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Twins Joaquin and Aitana de Jesus Ontiveros were both expected to be born January 27, 2018. However, their mother went into labor at 7PM on New Year's Eve and was rushed to California's Delano Regional Medical Center. Joaquin was born at 11:58 PM on December 31, 2017, while his twin sister Aitana arrived at 12:16 AM on January 1, 2018. Being born a different a different day, month and year means that Joaquin will now have endless bullying opportunities.
Luckily, he can't claim to be the firstborn, as Maria and her husband Joaquin, both farm laborers, have three other daughters together. The family is also taking home more than $3,000 worth of baby supplies that were donated to the hospital by local community groups. "It was definitely a surprise!
The whole family feels humbled and blessed and excited," a spokesperson told the press. "When they realized they were going to be in the hospital over New Year's Eve, the family planned to celebrate at midnight in the break room. But then it turned out Maria was in labor, which was a surprise."


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You are excited to wear your new black T-shirt or that chic little black dress that you have been wanting to show off, but somewhere in the back of your mind, you are worried that wearing black outfits might not work in your favour, all thanks to your dandruff problems!
If the above-mentioned scenario is somewhat close to what you go through, then it is time you did something to say goodbye to dandruff once and for all.
As many of us know, dandruff is a common condition caused by flaking of the dead skin cells on the scalp, which can be caused by excess production of sebum and fungal growth.
Living with a condition like dandruff can be quite irritating, as it causes itching and flaking on a daily basis.
It can also be an embarrassing affair. There are various treatments for dandruff out there like medicated shampoos, lotions and even antibiotics that are prescribed for severe cases.
But, if you are worried that medications for dandruff may come with side effects, then it is best to go the natural way.
The ancient medicine system of Ayurveda has some potent herbal remedies to help you get rid of dandruff completely.
Boldsky gives you some of the best Ayurvedic remedies to cure dandruff. Take a look!
Remedy 1:
Ingredients: Coconut oil and lemon
The acidic nature of lemon kills the microbes that cause bacteria and coconut oil hydrates your scalp effectively to remove dryness and flaking.
- Add a few drops of lemon to 2 tablespoons of coconut oil.
- Mix the ingredients well.
- Apply it on to the scalp and massage for a few minutes.
- Leave it on for at least 30 minutes.
- Wash the scalp and hair with a mild shampoo.
Remedy 2:
Ingredients: Coconut oil and camphor
This combination has the ability to moisturise your scalp to remove dryness, thanks to the properties in coconut oil. Also, camphor comes with antibacterial properties that eliminate the dandruff-causing microbes.
- Crush some camphor and mix it with coconut oil.
- Store this mixture in a bottle.
- Apply it on to the scalp and massage.
- Can be used for an overnight application.
- Rinse hair in the morning and follow this procedure regularly.
Remedy 3:
Ingredient: Vinegar
According to Ayurveda, vinegar, which is a common kitchen ingredient, aids in curing dandruff by hydrating the scalp and removing the flaky dead cell layer with regular use.
- Take some vinegar in a cup.
- Apply it on to the scalp using a cotton swab.
- Leave it on for 30 minutes.
- Wash the scalp with a mild shampoo.
Remedy 4:
Ingredient: Fenugreek seeds
Ayurvedic experts say that fenugreek seeds can strengthen the hair follicles from within by nourishing them, thereby preventing fungal growth and dandruff. Fenugreek is also said to prevent hair loss.
- Soak some fenugreek seeds in water, leave it overnight.
- Make them into a fine paste the next morning using a blender.
- Apply this paste on to the scalp and leave it on for 45 minutes.
- Rinse the scalp and hair with a mild shampoo.
Remedy 5:
Ingredient: Black pepper powder
Black pepper is known to possess the ability to kill microbes and fungi that cause dandruff. It is also helpful in clearing out the scalp and skin acne.
- Grind some black pepper in a blender to obtain its powder.
- Mix it with water and apply it on to the scalp.
- Leave it on for 30 minutes.
- Rinse hair and scalp with a mild shampoo.
FYI: Black pepper powder can also be mixed with some lime juice or curd for best results.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Transcribed from Boca Raton News, Boca Raton, FL, October 15, 1972, p. 2:
Soviet plane crash kills 160
MOSCOW (UPI) — An Aeroflot Il62 airliner carrying about 160 persons on a non-scheduled flight from Paris via Leningrad crashed Friday night near Sheremetyevo airport, killing all aboard, the official Tass news agency and Western airline sources said Saturday.
The crash was one of the worst in civil airline history and the second involving the Soviet state airline in 12 days.
Tass, in an announcement moved on its English service wires at 3 p.m. (8 a.m. EDT) today said:
"A passenger airliner which was on its way from Leningrad to Moscow crashed in the area of Sheremetyevo Airport on Oct. 13 at 9:50 p.m., it is announced here.
"Both the passengers and the crew lost their lives. A government commission has been appointed to investigate the cause of the disaster."
Western airline sources identified the plane as an ILyushin 62 jetliner, which went into Aeroflot's international service in 1967.
The sources said the plane crashed about seven miles from the airport, Moscow's main international air terminal.
Weather at the time of the crash was rainy and visibility was restricted.
A French embassy spokesman said he had no information about the crash.
The Tass announcement was unusual because Soviet news media do not usually report such disasters. When they do, it is generally long after the fact.
Today's crash came exactly two months after an IL62 jetliner belonging to the East German airline Interflug crashed shortly after take-off from East Berlin's Schoenefeld airport, killing 156 persons. It was the worst single-plane disaster in world aviation history.
The worst airline disaster happened July 31, 1971, in Japan when a jet fighter and a Japanese Boeing 727 collided, killing 162 persons.


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Awesome People, Awesome Photos
Nothing says mid-day check-out like snaps of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson washing dishes, right? Of the same ilk that has made The Impossible Cool one of the web's most viewed blogs, Awesome People Hanging Out Together has garnered a pretty serious following in its short tenure.
The formula is simple: submit photos of painfully cool individuals posed together at parties, monumental events, backstage etc. and if they pass the test, they'll find their way onto the site.
Some of our favorites so far? The above shot of McQueen, Newman, Streisand and Poitier, an intimate moment between Dylan and Cash slumped over their guitars and Hunter S. Thompson, John Cusack and Johnny Depp riding around with a blow-up doll. Now, that's entertainment...


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Is the upgrade path going to be smooth if we run a site with the current codebase?
Is the alpha upgrade path going to be smooth?
Curious about this too though I'd consider "No" a perfectly good answer I think a modern framework like Rails offer pretty good migration support, so I'd hope so.
It does give early adopters more safety and a bit of incentive.
Probably not, as this is hardly a production-worthy version yet. Though it's close.
Discourse is available as a fully open source project as of Feb 5th 2013, and that means anyone can install a Discourse instance for any reason. Which is perfectly fine and all 100% part of the plan, but…
Being a bleeding edge Discourse forum install might be a little … unhealthy and dangerous for the first six months. We have strong warnings for the super early Discourse forum adopters, and you should consider carefully how you'll upgrade over the next few months. We expect there to be significant code churn as we work through post launch issues.
First of all, it is not really advisable to install a live Discourse forum in the first six months after launch. This is at best beta software, and very very early beta. We plan to make tons of changes after lauch in the process of hosting our "rule of three" white glove special friend forums here on our servers. See http://www.discourse.org/buy/
If you are installing it just to play around or test as a developer or enthusiast, that's probably fine. Great even! It's when your forum starts "accidentally" morphing into a stable real-live community that I'd be worried.
For the early adopters, we wanted at least one strong tie to the central hub: notification of new version releases. We can't control your third party Discourse install nor do we really want to, but we need you to upgrade aggressively particularly early on. We now have "ping the discourse hub for version update info" to make it easy(ish) for Discourse installs to stay up to date! Just check your
/admin/panel for details.
Our "rule of three" hosted forums won't have these problems because they will be getting special white glove treatment from us. We will of course support third-party installs via http://meta.discourse.org topics, but people should know what they're getting into if they set up a forum on day zero of our release and expect everything to go smoothly – this is brand new software, and although we've worked hard over the last 8 months to make it awesome, there are inevitably going to be a lot, and I mean a LOT LOT, of rough edges… that we feverishly polish away for the first 6 months after release.
Bottom line: expect pain, and lots of it, if you actually deploy a forum on the current bleeding edge Discourse beta code.
Please please make a one-click update button and update notifications like in Wordpress. You wanna be like Wordpress, right?
I'm not aware of any Ruby webapps that even attempt to do what WordPress does with easy one-click updates on the server – feel free to correct me if I am wrong – but I agree, that is the goal.
Even if it might be extraordinarily difficult in Ruby.
At least I'm clear what I'm walking into
But for your own sake I can only imagine that you would have a data migration path to keep meta running on a recent version at all times. I was sort of hoping to piggy-back on that.
I know Django can use South for most things, I have no idea what RoR uses.
Well, we use migrations, and are following pretty strict guidelines of what is allowed in migrations and what is not.
That said, there is no chance we are going to test every single upgrade path imaginable. We are going to support upgrades from official point releases, using a common data format we plan to ratify.
Just noticed that ember.js is also running discourse, have things stabalized or they just chose to run discourse knowing full well they might have issues with updates?
I believe that Discourse the company is hosting and handling the upgrades for them, similar to their 3 launch partners.
Is the current code base still considered 'bleeding' edge, installer beware, I wouldn't use this on production type state?
Same question … where is Discourse in terms of stability? If I started a nascent community, and kept up to date with the updates, could it conceivably become a production forum. The 8 month mark is in about 5 weeks.
How are you calculating 8 months?
Project launch was Feb 5th so:
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- June
- July
We haven't even gotten to August 5th which would be 6 months.
If you can, I would wait until we launch the third partner, though I don't know when that will be. Ideally wait until we reach 1.0 after the third partner launch, that should be in 2013 sometime; I can't predict more accurately than that.
Discourse gets better, more feature complete, and more stable every day, so it just depends what your personal beta pain tolerance level is (and if you have a status quo, how much you hate that status quo), as to what the actual tipping point will be for you and your community.
Exactly so. Discourse is perfectly usable right now. The last "absolutely can't go live without it" feature I can think of was secure categories, which was addressed months ago.
It's not feature-complete and it's still evolving, but it's absolutely stable & functional enough to start using today.
Yup, I was counting wrong.
I have two communities for which I need Discourse. One is new and one already exists. I think I'll just try it out with the new community and wait for 1.0 to transition the old community.
Same situation for me. I'd love to go ahead and install, I'm able to follow the steps just fine. But upgrading is kinda fuzzy and I don't want to be stuck later on with an old version. I do hope a wordpress-esque upgrade system of "Press the Button" makes it's way into discourse.
It's literally the only thing holding me back.
While I too would love a 1-click upgrade option for Discourse, it's not holding me back from using it because upgrading existing forum scripts still involves uploading new files and running a script. I am not aware of any good forum scripts that do provide a one-click upgrade option. Because of this, upgrading Discourse the current way wouldn't be that much more trouble.
The current upgrade instructions are in the "Updating Discourse" section of our official install guide.
Upgrading, so far, isn't too bad. I recently upgraded from 9.6.0 to 9.6.3 and it was fairly easy.
Compared with some forum upgrades I've done in the past Discourse is superbly simple.
Until Discourse reaches 1.0 I wouldn't expect to see any form of 1 click upgrade and even then I'm not entirely sure given the more complex nature of Discourse that I'd want to trust a 1 click upgrade system to upgrade my Discourse install.


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9 by Design Season Finale tonight!! Love, Love, Love that show. I have to admit, I have watched each episode more than once. Just love it. So imagine my thrill when I ran across the pics below at: http://www.scandinavianchic.com. Such a great blog. There is also an invite to the season finale, so If you are in New York, you should so go to the finale party. But, for those of us not in New York, we will have to pop some popcorn and enjoy on our DVR, or as it plays on Bravo.
Spoiler alert, the photos below show the Bungalow Hotel that will be shown in tonight's episode.
All photos, Sixx Design, and scandinavianchic.com.
Remember when they were talking about the flags for each bedroom?
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
9 By Design Bungalow Hotel
Posted by Personality is preferred... at 9:19 AM
Labels: Television
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1308 Anacapa Ct Batavia Twp OH
Sold for $363,500
Upscale living in the popular Ainsley plan by M/I Homes in the scenic Estrella community. 3219 sq ft of luxury living. 2 story great room, gourmet kitchen w/ granite & SS appliances, spa like bath in the master, charming front porch, spacious 3 car garage, hrwd floors and gorgeous cabinetry. Close to shopping, recreation and highway. Must see!
Directions to 1308 Anacapa Ct Batavia Twp OH 45103: 275 to 32 E. T/R on Bach Buxton, T/L on Clough. Estrella community on Right.
Sold on 07-31-2018
More info about this property
Send me information
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New Advantage, LTD
Daniel V Tartabini
Office: 513-432-6458
Phone: 513-432-6458
The data relating to the real estate for sale on this web site comes in part from the Broker Reciprocity program of the MLS of Greater Cincinnati, Inc. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Comey & Shepherd, Realtors are marked with the Broker Reciprocity logo or Broker Reciprocity house icon. The properties displayed may not be all the properties available through Broker Reciprocity.


text:
What impact did Peter Bogdanovich's The Last Picture Show have on the principals? A look at the nearly two decades in the careers of the main actors and actresses who are returning in Texasville.
- CYBILL SHEPHERD: After the release of The Last Picture Show in 1971, Shepherd followed with roles in The Heartbreak Kid, Taxi Driver, At Long Last Love and Daisy Miller, among others. Her performances in the latter two films - both directed by Bogdanovich - drew ridicule from critics.


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After a few months Hiatus, the semi-popular "Legonime" is back!
Kōkatsu: So much has happened in so little time...
Isan: The Emperor was poisoned by his own daughter, who was then captured by the Shogun, and now there's a foreign armada in low orbit. And worst of all, Ajairu has disappeared.
Kōkatsu: I suspect that mysterious samurai is behind it! What does he have to hide behind that mask of his?!
Masuku: Ah, Mugen-no-ken domo. I'm glad to see you.
Mugen-no-ken: And I you, cricket, but for other reasons.
Masuku: ha ha ha. I look forward to testing my skills upon an opponent I cannot hope to defeat.
Mugen-no-ken: Shall we write your death poem as we fight, Masuku Kun?
Masuku: I like it, but perhaps a better honorific for your Emperor...


text:
Languages and Literatures Conclusion
The final lecture in the Languages and literature cycle that discusses some of the wider issues surrounding the nature of language. Delivered by Wesely Cecil PhD at Peninsula College.
I want to thank Peninsula College, the Peninsula College Foundation, and all of the folks who have attended and listened to these lectures over the last two years.
Click here to download the lecture handout.


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From Softpedia:
US authorities are preparing to start the jury trial of Roman Seleznev, a Russian hacker, son of Valery Seleznev, who is a member of the Russian Duma (Parliament) representing the Liber Democratic Party.
Seleznev is one of the most famous Russian hackers to date, and his arrest has caused an international scandal, with Russian state officials calling his apprehension by US authorities a kidnapping.
The US Secret Service arrested Seleznev in an airport in the Maldives, out of their jurisdiction, while Seleznev was exchanging flights when traveling home to Russia.
The US agents then transported Seleznev to Guam, a US territory, where he was charged and later transferred to Seattle.
Seleznev faces a 40-count indictment for all sorts of hacking offenses. 29 of those 40 charges are related to the famous WorldPay hack from 2008, when a huge criminal group that included Seleznev hacked RBS WorldPay servers and then carried out a massive ATM heist, stealing over $9 million from 2,100 ATMs in at least 280 cities, in less than 12 hours.
This was Seleznev's biggest hack, but according to US authorities, he had been active on hacking and carding forums since 2002, where he sold credit card data obtained by hacking various payment systems of US businesses.
Authorities say that, between 2002 and 2009, Seleznev used the nCuX nickname (psycho in Russian) to sell credit card data online.
After US officials had approached Russian law enforcement about a possible link between nCuX and Seleznev's real identity, the nCuX user immediately announced he was going out of business and ceased all activity on the hacking forums he was active.
Seleznev then registered a new account with the Track2 nickname and continued to sell credit card data online. In 2013, he switched his username again to the nickname 2Pac.


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Stacy Parson scored a game-high 25 points and Wyndee Bailey had 16 Wednesday to lead the Kennedy High girls to a 79-42 win over Fremont in a City 4-A quarterfinal game.
The Golden Cougars (20-2) will play in a semifinal game Friday night at the Sports Arena at 5:30.
Kennedy, the Valley 4-A League champion, raced out to a 12-point first quarter lead and held that margin at halftime. Parson scored 12 points in the first period. Kennedy center Diane DeCree scored 13 points in her first game since Feb. 5. She had been out with an illness.
The Pathfinders drew no closer than six points. Tisa Rush and Debbie Jones came off the bench to score four points each, while reserve Jennifer Wright had two for the Golden Cougars. Nina Grooms had eight points and Shelley Mercer seven.
Kennedy will be making its third straight appearance in the City finals. Two seasons ago, the Golden Cougars lost in overtime to Dorsey, 68-67, in the semifinals. Kennedy lost, 47-38, to Locke in last season's final.


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Product description
SWELLPROOF and SWELLFLEX® are geotextiles, water-activated seals for special application on external surfaces to be sealed. Due to the combination of bentonite, as clay sealing strip (brown tank) and source-modified polymers, the pre-assembled sealing membrane provides new and unique fields of application in the sealing of structures. SWELLPROOF and SWELLFLEX® surface sealings are primarily used in landfill and earthwork construction.
- For sealing concrete building components with large surface areas that come into contact with the ground
- Innovative, efficient, safe
- Impermeable to water
- Environmentally friendly and does not rot
Product range:
- SWELLPROOF DS: high-quality bentonite, double seal
- SWELLPROOF CS: in addition to DS, resistant to root penetration and impervious to radon
- SWELLFLEX® EasySeal: expanding agent sealing sheet with low mass per area
- SWELLFLEX® SilverSeal: in addition to EasySeal, laminated PE film
DS: consisting of PE-3-D composite and standard bentonite sealing mat (GTD/GCL).
CS: in addition to DS, with PE coating and radon sealing.
EasySeal: fleece with expanding agent, polymers.
SilverSeal: in addition to EasySeal, with PE film.
Delivery lengths:
DS and CS: 30 m roll, available in widths 1.20/1.80/3.60 m.
EasySeal and SilverSeal: 50 m roll, available in widths 0.33/2.00 m.
back to overview


text:
Ambient Water pioneered atmospheric water generation technology for extracting water from humidity in the air. Drawing from the renewable ocean of water vapor in the air that we breathe, our patented technology cost effectively transforms humidity into an abundant source of clean water near the point of use. Our scalable and modular systems can be configured for a number of water-sensitive applications ranging from oil and gas exploration to vertical farming. Our systems can also be configured to produce high quality drinking water for homes, offices, and communities. For a thirsty planet on the verge of a water crisis, Ambient Water makes clean water out of thin air.
|Keith White
CEO and CTO
(888)757-3294 ext. 102
(702)522-1621 ext. 102
|Jeff T. Stockdale
Chief Operating Officer
(888)757-3294 ext. 106
(702)522-1621 ext. 106
|Carole-Lyn Martens
Sales and Marketing Coordinator
(888)757-3294 ext. 104
(702)522-1621 ext. 104
Keith White - CEO and CTO - Chairman of the Board
Keith White is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer of the Company. He is a co-founder of AWG International, Inc. During the past 13 years, Mr. White has designed and developed a number of air-to-water appliances and has gained extensive expertise in the technology. Additionally, Mr. White's efforts have resulted in a number of patents and patent applications for air-to-water devices. Mr. White has worked with a number of different manufacturers and suppliers to develop and deliver cost effective and reliable designs for atmospheric water generators ranging from personal/residential use equipment to commercial equipment.
Michael Wende - Director
Michael Wende received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas and a M.S in Electrical Engineering from the University of Idaho. From September 2013 to January 2014, Mr. Wende has and is currently under contract with Itron, Inc. From February 2011 through May 2013, he was Engineering Project Manager for Flyback Energy, Inc., responsible for Flyback's first production product. From November 1999 through July 2010, he acted as an Engineering Product Manager, Lead Marketing Engineer and R&D Engineering Manager and strategic marketing leader on cellular equipment for Agilent Technologies, Inc. Mr. Wende evaluates technology and engineering expertise of privately held companies on behalf of investor groups.
Jeff Stockdale - President and COO - Director
Jeff Stockdale is the President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. Mr. Stockdale holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Washington State University. From March 2008 to April 2012, Mr. Stockdale was the Vice President of Hardware Systems for Isilon Systems of Seattle, a leading supplier of Network Attached Storage Devices, now a subsidiary of EMC Corporation of Hopkinton, MA. During his tenure at Isilon, Mr. Stockdale served as Vice-President of Hardware Systems. He was responsible for development and delivery of all hardware platforms for Isilon including firmware and manufacturing related test tools. He was responsible for all hardware related efforts at Isilon, a leader in scale-out Network Attached Storage solutions. Hardware included platform design, delivery, and support including chassis design, electrical design, manufacturing test environment, diagnostics and utilities. His team designed and delivered world class storage platforms that lead the industry in performance and scalability. Isilon was acquired by EMC for $2.25 billion in 2011. From August 2006 to March 2008, Mr. Stockdale was General Manager for Lockdown Networks of Seattle, Washington, a startup company in the Network Security sector, serving as General Manager of Platforms and also had responsibility for manufacturing operations. He was responsible for all aspects of the hardware platforms that Lockdown delivered including specifications, vendor selection, customization, branding implementation, regulatory compliance, cost/margin tracking and improvement, manufacturing test, manufacturing, and fulfillment. He was also responsible for inventory management driven by sales forecast, minimizing inventory on hand, maximizing inventory turns and ensuring reliable product delivery within 24 hours of Sales Order receipt.


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What is the best way to cook this?? The girl at the grocery store gave it to me because I thought it was neat.
This is Romanesco broccoli, and you can cook it just like cauliflower. I love it, and use it all the time in the fall. I like to cut it into small pieces (each spiral is like a floret) and steam it, then I make a warm bagna cauda sauce for dipping. http://bit.ly/dnQkRN
You could also roast the florets, or steam the florets and make a cheese sauce and bake it in a gratin (again, just like you might do with cauliflower). Hope this is helpful!
Amanda's suggestions all sound great. As for me, I'm big a fan of using it in a gratin: http://www.flickr.com/photos...
I had one in my CSA box a few months ago - I roasted it and made a Romanesco-pasta-cheese casserole - it was delicious and my little ones loved it.
i love it cooked till v. tender with garlic, olive oil, red chile flakes, and a little anchovy. amazing as is, even better tossed into some spaghetti with plenty of pecorino on top
My standard is olive oil, salt, and lots of pepper, and browned under the broiler. Seriously much more interesting than you might guess. Incidentally, also my standard for broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, etc. etc.
All of this is super helpful. I am going to try the bagna cauda sauce tonight. Then back to Whole Foods for another one just to try another option.
Thank you foodpickle!!
I made it! Loved the taste. My husband was afraid to eat the Romanesco broccoli but now he is a fan!
So glad -- it's been fun following this thread, and glad it had a happy ending!


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Continuing our journey around the capital's sporting opportunities, alphabetically.
This is a racquet sport and described as a shorter format of tennis, with essences of squash thrown in. It is the most played sport in Spain and Argentina and, according to many sources, the fastest growing sport in the world. Its arrival in the UK is relatively recent and London is home to the UK's largest Padel club, unsurprisingly called Padel Club London and located in Canary Wharf. Four courts are available and it is possible to hire the necessary equipment. Padel is set for explosion in the UK in the next few years (you heard it here first) and the Padel England Association offers a useful Padel club finder with courts springing up left, right and centre such as at the Harbour Club Chelsea.
This has simply got to be one of the best sports ever invented, combining laughter and extreme pain with the objective of shooting one another with balls of paint travelling at speeds of well over 100mph. Naturally, finding suitable space for paintballing in inner London is virtually impossible; however, there is one fantastic exception, Bunker 51 in North Greenwich. This is a themed, decommissioned Cold War Nuclear bunker with two paintball playing fields where you have to battle to save the world from impending disaster. How can it get any better than that? Otherwise you will need to head out to London's suburbs to find a suitable paintballing space. Delta Force is arguably the best with two paintball centres located within the M25 at Orpington and Upminster. These offer astonishingly innovative landscapes with scenarios such as 'D-Day Landing', 'Flight DF777 – Jet Hijack' and 'Afghan Village'.
Petanque is France's answer to bowls and is also known as 'Boules'. It is particularly popular in the South of France and can be played anywhere where there is a patch of grass. It was covered in Where to Play Sport Part B; however, just to recap, the London Petanque Association has a list of all the petanque clubs operating in London parks and Jaques London sells exquisite petanque sets.
Pilates is an extremely trendy system of exercises, which use special equipment to help improve your flexibility, posture, physical strength and mental wellbeing. It should not be confused with yoga; however, the well-being and physical benefits certainly overlap for both of these fitness forms. London has a plethora of Pilates facilities usually found at specialist Pilates studios, general wellness centres and larger gym chains. Popular picks include Ten Pilates with locations in Notting Hill, Chiswick, St James's and Hatton Garden, and Nuffield Health gyms, which has clubs all over London. Other notable Pilates centres include Shoreditch Pilates, Salt Pilates, Tempo Pilates, New York Pilates and Hoxton Square Pilates. Open Play also provides a list of London Pilates centres with the relevant contact details.
Pitch and Putt (Golf)
Conventional golf courses tend to be reserved for members or require considerable time and money to play. This is why pitch and putt golf courses exist, as you get the golfing experience but the added bonuses of not having to walk very far, wear silly trousers and be remotely talented. Dukes Meadows in Chiswick, Centenary Park in Harrow and Hangar Hill Park are all excellent example of nine hole pitch and putt golf courses, and you can just pay and play with club and ball hire available. Golf in London also has a list of other London pitch and putt golf courses. However, there has been an increasing trend for these courses making way for housing so it is worth ringing in advance to check that your chosen pitch and putt course has not closed!
Often referred to as the "Sport of Kings" and popular among the royals and upper echelons of UK society, polo is a combination of hockey/croquet played on horseback. The object is to score goals against an opposing team made of up four players over the course of two hours. It requires considerable space (300 yards by 160 yards) and pitches in London are therefore rare. However, Ham Polo Club near Richmond Park is the last remaining polo club in Greater London. It offers beginners lessons from £95 and learn-to-play days for corporates. Outside of London, Ascot Park Polo Club have 'learn to play polo days' and 'discover polo' lessons, only 40 minutes from London. If you just want to watch polo, pose in your aviators and drink Pimms, head to Mint Polo in the Park which takes place in June every year at Hurlingham Park near Parsons Green.
Power Yoga
Often conventional yoga methods such as Hatha and Iyengar can focus on breathing techniques that avid fitness enthusiasts might find a bit wishy-washy. Power Yoga is the answer to this. It offers a more dynamic form of yoga based on Ashtanga Yoga where you receive the typical flexibility and posture benefits but also work up a sweat due to its fast flowing, aerobic style. The Power Yoga Company in Parsons Green labels itself as London's first power yoga studios and offers a suitable range of classes. Yoga London also is a good source for power yoga class information and centres.
Parkour is a method of physical training where the goal is to overcome both physical and mental obstacles. It originated in the forests of France, where it was known as 'Le Parkour' or 'PK' and participants, known as 'traceurs,' would imagine they were running for their lives. Nowadays, it usually involves leaping around urban landscapes, buildings, park benches, cars, dustbins or whatever you can get your hands on. Southfields-based Parkour Generations has good-value classes catering to anyone from complete beginners to advanced enthusiasts. Furthermore, it offers a free class on the last Sunday of every month. Good spots for Parkour include London's Southbank and Vauxhall Walls with a variety of structures to negotiate. Parkour Generations also has a Parkour Hotspots Map to help you find your ideal location.
By Sam Parton
Sam is the co-Founder of Open Play which takes the pain out of finding and booking sports facilities such as London cricket pitches.
Part A: Aerobics, Aikido, Archery, Athletics, Aussie Rules Football
Part B: Badminton, Baseball, Basketball, Bikram Yoga, Boules, Bowls, Boxing
Part C: Canoeing, Climbing, Cricket, Croquet, Curling, Cycling
Part D: Dance, Darts, Disc Golf, Diving, Dodgeball, Dragon Boat Racing
Part E: Equestrian, English Billiards, Eight-a-side Football, Endurance Running, Extreme Sports
Part F: Fives, Football, Fencing, Frisbee
Part G: Gaelic Football, Golf, Go-Karting, Goalball, Gridiron
Part H: Handball, Hang Gliding, Hatha Yoga, Hiking, Hockey, Hula Hooping and Hurling
Part I: Ice Climbing, Ice Hockey, Indoor Cricket, Indoor Football, Inline Skating, and Iyengar Yoga.
Part J: Jazz Dancing, Jianzi, Jitsu, Jiu Jitsu, Judo, Jogging, Jorkyball
Part K: Karate, Kiyaking, Kickboxing, Kite Surfing, Korfball, Kung Fu
Part L: Lacrosse, Land Yachting, Laser Tag, Lawn Bowling, Lawn Tennis, Lethwei
Part N and O: Netball, Nordic skiing, Orienteering, Outdoor Rowing, Outdoor Swimming,


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RTC Live: WAC TournamentPosted by rtmsf on March 11th, 2009
3/14 Update. Crazy night in Reno last night – here's our wrapup on the semis, and whatever you do, don't offer the mascot $100 to attack the other mascot. Stay safe out there, Nevadans! Should be a great environment there tonight.
3/13 Update: here's the live-blog for tonight's WAC semifinal between Utah St. and New Mexico St., with the second semifinal between Louisiana Tech and the homestanding Nevada following it.
Hello WAC fans, and welcome to RTC Live's ongoing coverage of the WAC Tournament from Reno, Nevada. We have been fortunate to partner with Travis Mason-Bushman from Vandal Nation, who will be live-blogging and reporting from the Lawlor Events Center throughout the weekend. The Tournament began last night with a single opening round game (Fresno St. defeated Hawaii), but the quarterfinals will begin in earnest on Thursday afternoon. For additional information on this tournament, be sure to check out the comprehensive WAC Tournament preview put together by our regular WAC correspondents, Kevin McCarthy and Sam Wasson.
Travis will be live-blogging select games throughout the weekend, starting tomorrow with the quarterfinal matchup between #1 seed Utah St. and #9 seed Fresno St. This has the potential to be an atypical high/low seed game, as Fresno took the slumping Aggies to overtime in a regular season meeting. If you're new to the site, the live-blog box will show immediately below this paragraph, and Travis will be taking comments and questions throughout the game. Particularly insightful questions will be chosen for him to take into the media press conference and/or locker rooms afterwards. Enjoy the WAC Tournament, and check back here daily to see which games we'll be live-blogging next.
And be sure to check out the Idaho vs. Louisiana Tech game tonight, live-blogged below.


text: Welcome to the Shaun Tabatt Show! Today my special guest is Don Whitney and we're talking about his book Praying the Bible (Crossway, 2015). About The Book: When you pray, does it ever feel like you're just saying the same old things about the same old things? Offering us the encouragement and the practical advice we're all looking for, Donald S. Whitney, best-selling author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, outlines an easy-to-grasp method that has the power to transform our prayer life: praying the words of Scripture. Simple, yet profound, Praying the Bible will prove invaluable as you seek to commune with your heavenly Father in prayer each and every day. About The Author: Donald S. Whitney is professor of biblical spirituality and associate dean at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He has written several books related to Christian spirituality, including Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life and Praying the Bible. Don blogs regularly at BiblicalSpirituality.org. For additional show notes, visit ShaunTabatt.com/023.


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Apr 01, 2005 Comments (0)
The manufacturing, warehousing and logistics sectors are set to benefit most from the new development as the rugged durability and high-performance of the printer allow it to generate quality labels in demanding environments, such as factory floors and goods storage areas.
Bernard Williams, RFID business development manager, EMEA, said: "European FMCG suppliers and handlers are starting RFID pilot schemes but the many different types of labels currently being trialled, make the selection of a printer difficult. This printer has been produced to simplify the decision for supply chain managers and future proof the investments that they make. The R110XiIIIPlus HF RFID printer/encoder can print on a wider selection of 13.56 Mhz tags than any other encoder currently on the market. Compliant tags include Philips' I-Code, Philips'EPC, TI's Tag-it, Inside Technologies' PicoTag, and the ISO 15693 from Philips, Infineon and Texas Instruments."
The R110XiIIIPlus is ideal for businesses in the pilot stages of implementing RFID programmes. With its ability to produce swing tags, inserts and stickable labels of all sizes, the R110XiIIIPlus can be quickly and easily adapted to labelling different products in different formats. This gives users the versatility to trial multiple applications with minimal investment.
Williams explains the importance of HF encoding; "The reason companies need HF RFID tags is that they still work, even when there are lots of labelled items being scanned close together. This means they can be used to label individual cartons or pallets without the information colliding or becoming confused together when they are scanned. This is what makes the technology particularly suited to the FMCG business."
Key features and applications:
Print width 104mm
Integrated HF RFID Reader / Encoder
Enhanced Alert Notification
Multi-level Element Energy Equaliser for superior print quality
Thermal transfer or direct thermal print methods
Because the R110XiIIIPlus builds R140 functionality into the successful Xi platform, it brings all of the integration and printing technology that Zebra has developed in this successful high-performance range.


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For the first time in 130 years, Tokyo has gone without snow. In what has been a very mild winter, retailers have been disappointed with the lull in sales for winter related goods.
Archive | Tokyo News
Find hotels right here
Madonna to appear in Tokyo bay development commercial
By Michael Henry on February 4, 2007 in Tokyo News
Madonna has just finished a commercial to promote a new high rise development in Tokyo. The commercial was filmed in London. Source
Find hotels right here
National Art Center Opens
By Michael Henry on January 23, 2007 in Tokyo News
A new art musuem opens this week in Roppongi. Here are the details of the new gallery.
Find hotels right here
Medical care exhibition at the future museum
By Michael Henry on January 9, 2007 in Tokyo News
A futuristic exhibition has opened at Miraikan or the the Future museum in Tokyo. It is the first time a non-Japanese exhibitor has worked at the museum. Source
Find hotels right here
Azabu Juban Area Guide
By Michael Henry on October 24, 2005 in Tokyo News
I have started working on an Azabu Juban area guide. It is one of my favorite areas in Tokyo and will hopefully get time to add more information on the many bar and restaurant options available in the area in the coming months.
Find hotels right here
← Previous 1 2


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Okay, the title of this blog is Beers 'N' Books, so every once in a while I'm going to have to to review a book!
And this is one of the best of 2012 so far.
Dare Me by Megan Abbott is the story of high school cheerleaders. Yes, high school cheerleaders. And it's one of the darkest books you'll read.
When Addy and Beth, seniors on their high school squad, are introduced to their new coach they react in opposite ways. Beth, always the ringleader of the team, doesn't like how Coach French is breaking the team down and lifting all of them into stars. Beth's always been the star. Addy, however, is experiencing life in ways she never thought possible, all because of Coach French. While Addy and the rest of the team focus on their season, Beth begins to undermine Coach French.
And then there's a suicide hits close to home.
To say any more would be the ruin the book.
But know this, as a teacher, reading books about teenagers always has me walking a tight rope. A lot of books get kids wrong. They either play them too young and clueless, or too old and worldly. Abbott hits the notes just right. I believed that Abby, Beth, and the rest were real, breathing teenagers. Their actions are true to the characters, and also true to the life of a current high school student.
Abbott pulls the reader a long with a light, sarcastic first person narrative, that builds tension slowly, until it feels as if the whole powder keg is about to blow. This book is going to get compared to MEAN GIRLS a ton, but it's feels to me to be closer to the underrated ASSASSINATION OF A HIGH SCHOOL PRESIDENT.
The ending will leave you breathless. One last twist that feels totally true to the novel, yet at the same time comes out of left field. It'll have you flipping back the pages to make sure you read everything exactly right.
Abbott knocks this one out of the park. Pre-order it now, and read it as soon as it's in your hands.


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we offer quality serivce!
At Whitley Metals we offer products for the homebuilder. Such as; brick veneer lintels, metal support, columns, structural I-beams, metal for suspended porches and ornamental wrought iron for railings and gates. Our handrails and spiral stairs are custom built to the specification that are needed for each job. We can make them as plain or as fancy as you like.
We also offer portable welding and can fabricate and cut most any type of steel you need. Should we not have the metal in stock we can get it for you next day most of the time.
We also have crane trucks for setting the beams that you need and for most type of lifting such as trusses, etc.
Get the right materials for your business or project, whether you need standard supplies and parts or a custom made piece.
Our services include ornamental custom made fences. Ornamental metal work. Wrought iron hand rails and stairs. Welding service. Crane or Boom truck service. Please call us to see how we can help you!
Contact Us
Contact us today for information regarding metal, custom projects and products. We'll get you what you need done.
Call Us Today At ♦ (919) 894-3326
YP Reviews
672 Mount Pleasant Rd
Willow Spring, NC 27592


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There are many reasons why you should choose us for your removal. Below we have outlined just a few of them;
We are a family run local business, priding ourselves on providing a friendly and personal service with a smile. We aim to make your move as stress free as possible.
Goods in transit insurance for all items whilst in our care provided by a leading UK insurer, giving you that extra piece of mind. We provide all the equipment needed to carry out your removal in a safe and efficient manor.
We offer competitive and honest prices. We don't waste time whilst 'on the clock', offering excellent value for money for those on a budget.
- No job is too big or too small, but every job is important. We take care of your possessions with the same care respect that we would give our own belongings.
We are based in Penzance, West Cornwall and offer our services the length and breadth of Britain.


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It sounded like the perfect place because it's a wine bar that serves cheese and sliced meats and I love cheese. When we arrived we discovered that it was happy hour and it lasted until 7pm! Awesome!
After spending 4 years in Utah behind the Zion curtain...it felt naughty to sit in front of this wall of wine. I adjusted and enjoyed discovering a new favorite wine with the help of Ben who gave me a sip of a couple choices to pick from. I decided on Layer Cake Shiraz which seemed appropriate for my birthday and my husband tried both the red and white Sangria. Just a note here to let you know that after the second glass of Magic Sangria...my husband agreed to take me to Italy. If you want something from you husband...take him to Sketch for a couple drinks!
They have a nice little seating area but we sat a the bar. We loved the simple lines and color scheme. It feels classy and special without feeling stuffy. And the staff made us feel like we were regulars.
We tried two kinds of meat. We loved both of them...but I really liked the taste of the capers with the Caropccio of Beef. And those skinny bread sticks are a great accompaniment.
Jamon Serrano
Carpaccio of Beef*
|Carpaccio of Beef
Manchego El Toboso from Spain
Aspen Ash Goats Milk from Longmont Co
Bleu De Lacquein from France*
Roomano Pradera from Holland
Delice De Argental from Bourgogne, France*
Lamborn Bloomers Goats Milk from Basalt Co
Sheep Riccota from California*
Vella Dry Jack from Sonoma California
|Bleu Cheese
|Delice De Argental
Sketch Wine Bar ended up being the perfect way to begin our evening and we wish we had a hip, neighborhood bar like this near our home.
Sketch is also open for breakfast and makes a great cup of espresso according to the tattooed woman that sat next to me at the bar that didn't know what a sister wife was. Also, Wednesday is Wino night with Happy Hour all day long and a DJ playing at 9pm.
Sketch Wine Bar
11 W. 1st Ave
Denver, CO 80223
Sketch on Facebook
Sketch on Twitter


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The main characters (Mako Mori and Raleigh Becket) are very accessible and interesting. Together they pilot a Jaeger (giant robot) called Gipsy Danger to fight the Kaijus (giant monsters), that emerge from a rift in the Pacific Ocean with a mission to destroy mankind. Jaegers try to hold these creatures back and defend the cities that are in the Pacific Rim.
I just fell in love with Gipsy Danger. She's such a magnificent piece of machinery and she was beautifully rendered in each scene she was in.
First I painted the little star in the middle. Then I painted the shield surrounding it and finally I painted the wings. Once this was dry, I made a white dot in the middle of the star so that the red I used over it would pop. (Pop Pop!)
Then I painted "Gipsy" on my index finger and "Danger" on my middle finger with white nail polish.
As you can see, my typography needs some practice, but I'm happy with Gipsy's logo.
Nail polish used:
- Yves Rocher Correction Shine and Fill Base Coat
- Yves Rocher Anti-Breakage Nail Strengthening Base Coat
- Essence White Tip Painter
- Catrice Pool Party At Night
- Essence Kiss On Top Of The Rock
- Catrice Quick Dry & High Shine
As you can see, my cuticles are not doing so well, even though I've been applying creams. Guess the summer and heat aren't the best for my nails...
I hope you like my Gipsy Danger nails. I had a lot of fun doing them.
Have you been to the movies lately? What movie did you see and did you like it?
Lots of ♥,


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Instruments and Reagents:
Cat.No. 173016 Spectroquant® VIS Spectrophotometer Prove 100 or
Cat.No. 173017 Spectroquant® UV/VIS Spectrophotometer Prove 300 or
Cat.No. 173018 Spectroquant® UV/VIS Spectrophotometer Prove 600 or
Cat.No. 109748 Spectroquant® Photometer NOVA 30 or
Cat.No. 109751 Spectroquant® Photometer NOVA 60 or
Cat.No. 173632 Spectroquant® Colorimeter Move 100
Cat.No. 114946 Rectangular cells 10 mm and/or
Cat.No. 114947 Rectangular cells 20 mm and/or
Cat.No. 114944 Rectangular cells 50 mm
Cat.No. 114794 Spectroquant® Silicate (Silicic Acid) Test
Cat.No. 100317 Hydrochloric acid 37 % for analysis
Cat.No. 100456 Nitric acid 65 % for analysis
Cat.No. 101164 Ammonium fluoride for analysis
Cat.No. 116754 Water for analysis
Sample preparation:
In a well covered glass beaker dissolve about 100 mg of sample in 3 ml hydrochloric acid 37 % and 3 ml nitric acid 65 % on the steambath. When completely dissolved, evaporate the acids, to a well-dried, acid-free, crystalline solid residue.
After taking up into a few ml of water for analysis, transfer the solution to a 1000-ml volumetric flask, fill to the mark with water for analysis and mix well.
Transfer this solution immediately to a polyethylene flask, into which about 0.2 g of ammonium fluoride has been put. Dissolve the salt completely and mix the solution well. After a waiting period of 15 minutes analyse the material.
Determine with the above mentioned test kit.
|Silicon (total) content in % =
|analysis value in mg/l Si x 100
|weight of sample in mg


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The members page of a regular (non-private) team will only ever list the members whose profiles are not public. So for a member to not show up there, they could just make their own profile private.
However, if the repos are public, so are their commits, which identify all the committers, which if the members are developers, will probably include all of them again. Is this what you are after?


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Looney Tunes character Marvin
We really are obsessed with finding life in space. If it's not Martian invaders á la Orson Welles it's Marvin the Martian hunting down poor old Bugs Bunny. Tales of visitations from and abductions by aliens abound on the internet. And we have telescopes dedicated to listening for signals or spotting unusual variations in the light from Sun like stars.
There have been two in particular that have fuelled the imagination, especially of copywriters. The first is KIC 8462852 also known as Tabby's star after one its discoverer Tabetha Boyajian. This star is 1,480 light-years away in Cygnus and is an f-type star, slightly younger than the Sun but otherwise pretty similar. In October 2015 Astronomers at Yale found it displayed some unusual light variations.
The position of Tabby's star.
A lot of stars vary in brightness and output (even the Sun albeit very little) and are well understood; they may have companion stars crossing in front of them blocking off some light, think Algol (beta Persei) or there may be a dense cloud that passes by doing the same thing as it orbits a star (as is the case with epsilon Aurigae, which has a noticeable 27 year period.)
(Notice how much more regular are the dips for Algol in brightness than for Tabby's star below.)
The way the light changes for these types of objects is pretty straightforward and smooth. Not so for Tabby's star; astronomers noticed that it faded at first by about 0.34% over a few years but it then in just 200 days it faded by 2.5%. It then carried on fading in its previous way. No star near-by showed similar patterns.
The Kepler space telescope had been monitoring Tabby's star for a number of years and showed that in 2011 and 2013 the star dimmed a very dramatic way. It had faded by a whopping 22%. This dimming could last between five and eighty days at a time. Something very big had to be passing in front of it. (Flux refers here to the brightness of the object.)
This led some to suggest a Dyson Sphere. In 1960 theoretical physicist Freeman Dyson suggested that an advanced civilisation might be able to build and sphere or shell to encase a star to harness its power, or that a swarm of satellites or solar panels could surround a star, known as a Dyson swarm, could do the same thing. A Dyson swarm would be easier than an all encompassing sphere to build but still is beyond our ability. Other fanciful suggestions have been gigantic space habitation platforms or even artificially built occulting masks that deliberately dim the star to alert other species that there is life there.
As a result a lot of radio telescopes were turned towards the star to listen for any signal that might suggest life. Sadly nothing has, so far, been heard.
As with the 'Little Green Men' signal that ushered in the discovery of the super regular emissions of pulsars people are quick to imagine the fanciful; the reality is likely to be slightly more prosaic but none the less interesting. Current theories suggest the unusual diming may be caused by the break-up of a lot of really large comets orbiting the star (although how this would happen is debatable) or it could even be errors with the data…we still don't yet know.
But, if you're hoping for aliens another 234 stars have piqued interest. A paper released on arXiv.org claims that after looking at 2.5 million stars surveyed by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey 234 have a very unusual and puzzling light signature. One of the lead astronomers for this paper EF Borra (who works in Canada) claims these light patterns are similar to those he proposed in an earlier paper that might come from an alien civilisation signalling their existence to others. (Here is the link to the paper; https://arxiv.org/abs/1610.03031 )
Could they be from aliens? This is what the scientists themselves say in their pre-amble to the article; "We find that the detected signals have exactly the shape of an ETI signal predicted in the previous publication and are therefore in agreement with this hypothesis. The fact that they are only found in a very small fraction of stars within a narrow spectral range centred near the spectral type of the sun is also in agreement with the ETI hypothesis. However, at this stage, this hypothesis needs to be confirmed with further work." They do go on to add a note of caution; "Although unlikely, there is also a possibility that the signals are due to highly peculiar chemical compositions in a small fraction of galactic halo stars."
(ETI stands for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence.)
Well a lot more studying of these signals from a lot more institutes with a lot more equipment will be needed before any definite answer can be given. Perhaps the brand new Chinese radio telescope FAST may look at these signals…
FAST stands for Five hundred metre Aperture Spherical Telescope and is one of the largest radio telescopes in the world. In area it is roughly the equivalent to thirty football pitches or 200,000 square meters. Work began on building it in 2011 and it is already built and after undergoing tests before beginning its working life on the 25th September 2016. The web page for FAST is; http://fast.bao.ac.cn/en/
There is a larger radio telescope in Russia called RATAN 600 which is 576m in diameter, but, unlike FAST, is composed of segments that make up the whole dish (895 of them of size 2×7.4 m.) It was involved in the detection of an unusual and regular signal which could have been alien in origin, however after other observatories failed to repeat the observation, and because of the frequency it was observed it was decided that RATAN had picked up signals from a secret military reconnaissance satellite.
RATAN commemorated in a 1987 stamp.
So, you do need to be careful when making assumptions about unusual observations, as it could be alien in origin or more likely something else all together!


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A Baltimore Tour de Sleaze—Part 3
A journey to the center of Baltimore's Block
By Ingrid Verde and Andre Novak
Bar #4—███████████████
Note: The name of this establishment has been deleted at the insistence of Cream City's lawyers.
I recall very little about the ride to The Block except that, once we were in the car, I started on some kind of political tirade that seemed to unsettle the driver. He was a good sport though. Also, Ingrid's leg was hanging out of the car's rear-left door as we drove off from Sherrie's. She pulled it in before it became an issue though. We made it to The Block in record time. The hard part, we quickly realized, was deciding on where to spend the little money we had left.
After a lot of arguing and peering through smudged, neon-lit strip-club doorways, we finally decided to try the largest and glitziest-looking joint on the block—you know which one. I was completely opposed to setting foot in the place, but I'd been out-voted by my associates. Jim kept insisting that we'd have "the time of our lives"—I remained 100% skeptical. The place just seemed too pricey and corporate for any real fun to be going down there. Ingrid had to drag me past the front doors as we entered. After going through some kind of blurry and expensive admission ritual, we were finally permitted to enter the dance room. The whole thing felt like passing through a military checkpoint.
Now, the exterior of this place didn't make it seem that much bigger than most establishments on The block, but let me tell you: the interior is massive beyond your wildest imaginings. In a single room roughly the size of the Parthenon, hundreds—maybe thousands—of round black tables surround a tall circular stage on the main floor. The stage's center is marked with two metal poles rising some 80 feet into the air, all the way to the ceiling. Each wall of the establishment is actually a stack of two additional floors, each opened to the stage for your viewing pleasure.
We were seated at a table way in the back. Jim was barking lasciviously about how great the place was as we paid large sums of money for our drinks. I didn't like it. We were too far from the action. Even with my tiny binoculars, I could barely see the stage. I felt stranded in the desert of the real. From where I sat, there seemed to be tiny speck of a woman performing acrobatics on the pole at 60-ish feet up. But who could be sure from that distance?
I was growing weary, readying myself to organize a mutiny, when a thin man with a dark beard sidled up next to me. He leaned over and whispered something.
"You know, there are no girls here," he said.
"No girls—not a single one. It's all CGI or somethin'. I just came back from the front. I reached onto the stage to put a couple bucks inna girl's g-string and my hand went right through 'er—some kind a hologram, I think. I'm tryin' to tell as many people as I can on my way out."
I put my binoculars up to my eyes. It was hard to see what he meant, but the dancer on stage did have kind of a translucent glow about her. I started to turn toward the man.
"Hey, lemme go!"
I heard him shouting before I even saw the two men in black suits grabbing each of his shoulders. They each hooked an arm under the man's armpits and began calmly dragging him in the direction of the door.
"Hey! Hey! I want my mone—"
He was pulled right through the exit doors.
By that time, Jim had apparently gone AWOL with his Tinder Date. I hadn't noticed or cared. Ingrid, Brad, and I decided to try our luck elsewhere. We slunk toward the exit as the two men in suits stared us down. I'm on to you, I thought to myself, looking them in the eyes.
After we got out the door, we figured Little Darlings would be the logical next step as it was so close. We walked down a set of fuzzy stairs, into a darkened purple-lighted room where we each paid a cover of merely $5 before we were granted access to all of our wildest dreams, so we hoped.
"Let's go next door—to the sketchier place. Im sure there's no cover, and it's more of what we are looking for," Andre protested in front of ███████████████ where Jim had led us.
We headed next door only to find that they had an entrance fee, albeit half the cost of ██████'s. After a minor debate and at Jim's insistence, we found ourselves at ██████—the granddaddy of Baltimore strip clubs. Out front, commanding signs and a long red-carpeted stairwell led up to the club.
Inside, clusters of tables circled a Colosseum-esque arena with two poles that led up to the high ceiling. The nude dancers climbed the pole to the second floor before twirling high above our heads and then dropping to the floor. I gasped, believing a freak accident to be inevitable and imagining the performer, mangled and broken, at the base of the pole. The $20 cover seemed worth the nude version of Cirque de Soleil.
A cocktail waitress interrupted my revelry to ask if I wanted a drink. I assessed my current level of intoxication and decided I should skip alcohol in favor of water.
"Are you crazy? Water costs just as much as alcohol here. Just get another drink." Brad admonished.
This mentality had gotten me into a lot of trouble before. Shit was going to get crazy.
"Has anyone seen Jim and what's her name?" I asked.
"They got a private room." Brad said.
"OH in that case, let's go back to the other place we scoped out. That's what we came here for. Besides, I'm starting to think these strippers are just CGI holograms anyways…" Andre muttered.
Bar #5—Little Darlings
This establishment was small, but definitely more of a shoebox than a broom closet. The place was brimming with strippers. The management had simply hired too many girls for that night it seemed—the dancer-to-customer ratio was some 10 to 1. Also, the purple-ish lighting reminded me of black-lights and I knew we'd hit the jackpot. This was the place we'd been looking for. The three of us had to push our way through a small sea of near-naked female bodies as we walked toward the mainstage. I took a short detour past the bar and ordered another Pikesville on ice.
By the time I sat down next to my compatriots, Ingrid was already swarmed by a gaggle of strippers who were stroking her hair and lightly grabbing at her body like gentle molesters. Brad and I, it seemed, had turned into translucent ghosts at some point, which was fine with me. Brad, however, descended into a state of outrage as he shook his head, throwing his hands up, and commenting repeatedly on how Ingrid was hoarding all of the girls. "No respect," he muttered lowering, his face into his palms.
I simply couldn't relate in that moment. I turned toward the stage only to realize that one of the dancers had been staring me right in the face—with her brown eye. She was bent forward and shaking her butt-cheeks in my direction. How long had this been going on? Was I supposed to tip her? I was clueless on matters of strip club protocol. Fortunately, a doughy kid in a Batman t-shirt stepped in and saved the day.
"I got it, man," he said to me, probably reading the panic on my numbed face.
He took a fistful of dollars and casually threw them at the dancer's ass. She turned her head to smile at him. I noticed she had brown eyes.
"Thanks," I said.
It was time for another Pikesville. However, I was horrified when the people at the bar told me the credit card machine was broken and they were only accepting cash. The barman pointed me toward the ATM in the far corner of the shoebox. Fair enough, I thought while taking wobbly baby-steps toward the glowing machine. I remember that a new song came on as I walked—some kind of slow organ dirge started seeping through the speakers. An airy female voice began:
Look on down from the bridge
There's still fountains down there…
I shook my head and wondered what kind of sick joker-of-a-DJ would play that song in a club like this. No matter—I was on a mission. But even all of that went to shit as I approached the ATM and caught a slippery patch on the carpet with the heel of my shoe. I fell over and onto my back.
Everybody seems so far away from me
Everybody just wants to be free
A man dressed in a tuxedo-vest and bow-tie stood over me, and asked if I was ok. I reached into my pocket.
"Sir, there's no smoking in here."
"I know that."
I discreetly slid the cigarettes back into my pocket and pulled my cell phone out. "I'm calling my lawyer, that's all."
"That won't be necessary, sir."
I'm just gone, just gone…
"Yeah, I know."
Walking back to the stage I noticed that there were now three girls on stage, making out and grinding on each other. Whoa.
As I approached my seat, I asked Brad where Ingrid was. His eyes were wide and he just kept staring at the spectacle on stage. That's when it hit me. I slowly turned my head around to confirm my theory. Ingrid was on stage. I turned back to Brad.
"What happened?"
"I dunno. They just pulled her on stage and she seemed down for it. They yanked her clothes off and then all of this started."
Ingrid was standing, dancing and making out with one stripper while another one seemed to have her face tucked between her thighs.
There's a light in your eyes
And you know, yeah you know
Batman was still seated to my right and his eyes were visibly dewy.
"This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he muttered.
"Is it really?!" I snapped.
Look on down from the bridge
I'm still waiting for you
I thought we'd been kicked out promptly at 2:00AM, which, at the time, seemed really strange in a place like that. However, I was later informed that we had, in fact, lingered around until about 3:30AM. That's when were booted. Ingrid put her clothes on and we left, walking east down Baltimore Street in search of the next big thing.
We headed through a dark and narrow stairwell leading down to the doorway of Little Darlings. Once the door opened, I knew this was it. This is what we had been searching for. We had made it to the Promised Land— one overflowing with strippers and liquor.
"YES! This is everything I had hoped it would be!" Andre voiced my sentiment as he rushed to the bar in the back corner.
Our trio sat down at the seats arranged around the stage next to a guy with a Batman t-shirt, greasy hair, untrimmed beard, and slight paunch. I wondered how he was going to sneak back into his mom's basement later that night.
"Oh my god that girl is so hot—the brunette one onstage." Brad gushed.
A tall slim dancer called Jessie went on with a shorter girl wearing a g-string and jock socks. They twirled around the pole before sliding to the floor and crawling about together and simulating oral sex. Brad was in love. Jessie caught my eye and crawled to the edge of the stage.
"Hey there, sexy. You are gorgeous."
"Seriously, Ingrid? They're hitting on you?" Brad interjected.
"Come onstage," she urged, pulling me towards the platform.
I resisted.
"DO IT!" Brad goaded.
"Come on Ingrid.. Come on! IN-GRID! IN-GRID…"
The other dancer had joined her in pulling me towards them; I was helpless against the siren song.
As I climbed onto the stage, Jessie unzipped my jacket and I threw it toward the audience. It smacked Brad in the face. Bright lights blinded me to the spectators. Jessie and Jocksocks simultaneously undressed me; I was oblivious to anything else. A fog machine (or, maybe, the copious amounts of alcohol I had consumed) created a haze that glowed with the lasers and rotating, multi-colored lights.
"Kiss me."
Jessie's lips were soft and sweet. I have no idea how long we made out pressed up against the pole onstage while the other dancer tangled between our legs, but, eventually, the set ended, and I retrieved my strewn clothing while making my way back to my seat.
"That was amazing! And I have pictures!" Brad exclaimed. "I would have had more too if the bouncer hadn't slapped my phone out of my hand."
He shot an irritated glance at the towering presence staring at us from the wall.
"I was just about to shoot a video when someone shouted, 'Hey! Show some respect!'—that's when Shaq's big brother decided to assault my phone."
Oh, that's just great…
The neck-beard in the batman shirt learned forward and turned toward me.
"I just want to say that was the hottest thing I've ever seen."
Seriously? I laughed awkwardly as I put my shirt back on.
The girls were completing their shifts and came over to socialize. Jessie and Kendra sat on the side of my chair, while another girl played with my hair behind me. Everyone moved in a sort of blur. At any given moment I had my tongue in a different girl's mouth. Brad shook his head in despair behind us.
"Are you all lesbians?" he inquired.
"No, but how could you not love her." Kendra purred.
I hadn't realized we were the only ones left in the club until the Shaq look-alike screamed, "Girls—clothes on! You guys, OUT!"
"You need to come to our after party." Jessie appealed as she handed me my phone.
I had several new additions in my contacts list under names like "Kassie" and "Jewel."
"Alright we will." I affirmed as we were shuffled out into the cool, forsaken streets of Baltimore.
"We are going to that after party." Brad stated while hailing a cab.
My phone vibrated constantly with directions from several sources.
"Hell, no," I slurred. "I was making out with like five girls, and they're all asking me to come now—way too much girl drama. I can't do that…"
"It'd be great for the story," Andre mused.


text:
|The National Trust entrance to Mottisfont
Mottisfont is by some measure the most visited National Trust garden in the country, the main attraction being its fabulous rose garden, created in the old walled kitchen gardens by Graham Stuart Thomas from 1972 onwards. In the main walled area, he brought in many from his own extensive collection of roses while in the north garden he planted only old roses, many which had been thought lost, but which he was able to source from Sangerhausen, a noted rose garden in Germany.
The gardens were until his recent retirement looked after by David Stone, and attracted many rose specialists such as Jon Dodson, who also maintained a beautiful collection of his own old roses.
Click here for more photos of the house and garden


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by David Turnoy
Why would 82 people from San Juan, Whatcom, and Skagit Counties go down to Redmond on a rainy Saturday to campaign for a candidate for the state senate>
"To change the balance of power in the Washington State Senate, and Manka Dhingra is a fantastic candidate!" exclaimed Mark Mayer, Chair of SJC Our Revolution.
Commented Geri Turnoy, "I think we've all been looking for an action to take since the election that could help change the direction of politics, at least in Washington State. With Manka Dhingra as a candidate for senate in the 45th district, this was an excellent opportunity for us to get out and do something productive."
Last fall after the election, Senator Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas, gave a rousing speech in which he told us that by flipping one senate seat from Republican to Democrat, we could stop having to fight bills like criminalizing homelessness, disenfranchising voters, and expanding tax loopholes for Big Oil. By taking over the senate, we can pass bills like the Voting Rights Act, the Equal Pay Act, and protecting children from toxic toys (can you believe Senate Republicans oppose this?).
Manka is a fantastic candidate, a community leader and contributor for more than 20 years as a deputy prosecutor, mental health advocate, anti-domestic violence leader and an award-winning PTA parent and Girl Scout leader. Contrast that with the Republican candidate, who recently moved to the district to run for this seat, having no local ties and no relevant experience.
While it was a long day, taking an early ferry, then a bus, going out canvassing, then returning that night, the camaraderie among the more than 30 of us from the islands was terrific. Instead of contributing money for another mailer, with which people in Manka's district are already being bombarded, Ranker wanted the personal touch of talking to voters, and it was great to be able to interact with people on a human level. Bob Dash said, "Numerous people were on the fence, but by having conversations they were grateful to hear more about our candidate. Some said they are very enthusiastic but didn't know it would swing the senate—that was really important."
A big THANKS goes to the San Juan County Democrats, the Orcas Women's Coalition, Our Revolution, the Riveters Collective, the Skagit and Whatcom Democrats, the 40th Legislative District Democrats, and especially to Ranker and the coordinator of this whole event, Natalie Menacho.
David Turnoy is Chair of the SJC Democrats.