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It is like a plague, the regular cases of reported and unreported rape in the country's mass media as well as confirmed reports from different police stations across the nation's geopolitical zones is daily threatening the essence of the society.
Rape and other sexual assaults cases are complex crimes to analyse in several parts of the world because it is rarely reported. Women in some countries rarely have their complaints recorded, due to the extreme social stigma cast on women who have been raped, or subjected to one form of sexual violence or the other and for fear of being disowned by their families.
Each day, the media and the social media are awash with weird stories of absurdity; from child defilement to the rape of both young and old women. Not even infants are safe from the evil rampage of these rapists these days. It has remained a recurring decimal across the country. Sometime ago, reports of the serial rape of elderly widows in their 70s and 80s in Opi, Nsukka, Enugu State by a band of thugs in the community shocked everyone.
Also there is the case of a 14-year-old girl who was raped by an unknown man in Agege area of Lagos and another raped inside a kiosk in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos.
There are more pathetic stories of a 24-year-old political science student of the Benue State University who raped his stepmother after he returned home from school and some men, who raped a 3-year-old and 15-year-old girl in Gombe and Taraba states, respectively. Or that of a 45-year-old man who murdered girls, aged 2 and 4, after raping them. The alarming rate at which such rape incidents are being reported without a whimper of rebuke from the authorities as a form of sanction is worrying. Sadly enough, all these reports went without prosecution or conviction. This only helps to encourage would-be rapists and child molesters.
In Lagos State alone, the Government said it recorded no fewer than 12,120 rape cases and other sexual violence matters in the last four years. And this must be a conservative figure considering unreported cases. According to the State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr. Ade Ipaye, government in the last one year also convicted about 140 sex offenders. The Lagos situation is not different from what obtains in other states of the federation. As a matter of fact, some states are deeper into rape crimes but little or nothing is heard about prosecution or conviction.
The basic truth is that many cases of rape and child abuse are actually not reported, thus making the culprits go scot-free in most cases. Even those that were reported are not prosecuted due to the attitude of parents and guardians who would prefer not to pursue the case for fear of possible stigmatisation. Most victims would rather live privately with the pain and shame of their experiences than report and risk the consequences of stigmatisation and the possibility of finding spouses.
While minors who are victims helplessly forge ahead in life with violated psyche, they are exposed to all sorts of dangers including the dreaded HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, psychological trauma and unwanted pregnancies. The odds are so many.
It is however sad to note that people prefer to suffer in silence, having been victims of such offences that have legal sanctions. The law has made provision for the prosecution of rapists and imposition of appropriate sanctions. Victims and their families should therefore be willing to come out to seek legal redress in their own interest and the society at large. The time has come for all and sundry to change their slipshod attitude towards rape and other sexually related offences.
Certainly, apart from commensurate punishment, these rapists need psychiatric help greatly to possibly rehabilitate them. However, we believe that the bulk of the work of prevention belongs to parents and guardians whose responsibility it is to protect these hapless victims, especially as the establishment has adopted a heartless attitude and unwillingness to enforce compliance with the law. Since most of these crimes are perpetrated by close family members, parents and guardians should be on the watch and not trust relatives and friends as they may eventually betray such trust.
We strongly believe that incidences of rape can be brought under manageable control with the appropriate attitude and response from government to sanction and repudiate such barbaric acts of violation. Considering that rape victims go through lifelong trauma arising from their awful experience, perpetrators deserve stiffer penalties. One way to deter rapists and reduce the crime is to pronounce tougher penalties on convicts under the law. Life imprisonment would suffice.


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We do not have apple trees at our farm - so no apple-picking, but we do grow lots of food! So come by for your groceries! SUMMER HOURS through 10/28: Tuesday through Friday 10am - 6pm* Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm *JordanMore..
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Spinach, Pear, and Gruyère Salad
Please Note: By clicking a link to any resource listed on this page, you will be leaving the KidsHealth site.
This site offers more than 40,000 free recipes, plus lots of cooking tips and information.
Food Network
TV's Food Network goes online with searchable menus and recipes, an encyclopedia of cooking terms, and ideas from celebrity chefs.
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Offering nutrition information, resources, and access to registered dietitians.
MyPlate for Moms
MyPlate for Moms tailors the USDA's food guide to suit the individual needs of pregnant and nursing women.
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children - better known as the WIC Program - serves to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, & children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.


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2012-07-12 / Events & Calendar
Last Hope Animal Rescue comedy club fundraiser Aug. 2
Last Hope Animal Rescue will hold a comedy club fundraiser, Thurs., Aug. 2 at Governor's Comedy Club, 90 Division Ave., Levittown. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Arrival is requested by 7 p.m. and showtime is at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20, all of which is donated to Last Hope. There is a two-drink minimum which can be soda, coffee, etc. They offer a full menu so come early and have dinner.
You must be an online subscriber to view this story.


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Asia stocks gain on hopes Fed stimulus to stay
HONG KONG (AP) — Markets from Sydney to Beijing rallied for a second day Thursday after the U.S. said quarterly growth may be weaker than expected, raising investors' hopes that the Federal Reserve would delay plans to wind down its stimulus program.
Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 1.9 percent to 13,081.01 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 1.5 percent to 20,648.81. South Korea's Kospi surged 3 percent to 1,836.36.
The Shanghai Composite Index advanced 1.2 percent to 1,976.15 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index rose 1.3 percent to 913.87. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.9 percent to 4,821.00. Benchmarks in New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan also rose.
The U.S. government cut its estimate for second-quarter economic growth to 1.8 percent, down sharply from 2.4 percent because of lower than predicted consumer spending.
While news of the weakness in the world's biggest economy was disappointing, it was also positive for investors, who were rattled last week after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. central bank would slow its bond-buying program if the U.S. economy continues to strengthen. That program has kept interest rates low and made stocks more attractive.
"This doesn't put a new spin on the outlook but it certainly makes one wonder all the more about the Fed's 'new and improved' outlook for 2014," economists at DBS Bank wrote in a commentary.
Benchmark oil for August delivery was up 55 cents to $96.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 18 cents to end at $95.50 a barrel on Wednesday.
In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3029 from $1.3012 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar rose to 97.76 yen from 97.74 yen.


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posted by Thom Holwerda on Mon 12th Mar 2007 17:32 UTC, submitted by anonymous
"Last week, the Gentoo project entered the lowest point of its 7-year old existence. The single most telling statement attesting to this fact is this brief excerpt from the current issue of Gentoo Weekly News. 'The following developers recently joined the Gentoo project: Daniel Robbins; the following developers recently left the Gentoo project: Daniel Robbins' Yes, this is the same Daniel Robbins who founded Gentoo Linux back in the year 2000 and who left the project in 2004 for personal reasons. He officially re-joined the Gentoo development team two weeks ago - only to resign a few days later. The reason? Strong personal attacks by some of the current developers of the project."


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Great! Now, anxiously awaiting my paycheck... darnit, 10 days to goChip wrote:You can compute it as you go from your cart. Then add or subtract as needed.
Packaging can double the weight, especially if you buy sencha in tins, etc.
Bottom line, you can get a lot of Matcha and still not exceed the weight for minimum shipping charge.
And should probably finish off some of the others that are getting low - I have a tendency to get new things and then not go back to the older ones unless they're an absolute favorite. And my boyfriend won't *BOO* as much about my rapidly growing tea collection... if it's actually diminishing, I can justify it as "running out"


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Veterans across the country are still waiting too long for medical care, a situation that drove the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki last week.
Now Republicans and Democrats in Congress are competing to pass laws they think will fix the problem of medical wait times and other problems at the VA. The discussion over how to reform veterans' health care is starting to sound familiar.
"Every debate about the VA becomes a parable for government's role in health care generally," says Phil Carter with the nonprofit Center for a New American Security.
"Efforts to improve and build the VA will run into opposition based on a desire to minimize the government's role in health care," Carter says. "Efforts to strip the VA or shift functions to the private sector will run into intense opposition from ... [members of] the vet community who believe the VA represents the nation's brick-and-mortar commitment to its veterans."
One measure now included in bills from both sides of the aisle aims to make firing and hiring easier within the VA's massive bureaucracy, something that veterans groups have been pushing for.
"We represent 2.5 million members who do not understand why the secretary of VA does not have the authority to manage his department as he needs to," says Louis Celli, legislative director of the American Legion. "If he needs to remove someone, if he needs to demote someone, he does not have that authority."
In his last public speech as VA secretary, Eric Shinseki said he had started the process of removing senior leadership at the Phoenix VA Hospital, where an investigation revealed that executives were lying about performance goals. But VA employees are federal workers and belong to a union — which makes it hard, even for a Cabinet secretary, to fire them.
A few opponents of the recently proposed legislation say it's already hard enough to lure top executives to the VA, and these bills could drive them into higher-paying jobs elsewhere.
Another private sector solution on the table is a sort of voucher system, which Sen. John McCain has been pushing since his presidential campaign in 2008.
"We need to allow flexibility for the veteran[s] to go to the place where they can get health care in the most efficient way possible, rather than these unconscionable delays," McCain has said. In a press conference Tuesday, in which he and several Republican colleagues introduced the Veterans Choice Act, McCain again stressed that point, saying, "It would empower veterans who can't schedule an appointment within a reasonable time, or who live too far from the VA, to exercise the choice of getting medical care from any doctor in Medicare or the Tricare program."
To address the crisis in wait times, the VA is ramping up a system that would explicitly allow veterans to get private care if they've been waiting more than 30 days for medical attention. Some in Congress have put forth measures to do the same. But that's something the VA already has the authority to do — in fact, in 2013 the department spent $4.8 billion on care outside the VA system.
While veterans' service organizations support many of the measures before Congress, the majority of such groups say the VA's medical care is excellent once vets get access to it. And they worry that the private sector doesn't have needed expertise.
"If you're a private health care company, are you going to spend money on research and development on prosthetics? Are you going to spend money on research on Gulf War illness? Probably not," says Stewart Hickey, the executive director of AMVETS, "because that's not a big group for you ... to make money." Hickey says politicians should beware of preaching full-scale privatization.
"You wouldn't want to be the congressman who said, 'I'm going to do away with the Veterans [Health] Administration,' " Hickey says.
After the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, the question remains how to fix the health system for veterans. One option is the private sector. The Department of Veterans Affairs is already offering more patients the choice of going outside the system. And that's reopened a debate about whether the VA should look to the market for answers. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.
QUIL LAWRENCE, BYLINE: In a civilian hospital, an executive who lied about performance goals might expect to get fired. Not at the Phoenix VA. Senior leaders there face possible criminal charges for falsifying records. But in his last public speech as VA secretary, Eric Shinseki could only say he had started the process of removing them. VA employees are federal workers and belong to a union, which makes it hard, even for a cabinet secretary, to fire them. That mystifies Louis Celli of the American Legion.
LOUIS CELLI: We represent two and a half million members who do not understand why the secretary of Veterans Affairs does not have the authority to manage his department as he needs to. If he needs to remove someone, if he needs to demote someone, he does not now have that authority.
LAWRENCE: Several bills in Congress would change that. The bills have their opponents, they say it's already hard enough to lure top executives to the VA who could find higher paying jobs elsewhere. Another private sector idea, letting veterans see doctors outside the VA system. This all came up in an unusual late night congressional hearing last week.
THOMAS LYNCH: We are going to get these veterans care in the community.
LAWRENCE: Doctor Thomas Lynch of the VA was one of the witnesses. He said the department is ramping up a system to let vets nationwide see a private doctor if they've been waiting 30 days or more. Florida Republican, David Jolly, questioned Lynch and said this sounds like more of the same.
REPRESENTATIVE DAVID JOLLY: Really, your only indication tonight is that you're just going to try harder and put a call center in Kansas, but apply the same if needed standard that already exist.
LAWRENCE: Jolly pointed out that the VA has for years been able to send vets for private care if needed, they just don't do it much. That VA plan is a stopgap measure to deal with possibly thousands of veterans affected by the wait time scandal. Arizona Senator John McCain has been pushing since 2008 for all vets to have the option of private care. He re-introduced that idea in a bill today.
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN: It would empower veterans who can't schedule an appointment within a reasonable time or live too far away from the VA to exercise the choice - I emphasize - the choice of getting Medicare from any doctor in a Medicare or Tricare program.
LAWRENCE: Some veterans organizations cautioned that spending the VA dollars on private care will leave the VA hospitals with fewer resources to help veterans. And most all the vets groups say they don't want to see these small ventures into the market lead to complete privatization. Stewart Hickey is with the group Amvets.
STEWART HICKEY: You probably wouldn't want to be the Congressman who said I'm going to do away with the Veterans Administration.
LAWRENCE: Hickey says the VA has to do things that would never make sense in the for-profit market.
HICKEY: If you're private healthcare company, are you going to spend my money on research and development on prosthetics? Are you going to spend money on research on Gulf War illness? Probably not because that's not a big group for you that you're going to make money at.
LAWRENCE: Hickey 's group Amvets does back some private-sector ideas, including the bill offered by Senator McCain. Hickey says it's important to remember, by and large veterans like the care they get at the VA, they just want to get it faster. Quil Lawrence, NPR News.
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.


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What: News conference to launch Priests for Life's unprecedented national campaign to highlight the abortion issue during the 2000 elections. The effort will kick off this week with a full-page ad in the New York Times. TV commercials coming soon…
Who: Priests for Life, an international ministry that assists clergy of all denominations to address the abortion issue. Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of the organization, will be joined by numerous Catholic priests from every region of the country, as well as members of the National Pro-life Religious Council, representing various Christian denominations.
When: Tuesday, July 18 at 1:30 PM Where: Holman Lounge at the National Press Club.


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Just Ask the Expert: What constitutes a diagnosis of separation anxiety?
Dr. Tynes welcome behavior questions from veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
Q. One of my patients is an 18-month-old spayed female Labrador mix that was in a shelter from 8 weeks of age until adopted.
The dog can be left in a car while the owner shops without exhibiting destructive behavior. When the owner visited family members who also have a dog for two weeks, the dog was fine to be left in that home with the other dog, sometimes for as long as two or three hours, without exhibiting destructive or escapist behaviors. Even if the dog was put in a separate room and the resident dog was allowed to roam freely while the family was gone, the dog in question did not exhibit any destructive behavior.
The dog does chew on things left within reach, such as shoes and plastic pill bottles, whether alone or while people are home. And the dog has never urinated, defecated, or deliberately caused self-injury when left alone. But the owner is concerned the dog will hurt itself simply by trying to climb the fence, etc.
Does this dog have true separation anxiety? The owner would like to keep the dog but can't have the dog continually trying to escape or be destructive. What options are there for this owner to keep the dog or for the dog to go to a better-fitting family?
The more easily missed (and often ignored) signs that a dog is distressed by separation from an owner—pacing, panting, salivating heavily, trembling, and whining—are often the earliest signs displayed by a dog with separation anxiety. Some dogs even begin displaying these signs when they see their owners preparing for departure, and most dogs with separation anxiety continue exhibiting these signs for 15 minutes to an hour after their owners depart.
To accurately diagnose separation anxiety, signs of distress associated with the owner's real or perceived absence from the dog must be present. Not all dogs with separation anxiety exhibit vocalization, destruction, and housesoiling; some only exhibit one or two of these signs. What is necessary are signs of anxiety or distress, and the best way to determine if these are present is to have the owner set up a video camera to videotape the dog for the 30 minutes to an hour after the owner leaves.


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Got any resolutions for 2009?
(Anyone pulling the xxxDPI joke gets an instant ban... Besides, I already used it in another forum... )
Mine is to reduce power usage for my apartment.
Last year (November 2007, when I moved in, to november 2008) I used exactly 6000KWh.
For 2009 I hope to reduce it to 5500KWh or less.


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Expressway Seeking New "Recruits" for E-ZPass
Motorists pulling up to a toll booth on the Atlantic City Expressway with cash in their hand will be getting something more than change in return. Toll collectors will be handing out applications for E-ZPass, the electronic toll collecting system that enables motorists to drive through toll barriers without stopping.
E-ZPass users avoid the delays caused by paying in cash, which is not only good for the individual motorist, who keeps moving, but also helps speed traffic for the entire roadway, said Acting Executive Director Jim Iannone. Its a classic win-win, providing roadway ease for drivers with E-ZPass and for the SJTA.
The applications will be distributed Friday through Sunday in cash-payment lanes at the Egg Harbor and Pleasantville toll plazas, Iannone added. We expect to distribute 100,000 applications during this time period, he said.
The SJTA initiative kicked off a statewide effort and was joined by the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. The three highways expect to hand out a total of 500,000 application forms. E-ZPass came to the Expressway in 1999, when it pioneered the electronic toll collection system in New Jersey.
Traffic can zip through the Pleasantville Plazas Express E-ZPass lanes at 45 mph. The Authority plans to install Express E-ZPass at the Egg Harbor Plaza, where E-ZPass traffic must slow to 15 mph. Almost half (47 percent) of all Expressway transactions are handled by E-ZPass. Two-way traffic should be about 280,000 vehicles at each toll plaza during the three-day period.
E-ZPass penetration is lower on summer weekends due to an increase in visitors (about 44 percent at Pleasantville and 38 percent at Egg Harbor).


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As Jose Dominguez unpacked his bags and reclaimed a locker in the Dodgers' clubhouse Monday, it was another reminder of what makes Clayton Kershaw so good.
Dominguez was recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque to help a bullpen that entered Monday having thrown 70 1/3 innings, second in the major leagues. The 23-year-old right-hander is fresh, having made just five appearances in 17 days.
Many of the Dodgers' relief pitchers are not fresh. That pointed, in part, to Kershaw's absence.
"Without (Kershaw) in there, in the past – I don't want to jinx anything – he's almost a guaranteed six" innings, manager Don Mattingly said.
"We've been in that bullpen pretty good so far. We'd like to get that straightened out."
Dominguez has allowed four earned runs in three appearances for the Dodgers this season. To make room for him on the active roster, Chone Figgins was optioned to Albuquerque.
Figgins made only nine plate appearances in the Dodgers' first 19 games of the season, collecting one single and three walks. He only played two innings on defense. Mattingly envisioned Figgins as a versatile utility player in spring training, and that's the role he envisions the 36-year-old playing at Albuquerque.
Why didn't we see more of Figgins in the majors?
"We've had a zillion off-days, for one thing," Mattingly said. "At the end of the day, I don't think it's going to be horrible for Figgy to get 25, 30 at-bats. We saw him get bat speed all the time, and saw the at-bats be (competitive) at-bats."
A 12-year major league veteran, Figgins had a clause in his contract with the Dodgers that allowed him to be optioned to the minor leagues without his permission. He signed a minor-league deal with the club in January and was added to the 40-man roster prior to the team's season-opening trip to Australia.
On the mend
Kershaw's time on the disabled list with a strained muscle in his back reached 23 days Monday. The clock appears to be winding down.
Kershaw will throw a bullpen session today, his next step on the road to recovery from a strained muscle in his upper back.
Kershaw threw approximately 45-50 pitches in a three-inning simulated game Sunday at Dodger Stadium. He reported no pain Monday, then backed up his extremely limited self-report by playing long toss in the Dodger Stadium outfield (above). Kershaw threw from roughly the left-field foul line to teammate Dan Haren in left-center, well in excess of 100 feet.
Neither Kershaw nor Mattingly would say what Kershaw's next step is after today. If healthy, Kershaw figures to make a rehabilitation start soon.
Single-A Rancho Cucamonga plays three straight home games starting Friday, followed by four straight nearby in San Bernardino. Triple-A Albuquerque has 12 straight home games (with no days off) starting Monday.
Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis reported no pain after catching Kershaw's simulated game. He participated in batting practice for the fourth straight day, but otherwise stayed off his feet and didn't catch any live pitching. Ellis is recovering from an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee April 7.
The 10K controversy
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Dodgers entered play Monday needing three wins to reach 10,000 in franchise history. However, the Dodgers' media guide had the club needing 16.
According to the Dodgers, the discrepancy is the club's 1899 record, listed as 88-42. The Brooklyn Dodgers actually won 101 games that season. However, the New York Giants successfully appealed to the National League following the season that 18 games were played under illegal circumstances, and the league's board of directors struck those games from the official record.
The Dodgers have submitted a document to Elias supporting their claim of 88 wins.
The Dodgers officially renamed their trainer's room after team physician Dr. Frank Jobe, who passed away in March. Jobe's widow, Beverly, and three of his sons, Cam, Chris and Meredith, were given a replica of the sign that will hang above the entrance to the trainer's room. Cam, Chris and Meredith also throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the game. … Pitcher Steve Edlefsen retired three weeks into the season with Triple-A Albuquerque. The Dodgers signed the 28-year-old right-hander to a minor-league contract out of their open tryout during spring training. He allowed 11 runs in 8 1/3 innings.


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Product code: 6706
An oval cabochon moonstone in an 18ct white gold rubover setting.
Use mild soapy water and a soft cloth to clean your jewellery
We use Royal Mail Special Delivery by 1pm and all items are insured for your peace of mind.
There is no delivery charge if you spend over £500 during an order. If your order is less than £500, a flat rate of £7.95 is applied to your order.
For International deliveries there is no delivery charge if you spend over £750, if your order is less, a flat rate of £15 is applied.
Please read more here.
When buying jewellery and gemstones we recognise the importance of being able to reassure our customers about the quality of those items. An increasing number of gemstones and diamonds have been artificially enhanced or synthesised in a laboratory. Whilst some processes are legitimate, any enhancement or treatment should be disclosed to the customer at the point of sale.
Holts Gems Guarantee
Holts Gems have been buying and selling gemstones for over 70 years.
This means that every gemstone supplied (loose or in an item of jewellery) has undergone a strict process of inspection and testing. We put our name and reputation on everything we supply, knowing that we have taken meticulous care with the process of testing. Our 70 years reputation is underpinned by you being able to trust Holts Gems level of care taken and the duty to their customers.
Where requested by you, we can also supply the following:
Test Certificate for your Gemstone
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Jewellery Insurance Valuation Certificate
We can provide a fully detailed report of your jewellery (fully specifications listed) so should you need to replace something or have it re-made you have the confidence that you have all you need in the one document.
Our Team
Our vast experience guarantees to you that our staff can advise you on almost any gemstone or rough gemstone/mineral material from the most recognised stones through to the more rare/unusual.
Our craftsmen and women take great pride in their work and are highly skilled at what they do. You will only receive your jewellery once it has been fully approved by our team of gemmologists.
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Our customer service is second to none. We will always go above and beyond to help you if we can.
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We take every care to depict our jewellery and gemstones as accurately as possible through imagery online, however colour will vary per device and screen resolution.
Images may also appear smaller or larger than their actual size in order for you to see the entire product or to see the item in better detail.
We optimise our photography for apple devices as standard.


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From Jill Kelly of Jillian Joseph Photography... If you've been to more than a handful of weddings, either as a guest or as part of the wedding party, you can most likely predict what the wedding day timeline will be and what key events will take place and in exact order. As a wedding photographer, I can tell you that many weddings, although beautiful, could be made even better if the couple infused more personality into the one day that is designed to celebrate them as a couple. My goal is to help you discover simple ways to personalize your wedding day so it reflects the real you rather than Pinterest trends.
SCENT - Think about what scents you'd like you and your guests to experience. Maybe it's a particular flower that is popular during the season you had your first date, or fresh eucalyptus because it's soothing. Scent doesn't have to be restricted to your florals either. Don't forget about the aroma of great entrees, a warm cappuccino bar, or the scent of cigars. What will your guests smell during your wedding celebration? Sweet Jasmine? Fresh Eucalyptus? Spicy Thai food? Is there a scent that is a trigger for a great memory you've shared together? Be creative.
TOUCH - You may be wondering how you could possibly incorporate a sense of touch into your wedding day, but it's really quite easy and part of a full experience. You can add texture with bamboo chairs, wood tables, linens, a handmade cotton paper invitation suite, and even your attire.
SOUND - What is more reflective of you as a couple? An acoustic guitarist who plays while everyone mingles, a live jazz band, or maybe a rock band? Or maybe you both love the sounds of an acoustic guitar.
TASTE – It's okay to incorporate dishes and appetizers that go beyond fish, chicken, or beef. It's fun to include food that's reflective of your respective cultures, or representative of the places you've traveled. Give your guests a great culinary experience that not only tastes amazing but also reflects some part of your relationship.
SIGHT – Where will your wedding celebration take place? For years, it was common to have your wedding in a church and a reception in a ballroom. And, yes, that's still done and I have seen some ballrooms transformed into spaces that will leave you speechless. But I encourage you to sit down together and make a list of different locations you both feel at home in. Will you choose a venue with the view of the city, or vineyard in California, or the mountains in Colorado, or maybe in your parent's backyard? Location definitely sets the tone for your wedding day, so don't be afraid to consult with your planner to see if a not-so-commonly used space can be chosen for your wedding.
Home is where we spend much of our time. It's often a sacred space we retreat to after a long day to relax, unwind, and entertain our friends and family in. It's one place we can just be ourselves. Take a look around your home, or your ideal home, and observe the layout. Is it minimalistic in design with lot of open space or is it cozy with several layers and textures? What types of surfaces are in your home? Sleek chrome and tile floors or distressed wooden floors and marble counters? Your home décor is typically a good reflection of your aesthetic likes and dislikes, which makes it the perfect source for your wedding day inspiration. Consult an experienced wedding designer to help you infuse these aspects into your wedding design.
How you spend your free time is an important indicator of the overall feeling you should replicate at your wedding celebration. Who says you have to have a DJ or a 7-piece band with a four-hour reception? If you and your fiancée are a bit more reserved, maybe consider having a small and intimate wedding that spans the course of a weekend where you and your guests can indulge in some of the regional attractions. For example, spend a day wine tasting and apple picking or horseback riding in the mountains. Remember that your relationship is unique and your wedding celebration should be, too. Wedding planning doesn't have to be stressful. In fact, it should be enjoyable. Don't underestimate the value that an experienced wedding planner and designer can contribute to your overall experience. However, you chose to celebrate your marriage vows, remember to celebrate each other each and every day.


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Canaccord Genuity U.S. Portfolio Strategist Tony Dwyer provided an update on the progress of Q4/12 EPS, the fundamental "sweet spot," and the tactical condition of the market.
With 14% of SPX reported at the time of his publication, 62% have surpassed reduced expectations by an average of 5%. Bottom-up consensus is currently looking for 2.6% growth versus a year ago. 68% of those reporting revenues have topped expectations, reinforcing his expectations for EPS reacceleration through 2013.
Dwyer's favored measures of Consumer Sentiment, Employment and Housing continue to trend better from historically weak levels. He refers to this as the "sweet spot" because it means the trend suggests better data coming, but not strong enough releases to bring in fear of the Fed.
Additionally, money availability continues to improve. Dwyer measures this through the strong demand and tone of Corporate Credit and Commercial & Industrial Bank Lending metrics. He remains steadfastly bullish because with the backdrop of 1) low inflation, 2) ultra-easy global monetary policy, 3) improving money availability, 4) steady economic growth, and 5) record earnings, he believes the market is far too inexpensive.
While S&P 500 (SPX) made a new recovery high and remains in a well-defined uptrend Dwyer chooses to focus more on the intermediate-term opportunity rather than the chance of a temporary correction given the strength of the intermediate-term uptrend, especially given trend in volatility. All in, while there could be a brief period of consolidation associated with a near term tactical overbought condition, his 2013 SPX target remains 1,650.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY : NYSE : US$149.37), Net Change: 0.24, % Change: 0.16%, Volume: 102,211,979


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Gadgetopia.com writes:
"You think your desktop hardware is fast, buddy? Look what sits inside this little desktop tower, just in case I have to accurately model a hurricane season or something. Note the processor count and RAM numbers.
The SiCortex SC072 "Catapult" is the personal version of the SiCortex family of revolutionary HPC computer systems. The system is a complete 72-processor cluster packaged in a whisper-quiet, low-power desk side cabinet using less than 200 watts of power. Each SC072 has a 48-GByte memory system, 2-gigabit Ethernet ports, and up to three (3) optional PCI Express cards, each operating at a peak speed of 2 GBytes/sec. The cabinet has space for up to six (6) industry-standard disk drives.
This is the desktop version of their SC5832 which is a Top500 machine running over 1,000 nodes and 8TB of RAM."
it'll be outdated in 2 months... cause thats how the pc market works :-p
anyways, 8gb of ram? wow.. highly impressive. that rig is perfect for media purposes.
Reporting this story is silly. Have you seen this? http://www.n4g.com/NewsPend...
Or this http://www.n4g.com/industry...
Or do you want me to go back further?
Shall I continue? Why does tech exist?
I thought my PC was decent with 4GB of RAM. But that thing has what, 8,000GB of RAM? What is the point of buying a machine where there aren't applications to make use of even 1% of its potential.


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Financial Affairs Forms Details
Credit Card Discount Fees and Rate Sheet
Description: Provides departments that have a designated department credit card terminal or third-party vendor with an estimate of current charges associated with credit card payments.
Last Revised On: 05/20/2011
Owner/Host: Fiscal Services
Download File: PDF
Related Forms/Worksheets:
- Departmental Cash Handling Request Form
- Departmental Cash Handling Security Policy
- Deposit Transmittal Form
- Credit Card Processing Methods - Quick Reference Chart
- Credit Card Payment Form
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Related Financial Management Operational Guideline(s) (FMOG):
Revision History:
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For technical/design issues or questions, contact the Financial Affairs Webmaster.


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KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — The leader of the Cayman Islands was released on bail Wednesday until early next year after being interviewed by police investigators for a second straight day in a corruption probe that has rocked the Caribbean tax haven.
Premier McKeeva Bush was granted bail until early February to "allow further investigations to take place both here and abroad in connection with the allegations made against him," the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service said.
No charges have been filed against the top politician in the three-island British Caribbean territory. Government ministers who met with Bush at his West Bay home have not commented about the government's plans for the future, although Deputy Premier Julianna O'Connor-Connolly said the ruling party understands the "gravity of the matter."
There has been a growing call for Bush to step down amid the investigation. In an editorial, the Caymanian Compass newspaper argued that the premier's arrest was a "national embarrassment" that will erode investor confidence.
"Mr. Bush must not only step down as premier, he must also step down from his Cabinet position because he should not be in a position to dictate national policy for the country after his arrest," the newspaper said Wednesday, a day after an advocacy group for good government called for Bush to resign.
Bush's arrest has been the talk of the Cayman Islands, where zero direct taxation, financial secrecy and global money have transformed the tiny British territory into the world's sixth-largest financial center, with roughly $1.6 trillion in officially booked international assets.
Scant details of the allegations against Bush have been publicly disclosed. Police have said only that the 57-year-old is being investigated for possible misuse of his government credit card and abusing his office and public trust by importing explosive devices without valid permits.
Wednesday's police statement said the probes into the cases allegedly involving Bush remain "very active." They said investigators seized a "considerable amount of property, including computer equipment" during Tuesday searches on the main island of Grand Cayman.
Opposition leader Alden McLaughlin told the TV station Cayman 27 that the premier's arrest was a "huge body blow to Cayman and its credibility," while some business leaders said it clearly demonstrated that the territory had robust anti-corruption practices.
Bush was arrested Tuesday morning by police at his home in West Bay, a populous district on Grand Cayman and the political leader's powerbase.
Police in the offshore finance haven revealed last April that they had been investigating allegations of financial irregularities involving Bush since late 2010. Bush has said he has done nothing wrong and called the investigations politically motivated.
Bush has been the British territory's premier since his United Democratic Party won the 2009 elections. He wields great power within the territory because he is in charge of finance, tourism and development as well as being head of government. Bush is the islands' longest serving member of the Legislative Assembly, having first been elected in 1984.
A second man who was arrested in connection with the investigations involving Bush also received bail until February, according to police.
David McFadden on Twitter: http://twitter.com/dmcfadd


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Hey all, coming off of Pismo, we've got our SS rep with a van full of kites in town for some demos this week.
Today we'll be at OB or Berkeley depending on the wind and will post which location early this afternoon. Come out and join us for some kiting and try the RPM, Rev2 or Fuel Len10 kites.


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I'm going to share my secret with you, and only you, because I like you so much.
>.> <.<
My pet battle team only lost once to all of the elemental battlers combined.
Nordrassil Wisp (always starts battles)
Lil Deathwing (almost always comes out second)
Pandaren Monk (bats cleanup)
The only loss I had was to the Fire elemental trainer
and the only reason I lost was from poison after his last was already knocked out,
the last tick of poison damage crit on me.
The only Trainer in all of warcraft that gives this team trouble is Major Payne,
the rest are a cake walk.
I could just be getting lucky with timely crits,
but I've tried other setups and I keep running back to this team.
Try it out and let me know how your experience is.


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good to see endura competeing with the likes of assos,castelli et al as for the unravelling threads i had an issue with a piece of endura kit some time ago and the customer service replaced it without any quiblle whatsoever unlike a pair of assos shorts that parted company with the pad after 4 weeks getting them sorted took as long hence once bitten twice shy!! nice one endura will have to try a pair
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
With a name like Über and a £140 price tag you'd expect these shorts from Endura to be pretty darn special. They're good, but I'm not sure they quite live up to the billing.
The first thing that struck me was the dazzling whiteness of our test shorts. White shorts don't blend in and anyone other than a bronzed god with shiny smooth legs glistening with oil from a pre-race massage risks looking like a complete Fred. I've never had the mickey taken so much as when wearing these. Thankfully they at least have a black modesty panel to spare your blushes. More seriously they get dirty incredibly quickly and oil stains don't come out easily. If I'd spent £140 only to find an oily smudge after my first ride I'd be pretty upset. That said, they also come in a more practical black.
If you're going to spend this much on shorts I'd strongly advise trying them on first or buying from somewhere with a very good returns policy. Happily, they fitted nicely. I'd asked for a size M (my usual would be Large) as previous Endura shorts had come up slightly large. They fitted well and to be honest I prefer my shorts to be snug fitting rather than saggy round the straps.
Once on they do feel pretty special, certainly they grip and hug in ways that more modest shorts don't. The thick and lustrous lycra, sorry, Italian Power Lycra leg panels do hold your thighs very firmly. Whether this makes any difference I have no idea but it does make you feel obliged to try a little bit harder. The wide straps pull you down at the front, slightly disconcerting off the bike, completely logical once you assume the position. The back section is a wide mesh panel which helps keep things cool. The pad is a 1000 series, which I assume is posher than the 800 series pad used on the cheaper Team shorts that we tested recently. It's contoured, dimpled, stretchy and more techy than a Star Trek fan in Maplins. Best of all in the saddle it's pretty unobtrusive, which is what you want from a pad.
I wish I could say the same about the leg grippers however. The shorts are cut fairly long so the grippers come just above the knee just before your thigh muscles start to bulge. It may be related to that muscle supporting Power Lycra© but the gripper section is ferociously tight. On a 100 mile test ride the rest of the shorts performed perfectly but I had to keep running a finger under the gripper to stop my leg hair from being pulled. Of course if I was a shaven-legged racing whippet that wouldn't be such an issue and it does underline that these definitely aren't shorts for the casual weekend warrior. I would count myself as a pretty serious cyclist and even I felt like a bit of a fraud wearing such flash kit.
So far, so good. However, after no time at all the stitching around the bottom seam of the left leg had started to come adrift. In my experience that's not unusual with Endura shorts but it's always cosmetic and doesn't tend to get worse or affect performance. It's forgivable on a £70 pair of shorts but these cost £140 and for that you have the right to expect better. That said, I've also had good experiences in the past with Endura's customer service, so at least there should be some redress if your Übers start to unravel.
The real sticking point here is the price. Don't get me wrong, these are a good pair of shorts, but are they really worth £140? I like nice kit as much as the next chap but my regular shorts (Endura's own FS260 Pros) cost less than half as much and still do a superb job. I know that you can't just measure quality against cost on a simple scale, but once the price starts to shift out of mid-range the law of diminishing returns starts to kick in and you get less bang for your extra buck.
With the popularity of cycling going through the roof it seems that manufacturers are pandering to the high end sportive market with ever more exotic builds, outlandish performance claims and crazy price tags. Let's call it Fredflation. Still, relative to the Castelli Bodypaints that Dave tested a while back or Assos they're nowhere near the top of the heap pricewise. The bottom line is that unless you're a serious racer, you don't absolutely *need* shorts that pamper you like this. To be fair, Endura do market their Equipe range as pro level kit, so it comes down to you to decide whether it makes sense or not. If you can afford them, great, you'll enjoy them. If you can't, don't fret because you're not going to be any slower or less comfortable with a good pair of more modestly priced leg covers.
Pro-level kit with a price tag to match.
If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website
road.cc test report
Make and model: Endura Equipe Uber Bibshort
Size tested: M
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Blurb says - "The top of the line bibshorts in the Equipe range. The foundation for these bibshorts is the 1000 Series 3D cut Italian stretch pad. The Italian Power Lycra used provides superb muscle support with shaping and panelling that has been refined by repeated input from testing by riders of the Endura Racing Team. The black colour option incorporates ColdBlack technology, substantially reduces heat absorption from sunlight and so prevents overheating. Both colour options offer sun protection factor of 50+."
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
3d cut Italian stretch pad
Italian Power Lycra (!!!)
They look and feel very well made, but dicky stitching is a let down on shorts at this price.
Very comfy on the bike, which is what they are all about.
Loose thread is a worry and being white they will start looking shabby before long. The black ones will stay looking good for longer.
Very comfy but the leg grippers are uncompromising for the hairy of thigh.
I couldn't justify paying full price for these - I have shorts costing less than half the price which are as comfy and will probably last longer
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Very good
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Comfy and have that proper 'go-faster' racer feel. There's also that slightly grubby thrill of knowing you're wearing something ridiculously expensive.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
The colour and the grubby shame of wearing something ridiculously expensive.
Did you enjoy using the product? Mostly
Would you consider buying the product? No
Would you recommend the product to a friend? No
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
Proper racing shorts for proper racers - overkill for the rest of us
About the tester
Age: 42 Height: 5' 8 Weight: er....85kg
I usually ride: Kona Dew Drop, Dawes Century SE My best bike is: Guess SC1 scandium
I've been riding for: Over 20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, general fitness riding, fixed/singlespeed, Audax and long distance solo rides
3 comments
Given my current run of disappointment with Endura products I don't think I'll be risking a pair of these
rob_simmonds has fs 260 pro bib shorts, so do I. The two pairs I bought circa 2005 were great. The two pairs I bought last year just didn't work. The pad works like a great sponge and keeps your rear end permanently wet. I can't even use them for commuting, I'll probably try removing the pad or binning them
And the fs 260 pro were supposedly a top of the range Endura product at the time.
Gore Bikewear stuff is much better than Endura. Sorry Endura


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Dean Baker's piece "The GM Bailout Makes the Most of a Bad Situation" is irresponsibly misinformed, Letter to the Editor, POLITICO by Lucas van Praag
American International Group is, and was, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. As part of our ordinary course of business, we insured some of the risk we had assumed on behalf of our clients with AIG. Our contracts included the obligation on AIG's part to provide us with cash collateral in the event that the underlying value of the assets it was insuring for us declined.
When asset values began to decline, AIG regularly disputed the amount of collateral it was required to provide. In response, we spent over $100 million to buy additional insurance from other major financial institutions in order to hedge our exposure to AIG and minimize the risk to which our shareholders were exposed. As a result of what most people would think of as prudent risk management, we had no direct economic exposure to AIG and would not have suffered a loss if AIG had collapsed.
Baker asserts that we were guilty of bad business judgment by entering into agreements with a company that was not able to make good on its commitments. He may not be aware that at the time we bought insurance from AIG, it was one of the strongest companies in its field. However, he inexplicably ignores the fact that AIG had a legal obligation to honor its contracts to us and to hundreds of thousands of others. If it had failed to do so, it would have been in default and would likely have collapsed.
As senior government officials have testified, they decided that the default of AIG would result in systemic problems with potentially catastrophic consequences, and so they stepped in to bail out the company. This, arguably, prevented millions of insurance policies held by individuals, corporations, municipalities and governments from becoming worthless and avoided wiping out the life savings of a very large number of people.
The fact that the government acted to prevent the failure of AIG meant that, by definition, the company was able to meet its obligations when they came due.
Baker's explanation of AIG's payments to Goldman Sachs is seriously flawed. To give just one example: Of the $12.9 billion that AIG paid us, $4.8 billion was related to securities lending. We had lent AIG $4.8 billion and, as collateral, it had given us high-quality, liquid securities. When the company repaid the loan, we gave it back the securities. If AIG hadn't repaid us, we would have simply sold the securities and recovered the money we were owed.
It is a pity that Baker did not take the trouble to find out the facts. As a result, your readers have been done a disservice, and Baker has added to the general confusion on this important subject.
Lucas van Praag
Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co.


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With football season out of the way. Actually, it was over a little after 7 Sunday night, it is time to project the Mets' Opening Day roster. I am going against conventional wisdom in I am leaving Lucas Duda and Juan Lagares off the team.
Jon Niese: Manager Terry Collins already designated Niese the Opening Day starter. He's the de facto No. 1 with Matt Harvey out, which means the Mets need more from him than 8-8.
Bartolo Colon: Veteran innings-eater signed to fill void left by Harvey's injury.
Zack Wheeler: Big things are expected in his second year.
Dillon Gee: Threw 199 innings last year, making 200-plus the goal.
Jenrry Mejia or Daisuke Matsuzaka: Mets say Mejia progressing well from elbow surgery. If he's not ready it will be Matsuzaka.
Vic Black: Assuming Bobby Parnell is not ready, Black enters the season as the closer.
Scott Rice: After knocking on the door for 14 years he was a feel-good story last year. No doubts about him making roster this spring.
Kyle Farnsworth: Recent addition to provide veteran depth.
Carlos Torres: Can work in long relief, situational or as spot starter.
Gonzalez Germen: Very impressive last season. Throws hard.
Josh Edgin: The lefty presence.
Jeurys Familia: Has high ceiling.
Travis d'Arnaud: Had health issues last year, but healthy now. Goes in as the starter.
Anthony Recker: Provided power off the bench. Free-agent signing Taylor Teagarden is the veteran presence who'll likely open the season in the minors.
Ike Davis: Here because the Mets couldn't trade him. They have to keep him now to see if anything is left.
Daniel Murphy: Solid hitter but with limited power.
Ruben Tejada: Getting a second chance.
David Wright: Will he reach the .300-30-100 levels again?
Josh Satin: The right-handed platoon with Davis.
Wilmer Flores: Mets need to find him a position. I'm taking him over Lucas Duda because Duda and Davis are essentially the same player. Flores can also play first, third, second and could get a shortstop look.
Omar Quintanilla: Can play second and short.
Curtis Granderson: Mets' biggest free-agent expenditure since Jason Bay. Hopefully, with better results.
Chris Young: Still wonder about this signing.
Eric Young: Team's fastest player and best base stealer.
Matt den Dekker: Taking him over Juan Lagares because if the latter isn't starting he should be in the minors getting consistent at-bats. Lagares stays if he starts.
Your comments are greatly appreciated and I will attempt to respond. Follow me on Twitter @jdelcos


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Making the Right Call
From her very first dribble, Sally loved the game of basketball. And now, some forty plus years later, she has seen millions of dribbles, most of the time making sure that none of them were of the double kind. Today, it is Sally's job to find, train and assign the right people to be in the right position to make the right call all of the time.
Sally Smalley Bell, daughter of Dr. Derrell and Nell Smalley, was born and grew up in Dublin, Georgia. "I loved basketball from day one," Sally said as she thought of the days when she began playing when she was in the fifth grade. "Back then, we played half court, three guards and three forwards, but during my senior year we went to a rover system - two players played full court," Sally remembered.
As he was to millions of other kids back in the 1960s, Pete Maravich was Sally's idol on the court. "I was just totally in awe of his skills. He was so far ahead of his time. It was just amazing to me," said Sally would often hop in her car and drive to Atlanta to catch a glimpse of her hero.
Before she graduated from Dublin High School in 1971, Sally played in the band and performed on the sidelines during half time shows as a majorette. She was captain in her senior year. Her father was a well known and respected veterinarian, a founder of Smalley's Animal Hospital. Her mother's paintings were truly works of art and can still found in places around Dublin.
After Sally graduated from the University of Georgia, she took a job with the Habersham County Recreation Department, doing whatever job she was called upon to do. "One night we had no refs, so I had to call the game," Sally remembered. The coach started screaming at her. His objections, Sally admitted, were probably right. After all, it was her first time as a real referee. And, as anyone whoever slipped on one of those zebra shirts and blew a whistle can tell you, officiating a basketball game is no easy task.
"I went over to the coach and said, 'We may not be right, but you are not going to yell at us. Either sit down and shut up, or leave," Sally ordered. There wasn't another peep from the coach that night. The next day, Sally discovered that the coach, Cecil Huff, who was chewing her out was actually the head of the local high school officials association. Sally had made a good first impression. For, on that day, her career as a basketball referee began. "He called me and asked me to join and I became the first female referee in the Georgia Mountain Officials Association," Bell fondly remembered. The two became mentor and student and very close friends.
Sally even married a referee. Her husband Jack Bell, a Gainesville attorney has been officiating at the high school and college level for several decades. In fact, they met for the first time when they called a basketball game together. "Jack didn't have two words to say to me at that game," Sally told a reporter for Referee magazine. "Jack is basically a shy guy and I was nervous as heck," Sally laughed. But Jack saw something in Sally and asked their mutual friend Cecil Huff for a return assignment. They were married a year or so later.
Determined to succeed, Sally attended every officiating camp she could. "That put me in the loop," Sally said. Assignors in attendance began to notice Sally. How couldn't they notice, she was often the only female on the court. To catch the attention of college coaches, Sally worked AAU summer tournaments. That's when the exposure led to recommendations and then to assignments.
In the early days, Sally worked as many as six to eight games a week. "I just couldn't think of anything I'd rather do," she said. "I became consumed by it. By the end of her seventh year as an official, Sally had climbed the ladder from rec. ball to Division I.
Sally's first big break came in 1984 when she was assigned to call the National Junior College tournaments. She was called back for the next two years.
All the years of hard work and dedication paid off in 1989 when Sally was chosen to officiate the NCAA Division 1 Final Four tournaments. It would be the first of fifteen assignments to the high point of women's collegiate basketball. Only twice (1991-1992) in seventeen years (1989-2005) did Bell not get the assignment for the highly heralded tournament.
Although she didn't make the final four in 1991, Sally Bell received the penultimate
honor of being named the Naismith Female Official of the Year. During her first decade and a half, Sally had called games in major conferences such as the SEC, ACC, Big Ten and Big East.
Reporter Rick Woelfel wrote of Sally, "She is unobtrusive on the court, but somehow she always manages to be in the right place at the right time. What she lacks in pure athleticism, she makes up for with court sense and hustle. In a very real sense, she reads and feels the game, bending with it like a rooted tree in the wind."
Former officiating partner and NBA official Dee Kantner agrees, "When I talk to prospective female officials, I tell them you don't have to be that perfect athlete. Look at Sally Bell, she looks like a housewife out there." Kantner adds, "Her game management skills are subtle. She has a subtle calming presence." Fellow WNBA official Bonita Spence admired Bell's willingness to thank her partners for making calls they saw in her zone while many officials often chastize the partners for calling a play outside of their area.
Perhaps one of the most exciting tournaments came in 1996, when Sally traveled a short distance from home to officiate the games of the 1996 Summer Olympics. She had been to the 1989 Junior World Championships in Spain and the 1990 World Championships in Malaysia and the 1994 Goodwill Games in Russia, but nothing can compare to being an official in the greatest of all amateur basketball games.
Always wanting people to remember that Sally Bell was a good referee, Sally left the game while she on top of her game. Today, Sally serves as supervisor of officials for the Sunbelt, Southland, and SWAC conferences. Her goal is to see the successes of the officials whom she supervises.
In looking back over her career on the court, the biggest difference from when she started until today is the athletic abilities of the players. Sally sees the ability to communicate between partners, coaches, players and supervisors as the biggest challenge.
When she is not working, Sally can be found near a golf course or planning her next trip to golf's Ryder Cup tournament. She hasn't missed a single one since 1997.
So, during the madness of March, let's all salute Sally Smalley Bell for a career well done.


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XION XON-980 Case Review
XION is a company I have to say I've not really heard much about in recent years. Founded back in 2002, XION is dedicated to producing quality PC cases and components for everyone. When the XION XON-980 showed up for me to take a look at I jumped onto the XION website to check out what I had in store. The XON-980 is part of the XION Gaming Series and is targeted at the game-playing crowd that demands the best for their computer. If you're looking at building a new computer soon (or upgrading your current machine with a snazzy new case) perhaps the XION XON-980 will be something you'll consider – and after making its way through the gauntlet of the OCC test suite we'll see whether or not it deserves to be part of your next build!
Closer Look:
The box from XION is quite plain, which I tend to prefer over extremely fancy boxes. I don't like thinking about a company spending that extra few bucks per case on flashy cardboard I'm just going to throw away. The front of the single color box has an isometric view of the case but no other information except that it is a computer case from XION. The right side contains basic information about the case and the model number. The backside is identical to the front side of the box without much information at all. The left side contains shipping information that is of very little use to anyone… but who cares? Let's see what's inside!
Cutting away the packing tape reveals a very well-packed case with a good inch of soft open-cell foam on every side of the case. Your delivery man would have to be extremely rough with this box to even begin to cause damage to the contents – this is always a huge plus in my book as I have terrible luck with anything that gets delivered to my doorstep. Move on to the next page to see the case in its full glory!


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In early October, rumors began to circulate that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was set to reduce the minimum ethanol blend that it mandates the U.S. fuel industry blend into gasoline. Over the past decade we've seen explosive growth for the U.S. corn-based ethanol industry. In the early 2000s, only about 10% of the U.S. corn crop was turned into ethanol. Back then, the USDA did not even include ethanol statistics in the monthly crop report that is available to the public. The ethanol market then experienced explosive growth. Currently, about 35% of the corn crop is used for ethanol.
The possibility of a shrinking U.S. ethanol market added a bearish slant to a market that had already fallen substantially over the past several months. Without government pressure to maintain the ethanol blend at current levels, it was reasoned, U.S. corn stocks could become burdensome.
The news made for some catchy headlines, but was largely misunderstood. Even if the EPA adopts these proposals, it is not really much of a bearish factor for corn. When the original ethanol mandate was formed, the government projected that by 2014, U.S. gasoline demand would reach 154 billion gallons per annum. That forecast for gasoline usage was off by a wide margin, partly because of the recession and partly because of the advent of more fuel-efficient cars. The estimate for 2014 gasoline consumption has fallen to only 133 billion gallons.
The new legislation would cut the ethanol mandate to 13 billion gallons, down from the current 14.4 billion gallons. The 10% minimum ethanol-blend mandate will not change, just that the industry will not have to scramble to fit the existing required amount of biofuel into a gasoline market that is not growing as quickly as the legislation was designed for. As it is, estimated ethanol production for 2013 is about 13.5 billion gallons, which is right about at the target 10% of gasoline usage. The government is not abandoning the program, only attempting to tailor it to economic realities. So it is hardly a bearish factor, and certainly not as far reaching as the initial headlines may have intimated.
The federal government shutdown has ended, and data will start flowing soon. In the meantime, market participants have traded in the dark. The key October USDA crop report will be omitted entirely, and we won't see another estimate for comprehensive national supply/demand statistics until the November 8 installment.
Despite late planting and periods of poor weather, U.S. farmers are expected to harvest a record 2013-14 corn crop of 13.5 billion bushels, according to the now-dated September crop report. In the absence of government data, private forecasters have weighed in with their own estimates. Generally, the outlook is for much higher yields than the USDA's estimate for 155.3 bushels per acre in the September crop report. Some estimates put the yield over 160 bpa, which would mean the output estimate would swell to over 14 billion bushels.
The Monday-afternoon weekly crop report was the first bit of post-shutdown information regarding the crop to be released and it confirmed the revisions of private forecasters. It showed that the good-to-excellent portion of the crop jumped to 60%, up 5 percentage points from the last pre-shutdown report. That's a fairly large change and bodes well for a sharp uptick in the yield estimate.
Global production is expected to reach a record 956 million tonnes, up 11% from 2013-14, and that figure could increase meaningfully if the U.S. crop estimate is increased to reflect the improvement in crop conditions.
Consumption is forecast to grow as well, but by only 6.5%. The September estimate for ending stocks was 16.3% of consumption, up from an average of 14.7% over the previous three year. If the U.S. crop is revised upwards, ending stocks would grow to more than 17% of usage.
We're still shy of 2008-09 and 2009-10 levels, when ending stocks averaged 18% of consumption, but global corn inventories are being replenished. We believe the market should be traded from the short side, but with prices at three-year lows (Chart 1), we recommended looking for rallies to establish short positions.


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This is one of those prequels that can stand on its own. Observe these wonderful sprays of white flowers and broad green leaves.
In a few days, I'll be able to tell you what pollinates this flower. More precisely, I'll be able to show you its pollinators and you can tell me what they are. But first, the flowers. This particular bush is growing up by North Creek, but I also found banks full of them when I went to play by the Snoqualmie River. There's a tiny trail through them at Three Forks Natural Area, under the canopy of the trees.
They grow fairly tall, as far as bushes go.
If one cares to be fanciful (and one often does, alone in a quiet wood, on a peaceful late summer day), one can almost imagine the trees wearing fluttering green skirts liberally laced with diamonds and pearls. Of course, the designer was rather, shall we say, creative in terms of how things drape. One might almost guess there was no designer, and things have just grown up on their own, willy-nilly, with only a few billion years of evolution to guide matters.
I love these sprays of white against the vivid green. And upon further inspection, they're even more lovely.
How nice is that? They look like something a fantasy artist would paint for a nice scene in Faerie. You could imagine Titania wearing a garland of them, were you prone to imagining such things. Which I rather am, having read Neil Gaiman's Sandman and The Books of Magic.
They seem to grow every which way – up, down, to the side. They put me in mind a bit of the sea, waves breaking on rocks in spurts of glittering spray, white against the sun. Even in the shade, these lovely flowers gleam.
And they're so delicate and light that the slightest spider web will capture their blossoms. Fantastic.
All of this looks very disheveled and haphazard, but if you have a closer look at the plants, you'll see the leaves are utterly orderly.
I can't wait for summer again, when they're leafed out and in bloom, and thanks to you I'll know what they are. This is among the countless reasons why I love you, my darlings. You always come through. And once you've done so on these, we'll have a delightful duet of pollinators.


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Ross Lynch & Maia Mitchell: 'Teen Beach Movie' Trailer!
Maia Mitchell cozies into Ross Lynch in the brand-new trailer for Teen Beach Movie!
The movie begins on the last day of summer, and McKenzie's (Mitchell) surf and sand life is about to be upturned when she departs for boarding school to fulfill her family's dream to graduate from the elite institution. But when she and Brady (Lynch) find themselves literally transported into his favorite classic beach musical, set in the 1960s, about a rivalry between the surfers and bikers and a star-crossed teenage boy who likes a girl, he is ecstatic for endless summer while she is eager to get back home to keep her promise to her family about her schooling.
While they hatch a plan to get back to present day, the duo try to blend in and understand 1960s teenagers, but it's not so easy when everyone around them spontaneously breaks into song and dance. And when they accidentally interfere with the plot of the movie and the lead characters, surf guy Tanner (Garrett Clayton) and biker girl Lela (Grace Phipps), fall for them, instead of each other, Brady and McKenzie fear their fate may be changed forever.
Teen Beach Movie premieres July 19th on Disney Channel.
"Teen Beach Movie" Trailer
Posted to: Grace Phipps, Maia Mitchell, Ross Lynch


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Attention, Whovians.
A trailer teasing the return of "Doctor Who" is making the rounds online, and although it might be brief, it does offer a few tantalizing hints about "Deep Breath," the installment that kicks off the run of new episodes on BBC America later this month.
Judging from the clip, the upcoming season looks to include all the classic bits of Doctor-ana: historical English setting (in this case the Victorian era), alien evildoers and a newly redesigned TARDIS, among them.
Check it out below.
Set to premiere Aug. 23, "Deep Breath" was written by "Doctor Who" executive producer Steven Moffat and directed by Ben Wheatley (known to indie film enthusiasts for such projects as "Kill List" and "Sightseers").
The episode will mark the proper beginning of Peter Capaldi's run as the Twelfth Doctor and kicks off the eighth season since the series revival in 2005. Capaldi will be joined by returning companion Clara, played by Jenna Coleman, and a new character, Danny Pink, played by Samuel Anderson, who is a teacher at the school where Clara works.
Last month, audiences saw the first full-length trailer for Season 8, which hinted that Capaldi's take on the Doctor might be darker than previous Time Lord Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor and youngest actor to play the role.
In addition to watching on BBC America, audiences will also have the option of checking out "Deep Breath" on the big screen — the episode will be shown at midnight on Aug. 23 at select theaters across the U.S. (More information about the screenings can be found here.)
Are you excited for the new season of "Doctor Who"? What do you think of the trailer?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
– Patrick Kevin Day | @patrickkevinday
Follow us on Twitter: @LATHeroComplex
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'Doctor Who' 50th anniversary hype
Peter Capaldi: A return to distinguished tradition?
'Who': Jenna Coleman is right in time


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By Samuel Temblador
Late last month, artist Rachel McCollum taped up a street mural made of felt on the wall of an Echo Park public stairway that leads down from Sunset Boulevard to Glendale Boulevard. The mural, a series of felt shapes entitled "Urban Intervention: Shapes in Space," was up only for a day or two before someone had taken down half the pieces. But McCollum was not upset that someone had tampered with the mural.
"What happens to them once I leave them in the public domain is not really any of my business," said McCollum, who returned to the stairway to remove the remaining felt pieces. "It doesn't bother me that people take them down."
In fact, McCollum's fabric street art pieces are not mean to be permanent. They can be easily removed to open up the space for others.
The 30-year-old artist who lives in Angeleno Heights began setting up the felt murals about six months ago, using double-sided duct tape to adhere colorful shapes and blobs to brick walls and doors. The pieces are fundamentally about communication and the urban environment.
"I feel like the city is always kind of shouting at us, through it's iconography, advertisements, signage, graffiti, architecture, and the natural landscape," McCollum said in an email. "This is my contribution to that conversation."
She likes using felt because of its tactility and the freedom it gives her to work with three dimensional materials to create two dimensional images that combine realism and abstraction. "I also like that it's childish, playful, unexpected, and slightly humorous. I can shift the pieces around until I get it how I want it, like Colorforms or refrigerator magnets."
Her process consists of developing a concept, deciding on a location for her project, and then, depending on the scale of the project, spending a couple of days creating her shapes. Once her materials are ready, installation is fairly short. McCollum stitches every piece by hand and uses double sided duct tape to stick the pieces to their intended surfaces. The pieces create the illusion that they are stitched into brick, concrete and other hard surfaces they cover
McCollum said she is an advocate of all forms of street art and is not against using more permanent materials. But for now she is more interested in more ephemeral forms of public art.
"By not permanently altering a space, I am theoretically leaving it for someone else to use when I am done."
Samuel Temblador is a UCLA student from South L.A. interested in journalism and communications.


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Bookish, Literary, and Book Related Prints and Posters for decoration your house, office, library, and walls.
|Scooped by GoogleLitTrips Reading List
25 January 2015
I enjoy discovering the sites that provide unique ways to promote a love of reading publicly, whether it is on the walls of a classroom, a library, a young person's bedroom, a family's home, in our wardrobe...anywhere we can proclaim a love of reading publicly.
There are many pro-reading posters in this collection however, I must admit that the one featured above spoke to me in ways that the others only did at lesser levels.
Unlike others that felt a bit too much like adults trying to tell kids what to think is cool, this one "tells a story" that reminds this viewer, at least, that THESE are the REAL REASONS why reading is a good thing.
It reminds us that reading is about being an enjoyable way to engage in the discovery of ideas worth thinking about; thinking about what it means to be a caring or uncaring person. Reading provides an enjoyable way of expanding our receptiveness to revisiting our current understandings of what it means to be a humane being.
In some way, the poster captures for me the magic of the overlapping space in the Venn Diagram of Plot and Theme; that sweet spot where the focus on both is perfect for effective teaching of reading and literature.
I've seen teachers who make faces that silently convey the same repulsion that people's faces make when they have smelled something terrible nearby, when they are actually unhappy with a student's excessive interest in books that appear to be heavy on plot but vapid in theme.
And, I've seen students who make the same faces when they feel that a teacher is way too focused on "ruining the story" with excessive analysis of structure and theme in books that have plots for which the student has not yet discovered any way to find any interest at all.
In the poster above, we see engaged readers. Period. We are not told by what means these particular readers became engaged readers. It may well be because they have been fortunate to have had parents, teachers, librarians, and/or friends who planted and cultivated the seeds of life-long reading spectacularly. But, the poster's first impression for me is its focus on the rewards of engaged reading.
We don't know if the comments were stimulated by an unexpected plot turn or by the contemplation of the motives behind that plot turn. What we do know is there are actively engaged minds in every one the the readers. And that's a good thing.
So... let me engage in a bit of excessive thematic and structural analysis.
NOTE: Each poster is linked to a web site where the poster is for sale. I mention this not to encourage you to consider purchasing one of the posters, but rather to point out that you will there be able to see a larger version of the poster. In fact, when you get there, click again on the poster for an even larger view.
"What!": I love the punctuation. A question mark might suggest confusion and a lack of understanding of what just happened while the exclamation mark suggests to me that the reader is fully aware of what just happened and is having both an emotional and intellectual moment of contemplative outrage at what just happened.
"Hmm...": Another punctuation observation. I love the ellipsis. "Hmmm" is often used to suggest something like, "Hmm, I just want you to know that I heard you, but do not wish to encourage you to think that I agree with you." Or, it is often used to suggest something like, "Hmm, I hadn't thought about it that way before. I'll have to give that some thought." It is the ellipsis that encourages me to wonder what that readers' take on the particular scene actually was.
"Oh!": I've read so much about the exclamation point being considered by so many to be a crutch for weak writers. The advice against using the exclamation mark generally runs along the lines of suggesting that if a writer has to tell the reader to find the writing shocking then the writing itself is weak. There are occasions where I find this advise true and there are occasions when I find this advise well-intended, but over-reaching and stifling to learners. In this case, remembering that the engagement between individual readers and individual stories is very personal, some readers might be shocked by a particular passage while others might said, "Of course. Who didn't see that coming?" The exclamation point in this poster tells me that this is a reader in the midst of total personal immersion and that she has come across something startling TO HER. These are the moments in any story where we are emotionally and/or intellectually startled by the unexpected. And, the unexpected is frequently the point at which our contemplation of the underlying themes might be "peeking" out between the lines.
Body Language: There may be a parent, teacher, librarian or friend nearby, but if so they have been cropped out of the poster. The focus is on the reader's engagement and we know these readers somehow managed to reach the age they have reached and have not, as too many of our students have, abandoned a personal interest in reading.
The reader in the upper left corner is reading in the "default preferred" mode. She is sitting up straight and appears to be engaged and "properly attentive." Fine. If that is a way to read and discover the wonders of reading for her. Great. And, by the way, it may be important to note that she may not be simply representing the "traditional" posture of expected reading body language. She also appears to be representing the faction of readers who are perfectly okay with reading on digital devices.
The reader in the upper right corner who may be sitting on the floor, or in a bed, or near a campfire, or....., is obviously engaged. I don't know what she is reading, or why she is reading, but I do know she's intensely engaged.The subtlety of her leaning forward and of her fingers to her lips are indications of a sincere engaged attentiveness.
Several of the readers are in positions not universally recognized as being beneficial to attentive reading. Yet each seems to give "some" clear visual indications of being attentively engaged.
The standing reader is reading a newspaper. Why is she standing? Maybe she's on the subway, waiting for a bus, or a table at a table with a line out the door. Who knows, but if so, she's choosing to use that time to read.
The reader in the lower right corner is listening to her iPhone. I remember when the default expectation was to not be listening to music while I was reading. Though I always liked reading, I remember an entire collections of surreptitious (read serious guilt causing) ways I'd discovered to disguise the fact that I had music playing while I did my reading homework.
It wasn't until I was in college that I discovered that I had been essentially using music as a sort of white noise, drowning out the conversations leaking into my reading space from other rooms, or the sounds of kids who were still outside playing loudly, or the burping refrigerator noises, and TV sounds distracting me while I tried to concentrate on doing my homework reading. I did come to understand that music without lyrics made for more effective white noise isolation than music with lyrics. By the way, did you notice that the girl with the earbuds happens to be reading sheet music? Now that just might be a deeper engagement in reading if you ask me.
BUT what about the reader who is smoking? I'm kind of hoping her "OH!" exclamation is indicating that she's reading an article about the the dangers of smoking that was somehow able to cut past her inherent resistance to being receptive to revisiting her primary focus upon a perception that smoking is a sign of being cool.
Who knows?
But one thing is for sure, the poster has done a great job of engaging my interest in keeping an open mind about effective reading and literary analysis education.
brought to you by GLT Global ED, an educational nonprofit