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As a fall-out from the NYC ticket-fixing scandal, a special unit called the "Court Monitoring Unit" is being created within the Internal Affairs Bureau. The unit will monitor traffic court testimony and traffic ticket records to discourage and catch police officer's "throwing" cases. We expect 1 to 3 police officers from this new unit to be regularly roaming the halls and courtrooms at all 7 New York City Traffic Violations Bureaus and looking for officers intentionally losing cases as favors for friends, family and colleagues.
Roughly 40 police officers are likely to be indicted and another 100 disciplined for "dumping" traffic tickets for friends and family in the ever-widening NYC ticket-fixing scandal.
The increased attention from this new unit will most certainly encourage police officers to be extra careful and prepared for their cases. Not good news for motorists who contest their NYC traffic tickets.
6 Comments. Leave new
I received a speeding ticket from the NYPD. The officer put the wrong Date of Birth on it. Is that enough to beat it in the Queens TVB.
Mr. D,
The wrong date of birth does not render your traffic ticket fatally defective. In my opinion, it is a minor error that is of little consequence (absent other issues or problems with the People's case).
Matthew Weiss
The nyc traffic violations bureau should be an independent agency , not associated with the same agency that hires the hearing officer on the basis of how much they bring in.
Charles, I couldn't agree more. In fact, the name Traffic Violations Bureau is misleading as the TVB is actually an arm of the DMV (no different from other arms like licensing and road tests).
Thanks for posting your comment.
Matthew Weiss
In the first place, TVB is a hopeless place to defend a traffic ticket. The State should do away with the TVB and go back to the regular court presided by a real judge!
There are many who would agree with you including myself. The TVB is actually an arm of the DMV. So essentially what you have is a DMV judge being paid by DMV to decide whether DMV gets your money. Kind of like the fox guarding the chicken coop.
Matthew Weiss


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From the mystical perspective, trauma creates 'frozen ground' in the individual and collective field.
This 'frozen ground' diminishes the flow of life energy and therefore intelligence and functionality. It is usually surrounded by layers of emotion such as fear, grief, shame and anger. These in turn are often necessarily shielded by numbness.
By developing the POCKET competencies, it becomes possible to hold a space in which these layers can be more nakedly and precisely felt – now, consciously, and in a relational field.
This allows a melting to occur, in which energy can start to move down into and warm the 'frozen ground', allowing life energy, intelligence and functionality to be restored.
We study both the universal principles of trauma work, and the specific manifestations in different regions of the world.
Through this we also study 'shadow language' – the way in which through unconscious use of language we support fixed structures of trauma in each other and in our culture.

subset: commoncrawl


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Famous Londoners – Grinling Gibbons…
September 17, 2012
A late 17th and early 18th century wood carver and sculptor, the curiously named Grinling Gibbons is remembered for his magnificent carvings in numerous English buildings including such London icons as St Paul's Cathedral and Hampton Court Palace.
Not much is known about Gibbons' early life. The son of English parents (his father was apparently a draper), he was born in Rotterdam in The Netherlands on 4th April, 1648, and, as a young man, is believed to have undertaken an apprenticeship as a sculptor in that country.
Around the age of 19, he moved to England – first to York and to Deptford in the south. It was the quality of his work which led diarist John Evelyn, having discovered Gibbons working on a limewood relief of Tintoretto's Crucifixion in a small cottage near Deptford in early 1671, that led him to introduce him to Christopher Wren, the architect of the age, and fellow diarist Samuel Pepys and to eventually present him (and his relief) to King Charles II at Whitehall Palace on 1st March the same year.
But Gibbons' work apparently failed to initially impress at court and it was only following his 'discovery' later that year by the court artist Sir Peter Lely that he began to receive major commissions.
It's apparently not known when Gibbons married his wife Elizabeth and moved to London they were living there by 1672 and were having the first of their at least 12 children (while at least five of their daughters survived into adulthood, none of their sons did).
In 1672, they were living in an inn, called La Belle Sauvage or The Bell Savage, located on Ludgate Hill near St Paul's, and, while Gibbons continued to maintain a workshop here into the 1680s, the family moved to Bow Street in Covent Garden around the end of the 1670s (the house here apparently collapsed in 1702 and was subsequently rebuilt in brick).
Gibbons, who was admitted to the Draper's Company in 1672 and held various posts within it over ensuing years, reached the pinnacle of his success when he was made master sculptor and carver in wood to King William III in 1693, and was later made master carpenter to the king, then King George I, in 1719.
Having worked mostly in limewood, Gibbons, recently called the "British Bernini", is known for his distinct and exuberant style which features cascading foliage, fruit, animals and cherubs. While he worked on numerous important buildings outside of London – including carvings in the Chapel Royal and king's dining room at Windsor Castle, in a chapel at Trinity College in Oxford, at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire and a famous 'carved room' at Petworth House in Sussex – and beyond (he also created two presentation panels – known as the 'Cosimo' and 'Modena' panels which were sent to Italy as royal gifts), Gibbons is also noted for his work on a number of prominent buildings in London.
Among the buildings he worked on or in around London are the churches of St James's in Piccadilly, St Mary Abchurch, St Michael Paternoster Royal and, famously, St Paul's Cathedral (where he carved choir stalls, the bishop's thrones and choir screen) as well as Hampton Court and Kensington Palaces.
While he is primarily remembered for his limewood carvings, Gibbons' workshop was also responsible for sculpting statues, memorials and decorative stonework. A couple of the workshop's statues can still be seen in London – one of King Charles II in Roman dress at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea and another of King James II outside the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square – while the magnificent Westminster Abbey memorial to Admiral Sir Clowdisley Shovell is also attributed to him.
Gibbons died at his Bow Street home on 3rd August, 1721, and was buried in St Paul's Church in Covent Garden (his wife had been buried there several years before).
For more on Grinling Gibbons, check out David Esterly's Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving.
Wren's London – 10. The Monument, The Temple Bar, and more churches…
November 17, 2010
So we come to the final in our series on Wren's London. This week we take a quick look at some of Wren's remaining London works (keep an eye out for our upcoming 'daytripper' on Oxford for some detail of his works there)…
• The Monument. Built between 1671-77 to commemorate the Great Fire of London, it was designed by Wren and Dr Robert Hooke. For further information, see our previous post.
• The Temple Bar. Designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1672 to replace a crumbling wooden predecessor, it's only recently been returned to the City and now stands adjacent to St Paul's. For further information, see our previous post.
• Churches. We've only looked in depth at a few of the existing churches Wren designed in London. But here are some of the others among the more than 50 he designed that still stand:
• St Benet Paul's Wharf. Originally completed in 1685, it claims to be the only "undamaged and unaltered" Wren church in the city, having survived World War II intact. Now the Welsh church of the City of London. See www.stbenetwelshchurch.org.uk.
• St James Garlickhythe. Built according to Wren's design, it was completed in 1682 (the tower not until 1717). It is known as 'Wren's Lantern' due to its light interior. See www.stjamesgarlickhythe.org.uk.
• St Margaret Pattens. Built between 1684 and 1687 after the previous church was destroyed in the Great Fire, the church gets its unusual name of 'pattens' from wooden undershoes that were worn to elevate people out of the mud, and were sold nearby. See www.stmargaretpattens.org.
• St Margaret Lothbury. Completed in 1692, it now incorporates seven adjacent parishes thanks to losses in the Great Fire, World War II and building projects and is now officially known as the parish church of "St Margaret Lothbury and St Stephen Coleman St with St Christopher-le-Stocks, St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, St Olave Old Jewry, St Martin Pomeroy, St Mildred Poultry and St Mary Colechurch." See www.stml.org.uk.
• St Martin-within-Ludgate. Rebuilding was largely completed by 1680. The previous church on the site was where William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, was married. See www.stmartin-within-ludgate.org.uk.
Others, some of which have been rebuilt since Wren's day, include St Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe, St Andrew Holborn, St Anne and St Agnes (Now St Anne's Lutheran Church), St Clement Eastcheap, St Lawrence Jewry, St Mary Abchurch, St Mary Aldermary, Mary-le-Bow, St Michael, Cornhill, St Michael Paternoster Royal, St Nicholas Cole Abbey (being redeveloped as a centre for religious education), St Peter upon Cornhill, and St Vedast alias Foster. (We'll be featuring some in more detail in later entries).


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NASHVILLE (BP)—The LifeWay Christian Resources presidential search committee is accepting nominations for a successor to Thom Rainer.
The search committee met Sept. 24 to develop a process for their search of the new LifeWay president and CEO, Chairman Kent Dacus announced.
The committee, which is accepting nominations at email@example.com, will work with the executive search firm CarterBaldwin to identify potential candidates.
Dacus asked Southern Baptists to continue to pray for the committee as members seek God's guidance in choosing LifeWay's next leader.
"We do not take our task lightly," Dacus said. "It is a tremendous responsibility God and the trustee board have placed on the search committee.
"We are seeking God's wisdom and direction as we look for an individual who will lead LifeWay into the future. We would ask Southern Baptists to pray for the committee as well as for the individual whom God has prepared to lead LifeWay."
On Aug. 27, LifeWay President and CEO Thom S. Rainer announced his plans to retire in the coming year after 13 years in leading the Southern Baptist Convention entity. A seven-person search committee was named to find LifeWay's next leader during the trustees' Aug. 27-28 meeting in Nashville.
We seek to inform, inspire and challenge you to live like Jesus. Click to learn more about Following Jesus.
If we achieved our goal—or didn't—we'd love to hear from you. Send an email to Eric Black, our editor. Maximum length for publication is 250 words.


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While Boy Scout Troop 151 has been an active troop for 85 years, producing 42 Eagle Scouts and awarding hundreds of merit badges, it will be the Welding Merit Badge that remains a part of troop lore.
During the school vacation in February, seven Scouts from the Troop, Venture Crew member Christina Fallavollita and four Scouts from three other Troops, headed over to Assabet Valley Technical High School, where they became among the first Scouts in the nation to earn the newly introduced badge. While there, some of the Scouts also earned their Metalworking Badge.
Many Scouts identify a career or a hobby through the merit badge program; this, combined with a shortage of 200,000 welders nationwide, caused the American Welding Society and Boy Scouts of America to team up to help alleviate the situation.
The boys were able to claim the first in the nation status, thanks to initiative of Assistant Scoutmaster Larry Salate, who secured advance copies of the merit badge booklet and permission to work on the badge before its official release last Friday.
"I just read about it in a trade journal," Salate said. "And I contacted Neil about doing the workshop."
Neil Mansfield, metal shop instructor at Assabet, led the Scouts in the welding workshop, as well as one for the Metalworking Merit Badge.
"The credit goes to my students," Mansfield said. "They came in during their vacation – it was teens teaching other teens about metal working."
Assabet Metal Shop students who helped the Scouts included Joe Pierce, Mike McGrath, Rachel Auger, Nick Collins, Patrick Pierce, James Patry, Jake Wright and Hayley Kurbs.
Mansfield also credited Wyatt Doyle and Sam Bouchard for their help and initiative.
To earn the welding badge, the Scouts learned about the hazards associated with welding, precautions to take to prevent injury and property damage and some of the chemistry associated with welding. Then they practiced a variety of different types of welding, including gas, MIG and TIG welding.
Patrick McKeon, one of the Scouts who participated in workshop, said he really enjoyed it.
"It was really well run," he said. "It was fun because it was not all classroom – there was a lot of hands on time."
"I thought welding was melting the metal and sticking it together," David Dorman said. "But the molecules go from one sheet to the other."
Other Scouts earning the Welding Merit Badge include Matt Barakian, Nolan Gauthier, Andy Meindersma, Ed Salate and Joel Sylvester from Troop 151; Ben Pierce from Clinton's Troop 4, Ed Eubank from Bolton's Troop 1 and Chris Gannon and Justin Mahan from Troop 9 in Worcester.
Alexander Fallavollita, Sam Frechette, Matthew George, Nick Hackett, Michael Jameson, Andy Meindersma, Jacob Milton, John Suraci and Christian Wheeler, all from Troop 151, earned the Metalworking Merit Badge.


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Repairing Heroes' Homes
July 31, 2019
When American General Douglas MacArthur walked ashore at Leyte in the Philippine Islands in October 1944, two years after he famously vowed "I shall return", 20-year-old Joe Celestino of Austin was there. "[MacArthur] returned with a bunch of people, and I was one of them," says Mr. Celestino, who served in an amphibious tractor battalion during World War II.
After the war, Mr. Celestino got married, and he and his wife, Nancy, eventually had six children. He worked for 30 years in facility maintenance at Bergstrom Air Force Base in Austin. Ms. Celestino passed away eight years ago, and her husband lives alone in the house the couple bought 55 years ago in East Austin.
Recently, the home needed attention. The central air and heating system had to be replaced as did the plumbing - and old carpet and tile posed serious tripping and slipping hazards. The foundation needed work and so did the bathroom – a walk-in shower would be much safer for Mr. Celestino to use than the existing bathtub.
Through funding generously provided by The Home Depot Foundation, Meals on Wheels Central Texas' Home Repair Program transformed his house into a safer place for him to live, and Mr. Celestino could not be happier: "I'm 94-years-old and I don't want to move! This is home!"


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Size(mm): 1200 | Power: 20W | LEDs(PCS): 192 | Lumen Output(LM): 2600 | Luminous Efficiency: 130LM/W | CRI: >80 | Viewing Angle: 240o | Input Voltage(AC): AC220-240V | Frequency (HZ): 47-63 | Dimmable: Y
Product Brief
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Brothers and Sisters,
Prior to our negotiations, the Union released surveys to get your input. One of the important items identified was the RRSP's. The Union proposed changes to the Company during bargaining, and the company responded that there was only an 18% enrolment rate for the flight attendant group. While we may see it as high importance, sadly, the numbers do not reflect this.
Enrolment for the Manulife RRSP program happens on January 1st of every year. The deadline for submitting the package is on December 27th, 2016. We encourage everyone to register. Even if you are not yet registered, we recommend you submit the documents in the event you will become eligible this year, or should there be any changes to the program.
For anyone who is on the fence, allow me to shed some light on the program. Currently, if you contribute 1% of your income, the Company has a 1% match. So, if you are making $30 per hour, based on working 80hrs per month, you would see a deduction of approximately $12 per paycheque, adding up to over $300 for the year. While the return on RRSP's is not usually exceptionally high, the company is matching this, meaning they are depositing this money into your RRSP account at the same time you do. Should the new agreement be ratified, there is potential for a 2% match. THIS IS FREE MONEY! The Company is giving this to us, and everyone should be taking advantage of it. There is no logical reason why all eligible members shouldn't be capitalizing on this benefit.
To register, all forms can be found on www.swgops.com. Click on the HR/IT tab on the top toolbar, then again on the HR Documents on the left hand side. Click on the +HR then below you will see a list, and click on the +Manulife RRSP tab.
The enrolment guide is your best reference, however you do not need to print the entire document. Forms that need to be submitted from this can be found on pages 21-31, dependent on your needs.
Everyone must complete:
• An Application form for the Deferred Profit Sharing Plan
• An Application form for the Registered Retirement Savings Plan
• A Payroll Deduction Authorization and Waiver of Participation form
• A Transfer Authorization for Registered Investments form (optional)
Drop in dates listed below are also available to assist with the forms and ask any questions, or you can contact Alice Drody at 416-620-4955 ext. 3305
-Tuesday, December 13, 2016 – 3 pm – 6 pm Destination Room (27 Fasken)
– Thursday, December 15, 2016 – 11 am – 2 pm Destination Room (27 Fasken)
-Monday, December 12, 2016 – 9:30 am – 11:30 am (Montreal Crew Room)
-Monday, December 12, 2016 – 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm(Sunwing Office-Cote de Liesse Ouest)
Completed forms can be submitted to firstname.lastname@example.com or faxed to 416-352-1805. Please ensure you submit these forms well in advance of December 27th, so any errors to your application can be addressed prior to the deadline.
Should you have any further questions, you are also able to call me and I will assist you as best as I can.
In solidarity,
Kelly Budway
Recording Secretary
CUPE Local 4055


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Spa holidays to Caribbean
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Top notch facility and Exceptional service.
September 26, 2019 via Google
Always have fun there coming up with antique parts
September 18, 2019 via Google
Great service for agricultural parts
September 9, 2019 via Google
Good New Holland dealer
October 11, 2018 via Google
always easy to deal with
June 13, 2018 via Google
Service people haven't been much help, but not necessarily their fault, I did have some obscure questions. Parts counter has been great, always find me what I need. I bought a ride on mower their that's been great as well.
May 25, 2018 via Google
One the best dealers in Western Canada.
February 6, 2018 via Google
Received the usual professional and corteous service we have to come to expect at Markusson.
December 12, 2017 via Google
I've been impressed by the family atmosphere and their determination to do what it takes to take care of the customer. Great team and great view of what really matters.
March 31, 2017 via Google


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Day 12 of the Federalection - H vs. H, ep II
Haught vs. Naught Episode II - Election version
Double Naught - Conservative Agricultural Minister Gerry Ritz for his comments regarding the 12 terrible listeria deaths and if Liberal MP Wayne Easter was one of them. Funny? Yes, but because it was in bad taste at a very poor time ... like um... during an election, he was obviously smart to apologize immediately, but this story has a few days legs in the media. Conservatives will drop 1-2 points as a result and have no hope in PEI and perhaps other Maritime ridings of winning.
Naught - Conservatives. After a strong week, their lead is slipping in key ridings. The above comment won't help. But if they stay focused with key daily policy announcements and good fuzzy ads, a majority is still a possibility. I believe Harper will easily win the debate as everyone will gang up on him, but he being cool and calm, he will look ...well. .. cool and calm.
Haught - All parties for releasing policy platforms that truly define who they are. But the Greens and NDP are looking awfully similar (Bloc too). But as Warren Kinsella said, "campaigns are about emotions", so only if these platforms translate into positive warm fuzzy feelings about the future, then they translate into actual votes. But why does everyone but the Conservatives want to raise the GST? Even when they say they'll lower income taxes, I don't think anyone believes any of them.
Haught - Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer for hosting a party this Saturday. Looking forward to it. A good way to get people out to then motivate them to hammer some signs. Rahim's a great guy and stellar MP.
Haught - Two blogs that kicks ass: Warren Kinsella's Daily Musings, especially his "Warren At Arms Length" vlog, and Steve Janke's "Angry In The Great White North", who's attention to detail is amazing, how he's got Liberal MP Garth Turner on his toes, slams Dion whenever he gets the chance with hard cold facts, but how he finds the time is beyond me.
I'm now also pondering on adding some video to this blog using my old Canon 3.2Mp camera.


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Contemporary America is now near the bottom of the slippery slope begun years ago by those who pushed the death of 'absolute truth' and a justification mentality. It began slowly many years ago, nearly undetected and grew to the point where almost all of us recognize the decline of morals and law-abiding in the United States and elsewhere. We have done away with moral constraints in many areas.
We used to consider abortion wrong, now millions of babies are aborted every day.
We used to consider it pre-marital sex wrong, now millions of people, starting at earlier ages every day, are treating sex as simply an activity to share with anyone you want.
We used to consider Marriage sacred. Now we have millions of couples living together, even religious couples, without a second thought. We have divorces and blended families overtaking those who are in long-term marriages that stay. We have people pushing for marriage for anything and everything instead of one man and one woman.
We used to consider homosexuality as an aberration. Now we have people not only defending it as a lifestyle, we have people pushing us to accept it and to keep our mouth shut if we don't. We have politicians pushing hate-crimes laws that would make it illegal to say anything negative about homosexuality regardless of our religious beliefs and views or what the Bible says.
We used to think for ourselves and teach our children to think for themselves. Now our schools are so busy pushing proficiency tests and the misguided agendas of those pushing the above attitude changes that there is no time to teach them about the law.
We used to stand and say the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, proudly. Now we have parents suing because their children are forced' to say the pledge in school. We have schools no longer requiring the pledge in school at all. When the pledge is said, students are allowed to talk instead of being required to show respect.
We used to honor our veterans. Now our veterans are used as political tools to promote political agendas. We have forgotten the price these men and women paid for our freedom to dishonor them.
We used to be overwhelmingly a Christian' nation. Now Christianity is disdained and groups actually attempt to do away with religion at all. Groups are trying to get rid of all reminders of religion' even though scriptures are all over federal buildings and our founders honored the Bible. Witchcraft and similar views are on the rise.
We used to respect the Bible. Now children are being taught that the Bible is a fairy tail' with good moral lessons, but nothing they need to follow. We now can have a Bible any time we want to, as many as we want to, but its availability has made it less valued.
We used to punish lawbreakers and deport illegal aliens. Now we have politicians who blatantly skirt laws and push laws that favor their agendas over the nation's good. We used to have politicians who were men and women of integrity, seeking to interpret the constitution instead of remake it.
We used to have standards of right and wrong, truth and untruth. Now everyone's truth is supposed to be accepted. We've thrown out the Biblical and moral standards. We've done away with absolute truth.' We've muddied the waters of right and wrong.
As our morals break down, our role models crack, our people turn from God, we allow disrespect of our country, and we continue to promote the idea that my truth is as good as your truth, the problem will continue. If our federal government doesn't obey the law, if people no longer see certain issues as wrong, if we have no standards of good behavior, how then can we expect anything else than the rising acceptability of breaking the law and justifying our own behavior?


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Sales Have Ended
Sales Have Ended
Tech Frenzy:
Digital assistants — Autonomous drones — Chatbots — AI — Smart cities — AR/VR — Circular Economy
Join us for our yearly tech celebration! Try new gadgets and learn about the technologies that will transform the future.
Notice the updated dates:
Stockholm - October 16th
Copenhagen - October 17th
Malmö - October 18th
Halmstad - October 19th
Palo Alto - October 24th
17.30— Mix & Mingle.
Settle in with drinks and something to eat.
18.00— "All companies are becoming tech companies."
The scooter economy, AI, Internet of Things, Mixed Reality, digital assistants, wearables. In today's fast-paced business environment, technology should be used as a competitive advantage. We will take you through the latest tech trends and discuss how to use them to improve businesses.
18.50— "Save the planet. One digital solution at a time."
Our production and consumption patterns have resulted in global warming, waste generation, and scarce resources, threatening future life on this planet. Let's disrupt this by designing digital solutions that will spur the transformation of more sustainable businesses.
19.50— "Creating VR applications for today and tomorrow."
We believe Virtual Reality (VR) will change the world: From healthcare and education to entertainment and commerce. A showcase of the most recent VR applications that Jayway has built for different industries. We will discuss the development methods and challenges we have faced in creating new, commercial experiences with the latest VR technology.
20.30— Demos & playtime.
Stick around and try new gadgets and tech. This year, we feature the Skydio R1 autonomous drone, Magic Leap One AR goggles, HTC Vive, Google Smart Displays and much more. Snacks and beer will not run out...
Happy to see you in our studio!


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With this in mind, let's take a look at the types of property that can be sold to Open Property Group, and consider the benefits to individual owners and landlords:
On our YouTube channel there are numerous videos that discuss the cost issues associated with marketing vacant properties through traditional estate agents. After all, whether you have a bungalow or a run-down property that is vacant, you will still be required to make monthly remortgage and council tax payments in full until it has been sold.
Fortunately, Open Property Group will purchase any vacant property type regardless of its condition, while pledging to complete transactions within a period of seven days where possible. This enables you to quickly offload an empty and financially-draining property quickly and efficiently, while recouping up to 85% of its original value.
In the video we discuss our approach to selling tenanted properties that are currently subject to a rental agreement. The firm is extremely experienced in this field, while they have the means and the legal knowledge to purchase properties regardless of the terms of the agreement that is in place and whether or not it relates to a short lease.
The sale of a tenanted property can be a complex process, which is why it is imperative that landlords seek out a specialist service provider. This ensures that a deal can be reached to suit all parties, both from a financial and a compliance perspective (as the rights of each respective tenant must be safeguarded during the sale).
This brings us onto problem properties, which may be the subject of an ongoing dispute or have simply been allowed to become dilapidated over time. These properties may exist on the market in an array of alternative conditions, while those that are at the centre of a conflict between tenant and landlord also offer decidedly complex legal considerations.
These respective issues would prevent traditional buyers from making a purchase, but this is not the case with Open Property Group. We will not only settle the contractual conflicts, but in the case of dilapidated properties they will also fund their development before listing them for resale on the market.
The service I received from Open Property Group was very helpful and considerate of my personal circumstances. A thank you to Jason for arranging a cash advance prior to exchanging contracts, and a lump sum when we exchanged. This was a really big help. Your company is simply the best.
Miss M, Southampton
Efficient, friendly and fair. From sold to exchanged in less than 6 weeks using OPG. We couldn't fault the service. A professional service that any seller should use. If we had more property we'd definitely use them again!
Mr and Mrs M
The open property group recently purchased a property through my agency and found them to be excellent buyers that were able to exchange contracts within one week at the agreed price. I would highly recommend this company.
Trusted Customer
Excellent customer service, amazing communication, honest and genuine company who made the process extremely easy and gave any excellent price.
Trusted Customer
We buy property directly and you won't pay any agent's fees.


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I'm just posting this to let people know about a script that I've uploaded to the repository and that I hope will be helpful.
But first, a disclaimer! I dabble here and there in programming, but I am not a programmer, and I am pretty unfamiliar with Ruby and the Lich API. I hacked this script together pretty quickly (because I wanted it!) using my prior knowledge of programming in general and a Ruby quick reference. That being so, please let me know if something in my code is totally stupid or could be done way better/more efficiently!
Anyway, on to the script...
General Description
Basically, if you've used Greminty's QVS (for Stormfront only -- see the House Sylvanfair website for details), you pretty much already know what RPVerbs does. The script allows you to search for verbs that you can use for RPing (i.e., non-functional, emote-style verbs). I'll give a few examples in a second. But I first want to note some benefits (in my view) of using this script as compared to QVS (with no hate intended toward QVS, which is an extremely valuable script!): (1) as a Lich script, this one works in Wizard, Stormfront, or whatever other front end you use; (2) the QVS is over 20000 lines of code, since it had to deal with Stormfront crap; this script is 95 lines of code (the separate verb data, stored in a separate XML file, is a bit over 9000 lines); (3) the verb "data" (information about the verb's name, the verb's modifiers (e.g., BEG HEAL, BEG SILVER, etc.), the conditions under which the verb can be used (e.g., dead, stunned, etc.), and the verb's output text) are stored in a separate XML file that is very easy to read and modify without looking through or adjusting any code (the same is not true of the QVS), so you can easily add stuff to your own copy without having to edit code (it'd be nice if you also passed on the new verb data to me, of course). Hurray!
Usage and Examples
To use the script, you need to get rpverbs.lic from the repos, as well as rpverbs_data.xml (if you try to run the script without this file, it'll tell you to download it). I think you'll also need to ;trust rpverbs before running it, since the script needs permission to read from the rpverbs_data.xml file, which is on your hard drive (if this makes you uneasy, please read through the script before running it to make sure that it does what you think it does). Then, you use it like so:
search_term can be pretty much anything (this is another benefit over the QVS, which has a more limited search): a verb name, a condition (e.g., "stunned"), a profession or race (e.g., "sorcerer," "half-elf"), a full-word part of the verb's output (e.g., ";rpverbs mystically" will find the WAGGLE verb, since waggle's output has "waggles her [or his] fingers mystically"), or even multiple words in sequence (though you'll have to enclose the words in quotes for this to work -- for example: ;rpverbs "waggles her fingers"). Here are three examples of a search and the results:Code:;rpverbs <search_term>
Code:>;rpverbs "swears fluidly" SWEAR {person} FLUID Condition: ELF Output: Elf swears fluidly and vividly at {person}. SWEAR FLUID Condition: ELF Output: Elf swears fluidly and vividly.Code:>;rpverbs glare DISDAIN GLARE Condition: ELF Output: Player stares around the room, one eyebrow arched in an arrogant, but quizzical, expression.. GLARE Condition: Output: Player glares. GLARE {person} Condition: Output: Player glares at {person}.Try it out, enjoy it, and let me know if you break it (though I hope you don't). You can also let me know if you want a verb added to the XML file, if it isn't already there! (Again, you can easily add it to your own XML file, and that will work for you... But passing it on helps others!)Code:>;rpverbs sorcerer CHANT Condition: SORCERER Output: The whites of Sorcerer's eyes go dark as he chants forcefully in an archaic tongue. GAZE {person} Condition: SORCERER Output: Sorcerer shifts her eyes to {person}. GREET {person} Condition: WARRIOR to SORCERER Output: Warrior nods curtly to {person}. SACRIFICE {person} Condition: SORCERER Output: Sorcerer glares at {target} with a murderous glint in his eyes, his lips tightening into a cool sneer.
-Thanks to Greminty for making the QVS, which I've used a lot, which inspired this script, and from which I was able to easily get verb data.
-Scripts written by Tillmen, Spiffy, and Gib showed me the basics of parsing XML in a Lich script.


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Perfect recipe for the perfect meringue
My husband has a huge sweet tooth and guess what, both kids took after him… One of the easiest dessert that I usually prepare are meringues
simple meringues, chocolate one, filled with whipped cream and the Pavlova…now you understand the love for meringues in our house. Here are few ideas for you to try.
Fantastic berries Pavlova drizzled with dark chocolate
Mini Pavlova for a great tea time
Crushed to cover a cake.
This was my daughter 2nd birthday Fairy Castle cake….most of the decorations are made out pink meringue.
When we lived in Addis Ababa I used to have cooking classes once a week and one of the recipes that all my friends were not convinced to make on their own was the meringue one. I think there is a lot of confusion when it comes to meringue recipes.
If I look online for recipes I will find so many different ones and will feel pretty confused. My recipe is very basic you only need 2 ingredients egg whites and superfine sugar….never fail me.
I know many recipes will tell you to use cream of tartar to stabilize eggs and to make meringue harder and easier to pipe in different shape.
There are few tips that I suggest you to use
1 Use a clean and dry bowl, preferably made out of glass, ceramic or stainless steel.
2 Egg whites should be room temperature.
3 Add sugar 1 tbsp at a time (I know it takes forever but the end result will be perfect).
The biggest enemy for meringue is humidity so try to pick a day that is not too humid to try this recipe.
Lets enjoy a nice easy meringue recipe.
Follow my step by step recipe here.
Let's start with the ingredients
200gr superfine sugar
02nos medium size egg whites
Start to beat the whites to a medium speed.
At this point the whites are soft peaks.
Let's start to add one tablespoon of sugar at a time.
At this point increase speed to high.
Keep beating whites and adding sugar till you finish the sugar.
Insert a star nozzle in piping bag and fill it with meringue mix.
Make meringues
My meringues are ready for the oven.
Bake for 2 hours at 100C.
Keep the oven door slightly open.
Have fun making your meringues.


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20 guys have followed me over to Kik. The thing is because there are too many of them I've forgotten who is who or what they looked like.
Anyhow only a few have managed to make an impression.
1/ Sparky. He's cute as hell. The thing is he bites his nails 😩 and dirty fingernails. Not sure if I want those fingers deep inside of me 😩
2/ Mr 8 inches. Underneath that cocky exterior he's actually okie. I think it's just a ruse. May be he's trying to reel me in.
3/ Mr Friday coffee that never eventuate . He's keeping me hanging, wanting him. May be that's his ploy. Not sure if I want to play the game.
4/ Mr Cheeky lives just near me down in the next suburb. He's naughty.
5/ Mr South African . Hmmmm he sounds okie. Not my pick but he's starting to grow on me. He's only 36.
6/ Mr Halfie. He's a foodie so at least it's something in common. Though not my pick either . I like my men big and tall.
Then there's others messaging me in AM. I've lost count.
Anyhow let see how it plays out. I'm not holding my breath 😂
I like spontaneity. That's how I met Mr Sparky 😂
I also have no patience and gets bored easily. If you don't hold my interest you're out 😂


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A Disposable SIM Card Biosensor for Rapid Malaria Detection
Grand Challenges ExplorationsCell Phone Applications1 Nov 2010
Peter Lillehoj and Chih-Ming Ho of the University of California, Los Angeles in the US. will develop a disposable malaria biosensor based on a SIM card platform. This SIM card-biosensor will allow malaria detection to be performed using a cell phone, making diagnostic testing more widely available in rural and decentralized settings.


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Thangam Venkatesan, MBBS
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology - Froedtert Hospital
- 900 N. 92nd St.
- Milwaukee, WI 53226
- Gastroenterology
New & Established Patients Call
Quality patient care requires careful listening to the patient's own story of their problem, so as to understand the concerns and goals for care from the patient's perspective. For care to be effective, the patient must remain an active partner of the entire health care team. The best quality care requires going the extra mile to obtain the best possible understanding of the patient's condition. I also partner with community leaders and non-profit organizations to further enhance and contribute to improving the care of patients especially those with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome.
Diseases and Conditions
- Constipation
- Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS)
- Diarrhea
- Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Nausea
Treatments and Services
- Colonoscopy
- Upper Endoscopy (EGD)
- Virtual Visit
Patients Ages Seen
- Adult
- Senior
- English
Hospital Affiliations
- Froedtert Hospital – Milwaukee
- Zablocki VA Medical Center – Milwaukee
Board Certifications
- Internal Medicine
- Gastroenterology
Clinic Locations
Gastroenterology and Hepatology - Froedtert Hospital
- 900 N. 92nd St.
- Milwaukee, WI 53226
- (414) 805-3310
- Get Directions
Dr. Thangam Venkatesan, Associate Professor, has been with the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology since 2004. She is actively involved in all four missions of the Medical College of Wisconsin: patient care, education, research and community outreach. She is currently the Fellowship Program Director. Her area of clinical expertise and scientific interest is in a condition called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS), characterized by recurrent episodes of nausea and vomiting. She conducts translational research exploring the neurobiology of nausea and vomiting in patients with CVS. Dr. Venkatesan has established a clinic for the care of CVS patients that serves as a destination for patients from 48 states as well as Canada and Puerto Rico. Additionally she serves as the Chief Medical Advisor of the Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome Association (CVSA).
Education and Training
Doctor of Medicine (M.B.B.S.) - Kilpauk Medical College - Madras, In (1990)
Rotating Internship in Internal Medicine - Kilpauk Medical College - Madras, In (1991-1993)
Internship & Residency in Internal Medicine - University of Connecticut Health Center, John Dempsey Hospital - Farmington, CT (1991-1993)
Residency in Internal Medicine - University of Cincinnati Medical Center - Cincinnati, OH (1996-1997)
Fellow in Gastroenterology - University of Cincinnati Medical Center - Cincinnati, OH (1997-2000)


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The UBC Secure wireless network will be deactivated at LGH on January 31, 2018.
UBC IT is replacing UBC Secure with Eduroam. The Eduroam wireless network is currently broadcasting at LGH. Users must connect to Eduroam before UBC Secure is deactivated in order to avoid an interruption of service. Users that are not located at LGH, but occasionally travel there, can connect to the network from another location that already has Eduroam. Once a device has connected to Eduroam it will automatically and securely connect to the network wherever it is available.
What am I being asked to do?
Please help us spread the word about this upcoming change of service by distributing the attached message to all faculty, staff, and students in your department that use UBC wireless at LGH.
If you would like participate in an information session to learn more about this change of service and the Eduroam wireless network, please let us know by replying to this email (email@example.com).
Thank you,
Eduroam wireless team


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Mongolian Hot Pot with Lamb - China
A classic northern Chinese dish, Mongolian Hot Pot is traditionally made with mutton and is the chinese take on the classic fondue.
The easiest way to prepare the broth is to purchase a leg of lamb and heat it in boiling water before slicing.
- 1.5L lamb or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 slice ginger
- 2 green onions
- 1.3kg boneless lamb
- 1 - 2 cakes bean curd
- 450g green vegetable, such as Chinese cabbage, bok choy, or spinach 100g bean thread (vermicelli) noodles
- Cut the lamb into paper thin rectangular slices.
- Slice the bean curd.
- Wash, drain, and chop the vegetables.
- Prepare any side dishes that you are planning to serve.
- Lay the lamb, chopped vegetables, and side dishes on separate platters on the table.
- Place the dipping sauces on the table in small individual bowls.
- Make sure each guest has a complete place setting, including a dipping fork and a small bowl for placing the cooked food in.
- Bring the broth with the dark soy sauce to a boil, and add the ginger and green onion.
- Transfer enough broth so that the fondue pot is approximately 2/3 - 3/4 full. (How much broth you need will depend on the size of the fondue pot).
- Place the fondue pot on the burner, and keep it simmering throughout the meal.
- Keep the remaining broth warming on the stovetop.
To serve:
Invite guests to spear the food with a dipping fork and cook briefly in the broth until cooked, then dip the cooked food in the sauces as desired. Use a dipping basket to cook the vegetables in batches in the hot broth and ladle out into the soup bowls. Cook the noodles and serve at the end of the meal.
Suggested Dipping Sauces:
Dark Soy Sauce, Light Soy Sauce, Sesame Paste, Preserved (fermented) bean curd, Chili Oil, Hoisin Sauce, Red Rice Vinegar
By Rhonda Parkinson, About.com Guide


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What did I expect from this book? I expected to read about the journey of a young, straight Christian male who decided to come out as gay so he can experience directly what it is like to be gay in a modern America especially in a Christian context. Unfortunately, I did not get that.
I applaud Kurek's heart and his ultimate goal, but the experiment – not sure that is the right word to use – sort of falls flat. Kurek is nervous about his year long journey of being gay and putting his faith in the closet. That makes sense. However, throughout most of the book he seems more preoccupied with his dishonesty than the realities of separating his sexual orientation from his faith. Half way through the journey, his family discovers the truth which, in this story, is not a big deal since his entire family was fairly accepting – shocked but accepting.
He does have a few stories about his pastor rejecting him for coming out, but in the end – spoiler alert – the pastor apologizes and moves forward. Most of his time is spent in the gay community (nightclubs and cafes operated and frequented by gay men) and he discovers a great community there. I don't think he needed to forge a gay identity to make uncover this.
I wish he had shared conversations with Christians during his time. I wanted to hear more from people close to him. I wanted to hear how Christian men and women could justify turning their backs on some amazing people simply because of a sexual identity. Having said that, I do need to give Kurek some credit, he did try to speak with people at an infamous church in the south and was vehemently rejected and threatened.
I just wanted more from this book. The stories uninteresting. The characters are boring. The stories feel fake, and don't get me started on the number of typos in the book.
I don't know what to learn from this story. This book was written 2011 or 2012 and fortunately a lot has changed since. Can society change enough in just a few years to make a book like this feel outdated? Good question.


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View all calendars is the default. Choose Select a calendar to view a specific calendar. Subscribe to calendar notifications by clicking on the Notify Me button and you will automatically be alerted of the latest events in our community.
July 17, 2019, 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM @ Garrett Park
We will provide a limited number of water balloons so bring your own and a water gun. After the battle there will be hot dogs and chips for the kids. Join us for a day of fun in the sun. Grades 6-8. Pre-registration is encouraged.


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5 not-to-miss articles published in July cover subjects such as team agility, cognitive bias, and digital transformation!
Here are five articles that stood out this month for their originality, relevance, and/or analysis. Happy reading!
Make your team less hierarchical, Harvard Business Review
Today, leaders that use a networked model of small teams can quickly outpace those who, thanks to internal silos, continue to focus only on winning individual battles.
Beyond bias, strategy & business
While they enable quick and efficient decision making, biases can also blind people to new information and prevent people from considering relevant facts when making important decisions. How can you fight against unconscious biases?
Strategy, not technology, drives digital transformation, MIT Sloan Management Review
As sophisticated as they can be, it's not the tools that are the key drivers of successful digital transformation: what matters most is the organizational strategy within which they are embedded.
Why we love to hate HR… and what HR can do about it, Harvard Business Review
Since the 1950s, HR has been subject to a wide array of criticisms. According to Peter Cappelli, the business environment after the 2008 crisis finally offers them the opportunity to establish themselves as a truly strategic function.
Growing beyond the core business, McKinsey quarterly
This McKinsey study reveals that few companies who seek growth outside their core business achieve revenue gains as a result.


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Living in student accommodation at AUST is a fantastic way for you to become part of the University community. You will be expected to take responsibility for your academic engagement and appropriate behaviour during your time in Residence Halls and, in return, you will be offered support and guidance. All students residing in Residence Halls are meant to abide by the AUST Facilities Code policies.
For all admitted students wishing to stay in Residence Halls:
If you have been given a full time scholarship to study towards a Masters degree at AUST, you will be expected to share a room with another student. If you prefer to have a room to yourself, you will have to pay the requisite additional fee from your own resources. Details can be obtained from the Operations Office
If you have been given a full time scholarship to study at the Doctoral level, you will usually be allocated a single room on campus.
If you are a day student and wish to reside in any of the Residence Halls at any point in time, please apply using the Accommodation Registration Form. Note that this would be subject to availability of rooms and you being able to pay the required rental amount
To apply for accommodation on campus, please complete the Accommodation Registration Form (all students intending to reside in any of the Residence Halls, including those on any type of full time tuition/accommodation scholarship package should apply using that form), and send as a mail to firstname.lastname@example.com with a subject heading of 'Application for accommodation in Halls of Residence for the 2019 Academic Year'. Please note that your accommodation will only be processed upon provision of evidence of payment the Caution Fee. Caution Fee payment can be made here.
Please note that overnight guests are not allowed to stay with you in your room in any of the Residence Halls. Guest rooms are available at a discounted cost, therefore, if you invite your relatives or friends to stay please check availability of the guest rooms (email@example.com) and book well in advance of your visitor's arrival. A breach of this rule will result in disciplinary action, including loss of the privilege of having a room on campus


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Computers, Cortex, Cosmos, and Chess
Chess is often a potent (however hackneyed) metaphor in films because of the many ways it provides insight on the human mind, human interaction, and humans' relationship with machines. In his 1750 article, "The Morals of Chess", Benjamin Franklin argues that chess teaches man the value of circumspection. Today, neuroscientists like Jonah Lehrer, argue that chess can teach us something about the nature of intuition.
Although we tend to think of experts as being weighted down by information, their intelligence dependent on a vast set of facts, experts are actually profoundly intuitive. When experts evaluate a situation, they don't systematically compare all the available options or consciously analyze the relevant information. Carlsen, for instance, doesn't compute the probabilities of winning if he moves his rook to the left rather than the right. Instead, experts naturally depend on the emotions generated by their experience. Their prediction errors – all those mistakes they made in the past – have been translated into useful knowledge, which allows them to tap into a set of accurate feelings they can't begin to explain. Neils Bohr said it best: an expert is "a person who has made all the mistakes that can be made in a very narrow field." From the perspective of the brain, Bohr was absolutely right.
And this is why we shouldn't be surprised that a chess prodigy raised on chess computer programs would be even more intuitive than traditional grandmasters. The software allows him to play more chess, which allows him to make more mistakes, which allows him to accumulate experience at a prodigious pace.
Although 'man vs machine' has often been the story of chess computers, they don't get enough credit for how their analytical way of looking at chess has improved human play. In the New York Review of Books, Garry Kasparov discusses the relationship between the human mind and artificial intelligence in chess programs. It turns out that computer programs don't (can't) just process every move imaginable finding the perfect solution to the game. The numbers for that are far too great. Thus, man's tiny place in the universe is once again confirmed while simultaneously shedding light on the amazing power of our minds in the face of the tremendous.
The number of legal chess positions is 1040, the number of different possible games, 10120. Authors have attempted various ways to convey this immensity, usually based on one of the few fields to regularly employ such exponents, astronomy. In his book Chess Metaphors, Diego Rasskin-Gutman points out that a player looking eight moves ahead is already presented with as many possible games as there are stars in the galaxy. Another staple, a variation of which is also used by Rasskin-Gutman, is to say there are more possible chess games than the number of atoms in the universe.
How many other games allow us to peer so deeply into our technology, our psychology, our universe?
The Great American Taboo: Democracy is Overrated
Democracy is a morally necessary tool for a legitimate state and social contract, but the reality is that it is also a mechanism for choosing irrational policies. As Andreas Kluth, a correspondent for The Economist, said about democracy in a debate on if California is failed state, "James Madison didn't want [the word] even used in the constitution of the country, because he was afraid—they had studied ancient Athens which was a failure because of direct democracy. They had studied Republican Rome, which was very stable, they wanted Rome, not Athens."
What Bryan Caplan argues for voters applies to the religious, "If agents care about both material wealth and irrational beliefs, then as the price of casting reason aside rises, agents consume less irrationality (p. 123)." The price for an individual consuming irrationality, whether it is in the voting booth or the church pew is often small, but in aggregate for society the cost can be very high. Although Caplan's book is about political beliefs he, to his credit, spots the connection with religion. He writes, "Human beings want their religion's answers to be true. They often want it so badly that they avoid counterevidence, and refuse to think about whatever evidence falls in their laps[…] Once you admit that preferences over beliefs are relevant in religion it is hard to compartmentalize the insight (p. 15)."
Overdosing on Nothing
I love this idea. Some clever Brits are staging a mass "overdose" of homeopathic remedies at 10:23am on January 30th. This highlights the fact that NO ACTUAL MEDICINE is in these pills. They are sugar pills and at best aspire to be placebos.
What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy is an unscientific and absurd pseudoscience, yet it persists today as an accepted complementary medicine.
Ask many people what they think homeopathy is, and you'll be told "it's herbal medicine" or "it's all-natural". Few realise that it's been proven not to work; even fewer know it involves substances so dilute that there's nothing left in them.
Why I Support President Obama
The President visited House Republicans on Friday to have an exchange on their differing views on a host of issues and to try to get past the bitter partisanship gridlocking Washington. Please watch these videos, the first is President Obama's introductory speech and the second is a revealing Q&A with the Republicans. Once again, the President acts like a serious adult ready and willing to honestly tackle the problems facing our nation.
[update]: I tracked down the poll Obama references in these videos about the popularity of the component parts of the (unpopular) stimulus package. The tax cuts were a little less popular than he stated, but his main point remains. If you break it down, all the parts are greatly more popular than the whole; I can't help but see this as another example of our sad political/media reality.
Confirm Bernanke
He may not be perfect but he's the best choice for continuing on the path away from economic collapse. In a New York Times op-ed, Alan Blinder advocates support for his friend and former colleague.
[H]is job performance since, say, October 2008 has been superlative. To cite just a few examples, Mr. Bernanke led the Fed to lower its interest rates to virtually zero in December 2008 and then to hold them there. The central bank also invented approaches to lending and purchasing assets that breathed some life into moribund markets like commercial paper and mortgage-backed securities. It led the highly successful "stress tests" of 19 large financial institutions last spring.
The success of these policies is demonstrable. The simplest and most objective measures of financial distress are the differences, or "spreads," between various (risky) interest rates and the corresponding (risk-free) Treasury rates. During the worst of the crisis, in September to November 2008 and again in February to March 2009, these spreads skyrocketed to dizzying heights. Since then, they have fallen remarkably, providing direct evidence that the Fed's cure is working.
If the Senate fails to confirm Bernanke, it will further politicize the Fed and disrupt the growing confidence in the financial markets that underpin a healthy economy. People who expect instant gratification and instant recovery from one of the worst potential recessions in modern global history shouldn't be given the encouragement that is better placed with the leaders our precarious recovery.
[update]: Senate Confirms Bernanke 70–30. That is a lot of no votes but the important thing is he was reappointed.
"The New American Economy"
I recently finished reading The New American Economy by Bruce Bartlett, a former advisor to Ronald Reagan. Read it if you get the chance – it offers serious thinking from a real conservative on our current economic situation and some of his ideas to move forward. I won't do a full book review but in it he explains the shift in economic thinking from pre-Keynes to today. As an intellectual father to supply-side economics he concludes that the original intent of the movement has been accepted into mainstream economics while the wild all-tax-cuts-are-good-and-lead-to-increased-revenues bastard child should be marginalized and left behind. It is also interesting to read a conservative defend the idea of fiscal stimulus in the face of a severe recession and liquidity trap.
On Political Independents (i.e. closet partisans)
Few things aggravate me more than pure partisanship. People who only side with the Democrats or Republicans make politics into a football match rather than a governing process to best serve the interests of the nation. However the reality is that even among self-identified "independents" astonishingly few actually are independent. Other than about 10% of the US population most "independents" really act just like partisans. A blog post at The Monkey Cage fills us in on what political scientists have known for decades.
The number of pure independents is actually quite small — perhaps 10% or so of the population. And this number has been decreasing, not increasing, since the mid-1970s.
Again, there is really no difference between partisans of either stripe and independent leaners. As far as their views of Obama are concerned, it doesn't really matter whether you say you're a Democrat or an independent who leans Democrats, and the same is true on the other side of the aisle. Only "pure" independent appear to have evenly divided attitudes as of November, but, as above, these people are only a very small part of the sample — 7% overall.
The Senate Bill, only for those who don't like the status quo
No one who has examined our current healthcare delivery and finance system believes it is worth preserving. Jonathan Rauch, in National Journal magazine, makes the case for passing the Senate Bill, which despite its flaws, is much better than nothing.
Moreover, after reform is enacted, the taboo on taxing employer-provided health benefits will be shattered once and for all. From then on the question will be how much to tax, not whether. A door that had been welded shut will have been pried open. The country will be able to have a new kind of discussion, one in which the tying of health insurance to employment — which is insane, when you think about it — is no longer sacrosanct.[…]
As health costs rise, more employer-provided health plans become taxable, giving employers an incentive to find cheaper plans. As employer-provided plans grow less generous, more employees have an incentive to take a tax credit and shop around, and, as premiums rise, more qualify to do so. Little by little, insurance coverage shifts toward an individual-based, consumer-driven market. And the faster health insurance costs rise, the faster the transition happens. The disease triggers its own antibodies.
Again, no guarantees. The transition would be very gradual, and political blowback could easily disrupt it. But the point is that the reform contains a pathway to sanity. No one can say that about the status quo.
Facebook Throwdown, part 6
Bill I can't disagree with you. On many levels the Republicans under 8 years of George Bush let the people of America down-and of course this was why they were voted out. I get it. The problem is, a vote for Democrats wasn't a vote for liberalism, it was a vote against George Bush. The hope and change that Obama inspired in all of us was founded on the basic desire that government should be fiscally responsible, transparent, and accountable (all true conservative values). Obama, like all liberals, need to run on these conservative principles because they would never win if they ran on their true ideology. And honestly, Obama seems to me to have his heart in the right place, and he truly won the trust of the American people in that he would uphold these principles. Unfortunately he is beholden to special interest groups, surrounded himself with Clintonites and Wall St. cronies, and has a majority of Democrats in congress who, I believe, sincerley think that their election was an ideological mandate and have not upheld the virtues of transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility. This is why its all backfiring on them and this is why the Republican party is rightly not supporting the Democratic agenda and alligning themselve in any bipartisan manner.
Now, I'll give you this, the Republicans should not be fooled into thinking that the backlash on the Democrats is a mandate for a return to Bush policy either. This backlash and the Tea Party agenda which you wrongly paint, is founded on the same principles that voted the Republicans out!! What I see in this swing in public opinion back and forth between one party and another is a cry from the people (and the majority being Independents) for good government! It is not a cry in supprt for one party over another. Both are to blame. Rather this cry insists that both parties begin to transcend politics and begin doing what is good for the country. Not good for elections, not good for special interest, not good for ideology, but what is good for the country. Surly to agree on what is good for the country is difficult to agree upon, but common sense and majority voting by like minded people can prevail.
Now this is where you and I come in. We mustn't fall into this divide and conquer trap and we mustn't fall prey to the perpetuation of caustic politics. So I must apologize for inflaming you, but my intent, honestly, is not to be an apologist for the Republican party, but rather to help provide some insight. Besides, debate is important and I love to argue. However, if I didn't respect what you are saying, I wouldn't be wasting my time. So let me end by saying thank you. You have provided me with much insight that I will fairly carry forward with me. We might agree to disagree on some issues. I truly believe that liberalism is killing this country, but there are components of the far right that greatly disturb me, particularly the religious right and their stand on social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Pat Robertson's recent remarks about Haiti made me puke my coffee out my nose. Liberalism and Religiosity-two great evils that are not only dividing and conquering our country, but are diminishing the individualism that makes America great….but that's a whole other topic I won't belabor anyone with. Maybe on some level we can agree on some of this.
I'm glad you've given Obama the benefit of the doubt for where his heart is, I hope you will consider giving him a little more time and slack. It's hard to know whether he's only governed the way he has because of the seriousness of the recession coupled with it being his first year in office. He faces incredibly tough decisions and considering the stakes he, to me, seems like he's done a decent job and at least hasn't made any huge errors (which is saying a lot). He's challenged the left wing in his party more than you may realize and I predict you'll start seeing a more moderate president now that the recession is starting to temper.
We'll have to agree to disagree, as you said, on the tea parties; any group that looks up to Sarah Palin as a serious leader doesn't deserve much regard. But to end this on some notes of agreement. I too love to argue and enjoy its benefits to help sharpen and clarify my thinking. I certainly respect what you are saying. Most especially, I think we agree on the dangers of the Christianists in this nation that seek to limit the freedoms of other citizens. Also, I'm no leftist and have battled them myself.
Finally, to me, healthcare expansion isn't a leftist idea, it's one based on economic security, moral responsibility, and economic mobility. A political philosopher once wrote on healthcare, "Nor is there any reason why the state should not assist the individuals in providing for those common hazards of life against which, because of their uncertainty, few individuals can make adequate provision…. Where, as in the case of sickness and accident, neither the desire to avoid such calamities nor the efforts to overcome their consequences are as a rule weakened by the provision of assistance – where, in short, we deal with genuinely insurable risks – the case for the state's helping to organize a comprehensive system of social insurance is very strong… Wherever communal action can mitigate disasters against which the individual can neither attempt to guard himself nor make the provision for the consequences, such communal action should undoubtedly be taken." That's Friedrich von Hayek in "The Road to Serform" an anti-socialist classic.
Thanks for your time. We'll do this again sometime when you're feeling a little foolhardy. And Tony, did you make a decision on how you feel now yet? haha
Facebook Throwdown, part 5
Bill Your kidding, right? Inheriting a potential depression and unimaginable deficits from unpaid entitlement expansion from Republicans??? Now listen, certainly George Bush was no fiscal conservative, certainly the wars in Iraq and now Afgan. are costing way more than CBO predicted, certainly the Medicare drug supplement was an entitlement (but remember what I said about incrementalism), and certainly the housing bust occured under his nose, but do understand that it was the Democrats, particularly Chris Dodd and Barney Frank on the Senate Housing Committee who are truly just as deserving of blame. The Democrats snubbed their noses to Alan Greenspan and the Bush Administration who repeatedly warned them (on Congressional record) that Fannie and Freddie needed to be reigned in. But NOOOO, everyone has to own a house(ideology again) and the kickbacks to Frank and Chris (and many other Dems including Hil and Barry) were too sweet to let go of–so lo and behold, easy money for the stupid and the greedy, under liberal pretenses(going way back to Carter's Community Reinvestment Act), caused one of the worst financial crisis hopefully in our lifetime. But that's besides the point, the bottom line is, Democrats were as much to blame as Republicans.
Now enter Obama. All would agree that fiscal stimulus was in order. Spending is the only way to break the cycle of job loss-housing forclosure-ect., but there is responsible spending and there is irresponsible spending. Both may achieve a degree of the same effect, but not to the same extent. So its easy for you to claim success, but to what extent is conveniently ignored. So what does Pres O. do? He spends irresponsibly ( P.O.R.K.). Wall St. (thanks to Timmy G.and his cronies) are protected while Main St. continues to languish- deficits are cranked to the limit (which will be paid on the taxpayers back) and unemployment rises despite promises that it would not. O. does his world Apology Tour and leaves healthcare to a bunch of partisan ideologues. The Townhall "events" should have been crystal ball for all the liberal munchkins to see that all wasn't well with Auntie Emm in Kansas.
Meanwhile, back at the State level, the Wicked Witch of the West, California,( being a primo example) faces alarming fiscal issues while their flying monkey liberal politicians want to keep spending, spending spending…pulling the straw out of the taxpayers and stifling economic growth. Multiply this times 52 and you have the perfect storm.
So the tornado finally hits… and the Wicked Witch of the East gets crushed…go figure.
The Wizard of O. needs to step back a little now. The curtain has been pulled. No longer can he hide behind his rhetoric (as you attempt to do). He has to face Dorothy-but she's pretty pissed and has a big broom that she wants to clean house with.
Sure you give lip service to Bush not being a "fiscal conservative" which is true (and a tad late) but neither was basically the entire republican party which blew more money than LBJ. Of course, the dems aren't fiscally conservative but don't pretend the minority party is any different. Anyone reading this back-and-forth can't help but notice that besides a quick throw-a-way that you really let the republicans off the hook. If you don't, why would you think they deserve to be back in power? And just tangentially, why does it seem to me that you're blaming the CBO more than the executive (including the pentagon and defense department) for the monetary cost of the wars? Such an odd direction of your ire.
"All would agree that fiscal stimulus was in order" I love that you can write this while blaming the democrats and excusing the republicans. Let me quote a writer I read somewhere, "Your kidding, right?" Feel free to confirm with me that ZERO republicans in the House and only 3 in the Senate voted for the stimulus package. I already said that it was poorly designed but the important thing was to break any potential spiraling liquidity cycle and get money into the economy – they could have buried money into a hole and paid companies to dig it up (not my original or recommended idea) and it would have been a help to the crisis we faced.
Town hall events, really? I suppose you're also referring to the tea partys. All of a sudden these constitutionalist patriots (ha!) find their fiscal responsibility when Obama takes office in the middle of a recession. They're an overly emotional populist frenzied farce. Where were they during your "incremental" unfunded prescription drug benefit entitlement? How incremental is TRILLIONS of dollars in a medicare expansion before the baby boomers retire (see: Bruce Bartlett, advisor to Reagan) by the Republicans in 2003? How is turning a huge surplus that could have been used to reform entitlements into a hemorrhaging debt not something that should be protested against, but passing a stimulus and saving our financial institutions during a recession and trying to reform (not replace or radically alter) the healthcare system to give Americans a sense of economic and medical security is? So Frank Baum, if you had the Republicans pulling back "the curtain," might they just see a mirror?


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A port scanner is a software program which scans a server for open ports. Port scanners are usually used by network administrators to monitor network ports on a system, server or IT environment and thus examine the network security.
Based on the scan requirements, a port scanner can have multiple operation modes like Vanilla (scans all the ports on a system or server), Strobe (selected ports are scanned), UDP (scans for open UDP ports), Sweep (a similar port number is probed on more than one device), etc.
However, hackers use port scanners to figure out open ports for exploiting and running malicious codes on a host computer or server. One excellent idea to keep your network safe is to close the unused ports.
For this, you can use some of the free port scanner software available to identify open ports and take the corresponding action. In this article, you will get to know about some of the most popular free port scanner software suitable for your purpose.
Let's begin.
What are the popular free port scanner softwares?
Some of the port scanner software programs can be downloaded and installed whereas some of them can be accessed from any OS via a browser because they are online services.
The list of the popular free port scanner software is as follows.
Solarwinds Free Port Scanner
This software tool is available for Windows users only. Solarwinds is a free utility and one of the leaders in the network software industry.
It is suitable for any business of any size and can be run through either a graphic interface or the command line.
Using Solarwinds Free port scanner, you can scan all the devices on your network, or you can also opt to scan only a section of the network. You can even scan a single device.
There is a default value provided for the port numbers in the search settings which limits the scan to well-known ports only.
However, you can also enter any range of port numbers of your choice.
Using Advanced settings, you can check TCP or UDP activity or both of them. You may also add a Ping check and DNS resolution to a search.
Results show a very long list of all possible IP addresses within the scope. You can shorten the list by specifying to show results for active hosts only.
The abbreviated list includes details about opened, closed and filtered ports of every active device.
Nmap or Network Mapper is a free network testing tool. It is used for network exploration and security auditing by system administrators, and network engineers.
It is compatible for Windows, Linux, BSD Unix, and Mac OS.
Nmap can be run using command line terminal or GUI interface. Nmap offers a range of features as mentioned below
Active port scanning
This utility scans all the ports on all the computers connected to your network or router. The follow-up tests are conducted on the open ports only, as discovered by Nmap.
Host discovery
Using Nmap, you can find out the hosts responding to the network requests.
OS detection
Nmap can identify the operating system name and version as well as the network details where the host is running.
Application version detection
Nmap can also detect the types of apps running and their version numbers.
You can perform the basic system check by a standard test using ping. For the ping-less method, you can go for a complete scan, scan all TCP or all UDP ports.
There is a provision of intense scan using SYN stealth methodology, but it is very time-consuming.
Zenmap is the official NMAP frontend interface (GUI) and is very user-friendly. It functions for a single router or computer. You can perform scans on remote hosts effortlessly using Zenmap.
Zenmap saves scan results in a database as well as lets you search them, compares current results with previous ones and has many other characteristics.
Angry IP scanner
Angry IP Scanner has a multithreading approach separating every scan. Therefore, it has a very fast scanning speed. It is free and suitable for Windows, Linux, and MacOS.
First, the Angry IP scanner pings every IP address to check if they are live and then it resolves the hostnames, scan ports, etc. Using Angry IP scanner, you can quickly scan for open ports on any remote network.
You can directly download and run this utility, without any installation. It additionally contains NetBIOS information consisting of the computer name, workgroup name, currently logged in user and MAC address.
It offers easy plugin integration with Java language and can save results in CSV, TXT, HTML, XML or IP-Port list files.
Port Checkers Port Scanner
From the Port Scanner page on the Port Checkers website, you can conduct an online test of ports on your computer.
A long scan will check 36 of the well-known ports, and a quick scan will check just 13 of these ports.
It will determine whether these ports are accessible from the internet and whether a service is running on each of them.
The checks by the port scanner include FTP data and control channel (ports 20, 21), TFTP and SFTP ports.
Also, networking protocol ports of DHCP, SNMP, and DNS are checked. Besides these, some communication and security services like HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, SSL, Telnet, etc are also tested.
Sometimes, it may be necessary to keep some of these ports opened. The scan results are displayed in a table on the web page. The service offered is free.
TCPView is a free utility, available for Windows systems. It also includes a tool TCPVcon, its command line version with same features. TCPView is very convenient and informative in its way of approach.
The way it works is different from many of the commonly used port scanner software tools.
Instead of searching the ports and then checking for an active service running on each of them, TCPView first checks all the processes running on a computer.
It then determines the ones linked to the ports and subsequently lists the port numbers. This approach offers much more details than any external scan.
TCPView covers both TCP and UDP ports. The result shows the number of packets, number of bytes of sent data and received data on each port. This display is refreshed each second.
IP Fingerprints Network Port Checker
This is a handy site for port checking and port scanning. It is a free online tool where you can enter an IP address and a range of ports for verification.
You can make any number of port entries, and by this, you can eventually check all the ports on your computer.
However, the site alerts you that a port number range exceeding 500 will consume a lot of time and an extensive range may initiate a never-ending search. It is wise to complete your full scan in segments.
In the Normal Scan, it checks which ports are visible externally and which are covered by firewalls. In the Advanced port scan option, you can launch a connect() command test or an SYN stealth test.
Some other famous port scanners
Though no latest support or upgradation is available for LANSpy, you can still download its last version which released on April 30, 2005.
It is a collection of network utilities bundled into a single program with a user-friendly interface.
It assists the network administrators by showing the processes on remote devices, displaying the installed applications on workstations, detecting shares, open ports, and user accounts, etc.
LANSpy also collects various types of information like Ping, Domain Names, NetBIOS names, MAC address, server details, Time, disks, security options, shared resources, etc.
Open Port Scanner
Open Port Scanner can be found on the Web Tool Hub website. It is a free tool and allows you to select the ports to be scanned.
You can enter the numbers individually or in ranges. However, at a time, only ten ports can be checked. The results are quickly displayed in tabular form with the status of each port and the corresponding service.
You can export the result into a CSV file.
Free Port Scanner 3.5
Free Port Scanner 3.5 is available from Major Geeks and runs on Windows systems. You can scan ranges of port numbers using this utility and at one go if you have ample time.
The interface determines the IP address of your device while launching and by default, provides a list of ports for scanning. For a wide range, the process may be slow.
You can also scan the ports on your wifi router using Free Port Scanner 3.5.
Netcat is available for Windows, Linux, and MacOS. It exists since 1995, and the last official version was launched in 2004.
It has inbuilt port-scanning characteristics and is used for TCP and UDP port scans, and verbose port scanning.
Netcat can also perform other activities like open remote connections, tunneling and proxying, run remote commands, etc.
So, you are now aware of different free port scanner softwares available in the cyber world. You know that port scanners aid in identifying open ports available on a network host. Network administrators and security officials utilize it to figure out existing vulnerabilities in their systems.
However, cybercrooks use it to intrude and attack different systems and usually exploit these weaknesses. So, using a port scanner, one can quickly detect the open ports. It is advisable to keep unused ports closed.
There are several port scanner software is available on the internet. For example, Solarwinds, Nmap, IP Fingerprints, TCPView, etc. are great utilities used worldwide for this purpose.


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Make a stylish felt plant hanger from felt offcuts and bring nature indoors.
Through step-by-step instructions, you'll learn how to prepare your felt pieces, a variety of hand-stitching techniques and how to professionally finish your design.
Clare Youngs says, "The pale grey of the felt contrasts nicely with the green foliage, for a fresh and contemporary look to brighten up the darker and gloomier winter months".
This free course is a sample project taken from The Mindful Maker by Clare Youngs, in partnership with CICO Books. Photography by Joanna Henderson © CICO Books.The Mindful Maker by Clare Youngs, published by CICO Books (£12.99)
Photography by Joanna Henderson © CICO Books
Clare Youngs
Clare Youngs studied graphic design and has worked in packaging design, illustration and book jacket design. Her other books include Book Art, Mobile Art, Wall Art, Make Your Own Woodland Creatures, A Year in Crafts, Letter Art and Folk Art Needlecraft (all published by CICO Books). She is based in Broadstairs, Kent.
Instagram: @clareyoungs


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Comprising the entire ground floor of this handsome period building, this stunning ground floor flat also owns the freehold to the property and therefore benefits from the exclusive use of the gardens to the front, side and rear. The flat offers spacious accommodation totalling approximately 1633 square feet, which is of particularly elegant proportions with tall ceilings and flooded with light from the large windows (most of which have been replaced with timber framed double glazed units). The flat is attractively presented in a palette which compliments the era and enhances the many original features.
The accommodation includes an entrance vestibule, spacious entrance hall, large sitting/dining room, a well fitted kitchen/breakfast room, study/utility room with its own entrance making it ideal for somebody who wishes to see clients at home, two double bedrooms and a shower room. On the lower ground floor there is a hobbies room and adjacent bathroom.
The property is approached via a sweeping carriage driveway which provides ample parking at the front of the house. To the side and rear is a well enclosed, secluded south facing garden incorporating a substantial timber framed garage.
For room sizes please refer to the floor plan.
This handsome period house is conveniently situated on Seabrook Road, only a short walk from the town centre with its 4 supermarkets (including Waitrose, Sainsburys and Aldi), bustling and vibrant High Street with a range of independent shops, boutiques, cafes and restaurants, doctors' surgeries, dentists etc. The Royal Military Canal is close by, with pleasant towpath walks and cycle path and the attractive, unspoilt seafront and long pebbly beach is a level walk away. There is a wide variety of sporting and leisure facilities in the area, including the Hotel Imperial Leisure Centre, cricket, squash, lawn tennis and bowls clubs, 2 golf courses, sailing club, etc. There are many clubs and societies within the town that welcome new members, and a fortnightly farmers' market.
There are bus stops close by with local services to Folkestone, Ashford, Romney Marsh, etc. and Hythe is very conveniently located for easy access to the M20 (Junction 11 - 4 miles), Channel Tunnel Terminal (4 miles), the ferry port of Dover (10 miles) and Ashford International Passenger Station (11 miles). Sandling main line railway station, approximately 2½ miles away on the outskirts of Saltwood, offers regular commuter services to London and High Speed trains to London St Pancras are available from Folkestone and Ashford with journey times of under an hour.


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Nonprofits can spend thousands of dollars doing big mailings and raking in new donors. I get appeal letters regularly from nonprofits I've never heard of and have no intention of giving to. Such large investments can bring in 2 to 3% of the audience you mail to, which makes this strategy not cost effective for small or medium sized organizations. So, how does a small nonprofit find new donors to add to their ranks? There are a few sure-fire ways to beef up your base of support.
5) Crowdfunding and peer-to-peer giving. Everybody's doing it. You should to. More and more donors - especially women - don't just bring their cash to the table when they become a donor. They bring their entire network with them. Give them an opportunity to become more deeply engaged in your work by asking the small and mid-level donors on your list to become fundraisers on your behalf. Get them involved in a crowdfunding or peer-to-peer giving campaign. Crowdfunding means that you put together your own donate page on a crowdfunding site like gofundme or kickstarter. Peer-to-peer funding means that you recruit several fundraisers who set goals to fundraise on your behalf. For example, during most #GivingTuesday campaigns, I ask 10 - 20 people to fundraise for my organization. They set up their own fundraising pages through our website and they send around requests for funding to their friends and family as they try to reach their goal. This is peer-to-peer fundraising. Facebook birthday fundraisers are all peer-to-peer fundraisers. Set up and experiment with some crowdfundraising and peer-to-peer fundraisers for your organization, and hopefully you will bring in a few new names to support your work.
4) Small cultivation events. Small circle dinners hosted by your Board members or donors are a big win for growing your support. Your host supplies the food and wine. You help fill the room with a good mix of current donors. They invite friends, colleagues, family and neighbors. I grew an organization's base of support by 75% in one year this way!
3) Partner for Growth. It's time to partner up. Find a corporate supporter in your community and think of exciting ways to partner with them. The Humane Society partners with local pet stores to bring puppies up for adoption out to the stores. That's how I got my dog and became a supporter of the Humane Society. I once worked with a major national jewelry store to sell bracelets that benefited my non-profit with every sale (also known as cause marketing). There are lots of inventive ways to partner. Get creative, and then reach out to businesses and other nonprofits that you know are supportive of your work. You never know what can come of it!
2) Conduct regular list building activities. Table at conferences and festivals. Conduct local giveaways and raffles. Collect emails and names like you mean business! Conduct regular list building activities. New followers on social media and new listserve subscribers are a heartbeat away from being new donors.
1) Last, but never least, the best strategy to increase your donor base is to ENGAGE AND RETAIN YOUR CURRENT DONORS. Seriously. If you want new donors, you need to take care of the ones you have. Make sure you have a robust donor retention and engagement plan. Make sure you're engaging your donors regularly, without asking for money, and communicating impact. That's how word gets around about you being a fantastic nonprofit. Donors who are engaged will host parties for you. They'll sign-up to fundraise for you. They'll tell their friends and neighbors about you, connect you to other potential funders and donors and bend over backwards for you. IF they believe in your cause and they know, without a doubt, that their contribution to your organization makes a difference. So make sure that keeping the donors that you have is your number one strategy for getting in new donors.
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The thoughts of a fundraiser with more than a decade of experience.


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Who knew the ultimate summer dessert would be the simplest you've ever made? These delightfully sweet and boozy floats take only a few ingredients and about two seconds to whip up, but trust us—they are always sure to impress. Rossini is a sparkling wine beverage, usually Prosecco-based, that is mixed with strawberries and raspberries. It is sweeter and fruitier than a rosé or other sparkling wine so it makes a delicious combination with rich vanilla ice cream (we especially love Häagen-Dazs brand here). We found a great one at Trader Joe's for just about $6, but if you have a hard time finding rossini, you can definitely use your favorite rosé.
How to Make It
For each float, place 1/2 cup ice cream in the bottom of a large glass; top with about 1/4 cup berries. Repeat two more times so that you have 3 scoops of ice cream total, layered with berries. Pour rossini over the ice cream and berries to fill the glass; serve.