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Archive for category Uncategorized
Key features for VDI storage
Posted by speakvirtual in Uncategorized on April 8, 2014
One of the biggest trends in IT infrastructure today is dedicated "storage systems" for VDI. I put "storage systems" in scare quotes because many of the vendors making these systems would object to being called a storage system. Regardless, the primary use case driving the sales of many of these systems is as a storage location for VDI. The reason for this is that traditional arrays have proven woefully inadequate to handle the amount and type of IO VDI can generate.
The architecture backing these systems varies greatly but when looking for a dedicated storage solution for your VDI environment, here are the top features I look for:
Speed. This one should be obvious but any storage system dedicated for VDI needs to be fast. Anyone who's ever designed storage for a VDI environment can tell you that VDI workloads can generate tremendous amounts of most write-IO with very 'bursty' workload patterns. Traditional storage arrays with active-passive controllers, ALUA architecture and tiered HDD storage weren't created with this workload in mind. Trying to design a VDI environment on this architecture can become (in some cases) cost and performance prohibitive. Indeed, many businesses are spending 40%-60% of their VDI budget on storage alone.
Today, the speed solution is being solved with a variety of methods. RAM is being used as a read/write location (e.g. Atlantis ILIO) for microsecond access times. "All flash" arrays are being purpose built to hold 100% SSD drives (Invicta, XtremIO, Pure, etc.). Adding to this, a whole host of "converged" compute/storage appliances are popping up utilizing local disk/flash for increased speed and simplicity (Nutanix, Simplivity, VSAN, ScaleIO, etc.) To reiterate, each of these systems I've mentioned can do more than just VDI, but VDI just happens to be a good use case for these solutions in many cases. If you're looking for a place to put your VDI environment, the ability to rapidly process lots of random write IO should be of paramount concern and you should know that there are currently many ways this can be mitigated.
Data reduction. This one will be more controversial, particularly for non-persistent fanboys. Nevertheless, persistent VDI is a fact of life for many VDI environments. As such, large amounts of duplicate data will be written to storage and as a result, data reduction mechanisms become very important. De-duplication and compression will be the most effective methods and will be preferably in-line. Again, various solutions from Atlantis to Invicta, to XtremIO to Pure all offer these features but with very different architectures. If you have no persistent desktops then this feature becomes less important. However, data reduction can still be quite valuable in many non-persistent VDI architectures as well, as an example, XenDesktop MCS could greatly benefit from storage with de-duplication. I also find that many of my customers who start out thinking they'll have only non-persistent desktops quickly discover during the course of their migration users who need persistence. Don't be surprised by the need for this feature at a later point, plan for this at the beginning and make sure your storage platform has the appropriate data reduction features.
Scale. I don't know how many VDI projects I've heard of where storage was purchased to support X amount of users only for the VDI project to take off faster and of larger scale than expected. The project then gets stalled because the storage system can't handle more than the X amount of users it was designed for and the business doesn't have enough budget to purchase another storage system. For this reason, any storage dedicated to VDI should be able to scale both "up" and "out". "Up" to support more capacity and "out" to support more IO. The scaling of the system should be such that it is one unified system…not multiple systems with a unified control plane. The converged solutions are great at this, VSAN, Nutanix, et al. All flash arrays typically have this as well e.g. Invicta, XtremIO.
Ease of Management. This sounds basic and very obvious but make sure you evaluate "ease of management" when purchasing any VDI-specific storage solution. The reason for this is simple, any VDI-specific storage system is bound to have a much different architecture than any array's you currently have in your environment. The harder it is to manage, the higher the learning curve will be for existing admins. My criteria for determining if a VDI storage system is "easy" to manage is this – "can my VDI admins manage this?" (and that's no slight to VDI admins!). The management of the system shouldn't require a lot of legacy SAN knowledge or skillsets. This makes the environment more agile by not having to rely on multiple teams for basic functions and doesn't burden SAN teams with a disparate island of storage they must learn and manage. Again, many of the converged solutions are great at this as well as some of the newer AFA's.
There are many other important factors in deciding what to look for in a storage solution for your VDI environment. Whatever the architecture, if it doesn't include the above four features, I'd look elsewhere.
Note: Vijay Swami wrote an excellent article entitled "A buyer's guide for the All Flash Array Market". I found it interesting after I wrote this to read his thoughts and note how many of the things he looks for in an AFA are similar to my top features for VDI storage. Regardless, it's good reading and if you haven't already, check it out.
End of year Randomness
Posted by speakvirtual in Uncategorized on December 31, 2013
I'm not big on "end of year" posts or predictions and lacking any other ideas, thought I'd write down some random thoughts about technology going through my head as this year draws to an end.
All Flash Array Dominance
I'm not buying the hype surrounding all flash array's (AFA). Certainly there are legitimate use cases and they'll be deployed more in the near future than they have in the past but the coming dominance of all flash array's, I think, has been greatly exaggerated. It's clear that the main problem these array's are trying to solve is the extreme performance demands of some applications and I just think there are much better ways to solve this problem (e.g. local disk, convergence, local flash, RAM caching, etc) in most scenarios than purchasing disparate islands of SAN. And many of the things that make an AFA so "cool" (e.g. in-line dedupe, compression, no RAID, etc.) would be even cooler if the technology could be incorporated into a hybrid array. The AFA craze feels very much like the VDI craze to me, lots of hype about how "cool" the technology is but in reality a niche use case. Ironically, VDI is the main AFA use case.
The Emergence of Convergence
This year has seen a real spike in interest and deployment of converged storage/compute software and hardware and I'm extremely excited for this technology going into 2014. With VMware VSAN being GA in 2014, I expect that interest and deployment to rise to even greater heights. VSAN has some distinct strategic advantages over other converged models that should really make the competition for this space interesting. Name recognition alone is getting them a ton of interest. Being integrated with ESXi gives them an existing install base that already dominates the data center. In addition, it's sheer simplicity and availability make it easy for anyone to try out. Pricing still hasn't been announced so that will be the big thing to watch for in 2014 with this offering, that and any new enhancements that come with general availability. In addition to VSAN, EMC's ScaleIO is another more 'software-based' rather than 'appliance-based' solution that is already GA that I'm looking forward to seeing more of in 2014. Along with VMware and EMC, Nutanix, Simplivity, Dell, HP, VCE, et al. all have varying "converged" solutions as well so this isn't going away any time soon. With this new wave of convergence products and interest, expect all kinds of new tech buzzwords to develop! I fully expect and predict "Software Defined Convergence" will become mainstream by the end of the year!
Random convergence links:
Duncan Epping VSAN article collection – http://www.yellow-bricks.com/virtual-san/
Scott Lowe – http://wikibon.org/wiki/v/VMware_VSAN_vs_the_Simplicity_of_Hyperconvergence
Cormac Hogan looks at ScaleIO – http://cormachogan.com/2013/12/05/a-closer-look-at-emc-scaleio/
Good look at VSAN and All-Flash Array performance – http://blogs.vmware.com/performance/2013/11/vdi-benchmarking-using-view-planner-on-vmware-virtual-san-part-3.html
Chris Whal musing over VSAN architecture – http://wahlnetwork.com/2013/10/31/muse-vmwares-virtual-san-architecture/?utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffer59ec6
The Fall of XenServer
As any reader of this blog knows, I used to be a huge proponent of XenServer. However, things have really gone downhill after 5.6 in terms of product reliability. So much so that I really have a hard time recommending it at all anymore. ESXi was always at the top of my list but XenServer remained a solid #2. Now it's a distant 3rd in my mind behind Hyper-V. I'll grant that there are many environments successfully and reliably running XenServer, I have built quite a few myself, but far too many suffer from bluescreen server crashes and general unreliability to be acceptable in many enterprises. The product has even had to be pulled from the site to prevent people from downloading it while bugs were fixed. I've never seen so many others express like sentiments about this product as I have seen this past year.
Random CTP frustration with XenServer:
Random stuff I'm reading
Colin Lynch has always had a great UCS blog and his two latest posts are great examples. Best UCS blog out there, in my opinion:
"UCS Manager 2.2 (El Capitan) Released"
"Under the Cisco UCS Kimono"
I definitely agree with Andre here! Too many customers don't take advantage of CBRC and it's so easy to enable:
"Here is why your Horizon View deployment is not performing to it's max!"
Great collection of links and information on using HPs Moonshot ConvergedSystem 100 with XenDesktop by Dane Young:
"Citrix XenDesktop 7.1 HDX 3D Pro on HP's Moonshot ConvergedSystem 100 for Hosted Desktop Infrastructure (HDI)"
In the end, this post ends up being an "end of year" post with a few predictions. Alas, at least I got the "random" part right…
Cisco UCS 101: MAC, WWN and UUID Pool Naming Conventions
Posted by speakvirtual in Uncategorized on October 28, 2013
Continuing with the Cisco UCS 101 series, I thought I'd post on MAC, WWPN, WWNN and even UUID pool naming conventions. There's a number of ways this can be done but as a general rule-of-thumb my pools will ensure a few things:
- Uniqueness of MACs/WWNs/etc. across blades, UCS Domains (aka "Pods") and sites.
- The MAC's/WWNs/etc. that are created from your pools should give you some level of description as to the location, fabric and OS that is assigned to that particular address.
- Lastly, the naming convention should be as simple and un-cryptic as possible. Naming conventions are useless if they aren't easily discernible to those tasked with reading them.
With that out of the way, lets look at a common naming scheme:
This is fairly straight forward. The first three bytes are a Cisco prefix that UCS Manager encourages you not to modify. This can actually be modified but I always keep it the same. The next digit in this naming convention represents a site ID. This can be any physical location where UCS may reside, so a production site might be "1" and a DR site might be "2". Then we come to "Pod", in UCS nomenclature a "Domain" or "Pod" is simply a pair of fabric interconnects and any attached chassis's. For OS, I usually use "1" to denote VMware, "2" for Windows and "3" for a Linux host. Fabric just denotes whether the MAC should be destined for Fabric A or B. The last byte will just be an incremental number assigned by UCS. Let's look at an example:
In this example pool, the MAC address would belong to a server at site "1" that resides in UCS Pod "1" that is running VMware and should be communicating out of Fabric A. A MAC address of 00:25:B5:23:1B:XX would denote a server at site "2" in the third UCS pod at that site running VMware and communicating out of Fabric B. Another commonly used naming convention would look like this:
The only difference here is that the site/pod distinction has been done away with in favor of just UCS Pod ID. So while this example won't allow you to easily distinguish a particular site, it will give you much larger Pod ID possibilities. There's no right answer as to which is best, it really just depends on the environment and personal preference. For WWPN pools, I follow an almost identical naming scheme:
Again, the Cisco prefix can be modified but I just prefer to leave it as it is. For WWNN, I follow a very similar convention except that I exclude Fabric ID:
As you can see, whether I'm looking at the MAC address, WWPN or WWNN I can easily discern from which site and pod the address originates, what OS the address belongs to and what fabric it is communicating out of. UUID pools can be named similarly:
This doesn't have to and shouldn't be complicated. These simple, common naming schemes will not only ensure unique, informative and easily discernible addresses but can make common management tasks such as network traces or zoning that much more easy. Use the above examples as a guideline, but feel free to customize if there's a scheme that fits your environment better. For more on this topic, I recommend the following resources:
Cisco UCS Manager Configuration Common Practices and Quick-Start Guide
Double the Procedure, Double the Price?
Posted by speakvirtual in Uncategorized on October 16, 2013
In my last post I touched briefly on a claim I'm hearing a lot in IT circles these days. This claim is often heard in discussions surrounding multi-hypervisor environments and most recently in VDI discussions. The claim in question, at its' core, says this – "If you have two procedures to perform the same task you double your operational expense in performing that task". Given the prevalence of this argument I wanted to focus on this in one post even though I've touched on it elsewhere.
As mentioned in my last post, Shawn Bass recently displayed this logic in a debate at VMworld. The example given is a company with a mixture of physical and virtual desktops. In this scenario they manage their physical desktops with Altiris/SCCM and use image-based management techniques for their non-persistent virtual desktops. Since you are using two different procedures to accomplish the same task (update desktops), it is claimed that you then "double" your operational expense.
As I've said, in many scenarios this is clearly false. The only way having two procedures "doubles" your operational cost is if both procedures require an equal amount of time/effort/training/etc. to implement and maintain. And the odd thing about this example is that it actually proves the opposite of what it claims. It's very common for organizations to have physical desktops that they manage differently than their non-persistent virtual desktops. Are these organizations just not privy to the nuances of operational expenditures? I don't think so, these organizations in many cases chose VDI at least in part for easier desktop management. For many, it's just easier and much faster to maintain a small group of "golden images" rather than hundreds or thousands of individual images. So in this example adding the second procedure of image-based management can actually reduce the overall operational expense. Now a large portion of my desktops can be managed much more efficiently than they were before, this reduces the overall time and energy I spend managing my total desktops and thus, reduces my operational expense.
We see this same logic in a lot of multi-hypervisor discussions as well. "Two hypervisors, two ways of managing things, double the operational expense". When done wrong, a multi-hypervisor environment can fall into this trap. However, before treating this logic as universally true you have to evaluate your own IT staff and workload requirements. Some workloads will be managed/backed up/recovered in a disaster/etc. differently than the rest of your infrastructure anyway, so putting these workloads on a separate hypervisor isn't going to add to that expense. The management of the second hypervisor itself doesn't necessarily "double" your cost as in many cases the knowledge your staff already possesses on how a hypervisor works in general can translate well into managing an alternate hypervisor. A lot more could be said here but in the end, CAPEX savings should override any nominal added OPEX expense or you're doing it wrong.
In general, standardization and common management platforms are things every IT department should strive for. Like "best practice" recommendations from vendors, however, we don't apply them universally. The main problem with this line of thinking is that it states a generalization as a universal truth and applies it to all situations while ignoring the subtle complexities of individual environments. In IT, it's just not that easy.
The Great Persistence Debate
Posted by speakvirtual in Uncategorized on September 30, 2013
There was a good discussion at VMworld this year between persistent and non-persistent VDI proponents. The debate spawned from discussions on twitter surrounding a blog post by Andre Leibovici entitled "Open letter to non-persistent VDI fanboys…". Representing the persistent side of the debate was Andre Leibovici and Shawn Bass. Non-persistent fanboys were represented by Jason Langone and Jason Mattox. Overall, this is a good discussion with both sides pointing out some strengths and weaknesses of each position:
So which is the better VDI management model, persistent or non-persistent? Personally I think Andre nailed it near the end of the debate, it's all about use case! I know that's the typical IT answer to most questions but it really is the best answer in many of these "best tech" debates. What matters to most customers is not which is the "best" but which is the "right fit". A Ferrari may be the best car in the world but it's clearly not the right fit for a family of four on a budget. So while it may be fun and entertaining to discuss which is the best, in the real-world, the most relevant question is 'which is the right fit given a particular use case?'. If you have a call center with a small application portfolio, then this is an obvious use case for non-persistent desktops (though certainly not the only use case). I agree with the persistence crowd in regards to larger environments that have extensive application portfolios. The time it takes to virtualize and package all these applications and the impossibly large amount of software required to go non-persistent for all desktops in such an environment (UEM, app publishing, app streaming, etc.) makes persistence a much more viable option. This is why many VDI environments will usually have a mixture of persistent and non-persistent desktops. These are extreme examples but it's clear that no one model is perfect for every situation.
Other random thoughts from this discussion:
—Throughout the debate and in most discussions surrounding persistent desktops, the persistent desktop crowd often points to new technology advances that make persistent desktops a viable option. Flash-based arrays, inline de-duplication, etc. are all cited as examples. The only problem with this is that while this technology exists today, many customers still don't have it and aren't willing to make the additional investment in a new array or other technology on top of the VDI software investment. So the technology exists and we can have very high-level, academic discussions on running persistent desktops with this technology but for many customers it's still not a reality.
—Here again, like most times this discussion crops up, the non-persistent crowd makes a point of trumpeting the ease of managing non-persistent desktops while glossing over how difficult it can be to actually deploy this desktop type when organizations are seeking a high percentage of VDI users. Even if we ignore the technical challenges around application delivery, users still have to like the desktop…and most companies will have more users than they know that will require/demand persistent desktops.
—About midway through the debate there is talk about how non-persistence is limiting the user and installing apps is what users want, but earlier in the debate the panel all agreed that just allowing users to install whatever app they want is a security and support nightmare. I found this dichotomy interesting in that it illuminates this truth – whichever desktop model you choose the user is limited in some way. Whatever marketing you may hear to the contrary, remember that.
And last but certainly not least…
—In this debate Shawn delivers an argument I hear a lot in IT that I disagree with and maybe this deserves a separate post. He talks about the "duality" of operational expense when you are managing non-persistent desktops using image-based management in an environment where you still have physical endpoints being managed by Altiris/SCCM. He says you actually "double" your operational expence managing these desktops in different ways. The logic undergirding this argument is the assumption that 'double the procedure equals double the operational cost'. To me this is not necessarily true and for many environments, definitely false. The only way having two procedures "doubles" your operational cost is if both procedures require an equal amount of time/effort/training/etc. to implement and maintain. And for many customers (who implement VDI at least partly for easier desktop managment) it's clear that image-based management is viewed as the easier and faster solution to maintain desktops. I see this same logic applied to multi-hypervisor environments as well and simply disagree that having multiple procedures is always going to mean you double or even increase your operational cost.
Any other thoughts, comments or disagreements are welcome in the comment section!
PCoIP Proxy for Horizon View
Posted by speakvirtual in Uncategorized on August 22, 2013
A couple months ago F5 came out with a very intriguing announcement when they released full proxy support for PCoIP on the latest Access Policy Manager code version, 11.4. Traditional Horizon View environments use "Security Servers" to proxy PCoIP connections from external users to desktops residing in the datacenter. Horizon View Security Servers will reside in the DMZ and the software is installed on Windows hosts. This new capability from F5 completely eliminates the need for Security Servers in a Horizon View architecture and greatly simplifies the solution in the process.
In addition to eliminating Security Servers and getting Windows hosts out of your DMZ, this feature simplifies Horizon View in other ways that aren't being talked about as much. One caveat to using Security Servers is that they must be paired with Connection Servers in a 1:1 relationship. Any sessions brokered through these Connections Servers will then be proxied through the Security Servers they are paired with. Because Security Servers are located in the DMZ, this setup works fine for your external users. For internal users, a separate pair of Connection Servers are usually needed so users can connect directly to their virtual desktop after the brokering process without having to go through the DMZ. To learn more about this behavior see here and here.
Pictured below is a traditional Horizon View deployment with redundancy and load balancing for all the necessary components:
What does this architecture look like when eliminating the Security Servers altogether in favor of using F5's ability to proxy PCoIP?
As you can see, this is a much simpler architecture. Note also that each Connection Server supports up to 2000 connections per server. I wouldn't recommend pushing that limit but the above servers could easily support around 1500 total users (accounting for the failure of one Connection Server). If you wanted full redundancy and automatic failover with Security Servers in the architecture, whether it was for 10 or 1500 external users, you would still need at least 2 Security and 2 Connection servers. A lot of times they are not there so much for increased capacity but just for redundancy for external users, so eliminating them from the architecture can easily simplify your deployment.
But could this be simplified even further?
In this scenario the internal load balancers were removed in favor of the load balancers in the DMZ having an internal interface configured with an internal VIP for load balancing. Many organizations will not like this solution because it will be considered a security risk for the device in the DMZ to have interfaces physically outside the DMZ. ADC vendors and partners will claim their device is secure but most customers still aren't comfortable with this solution. Another solution for small deployments with limited budget would be to just place that VIP in the above picture in the DMZ. Internal users will still connect directly to their virtual desktops on the internal network and the DMZ VIP is only accessed during the initial load balancing process for the Connection Servers. Regardless of whether you use an internal VIP or another set of load balancers, this solution greatly simplifies and secures a Horizon View architecture.
Overall, I'm really excited by this development and am interested in seeing if other ADC vendors offer this functionality for PCoIP in the near future or not. To learn more, see the following links:
Inside Look – PCoIP Proxy for VMware Horizon View
Big-IP Access Policy Manager VMware Horizon View Integration Implementations
Convergence and the Software-Defined Data Center
Posted by speakvirtual in Uncategorized on June 3, 2013
There's been a lot of industry news lately regarding Software-Defined Storage, Software-Defined Data Centers and hyper-convergence . After numerous conversations with various colleagues and friends about these concepts, I wanted to post my own thoughts on them and how I believe they are related.
First off, hyper-convergence has usually been used to denote the "next stage" in modern converged infrastructure. With many of the popular reference architectures or pre-built systems representing some level of "convergence", hyper-convergence has come to refer to those systems that combine multiple data center tiers into a single appliance. However, as a term, I've come to view "hyper-convergence" as a misnomer. When looking at the modern landscape of integrated infrastructure platforms, there is only "convergence" and "simulated convergence". Examples of converged infrastructure include Nutanix, Simplivity, et al while simulated convergence examples can be found in vBlock, VSPEX and FlexPod. And while there is differentiation within the simulated convergence platforms (e.g. pre-built vBlock vs. reference architectures VSPEX/FlexPod), they are only "converged" insofar as their disparate components are cabled and racked together in a branded rack and sometimes managed with common software (e.g. Cloupia). With simulated convergence, each "tier" of the data center is still represented by separate hardware components and an attempt at unity is made through the use of "single-pane" management software. Convergence differs from this in that data center tiers are consolidated into common hardware components which naturally increase management software simplicity as well.
Another interesting difference is that while simulated convergence offers simplified management and automation, convergence gives you these same things plus performance, cost and reduced complexity benefits as well. Because convergence moves data center tiers into a common platform, this naturally puts the network/compute/storage into closer proximity to each other, enabling greater performance and reduced complexity. Cost savings are achieved not only through hardware consolidation but operational expenditures can be lessened in a converged model as well.
None of this is to say that simulated convergence is worthless. On the contrary, simulated convergence via management software and reference architecture/pre-built configurations can greatly increase the consume-ability and ease of management of these separate components. Simulated convergence gives you increased efficiency on legacy platforms that organizations already have in place and already have knowledge on how to manage. It's an improvement over traditional processes but it is not actual convergence, which is the next logical progression.
Indeed, say what you will about specific converged offerings but it's hard to see why convergence as a model wouldn't be the clear path to simplified software-defined data centers. No matter how much management software and automation you put in front of it, simulated convergence will always require specialized knowledge of various levels of divergent hardware components in order to properly maintain and run that model. You would never deploy a vBlock and only train your support staff on just Cloupia or vCenter with VSI plugins. No, for advanced troubleshooting and configuration an in-depth knowledge of all the network, hypervisor, compute, storage network and array components is necessary as well. Management software can mask the complexity, but it's still there. It doesn't move the control plane, it just creates another one.
Converged infrastructure that relies on commodity hardware and is software/virtualization-based shifts the focus from tier-based component management and support to a more holistic data center view. Under the converged model , the deployment and ongoing maintenance of the underlying infrastructure is greatly simplified, allowing for faster application deployment , monitoring and troubleshooting. In short, you spend much less time on your physical infrastructure and more time focusing on the business. Of course, hardware is still necessary on such a system but that's not where the intelligence lies and as we've seen, there's much less of it!
Going forward, I'm convinced that the popularity of convergence will only increase. What will be interesting to see is how the major compute/storage vendors handle this shift. As convergence increases, will a storage and compute vendor team up to sell their own converged solution? Will one of the startup convergence companies be acquired? Whatever happens, this will be one of the more exciting areas of IT to be involved with for many years to come. I can't wait!


text:
Performing a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is a common business tool used by individuals to develop their careers and businesses to build market share. The site www.mindtools.com contains tools on how to use the SWOT analysis. Why not apply the principles of SWOT to genealogy research to kick start your goal setting for the new year?
Strengths : What do you do well? What unique resources can you draw on? What do others see as your strengths?
Weaknesses : What could you improve? Where do you have fewer resources than others? What are others likely to see as weaknesses?
Opportunities : What good opportunities are open to you? What trends could you take advantage of? How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?
Threats : What trends could harm you? What is your competition doing? What threats do your weaknesses expose you to?
A thoughtful examination of each of these categories will help you to determine your research goals and provide opportunities for improvement. For example, my genealogical SWOT would include the following details.
Strengths: Good communication skills, social networking abilities and problem-solving skills. Can draw upon educational experiences to focus on problems. Others see my tenacity and natural curiosity.
Weaknesses: Research documentation in primary always needs improvement. Have fewer monetary resources than others due to age and financial circumstances at this period of life. Others might see lack of certification credentials as a weakness.
Opportunities: Good opportunities are available to pursue online training and certification in the genealogy field. Close proximity to major repository (Allen County Public Library-Ft. Wayne, IN) and memberships online to Ancestry.com and Footnote.com can provide additional sources for research. Can take advantage of trends in genealogical research such as DNA testing to add value to family history knowledge. Can cultivate my communication skills into opportunities to draw upon the greater genealogical community to help solve "brickwalls" in my research.
Threats: Trends that could harm include over-reliance on online sources, which could cause me to overlook vital information in off-site repositories. The competition (fellow researchers) are blogging, tweeting and utilizing social media to improve knowledge base. My weaknesses expose me to the threats of incorrect conclusions based on limited evidence.
Using these SWOT principals, I can plan on ways to improve my researching skills, including pursuing educational opportunities, society memberships, etc.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Battle of the Four Armies, the lesser-known brother of the Battle of the Five Armies.
This chapter was translated by me and edited by Michyrr.
If you have any comments or concerns about this translation, please leave a comment below or message me on Twitter.
There's also a Patreon, if you would like to support RHE or read ahead!


text: Its hard to imagine a time before we knew of worlds beyond our own solar system. These days, extra-solar (or exoplanets) are back page news, as discoveries occur almost daily. But scant decades ago (Waaay back in the pre-Internet Stone Age of the early 1990s) no exoplanets were known, and the entire field was open to great conjecture. This was also one of the great variables underpinning the famous Drake Equation which attempts to quantify how many intelligent civilizations might exist in our galaxy; i.e. how many stars possess solar systems? That all changed in the 90s, and the discovery of a planet in October 1995 by Geoffrey Marcy and Paul Butler orbiting the star 51 Pegasi in the constellation Pegasus was pivotal in opening the flood gates.


text:
Ontarioville ( DuPage )
Illinois : Flag of State
Please find in what follows the full listing of the places related to the town of Ontarioville. Places are ordered by kind:Cemetery - Church - Park - Populated Place - School.
Besides Ontarioville in the County of ( DuPage ) there are the following places of kind Populated Place . These are reported in what follows in alphabetical order:
Addison - Arboretum Estates - Batavia Junction - Belmont - Bensenville - Big Woods (historical) - Bloomingdale - Burr Ridge - Carol Stream - Churchville - Clarendon Hills - Cloverdale - Darien - Darien - Downers Grove - Elmhurst - Eola - Flowerfield - Foxcroft - Frontenac - Fullersburg - Geneva Road - Glen Ellyn - Glen Oak - Glendale Heights - Gretna - Hanover Park - Highland Hills - Hinsdale - Ingalton - Itasca - Jewell Road - Keeneyville - Lace - Lakewood - Lisle - Lombard - Mammoth Springs - Medinah - Munger - Naperville - North Glen Ellyn - Oak Brook - Oakbrook Terrace - Palisades - Prince Crossing - Roselle - Saddlewood - Schick - Shorewood - South Addison - South Elmhurst - Swift - Tedens (historical) - Utopia - Valley View - Villa Park - Warrenhurst - Warrenville - Wayne - Wayne Center - West Chicago - Westmont - Wheaton - White Pines - Willowbrook - Winfield - Wood Dale - Woodridge - York Center - Yorkfield .
Where to stay: Hotels and other Accommodation Ontarioville
Please find in what follows the full listing of the Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts and other accommodation available in Ontarioville.
A lot of pictures and fully detailed descriptions are available for the Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts and other accommodation, along with the ratings assigned by the guest of the same Hotels. The ratings are divided by age, sex and much more.
Illinois : Emblem of State
- Capital : Springfield
- Inhabitants : Illinoisan (Flatlander, Illini, Illinoyer)
- State's Motto : State sovereignty, national union
- English translation : State sovereignty, national union
Map and road map of Ontarioville
View the interactive maps of Ontarioville and get road maps, satellite maps and much more. The maps cover a wide area centered on Ontarioville .
On each map are available: a selector scale, on the bottom right of the map,a menu for choosing different views of the same map, placed in the upper left corner of the map, a free text search field for locating any business activity within the map itself, placed at the top center of the map.
The videos about Ontarioville
It is proposed a first video: clicking on the PLAY button the video will start. Inside the video window there are several commands and a Playlist button. Press the Playlist button to access the complete listing of available videos, along with their titles. It will be sufficient to scroll through the list using the cursor to select any of the videos. You can use the << and >> keys to scroll through the videos. Each video can be displayed in full screen.


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Dashboard - Analyze and fix issues
The Dashboard is your starting point for using Norton Utilities Premium - you find out the condition of your PC and it displays the issues detected in the last system analysis, as well as any recommendations for increasing performance, and allows you to view and run repairs. The Dashboard resets after one hour, recommending a new analysis after that amount of time has passed.
The three tabs of the Dashboard are:, and .
The Dashboard defaults to displaying thetab. Appearing to the right of this tab after you have run a is the tab, which displays changes Norton Utilities Premium has recently made. The tab is the right-most tab, and will show you information on how hard drive and memory resources are being used, as well as programs that launch at startup and currently running programs.
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DOCID: v127341228
Operating System: Windows
Last modified: 11/08/2019
Operating System: Windows
Last modified: 11/08/2019


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Men accused of stealing disaster relief trailer from church
Two Louisville men were arrested after police said they stole a disaster relief trailer from a Simpsonville church.
Police were able to recover the trailer, but found it damaged and things inside missing.
Police said the trailer was so badly damaged when they found it, they had to have a tow truck haul it off.
The trailer is totaled, and now the church is trying to find the money to buy a new one to continue mission work, helping people recover from disasters.
"It's disappointing and shocking to me that people would steal from a church," said Ken Hyde, a member of Simpsonville Baptist Church.
Hyde is one of many who use the trailer to help in disaster areas across the country, but he learned Friday that means of giving was stolen from the church parking lot.
"That just is something difficult for me to wrap my arms around," said Hyde.
Police said the culprits behind the crime are Kenneth Ratliff and Brad Fisher, both from Louisville.
Police arrested the men at Fisher's home Friday on theft and drug charges and found the trailer wrecked and ransacked, and chainsaws and generators missing.
"This axle is bent, the tongue is destroyed or bent out of shape and the frame is bent," said Hyde.
Hyde said the damage was caused when the thieves broke off the trailer's lock and latch.
"So they sat the trailer hitch on the tow ball and towed it that way," said Hyde. "My guess is they hit something going at a pretty good rate of speed and maybe got the trailer airborne."
Police said that rough ride is likely what left the inside of the trailer a mess with everything tossed around.
The church is now reunited with a totaled trailer.
"It was a disappointment, obviously shocking," said Hyde.
Police said the case is still ongoing because they also found stolen power tools that did not belong to the church at Fisher's home.
They said Ratliff had Opana and Xanax bars on him. He also faces drug charges.
Police said both men have a lengthy criminal history involving drug- and theft-related charges.


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Home › Classroom Resources › Calendar Activities
Calendar Activities See All Calendar Activities
Not your everyday calendar, here you can find important events in literary history, authors' birthdays, and a variety of holidays, all with related activities and resources that make them more relevant to students. View by day, by week, or by month.
May 5, 2020
Students choose to research a piece of art, music, dance, literature, or food that suitably represents Mexico and create a presentation for the class.
Grades 7 – 12
Today is Leo Lionni's birthday.
As a child growing up in Holland, Leo Lionni taught himself how to draw and later became an author and illustrator of children's books. Leo Lionni is the winner of four Caldecott awards.
Grades K – 3
Types of Calendar Activities
Authors & Texts
Birthdays, publication dates, and more
Historical Figures & Events
Notable people and happenings in history
Holidays & School Celebrations
Special days and how to observe them
Literacy-Related Events
Celebrations that promote and encourage literacy


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Get a quote for balloons in Strabane now by completing our quick and simple enquiry formGet your free quote
Use our free service to get quotes for Balloons
Celebration & Party Store sells a wide selection of supplies for every type of celebration.
We provide venue/balloon decoration ,kid's entertainment , balloon modelling, popcorn and hotdog machine hire
I am a face painter and balloon artist offering face painting, glitter, glitter tattoos, balloon modelling and balloon sculptures for your party or event! I also make 'belly buddy' balloon party bags with chocolate coins inside and giant number balloons which are really popular!
Balloons for all Occasions. If you can imagine it we can create it. We can give your event the wow factor.
Creative Decorations - Balloon Decor & Sweets for occasions and events
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Welcome to ireland balloons
When you're planning an Event, Hosting a Party or Holding a Celebration,Ireland Balloons is the place for YOU...Balloons are a high value social expression and can be bright and colorful to stylish and elegant.Birthdays, Weddings, Anniversaries, New baby and of cause Falling in Love..People are still celebrating life's events.We have a wide range of Foils & Supersize Balloons available.We also stock Banners, Fancy dress & Table Confetti.Imagine for a moment...''The Wedding Day''Its the day you have dreamed off since you were a little child.For a Wedding that is elegant and sophisticated, our professional balloon decorators will work with you to create the perfect ambience.Your Wedding could be the perfect expression of style and romance.You want everything to be perfect.Let our professional decorators help you design the wedding venue of your dreams with balloons.
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The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of The Congress the Medal of Honor to
Second Lieutenant Daniel K. Inouye distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 21 April 1945, in the vicinity of San Terenzo, Italy. While attacking a defended ridge guarding an important road junction, Second Lieutenant Inouye skillfully directed his platoon through a hail of automatic weapon and small arms fire, in a swift enveloping movement that resulted in the capture of an artillery and mortar post and brought his men to within 40 yards of the hostile force. Emplaced in bunkers and rock formations, the enemy halted the advance with crossfire from three machine guns. With complete disregard for his personal safety, Second Lieutenant Inouye crawled up the treacherous slope to within five yards of the nearest machine gun and hurled two grenades, destroying the emplacement. Before the enemy could retaliate, he stood up and neutralized a second machine gun nest. Although wounded by a sniper's bullet, he continued to engage other hostile positions at close range until an exploding grenade shattered his right arm. Despite the intense pain, he refused evacuation and continued to direct his platoon until enemy resistance was broken and his men were again deployed in defensive positions. In the attack, 25 enemy soldiers were killed and eight others captured. By his gallant, aggressive tactics and by his indomitable leadership, Second Lieutenant Inouye enabled his platoon to advance through formidable resistance, and was instrumental in the capture of the ridge. Second Lieutenant Inouye's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.
'"I remember being shot in my abdomen, first, on the right side. The bullet came out in the middle of my back, and it felt like someone had slugged me. There was no intense pain or anything like that. I fell backwards and then kept on going until my messenger right in the back of me ... said, 'By the way, you're bleeding.' So I stuck my hand in there and, sure enough, it was warm and moist. I took out my hand. It was all bloody but, since it wasn't bleeding profusely, I just kept on going."
Continuing forward with a bag of grenades, he cocked his hand and was ready to throw another when a German grenade hit him in the arm, leaving his right arm dangling by a thread.
'"I saw a fellow pointing it at me and I felt the blast and I recall going for my grenade, prying it out of my right hand and throwing it with my left. My arm was dangling by a couple shreds, so when I lifted it up, it was hanging like that. Just shredded. So I knew it was gone. First I was looking all over for the grenade, I thought it fell. And then I looked at my hand and I said, 'Oh, my Lord. It's there.' I had pulled the pin, and my hand was back ready to toss it, so I knew it was armed. The fingers somehow froze over the grenade, so I had to pry it out."
With his left hand, Inouye tossed the grenade at the German who had shot him, hitting him. Then he blacked out. Later, when he was cited for his bravery, he learned that he had grabbed a tommy gun in his left hand, charged toward one of the machine guns, knocked it out, and then got shot again. He was given so much morphine that doctors later amputated his arm without anesthetic, concerned that any more would drive his blood pressure too low."
I try to remember that, while a few nutjobs are out killing kids and cops and firefighters, real heroes walk among us.


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Kid Who Exposed Young Hot For Recycyled Rhymes "The Online Hater" Responds Back! Plus Freestyle Diss
Pace reports "kid who exposed young hot "proda-j" responds and adresses the recycled rhymes issue And hits the booth and spits a few bars about young hot"
Please click the "Report" button below if the video on this page is not working properly.
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Description If you've ever wanted to teach your child a second language, Arabic for Kids is the perfect learning tool for brainy babies. This app has over 400 Arabic Flashcards containing commonly used Arabic words (colors, numbers, food drink and animals and many more....) all lovingly illustrated and professionally recorded by a native Arabic speaker. Studies show that children exposed to a second language during the first few years of life can more easily master a language as they get older....This set of Arabic flashcards will help immerse your toddler in some of the most commonly used words in the Arabic language and is perfect for bilingual families who want to give their kids a head start with a new language. Each flashcard is interactive, which means that your children will be having fun at the same time they are learning. ****** OTHER FEATURES OF Learn Arabic for Children 1. Hundreds of audio files, including words, sound effects, and musical themes produced by professional sound engineers, voice over artists and language experts. 2.Simple Navigation for little fingers 3.Teaches kids how to pronounce and recognize words If you've ever wanted your child to learn Arabic, then this application is perfect for your toddler. NOTE: the free version comes with Animals only, all other categories will need to be purchased. CONTACT US: For technical issues and suggestions or requests to firstname.lastname@example.com
|File Size
|Operating System
|System Requirements
|Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.1 or later. iTunes account required


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Help clients, colleagues, and yourself, keep hands callous-free with our custom printed promotional golf gloves. Our expansive selection of customized logo golf gloves will help make your customers' golf games a little easier. They will have an even more firm grip on their custom golf club while wearing your logo imprinted golf gloves, ensuring the perfect swing. Plus, these personalized promotional golf gloves will help protect recipients' hands from dirt and grime while roaming the green.
You won't find a better selection of custom promotional golf gloves on the web. At IASpromotes.com, we offer high quality and stylish promotional golf gloves that can be custom imprinted with your business name and logo for a prominent design clients and customers will want all for themselves. Contact us today to place your order!


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Setting Up Your Humidor
When you first get your humidor, it is a bone-dry box. You must season or work the water into the wood to make it effective. The best method we have found over the years is as follows:
1. Attach humidification device and hygrometer where desired inside the box first because sticky surfaces don't stick well to moist wood.
2. You will need a jug of distilled water and a clean sponge. Wet the sponge with the water and completely wipe down the inside of the box. The box needs to be wet, but not dripping wet. After wiping the box down, let it sit for thirty minutes.
3. After thirty minutes has passed, wipe the box down a second time.
4. Let the box sit for thirty more minutes, then wipe the box down for a third and last time. Place a plastic bag on the base of the humidor on the inside. Place the sponge on the bag to keep it from warping the wood. Shut the box and let it sit for twenty four hours.
5. After twenty four hours, take the plastic bag and sponge out, wet the humidifier in your humidor, and place your cigars inside.
6. You now have a working humidor. You should touch the humidifier up with distilled water or propylene glycol solution once a week.
7. As you continue to collect cigars, consider buying a digital hygrometer to be sure of the conditions in your humidor.
**Propylene Glycol and Digital Hygrometers are available in the Accessories section of the website, and of course you can call us for help anytime.


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Low Volume, Funding, Staffing and Technical Problems are Key Reasons for Discontinuation of Chat Reference Services
AbstractObjective – To investigate the reasons behind the cessation of 9 virtual (chat) reference services.
Design – Multiple case-study investigation
Setting – Academic, public, and special libraries in the United States.
Subjects – Five academic libraries, 1 public library, and 3 library consortia.
Methods – The initial method used to identify discontinued chat reference services was via a posting to DIG_REF, the digital reference services listserv. From this initial posting, librarians on the list also suggested other cases, for a total of 7. Two cases later came to the authors' attention and were added. The 9 cases included academic libraries, a public library, and consortia who used tools provided by four major software vendors, giving a good cross-section of the types of libraries participating in VR and the major software packages available at the time. A contact person for each discontinued service was invited to participate. The participants were geographically scattered, so data were collected via e-mail questionnaires, telephone interviews, and examination of available documents describing the services, audiences, demographics, operations, and any decision-making processes either for starting or discontinuing the service. The authors then compared and contrasted results obtained from the 9 services. The authors analysed reasons for discontinuation of services, the decision making processes, volume of questions, service hours, marketing, evaluation, and whether the service might be restarted at some time in the future.
Main Results – Although the VR services discussed were being delivered by diverse organizations, some commonalities emerged. All 9 services used existing staff and added chat reference to their duties. In all but one case, the hours of service offered when VR began were within the hours that the libraries were already open to the public. In the exception (Case E), there were hours of service after the libraries were closed, from 7-10 p.m. These shifts were covered by librarians working from home.
Decisions to either begin or suspend services were generally made by small informal groups or committees. Some cases began with pilot studies and received positive responses. Other than these pilot studies, little pre-planning appeared to have been done. For example, there were no extensive advance surveys or studies to determine potential demand or markets for the service, or projected costs and benefits. Only one service had a strong, multi-stage evaluation plan. In future launches of virtual reference services, both extensive pre-planning and detailed measures for evaluation could be helpful in avoiding some problems.
Major reasons for discontinuation fell into 6 categories: funding problems, staffing problems, technical problems, institutional culture conflicts, low usage overall or low usage by target populations. A table (Table 1) was included that actually listed 7 categories of reasons for discontinuation, but the last one listed, "Software Change," is discussed as part of "Technical Problems" in the text, though it is separated in the table (527). This is not immediately clear in the article, and thus the table is slightly confusing. Four cases reported funding problems as the major reason for discontinuation. Low volume or low volume for target population were primary reasons for discontinuation by 4 cases, and secondary reasons for discontinuation by 4 cases. If one combines primary and secondary categories in this table, low volume is the most frequently cited reason for discontinuation. Low volume was determined to be "driven by a complex combination of variables including marketing strategies, insufficient hours of operation, and [failure to provide] an ample amount of time for a service to gain momentum" (527-528).
Funding was cited as the primary reason for cancellation in 4 cases. Technical problems were listed as primary or secondary factors for suspension of service in 2 cases, and software change was the secondary factor behind the suspension of service in 2 cases; one service reported that up to one third of chat sessions were 'lost" (527). In many cases, these sites were early adopters of VR, or even beta test sites, so technical issues are perhaps not surprising.
Staffing was the primary or secondary reason for discontinuation in a total of 3 cases. Staffing problems included insufficient questions to keep staff interested; however, concerns about extending service hours and thereby putting additional pressure on existing staff were also raised. Clashes in institutional cultures were reported as secondary reasons for discontinuation of the service in 2 consortia. It should be noted that the sample size is small; as the authors point out, the literature on unsuccessful or discontinued virtual reference services is quite limited.
Pop-up surveys were used by some cases to evaluate service success and user satisfaction. User satisfaction was reported as being high, but return rates for the surveys were very low, as can be expected since pop-ups are often blocked or ignored. The authors recommend alternative means of evaluation, such as focus groups and more detailed surveys. The authors also discuss alternative technologies and user expectations for services such as IM or SMS text messaging, and suggest evaluation of user expectations and desires in these areas.
One question which arose was what constituted success in chat reference – was it usage/volume, or some other measure, such as whether chat reference queries were answered correctly more frequently than reference questions asked in other ways, such as by telephone or in person. Other key concerns identified include the importance of strong marketing, service usability, and the importance in a consortial environment of having someone responsible on a full-time basis for directing and spearheading the project. Many of the suspended services reported that they could potentially become re-interested in VR service, as issues are resolved and the technologies available mature.
Finally, the authors provide detailed recommendations for single and consortial VR services, and offer directions for future research. Some suggestions for future research include ways to bridge the apparent gulf between expectations and technological preferences of users versus those of librarians and others staffing these services, as they often appear to have marked differences. Other areas of interest could include causes for low question volume, and possible relationships among various factors contributing to such poor usage along with an investigation of what makes successful services work well. Research on IM or SMS reference services as compared to those using other chat technologies and cost-effectiveness studies or evaluations based on goals and measured outcomes are also needed.
Conclusion – VR services have had erratic success rates and bumpy beginnings, but many libraries report continued interest The libraries in this study all indicated that they would consider, or are considering, re-starting such services. Issues of staffing, technological usability and reliability, institutional culture, funding, marketing, and volume are key. As services and technologies mature, interest in offering VR services in one form or another continues to grow.
The Creative Commons-Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 4.0 International applies to all works published by Evidence Based Library and Information Practice. Authors will retain copyright of the work.


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If one gets the following error when trying to install the Sentinel Protection Installer:
the error can be caused by a conflict on port 6001.
Sentinel System Driver utilizes port 6001, we have seen reports where other application like National Instrument Software's "Lab View" product uses the same port 6001 and such port conflict would cause Sentinel Protection Installer's installation to fail.
Check whether port 6001 is being used by another application (you can use the DOS command of: netstat –a ). If yes, stop that application and the Sentinel Protection Installer installation should complete successfully.


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Everlasting Contempt
"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Daniel 12:2)
Some claim that the Old Testament knows nothing of a resurrection, but this promise of God clearly refutes such a notion. Not only will some be raised to everlasting life, but some to everlasting shame and contempt!
What a bitter end this will be for those who now look with contempt upon the Bible. The Hebrew word translated "contempt" is used only one other time, in the very last verse of Isaiah, but is there translated "abhorring." "And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh" (Isaiah 66:24).
There is probably no doctrine of the Bible more hated by unbelievers than the doctrine of everlasting punishment. It was this teaching (not the imaginary evidence for evolution) that turned Charles Darwin away from God. Nevertheless, it was verified by Christ Himself. "It is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where . . . the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:47-48). Christ will say to the "goats" on His left hand, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: . . . these shall go away into everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25:41, 46). Paul also warned that those who "obey not the gospel . . . shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9). Everlasting contempt, everlasting fire, everlasting punishment, everlasting destruction—these await all who reject God and His saving word, through Christ. How much better to "awake to everlasting life"! HMM
From the Institute for Creation Research


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BEIJING – Parents across China this week were shocked when two separate stories of gross physical abuse against kindergarten-aged children made national headlines.
On Tuesday, police in the city of Taiyuan, the provincial capital of Shanxi, detained a teacher at the Sky Montessori kindergarten after parents complained about alleged physical abuse there.
Closed-circuit TV video from inside the classroom -- released to the media soon after the scandal broke -- confirmed what parents had already inferred from their children's bruises and stories: that their teacher, Li Zhuqing, was slapping, kicking, hitting and verbally abusing them.
A video from a local Shanxi provincial news program (report in Chinese; footage starts around 34 seconds in) shows Li repeatedly slapping and shoving around the children over a 10 minute period. Two girls are shown being repeatedly slapped in the face while a boy is seen being slapped and then shoved into another student.
The father of one of the girls said he reported the abuse to the police after his daughter came home with a bruised eye and cheek, and explained to the news program why his daughter was singled out.
Complete Asia-Pacific coverage on NBCNews.com
"The teacher [Li] did it because she couldn't answer 10 plus one correctly," said the father, surnamed Han. He noted that his daughter could do simple single-digit addition, but could not understand Li's explanation of how to solve higher sums.
According to Han, his daughter was slapped in the face around 70 times and kicked twice, while three other children in the class were reportedly hit 43, 10 and 27 times respectively.
"She is not a teacher. She should not be a teacher. To put it plainly, she is not a human being," said Han.
The story quickly went viral and drew hundreds of thousands of comments on China's Twitter-like service Weibo.
"How can the world have people like this? Her parents should be ashamed of having a daughter like that!" wrote one user. "Watching this video made me cry ... Children should never be treated like this," added another.
Li was detained under a 15-day "administrative detention," common when Chinese police are waiting to charge someone, Chinese state media reported. The Montessori school, which reportedly was unlicensed and therefore operating illegally, was also shut down indefinitely. Taiyuan city authorities pledged a month-long investigation of other municipal schools to ensure there were no other cases of abuse.
Boy held up by ears
But there was more outrage to come: Another school abuse scandal broke the next day after a picture taken at the Blue Peacock kindergarten in Wenling, Zhejiang province, circulated online.
The photo showed a teacher holding up a child by his ears -- the boy obviously in pain and the teacher grinning widely.
The teacher, Yan Yanhong, 20, was detained and police opened an investigation. Authorities revealed that she had been working without a license and that the school had been applying to certify her while she worked.
News of the abuse quickly spread around the Web, where it garnered more than 4 million posts and became a trending topic on Weibo by Thursday.
"This person is seriously sick!" wrote a disgusted Weibo user. "My child starts school next year, how frightening!" said another.
Teng Linhua, Vice-director of the Wenling Education Bureau, told the China Daily newspaper that "all teachers at private and public schools must have qualifications before being hired."
Teng said only 40 percent of kindergarten teachers in Wenling were properly qualified.
NBC News' Le Li and Johanna Armstrong contributed to this report.


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Writer wrote:Not only have you not given us any dialogue at all, but you have ALSO spelled "dialogue" wrong! Why, I should...Oooh, is that a dancing bear?
entrophy wrote:Bloodsplattered Sidewalks wrote:"It as given to me by my grandfather." should be "It was"
Shh. You'll wake the spekkchecker.
I was going to fix that, but I think it's funnier if I don't.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


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I have something exciting to share with you today!
Hmm…. who could this be?
Meet Poesy Mae, my first custom American Girl doll!
Isn't she adorable?
I bought a used doll from Ebay, then bought a wig from Monique to re-wig her and create Poesy. 😀 I'm so excited to finally have the custom doll I've been dreaming of making for several years!
Poesy's adorable glasses are from the Our Generation "Flying Colors" accessory set. I love how bright they are against her dark curls!
I haven't figured out Poesy's whole personality yet, but I have a few ideas. She is 12 years old, loves dogs, and is saving her money to buy a puppy of her own. She used to live in Kansas, and she loves science and math. She really wants to be a meteorologist one day.
When I decided I wanted to create a custom doll, I spent an eternity figuring out what I wanted her to look like, and then another eternity deciding on her name. XD When I came across the name Poesy, I knew it was perfect!
Oh my goodness, I just love her curls!
I'm probably going to buy another AG dog sometime soon so Poesy can get her own puppy instead of borrowing Chloe from Ava. 😉
I'm excited to take more pictures of Poesy! She's so adorable and unique. 😀
Have you ever created a custom doll? What do you think of Poesy?


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I have been on a 3 year quest to dump my old Sony CRT monitor and replace it with an LCD monitor, but I keep getting sidetracked.
I am looking for suggestions (recommendations really) for a high end/quality LCD monitor.
Resolution must be 1920x1200 or higher (NOT 1080), and most likely 24in display.
It would be really nice with dual-inputs so I can add both my desktop and laptop.
A built in USB hub would also be pretty useful.
Price is not an issue (it is, but I care more about quality), so I have an open mind. I don't care for another TV, just more screen space.
My top picks are the Dell UltraSharp U2410 and the NEC MultiSync EA241WM. I've always been interested in Samsung but too lazy to figure out which series are cheap and which are quality.
If you own or use any of the above monitor or know of one you really love please let me know. I want to buy something in the next 1 to 2 weeks. (Apologies for all the messages).
Leave a comment or Contact me.


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Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (27 February 1807 – 24 March 1882 / Portland, Maine)
» Click to list general statistics » OR, select a date :
Hiawatha's Departure
By the shore of Gitche Gumee,
By the shining Big-Sea-Water,
At the doorway of his wigwam,
In the pleasant Summer morning,
read more >>
- Hits: Number of visitors who read the poem on the given date.
- Posts: Number of visitors who posted the poem to a friend (via e-mail) on the given date.
- Dates that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list.
- Dates, poems and poets that have "0" hits may not be shown on the list. Statistics are generated daily.