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Should blogging sites follow Blogger and Twitter and censor their content?
Vanessa Wong, 16, Diocesan Girls' School
There are various motives behind internet censorship: to suppress political expression, stop piracy or filter out obscene materials. No matter the reason, censorship laws can easily be abused because entire websites can be shut down even if the culprits are only a minority of their users. We need to consider the consequences of censorship on society.
First, internet censorship hinders interaction between people. At present, the internet is the most efficient platform for communication on a personal, corporate and even international scale. Communications build relationships. If blogging sites are censored, messages will not be easily conveyed, thus harmony will be harder to achieve. During the Arab Spring, the people managed to topple their regimes through the connective power of social networking. On the other hand, protests in countries which censor the internet have failed to achieve anything except an increasing toll of civilian casualties.
Locally, internet censorship may not affect politics as much as economics. Small enterprises rely on the internet to conduct business. Entrepreneurs monitor market trends and consumer needs, advertise and even sell their products through social networking sites and forums.
Lastly, freedom of speech is a basic human right. Censorship is a tool used by governments to prevent people from freely expressing their views. If such voices are stifled, this will cause social disharmony.
Internet censorship causes harm to society. We should focus more on strengthening copyright laws and educating people instead of shutting our eyes and ears.
Cathy Chan, 18, CCC Kei Chi Secondary School
There has been much controversy over the censorship of internet communications. Since Twitter and Google's Blogger started censoring content posted by their users, the debate on whether other blogging sites should do the same has become heated. I believe they should.
Censorship can help provide a healthy environment for discussion. As frightening or harmful content is removed, the quality of communication will increase. Take Blogger as an example. Under the new policy, all child pornography and horrible content, like close-up pictures of gunshot wounds or accident scenes, is prohibited. As a result, the culture of blogging will become much healthier.
Censorship can prevent people taking advantage of blogs to promote illegal or dangerous activities. As the internet has become an essential communication tool, lots of gang members and criminals use it to lure teenagers to take part in illegal activities like drug trafficking and prostitution. Hence, censorship can help remove this type of illegal content.
Some may argue that a blog is very much a personal and private matter, like a diary, and therefore should not be censored. However, we must not forget that a blog is published. In other words, everyone can read it unless the blogger clicks the 'private' button. Any content that is published may influence readers, particularly youngsters. Therefore, blogging sites should consider the impact they have on society.
For the sake of bloggers and society, blogging sites should adopt censorship.
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Republicans swooped in for a victory in the House of Congress earlier this month in the US mid-term elections, but that's not all they won: they also won the "election" on Twitter. A new study from Hewlett-Packard (HP) measures the influence of House Republicans and Democrats on Twitter, and finds that Republicans are far-and-above the winners.
HP developed an innovative measurement of Twitter influence, which was created by rigorously analyzing 22 million tweets. Researchers used both "influence" and "passivity" as factors, and determined that in order to become influential, a Twitter user must be able to break past their followers' natural inclination to be passive. This means that the number of followers isn't as important as the number of engaged followers.
The new research applies the measurement of influence to House Republicans and Democrats in order to see which politician and political party is most influential on Twitter. Here are some key findings:
- 70 of the top 100 most influential members of Congress on Twitter were Republican
- The average age of the top 100 Congress people on Twitter is 57, which is also the average age of members of Congress more generally
- Of the 89 members of Congress on Twitter who engaged in a 2010 campaign, 79 won, 7 lost and one is still in contention
And here is the list provided by HP of the top ten most influential members of Congress on Twitter:
- Nancy Pelosi – Democrat
- Paul Ryan – Republican
- Michele Bachmann – Republican
- Thomas Allen Coburn – Republican
- Bill Nelson – Democrat
- John Boehner – Republican
- Eric Cantor – Republican
- John McCain – Republican
- Joe Barton – Republican
- Sherrod Brown – Democrat

subset: commoncrawl


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Aiming to rid her district of sections that harbor streetwalkers, Councilwoman Nury Martinez won City Council approval on Tuesday to impose a 45-day restriction on new adult-entertainment businesses.
With the interim control ordinance adopted on a 15-0 vote, Martinez is moving into a realm of prostitution control beyond the stepped-up police patrols and coordination with local organizations to get girls off the streets.
"We know these businesses attract people to the area who are looking for prostitutes," Martinez said of adult emporiums. "We want to look to see what we can do to stop these people from coming out here and leaving a mess for us to clean up."
The ordinance will ban any new adult business — including strip clubs, topless bars, massage parlors, dance hall or liquor stores — along Lankershim Boulevard between Roscoe Boulevard and San Fernando Road and San Fernando between Sunland Boulevard and Branford Street in Sun Valley and on Sepulveda Boulevard between Oxnard and Rayen streets in Van Nuys.
Councilman Tom LaBonge also put a portion of his district — Oxnard Street between the 405 Freeway and Cedros Street — under the measure.
"We know the corridors where we have problems," Martinez said. "What we want to do is see if we can stop any more businesses from coming in and if that will help reduce the problem."
Several community groups, working through neighborhood councils and homeowner associations, will work with Martinez and the Los Angeles Police Department to deal with the problem.
Although the ICO will last for only 45 days, Martinez said it can be extended for up to two years if needed.


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In the process of reviewing Plain Sight, a raging conflict has stirred up within me. My head has become an arena for two voices as they shout and scream at one another to become the dominant point of view driving the prose. One voice is desperate to like the game; wooed over by the talents of an independent development studio, ninja robots, and stylish cel-shaded visuals. The other, more cynical voice, argues that the game hides some questionable design choices, and ultimately isn't that much fun. Plain Sight might be trendy and different, but it's frustrating and stressful at the same time. The review that follows is a literary sparring match between these two voices; the schizophrenic ramblings of a critic whose opinions are rather annoyingly split down the middle.
Developed by Beatnik Games, Plain Sight is a frantic multiplayer arcade game available exclusively through digital distribution platforms on the PC. Although there's no story to contextualise the action, Plain Sight offers a streamlined multiplayer experience with four game types to carry the action. The stars of the game are katana wielding androids that flit about abstract planetoids with complete disregard for the laws of gravity. Their sole objective is to hunt and destroy other robots, stealing their energy and growing in size with the ultimate intention of blowing themselves up for points. If that sounds totally mental, it's only because it is.
Just like Mario Galaxy, your robinja (a killer word I just invented for robot ninjas) can run about each face of a 3D environment without fear of falling off the edge. A quick tap of the space bar will fling your character into the air with extraordinary speed, giving rise to fantastic aerial pursuits. With more energy comes the ability to double and triple jump your way about the arena; a colourful trail of light following your character like a tail, showing from whence they came. The game is certainly impressive from a sensory perspective, with a vivid colour palette and flamboyant use of cel-shading to help give the game an other-worldly atmosphere.
By killing an enemy player, your robinja will accumulate energy, which will increase his size, speed and strength. This might make it easier to take out subsequent enemies, but it also makes him more of a target. All that energy will drive other players wild with envy, and they'll take any chance they get to plunge a katana in your back and steal it for themselves. Before this happens, the best thing you can do is blow yourself to kingdom come. The more energy you have, the bigger the blast radius and the more enemies you'll take out with you. This, in fact, is the only way to score points in the game, and so suicide is not only a good method for keeping enemies off your back, but vital for victory itself.
So, the game is sound in its concept and presentation - my two bickering voices can both agree on that - but Plain Sight's problems start to surface in its execution. The game is incredibly fast paced, which for the most part is a good thing, but seems to trip over itself as a result. A standard WASD keyboard input makes moving around easy enough, but throw jumping, targeting and a camera that struggles to keep up with the action into the mix, and you have an incredibly awkward control scheme. A game as frantic and quick moving as Plain Sight requires nothing but the most elegant of control designs, and a camera that can do it justice.
A more fundamental problem for me concerned the suicide mechanic at the very core of the game. It might well give the game an interesting hook, but it also makes for an incredibly stressful experience. If you don't kill yourself often enough, you'll struggle to keep up with the competition, but who wants to commit suicide when they're so big and powerful? This is of course the cost / reward device the game was built around; releasing all that energy at exactly the right moment for maximum point scoring. It feels counterproductive though, like everything you've done up until that point has been a complete waste of time. With suicide in the back of your mind at all times, Plain Sight can become a very stressful experience.
Another problem is nobody's playing the damn game. Getting into a match can be surprisingly hard work, which is incredibly frustrating considering its disposition as a multiplayer only title. Much of my time was spent refreshing lobby lists in order to find a match that was actually populated by other players. As well as this, it seemed I could only get into a standard Deathmatch; the other three game modes being strangely neglected. While Capture the Flag and Deathmatch need no explanation, Lighten Up and Ninja Ninja Botzilla are interesting enough to warrant a quick description.
In Ninja Ninja Botzilla, players take turns to control a huge, super powered Godzilla-bot, whilst the others try to take it down. In contrast, Lighten Up tasks players with detonating as much energy as they can muster on a specific area of the map, the biggest explosion winning the round. Although a small player population makes setting up a game difficult, getting into one of these game modes adds some much needed variety to the experience.
An interesting topic of conversation concerning games journalism is whether price should factor into a game's score (let us know your thoughts on this in the comments section below). Normally, I'd argue that it shouldn't; a good game is a good game and a bad game a bad game. But when a game is released with a price tag as low as £7.99, that distinction seems to blur somewhat. Judging by its price, Plain Sight can be considered a 'budget' title, and should therefore be judged accordingly. Because of this you'll likely be able to forgive some of its flaws. Plain Sight offers a sizeable portion of entertainment for a comparatively small asking price, and that should certainly be taken into account.
I want to like Plain Sight, I really do. It's effortlessly cool and carries off a unique concept with style and flair. Sadly though, I never found myself enjoying it all that much. The cynic in me wouldn't give the game a score above a 5, but the part of me that loves unconventionality is leaning towards an 8 or a 9. It's in these concluding sentences that I have to find a third voice to judge the game fairly by; a voice of reason and compromise. To that end I'll say that Plain Sight is a fantastic concept that is ultimately let down in its execution. Still, it's a steal at £7.99, and is well worth checking out simply for the bizarre awesomeness of it all.


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We send all parcels by tracked 24HR Hour Parcelforce couriers. This is FREE of charge for all orders placed online.
All packages are very well wrapped primarily in our airpack inflatable packaging, to ensure that nothing is damaged in transit.
These are pretty much indestructable, and look great when the recipient opens the box. The contents are 100% recyclable.
We also offer a gift box option with some of our products. These are surrounded in shred, and put inside a gift box, then put inside an outer postal box for extra protection.
We strive to ensure that your product arrives exactly the same as you see and read about them on our website.
Every now and again, we may run out of stock of a particular product, and we reserve the right to substitute part of any order to ensure delivery is not delayed.
We will always exchange for a similar product of the same or higher value. For example if we run out of lime infused oil, we may give you lemongrass or chilli flavour. Or if we are out of a particular jam or chutney, we may give you a similar flavour from the same (or a different) manufacturer.
We only use quality producers, and as noted above, we will only ever substitute with a product of at least the same value.
Sometimes we will even add some bonus products as a goodwill gesture.
We use a great independent brewery based in Scotland. They caringly produce all their beers in house. As the only online retailer to sell personalised beer kegs, we can guarantee that this will be a gift worth giving - even if it's to yourself!
This Ale is a light amber ale with a stunning floral aroma and a subtle bitter finish. It is 4% ABV, and is 5L in size.
You can personalise your keg by adding a message and a photograph to make it as unique and individual as you wish.
Our high quality label machines print permanent, glossy, water and scratch free labels that are applied by hand to each bottle by our team based here in Edinburgh.
Regardless of the order size, we ensure that we take the same care with every order to produce the best results, delivered to you in our fantastic foam and double walled box as standard.
|personalised bottles


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General News of Sunday, 28 October 2012
Source: XYZ
With two days to the Presidential Debate event scheduled for Tamale, Presidential Candidates and their aides have started arriving in the Tamale Metropolis ahead of the all-important encounter.
Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo was first to step foot into Tamale and was met with great pageantry by his supporters on Saturday evening.
Two people reportedly died while several others sustained various degrees of injury following a motor riding display during the arrival of the NPP's flagbearer.
The accident occurred at Datoyili on the Tamale-Kumasi road. The deceased who were Muslims have since been buried while the injured are responding to treatment at the Tamale Teaching Hospital.
But the General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Asiedu Nketia, has said God in his own wisdom has shifted political power to the North of the country to grant equity to the people of Ghana.
Speaking at the launch of three pro-NDC youth groups for John Mahama 2012 in Tamale after his arrival, Asiedu Nketia popularly called General Mosquito said the Constitution of the republic of Ghana in its wisdom recognized equitable geographical distribution of leadership but the Country has failed achieve so until now.
Mr. Asiedu Nketia observed that this year's election is neither about policies nor personalities but a shift of power from the South to the North to enable people of the North themselves to dictate the pace of development in the area.
The NDC General Secretary commended the youth for showing keen interest in the Mahama campaign.
Northern Regional Minister Moses Bukari Mabingba appealed to NDC supporters to vote massively for the President Mahama and all the NDC MP's to enable them continue with the Better Ghana Agenda, saying, "If you have not benefited from anything at all, as for the peace, it shore has come in abundance."
Prior to the inauguration, the three groups, 'John for 2012 elections', 'Girls Girls for John Mahama' and 'Zongo Youth for John Mahama' went on a float through principal streets of the Tamale Metropolis chanting NDC slogans and songs amidst brand band music and the hoots of screeching motorbike and cars. Chief Organizer of the Youth for John Mahama 2012, Cornelia Dasaah said the group has been launched to send the good works and messages of President John Mahama to the hinterlands.
Meanwhile, President Mahama is expected in Tamale Monday afternoon even though the northern region is already inundated by the heavy presents of NDC functionaries.


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St Modwen Properties has secured an extension of £119m of existing facilities with Lloyds and Barclays to at least 2014.
Updating on trading this morning, the regeneration specialist said that it had extended a £100m loan with Lloyds until November 2014 and a £19m facility with Barclays until September 2015.
The extension means that all of the group's £484m of debt extends until at least 2014, giving it a headroom of £130m against its expected year end debt position.
St Modwen said that it expected to report a strong set of results when it reports its full year trading figures, with profits ahead of 2010 and at the upper end of expectations. Results are expected to include realised profits in excess of £20m from development activities.
In its residential division, St Modwen said trading had continued to be strong since its interim results and that it was "confident that it is well positioned to generate significant value for the business in the coming years"
The group's jv with housebuilder Persimmon has completed development agreements and received initial land payments on three sites during the course of 2011, with a combined agreed land value of more £27m, plus an entitlement to 50% of the profits on house sales.
A further five sites have been identified for 2012, with a land value in excess of £50m.
Chief executive Bill Oliver said: "We continue to drive income growth across our portfolio through the intensive active management of our existing properties and by progressing potential new opportunities. Demand for residential land remains robust, and we have made excellent progress in our housing development programme, both in joint venture with Persimmon and under our own housebuilding arm, St Modwen Homes.
"With a strong track record of delivery, regional and partnership expertise, strong asset management skills and the proven ability to secure new projects, we have confidence in our prospects for continued growth in the company for 2012 and beyond."


text:
The Iron Man 3 Box Office Prediction Thread
View Single Post
Tony Stark
Armored Avenger!
Join Date: May 2002
Location: In a cave with a box of scraps
Posts: 10,904
Re: The Iron Man 3 Box Office Prediction Thread
Originally Posted by
Mr. Dent
3D doesn't add 50-85 mill. 350 mill is a reasonable estimation for IM3 after Avengers good will and critical acclaim.
And this is laughable:
IM3 is not TDKR. It will not surpass TDKR. It shouldn't even be mentioned in the same conversation as TDKR beyond the fact it's the third film in a franchise.
The 3D boost will take it to 400M, wheather it makes 450 is another question. It will not make Avengers money, I've made that clear.
TDKR was a letdown from TDK, mainly because they used Joker in the 2nd, where this film they've saved the best for last. That is the only comparison I'm making. The villain, that's it, and the fact that this will probably be a billion dollar movie.
"You have a metal arm? That's awesome dude!"
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text: Go Baby Go! Silly Sounds Frog - Fisher-Price Online Toy Store price shows in cart Flag this deal What's the matter? Choose a reason Dead deal Duplicate Bad link Spam Inaccurate No value Alive again Edit deal FibroMom Nov 18, 2012 TOO CUTE! Nice price on this little frog, too! I bet your future grandkids are going to be OVERLOADED with all the great deals you can find on this site... lucky little kids! :) Reply Load More Comments


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A fast and secure browser that's designed for Windows 10 Get started
Wear the armor of the famed Edmonton Blood Dragons, created for Earth's Urban Combat Championship. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.
Click to create and send a link using your email application


text:
Lubbock, TX Shoe Repair Service
AAA Boot & Shoe Repair
If your pair of shoes needs a repair, visit AAA Boot & Shoe Repair. We provide fine quality boot and shoe repair service to the Lubbock, TX area. Let our experienced staff take care of all your shoe repair needs.
Learn More About AAA Boot & Shoe Repair:
- Shoes
- Boots
- Ladies heels
We accept all major credit cards.
Custom Made Boots.
Contact AAA Boot & Shoe Repair today at 806-791-4979.
Contact Information
Hours of Business:
Monday thru Friday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
Monday thru Friday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm


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I am a novice! I would like to know 1. if there is any comparison ratings made by reliable independent groups on transaction processing performance of OSS stacks, say linux+postgresQL+APache+PHP and any other?? I just wanted this with refernce to proprietary software becnhmarks avlbl at www.tpc.org. 2. Are there websites where i can look at +/_ of OSS RDBMS vis a vis proprietary RDBMS? REgards rajaraman K -------------------------------------------- K. Rajaraman Addl Commissioner Dept of Civil Supplies & Consumer Protection Govt of Tamil Nadu Ezhilagam, Chepauk Chennai-600005 ph: 91-44-28583139 fx: 91-44-28510731 Mo: 91-94442-83441 Em: adccs(at)tn(dot)gov(dot)in em: kalyanaraman_rajaraman(at)yahoo(dot)com -------------------------------------------- __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
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- Sorrow -
Credits & Info
- Uploaded
- May 3, 2009 | 1:54 PM EDT
- File Info
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- 1 min 25 sec
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- 4.46 / 5.00
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Heard in 26 Entries!
View all submissions featuring this audio file.
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Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.
- Score:
- Rated 4.46 / 5 stars
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Rated 5 / 5 stars
This would describe what I am
If you were to look at my life, this would suit it the most.
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Rated 5 / 5 stars
This song may be just the inspiration I need. There's a writing contest on the Forum and the entries are supposed to be written with a song from the Audio Portal in mind; the story's supposed to be connected to the song in both tone and flow (or something like that).
I wasn't going to enter, but after hearing this piece, the wheels in my head started turning. I don't know if I will enter or not, but at least I now have an idea. And from this song, I have my inspiration.
So I thank you for that. If I do enter, I'll be sure to send you my entry so that you can read it and voice an opinion. Excellent piece, btw.
Good luck on that buddy ;D
Rated 5 / 5 stars
is it it xmas?
i swear i was thinking its was a xmas song!
Rated 5 / 5 stars
Two Thumbs Up! Waaay Up!
This piece was put together so well. I feel relaxed, though a little sad after listening to it. Good job on getting this to the front page. You deserve it.
Thank you very much :)


text:
Quality of Life Among Breast Reduction Patients
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
Despite the growing evidence showing that breast hypertrophy is associated with reduced Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) and that reduction mammoplasty has a significant positive impact on HRQL, there are unresolved issues that need to be addressed. These include our ability to measure quantitatively the change that occurs after reduction and the ongoing restriction or denials of third party payments based on body mass index (BMI). The primary purpose of this study is to assess and measure the HRQL experienced by breast reduction patients using four reliable and validated HRQL measures.
Fifty-two consecutive patients with the diagnosis of breast hypertrophy were invited to participate in this prospective study. Participants completed the Health Utilities Index Mark 2 (HUI2) and Mark 3 (HUI3) and the Breast Reduction Assessment Value and Outcomes (BRAVO) instruments (the Short Form 36, the Multidimensional Body-Self Rating Questionnaire Appearance Assessment, and the Breast Related Symptom Questionnaire) at one week and one day pre-surgery and one, six, and 12 months post-surgery.
|Breast Hypertrophy
|Procedure: Breast reduction surgery
|Study Type:
|Study Design:
|Observational Model: Defined Population
Observational Model: Natural History
Time Perspective: Longitudinal
Time Perspective: Prospective
|Official Title:
|A Prospective Study of Patients Undergoing Breast Reduction Surgery: Health-Related Quality of Life and Clinical Outcomes
|Estimated Enrollment:
|Study Start Date:
|January 2001
|Estimated Study Completion Date:
|August 2003
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years and older (Adult, Senior)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosis of breast hypertrophy
- Government approval for payment of reduction mammoplasty
Exclusion Criteria:
- Unable or unwilling to complete the quality of life questionnaires
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00149370
|Canada, Ontario
|St. Joseph's Healthcare / McMaster University
|Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, L8N 4A6
|Principal Investigator:
|Achilleas Thoma, MD MSc FRCSC
|McMaster Univeristy / St. Joseph's Healthcare
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00149370 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|Study First Received:
|September 6, 2005
|Last Updated:
|September 6, 2005
Keywords provided by McMaster University:
breast hypertrophy
breast reduction surgery
health-related quality of life
Health Utilities Index
quality-adjusted life years
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Pathological Conditions, Anatomical
ClinicalTrials.gov processed this record on September 19, 2017


text:
Will of Christian Jansen
Last Will and Testament of Christian Jansen of Bear Lake County, Idaho Territory
In the name of God Amen. I Christian Jansen of Montpelier of the aforementioned county and Territory, being of sound mind and memory, and over the age of 21 years and realizing the uncertainty of life do herby make this my last Will and Testament to wit:
1st I wish all the property I may have when I die possessed of, both real and personal, after all my legal debts are paid to be given to Lena Larsen of Montpelier in the County of Bear Lake, in the Territory of Idaho.
2nd and last in the case of Lena Larsen's life departing before mine, I, the said Christian Jansen do hereby request that the whole of my property, both real and personal after my death to be divided amongst the children of the said Lena Larsen namely; Christina, Rachel, Ellenora, Hyrum, James, Jacob, Isaac and William, and it is also further requested by me the said Christian Jansen that Ellen Hansen of Montpelier in the County of Bear Lake and Territory of Idaho to be supported with the necessaries of life by whosoever receives my property until her death.
In Witness thereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal this 29th day of Nov 1886.
Signed Christian Jensen (sic)
The above written instrument was subscribed by the said Christian Jansen in our presence and acknowledged by him to each of us and he at the same time published and declared the above instrument so described to be his last Will and Testament and we at the testators request in his presence and in each others presence, have signed our names as Witnesses thereto together with our places of residences.
A E Herrick, Montpelier, Idaho
T J Stephens
Recorded at the request of Christian Jansen February 4, 1886 at 11 A.M.
L T Stephens Co Recorder by J U Stucki, Deputy


text:
sleepy wrote:coogs wrote:I'm still looking for my first ever ace.
Me too...don't feel bad. It sure is fun trying though, right?
Trying is fun. In fact today I said it a couple times as I approached the teepad: "Maybee I'll ace it this time." I've hit metal a few times and been less than a foot above the basket on a few occasions.
Good luck man;


text: Contactthirtyfour2016-04-23T14:56:41+00:00 Phone: 319-752-3434 319-750-3454 Mailing address: PO Box 85 West Burlington, IA 52655 Shipping address: 10393 Golf Course Rd. Burlington, IA Race track address: 10463 S. Prarie Grove Rd. West Burlington, IA 52655 We would love to hear from you! Please fill out this form and we will get in touch with you shortly. Name* First Last Email* Phone*Question/Comment*


text:
The Washington Post noted that President Obama's budget called for a $30 billion bank fee to recoup losses from the TARP. It would have been helpful to give readers some context for this number.
It would raise approximately $3 billion a year, this is less than one-fifth the size of the $17.5 billion bonus pool at Goldman Sachs in 2010.


text:
DJ Scout (Ty Acord of Issues) has released a new song titled "No Urgency," which you can stream below. In the first edition of "Scouterdays," he dropped "Fighting The Sickness."
Earlier this year, Scout officially remixed Bring Me The Horizon's "Can You Feel My Heart," also streaming on his Soundcloud account.
We recently followed Scout around for a day in the life of a Vans Warped Tour DJ, which you can watch on APTV! Issues are nominated for Breakthrough Band at the first-ever AP Music Awards—learn more and cast your vote here!


text: I've been messing around with the tour 95 and here's my deal: I like a slightly head heavy racquet with control and great feel/response.I found that the tour 95 was too light and too stiff.I switched from 16g. strings to 17g. which makes it less stiff and strung at 66# for control and response.I tried lead tape at 3&9 and that also made it too stiff.I currently have lead tape at 12&6 and it's amazing! So now I have IMO the almost perfect raquet!It's a little over 12oz,a hair head heavy,geat feel,accurate serves and (with the added weight) great returns!You can't beat it with a stick!


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Sultan urges graduates to work with honesty
Dubai: Almost 500 students at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) graduated yesterday in the presence of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and Founder and President of AUS.
The commencement ceremony was also attended by Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Shaikh Abdullah Bin Salim Bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah.
A total of 492 students graduated. Among the cohort, 437 were undergraduates, 214 were female students and 81 UAE nationals.
The College of Engineering produced the most graduates with 269 undergraduate and graduate students.
Dr Shaikh Sultan commended the graduating students for being "the model of the educated youth of this generation".
"You are our real fortune and our future. You will be turning the wheel of our future development. I urge you to bear this responsibility with honesty and integrity, and to build upon and preserve the achievements of those who graduated before you," he said.
Dr Shaikh Sultan said the university is in a phase of development and expansion. It recently signed several agreements with various sectors in society including a new initiative of cooperation with selected schools. AUS Chancellor Dr Peter Heath congratulated the graduates. "For all of you, this achievement has taken years .... We are certain that through your hard work and with your participation ... you have attained the requisite knowledge ... in whatever profession or endeavour that you choose to pursue."


text:
Search Maps
MapPlano del Callao Shows coast of Peru in the region of Callao. Depths shown by soundings. Oriented with north toward the upper left. Watermarks: IV [unidentifiable watermark]; and, fleur-de-lis over the characters VDL. Pen-and-ink and watercolor. Mounted on cloth backing. LC Luso-Hispanic World, 708 Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image. Indexed. Printed label describing the map mounted on verso. Annotated ...
- Contributor: Gómez Ureran, Antonio
- Date: 1756


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THEATER; At La Mama, the Avant-Garde Buttons Up
By CATHERINE TEXIER; Catherine Texier, whose latest novel is "Panic Blood" (Viking), is the co-editor of the magazine Between C & D.
Published: October 28, 1990
ELLEN STEWART, THE DIRECTOR and founder of La Mama Experimental Theater Club, climbs the stairs leading to the apartment she keeps on the top floor of the La Mama building on East Fourth Street in the East Village in Manhattan. In jeans, boots and T-shirt, her head crowned with white hair done up in tiny braids, she looks like a queen surveying her realm -- five stories of archives, theaters, offices and apartment in one building, which she owns. Down the block, in a building owned by the City of New York, is a second theater. On the way, she salutes playwrights, cajoles assistants, welcomes actors, obviously proud of her proteges.
This week she is launching her new season, her 29th, with the premiere of "Elephant Memories," a theater piece by the experimental playwright and choreographer Ping Chong. Later this season she will present Richard Foreman's work "Eddie Goes to Poetry City" and Tadeusz Kantor's plays "Dead Class" and "Today Is My Birthday," along with scores of other offerings. While the furor continues over restrictions on Federal financing, with the Republican Senator Jesse Helms spearheading the movement toward tighter controls on arts grants, it seems to be business as usual at La Mama. Or is it?
Some other organizations that, like La Mama, take pride in presenting work that pushes the limits of art (and whose welfare largely depends on grants from the National Endowment for the Arts) have marched into the fray. The New York Shakespeare Festival, the Berkeley Shakespeare Festival and the Bella Lewitzsky Dance Company in Los Angeles, among others, have refused financing rather than sign a pledge to comply with the Congressional directive banning the use of Federal money for work that might be deemed obscene or blasphemous. But at La Mama, Ms. Stewart quietly signed the pledge and accepted the check.
La Mama depends mainly on grants; of its $1 million annual budget (including ticket sales), $226,000 comes from the National Endowment, and Ms. Stewart says she is not about to jeopardize such a major source of financing. "Many people expected me to close La Mama, not sign any papers, but I refused to be a martyr to this cause. I want La Mama to live. And if I have to work within the confines of censorship at this time, I will do it."
Has la Mama lost her nerve? Is age -- she's past 70 -- making her soft? As she will remind you, Ellen Stewart is herself no stranger to charges of obscenity and pornography. She loves to tell the story of presenting Jean-Claude van Itallie's "America Hurrah" in France in 1965. In the play people dressed as robots destroyed motel rooms and drew pictures of phalluses on the walls -- a statement on pop culture and modern times that is still considered a 60's landmark. The French authorities took away Ms. Stewart's passport and charged her with pornography. She claims to have been the first to present nudity and four-letter words on stage. She is proud to have presented Holly Hughes, who is vocal and explicit about her lesbianism, and who was one of the four performance artists recommended for an endowment grant this year but turned down by the endowment's chairman, John E. Frohnmayer.
But in spite of that record, Ms. Stewart is determined to follow the new National Endowment guidelines and will not produce a play or a show if it violates the spirit of the law. According to her longtime business manager James Moore, no production has been canceled on the basis of the new regulations, but in her inimitable manner, Ms. Stewart has told her artists, "Now, children, you're going to have to clean up your act."
If this stance comes as a surprise or even a disappointment to anyone who expected Ellen Stewart to climb the barricades, she shrugs it off. She simply doesn't think she can afford any grand gesture. "I am not going to violate the law," she insists. "But I am going to work overtime to find a way to change it." How? "I don't know at this point."
The law, in fact, may be changing. Congress is currently considering compromise legislation that would do away with the pledge, leaving obscenity judgments to the courts. Artists whose endowment-financed work was found to be obscene would be required to repay the grants.
Indeed, Ms. Stewart believes that the obscenity debate will blow over, and that the Jesse Helmses come and go. Grant restrictions "might not allow works that are considered censorable to be shown, but it doesn't mean that they're dead," and, she says, it doesn't mean that the avant-garde impulse to push limits and take chances is dead.
At a time when the viability of the avant-garde in the United States is being questioned, Ms. Stewart remains optimistic. "It's just that there hasn't been a focus on what we've been doing. In the 80's, we had the era of the yuppie, who was only interested in traditional theater, in everything that exemplifies success and comfort."
Ms. Stewart founded Cafe La Mama in 1961. The little basement coffeehouse on the Lower East Side (before it became the East Village) caught on right away as a haven for artistic experimentation. Among the playwrights whose early work was presented on its stage were Harold Pinter, Tom Eyen (author of the Broadway musical "Dreamgirls") Sam Shepard and Lanford Wilson; the actors Harvey Keitel, Jill Clayburgh, Bette Midler and Nick Nolte started out there.


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How are you using ClearCanvas products? We want to hear from you in your own words! Tell us your story about how ClearCanvas has made a difference where you are. Some things you might consider sharing with the community:
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'"I really made sure I had a good game," a starry-eyed Funk said outside the Sabres' dressing room before Saturday night's game against the Ottawa Senators in Scotiabank Place. "It was in the back of my mind that if I had a good game I could possibly get called up. At the same time, I just tried to play like I always do, just work hard and make plays."'
You are here: Home / SabresBeat / Funk earns a call-up in 'tryout'


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Rheinmetall Airborne Systems revealed a new fixed-wing/VTOL hybrid UAV at the ILA Berlin airshow. Displayed in full-scale model form, the Tactical Utility TU-150 is a joint development with Swiss UAV, the company that produced the VTOL UAV now marketed by Saab as the Skeldar.
The TU-150 is capable of hovering, can take off and land vertically, and can fly at 120 knots for up to eight hours (11 hours with auxiliary fuel tanks). The turbine engine, burning kerosene or heavy fuel, generates electrical propulsion for the rotors and pusher propeller without any gearing. Multiple stabilized sensor balls can be carried, and "a wide range of mission scenarios" is being explored, according to Rheinmetall. The TU-150 weighs 300 pounds and has a wingspan of 26 feet, including the rotors.
Rheinmetall also displayed its TR-50 lightweight low-cost reconnaissance UAV. Two prototypes have now flown. "Now that we are 51-percent owned by EADS, we could develop this UAV further," Bjorn Symank, head of sales, tactical unmanned systems, told AIN.
Meanwhile, the company's KZO reconnaissance drone continues to serve the German Army in Afghanistan, and its German Air Force (GAF) contract to supply and operate the IAI Heron 1 was extended for two more years last April. A larger Heron TP was also on display at the Rheinmetall stand, indicating the GAF's interest in possibly upgrading to this UAV.
Finally, Rheinmetall also displayed the optionally piloted version of the Diamond DA42 Opale MPP diesel twin. "Regulations in some countries make it difficult to fly UAVs. The Opale makes sense, especially when equipped with the automatic takeoff and landing system," Symank said.


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French Montana dropped visuals for his song "Paranoid" off of his Coke Boys 4 mixtape which released January 1st. The track features Johnny May Cash, and is produced by Young Chop. French lets us know that bullets have no name as he gets taken out in his latest video. French Montana recently revealed that he will be releasing a new album, Mac & Cheese 4 later on in the year. Look out for the upcoming remix video which features Diddy, Rick Ross, Chinx Drugz, Lil Durk & Jadakiss. You can check out the "Paranoid" video here.
-Jasmine Hardy


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Three-star inside linebacker Walker Jones didn't need to take a tour of the University of Alabama campus during his visit for A-Day. The brother of current Crimson Tide players, Barrett and Harris...
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Hi everyone,
We are JUST about to pull the trigger on a wedding venue and EG is our number one target (ok that analogy was a little cheesy) for a Spring Wedding 2012. I think I am getting cold feet so I am looking for a little reassurance that we are making the right decision!
For the couples who are planning to have their weddings in 2011 at EG how has the planning process been thus far?
If you have had your wedding at the EG, a few questions for you:
1) How long did you take for pictures - I am thinking 1.5 hrs around the area
2) Any suggestions on Hors D'oeuvres?
3) Meal - it seems like the Grand or Mediterranean is the way to go - any suggestions?
I am hoping that once we get the venue sorted everything else will fall into place! Fingers Crossed!
Thanks so much,


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A couple years ago, I got into the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I spent most of a summer with the second book propped open, reading at night. The story was fairly gothic, set in rainy Barcelona. I learned to pleasure-read Spanish by gist rather than by letter, so the feeling of reading by dreaming was heightened. I found that I couldn't leave the book open overnight; I had the same feeling as if I'd left a window open, letting rain blow in.
I mention a "grownup" book to begin a children's lit blog post for a couple of reasons. First is that I have always wished I could remember learning how to read–what it felt like to figure out that written words meant something and could make me feel vicariously. Like Lily and Luna I've retained a fascination with the alphabet, and am continually awed at the ways words can be combined in writing to accomplish things that ordinary speech can't. But as far as that initial flash of meaning, the only time I came close to reliving it was learning Spanish as a teen and adult. "Immersion" was almost totally through print, which is slower but worthwhile. When I finished the book that summer, I felt fiercely glad for a moment, grateful that the language had stories in it and I could read them–thanks to good teachers and good books.
Learning another language also underlines the importance of good children's books, I think. Often people who are learning English will read picture books or graphic novels like Tintin or Bone to get a visual reinforcement of their vocabulary and grammar. If the student is an adult, it helps if the story is engaging. Sometimes lately I'm inclined to recommend the snarky or offbeat, depending on the person's taste and reading level.
Jon Klassen's I Want My Hat Back, for example. The story on its face is exactly what the cover says: a disgruntled bear is interrogating various forest animals about the whereabouts of his missing hat. The print is large and the sentences fairly simple, but a sly twist ending makes the story pretty sophisticated. (See also: This Is Not My Hat.)
For people who want to test out what they've already learned, it's fun to find a novel in your language of choice and compare it with the translation. You can't do better than Harry Potter for variety: Spanish, French, Vietnamese, Italian, Russian, German, and Chinese.
So, if you want to eventually immerse yourself in another language, a good children's book can be a great way to start, and leads to more and longer stories later. Just don't let the rain in.


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This office suite was especially created to fulfil a niche in the laptop and Surface Pro tablet market. It contains all the necessary software applications to get anyone started immediately… from a hard working student, casual home user, to even an office worker on a budget…
Each application has a very easy to use menu structure and its listed features are limited to just 3-levels deep for quick access, unlike most new ribbon interfaces. Also included is a professional peer-to-peer video phone for LAN and internet communications.
The tabbed document interfaces also make it easier to find your opened documents with a single view. The thumbnail previews enhances the user-interaction further by displaying the whole document layout, whether you are creating pdf's, image documents, or simply displaying the print preview as you create your important document, thesis, letter, or birthday card.
Installation Instructions:
- Before running any software applications, please read the 'Read Me' document first!
- Right-click on the install file and select 'Run as Administrator' (Only for Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 9)
Minimum System Requirements:
- 1366 x 768 Display Size
- Windows NT / 2000 / XP / Vista / 7 / 8 / 9 – 32 bit and 64 bit
No Java or DotNet Required, Green Energy Software.


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Spiritual Maturity is not Linear
As many of my readers know, I've very concerned that when most churches meet together, their goal is not mutual edification. I believe that whenever we get together with other brothers and sisters in Christ, we should seek to build up one another together.
Also, you may know that I define "edification" or "build up" as helping someone grow in Jesus Christ – that is, helping someone become spiritually mature.
However, I do not think that spiritual maturity is linear. What do I mean? Well, when it comes to age, maturity is linear. We grow older in a linear fashion; we never become less old, always more old. (I'm talking about age maturity, not necessarily emotional or mental maturity.)
But, when it comes to spiritual matters, I do not believe that maturity is linear. It is possible for us to be more or less spiritually mature at different times in our lives.
Thus, when we "mutually edify" one another, we recognize that no one has reached a certain level of maturity never to need help again. Instead, we are always seeking to help one another grow through whatever is happening right now in a person's life. Past experiences can be helpful and can teach us, but they are not a guarantee that a person has grown past that experience.
Why is this important? We need to understand that discipleship is dynamic, flexible, and often repetitive. If we lose sight of this, we can become impatient or even unforgiving. We could think or say something like, "I just helped him with that issue, why does he need help again?"
This is also a good reason for community involvement – the "mutual" part of mutual edification. At any point in time, each person who is part of the community will be dealing with different issues. No one person is always "the spiritually mature" person in the community.
While there may be – and probably should be – a sense that someone is gaining ground in the area of spiritual maturity, we should never view spiritual maturity as a set of steps that, once we take one step we will never have to face that issue again.
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Comments are closed. If you would like to discuss this post, send an email to alan [at] alanknox [dot] net.
How right you are! I can attest to that in my own long walk.
I have discovered in both my own life, as well as in the lives of others with whom I have had opportunities of service, that when we fail to realize the fact that "It is possible for us to be more or less spiritually mature at different times in our lives", and, "that discipleship is dynamic, flexible, and often repetitive", God often gives the rug a strong tug, to awaken us to the fact.


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Essential Notebooks
Lenovo's Essential Notebooks is a line of entry-level laptops. These notebooks are designed for those that desire budget portable computing solutions.
At the moment, there is only one notebook series in the Essential Notebook line. It is the G Series. Six models are available. They are the Lenovo G450, G455, G550, G555, G460, and G560 laptops.
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Lenovo eCoupons & Special Offers
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- Description
Details100% Sublimated Made 4 U Sprinkles the Cat Wrestling Singlet
Like all of our singlets, this is a 100% sublimated wrestling singlet. The design was developed exclusively by Blue Chip Wrestling, and will not be found anywhere else. This singlet will be produced after your order, and arrive 3-4 weeks later.
Singlet Features
This is a High Cut wrestling singlet as shown, and is guaranteed for fit and quality. The features of this singlet are as follows:
- Sublimated Design - The colors are dyed deep into the fabric so they will never crack, peel, or fade. The singlet also reduces 'grinning' so that colors stay true when the fabric is stretched
- Flat lock double stitching - All seams in the singlet are flat lock so they will lay flat and maximize comfort. Double stitching ensures long life and singlet that will stand up to wear and tear
- Hand Made in the USA - All of our singlets are designed and printed here in the USA, and hand-sewn to guarantee quality and consistency.
This singlet is part of our Made 4U line. Click here to view more Made 4U singlets
Care Instructions
Our singlets will last many seasons if properly cared for. To maximize the life of your Blue Chip singlet, we suggest washing in cold water and line drying if possible. Avoiding a very hot dryer is recommended. Click here to read complete care instructions for your sublimated Blue Chip singlet.
- Additional Information
Additional Information
Free Shipping Eligible Yes Eligible for Discount Yes Restocked? No Availability In Stock Material Lycra / Spandex
- Reviews
Customer Reviews 7 item(s)
- Great product!
My son loves his cat singlet!
Overall Rating
- Never lose
Whenever I'm wearing this I always land on my feet
Overall Rating
- 4 on the floor
Land on your paws, never on your back.
Overall Rating
- My wrestling got better too!
I'm amazed by this. I used to end up on my back with my paws in the air without a fighting chance. With this singlet, I can take on any mean ol' dog. And I'm able to catch twice as many mice while wearing it.
Overall Rating
- performance enhancer
This singlet is the best thing that ever happened to me. I used to be a mediocre wrestler at best. I would win half of my matches and get pinned the other half. But since I purchased this singlet I have never been on my back and won all of my matches! I I can't say exactly what it is about this singlet that makes me better. But every time my opponent tries to throw me I land on my feet!have recently been ranked and am considered the person to beat at regional's!
Overall Rating
- It's a HIT!
My daughter is new to wrestling. She was upset to see that there are very few designs that are geared towards girls (she's 9 and doesn't know that wrestling has traditionally been a male-dominated sport). We bought this for her for her birthday and it was a HUGE HIT! She loves it and wants to wear it all the time! The sizing was spot-on and the colors/design look great. We received so many compliments at practice last night. She is in love with it! Thank you for a great product and design that my little girl loves!
Overall Rating
- The very fact that this exists redeems humanity.
"His name is Sprinkles. His whole life was a million-to-one shot.
Sprinkles The Cat is a struggling boxer trying to make the big time, working as a debt collector for a pittance. When heavyweight champion Frank The Pug visits Philadelphia, his managers want to set up an exhibition match between Frank and a struggling boxer, touting the fight as a chance for a "nobody" to become a "somebody". The match is supposed to be easily won by Frank, but someone forgot to tell Sprinkles, who sees this as his only shot at the big time."
Overall Rating
- Singlet Size Chart
The following guidelines indicate the proper size based on wrestler weight. If you are between sizes or buying a singlet for a young fast growing wrestler, we would recommend moving up one size
Weight Singlet Size 25 - 40 lbs Youth Extra Small (YXS) 40 - 60 lbs Youth Small (YS) 60 - 75 lbs Youth Medium (YM) 75 - 90 lbs Youth Large (YL) 90 - 110 lbs Extra Small (XS) 110 - 130 lbs Small (S) 130 - 155 lbs Medium (M) 155 - 185 lbs Large (L) 185 - 225 lbs Extra Large (XL) 225 - 275 lbs Extra Extra Large (2XL) 275-340 lbs Extra Extra Extra Large (3XL)


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After a five-hour meeting, El Paso county commissioners voted 5-0 Tuesday to pay $25 million for several buildings and a parking garage on the former Intel campus on Garden of the Gods Road.
Fiscal conservative Amy Lathen said she'd had several sleepless nights while considering the deal's pros and cons.
Ultimately, Lathen and the other commissioners concluded that the purchase was the most cost-effective deal for taxpayers and for decades would provide a convenient location for residents who use county services.
"It's the right thing to do," Lathen said before voting.
Under a complex 25-year lease purchase agreement approved by commissioners, the county could wind up spending anywhere from $75 million to $109 million in principal and interest payments for the former Intel facilities, at 1555-1675 Garden of the Gods Road.
The county hopes to pay back the money more quickly by selling off of some of its vacated buildings when the market turns around. "We're anticipating if everything falls in place that we're going to end up spending a total of about $80 million over the next 25 years," said County Administrator Jeff Greene.
More than a dozen elected officials, as well as neighborhood representatives and business leaders, praised the county for its decision. But El Paso Public Trustee Tom Mowle and outgoing state Rep. Mike Merrifield, both Democrats, got a chilly reception from the all-Republican board when they suggested the matter be postponed so more public input could be obtained.
"Voters are very cynical these days," warned Merrifield, who is seeking the District 5 commission seat being vacated by Jim Bensberg.
Merrifield said his constituents had a lot of questions about the deal, including whether it was the right time to make such an investment and whether the Garden of the Gods location was the right place to locate numerous county functions. "This issue has not been vetted," he said.
Commissioners Lathen and Sallie Clark bristled at Merrifield's comments, pointing out that there had been ample discussion. "I don't see how a delay would make a difference," Clark said.
While it's true that county officials have been talking about their aging buildings for about six months, the actual purchase of the former Intel buildings and the transfer of many of the county's functions from downtown to the new location caught a lot of people by surprise.
Wayne Williams, a term-limited commissioner who is the Republican candidate for Clerk & Recorder, said there would be ample opportunity in the coming weeks for the public to provide input. "Which offices will go where is still open for discussion," he said. "Some of those discussions may take place over the next few months or the next few years."
Under the plan unveiled last week, the county plans to move its various social services departments to the new location, including the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services and the Pikes Peak Workforce Center. Also slated to move are the treasurer, assessor and clerk's offices.
Treasurer Sandra Damron, Assessor Mark Lowderman and Clerk & Recorder Bob Balink endorsed the move during the hearing.
Lowderman also produced information on sales of commercial buildings from 2007 to present that supports claims that the county is getting a great deal.
That data show the median price for commercial space is $124 per square foot. In comparison, the county will be paying only $76 per square foot for the three-story office building and a water-treatment facility that will be converted to a storage building.
Lowderman pointed out that the $76 figure does not include the parking garage, which is a "very desirable amenity."
• $49.5 million in tax-exempt lease purchase agreements
• $25 million to purchase buildings
• $11 million to finish second floor and remodel buildings at other locations
• Multistory parking garage with 1,060 spaces
• Three-story office building, with 296,000 rentable square feet
• Water-treatment warehouse, 25,000 square feet
• Office furniture
• Wiring for Internet and telephones
• Department of Health and Environment
• Department of Human Services
• Pikes Peak Work Force Center
• Treasurer
• Clerk & Recorder
• Assessor


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Big Sam's Funky Nation & Sullivan Hall
Submitted by mike on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 02:51
Big Sam's Funky Nation had an amazing Halloween weekend & the party's not over yet! Put on your dancin' shoes, BSFN is making their way back to New York for a night of pure, booty-shaking funk this Friday, November 6th.
Recently awarded the Big Easy Music Award for "Best Funk Group of 2008," Big Sam's Funky Nation is a driving force of urban funk. The band is led by trombone powerhouse, Big Sam Williams, formerly the trombonist for the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, who the San Francisco Chronicle calls "the top man on the slide trombone in the birthplace of jazz." Combining his distinctive trombone riffs with a call-and-response MC style, Big Sam refuses to let the audience sit still. Between the band's solos and his trombone riffs, Big Sam second-lines (a uniquely New Orleans style of street-dance) and gets the crowd going. Big Sam's Funky Nation is not a one man show; the members of the Funky Nation, a group of well trained and experienced musicians with impressive credentials of their own, meet the challenges of their funky band leader. BSFN masterfully combines a rock sensibility with improv-style associated with jazz and the horn-heavy front section that's the hallmark of big band funk. The energy level is high voltage when this band takes the stage, and as Jambase Online proclaims, "as long as groups like Big Sam's Funky Nation helm communal happenings like this one the funky fever is bound to spread."
Kicking the night off will be the Honey Island Swamp Band. Come out and show your love at the upcoming Big Sam's Funky Nation show at Sullivan Hall--you'll be sure to Shake Yo Thang!
VENUE: Sullivan Hall
DATE: Friday, November 6th TIME: 10:30pm
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This bracelet was given as a gift along with my very first charm chosen by husband. I am not normally a jewellery person and the little jewellery that I wear is subtle and holds sentimental value rather than being worn for aesthetic reasons. The thought of being able to build a collection of charms that all hold their own meaning was appealing.
The bracelet itself is lovely, striking the right balance between being solid without being gaudy. The clasp feels substantial enough to securely hold the precious charms in place. I believe that different lengths are available, it is important to leave enough room on the bracelet to allow for the addition of the charms. One of the nicest things about purchasing a bracelet like this is of course the fact that the bracelet quickly becomes unique. The different charms are easy too add and remove meaning that you could essentially customise this bracelet for an occasion or even for an outfit. The reality for me is that I keep the same charms on the bracelet at all times. I decided that each of the charms that I am given or purchase would hold an individual meaning. Therefore I have different charms representing the important things in my life. That's not to say that you couldn't simply buy a charm because it looks pretty. There are many charms to choose from in the collection and Pandora often bring out seasonal and limited edition charms.
A couple of things to be aware of as a Pandora customer though. Firstly I prefer to always purchase charms directly from Pandora or an official supplier. There are many retailers that claim to sell Pandora charms but I would be wary as these are likely to be a sub standard product that could damage your bracelet. If you keep the receipts from Pandora the stores do offer a guarantee in case of damage. The charms aren't cheap, they can range from £25+ however this doesn't put me off as it means I tend to only buy them for special gifts or an occasion. Maintenance is another important consideration, I purchased several charms but didn't invest in clips to stop them sliding around, eventually the thread on one of the charms went and it got stuck. We managed to sort it but it could have been avoided! Also I wear my bracelet all of the time so a good clean in needed regularly.
This bracelet has now become very important and I anticipate it's something I will add to and keep to recount the stories of each charm with my little ones!
I bought my girlfriend one of these bracelets for her birthday a couple of months ago, all her friends started to get them and she loved them. There are many places to buy these from, but i opted to go into the pandora shop and buy one, because i am not a an expert when it comes to these matters.
The chain itself is silver, my girlfriend cannot wear gold so silver was a good choice. The bracelet can be added to with other beads which is why it is so good. This is i suppose good and bad though. Good because you can make it look different every time you wear it, bad because it can become very very expensive.
The beads for the bracelet, providing you buy the proper ones to go with it are quite expensive. They are only small and can cost between £20 and £50 each! The beads for this are however very nicely detailed and do look very good when bought.
There are hundreds of different beads available so when you buy this bracelet it can become an ongoing gift by buying extra beads on special occasions, or if your like me just for a little treat from time to time.
In my opinion this bracelet is worth the money. There are cheaper versions available but they never look as good as the real thing. The weight of the bracelet is really good too. It is beautifully crafted so you do not have to worry about it falling apart, some of the cheaper ones are very flimsy and do fall apart. The last thing you want is to buy a cheap bracelet and the real beads only for it to break.
If you want to buy someone a gift, or even treat yourself, a Pandora bracelet should be consider, they are truly beautiful!
I really really don't like rings so when my boyfriend proposed he did it with a Chamilia charm with an engagement ring on it (It's very pretty). I already have a Chamilia bracelet but I didn't want my new charm to get lost amongst a 101 Dalmatian and Dopey and so my boyfriend offered to buy me a necklace to put it on. I looked at the Chamilia necklaces but the one in the Pandora catalogue looked for more appealing and so the bank holiday weekend found us in the Pandora shop in Derby's Westfield.
~The Brand~
Pandora is best known for customizable charm bracelets that were first released in 2000. The company has been around since 1982, originally as a wholesale business, and now sells rings, earrings, necklaces and the bracelets in more than 50 countries.
~Where to buy~
Pandora has 469 stores in the UK buy also authorises other stores such as Argento, John Greed anf House of Fraiser to sell their products. The easiest way to find your nearest stockist is to visit http://www.pandora.net/en-gb/stores. I bought a charm from Argento online (With Quidco cashback) for my niece without any issue although it does come with a card rather than hard bodied presentation box.
Visiting a Pandora store itself is quite an experience although you need to be willing to wait a bit in line. The stores are very pretty with glass display cases everywhere and the staff are very informative asnd take their time (hence the lines).
~The Necklace~
I'm not a jewellery person so i would always opt for more understated Silver every time rather than Gold. After trying on a couple of lengths I decided that 50cm hanged the best (I'm not keen on having things close to my neck). Be aware that the chains do stretch when they have a lot of charms on them. The necklace is designed in the exact same way as the bracelets (but longer obviously) in that they have a 3mm chain designed in an integrate way to give it a continuous snake or cord like effect. It fastens with a clip claps, making it really easy to fasten and unfasten, and is engraved with the Pandora logo and is made from 925 Sterling Silver.
The inside section of the clasp has ridges so that all charms have to be screwed on to the necklace. There are also two threaded sections about a quarter in to the necklace from each end which allow you to place your charms into different sections. These threaded areas can be covered by clips that are available to buy separately and a wide range of clips available starting from around £15.
Pandora jewellery also comes in pretty white hard bodied jewellery boxes and a white bag tied with a pink ribbon which both have the Pandora logo on them when bought from a shop (Not provided if you buy them online from authorised retailers).
You do need to take care of the necklace, making sure it stays away from water and doesn't get any hair care products. I've heard some horror stories about people losing bracelets as they get kinks in that got worse over time and eventually broke. Pandora advise that the bracelets and necklaces are the last thing you put on when you're getting ready each day and the first thing you take off each night. You do get a free cleaning cloth when you buy the jewellery but unfortunately they were out of stock when I got mine so I need to go back and get it.
Prices do vary depending upon the length of the necklace:
40cm to 45cm - £100
50cm - £115
The necklace is also available in Oxidised Silver, making it look dark grey (For the same price as the Sterling Silver) or in Sterling Silver with a 14ct Gold clasp (Starting from £300). You can also buy the necklace cheaper if you opt for the standard lobster type clasp (Starting from £85).
Granted, £100 is expensive for a silver necklace but it does look a lot nicer than the cheaper imitations and is a quality product.
Pandora charms and clips for the necklace range from £20 to £450, made from either Sterling Silver, 14ct Gold or a combination of both. There are a large number of different charms available from hearts, a camera, an elephant, the choices are endless (Except Disney, for Disney charms you do need to buy Chamilia). Some Chamilia charms do fit on Pandora bracelets and necklaces but not all so I would double check before buying, we tried my Chamilia charm on the necklace in the store before buying. You can also buy murano glass beads which start from £30. For my Chamilia bracelet like my charms to mean something though and only get them as gifts and so I tend to ask people not to be me beads (As I think the price is excessive) and buy cheap ones for a couple of pound from Amazon. This way I can have lots of them and change the colour of my bracelet constantly and they don't look that much different from my neice's expensive Pandora murano beads.
I got this beautiful bracelet for my 40th birthday from my dearest friends. I was so excited , I had been wanting one of these for ages and was so happy when I got one.
The bracelet has a reallly good weight to it is sterling silver and has a good solid clasp. You can get these bracelets in a smalll medium or large size, I had recieved mine in a medium size which was loose around my wrist but not big enough to drop off and had plenty of room to start collecting charms on it.
The good thing about this bracelet is you have got a well made piece of jewellery which will last forever and can tell loved ones which charms you would like for future present ideas for your bracelet.
I have had this bracelet for a couple of years now and what I have noticed is the more charms you have on the bracelet it will stretch slightly because of the weight, my is full by the way, and also the clasp does become easier to open once you have had it a while. The only other downside is the price of the charms!! It can become very expensive when you are eager to fill your bracelet . A good present which you can keep on buying for in years to come......
For valentines day this year my boyfriend struggled with what to get me, that was both romantic and something I would appreciate and keep forever. So I came into our bedroom and he told me to look in a cupboard, and there sitting in the back of the cupboard was a small white bag, with Pandora written on the side in black and tied up at the top with a pretty baby blue ribbon, a smile spread across my face as I knew exactly what this was, what I had wanted for ages, a pretty pandora charm bracelet, I was so excited.
For many months my friends had been ranting and raving about these bracelets, and that they were the new trend these days, I couldnt wait to start making my own collection. From the start I decided that the only charms that I would collect for my bracelet would be the sterling silver charms, as I wanted a fully silver bracelet. So since February I have been slowly and steadily building up my own collection, and so far I have 15 charms, 3 spacers and a safety chain.
Which is turn does mean that I do have a very very expensive piece of jewellry on my arm, as the price does begin to mount up. My bracelet has slowly cranked its way up to around £400 which is shocking that I am in control of that amount of money when I leave the house. I have thought what better way to write a review than to specifically review the products that I personally have on my Pandora bracelet. So I intend to describe the charm, the price and the quality of the charm.
So firstly my boyfriend bought me the strong sterling silver chain, which you can get in various different sizes, the size that I have got is a little big for my wrist as my boyfriend didnt know my size, it is however getting a little bit tighter as the charms are bringing it closer to my wrist. The naked bracelet has the pandora clasp, and it has Pandora written around it, to close the clasp you have to put the small knob into a hole in the other side of the clasp, you then close the lid and clip the clasp into place to stop the bracelet coming off your wrist. He bought me this with a small four leaf clover on, both to represent good luck and my football team, the clover has all the detail on, the lines along each leaf, representing a real four leaf clover, it is made of sterling silver and even includes the hallmark. The bracelet came with this charm and my boyfriend paid £80 for both the bracelet and charm for valentines day.
I then have a pile of small books, representing my days at university, the books have lines to show the pages, with study written on the top along with an owl in a graduation cap on the back, as with the four leaf clover the detail is immaculate and I think my boyfriend paid around £30 for this charm. Next to the books I then have a hippo and the attention to detail is amazing, the hippo has an open hollow mouth with small teeth cut out, as well as having the four legs cut out in detail and a small tail on the back, this charm cost my boyfriend around £25, I then have a viking next to the hippo, and yet again the detail is beautiful, the viking has a small shield, a sword, a hat and his hair is designed in such great detail I couldnt believe it, on a peice as small as this that the detail would be so great, this charm was also £25, a small price to pay for the amount of detail that is included in the charm.
Recently my boyfriend bought me a duck for my charm bracelet, the duck has all the detail you would expect, the beak, the wings, the feathers and the eyes, it also has a tail, the duck cost around £30 and the charms come in small white box, with black lining and a sponge cushion, all charms come in a bag tied with a baby pink ribbon. I then have a small envelope with the words inscribed on them, "To my love, From me", the envelope has the stamp in the corner, it has the folds of the envelope and a red heart on the back of the envelope.
Pandora also do dangle charms, of which I have four, two of which were from a famous landmark range, which are the statue of liberty and Big Ben. This range costed £40 each, I spent £80 on this, there were three other in the range. I also have two other dangle charms, one of which is a graduation cap from when I graduated in June, it has the detail of the tassle and the head brace, this cost £35, the last dangle charm, is a polar bear, and like the hippo the detail of the polars bears face is very precise, it also has a tail on the back, there is also a small snowflake attatched to the same charm as the polar bear, this charm costs around £30.
I also have two other animal charms, which were a lot cheaper than the rest of the charms that I have on my bracelet, one is a frog that my sister bought me for £20, the frog has detail beyond belief, the face of the frog is exquisite with large eyes on the top of the charm, the feet are also cut out and each toe is seperated from eachother. The other animal is a pig, the nose of the pig is cut out in great detail and the ears are hollow from the top of the head, my boyfriend bought me this pig for my birthday for around £25.
The last two charms that I have on my bracelet is one that is a lock and key, one of which is a heart with a small lock in the middle, and the key is connected to the lock charm by a small chain with a key at the end, the key and charm do however not fit into eachother, this charm costed around £30, and the other is a rounded charm, in the shape of a ball, it has four elevated pink coloured hearts on each side, with patterns between the hearts, this charm also cost £30. I also have three spacers, one of which has small hearts all the way around the sides, the other two screw onto the small screws on the bracelet, they have small hearts with balls on the top, I paid £15 for all three of these, each of which are a good buy as they make your charms less bunched up.
My mum then decided to buy me a safety chain as a precaution as the bracelet is worth a lot of money. The safety chain connects to both sides of the clasp and is connected to eachother by a small chain which if the clasp breaks will stop the bracelet from falling off my wrist. This safety catch costed around £50 and you can get many other safety chains from the Pandora range.
Overall I would definitely recommend the Pandora range as it is of a great and exquisite quality, the attention to detail is perfect and I would never buy any types of charms for my bracelet. For a great present for your other half or for yourself I would definitely purchase a Pandora, go on make someone feel special, and there are plenty of charms to suit everyone, all of my charms have a specific meaning in my life or as part of myself and my boyfriends relationship, this is what makes it such a special and personal gift to recieve or to buy.
I think the reason Pandora is such a great hit is because people can carry the brand in their own personal way by choosing the charms that they want. I know you could say that this has been the case with charm bracelets for years and I guess that's so but there's something about Pandora that makes this extra special.
I was lucky enough to receive one for my 21st birthday along with a few charms to go on it, I chose the option with the snap clasp rather than the catch as I thought it was more interesting and also less likely to come undone. I have very small wrists and was worried that I wouldn't be able to get a size to fit me but the smallest size (I think it's the 17cm one) allows enough room for the charms but not so much room that it falls off!
The two small notches on the bracelet mean that when you only have a few charms you can keep them confined to one section so they don't constantly roll back and forth the entire length of the bracelet - a feature that I'm very grateful for.
Pandora bracelets allow you to build a timeline of your life through your jewellery which is great and means people can add to this timeline whilst keeping it all on the same piece of jewellery! I have charms from my 21st and my graduation and hope to add more for big life events in the future!
I bought my daughter a Pandora bracelet for her 18th Birthday along with the suitcase charm as she was leaving home to study. She was never really one for jewellry but I wanted to buy her something she would cherish. I thought the item was so pretty and loved the idea of collecting charms for significant occassions that I went back and immediately bought one for myself. The Bracelets were the 19cm length ones with barrel fastenings and pandora embossed upon it. They also came with two spacers and were beautifully packaged . The bracelets are not only a very light, pale silver but feel very light light on the wrist. They are quite sturdy pieces and have undergone a lot of wear and tear but still look brand new. The barrel fastening is very solid and even with a full array of charms they have never accidently come loose.
Both my daughter and I's bracelets are now almost full and do not feel overly heavy on the wrist. It is wonderful to compare the beads with each other and the reasons why they were given to us. It makes me feel linked to my daughter everytime i wear it. Its now so full that I will have to buy another one and start again or alternate my beads.
I received my Pandora Silver Bracelet as a 21st birthday present from my grandparents, and after letting the rest of the family in on this secret I received a bundle of Pandora bags on the morning of my birthday.
I'll start by saying that I'm really not a jewellery person, with the exception of multiple ear piercings I just don't wear it, bracelets, rings and necklaces just don't interest me. Yet I adore my Pandora, the simplicity of it doesn't cry out for attention, it just sits beautifully. I have 10 charms on my bracelet, none of which I have chosen, they have all been presents from friends and family which means I can look at my beautiful bracelet and remember those closest to me, it has wonderful sentimental value.
The bracelet itself is very well designed, the clasp has a grove which can be easily unclipped with one hand to do up or remove without having to ask someone else to do for you, yet when done up it feels really secure. Also the screw on charms are a fantastic idea as they don't fall to the floor with the risk of being lost.
There are now hundreds of charms to choose from to personally customise your Pandora meaning you have a piece of jewellery which is uniquely your own. Charms start from a reasonable price of £20 each ranging up to a much more ridiculous price for some of the gold charms. Generally though great value for money, especially when, as mine are, the charms are sentimental.
I received this as a gift and love it, I also have the truth bracelet which is very similar but i think not as good looking. There is a gorgeous range of beads to choose from as well as being able to buy beads from other suppliers that will fit pandora. The pandora beads range in price starting around £15. The screw fitting is a good way of protecting you beads from being lost and the catch is easy to use, it simply clicks together. The down side of this bracelet is that it nips at the small hairs on your wrist, I have very fine tiny hairs and it even catches those. There is a solution of course, buy lots of beads to hold the chain away from your skin and you'll be spoilt for choice as there are a huge variety of very beautifull beads available. I still think its worth having and is an average price when compared to similar products.
For a while my friend had been talking about her daughters wanting Pandora bracelets and I did not take much notice as I thought they were just a teenage fad that would appear strange being worn by a middle aged woman.
When I had a look online and saw the silver charm bracelet I was surprised at how pretty and elegant it was. When I saw the price I was also pleasantly surprised, but then seeing the price of the beads and spacers made me realise that it was going to be a long term investment.
The bracelet is not too heavy although it is clearly a good quality and I know it must be strong to hold the beads. There is a safety clasp to make sure that the beads don't fall off, but this was never a concern as I tried shaking the bracelet and none of them fell off. I find that the clasp can be a little stiff but if this makes it more secure then I won't complain.
It was really easy to choose the charms and spacers as they are all silver, but it was much more difficult with the beads. There are so many different ones in so many colours that it was hard to decide whether or not to have all one colour or mix and match. So far I have stayed with various shades and designs of blue ones but have been thinking about getting others in different colours and swapping them from time to time.
The beads are made from Murano glass so it is understandable why they cost as much as they do, but at around £40 each I am planning to have a little look around eBay before buying anymore.
I would recommend this to anyone, as there is so much choice there is bound to be something you like. For younger people as it will be a great way to commemorate special life events as there are charms for most things starting with 18th birthdays.
The bracelet is sterling silver and comes in 19, 20 and 21 centimetres although there are larger sizes that are more expensive. As a final little bonus there were some nice little chocolates placed in the bag.
It has been hard to give a mark for selection and range as while there is a good selection of beads, the bracelet is a one style only product and costs £60.
My husband was rather stuck for ideas for my present this Christmas and persistently asked me what I wanted/needed. Having seen my friend wearing a Pandora charm bracelet that she got for Christmas last year I thought this would be something my husband could get me this year, and in the future be something I could pass onto my daughter when she grows up.
When my husband went looking for the Pandora bracelet he came across two different kinds, both sterling silver, but with different clasps. One has a lobster clasp, and is slightly cheaper, whereas the one that my husband ended up buying for me and is shown in the picture above is one with the special Pandora clasp. The price for these Pandora starter bracelets are pretty much standard across the internet/jewellers with the lobster clasp bracelet costing around £45, and this pandora clasp bracelet costing £60. As much as I think £60 is pretty hefty for literally a plain silver bracelet, it is an essential piece of kit for your charm to hang on, and the fact that I hope to have this for a very long time to pass onto my daughter, I se it more as an investment piece of jewellery.
My husband ordered the bracelet (with a little help from me!) on the internet where there wasw a very good choice of sizes. You are advised to leave 3cm between your wrist and the bracelet for the width of the charms, so if you are measuring around your wrist before ordering one of these, you need to add on those extra cm. I found however that when I did this, was obviously a very popular size and it was much harder to find in stock on the internet.
When I received my bracelet on Christmas day, I couldn't wait to have a look at it and try it on. THe sizing as suggested on the internet was correct and it fits me very well with the 3cm left for the couple of charms that I also received.
The only slight negative I have is that I do find the Pandora clasp difficult to open without some of my charms sliding off as well. I don't find it so difficult to close when I am putting it on in the morning, but this is now the third night I have taken it off my wrist and my two charms have slid off in the process. Although I could ask my husband to help, I wanted to get used to doing it for myself, as he won't always be there in the morning to help.
I now can't wait to fill up my charm bracelet with individual and meaningful charms, but I have to say that the bracelet itself, despite it being very plain is very nice, and looks elegant on my arm.
All in all, although I find the Pandora clasp a little difficult to open myself without losing a few charms in the process, it is a lovely bracelet and the fact that I want to eventually give it to my daughter when she is grown up, means it is a good investment piece of jewellery!
I recieved Pandora 590702HV Silver Bracelet as present last year for my birthday. It is a very popular piece of jewellry that everybody seems to be wearing at the moment. At around £55 the bracelet is quite a good price however the bracelet is often and most commonly bought to be worn as a charm bracelt and at £30 a piece this is where the bracelet begins to get expensive! However, this makes a nice present as it's is something that you can continuinly add to and if you struggle for present ideas in the future you can buy a charm that will fit perfectly on it! The bracelet has a good clasp on it that is hard to do on your own wrist but ensures the bracelet will never fall off (which is handy as some of the beads are glass!) It also has little screws in the centre that allows beads to be screwed in, keeping them in place. A downfall to the product is that you need to fit the bracelet onto the person you are buying it for as if you get it a size too small then it reduces the amount of charms that can be fitted onto it! Overall a really nice fashionable product which I would recommend to a friend.
Firstly, what's with the name Pandora? It sounds awful and doesn't really go with a jewellery brand. Oh well! I bought this bracelet for £55 online which I thought was VERY overpriced for what it actually is. I guess I just wanted to go with the flow as everyone seems to have one of these now. The bracelet came boxed in the official Pandora box and it was shining when I opened it. The bracelet reflects light and has a gorgeous shine to it. Very eyecatching!
The bracelet is comfortable and easy to wear. The clasp is easy to get on with. It just opens and closes with a little force from your finger and thumb. Obviously you have to undo the clasp to fit the charms on. The charms are easy to arrange on the bracelet but you have to get them in the correct order, otherwise you have to start all over again! The bracelet is 925 stamped and genuine sterling silver. Mine hasn't discoloured as I keep it away from the rest of my jewellery collection (I keep it in it's box when i'm not wearing it). The bracelet doesn't look all that durable but actually it is. It also looks lovely when you have some charms on it, it doesn't matter whether it's full or not.
I would recommend this bracelet. Yes, it is expensive, but it looks lovely and it makes a great starter bracelet. It flows well against your wrist and doesn't irritate your skin. I would recommend buying a size up though as once you have charms on it it may become a little too small for your wrist.
Buy one!
For her Christmas gift one of the things my girlfriend demanded was a Pandora bracelet which seems to be one of the more popular jewellery items at the moment, simplistically what you do is purchase the plain bracelet as pictured and then you can choose from a range of charms to attach to the bracelet by sliding them on. charms range from £20 up to some ridiculous prices. I will just say now if you're a male looking to get this for your girlfriend as a present, it's going to end up being expensive, they only ever want more and more charms.
The bracelet itself to myself was made out of proper silver and was quite tough, this has been noticed as it has been caught and knocked quite a few times with no visible damage where other items may have damaged or broken much more easily than this did. This basic bracelet can be picked up for about £60 from selected jewelers however if you're looking for a gold one then they start at about £950 and the charms start at around £50/60 so it's definitely going to set you back. The big thing and best feature i think with the Pandora is the customization option. You can easily change it to something if you no longer like something rather than have to get a completely new bracelet and it is also unique. The chance of someone having the same charms as you is so minuscule that I have never heard of it happening.
In conclusion i do believe this to be a high quality product and would say to most that you probably get your value for money however it will be very costly in the long run as charms do not come cheap and it takes quite a lot of charms to fill it if that is the plan.
I got my first Pandora Bracelet as a Christmas Present last year. My Mother in Law loves the Pandora Brand and decided to get me one as a suprise, it was accompanied by four little charms for Christmas from my fiance. I had always wanted a Pandora bracelet but getting started with the bracelet and afew charms is very expensive and I never could afford it, but now I have one I cant stop browsing the website for new charms to fill it with.
I only buy charms at special occassions so my bracelets will be full of memories and not just filled for 'the sake of looking pretty'. Thats the beauty of Pandora, you can build it your own way and no two womans bracelets will be the same as each charm is given in its own unique way giving them different meanings to each woman. Your Pandora bracelet really is special to you and your tastes.
The silver Pandora bracelet is 100% sterling silver and comes in a range of sizes from 16cm to 23cm, a Pandora bracelet will cost you around £60 and comes in both a light silver and a blackish dark silver. The bracelet opens and closes using a clip mechanisim this can be quite stiff when you first buy your bracelet but it loosens up with time when you wear it. This Pandora bracelet has two little twist indents on it, these are to keep charms in their place when you dont have very many, this is a good feature of the bracelet as is helps stop all your charms constantly moving around on your bracelet and lowers the risk of any of your charms falling off your bracelet when you open it.
There is a wide range of charms, beads, clips, spacers and safety chains that you can decorate your charm bracelet with, charms are introduced and removed from your bracelet by twisting them on and off, it is a good idea in my opinion to buy a safety chain for your bracelet to prevent charms from twisting off your bracelet as charms can be very expensive ranging from £20-£720. There are charms to fit every budget, however some of the charms can be very expensive.
Overall I think that this bracelet is a great buy as a special gift for someone or just as a treat to yourself. The bracelet can be really special and fun to build up, pick charms and fill within time. They are really good quality and I have yet to experience any problems with mine. I like this bracelet so much that I have bought my own mother one this year for Christmas. The only drawback that I can think of is that if you get a bracelet, you need to buy 3 or 4 charms aswell to start it off and for it to look good, though this may just be me being fussy. You can buy the Pandora bracelet and all its accessories in all Pandora shops, online and also in some good jewellers.