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Evolution illustrated by Foraminifera
Foraminifera may perfectly illustrate evolution at work. As single celled organisms with a short life-cycle foraminifera and the composition of a specific foraminiferal fauna adopt rapidly to even small environmental changes. The great abundance of foraminifera in marine space and time in the long fossil record may be used to perfectly illustrate evolution.
LAGENIDAE Reuss,1862
from Kobrow, Germany, Oligocene
Globigerinids from Antarctica
specimens picked and placed by Karl Otto Bock
|A most exciting part in foraminiferal study is when you come home with your samples and take a glance at the first 5-10g of the collected material. Outside you may only know from your field binocular that there is something in it. But at home with a proper microscope you may find hundreds of tests in 5g of rich material. After some hours tens of Globigerinids are separated as seen to the right. Each test is different to the others.
You begin to think, I studied only 5g of this recent material, million of tons are lying on the seaflor now, all tests are different from eachother, most from one generation of the last 3-5 months, big, small, some aberrant, Globigerinids exist since 60.000.000 years or was it more ? - may this be explained by evolution???
Flip the coin: May evolution be explained with foraminifera ? Why not - they are so abundant and found in the fossil record since at least the Cambrian. I will give it a try in 2010. Michael Hesemann
What Evolution is
The Theory
The theory of evolution wants to explain how we - meaning all living organisms - came to be in all our complexity and variation. Biological evolution is simply seen as a change in the frequency of genes through time. Charles Darwin (1809-1882) published 1859 his seminal work On the Origin of Species. Genes were not yet known but Darwin referred to the directly linked heritable characters, which are passed from parents to offspring.
The passing process of genes is remarkably accurate but not 100% perfect, mistakes happen which are called mutations. These mutations cause differences between the single organisms, which result sometimes in differences in their fitness to reproduce.
Natural selection
In a group of organisms the environmental conditions will favour some individuals while others will not reproduce as well. If heritable characters are the cause a shift in their frequency within a population will occur. This process is called natural selection.
Gene frequencies can remain constant for long periods of time and changes happen gradually. The huge variety and complexity of todays live on Earth needed a long time period to evolve. The fossil record shows indeed a very long time period, illustrated by findings of seashell fossils on high mountain tops. The earliest fossils - single celled organisms - are dated back to more than 3.500.000.000 years.
Evolvement of complex liveforms
The rising complexitiy of live needed long periods of only small changes in environmentals conditions to evolve. Abrupt changes caused in special the extinction of complex species, best illustrated by the extinction of the dinosaurs. Simple forms of live such as the foraminifera Reophax living in the sediment were almost not affected at all.
Pacific Coast of Mexico
Natural selection leads to specific foraminiferal faunas in specific environments
Open Sea offers little nutrition, which makes survival very difficult though competition is low and predators are rare. Planktonic foraminifers such as Globigerinoides use symbiont algae, who deliver energy through photosynthesis. In return Globigerinoides gives shelter for the little algae in its chambers, which need to be transparent, so that the sunlight may pass. Its globose construction allows sinking and up and downward drift in the watercolumn, probably needed to follow food, avoid predators and UV-radiation.
about 2 Ma old fossil
Torrente Stirone, Italy
Crete, Mediterranean Sea
An elevated life position is advantageous as many competitors and predators live directly on the sea floor. Some foraminiferal tests show imprints of the substrate they were attached to, such as stems or leafs of algae and plants. Such a life-style depends on the possibility to attach to something, as found in seaweed meadows of shallow waters. A very small percentage of oceans-space offers such a habitat, which is vulnerable too.
recent Cibicides
Barna, Ireland, Atlantic Ocean
about 30 Ma old fossil
Kobrow, Germany
Planispirally enrolled, round tests as build by Lenticulinas are advantagous to move through the upper and moderately condensed parts of the sediment. Recent specimens of planispiral genus Elphidium from around the world are observed to live on and in the sediment:
about 185 Ma old fossil
Buttenheim, Germany
recent Reophax
from the bottom of the
Greenland Sea, Arctic
The advantage of simple life forms,
when severe changes of environmental conditions occur, is shown by the foraminiferal genus Reophax. It builds a simple row of chambers from pieces of sediment cemented together. A recent Reophax looks similar to a 30.000.000 years old Reophax from the Oligocene. There may have been no advantage to change its construction plan. The genus is in the fossil record since 460.000.000 years. After the Cretaceous/Tertiary extinction event when the dinosaurs went extinct, Reophax took advantage of the extinction of higher developed foraminifera. It peaked in worldwide abundance taking over the free living space.
about 30 Ma old fossil
from Kobrow, Germany
Mutation and Variation
under construction
Natural selection
under construction


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The working week. We all love to complain about these 5 days, usually with the help of dreary comments such as "god, I really don't want to go to work tomorrow" and "is it not the weekend yet" and "I can't believe its Sunday already" and "I might just sack all this off and travelling again… man". Yet, for those of you familiar with these well-worn phrases, there is a glimmer of light in the work day, and that time is your lunch break. That mid-day slot when you have the opportunity to eat, unwind and relax. That 30-60 minutes which is yours, where you are free to do as you wish… within reason of course, steering clear of any binging or brawling.
So, this steers me nicely in the crux of my point- why is it that so many people, and I mean a lot of people, take this break, this break that they have ownership of, and decide to eat in the one place they complain about the most- their office.
What is food. Its stuff we put in our mouths, chew and swallow, so we can stay alive and do things, basically. However, food is obviously so much more than an essential nutritious mush, as it brings with it sensory enjoyment, social interaction, eclectic eating environments, and in the working day, a therapeutic distraction. It is also of course to blame for Gordon Ramsey, cauliflower rice and cookbooks written by Fearne Cotton, which are all of course, very crap things.
But despite these flaws, food gives us moments to relax, and enjoy life. So, this is why it's so mind-boggling that the 21st century officer-worker-who-complains-about-office-working, voluntarily becomes an officer-worker-who-complains-about-office-working-whilst-eating-Pret-in-the-office. Actually, to be fair, Pret do make all their sandwiches on the day, which is pretty impressive, given how much time and complexity is involved in the making of a sandwich.
There's a plethora of content on the internet, listing various reasons for not eating at your desk- "It'll make you more productive", "you'll get along with your colleagues better", "you'll put on less weight", "you'll enjoy food more" and my personal favourite "if you sit too much… it will kill you". Whilst I mostly agree with all these statements, isn't there a more obvious way to deter people from eating at their desks?
5 reasons for eating at your desk;
- You can crack on with that Excel spreadsheet you've been working on
- You can catch up on all the recent news to do with wars, racism and TV paedophiles
- You can refer to the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and count how many minutes you have left to read aforementioned war/racism/paedophile news articles.
- You can avoid social contact, thus perfecting your internal mental monologue
- You will be safer in the event of a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, volcano eruption or a meteor impact.
Of course, the point I'm making is that there's really no reason to eat at your desks, apart from the obvious meteor threat, which is a very real and current danger. However, the summer is now here- so let's put the pens down, put the PC's on hibernate, and give this mid-day slot what it deserves- an enjoyable lunch.
Written by Tom Barker

subset: commoncrawl


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Independa, the San Diego-based developer of telehealth products for senior care and aging in place, has made its flagship Integrated CloudCare suite commercially available on LG televisions and its Angela social engagement platform on Samsung touch-screen tablets. Additionally, Independa also will be looking for resellers of its products, the company announced at last week's Digital Health Summit at International CES in Las Vegas.
The Integrated Cloud Care suite, which combines Angela, a Web app for caregivers and interfaces for wireless monitors and home sensors, is now available on LG Pro:Centric TVs. The healthcare version of Pro:Centric, which Independa helped LG develop, comes with a custom-designed camera and microphone, in addition to a "Magic Remote" with a scrolling ball to help seniors navigate on-screen menus.
This expands a deal with LG, which had been testing Angela on its televisions for about a year. On Jan. 2, Independa announced that LG Electronics USA was among several investors injecting $1.65 million in new funding into the company.
Customers also may choose 10-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 tablets for the Angela platform under a new partnership Independa announced with Samsung Health at CES.
"We're gratified to see global brands embracing our technology," Independa CEO Kian Saneii said in a statement. "Technology leaders are helping us realize our vision of creating a single holistic enterprise platform to engage elders and help their professional and family caregivers alike address a spectrum of caregiving needs."
Independa now is trying to reach more customers through a reseller program, also launched at CES. While not disclosing any specific names, the company says it is "actively engaged" in talks with health insurers, home care agencies, senior living facilities and other healthcare organizations to market Independa products.


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Officials have arrested eight people and seized more than 20 tons of marijuana.
The tunnel had two U.S. entrances located in warehouses about 800 feet apart. The tunnel was equipped with advanced rail, electrical and ventilation systems.
The house in Tijuana had a garage that was big enough to accommodate deliveries by tractor trailer trucks.
Federal agents discovered the tunnel as a result of an ongoing investigation. Officials who were conducting surveillance in the Otay Mesa area saw suspicious activity involving a tractor trailer truck parked at a warehouse located in the 10000 block of Marconi Drive.
Agents continued to monitor the truck after it left and alerted border patrol officers. When the truck's trailer was searched at the checkpoint in Temecula, 27,600 pounds of marijuana was found.
The driver was arrested and faces federal drug-smuggling charges.
"This discovery again shows the cartels' growing desperation in the face of beefed up border security and the costly extremes these organizations are trying in an effort to avoid detection," said Miguel Unzueta, special agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations in /*San Diego*/.
Officials said the investigation is ongoing.
Earlier in November, another tunnel was discovered and more than 20 tons of pot was confiscated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


text:
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St. Vincent's Centennial Garden
Brick Paver Program
In commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of Catholic Charities, we transformed the garden located at the St. Vincent Center building and rededicated it to become the St. Vincent's Centennial Garden. The new Garden includes personalized brick walkways, new flowers, and greenery to create a more welcoming and inviting entrance for all who pass through our doors. The ongoing brick garden program provides an exceptional opportunity to recognize, honor, or memorialize a loved one, or celebrate a special time or event in a life. Engraving a person's name on a brick in this beautiful garden makes an enduring tribute in recognition of anyone who has enriched your life or whom you have shared a special memory with. Each brick represents a unique tribute to a loved one.
Bricks are available for a contribution of $300. Each brick is 7 ½ x 3 ¾ inches in size and can have up to three lines of wording, 20 characters per line. Characters include spaces and any punctuation. Please be sure your engraved information is spelled correctly.
Replica Bricks may be purchased for $50 each and are smaller replicas of the original brick in the St. Vincent Centennial Garden. Replica bricks can be used as a paperweight or given to a loved one or friend as a treasured memento.
Proceeds from this initiative will fund the garden project and will also support our 100-year-old Core Mission: To shelter, feed, and clothe the poorest amongst us.
*This Special Brick pricing is for Catholic Charities' Employees, Retirees, and Junior Board Members only*
About St. Vincent Center
The St. Vincent Center, which today is the headquarters for Catholic Charities, has played a prominent and extraordinary role in the life-affirming, charitable history of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. In 1881, the St. Vincent Hospital and Infant Asylum, popularly known as St. Vincent's Orphanage, was founded by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul at 721 N. LaSalle. The current building was designed by Holabird & Roche in 1927 and has withstood the decades of change seen in the River North neighborhood and been a beacon of hope to all who pass through the garden gates and walk through the doors. The St. Vincent's Orphanage provided 91 years of selfless service and care to many thousands of poor or unwed mothers and their infants and children; orphaned, abandoned and neglected children; and foster and adoptive families. The orphanage closed in 1971 and in 1972 Catholic Charities began occupying the 721 N. LaSalle building which quickly became the agency's central hub to help with the continued need for serving the poor and less fortunate throughout Cook and Lake counties. Today, the spirit of St. Vincent lives on in the compassionate and professional work of Catholic Charities.
St. Vincent's Centennial Garden
Brick orders will be taken on a continuous basis and will be installed each year in the spring and the fall. You will be notified when your brick has been placed in the Garden.
If you have questions, please contact (312) 655-7002 or
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text:
Extending ARM for End-to-End Correlation and Optimization of E-service Transactions
Sahai, Akhil; Ouyang, Jinsong; Machiraju, Vijay
Keyword(s): optimization; management; E-services; ARM
Abstract: E-services on the web are increasingly beginning to cooperate to perform complex tasks. This has resulted in transactions that although begin and end at an e- service have parts of them executed on other cooperating e-services. Because of their federated nature and varied implementation, it is difficult to perform end to end correlation of such transactions that span multiple e-services. The problem would be compounded by the increasing trend of dynamic composition of e-services. Application Response Measurement is a standard for measuring application responses that originate at a client and involve multiple servers. We extend ARM to the e-services world to perform end to end correlation. In doing so we enable multi-dimensional correlation--a local correlation as well as a correlation spanning multiple e-services.
8 Pages
Back to Index


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Bottom right of this picture.
Fuel pressure should be 49 to 51 psi.
Other part that can stop car for getting started is faulty or dirty maf sensor:---
maf sensor is located in the air duct.Just past the air cleaner somewhere in that pipe / tube assm. is where its located.
To Clean a Nissan Mass Air Flow Sensor
The mass airflow sensor (MAF) in your Nissan vehicle measures the amount of air going into the engine. If the MAF sensor sends the wrong signal to your car's computer-because of dirt or other contamination around its sensing elements--your engine will be fed with the wrong amount of air/fuel mixture.
Park your Nissan vehicle in a safe place, with enough room for you to work around the front of the car. Open the hood.
Locate the MAF sensor electrical connector. The sensor is mounted in the fresh air intake duct--close to the throttle body, fuel-injection system or air-filter housing, depending on your Nissan model.
Remove the MAF sensor mounting screws with a Phillips-head screwdriver. Set the screws in a safe place; then remove the air-cleaner duct or air-intake assembly to reach the sensor inside the system. Depending on the model of your vehicle, you might need to remove one or more clamps using a standard or Phillips-head screwdriver, or disengage wire clips to take the air-intake assembly apart.
Dismount the sensor from the air-intake assembly, being careful not to damage the sensor's electronic sensing elements.
Spray the MAF sensor wires or grid (sensing elements) with electrical component cleaner or MAF sensor cleaner. (See Tips for more information.) Rub dirt and contaminants off the sensor elements using a soft brush, until the wires and sensor components are completely clean.
Mount the cleaned MAF sensor in the air-intake assembly. Install the air-intake assembly, plug in the sensor electrical connector and install the sensor mounting screws.
To Order car parts online:--To get heavy discount on car parts .Click this link below:----
For car error code diagnosis click the link below:---
Car no start:--http://technoanswers.blogspot.com/2011/05/car-will-turn-over-but-will-not-start.html


text: PRL's custom commercial pulls will offer an elegant and unique touch to your entrance door system. Our custom pulls are available in a variety of finishes, mixed colors, diameters, sizes and shapes. The degree of difficulty of the custom pulls is not a problem for PRL. Curved, S-shaped, Tubular or Geometric shapes...we'll accept the challenge!


text:
How Writing About Schizophrenia Led to Hope and Recovery
After a schizophrenia diagnosis, James Hickman felt like an outsider. But volunteer work helped him find his life's passion again.
As author and therapist James Hickman knows only too well, schizophrenia is a serious mental illness that can make even the smallest tasks seem impossible. It can also make people feel that they have lost what makes them unique.
Hickman was diagnosed with schizophrenia at college and remembers his first episode of psychosis well. He says, "I remember talking to a young woman after a lecture and feeling as though I could hear her thoughts before she even said anything. I was very sensitive to other sounds over the next week or so, like laughter, and I became very fearful."
After a week or so of hearing sounds and voices that weren't really present (known as auditory hallucinations), Hickman was diagnosed with schizophrenia and treated in the hospital. He remembers feeling extremely depressed when he left the hospital. Depression is one of the biggest issues that people with schizophrenia face, especially in the first year after diagnosis. Many people also find it hard to concentrate and some feel suicidal.
Hickman says he also refused to believe he had a mental illness. Scott Hamilton, MD, a psychiatrist who works with OSF Medical Group in Peoria, IL., says denial is common. When people are first diagnosed with schizophrenia many refuse to view themselves as sick. This refusal can get in the way of recovery.
It took considerable support from mental health services and taking medication to help Hickman manage his illness. Both Hickman and Dr. Hamilton emphasize that taking antipsychotic medications 'no matter what' is one of the most important things that a person diagnosed with schizophrenia can do to support the recovery process. Research shows that taking medication exactly as directed can help patients with schizophrenia avoid getting sick again and stay out of hospital. People with schizophrenia usually have to take medications for the rest of their lives.
RELATED: Two Sides of Schizophrenia: A Mother-Daughter Love Story
Turning Point in Recovery
When Hickman thinks about the early years of his illness he says, "It was very hard to go from being part of society to someone that is 'other'." Hamilton notes that people with schizophrenia often feel as though they don't belong to society. Staying connected to one's family, as well as to professionals who are experienced in helping people with schizophrenia, are important in the treatment process and help people with schizophrenia feel as though they 'belong'.
A turning point that helped Hickman feel as though he was part of society again was when he began to volunteer at a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) drop-in center. He began to make friends and felt others valued his experiences. This boosted his confidence enough to enroll at college for a Master's in Social Work to become a therapist. Hickman now works at the Mental Health Center of Madison County in Alabama. He says his personal experience helps him bond with his patients, and is an important part of his practice.
But Hickman points out that while being a therapist allows him to help others, it also gives him insight into his own condition. He uses that insight when he writes.
Finding a Purpose Again
Hickman always loved to read, but after diagnosis was unable to read for a while. He also felt as though he had lost his sense of purpose in life. In college he wanted to be an attorney, but it felt as though that goal was lost to him.
Slowly he began to feel a strong sense of wanting — and needing — to write. It took Hickman five years to write and publish his first book. Hickman likens the process of writing a book to running a marathon, and says he had to work at it constantly, set milestones for himself, and stay faithful to his new goal.
He stresses, "I didn't reach my goal of being an attorney, but I reached a different goal. When someone is in recovery from mental illness, it's important to continue moving forward and formulate new goals. You can stay connected to the things that gave you joy before that first episode. I want people to know that."
Hope for Others Living With Mental Illnesses
Hickman wants people to know that help is available in the early phase of schizophrenia and that there is hope for others living with mental illness.
"You can still lead a life like everybody else, be productive, have relationships, and be part of a network. Recovery means different things to different people. But you can recover what makes you unique and reach new goals," he says.
Hickman proves there is hope and recovery for people with schizophrenia. His second book will be published in February 2015.


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A massive manhunt for two escaped inmates ended Thursday night when the "dangerous beyond belief" fugitives were captured in Tennessee, authorities said.
Donnie Rowe, 43, and Ricky DuBose, 24, were caught after leading officers on a chase in Murfreesboro.
The intense search for Rowe and Dubose began Tuesday after guards Christopher Monica and Curtis Billue, both officers at Baldwin State Prison, were shot to death during the inmates' escape.
Earlier Thursday, the two were believed to have tied up a couple in Shelbyville and stole a Jeep and firearms, WSMV-TV reported. The Jeep was the third vehicle they are alleged to have stolen since escaping on Tuesday.
A hefty reward had been offered for information leading to the arrest of the prison-breaking duo who fled custody after the two Georgia prison guards were overpowered and murdered.
Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills had announced Thursday the reward had been upped to $130,000.
Watch: Cops: Escaped Inmate Posed for Photo With Mustang Convertible Before He Took It
Family members had also come forward, begging the men to give up.
"I am begging you, baby, to please turn yourself in," Brenda Tarver, a relative of Dubose's by marriage, told WGCL. "We don't want anything bad to happen to you. I talked to your daddy last night (Tuesday), your daddy says to tell you to turn yourself in. Please, before this ends badly."
Dubose's father also reached out.
"He needs to stop [running]," said Rocky Dubose told the Atlanta CBS affiliate from his home in Texas. "Ricky, please stop man. Brother, they gonna kill you, if you don't give yourself up. I promise you."
Federal, state and local authorities worked to find the pair, who investigators believed were driving a white pickup truck early Thursday that was stolen from an industrial site 25 miles from where they first fled custody.
It was near there where Sheriff Sills said the men ransacked a house in Madison near where they dumped a green Honda they allegedly carjacked after first fleeing custody.
"They are dangerous beyond description," Sheriff Sills said earlier this week.
Both men were serving lengthy sentences for armed robbery and other crimes.
Watch: Inmate Arrested For Stealing Escapes Jail by Crawling Out of Bathroom Ceiling


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Dear Readers,
It's National Sewing Month! To celebrate, AllFreeSewing.com is hosting a special blog series throughout the entire month. Check back daily for posts featuring our favorite projects, new sewing videos and tutorials, guest blogs from talented designers and more. We're also giving away a HUGE sewing prize at the end of the month. You won't believe how EASY it is to WIN!
Leave a comment on any of the blog posts with the headline "National Sewing Month". Your comment will count as an entry into the giveaway. You are free to comment as often as once per blog post (for a total of 30 chances to win!). At the end of the month, we'll pool all of the comments together and pick one lucky winner to win the mystery grand prize. And trust us; you want to win this one!
Whether you're already a sewing enthusiast or new to the craft, our hope is that this September will encourage you to create wonderful sewn projects.
Happy National Sewing Month!
Here's today's post from Suzannah from Adventures in Dressmaking:
A long, long time ago I saw this pretty picture from Country Living:
It's of the Anthropologie Waves of Ruffles shower curtain, $98. I also saw a pretty image from Canadian House and Home of a similar idea for a shower curtain:
So sweet!
Now, we've recently moved into a little bungalow and are painting, decorating, and changing things up on a budget. I'm ready for some new bathroom ideas, and think this look may work for our bathroom!
I did some online research, and found that Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, and other stylish places have quite a few similar concepts for pretty shower curtains. Check out the options (both in the $100 ballpark) from Anthro:
Some from Urban Outfitters:
And Target:
I like them a lot… I think they're pretty and girly and, at the same time, can go with a more contemporary or modern and cute look like in the Country Living image–I love the all-white look with a turquoise end table!
Anyway, I decided to make a shower curtain like these above. Not to copy the Anthro Waves of Ruffles curtain completely, but intending to add my own changes, I did want to see it up close. Here's some more pics of Anthropologie's lovely wavy ruffle look:
Pretty, isn't it?
I've put together a tutorial so you can follow along as I make a similar shower curtain out of simple white muslin. Let's get started!
- Standard shower curtains are 72″x72″, square-shaped, with 12 buttonholes or grommets at the top. You'll need extra-wide fabric so that your curtain doesn't have a long seam down the center. Quilt backing fabrics come in extra-wide widths. I recommend buying 2.5 yards of 90″ wide muslin. I bought mine with a coupon at JoAnn's and paid 50% off of $4.99/yard. You could also use a large sheet and make it over!
- Start by tearing your muslin into the right size. You won't need the full 2.5 yards in width, but you'll need 72″ tall plus hems.
- Add 1″ on both vertical sides for the little hems, so tear your big piece at 74″ wide, along the length: you'll have one edge with selvage and one without.
- You'll need 2.5″ at the top for a 2″ hem, and 1.5″ at the bottom for a 1″ hem–that means, tear your fabric at 76″ long. Keep the extra!
- The sewing: On your vertical edges (one is selvage, one is torn), press under just under 1/2″ and then another 1/2″. Sew.
- At the top, press under 1/2″ and then 2″. Sew. (If you have very thin fabric you may want to add a 2″ wide strip of interfacing here, since you'll be adding buttonholes and it needs to take the stress of hanging).
- At the bottom, press under 1/2″ and then 1″. Sew.
- At the top, you'll need 12 buttonholes or grommets ___ apart. I'm doing 1″ long buttonholes, but do whatever you like. Make them start at least 3/8″ from the top so that your curtain liner is covered at the very top.
- Okay, now for the ruffles!! You had 9″ extra after tearing off the 76″ length for the curtain. Cut this 90″ wide piece into three 3″ long pieces.
Now, you'll use some of the extra from the selvage lengths of the fabric. It's a little weird to use some fabric on the grain, some against, but for ruffles it'll be okay. You wouldn't do this with clothing or anything.
Cut three 3″ wide pieces the length of the fabric (2.5 yards).
- Sew one 90″ long piece to one 2.5 yard long piece. Do this three times to make three equally long pieces. Press open.
- Now it gets a little tedious. Zig-zag along the raw edges of all three long pieces, top and bottom. You could turn under 1/4″ and then again 1/4″ to make small hems, but gosh, that would be a LOT of pressing and sewing. And you'd want to make wider ruffle pieces to begin with. Zig-zagging is easier, and I don't mind the romantic-but-casual look the partially raw edges give.
- Gather 1/4″ (the width of the presser foot) from one side of the ruffle pieces, all three. To gather, use the largest stitch on your machine and a very high tension.
- Now, to place the ruffles. Depending on the pattern you want, you can sew your ruffles on wherever and it will look pretty! But I'm sort of going with the wavy ruffle pattern like Anthro's curtain, so I'll give instructions for that version. Fold your curtain into thirds so you can mark off, with pins or fabric pen, the bottom third of your curtain. That's where most of the pattern will be.
See my fabric pen dashed line there?
- It looks like the ruffles on Anthro's curtain have six peaks. So, I found six evenly distributed points on the curtain by folding it in half, then thirds and marking.
- I used the lines that marked six evenly spaced points on the curtain and marked with dots the peaks and valleys of the waves. I used an angle that looked good. I measured about 6.5″ up from the first row, putting it with enough space from the bottom so the waves weren't on the hem, and made the next two rows. From the points, I sort of improvised curves. It's meant to be ruffly and organic-looking, right? 😉
- From there, you'll need to pin on and then sew down your ruffles. I did this by finding the approximate center of each ruffle, and pinning it to the center of the curtain. Pin the outsides down, and continue this half way technique at other points: 1/4, 1/8. If your gathering stitch was even throughout, you should have evenly distributed ruffles. But, all machines are different, so you may have to stretch out or gather up more to get your ruffles spread out evenly on the waves. Then, sew down.
- All done! Hang over a light-colored or clear shower curtain liner.
The bathroom's not done yet, so I can't really show you how it looks in the room yet! But there it is hanging.
Have fun!
Find more projects by Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking on AllFreeSewing.com.
- 15 Quick Sewing Projects Under 15 Minutes - July 20, 2014
- What You (Almost) Forgot to Bring: Sewing Purses, Organizers, and More for Travel - July 14, 2014
- Kids and Camping Hacks: 17 Camping Crafts for Kids - July 8, 2014


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The Charleston, South Carolina area is a great place to live or have a vacation home. The weather is great, the beaches are fantastic, golf courses are abundant, there are many historical sites, the architecture is unbelievable, the dining is unbeatable, and the people are the friendliest in the country. It is because of these reasons that I believe Charleston SC Real Estate is truly unique. I look forward to helping you with any of your Charleston SC Real Estate needs in Charleston, Berkeley, or Dorchester counties. Today's article is titled:
Charleston Area Fourth (4th) of July Fireworks Schedule
Charleston area residents will have two sites to watch the Fourth of July Fireworks. There will be fireworks at Joe Riley Stadium immediately after the Charleston River Dogs game that starts at 6:30 PM. Fireworks from the USS Yorktown at 9:15 will be visible from downtown and around the Charleston Harbor. Waterfront Park will be another good vantage point.
Mount Pleasant residents can join in the activities at the 14th annual Patriots Point 4th of July Blast on Sunday, July 4th! Beginning at 4:00 p.m., guests will enjoy discounted admission to Patriots Point. Stick around landside for live entertainment, enjoy sandwiches, snacks, sodas and water and, of course, the Lowcountry's largest fireworks display shot from the deck of the USS Yorktown after nightfall (around 9:15). This "family-friendly" event is sure to be fun for all.
Kiawah Island Residents will be able to view two sets of fireworks. The Town of Kiawah Island will have their fireworks display at the soccer field in Night Heron Park promptly at 9:15 PM Sunday, July 4th. Kiawah Golf Resort will have their fireworks display on the beach in front of the Sanctuary at 9:30 Sunday, July 4th. In case of inclement weather the fireworks will be on Monday, July 5th.
Seabrook Island fireworks will be held July 3rd at 9:30 on the North Beach.
Folly Beach residents can attend the annual Fourth of July Independence Day fireworks display to be held on July 3rd at the Folly Beach County Park and will begin around 9:00 pm. Please come and enjoy the show.
Residents of Sullivan's Island and the Isle of Palms can enjoy the Fourth of July Fireworks celebration front beach on the Isle of Palms at 9:00 PM.
The City of North Charleston is once again hosting the July 4th celebration at the Riverfront Park on Sunday, July 4, 2010 from 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM. At this year's event, we present local entertainers, "Quianna Parlor" from American Idol, "The Blue Dogs" and "CoastRunner" along with other activities throughout the event, ending a wonderful day with a spectacular fireworks display at dark. For additinal information visit:
Summervilleresidents can go downtown for a Fourth of July fireworks display in the heart of Summerville, SC. The Red, White, and Blue on the Green is conveniently located in Town Square from 5-8 PM. Fireworks will be set off in Gahagan Sports Complex located at 515 West Boundary Street. Enjoy dogs, burgers, live music with Howle Brothers.
Moncks Corner residents can enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks sponsored by the YMCA at Short Stay on Lake Moultrie at 9:00 PM.
Goose Creek residents can celebrate the Fourth of July by attending the FABULOUS FOURTH IN THE CREEK celebration from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM at the Goose Creek Municipal Center. The fireworks display will begin at 9:30 pm. Guests are asked not to bring alcohol, pets or outside fireworks (including sparklers). Tailgating is not permitted in the parking areas.
As always, your thoughts, questions, or comments are greatly appreciated.
Let me know if I can help with any of your Charleston SC Real Estate needs or questions.
See Charleston SC Real Estate Blog for local attractions and current Charleston events.
Look at Charleston SC Real Estate homes anywhere in the tri-county area.
View my entire inventory of VisualTours of Charleston SC Real Estate homes at http://www.visualtour.com/inventory.asp?U=182210
"Carolina Joe" Idleman


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How to Combine Two Accounting Departments Into One
When taking over another company or discovering you have overlapping departments in one company, merging departments makes operational sense. When two accounting departments exist, you might have multiple locations, billing systems, accounting processes, duplicate jobs and too many managers. In order to combine accounting departments into one, due diligence must occur to determine the most-cost effective and operationally efficient direction for your business. At a minimum, start with the core accounting department functions such as billing, accounts receivable, payable and treasury to decide where to make changes.
Gather the job descriptions of each individual in both accounting departments. Analyze organizational charts, leadership, reporting structure and where job duties overlap. Review for duplication of positions and determine where duties could be absorbed or discontinued should you eliminate positions. Also, review salaries of each position to get a baseline range. Merge job descriptions to create a single accounting department.
Decide the leadership structure of the new accounting department. You can create a new position, such as controller or chief financial officer, who oversees all accounting functions. Choose one of the two accounting department managers for this role and either eliminate the other manager or have one report to the other. Map out an organizational chart showing leadership of the new accounting department and the subordinate roles, from supervisors to clerks. Consider each person in both departments and who should fill each role, even if this means additional training for some and job loss for others.
Decide on a single physical location and system platform. This might mean moving employees to a new city, building or part of the building so they can work side-by-side as a unified team. Select one computer platform to work from and transition to this system. You might need both systems until you can convert data from one to another or get staff trained. Consult with IT workers on which is the more operationally efficient and cost-effective system and to help with implementing the system.
Review the policies and procedures of both accounting departments. Ensure that policies adhere to federal and state regulations and any client contractual obligations. Compare policies to identify duplication and differences and rewrite policies to merge wherever possible. Consolidate workflows for functions such as billing, accounts receivable, and taxes into one process for each so the new department is clear which to follow.
Identify individuals who are affected by a job loss or change in job duties. Meet individually with each person and prepare for some dissension. When combining departments, not everyone will be happy and a difficult adjustment period will likely follow. Announce the department merger to all staff by having an employee staff meeting to explain the change, when it will occur and the benefits of combining accounting departments. Allow staff to ask questions and take the time to address any concerns and gather responses.
Photo Credits
- Digital Vision./Photodisc/Getty Images


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New Hampshire: Open source, open standards, open data
The U.S. state of New Hampshire just passed act HB418 (2012), which requires state agencies to consider open source software, promotes the use of open data formats, and requires the commissioner of information technology (IT) to develop an open government data policy. Slashdot has a posted discussion about it. This looks really great, and it looks like a bill that other states might want to emulate. My congrats go to Seth Cohn (the primary author) and the many others who made this happen. In this post I'll walk through some of its key points on open source software, open standards for data formats, and open government data.
First, here's what it says about open source software (OSS): "For all software acquisitions, each state agency… shall… Consider whether proprietary or open source software offers the most cost effective software solution for the agency, based on consideration of all associated acquisition, support, maintenance, and training costs…". Notice that this law does not mandate that the state government must always use OSS. Instead, it simply requires government agencies to consider OSS. You'd think this would be useless, but you'd be wrong. Fairly considering OSS is still remarkably hard to do in many government agencies, so having a law or regulation clearly declare this is very valuable. Yes, closed-minded people can claim they "considered" OSS and paper over their biases, but laws like this make it easier for OSS to get a fair hearing. The law defines "open source software" (OSS) in a way consistent with its usual technical definition, indeed, this law's definition looks a lot like the free software definition. That's a good thing; the impact of laws and regulations is often controlled by their definitions, so having good definitions (like this one for OSS) is really important. Here's the New Hampshire definition of OSS, which I think is a good one:
The material on open standards for data says, "The commissioner shall assist state agencies in the purchase or creation of data processing devices or systems that comply with open standards for the accessing, storing, or transferring of data…" The definition is interesting, too; it defines an "open standard" as a specification "for the encoding and transfer of computer data" that meets a long list of requirements, including that it is "Is free for all to implement and use in perpetuity, with no royalty or fee" and that it "Has no restrictions on the use of data stored in the format". The list is actually much longer; it's clear that the authors were trying to counter common vendor tricks who try to create "open" standards that really aren't. I think it would have been great if they had adopted the more stringent Digistan definition of open standard, but this is still a great step forward.
Finally, it talks about open government data, e.g., it requires that "The commissioner shall develop a statewide information policy based on the following principles of open government data". This may be one of the most important parts of the bill, because it establishes these as the open data principles:
The official motto of the U.S. state of New Hampshire is "Live Free or Die". Looks like they truly do mean to live free.
path: /oss | Current Weblog | permanent link to this entry


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Number of the Week: Who Gets Credit for iPhone Trade?
$6.83 Billion: Estimated amount that iPhone sales added to the U.S.-China trade deficit in 2011.
Every iPhone sold in the U.S. adds to the country's trade deficit with China, but the official calculations may overstate the Asian nation's contribution. Now statisticians are trying to find a better way of tracking international trade.
The iPhone provides a good example of the problems with the way trade is currently calculated. The Apple device features hardware from all over the world, but because it's manufactured in China that country gets credit for the entire wholesale export cost. According to research from Kenneth L. Kraemer of the University of California, Irvine, Greg Linden of University of California, Berkeley, and Jason Dedrick of Syracuse University, each iPhone sold in the U.S. adds $229 to the U.S.-China deficit. Based on 2011 cellphone activations from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, Apple sold around 30 million iPhones in the U.S. last year — accounting for about $6.83 billion of the U.S.'s $282 billion 2011 trade deficit with China.
But the researchers note that such estimates overstate China's contribution. Though the iPhone is assembled in China, most of its component parts come from elsewhere. Separate research by Yuqing Xing and Neal Detert for the Asian Development Bank Institute noted that for the iPhone 3G just about 3.6% of the wholesale price came from China, the rest could be attributed to inputs from companies in Japan, Germany, Korea and even the U.S. (Read more about that study here.)
The iPhone is just one example. This same phenomenon is happening all over the world in products ranging from cars to children's toys. In an attempt to better gauge which countries are benefiting or losing the most through trade, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization announced that they will be working on a project that identifies where value-added flows are coming from.
A better understanding of trade flows should help guide policy makers to manage economic shocks, arbitrate trade disputes and identify global imbalances.


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Had to share this: another reader has added a 5 star review to those slowly accumulating for my science fiction novella. It's really rewarding when a reader shares well-considered thoughts on your work as an author. Many thanks to the reviewer.
Longing For Simpler Times, 1 Jan. 2016
This review is from: The Methuselah Strain (Kindle Edition)
Curious mixture of Asimov's I Robot, Huxley's Brave New World, and Lem's Solaris all gelled in a short novelette. Carefully crafted and beautifully written. To add spice to the punch bowl, imagine a touch of Henry Fielding's self-conscious author invading science fiction and you have a picture of Aken's The Methuselah Strain. Well worth the read. Pick it up.
If you'd like to give my book a try, here are the buying links for a copy direct from the publisher: The Methuselah Strain (Hardback) The Methuselah Strain (eBook) Or, for those who want to use Amazon from anywhere in the world.


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--Aaron Levie, CEO, Box
I'm impressed with Box and with its founder, Aaron Levie. His company has managed to find traction in a murderous commodity space: online storage. Box did it by focusing on the enterprise market, which is smart, but also unusual for a company run by such a young guy. Aaron is 27 and started Box when he was 20. Usually, I think, the whippersnappers build products for other kids. Think Jobs and Zuckerberg. (Gates was an anomaly).
Aaron is aggressive beyond even what I see in most startup founders. And that's where today's tip comes in. I'll let Aaron speak for himself:
At Box, we decided to go storm chasing. We set out to achieve massive customer adoption by finding markets where the tornadoes were emerging--something we could bet on before our larger competitors could. Mobile computing became one of these tornadoes, with iPad, iPhone and Android devices coming to dominate the enterprise. It's a dramatic market shift in technology away from Microsoft.
Within three hours of the iPad being announced by Steve Jobs, we put together a tablet product development team. We've quadrupled our engineering efforts around mobile in the enterprise in the past two quarters.
As more and more enterprises adopt a BYOD (bring your own device) policy in the workplace, we've seen Box adoption accelerate in parallel. At Box, a large majority of our enterprise growth (200%+ per year) is due to this mobile acceleration.
Zynga did this on Facebook. PayPal did this with internet commerce. Apple did this with digital music. Find a host platform, or a market that's about to explode, and make sure you sit at the center of it.
Now, obviously, it's one thing to be able to forecast the weather, and quite another to be able to change it. You need a product that delivers on your vision. But to grow rapidly from nothing, you really do need that vision, too.
Startup Secrets will be taking a short break while I am at CES next week. Watch for me on our CES live coverage, especially on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 12:30pm Pacific Time, when I'll be hosting the video show, CES In Depth. Startup Secrets will return on Tuesday, January 17th. Subscribe to Startup Secrets on Twitter. See all the Startup Secrets.


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Why is labor from my quote not showing up in approve and post after winning the opportunity?
- Autotask PSA
The quote item, labor, does not get converted to a ticket charge or labor on the ticket when running the Won Opportunity Wizard because the labor has not been performed yet, and may change once work is in progress. Quoted labor represents an estimate of the amount of work that you will bill once you complete the job.
In Autotask, you bill for labor with time entries that are entered by resources on tickets and tasks based on the Role, Work Type and Contract associated with the time entry. When quoting for labor, you can show an estimate based on the anticipated time it will take to get the work done. You bill your customer based on the actual work that is completed, by approving & posting the time entries that you enter during the process.
If you want to quote and bill your customer on a pre-agreed price for labor, add a charge Item to your quote and name it appropriately. That way, you will have a charge item you can bill for once you win the opportunity.


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MONACO, Monaco, April 15 (UPI) -- Prince Rainier's status as ruler of Monaco, the world's second-smallest state, did not protect his family from heartache -- and some blame the Grimaldi woes on an ancient curse.
ABC News reports that Prince Rainier I is said to have raped a young woman seven centuries or so ago. According to legend, she became a witch to get revenge and cursed the family.
Since Rainier's marriage to film star Grace Kelly, the family has been constantly in the public eye. And much of what the world has seen has been sorrow, marital woes and other troubles.
They include Princess Grace's death in a 1982 car crash. Her daughter, Princess Stephanie, was in the car with her and there was some talk that she was the driver, not her mother.
Stephanie's life has been one of unsuitable marriages and affairs and an illegitimate child. Her sister, Princess Caroline, has had one divorce, a second husband killed in a boating accident and, more recently, the illness of her third husband, Prince Ernst August of Hanover.


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D4CR AssociationDesigning for Children's Rights
The D4CR Guide is targeted for designers and business decision makers, and assists in implementing appropriate tools, methods and framework in order to have a final product that helps create a better world for our children and our common future. The guide is based on the 10 key principles that cover the most relevant children's rights in the context. The children's rights in the principles are guided by the Convention of the Rights of the Child, and UNICEF has supported the work in putting the principles together. The design guide can be found from here:
Our Mission & Vision
We're a global community of innovators focused on setting new standards when designing for children and adolescents. We do this through practical action and raising awareness on children's rights (based on the U.N. Declaration of the Rights of the Child) and through regarding needs in the business, service and product design processes. United and guided by a set of community-created principles, we want to build a better world by empowering companies, public institutions and individuals to make ethical products and services that respect children's rights.


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Newman's reform-minded philosophy and theology was so influential that he became known as the "Invisible Father" of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965). This distinguished title was given to him because his ideas energized the conversations that sent that council in the direction of reconciliation and dialogue with the modern world. His 19th-century writings also set into motion the Council's teaching on the role of the laity, conscience, and education. In short, Newman helped foster an ecumenical view of the world and remains as relevant today as ever.
Since the beginning of the 1900s, special parishes and centers have set up to serve the spiritual needs of Catholic students at universities and colleges. These centers were named after Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman, and English educator and churchman from the 19th century. Newman Centers are established as part of a university community, working alongside the university staff and faculty to offer students a more complete education.


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The CM15Pro is the follow up of the CM11/12.
It has new ActiveHomePro software and only a USB connection.
It is also connected to the mains for PLC X-10.
It has an RF antenna and can receive AND transmit X-10RF.
You can also download your settings and use it standalone.


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- Home
- Wedding
Shop our wide selection of unique handmade wooden kitchen wdding accessories. All of our products are handcrafted from American hardwoods harvested from the Appalachian Mountains. Using time honored traditions, each product is finely crafted for practicality, durability, and beauty. We can customize our products to say almost anything that you would like. We have over 200 designs that can be carved into the barrel tops, and can also engrave over 150 designs into the Wine bottle cheese board. We love to design produts that are uniquely you.


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Ways To Make Your Commercial Building Much More Customer Friendly?
There is a correlation with the quality and the ease that is provided that to the customers by the commercial building and customer satisfaction. With customer satisfaction comes a whole lot of things that will help the growth of the business. To make sure that you enhance the customer base, the customer loyalty, the profits and everything else that is a benefit to your company, you need to treat your customers right. Your commercial building has a major role to play when it comes to handling customer satisfaction. You need to ensure that they will provide maximum safety and comfort and if there are customers with any special needs, major attention needs to be given to them too. Valuing each customer is the secret to creating loyal customers. Here is what you need to know about making our commercial building much more feelingly to the customers:
To improve customer mobility
Customers will want the best from the services or the products that your organization is offering them and your customers will tend to walk all around. This can be tiring for your customers and if your customers feel tired and does not enjoy gaining your services, they will find an alternate to provide you with the necessary services. However, you do not have to worry about this because when you install commercial lifts, you will be doing a favor to your business as well as your customers. Your customers will be happy, they will get the chance to complete their work without much of a fuss, and at the same time, the higher is the chance of you wining customer hearts and attention.
When providing services for disabled customers
When you are taking care of a business, you need to ensure that you make your commercial building easier, comfortable and safe for all sorts of customers. If you get customers to use the pool in your building, you need to make sure that you make arrangements for the disabled customers to get into the pool as well. To do so, you can get the help of pool lifts Perth. When you provide an equal chance for every customers to enjoy what you offer, you will not have any problem winning customer attention and customer satisfaction.
When your customers feel that they are valued, they will trust your organization and with each customer that starts to trust the products and the services that you provide, you have a much better chance of creating a loyal customer base.


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Martial Law was declared in downtown Miami in November of 2003 to provide security for the FTAA Economic Summit. Blatant and unashamed police brutality is caught on film. The US Federal government granted the State of Florida $8.5 million dollars from the $87 billion allotted to Congress to fight the "War on Terror," in order to provide "security" for the FTAA summit. Tazers and "non-lethal" weaponry was pilot tested at this event with little to no instruction on proper handling of the equipment or restrictions on use. This film serves as an example of how the war on terror is nothing more than a war on the American citizenry, and is meant as a war on dissent.
Founded in 2006, our mission is to provide citizens with the knowledge and perspectives essential to creating a more beautiful, just, sustainable, and democratic society.


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Carl Sandburg as a young boy didn't have much, but he did have dreams. He was born in a simple 3-room cottage and worked various jobs, driving a milk wagon, working as a porter, and working as a brick layer and a farm laborer, and when there were no jobs available, he spent time as a hobo riding the rails and seeing the true America.
He spent many lonely nights just looking at the stars. He would later write about his experiences, championing the cause of "the Poor, millions of the Poor, patient and toiling; more patient than crags, tides, and stars; innumerable, patient as the darkness of night" and fighting for the American worker. He would become the poet of the American people, pleading their cause, celebrating their spirit. He hoped for the day when they would give a war, and no one would come.
He wrote:
"Give me hunger, pain and want,
Shut me out with shame and failure
From your doors of gold and fame,
Give me your shabbiest, weariest hunger!
But leave me a little love."
He would later earn three Pulitzer Prizes, two for his poetry and another for his biography of another simple man who did extraordinary things, Abraham Lincoln.


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Gorging on omega-3 fats lets birds get fit without exercise: study
It's a pity you're not a quail. Ottawa researchers have found that quails can boost their aerobic fitness just by sitting around and eating fats, provided they're the right kind.
The right kind happens to be omega-3 fatty acids, the same fats shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and lower blood pressure in humans.
After sedentary bobwhite quails were fed a supplement of omega-3 fatty acids for six weeks, their muscles showed a huge boost in the activity of enzymes that improve endurance compared to quails that didn't get the supplement, said a research paper published Friday in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
The same enzymes get more active and improve endurance in human athletes who train very hard for weeks, said University of Ottawa biologist Jean-Michel Weber, who conducted the study with his student Simba Nagahuedi.
"What was really surprising," he added, "is that even the most extreme regimes of endurance training in all kinds of mammals going from rats to dogs to humans…elicit changes in enzyme activity that are smaller than what we found here with the quails, with just feeding them omega-3 fatty acids."
Sandpipers seem to use omega-3 as 'enhancer'
In fact, the quails' muscles showed enzyme activity levels as high as that in migrating sandpipers, which fly from the Canadian Arctic all the way to South America every winter.
What are omega-3 fatty acids?
Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of unsaturated fat that the human body needs for metabolic functioning, but cannot produce. That makes it an "essential" fatty acid that humans must get from their food.
According to the American Heart Association, eating omega-3 fatty acids reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Foods that include high levels include salmon, halibut, sardines, albacore, trout, herring, walnut, flaxseed oil and canola oil.
It was the sandpipers that first suggested to Weber that omega-3 fatty acids might be a natural performance-enhancer.
En route to South America, they stop in the Bay of Fundy on Canada's Atlantic coast and spend two weeks fattening up on mud shrimps, known to be extremely high in omega-3 fatty acids. Weber said the evidence suggested that diet was used to enhance the birds' performance before their migration, but since the measurements were done in natural circumstances, other factors may have come into the picture besides the diet itself.
Sandpipers can't be kept in captivity, so Weber decided to try a controlled lab experiment using bobwhite quails, a bird that is normally very sedentary.
In the wild, the quails spend most of their time on the ground and hide under leaves when they are in danger, Weber said. If really threatened, they may fly, but only a few dozen metres at most.
"They're not really endurance athletes at all."
In fact, the birds in the experiment were such poor fliers that Weber's efforts to test their endurance directly were unsuccessful.
Effect likely small in mammals
Still, their apparent fitness level seemed to benefit enormously from the special diet, leading Weber to suggest that the effect of an omega-3 diet likely works on all birds.
So far, it hasn't been tested in mammals such has humans, although that is something Weber is looking into.
He thinks mammals may respond, but the effect couldn't be that significant, given that there are millions of people around the world training for endurance sports at any given time.
"The effect is so strong in birds — if it was the same in humans, I'm sure somebody would have discovered it by now."
Eating very large amounts of omega-3 fats (more than three grams per day) can cause problems in humans such as increased bleeding, increased levels of low-density lipoproteins (bad cholesterol) and increased susceptibility to bacterial diseases due to the suppression of immune and inflammation responses.


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The good news of course is that I live in a country without restroom wars.
No local governments here in Switzerland, as far as I know, are getting ready to pass laws about who can use which restroom and, believe me, I've been scanning the headlines each night in my Blick am Abend just to be sure.
Back in the U.S., which never ceases to amuse (and horrify) my Swiss neighbors, people are apparently getting all hot and bothered about people in restrooms who, in the opinion of some, shouldn't be there.
Most of the people who are freaking out, I'm guessing, have never been been to a W.C. in Europe, where female attendants in men's restrooms are fairly common. You'll be minding your own business one day, and suddenly a woman will be sweeping under your feet. It's distracting at first, sure, but you get used to it. Now I hardly notice.
Frankly, if you want to be traumatized by restrooms, you should travel more, not only in Europe, but in other countries as well.
Squat toilets – sometimes called "Turkish toilets" – are the norm in much of the world, not just in Turkey. (Some Swiss like to call these toilets "French toilets," but I think that has something to do with not liking the French.) What you get are porcelain treads and a hole in the floor about four inches wide. I was puzzled when I saw my first one, I studied it carefully, and then I thought, well, when in Peru, which is where I happened to be, do as the Peruvians do. I was proud of my first attempt.
Less traumatizing, but no less annoying, is having to pay to go. A tip dish by the door? Really? And then, to add insult to injury, the attendants themselves are often incredibly rude, though I suppose I would be rude too if I had to work there day after day.
I might as well go all the way with this post and make a comment about the toilet paper. If you visit me, or travel anywhere in the world, you might want to take your own. You'll be glad you did, especially where none is offered, and I'll leave my comment at that. But seriously, if you visit me and leave a roll or two of the good stuff, I will be very grateful.
Look, I could go on. There's a lot to write about, as you can imagine. I have spent a lot of time in restrooms around the world and have taken a special interest in the topic. But this is probably as much as you wanted to know. Frankly, I now know as much about the restroom situation in the U.S. as I ever wanted to know, and I wish state legislators would turn their attention to a few other subjects which – I apologize for this – have a greater sense of urgency.
Until next time. Tschüss!


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My e-mail marketing company, VerticalResponse, is growing steadily. We're lucky; we've got great customers and great employees. Serving non-profits and small businesses gives us a charge, especially since we know we're helping them survive and grow.
We've been around for 10 years, seven of them in the same building (which I loved). But as a result of our growth, we ended up on two different floors. Divided. It's tough to keep a culture together when a company is split in two. We tried group lunches, but it's hard to get 90 people together at once when space is limited. We also have an offsite company-wide event every quarter and have a great time. But, it still isn't enough on a day-to-day basis.
Recently we moved to a new office so we could have the next few years all together on one floor. I'm a realist; if our company continues to thrive, we'll be there again, for great reasons, the same reasons that split us before.
Through the move, I find it amazing how much little things matter. For example:
- We always had a VerticalResponse sign on our front door in the old space, but in this new space we put up a company sign right when you get out of the elevator, and another pretty large one when you arrive in the reception area. I can't tell you the number of times my staff has told me how cool the sign was. They're proud of where they spend their days, so when they come in, it's great to see the name of the company lit up!
- We had two kitchenettes in our previous space, one on each floor. Both were pretty small. The new office has a vastly larger and improved kitchen with plenty of space for people to hang out and get their coffee. Lots of great conversations about the business take place in there that may otherwise never happen if everyone has to elbow their way to the fridge.
- We purposefully didn't "cube" the entire office so we could have some open space where people can meet, eat their lunches and chat. Remember, we had different groups of people on separate floors, some who had never met! I went to IKEA and got some great-looking tables and chairs, a few couches and some fun bean bag chairs. The bean bags get used like crazy!
You don't have to move to a new office to make it a fun place to work, but having things around the office or in your place of business that your staff can be proud of works wonders for morale!


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Life with your baby become easier with STP Universal Stroller Organiser as all what you and your little one need will be organised and right at hand. Drinks for you and your baby are in 2 separate, well-insulated drink holders. Enough space for diapers, baby cream and even for your snack so you can really enjoy your walk without stress of falling things. Key, your mobile phone and wallet can be kept in visible or zipped areas. The best is to take your SPD Parent Console with you as Diaper Caddy with removable strap or as a Jogging Accessories.
- THE HIGHEST RATED STROLLER ORGANISER ON AMAZON: Happy Parents Agree That SPD Stroller Organiser Is The Best That They've Ever Used.
- HIGH QUALITY, durable easy to clean materials.
- TWO DEEP, well insulated, drink holders designed to prevent spills.
- LOTS OF POCKETS, To keep you tidy and organised.


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Taylor Swift Takes Fans Behind the Scenes of 'Delicate'
November 15, 2017
By Hayden Wright In its first few days of release, Taylor Swift's sixth studio album Reputation quickly eclipsed the sales of every other album in 2017. Critics and fans have responded enthusiastically to the new material, from "Look What You Made Me Do" to "Call It What You Want." In addition to her Saturday Night Live performance last weekend, Taylor has unveiled a series of behind-the-music videos on YouTube, taking fans into her songwriting process. Related: Ed Sheeran on Taylor Swift's 'Dress': It Wasn't Me The latest explores the writing and recording of "Delicate." We get to see Taylor at work, hearing playback from previous sessions and figuring out how to layer new elements over the song. Shot mostly on smartphones, the video shows the nitty gritty of making an album. Taylor mulls over one particular section of the song and we watch her perfect the line, delivery and melody. Watch the video here:


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Business Forms, Letterhead, and other image products The On Paper Line...Hand done Calligraphy Wedding Invitations Invitations and Greetings Holiday Greeting cards: Business Personal Awards Stationery: Business Personal Promotional and Party Items
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How to Order Invitations
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Invitation selected from online catalog printed with raised type on stock paper selection, lined envelopeInvitations should reflect the event and give the invited guests their first impression of the celebration. Use our checklist to help you personalize your invitation.
Invitations generated on a computerMost casual invitations can be generated on a computer. These personal invitations can be created using computer fonts or scanned calligraphy, and photos and images, drawings, standard designs or custom motifs converted to a jpeg or gif format. Stock papers for these types of invitations are available at retail stores and copy shops.
For those who want a little more than standard fonts, we offer calligraphy and some drawing and design work, in original form or converted to electronic files. The electronic files are provided to you in jpeg format for easy placement within your document. Raised Printing: Thermographic invitationsFiner paper stock and raised printing (thermography) reflect a different type of event than a casual invitation does. These invitations are ordered from a thermographer's distributor. There is a wide selection of thermographer's fonts, designs and monograms available. Often, a proof of your invitation is available for your review before it is printed. Addionally, there is an online feature to preview your wording in selected fonts.
Dogbones Network offers calligraphy that can be provided to the thermographer and will be printed in raised letters. CalligraphySend us an email or complete this form to explain what calligraphy or custom drawing or design work you would like done… first names, monogram, invitation, invitation ensemble (invitation, return address, reception card, response card, response envelope), directions, place cards, programs, etc. The calligraphy charge is dependent on the amount and style of calligraphy selected. After we have an idea of your preferences of calligraphy within your invitation and celebration, we can give you a proposal for your work As an example, calligraphy for an invitation ensemble done in the italic hand will be $125. Calligraphy sample ExtrasWhen ordering your invitation, a message will be displayed if one of our beautiful translucent wraps that let your guests unwrap the news of your event or elegant self-adhesive bows is available.
Bows, if there aren't offered as a standard option for the invitation you've chosen, can be ordered separately from the accessories section of www.chooseinvitationsonline.com .
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All lettering styles and ink colors are available to match your invitations. Most invitations come with two envelopes. The outer envelope that is addressed to your guests' homes and the inner "ungummed" envelope that is addressed with your guests' names and fits inside the larger outer envelope. All of our invitation ensembles receive a FREE copy of our Helpful Hints for Addressing Guide that explains the rules of addressing etiquette and how to assemble your invitation and accessories so you can properly address your invitations. We also provide a free guide that you insert into your envelopes to keep your handwritten address straight. addressing envelopes Printing your return address on the back of the outer envelope will help assure the return of any invitation that may have addressing errors. Professional calligraphers are available to address your invitations.
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The Worst Campaign Ever?
Matt Yglesias writes:
I've been a little bit surprised by the number of liberals who've been eager to proclaim John McCain's 2008 campaign to be the most vile and dishonorable thing they've ever witnessed. It struck me as less vile and dishonorable than the other presidential campaigns (2004, 2000, 1996) that I remember.
Mind you, Matt thinks the McCain campaign was vile and dishonorable — just less so than most Republican presidential campaigns. This is in contrast to a number McCain critics who enthusiastically supported George W. Bush in 2000 after Karl Rove's stridently negative South Carolina primary campaign.


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A Long Way Home is a Adventure game.
Release date: May 2016
Developer: Jonathan Mulcahy
Platform: PC
Genre: Adventure
Language: English
My dear friend, If you are looking for games of different genres, that typical gamer can download on his computer — this is the right place! I am pleased to inform you, that there you can download A Long Way Home from torrent for PC absolutely for free! This game was created in the genre of Adventure. Welcome on our website and tell friends about us, if you like it.
Detailed description:
A Long Way HomeAlthough the description sounds like an action movie, A Long Way Home is more of a calm, thoughtful puzzle experience than a fast-riding explosion fest. That's not to say there's no excitement, but your navigating will be based on careful observation and obtained skill, not button tapping or mobile device shaking. Using a variety of control mechanisms (we prefer on-screen buttons), simply move around each spinning asteroid and jump when you line up with a piece of dark matter. Make sure you land on solid ground, though, as one false move and you'll be adrift for the rest of your life!
Later levels introduce new objects to contend with, but the basic premise remains the same. You'll dare countless long jumps, narrow misses, and lucky breaks, all while mastering the art of asteroid jumping. A Long Way Home is a very beautiful game, sticking to minimalist roots and providing a simple but incredibly enjoyable gameplay experience. It manages to evoke actual emotion, which can't be said for most action/physics games, though it's never sappy or emotional itself. In short, this is a fantastic casual mobile game that is slow enough and challenging enough to be entertaining while tugging at a few heart strings along the way. Grab it, kick back, soak in the soundtrack, and have a good time!


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Sunday, 20 February 2011 12:19 PM
WASHINGTON (AP) — A top Republican budget writer says it's unlikely the Senate will go along with steep cuts the House just passed.
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin says that Republicans and Democrats will have to negotiate to avoid a government shutdown. But Ryan insists that the GOP will not agree to even a temporary funding extension that leaves current levels of spending in place.
Legal authority for funding the government runs out March 4, and lawmakers are on their President's Day recess this week.
Appearing Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," Ryan says that a short-term funding extension is likely but that Republicans will insist that the extension also make some cuts to the budget.
© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Rain on the third day reduced Christchurch Test to the second innings shoot-out. With the match hanging in a balance, not even a single over could be bowled on an entire day as heavy rain almost incessant kept wicket and the surrounding covered.
With two days left, the match can still be decided on positive note depending on how Bangladesh bats on the rain-affected the fourth day. Kane Williamson may consider declaring with 29 runs behind exposing Pakistan on moisture containing wicket under cloud cover tomorrow early. Bangladesh scored 289 in the first innings and New Zealand was 260/7 at stumps on the second day. The weather forecast on the fourth day shows not such day long interruption. A lot of cricket may be possible. But it may be challenging batting on moisture containing wicket and heavy outfield.
The inexperienced Bangladesh batting will have tough test containing and confronting very hostile Kiwi pace attack. The tasks of the senior players Tamim, Mahmudullah, and Shakib would the cut out for providing the backbone of the innings. Tamim only played a great first innings at Basin Reserve of the three he has played so far. Mahmudullah is completely out of touch. Shakib produced two superlative innings. Bangladesh lost the way in the only innings he faltered. Soumya Sarkar slotting back to his favored role as opener played a delightful first innings in the test. Apart from these four only Shabbir played is playing on his fourth test. He batted reasonably well in the first test scoring fifties in both. Two debutants Nurul Hasan and Nazmul Hasan showed a lot of promise in the first innings. The other five cannot be relied upon for repeating the first innings commitment on a difficult surface.
In any case, Bangladesh must play with a plan in the second innings. Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Neil Wagner may again take a stern test of short fast rib cage targeting stuff. Bangladesh openers Tamim and Soumya must weather the early storm stitching together a good 1st wicket partnership for later order batsmen to consolidate. Other long innings from Tamim have become due. Soumya also seems to have found his golden aggressive form. When he bats well he dominates the bowling and upset the rhyme of the bowlers. Watching Mahmudullah groping and searching in the first innings and dogged defense of Nazmul Hasan Shanto in the first innings would suggest playing Shanto at number three and shuffling Mahmudullah at number five after Shakib. By that time seam and swing may be much less for him to rediscover his form. We expect Shakib would realize the value of him batting well in addition to his great contribution in the test so far. One of the great all-rounders of all time should produce a match winning performance. Shabbir a, Mahmudullah, Nurul Hasan and Mehedi Miraj can consolidate if the top and early middle order can set the foundation. Bangladesh would need at least 300 to challenge New Zealand in the second innings and bat throughout the fourth day.
From what I have seen in the first innings three Bangladeshi pacers bowled exceedingly well in the first innings. Rubel, Taskin, and Rabbit produced the best two hours' hostile pace bowling in its test history. Shakib and Miraj with crafty spin bowling can take a spin test of the skills of the kiwis. If Bangladesh fields well in the second innings, we can be assured that Bangladesh would make it difficult for Kiwis in the last innings. But before that Bangladesh must bat well and bat with a plan.
If no more time is lost still all three results are possible. A win by Bangladesh will be a huge achievement, a draw will also salvage some pride. But a loss will lead to comprehensive whitewash on this tour which Bangladesh does not deserve.
Image: Blackcaps Twitter Page
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Developed by PerBlue, Parallel Zombies is an Android-exclusive zombie hack and slash title. The game promises to see you hacking through hoards of zombies, either with other players in real time (with dropout multiplayer), or alone.
Level up and you earn new skills, or you can collect components to craft new weapons. The game utilises GPS technology to connect with survivors on your street to protect the neighbourhood. Also, those who like their customisation can customise their character. Choosing from one of three class specialisations, your avatar will also use a chosen weapon and any chosen skills.
Justin Beck, PerBlue's Co-Founder and CEO says that "Parallel Zombies marks our third title in PerBlue's family of location-based mobile games. We're excited to put an eerie
spin on the classic zombie survival game. You never know, there might be a zombie lurking in your own backyard."
Parallel Zombies it out on the 19th July 2012. Check out the launch trailer below:


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This tab allows you to customize the behavior of the internal browser tabs.
- Left mouse click
You can choose three actions for the Left mouse click action: Open in Tab (open the link in a tab and put this tab in focus), Open in Background Tab (open the link in a tab but keep the current tab in focus) and Open in External Browser to open an article in a new window with your default browser.
- Middle mouse click
As above, you can set one of the three actions for the middle mouse click.
- For External Browsing
- Use default web browser
If this is checked, Akregator will use the web browser you set in System Settings. It may be the KDE default, Konqueror, or another browser depending on what you set here.
- Use this command:
You can use another web browser for Akregator other than your KDE default. If you wish to do so, check this option and enter the command for the browser, provided it is in your $
- Show tab close button on hover
If this option is checked, the close button will appear when you move your mouse on the left side of the tab title so you can more easily close tabs.


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TAISHAN, China — Taishan, or Mount Tai, is China's most sacred mountain. For centuries, emperors climbed it to pay homage to heaven and earth. Philosopher Confucius is said to have stood at the towering top, looked down and pronounced the world a small place indeed.
While it isn't one of China's tallest mountains, the way to the top is still a challenge consisting of more than 6,000 stone steps, with the option of taking a cable car halfway. Walking the whole way can take anywhere from three to seven hours.
I'd heard stories about elderly groups and others resolutely marching up the mountain in the dark and arriving in time to see the sunrise, but I decided, with some friends, to start in the afternoon and see the sunrise after spending the night in a hotel at the top.
We entered through the Red Gate at the south foot of the mountain, stopping to look in temples with burning incense and at some of the hundreds of stone tablets that dot the way up. We were surrounded by serene greenery, punctuated every so often by a rousing round of mainland or Taiwanese pop music from tourists carrying personal stereo systems for all to hear.
Two 7- and 9-year-old brothers offered me a welcome excuse to rest from climbing when they asked "auntie," one of the few foreigners on the mountain, to pose for a photo with them.
Then I continued to follow in the footsteps of the emperors. In 219 B.C., Qin Shi Huang, the founder of the Qin Dynasty, held a ceremony on the summit to announce to the gods that he had successfully unified China.
For thousands of years, Taishan has been a source of inspiration for poets and thinkers, and a place to worship. The mountain is the most venerated of China's five sacred mountains. This is because it is the easternmost, and in Chinese culture east is regarded as a sacred direction because that is where the sun and moon rise.
Confucius, whose hometown Qufu is not too far away, declared from the summit: "Climb Mount Tai and the whole world looks small." His words express how Mount Tai looks large against its low-lying surroundings, and also the more philosophical musing that the higher you climb, the greater your vision.
For me, the higher I climbed, the more steps I saw, until finally I got to the steps leading up to the cable car station. Of course, Confucius wouldn't have taken the cable car, but I wasn't Confucius. And two hours of climbing steps was enough of a climbing experience for me.
On top of the 1,545-meter (5,069-foot) mountain, lodging is limited. There are a few basic hotels, and travelers also come equipped with camping gear. We stayed in a hotel and paid 100 yuan ($15) per person to sleep on mattresses in a room with 13 people. Outside our door, other guests slept in tents or rows of beds lining the corridors.
Another likely difference between my experience and that of Confucius: He probably didn't climb the mountain at the same time as thousands of other people.
In the morning, we got up at 4 a.m. to position ourselves for the sunrise, apparently peak time on the mountain.
From Jade Emperor Peak, sitting among hundreds of others, many in rented green army overcoats to keep warm against the strong wind, we were fortunate enough to see a clear sunrise, majestically bathing the mountain peaks in light.
After a breakfast of soybean milk and fried dough sticks, we hiked for about five hours down the mountain and through Tao Hua Yu, or Peach Blossom Valley, a beautiful walk through pine trees and flowering peach trees, waterfalls and pools of water, not unlike a landscape you might expect to find in central Europe.
Despite the many people, our weekend trip to Taishan was a relaxing and energizing experience. The greenery up the mountain made for a picturesque climb, and the second-day valley hike was to me the highlight, and not just because there were no steps up. It was serene, allowing me to enjoy the landscape and contemplate the greater vision I had gleaned from the top of Mount Tai.
If You Go...
MOUNT TAI: Located in Tai'an city, Shandong province. Open 24 hours, year-round. From February to November: adults, 125 yuan ($18), children, 60 yuan ($9). December to January, adults, 100 yuan ($15), children, 50 yuan ($7).
GETTING THERE: High-speed trains run to Tai'an city, Shandong province, from Beijing (two hours), Shanghai (four hours) or Jinan city, capital of Shandong province (30 minutes). Then take a bus or taxi to one of four entrances, including Red Gate and Peace Blossom Valley. From the Peace Blossom Valley entrance you can also take a tourist bus (30 yuan one way) to the cable car station. Cable car is 100 yuan one way.
LODGING: Xianju Hotel, top of Mount Tai, near the South Heaven Gate. Standard rooms from 400 yuan ($60) upward.
Follow Louise Watt on Twitter at twitter.com/louise_watt
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elegant + versatile for any event, cozy enough to curl up at home making it equally ideal for weddings, travel and the beach. our formal wrap is 12" longer than our traditional best selling design, the wrap. where it will hit depends on your height and styling. petites may prefer our lady wrap as the formal may be too long as a skirt.
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and enjoy large images of our signature hues and stripes. all our super cozy stretch knits have a rich touch of spandex to insure high quality. solids are bamboo, heathers are beechwood rayon and subtle stripes are bamboo + organic cotton. all cellulose sustainable plant based fibers, making our luxurious fabrics sumptuous, soft, breathable and biodegradable. easy care hand wash or machine wash delicate cold. hang or lay flat to dry.
handmade in Maine, crafted with joy
may peace prevail


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Date: 1763
"My soul is on fire at this insult: his age, his virtues protect him, but Lord Melvin--Let him avoid my fury."
preview | full record
— Brooke [née Moore], Frances (bap. 1724, d. 1789)
Date: April 20, 1796
"Ere yet we were, / Our finer tones of mind some guardian spirit / Touch'd into harmony; and, when we met, / Th' according strings struck forth a sound so sweet, / That heav'n itself might listen! love! ev'n love, / That brand of discord, burns within our bosoms, / Pale—cold—before the steady fla...
preview | full record
— Lee, Sophia (bap. 1750, d. 1824)


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Bangladesh and Austria yesterday identified power and energy, health, education, tourism, human resource development and waste management as common fields of cooperation, and where Austria had enough expertise.
The recognition came at a bilateral meeting Foreign Minister Dipu Moni was holding with her Austrian counterpart Michael Spindelegger in Vienna. Dipu Moni is attending a two-day 5th Global Forum on the UN Alliance of Civilization beginning yesterday.
In response to Dipu Moni's request for Austrian investment in Bangladesh, Spindelegger informed that the trade figure between the two countries, € 350 million in 2012, could get higher.
Spindelegger, also Austria's vice chancellor and federal minister for European and International Affairs, sought Bangladesh's cooperation in the disarmament issue.
Dipu Moni briefed the Austrian minister about Bangladesh's socio-economic development during the past few years and growing relations with neighbouring countries.
She requested for training Bangladeshi diplomats in Austria and providing Bangladeshi students scholarships for higher education in Austrian universities.
Bangladesh is going to open a new resident mission in Vienna soon which will help strengthen existing bilateral relations, she said.
Earlier, Dipu Moni met the president of the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria and members of the Foreign Policy Committee of the Austrian Parliament.
The president highly appreciated Bangladesh's constant economic growth for over a decade.
The committee members were very keen to know about Bangladesh and Dipu Moni briefed them about the country's socio-economic and political issues.
She also informed them about various positive steps the government took for the safety and security of workers in ready-made garment sector.
She requested them to share the information with their colleagues in the European parliament to build a positive image of Bangladesh.
In the evening, Dipu Moni attended a reception hosted by the local Bangladesh community.
Bangladesh and Austria yesterday identified power and energy, health, education, tourism, human resource development and waste management as common fields of cooperation, and where Austria had enough expertise.


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One of the biggest time-consuming nuisances for any barbecue is prepping corn on the cob. If you've got a lot of mouths to feed, shucking corn is just downright painful, thanks to all of those silk strings that hide in the crevices of the kernel rows.
But thanks to America's favorite kitchen invention, the microwave, you can just nuke the annoyance right out of shucking corn. Note: the audio in the video below is no longer working, but you don't need it anyway. Just watch and learn, or scroll down below for another good video.
Step 1: Nuke
Just leave the corn in its husk, microwave on high for about four minutes.
Step 2: Remove
Remove from your microwave and get ready to extract the corn cob.
Step 3: Cut
As you can see in the video above, all you've got to do is cut the base off the husk.
Step 4: Shake!
Grab the top of the corn and shake the cob out. It should easily slide out—WITHOUT those annoying stringy silk threads.
Then you can just eat as is with a little butter or throw it on the grill for a few minutes to get that mouthwatering, smokey BBQ flavor. Now, just in case you missed all of that, let's watch another video for a more up-close and personal view.
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Ten Steps to Preventing Infection in Hospitals
Too many patients get sick in the very places that are supposed to heal them
The facts are frightening: As many as one in 10 patients hospitalized in the U.S. will come down with an infection—often due to the very care that is supposed to be restoring health.
These infections afflict nearly two million patients a year, cause close to 100,000 deaths and cost up to $6.5 billion.
But they are not inevitable.
To Read the Full Story