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Sp1-Sp3 and DNA-methylation contribute to basal transcriptional activation of human podoplanin in MG63 versus Saos-2 osteoblastic cells
Sp1-Sp3 and DNA-methylation contribute to basal transcriptional activation of human podoplanin in MG63 versus Saos-2 osteoblastic cells - Descarga este documento en PDF. Documentación en PDF para descargar gratis. Disponible también para leer online.
BMC Molecular Biology
, 8:20
First Online: 07 March 2007Received: 27 October 2006Accepted: 07 March 2007
BackgroundPodoplanin is a membrane mucin that, among a series of tissues, is expressed on late osteoblasts and osteocytes. Since recent findings have focussed on podoplanin-s potential role as a tumour progression factor, we aimed at identifying regulatory elements conferring PDPN promoter activity. Here, we characterized the molecular mechanism controlling basal PDPN transcription in human osteoblast-like MG63 versus Saos-2 cells.
ResultsWe cloned and sequenced 2056 nucleotides from the 5-flanking region of the PDPN gene and a computational search revealed that the TATA and CAAT box-lacking promoter possesses features of a growth-related gene, such as a GC-rich 5- region and the presence of multiple putative Sp1, AP-4 and NF-1 sites. Reporter gene assays demonstrated a functional promoter in MG63 cells exhibiting 30-fold more activity than in Saos-2 cells. In vitro DNase I footprinting revealed eight protected regions flanked by DNaseI hypersensitive sites within the region bp -728 to -39 present in MG63, but not in Saos-2 cells. Among these regions, mutation and supershift electrophoretic mobility shift assays EMSA identified four Sp1-Sp3 binding sites and two binding sites for yet unknown transcription factors. Deletion studies demonstrated the functional importance of two Sp1-Sp3 sites for PDPN promoter activity. Overexpression of Sp1 and Sp3 independently increased the stimulatory effect of the promoter and podoplanin mRNA levels in MG63 and Saos-2 cells. In SL2 cells, Sp3 functioned as a repressor, while Sp1 and Sp3 acted positively synergistic. Weak PDPN promoter activity of Saos-2 cells correlated with low Sp1-Sp3 nuclear levels, which was confirmed by Sp1-Sp3 chromatin immunoprecipitations in vivo. Moreover, methylation-sensitive Southern blot analyses and bisulfite sequencing detected strong methylation of CpG sites upstream of bp -464 in MG63 cells, but hypomethylation of these sites in Saos-2 cells. Concomitantly, treatment with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor 5-azaCdR in combination with trichostatin A TSA downregulated podoplanin mRNA levels in MG63 cells, and region-specific in vitro methylation of the distal promoter suggested that DNA methylation rather enhanced than hindered PDPN transcription in both cell types.
ConclusionThese data establish that in human osteoblast-like MG63 cells, Sp1 and Sp3 stimulate basal PDPN transcription in a concerted, yet independent manner, whereas Saos-2 cells lack sufficient nuclear Sp protein amounts for transcriptional activation. Moreover, a highly methylated chromatin conformation of the distal promoter region confers cell-type specific podoplanin upregulation versus Saos-2 cells.
List of abbreviationsPDPNgene name for podoplanin
HEPES4-2-hydroxyethyl-1-piperazineethanesulfonic acid
EMSAelectrophoretic mobility shift assay
S.D.standard deviation.
Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article doi:10.1186-1471-2199-8-20 contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Download fulltext PDF
Autor: Brigitte Hantusch - Romana Kalt - Sigurd Krieger - Christina Puri - Dontscho Kerjaschki
Fuente: https://link.springer.com/


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Read all posts
November 29, 2017
It's the end of November already and let's face it, the waiting game is unbearable! Why aren't the schools responding? When will they respond? Will they invite me for an interview? These are just some of the questions we here in Global Recruitment at ISS field every day. We sympathize with you! Each job search can be a daunting experience. It's a long process that involves a lot of hard work, and you have to brace yourself for a bit of a roller coaster ride with many ups and downs. No matter how prepared you think you are, there are always moments of doubt.
Do not be discouraged though, and keep up your positive energy and hope! Here is a wonderful article we came across and wanted to share with you to let you know you're not alone. Things will work out!
Posted By: Anna Santori
ISS Blurb and hover instructions go here.

subset: commoncrawl


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Massaman Curry is a favorite when we head into town for some Thai food. I stumbled upon a slow cooker recipe for this dish, and just knew I could convert it to the IP and make it vegan… and it worked beautifully! Everything should be cut on the chunkier side to avoid a mushy result. Enjoy!
- 1 bag Gardein Chick'n Strips (save the sauce for another meal)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 small onions, cut into chunks
- 1 red bell pepper + 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 cup carrots, cut into chunks
- 6 red potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2 cans coconut milk
- 4 oz jar of red curry paste (I used Thai Kitchen brand)
- 2 teaspoons lemongrass paste
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- ¼ cup peanut butter, creamy
- 1 cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped
- Jasmine Rice
Instant Pot Instructions
Set to Saute mode and wait until it says "Hot". Add the oil, then the onion. Allow to brown and set aside. In the same pot, add the red curry paste, ginger and lemongrass pastes and stir to combine, about 30 seconds. Whisk in 1 can of coconut milk and allow to get bubbly and thick. Next, whisk in the vegetable broth, peanut butter, and the 2nd can of coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Turn off the Instant Pot and add in the onion, peppers, potatoes, carrots and Gardein chick'n. Wipe the edges of your pot to ensure a good seal, then close the pot. Set to Manual High Pressure for 5 minutes.
When the pot beeps, do a quick release. The sauce may not be as thick as you like, and if this is the case, spoon out some sauce and a couple potatoes into a blender (I used my Nutribullet) and blend to make a thickener. Add back to the pot and stir until thickened.
Add in 1/2 the chopped peanuts and stir. Serve with Jasmine rice and top with remaining peanuts.


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Gateway Church Ashford Football Club
Dominus Virtutum Nobiscum
Hmm... Let's try that again
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About Us | Swimming Clubs | MyPage Login
Are you an energetic, motivated person who enjoys working with children and young adults? Do you have a genuine interest and commitment to push children to the next level?
The Te Awamutu Swimming Club is looking for a new coach. It involves coaching the morning and afternoon sessions, planning the training sessions, liaison with our junior coach and attending swim meets. You need to be flexible with working hours.
Experience will be an advantage but training will be offered to the right person.
To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to Inge via firstname.lastname@example.com
Applications close on Sunday 9th September.


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Broccolini is a more delicate version of broccoli; its stalks are more slender and the florets are smaller. Tiny yellow flowers sometimes appear among the florets; they are completely edible, as is every part of the vegetable, making it perfect for frying whole. The key to perfectly cooked tempura is maintaining the frying oil at a consistent temperature between batches; including seltzer rather than water in your batter ensures a crisp and light tempura. Aioli, based on olive oil, egg yolks, and garlic, makes for a rich and creamy dipping sauce.
Tempura Broccolini with Lemon Aioli
2016-04-24 14:29:18
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- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup cold seltzer (club soda)
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 2 bunches broccolini, trimmed of excess leaves
- 4–5 cups vegetable oil
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, pressed through garlic press
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- Kosher salt
- In a medium pot, heat oil to 375°F.
- In the container of an immersion blender, place egg yolk, 1 tablespoon of water, lemon juice, mustard, pressed garlic, and oil.
- Let sit for 30 seconds until the oil rises to the top.
- Lower the blender into the container all the way to the bottom. Begin blending.
- As the aioli begins to form, tilt the blender and slowly lift until you see all the oil is completely combined.
- From start to finish this should take no longer than 2 minutes.
- Season aioli with salt and pepper and set aside.
- When oil is up to temperature, combine the flour, cornstarch, seltzer, and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl.
- Stir just until all the ingredients are mixed.
- Don't over stir the batter should still have a few lumps.
- Dip the broccolini into the batter and coat well. Immediately drop the spears into the oil and fry about 1 minute or until the batter is golden and crisp.
- Fry a few pieces at a time, and don't overcrowd the pot.
- Remove the broccolini with a mesh skimmer and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain. Repeat with remaining broccolini.
- To Serve Sprinkle the tempura with salt and serve immediately with aioli.
Hell's Kitchen Recipes http://hellskitchenrecipes.com/


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*sigh* I've been editing and rewriting a book from a year ago....pretty much all day today. It was for a pitch contest and unfortunately I wasn't chosen, but part of me is happy about that. Only part of me. The other half is sad, of course. Everyone wants to be chosen for contests, but the story needs some work and I plan on giving it the time it needs to make it great.
So...here's to the natural selection of editors. May they be excited about the revamped version of Distorted Views.
And a little excerpt because I'm rather proud of my days work.
He reached out, going slow when she froze. His finger traced the line of a tendril of hair and brushed his thumb over the little upturned point of her chin. "I'm a patient guy, Logan. Especially with something that feels worth it."
She stepped forward, nerves and fear practically shoved her back, but she forced herself to rise up on her toes and kiss his cheek. His evening stubble felt as good as it did the other night.
She moved over a little to the corner of his mouth, watching his brown eyes deepen until the little gold flecks were nearly gone. He had the longest lashes, she thought distantly.
Would it be okay to try? To see if the dip at the center of his top lip was as soft as it looked?
He didn't touch her, just sifted his fingers through the lock of hair that had come out of her clip. "Just a kiss is enough for me, Logan. I wouldn't push for anything more."
She just wanted to get it over with. She wanted to feel whole and normal again. Playing with the tail of his tie absently she tugged him down to her. The surprised grunt almost made her step back, but his lips softened and he smiled into the kiss. She tamped down the need to run and focused on his taste. She sighed into him, happy to learn that he was, in fact, all about the mouth.
The kiss was slow and soft. He reached up to her clip and let her hair fall down around her shoulders. He buried his hand into the heaviest part of it and tipped her up to him. She felt him holding back and part of her wanted him to let loose.
The other part of her was thankful. It was nice to be close to someone again.
Very nice.


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Check this out –
Work on Lido Boulevard to start in September
Developer gears up to begin work on Lido Boulevard
Two things that strikes me is this –
CENTRAL Malaysian Properties Sdn Bhd (CMP), a company linked to businessman Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, said it is on track to begin work on the RM2.7 billion Lido Boulevard waterfront project in the Iskandar Development Region, Johor, in March.
It will take 24 months to complete the land reclamation, which will extend between 0.04km and 0.45km into the Straits of Johor along a 2.4km stretch of the beachfront here.
"The land reclamation would be strictly monitored with stringent measures in place to protect marine life, the coastal environment and the livelihoods of affected fishermen.
My question is as below –
1. What strikes you when the name Tan Sri Vincent Tan is mentioned? ( gambling business? lingam? well connected? )
2. Land reclamation? Are we that short of land? What would the Tebrau straits be, if S'pore decided to do the same from their side?
3. Do you really think there are any marine life at Tebrau Straits? Do you seriously thinks that there are fisherman there? The sea water over there are not even safe for drinking!
If the project comes up to what it suppose to be (according to the news piece) then, by all means, it's a good project. Lido beach is a waste land anyway. Any measure to rehabilitate it would be good and much welcome. The benefit, according to the spokesman is great –
- "We will also build flyovers and pedestrian bridges to transform Lido Boulevard into one of the most attractive destinations in Johor Baru."
- Chan said works will also involve land reclamation at Lido Beach.
- Lido Boulevard has four main development components: luxury condominiums, waterfront office suites, a hotel and a shopping mall.
- According to Chan, Lido Boulevard will have generous open spaces for public recreation. This includes a 2.4km-long boardwalk, 9.7ha man-made lagoon for water activities and 1.8ha public park.
- The development blueprint is based on the theme of a "garden city", with landscaped gardens, water fountains and park-like facilities covering nearly a quarter of the area.
And the fact that this project is initiated by lingam's good friend, ehem….
But my guess is that this project may not bring any good to Johoreans in general and over long term. In the end, it will be but another place for S'poreans to place their mistresses without having to drive all the way to Taman Sentosa.


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For sale: Gratz Industries HQ
>> Saturday, January 20, 2007
It's official: Gratz Industries is relocating!
We're moving our main corporate offices to North Carolina, but we've got to sell our Decatur branch first. Here's a peek at our current facilities:
We're sad to leave this beautiful oasis inside the Atlanta perimeter, but the mountains beckon. Now that the house is officially on the market, life around Gratz Industries can begin to return to normal, or at least what passes for normal around here . . .


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Mac Miller Reveals New Mixtape Release Date And Title
Faces - coming 5.11.14
— Faces. Mother's Day (@MacMiller) April 28, 2014
Mother's Day just got a little bit more special, well if your mom listens to Mac Miller that is. The Pittsburgh-native took to Twitter to reveal the title and release date for his highly-anticipated mixtape Faces. The project drops May 11. The "Watching Movies" rapper will perform at the X Games in June before traveling across the Atlantic for his European tour, beginning July 16 in Montreux, Switzerland.


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Just a country girl kicking around the dirt roads taking pictures of trees, gates, animals. cactus, and anything else that strikes my un-fancy mind. You are welcome to take a look and come back if you like.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
A New Kind Of Punishment???
8 comments:
- Dar said...
LOL...funny but not. It sounds like the perfect punishment to me, but then there might be an old fella in there that is there daily, ' just sleeping it off ', like Otis on the Andy Griffin Show that locked himself in each night.
My soft side hopes they get it under control too.
Have a fine weekend Paula.
Stay away from that jail.
- July 22, 2010 at 8:36 PM
- jack69 said...
Hahahahaha. YOu paint a good picture.
They will probably release the majority so they don't get it. Knowing most will be back after the out break is over. "Out Break" ah ha! turn that around Break out!
Take care, I like this one also!
- July 22, 2010 at 9:05 PM
- Fernan said...
Viva la Ginger's travels.
Jail house mumps in stead of jail house rock. Sure can't make the jailer's' jobs any easier.
How sweet it is.
- July 23, 2010 at 6:53 AM
- jack69 said...
Came back just to say hi, from Michigan!
Don't ever worry about not being able to comment on our blog! These things have a mind of their own!
- July 23, 2010 at 8:51 AM
- Toon said...
I've been lucky -- never even had chicken pox.
- July 23, 2010 at 9:46 AM
- Lucy said...
I had mumps along with 3 of my kids, 2 didn't get them at all, lucky kids. They hurt and especially when you bent over to do something.
- July 23, 2010 at 12:29 PM
- garnett109 said...
never had them, just the pox
- July 24, 2010 at 2:29 PM
- Lori said...
I can remember how painful they were when I had them. I think I was seven or eight. They say it's worse for adults.
- July 24, 2010 at 8:35 PM


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- Play:
In the second Clockwork Brothers podcast I go into detail about the 21 vows that could help you ascend and live the life you've always desired. We talk about the new film we are currently developing at Clockwork Brothers called Neo Empire. Tune in as I break down the mental obstacles that many creatives may face today.


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CHICAGO – The story of "Little Women," by Louisa May Alcott, has been an American institution since its publication in 1869. The story of four girls-to-little-women during the American Civil War, with their indomitable mother holding down the household while their father is away in the war, was a perfect candidate to become a Broadway musical. The Brown Paper Box Co. (BPBCo) is currently presenting a brilliant adaptation of that musical for the storefront stage, and its emotion, music craft and energy is nothing sort of a triumph… this small theater company that could does it again. The show has various evening/matinee performances at the The Strawdog Theatre in Chicago through February 9th, 2018. Click here for more details, including ticket information.
Shane Black
'The Predator' is the Best Sequel Reboot of the SeriesSubmitted by PatrickMcD on September 13, 2018 - 3:11pm
Rating: 3.0/5.0
CHICAGO – By the standards of Predator sequels, "The Predator" is easily the best of the bunch. But that's a depressingly low bar to clear… kind of like saying you got the nicest looking "Yugo" on the lot. Coming 31 years after Arnold Schwarzenegger battled the original "one ugly mother f**ker," this reboot brings the space alien with the heat seeking vision to the suburbs.


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- royallyfunpartiesAsked on February 19, 2016 at 12:10 AM
I tried this answer on my form (same problem) and it did not reset my form so that I can receive regular submissions. My form is currently locked out. Can the type of my form be changed or something, now that I've removed my payment option? I just need regular submissions now. Thanks.
- JotForm SupportChriistianAnswered on February 19, 2016 at 12:21 AM
Your forms are disabled and you are unable to receive submissions because your account has exceeded the limit of payments received in your form. Switching your order form to a regular form will not reset the counter for payments/submissions. Free accounts can only receive 100 regular submissions or 10 payments.
You will have to wait for the first day of next month (march 1) for the counter to reset to 0 and then you will be able to receive either 10 new payments or 100 regular submission. If you want to receive submissions this month, you will need to upgrade your account to one of our pricing plans. Hope this helps. Regards.


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A disagreement with the resolution 121
Not unexpectedly, the US house has approved the comfort women resolution.
I strongly disagree with this resolution. I very much understand that resolutions like this are par for the course these days in Washington, but personally I think resolutions like this are pro-war. You don't tell other countries, especially allies how to deal with difficult and complex problems. It will be interesting, if not unsettling, to see what the reaction is to the resolution. (Here are some reactions from when the bill was approved by the foreign relations committee.)
Let's see how many people on the left are all too happy to accept foreign interventionism, so long as they agree with the purpose of the intervention. Let me spell this out for those who don't understand what I am implying. Japanese nationals, especially politicians, should want the sovereignty of their country respected, and on principal should reject all interventions. However, I am sure that because many politicians on the left approve of the contents of the resolution, they will not pay any attention to the sovereignty issue. Had the bill said Japanese should go to church more often, of course, a different reaction would be expected. But the issue is not what America is telling Japan to do, it's that America is telling Japan what to do!
Note the resolution explicitly tells the Japanese government how to educate its future generations. US congressmen do not even have the inherent right to tell parents how they will educated their children in America, much less Japan. Are we all Fascists these days? Imperialists? People really need to wake up on this issue.
Let's see how many people on the left who reject interventionism in Iraq, and American imperialism in general, are all to happy to exuberantly embrace it here. Let's see how many Japanese are good imperial subjects when it suits them.


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Views: 847 | Added: 7 years agoMore
No gas...no money...and desperate to continue the night out on the town. These three hot 18 year olds find them in a preDICKament this night. When they finally reached the gas station they decided to fuck themselves into getting some free gas. They gave this clerk a night he will remember for the rest of his life. And update we are not sure to forget anytime soon either. These are some really hot bettys and they have an insatiable sex drive. Come watch as all three get down and dirty.
Submitted by: realitykings


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Price Beat Guarantee*
Find a lower comparable hotel price online and we'll beat it by 10%. Find out more.
*Conditions Apply
Property Details
Colwyn House Bed and Breakfast is located 500 metres from the town centre and the Blue Lake.
This enchanting house won the the best little home I know in the Australian Home Beautiful magazine in 1928. Situated in a quiet restful location in one of the nicest areas in Mount Gambier, this property still has so many original features throughout.
Relax and unwind in the sauna or take a short drive to the Coonawarra wine region and Port MacDonnell, Australia's lobster capital.
Colwyn House Bed and Breakfast can take up to six guests with large or small bedrooms. There is a guest lounge, solarium and ample parking for guests. Bedding, linen and towels are supplied.
Within walking distance are tourist attractions, town centre, restaurants, civic centre, library, pool and sports.
You can be sure of a warm welcome in this sensational old well built home.
- -24 hour reception
- -BBQ facilities
- -Complimentary breakfast
- -Gay friendly
- -Interconnecting rooms
- -Free broadband in public areas
- -Guest laundry
- -Laundry service
- -Parking – free
- -Parking – on-site undercover
- -Parking – street
- -Pets allowed, enquire on booking
- -Sauna
- -Tea / coffee making


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Sorting through quick writings as I gather my ideas together for a bigger story. Another half-hour free-write from Maya Stein's "Quick and Dirty" series.
The Walk Home
I could smell out the perverts even before I knew what a pervert was.
Brownies, Girl Scouts, youth groups, teachers, my junior high principal. It always seemed like wherever there were kids; at least a few of the adults were "off".
30 years later, my younger sister said she quit playing violin because Mr. Ross would feel her up during lessons.
When I was 14, a photographer asked me to climb up a tree while I was wearing a skirt. I started to climb when I realized he was wanting to take pictures of my panties. I didn't like what he was doing so I came down. He wanted me to have a drink of champagne with him so I would "loosen up" – he kept a bottle and some glasses in his trunk. We could "just sit in the park" like we were "having a picnic". I refused and wouldn't get back into his car.
I walked home.
There was a paved pathway through the woods. It occurred to me, as I was walking home, that he might try to follow. I walked quickly, looking over my shoulder as I went.
I tried to tell my mom about him, but she didn't hear it. It was like she shut a part of her mind off. I don't understand how she doesn't recognize that look in men's eyes. Push. Go on, it's ok. Nudge. It's ok.
I grew dark. Part of myself dimmed out. And another part of me grew sharp. Soft cheeks, hard heart.
Another time, I was walking with my sister. The walk home. I was 14; she was 12. Two men, in their 20s, cat-called and followed us for a while. We talked to them a little bit. In a weird way it was flattering to get the attention. We didn't think much of it. 2 weeks later they kidnapped my sister. They tried to get a ransom. They were caught.
My 12 year-old sister – a child. Teachers, psychologists, principals, church ladies, doctors decided my sister, this child, was a temptress of grown men, that somehow she had caused these men to go wild and steal her away.
She still looked like a little boy.
The walk home is too long now. The walk is home. The walk is home. The walk is home. The shadows are part of the journey, along with the flowers and the trees and the dust and the wind. The walk home. The walk.
The walk home. I kissed him in the doorway of a brick building, around the corner of Mother's. We had just spent the night dancing. He wore leather pants and a black t-shirt. He caught me looking at his arms. He shouted over the thump of club music, "Are you looking for track marks?" I smiled, "You got me. I can't help it." He swigged his beer, "I don't do needles. I don't do hard drugs." So I kissed him in the doorway, shaking, knowing there was no turning back.
The man I lived with, the man who I spent the last seven years of my life with – was out with someone else, too. But I wasn't like him. This being out was not my style. I didn't like complications.
I felt like the air, the world had stopped, like I was walking through a postcard on the way home. I tiptoed up the stairs, turned the key slowly in the door.
There was no one home.
great writing Red! I love your spare poetic style!
heart hugs
Laura Troy January 28, 2012 at 5:03 am
Hey Holly, there's definitely more to this story coming … I agree with you, you might not want to post it on FB just in case. There's just something ironic about the walk "home" … to an empty place, or, in our childhood, a place that was not always safe. Keep on writin' sis!
Lots of love,
It's just more understanding of what women are subjected to and how cults of silence or blaming the victim lead to women and girls being completely isolated from public life and dominated. These men feel comfortable enough that their actions will not be reported or that the penalties are not high enough to change their behaviour due to the systemic privilege men engender in our society. More effeminate and minority males are often excluded from this privilege.
In studies in classrooms, where students were asked to "switch gender" privileges just for the class, male students felt a "loss" and female students a "gain" nearly every time. Probably why masculine lesbians are so ridiculed is to reduce this gain in power.
I remember your sister speaking to me several times about the other event. I glad she was able to escape that. She should have had much more support for that. Probably one of the reasons we bonded so quickly was we realized the patriarchal world was a lie and that you had to constantly be ready deal with adversaries as a young woman.
Keep writing, love the new website!


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NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Treasurys gained Thursday, pushing two-year yields to the lowest since March, after jobless claims rose in the latest week, pushing the level of continuing claims to the highest in 25 years. Two-year note TMUBMUSD02Y, +0.00% yields fell 6 basis points to 1.30%, the lowest since risk aversion after the Bear Stearns collapse sent investors clamoring for the safety of government debt. First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose 4,000 to 481,000 in the week ended Nov. 1, the Labor Department said. The number of U.S. residents collecting state unemployment benefits reached the highest level in 25 years, rising by 122,000 to a seasonally adjusted 3.84 million in the week ending Oct. 25. Treasurys had declined in earlier trading as U.S. equity futures pointed lower. The Bank of England slashed rates more than forecast and the European Central Bank reduced its benchmark rate in the hopes of propping up their economies.
Have breaking news sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Bulletin emails. Sign up here.


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Top News:
Courtney Rubin / People.com:
Amy Winehouse Diagnosed With Skin Disease — What's up with those bumps on Amy Winehouse's face? The singer has been diagnosed with impetigo, her spokesman confirms to PEOPLE. — It's a bacterial skin infection that causes pimple-like lumps - and is "is highly contagious …
Discussion: Us Weekly, iVillage, I'm Not Obsessed, Bitten and Bound and Lifeline Live
Henry Seltzer / Us Weekly: Amy Winehouse Has Contagious Skin Infection
Tracy Pepey / iVillage: Amy Winehouse Diagnosed with Skin Infection
Ann Oldenburg / Lifeline Live: Winehouse battles skin disease
Daily Mail:
What has caused Amy Winehouse's bruised face? — A mysterious lump has appeared on Amy Winehouse's face - leaving her with a swollen and bruised left cheek. — The drug-addict singer, 24, tried to conceal her the bruising with make-up as she moved into a new home in East London. — Scroll down for more...
Discussion: Celebritology, Yeeeah! and Starpulse Entertainment …
Sophie Monk Speaks Out About Benji & Paris — Sophie Monk says her breakup with rocker Benji Madden was amicable and she wishes her ex and his quickly found love Paris Hilton all the best. — "Let me make this as plain as possible - Benji did not leave me for Paris Hilton," Monk, 28 …
Discussion: iVillage, Gabby Babble and CelebWarship
Tracy Pepey / iVillage: Sophie Monk's Talkin' Benji Madden & Paris Hilton
Ros Reines / NEWS.com.au:
Sophie Monk: The truth about my love life
Sophie Monk: The truth about my love life
Discussion: Hot Momma Gossip, Celebrity Gossip Featuring … and If I Was A Millionaire
Paris Hilton steps out with an unusual shopping partner
Paris Hilton steps out with an unusual shopping partner
Discussion: CelebWarship, PageSix.com and Celebrity Gossip Featuring …
Daily Mail:
Fresh humiliation for Britney as Adnan 'moves on to another woman' — Photographer Adnan Ghalib has been seen with another woman - fuelling rumours his romance with Britney Spears is over for good. — The Birmingham-raised paparazzo has been getting cozy with LA waitress Amanda Pagel, according to reports.
Discussion: Perez Hilton and Celebrity Body Gossip
Steve-O Popped for Allegedly Being a Jackass — "Jackass" star Steve-O is sitting in a Hollywood jail right now, after one of his neighbors nabbed him for bashing up his apartment complex. — TMZ has learned that Steve-O was, according to a source, breaking holes in the walls of his L …
Discussion: Dlisted and Perez Hilton
Daily Mail:
Jordan's pyjama party: Katie Price goes from slinky to sleepy after a night on the town — After a night of partying at David Gest's 55th birthday at London's Royal Garden Hotel, a weary Jordan couldn't have looked more ready for bed. — The model, real name Katie Price …
Discussion: If I Was A Millionaire and Seriously? OMG!
Cops: Cocaine Is Gummi's Drug of Choice — Law enforcement sources tell TMZ that the controlled substance Jason Davis — aka Gummi Bear — was busted with over the weekend was in fact cocaine. — Davis was popped by LAPD on Ventura Blvd. in Van Nuys on Friday night.
Discussion: anythinghollywood.com and The Hollywood Gossip
Gummi Bear Busted!
Gummi Bear Busted!
Discussion: A Socialite's Life and Pretty Boring
J. Harvey / A Socialite's Life: Jason Davis Busted
Lisa Voglesonger / Pretty Boring: EVERYONE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GREASY BEAR GETTING POPPED FOR DRUGS …
Courtney Hazlett / MSNBC:
Scoop: Jamie Lynn reportedly expecting a boy — Plus, is Will Ferrell's hot streak near an end; Winehouse's $1 million payday — If a recent trip to swank baby goods store Petit Tresor in West Hollywood is any indication, it looks like Jamie Lynn Spears is having a boy.
Discussion: Dlisted, TMZ.com, Celebrity Baby Blog and ShowHype
Game Won't Play With Rest of Cons in Pokey — As TMZ first reported last night, The Game finally showed up to Twin Towers to serve his weapons-possession sentence, and we've learned that he'll be a "keep away" while inside, meaning that he'll be segregated from the general population while in the joint.
Discussion: Real Talk NY
Nigel Degraff / Real Talk NY: The Game Starts His Jail Sentence
Libby Keatinge / PageSix.com:
Heidi and Seal's Tutu Cute Family — Heidi Klum takes daughter Leni, 3, to dance class in Los Angeles, while hubby Seal holds onto their son Henry, 2. Dancing runs in this famous family. Singer Seal released a dance album earlier this year, and mama Heidi loves to dance and act silly.
OK! Magazine:
Docs Make a House Call on Britney — Twice this year already, Britney Spears has made unplanned trips to visit the psychiatric wards at a pair of L.A.'s finer hospitals. So it was a welcome change of pace on Saturday when the head doctors came to visit the pop star in the privacy of her own home.
Discussion: Cele|bitchy and E! Online
Minnie fuels pregnancy reports as Brits step out for indie flick premieres — Usually spotted at glamorous Hollywood screenings, a clutch of homegrown stars, including Minnie Driver and Damien Lewis, have been catching up on independent movie offerings at less high profile venues in the UK.
Discussion: Digital Spy
Simon Reynolds / Digital Spy: Minnie Driver pregnant with first child?
Michael K / Dlisted:
It's Still A Wig — I don't know why I care about this, but I just do. American Idol loser, Robbie Carrico, has denied to People Magazine that he wears a wig. … Bitch is lying! There's only one way to prove it. He needs to let Paula Abdul try and pull that s**t off.
Discussion: Stupid Celebrities Gossip
StyleWatch / Fall TV Watch:
Idol's Robbie Carrico: "I've Been Growing This Hair a Very Long Time"
Idol's Robbie Carrico: "I've Been Growing This Hair a Very Long Time"
Discussion: People.com and CelebrityPWN Hot Gossip


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... von Launceston entlang der Ostküste.
Freitag, 11. Januar 2013
Labels: Australien, Fahr mal nach
Hello, I found your blog via some other German blog and noticed you are travelling in Australia...... I am in Tassie and would be very happy to meet you!AntwortenLöschen
We live in Sheffield which is right near Devonport, west of Launceston, if you are interested. And if not, then you are welcome to contact me anyway if you need any information!!
Oh, and yes, I do speak German but with a definite Kärntner accent!
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Dear Evi, thanks for your comment. We would love toAntwortenLöschen
meet you. Today we are on our way to cradle mountain.
Tomorrow we are going back to Launceston. Maybe we
can meet up tomorrow? You can also reach me via email:
Looking forward to hear from you!
Liebe Grüße, Judith
Abonnieren Kommentare zum Post (Atom)


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Benefits of using Frontline plus for dogs 23-44 lbs. Cheap
I have started believing in the benefits of Frontline Plus for dogs 23-44 lbs. cheap after I applied it on my dog and saw the effect. Frontline plus is really a great product and proves right whatever it claims. Recently my family and our doggy went for camping, all of enjoyed very much but after we returned, there was some unusual behavior in my dog. Initially did not give much attention unless the problem became very severe.
My doggy was scratching its body very vigorously all day and was not showing any appetite towards food. I was worried and I rushed it to the vet. The vet examined it and in just five minutes, it concluded that fleas and ticks infected my dear dog.
Since my dog was of medium weight, so he suggested me to apply Frontline Plus for dogs 23-44 lbs. Cheap instantly. He told me that this medication is really good and available at a much-discounted rate at a reputed site. I made no delay in taking his suggestion.
After applying Frontline Plus for dogs 23-44 lbs. cheap, I could see a visible difference in the behavior of the dog. It had reduced its scratching to quiet extent. I was careful not to apply this medication on the scratches and open wounds that unfortunately my doggy had developed.
My doggy had stopped scratching completely after 24 hours and I could see that it was showing interest towards food again. After two weeks when I took it to the vet, the vet was very happy to see it in normal condition again.
I did take some precaution while giving the doggy this medication. I made sure that it wore a veterinary cone so that it does not lick itself. Four times in a week, I gave it a bath with my herbal shampoo and used with warm water.
My doggy was finally free from all fleas and ticks and I really thank Frontline Plus for dogs 23-44 lbs. cheap for helping my pet.


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Have you ever looked at colored glue sticks for glue guns and wondered what on earth you would want to use colored glue for? Today I have just one splendid little answer for you. Let's make dimensional embellishments! But first, I have to say that I LOVE the iBond glue gun - the cordless feature makes it so easy to get things done without wondering how the heck to get that cord out of the way. In fact, I have several other projects I can already think of that I''ll be using this for this year.
Now, rather than ruin the surprise, I'm going to make you wait until after the tutorial steps to see what I've made. Just check out these steps:
While that's warming up, you will want a few additional items. Choose a small stamp image, stamping block if acrylic, and ink for your stamp. You need to ink up your stamp for this process, but most ink will not stay on our stamping surface. You can just use a clear ink for no color, or Staz On if you want your image colored. I chose to use a red Staz On for my image, just so it would show up better in the photos.
Now, on to my end product! I created a card and used my embellishment as an accent piece in my design.
Using a card sketch and some papers from my stash, I got to work! The cute girl stamp image is Cheeky Howdy from The Greeting Farm and the cherries stamp image is from the Kitchen Classic stamp set from Crafty Secrets. Cheeky Howdy's outfit is paper pieced (see last week's Tutorial Tuesday!), and the scalloped mat/frame is from the Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge. I adhered the stamped glue embellishment to my rosette using Glossy Accents to ensure it stays put. As a finishing touch, I added stickles to the cherries in my girl's hair and the circle cut-outs in the frame.
Items available at Cutters Creek:
- Bazzil Splat Mat non-stick sheet
- iBond cordless glue gun from Imaginisce
- iBond mini glue sticks - solid color
- Tim Holtz clear Distress Ink Pad
- Kitchen Classics stamp set, Crafty Secrets
- Cheeky Howdy cling stamp, The Greeting Farm
- Elegant Edges Cricut cartridge (not in stock, but Kim can order almost any cartridge you want!)
- Glossy Accents
- Stickles in Xmas Red


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Marc-Felipe's 3rd birthday party
6th September, 2014 - Sydney Opera House/ Opera Bar
Wet, wet, wet...but despite of it all, young Marc-Felipe didn't mind at all. He had a blast running through the corridors of the Opera house, held the umbrella and enjoyed getting wet slightly, watched the movies and celebrated his party with family and friends. Sun finally appeared midday (wished you came in earlier).
Wishing you all the very best...Happy Birthday!


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Some of my more recent symptoms have been facial tingling, twitching, nerve pain in face and head which responded well to Clarythromycin. More recently I read that restless leg syndrome was considered to be a neurological symptom. Whilst restless leg syndrome were annoying symptoms that kept me awake many hours each night it was the least of my problems, with me my main troubles were Arthritis and Muscle weakness. I think my Neurological problems would be described as Peripheral Neuropathies.
On Eurolyme a chat line many of the other members suffer with severe Neurological problems, some have had MRI scans and some SPECT scans showing abnormalities although their consultants seem rather flummoxed by the results.
Brian Fallon is a leading doctor and researcher in the field of Lyme Borreliosis in Neurology and Psychiatry at Columbia University.
This article on MRI and Spect Scans was brought to my attention and could be useful when discussing scans with our doctors.
I have not visited the Lyme and Tick-borne diseases research centre site for some time and was very surprised how much useful information was there.
I rather liked the simple explanation of the controversy over the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease.
For those of us living in the UK, charity Lyme Disease Action has useful information on Lyme disease including Neurology and Psychiatry


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Rose Calvert
Nine different goal scorers played their part in the 5-4 epic clash between Marlin Coast Rangers and Leichhardt Lions at Pennell Field on Saturday evening in the Far North Queensland Premier Women's Competition.
Coming off a 5-0 upset to second-placed Southside Comets, the visiting Lions battled goal-for-goal against fifth-placed Rangers to retain fourth spot by stealing the deciding goal in the dying moments of the game.
Despite conceding the four goals, the Lions attacking play was impressive; a vast improvement from last week's Round nine fixture that saw the Lions suffer a 5-0 upset to second-placed Southside Comets after failing to convert crucial chances.
The thrilling goal-a-thon round ten action kicked off from the starting whistle with a beautiful through ball issued to Lions skipper Stacey Jones who led with pace for a one-on-one finish past Ranger goalkeeper Natalie Castro in the first minute of play.
In fantastic viewing fashion the home-side responded instantly from the restart with Ranger Nicole Meath pocketing the ball home from a long-range shot.
With both teams still fighting for composure and possession during the initial touches of the game, it wasn't long until the scorecard was adjusted and levelled once more.
Lions vice-captain Natalie Fichera deployed some nifty touches through the midfield to open up a shot on goal, unleashing a left-footed rocket that was guided into the back of the net off a deflection from Ranger Monique Ward.
Ward was quick to amend the accidental home goal by scoring a goal two minutes later via a first-touch volley off a corner to see the scores levelled two-all coming in to half time.
The Lions picked up the possession leading into the second half, but some good individual passages of play from Ranger Michelle Brett proved dangerous for the visitor's defence line with the wide flanker almost finding net after a brilliant one-on-one opportunity.
Lion Fichera looked to give her side a 3-2 lead; the talented corner-taker deploying one of her signature curled kicks into goal that was deflected off the goal-line from a Ranger's feet standing corner post.
The home-side instead took the 3-2 lead in the 50th minute via Ranger Shae Mortimer who tapped the ball home from a cross in.
In keeping with the goal-for-goal, blink and you'll miss it action-packed entertainment, the Lions responded instantly within the same 50-minute mark; fifteen-year old Keagan Fittock firing a stunning shot from 30 meters out.
The home-side took their second lead for the evening when referee Andrew Osborne penalised Lion defender Claire Kellam-Stock for an accidental hand-ball in the box. Ranger Laura Williams, an ex-Lion, stepped up to the plate to convert the penalty giving her side a 4-3 lead with 20 minutes left to play.
The Lions levelled the scores for the final time eight minutes later; the young attacking weapon Alicia Lazarus producing the goal of the match from way out wide in a seemingly impossible, cross-in style finish. With scores locked at four-all, Lion Ria Collie pocketed the winning goal in the 87th minute from outside the 18-year box to round off the high-scoring thriller.
The win keeps Leichhardt in fourth place, tied with Innisfail on 12 points and two points clear of Marlin Coast.
In the other fixtures, the undefeated Southside Comets secured a win over third-placed Innisfail Cutters with their 3-1 victory at home.
The Comets put two of their three goals away in the first half via Leah Scroggie in the first five minutes and Amy Walton 10 minutes later. Scroggie and Walton received shadow and Queensland team selections respectively at this year's State Championships.
Olivia Hurren pushed the Comets to a 3-0 lead in the 52nd minute, but after dropping to ten players via a 70th minute send off for Comet Zoe Banister, Innisfail managed to find net through Kiara Camuglia in the last four minutes of play.
Round 10 wrapped up in a surprise result between the Stratford Dolphins and the Mareeba Bulls with the last-placed Dolphins finding their first win for the season in a 2-1 victory at home.
The Edge Hill Tigers had the bye.


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The Australian Greens have endorsed a change to the Senate voting method to reduce the ability of micro-parties to game the system.
The Greens endorsed a motion to progress the issue at its national council meeting in Sydney over the weekend.
"Senate voting reform is urgently required to improve our democracy and that this should be achieved through the abolition of group voting tickets and introduction of above the line, optional preferential voting," the unanimously endorsed motion read.
The current system of group voting tickets and compulsory preferencing of all candidates below the line has enabled some candidates to be elected with as little as one per cent of the primary vote.
The Greens would prefer to get cross-party support for legislation before the election due in late 2016.
But if such agreement can't be reached a private bill would be brought to parliament for debate, a spokesman told AAP on Monday.
It is understood minister in charge of electoral matters, Michael Ronaldson, has previously held talks with the Greens on the proposed change.
But the government fears that if it goes ahead with legislation now, rather than closer to an election, there could be a backlash from micro-party crossbenchers.
The coalition could pass the changes without the support of Labor if the Greens are on board, but this would jeopardise the non-partisan nature of the electoral system.
A cross-party committee has already recommended the change be made but no action has been taken on the finding.
Modelling by the parliamentary library based on the 2013 election result showed the proposed new system would have delivered the Greens the same number of seats, boosted Labor's Senate seats by two and given the coalition an extra seat.
Nick Xenophon's team in South Australia would have taken two seats.
The Greens say this would have more accurately reflected primary vote numbers in each state.
Labor is yet to come to a firm view on the reforms.


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Path Solutions, a Kuwait-based leading IT provider to the Islamic financial marketplace, has become a member of CIBAFI, the General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions.
CIBAFI is affiliated with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), was founded in 2001 and is headquartered in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The focus of CIBAFI is to protect and promote the Islamic financial services industry, as well as to encourage entities with similar interests to work together to meet global objectives.
CIBAFI represents nearly 120 members within 30 jurisdictions and is recognized globally as the director of the Islamic financial sector. Council members represent a variety of key financial businesses, global intergovernmental organizations and professional firms.
The recently announced membership of Path Solutions with CIBAFI will open the door for the company to partner with the highly regarded institution in working toward the betterment and growth of the Islamic financial services sector.
Lastly, the membership will further cement the alignment of Path Solutions' Islamic software resolutions and services with Sharia guidelines.


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The plaid cloak is finished and further detail work done as well. A step by step on this pattern technique is shown below. I am on the home stretch with this figure. A few more details and completion of the architectural feature to be added in the corner of the base. This has changed from my earlier idea of a mile marker which may not have been accurate for the time period, to a watering/drinking trough that will be the subject of my next post.
The plaid pattern is painted in oils and is a earthen toned pattern that was copied from a photo found by my friends over on the MedRom forum site. The red-brown lines were painted first using a mix of Brown Madder, Mars Yellow and Titanium White. Where the lines intersect, pure Brown Madder with a touch of Cad Red Deep was applied. Once dry every other line had a thin Indigo line applied, both vertically and horizontally. Lighter shades of Indigo were applied where the blue lines intersect and the whole was allowed to dry for a few days. A unifying neutral wash of Raw Umber, Mars Black and Burnt Sienna was applied overall to enhance the shadows.
For those that may question the authenticity of my choice of pattern on this cloth, here is a link to my source material:
The beginnings of the gold work on his greaves. Base and shadow, no highlights.


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Anyone who has ever moved before knows how difficult and stressful it can be. However, before you try and stuff all your stuff in the backseat of your car, you should know that there are actually moving companies who exist specifically to make your move less difficult and less stressful.
Finding a moving company is generally fairly simple. All you have to do is go to a search engine or a directory near you and search for local movers. Moving companies have trucks you can use to store your belongings, and can often rent out said trucks to you, if you don't want to pay for full-service moving help.
Many movers can also help you move more easily by providing you with tips, such a


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Last Name: CARLO
First Name: GEORGE
Nickname: "SWAGG"
Age: 17
Gender: MALE
Height: 5'9″
Weight: 150
Eyes: BROWN
Hair: BLACK
Complexion: LIGHT
Race: HISPANIC
Date of birth: 01-FEB-1996
Date of last contact: 21-APR-2013
Greorge Carlo has been reported missing from the 2600 block of west 83rd place. George was last seen wearing black jacket, white T shirt, grey pants and red shoes.
George frequents the area of Fullerton to Algale near Kostner. If located please contact area central SVU 312-747-8380


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As a bakers daughter, its hard to not love sweets -- especially cookies with a soft chewy inside, crisp-to-the-bite edges, chocolate chunks, nuts, and made-from-scratch flavor. Spoiled by the cookies from my mothers bakery, I decided to search for a cookie with the right balance of puff, crisp, and chew in Charlotte. As I went around town buying and tasting cookies, I compiled a list of a few cookie hot spots:
The Fresh Market: Delicious pillow cookies (48 cents) available in brownie, raspberry, and almond. Brownie pillow cookies are my personal favorite a simple golden brown outside with a decadent chocolate brownie inside satisfies any cookie lover.
Laurel Market: Gargantuan-sized chocolate chunk cookies ($2.09) are packed full of chocolate chips with a nice doughy inside.
Common Market: An array of homemade cookies ($1.50) and treats right next to the register catch it at the right time for a chewy treat. The chocolate chip cookies are large, but theyre often too plain.
Novas Bakery: Local bread and pastry shop keeps chocolate chip, peanut butter, and oatmeal raisin cookies ($2.05) on the shelf. The cookies seemed to plain not enough filling and lack of that chew, puff, crisp balance.
If your desire for a delicious cookie isnt met by one of these local spots, save gas and make your own. With fresh ingredients, its simple to make a delicious cookie.
If you prefer warm cookies, dont bake the entire batch at once; a tray of frozen cookie dough balls will come in handy!
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Find out more information about how to select, prepare soil for, and sow our various grass and crop seeds and mixtures, plus more.
Castle Mixtures are our flagship seed range – the best you can get. Select from the range below or use our 'Which Seed' tool, above, to find the right mixture for you.
We are proud supporters of


text: I have a knotty problem which I seek a solution to when programming the AX10Ai remote. We can change all the button names and associated function of the designated inputs, but we fail to see a route to changing the designation of the top-level button labels themselves. This is a real problem, as the designated default buttons give redundant options, whilst not giving very obvious ones. I want to change DVD/LD to DVD/SACD, DVD-R/VCR1 to HDD/DVD-R. Having an 868, we don't have a straight CD player, for which we have a button, but the darned thing doesn't seem to understand that DAB radio exists. So at the moment, the digital optical from the DAB radio, which is coming in on digital audio input 4 (labelled SAT) is mapped to this, via the remapping facility. It's on "CD", not "Tuner" or "DAB", as neither appears in the remapping list ! So currently, I have to press "CD" to get DAB radio. This makes a top end system look stoopid. Unless it's me that's stoopid, which would be preferable right now. Ironically, to play a CD or DVD, we cannot press DVD/LD (which I'd like to call DVD/SACD), as we see no way to tell that button to use the iLink connection when you press it. So, to play either, we have to go to the third input page and press iLink. How obscure is that? If we could rename/relocate the iLink button (or indeed any button) it would be "all problems solved", but we see no mechanism to achieve this. We've looked at the multi operation buttons, as its sub-page seems to be the best page for changing the amp input/output function (with 12 buttons given together). But the "add step" function doesn't give a step to invoke iLink. Pooh. Suggestions welcome!


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Not all dividends are created equal. Here, we'll do a top to bottom analysis of a given company to understand the quality of its dividend and how that's changed over the past five years.
The company we're looking at today is Altria
Altria, like competitor Lorillard
Altria Group Total Return Price Chart by YCharts
To evaluate the quality of a dividend, the first thing to consider is whether the company has paid a dividend consistently over the past five years and, if so, how much has it grown.
Altria Group Dividend Chart by YCharts
Before the two spinoffs, Altria paid a dividend of $0.75 per quarter. After the spinoffs, the dividend was cut to $0.29 per quarter and has since risen to $0.41 per quarter.
Immediate safety
To understand how safe a dividend is we use three crucial tools, the first of which is the interest coverage ratio or the number of times interest is earned. It's calculated by earnings before interest and taxes, divided by interest expense. The interest coverage ratio measures a company's ability to pay the interest on its debt. An interest coverage ratio less than 1.5 is questionable; a number less than one means the company is not bringing in enough money to cover its interest expenses.
Altria Group Times Interest Earned TTM Chart by YCharts
Altria covers every $1 in interest expense with more than $5 in operating earnings.
The other tools we use to evaluate how safe a dividend is are:
- The EPS payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by earnings per share. The EPS payout ratio measures the percentage of earnings that go toward paying the dividend. A ratio greater than 80% is worrisome.
- The FCF payout ratio, or dividends per share divided by free cash flow per share. Earnings alone don't always paint a complete picture of a business's health. The FCF payout ratio measures the percent of free cash flow devoted toward paying the dividend. Again, a ratio greater than 80% could be a red flag.
Source: S&P Capital IQ.
Altria targets a payout ratio of 80%, but lately it's been paying out slightly higher than 80%.
Source: S&P Capital IQ.
There are some alternatives out there in the industry. Reynolds American
Another tool for better investing
Most investors don't keep tabs on their companies. That's a mistake. If you take the time to read past the headlines and crack a filing now and then, you're in a much better position to spot potential trouble early. We can help you keep tabs on your companies with My Watchlist, our free, personalized stock-tracking service.
- Add Altria to My Watchlist.
For more dividend stock ideas, get The Motley Fool's free report, "11 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks."
Follow Dan Dzombak on Twitter at @DanDzombak to check out his musings and see what articles he finds interesting. He owns shares of Philip Morris International and Altria Group, but he holds no other position in any company mentioned. Click here to see his holdings and a short bio. The Motley Fool owns shares of Altria Group and Philip Morris International. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Philip Morris International. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended creating a bear put ladder position in Lorillard. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


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NEW YORK (CBS.MW) - Tellabs tlab reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $23 million, or 6 cents a share, vs. a loss of 21 cents a share in the year-earlier period. Excluding restructuring charges, the networker recorded a profit of 3 cents a share, while analysts surveyed by Reuters Research had expected a loss of 3 cents a share, on average. Net sales fell 11 percent to $279.3 million, due primarily to "sharply lower" orders for its cable telephony products, and declines in sales of optical networking products, but exceeded analyst forecasts of $261.6 million. The stock closed Wednesday down 38 cents at $10.51.
Have breaking news sent to your inbox. Subscribe to MarketWatch's free Bulletin emails. Sign up here.


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Green Brand Image Relation Model, Green Awareness, Green Advertisement, and Ecological Knowledge as Competitive Advantage in Improving Green Purchase Intention and Green Purchase Behavior on Creative Industry Products
The study tried to analyze and determine 1) the effect of green brand image on green purchase intention, 2) effect of green awareness on green purchase intention, 3) the effect of green advertisement on green purchase intention, 4) the effect of ecological knowledge on green purchase intention, and 5) the effect of green purchase intention on green purchase behavior. Explanatory research was done with a survey explanatory research methods and quantitative research, with the population of consumers Bukittinggi with 150 respondents collected using accidental sampling with questionnaires, analyzed by descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Model. It shows ecological knowledge affects green purchase intention, but the green brand image, green awareness, and green advertisement have no effect on the increase in the green purchase intention. Green purchase intention can increase in consumer green purchase behavior. It implies that the creative industry should continue to improve the quality and knowledge of the consumer, so the competitive advantage will be achieved.
DOI: 10.14414/jebav.v20i2.1126
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2017 Journal of Economics, Business & Accountancy Ventura


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yes, but same also applies to the OT. That 64 discreet monotimbral midi clip limit prevents certain live workflows, for example.
OT and Pyramid together tho! I can imagine one could do almost anything.
yes, but same also applies to the OT. That 64 discreet monotimbral midi clip limit prevents certain live workflows, for example.
OT and Pyramid together tho! I can imagine one could do almost anything.
Well, I surly agree that velocity sensitiveness would have been a plus, but I must propose two remarks :
First, I'm not a hardware constructor, but such a functionality would increased the price of the sequencer (maybe that question had been discussed in Squarp R&D process)
Second, for a non musician theorician nor clavierist, the smart pads are really an important and decisive functionality, even without velocity gestion.
Terrific abilities !
Re the pads, they are the same size as the Circuit pads, a little smaller than the pads on the Rytm, personally I'd rather have non velocity sensitive pads than imprecise or badly scaled velocity sensitive pads, also you can use the touchpad to set the velocity very quickly or in realtime, and of course it is very quick to edit a steps velocity after recording also.
I am a guitarist originally so I do agree, but if there were 4 rows of those pads and were velocity sensitive that would be worth the extra cash! Anyways I currently use my mpc for sequencing chords and the octatrack for bass and leads. And most of that ends up sampled and resequenced anyway!
There are some really nice live performance enhancements in this thing, and the portability/shape is SO appreciated. But the fact that each "scene" calls up a group of 64 patterns, rather than the more conventional 16 patterns of 16 tracks each is a bit weird. It's a bit like a Monome without the ability to see your entire array of patterns.
As far as polyphonic control and editing, it's going to be a bit "workaroundy"…I feel like I'll lay down information on a lot of different tracks which all send MIDI to the same hardware synth, edit as necessary, then "flatten" the MIDI data into a single track for easy muting and manipulation…kind of an added step but may prove very powerful in the end once functions and buttons are memorized and become second nature.
How are you doing this flattening? That sounds like the "consolidate" feature that I've heard Squarp mentioning they're working on.
Oh, by just copying from one track and pasting it onto another track, then deleting the old track…hahahah…nothing fancy
"I'd certainly want them to be able to have different number of steps per page (for a 37 steps sequence, I might want 10, 10, 7, 10). I think it would be a great feature for the elektrons, actually!"
Like Daren says, this is possible, just chain four patterns together of 10,10,7 & 10 steps. I'd never even thought about this before… Amazing. Once again the Elektron boxes show their flexibility
They tell me midi port B is assignable so got the answer myself, any users of it here?
I am about to order one, could you tell me, it has two midi outs A and B and i believe B is the old type midi so i assume that cannot be used so i am restricted to midi port A only. I do have a motu midi express XT so I assume that opens everything up again as i can route to 8 midi ports each with 16 channels.
I do have an octatrack and was thinking of getting the beat step pro but the pyramid looks like it beats the BSP hands down even if at 3 times the price.
I am only a hobbyist so dont have anything particular in mind but the pyramid looks versatile but maybe i am not utilizing my OT properly.
you guys are the best people to ask.
your thoughts would be appreciated.
synth list:
ms20 mini
sub 37
electribe 2
Waldorf streichfett
Yes, I'm.
Did take a look to http://squarp.boards.net , the forum consacred to Pyramid. Here you'll find the limitations and differences between Pyramid and other sequencers.
Very nice sequencer, lot if fun with it, but you must look at its particularities before buying it.
I don't know what you mean by "old type midi". From what I can tell, MIDI A and B are both regular MIDI ports; but MIDI B also supports DIN SYNC for communicating with those types of devices.
What are you looking to do with the Pyramid that you can't do with the Octatrack? There are some differences between the two (I'm debating which to get for my next 'big' gear purchase, which is not going to be for a few months). Someone wrote a detailed comparison on the Squarp boards:
Looking at your gear list, I guess you would just run out of room on the Octatrack's 8 channels?
The last couple of Pyramid OS updates have added some great features that put the sequencers on par (or better) than the latest Elektron Analog updates with Midi FX like chance/probability that the BSP just doesn't have (nor does the Octatrack).
yes I did run out and there are not too many options anyway i ordered it today as it went back in stock today and it has two midi outs so that is a lot to sequence i think itll make a nice partner with the OT.
if only there were one piece that would do everything.
if only there were one piece that would do everything.
I feel you on this. That may be the Pyramid one day, at least once it crosses OS version 1.0. Its biggest hindrance is that there are only 64 "tracks" (and zero patterns or variations per track) available per project, so if you want to load this thing up with 45+ mins of material for a live performance, you will have to cozy up with the idea of linear playback of relatively few and very long patterns rather than having more small patterns to "improvise" with, as on the Elektron sequencers. This is expected to change with OS version 0.89, and we're currently on 0.86.
Until then, your best bets are either (a) Cirklon or (b) Numerology + Launchpad (for studio usage where you might be more comfortable having a computer involved, then for a live setting dump or record the MIDI data into something else). After wrestling with an RS7000, an Octatrack on its own, and an Octatrack + Pyramid combo, I've found that only Numerology gives me everything I'm looking for when it comes to building tracks. Unfortunately, it's not easy to dump lots of 4-36 bar .mid files into either the Octatrack (requires arduous live recording into each MIDI track separately) or the Pyramid (with only 64 "tracks" available, you will quickly run out), so I'm really hoping that it won't be too many more months before we cross the OS v0.89 Rubicon or else I may have to look into other options for a live set (MPC, or leaning heavily on playing stems back in the Octatrack).
yes I looked at the cirklon too but the pyramid was much smaller, more of a pack up small synths and take to the beach type of thing, the cirklon would be great for the home studio. Like all things comes at a high price. As you say the developers of the pyramid are close at hand to the community so they will take pride in their clever updates. so hopefully itll move forward at a large pace now. I guess you live performers really do find the troublesome spots and limitations of equipment relatively quickly and certainly more than i would being a hobbyist only.
who is enjoying 0.87, I'm finding the new FX great, especially SCALE. Need to work out how to automate or play the SCALE from the key pad
This is so interesting for me. I currently have a rytm and ocatrack plus bunch of hardware synths and fx. I use the OT for midi sequencing only. I like the sampling functions but just don't have enough time to get stuck into it. Absolutely love the rytm and its sequencer and sounds. Looking at the pyramid it looks very interesting to replace the OT as a midi seq. The OT is a good one at that but pyramid just looks like it does more and also more of a pure seq in use. I find the OT slightly clunky to use as a pure midi seq. Interested in peoples thoughts on this and any experiences here. Would be sad to let the ot go but i am not going to use it to its full potential which is important to me. I know people say it needs a good amount of time to conquer but im just not going to have enough time to do so.
You might be interested in my rambling comparison of Pyramid to the midi sequencer of the Octatrack in this post: Octatrack only as a MIDI sequencer?
Hope you find it helpful and I'd be happy to share further thoughts.
Thanks that was very helpful. Was researching this for hours then one came up locally for sale in Australia just now at a good price. So grabbing this and will sell the ot. Think its going to be a good switch for me.


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|"Dag H. Wanvik (JIRA)" <j...@apache.org>
|[jira] Commented: (DERBY-3687) Make client driver allow nested savepoints
|Mon, 02 Jun 2008 23:33:45 GMT
[ https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/DERBY-3687?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels:comment-tabpanel&focusedCommentId=12601789#action_12601789 ] Dag H. Wanvik commented on DERBY-3687: -------------------------------------- I see there are tests in SavepointJDBC30Test.java, cases #17, #18 and #19 and #48, which test various (illegal) nesting scenarios: - testNoNestedSavepointsWhenUsingSQL (SQL inside SQL) - testNoNestedSavepointsInsideJdbcSavepoint (JDBC inside SQL) - testNoNestedSavepointsInsideSqlSavepoint (SQL inside SQL) - xtestNestedSavepoints (SQL inside JDBC; not enabled, cf. x in fixture name ?) I can understand why it is wise to avoid mixing the two savepoint kinds, but can someone enlighten me as to the rationale for not allowing nesting of SQL savepoints? (keeping in mind that the standard doesn't dictate this; is this some kind of compatibility decision?) > Make client driver allow nested savepoints > ------------------------------------------ > > Key: DERBY-3687 > URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/DERBY-3687 > Project: Derby > Issue Type: Improvement > Components: Network Client > Reporter: Dag H. Wanvik > Attachments: Main.java > > > Currently, only the embedded driver allows nested savepoints, cf. the attached repro. > In the interest of harmonizing the drivers it would be nice to make the client driver allow this as well. -- This message is automatically generated by JIRA. - You can reply to this email to add a comment to the issue online.
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Published on September 25th, 2013 | by David Guild0
Review: NHL 14
Hockey season is upon us which means another annual NHL game release by EA. While yearly sport games aren't really my thing, I couldn't pass up playing NHL 14. I bought last year's NHL 13 so I was going to give this year's game a miss, as I don't agree with paying for EA's premium priced sports games year after year for minimal improvements, but this year they "improved" my favourite feature of hockey… the fighting! So shall we get on with this review and will NHL 14 change my opinion of annual sport games? Is EA's annual release worth the high price tag?
Booting up the game for the first time will show you a preview of this year's newest features and will go in to detail on the Enforcer Engine but will also give a quick tutorial on how to skate and shoot within the game. This can be handy to newbie's who are new to the NHL game series as the game uses both analog sticks, one to control the player and the other for puck control or checks but there are options to change the controls to a button configuration. I do suggest sticking it out and playing with the twin sticks as the amount of control you can get by using them both is far superior to the simple button set up.
Once in to the main menu screen you are welcomed with EA's usual EATRAX playing out the tunes and I've always loved the music selection in the NHL games. Plus as I selected Detroit's Red Wings as my favourite team, so I see the one and only Pavel Datsyuk who was in the running for this year's front cover but lost out to NJ Devils goalie Martin Brodeur. Anyways we are going off track here, you will also have a selection of options on how to play the game with the usual game modes for single player and online game play but under 'Career' you will see 'Live The Life' which is your chance to be a hockey legend in the virtual world. Create your player and either start in the rookie leagues or jump straight in to the Pro's. Everything you do on the ice and off will shape the outcome of your legacy. You will spend more time on the bench at the start but the better you get and complete some career goals, you'll be heading to the 1st line and have more ice time. Sadly I think this mode will be over looked and only real die-hard fans will play it while others will stick with short games or Season Mode.
Another mode which will get over looked by the casual player will be Hockey Ultimate Team which is a big hit on FIFA. Think of it as a collectible card game, the more games you play the more pucks you will gain and you will be able to buy more packs of card which means more players. You can use real world cash to buy more packs that way along with trading with friends and folk online. It will take a lot of thinking to get a well balanced team. But again it's for those die-hard fans that know about the players of the sport and want a more in depth game. Sadly despite how much I love the sport, I'm not that kinda fan. I watch and support my team and cheer on the players but I'm quite a simple supporter, I just enjoy watching a good game. So in the end this mode was lost on me.
There is a new mode which is quite close to my heart, as mentioned with every review I do now, I'm quite a retro gamer, and NHL '94 was probably one of my all time favourite hockey games with Blades Of Steel right behind it. Anyway, EA hasn't forgotten how good that game was and added an NHL '94 mode which brings back the classic blue ice and star icons around the players along with the sound of the 16-bit classic. The mode is a blast to play and our Master In Chief, Tony who is not much of a hockey fan (silly footie fan) loved this mode. The game is brutal, with fast paced gameplay and hard hits, could it get any better? Sadly it could by adding online support which EA hasn't.
Maybe I should jump in to this year's improved key feature, the Enforcer Engine or 'Player Impact Engine'. For the non hockey folk out there, Enforcer is really an unofficial role in hockey, they are usually the "fighter", "tough guy" or "goon". It's their job to protect their team and enforce against any dirty plays which the opposition has done. Enforcer's primary role is to respond to those dirty plays with more aggressive checks or even fighting. With every successful check and won fight they boost their team moral and showing the other team not to mess with them. So EA was going to focus on these tough guys and give them a better role in the game, and it shows. The Collision Physics in the game are even more realistic than ever, plus simple checks are easier. This is due to the momentum being simulated, so now the players won't just bounce off each other, every hit looks natural and actually feels real.
Along with the usual offensive moves, the fighting has had some work done on it and now plays like EA's Fight Night. While I do agree some hockey fights do look like cuddling, think about it this way, these fights are bare knuckle fighting. So grabbing and pulling is a major thing, grab them close and give them a few blows to the head. Plus you are able to dodge and even counter the other player's moves.
Last year's big overhaul the 'True Performance Skating' has had some tweaks here and there but nothing too special to notice, it still feels very slow and even though the skating looks great with how they move, the loss in pace takes away from the fast action hockey is all about. Sometimes going for that realistic feel can hurt a game and in this sense I felt it did, hopefully in a few years EA can keep tweaking the skating engine and get the perfect balance of speed and realism.
This all may sound confusing but EA has fixed that with the usual options in the game, from Simulation, 'High Impact' to easy mode. Each has their perks and will suit any player. Simulation will be for the realist who wants to play a pure game of hockey with all the rules and penalties while 'High Impact' gives the player some good old fashion harmless violence where it's ok to check folk hard and maybe through the plexiglass, why not drop your gloves and start a fight because he looked at you funny? 'High Impact' is basically like NHL '94 but far more up to date. Plus for all the newbie's out there just switch off some of the annoying rules like offside and move the sliders as you wish to make the game easy for you until you get a hang of the gameplay.
The multiplayer hasn't really changed much, the lobbies are full and everyone can usually beat me quite easily but it is a blast to play. I mainly stuck to local multiplayer or if playing with my friends over the internet as they are more on my skill level. I didn't appear to have any frame rate issues or lag, the only problem I had was everyone I played was mostly a mute or an American who kept reminding me I shouldn't play hockey.
The game looks great and plays great in the end, my only real problem, apart from the slow pace, is the commentating. I swear it is the same stuff they have been using for years and can be quite repetitive so mute that and turn up the rock music and let loose this fantastic experience of an Ice Hockey game. Mostly everyone will see a team they love to play as their own unless you are like me and live in the UK and just keep praying that one day EA will add EIHL teams, one day I want to play as the Fife Flyers just so I can find Dundee Star Jeff Hutchins and body check him through the plexi. Yes I may have some deep anger issues but this is why I watch hockey.
So what am I trying to say? Does NHL 14 change my opinion of EA Annual Sports Games? No of course not and especially at the price.
The game has rarely changed over the last few years and in my opinion if you are a hardcore hockey fan then go on and get your yearly dose of the game. The new engine for Enforcers is great and adds some "ouch" moments while the casual gamer like myself who likes the sport but doesn't play and follow it enough to care, just miss out every 2nd year. The game looks and feels great and with the extra addition of NHL '94, will make for an awesome night with the mates.
The version reviewed was for the Xbox 360.
Summary: NHL 14 is your standard EA yearly release sports game with slight improvements. This years NHL focus's on hard hits with its Collision Physics and brings back the classic NHL '94 for some old school hockey.


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Microsoft Pro 5 And Surface Book 2 Release Date, Specs And Rumours
- by Nick Cohen
- in Industry
- — May 10, 2016
Al Falak, Electronic Equipment & Supplies Co, recently announced the launching of Microsoft Surface Pro 4 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) as a distributor of the best-in-class Windows tablet.
That means that the Microsoft Surface Book 2 could be released late 2016 or early 2017.
According to Ecumenical News, Microsoft has revealed that it's working on their next-generation products, so we can assume that Surface Phone is among them.
Coming from the price cuts of both Surface Pro 3 and Surface Pro 4, many have speculated that the tech company is already inching its way towards the launch of the newest iteration of the gadget. The Redmond-based tech company reportedly wants to put an improved Intel processor to Surface Pro 5.
While price cuts are an indication of new releases, still it does not appear that Surface Pro 5 will be released anytime soon, as there are a number of reasons to come to this conclusion, News Everyday reported. The next generation of Microsoft tablets known as Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 went on sale today, as well as some new Surface accessories. Of the two, the price reduction is seen as something that may play a critical role for the Surface Pro 4, considering most found its original SRP a bit steep. The Surface Book had a strong start, and preorders sold out in no time, with all models and configurations out of stock on the Microsoft Store by mid-October 2015.
According to a report by The Bitbag, the highly anticipated launch of the Microsoft Surface Pro 5 is getting delayed yet again despite the strong hopes of Microsoft gadget consumers. That includes specs like an Intel Core M3 model with 128 GB of storage or the higher Intel Core i5 CPU or a higher Intel Core i7 with 1 TB of storage.
On the other hand, Surface Pro 5 will feature 4k display. The battery is very powerful and the users will also receive a Surface Pen as a stylus that can be recharged. The Apple MacBook Pro 2016 variants are also rumored to come with an innovative touch-sensitive keyboard, a Thunderbolt 3 port and multiple USB Type-C ports.