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Instant Methods To Car Insurance Quotes In Detailed Depth
Unfortunately, you cannot for one easy reason: credit. Insurance companies interpret your credit score based mostly solely on electronic experiences. There is no means for you to input this information on the applying. So if the credit score system is down at the time you purchase the policy, they will nonetheless order it and can adjust your charge accordingly.
Ideally, it's best to begin lining up the suppliers based mostly on the cost quoted prior to worrying over the superiority of the company. There are a couple of attractive web sites that may let you to get auto insurance quotes well timed. Give them a attempt prior to selecting a agency and phoning. In the event you only prefer an elite insurance coverage supplier and the cost is just not your essential concern, it is best to line up the insurers straight and test for provides from chosen ones.
Secure dressings. – How previous your car? The choice?
In case you have a ardour of driving your dream automobile but are worried about affordability of insurance coverage, car insurance coverage quotes that are supplied online totally free may be of much help to you. As mentioned earlier, the biggest benefit being which you can access the cheapest auto insurance rates from wherever and at any time, which helps you save.
Solutions that will have an effect on how much you pay for car cover will embody your age; younger drivers always pay higher premiums because they're considered to be a better risk than extra mature drivers. The age and measurement of your car is also taken into consideration in any quotation you might be given, as is the amount of mileage you expect to get via in any given year. Where you drive your automotive can be necessary when you're on the lookout for car insurance coverage quotes as some areas are regarded as accident hot spots and therefore a threat for the insurance company.
Legally, we cannot be on the highway uninsured.
You'll want to have the quote e-mailed to you or save it to your pc so as for you to test later on. Scale back your risk - For example automotive insurance, you'll pay less if you're more unlikely to claim. You will obtain a discount of as much as 15 % in case your automotive is garaged in a single day.
Purchasing auto insurance over the web is now really easy. There are numerous low value automobile insurance coverage quotes to choose from: common auto insurance or full coverage auto insurance coverage, motorcycle insurance quotes, business car insurance coverage quotes, and lots of extra.
Since there are probably lots of of insurance coverage suppliers in Arizona, you possibly can't count on to get the most effective deal in the event you only look up one name in the yellow page and go along with it. It is rather unlikely that every insurance company can have the most effective fee for your particular profile.


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Using CloudFormation to Build out Fully Functional Stacks of Puppet Enterprise
See more posts about: Company News, Customer Stories and Tips & How To
The Puppet CloudFormation Face integrates Puppet Enterprise (PE) with CloudFormation so that users can reliably create entire Puppet Enterprise "stacks" in Amazon's EC2 from their workstation. A "stack" refers to a collection of launched Amazon Web Services (AWS) "resources" that can be specified as a "template" in CloudFormation's declarative json modeling language. Templates support a wide range of AWS resources, including: EC2 instances, security groups, credentials, as well as a host of other resources. EC2 meta-data and user data can be associated with AWS resources in a CloudFormation template. This meta-data allows CloudFormation to not only provision EC2 instances, but also to bootstrap those instances into a functioning application stack. The CloudFormation Face is a command line tool that can use this meta-data to specify all of the required information to bootstrap an entire Puppet Enterprise stack, including: modules to be downloaded from the Puppet Forge, groups to be created in the Enterprise Console, Puppet Agents to be provisioned, as well as security groups and classification information to be associated with those agents.
Pre-requisitesThe following things need to be setup before the Puppet CloudFormation Face can be installed:
- AWS credentials are required. These credentials must be associated with an account that has full administrative rights. Instructions for how to sign up for Amazon Web Services (AWS) can be found here.
- Requires that a keypair exist within the region in which resources will be launched. This keypair is used to refer to user public keys that can be injected into created EC2 instances. We recommend us-west-1. Remember what region you made a keypair for, you'll need it later.
InstallationThese tools can be easily evaluated with the Learning Puppet VM, or you can follow the manual installation instructions in the README on GitHub.
- Download the Learning Puppet VM, follow instructions to boot the virtual machine and log-in as root. Note: You may want to ssh into your running Learning Puppet VM for easy copying and pasting.
- Once logged in, use the following command string to download the CloudFormation Face from the Puppet Forge, unpack it to Puppet's module path and rename it to cloudformation.
cd /etc/puppetlabs/puppet/modules && curl http://forge.puppetlabs.com/system/releases/p/puppetlabs/puppetlabs-cloudformation-0.0.2.tar.gz | tar -xz && mv puppetlabs-cloudformation-0.0.2 cloudformation
- Export the ec2 region you created your keypair for in the prerequisites section.
example: export EC2_REGION=us-west-1
- Make sure time on the virtual machine is up to date.
ntpdate pool.ntp.org
- CD into the cloudformation directory and edit examples/install.pp to include your AWS credentials and insert your java home. It will look something like this:
class { 'cloudformation': aws_access_key => '< your key here >', aws_secret_key => '< your secret key here >', java_home => '/usr/lib/jvm/jre-1.6.0-openjdk', }
- Apply the modified manifest:
puppet apply examples/install.ppThis will install the CloudFormation client tools and create the file: bashrc_cfn
- Source the bashrc_cfn file to set up all of the necessary environment variables.
source bashrc_cfn
- Verify that the CloudFormation client tools were successfully installed and configured by running the following:
cfn-describe-stacksA return of 'No Stacks found', validates that the client tools are correctly configured.
- Verify that the CloudFormation Face is properly configured by running:
puppet help cloudformation deployBasic usage information should be returned.
Creating a Puppet Enterprise environment from scratchSince puppetlabs-cloudformation can reliably build out fully functional Puppet Enterprise environments, it is an ideal tool for evaluation or experimentation in EC2. Let's build an example stack. The 'puppet cloudformation deploy' action can be used to build out complete stacks of PE. The command below shows how to build out an prepared Puppet Enterprise evaluation environment. Supply your own 'keyname' and 'stack-name' to the above command.
puppet cloudformation deploy
--stack-name DemoStack
--config config/pedemo.config
--master-type m1.small
Once the stack has successfully launched, use:
to check the current state of this stack.
Once you see the state of CREATE_COMPLETE, you'll also receive the public dns name of your new Puppet Master. You can open your web browser and browse to https://and log in with the user name cfn_user and cfn_password to visit the Puppet Enterprise Console. Check out the video below to see this in action.
controlling Puppet and invoking agents

subset: commoncrawl


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Custom by BRUUG
We want to make you your dream outfit.
Focusing on the cut, adding the modern twist.
Something that fits you perfectly.
That is the exact colour you were looking for.
The work skirt you have been looking for, that you cannot find anywhere.
A 21st outfit that you KNOW no one else will rock up in - one that perfectly expresses who you are.
That ball dress, when 'ball' just isn't your style.
Those bridesmaid dresses that aren't the same thing you've seen in every Pinterest post ever.
We are so excited to design with you, for you.
BRUUG Custom is coming soon.
Email us to register your interest email@example.com


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For people who care about the men, women, and children who are lost, hungry, and homeless in Maricopa County, Torchbearers lead the way by providing an affordable monthly gift each month that helps offer life-transforming solutions which save lives at Phoenix Rescue Mission.
Become a Monthly Torchbearer and help struggling neighbors like Rebecca
Rebecca grew up in a household where domestic violence and drug abuse were commonplace. She watched her alcoholic father hit her mother almost every day—and no one in the family ever talked about it.
That turbulent home life forced Rebecca to grow up much too fast. She hit the streets at 13, dabbled with drugs, and got hooked — in short order. At the time, it felt like the only way to cope with the horrors she'd seen.
Rebecca hit a low when that dependence on drugs landed her in prison—where she gave birth to a daughter. By the time she got to the Changing Lives Center, she'd practically lost hope of being reunited with her daughter.
"I came here with a lot of anger over what I had lost," Rebecca says. Thankfully, consistent support from kindhearted Torchbearers showed Rebecca a productive way forward. She focused her energy on becoming the parent her daughter needed her to be. After months of counseling, life-skills training, and prayer, it finally happened.
"I'm a completely different person since coming to the Changing Lives Center," Rebecca says. "The biggest change is I have newfound hope because my daughter is back in my life."
During Rebecca's time at the CLC, she's developed a strong sense of self-worth that had been missing since childhood. Her relationship with Christ has intensified. And she's now firmly committed to helping others discover they're deserving of His love.
"When I leave here, I want to lead other people to Christ," she continues. "I want to be part of someone's recovery like the people who were part of mine."
A Monthly Light of Hope and Life-Changing Care
As a Monthly Torchbearer, for less than $1 per day, you'll provide struggling men, women, and children at Phoenix Rescue Mission with...
Meals and emergency food boxes
Long-term comprehensive services
Solutions program to connect to short-term resources
Community engagement programs
Hope Coach mobile outreach
Addiction recovery
Spiritual recovery / Christian counseling
Job and life skills training
Benefits of Being a Monthly Torchbearer
As a Monthly Torchbearer, you'll get an inside look at news from around the Mission and invitations to special events. Best of all, you'll know that every month you're providing a light of hope and life-changing care to people in need.
Become a Monthly Torchbearer. Save lives every day.
With an affordable gift each month, you are helping the Phoenix Rescue Mission focus more on saving lives.
What being a Monthly Torchbearer means to Phoenix Rescue Mission:
- Predictable source of income to maintain vital programs all year long
- Better use of resources
- Saving credit card fees if you allow us to debit your bank account instead of using a credit card


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A "Good Singularity" will rely more on vigorous self-improvement than on external factors.
I have long held that our present American Civil War (no less than that) is a three-sided affair. There is a quiet majority who still believe in things like pragmatic problem-solving, grand ambition, chipping away at old-bad habits while pursuing technological progress and—above all—courteously negotiating in good faith, instead of raging at our neighbors and our institutions, portraying them as monsters. This majority is presently beleaguered from all sides. Both Left and Right seem bent on crushing any remnant of the old optimistic, can-do spirit that built the nation and an amazing civilization.
All right, I'll admit that one of those two wings happens to be, at present, far worse, more dangerous, and profoundly more insane; but the other is no less poisonous in its underlying cynicism and suspicion of can-do enthusiasm. Hence, what are we to do… those of us who think that (1) past efforts at self-improvement actually worked… and hence (2) more efforts at vigorous self-improvement should be high on our agenda?
The solution? To keep on plugging away! To persevere. Continue fighting to make our kids and their kids better than us, the way our parents and grandparents tried to do that—and succeeded—with us. By proudly endeavoring to make the next generation both more ethical and vastly more scientifically/technological powerful—because only that combination can save the world.
With me so far? Then let's look for examples of our side in this civil war… or rather, our center… fighting back.
A Manufacturing Renaissance?
We've launched an all-hands-on-deck effort between our brightest academic minds, some of our boldest business leaders and our most dedicated public servants from science and technology agencies, all with one big goal, and that is a renaissance of American manufacturing.
That's from U.S. President Obama, in remarks at the National Robotics Engineering Center at Carnegie Mellon University, a high-technology facility adjacent to a rusted factory symbolic of the area's industrial past. Obama said federal agencies would invest more than $500 million to seed the initiative. Of that, $70 million is to go to robotics projects.
I was already on board the effort to spark a new manufacturing renaissance. A year ago, I was asked by the Metals Service Center Institute to create a comic book set 20 years from now that discusses the many reasons for US industrial decline… and how it might come back. Have a look at Tinkerers!
One of the biggest challenges we face as a nation is the decline in our ability to make things.
That's from Dr. Regina Dugan, Director of DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). DARPA is investing $1 billion in alternative design and production methods, enabling new generations of modular, networked, "seamless," and democratized manufacturing. In our pragmatic civilization, we need to remember that individuals and self-made teams are the long-term solution creators… but our government, the one we own, will be key to empowering, stimulating, playing a vital role.
Encouraging Kids to Program
Speaking of empowering… Computerworld recently examined the strange disappearance of any useful programming language from modern personal computers, a topic that I launched with my much-discussed Salon article "Why Johnny Can't Code." It's a subject of great importance, since without a reliable common "lingua franca" language that all students share, teachers and textbooks cannot do what was routine in the 1980s… assign simple, 12-line programs to their kids, introducing them to the very "basic" notions. Like the fact that human-written symbols propel math-fueled lines of code that command every single pixel they ever see!
People arguing over "which introductory language is best (e.g. Python vs Perl etc) miss the entire point and are wasting everybody's time. The lack of any shared, simple language on ALL computers has crippled the ability of educators to reach the millions of kids who own computers right now. Kids who could be computer tinkerers, the way their parents were. Any shared language… any at all… would empower educators and students, so long as using it involves as few steps as possible. Anything that requires downloading, instructions or procedure-teaching will lose 95% of students.
My original article sure stirred up a storm! And now I am pleased to say this problem was solved—somewhat—by a person it inspired. Drop by QuiteBasic, a complete turnkey BASIC system that a kid can start typing into the instant the window opens, showing both graphics and results sections, as well. Totally intuitive. Suddenly, via the web, every BASIC assignment in all those old textbooks can come alive!
A perfect solution? Heck, no! By all means start a grassroots campaign to persuade Apple and Microsoft et al to agree on a turnkey educational, compact, and simple introductory language to offer on all PCs! Make it Python, Perl, whatever. Just do it. But till then, at least QuiteBasic offers a glimpse of that old can-do spirit.
And While We're Talking Progress Toward the Singularity
The Technological Singularity—a quasi-mythical apotheosis that some foresee in our near, or even very near, future. A transition when our skill, knowledge and immense computing power increase exponentially to enable true Artificial Intelligence, and humans are transformed into… well… godlike beings. Can we even begin to imagine what life would look like after this?
An excellent article by Joel Falconer on The Next Web cites futurist Ray Kurzweil on the coming Singularity, along with my warning about iffy far-range forecasting: "How can models created within an earlier, cruder system, properly simulate and predict the behavior of a later, vastly more complex system?"
If you want an even broader perspective, try my introduction to the whole topic: "Singularities and Nightmares: Extremes of Optimism and Pessimism about the Human Future." For there are dangers along the way, one being Renunciation—as a fraction of the population rejects science and technology as a means toward progress.
How about portrayals in fiction? I mean, other than clichés about mega-AI gone berserk, trying to flatten us? Now, from a writer's perspective, the Singularity presents a problem. One can write stories leading up to the Singularity, about problems like rebellious AI, or about heroic techies paving the way to bright horizons. But how do you write a tale set AFTER the singularity has happened—the good version—and we've all become gods? Heh. Never dare me! That's the topic of my novella, Stones of Significance.
Ah, but not all techies think the Singularity will be good. One chilling scenario—humans serving our new machine overlords. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak speculates that people may become pets for the robot masters: "We're already creating the superior beings, I think we lost the battle to the machines long ago. We're going to become the pets, the dogs of the house."
David Brin Ph.D. is a scientist and best-selling author whose future-oriented novels include Earth, The Postman, and Hugo Award winners Startide Rising and The Uplift War. David's newest novel - Existence - is now available, published by Tor Books."


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Royal Rainbow was born from the idea that visibility matters. The 2017 Christmas season was particularly emotionally difficult. Non-affirming family can be tough to deal with especially during the holidays. Everywhere we looked we saw male dominated visuals- snowMEN, gingerbreadMEN, and of course SANTA CLAUS. F$*k Patriarchy, right?
Clothing can be a strong visible statement about who you are and what you believe in. We believe in making fun of everything, laughing at things that are inappropriate, and queering cultural references because the world could always use some more gay.
Anyway, long story short we wanted to create a brand that let queer folks from all areas of the rainbow feel seen, and not just seen but important, and not just important but ROYAL!
Tanya & Arlene


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Spring summary
Just a reminder that the SBAAC Spring Sports All-Star Banquet is being held on Tuesday, May 21st at Hamersville School in Hamersville. This banquet is held to honor our 1st team all-stars in spring sports. The banquet begins at 6:30pm. For those athletes involved, check with your local Athletic Department for details.
The results of the SBAAC Boys Tennis Tournaments are posted on the Boys Tennis page. Congratulations to Wilmington HS, who finished 1st in the American Division and Bethel HS, who finished 1st in the National Division.
Results of the SBAAC JH Invitational can be viewed by clicking here. Congratulations to Wilmington for winning both Girls and Boys divisions.
Results of the SBAAC HS League Meet can be viewed on the Boys and Girls Track pages listed under the "Spring" page above. Congratulations to Western Brown Boys and New Richmond Girls for winning in the American Division and Williamsburg Boys and Girls for winning in the National Division.
Baseball and Softball have completed their seasons and the standings for both are posted on their page under "Spring" listed above. Congratulations to Clinton-Massie and Clermont Northeastern for winning in Baseball and Western Brown and Williamsburg for winning in Softball. Good luck to all our teams as they go into tournaments.


text: Lavafoshi makes everything about Dhivehi music better! You can listen to all your favourite local tracks wherever and whenever you want, right on your smartphones. Explore and choose from over 10,000 songs, including exclusive releases you can't get anywhere else. Access all your favourite tunes through our curated playlists, or the playlists created by your friends and favorite artists. You can also create playlists of your own and share them. Simple, fast and easy.website


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getty images:
Clinton Leads Trump, Two New Polls Show:
Hillary Clinton is leading Donald Trump nationally among likely voters — but two new polls diverge on the size of her lead.
Trump Ratchets Up 'Rigged Election' Claims, Which Pence Downplays:
Donald Trump and his surrogates amplified their argument over the weekend that the election is "rigged," leaving the Republican nominee more isolated as top members of the GOP — including his own running mate — declared their faith in the political system.
Serena Williams Out Of BNP Paribas WTA Finals After Shoulder Injury:
Serena Williams will not take part in the BNP Paribas WTA Finals in late October due to a "troublesome shoulder injury," according to a statement released by Women's Tennis Association (WTA).
'The Simpsons' And The Art Of Being In A Class Of Your Own:
When "The Simpsons" debuted in December 1989, it was the "perfect thing at the perfect time," according to executive producer Al Jean. You could say, their timing was excellent.
Battle For Mosul: Iraqi Forces Close In:
5 Things To Know For Your New Day — Monday, October 17 was originally published on praisecleveland.com


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Magnesium Phosphate
Product Code : HPPL - 04
Brand Name : HINDUSTAN PHOSPHATES
Price And Quantity
- Minimum Order Quantity
- 100 Kilograms
- Price Or Price Range
Product Specifications
- Storage
- Room Temperature
- Properties
- Soluble in diluted Hydrochloric Acid, Nitric Acid and Acetic Acid
- Poisonous
- Physical Form
- Powder
- Application
- Pharmaceutical
- Taste
- Odorless
Product Description
We are a leading company specialized in the business of offering our clients Magnesium Phosphates. To comply with set safety norms, we use premium quality chemical compounds to process this chemical. In food, chemical and pharmaceutical industry, this chemical is highly used. We pack this chemical in air tight containers to ensure safe transportation. Clients can obtain Magnesium Phosphates from us in different quantity packaging options. We offer this chemical at market leading prices to clients.
- Accurate composition
- Zero level of impurity
- Non toxic
Trade Information
- FOB Port
- Indore
- Payment Terms
- Cash Against Delivery (CAD), Cash on Delivery (COD), Cash Advance (CA), Cash in Advance (CID), Cheque, Delivery Point (DP), Letter of Credit (L/C), Letter of Credit at Sight (Sight L/C), Telegraphic Transfer (T/T), Western Union, Paypal
- Supply Ability
- 20 Kilograms TON Per Day
- Delivery Time
- 4 Days
- Sample Available
- Yes
- Sample Policy
- Free samples are available
- Packaging Details
- In 25kgs packed in HDPE/PP bags with loose Polyliner inside & 50 kgs packed in HDPE Drums with loose polyliner inside.
- Main Export Market(s)
- Asia, Australia, Central America, North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East, Africa
- Main Domestic Market
- All India
- Certifications


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Unconventional Business Knowledge For The Refined Entrepreneurial Mindset
Certainly one of key important expertise of being a manager is the power to guide your workforce. Cara berikutnya adalah dengan melakukan cycle time discount atau pengurangan siklus waktu. This massive improve that we're finishing for Ellucian's ODS product additional exposed the advantage of timely and responsive team collaboration. Another important business administration trait is align your individual private objectives and goals with that of the company's and give them full focus until every job has been completed.
He publicly acknowledged that, Our prospects come first, our staff second, and our shareholders third." The highly regarded membership-only warehouse club COSTCO performs actions according to one's claims as they too follow Jack Ma's mantra. Customer service and the client experience have been precedence no. 1. Ultimately, shareholders who lingered discovered that patience with their investment in Amazon is a advantage in the long term.
This yr is the second time that PwC Romania launches a separate version based mostly on the answers of native CEOs, thus providing native enterprise leaders with the chance to share their imaginative and prescient, priorities and concerns concerning the evolution of the local and global financial system.
The issue with undertaking administration, though it closely resembles a typical working setting, is that crew members might not have labored intently collectively in the past and undertaking deadlines are usually extra pressing than regular working situations.
Maybe one of many foremost expertise required of managers, mission management is so important that many firms hire individuals strictly to prepare and oversee varied projects. If they're properly educated and treated with respect and transparency, the staff will belief their employer and radiate their enthusiasm, as well as loyalty to their clients by going the extra mile.
Enterprises spanning a big selection of industries, have earned distinction as effectively-" or best-" managed" by demonstrating business excellence by a meticulous and unbiased process that evaluates their administration skills and practices – by specializing in innovation, continuous training, brainstorming and caring for their workers' well-being – in addition to investing in assembly the wants of their clients.


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The National Baking Week website has plenty of recipes to get you started, from main dinners through to sweet treats. We've selected three great, easy recipes to get you started. Then, once you're happily enjoying the fruits of an afternoon in the kitchen, have a browse of the NBW website for competitions and ideas for charity bake sales. Happy baking!
A delicious snack served warm with butter, a lunchbox favourite or as a side with a main meal, these lovely savoury muffins are perfect family fodder. Make up an extra batch and freeze them for last minute lunches.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
- 1.5kg pumpkin
- 2 large potatoes
- 30g butter
- 125g grated cheddar cheese
- 1ltr milk
- 200ml crème fraiche
- 1 pinch grated nutmeg
- 6 free range eggs
- A little salt and pepper
- Remove the outside skin from the pumpkin and deseed. Peel the potatoes and dice both the vegetables into cubes.
- Heat the milk in a large saucepan until almost boiling and add the potato and pumpkin.
- Leave to simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Ladle out a glassful of milk and keep to one side for cooking.
- Preheat the oven to 205°C.
- Roughly mash the potatoes and pumpkin with a fork.
- Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl and add the cheese and cream. Season the mix with salt, pepper and a little nutmeg and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.
- Add a little extra milk to loosen the mix if necessary.
- Grease a muffin tray with butter.
- Spoon the mixture into the muffin tray and add small piece of butter to the top of each one. Bake for around 20 minutes.
- Serve hot on a bed of salad.
BEST CARROT CAKE (from Leith's Vegetarian Bible)
Despite trying many others, this remains my favourite carrot cake recipe. It's light and moist and is a real teatime treat. Also makes a lovely birthday cake. I tend to approximately half the quantities of sugar in the icing, and it always tastes sweet enough!
- Butter, for greasing
- 200g/7oz plain flour
- 1 heaped teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 225ml/8fl oz vegetable oil
- 225g/8oz soft light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 200g/7oz carrots, grated
- 85g/3oz walnuts, roughly chopped
For the icing
- 125g/4 ½oz cream cheese
- 110g/4oz icing sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon almond essence
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3. Grease a 20cm/8in deep cake tin and line the base with greased greaseproof paper.
- Sift together the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Whisk the oil and sugar together in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs one at a time until the mixture resembles mayonnaise. Fold in the flour mixture and then the carrots and walnuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 1-1 ½ hours until the cake is well risen and feels firm when pressed with the fingertips and a skewer comes out clean. Remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
- Beat the cream cheese with a wooden spoon and add the icing sugar and almond essence. Spread over the top of the cake.
An all-time baking favourite, this quick and easy dough is fun to roll out and get creative with. You don't need to stick to just gingerbread men – why not try a whole farmyard of gingerbread animals?! You can usually find good shape cutters in baking shops or online.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
- 140g slightly salted butter, softened
- 75g golden granulated Sugar
- 130g wholemeal plain flour
- 20g cornflour
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 egg, beaten
- Optional: cake decorations
You will also need:
- Gingerbread cutters
- Rolling pin
- Baking tray
- Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F Gas 4)
- Grease the baking tray with some butter
- Cream the butter and sugar together until mixture is light and fluffy
- Sift the flour and ginger into the mixture and fold in gently
- Stir in the beaten egg and vanilla essence and stir to form a firm dough.
- Knead lightly then wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours
- Roll out the mixture on a floured table then use a cutter to make shapes. Place these on the baking 8. Bp>
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, leave to firm then transfer to a wire rack to cool
- Decorate as you desire! Chocolate buttons, icing, raisins etc.


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News Story
Announcing the Carrie-inspired Summertime Playlist Contest!07/24/17
Submit your summertime playlist and you could win!
Carrie just added more songs to her Summertime Playlist on Spotify and we're letting Fan Club members be one of the first to check out the new songs:
Good Vibrations – Beach Boys
Happy Together – The Turtles
We Found Love – Rihanna and Calvin Harris
Summer Nights – Grease
American Kids – Kenny Chesney
Beautiful Day – U2
Good Time – Alan Jackson
Are You Gonna Go My Way – Lenny Kravitz
Summer of '69 – Bryan Adams
The Official Carrie Underwood Fan Club wants to know what songs are on your summertime playlist! Create your own Carrie-inspired playlist and enter for a chance to be selected at random as the winner of a summer merch prize pack! The prize pack includes your Carrie Underwood summer essentials: Tote, Towel, Koozie, and Hair Ties.
The contest ends Sunday, July 30th at 11:59PM PDT.
By submitting, you agree to the contest terms. One entry per person, multiple entries will not be considered.


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April 5th, 1990
At home
Didn't get much sleep last night but not because Ben and I shared a bed! The room was really stuffy and for the first time ever we got into bed, said goodnight, rolled over and went to sleep! And as unusual as that was, I actually felt pleased that I stuck to my side of the bed. Wonders will never cease!
It took ages for us to scrape the ice off my car this morning before driving to Gatwick, which, had we gone from home, would've been a nightmare in rush hour traffic.
While Ben was in his interview, I sat in the hotel lobby, watching the slew of candidates coming and going. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I've done all that and already have over a year's worth of experience as long haul crew.
I have no doubt Ben will get offered a position with Virgin and when he does, it'll change the direction of his life, in the same way working for British Airways has completely changed mine.


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Site Title
Heading 1
Welcome to Survive To Thrive, an entirely new concept in survival training. Not only do we bring the training to you, but we customize it to fit you or your group's desired curriculum. If you want to learn more about us and how we can teach you not only the basic skills everyone should know, but also those advanced and customized skills tailored to your interest, just click on the ABOUT link above.
The Survive To Thrive Team!
Our group of students and instructors in Orlando in March 2017.


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I have been looking forward to Christmas for some time and to making something electronicy with LEDs and Arduino. I love a few LEDs and bits of tinsel. So I decided to have a go at the Merry Boxes and LEDS project. I started a while ago collecting bits to use anticipating a quick start, but Christmas preparations have intervened and I have only just been able to find some spare time. I have collected a few bits and a small wooden box and my intention is to make something relatively small that resides inside the box and then 'pops up'! I don't have a plan as such so I will see how it goes. I do have a 3D printer which I am to use to make all the internal structural parts. Plus an Arduino Nano. And some micro servos. And some LEDs. And some batteries. Should be enough.
PS Usually I make a collection of smaller videos with my camera, which I stich together and edit with Microsoft Photo Editor (or similar), then export in an internet format (MP$ I think) and then upload to YouTube, so I just have to give the URL. But that's all a load of phaffing around and I wanted my lunch so I just stuck the video straight in. Please let me know how it goes.


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However this is not the same bridge as depicted in The Bridge over the River Kwai film, the original bridge was built of wood around 100 meters upriver from the current bridge. Despite no remnant parts of the wooden bridge used on the movie remain intact, The Bridge on the River Kwai or The Death Railway Bridge is the major tourist attraction in Kanchanaburi.
During the World War II in 1942-43 Allied war prisoners building the Burma Railway, also known as the Death Railway, constructed The River Kwai Bridge. Is estimated that 16,000 Allied POWs working on the Burma Railway died as a direct result of the project from disease and accidents. Hence the name "Death Railway". In Kanchanaburi, there is a memorial and two museums to commemorate the dead, as well as the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery and Chongkai War Cemetery.
On the banks of The River Kwai, and very close to this bridge you can visit Kuang-Im Chapel, a beautiful Chinese Buddhist temple.
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Adventure in Thailand offers a different view from the traveler: sometimes wild, with wide-open beaches, blue waters and white sand, lakes, islands, high mountains, wildlife, temples, monuments and a hands-on experience of the real Thailand. Get to know the gentle people and the wonderful Land of Smiles.


text: PGR Development Opportunities: RDF Domain A In 'Training and skills development' Training and skills developmentDevelopment Needs AnalysisRDF Domain ARDF Domain BRDF Domain CRDF Domain D Back to 'University Graduate School' Expand the knowledge and intellectual abilities you develop through your role as a researcher. The following development opportunities are available to you across the University to help you meet your development needs in Domain A of Vitae's Researcher Development Framework: Knowledge and intellectual abilities. Vitae have links to related advice and resources and content from around their site. There are also a number of posts on the UoB PGR Development Blog which relate to this domain. Knowledge base (A1) Literature searching and referencing (Research Skills Team, Library Services) The Informed Researcher (Vitae booklet) Research Indicators (Research Skills Team, Library Services) Reading and note-making strategies (Research Skills Team, Library Services) Academic Writing (Research Skills Team, Library Services) CAL Academic Writing Advisory Service (1:1 tutorials/feedback for CAL PGRs; online resources for all) Birmingham International Academy Digital Skills (including statistical software) Research Support (IT Services) Training Cognitive abilities (A2) Literature Review (Research Skills Team, Library Services) Creativity (A3) Postgraduate Enterprise Summer School (University Graduate School) The Creative Researcher (Vitae booklet) Please note: out of consideration for your PGR colleagues and those who deliver these opportunities, please arrive on time and if you signed up in advance but are no longer able to make it, please cancel your place. If any of these links are broken or you are aware of opportunities in this domain which are not listed here, please send details to email@example.com.


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I will be summarising and commenting Les Aveux de la chair, Foucault's fourth volume in the history of sexuality tetralogy philosophically. In this first substantial post I wish to show how the first few pages conform to the theses that can be extracted from the sketch for an introduction appended in Annex 1.
The book's first, and longest, chapter has for title: "The formation of a new experience", which situates it as a demonstration of the thesis of the mutability of experience.
This is at first sight an epistemological thesis (there is no "raw" experience), but we must not forget that it is also a political (prescriptions for conduct can be neither legitimated nor invalidated by an appeal to constituted experience) and an ontological one (Being scinds experience, rescinds its authority, and prescinds it from exteriority).
The title of the first part of the first chapter is "Creation…
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The 6 Things You Need to Do in LoDo, Denver
Located in the heart of Downtown Denver, LoDo is more than 23 square blocks of nationally renowned restaurants, trendy boutiques, thought-provoking art galleries, and Victorian architecture. It's a historic neighborhood where the hustle and bustle of urban life thrives. Whether you're interested in sports and the great outdoors or good food and fine art, there are 6 things you need to do in LoDo:
1. Visit Union Station
A 100-year-old landmark featuring restaurants, shops, and live entertainment, Union Station is a must-see attraction for Denverites and tourists alike. This renovated transportation hub boasts some of the best dining in the city from casual comfort food to the city's iconic seafood and oyster house, Stoic and Genuine. From May through October, shop Union Station's farmers market overflowing with fresh, local produce while learning from Denver's culinary leaders in cooking demos. There are endless things do at Union Station, so check out our compilation of must-dos to scratch off your list!
2. Tour LoDo's Best Restaurants
Denver's food scene is miles high above the rest, and LoDo boasts some of the top restaurants in the city. From local, traditional dishes to international recipes that challenge the status quo, dining in LoDo is an experience you'll delight in time and time again. Relish the taste of expertly dry-aged steaks at The Capital Grille. Experience the brilliance of Southeast Asian fusion cuisine at ChoLon. Travel south of the border at D'Corazon Mexican Restaurant or take a dip in the ocean at Jax Fish House & Oyster Bar. Whatever your favorite cuisine is, you'll find it – and much more – in LoDo.
3. Catch a Game at Coors Field
There's no place like LoDo when it's baseball season. Located at Blake and 20th is Denver's own Coors Field, home to the Colorado Rockies. It's the perfect outing with friends and family (or even a date night) to cheer on your favorite team. After the game, stop by the city's National Ballpark Museum that's just a quick trip across the street. Recognized as one of the top private baseball collections in the world, the museum features one-of-a-kind treasures you won't find anywhere else. Browse memorabilia from ballparks of the past and learn about players, teams, and stadiums alike.
4. Shop 'til You Drop at Larimer Square
Find everything you need at Larimer Square. Composed of Victorian buildings, this shopping center in LoDo boasts an eclectic mix of stores offering a wide range of goods from Cry Baby Ranch's western wear to Victoriana's antique jewelry. You'll uncover handcrafted hats at Goorin Brothers, unique shoes at John Fluevog, and contemporary furniture at Element. Refreshing your closet? Decorating your home? Hunting for the perfect gift? You'll find it all at Larimer Square.
5. Wander the Museum of Contemporary Art
Founded in 1999, the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver (MCA Denver) was the first dedicated home for contemporary art in the city. It shines a light on the work of regional, national, and international artists while promoting the creative experimentation of art and ideas. Browse their current exhibits and spend a day wandering the labyrinth-like showrooms filled with mind-expanding art. When you've reached the end of your journey, head up to the rooftop Café & Bar for delicious food paired with breathtaking views.
6. Soak Up the Sun at Commons Park
LoDo isn't all urban sprawl. Spend the day basking under the sun at Commons Park. Bordered by the South Platte River, the park offers a riverside trail dotted with native flora and fauna. Begin your day with an energizing walk or jog along the winding paths, and end your day watching the sunset reflect over the rushing river. Take your outdoor activities one step further and brave the river rapids on a kayak run in Confluence Park, right next door to Commons Park. With so many things to do in LoDo, your days in the city of Denver will be an action-packed adventure.


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Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer
Dewa to highlight future possibilities for women
DUBAI, January 23, 2020
Dubai Women Establishment (DWE) has announced Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) as the Strategic Sustainability Partner of Global Women's Forum Dubai 2020 (GWFD 2020).
To be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai, the forum will take place in Madinat Jumeirah from February 16 to 17, 2020, under the theme "The Power of Influence".
This partnership is a part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both parties and is an extension of Dewa's continuous support for Global Women's Forum Dubai since its inaugural edition in 2016.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, expressed his happiness at the partnership between Dewa and DWE and stated: "Dewa plays a key role in enhancing the role of women and boosting their capabilities, in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to ensure women's active inclusion across all fields and sectors. We are therefore committed to harnessing their technological skillsets and scientific knowledge to excel in the field of sustainability."
He also praised the unwavering commitment of Her Highness Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Gender Balance Council, President of Dubai Women Establishment, and wife of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, to further establish women as integral contributors to the growth and sustainable development of the UAE.
He also commended Sheikha Manal's efforts to advance the overall socio-economic participation of women through a variety of pioneering and unique programmes, initiatives, and events, such as the highly anticipated GWFD 2020.
He stated that GWFD's goals align with Dewa's efforts to enhance women's participation in vital sectors, with a particular emphasis on the energy field, as well as areas of innovation and creativity.
Mona Al Marri, Chairperson of the DWE Board of Directors, praised the continued partnership with Dewa, highlighting the entity's key role in cementing the position of Dubai and the UAE in the field of sustainable energy. She stated that Dewa's support for GWFD 2020 is a testament to its dedication to actively increase women's contribution in this field and the economy at large.
She added: "The partnership between the Establishment and Dewa is a manifestation of the vital cooperation and knowledge exchange among government organisations, leading to new heights of innovation. This is in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the Dubai Plan 2021, which emphasise the importance of the systematic development of different sectors to further establish Dubai as a smart and sustainable city."
She also praised Dewa's efforts to increase public awareness of renewable energy, and the importance of striking a balance between environmental consciousness and developmental goals, ensuring that future generations live in a clean and healthy environment.
She added: "Dewa's collaboration as Strategic Sustainability Partner reinforces the Forum as an exemplary platform that mobilises joint efforts to advance women's positive impact for a better future. The Forum presents an ideal opportunity to show the UAE and Dubai's efforts in consolidating sustainable energy and its local and global impact."
At Global Women's Forum Dubai 2016, Dewa hosted the "Sustainable Hub" in GWFD's Discovery area. Dewa showcased several innovative and creative ideas in sustainable energy and discussed topics related to women's role in energy and relevant best international practices.-- Tradearabia News Service


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If you prefer the DIY approach to dry ice cleaning, Emory Industrial Services has everything you need for your commercial restoration, remediation, and cleaning projects. We offer the latest Cold Jet blasting technology and our commercial dry ice blasting equipment is available to rent when you need it. We also offer high-quality bulk dry ice manufactured to your specifications. Let our team help you get the right equipment to tackle your toughest cleaning projects.
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In our modern times, people's daily needs and affairs are largely arranged by goods and services provided through institutional and market mechanisms. This thesis looks at alternative services bypassing institutional and monetary mechanisms: the type of services where people work with and for each other. Two service cases investigated: a self-repair bicycle workshop run by a subcultural community and a series of design interventions called 'Plant Hotel' where people help water other's plants as a form of collaborative care.
"This is design research at its best, testing and pushing the boundaries: working on topics like service, relevant to design; always doing good research, and always from an unusual angle. This is one of the best design research pieces I've seen in recent years."– Ilpo Koskinen, Professor from Hong Kong Polytechnic University
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|Corporate governance and transparency awards in Singapore have become controversial of late, due to several instances of companies winning such awards and then running into serious corporate governance problems not long after.
Several companies which have found themselves named among the Forbes Best Under a Billion list of Asia companies in recent years have also later turned out to be more suited for the Worst Heading For Under a Few Million list, due to financial difficulties, accounting irregularities and corporate governance failures.
To be fair, the latter is less surprising because the Forbes list focuses on companies that have grown fast, and growing fast can be at the expense of good corporate governance and sound risk management.
The latest Singapore Corporate Awards, announced last week, threw up a few surprises for me, none bigger than Frencken Group winning the Best Managed Board and Best Investor Relations awards for the small cap category.
I have never paid much attention to the Frencken Group (which could be a good thing).
However, it caught my attention when the company announced on 16 August 2016 that Tan Sri Larry Low Hock Peng had resigned as its Non-Executive Non-Independent Chairman for "medical reason".
Tan Sri Low happens to be the father of Jho Low – a key figure in the 1MDB scandal.
Tan Sri Low received quite prominent mention in the book "Billion Dollar Whale" and some other reports on the scandal.
Following his resignation as Chairman, Tan Sri Low transferred 8 million (1.19 percent) of his shares to two other individuals with the surname "Low" in April 2018.
On 29 August 2018, the company announced that Tan Sri Low had ceased to be a substantial shareholder, after paring his stake from 8.14 percent to 4.74 percent.
A report in the Edge Singapore on 31 August 2018 titled "Fugitive Larry Low pares stake in Frencken Group" said that Tan Sri Low is wanted by the Malaysian authorities on a charge of money-laundering. One of Tan Sri Low's brothers remains a substantial shareholder of Frencken.
Perhaps I am unreasonably strict, but to me, this would have been sufficient for me to eliminate Frencken Group from consideration for any corporate governance-related awards.
After all, Tan Sri Low was chairman until about three years ago and was a substantial shareholder, had resigned for "medical reason" but is reportedly a fugitive (which may raise questions about the accuracy of the reason given for his cessation).
However, I was even more surprised when I looked more closely at Frencken's corporate governance.
It has an all-male six-member board led by a non-independent non-executive chairman.
I can perhaps accept the all-male board given its business (although substantive diversity is beneficial for all industries in my view), and even a non-independent chairman.
However, it also has two independent directors who have served more than 9 years, with the company giving the usual explanations as to why they should still be considered to be independent.
One of these long-serving independent directors, Ling Yong Wah, is also the lead independent director and audit committee chairman.
He has a degree in Economics and is a member of an international professional accountancy body but there is little indication that he has recent and relevant accounting expertise.
In fact, none of the four members of the audit committee appear to have strong accounting expertise based on their backgrounds disclosed in the annual report.
Mr Ling is also the CEO of Vallianz Holdings, an associate company of Swiber Holdings, which has of course been in deep financial trouble.
It turns out that another independent director of Frencken, Yeo Jeu Nam, is also an independent director of Vallianz, and was also an independent director of Swiber.
There is therefore an interlocking relationship between Mr Ling and Mr Yeo.
In essence, at Frencken, Ling as lead independent director has a more senior role in the corporate governance of the company, while at Vallianz, Mr Yeo as an independent director is supposed to provide oversight over Mr Ling who is the CEO.
In some codes of corporate governance, such interlocking relationships are considered a threat to independence.
It also seems there is some shareholder unhappiness at Frencken.
At the AGM held in April 2019, 15.46 percent voted against the resolution authorising directors to issue shares, 15.71 percent voted against the re-election of Mr Ling, and 9.98 percent voted against the re-election of Mr Yeo.
While this by no means clearly suggest a shareholder revolt, there are some signs of discontent, perhaps among one of the substantial shareholders and/or other minority shareholders.
In terms of remuneration, Frencken discloses in bands of $250,000 for its executive director and key management personnel on a named basis, and discloses the remuneration of the non-executive directors as "below $250,000".
Clearly, that is inadequate from a corporate governance standpoint, and in terms of communicating with investors.
All in all, it is difficult to see why Frencken was given the top accolade for its market cap category for awards that are supposed to be based on good corporate governance.
Frencken has performed well financially – and I hope the organisers did not confuse this with good corporate governance.
This article is republished from www.governanceforstakeholders.com with permission.


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Enderun Hospitality Management (EHM) is the consulting division of Enderun Colleges.
EHM is a hospitality management solutions provider in the Philippines that primarily engages with local independent hotel and restaurant owners. The division offers a comprehensive range of services and up-to-date business solutions to maximize the clients' return on investment.
Enderun Hospitality Management's services:
Visit www.enderunhospitalitymanagement.com for more information.


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The FINANCIAL -- With effect as from 1 June 2015, Gilles Laurent has been appointed EVP Flight Operations at Air France and replaces Eric Schramm, who will take up a new position in the coming months.
As such, Gilles Laurent becomes a member of the Governing Board of the Air France group and reports directly to Frédéric Gagey, Chairman and CEO of Air France.
A qualified pilot and a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, Gilles Laurent began his career at Air France in 1990 as a First Officer on Boeing 737. As well as his position as a pilot on various different Air France aircraft (A330/340, A320) where he qualified as Flight Captain in 2002 and then instructor, Gilles Laurent was appointed Head of International Relations at the crew training division in 2000, after previously having gained experience at the European Commission as part of an internship at the ENA business school. He became VP for Human Resources at the Pilot division in 2005.
In 2009, he was given the responsibility of the project to reform flight safety. He was appointed VP Quality and Flight Safety in 2012, a position he held until June 2.


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Pirate's Tale
Andrew's Secret Part VII
by Julie Mizell
05/01/2005 -
Andrew pulled the car doorhandle, but it wouldn't budge. No! You can't be locked! he said to himself. He pounded on the window of the little maroon Stratus with his fist. "Jonathan! Are you in there? Open up! Let's go!" he sighed in frustration. A glance over his shoulder showed him that the men in black were no longer pursuing him for the time being anyway, but the police were still coming. Andrew's brown eyes darted nervously up and down the street. He knew it was too late to hide and he was just trying to come up with another option, but none came. The police pulled up across the street, so in a last attempt at escaping their attention he leaned against the car in a very casual way and began to bite his fingernails.
The sheriff approached and shone a flashlight in Andrew's face. Andrew tried very hard to look innocent and surprised.
"Who are you?" the sheriff asked in a serious, but not overpowering or demanding tone.
"My name is Andrew Brown," Andrew said.
"Do you know anything about a break-in just down the street?"
"No sir."
"Funny, you fit the description to a tee. Is this your car?"
"No sir."
"Who's is it?"
"A friend's. We were going to meet here, I'm not sure where he went, but I know this is his car, so I'm waiting for him."
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take you down to the station for further questioning," the officer said, pulling out a pair of handcuffs.
Andrew was wondering if things could possibly get any worse. Of course he tried to make a break for it, but to no avail. The officer caught him around the neck, pressed him up against the car and put him in an armlock. That's when Andrew noticed something strange. Jonathan's keys were dangling out of the ignition. Jonathan is way too smart for that. Somehting must have happened. Then he thought, One of these doors must be unlocked. He squeezed his eyes shut trying to decide what to do. When he opened them the first thing he noticed was the flashing red and blue lights on the police car across the street. He looked up and down the road, but all he could see were the streetlamps . . . and they gave him an idea.
Jonathan tried very hard to appear unconcerned as the men in black entered the room. He recognized both. One was still holding the strange black box with the keyboard. The other had the gun. Jonathan didn't see the third man, the one with the red hair.
"You are Jonathan Moore, are you not?" the one with the black box asked.
Jonathan wasn't sure if he should say "yes" or "no", so he held his tongue.
"I can tell he's going to be a difficult one." The man looked over his shoulder at the other. Then his face brightened. "Can I box him?"
The other sighed in frustrated surrender. "You and your toys! Yes, box the guy."
"I just love Dr. Maximus' inventions!" He turned to Jonathan. "Would you like to know what this will do?" He was strapping the metal square to Jonathan's arm. Jonathan remained straight-faced and firm. "Guess not! Well, you'll find out soon enough, like it or lump it." The man typed a few keys, detatched the chain and left the room. Jonathan stared at the little metal square. He tried to pull it off, but it wouldn't come. There were no visible forces holding it there, but it was as firmly set as the linoleum floor. Jonathan waited with bated breath, just waiting for it to explode or something, but nothing happened.
Andrew knew that he could not allow the sheriff to finish cuffing him, but he was having a crisis of conscience. He had a plan, but just wasn't sure if he should carry it out. He was a "good guy". Running from the police was not his style. It felt wrong somehow. I shouldn't feel guilty. I've done nothing wrong, he told himself, but he knew it wasn't true. He had made the biggest mistake he could think of by exercising power that should never have been his. He had accidentally killed Lily manslaughter. He had broken into a house and attempted a kidnapping. He had lied to a policeman, and now . . . he wished he could just turn himself in.
No, he told himself, I have to do what's right. The problem was, at the moment he really wasn't sure what was right. He knew he could not just stand by and let the world himself included live on, completely oblivious to the fact that the life they were living wasn't really real. But, if to do that he had to kidnap, lie, harm or kill . . . it all seemed like "the end justifies the means" to him. Oh, what a mess I've made, he thought, and it seemed like the biggest understatement of the world to him.
He knew he had to do something quickly, so he decided to move forward with the plan as much as he hated to. He wrestled the policeman away, going easy on him. Then he practically leapt over the hood of the car and opened the drivers' side door, which turned out to be not only unlocked, but open. Slamming the door, he locked it and turned the keys in the ignition. I sure hope this works, he thought as he flipped the headlights on. Just as he had suspected, it brought a myriad of new things to his sight. He could see reflectors on cars, bikes, and even trees by the road and someone's running shoes. He knew his vision was not truly sufficient to drive even now, but it was his only choice, so he began to pull slowly down the street. Over his shoulder he could see the sheriff get up and run to his car. Andrew would be pursued. He had the utmost respect for law enforcement officers and was still wrestling with his conscience about what he'd done when someone grabbed him by the neck from the backseat.
"Jonathan, if that's you quit it and get up here. I can't see half the road.
The stranglehold squeezed tighter and a man's voice said, "Hello Andrew, or should I say Elijah! I'm sure you won't remember me, but I have a proposition for you."
The sirens began to wail and the police car picked up pursuit.
"Look, Whoever-You-Are, if you want me to be alive to accept your proposition you'd better get up here and drive, or at least srop strangling me."
Silence, and the strangle just came tighter. Andrew bit thearm, which got rid of it for a moment and started a brawl. Andrew was unable to see the road at all anymore and the stranger wasn't even trying. "If we get in a wreck you're just as likely to die as I am!" Andrew shouted, but the man was not deterred.
The only people who saw the dropoff were the policemen, who watched in horror as they watched the car go over. "Think there's any way he survived that?" one said.
""No, but radio for help anyway. I'm going to see." he climbed out of the car and approached the overpass. At the bottom he could see that the little car had burst into flames. The officer shook his head and sadly walked back to the car. As he opened the door there was a loud explosion and he had to dive into a fetal position as pieces of debris flew all the way up to the spot where he had been standing. "Tell them not to come after all," he said when it was safe to get back in to car. "No one could have survived that."
. . . continued next month
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Arcos de la Frontera
Arcos de la Frontera is a Spanish municipality in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. It is the most populated municipality of the Sierra de Cádiz region and also the most extensive. It is an important place for domestic tourism and the regional industry, and has a strategic position between the Campiña Jerezana and the Serrania. It also has a rich past, having been the capital of the Taifa de Arcos in the Muslim period and capital of the Duchy of Arcos from 1493.
Surface: 528 km²
Population: 31.417 (2012)
Province: Provincia de Cádiz
Places of interest: Majaceite, Embalse de Bornos, Arcos Reservoir, Iglesia de San Pedro
Additional information about your transfer
We welcome you at the airport with a welcome sign and take you to ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA. Later, when your vacation ends, we pick you up at your resting place at ARCOS DE LA FRONTERA in advance enough to be at the Jerez de la Frontera airport in time for your flight back home.
We can offer you several optional extras to make your trip more comfortable: special seats for babies and children, drink service, luxury cars, English-speaking driver, etc
Details of the Route
From: Jerez de la Frontera Airport (XRY)
To: Arcos de la Frontera
Approximate duration: 22 minutes
Travel distance: 39 kilometers


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Heart Foundation
- Spatial Analysis and Space Assessment
- Space Planning
- Concept Design
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- Project Management
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The Heart Foundation is New Zealand's heart charity leading the fight against our country's single biggest killer – heart disease. With more than 186,000 people in New Zealand living with heart disease, the Heart Foundation will continue to fund life-saving heart research and maintain their vital work in local communities.
Given their current building was run down, it was time to move to activity based working and invest into the current building. Starting with the reception, they moved to the second floor transforming their workspace into a function activity based environment.
The new fit out allowed for a more impressive collaboration area that reflects their brand and accommodates larger collaboration groups. Care was taken in setting a hospitable, warm tone that is welcoming and not too corporate white supporting key functions of the roles within the business.
The open workspace was designed with growth in mind, while still giving staff the option to break away into meeting spaces or small, quiet work spaces. There was close consideration given to the shift in office environment through analysing the staff's responsibilities and the responses from staff surveys.
A functional and inviting breakout space was created, which gives them the necessary traffic-flow access when hosting functions between the kitchen and boardroom. This makes managing the space and its board meetings while survey the current staff possible, and also provides an enjoyable social area for staff, which they did not have previously.


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Their previous single 'Get Lucky' was unrelenting. It peaked at No.1 on May 12, but then stayed in the No.2 position on the ARIA singles charts for a further four weeks and in the top ten for four more weeks after that.
But with the advent of the album 'Random Access Memories', which was much hyped but underwhelmed the critics, the sheen sort of came off the Daft Punk brand.
Naturally, they're hoping to turn that all around as they beg you to 'Lose Yourself To Dance'.
Pharrell's back. Nile's back. They're as Daft as ever as they perform beneath what looks like a UFO in what might be a video clip, or perhaps just an elongated ad for the album? At just one minute in length, we're plumping for the latter. Naturally, they're plucking for the former. As a clip then, it's utterly lacklustre.


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Country to develop with villages' development
Food & Civil Supplies Minister Kunwar Shah takes part in Gram Sansad
Bhopal, May 3, 2016 (Ataullah Faizan): Food & Civil Supplies Minister and in-charge of Burhanpur district Kunwar Vijay Shah has said that the country would develop only when villages are developed. Keeping this in view Gramodaya Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan is being conducted. Under it, partnership of villagers in formulating development plans for villages will be ensured. Kunwar Shah was addressing a Gram Sansad at Aseergarh in Burhanpur district today. Nepanagar MLA Mr. Rajendra Dadu was also present on the occasion. The Minister said that the state government has implemented a number of schemes for welfare of the poor. Wheat, rice and salt is being provided to poor families at Re. one per kg. He urged villagers to avail benefit of schemes by becoming aware. The Minister also inspected ongoing works under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme.
At a meeting of district planning committee, the Minister said that old and small water bodies should be developed. For this, he directed to chalk out an action plan at district level. Former Minister Mrs. Archana Chitnis informed farm-ponds have been developed in a number of villages by motivating farmers, where rainwater will be conserved. Information about progress of works under Gramodaya Se Bharat Uday Abhiyan was also given at the meeting. The Minister inspected ongoing preservation works at ancient Aseergarh Fort. He directed to install solar lamps in the fort.


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One thing that will never go on unnoticed when it comes to the team at ProAm Belts is we'll never take for granted our men and women who serve in our armed forces. To those in the US Army, Marines, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and the National Guard, we salute each and every one of you. Like you have our back, we have yours! You're never out of reach when it comes to ProAm Belts! We ship custom made belts to our troops who are stationed nationally and those who are overseas serving our country all around the world. For those who have served in the past and retired from military service, how about their very own custom made championship belt? The possibilities are endless.
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The Kingdom Rush games are widely known as one of the best tower defence series to play on mobile devices. I haven't played any of the Kingdom Rush games since Kingdom Rush: Frontiers (released back in July 2013), but I know the overall premise of the game is largely the same. Build towers to stop incoming enemies, use your hero to smash even more enemies and most importantly, try not to let any of those enemies reach beyond a certain point. Kingdom Rush: Vengeance does very little to shake up this tried and tested formula, sticking largely to the same elements that made the series popular in the first place.
Kingdom Rush: Vengeance sees players take control of Vez'nan, the villain from the first Kingdom Rush game. Your goal is to build your army up and reclaim the land that once belonged to you. There are some comic-book style cutscenes that you can look at to get a better idea of the story, but in all honesty, I usually just skip these. The story will most likely mean more to you if you've played through the three previous games, but for anyone else, these cutscenes aren't what you are buying Vengeance for.
Each level in Vengeance can last anywhere between ten to thirty minutes depending on how far you are into the game. Completing a level will reward you with stars. The maximum amount of stars you can gain per level is three, but earning those three stars will force you to finish the level with eighteen health or higher. Once you've managed to earn three stars on a level, you unlock two more difficulty modes: Heroic and Iron. Both of these modes leave you with only a single life so be prepared to lose often before attempting to tackle either of these challenges.
You can level up your hero by gaining experience when fighting enemies. Fortunately, this experience carries over whether or not you successfully finish a level. As you continue to make your way through the game, Vengeance has plenty of unlockable heroes and towers. This allows you to mix things up should you find yourself getting stuck on any particular level.
One of the bigger changes to the series that I recognised was the use of in-app purchases (IAPs). Now, I seem to recall being able to purchase different heroes, but this is another level of trying to grab more money from the player. You can now purchase towers, and to buy them all you should expect to pay $30 for the bundle pack. It's not enough that you pay money for the game, should you want access to everything it has to offer you will need to be prepared to pay a lot more. There is a system in place where the developers are giving out gems (the currency used to buy some of the IAPs) as rewards for completing missions and unlocking achievements, though you can expect to be doing a lot of grinding to unlock anything substantial.
With all of this being said, despite the crazy amounts of IAPs, Vengeance is balanced enough that you can make your way through the entire game without purchasing anything. Sure, it's a lot more difficult to do so but it is manageable. The difficulty of this game does seem slightly higher than previous titles, however, this shouldn't come as a surprise as the people that are most likely playing this game are returning fans.
When it comes to the Kingdom Rush series, you always know exactly what you are buying into. Don't pick up Vengeance expecting to find anything but classic Kingdom Rush tower defence as you will be sorely disappointed by the lack of innovation. Vengeance isn't trying to deviate from the formula that fans know and love so much, and despite the mass amounts of IAPs, you shouldn't let that deter you from enjoying this game any more than the previous titles. Yes, there are more things to purchase in-game, but there's also more to unlock than any of the other games in the past.
Review code provided by the publisher.


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Daraya lies on the fringe of Damascus, just south west of the Syrian Capital. Yet it lives in another world. Besieged by Syrian government forces since 2011, its people were deprived of food, bombarded by bombs and missiles, and shot at by snipers. Its buildings lay in ruins; office buildings, shops and family homes shattered by the constant shelling from government forces. But deep beneath this scene of frightening devastation lay a secret library.
No signs marked its presence. While the streets above echoed with rifle fire and shelling, the secret world below was a haven of peace and tranquillity. Books, long rows of them, lined almost every wall. Bloated volumes with grand leather covers. Tattered old tomes with barely readable spines. Pocket sized guides to Syrian poetry. Religious works with gaudy gold-lettering and no-nonsense reference books, all arranged in well-ordered lines. But this precious horde of books was not bought from publishers, book warehouses, or loaned by other libraries. Many people had risked their lives to save books from the devastation of war. Because to them, the secret library was a symbol of hope – of their determination to lead a meaningful existence and to rebuild their fractured society.
This is the story of an extraordinary place and the people who made it happen. It is also a book about human resilience and values. And through it all is threaded the very wonderful, universal love for books and the hope they can bring.
Only a few years ago, Syria was in the sights of the world's media attention, suffering one of the most atrocious and devastating civil wars in recent history. The stories and images that greeted the world were ones of horrific destruction, abject misery – this was a country besieged and a people ravaged indiscriminately. But inside this disaster zone, beneath its shattered walls, BBC World Affairs Correspondent Mike Thomson discovered a miracle, a beacon of hope, an unwavering symbol of courage and humanity – the Secret Library of Darayya. His book tells the incredibly moving and inspirational tale of the individuals who refused to give in to oppression, who held firm to their beliefs in the power of the written word and who sought to create a positive and enriching space for themselves and others, through 'thoughtful resistance'.
Jade Craddock: Mike, having read Syria's Secret Library, it has been both a humbling and eye-opening experience, can you tell us how you first heard about the secret library and your initial thoughts about it and those behind it?
Mike Thomson: I first came across this amazing story when I was reporting for the BBC on the growing use of siege as a weapon of war, mainly by Syrian government forces and their allies. During a down-the-line interview with a resident of Daraya, I asked how people there cope mentally as well as physically with being starved, bombed and sniped at day after day. One man told me that whenever he could, he and others would seek sanctuary in a secret library they had built in the basement of a half-destroyed building. There, he said, they would enter a different world of peace and learning, while the bombs rained down above. I was stunned and hugely inspired by what he told me. This had to be investigated!
JC: Readers might wonder why those in Daraya stayed behind when so many others were fleeing, given your own experience of war zones, were you able to easily understand the motivations and hopes of those who wanted to stay?
MT: It was a question I asked many people there. Soon after the massacre of August 2012 when government troops overran Daraya, before later being forced to retreat, most civilians did leave. Less than a tenth of the population of around 80,000 chose stayed on. I asked some of them why they hadn't left? The commonest answer was that if they left Daraya, the place where most had been born, they might never be able to go home again. The majority of those who stayed were young men who had campaigned against the regime for several years, in nearly all cases peacefully, and they felt this was the place to make a final stand. Many hoped that after Syrian forces had bombed the town for a few months they might feel that Daraya had been 'punished' enough and then leave the town alone. Sadly, this was not to be.
JC: When you first began liaising with those involved in the secret library, what struck you most about them?
MT: It probably sounds silly to say this but the first thing that struck me was just how like other young people elsewhere they were. Despite years of protests and persecution, followed by bombardments, siege and deaths, they seemed so well-adjusted and lacking in bitterness. I remember one of the people there apologising for being less than half-an-hour late for an interview, saying he was sorry but his street was being bombed! The last time I apologised for being late for a meeting it was because of a signal failure on the underground. Then there was the ever-present sense of humour, generosity of spirit and interest in others. None of which had been lost despite years of living in hell.
JC: Did learning about these people and the secret library change your perceptions about what was happening in Syria? How did it contrast with what was being played out in the media?
MT: It does, of course, depend on what media one is looking at. According to some Russian news outlets, Daraya was a hive of Islamist terrorists bent on destroying the outside world. This clearly was utterly untrue. Whilst there may have been some extremists in the town, the vast majority were moderate rebels. Many, like the creators of the secret library, were more interested in reading Hamlet and studying textbooks than waging war on civilisation. Daraya has a long history of peaceful protests going back several decades and many of the people there were more followers of the pen than the sword.
JC: You've reported on some of the most horrendous human atrocities of our times, does the human capacity for evil but also for good still surprise you?
MT: Sadly, the human capacity for evil has stopping surprising me, having seen so many awful examples of this throughout the world. But examples of the good, such as was so inspiringly shown in Daraya, never cease to amaze me. As I said above, I marvelled at how people who had been surrounded by death and destruction for so long managed to maintain their humanity so fully. The endurance they showed, how hope prevailed over pessimism and kindness over bitterness, has frequently left me spellbound.
JC: Those involved in the secret library risked their lives to save books, to frequent the library, having experienced war zones yourself and the dangers and horrors that people are confronted with on a daily basis, were you able to understand this devotion to books/the library given the circumstances?
MT: I once asked Anas, one of the founders of the secret library, why, in a town where people were starving, he and others spent so much time searching for books rather than food. He replied: "Just like the body needs food the soul needs books." That said it all for me. He later told me that in a place where death comes daily, spending your time concentrating only on survival could be a person's ultimate undoing. Firstly there was nowhere totally safe to hide from the bombs anyway, and secondly despair and depression would quickly overtake those who thought of nothing but staying alive. Books provided a mental and spiritual refuge and took the mind to better places where it could learn, grow and find peace.
JC: Did the experience change the way you thought about books/libraries or your own relationship to them?
MT: It has certainly given me a new appreciation for my own local library in North London. A few years ago it was threatened with closure due to council funding cuts. I remember signing a petition in support of it but didn't join any other forms of protest that went on. It would be different now. When you see how this secret library seemed to save the souls and the sanity of so many in Daraya, it makes you realise the extraordinary power of books.
JC: Can you sum up the importance of books to those in the secret library and perhaps their social importance more generally in the world today? Are books more crucial now than ever?
MT: I've long been amazed by how books have not just survived but blossomed in an age dominated by YouTube clips, tweets and our supposedly ever shorter attention spans. But books take you into an enveloping world unmatched by film, videos and sound bites of all kinds. A good book is a friend, a mentor and a soulmate all in one. They provide us with depths of thought and knowledge, reservoirs of human experience and unbounded adventures whether fictional or factual. In a fast-changing, fast-moving world, I do believe they are now more valuable to us than ever.
JC: The people you spoke to turn to various books to get them through the tough times, is there a particular book that would be your go-to?
MT: The following books are among my absolute favourites: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse and Mirror to Damascus by Colin Thubron.
JC: It seems that in recent times Syria has dropped down the media agenda, but the situation seems almost as desperate now as ever, is that the case and how do you see the situation developing?
MT: Syria certainly has slipped down the news media's agenda, especially since the end of the long siege of Eastern Ghouta more than a year ago now. This tends to happen with most lengthy conflicts as journalists struggle to find new headlines for an often 'war-weary' public. I'm asked about this over and over again by people in Idlib, Syria's last rebel-held province. Why, they ask me, as bombs continue to fall on them, does the outside world not care anymore? It's hard to know quite what to say when people there are dying each day, many of them children. President Assad has repeatedly vowed to retake every inch of rebel-held areas of Syria, and an all-out final land battle could start at any time. The hope of most of the three million people there is that Assad's ally, Russia, keen not to fall out with Turkey, will help stop such an offensive. Turkey has long backed the province's moderate rebels and does not want more Syrian refugees flooding over its borders to join the more than three million already there.
JC: The people you got to know in Daraya must feel like friends, almost family, how enriching has it been for you to get to know them, but at the same time how difficult to see their struggles? What is your hope for them?
MT: The people I have come to know over recent years in Daraya certainly have come to feel like close friends. I often get messages about births, birthdays and weddings as often as ones about bombs and bullets. Despite the onward march of President Assad's forces since the Russians and Iranians began fighting for his regime, the military position of the rebels has become ever more tenuous. Yet some from Daraya still live in hope that the government will finally fall to be replaced by a democratically elected one that champions civil rights. I dearly hope that their wish is granted, though the prospects of this don't look good at the moment.
JC: Do you have any news on how they're doing now?
MT: Most of those who stayed in besieged Daraya went to Idlib after the town was evacuated, but some have now moved on to Turkey where they've been able to continue their education. Others have refused to leave their country and live in hope of one day returning to Daraya. Just about every day over the last couple of months, Syrian and Russian planes have been bombing Idlib and the death toll has been steadily mounting. As a result I am always hugely relieved whenever I get texts from those I know, as then I know that they're safe.
JC: I wondered whether they may have had a chance to see your book and what their thoughts are on its publication?
MT: Sadly it is very difficult to send books to Idlib but one is already on its way to the ever resourceful, Malik al-rifaii, who supported the secret library and worked for Daraya Council's former media office. He is now living in Turkey but is thinking of inventive ways to get the book to his many friends in Idlib. I did offer to send an electronic copy of Syria's Secret Library to him, as that would have been far easier to forward. But Malik replied, "My friends are lovers of books, and cherish the thought of holding this one in their hands. An electronic copy would just not be the same for them."
JC: The book is incredibly poignant and eye-opening and I expect many readers will be left wondering what they could do to help?
MT: There are many non-government agencies or NGOs doing great work in Syria who could make use of any help people are able to offer. One, International Book Aid, has been organising the transport of books to Idlib, and a couple of others are also planning similar efforts.
JC: And finally, those involved in the secret library impressed on the importance of learning, but what have they taught you?
MT: The people of Idlib have taught me that however dark life may seem, however insurmountable the difficulties and dangers you face, don't ever lose hope.
Syria's Secret Library by Mike Thomson is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson on 11 July 2019 in hardback at £18.99, eBook £9.99, and audio £19.99


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Tan Viet Noodle House
With over 20 years of experience, Tan Viet Noodle House bring together the best of Chinese and Vietnamese flavours.
Tan Viet pride themselves on serving simple, honest and wholesome food with the utmost quality and freshness. Their signature dish, Crispy Skin Chicken has become a crowd-favourite at their restaurant in Cabramatta and they look forward to bringing it to the CBD.


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Anxiety and depression are two things I've struggled with all of my life, but they were also two things I could never put a name to. In middle school, I believed my mannerisms were something everyone else around me was going through as well.
High school was okay because I was constantly surrounded by people I loved, but as soon as I got to college, it was as if I transformed into this completely different person. My grades dropped, I was losing weight, I was constantly sick, and it felt as if no one around me knew what I was going through or even really cared.
But I'm here to tell you that that's definitely not the case.
Before I could fix myself, I had to name what I was going through, and I think that was the hardest part. I was ashamed to say I faced anxiety and depression because I didn't want to come off as broken. I'd always been known as that "bright and smart" girl, someone who was always smiling and optimistic about whatever she was facing. Someone who always loved everyone else and had no time to worry about herself because she was constantly putting others first.
I was so afraid to label myself as these negative things because I've always been taught the more you label yourself, the more you're limiting yourself from reaching your full potential. But when I was labeled as optimistic, I felt I had no right to be down about things. When I was labeled as smart, anytime I didn't reach the highest level of success, I felt like a failure. When I was labeled as selfless, I felt as though I had no right to worry about myself or my own wellbeing.
The sooner I accepted the feelings I was facing and that I wasn't the only one facing them, the sooner I was able to heal.
The sooner I realized it was all in my head, the easier it was to get rid of those feelings. I began to learn that the trials I was facing weren't normal like my middle school self had convinced me they were, but after being able to name what I was going through, I was able to accept it as it was and push myself to heal. And by push, I mean literally push. I stopped calling my family during breakdowns and instead listened to music that distracted me. I stopped canceling plans with my friends and forced myself to go out because I knew I would have a good time if I just went. I stopped skipping meals just so I wouldn't have to walk across the quad, and my body is thanking me for it every day.
I realized it was okay to feel sorry for myself, but feeling sorry for myself didn't have to include moping around all day. Instead, I started treating myself to getting my nails done, splurging on those new boots, or small things such as buying ice cream with the spare change in my glove compartment. Feeling sorry for myself meant going above and beyond to make myself smile, worshipping more to heal my heart, and spending more time with the people I love to feel whole again.
Now I'm healing, but it's still something I still struggle with to this day. I still think about skipping meals, my anxiety attempting to convince me not to take the short walk across the quad. I still think about bailing out on hanging out with friends. I still think about skipping class. I still struggle with seeing the positive things about waking up in the mornings, wanting nothing more but to curl into a ball and cry until I fall asleep again.
I still struggle with naming the things that I'm feeling, and where they come from, but I'm also learning.
I'm learning not to be ashamed of who I am. I'm learning to find joy in the little things, such as a warmer day than the one before, or a free coffee from the little breakfast shop. I'm learning that what I'm going through doesn't make me weak. I'm learning that I'm not a burden, and the faster you can accept what you're feeling, the faster you'll be able to heal, too.


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[ Gary-Wright.com ] [ The Wright Perspective Blog ] [ The Wright Perspective Blog 2007 Archives ] →
The Wright Perspective℠
Social Commentary from the C-Suite to Main Street℠
A Blog by Gary Wright II
Pictures of War
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
A friend just posted some photographs from the war. They are too horrible to share! The pics are the subject of today's blog entry: Thank you for showing us the pictures!
The pictures really tell the story - don't they? Children are being slaughtered along with their entire family. Entire generations of people are being wiped out completely. The real face of a mother's bitter grief. The eyes of a child who has lost his innocence, and almost lost his life. They kill our babies, so we kill ten of their babies. The blank stare of a soldier who has seen too much. Bullets and bombs don't discriminate by age, race, or gender. The pictures don't lie. The pictures don't 'spin' the story. The pictures are little snapshots in time that tell us what really happened. They are perfect little witnesses. The pictures tell the true version of our history. How did we let this happen??? Look at the pictures, listen to our "leaders", then look at the pictures again.
How far are we really willing to go?
When will we say STOP!?!
How do we say STOP???


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Upgrading to PlanetPress Server 6 from PlanetPress Watch 4 or 5
This document describes the procedure to follow for a successful upgrade to PlanetPress Server 6 (only valid if the product upgrade is performed on the same workstation as PlanetPress Watch).
IMPORTANT: A new activation is required to activate the PlanetPress Server.
- From the workstation where PlanetPress Watch Version 4 or 5 is installed, run the PlanetPress Suite 6 Setup.exe. (From a CD or via our Download link on our website)
- Select and Install the PlanetPress Server 6 program from the setup (or PlanetPress Watch 6 depending on if you are installing from a PlanetPress Suite 6 CD or from our website). You must also select any other products you wish to upgrade.
- Once the installation is complete, open one of the PlanetPress Suite 6 applications. The


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This Week:
+ Finishing your digital collage
Research: Remember to collect imagery that inspires you on your inspiration page (required)
+ See Resources Tab for tips, tutorials and techniques.
+ Visit the Assignment Tab for project ideas, requirements and examples.
+ Turn into Dropbox as a .psd document. DO NOT FLATTEN LAYERS.
+ Complete rubric and update your web site.
Next: Design-Your-Own-Project (See Assignment Tab)
Student Learning Objective: Students will create an original work of art using borrowed and original images by combining and manipulating imagery in Photoshop. Watch demos and visit the Resources Tab for support.
You can create anything you want for the Design-Your-own-Project but you must do some sort of planning or image gathering on your Inspiration page.
Design 1