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Running A Blog is fun, and there can be money involved. There are a great deal of options available to anyone who'd like to start a blog. This article offers tips and suggestions to help you learn more about creating blogs or improving existing ones. Enjoy!
Try being there for readers regularly. Choose a consistent frequency for your responses such as once a day or once a week, which will help establish reader confidence that they can expect a response to their input. Your readers expect that you will give them content they can use. Remember that other people out there will be disappointed if you give up on your blog.
Be careful when adding in keywords to your articles. If you do this, you'll wind up getting flagged by search engines, which can prevent all your hard work from paying off. Let your prose flow smoothly and naturally.
Write new blogs on a regular basis. The biggest problem with new blogs is infrequent posts. When readers are not given frequent updates, they may become bored. To keep your writing a blog audience captivated, blog every week and forward the update in emails.
Strive to add some new content to your blog every day. If you want to keep visitors coming back and attract new ones, your blog needs to be updated regularly. Without more content, visitors will stop coming to your blog. A general rule of thumb is to post new content no less than once, daily.
One way to increase viewership is to have guest bloggers who have already established a reputation write a blog on your site. Doing this will give your blog some extra quality content. You will also experience a boost in readership thanks to fans of the guest blogger stopping by to take a look at your blog. You can do this with several people to help you create a more content rich blog.
Use this article to find new ways to create a more effective blog. These tips add value to your blog posting experience for you and your readers. Use these ideas to start your blog or improve it, so that it is unique.


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Note: Due to current events all orders are currently suspended. All the best to our customers and their families during this difficult time.
Tropical Special
6 medium red Anthurium, 1 Bird of Paradise, 1 red Ginger, 3 Dendrobium Orchid sprays and Assorted Greens
Shipping to US Mainland and Alaska only.
Fedex Shipping charges included in price.
No local deliveries or store pickups available.
One shipping address per order. Alaska shipments have an additional $10 handling fee.
|Price: $72.95
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Certain varieties of cut flowers last longer than others. Carnations, for example, can remain vibrant for long periods. Roses have a shorter vase life, but are prized for their special and delicate beauty. When buying flowers, be sure to ask your florist how long you should expect your arrangement to last. Whatever variety you choose, a little TLC will go a long way to keep your blooms looking fresh longer. Here are a few handy tips that can help add days to their beauty!
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Today we are featuring projects featuring the Some Bunny Special stamp set! This adorable Easter stamp set is so versatile and fun. The Design Team has created many beautiful projects featuring this set.
To be eligible to win the Some Bunny Special stamp set, all you need to do is leave a comment on each blog for a chance to win this adorable set or a $25.00 Gift Certificate toward anything at JessicaLynnOriginal.com. Jessica will randomly select a winner from the comments!
If you get lost along the way or a link doesn't work, click HERE to see a list of the blogs!
Thank you for hopping along with us!
The winners have been announced on the click here link posted above.


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Try mSpy Phone Tracker for Your Kid's Safety || English teacher jobs
|Are you married? (Real English)
|(& BrE)
Real English - lesson 11: Are you married?
Real English® is a Registered Trademark of The Marzio School. © The Marzio School 1994 - 2014.
THE STATES= USA (The United States of America)
I MAY KNOW= perhaps I know. MAY is an auxiliary expressing possibility.
THAT'S TOO BAD= I'm sorry about it / That's bad luck.
STILL WITH FEELINGS FOR THE LAST= I still feel something for my last wife (I still love her)
WHAT DO YOU DO FOR A LIVING?= what's your job?
LEISURE= BrE /leʒə/, but in AmE (here) it's /li:ʒər/. It means something like "free time". Leisure studies is a branch of the social sciences related to free time activities.
ENGAGED= when you have a girlfriend/boyfriend and you have already decided that you're going to get married.
KIDS= children (coll.)
KIND OF SPEND TIME= The phrase "kind of" means nothing, it's a gap filler, the type of things we use when we are still thinking what to say (like, "you know", "err..", "well..."). It is also used to express the idea "more or less": "it's kind of big" (it's more or less big, but not really big).
WHATEVER= it is sometimes used with the meaning of "similar things".
SOMEDAY= in AmE "someday" is an adverb meaning "sometime". In BrE we always write it as two words "some day".
COLOR= the pronunciation is HUT+SCHWA (see the section of phonetics). In BrE we spell it COLOUR.
HOW DARE YOU ASK ME!= The verb "dare" is a special verb (like auxiliaries, to be, have, must, etc.) so it is followed by infinitive without TO. This sentences means "you're cheeky, you shouldn't ask me that question", showing disapproval and anger (though here she's just pretending she's angry, but she's not).
MORTGAGE= the money you pay every month to the bank because it lent you money to buy your house.
COOL!= Fantastic! (It is very used in colloquial English, esp. in AmE)
I'M GOING TO LUNCH= we would usually say "to have lunch". "Lunch" is normally used as a noun, not a verb. So in this sentence, LUNCH is a noun, and the construction is like when we say "I'm going to Paris"
BORN AND RAISED= I was born here and grew up here. To raise children means to take care of them as they grow, to bring them up. But the verb "raise" is more commonly used to talk about animals.
A CAB= a taxi
HECK, NO!= The word "heck" is used to emphasize the words "yes" and "no", and it is used to avoid the original word "hell", which is a bit of a swear word (a bad word). So "heck, no" is a strong but nice way of saying "hell, no!".


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my jsp contains three combos for 'day', 'month' ,'year'.
the parameters are extracted and parsed to int type variable.
I am using the (java.text.DateFormat) class to format the dates, so that I can store tham as
(medium/long) data type in MSAccess database.
I then passed the parameters to the dateconstructor.
Date date_from= new Date(int year,int month,int day)
then by using the simpledateformat class I tried to format the date as per the database acceptable date type(dd MMM yyyy).
SimpleDateFormat sdf=new SimpleDateFormat(dd MMM yyyy);
sdf.format( date_from);
THE PROBLEM IS format() method returns as string, which cannot be stored as date datatype in any database.
Ok...now when I fire a query to the MSAccess database.
exception is thrown " microsoftdatbase error datatype mismatch".
I tried with MySQL database.
Please , guys help me as only this problem is stoppingme in submitting my module for display , that is scheduled tomorrow. PLEASE HELP THIS IS URGENT"
date format in JSP (2 messages)
- Posted by: VIJAY KHANNA
- Posted on: February 20 2001 09:02 EST
Threaded Messages (2)
- date format in JSP by Gordon Reynolds on February 20 2001 13:58 EST
- date format in JSP by arun kumar on February 20 2001 16:04 EST
date format in JSP[ Go to top ]
Vijay, you may try a couple of things. When updating Access date fields, I've found the following format to work:
- Posted by: Gordon Reynolds
- Posted on: February 20 2001 13:58 EST
- in response to VIJAY KHANNA
#MM/dd/yyyy#, for instance: update ... set dt="#04/01/2001"
You'll need the pound(#) signs.
For other datebase types, you can try:
'yyyy-MM-dd', for instance: update ... set dt="'2001-04-01'"
Finally, jdbc supports an escape sequence that is supposed to translate a date to the format required by the underlying database for you. I've never tried it, but if you want to experiment, that format is:
{d 'yyyy-mm-dd'}, for instance: update ... set dt={d '2001-04-01'}
You need the curly braces. You may need to enclose the entire expression in quotes, "...", I'm not sure.
date format in JSP[ Go to top ]
Here is an example code:
- Posted by: arun kumar
- Posted on: February 20 2001 16:04 EST
- in response to Gordon Reynolds
java.util.Date dt = new java.util.Date();
Calendar c = Calendar.getInstance();
TimeZone tz = c.getTimeZone();
SimpleDateFormat dfm = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyyMMddHHmmss");
String currentDay = dfm.format(dt);
currentDay contains Todays date in yyyyMMddHHmmss format.


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If you're not yet familiar with Claire Foy, you soon will be. Having starred in dramas Little Dorrit and Upstairs Downstairs and been earmarked for stardom by trend bible Vogue, she's currently starring in a Hollywood blockbuster with Nicolas Cage, Season of the Witch. But it's her latest role, in Peter Kosminsky's new drama The Promise, that has made the biggest impact on Foy.
She plays Erin, an 18-year-old visiting Israel for the first time. She's following in the footsteps of her grandfather Len, a soldier in the British army in Palestine during the Mandate period who kept a diary of his turbulent time there.
It's a powerful tale of love, war and betrayal, telling the stories of both Erin and Len – two young people caught up in the same struggle more than 60 years apart.
Here, Foy reveals her passion for the project, and explains why she'd like to burn every costume she's ever worn.
What was it that drew you to The Promise?
I remember the very first audition very clearly. I got sent 25 scenes, and was asked to prepare all of them, which is what Peter does, God love him. It was so much work.
I remember reading a scene, and I had no idea what it was about. But then when I got the finished script, I couldn't stop reading it. It was just the most amazing story.
Peter is just so talented, it's unbelievable. Anyone who watches it will be blown away by the story. He somehow makes a political piece that's so emotionally driven by the characters. There's no agenda in it. It's just amazing, it's my favourite job ever, and I think it always will be.
That's quite a statement.
It's the whole reason I want to act. Obviously I couldn't do a job like this every week – it's such undertaking and it requires a lot. But I loved it; it's about something bigger than just the drama. And I loved the character so much. There was so much in her.
She's not exactly a sympathetic character, is she?
No, she's not very nice at all. [Laughs] She's quite unforgiving and a bit bolshy, a bit sarky, and a bit of a cow, really. But I think it works because she's a real person. And I felt very strongly that when I was 18 I was a lot like Erin. I was quite mouthy, and sticking up for things I didn't really believe in because I didn't know anything about the world. She's a difficult character to love, but she's real.
Erin suffers from epilepsy as well. Did you do any specific research into that subject?
Yes. I had to. I had to have a few fits on film, so I had to be quite technically specific about them, because some of the people watching will be epileptic, and there's a duty to get it right.
We had some people from the Epilepsy Foundation come in and talk to us and give is some information about it. And there are things you can watch on YouTube about it as well. I watched some fits, but it felt a bit weird to be watching them. It seems like such a personal thing. And I watched quite a few documentaries with people talking about what it felt like to have epilepsy, and how it affects your life. I think she's so aggressive all the time because she doesn't want people to think that she's got a disorder or needs help. She doesn't want to be patronised at all.
Did you do any other research into the situation in Israel?
Yes. I really shouldn't have done, because Erin was a complete innocent about the whole thing and really naïve about it, but once I'd read the script I had to keep reading, because it opened a completely new world to me.
I got the job months and months before we started shooting, and I actually became a member of the British Library – which is very nice – and I went and found a book about a man who had written a diary of when he was in Palestine at the same time that the character of Len was there. So it helped me no end.
The series was filmed in Israel. Had you been there before?
No, never. And I probably never would have been but for this. For a country that's so aware of its politics it was brilliant they gave us permission, because we couldn't have done it anywhere else.
What did you make of it?
That's such a tricky one. I don't know really. It's a beautiful country, it's warm, it's got lovely food, Tel Aviv's an amazing city, it's a really nice place to film. It's a very metropolitan place, with a relatively European feel to it.
Politically, it's not my favourite place in the world. I'd never been anywhere before that was in conflict, and I very much felt that it was in conflict.
Did you see daily reminders of that?
I did, yes. We were staying next to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. The level of security is just astonishing if you're not used to it. There are people walking around withy guns, and there are massive army helicopters everywhere, and fighter jets going past your hotel window. You don't get that everyday back here. And the weird thing for me was you knew they were going somewhere. They weren't just off on an exercise.
Were there any problems with people who didn't want you there?
I think it was more difficult for us than it was for the actors in the 1940s scenes, because they were all in period costumes and period transport. But when we turned up in Arab areas and put an Israeli army roadblock in the middle of their city, people didn't know we were actors.
It was particularly difficult for the guys dressed up as IDF soldiers. They had people coming up to them swearing.
So many people were so welcoming, and so pleased that we were making the drama,and filming in their country. But certain people I guess felt like 'you're coming over here to tell this story, you don't know anything about it.' That's just human nature.
You're known for Little Dorrit, Upstairs Downstairs, and you've got a film coming out with Nicolas Cage, Season of the Witch, set in medieval times. Was it nice to be making a drama where you were wearing contemporary clothes?
Oh yes! It really was. Costumes are costumes, to be honest, and by the end of anything, you hate them. I always hate them. I want to burn them all when I'm finished with them, I hate them all so much. You end up being really uncomfortable, really hot or really cold, the shoes don't fit. As much as the costume department are wonderful, there's only so much they can do.
But in this I got to wear Converse, which was a massive plus. But I'm so thrilled to have done a modern piece. So much stuff is period, and I couldn't believe my luck to play such an amazing character, and for it to be set in the now. And it has to be good for me that casting people will see me not in a corset for once!
You've talked about how much you loved making it, but where does The Promise sit in terms of how proud you are of the piece?
I really hope people watch it, and I really hope they like it, and I hope people don't get bogged down by the politics, I hope people just watch it for the wonderful story that Peter has crafted.
Little Dorrit will always be so important to me – it was my first big job, it was a character I got to play for six months. So that and this, for different reasons, have to come out top.
I felt so emotionally attached to Erin and so believed her story, and I loved working with Peter so much. I think every job will be different, but I think for me, creatively, and of the jobs I'll be proud to show people, this is definitely up there at number one. It's got so much integrity. All actors want to do something that's good – something that's pure and has no vanity, something they can be really proud of. Well, for me, this was that job. I'll be so lucky to ever do a job that I love this much again.


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Women faced with the challenge of an unintended pregnancy may be presented with the option of a family member adopting the child.
While placing a child with a family member, such as a parent, an aunt or even a sibling, may at first seem beneficial for everyone involved, it does also bring with it its own unique set of challenges that must first be considered and discussed.
If you are considering a "relative" or "kinship adoption," please review the following helpful information to better understand the pros and cons of giving a child up for adoption to a family member.
Pros of Placing Your Child for Adoption with a Family Member
First, let's start witha few of the exciting benefits a relative adoption offers to you and your child:
Share a Relationship with Your Child – While open adoption is entirely possible with an unrelated adoptive family, it's likely that you will interact with your child periodically throughout the year. With a relative adoption, however, you may have more opportunities to spend time with your child.
Know the People Who are Adopting Your Baby – Many steps are taken to ensure each adoptive family are prepared to raise an adopted child, but some prospective birth parents still struggle with trusting relatively complete strangers. By placing your baby for adoption with a family member, the adopting parents are hopefully people whom you love and trust, and you will have peace of mind from day one who is raising your child.
Cons of Placing Child for Adoption with a Family Member
Indeed, there are benefits of relative adoption that may initially seem very attractive to you and the prospective adopting family member. However, there are also a variety of disadvantages that may occur immediately or further into the future.
Only proceed with a kinship adoption if you understand and discuss the following potential issues:
Possible Confusing Family Dynamics – Biologically, your child will always be yours, but legally, you could be related to him or her in another way. For example, if your parents adopt your child, he or she would legally be your brother or sister; your child would be a brother or sister to your siblings; and if you have children later in life, this child would legally be an aunt or an uncle to your future son or daughter. This alone is enough for some women to look into private adoption with an unrelated family.
The Decision is Permanent– Remember, as with any type of adoption, relative adoption is permanent, both legally and socially. This means thatyou are no longer involved in disciplining your child, making decisions for your child, signing your child up for school, or receiving tax benefits from your child as a dependent. All of these events, and countless others, become the responsibilities of the adopting parent, whomever that member of your family may be.
The Dangers of Co-Parenting – A child has to know who is in charge. If both the adopting parent(s) and yourself are sharing parenting responsibilities, the child will become confused from an early age who his or her real parents actually are. Furthermore, everyone has their own parenting styles, so it is only natural that you and the adopting parent(s) would disagree on many decision in the near and distant future. None of this would be fair to the child, and it could result in a variety of emotional and attachment issues. Therefore, if you do pursue a relative adoption, very clear parental roles and boundaries must be determined.
Post-Placement Changes – If you are considering a family member adoption for your child because you want to remain a part of their lives, remember that future contact is not legally promised. As with all private adoptions, relationships may change over time, contact may become less and less frequent, and there is of course the possibility that one day your child isn't interested in a future relationship. Therefore, it's important to remember to not choose a relative adoption solely based on future contact, as there is just as great of a chance to share this contact with an unrelated adopting couple.
Difficulty of Moving On – Most difficult situations in life are best dealt with appropriately, processed emotionally, and then moved on from. The same is true with adoption. For some, having a child adopted to a family member is a constant reminder of this difficult point in her life. The grief and loss process may not be fully completed in a healthy manner, as the child's presence can recall negative feelings. This is a reason why most women pursue private adoption with an unrelated family (and also why so many women choose abortion) because they want to return to a normal life as quickly as possible. A relative adoption may be an obstacle in allowing that natural grief and loss process to occur.
A Third, Temporary Option – Guardianship
Perhaps you are young and pregnant, or maybe you've fallen on hard times financially. Remember, it is always possible for things to change. Maybe you aren't ready to raise your child now but will be in the future.
There is a third option called a "guardianship," if a family member or even a friend is interested in that type of relationship. A guardianship grants another person temporary parental rights over your child, and most importantly preserves your parental rights for whenever you choose to petition the court.
A guardianship allows your child's guardian to apply for health insurance, enroll for school, purchase an airline ticket, visit a doctor, and more, allowing you the time and space to re-assume your parental responsibilities and rights.
Final Thoughts About Kinship Adoptions
If you are wavering between choosing adoption for your baby, and whether to pursue adoption (or guardianship) with a family member, our adoption social workers can provide you additional resources and answer any of your questions.
When weighing both the positives and potential negatives, we understand the concept of adopting your child to a family member is quite challenging, Please contact us confidentially and with no obligation to learn more about adoption with a relative.


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Canada's Supreme Court on June 28, 2017 upheld a lower court's injunction to require Google to delist web pages from a company that had been copying and selling a product belonging to Equustek Solutions Inc.. Google had already delisted all the company's pages under the .ca (Canada) domain, but Equustek sought, and the British Columbia court granted, an injunction requiring Google to make the pages unsearchable from any place in the world.
Human Rights Watch, ARTICLE 19, Open Net (Korea), Software Freedom Law Centre (sflc.in), and the Center for Technology and Society – represented by Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP – intervened on the issue of the global scope of the injunction, arguing that speech and access to information will be harmed if readers and speakers everywhere have to mount legal challenges to post or access material that normally would be available to them through the internet.
But Canada's Supreme Court upheld the British Columbia court's global injunction, in effect saying that Google could apply to Canadian courts to vary an injunction that might violate free expression guarantees in some other country.
"We are disappointed that the Supreme Court of Canada today put access to information at risk by trying to enforce Canadian law in every country on earth through an order to Google in the Equustek case,"said Dinah PoKempner, general counsel of Human Rights Watch. "The court presumed no one could object to delisting someone it considered an intellectual property violator. But other countries may soon follow this example, in ways that more obviously force Google to become the world's censor. If every country tries to enforce its own idea of what is proper to put on the Internet globally, we will soon have a race to the bottom where human rights will be the loser."


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The Health and Safety Executive asked Genesis to extend the Carbon Awareness (CO) campaign we originally created, to motivate people to have their boilers and appliances serviced regularly. Students were an at-risk group, and they weren't known for big TV viewing, so we needed to find another way of communicating with them.
A big part of going to university is making new friends, especially those people you share a house or flat with. We created a humorous viral video for students that talked about what makes a housemate a mate – i.e. looking after each other, no matter what they encounter during student life. But we also made the point that if students really wanted to be a good 'mate', they needed to have all household appliances serviced regularly, otherwise they were putting themselves and their mates at risk of CO poisoning.
The viral video was part of a larger campaign that ran on TV, radio, press and online. After conducting post campaign research, 83% of respondents said they had their boiler/appliances serviced in their home in the past 12 months, with 81% saying they intended to. The video won a PANI Gold Award for Best Digital Campaign. What's more, Phoenix Gas saw an uplift in boiler servicing during the campaign – strong evidence to suggest that the link between servicing appliances and protection against CO poisoning has been established by the advertising.


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Neo Rare Metals
Neo Rare Metals
Neo Rare Metals produces, reclaims, refines and markets high value niche metals and their compounds that include gallium, indium, rhenium, tantalum, and niobium. These products are used in a variety of end use applications ranging from wireless technologies, LED lighting and flat panel displays to turbine, solar, steel additives, and electronic applications, among others.
Our rare metals business is truly global, serving customers across North America, Europe, and Asia. We have production facilities in Quapaw, Oklahoma and Blanding, Utah in the United States; Peterborough, Ontario, Canada; Sagard, Germany; Hyeongok Industrial Zone in South Korea; Sillamäe, Estonia; and Hejin, China.
Silmet Facility Safety Information
Please see the following information regarding potential public safety hazards at our Silmet facility in Sillamäe, Estonia:
- Possible Public Safety Hazards Information Sheet (English)
NPM Silmet OÜ teave avalikkusele ohutusabinõude kohta (Estonian)
- Информация NPM Silmet OÜ о мерах предосторожности (Russian)
Peterborough Facility


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Classique Gifts Etc. will develop product offerings and marketing strategy to increase its customer base while driving sales and profit. The following sections review the various strategies that will support this effort.
Classique Gifts Etc. will focus its marketing efforts by advertising in the Lexington Herald-Leader and Insight Media Advertising on cable TV.
We will also increase consumer awareness, retain the existing customer base and promote sales via seasonal postcard and newsletter mailings. The mailings will announce special events or holiday specials during the year. These events will be used to sell slow-moving products and vendor special promotions. This means our marketing resources will be centered around both sales promotions (events, displays) and personal sales (customer service, friendly atmosphere).
Classique Gifts Etc. will offer $5 coupons for every $100 spent. The coupon can be used by the customer on future visits to the store.
Classique Gifts Etc. will approach sales from a salesperson-customer relationship basis. All customers will be assisted in a very personal manner. Gathering key customer information and seeking performance feedback on the products and services offered will assist us in the following ways:
Sales in the retail gift and collectible doll industry is enhanced by seasonal holidays and special gift giving occasions. The following sales forecast is from direct retail sales and does not include miscellaneous income. The figures also include dips in sales for those slow periods the business usually experiences in the summer months.
Classique Gifts Etc. will establish itself competitively as a unique retail environment through product offering and friendly, personal customer service. With St. Joseph Hospital, medical offices, the Kentucky Inn, the University of Kentucky and the Campbell House all located within 1/2 mile of the proposed site, we will attempt to offer items that appeal to this diverse population as well as the doll collector.
The following table lists important milestone dates.


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Internment of Japanese Canadians
The forcible expulsion and confinement of ethnic Japanese during the Second World War represents one of the most tragic sets of events in Canada's history. Some 22,000 Canadian citizens and residents were taken from their homes on Canada's West Coast, without any charge or due process, and exiled to remote areas of eastern British Columbia and elsewhere. Ultimately, the Canadian government stripped the Japanese Canadians of their property and pressured them to accept mass deportation after the war ended. These events are popularly known as the Japanese Canadian internment. However, various scholars and activists have challenged this term on the grounds that under international law, internment refers to detention of enemy aliens, whereas most Japanese Canadians were Canadian citizens.


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REPORTING · 16th May 2013
Kitimat Marlin Swim Club
Swim teams from Terrace, Prince Rupert, Smithers and host kitimat had 112 swimmers competing [the weekend of the 4th and 5th] in Kitimat for a regional swim meet. The competition was extremely fast with 15 Sam Lindsay Memorial pool records broken from 6 different swimmers from around the region. The Kitimat Marlins had some excellent results from all of their swimmers and ended up winning the meet for total points.
Kyler Cordeiro (17) in his last home meet as he is graduating this year finished with a bang. He broke 3 pool records lowering his own pool records in the 50 meter backstroke and 100 Freestyle and breaking the pool record in the 50 meter freestyle. The old 50 meter freestyle record by Brett Zollen of Smithers from last year was 25.12. Cordeiros time was 24.79. Cordeiro won all 7 of his events on his way to the gold medal in overall points in the 15 and over boys division.
Brander Pacheco (14) also broke three pool records in the 13-14 boys division. He lowered his own pool record in the 200 butterfly. He broke the 100 butterfly record held by Triston Brown from Terrace from 1997. Browns time was 1:05.07, Pachecos new record time was 1:02.85. The old record in the 50 fly was held by Kurt Grossman of Prince Rupert from 2003. Grossman at the time was the fastest 50 meter freestyle swimmer in the country for his age. Grossmans time was 28.90 for the 50 fly, Pachecos new record time was 28.79. Pacheco won all seven of his events on his way to the gold medal in the 13-14 boys category.
Alivia Salema (12) broke two pool records in the 11-12 girls division. She lowered her own record in the 1500 meter freestyle by 52 seconds. Her new time of 18:39.74 is the fourth fastest time for a 12 year old girl swam in Canada this swim season. It was also her first 13 year old girl age group national qualifying time. Salema also lowered team mates Kleanza Cathers record in the 50 breaststroke from last year. Cathers time was 40.00, Salemas new record time was 39.55. Salema won all 7 of her events in the 11-12 girls on her way to the gold medal in the 11-12 girls category.
Kleanza Cathers (13) also broke two pool records in the 13-14 girls category. Cathers took off 66 seconds in her 1500 meter freestyle time to break Stephanie Nicholls pool record from 1999. Nicholls from Prince Rupert went on to swim with UBC and break the womans BC 50 free record and help UBC break the National 4*100 medley record, Nicholls swam free on the relay. Nicholls record time in the 1500 meter was 18:49, Cathers new record time was 18:31.53. It was Cathers first 13 year old age group National qualifying time. And a time that was the 18th fastest time swam by a 13 year old girls in the event in the country this swim season. Cathers also broke a 29 year old record in the 50 butterfly. The old record was held by Dawn Pasacreta from Kitimat. Her time was 33.00, Cathers new record time was 32.13. Cathers swam to 100 % personal best times on her way to the gold medal in the 13-14 girls category.
In the 15 and over girls Robyn Alderman (16) swam to 100 % personal best times on her way to the bronze medal in the division.
In the 11-12 boys division Ethan Velho (12) swam to 100 % personal best times on his way to the bronze medal in the division.
In the 13-14 boys division Ben Anker (14) swam to 100 % personal best times on his way to the bronze medal in the division.
In the 10 and under girls division Leah Desousa (10) took the silver medal and Charlotte Collier (10) took the bronze medal.
Two swimmers achieved their first AA Provincial times and now are welcome to attend AA Provincial Championships in Victoria. Hannah Pearson (11) achieved the standard in the 11 and under girls 100 backstroke. Madisen Szmata (12) achieved the standard in the 12 year old girl 100 freestyle and backstroke, as well swam to 100 % personal best times
Making the largest one swim improvement for the Marlins was Hayden Dobbin (13) with an 86 second improvement in the 1500 freestyle. Dobbin swam to 100 % personal best times.
Also swimming to 100 % personal best times for the Marlins was Laurence Boucher (12), Nickolas Cordeiro (14), Raychel Davies (13), Annika Desousa (8), Mattias Dobbin (13), Keiren Koza (8), Madison Landry (11), Isaiah Silva (8), Nolan Striker (12), Madisen Szmata (12), Ewan Thomopoulos (9), Gavin Thomopoulos (6), Izaak Vehlo (11), Kemper Weightman (8).


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As more people returned to the New Ulm area and others became adults with support needs, MBW Company responded to the demand. As new homes and services were developed, MBW Company continued in its Mission to support meaningful and valued life experiences for the people receiving services.
Business Hours
Monday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed


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In contrast to the previous week's jam-packed action, last week the Supreme Court of Korea issued just two "major" decisions. The first case dealt with whether shareholders who have involuntarily lost their shares can continue their suit against a corporation for allegedly violating its voting procedures. (No, they can't.) This case, which got some coverage in the English-language Korean press, represents the end (probably) of the long and unhappy Lone.. Read More
Last week in the Korean Supreme Court: Trademarks, copyrights, contracts and more!
(An experimental feature of this blog: still working on formatting &c.) The Supreme Court of Korea (대법원) issued fourteen "major" decisions on July 14, 2016. Among these were cases dealing with a number of issues dear to this IP translator's heart, including trademark registration criteria, restitutionary damages for copyright, petitions for change of immigration status, and various issues of contract law.
Last week in the Korean Supreme Court: Taxes and attorney's fees
(An experimental feature of this blog.) The Supreme Court of Korea issued three "major" decisions on July 7, 2016. One dealt with corporate penalty taxes, one with VAT, and one with the recurring issue of the success fee in Korean legal practice.
Public access to South Korean court decisions
Via Asian Law Blog, here is a story from the Korea Times, reporting on the Supreme Court's announcement of a timeline for placing all criminal and civil judgments in South Korean courts online. All courts here, including the appellate and highest courts, will be obliged to provide access for citizens to the texts of their rulings in all criminal cases via online or offline, the top court said, noting the.. Read More


text: CentOS is short for Community Enterprise OS. This is one of the leading Linux releases for servers and it is well known as being one of the most dependable and safe Operating Systems available. CentOS is open-source software, which means that you'll be able to customize it in any way you see fit, adding and removing packages or updating the program code of any of them. It is also free to distribute and use, so you will not need to pay any kind of license fees, meaning that the total price that you'll have to pay for a server running CentOS will be more affordable than the price for a server running another OS. What makes CentOS unique among other Linux releases is its huge developer community, that will help you get the answer to any kind of question or problem you have. Furthermore, each version which is released officially is supported for ten years, which is a lot longer than with any other OS. What this means is frequent security and stability updates which will provide a stable software environment for all your web applications in the long run.


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Nexus 6 spotted in the new Android Ad Campaign
Android L , Nexus 6 , Rumor , Video No comments
Excited with the upcoming Nexus 6 and Android L? Here is another clue that these new Google offerings will be announced soon. A new android ad commercial "Bus Stop" showing an android device which appears to be the Nexus 6 (jump to 0:18 to see the device). The device features the similar shape of rumored Shamu and Android L navigation buttons.
The ad campaign contains a message that says "all kinds of phones for all kinds of folks" and "be together. not the same".
Follow me on Twitter to stay up-to-date with Nexus 6.
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The Huntsville City Council unanimously approved the $17.9 million contract for the Cecil Ashburn project. A low bidder, Carcel & G Construction, was awarded the project.
The 3.4 miles between Donegal Drive and Taylor Road will become a four-lane road with a raised concrete median and eight foot wide shoulders on each side of the road. Sutton Road between Old Big Cove and Taylor Roads will also be widened to a five lane curb and gutter roadway with concrete sidewalks on both sides.
These improvements are expected to be a huge relief once the project is done, but some businesses said they're worried about what customers may do in the meantime.
"They would have to re-route. That would probably cause them to go to another business like ours, which would cause us to lose business," Janette Cooley, an employee at Big Cove Decorating, said.
Cooley said while Cecil Ashburn is closed, she's counting on customer loyalty to keep business going. The road closes for ten months on January 7th.
Related Content
- City council approves $17.9 million Cecil Ashburn contract
- Navigating Cecil Ashburn alternate routes
- Cecil Ashburn Drive Shutdown: Alternate Routes
- Cecil Ashburn shutdown impacts business owners
- Cecil Ashburn Drive key project improvements
- Homeowners concerned over Cecil Ashburn Drive blasting
- Huntsville City Schools prepares for Cecil Ashburn closure
- Huntsville City Council considers closing Cecil Ashburn Drive for 1 year
- Cecil Ashburn widening project moves in different direction
- UPDATE: Man killed in wreck on Cecil Ashburn Drive identified


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For your Tuesday nibbling pleasure, a selection of beautiful miniature treats created by Emma and Neil of Paris Miniatures.
"Emmaflam" and "Miniman" are a French-English couple who've been working together since 2003. Their pieces are hand-crafted from polymer clay in 1:12 scale and are distinguished by their exquisite color, detail, and textures.
If you fancy the sweet life, French food and pastries, you're sure to find a special something or two or three to please your visual palate, all of it calorie free :).
Choose from a wide selection of gateaux, macarons, cookies, flans, tarts, chocolates, cupcakes, doughnuts and hard candies all decked out for display.
The seasonal and color-themed collections are especially delightful. Feast your eyes and enjoy!
Lovely Valentine's Day miniatures video:
🍓 Check out the Paris Miniatures Etsy Shop, Facebook Page, Pinterest Board, Instagram and blog for lots more. Emmaflam and Miniman also welcome custom orders. Très bien!
Copyright © 2016 Jama Rattigan of Jama's Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.


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Trailing of the Sheep Festival Recognized
Every year members of the Society of American Travel Writers nominate worthy candidates for the Phoenix Award recognizing "individuals, communities, or organizations that have contributed to a quality travel experience through conservation, preservation, beautification or environmental efforts".
Cultural Heritage Tourism Book
Every place has a story to tell, often found in historic sites or cultural traditions of the people who settled or currently live in a community, city, region or state. When these stories and places are shared with visitors, this activity becomes what is known as cultural heritage tourism. Success and sustainability in this growing… [Read More]
Hargrove International, Inc. (formerly known as HTC Partners)
Hargrove International specializes in helping organizations realize vision and goals with strategic planning, innovative development, and targeted marketing. Our experience in tourism and non-profit management provides unique perspectives for fundraising, organizational governance, asset- and community-based economic development, authentic tourism product and experience assessments, research, cultural heritage tourism, marketing communications and sustainable destination management. Our partners are national experts with distinctive skills, drawing from a wealth of knowledge and pertinent examples to shape customized plans and programs for each client. Contact us to learn more about how we can specifically help you with strategic planning, development and marketing. Strategic Planning Development Marketing / Communications ... [Read More]
Fundraising/Product Development
In recent years, the term "development" has been used to include an abundance of activities for organizations and destinations. Hargrove International defines "development" to explain how organizations can effectively move their goals and objectives ... [Read More]
Strategic Planning
Hargrove International offers a wide array of strategic planning services to its clients, helping them hone their mission and realize an established vision. With particular understanding of destinations and non-profit organizations, Hargrove ... [Read More]
Marketing Communications
With more than 50 years collective experience in marketing destinations and tourism products, Hargrove International brings creative examples and appropriate applications for marketing our clients. Actively involved in gathering trending data and ... [Read More]
Articles by Topic & Books
The Importance of Well-defined Outcomes
Too often plans include lofty goals and compelling visions, yet lack well-defined outcomes. Understanding what success looks like helps bring about consensus, inform the appropriate business/ implementation model and also instruct the best way to measure impact. A session at the 2015 AASLH Annual Conference in Louisville featured the Golden Historical Society and the planning process used to revive the Astor House into the National Museum of the American Boardinghouse – telling the little known story of a lodging sector. Facing declining attendance, the Historical Society conducted prototyping to determine possibilities for the National Register property before inviting the community to weigh in on ideas. The outcome: a 100% hands-on facility with program designed to increase repeat visitation. This is a museum worth visiting!
Commerce + Interpretation: A Shared-Use Study from the National Trust
At the recent AASLH Annual Conference in Louisville, a panel discussed the opportunities and challenges of including for-profit operations at historic sites. While public-private partnerships have been successful at numerous locations around the country, the National Trust is providing a transparent look into the process for managing a historic site with a section operated by a commercial partner. Cooper-Molera in Monterey, which includes nine roofed structures, will dedicate the original adobe buildings as interpreted spaces while a developer (Foothill Partners) uses a socially responsible business plan to operate the other buildings as commercial retail and restaurant. Key lessons learned from this collaboration: community engagement and involvement in the discussion for final use is essential; sorting out the legal structure and terms of agreement is also imperative. This $6.5 million project will take about 12 months for renovation/ construction. You can follow the progress of Cooper-Molera via the National Trust shared toolkit.
Cultural Heritage Tourism Book
Every place has a story to tell, often found in historic sites or cultural traditions of the people who settled or currently live in a community, city, region or state. When these stories and places are shared with visitors, this activity becomes what is known as cultural heritage tourism. Success and sustainability in this growing industry segment requires careful planning and adequate resources. Cultural Heritage Tourism: Five Steps for Success and Sustainability provides detailed instruction through a proven five-step process to help planners, managers and community leaders attract visitors and their spending to your cultural heritage site, attraction, event or destination. Learn how to assess, plan for, develop, market, fund, manage, and measure cultural heritage for growth and sustainability. Refer to the best practices and case studies from across the country as examples for replication and reference. Use the sample documents and resource lists to jumpstart your cultural heritage tourism program, and monitor and measure the efforts. This book walks you through every step, from inception to evaluation.
Cultural Heritage Tourism: Five Steps for Success and Sustainability Now Available for Sale on Amazon.com or via Rowman & Littlefield Publishing, LLC (rowman.com) Use code RLFANDF30 for 30% discount off list price.
Latest News
30 and Still Relevant
In 1989 I had the great privilege of working with the National Trust for Historic Preservation on a new initiative to study the relationship between preservation and promotion. That initiative led to a heritage tourism movement that has lasted three ... [Read More]


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Use the Harman Kardon app to stream your favorite music anywhere in your home. Control and configure your HD audio system wirelessly via the app with no cable connection required.
Link Button Speaker Control
Start a party and jump right in! When multiple songs are playing wirelessly, one button press cycles through them all so you can pick your favorite. One long press of the button starts party mode with every speaker playing back the same music. Room to room control made easy without the need to use your phone or tablet.
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Unlike other wireless streaming systems, the Harman Kardon Omni 10supports 24bit / 96kHz Studio Quality HD audio streaming. Enjoy a superior audio experience, higher resolution than from a CD.
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The latest owner's manuals, quick start guides, and documents.
Search Result For ""
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Products purchased online or from an authorized local retailer and under warranty may qualify for an exchange with a valid receipt.
Purchases made from an unauthorized dealer will not be eligible for exchange.


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Thursday, May 03, 2018
A Christmas Tin
We were away on holiday towards the end of last year, on a day out to a country town to visit my elderly Aunt when I purchased this tin. I was always taught that when you go visit someone, to always take something, and had deliberated for a while what to take her. We had called into a local shopping center on the way to her home, looking for a bakery or florist shop with no luck. Instead we walked into a cheaper chain store and spotted all the pretty tins of biscuits that we out for Christmas, so I bought her a tin of chocolate biscuits.
It wasn't until we had left the store that I thought I liked this tin so much that I was going back to get another one for us.This is the tin that I bought for myself, it is different to the one I bought my Aunt, but along similar lines.
There is no information on the tin at all. At the time it was covered in a plastic wrap which was taped, so any information about the contents or date is long gone. I know I bought it late in the year of 2017, and I know it contained chocolate biscuits. I might add here that at the time, this tin sat in a very warm car while we went to visit my Aunt. Note to self, chocolate biscuits and very warm cars do not mix.
The tin is slightly rectangular in shape, 22 cm x 23 cm and only only about 4cm high. So now it is cleaned of melted chocolate, it is being used to hold some lace making supplies. Supplies that I need for my current lace-making project. Lace bobbins, threads, scissors, pins etc etc.
Just another pretty tin to add to my collection and be useful. I wonder what the next one will be.
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Oil prices closed below $88 per barrel Monday, on forecasts that warm weather in the United States would slash demand for heating fuels, adding to a weak outlook for the nation's energy use amid an economic slowdown.
Prices had been in positive territory earlier in the day after news that fog on the Houston Ship Channel was slowing shipping, potentially straining U.S. crude stockpiles that have already dropped to their lowest in more than two years.
U.S. light, sweet crude futures settled down 42 cents to $87.86 per barrel.
London Brent crude fell 43 cents to $88.21 per barrel.
"For today's trading at least, fears of energy demand contraction have taken dominance," said Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global. "But that may be reversed just as quickly tomorrow."
U.S. heating demand will be about 13 percent below normal this week as temperatures rise above average in the key heating regions, the National Weather Service forecast in a weekly report Monday.
U.S. oil prices had already been in a tailspin since hitting a peak $99.29 Nov. 21 amid signs of a weakening U.S. economy that energy traders are concerned could sharply cut into demand for fuel.
Leading U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley said in a research note Monday the U.S. economy is likely headed to a recession, pulled down by ongoing tightening in credit markets that is curbing business spending.
The U.S. Federal Reserve will meet Tuesday and is widely expected to cut interest rates by a quarter point after better-than-expected U.S. employment data Friday reduced the likelihood of an aggressive 50 basis-point reduction.
The fall in oil prices was tempered after the U.S. Coast Guard said dense fog had delayed 54 ships from entering the Houston Ship Channel, a 53-mile-long waterway leading to the busiest U.S. petrochemical port.
Fog in late November cut deeply into U.S. crude imports and led to a decline in oil inventories to their lowest since March 2005.
Also stemming oil's slide, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries last week agreed to leave its output levels unchanged, despite calls from consuming nations for more oil to meet winter demand.
"OPEC rolled over quotas as we expected; this was constructive, as OPEC demonstrated its intent to continue to tightly manage its crude supply," Mike Wittner, oil analyst at Societe Generale, said in a research note.
U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said Monday that he had hoped OPEC would raise production at the meeting to stem falling inventory levels.


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Old Dog Haven's Fifth Annual Walk For Old Dogs
By Ardeth Devries
Old Dog Haven is a homegrown phenomenon.
Inspired by the compassion and commitment of founders Judith and Lee Piper, Old Dog Haven has become a community of fosters, volunteers, and donors all dedicated to getting old dogs out of shelters and placing them in private homes, with loving families. During the past 11 years, Old Dog Haven has helped over 4,000 dogs, and we've become the largest senior dog rescue in the United States.
We have over 300 dogs in our Final Refuge homes and always have a list of unadoptable old dogs in shelters, waiting for a foster spot too open up. Because many of the dogs we take in have major medical needs, our monthly vet bills average about $80,000, even with discounts from our veterinary partners. Old Dog Haven relies on donations to provide the care needed to make these dogs comfortable, sometimes for the first time in years. Dogs like Thor, whose ears were so badly infected for so long that only major surgery could relieve him of pain, have been helped by our donors. You can read more about Thor here.
The Walk for Old Dogs is our biggest annual fundraiser. Every penny raised at the Walk will be used to care for the senior dogs in our permanent foster homes. What began five years ago as a way to raise money and provide an opportunity for people who love old dogs to spend time together, has morphed into the largest gathering of old dogs ever held anywhere in the U.S. You have to see it to believe it!
Last year, in spite of record-breaking heat, over 400 people and their dogs came to not only support Old Dog Haven, but to celebrate the value of old dogs in our community. Dogs of every imaginable breed and size walked on four legs, three legs, hauled carts, rode in strollers, wore costumes, socialized, made new friends, smiled their best doggy smiles, and loved being celebrated by their families.
Please join us this year! The event is an experience you don't want to miss. Old dogs, young dogs, and people of all ages are welcome. The Walk is not a race but a fun 1/3 mile promenade to celebrate with our senior dogs! It's a nice stroll on a paved path along lawns and fields. Walk as much (or as little) as you and your dog prefer! Before the walk you can browse the many sponsor booths (many offering samples and goodies) and pet-related vendors. The registration fee is $25 and includes a Walk for Old Dogs canvas tote. You can go to the Walk website to register or make a donation if you're unable to attend (Old Dog Haven is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization—donations are tax-deductible), and find out everything you need to know about the event.
Activities planned for the event include:
- Old Dog Pageant (Best Costume, Best Decorated Stroller, Best Trick, 30 Yard Lollygag)
- An Old Dog Haven race car
- Food trucks, including Seattle's nationally recognized, The Seattle Barkery, (the food truck for dogs), will be there. The Barkery will also have ice-pops from Six Strawberries, and there will be sandwiches from Napkin Friends and vegan ice cream from The Cookie Cutter.
- Pet-related vendors
- Old Dog Haven t-shirts and books will also be available for purchase.
- Prizes will be awarded for the top fundraising team, the top individual fundraiser and Pageant winners.
The Walk For Old Dogs
Sunday July 17
Cromwell Park (18030 Meridian Ave. N., Shoreline)
Pet Connection Magazine is proud to be a sponsor for the Walk For Old Dogs.


text: I'm trying to highlight a section of roadway on a map that I snagged. The road does not run east/west; rather, it runs NNE/SSW. I used the highlight tool to draw an appropriate highlight box, but now I'm stumped on how to rotate it to match the orientation of the roadway. Can anyone advise? ...thanks!


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Title: If Not for These Wrinkles of Darkness
Binding: Paper Back
Book Condition: New
Publisher: White Pine Press April 2001
ISBN Number:
1893996131 / 9781893996137
Seller ID: 20070607106413
An Eighth Day View:
Winner of the Sixth Annual White Pine Press Poetry Prize, selected by Pattiann Rogers.
Seventeenth century Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn's life, known to us almost exclusively through his paintings and thin written documentation, is the stuff of real drama: he survived several plagues, two wives, and four children. Selected by Pattiann Rogers as the winner of the Sixth Annual White Pine Press Poetry Prize, these lyric poems convey the emotional life of the artist and show him as deeply human: flawed, burdened, sympathetic, and desperately honest about himself and others.
Stephen Frech has published widely in magazines and journals. He lives in Chicago.
Price =
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Latest News
FBI to help Jamaica tackle terrorism
Police Commissioner Dr Carl Williams says the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) is "perhaps the best partner" Jamaica could ever have to tackle international terrorism and to prevent mass violence in Jamaica.
The United States Embassy in Jamaica has established a local FBI office in Kingston, and since the announcement there has been mixed reaction to the FBI having a local base.
However, Williams, while speaking at the Police Academy, Twickenham Park, St Catherine, said the presence of the FBI in Jamaica is definitely needed as "we confront the issue of international terrorism.
"All this discussion about the FBI tend to let us overlook the hard work that has been done consistently by the other federal agencies have been cooperating with us over the years to deal with law-enforcement issues and to apprehend criminals in Jamaica," Williams said.
"I want to use this opportunity to recognise and underscore the value of your support to local police in law-enforcement and security issues," Williams told US Ambassador to Jamaica Luis G. Moreno.
Williams said that Jamaica's Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch has already been put in touch with the new FBI agent.
"Within the last few days, I have had a meeting with the new agent to welcome him to Jamaica and to discuss the task at hand, and he is ready to go," Williams said.


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Someone has just listed a $1,725,000 penthouse in downtown San Diego. It's the top two floors of a highrise and it has 2,204 sqft and is a 3br/2.5ba two story condo. At $783/sqft, it's not a bad price for a penthouse, but wait…it's in ACQUA VISTA! Now I've grown to appreciate Acqua Vista, but that's because people can buy condos(often times with a great view) for very little money. Since values have dropped there, I think you can find great deals there. However, spending $1,725,000 on anything in this building is just crazy.
To give you an idea of what the prices are at Acqua Vista, the average $/sqft for all the sold condos in 2010, YTD, is $287/sqft. The highest $/sqft was $378/sqft. Additionally, a similar penthouse sold in May of 2010 for $946,817($346/sqft). Granted, this was a bank owned unit and was not in as good shape, but come on! Condo #3901 in The Grande North just sold(a short sale) for $1,650,000 about a week ago. The listing states that the AV penthouse was completely renovated in 2008 and the pictures do look great, but it's Acqua Vista.
Again, I'm not trying to bash AV, because I do like it. However, you'd have to be crazy to spend that kind of money on anything in that building. It'd be like paying $500 for a shirt at Target – it might be a nice shirt, but it's still a Target shirt. What's even crazier, is that condo #1701 at Acqua Vista was originally purchased in 2005 from K Hovnanian(the developer) for $1,500,000. If for some reason you are interested in buying this penthouse, give me a call…I've got plenty of stuff I can sell you.
Click here to see some great San Diego real estate deals.
Click here to subscribe to my blog for free.


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After Carlos Cordeiro's election win this past weekend as US Soccer Federation (USSF) President, the general sense is that Cordeiro's management style will be different than his predecessor Sunil Gulati and that he will attempt to find a more consensus-based approach to issues. But in terms of general policies and positions, he doesn't differ from Gulati very much except in one notable place — the role of Soccer United Marketing (SUM) as the media partner of US Soccer.
SUM, which is owned by MLS and was created specifically to allow the league to enter the sports marketing and media business at a time of critical need financially, has now become an estimated $2 billion-valued company that bundles money from partners to fuel MLS' finances. SUM handles the Mexican Federation's marketing and media rights in the United States and has since 2003, had a virtually uncontested, no-bid contract type relationship with the USSF.
For years, it has been argued by this website and other critics of US Soccer that SUM drains resources from the USSF and puts them in the hands of MLS owners. The joint television deal SUM negotiated for English-language rights to both the USSF properties and MLS over the period from 2015 to 2022 with FOX and ESPN has a $500 million value.
Despite having access to the USSF annual budgets (these are public documents), the money received by the Federation for the TV rights package from SUM isn't apparent because it is rolled into a larger line item related to sponsorships. But educated analysis by many has led to the conclusion that the Federation is being severely shortchanged its fair share of television dollars.
For example, in calendar year 2017, an estimated 65% of English-language viewers for programs covered by the SUM media deal were watching US Men's (USMNT) or Women's National (USWNT) team matches covered by the package. But the general consensus is that the USSF only receives somewhere between 20% and 33% of the revenue from this deal on a yearly basis. While Gulati has argued in the past that having a steady, reliable check coming into the USSF every year allows the Federation to plan effectively and not worry about the volatility of the market, it's pretty clear the rights for the men's and women's national team are worth far more than they are currently yielding. In fact, the SUM arrangement might be considered a clever way of USSF providing a subsidy to Major League Soccer that is not being provided to second division men's league USL or any amateur or adult league in the country.


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"History may not repeat itself, but it rhymes a lot." Attributed to Mark Twain although it cannot be found in his writings. Looking at the 2012 election I am struck by how much it reminds me of the 2004 election. The Democrats that year were as confident of victory as we Republicans were this year. Bush derangement syndrome was in full bloom among the Democrats as it had been since the battle over Florida's electoral votes, and the Iraq war, which the Democrats increasingly opposed as the insurgency went on, added to their Bush hatred. Bush presided over an infinitely better economy than Obama in 2012 but the public was increasingly uneasy about Iraq as the insurgency went on and the casualty lists grew.
Democrat confidence rested upon their erroneous assumption that the wider public largely shared, to some degree, the antipathy they felt for Bush. Additionally, with Gore having won the popular vote in 2000, it was assumed that Bush would not be that hard to beat. John F. Kerry, a Massachusetts liberal Senator, was not a particularly inspiring nominee, but he kept close to Bush in the polls, occasionally taking the lead, and performed well in the debates in which Bush seemed somewhat tongue-tied and tired. Election day closed with the Democrats gleefully examining exit polls which predicted a sweeping Kerry victory. Alas for the Democrats it was not to be, as Bush, with the assistance of a good GOTV operation in Ohio, amassed a popular vote victory over Kerry by 2.4% and an electoral vote total of 286. The Republicans padded their Senate majority with a total of 55 Republican senators at the end of the election and gained three seats in the House for a total of 232.
The Democrats were devastated and disheartened by their loss, and a good deal of hogwash was written as to how the Republican party was the predominant party for the foreseeable future. (Indeed, I wrote some of the hogwash myself!) Two years later the Republicans lost both the House and the Senate, and shell-shocked Republicans were left wondering what had happened as the Democrats came roaring back into power.
Well what happened is what normally happens in American politics: the political pendulum swung propelled by events. The public increasingly became disenchanted with the war in Iraq, and , to a lesser extent, with the war in Afghanistan. The Republicans were badly hurt by some corruption and sexual scandals. President Bush seemed increasingly to be unable to come up with new policies to end the wars in the Middle East and to address problems that were beginning to surface in the economy. The typical second term malaise of most presidential administrations marked the second Bush term almost from the outset.
Today, in the wake of a presidential election where the margin of victory in the popular vote is 2.4%, requiems are being sung for the Republican party that also suffered humiliating losses in the Senate, although they retained a substantial majority in the House, losing only about six seats. President Obama presides over a bad economy that gives no signs of much improvement and an ever closer fiscal disaster. The Democrats are rejoicing now and the Republicans are weeping. We will see if their roles are reversed in 2014. Time perhaps to recall what I wrote after the dramatic Republican victories in 2010:
"The Republican party had a very good election last night, and the Democrats had a very bad election. The Republicans took control of the House and have gained approximately 60 seats with around 13 still to be decided. The House will be more pro-life than at any time in our nation's history since Roe v. Wade in 1973. In the Senate the Republicans have gained approximately 6 seats with around 3 still to be decided. The Republicans have gained at least seven governorships with a few to be decided, and at least 17 state legislative chambers have flipped to the GOP. By any standards it was a great night for the GOP, and a vote of no confidence in both the Obama administration and the Democrat Congress. It would be tempting to predict only triumph now for the Republicans and only doom for the Democrats in the future, but it is a temptation to be resisted.
After the 2008 elections many on the Left, giddy with victory, predicted that in future the Republican party would be only a rump party of the South, doomed to wander in the political wilderness for 40 years. Typical of this commentary was a piece written by frequent commenter Morning's Minion:
For look at what the Republican party has become in recent years: a rump party of the south and the plains, mired in an anachronistic culture that has little resonance with the modern world and with the younger generation.
Of course this commentary betrayed a fundamental misunderstanding of American political history. In that history there are no final victories and no final defeats. The great issue in contention since the days of the Federalists and the Republicans, the role of government in the lives of a free people, has remained with us no matter what names the two parties call themselves. When a party dies, the Whig party for instance, a new party steps forward to carry on the fight. The parties themselves shift and change, but the large issues involved tend, at bottom, to remain the same. Kipling wrote long ago:
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster And treat those two impostors just the same;
That is sound advice in American politics, no matter if an election is good for your party or bad for your party."


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Oakland, California (EastBayDaily) — 6Webs.com is the leading supplier of unbiased and independent home alarm system reviews. Homeowners who are interested in a home alarm system can do a comparison of the options and services of the country's best security system companies online at 6Webs.com. The California reviews of top burglar alarm system companies were recently finished and published by 6Webs.com. On a yearly basis the 6Webs.com staff travels between states carrying out evaluations of the home security alarm system providers that do business in every state. Each and every alarm system company is graded on various areas including monitoring, pricing and technology for example.
California is home to 37,691,912 residents. There are 973,901 property crimes on an annual basis based on the latest FBI Uniform Crime Report released in 2011. Home security is constantly a concern to California homeowners and now they have a neutral source to assist with deciding on a alarm system with monitoring services. Response time and reliability are important aspects to California consumers who were in the market for a burglar alarm system.
Tim Smythe from 6Webs.com stated, "Quite a few California people that were surveyed explained that their family would benefit from a home security system. The common theme which was recognizable with many individuals was that they didn't know what features to compare or where to begin. This is the main reason why 6Webs.com releases the home security reviews in every state."
FrontPoint Security was awarded as the top alarm system provider in the state of California. FrontPoint Security delivers great service to their customers and offers a 30-day money back guarantee. Being focused on delivering customers with wireless home security systems from GE Security along with interactive cellular monitoring services has made FrontPoint Security a favorite between homeowners in California. Close to FrontPoint Security, the two other leading home security providers are Protect America and ADT Security. Protect America, headquartered in Texas, delivers home security services across the nation by furnishing their customers with GE Security equipment backed up by a lifetime warranty. ADT Security, the leader in professionally installed home security systems, has been in business for more than 100 years and has over 6 million customers.
6Webs.com found out that mobile features were an essential deciding factor when California consumers were selecting a home security alarm system. Security companies such as ADT Security offer customers mobile access to remotely arm and disarm the burglar alarm system from anywhere there is an Internet connection. Moreover, wireless home security cameras present features for customers to remotely stream video directly to an iPhone or Android device. Homeowners of California can read more information about the top security system companies online at:
6Webs.com – Best Home Alarm System
About 6Webs.com 6Webs.com is devoted to supplying buyers with the best home security alarm system information available. 6Webs.com examines the capabilities and services of the top rated home security providers so homeowners can easily choose the best burglar alarm system for their household. Consumers will discover useful articles and tips on 6Webs.com's home security blog to enable them to lead a safer and more secure lifestyle. Visit 6Webs.com for the latest information about who's hot and who's not within the home security industry.
Tim Smythe


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#arundelafterwork (formerly known as #maevesmeetup… and the Midtown Toronto Fundraisers Social before that) began as a spark of an idea and has now evolved into a "thing". The event's purpose is to strengthen a network that already exists – fundraisers living/working in midtown Toronto – and to create an opportunity to meet, connect, share, and collaborate, all without being associated with any one organization.
Note: The event may be most convenient for those in midtown – and provides a nice alternative to downtown-centric networking events – but is certainly not limited to midtowners. All are welcome!
For information on the next #arundelafterwork, email email@example.com.


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By Mary Becelia
One of my recent columns (Just Say No!, March 2014) elicited a frenzy of commentary on Facebook and other social media platforms. Many parents vocally endorsed their children's use of electronics and called me an old school stick-in-the mud and worse. Others were supportive of my semi-ban of video games and the like in Chez Becelia. In fact, as you probably know, the piece went viral when The New Yorker picked it up.
Ok, not really. I just lead a rich fantasy life when it comes to the popularity of my writing.
However, I know what you are thinking (because I also have special powers, like mindreading. Yes, really. In my fantasy life at any rate). "It's nice that this family minimizes electronics use in the house, but what about car trips? I'll bet you cave in and breaks out tablets and DVDs at that point!"
Sorry to disappoint, dear readers and fellow travelers along the parenting path. First, we have no tablets to "break out." Yes, the kids do get to share my husband's old cell phone that has a few games installed (if they can take turns without fighting, which is rare) and the Kindle Fire. For limited periods of time. For the most part, I take my cheap frugal self to the library and make sure we almost always have a book on CD playing in the car—two or three if a road trip is planned.
I started this about four years ago, when Joe was 5. He wanted to listen to Mercy Watson stories and Dr. Seuss. This quickly became intolerable to the rest of us. So we forced Joe expand his literary horizons and listen to books that were above his age level with the agreement that we'd pause whenever he needed to ask a question.
When big sister Laura gets impatient with his questions (sometimes there are a lot, I admit), I only have to say the words "Mercy Watson!" to remind her of our deal. None of us (not even Joe, at this point) wants to listen to those stories again. What we have listened to ranges from "The Little House on the Prairie" series and classics such as "Cheaper by the Dozen" to Virginia Readers' Choices, such as "You'll Like it Here (Everybody Does)" and "The Candy Shop War." Currently, we are re-listening to Suzanne Collins' other series, the "Gregor the Overlander" books. Yes, the "Hunger Games" author wrote a wonderful series before she ever dreamed up Katniss and District 11. The kids and I were thrilled when we discovered it. Highly recommended!
The best thing about the books on CD, in my opinion, is that the driver gets to enjoy them. Unlike having a DVD playing in the car, where mom or dad only gets to hear the dialogue and songs, you can appreciate the entire story when you listen to a book on CD. I'll never forget one of my friend's confessions regarding Disney's lush animated version of Sleeping Beauty, "I have the songs memorized, but I've never seen any of the movie." I've heard (and made) far worse parental confessions, but that was one of the saddest. So include yourself in the fun, parents; get some CDs so the kids and you can enjoy the ride!


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BUCHAREST, May 9 (Reuters) - Recession-hit Romania and a visiting IMF mission agreed on Sunday to a wider fiscal deficit target of 6.8 percent of gross domestic product this year against a previous 5.9 percent, Prime Minister Emil Boc said on Sunday.
Bucharest has pledged to reform its sprawling and highly unionised public sector, which accounts for one-third of all jobs, under its 20 billion euro ($26.83 billion) deal with the IMF.
Boc said Bucharest would slash the public sector wage bill 25 percent from June and pensions and jobless benefits by 15 percent to achieve the new fiscal cap.
"The measures we take will allow Romania to record a deficit of 6.8 percent (of GDP) this year," Boc told a news conference. "Our programme will help us keep ... taxes unchanged."
"These measures are the only ones that can ensure healthy economic growth on medium and long term."
The state payroll swallows 9 percent of gross domestic product, a figure experts say is twice as high as it should be. Overall, state wages, pensions and social benefits account for 62 percent of the budget.
Details on how the cuts will be enforced are expected at the end of an International Monetary Fund visit on Monday.
Romania was forecast to have no growth this year, Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu was quoted as saying by state news agency Agerpres earlier on Sunday.
Bucharest had previously committed to cut its fiscal gap by 130 basis points from 7.2 percent in 2009, but it was forced to negotiate a wider gap due to recent disappointing economic data and wider financial instability. ($1=.7453 Euro) (Reporting by Radu Marinas; Editing by Maureen Bavdek)


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It's a lifeSTYLE!
About Us
We are an independent Barbering and Cosmetology Academy located in the heart of Stockton, California in the waterfront warehouse. Our facility encompasses a floor plan of 8,000 plus square feet and we are equipped for many students. Our courses offered include Cosmetology, Barbering, Esthetics and Manicuring. We train students to be eligible to sit for the state licensing exam and and work to instill an entreprunierial spirit of professionalism in each student. Because of this, we place great emphasis on how to be successful in the marketplace while providing professional services.
Our Cosmetology program is designed to educate and provide professional services used in the treatment and beautification of Hair Skin and Nails with confidence and professionalism compatible with success and professional growth. The course is 1600 Hours and goes above and beyond the minimum requirements for state board. We believe that by releasing our knowledge and extending to our students a business savvy curriculum intertwined with inspiration and optimism, that our students, and future entrepreneurs will be unstoppable in the real world.
If you are aspiring to be a Barber, you've found the right place. We foster the development of our students throughout their entire education. Our teaching environment is made up of a group of talented and creative professionals, who are passionate about creating the best Barbering education money can buy. Inspire Academy of Barbering and Cosmetology offers the tools and support necessary for our students to reach their full potential of becoming a business minded barber.
The first thing people see is your face and skin! It's clear to see that Esthetics matter and why becoming a licensed Esthetician is in huge demand. While you train to be a licensed Esthetician you will learn skin exfoliation, massage, aromatherapy and facials. Esthetics is forever changing and revolutionizing with many exciting new technologies.There are jobs to be found in salons, hotels, spas and even resorts!
Nail Technicians and Manicurists are usually creative and love design. While some specialize more in relaxing spa sensation manicures and pedicures, some go all out with the latest trends and ideas. Regardless of the love and desire, we will teach you all of the above. Begin your Manicuring education surrounded by optimist, inspiration and experience.
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Inside the Stockton
Waterfront Warehouse
445 W Weber Ave.
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(209) 910-0955 firstname.lastname@example.com
M – F : 9am–4:30pm
Sat -Sun : Closed


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Discuss how we can help with your business location or expansion requirementsGet in touch
Birmingham has a huge range of property available for commercial and investment use, including sites, industrial areas, warehousing, offices located in and out of the city centre, tech parks, incubators, services offices and Business Catalyst options.
Birmingham's central location, connectivity and access to a substantial labour force make it a location of choice for business. To maximise opportunities for economic growth and investment, we have identified a series of Economic Zones:
• Advanced Manufacturing Hub, Aston
• City Centre Enterprise Zone
• Tyseley Environmental Enterprise District
• Longbridge ITEC Park
• Life Sciences Campus, Selly Oak / Edgbaston
• The Food Hub, Witton.
In these Economic Zones, a range of measures to attract investment and promote business growth are available.
These include:
• Simplified Planning
• Gap Funding
• Access to finance
• Business Development
• Training and Recruitment
For more detailed information about each of the areas, and the advantages available, please download the Birmingham's Economic Zones Brochure.


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On behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum Taskforce I'd like to thank you for the outstanding performance of your company in relation to your work on the 40th Pacific Islands Forum in Cairns, 4-7 August 2009.
Heads of government summits are always challenging events to organise given the constant changes and detailed planning. Despite the demands, you undertook whatever task was required with the impeccable professionalism we came to expect of Signcorp and all the staff.
You should be extremely proud of your performance which contributed to an enormously successful Forum as commented on by many, not least by the Secretary-General and Prime Minister Rudd.
It was really a great pleasure working with you. I wish you every success and I hope you enjoyed your experience with the Taskforce. I have also enclosed a Certificate of Appreciation.
Richard Stinson
Just wanted to formally thank you and your team for the exceptional work that was carried out on the Pacific Islands Forum signage.
We were a little nervous about engaging your services knowing the huge scale of the project and from my point of view the concern over using a supplier that we had never worked with before. Needless to say any fears I had were put to rest very quickly as your professionalism and quality of work became evident.
Our initial scoping of the task and your valuable input into project and contingency plans helped streamline the project far more effectively. All this in the context of incredibly tight timelines.
A special mention also to your team who worked those long hours with little sleep. They were always helpful and courteous and did a fantastic job.
Your efforts were noticed by the department and their contractors who are also very appreciative.
You were a pleasure to work with, thanks again for everything and I certainly hope that we can do business together someday soon.Andrew Scargill


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The NativeScript blog is your source for timely and interesting news about NativeScript. If you would like to guest post on our blog, please tweet us @NativeScript.
This is the second part of the Monetize your NativeScript apps with AdMob blog. In part one I discussed how you can easily access and use the native API of a native framework in JavaScript, taking the AdMob library for iOS as an example. To do that, you only needed the existing AdMob documentation in combination with a few simple rules to translate the Objective-C API calls to JavaScript.
The popular mobile platforms, however, are two - iOS and Android. So, it would be fair if I cover Android as well. Moreover, further in this article as things get a more interesting and we are close to having a cross-platform AdMob usage, I will show you what's the recommended way of separating and isolating the native API calls in a NativeScript project. So, let's begin.
Get a jump start on your NativeScript iOS and Android mobile application development in a new quickstart course.
There are three reasons for the NativeScript framework to exists - native UX, performance and a cleaner and easier programming model for cross-platform mobile applications.
As we know, NativeScript CLI is a Node.js application. This brings the questions like "which versions of Node.js can and should I use" or "how long particular Node.js version is supported."
To answer these questions, it is useful to know the life cycle of Node.js. Please, take a minute to check the project wiki which explains it in a single graphic. With it in mind, the NativeScript team decided to support the LTS branches and, if possible, the "current stable" branch.
With the latest release of NativeScript you can use the huge amount of icon fonts available on the web inside your native mobile application. This works cross-platform, for both iOS and Android and is as simple as placing the font in the "app/fonts" folder and declaring the icon you want to use in the UI. The NativeScript framework is doing its magic behind the scenes so you don't need to worry on which OS you run. This is just one those things that make your life easier and is helping you to reuse your existing skills/resources. (using CSS, native libraries, JavaScript code and AngularJS skills are the other things that we make available in NativeScript).
So why is this a big deal and why it is a best practice to use a font instead of an image file to display an icon?
The whole world goes mobile, so are the software trends. But what's the reason to create a mobile app after all? Well, surely, when things get serious, after the "it's just for tests and fun" phase, it's all about the money. You can create an app for the employees of your company or for the employees of somebody else (B2E, B2B). In this case your company benefits directly from the services you provide to its employees, or you take a commission for the app you create. But if your customers are the end-users (B2C) or if you create an app for a business customer (B2B) that will sell it to the masses, then you should surely be aware of the different app monetization methods where two of the main ones are in-app purchases and mobile ads.
Today, we will talk about mobile ads and how you can enable them in your NativeScript application using the Google AdMob service and SDKs. This article will focus on iOS and in the next part we will cover the Android platform.
1.5 is a special release for NativeScript as it marks a major milestone - providing NativeScript developers with the tools to make them a lot more productive. There are several major and important features added in this release that will skyrocket your developer experience.
If you weren't able to join us for our 1.4 release webinar, the video is now available on YouTube. The webinar includes demos of the latest features of our 1.3 and 1.4 releases, including animations, UI for NativeScript updates, Angular 2.0 support, and a whole lot more.
A new component joins the Telerik UI for NativeScript party: welcome RadListView and its powerful set of features directly coming from the native Telerik UI for iOS and Telerik UI for Android counterparts.
NativeScript 1.4 is here. Please read the upgrade instructions.
What sets this release apart from the previous ones is that it reflects more than ever the way we think about the product. Once we deliver a certain set of functionality, we focus on perfecting the existing framework. You will not see new features baked into the latest version. Instead we polished many functionalities in response to users feedback. This is the result of working with a lot of developers and helping them deliver apps to their clients. Listening and responding to real developer feedback was always a core value for Telerik as a company and I'm sure you will be happy to work with this latest version of NativeScript. NativeScript is now more stable, more polished and battle tested framework. You can use NativeScript 1.4 in your production environment for building applications.
Progress collects the Personal Information set out in our Privacy Policy and Privacy Policy for California Residents and uses it for the purposes stated in that policy.
You have the right to request deletion of your Personal Information at any time.
You can also ask us not to pass your Personal Information to third parties here: Do Not Sell My Info


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Regaining Custody in Divorce
Custody: Getting the Children Back from the Ex-Spouse Can Take Time and Cost Money
Nancy Michaels' story about regaining custody of her three children is a grueling one. The 44-year-old marketing specialist found herself after a series of debilitating health crisis, facing the worst possible scenario – losing her kids.
The story starts with the end of her marriage. Michaels' husband had walked out eight months earlier, and she was working hard to get herself back on track following an almost-20 year marriage to a controlling husband. She had been feeling sick for months, but doctors were not able to diagnose the problem. One night, feeling particularly worse, she went to the local ER.
"I fell into a coma two days later and literally was unconscious for two months," said Michaels, from Concord, Mass. The diagnosis was liver failure. Apparently, Michaels had a powerful form of the herpes virus that showed no outward signs, but adversely affected her internal organs. She suspected that she got the virus from her unfaithful husband.
During her time in a coma, Michaels' estranged husband was invisible. "He was not there; he never sent a card; he never called my family. And in the meantime, I lost custody of my kids. He moved back into the home. Basically, when I finally woke up from the coma, I had nothing."
It took almost a year following a successful liver transplant for Michaels to recover. During that time, she lived with her parents, far away from her children, but saw them every weekend. "It was after I began to regain my health that he insisted on a Guardian Ad Litem to evaluate me as a capable parent," she said. "It seemed he suddenly questioned my motives as a caring and loving mother. Once he left our home he seemed to have a laundry list of items that caused him to question my commitment as a mother; mainly that I worked outside the home and traveled some for business. Ironically, it never came up as a significant problem when we were married. I believe he was thinking/hoping I would not regain my health."
A Guardian ad Litem is a court-appointed representative of a minor child. "Once I was well enough, I moved back to an apartment in Concord and saw my kids every afternoon. And I was finally granted primary custody."
Michaels' situation is not your average custody battle, right down to the final outcome. Lawyers point out that changing custody rulings is one of the toughest things to do in a divorce. Most courts in the U.S. use a 'best interest of the child' standard. "A parent without custody needs to prove the status quo is not in the best interest of the child. And the arguments you use have to be tailored to the age and situation of the child," said Belinda Rachman, 52, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based lawyer specializing in divorce mediation.
Contemplating Divorce?
When there is something already in place, the courts feel if it ain't broke, don't fix it," said Lynne Gold-Bikin, 65, family law chair at WolfBlock LLC based in Morristown, Penn., and a practicing attorney for over three decades. "The courts are getting away from their focus of what the wants of the parents are and focusing more on the needs of children."
"Courts like the status quo. They feel, why rock the boat? It can be hard for a non-custodial parent to come in and shake things up. Courts tend to want a reason. Why should we interrupt this status quo? They tend to want to base it on something tangible, not just 'I want to spend more time with my kids,'" Rachman said.
Which means for most custody arrangements currently in place, unless you can prove there is credible grounds for a change, there is an initial reticence on the part of most courts to disrupt what the children have gotten used to. In general, issues of custody vary depending on the state, the court and the judge, as well as the specifics of each case. Litigators to one common factor that is weighed in their final decision: the age of the children.
"There is a certain age when each court starts to listen to the druthers of the kids. I advise my clients with teenagers to just do what kids want to do," Rachman said. "If you have two reasonable, normal parents, then the court will more likely do what the child wants because at a certain age, they let them have say in it."
Another factor the courts consider is which parent will be most agreeable to visitation. The person who should get custody is the one most likely to facilitate visitation," Rachman said. "In California, I have seen cases where the father was absolutely incapable of taking care of the child got custody because the mother played games with visitation. Too many people link up nonpayment of child support to limiting visitation with child. They are two different issues. Just because someone doesn't pay child support, doesn't give someone the right to limit visitation. You can never be seen as obstructing visitation or you could lose custody."
But not all custody cases are the same, Gold-Bikin added, and that affects what your chances are at changing them. Primary custody means the kids live with you more than half of the time. Joint legal custody means you both have equal input in parenting decisions," she said. Sole custody, which most states are moving away, means that only one parent has custody. For the court to give someone sole custody, there has to be a very compelling reason.
"For instance if you lost custody of your children, there's a strong reason you shouldn't have the kids in the first place. Maybe you are completely wacky doodle, or have abused the kids. Maybe there are some mental issues there. It is difficult to undo that," she said.
"But that is not to say it can't be done. Sometimes the non-custodial parent has been the victim of a manipulative ex-spouse who lied to the court about the him or her in order to sway custody in their favor. It's not as rare as some might think. This happens all the time. You need to work on finding evidence that will support your side of the story," said Brette McWhorter Sember, 39, in an e-mail interview, a former lawyer based in Clarence, N.Y., and author of several books including "How to Parent with Your Ex (Sourcebooks)."
"In all cases, the courts have to give a reason for their decisions, and those are clearly spelled out in the decision. For those wanting to readdress custody, it's important to reread the court's decision and focus on why custody was granted to the other parent. Then go about changing the things the court didn't like," Sember said. "Maybe your work schedule was not conducive to custody or perhaps you lived with someone who was not a good influence. Change those things. Document the time you spend with your children and document any problems at the other home with the other parent."
"You have to take a hard look at why you lost it and undo it, and documentation is very important," Gold-Bikin agreed. "If you are married to or dating a guy who sexually abuses the kids and if you are still with him, forget it. I have one case she says she broke up with her abusive boyfriend, we got a detective and caught him sneaking back to the house. That is why incest cases are so difficult because most of them time, the mother knows about it. That is a women who is going to lose custody."
"The process of fighting to change your custody arrangement is neither pleasant or quick. Unfortunately these cases can get very nasty. You may have to try to prove the other parent is not parenting well and that means saying things that are unkind. If they are true, however, you are in the right," Sember said. "You need to give it time. If you got the order last month, the court is not going to make a change a month later. It's really unlikely anything has changed in that time period. The court is looking for long-term change and stability in your life."
"You should wait a certain amount of time from the last order," agreed Rachman. "If you have an order that goes in one direction you can't turn around and fight it again. You have to wait at least six months."
And it may involve bringing in outside parties to solidify your case, such as therapists, psychiatrists and even a Guardian ad Lietum, such as in Nancy Michaels case, which in the long run, helped her win her case. Bringing in a therapist or psychologist is also an avenue for proving you're a stable parent, but there are risks with this.
"Psych evals are critical. It can get expensive though which is why many people don't do it. You also can't be sure what the therapist is going to recommend. What if she recommends against you? Then you've got to find yet another person and pay for yet another eval. It can be costly, but these reports are of great help to the court when they offer real definitive opinions," Sember said.
For Nancy Michaels, while the ending was a happy one, getting there was exhausting and expensive. Changing custody orders is not easy. "It was easy for him to obtain custody when I got ill for obvious reasons. He made it legally challenging, expensive and extremely stressful for me to regain custody of our children. In the end it was the GAL's (Guardian Ad Litem) recommendation to give me primary custody of our children and both of us joint legal custody," she said.
Her ex-husband did not fight the decision. His argument remains that because I agreed to be a stay at home full-time mom " there were no other options at this time due to my slowly recovering health and therefore, that's why I received custody of our children," she said.
The judge did comment one time in court when the issue of custody was in question " he had second thoughts apparently and my ex's criminal attorney (he never used a divorce attorney — causing further upset) said they would not question the custody issue because I had agreed to be home full time," she said. "And the court forced him to pay alimony and child support. Honestly, I am so grateful."