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Powered Slab Site
Up to 6 Guests
- Powered
- Pets Allowed*
Estimating your equipment size
We are looking for an estimate of the size of your Caravan, Motorhome, Camper Trailer, Tent etc. once it has been set up or fully extended (outside to outside)... excluding your vehicle.
Caravans, Motorhomes, Camper Vans, Camper Trailers
Please include your tow/draw bar in the estimate.
Widths are generally around 4 – 5 metres (13.12 – 16.4 feet).
Note: Include annexes of pullouts in width.
|Average Lengths:
|4 – 12 metres (13.12 – 39.37 feet)
|7 – 14 metres (22.97 – 45.93 feet)
|5 – 7 metres (16.40 – 22.97 feet)
|Fifth wheelers
|7 – 14 metres (22.97 – 45.93 feet)
|Camper Trailers
|5 – 8 metres (16.40 – 26.25 feet)
Note: Do not include the size of the tent pegs
|1 person
|1 × 2.5 metres (3.28 × 8.20 feet)
|2 person
|1.5 × 2.5 metres (4.92 × 8.20 feet)
|3 person
|3 × 2.5 metres (9.84 × 8.20 feet)
|4 person
|4.5 × 2.5 metres (14.76 × 8.20 feet)
|5 person
|6 × 3 metres (19.69 × 9.84 feet)
|6+ person
|7 × 4.5 metres (22.97 × 14.76 feet)
Please be advised that Site sizes vary from park to park and within each park. Sites will be allocated based on the measurements provided during the booking process and it is the responsibility of the guest to ensure estimates are as close to accurate as possible.
If you are unsure, we would prefer you to overestimate or give us a call on 1300 738 044
These powered sites provide a concrete slab suitable for an annex on your caravan or motorhome with a car space and easy access to laundry and amenities block, camp kitchen BBQs, beach, pool and host of park facilities.
Site sleeps up to 6
Maximum of 4 adult(s)
Maximum of 5 children
Maximum of 6 people accommodated
What's on your site?
Surface & Style
- Concrete Slab on sites
General Features
- Power Outlet(s)
- Water Tap
- Sullage
- Car parking - On Site
TV & Internet
- Internet - wireless
- TV Aerial/ Connection
Plus enjoy all the park facilities and fun activities on offer at BIG4 Batemans Bay Beach Resort, as well as the many things to see and do around Batemans Bay.
You need to know
Terms and Conditions BIG4 Batemans Bay Beach Resort ABN: 47 504 455 945 Payment – A credit card payment for the total amount is required at time of booking. The Resort will process this charge against your credit card and send confirmation to the e-mail address supplied. Changes and cancellations – Changes and cancellations for stays (excluding Christmas/January & Easter) must be made more than 48 hours prior to arrival. A $20 administration fee applies. Cancellations for the period 20 December to Australia Day and Easter must be notified 4 weeks prior. A $20 administration fee applies. Where 4 weeks notice is not given the balance of payment will be forfeited. Reception hours are 7.30am – 7.30pm. (6pm in winter) Guests arriving outside these times must contact reception during reception hours to make alternative arrangements. Sorry, we do not have a 24 hour check in. Guests who fail to arrive on the designated day or who arrive after reception hours and have not made alternative arrangements will forfeit the cost of the first night. Check in time is from 2pm and check out is prior to 10am. A credit card must be produced in the name of the person staying at the Resort on check in. Any damage caused may be charged against that card. Minimum stays apply during all school holidays/Christmas/Easter/Long weekends, please check with park for details. Adult rate applies to persons above 15 years and children's rates apply to children aged 2 -14 years. There is no charge for children under 2 years. Special requests are on a request basis only and are not guaranteed at the time of booking With the exception of medically certified guide dogs, dogs are permitted at the discretion of the park manager on sites only. We reserve the right to refuse a booking at anytime from any person reasonably believed to: • Not be the person named on the booking request • Not be the person named on the credit card or not be authorised to use the card • Not be able to pay for any charges • May cause damage to the property of the resort or other guests • May exhibit socially unacceptable behaviour • Be younger than 18 years and not accompanied by a responsible person over that age • Be concealing a dog or other animal We reserve the right to terminate stays if guests are deemed by management to be behaving in a socially unacceptable way; causing damage; disturbing other guests; using unacceptable language or otherwise breaking resort rules. No refunds will be given and charges will apply for any damaged caused. BIG4 Holiday Parks of Australia Pty Ltd is not the owner of any particular BIG4 Holiday Park. BIG4 Holiday parks facilitates this booking service and is not responsible for the provision of services, standard of facilities or payments received. All bookings are made directly with the individual owner of this BIG4 member park and therefore BIG4 Holiday Parks will not accept any responsibility.
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There are some really awful Valentine's day promotions out there— we're looking at you Hooters "No ring? Give her wings!" deal. This ad by Ikea Australia is not one of them.
In the best Valentine's Day deal maybe ever, Ikea took out an ad in Australian newspapers with a coupon for a free crib for babies born on November 14, exactly nine months from Valentine's day.
All you need is to keep the coupon, provide "proof of birth," and maybe induce labor.
Oh, and "delivery not included."

subset: commoncrawl


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Joyce DeLine
Cornerstone Real Estate
325 El Portal Shell
Beach, CA93449
Phone: 805-441-2607
Already registered? Login
Sign in to take advantage of all this site has to offer. Save your favorite listings and searches – also receive email updates when listings you like come on the market for free!
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Joyce DeLine | 805-441-2607 | Email Joyce
Cornerstone Real Estate | 2665 Shell Beach Road Suite J
Shell Beach Ca, 93449
Home | Open Houses | Search for Homes | Advanced Search | Map Search | Shell Beach, CA Homes | Avila Beach Homes | San Luis Obispo Homes | Golf Courses, Homes | Gated Communities | Commercial Search | Country Club Estates Homes | San Luis Obispo Subdivisions | San Luis Obispo Mobile Homes | SLO Multi-family, Condos | SLO Commercial Real Estate | SLO Vineyard Property | SLO Lots & Land | SLO Homes w/ VIEWS | Ocean View Homes | Morro Bay Homes | San Luis Obispo Condos | New Developments | Mortgage Rates | Buyer/Seller Info | Real Estate Terms | About Joyce | My Blog | Real Estate News | My Newsletter | Office Directions | Contact Us | Documents
Based on information from California Regional Multiple Listing Service, Inc. as of 2019-08-25. This information is for your personal, non-commercial use and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties you may be interested in purchasing. Display of MLS data is usually deemed reliable but is NOT guaranteed accurate by the MLS. Buyers are responsible for verifying the accuracy of all information and should investigate the data themselves or retain appropriate professionals. Information from sources other than the Listing Agent may have been included in the MLS data. Unless otherwise specified in writing, Broker/Agent has not and will not verify any information obtained from other sources. The Broker/Agent providing the information contained herein may or may not have been the Listing and/or Selling Agent.


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Year in Review: DSM-5's controversial debut
Diagnostic manual updates disorder criteria
When the American Psychiatric Association released the fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in May, big changes had already begun in the controversial business of defining mental disorders.
Psychiatrists involved in DSM-5 had hoped to link mental ailments, from schizophrenia to depression, to specific biological markers. But scientists failed to find such markers. So the psychiatric manual set out roughly 300 disorders that were ratified, as in previous editions, by consensus in groups of clinicians and researchers (SN: 6/29/13, p. 5).
Some DSM-5 adjustments provoked


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Downtown is looking for players to add to our linkshell that would be helpful for events and anything else we might do. Our LS is growing and consists of a solid group of about 10 to 14 people that are consistently on. We span the globe with players EU through the Pacific time zone. We do random events every day and also schedule certain events on Sundays. We are mostly looking for dedicated players that will be around to support the LS during events during the week and who also will be around for LS events on Sundays.
We are not only looking for veteran players, we will take you whether you are level 1 or level 99, we want to improve our own character as well as yours and it's better to do this together, and are willing to put some time in for events and keep the adventurer spirit. We take care of our own in Downtown and will make a beast out of any who join us for the fun and excitement and adventure that we do!
We do everything from Aby NMs, empyrean weapon building, missions, quests, VNMs, VW, CoP, ZM, rank missions, exp parties, skill ups, or just generally teaching people more about the game. We have a solid group of veteran players that are dedicated to supporting the newer players (or returning new players) that we have in the shell. Anyone that is interested please do not hesitate to /tell Daesar or Niyah in game!
We're a continuation of the Hades linkshell Freelancer; where we believe that you should help others when you can, because you can, not for what you can get out of it. This does not mean you should become a slave to others needs or anything. It just means that when the choice comes between lending a hand or being an asshat you choose the former and not the latter.
If this sounds like a good fit for you, won't you join us?
-Edited due to ls growth.
Edited, Jul 15th 2012 3:06pm by Daesar


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it took me a while to understand 3.5 character creation, this will help when i do update to 4th ed.
The PHB spells out how to create a character in a multi-step process, which was pretty easy for the most part. (My 3.x experience kept getting in the way.) I was finding that I had to search for a few of the calculations for AC, Fort, Ref, and Will, in the then not so obvious places.
So, to help out any newcomer also having trouble finding:
Defense Scores - page PHB 275
Attack Bonuses - page PHB 274
The book explains this next part, but I was confused at first. The strange damage codes 1[W], 2[W], 3[W], etc. mean multiple rolls for weapon damage. The first number is the multiple. So, 3[W] for a 2d4 damage becomes a total of 6d4 damage.
Hit Points are found in the section for your chosen character class, which uses your character's constitution SCORE (not the modifier) to add to hitpoints. This blew away my bf when he created his 1st level warlock having 30HP, and my 1st level paladin had only 27HP.
Last edited by ronpyatt; 06-10-2008 at 12:28 PM.
Thanks for the info. This should be helpful for those trying to create their first few characters.
I've not attempted to make a 4e character yet as I still feel I haven't read enough of the game.
Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations.
Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates.
No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or Other Entertainment.
Good post! I had the same problem with my past D&D knowledge getting in the way. Adding Con Score to my hitpoints at first level was also a common problem in my gaming group...we were all trying to think of a reason why our characters had so few hp compared to the pregens in Keep on the Shadowfell....then my fiancee who has only played twice figured it out by reading that it was the Con SCORE not the modifier. Again great post!
good post, regardless of whether i'll eventually play 4e or not.
nijineko the gm: AG16, CoS. nijineko the player: AtG, RttToH; . The Journal of Tala'elowar Kiyiik! .
CrystalBallLite: the best dice roller on the planet! . nijineko the archivist: the 3.x archive
HeroForge has some great 4ed Character sheets with dropdowns for easy character creation.
These are in MS Excel and in Openoffice.
We did the same thing for one session.


text: The epiglottis is flap of cartilage located in the throat behind the tongue and in front of the larynx. The epiglottis is usually upright at rest allowing air to pass into the larynx and lungs. When a person swallows the epiglottis folds backward to cover the entrance of the larynx so food and liquid do not enter the windpipe and lungs. After swallowing the epiglottis returns to its original upright position.


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Destination Queenstown for adventure on & off the mountain
From well groomed runs to extreme off-piste terrain, jumping from planes or off a bridge, Queenstown offers adventure both on and off the mountain.
Queenstown has everything from rugged mountains, majestic lakes and crystal clear air; it has been capturing the hearts of visitors for many years. The downtown area is tucked into a beautiful bay on the shores of Lake Wakatipu with amazing views from every direction.
There's a permanent buzz in the downtown area where you'll find a lively café/bar scene and excellent shopping. The town rarely sleeps and offers something for everyone. You will find sophisticated wine bars, live jazz, great DJ's, locally brewed beer or enjoy après ski in front of a roaring log fire.
Blue skies, white slopes and spectacular views best describe the Queenstown winter. Before each big snowfall a vibe sweeps over the town in anticipation of fresh tracks. Skiers, snowboarders and alpine lovers are drawn to the region's six international standard ski areas.
The ski slopes cater to every level of skier or snowboarder and there are dedicated beginner areas for those first timers with lessons available for all ages. The more adventurous skiers and snowboarders can hike to up to the chutes or take off for the day with a guide and a helicopter to find the untouched powder runs.
For those who are not lovers of the snow there is a variety of sightseeing day trips to Queenstown's surrounding areas including Glenorchy and Arrowtown. Plenty of action packed activities that can be followed with a relaxing treatment at one of the International Day Spa's or simply enjoy the views with a mulled wine from one of the many cafes.
Isn't it time you Skied New Zealand?
Article by
Kirra Tours Australia
Kirra Tours has over 50 years experience in designing and operating touring holidays in New Zealand. Whether you are on board one of our luxury coaches or piecing together a self drive experience, we're here to help you create your perfect holiday.


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HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian stocks ended mostly higher Thursday, with Australian shares jumping to 20-month highs on continued buying after U.S. lawmakers passed a bill to avoid steep spending cuts and tax hikes.
Hong Kong stocks ended at a 19-month high after a choppy ride, helped by Chinese economic data showing a further improvement in non-manufacturing activity, although profit-taking pressure and concern about political tussles in the U.S. to raise the nation's borrowing limit.
The S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -0.94% rose 0.7% to 4,740.70, its best finish since May 2011, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index HSI, +0.15% rose 0.4% and Taiwan's Taiex XX:Y9999 climbed 0.7%.
"Regional equities are seeing a continuation of the buoyant risk environment in Asia today as investors react to the passing of the fiscal cliff deal," said Stan Shamu, a market strategist at IG Markets.
"Although some analysts feel this is merely a relief rally as U.S. leaders kick the can down the road, so to speak, it seems to have done the job for now," Shamu added.
South Korea's Kospi 180721, +0.22% bucked the upward trend to drop 0.6% on worries a strengthened won would hurt their earnings.
Stock markets in mainland China and Japan were closed for holidays.
A sharp rally overnight in U.S. stocks helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.66% to its largest-ever first-session-of-the-year gain on Wednesday after the deal to avoid a large economic impact from the so-called fiscal cliff. Read about U.S. market action Wednesday.
• MarketWatch Topics: Middle East
• | |
• | |
• Latin American and Canadian indexes
• European indexes | Asian indexes
More on the Markets
• Global Economic Calendar
• | | Earnings Watch
• | U.S. Economic Calendar
U.S. equity futures pointed indicated a lower opening on Wall Street Thursday, with Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.66% futures down 31 points, or 0.2%, to 13,300, and S&P 500 SPX, -0.79% futures shed 0.3% to 1,452.70.
Analysts stayed cautious about a looming political battle in Washington to increase the U.S. government's borrowing limit, pass a federal budget and undo heavy spending cuts, which were delayed in the fiscal-cliff deal.
Dariusz Kowalczyk, a senior economist at Credit Agricole, said the jump seen across risk assets Wednesday was a "one-off response to the U.S. budget vote," and that investor risk appetite was set "to gradually lose momentum."
He said market activity would be limited due the holidays in China and Japan, and also ahead of the key U.S. nonfarm payrolls data for December, due out Friday.
Thursday's gains in Asia also came as China's official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 56.1 in December, up from 55.6 in November, after two separate gauges of manufacturing signaled a continued improvement in activity at mainland factories. Read about China non-manufacturing PMI data.
Major movers
After gains for many commodities overnight, most of the larger Australian resource names added to their recent gains.
Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. FMG, -4.09% FSUMF, -3.62% added 2.4%, Oz Minerals Ltd. OZL, -0.98% US:OZMLY rose 6%, and mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd. RIO, -0.83% RIO, -2.48% advanced 2.4% in Sydney.
In Seoul, shares of Hyundai Steel Co. 004020, +0.00% rose 1.1% and fellow steel maker Posco 005490, -0.47% PKX, +0.58% gained 2.6%.
In Hong Kong, mainland Chinese insurance and property stocks led further gains.
Shares of Ping An Insurance Group Co. 2318, +0.28% PNGAY, -0.26% climbed 2.6%, China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. CAOVY, +0.25% 688, +0.97% rose 1.5% and China Resources Land Ltd. CRBJY, +8.01% 1109, +4.45% surged 4%.
Chinese property developers were among the strongest performers in Hong Kong last year. Both China Resources Land and China Overseas are up more than 80% over the past 12 months, significantly higher than the near-27% gain for the Hang Seng Index.
In Seoul, meanwhile, heavyweight Samsung Electronics Co. SSNLF, +0.00% 005930, +0.11% dropped 2.1% on profit-taking after posting strong gains in the previous three days.
Automobile stocks extended their losses on concern a firming South Korean won could hurt earnings, particularly at a time their Japanese rivals were expected to benefit from the yen's steep fall in recent weeks.
Hyundai Motor Co. 005380, -0.79% HYMLF, +0.00% shed 4.6% and Kia Motors Corp. KIMTF, +0.00% 000270, -0.58% lost 3%.


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The Cowan Railroad Museum Board meets monthly in the Creed Room. The public is welcome to attend.
The Cowan Railroad Museum was founded in 1976 to preserve the history, artifacts, and stories of the railroad in this area. Admission to the museum is free. Membership is only $20, and helps to sustain this important community heritage resource.
Location: Creed Room – Cowan Training Center
303 Montgomery St., Cowan, TN, 37318
303 Montgomery St., Cowan, TN, 37318
Date(s) - 03/18/2008
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm


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Now that the weather is finally starting to turn a bit cooler, I am finally getting my head around the fact that it is Christmas is in a few weeks. And what better way to prepare for the upcoming festivities than with a shiny new printable Christmas planner?
You can still get the 2013 Christmas planner here, but I am loving my new version. I am big on printables which are pretty but don't eat up half your printer ink! Here is what is included...
#1 Coversheet
Because every planner needs a fancy cover.
#2 Gift Planner
One of the parts of Christmas which needs the most planning is the gift giving. This page helps you to plan what you are purchasing your family and friends.
#3 Budget Planner
Christmas doesn't have to cost a lot to be special but, let's face it, many of us like to blow the budget on making the occasion memorable. You can use this to keep track of your spending (whether it is gifts, food or entertainment), so you don't end up spending more than you intended.
#4 December Calendar (Perpetual)
I think most households are busy in December, with all of the parties and school nativity plays. Having a calendar to keep track of it all is essential! You could print off a separate one for each family member.
#5 Christmas Meal Planner
In many families, Christmas dinner is a a traditional roast. Somehow all of the extra trimmings and the extra large turkey means that it needs to be planned with military precision! This page helps to plan what you are serving and your timings.
#6 Christmas Card List
Writing holiday cards tends to be something which you either love or loathe! This sheet will help to keep you organized so that the process is quicker and easier, whichever camp you fall into.
#7 Festive Baking
For me, one of the most magical parts of Christmas is the build up rather than the big day. I really love creating a festive themed bucket list for the kids (and for myself!). I have created a blank bucket list for baking...
#8 Holiday Crafts
...festive crafts...
#9 Christmas Activities
...and holiday activities.
#10 Family Traditions
It can be fun to introduce new traditions which make the holiday season special for your family - but it can also be quite difficult to remember every tradition once you've created a few. This page should help jog your memory!
It can be very tempting to buy sparkly new decorations in the run up to December, but often you find you had too much already once you get the box of ornaments down from the attic. This ornament inventory will help remind you what you've got and where you stored it.
#12 Notes
And for the rest of your holiday needs there is this page! Print out lots and put them in the back of your Christmas planner.
I hope that this planner helps you to have a stress free, organized holiday season.


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Become a Reseller
Our authorized resellers are an integral element of this fast-growing market. Join our team to become a part of the phenomenal success story!
Our team is waiting to answer your questions or provide any additional information you need.Email us
Award-winning mobile and audio accessories, including keyboards, portable power, device cases, headphones, earbuds, and more.
The industry standard when it comes to screen and device protection.
Unbeatable scratch protection developed for the military, and lets you enjoy your electronics without the extra bulk.
Innovative and style-driven accessories and audio products which have earned them many awards over the years.


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Science Friday® is produced by the Science Friday Initiative, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
Science Friday® and SciFri® are registered service marks of Science Friday, Inc. Site design by Pentagram; engineering by Mediapolis.
Missing Invisible Matter: If Found, Call Physicist
tails. player here
Last year, the National Reconnaissance Office gave NASA a gift--two declassified spy telescopes, each higher in quality than anything NASA has ever produced for space. NASA astrophysics director Paul Hertz and Caltech theoretical physicist Sean Carroll discuss how the telescopes could be used to hunt for elusive dark matter and dark energy.
In the SciFri Snack: How do you see an invisible particle? Theoretical physicist Sean Carroll, author of the forthcoming book The Particle At the End of the Universe, tells us that scientists could find dark matter by looking for what's missing -- maybe it's there, you just can't see it! Check out more SciFri Snacks -- and join a conversation about what you've heard -- at Sound Cloud.


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My Day Snapshot
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My Life To-Do List
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Visit France
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Get to work on-time!
Lose 14 lbs.
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Hi, I just found a website for Nickelodeons Wonderpets! Please check it out, its totally free and its very cool! My 2yo loves it! www.dressthewonderpets.com
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Wisconsin creates a Web portal that makes it more convenient to apply for public health benefits.
In the early 2000s, Wisconsin had a bit of a problem. The state offered plenty of public assistance programs, but they weren't being taken advantage of by many citizens who needed them. Why? Maybe it was difficult to take time off work or use a lunch break to apply for public benefits at an office open only during bankers' hours. And discussing personal information with eligibility workers made some citizens uncomfortable.
In response, the state created ACCESS, a Web portal that allows Wisconsinites to apply for health and social service programs, check eligibility, view the status of current benefits or change personal benefits information -- all from a computer.
"It's empowered our members and potential members to take control of their own cases and really have a way of interacting with the program that minimizes any stigma, embarrassment [and] inconvenience," said Jim Jones, deputy state Medicaid director for Wisconsin. The state receives about one-third of its applications online now.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services built ACCESS for one purpose: to give citizens a faster alternative to receive services.
"The goal of ACCESS from the very beginning was to increase access to the programs," Jones said. "There were people who didn't want to come in to the local agency, who didn't even feel comfortable calling, who we felt would be more comfortable on the Internet."
Online accessibility also lets people receive services when the offices are closed. "If you worked 8 to 5, you'd either have to take a lunch break some other time or take time off to get food stamps applied for your case, or health care for your case and for your family. We wanted to make it easier for people to use," Jones said. "And we wanted to make it easier for people to apply for our programs and get in them."
Applicants can also use ACCESS in public offices, where eligibility workers guide them through the process or type in information for them. Citizens can check eligibility or apply for programs, such as Medicaid; BadgerCare Plus, a program that offers health insurance to children age 18 and younger; FoodShare Wisconsin, designed to help low-income families buy food; and SeniorCare, which helps citizens age 65 and older get prescription drugs.
"Once the application is completed and you submit it, it comes into our automated eligibility system into an inbox; and then, when the [eligibility] worker chooses it, it takes all the data the client has provided and puts it into our automated eligibility system," Jones said. "It means the worker doesn't have to enter that information from a mail-in application form or in a face-to-face interview."
Not only does this save time for public employees because there's less data entry, it could also make personal interaction more meaningful, Jones said. When completing a traditional, paper-based application, an eligibility worker could be so focused on jotting down information, that discussing a client's personal life became a cold, mechanical task. But if the client entered the information into the computer beforehand, the worker would only call the client if it was necessary to clarify specific information. The discussion could be more informal.
"It's a phone call that says, 'Hey, you said that you have a new job over at Joe's Plumbing, and I wondered how many hours you're working there. Oh, you're working that many hours? Well, that's great. Can you send me your next pay stub?' It becomes that kind of conversation," Jones said, "rather than, 'I have to code this [information in the] computer the right way,' and makes it much more of a person-to-person kind of contact."
In 2002, Wisconsin began assessing its enrollment process for public health programs because the state wanted to improve citizens' access to them. Wisconsin was inspired by Pennsylvania's COMPASS system, a Web-based application for benefits enrollment.
Wisconsin applied for a grant from the Food and Nutrition Service, an agency under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with the intent to build a similar Web-based tool for people to apply for benefits, check existing benefits status and discern eligibility. In 2003, the Food and Nutrition Service granted Wisconsin $1.7 million along with $1.3 million from the state Department of Health Services for enhancements to internal eligibility systems, the state had about $3 million to get started.
Wisconsin hired consultancy Deloitte, and contractors traveled to communities to talk with focus groups of citizens, county employees and others. Jones said the listening tour took about four months. With Deloitte's findings, Wisconsin decided the solution should be short, confidential, easy to use and at a fourth-grade reading level. The first ACCESS application, the "Am I Eligible?" tool -- where people input information to be screened for program eligibility -- went live in August 2004. The three other tools followed in 2005 and 2006: "Check My Benefits" in September 2005, "Apply for Benefits" in June 2006 and "Report My Changes" in September 2006. Jones estimated that it took about $6 million to get ACCESS where it is now.
The application has proved to be popular, and not just with Wisconsin's citizens and staff. Jones said other public-sector entities have contacted the state about adopting the ACCESS solution. Since the Department of Health Services is a public entity that used public funds to develop ACCESS, the state is required to make it available. So far, New Mexico, Vermont, Oregon, Nevada and San Francisco have acquired the source code. Jones said other states have gone live with a modified version of ACCESS.
After filing a memorandum of understanding, Wisconsin gave New York the ACCESS code on Feb. 4, 2008. Then the state forged ahead on design and development and contracted with Deloitte for assistance. The first phase of myBenefits was the eligibility prescreening tool released in May 2008. The next phase, released in late August 2008, incorporated screening for home energy assistance and the "Application Status" tool.
Eligibility workers and community partners can use myBenefits to input citizens' data electronically and submit the data to personnel at local social services departments, who determine program eligibility.
"The vision of myBenefits is really to provide a single online site and portal through which low-income working families, low-income individuals in the state and community partners can connect with the benefits, services and the work supports that they need. So it's essentially an e-government hub for human services," said David Hansell, commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA).
MyBenefits was conceived as part of an OTDA initiative to help New York align with then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer's proposal to expand low-income residents' access to the Food Stamp Program. On June 5, 2007 -- National Hunger Awareness Day -- Spitzer announced the Working Families Food Stamp Initiative, a drive to simplify and streamline the state's application process for food stamps. However, portions of the initiative had to be approved by the USDA before it could get formally under way. That summer, the OTDA began working on the project.
"Within a month, we were busy trying to figure out what kind of solution [we could] bring in or look at in order to support our Working Families Food Stamp Initiative," said Daniel Chan, CIO of OTDA.
The USDA approved the initiative, and on Feb. 4, 2008, Spitzer announced its launch. By then, OTDA had already acquired the ACCESS functionality. Several weeks later, the state had its Web application up and running, which was a crucial step toward increased citizen participation.
It's good that New York has myBenefits, Hansell said, because the area has been hit hard by tough economic times. In October 2008, Gov. David Paterson, said more than 160,000 New York residents could lose their jobs soon.
"We're anticipating a tremendous mean increase in the need for many of the programs that we're talking about because people are going to be losing their jobs," Hansell said.
On top of job losses fueled by collapsing Wall Street investment banks, another unemployment wave predicted by Paterson could create an economic quagmire and consequently more people will need public assistance. Chan might already be seeing the signs. During October, myBenefits' Web traffic increased threefold, he said.
"The job losses will be at all income levels. It will be from investment bankers down to support staff, but there also will be the ripple effects on the New York City economy," Hansell said. "As those people lose their jobs and have less money to spend, it's going to affect restaurants -- it's going to affect all sorts of support work, so we expect that there'll be job losses at all levels."
Hansell said OTDA has ambitious plans for myBenefits that will take time to implement. He would like to add more programs that low-income residents would be eligible for, like health insurance and child care. He also wants myBenefits to give citizens more power to manage and administer their benefits online.
OTDA is working with open source developer Red Hat to implement a rules engine -- software that classifies and defines crucial system code -- which will let New York expand myBenefits to more easily encapsulate additional programs and functions. These changes will move New York even closer to the functionality of Wisconsin's ACCESS system.
But ACCESS' features will also continue to evolve, Jones said.
"I'm satisfied with what we have because I see where it's going. It's really going to this interface that deals with all members' needs," he said. "I think, eventually, we're going to get to this particular point where we have to go back and refocus on the technology, but it's just been a few years now, and we've been good at keeping it up-to-date."


text:
Saint Lucia Population: 164,46456 VISITORS FROM HERE!
« Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Flag Counter Overview
|The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Even after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island, dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.
The twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean
|Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
|Geographic coordinates:
| total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km
water: 10 sq km
Size comparison: three and a half times the size of Washington, DC
|Land Boundaries:
|0 km
|158 km
|Maritime claims:
| territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
|tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August
|volcanic and mountainous with broad, fertile valleys
|Elevation extremes:
|Natural resources:
|forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential
|Land use:
| agricultural land: 17.4% arable land 4.9%; permanent crops 11.5%; permanent pasture 1% forest: 77%
other: 5.6% (2011 est.)
|Irrigated land:
|30 sq km (2012)
|Natural hazards:
|hurricanes; volcanic activity
|Current Environment Issues:
|deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region
|International Environment Agreements:
| party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|^Back to Top
| noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian
|Ethnic groups:
|black/African descent 85.3%, mixed 10.9%, East Indian 2.2%, other 1.6%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)
|English (official), French patois
|Roman Catholic 61.5%, Protestant 25.5% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 10.4%, Pentecostal 8.9%, Baptist 2.2%, Anglican 1.6%, Church of God 1.5%, other Protestant 0.9%), other Christian 3.4% (includes Evangelical 2.3% and Jehovah's Witness 1.1%), Rastafarian 1.9%, other 0.4%, none 5.9%, unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)
|164,464 (July 2016 est.)
|Age structure:
| 0-14 years: 20.35% (male 17,225/female 16,237)
15-24 years: 15.88% (male 13,257/female 12,867)
25-54 years: 42.97% (male 33,974/female 36,697)
55-64 years: 9.58% (male 7,278/female 8,478)
65 years and over: 11.22% (male 8,352/female 10,099) (2016 est.)
|Dependency ratios:
| total dependency ratio: 47.3%
youth dependency ratio: 34.1%
elderly dependency ratio: 13.3%
potential support ratio: 7.5% (2015 est.)
|Median age:
| total: 34.2 years
male: 33 years
female: 35.3 years (2016 est.)
|Population growth rate:
|0.33% (2016 est.)
|Birth rate:
|13.5 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
|Death rate:
|7.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
|Net migration rate:
|-2.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
| urban population: 18.5% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 0.89% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
|Major urban areas - population:
|CASTRIES (capital) 22,000 (2014)
|Sex ratio:
| at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
|Maternal mortality rate:
|48 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
|Infant mortality rate:
| total: 11.2 deaths/1,000 live births male: 10.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
|Life expectancy at birth:
| total population: 77.8 years male: 75 years
female: 80.7 years (2016 est.)
|Total fertility rate:
|1.75 children born/woman (2016 est.)
|Health expenditures:
|6.7% of GDP (2014)
|Physicians density:
|0.11 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
|Hospital bed density:
|1.6 beds/1,000 population (2011)
|Drinking water source:
| improved:
urban: 99.5% of population
rural: 95.6% of population
total: 96.3% of population
urban: 0.5% of population
rural: 4.4% of population
total: 3.7% of population (2015 est.)
|Sanitation facility access:
| improved:
urban: 84.7% of population
rural: 91.9% of population
total: 90.5% of population
urban: 15.3% of population
rural: 8.1% of population
total: 9.5% of population (2015 est.)
|HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
|27% (2014)
|Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
|2.8% (2012)
|Education expenditures:
|4.8% of GDP (2015)
|School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
| total: 13 years male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2007)
|Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
| total: 27.5% male: 21.5%
female: 35.2% (2007 est.)
|^Back to Top
|Country name:
| conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia
etymology: named after Saint LUCY of Syracuse by French sailors who were shipwrecked on the island on 13 December 1502, the saint's feast day
|Government type:
|parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
| name: Castries
geographic coordinates: 14 00 N, 61 00 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
|Administrative divisions:
|10 districts; Anse-la-Raye, Canaries, Castries, Choiseul, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort
|22 February 1979 (from the UK)
|National holiday:
|Independence Day, 22 February (1979)
|previous 1958, 1960 (preindependence); latest presented 20 December 1978, effective 22 February 1979; note - in mid-2015, an amendment was proposed to replace the London-based Privy Council with the Caribbean Court of Justice as the country's highest appellate court (2016)
|Legal system:
|English common law
|18 years of age; universal
|Executive branch:
| chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Allen CHASTANET (since 7 June 2016)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by governor general
|Legislative branch:
| description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; 6 members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and 2 upon consultation with religious, economic, and social groups; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held on 6 June 2016 (next to be held in 2021)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 54.8%, SLP 44.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6
|Judicial branch:
| highest court(s): the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the itinerant superior court of record for the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; the ECSC - with its headquarters on St. Lucia - is headed by the chief justice and is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 16 judges; sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the member states; 3 High Court judges reside on Saint Lucia; note - Saint Lucia is a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, an independent body of judicial officials; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62
subordinate courts: magistrate's court
|Political parties and leaders:
|Lucian People's Movement or LPM [Therold PRUDENT] Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenny ANTHONY] United Workers Party or UWP [Allen CHASTANET]
|Political pressure groups and leaders:
|International organization participation:
|ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CD, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|National symbol(s):
|twin pitons (volcanic peaks), Saint Lucia parrot; national colors: cerulean blue, gold, black, white
|National anthem:
| name: "Sons and Daughters of St. Lucia"
lyrics/music: Charles JESSE/Leton Felix THOMAS
note: adopted 1967
|Diplomatic representation in the US:
| chief of mission: Ambassador Elizabeth Darius CLARKE (since 3 August 2015)
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795
consulate(s) general: New York
|Diplomatic representation from the US:
|the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia
|^Back to Top
The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. Tourism is Saint Lucia's main source of jobs and income - accounting for 65% of GDP - and the island's main source of foreign exchange earnings. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area. Crops such as bananas, mangos, and avocados continue to be grown for export, but St. Lucia's once solid banana industry has been devastated by strong competition. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shocks, including volatile tourism receipts, natural disasters, and dependence on foreign oil. Furthermore, high public debt - 77% of GDP in 2012 - and high debt servicing obligations constrain the ANTHONY administration's ability to respond to adverse external shocks. St. Lucia has experienced anemic growth since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, largely because of a slowdown in tourism - airlines cut back on their routes to St. Lucia in 2012. Also, St. Lucia introduced a value added tax in 2012 of 15%, becoming the last country in the Eastern Caribbean to do so. In 2013, the government introduced a National Competitiveness and Productivity Council to address St. Lucia's high public wages and lack of productivity.
|GDP (purchasing power parity):
| GDP (purchasing power parity): $2.083 billion (2016 est.) $2.052 billion (2015 est.) $2.004 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
|GDP (official exchange rate):
|GDP (official exchange rate): $1.439 billion (2015 est.)
|GDP - real growth rate:
|1.5% (2016 est.) 2.4% (2015 est.) 0.4% (2014 est.)
|GDP - per capita (PPP):
| GDP - per capita (PPP): $12,000 (2016 est.) $11,900 (2015 est.) $11,700 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
|Gross national saving:
|13.2% of GDP (2016 est.) 16% of GDP (2015 est.) 12.2% of GDP (2014 est.)
|GDP - composition, by end use:
| household consumption: 69.9%
government consumption: 15.2%
investment in fixed capital: 18.7%
investment in inventories: 0.1%
exports of goods and services: 39%
imports of goods and services: -42.8% (2016 est.)
|GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
| household consumption: 69.9%
government consumption: 15.2%
investment in fixed capital: 18.7%
investment in inventories: 0.1%
exports of goods and services: 39%
imports of goods and services: -42.8% (2016 est.)
|Agriculture - products:
|bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa
|tourism; clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, lime processing, coconut processing
|Industrial production growth rate:
|4% (2016 est.)
|Labor force:
|79,700 (2012 est.)
|Labor force - by occupation:
| agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 24.7%
services: 53.6% (2002 est.)
|Unemployment rate:
|20% (2003 est.)
|Population below poverty line:
|Household income or consumption by percentage share:
| lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
| revenues: $185.2 million
expenditures: $222.2 million (2011 est.)
|Taxes and other revenues:
|12.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
|Public debt:
|77% of GDP (2012 est.) 77% of GDP (2010 est.)
|Fiscal year:
|1 April - 31 March
|Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|Inflation rate (consumer prices): 0.1% (2016 est.) -1% (2015 est.)
|Current account balance:
|-$96 million (2016 est.) -$53 million (2015 est.)
|$205.2 million (2016 est.) $207 million (2015 est.)
|Exports - commodities:
|bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, avocados, mangoes, coconut oil (2010 est.)
|Exports - partners:
|Dominican Republic 25.1%, US 15.9%, Suriname 9.1%, Antigua and Barbuda 7%, Dominica 6.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 6.3%, Barbados 6.1%, UK 4.8%, Grenada 4.6% (2015)
|$532 million (2016 est.) $540.6 million (2015 est.)
|Imports - commodities:
|food, manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, fuels
|Imports - partners:
|Brazil 34.9%, US 25.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.4%, Colombia 10.9% (2015)
|Debt - external:
|$523.2 million (31 December 2016 est.) $517 million (31 December 2015 est.)
|Exchange rates:
|East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2016 est.) 2.7 (2015 est.) 2.7 (2014 est.) 2.7 (2013 est.) 2.7 (2012)
|^Back to Top
|Electricity - production:
|400 million kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - consumption:
|300 million kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - exports:
|0 kWh (2013 est.)
|Electricity - imports:
|0 kWh (2013 est.)
|Electricity - installed generating capacity:
|88,000 kW (2014 est.)
|Electricity - from fossil fuels:
|100% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from nuclear fuels:
|0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from hydroelectric plants:
|0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from other renewable sources:
|0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Crude oil - production:
|0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
|Crude oil - exports:
|0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Crude oil - imports:
|0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Crude oil - proved reserves:
|0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
|Refined petroleum products - production:
|0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - consumption:
|3,100 bbl/day (2014 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - exports:
|0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - imports:
|3,058 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - production:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - consumption:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - exports:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - imports:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - proved reserves:
|0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)
|Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy:
|400,000 Mt (2013 est.)
|^Back to Top
|Cellular Phones in use:
|total: 188,000 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 115 (July 2015 est.)
|Telephone system:
| general assessment: an adequate system that is automatically switched
domestic: fixed-line teledensity is 20 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 115 per 100 persons
international: country code - 1-758; the East Caribbean Fiber System and Southern Caribbean Fiber submarine cables, along with Intelsat from Martinique, carry calls internationally; direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; (2015)
|Broadcast media:
|3 privately owned TV stations; 1 public TV station operating on a cable network; multi-channel cable TV service available; a mix of state-owned and privately owned broadcasters operate nearly 25 radio stations including repeater transmission stations (2007)
|Internet country code:
|Internet users:
|total: 86,000 percent of population: 52.4% (July 2015 est.)
|^Back to Top
|2 (2013)
|Airports (paved runways):
| total 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013)
| total 1,210 km
paved: 847 km
unpaved: 363 km (2011)
|Ports and terminals:
|major seaport(s): Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort
|^Back to Top
|Military branches:
|no regular military forces; Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Marine Unit) (2012)
|Military service age and obligation:
|18 years of age for voluntary security service; no national army (2012)
|^Back to Top
|Transnational Issues
|Disputes - International:
|joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
|Illicit drugs:
|transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe
|^Back to Top
« Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Flag Counter Overview
Source: CIA - The World Factbook


text:
With Christmas around the corner, we all need a little inspiration.
Where are the best shops to buy quirky and cute gifts? Readers have submitted their suggestions, so vote here for your favourite one.
The top five results will feature on our Lancashire recommends page next week.
Voting closes noon on Thursday.


text:
Thunder Bay
|Thunder Bay
The mighty Mount McKay that dominates the south side. Not pictured: Simpson Street.
|Ontario, Canada
|Roughly 100,000
|Official languages
|English, French, Finish, Ukraine, Italian, Cree, Ojibway, Finglish, Wigger
|1970, with the amalgamation of Port Arthur and Fort William
"Life is like rape. If you can't stop it, then enjoy it."
"Keep on rockin' in the free world... except in Thunder Bay. I've been there once and only got the shakes from a cup of coffee."
Thunder Bay (also known as the Elbow of Canada or The Mistake by the Lake) is the largest city in Northwestern Ontario, Canada (who cares about Sudbury?). It is sometimes said that a highway should bypass it so people don't even need to glimpse it. The city is the result of the amalgamation of Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay North) and Fort William (now Thunder Bay South). It is close to Kakabeka, Nipigon, Ignace, and other small towns that nobody has ever heard of. The north side is well known for its view of Lake Superior, while the south side is primarily known for Simpson Street, the spawn of prostitutes and drunks. The city is composed of 25% English speaking residents, 30% Finnish speaking residents, 30% Italian speaking residents, 10% Ukraine speaking residents, and the other 5% of Native languages.
Pre-modern times[edit]
European settlement on Thunder Bay began with two French fur trading posts (1679, 1717), where residents would execute beavers and make hats for people. These trading posts were abandoned shortly after their founding, likely due to the cold climate and invading Sasquatch and racist slurs from the beavers. In the early 1800s, Fort William was established by the North West Company, a modern-day Wal-Mart. The founder of Fort William, Martin "Grumpy M" Keska, regretted founding the fort until the day he died. The fort continued to grow, with many Europeans settling into the area, largely Finns due to the area having such a strong resemblance to dull Finland. In the mid 1800s a First Nation reservation was set up near the large Kaministiquia River for the local Ojibway so that they can run around naked and hunt. Also around this time Port Arthur was founded on Lake Superior. A war soon broke out between the two settlements due to Fort William jealous of Port Arthur having such a scenic landscape compared to Fort William's dense forest and unusual amount of rocks everywhere. This war continued until 1970, when the two towns put their differences behind them and formed a marriage bond with each other. The two towns became one, and Thunder Bay was born.
Early to mid 20th century[edit]
During the war of Fort William and Port Arthur, both sides began to accumulate large grain elevators, competing to see who could build the biggest. The grain traveled all across Canada, and the two settlements became known for their grain, nicknamed "old yellow". In the early to mid 1900s, settlement grew in the cities, and Fort William's Simpson Street and Frederica Street prospered with many retail outlets. The East End was also created during this time, built entirely by old, strong Ukraines who would inhabit the area for many years. Interestingly, the Great Depression did not greatly impact the two settlements, largely due to food, clothing, and shelter being cheap because nobody really wanted to live in the area other than the Ukraine, Finnish, and Italian. In the mid 1900s, the two settlements were booming, but the war still continued between the two. Around 1956, Port Arthur sent their worst residents and their homeless to Fort William, who took up residing on Simpson Street and Frederica Street. These people changed the two streets forever, with them becoming well known for their parties and bars.
Modern day[edit]
In 1970, the two settlements put their differences behind them and ended the war. They then merged and became known as Thunder Bay, with Fort William now referred to Thunder Bay South and Port Arthur now referred to Thunder Bay North.
The city as a whole is well known for the many Tim Hortons in the city. A Tim Hortons can be found every 500m2, often filled with beer bellied 60-year-olds holding large coffee cups. Many motorcycle and mud truck enthusiasts also enjoy using the restaurants and enjoy discussing topics such as rainbows, unicorns, and dead fish. The family-run corporation Dougall Media owns much of the city's businesses, including the four radio stations that only play classic rock and repeat songs up to 10 times a day.
The city includes a college, university, hospital, marina, and red light district. Popular locations include Tim Hortons, the bars on Simpson Street (okay okay, any bar), Silver City on Tuesday nights, and the Marina after dark.
Thunder Bay is the largest city in Northwestern Ontario, resulting in the surrounding areas being their slaves to it. Or crawling to it due to 1. No other alternatives 2. Tim Hortons or 3. The need for a battery operated turtle neck sweater aka "BOTnS". People who can not find jobs in the city have to travel at least eight hours to either Winnipeg, Manitoba, or Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, showing how Thunder Bay really is in the middle of nowhere. Much of the city is owned by the Big Five. Other members of the Big Five are Tom Jones, T&T Auto, and Norma Jean's Restaurant. One of the largest mills in the world is also located in Thunder Bay, owned and operated by AbitiBowater. This mill is located in the south side, where it's been said that "dreams go to die, and then take wings and fly". The forestry industry was the main employer, while the rest of the population are city workers or work at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre aka the hospital that is sinking and is quite busy due to all the old people in T-bay, and general lack of BO-TeNS maintenance centres in Tbay. Since the city is north of Toronto (aka "The Centre of the Universe"), the Ontario government doesn't care about it, and the 90% of Canadians do not even know the city exists.
Thunder Bay is well known for its cold climate. The coldest day ever recorded was on August 19, 2019, when the temperature reached -204°C, or -999°C with the wind chill. Thunder Bay has never had a "warmest day". Due to the freezing climate, much of the city is entombed in ice. Residents commonly skate on the streets and roads which often have more than 10 cm of ice on them. Lake Superior's temperature around Thunder Bay never goes above -50°C, leaving the only people to risk swimming in the open waters old Finns, who often jump in the water after spending hours alone with other men in a hot, steamy sauna. There is minimal precipitation. The snow is filled with 90% carcinogenic chemicals from the AbitibiBowater mill.
The people of Thunder Bay are a diverse and interesting bunch. However a larger part of the population consists of drunks, hookers, but it can be agreed that most are bad drivers. People here worship 80's rock music and mullets. Diet is varied and based on ethic and red neck/ blue collar stereotypes. This primarily being McDonald's, and a lot of red meat. Ethic inspiration consists of pierogies and cabbage rolls from the Ukrainians, Fish mojakka and kajalan pirraka from the Finns, Spaghetti and pizza from the Itai's. Other ethic groups have tried to contribute but have had their respective cultures totally subsumed by the depredations of influences such and Bob and Doug Mackenzie in the 80's and the Trailer Park Boys circa 2004-2010. Liquid refreshment consists primarily of coffee and alcohol 24/7. People generally have no money, because they spent it all gas guzzling pickup trucks, fishing boats, red meat, booze and broads. A deep distrust of corporations has developed. This due to massive layoffs from once strong industries. Corporation much like the local paper mills and forest product companies that have raped and pillaged the land. Subsequently new pickup trucks and fishing boats and tackle cannot be ungraded, much to the everlasting chagrin of the red neck Thunder-Bayite. Driver quality, as compared to that nationally have been proven to be well under the median ...well under. Much can be attributed to a large geriatric population but youth driving ability is also is well below the norm. Some examples: drivers that never leave the left lane, drivers who don't know how to turn, and or turn wide or swerve into drug stores aka Janzens Pharmacy (happened twice) Many old men in hats driving old beater trucks ( got laid off by the paper mill), people getting there dick sucked whilst driving down Simpson Street. Many people who stop at green lights just in case they will turn yellow. They also seem to like burning the little money they earn on coffee, alcohol, clothes from Wal-Mart, weed, hookers, heroine, big bags of cocaine, strap ons, dildos, executioner masks, fetish play toys, Jeffery's, lava lamps, bongs and junk from Intercity Shopping Center.Although the regular people are interesting the Hobo-hating police rule the streets, along with a blue car which stones the innocents of Thunder Bay. Fort William is where all this happens, PA (Port Arthur) is even worse but no one has come back to tell of the horrors so there is nothing to talk about. The only safe place in PA is the Hoito, which is the only place where people with THD (Tim Hortons Dependency) go and eat other than Tim Horton's, (because the food is actually fucking cheap and delicious and it makes you want to fuck a blow up toy.) The safest place in the city is Simpson Street, where the most luxurious and well protected homes are (kidding). They are owned by the Hustlers which ingeniously mooch off of the THD sufferers with ways which are guarded by the Hustler's King. Not much is known about this King, however it is rumored that he may be that one blind guy who holds up the 'My Dog Has AIDS' sign.
The Great Coffee Conspiracy[edit]
It should also be noted that once upon a time there was a mythical land call "Robin's Donuts" which like Tim Hortons served many fine products like disformed donuts and the classic 'why the hell is there no filling in my turnover with sub-par coffee'. They had this awful habit of hiring monkeys, as one could imagine monkeys do not make good coffee nor could they add something simple like 3 cream 3 sugar, you'd get too much or none at all... The great empire of Tim's invaded many years ago and secretly began to set up fort in strategic locations around the city... Meaning right beside or in front of the Robin's donuts. Needless to say the giant coffee empire steamrolled over the Robin. When at it's peak you could drive 2 minutes and see a Robin, now you drive 2 minutes and see a Tim... I guess people just didn't like fresh made things laced with sweat and hair as opposed to flash frozen donuts manufactured by the ed-209 donut plant.
Despite Thunder Bay being a hellish pit from which there is no escape, the town does manage to provide some rather lackluster entertainment. Every year the CLE comes to town, and the dirty & poor townies congregate with the even dirtier & poorer townspeople. The locals flock to the carnival in hopes that when they get on the poorly set up rides they'll fall off, breaking multiple bones in their bodies just so they can feel something other than soul-crushing sadness. Unfortunately, no one has ever died at the CLE, but some came pretty damn near close when that one crazy woman with the knife lost at ring toss a few years ago.
Besides the CLE, the neighboring community of Kakabeka also holds an annual street fair. The street fair isn't nearly as dirty or dangerous as the CLE so not as many people go.
Another popular form of entertainment in Thunder Bay is gnoming. When one goes gnoming, one gets really fucking wasted and steals gnomes from the lawns of the elderly. What you choose to do with the gnome afterwards is entirely up to you. Most people throw them off bridges, others keep them, while the majority of "Gnomers" take photos of themselves receiving head from the stolen gnome which they then post on the Gnoming in Thunder Bay Facebook Group.
Home to Lakehead University's main campus, many academically inclined people who "think for themselves" flock to Thunder Bay every year only to be horrified to discover (upon arrival) that their airplane was really a time machine, bringing them back to the 1980s and an environment that could only be rivaled by South Africa and the Southern States. In spite of having Magnus Theatre, concerts at the auditorium, myriad outdoor activities and sports, and the ability to learn about Thunder Bay's rich history and cultural diversity at their disposal, "townies" organize their lives around whichever bar has cheap drinks on whichever night of the week, engage in riveting debates over why Safeway cannot make Persians as well as the Persian Man, and demonstrate why there is no fear of a Thunder Bay resident becoming a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in the near future. Promulgating hate and racism is only cool and tolerated by the authorities in the missing link that is Thunder Bay.
SOCIAL SCENE The local bar scene can be entertaining varied and fun, or you can be beaten severely. All of these places are filled with what you could consider your typical "T-Bayer," a group of young, acid wash jeans clad balding persons along with a fair number of older cigarette smoking, PBR drinking cougars.
But first any discussion of the bar life in T-bay must lead with an explanation of the nature of the beast. What makes the T-Bayer at the bar "tick"?. The purpose of this primer being to inform softer gentler folk. One prime example is the physically much softer yet intellectually stronger Torontonian who has the propensity to run afoul of the opposite type the T-Bayer.
Indeed it is dangerous for these types to jest at the T-Bay man. The pen is not mightier than the sword in Thunder Bay. The T-Bay man looks dimly at people who cannot even shovel a few centimeters of snowfall off their driveway, or who believe they can just call in the Army to help. The self sufficient, outdoorsy, heavy drinking, strong limbed, heart-like-an-OX Thunder Bayite has little empathy towards the Montessori schooled Toronto weakling, still-on-the-teat types. Times like these can lead to a severe beating of the weaklimbed Torontonian with little effort but an "I'll learn ya!" type attitude from the T-bayer.
First off, The younger girls in town consist of cheap, skantily clad skanks. The guys: ballcap or toque wearing, hockey-loving neanderthals. A young woman's sole purpose in these bars is a self affirmation to be pregnant. The guys are "highshool was it, hockey tried it, liked it, hoped for the NHL, couldn't cut it" types. These ballcap-wearing males are the ones that will get these same girls pregnant. IQ across the board is low. Boozing and broads, and banging the broads, in that order usually take precedent over higher "edumacation" and "fancy booklearnin" of the Torontonians.
But sadly for most the resultant union of these two types with an obvious genetically proven low IQ will in turn produce children that have little chance themselves to rise above the muck. These rotund McDonalds/KFC stuffed kids are a "rolly-poley" type of offspring that will have a better chance rolling downhill, then rising up on any ladder of life.
As luck would have it they too will aspire to a "bar star" lifestyle in the Thunder Bay bars, a full circle of fate that God cannot not sunder.
As life goes on and if things get worse, any of these same people can be seen as the older group in the bar. Failed nuptials have brought these once proud, always stupid, fattened cougars and balding men back to the place that spawned them. Where their best days were had, hoping to re-grasp a forgotten youth. The spring of yesterday full of promise, are now the bitter taste of the fading fall of their collective lives. Aging, they hope to regain some semblance of their former selves through the call of the bottle. Booze, Cigarettes and Cialis, along with the resultant sloppy one-night-stands become only a temporary substitute. Hopping from bed to bed with the frequency of a cheap ham radio, is sadly no replacement for real happiness for people facing the bitter pill of old age. (Ahhh but I digress, Editor)
BOOZE BROADS AND BARS As for the bars, the PORT ARTHUR side won has the preponderance of bar spots, but that doesn't really mean that's a good thing. In the north of T-Bay on Cumberland Ave is the Fastlane a former strip bar now full of greasy rednecks, looking for cheap booze and even cheaper laughs , anything will do for a guffaw or a chuckle, even a beating. People here primarily come from Current River, a place where well, no one goes, and is deader than Riverside Cemetery and just less dead than Westfort. Further south, is the dynamic duo of the Shoreline and On Deck just across the famous Cumberland street. Places whose dirty wood tables and wet urine slicked washrooms, attract a smelly noxious blend of Lowlifes, Treeplanters, and University Students. (it was here that the editor, one booze filled night, drank to the bottom of a plastic jug of cheap draft only to have a used napkin fall out, the manager was Non plussed: Ed Note) The lure of Karaoke at the Shoreline particularly acts as a magnet for many a near-do-well.
Just a short walk south (3 hours of walking for a drunk, 5 minutes for a normal human being, so always quite the trek for all T-bayers) we are into the Heart of Port Arthur. Here one has ample choice of myriad of establishments to ruin ones night. On Red River Road the new narrow cramped and personally overrated Sovereign. Very close are The Apollo and The Office, one or the other rumored to be a gay bar (I wouldn't know: Ed). Black Pirates Pub where no actual black people or pirates go. To add Tony and Adams, or T&A where much T&A can be seen at times.
To add there's Lot66 aka " LOT-666" a pretentious fine dining joint that will turn your gold card tan in one sitting. The Madhouse tops the list for Thunder Bay "Fine Dining" Ie; chicken wings and Nachos. For real "local" T-bay flavour hit the Royalton, drunk natives and prostitutes being the "flavour" (I would not taste it, not even for a free cold Blue).
As to the south end FORT WILLIAM. This area has less actual bars but adds a thrill of the really taking "ones life into someone else's hands" feeling that cannot be underestimated. Here we have the much vaunted Saturday night spot Scuttlebutts, a pickup bar and cougar hangout extraordinaire that is only busy, you guessed on Saturdays. Music is 80 hits, one such hit for example is Billy Idols "Mony Mony". This can oft be heard here packing the dance floor, along the classy "hey ^%ther &*&er get laid get %^^'d" addition to the lyrics. For Friday night "Fun" hit the Rockhouse. An underground dimly lit firetrap, that hasn't changed much since the 80 when it was Buttons Further South and west into the bowels of Fort William are a few tried and old establishments that for the betterment of all mankind should have fallen into any old gaping chasm available. The once busy and proud Wayland, is a great spot to see the ever elusive Westfortian This group has a close affiliation to the Paper Milled storied past of T-Bay. These folks having fallen on bad times, and paid well to rape and pillage the forests of Northwestern Ontario are for the most part laid off from the fading glory of the paper mills. can be found skulking about the area, smelling of stale cigarettes urine and cheap booze. Also in the once proud Westfort is the Brown Street Station, that is if its still standing . To explain, bars in this town that go broke "mysteriously" burn down. Prompting an arson investigation by Thunder Bay's finest, if that is they can get the donuts out of their collective yaps.
Businesses and Services[edit]
Some main businesses in Thunder Bay are obviously Tim Horton's which may have very well broken the record for most locations per population then anywhere else. "Tims", as it is often called infiltrated the countless Robin's Donuts coffee houses that pre-existed in the area. The caffeine addiction that Robin's had was eclipsed by Tim Hortons. Offering better service,a rumour of cocaine and an insidious roll up the rim campaign, Robin's was out sold and outwitted. The average Thunder Bay citizen consumes a liter or more a Tim Horton's coffee a day and again the coffee is rumored to contain crack. Other coffee houses including the Robins that still exist ,Starbucks and Independants continue to try and crack the stranglehold that "Timmies" has on Thunder Bay. Robyns seem to lack the slick service of Tims, while Starbucks has too much of a caffienated effect. As such Starbucks injestion usually leads to massve bowel explosion and a expulsion of partialy digested red meat, fish mojjaki perogies and other gastronomical goodies that citizen here traditionally injest ( no vegetables being evident in most cases: Ed) . And neither the independants or starbucks offer a drive up window, a must have with the inclement weather in Northwestern Ontario.
The Battery Operated Turtle Neck Sweater One of Thunder Bays less known but highly sucessfull inventions is the Battery Operated Turtle Neck Sweater or "BOTS". Developed specifically to combat the inclement cold weather of the north, this sweater now modernized, is a must for hardcore outdoor enthusiasts, tradesmen, and more recently the Canadian Armed Forces. It is a true game changer when it comes to living in the cold north. Original versions powered by thermal sources, such as wood and coal, were proven to be bulky, heavy and very dangerous. Many test pilots such as the famous Penti Parjamaki,and later Liugi Collosimo were lost. It is rumoured it took 4 days to put out the conflaguration that engulfed Penti in his wood powered sweater at the Dog Lake Proving Grounds. Allegations of heavy vodka use at the time of testing by Mr Parjamaki were never substantiated. The resultant explosions and fire wiping out the Dog lake facility. In Mr. Collosimos case, at the Nolalu Test Station, olive oil provided the power. Testing went well when again a leak and a spark ( some say the a pasta induced flattulence) started a fire. Mr Collosimo probably would have survived but the Italian Firecrew doused him with red wine (having forgotten any water), drowning the valliant Collosimo, some consolation is that they say he died with a smile on his face. Sacrifices like these were made by many ethnic heros, not only Finn or Italian but Ukranian, French and English peoples. Working through the bugs and sticking through the hard times it was a multicultural success that experts say can never be duplicated, and if so, only in Thunder Bay. It wasnt until Decemeber 1964 when a breakthrough in the form of a less bulky but still primitive lead acid battery version found much acceptance. Advent of the Ni-Cad and lithium battery have produced sweaters even more effective. Thunder Bayites so equipped have adopted the moniker of "Hotter-Longer" with pride. While local sucess was guaranteed, it was military issues in Canada's far north that proved the BOTS worth. Canada has recently been threatened by a change in Russian and world policy in resource rich but uninhabited north. Aggressive international posturing by the Great Bear of Mother Russia, and even long time ally the USA, has theatened Canada's claims to the Northwest Passage . This has prompted recent sweater testing by the Canadian Armed Forces. Testing that has indeed proven that the sweater allows our military men and woman to add much less insulative bulk to the combat kit, even in comparison to modern advanced textiles. Staying "Hotter-Longer" whilst being less encumbered, allows our soldiers to carry more kit in the field making a typical soldier 73% more effective then a Russian Spetnaz trooper. Its is postulated that a single battalion of BOTS wearing CAF forces armed with Guided muskets, Ukranian Rocketlawnchairs and a few cases of Blue and persians could withstand the onslaught of Ten battalions of Russians for two weeks. It is now predicted this sweater, harkening from its simple roots, will insure Canadas Soverienty in the North for decades to come! Currenty R&D is concentrating on alternative powered versions. Oil Sands, Solar and wind powered sweaters are now on the drawing board.
Other business's such as Wal-Mart and the many stores of Intercity Mall attract the entire population, when they aren't drinking coffee or driving like morons. People of Thunder Bay enjoy buying video games, cars and clothes but have a deep desire for coffee all the same.
Thunder Bay has an abundance of services such as the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre aka. The Body Factory which churns out dead people faster then Thunder Bay's population is moving away. This hospital cost over 15 trillion dollars and is rumored to be funded by Bill Gates to make bodies for him to eat (he is a cannibal).
Thunder Bays only black citizen, known only as Jonathan, runs three small time businesses including Jonathan's Auto Sales, Jonathan's 99 cent Store, and of cousre the racially sterotypical Jonathan's Fried Chicken.
There have been some major businesses that left to more prosperous locations such as Kakabeka Falls. One of these businesses is Larry's Bait which sells more dead fish than your mother on a Saturday night (hahaha.... seriously). Odena Super foods nearly went out of business because people in Thunder Bay have grown dependent on a Tim Horton's only diet and so they don't need real food. Fortunately, Kakabeka residents do not suffer from this problem, known as Tim Horton's Dependence, or THD. Kakabeka has been Tim Horton's free for over 80 years.
Bowater (as shown above) is a beautiful building built along main entrance to the town. It claims to produce paper without polluting the environment, but researchers say it puts the equivalent of one atomic bomb of radiation in the river every year. Other less reliable sources claim that it produces clouds for the rest of the world to enjoy. We think these people are crazy because we don't think cloud factories exist.
The only export is the dark cloud that looms over the Thunder Bay mill.
This cloud consists of:
- 95% Coffee fumes
- 2% Dead Bodies
- 4% Hobo sickness
- 1% Woodwind Instruments
- 99.99999999999% Depression (Which is the same percentage of depressed people in Thunder Bay)
- 30% Crazy Natives (and growing)
Monthly this cloud is rounded up by the UN and is used to greatly weaken the enemies of the free world.
City Symbols[edit]
Thunder Bay's city symbols include a bunch of rocks that aren't located in the city, some more bigger rocks that aren't in the city but look kinda like a person, and a sexually ambiguous bald guy that entertains Americans.
Chocolate Moose Created as the Official Mascot of the 1983 Canada Summer Games. This large brown Moose was an inspiration for the song "Chocolate Moose, pull Down Your pants and let it Hang Loose". Chocolate Moose fever filled the streets of Thunder Bay that summer prompting an undeniable large increase in the local birthrate 9 months later. Its effect was so thorough it is thought that it even effected then Mayor Walter Assef who full of "fever" actually touched the rear end of then and now Queen Elizabeth 2 at the opening of the Summer Games. Nationally and Internationally Royal lovers were outraged, but really no one in the actual City cared. In fact one alderman spun the whole episode as "good marketing ". Later when a chagrined and apologetic Assef was asked why he did the dastardly deed, he simply stated " they said Queen and I though she was Eddy Mercury! "and added under his voice
"I'd tap that"
Giant Heart In the early 90's in an attempt to ressurect the fever and passion of 1983 local marketing braintrusts hired by Fraser Dougall Media at CKPR radio and Television affected the moniker "We have a Giant Heart in Thunder Bay". The idea based on overused everpresent geological landmark of the Sleeping Giant across Lake Superior from the City of Thunder Bay. T shirts with a big heart were promoted, as well as long series of commercials on local TV with a jingle to this effect. However this produced no repeat of "Chocolate Moose fever" and in fact it elicited a strong dislike of the whole affair. The song was overplayed on the local TV and Radio feed by CKPR prompting longstanding and severe backlash. A phone survey had repondents using such terms as
" a turd", "lame", "sucks ass ",and " &*#ing brutal dooood".
Years later, the Giant heart would come back to haunt Thunder bay. Medical studies found residents indeed had a "giant hearts". But sadly not in a good way. Statistically Thunder Bay residents had been found to have some of the worst incidence of Heart Disease in Ontario.This being no surprise considering the high fat and cholesterol laden diet of the average Thunder Bay citizen. Cardiomegally or "enlargement of the heart" being a side effect many types of heart disease. So in the end, it was ironic that while Thunder Bay residents rejected the Giant Heart Campaign, there own Myocardiums embraced the idea "whole heartedly".
Further Symbolism Later more marketing led to a "Thunder Bay, pleased to meet you" campaign. Again the spin was on by some of Thunder Bays brightest marketers. ( read :pretty dim) Again reality came back to twist this slogan into a more real and shabby truth. The City had recently been shown to have one the highest incidence of violent crime in Canada. the term "Thunder Bay pleased to meet you" became,
"Thunder Bay ,pleased to beat you"
This ill defined and construed campaign died a quiet death. And left this writer and many others with a hope that the marketers of this slogan had promptly left town with empty wallets. Or failing that with a good beating, that was not so severe, that they could not walk drive or fly out past the city limits!
Thunder Bay's university is kind of a huge joke. People who actually go there like to pretend that it is actually a school for X-Men. There are many X-Men in the Thunder Bay region because of the poisonous waters of Lake Superior. These X-Men attend the school and then move to important cities. Another reason why this town was chosen was because there are so little people that they would not be detected.
Thunder Bay has a series of tunnels that run under the city and there are so many that in the case of war Thunder Bay would be unbeatable because the people would remain hidden. Well... that and the fact that half of Thunder Bay's inhabitants are Finnish.
Thunder Bay has an excess of cults such as the Hatredists that believe that the evil gods aka. Zeus have sent them to this hell called Thunder Bay and that if they drink enough coffee and become more and more poor that god will reward them by sending them to the promised land of Alberta. The Robinists believe the opposite: that Thunder bay is a heaven and that if they stay and drink coffee they will soon see the light and Thunder Bay will be changed for the better. In truth both religions are dumb because Thunder Bay is a pit, you can't move away because houses are impossible to sell and it will never change for the better.
Thunder Bay is famous for persians, otherwise known as those pink donuts with pink icing on top. Although their origins are unknown, Thunder bayans think they are made from Jesus' feces, because they taste like sticky, round little pieces of Heaven. Some have said that the persian man is infact the head of thunder bays mafia, and just uses the persians as cover. It is also said that the persian man is a homosexual, I mean really pink icing?
There are highway traffic act regulations that only apply in thunder bay, such as the 'Thunder-Bay Turn', in which a motorist will make a left turn and proceed directly into the right lane with no shoulder check or signal, or likewise, right turn to left lane. It is a common occurrence here, so common in fact that the locals believe it to be proper driving, and visitors should be made aware of this phenomena via massive warning signs as you enter city limits to avoid potential catastrophic motor vehicle collisions.


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Having an arbitrary curve defined as
InterpolatingFunction, what is the best way to place a text on this curve? The text generally has two rows, for example:
"This is\na text on a curve", the curve must go between the rows. I am interested both in character-based (preserving characters as selectable textual elements) and outlined solution (the text is first converted to outlines, then a transformation is applied to the resulting curves). It would be perfect to have a possibility to move the text along the curve interactively.
UPDATE Good article on the subject External links (outlined caseupdated!): http://www.planetclegg.com/projects/WarpingTextToSplines.html
For the search engine: this is also known as "text on a path."


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2011 Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation Rain Barrel Street Art Project
Click Map below for locations of Rain Barrels:
Water and Community: A Street Art Exhibit for Whitefish Bay
Art can inspire, express ideas, spark discussions, and promote community. These are the goals of an art exhibition planned for the streets of Whitefish Bay in May. Kicking off in Whitefish Bay's Cahill Park on April 30, thirty works created by local artists utilize rain barrels as canvasses. The program is funded by the Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation, the Southeast Wisconsin Watersheds Trust, Inc. (Sweet Water), and local businesses. Themes of nature, water, and community can be found as part of the display.
Using rain barrels as canvasses has multiple layers of benefits to the community. The streetscape is enlivened; the works of local artists are showcased; the waterfront of Whitefish Bay is celebrated. Additionally, salvaged industrial food containers are repurposed for rain water storage – creating jobs in the process.
Rain barrels are increasingly being used commercially and residentially to capture rain displaced by rooftops – rain that otherwise might become polluted runoff into Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River. The stored rainwater can then be used during dry periods to water lawns, trees, plants, flowers, and gardens.
Local artists were inspired by the water associations of the project. One piece "The Beaches of Whitefish Bay", reflects artist Sue Ellen Christman's view of "the energy, cleanliness, and source of life-sustaining resources at our doorstep." She describes the restorative powers of time spent at the waterfront, "The quiet away from busyness refreshes ones soul…"
The Whitefish Bay Rain Barrel Street Art program is modeled on similar one that took place in the arts-oriented Chicago suburb of Oak Park, IL, which was for many years home to Wisconsin's most famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright. Oak Park took the concept of street art one step further by attaching water information sheets to their rain barrels. The Whitefish Bay program will do the same to celebrate its heritage and responsibility as a waterfront community.
The relationships between Whitefish Bay and its neighboring waters are numerous. Native Americans and early settlers benefitted from the plentiful whitefish available from its shores. The bay was once the site of a thriving fishing industry. Formerly a popular destination for those seeking the cooling summer breezes of Lake Michigan, Whitefish Bay was home to the nineteenth century Pabst Whitefish Bay Resort. During the resort's heyday from 1899 until 1914, pleasure seekers rode the train or took the ferry to ride the Ferris Wheel, attend concerts, and stroll or picnic along the idyllic lakefront.
Residents and visitors to Whitefish Bay today still take advantage of its access to Lake Michigan through its shoreline parks and beaches. Early morning cyclists, walkers, joggers, and yoga enthusiasts enjoy the sunrise over the lake as they utilize the paths and parks that border Lake Michigan. Each Fourth of July, the Whitefish Bay community gathers at Klode Park to watch the fireworks display unfold at the lakefront.
Certainly a way to help reduce polluted runoff, might rain barrels also be a possible solution to the floodwaters like the ones that overwhelmed Whitefish Bay during the storms of last July? Maybe, but not by themselves. On-site water retention via rain barrels and rain gardens (bioswales) are now considered "best practice" by architecture programs throughout the world. Recent completed and planned construction projects with goals of zero runoff include Milwaukee's Urban Ecology Center and the proposed harbor redevelopment project. Keeping polluted runoff from entering a community asset like Lake Michigan makes good economic sense as well as providing for a better recreational experience.
The artist designed barrels will be available to bidders via silent auction forms available in sponsoring business locations. A resident of Whitefish Bay, local jeweler and artist Sarah Mann, designed her piece "Para" to be "integrated into the garden environment of a local home." Mann says she is teaching herself about gardening with native plant materials and applauds the Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation for a project that "promotes an accessible, fun technique for minding our environment."
Another artist, Debra Quinn Barnes, also had the end user in mind when creating her pieces. "I imposed one requirement on myself when I was developing images … the work had to be something I would put in my own yard. I wanted to develop images that bring a sense of calm…. I sincerely hope they bring a sense of calm and happiness to those they live with."
The water has been an integral part of Whitefish Bay's past, and will continue to play an important role in its future. The Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation celebrates water and community with its Rain Barrel Street Art Program this May. Barrels will premier at Green Day in the Bay, in Whitefish Bay's Cahill Park on Saturday, April 30, from 7:30 am 'til noon.
Exhibitor/ sponsors to date include:
Aurora Advanced Healthcare; Bay Ridge Consulting; Betsy and Ken Head – Realty Executives; Breadsmith; The City Market; Dan Fitzgerald Pharmacy; Dr. Paul Sandvick, DDS; Elements East; Elements Therapeutic Massage; Gecko Networks; Home Care Assistance of Wisconsin; Johnson Bank; M & I Bank; New Options Salon, Day Spa, & Boutique; Persian Rug Gallery; Red Cap Luggage and Gifts; Schwanke-Kasten Co., Inc.; Shabahang Persian Carpets; Sendik's; Simon Oliver; Ugland Associates; Village Ace Hardware; Whitefish Bay Garden Club; Whitefish Bay Little League; Winkie's
Participating Artists:
Debra Quinn Barnes, Anne Mentkowski, Kari Slater, Sarah Mann, Melanie Ariens, Donna Burdge, Wendy Quehl & Lynn Carini, Michelle Sherkow, Sharon Mergener, Diane Campion, Janann Miller, Meta Zobec Novak, Sue Miller, Kathleen Davis, Ena Carroll, Laura Steil Roehl, Sue Ellen Christman, Holy Family School art students, St. Monica's School art students, Cumberland Elementary art students, Richards Elementary art students, Whitefish Bay Little Leaguers
Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation Rain Barrel Street Art Program Goals:
*Foster a sense of community through locally created art
*Showcase the talents of local artists
*Celebrate the historical and present day relationship of Whitefish Bay and Lake Michigan
*Encourage dialogue with neighbors generated by interaction with an enlivened streetscape
*Support protection of one of Whitefish Bay's leading assets: the shores of Lake Michigan
*Build on Milwaukee's strengths in water innovations
*Raise awareness of issues affecting both watersheds bordering our community: Lake Michigan and the Milwaukee River


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Purple flowers send a message of pride, dignity and admiration. Buy purple flowers for your special someone and have them florist-delivered to his/her office, home or even while he/she's away on business.
The color is rich and elegant and can be used to express many feelings and emotions. From passionate plums to ladylike lavender - there's hardly a message or wish that a purple flower arrangement doesn't perfectly convey. Exotic and striking or soft and sweet, if your loved one is drawn to this stunning and bold hue, you may want to send him/her delivered flowers in purple. Send for all occasions, or "just because" - you never need a reason to shower your loved one with flowers.


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The 2010 Ubercon Contest is now open for registration!
For those of you who did last year's, you should not see much
of a change in terms of registering your alts.
To get started, please read HELP UBERCON CONTEST!
This year we will also be enrolling registered participants
in the "Ironman" Contest. The prize is:
Ironman Reward:
For deaths 0-4, the insignia will give:
+50% death xp loss INCREASE (dying hurts more)
+50% cast damage
+50% melee damage
+50% heal power
Fore more information about this prize and its decay, please
read: HELP UBERCON PRIZE IRONMAN, HELP UBERCON IRONMAN on Avatar


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Would you like some obesity with your literacy?
McDonald's restaurants in the United Kingdom have started giving away books instead of toys with Happy Meals. The restaurant says that by 2015, it will be the largest distributor of children's books in the country.
The full program started Wednesday, with McDonald's giving away the books in conjunction with the UK's National Literary Trust. They hope to give away 15 million books by 2015, and are also handing out coupons to a national bookseller. The Guardian says the books are nonfiction explainers on topics like oceans and the galaxy.
If this program were in place in the U.S., the Los Angeles Times posited that McDonald's could give away 150 million books. They would have to skip San Francisco, where Happy Meal toys have been outlawed. Maybe if McDonald's were giving away books, S.F. supervisors would reconsider?
This isn't the first time foreign McDonald's have gone down different paths. Here's a look:


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- Home
- News
- Sports
- Opinion
- Obituaries
- Features
- Special Sections
- Classifieds
- Public Notices
Earlier this week George Bush said "thank you" to all the telecommunications companies that have been conducting warrantless wiretapping since Sept. 11, 2001.
He used the usual scare tactics to frighten the American people and the members of the House, saying "The enemy is calling into America, we really need to know what they're saying, and we need to know what they're thinking, and we need to know who they're talking to."
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There was a lot of love at the Kitchen and Bath Industry Show (KBIS) this year! WarmlyYours has a long history with KBIS, as I've had the opportunity to do business with the major "movers and shakers" in the kitchen and bath industry since 1996. And when WarmlyYours was founded in 1999 - KBIS became known as the "WarmlyYours Home Show" – it's like our home turf so to speak. Every year that KBIS comes around, we are so happy to spend time with customers who have become near and dear to us throughout the years.
We were especially excited to "show" at KBIS this year! After surviving through the recession in 2009, which negatively affected everyone in the kitchen and bath industry, we did our best to use the downturn in the market to expand our product offering - all in an effort to bring in new streams of revenue. With folks investing less into remodeling and the new construction industry at a stand still, we wanted to bring a product to the market that hit on all the major needs of today's consumer.
We wanted a "green" product that provided a heating solution while being stunningly beautiful all at the same time. And, we found all that and more in our new Lava® glass infrared radiant heating panel systems.
So, after finding the right product, we thought that KBIS was the perfect place to unveil it. I wanted the kitchen and bath world to have the first glimpse of this wonderful new product that can be easily wall-mounted in any room while providing a quality of heat that is healthy and eco-friendly. And, I must say, WOW, what a reception Lava® received! From the beginning where attendees of the show were curious to approach this beautiful work of art that radiated warmth - to the TV show camera crews filming me as I had the opportunity to demonstrate the product – to the big coup, winning KBIS "Best of Show!" I mean, "You like me - you really, really like me!" Ahem, oh, sorry for the misquote Sally, but gosh it really did feel SO great! To be at KBIS, surrounded by the people that WarmlyYours has been doing business with for … oh, way too many years to count, and to win this great honor of "Best of Show," boy do we feel the KBIS love! We'll be back next year, without a doubt!
Well, that's all for now, friends! - Julia Billen, President/Owner of WarmlyYours
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A recent system restore had me reinstall alot of the basic stuff (IE, java, quicktime, flash, so on...) and when I try to reinstall my webcam driver, my disc drive just won't read the microdisc. It'll spin briefly, then click, and do this until I pull it out. Checked the cd for scratches or smudges or cracks, nothing. The disc drive will run virtually any other cd with no issues.
Now I know drivers can be found online, but this isn't a Logitech QuickCam or anything with a name that's easy to look up.
Device Manager calls it "USB\VID_093A&PID_2460\5&36343041&0&2" and I'm just not sure if that's supposed to make any sense.
The webcam itself has no brand or title etched upon it, no serial or any printing that would be of any use.
Anyone have an idea? Thanks.