text:
Happy cows in Goshen give best milk for artisan chocolates
Chk, chk, chk--the milking machines make a soft, insistent sound as the cows stand quietly in the warm pool of light that floods the barn at Thorncrest Farm in Goshen in the predawn of a winter morning. It is Kimberly Thorn's favorite time of day. Everything is quiet and peaceful as she goes about her morning shift, working with cows that may have been born on the family farm to cows whose mothers and grandmothers were born there, too.
"Some of these cows have family lines that go back to my husband's first cow when he was a boy," said Mrs. Thorn. "We have been working for years on the genetics of our herd."
They have also been working on the cows' health and contentment. "Producing milk is not just about placing milk into a bottle, it's about cow comfort, cow care and cow health--environmentally and personally," the farm's Web site at thorncrestfarm.net states.
Unlike industrial operations, where cows might stay in the milking herd for only two or three years before they are sold for slaughter, where they are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics, and where animals are confined to open-sided barns with cement floors, the Thorncrest cows--all of whom have names, not numbers--live long lives of comfort and contentment. Their oldest cow lived 21 years, and many of their most productive milkers are 11 or 13 years old.
The Thorns realized a dream in 2011 when they moved their herd from Ives Road in Goshen to property they had purchased especially for the site of their new dairy and artisan chocolate operation. There they built a massive wooden barn from wood harvested from the land by their son, Lyndon, and there Mrs. Thorn produces what surely must be the freshest, most individual chocolate available in Western Connecticut.
"The cows all gained about 9 pounds within two or two and a half weeks after we moved in," said Mrs. Thorn. "They were happier and more content."
Again turning an eye to the animals' health and contentment, they have arranged for a covered outdoor paddock where the animals can safely exercise every day, no matter what the weather or conditions underfoot. The animals also have access to a pasture where they can graze overnight.
Why would a farmer care about the psychological wellbeing of his cows? Because happy cows, cows that are not stressed, produce more and better milk.
These cows are under the care of Clint Thorn, Mrs. Thorn's husband, and their farm manager son, Garret. Clint Thorn actually manages the first step in the chocolate-making process; he who decides what kind of food and how much to give each of the select group of animals whose milk goes into the milk chocolate.
"I only use the milk of certain cows," explained Mrs. Thorn. "I am concerned with the levels of lactose, protein, butterfat and the somatic cell count. We have an independent milk tester who gives us a print-out of all the information about each cow and Clint decides how to feed them to get certain tastes."
Surprisingly, she does not use milk from the herd's handful of Jersey cows in making her chocolate. Despite the breed's reputation for having high butterfat content in their milk, she said her husband's careful breeding of his Holstein stock has resulted in a higher content from his Holsteins. And, she added, the flavor of the Jerseys' milk is not what she wants. "I don't want to have a heavy, nutty flavor," she said.
Mrs. Thorn said that even where a cow is in its lactation cycle can change how its milk tastes and smells. "If a cow is nearing the end of her lactation, I will bring on another cow that is similar who has just freshened [had a calf]," she said. "The flavor of the milk is the number-one thing. Each cow's milk has a different flavor and smell. Then I combine it to give it the flavor and consistency I want for the chocolates."
She says that when she is working in the creamery and a pail of milk is brought in, she can tell which cow was milked by the smell.
She laughed as she recalled the day a neighbor brought bagels for the family to enjoy. When they finished, they threw the remains out for the cows to enjoy, only to realize with horror that some of the bagels had onions in them. Even in the most careful of operations, there is the occasional slip.
Even the way the milk is collected contributes to the quality of the chocolates produced on the farm. Mrs. Thorn explains that they do not use the milking systems of tubes and hoses found on large farms. Those systems take the milk from the cows directly to large holding tanks. Instead, the Thorns use portable milking machines that deposit the milk from each cow into individual stainless steel pails. This allows her to blend the milk, cream and butter.
"We use the milking machines for the health of the cows' udders and the quietness of the system," she explained. "When it is quiet, the cows relax and they produce more."
There is another benefit as well. The cellular structure of milk that has been pumped is broken down, she reported. "Our milk is never pumped, so it is 100-percent whole milk."
Milk from their larger herd is stored in a bulk tank on the other side of her creamery. But milk from her special "ladies" is brought to her for specialized mixing. Every chocolate flavor depends on special cows, and their milk is blended at different percentages. For instance, Pearl contributes 45 percent of the milk used to create the smooth, subtle creamy taste and soft melting of the Hazelnut Coffee Praline, while Viola is responsible for 30 percent and Princess 25 percent. The fresh milk is pasteurized it to kill any bacteria before separating out the cream. It is then pasteurized a second time. At that point, she has the foundation for her delicious chocolates.
While she was reluctant to share her process for producing her chocolates--a process she has been working for decades to perfect--she did produce a bag of cacoa nibs--pulverized cacao beans used to make the chocolate--to show the raw material. She takes pleasure in the thought that purchasing this ingredient is a "farmer-to-farmer" transaction.
"Think of it," she says, holding a bag of the fragrant nibs. "These might have been grown by a farmer in Ghana and they have been sold to a farmer in Connecticut." '
She uses Criollo nibs, the highest quality of cocoa. Mrs. Thorn also incorporates farm-fresh products from her own garden and from other area farmers. She recalls that the late Roger Ives stopped by the farm one day and, observing that she was not raising mint, said he would bring her some. "I thought he meant a little pot of mint," she said, "But he showed up with a whole wheelbarrow full. I am still raising his mint, and I use it in a mint-filled praline I call 'Mr. Roger's Mints.'"
Another neighbor, Quentin Finn, brought a truckload of pumpkins and squashes last summer that she pureed to use in a particularly scrumptious praline that combines the taste of pumpkin pie and chocolate. "It took me almost 20 years to marry the flavor of pumpkin pie, with its spices and aroma, to the chocolate so it didn't overpower the chocolate," she said. "It was my hardest flavor, but I love the adventure of finding a new flavor and working with it. It's an endless journey to find the right balance."
She says her husband and sons--and sometimes neighbors--have been her test audience over the years. She remembers when she was working on a combination of raspberries--straight from her own garden--and chocolate. Not wanting to introduce the candy just yet, she resorted to making a cake with the ingredients and taking it to her neighbors when they gathered for a supper. "I wanted their real response," she said. "They were my guinea pigs for testing the balance of flavors."
When she has the taste of her chocolates perfected, they are hand-dipped, rolled or created in Belgium molds in small batches and displayed in the gleaming showcase in her tiny shop located at the front of her dairy. Sometimes they are so fresh that she is bringing them from the dairy to the display case even as her customers arrive.
"I make my candy in small batches," she explained. "My devotion is to quality and I would rather have someone call and make up a batch for them than to serve up thousands and thousands of chocolates. This is meant to be special and fun."
So where did this cows-to-fine chocolates idea come from?
It was formed in Mrs. Thorn's youth when she spent the summer of 1984 working in eastern Ireland. "I was living on a horse farm at a crossroads," she remembered, "and there was an old man who would ride by every morning on his bicycle. He was always dressed in a full black suit with a white, pressed shirt, and he had milk totes on his bike. One day I asked him why he had the milk totes and he said he took fresh milk and cream to a little shop that made chocolates and pastries. So, of course, I went down there the next day."
She became fascinated with the artisanal process of making chocolates and fresh-baked desserts. When she was joined at the end of the summer by her then-boyfriend and future husband, Clint Thorn, she immediately took him to the shop. It was there that they first had the dream of making chocolates and treats from the milk from his cows.
Leaving Ireland, they backpacked around Europe for two months, searching out small artisanal chocolate shops. "We loved the smallness of the chocolatiers we saw," she said.
But it has taken years to realize the dream as Mr. Thorn concentrated on developing the genetics of his herd and Mrs. Thorn focused on blending and mixing milk, butter and cream to create the subtle flavors she wanted for her chocolates.
In the meantime, they have marketed their milk from their farm and through Agway, the farmers' cooperative and Mrs. Thorn offers classes in making cheeses in her creamery.
Currently her shop, located at 280 Old Town Road in Goshen, is open Fridays and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. During the week before Valentine's Day, she will be open every day. She suggests calling to order chocolates so she can accommodate everyone. Her candy ranges from $2.25 for a "love bar" about the size of a Hershey's chocolate bar to $36 for a Valentine's Day heart-shaped box.


text:
What motivates giving - insights from behavioural science
DESCRIPTION If you think of academic research into philanthropy, you'd probably associate it with its conceptual elements - what philanthropy is, whether it should happen, what are its effects and so on. However, academic research has probably covered most ground in the area of donor motivations and how the brain works when people donate. This Alliance content is part of the Alliance + IssueLab Special Collection.
Explore social sector research about the field of science, and scientific research of particular interest to the social sector. This can include philanthropic activity related to science, science's impact on economic development, or work in STEM education. It also includes scientific research that informs other social sector Issue Areas. For example, social science research on implicit bias and racism, or research about greenhouse gases and climate change.
This trend line represents foundation funding for research & publication in this specific issue area. Data are from grants awarded by the FC 1000, a national sample of 1,000 of the largest grantmakers by total giving
Graph represents all funding for this issue area; the highlighted arc represents the proportion awarded explicitly for research and publication.
Feb 1, 2019
Publisher(s): Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at UC Berkeley
Using the SIOP Model to Improve Middle School Science Instruction
Dec 17, 2018
Publisher(s): CREATE
The Science of Awe
Sep 1, 2018
Publisher(s): John Templeton Foundation
The Ian Potter Foundation Grantee Learnings - Environment & Conservation and Science
May 11, 2018
Publisher(s): The Ian Potter Foundation
The Science of Gratitude
May 1, 2018
Publisher(s): John Templeton Foundation
The Processes of Systemic Integration in the World System
Mar 27, 2018
Publisher(s): Uchitel Publishing House
Social-Emotional Learning and Literacy in Science
Feb 28, 2018
Publisher(s): WestEd
Coral reef fishes exhibit beneficial phenotypes inside marine protected areas
Feb 22, 2018
Publisher(s): PLOS ONE
World Grain Stocks Fall to 57 Days of Consumption: Grain Prices Starting to Rise
Jun 1, 2006
Publisher(s): Earth Policy Institute
Rectal Microbicides: Investments and Advocacy
Apr 1, 2006
Publisher(s): International Rectal Microbicide Advocates
Winter 2007 China Security Journal
Jan 1, 2007
Publisher(s): World Security Institute
Carbon Sequestration
Nov 1, 2007
Publisher(s): Environmental Research Foundation
Solar Cell Production Jumps 50 Percent in 2007
Dec 1, 2007
Publisher(s): Earth Policy Institute
A Study of Educational Simulations Part II - Interface Design
Aug 17, 2008
Publisher(s): Physics Education Research Group at Colorado

subset: commoncrawl


text:
White Sox lose 16-3 to Gibson, Twins
CHICAGO (AP) — White Sox manager Robin Ventura went to his bullpen over and over again, and the Twins kept scoring.
It was that kind of day for Chicago.
Five White Sox relievers allowed a total of 15 runs and 18 hits over the final four innings of a 16-3 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.
"It seemed OK until the sixth and after that it just got loose and you couldn't stop it," Ventura said.
Dayan Viciedo hit a two-run homer for Chicago, which dropped two of three in the weekend set against the last-place Twins. Alexei Ramirez had two hits and drove in a run.
Rookie Danny Santana had five hits and four RBIs for the Twins, who set season highs for runs and hits (23).
It just got worse for Chicago in the ninth, when Chris Parmelee, Oswaldo Arcia and Eric Fryer hit consecutive homers off White Sox reliever Andre Rienzo. It was the first time the Twins had three consecutive homers since July 12, 2001, at Milwaukee.
"Goodness gracious, up to the eighth inning it was a 4-3 ballgame then the ball starting flying all over the place," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Santana had two hits and two RBIs in Minnesota's nine-run eighth inning, when it sent 14 batters to the plate and had nine hits against three relievers. The five hits set a season high for the center fielder, who was one off his best for RBIs set June 7 against Houston.
"It was a lot of fun," Santana said.
Not so much for the White Sox.
Ronald Belisario, who served as Chicago's closer for a short stretch this season, faced four batters in the eighth and failed to record an out. He was charged with four runs, increasing his ERA to an unseemly 6.23.
"I don't know what to say," Belisario said. "They got us. I have nothing to say."
Javy Guerra (1-3) got the loss. He allowed three runs and four hits in one inning of work. Taylor Thompson was charged with three runs while recording three outs and was sent down to Triple-A Charlotte after the game.
Chicago could get some bullpen help as early as Friday when right-hander Zach Putnam (shoulder) is eligible to come off the 15-day disabled list.
Kyle Gibson (10-8) was the beneficiary of Minnesota's big day at the plate. The 6-foot-6 right-hander allowed three runs and six hits in seven innings while improving to 3-1 with a 3.08 ERA in his last four starts.
Chicago starter Jose Quintana struggled through three errors and two rain delays (for a total of 45 minutes) in the first two innings. He managed to get through five innings on 116 pitches, leaving with a 3-1 lead thanks to a three-run fourth for the White Sox.
Minnesota responded with three runs in the sixth. Eduardo Nunez had a run-scoring single before Santana's two-run double lifted the Twins to a 4-3 lead. Santana added an RBI triple and run-scoring infield hit in the eighth.
White Sox outfielder Avisail Garcia, currently on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Charlotte, was hit by a pitch and removed from the Knights' game on Sunday. He was diagnosed with a bruised left triceps and is day to day. He had left shoulder surgery in April.
The Twins open a two-game home series against San Diego on Tuesday, with Padres right-hander Jesse Hahn (7-2, 2.01 ERA) going against right-hander Phil Hughes (10-8, 4.12 ERA) in the opener.
The White Sox continue their six-game homestand with the opener of a three-game set with Texas on Monday, with Rangers right-hander Nick Martinez (1-7, 5.08 ERA) facing Hector Noesi (5-8, 5.21 ERA).


text:
Why 'Nashville' Sure Can Carry a Tune
The soundtrack of the struggling ABC TV show "Nashville" is at No. 1 on Amazon's soundtrack list. The show is turning into a nice venue for working musicians. Photo: Getty Images.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
... I ... she is teaching me ... Nance ... the in thing ... when she's sick ... the ... the ... waving a nap also may be struggling a bit in the ratings but it's music is scoring big on the charts will that be enough to keep the series alive ... John Jurgensen he writes about entertainment all the time for the Wall Street Journal he's joined us right now page on ... it there so it is one of my favorite shows I have to say and what are the primary reasons is the music which ... a lot of people wonder did the stars actually sing the songs in you say yes they're all singing they all singing the songs ... yet first question ... is asked that showed that the store and use a new and were seldom update because they have seeds ... and the music is doing great walk us through some of the milestones they hit on the charts so far ... well it yet exactly what happens is they see it in a show airs ... you have two or three or four ... songs for his own ... tendency of all the answers for some of the songs right after theirs and then as people watch on TV are the weekends ... see that the missing us to go more for some of the songs ... so ... with the most popular songs for the show ... from China or use a song called telescope was very early this season ... the actress a tear since it ... out and solicit a ... country song has into the top forty ... radio right now ... and actually in jobs the worst that the show ... a pink themed on the show's ratings as you say are struggling a little bit but ... they are happy to do something very unique down there in Nashville which is compete ... for these songs I sort of the same way that big record labels and lil country stars would do ... yet when you have been in the world TV music supervisors folks who picked a song you hear on TV ... they had earlier ... roll music business as they can use the careers of some of these artists ... one of the of the international is that because they are focusing on new ... songs you've never heard of or ... they have to get to the songs before they get produce ... the active fire from some writers borrowed from the publisher of Weiss's them ... so they're down in Asheville their stock publishers their relationship a lot of songwriters out there ... there are a try to get the good stuff for ... other artists Khan ... said she did this is going to be enough to keep the show on the air and a half and into the fall season were seen to the stars Kony Britain's and Hayden here in the mentioned earlier I think both are up from Golden Globe ... Awards they got nominated so what what I've said John ... this is the one that really the best of the show's only getting about six million viewers ... so that's not really the ... category it at all ... as we have is is their China best they can do to try your student of music is helping ensure ... will will be enough to actually get it the second season will ... be one of the road ... shows the top ten o'clock into a really tough time for network TV ... then ... you can get stuck in the year-earlier tonight ... so it really is the position of the year and they really want to get some some key drug show so ... they can do to use this music ... I and and get to get followers who text talk about music is the best they can do right now that's a good point is that its latest ten and I go back and watch it on him and said that's how I can ... watch live but that will contain a fall the show with the U S swung and Sunday like it to you that that meant that


text:
Product Description
A card is selected from a regular red deck, it is signed and placed into the center of the pack. The spectators actually see the selected card going into the deck, no control etc.
You remove a blue backed card from your pocket it has a large shark stuck on it. You claim that this is your card shark and he will find their selected card.
The shark instantly vanishes from the blue card, the deck is spread and right in the middle there is one BLUE backed card with a shark on it, this really is their card no switch etc.
Now for the killer ending, they slide out the signed card it has a LARGE BITE OUT OF ONE CORNERS!
Resets in 2 seconds, a Different Card Each Time! Very Easy to Do!
Complete with Two Gimmicks and 24 FULL Color Shark Sticker


text:
While doing press for Austenland, Stephenie Meyer talked to Variety about being a producer, her experiences with Austenland, and the pressure she has felt over the years. But the comment that will really stand out to Twilight fans is what she had to say about the franchise that started it all.
DM: What about a return to "Twilight?"
SM: I get further away every day. I am so over it. For me, it's not a happy place to be.
DM: Is the door completely closed on that?
SM: Not completely. What I would probably do is three paragraphs on my blog saying which of the characters died. I'm interested in spending time in other worlds, like Middle-Earth.
We're interested in your thoughts. How do you feel about this? Does it change anything for you as a fan?
You can read the whole interview at Variety.


text:
Project Attraction: Mid-rise apartment buildings, compound wall, security, and maintenance, entrance foyer, luxuriously designed
Project Type: Residential Apartments
Project Status: Completed, All occupied
Prefer the residential compound lifestyle with closely knit family ties or just want to have an easy to manage interior with external maintenance undertaken by professional staff round the clock. Suitable for small and medium sized, working and hassle free families are the Safari Apartments that define modern compound living in style.
Strategically located, Safari Apartments provide a quick access to down town Rawalpindi and into the Bahria Town infrastructure facilities. These apartments share a compound wall and a security check point to prevent any unauthorized entry. Families can relax while their children play in a secure environment within the boundary walls.
Round the clock team of plumbers, carpenters, sweepers, electricians and gardeners provide the highest quality of maintenance and upkeep services to all residents.
Picture Gallery


text:
Nicolas Ghesquiere took the biker jacket to a whole new level for Louis Vuitton this season.
This coat epitomises the meaning of a true visionary ....and this coat is a vision in all its splendour.
Leather coat £5,300
Dior: this is part of Raf Simons final collection for this fashion house and it can be said , he is going out with a BANG!
This fresh and smart collection makes Spring feel edgy, layered and yet light. And those shoes have my name written all over them....
Wool sweater: £930
Cotton dress: £1,750
Patent leather shoes: £850
So grunge and oversized is back....and at the forefront of Hedi Slimane's collection for Saint Laurent...I like this look myself and am always happy for it's revival.
Mohair sweater : £780
"Faux-georgette" dress : £3,135


text:
Boston – WordPress theme Free Download
Version: 1.1.2
Boston is a minimal WordPress Theme designed for blogger, it provides many features that blogger will love. Whether you are looking to share your own thoughts, write about your latest findings, Boston is designed to fulfill these and a lot more. Get free support at https://www.famethemes.com/contact/ and check the demo at http://www.famethemes.com/preview/?theme=Boston


text:
Welcome to our school
We pride ourselves on being a caring, disciplined and happy school with a tradition of hard work and lots of extra curricular activities. There is something for everyone at Porthcawl Comprehensive School. We aim to ensure that pupils of all abilities and interests achieve their potential in a safe, friendly environment.


text:
Lawrence Alan Noble was born in Tampa, Florida in 1948. He was raised in Houston, Texas and after graduating from Austin High School in 1967, was educated at Texas Academy of Art (Graduated, 1969) and the Houston Museum of Fine Arts School (1974-75). After serving as an Illustrator in the US Army, 1969-71, he worked for the Houston Chronicle, Promotion Department, 1972 and as a Designer/Illustrator for Middaugh Associates, 1972-3. He opened Noble Studio in 1973. Noble Studio moved to New York in 1976, to Los Angeles in late 1977 and to Crestline, CA in 1988. For 17 years, Mr. Noble worked as a freelance Illustrator, with representation in Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. His Illustration was featured on the cover/feature article of AMERICAN ARTIST Magazine in March of 1983. Noble produced many motion picture advertising campaigns including TIME AFTER TIME, FLASH GORDON, and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (10th Anniversary Poster). He was commissioned by TIME, PLAYBOY, ARGOSY, FORBES, WORLD TENNIS and FIELD & STREAM Magazines during his Illustration career. He was the recipient of many awards of merit from the SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS, New York and the SOCIETY OF ILLUSTRATORS, Los Angeles, and taught Advanced Advertising Illustration at Art Center College of Design from 1979-81. Lawrence Noble's sculpture career started in 1988, with a commission to sculpt a Life-size Equestrian Statue of General Philip H, Sheridan, for Ft. Sheridan, ILL (unveiled, 1990). Mr. Noble has gone on to produce monumental statues for the State of California, (The California Firefighters' Memorial, 2002), The San Bernardino County Peace Officers' Memorial, (1999), the Redlands, CA 9-11 Memorial, (2002), the Tracy, CA Firefighters' Monument (2006), the Chino, CA Spirit of Achievement Monument, (2007) and four Life -size bronzes for the Letterman Digital Arts Center (George Lucas' Corporate Headquarters at the Presidio of San Francisco, CA), 2005-8. He has also recently sent his first life-size bronze overseas to New Zealand, a private commission from Director, Peter Jackson. Lawrence Noble's work is in the collections of Burt Reynolds, George Lucas, Lawrence Halprin, Peter Jackson, The State of California, The National Park Service and the US Army Museum. He is the recipient of the 4th US Army Leadership and Integrity Medal (Presented by the 4th US Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Frederic Brown, 1986), the Ronny Lott Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement (Presented by the California Professional Firefighters, 2001), A Commendation from the State of California (Given by Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante, 2001) and was nominated for a position of White House Artist by Congressman Jerry Lewis, (R-CA, 2001). In addition, Mr. Noble's sculpture was featured in an article in AMERICAN ARTIST Magazine in February, 2003. He is an Honorary Firefighter with the city of Redlands, CA and the Crest Forest Fire Department in Crestline, CA. He is featured in WHO'S WHO in the World. He has participated in the National Sculpture Society shows, POLITICAL PORTRAITS, 1997, WORLD LEADERS, 2000, DRAWINGS BY SCULPTORS, 2000, and the 73rd ANNUAL EXHIBITION, 2006-7, in which he won the Leonard J. Meiselmen Award. In September of 2006, Lawrence Noble was elected a Professional Member of the National Sculpture Society. In 2007, Mr. Noble was invited to sculpt live at Star Wars Celebration IV, held in Los Angeles, CA, where he sculpted a life-size bust of Obi-Wan Kenobi. He was also invited to participate in London,UK, where he again sculpted a life-size bust, this time of Peter Cushing, at Star Wars Celebration Europe. In 2008, he was invited to Japan to once again create a life-size sculpture bust, this time of Luke Skywalker, for Star Wars Celebration Japan.
|Lawrence Noble
|Line of Style: Fashion Illustration Spanning the Globe
|Frame Height:
|33.0" (83.82 cm)
|Frame Width:
|23.0" (58.42 cm)
|Pencil on drawing paper


text:
MANASSAS, Va. — A Connecticut man accused of being the "East Coast Rapist" in a series of assaults over more than a decade from Rhode Island to Virginia was sentenced to life in prison Friday.
The three life terms, plus 80 years, imposed on Aaron Thomas of New Haven, Conn., followed his guilty plea last year in Manassas for abducting three teenage trick-or-treaters and raping two of them on Halloween 2009 in Prince William County.
At Friday's sentencing hearing, two of Thomas' victims testified that they have forgiven him for the attacks. One of the victims made clear, though, that despite the forgiveness she still believed Thomas should never be allowed out of prison.
Thomas, 41, said on the stand that he was "totally blameworthy" in the attacks.
Initially, Thomas' lawyers had pursued an insanity defense, saying that their client was mutilating himself and complaining of an alternate personality named Erwin. But a court-appointed mental health evaluator concluded Thomas was faking his symptoms.
A psychologist called to testify at Friday's hearing said Thomas was not insane but that he is a "sexual deviant."
The Halloween attacks were the last in a series of 17 assaults going back to 1997 that police linked by DNA evidence. Thomas was arrested in Connecticut in March 2011 after a multi-state law enforcement effort.
In the Halloween case, Thomas used a cigarette lighter that looked like a gun to force the trick-or-treaters, who were between the ages of 16 and 17, into a secluded area. He raped two of the girls; a third was able to use her cellphone to send a text message pleading for help. Thomas fled as he heard police sirens approaching.
Thomas is also awaiting sentencing later this month in Loudoun County for a 2001 rape and abduction.
Authorities say Thomas was responsible for incidents in Maryland, Virginia, Connecticut and Rhode Island.


text:
Item Number
HK Standard Low-Conductivity Double-Prong Wall Tie for 1-Inch Insulation
Pre-cast, pre-stressed, and tilt-up. Fascia may be supported or unsupported up to 3 inches thick or supported up to 4 inches thick
Installation Instructions
View instructions Pub. No. HK-ST-II before using
Technical Specifications
|Tie Length:
|4.25in / 108mm
|Embedment Depth:
|1.75in / 44mm and 1.50in / 38mm
|Dia. Through Foam:
|2 x 0.354in / 2 x 9.0mm
|Insulation Thickness:
|1in / 25mm
|Fascia Thickness:
|2–4in / 50–100mm
|Tensile Strength:
|1,100lb / 4.89kN
|Pullout Strength:
|1,100lb / 4.89kN
|Panel Shear/Tie:
|500lb / 2.22kN
|Alkaline Resistance:
|Excellent ¹
|Impact Resistance:
|Excellent ²
|Fire Performance:
|Resist 300-lb tension load for over 120 minutes when fire tested per Section 7.4.3 of ASTM E1512-01
|Thermal Conductivity:
|2.1 Btu-in/hr ft²°F
0.30 Wm°K
¹ Base resin testing showed no change in properties when exposed to Alkalis
² The un-notched Izod Impact testing of the base resin yielded no break


text:
Development tools specialist Telerik has opened up the Community Technology Preview (CTP) of its RadControls for Windows Phone 7, an integrated suite of purpose-built UI components for the Microsoft mobile platform.
Attempting to extend the reach of its product line, the company is eying the development space for Microsoft ASP.NET, AJAX, MVC, Silverlight, WinForms, and Windows Presentation Foundation technologies.
Telerik claims that RadControls for the Windows Phone environment will integrate seamlessly with Microsoft's own Windows Phone tools for Visual Studio. In addition, the product features controls that have been optimized for the new Windows Phone rendering model.
Drawing on the platform's GPU hardware acceleration, RadControls is said to facilitate faster, smoother, and more powerful transitions running directly on the device hardware — yet it is precisely calibrated for optimal battery-life management. The company has also announced planned support for additional controls and technologies, such as multi-touch interaction and deeper integration with Windows Phone OS features.
"The introduction of Windows Phone 7 represents a major opportunity for our customers to apply their .NET skills and Telerik product expertise to the mobile development arena. Developers seeking to capitalize on this new market need professional UI components enabling them to quickly deliver reliable, market-ready apps," said Svetozar Georgiev, Telerik CEO.
There are currently more than ten components available as part of the RadControls for Windows Phone CTP, including:
- Transition Control — allows creation and delivery of compelling, sophisticated transitions without detracting from the user experience
- DatePicker and TimePicker — facilitates simple, flexible date and time navigation backed by powerful data binding
- Panel and Window controls — robust yet easy-to-use controls for seamless layout design and customization.
RadControls for Windows Phone is targeted for beta release in November 2010, with the commercial release set for the first quarter of 2011.


text: Chandeliers View as: Grid List Sort By Newest Best Sellers Name Price High to Low Price Low to High Show 24 48 96 70053 Rain 26-lt LED Chandelier Regular Price: $1,360.00 Special Price: $754.80 View as: Grid List Sort By Newest Best Sellers Name Price High to Low Price Low to High Show 24 48 96 Not only does a chandelier provide supplemental lighting for your everyday activities but it also greatly enhances the ambiance of an entire room. So if you're looking for those beautiful classic crystal pieces that are perfect for elegant dining rooms or chic and contemporary chandeliers, LBC Lighting has many options that will greatly enhance your living environment. With a variety of selections that are in stock and ready to ship, we offer you the most convenient way to purchase lighting. Our customer service experts are here to answer any questions and offer any lighting advice you may need. Peruse our photo galleries for a little extra inspiration or ask our experts for a recommendation tailored specifically for your lighting tastes and budget. At LBCLighting we believe that better lighting makes for better living.


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Congress passes $50.5B Sandy aid package
Clearing the 60-vote threshold by two "yeas," the Senate tonight passed a $50.5 billion emergency aid package for superstorm Sandy relief and recovery, three months after the natural disaster ravaged coastal areas in much of the Northeast. The legislation now heads to President Obama's desk for his signature.
Action on Sandy relief comes one month after the Senate voted to approve $60.4 billion in aid for Sandy victims, which became void when the House did not act on it before the end of the 112th Congress on Jan. 2. Since then, House Republicans in the new Congress okayed a new version of the package after hacking off all spending unrelated to disasters.
Most of the money - $16 billion - will go to the Housing and Urban Development Department's community development block grants for rebuilding, primarily for victims of Sandy but also those affected by other federally declared disasters since 2011. Additionally, more than $11 billion is allocated for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief fund to provide shelter and restore power and other utility services, and $10 billion will go to repairs and reinforcement of New York and New Jersey transit systems.
During a press conference after the vote with his fellow senators from New York and New Jersey - the states in the center of the storm's brutal path - Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said while the bill passed didn't include everything Senate Democrats had wanted, it's "certainly close enough." Though he pointed out the unusual delay in relief for Sandy - "nine times as long as it took funds for Hurricane Katrina" - he nodded to the nine Republican senators who voted in favor of the bill, thanking Congress for coming together "in a bipartisan way" to finally get it done.
"At long last - that sums it up," Schumer said. "Ninety-one days ago, Sandy struck a body blow against New York state and New Jersey. And today, we finally struck back."
"...This country has had a tradition for over a hundred years: That when one region of the country is hit by a disaster, be it man-made or natural, the country stands together and helps them. It would have been an absolute disgrace for them to change the rules when New York and New Jersey were hit," he continued. "People from Maine to California will be helping people from Staten Island to Montauk rebuild, just as those in Breezy Point helped after earthquakes and tornados and wildfires."
In a joint statement, Govs. Andrew Cuomo, D-N.Y.; Chris Christie, R-N.J.; and Dannel Malloy, D-Conn., thanked the Senate "for its thoughtful consideration and passage of the Hurricane Sandy disaster relief package.
"Despite the difficult path in getting to this moment, the Senate membership clearly recognized early on the urgency and necessity of approving the full aid package and its importance in rebuilding our battered infrastructure and getting our millions of affected residents back on their feet as quickly as possible," they continued. "To all Americans, we are grateful for their willingness to come to our aid as we take on the monumental task of rebuilding and we pledge to do the same should our fellow citizens find themselves facing unexpected and harsh devastation."
President Obama also released a statement after the vote, assuring that he will "sign this bill into law as soon as it hits my desk." He applauded "lawmakers from both parties who helped shepherd this important package through" but noted he had "hoped Congress would provide the aid sooner."
"My administration remains committed to supporting our state and local partners and bringing every resource to bear as we help our neighbors rebuild. And we will continue to work closely with Governors and mayors to ensure this money is used appropriately," he said. "To date, we have already provided over $3 billion in aid to help recovery efforts, including hundreds of millions of dollars that have gone directly to families and businesses impacted by the storm. Brick by brick, block by block, our communities are being made whole again. And we will not rest until the job is done."
Now, Schumer said, challenges remain, not only in the reconstruction process, but in administering the aid.
"We will watch the bureaucracy like a hawk to make sure the money goes to whom it's supposed to go, and as quickly as possible," he said.


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Aromatherapy — It Works Wonders for Your Emotional Well-Being!
Posted: August 10, 2012 by
If you've taken a look around Aromandina.com, then you know I credit aromatherapy for giving me my greatest gift — my son. But getting a fertility boost isn't the only thing you can get from aromatherapy. It's also a great mood booster! If you're looking for an all-natural way to improve your emotional well-being, read on. You'll be amazed at what aromatherapy can do for you! Instead of going through a detailed description of the science behind each essential oil, I'm going to share something much more powerful (and much more interesting!) with you — my own experiences with Aromandina products.


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Conference in Ghana
Scholars from around the globe gathered this summer in Ghana to discuss the history of efforts to end the Atlantic slave trade.
Scholars from around the globe gathered this summer in Ghana to discuss the history of efforts to end the Atlantic slave trade.
The conference was decades in the making. Ronald Hoffman recalled one participant that had received his Ph.D. at Northwestern in the 1950s and then returned to Africa. Though his scholarship was known in Tanzania and Zambia near his home, he hadn't had any contact with scholars in West Africa.
It wasn't an isolated incident of scholarly isolation, but rather a situation common enough throughout Africa to be a major challenge in assembling scholars throughout the continent.
"Imagine a university of 12,000 or 15,000 people and only one person will have e-mail and that's the president or the provost," said Hoffman, the director of the Omohundro Institute for Early American History and Culture at the College of William and Mary. "The problems of identifying scholars who are working in these situations are pretty formidable and that's the area to which we devoted such a huge effort."
The August conference, "The bloody Writing is for ever torn": Domestic and International Consequences of the First Governmental Efforts to Abolish the Atlantic Slave Trade, was sponsored by the Omohundro Institute and hosted in Elmina, Ghana, by the Historical Society of Ghana and the University of Cape Coast in Accra. Attendees included scholars from 24 countries including the United States, Zambia, Mozambique, Kenya and Lesotho.
"It was the first major historical conference of this character to be held in Africa in 40 years," Hoffman added.
For three days, the delegates participated in sessions that explored the abolitionist influences that persuaded Great Britain, the trade's dominant carrier, to end its involvement in the international slave trade. Hoffman said one delegate equated the impact of ending the "traffick" in human cargo to the effect that cutting off oil imports would have today. The presentations that focused on the United States explored the substantial expansion in the domestic slave trade's geography and volume that resulted from the decision to stop importing slaves from Africa.
African presence was important
For Hoffman, having African scholars present was imperative to the success of the conference. African scholarship on the issue of the impact of the Atlantic slave trade and its abolition is not one often heard, he said.
"The slave trade was a European-run operation from the coastline out, but from the coastline in, it was run by the African people, the African nations," Hoffman explained. "It's a point that should be made but hasn't been focused on officially."
There were 15 African historians featured on the panels, but, in addition, the Omohundro Institute raised funds to pay for the travel and accommodation expenses of 58 African scholars and graduate students based in sub-Saharan African universities. The Travel Scholarships Initiative was a mammoth enterprise, Hoffman said. Communication barriers on the African continent made even alerting scholars to the conference and the scholarships challenging.
"It was a mass, Herculean effort," said Hoffman. The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and the Mellon Foundation were among the meeting's major financial backers, along with several other foundations and individuals including Omohundro's two permanent co-sponsors, the College of William and Mary and the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
On the 'slave coast'
The conference's location in Ghana presented challenges for Omohundro, but also had advantages. Elmina, Ghana, is located on Africa's "slave coast." Trading ports along this coast served as administrative centers for the conduct of the slave trade in the 17th and 18th Centuries, Hoffman noted.
"The conference took place in a location that sits between two of the most important trading capitals on that coast," he said. Holding the conference in Ghana also helped to facilitate the attendance of the numerous African scholars.
At the conference, the attendees gathered to discuss issues ranging from the national and international contexts of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to whether the most profound effects of this decision occurred in Africa or throughout the Atlantic world.
On the Web and in Print
All of the conference proceedings are available. In addition, selected papers from the conference will be published in a future special issue of the Omohundro Institute's academic journal, The William and Mary Quarterly.


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Are You Aware of This? HAH is a V6 ??
Many people are complaining that the Honda Accord Hybrid does not get high MPG usage numbers.
As a future hybrid owner and currently debating between the Honda Accord Hybrid or Toyota Camry Hybrid, I am questioning the following:
Is everyone aware that the HAH has a V-6 engine and the Toyota Camry Hybrid is a 4-Cylinder?
I only ask because I was not aware of this, per se. I pulled the spec sheets and did a little fine print reading. For a V-6 to still have the performance of a sporty sedan and offer increased fuel savings is for me a huge incentive to buy this vehicle.
Now I know that it is horribly expensive. That goes without saying, but I think it simple boils down to individual perference and driving styles.
I perfer the sportier, more responsive car. Always have and always will. But, with this new Honda you get an increased savings in fuel consumption and the highest level of low emission vehicle standards currently available. This car averages 25 miles per gallon in the city and 34 miles per gallon highway with a V-6 engine and luxe accomdations. And while you are tooling away on the road, you can be assured that the environment is doing better too, because you have a California Phase TT Low Emission system, AT-PEZ installed. Which has near-zero evaporative emissions and a 15 year / 150,000 mile warranty on its emissions equipment.
Golly, saving fuel and not harming the environment, while riding luxe in a sweet, sporty car! Sign me up!!
I only wanted to point this out to y'all and hopefully make you see what the postives are to owning a hybrid.
I currently own a 1997 Kia and I get 24 miles to the gallon in the city and 27 miles to the gallon the highway. Haven't checked on the emissions system, but I can bet they went cheap on what was installed. And luxe accomadations? Forget about it!!
What is my point? It is simply this: when I bought my first two cars it was less about being green and all about what I could afford.
Now, I can afford more and also weigh the impact that I make on the enviroment.
For me, having a HAH and fueling up less, while still styling about town in an affordable car is a great option. At let's be honest, I know American's are cheap, but $35,000.00, plus for a new car is really inexpenisve and we know it.
If you look carefully at the specifications for the HAH and TCH and within yourself, as to how much of an impact you want to have on the environment, the cost of having these types of cars can easily be justified.
As we all know, if you simply wanted a small sedan with a hybrid feature, you got the Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid.
But let me tell you, as a owner of a small sedan and 5'9.5 inches tall this time when I buy, I want to get something that will age gracefully with me and remain comfortable during many years of use.
If you are wondering why I have not purchased a HAH yet, I am waiting to see what new options they add or adjust for the 2008 model.
But, you never know, it's a long, holiday weekend and I may stop by the dealership and take a look see.
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Are You Aware of This? HAH is a V6 ??
Funnygirl you can likely average around 30MPG with the Accord Hybrid
Some are pushing almost 40.
The camry is also going to be added to that database...hopefully soon.
We all have our wants and needs but I'll note that I'm 6'2" tall and ~230lbs and don't mind even the Civic at all.
But I think it would get uncomfortable for myself in a long road trip. (Our other vehicle is a Grand Caravan)
I don't know what the Camry does but the Accord Hybrid has a very impressive 6.5s 0-60MPH.
But don't be looking at 30MPG doing that too much!
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Funnygirl75, I have a 2007 Passat wagon with the 2.0T turbocharged engine, with 200 hp, a wide flat torque band that peaks at 207 lb-ft from 1800 to 5000 rpm, and a six-speed manual transmission. In addition to the practicality of a wagon, it goes like stink and handles like a European car should. Acceleration is 0-60 in 6.9 to 7.5 seconds (depending on whose test you use), which is plenty fast for me anyway.
Without any kind of hybrid drivetrain, I average 30 mpg and get 34-35 mpg on the highway, driving at around 60-65 mph on the highway. I paid $33k for the car in Canada (HAH is about $38k), mind you I got one of the more basic packages without sunroof. The car is otherwise very well equipped, including stability control, trip computer, electric everything (including tailgate), 6-CD, iPod adapter, and many more too numerous to note. It is also classified ULEV for emissions. Only downside is the need for premium fuel. I think the HAH was a mistake. Most people see a hybrid as a means to save on fuel costs. Mating the hybrid drivetrain to the already very efficient Accord 4-cyl would have been a much better idea IMHO.
I used to get 45MPG in my
I used to get 45MPG in my old Toyota Corolla


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Lebanon's Alpha banks – the 13 largest – are expected to post flat to modest growth in profits in 2013 in line with their 2012 performance as the economic slowdown caused by local and regional uncertainties continues to hinder lending opportunities, bankers said.
Banks listed on the Beirut stock exchange – namely Audi, BLOM, Byblos, Bank of Beirut and BEMO – reported a 6.22 percent year-on-year increase in consolidated profits in the first three quarters of 2012.
"The decline in consumer confidence coupled with negative investor sentiment both locally and abroad is hindering the banks' lending opportunities," Nassib Ghobril, head of Byblos Bank's economic research department said.
Consumer confidence hit a record low in the first half of 2012, according to the Byblos Bank/AUB Consumer Confidence Index, which reached its lowest point on a monthly basis since its inception in July 2007 last June.
Foreign direct investment also dropped by 84 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2012, according to Ernst & Young.
"In the absence of a positive political shock to stimulate the economy and restore confidence, I see no substantial improvement in 2013," Ghobril added.
Real GDP growth was put at 2 percent in 2012, according to the latest IMF forecast, which expects growth for 2013 to be in the 2.5 percent range due to domestic political uncertainty and concerns of a spillover of the Syrian crisis into Lebanon.
"2012 was a very challenging year for the banking sector that posted an acceptable growth rate given the crisis in Syria which led to a decline in cross-border trade activity on one front, and loan impairments on the other," said Fadlo Choueiri, head of corporate finance and research at Credit Libanais.
The three largest Lebanese banks – BLOM, Audi, and Byblos – reported a 7.4 percent growth in profits at $682.7 million despite taking a $203 million in net-credit-loss provisions in Syria in the first three quarters of 2012, an increase of 211.3 percent over those taken in the first nine month of 2011.
Profits of Lebanese banks' subsidiaries in Syria – Bank Audi Syria, Bank of Syria & Overseas, Byblos Bank Syria, Bank BEMO Saudi Fransi, Fransabank Syria, Sharq Bank and Syria Gulf Bank – plunged by 69.42 percent in the first three quarters of 2012.
In addition to substantial losses due to loan impairments, one of the first casualties of the Syrian crisis was a freeze in letters of credit and guarantees to merchants amid a decline in cross-border trade activity.
"Despite difficulties, I am relatively optimistic for 2013 as the Syrian crisis had been accounted for by Lebanese banks which reduced their exposure and took the necessary provisions," Choueiri said. "Growth in deposits is sustainable since Lebanon relies on remittance inflows from expatriates who continue to channel money into Lebanon irrespective of shock events."
On an individual basis, Bank Audi reported the highest growth in net profit which stood at $309.39 million for the first three quarters of 2012, growing by 14.06 percent over the same period in 2011.
However, this includes $32.83 million resulting from discontinued operations after Audi sold its insurance arm Libano-Arabe, reducing the growth rate to 1.96 percent.
Some banking sources have warned that they expect profits of Alpha Lebanese banks to decline further in 2013, explaining that some banks have already sold a big chunk of their treasury bonds and other assets to maintain profits and conceal losses.
"Most Lebanese banks generate close to 80 percent of their profits from domestic operations and unless the economic situation improves, I expect the trend in 2012 to continue through 2013," Ghobril said.
BLOM came second, growing its earnings by 6.08 percent to reach $250.68 million while Byblos Bank's profits marginally declined by 4.24 percent to $122.64 million.
However, some banks are bucking the trend as they expand abroad.
Bank of Beirut is expecting growth in net profit by more than 10 percent for the full year of 2012, Bank of Beirut chief financial officer Roger Dagher told The Daily Star.
Dagher added that the bank generates close to 40 percent of its income from foreign operations, with more than $1.5 billion in assets in Australia.
"We are looking to increase the percentage of income from foreign operations to 50 percent in three to four years," he added.
Bank of Beirut forecasts an increase in profits in 2013 within a range of 10 percent, according to Dagher.


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MO – Marijuana card doctors now use telemedicine for appointments with potential patients in Texas County. Online medcard appointments using telehealth help reduce the spread and exposure of patients to Coronavirus (COVID-19) while providing unmatched convenience.
Virtual medical card appointments can be done at home on your phone, tablet or personal computer from your dining room table without ever having to go to a doctor's office. For new patients or to renew your Missouri medical card, you must have one of the listed qualifying conditions. After qualifying, you will be able to buy THC and CBD products at local dispensaries.
To visit with a marijuana telemedicine doctor online, simply fill out the form below and you're on your way to a telemedicine visit with a recommending doctor from your living room in Texas County. You will also receive an email with additional details as well as updates related to MO Marijuana. Your Missouri medical card will be issued after the doctors approval. See if you qualify today!


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Cook the Book: Harissa Ravioli
The ingredients list for these Harissa Ravioli from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Every Day read like a map of the Mediterranean. Cheese ravioli and broccolini from Italy, feta from Greece, oil-cured olives from the south of France, and harissa from Morocco—all big flavors to say the least.
This dish relies on perfect balance—the salty, sour, bitter and bright flavors all play off the mild cheese ravioli, and when the elements come together, it's nothing short of genius. Quick-cooking cheese ravioli get tossed into boiling water and the broccolini (or broccoli florets or even broccoli rabe) are blanched in the cooking water at the last minute. The greens and pasta are dressed with a piquant sauce of spicy harissa, garlic, olive oil, and lemon juice, and garnished with crumbled feta, torn oil-cured black olives, and a sprinkling of toasted nuts or seeds (I chose pepitas but pine nuts, almonds, or sunflower seeds would work too).
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Super Natural Every Day to give away this week.
Reprinted with permission from Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson and her blog, 101 Cookbooks. Copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Available wherever books are sold. All Rights Reserved.
- Yield:4
- Active time: 25 minutes
- Total time:25 minutes
- 1 clove garlic, smashed
- 1/4 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons harissa
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 ounces fresh or frozen cheese-stuffed ravioli or tortellini
- 8 ounces broccoli florets or broccolini, trimmed into bite-size pieces
- 1/4 cup pepitas, sliced almonds, or pine nuts, toasted
- Scant 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 5 or 6 black oil-cured olives, pitted and torn into pieces
Bring a large pot of water to boil. In the meantime, make the harissa oil. Sprinkle the smashed garlic clove with the salt and chop into a paste. Transfer it to a small bowl and stir in the lemon juice, harissa, and olive oil. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
When the water boils, salt it generously, add the ravioli, and boil until they float and are cooked through, usually just 1 or 2 minutes. About 30 seconds before the ravioli has finished cooking, add the broccoli to the pot, boil for the remaining time, then drain.
Put the ravioli and broccoli in a large mixing bowl. Toss with a couple spoonfuls of the harissa oil and most of the pepitas. Taste and add more salt, if needed. Turn out onto a serving platter and top with more harissa oil, the remaining pepitas, the feta, and olives.
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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THE SQL Server Blog Spot on the Web
If you keep an eye on the tech industry you cannot have failed to notice that an Open Source technology called Hadoop is getting lots of coverage these days. You'll be able to find lots of descriptions around the web about what Hadoop actually is so I won't try and come up with one myself other than to say its a technology for storing and querying over large sets of data.
Microsoft recently released a preview of their Hadoop offering which they are calling HDInsight; it can be installed on your own hardware (HDInsight Server) or you can sign up temporarily for their Azure-based offering (HSInsight Service). Learn more at http://www.microsoft.com/bigdata.
Cindy Gross has provided an excellent step-by-step tutorial on how to store data on HDInsight (either via the service or server) and query it in her blog post Hurricane Sandy Mash-Up: Hive, SQL Server, PowerPivot & Power View. A few days ago I downloaded HDInsight server and followed Cindy's instructions for installing it, inserting data, querying it and then building a Power View report atop it and the whole thing took less than two hours. Hence, if you're looking to get familiar with Hadoop and you're primarily a Windows guy like me then this is a really quick and easy (and free) way of going about it.
Cindy's tutorial demonstrates how to combine data from Hadoop with data from SQL Server using PowerPivot and the output of that combined data is a Power View report:
My attempt is available on SkyDrive at http://sdrv.ms/Zhv4tB although be aware that Power View doesn't work on SkyDrive so you'll have to download the containing Excel workbook and open it in Excel 2013 if you want to see anything useful.
As I said above the steps to installing HDInsight, sticking data in it, and querying it were very easy thanks to Cindy's thorough blog post and hence I was able to make some observations about this murky world of Hadoop that I've been hearing so much about.
Firstly, I gather that the "normal" way of querying Hadoop is to write programs in Java however a technology called Hive provides an abstraction over Hadoop that can make the data therein appear as a table with rows and columns just as those of us immersed in the RDBMS world are used to. For example, the data provided by Cindy was provided as a text file:
which literally gets stored in Hadoop as-is. Hive allows us to surface that file as a table using the following syntax:
CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE census ( State_FIPS int , County_FIPS int , Population bigint , Pop_Age_Over_69 bigint , Total_Households bigint , Median_Household_Income bigint , KeyID string ) COMMENT 'US Census Data' ROW FORMAT DELIMITED FIELDS TERMINATED BY '\t' STORED AS TEXTFILE LOCATION '/user/demo/census';
CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE census ( State_FIPS int , County_FIPS int , Population bigint , Pop_Age_Over_69 bigint , Total_Households bigint , Median_Household_Income bigint , KeyID string ) COMMENT 'US Census Data' ROW FORMAT DELIMITED FIELDS TERMINATED BY '\t' STORED AS TEXTFILE LOCATION '/user/demo/census';
Its fairly intuitive to look at this CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE definition and understand exactly what Hive is doing. Its taking a text file whose "columns" are delimited by tabs and defining data types for those columns.
There also exists an ODBC driver for Hive that enables one to query the data from anything that can talk ODBC (e.g. Excel).
I have often heard it said that Hadoop is for querying over unstructured data however, to me, that text file has got lots of structure to it; its got column delimiters and row delimiters, data in each row is stored consistently. That observation led me to question the use of the word ""unstructured" and I asked Cindy to clarify what that word meant in this context. She replied that its more a question of when structure is applied (in this case its being applied by Hive after the data is stored) and she correctly pointed out that a different structure could have been defined in the CREATE EXTERNAL TABLE command without modifying the underlying data.
If nothing else this tutorial helped to crystalize some of the marketing fluff that gets bandied about regarding Hadoop. Yes, you can probably store anything you like in there (hence "unstructured") however in order to get any value from it you're going to have to apply structure at some point even if that's as simple as breaking a document into all the individual words by specifying a whitespace delimiter.
That's a short rundown of what was an equally short investigation. If Hadoop is something that interests you then downloading HDInsight Server and following Cindy's tutorial might be a good place to start.
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I'm not sure if this particular set of data is unstructured? I prefer Inmon definition of unstructured that splits it into textual: emails, telephone conversations, PowerPoint presentations and more; and nontextual unstructured data which is graphics and images, x-rays , diagrams etc which he covers in this book "DW 2.0 The Architecture for the Next Generations of Data Warehousing".
To me this data is just source and process of creating a table is the same as creating a buffer by SSIS and then loading to destination table.
Take care
It is very rare for data in and of itself to not have "any" structure. In the big data world unstructured, multi-structured, and semi-structured really refer to the fact that you load the data first and put (and possibly rapidly modify) the structure/metadata as you query it in different ways. It's more about the concept of the schema coming after the data creation/load and being flexible.


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New Job, New House, New Baby, and Designing a Totally New Home Office
This might seem a strange follow-up to our good news, but we have a lot going on, and sometimes I just need to get it out. Mo said recently that she wouldn't recommend what we've done in the last six months to anyone. In the course of half a year I quit my job, we bought and built a house, and we had a baby. We didn't plan it to go down this way, it just did. Certainly it wasn't ideally timed. We moved in on a Saturday and the baby was born the following Monday after day of intense unpacking. Apparently we unpacked the baby.
My parental leave officially starts December 1, so I have to work this next week and tidy up a few things before take entire month of December off to focus on babies. Before I work, I really need my space to be organized so I can think; that's just how I'm wired. Since we designed the entire house starting with a base plan and working with an architect, there was always a plan for a home office.
I've been able to work on finishing the home office an hour here and an hour there, mostly late at night. I finished it on Wednesday after we brought the baby home and the whole house was asleep. I needed to finish it now if I was going to be productive in my final week, and if it didn't happen soon, it'd never happen. The wife backed me up 100%. Now I'm prepared to put in my final work week of the year in a home office I can think in.
Here are my requirements and what I came up with. I think they are a pretty decent set of things to think about when designing your own home office or "think space."
Color is huge when designing a space that you're going to spend 10 hours a day in. When I started the Microsoft job just 8 weeks ago, I was doing the work in a spare bedroom with white walls and a cheesy random desk. My son's room was next door and I could hear him pounding for me to come out and play. It was not only a bummer but totally not a place in which I could get into the zone. The WHITE whiteness of the WHITE walls was hospital-like and medicinal. Not in the good way. It was stark and glaring.
In the new office I took a totally different tack, one that I was teased about by a number of friends and family. I painted the office a deep dark chocolate brown. I like to think about it as "Library Brown." It's the kind of color The Highlander would paint his secret sanctum sanctorum.
Turns out that the color really works, and that the room almost hugs you with the depth of the color. It also distinctly and dramatically sets them apart from other rooms in the house as there's no other room like it.
Why is Art second on my list? Because just like Color, I believe that Art can really set the tone in a room. It's the difference between slapping a computer up in a random room and calling it "Office" and really putting some thought into your space and what you want to be surrounded with. If your surround yourself with crap, you're more likely to produce crap. We have a pile of Art in the house, maybe I'll share it with you some day. It's not expensive art, it's just what we like. Sure, there's a poster here and there, but most of it has been collected over the better part of a decade of wandering around the world and getting local art from local artists.
However in my office, I surround myself with two kinds of wall hanging, the first is info-diagrams. Since part of my job is making complex things simpler (or at least make them seem simpler) I like to explore different visualization techniques. I've got some clever visualizations up, like Tufte's favorite Napoleon's March as seen in the picture above, as well as the Death and Taxes Poster, a large representational graph of the US Federal Budget. Might seem weird to you, but these are the things that can inspire. Find yours.
The second is pictures that motivate. Pictures of the wife, the kids, folks I've met, folks I want to meet. The kinds of pictures that make you happy to wake up and happy to work towards a goal. Each carefully chosen. No negativity in the Home Office.
Home Office/Home Separation
The room is on the first floor, away from the other bedrooms and the boy's playroom. It's off in a far corner of the house, near the garage and has it's own full bathroom. It's set aside such that it's even easy to miss and forget about as a room.
It was really important to Mo and I that this room be separate, both for us and for the kids. When Daddy's at the office he's at the office. I tell my son "I'm going to work now!" and he says "work work work!" and signs work.
We're thinking of putting up an LED or light of some kind that lets the kids know when I'm recording a show or on a call. I was thinking of getting a vintage Radio "On Air" Light, perhaps cheap on ebay.
Making it easy to connect was very important. I planned out where to put the network ports (I'm not a wireless fan, you just can't compare 54Mbs to 1Gbs) and put eight just at my feet and other four in the bookshelf. I'm not a fan of local hubs and switches, instead preferring to put those in the wiring closet.
I use Verizon Fios and have been very happy with them. They turned on option for 15Mbs downstream and 15Mbs UPSTREAM on the 19th of this month for just a little extra, so now I'm running symmetric. This makes uploading the podcast less of a chore.
There's just no good way to take a picture of a computer desk and have it look nice...or even close to what it looks like in person. It always looks like a pile of cables and goo.
That said, I'm happy with mine. An interesting aside about this table is that it was mean to be built as an "L" but I never did it. I've had the desk (it's brushed steel and glass) for years but I took the corner piece and put it in the closet in the old house where it sat for literally years. But I didn't throw that piece away. When it came time to think about a desk for the new office, I was thinking to buy a new one. Then I remembered the extra piece. The bolts and hardware were long gone, but I took the parts to Home Depot and found bolts that would fit, including the corner piece. I put the desk together in the new office, and it was like having a brand-new desk. It was 25% larger, fit the corner perfectly and it was the desk I'd dreamed of. Never throw "extra" parts away of a larger thing.
It was funny, I tried dozens of desks and the one I wanted was always with me, just put together wrong. A good desk has lots of horizontal space, natch, and a clear and viable cable management strategy.
Cable Management
I'm not obsessive about cable management, but I like my things tidy. I strongly recommend cable ties. Just buy a bin of hundreds and put it in the closet. If you have an unlimited supply you're more likely to use them and not treat them like a precious commodity.
Use cable ties like they are going out of style. Think through where each cable goes and with what other cable it can go "along for the ride."
I also keep every USB cable I've ever had, every power brick, and just put them in a large box. When work is by the hour, you need that special cable right now. Cable management is not just tying up loose cables, but also being able to find them when you need them.
You just can't have enough screen space. Any space in front of your face that isn't a working monitor but is still in your field of view is a waste if it's not conveying information. I've got four monitors on the main machine, the MacBook Running Vista the left and the ThinkPad T60p on the right. Keep them all working. Screw Virtual Desktops, use real ones. I usually focus on three main monitors and use the other three for "scratch paper," full screen remote desktop sessions, Outlook email or calendar, or Virtual Machines. Seriously. Spend the money and add a monitor. It'll change your life.
I'm officially now a fan of shelving systems. Greg turned me on to the Billy Shelving System at IKEA and I picked up five pieces plus lights and two doors. They are infinitely configurable, incredibly cheap and rather nice looking. I was able to create a system that almost looks like a built-in for just over $300. Finally all my books and reference materials are easily accessible.
The one on the left with the doors is just Office Supplies. There's three 36" shelves, one 18" and one shorty 36" on the right. I was able to pick the lights I wanted, doors, shelves and colors and assembled the whole thing by myself in about 3 hours. Amazing. They are bolted to the wall for safety as well. Get shelves. They are happy things.
Take the 15 minutes it'll take and measure your desk and chair and monitor according to an ergonomic chart. My chair was too high and my monitor too low. My chair arms were also too low. It is one of those things that we always have on our list but never do. Your butt will thank you.
Brainstorming in Comfort
I was surprised when I visited the Microsoft campus how many folks had deeply customized their offices. Most had at least couches. Many were unconventional. Don Box had just a few hipster chairs and a 42" plasma. It was a Voodoo Lounge more than an office.
And that's cool. If you're going to be somewhere for many hours, why not make it comfortable? This led me to bring in a couch and pillows into my office. Rather than buying a couch (I'm cheap, more on that later) I just bought a slipcover (the greatest thing, slipcovers) and covered a random nasty couch we'd been thinking to get rid of. I threw some matching pillows on top and now it fits the room it looks like it has always been there.
Find comfort things that help you brainstorm. I've got my couch and XM Radio Boombox (no TV's in the Home Office) and a whiteboard. I really recommend that Home Offices have whiteboards. Basically, be sure to have a "second seat" for you when you just need to be somewhere else, but leaving the office would mess up your flow.
I dedicated one of the shelves to Office Supplies and put some doors on it. I really feel if you have an office you need all the typical supplies you never think you'll need, so I got a stapler, tape, pens, everything you'd have in a regular office. All this required was the will to do it and a big trip to an office supply shop. The goal is to never be blocked in some task because of a missing staple or paper.
Special Needs
I've got bad hands and probably always will. Consequently I use a combination of the keyboard and Vista Speech Recognition.
If you've thought about using Speech Recognition, seriously, get a decent microphone and a microphone stand. Not one of those cheap USB Headset Microphones, a real one, like a Samson USB C01U Studio Condenser Microphone. I often record podcasts with it, and I've got it sitting in front of my mouth on a professional microphone stand. If you are getting 90% recognition, a good quality microphone will get you that extra 5-7%.
If you have special needs, acknowledge them, plan for them, and take action on them.
Little Details
Where's your beverages? Your snacks? Your notebook or scratch paper? Do you have a whiteboard? I put each of these in a specific place so that nothing would be wanting when I'm in the "zone."
To be clear, I'm not saying that one should just put a catheter in and never leave the room. I leave all the time and hug the kids and hang out, do lunch, etc. What I'm proposing is that you should make sure that everything you need when you're in The Zone so that one item missing doesn't become a "speed bump" that jerks you out of the frame of positive, productive thought.
Backup/Getaway Strategy
I posted about my family backup strategy before and I encourage you to have one when you are running a home office.
Do you use imaging software? Since I'm my own IT department (since I work remotely for Microsoft) I need to be able to bring any of my machines back to live in an emergency.
I've got:
- Offline Sync'ed Backups of Important Stuff via FolderShare.
- Windows Home Server backing up every machine in the house daily.
- SyncBack SE (one of my advertisers, coincidentally) moving files from primary to secondary storage daily as well as backing up this blog.
- Mozy.com backing up everything to the cloud.
And I have a getaway drive. That's the one disk that you grab in the case of a fire.
Cost and Cost/Benefit Strategy
I'm frugal to say the least and even though I'm working for Microsoft remotely, they didn't pay for any of this. They only pay my monthly Internet bill because I negotiated it up front. The office was my own thing, so I needed to do it on the cheap.
- Paint - $40
- Shelves, Doors and Lights - $310
- Desk - Already had
- Sofa Slipcover - $60 on sale
- Art - Got piles lying around, rotating it every six months
- Office Supplies - $100
- Thought and Planning - Priceless ;)
I can't tell you how great it feels to have my little space complete, especially since it was put together from empty room on Saturday to complete office on Weds night. Thank goodness for Electric Screwdrivers.
About Scott
Scott Hanselman is a former professor, former Chief Architect in finance, now speaker, consultant, father, diabetic, and Microsoft employee. He is a failed stand-up comic, a cornrower, and a book author.
About Newsletter
Is the small 18" shelf a "normal" square one, like the others but just placed at 45° to the corner or is it a special corner unit?Yes, exactly. There's still dead space, but it's minimal. The adjacent shelves are then bolted together at the top and bottom. It'd be cooler if it was curved, but this is what IKEA offered and it's cheap. @Jim - The WAF is high on the office for a number of reasons. First: The whole office was less than $500. It's not expensive to be thoughtful I have learned recently. Most of our stuff comes off Craig's List or from Goodwill or Garage Sales. The Shelves were the first NEW thing we've bought in a long time. As for speakers, yes, there is a 5.1 system there, but hidden. I put the fronts and center behind the monitors. The rear left is on the window shelf and the rear right is near the couch.
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Hana 'ia i Hawai'i
TAPA Communications specializes in helping small to medium sized organizations with Internet services ranging from simple web sites to complex business solutions. Support includes planning, designing, programming, maintenance and access to a suite of interactive web tools. To request a free initial consultation visit our contact page.
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WYSIWYG Web Builder has several built-in backup features to make sure you won't loose all your work in case a file becomes corrupt or your hard disk crashes.
Standard backup
You can enable this option in Menu->Tools->Options->Miscellaneous->Backups.
If the Backup count is higher than 0 then the software will make a backup copy of the previous version of the project each time your save your work.
The backup will be stored in the specified backup folder.
If you make lots of changes then it's probably a good idea to set a high 'Backup count' (16 or more) so you can easily go back to a previous version.
Auto backup
Enable this option to automatically make backup copy of your project every 5, 15, or 30 minutes. This may help you restore your work if your computer crashes unexpectedly.
The name of the backup will be myproject_autobackup.wbs and it will also be stored in the backup folder.
Make a backup of the project on the server.
Enable this option to automatically make a backup of the project on the server. This may be useful if your computer crashes or your local projects become corrupted. In that case you will always have a backup copy on the server. The project will be copied to the root of your website. You will need a FTP utility (like the built-in FTP client) to download the project (.wbs) file back from the server.
Keep in mind however that projects can become pretty large, so this option may also add a considerable amount of time to publishing your website.
Also note that this will not backup the local project folder (which contains the images of the image) because these are already on the server, usually in the 'images' folder.
To restore the local project folder, copy the the images from the 'images' folder from the server to the local project folder which is a sub folder of the project file with he same name.
For example, if the project file is named 'myproject.wbs' then the project folder will be named 'myproject'.
Project file: C:\Users\YourName\Documents\WYSIWYG Web Builder\myproject.wbs
Project folder : C:\Users\YourName\Documents\WYSIWYG Web Builder\myproject\ <- this is where you copy the images.
Restoring a backup.
Copy the project back to the documents folder and restore its original name. For example:
Backup name: C:\Users\YourName\Documents\WYSIWYG Web Builder\backups\myproject_01.wbs
Original name: C:\Users\YourName\Documents\WYSIWYG Web Builder\myproject.wbs
Note that in all cases only the project file will be back-upped, not the images or other assets. So in case of a hard disk crash you will need to recreated project folder with images too.
Basically this means you manually create the folder with the same name as the project and copy all images (and other assets) from the server to this folder. But of course this is always better than having to create everything from scratch. You can also specify the location of the images via Asset manager.
Manually making a backup
By default all projects file will be saved in the folder My Documents\WYSIWYG Web Builder.
Each project uses its own sub folder (with the same name as the project) to store images and other files.
So in order to backup your work, make sure you backup this whole folder, plus all folders where you have stored the websites assets (images, movies, etc).
How to backup (and restore) projects?
Frequently Asked Questions about WYSIWYG Web Builder
3 posts • Page 1 of 1
Re: How to backup (and restore) projects?
Related FAQ topic:
Re: How to backup (and restore) projects?
If you no longer have any backups of your website then you may be able to import parts of the layout from the HTML pages on the web server.
Note however that HTML does not contain all the information that is needed to completely to recover the original project. In that case you will have to redo some of your work, so please always make backups!
More information about importing HTML:
Note however that HTML does not contain all the information that is needed to completely to recover the original project. In that case you will have to redo some of your work, so please always make backups!
More information about importing HTML:
3 posts • Page 1 of 1


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49ers Studios Podcast
FNS Podcast: Tariq Ahmad Describes Life as an NFL Area Scout
The 49ers northeast scout discusses his role at the Senior Bowl, the grind of being a scout and his most grueling travel story.
FNS Podcast: Tariq Ahmad Describes Life as an NFL Area Scout
The 49ers northeast scout discusses his role at the Senior Bowl, the grind of being a scout and his most grueling travel story.
FNS Podcast: Dane Brugler Evaluates 49ers 2019 Draft Class
Brugler shares his pick-by-pick thoughts on the 49ers 2019 draft class.
FNS Podcast: Matt Maiocco Shares 49ers Takeaways from 2019 Owner's Meetings
Maiocco discusses where the 49ers roster stands and his expectations for the upcoming draft.
FNS Podcast: Field Yates Evaluates 49ers Haul in Free Agency
ESPN's NFL Insider explains why adding the likes of Dee Ford and Kwon Alexander makes sense in San Francisco.
FNS Podcast: Matt Miller Provides Names to Watch in 2019 Senior Bowl
Mississippi State pass rusher Montez Sweat is just one of the standout players on the 49ers South Team roster.
FNS Podcast: Inside Roger Craig's Philanthropic Pursuits
The 49ers legendary running back discusses his equally productive life after football in the latest 49ers Studios Podcast.
FNS Podcast: 49ers President Al Guido Previews Alumni Weekend
Guido describes the statues depicting "The Catch" that will be unveiled this weekend and discussed the importance of the '94 Super Bowl team.
FNS Podcast: Malcolm Smith Eager for First Home Game with 49ers
Smith opens up about a difficult first year in San Francisco rehabbing from injuries and detailed his excitement to be back on the field.
FNS Podcast: Robbie Gould Recalls His Biggest Game Winners
Gould shows incredible recall as he remembers small details behind the biggest kicks of his impressive 14-year career.
FNS Podcast: Sheldon Day Describes His Approach to Competing for a Roster Spot
Day shares his football story, and explains why he hopes to stick around with the 49ers in 2018 and beyond.
FNS Podcast: Witherspoon and Colbert Discuss the Swag in the Secondary
Adrian Colbert and Ahkello Witherspoon discuss their growing confidence and what makes the 49ers defense so unique.
FNS Podcast: Laken Tomlinson Feels Right at Home with the 49ers
With a fresh contract extension, Tomlinson explains why San Francisco has been a perfect fit for him.
FNS Podcast: Jeremiah Attaochu Bullish on 49ers Pass Rush
Attaochu explained why he's confident in himself and the rest of the 49ers pass rushers in 2018.
FNS Podcast: Kalani Sitake Says Fred Warner is 'As Real as it Gets'
BYU's head coach said the 49ers got a fantastic football player and human being in Fred Warner.
FNS Podcast: Dave Doeren Says Kentavius Street Can Be a 'Nightmare' for Opposing Offenses
N.C. State's head coach believes Street will bounce back from his ACL injury and be a force in the NFL.
FNS Podcast: Bill Snyder Says D.J. Reed is 'a Coach's Dream'
Kansas State's head coach lauded Reed's value system and toughness on the football field.
FNS Podcast: Eli Harold Reviews 'Avengers Infinity War'
Harold and Joe Fann share their thoughts on the epic Marvel movie. WARNING: Podcast contains spoilers!
FNS Podcast: Geoff Collins Believes in Jullian Taylor's Potential
The 49ers new defensive lineman is far from a finished product according to Temple's head coach.
FNS Podcast: Rick Stockstill Warns Not to Overlook Richie James
Middle Tennessee State's head coach explains why it would be unwise to count out the 49ers seventh-round wideout.
FNS Podcast: Jay Hopson Raves about Tarvarius Moore
The head coach at Southern Miss discusses the bright future that lies ahead of the 49ers third-round pick.
FNS Podcast: Field Yates Shares National Perspective of 49ers Offseason
There are nothing but good vibes with the 49ers right now, but is the rest of the country catching on? Field Yates discusses.
FNS Podcast: Let Eli Harold Get You Hyped for 2018
The 49ers linebacker shared why he sees big things ahead for the 49ers in 2018 and beyond.
FNS Podcast: Catching Up with Adam Peters at the Combine
The 49ers VP of player personnel discussed what makes him an effective talent evaluator and described the culture within the team's front office.
FNS Podcast: Matt Miller Previews 2018 NFL Combine
Bleacher Report's top NFL Draft guru shares his top storylines and players of interest ahead of the combine.


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Torch Hill Investment Partners Invests Additional Capital and Assumes Majority Share of Diamondback Tactical, LLLP
Diamondback Tactical focuses on growth and advance product development
Diamondback Tactical announced today that Torch Hill Investment Partners LLC has invested additional capital into the company and has gained a majority stake in D-Back Acquisition Co, the parent company of Diamondback Tactical. Torch Hill Investment Partners, a specialized private equity firm, is providing several million dollars of additional growth equity to supplement working capital and to aggressively grow the business. Faced with robust demand, Diamondback Tactical now will be well positioned to take advantage of expanding opportunities both internationally and domestically. Diamondback Tactical is a leader of technologically advanced armor protection systems, tactical gear and personal products for law enforcement, federal and military markets.
Previously, Diamondback Tactical announced the purchase of First Choice Armor & Equipment Inc, which was an acquisition funded by Torch Hill Investment Partners LLC and Rosemont Solebury Capital Management L.P. That acquisition helped to expand the product portfolio of Diamondback Tactical and position it for growth. Upon an evaluation of the company's business strategy, Torch Hill Investment Partners increased its share in D-Back Acquisition Co.
"We are committed to supporting Diamondback Tactical because it has proven itself as a market leader within this growing industry," said William R. Sullivan, Board Director and Partner with Torch Hill Investment Partners. "With an expanded product offering and focus on new product development, Diamondback is positioned for accelerated growth."
Diamondback Tactical has established a strong portfolio of NIJ Standard-0101.06 armor products, and is continuing to add soft and hard armor models to its certified line of products. Diamondback Tactical also maintains a current focus on advanced armor systems, which will provide tactical and military officers options for achieving an ideal balance between mobility and protection.
About Torch Hill Investment Partners, LLC.
Torch Hill Investment Partners, LLC, provides growth capital to domestic and international companies that play vital roles in defense, intelligence, and civil and corporate security.
About Diamondback Tactical, LLLP
Diamondback Tactical, LLLP is a world leader of technologically advanced armor protection systems, tactical gear and personal products for law enforcement, federal and military worldwide. It is an ISO 9001:2008 and ANAB accredited certified company that has pioneered the development of innovative advancements in armor, including new NIJ Standard-0101.06 certified armor designs. For additional information visit www.diamondbacktactical.com.


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See the roads index to locate the traffic cam. Sections A31, A42, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, AP6, M11, M14, M40, M45, M501, M503, M607.
You will be informed about the incidents: works, ports, cones, traffic jam, and
meteorology. You will be informed in real time.
Find the road cameras on the map. You will know where each is located.
Set your favorite cameras and you will see at a glance the state of the road. This
function also includes multi-channel, so you see many cameras as you want.
Notice the others. Now you can share the road conditions and incidents. You will prevent the others from suffering the terrible traffic jams and prevent accidents. You can share by MMS, Email, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
What are you waiting for! Avoid traffic jams is possible with your smartphone.
Suggestions: please, send us to: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Szmozsánszky István
Hi, I'm Flaki – a Mozilla TechSpeaker & Rep.
I'm a JavaScript engineer/trainer & mobile dev from Budapest, Hungary. I run my own consulting business Skylark and teach web development as a Frontend Trainer at DPC Consulting.
Look below to see what projects, communities & topics I'm involved with, and feel free to reach out if I can help you with anything.
Mozilla: I've been involved with Mozilla and Firefox OS for ~4 years, since 2013. I help organize the local Hungarian community, and mostly involve myself with DevRel, social media and technical speaking/the TechSpeakers program. I'm also a fan and huge supporter of Rust & Servo.
- I'm a Mozilla TechSpeaker
- I'm also a Mozilla Rep
- I'm a member of Mozilla Hungary, the Hungarian Mozilla community
- I'm an MDN contributor and an 2015 MDN Fellow on Service Workers
- I'm helping the Mozilla D&I working group
- I'm doing social media at @mozhacks and as a Social Champion
Community: Besides Mozilla, I'm also involved with the wider open-source community and in the (European) tech community - feel free to reach out to me in any of the topics below!
- I'm the co-organizer of RustFest, an European, community-run Rust conference
- I'm a member of Tessel Project, an open-source node.js-based IoT hardware platform
- I organize the Hungarian Rust community Rust Hungary
- I run the Hungarian Rust Meetup
Speaking: I frequently speak & attend developer conferences in Europe and all around the globe. My favorite speaking topics include:
- Progressive Webapps (PWA) / esp. service workers
- The Open Web & the future of the web
- JavaScript & IoT
- JS on HW/microcontrollers
- HTML5 games
- Clouduboy - HTML5 games on microcontrollers
- JS engines & history (The "JavaScript World Domination")
- …also Mozilla, technical speaking, Rust, Servo & WebVR
If you want me to speak at your event, or looking for a speaker in the topics above and would like me to recommend/connect you with someone, feel free to ping me on any of my contacts. ;)
External Accounts
- Mastodon: email@example.com
- Twitter: slsoftworks
Alternate Contact Identities
- Passwordless Provider - email@example.com
Vouched By
Dino McVouch
An automatic vouch for being a Mozilla employee.
Michael Hunter Ellis
Flaki is an awesome Tech Speaker. He regularly speaks on mozilla related topics (such as IoT) and is constantly driving conversation in the group and working to inspire others to become more involved in the program.
Ali Spivak
Flaki contributes so much to the developer community at Mozilla - organizing events, speaking, helping with social media, and pretty much every/anything else.
Michael Kohler
Flaki is an amazing Rep, and a lot that I know about Firefox OS, I learned from him. With his contributions he could impact a lot of other Mozillians as well.
Balazs Koren
Mozilla Rep, dev team lead in the Firefox OS Engagement Team. You can always count on him when there is any Mozilla related on-site activity.
Kalman "KAMI" Szalai
Core team member, valuable Dev contributor In Hungary.