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In many carbine classes, shooters are shown several ways to adapt their long gun to cover to make a mid-range hit. This is often exposure only without a great way to measure or track performance and subsequently carbineros do not sustain those capabilities to a high degree.
One of the big reasons for this is the lack of complicated barricades or junk cars to shoot around at the home range. Even in organizational training, these skills are often not fully refreshed due to this same shortage or the inefficiency of getting multiple shooters onto a barricade in a square-range format. Readers who have followed my training articles over the years know that this type of problem vexes me.
A while back, I happened upon a good solution and have been using it in my rifle classes with positive results. The shooter simply needs a folding chair of the $9.99, available everywhere variety, his carbine, a B8 repair center bullseye, and the determination to make the hits. I call the drill the Chair Qual.
The drill is set up at 50 yards. There are only ten shots to the qual and it takes less than three minutes for the average patrol rifleman. The shooter engages the bull with a pair of shots from each of five positions in sequence. Beginning with high kneeling, the shooter moves to right-side barricade, over-hood kneeling, left-side barricade, and then undercarriage kneeling.
The training emphasis is on the mechanics of the positions and getting support for solid hits, so there is no time limit. We'll walk through the stages in sequence.
The shooter simply drops to kneeling behind the chair and, without using the chair or their knee for support, fires two well-aimed shots. I encourage students to assume a double kneeling that very closely mimics an aggressive standing position.
The reality is that many shooters struggle to adapt to a non-supported kneeling position, and their hit quality can often be somewhat worse than their standing results. This is because shooters tend to drift to a neither-nor position that doesn't use the structural support found in either a good standing or a solid supported kneeling.
The High Kneeling encourages shooters to learn how to support the rifle for the shot, while acknowledging that it isn't making full use of the "cover" (the chair) to the front.
The shooter then moves the rifle to the right side of the chair and grabs some chair back with the left hand to support the handguard. The right-side knee comes up and the shooter braces the firing-side elbow.
For a right-handed shooter, this shot should be extremely stable and near guarantees X-ring hits. If you prefer to simulate sloped or rounded cover, where the shooter can't grab a surface to support the rifle, then just rest the forearm or back of the wrist against the chair.
This position has many names. Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics calls it junkyard prone, others use terms like off-axis, but we are all talking about rotating the rifle so the sight line and muzzle are parallel to the top of the cover rather than perpendicular. This prevents the all-too-common problem where shooters have clear line of sight but the muzzle is unwittingly obstructed and the exiting round strikes the curvature of the hood and skips off into the wild blue yonder.
Over-Hood Kneeling also lowers the shooter's profile as much as possible while still providing support. You literally can't get any lower and shoot over something.
The shooter rotates the rifle, raising the firing-side elbow to parallel the top of the chair and, depending on stock length, kicking the stock out of the "pocket" and up onto the shoulder. The support hand grabs some chair back and braces the handguard.
Because the sights and the muzzle are now on different planes, there is a slight hold off to compensate. "Hold high to the magazine side!" is the chant I first heard from Kyle years ago, and it works. For most shooters, if they place the red dot about midway through the black at approximately two o'clock, the hits will be centered up.
The shooter now moves the carbine to the left shoulder as the left knee comes up and he wraps the gun around to Left-Side Barricade. Depending on the sling set up used on the carbine, shooters may need to loosen or duck out of the sling as they move the carbine over.
For 93% of the population, this will be a support-side shot. Less experienced shooters are often surprised at how well they hit with the support of the chair "barricade."
This is another position with many names: It refers to tucking the rifle under the shooter to shoot off-axis underneath something, typically under a vehicle. The shooter returns the rifle to the right side as he twists to the right and puts both knees down. The rifle is tucked under and pushed through the chosen opening.
Three levels are available with most common folding chairs. The first is between the back and the seat, good for learning the mechanics before rolling all the way under, and for those with back injury issues.
The next is between the seat and the horizontal brace. This is the level I use most often, as it ensures line of sight to the target and is efficient with a firing line.
The final and most difficult is under the horizontal brace, which is a challenging slot that may or may not allow a shooter line of sight depending on the range set-up, grass, etc.
The shooter finds a way to brace the front of the gun, applies the necessary offset hold (mid black to ten o'clock for most), and launches a pair of .22-caliber rockets.
[Instructor's note: At this point, I have shooters engage the safety and slowly raise to double kneeling. After a beat to make sure everyone is good to go and there are no lightheaded issues from being nearly upside down on the gun, I have them use the chair to come to a standing position.]
The qual is scored two ways. At the patrol-rifle level, it is simply hit or miss on the bull (the 5.5-inch B8 black). I'm looking for eight or more hits in the black, but would take seven. For many riflemen, the first few runs of this are a little more humble than that. This usually comes around pretty quickly and is related to the shooter not using the time or support that is available.
Eight solid hits when eight of the ten shots are off-axis, unsupported, or support side at 50 yards are no gimme. However, it is within reach of nearly any shooter with focus on support and a clean break on the trigger.
The advanced scoring on the Chair Qual is by the rings for a possible 100. For an instructor or SWAT-type guy, I'd be looking for over 90 and ready to throw an atta'boy to anything over 95.
I don't typically use the chair in a speed-drill fashion, but it could easily be adapted to whatever an organization's silhouette target is and run for total time through the five positions.
It is within reach of nearly any cash-poor shooter or organization to get a couple of folding chairs. There are probably several leaned up in a corner at your range right now. The Chair Qual allows trainers to efficiently hit skills that are typically glossed over or outright neglected.
It is simple, safe, and efficient for an instructor to run a line of shooters through the qual with each shooter on their own chair. As you shoot through the qual a time or two, you will see that the flow through the positions allows positive movement and control, with few opportunities for less experienced riflemen to poke muzzles toward their buddy.
The qual is also adaptable to the folding chair already in place at many indoor shooting ranges. Your Range Officer may have issues with the undercarriage kneeling and require some persuasion, but at many ranges, the other four positions will likely be in bounds.
There are a couple of areas where the Chair Qual really fits well. One is in giving a magnified optic on the long gun a shakeout. Shooters who have no issues with their scopes from typical positions will quickly see exactly how good the eye box is and how magnification affects their target acquisition as they cycle through the positions.
After running the qual a few times, shooters may find they need to adjust the optic position/eye relief or work with lower magnification than they initially thought. With a first-tier optic like the Nightforce NX8 (shown in the accompanying photos), the scope is no hindrance at all in the unusual positions.
The qual is also a perfect fit for the braced AR pistols that have become so popular as truck guns. If the shorty is going to be used around a vehicle, it only makes sense to work it out through the simulated positions.
The Chair Qual is not a replacement for complex barricades or for working around vehicles. But it is a good grounding step in mastering the positions that allow the shooter to adapt to available cover.
Give it a run and see what you think.


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All work and no play makes little Macho a dull boyThursday, September 6th, 2007
It's been a while since I posted, nothing new really going on in my life.
One thing is for sure, life is definitely not panning out how I had planned for it to.
Not in school right now, I'm actually waiting for January to come so that I can apply to become a union worker for the Local 542. It's actually something I've been wanting to do for a while but wanted to do it as not a first or last resort. Its not a bad gig though, It actually deals with heavy equipment operations and engineering, and the pays great, they send you to college and everything. I figure it'd be a way to get school out and over with and still be able to build a strong financial foundation for my future when I get ready to start out on my own and maybe start a family. That last semester at school I fumble pretty bad, my GPA dropped and everything. Sad to say this is not a new experience for me, there has been instances in the past where I've had the same thing happen to me, life gets rough and times get hard and I focus on other things more than school and it does ultimately affect my academic performance. But I'll bounce back just like I've done in the past, I just get frustrated because it gets to be a bit repetitive at times. Like taking two steps forward and three steps back.
In the mean time I'm still working for Transit Aide I've been there for about 9 months already, I hate it lol. I can't remember the last time I've had a day other than a Sunday off.(Everyone knows that there's nothing to do on a Sunday) This job is too demanding and soooooo not rewarding. And it's like I could just say screw it and leave but then again I can't, because although I should be making more money than I am currently (I think so anyway), the money that I do make allows me to provide for my family. Its like I can't say no when it comes to helping out my family with anything, selflessness sucks ass. Sometimes it feels like I work for nothing, I'll spend over forty hours a week working and at the end of that week when bills and family is taken care of I have a few dollars that I have to stretch out to get me through the week. I can't remember the last time I really spoiled myself and just blew my money on me. Out of everyone in the family I have the least amount of clothes, can't remember the last time I went out and just bought me a whole outfit (Fitted hat, sneakers, nice shirt or fresh white T, or new jeans), and went out to a club or something and enjoyed myself, sometimes I feel unhappily married with no wife and no kids. I know it sounds crazy but thats how I feel. I just can't bare to see anyone I love in need of anything, and not do anything about it,I'd rather be without before I let one of them be without.
Summer's over now, thank god, my summer sucked anyways. All I did was work, which is all I ever do anyways, or avoided drama trying to make it to the next day. This summer was depressing, now that Philly seems to be the murder capital on the east coast. Makes you not wanna go out anymore, I know what a bullet sounds like when it whizzes by your ear, it sounds like a bumble bee if your close enough, so in a way my boredom is a blessing in a sense that I'm not out with the risk of not coming back home. I thought I was a goner this summer myself, to make a long story short I had a disagreement with someone on someone else's behalf and got a big ass shot gun pulled on me, which made me madder by the way because I know I would've kicked his ass if the gun never came into play.
This right here was the funnest time I had all summer and it didn't come till the end of the summer, the family planned a trip to six flags and it was my mom, bebop,mimi, neddy, and my lil cousin daisy, dewey, and two of bebop's friends who originally planned to go, and bebop called and convinced me to call out a day from work to "enjoy life" so I did (even though I spent a shit load of money I was saving, go figure lol)

subset: commoncrawl


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What happens when you give a world-class chef a set of knives from the dollar store?
Despite his experience and skills, he struggles.
He still might get an okay result, but not a great result, and definitely not consistently great results.
Even if you have all the knowledge and skills you need to do something (say optimizing your website…), if you don't have the right tools, your success will be limited.
Fewer conversions, less profit, less growth, and less success.
I've put together a list of the essential tools you need in your conversion optimization toolkit. I've divided them into 4 categories and provided multiple options for each, so that you have a few good options without an overwhelming amount
We're going to start at the foundation of the conversion optimization pyramid (shown below), and work our way up:
Customer Profiling Tools – Who Are Your Customers
In order to design a good experience for your customers, you need to learn as much as you can about them.
There are various ways to learn about your customers, like surveys, interviews, and polls. Look for opportunities to utilize one or more of the following tools to flesh out the persona of your ideal buyer.
1. Qualaroo
Price: Basic plan is $63/month, Professional is $199/month
Qualaroo is a robust in-line survey product that can be used to ask your visitors about specific questions and thoughts they might have while they are on the site. It appears as a little popup at the bottom of the screen, and you can customize the design.
It is easy to install, and if you go with the professional plan, you can use advanced features like exit intent to only have the survey box pop up when a user is about to exit.
In addition, it comes with basic analytics stats to help you optimize your use of surveys and polls.
2. LiveChat
Price: $33/month for the most popular "team" plan
There are hundreds of live chat options out there, but LiveChat is one of the recognizable. It has all the features you'll want in a chatting software, like letting you store chat history, incorporate it with your team, and assign tickets when needed.
3. Olark
Price: Levels based on number of operators. $15/month for 1 operator. $44/month for 4 operators.
14 day free trial
Olark is another extremely popular live chat software. You can customize the design of the chat box to match your site easily, and customize everything from messages shown to polls.
One neat feature is that you can show the chat box only to visitors who have attempt or complete a specific action (like abandoning their cart).
One of the best ways to get insights into the mind of your current prospects or customers is to ask them to fill out a survey or poll. Typically this works best if you send it to subscribers through email or social media. Below are 3 great survey options that you really can't go wrong with.
4. PollDaddy
Price: Free with limited options. $200/year (~$17/month) for pro version.
PollDaddy is a versatile product that allows you to incorporate custom images and videos into your polls. This could be handy if you're looking for opinions on a new product or logo. It has all the basics you need in a survey tool, although note that you can't export results on the free plan.
5. SurveyMonkey
Price: Basic free plan. $19/month for Select plan and $29/month for Gold plan (most popular)
Survey Monkey is the most well-known survey tool out there. All basic survey creation features are included, and surveys are easy to create.
There are 2 features that may make SurveyMonkey a great option for your business.
The first is that it supports A/B testing, which allows you to randomly present variations of survey questions to different users.
The second feature is SurveyMonkey Audience, which allows you to survey people that aren't on your list or in your community. This is separate from the survey tool and costs a different amount, but is an invaluable tool to validate products.
6. SurveyGizmo
Price: $25/month for basic, $65/month for professional.
A final survey option is SurveyGizmo. It's a bit more robust than PollDaddy, with over 30 question types (compared to 19), but a bit more expensive.
It's extremely flexible and easy to customize, so it's a really good option if you want to brand your surveys or you want to create advanced surveys. The reporting functionality is also very comprehensive and user friendly on all plans.
Analytics – What Are Your Users Doing?
Analytics software is part of the foundation of any conversion rate optimization (CRO) process. It tells you what your average user is doing by giving you useful metrics like:
- bounce rate
- number of unique visitors
- average time on page
- location
- device
…and much more.
It will allow you to segment users and help you identify any weird dropoffs in your funnel that could be hampering your conversion rate.
1. Google Analytics
Price: Free
Google Analytics is an incredibly powerful analytics platform, and it's free to use. You can easily track multiple sites in a single account.
Analytics are divided into the following categories:
- Real-Time: See what users currently on the site are looking at
- Audience: Learn about your audience demographics
- Acquisition: See where your traffic is coming from
- Behavior: See what pages your visitors read most, and how they interact with it (time on page, bounce rate, etc.)
- Conversions: Set goal activities and track which types of visitors convert best
2. KISSMetrics
Price: $200+/month
KISSMetrics is another popular analytics tool that can be used in conjunction with Google Analytics.
KISSMetrics is mostly focused on tracking how your users behave, and how they are moving through your sales funnel. While Google Analytics can be a powerful tool if you know how to use it, KISSMetrics is designed with conversions in mind and is much simpler.
You can easily break down your sales funnel, or even run A/B tests without any complicated or time-consuming setup. The dashboard is also beautiful and intuitive, great for beginner CROs.
Note that KISSMetrics can be pretty expensive and is really designed for established businesses rather than those just starting out. You may want to hold off for now if you don't really have the traffic to optimize yet and are on a tight budget.
3. Mixpanel
Price: Free to 25,000 data points, then $150+/month
Mixpanel is another analytics tool dedicated to tracking visitors through your sales funnel to help you optimize conversions. It is probably most comparable to KISSMetrics.
The main difference is that Mixpanel focuses more on tracking by events (clicks on certain links or certain actions), while KISSMetrics focuses more on tracking by individual user. Overall, neither is necessarily better than the other, although one may work better for your specific business.
Mixpanel is also very intuitive to use and has a very attractive and simple dashboard. It's a very solid option for tracking how your users interact with your site and what events lead to the most conversions.
User Interaction Tracking – How Are They Using Your Site
After talking to your visitors and learning about them, you can likely make some improvements to your website. However, this is only part of learning about your users.
The other part is to see how they actually interact with your website, because you'll often find results that contradict what users have told you.
"A lot of times, people don't know what they want until you show it to them." – Steve Jobs
While you can use analytics software to gain some insight in this area, you'll get more meaningful results with detailed user interaction tracking software.
1. Crazy Egg
Price: Basic plan is $9/month. Plus plan (most popular) is $49/month.
I'm not exactly impartial, but there's a reason that Crazy Egg has been one of the top heatmap tools for years.
You can see which elements of your page attract the most attention and how much time visitors are spending on each section of your page, and get reports that make it simple to see where improvement can be made.
2. UserTesting
Price: $49/testing video
UserTesting is an interesting concept, as users record their interaction with your site and speak their thoughts out loud. This makes it to identify any user experience issues that are causing visitors frustration.
Test Creation Tools
After you know more about who your visitors and customers are, what they're looking for, and how they are interacting with your site, the fun part of conversion rate optimization can begin.
Use the data from your other tools to create a hypothesis. For example: "Our users are looking for pricing information but have trouble finding it. If we change the color of the pricing button, users will see it easier and our conversion rate will increase."
Once you have a hypothesis, it's time to test it. Even if you don't know how to code, these tools will make it easy to test your theories and track your results.
1. Optimizely
Price: Free Starter plan, custom quote for Enterprise.
Optimizely is a conversion rate optimizer's dream tool. Essentially, you put in the page you want to test, make the modifications you want, and it spits out a line of javascript that will run the test once pasted on the actual website. You then get to see the results as they occur, and you'll also know when they are statistically significant.
One of the great things about Optimizely is that it takes care of tracking visitors that are shown each option. This way you know if something like screen size is affecting your results.
2. Visual Website Optimizer
Price: $49/month for small sites, $129/month for medium-large sites.
30 day free trial
Visual Website Optimizer (VWO) is another excellent testing tool that is very similar to Optimizely. It allows you to easily pick the elements you'd like to split test, and then gives you a line of code to do it. The report interface is also intuitive and it's easy to see when you have a winner.
You'll have to try out both Optimizely and VWO to decide which you like better, but you can't really go wrong either way.
3. Google Content Experiments
Price: Free
Google Content Experiments is a useful free tool, but takes more work from your side than something like Optimizely.
It integrates right into Google Analytics, which is nice if you're trying to improve a certain goal, but you'll have to make a custom page for each test you want to run (i.e. website.com/page1 and website.com/page2).
4. Unbounce
Price: $49/month for small sites, $99/month for medium-large sites.
30 day free trial
Unbounce is the complete landing page designer and optimizer. Even if you have absolutely zero coding knowledge, the simple interface makes it easy to build a landing page and split test any elements you'd like.
5. Five Second Test
Price: Anywhere from $0-200/month depending on # of tests run.
Five Second Test is a brilliant way to test if users are seeing and understanding the most important messages on a page quickly. When a user comes to your homepage or landing page for the first time, it should be clear what you offer and how it can help them.
Here's how it works: You upload a page design to their community, along with any questions you'd like to ask (e.g., "What service do we offer?"). Community testers will be shown your page for five seconds when ready and be asked to answer.
This is a tool you'll want to use in conjunction with any of the other tools in this section. It's a great starting point if you've just created a page from scratch, but after you've fine-tuned your initial message, you can then dig deeper and test other elements.
Building Your Conversion Optimization Toolkit
Remember that you don't need to be limited to just one tool from each phase. For example, most marketers who use Google Analytics also use an additional analytics tool like KISSmetrics or MixPanel. Determine what you need for your specific business and try out a few options here.
Finally, know that all tools are just tools. It takes knowledge and experience to maximize their effectiveness. Don't be frustrated if you don't get incredibly results right away. Keep learning about conversion rate optimization and testing, and the results will come.
Join us for a Crazy Egg Hard-Boiled Conversion Webinar
Featuring Brian Massey, Conversion Sciences
May 28, 2pm US Central Time
Sign up here (it's free!).
How to Reverse-Engineer a High-Conversion Landing Page
Read other Crazy Egg posts by Dale Cudmore
- Your Visitor Has Multi-Personality Disorder: How to Talk to Each Side of the Buying Brain - July 20, 2015
- 6 Common Ways Your Split Test Results Could Be Off - July 14, 2015
- Why Ugly Website Design Often Converts (Better) - July 7, 2015


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The prompt for this week's Momma in Focus Friday was Jammies!!! How fun - who doesn't love to lay around in their pj's!?!?! For this picture I thought it would be fun to all pile up in Emma's bed, so when we tucked her in Monday night I just set up the camera and grabbed my remote & snapped away while we played, said our prayers & tucked her into bed - so this week it's Momma & Daddy in Focus! (Michael & I weren't really in our pj's, though - we had gone on a walk & only the kids had got cleaned up and ready for bed...but we were still in our comfy clothes!! Ha)
Usually I let Aaron say good night to everyone, tuck him into his crib, then we go into Emma's room to say her prayers & tuck her in, too. This time, though we let Aaron help us so he could get in the pictures with us, of course! Emma thought it was funny that we were all piled up in her bed! You would think playing like that just before bed would wire them up & they wouldn't sleep, but really it doesn't - some nights we read a book and have a very calm time going to bed - but other nights it is really what you see below - we get in her room and cut up and play for a few minutes, then she sits down, says her prayers & it's lights out!
"Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
Angels watch me through the night
And keep me in their blessed site"


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This project is a GSM based controller to switch any electrical or electronic device on/off with your mobile phone. The device has the capability of saving upto 40 registered contacts and only those contacts can control the devices. This how authentication works. All the other non-registered users will not be entertained.
The device is free from all possible security flaws varying from registering users for confirmation or status messages of the device. Registration of the users is live so no discomfort while registration. Only the master has the capability to delete the registered users or reset the device.


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Containing costs
Together with our clients, we have developed a series of cost-containment strategies and mechanisms to help keep your benefits plan financially viable over the long term.
Determining reasonable & customary expenses
Our databases are enriched with the details of 4,5 million medical bills and 42,000 hospitalisations each year. Combined with our in-depth knowledge of local social security systems, this unique dataset of claims allows us to identify the level of reasonable and customary medical expenses.
We examine cases according to a great variety of factors: type of treatment, hospital, country, diagnosis, or treating physician. We then define with great precision the reasonable and customary rates on specific markets or for specific treatments – and identify outliers. Greater cost control for your organisation is our focus.
Case management – in everyone's interest
Our case managers look for economical treatment solutions, adapt the length of stay and negotiate rates on top of the ones already agreed with our Provider Relations department. We keep close contact with the patient throughout the admission process. Day in, day out, our case management team strives to find the right balance between maintaining your employees' comfort and well-being and cutting down on your employee benefits costs. Our International Medical Board is available to review files – while safeguarding the patient's right to treatment at all times.
A well-targeted anti-fraud policy
Fighting against fraud is one of our top priorities.
Health insurance, especially in an international context, is a sector that is typically prone to fraud. Cigna has implemented a strict anti-fraud policy based on prevention, detection, investigation, reporting, and recovery. The measures we have taken fall into four categories:
- creating fraud awareness amongst plan members;
- establishing a general control environment;
- developing specific measures for fraud prevention and pre-payment fraud detection;
- developing specific measures for post-payment fraud detection.
Created in 2008, our Fraud Investigation Unit plays a vital role in our anti-fraud strategy. It closely cooperates with the Claims Units as fraud monitoring is an important part of the claims handling process and as new fraud files are often initiated at that stage. The Fraud investigation unit also relies on international networks to keep informed of all new health care fraud trends and techniques.
Cigna has been a member of the European Healthcare Fraud and Corruption Network (EHFCN) since July 2009.


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How many times will the bumbling dunderheads who run Blogger swoop in and destroy DeeJohn's beautiful blogs? I ask because this is at least the second time that I've had to announce a new location for one of his blogs, and while I'm glad to do it, I am getting a bit peeved at Blogger. To be honest, being peeved at Blogger seems to be a constant state of affairs these days.
But back to the matter at hand. The Beauty Hunter has risen from the dead, reborn as Chrysalism. There you will find exactly the kind of beauty you are used to seeing on Dee's sites. Not only young male pulchritude, but other lovely things as well. Go there.


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Earlier today activists from London Palestine Action bravely occupied UAV Engines in Shenstone, Staffordshire, owned by Elbit Systems (an Israeli company). UAV Engines produces parts for Israeli drones used in the massacre of Palestinian men, women, and children, as well as to destroy schools and hospitals in Gaza. A contingent from Red Youth are attending … Continue reading Taking Action For Palestine
Tag: zionism
Leaflet issued by CPGB-ML, 26 January 2013 www.cpgb-ml.org/index.php?secName=leaflets&subName=display&leafletId=94 Imperialism in the Middle East In order to make sense of what goes on in the Middle East, we need to understand that today's world is dominated by a handful of superrich countries, which have become wealthy by looting resources and exploiting people all over the world. … Continue reading Support Palestine … Join the axis of resistance!
Communists, anti-imperialists and Palestinian activists today called for a cultural boycott of Israeli artists in Birmingham. The call was made by local activists as they demonstrated outside Birmingham Town Hall against the performance by the Jerusalem String Quartet, a musical troupe reportedly affiliated to the Israeli Defence Force. The group performs for settler communities and … Continue reading Israel – cultural boycott
The following video is of Stokely Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture), revolutionary and former Black Panther. Despite Stokely's touching faith in religion and Islam, he nevertheless touches on some important aspects of Zionism and Judaism. Interesting and thought provoking (though not free of problems), watch and share:


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Jeff St. John, Ph.D.
Writer, Researcher, Consultant, Coach, Entrepreneur
Co-Founder & Principal, U Group Consulting Inc.
Principal, U Group Consulting Inc.
26 Cranbook Hill SE Calgary, AB T3M 2K8
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Web: www.ugroupconsulting.com
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jeffstj
Twitter: @jeffstjohn
Instagram: @jeff_st_john
Jeff St. John, PhD is a Canadian based writer, researcher, consultant, coach and entrepreneur. Jeff is co-founder and principal consultant of U Group Consulting Inc., a social research and impact consultancy that works with leading organizations to conduct research, design, execute, and evaluate innovative social change initiatives. Jeff's work as a writer and coach is to awaken our relational resources and the capacity for dialogue and change in individuals, community groups and organizations.
Jeff has spent twenty-five years working with men and adolescent boys in therapeutic, psycho-educational and adventure-based settings and has spent the last 8 years researching, writing and consulting with organizations to design meaningful initiatives on issues related to men, masculinity, fathers, & engaging men and boys towards gender equality, father involvement, more positive health outcomes, and ending violence against women.
A recognized master strategist, and innovator, Jeff leverages over two decades of experience working with individuals, communities and organizations to connect with potential-in-wait, facilitating collaborative possibility generating conversations towards more creative and positive futures. Jeff has a unique blend of research-based, strategic, and proven executive insights he uses in partnership with individuals, teams and organizations to imagine and create the change they seek. Bringing strategic thinking and insights to spark innovation, increase impact and strengthen connections, he applies relational and researched-based practices to transform learning, and growth.
Jeff has extensive experience working at all levels of community, and organizations seeking transformational social change. Leading multi-stakeholder initiatives, developing leadership and integral partnerships to engage community groups to address social issues. I support teams, organizations and community groups to navigate complex situations and inspire better thinking in reaching for collaborative and effective solutions. As a former C-level executive in a large human service nonprofit Jeff was named to the Top 40 Under 40 for innovative work in the community towards ending family homelessness.
As a researcher Jeff has deep experience pursuing inquiry within a range of social and human experiences, often at the intersections of social policy and large systems. From inquiry design to envisioning and scaling research teams to create knowledge, engage unlikely stakeholder groups and drive innovation, Jeff has contributed to small and larger scale initiatives in the areas of domestic violence, engaging men and boys, fathering and father involvement, poverty reduction, financial empowerment, social innovation and leadership. Most recently Jeff has found tremendous rewards exploring the possibilities of experimental qualitative methods as an autoethnographer.
Jeff has taught as adjunct faculty and instructor at the University of Calgary, Mount Royal University and Rocky Mountain College and presented internationally on subjects ranging from clinical case management with homeless families, to systems leadership and organizational change. More recently Jeff has developed work on gender equality issues and engaging men and boys towards more positive health outcomes and ending violence against women. Jeff has had significant experience in curriculum development for both community and university course based learning Jeff has developed or been apart of building courses in conversational leadership, financial literacy with vulnerable individuals, child and youth care, and innovative programs aimed at supporting professionals in homelessness serving organizations.
Jeff highly values an inter-disciplinary approach and holds degrees in Sociology (BA), Theology (GradDipCS), Counselling Psychology (MA), and Social Sciences (PhD). He lives by the Bow River near the Canadian Rockies with his wife as they work to blend their family of five. His most interesting detours have included working as a coach, spiritual director, psychotherapist, adult learning facilitator, curriculum developer and college faculty, concert promoter, studio and performance musician and award winning nonprofit executive.


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Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
A chiming clock is a sonorous and old-fashioned way to display the time in your home. Chiming clocks come in all shapes and sizes and they generally signal each hour with a clang, ding or chime. Some chiming clocks even play a few bars of a song or simple tune. If your chiming clock is not emitting the correct number of chimes with a given hour, it's time to reset your clock. Resetting your clock will take a minute and fix the issue completely.
Place one forefinger gently on the minute hand and push it lightly over to the number 12. Your clock will now naturally emit a series of chimes. Count how many chimes it emits and remember this number.
Move the hour hand very gently to this number on the clock face. For example, if you hear five bongs, you need to move the hour hand to the number five on the clock.
Push the minute hand around the clock until the clock displays the actual time. The clock will bong periodically as you do this and that's good. For example, if it's 3:53, move the minute hand until you get to that exact time.
Note to yourself the next time the clock should strike and pay attention for when that hour comes. Your clock will strike the correct hour now.
Most recent
- If you feel resistance, don't force the clock hands to move. Contact a professional clock repairer instead.
- Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images


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Horizon Health, Inc.
Correctional Care | Committed Careers | Corizon HealthWe have an exceptional opportunity for a Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant to join our healthcare team at Youth Detention Centre, located in BAltimore MD.
16 hours a week of the Corizon Health Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Graduate of an accredited college/university nurse practitioner program with current certification /licensure in the state of employment.
Maintains an active CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) certification.
of the Corizon Health Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Corizon Health Nurse Practitioners utilize the medical model to meet a variety of healthcare needs with an ambulatory care as their primary focus.
Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistants work with a variety of healthcare professionals and security officers in a correctional environment.
Nurse Practitioners/Physician Assistant also Respond to and initiate care for medical emergencies throughout the facility Identify patient health problems and prescribes treatment under direction of a physician Implement medical care utilizing therapeutic regimens approved by a physician Provide education to patient, healthcare and correctional staff Document all healthcare contacts Adhere to safety and security policies and participate in disaster drills Follow security regulations for keys, sharps, and controlled medications Delegate to and supervise other team members as appropriate Adhere to Universal Precautions and other appropriate infection control practicesBenefits offered to the Corizon Health Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant No weekends or evenings Minimal on-call No overheadCorizon Health provides patients with high quality healthcare and reentry services that will reduce recidivism and better the communities where we live and work.
We are dedicated to meeting the needs of the growing number of incarcerated persons with physical and mental illness and the professionals who care for them.
More healthcare professionals are finding the stability and advancement they desire at Corizon Health.This position may require a background check, security clearance, and/or drug screening.CorizonHealth is an Equal Employer.
In compliance with federal and state employment opportunity laws, qualified applicants are considered for all positions without regard to race, gender, national origin, religion, age, sexual orientation, disability, Vietnam era veteran, or disabled Veteran status.Job Number:14489Corizon Health.
Keywords: Correctional Nurse, Location: Baltimore, MD 21201


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Periodically, I like to give myself a productivity audit. A self-assessment of what and how I have been accomplishing things in my personal and professional life. I usually do this when I notice...Read More
JMW's Consultants and clients share their thoughts on some of the challenges faced by today's leaders.
Recent Posts
I recently found myself getting increasingly bothered by the state of the walls in my stairway at home. It was covered with fingerprints from our three kids, scuffs and dents. Several times a day...Read More


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Home Care
There are plenty of water softeners in the market. Everyone comes with different features, different qualities, different warranties and different prices. Among the thousands of options, it is very difficult to choose a good brand. A brand that would possess everything that a softener must have and also be worth the money. After all, you would not want to be spending money on an ineffective and high-priced product.
Water softener
We had recently moved to a new home. Me and my wife had checked everything in advance and were sure of it all before we moved in. After a couple of days, we realized that the water was not as sweet or soft as we would like. We immediately stopped drinking it. Instead, we went to a local supermarket and bought a few water cans. This was not only expensive but a hassle too. Every time the water finished, one of us had to drive across or bought new ones on our way back to work. But, we still had to use the water for other cleaning purposes. We also heard that hard water destroys clothes, ruins the pipelines and even damages the wooden floors. Furthermore, it was impossible to shower with hard water. It was not allowing the soap to form any sort of foam. Even when me and my wife wanted to wash our hands, the hard water made it a nuisance. So, we realized that the first thing that we needed to do was to clean the water and make it usable for all purposes.
Cleaning plumbing
This prompted me to ask my neighbors about the quality of water. They told me that for God knows what reason, the water here is generally harder than other parts of the city. The reason is the metal cations and a high count of minerals in the water along such calcium and magnesium. Among the many suggestions, someone asked us to buy a water softener. A water softener that would convert the hard water into soft by eliminating the unnecessary minerals from it. It would make it drinkable, usable for cleaning purposes and also secure the pipelines of the house. If we had continued using it, then after a couple of years, we would have had to replace all the pipes. This would be very costly.
While we were searching around, we came across Fleck water softeners. Fleck offered plenty of options with every item having its own unique features and the prices were reasonable too. The common feature in all of them was that it cleaned the water very well. We even read the reviews and came to the conclusion that Fleck was the one of the best water softener manufacturer in the market. It has years of knowledge and expertise in the field and with every passing year, they have come up with better and more sophisticated products. And after using the product, we would say the same. The Fleck water softener was a gem, and it has completely cleaned our water from unwanted minerals. It can now be used around without any issues.
There are numerous varieties and manufacturers of steam cleaners available in the market today and for this reason, one ought to have the right information on the usage and types of these cleaners so as not to make mistakes. This article gives a guide to buying the best steam cleaner.
Versatile steam cleaner
To cut on the cost of buying more than one cleaner, it is appropriate to select one that can be used for different areas and surfaces. Steam cleaners come in varying types namely mop, cylinder, and handheld. All these are designed for different surfaces and come in different shapes and sizes. Among the three types, cylinder cleaner has more uses than the rest and also has a bigger capacity, therefore, does not require frequent refilling. Furthermore, it is paramount to choose the cleaners that come with additional attachments so as to adopt it for various surfaces.
Consider the type of surface
Steam cleaners are designed for various surfaces and others can clean more than one type of surface. However, it is important to establish precisely the type of surface that one is intending to use the machine on. This is so because there are some attachments that are designed for specific surfaces that need not to be left out. These attachments include; squeegee for glasses, scrubbing pad for removing grease, glider for carpets, scrubbing brush for tiles among others.
Intended purpose
When buying a steam cleaner, it important to consider whether it is intended for home or commercial use. There are heavy cleaners that are designed for commercial use and are designed to perform heavy duty. Moreover, their prices are high as compared to home use cleaners. It is important therefore to know the intended purpose for a steamer cleaner before buying one to avoid spending a lot of money buying a commercial cleaner to use at home. Commercial cleaners also require more power to heat and this would also end up being too costly for a homeowner.
Manufacturer's guarantee
Machines are prone to wear and tear. However, a good quality machine should not fail to function soon after purchase, and therefore manufactures should be in a position to guarantee quality by offering a warranty for a certain period of time. This consideration helps in saving money for repair or even purchase of a new machine as a result of a fault that could have been taken care of by the manufacturer.
In conclusion, a guide to buying the best steam cleaner consist of manufacturer's guarantee of quality and purchase of a machine for the intended purpose and the right surface. The cost must also be put into consideration to enable one buy at a price that is within the intended budget.
The Cypress essential oils are usually obtained from the Cypress tree. The scientific name of the cypress tree is Cupressus sempervirens. The Italian Cypress tree has needle-like leaves and is grown in the deciduous and coniferous regions. This tree is evergreen and has rounded, woody, and small cones. It also has very ting flowers. The cypress tree is famous because of the essential oil that it has which is used to fight various infections. Let us look at some of the benefits of the cypress tree.
Heals infections and wounds
The essential oil that is obtained from the cypress tree helps in faster healing of the wounds. The antiseptic quality of the cypress oil is due to the presence of the camphene. The cypress oil not only prevents infections but also treats the internal and external wounds.
Research has also shown that the Cypress essential oil has antimicrobial properties which inhibit the growth of bacteria. This is one reason as to why the Cypress oil is used in various soaps that have antiseptic properties. The cypress essential oils can also be used to treat skin eruptions, pustules, pimples, and sores.
Promotes blood clotting
The cypress oil also promotes blood clotting which is critical as it stops the excess flow of blood. The blood clotting properties of this oil are as a result of the astringent and hemostatic properties of the oil. The essential oil leads to the contraction of the blood vessels which stimulates the flow of the blood and promotes the contraction of the gums, hair follicles, muscles, and skin. The astringent properties of this oil make it able to tighten the tissue and strengthen the hair follicles.
The hemostatic properties of the oil make it promote clotting and stop the flow of the blood when it is required. These two benefits work together to ensure that open sores and wounds heal quickly. This explains why it is useful to women who experience heavy menses.
Removal of toxins
The cypress oil also helps in the removal of toxins in the body since it is diuretic. It helps the body in flushing out the toxins which exist internally. It also increases perspiration and sweat which allows the body quickly to eliminate excess water and salt and toxins. It, therefore, prevents other skin conditions like acne which are caused by the building up of the toxins.
Relieves anxiety
The Cypress oil is known for its sedative effects. It induces a relaxed and calm feeling when used topically or aromatically. It not only energizes but also stimulates the sense of ease and happiness. It is particularly critical for individuals undergoing emotional stress.


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Show your children the value of volunteering. JFS has a variety of opportunities for families of all ages to help make a difference in their community. Get involved by joining a family-friendly volunteer event or participating in a reoccurring volunteer shift. Together, we can make a difference.
Collect new warm, waterproof or water-resistant, winter coats. We need children's, women's and men's. Small and medium are the most needed sizes, but we can use a few large, too.
Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com or (206) 861-3155.
Assist with setting up or day-of tasks for events.
Setup Assistance
Typically, on Fridays before an event, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Day-Of Assistance
Duties include event support, leading various stations, assisting staff, general set-up and clean up. Some heavy lifting may be involved.
Contact us at email@example.com or (206) 861-3155.
Volunteers will prepare, load and deliver needed items to homebound individuals and families on a designated route. A personal vehicle is required for this position.
This is a great opportunity for families!
Contact us at email@example.com or (206) 861-3155.
Help support the Polack Food Bank during our annual Community-Wide Food Drive, which officially begins with announcements at Rosh Hashanah and culminates at the Food Sort.
The Food Sort is a one-day event at the end of our Community-Wide Food Drive. Hundreds of volunteers come to our donated warehouse space to help sort and organize Food Drive donations.
Learn more about what food and toiletry donations the Polack Food Bank needs. Donation can be made year-round.
Contact us at email@example.com or (206) 861-3155.
Warm gloves and socks are in high demand during the cold and rainy season in Seattle. Help keep community members warm with these small, but meaningful items. Adult sizes needed.
Contact us at email@example.com or (206) 861-3155.
The Polack Food Bank needs paper grocery bags with two sturdy handles. People visiting the Food Bank use these bags to carry their items home, and JFS staff use them to deliver food to homebound individuals.
Contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com or (206) 861-3155.
Passover Basket Making & Delivery (Canceled)
March 29 at 10:00 am
Families Fight Hunger (Canceled)
April 26 at 1:00 pm
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Department Chair: Karen Sowers, Dean
The College of Social Work is committed to advancing the mission of The University of Tennessee as the state's land-grant, flagship university, to provide a quality public education for the citizens of Tennessee through exemplary teaching, research, and service. The College of Social Work provides a professional social work education program that prepares undergraduate and graduate students for social work practice and doctoral level graduate students for social work research and academia. College of Social Work
Browse the Social Work Collections:
College of Social Work 50-Year Scrapbook
Social Work Academic Program Reviews
Social Work Office of Research & Public Service (SWORPS)
- Accreditation Files
- Continuing Education
- Needs Assessment
- Portfolio/Annual Reports
- Research Reports
- Stimulus Alumni Newsletter
- Training Manuals


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A Couple of Ways of Doing Something is the product of a collaboration between artist Chuck Close and poet Bob Holman. Better known for his large photorealistic portrait paintings based on photographs, Close here presents twenty 11x15 inch digitally scanned reproductions of daguerreotype portraits he made of selected friends, such as Cindy Sherman, Laurie Anderson, and Philip Glass, as well as of himself and Holman. Facing each portrait, Holman contributed a "praise poem," and "infused the poems with the subject's own words, to make it more personal, to allow the subjects to represent themselves" (iv). Lyle Rexler's engaging and informative interview of both Close and Holman rounds out the book.
According to Close, the image and the poem "should hold the page equally" (iii).
HOLMAN: . . . It took me a long time to look at anything as long as it takes me to read a poem. It was Alice Notley, the poet, who took me to a de Kooning exhibition and said, "All right, stand in front of the painting until you write a poem. Then after that, you can feel free. You can go to the next one and do that." That taught me to look at something that long. That's what I would like the rhythm to be in this book. If you're used to looking at the art for a long time and reading the art, then you can spend that much time reading the poem. If you're used to reading the poem, then you spend that much time reading the art. (vii)
A daguerreotype is a single non-reproducible plate, resulting from a difficult and hard-to-control process. It was one of the earliest photographic techniques, dating from 1840. But the results, as in these pages, can be stunning.
REXER: Why is the daguerreotype so attractive?
. . . .
CLOSE: Well, I'm certainly not interested in it because it's antiquarian. I'm not nostalgic. The thing I love about daguerreotypes is that everything I love in photography was already there at the very beginning--1840. The incredible detail. The incredible range, from the brightest highlight of white, sometimes solarized, almost bluish in color, to the deepest, darkest, most velvety blacks. I love that. I love the fact that, as opposed to so many photographs that are painting-sized, which thirty people can stand in from of, each daguerreotype requires the active participation of one viewer. It's intimate, one-on-one, personal. I even made a couple of paintings just from daguerreotypes because there's something about the luminosity that is very different from a silver print.
. . . .
. . . there's something almost painterly about a daguerreotype. The paintings that I love best, by Van Eyck, Petrus Christus, and Van der Weyden, have the intimate size, the incredible detail of the daguerreotype. They make you gasp when you look at them. (vi)
The images feature incredible, breathtaking detail: every pore and hair stands out as they would under a microscope, as you would never see them with your naked eyes. They produce the same kind of shock and wonder at the revelation of the unfamiliar in the commonplace that we see in the best microscopic images of, say, the teeming life in pond water.
But the detail in Close's portraits occurs within an unusually small depth of field. In a typical head-shot, both the tip of the nose and the ears are out of focus, with hair behind the ears fading into unrecognizability. The combination of sharp detail and shallow depth of field pulls the viewer's attention to the eyes. Thus the subjects capture the viewer in their gaze, and the faces leap off the page.
The tonal range of these daguerreotypes is stunning. The silvery luminosity of the highlights emerges from the inky blackness of the background and gives the images a shimmering, ethereal quality.
REXER: And daguerreotypes are unforgiving. In the nineteenth century there were reams written about the fact that if you decided to have a daguerreotype made, you took your self-image in your hands, because nothing would be left out.
CLOSE: It was more warts-and-all than any other process. Because it's so red-sensitive, any marks, any flaws are heightened. You have to be pretty comfortable in your skin, and vanity goes out the window. And it's also physically painful. A normal daguerreotype is a more than two-minute exposure. We've made it instant photography by having a billion foot-candles of light go off all at once, and that's very painful. The flashes are so intense your eyes slam shut. It's like having an ice pick shoved in your eyeball. You can smell the hair burning. (v)
© 2008 Robert Kimball
Robert Kimball, University of LouisvillePhotographs of James Siena and Ellen Gallagher are by Chuck Close, from A Couple of Ways of Doing Something (Aperture, 2006).
Robert Kimball, University of Louisville
Photographs of James Siena and Ellen Gallagher are by Chuck Close, from A Couple of Ways of Doing Something (Aperture, 2006).
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Many of you may, or may not, have heard of the new assistant on Microsoft's Windows 8.1, Cortana.
She's sort of the answer to Apple and Google's assistants.
In this short podcast, I demonstrate a little what she sounds like. I used a Nokia Lumia 925 for the purposes of this demonstration.


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Gate 40
I visit Gate 40 almost every week.
At Gate 40, around 130 people board a flight from Kansas City to St. Louis. Each person aboard carries a different story. Family. Business. Fun. Home. Some stick around, many simply bounce to another city.
I fly through Gate 40 every week to teach. This fall, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary launched a new extension in St. Louis to help train pastors, church planters and lay people.
Why do we do this?
We believe in incarnational teaching. While our internet education team is the best in the business and provides unique incarnational frameworks, there still is a place for a teacher working together with a classroom of students. Just visit any of our classrooms in KC or St. Louis. We wrestle with texts, consider arguments and build foundations for the future. We challenge assumptions, destroy poor logic and ground students in the Word of God. In the give-and-take of class we are sharpened by one another. There is something about presence.
It's all part of being "For the Church." It's more than a slogan. We really do love the local church. Part of the dynamism of an extension is that students get some of the best faculty on their home turf. We get to serve in the context of the student's ministry field. It helps shape our conversations in the classroom. It continues to press into our academic model the primacy of location found in the local church.
In addition, our extension centers allow us to touch base with local churches. This fall, as I travel back and forth each week, I have the unique opportunity to meet with pastors and minister with congregations in the St. Louis area on Sunday afternoons or evenings. I cherish opportunities to serve local pastors before I head to teach in the classroom on Monday morning at our extension location. There is nothing more incredible than hearing the stories of real life-change coming from churches in St. Louis!
An extension campus builds upon that very story–life change in the local church because of the Gospel. The Gospel changes lives. We are privileged to train leaders and pastors, but it's the fruit of ministry in the local church that makes a journey worthwhile each week.
Gate 40, becomes a portal to what God is doing in the local churches. I leave behind my wife, 4 kids, and a ministry of location in KC. But the joy I find with each trip to St. Louis is wrapped in their stories–the very stories I will hear from students and those I serve over the semester. The sacrifice is hard, but God continues to show himself strong.
Leave a Reply.
John Mark Yeats
Dean of Students , Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Spurgeon College, Bible Teacher.
May 2019


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Regarding the novel coronavirus: Due to the government's recommendations, the University of Borås has moved over to online instruction. This is valid until the end of the term on 7 June. Stay updated.
2012-08-31 10:12
When Lady Gaga left her Stockholm hotel on Thursday for her show in The Globe, she wore a spectacular pink furry outfit from Daniel Bendzovski, fashion design student at the Swedish School of Textiles. The outfit the superstar had picked out is part of Daniel's graduation collection exhibited during the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.
The day before at the acclaimed exhibition in Stockholm, as soon as the models had left the catwalk, Lady Gaga's stylist came up to Daniel Bendzovski and asked if she could borrow some of the garments.
"So she borrowed a few and I went home to Borås. Then she called me and said that Lady Gaga wanted to see more of my work, so I just had to get into the car and drive back with the rest of my collection".
Daniel came to the hotel in the last minute and a few hours the superstar made her entrance before her fans dressed up in Daniel's furry outfit, a pink and black jacket and a white furry skirt.
"Everything seemed very spontaneous. Apparently, she had tried on a few of my garments, looked up the rest on the Internet and wanted more".
Daniel never got to meet Lady Gaga, only her manager, as the superstar was sleeping when he arrived.
"After this, it feels like everything can happen. I'm so thrilled that someone like her wanted to wear my clothes".
Daniel Bendzovski's graduation collection is speaking ironically about trends, especially the increasing use of fur. With this collection, Daniel wants to question the prevailing fur trend and increase people's awareness about consumption. On Monday, Daniel Bendzovski starts the fashion master program at the Swedish School of Textiles.
The Swedish School of Textile's Exit exhibition 2012 was shown at the London Fashion Week, September 18.
Written by: Ida Borenstein
Photo of Lady Gaga: Screen shot, svt.se
Photo of catwalk and portrait: Anna Sigge


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Decorated sugar cubes have many uses, from tea party dainties, to festive sugar cubes useful for specific celebrations. Making designs on the sugar cube will delight guests and enhance the table presentation.
1Plan the designs that you'll make on the sugar cubes. Some ideas include:
- For a tea party, draw teacups, teapots, and teabag designs
- For Christmas, draw Santas, reindeer, and holly
- For Easter, draw Easter eggs, bunnies, and crosses
- For a birthday, draw a cake, candles, and gifts with bows
- For a cocktail party, draw cocktail glasses, cherry garnishes, and cocktail shakers
- For a special year birthday, draw the age on the sugar cubes
- For a wedding or Valentine's Day, draw hearts and kisses; for a wedding use bells, lilies, and rings as well
- For a spring party, draw bees, flowers, and ladybugs.
2Prepare the cake icing. If using more than one colour, make several bowls of different colors of icing by adding food dye.
3Make a piping bag. If you already have one, use that.
4Set up a work space surface covered in wax paper. This will make it easy to wipe off any drips of icing sugar.
5Put the icing into the piping bag. Following the designs you've planned, pipe the shape onto the sugar cube. It's delicate and tiny work, so be seated somewhere comfortable in good lighting and prepare for this to take some time.
- You can pipe a design onto just one side, or perhaps onto more. If doing all 6 sides, this will be very time-consuming and fiddly, and you'll need to allow some sides to dry before turning it right over.
6Decorate before dry. If you want more than just the icing, add the decorative elements before the icing dries. Some things that you might like to add include dragees, sprinkles, and edible glitter.
7Allow to dry. Arrange on a serving plate, making sure to show the designs to their best advantage.Advertisement
Community Q&A
- If you're really frustrated or simply don't like fiddling to this extent, an easier way is to purchase ready-made sugar candy designs and simply stick them on with icing sugar as glue. Easy done!
- The sugar cube can be dyed using food dye.
- If you want to flavour the icing, add flavouring to the icing when preparing it.
- If boxed up, a set of decorated sugar cubes can look very appealing as a gift.
Things You'll Need
- Icing sugar
- Sugar cubes
- Piping bag/pastry bag
- Food coloring
- Wax paper to work on
- Designs on paper (look at images online for inspiration)
- Marker
- Plate for serving


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A Few weeks back Brand Finance Global 500 put out their list of the world's 500 most valued brands and Apple was named number one again for the third year in a row. Today, Fortune published their list of the top 100 most admired companies in the world, with Apple landing on top for the seventh consecutive year.
You could find the other 90 companies that are listed on Fortune Magazine's top 100 companies for 2014 here. There you'll find Samsung in position number 21, Microsoft at number 24, Intel at 47 and tech companies like HP and Dell not even making the list.
Apple's position on Fortune Magazine's Most Admired Companies back in early 2007 was seventh. GE was the number one company that year. Then Apple introduced the iPhone later that year and they've been able to maintain their Most Admired Company status for seven consecutive years since 2008.
About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments.


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The 10 Best Sports Bars in South Carolina! By
Alli Hill
The thrilling atmosphere, refreshing drinks and unique sense of community truly separates great sports bars from all the rest. With televisions lining the walls broadcasting the big game, you won't miss a moment. Being surrounded by like-minded sports fans makes the experience even more memorable. Here are the 10 best sports bars in South Carolina.
1. Backyard Sports Bar & Grill, Myrtle Beach, SC
A favorite among locals, Backyard Sports Bar & Grill makes you feel right at home. Along with a view of the Intracoastal Waterway, you can budget-friendly food and drink specials every day, along with top notch bar and table service. They've got over 47 TVs to air your favorite team, so you never have to miss a play.
2. Sweetwater Sports Bar, Lake Wylie, SC
Sweetwater Sports Bar has taken as much pride in their food menu as they have in entertainment. They've given typical bar food a new twist by adding high quality standards and flavor variety. You can enjoy your fare inside or al fresco on the deck, along with plenty of televised and live entertainment.
3. Charleston Sports Pub, West Ashley, SC
The name isn't flashy, but it delivers everything it says. With three locations (the others are in Summerville and Mount Pleasant) sports fan can fill their appetites with Lowcountry favorites like fried green tomatoes, wings, shrimp, and tacos. They take food prep pretty seriously, making all their sauces and dressings in house and using only fresh-never-frozen ingredients. If your favorite team isn't playing, they feature over 25 games for you to create your own entertainment.
4. Overtime Sports Cafe, North Myrtle Beach, SC
This one-of-a-kind sports cafe doubles as a memorabilia museum and eatery. With over 150 screens, you can catch all the action no matter where you sit. They feature all the big UFC fights, NFL Sunday Ticket, College Gameday Pass, and other events. If a game is on TV somewhere, you can see it here. You can also score some of your favorite bar food staples, like wings and burgers, along with other favorites like the sweet tea fried chicken salad, meatloaf, and salmon.
5. The Bench, Anderson, SC
The Bench is the premiere place to settle on the sidelines of all the best games on TV. They've got classic fan favorites, along with a winning selection of imports and microbrews on tap and in bottles.
6. Sports Break, Greenwood, SC
A college hangout and epicenter of Greenwood nightlife, Sports Break is equipped with 22 TVs to keep you in the game. You can get home-style country cooking for lunch, or stock up on casual bar fare anytime. The original Sports Break was destroyed by a fire in 2014 after 24 years of service, but has since been rebuilt and continues to thrive as a local hot spot for sports fans.
7. Palmetto Sports Bar, Rock Hill, SC
Palmetto Sports Bar is the little neighborhood bar that makes you feel like family from the moment you enter. However, you'll need a membership to join the family here, or you can find someone who already is a member and tag along as their guest.
8. Local Cue, Greenville, SC
The creative genius behind the Local Cue name pays homage to both the pool tables within the bar and the quality barbecue they serve. When you can't find a game on TV, you can create your own at the pool tables, dartboards, foosball, and other tabletop games. While you're there, indulge in their delicious namesake pork barbecue or other swine-related offerings.
9. King Street Grille, Multiple Locations
The original King Street Grill was located (you guessed it) on prestigious King Street in Charleston, but they've since expanded into five locations along the South Carolina coast. What sets them apart is their made-from-scratch food that gives tasty new hope for the typical bar cuisine.
10. Grumpy's Sports Pub, Aiken, SC
Don't let the name fool you—you'll have a great time here! Touted by locals as the best sports bar in the area, Grumpy's is serving up over 30 beers on tap and more than twice that many in frosty cold bottles. You'll also find favorites like sandwiches, burgers, hummus, nachos, and their famous "hog wangs," also known as fried pork shanks.


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Lorum Old Rectory
Bagenalstown,, Co. Carlow
Dating from 1863, Lorum Old Rectory sits beneath Mount Leinster in the peaceful valley of the River Barrow. Its warm, yellowish, locally cut granite gives it a distinctive and pleasing appearance. The owner, Bobbie Smith, is an enthusiastic hostess, famous for her warm welcome and splendid home baking. She grew up at Lorum, knows the area intimately and is always a fund of local knowledge. Bobbie also uses Lorum as a base for relaxed, bespoke cycling tours in the neighbouring counties of Carlow, Wexford and Kilkenny. Visitors cycle from house to house and their luggage awaits them on arrival.
Country house accommodation
Lorum Old Rectory was built from crisp, mellow, locally-cut County Carlow granite which gives the house a feeling of tremendous warmth. The house sits peacefully on the slopes above the River Barrow at Kilgreaney, about half way between Bagenalstown and Borris. Behind the house are Mount Leinster and the Blackstairs Mountains while in front, across the river, are the plains of Kilkenny. Beyond the plains Slievenamon, the Mountain of the Women, in far away Tipperary is clearly visible on fine days.
In the second half of the 20th century the Church of Ireland passed thorough a period of rationalisation. Parishes were amalgamated; churches closed and a number of rectories became redundant and were sold. Among these was Lorum Old Rectory which Mr. Young purchased as a home for his family. Fast forward for another thirty-five years and his daughter Bobbie, on inheriting the house, was forced to make it pay and, together with her late husband Don, decided to provide country house accommodation for visitors to the region.
Euro-Toques cusine
They quickly built up an enviable reputation as a well-run, comfortable house offering good food and good company. Bobbie, who is a member of Euro-Toques, is renowned as a consummate and considerate hostess, and for her imaginative home cooking, using home-grown or local organic produce wherever possible.
County Carlow is one of Ireland's smallest counties, and Lorum Old Rectory is well positioned for those also who wish to explore the neighbouring counties of Kilkenny, Kildare, Wexford and Wicklow, where there is plenty to see and do.
Celtic Carlow, Ireland's heritage
For those who want to explore there is a portal dolmen at Brown's Hill and important monastic sites at Ullard and St. Mullins. In the middle of the town of Graiguenamanagh is he great Cistercian abbey of Duiske, the largest in Ireland, with the smaller but more beautiful Jerpoint just south of Thomastown. The mediaeval town of Kilkenny with its castle and museums is worth a visit and nearby gardens include Altamont, Kilfane and Woodstock. There are golf courses at Mount Juliet, Mount Wolsley and Borris, fly fishing for trout and the occasional salmon, and wonderful restful walks along the tow-path of the Barrow Canal or, for the more energetic, in the Blackstairs Mountains.
Lorum Old Rectory Guest House Bagnelstown, is also home to Celtic Cycling, which runs bespoke cycling tours for couples and small groups throughout the South East, along the Rivers Barrow and Nore, through unspoilt countryside with pretty villages and small hamlets. And, for those who prefer to do nothing, the garden and croquet lawn at Lorum Old Rectory are delightfully peaceful and relaxing.
Everybody loves staying at Bobbie Smith's mid-Victorian cut stone granite rectory – it was built for the Rev. William Smyth-King in 1864, and now makes a warm and welcoming family home.
Elegant and homely
Elegant and homely, there's a library as well as a lovely drawing room where guests can gather around the fire and relax. Spacious accommodation includes one particularly impressive guest room with a four-poster and all rooms are beautifully furnished and very comfortable – with good bathrooms, big beds, phones, tea/coffee trays and lovely views over the gardens and surrounding countryside.
Delicious local produce
But it is Bobbie Smith's easy hospitality that keeps bringing guests back: Bobbie, who is a member of the international chefs' association, Euro-Toques, is committed to using local produce and suppliers whenever possible and is renowned for delicious home cooking using mainly organic and home-grown ingredients; rack of local lamb is a speciality, cooked with a honey, mustard & rosemary glaze, and residents have dinner at a long mahogany table, where wonderful breakfasts are also served.
Lorum Old Rectory, Kilgreaney, Bagenalstown,, Co. Carlow, R21 RD45, Ireland
GPS: 52.648371, -6.946869 | Get directions ›


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Terrorism »
Is enough being done to prevent terrorism in Britain?
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Thanks to Labour extremism is now mainstream in UK politics
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Attack on London Bridge Raises Important Questions for Party Leaders
I would like to begin by sending my condolences to all the victims and those affected by the tragic events in London over the weekend. On behalf of all the team at The Backbencher,Read More »
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Following Monday's horrific terrorist attack in Manchester over 130,000 people have signed a petition demanding that the Government locks up or expels all 3,000 potential terrorists who are currently being monitored by the authorities.Read More »
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Westminster terror reflections
Despite Donal Trump Jr's recent interpretation of Sadiq Khan, that terror attacks are 'part and parcel' of life in a big city, the outpouring of goodwill since the attack on Westminster last Wednesday whichRead More »
Things have got serious, and the feminist narrative has gone into retreat. Kind of.
It started with the terrible killing of MP Jo Cox. I thought 'the feminists are going to make this all about gender' – but they didn't. Of course, the man who killed her isRead More »
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Fact Checking the Paris Attack
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The Brindiamo! Club Card is a VIP card offered by OK PRODUCTIONS LLC to provide Brindiamo!'s audience with an opportunity to be part of the Italian experience in New York City, and throughout the world. live the Brindiamo! experience "The only VIP card that celebrates life with an Italian flavor."
Are you looking for an expert in the hospitality business? This unique list of Chefs, Pizzaioli, Sommeliers, General Managers, food & wine Producers, will help you to choose the right expert for your upcoming restaurant or catering business, or simply to organize your business event, your party at home or a fun cooking class.
The goal is to have all the venues listed in the Brindiamo! Guide come together to support "10,000 Gardens in Africa". The project organized by Slow Food, builds clean, fair, and local gardens in communities in Africa. The organization has created about 3,000 Food Gardens in Africa since 2010.
with Ornella Fado
Today March 29th, 2020, NYC LIFE premier a new episode of Brindiamo! filmed at Angelina's r...
The month of October is Italian heritage month, formerly known as National Italian-Amer...
I Love Gioielli DOP! My every day "Foodwear". Here is the story: A few months ago ...
This collection of fine Italian eateries in Italy, are a combination of restaurants that I visited during the filming of Brindiamo! and some discovery during my staying in Italy. Enjoy and have a tasteful experience
To make your vacation unique, you need to have a magical place to stay, a place that welcomes you and pamper you and make you feel special. This is a list that makes your stay in Italy a true magical experience.
Visiting vineyards and agritourism in italy can really be one of your best experience ever. This list highlighting some of the finest agritourism and vineyard for your vacation in Italy. Enjoy your time in italy and share with us your experience.
Wear the Brindiamo! Experience!
The Brindiamo! Guide Membership is designed for individuals in the food industry that want to share their culinary experience and their stories while they support a good mission. ( 10% of each membership will benefit the show food mission "10.000 Gardens for Africa")
Every bite of Gioielli DOP is handmade by passionate Italian craftsmen.
The design and production teams are based in Arezzo, Tuscany-
in the heart of Italy, where the craft of goldsmiths dates back to the Etruscans.
This craft has been handed down for generations since the 14th century


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About Us
Call us at (888) 280-0582!
About Us
Multiple articles have been written about this tour, one of our favorites the February 2010 article in Alaska Magazine. See links to other articles under our links page.
We are the premier air tour operator in Interior Alaska conducting tours and scheduled flights year-round throughout Alaska's exciting wilderness. The staff at Warbelow's Air Ventures is a dedicated and caring group that wants your experience traveling to be as hassle-free and dependable as possible.
Our mission is to become the customer's first choice for air travel in the Alaskan Interior by providing dependable, safe air travel through our efficient and compassionate staff. Warbelow's Air Ventures, Inc. has been operating in the Interior Alaska Region since 1989.
Alaska has everything you could want on a vacation—glaciers, mountains, wildlife and a unique culture—and Warbelow's Air Ventures has long history of providing innovative flight and guided ground tours throughout Alaska. With scheduled flight service to more than 12 villages throughout the Interior, we have a journey to fit your budget!
Click here for information about our other tours.


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14th Jan 2015, 10:40 AM
This blackness has been brought to you by a black cat in a black box in a coal mine in a blackout at midnight during a total lunar eclipse! :D
14th Jan 2015, 1:01 PM
Or four Idiots and Dana in a sealed crate with limited ventilation in a restaurant with the lights off and the camera seeing nothing except someones butt blocking the view.
I'm at Brickvention again this year maybe I'll see some of you there.
Also, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR


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My heart is heavy. Heavy from the news of the tragedy centered around the Boston marathon and heavy from the news of my husbands grandfathers' passing. Faced with so much loss this week it's really made me take a step back to reflect on things, all things.
I was half a tick away from a complete mental breakdown on Monday after learning that a great man was welcomed into God's kingdom, Pop, my husband's grandfather. Here is how the day proceeded:
- I took my 9-week old to the doctor for his two month shots at which time he peed and spit up all over me (so much for the first outfit I planned on wearing to work).
- On the way back from the doctor's I had a wailing infant in the back seat and drove head first into some classic Atlanta traffic. The road that I have to take to get home was completely closed and I was now two and a half hours late getting to work (and remember that I just started my new job last week).
- My husband was on his way to Memphis to be with and care for his family so I was overwhelmed thinking about being all alone at night with our infant.
So needless to say I was incredibly stressed out and I really felt like I was on the verge of losing it. Then I stopped at a red light and suddenly things just slowed down. I said a quick prayer, turned off the radio and I realized:
- Thank goodness I took <A> to the doctor, now he can join us in Memphis as we celebrate Pop's life and lay him to rest (and who doesn't love playing dress up and trying on everything in their closet).
- Traffic-smaffic... what a blessing it is that I work for a company that is so completely supportive of me being a mom and understanding that life happens and the importance of me being with my husband as he grieves for his grandfather.
- How awesome is that we just bought a family "road" vehicle to take to specifically to Memphis and Ohio and how fortuitous that instead of trying to lug everything for <A> onto a plane that we had the space and foresight to pack his stuff ahead of time and send it with <K> so that everything would be ready for him once we arrived. Moreover, how very very lucky am I to have a mom who chose to uproot her life to come to Atlanta to help watch <A> for the next six weeks? Even when <K> is gone, I'm never really by myself, I have her and my little man.
It seems funny to me, even as I write this, how a little time and a little prayer can completely change your outlook on things. I'm not going to say that Monday morning was easy, but I resolve to believe it was full of blessings; the greatest of those is knowing that Pop is now watching over <A> and <K> everyday.
In memory and celebration of a great man, Jimmie Nelson Fryman Sr. You'll be forever in our hearts.
|Photo by Nicole Dixon
Be Blessed,
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AKC Member Club
Santa Maria Kennel Club
Santa Maria Kennel Club
P.O. Box 1143
Santa Maria, Ca 93456
Abba Dogs Agility Secretary
Lynda Tjarks Agility Productions
Select any of the links to open its website.
Jack Bradshaw Dog Show Superintendent
InfoDog Dog Show Superintendent
Onofrio Dog Show Superintendent
DogE911 (All Pet Emergency Training)
AKC Legislative Alerts (Dog Legislation)
Pet-Law (Dog Legislation)
Canine Academy (Agility Classes)
Canine Elite Services (Private Dog Training Services)
Gentle Touch Pet Training (Pet Training Classes)


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| 3.8°C Dublin
The surge in the value of sterling alongside a falling euro will continue into July, experts predict.
Ireland's exporters look set to reap further benefits following a week in which no major currency outperformed Britain's pound. The UK buys more Irish goods than anyone else.
With negotiations between Greece and European officials crumbling and the indebted nation's future in the euro hanging in the balance, investors are pouring money into relatively stable sterling. Data pointing to an economic recovery firming up in the UK and the Bank of England's moves toward raising interest rates are adding to the pound's strength.
Sterling climbed to a six-and-a-half-year high against a basket of its major peers last week. It has gained 5pc in the past three months alone, the best performer among 10 developed-nation currencies tracked by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted Indexes.
The same index shows the euro is down 3.9pc this year.
"Sterling has this remarkable attraction, it stands out," said Steven Englander, global head of G-10 currency strategy at New York-based Citigroup, the world's biggest foreign- exchange trader. He's telling clients he expects the pound to climb to its strongest level versus the euro since the start of the global financial crisis in late 2007.
One of the biggest beneficiaries is Irish exporters, many of whom are paid by buyers in sterling but pay most of their outgoings in euro.
Data from the Central Statistics Office showed that Irish goods exports to the US and Britain rose 22.4pc and 7.5pc respectively in the first four months of 2015.
"A weakening euro against a strengthening pound and dollar has been a major contributing factor to the strong export statistics we've seen in the last few months" said Simon McKeever, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association and a former currency trader.
Food and drink exporters to the UK and the tourism sector are benefiting in particular, he said.
"We think it will continue in the short-term. Both the US and the UK are talking about interest rate hikes which will further strengthen the currencies.
"If Greece leaves the euro, then certainly you would expect the euro to fall considerably.
"Beyond that though, I see volatility. The next big event is the Brexit vote and the effect there is hard to predict."
71.45 - The amount of sterling pennies one euro would buy you last Friday
€1bn - Worth of trade between UK and Ireland each week
2007 - The last time the pound was this strong against the euro
Irish Independent


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, photo by Martha Rasmussen
Take your life to new heights discovering Darrington's mountains!
Learn more...
Dark Rhythm, Exfoliation Dome, photo by Matt Perkins
Discover Darrington's Five Rivers!
Learn more...A day on the Sauk River with Adventure Cascades
Go take a hike & discover the beautiful backcountry!
Learn more...
Hiking at Miners Ridge, photo by Gary Paull
Go camping, the great American get away!
Learn more...
Tent camping at Buck Creek Campground, photo by Martha Rasmussen
Darrington's fun for horse & rider
Learn more...
Packing with Bar 3 Quarter Horse Ranch & Outfitters at White Pass


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The next closing date for applications is 12th February 2016.
Applications are invited from senior SpR's, Hip Fellows and junior Consultants to apply for a £ 1500 [max] grant towards travel and accommodation to facilitate a visit to an Orthopaedic Centre of their choice in the year 2016.
A maximum of two awards only will be available in any one year. Applications should be sent with a CV and details of the proposal, which should include a rationale for their choice of Centre, to the Hon Sec. Stephen Jones at email@example.com
The Executive committee will consider applications and shortlisted candidates will be interviewed at the Annual British Hip Society Meeting in 2016.
Travel must take place within 12 months of the closing date.
To dowload the report - The British Hip Society European Travelling Fellowship - Nicholas Wardle - Click here
File 1 - bhs fellowships advert 19.7.2017 - Click Here
An exchange Travelling Fellowship between the British and American Hip Societies was proposed by David Hamblen in 2000. A meeting set up by the Hon Sec and John Callaghan (Iowa) with Charles Engh and Dick Brand of the AHS secured agreement with the American Hip society at the AAOS in Dallas. Two young UK surgeons (SpR's or Consultants within 5 years of appointment) would visit centres of Orthopaedic excellence in the USA for three weeks in the early autumn of 2003 and then bi-annually. Two North American surgeons of similar status would visit the UK in 2004 and then bi-annually.
The application process for the 2020 Rothman-Ranawat Travelling Fellowship is now open.
The travelling Fellows will visit up to twelve (12) host sites in North America within a period of approximately four (4) weeks, starting on Saturday, March 16, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA (at the AAOS 2019 Annual Meeting and Specialty Day). These visits will include personal interactions with some of the world's most prominent specialists in adult joint reconstruction, scientific conferences, surgical observations, and much more.
The goal of the Fellowship is to foster emerging thought-leaders and to provide them with an inspirational tour of state-of-the-art facilities offering exemplary surgical care of the hip joint throughout North America.
The closing date for applications is 16th August 2019.
Candidates are generally consultants under the age of 45. The following general criteria should be met:
CCT and specialty training in the field of hip surgery
Committed to the practice of hip surgery.
Documented interest in advancing hip surgery via publications, presentations, and research.
Applicants must be able to be away from home/practice on a 4-week tour in March-April 2019. (Applicants must be able to obtain entry visa for the US and Canada.)
Applications and accompanying documents must be submitted to Honorary Secretary at the email address firstname.lastname@example.com
Shortlisted candidates will be called for interview that will be held at the BOA Annual Congress on September 10th 2019.
Best Wishes
Stephen A Jones
The British Hip Society will be hosting two American Hip Society Visiting Fellows in August/September 2014
The two Visiting Fellows are:
University of Virginia
New Mexico Orthopaedics Center for Joint Replacement
The BHS executive thanks all members who are hosting the AHS Visiting fellows. Any members who would like to host future visiting fellows, please contact Ian Stockley or Andy Manktelow.


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Scotts Ferry is a small sleepy place these days. We took a drive up there to check out the Motor Camp – we are always looking for different places to stay at for future Caravan Club rallies. The camp is reasonably small, with very basic facilities, but will be fine for a summer rally.
Scotts Ferry was a place in big trouble just over ten years ago with the February 2004 floods. The Rangitikei River breached badly at Scotts Ferry. Police officer and Fire Chief Bruce Symons led the evacuation, but by early afternoon the flooding was too severe to return to Bulls by the main road. Mr Symons and his team had to cut a road over farmland, linking up with the gravel Forest Rd. But high winds brought trees down which had to be cut away as the population of Scotts Ferry wormed its way to safety in convoy. In the end, the water at Scotts Ferry reached the eves of houses. The water took weeks, and in some streets, months, to pump out. Eventually homes were repaired, and built with higher foundations for protection in case of further flooding. The residents call themselves the "Inn Village" these days, with a lot of homes sporting signs such as Amble Inn, Breeze Inn, and Cocktail Inn, even Les Be Inn, (I had to explain that one to Robin!)
Winter has brought yet another flood recently, and although there was still some water lying around, it was nowhere like the previous "Big One". The amount of mud still around the bridge into the village shows just how high the water reached.
The road to the beach ended here, the sea is away in the distance but there was no way we could get any closer. "If we had the 4WD we could", muttered Robin.
And in case you were wondering, there was in fact a ferry operating in this area. Thomas Scott, his wife Annie and young child emigrated from Scotland as assisted immigrants in 1841 aboard the Olympus. The child died on the voyage but seven more children were born in New Zealand. Thomas operated Scott's Ferry from 1850 to 1908, near the mouth of the Rangitikei River, transporting horses, cattle, sheep, coaches, produce and passengers. He and his wife Anne also managed the general store and hotel associated with the ferry. Until the opening of inland coach and rail routes, Scott's Ferry was situated on the only route between Wellington and Wanganui. The hospitality and food at Scott's Ferry was renowned, thanks to Annie Scott's efforts.
The ferry was purchased by the Featherston family in 1908 and was moved to the Wanganui River where it carried stock and produce until 1975. After laying derelict on the river bank for the next 12 years, the ferry was salvaged and returned to the area where it first operated 140 years ago, in honour of all the early pioneers.
We stopped at another historic site on the way back to SH1. This was previously the main settlement of the Ngati Apa people of Parewanui. There were twelve homes here, a meeting house and a great dining room with a large steam cooker and a bakers oven. In the 1920s many people moved to Ratana, taking the meeting house and some of the other communal buildings, where they are still in use today. By the 1930s few people remained, and the last derelict house was pulled down in the 1960s. Only the bakers oven remains on this site.
Our tummies were telling us it was time for lunch, so we called in to Woolshed Cafe for lunch. Come inside, the sign implored, the fire is on, and so is the soup! The cafe was warm and inviting, and we both had a tasty lunch, fish pie for her, and pizza for him, with coffees to follow. What could be nicer on a cold wintry day. The interior was in fact decorated like a wool shed, with a timber wool press tucked away in a corner, and saddles and bridles hanging from the rafters.
Traffic came to a standstill on our way home, as a herd of cows crossed the main road. This was a common sight in earlier years but such happenings are managed quite differently these days, with several cars sporting signs warning of stock on the road, and plenty of staff involved to get the cows safely across the busy highway.


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Pilot project using high-tech speed signs is launched in five areas of Dubai by transport authority
Dubai is using emojis to try to slow down drivers passing through school zones in Dubai.
Electronic signs which not only display a motorist's speed but also expressive emoticons have been put up close to schools in five areas of Dubai in a trial project which will be expanded by the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA).
Maitha Bin Adai, CEO of RTA Traffic and Roads Agency, said phase 1 of the project was commissioned in Muhaisnah 1, Al Mazhar, Al Wasl, Al Garhoud and Al Safa.
Phase 2 will include other areas based on the type of the road, the number of schools therein, and the number of speeding tickets issued.
Areas selected in phase 1 had previously witnessed over-speeding cases in recent months, and therefore smart speed limit signs displaying 40kph were installed on streets surrounding schools zones.
"Exceeding the speed limit, even by a small margin, may cause run-over accidents and injuries among students," said Bin Adai.
The smart signs are devices equipped with digital screens capable of capturing and showing the driving speed as the vehicle passes through a school's zone, along with emojis that depict the driver's mental state while driving.
A smiling face indicates the driver is compliant with the prescribed speed limit while the frowning face means the driver has exceeded the speed limit. The smart signs display either tribute remarks, alerts or warnings indicating to drivers the speed limit allowed.
"Such a customised message gives the driver a personalised impression that he/she is personally meant by that message, thus creates a direct and intended impact on the driver," said Bin Adai.