have your AMP designation? The Accredited Mortgage Professional designation means that the broker has professional training, and meets certain ongoing education and professional requirements.
3. How many lenders do you work with? While there are over 50 in the marketplace most brokers work with a shorter list, where they are able to get to firmly know the company and their guidelines. You want to be sure that your broker has a solid stable of lenders, but you don't want all of their business going primarily to just one, otherwise they likely aren't being as objective as they should be, unless they specialize in a specific product that is only available through that lender.
4. How much of your business is referral business? Where the business comes from says a lot about the broker's service. The best brokers receive a very high majority of their business from referrals from satisfied customers.
5. Do you charge fees? For most standard "conventional" deals, brokers don't charge fees. They may charge a fee if the lender isn't paying a commission or where the deal is complex and takes considerable time to package and close. Charging fees isn't necessarily a negative, you just have to understand the situations where they are charged.
Trust your instincts. A good mortgage broker will look professional, will have a high-quality website or other materials, and will make you feel comfortable asking questions. After they've told you what they'll do for you, ask them what happens if your mortgage isn't approved. A good broker will work with you – to help you improve your credit, for example. If the broker is just interested in the deal on the table, move on.
The right broker will make a significant difference in your financial life. When you've got a partner to help you achieve your financial and homeownership goals, you're on your way!
Return to News Articles
|Universal Financial Corp. d.b.a. Universal Mortgage Architects | Branch office address #102-2748 Lougheed Highway, Port Coquitlam, BC V3B
Copyright © 2019 Mortgage Architects™ All Rights Reserved


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The government will likely report Wednesday that the sales pace of new single-family homes ticked up last month, but remained at a relatively low level, according to a consensus forecast.
Economists polled by MarketWatch expect the U.S. Commerce Department to report at 10 a.m. Eastern that the annualized sales pace of new single-family homes hit a seasonally adjusted 450,000 last month, compared with a rate of 440,000 in February. If the March rate rises to 450,000, that would be up 2% from a year earlier, but down 57% from the average monthly pace of almost 1.1 million over the five years leading up to the 2005 bubble peak.
Rising mortgage rates and home prices, as well as low inventory and harsh weather, are likely restraining home sales, economists say. Builders themselves are pessimistic about trends for new-home sales.
Economists caution over reading too much into a single monthly report on new-home sales because the data have a large confidence interval, and some months it's impossible to tell whether home sales rose or fall.
Longer-term trends for sales show little movement, with rates staying within a fairly narrow band of 440,000 to 455,000 since October.
–Ruth Mantell
Follow Ruth on Twitter @RuthMantell
Follow the Capitol Report blog on Twitter @CapitolReport
Check out these Capitol Report posts:
Sales of million-dollar homes are on the rise as sales of cheaper homes fall
Prospects dim as deadline approaches for housing-reform bill


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President Barack Obama speaks about his Promise Zones Initiative, in the East Room of the White House. The Promise Zone Initiative is part of a plan to create a better bargain for the middle-class by partnering with local communities and businesses to create jobs, increase economic security, expand educational opportunities, increase access to quality, affordable housing and improve public safety.
President Barack Obama is introduced by 14 year-old student Kiara Molina
PBS NewsHour: White House To Tackle Income Inequality In 'Five Promise Zones'
President Barack Obama announced his new strategy to combat income inequality and poverty by targeting resources at five new "Promise Zones", the Associated Press reports. White House officials said the administration will focus on creating jobs and cutting poverty in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. The federal funding for these areas will be put into education, housing and crime-reduction programs. Obama announced the initiative during last year's State of the Union address.
More here
Yahoo: Obama Unveils First 5 'Promise Zones'
President Barack Obama is identifying five communities that will benefit from a program of tax incentives and government grants, a year after he unveiled the plan in his 2013 State of the Union address. Obama named the new "Promise Zones" Thursday at a bipartisan White House event. It's an example of administrative action Obama can take without Congress. Thursday's zones are in San Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. They're the first of 20 the administration intends to announce over the next three years.
More here


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Hello my gorgeous friends!
My Etsy shop is officially LIVE!
This has been a long time in the making but I am finally taking the plunge and putting my fear aside!
My shop is called NerdCentral13 which will have all nerdy related items.
Currently I have my Pokemon pots that I spent so long on. Soon I will have up some coasters and knick knacks up.
I hope you all enjoy and love my work. Let me know your thoughts! Enjoy!
Stay classy and sassy ❤


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A Letter from President Chris Canetti to Dynamo Members
Orange Rewards
We understand that all fans are different and invest in season memberships for different reasons. As a result, we want you to have flexibility in determining your benefits package. Orange Rewards allows you to choose the rewards you want and customize your own membership.
Useful Links
Nominate a Member of the Match
Buy or Sell Tickets on Flash Seats Marketplace


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Scientific Research
Drinking chamomile tea daily with meals may help prevent complications of diabetes, according to a study in the September 2008 "Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry." Rats given a form of chamomile tea for three weeks saw levels of blood sugar fall by a quarter. A 2005 study in "Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice" also showed chamomile was able to reduce blood sugar without affecting insulin levels, while research in 2008 in the "Journal of Natural Medicine" found chamomile had a protective effect on pancreatic beta cells in reducing hyperglycemia-related oxidative stress.
Potent hypoglycaemic activity of the aqueous extract of Chamaemelum nobile in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Eddouks M, Lemhadri A, Zeggwagh NA, Michel JB.
SourceUFR: PNPE, BP 21, Errachidia, Morocco 52000. email@example.com
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of both a single dose and daily oral administration for 15 days of the aqueous extract of the aerial part of Chamaemelum nobile (C. nobile) at a dose of 20mg/kg body weight on blood glucose concentrations and basal insulin levels in normal and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ). Single oral administration of C. nobile aqueous extract reduced blood glucose levels from 6.0 +/- 0.3 mmol/l to 4.9 +/- 0.09 mmol/l (P < 0.05) 6h after administration in normal rats and from 21.1 +/- 1.3 mmol/l to 14.5 +/- 0.9 mmol/l (P < 0.001) in STZ diabetic rats. Furthermore, blood glucose levels were decreased from 6.1 +/- 0.06 mmol/l to 4.6 +/- 0.17 mmol/l (P < 0.01) and from 21.1 +/- 1.31 mmol/l to 13.7 +/- 0.9 mmol/l (P < 0.01) in normal and STZ diabetic rats, respectively, after 15 days of treatment. Basal plasma insulin concentrations remain unchanged after treatment in both normal and STZ diabetic rats so the mechanism of this pharmacological activity seems to be independent of insulin secretion. We conclude that the aqueous extract of C. nobile exhibits a significant hypoglycaemic effect in normal and STZ diabetic rats without affecting basal plasma insulin concentrations and support, therefore, its traditional use by the Moroccan population.
Antihyperglycemic and antioxidative potential of Matricaria chamomilla L. in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.
Cemek M, Kaga S, Simsek N, Büyükokuroglu ME, Konuk M.
SourceDepartment of Chemistry (Biochemistry Division), Faculty of Sciences and Arts, Afyon Kocatepe University, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey.
Plants with antidiabetic activities provide important sources for the development of new drugs in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. In the present study, we investigated possible antihyperglycemic and antioxidative activities of the aerial part of the Matricaria chamomilla L. ethanolic extract (MCE) in streptozotocin (STZ; 70 mg/kg, i.p.)-induced diabetic rats. The following groups were assigned; sham (did not receive any substance), STZ + distilled water (control), STZ + 5 mg/kg glibenclamide, STZ + 20 mg/kg MCE, STZ + 50 mg/kg MCE, STZ + 100 mg/kg MCE. Diabetic rats were treated for 14 days by gavage. Postprandial blood glucose levels, malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione (GSH), nitrate, nitrite, ascorbic acid, retinol, beta-carotene, superoxide dismutase, and catalase levels were measured, and immunohistochemical studies were performed in all of the groups. The obtained data showed that STZ resulted in oxidative stress and affected the antioxidant status. Treatment with different doses of MCE significantly reduced postprandial hyperglycemia and oxidative stress, and augmented the antioxidant system. In histological investigations, MCE treatment protected the majority of the pancreatic islet cells, with respect to the control group. As a result, MCE exhibited significant antihyperglycemic effect and protected beta-cells in STZ-diabetic rats, in a dose-dependent manner, and diminished the hyperglycemia-related oxidative stress.


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Features and Changes
- Improves bank feeds suggestions during the first reconciliation, and the first time a new transaction type is encountered.
- Adds the ability to disable taxes for newly created French accounts during sign-up.
- Adds three new accounts to the FR Chart of Accounts.
- Fixes an issue where customized tax rates and labels created during on-boarding were ignored.
- Fixes the wrong file extension written to Excel files on export. Was XLSX, is now XLS.
- Fixes an issue in accounting reports where filters would sometimes not work.
- Fixes an issue in bank-entry matching when a deposit has zero lines.
- Fixes a performance issue related to updating employee names.


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We are on the brink of D day! Edan Nathanial Aguiar will be with us any day now (come on out buddy – mommy is waaaaay over being pregnant, ya?!) Please cross your fingers for a speedy delivery. They say #2 is easier, no? I sure do hope.
As I prepare for bringing Baby Deuce into the world I contemplate what mommy x 2 will look, taste and feel like. I keep having these dreams that I drive myself to the hospital, give birth and shortly thereafter, bundle up the kid to head out to some very important event. Delusions? I am sure. But interesting to see where my head is at!
I suppose that with a toddler, a career, and a household to run you kind of loose the "whimsy" feeling you had with the first kid where it was all about bonding and breastfeeding and diaper changes. Now it's like "come on kid, we got stuff to do, your sister has a play date, you are out of diapers and if we don't pick up some chicken from the store no one is eating tonight!" Man, I feel bad for the little guy already. He's already getting shafted in my dreams!
So, with that in mind, I feel it is only fair to give my little dude his fair share of mommy time… Ok, well not the 14 months that Arya got but he will get his 8 weeks worth – let's be real people we've got to eat!
So please enjoy the silence and we give Baby Deuce (and mommy) a few weeks to acclimate to the world post partum. I will be sure to post pix when he arrives. We will also have some very exciting things in store for The Cultured Seed in the new year. Stay tuned!


text: Hi, Here is an updated patchset. I have CC'ed Henri and Ivan, since they were the main critics of the old design. Ivan, this should get rid of the inheritance thunks the old way of munging everything into the shader backend had. I've discussed things with Henri on IRC. Henri, can you take a quick look and see if your vertex pipeline stuff can be integrated into this concept? A few remarks: -> The whole pipeline is split up into a vertex, fragment and misc part. -> It is no problem if multiple parts of the pipeline read the same D3D state. See for example sampler() -> However, the representative states in all pipeline parts have to be the same, otherwise bad things will happen. This imposes some problems around stream sources, vdecl and vertex shaders. However it is no problem if different implemetations of the same pipeline part have different state groupings. -> It is possible that not all states are grouped correctly yet, or some more states may need splitup. This will surface once we have a vertex pipeline replacement. -> Private data for the fragment pipeline is stored in a separate pointer in the device. This can of course be the same as the shader private storage, but doesn't have to. For the next days I'll be bugfixing for another CrossOver Games release, so I'll probably send this stuff in a week or two. Further plans are: -> reorder the patches slightly since in the current form atifs is temporarily broken, making regression tests harder -> Find a r250 card to test the atifs stuff. I am currently not at home, and it turns out that fglrx has a broken atifs implementation. -> Generally more testing. Right now I've only tested our regression tests -> Add extension information to the state templates. That way the pipeline compiler can select different functions from the same template depending on the available extensions. That way we can move a few more if(GL_SUPPORTED()) checks out of the rendering loop, saving a few CPU cycles and making the code cleaner. In the long d3d10 run, those things could be considered: -> Using different templates for d3d10, thus getting rid of a few if(!shader) checks. It's a minimal optimization though, everything in the fixed function code except the if(!shader) tests will never be touched in d3d10 anyway since the states are never dirty -> Create an additional geometry pipeline template > -----Original Message----- > From: wine-devel-bounces at winehq.org [mailto:wine-devel- > bounces at winehq.org] On Behalf Of Stefan Dösinger > Sent: Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:48 AM > To: wine-devel at winehq.org > Subject: Pipeline separation preview > > Hi, > I'm sending a preview of my vertex-fragment-misc pipeline separation > patches as discussed a few weeks ago. The patch comments have more > descriptions. The relevant patches start at patch 5, the other patches > are other junk in my tree. > > Any comments? > > Stefan


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In Braains.io Zombies most favorite meal? Answer is: human brains. And this is what the latest game from .io games family is about. Human brains are delicate and tasty – at least for an ordinary zombie. Play as a zombie, and try to tag every human that comes to your sight. Chase them down, and find them in case they are hiding somewhere between the boxes, or in the corner of an abandoned house. If you play as a human, try to hide, and survive till the round ends. Once you get tagged by a zombie, guess what happens… you are zombie too… time to tag some innocents! Have fun with this crazy multiplayer game!
Click Here To Play Braains.io On Big Screen.
Play Braains.io Game Online
Braains.io is a new .io game which is total different from the previous .io games. This game has a lot of new features such as: voice messages, live chats and much more stable FPS system. You will be playing this game as a zombie and you have to eat people and need to survive as long as possible in the game. Can you make it to the end? Try to be the biggest zombie as possible. Controls : Move with WASD.


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Fictional boys, the epitome of deliciousness, come in so many flavors. We have the sinfully sweet Saints who are magnificently gorgeous while also affectionate and tender-hearted. Quite often, they are charismatic and maybe even a little shy. On the flip side, we have the wickedly delectable Sinners, who are exquisitely beautiful while radiating sex, lust and their allure is held in their not-so-nice actions. Both we want in some form or another, but lucky for me, this post is about the Saints I want to lick and the Sinners I want to throw up against a wall and do unholy things to.
So, without further ado, I give you my picks:
My pick for Saint was epically easy as I have a crazy-super crush on Cricket Graham Bell from Lola and the Boy Next Door. Cricket is 6'4" tall, lean and possibly the sweetest guy to ever exist. He has the most beautiful blue eyes and mad-scientist, brown hair and, not only is he thoughtful and caring, he is a brilliant, genius. But my very favorite thing about Cricket, is this underlying energy he has that makes him so full of life and love, he draws me to him. The way he lights up about the smallest things or how he listens to everything
"Lola, do you remember when you told me that I had a gift?" [Cricket]Now, even though Cricket Bell is 18 in Lola, in my head he is always older (because I'm 28,LOL!) so, for my Saintly Cricket, I've chose James Marsden. And let me tell you people, I don't know if you can find anyone as sexy and sweet as Cricket Graham Bell! I really have this urge to lick my screen!
I gulp. "Yes."
His eyes open and lock on mine. "You have one, too. and maybe some people think that wearing a costume means you're trying to hide your real identity, but I think a costume is more truthful than regular clothing could ever be. It actually says something about the person wearing it. I knew that Lola, because she expressed her desires and wishes and dreams for the entire city to see. For me to see."
My heart is beating in my ears, my lungs, my throat.
"I miss that Lola," he says.
I take a step toward him. His breath catches.
And then he takes a step toward me.
My eyes open, and my heart is in my throat. "Cricket...I'm not that."He stops pinning my hair. "What do you mean?"
"You've built up this idea about me, this ideal, but I'm not that person. I'm not perfect. I am far from perfect. I'm not worth such a beautiful story."
"Lola. You are the story."
"But a story is just that. It isn't the truth."
Cricket returns to his work. The pink roses are added. "I know you aren't perfect. But it's a person's imperfections that make them perfect for someone else."
I will never fully be able to express how much I love Cricket Bell. However, Lola says it best:
For my bad-boy Sinner I've chosen Ethan Sullivan, Master Vampire for Cadogan House from The Chicagoland Vampire series by Chloe Neill. Now, sometimes Ethan is kind of a douche, but he's a very old vampire and really...it's to be expected. He's tall and muscular with long blonde hair and exquisitely green eyes. Occasionally, he thinks outside of his vampirism and remembers a bit of his humanity, but in the beginning it's kind of rare. Mostly, he does what he must to take care of Cadogan House and all the vampires within. He is a protector, a teacher, a freakishly sexy man that I would love nothing more than to jump!
And if I'm the stars, Cricket Bell is entire galaxies.
[Lola, Kindle Location 3966]
For my bad-boy Sinner I've chosen Ethan Sullivan, Master Vampire for Cadogan House from The Chicagoland Vampire series by Chloe Neill. Now, sometimes Ethan is kind of a douche, but he's a very old vampire and really...it's to be expected. He's tall and muscular with long blonde hair and exquisitely green eyes. Occasionally, he thinks outside of his vampirism and remembers a bit of his humanity, but in the beginning it's kind of rare. Mostly, he does what he must to take care of Cadogan House and all the vampires within. He is a protector, a teacher, a freakishly sexy man that I would love nothing more than to jump!
"You are what I made you." [Ethan]Ummmm...I think my eyes silvered with that one! Geesh, Ethan, I'll be your consort! Forget Merit! :P
"I make myself." [Merit]
Ethan took a step forward, then another, until I was stepping away to avoid him, until he'd backed me against the living room wall, until I felt the cold slickness of painted plaster behind me. I was caught. Ethan braced his hands against the wall, one on each side of my head, boxing me in, and stared down at me.
"Do you want disciplining, Initiate?" I stared at him, a flame igniting in my core.
"Not especially." Liar. His eyes searched mine.
"Then why do you persist in taunting me?" The eye contact felt too intimate, so I turned my head away and tried to swallow down the reluctant arousal, uncomfortably aware that I couldn't blame my actions, my interest, on the vampire lurking inside me.[...]
[...]"I wasn't taunting you."Is it totally wrong that I want him to choose, ME!? Is anyone else a little hot in here?? *licks lips*
He didn't move, not until he lowered his head, his lips even closer to mine than before. "You wanted me a moment ago." This time, his voice was quiet, his words not the challenge of a Master vampire, but the entreaty of a boy, of a man: I am right, aren't I, Merit? That you wanted me?
I forced myself to be honest, but I couldn't force myself to speak. So I stayed silent, and let the silence stand for words that I couldn't bring myself to say: I want you. Despite myself, I want you. In spite of what you are, I want you.
"I can't."
He dropped his head so that his lips hovered just above mine, his breath on my cheeks. "Give in to it." I flicked my eyes up to meet his, which were the deep, dark green of primeval forests—ancient, unknowable, and hiding monsters in their wooded depths.
"You don't even like me." He smiled a little evilly.
"That doesn't seem to matter." A slap wouldn't have pulled me out of the trance any faster. I twisted beneath his braced arms, then moved away.
"I see."
"I'm not happy about this either."
"Yes, I get that you don't want to be attracted to me, that you think I'm beneath you, but thank you for pointing it out anyway. And in case you haven't realized it, I'm not thrilled about it, either. I don't want to like you, and I certainly don't want to be with someone who's appalled by me. I don't want to be . . . desired begrudgingly." He stepped toward me with the grace of a slinking panther. And just as dangerous.
"Then what do you want me to say?" His voice was low, thick with lambent power. "That I wanted you to taste me? For all that you're stubborn, sarcastic, completely unable to take seriously my authority, and patently disrespectful, that I want you? Do you think this is what I would choose?"
Anyhow, there are my selections for this freakishly awesome Saint and Sinner Weekend. I'd like to thank Ash for letting me be apart of this, I had WAY too much fun! And, to celebrate, I am giving away a copy of either Lola and the Boy Next Door or any ONE of The Chicagoland Vampire books to ONE lucky winner. This giveaway is open to anywhere The Book Depository ships, see countries here.
- You don't have to follow to enter, but you get extra points if you do and of course...it's always appreciated!
- 1 entry per person
- Fill out FORM HERE


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Tiburon Toolkit
The Tiburon Toolkit is a set of thirteen FREE web-based business benchmarking tools that Tiburon has developed for various types of financial advisors. Each tool allows some group of advisors the ability to benchmark their business operations. Tiburon provides these tools free to practitioners as a goodwill gesture and to collect aggregate data for its own use. Any advisor who completes one of the benchmarking surveys can view and print relevant comparison graphs and advisors who complete all 35-42 questions of any survey can download a free copy of Tiburon's 200-300 page summary research report (retail value $5,000).
The Tiburon Tools have been a big hit. Over 4,000 advisors have benchmarked their business practices. And the tools have won two awards already!
Tiburon Tools
Tiburon has introduced thirteen benchmarking tools over the past three years:
Tools Sponsors
Tiburon is not alone in this endeavor. Business Technology Alliance (BTA) has been a key Tiburon partner. BTA has developed the technology underpinnings of the benchmarking tools. HD Vest Financial Services and the National Association of Enrolled Agents (NAEA) have also been key partners in promoting the tax professional tool.
Tiburon's strategy is to share the cost and effort, as well as the branding and aggregate data benefits, with other firms trying to add value to advisors. If your firm is interested in becoming a sponsor of one of Tiburon's tools, please contact Sarah Sage at firstname.lastname@example.com or 415-789-2540. To purchase one of the research reports, please see the section on Research Reports. To contact Tiburon regarding a conference speech, please click on Schedule a Tiburon Conference Speech.


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A Vivienne Westwood show just wouldn't be a true Vivienne Westwood show without a pontificating manifesto to back up each and every look - and, naturally enough, Autumn/Winter 2009 didn't disappoint. Westwood called the collection 'Plus Five Degrees' - surely something every winter collection should be aiming at (at least for London-based designers like Westwood)? But no, La Vivienne's point wasn't quite as clear-cut as that. Last winter she was inspired - or at least inflamed - by rainforest destruction. A season ago it was 'Do It Yourself' anti-fashion. This season, Westwood looked to James Lovelock's dytopian climate-change tome 'The Vanishing Face of Gaia', which rather obliquely sent her off on a trip about Greek goddesses, Renaissance armour and the 15th century allegorical paintings of Andrea Mantegna. This was all an excuse for pretty much Westwood's standard crowd-pleasing rag-bag of well-polished tricks: vaguely Greek drapery, curvilinear tailoring and all manner of odd fins, flaps, lappets and trains dangling from unexpected areas. Westwood's knitwear, as ever, was accomplished: this season there were jacquard sweaters, back-to-front cardigans and Pagan motifs knitted into neat leggings and socks, often bristling with oversized wooly tassels. Echoes of last season's 'Do It Yourself' came in swathed, swagged and slightly messy raw-edged bales of silk taffeta strapped around the models' bodies as unconventional evening attire. However, whether this will make it onto the shop floor, or indeed whether a bolt of textile haphazardly thrown across a torso and secured with a few tacking stitches really constitutes fashion, remains up in the air. Westwood's tub-thumping manifesto ended with the line 'The present outlook is certainly something we didn't expect', but we can only assume she wasn't talking about the collection. From concealed platforms to swathed and corseted overblown evening dresses (and one too many tutus for comfort) this was formulaic déjà vu. Nevertheless, three cheers (quite literally) for Pamela Anderson: this season's unexpected and enchanting star model who managed the nigh-on impossible task of upstaging Dame Viv herself. Now that is something new.
Paris Womenswear A/W 09
Vivienne Westwood
Show Report
Westwood looked to James Lovelock's dytopian climate-change tome 'The Vanishing Face of Gaia'.


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For the three years that Michael Wanchick has been St. Johns County Administrator, he's warned us that without new revenue sources, tough choices are ahead. The main one: How the county will maintain the quality of life we expect in return for our tax dollars.
Tuesday, a group of residents joined forces to support the lighting of ball fields at a new public park in Palencia. The reason was so children would have more time to play after school as days start getting shorter. It makes perfect sense. Kids and adults can't throw the ball around on a dark field.
The project brought into sharp focus the kind of future choices the County Commission will have to make. County staff has been working on the plan for lighting for awhile now. The County Commission authorized the lighting for two of the four ball fields at the new park for $111,000; the second two will follow later in the year. A grand total of less than $400,000 will be spent, officials said.
In fact, the package the county put together for this project shows a lot of ingenuity. The first $111,000 was money the Recreation Department received from the Utility Department. It needed park land for a plant to be located on the future Villages Regional Park, according to Troy Blevins, county parks and recreation director. Another $75,000 is coming from park impact fees. The St. Johns County School District is kicking in $25,000 because the fields will be shared with the future elementary school there. There is also a $5,000 grant from Beaches Adult Soccer League.
The rest of the project will come from bed-tax funds and will permit the county to expand baseball and softball tournaments that bring tourists to our area. The county has been successful with these for years. But, TDC funding is not available until October, hence the project lag.
There was a time when the county would have done them all in the same project. But, not anymore considering declining revenues.
The best news is that no general fund tax dollars were used. But, what about the next time?
That's the challenge we see ahead. Ball fields, libraries, parks, and the like are in the tough choice category, the perks as Wanchick said.
Getting four ball fields lighted without spending general fund tax dollars is an accomplishment. We don't consider it a "Band-Aid" as one parent said. The county got the job done.
The parent further complained that it was a shame the county didn't have park money but had $1.8 million for renovations for the Sheriff's Office. These renovations will expand the storage capacity of the evidence room which has not been expanded since the original construction in the 1980s.
But one can say that about any project the county spends money on and ask the question,
"Why do you fund their project and not mine?"
We applaud the funding plan for the lighting of the ball fields. We suggest that citizens come forward and help the county prioritize and find ways to help fund quality-of-life projects. This is only the first "tough choice" the County Commission has had to make. More than likely, as revenues continue to decline, there will be many more tough choices.


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Sunday, 19 July 2015
Wayward Carnival
The Wayward Carnival is now open until the 30th July. It has some amazing designers, builders, and creators in all of Second Life! The Wayward Carnival is being held July 15th – 30th and spotlights designer exclusives as well as our working carnival!
Participating stores are listed on the website below and are on the sim in alphabetical order which makes it super easy to find anyone you are looking for. But seriously, check out all the stalls because there are some amazing things there.
For More information go to:
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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Video of the Week: The "Halloween Bug"
This week's video concerns Asian ladybugs -- the species Harmonia axyridis. These ladybugs are a headache for homeowners because they like to spend the winter indoors in large clusters, and emit a foul stench if they are disturbed. Since their infestation usually occurs in late October, and some of them are more orange than red, they are sometimes referred to as "Halloween Bugs".
Here's a recent article about Asian ladybugs from an Illinois newspaper, and here's a link to some archived blog entries about Asian ladybugs.
And here's a video of a news report from last year's ladybug invasion in Lawrence, Kansas:
October 31, 2008 in Asian lady beetles, Bugs in the news, Pest horror stories, Video | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Three times a lady
The Asian lady beetle continues to be one of the few insects active enough to get press coverage in the Fall.
Here's more about Asian lady beetles in North Carolina. The article recommends attaching a pair of pantyhose to your vacuum hose to collect them and keeping them cool outside until spring if you desire to release them into your yard and actually benefit from their presence.
This article finds more people reporting allergy symptoms as a result of ladybug infestations in their homes.
November 9, 2006 in Asian lady beetles | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Ladybugs invade North Carolina
Two news stories out of North Carolina are chiming in with reports of Asian ladybug infestations.
Boone, NC, The Mountain Times: Invasion of the ladybugs
Asheville, NC, Citizen-Times: Fall brings Asian lady beetles seeking home for the winter
Both articles advocate the precaution of sealing possible entry points into the house. Once inside, however, the only recourse seems to be vacuuming them up, and disposing of the vacuum bag as quickly as possible. Bug-bombing or spraying is not recommended.
November 1, 2006 in Asian lady beetles | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
The Halloween bug?
Since my post last week about Asian ladybugs/lady beetles, I have seen more articles about their invasion of homes.
Since their infestation usually occurs in late October, and some of them are more orange than red, I have occasionally heard them referred to as "Halloween Bugs".
A woman in Washington, D.C., prefers to call them "little monsters", as she discovered an estimated 40,000 Asian lady beetles in her house recently.
The author of this article from the Washington Post also links Asian lady beetles to Halloween:
The annual gathering of the ladybugs has begun, when they barge into the house like a horde of unwanted trick-or-treaters.
As if their home invasion habit wasn't enough of a nuisance, this news report out of New England quotes a doctor as saying some people can be allergic to these ladybugs, and that their presence can bring on "Itchy eyes, nose, nasal congestion, scratchy throat, coughing and in more severe cases wheezing and shortness of breath."
October 31, 2006 in Asian lady beetles | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
When good ladybugs go bad
Trade shows keep our marketing department busy in September and October. (Which explains the light posting recently.) This year's shows had us pitching our insect traps to retailers in Las Vegas, Reno, Napa, Baltimore and Philadelphia.
It was at a fall trade show several years ago that some True Value dealers started asking me about a small orange beetle that showed up in their homes in large numbers during the fall months. We sell a Japanese Beetle Trap, and the dealers thought that perhaps that product would solve their problems with this home-invading insect of Asian origin. Desperation was evident on their faces as they described the noxious odor and yellowish fluid the beetles emitted. Most reported trying to vacuum up the beetles from the walls and ceilings where they congregated, but this tactic seemed to only make the problem worse.
Turns out that this insect pest is actually a ladybug... a sweet, innocent ladybug -- the most recognizable of all the beneficial insects. How did the good ladybug go bad and become a pest?
Actually, this bug is still technically a good bug, even though it's a nuisance to people when indoors. This particular species of ladybug is named Harmonia axyridis -- or, more commonly, the Asian lady beetle. Like others of its kind (ladybugs, that is), H. axyridis is valuable to gardeners and farmers because it eats aphids by the hundreds. It also devours other soft bodied insects that are pests of ornamental plants, vegetables and fruit trees.
As for appearance, the United States Department of Agriculture says that compared to other lady beetles, "H. axyridis has a wider range of colors and spot numbers... Wings range from black to mustard; spots number zero to many. The most common United States form is mustard to red with 16 or more black spots. But the species is easy to identify from its big false 'eyes' -- twin white football-shaped markings behind the head."
The USDA reports that when the Asian lady beetle first came on the scene, it was accidental. The bug was originally a stowaway that first became established from ancestors that entered by ships coming from Asia to the ports of New Orleans and Seattle. In the 1970s and 1980s, USDA entomologists released large numbers of Asian lady beetles in the South, East and Northwest to research their effect on crops -- one of which was pecans. According to one of the scientists involved in the study, the beetle "nearly eliminated pecan aphids" where it was present.
Okay, so it eats aphids and other insect pests, and that's all good. But its presence near homes has been a mixed blessing. According to a researcher at Colorado State University, the Asian lady beetle has now acquired a bad reputation stemming from its autumn habit of invading houses and buildings in search of overwintering sites.
The theory is that the beetles favor light-colored buildings and sunny, south-facing walls. They look for cracks and crevices where they can sneak in and hibernate en masse.
The CSU article continues: "Their ability to reflex bleed, leaving stains on walls, curtains, etc., distinctive odor, and habit of becoming active on warm days has led to their additional designation as an insect pest."
I definitely can't blame the people who have labeled these ladybugs as pests. Beetle juice, beetle stains, and beetle stink in my house would not give me any warm and fuzzy feelings towards them. Some individuals have even reported that they bite people.
Personally, I'd have to look at Asian lady beetles the way I look at bats. Yes, I understand they are beneficial because they eat bad bugs. And they don't mean any harm to people. But if they invade my house, they are a nuisance and I want them dead.
According to news stories found here and here in recent days, people in West Virginia may be dealing with Asian lady beetles even as I blog.
October 26, 2006 in Asian lady beetles | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)


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Debt collection is a tough business, and when economic recession hits, the game gets even tougher. During a recession—like the one that rocked the global economy in 2007—the number of companies with cash flow problems skyrockets. (In fact, between 2008 and 2010, there was more bad debt floating around in the collections market than at any other time in history.) But it's not the recession itself that we want to focus on—it's the aftermath, because in the aftermath, debtors have become savvy. They're reusing old avoidance techniques learned during the crunch, to avoid paying today's debts.
Doubt it?—just ask the people in working in your accounts receivable department—they'll tell you how the number of debtors dodging repayment has skyrocketed. And it's not just in-house collections teams that are having a tough time—as a result of canny, cash-strapped debtors, traditional collections agencies are struggling to recover monies owed. Yet this struggle doesn't need to be endured. Collectors need to be willing to explore new approaches to collections—they can't be bullies anymore, they have to be intelligent financial counselors, capable of guiding the debtor to the "right" choice, the choice of repaying debt. That's done through peaceful negotiation, effective communication, and a fast, streamlined collections process. By starting off with the olive branch rather than the sword, collectors can do more than persuade debtors to repay monies owed—they can preserve fruitful client relationships.
What Does the Olive Branch Look Like?
Once upon a time, acting like a thug was an integral part of the collectors' job description—but these days, it's easier to catch financial flies with honey than it is to hit them with the swatter. When our firm needed to collect more than $20,000 in delinquent payments on behalf of a client during the height of the downturn, we didn't go in "guns blazing." Instead of threatening immediate legal action, we extended an olive branch by inviting the debtor to talk with our staff and share their side of the story. Our willingness to listen to their grievances—as opposed to bully and threaten—gave us a powerful platform on which to stand and facilitate repayment quickly without the engagement of the court.
The takeaway here is that communication is the single most effective tool in getting debt repaid.
Understanding Why Debtors Don't Pay
There's one reason why most debtors don't repay what they owe:
They don't see why they have to.
Debt disputes happen because debtors don't agree with creditors about monies owed. Excellent communication can navigate through those disputes, get past the grievances, and get debts repaid. Successful collection isn't about beating debtors into submission — it's about connecting, explaining, and negotiating using an intimate understanding of the law.
Here's a quick example…
One of our clients was owed $150,000 by a logistics company. The debtor could afford to pay – but they simply didn't understand their legal obligations. Our client—a factoring company—was covered by the Uniform Commercial Code, a critical piece of law that most businesses simply don't have familiarity with. Our comfort with commercial law meant we could explain in detail how the UCC covered the situation. We could show the debtor precisely how the UCC meant they genuinely had no choice except repayment. When the debtor understood the situation, they paid up. All that was needed was effective communication – backed up by commercial law. Being able to exercise patience, explain the law in-detail—why the money needs to be repaid—and work with, not against the debtor: that's what led to $150,000 being repaid.
How to Make Debtors Sit Up and Listen
Speaking softly works best when you also have a big stick.
Streamlining your collections process is the most effective way to show debtors you know what you're doing. Finance leaders are already streamlining their Planning & Analysis areas by using advanced models, cloud-based technology, and outsourcing to professionals. Streamlining means having a clear, reproducible process that gets results faster. One of the nastiest effects of the recession was debtors becoming accustomed to empty threats. With so much bad debt floating around, they could ignore collections agencies and expect little if any consequence. When collections processes are streamlined, consequences are clear immediately—debtors understand that your words aren't empty, and that you mean business.
What should I look for in a collector?
First and foremost, a collector should demonstrate skill at both mediation and negotiation, which by default makes working with a law firm a better move than a traditional collections agency. Ask potential collectors about their practices, see if they're willing to actually talk to debtors about a solution as opposed to just "taking action." Don't be afraid of a little gamesmanship here—create a scenario, pretend to be the debtor, and ask the collector to persuade you into repayment. Are they talking about how repayment is in your best interests? If not, you may want to keep shopping around.
Finally, before you hire a collector, ask to see their licenses and credentials—make sure everything is fully above board. Obviously when working with a licensed law firm this is less of a sticking point, but it never hurts to ask.
If you would like to read other blog posts just click on blog and review other TCLG posts.


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Kirsters Baish| In some shocking news, recorded attacks with machetes in the United Kingdom have skyrocketed by almost five times in just three years, the majority of these attacks taking place in London.
The massive number of crimes being committed with the bladed weapons boils down to an average of 15 attacks in a single day in the United Kingdom, or roughly an attack every 90 minutes. The Daily Mail requested information using freedom of information requests to find that police have encountered 928 crimes using machetes in the last two months of 2017.
The capitol city of London saw the majority of the attacks at 425 attacks. 99 attacks took place in Greater Manchester, 77 attacks took place in the West Midlands, and 29 attacks in Merseyside and West Yorkshire.
Just three years ago, machetes were used in roughly 100 crimes per month within the same time period. While violent crimes sprees are popping up all over the country, with accelerated crime rates in London, these blades which are intended to cut undergrowth of plants, seem to be the weapon that United Kingdom criminals choose. London is governed by extremely strict gun-control laws.
Khan's London: Lead Surgeon Says Hospital Like Afghan War Zone, Two More Killed Overnight https://t.co/glUWVQtdTF
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) April 5, 2018
Breitbart reported:
In January, Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures showed that in the year to September 2017 the police recorded 37,443 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument.
This represents a sharp rise of 21 per cent increase on the previous year, and the highest number of blade attacks since records began seven years ago.
The rise in knife crime was larger in London, jumping by 38 per cent, and gang-related acid attacks are also on the rise.
Across the UK, violent crime overall surged by 20 per cent, robbery was up by 29 per cent, and sex offences surged by 23 per cent.
The ONS reported that the crime rate using sharp weapons or knives had started to fall since 2011, however, it began rising again within the last three years. London is currently being led by Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan, and the city has seen more than 50 murders this year already. This surpasses the amount that was recorded in New York City within the same time period for the first time in history.
Sadiq's London: Knife Crime, Gun Crime, Theft, Burglary, Rape, Homicide all MASSIVELY Up https://t.co/ogq3fCsTtw
— Raheem (@RaheemKassam) January 2, 2018
The Daily Mail UK reported:
Machete attacks are taking place every 90 minutes on our streets, figures reveal.
Criminals are increasingly picking the jungle blades as their weapons of choice to instill terror in victims and rival gang members.
Police forces are dealing with rising numbers of machete-wielding thugs carrying out murders, rapes, robberies and burglaries.
In February, 20-year-old Sadiq Aadam was hacked to death in Belsize Park, north London, by a gang carrying the blades. A teenager has since appeared in court charged with murdering two young men
It was just days before that David Pugh, a father of two, was seriously injured after four robbers attacked him with machetes. They broke into his home and began to beat his 17-year-old son. Then in March, another man was left for dead after a machete attack took place at a bar in Manchester.
The left can continue to claim that guns are the problem, but London has some of the strictest gun control-laws out there, and it doesn't seem to be doing much for their crime rate.


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Shay Mitchell, Keegan Allen, and Ashley Benson hit the blue carpet at the 2013 Teen Choice Awards held at the Gibson Amphitheatre on Sunday (August 11) in Los Angeles.
The group was joined by their Pretty Little Liars co-stars Troian Bellisario, Ian Harding, Sasha Pieterse, and Janel Parrish at the show!
Pretty Little Liars picked up the award for Choice TV Show: Drama!
FYI: Shay is wearing a Jenni Kayne jumpsuit, Jimmy Choo shoes, and Kimberly McDonald earrings and ring. Ashley is wearing a Bec & Bridge top, a Giorgio Armani skirt, Rachel Roy shoes, Neil Lane jewelry, Kara Ackerman earrings, and Edie Parker clutch. Troian is wearing an Elisabetta Franchi dress, Casadei shoes, a Foley + Corinna clutch, and jewelry by Melinda Maria, Kami Lerner & Elahn. Sasha is wearing a Naeem Khan dress. Keegan is wearing a Ralph Lauren suit, Ted Baker shirt, Christian Louboutin shoes and a Jacob & Co watch. Janel is wearing a Naven dress with Vivienne Westwood shoes.
25+ pictures inside of the Pretty Little Liars cast at the show… More Here! »


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Recently, I received an email from a good friend who, basically, asked me if the termination of federal employees was "what the Tea party is all about". My first reaction was to chuckle because I understand the economic realities of the situation we have gotten ourselves into. But, as I began responding to his email, the humor of the situation disappeared and sorrow began to take over.
The sorrow I refer to is not for the termination of federal employees and departments that should not exist in the first place, but rather to the people who have been deceived by the idea that the federal government should be "providing for" the people. The federal government was established to "secure the blessings of liberty" and defend the United States of America against threats of national security; not to dole out entitlement programs, control education or health care, create jobs, protect businesses and/or banks from failure, fund churches or charitable organizations, and slews of other federally mandated programs that it currently participates in forcing, only some, Americans to pay for.
In order to truly understand how people are being misled, there are three topics that must, first, be clearly understood by people. Federal government spending, Federal government taxation, and the difference between "human rights" and "entitlements".
Federal Government Spending
There are two basic types of federal government spending; discretionary spending and mandatory spending.
Discretionary spending accounts for approximately 1/3 of all federal spending. The monies budgeted for this fund go directly to the employment of people within the various federal agencies and departments of the federal government. By law, this fund is required to be budgeted on a yearly basis by a joint act of Congress and the President. Failure to do so results in a federal government shutdown because the funding drys up as the last budget agreed upon is depleted.
Mandatory spending accounts for approximately 2/3 of all federal spending and is handled in a completely different way than discretionary spending. This fund pays for medicare, social security, and welfare recipients as required by law. To increase or decrease the spending of this fund, Congress must pass law that changes the existing entitlement program. For example, to change the age or the formula by which a person is entitled to collect social security takes an act of Congress to change the existing law. Obviously, decreasing this age will increase spending while increasing this age will decrease spending.
In short, for every dollar that the federal government collects, $.66 goes to directly to the payment of entitlement programs, leaving $.34 to be negotiated to either pay debtors or federal employees.
[Please note: If the Affordable Health Care Act of 2009 is enacted, mandatory spending is bound to rise and the $.34 that is currently negotiable will dwindle.]
Federal Government Taxation
Similar to spending, there are two basic types of federal taxes that have been the primary source of federal government revenue; commodity taxes and income taxes.
Commodity taxes are the "unseen" taxes that the federal government attaches to the purchase and sale of all commodities on the world market that deal directly with the world's reserve currency, the US dollar. Both, oil and corn, are examples of commodities that are federally taxed when bought and sold with the US dollar. An increase in the federal commodities tax means that the prices of all commodities that are bought and sold on the world market with the US dollar, rise on a world wide scale.
Income taxes are based upon the income of American businesses, individuals, and/or households. These types of federal taxes include exemptions for both the wealthiest Americans and the poorest Americans. Currently, approximately 46% of Americans do not pay ANY federal taxes and less than 2% of that number are considered "wealthy", using loopholes to avoid the federal income tax.
To summarize, commodity taxes are paid by everyone while income taxes are avoided, altogether, by almost half of the American population.
Human Rights and Government Entitlements
The Constitution of the United States of America defines "human rights" in a way that is different from most governments, in the history of the world, by recognizing some general facts about the nature of human beings. Everyone, no matter where you are in the world, has the will to "live" and be "free to pursue whatever it is that makes them happy". To remove a person's ability to be free to pursue what makes that person happy, decreases a person's will to live. Therefore, it was established, within the Constitution of the United States, that these "human rights" were not given to people by government; but rather, by their respective Creator, and the government was NEVER to infringe upon them.
Each individual State and local government are responsible for making law that keeps one person's individual human rights from infringing upon another's. The role of the United States Federal Government is limited, in scope, to national security and ensuring that the States maintain human rights among their constituencies. There is NO level of government that should be engaged in the practice of collecting and/or spending tax-payer money that is not scrutinized, accounted, and budgeted for.
Sadly, over the past 100 years, a slow paradigm shift has taken place in the eyes of the American people that has completely changed the role of it's federal government. Instead of being able to concentrate on it's primary job, the federal government has become distracted by the politics that surround social entitlements such as social security, health care, welfare, unemployment, and education, to name a few. To make things worse, the mention of cutting or phasing out any one of these programs has become a matter of political suicide to any type of conservative politician since the proponents of these entitlements have presented them to the American public as human rights.
After all, everyone has the "human right" to : a good education, a helping hand when they are jobless or down on their luck, a career with benefits, and retirement, correct? If your answer is "yes", these ARE human rights, then you are considered warm, charitable, intelligent, and loving toward your fellow man. If your answer is "no", that these are NOT human rights, you are considered a cold, callous, ignorant, self-serving, person.
The truth of the matter is, you have been tricked, by a cold and callous Congress along with many a pretentious and self-serving President, into believing that stealing, redefined as redistribution, is not only, ethically moral, but a human right. Not only has this created a federal revenue stream that is not budgeted, it has created a federal revenue stream that, can be and is, regularly abused simply for political profit. But the worst, and perhaps the most deceitful lie of all is, who, exactly, endows "human rights", government or Creator?
What I See In The TEA Party
In essence, what I see in the TEA Party, from it's inception, is the recognition that increasing taxes on ANYONE harms the economy and that government, on all levels, MUST start controlling their spending habits. If taxes are increased on businesses only, the cost trickles down to the consumer in the form of higher prices on goods [or the cost of living increases]. If taxes are increased on individuals only, the price of goods, again, increase to compensate the profit margin of the business and the consumer has less money to buy. Both scenarios equate to unemployment increases and do nothing but harm national economic growth. The only alternative left is to decrease government revenue and start to control spending, which means stopping ALL non-essential government services. On a federal level, this means more than controlling discretionary spending, this means budgeting mandatory spending as well and that will NOT be a popular decision to those who are effected.
Another thing I see in the TEA Party are Americans that have a long-term goal of -LAWFULLY- fixing the mistakes and deceptions of the past through the electoral process. They all seem to understand that it takes a minimum of 12 years to remove any representatives that refuses to comply and, moreover, that mistakes will be made along the way. However, there is a determination, at a grass roots level, to educate our fellow Americans where our government educators have failed; to be precise, on how government works and the economic [macroeconomic] effects of the tax and spend policies of the past that are quickly leading to a national bankruptcy.


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Click above to go to LewisRiver.com
Port of Woodland
State of the Port Address
March 1, 2011
WOODLAND, Wash. – Business is better at the Port of Woodland, as reported in the State of the Port address during the Woodland Chamber of Commerce Lunch today.
"The port is making the effort to be proactive in our thinking and our decision-making, being more transparent, and being more supportive of the Woodland community," Cline said. "We're also continuing the original intent of the formation of the Port of Woodland and port districts statewide, which is to attract family-wage jobs and sustainable industries to our area and maintain the quality of life we've come to know in our community."
Back to LewisRiver.com's Photo Gallery
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Web site owned by NWNature.com Inc. Inquiries to Noel Johnson.


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Budget Blinds of Durham, Cary, & North Raleigh
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Smart Home Technology Meet Beautiful Window Coverings
Budget Blinds is North America's #1 Choice
Explore What Beautiful Can Do For Your Windows
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We're in your neighborhood, we know the local Durham, Cary, & North Raleigh weather and community, and we're backed by the #1 provider of blinds, shades, and drapes in North America. Over 25 years of customer satisfaction gives you peace of mind that only comes with choosing the proven leader.
We Do It All For You at Budget Blinds of Durham, Cary, & North Raleigh
So you can sit back, enjoy your window treatments, and have total peace of mind.
We bring the showroom to you in Durham, Cary, & North Raleigh. We expertly measure your space, install beautiful window treatments, and back it up with the best warranty in the business so you can sit back and relax in the beautiful, Durham, Cary, & North Raleigh weather and sunshine. We serve to give you the best in window treatments, so you can rest easy knowing your space will be beautified and optimized with window treatments that fit your individual needs.
See How We Do It
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We take pride in providing style and service for every budget.
- Dan & Angela Parlin, Owners
If you've been thinking about transforming your home's interior into something truly special, Budget Blinds of Durham, Cary, & North Raleigh is here to help. Our expert design team, paired with an array of stunning blinds, shades, shutters, drapery, and more creates the ideal home interior that complements any room, or an entire home. From the latest styles and innovative fabrics, to a host of on-trend colors, we'll show you how fun and affordable it can be to upgrade your décor with the power of the #1 provider of custom window coverings in North America. Our consultative process is designed around caring about you and your home. We make the entire experience easy and convenient as we bring the showroom to you with our FREE in-home design consultation. From those unique shaped windows to energy efficient treatments, and more, Budget Blinds does it all for you, with style and service for any budget! We're local and here to stay to ensure you have peace of mind.
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We're proud to be a part of our community. As active supporters of local charities and other local organizations, we strive to help make our community the ideal home for everyone. Take a look at just a few ways you're likely to see us in your neighborhood in our efforts to make a difference.
The Budget Blinds Truth
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We have been a customer of Budget Blinds for almost 7 years now. They did an excellent job in our first house. In fact, our resale value was improved just by the high quality of blinds that we left behind. We moved recently into a new home in Churton Grove in Hillsborough, NC. Without any hesitation, we contacted Budget Blinds again to help us with window treatment. Chris Armistad, a consultant with Budget Blinds came to our house and provided us with excellent advice on treatment options to fit our budget. His experience and knowledge saved us countless hours by bringing a wide range of options right to our doorstep. He helped us make wise decisions on material types, colors, and themes. Chris was professional, curious, and extremely patient, as my wife and I changed our minds a few times. Once we found the right look for our house, Chris took care of everything. He immediately took precise measurements and set up our order. We are now enjoying the beautiful look and the warm feel of blinds and shutters from Budget Blinds. The quality is superb, and the installation was hassle free. Thank you Chris, and thank you Budget Blinds.– Max ..
Hillsborough, NC


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Longtime Louisianian Julie Kane, formerly of New Orleans, now of Natchitoches, has explored her home state in such volumes as "Rhythm and Booze," "Body and Soul" and now, "Jazz Funeral," winner of the Donald Justice Prize sponsored by the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Awards.
"Jazz Funeral" is an elegant collection of sonnets structured in the form of its title -- with the march to the cemetery, the eulogy -- for the late Robert Borsodi, whose Borsodi's Coffehouse was a gathering place for poets, and the final celebration of cutting the body loose.These finely composed sonnets celebrate life, even as they are filled with intimations of mortality -- a witch's hair that sprouts from a chin, friends and pets who have departed this life, a brush with illness.
The tender heart of this book is its elegy for Borsodi, who committed suicide by jumping from the Hale Boggs Bridge in Luling into the Mississippi River on Oct. 25, 2003. Borsodi traveled the country, setting up coffeehouses everywhere he went, and Kane's praise of these shrines to poetry summons up a host of New Orleans memories with "Those crazy days/when we were players on Borsodi's stage." The eulogy takes the form of a corona, in which the last line of every sonnet appears as the first of the next; so "warm as a campfire on a bitter night" appropriately begins and ends the sequence devoted to that gathering place that meant so much to so many.
The final section reveals, in poem after poem, how the ends of things are present in their beginnings, from love affairs to tourist monologues about the city (turned from simple reminiscence to complex post-Katrina mourning), ending on a glorious note of flight as watchers applaud purple martins taking off at the lakeshore.
Much of our post-Katrina writing has employed this jazz funeral metaphor and structure -- mourning, eulogizing, celebrating. Kane's gorgeous poems are made for heavy hearts, in sorrow, sympathy and consolation.


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MarchThe topic for the 1999 LACASIS March meeting was: Automation Support for Distributed Team Collaboration. It was held on March 23 at the Manhattan Room in Manhattan Beach, CA. Dr. Maria (Lolo) Penedo, a Technology Fellow and Senior Engineer/Scientist in the System and Information Technology Group at TRW, spoke about the Infrastructure for Collaboration among Distributed Teams Project at TRW. The project's mission is to improve the ability of dispersed teams to collaborate via semi-automated collaborative processes supported by existing technologies.
AprilLACASIS' 1999 Resume Writing Program was held April 25 at the California State University Fullerton Library. The program opened with a panel of speakers that discussed the hiring process and skills desired in several different areas of library and information science. Following the panel discussion, professionals from several different fields reviewed student resumes.
JuneThe 1999 LACASIS Business Meeting and Presentation Program was held on June 15 at the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Times Editorial Library recently expanded the scope and services of its image archiving system to fully support the LA Times' Photo Department's image processing and production functions for the daily paper. Speaker Bill Lawrence, Database Architect for the Editorial Library of the Los Angeles Times, demonstrated the LA Times Library Image Archive and new Live Image Database, and previewed the Library's exciting Web site management tool.
SeptemberLACASIS' annual fall workshop was held on September 24 at the Industry Hills Sheraton Resort & Conference Center. The theme was Compatible Architectures - Structures for Growth. The keynote speaker was Marjorie M. K. Hlava, President, Chairman, and Founder, Access Innovations, Inc. She spoke about key concepts and trends in knowledge management. Other speakers included:
- Gary Saxer from Enfish Technology, an information management software company and producer of Enfish Tracker software, who spoke on knowledge management issues.
- Jay Nelson, President of DuoMark International, Inc. who spoke on the challenges and pitfalls involved in setting up an e-commerce web site.
- Robert Doiel is a Programmer/Analyst at the Center for Scholarly Technology, Information Services Division, University of Southern California, who spoke on the topic of multimedia and SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language).
- Christine Anderson is from the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), who spoke about creating a web site that is accessible for the blind and visually impaired using MARC cataloging records.
- Joseph Busch, Vice President for Product Development at Datafusion Inc. (wrap-up speaker)
OctoberThe 1999 Contributions to Information Science Award Dinner was held at the Wyndham Garden Hotel in Culver City on October 27, 1999. The year's awardee was Dr. Jose-Marie Griffiths. The title of her presentation was Back to the Future: Science and Theory for Information Professionals in the Next Millennium.
Dr. Jose-Marie Griffiths is a well recognized information scientist, researcher, and teacher, both nationally and internationally. She has published numerous books, chapters, and articles on measurement and evaluation of information services, the economics of information, and other aspects of information science. She is currently the Chief Information Officer of the University of Michigan. She also serves as one of the commissioners for the United States National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) from 1997 to 2001.
DecemberThe 1999 LACASIS/SLA Holiday Meeting was held December 14 at the Athenaeum at California Institute of Technology. The speaker was Dr. Alan Kay. The topic of his talk was: The Computer Revolution Hasn't Happened Yet.


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How to Send Low Quality Image via iMessage in iOS 10 Easily
Now you can send low quality images via iMessage in iOS 10. It can help save your cellular data and iPhone battery. Read this guide to see how to turn it on.
AnyTrans – Best iPhone File Manager
This all-sided tool can help you always put your important data in the right place. Remember to give it a try after you have read this how to send low quality image via iMessage in iOS 10 guide.
This guide shows you how to send low quality images via iMessage in iOS 10, you know that iOS 11 is coming with many new features, if you want to know more, you can refer to this guide: What You Need to Know About iOS 11 New Features >
In the latest released iOS 10, Apple has added a lot of new and cool functions to it. Many people are fond of the enhancement of Messages app, like the bubble effects, Stickers, Digital Touch and Emoji Tapback. All of these features make the conversations more interesting than ever before.
At the same time, the Messages app also offers an option for anyone who likes to send images to others. You may have noticed that the images can only be sent in their original size and resolution. But now in iOS 10, you can choose to send low quality images. It will only use 100KB per image attachment, which can help you save a lot of cellular data. Now let's start to see how to enable it.
Also Read: The Most Common iOS 10 Problems and Solutions >
How to Send Low Quality Image via iMessage in iOS 10
Step 1. Go to Settings app on your iPhone.
Step 2. Tap on Messages.
Step 3. Scroll down > Turn Low Quality Mode on.
Note: When you send pictures with high resolution, it will also drain the iPhone battery. So Low Quality Image Mode can also help you save battery.
Also Read: Top 16 Tips to Save Battery on iPhone/iPad >
Bonus Tip: How to Transfer iPhone Photos to Mac/PC Computer
With Photos app or Windows Explorer, you can only transfer Camera Roll photos to computer. How about the photos saved in Photo Stream or Photo Library? Let AnyTrans help you. It is an easy-to-use iOS data transfer tool that can help you transfer photos, videos, music, contacts, messages and more from iPhone/iPad to computer without effort. Here we will show you the detailed steps on transferring iPhone photos to computer.
Step 1. Download AnyTrans and open it > Plug in your iPhone.
Step 2. Click on Photos > Choose one category.
Transfer Photos from iPhone to Computer with AnyTrans – Step 2
Step 3. Choose the photos you want to transfer > Click on To Mac/PC button. You can also add, delete or transfer photos to another device.
Transfer Photos from iPhone to Computer with AnyTrans – Step 3
The Bottom Line
What are you think about this Low Quality Image Mode in iOS 10? Just share your thoughts with us in the comments, and you can also share this guide with your friends. Now have a free try on AnyTrans, it will not let you down.
What's Hot on iMobie
New iOS Data to iPhone Transfer Guidelines > Tom·August 12
2018 Best iPhone Data Recovery Tools Review >Joy·August 27
2018 Best iPhone Backup Extractor Tools > Tom·August 16
How to Recover Deleted Text Messages iPhone > Joy·March 17
How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to PC > Vicky·August 06
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