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Culture is Anti-Rivalrous
from the it-increases-in-value-the-more-it's-used dept
Economists talk about rivalrous and non-rivalrous goods, but Culture is neither rivalrous, nor non-rivalrous; it is anti-rivalrous.
I. Rivalrous
Rivalrous goods diminish in value the more they are used. For example, a bicycle: if I use it, it gets me from here to there; if you use it, it gets me nowhere. If I acquire your bicycle, you don't have it any more. Only one of us can have the bicycle at one time. We can share it to a limited extent, but the more it's used the less it's worth; it gets dinged up and wears out. The more people use the bicycle, the less utility it has.
If I steal your bicycle, you have to take the bus
All material things - things made of atoms - are rivalrous, because an object cannot be in two places at the same time. Everything in the physical world is rivalrous, even if it's abundant.
A commons is a rivalrous good. Hence the "tragedy of the commons": the more people use a square of land, the less valuable it is to each of them. The grass gets eaten too fast to grow back, the soil can't handle the incoming rate of sheep shit, and degradation ensues.
Fig. 1: a lovely day for grazing on the commons
Fig 2: Tragedy strikes
Rivalrous and non-rivalrous are often confused with scarce and abundant, but they're not the same thing. Air is abundant, but it is still rivalrous - some "users" could make it toxic for the rest of us, because air is not infinite. Land and water are so abundant in North America that Native Americans couldn't imagine owning or depleting them, and look what happened. We treat the oceans as infinite, but they are not; human pollution and exploitation is killing ocean life. We also pollute the vast ocean of air - hence acid rain. Air and oceans are commons.
Commons are commonly-held rivalrous goods. Because they are rivalrous, some uses (or over-use) can poison them or otherwise diminish their value. For that reason, Commons(es) actually merit rules and regulations.
But Culture is not a commons, because Culture is not rivalrous and can't be owned.
II. Non-Rivalrous
Non-rivalrous goods, as their name implies, don't diminish in value the more they are used. A favorite example of a non-rivalrous good is the light from a lighthouse. It shines for everyone. No matter how much you look at it, I can see it too.
Everyone can see the light from the lighthouse...
This is a pretty good example, but it's not quite right. Theoretically, if enough tall boats are in the harbor, they actually can crowd out your lighthouse light.
...except when they can't. Once again, too many sheep ruin everything.
Consider sunlight in Manhattan; yes, the sun shines for everyone, but if they build a high-rise next to your apartment you won't see it any more. There's only so much sunlight that hits a certain area, and that light is rivalrous. You can always move, of course - except land, while abundant, is definitely rivalrous and not infinite, so you'll have to engage in some rivalry to do so.
The light metaphor has another problem: is light a particle, or a wave? If it's a particle, then light is rivalrous. If it's a wave, then it's not.
III. Anti-Rivalrous
Anti-rivalrous goods increase in value the more they are used. For example: language. A language isn't much use to me if I can't speak it with someone else. You need at least two people to communicate with language. The more people who use the language, the more value it has.
Which language do you think more people would pay to learn?
- English
- Esperanto
- Latvian
More people spend money and time learning English, simply because so many people already speak English.
Social networking platforms increase in value when more people use them. I use Facebook not because I love Facebook (I certainly don't), but because everyone else uses Facebook. I just joined Google+, and will use that instead of Facebook if enough other people use it. If enough people flock to yet another platform, I'll use that instead. Meanwhile I love Diaspora in principle (I was an early Kickstarter backer, before they surpassed their initial $ goal), but I don't use it, because not enough other people do. When it comes to social networks, I am a sheep.
A classic "Nina's Adventures" comic, which I only realized was anti-rivalrous a few years ago. ♡ Copying is an act of love. Please copy and share.
Cultural works increase in value the more people use them. That's not rivalrous, or non-rivalrous; that's anti-rivalrous.
IV. Some Exceptions That Prove The rule
I know what you're gonna say now: "what about my credit card number? That doesn't increase in value if it's shared!!" That's right, Einstein, because your credit card number is not culture. Here are two things that aren't made of atoms and are nonetheless rivalrous:
1. Identity
2. Secrets
Identity is some mysterious mindfuck that my very smart friend Joe Futrelle says no one has satisfactorily defined yet. But whatever identity is, it's rivalrous. If more people were named Nina Paley and had my home address and social security number, I'd be screwed. But that should highlight that my name, home address, and social security number aren't culture. They may be information, but they're not culture. They don't increase in value the more they are used.
Secrets have power as long as they're secrets. They lose their power when they are shared. When I become conscious of some secret that's weighing on me, I share it with at least one other person (even if they are a confidante also sworn to secrecy): I can feel the secret's power diffused just by the act of sharing. Notice I use "power" here instead of "value." Secrets may be of little or no cultural value - most people don't really care who that guy slept with 6 years ago - but they can certainly have power, especially when used for blackmail. Which is why it's important they remain secrets, so they're not used for blackmail, or harassment, or any reason at all. Privacy is important. Because secrets aren't culture. Culture is public. Secrets are, well, secret. Until they're public, whereupon we get scandalous stories that are culture - humans love to gossip - but aren't secrets any more. The story might gain value, but the secret loses it.
Money vs. Currency
And how about money? Money is scarce, right? It has to be, or it doesn't work (thanks Wall Street & Federal Reserve for screwing that up). But currency has more value the more it is used! Would you rather have your scarce 100 Euros in Euros, or in giant immoveable donut-like stones on a remote island?
A large rai stone in the village of Gachpar
I remember when the US dollar was a valuable currency; markets all over the world wanted dollars, because they were so widely used and exchangeable. So you want your money to be scarce, but you want your currency as widely used as possible.
V. Conclusion
It's important to treat scarce goods as scarce, abundant goods as abundant, rivalrous goods as rivalrous, and so on. Wall Street treated money, a scarce and rivalrous good, as though it were infinite/non-rivalrous, and look what happened. Power companies, and the politicians they own, treat the environment, which is a rivalrous commons, as though it were non-rivalrous, and we have dying oceans and mass extinctions and other events you don't want to think about so much that you'll just get mad at me if I point them out here so I'll stop. The RIAA and MPAA, and the politicians they own, treat Culture, which is anti-rivalrous, as though it's rivalrous. They are doing for Culture what Wall Street did for the economy. If you want to help make this better, treat Culture like what it is: an anti-rivalrous good that increases in value the more it is used.
Addendum: Why do I say Culture is not a Commons?
Filed Under: abundance, culture, economics, non-rivalrous, rivalrous, scarcity


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AMRI is committed to providing equal opportunity to all job seekers including qualified individuals with disabilities. If you have any difficulty using our online application system due to a disability or believe you need a reasonable accommodation to search for a job opening or submit an application, you may use the alternative email address firstname.lastname@example.com to contact us about your interest in employment or you may call us at 518.512.2000.
Please note: The above referenced email address and telephone number are dedicated communication lines designed exclusively to assist job seekers whose disability prevents them from being able to apply online. Messages left for other purposes will not receive a response.

subset: commoncrawl


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Village of Hoffman EstatesHome Menu
Meeting Agendas, Packets & Minutes
Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting
- Date: 11/06/2019
- Location: Village Hall Council Chambers
1900 Hassell Road
Hoffman Estates, Illinois 60169
Return to full list >>
The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet Wednesday, November. 06, 2019, at 7 p.m in the Village Hall Council Chambers.
*Note: Minutes are approved at the next regularly scheduled meeting.


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Larry Grimes will share lessons from "The Gift of Years," along with wine and cheese, on Jan. 13 and 20 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Barnabas Church, 110 W. North St., in Cortez.
The sessions are open to the public.
"The Gift of Years" is a project begun among the Christian Churches (Disciples of Christ) in West Virginia.
Larry, who is an ordained minister in the Christian Church, calls St. Barnabas home when he and his wife, Carol, are spending time at their home in Mancos.
He is moderator of the Christian Church in West Virginia, an active theologian and author of the Resurrection Eyes Bookmark Curriculum. He did his seminary work at Yale Divinity School and completed a doctorate degree in theology and literature at Emory University
"The Gift of Years" is designed to explore, encourage and engage ministry to, through, and with seniors.
During the three sessions, Larry will share lessons and projects from the West Virginia experience.
He will also lead those who attend through three separate "Bookmark Reflections" created by the project to provide seniors with Resurrection Eyes.
You don't have to be a senior to find that life and death may look different seen with Resurrection Eyes.
Call 565-7865 for more information.


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In our clubs, we work relentlessly to remain focused on delivering a great member experience. As my own understanding grows about member experiences and the memories they create, I hope to share what I learn to improve not just our own operations but to have a broader impact on the fitness industry.
Getting the member experience right requires acute awareness that all interactions between customer and company (people, plant, equipment, advertising, website, etc.) will merge into a single belief about your company. This "memory" is the experience.
Experience shapes belief. Belief shapes action. Action shapes results. In the ideal club world, people who walk into your club for the first time are greeted warmly and personally. The salesperson is genuine and caring and inquisitive about their world. The club is spotless, and people are having energetic and friendly conversations all around.
From this experience, your customers begin to form a belief: These people care, and this place is authentic. If your customers return the next day to find someone different behind the front desk talking on a cell phone and not paying attention, they will question their belief and think that perhaps their first impression was wrong. Perhaps it was just the individuals who were caring yesterday, not the company.
Getting the experience right cannot be a "sometimes" thing. It must be pursued all the time, even if you know that "all the time" is not possible.
B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore, the authors of "The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater and Every Business a Stage," explain that if we receive any cues not aligned with the experience we expect, the experience is degraded. At Disneyland, if we see two staff members arguing or a sweeper walk past garbage on the ground, we log this in our memory as a "chink" in the Disney armor.
In our member experience manual (our internal "Bible" for our gyms), we describe negative cues as "defects," or something that will degrade the quality of the product. We create customer experiences. Negative cues are the defects of great experiences.
The fitness industry delivers all levels of member experience. Some clubs effectively apply the same customer experience principles as some of the world's greatest companies (Apple, Four Seasons, etc.), and many clubs are small and connected enough to always deliver a great "hometown" experience. But mostly, the clubs in our industry deliver mediocrity.
If we are to live up to our potential as major contributors for solving a health care crisis, we need to generate more legendary customer care stories than are generated today. If we totaled all the stories about health clubs told around the world, the net result likely would be far more negative stories than positive ones. Our goal should not be to merely have more positive stories than negative ones but to obliterate negative stories and to create so many positive stories that the negative ones are insignificant by comparison.
Would that help retention? Yes. We hear that we service the same 15 percent of the market that we have for years. Yet attrition is still around 40 percent. If membership growth in the United States has moved from 45 million in 2009 to 50 million in 2010 and attrition is 40 percent, then roughly millions of people have quit their club during the last two years. Granted, many of those join somewhere else. But I am concerned with the people who came to a club to solve a problem and instead were sold a membership. I am concerned about the people who are used to the excellent customer experience they receive from Apple, Starbucks, Disney and others, who are left to wonder why the same experience has not permeated a business dependant on repeat visits and recurring revenues.
If we are ever to live up to our potential, we must design (to create, fashion, execute or construct according to plan) the end-to-end experience in a way that connects with and dazzles people when they are at their most vulnerable and when we are in our greatest position of power and influence. Then, we must deliver. No process, policy or person stands alone. They all connect to form what is the experience of our members.
Blair McHaney is president of Confluence Fitness Partners Inc., which operates two Gold's Gyms in Washington. He previously served as president of the Gold's Gym Franchisee Association and is an educator on customer experience management.


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Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation
Experience a tale of science, culture and thrilling adventure. Earth is a planet born of fire. For billions of years, volcanoes have helped create the world we know—the continents, the air we breathe and all life on Earth. With over 500 active volcanoes, the Earth is bursting at the seams with forces that create extraordinary ecosystems and wildlife habitats. Join intrepid explorer Carsten Peter as he dodges boulders at the edge of an active volcano in Indonesia. Descend to a lava lake in Vanuatu and visit the incredible mineral deposit fields in Ethiopia. Travel across the globe to see the archaeological ghost town of Pompeii. Witness the devastating effects of the recent Kilauea eruption in Hawaii. Audiences will be on the edge of their seats as they discover molten worlds and exploding craters in this adrenaline-filled film.
An SK Films Release of a Digital Crossing Films Production in Association with The Giant Dome Theater Consortium.
This week, Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation is showing:
|Fri Jun 5 @ 1 PM
|Sat Jun 6 @ 12 PM
|Sun Jun 7 @ 12 PM
|Mon Jun 8 @ 12 PM
|Tue Jun 9 @ 1 PM
|Wed Jun 10 @ 1 PM
|Thu Jun 11 @ 12 PM
$9 for all ages.
(No further discounts apply on Adult tickets)


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I thought Newt Gingrich was supposed to be the candidate who everyone feared could open his mouth, say something damning, and end any chance of a Republican winning in the White house if he were the nominee?
Well move over Newt....Rick's got you beat in the bizarre statements category. No, he doesn't want to put a base on Mars, his statement is much deeper and cutting and as a Catholic myself who shares Rick Santorums faith, I'm embarrassed and outraged by his statement.
Rick Santorum's recent comment that Barack Obama ascribes to "some phony theology. Not a theology based on the Bible" raised eyebrows this weekend, but its real impact may be in reviving a far more aggressive statement Santorum made four years ago.
Here's the quote, dredged up from a 2008 speech at a Catholic college:The full story is HERE.
We all know that this country was founded on a Judeo-Christian ethic but the Judeo-Christian ethic was a Protestant Judeo-Christian ethic, sure the Catholics had some influence, but this was a Protestant country and the Protestant ethic, mainstream, mainline Protestantism, and of course we look at the shape of mainline Protestantism in this country and it is in shambles, it is gone from the world of Christianity as I see it.
It is bad enough that President Obama is trying to divide this country by economic class warfare, How can we now take seriously a Presidential candidate who's very statements would pit one faith against another or portrait one faith as a "phony theology" and somehow responsible for the counties morale or cultural decline?


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Browsing by Author "Zenger, Todd"
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A Research AgendaFoss, Nicolai J.; Argyres, Nicholas; Felin, Teppo; Zenger, Todd (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: For decades, the literatures on firm capabilities and organizational economics have been at odds with each other, specifically relative to explaining organizational boundaries and heterogeneity. We briefly trace the history of the relationship between the capabilities literature and organizational economics and point to the dominance of a "capabilities first" logic in this relationship. We argue that capabilities considerations are inherently intertwined with questions about organizational boundaries and internal organization, and use this point to respond to the prevalent "capabilities first" logic. We offer an integrative research agenda that focuses, first, on the governance of capabilities and, second, on the capability of governance. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8426
Files in this item: 1Foss_SMGWP2012_1.pdf (780.0Kb)
Now showing items 1-1 of 1


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Do you have a cough? Need a cholesterol screening? Allergy symptoms? All of these are things that as patients, many of us have experienced enough times to feel like we don't need to schedule a formal doctor visit for them. But, because in the past, these services were usually only offered through a doctor's office, there haven't been too many other options. Now there is! Emory Healthcare has partnered with MinuteClinic, CVS' retail health care division to provide access to high quality health care at your local CVS location for over 20 different common health services.
We know coming to Emory for more serious treatments or conditions is something that as an Atlanta resident, you probably already know exists as an option for you. But for those times where your earache at 7pm is a hassle and there isn't a hospital or clinic location nearby or open, we're hoping that our partnership with CVS means that you now have even more access to the high quality patient-centered health care provided at Emory.
You can trust that the care that you'll receive at the 31 walk-in CVS MinuteClinic locations across Atlanta will be on par with the care you expect from Emory. Our physicians are serving as medical directors for MinuteClinic locations in Atlanta, and will also be collaborating on various patient education and prevention initiatives on a per-location basis.
So, what happens if you go to a CVS MinuteClinic location in Atlanta thinking your hives are due to allergic reaction, but really prove to be something more serious? The beauty of our partnership with CVS is that it opens up access to high quality health care for our patients in a variety of ways. If you require a level of care that is not provided at an Emory Healthcare supported MinuteClinic location, the care team onsite will be able to refer you. Emory Healthcare will accept patients who need a level of care not available through MinuteClinic.
If our partnership with CVS on its own doesn't make getting access to high quality health care in Atlanta that much faster and easier for you, the fact that the 31 walk-in CVS MinuteClinic locations that we're helping support are open 7 days a week, with no appointment necessary and visits as short as 15 minutes. MinuteClinic accepts most insurance and locations are open Monday-Friday, 8:30am-7:30pm; Saturday, 9am-5:30pm; and Sunday, 10am-5:30pm.
Tags: CVS, health care, local partnerships, MinuteClinic, news, partnerships, pharmacy


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I joined GURUKUL PRACTICE CENTRE for IIT-JEE preparation. I got quality teaching from the competent professors. They knew how to groom a student like me for IIT-JEE Entrance
THE GURUKUL PRATICE CENTRE provided me everything for I was looking for the IIT-JEE Preparation. I was imparted very effective and systematic teaching
"I owe my board results to The Gurukul Practice Center . In the last two months of my board preparation changed my way of studying physics because of RAVI SIR
"Thanks the entire faculty of The Gurukul Practice Center specially RAVI SIR for for having confidence and belief in me
"I would like to give special thanks to GURUKUL institute for providing me proper guidance in my studies and moral education which will be helpful to me in my future.


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The review is a joint project between the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID). It is implemented by the OECD LEED Trento Centre for Local Development, the USAID Mission to Croatia and USAID's partner institution World Learning.
Capacity Building for Strengthening Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development
National government ministries and development agencies responsible for entrepreneurship and SME policies are presented with the difficult question of how to develop policies that are sufficiently tailored to diverging local conditions and delivered at an appropriate level of proximity to SMEs and entrepreneurs. Furthermore, where elements of policy design and delivery are decentralised to local level they face the question of how to ensure that there are sufficient local powers, resources and capacities to undertake the required functions.
The review will provide the opportunity for policy makers at national and sub-national levels in Croatia to work with international experts in refining the entrepreneurship and SME policy design and delivery approach and identifying the best range and mix of policies and delivery arrangements for national and local circumstances.
There will be a strong focus on achieving the right range and combination of policy instruments to address the market and government failures that arise at national and sub-national levels, as well as the right balance between national and local policy design and delivery arrangements in the entrepreneurship and SME development field.
The Project
The project is carried out through peer review by an international panel comprised of OECD, USAID Croatia, World Learning and entrepreneurship and SME development practitioners and experts from OECD countries.It is composed of the following elements:
Diagnostic work
An initial diagnostic report was prepared by a local expert detailing the existing policy environment and identifying policy development challenges. This report served as background document to the international panel of experts' fieldwork mission. It was also be used to help identify the main issues that need to be explored in depth in the review.
Study visit, 21-24 May 2007
This study visit by an international review team led by the OECD Secretariat, USAID Croatia and World Learning Croatia assessed the options for adjustments to the entrepreneurship and SME policy framework at national and local levels in Croatia in the light of information on frameworks in other countries. This included an assessment of the potential to introduce new instruments or to alter the balance of instruments used either nationally or in specific regions or localities, in order to better reflect local conditions. It also assessed the options for adjusting the distribution of policy design and delivery responsibilities between national and local levels and for building local capacities in support of decentralised approaches.
Capacity building seminar, 25 May 2007
A capacity building seminar was organised to discuss the findings and recommendations of the draft report, to assess how the recommendations can be put into place, and to involve participants in interactive work on adapting international good practices in development of entrepreneurship and SME policies. It made case study presentations of international learning models/best practices in fostering entrepreneurship, innovation and economic development. It included a presentation of recent OECD work on entrepreneurship policy development in South East Europe.
Download speakers' presentations
Final report
This document provides the full review panel report on Strengthening Entrepreneurship
Innovation and Economic Development at the Local Level in Croatia and is the result of an active
review of entrepreneurship policies design and delivery in Croatia, with a special focus on the two
counties of Varaždin and Bjelovar.
For more information please contact firstname.lastname@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com
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Fiesta stays top of the supermini pile
Ford has been onto a winner with the Fiesta for decades. Its engineers always seem to conjure up the right combination of accessibility, user-friendliness, driving dynamics and, latterly, efficiency.
By Matt Kimberley
An update was due, though, and a series of new engines has been added to fresh family styling and some innovative new technologies to make sure that the Fiesta stays top of the supermini pile for a few more years.
The first and most obvious change is that the new Ford front end first seen on the Evos concept car has been grafted onto the familiar Fiesta body, with new headlights and on the whole a pointier face. Three vibrant new colours have already been announced, too: Copper Pulse, Hot Mustard and Candy Blue. The package is clearly tailored to a younger, more outgoing audience but all the more reserved colours are there as well.
But the biggest news is that there are now six different drivetrain options for the UK that fall under the 100g/km threshold, giving we consumers a remarkable level of choice of how to digest our road tax-free motoring.
Three sub-100g/km turbodiesels sharing similar architecture sit alongside two 1.0-litre turbocharged EcoBoost petrols, with a lower-powered non-turbocharged 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol rounding off the six. The latter, which produces an impressive 79bhp, is eventually due to replace the 1.25-litre 81bhp four-pot. The four is so old Moses might have had one.
Something very new, however, is the level of technology the Fiesta can hold. B-segment cars aren't very familiar with comprehensive voice-activation for the stereo, including any connected MP3 players. Nor do many have automated emergency services contact systems that can accurately report the location of the car. The MyKey system is new as well, allowing parents to apply top speed and audio volume limits among other safety precautions. Some are more useful than others.
Oddly, since most people's budgets are being heavily squeezed, Ford says that more people than ever are choosing the highest trim levels. As a result there is a new, even higher grade over and above Titanium. Titanium X is the range-topper elsewhere in Ford's range and now it comes to the Fiesta with partial leather upholstery and heated front seats. Keyless entry is also new and destined for the X only, although Zetec S and Titanium buyers can add certain X-standard kit as options.
Tested here is the higher-powered EcoBoost petrol, its turbo-enhanced 999cc pushing out 123bhp and yet sliding under the 100g/km limbo bar. Its power-to-weight figures and the Fiesta's reputation for handling give it a lot to live up to, and it does so with varying degrees of success.
The three-pot petrol engine is one of many that have been introduced in recent years but it's among the coarser, with a few more vibrations than others of its type. It's also a bit more vocal than most, which given its characterful thrum is not necessarily a bad thing unless your priorities list is dominated by refinement. The turbo takes only a moment to respond and then delivers really enjoyable acceleration through the five-speed gearbox. It's a remarkable piece of British-led engineering.
Its ratios are very tall, making it superb for bimbling around town or through the outskirts where speeds rarely rise above 50mph and opportunities to put your foot down are few. Each gear keeps revs low and the unit is one of the main reasons the engine can achieve such high fuel economy. Out of town, though, it soon becomes clear how the tall gearing holds the performance back. Under these conditions the engine needs to be worked harder and fuel economy suffers. A taller sixth gear would be welcome for motorway cruising.
As was seen in the Focus before the Fiesta, the lightweight EcoBoost engine also lightens the front end of the car, giving it an even keener turn-in and letting it hang onto corners even more tenaciously. The effect is less pronounced in the Fiesta because the EcoBoost is only a little lighter than the 1.25-litre petrol it will replace, but the difference between it and the relatively heavy diesels is marked. The petrols are much the sweeter cars to drive, outstripping the competition by a country mile.
Interior quality is subjective according to what the buyer is trading up or down from, but the materials seem solid and they're given an aesthetic boost with user-selectable colours for the dashboard. Achieving user satisfaction is a multi-layered challenge and more than ever these days the style defines how much people like it. Ford knows what it's doing.
The Fiesta has grown up slightly in some ways, with more technology and better engines. But at its core the same sharp-driving, good-looking supermini favourite remains.
Facts at a glance
Model: Ford Fiesta 1.0T EcoBoost 125PS Titanium, £16,045 on the road.
Engine: 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol producing 123bhp.
Transmission: 5-speed manual gearbox driving the front wheels.
Performance: Top speed 122mph, 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds.
Fuel economy: 65.7mpg.
CO2 rating: 99g/km.


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Gift Registry Login
Returning Customers
If you are a registered user, please enter your email address and password to sign in to your account. If you are an EMS Rewards Member, you will also be able to access your EMS Rewards account information.
New Customers
Creating an account with EMS is simple and makes your future shopping visits easier.
Create your very own Gift Registry of items you would like to have. You may share your list with family and friends, or you can choose to keep it to yourself.
Step 1 Log in to see your Gift Registries OR Register for an account to create your own Gift Registry.
Step 2 Find an item you'd like to add and Click the "Add to Registry" button.
Step 3 You will be brought to your Gift Registry where the item will be added.
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Sam Struss notched her 16th assist on Saturday, setting a new Liberty single-season record.
Looking for its third consecutive home victory, the Liberty Lady Flames lacrosse team squared off against the Robert Morris Colonials on Saturday afternoon at the Liberty Lacrosse Field. However, it was the Colonials who raced out to an early 4-0 advantage and went on to claim the win by a final score of 9-6.
Liberty drops its second game in a row to fall to 4-4 on the season. With the victory, Robert Morris moves a game over .500 at 4-3.
The game proved to be a defensive struggle in the opening minutes of the contest. Liberty's Kallie Britton notched the only shot for either team in the first 12:27 of the game.
Robert Morris broke through at the 17:32 mark of the opening stanza and proceeded to tack on three more scores in the next 5:33. Jessica Karwacki notched the first two goals for the Colonials, while Lauren Roberts and the team's leading scorer, Emily Jamison, each added a goal to give Robert Morris the 4-0 edge.
Sam Struss ended the scoreless drought for Liberty with her ninth goal of the season, coming with 10:23 remaining in the first half. Amber Nichols followed Struss' score with her fourth goal of the year, cutting the Robert Morris lead in half at 4-2, with just under six minutes showing on the scoreboard.
After a Colonials goal by Jessica Rutherford extended the lead back to three at 5-2, the Lady Flames responded with their third score of the game in the waning seconds of the opening stanza. Britton forced a Robert Morris turnover, scooped up the ground ball, and fired her 12th goal of the season past goalie Kaitlin Pentz with 21 seconds left in the half.
Liberty carried the momentum of the late first-half goal by Britton and tacked on a quick goal to open the second half. With 1:42 expired in the second stanza, Struss recorded her second unassisted goal of the game to pull the Lady Flames within one at 5-4.
Both teams were held scoreless for the ensuing 10:46 of the game, before Jamison notched her second score of the contest to put Robert Morris back on top by two, 6-4.
The Lady Flames trimmed the deficit to one on a Jen Freymond goal with 7:35 remaining in the final stanza. Freymond's 10th goal of the year came off of an assist from Nina Dunay.
Holding a slim one-score advantage, the Colonials seized control of the game with three consecutive goals, the last of which came with 27 ticks left on the clock.
With 15 seconds left in the contest, Struss found Kacie Fogle slashing toward the goal and delivered the pass which set Fogle up for her sixth goal of the season. On the play, Struss recorded her 16th assist on the year, setting a new Liberty single-season record.
For the contest, Robert Morris held the slight edge in shots, 19-18, while Liberty held the ground ball advantage, 22-20. The Colonials controlled 11 draws to the Lady Flames' six, but turned the ball over 28 times to the home team's 21. Liberty was successful on 18-22 clear attempts, compared to 16-21 successful clears for Robert Morris.
In defeat, Lady Flames' goalkeeper Kristen Masullo notched five saves, while Pentz made 10 stops in between the pipes for the Colonials.
Liberty returns to action with a mid-week tilt at George Mason on Wednesday. Game time against the Patriots is set for 2 p.m.


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A RAW image file is the digital equivalent of a film negative. It's an untreated image file. You would use the Image Data Converter or another compatible software to process or develop RAW files. The benefit of this format is that you can adjust the following attributes:
- Contrast
- Saturation
- Sharpness
- White balance
You can save the image to another format, like TIFF or JPEG, after you make the desired adjustments.
- The file extension of a RAW file varies depending on the camera. For example, a file in this format may have .SRF, .SR2, or .ARW at the end of the file name.
- Check your camera manual to see if it supports RAW or how to use it.
- For details about processing RAW data, refer to the following articles:
- Image Data Converter Support Page.
- Imaging Edge Support Page.
- This is not compatible with computers running 32-bit operating system. Use Image Data Converter instead.


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Sam Rises to the Occasion as Lazarus
Samuel L. Jackson
The Black Snake Moan Interview with Kam Williams
With over 100 acting credits already on his resume', Samuel Leroy Jackson remains one of the hardest working thespians in Hollywood. Nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for Pulp Fiction, the versatile actor has tackled every genre of film over the course of his illustrious career.
Not one to be pigeonholed, he's handled a variety of roles, ranging from a drug addict to a gangster to a mailman to a cop to a soldier to a musician to a hobo to a coach to an alcoholic to a minister to a villain to a teacher to an arms dealer to a hostage negotiator to a Jedi master to a hero who saves his fellow passengers from snakes on a plane.
Here, he reflects on his latest outing as Lazarus opposite Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan. Set in Memphis, and written and directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow), the picture revolves around the efforts of a born-again bluesman to exorcise the demons of the nearly-naked nymphomaniac he finds lying beaten and abandoned along the roadway.
Black Snake Moan
Rated R for
profanity, nudity, graphic sexuality, violence, drug use, and ethnic slurs.
Running time: 118 minutes
Studio: Paramount Vantage
Black Snake Moan - Film Review
Kam WIlliams (KW): In your last film you said, 'I have had it with these bleeping snakes on this bleeping plane!' Did you encounter any snakes while making this movie?
Samuel L. Jackson (SLJ): Well, it's the South, so there's snakes. I heard there were some around but, no, I didn't see 'em.
KW: How challenging was it to have to sing the blues for this role?
SLJ: Fortunately, Mississippi Delta Blues doesn't need a silky smooth, Luther Vandross-type voice. It's kinda more about making sure the emotion of what you're saying comes out than being a great singer.
KW: Were you already playing guitar before you took this role?
SLJ: I learned to play. It was one of the things that I spent the most time doing. I was lucky to have maybe six or seven months to work that out. I had a really good guitar teacher in the beginning, Felicia Collins, in New York, while I was shooting Freedomland. Then when I left to make Snakes on a Plane in Vancouver, the prop master was an awesome guitarist. He spent a lot of time with me in my trailer every day. It was something I did daily for months until I was comfortable doing it. And it actually became something I looked forward to doing, so by the time we got to the film, I was pretty facile. I'd actually taught myself to play the songs.
KW: Do you think the way that Lazarus chooses to take Rae (Ricci) home and restrain her instead of taking her to a hospital was realistic, given the South's history of overreacting to black men being with white women?
SLJ: Interestingly enough, I understand the choice, just because I understand the rural South, because I spent a lot of time in it when I was a kid. My grandfather's brothers were farmers. I spent time on the farm as a kid with them, walking through the fields, working, and hanging out. But there are instances when you find yourself in a circumstance. If you put her in your truck and take her to a hospital, there are a lot more questions than if you just keep her at your house and try to nurse her back to health. Hopefully, she'll just walk away. That choice that he made of just keeping her there' I mean, he was sort of out of his mind in another kind of way at that point. He'd lost this woman that he had no control over. And now, all of a sudden he has a woman and she's kinda out of control in that interesting, sort of immoral way that he pictured his wife. So, he wants to control Rae, and to fix her. And the only way he can think to do that is to put this chain on her, and still give her some amount of freedom while pumping this Biblical medicine into her.
KW: What was it like shooting so many scenes with a scantily-clad co-star?
SLJ: I guess after about an hour of looking at Christina in those little panties and that shirt, you kinda get over it, because that was what she had on every day. And she didn't put on a robe or anything between shots and hide herself. She kinda just hung out. So, you get over it pretty quickly. The great thing was that during the rehearsal period, Christina and I developed this really interesting bond and trust which kinda allowed her to go anywhere she wanted to, and I would support her in that to the point where, I guess as an actor, or as Samuel L. Jackson, I became another sort of Lazarus figure.
KW: What did Craig [director Craig Brewer] tell you about your character?
SLJ: [Chuckles] Actually, Craig didn't tell me anything about the guy. Once I got the script and read it, they went through all the machinations of 'That's not who you're supposed to send the script to,' and it was like, 'Okay, I'll go meet him,' and whatever. Then Craig saw me on television talking about my life and decided, 'Oh, he's got enough layers in his life to be able to play this guy.' I'm an actor who shows up to rehearsal with a lotta stuff. I work out characters, and put together biographies and histories. So, by the time we got there and started rehearsing, it was very wise of him to just sit there and watch me and Christina kinda go through what we were going through and figuring out how our relationship worked as two people who had never encountered anyone like the other before. She'd never met anyone she couldn't manipulate sexually, and I'd never met anybody with a sexual dysfunction like that. How many people know when they've run into a real nymphomaniac or know exactly what it is or how to handle that? To him, she was just somebody who was possessed by a devil, or evil. And the only thing he knew to do was to exorcise it.
KW: So, what did you draw on in creating your character?
SLJ: To me, he seems to be an amalgam of my grandfather and his brothers, guys I worked with in the fields and talked to, people of the earth who drank hard when it was time to drink. And they loved the blues, and they sang, and told stories, and they did all this stuff. It was a nice way for me to pay homage to some men who developed me in a particular way which made me want to be a storyteller.
KW: How would you characterize Christina's performance?
SLJ: I think Christina's performance is one of the bravest performances I've seen by a younger actress. I'm sure there are a lot of young women who probably wouldn't touch this thing. I saw maybe three or four different audition tapes, but like I said, we talk about sexual dysfunction and nymphomania, but we never see what that process is. And it's interesting watching whatever that thing is, internally, that takes her over, and the way that she succumbs to it all the time. Rather than fight it, she lets it happen, not realizing that her power is in resisting it.
KW: Do you think some might see the movie as misogynistic?
SLJ: Titillating, yes. Misogynistic? I don't know. It's not often that you see a young actress in that state of undress for two-thirds of a film. It's kind of like early Helen Mirren in that regard. I used to like watching Helen Mirren's early films, because she was always naked. It's titillating.
KW: Finally, what did you think of Justin Timberlake's performance?
SLJ: It would have been easy for him to choose a role that allowed him to be more like himself. Young guys don't tend to want to portray people who have frailties or are less than macho. So, it was interesting for him to choose a character so opposite of what most women or guys would want their hero to be. And he wasn't afraid to do it. He stepped up and gave it his best shot, and it works for me in the film.
Related Links
Black Snake Moan - Film Review
More Interviews and information about Samuel L. Jackson


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Twitter Hits 200M Monthly Active Users
Doubling its number of users in just over a year, popular micro blogging service Twitter announced on Tuesday it has grown to more than 200 million monthly active users.
Continue Reading Below
The milestone comes as Twitter has grown increasingly influential as a way for people to track news, follow their favorite celebrities and post knee-jerk reactions to events.
"You are the pulse of the planet. We're grateful for your ongoing support!" the company wrote on its official Twitter account.
San Francisco-based Twitter, which was founded in 2006, crossed over the 100 million active user threshold in September 2011.
By comparison, social-networking leader Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) hit the one billion monthly active user milestone in October, representing a 26% year-over-year increase.
Unlike Facebook, which went public in a messy debut in May, Twitter has thus far chosen to remain a private company.
A Twitter initial public offering could come around the summer or fall of 2013, FOX Business's Charlie Gasparino reported in August, noting that the company reevaluated its IPO plans after the Facebook debacle.


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Los Alamos National Laboratory
Integrating Information, Science, and Technology for Prediction (IS&T)
- Pillar Champion
- John Sarrao
The Integrating Information, Science, and Technology for Prediction (IS&T) pillar addresses:
- emerging challenges in national security,
- societal prosperity,
- and fundamental science.
The IS&T pillar leverages advances in theory, algorithms, and the exponential growth of high-performance computing to accelerate the integrative and predictive capability of the scientific method.
IS&T pillar strategy
The IS&T pillar will focus on the integration of Lab assets for understanding, quantified prediction, and design of complex natural and engineered systems.
As we continue to integrate discovery science, validated theory, computational algorithms, software infrastructure, and computing hardware, this "toolset" becomes particularly suited to the advanced computing architectures of the future, which will likely be increasingly heterogeneous and multicore and will be designed for both compute-intensive and data-intensive applications.
Emerging challenges
The new millennium presents us with a number of emerging challenges such as energy security, climate change, international terrorism, the aging of our nuclear deterrent, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These global challenges are notable for their daunting scale as well as their extreme level of complexity.
Our significant national assets in observational and experimental data acquisition, computational capacity, and modeling and simulation are already addressing these challenges.
These emerging application frontiers are revolutionary in their requirements. As a result, we need to exercise the scientific method at a scale of complexity that is only now becoming feasible.
Los Alamos areas of leadership in IS&T
Strong capabilities are being developed in three common, cross-cutting IS&T areas:
- Complex Networks. Description of complex systems by their interdependent subsystems and components: cyber systems, national infrastructure, biological systems, social networks, terrorist networks, smart grid, etc.
- Computational Co-Design. Design of interacting components of a computational system as a whole, producing significantly better, perhaps even revolutionary, design.
- Data Science at Scale. Extremely large datasets and extremely high-rate data streams in cybersecurity, energy security, climate modeling, astrophysics, biology, etc.
Historical roots of the IS&T pillar
Modern computational science (e.g. Monte Carlo) has its roots in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos National Laboratory with renowned scientists such as Fermi, Ulam, von Neumann, and Metropolis.
Monte Carlo research, methods development, and applications on the world's most powerful computers, for the nation's most urgent needs remain a forte of Los Alamos, particularly in the mission areas of nuclear deterrence, global threats, and energy security.


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| Seal Beach shooting anniversary: Searching for solace, fighting for gun law change
SANTA ANA – It was a brief moment that lasted mere minutes – yet the aftermath is still being felt more than a year later.
Family members of the eight people killed by alleged gunman Scott Dekraai on Oct. 12, 2011, in a Seal Beach hair salon are still waiting for justice in criminal court – and will likely have to wait even longer for civil suits to be resolved.
At the same time, multiple other legal battles, from a child custody fight to a lawsuit against the salon's insurance company, have followed in the wake of Dekraai's arrest.
Dekraai's death penalty trial was postponed until March 25, 2013, at his last hearing in August – but it likely won't even happen then, attorneys said this week.
Public Defender Scott Sanders told Orange County Superior Court Judge Thomas Goethals in August the March date was an unrealistic deadline for the trial given the volume of evidence and the complications inherent in a death penalty case. At that hearing, Sanders said the bulk of the 10,500 pages of documents chronicling the evidence was turned over during the past three months, and "even if we were to work every day for 24 hours, we wouldn't be ready," he said.
However, Deputy District Attorney Daniel Wagner countered at the August hearing that Sanders' claims were incorrect, noting the prosecutor's office had turned all the evidence over to the defense by April. Prosecutors have since told families of the victims they are willing to extend the trial date to April 2013 as a courtesy but will agree to no further delays.
Meanwhile, Dekraai has been held in custody at the Orange County Jail without bail since his arrest the day of the slayings.
Dekraai has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the shooting spree at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach. Eight of the nine gunshot victims were inside the salon and one victim was shot while sitting in his SUV parked outside the business.
Those killed were 48-year-old Michelle Fournier, the suspect's ex-wife; the salon's owner, Randy Lee Fannin, 62; Victoria Ann Buzzo, 54; Lucia Bernice Kondas, 65; Laura Lee Elody, 46; Christy Lynn Wilson, 47; Michele Daschbach Fast, 47; and David Caouette, 64. The lone gunshot survivor, Harriet "Hattie" Stretz, 73, of Los Alamitos was getting her hair done by her daughter, Elody, when both women were shot.
Police and prosecutors say a bitter child custody dispute between Dekraai and Fournier spurred the deadly rampage. Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said the accused and his ex-wife were in a Santa Ana courtroom the day before the shooting for a hearing involving custody of their 8-year-old son, Dominic.
Dekraai had sought sole custody, but a court-ordered report recommended against it.
Dekraai's bid to keep Fournier's daughter, Chelsea Huff, and Fournier's father, Joe Burke, from being granted legal guardianship failed in July. Nonetheless, Dekraai's mother, Michelle Hinmon of Long Beach, is still seeking visitation rights with her grandson, who lives in Los Alamitos with Huff and her dad and stepmom.
The move rankled many of Fournier's relatives, who said they fear Dekraai could still be trying to manipulate his son through Hinmon. Attorneys for the various parties, however, said the families have been talking and have agreed to do what is best for Dominic as determined by a psychologist.
As for Dekraai's case, he has appeared in at least nine court hearings since his arrest, saying little and staring emotionlessly at the families of the victims and at Stretz as they have struggled to keep their feelings in check.
Some of the families struck back almost immediately with lawsuits. Fournier's family and the family of victim Christy Lynn Wilson both filed wrongful death suits in the weeks after the mass killing. Those cases likely won't be heard until after the criminal case is completed, lawyers said.
Earlier this week, Sandra "Sandi" Fannin, the wife of slain Salon Meritage owner Randy Fannin, filed a civil suit against the insurance carrier for the couple's business. The suit, filed Tuesday against Employers Mutual Casualty Co. at the Orange County Superior Court's Central Justice Center, alleges the company treated the survivor – who was in the salon when her husband and the others were killed – "as an adversary … (and) with disdain instead of compassion."
In the 11-page civil complaint, Fannin said the insurance company dragged its feet before grudgingly paying her about $30,000, which amounted to less than half of the actual loss from the business being forced to close, she claims.
A representative of Hirsch, Closson, McMillan and Schroeder of San Diego, the law firm representing the insurance company, declined to comment.
Fannin is seeking $50,000 to $70,000 for the closure of the business and unspecified damages for emotional distress, court documents show.
The salon, which was purchased by a friend and hair stylist, has remained closed since the day of the shooting and is undergoing an extensive renovation. Crews at the site said they expect it to be ready for business in mid-November.
email@example.com, 562-714-2150, twitter.com/tmanzer


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MicroStrategy Positioned in the "Challengers" Quadrant of the 2013 Magic Quadrant for Mobile Application Development Platforms
14 Aug, 2013, 13:00 BST
- Evaluation Based on Completeness of Vision and Ability to Execute
TYSONS CORNER, Virginia, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroStrategy® Incorporated (Nasdaq: MSTR), a leading worldwide provider of enterprise software platforms, today announced that it has debuted in the "Challengers" quadrant in Gartner's 2013 "Magic Quadrant for Mobile Application Development Platforms" (MADP) report.[i]
"We are extremely pleased that our MicroStrategy Mobile App platform has been placed in the Gartner Magic Quadrant," said Paul Zolfaghari, President, MicroStrategy Incorporated. "MicroStrategy has invested heavily in mobile platform technology designed to help our customers take advantage of what our company and its founder, Michael Saylor, see as the coming 'Mobile Wave'."
For six consecutive years, Gartner has positioned MicroStrategy's Analytics Platform in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Business Intelligence. "MicroStrategy Mobile is now independently recognized for the value it offers customers searching specifically for a mobile app platform," added Zolfaghari. "MicroStrategy Mobile brings to life analytics, transactions, workflows and multimedia in platform-built custom native apps for tablets and smartphones. As a result, we have seen hundreds of our customers use our mobile platform to build apps that reach beyond BI and include enterprise workflow and transactional processing."
Powerful mobile uses that MicroStrategy customers have deployed to date include: retail store operations apps, client-facing wealth management apps, sales rep enablement, conference apps, education content apps, and field service apps.
According to Gartner's report, "The mobile application development platform (MADP) market remains largely distinct from the larger AD tool market, because developing mobile applications for enterprises present unique challenges, including:
- Each mobile OS has a unique presentation style, interaction style and software stack.
- Devices have different screen sizes, input modes and hardware capabilities.
- New devices and OS versions are introduced multiple times per year.
- Network connectivity and power levels fluctuate widely in typical usage scenarios.
- New consumer applications regularly extend and revise the standards for good mobile applications."
MicroStrategy addresses these unique challenges with a code-free development platform that facilitates scalable and rapid native app creation for multiple mobile operating systems. MicroStrategy Mobile™ powered apps seamlessly integrate with specific native device capabilities to create a rich, fully immersive user experience, while also providing off-line access when connectivity is limited. Additionally, MicroStrategy's tooling and architecture make app iteration and maintenance easy and efficient so customers can respond to changes with agility.
A copy of the Gartner report is available, compliments of MicroStrategy, at: http://info.microstrategy.com/2013GartnerReport.
Fast, Enterprise-Grade, Secure and Reliable Mobile App Development Platform
MicroStrategy's code-free, click-to-configure development allows developers to assemble analytical and information driven apps, leveraging a large library of pre-built widgets, in an intuitive drag-and-drop WYSIWYG interface, to create polished and appealing cross-platform apps.
MicroStrategy Mobile includes a wide array of security tools, such as remote wipe-offs and data encryption on-device and in-flight, so that users can access their mobile applications in a secure environment. Additionally, in December 2012, MicroStrategy released its integration with Good Dynamics, providing the ability to deploy MicroStrategy Mobile powered Apps in a Good Dynamics secure container.
True to its BI Heritage, MicroStrategy Enhances its Mobile Monitoring Capabilities
In its latest 9.3.1 release, MicroStrategy enhanced client-side monitoring capabilities to broaden the set of information captured about usage and mobile app users. MicroStrategy's monitoring capabilities are embedded into every MicroStrategy Mobile powered app. Client-side monitoring captures personalized analysis every time a user taps on an app screen. Statistics are gathered on time spent on each app screen, exploration paths, GPS location, app usage, device type, operating system version, and cache usage. With this information, app developers can track overall app adoption and geo-location of usage, perform cohort analysis, support continuous development cycles, analyze app performance, spot network issues, and track adoption rates of new devices, operating systems, and clients.
Dedicated to Making Every MicroStrategy-powered App Faster
MicroStrategy 9.3.1 also yielded important performance improvements for all apps built and powered by MicroStrategy Mobile 9.3.1. Performance optimizations were realized across the platform and throughout apps themselves, resulting in a much faster end user experience for every user of every MicroStrategy Mobile App.
"MicroStrategy prides itself on helping customers accelerate their enterprise mobile strategies," said Zolfaghari. "We have announced a number of new initiatives with the intention of making great apps powered by MicroStrategy accessible to all. From the educational videos and certifications included in MicroStrategy's Mobile App Developer Academy, to the growing global directory of MicroStrategy Mobile powered apps published in MicroStrategy's Mobile App Universe, to reducing the cost to zero for our Mobile QuickStrike program that delivers a custom app in 10 days, MicroStrategy is committed to making its customers' mobile strategies a reality."
About the Magic Quadrant
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
About MicroStrategy Incorporated
Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR) is a leading worldwide provider of enterprise software platforms. The Company's mission is to provide the most flexible, powerful, scalable and user-friendly platforms for analytics, mobile, identity and loyalty, offered either on premises or in the cloud.
The MicroStrategy Analytics Platform™ enables leading organizations to analyze vast amounts of data and distribute actionable business insight throughout the enterprise. Our analytics platform delivers reports and dashboards, and enables users to conduct ad hoc analysis and share their insights anywhere, anytime. The MicroStrategy Mobile App Platform™ lets organizations rapidly build information-rich applications that combine multimedia, transactions, analytics, and custom workflows. The MicroStrategy Identity Platform™ (branded as MicroStrategy Usher™) provides organizations the ability to develop a secure mobile app for identity and credentials. The MicroStrategy Loyalty Platform™ (branded as MicroStrategy Alert) is a next-generation, mobile customer loyalty and engagement solution. To learn more about MicroStrategy, visit www.microstrategy.com and follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/microstrategy) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/microstrategy).
MicroStrategy, MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform, MicroStrategy Analytics Platform, MicroStrategy Mobile App Platform, MicroStrategy Identity Platform, MicroStrategy Loyalty Platform, MicroStrategy Mobile and MicroStrategy Usher are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
[i] Gartner "Magic Quadrant for Mobile Application Development Platforms" by Ian Finley, Van L. Baker, Ken Parmelee, David Mitchell Smith, Ray Valdes, Gordon Van Huizen, August 7, 2013.
Warren Getler
MicroStrategy Incorporated
SOURCE MicroStrategy Incorporated


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Somehow they were cooler than the Lurmen guys.
Quote from: Jesse James on April 3, 2010, 01:32 AMSomehow they were cooler than the Lurmen guys.That's because the Lurmen were all "Oh, we don't like hurting people", but the turtle-y dudes were all "let's get our stabbing on!" with their turtley staff weapons.
Was the "in memory of Akira Kurasawa" at the beginning for CW or the show beforehand? I thought it was for the show beforehand, but that episode was very "Seven Samurai" and other Akira films. I thought that was really cool, but I hope I'm not making it up.
Season Finale Trailer: Heavy spoiler warning apply
none of the campy cheesiness of Cad or Hondo
Bane's pretty badass though, and as much as Embo's a nod to a guy from a Kurisawa movie, Bane's a nod to Clint Eastwood's silent stranger from Spaghetti Western's... I consider them similarly rooted, just different styles. I thought that actually made him even cooler then last week.
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We unplug our phone from the charger, pop in our ear buds and go out to seize the day. We text compulsively, post on Facebook obsessively, and when it comes time to shop, date or hook-up, we log on, boot up and tune out.
That's the world we're living in and the dilemma skewered in "Disconnect," a "Crash" style polemic told through a series of interwoven stories about teens, couples and families strained by the lack of communication in this Golden Age of Information.
It's a blunt instrument of a movie, and often melodramatic. But it sometimes moves and often hits its target square on the nose.
Paula Patton and Alexander Skarsgard play a broken couple, struggling with finances and grief. They lost a baby. She's seeking solace in online chat rooms, maybe more than solace. Then, their identities are stolen and they tumble into the humiliation of full disclosure about what each of them has been doing online, and the helpless financial insecurity brought on by an online predator.
Jason (Colin Ford) and Frye (Aviad Bernstein) are 15 year-old kids with a cruel streak. Their practical jokes range from urinating into beer bottles they return to convenience stores so they can watch customers vomit, to inventing a fake online girlfriend to bully a sensitive loner, Ben (Jonah Bobo).
Ben lives with digitally distracted parents (Jason Bateman and Hope Davis) and an older, phone-obsessed sister (Haley Ramm), so an online girlfriend would be a blessing. If she was real.
Jason is acting out, doing something that would freak out his cyber crimes detective dad (FrankGrillo).
And speaking of cyber-crimes, Nina (Andrea Riseborough) is an ambitious and ethically suspect TV reporter who solicits cyber-sex from a toy boy, Kyle (Max Thierot) pimped out in a house full of live teens on live sex cams. She wants a career-making story, and he's intrigued by the chance to score with "a puma," a somewhat older woman who isn't quite a "cougar." But she is touched by his creepy, digital online life.
"Don't you want something better than this?"
Loneliness runs through this cast of characters, and it's only when tragedy or near tragedy strikes that these muted, removed people start to feel and behave in recognizably human ways. The aimless, clueless kids are tech savvy but infantile in their understanding of the world. Kyle asks a peer at his teen online sex-cam house what she wants to be, and "famous" is her only answer. How to get that way? "Be on a reality show or something."
The adults are no better, lashing out with incomplete information, tuned out of each other's and their kids' lives.
Some situations in Andrew Stern's script beggar belief and the connections between characters are often melodramatic coincidences. The whole online sex thing is played to the salacious hilt. But there isn't a bad performance in "Disconnect," and some (a brittle Bateman, and Ramm, as his character's heartbroken daughter) are quite moving.
As is the movie. And the message, as heavy-handed as it is, is a winner. Go out, socialize, buy a ticket and see it in a theater. Don't wait to watch this one on your smart phone.
(Roger Moore's interview with Jason Bateman is here).
MPAA Rating: R for sexual content, some graphic nudity, language, violence and drug use – some involving teens
Cast: Jason Bateman, Andrea Riseborough, Max Thierot, Paula Patton, Alexander Skarsgard.
Credits: Directed by Henry Alex Rubin, written by Andrew Stern. An LD Entertainment release.
Running time: 1:55


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State offers Maine veterans free, lifetime state park passes
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) � Maine state park officials are reminding residents who are veterans that they are eligible for a free, lifetime day-use pass to Maine state parks and historic sites.
The offer applies to veterans who were honorably discharged or received a general discharge under honorable conditions.
Commissioner Walter Whitcomb of the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is issuing the reminder as Veterans Day arrives.
The free pass for veterans is for individual day use for park entrance and must be presented each time with appropriate identification.
Veterans who would like to apply for a park pass can find the application form online.


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School Newsletter Term 4, Week 5, 2019
Our latest newsletter has been published for Term 4, Week 5, 2019. You may read it here:
Enrol Today! Call +64-9-441-9771
Our latest newsletter has been published for Term 4, Week 5, 2019. You may read it here:
The IT Technician for Glenfield College since 2004, David is a multidisciplinarian who supports both staff members and students with technology related problems. He possesses a BSc from Massey University with a double major in Computer Science and Information Systems. He is also an Associate Member of the Institute of Technology Professionals, with CTech endorsement, and a Member of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Congratulations to the students who won awards at the 2017[...]
Please find a variety of video links in a range[...]
Glenfield College is[...]
If you haven't already, please download the Glenfield College School App for notices, events, and other important school messages.
You can use the App to notify us of your child's absence, contact a teacher, access the parental portal, and find links to maps and key websites.
Receive alert messages and notices instantly from your chosen groups, such as your child's sports team.
To download the app for free on your Apple or Android Device please click on the image below


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The Hope College Wind Ensemble will present an afternoon concert with a Halloween theme on Saturday, Oct. 30, at 4 p.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
The Wind Ensemble will be playing a wide variety of music including some newer pieces of band repertoire, such as "Kah! Out of Darkness," by Dana Wilson, and "Apocalyptic Dreams," by David Gillingham. The ensemble will also perform some family favorites, including "The Sorcerer's Apprentice," by Paul Dukas, and "March to the Scaffold," by Hector Berlioz. Finally, the Wind Ensemble will perform two television- and movie-related works: "The Doctor Who Theme," by Murray Gold, and "Chillers and Thrillers," by John Williams.
The ensemble will also present a "Ghostly Petting Zoo" starting immediately after the concert. People will have a chance to meet the performers, play on instruments, vote for the "scariest" instrument and get candy. The event has been scheduled as an opportunity for children to learn about musical instruments, and costumes are recommended.
"The Halloween Concert is an exciting one for us," said Dr, Gabe Southard, who is director of the Wind Ensemble and an assistant professor of music. "It is designed for people of all ages, but particularly younger children will find it quite enjoyable."
Gabe Southard, who joined the Hope faculty in 2007, completed his Doctorate of Musical Arts in conducting at Michigan State University. Prior to his residence at MSU, he served as wind symphony conductor and flute studio teacher at the University of Michigan-Flint, where he also taught orchestration, music appreciation and advanced conducting. While living in Cincinnati, Ohio, Southard served as conductor of the Cincinnati Youth Wind Ensemble from 1999 to 2002. Under his direction, CYWE toured England and Scotland, taking first place at the Bournemouth International Musicmakers Festival; completed a compact disc of the works of Mark Camphouse; and was invited to perform at the Ohio Music Educators Regional Conference.
Dimnent Memorial Chapel is located at 277 College Ave., on College Avenue at 12th Street.


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"That's because people feel worse when something bad might occur than when something bad will occur. Most of us aren't losing sleep and sucking down Marlboros because the Dow is going to fall another thousand points, but because we don't know whether it will fall or not — and human beings find uncertainty more painful than the things they're uncertain about.
Why would we prefer to know the worst than to suspect it? Because when we get bad news we weep for a while, and then get busy making the best of it. We change our behavior, we change our attitudes. We raise our consciousness and lower our standards. We find our bootstraps and tug. But we can't come to terms with circumstances whose terms we don't yet know. An uncertain future leaves us stranded in an unhappy present with nothing to do but wait."
Other happiness related posts


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Dedicated: Barber Keeps Clipping After Car Crash!
"Heng Song says he wasn't about to let an SUV that crashed into his Alaska barber shop get in the way of a good haircut. He was momentarily stunned, but with no one hurt, and a customer notifying police, the owner went back to finishing the cut" - AP. s/o elb
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Elinor Carucci
At Menton, this dish is garnished with caviar and chive blossoms.
- Yield
- Makes 10 to 12 servings
- Active Time
- 1 hour 30 minutes
- Total Time
- 2 hours 10 minutes
- Shellfish:
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup peeled finely chopped carrots
- 1 cup finely chopped celery
- 1 cup finely chopped white onion
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
- 8 large fresh Italian parsley sprigs
- 20 littleneck clams, scrubbed
- 30 mussels, scrubbed, debearded
- 2 11- to 12-ounce frozen lobster tails, thawed
- Butter broth:
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounces crabmeat, picked over
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Honey emulsion:
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 large egg yolk
- Special Equipment
- Immersion blender
- For shellfish:
- Combine first 9 ingredients in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 10 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Add clams to broth in pot; increase heat and bring to boil. Cover and cook until clams open, 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs or slotted spoon, transfer clams to large bowl (discard any that do not open). Add mussels to boiling broth in same pot; cover and cook until mussels open, 4 to 5 minutes. Using tongs or slotted spoon, transfer mussels to bowl with clams (discard any that do not open); cool slightly. Discard broth. Remove clams and mussels from shells; discard shells.
- Place lobster tails on steamer rack set in large pot filled with just enough water to reach bottom of steamer rack. Bring water to boil. Cover; steam until just cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer lobster to bowl of ice water and cool 10 minutes. Using kitchen shears, cut shell of 1 lobster tail open and remove lobster meat from tail; discard shells. Repeat with second lobster tail. Cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces. DO AHEAD: Seafood can be cooked 4 hours ahead. Cover separately; chill.
- For butter broth:
- Bring 1/4 cup water to boil in heavy large saucepan. Add butter, 2 pieces at a time, whisking until butter is melted but not brown before adding more. Reduce heat to low. Add clams, mussels, lobster, and crab; stir over medium-low heat until shellfish is heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley.
- For honey emulsion:
- Combine 1 cup water and honey in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, whisking occasionally until honey dissolves. Remove from heat; add egg yolk and blend mixture with immersion blender until very foamy, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Divide shellfish mixture among small bowls. Top each serving with small spoonful of honey emulsion; serve immediately.
- What to drink:
- Pop a bottle of bubbly. Try the Pierre Peters NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne (France, $53).
Related Video
Nutritional Info
- Calories12
- Carbohydrates0 g(0%)
- Fat1 g(1%)
- Protein1 g(2%)
- Saturated Fat0 g(2%)
- Sodium26 mg(1%)
- Polyunsaturated Fat0 g
- Fiber0 g(0%)
- Monounsaturated Fat0 g
- Cholesterol6 mg(2%)


text:
In Japan, all sorts of Pokémon products exist. There are Pokémon bedsheets, Pokémon toothbrushes, Pokémon noodles—you name it!
And there is now a Pikachu TV remote control. There might have already been one (I wouldn't put it past Pokémon), but I've never seen one.
This isn't for sale, though. It's a part of a promotion for TV Tokyo, which is channel 7. The Pokémon anime starts at 7pm. Pressing the number 7 button causes it to say "Pikachu".
That's why TV Tokyo is giving away 7,777 remotes to lucky viewers.
Those hoping to win one can register though TV Tokyo's official site later this month.
7 Ch Controller [TV Tokyo]
You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at email@example.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.


text:
When Sacha Heppell noticed that the Broncos were holding an open call for new cheerleaders last weekend, he decided to give it a go. Although Denver's cheerleading powers-that-be maintained that the squad is solely for women, that didn't stop Heppell from trying to make history. He was cut after the first round.
You can actually pinpoint the second when his heart rips in half. Poor fella.
[h/t BuzzFeed]


text:
Wattson's Manectric
|Wattson's Manectric
Tessen's Livolt
|AG040: Watt's with Wattson?
|Episode captured:
|Prior to Watt's with Wattson?
|Caught where:
|New Mauville
|Current location:
|With Wattson
|19 episodes as an Electrike
|Evolves In:
|AG059: Manectric Charge
|Original Trainer:
Wattson's Manectric was Wattson's main Pokemon.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Manectric first appeared in Watt's with Wattson? as an Electrike. It quickly grew attached to Wattson and helped comfort him after his effortless defeat at the hands of Ash's Pikachu. When Team Rocket tried to capture Mauville City's electric Pokemon, Electrike tried to bite through the bars of their cage. Wattson then decided to keep Electrike.
When Electrike next appeared in Manectric Charge, it helped fend off Team Rocket and evolved into Manectric. Manectric had clearly been through some training since Wattson captured it and was powerful enough to defeat Ash's Torkoal in battle.
Known moves[edit | edit source]
|+ indicates this Pokémon used this move recently.*
- indicates this Pokémon normally can't use this move.
Trivia[edit | edit source]
- In the episode Manectric Charge, Wattson ordered Manectric to use Thunder Wave. However Thunder Wave is not meant to cause any damage to the opponents and therefore this is considered an error and it is assumed that Wattson meant to say Shock Wave. It should be noted however that Will-O-Wisp, which like Thunder Wave is a status move in the games, is not considered to be an offensive attack because in the games it burns the opponent rather than directly hurting them. However Will-O-Wisp is considered to be an offensive move in the anime so possibly Thunder Wave is considered to be a damaging move too.


text:
Why buy property in bodrum Turkey
Property buying and investment go hand in hand in Bodrum, with the peninsula being popular for many years with a variety of international visitors from across the globe, arriving by air, land and sea.
By far the current hotspot property investment area in Bodrum is the elite area of Yalikavak with the exclusive Palmarina attracting the rich and famous, therefore, commanding extremely high rental yields for any investors money.
The peninsula offers many other resorts, peaceful fishing village like Gundogan to highly popular lively area such as Gumbet all within a short drive from the airport and Bodrum town, also making Bodrum an ideal area for anyone thinking of relocating to Turkey for a complete lifestyle change, with ample local amenities of international schools, shopping centres and hospitals etc.
Whatever your reason for buying a new home in Bodrum, investment, personal holiday home or a permanent home for all year living. the area offers everything, nightlife, beaches, excellent restaurants, nature, history, diverse culture and of course a wonderful Mediterranean climate.
Property for sale in BODRUM Turkey
Yaliciftlik is a small authentic village that sits approximately 30km south-east of Bodrum Town and one of the most preserved villages on the peninsula, almost untouched by tourism.
The picturesque village is surrounded by lush green forests filled with the aroma of pine trees and handmade bee hives producing natural sweet honey.
Yaliciftlik is very popular with city dwellers from all over Turkey owning summer vacation homes. Previously old stone houses and farmhouse where popular however luxury private villas are now being developed to meet the demand of more buyers.
Order properties by:
Yaliciftlik , Bodrum 3 4
- «
- 1
- »


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Uxbridge, MA- Blackstone Bank $10 18__ as G82a Proof PMG Choice Uncirculated 63.. ...Click the image to load the highest resolution version.
View Recent Offers on Sold Items in this category
DescriptionUxbridge, MA- Blackstone Bank $10 18__ as G82a Proof PMG Choice Uncirculated 63.
The bank was chartered in 1825 and remained in business until 1865 when it became the Blackstone National Bank of Uxbridge. This attractive black and green note features a large train vignette (originally used on many Danforth Wright designs) flanked by an oval male portrait and a vignette of a young girl. The secondary color green is used for borders, a counter at upper left, and a protector panel at center. The note is printed on India paper with the usual small POCs in the signature lines. A decidedly rare note with no known public appearances in at least the last decade.
From the Charles R. Pease, Jr. Collection, Part II
View all of [The Charles R. Pease, Jr. Collection, Part II ]
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text:
switch sticks Folding Walking Stick, Engraved Royal
- 502-2000-5203
- Availability:
- In Stock Items Ship Within 1 Business Day.
switch sticks® has revolutionized institutional walking aids into fun, giftable, fashionable accessories. We have a full line of walking sticks with bold, contemporary and colorful designs, helping consumers age independently with confidence, dignity and style. The folding walking stick includes a coordinating wood handle, wrist strap, hook and loop band and rubber tip to create a polished look. It is also packaged in an elegant gift box that showcases the product and its artistic design, making it a great gift.
To be sure, determining the right size walking stick or can be a subjective art form. What feels right for one person may feel horrible for another. However, with almost two decades of experience in making handcrafted, wooden walking sticks and canes, you can be sure that we have some opinions on the matter!
Cane sizing is best achieved by standing up nice and straight, relaxing your arm naturally to the side, and having someone measure the distance from your wrist to the floor.
Again, let me reiterate, the sizing recommendations listed above are only suggestions. For people needing step-by-step support, it's best to consult your doctor or another medical professional about your exact sizing needs.


text:
BEANIE SIGEL lyrics : "Dear Self (Can I Talk To You)"
[Chorus x2: James Blunt]
And I see no bravery,
No bravery in your eyes anymore.
Only sadness.
Dear self, can I talk to you,
I been trying to have this conversation for years but you won't listen,
Damn, are you that plain ignorant? your so indignant,
Please come off that high chair your sitting in,
Before you snatched from it, or strapped to it,
Ya body used as a conduit, a thousand volts flow through you,
Ya life gone over something foolish,
Talking to you is so useless,
Ya head harder than them walls you'll be housed in soon,
Before ya body's embalmed and you lie in tomb,
Open ya ears, eyes and heart, cause that hour's soon,
And the hour shall cometh, when Ish* Rahzel blows his trumpets,
The sky shall crack, the stars will plummet,
The sun will rise in the West you'll drown in your own sweat
And when that day shall be, I'll bet I'll see no bravery.
Dear self can I talk to you?
Dear self can I talk to you?
Who are you to lecture me? You question me about my life and the choices I made?,
How dare you to place me in an early grave? (whoa)
Why you gotta talk to me in that fashion?,
You bury me face down with an open casket, this whole world can kiss mine,
Tell me what this life got to offer him...
A crooked preacher and a church alter**?,
A short speech and a long offering?,
A deep grave and a short coffin?
Oh I get it... you Righteous now (haha)... well let the truth be told,
You done smoke every blunt I rolled,
You done drove every car I stole,
Cooked up every crack I sold,
You done slept with every trick I laid,
Collected off every bet I made... [laughs]
But I guess you done found Christ... I ain't know he was missin (Whoa)
Watch your Blasphemy,
Man I ain't asked to be,
Just let me live my life,
Now hold on - No you listen,
You was there on every decision,
Whether it was right or wrong,
And now you trying to right my wrongs,
You got some nerve - you even give me the words I write in this song,
You see... my vision's much clearer,
It's not me but it's you that I see when I look in the mirror
And you call yourself saving me?,
But it's through your eyes that I see... No bravery.
Submit Corrections


text:
Your skill will accomplish
what the force of many cannot
Re: How To Reset Newest Nodesby Mutant (Priest)
|on Mar 18, 2008 at 14:03 UTC ( #674794=note: print w/replies, xml )
|Need Help??
Along the lines of Anonymonk's suggestion, I'd say nodes over a certain age shouldn't appear in Newest Nodes. This could also be configurable, but with a default and a maximum. I would say 30 days would be a reasonable default (how many people really want to view a whole months worth of new nodes?). Maximum I'd say would be 6 months.
Of course, I realise there might be a fair bit of work involved in the implementation. Just suggesting a possible "ideal solution".
In Section Perl Monks Discussion


text:
Free Audio to download from Carrigaline Baptist Church.
You can either play the audio directly in your web browser (requires flash plugin to be installed) or else click on the 'download' link to save it to your computer.
Sermons (1)
|Halloween, Trick or Treat?
|Ephesians 6:10-20 (Part of the Special Topic series).
|Preached by Jonny Grant on October 31, 2010 (Sunday Morning).
Powered by Sermon Browser
Carrigaline Baptist Church Audio by Carrigaline Baptist Church is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


text:
UCL: APOEL and Copenhagen reach third qualifying round
Welsh champions The New Saints bowed out of the Champions League as Cypriots APOEL turned in a powerful second-leg display to book their place in the third qualifying round with a 3-0 aggregate victory.
The sides had drawn 0-0 at Park Hall last week and the Welshmen made it to the break in Nicosia without mishap.
However, Nektarios Alexandrou opened the scoring nine minutes after the restart when his deflected shot eluded goalkeeper Paul Harrison, and the Saints were up against it when Pieros Sotiriou...


text:
Wholesale Diamond Pendants Dallas
Give her a shimmering diamond necklace that embraces the unique beauty only Shira Diamonds can deliver. Nothing says how much you love her like a gorgeous diamond pendant. From solitaire diamond pendant necklaces to more fancy and elaborate designs, you're sure to find the one piece that truly captures how she makes you feel. Browse our collection today, or shop all necklaces here at Shira Diamonds.
3 Carat Diamond Pendants
Diamond jewelry is among the most popular forms of jewelry. Commonly associated with romance, jewelry featuring diamonds is appreciated for its brilliance, style and meaning. Despite diamond jewelry's popularity and constant presence in our society, picking the right piece is not as simple as what many might assume. Confronted with the nuances of contemporary styles and budgeting, not to mention personal tastes, it's no wonder how diamond jewelry shoppers can feel overwhelmed when trying to find that perfect set of wedding bands, a ring or bracelet. As a result, Shira Diamonds has prepared this Diamond Jewelry Buyers Guide to give you a sound understanding of what to look for when making a purchase. After all, buying diamond jewelry should be enjoyable! To maximize the pleasure of your purchasing experience, it's helpful to develop a broad understanding of diamond jewelry, which includes a brief history and the basic questions you should answer before beginning your shopping trip. Afterward let's look more closely at diamonds themselves with a review on the 4 Cs of diamond quality and conclude with a diamond jewelry glossary that will educate you on all the terms you need to know when researching your purchase.
Create memories, evoke emotions, and be inspired by the fine jewelry collection at Shira Diamonds in Dallas, Texas. Our curated collection is hand-selected and cut at our diamond facility in Israel to feature responsibly sourced diamonds, gemstones, and precious metals in designs by sought-after and emerging designers. Our GIA Certified Gemologists will give you the confidence to choose the perfect engagement ring or wedding band, or partner with our master jeweler to design the most exquisite custom piece. Browse our collections of bracelets, necklaces, earrings, engagement rings, diamond rings for men and women online, or visit our Wholesale Jewelry Store in Dallas, Texas.
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Wholesale Loose Diamonds Dallas
Shira Diamonds Dallas is a diamond manufacturer and loose diamond importer in Dallas, Texas. At Shira Diamonds we have a vast selection of loose diamonds certified by GIA and EGL. We can help you save on your next loose diamond purchase with our wholesale diamond prices. When we manufacture our loose diamonds we skip the jewelry stores and diamond brokers in Dallas, Texas.
Arriving at Shira Diamonds in Dallas, Texas
When you arrive at our wholesale jewelry showroom we provide the private closed loose wholesale diamond purchasing experience to you the retail consumer. With our extensive loose diamond selection of round, princess cut, cushion, oval, radiant, pear, asscher cut, marquise, emerald, and trillion diamonds wholesale diamond prices, diamond studs and custom diamond rings designs, we deliver an unparalleled diamond and jewelry buying experience. We are located in Dallas, Texas between Frankford and Preston. Give us a call today to view our large selection of loose wholesale diamonds.
Why we offer the BEST LOOSE DIAMOND PRICES in Dallas!
As an online diamond wholesaler, we save on overhead costs incurred by traditional retailers, so called wholesalers, diamond brokers and we pass those savings on to you. With over twenty years experience in the wholesale diamond industry,Dallas Wholesale Diamonds - Wholesale Diamonds and Custom Diamond Rings provides the service expected from a fine jewelry retailer while offering competitive wholesale diamond pricing.
WHOLESALE DIAMONDS in DALLAS
At Shira Diamonds Dallas you will get true wholesale diamond prices on loose diamonds. We have been providing retail jewelry stores with diamonds since 1999 in Dallas, Texas. Don't pay retail when you can buy a diamond in Dallas, Texas from Shira Diamonds with wholesale diamond prices. We offer round diamonds, princess diamonds, cushion diamonds, oval diamonds, pear shaped diamonds, and marquise cut diamonds.
Wholesale Diamonds we Offer
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Custom Diamond Rings Dallas
Shira Diamonds Dallas is proud to offer custom designer engagement rings to our Dallas, Texas customers. To create custom engagement rings, we can place our loose stones in designer settings, and our certified geologists can help shoppers navigate the many intricacies of selecting and purchasing a gorgeous, quality stone. Our impressive selection includes brilliant diamonds in many different cuts and shapes, including:
Whether you and your fiancée are shopping together and know just the type of diamond engagement ring you want or you are interested in creating a custom ring for a surprise proposal, we are confident that we can help you find the perfect engagement ring. You can enjoy browsing our inventory on your own, and our friendly and knowledgeable sales associates will always be ready to answer questions and provide guidance as you need. We maintain a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere at our showroom, and our goal is make sure your shopping experience is as enjoyable and stress-free as possible. For more information about our designer ring settings or loose diamonds, contact us today. We're happy to create custom engagement rings at our Dallas showroom, where we serve customers from throughout the greater Dallas Fort Worth area.


text:
AUSTIN, Texas — Florida guard Mike Rosario stood near midcourt, smiling, shaking hands and high-fiving his teammates as the final seconds ticked off the clock of a win over Minnesota that had started as a laugher and turned into a grinder.
Rosario and his teammates could finally relax: the Gators were on their way to the NCAA tournament round of 16 for the third consecutive year.
Rosario scored 25 points, most of it coming on six 3-pointers, and No. 3 seed Florida used an overpowering first half to earn a 78-64 win Sunday over No. 11 seed Minnesota in the third round of the South Regional.
After scoring just eight points and spending long minutes on the bench in Florida's first tournament game against Northwestern State, Rosario was the go-to guy for the Gators, who earned a trip back to the Lone Star State to play No. 15-seed Florida Gulf Coast University at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
"The message that coach gave us and gave me personally was 'you've got to go out there and compete,"' said Rosario, who was 8 of 12 shooting overall and 6 of 9 on 3-pointers. "In the second half there, we dug deep."
Florida coach Billy Donovan said he had called out Rosario in front of his teammates over his poor performance in the first game.
"He's a fifth-year senior ... and that's the focus he comes with?" Donovan said. "I think he felt bad about it. I'm on him all the time. A lot. Because I want him to be the best he can be."
Andre Hollins scored 25 points to lead the No. 11-seed Gophers (21-13). The Gators led by 21 at halftime before Hollins' 3-point shooting sparked a Gophers rally that pulled Minnesota within seven points. Rosario's last 3-pointer with 3 minutes left pushed the Gators' lead back to 16 and effectively locked up the win.
The rematch of old coaching rivals Billy Donovan of Florida and Tubby Smith of Minnesota looked for a while like it would be a laugher.
Donovan's Gators rode into the tournament as one of the best defensive teams in the country and backed that up in their first two games of the tournament. After thrashing Northwestern State, the Gators shoved aside the Gophers of the Big Ten in a 20-minute show of muscle and offensive firepower.
Defensively, the Gators denied just about everything the Gophers tried in the first half. Florida tied up Gophers shooters at the perimeter, challenged layups and blocked a dunk when Casey Prather stuffed Minnesota's muscular Trevor Mbakwe in a clear statement that the Southeastern Conference regular-season champs would be as tough as anything the Gophers faced in the Big Ten.
Offensively, it seemed like Florida shooters couldn't miss. The Gators shot 65 percent in the half, Rosario made four 3-pointers and Erik Murphy delivered a dagger when he buried one from the right corner to put Florida up by 22. Minnesota gathered itself for a brief burst when Hollins knocked down consecutive 3-pointers and a steal and layup trimmed Florida's lead to 39-23.
If the Gophers could have pulled within 10 by halftime, they might have been able to grab a lead in the second. Instead, the Gators scored nine straight points to roll into the locker room leading 48-27 and the "Gator Chomp" was sounding ominous, even 1,000 miles away from home.
Minnesota wasn't ready to roll over just yet and Donovan told his team as much.
"I knew (Minnesota) would have a lot of pride," Donovan said. "I know Tubby and I knew they would respond."
Hollins, who scored 53 points in two games, made three 3-pointers in an 11-2 run that took some of the swagger out of the Gators. Minnesota kept chipping away and trimmed the Florida lead to 53-46 with 12 minutes left.
"We didn't just hang our heads," Hollins said. "We just had to come out blazing."
But Hollins soon picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench for about four minutes. The Gophers had lost their first shooting option and by the time he returned, the Gators had built the lead back to 12 before a 7-0 run all but closed it out.
"We couldn't get any flow," Smith said. "When your point guard is your best shooter and your best scorer, it makes it tough."
Gators to face Eagles next
AUSTIN, Texas — Florida guard Mike Rosario stood near midcourt, smiling, shaking hands and high-fiving his teammates as the final seconds ticked off the clock of a win over Minnesota that had started as a laugher and turned into a grinder.


text:
AP photo
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke responds to a question from National Press Club president Mark Hamrick in a rare question-and-answer session with reporters.
Congressional Republicans have vowed to prevent any tax increases on the American public. But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today said that "higher oil prices are a kind of a tax" that could slow the nation's recovery from recession.
Speaking at the National Press Club, the head of America's central bank said that higher oil prices are "definitely a negative" for consumers and possible growth in household income, which has fallen over the past decade amid two recessions and stagnant wages.
A "more serious" threat to the economy, he added, is the fear that higher energy prices will result in higher costs for businesses producing their products, creating "a broader inflation problem."
Bernanke said that the U.S. economy "appears to have strengthened in recent months" and that a "self-sustaining recovery may be taken hold." He predicted "a more rapid pace of economic recovery in 2011," but warned that economic growth could be hampered by rising oil prices.
"That's going to slow the economy," he predicted in a rare question-and-answer session with reporters.