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Which operating systems does novaPDF run on?
Is a restart required at the end of the novaPDF installation?
Does novaPDF run on Linux or Mac?
How do I know what version I have installed?
How do I install novaPDF?
Can I install and use novaPDF in a network environment?
How do I uninstall novaPDF?
How do I know novaPDF works on my computer properly?
What are the minimum requirements to install novaPDF?
I have mistakenly uninstalled an older registered version of novaPDF, can I reinstall it?
Does novaPDF require .NET or Ghostscript?
Which operating systems does novaPDF run on?
novaPDF currently runs on: Windows XP (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 2003 Server (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit, with or without SP1), Windows 2012/2008/2003 Server (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 8/8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit).
novaPDF can be used as shared network PDF printer, via Remote Desktop Connection or Terminal Servers only if you own a license for each connecting computer that prints to it (directly, via the shared network printer or remotely).
Is a restart required at the end of the novaPDF installation?
In most cases novaPDF doesn't require a restart after the installation finishes so you don't have to restart your computer.
However, novaPDF requires a restart if you reinstall novaPDF on top of an existing installation. So if you want to avoid restarts, start first the uninstaller for the existing novaPDF version, then after novaPDF was uninstalled start the installation of the new version. In this way it will not require a restart.
If the novaPDF installer requires restart, we advise you to do so because novaPDF requires the restart when it cannot replace some dll files (probably because they were in use by the system). If you choose not to do the restart (even if asked to do so) and you do other installations, when you'll finally restart the computer some dll files might get deleted and you end up with an damaged printer driver.
Does novaPDF run on Linux or Mac?
No, novaPDF is not compatible with Macintosh and Linux systems (you can however try using emulator software for MAC, such as Parallels Desktop for Mac, or for Linux, such as Wine)
How do I know what edition I have installed and activated?
To see what version and/or edition you have installed, go to Start->Settings->Printers and Faxes (or type "Devices and Printers" for Windows 8), right-click novaPDF, select Printing Preferences, and go to the About tab. You should see in there novaPDF [Edition] just like it is shown in the image below:
How do I install novaPDF?
Installing novaPDF is very easy. Just double-click on the file you downloaded and the installation wizard will start. Make sure that you have enough space on the drive where you install novaPDF and that you have the rights to install it (administrator rights). After that follow the installation wizard steps as it will guide you through the process.
Can I install and use novaPDF in a network environment?
Yes you can install novaPDF in a network environment and use it to create PDF documents from any other computer in that network (without the need to install it on each computer).
Here are five easy steps to install and use novaPDF Printer on a network:
- Choose a computer in the network that will be the printer server
- Install novaPDF Printer on the printer server
- Share the novaPDF Printer on the network
- From any workstation in the network, connect to the shared novaPDF Printer
- You can go in any application and start a print job to the novaPDF Printer
How do I uninstall novaPDF?
To uninstall novaPDF open Control Panel (on Windows 8 type to search "Uninstall a Program") and choose Uninstall Programs. Select novaPDF and click on Uninstall. You will be guided through the uninstall process by the setup wizard.
How do I know novaPDF works on my computer properly?
To see if it works properly you should test it by printing to a PDF file. Open a document (can be an Ms Office document, a text file or an image) click on "Print" and select novaPDF. After the PDF file is generated, open it (if it didn't open automatically) and see if the resulted pdf is exactly as the original file.
What are the minimum requirements to install novaPDF?
novaPDF doesn't have any special requirements so if the operating system is supported then you go ahead and install it.
I have mistakenly uninstalled an older registered version of novaPDF, can I reinstall it?
Once you purchase a license key for novaPDF you have the right to use that version indefinitelly, even if we release a newer major version. For example, if you are happy with novaPDF version 7 and don't want to upgrade to version 8 you don't have to, and you can use version 7 for as long as you want. However, on our main download section we always provide download links for the latest version, so if you uninstall by mistake your registered older version, here's how you can have it reinstalled and re-registered:
- Go to our Previous Versions download page, where we offer for downloading all the previous versions/editions
- Download the edition/version that you had installed and reinstall it
- When you first purchased novaPDF you received an email with registration details, so use Registration Name and Registration key from that email to re-register your previous version (if you don't know where to copy/paste you can see this article on How to register novaPDF). If you don't have that registration email anymore, you can contact our sales department and ask them about they key (please note that you'll need to either use the email you initially used for your order, or prove that you are the owner of that email address).
Does novaPDF require .NET or Ghostscript?
Unlike other PDF creators, novaPDF doesn't require Ghostscript installed in order to create PDF files. However the .NET framework is required but that usually is installed already on your operating system.


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Saw this little numbers ditty on Erin's and Lisa's blogs. Seemed fun and simple, and fun and simple is good since I'm currently doped up on three different meds {all prescribed} to clear up this cough and stuffiness. I'm usually not one to take sick days or run off to urgent care, but I'm not messing around with this crud, especially since the weather is starting to warm up. I plan to take full advantage of all the nice days ahead, and being sick will really cramp my spring-loving style. So yeah, I'm poppin' the pills this week to try and exile this mucus.
Anywhoodle, here's a look at my life lately by the number for all you number geeks, like me.
7462 // Number of times I've coughed in the last four days.
90 // Number of beers left over from our housewarming party.
1 // Number of books I'm currently reading {This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper}.
4 // Number of voicemails I'm ignoring on my phone.
12 // Number of times I've shopped at Target {online counts too} since moving into our house three weeks ago.
70 // Number of days until my California vacation with my besties. Anyone know who has the cheapest round-trip flights to Cali??
3 // Number of neighbors we've met so far.
0 // Number of minutes I watched of the NCAA Championship game on Monday. I'm more of a football girl, though I played basketball from age 5 or 6 to 18.
3 // Number of packages I'm waiting for in the mail. I love getting packages! And at the rate Shawn and I are ordering things right now, we're going to owe the UPS guy a very generous Christmas gift this year.
27 // Number of coupons I clipped today. A higher mortgage payment means we gotta be smarter shoppers. And I'm a fan of a good deal.
6 // Number of Criminal Minds episodes I watched yesterday while home sick. I didn't hate it.
2 // Number of bar crawls Shawn and I are signed up for in the month of May. We cannot pass up the chance to booze for a good cause. We're signed up for the Crawl for the Cause in Gahanna {May 3} and the Crawl for Cancer in Columbus {May 24}.
Be sure to come back tomorrow for an awesome giveaway I've teamed up with Beverly, and some other super cool bloggers, on!

subset: commoncrawl


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Hey everyone!
As many of you already know, I've been working on getting a YouTube channel started, and the key to any good video is a good intro! Well, after five hours of trial, error and trying different ideas, I have at last made a decent intro that will serve its
purpose nicely in my videos. Please watch it, give it a thumbs up and give me your feedback.


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Black pudding is as old as the civilized world itself.
For as long as men have congregated in communities and kept animals to feed their bellies and clothe their backs, they have made a form of black pudding.
However what is more shrouded in the mists of culinary time is how the dish that we recognise today came to move across Europe, changing and developing as it traveled from east to west. One belief is that it was the Romans who brought it with them as they conquered land after land, passing through what we now call Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Austria, Romania, Belgium and the British Isles, leaving a legacy of straight roads and black puddings.
Another popular theory holds that it was the Moors of North Africa who followed the Romans into many parts of Europe and introduced them to the delights of the blood dish, the ingredients of which were so readily available to them. Some even think that the Spanish word for black pudding (morcilla) and the French town which hosts the international black pudding festival (Mortagne) are among those that derive their names from the Moors.
The etymology notwithstanding, this view is prevalent in France where they credit the Moors with bringing boudin noir to ancient Gaul. There is no doubt that boudin is one of France's oldest charcuterie preparations. A sausage-making tradition in France can be dated back well over 2000 years and there is evidence of the activities of the Gaulish charcutier – the lardarius – in cave paintings at Narbone, Bordeaux and Rheims where blood sausages are clearly identifiable.
The first known written mention of black pudding was as early as 800 BC when it appeared in Homer's classic The Odyssey. In book twenty of his great canon, Homer wrote "As when a man besides a great fire has filled a sausage with fat and blood and turns it this way and that and is very eager to get it quickly roasted…".
In the same epic work, Homer had Odysseus on his return to Ithica literally fight "around the sausage" for a prize of a stomach stuffed with pig blood and fat.
Although it is doubtful that one man can claim the glory of having created black pudding, it is sometimes attributed to Aphtonite, a cook of ancient Greece. No less an authority than Larousse Gastronomique, the self-proclaimed world's greatest cookery encyclopedia, credits Aphtonite with being the first to produce the dish.
The oldest written recipe for black pudding is to be found in De Re Coquinaria (The Art of Cooking) – the oldest collection of recipes to survive from antiquity – edited by Apicius. His instructions call for lengths of intestine, rather than a stomach as a container. Apicius' recipe uses no cereal, but instead calls for chopped hard-boiled egg yolks, pine kernels, onions and leeks.
On its journey across Europe, the make-up of black pudding changed as the local products and spices did. It was food for the poor, made up of the cheapest and most plentiful ingredients. Naturally they would use what they had most of and could pay least for. So in Britain they added oatmeal or pearl barley as filler, in Spain they put in rice. Where oregano grew rife it was used, where marjoram was easy to get hold it was added, where there was plenty of pimento or thyme then they too would be in the black pudding. As trade flourished and new spices like nutmeg or allspice became available then they also found their way into the recipe.
But black pudding was not just food for the poor, it was also food fit for a king. The extravagant Tudor banquets held by Henry VIII at Hampton Court included the likes of whale meat, peacock and spit-roasted meat but there was always black pudding on the table too. By the 17th century, it was also the stuff of controversy as a theological debate raged round it, with many Christian scholars, particularly Methodists, claiming it should not be eaten. At the centre of the great debates which dominated much of the late 16th and early 17th centuries, was Sir Isaac Newton. Those against the eating of blood products – stipulated, they claimed, by Acts 15:28-29 and repeated in Acts 21:25 where the Apostles ruled that Christians must not eat blood – highlighted Newton's abstinence from black pudding as supporting their beliefs. By the time of Newton's death, in 1727, the black-pudding debate had been running almost 100 years. In the "Triall of a Black-Pudding", written in 1652, Thomas Barlow, a future bishop of Lincoln, asserted that God had specifically proscribed blood eating among the Hebrews. Barlow claimed that no meat was unclean in itself, but that black pudding was a violation of both Jewish law and the Christian exemptions as dispensed by the Apostles.
Literary references to black pudding are relatively few for such a splendid and time-honoured dish but the great French novelist Emile Zola made frequent mentions of it in his work The Belly of Paris, including a memorable description of the making of it and spoke of a charcutierie containing "strings of black pudding coiled like harmless snakes".
In Silas Mariner, George Eliot wrote of "The odour of Christmas cooking being on the wind, it was the season when superfluous pork and black puddings are suggestive of charity in well-to-do families."
One of Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Juniper Tree, is a horrific tale of a stepson being murdered and turned into black puddings by the evil stepmother. "Presently the father came home and sat down to his dinner. He asked, 'Where is my son?' The mother said nothing, but gave him a large dish of black pudding, and Marleen still wept without ceasing."
At the other end of the entertainment spectrum, black pudding also has the dubious honour of being at the centre of the only television comedy sketch known to have killed someone. On 24 March 1975, bricklayer Alex Mitchell, of King's Lynn in England, literally laughed himself to death while watching a sketch about a Scotsman being attacked by a black pudding. His widow later sent the Goodies a letter thanking them for making Mr Mitchell's final moments so happy.
From Moors and Romans, through country after country, surviving religious controversies and the disdain of the unenlightened, black pudding has flourished like never before. From the tables of the poor, it has graduated to the finest restaurants across continents as leading chefs finally realised what everyone else has known for over two millennia. From Aphtonite and Apicius to Heston Blumenthal, Franck Quinton and Anthony Bourdain, the black gold is finally getting the recognition it deserves.


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Barre Army Navy Store has acquired some realtree hunting gloves made from a very warm nylon material. These Realtree Hunting Gloves are a closeout item and available in one size fits most only!
They are water resistant but not water proof, have a dot grip and long cuff. Good as an all purpose glove and good while supplies last http://shop.vtarmynavy.com/realtree-hunting-gloves-p12502.aspx.
We have put them in with our Cold Weather Gloves and Mittens http://shop.vtarmynavy.com/cold-weather-gloves-and-mittens-c1117.aspx
Mittens are always warmer than gloves but do not afford the same dexterity.
Not sure your glove size see here for sizing info http://www.armynavylife.com/2011/09/military-glove-sizing.html
Questions email email@example.com or call 802-479-2289


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Good morning everyone! I hope this Thursday finds you all in good crafty health!
This challenge is a sketch plus theme challenge, you will need to follow both the sketch and the theme to be eligible for the prize.
Speaking of which, we're sponsored by the lovely Diane of Di's Digi Downloads! The prize for one lucky, randomly chosen winner is 5 digi stamps of their choice from Di's store. Thanks you Diane for sponsoring us!
So, here is the sketch, the brain child of our very own Laura
You are welcome to flip, resize, rotate the sketch. As long as we can tell that you've used the sketch in your project, it's all good!
And the theme is Go Girly! Whatever that means to you (bling, pink, glitter, charms, etc) make your projects girly!
We have the fab 4 of guest designers with us this week. Please welcome:
Thank you for joining us with your beautiful creations ladies!
And the inspiration for the rest of the design team:
So now it's over to you. Please follow the rules in the sidebar. Entries which do not comply with the rules will be deleted.
We have GDT positions from September onwards. Please add GDT to your entry if you'd like to be considered or email me (Lisa) at firstname.lastname@example.com I believe in giving everyone a chance to shine so you're guaranteed a spot of you add GDT to your entry.
We're looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Lisa and the PCJ DT x


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Poker, Dr. Pepper, and Flatulence
I don't know what every one else does at their family reunions, but at our trailer when the Jagermeister and Funions are gone it's time for Texas Hold'em. We usually have 5 or 6 players, but this particular evening we only had 4. In order to fill a chair (in this case a lawn chair) we invited my cousin Buck to join us. I don't remember exactly how old Buck was, but he had a girlfriend who was only 15 and he was never arrested for it, so I'm assuming some one else was buying him his Skoal Long Cut.
Buck sat down at the table with a container of Dr. Pepper under his arm that can only be described as a vat. I had no idea soda was sold in such large quantities. The bottle had handles on both sides as if it were way too heavy to be lifted by one hand alone. It also had its own tap, was vented for correct air flow, and, when tilted, effected the moon's gravitational pull.
A 12 ounce can of Dr. Pepper has a little less than 1 ounce of sugar in it. Multiply that by a drink so large it has class IV rapids and you get enough sugar to give the Kool-Aid man diabetes. To compound the problem, Buck was chugging the Dr. Pepper like it was some type of medical tonic that would finally give him pubes.
The cards were dealt and I peaked at my hole cards. I had pocket kings which is the second highest hand possible off the deal. As the bet went around the table I eyeballed each player to see if they would let anything out. When my eyes got to Buck he had this Joker-like smirk on his face like he was fighting a smile. I knew that face. He either had pocket aces or he was about to cut one. My suspicions for the latter were confirmed when Buck attempted one of the oldest covert farting operations in recorded history.
No one knows for sure where the one-cheek-sneak originated. Underworld art enthusiasts say Rodin's "The Thinker" is actually the first documented one-cheek-sneak. What was the guy in the sculpture really thinking you ask? "I hope I didn't shit myself!"
Still smirking like he just found money, Buck leaned slightly to one side. I suppose he was concerned that the very chair he was sitting on would somehow stifle his pollutants and he didn't want the rest of us to be cheated out of its full potency. I was the only one who saw it coming, but I still wasn't prepared for the aftermath.
Buck rolled back into the upright sitting position. It was either a false alarm or an SBD (silent but deadly). After throwing in a raise, he leaned back in his chair to take a front row seat for the ensuing chaos.
Why is it that people never seem to mind the smell of there own gas? It could be the foulest stench imaginable and yet the perpetrator is rarely ever affected. I propose a government grant be issued for funding to find out if he who dealt it did in fact smealt it. Perhaps the study could be expanded to also determine if he who denied it supplied it.
The fart was was so strong I could taste it. There was a dense gas cloud over the table and I swear it actually started raining inside my living room. The aroma traveled around the table much faster than the bet. Right before it was my turn to act the smoke alarm went off. All the other players had evacuated in single file lines through clearly marked exits. Maybe they were smarter than me or maybe they just weren't holding pocket kings.
I saw my brother breathing into a shoe as if the damp funk of a sweaty sock was sweet nectar compared to the methane cloud engrossing the poker table. Visibility was down to about 3 feet. A cockroach couldn't make it out and hung himself with a shoelace. Lucky bastard.
As I pondered Buck's raise I heard the high pitched shriek of sirens from outside. Did the neighbors call the cops? Was it so bad someone actually needed medical attention? While waiting for the Emergency Response Team I couldn't help but wonder what could make a digestive tract produce such a foul odor. Had Buck come straight from a Thai restaurant? Did he have nachos for lunch with a side of broccoli? I tried to hold out as long as I could, but I was getting dizzy and my vision was blurred. Pocket Kings come and go but hep C last forever. I folded.
In the face of a pending public health crisis, I bolted for the front door, squashing the cockroach on my way out. His little legs were still twitching and I didn't want him to suffer anymore. I had been beaten by Poker, Dr. Pepper, and Flatulence.
More Short Stories By Bo Bixbie:
- Dora the Explorer and the Dump of Gold
I'm all for cartoons that celebrate other cultures, but is Dora the Explorer putting a positive spin on being Hispanic or perpetuating a stereotype? Let's explore...This particular episode started with Dora's...
- The Jagermeister Challenge
The Jagermeister Challenge was engineered by me while I was on my office computer trying to find out what a "Cleveland Steamer" was. (FYI it has nothing to do with trains.) The challenge works like this. Take...


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Why do you think that the poker gaming is so risky and alternative way to make money that we have nowadays. It goes without saying that you might disagree with the definite event, but you have to remember that the poker gaming would lead you to success and only after you realize all power that the definite gamer shave, you would be able try to do your best in the gambling as well.
We wish you good luck and open your hidden skills when you start train in the poker gaming. Sometimes it turns out to be very difficult to find partner, who would help you learn some approaches in the poker gaming and after that observe some additional information about poker and alternatives ways to develop your approaches to the poker gaming as well.
We hope, it is very interesting to know why the stock market would be of great importance for people that are looking for great approaches as well. We try to tell that the gaming is way to deal with the risk and freedom in the same time. It is possible to play poker in the way you like most of all. Anyway, it is possible to face bluffing when you invest good money in the very processes. However, as soon as you notice that somebody bluffs, you have to stop the game. You should hold keep in your mind all the time the same rules. When you start poker and see that your partner is bluffing, but you made agreement that you deal only with fair ways to hold the game, you can easily stop gaming and become winner, because forecasted rules of the definite game do not allow participants to bluff.
We hope, it would be better to for each gamer to try develop additional information about poker and alternative ways to make good money in the definite way. We hope it would be very interesting for everyone to deal with the rules and tips that experienced gamers would share with common gamers. Anyway, if you poker attracts you, it is compulsory to know that the definite way to have fun and make money in the same time, would help you determine your future chances in the serious game. Anyway, it does not depend on the place or type of poker game, you have to remember that each of them has its own types of gaming process. You need to know that the very way to make money requires some serious approaches that help keep your finger on the button during all time you try your powers in the definite way. It is compulsory to understand that the poker gaming would help you determine some more events about poker and beneficial ways to get success in it.


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5 Star Windshields offers mobile service, to your home or office at no extra charge. Call now and we'll offer you a free quote. 5 Star Windshields does complete windshield repair and Windshield Repair in Longwood, FL. What can be expected when you need to change your windshield. If you have never had Windshield Repair done on your auto you may not know what should be expected from the process. Below is a quick outline of the steps you can expect when your windshield is replaced. The glass mechanic will begin by checking its interior and exterior. This is a routine inspection to be sure everything is clean and in order. Next the floors, seats, and the exterior of your automobile will be covered to keep them from getting excess adhesive on them or worse yet scratched. The Windshield Replacement engineer will then start to remove whatever the wipers, any windshield trim and the cover as necessary before removing the old windshield. The consultant will examine the amount and kind of adhesive used on the old windshield to help evaluate the best way to proceed. He / she will cut most of the old adhesive down and the new adhesive will be applied the on top. With the adhesive applied the new windshield can be lifted into place. The cover, wipers and trim will get replaced and the windshield will be cleaned and inspected. Once the job has been completed you will be able to drive your car in as little as an hour though it'll take anywhere up to twenty-four hours for the adhesive to absolutely dry. We're looking forward to you call. We want your business. With our auto glass replacement will make everything crystal clear again.
Find a Location Near You. Search for Replacement Windshields By State.
Tags: Longwood Auto Glass Shop near Longwood, auto glass, Longwood auto glass replacement near Longwood 32750


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Portrait of Niccolo' Machiavelli, Santi di Tito
For reasons that remain inexplicable to me, I somehow wound up on the mailing list of a wacko left-wing organization called the Alliance for Justice. In a recent communication, theses activists, community organizers, and professional malcontents informed me 2017 is going to be a difficult year and that "we need to be ready to fight the moment Trump takes office." "We must stop the conservative takeover of our courts and our country," the email intones.
That's all a prelude, of course, to rattling the tin cup. Give them money so they can, e.g., "Launch a national campaign of opposition to every single administration appointment and Supreme Court nominee with a record of hostility to civil and individual rights" and "Lead the charge to #StopSessions, highlighting his unsuitability to serve as the nation's top lawyer."
The email, like the organization from whose maw it emanates, is almost as inadvertently comic as it is malevolent. But I have to acknowledge that it, in one respect, betrays a sound understanding of political, and therefore human, reality.
Not in the substance of their complaints. By "conservative takeover of our courts," for example, what they are really complaining about is jurists who seek to apply the law rather than make the law according to a "progressive" agenda. And in endeavoring to stymie the confirmation of Jeff Sessions as attorney general they have picked on one of the most ostentatiously qualified people for the post in living memory. It will be a bootless exercise.
No, the AFJ is to be commended not on account of what it wants to do — what they propose is just the usual rancid menu of hysterical, prosperity-and freedom-blighting left-wing nostrums — but rather the celerity with which they recommend action. "We need to be ready to fight the moment Trump takes office."
That's good advice. But on the Goose/Gander principle, it's good advice for the impending Trump administration, too.
The perpetually discontented folks at the AFJ are instinctive Machiavellians. They have absorbed the critical lesson of Chapter VIII of The Prince: if you have to do unpleasant things, "do them all at one stroke so as not to have to repeat them daily." People have short memories. They will forget a leader's burst of activity directed against opponents, especially if it is followed by various benefits and largesse for the people as a whole.
The Left have absorbed, whether by reading or by osmosis, certain critical lessons from Machiavelli. I hope that Trump's team has as well.
The success of his administration will depend on many things: luck, skill, effective alliances. But all will be for naught if he tarries. It's not just the first 100 days that will matter. It's the first week, nay, the first 48 hours. His team should come to town ready to undo, right now, today, every executive order promulgated by Obama. Every appointment that can be made should be made instantly, every nomination should be put forth and, so far as is humanly possible, fast-tracked. It should be a shock-and-awe performance. The media will howl. The political establishment will squeal. But they will have been rendered irrelevant before they knew what hit them. It will be a spectacle worth watching.


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Next Episode of Jack Dee's Happy Hour is
not planed. TV Show was canceled.
Jack Dee's Happy Hour was a stand up comedy series which was broadcast on BBC1 in the United Kingdom.
Looks like something went completely wrong!
But don't worry - it can happen to the best of us,
- and it just happened to you.
Please try again later or contact us.


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Full Title: Buddhism: Way of Life and Thoughts: Way of Life and Thoughts
Major Topic: General Buddhism
Level: general reading
Click here to order this book from Amazon.com
Comprehensive introduction to Buddhism; good place for the interested reader to start. This book has two principal uses: 1) To learn about Buddhism in general; and 2) A source for teachers interested in straightforward clear descriptions of Buddhist history and major Buddhist lines of thought.
Filed under: Chapter 2: Buddhism in a Nutshell | Tagged: intro to Buddhism | Leave a comment »


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Heating System Replacement
Having the heating system replaced in your Stockton, CA area home is a major undertaking. You want to make sure you choose the right model for the right price, and you also don't want to have to pay too much to have your old system removed. And because you already have a particular type of heating system in place, you may not realize how many different options there actually are when it comes to choosing a replacement.
So if you're not sure how to go about starting to select a new heating system to replace the one you have, let the experts here at Lovotti Air Conditioning & Heating help you out. We have professionally trained installers and technicians who can help you make an informed decision about what systems would be most appropriate for your particular situation. With some professional advice and guidance, choosing a great home heating system replacement doesn't have to be nearly as overwhelming as you might think.
Of course, before you can go about selecting a replacement for your current heating system, you need to have made the decision that it's time to replace it. So when is it time to replace the home heating system that you have now? There are actually quite a few circumstances in which you should seriously consider investing in a replacement.
Heater Upgrade for Energy Efficiency
One of the main reasons a lot of people choose to replace their older heating system is that the newer models are so much more energy efficient. A heating system you purchase now will have an AFUE rating of at least 80% and can be as high as 90% or more. This is well above the AFUE ratings of many models installed even 10 years ago. The difference that added efficiency can make on your monthly energy bills is really quite astonishing.
In fact, that added energy savings alone will quickly make up for the cost of purchase and installation. Also, if you have an older system now, chances are you're going to have to replace it soon anyway. So why not start saving on your energy bills now rather than waiting until your current unit breaks and you're forced to replace it?
Chronic Heating System Problems
Another good reason to consider a home heating system replacement is if your current system is constantly requiring repairs to stay in good working order. While these repairs may be minor and not too expensive, they're going to add up fast and it makes more sense to invest in a new system rather than continuing to pay to fix your current one.
Also, a system that is in need of frequent repairs is probably not going to last you much longer anyway. Nor is it likely to be particularly energy efficient. For all of these reasons, investing in a heating system replacement now makes economic sense, and it will also let you relax and enjoy the warmth rather than having to worry about when your heating system is going to break again.
All Types of Heating Systems
Here at Lovotti Air, we handle all types of heating system replacements in the Greater Stockton and Modesto, California area. The products we offer must all meet our high standards for quality and reliability, and our expert installers and technicians have extensive experience working will all of them.
Whether it's a heat pump you're interested in or some type of furnace, we have the products and expertise necessary to get your old system taken out and your new unit installed quickly, correctly and safely. And with your new, properly maintained heating system, you'll never have to worry about whether or not you'll have heat on the coldest winter nights.
(209) 931-2100


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What a full and frothing menu of musical doings are afoot at Southend's Railway Hotel this coming Sunday - bringing together a mixed bill of blues, soul and black-hearted all-girl garage.
Spread across two floors: upstairs Mod Club Almost Grown thumps out the funk with a soul all-dayer. While from 4:30 in the main bar downstairs - Martin McNeill's Bottletop Blues Band will be stomping through a set of jump blues, boogie and raw-rooted R 'n' B.
Following this, it's new band on the block The Other Ones (formed of Tom Burgess and Seasider Paul Hill)...Literally capping off the event are Snow-White-meets-the-Wicked-Witch girl group (and Jack White signings) The Black Belles dropping in as part of their debut UK tour.
From 4:30 between-the-bands in the downstairs bar I'll be pitching in a few platters ranging from Big Joe Turner to Big Boss Man and Merry Clayton to Mae West.
Should you happen to be in the central Southend area, or fancy heading there - come on around The Railway and shake a Sunday leg. One tune that's proved to be a recent rumbler at various shindigs has been.....
Amos Milburn - I Done Done It


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There are now two download sites for Golden Dawn and George Kinney music that support the George Kinney Medical Fund. Go there to download Golden Dawn and George Kinney music available nowhere else. The music is free but it is recommended that you donate the required amount to the George Kinney Medical Fund.
Mr. Kinney received a liver transplant last year and needs expensive medications. The George Kinney Medical Fund was set up to help with those expenses.
See the download sites below. Spread this around! Look:
George Kinney, of the late, great, Texas Psychedelic rock group – the Golden Dawn, was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2011. Luckily, the disease responded to treatment and Mr. Kinney received a liver transplant around Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Mr. Kinney still needs expensive treatments and medications to survive. The George Kinney Medical Fund has been created to help with these expenses.
We are asking all fans to contribute $5 per downloaded title above directly to the George Kinney Medical Fund.
You can Paypal the George Kinney Medical Fund at: email@example.com
or make checks out to GEORGE KINNEY MEDICAL FUND and mail them to: George Kinney, PO Box 51, Cedar Creek, TX 78612 United States.
We would like to appeal to all fans of the Golden Dawn, Texas Psych, psychedelic music and the arts in general to make a donation to this fund. George has made some really beautiful music over the years and he's a really cool guy; he's one of us.


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text:
Thursday, 9 August 2012
diy : doodle lyrics canvas
15 comments:
I love this. Give it to me. For real, give it to me now.ReplyDeleteReplies
You are so crazy talented! This is amazing!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousThursday, August 09, 2012
That is the coolest thing ever!!!!! I love that. I love how you think.ReplyDelete
Mama HReplies
thanks mama! I had a lot of fun making it!Delete
Oh Clara this is beautiful!! I have one I really want to make, but I really suck at doodling :(ReplyDeleteReplies
oooh, what is it? let me know! maybe you'll get it for Christmas ;)Delete
I love the quote "If I sing when I cook, the food will be happy." by Pasquale Carpino!Delete
I would love to hang it in our kitchen ;)
hint hint nudge nudge
such a cute quote! I can definitely work with that! haha, now to figure out how to get it back to you....hmm, someone will just have to come and visit me! ;)Delete
- AnonymousSaturday, August 11, 2012
This is a beautiful beautiful project. I love the idea of putting lyrics from hymns/worship songs onto canvas. You have done a beautiful job!ReplyDelete
Beautiful! I can't wait to try this!ReplyDeleteReplies
send us a photo when you do! =)Delete
i love this so much!!!!!! :') might as well try it soon! :DReplyDelete


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Epson SureColor 350ml and 700ml Inks for SC-P7000/9000/V Printers£86.50Epson UltraChrome HDX represents Epson's latest generation of pigment ink technology. The addition of orange, green and violet inks in the P7000V and P9000V models takes inkjet colour performance to an entirely new level. Grass and foliage will be much more vivid and natural, while orange tones like sunsets will be more dazzling. Photographers will be delighted to see that the orange ink also lessens the graininess in skin tones. The addition of violet ink now increases the colour gamut even further. No matter what type of printing you are doing, Epson Ultrachrome HDX will give you quality unlike anything you've seen before. Learn More


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I love these Chinese New Year images from KBD. This is the year of the dragon (that's me that's me!). He's so cute! I decided since the Chinese New Year is coming up quickly as well, that I'd use this wonderful little guy for my spotlight card this month.
I printed this little sweetie and colored with Copics. Cut out with a pierced circle die and used a sketch for the card. I made the sentiment background AGES ago using a technique called emboss resist. The colors went so well I dug it out for this card today. Lots of bling and sparkle, as you've probably come to expect from me! Full details are on my blog for those who are interested. Here's hoping that all my stamping beauties out there have a lovely week. Stay warm...it IS January, and here in the Midwest winter finally arrived a few days after Christmas so it's COLD and SNOWY (although it *was* 50 degrees on Christmas...).
See you next month for more Kitty Bee Designs inspiration! I hope your year is off to a great start!
Ooh look at those colors... what an absolutely amazing card! Make sure you stop by Jennifer's blog and say hello!!
Mahalo Plenty,
kel, Jennifer & the rest of the KBD DT


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April 12, 2012
What a fuss erupts when you have a confident, if slightly overrated, view of yourself. The statement I most get these days is that I don't look like a mother of two. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad. Is this a very different to the look of a mum of one? How close is it to the look of a dad of two?
Which nicely bring me on to my pet hate of the moment. Sweeping statements with sexist undertones. As a marketing and PR consultant I am guilty of some strange things. But the "mom as mom" marketing strategy, as opposed to the "mom as woman" has me totally baffled. Whatever does it mean?
Apparently, as a "mom as mom", we like babies, baking and books (parenting ones strictly). While in "mom in woman" mode, you are allowed to be a woman and think about, well, beauty, fashion, going out etc. Since when are we defined by the roles we play, rather than our range of interests?
Can we please relegate this garbage to the dustbin of history, along with these other beauties:
What bugs me the most is that none of these terms works when they are turned on their head. Try dadpreneur, stay-at-home dad or even a working dad. Why would any dad not work, we fundamentally assume. And if they don't they must be one of the latest Scandi-inspired capuccinno dads. Lordie, let this madness not spread the other way…
It's just as well I cooked recently for my blog guru, a thoroughly modern man. He is an entrepreneur creating downloadable children's stories, who looked after his toddler for years. Not quite the zesty, headline grabbing catch phrase we are accustomed to, but accurate nonetheless.
The fiery recipe is none other than a simple Pork Vindaloo. I have cooked it before. But a Goan cookery website with step by step piccies caught my eye. All this simple Pork Vindaloo recipe takes literally is the whizz of a collection of spices into a masala, a bit of marinating and it just stews away in a saucepan until the pork just falls apart in the mouth. A simple reminder that we can simplify even the most seemingly complicated things, without falling prey to bad habits.
Feeds 4:
Chop the pork into bite-sized pieces. I tend to buy boneless pork shoulder and cut the fat off with a sharp knife for this. Cheap, but very tender meat.
Dry roast the whole dry spices: red chillies, cumin, cinnamon, peppercorn, mustard seeds and cloves, Then grind this together all the ingredients bar the salt, turmeric, paprika, oil and onions in a blender to make the vindaloo masala paste. I have two important tips here a) add the turmeric and paprika to the pork separately so your blender doesn't turn fluorescent and b) don't put anything that has touched the vindaloo paste into your dishwasher unless you want to stain its other inhabitants acid pink.
Next, mix the turmeric and the paste, into the pork. I tend to do this the night before, so the pork can absorb the flavours by the time you're ready to cook. When you are, chop the onions into little pieces, get the oil to sizzling hot and saute them until golden. Then add the marinated pork, reduce the heat to medium high and cook covered for about an hour. Just make sure you keep stirring from time to time so the masala doesn't get stuck to the bottom of the pan.
An hour later, lid off, add salt to your taste and serve your simple pork vindaloo with piping hot Basmati rice, and some yoghurt to douse any chilli flames.
Hi mailika
What are the portions sizes for the ingredients ?
Hi Liz, not sure what you need exactly? The ingredients list is on the side? M x
Thanks for your brilliant recipes, Mallika. I always enjoy reading them. And thanks, especially, for pointing out the stupid sexism in the way mothers are spoken about and to. Food blogs aren't always the best place to find women wanting to stand up to the reductive mommy rhetoric. It's great to see. Keep it up!
That's so sweet. Thank you for letting me know!
I tried this vindaloo and it came out sooo good that I'm finally doing what I should have done ages ago… leave a comment here to tell u that I try out your recipes regularly. the spinach pork, prawn pulao and this one are now my favourites.
With many spices, I bet that this recipe is a sure fire and totally delicious.
We are always running ourselves into knots trying to be politically correct! And these labels… they all become labels after a point, dont they? Like Stay-at-home-wife/mum – wasnt that coined to elevate the status of the humble "housewife"?
At least the Pork Vinadaloo is relatively clear – its clearly fiery (always is) and the heat clears up the sinuses too 😀
Thanks for being a great "cooking mum" ( 😉 ) and providing us with such great recipes!
Yes, it's all a bit much! I'm heartened to know that you're bringing some scepticism of these sexist attitudes to the marketing and PR world. All the better that you serve it up here with a wink and a recipe. 🙂
I love your recipe book and your blog, your recipes are fantastic for those like me that know nothing about Indian cooking but have an Indian to cook for! Thank you!
Here here! And I look forward to blasting them all with some good old fashioned chili.
I can't agree with you more on this! I keep getting 'You look so young!' when I am out with my daughter, and my reply to that usually is 'I am young' lol! It's hard not to get affected by these stupid statements.
I've tried the traditional Vindaloo,but this original Goan style is a must try for sure!!! Thanks a Ton for this..!!
I've tried the traditional Vindaloo,but this original Goan style is a must try for sure!!!


text: Here's what's going on this weekend, starting with today: Aberdeen: Christian Businessmen's Committee meeting, 6:30 a.m., Millstone Family Restaurant, 2210 Sixth Ave. S.E. Aberdeen: Blood donations accepted, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., United Blood Services, 131 N. Roosevelt St. Aberdeen: Alcoholics Anonymous, 1 p.m. (closed/nonsmoking), Yellow House, 519 S. Arch St. Aberdeen: NSU Foundation fundraiser, "Northern Night," 5:30 p.m., Ramkota Hotel, 1400 Eighth Ave. N.W. For more information, call (605) 626-2550. Aberdeen: Sertoma's Festival of Lights, 6-9 p.m., Wylie Park, $5 per car, $15 per bus. Aberdeen: Alcoholics Anonymous Sixth Sense, 7 p.m., literature meeting (closed/nonsmoking), 422 Fifth Ave. S.E. (west door); for more information, call Jim at (605) 226-0873. Aberdeen: Alcoholics Anonymous, 8:30 p.m. (closed/nonsmoking), Yellow House. For more information, call (605) 225-1292. Saturday: Aberdeen: Sacred Heart Parish Christmas Cookie Craft and Book Sale, 8 a.m.-1 p.m., Sacred Heart Parish Hall. Aberdeen: "Christmas for Kids," ages 4-10, 9 a.m., Trinity Lutheran Church, 915 S. Dakota St. Aberdeen: Weight Watchers, 9 a.m., Super City Mall. Aberdeen: Aberdeen Mid-Day Connection brunch, 9:30 a.m., Ramkota Hotel, $9. Aberdeen: Alcoholics Victorious Recovery Group, 10:30 a.m. to noon, The Salvation Army, 1003 6th Ave. S.W. For more information call The Salvation Army at (605) 225-7410. Aberdeen: Al-Anon Steps2Recovery-literature meeting, 10:30 a.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 1429 N. Dakota St., north door. Call Josh at (605) 216-6160. Aberdeen: Alcoholics Anonymous, noon (closed/nonsmoking), Yellow House, 519 S. Arch St. Call (605) 225-1292. Aberdeen: Book signing, Andrea Beyers, "Fiona Finds the Son," 1-3 p.m., Little Professor Book Center, Lakewood Mall. Aberdeen: Dinner and bake sale benefit for Roncalli Girl Scouts, 5-8:30 p.m., parish hall, St. Mary's Catholic Church, 409 Second Ave. N.E., $5 for adults, $2.50 for children age 6 to 12. Aberdeen: Sertoma's Festival of Lights, 6-9 p.m., Wylie Park, $5 per car, $15 per bus. Aberdeen: Miss Aberdeen contest, 7 p.m., Central High School Thomas F. Kelly Theatre. Aberdeen: Living Christmas Tree, 7 p.m., Aberdeen Civic Arena. Aberdeen: South Dakota North Area Honor Band and South Dakota 147th Army National Guard Band concert, 7:30 p.m., NSU Johnson Fine Arts Center. Aberdeen: Narcotics Anonymous, 8-9 p.m., Faith United Methodist Church, 503 S. Jay St., use back door. For information call (605) 226-8562. Britton: Tour of Homes, 1 p.m., meet at Northern Lights Inn, East Highway 10, $6, for more information call Flo Hart at (605) 448-8032 or Carol Peters (605) 448-5446. Sunday: Aberdeen: Alcoholics Anonymous Sixth Sense: 10 a.m. spirituality meeting (closed/nonsmoking), 422 Fifth Ave. S.E. (west door); call Jim at (605) 226-0873. Aberdeen: Dance, 1-5 p.m., VFW, 821 Circle Drive, $6. Aberdeen: Living Christmas Tree, 3 and 7 p.m., Aberdeen Civic Arena. Aberdeen: Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting, 3 -5 p.m., for contact information and location, call 1-800-477-8191. Aberdeen: Sertoma's Festival of Lights, 6-9 p.m., Wylie Park, $5 per car, $15 per bus. Aberdeen: Alcoholics Anonymous Pin Night (open/nonsmoking), 8 p.m., Yellow House, 519 S. Arch St. Call (605) 225-1292. Gettysburg: Annual Christmas Tree Extravaganza, 1-4 p.m., Dakota Sunset museum, 205 W. Commercial Ave. Groton: Holiday Tour of Homes, 3-5 p.m., maps available at old high school gym, $10.


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Macro Vegan Thai Chicken with Peanut Noodles
We're really liking this new Macro Vegan section of the grocery store. We picked up a package of Macro Vegan Thai Chicken and tossed it with peanut noodles that we made at home. It was sooo much better than any vegan Pad Thai you get from the regular Thai restaurants. It was about as quick to make as waiting for delivery, as well.
The flat pieces of chicken were like the kind you get in a good Asian Vegan restaurant, with that nice chewy texture. All we did was cook some bean noodles that were hiding in the way-back of the cupboard and toss them with cooked vegetables and peanut sauce mix. This was a really super-delicious meal!
Thai Peanut Noodles with Vegan Chicken
1 package Macro Vegan Thai Chicken1 packet of Taste of Thai peanut sauce mix
1 14oz can of coconut milk
2-4 servings worth of Ammoy flat bean noodles or flat rice noodles
1 T oil (olive or canola)
1/2 C carrots, chopped
1/2 C onion, slices
3 limes
Garnish: Chopped peanuts, scallions, chives, sprouts or cilantro
1. Cook noodles to package directions, drain and set aside.
2. In a shallow pan, heat oil and add onions and carrots. Stir-fry until cooked to desired tenderness, about 8-10 minutes.
3. Add vegan chicken, stirring to heat through.
4. Combine packet contents with coconut milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer 3 minutes. Add to onion, carrot, chicken mixture.
5. Squeeze 1 lime into the mixture, or more to taste. Garnish with desired toppings.


text: Foreign workers in Canada fear backlash, loss of dreamsSome using provisions that allow for longer staysBy Andrea Hopkins05/02/2014|hrreporter.com|Last Updated: 05/02/2014 TORONTO (Reuters) — Bugan Wigan could handle the hard work packing fruit and cleaning hotel rooms, and the crushing debt she owed recruiters who found her jobs. But a backlash against the foreign worker program that brought her to Canada means the clock is ticking on her ability to support her family in the Philippines."I'm here six years, away from my family. I was hoping I could bring them here. But now, we are just counting our days," said Wigan, 40, who currently works at McDonald's in Vancouver.She is one of about 400,000 people who came to Canada under the government's Temporary Foreign Worker Program, which is designed to fill jobs for which there are no qualified Canadian candidates. The program has been hugely popular with employers, ballooning from 100,000 workers in 2002.But the backlash against it has also grown as the program, initially designed to help the booming resource industry, has expanded to lower-skilled jobs, especially at restaurant chains such as McDonald's and Tim Hortons.Last week, the Conservative government slapped a moratorium on the food service industry hiring temporary foreign workers after media reports said that some restaurants had turned away qualified Canadians in favour of using foreigners to fill job openings.Employment Minister Jason Kenney has acknowledged some abuses of the system and last year began tightening up the rules for employers to participate in the program. He has promised more changes.Caught in the middle are workers like Wigan, who harboured dreams of using the program as a springboard to permanent residency. While the program is explicitly designed to be temporary, some workers have been able to use provisions that allow for longer stays. Those loopholes appear to be closing as the government moves to contain the backlash against the hiring of temporary foreign workers.Willing to work late shiftAnna, a Croatian woman who did not want to use her real name for fear the government will track her down, was devastated by Ottawa's decision last week to impose a moratorium on restaurant hiring of foreign temporary workers. Armed with a university degree in agriculture and strong English, she found work at a cafe just 10 days after arriving in Toronto in 2012, and has worked there ever since. She now expects to be out of a job when her permit expires in December."For me, it is just the worst. I came here legally, did my part, paid my taxes, and now they don't allow me to keep going," said Anna, 29, blonde hair tucked up under a black fedora, as she took a break from serving coffee and sandwiches at the busy cafe in Toronto's fashion district."In Croatia, Canada is viewed as an amazing, welcoming country, but when you come here, you encounter problems like this," she said, tearing up when she talks about the mother she left behind in exchange for a steady job that pays $12 an hour and offers a dream of a better life.Her boss is also upset. Like many business owners, he sees the program providing him with a hard-working, reliable workforce less prone to quitting when something better comes along. Workers who, as one industry group said, are willing to work the late shift."Where are (Canadians) when we put an ad in the paper? Why don't they want to come early in the morning? They are not there," said Ali, owner of three Toronto cafes that use temporary foreign workers. He did not want to be named for fear of a backlash against his businesses.As far as paying a higher wage to keep staff, Ali said it's a nice idea "as long as I can sell my sandwiches for $42. I would love to pay them the highest possible."RELATED ARTICLESCanada sheds 13,000 jobs in December: ReportNo social skills required: Autistic staff help IT firm thriveOffices grow 'brains' as companies seek to attract smarter workersCheaper, more desparate workersWith a national unemployment rate of 6.9 per cent and joblessness as low as 4.5 per cent and 4.9 per cent in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, many employers complain of a shortage of skilled or willing workers, especially in the mining and energy industries.But youth unemployment is 13.6 per cent and critics of the program believe the use of foreign workers in low-skilled jobs boosts unemployment and suppresses wages. They say it gives employers access to a cheaper, more desperate worker, ripe for abuse and without a path to permanent residency or citizenship. "The whole program is set up to create a class of people who have fewer rights. The program is innately exploitative," said Yessy Byl, a human rights worker at the Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre.Byl, who has worked as an advocate for foreign workers for years, has heard of many kinds of abuse at the hands of Canadian employers that prefer the reliability of foreign workers to the whims of highly mobile Canadian workers in a strong economy."I don't know which story is the worst," Byl said, noting one example of Filipino hotel workers fired when they tried to move out of the house their employer wanted them to live in with 16 others, and another of a Mexican labourer gruesomely injured in his first untrained encounter with a chainsaw.Many unions are also scathing in their criticism of employers that use foreign workers to avoid paying wages that Canadians would accept."Why can't they pay some more money to Canadian staff if that is their problem?" asked Joseph Maloney, vice-president at the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers. "But they pay minimum wages, starvation wages, so that gives them an excuse to bring in temporary foreign workers who don't know better... and it's just wrong."Call for path to citizenshipImmigration lawyer Vanessa Routley, who works mostly with employers looking for petroleum workers, doesn't buy the argument that Canadians are being cheated out of jobs."I really don't think it has any basis in reality. We are not raised to aspire to clean hotel rooms," she said.Routley's fear now is for those foreigners who are already in Canada, working legally but facing the expiration of their permits. She believes many will try to stay illegally, putting themselves at even greater risk of abuse. "Most of them don't have much to return to, so by making it impossible for them to stay legally, we are forcing them to go underground, in which case the risks of being mistreated are far more than without the protections under this program."Migrant advocacy groups are calling for the government to process pending work permit applications and to offer a way for workers already in Canada to make the transition to permanent residency, providing a lifeline to those left in the lurch.Wigan, who says she is happy at McDonald's, holds out little hope something will happen to allow her to stay and be reunited in Canada with her 12-year-old son, who lives with her husband in the Philippines."If I am not able to get my permanent residency, I will have to leave in October 2015. I don't think I have any choice." Add Comment * Title * Name * Email Anonymous * Comment


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Core Values
Saas-Fee Lighthouse is a place where people can come to be encouraged and touched by the love of God.
We believe that God is good and has good things for us. We live out the desires of our hearts passionately for Him in the beauty of His creation; Doing the things we love with the One that we love.


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I think Autumn decorations are my favourite. I love earthy tones mixed with moss and hints of gold here and there - it just makes everything so cosy. I was doing a bit of styling experimenting yesterday and put together this Autumn inspired centrepiece. It would be perfect for a wedding or for a special dinner party - or you can just have it on display in your house like me...
The process is very very simple, it's just about layering up pinecones with moss in a giant jar really. I sprayed a few of my pinecones with gold spray paint to add a little bit of variety - then finished it off with some dried wheat.
You can probably expect a few pinecone crafts from me in the next few months, I have a big bag of them in my cupboard from a past show. Plus I just feel in quite a pinecone-y mood at the moment - nothing says Autumn better.
x Rachel


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Ever since Roman Abramovich purchased Chelsea and began pumping money into the club, it's been hard for youth to get a sniff in the first-team.
Despite quickly assembling a top class youth academy and acquiring some of the worlds best scouts to fill it with talent, there have been very few youngsters who've gone on to make a significant impact at the club, and many of these youth have since moved on after failing to meet the grade at Stamford Bridge.
As Frank Arnesen, Chelsea's former chief scout, stated in March, the pressure at Chelsea is so big that young players were never given a chance. Scott Sinclair's form at Swansea earned him a move to Manchester City, while Fabio Borini is currently on Liverpool's books, though his opportunities have been limited by injury. Nemanja Matic ruled out a return earlier this month.
Of course, there's also Miroslav Stoch who's Zidane-esque volley won the Puskas award for goal of the year in 2012.
Chelsea have a penchant for perennially loaning talent out, with few prospects being able to use that experience to force their way into the team. Even more concerning for Chelsea's young prospects, Jose Mourinho doesn't have the best track record for promoting academy talents to the first-team.
With a host of high priced talent in the squad, let's examine the potential of a few of Chelsea's youth who spent last season on loan, and their potential to use that experience to work their way into Jose Mourinho's plans.
Romelu Lukaku spent last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion and performed superbly with 17 goals in 35 games, including a stellar hat-trick against Manchester United to deny Sir Alex Ferguson a win in his farewell match.
Strong, technical, and determined, he may have convinced the Chelsea hierarchy he has what it takes to contribute.
Verdict: Chelsea have yet to sort out their striker situation and questions still remain over the future of Fernando Torres and Demba Ba. Although it seems Chelsea are still on the hunt for a forward capable of the consistency they have been lacking, Lukaku could be ready to make an instant impact and fill the role if given the opportunity. His compatriot Eden Hazard recently backed him for a first team spell.
His strike rate with West Brom was excellent and proves he has what it takes to compete in the premier league. With superior service from Chelsea's midfield, Lukaku could be a 20-25 goal a year player.
Lucas Piazon hasn't been given a chance to impress in the first team, despite some superb performances with the reserves and decent displays on loan at Malaga. Chelsea beat a host of other top European clubs to the Brazilian forwards signature, and he's highly regarded as a future prospect at Stamford Bridge.
Verdict: With the established talent in front of him it's hard to see Piazon carving out a spot in the first team. Most likely he'll be shipped out on loan in the upcoming campaign, and Chelsea will continue to consider him a future option.
Josh McEachran's career has been relatively stagnant following a disappointing loan out at Swansea but his spell at Middlesbrough was an improvement. He remains a great talent and at 20 years old the time is ripe for him to mature his game and take it to the next level.
His chances in the first team have shown promise and he may get the opportunity to impress with his technicality and passing ability in the heart of Chelsea's midfield.
Verdict: Another spell on loan at a team that plays possession based football would be fruitful for the midfielder, but frequent playing time and the right guidance is essential. In time he could work his way into the team.
Nathaniel Chalobah spent last season playing under Gianfranco Zola in the Championship with Watford, making a total of 42 appearances and chipping in 5 goals, showing great maturity at the tender age of 18.
Such frequent inclusion into the squad will have done wonders for his confidence and ability. Naturally a defender he can also play in midfield, and the question remains if it would be more productive for Chalobah to spend another season out as loan as opposed to seeing limited action.
Verdict: If he works hard and takes advantage of the experience in front of him similar to the relationship John Terry did with Marcel Desailly, Chalobah could very well emulate Terry and fight for a place in the first team, and his versatility could make him a valuable player to Mourinho who always appreciates a utility man in his squad.
Kevin De Bruyne, another member of the Belgian contingent at the Bridge, has spent the last two seasons developing on loan and despite matured performances in the Bundesliga, questions remain over Mourinho's confidence to insert him in a first team stacked with world-class attacking midfielders.
It would be counter-productive to keep the attacking midfielder at the club but on the bench. Several clubs have made inquiries as to his availability in the Bundesliga after his excellent loan spell with Werder Bremen.
Verdict: Despite his age, Mourinho's does have a tendency of fielding players who produce results regardless of their squad status, if KDB takes his chances and shows his ability, he could well earn a spot in the side, just ask Diego Lopez.
Thibault Courtois has been ever-present at Atletico Madrid with some brilliant performances for the past two seasons, and was recently confirmed for a third. All indications suggest Cech is expected to slowly make way for the Belgian, but the question remains as to when.
Verdict: Another season of solid performances from Courtois on loan could see him finally spend his time in London and compete with Petr Cech in the 2014/15 season.
Of course, this is by no means a comprehensive list and Chelsea have other prospects at the club and on loan who could also fight for a future place such as Gael Kakuta, Tomas Kalas, Thorgan Hazard, Islam Feruz, Nathan Ake, Kenneth Omeruo, Wallace, and Oriol Romeu. However for all of these players, the question remains if Chelsea's strategy of loaning their prospects will begin to show results or if these players will also depart without being given a chance.
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FC: Peter's Poetry Portfolio by Peter C.
1: Table of Contents | Page 2+3 .................................. Poetry Terms Page 4-10 ................................. Poetry Analysis Page xx-yy ................................ Original Poems
2: Poetry Terms | paradox: a statement or phrase that contradicts itself | tanka: a Japanese poem consisting of 31 syllables in 5 lines, with 5 syllables in the first and third lines and 7 in the other lines | Beautiful mountains Rivers with cold, cold water. White cold snow on rocks Trees over the place with frost White sparkly snow everywhere (anonymous) | "War is peace." "Freedom is slavery." "Ignorance is strength." (George Orwell, 1984)
3: Know then thyself II, presume not God to scan; The proper study of Mankind II is Man. Plac'd on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: (Alexander Pope) | caesura: a pause in a line of verse indicated by sense or speech rhythm
4: When I see birches bend to left and right Across the lines of straighter darker trees, I like to think some boy's been swinging them. But swinging doesn't bend them down to stay. Ice-storms do that. Often you must have seen them 5 Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning After a rain. They click upon themselves As the breeze rises, and turn many-coloured As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel. Soon the sun's warmth makes them shed crystal shells 10 Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away You'd think the inner dome of heaven had fallen. They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load, And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed 15 So low for long, they never right themselves: You may see their trunks arching in the woods Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground, Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair Before them over their heads to dry in the sun. 20 | Birches - Robert Frost
5: But I was going to say when Truth broke in (Now am I free to be poetical?) With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm, I should prefer to have some boy bend them As he went out and in to fetch the cows-- 25 Some boy too far from town to learn baseball, Whose only play was what he found himself, Summer or winter, and could play alone. One by one he subdued his father's trees By riding them down over and over again 30 Until he took the stiffness out of them, And not one but hung limp, not one was left For him to conquer. He learned all there was To learn about not launching out too soon And so not carrying the tree away 35 Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise To the top branches, climbing carefully With the same pains you use to fill a cup Up to the brim, and even above the brim. Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish, 40 Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
6: Kicking his way down through the air to the ground. So was I once myself a swinger of birches. And so I dream of going back to be. It's when I'm weary of considerations, And life is too much like a pathless wood 45 Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs Broken across it, and one eye is weeping From a twig's having lashed across it open. I'd like to get away from earth awhile And then come back to it and begin over. 50 May no fate willfully misunderstand me And half grant what I wish and snatch me away Not to return. Earth's the right place for love: I don't know where it's likely to go better. I'd like to go by climbing a birch tree 55 And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more, But dipped its top and set me down again. That would be good both going and coming back. One could do worse than be a swinger of birches. 60
7: T: trees, life of nature P: The poem is about a man walking by birch trees and wanting to swing on them again. C: imagery- Ice-storms do that...trailing their leaves on the ground; with all her matter-of-fact...kicking his way through the air to the ground; where your face burns and tickles with cobwebs. All of those are examples of imagery which help readers picture the author's ideas. The general part of the story is a metaphor for aging. Lines 5-21 are about the author seeing the reality, the truth of why the birch trees are bent. He sees that ice storms have forcefully bent the trees over; naturally, and it was bound to happen in time.
8: Lines 22-41 are about the author's fantasy; he imagines that the trees were bent down by a kid, just living his carefree life with nothing better to do. This was preferred by the narrator because it would meen that there was enjoyment, freedom of youth behind the bending of those trees. The kid was doing what he wanted, and the bent trees would have been a sign that someone was happy there. Lines 42-60 are aobut the narrator's relation to being a kid swinging in the birches as he dreamed about in the last portion of the story. He mentions that "...[he is] weary of considerations and life is too much like a pathless wood where your face burns and tickles with cobwebs". This is saying that life can be too complicated and stressful to enjoy
9: at the later stages. Lines 49-54 are specifically about how he doesn't want to die, but get away from the world for a while and have a taste of youth's enjoyment and freedom in life. The last line, "one could do worse than be a swinger of birches" is ultimately about the innocence of youth. Being a "swinger of birches" in this case means just plain having fun without complications, as kids can easily enjoy swing on a tree for enjoyment. This line helps sum up the poem by simply saying that youth is free of struggles and happiness is much easier to come by at those early times in life. A: The attitude is more melancholy than not, with a sense of nostalgia in the middle portion about the kid swinging in trees.
10: S: There is a shift after line 41, where the author's fantasy of the kid ends and goes on to talking about feeling old and dealing with reality. T: Birch trees being bent symbolizes the reality of humans aging. T: Childhood is carefree and enjoyable, while in adulthood life gets too complicated to feel good about.
11: Ode to Track O New Trier Track, in your 400 meters of greatness, how you stretch around an open field of green grass, your tough rubber surface never seems to give in to the countless gym shoes that have pummeled you. Your lanes are perfectly measured for competition among runners from near and afar willing to do what it takes to be the first to cross the finish and take home the blue ribon of first place. O what you have done over the years, you have bestowed upon us the blessing of a perfect plane of running, for us who put our efforts into this sport of many events of many lengths; from the speedy sprints to the devastating distances you help one and all of us in our contests of speed. Your presence is percieved as a field of battle or a stand of glory to the victors. May you stand strong for many track meets to come.
12: The Greatness of GIlson It was mid-morning on a summer's day, in the suburban villege of Wilmette. I was out for a morning stroll through the park, known as Gilson. With its fields of fresh grass glittering in the sunlight, the children enjoying their games, it was quite the sight to see. Many a day have I seen this, and never have I frowned upon these sights. Gilson is a place of happiness and freedom, where the kids can enjoy themselves to their heart's content. In my past I belonged to this place, playing games of my own with the others on the fields. The great Lake Michigan shows no bounds from the beach of glittering sand. It was here that I also spent my time, with seemingly no care in the world. Sometimes I revisit my memories, taking in the past. I still do see the Great place known as Gilson, and forever will it be a part of me.


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Tottori Prefecture「鳥取県」 is well-known for its pears, which they name as 20th century pears「二十世紀梨」 and thus it's not surprising that its mascot has incorporated some pear elements.
Toripy「トリピー」 first appeared in 1997, as a mascot at the Yume Minato Expo「夢みなと博覧会」 and since then he has been a tourism mascot for Tottori Prefecture (in case you're wondering why I used "he", that because according to his biodata, this mascot is of the masculine gender).
He is part pear and part bird, but please don't ask me to attempt to guess what kind of creature that makes him. Regardless, I do think he is cute!
(photo of Toripy and a tourism official taken at the Japan Rail Cafe, when they visited Singapore as part of a Tottori promotional event)


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Stress. We think of it as bad. Stress is terrible. We "suffer" from stress. We must find a way to reduce stress.
Actually, not all stress is bad. The response that we call stress – also called the fight-or-flight response – is automatic and immediate when we sense that we are threatened by something or someone.
Physically, our heart rate and blood pressure are likely to increase. As a result, we may find that we have increased agility and strength. Our reactions are faster.
If you have read other articles on this blog, you already understand that stress is not the perceived demands or threats made on you. Stress is your response to those perceived demands or threats.
You reduce stress by altering your response to perceived demands and threats. In this article, we give five stress management suggestions – ideas for practical stress management.
Sustained Stress
Years ago, response to threats or demands was not sustained, as it may be today. It was essential for our survival, so threats and demands were faced, response was made, and people went on with life. In today's society, stressors such as family relationships, finances, and work seem to be prolonged. They stack up against us. They seem at times to plot against us.
Reduce Stress for Health
We need to reduce stress for the sake of our health. Sustaining the response too long can cause complaints such as anxiety, depression, diarrhea, insomnia, irritability, and other distresses. We need to reduce stress even though the causes (stressors) are not reduced.
Tips to Reduce Stress
1. Tip #1 to Reduce Stress
Search out the stressor. What is the threat or demand that seems too great? Is someone else making demands, or is it your own perfectionism? List the causes of your stress response.
2. Tip #2 to Reduce Stress
Mark the things that you can change. You may not be able to change your employment, but you may be able to change the way you plan your work. You can reduce stress greatly simply by planning out your day.
3. Tip #3 to Reduce Stress
Just say "No" with sincerity and firmness. When it is not necessary to make a commitment, and you cannot handle it, politely refuse.
4. Tip #4 to Reduce Stress
Learn to recognize your individual stress signals. Your body will tell you when stress is building. Do you get a headache? Do your neck and shoulders begin to ache? Do you feel nervous? Stress signals are not the same for everyone. Learn your signals and reduce stress with brief exercise or by changing activity.
5. Tip #5 to Reduce Stress
A well-rested, exercised, healthy body is better prepared to reduce stress. Take care of your body and it will be in better shape to handle the chemical changes brought about by stress. Increasingly, studies are showing that a fifteen to twenty minute nap in the afternoon will reduce stress and boost productivity.
No Blame
Basic to any plan that will reduce stress is a refusal to blame the stress on others. Others can make demands. Others can threaten. Only you can decide how you will respond. A positive response will reduce stress.
Read more: stressmanagementblog.com
Read more: stressmanagementblog.com


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Humane Dowagiac Wildlife Control Services
- How to get squirrels out of the attic
- How to get raccoons out of the attic
- How to get rid of armadillos
- How to remove bats in the attic
- Attic Restoration & Damage Repairs
- Dead Animal Removal Services
- Best Ways To Get Rid Of Rats
Wildlife Control in Dowagiac Indiana – Michigan City Wildlife Control Services
We operate a full-service Dowagiac wildlife control company, and with our full house/grounds inspection, we can offer solutions to prevent animal problems in the future.
When we do an inspection, we will be able to tell you what the problem is. With a complete understanding of the animals we work with, we can quickly and easily identify which pest animals are causing the problem and exactly where the animals are gaining entry. With our expertise and vast awareness of wildlife, we work efficiently, solving your Dowagiac Indiana nuisance animal problem as quickly as possible.
How to Keep Skunks out of My Garbage Cans
If you find a dead raccoon on your property, there may or may not be some meaning behind it. However, it is understandable for homeowners to get a little cautious, or suspicious, upon discovering a dead raccoon near their home. There is some helpful information to know about dead raccoons, the threat they pose, and how to prevent raccoon activity on your property. Continue reading to learn the meaning behind a dead raccoon near your house, and what to do when you find one.
Wild Raccoons
Raccoons are highly intelligent mammals that have become a nuisance wildlife issue for many residential and urban neighborhoods. Due to land over-development, raccoons have been forced out of their natural habitats, and left to thrive on whatever resources they can find near them. The other problem is that raccoons do not naturally live a long time in the wild. In domesticated settings, a raccoon can live up to 20 or 30 years, but in nature, they have a life expectancy of 2 to 3 years. For this reason, it is common to come across a dead raccoon, whether hit by a car or preyed upon by a larger mammal.
Dead Raccoon Removal
If you do find a dead animal carcass on your property, contact a local raccoon removal company for safe and professional assistance. They retain the proper tools, training, and resources to safely and humanely remove raccoons, dead or alive, at a price you can afford. Just be sure to choose a company with experience and the proper licensing.
Have a Bat in Your Home?
Skunk Trapping and Removal
Skunk Spray
Bat Removal and Bat Control
Many people have attempted their own forms of bat removal. Most have failed. Those who had the knowledge and experience of working with bats might have proven more successful because they knew what they were doing. However, anyone who attempts to undertake bat removal or control on their own without the proper training or knowledge is putting themselves and their family in jeopardy by doing so. It isn't easy to get rid of bats, and most of the home remedies and do-it-yourself solutions will be ineffective at best.
You could spend weeks of your time and a lot of your money on sealing your home, buying bat control devices, and attempting to fix your own bat problems. However, you won't likely experience good results in the end, because many different things can go wrong. If you get too close to the bats or disturb them too much, you run the risk of being bitten. Furthermore, if you try to seal them out of your home without a thorough inspection to make sure that they are out, you could very easily seal them in, which would be very bad. Bat removal is something that is much better handled by a professional company.
Bat removal involves someone coming into your home, assessing the situation, and then developing a plan of attack. They will generally go through and do a thorough inspection, at which point they will determine how big your bat problem is and what bat removal techniques are best. Generally, the easiest and most effective way to get rid of bats is with the use of bat control devices that work like one-way doors. Bats will be able to leave your home through these devices, but when they return, they won't be able to get back in. This will send them packing and looking for a new home.
When the professionals are done with bat removal in your home, they will inspect it once again to make sure all the bats are gone. Then, they will seal up any remaining cracks or gaps and remove the control devices. Once everything is finished, they will go through and clean up the bat guano with disinfectant or other solutions to kill all of the germs and bacteria to keep your family healthy. After all, bat guano is almost as dangerous as the bats themselves. This professional bat removal process is going to be much more effective than anything that you could do on your own, and will offer you a chance to have your home safe and healthy once again.
Bat Control - Keeping Your Home Bat-Free
Skunk Holes
How to Get Rid of Squirrels Naturally
What Should I Do with a Skunk After I Catch It?
Bats can be a big menace to any household, both physically and emotionally. These creatures normally inhabit dark and warm places in the house. You are likely to find them in the basement, walls, soffits and the attic of your house. These low flying creatures can inhabit your home if there are any entry points to let them in. If you have been having problems getting rid of these creatures here are some tips to help you remove them from your house completely.
Bat Proofing Services
There are many companies that offer bat proofing services to home owners. These companies not only remove the offending animals from your house, they also offer bat exclusion services. These services enable you to have a home that will repel these unwanted creatures, instead of attracting them. Although the companies that offer these services are countless, not all of them offer the quality of services that you would want. The best bat removal services come normally with a guarantee. Unless the company promises 100% removal of these creatures from your house, there is absolutely no need for you to pay for the services. The services should include an inspection of your house. The inspection will enable the service provider to identify areas of use by the bats and potential areas they could re-enter. Thus in turn the wildlife control professional will provide a course of action to resolve the problem for you and your home.
Bat Guano Removal
They can cause untold health dangers to the inhabitants and possibly insulation damage to the attic and walls where they roost due to large quantities of buildup. The excrement of these creatures may hold considerable health dangers such as histoplasmosis to everyone in the house. You can employ the services of bat guano removal companies to help you get rid of this guano and soiled insulation from your house. You can also clean the guano yourself if you have the right cleaning materials and personal protective equipment to protect yourself from the health dangers involved with handling bat guano.
Raccoon Extermination Services
Have a Bat in Your Home?


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Permit Lottery
Spring Resident, and Non-Resident Overnight, Permit Lottery
The spring 2019 resident student parking permit lottery is closed. There will be no further lotteries for spring 2019 resident permits.
North and South Campus Residence Parking Permits
Juniors, Seniors, Grad Students: All juniors, seniors, and grad students will be allowed to purchase a north or south campus permit provided they fill out a lottery form and submit it before the deadline date. Students entering after the deadline are NOT guaranteed a permit.
Sophomores: The remaining permits, as parking space allows, will be awarded to those sophomores who complete and submit a lottery form by the deadline date.
Freshman Resident Contracts
A limited number of Freshman Resident contracts will be awarded on a lottery basis. All resident students are eligible for ramp contracts. They will not be awarded based on class standing.
Option 1: Fill out and return a lottery form to the Department of Public Safety and Parking Services.
Option 2: Complete Resident Permit Lottery form online.
The form must be filled out completely. Indicate the residence hall in which you will be living. Indicate what your class standing will be as of Dec. 31. This information will be checked against the records at the Office of the Registrar at the end of December. You will not be entered in the lottery if class standing information is incorrect.
Forms need to be delivered to Parking Services- Murray Herrick 106, faxed to (651) 962-7280, mailed to Parking Services at mail #4019, 2115 Summit Ave, St Paul MN, 55105, -or- submitted through the online Resident Permit Lottery form.
If you receive an email confirming that you have received a resident permit, complete the permit registration through Murphy Online. Once you have registered, print the confirmation sheet and bring it to Parking Services at Murray Herrick 106, to pick up your permit.
Should you be selected in any lottery that you enter, you will have until 4:30 pm. on Tuesday, January 29, 2019 to purchase your permit or contract. Failure to do so by this date will result in your space being re-entered into future lotteries. Permits can be purchased at the Parking Services Office at Murray Herrick 106.
You will need the following items in order to purchase a permit/contract:
- Confirmation of online registration. Print the form at the end of the registration.
- A valid UST identification card
- An accurate license plate number
- Proof of ownership for the vehicle you register (insurance card, registration, etc.) NOTE: Your permit is only valid for the vehicle to which it is registered. If you drive another vehicle, you MUST exchange your permit or obtain a temporary permit (by providing proof of ownership again.
- Payment – all parking permits must be paid for by student account charge.


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A federal jury began considering a plaintiff's claim that Merck & Co. ignored evidence that its blockbuster drug Vioxx caused heart attacks and that the medicine probably caused the death of a 53-year old Florida man.
The trial is the first federal case, but the second trial for Irvin's widow, Evelyn Irvin Plunkett, and her youngest children who contend that Vioxx contributed to Richard "Dickie" Irvin's fatal heart attack in 2001. The first trial, held in Houston because of damage from Hurricane Katrina, ended in December when jurors were unable to reach a verdict.
To reach a verdict, jurors must all agree on at least one of the three complex questions: whether Merck was negligent, sold a defective drug or failed to warn doctors about its dangers and, in each case, whether Merck's actions contributed to the death of Richard "Dickie" Irvin.
If the answer to any of those three questions is yes, they then decide whether Irvin or his son-in-law, an emergency room physician who prescribed Vioxx over the phone, is partly to blame. Then they would consider damages.
They don't have to agree that Vioxx definitely caused the heart attack in May 2001, or that it was the only possible cause, only that it is "more likely true than not true" that it was among the causes, U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon told jurors.
"Our burden of proof is to show more likely than not. Fifty-one percent. More likely than not to show his heart attack was caused by Vioxx," Andy Birchfield, who represents Evelyn Irvin Plunkett and two of her children, told the jury during his closing argument.
He noted epidemiologist Wayne Ray's testimony that the drug probably was to blame for 54 percent of all heart attacks among people who suffered them while taking Vioxx. Ray made the assertion after examining results from numerous Vioxx trials. He said there was a 54 percent chance that Vioxx was among reasons for Irvin's heart attack.
Merck attorney Phil Beck countered that no physician testified that Vioxx caused Irvin's death. "In fact, no doctor testified that Vioxx was even a small factor in Mr. Irvin's heart attack and death."
Birchfield said Merck ignored early signs of danger, such as a study called VIGOR in which patients taking Vioxx had five times the rate of heart attacks as those taking a drug called naproxen. Merck explained the results by saying that naproxen helps prevent heart attacks.
Merck learned of those results in 2000. Had it stopped selling Vioxx or put a warning label on the drug then, Birchfield said, Irvin's son-in-law would not have prescribed Vioxx for Irvin in April 2001.
"Did they rein in their massive marketing campaign? … No. They pushed on wide open," he said. And he quoted the comment of Dr. Eric Topol, a cardiologist subpoenaed for videotaped testimony while at the Cleveland Clinic. "He said that was human experimentation," Birchfield continued. "Merck was playing Russian roulette for money with Dickie Irvin."
When VIGOR results were submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine three additional heart attacks were left out of the data even though the events were reported to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
In a videotaped deposition, The New England Journal of Medicine executive editor Dr. Gregory Curfman claimed that the disparity was because "the company wanted to keep the journal article pristine for the purposes of marketing. And it worked – for a while."
Merck said the data reported to the journal occurred before a cutoff date set when a safety monitoring board for the study asked for analysis of cardiovascular side effects. Curfman said the journal should have been updated.
As of the end of December, Merck faced more than 9,600 cases.
Merck's state court record is 1-1. It lost a $253 million judgment in Texas, where another trial is under way, and won a case in its home state, New Jersey, where another is to begin later this month.


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Wendy Tam
Vice President of User Experience at MotherApp
Wendy Tam is the Vice President of User Experience at MotherApp, a leading mobile solution consultancy based in Hong Kong. She is the one who set up MotherApp UX practice and champion UX culture into MotherApp DNA. Currently, MotherApp is regarded one of most capable innovation partners, helping businesses large and small, local and international, to deliver outstanding digital experience.
Wendy graduated summa cum laude from Tufts University with a BS in Electrical Engineering. She attended the MIT Sloan School of Management to complete the Entrepreneurship Development Program. While she is not working on the next big thing, she can be found zipping a cappuccino, exploring new places on her bike or simply immerse in good reads.
Previously (1):
Career Fast Track: Opportunities in UX
In this special edition Career Fast Track class, we will cover the steps that you need to take to break into the User Experience Design and Web Development industries.


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The past few weekends at our Shameless Word Artist Society Meetings, we've been sharing our "finished" poetry with each other, and researching journals and contests to submit our poems to. Seeking publication for your writing is a grueling task – there are so many factors you have to take into consideration! Each journal and contest requires something different of you, prefers a different kind of writing, uses a different submission manager. Though we're newbies ourselves, here are a few things to keep in mind when you're submitting your work:
1. Edit. Make sure you edit your work before you submit it somewhere! Just like your high-school English teachers, a veteran editor will be able to tell if the writing you're submitting is polished. To give you an idea, I went through all of my old poetry this past week to select which poems were remotely publishable. Of the 70 approximate poems I had stashed away, around 15 of them were of publishable merit (in my opinion). Many of those poems were edited 6 or 7 times before they reached that point! Editors appreciate receiving writing that's been coddled, cared for, and pruned.
2. Research. Research what the journal or contest you're submitting to is looking for. Often times their website will have a short blurb about the kind of writing they're seeking out. If their journal is looking for poetry or writing that's "avant-garde" or experimental (such as one of my favorite online poetry journals La Petite Zine), and your poems are more grounded and accessible, then perhaps try looking elsewhere. Of course, it never hurts to try. If the journal's website doesn't describe what kind of writing they're seeking, then take a look-see at their past issues and try to determine what they like from the writing they've previously selected. Often times, journals will publish at least parts of their issues online for public access.
3. Sell Yourself. Most of the time, journals ask for a short cover letter and/or bio when you submit poetry to them. Cover letters can be tricky – you don't want to bog down the editors with too much to read aside from your creative writing. A few friends of mine who work in the small-press editing field have let on that cover letters are better kept short and sweet. They will be judging you by your writing skill, not the amount of awards you've received or the plethora of places your writing has been accepted. That being said, it's okay to include these things as long as you don't go overboard. If you've never been published before, then a short description of your "writing life" will do. Your bio should also include aspects of your writing life. This will be shown alongside your poetry if the editor selects you for publication. You may also be able to have a little more fun with your bio. For example, this is a bio for poet Adam Palumbo, recently published on Spork Press's website:
Adam Palumbo is a poet-critic from Annapolis, MD. His research includes rigorous people-watching, too many hours on his computer, and wearing sweatpants in the kitchen. He reads a lot and writes a little. He has published poetry at The Northern Virginia Review and St. Katherine Review and poetry reviews at The Rumpus, PANK, and Rattle
A little humor is okay. Just research other author bios on each journal site to see what they're looking for.
4. Submit. Once you have all these little ducklings in a nice row, submit your poetry. Make sure to pay attention to the submission guidelines. Typically publications ask you to submit anywhere from 1-5 poems. However, this varies from place to place. Some places have a page limit instead. Others have line-limits for poetry. The places you're submitting may also ask that you put everything into one document. Many of them have a PDF preference, to maintain formatting. If you're submitting to more than one journal at a time, make sure that simultaneous submissions are okay (i.e. submitting the same poem to several different places). For the most part, this is an acceptable practice. The journals you're submitting to just ask that you notify them if another publication picks up your writing before they do. And just a little tip – if you are doing simultaneous submissions, make sure you keep track of where and when you submit your poems! A spreadsheet is a great way to do this.
5. Patience. After you've taken all these steps, just try to be patient. Journals often receive a ton of submissions, and it's difficult to sort through all of them in a timely fashion. If you're itching to know the status of your submission, look for the inquiry guidelines. Editors will often specify that you don't inquire about your writing until a certain amount of time has passed. Respect this boundary! They may be less inclined to choose your writing if you're pestering them about it every few days. It's also important to remain patient when you get rejected. Rejection is an inevitable part of a writer's life. Just keep trying! You'll eventually find an editor who appreciates your writing style, even if it doesn't happen at first. If you keep getting rejected and you're not sure why, ask the editor(s) of the journal you've submitted to. Ask them why they haven't selected your writing, and if they think you need to improve or change anything. Be open to critique! Self examination is a great way to grow.
Do you have any other suggestions regarding publication? What has been your experience with submitting to contests or journals? Do you have suggestions for places to submit to? Share your experiences in the comments!


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Any fan of the Austin Powers film series knows that one of the main desires of Dr. Evil is to possess sharks with "freakin" laser beams on their heads!
Mutated sea bass just don't really do the trick! If you have aspirations of world domination you must have sharks with laser beams attached to their heads!
If you have a couple of minutes to kill watch the scene were Dr. Evil finally receives the ultimate father-son gift!
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