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Android is the market share leader in the mobile space in US as of January 2012 with around 50% market share (according to NPD via Engadget). They are doing this by flooding the market with tons of phones, ranging from free, cheap phones, prepaids, and mid-range, and top of the line phones. People have plenty of options when getting an Android phone.
The Nexus line/series is the bar that Google put out to showcase the new OS releases. Nexus One was release to showcase Froyo (version 2.2), Nexus S for Gingerbread (2.3.x), and Galaxy Nexus for Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0.x).
I was an Android user, starting with the G1 (the original Android phone - back in 2008). When my wife's old Windows Mobile 6.1 phone died, I got her a G2 (also an Android phone). I recommended Android phones to many of my friends - and many of them did switched to Android (from Symbian, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, etc). But late 2010, my love for Android grew weary and when Windows Phone came out, I jumped ship and I am happily recommend Windows Phone to anyone instead of Android. Why?
This post is a part of a series titled "Should I Get a Windows Phone?":
- Windows Phone vs. BlackBerry
- Windows Phone vs. Android
- Windows Phone vs. iPhone
- Windows Phone vs. "the rest" (WinMo, Bada, Symbian, etc)
- Windows Phone major releases are on time and you will get it within reasonable manner (usually within 1 month) after its release - for all devices. This means 1 year old Windows Phone will get update approximately the same time as a new Windows Phone that your friend just got last week. This also means that you are very likely to be running the latest, greatest features available in the Windows Phone OS at all times (instead of always a generation or two behind). With Android, your device may never get updated to the newest Android features. Unless you are always getting the Nexus series (which is around $299 with 2 year contract), the updates are really slow to get to your phone. This is caused by the fragmentation of the Android operating system itself by carriers and manufacturers in making it work with their devices and services. Although a this article by Michael Degusta is about iOS and Android, it illustrates well about the fragmentation and lateness of Android updates, so if you get your Android phone now, most likely it will be a version behind in OS and will remain that way or worse (unless you are getting the Nexus series).
- Streamlined & consistent user interface. Windows Phones is consistent regardless of carriers or manufacturers. From using a Nokia, an HTC, a Samsung, etc they are all look similar and everything is where it's suppose to be. With Android, not only devices are in different OS versions (which introduce new things, changes, and adjustments), manufacturers also put a lot of stuff (HTC with "Sense", Motorola with "MotoBlur" etc). So your experience in using can be different (and sometimes radically). This is a big turn off for me. Although I consider myself as an informed Android user, but sometimes using my friend's HTC MyTouch 3G is quite a difficult adjustment.
- Much more user-friendly interface. Android is much more well-known as a "power-user" phone. It provides a lot of opportunities for customizations, mods, etc. Compared to this, Windows Phone tiles & hub is just so much friendlier. It is also a fresh new look away from the "list of icons". I remember once teaching a friend to use her first Android device - where she basically told me to set it up for her. Months later, her setup was still the same, including the wallpaper, widgets, and shortcuts. I asked her about it and she said she was afraid to change anything and not sure how to get things back if something go wrong. In Windows Phone, to put a tile in the start screen is so easy: find the app you want, long-press it and select "pin to start". In Android (2.3.x or older): long-press empty space in home, select "shortcuts", select "applications", and select your app.
- Windows Phone interface is fast & fluid (even without the dual-core). Although none of the
current Windows Phone are running dual-core processor, but all of them
are still running buttery smooth and fast. My HTC HD7 is a first
generation Windows Phone device - and it's still running like a champ.
Yes, it is slower compared to the second generation devices, but there
is still no lag, or jerky movement, freezing, etc. Compared to my
friends Android devices (most of them are newer than my Windows Phone),
not only they are running 1 or 2 versions behind on OS, but they need to
be rebooted regularly (once every 2 weeks, once a month, once a week,
etc), or getting a lot of "force close" on basic apps (GMail, YouTube,
etc), interface is getting jerky/lag, and other miscellaneous problems
(speaker phone not working consistently, cannot answer phone sometimes,
late notifications, etc).
- In Windows Phone, you can uninstall "bloatwares". When you buy a phone from a carrier, usually they will include their apps in the phone. With Windows Phone, you can uninstall them easily: find it, long press & hit "Uninstall". With Android, 99% of the time you are stuck with it and cannot be uninstalled. One option is that you can "root" your phone (that is getting an administrative access to your phone) and then flash the ROM (that is installing the Android flavor of your choice). Although I am a pretty savvy user, but it seems unnecessary if I go with Windows Phone.
- Live Tiles that just work vs Android clunky widgets. Widgets in Android are cool and I love them for like weather, calendar, email, etc. But they are clunky - sometimes they won't update, do a "force close" or just simply disappear. Some widgets are small, some are big, and some are bigger still. So my home screen ends up looking cluttered and messy. When the widget is running, it means the app is running (and draining battery). With Live Tiles, things are organized, neat, and they just work, plus the app itself is NOT running. I can get the information that I want in a flash and often without launching the app at all.
- Windows Phone is cheaper. The top of the line Windows Phone is $199. The top of the line Android is $299 (both with 2 year contract). I would rather use my $100 saving toward something else. Plus, combined with the fragmentation, it is very likely that if I go with Android, my new $299 phone will be outdated (as far as OS goes) within several months and not getting updated for a year plus.
- Much better battery life. I use my phone a lot: reading news, checking weather, replying to emails, playing games, as well as syncing 4 email address, Twitter, 2 calendars, and Foursquare.The only constant thing that I see my friends who carry Android device is chargers - even though they have more capacity in their battery (G2 - 1300 mAH, GS1 - 1500 mAH, GS2 - 1650 mAH, EVO 4G - 1750 mAH, etc) than mine. When they are at my house, they borrow my charger, charging in the car, charging while at a computer, at the coffee shop, etc. This especially true for phones running dual-core and with "4G". On the other hand, my HD7 (1230 mAH) only needs charging at over night. I unplugged my phone from the charger around 7am and plug it back before going to bed, around 11pm. I don't have any charger at the office nor in my car.
- Better media/music player. Zune is an awesome music player. It's a native client, has millions of songs in the Marketplace, movies, etc. It is also gorgeous and non-intrusive. Zune's subscription based (like Spotify) gives you a lot of freedom instead of pay-per-download based fee. Google Music is a bit of pain-in-the-butt, while Zune just works. To get subscription based music, you will need to download Spotify (or others) in Android.
- XBOX Live integration. Windows Phone has Windows Live account integration just as Android has Google account integration. But, XBOX Live integration is a part of the Live service that is unique to Windows Phone. Gamer's score, points, avatar, etc are synced and customization in the console and the phone. Some games even allow game integration between the phone and the console.
- Nokia hardware option. Although Nokia used to make outdated OS (Symbian), but their hardware is still sets the bar. Having the option of getting Nokia hardware running Windows Phone is just awesome. Nokia with its volume is also able to drive the price down in the market. The Nokia Lumia 710, which is a entry level Windows Phone device is being sold in US at $49 with 2 year contract, and the Lumia 800 is selling in Europe often for free. The rumor is that Nokia Lumia 900 (coming out March 2012) will be sold for $99 with 2 year contract. Wow!
- Better cloud integration with SkyDrive. With Windows Phone, you can
have free 25 GB of storage. All your OneNotes will sync (no more need
for EverNote), auto-upload options for photos, sharing folders and
documents, etc. With MS Office, you can view, edit, and create documents
on your phone and put them in SkyDrive. I don't know how many times I
have used this feature to review documents or Power Point presentations
and taking notes - certainly a very beneficial feature for me.
- Better voice control. MS TellMe is much better and easier to use than Google Voice Action. TellMe understands the non-western names in my contact list. It also works better in understanding me and some of my friends. Plus, it is a lot easier to access TellMe (long press on Start) vs Voice Action (launch an app). Granted that Siri (iOS 5) is still better than both.
- Email reading, which I do lot of, is a lot better in Windows Phone - with the big clean text and previews. Combined with the panorama display in hubs, this makes categorizing, reading, and managing emails to be a lot easier in Windows Phone.
- Twitter & Facebook integration. If you are into the social networking scene, this is a must. Instead of opening and closing apps, Windows Phone integrates Facebook & Twitter - so you can do all your social networking stuff without the hassle of opening and closing apps. I am an avid Twitter user (not so much on Facebook), so this is a big deal for me.
- Much better Exchange integration. If you are an MS Exchange user, Windows Phone do this much much better than Android. Touchdown in Android helps, but it is costly ($19.99). I manage all my contacts and calendar in Exchange, so being able to sync (push) them into my phone is just a must.
Better touch-screen keyboard - across any device. With Android, you get hit and miss.
- Windows Phone has the best Foursquare app, called "4th and Mayor". Much better than the official one, in any platform.
- Excellent turn-by-turn navigation. I still envy the GPS feature that Android has - until now. This is simply awesome. With Windows Phone, we need 3rd party apps - or continue hoping that Nokia & Bing will one day provide this for all devices. Currently only Nokia devices get the Nokia Drive.
- More variety in the market. The cell-phone market is saturated with Android phones. There are probably around 30+ Android phones released every year. In comparison, Apple release 1 version of hardware every year or so and about 10 Windows Phone per year. So more choices for you if you go with Android.
- More apps. Android Market has more than 300,000 apps. Windows Phone Marketplace only has around 60,000 apps. Windows Phone still has a lot of catching up to do - but I find all the major apps that I need are already in Marketplace. Yes, there are the missing "tricorder" app that I "need", or the "battery saver" app etc. But with Windows Phone, there is already a native battery-saver feature under "settings" and for the "tricorder", I use the G2 for that, so I can use the tricorder while on the phone.
- Most Android phones has dual-core processor. Although this translate very little improvement in daily use (in fact MS did a contest called "Smoked by Windows Phone" during CES, go here for results & detail), but this still becomes a prevalent marketing strategy.
- If you use "WhatsApp" app, the Android version is still better than the Windows Phone one.
- No Skype, yet. Nothing much to say here ...
If there is no Windows Phone, I would probably stick with Android - and I used to be an Android lover. But time has changed and Windows Phone (especially Mango) just won me over.


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subset: commoncrawl


text: The holiday season is a special time of year. It is also when busy people become careless and vulnerable to holiday crimes. The number of traffic crashes and road-rage incidents also increase at this time of year. Over the next two weeks, we will provide tips for holiday safety. Driving -Leave early to allow time for any delays. -Avoid driving alone or at night. -Keep all car doors locked and windows closed while in or out of your car. -If you shop at night, park in a well-lighted area. -When approaching or leaving your vehicle, be aware of your surroundings. -Do not approach your car alone if there are suspicious people in the area. -Leave your attitude at home. When you are behind the wheel, you are operating a 5,000-pound weapon that can cause serious or fatal injuries. -If you have a cell phone, buy hands-free accessories so you don't have to divert your attention from driving. -If you have no such accessories, let your voice mail answer calls, then pull to the side of the road, where it is safe to return calls. ATMs -If you must use an ATM, choose one that is inside a police station, mall or well-lighted location. Withdraw only as much cash as you need. -Protect your personal identification number by shielding the keypad. -Do not throw away your receipt at the ATM location. Shopping -Dress casually and comfortably. -Avoid wearing expensive jewelry. -Do not carry a purse or wallet if possible. -Always carry your driver's license or ID. -Always stay alert to your surroundings. -Avoid carrying large amounts of cash. -Pay with a check or credit card when possible. -Keep cash in your front pocket. -Notify the credit card company immediately if your card is lost, stolen or misused. -Keep a record of all your credit card numbers in a safe place at home. -Be extra careful if you do carry a wallet or purse. -Avoid overloading yourself with packages. At home -Be extra cautious about locking doors and windows when you leave the house, even for a few minutes. -When leaving home for an extended period, have a neighbor or friend watch your house and pick up your newspapers and mail. -Keep indoor and outdoor lights on an automatic timer. -Leave a radio or television on. Party time -Have nonalcoholic beverages available for guests. -Find transportation for intoxicated guests. -Arrange for an official designated driver who will not drink at all. -Eat high protein foods before drinking alcohol. -Remember that only time will eliminate the alcohol from your body. -Know your limits. -Never drink and drive. Coming next week: More holiday safety tips -- St. Joseph County Police Department, Mishawaka Police Department


text: The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) is a law in Ontario with the purpose of developing, implementing and mandating accessibility standards in order to achieve accessibility for persons with disabilities, with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises. The "Accessibilities Standards for Customer Service", under the AODA, Ontario Regulation 429/07 establishes accessibility standards specific to customer service for organizations that provide goods and services. NCH Canada is committed to excellence in serving all customers including people with disabilities. NCH Canada will provide services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of persons with disabilities. NCH Canada will ensure that its policies, practices and procedures are consistent with the following core principles as outlined in the AODA. Learn more about what customers can expect from us: Click Here NCH Canada appreciates any feedback regarding the delivery of services to persons with disabilities, as it may identify areas requiring adjustment and will assist us in continuous service improvement. Feedback can be accomplished through telephone, in person, in writing or by email. NCH Canada will make best efforts to provide a response in the same format in which the feedback was received. Where possible, feedback will be addressed immediately, however some feedback may take longer to address if it requires review prior to action taken. NCH Canada will make every attempt reasonable to rectify any complaints received regarding the delivery of its goods and services to people with disabilities. NCH Canada will respond within 21 working days. Feedback may be provided directly to: Anne Ignasz, NCH Canada Facility Manager 247 Orenda Road, Brampton, ON L6T 1E6 Telephone: (905) 457-5220 Ext#212 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


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When i started this little blog the first inspiration shoot i featured was by the awesome Amna Hakim, who is just so sweet and i have been a huge fan of her's ever since. This is just part 1, just wait and i mean wait till you see part 2. The reception.B.eautiful.
Photography: Amna Hakim
Second Shooter: Laurie Magill of Studio 1948
Film-maker: First Kiss Films
Ceremony & Reception: Museum of Civilization
Make-up & Hair: Seema Haider
Ceremony Decor: Design & Decor
Reception Decor: Laviolette
Florist: Laviolette
Caterer: RinaagTransportation: Millennium Limousine
DJ: Corey from PM Event Services


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Jennifer Jenkins of the Providence Children's Center choked back tears as she mustered a thank you.
"I can't say enough about these people and what they're doing for our children," Jenkins said before a room of town dignitaries and members of the Hilton Head Island Celebrity Golf Foundation.
"Without things like the celebrity golf tournament, we wouldn't be able to provide child care for these families to be able work and provide for their children," Jenkins said.
The foundation distributed $100,000 raised during this year's tournament to 20 Lowcountry children's charities during a reception Tuesday night at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa.
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Other beneficiaries include: All Saints Preschool, Bluffton Self Help, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Lowcountry, Child Abuse Prevention Association, Children's Relief Fund, Christ Lutheran Preschool, Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse, Cross Preschool, Deep Well Children's Fund, Ella C. White Memorial Scholarship Fund, First Presbyterian Day School, Heroes on Horseback, Hope Haven of the Lowcountry, Hospice Care of the Lowcountry, Island Recreation Center, May River Montessori, St. Luke's Preschool, The Children's Center and Volunteers in Medicine Clinic.
The three-day tournament matches celebrities with amateur golfers and has raised about $4 million since 1979 to help pay for school uniforms, child care, meals, shelter, and medical needs.
"After the horrible tragedy last week in Newtown, Conn., it's nice to be doing something positive for the children of the Lowcountry," said Paul Smith, chairman of the tournament's council of trustees.
"These children don't know a bad economy from a good economy," Smith said. "All they know is need, and we're helping take care of those needs. We know what we do is vitally important."
Tournament participants play on three of the area's most acclaimed courses. Next year's tournament, which runs Aug. 30 to Sept. 1, includes the Robert Trent Jones Oceanfront Course at Palmetto Dunes Resort, the Arnold Palmer Signature Course at Wexford Plantation, and Harbour Town Golf Links at The Sea Pines Resort, home to the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage presented by Boeing.
A shadow box created by the New York City Fire Department containing glass salvaged from Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was also presented to the Town of Hilton Head.
9/11 first responder and FDNY firefighter Steve Rogers, who has participated in the golf tournament for more than a decade, donated the shadow box for the tournament's silent auction earlier this year.
Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, who participated in the tournament for the first time this year, paid $10,000 for the commemorative box. He donated it so the town could establish a memorial in honor of those who lost their lives during the tragedy, tournament spokeswoman Blanche Sullivan said.
Follow reporter Tom Barton at twitter.com/IPBG_Tom
Related content:
Celebrity golfers birdie for the brave on Hilton Head: Aug. 31, 2012
Stars shine in dresses to kick off celebrity golf tournament: Sept. 3, 2010


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Exhausted artist needs to take a breather:
|Just Breathe
The face is a cutout, words / sentiments come from a newly purchased sticker sheet, and there is also a torn edge from an old calender, suitably pink.
Having gotten that vivid yellow out of my system with this breather I can now move on to other colors. Or who knows, maybe back to it...?
Entering this in:
Collage Obsession asks for soft pinks this week.
Fashionable Stamping Challenge that asks us to show an old favorite stamp and Wicked Wednesday challenges to use a diamond pattern.


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This is just a place for my many "mental meanderings" that I'd like to share and invite you to read and comment on. We'll talk about Family & Life, Good Tasting Cooking on a Budget, Stuff and Car Talk--Thoughts on Buying and Selling Cars and the Automotive Industry. Join me! There's always going to be just a little bit of love in every post. If you want more of my "Cheap Bastid" food posts, please join me at http://www.cheap-bastid-cooks.com/
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Just Cuz I Sell Cars For a Living Doesn't Make Me an Asshole
The dealership where I work is in an upscale community in San Diego County. Good credit and good income is the norm. We also get a number of Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, usually with pretty good credit too. And all that helps. What doesn't help though is the cynicism, smugness and sense of entitlement that all too many customers bring with them usually because they've managed to look something up on the internet.
The internet actually does a lot of disservice in many areas not the least of which is in car sales. Just because it's on the internet doesn't make it the gospel. Just because it's on the internet doesn't eliminate the need to read all the fine print.
Anyway, this hopefully isn't going to degenerate into a rant. But let's see what flows from my brain to my fingertips.
There's a lot of down time at a dealership. And there's times when you're desperate for something to keep you busy. And, it doesn't help when the dealer filters all but the most basic of websites from its computers. Forget search engines or news sources.
So here's a couple of things from a car sales guy that might help you a bit the next time you think you want to take the plunge and go shopping for a car:
Narrow your choices of a new car down before venturing out. Have a pretty good idea whether you want a cross-over utility vehicle, sedan or mini-van before venturing out. All major manufacturers have websites where you can screen various models and trim levels and do your basic comparison shopping before leaving home. Remember, if I don't sell anything, I don't make anything. I'm patient but not to the point where I'm happy to spend 2 hours with you doing nothing but "kicking tires" on your first foray to a car dealership in 10 years.
Are you thinking of trading your car? That's fantastic. And if you want to withhold it until the end, that's fine too. But bear in mind that now isn't the time to get impatient over time because it's now going to take 30 or more minutes longer when we have to appraise your vehicle and if a balance is owed we have to contact the lender to secure an accurate 10 day pay-off. (The sum of your remaining payments is not your payoff unless you have a 0% loan).
And, the amount you owe on your trade has absolutely nothing to do with how much it's worth. A customer a couple of weeks ago was incensed that we couldn't provide her with a trade value that would pay off her vehicle. She owed $8500 on an 8 year old vehicle that was worth $5000 at wholesale. I finally asked her a direct question: "Miss, if you only owed $1000 on your car would that mean that it's only worth $1000?" Of course, she answered "No". To which I responded, "Well, wouldn't you agree then that the amount you owe on your vehicle has nothing to do with how much it's worth?" Of course it doesn't.
If you've already ground us down to a below invoice price on your vehicle, you have no expectation of a "retail" value on your trade. We'll go wholesale to wholesale or retail to retail. The dealer where I work rarely tries to go retail for our car and wholesale for a trade (but we will). It's lousy business for us to go wholesale on the vehicle we're selling and retail on the vehicle the customer is trading. We won't do it and will tell a customer right up front that we can't and don't.
Here's a hint. The sources of trade information online are generally woefully inaccurate. The closest we've found is Edmunds.com. The source we try to use most is a source that only dealers have access to. It's known as Manheim Market Reports and is the commodity based pricing from Manheim Auctions, the largest used vehicle auction company in the nation. The prices we get from there are the amounts that used car managers from dealerships have actually paid for specific vehicles. That's a commodity price and represents real money paid for a car as close to "just like yours" as we can get.
You know, I'm an old fashioned customer service kind of guy. I've never held with the notion that selling cars needs to be a confrontational exercise where it's all about putting another number up on the board for unit count and maximizing my commission on each sale. And the dealership where I work reflects that approach as well.
But if I don't sell, I don't earn. We earn a percentage of the gross profit on each vehicle sold. On new cars the minimum is $200. But there's less profit than that on most new vehicles. Many have no profit or even a loss. It's a simple matter of trying to put units over the curb and on the road. The profit center of a car dealership is in its "fixed operations" department (a fancy term for parts and service). And the only way that department gets customers is for us to actually sell a car.
Forget stuff about "holdback", etc. That is indeed money that the manufacturer provides back to the dealer to help offset expenses—like the light bill or the property taxes or fixed salary expenses or even the interest on the loan the dealer takes to finance the inventory.
Sometimes we will dip into it to close a sale. That's because increasingly customers demand that we compete against the other dealerships which sell the same brand as we do when it comes to price. We are required by customers to shave prices incrementally with the one most willing to whittle down the price winning. Imagine selling a $30,000 vehicle because you beat the guy selling the identical vehicle 20 miles down the road by $50. It happens all the time and it's absolutely exasperating.
I earn about 1/3 of what I earned a couple of years ago as an automotive industry consultant. The benefit is that I have reduced my business travel from 150 nights a year in a hotel to 0. That's worth it.
I love the customers I work with, by and large but the bottom line is that I'm a professional and just because I sell cars for a living doesn't make me an asshole.
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text:
We study the effects of interest rate ceilings on the market for automobile loans. We find that loan contracting and the organization of the loan market adjust to facilitate loans to risky borrowers. When usury restrictions bind, automobile dealers finance a greater share of their customers' purchases, which allows them to price credit risk through the mark-up on the product sale rather than the loan interest rate. Despite having little effect on who receives credit, usury limits therefore have a substantial effect on who provides credit and on the terms of credit granted. Usury limits may harm defaulting borrowers, who face greater liabilities in default than they would if loan contracts were unconstrained.This is the abstract of a new working paper, Loan Contracting in the Presence of Usury Limits: Evidence from Automobile Lending (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Office of Research Working Paper No. 2017-02) by Brian Melzer and Aaron Schroeder.
Melzer and Schroeder explain,
Usury restrictions are often motivated by the argument that lenders, if unchecked, will exercise market power and raise interest rates on risky borrowers beyond the level required to compensate for credit losses, origination costs, and required capital returns. Supporters of usury limits thus argue that lenders will respond to interest rate caps by extending credit at lower prices. Opponents counter that price ceilings will cause credit rationing, which reduces access to credit and harms precisely the risky borrowers that supporters of usury limits intend to help. We propose and investigate an alternative view that applies to the large market for certain subprime automobile loans: vehicle sellers can creatively contract around binding usury limits by financing their customers' purchases and pricing default risk through the mark-up on the vehicle sale rather than through the interest rate.
The strategy of automobile dealers is simple. Vehicle loans are structured as installment contracts that require constant monthly payments for a fixed maturity (typically 3-6 years) and allow the lender to repossess the vehicle if the borrower defaults. Holding fixed the collateral, loan maturity, and principal amount, a lender is typically constrained to adjust the price of credit by changing the interest rate specified in the contract. For a lender that also serves as the vehicle seller, however, there is an additional degree of freedom—marking up the sales price of the vehicle. When the usury limit binds, the integrated dealer-lender can subsidize a negative net present value loan with a higher-margin sale. Within the loan contract, this change amounts to increasing the stated loan amount (along with the sales price) rather than the interest rate, thereby achieving the desired monthly loan payment while still complying with usury law. To give an example, a $9,000 loan at 30% interest has the same required monthly payment as a $10,650 loan at 20% interest over a four-year, fully amortizing term.
While dealers' contracting flexibility allows them to approximate an unconstrained loan, it does not completely eliminate the friction introduced by the usury limit. First, the constrained and unconstrained contracts are not identical. When a dealer raises the stated loan amount instead of the interest rate, the borrower's loan balance starts higher and remains higher until the end of the contract. Borrowers who prepay or default thus owe more to the lender when they terminate the contract. Second, risky borrowers may pay higher prices for credit, as their purchases depend upon financing from automobile sellers rather than a broader, and potentially more competitive, universe of third-party lenders. In an equilibrium with usury limits and dealer financing, therefore, few borrowers are completely excluded from the market, but dealers provide captive financing for a larger share of purchases and borrowers that receive dealer financing face different loan terms—lower interest rates, larger loan-to-value ratios, and possibly higher loan payments—than they would in the absence of usury limits (pp. 2-3).


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As all who read here (both of them) know, physical access to a computer and time can always get you all the info on the computer. But now I have a much scarier realization: it is quite possible that a thief (intruder?) could pop in, be at the computer for no more than a second, and be on their way. It is unlikely that the owner will realize as I steal their data over the next few hours. Then the thief pops back in, catches the device, runs out, and the owner never realizes. Doesn't it sound awesome? Doesn't it sound like a huge security risk? Yeah. It is.The device works on four principles:
1) Computers accept the "remote wakeup" initated by a USB device, as explained in http://www.usbmadesimple.co.uk/ums_1.htm, part "Host is Master".
2) Holograms can be small, and do not need to be bulky.
3) USB devices can be embeded in the hub port.
4) A connection made by Bluetooth can be picked up and routed to wherever the hacker may be.
5) People do not poke pencils in USB ports, usually.
The actual device would fit into a USB slot and would be crafted to the individual computer model. The face would have a hologram that would look like it was empty. The inside would connect to the port and send the connection over Bluetooth™. A replicator planted within 30 feet would then connect over a cellphone network to the hacker's base of operations (hacker v. cracker distinction to be discussed later). The hacker would then connect their end to a USB hub, and then connect a keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Any other USB connectors could also be added.


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Independent Contractor
Crouch Services
Provide consulting and training services on broadcast related equipment. Specializing in Production Switchers, Routers and Cameras.
Dan Crouch currently resides in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he was born and raised. He also attended college there at the University of Nebraska. Recently returning after an extensive career in electronics and broadcast management that has taken him around the country, Dan Crouch presently operates his own private business, Crouch Services, out of Lincoln. A member of several professional organizations, including the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Society of Broadcast Engineers, Dan Crouch is also a member of the United States Tennis Association, USA Volleyball, and the Southern Region Volleyball Association. Dan Crouch has played competitively in fast-pitch softball and indoor and outdoor volleyball tournaments. He has competed in numerous professional beach volleyball tournaments and earned a win in a large, outdoor grass doubles tournament before retiring from the sport. Crouch also coached volleyball and has recently begun playing coed tennis, sharing his enthusiasm for the sport with his niece and nephew. Dan Crouch enjoys visiting his daughter and her family in Greeley, Colorado, and watching his grandson play tee ball. In his spare time, he also enjoys bicycling, dog training, and solving Rubik's Cubes. Dan Crouch is actively involved with Lincoln's First-Plymouth Church and has donated much of his time and money to charity work. In 2001, Dan Crouch assisted in recovery efforts for the World Trade Center by supplying food for emergency workers and also volunteered his time sandbagging the flooded Missouri River in 2011. In addition, Dan Crouch is a regular volunteer for the Special Olympics and participated in the National Invitational Golf and Softball Event for Special Olympics in 2009. Dan Crouch has sponsored Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and contributes to First-Plymouth Church, the Alzheimer's Association, Iowa Western Community College, William Jewel University, and the American Red Cross.
Provide consulting and training services on broadcast related equipment. Specializing in Production Switchers, Routers and Cameras.


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With corrections for date and other typos... charlie ________________________________ From: Mead, Charlie (NIH/NCI) [C] Sent: Monday, March 26, 2012 12:59 PM To: email@example.com Cc: email@example.com Subject: HCLS Healthcare meeting: Tuesday, March 27 The HCLS Health Care Forum will meet tomorrow to hear a presentation by Cecil Lynch from Accenture on the subject of applications of Semantic Web technologies in healthcare. Conference Details: Date of Call: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Time of Call: 11:00 am Eastern Time, 3 pm UK, 4 pm CET Dial-In #: +1.617.761.6200 (Cambridge, MA) VoIP address: sip:email@example.com Participant Access Code: 4257 ("@@HCLS") IRC Channel: irc.w3.org<http://irc.w3.org> port 6665 channel HCLS (see W3C IRC page for details, or see Web IRC), Quick Start: Use http://www.mibbit.com/chat/?server=irc.w3.org:6665&channel=%23hcls Duration: ~1 hour Convener: Charlie Mead Scribe: TBD Presentation by Cecil Lynch on Semantic Web technologies in Healthcare: Cecil will present the CDC TB surveillance system as an end to end use of SW and rules based system for National Disease Surveillance, the use of ontology both as a "smart app" and also as rapid engineering artifacts that give longevity to system design by abstracting the knowledge layer from the application. He will also discuss his opinion as to the biggest challenge the SW community will face in the next few years is organization of the linkages between the genome and the phenotypical disease expression. The Disease ontology is trying to tackle part of this but there is so much poorly linked data on disease states, biomarkers, gene snips, proteins and gene expression that it is going to be hard to deliver on the promise of personalized medicine.Received on Monday, 26 March 2012 17:16:19 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Wednesday, 7 January 2015 14:52:51 UTC


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Track Trailer Tvan MK4 Canning: Video Review
With its unique clamshell hard-lid rear hatch and distinctive profile, the Tvan is still like no other camper on the market and has a following who wouldn't consider anything else.
In the recently released MK4, the Tvan has seen enough improvements to justify rebranding and another review.
The Canning retails for a base price of $51,490 but, as reviewed, this increases to a total of $59,990 (including $2500 for the Premium Kitchen, another $3,505 for the full front boot and $2500 for the sliding glass windows. However, there's still nothing quite like it on the market for serious offroad travel in hard-shell comfort.
The new 'box' is 30kg lighter than its predecessor and looks an integral part of the Tvan's design, rather than an add-on. Indeed when optioned, the box's removable powder-coated front stone shields afford front-line protection, allowing Tvan to supply the concealed nose panel in alloy instead of steel, generating greater savings on the Tare.
Significantly, the lighter box and alloy nose combination, increasing the size of the water tank from 70L to 108L and moving it to the rear, plus other subtle weight-saving and re-distribution measures reduce load on the Tvan's standard Vehicle Components DO35 hitch from 175kg to around 130kg, as displayed.
This marginally rises with the optional 70L water tank, which then takes fresh water storage to an impressive 178L.
Overall, depending on the spec level, the MK4 has shed 50-100kg on its predecessor, equivalent to an impressive 5-10 per cent.
A big improvement on the Tvan MK4 is inside, in a locker on the right-hand side, with Track Trailer consolidating all the Tvan's core electrics and associated equipment in an integrated, plug-in module rather grandiosely called the 'Interior Command Console' (ICC).
Specs for this ICC vary according to the model and options fitted but, on fully optioned Tvans, can include the master switch for electrical isolation, all main switches for lighting, water pump, fans, a battery monitor, 240V, USB chargers, 12V outlets, a 7A solar controller or Redarc DC-DC controller, water gauges for either a single of two water tanks, an optional 150W or 300W inverter, a Projecta 15A or 25A charger and various stereo options.
The ICC in our test model came with a water gauge for the 108L tank, the 12V 7A two-stage solar controller (for the 40W solar on the roof) and the Projecta 240V seven-stage 15A charger.
It's a technically elegant solution, with perforated, removable panels allowing room to fit the optional equipment. However, the real benefit is that the entire control module can be removed and replaced in minutes for servicing, or changeover, if required.
The other good news inside is the additional storage space created by Track Trailer when it relegated the 108L water tank to the rear, seen here. The redesign has liberated space resulting in a new under-floor left-hand storage box where a second 105Ah AGM battery can be fitted, if optioned.
Other subtle changes in the Tvan Mk4 that previous Track Trailer owners will pick up on include new, lower exterior storage pods, new pannier door locks, and new fridge box filters now sourced from a common production vehicle for low cost and easy replacement.
The sliding safety glass side windows (a $2500 option, seen here and first available on the last of the Tvan Mk3s) are less obvious but like everything about the Tvan, considerable thought has gone into their design.
Incorporated in the Tvan's existing fixed glass side windows, they are beautifully made, fit flush, seal securely against dust and water and their inner magnetic midge mesh is removable for opening/closing or cleaning. Importantly, they remain flush with the Tvan's sides when open, avoiding painful collisions when camped.
I liked…
- Still the one!
- Superb build quality
- Industrial no-frills finish
- Real offroad capability
I would have liked...
- No hot water in slide-out kitchen (yet)
- Ticking too many options makes it pricy
- Tare 1040kg (from 985kg, standard)
- ATM 1600kg
- Suspension MC2 Asymmetrical multi-link, trailing arm independent suspension with Koni dampers
- Brakes 10in electric drum
- Coupling Vehicle Components DO35
- Chassis Hot-dipped galvanised steel
- Drawbar Hot-dipped galvanised steel
- Body Vacuum-pressed aluminium composite
- Wheel/tyre 16x8in offroad alloy with 265/75-16 offroad tyres
- Style Hard-shell hardfloor
- Box size 2750x1900mm
- Length (hitch to tail lights) 4900mm
- Tent size 2000x1700mm
- Gas cylinders 2x4kg
- Water 1x108L with pump
- Cooktop Three-burner gas
- Kitchen Slide-out exterior stainless steel with sink, cooktop and storage
- Battery 1x105Ah deep-cycle AGM
Price as Shown
- $59,350 (delivered in Vic)
Click here for more Camper Trailer Australia reviews
Click here to compare specs of camper trailers
Click here to find new and used trailers for sale
Check out the full review in issue #92 September 2015 of Camper Trailer Australia magazine. Subscribe today for all the latest camper trailer news, reviews and travel inspiration.


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So I can't seem to get my Xbox one controller to work on pc. Why is that? I thought it was possible to play the pc version with an Xbox controller?
Well, you sort of can. Whenever I try it the game doesn't react properly and the controls eork and then don't, and then do again.
So, how can I do it?


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Good morning! Getting the weekend started after a fun weekend:) My kids are off today so our weekend is extended a little--which is always a bonus!
Wanted to pop in and share another card I made with the Gina K Designs Bold and Blooming Stamp TV kit. I just love this kit!
I stamped the flowers in light ink and then colored them using Copic markers and die cutting them with small rectangle dies. I sponged the edges with Ranger linen ink. The floral design was embossed in white and then I added the Thank You stamped tag. I finished this card with a bit of The Twinery twine!
Have a wonderful day--Thanks for stopping by!


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The Global Faculty Week 2018 brings together faculty members from our ECIU partner universities. This one week program gives the opportunity for professors to expand their horizons by working in a multicultural environment. Participants will also have the opportunity to meet international colleagues and develop links with colleagues from all around the world.
Dates: February 25th to March 3rd 2018
Place: Tecnológico de Monterrey, Querétaro Campus
The opportunity is available for the following academic area:
- Accounting and Finance
- Architecture
- Art and Digital Animation
- Biotechnology
- Computing and Mechatronics
- Digital Meedia and Communication
- Entrepreneurship
- Humanities
- Industrial Design
- Industrial Engineering
- International Business and Logistics
- International Relations
- Marketing and data analysis
- Mechanical and Civil Engineering
- Sciences didactics
Please find more detailed information here.
For applying to the program, please send your resume and a list of proposed lectures (that sum up to 9 hours approximately) to Ms. Sofía Corona, no later than November 27th, 2017.
Tecnológico de Monterrey provides accommodation, airport transfer, trip to Teotihuacan, daily shuttles and meals.
Please find information leaflet here.


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- Gerda Steiner April Progressive challenge: use Pen Pal Bear Stamp Set
- Simon Says Wednesday challenge: Happy Birthday
- NBUS and Boo-Boo Hop: used Never Before used stuf (but have a boo-boo coming soon)
- Through the Craft Room Door: anything goes
- Addicted to Stamps and More: anything goes
- Lil Patch of Crafty Friends: anything goes
Welcome to Indiana Inking! This is my personal space to share my creative side. Enjoy your visit and come back often!
Friday, April 7, 2017
Birthday Bear
14 comments:
- Darnell said...
It was hard for me to move on to your card, Donna, cuz I was caught up in happy memories of when my twin grandsons were at that age! The photos are fantastic! Valerie is looking like, "How dare you stick that vile stuff in my mouth," and Arthur is one cool dude about it and loving it! Absolutely adorable and fitting expressions!
Your card is really adorable, too! Not AS adorable, but pretty darn cute with that sweet bear and warmly colored heart! I love that you used a kraft card base! Thank you so much for joining in my NBUS Challenge #11!! Can't wait to see your boo-boo! Hugs, Darnell
- April 7, 2017 at 12:08 PM
- Verna Angerhofer said...
Sweet little babies and I love the card you made for their six month birthday too.
- April 7, 2017 at 7:12 PM
- Lisa Lynn said...
Donna, that layering heart is GORGEOUS! You are so sweet to celebrate a half birthday, but that is what Grandmas are for...to spoil them!!! They are getting so big and even more adorable. Give them a hug from me. Want to squeeze those cheeks, hehehe.
- April 8, 2017 at 5:34 AM
- Stef H said...
what little dolls. feels like you're playing huh? until they have their little tantrums! don't cha love being a gramma???
great card.
yeah, the kia soul is small for a family but great for a single person. i love it.
warm up on the way. i need to get me a lawn mower or find a lawn service. i really want a lawn mower because who can afford the $20 - $25 a wk for 4 months??? that adds up and my neighbor is iffy on doing it again for me. i'm sure, tho, i can talk him into it.
have a great week.
prayers that the eye floater diminishes. i was told i have the start of a cataract. i have a black spot that i see all the time. it's like a bug that flies in front of me all the time. don't know if that's the cataract or not. hasn't gotten bigger or anything, the spot is just always there. always somethin'
hugs :)
- April 8, 2017 at 6:40 AM
- Karen said...
Adorable bear, beautifully colored. Thanks for playing with Through the Craft Room Door
- April 8, 2017 at 6:44 AM
- Pam said...
Oh my goodness Donna, the twins are just darling and how they have grown! I am happy you are getting out and having fun.
I absolutely LOVE everything about your adorable card! The heart is gorgeous and the little bear is so cute and I love it on the Kraft cardstock.
- April 8, 2017 at 8:20 AM
- Brenda in IN said...
I love this heart layered die and the colors you used, they look great on kraft. The bear is cute as can be. Your twin grands are just adorable. I love the look on her face!
- April 8, 2017 at 8:36 AM
- Imagine That Digistamp said...
awwwwwww.... cute, cute, cute!!!
- April 9, 2017 at 7:15 PM
- Glenda Atkins said...
Those twins are adorable, lucky you, but boy do they grow fast :O)! The card is so very cute!
- April 10, 2017 at 7:55 PM
- Cheryl S said...
Adorable! The card too ;) I love the color scheme on it. I have three year old twins and I remember how different their reactions were to their first foods!
- April 10, 2017 at 9:08 PM
- Caryn said...
This is so pretty, I love the heart!
Thanks for joining in the fun at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.
Caryn xxx
- April 12, 2017 at 7:58 AM
- Tanja said...
this little bear is just too cute and the layered heart looks fabulous, too - thanks for sharing your project at Addicted to Stamps and More
- April 13, 2017 at 2:29 AM
- Creative world said...
Super adorable image,awesome coloring and I love your Kraft card base...thank you for joining us at ATSM challenge this wssk
Željka DTxx
- April 13, 2017 at 6:22 AM
- Shelly Schmidt said...
Oh, the twins are growing so fast! I love seeing pictures of them and hearing your updates-they are just darling!!! Memories are flooding into my thoughts! Video the first time they try spinach! LOL it will be good for a laugh some time from now!
And, not that your card is not wonderful too- hard to compete with the twins : ) Such a wonderful idea to celebrate 1/2 birthday with a card- love it- the bear is so sweet!
- April 14, 2017 at 12:13 PM


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Arch Trading Corp. v. Republic of Ecuador
OPINION, affirming the district court judgment, by RSP, PWH, SLC, C.JJ., FILED.[1884136] [15-2065, 15-2106]
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.


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Derby Enthusiastic music lover
- +
- Some tunes in it of less known songs that they did and all their well known hits.
- −
- Reviewer left no comment
Published on: 21 February 2018
The music and full lyrics to every song composed and recorded by Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr.
Two hundred and three songs in all, specially arranged for this edition. Complete with an appreciation of The Beatles by Ray Connolly and many more portrait photographs.


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Combining Gore Windstopper with a double layer of soft and stretchy polyester microfibre fabric. Hood BUFF offers our optimal warmth and protection from cold wind around the head and ears with added neck protection.
* = Available via Special Order only where MOQ of full box quantity applies. Please email for more details
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The flowers of history, especially such as relate to the affairs of Britain. Vol. II. A.D. 1066 to A.D. I307.
DOWNLOAD THE ONLY FULL EDITIONS of
The flowers of history, especially such as relate to the affairs of Britain. Vol. II. A.D. 1066 to A.D. I307.
page 478
A.D. 1277. COHCEBNIKG THE ACQUISmOH" OF WALES. 471
eiring him to come in person to his assistance with the service which he owed him, to fight against the king of Spain. Bat Edward was mightily perplexed at this, because it was by the king of Spain that he had been invested with the belt of a knight, and also because he had married his sister Eleanor, and because he did not dare to offend the king of France, who was his kinsman, and his superior lord ; so he commended himself to the prayers of the church, and finally he made answer to the king of France that he might not refuse him the service which was his due ; but that he was desirous to use all his exertions to appease the quarrel which was now begun between him and the king of Spain. Therefore, the king of France marched towards the Spanish territories with an innumerable army ; but he soon returned, without having met with the least success.
About this time, the king sent three hundred cavalry, armed with breast-plates, into the districts of Bristol, Montgomery, and Chester, to check the irruptions of the Welch.
Concerning the acquisition of Wales.
A.i) . 1277. In the fortnight after Easter, the king withdrew from Westminster, and hastened towards Wales with all the military force of the kingdom of England, taking with him his barons of the exchequer, and his justices of the king's bench, as far as Shrewsbury, who remained there some time, hearing suits according to the customs of the kingdom of England. Therefore, the Welch fearing the arrival of the king and bis army, fled to their accustomed refuge of Snowdon, and the king, relying on the assistance of the Cinque Ports, occupied their territories as far as the mountain of Snowdon in every direction. Therefore, Llewellyn, prince of Wales, understanding that his manors and castles were being given to the flames and destroyed, took to himself the most powerful chiefs of his country, and about the feast of the Nativity of the Lord in the preceding year, went to the king, entreating him to show mercy, and not justice. Accordingly, king Edward received homage and fealty from the most powerful chiefs of the Welch, and took their prince Llewellyn with him to Westminster, from whom he received fifty thousand marks in hand ; and with whom he made a covenant to receive a thousand marks every year, to be paid into the exchequer at Westminster for the Isle of Anglesey and the district of Snowdon ; and then


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If you're going to title a movie "first class" you better be sure it's a good one. And the latest X-Men movie certainly is. I will probably always like the original film the best, because of Hugh Jackman and the relationship between Wolverine and Rogue. Still, X-Men: First Class is a very entertaining film, and I'm glad I saw it the first day without reading any reviews or spoilers.
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender have no difficulty leading the movie with their charisma and intensity. They are both excellent in their individual scenes, and they have the necessary chemistry in their scenes together. I have to give a shout out to Laurence Belcher, who plays Xavier as a boy, because he's such a good match to McAvoy. Jennifer Lawrence is great as Mystique; January Jones as Emma Frost is cool and distant, but at least she's tough and smart. I appreciate strong female characters in this genre, ones who aren't just dumb sex toys. The new faces playing the other young mutants are all enjoyable to watch. Kevin Bacon was obviously having a grand old time playing villain Sebastian Shaw. I can't believe all the brilliant character actors who keep popping up in tiny roles, like Ray Wise, James Remar, and Rade Serbedzija. Another favorite actor makes an appearance, but mentioning his name would just be a spoiler, and you'd hate me. Matt Craven and Oliver Platt have bigger roles, and they are a treat, too. Brendan Fehr from Roswell, and more recently CSI: Miami and Bones, has a blink-and-you-miss-it part, as does Randall Batinkoff. Who's Batinkoff? He appeared with Kellie Martin in the 1994 TV show Christy.
I do find it strange that a movie set in 1962 had almost no period details. The hair, makeup, costumes, and sets seem deliberately generic. Banshee has hair that would have gotten him stranger looks in 1962 than any genetic mutation. In other words, it looks totally normal for any time after 1968. I didn't mind the lack of period details, really, but I do wonder about the decision to go in that direction for the film's look. Another thing I couldn't help noticing is that all the mutants except Angel and Darwin have blue eyes.
Without giving away any spoilers (and if you hate spoilers, don't read this paragraph just in case I'm not obscure enough!) there's one thing that happens early on that makes no sense to me, when young Magneto first faces Sebastian Shaw. I suppose it happens, or doesn't happen, "because if it didn't, or did, there would be no movie." (That classic plot device!)
As much as I enjoyed X-Men: First Class, I have no desire to see it a second time, at least not until it comes out on DVD in a few months. A key ingredient to a blockbuster hit is repeat viewings from loyal fans, so it will be interesting to watch the box office numbers over the coming weeks. I do want to go back and re-watch the original X-Men. I also want to see more of Michael Fassbender's films. I've already seen just about everything James McAvoy has done, so it's just a waiting game until he hits the big screen again.
Note: Comments are encouraged and welcomed, but I will not post any with spoilers.
Related posts: Stage Door (2): James McAvoy Stage Door (6): Hugh Jackman


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As a post-doc in the NIST Mass and Force Group, one of the projects I worked on was linking laser power to force measurements. As light bounces of an object its momentum changes imparting a force on the object, if the optical power is known, then the force can be calculated, or vice versa.
In the realms of very small forces (femto-Newton range) laser power (~100 μW) can be calibrated to a higher accuracy, and force measurements can be improved with optomechanical calibration. See our paper "A self-calibrating optomechanical force sensor with femtonewton resolution" (arXiv version).
At higher laser power (~1W), force measurements have lower uncertainties. To investigate improving optical power measurements we used the NIST EFB to compare laser power to traceable electrostatic forces. This work was presented at CPEM 2016 (Proceedings paper).


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Bad news PS3 fans: we've just received official word from our contacts at Nu Metro and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment that the Collector's Edition of Arkham City on PlayStation 3 will not be making the Friday 21 October release date. If you've pre-ordered the Collector's Edition of Bats on PS3 then you can expect your game "early next week".
For everyone else, it's business as usual. The standard and "Catwoman Steel Book" editions for PlayStation 3 will still arrive this Friday. The Xbox 360 versions have not been affected by any delays. Here's hoping we'll still get our Catwoman DLC.
UPDATE: there's talk of this delay extending to the Xbox 360 version of the Collector's Edition now. Furthermore it's been suggested that the quantity of Collector's Editions available in South Africa has been reduced. We'll update this post as soon as we know more.
UPDATE2: Right, there's a butt-load of confusion going at the moment regarding which editions are delayed and on which platforms. We've been in contact with suppliers and retailers and have some more information for you.
Earlier this morning Kalahari.com tweeted the following:
Batman Arkham City CE has been short supplied to SA. All allocations have been cut. In addition to this, it has also been delayed, expected delivery is 28 Oct on Xbox & PS3 & PC 18 Nov. This affects all retailers in SA. Customers who pre-ordered in Aug will receive their order. You will need to cancel your pre-order & place a new order for the Batman Std. Ed. As compensation we are giving you a R100 voucher + a Batman Tshirt.
However, we contacted suppliers and were told that this information "is incorrect, Batman PS3 & X360 is available in store from tomorrow. Please note that the PS3 collector's edition is slightly delayed due to flight congestion and will be available from 25th October onwards in store."
No mention was made of the Xbox 360 Collector's Edition being delayed.
However, we contacted Look & Listen's head offices and were told that as far as they know, some of their stores had already taken stock of Arkham City Collector's Editions across all console platforms, but that we should get back to them after 3PM once their stores have checked in properly. We'd be surprised if they have the PS3 Collector's Edition.
We've also contacted BT Games but have yet to hear back from them, so we will (surprise!) update this post once they respond.
Alternatively we could all just say "screw it" and wait to see what happens when the sun comes up tomorrow?


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View Larger Map
There are three locations in Manhattan (one in Midtown at 32 East 57th St and two in Chelsea) and one in Beijing, China.
The Pace Gallery is a contemporary and modern art gallery founded by Arne Glimcher in Boston 1960 as The Pace Gallery. The The Pace Gallery moved to Manhattan in 1963 and from 1993 to 2010 operated jointly with Wildenstein & Co. as PaceWildenstein. PaceWildenstein was the first major Manhattan art gallery to open a space in Beijing. In January 2009, PaceWildenstein announced plans for an independent publishing company called Artifex press, dedicated to the creation of online artists' catalogues raisonnees.
In April of 2010, Pace and Wildenstein announced that they would amicably dissolve the joint venture after 17 years, and that The Pace Gallery would again operate independently, although the companies jointly stated that they would continue business opportunities together.


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Don West Third Season Tunic
Photo Credits
Profiles in History
Don West costume from Lost in Space (CBS-TV, 1965-68). Green velour tunic with yellow turtleneck insert, accompanied with a pair of Kelly green Spandex stir-rup pants with H. William Hibler-Beverly Hills label, worn by Mark Goddard as Major Don West throughout the entire third season of the show.
Item 112 at the Profiles in History Ultimate Sci-Fi auction, 26 April 2003.
Profiles in History


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Again from my Instagram feed – a quad of four favorite shots from Australia. For some reason my best photos always seem to have birds in them…
Fo(u)r the BirdsOctober 30, 2012
Morning CommuteOctober 24, 2012
Two from Australia/InstagramFebruary 8, 2012
We recently had the pleasure of taking a wonderful Christmas vacation to Australia. Thousands of photos. Literally. Here are just two of the many I've posted to Instagram:
Photography/InstagramDecember 23, 2011
Soon after I wrote my last post about photography, I discovered Instagram. I am now completely addicted.
Instagram is Twitter, but with photos.
It's amazing. Thousands of people submitting thousands of photos every minute. But it's not overwhelming – you follow the people you want and their uploads get added to your Feed. Sound familiar? The interface is just like Facebook/Twitter, and is perfect for the iPhone. Want to try looking around a little? The Popular page and searchable hashtags make it very manageable.
And the photos? Wow. Astonishing. Take them with your iPhone or import them from photos uploaded from any camera. People are talented, you know? Amazingly talented. There's some really stunning photography on here. I have ridiculed Twitter in the past, but with Instagram the social network revolution has hooked me. There's a reason Apple recently named Instagram its 2011 App of the Year. Genius.
I've only uploaded/shared a few photos so far, but I'll soon be uploading daily. A few my my recent uploads are below. If you're on Instagram follow me – username is robblanum. See you there!


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- Description
Combining hardshell weather-resistance with the comfort and range of motion of a softshell, the Patagonia Men's Kniferidge Pant offers high-performance, waterproof/breathable protection for alpine climbing, skiing, or wet backcountry hikes.
The innovative pant is constructed of 3-layer Polartec Power Shield Pro fabric to keep you dry, comfortable, and able to move uninhibited. Fully taped seams bolster confidence that you're fully protected. You get the same reliable performance as a hardshell but without the "boardy", restrictive feel. Articulated patterning further enhances mobility. A drop-seat configuration with snap/tab closures, a separating snap-closure waist, and a 2-way zip fly increase functionality. The single cuff design has built-in adjustability and calf-length zippers make it easy to get the pants on and off.
Other features include belt loops, a jacket attachment loop, removable 4-point suspenders, a right thigh waterproof pocket, and a concealed RECCO reflector for safety on the slopes.
With a regular fit that allows you to comfortably wear layers beneath it, the Patagonia Men's Kniferidge Pant is available in a range of sizes.
- Lightweight and stretchy 3-layer Polartec Power Shield Pro fabric delivers a unique balance of soft-shell breathability and hard-shell protection
- Articulated pattern with fully taped low-bulk, watertight seams
- Pants have belt loops, jacket attachment loop at rear and removable 4-point suspender strap; separating waist with snap closure and 2-way zip fly
- Drop-seat configuration features snap-tab closures and 2-way watertight zippers that double as thigh vents
- Right thigh pocket with watertight zipper and glued-in stretch-mesh pocket bag
- Single-cuff design works equally well with alpine and ski boots; shockcord adjustment at cuff, sewn tie-down loops, and calf-length welted zipper with expandable gusset and 2-position snap-tab
- Slim lower leg with durable scuff guard and concealed RECCO reflector
- Shell: 3-layer, 5.6-oz Polartec Power Shield Pro 90% polyester/10% spandex plain weave with jersey backer and a DWR (durable water repellent) finish
- 538 g (19 oz)
- Made in Vietnam
- Specs
Best Use Hiking, Mountaineering, Snow Sports Type Softshell Pant Warranty Limited Lifetime Shell Material 3-layer 5.6oz Polartec Power Shield Pro Number of Pockets 1 Fly Closure Snap Fit Regular Other Features Concealed RECCO reflector and included suspenders Waistband Elastic w/ Belt Loops (belt not included)
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Buddhist Society of Western Australia
Religion & Spirituality:Buddhism
Development of the Heart | Ajahn Brahmavamso
Ajahn Brahm offers a talk on how the Buddha taught and encouraged people to develop the heart and the mind, that is develop your character and inner world by practising generosity, compassion and virtue. You develop the beauty inside from what you do with your life. Ajahn talks about how you can develop the strength of heart and mind which can endure hardship and difficulties so that you can do that which is really wonderful and useful in this world. This Buddha Dhamma talk was given in 1993.
The sound quality of this audio greatly improves as the talk continues.
Please support the BSWA in making teachings available for free online via Patreon.
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When my parents, both in their 80s, moved from California to North Carolina to be closer to me, I had no idea what was in store for them.
A move, for anyone, can be traumatic, but for my parents, it seemed particularly so. I hadn't thought about the move, itself, presenting such hardships ... especially for my parents who had moved often through their married life together. I thought it would be a piece of cake ... a walk in the park. Instead, it was a nightmare.
In trying to find solutions to many of their problems, both psychological and physical, I've had to spend lots of hours doing research. I'm hoping that some of the research I've done might be beneficial to others who find themselves in the same place I am.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Why I'm Starting This Blog ...
Posted by Nean the Bean at 2:13 PM
Labels: caregiver, elderly parents
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Khloe Kardashian has addressed her divorce from husband Lamar Odom publicly for the first time.
The reality star admits she is going through "torture" over the "heart breaking" split and has begged for an end to false reports and rumours surrounding the end of her marriage.
The rumour mill went into motion when it emerged she would be filing divorce papers in Los Angeles last Friday and the US tabloids have since linked her to American professional baseball player Matt Kemp while apparent details of her divorce settlement have emerged.
But the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star has now addressed the divorce for the first time after posting a message on Twitter on Wednesday.
She wrote: "This, in and of itself, is heart breaking and torture to my soul. Please, I don't need the extra rumors and BS right now."
However, Khloe's mother Kris Jenner insists her daughter is staying "strong" after deciding to end her four-year marriage.
Kris told E! News: "Khloe really is so great. She's really strong and ... the good news is that she's busy and you know, keeps herself real busy. But she's good.
"She's got such a big heart but she also is very sensitive. She's got that tougher exterior and sensitive inside, but she's good. She's got all of us around her and I'll see her later, and yeah, she's good. I was with her yesterday and she's a gift.
"She's one of my biggest blessings."
She added: "I think that when you have a tough decision to make and you finally make it, it's always a relief to come through that process, but it is a process. So we'll see."
Court documents for Khloe's divorce from Lamar were filed by high profile American attorney Laura Wasser - who represented Khloe's sister Kim during her divorce from Kris Humphries - at Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday with Khloe citing "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split.
Khloe has asked a judge to take Odom out of her name so she can go from being known as Khloe Kardashian Odom to just Khloe Kardashian once again.
The television personality is not asking for spousal support and splitting any assets should be clean as they have a prenup and have kept their property separate.
Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Khloe married NBA basketball player Lamar in 2009 exactly one month after they met at a party for Lamar's then Los Angeles Lakers teammate Metta World Peace.
News of the divorce comes after months of speculation surrounding the couple with Lamar's alleged drug abuse putting a strain on the marriage.
In August this year the sportsman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and had a spell in rehab soon after.
In September, reports claiming the couple had been living apart surfaced after the pair had not been seen together in weeks.
However, in October, Khloe and Lamar were seen with the rest of the Kardashian/Jenner family in the VIP section at a Kanye West concert in Los Angeles.
But the pair did not spend the Thanksgiving holiday together with Lamar choosing to visit his father Joe.
Khloe has posted a number of cryptic messages online in recent months which appeared to relate to her turbulent personal life.
Just the day before she filed the divorce papers, Khloe posted an image on photo sharing website Instagram which contained such a message.
It read: "I am strong because I've been weak. I am fearless because I've been afraid. I am wise because I've been foolish."


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DHS Beats Government Privacy Average
The department hasn't vetted all its systems for privacy, though.
The Homeland Security Department is doing a better job than other agencies at ensuring it's protecting citizens' and employees' privacy, but the department hasn't vetted all the private information it collects.
As of September, the department had performed "privacy impact assessments" for 98 percent of systems requiring those assessments, according to a mid-year report.
That puts it far above the average for major government agencies of just 77 percent of applicable systems receiving that assessment. Those averages are from 2016 but are the most recent governmentwide figures.
DHS' 98 percent is beneath the government's goal—and the statutory requirement—of 100 percent, though.
The department has created "system of record notices"—essentially a notification that the agency gathers personal information from a particular system—for 100 percent of applicable systems, according to the report.
The average for major agencies is just 82 percent.
The department also supplied mandatory annual computer privacy training to more than 130,000 employees, classroom training for about 4,000 employees and specialized social media privacy training for about 1,000 employees during the six months that ended Sept. 30, according to the report.


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Just a couple studies I did recently, referenced some photos I found on the interwebs. I need to find time to do some master studies, and maybe some more film-still studies... those LOTR ones were crazy fun. :3
I'm still working on the Cho and Sona piece, I'm recording the whole thing so it's taking a lot longer than normal... every little while I have to stop and merge/save the video which takes a billion years. :P


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The Wraith is the Metamorphosed form of the Phantom. Twice as powerful, fast, tough and double the regeneration of its former life. What distinguishes the Wraith from its former state is the ability it has to alter its own inertia, effectively making it either as immovable as a mountain, or as unstoppable as a run-away freight train train.
Though rarely seen, as with other metamorphosed symbionts, the Wraith serves as both a potential Alpha for a murder and as the ultimate shock trooper and bastion; charging into the fray with the force of a mammoth, and standing unwavering against the barrage of enemy attacks.
page revision: 0, last edited: 28 Oct 2014 22:27


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There need to be very few alterations to the scenario for next weeks re-fight, where Peter and Graham will switch sides. The main change, will be the reinstatement of the two French Army Characterisation Deck cards (20 more morale chips) and a change in the definition of the two Scenario cards. It was found, that the French needed a few more morale chips, and the diversionary attacks needed a focus - the French camp. Consequently, the next time we play, whenever the French player turns a Scenario card and there is a Milano-Swiss unit in the French camp, the French player will lose d6 morale chips.
I will try, in the course of the next week, write up the full scenario with historical background, OOBs, and scenario notes in a single post.
Until then, here is the report of last nights clash
Note the French cavalry far to the rear, the battle is almost over and it has only just getting into battle order. It rolled sooooo many odd move dice that it hardly moved in the first turns!
The battle is over. The French are beaten.


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An exhibition of painting, drawing and sculpture by North West artists.
A refreshing, eclectic exhibition by talented local artists working in a variety of media. Come and see what creatives are making on your doorstep!
The Swinley Group are a Wigan-based art collective dedicated to promoting representational and figurative art. The group as over 20 members including Laura Quinn Harris, Anthony Barrow, David Secrett, Janice Powell, Jonathan and Rick Dickinson and founder members Beth Burke and Nick Fisher.
Many works are for sale, prices vary. See gallery price sheet for more information.
Open Wednesday to Saturday 11.4pm (16 Feb - 3 March 2018).
Other times and days by appointment, please call 01942 834747 to arrange.
- Free entry / Donations Welcomed.
- All children must be accompanied by an adult.
Join us in The Isherwood Gallery for the grand opening of our next exhibition.
An exhibition of painting, drawing and sculpture by North West artists.
A refreshing, eclectic exhibition by talented local artists working in a variety of media. Come and see what creatives are making on your doorstep!
The Swinley Group are a Wigan-based art collective dedicated to promoting representational and figurative art. The group as over 20 members including Laura Quinn Harris, Anthony Barrow, David Secrett, Janice Powell, Jonathan and Rick Dickinson and founder members Beth Burke and Nick Fisher.
Many works are for sale, prices vary. See gallery price sheet for more information.
General Exhibition Opening Times:
Open Wednesday to Saturday 11.4pm (16 March - 3 April 2018).
Other times and days by appointment, please call 01942 834747 to arrange.
- Free entry / Donations Welcomed.
- All children must be accompanied by an adult.
About the Artists:
Gabrielle Anderson BA.
Gabrielle studied Visual Arts at Salford University. She mainly utilises pen and ink to create intricate drawings which she then finishes with light washes of watercolour. She is heavily inspired by traditional illustrations – particularly anatomical drawings and botanical studies and includes elements of these in her surreal nature drawings. Gabrielle works out of the New Art Spaces Leigh Studio where she has been the lead artist for over five years.
Beth Burke DAS.
Beth was born and raised in Wigan and attended Wigan Technical College, going on to study Fine Art at Stoke on Trent Art College. She also qualified as a Dressmaker and Designer. Over the years Beth has exhibited extensively, being a full member of the Denbighshire Art Society in North Wales, where she now lives with her husband Geoff. She has exhibited at the Royal Cambrian Arts, DAS and has sold many of her paintings. Her expressive paintings display a love of the landscapes, seascapes in North Wales.
Ed Burke
I love outdoor photography. Initially I wanted to take photographs of my various adventures in the mountains, desert, Arctic and other remote places before, during and after my time in the Royal Marines. I studied the technical aspects finding my studies of physics and maths could also be applied. However shooting technically good photographs still lacked something so finally I find myself learning about composition and the history of art and studying some of the past masters of both photography and painting.Much to learn on the journey and looking forward to where it might take me!
Geoff Burke MA BA
Originally from Manchester, Geoff pursued a career in Fine Art and History of Art & Architecture gaining a BA (Hons) degree at Stoke Art College, and then going into education after gaining his MA degree from Manchester Met University. He taught for 23 years in both public and later private education, becoming Director of Art & Design at Rydal Penrhos School. He was awarded a Visiting Fellowship at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge from 1993-97, and was an Examiner for the Cambridge Board.
Jill Conroy
Wigan Art College. Then worked with livestock ranging from monkeys to horses. Exhibited quite widely both locally and nationally. Early work mainly figurative, did a series of Japanese ink drawings, then after seeing the Van Gogh exhibition in London in the late 70's have become very influenced with the contrasting effects that colours have on each other. Painting full-time again now, mainly in oils on canvas or board.
Kerry Lisa Davies
Kerry studied Art & Design at Cleveland College and Design Crafts for the Entertainment Industry. Kerry's original paintings display a wonderful sense of detail, excellent technique and very personal vision which is quite unique and inspiring. The subject matter of Kerry's paintings is hugely diverse from seascapes to landscapes, wildlife to abstract. Kerry often describes herself as a "realist with the soul of a dreamer".
Jake Dickinson BA
Jonathan originally form Standish near Wigan, gained his BA Hons in Fine Art at Stoke on Trent Art College. He then went on to Winstanley College near Wigan and lectured for many years there in Art & Design, before his retirement in 2006. His paintings are much sought after and display a superb technique and draughtsmanship. Creativity and practical problem solving have been an important constant in his life to this day.
Rick Dickinson
Rick Dickinson from near Up Holland, Wigan, is a Fine Artist at Crow Lane Studio also near Wigan. He has been a working artist since gaining his art degree from Sheffield Hallam in 2001. He has gone on to work in a diverse range of disciplines from metal work, sculpture and cabinet making, to classic car restoration and Oil painting. His work has received considerable praise leading to several commissions.
Gemma Elsby
Gemma's work incorporates vintages inspired imagery with patterned print. Her pieces each emblazoned with a hand printed image, invoke a feeling of nostalgia tinged with an aura of decay.' Gemma is a freelance Artist, specialising in collage and acrylic paintings inspired by vintage prints and designs. She is based at the Castlefield Gallery in Leigh.
Nick Fisher
Born and raised in Wigan, Lancashire, Nick has pursued a number of careers after gaining qualifications in Draughtsmanship and Technical Engineering. During the nineties Nick worked on several important projects in the UK including nuclear design draughtsmanship utilising his formidable skills as an artist. He now paints mostly primarily in oils, working from his own photographs and sketches, and has sold several of his paintings privately. His work focuses on almost every genre in painting.
Margaret Finney NDD ATD
From Wigan, Margaret has been a significant force in both her own work and the influence she has had on many others including in Art education. Her distinctive and expressive style can be seen in her many paintings and murals, including the brilliant portrait of Liverpool's renowned artist, Arthur Dooley, together with the many wonderful landscapes she has painted. She has exhibited extensively throughout the Northwest.
Laura Harris
Laura (finalist in Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year), specialises in oil portraits of people and animals. Her superb photo realist work has been displayed in a number of exhibitions, including the Society of Wildlife Artists' Annual Show and the DSWF Wildlife Artist of the Year. In 2014 she reached the grand final of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year and had two of her paintings displayed in the National Portrait Gallery, London
Catherine Hawkins
I am a movement artist with a visual art side to my work which is rooted in experience and being in the natural environment. Catherine's work uses fabrics as well as traditional media which creates a very individual but brilliant effect in the many works she has completed. She combines impressive technique with an individual vision.
Winston Higham
Winston Higham is based in Wigan. His extensive and impressive work includes Northern life, landscapes, animals and portraits in oil and pastels. He has recently opened the The Wigan Picture Framing Company at the Bar Legion in Wigan which provides framing services as well as a gallery exhibiting his work + others and The Swinley Group. Winston's enthusiasm is infectious as well as his commitment to developing opportunities for artists. www.winstonhigham.com
Ceri Leeder MA BA
Ceri lives near Conwy, North Wales. She studied Art in Newcastle, Manchester and Wrexham gaining BA and MA degrees. Until 2008 she taught Art & Design at the prestigious Rydal Penrhos independent school, but more recently co-runs exhibitions and projects in North Wales including her own project CeriLeederScratch. Her work has a wonderful and distinctive style which explores many themes.
Max Mansbridge-West
I am a UK artist, classically trained in representational art, and having exhibited throughout the country. My figures and portraiture focus on capturing the reality and true character of the subject. I consistently strive to develop the quality of the draughtsmanship to produce works of art with realistic composition creating both elegance and emotional impact. I am inspired by those moments where I can see the essence of the person I am capturing, allowing them to live on in the painting or drawing. www.maxmansbridgewest.co.uk
Janice Powell NDD
Janice studied at Birmingham College of Art gaining an NDD. She was awarded the Phipps Post Diploma Award for a further year. After her Post Graduate Diploma, Janice is now enjoying considerable success with her latest paintings which concentrate on Manchester buildings and street scenes under the theme, 'Manchester at Night'. Her painting 'Autumn Glow, Deansgate' won the peoples' prize at the Hale '24 ART' Show. Janice's work splendidly captures the moods and scenes around the northern landscapes.
Marie Priest
Marie is from California USA but based in Wigan. She sculpts extraordinary relief pieces using wood from the local environment in California, where she has a house. Her themes are varied including themes taken from indigenous people, also to wild animals including lions and tigers, all expressively depicted.
Tracey Hollis Rowe
Tracey is a self taught Wildlife & Natural History Artist from Leigh, Lancashire. Producing drawings/paintings of her subjects in a variety of mediums from coloured pencils, oils and watercolour, Tracey also works to commission on pet portrait art from customers own photographs and sells her original art and a selection of Giclee prints via her website www.traceyhollisrowe.com and at various exhibitions around the UK. Tracey's work has been selected at the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art 2014 & 2015 Exhibition and has on numerous occasions exhibited with the Association of Animal Artists
David Secrett
Hailing from the West Country David is a professionally trained landscape artist and specialises in studying and painting natural landscape particularly in and around woodland. He has his own studio near Wigan and has established himself as one of the foremost landscape artists exhibiting extensively and being commissioned for many of his works. David uses a variety of printing and painting techniques to create wonderfully distinctive images


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Christmas Cards Galore
I thought I was ahead for Christmas this year until I realized all the presents I'd bought and wrapped needed some cards to go with them. The project inspiration photo sent me into overdrive. I was originally planning on another mini-album but somehow cards won out.
The Pieces
I made ten cards by sets of two. The pairs only differ slightly but this was my way of speeding things up. I'm huge on the wood veneer embellishments right now (/since I first saw them coming out) and had to force myself to actually use them rather than stare at them and admire how incredibly cute they are.
I'm also a love of twine and string. Besides the fact that I have an embarrassing amount already stashed around my craft room... it's fun. So easy to work with. Sometimes you just plop it down and it works (or at least that's what I tell myself).
My other favorite thing for these cards? A white chalk edger. Couldn't live without it, I swear.
The Materials
- white cardstock (measured at 7.5 x 9", folded at 3.75")
- miscellaneous cardstock:
- red twine
- red and; white striped twine
- mini red jingle bells (these were a garage sale find!)
- white embroidery thread
- white snowflake die-cut cardstock
The Tools
- double sided tape
- hot glue gun
- white chalk edger
- snowflake die-cut (or a cricut)
- tag shape die-cut
- straight cutter
- scissors
- bone folder


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Aspen Clinical Research is currently taking part in a clinical research study of an investigational medication for adults ages 60 through 85 who are experiencing memory loss due to mild Alzheimer's Disease.
The purpose of this study is to determine the effective dose of the investigational medication based on results found in patients with mild dementia.
The potential sleep enhancing capacities of the investigational medication may also be important to this study. Recent clinical and biochemical evidence has identified an interesting link between sleep, cognitive dysfunction and Alzheimer's disease.
The participant's initial visit to the research clinic will be a screening visit. During this visit he/she will meet with a study coordinator to fully review study details. If he/she decide to participate, a more in depth assessment of the participant's health will take place to determine final eligibility. If he/she is eligible and chooses to enroll, the participant will be required to return to our research clinic at various times for treatment and follow-up visits.
Space in the study is. limited. Health insurance is not required. All clinical visits, medications, and physical exams are provided to you at no cost. You may be compensated for the time and travel involved for this study.
For more in-depth information regarding this study please click HERE.
Please complete the form below to see if you pre-qualify for the study. All information you provide to Aspen Clinical Research will remain strictly confidential.
Disclaimer: Not all individuals that complete the on-line questionnaire will qualify for the study. An in-depth study and medical evaluation must be completed in person in order to qualify for the study.


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Imagestream – Linux Router taking on the Giant
I am attending the Interop Tradeshow (formerly Network World) in New York City this week. This give me a great opportunity to see some amazing products, speak with the vendors, and meet other networker.
One of the many interesting products I ran across is the Imagestream Linux router and the thought of them taking on "the giant" – Cisco Systems.
Imagestream has taken Linux and created a lot of their own code to go around it. They take that then commericial product and put it on hardware. Imagestream then markets and sells these full hardware routers.
One thing that impressed me was that Imagestream sells these hardware routers all the way from their small box (called the Envoy) running at about $500, on up to their huge enterprise box (costing, obviously much much more). Still, their $500 smallest box is a great small branch office router. It it tiny (about 4lbs) but it still offers QoS, RIP, OSPF, BGP, firewall, SNMP, and more. It comes with 3 Ethernet ports and you can add a 1 or 2 port T1/E1 module. This would allow you to have a full router, with enterprise grade software features, for under $1000. This is probably a third of the cost of a comparable Cisco.
Here are a couple of links to product reviews for Imagestream's router line:
Network Computing – ImageStreams' TransPort Linux Router – Small and Light and Routed Just Right
Linux Journal – Product of the Day – Imagestream's Rebel Router
Take a look at the feature of of even their lowest end router:
ImageStream Linux™
High-performance Linux kernel
Scalable Inetics™ platform
Menu-driven configuration
CALEA intercept support
On-line & off-line upgrades
Local and remote logging
Real-time monitoring
Quality of Service (QoS)
Bandwidth limiting
Packet filtering
Peer-to-peer traffic control
Port forwarding
System scheduler
PPP, Cisco HDLC and frame relay
CEF-compatible bonder
MLPPP and MLFR and IMA
PPPoE and PPPoA
SNMP or NetFlow® accounting
NAT firewall (1:1 & 1:many)
NTP clock synchronization
Concurrent bridging & routing
Secure telnet (ssh) v.2
L2TP, GRE, IPIP & CIPE tunneling
Remote RADIUS
DHCP client & server
VLAN tagging
IPSec & SSL VPN
Not that I am trying to sway everyone away from Cisco by talking first about Vyatta then about Imagestream, but I just find it fascinating that there are such great Linux-based options out there for routers today!
I think that Imagestream's products deserve a second look. I am going to do that and I hope that you will too.
All the best to you,
David Davis, CCIE, VCP, CISSP
Personal Website: HappyRouter.com – home of Cisco how-to articles & videos
David Recommends:
HappyRouter Cisco VMware Workstation & Server Video Training Series
HappyRouter Cisco CCNA & CCNP Video Training Series


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Super 8 Rosedale properties are listed below. Search for cheap and discount Super 8 hotel prices in Rosedale, VA for your personal or business trip. We list the best Super 8 Rosedale hotels & lodging so you can review the Rosedale Super 8 hotel list below to find the perfect place.
Our booking engine will also provide discounted Rosedale, VA hotels/properties that get similar quality scores of a Super 8.
How should we direct your call?


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Thursday, 14 April 2011
A Novel Experience
The title was done with Scenic Route chipboard alphas from the kit and Willing Race stamps (also from Banana Frog).
The page is about when I took No.3 child and her best friend to a booksigning by their favourite author - Jacqueline Wilson. We beat the queues by getting there very early, but they'd read half the book before it was time to meet her!
I did have to add to my kit for this page - part of the challenge was to alter an item ... I altered a Mince Pie case left over from Christmas by punching out stars from it and adding colour with a Sharpie pen.
This was a first for me - I'd saved the cases for mixing paints or holding PVA glue - but I loved the texture once I'd flattened one. I'm hoping this will also have sharpened up the punch a little too :o)
25 comments:
- scrappymo! said...
O)h, I love that you used the mnce pie tin!!! My daughter uses those kind of tins. I will have to "borrow" some from her...teehee
- 15 April 2011 at 02:21
- Mary B said...
I love the ideas here and want to try the alpha one out myself. I've already tried the mince pie dish idea only I used the inner seal to a coffeemate tin
- 15 April 2011 at 07:26
- Mary B said...
oops forgot to say page is great and wow you used pink *shock horror*
- 15 April 2011 at 07:27
- Jo.C said...
I love this page and I want to try the alphabet technique. My daughter would be so jealous of the photo :0)
- 15 April 2011 at 09:10
- Anonymous said...
Pretty page. I esp. like the combination of cutout letters and stamps that you used for the title...and I'm glad someone else likes Willing Race!
- 15 April 2011 at 10:10
- Anonymous said...
Great idea with those tinfoil cases! I like your cutout letters very much too.
- 15 April 2011 at 11:02
- Sian said...
Ooh, I know one daughter who would be very envious of this trip!
That's a lovely page, I like the light touch so that the photo of Jacqueline Wilson really shines
- 15 April 2011 at 13:00
- Dawn said...
Another fabulous page and a great technique of using foil cases.
- 15 April 2011 at 14:05
- S said...
Great page - I like the titling best.
- 15 April 2011 at 15:34
- Heather said...
Great story & I love the page especially the stars :)
- 15 April 2011 at 16:18
- Margie said...
I love this layout, especially those awesome stars! I will have to try that!
- 15 April 2011 at 17:21
- Tricia said...
So pretty! Your stars are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing your technique.
- 15 April 2011 at 19:43
- humel said...
Oh, I love this layout!! And I'm so chuffed about your Scrapfactor news, that's wonderful, yay :-)
- 15 April 2011 at 22:46
- Missus Wookie said...
Neat page - I like the versamark text/alpha background. We're bibliophiles here so love meeting authors. :)
What did you do to your scenic route alphas? Cover 'em or stamp 'em? Was trying to work it out... I've got some of those somewhere after all.
- 15 April 2011 at 23:10
- A Creative Operation said...
What a great idea to punch the tin! I have to try that!
- 16 April 2011 at 03:47
- Winnie said...
Love the LO! The colours are gorgeous and I love how you made the stars. Must go find some old pie cases...LOL
- 16 April 2011 at 08:58
- airing cupboard crafts said...
The LO is fab I love it. What a amazing idea for the stars thank you for sharing x
- 16 April 2011 at 10:58
- ms.schwiet said...
Your stars are the bomb
- 16 April 2011 at 16:53
- nomorelittlemonkeys said...
I love your textured metal accents! What a cool technique!
- 16 April 2011 at 17:24
- Alison said...
Love those tinfoil stars! been to 'seaside' with houseguests..all still about sane!:)
Alison xx
- 16 April 2011 at 17:38
- Lisa said...
what a wonderful job love it!
- 17 April 2011 at 16:25
- ~Mar said...
Fantastic layout! Love the title and those stars!
- 17 April 2011 at 22:10
- Sherri Thompson said...
Beautiful layout! I love the title and stamped alphas, and your stars are amazing! I love that you added some color to them, too. Looks great!
- 18 April 2011 at 02:52
- Allycat x said...
Fab LO, great altering too :)
- 18 April 2011 at 19:51
- Jessica ♥ said...
LOVE the colors and the stars are awesome! :)
- 21 April 2011 at 03:50