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Our Payments & Utility Division is available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to assist you with Customer Connect navigation at (302)366-7000.
Show All Answers
Services for rental units may use our online customer portal, Customer Connect, to open or close electric service. Payments & Utility Billing representatives are available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. at the South Main Street location. Customers may also call between the hours of 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. A signed lease or landlord affidavit must be submitted within 10 days of establishing service. Leases may be emailed to firstname.lastname@example.com, faxed to (302)366-7169, or hand delivered to our South Main Street location.
No, in order to transfer from one service to another, you will have to contact a Payments & Utility representative at (302)366-7000, Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Water, sewer, and stormwater services are directly associated with the property. Services that can be liened must remain in the name of the property owner. While tenants are unable to place the account in their name or establish a Customer Connect account under the name of the owner, you can make a one-time payment using the bill information on Customer Connect. Landlords can also fill out an Property Certification Form to have the bill or a bill copy mailed directly to you.
The buyer's attorney will contact the City of Newark prior to your settlement. We simply request that you contact us after settlement to provide us with demographical information, such as telephone number(s), mailing address, additional account information, etc.
A driver's license or passport, social security number, a signed lease or landlord affidavit must be submitted within 10 days of establishing service. Leases may be emailed to firstname.lastname@example.com, faxed to (302)366-7169, or hand delivered to our South Main Street location.
New services for rental units require a minimum deposit of $300 to ensure the account has a $0 balance at termination. If an account is closed with a balance, the security deposit will first be applied to that and the difference will be mailed to the account holder. Security deposits are refundable after three years of good payment history or upon moving from the property. The refund process may take up to four weeks. In addition to the security deposit, a $30 non-refundable application fee will appear on the first bill.
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, cash, money orders, and checks.
Payments may be mailed to P. O. Box 13447, Philadelphia, PA 19101-3447. The City is required to utilize our local financial institution's lockbox to process payments in a timely manner. Residents who choose not to use this Philadelphia payment center, may use one of the following options:
Budget Billing or Equal Payment Program is a service that reviews your prior annual utility bill average. Once the average is calculated, a monthly draft occurs from your checking or credit card account for 11 months. On the 12th month, customers are billed for the current bill and the reconciled balance (debit or credit). Customers must be on a preauthorized payment plan to participate in the equal payment program. The City reserves the right to remove customers from equal payment programs due to failed payments or unacceptable payment history.
Customers can sign up for Preauthorized Payment or Budget Billing Plans by logging into Customer Connect. Select, "Preauthorized Payment" and choose a "Payment Plan Type." Payment plans will draft your statement balance or budgeted amount from your financial institution each month on your due date.
The customer charge is a flat charge to reduce the City's sensitivity to various consumptions. It assists in the recovery of fixed costs incurred to provide service.
Payment arrangements are subject to approval and must be aligned with City Ordinance. Customers may contact Payments & Utility Billing to discuss payment arrangement options.
There are several third-party agencies that assist with electric payments. Contact our partnering agencies or Payments & Utility Billing Division for additional information.
Yes. Tickets can be paid at City of Newark's Parking Portal.
Yes, the City of Newark, in partnership with Delaware Municipal Electric Corporation helps residents and businesses reduce their energy use and save money through Efficiency Smart. This program offers rebates, incentives, and more.
Review your bill to see if the meter reading was an actual meter reading (MR) or a computer estimate (CE). If your meter reading was estimated, contact our office to provide an actual meter reading. If an actual meter reading occurred, evaluate any new appliances or behavioral patterns that may influence usage. Register for Customer Connect to monitor your interval usage for abnormalities. Our Payments & Utility Billing division is available to assist you in troubleshooting potential issues. If no apparent reason exists, meter tests are available at a cost of $70. This cost is waived if the meter tests outside of industry standards.
"Energy Next" refers to the inclining rate structure of the bill. While our winter rates are traditionally flat, the summer rates are tiered at the first 250 kWh, next 750 kWh, and kWh in excess of 1,000 kWh.
Name changes can be updated with the submittal of marriage, divorce, or death certificates. New Castle County Recorder of Deeds may also be used for name changes and updates.
Residents may register their address for medical emergencies by filling out the Life Support Certification form. Your medical practitioner must complete and certify this form. This will ensure that restorations are prioritized in the event of power failures, natural disasters, or non-payment service interruptions.
Customer Connect is an interactive web portal providing 24 hour access to review the most current and up-to-date account information. Customers can monitor usage, review data, enroll in electronic billing, remit one-time payments, make automatic payments, analyze bills, view billing information, update account information, create service order requests, and more.
Customer Connect is built with security in mind. The website is secured with HTTPS/256-bit encryption for all communications. Customer Connect does not hold any valid payment information for payments initiated via Customer Connect.
Customer Connect leverages Paymentus as payment processing partner. Paymentus is an independent company providing online bill payment and bill presentment services to more than 450 clients in 48 states. They are recognized as one of the leaders of billing and payment solutions in North America.
Paymentus offers fully integrated red-flag identify theft protection and are PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant. For more information about Paymentus Corporation, please visit their website at www.paymentus.com
Accounts sharing the same unique customer number (City identifier) will automatically link to both active and inactive accounts.
Alerts that were in the prior version of Customer Connect are currently unavailable.
Please select a password with 7 alpha characters, at least 1 numeric value, and a special character.
In partnership with its citizens, Newark is striving to become a more sustainable community, one which meets the needs of its present inhabitants while preserving for future generations the finite local and global resources and our natural environment. As part of the roadmap to becoming more sustainable, the City has established goals related to how we provide electric power to customers via our Sustainability Plan. One of the City's goals is to procure renewable generation resources for our distributed electricity mix of at least 30% by 2025, 65% by 2035, and 100% as soon as practicable but no later than 2045. At this moment, over 20% of the City's power is derived from renewable energy, which is solar and wind.
City residents and businesses have shown consistent support for including renewable resources in the rest of our power supply mix — even if such resources are more expensive than non-renewable power sources. All newly established utility accounts are automatically enrolled in the program. Existing customers can enroll here. Since this is a voluntary charge, new customers may also opt out of the program completing the same form.
The Renewable Energy Program can be read about in its entirety on our webpage.


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The Galápagos Islands, which provided impetus and inspiration for Charles Darwin's seminal work, "On the Origin of Species", are home to unique populations of reptiles. Since the time of man's first visit in the 16th century to this crucial incubator for evolutionary theory, the islands' native plants and animals have faced grave challenges, including severe pressures from introduced species, habitat destruction and predation by man himself.
In some instances, this has led to reduced populations and even extinction. In the 20th century, conservation efforts began, but according to new research, considerably more must be done to insure the long-term survival of land-dwelling iguanas on the archipelago.
In a new article in Molecular Ecology an international coalition of scientists, led by Michel Milinkovitch, from the University of Geneva, Switzerland, detail their near-decade-long effort to assess the population genetics of land iguanas on the six islands where the reptiles occur today.
Population genetics is a cornerstone of modern evolutionary synthesis. It employs principles of molecular genetics and sophisticated data analysis to identify populations and characterize the genetic diversity within – and the levels of genetic differentiation among – these evolutionarily significant groups. Changes are influenced by the evolutionary forces of natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. Scientists obtain blood or tissue samples from subjects and examine multiple loci across their genome. In so doing, researchers are able to draw conclusions regarding relationships, genetic diversity and genetic drift among various populations.
Galápagos land iguanas diverged from the famous Galápagos marine iguanas 10 to 20 million years ago, and there are currently two recognized species of terrestrial iguanas; Conolophus subcristatus and C. pallidus.
Beginning in the 1930s, and continuing through the 1980s, various threatened populations of land iguanas were relocated from one island habitat to another, or were subject to captive breeding and reintroduction programs. Combined with the eradication of invasive species at some locations, this patchwork of dedicated conservation efforts by the Charles Darwin Foundation and the Galápagos National Park Service has undoubtedly preserved some native species from extinction, but unfortunately the records of these activities were not always detailed. As a result, the genetic diversity of captive and reintroduced populations is uncertain.
Given that genetic diversity within – and relationships among – populations are crucial for long-term species survival, the authors investigated genetic variation at nine nuclear microsatellite loci among more than 700 land iguanas from six island habitats. For comparison, the information obtained was compared with similar information gathered from 20 marine iguanas. This represents the first time that extensive and modern molecular genetic analyses have been applied to the study of these unique terrestrial reptiles. Results revealed four distinct "clusters" of iguanas, including two potential new species. Results also revealed that, while some populations enjoy robust genetic diversity, others do not. As such, they are at increased risk from any future changes in environmental pressures.
As noted by the authors, "Molecular data could prove of paramount interest for improving management of [off-site] captive populations and for guiding the development of proper [natural habitat] population survival and habitat management plans for this spectacular reptile."
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subset: commoncrawl


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The long anticipated debut of Empire Bingo has finally graced the Jumpman Gaming Network. The Empire Bingo site is going to give you everything you could ever need from an online bingo site and much more! Empire Bingo is not your usual online bingo site. The unique player VIP ranking system on the site allows players to progress through different VIP levels, each with its own rewards. Players begin as a standard member and can progress to Bronze, Silver, Gold and finally to the coveted "Black".
When players join the site they receive a £20 free bingo bonus on the their first deposit of £10 and in addition get a chance to spin the bonus wheel for an additional £5 – £2500 Bonus!
The site is absolutely packed with brilliant bingo games as well as casino, scratchcard and slot games. Empire Bingo features top games titles such as Doctor Love, Chilli Gold, Millionaires Club and many more.


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Igor Toronyi-Lalic points out that the proportion of workers in the City who are from ethnic minorities is five times that in the arts, and says:
The evil scumbags who work in the City appear to be doing a better job at being modern and liberal than the state-subsidised art world.
Why? One reason, as Simon says, is a selection effect; Indians tend to study numerate subjects, which disposes them to enter finance rather than the arts.
But there's another reason - the Ron Atkinson effect. In the 70s, pro football was overwhelmingly white. Then BFR selected the "three degrees" - Batson, Regis and Cunningham - which paved the way for an influx of black players into top sides.
BFR did not do this because he had advanced, liberal opinions; we later learned that he didn't. He did it because players of the calibre of Regis and Cunningham were so good they improved his team greatly.W hen racism met the desire to win games, racism lost.
This illustrates a point made by Gary Becker back in 1957. He pointed out that competition was the enemy of discrimination and monopoly its friend. A company that refused to hire blacks or women even if they were good workers would lose out to firms that did hire them. And subsequent research has proved him right. For example, studies have found that when US banks became exposed to more competition in the 80s and 90s, gender (pdf) and racial (pdf) pay gaps narrowed.
This helps explain the difference between the arts and banking. Granted, banks as an industry are massively (pdf) subsidized. But within the bubble there's competition between banks. And in many banking jobs, there's a clear measure of performance; does the guy make money or not? Competition and the ease of measuring performance combine to make banks want to hire the best person they can, regardless of colour.
By contrast, there's less competition between arts groups and less clarity of measuring performance*. This gives arts companies more room to prefer the second-rate white guy - a breed of whom the world has never had a shortage - over the better black.
Now, you might think all I've said here is standard pro-market stuff. But there's an implication for the left. We don't achieve equality merely by having politically correct liberals in positions of power (especially if such"liberals" are merely self-righteous hypocritical little pricks). We achieve it by having the right institutions and mechanisms. Structure matters more than agency.
* I'm talking matters of degree here; it is possible for duffers with political skills to do OK in banking, but it's probably tougher.


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The 'O' PERFECT 10 with CARLTON BRAGANZA, BARRY aka BHARAT KRISHNA & THE BEST OF OPUS at Opus, Palace Cross Road on 31st Dec, 8:30 PM !!
Thou shall have no Belly Dancers
Thou shall take precaution against Sunburn
Thou shall not be lured by Exotic Dancers
Thou shall go easy on Bollywood
Thou shall avoid Bling
Thou shall say no to Drugs
There shall be no Rave
Thou shall have NO RED CARPET
Thou shall have no fancy DJs
Thou shall have no Fire Eaters
Thou shall not ape Hollywood
Thou shall have no VJs
We're bringing in 2010 as we always do - with friends, an endless buffet, buckets of alcohol and lots of dancing through the night!
Tickets priced at Rs. 2500 per person (includes Entry, Unlimited Food & Beverages). Call 9844030198 / 9845244610 for tickets!!
Groooooooooovey tunes from across the decades, some lip-smacking food and a chiller full of cocktails to bring in 2010 !!
Requests, dedications, hits, misses and the best tunes from across the ages!!
What's new on myopusradio.com this week!
The BRAND New 'OMG! - Opus Merchandise & Goodies'
Tees, shoes, zippos, CDs, keychains, bags, ashtrays, mugs, and Christmas gifts!
the Gina Forever range of tshirts, shoes and CDs (proceeds go towards the Gina Forever Foundation) !!
Available at Opus, Palace Cross Road or call: 9844030198 to place your orders
To view past few events' pictures:
O-Show Special Edition - X'mas Day 6
Zero Reunion Gig - X'mas Day 5
Rajasthan Roots - X'mas Day 4
Bookmark these for regular updates:


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Micrographia is for those who use microscopes in their investigations of the world around them.
It is for students and teachers of (especially) fresh water biology in their search for creature identification and illustrative material, for both amateur and professional light microscopists seeking to extend the performance of their instruments and to record the images they produce ..... and for anyone at all who feels like a browse through a minutely detailed world of small animals, small plants, and small things. This website was created by John C Walsh, who died on 18th November 2012. It is maintained by his friends in order that John's thoughts and micrographs may continue to be seen by anyone who shares his fascination with the world of very small things. Requests for use of John's images will be dealt with by his Estate, which may be contacted via the email links in this site. This facility searches only Micrographia pages.
Logo Animation: Particles of debris caught in the
feeding current generated by this sessile ciliate (possibly Rhabdostyla spp) have been loosely
compacted into a ball which will rotate as long as the organism continues
to feed.
The original sequence was shot on Kodachrome 16mm film using synchronized electronic flash, which has rendered the action of the cilia sharply in each frame. (x 200). |


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President's Final Report from Istanbul |
By Ruth Haring | |
September 9, 2012 | |
The 83rd FIDE Congress and 2012 Istanbul Olympiad concluded today. Team USA has great fighting spirit and there is a very good sense of team camaraderie. During our time in Istanbul we celebrated the birthdays of Alex Onishuk and Sabina Foisor with cake and bowling. The highlight of the Olympiad was of course the victory over Russia, and Hikaru's excellent win over former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik.
Final Standings for team USA were: 5th Place tie with Gata winning the Board 2 (Bronze) third place individual prize. The Women's team finished in 10th place.
And now my report on the proceedings at the General Assembly. The GA body can in general compared to the USCF Delegates body. In FIDE, every federation is represented by a Delegate: one federation, one vote. In addition to our Delegate Michael Khodarkovsky, Zonal President Franc Guadalupe and I were recognized by the chair of the General Assembly to speak on issues of importance to USCF.
The preliminary work on FIDE Statutes, which I described in my last report and which many people contributed to, was fruitful and the new Statutes were accepted by the GA. This is a significant accomplishment for all involved and a necessary step for FIDE because the Court of Arbitration of Sport in Lausanne had suggested in all opinions handed down over the last years that the FIDE Statutes needed to be clarified in order to avoid future problems and misunderstandings. It should be noted that FIDE benefited greatly from the hard work of Ms. Ank Santens of White and Case. Her work resulted in improvement of FIDE Statutes. Ms. Santens was invited by FIDE Deputy President Georgios Makropoulos to the podium to explain the important statutes changes to the general assembly. Later in the day, Garry Kasparov was invited to the podium and seated next to FIDE President Ilyumzhinov. Garry spoke about mutual cooperation. It seemed that peace had been declared with their handshake.
The work of the Qualification Commission is always very important to USCF. Walter Brown from the office in Crossville, Tennessee is our representative on this Commission. In this year's meeting, titles were approved for:
Marc Arnold
Conrad Holt
Enrico Sevillano
International Master
Teddy Coleman
Victor Shen
FIDE Arbiter
William Broich
The Events Commission approved:
International Organizer
Francisco Guadalupe
The Qualification Commission also recommended a change in the time controls allowed for norm events. We are happy to report that there is now a new minimum time control approved rather than six specified time controls which must be used at norm tournaments. This is important because of the prevalence of time controls with 5 second delay in the USA.
There was some discussion of the fees and taxes proposed and approved for Arbiters in Khanty Mansiysk but no changes will be made even though many countries expressed disagreement with these charges. Olympiad 2016 will be in Baku. I will not comment on the parliamentary process around bid selection, but note that Azerbaijan is in a state of war with Armenia and we will need to carefully consider how to guarantee security of our players and delegation members of Armenian descent in 2016.
We are considering a bid for the World Youth 2017 and you will hear more about this as we move through the bidding process.
Finally, Annex 60, which was the last item on the agenda of the general assembly, was the proposal by Turkish Chess Federation to suspend the five federations involved in the 2010 election related CAS case. The Annex did not pass. It is worthwhile to note that FIDE agrees all disputes are to be arbitrated in the Court of Sport (CAS) and the decision is binding (as described in FIDE Statutes). For those of you who do not know the latest developments in this case, it was decided two years ago right before the FIDE election in Khanty-Mansiysk. The CAS awarded costs of 35,000 Swiss Francs to FIDE which was paid in full. FIDE then appealed the decision on allocation of costs in the Swiss Supreme Court. The Swiss Court send the matter back to CAS which confirmed the cost allocation originally made and rightly commented that ½ of the CAS arguments in the original case were due to FIDE arguing that CAS did not have jurisdiction, and FIDE lost the jurisdiction argument. FIDE made the decision to appeal the CAS award in the Swiss court and to argue jurisdiction of CAS in front of CAS. Perhaps some of the extraordinary charges made at the Olympiad in Istanbul will compensate in some way for losses incurred as a result of decisions made by FIDE to pursue certain courses of legal action.
Fast forward to 2012 General Assembly. Many developing countries have been convinced that one million euros which FIDE expended towards certain costs related to the legal matters would have otherwise been spent for the development of chess. And so even though the decision of CAS is final and binding, there were calls for voluntary donations to the developing countries.
And so we finish this assembly with good progress. Our delegation has been together now for three FIDE Congresses and we work effectively as a team. We cover every Commission meeting and debrief in the evenings so we are all aware of any issues which crop up that will need addressing the next day. I am happy to report that we have established new relationships which will ultimately bring more influence in the future when we have important matters on the agenda. We look forward continuing to engage with a positive spirit of cooperation.


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Election 2012: why status quo result could mean more Washington gridlock
| Washington
After the longest and most expensive campaign in American political history, every center of power in Washington – President Obama, House Speaker John Boehner (R) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D) – have reason to interpret the 2012 election as justification for digging in their heels.
The problem? The "fiscal cliff" awaiting lawmakers in the lame duck session, a pile of stalled legislation, and the ever-growing national debt can't take much more congressional gridlock.
Take Speaker Boehner. The Ohio Republican saw his colleagues turn back a host of challenges and emerge with the House majority largely unscathed. And that means something simple: The American voters affirmed the House GOP, so why should they change?
"While others chose inaction in the face of this threat, we offered solutions. The American people want solutions – and tonight, they've responded by renewing our majority," Boehner told Republican loyalists assembled in Washington. "With this vote, the American people have also made clear that there is no mandate for raising tax rates."
Then there's the Senate, where many Republicans expected 2012 would be Senator Reid's last as majority leader. Senate Democrats not only retained their majority, they added a seat to their side to boot – though at press time two Senate races were still undecided.
On Tuesday night, however, Reid and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell played a familiar, sad tune. Reid, the man who routinely excoriated Republican filibusters of legislation while himself choking off the federal budget process for three consecutive years offered up the same "get with the program" message to Republicans he delivered with no success time and again in the halls of the Senate.
"Now that the election is over, it's time to put politics aside, and work together to find solutions. The strategy of obstruction, gridlock, and delay was soundly rejected by the American people. Now, they are looking to us for solutions," said Reid in an e-mailed statement. "We have big challenges facing us in the months ahead. Democrats and Republicans must come together, and show that we are up to the challenge."
At the same time, Senator McConnell continued to rip the president.
"The voters have not endorsed the failures or excesses of the president's first term, they have simply given him more time to finish the job they asked him to do together with a Congress that restored balance to Washington after two years of one-party control," the minority leader said in a statement. "Now it's time for the president to propose solutions that actually have a chance of passing the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a closely-divided Senate, step up to the plate on the challenges of the moment, and deliver in a way that he did not in his first four years in office."
And then, of course, there is Mr. Obama, who won a narrow majority of the popular vote but a resounding triumph in the Electoral College to earn him a second term. Obama has repeatedly vowed to veto any legislation extending tax cuts for households with income over $250,000 and has no reason to back down from that stance now.
In an analysis just before the election that laid out roughly this same situation, former Democratic budget staffer Stan Collender wrote, "in other words, obstruction and unwillingness to compromise will continue to be the orders of the day."
Partisan gridlock is so fierce in Washington that bipartisan bills including the Violence Against Women Act, the farm bill, and cybersecurity legislation can't make it to the president's desk.
More pressing, however is that the nation faces expiring fiscal policy on Jan. 1 that would hit the US economy with more than $600 billion in spending cuts and increased taxes. That blow will send the economy into a recession in at least the first half of 2013, economists predict.
Those are the financial issue in six weeks. The issue over the coming 10 years, outside analysts agree, is reforming the American tax code, spending priorities, and entitlement programs to keep the US from reaching critical levels of debt relative to economic output.
And let's not forget the debt ceiling. Political warfare over the limit on government borrowing during the summer of 2011 caused one credit rating agency to downgrade America's debt for fear the US could not come to political compromises on even rudimentary matters.
"Having the House and Senate, Democrats and Republicans, and the White House and Congress come together during the lame-duck session on the precise list of issues that has separated them the most assumes they'll be able to do in four weeks what they haven't been able to do over the past four years," Mr. Collender wrote in a subsequent commentary.
"No big budget deal during the lame duck means that the disconcerting 2011 budget debate most likely will be replicated and then some in 2013. The real difference is that with the 2011 experience still fresh, we know how bad this could really be."


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Certified Auto Appraisals on all Year, Make and Model Vehicles including Motorcycles, Fleet Vehicles and Heavy Machinery.
Our Most Requested Appraisal Types:
Classic & Exotic Car Appraisal
Our certified auto appraiser will perform a on site inspection. If you only need an appraisal for insurance coverage or an auto loan, we can perform a value appraisal saving you time and money.
Were you involved in an accident that was not your fault? You may be entitled to loss of vehicle value due to the accident. Diminished Value is value lost due to having an accident history versus owning a vehicle without an accident history. One of our certified auto appraisers will provide you with a detailed report on the Diminished Value of your vehicle. Time is limited on filing a Diminished Value claim; so don't waste anymore time and contact us today!
Total Loss Appraisal (Third Party)
If you were involved in an accident and the insurance company deemed your vehicle a total loss, we can help. If you don't agree with the insurance company's offer, you have the right to hire an independent certified appraiser to determine the actual cash value of your vehicle. Our certified appraiser will go to the vehicle location, conduct the inspection and complete a certified total loss appraisal on your vehicle. Total loss claims do require a negotiation phase which we will take care of for you!
DMV Appraisal
Some states require you to obtain an appraisal for issuing vehicle titles or paying taxes on a purchased vehicle.
Appraisals for Insurance Coverage (Stated Value)
If you are looking to increase your insurance coverage on your vehicle, the insurance company may require you to obtain a certified auto appraisal. If you have a custom car, truck or motorcycle, the insurance company won't pay you more than book value. Get a stated value appraisal to cover all that money spent customizing your vehicle. Have a collector or exotic vehicle? Book value does not justify the value of these vehicles. In case you are in an accident, have a certified auto appraisal done. You'll have peace of mind knowing you'll be covered.
Lease Turn-In Inspections & Appraisals
When it's time to turn in your lease vehicle, it is always recommended to have a certified auto appraisal done. If you question the value the dealer offers you or the amount you will have to pay, have us complete a certified auto appraisal.
Bank Loan Appraisal
Even if you only need a bank loan to purchase the vehicle, the bank may require a certified auto appraisal to approve the loan. Don't waste anymore time and contact us today!
Donation/Non-Cash Charitable Contribution Appraisal
When filing a donation as a deduction on your tax return, the IRS will require you to provide a certified auto appraisal. With our services you will receive a report that will state the fair market value of your vehicle plus we will fill out IRS Form 8283 at no additional charge.
Bankruptcy Appraisal
When filling for bankruptcy, you will be required to have a certified appraisal done on your assets. We can provide you with a certified fair market appraisal on your vehicle.
Body Shop Repair/Collision Repair Estimate
If you second guess the quality of the repair estimate or think the amount is not correct, contact us today to have one of our certified licensed adjusters complete a repair estimate on your damaged vehicle.
Motorcycle Appraisal
If you own a motorcycle it is recommended to have a certified motorcycle appraisal performed. Most motorcycle owners have modified or customized their motorcycle. For the insurance company to cover these items a certified motorcycle appraisal may be required. Other reasons for having a certified motorcycle appraisal done are to determined actual cash value or fair market value, diminished value, estate settlements, charitable donations or maybe you want to use it for a collateral bank loan.
Heavy Machinery/Large Truck/Commercial Vehicles
All Certified Commercial Vehicle & Heavy Machinery Appraisals performed are fully compliant with all local, state and federal regulations and follow industry standards and guidelines. Pinnacle Auto Appraisers also offer commercial auto appraisals, commercial custom vehicle appraisals, commercial truck appraisals, heavy machinery appraisals, heavy equipment appraisals, heavy truck appraisals and all other commercial vehicles. Please contact us today for more information!
**Cancellation fee is $100; once the vehicle has been inspected and/or we have started on the appraisal, no refunds will be issued.**


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Sold Out
I first created the ScreenFashions Pinterest page to organize info for Doctor Who and Sherlock cosplays because the original websites had gone defunct. I then added other tv shows. I currently run fashion blogs and instagram pages for A Discovery of Witches and Free Rein, as well as a tumblr blog and twitter page for multiple shows. My favorite fashionable show is Dynasty.
30 July 2022
Patricia Houghton
April 12, 2022 at 7:57 pm
Love the clothes


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By Danielle S. Tepper
Nick Pope of Pen Argyl is a self-proclaimed "average bloke off the street." He lived in England until he was 26 and while he didn't necessarily grow up running, he was active in athletics. He's got "the runner's high," he says. "As long as I have that, I'm going to keep running." He's now turned that drive and dedication into a fundraising initiative, "Pope Runs for Hope," and looks to run one race a month in 2014 in order to donate money to Lauren's Hope Foundation.
Lauren Flood was born via Caesarean section at 37 weeks on April 23, 2003. She developed spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy after a spontaneous placental abruption caused oxygen deprivation to her brain. She also developed a seizure disorder. At four and a half years old, she unexpectedly passed away through the night shortly before Christmas of 2007 after suffering a massive seizure that caused respiratory failure.
"I kind of knew right away that I would want to do something," said Ann Flood, Lauren's mother and president of Lauren's Hope Foundation. "I learned so much with Lauren; what it takes to find treatment and funding what insurance doesn't cover. I wanted to help other children with brain injuries."
Flood started the foundation, which is based in Bath, just six months after Lauren's death and held their first major fundraiser three months after that. The foundation hosted a golf tournament, followed by a children's Christmas party where they gave out adapted toys (toys made specially for children with special needs).
"For most of them, it's the only Christmas they get, which is heart-breaking," said Flood. "The parents just can't afford it; the adapted toys are so expensive."
Lauren's Hope now hosts at least one fundraiser a month, with three big ones each year.
Lauren's Hope partnered with Lehigh Valley Hospital in 2010. Flood's ultimate goal has been to start a head cooling program. Studies have shown that babies who experience oxygen deprivation to the brain can be helped by cooling within the first six hours of life. Cooling stops the metabolic reaction in the brain, slows down the rate of cell damage, and lessens possible disabilities.
Flood's foundation was part of LVH's development and saw the technology become available after two and a half years.
"It was very bittersweet," said Flood. "It was too late for Lauren, but at least now they have something for babies like her."
Flood is now hoping to raise money for cooling transport blankets, because the sooner a baby can be cooled, the better the outcome. The blankets and a transport unit would cost $18,000, making that Flood's goal for 2014. And that's where Nick Pope comes running in.
Pope met Ann Flood at a wrestling tournament in March of 2013 and learned about the Lauren's Hope Foundation. It wasn't their chance meeting that spurred him into the deal though; it was watching his running partner collapse during a race.
"I was doing a mud run up at Shawnee Mountain and I turned around at one point and this guy was white. Turns out his electrolytes were low and he went right down," explained Pope. "And I started thinking, why am I doing this? There should be a reason. So I came up with the idea of running for a foundation or a cause."
There is certainly no shortage of local charities, but Pope remembered Lauren's Hope and reached out to Ann right away.
"This is something I came up with out of the blue," said Pope. "I said to Ann, I don't even know where to begin with this."
"We met at Detzi's in Wind Gap and chatted over pieces of scrap paper," laughed Flood.
Pope ran his first race for Lauren's Hope in September of 2013 and came in 46th out of 4,288 runners.
"When you're running for something, for a cause, it's amazing how your brain will offset the pain and your breathing," said Pope. "I ran a 20-minute 5K. I've never done that before! It's the focus of the cause that keeps me going."
It also helps that a crowd of runners will part to let a "runner that cares" pass through. "That's all you have to say, 'runner that cares' and they all move to one side," explained Pope.
For each run, Pope wears a T-shirt printed with the name of the foundation, the name of his venture, and the names of his sponsors. His goal is to gather as many sponsors as possible and act as a human billboard. He pays each entry fee out of his own pocket and 100% of the money he raises goes directly to Ann and her foundation.
"I know I'm nobody famous," said Pope. "Who wants to sponsor a guy off the street? Why would you? I thought about that, but it's not me, it's Lauren's Hope. Do they feel the same as I do about Lauren's Hope? Anybody can do it. We can all do it, it's just do you want to?"
Pope has been trying to gather local sponsors because "everybody sees it. They'll know you're making a difference," he said. "I'm doing it because I want to help and I like to run. Why not drive something? I used to joke and say Hope Pushes Pope. And it's true."
November's run was a Spartan Sprint in Boston. Pope placed 139th place out of 8,000. "But I can always do better," he said. To that end, he hopes to persuade sponsors to donate based on his performance. "I'm always thinking of ways to raise more money."
"The difference that one guy is making is incredible," said Flood. "He raised over $1,000 in just a couple months."
"I don't see the money," said Pope. "Pick any charity and you may not know where exactly the money goes. I know Ann is giving it directly to those kids. That's where I see it."
Pope was in a motorcycle accident around six years ago. It took him a year and a half to walk right again and three years to make a full recovery. He credits that experience to giving him the drive to keep pushing himself to new levels.
"Life's too short to sit around," said Pope. "Did it take a motorcycle accident? No, it took recovering from a motorcycle accident. You come home every day and look at five kids and think, you want to look at five kids. You can do this, you can be that person."
His five young kids and supportive wife are his biggest fans.
"They know what I'm doing is the right thing, even though my wife sometimes thinks I'm nuts," he laughed. "I couldn't do it without them."
Going into 2014, Pope is scheduled to run one major race each month. Aside from collecting sponsors, both he and Flood are hoping to create a Forrest Gump effect by inspiring people to run with him.
"I'd love to see a big crowd of people just following him around," laughed Flood. "This might be his midlife crisis; some people buy a fancy car, Nick runs for a year."
"When I'm running, I always push my body to the limit," Pope said. "But you have to stop somewhere—Forrest Gump stopped."
For January, Pope has yet to decide between the Ice Scraper in Allentown and Chilly Cheeks in Reading. He is, however, accepting running buddies.
"Anyone with a New Year's resolution, come and join me!" he said. "There's never enough when it comes to charity."
Pope used to be a smoker and quit cold turkey. "It's willpower; you either have it or you don't. This was never on my bucket list, it's not something I dreamt of," he explained. "But I have to do it. You either want to or you don't. You've got to do it, because if you stop, it's like anything else—you can't just not feel like it. I don't know how far I'm going to go or can go with this. But if I stop, those kids don't get the money."
Sounds like the sky's the limit for this runner who cares.
Interested in donating to Pope Runs for Hope or Lauren's Hope Foundation? Visit www.facebook.com/PopeRunsforHope and www.laurenshopefoundation.com for more information. Runners who'd like to join Nick Pope for a race can contact him via Facebook, as can any local business willing to sponsor him.


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Evo Morales' Party Choosing Candidates for Bolivia Elections
With its top leader absent, the party of Evo Morales gathered Saturday in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba to start choosing its candidates for new elections called after the resignation and exile of the former president amid protests over vote results.
Morales' Movement Toward Socialism, or MAS, party is divided almost three weeks after Bolivia's first indigenous president, prompted by the military and nationwide protests, left for political asylum in Mexico saying he was the victim of a coup d'etat. Critics of the long-ruling leader say he used fraud to win a fourth straight term in office in the Oct. 20 vote.
"Evo is not alone", shouted party militants, mostly from social and indigenous organizations, in a Cochabamba coliseum.
The date for the new elections has not yet been set.
Morales, who is currently in Cuba for a medical appointment, said via Twitter that "today the people are uniting, organizing and mobilizing to recover democracy and continue the process of change."
MAS president Rimer Agreda said the gathered delegates will vote to punish members who betrayed the party, apparently referring to party members who didn't back Morales.
"We have to give a punishment vote to all (those) who are at the service of the U.S. embassy," he added. Morales has said that he was ousted with U.S. support.
Chamber of Deputies president Sergio Choque said Morales will have final say over the candidates chosen. "We will go (the elections) with new candidates coming from the social sectors."
It was unclear how long the candidate selection process would take.
Morales left the Andean country on Nov. 11 for Mexico, a day after his resignation. Sen. Jeanine Anez then assumed the presidency temporarily for 90 days. A consensus of political forces was later reached to call new elections and cancel the Oct. 20 vote, which an Organization of American States report has said with filled with irregularities and manipulation.
On Friday, news emerged that Morales had temporarily left Mexico for Cuba. A former aide did not specify whether Morales made the trip for a routine medical checkup or to treat a specific ailment.
Morales underwent treatment in Cuba in 2017 for nose, ear and throat complaints.
by via Voice of America - English


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SEARCH Implementation Planning
After gathering additional input from meetings and a Town Hall at the 2012 AGU Fall meeting, the SEARCH Science Steering Committee and the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S. (ARCUS) submitted a proposal to NSF and other SEARCH Interagency Program Management Committee agencies in support of a new organizational structure and framework to translate the SEARCH vision into concrete tasks. Activities will focus on several themes, including the five-year science goals:
- Improve Understanding, Advance Prediction, and Explore Consequences of Changing Arctic Sea Ice
- Document and Understand How Degradation of Near-Surface Permafrost Will Affect Arctic and Global Systems
- Improve Predictions of Future Land-ice Loss and Impacts on Sea Level
- Analyze Societal and Policy Implications of Arctic Environmental Change
In addition to the above science goals, activities will address cross-cutting themes of the Arctic Observing Network and "Arctic Futures 2050"—scenarios that describe plausible future states of the arctic system or its components based on recent trajectories and projected changes.
A document summarizing key elements of the new SEARCH activities and organizational structure is available online through the SEARCH website (see "Summary of New SEARCH Framework & Plan").
Sea Ice Outlook and Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook Launched
The 2013 Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) was launched in April. The SIWO delivers online weekly reports with scientific information and local observations on weather and sea ice conditions in Alaska walrus hunting regions. The SIWO is a collaborative SEARCH project with the National Weather Service, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, the Eskimo Walrus Commission, NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, and ARCUS. The SIWO reports are available via the website as well as Facebook and Twitter (follow @ArcticResearch).
The organizers of the Sea Ice Outlook announced the call for contributions for pan-arctic and regional Outlooks for the first report of the 2013 season—the June report (based on May data). The full announcement can be found here. Submission deadline is Friday, 7 June.
Arctic Observing Network Activities
The final report from the U.S. Arctic Observing Coordination workshop, held 20-22 March 2012 in Anchorage, Alaska, was announced and is available here. Hardcopies may be requested by emailing Reija Shnoro (reija [at] arcus.org). The workshop brought together over 100 researchers, agency representatives, and stakeholders to develop strategies for coordinating U.S. observing activities in the Arctic. The report includes descriptions of 11 "showcase projects" that would demonstrate effective approaches towards interagency collaboration. The report also summarizes recommendations on data management, challenges for building a coordinated network, and future directions and opportunities. The SEARCH SSC and Observing Change Panel will be working with relevant programs, organizations, and agencies to explore areas of mutual interest in the recommendations.
SEARCH was well represented at the Arctic Observing Summit 2013 meeting, including the contribution of a white paper on "Dual-purpose Arctic Observing Networks: Lessons from SEARCH on Frameworks for Prioritization and Coordination"). More information on the Arctic Observing Summit can be found here.
For more information about SEARCH, please visit the website (http://www.arcus.org/search) or contact Helen Wiggins, ARCUS (SEARCH Project Office) at helen [at] arcus.org, or Hajo Eicken, UAF (SEARCH SSC Chair) at: hajo.eicken [at] gi.alaska.edu.


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Stanton homers twice as Marlins rout D-backs
PHOENIX (AP) -- Giancarlo Stanton doesn't look like someone who spent a month on the disabled list after knee surgery.
Stanton continued his offensive surge with two homers, including the first of back-to-back home runs during Miami's nine-run fourth inning, and the Marlins routed the Arizona Diamondbacks 12-3 on Monday night.
"My body is letting me," said Stanton, who hit a towering 442-foot home run into the second deck in the fourth three days after hitting a 494-foot blast in Colorado. "I thought I would need a little more days off but it has responded well."
Since returning from the disabled list on Aug. 7 following surgery to remove loose bodies from his right knee, Stanton is 13 for 43 with four doubles, five homers and 11 RBIs. His 26 home runs are rank him third in the National League.
"This guy is so good, so talented," said Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen. "He has missed half a year and he still has 20-something home runs. That is how talented he is."
Justin Ruggiano homered after Stanton, and Jose Reyes had four hits -- including three doubles -- scored twice and drove in a run. John Buck homered among his three hits and Donnie Murphy added an RBI triple for the Marlins, who have won three of their last four.
Miami's 10 hits in the fourth matched a franchise record set last September 9 at Pittsburgh, and the 12 runs and 20 hits were season highs.
"Finally we got to see some guys having fun in the dugout, a little smile and enjoying the game," Guillen said. "I like when I see those guys excited, happy, smiling and having some fun in the dugout. We have had so many long faces all year long. Watching those guys just for a day enjoying this game, I wish we could do it a little more often."
Marlins starter Mark Buehrle (11-11) was the beneficiary of the offense while allowing two runs on six hits over seven innings for his second straight win. He struck out four without a walk.
"Don't talk to me. See the guys who did all the work today," Buehrle said. "When you get a lead like that you obviously don't want to go out there and pump heaters. You still have to pitch and get guys out."
Joe Saunders (6-10) took the loss, giving up a career-worst nine runs on 12 hits with two strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out two as his ERA soared from 3.70 to 4.22.
"Joe just didn't throw the ball very good," said Arizona manager Kirk Gibson. "It happened quickly. With all the games we have coming up we were kinda forced to try and stick with him and save the bullpen but it didn't work out that way."
The Diamondbacks had their four-game winning streak snapped. After the game, the Diamondbacks announced long-time shortstop Stephen Drew was traded to the Oakland Athletics for a minor-league infielder.
Jason Kubel homered in the first to give Arizona a 1-0 lead, but the Marlins quickly took control.
Donovan Solano singled to center and Reyes hit a broken-bat blooper just onto the grass behind the infield cutout. Lee followed with a broken-bat popup that landed harmlessly on the infield dirt between first and second as Aaron Hill was wrong-footed breaking to cover second on the hit-and-run, scoring Solano.
The bloop hits ended there.
Stanton drove a pitch into the second deck, just short of the restaurant above the left-field fence, to give Miami a 4-1 lead. Ruggiano then homered into the camera well in the batters' eye above center field to make it 5-1.
Both home runs, coming on the heels of three singles that traveled less than 350 feet combined, were estimated at 442 feet.
"That's all you can do in this game -- make pitches -- and whatever happens, happens," Saunders said.
Buck singled before Saunders earned a sarcastic cheer from the crowd by retiring Murphy on a fly ball to center, and Buerhle popped a bunt into Saunders glove five feet in front of the mound.
But Emilio Bonifacio easily beat out a grounder to third, Solano singled for the second time in the inning to bring home Buck, Reyes doubled and Lee singled to complete the Marlins' outburst.
"I walked up here (in the clubhouse) and sat on the couch and got razzed by J.J. (Josh Johnson) and Ricky (Nolasco) about getting so many runs and what I do to the team to get so many runs scored when I am pitching. I had to just move around. I can't just sit there on the bench."
Chris Johnson snapped a 0-for-18 skid, singling in Paul Goldschmidt in the fourth for Arizona.
Murphy tripled home Buck in the fifth for Miami, and Stanton and Buck homered in the seventh against Arizona reliever Brad Bergesen.
Kubel added an RBI groundout in the eighth off Chris Hatcher.
NOTES: Stanton has six career two-homer games, including two this season. ... Saunders, who allowed nine runs -- six earned -- on August 25, 2010, gave up 12 hits for the third time in his career. He failed to get out of the fourth for the second time this season. ... The Marlins' biggest-ever inning also came against Arizona, a 10-run effort on July 9, 2009. ... The Marlins are the second club to record six straight hits in an inning against the Diamondbacks this season. ... Gibson said Willie Bloomquist is expected to return to the lineup on Friday. . Nolasco takes the mound for the Marlins on Tuesday against RHP Trevor Cahill in a matchup of pitchers looking for their 10th win of the season. Nolasco pitched a complete-game loss against Colorado on Thursday, his only complete game of the season. Cahill, 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA in his last two starts at Chase Field, also will be going for his 50th career win.


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Parshat Ha'azinu
Almost all of Ha'azinu is a song, written in the Torah in two parallel columns. Moshe summons the heavens and the earth to stand as eternal witnesses to what will happen if the Jewish People sin and do not obey the Torah. He reminds the people to examine the history of the world, and note how the Jewish People are rescued from obliteration in each generation - that G-d "pulls the strings" of world events so that Bnei Yisrael can fulfill their destiny as His messengers in the world. G-d's kindness is such that Israel should be eternally grateful, not just for sustaining them in the wilderness, but for bringing them to a land of amazing abundance, and for defeating their enemies. But, this physical bounty leads the people to become self-satisfied and over-indulged. Physical pleasures corrupt the morals of the people. They worship empty idols and powerless gods, and indulge in all kinds of depravity. G-d will then let nations with no moral worth subjugate Israel and scatter them across the world. However, their only purpose is as a rod to chastise the Jewish People. When these nations think that it is through their own power that they have dominated Israel, G-d will remind them that they are no more that a tool to do His will. The purpose of the Jewish People is fundamental - that man should know his Creator. Neither exile nor suffering can sever the bond between G-d and His people, and eventually in the final redemption this closeness will be restored. G-d will then turn His anger against the enemies of Israel, as though they were His enemies, showing no mercy to the tormentors of His people. G-d then gives His last commandment to Moshe: That he should ascend Mount Nevo and be gathered there to his people.
Living For Kicks
"And Yeshurun became fat and kicked."
There once was a farmer who fed his calf so that it would have strength to pull the plow. As he was entering the stable one day the calf turned round and gave him a strong kick. "From where did you get the strength to give me such a kick?" asked the farmer. "From the food you gave me!"
Prosperity is a dangerous thing. When a person gets to live off the fat of the land, he can easily forget Who it is that fed him. The Torah calls the Jewish people here by the name Yeshurun. This name is connected to the word yashar, meaning "straight". It's not by coincidence that the Torah chooses this name here, for nothing can bend the straightness of the heart more than luxury and physical indulgence.
Yeshurun is also linked to the word shur, meaning "to see". When Yeshurun became fat, it kicked: The clarity of sight that the Jewish People had at Sinai becomes blurred when it focuses on the pleasure of this world.
Material comfort is dangerous in two ways: It can make us believe that we are legends in our own lunchtimes, brilliant wheeler-dealers, talented and foresighted. It's all too easy to forget that everything in life is a present. A poor person has no illusions from where his bread comes; he sees that without G-d he could not survive.
The pursuit and the maintenance of an affluent life style has another pitfall. It's very time consuming. It fills our waking hours, leaving us little time for spirituality. How often during our daily silent prayers do we find minds wandering; we review our day, our lives, our wants and our problems! The more we have, the more we want. The more we want, the more time we need to think about how to get what we want and how to keep hold of what we have amassed.
This Shabbat is called Shabbat Shuva, "The Shabbat of Return". Shabbat contains within it the power of the events of the following week. Thus it contains within it the power of the twenty-four fast of Yom Kippur. Since Shabbat is a day of pleasure, of eating, how can it contain its opposite?
On Shabbat, we have the opportunity to take this physical world and, rather than use it for own aggrandizement, we can elevate it to the service of our Creator.


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I've been forcing myself to photograph my food, as a way to get motivated to eat more clean foods. It's much more work to prep the food & go shopping but I feel much better. I ate so much crappy food during the three weeks in December I was working like crazy, so I'm just happy I have a little bit of time to do this.
Oh, and I made this lentil spread and everyone LOVES this stuff! It doesn't look super great but I've made it four times in the last week if that says anything.
Here's how I made it
1 cp cooked lentils (cooked in chicken stock)
2 garlic cloves
1 tlb stone ground mustard
2 diced green onions
2 tlb raw almonds
2 tlb olive oil
Puree everything in a food processor, adding more oil towards the end if you want it more "spreadable". I like it with these black bean chips but it would be good with anything. I actually scrambled it with my eggs earlier in the week.
Some containers I ordered from Fab came in today. I love this bread bowl from Erik Bagger and the vacuum pitcher was much less than the coveted Stelton pitcher.
Any moms/dads (or aunts or godmothers etc.) read the Pigeon books? Israel loves them, we've read them over and over and over, he's reading some of it to us now. I bought him the Pigeon plush and he sleeps with him. It's pretty cute how much he loves this bird.
Often times Israel leaves the house looking better than us but I'd rather it be that way than the other way, you know?


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Waiting in the Garden
This morning, I want us to grapple with one of the most universal and troubling facts of human existence. Though every last one of us would have it otherwise, it is an unavoidable reality that during our lifetimes people close to us will become sick, suffer great pain, and, in some cases, die. It seems crucial that we be unafraid here in this religious community in acknowledging the tragic dimension of life, for surely there is no one here in this room this morning who can reasonably expect to escape the agony of watching other human beings, for whom we love and care, go through pain and death. Ours is a profoundly mortal creation, and though we often live our lives as though it is otherwise, the truth is that to live is to suffer the vulnerabilities and vicissitudes of the flesh. So if we are to live out our years with wisdom, compassion and health, it seems essential that we prepare ourselves psychologically and spiritually for those inevitable times when we will be asked to share life with those for whom life is painfully slipping away.
Surely such times are amongst life's most difficult. One of the toughest things any one of us can face is the helplessness and anxiety we feel when we are obliged to watch someone dear to us suffer. It's almost worse, I think, than suffering the same infirmity yourself. I doubt that there is any human being alive who does not feel profound discomfort, anger, and angst watching a loved one endure disease, pain, or death. I have never met anyone who did not find dealing with human tragedy close at hand a heart-wrenching and disquieting thing. No matter how many times I am invited as a minister to share in the tragedies of others, I know, and pray, that I shall never develop an immunity to the hurt my own heart feels when I must stand by and witness the suffering of others.
No matter how wise or brave or worldly we might be, we all face a real crisis when life demands that we be near the suffering of others. When a family member, neighbor, or dear friend must battle disease, debilitation or death, we never know quite how to handle ourselves. Even the most adept of us never know quite what to do, what to say, how to help. We tend to feel terribly awkward and inadequate. We quite naturally want so intensely to make it all better. to take away the pain or problem...to find a solution, speed a recovery, engineer a miracle...even when such things are not possible. The greatest human tragedies occur, in my experience, not when the trouble strikes our loved one, but rather when our feelings of anxiety, helplessness and discomfort with their pain cause us (unconsciously and unwittingly of course) to flee the situation, to avoid the person or deny the reality of what is happening. If a decade in the ministry has taught me anything, it has taught me this: when illness and pain strike, the most important medicine is other persons, other ordinary human beings who stay close and caring, no matter what.
And I believe that if we spiritually challenge ourselves to think and feel about just how we can and should be with others in the midst of their tragedies, we can actually learn how to become much more—helpfully human in such difficult times. For I believe with all my heart and soul that there is "a way" to be with hurting human beings that can make a real, positive, healing and redeeming difference. And the curious thing is that this redemptive way is so close at hand that we often lose sight of it.
The reading was the familiar story of the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus, knowing in his heart that he faces almost certain death the next day at the hands of the Roman authorities, goes to that beautiful place to relieve some of his suffering and pain through prayer. His is a very private crisis of the soul, but the key to the story, it seems to me, is that he does not go to the garden alone. He asks three of his beloved friends, Peter, James and John, to attend him. In the part of the story I find most significant, Jesus, troubled and tormented as he is, asks only one simple thing of his dear companions. "Sit here while I pray," he implores, "remain here and watch." He doesn't ask them to spirit him away from the danger, or wrestle with God for him, or offer him theological comfort, or suggest some political solution for dealing with Pilate, or even to go the next day to be crucified for him. He only asks that they stay awake, that they stand the nightwatch with him, remaining attentive to his pain and sorrow.
And the story tells us how Peter and James and John sadly fail their friend Jesus. For they fall asleep on him....not once, but three times. Out of their own fear or exhaustion or selfishness or indifference, we must suppose, they are unable to simply stay awake in his hour of deep need. And Jesus' pain is magnified many times by the aloneness he feels in the midst of his friends.
By the shadow of negative example, this story speaks with a powerful clarity as to just how we must strive to be with loved ones who are in profound personal pain. For, in fact, all that is usually requested and required of us, all that should be asked of us, is to stay awake when persons near us are swept into suffering. Our human job is to stand faithfully the night watch…not to fall asleep…absolutely refuse to abandon the one who hurts.
I have been in the Garden—have you? The night my father died three years ago was a night of my own Gethsemane of the heart. At 2:30 a.m. I was awakened with word of my beloved father's sudden death, and what saved me in that night of deep grief and pain was simply a friend, my best friend in fact, who drove ten miles to be with me. My friend got out of bed to stand the long night watch, to listen to my repetitious ramblings, to permit my tears, to hold me against the winter of my grief....TO STAY AWAKE, BY GOD, SIMPLY AWAKE.
It was mostly a silent vigil he stood. For in my hour of grief I did not particularly want the wisdom of the centuries from my friend, nor any theological comfort he might have, nor nuggets of sage advice, nor even someone to take firm control. All I wanted was another human being to protect me from the cold, and to make sure that I was not alone in the empty caverns of my pain. If there is a purer or more redeeming kind of love, I don't know of it.
Do you all know of what I speak? Haven't most of you had the experience of learning, in some dark night of your own body or soul, that it is the gentle, faithful presence of another ordinary human being which best answers, softens and heals the pain? Yes, it is the simple-yet-divine grace of another person's caring presence which has the spectacular power to save us from our deepest suffering. And yet there is something about this strikingly simple reality which we Americans distrust, isn't there? Somehow it feels inadequate, it seems as if it couldn't possibly be enough. We live in an impatient "fix-it" society, and have been indoctrinated since birth to believe that if we just bring the right technical and intellectual resources to bear, we can, when faced with a human problem, make everything right, and put an end to all the unpleasantness. As a result, then, we are not naturally comfortable with the idea that presence rather than product is what saves the situation. We find it hard to believe that just to "be" is the solution. We are disinclined to trust that the gift of ourselves is enough, and this insecurity leads us so often in the presence of tragedy to try to rescue others from their suffering. We foolishly think we must offer up concrete technical advice, theological nuggets or philosophical chestnuts, all sorts of unnecessary verbiage and unhelpful fussing that gets in the way of the simple human caring that really needs to occur.
Can someone tell me why so many ministers, and others, feel it necessary in the presence of death, suffering, and tragedy to open their mouths and spill forth neatly-packaged one-liners that are supposed to comfort those afflicted? If there is one thing I wish to disabuse you of more than any other this morning, it is the American idiocy that in time of crisis what people want are bumper-sticker slogans to make them feel better.
Last week, after the heinous murder of two little children in Plainfield, the minister who conducted their funeral actually had the temerity (or is it just plain spiritual stupidity?) to suggest to the grieving family that God had allowed these murders to save these children from some horrible disease later in life!
In the face of the awesome and often confounding mysteries of birth and death, life and suffering, we are best to hold our tongues when in doubt of what to say that might comfort. Why can't we trust the value of caring silence shared with those who are hurting? Believe me...when someone you love is swept up into tragedy, your faithful presence speaks with an eloquence no words can possess. The mere fact of your staying in the garden of their pain with them says that your concern and love are deep and real. Your refusal to disappear says to the suffering, as nothing else can, that their creation remains a place of love, grace, and hope. Without uttering one word, we can help the ones who hurt to know that their world continues, in a cosmological sense, to be a grace-filled and nurturing place. It lets them know, if I may wax theological for just a moment, that the holy spirit of life is alive and well, and able to touch them.
So rather than speak with your lips, speak with your presence. Let your eyes, your hands, your silence, your faithfulness tell the story. These are the enduring answers to suffering and pain which remain to bless long after the hollow ring of bumper-sticker slogans have faded into the oblivion where they belong.
Why is it, dear friends, that we Americans have such a dreadfully difficult time understanding that hurting human beings are not asking us to be gods, saviors, magicians, physicians, and wizards? When will we begin to believe that the only credential we need to be humanely with those who are suffering or dying is the credential of an open and gentle heart? Many of you have shared with me in private conversation that sometimes, when someone you love is hurting, you have found yourselves staying away simply because of the discomfort of not knowing precisely what to say or do. Well I will tell you now what I always say in such situation. For God's sake, don't say or do anything at first, just GO. Simply get up and go! You may say the wrong thing. It's easy to put your foot in your mouth when someone is suffering or dying. But you must nonetheless trust that grace and holiness and power of your simple human presence and touch. It's more transforming and healing than you can ever imagine.
Why do we human beings have such terrible theological self-esteem? Why are we in the habit of doubting that the highest power in the universe speaks so well through our fundamental humanness? There is an old Eastern legend which tells us that "The gods became jealous of humanity, and they were fearful that the gift of divinity would be stolen by them, so they had a council. And some said, 'Let us place our gift in the skies.' Others said, 'No, they will search the skies; they will even fly.' And others said, 'Let us put our gift of divinity in the depth of the ocean.' And the reply was, 'No, they will plumb the depths of the ocean. Someday they will be on the floor of the seas and they will find the gift.' And the wisest of the gods said, 'Let us hide divinity WITHIN them. That is the last place they will look."'
Yes, dear friends, the last place we look for the gift of divinity, the last place we expect to find the highest and most healing powers of the creation, is within ourselves...within our ordinary human hearts beating in simple compassion, gentleness, and love. Why can't we believe that within us lie some of the most precious powers of creation, powers capable of blessing, healing, even saving other persons? Why do we think we need something more, something else?
The process theologians say that God is a verb, a dynamic process that happens whenever we simply love and care for one another. And Jewish theologian Martin Buber spoke of the "I-Thou" encounter, that human meeting when the truly divine powers of the creation come to life along the mysterious arc of significant caring person-to-person encounter. What I believe, because I have seen it time and time again, is that God (whatever we mean by that lovely, simple word) steals up on gentle feet whenever we are brave and loving enough to keep the night watch in someone else's midnight of pain. The highest and holiest beauty of the universe comes into being when we simply stay awake for one another.
Let me tell you of a recent experience I had which reminded me with a lovely clarity that all this is so. I was invited by a family of this church to the nursing home bedside of a man they love, a husband and father whose life was rapidly slipping away beneath the body-crushing boot of Alzheimer's disease. As his wife said later to me over the phone, "Scott, I feel like I'm losing my best friend, and it's so hard." On the day I went to the convalescent center with the man's wife and son, we were unable to rouse this once-brilliant scientist from his partial coma. No verbal or cognitive relationship was possible. And so his wife, without as much as a conscious thought I am sure, expressed her love and devotion the only way she could. She reached over to the bedstand drawer, took out his battered old hairbrush, and began gently stroking his gray and matted hair. With total attentiveness and care, she stroked his hair again and again as though the whole world depended on each stroke. As she did her loving work, I found myself wanting to look away. Not because it was sad or unpleasant or depressing. Not because I am afraid to see people die or suffer. I wanted to look away because I was embarrassed to share in so intimate and so perfect a moment of love.
Had it not been for the "professional" defenses I have long since erected to protect me against such pure and holy moments, I would have wept merely at witnessing the beauty and fidelity of her love. I guess I felt what surgeon Richard Selzer wrote in his book Mortal Lessons after he witnessed a similar moment of human devotion: "I lowered my gaze," the doctor writes. "One is not bold in an encounter with god….I remember that the gods appeared in ancient Greece as mortals, and I hold my breath and let the wonder in."
I like the way my friend and colleague Edward Frost of Princeton puts it, "We have heard that God is all the goodness, all the sweetness and light and joy in the morning. But God is the cries we do not hear. The depth of hell the other suffers. The darkness and confusion of the permanent night. God may be the chaos—missed in our neatness and order—who shuns the glistening temple to walk the gray repositories of twisted and divided souls. To seek such a God is to seek discomfort, to walk in another's broken shoes, through the eye of an inner storm, and be bent and broken with him. God is the one who cries, 'Know me!' through the mouths of those we choose not to know. We have heard that God is love, but God is the demand to love, a demand unheeded, thus a God undiscovered. Press through the grown-over path, to another's loneliness, and there, with him, the pain and the bearer of pain...is God."
May Sarton says it a bit differently in her poem about her own mother's death entitled "A Hard Death." Listen:
God's Grace, given freely, we do not deserve,
But we can choose at least to see its ghost
On every face. Oh, we can wish to serve
Each other gently as we live, though lost.
We cannot save, be saved, but we can stand
Before each presence with gentle heart and hand:
Here in this place, in this time without belief,
Keep the channels open to each other's grief;
Never accept a death or life as strange
To its essence, but at each second be aware
How God is moving always through each flower
From birth to death in a multiple gesture
Of abnegation; and when the petals fall
Say it is beautiful and good, say it is well.
Let us be gentle to each other in their brief time
For we shall die in exile far from home,
Where even the flowers can no longer save.
Only the living can be healed by love.
Yes, Sarton has it right. Only the living can be healed by love. Only when we are brave and beautiful enough to stand by one another in simple human compassion and faithfulness are we saved from life's negation and despair.
Now please, let there be no illusions about what I am suggesting to you this morning. I believe passionately that the simple gift of ourselves is the greatest gift that can be given to someone else in pain. And I further believe that in such encounters some of life's deepest holiness and meaning reveals itself. But I am not saying these encounters will ever be easy, comfortable, pleasant or fun. Even when we are freely and nobly giving of ourselves, it still hurts to see others in bondage to pain. And we will still often feel so helpless, so angry, so inadequate and alone.
What's more, we will always have to choke back the natural human fear that rises in the throat whenever we draw close to pain, death, and the vivid reminders of our own mortality. We will always have to fight the temptation to flee. I am sure that even those exceptionally brave individuals in our congregation who are voluntarily giving so much time to hospice programs in our area, even they who seek out this tough human work must have their moments of extreme discomfort and fear. No one should ever suggest that to attend someone in their Gethsemane of pain is fashionable or fun. It's always tough. To stay awake through the long night of someone else's sorrow and pain is the most difficult of all human wakings.
But I believe Norman Cousins is right on target when he writes, "Death is not the enemy, living in constant fear of it is. The way we choose to live and the depth of our feelings, our ability to love and be loved and to take in all the colors of the world around us—these determine the worth and true extent of whatever time we have. The clock keeps ticking away. Our job is to put as much meaning as possible into the intervals between the ticks. A minute can open out into a vast realm in which all our senses, finely attuned, can come into full and splendid play—or those same senses can be shut down, imparting nothing to our years except numbers."
Yes dear friends, if our years are to be something more than numbers we must control our fear of suffering; disease, and death, and not be afraid, when these realities draw near, to offer others the simple gift of ourselves. I know many of you find it hard to believe, for ours is a technocratic, death-fearing culture which always seeks the quick-fix for suffering, but YOU ARE THE ANSWER, BY GOD. Your presence is what saves and redeems. We do not yet trust the power and beauty and worth of our faithful presence with people in pain. We still look for the slick answers, the miraculous solutions, the technological salvations. Every once in a while, one of these miracles occurs. But in the meantime, we fragile fearful folks are the only saviors sent.
More than 3,000 years ago, the psalmist cried out for each man and woman to be "a candle of the Lord, shining into the uttermost dark." I believe this is as theologically sound as anything ever written. I pray, this morning, that you will both trust and use that high and holy light which glimmers in unquenchable brightness and power within you. Please don't doubt the healing warmth of your ordinary expansive heart. When someone you know is hurting, BE THERE...just be there. Give them the gift of staying awake through the long night in the garden. Stand the faithful nightwatch. Keep the everyday light and love flowing from your hands and heart. For your precious human presence is holy. It is enough. And by God, it will see us through.
Author | Scott W. Alexander |
Date added | |
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Humility at the top
For as many perks allowed by reaching the year-end top eight of men's tennis — the glory, the attention, the serious cash, not to mention those crazy year-ending suits — participating in the Tennis Masters Cup (Shanghai) also has a potential downside: losing multiple matches in a week.
In fact, the round-robin draw makes it so a few players have to lose two matches in the week. There's even a chance that at least one formerly-confident fellow will take an ego beat-down and lose three. I recall Juan Carlos Ferrero in 2003 walking off the court humbled and frustrated after losing his third (and final) match. More recently, Guillermo Coria racked up consecutive 0-3 TMC records — in '04 and '05.
This year, thanks to Kolya squeaking out a round-robin win over the spent Gonzo, the 0-fer honor went to Nole Djokovic. If it weren't for the signs of burnout that Novak had coming into the Masters Cup, he's about the last player of the octet you'd expect to get served a big slice of that humbling pie.
Novak put up a good fight in each performance — and he had his overzealous stage parents cheering him on — so I'm pretty sure the showman and athlete we got to know this year hasn't disappeared. Something tells us that after some rest in a place "far, far away from everybody", he'll come out alright in '08.
Michael Shaw writes about tennis and other subjects for the Los Angeles Times, and is also an artist. He can be reached at michaelshaw_sar AT yahoo DOT com. Read his previous posts for TSF here.


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8 February 2015 20:15 | to | 9 February 2015 00:00 |
Hotel Splendid Venice
Sunday, 8 February @ 8.15 p.m.
A gala dinner and ball set in 1800s Venice
Dinner in costume with dances from the 1800s inside the beautiful atmosphere of the hotel Splendid Venice, near St Mark Square. The music of the Romantic era of the 1800s played live from the orchestra and the dances from that time will bring the guests back to that era of a Romantic Venice. The dinner will be served seated. The musicians will entertain the guests during and after dinner and the Dance teachers will show how to dance as if it was 1815!
Dress Code: costume
If you need a costume visit the Atelier Tiepolo
Full program of the Venice Carnival in Costume™ 2015: www.meetingeurope.com
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x6OyxCcly8?rel=0]


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London – the capital of Great Britain
When we think of Paris, Rome. Madrid, Lisbon and other European capitals, we think of them as "cities'. When we think of the whole of modern London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, that great area covering several hundred square kilometres, we do not think of it as 'a city. not even as a city and its suburbs. Modem London is not one city that has steadily become larger through the centuries; it is a number of cities. towns, and villages that have, during the past centuries, grown together to make one vast urban area.
London is situated upon both banks of the River Thames, it is the largest city in Britain and one of the largest in the world. Its population is about 7 million people.
London dominates the life of Britain. It is the chief port of the country and the most important commercial, manufacturing and cultural centre. There is little heavy industry in London, but there is a wide range of light industry in Greater London.
The City extends over an area of about 2.6 square kilometres in the heart of London. About half a million people work in the City but only less than 6000 live here. It is the financial centre of the UK with many banks, offices and Stock Exchange. But the City is also a market for goods of almost every kind, from all parts of the world.
The West End can be called the centre of Tendon. Here are the historical palaces as well as the famous parks. Hyde Park with its Speaker's Corner is also here. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St. James's Park. In the West End is Buckingham Palace. Which is the Queen's residence, and the Palace of Westminster which is the seat of Parliament.
The best-known streets here are Whitehall with important Government offices. Downing Street, the London residence of Prime Minister and the place where the Cabinet meets. Fleet Street where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest paid doctors live, and some others.
Trafalgar Square is named
One of the "musts" for the sightseer are the Houses of Parliament, facing the Thames, on one side, and Parliament Square and Westminster Abbey, on the other. The House of Commons sits to the side of the Clock Tower (Big Ben), the House of Lords – to the Victoria Tower side.
Westminster Abbey is the crowning and burial place of British monarchs. It has its world famed Poet's Corner with memorials to Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, the Bronte's sisters. Tennyson. Longfellow, Wordsworth, Burns, Dickens, Thackeray, Hardy, Kipling and other leading writers. Only a few however, are actually buried there.
Here too is that touching symbol of a nation's grief. The Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
The name "West End" came to be associated with wealth, luxury, and goods of high quality. It is the area of the largest department stores, cinemas and hotels. There are about 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.
It is in the West End where the University of London is centred with Bloomsbury as London's student quarter.
The Port of London is to the east of the City. Here. today are kilometres and kilometres of docks, and the great industrial areas that depend upon shipping. This is the East End of London, unattractive in appearance, but very important to the country's commerce.
In recent times London has grown so large. that the Government has decided that it must spread no farther. It is now surrounded by a "green belt" – a belt of agricultural and wooded land on which new buildings may be put up only with the permission of the planning authorities.


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I'm working on an application which handles billions of records, where lots of records could be duplicates. My task is to make it easy to find and correct the duplicate data, but I'm bit confused how to show duplicates records so that admin or any authorised user can take action on them
What i'm thinking :
I'll make pie chart with categories
Pie chat 1:
1. First Name 2. Middle Name 3. Last Name 4. Family name
Pie chart 2:
- Official
- Residential
- Home number
- street Name
- Phone number
- Pin code
And there could be lots of fields(25+) per records like ID, bank a/c number, social security number and so on
eg: I have 5 records in a group where each records contain different mobile numbers but rest of the data is same. So i'll group them inside phone category
- How do i tackle the situation (lots of groups) & lay them on the screen?
- Making 25 + pie charts and then drill down to x level is cumbersome task. Any suggestions here?


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Navigation - Business - Great Lakes - Great Plains - Northeast - Northwest - Rocky Mountains - Southeast - Southwest - Technology - Trophy Catches
Scott Gangl, fisheries management section leader for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said this summer biologists have documented fish kills in approximately a dozen water bodies throughout the state. "Warm days followed by very warm nights are not conducive to maintaining healthy fish populations," Gangl said. "Most fish need cooler water temperatures to thrive in summer, and they are just not getting it even at night. And with continued hot, dry and calm weather conditions forecasted, we expect to experience more fish kills in the next few weeks." Fish kills have been reported statewide. Some of the more notable water bodies and species impacted this summer include Stump (northern pike), lower James River (pike), Skjermo (yellow perch), Brewer (many species), Hoskins (many species) and Northgate (rainbow trout). Gangl said fish species accustomed to cooler water, such as rainbow trout and northern pike, have been particularly vulnerable to warm temperatures in some locations. However, other species have also been affected as local conditions degrade into what biologists consider traditional summerkill conditions. Traditional summerkills are caused by a combination of high temperatures and low dissolved oxygen. Warm water holds less dissolved oxygen. In addition, algae and plants begin to decompose, which also consumes oxygen. According to Gangl, it's important to note that though a lake may have suffered a fish kill, it doesn't mean all species have died. In fact, most fish kills are only partial, killing only some of a few species. Any observed fish mortality on area lakes should be reported to a local Game and Fish Department district office.
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VST/AU plugin instrument/effect round-up: Week 63
Room for one more?
There's always room for another plugin or two in your rack - that's what we tell ourselves anyway. Read on and decide if it's worth finding space for any of the latest releases.
Also make sure you check out these regularly updated features:
The 39 best VST plug-in synths in the world today
The 14 best VST plug-in drum machines in the world today
If you've got a new PC or Mac plug-in, make sure you let us know about it by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com with all the details.
NEXT: kiloHearts Disperser
kiloHearts Disperser
Promising a different take on the concept of transient shaping, Disperser can be called on for "boomy kicks, snappy hi-hats, synthetic wet basses or just as a sweet utility to shape your signal's peaks and crest factor". It uses all-pass filters to add different amounts of delay to different frequencies.
A.O.M. tranQuilizr
Said to have a uniquely transparent sound, this 6-band EQ sports high- and low-cut filters. Each band can be used in stereo, left, right, mid and side modes and the three EQ types have different sound characteristics. It can be used for mixing or mastering applications.
Sinevibes Inertia and Cluster
A couple of new releases from Sinevibes that replace the company's Dynamo and Deep plugins. Inertia is billed as a 32-envelope sequencer that can be used to add movement to static sounds, while Cluster is an animated filter that can be used to apply "intricate spectral transformations".
Xtrabits MSQ 16/10 and DrumSQ 16/8
A couple of rhythmic releases from Xtrabits. MSQ 16/10 is a step sequencer that has Octave, Slide, GateTime and Velocity parameters, while DrumSQ 16/8 is a beat machine that enables you to use up to eight patterns per preset.


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Product Description
EZ-Test Plan MIL STD 461G CS101 for Shipboard Uncontrolled Applications
This EZ-Test Plan Test Plan Template is developed for use by manufacturers, contractors, engineering service companies and test labs. This document employs the Electromagnetic Test Plan (EMITP) format specified in DOD MIL-STD-461 per DI-EMCS-801201. This EZ-Test Plan template (Shipboard Uncontrolled MIL STD 461G CS101) is customized for requirements applicable for the testing of shipboard equipment intended for use below decks in a controlled environment.
Test Plans are a requirement for all DOD EMI/EMC and Electrical Compatibility test methodologies. They serve to inform the laboratory of specific information about the Equipment Under Test (EUT) pertaining to operational modes, frequencies, monitoring, and simulation equipment used, and defined susceptibility evaluation parameters. This ensures that a proper evaluation will be performed.
Test Plans provide instruction to the test facility for documentation of all test setup and instrumentation parameters so that testing can be replicated at a later date. They also provide the test facility instruction for content of Test Reports as specified in MIL-STD-461 per DI-EMCS-801200. These test reports provide the required data for post-test analysis and substantiate due diligence for required testing to your customer.
It is essential for product developers of defense materiel to conduct thorough testing at the developmental stage to avoid failures during operational testing that can lead to costly program delays. An important part in the development of a viable developmental evaluation program is to have well-constructed test plans to ensure that evaluation be conducted that meets requirements for all operational modes of the specific EUT.
EMI/EMC and Electrical Compatibility testing is one of the most challenging hurdles for any product developer especially when that testing is conducted per Department of Defense standards. Proper test program documentation can provide clarity in the development of evaluative strategies before going to the test facility.
This EZ-Test Plan Template Set (Shipboard Uncontrolled MIL STD 461G CS101) includes:
- Test Plan Template (protected PDF). This document provides essential information detailing Equipment Under Test (EUT) set up, execution of test procedure, pass/fail criteria, and tolerances. These test plans are written per the requirements of DI-EMCS-80201.
- Test Plan Addendum (Word document). This document is to be completed by the customer to include Equipment Under Test (EUT) specific information as required by DI-EMCS-80201. This information includes Modes of Operation, Performance Checks, and Monitoring Equipment description.
- Test Lab Form (PDF Form). This form communicates to lab the procedure to be performed, test level parameters, and test report requirements specified by DI-EMCS-80201.
- Test Label (Word document). The label provides identification of photographs to be taken during the test process.
- Tests to be Performed (PDF Form). This form communicates all other methods of test to be performed by the test facility per requirements of MIL-STD-461.
- Susceptibility Worksheet Form (PDF Form). This worksheet assists the test witness in documenting susceptibility occurrences.
This EZ-Test Plan Template is available or a One-Year License which is renewable for 50% of the standard one license purchase price.
Product Test Experience
Shipboard Uncontrolled EZ-Test Plans have been developed based on CVG Strategy's extensive experience in developmental test and evaluation for defense materiel designers. This military component testing experience has provided an in depth understanding of MIL-STD-461 test requirements and methodologies. These insights are reflected in our EZ-Test Plan documents. Put our experience to work for you by incorporating a precise and clear documentation of EMI/EMC and Electrical Compatibility test and evaluation. We can also assist with a variety of EMI/EMC Consulting Services.


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Animal Kingdom Topper (R22)
This is a PRE-ORDER. This fabric is not currently in stock and orders will be sent to our printer at the end of each round. *Pre-Orders take 8-10 weeks from the end of the round to ship!
*Each listing is for 1 topper- FH (30x36", baby/toddler size), 1 Yard (36x60", big kid/adult size), or 2 Yard (60x72", adult size). Toppers are most often used for blankets- the design is printed very large and centered on the fabric.
The logo is printed to protect the design and will NOT be printed on the fabric.
Fabric Types Offered:
Cotton Spandex: 240 gsm, 95% Cotton, 5% Spandex, 4-way stretch
Cotton Woven: 150gsm, 100% Cotton, no stretch
Minky: 230gsm, 100% Polyester, no stretch
Canvas: 280gsm, 100% Cotton Canvas, no stretch
Vinyl/Faux Leather: *14 inch increments* Soft Felt Backing, no stretch
French Terry: 300 gsm, 95% Cotton, 5% Spandex, 4-way stretch
Liverpool Bullet: 250 gsm, 95% Polyester, 5% Spandex, 4-way stretch
Bamboo Spandex: 220 gsm, 95% Bamboo, 5% Spandex
PUL: 200 gsm, waterproof, no stretch
Swim: 240 gsm, 85% Polyester, 15% Spandex, 4-way stretch
Plush: (AKA Squish, Luxe Minky) 380 gsm, 95% Polyester, 5% Spandex, 4-way stretch
We will do our best to look over the fabric when it arrives to ensure we are not sending any flawed fabric. However, if for some reason you receive fabric that is flawed or if you receive the incorrect fabric, please contact us within 7 days of receiving your order! Any fabric that has been washed will be non-returnable and non-refundable. Please do not wash the fabric before contacting us! If you have any issues or concerns with your order, please contact us at email@example.com.
We do NOT offer returns or exchanges due to the custom nature of our pre-order fabrics.
Thank you for visiting SophieRae Custom Fabric!