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Purchasing Music Online for your iPod or iPhone
Many people considering the purchase of an iPod mistakenly believe that the iTunes Store is the only place where iPod users can purchase music. In reality, however, nothing could be further from the truth: Not only have users always been able to import standard audio CDs into iTunes and transfer them to the iPod, but in the past year or so a whole new range of iPod-compatible music stores have begun to pop up on the Internet. Some of these services have been around for some time for other digital music platforms, while others are relatively new entries in the world of online music sales.
Traditionally, the problem with purchasing music online has been the requirement by the recording industry for vendors to impose some form of Digital Rights Management (DRM) restrictions on downloadable content. This was intended to prevent users from easily sharing music via online services, but in reality was little more than a headache for the majority of users. The problem is that not all DRM technologies are compatible with each other, which means that you were restricted to purchasing content from online stores with a DRM scheme that supported your particular choice of media player. Since Apple did not license their FairPlay DRM to any other online vendors nor license any other DRM technologies for the iPod, the iTunes Store was pretty much the only game in town for iPod owners who wanted the convenience of purchasing music online.
However, a funny thing happened with the success of the iPod: Since the only major iPod-compatible online store was Apple's own iTunes Store, it became popular as more and more people bought iPods, rising to become the number one online music retailer.
It wasn't that other stores didn't want to sell music in an iPod-compatible format, it was that they couldn't: the music labels were tying their hands by not allowing them to sell music without DRM, and Apple wasn't licensing its own DRM to any other online services. Of course, this left the record labels in a relatively uncomfortable position; they could either allow the iTunes Store to continue to dominate the online music retail business, or they could decide to loosen their stranglehold on digital copy protection in order to allow other retailers to sell music to the large and lucrative iPod customer base.
The end result was that the recording industry began allowing major online retailers such as Amazon and Walmart to begin selling music in the open, DRM-free MP3 format. Since just about every digital media player on the planet supports the MP3 format, this allows these online services to reach a much wider customer base, and provides a benefit for consumers in that your music is no longer tied to a single type of media device. In short, although one is of course expected to obey applicable licensing and copyright laws, the fact is that MP3 files have no technology-based restrictions on how you can use them—they will play in just about any digital audio application on your computer or mobile device and can be freely transferred and burned to CD without limitation.
In this article, we look at a few of the more popular sources for iPod users to purchase content online.
A Word about Audio Formats
Issues with Digital Rights Management (DRM) aside, there are three common audio formats in use by most online music services and media players.
- MP3—Short for MPEG-1, Audio Layer 3, this is the most common format by far and supported by pretty much every digital audio player sold today. The MP3 format does not provide for any form of DRM, so chances are that if you have an MP3 file, it is not restricted in any way.
- AAC—Short for Advanced Audio Coding, this is the preferred format used by Apple for its software and devices. Contrary to popular belief, however, this is not an Apple proprietary format, but is actually part of the MPEG-4 specification, and was originally designed to be the successor to the MP3 format. Many other modern digital audio players and even cell phones do support the AAC format, but it is not nearly as ubiquitous as the MP3 format. The AAC format can be DRM-protected, but this is only used by Apple with their FairPlay DRM on the iTunes Store. Users cannot create their own AAC DRM files, nor do any other online stores sell music in the AAC format.
- WMA—Windows Media Audio is a format developed by Microsoft and used by Windows Media Player as well as most other digital audio players on the market. A DRM-protected version of the WMA format is still used by many other online music stores and digital media players. Apple's software and devices do not directly support the WMA format in any manner, unprotected or not, although iTunes on Windows will offer to automatically convert unprotected WMA files into either MP3 or AAC format when you first import them into your library.
In addition to the audio format itself, a bit-rate is also frequently specified to indicate the relative quality of the music. This is expressed in kilobits per second, or "kbps" for short, and represents the amount of data stored for each second of music. Generally, a higher number represents better audio quality, although there is a point of diminishing returns for the majority of users. 128kbps is considered the minimum acceptable quality by most users, while bit-rates of 192kbps or 256kbps are considered by most to be indistinguishable from the source material even when played back on high-end equipment.
The iTunes Store
For many years, the iTunes Store was the only major legitimate online music retailer available to iPod users. Today, the majority of music purchased from the iTunes Store is still only available in a FairPlay DRM-protected AAC format that is only compatible with software and hardware made by Apple, specifically iTunes itself and the iPod, iPhone and Apple TV.
In the spring of 2007, Apple began selling tracks from certain labels in a new "iTunes Plus" format, which was a standard unprotected AAC format that could be used on any device supporting that format. In addition, while standard iTunes content is sold at a 128kbps bit-rate, iTunes Plus content is sold at a 256kbps bit-rate. Originally, iTunes Plus content sold at a slight premium over standard iTunes content, however today there is no price difference between the two types of content, and standard iTunes tracks are only sold where iTunes Plus versions are not available.
iTunes Plus tracks can be identified either by a small "Plus" symbol next to the track price, or by the words "iTunes Plus" found under the album name.
Tracks on the iTunes Store sell for $0.99 USD per track—a fixed-pricing model that Apple has been adamant about maintain even in the fact of industry pressure for variable pricing. Albums have a slightly different pricing model, however, since albums vary in number of tracks and whether or not bonus material such as videos are also included. The "normal" album price is $9.99 USD, although albums with extra content or the digital equivalent of multi-disc sets may sell for more than this. Further, Apple recently began selling albums at discount "sale" prices, and its also not uncommon to find shorter albums available for lower prices—generally if an album has less than 10 tracks on it, it sells for about the same price as buying the tracks individually.
At this point, the distinction between the iTunes and iTunes Plus content available seems to be in the hands of the record labels themselves, who make the determination on which tracks must be DRM-protected or not.
Note that the iTunes Store does sell more than just music, however. Depending on your country, you will also find music videos, audiobooks, TV shows, movies, and iPhone and iPod games and applications. The iTunes Store also serves as a gateway to subscribe to podcasts, but this is simply in the form of a podcast "directory" to simplify the process for users. Podcasts themselves are downloaded by iTunes directly from the podcaster's own site.
The iTunes Store has the advantage of being the most convenient source of music for iTunes users since it is available from directly within the iTunes application on your computer and directly from the iPhone, iPod touch and Apple TV. Further, the iTunes Store has the largest catalogue currently available internationally. Although the content availability differs between countries, the fact is that the iTunes Store now operates in over 60 different countries, making it still the only online music option for many users around the world.
Amazon MP3
Last year, Amazon became the first major retailer to begin selling music online in the unprotected standard MP3 format. Ironically, Amazon sells music only in the MP3 format, and their catalog of unprotected content is significantly more extensive than that available from iTunes itself, since ALL content is in the unprotected MP3 format.
Amazon MP3 uses a more variable pricing model, with most tracks selling between $0.79 and $0.99 USD, and in fact it's not at all uncommon to find tracks in the same album with different prices. Normal-length albums range from $3.99 to $12.99, with compilations and multi-disc albums selling at higher prices. Track and album pricing on Amazon MP3 appears to be determined largely on factors such as release date and popularity, and is generally in-line with the prices you would the equivalent CDs selling for in most retail stores.
Like iTunes, Amazon MP3 has some tracks that are available only as part of a purchase of an entire album, however users will often find that these "album-only" tracks actually differ between the iTunes Store and the Amazon MP3 store, so if you're looking to make a single-track purchase of a track listed as "album-only" it's always best to shop around.
Note that Amazon MP3 does not at this time provide any content other than music. Amazon MP3 provides files in the MP3 format at 256kbps and all downloaded files include the normal artist, album, and track name tags already filled in, as well as album artwork. Music
Although individually-purchased MP3 tracks can be downloaded directly, album and other multi-track downloads from the Amazon MP3 Store require the use of the Amazon MP3 Downloader application, which is available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The Amazon MP3 Downloader queues up your content and downloads it and can also automatically import newly-downloaded tracks into iTunes for you.
Note that at this time, Amazon MP3 is only available to users in the United States, and Amazon enforces this in much the same way that the iTunes Store does for its country-specific stores: Users may log on and use the Amazon MP3 store from any physical location, but a U.S. based credit card and billing address is required to make purchases.
Although Walmart has been selling music online in a WMA-based DRM format for some time now, they have recently switched their entire catalog over to the standard unprotected MP3 format.
Walmart uses a relatively fixed-price model similar to iTunes, with most individual tracks selling for $0.94 USD and most average-length albums selling for $9.22 USD. Discounts are occasionally available on selected tracks or albums, and prices differ proportionally for albums that are either longer or shorter than average length.
MP3 files from Walmart are encoded in either a 192kbps or 256kbps bit-rate, but unfortunately Walmart does not provide any indication on their store pages as to which bit-rate a given track is available in.
For Windows users, Walmart will prompt you to install a download manager the first time you purchase music from their online store. Mac OS X and Linux users are simply provided with a page of purchased content with appropriate download links. Once downloaded, Walmart MP3 files can be imported into iTunes simply by dragging and dropping them onto the iTunes window, or by using the File, Add to Library command from within iTunes itself.
Note that like Amazon MP3, Walmart's MP3 store is only available to users in the United States. However, unlike Amazon, you must be physically located in the United States, and Walmart.com uses IP address verification to enforce this, rather than simply looking at the billing address. They specifically note that even U.S. citizens residing at military addresses or other territories or protectorates outside of the 50 United States will not be able to use their services.
Another recent arrival on the MP3 scene for U.S. users is Napster. Ironically, Napster began as the first major peer-to-peer music sharing site, and then later re-branded itself as a more reputable organization selling music legitimately in the protected WMA format. Most recent users will know Napster as one of the first subscription-based online music services, which provided unlimited "rental" style downloads for a fixed monthly fee.
The Napster-to-Go subscription business model remains available in much the same manner as before—that is, using WMA-protected files incompatible with iTunes or the iPod, and designed to "expire" when you stop paying your monthly membership fee. However, Napster has recently begun selling much of their catalogue in the unprotected MP3 format.
MP3 tracks from Napster are priced at $0.99 per track, with albums being priced simply as an aggregate of the track price. MP3 files vary in quality between 128kbps and 256kbps, with all newer content being encoded at 256kbps. The quality is indicated during the purchase/checkout process.
After purchasing tracks, they are downloaded directly via your browser. Windows users with the Napster dekstop application installed can use this as a download manager, but this is not required.
Note that a Napster monthly membership is not required to purchase MP3 tracks from Napster, even though they will encourage you to sign up for one during your initial registration process. If you're only interested in purchasing MP3 files from Napster, about the only advantage to having a subscription is the ability to listen to full previews of tracks before you buy them. Without a subscription, you are limited to a 30-second preview.
Like Amazon and Walmart, Napster's MP3 service is available only in the United States at this time. Credit card billing addresses are used to verify U.S. residency.
Rhapsody MP3 Store
Rhapsody was an online service by Real Networks that has also existed for some time as a music store selling WMA-protected music for other digital audio devices. Rhapsody briefly toyed with reverse-engineering Apple's FairPlay DRM a few years ago in an attempt to sell music to iPod users, but that idea was quickly shut down by Apple due to licensing issues.
Rhapsody uses the standard $0.99 USD pricing model for individual tracks, with most average-length albums priced at $8.99 USD. All MP3 files from Rhapsody are encoded at a 256kbps bit-rate similar to the other online stores.
Rhapsody offers an additional feature which is somewhat unique from the other services: Users can listen to full-length previews of up to 25 songs per month with no membership or subscription required. Like Napster, a Rhapsody membership will allow unlimited full-length previews.
Purchased tracks can be downloaded directly from the Rhapsody site as a ZIP file, or Windows users may download and install a Rhapsody download manager.
As with most of the other online services that we have looked at, Rhapsody is only available to users in the United States. Credit card billing information is used to enforce this.
eMusic has been around for longer than even the iTunes Store, and is somewhat unique in its approach from most other online music retails. Unlike the others eMusic has always provided their content in the open and unprotected MP3 format. Unfortunately, this limits the selection of music available on eMusic's catalog—you won't find major record-label music here, but there is a great selection of over 4 million tracks from smaller labels and independent artists, which is where eMusic's primary focus lies.
eMusic works on a subscription-based model, but unlike services such as Napster-to-Go, you actually get to keep the tracks even if you choose to cancel your eMusic subscription. Instead of purchasing individual tracks, you sign up for a monthly subscription plan which includes a certain number of tracks per month.
Once you have downloaded your track quota for a given month, you either need to wait until the next month, or purchase a "Booster Pack" to add additional downloads.
The bit-rate of the MP3 files on eMusic can vary depending on the artist and/or source. Most files are 192kbps VBR, although they appear to be encoding some of their newer content at 256kbps.
Due to its focus on independent artists, eMusic has no country-specific restrictions on it, so you can use it from just about anywhere, and unlike the iTunes Store, there are no country-specific catalogues—you're accessing the same music catalog regardless of where you are.
With the music labels finally coming to the realization that placing technical DRM restrictions on content has done far more to alienate and confuse legitimate customers than it has to reduce music piracy, iTunes and iPod owners now have more options than ever for shopping around and finding legitimate sources of digital music online.
While iTunes may seem like the most obvious and convenient option, there is now some real, genuine competition out there in the online music business. Consumers who are concerned about maintaining the widest possible range of compatibility and "future-proofing" their music should definitely look to online stores that are selling music in the DRM-free MP3 format, as these tracks can be played anywhere, and in many cases are cheaper in price and higher in quality than those offered by the iTunes Store.
As the online music retail industry continues to evolve, we expect to see even more online music retailers popping up and offering music from major labels in open formats. Ironically, with all of these other options it seems that the iTunes Store is now behind the times as the major holdout in dropping DRM. To be fair, however, the music labels themselves likely share much of the blame for this situation at the present time, and we do hope to see Apple's entire iTunes Store catalogu. available in the iTunes Plus format soon, particularly since it remains the only viable source for purchasing music online for iTunes users living outside of the United States.
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Amazon MP3 is now also available in the UK. :)
Posted by Peter Johnston in Toronto on December 11, 2008 at 6:17 PM (CST)
Not sure why lala.com was left out. There you can listen to full length tracks of any song or album once and then buy a web song for only 10 cents to play that song an unlimited number of times. Additionally, lala uploads your entire itunes database allowing you to listen to any song there on their site, full length, without payment. Songs and albums can be downloaded in MP3 256 kbs VBR format using an tool that it similar to the Amazon tool and which puts your song directly into the itunes library. Pricing is generally less than either Amazon or Walmart, especially by the album. Albums can be 2 to 5 dollars cheaper. Most tracks are 89 cents. If had bought a web song for 10 cents and then later decide to buy the MP3 for that song, you get the 10 cents as a credit allowing you to buy it for 79 cents. I consider the site to be a bit confusing and not all that well constructed, but you can find what you need and the pricing is great. Oh, and their library is pretty complete with over 6 million tracks available.
Posted by Tim Boysen in Toronto on December 11, 2008 at 7:54 PM (CST)
Actually eMusic have some country restrictions. There are, as far as I know, different sites for US, Canada, UK and Europe (don't know if there is any other specific difference), so that some music can be available only in US, or only in Europe. I suppose it's because labels have different distribution partners in US and in Europe, or between the internal UK market and the worldwide distribution. Let's say that 'popular' indie music might not be available worldwide.
Posted by mcube in Toronto on December 11, 2008 at 8:21 PM (CST)
What about CalabashMusic.com? If you are interested in world music - i.e. something other than the same old pop music that keeps being churned out - this is the place to go. It has music from all over the world, provides much information about the artists, and more of the money you spend goes directly to the musicians rather than the big music conglomerates. CalabashMusic also provides microfinancing to help musicians in developing get the start-up capital they need.
Posted by Qrt in Toronto on December 12, 2008 at 10:35 AM (CST)
I have a one-year prepaid subscription to Rhapsody as a result of Yahoo Music going bust, but even though it's been 3 months since I began trying to access that prepaid subscription, I still cannot use it. About 30 emails back-and-forth to tech support results in the same thing: they just keep suggesting the same "remedies" that I HAVE tried but don't work. Sort-of like they just keep recycling their same tech support, over and over.
Anyone else had this problem? I'm losing money by the day but they don't seem to care about this.
Posted by Rick Schmidt in Toronto on December 13, 2008 at 5:32 PM (CST)
One of the best things about eMusic compared to all the others is that you can re-download any of your purchased tracks at any time. This way you always have a backup. None of the other stores offer that.
Posted by Jim McNamee in Toronto on December 19, 2008 at 10:58 AM (CST)
I wish you'd update for 2009. Now all of iTunes is DRM free
Posted by Adama Walters in Toronto on July 2, 2009 at 5:20 PM (CDT)
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text: UK SMEs 'Missing Out' On Export Market Experian Has Revealed UK SMEs Are Missing Out On The Lucrative Export Market 21.10.2013 David Shirt, Press Officer | 0161 838 3094 Research from global information service firm Experian has revealed some SMEs are not doing enough to take advantage of lucrative export contracts. Experts from the firm analysed more than 40,000 businesses that currently export so they could build a profile of the prototypical company that manages to make the most of foreign demand for British products. Key characteristics of opportunistic SMEs that excelled in their export operations were that they had more than 20 employees, multiple locations, geographical bases throughout the UK, a good credit rating and an auditing or accounting system. It was also found that Aberdeen has the highest proportion of businesses that have these positive characteristics, mainly due to the Scottish city's access to a lucrative oil and gas industry, which attracts pan-European interest. In terms of regional attainment, London had three of the top ten areas capable of making the most of the global market. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Cambridge, Falkirk, Dundee and Kirkaldy also rounded out the top of the chart. Experian also studied which specific industries maintain an international client base and it was found 8.8 per cent of electrical equipment manufacturers currently export their products, although this is somewhat disappointing considering 44.5 per cent have "high export potential". Food manufacturers also fared well and 8.6 per cent sell their goods abroad, but once again, this paled in comparison to the 32.1 per cent that have the necessary utilities to make use of foreign buyers' interest. Max Firth, UK managing director for Experian's Business Information Services division, said: "Trading internationally contributes significantly to business and economic growth for specific regions and industries across the UK. "When you consider that of the known exporting population, the average amount of turnover attributed to exporting is approximately 50 per cent, the companies identified could potentially double their income capacity by exporting." Helping SMEs to increase their export potential remains one of the greatest current government priorities and the coalition has had reasonable success in closing the trade gap. Expert Opinion It is vitally important that SMEs exploit growth opportunities not just domestically but in international markets also. Getting a foothold in a different country can be challenging, but the benefits can be extremely rewarding "There are a number of options available to a business that is looking to expand overseas, ranging from exporting directly into a country to setting up a licensing agreement with a company which has an international sales network already established. Whichever route chosen, it is essential that a business seeks experienced professional advice to ensure that they not only make the most of the opportunities that exist, but also ensure they are fully protected." Steven Beahan, Partner Key contact Steven Beahan Partner +44 (0)788 969 4052 Email Steven Press contact David Shirt Press Officer 0161 838 3094 Email David Tags SME. Steven Beahan Sheffield Related articles 16.01.2019May Loses Brexit Vote 10.01.2019Leeds Catering Equipment Manufacturer Rescued In Job Saving Deal 09.01.2019Irwin Mitchell Launches Christmas Card Recycling Drive In Partnership With Red-Inc 09.01.2019Irwin Mitchell Appoints New Head of Banking and Finance 08.01.2019Plumbworld Completes MBO From Grafton Group Plc 19.12.2018Uber Loses Appeal In Key Gig Economy Case

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Okay, so I'm IP adress banned on le miiverse resource and so i can't post with my non-hacked accounts now either kthxbaiRead more >
Narrator: It all started with one post.
A post…
That changed Miiverse.
That was The Bard's first MAD Post.
Many people were drawn to it, and it became very popular.
In fact, after centuries, it became a holy vessel – a shrine.
Eventually, it got the attention of something called Capcom.
The president of this industry hated it, ordering his finest knights to stop it.
The warriors were very powerful, and very strange. But they knew they might not be powerful enough. To seek what they needed, they took guidance from the Rain Crystal.
Miiversians joined together to try to stop their advance
Then King Nors got attaced making others want to fight
Bard, Nostalgic, and Shadow led the charge
They had such never seen before power, and used it to their extent dur…Read more >


text:
Tobias Schmidt (Germany)
tschmidt @ mpia.de
The HeII Transverse Proximity Effect
Abstract: The reionization of Helium at z~3 marks the last cosmological phase change in the intergalactic medium (IGM) and is expected to heat the IGM and harden the the UV background. One of the great advantages of Helium reionization is that we can simultaneously observe the sources which reionize helium, namely luminous quasars, and study their impact on
reionization. During the last few years, the community was able to collect science grade HST/COS spectra for nearly all ~20 far UV HeII transparent quasars and our team is now conducting a dedicated survey to find foreground quasars close to these sightlines. This dataset allows us to characterize the impact of the foreground quasar ionizing radiation on the Helium optical depth in the background sightline and search for the so called 'transverse proximity effect' of the foreground quasars.
Based on a large sample of ~15 foreground quasars, I will present the first robust statistical detection of the Helium transverse proximity effect, which was up to now unambiguously detected only for one prototype object. Then I will describe our efforts to model this measurement by synthesizing the UV background field using the locations of foreground quasars and discuss the dependencies on the neutral fraction of the IGM and on quasar properties, in particular the so far poorly constrained quasar lifetime.
Supervisor: Joe Hennawi (MPIA)


text:
via here
I did quite a bit of work on the packaging for my Outcast audiobook this weekend. There are going to be a lot of personalized touches in the packaging, artwork I did myself, handmade bits that tie into the story, and just all-around neat little details. If this were being distributed by a publishing house, it would get a glossy box and plastic shrink-wrap and they'd call it a day. I'm actually pretty glad I get to do this myself, though unfortunately I don't get to make any money off of the results;)
Let's hope the recipients like how it turns out . . .


text: tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-199496762019-01-22T09:49:29.599+00:email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-70702538212979577762018-12-12T04:32:00.000+00:002018-12-12T04:38:52.617+00:00"Simulated Dendrochronology of U.S. Immigration 1790-2016"The blog Information is Beautiful has just now shared the results of the 2018 iteration of the Information is Beautiful Awards, a celebration of "the world's world's best data-visualisations and infographics." Many of these data-visualizations and infographics deal with demographics, in one way or another. The winner, the video "Simulated Dendrochronology of U.S. Immigration 1790-2016" assembled Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-86902654709192633112018-12-04T04:58:00.000+00:002018-12-04T04:58:12.417+00:00Two notes on HIV/AIDS in 2018Early on the evening of the 1st of December in Toronto, on World AIDS Day, I stopped by the AIDS Memorial. Fresh red and white carnations were woven among the panels as citylight gleamed in the background. Many of the assembly of links I posted this evening over at my personal blog relating to World AIDS Day dealt with how it was being remembered. Others dealt with successful approaches to theRandy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-55599952585187770292018-02-10T04:59:00.001+00:002018-02-10T05:02:29.082+00:00On the unreality of imagining chain migration to be a bad thingI have been paying attention to the world, as best as I can; I have been paying attention to demographics, though sadly not here. (Looking at the posts gathered together in the "Demographics" category at my blog, A Bit More Detail, should give you an idea as to what I've been watching.) I have not, for reasons including my mixed unhappiness and concern and confusion at ongoing trends in American Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-86617164200852856742017-10-08T04:11:00.000+00:002017-10-08T04:18:14.975+00:00On the demographic issues of Puerto Rico in an era of exodusI was reminded of my post questioning the viability of Caribbean islands in an era of worsening natural disasters when I began reading reports of the devastation wrought on Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria. Hurricane Maria is Puerto Rico's worst in nearly a century, a double blow as it follows the destructive Hurricane Irma by just two weeks. The costs, both human and financial, have only begun toRandy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-19082721705685879912017-09-26T03:57:00.003+00:002017-09-26T03:57:43.675+00:00What demographic issues do you think deserve coverage?I know I ask this periodically of our readership, but I remain curious. What population-issues do you think should be covered, here or elsewhere? Are there particular regions or particular themes you would like explored? (I can promise a post on Puerto Rico for tomorrow. More to come after that, too.)Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-62885456801702825272017-09-21T04:00:00.000+00:002017-09-21T04:02:18.105+00:00On a devastating hurricane season in the Caribbean and migration futuresHurricane season this year in the Caribbean is shaping up to be terrible. I had not quite realized how terrible, the imagery of devastation aside, until I learned that the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma had forced the evacuation of Barbuda, smaller of the two major islands which make up the country of Antigua and Barbuda. The island has been emptied of its population of some eighteen Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-69222463892283883562017-09-12T03:59:00.001+00:002017-09-12T04:00:27.031+00:00On the labour shortages of Sarufutsu, HokkaidoLate last month, I came across Masahiro Hidaka's Bloomberg article "Japan's Richest Village Can't Find Workers for Its Factory". In this article, Hidaka describes how the village of Sarufutsu, northernmost village in Hokkaido and thus all Japan, is facing a shutdown of its hugely profitable scallops fishery because it is literally running out of workers. The village -- which is closer to the Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-68280827100816898482017-08-29T03:30:00.000+00:002017-08-29T03:30:17.081+00:00Five links about refugees and migrations: border debris, Cornwall's camps, and online fraudEarlier today at my blog, I linked to an article published earlier this month in the Toronto Star. In "Fleeing to Canada, asylum seekers' old lives revealed in the scraps found along New York's Roxham Rd.", journalist Allan Woods looked at the debris discarded by refugee claimants fleeing potential threats in Trump's America. There were airplane boarding passes and luggage tags from Haiti, Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-24722515150179524372017-07-05T03:56:00.000+00:002017-07-05T04:04:56.010+00:00On the recent fall in American fertility rates: Is this American convergence?The Washington Post was just one of many news sources to note a recent report provided by the National Vital Statistics System of the Centers for Disease Control, "Births: Provisional Data for 2016" (PDF format). This report noted that not only had the absolute number of births fallen, but that the total fertility rate in 2016 was the lowest it had been in more than three decades: "The 2016 totalRandy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-955701727497724462017-02-12T04:55:00.000+00:002017-02-12T05:00:11.235+00:00Hans Rosling, in memoriamI was shocked and saddened to learn of the death earlier this week of Gapminder's Hans Rosling. 68 was too young for anyone, certainly too young for someone so dedicated to helping the world know itself through the truth. Scott Gilmore's article in MacLean's is one I recommend. From Davos, to the White House, to the offices of the World Bank, Rosling could be found tirelessly preaching the Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-72261861510938259122017-01-01T00:33:00.001+00:002017-01-01T00:33:57.905+00:00On Max Roser's A history of global living conditions in 5 charts and the futureSome days ago, I saw shared on Facebook an essay, Max Roser's "A history of global living conditions in 5 charts" at the Our World in Data project. In this essay, Roser makes the argument--contrary to the zeigeist of 2016--that, in fact, in the longue durée things have been getting decidedly better for people. Extreme poverty and premature mortality have faded, rates of literacy and education Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-2213984024244860692016-12-19T15:43:00.001+00:002016-12-19T15:44:33.379+00:00Nature's Amy MaxMen on the achievements of Gapminder's Hans RoslingIn January 2011 and June 2013, I linked to two videos by Swedish statistician and popularizer Hans Rosling demonstrating different demographic trends. Today, via 3 Quarks Daily, I came across Amy Maxmen's excellent long-format article on Rosling and his accomplishments, "Three minutes with Hans Rosling will change your mind about the world". It does a great job of explaining just what Rosling, Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-64700847137676665262016-12-10T00:54:00.001+00:002016-12-10T00:55:28.667+00:00"Census still vulnerable to political meddling, says former chief"Canadian newsmagazine MacLean's hosts Jordan Press' Canadian Press article "Census still vulnerable to political meddling, says former chief". Wayne Smith warns that the Canadian census is still vulnerable to political interference, even with new legislation. The federal government's bid to protect Statistics Canada from political interference has a significant oversight that exposes the census Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-54967470457213760532016-12-03T03:38:00.001+00:002016-12-03T03:38:25.351+00:00The Globe and Mail on the Syrian refugee population in CanadaIn The Globe and Mail, journalist Joe Friesen's data-driven analysis "Syrian exodus to Canada: One year later, a look at who the refugees are and where they went" takes a look at how the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees resettled Canada are doing. The initial surge of arrivals was fuelled primarily by privately sponsored refugees whose applications were already in the pipeline under the Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-18167162361792773012016-11-29T04:58:00.000+00:002016-12-03T03:34:18.915+00:00A brief note on the demographic prospects of CubaOver at my blog this evening, I posted an article reflecting on the evidence for substantial economic decline in Cuba under Castro, not only decline relative to its peers (southern and central Europe, high-income Latin America) but even, at times, of absolute decline. A country that had severe problems of inequality went on to acquire worse problems. Of all the economies in the world to be Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-35493293091606328362016-11-24T04:56:00.000+00:002016-11-24T04:56:07.668+00:00What demographic issues do you think matter right now?Are there particular trends you are interested in? Are there particular regions you would like to read about? Would analyses of the present here, try to predict the future, aim for a better understanding of the past? Would you like to be the one doing the analyzing? Discuss, please.Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-68835421301963174732016-11-16T04:58:00.000+00:002016-11-24T04:56:31.354+00:00A brief observation on the 2016 US presidential electionI've been following the aftermath of the 2016 presidential elections in the United States over at my blog with no small amount of concern. I acknowledge, in the interest of openness, that I would have personally preferred an election victory by Clinton over Trump, rooted in my belief that she would be better equipped to handle issues--including demographic ones--better than Trump. Still, it is Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-75483011321452864422016-11-10T04:35:00.001+00:002016-11-10T04:35:27.235+00:00"Trump's Win Isn't the Death of Data--It Was Flawed All Along"I'm going to react at greater length and in greater detail to the surprise outcome of the American presidential election. In the meantime, I'd like to point readers to Cade Metz's Wired article "Trump's Win Isn't the Death of Data--It Was Flawed All Along". It raises a lot of interesting questions about statistics collection generally, not just political polling. The lesson of Trump's victory isRandy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-76913370714764345352016-10-22T03:58:00.000+00:002016-10-22T17:50:05.441+00:00On the idea that the human life expectancy is limited to 115 yearsThe theme of longevity is one that Demography Matters has touched upon in the past. I've written about two interesting case studies, in February 2010 about the Abkhaz of the Caucasus and their mythic longevity, and then in June 2014 about the factors behind the extended life expectancy of the inhabitants of the Greek Aegean island of Icaria. I've also written about broader trends, in December Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-1184970384820262092016-10-06T23:57:00.001+00:002016-10-22T04:32:03.065+00:00On the new official xenophobia in the United KingdomBrexit is something that I've been paying attention to this year. In March, I pointed out that the limited free movement with other Commonwealth countries that some Brexit proponents was offering. (The curious fact that this free movement would be only with rich and white countries is something I noted in passing.) In June, meanwhile, I noted the losses that the United Kingdom would suffer and Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-85782867241517221622016-10-01T02:54:00.001+00:002016-10-01T02:54:59.131+00:00On the growth and the aging of Canada's populationCBC was one of the several news sources to announce earlier this week that Canada's population has grown to surpass the 36 million mark. A record number of immigrants and refugees arriving on Canadian shores helped push Canada's official population over 36 million as of July 1, Statistics Canada says. The data agency says there were 437,815 more people living in Canada than there were on the Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-41601646548958247402016-09-26T23:17:00.002+00:002016-10-01T02:50:54.772+00:00Andrew Coyne in the National Post on the highly contingent successes of liberalism in CanadaI write from a Canadian perspective. Sometimes, it's important to remember that mine, too, is a pespective consequent to any number of highly contingent events. Andrew Coyne's recent article in the National Post "Canada's openness a product of our history, geography more than a particular Liberal trait", is worth reading in full. He's entirely right to point out, of course, that the relative Randy McDonaldhttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-56038566057676302542016-09-20T23:08:00.002+00:002016-09-20T23:08:23.732+00:00On the physical constraints to the independence of Statistics CanadaBefore this weekend, the biggest news relating to Statistics Canada had to do with the very high response rate to the 2016 census just concluded, 98.4% of those surveyed nation-wide responding. The news Friday that chief statistician Wayne Smith had resigned in protest caught many people off guard. Canada's chief statistician has resigned in protest over what he says is the federal governments' Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-37568345085708352542016-09-03T03:59:00.000+00:002016-09-03T04:07:29.203+00:00On the ongoing depopulation of Cape BretonThe other day on my personal blog, I linked to a CBC News report describing how a Cape Breton store and bakery, desperate for workers, was offering free land to people who would move to that Nova Scotian island and work for them. A family-run business is trying a unique approach to recruit people to live and work year-round in rural Cape Breton by offering two free acres of land to people who Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-19949676.post-36340898313230886002016-08-16T03:51:00.001+00:002016-08-16T03:51:52.707+00:00#CensusFail, or, how #Census2016 is not as big a hit in Australia as in CanadaI've learned that the Australian census, recently concluded, has been the subject of as much controversy as in Canada in recent years. The big difference is that, whereas Canada's census controversies were contrived by the then-ruling Conservative Party government, Australia's worries are more deeply rooted. Bloomberg's Michael Heath authored the article "Census Boycott Gathers Momentum Amid Randy McDonaldhttps://email@example.com


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Hands-On: Microsoft Office for iPad Puts Fingers First
After years of holding back, Microsoft on Thursday finally brought its ubiquitous Office suite to the iPad. I took a first look at its three apps – Word, Excel and PowerPoint — on two iPads with high-resolution retina displays. Several smart features, and one big drawback, stood out right away.


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Talk about fast food. Snatch up this burger ear plug before someone takes a bite. Logo ear plug with a kitschy fast food burger graphic. This screw fit acrylic plug accented with dazzling crystals is sold individually and is available in a 5mm to 20mm diameter size.
Plug gauge sizes available from 8mm to 20mm. To purchase, select your size from the drop down above and enter the quantity. Prices may vary based on ear plug gauge size.


text: "What's big?" asks a pleasant pink pig as he compares himself to cows, cars, trucks, streets, the neighborhood, the city, and the earth, and finally to the universe, which "makes everything seem small." Although the concept of relative size is well taken, the expansion from self to universe is flawed by the incongruity of some of the images. The pig and the cow squeeze into a model T–type car that is stuck in the mud, but are towed by a modern tow truck into a modern city. In the final sequence, the sun seems smaller than the earth. A simple verse pattern carries the lilting text with each verse ending with the repetitive phrase "What's bigger than . . ." Florian's double-paged watercolor paints and colored pencil are soft and muted, sometimes too muted, particularly in background areas. Occasional flashes of humor illustrate the text as the cow and the pig travel through a city populated by animals at work and at play. It ends with an amusing image of the pig as a constellation in the universe. Not Florian's best effort, but a good conversation-starter with a young child about comparative size. (Picture book. 3-5)


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Miami DJ to Perform in Europe's Largest 90s Concert
OSLO, NORWAY, JANUARY 10, 2015 – DJ Mario Santiago recently won a mixing competition on January 7, 2015, that has given him the opportunity to perform a warm-up set at We Love The 90s in Oslo, Norway.
During the competition, Santiago and other participants produced 15-minute mega-mixes. Santiago's mix included songs from ten of the iconic artists that will be present at We Love The 90s, including music from Shaggy, Alice Deejay, Scooter, and E-Type. Santiago's mega-mix featured 35+ songs from the 90s era, including the acts slated to perform live at the We Love The 90s event. Santiago's mix showcased his talent for advanced mixing, tight flow, and creative mashups, winning the judges over and advancing him to Oslo.
We Love The 90s will take place on April 25, 2015, at Vallhall Arena in Oslo, Norway, where a crowd of over 10,000 people is expected to attend. More information about the event is available at www.welovethe90s.no. Details about DJ Mario Santiago can be found at www.djmario.no.
About DJ Mario Santiago
DJ Mario Santiago is a mashup producer, club DJ, and radio mix-show DJ with more than a decade of experience. He has worked with stations such as NRJ Radio, The Voice, Vinyl 107, and Radio Norge, offering 30+ years of EDM, pop, rock, and urban music experience.
DJ Mario Santiago
Website: http://www.djmario.no
E-mail: email@example.com
DJ Mario Santiago blends his talent for creating fresh, dynamic mashups and bootlegs and his experience and passion for delivering multi-genre sets for any crowd from radio mix-shows to nightclubs around the world. By flawlessly weaving together songs from multiple genres, DJ Mario Santiago has earned international credibility as a standout DJ.
With 10+ years of open format and multi-genre experience, DJ Mario Santiago intuitively reads a crowd to adapt his style and deliver a winning set. He has been featured on leading radio stations in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Bulgaria for his mashup and bootleg production talent, and he has provided his talent to venues all over Scandinavia. DJ Mario Santiago was most recently sought out by Crooklyn Clan to provide exclusive bootlegs and mashups that will be used by top DJs around the world.
Having proven himself as a top-rung international DJ and music industry expert, DJ Mario Santiago has consistently set himself apart from other DJs with an innate ability to create a musical atmosphere that crowds love. Now, DJs around the world are using DJ Mario Santiago's creativity to boost their own performances.
DJ Mario Santiago har et talent for å skape friske, dynamiske mashups og bootlegs, og har erfaring og lidenskap for å levere sett som går over flere sjangre for alle type publikum, fra radio mixshow til nattklubber over hele verden. Ved sømløst å veve sammen sanger fra flere sjangre, har DJ Mario Santiago oppnådd internasjonal anerkjennelse som en fremadstormende DJ.
Med over 10 års erfaring med å spille alle sjangre, kan DJ Mario Santiago intuitivt lese publikum og tilpasse stilen sin for å levere et vinnende sett. Han har blitt omtalt på ledende radiostasjoner i Norge, Danmark, Sverige og Bulgaria for sitt talent for å lage mashups og bootlegs, og han har spilt på steder over hele Skandinavia. Dj Mario Santiago ble nylig oppsøkt av Crooklyn Clan for å lage eksklusive bootlegs og mashups som kommer til å bli brukt av ledende DJs over hele verden.
DJ Mario Santiago har markert seg som en internasjonal DJ og musikkindustri-ekspert av ypperste klasse. Han har konsekvent prestert i en klasse for seg selv med sin naturlige evne til å skape en musikalsk atmosfære som publikum elsker. Nå bruker DJer fra hele verden DJ Mario Santiagos kreativitet til å booste sine egne prestasjoner.


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I'm on a call with them right now, pretending I accidentally deleted a file and I need to recover it. i'm starting to doubt this is a scam.
So i called them pretending i needed some data recovering and they did actually try they didn't sell me anything all they did was try to recover my "lost" data.This is NOT a scam.


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Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Seductress
An Art of Temptation she is. Should I or Shouldn't I. Will she tempt you with her beautiful rounded Onyx curves, or her enchanting cat's eye's? Will you be drawn in by her sinfully lustful red and her alluring gold and amethyst colors?
The Seductress is my entry piece for the March EBW challenge, themed Temptation. To view other challenge entries by EBW members, type EBWC in the search option on Etsy. A mosaic of all challenge entries will be posted to the EBW blog after March 5th and you can vote on your favorite by visiting http://www.etsy-beadweavers.blogspot.com between March 9th and the 15th.
5 comments:
Wow. That is one gorgeous piece of jewelry. I'm tempted, let me tell you! I want to touch it!!!ReplyDelete
Best of luck in the challenge!
Rachele, this is such a beautiful piece of art! You have some very amazing talent!! Such a gift.ReplyDelete
I must agree. I've been tempted to touch all of your beadworks!ReplyDelete
Congrats on winning the March EBW Challenge! If you allow, I would like to feature this creation in www.handmade-jewelry-club.com. Ok with you?ReplyDelete
very beautiful your work!!!!!ReplyDelete
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Primary 4
Lesson 23
Alma Counsels His Sons Helaman and Shiblon
Suggested Home Reading
Suggest that the children study Alma 37:33–47 and Alma 38:1–12 at home as a review of this lesson.
I made up the treasure chests for my class. Cut them out and glued with Elmer's Glue and secured overnight with a paperclip over each edge. In the morning I took off the paperclip and put the top notch into the slit on the body. Remember to make the slit on the treasure chest before gluing.
During class, I let them cut out the jewels and put them in the treasure chest.
I thought they turned out really cute.


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The 1977 World Series matched the returning American League champion New York Yankees against the Los Angeles Dodgers of the National League, with the Yankees winning the Series in 6 games.
The New York Yankees returned to the Fall Classic after being swept by the Cincinnati Reds the previous year in an effort to redeem themselves.George Steinbrenner's reputation as a free-spending businessman was evident during baseball's first reentry draft signing slugger Reggie Jackson for $3 million (from Baltimore) and pitcher Don Gullett (from Cincinnati) for $2 million. Two other key players were acquired by the Yankees through trades. Shortstop Bucky Dent was picked up from the Chicago White Sox for outfielder Oscar Gamble, pitcher LaMarr Hoyt, and $200,000. And after only one year with the Oakland Athletics, pitcher Mike Torrez was traded for pitcher Dock Ellis, and utilitymen Marty Perez, and Larry Murray.
After a lackluster first half, the Yankees finished strong winning 38 of their last 51 games edging both the Boston Red Sox and the Baltimore Oriolesby 2 ½ games. In amongst the star-laden lineup was an emerging superstar in the left arm of Ron Guidry. Early in the season Guidry was moved from the bullpen into the starting rotation, finishing with 16 wins against just 7 losses with a nice 2.82 ERA. The Yankees advanced to the World Series after beating the Kansas City Royals in an exciting 5th and final ALCS game winning it with 3 runs in the top of the 9th on a string of singles and a costly error by George Brett.
The National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers were skippered by first-year manager Tommy Lasorda. This 1977 club featured the first foursome to hit 30 or more homeruns in one Major League season (Steve Garvey-33, Reggie Smith-32, Ron Cey-30, and Dusty Baker-30). The deep pitching staff which led the National League in ERA, 3.22, were led by 20-game winner, Tommy John and closer Charlie Hough with 22 saves. The Dodgers won 22 of their first 26 games winning the Western Division easily by 10 games over the Cincinnati Reds and then eliminated thePhiladelphia Phillies in the NLCS in 4 games.
the Billboard Liberation Front is founded in San Francisco…
The Suicide Club is founded in San Francisco…
by MATT ZOLLER SEITZ
Yes, the original "Rocky" is an endearing, even irresistible melodrama. But for crying out loud, it was up against "Taxi Driver," "All the President's Men," "Network" and the Woody Guthrie biopic "Bound for Glory." Those first three competitors (in the 1976 best picture race) are landmark American films, and they're not just aesthetically superior to "Rocky"; they're engaging, provocative stories with quotable dialogue, imaginative performances, and nary a dull moment. "Bound for Glory" hasn't retained the same cultural currency as the others, but it's terrific, too — and it's as much of a crowd-pleasing underdog-against-the-world story as "Rocky."
So how did Sylvester Stallone's breakthrough film take the top prize? The back story of the actor-screenwriter's "Rocky"-like success was immensely appealing to Oscar voters; it falsely reassured them (and the public) that the film industry wasn't an incestuous, exclusionary club. But a more persuasive explanation can be found in this anecdote by a friend of mine who attended New York University film school in the early '70s, when the American New Wave set a generally dark, questioning tone and made unhappy endings common. "I went to see 'Rocky' with a classmate, not knowing anything about it except that it was a movie about a boxer and it had just opened," my friend said, "and when it ended happily — with Rocky not winning the title but going the distance and winning Adrian's heart, with that freeze frame and the music swelling — we were so stunned by how different it was from the movies we'd gotten used to that when we left the theater, we both felt a bit lightheaded. Like, 'Did that actually happen'?" "Jaws" had perfected climax euphoria a year earlier; in 1977 "Star Wars" came out, and that was the beginning of the end of the studio art film. The tyranny of the happy ending had begun.


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I Heart Guts is packing up and moving to a new home on the internet, and the time has come for this blog to pack its bags and move to our new digs: http://iheartguts.com/blog. Please come visit and check out the new I Heart Guts website while you're at it. If you've linked to our blog, please re-link to the new one so you can keep posted on innards and such. If you haven't met your organs yet, maybe now is the time.
Archive for June, 2009
We've Gutted Our Wesbite!June 18, 2009
Merit Badges for GutsJune 15, 2009
These fabulous innard merit badges are the work of Mary Yeager, and were on view at Gallery Hanahou in New York. Supah cute. Check out the detail on that intestine! [Thanks, Tristy!]
Stick These To Your RibsJune 12, 2009
Cover your body with some of these cool anatomy-related shirts, by Young Lovers at left, organ donor awareness tees (they say "I have the guts…" cute…maybe they should make "future organ donor" shirts too, to be extra creepy.) by Mats Ottdal, and one-of-a-kind patchwork anatomy tunic by takeaholiday on etsy.
Cute + DangerousJune 11, 2009
We were lucky enough to be invited to the Cute + Dangerous show at seven degrees gallery, a show of fabulous cuteness that opens this Friday. The first 50 people to attend are eligible to win AMAZING STUFF, they are giving away an incredible collection of adorable stuff from the likes of StrangeCo, Meomi, Jon Burgerman, Love Triangle, Fred Flare and more! But enough of that crass commercialism — you're there to see the art, right? Details, schmetails: seven degrees gallery, 891 Laguna Canyon Road in Laguna Beach, CA. Opening is June 12, 2009, 8 pm – 1 am.
Big ol' Body BookJune 11, 2009
This giant book Atlas of Human Anatomy and Surgery is 714 pages of body parts as envisioned by Taschen, one of the finest publishers of books on art, graphic design, architecture, pop culture and other quirkery. If you are an anatomy nut, you will find the gorgeous detail of the book's intricate full color plates very satisfying indeed. Just look at the veins on that brain! And so that's what a cross-section of the spine would look like! Also interesting in Taschen's catalog: Aesthetic Surgery, all about, well, trying to improve on what nature gave ya. It's out of stock, but you can still look at the fascinating and sometimes grotesque pictures.
Absolutely IckyJune 11, 2009
There's a great exhibition of disgusting bodily functions called "Grossology" at Health & Science Museum in Houston, Texas, right now. I have been dying to see this traveling exhibition — all about farts, poo, vomit, snot and other wonderful bodily fluids and functions — for a very long time. I'm sad to tell you on a recent trip to Texas I missed seeing it, as well as "You: The Exhibit," all about your body — but you should go! Also very cool in Houston right now (actually, the AC was broken when we went, so I should use another adjective there) — Domy Books! [photo via Texas Medical Center]
What's Really Inside Your BrainJune 2, 2009
I hadn't watched this segment from Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask in a while and forgot how ridiculously funny it is. For some reason the fettucine coming down into the stomach cracks me up the most.


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KC against Jacksonville ended up being a tale of quarterbacks. Jacksonville already had their back up Garrard in for All-Pro Byron Leftwich. He starts screwing up and they put in third stringer Quinn Gray who blows up. There are teams in the league who don't have a single brotha at QB (...cough...Kansas City....) and Jacksonville has THREE of them with all of them worth their mettle. KC needs to hire away Jacksonville's scout.
So then Trent Green gets injured and in comes Damon Huard. I want to say the applause was for the fact that Trent left the field on his own power instead of the fact Huard was coming in, but I'm not too sure. Personally, I'm getting less and less enamored with Green. His time may be past already. He had a crucial turnover against Baltimore and now he has three turnovers in this game that almost cost them. I say they leave Huard at starter and try to get that Gray kid from the Jaguars as the back-up.
The announcers didn't talk about it but there are rumors on talk radio here that KC may be looking to trade Larry Johnson. Although I'm not sure if that's true or not, somebody apparently used it for fuel today. Enough to get another 1,700+ yard season and enough to get the NFL single season record for carries.
Kansas City managed to squeak by the Jaguars 35-30, in spite of Trent Green. Nevertheless, there were a lot of things that KC needed in order for them to get into the playoffs:
- A Steelers win in Cincinnati
- A Titans loss at home to New England
- A Broncos loss at home to San Francisco.
Amazingly, every single one of the possibilities occurred. Now the Chiefs advance to the playoffs as a wildcard where I'm pretty confident they'll bow out in the first round...again...


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About This Activity
Race Day Registration (Timed/Untimed) on 12/16/2017 at 6:00 AM
Need a reason to wear your favorite holiday gear? We've got one!
After last year's festive fun, the annual Dashing through the Square 5K is coming back to town! Join us as we dash through historic Marietta square for a holiday 5K Walk | Run, and 1k Rudolph Run. Dashing through the Square is a Peachtree Qualifying Race featuring electronic chip timing to ensure accuracy for runners. This family friendly race will take you past beautiful, historic homes and the quaint shops that line Marietta Square. Not in Marietta, GA but you want to participate? Join our Virtual 5K! Proceeds from this event will support youth enrichment programs and other community initiatives benefiting Cobb County.
This race is sponsored by The PEARL Foundation, Inc. and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. – Rho Zeta Omega Chapter.
The PEARL Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)3 non-profit philanthropic arm of the Rho Zeta Omega Chapter. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Georgians by providing education initiatives that promote self-reliance, self-empowerment, and self-determination. The Foundation sponsors programs that impact the lives of elementary, middle and high school students, as well as senior citizens in the community. For more information on The PEARL Foundation, Inc., visit www.thepearlfounationga.org.
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is the first Greek-letter organization founded by African-American women at Howard University in 1908. Led by our 29th President, Dorothy Buckhanan Wilson, Alpha Kappa Alpha is a sisterhood of national and international stature. Its members share the same high moral, ethical, scholastic, and spiritual standards; and are leaders in their community – inspiring, serving, and empowering all with whom they come in contact, while addressing the social and economic ills of our society. For more information about Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., visit our websites at www.aka1908.com or www.akarhozetaomega.org. Rho Zeta Omega Chapter was chartered in 1988 and serves the North Atlanta and Cobb County communities.
Frequently Asked Questions - See below
Event details and schedule
|COURSE| Begins and ends at the Marietta Square. This family friendly race will take you past beautiful, historic homes and the quaint shops that line Marietta Square. The race will be held rain or shine.
|WHAT'S INCLUDED| All 5K race participants will receive a high-quality runner's t-shirt and a commemorative medal (T-shirt is optional for Virtual 5K participants). Special medals will be presented to 1st, 2nd & 3rd place finishers in the following age groups: 18-30, 31-50, 51 & above.
|WHAT TO WEAR| Be creative!! Show your holiday spirit by dressing in festive attire.
|TIME|Pre-Race Warm Up - 7:40 AM / 5K Walk/Run START TIME - 8:08 AM (Timed) 8:20 AM (Untimed) / 1K Rudolph Run - 9:30 AM
5K Un-Timed Registration: $25.00 (Early Bird ends September 30, 2017)
5K Timed Registration: $28.00 (Early Bird ends September 30, 2017)
Virtual Race Registration (Medal Only): $30.00 (+ $3.95 Shipping FEE)
Virtual Race Registration (Medal + Shirt) $40 (+ $5.95 Shipping FEE)
1K Rudolph Race Registration: $10.00 (Ends December 15, 2017)
|RACE DAY REGISTRATION| You may register on race day at Marietta Square: Timed Runners 6:30 - 7:40 AM / Untimed Runners 6:30 - 8:00 AM
5K Race Day Registration - $40.00 / 1K Race Day Registration: $15.00*
*T-shirt and medal while supplies last
Kennesaw Location: Saturday, December 9, 2017 (1 PM - 6 PM)
Kennesaw Location: Wednesday, December 13, 2017 (5 PM - 7 PM)
Johnson Ferry Location: Thursday, December 14, 2017 (5 PM - 7 PM)
|DIRECTIONS| From I-75, go West on North Marietta Parkway (Exit 265). Continue to Church Street and take a left which will take you to the Square
|PARKING | Parking will be in the Cobb County Parking Deck and in available lots around the Square. There is no charge for parking on the weekends.
Granite Telecommunications / J.C. Penney / T-Mobile
Allstate Insurance (Valerie Randolph, Owner) / Big Peach Running Company / CareSource / Cool Beans Coffee Roasters / Creekside Dental / The Kroger Company / The Ellison Foundation / Softvision / Speedpro Imaging / State Farm Insurance (Don Johnson, Owner) / Taylor Interiors, LLC / Turner
Antlanta Injury and Wellness Center, Inc. / Brilliant Eyes / Committee to Keep Judy Joyette Holmes / DRG Photo Studios LLC / Dr. Wilkie Stadeker, DDS / Gentle Care Family Dentistry / Golf Women Mean Business, LLC / Gwinnett Dermatology / Heath & Lineback Engineers, Inc. / Kimber Pruitt Realty / Rebate Proberties, LLC
1. What is a virtual race? A virtual race can be run or walked anytime and anywhere, even indoors on a treadmill.
2. Where do I submit my race results? You can submit your race results and pictures to - email@example.com
3. Who can participate in a virtual race? Anyone! Young or old, fast or slow – we encourage participants of all ages and ability levels.
4.How do I track my distance and time my runs? We accept results on the honor system, so you can track your distance and time however you like. The most accurate way to do this is by using a Running GPS watch, but there are also several free smartphone apps available for iPhones and Android devices that you may be interested in. Feel free to submit pictures of your race!!
5. When will I receive my medal? All races must be completed by January 3, 2018. Once you submit your race time and distance you will receive your medal within 14 business days to the address that you provided.
6. What happens if I cannot complete my run during the race period? Life happens, and we understand. Please contact us at email@example.com if this should occur.
Spread the word to your family and friends!
Organizer Info
The PEARL Foundation


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I LOVE these! Got them a few months ago now and they are just fab! So glad you love them just as much, they are such good quality :)
Erin || MakeErinOver
Irresistible Me does have some good products, I must say. The flat iron does look somewhat cheap, but if it does a good job, and is light weight, then that is what matters.
Angie | Chocolate & Lipstick | Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle Blog
Such a lovely brand & an absolute pleasure to work with!
It's great to read that this flat iron gives a good result you'd hope for in a hair straightener. I'm sure you will get a really good use out of it, girlie.
xox Nadia
Red looks cool, however for that price I'd expect it to look more fancy, as you said plastic doesn't look very expensive. Enjoy using it :)
Ela BellaWorld
Sounds good, if on the pricey side!
Emma | http://www.fluffandfripperies.com
I don't straighten my hair that much but I loved this straightener when it was sent to me! Glad to hear that you enjoyed yours!
Oh very cute iron darling
Great review
I have this too and I think it's a fantastic straightener, I don't use it as often as it has a US plug and I live in the UK x
Beauty with charm
I've been loving for a new flat iron that won't completely fry my hair! This one looks amazing!
It's so cute with red. I like it.
Lulinaiem Sakura Viet Nam
I totally have to try this! Lovely post.
Anika | anikamay.co.uk
I might be alone on this but I really like the red as it's so unique to the boring black pairs but I really like that it's digital xx
Gemma ♡ Miss Makeup Magpie
My previous straightener was red so I feel like I'm used to the color by now. Still love it, though!Delete
Awesome! I have a pink straightener I use on a regular basis and that one does me pretty well! I forgot the brand though, haha! Anyway, good post!
~Katie@ cheeseandsparkles.blogspot.com


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It was Mark Twain who quipped, "In the beginning God made man in His image. And man has been returning the favor ever since." It was John Calvin who argued in the opening pages of his Institutes that if we would know God well, we must understand man, and if we would understand man well, we must know God. There is a necessary correlation between creature and Creator. The principle holds, however, even when the creature affirms a false creator. That is, though the God of heaven and earth, the God of the Bible is the creator of Muslims, we ought not be surprised that Muslims tend to look an awful lot like Allah. We ought not be surprised that the Greek pantheon looked rather like the Greek culture. It goes both ways of course. We form our vision of God by starting with ourselves, and we form our vision of ourselves by looking at the god we have created. Which is why it makes perfect sense that the evangelical church has rushed headlong into worshipping a baby Jesus.
As always, we justify our betrayal of Jesus on the grounds that we are only trying to win more people. We set aside prophet and king, and present Jesus as a limp-wristed priest. The dreamy, distant looking eyes, the silky soft skin, the gentlemanly behavior of knocking on doors and waiting for an invitation, the pleading, pleading, pleading, that won't you please let Him in, all match our character perfectly. We too are weak-kneed sissies, little boys in knickers. If we make Jesus inviting and inoffensive, just like us, then maybe the lost will come in. All of which is actually designed to make Jesus safe and inoffensive to us. Where once men thundered from pulpits across the land, in our day we have boys, dressed like Mr. Rogers, sharing behind Lucite lecterns. We have replaced the proclamation of the potent Word of God with Show and Tell.
Lest we wake the giant of the glory of our Maker, we likewise play lullabies when we gather together to worship. Of course worship looks rather more like the nursery. We sing dreamy, distant-sounding songs that evoke the memory of His silky soft skin, and His gentlemanly behavior of knocking on doors and waiting for an invitation, the pleading, pleading, pleading won't you please let Him in. There are any number of objections that could be raised against the insipid dreck we have the gall to call both worship and music. But the greatest is right here—whatever the words may say, the music itself says God is safe. We want safe, because we are children.
We want to come as we are. We refuse to dress like grownups. We want to be on our way back home soon. After all, little minds have little attention spans. Because we insist on comfortable seats and soft lighting, we insist on getting our bottles of Starbucks in the lobby on the way in. There we sit, laughing at the drama team and sucking down our sweet caffeine. And all of it is stunting our growth.
The statics are damning proof. The church growth movement does not bring the lost into the kingdom. The membership rolls of mega-churches consist of what was the membership rolls of bitty churches. We aren't winning the lost; we are dumbing down the found. We are pandering to Christians in Pampers and leaving them sitting in their own stink.
It is time to grow up, to mature, to become complete, to be men. This will only happen when we learn to meet with the true and living God, the God of our fathers, the Ancient of Days. Some have argued that contemporary worship emphasizes the immanence of God, while Puritan-style worship emphasizes His transcendence. But when we renew covenant we are blessed with both. As we draw near to the King, as we lift up our hearts, as we are confronted by God in His nearness, His immanence, what we discover is that we do so not so much because he has condescended to us, but because He has lifted us up. We meet Him, the One Who burns and smokes, Who causes mountains and men to tremble, not on our level, but on His, "But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel" (Hebrews 12:25-27).
We ought not to have children's church, because we are the children's church. We are the spirits of children deemed just, being perfected, who on the Lord's Day join with our fathers in the faith. We are the church militant joined together with the church triumphant, a noble army of men and boys who aspire to be men. Nothing will mature us faster than we would behold His glory. Men are made of such things.
The God we worship is from everlasting to everlasting. Before Abraham was, He is. His calling to us is that we would be like Him, that we would grow in grace and in wisdom. We are indeed His children, but we are likewise judges over all the earth. We are the very elders at the gate. May our Father, in His grace, drive with the rod of His wrath, folly far from us, for it is bound up in our hearts. May our Father, in His grace, and through His Spirit, lead us into all things, maturing us, making of us workmen who need not be ashamed. May He take us from our diapers and gift us with the mantle of a prophet, that we might, with the very voices of men and angels, proclaim the glories of His name. May He teach we who are the Sons of God, to be men of God.
From the Jan/Feb 2006 issue of Every Thought Captive magazine.
by RC Sproul Jr.


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|Hershey Bar
I am going to buy a large Hershey bar which she will break apart and discover how many pieces are in the whole. Then we can add and subtract the segments to demonstrate that we are still working with a part of the whole.
Whole oranges are also a great tool to use. Try not to use anything that you have to cut because it is too difficult to cut each piece the same size.
I hope this helps. Thanks for stopping by.


text: As of yesterday AM hours, my phone seemed to not have any connection what so ever, even when displaying full bars. I left work to home early (sick), and i recall having full battery. Woke up later than evening. Checked my phone expecting emails that usually come in through the day... nothing. Strange. About 2 hours later, my phone was beeping "Low Battery Life". !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can usually go through just about a whole day without having to charge my phone, especially with minimal use (such as yesterday). I noticed the sync icons kept coming on and going off more frequently. I charged it over night, no emails/text/missed calls, yet the strength bar show full. I get online and i have plenty of emails work/personal. I press refresh under mail, and still nothing. I checked programs running and it looks fine. I power off/on the phone, and its back to "normal" now. Has this happened to anyone? Troubleshoot for next time?


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recent popular thread on the Lean Six Sigma LinkedIn group triggered over a thousand responses. So I took a snapshot on Wednesday July 27th (New Zealand time) and created a word cloud, to see what we were all saying.
By the looks of it, most of us Improve, quite a few of us Make, Learn, Deliver, Create, Analyze, Lead, Drive, etc.


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Delcam's Malaysian subsidiary will support the DMG/Mori Seiki Malaysia Open House to be held in Kuala Lumpur from 3rd to 6th April. Delcam Malaysia is providing CAM programs specially developed to highlight the strengths of latest turning and milling equipment that will be on show.
Live machining demonstrations will be performed each day on turning and milling equipment, including the new X-Class machines and the Ecoline range. The Open House will also feature a daily technology seminar focused on meeting the demands of the oil and gas industry.
"Delcam welcomes the opportunity to work with DMG/Mori Seiki on this Open House," said Chai Kok Hoe, Delcam's Business Development Manager for South-East Asia. "We can use the event to develop some new demonstrations of the speed and quality of machining that is possible when using Delcam software to program the latest machine tool technology. The combination of modern machine tools and the latest CAM software will help companies throughout Malaysia to increase their productivity and improve their quality."


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"Leadership Conversations: Former Stanford Tennis Champion Dan Goldie on Training Your Mind and Body to Perform at the Highest Level."
"Star student, best-selling author, top businessman… Dan Goldie's life reads like one long success story. Oh, and he was also a Men's Singles Quarter finalist at Wimbledon. But what drives Dan now is his mission to change the way that people invest for the future. We interviewed him at his offices in Palo Alto, California, and started by asking how he made the unusual transition from the professional tennis circuit to a career in financial advice."
"Investors are gaining access to a growing number of exchange-traded funds, but financial planners don't always agree about whether that's good news for buy-and-hold investors. Many advisers say the profusion of narrowly focused ETFs runs counter to one of the central ideas of conservative investing: building a simple diversified portfolio with funds that each cover a broad market swath."
"Presented by Robin Powell, this video blog features an interview with the financial author Dan Goldie. Dan was a top professional tennis player. He's also a top-selling financial author, best-known for The Investment Answer, which he co-wrote with Gordon Murray, a former Wall Street trader. Remarkably, Murray was terminally ill with cancer at the time. Robin and his colleagues from Sensible Investing TV interviewed Dan starting by asking Dan why he and Gordon decided to write it."
"Recently, I've been looking at the pros and cons of working with a financial advisor. I've met with a couple of them here and there to get feedback and advice, but have never had a long-term relationship with one. Picking an advisor is not as easy as it might seem. I really want to know they're in it for my best interests—not how much money they can earn off me."
"Silicon Valley is once again flush with nouveau riche after a wave of tech IPOs that will be eclipsed by Facebook's. LinkedIn, Zynga and Yelp — a few of the local start-ups to go public in the past year — raised a combined $1.5 billion in IPOs. But that's chump change compared with Facebook's possible $16 billion offering from its upcoming IPO."
"What is the secret to successful passive investing? Robin Powell asks some of America's pre-eminent economists, academics and financial commentators for their golden rules. With contributions from Charles Ellis, Dan Goldie, John Bogle, Rick Ferri, David Booth, Weston Wellington and William Sharpe."
"An investigation by Robin Powell on the origins of passive investing and its rise to prominence in the US investing landscape; plus leading US economists explain how the approach is beginning to take off in the UK and Europe. Featuring William Bernstein, John Bogle, David Booth, Bill McNabb, Ken French, Dan Goldie and Rick Ferri."
"With only 20% of actively managed mutual funds beating market returns over 5 years, Robin Powell investigates how US investors are increasingly turning to passive investing – a cheaper and more efficient way to preserve and grow wealth. Interviews with John Bogle, Charles Ellis, Rick Ferri, William Sharpe and Dan Goldie."
"Part 1 of BRWM's US report in which Robin Powell looks at the state of the world's largest economy and explores whether signs of growth in the West will lead to higher market returns. With contributions from world-leading academics and economists including William Sharpe, Dan Goldie, David Booth, Weston Wellington, Charles Ellis, William McNabb and Ken French."
"In 2012, the oldest baby boomers will turn 66, an important age for Social Security eligibility. At 66, boomers can claim the full amount of Social Security they have earned, and the penalty for working and claiming Social Security benefits at the same time disappears. Here are some retirement planning tips for those turning 66 next year."
"While the goal of investment books may be largely the same, there are probably few if any that were motivated in the same way as "The Investment Answer," a book co-authored last year by Gordon Murray, a former patient at UCSF. He wrote the book after battling brain cancer for more than a year, knowing that he had only a few months to live when he started it. He was 60 when he died on Jan. 15, 2011 at his home in Burlingame."
"In volatile financial times such as these, our natural tendency is to track the ups and down in the stock market. The financial media in its quest for eyeballs favors titillation over analysis. The more rewarding financial concepts can be gleaned by reading books rather than watching false prophets mouthing backward looking commentary."
"#1 New York Times bestselling author and financial advisor, Dan Goldie, will inspire you to change the way you save and invest through compelling evidence and insightful analysis of today's challenging financial landscape. Learn the amazing story behind The Investment Answer and the lessons it teaches all investors that Wall Street doesn't want you to know."
"This book is noteworthy for how it came into being, via a late-life conversion to a few elemental investment principles—and the drive to collect them on paper—under a medical death sentence. Gordon S. Murray, formerly at three big Wall Street firms, including Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse, ceased all treatment last year for an inoperable brain tumor and decided to self-publish a little book to detail the very few essential principles that any ordinary investor need learn."
"We recently noted the passing of Gordon Murray, the retired investment banker who, when he was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor, wrote a brief and handy book with his financial adviser, Dan Goldie. Host Robert Siegel speaks to Goldie about that book, The Investment Answer: The Five Key Decisions Every Investor Needs To Make."
"When former Wall Street banker Gordon Murray learned he was dying of brain cancer, he wanted to share his passion for passive investing. He co-wrote "The Investment Answer" with financial advisor Dan Goldie. Here, Goldie explains why passive investing is a wise move."
"Sales of a self-published investment advice book by a dying Dimensional Fund Advisors consultant and an RIA are exploding, and the two men are being overwhelmed by media attention after a New York Times article drew a spotlight to to their philosophy of using a good financial advisor and sticking to a common sense approach to investing."
"Just in time for the holidays, Goldie and Murray's, The Investment Answer is a gift that will put investment control into the hands of readers. The two authors come from very different sides of the financial services industry, but somehow came to the same conclusion about what it takes to have The Investment Answer. Read the book to see how this blend of Wall Street experience and independent advisory service meld into a paperback you'll want everyone to read."
"Kids should begin saving and investing in earnest as soon as they have wage income. It's a great idea to expose them to the markets even earlier by using gift money or allowance to buy a few stocks in their name. But once they have a job they should set something aside each pay period. It's a habit that will pay dividends for life."
"Murray, a big-time Wall Street executive from Burlingame, and Goldie, a Menlo Park investment adviser, had talked for years about writing a short, simple book that would warn individual investors about how the game is stacked against them and about how they can take some steps to better their chances."
© 2016 Dan Goldie Financial Services LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser Privacy Policy | Legal Notice


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Copy paste some PPT and EXCEL figures in the right order – it's a memory challenge
Budget €2-6 EUR / heure
Hello, I have a little manuscript with 222 figures and tables ready to be printed.
The copy shop wants to copy the original figures into the final print version with their editing tool. For this they need to find all the figures of the manuscript easily in one PPT and one EXCEL file. The reason is that my copy into the word file was not good enough in quality….
Here your task starts All PPT figures must be copied from the old PPT files into one new PPT in the right order of appearance in the script. Please always copy the information of the table of contents over the figure, so the print shop knows exactly the name of the figure and on which page to copy it in the manuscript. Same procedure later for all the excel files and tables.
Please track the progress in the attached tracking excel file so we know if you really found all figures and tables.
If you are up for this memory challenge let us collaborate on this project.
22 freelance font une offre moyenne de €4/heure pour ce travail
Hello, I can help with you in your project Copy paste some PPT and EXCEL figures in the right order – it's a memory challenge. I have more than 5 years of experience in Data Entry, Editing, Excel, PDF, Word. We have Plus
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Hello, I had read all the given instruction as well go through with attachments. I have some query regarding this. You can go through my work portfolio for further concern. I am looking forward to hear from you.
I can do it for you just Send to me now to start working and Don't worry about anything ...........
Hi, I'm available to start now!!! I am interested in your project. And with my 7 years of experience in Graphics designing, I will make you satisfy with creativity and innovation of my work. I have excellent e Plus
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Note: this post was previously published on A Plus "a digital media company co-founded by Ashton Kutcher that features stories that make a difference and create positive change."
Visit the site directly at Ten things I know for sure via A Plus
The older I get, the less I seem to know. But after 35 years of bumps
and bruises, laughter and love, there are ten things that I know for
1. The most important things in life can't be bought-a
glass of wine with good friends, sunsets and sunrises, laughing until
tears roll down your cheeks, a perfect day at the beach, family that
loves you unconditionally, sitting under a tree on a sunny day, holiday
dinners with family and friends, playing with your pets, giggling with
your children, giving to others, the list goes on and on. No person will
lie on their deathbed and say "I'm really glad I bought that fancy
couch to impress my neighbors."
2. The only person responsible for your life, is you-
While you can't control everything that happens to you, you can control
how you react to it, what lessons you learn and whether you allow life
to make you weaker or stronger, softer or harder. The world doesn't owe
anyone anything, but you do owe it to yourself to create a life you
love. Don't be a victim. (Note: some days it's OK to curl under a
blanket on the couch, with Netflix, ice cream and wine, and feel like a
victim for a few hours. Then get up and dust yourself off).
3. What other people think of you is not your business-Sure, it would be nice to be liked and loved by everyone, but when it comes to making major life decisions, everyone
will have an opinion. Politely thank them, and carry on with what is
right for you. Those who genuinely like and love you will do so anyway.
Those who have nothing nice to say, probably won't regardless of what
you do.
4. Nobody likes a complainer-If you
don't like something, change it and don't bring problems to the table
without bringing potential solutions. We all have good days and bad
days, and it's healthy to express emotions. But if you're never
able to come up with anything positive to say, or you're angry all the
time and attacking others, it may be time to sit down, have some silent
time with yourself and look inside to see what's driving your
unhappiness. Life is too short to be unhappy.
5. Hate can't be fought with more hate-Responding to hate, with more hate, is a futile struggle. The only cure for hate is love. It's impossible
for hate to survive in an environment filled with love. Impossible.
Hate spreads like the flu. You can let it engulf you, and spread it to
others, or you can be the person that lights up the room. It takes more
work to be the light, but it comes with far greater reward.
6. Travel is important-I've
done a fair amount of traveling. From watching polar bears stroll
through town to watching crocodiles swim down a river; from ocean to
mountains; from northern lights to corn fields. Learning about the
world, and all that inhabit it first hand, gives you a perspective that
you can't learn from a book or in a classroom. Get out and see the
world, whether it's two hours away or across the ocean. It will change
your life.
7. You have to think for yourself-No
matter what you hear, read, see or are told, don't take it at face
value. It's almost impossible for humans to be completely objective and
everyone has an agenda, no matter how harmless it may be. Check facts,
find sources to validate the sources. Question everything and come to
your own conclusions. You have a world of information at your
fingertips, don't let anyone tell what you should believe, take the time
to decide what you believe.
8. Your ego is a dangerous thing-It's
what tells you that you're right and someone else is wrong. It's what
tells you that one person is better or worse than another. It's what
blocks empathy, stops you from saying "I'm sorry", ends relationships.
It's that little voice that tells you that you aren't good enough. You
can never make it go away completely, but you can make it fade.
Meditate, spend time outdoors, do things that you love with people that
you love. Don't be afraid to say you're wrong or you're sorry. Don't be
afraid to care, to risk, to make mistakes, to get hurt. That is what
living is about.
9. Don't take one moment for granted-Time will pass quickly. You will lose people you love. Overuse "I love you".
10. Fear is a useless emotion-when you're fearful, you aren't living in the moment, and this moment is all we have for sure.
Currie is a full time public relations and communications professional
who also does freelance writing. She calls Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
home and you can find her on Twitter @AllyLCurrie, on Instagram @ACURRIE34 or
on her blog thesilentmajorityrules.blogspot.ca where she writes about this, that and the other thing.


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Product Highlights
The Visible Dust Improved Zeeion Blower with FlexoDome for Sony E Mount is an intelligently designed air blower designed to effectively remove dust and other particles from the image sensor for cleaner, particle-free imagery. Using an anti-static silicon-RX composition, the Zeeion works to eliminate and neutralize any static charges created for a cleaner flow of air and more efficient dust removal. A one-way valve at the front of the blower prevents dust intake from contaminating the nozzle and helps to maintain a clean flow of air directed at the sensor. Filters less than 20 microns in size are also placed at both ends of the blower to prevent any sharp particles, such as sand or quartz, from entering the blower and subsequently damaging the sensor surface.
The improved design of this blower integrates a rear filter that acts as a vertical stand and also helps to increase the amount of airflow possible for more effective cleaning. A soft safety cap is also integrated into the nozzle to minimize the chances of any accidental damage in case of contact with the sensor.
Included with the Improved Zeeion Blower is the FlexoDome cleaning accessory, designed specifically for use with Sony E mount cameras. This dedicated accessory acts as a safety fence between the sensor and the blower's nozzle to maintain a safe working distance and lessen any chance of the blower making contact with the sensor surface. The FlexoDome also enables you to work with the DSLR in an inverted orientation to permit any blown dust or particles to exit the camera during use.
|Packaging Info
|Package Weight
|0.25 lb
|Box Dimensions (LxWxH)
|7.2 x 2.4 x 2.4"


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The 12 churches of the Edgewood Ministerium, a group of churches from all denominations, are banding together to promote Back to Church Sunday in Edgewood this weekend.
Sunday, Sept. 30, will serve as a great opportunity for neighbors to come back to church or experience church for the first time. Members understand it can be easy to get busy and out of the habit of going to church, so Back to Church Sunday is a chance for individuals and families to see what it's all about and perhaps find their own church family.
Guests will be welcomed, but not overwhelmed. Most churches have programs for the kids and nursery for babies, but they are optional. If it makes parents or kids more comfortable, they may enjoy the service together.
For more information, contact Pastor Christine Parker, Lord Of Life Lutheran Church, 443-827-0124, or go to the Facebook announcement, http://www.facebook.com/events/195464350586889/.
The participating churches include: Apostolic Voice of Truth, 1810 Nuttal Ave, 10 a.m., avtchurch.net; CrossPoint Community Church, 1980 Trimble Road, 11 a.m., crosspointnow.com; Edgewood Assembly of God, 803 Edgewood Road, 10:30 a.m., 102439.agchurches.org; Fountain of Life Fellowship, 1918 Pulaski Highway, 10:30 a.m., fountainoflife.net; Lord of Life Lutheran, Sequoia Drive and Willoughby Beach Drive, 8 and 10:30 a.m., lordoflifeedgewood.org; More Than Conquerors, 2002 Cedar Drive, 9:30 a.m., mtcwc.org; New Hope Christian Church, 2048 Watergate Court, 9:30 a.m.; New Destiny Evangelical, 2080 Trimble Road, 11:30 a.m.; Presbury United Methodist, 806 Edgewood Road, 10:15 a.m., presburyumc.org; Prince of Peace, 2600 Willoughby Beach Road, 9:30 and 11 a.m., orgsites.com/md/peace_edgewood; RCCG Tabernacle of Praise, 2105 Pulaski Highway, 11 a.m., rccgtabernacleofpraise.org; and Rooted Bible Fellowship, 1605 Waltman Road, 10:45 a.m., rbfchurch.com.


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I was delighted to read the latest police statistics for Aberdeenshire showing that house break-ins are down by almost 40 per cent.
With summer now hopefully well on its way, this is a key time for opportunist thieves who take advantage of open doors and windows, sneaking in to steal valuables while families enjoy the good weather.
So while this should not make anyone complacent, it is worth noting the significant downturn in house breaking and attempted home break-ins.
Housebreaking in Aberdeenshire from 2013/14 to 2014/15 has fallen by 39 per cent, and crimes of all dishonesty, including theft by house breaking, theft of motor vehicles, fraud, embezzlement and forgery, has dropped by 25.1 per cent across Aberdeenshire over the same time frame. In 2013/14, 5258 crimes of dishonesty were reported, while only 3940 were recorded in 2014/15.
Motor vehicle crime has also taken a nosedive – with 37.8 per cent fewer such crimes being reported between 2013/14 and 2014/15. Break-ins to cars and thefts from unlocked vehicles also saw significant decreases of 69.4 per cent and 50.5 per cent respectively.
It is maybe because locals in areas such as the Mearns and Portlethen are being vigilant and taking more care that these statistics have shown such a marked improvement. But the advice still is to stay safe as the nights get longer, and to leave homes and outhouses securely locked when jetting off on holiday.
The security of garages and sheds should also be taken as seriously as homes, given the value of the property often in these buildings. Valuables shouldn't be left in clear view or easy to reach places, and if there is ever any suspicious activity, the police are only a phone call away.
Looking out for our neighbours, especially those that are old and vulnerable is also so important as unfortunately they can present a target for an opportunist looking to make some quick cash.
Let us all help them make their homes safer, and create a community looking out for each other.


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Here the World is a Canadian Pop / Punk / Rock band founded by brothers Scythe Hanzo (Antignarot) and Johnny Holmes (Captain Napkin). Combining the power and edginess of punk rock with the upbeat inspirational sound found in pop, Here the World has been compared to bands like U2, Coldplay, The Killers, Angels and Airwaves, Blink 182, One Direction and Radiohead.
Here the World: The Video Game is an action adventure RPG. You play as Scythe and Johnny, musicians caught in an outrageous plot to save an alien world. Solve puzzles and enjoy silly dialog in this family-friendly adventure.