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PLANO – J.C. Penney has sold its headquarters at 6501 Legacy Dr. to a Dallas-based investor in one of the largest North Texas sales of the year.
A partnership headed by investor Sam Ware's Drien Opportunity Partners paid more than $400 million for the 1.8 million-sf office complex as well as 40 acres surrounding the property just west of the Dallas North Tollway.
The new owners plan to sell and develop the land surrounding Penney's offices and will renovate the 1980s headquarters complex. The vacant land along Legacy Dr., currently occupied by lawns and a small pond, is zoned for office and retail space.
The retailer will consolidate its offices into about 600,000 sf in the north end of the building.
The purchase was financed in part with a $388.7 million mortgage from Beal Bank. A second $50 million note and cash were also listed in the terms of purchase.
J.C. Penney hired CBRE to find a buyer for the property.
Our twice-weekly e-newsletter provides a quick overview of Texas real estate markets. Because your time is valuable.


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Chi-town producer Mulatto Beats has delivered his new project .22 Summers, and it features a nice collection of underrated, underground emcees. Artists like Mick Jenkins, King L, and Lucki are some of the names to bless the project, and each one sounds comfortable over Mulatto's smooth, airy trap production.
The highlight comes from the Mick Jenkins assisted, "Guilty Automatic," which finds the Chicago lyricist going in over a dark, hazy instrumental. King Louie also shines on that Mulatto sound, sounding confident and charismatic on "Long Live The Kings." Overall, the project is a quick, consistent listen, so don't sleep on this underground Chicago hip-hop.

subset: commoncrawl


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The National Rifle Association has once again stirred up outrage in Newtown, Conn. The group is making robo-calls to residents, trying to enlist them in efforts to defeat new statewide gun control proposals.
The automated phone call from the National Rifle Association said "anti-gun legislators are aggressively pursuing numerous proposals that are designed to punish and disarm law-abiding gun owners," and it continued to ask residents to urge politicians "to oppose any legislation that tramples your Second Amendment right, and inhibits your inherent right to self defense."Newtown residents field NRA robo-calls on gun control
"It's not the right thing for the NRA to be doing right now," said Newtown resident David Freedman. "And regardless of your political position or what not, what side you're on, it's really not the right approach."
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal was outraged. He said his office had fielded calls from angry constituents, including victims' families.
"If the NRA has an ounce of sensitivity or caring or humanity, they will apologize to Newtown and the families that received this call," said Blumenthal.
The NRA did not return repeated requests for comment. But the robo-calls come as the Connecticut legislature considers new gun law proposals, including universal background checks for gun purchases, an idea the NRA dismisses as ineffective.
"The whole thing on universal checks is a dishonest premise. There's not a bill on the hill that provides a universal check. Criminals are not going to do this. The shooters in Tucson, Aurora, and Newtown, they're not going to be checked. They're unrecognizable," Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president and CEO said on NBC'S "Meet the Press."Newtown victims' parents: Do they blame shooter's parents?
Support for tighter gun control measures is decreasing in the months since the Newtown shootings. According to a CBS News poll, 47 percent of people say they support stricter gun laws, down from a high of 57 percent just after the shootings.
But Blumenthal said he remains committed to tougher gun laws.
"The NRA has said they hope the 'Connecticut effect' will go away, but this time is important and different because the vast majority of American people feel we need to do something about gun violence," said Blumenthal.
For Elaine Quijano's full report, watch the video in the player above.


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Republican Mark Boughton suspends run for Connecticut governor, endorses Tom Foley
Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton announced Wednesday he is suspending his campaign for governor and is standing behind the GOP-endorsed candidate, Tom Foley.
In an email from his campaign, Boughton said he's calling for "party unity."
"I entered this campaign because Connecticut is headed in the wrong direction and I believe a positive, reform-minded Republican can challenge Dan Malloy and win in November 2014," said Boughton in a statement. "I now believe all Republicans should unite behind the endorsed candidates, Tom Foley and Penny Bacchiochi."
In a statement Wednesday, Foley said he thanks Boughton "for running a strong, issues-based campaign and for bringing his skills and experience as Mayor of Danbury and a former legislator to the debate about solving Connecticut's problems.
"I appreciate Mark's endorsement and look forward to working with him to take Connecticut in a better direction," Foley said. "With smarter policies and new leadership we can restore the prosperity, promise and pride our citizens want and deserve."
Boughton, who officially kicked off his campaign in January, appeared to be headed for a primary against Foley and state Sen. John McKinney, of Fairfield. Boughton, 50, garnered enough support at the convention to earn a spot on the primary ballot, as did McKinney.
Shortly after the convention, Boughton's running mate, Groton Town Councilor Heather Somers, announced she would run solo and not pool her campaign funds with him to qualify for public campaign financing. Boughton's second pick, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, needed to submit the signatures of 8,190 registered Republican voters in order to petition his way onto the primary ballot but Boughton expects that effort to fall 500 to 1,000 signatures short.
According to CT News Junkie, Lauretti and Boughton were struggling to get the Shelton mayor into the race. Without Lauretti on his ticket, Boughton would likely be unable to raise enough donations to qualify for public financing, according to CT News Junkie.
Earlier Wednesday, Boughton's campaign manager, Heath Fahle, told CT News Junkie the campaign's ability to get Lauretti on the ballot wouldn't determine if the campaign would go forward.
"One is not dependent on the other," Fahle said Wednesday morning. "We'll see what happens."
Later Wednesday, Boughton told the Associated Press he has faced some fundraising setbacks.
"We just don't see a path to getting the $250,000 needed to qualify," Boughton said. He added, "If for some reason a miracle happens, we'll turn the lights back on" and continue with the primary campaign.
Boughton needs to raise the $250,000 in contributions of $100 or less in order to qualify for $1.25 million in public campaign financing for the primary. He said Wednesday he's raised more than $175,000. He is allowed to pool funds raised by a lieutenant governor candidate in order to reach the $250,000 threshold and qualify for the public funding.
Boughton said he still believes "the plan is solid" and he could have qualified if his funds were pooled with another candidate's.
"No question it put us back on our heels and left us scrambling for an alternative strategy," he said of Somers' decision to run solo. "It was problematic for us."
McKinney plans to stay in the primary, a campaign spokesman said.
"I welcome a two-person race for the Republican nomination for governor," McKinney said. "This will provide Republican primary voters a clear choice on the issues."
McKinney and Boughton were scheduled for a debate Wednesday night at the Hartford Public Library. Foley had previously declined an invitation to the debate, citing a prior engagement.
Boughton said he will close out his campaign committee, Team Boughton, in the coming weeks and release the committee's staff to pursue other endeavors.
"My wife Phyllis and I are honored by the dedication and the hard work of thousands of elected officials, donors, and volunteers from across the state," Boughton said in the statement.
In 2010, Foley, of Greenwich, fell 6,404 votes short of defeating Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Boughton was Foley's running mate in that race.
Third-party candidate Jonathan Pelto is also in the race. On Wednesday, the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission approved a grant for about $6.5 million for Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman to use in the general election. The original $6 million grant was adjusted to $6,500,400 based on the Consumer Price Index.
The commission did not act on Foley's application for public funds needed for the primary.
Chris Cooper, a spokesman for Foley, said the campaign was notified Tuesday that it needed to give the commission additional information on certain contributors. Cooper said that information will be provided by Friday and the campaign hopes its application will be approved next week.


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All of our firewood is of the highest quality, well-seasoned and sourced from sustainably managed woodlands and by recycling Arboricultural and training arisings, wood that would otherwise go to waste.
We can provide you with seasoned firewood that meets your needs and offer a free delivery service within 10 miles of Brampton Valley Training & Assessments Ltd and a charge of only £1 per mile thereafter (one way).
We can deliver firewood in whatever quantity you need from a large bulk load through to net bags.
(Price per 1m³)
All of our logs are stored under-cover in a weather proof barn and are delivered to you with a low moisture content ready to burn.
For large orders or for any questions please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your order.
Email: email@example.com
Phone: 01280 824423


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Package Size: 8 oz
Always thoroughly wet, wash and dry your car before applying any wax product. We recommend using Formula 1 Premium Wash and Wax to clean your car prior to waxing. If bugs, tar or dirt are an issue, trust Formula 1 Bug & Tar Remover for a deep clean against tough buildup. For alternative, easy wax application, we recommend the Formula 1 Super Pads. To remove wax, try the Formula 1 Super Shine Microfiber Polishing Towels.
Formula 1 provides the latest, advanced crosslink polymer technology in car wax protection and shine. Wash and dry car. Dampen Formula 1 Premium foam applicator or Formula 1 Super Pads. Apply product using circular motions, one three-foot section at a time and wait five minutes, allowing Super-Polymers to bond to car's surface. Wipe off with a clean, soft cloth, rotating frequently.


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A WEST Belfast family's dream Spanish holiday has been turned into a nightmare after they were set upon by a group
Hidden history of Luftwaffe pilot and gentleman barber
With his distinctive handlebar moustache, shock of grey locks and omnipresent white raincoat Robert
Arise, Sir Squinter. Now sit down again
AS the great and the good of Our Wee Pravince beam for the cameras after being included on this year's Queen's Corgi's Birthday Honours List – or Spot the Catholic, as it's known in West Belfast – Squinter wonders how he can elbow his way into this exalted company.
I've no problem standing up for the Ulstermen
I must take exception to Jude Collins' rant in the Andersonstown News (May 26) regarding his 'Dilemma of standing up for the Ulstermen'.
Rugby internationally is played by Ireland – all 32 counties of it – and I as an Ulster Prod have stood in Lansdowne Road and Croke Park and sung Amhrán na bhFiann with the best of them. I have also followed Ireland and Ulster to all part of the British Isles and beyond (I know Jude won't like to see the word British here but it is a fact of geographical life that Ireland is part of the British Isles, whatever he may think).
People urged to take to streets
LOCAL people been asked to come out and show their support for veteran West Belfast republican Marian Price this weekend at a special march and rally organised to highlight her plight. The rally comes as the 58-year-old's health continues to deteriorate as she is held in isolation at Hydebank Women's Prison despite having been granted bail on charges brought against her – a situation described by local republicans as internment.
Anniversary vigil will commemorate massacre dead
A vigil to mark the 39th anniversary of the New Lodge Six massacre when six local people were killed by the British army will be held tomorrow night (Friday).


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Human behaviour and its effect on BIM implementation
Human behaviour can have both positive and negative effects on how BIM is implemented within different types of organisations.
There may be a need to explore how BIM training is factored into an organisation and how team members are engaged with continuous professional development on an ongoing basis.
We behave as we do for various reasons. Here, we look into two factors: personality and rules.
Humans behave as they do because of personality traits whether learned or innate. Arnold (1960) categorises personality into five distinctive dimensions abbreviated as OCEAN.
Openness to experience
People who report themselves to have high levels of openness to experience tend to like working with ideas and possibilities (as opposed to established methods), and they are ready to re-examine their attitudes and values.
People who report themselves to have high levels of conscientiousness tend to describe themselves as being highly organised and thorough in their approach to tasks, implying a desire to do things well.
People who report themselves to have high levels of extroversion tend to describe themselves as outgoing, gregarious, lively and sociable.
People who report themselves to have high levels of agreeableness tend to describe themselves as being helpful to others and mindful of others' feelings, and as preferring cooperation to competition. This typically manifests itself in behavioural characteristics that are seen as kind, sympathetic and cooperative.
People who report themselves to have high levels of neuroticism tend to describe themselves as prone to worry and self-doubt, and being highly affected by their emotions in stressful situations'.
The second factor why humans behave as they do is down to the attempt to meet rules set before them in a society or organisation.
'Human behaviour is largely constrained by the rules that govern particular situations and environments. We are constantly obliged to behave in a particular way, or to avoid certain behaviours. These rules may be formal regulations such as laws, or they may be informal rules of 'social etiquette', which are not written down but are implicit within the situation itself.'
This behaviour is commonly demonstrated in institutions and organisations where everything has to be done in a particular manner. This could be for the purpose of fairness, creating a basis for settling disputes or promoting discipline and productivity among workers.
Your task
Why should architecture engineering and construction organisations prioritise their understanding of human behaviour when implementing BIM?
Using the Human Behaviour and OCEAN table resource PDF document below, complete what you think would be examples of the positive and negative effects of behaviours when implementing BIM into an organisation.
What measures can be put in place to address negative human behaviour before it halts the implementation process?
Arnold, M. B. (1960) Emotion and personality. New York, NY, US: Columbia University Press.
Burgess, C. (1999) Breaking the Rules: Why do People Behave in the Way They Do? [online] available from https://people.exeter.ac.uk/cnwburge/pages/Rule-breaking.html [1 August 2018]
© Coventry University. CC BY-NC 4.0


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FREE Express Post shipping
for all Australian orders*
(*over $85. Orders under $85 will be sent via priority or registered post)
LOVENCHERISH jewellery is very excited to announce that we now have a computerised engraving service so you can choose to have your keepsakes either ENGRAVED or HAND STAMPED.
jewellery by LOVENCHERISH
Custom made, personalised and hand stamped jewellery in precious metals to tell your story, celebrating your life and loves.
Hand crafted
Each piece of LOVENCHERISH jewellery is unique, lovingly hand crafted, each letter individually hand stamped one at a time.
Your memorable moments can be hand stamped forever in exquisite personalised custom made jewellery to love and cherish and wear close to your heart always.
Custom made gifts for Men, Women, Children, Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Friends, Teachers and Collegues.
Add your names, birth dates, anniversaries, quotes, words of love, encouragement or inspiration, whatever you like really....the options are endless.


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Cardi B's 'Bartier Cardi' is Here: Listen
December 22, 2017
By Hayden Wright Cardi B's banner 2017 culminated in GRAMMY nominations for Best Hip-Hop Song and Best Hip-Hop Performance — but she's not done yet. Today, the record-breaking female MC dropped "Bartier Cardi," her latest bid for chart success and another infectious party song. 21 Savage supports the "Bodak Yellow" singer on her new single. Related: Cardi B Talks Christmas Shopping, Bacardi & Offset on 'Fallon' On the track, Cardi boasts about her bedroom exploits with her fiance, Migos rapper Offset and 21 Savage chimes in with some provocative suggestions about things to do with hot sauce. "Bartier Cardi" is the perfect last-minute addition to your New Year's Eve playlist. Check out the explicit track now at Radio.com.


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Wine Spectator Score
Submit a Critic ScoreClose
|Exel wines
£4.28 375ml
|Vino Paraiso Wine Store
|USD 13.95 $13.95 750ml
Fonseca Bin 27 Porto NV
Member Reviews for Fonseca Bin 27 PortoAdd your review
An everyday/evening Port, enough complexity to enjoy and make interesting.
This wine caught me completely off guard. Having never had a Port before, I'm thinking I picked a good one. The nose is amazing with beautiful complexity. It's a bit heavy on alcohol on the nose but it never comes through on the taste. Certainly decanter or aerate this baby. The taste will knock you back if you're not ready. Cherry, cedar, chocolate and everything amazing comes through in this. Not great by itself, but it will pair well with a great deal of food. Certainly a great one for friends and a meal. Bring this one with you for the holidays.
Five glasses
External Reviews for Fonseca Bin 27 Porto
One of the big brands in Reserve Ports, Bin 27 is long and well established. So it's good to report that it is great wine, with sweetness and balancing acidity and fruit. Soft and juicy it is ready to drink, but there are structure and flavors of dried raisins to give it some aging potential. - R.V.
Full, rich and fruity wine, enticingly aromatic, with strawberry fruits and an easy, just tannic edge. The wine is soft, ripe, the fruits finely balanced with acidity. Wine Enthusiast. A Port wine from Douro in Portugal. N.V. Fonseca Finest Reserve Bin 27 Non Vintage 750ml
Fresh and grapey with plenty of grip and power behind dark plum chocolate and berry flavors that feature slate and pepper notes. Drink now through 2020. -KM Wine Spectator.
Fresh and grapey, with plenty of grip and power behind dark plum, chocolate and berry flavors that feature slate and pepper notes. Drink now through 2020. -KM Wine Spectator. A Port wine from Douro in Portugal. N.V. Fonseca Finest Reserve Bin 27 Non Vintage 750ml
Full rich and fruity wine enticingly aromatic with strawberry fruits and an easy just tannic edge. The wine is soft ripe the fruits finely balanced with acidity. Wine Enthusiast.
Fonseca Bin # 27 Vintage Character Port NV and all other wine from Fonseca are available at discounted prices at CheaperCigars.com. We also carry many other premium lables from Portugal and all over the world.
Fonseca Bin 27 was created over a century ago for family consumption, and only released commercially in 1972. It is produced primarily from wines from Fonseca's own quintas in the Cima Corgo and thus shows an exceptional quality and consistency from year to year. Blended from reserve wines selected for their superb fruit character and depth of color, it's well-knit structure, rich, velvety full body and luscious blackcurrant and cherry flavors, also dominant in the bouquet, finish on an intense, lingering note. - Winery
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Food Pairings for Fonseca Bin 27 Porto
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Toiling in the High School ranks as a Career Assistant
Assistant Coaches in the NFL are portrayed as nomadic journeymen going from team to team and city to city plying their trade as teachers of the game to young men who are just as eager to make it to the pinnacle of their game as players as they are as coaches.
Assistant coaches at that level go from jobs in the NFL to jobs at major college schools and back. There really is no difference as far as furthering their careers go. The major college assistants know as much about their trade as the guys in the pros do. The stakes may be higher depending on your perception but not mine. The money being made in the NFL and the money being made at the top levels of college football is just about the same as far as the average fan is concerned. They're both making much, much more more than the guy sitting at the corner bar will ever make and he really doesn't care if one makes more than the other. He just wants to see good football no matter which stadium it's played in and they're playing in the same stadiums more and more these days.
An article in USA Today listed the salaries of Assistant Coaches in college football and the highest paid assistant was that of Will Muschamp, Defensive Coordinator at Auburn University until he was hired as Head Coach at South Carolina in December. His listed pay was $1,600,000. A guy by the name of Joe Bob Clements at Oklahoma State was the 200th highest paid Assistant at $347,288. Not bad for a year's work. Muschamp, by the way, doubled his salary when he took the helm of the Gamecocks.
But what about the Assistant Coach who toils at the High School level? What is his motivation to stay on the job for 20 or 30 years or more. It certainly isn't the money. That much is obvious. The typical salary for a Head Coach in the Philadelphia Catholic League is around $5,000 and it goes down from there for the Assistants. Continue reading


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'Extremely dangerous' Abbeyleix road
A ROAD in Abbeyleix has been identified by local councillors as needing "urgent repair before a major tradegy takes place".
Councillor John Joe Fennelly was speaking at the Borris in Ossory electoral area meeting recently and identified The Tiles on the Portlaoise Road in Abbeyleix, where he said children have to leave the footpath.
"One day there will be a child knocked down, it is extremely dangerous, it has to be done".
Senior executive engineer Michael Malone said that the NRA have inspected the road and it is "actively being considered". He said that he provided a representative from Abbeyleix Tidy Towns with a cost estimate and solution. He added that putting traffic lights there at the moment would mean closing a lane of traffic.
Cllr Marty Phelan was also anxious to see the repairs completed. "It is going on too long, and its too dangerous, you may do something". He was told by Mr Malone that he would welcome any information on getting funding for the repairs.


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Have you ever walked into a room and been overwhelmed by that pungently sickly smell of air freshener. It always makes us wonder if the ingredients that are used in them are actually worse for you and the environment than the smell that someone was trying to hide...
We found this great post from Kimberley Sniders blog about what chemicals are in air fresheners and 10 great natural alternatives to make make a room smell fresh!
You can visit the post by clicking on the following link -http://kimberlysnyder.com/blog/2012/03/10/the-danger-of-air-freshener-and-10-alternatives-for-a-great-smelling-home/
We hope you enjoy the read!
The team at Ha-Ra


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Q&A with NBCU's Gallent: 'Out of That Concern for the Economy is Where 'Green' Takes Hold'
Today kicks off Earth Week (Earth Day is on Friday), and to get in the eco-friendly state of mind, we spoke with Janet Gallent, head of insights for NBCUniversal's Green is Universal initiative. The group just published the results of its poll "Green in the Economy II," a follow-up to the first iteration of this study conducted in 2009, which looks at consumer sentiment about going green and sustainability.
This year, reuse and recycling is the theme for Green is Universal's Earth Week activities, demonstrated by the "Art of Reuse" contest that's happening now with Etsy. Findings from the initiative's recent study show that recycling is a priority for consumers.
This follow up poll found an eight point increase in the brand loyalty category, with 68 percent of respondents saying it's worth paying a little extra for a green product if it's a brand they trust. Ninety-three percent of respondents said it's their "personal responsibility to take care of the Earth," 90 percent of respondents said companies have a responsibility to "protect the environment," and 77 percent said they think more favorably about "companies that promote environmental causes."
Green is Universal conducted an online survey of 1,647 adults 18 years of age and older in the U.S. who are members of the NBCUniversal Contemporary Consumer Panel between February 25 and March 8, and another 844 U.S. adults from the panel between March 9 and March 14.
Below, we talk with Gallant about the results and why going green isn't a fad despite the concern over the economy.
What is the most significant finding from the research?
What was exciting about the research was we went back into the field with the same study two years later and found some significant differences. An eight percentage point rise is a very significant one and we found it in terms of consumers embracing green in brands they trust.
Another significant finding – and it makes sense in terms of where we are in the new consumer mindset – is consumers are saying increasingly that green consumerism is a way to shop with your values and ethics. And we do see that values and ethics are being brought into the marketplace more than ever before.
The other significant increase is [consumers] are putting their money with their mouth is. We found an increase in boycotting; an increase in the people who have said that in the past year they have boycotted a company whose policies and practices they don't like as it relates to the environment. So what we've been saying and what is very much the case is there's so much more upside for companies that embrace the environment and help the consumer to do their part.
We also found an increase in recycling activity as a result. Six out of 10 said their recycling bins were more full than their trash bins. And nine in ten said companies have that responsibility too.
There were predictions that with the recession, the enthusiasm for all things green might subside. To what do you attribute the fact that consumers are still so concerned with the environment?
To put it in perspective, the economy is really the number one concern. But out of that concern for the economy is where "green" takes hold. This issue of not being wasteful, of taking active steps toward conservation, the ethics and thrift, it comes out of the economy. Consumer behavior is rooted in the new consumer as a result of the new economy. There are things that companies can do to leverage the consumer mindset that's coming out of this economy. Part of our study examined what consumers are looking for in products and many of these qualities are inherent in "green": they're willing to pay more for durability, high quality, convenience, health and wellness, safety, and cost savings.
You touched on trust in your first response. Are consumers looking to trust in the companies themselves? In the brands? Where does the trust lie?
They're looking for companies that they trust are reputable and true to their words. What we found in 2009 and continued in 2011, eight in ten consumers are still concerned about greenwashing. So if you're going to make a green claim, you have to be transparent. If it's a brand they know and trust that gives you a leg up. At the same time consumers are going to be skeptical about green claims, or at least some green claims, if they don't have that trust.
[The image above is a portion of an infographic that can be seen here in its entirety.]


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Visage/Stockbyte/Getty Images
Flyaways are a common enemy for most hair types, but especially for curly hair. With its extra volume and bounce, curly hair is particularly susceptible to frizz, flyaways and breakage. To combat these ailments, there are a number of steps you can take to keep your curls lustrous, strong and flyaway-free.
Get a trim to remove unhealthy split ends that lead to further breakage and flyaways. Depending on your hair's condition, you may need to trim more than a couple of inches. Get a trim every four to six weeks to keep split ends under control.
Wash and condition your hair every two days. Daily washing can dry out hair, causing breakage and flyaways. When you do wash, use a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, and use cool water for the final rinse to close the hair shaft and fight snags.
Detangle wet hair with a leave-in conditioning spray. Apply sparingly around the root area and comb out tangles from the ends upward with a wide-toothed comb. Apply a smoothing serum to wet strands once tangles are removed.
Blow-dry hair on a low heat and speed setting. Dry the roots first, gently finger-combing and blowing in the direction of hair growth. Once the roots dry, attach a diffuser to your blow dryer, flip you head over and slowly push the diffuser up, collecting hair in it toward the scalp and pulling it out as you dry.
Rub a dime-size amount of styling gel or wax between your palms to get an even glaze, then run hands over the ends of your hair to coat. This will help prevent flyaways and keep hair sleek. Finish your style with a light coat of medium-hold hairspray.
Apply a warm oil treatment to your hair weekly. Warm the oil according to the directions and apply to wet hair. Wrap clear plastic wrap around your head while the oil sets to help infuse hair with the moisture-booster.
- Visage/Stockbyte/Getty Images


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Kitchen helper
In this position, you're responsible for receiving and placing merchandise, as well as preparing certain foods (barbecue sauce, coleslaw, etc.). At rush hour, you'll help prepare meals by working on the production line.
You'll also make sure the outlet and all equipment are clean, following the company's work standards as they appertain to hygiene, cleanliness, health and safety. You'll get comprehensive training to develop your competencies and progressively learn certain tasks of the broiler chef (cooking fries, cutting chicken, etc.)
If you have initiative and are dependable, you can go far with us!
Requirements :
- Experience as a kitchen helper (an asset)
- Being a team player
- Being fast and energetic


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Thought: If I had millions of dollars, I'd be an incredibly generous person.
I'm sure you've heard this kind of talk, especially when the jackpot swells. Wealth does indeed allow people to be generous and helpful. My problem with this rationale, however, is that we should think more money makes us more generous persons.
Now I don't doubt that there are many who have respected their fortune by carefully weighing the responsibility of managing it—and have become more generous due to a new appreciation for wealth's power. And there are those who have purposefully and creatively used earlier hardship as the impetus to empower others less fortunate.
These kinds of people underscore a process of building virtue and have understood that to be reckless with wealth is to disregard the noble prospects it is capable of producing.
But to assume that abundance directly translates into abundant virtue…well Jesus would quickly disagree with us.
Asian Hospitality
Let me tell you about a wonderful encounter of hospitality I had.
I was a teacher in Japan and decided to spend my first vacation in Tokyo. My American co-worker (and college mate) grew up there and was going to visit family; he asked me to come along. Lodging for me was arranged with a Christian family who gladly agreed to house me.
I was shown incredible hospitality. The entire upstairs loft belonged to me, and my host pre-stocked the refrigerator there with every imaginable treat. My clothes were washed, ironed, folded, and delivered daily. Meals were prompt and the matron's sister baked and sent over exquisite breads for us. I was insisted upon to use the home phone to call and chat with my family back in the U.S. And despite the language barrier, we enjoyed the presence of Christ together in devotions after meals.
My friend had decided to join me the second day. Those he visited were elderly, so he opted to lodge with us and use his fluency to help us all communicate. When it came time for our departure, the patriarch handed each of us an envelope that, to our astonishment, contained almost $200 to pay for our train home—and a trip to visit them again.
Cultivated Hearts
This kind of hospitality, which I bumped into regularly as a gaijin (foreigner), is extreme by American standards. Obviously, it's largely rooted in Japanese and Southeast Asian culture, but that lends to what I attempt to convey here. (And I should again emphasize and beg you to consider, to my point, the authentic faith I witnessed in this home.)
To think that wealth, newfound or otherwise, makes us more generous individuals really is to deceive ourselves. If you missed the point the first time: the heart must be cultivated this way.
I hope you go out of your way to accommodate others, really. But the level of generosity I described—let's face it—isn't quite American, culturally, for reasons I cannot explain now. When you go on vacation, is it imperative that you return bearing gifts for co-workers to show you were thinking about them? No, you hightail it outta the office just to get away from them jokers!
Gifts of the Heart
Let me be concise. I'm not convinced by wealth-induced "sudden generosity" because abundance has very little to do with virtue. Folk who have nothing but are truly generous people will share the little they have with others in need without a second thought. Did we clearly hear Jesus's proposition—"Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions" (Luke 12:15). Real generosity doesn't need wealth.
After observing the rich give their offerings and a widow place two copper coins in the temple treasury, Jesus turns to the disciples and says, "They all (the rich) gave out of their wealth," meaning their gifts were inconsequential to what they possessed and were easy to offer. For all their abundance and the pride they derived from it, they possessed little spiritual wealth that begged of sacrifice and unadulterated devotion.
But this widow "out of her poverty, put in everything she had"—two paltry coins—and so confirms my point here.
More posts on this topic: The Perils of Covetousness, Living with Simplicity, and Why Do the Wicked Prosper?


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« I'm Skeptical But Intrigued By AFT Initiative, NEA Report | Main | The Accountability Plateau, Double-Standards, and the Defense of Sloth »
The Phantom Menace
When it comes to the question of for-profits and American education, there's often more hysteria than analysis. Just this weekend, the New York Times published an extensive, shall we say, selectively sourced attack of for-profit venture K12 Inc. piling atop a similar piece a few weeks back by the Washington Post and other "the profiteers are coming!" exercises in The Nation and elsewhere. To engage in a bit of poetic license, when they look at for-profits, these journalists (and the experts that they quote) see Darth Vader.
Sure, there are valid and sensible concerns about the role of for-profits in schooling. But aggressively recruiting clients and cutting corners to make a buck is the flip side of the things that for-profits are uniquely positioned to do well--which is to squeeze cost structures, find new efficiencies, and rapidly scale. Whether for-profits do these things constructively or not is more about the rules and the marketplace than anything else. Consequently, when I see for-profits, I see not Darth Vader but the young Anakin Skywalker--a still-developing adolescent capable of doing great good or great harm.
I was flashing on this as I read Ben Wildavsky's new white paper, "Crossing to the Dark Side?" Wildavsky, a journalist, senior scholar in research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation, and author of The Great Brain Race, interviewed a number of educators who have worked at both for-profit and traditional providers in higher education. Now employed at for-profits, the interviewees had previously worked as professors, deans, and presidents at institutions including Northwestern, UC-Berkeley, University of Minnesota, the University of Texas system, Princeton, University of Wisconsin, and so on. (Full disclosure: Ben penned the paper for my AEI series "Private Enterprise in American Education.")
First off, in a finding that may slightly help those who fear for-profits, Ben finds that "many interviewees were quick to acknowledge legitimate concerns over quality in the for-profit sector." Indeed, as Peter Smith, senior vice president for academic strategies and development for Kaplan Higher Education and founding president of Vermont's statewide community college system, told Ben, "I hold no favor for some of the abuses that have been discovered across the board--they're wrong; they're disgusting; they shouldn't happen."
Complicating the Darth Vader caricature of for-profits, however, is Ben's noting that the traditional and for-profit sectors have more in common than many accounts might suggest. He writes, "Notwithstanding the built-in differences between for-profits and not-for-profits on such core matters as faculty control of the curriculum, more structural similarities exist than outsiders might imagine...This is not a coincidence...because such structure and internal processes are needed to comply with accreditation requirements."
Ben also flags some of the potential strengths of for-profits. With regards to trial and error, and to measurement, he writes, "For-profits are much more entrepreneurial when it comes to creating courses, testing new modes of curriculum or instruction, and using data to measure learning outcomes and the quality of teaching. They are also much quicker to respond to market incentives to scale up a set of courses or add instructors... Harold Shapiro, former president of Princeton University and the University of Michigan, says this emphasis on responding to employer demands is a philosophical dividing line between traditional and for-profit higher education. 'In elite higher education, you think you know what people need, so you produce that. You're not out there asking firms or consumers, 'What do you want?'... Whereas at a place like DeVry, which is much more focused on career education, management is out there all the time talking to businesses, asking 'What do you want?'"
Regarding the role of faculty, Ben writes, "The primary duty of for-profit faculty is teaching, not research, which represents a huge departure from many research institutions." As such, Ben notes that, "[For-profit] faculty are evaluated much more systematically than in traditional higher education." This stands in contrast to the way many traditional institutions evaluate their faculty, said Thomas Boyd, dean of Kaplan business school and former associate dean of CSU Fullerton business school. At CSU Fullerton, Boyd recalled, "'It was sort of a protocol that you had to walk on eggshells when you talked about what they were doing in their classroom. Of course you couldn't go into the classroom and observe a professor. You could ask their permission, but you couldn't drop in on classes. That was considered very inappropriate, to watch how they were teaching.'"
When it comes to practical instruction and student support, Ben points out, "One reason among others that tenure is unheard of in for-profit colleges is that many of them hire working professionals or retired college instructors to teach courses whose emphasis is relentlessly practical. When Jorge Klor de Alva was putting together his vision for the University of Phoenix, he said having faculty with roles in the working world was crucial. 'We wanted practitioners,' said Klor de Alva. 'We used to say that you were teaching in the evening what the students would be able to apply to their workplace in the morning.'"
As for the takeaways, I think Ben's summary nails it. He writes, "To sum up, the lessons that for-profits can teach the rest of the postsecondary world begin with flexibility and speed. Institutions closely attuned to the practical needs of consumers, defined to include both students and prospective employers, can change course quickly when market demand for a particular vocational specialty changes...No doubt the for-profit nature of institutions like the University of Phoenix has contributed to some of their problems: heavy pressure for fast growth and profits, an emphasis on enrolling students quickly, and incentives to capture a growing pool of federal aid without accompanying incentives to ensure that students' future employment prospects are as strong as promised."
Sounding a lot more attuned to the mundane realities than do the spooky conspiracy theories that often pass for coverage of for-profits, Ben concludes, "For all their flaws, for all the dismaying practices and bad actors that continue to be associated with the [for-profit] sector, their innovative characteristics are well worth studying. The observations and experiences of those interviewed for this paper suggest that traditional colleges and universities will be badly mistaken if they assume that the travails of for-profits today mean that profitable lessons cannot be drawn from their successes to date--and those likely to occur in the future."
Now, for what it's worth, I think this is a far more useful take on the whole for-profit question than the histrionics that we're accustomed to.


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"Should I take Company A's job offer or Company B's? Man, Company C's offer is nice, too. Google, help me! Make important life decisions for me!"
That's the type of scenario that one of Google's co-founders dreams of. One day, he wants Google to have enough of your personal information so that the search engine will, essentially, be able to give you important advice based on the database it's compiled about you. "One day" is still a ways away, however, as Google's database has about five years to go before it reaches that level of sophistication.
The ultimate goal is to make your search experience so personalized that Google can turn around to advertisers and say, "Look, we know Biggs loves to pop balloons. How about, when he searches for 'fun time,' we sell ads for your 'Alone Time' brand balloons?" Such specificity would command a handsome premium.


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NEW guidance on Outdoor Learning, Assessment and Senior Leadership.
ASE Education Group
<p>Cut iceberg lettuce oxidises and this causes a pink discolouration of the leaf.
Chilled Education
Support pupils to explore uses of copper in the home interactively. Copper is essential to modern living.
Copper Development Association
This resource looks at the processes involved in modern bronze sculpture for thousands of years.
Copper Development Association
How a relevant and meaningful science curriculum was developed at a school for young people with autism spectrum disorders.
Di Stead
Diana Hudson
By looking into provision for learners with identified special educational needs we can learn more about how to meet individual children's needs an
Dr Leigh Hoath
Touch-initiated reaction of nitrogen triiodide as a template for activation energy classroom discussions
Activation energies form an energy barrier to a chemical reaction taking place. Simple collision theory, i.e.
Duncan Short
In this activity children use the exciting space mission to understand the concept of orbits and to link this to their understanding of gravity.
Felix Levinson
It is commonly accepted that practical work is an essential part of studying science.
Helen Darlington
A guide for survival in school science departments!
Helen Harden
Our aim is to LISTEN to ASE members and ACT on concerns in a way that SUPPORTS members to empower students, including low attainers, to learn scien
Helen Harden


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This article is about the Hasegawa's 1/72 scale model of the RF-4C Phantom II fighter jet. It took six years … More
Tag: scale modeling
Academy MiG-21MF Fishbed in 1/48 scale
The Vietnam War has been one of my greatest inspiration for scale modeling. Not taking any sides, all my models … More
Bandai X-Wing Episode IV-VI, in 1/72
Introduction A buddy of mine came to me early in December and asked whether I could help him build his … More


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When Noah's buddies were hassling him about building a boat in the middle of the desert it must have been hard to carry on with the construction. Finishing the boat was the right thing to do though.
The right time to get ready for problems that may come your way is before you need to. Most of the time you don't know what those problems are going to be, and for those sorts of problems, you need an emergency fund.
Spending less than you earn is boring, but it's the solution to your basic financial problems. Unpredictable events happen, and that's why you need an emergency fund. Typically 3-6 months of expenses is a good number to shoot for.
Keep this in a high interest savings account. Someplace removed from easy access so that you won't be tempted to spend it, but not someplace locked away where you can't get your hands on it on short notice. The emergency fund will help you ride out the unpredictable problems that life will throw your way.
The predictable problems we face are something else entirely.
Suppose you were able to predict that you want to retire someday. At that point you're going to need to spend your savings. The smart move would be to put money away so you have something when you need it.
Suppose you were able to predict that fossil energy was going to be scarce and expensive in the future. The smart move would be to transition the entire economy away from fossil fuel as quickly as possible. Jobs in fossil energy would turn into jobs in clean energy.
Suppose you were able to predict that anything more than a two degree Celsius change above preindustrial levels would be catastrophic to the biosphere. The smart move would be to avoid that change, especially when it is shown that business as usual is more costly than taking action to solve the problem.
Keep an eye on Canada's involvement in global climate change talks, and see if Canada's position, which is drawing international scorn, speaks for you. We've lost our chance for 'before we need it' international action on climate change. The scientists are terrified. We need action now.


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Carlisle Interconnect Technologies
Carlisle Interconnect Technologies is one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of high performance wire and cable including optical fiber. We are also experts in the design and production of harsh environment interconnect products such as contacts, connectors, cable assemblies, installation kits, ARINC trays, racks and shelf assemblies.
The Carlisle Interconnect Technologies story goes back to 1940, when Henry Dudley Minich organized what was then known as Tensolite. At first Carlisle Interconnect Technologies consisted of a research laboratory employing 6 people in an old converted house at 7 Hudson Street in North Tarrytown, New York. While in the Hudson Street location, investigations into the properties and commercial possibilities of various plastics and synthetic fibers were carried out. The initial emphasis was on such products as yarn, bristles, surgical sutures, decorative cords, ribbon and plastic textile sheeting.
In 1944, the first venture into the insulated wire field occurred when the Department of Defense awarded Carlisle Interconnect Technologies a contract for the manufacture of electrically heated gloves and flying suits for Air Force pilots. After World War II, work with insulated wire was continued. Two of the most successful products being hearing aid cordage and flexible phonograph tone arm wire.
By 1950 it had become evident that a concentrated effort was needed in miniature wire insulation, particularly synthetic materials possessing high electrical resistivity plus such characteristics as flexibility, compactness, light weight, resistance to abrasion, temperature extremes, and corrosive chemicals. In April of 1950 the Tensolite Insulated Wire Co., Inc. was founded by Henry Dudley Minich and his son, Charles Harrison Minich, and manufacturing operations were commenced in newly acquired quarters at 198 Main Street, Tarrytown, New York. The first line of products consisted of wire with wrapped or extruded vinyl plastic insulation.
In 1952 Carlisle Interconnect Technologies entered the field of PTFE insulation and before the end of 1954 expanding operations made it necessary to acquire additional floor space which doubled the size of the Tarrytown factory. In 1960, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies (then Tensolite) became part of the Carlisle group of companies. Carlisle Interconnect Technologies continues to enjoy the support of Carlisle, which provides the financial strength and resources to allow Carlisle Interconnect Technologies to explore emerging technologies and new opportunities as they come to light.
In 1962, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies became the first company to develop a process to wrap polyimide tapes on wire to produce a tougher, lighter airframe wire. This was the start of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies''s aerospace business, which today remains one of the strengths of the company. In 1985, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies developed a unique process to extrude and expand PTFE in a continuous process. This led to a patented high-speed wire and cable insulation system that is the foundation of our RF/Microwave cable technology. In 1988, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies developed the first arc track resistant airframe wire and called it Tufflite 2000. This product is quickly becoming the standard for airframe wire safety.
As Carlisle Interconnect Technologies evolved with the markets we serve it became apparent that we needed to add to our ability to provide total interconnect solutions to our customers. Starting in 1998, Carlisle Interconnect Technologies began to implement a strategy to vertically integrate into value added cable assemblies. The focus was to provide superior high speed, high density and RF/Microwave cable assemblies to our customers. Carlisle Interconnect Technologies's strategic acquisitions provided the company with a fully integrated product line consisting of cable, connectors and cable assemblies. By virtue of our vertical integration, we can provide interconnect solutions encompassing every facet of design and production. Through a single contact, our customers can solve a variety of product needs, including unique cable configurations, custom high frequency connectors, specialized complex harnesses and complete cable assemblies of any complexity. We are firmly committed to staying on the forefront of the development of innovative interconnect solutions.
The employees of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies continue to perform pioneering work in the field of high performance wire and cable and interconnect systems. Our products are sold into the aerospace, wireless communications, optical networking, test and measurement and computer / data communications industries. Mr. Minich would be proud to see how Carlisle Interconnect Technologies has grown from the small beginnings of his laboratory on Hudson Street in North Tarrytown, New York.


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Corail and Rose Délicat : two delicate new shades of Avril Matte Lipstick pencils
By Azami - March 15, 2016
Most of the makeup I use is not organic. Avril is the first and only organic certified brand I own. I have 5 eyeliner pencils and about 5 or 6 nail polishes from the brand. I did want to try out their eyeshadow singles but I they have bad reviews and their most interesting lipsticks are often out of stock. That's why I never went further.
Some time ago, I discovered their matte lipstick pencils and I've chosen 6. Among those six shades, 2 are new colors that have just been released. Today I'm talking about those new certified organic shades : Corail and Rose délicat (Coral and Delicate Pink).
ID of the Avril Organic Matte Lipstick Pencils in Corail and Rose délicat
As of now the matte lipstick pencil range offers 10 shades from nude to flashy : Bois de rose, Rose délicat, Corail, Rose charme, Rose indien, Rose bonbon, Rouge franc, Griotte, Violine and Châtaigne (from left to right in the picture below).
The three new shades are Corail, Rose Délicat and Rouge franc, as matte as are the other 7. I'll talk about the other shades I've bought in an upcoming article : Bois de rose, Rose charme, Rose indien and Châtaigne.
I thought they were the size of the Golden Rose Matte Lipstick Crayons but they're not. They look like jumbo coloring pencils with a black cap and its name engraved on the pencil and printed on a paper on the cap. They all contain 2g of lipstick and cost €4 whatever the color is on the official Avril website. If you need a comparison made, the Golden Rose Crayons contain 3.5g and cost €3.50 on the Cookie's Makeup website. In a nutshell it's more expensive to buy the Avril pencils but they're certified organic.
100% of the ingredients are natural and 42% are organic. I think the price is alright for a product made with organic shea butter and organic jojoba oil ! They're absolutely cruelty free, made in France and you can keep them for 36 months after opening them. Oh, I guess I'll be done with them before 36 months are over !
The pencils are really creamy and smell something like wood and citruses. Funny smell and original.
Their shape make it easy to apply the lipstick and you can build up the color if you feel like it or keep it nude. These need to be sharpened and I have to admit I don't like that but you can use them 4 or 5 times before they need sharpening. They are not drying at all and I don't need to wear a lipbalm underneath. Also, the texture doesn't mark all the find lines but just the one at the center of my bottom lip. Just pinch your lips and it's gone.
If you choose to wear a lipbalm underneath, the lipstick may move around a bit and mark the lines a bit more so I recommend you don't wear any. They last at least 5 to 6 hours (yes, I started eating around this time). Avoid rubbing your lips against one another : even though the pencil doesn't mark the lines and dead skin patches, if you rub your lips together all the time, it will eventually.
Avril Organic Matte Lipstick pencils : Swatches of Corail and Rose Délicat
The Corail color is not as flashy I'd expected it to be. It has this delicate color and I think if you're not used to using warm-toned colors on your lips, it's a good lipstick to begin with. I've applied several layers on the swatches so you'd see the color to its full intensity.
The Rose Délicat color is aptly named. It's a cool-toned pale pink, an everyday nude that's perfect for fair-skinned women.
Swatch of the Avril Corail Matte Lipstick Pencil
In the left picture, I'm wearing the lipstick only on my upper lip : you can see the difference really well. In the right picture, I'm wearing the Corail lipstick on both my lips. The result is mild but I still have to get used to warm colors on my lips, given I only wear mauve or ancient pink lipsticks.
Swatch of the Avril Rose Délicat Lipstick Pencil
In the left picture, I'm wearing lipstick only in the center of my bottom lip. You can't really see the difference, it's a lighter-than-my-lips nude. A princess color, chic and delicate. If it were a tad lighter though, I would not wear it.
You can buy them off their official website : Avril Organic.
What do you think of the Avril lipstick pencils ? Tempted ?
2 commentaires
- AnonymousMarch 19, 2016 at 6:27 PM
les couleurs sont vraiment bellesReplyDeleteReplies
Je suis bien d'accord, j'en ai encore 4 j'ai hâte de vous en parler ! :)Delete


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Transcript Postdoctoral Fellow Update Session PowerPoint
Introduction and Agenda
The Collective Agreement: Who's in/Who's Out?
Hiring ("Appointments") III. Total Compensation IV. Time and Labour for Postdoctoral Fellows V.
Termination of Employment VI. Reasonable Accommodation of Disability VII. Faculty Relations Office 2
Collective Agreement between Queen's University and PSAC Local 901 (Unit 2)
• • • • • • Current Collective Agreement dates: October 24, 2013 to June 30, 2016 Significance Principal Investigator="Faculty Supervisor" "Bargaining Unit Member" Public Service Alliance of Canada, Local 901 Copy available on Faculty Relations Website at http://queensu.ca/provost/faculty/facultyrelations/Postdoc/CA.html
Collective Agreement (continued)
• • • • Who's in/Who's out?
Some obvious exclusions Interpreting Article 2.01 (a) "persons who secure their own transferable funding from external grant-funding agencies and for whom this is the sole source of funding" 4
II. Hiring ("Appointments")
• Article 12 and Appendix B (Postdoctoral Fellow Form) – All hiring must be in accordance with Article 12 – You are not obligated to post positions, but if you do post, there are posting requirements (see 12.02-12.04); there is a posting template on the FRO website – Term of appointment: appointments shall not normally be for less than 12 months where funding has been secured – Postdoctoral Fellow form must be completed (see Appendix B) • Hiring templates – Found on the FRO website; the union is to be copied 5
II. Hiring ("Appointments") (continued)
• Probationary period (Article 18) ‒ Every new employee will serve a 3 month probationary period (the first 3 full months of active employment) ‒ It is a period of time to evaluate the employees skills and qualifications and to provide the employee with feedback regarding his/her performance and suitability for the appointment ‒ Probationary period may be extended for up to an additional 6 weeks; If so, you must provide the employee and the union with 2 weeks notice of this in writing 6
II. Hiring ("Appointments") (continued)
• Term Adjunct teaching Always a separate QUFA appointment if paid from department funds.
If teaching is NOT over-and-above Postdoctoral hours, postdoc hrs and FTE should be reduced for teaching. Please contact Faculty Relations compensation unit for standard practice • Re-hire letter of appointment? Strongly recommend both a pared-down new appointment letter and corresponding datasheet.
Require both when compensation is adjusted 7
III. Total Compensation
• Article 27 and Appendix A (Wages) • Salary – Minimum ("floor") Nov 1 2013 - $31,000 July 1 2014 - $31,543 July 1 2015 - $32,174 – ATB increases – (centrally processed) July 1 2014 - 1.75% July 1 2015 - 2.00%
*** Be sure to include the increased salary in budget projections & re-hire letters ***
III. Total Compensation (continued)
– Can the salary ever drop?
With caution, yes.
For example, if a funding reduction necessitates a decrease in salary: o o o o Existing contract has to end Employee notified of revised funding available New appointment terms offered to employee New appointment letter produced for signatures 9
III. Total Compensation (continued)
• Benefits – – Dental added July 1 2014 Employer cost estimates for budgets:
Employer benefits cost estimation 2015 Single
Salary $
Compulsory employer benefit costs (CPP, EI, WSIB, EHT and PDF grant tax)
$ 3,331 Collecting for non-payroll appointments
(Life, Supplementary Medical, Dental)
$ 32,174 $ 1,651
$ 4,982 Pension (optional after 2 yrs)
$ 4,154 % $
% 10% $ 3,331 5% $ 3,705
15% $ 7,036
13% $ 4,154 10% 12%
Total: $ 9,136 28% $ 11,190 35%
III. Total Compensation (continued)
– Funding vs Salary Having reviewed salary increases and benefit costs, it should be clear that: o Funding ≠ salary o Appointment letter should state the annual gross salary, not the amount of the grant funding the fellowship o It takes a grant of approx. $40,000 to support a fellowship at the minimum salary of $32,174 11
III. Total Compensation (continued)
₋ External funding implications Pre-union: "Your fellowship is 100% funded by (fill in the blank) and therefore the University has no financial responsibility for your salary" Today: external funding ≠ no responsibility – Minimum salaries, across-the-board increases, benefit costs • If external grant does not allow for these, other sources of funding will need to be allocated to the fellowship 12
IV. Time and Labour for Postdoctoral Fellows
• Leave administration for PDFs transitions to HR PeopleSoft effective April 1,
• Process for recording time away and overtime through HR PeopleSoft is equivalent to existing processes for other staff • The Employment Standards Act requires employers to maintain accurate records of all time worked and time away taken by an employee • Collecting of vacation and sick leave balances from departments will begin later this month 13
IV. Time and Labour for Postdoctoral Fellows (continued)
• Article 13 – Hours of Work and Overtime – 37.5 hours/week = normal workweek for Fulltime Postdoc (although it is anticipated that weekly hours may be up to 50 hours) – Hours worked in excess of 162 and up to 173 in a pay period are paid a straight time – Hours worked in excess of 173 are paid as overtime or lieu time at a rate of 1.5 hours for every additional hour worked – Working additional hours (i.e. more than 162 in a pay period) requires the advance written approval of the Faculty Supervisor • Article 30 – Vacations – Vacation entitlement is based on "Completed Years of Continuous service at the beginning of the Appointment Year – see Art. 30.01
– The Employee and Faculty supervisor will make every effort to ensure that full vacation entitlement is scheduled and taken during the appointment year – Unused vacation time cannot be carried forward without the express written consent of the Faculty Supervisor • Article 31.29 - Sick Leave – Up to 6 days of paid sick leave available annually. Unused sick leave may be carried over into the next calendar year 14
V. Termination of Employment
• Ending employment during the probationary period (Article 18) – As their supervisor, it is important to evaluate their work and provide feedback during the probationary period – – "Problematic Employees" and due diligence – Communicate clear and reasonable expectations and provide them with the opportunity (time) to meet those expectations Article 18.04: Discharge on Probation – you must meet with the employee, offer them the opportunity to bring union representation and provide reasons in writing – Employees discharged on probation have no recourse to the grievance or arbitration procedure UNLESS they can demonstrate the dismissal was "exercised in a manner that is arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith" 15
V. Termination of Employment (continued)
• Ending employment during term of appointment but after probationary period ‒ Onus is on the Employer to prove "just cause" ‒ Termination after the probationary period may be grieved and adjudicated (Employee/Union does not have to establish the dismissal was arbitrary, discriminatory or in bad faith) ‒ Requires further performance management regarding their ability to do their job; any misconduct must be monitored and addressed 16
V. Termination of Employment (continued)
• Discipline, Suspension and Discharge (Article 16) ‒ Cannot discipline, suspend or discharge an employee without just cause ‒ Progressive discipline; verbal reprimand or written warning should normally precede suspension or discharge ‒ The onus is on the Employer to establish it has just cause to terminate the employee (prove that it is justified in dismissing him/her) ‒ Was there misconduct? Can it be proven? Is the nature and degree of the misconduct sufficient to dismiss the employee?
VI. Reasonable Accommodation of Disability
• Ontario's Human Rights Code • "Disability" is but one of a number of specified grounds in employment • Employer's duty to accommodate disability to the point of undue hardship • Who is the employer?
• Expectations of the party seeking accommodation 18
VI. Reasonable Accommodation of Disability (continued)
• Ontario's Human Rights Code ("the Code") is the governing legislation • The Code prohibits "discrimination" and "harassment" on specified grounds. "Disability" is one such ground • Focus on "employment"; every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to employment without discrimination because of … "disability" • "Disability" is very broadly defined 19
VI. Reasonable Accommodation of Disability (continued)
• "Disability" means: (a) any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device, (b) a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability, (c) a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language, (d) a mental disorder, or (e) an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997; ("handicap") 20
VI. Reasonable Accommodation of Disability (continued)
• An employee who is disabled has a right to have their disability accommodated; the employer has a corresponding duty to accommodate disability • Reasonable accommodation to the point of undue hardship • Reasonable ≠ perfect • All workplace parties are required to participate in accommodation, including the individual seeking the accommodation • Some resources: – Return to Work Services ext 77818 – Faculty Relations Office 21
VII. Faculty Relations Office
• Part of the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic) • Advice and services to the University with respect to academic staff, including faculty, librarians and archivists, adjuncts, clinicians, TA's, TF's, Postdoctoral Fellows, and Senior Academic Administrators 22
VII. Faculty Relations Office (continued)
• • • • • • • • Dan Bradshaw, Associate Vice-Principal (Faculty Relations)
613-533-6000 ext. 77522
Dan McKeown, Associate Director, Faculty Relations
613-533-6000 ext. 78286
Jada McNaughton, Senior Labour Relations Advisor
613-533-6000 ext. 78746
Monica Stewart, Coordinator, Faculty Recruitment and Support
Ian Bearman, Specialist, Academic Compensation
613-533-6000 ext 78287
Linda Horton, Specialist, Academic Compensation
613-533-6000 ext 74361
Jackie Cleary, Faculty Relations Analyst
Amanda Curran, Assistant to the Associate Vice-Principal (Faculty Relations)
613-533-6000 ext. 79532


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The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion presents Rebirth After the Holocaust: The Bergen-Belsen Displaced Persons Camp, 1945-1950 at Cincinnati Museum Center from March 19 through April 29.
The photo-documentary exhibition illuminates the often-overlooked history of survivors in the years immediately following their liberation from the Nazis. Bergen-Belsen, a wartime concentration camp, became the largest displaced persons (DP) camp in Germany, making it the center of Jewish political and social activity among DPs in the British zone of occupation.
"This exhibit depicts an inspiring chapter in Jewish history," says Dr. Racelle Weiman, director of the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. "After experiencing the devastation of the Holocaust, survivors quickly mobilized to take charge of their lives. This is a unique example of the successful struggle for Jewish and human rights."
Rebirth After the Holocaust begins with liberation when British soldiers encountered tens of thousands of camp inmates suffering from starvation, typhus, and tuberculosis. Yet within three days the Bergen-Belsen survivors had elected their own self-governing Jewish Committee and soon after formed the Central Jewish Committee of the Liberated Jews in the British Zone of Germany. The Committee lobbied the British on behalf of political, social, and cultural causes of displaced persons, including the struggle for emigration to Palestine.
The presentation highlights the flourishing press, including Unzer Shtimme (Our Voice), the first newspaper to be published by survivors, later declared illegal by British military authorities. Books and memoirs were published in Yiddish, Hebrew, German, and English, libraries were established, and survivor artists presented exhibitions of their works.
Community development is described, from religious needs to the rebirth of family life. The establishment of schools, vocational training, and provisions for health care and rehabilitation are detailed as well. The display also chronicles the survivors' earliest efforts to memorialize their murdered families and their quest for justice as witnesses in the Bergen-Belsen trial in 1945, the first military war crimes trial.
The Bergen-Belsen camp played an historic role in supporting the creation of Israel through illegal, as well as legal, immigration to the remainder of British Mandated Palestine. In 1947, the camp served as a clandestine training center for the Haganah (the Jewish military force in Palestine), preparing displaced persons for immigration. Until 1949, the British forbade any free departures from the camp.
The exhibition concludes with the camp's closing in 1950, by which time most survivors had emigrated to Israel, the United States, Canada, and other countries. It records the following 50 years of political activism, publications, and commemorative activities through which the survivors continue to demonstrate their commitment to perpetuate Holocaust remembrance and education for future generations.
Rebirth After the Holocaust was organized by the World Federation of Bergen-Belsen Associations in conjunction with the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's conference,Life Reborn: Jewish Displaced Persons, 1945-1951.
Presented in cooperation with Cincinnati Museum Center, the exhibit is located in the Collett Gallery on the rotunda level. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Docent tours are available by reservation for school groups on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion offers workshops, training seminars, professional in-service, and graduate courses in Holocaust Studies. For additional information or for tour reservations, call The Center at (513) 221-1875, ext. 355.


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Bonnie and Kent are back from a busy week at the GSMA World Congress in Barcelona. Android news was limited to the HTC Magic, but new multimedia phones debuted from Samsung, Sony Ericsson, and Nokia. On this week's Dialed In we recap all the events of the show and discuss the latest developments elsewhere in the cell phone world. And of course, we'll dish on the latest reviews and take your questions.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
Rumors of the week
Verizon iPhone around the corner? Apple to stop Micro-USB from becoming standard?
GSMA wrap-up
LG Versa rumors
Verizon Wireless announces CDM-8975
LG Watch phone to cost $1,500?
Twitter confirms: HTC Touch Pro 2 on its way
Upcoming reviews
HTC Touch HD
Samsung Byline
Samsung Hue II
Pantech Matrix Pro


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As virtual pin board aficionados, collecting beautiful images is something we love to do. But now that The Fancy has partnered with American Express, we're bringing our inspirational images to a whole new level: reality.
Pin boarding and e-commerce are together at last. Which means you no longer are restricted to gazing at your virtual bulletin board for inspiration. With the click of a button you can transform the inspiration into every day living.
As far as online sites go, The Fancy is definitely in its own category. It's transformed the fantasy of collecting beautiful images into reality, no small feat. But we're bookmarking it for a few other reasons too:
Love for Fashion Bloggers
To celebrate the new partnership, the site invited taste influencers like Kelly Framel of The Glamourai, Jane Aldridge of Sea of Shoes, and our own editorial team to hand-pick items that suit their fancy. Now you can easily follow the looks your top blogger is eyeing (and add it to your own wardrobe). Check out what we're fancying this moment in the gallery below.
Not a One-Trick Pony
The Fancy isn't limited to fashion, it's about acquiring items that suit your lifestyle. If this image of paradise catches your eye, like it did ours, you can book the entire trip with a few clicks.
For designers, it's a dream. Instead of burning the image of an accent piece to memory and scouring the shops, you can click and get the exact piece that caught your eye.
Splurge and Sale Together At Last
The site features a number of luxe items, but they also take note of sales and deals across the web. If a photo you've fancied is on sale, a tiny clock icon will pop up to let you know when the deal expires.
The Virtual Best Friend
Who doesnt 't dread buying a gift for the person who has everything? Luckily this site offers a helping hand. Just fill out a few details (who you're shopping for, price range, their likes etc.) and you'll receive an email with gift suggestions.
To celebrate the new partnership, cardholders have a chance to get a head start on their fancying: Introducing Fancy for American Express. Shop items hand-picked by the next wave of fashion directors, designers and editors. Sync your American Express Card and you could get $20 back on your next purchase on Fancy.com. Learn how now.
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by American Express via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of American Express.


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I have been living with my cousin Liz for over two years. As a whole, the living situation has been great. The house is close to where I used to work and it is in a community a very modest distance from where Lucy and Chet lived and not too terribly far from Mom and Dad's and where I play soccer and all of the other places that I find myself going somewhat frequently. I've enjoyed spending so much time with Liz; we're closer than we were before we lived together. As roommates, our neuroses are compatible and our beds are both always made. I'm glad that I can keep an eye on the house and the dog when she travels for work, which is quite frequently.
But it's time for me to move out.
When I took my job last July, I knew that it meant that my time in Liz's house was limited.
Although, truthfully, I've always felt like my time in Liz's house was limited. She's a relationship person. As in, she's never not in a relationship and those relationships move quickly. As a result, I always felt that, eventually, some guy would be moving in (for a year, I thought that guy would be her ex-boyfriend Fluff) and I would be moving out. I would enjoy the living arrangements while I could.
When I started my job, I knew that the commute would get old. It requires a stretch on a highway that is forever a mess at rush hour when the weather is cooperative. In bad weather – which we have had plenty of this winter – it can be a nightmare. And it has been.
I've been gritting my teeth and putting up with it. It's beyond my control and, on most days, I can show up whenever the hell I please. So I drink my coffee and listen to NPR and try not to look at the clock. It's okay.
A few weeks ago, I got curious and plugged all of the pertinent information for my drive into a commute calculator. I don't pay Liz a ton of money to live at her house, but I'm driving 20 miles each way. When you add the cost of my commute to what I'm paying in rent, I'm not really saving any money. And, on a day with a snowstorm during rush hour, I could spend 90 minutes getting to work.
Living here was convenient but it isn't anymore. That's the lesson I have learned this winter.
It is time to move out.
I am ready to move out and I am ready to do it soon. I would like to get it done early this spring: before I'm busy organizing summer season soccer, before the half-marathon I'm running, before The Coach comes home, before I have to dedicate entire weekends to planning my cousin Anna's wedding shower, before a huge work project really gets rolling, before I start finalizing details for my trip to Brazil.
I would move next weekend if I could. That clearly isn't happening but I am not above wishing that it could. My head is full of everything I want and need to do – believe me, this is only the beginning of what I'm going to write on this subject – and I wouldn't mind skipping past all of it and hiring a few movers.
It has just started and I'm already absolutely done with the entire process. I just want to be home.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Housing Crisis
2 comments:
- Unknown said...
Hire the movers. You'll thank me.
- A said...
Oh hell yes. (Not this weekend but eventually, yes.) I think the best part about being in my 30s is feeling like I can and should hire someone else to deal with hauling around my shit.
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"The truth is rarely pure and never simple," wrote Oscar Wilde, a sentiment that underscores PEN/Hemingway Award-winner **Jennifer Haigh'**s ripped-from-the-headlines fourth novel, Faith, which is, at its purest and simplest level, the story of a beloved Boston priest who is accused of the unspeakable (and, by now, all-too-familiar) offense. Told from the gimlet-eyed point of view of his sister, Sheila, a woman long estranged from their devout Irish Catholic clan, this moral mystery story pursues the truth behind the accusations—and, unwittingly, opens a walk-in closetful of family skeletons. With thematic echoes of **John Patrick Shanley'**s Doubt and the atmospheric tension of a Dennis Lehane thriller, Haigh's exploration of the private aftershocks that follow a public scandal feels unusually resonant and humane. Vogue caught up with Haigh via e-mail.
What's so compelling about Faith is its emphasis on Art's family—his mother believes her son is beyond reproach, while his younger brother is intent on securing clear proof of either guilt or innocence. Sheila is far more ambivalent—she's a nonbeliever who has always struggled to understand her brother's devotion, and yet she's the only one who is able to see the truth of his character in its complexity. How did you find Sheila's voice?
I found the voice by accident. I'd never written a novel in the first person. I considered it too limiting, since it's rare for a single character to know all the interesting parts of a story. But when I read about priests suspected of abusing children, I was struck by the difficulty of proving or disproving such charges. There are rarely any witnesses. Sometimes, the only people who know the truth of the story are the priest and the child, and often neither will talk about it. The rest of us can only speculate about what went on behind closed doors. That's exactly what Sheila does in Faith. The novel is really her attempt to arrive at the truth, not merely the facts but the reasons behind them. She tries to reconstruct exactly what her brother thought and felt at critical moments, not merely what he said and did.
The crimes that rocked the Boston Archdiocese in 2002 were explored at great length in the press. What was your experience of that time, and what led you to write a novel about an accused priest?
Like many people, I was stunned. I was raised in a Catholic family, spent twelve years in parochial schools, and had extremely fond memories of my interactions with Catholic clergy. It's no exaggeration to say that nuns and priests were the heroes of my childhood, and it was impossible to square those tender memories with the grotesque things that had happened in Boston—and, as later became clear, in Catholic dioceses across the country. Faith was my attempt to explain the inexplicable, to understand what I couldn't make sense of in any other way.
What authors have been most influential to your writing?
William Faulkner, Muriel Spark, Richard Yates, William Styron, James Salter, Alice Munro. They're very different writers, and I admire them for different reasons. The common thread, I guess, is that they remind me what's possible, why I wanted to write fiction in the first place.


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Interested in downloading a Book Study Guide Lesson - they are free to download for your spiritual edification. However, we'd love to find out who you are, what church you attend, and what your interested in the study. Please email us and let us know. firstname.lastname@example.com
If you are having trouble downloading a file please Right Click and open the PDF in a new window. This should let you hit the download button.
"The Pilgrims Progress - Accurate Revised Text Edition"
by John Bunyan; Edited by Dr. Barry Horner
This Accurate Revised Text (210pp/pb) retains Bunyan's distinctive clarity of style while offering contemporary smoothness without being racy. Based upon the definitive Oxford Press text of 1960 by Wharey and Sharrock, particular attention has been given to the maintenance of the author's doctrine and purposes. A select variety of archaisms has been retained, with modern equivalent terms in brackets, since these have gained a particular quaintness and timeless quality. Chapter divisions also contribute toward ease of comprehension along with numerous classic character illustrations.
Why would Reformation Press (an imprint of Great Christian Books) publish yet another edition of the most frequently published book after the Bible itself? Well, simply, we agree with Dr. Barry E. Horner the scholar who brings us this The Accurate Revised edition, that too many versions of this classic work have been overly modernized, abridged or stripped of the gospel truths which John Bunyan labored to communicate throughout this masterful allegory of the Christian Pilgrim's life. Working from what scholars agree to be the most complete, faithful and final version of Bunyan's manuscript, Dr. Horner has judiciously crafted a modernized version which retains all the glorious and compelling doctrine that The Tinker of Bedford, (as Bunyan was called), so eloquently conveys to all who join Pilgrim in his journey to The Celestial City.
Barry E. Horner is arguably the leading evangelical scholar on the life and works of John Bunyan alive today. As a Pastor himself, he has dedicated the better part of his scholastic endeavors in the study of the literature and ministry of Bunyan. As the host of a popular seminar series on the Themes and Issues of The Pilgrim's Progress, Dr. Horner brings this classic allegory alive to audiences across the globe from the United States, to the Continent, to Australia.


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Review: 'Infamous: Second Son' for PS4
A few weeks back Melissa borrowed "Infamous: Second Son" from a co-worker; as she had monopolized our time with "Thief," the previous game she had borrowed in this fashion, I made sure to start playing right away. I've played all the way through it — it's the second PS4 game I've completed after "Knack" (and Infamous is a significantly better game than Knack), and I have to say I am enjoying it quite a bit. The game allows you to take two divergent paths — good karma or evil karma, dependent on the choices you make in the game (typically revolving around the characters you decide to kill or not kill). My first play through in normal difficulty was on the good karma path, and I've started a second play through on expert difficulty on the evil karma path.
What I like:
• This is a very pretty game. The game has an impressive draw distance, and some of the views you can get from certain vantage points in the city are just beautiful.
• I liked the characters. Delsin Rowe's a well-developed protagonist, and his brother Reggie provides a grounded balance for him. Even the game's main villain became somewhat sympathetic by the time the game wrapped up, which I thought was interesting. I'll be curious to see how the ending differs with evil karma rather than good karma.
• The control scheme is straight-forward and the game does a good job of slowly doling out your powers to give the player a relatively flat learning curve. The game is easy to control, and once you are comfortable with firing off your various smoke-powered moves you're pretty much set for the rest of the game, even through the three power shifts.
• The side missions are fun. The graffiti missions are a neat touch, and I very much enjoyed the "kill the DUP spy" missions. Neon power made these more enjoyable; oftentimes you could locate and assassinate the spy without getting close enough to trigger his flight response and start a chase through town. However, I sort of felt like the game needed one additional collectible layer to encourage exploration of Seattle's various towers and tunnels. I'll be forever spoiled by the Riddler trophies in Batman: Arkham City.
• I like that the trophies all seem obtainable if you put the time into the game to earn them. My biggest frustration with the Batman: Arkham series is the insistence on making you grind the sidebar combat scenarios to earn a significant volume of the game's trophies. I don't enjoy playing that kind of content, let alone farming it. Those side missions are entirely separate from the main game and are in no way required to progress, and as a result they have effectively walled me off from even wanting to chase the platinum trophies. Second Son isn't like that at all — you can earn every single trophy by simply playing the game. I love that. I definitely have an opportunity to have this game be my first platinum trophy, which is going to be pretty cool if it happens.
• Related to that point, the game is challenging but not difficult. It's a game that you can beat if you have some competency with video games and decide to put the time in to play it. There were two boss fights I struggled with, but that was more a matter of execution on my part than the fights being too challenging for me to complete. But in general the game seemed difficult enough to feel like I had to put effort into completing it, but not so difficult that there were points that frustrated me to a point where I was tempted to quit.
• Delsin's travel abilities are so much fun to use and the scenery for the game is so great that I essentially ignored the fast-travel option.
What I didn't like as much:
• I was hoping for more divergent play styles to emerge from the different power sources; there are some distinctions but for the most part the four different powers play essentially the same. For example, neon's only real difference from smoke is to make you a more effective sniper (which is great); video's only real difference from neon is that you move from sniper to stealth melee as a secondary way to kill enemies (which is fun but only useful situationally, and you can't stealth-assassinate heavily armored enemies); concrete is essentially the same as smoke but forces you to chain-kill your enemies so you can move from one to the next and drain them for power. Beyond those minor differences, Delsin primarily fights as a mid-range caster with some heavy-ammo abilities for taking out vehicles and armored mobs in all four power configurations throughout the game. He has melee abilities, but they are far more suited for situational use in defensive situations; Delsin's certainly not meant to be a primarily melee damage-dealer.
• Once you get concrete, if you still have side missions to complete there's really no reason to choose any of the other three power sources. You burn through your resources faster, but concrete hits so much harder and gives you a travel ability that's so significantly better than the other three powers that it doesn't make sense to not use it.
• I didn't feel that there was enough punishment for killing civilians once you went down the hero path. If there was a group of DUPs with one civilian in it, there wasn't much hesitation to using a rocket to take out the whole group and deal with some collateral damage. I didn't do this often just because I was making an effort to stay in the blue, but there seemed to be effectively no consequences for the occasional accidental killing of a civilian. I didn't want to test it too thoroughly, because it seemed like the bump you got from a busting an individual drug deal — the only way to farm good karma other than healing injured people — seemed similarly insignificant and I didn't want to see how many drug busts it would take to balance out a grip of dead bystanders.
• For me the control schemes took awhile to get used to. The timing and positioning of smoke-dashes to use the red vents for vertical travel took me awhile to figure out, and it's really only on my second play through that I can jump right into them without fumbling around and charging into the wall a couple of times before successfully finding my way into the vent.
• Enemy AI is a little weak in some places; you can bait some of the DUP troops into running back and forth between the same two cover spots which can make them easier to take out.
• You can get juggled in some of the boss fights — taking a series of repeated hits that you aren't given time to recover or move in between — which can get frustrating.
• There's effectively zero penalty for getting killed, other than whatever pull you're working on gets reset when you pop at the respawn point. At first this seems like a plus, as it somewhat emboldens you to jump into situations where you're crazily outmanned just to see if you can pull it off, but by the time you get to the second island it serves to encourage sloppy play.
• There's a dead spot in the environment in the underground lair where you confront Eugene and get the video power where the game slows to a crawl and the game freaks out a bit if you try and approach a certain video monitor.
• I wish Delsin would've had a chance to meet the DUP phone operator to whom he places the crank calls announcing he's defaced the billboards and triggering the zone-defense missions (which in general I felt were all too easy). Solid opportunity for future downloadable content there, Sucker Punch.
• The free mission that's available with the download code in the package isn't available for purchase on PSN. Since we borrowed the game, and the code had been used by the original owner, I'm unable to play that mission. I would've paid for a download without hesitation. Hopefully that'll be included in the game's inevitable DLC.
• There are exactly enough powered shards in the game for you to drain as currency for your ability tree as you need to max out your skills in all four power trees. And since you do not get concrete until you defeat the final boss, there are significantly more shards available to you than there are moves to spend them on in the first three power trees. It means you can stockpile shards until you hit the correct hero/villain level to unlock new powers and fully charge them immediately, and there are no legitimate choices to make regarding your powers. For example, while you certainly can make a decision to delay a four-shard upgrade in order to chase down one more drone and take a five-shard upgrade first, the shards are so easy to acquire that you likely wouldn't feel much of a pinch by simply taking the four-shard upgrade and then farming up five more shards in relatively short order.
The negative things are mostly nitpicks; I really enjoyed this game. It's one of the very, very few games I've ever played that I knew without question I would replay once I finished it for the first time — not only for the experience of going down the opposite karma path, but also because it's just fun to play.


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