text:
Artists: Christopher Alvarado And Jack Hertz
Title: Revealing The Arcane
Label: Aural Films
Cat#: None
Keywords: Ambient, Evil, Halloween, Dark Ambient, Experimental, Film Music
Reviewer: Alex Spalding
… Boo!
Ah, didn't mean to frighten you there, though maybe I did and I'm lying right now. I'm giving you all kinds of choices this evening! It's like a choose-your-own-adventure! Welcome to a spooky new YIKIS review, by the way. A nightmare before xmas!
Probably not a nightmare, really, unless you don't like scattered, erudite essays.
First thing first… some terminology…
Arcane: understood by few; mysterious or secret.
Gnosis: the common Greek noun for knowledge. In the context of the English language it generally refers to the word's meaning within the spheres of Christian, Islamic, or Jewish mysticism, mystery religions, and Gnosticism where it signifies a "spiritual knowledge" or religion of knowledge, in the sense of mystical enlightenment or "insight".
Occult: From the Latin word Occultus (clandestine, hidden, secret) is knowledge of the hidden.
The subject matter that I will discuss here in pieces has been determined by the theme of the album, some loosely connected tracts of thought on epistemology, and will be focused on presenting a revelation of the arcane knowledge of forces that lay beneath culture and civilization, usually providing its basis and form — or, perhaps, just letting it collapse, much like Demi Moore and an undead Patrick Swayze massaging clay on a potter's wheel and with almost as much erotic thrust.
Ventures like these tend to require a fitting soundtrack. The Aural Films label has proven itself pretty good at providing those! 'Unchained Melody' would have worked fine, too, I'm sure. This one, Christopher Alvarado and Jack Hertz' album Revealing The Arcane, is as they describe:
"a dark sonic adventure into the unknown."
The unknown, you say? What could possibly go wrong?
The album begins with a track titled 'Corner Of A Dark Smile'. It's very creepy… there are discordant strings, crushed drums echoing in the dark, eerie noises happening in the back of the mix. Eliade once wrote that "The manifestation of the sacred ontologically founds the world", and that "In archaic and traditional societies, the surrounding world is conceived as a microcosm. At the limits of this closed world begins the domain of the unknown, of the formless. On this side there is ordered — because of inhabited and organized — space; on the other, outside this familiar space, there is the unknown and dangerous region of the demons, the ghosts, and the dead and foreigners." The conception of the sacred establishes culture/cosmos within the confines of a space, among a people. What lies beyond is chaos, inhabited by the profane.
The next track, 'Gall', begins with harsh, nail-biting frequencies of feedback and rusty gates. An ill wind blows. Occasional bursts of distortion, perhaps of time and space, flicker through. "The imagination, like all things in time, is metamorphic. It is also rooted in a ground, a geography. The Latin word for the sacredness of a place is cultus, the dwelling of a god, the place where a rite is valid. Cultus becomes our word culture, not in the portentous sense it now has, but in a much humbler sense. For ancient people the sacred was the vernacular ordinariness of things: the hearth, primarily; the bed, the wall around the yard. The temple was too sacred to be entered. Washing the feet of a guest was as religious an act as sharing one's meals with the gods." [Guy Davenport] The sacred, then, to the religious mind whose existence stretches from humankind's primordial age into modernity, is to be found in the conception of normality within any given sphere. Normal, as a mode, exists, though it's critics are correct that it is mutable, possesses no universal applicability. It is the product of a culture, rooted in religious thought.
'Lethal Kiss' is another eerie, dark ambient piece, that feels like the tingling acoustic atmosphere of an unreal space; an unsettling organization of chaos. A whimpering voice sample is clipped up, panning. The chime of a time-distorted clock strikes. "Humans rally around ideas because they solve some of our problems, because they offer the biological blessings of the illusion of control, and because they are the threads that hold us together in the vast network of a superorganismic mind, weaving scattered individuals into a cooperative entity of awesome power and size." For example, "Before the coming of the white man to the north, Eskimos believed that if they cut slabs of ice, organized them in a circle, formed a dome, and lived inside they would please the spirits. Apparently, the plan worked. The contented spirits made sure the Eskimos stayed warm even when the temperature dipped to forty below zero outside. Eventually, Western scientists showed up and tried to explain how the Eskimos had mastered an invisible force called thermodynamics. According to these presumptuous foreigners, the igloo's tunnel-like entrance preheated outside air, the movable snow-block door let in precisely the amount of this air that could be further warmed by the seal-oil lamp inside, and the adjustable hole in the roof allowed just enough of the resulting rising currents out to create the convection that kept the whole thing going. The sturdy igloo builders pooh-poohed thermodynamic nonsense. They knew exactly what invisible powers kept their dwellings warm." [Howard Bloom]
'White Cell' is next. I hear twisted dark reflections of sound in a pool of obsidian liquid. Strings fall like sour tears amidst groans of electronics and obscure sound effects. Very beautiful and harrowing. The ascriptions given to such persons who would topple the established rites, or who simply find themselves out of step with the culture, follow patterns familiar to anyone who's ever witnessed first-hand the way groups communicate their considerations for a threatening oddity or abnormality. In large part, the order of the cosmos is maintained not only by its rites but by its juxtaposition with perceived chaos, including the turgid souls of soils either outside its confines or occasionally cropping up within, of individualistic, questioning persons; the secular, the profane, the iconoclastic, Demiurges… the different or eccentric or unusual. These persons are alienated and in some cultures persecuted, other times killed, or often banished, and take on the character of this outlying space.
The longest track on the album, 'Vortex Of Forgotten Dreams', begins with a sonic atmosphere of icy feedback and drones evolving like pads. Subtle skin percussion, congas and bongos it sounds like, enter the sound profile. The feedback feels organized into contagiously lovely chords. Then, noisy, cavernous percussive blasts come in for a moment, invading. It feels awhile after as if the mix has melted, then the liquidity of the mix thickens, bubbles, heats. Throughout are choirs of unimaginable form. As the cosmos grows, its borders expanding, it inevitably comes into contact with the peoples of other cultures making up the surrounding space of "chaos." This can have varied results. War, imperialism, trade, multi-culturalism.
'Aversion' starts with a voice, spinning ecstatically into a void of beautiful unfolding harmonies and disharmonies. Beams of energy surround us in the mix, fluttering like birds. There is the punch of an electronic kick drum. It ends with the throbbing of space. "We need a geography of the imagination to understand the appearance and significance of cultural vernaculars beyond their origins. Such a geography would find among its concerns the continuity of culture into civilization, its transformation there, and the physiology of its integration. Anthropology has demonstrated for over a century now that cultures cohere in patterns of wholly imaginative assumptions about the world that constitute systems of law, kinship, language, and philosophy. Civilization when we are first aware of it accepts culture as its archaic moment, precisely when it has lost its feeling for that moment and can be critical of it." [Guy Davenport]
Then, 'Midnight Chrysalis'… this begins with sawtooth synth oscillators panning, a breakbeat coming slowly into focus, massive reverberations of rain drops as if we were a micro-being caught in a downpour. As the tones shift it begins to sound as if it were created by the unique modulations of a Synthi piece; it is very cosmic! "[…] the Greeks steadily continued to empty mythos of all religious and metaphysical value. Contrasted both with logos and, later, with historia, mythos came in the end to denote 'what cannot really exist.' On its side, Judaeo-Christianity put the stamp of 'falsehood' and 'illusion' on whatever was not justified or validated by the two Testaments." [Eliade]
This is followed by 'The Torture Lodge', a return to a span of darkness in which a few sounds haunt an incredibly vast space. Wisps of night, bells, a downtempo groove shrouded in purple veil. A tiny synth lead careens overhead, joining in unity with the rhythm and the noise modulations. The religious, its cluster of memes, has not disappeared: its mind and myth continues alongside the secular in modern civilization, and while these may at first seem conflicted, representing a maintained cultural schism or dichotomy, the two are inextricably linked as one. "The fundamental codes of a culture – those governing its language, its schemas of perception, its exchanges, its techniques, its values, the hierarchy of its practices – establish for every man, from the very first, the empirical orders with which he will be dealing and within which he will be at home. At the other extremity of thought, there are the scientific theories or the philosophical interpretations which explain why order exists in general, what universal law it obeys, what principle can account for it, and why this particular order has been established and not some other. But between these two regions, so distant from one another, lies a domain which, even though its role is mainly an intermediary one, is nonetheless fundamental: it is more confused, more obscure, and probably less easy to analyze. It is here that a culture, imperceptibly deviating from the empirical orders prescribed for it by its primary codes, instituting an initial separation from them, causes them to lose their original transparency, relinquishes its immediate and invisible powers, frees itself sufficiently to discover that these orders are perhaps not the only possible ones or the best ones; this culture then finds itself faced with the stark fact that there exists, below the level of its spontaneous orders, things that are in themselves capable of being ordered, that belong to a certain unspoken order; the fact, in short, that order exists. As though emancipating itself to some extent from its linguistic, perceptual, and practical grids, the culture superimposed on them another kind of grid which neutralized them, which by this superimposition both revealed and excluded them at the same time, so that the culture, by this very process, came face to face with order in its primary state. It is on the basis of this newly perceived order that the codes of language, perception, and practice are criticized and rendered partially invalid. It is on the basis of this order, taken as a firm foundation, that general theories as to the ordering of things, and the interpretation that such an ordering involves, will be constructed. Thus, between the already 'encoded' eye and reflexive knowledge there is a middle region which liberates order itself: it is here that it appears, according to the culture and the age in question, continuous and graduated or discontinuous and piecemeal, linked to space or constituted anew at each instant by the driving force of time, related to a series of variables or defined by separate systems of coherences, composed of resemblances which are either successive or corresponding, organized around increasing differences, etc." [Foucalt]
'Revealing The Arcane' ends the album with uneasy white noise, cavernous feedback. Swells of mana emerge and dissipate. The steely gears of progress are grinding away. The marriage of Protestant theology with capitalist political economy to a large degree dominates our current civilized discourse, determining the contours of our culture, its rites and customs, in contrast to the "chaos" laying outside it and subject to its rule from within. That both are assumptive is taken for granted; outlaying "cosmologies", born from the methodology of science and reason are to be preferred.
Ad Arcanvm Boni Ordinatio :
Adaeqvatio Intellectvs Nostri Cvm Rei


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Type IV secretion systems (T4SS) are used by many medically-important Gram-negative bacterial pathogens to deliver antibiotic resistant genes among bacterial populations and translocate virulence factors into eukaryotic host cells. This multiprotein protein complex is evolutionarily-conserved among Gram-negative bacterial populations, and consists of a core set of proteins that assemble to span the bacterial envelope as a translocation channel and in many cases an extracellular pilus. Despite their broad medical importance, the molecular mechanism of action and the overall architecture of T4SSs are not well understood. This application seeks to define the ultrastructure of a model T4SS within the cell envelope of Escherichia coli in unprecedented detail. This is afforded by recent discoveries that E. coli minicells, skinny cells and cells digested of their cell walls permit visualization ofcell envelope organelles at unparalleled resolution by cryoelectron tomography (CryoET). The overall hypothesis of this proposal is that T4SSs of Gram-negative bacteria are composed of two subassemblies, the inner and outer membrane complexes, whose activities are coordinated to mediate substrate transfer across the bacterial cell envelope.
In Aim 1, I will determine structures of outer membrane complexes produced on intact cells and define the genetic requirements for assembly of this substructure by analysis of cells producing T4SSs lacking one or more of the machine subunits.
In Aim 2, I will visualize the structure of the inner membrane complex both in the absence and presence of the outer membrane complex and with and without docked substrate. I will also develop a novel translocation assay to test for functionality of the inner membrane complex in various genetic contexts. Together, my studies will utilize complementary molecular genetic, biochemical and ultrastructural approaches, the latter capitalizing on the availability of a state-of-the-art cryoEM/ET facility and expertise in high-resolution structural approaches that are available at my institution. The completion of this proposal will provide important insight into the structure and function of a model T4SS. My findings will form a foundation for future work aimed at suppressing the action of these medically-important translocation systems.
Type IV secretion systems are used by many Gram-negative bacteria to propagate antibiotic resistant genes, and contribute to a wide variety of diseases. This project investigates the structures of these macromolecular machines and how they assemble to form a functional complex in intact cells. The findings from our work will provide a foundation for future work aimed at suppressing the action of these important translocation systems.
|Gordon, Jay E; Costa, Tiago R D; Patel, Roosheel S et al. (2017) Use of chimeric type IV secretion systems to define contributions of outer membrane subassemblies for contact-dependent translocation. Mol Microbiol 105:273-293
|Gonzalez-Rivera, Christian; Bhatty, Minny; Christie, Peter J (2016) Mechanism and Function of Type IV Secretion During Infection of the Human Host. Microbiol Spectr 4:

subset: commoncrawl


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In 2003, Apple's iPod changed the way the world listened to music. Now the company is trying to stir a second musical revolution through Apple Music, which officially sounded off on June 30 with a free three-month trial. The new launch has already made Google change its beats. Just a few days before its launch, the search giant hastily added a free tier to its subscription-based Google Play Music app in the US.
Already reports are filtering in of users ditching Spotify and SoundCloud to try out Apple Music. Will it be able to cause a mass scale migration? According to Jason Mander, Head of Trends at British consumer research firm Global Web Index, Spotify is the global leader in terms of monthly users, though in APAC, and in markets like India, SoundCloud is ahead. (Spotify isn't present in India).
So, Apple Music has to offer something beyond mere novelty value to surge ahead of the two. One big advantage for it is that with just a small software update (upgrading to iOS 8.4), Apple device users (iPhone, iPad, Mac) and even iTunes supported Windows PCs can access Apple Music. What's more, initially launched in iOS, Apple has promised an Android version shortly, which will strike a chord with Indian listeners.
Multi-networking: Is the New Wave Indonesia and India lead the pack, with those in the 16 to 64 year age group having more than seven social media accounts on average. China is on top when it comes to actively using them (four on average)
Looking at the initial user reviews and feedback, Apple Music's attempts at being the be all and end all of music is hitting the right note. A big plus for Apple is that it is offering not just music streaming alone, but personalises your collection (its For You feature which has soundtracks that you like is a big hit), offers live radio, has smart curation (by a human, mind you, and not an algorithm), and incorporates social sharing elements as well.
The weakest link appears to be its social element. Unlike other music streaming services, where users can follow people they know, Apple, through its Connect, has chosen to focus on users engaging with artistes, watching how they craft lyrics, see the backstage action, etc. This could end up just being a promotional platform for artistes, who incidentally are on other platforms like Twitter and Tidal as well. But with Apple Music's launch, the battle for listeners' ears is only going to get higher pitched. Stay tuned!


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Another elimination game, another loss for US hockey against their arch border rival, Canada. Canada swept both the women's and men's matches against the US; leading Canada's women's team to a gold medal, now their men will be taking on Sweden for their own gold medal. This seems to have become a common occurrence for the US team, they have been knocked out of the past three Olympics by Canada, two of those three being for the gold medal. The Canadians have won two of the past three gold medals in the Winter Olympics, but have not won outside of their home country Canada, since 1994. They will get their opportunity against the number one hockey team in the seedings on Sunday against the Swedes, which should turn out to be another match up where Canada's defense will come to play.
The U.S. just could not sustain any offense against the incredible goaltending of Carey Price. The Canadians stifled the Americans speedy wingers and roughed them up along the boards. Jamie Benn scored the lone goal in the match up, on a redirect tip from a Jay Bouwmeester shot, that found its way past Jonathan Quick. Carey Price stopped 31 shots on goal from the US Hockey team, with Quick playing just as good; but not good enough allowing the lone goal on 37 shots. The US had multiple opportunities to at least tie the game, earning three power play opportunities to Canada's two. Leading to once again another one goal game between the two countries, just the night before Canada's women's hockey team beat the US team in overtime with a game winning power play goal, which now gives the Canadians the opportunity to sweep the gold for hockey in the Sochi Olympics.
The rivalry stems deep between the two. Both countries pride themselves on how they perform on the ice, especially the northern parts of the US. Many players from each seeing each other countless times growing up playing numerous tournaments, amateur world cups, and even in college. This rivalry alone causes some of the players to lose sleep at night, one US women's player saying she has dreamed of beating Canada every night when going to sleep. Even NHL teammates on opposing sides got a little chippy on the ice. Patrick Marleau was sent to the penalty box for holding his San Jose Sharks teammate, Joe Pavelski of the US.
The Canadians proved once again who the bigger brother was in the battle on the border. This may have been one of the last chances to see two bring their full potential to the Olympic ice, since the NHL has not yet agreed to send its players back for the extended time for the future Olympics. Canada can ill afford to feel the gold medal is already within their grasp after sweeping the Americans; the Sweden's hockey team will also provide a heavy scoring punch from its wingers, as well as boasting one of the best goaltenders in the games. No matter the case, the Canadians will look to be the first team since the 1984 and 1988 Soviet teams, to win back to back gold medals. Canadians will look to close out the Sochi Olympics on high note hoping to tie or pass Norway for the number one spot in gold medals this year.
by Justin Huffman


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IMED5412 Integrated Medical Practice 3 Part 2
- Credit
- 12 points
- Offering
(see Timetable)
Availability Location Mode Non-standard teaching period UWA (Perth) Multi-mode
- Content
- Parts 1 and 2 must be completed to fulfil the requirements of the unit.
The Doctor of Medicine (MD) course is based around six themes of Professional, Leader, Advocate, Clinician, Educator and Scholar. This unit provides teaching in all of these themes within the clinical attachments and related teaching in Year 4 of the MD course. This includes five-week duration clinical placements in emergency medicine, surgery, internal medicine, rural general practice, anaesthesia, cancer, palliative care and a placement where students are able to select a clinical placement to suit their interests (Selective). Students undertake clinical care of patients under the supervision of experienced clinicians in a real clinical environment including ward rounds, operating theatre experience, outpatient clinics, emergency department attachments, community practices and other clinical encounters. Students engage in small group learning sessions to discuss evidence-based practice in related clinical disciplines in hospital and community health contexts. Students are expected to apply the knowledge, skills and professional attitudes gained in context within these clinical rotations.
- Outcomes
- Students are able to (1) display professional behaviour in the educational and clinical settings, discuss challenges to professionalism in specified clinical disciplines, and reflect on and manage professional behaviours in the clinical setting; display critical and insightful self-awareness of own personal values, well-being, personal difficulties and professional performance and implement effective management strategies when necessary; comply with medico-legal responsibilities, recognise and discuss complex ethical and legal issues in medical practice; and explain the legal and regulatory requirements of health professionals; (2) discuss the leadership and management roles of the doctor at the societal, community, organisational, team and personal levels; and contribute professional knowledge, skills and resources within the clinical team to enhance patient care; participate effectively in collaborative health teams involving other health professionals and patients/families/carers; discuss health politics, health policy development, the journey of the patient within the health system, system improvement methodologies, and career pathways and governance.; (3) demonstrate advocacy for individual patients, groups, communities or populations; display culturally secure, comprehensive health care for Aboriginal people and their carers/families/communities; display sensitive and individualized health care for patients taking into account diverse socio-cultural backgrounds and factors contributing to health inequalities; discuss and plan health maintenance, promotion, and prevention interventions with patients and colleagues; (4) integrate knowledge of the classification, epidemiology, aetiology, anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical and pathological manifestations, natural history, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies with core presentations and medical conditions; perform an accurate, relevant, timely and prioritised patient assessment; apply justifiable diagnostic reasoning strategies to formulate a relevant and prioritized differential diagnosis and diagnostic strategy for core presentations and medical conditions; and apply logical clinical judgement and decision- making in individual clinical situations; demonstrate an ability to prioritise management of illness and injury in partnership with patient/carers/families and other health professionals; select and use therapies under supervision applying their evidence-base to individual patients; and perform specified procedural skills appropriately, safely and effectively; assess and respect the patient's values, preferences, context, perspectives and impacts of their health and health problems, and involve and inform the patient/carers/families during the decision-¬making and management process; display caring, compassionate and empathic behaviours with patients/carers/families and communicate professionally, respectfully, courteously and effectively with patients, carers, families and other health professionals; apply a quality framework to medical practice and display a commitment to continued improvement of clinical performance; (5) demonstrate critical self-reflection skills as a learner a capacity for life-long learning; discuss and apply effective approaches to developing mentoring and support relationships; plan and implement education for patients/carers/families based on the principles of patient education and counselling; implement teaching sessions that are guided by the principles of effective teaching and learning; display effective self-assessment skills, seek and effectively respond to constructive feedback, provide constructive feedback to others, and evaluate different assessment methods and strategies; and (6) apply research-based knowledge from medical sciences as the basis for clinical practice; apply evidence-based practice strategies and tools to specified core medical conditions and presentations and clinical practice; use clinical information and support systems and resources in a relevant, effective and professional manner.
- Assessment
- Indicative assessments in this unit are as follows: (1) in-training assessment during the clinical attachments including assignments, tutor ratings, structured clinical assessments, case presentations, quizzes and other portfolio based items; (2) end of semester written examinations; (3) objective structured clinical examination (OSCE); (4) professional behaviour assessment (PBA); (5) portfolio; and (6) procedural skills log. Further information is available in the unit outline.
To pass this unit, a student must: (a) achieve an overall mark of 50 per cent or higher for the unit; and (b) achieve the requisite requirements(s) or a mark of 50 per cent or greater, whichever is higher and specified in the unit outline, for the in-training assessment during the clinical attachments including assignments, tutor ratings, structured clinical assessments, case presentations, quizzes and other portfolio based items, end of semester written examinations, objective structured clinical examination (OSCE), professional behaviour assessment (PBA), portfolio, and procedural skills log components.
Supplementary assessment is available in this unit for those students who obtain a mark of at least 45 overall provided they have (i) also obtained a mark of at least 45 in a specified component (barrier component) of the unit and (ii) passed the Professional Behaviour Assessment.
- Unit Coordinator(s)
- Dr Seng Khee Gan
- Unit rules
- Note
- In order to pass the unit, students are required to achieve a pass in the unit overall, AND a pass in the combined written examinations, AND a pass in the in training assessment, AND a pass in the OSCE, AND a pass in the PBA, AND a pass in the portfolio component, AND a pass in the procedural skills log.
- The availability of units in Semester 1, 2, etc. was correct at the time of publication but may be subject to change.
- All students are responsible for identifying when they need assistance to improve their academic learning, research, English language and numeracy skills; seeking out the services and resources available to help them; and applying what they learn. Students are encouraged to register for free online support through GETSmart; to help themselves to the extensive range of resources on UWA's STUDYSmarter website; and to participate in WRITESmart and (ma+hs)Smart drop-ins and workshops.
- Books and other material wherever listed may be subject to change. Book lists relating to 'Preliminary reading', 'Recommended reading' and 'Textbooks' are, in most cases, available via the Booktopia Textbook Finder, which has the functionality to search by course code, course, ISBN and title, and may also be posted or available at the appropriate school's administrative offices. Where texts are listed in the unit description above, an asterisk (*) indicates that the book is available in paperback.


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Happy Monday!
It looks like it's going to be a chilly, wet one for us.
It looks like it's going to be a chilly, wet one for us.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. Mine was really nice! Larry smoked some baby back ribs for our lunch. They were out-of-this world delicious! He is the best! I am so blessed to be married to this wonderful man, with whom I share two terrific kids.
They all made me feel extra special yesterday! Thanks, Guys! Momma loves you!
Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Iron Skillet Baked Bean,
Potato Salad and Drop Biscuits with Herbed Butter
I also baked a Fresh Apple Cake using
Wayne and Barbara's recipe.
It is super moist and delicious!
Do yourself a favor and bake this cake soon!
I also baked a Fresh Apple Cake using
Wayne and Barbara's recipe.
It is super moist and delicious!
Do yourself a favor and bake this cake soon!
See why I am always needing to lose weight?!
I asked for a pair of those newfangled walking/toning shoes for Mother's Day. My sweet family obliged. I wonder how many miles I will have to walk in my new shoes to work off all the calories on these plates?! Oh well, it was delicious, and Mondays are for starting over, right?
Textures of potato salad vary greatly down here, too. Some folks make it almost as smooth as mashed potatoes. Others prepare it fairly chunky. I like it somewhere in between the two extremes.
Another oddity about the South and potato salad is that some folks like it served warm. This is also true of banana pudding, by the way. I like potato salad warm or cold, although I do usually pop mine into the fridge. Okay, so in all honesty, this is after having spooned a small portion of the warm concoction into a dish and devouring it!
This simple recipe for potato salad is one of my favorites. It is an especially good choice for those who don't care for boiled eggs or pickles in their potato salad.
As you can see, we could talk about potato salad and its varied ingredients for days!
Many blessings and best wishes for a great week!
Potato Salad
Potato Salad
Use your food processor for mincing veggies. You want them that finely chopped.
2 ½ pounds potatoes, peeled, cubed and cooked until just fork-tender
1 medium green pepper, minced and drained
½ of a large white onion, minced
1 (2-ounce) jar pimentos, drained
mayonnaise (I use Hellman's.)
prepared yellow mustard (I use French's.)
Drain potatoes and gently add the remaining ingredients to taste.
Spoon into a serving bowl and sprinkle with paprika.


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Earn points toward FREE PIZZA with Piece of the Pie Rewards
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For Leominster pizza delivery that's sure to please, choose Domino's. When you order Domino's, you're not ordering the same old, ordinary pizza that other restaurants offer. You're ordering a pizza with a perfectly seasoned and baked crust, a hearty marinara sauce handcrafted from only the best tomatoes, and a savory mixture of toppings that'll satisfy both veggie lovers and pepperoni fans alike! With Domino's pizza, your grumbling tummy won't be grumbling much longer.
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Blockbuster May Run Out Of DVDsMarch 17, 2010 by Douglas A. McIntyre
Blockbuster (BBI), the world's largest movie rental chain, has all sorts of problems. It is nearly insolvent. Its model of renting DVDs from stores has been largely bypassed by online operations such as NetFlix (NFLX). VOD services from cable companies and internet providers from Amazon (AMZN) to Apple (AAPL) make is easy for the consumer to get films and TV shows without leaving their living rooms.
Blockbuster is trying to avoid bankruptcy as it struggles with its debt load and the rental costs for stores that it does not need due to falling demand, but it has warned it may have no other choice.
Blockbuster's stock currently trades at $.40 because the firm has actually said it could file for Chapter 11 which would allow senior subordinated creditors to take control of the firm.
One of the unintended consequences of Blockbuster's problems is that it may not be able to buy new DVDs from Hollywood studios. They view the company as too much of a credit risk. Without movies, Blockbuster has no sales. Without sales, Blockbuster will quickly become insolvent.
In its 10-K, the firm writes, " Given our liquidity limitations and uncertainty surrounding our ability to finance our obligations, we are currently in discussions with several of the large studios regarding the credit terms for our inventory purchases. If the studios tighten their credit terms or if studios eliminate their provision of credit to us altogether, this could result in up-front cash commitments that we may be unable to sustain."
The problem that creditors have is that they probably cannot run Blockbuster any better than current management. A Chapter 11 filing may allow the company to close stores and lay-off people, but that is only a short-term way for Blockbuster to get around the fact that its services are no longer needed by most consumers.
Blockbuster, once a major innovator in the content distribution business, is now dead as duck. The world of technology allowed competition to flank the company and Blockbuster did nothing about it. At least not until it was too late.
Douglas A. McIntyre


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The GoodShipping Program provides ocean cargo owners with a very quick, transparent and convenient way to reduce their carbon footprint coming from ship operations by adding renewables to the fuel mix.
The greenest mode of transport
Shipping has always been regarded environmentally friendly (on a ton-mile basis), but this reputation cannot be taken for granted. Shipping has been left out of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, leaving the industry without a clear target or incentive for GHG reduction. It is expected that emissions from shipping will increase with 50% to 250% by 2050. Shipping will then be responsible for >15% of the total global CO2-emissions.
GoodShipping will accelerate the adoption of renewable energy for ship propulsion, thereby helping the maritime industry to continue to live up to its claim of being the greenest mode of transport.
Changing the marine fuel mix
Ocean cargo owners' only option to eliminate or substantially reduce the climate impact from ship operations was to select an energy-efficient carrier and/or offset the carbon footprint outside the shipping industry. Until today. The big difference with other sustainability initiatives is that the GoodShipping Program is actually changing the marine fuel mix, and thereby realizes a carbon reduction within the industry. Every ocean cargo owner can participate in the Program regardless of their volumes, location, trade routes and existing contract. However, cargo owners cannot drive the transition on their own: ultimately it is a change iconic to and facilitated by the maritime industry (carriers, ports and technology providers).
In copperation with GoodFuels
The GoodShipping Program has been developed in cooperation with GoodFuels Marine: market leader and supplier of advanced biofuels, supported by several NGOs and aiming to significantly reduce CO2-emissions in those transport segments with limited to no options to decarbonize. The biofuels are generated out of waste and residues, and achieve next to carbon reduction also significant benefits on local emissions (sulphur free, reduced NOx and particulate matter like soot).
The first Good Trade Lane connecting Europe to the rest of the world will be launched autumn this year. Get involved!
Entry from: Isabel Welten and Astrid Sonneveld.
Compete: From Problem to Profit competition


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Security Management and Focal Point Program [ILM, SHRM, and HRCI Certified] -French
Understanding, mapping and evaluating risks at the strategic, operational and tactical levels for human-made threats and natural disasters allows leaders to effectively and confidentially prepare for and prevent, respond to and manage, and transition and recover from a crisis situation. This is increasingly important for both security and risk professionals, as well as critically for non-security professionals acting as field Security Focal Points, and department or locational Business Continuity Representatives. RSM is the only organization which provides easy to access online Institute of Leadership Management [ILM] certifications for risk leadership, as well as 22 HRCI and SHRM credits. Our internationally orientated program offers 5hrs of training within 7 mandatory courses, with up to 17hrs of elective training within 22 courses. The program is designed to build leadership knowledge, competency and confidence, create resistance through safety and security measures and the ability to implement incremental adjustments to an emergency situation; addressing key areas of risk to people, facilities, assets, information, business and operations, as well as risks to organizational reputation. The training is aligned to ISO standards for resiliency, security, risk management and emergency management and is provided in multiple languages. The program can be taken at the participant's pace, provides scope for participants to choose their own learning journey. Organizations can also design build their program, self-selecting elective modules from over 300 online training courses. Business PHR Credits (Functional Area 1): This course supports Human Resource professionals in meeting the needs of business management and strategy, developing a knowledge of their role within enterprise risk management; ensuring that policies contribute to protecting the organization from potential risks. This training also protects the organization from loss and liability, develops leadership concepts and applications, and supports risk management techniques. PLEASE REMEMBER - Some modules offer language subtitles. Click the 'CC' button on the video player controls to select your language. WEAK INTERNET – If you have limited bandwidth, please ensure you select the lowest quality setting under the gear icon in the video player controls.


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Copiague, NY, United States
I've a wide variety of creative interests - making art, photography and writing poetry and I love making jewelry.
jewelry making, metalsmithing, making mixed media and collage art, drawing, painting, photography, writing poetry, the beach, music, NYC, LI, animals, movies, fine and gourmet dining, wine, flowers, gardening, interior decoration, suduko, science fiction/fantasy, travel
Each year I travel to 1 or more art and/or jewelry making retreats to learn new skills and hone existing ones. I have attended classes to learn metalsmithing techniques, jewelry creation and design. I have taken retreat classes with Richard Salley, Thomas Mann, Keith LoBue, Kim St. Jean and Laurie Mika (to name a few).
Don't see what you're looking for? Need multiple quantities? Would you like me to create a piece of custom jewelry for you? Please contact me!!
After 2 weeks your items will automatically renewed for another 60 days and $0.23 per item will be added to your billing ledger.
While you were away our TOU was updated,
read the terms of use here.
*No action is required on your part.


text: A Cold War Family Reunion Long after the Cold War and decades of separation, a Native American tribe plans a reunion. 10 Jun 2018 14:36 GMT Indigenous rights, United States, Russia, Human Rights "To survive here, it's about family."-Frances Sistook Ozenna, tribal coordinator, Little Diomede Close to the Arctic Circle, lie two remote islands. They are only about four kilometres apart, but they are separated by an invisible border known as the "Ice Curtain". Little Diomede is part of the United States. Big Diomede is part of Russia. During the Cold War, the Inupiat tribe living on both islands was torn apart. I think about how my grandparents must have felt when they separated them. That must have been a big grief for them to lose that connection. Frances Sistook Ozenna, tribal coordinator on Little Diomede In 1948, the Soviets moved the residents of Big Diomede to mainland Russia. Their relatives on Little Diomede remained. Now, more than two decades since their last reunion, Frances Sistook Ozenna, a tribal coordinator on Little Diomede, is attempting to reunite her people with their Russian relatives. "I've heard stories a long time ago about how there was interaction between the villages before the Ice Curtain," she says. "I think about how my grandparents must have felt when they separated them. That must have been a big grief for them to lose that connection." But bringing their Russian relatives to Little Diomede is as challenging as thawing volatile US-Russia relations. They must secure visas for the US, and also navigate treacherous storms in order to reach the remote island. But, conscious that it may be the last opportunity for the tribe's few remaining elders, Frances and the community are determined to make the reunion happen. The Diomede islands are only about four kilometres apart and were traditionally close-knit, but 70 years ago, the Cold War tore the communities part [Al Jazeera] FILMMAKERS' VIEW By Jonathan Schienberg and Tik Root Squint at a map, and you will find two dots in the middle of the Bering Strait, just south of the Arctic Circle, where humans are thought to have first crossed to North America. That's how we first found the Diomede islands - as cartographic specs. We wondered what was there. It turns out that the larger of the two dots is Big Diomede, and the smaller is Little Diomede. The sister islands sit only about four kilometres apart and were traditionally close-knit, but, 70 years ago, the Cold War tore the communities part. To survive here, it's about family. Frances Sistook Ozenna, tribal coordinator, Little Diomede Today, Big Diomede is a Russian military outpost. Little Diomede is American, and home to a community of about 100 mostly Alaskan Natives. Largely cut off from the rest of the world, they survive primarily off traditional subsistence sources, such as hunting walrus and polar bear (nearly every part of the animal is used for something), or fermenting food in seal oil. Still, modernity has a strong - and strengthening - foothold on the island. In recent years, Little Diomede has gotten high-speed internet access - albeit for only a few hours a day. And, like everywhere else, many kids are glued to their smartphones and play video games. Even Diomede cannot escape the long reach of Amazon - although delivery times are helicopter and weather-dependent, so never "same-day". Figuring out how to capture this mix of tradition, progress and indomitable landscape was challenging in many ways, as was just making initial contact with residents of the island. After several months of reporting and trying to reach someone, we finally connected with Frances Ozenna. A tribal leader, Ozenna is an island matriarch. She cares deeply about the preservation of her culture and the survival of the island, while also acknowledging and, to an extent embracing, the inevitability of change. We first spoke to Ozenna last spring, as she was spearheading the island's effort to reunite with Russian relatives from Big Diomede island, who are now living on the Russian mainland. Neither side had seen the other in decades. For us, this contemporary narrative was a compelling opportunity to tie together the island's past, present and future. Last July, Ozenna and the tribe were finally able to get permission for their relatives to return to Little Diomede. The trip was plagued by paperwork troubles, weather delays and a near cancellation. As we waited anxiously on the island, the residents took a more relaxed, wait-and-see, approach. Plans there rarely unfold as anticipated, so they were accustomed to tempering their excitement. When the relatives finally arrived, though, joy was both evident and abundant. Over the course of the short visit, Ozenna went from greeting people she had never met on the helipad to wanting to see her Russian relatives as often as possible. As she told us on many occasions, "Diomede is about family."Source: Al Jazeera Tell us what you think


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If you are a homeowner, you probably know the responsibilities that come with owning your own home. Among those responsibilities is making sure that your roof is in good shape throughout the year. If you don't know what steps to take to address your roofing needs, your in luck. The article below has some great advice with regards to roofing.
Always research a roofing company before you allow them to do any work on your roof. You want to call up the Better Business Bureau or visit their website to see if there are any complaints. Search online and see if anyone has left a review about the company as well. If you don't do this, you could end up getting with a company that does terrible work.
Does your roofer have liability insurance? If for no other reason, this lets you know that your roofer is professional and reliable. If anything happens while they work on your roof, the insurance will take care of it.
When hiring a roofing contractor, you should make sure that he/ she has the proper equipment. If they charge you for labor by the hour, but are doing your entire roof with a hammer instead of a compressed air nailer, you will end up paying much more than you should.
When hiring a roofing contractor, be extra cautious of those who won't give you an estimate on paper before the work is started. A reputable contractor should have no problem supplying you with an estimate that details the costs involved and the work to be performed. You should look elsewhere if a contractor won't agree to supply that information.
If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Calling around for different quotes for your roofing job is important to ensure you get the best price. However, if a contractor is offering their services way below the average, ask yourself why. It could very well be a good deal, but it could be a scam as well.
It is not easy to find a good roofer. If you think you have a possibility, ask that person to give you at least three references that you can contact. Speaking with former customers will give you an idea of what type of professionalism and work you can expect from your roofer.
Be sure to inspect the valleys on your roof if you are experiencing a leak anywhere in your home. A valley is where two corners meet, forming a ridge. It is here where water or snow can pool, creating erosion of the roofing materials faster than anywhere else. Check the tiles there first to make sure they are not damaged or for any debris that may be blocking drainage.
When a vicious storm blows through, you will have to climb up to the roof to check for damage. Of course, look for any missing pieces, be they shingles or flashing. Also check your gutters for looseness and clogs, and check nearby trees for any limbs which are broken and could come crashing down on your home.
If you are looking for a dimensional look to your roof, architectural shingles can provide this. Instead of a flat appearance, architectural shingles provide "pop" to your roof. Each shingle is layered, giving the final product a very dimensional and intriguing look. Be sure to pick a quality architectural shingle for a longer sustained roof.
If you're attempting to handle roof repairs on your own, proceed with caution. A roof is a dangerous place to be, and you want to be properly equipped for it. Wear shoes with rubber soles, and use a well braced ladder that has rubber safety feet. Your roof isn't worth risking your life over.
Keep an eye on your roof's color. If you spot streaks, this could mean that your roof is infested with algae or mold. Your roof can recover if this is addressed right away, but if you let the problem fester, your roof's lifespan could be significantly shortened. Infestations like this can also cause leaks.
Having read the article above, you hopefully now have a better understanding as to how you can handle any roofing issue you may experience in the future. Refer back to this article from time to time to make sure you are doing everything you are supposed to with regards to your roofing responsibilities . Your efforts will be well worth it in the long run.


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The Stewards fined the following trainer in respect of their non-runner:-W. McCreery, trainer of No Fear (Declared in error) - €200
061A Light Up Your Night Apprentice H'cap
The Stewards interviewed Christina Simpson, rider of Have A Great Day, concerning her use of the whip in the latter stages of this race. Evidence was heard from the rider concerned. Having viewed a recording of the race and considered the evidence the Stewards were satisfied that Christina Simpson was in breach of R10(3)(g) by using her whip with her arm above shoulder height and consequently suspended her for 1 raceday having taken her previous record into consideration. Furthermore, the Stewards ordered Christina Simpson to attend R.A.C.E for 1 days tuition on the correct use of the whip. Andrew Oliver trainer of Have A Great Day also attended this enquiry.061B Easter Dining At Dundalk H'cap
J.Larkin, trainer of Smart Alec, reported to the Office of the Governing Bodies on Monday 27th April that his charge has had a wind operation since this run.061C Patton Stakes
L.F. Roche, rider of Sparklingsovereign (GB) trained by S. Donohoe, reported to the Clerk of Scales that his mount ran too free during this race.
M.D. O'Callaghan, trainer of Rapid Applause (GB), reported to the Clerk of Scales that his charge scoped abnormally post race.061D Crowne Plaza Hotel Race & Stay M'dn
Prior to racing James M. Ryan, trainer of On Location (USA), reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his charge was showing signs of being in season.
T.P. Madden, rider of Mianya Return, trained by William J. Fitzpatrick, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount hung badly to the left throughout this race.
The Turf Club Veterinary Officer examined So Focussed, trained by J. S. Bolger, at the request of the Stewards and reported the animal to be lame and also to be making a respiratory noise post race.061E www.dundalkstadium.com H'cap
The Stewards informed Paul W. Flynn, trainer that Chatterton, would have to be recertified before being declared to run from stalls again.061F Follow Us On Facebook H'cap
The Turf Club Veterinary Officer examined Moonmeister, trained by Gordon Elliott, at the request of the Stewards and reported the animal to be post race normal.
Disclaimer: Please note this information is provisional and is subject to amendment until published in the Irish Racing Calendar.


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"You're so fly you got wings!" Susan's text said, first thing in the morning. The week started well and the world supported me with more things like this every time I needed them.
At Sambar I told Kevin about the blog, how uncomfortable I get when I think about it being something for other people to read, with the way it seems a bit narcissistic in that light, same with the stories. The process of writing, I get. That makes sense to me every day, is always something I want to do. It's the getting to the end part that's hard, the idea that it's not just process but product, something to be looked at and valued, both in good ways and in bad. On what authority does it all stand? What right do I have to say something turns out this way or that, to resolve or conclude or end anything? I'm most comfortable in my stories that are almost all voice, not so much about what's happening, no decisions to make about how a character would decide this or that. How can I make up someone else's mind?
"I have to get over that" I told him, and he smiled and said "You do!"Jane Hirshfield wrote a series of poems I love that she called "assays". The word pleased me when I first saw it in one of the titles, since I hear it nearly every day. It's used constantly in science. Here's what Merriam-Webster says assay means:
1archaic : trial , attempt2: examination and determination as to characteristics (as weight, measure, or quality)3: analysis (as of an ore or drug) to determine the presence, absence, or quantity of one or more components ; also : a test used in this analysis
Could that help? What if all the writing is just to assay? Test things out, examine, describe presence, or absence. I might be able to do that much.Writing group on April 10th, time to turn something in and commit to working on it. Hard for me these days, but working on it.


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I have killed every house plant I ever owned. Except one.
When I was somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 years sober, my sponsor gave me a beautiful little plant. It has since burgeoned into a thriving monstrosity. I named it "Sober Plant" and it has survived multiple moves and other various and sundry forms of abuse. Sober Plant is an excellent communicator; it droops dramatically when thirsty and perks up like a stretching cat when satisfied.
Soon after my wedding in July, I was mortified to discover that Sober Plant's soil was growing mushrooms. Though they were little, they were insidious. When plucked from their newfound home, they filled our apartment with an earthy stench that made me gag. I sent in my braver, stronger stomached wife to finish digging them out. She did, bless her heart.
Despite taking measures to extract the contaminated soil, the mushrooms grew back. Then they exploded and spread their nasty spores all over Sober Plant. I researched anti-fungal remedies but most were not guaranteed to work. I worried that Sober Plant might not be savable.
Truth be told, I've always seen Sober Plant as a kind of living metaphor for my sobriety. And truth be told, my sobriety has been feeling kind of stagnant. Don't get me wrong. My life is incredibly blessed. But I have been skimming along doing the bare minimum to stay sober and grow as a woman of grace. I have struggled with this "bare minimum" complex over the years. As a result, I turn into a dry drunk or I become restless with complacency. You may have heard the saying "Alcohol (drug of choice, compulsive behavior, etc) is but a symptom of the disease". This is certainly true for me. I have a brain that is wired to deal with life in a maladaptive way. Recovery is a conscious decision and subsequent effort to engage in a complete rewiring. When I stop rewiring, my brain stays stuck, or worse, reverts to old wiring. If toyed with, this old wiring could start a fire.
Complacency creates the perfect environment for "mushrooms" to grow in my sobriety. When I think I have this disease in the bag, I am in trouble. It is waiting for any opportunity to kill me. (When I honestly admit "why" I used substances, it's because I wanted to be unconscious, unfeeling, emotionally "dead"). Every "mushroom" in my "plant" brings me one step closer.
By now, you all probably think I'm a little crazy (guilty as charged). When you start empathizing with your house plant, it might be a good time to take stock and take action – which is exactly what I did. Does anyone remember the week of the Blue Moon? It was absolutely magical. Doors opened and I intuitively knew I should walk through them. I wasn't taking small risks either. I quit my job (again) and took a position that allowed me to work part time.
Now you probably think I'm even more crazy. My house plant gets gross and the moon gives off a little lunar energy and suddenly I'm quitting my job (again!) only WEEKS after getting married? (Did I mention my wife is a rock star?)
Yup, that's the long and short of it.
Recovery has taught me how to trust myself and to recognize when the timing of the Universe is aligned with my intentions. When these two things are in alignment, I know I am doing the right thing. Wildly enough, the more I take these risks, the more success I have.
My life before sobriety was driven by fear. My life in recovery is driven by faith.
Let me explain without metaphor and generalization:
I don't think I understood quite how stressed out I was at work until after I left. Less than two weeks after my resignation became effective, someone said "You look more relaxed than you have in months".
Let me reiterate the stance I have taken in the past: I am not here to burn bridges. I needed to have that experience and I am immensely thankful for the opportunity. I had to do so many things that made me uncomfortable and, as a result, my confidence level increased one hundred percent. And I learned. Oh, boy, did I learn.
But here's the thing: the helping profession will chew you up and spit you out. You either have to be okay with that or you need to find something else to do. That's not to say that I don't ever want to work in the helping profession again. I care about people and I'm willing to take a little of the chewing up and the spitting out; I just refuse to endure it to the total detriment of my well being.
I left first and foremost because it was the self caring thing to do. However, I also left because I had a whole lot of "something else" weighing heavily on my heart. I needed to create some space to explore it.
When I was a sophomore in High School, I took a grainy black and white photo of carnations in the snow. I was never the same again.
They say it physically hurts an artist when he or she is not able to engage in the process of his or her choice. I can definitely attest to that and I finally did something about it. I created space. I started a photography business. I designed a logo, launched a Facebook page, ordered business cards, and now I dedicate my free time to creating a quality portrait portfolio.
Most of my life I received messages about what I "should" do. I "should" hold down a job whether I like it or not. I "should" have a certain kind of job. Success is measured by salary and stature. Taking care of myself was supposedly "selfish".
Today I measure success in peace of mind. I was born with certain intrinsic skills. When I ignore them, I am being dishonest with myself. When I am dishonest, I am unhappy.
Though I mention this last, it certainly is not least. After quitting my job, I joined an intensive group in my recovery program of choice in order to do "the work". It's going to help me grow and keep my recovery fresh. It's going to help me look at some of my surviving maladaptive patterns and do something about them (I am going to look at why I keep finding myself in toxic job situations but I have a feeling I already solved the mystery… see aforementioned dishonesty with self). One of the chief things I hope to work on is my hatred for alcohol. My reasons for hating it are certainly understandable but I do not attract others to sobriety with bitterness and contempt.
What I have essentially done over the last seven weeks is repot my plant. And that's what we did to Sober Plant, too. We bought Sober Plant a new pot and a new bag of soil. We rinsed its leaves and its roots. We put it in a whole new window. When we went on vacation, our neighbor lovingly cared for it (I'm not sure what she did, but Sober Plant came back looking like it had been at a spa for a week). Sober Plant is mushroom free and has never looked better.
I still have a way to go before I feel like Sober Plant and I are on par with each other. I need to go to the doctor for my bad foot. The dentist and I have a long overdue date. I've had the phone number of a new therapist for months. My meditation mat has become a laundry station. However, I feel like it's unfair not to acknowledge my progress. I've made my recovery a priority. I've aligned my spirit with the intention of the Universe. For the first time in a long time, I've been able to bake from scratch and finish an entire book. I've cleaned out years of burdensome paperwork and unused possessions. I've made space to stretch toward the sun.


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Ko Samui, Thailand's second largest island, lies in the Gulf of Thailand off the east coast of the Kra Isthmus. It's known for its palm-fringed beaches, coconut groves and dense, mountainous rainforest, plus luxury resorts and posh spas. The landmark 12m-tall golden Big Buddha statue at Wat Phra Yai Temple is located on a tiny island connected to Ko Samui by a causeway.
Koh Tao & Koh Nangyuan by Catamaran Tour...
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Samui Drinks Tasting Unique Booze Tour Day Tr...
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This tour was designed to show you another side of what you can experience on the island. Join us on an extraordinary jaunt in sampling Koh Samui's finest alcoholic beverage […]
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Great fun For everyone, Fishing equipment provided. Relax and go fishing in the crystal clear water on the south side of Koh Samui. Plentiful marine life and secluded islands with […]
Samui Island Organics Thai Cooking Classes : ...
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SAMUI'S MOST AUTHENTIC THAI CULINARY EXPERIENCE ! Join Chef Lat as she selects fresh organic produce from her 21st century eco farm then learn to prepare & cook 4 Thai […]
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History Ancient Coconut Island "Koh Samui" (Samui Island). This name had been known for a long time among ancient boatmen. Stories of the thousand-year past are told. "Khwan Fa stone […]
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From the vibrant tourist areas of the north and east coast, to the undeveloped, picturesque southern Islands Koh Matsum and Koh Tan. On our Samui Island Tour you will enjoy […]


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Q. I have selected a great provider and I feel comfortable with the nurses at my clinic. Why do I need a virtual doula?
A. The choices you make about your care team are very important ~ I support you and encourage you to embrace all of the benefits that you can from your prenatal visits. What is unique about my role is that I can provide you with individualized, on-going attention, problem-solving opportunities, and consistent support throughout your journey. With my background in nursing and healthcare and as a mother of two, I've been on both sides of the fence. My goal is to help you create a seamless experience throughout your pregnancy, birth, and postpartum recovery. Ultimately, my intention is to support you in a way that aligns with your core values.
And, virtual doula support is accessible to you 7 days a week by email, messenger, phone, and Zoom and that's a perk you won't find elsewhere, at least, not until labor begins!
Q. I've never heard of a virtual doula, how do you compliment the services that I already have?
A. The concept of a virtual doula is new. Based on my experience working in the healthcare field I have observed and seen first-hand the need for more personalized attention and emotional support during the journey to motherhood. This observation led me to create the virtual doula support program.
Q. How early can I begin virtual doula support?
A. Great question! I typically recommend that my clients start virtual doula support at around 12 weeks of pregnancy! The first step is to schedule a Virtual Doula Support consultation in your first trimester. The sooner we can connect and build a working relationship, the sooner you can begin to build a solid foundation for the birth experience that you desire.
Q. I'm worried about the possibility of pregnancy loss, what do I do when this is a concern and how does virtual doula support fit into this situation?
A. I am very glad you that you asked this question. I am experienced in working with women suffering a pregnancy loss and in my role as your virtual doula, we will connect regularly to check in and process your feelings, experience, and plans for future pregnancies.
Q. I'm interested in learning more about your unique role and service, what is the next step?
A. Wonderful! I look forward to connecting with you and chatting about your vision for your pregnancy and birth.


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Two special agents assigned to ICE were honored last week by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona for their roles in an Operation Predator investigation that resulted in the conviction of Sierra Vista resident Michael D. Flammond, 38, on federal child pornography charges. Flammond was sentenced in October 2012 to 10 years in federal prison.
Operation Predator is a nationwide initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers.
"I am very proud of the dedication and perseverance Special Agents Cody Nuckles and Greg Kelly brought to this child predator investigation," said Matt Allen, special agent in charge of HSI Arizona. "Thanks to their tireless efforts, this perpetrator was brought to justice. It's an honor to serve with these fine law enforcement professionals."


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This week the folks at NVIDIA have revealed their NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti graphics card with Pascal GPU technology inside. This graphics card is meant to be "sliding in between" the GTX 1080 and 1070 GPU cards already on the market, said NVIDIA today. This graphics card will be released first in an NVIDIA Founder's Edition through NVIDIA stores in participating countries, available on reserve basically immediately.
The NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti Pascal-based GPU rolls with a collection of high-powered specs. Inside are 2,432 cores and 8 GB of memory. That memory runs at 8Gbps, for a total bandwidth of 256 GB/s. This amalgamation of parts is made to overclock.
This system uses vapor chamber cooling as and an external design much like its predecessors, using the 1070's 256-bit bus for an overall memory bandwidth of 256GBps as well. Meanwhile this card uses five-phase dual-FET power, the same as the GTX 1080 Founders Edition card.
Nearing the specs of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080, this 1070 Ti is priced and spec'd to take on AMD's Radeon Vega 56. Not to be left with a single price/power slot un-captured, NVIDIA's GTX 1070 Ti card uses NVIDIA's GP104 GPU just like the GTX 1080, but with a price that's slightly under that slightly more powerful card.
• GTX 1070: 1,920 CUDA cores
• GTX 1070 Ti: 2,432 CUDA cores
• GTX 1080: 2,560 CUDA cores
This GeForce GTX 1080 Ti graphics card – in its Founder's Edition release – has a suggested retail price of approximately $450 USD. This graphics card will be available in a Founder's Edition first – and it'll be available through NVIDIA stores first, in participating countries on reserve starting today. Shipping will begin on November 2nd.


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Students who ordered 2018-19 yearbooks can pick them up at the Bolt Shop during regular school hours. Books will not be delivered to classrooms. Please stop by and claim your yearbook at your earliest convenience.
Students who graduated in 2019 are welcome to send a representative or stop by during regular school hours Monday-Friday. Enter at Door #11.


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Easing Transitions Between The Hospital, Rehab, And Home
When you have a loved one in the hospital, they may not leave the hospital and head straight home. Many people, particularly seniors, require short-term or long-term care in a rehabilitation center before they are ready to return home. These transitions can be difficult for both you as the caregiver and your loved one who is transitioning. Moving elderly patients between different care settings is emotionally stressful for everyone involved in the transition. And these transitions can also lead to additional health problems and rehospitalization rates if you're not careful about the transition process. Here are a few tips for helping your loved on transition from hospital to rehab to home:
Make Plans Prior To Your Loved One's Hospital Discharge
The key to any successful transition from one care setting to another is proper planning beforehand. The last thing you want is for your loved one's discharge to come as a surprise. You should start planning for next steps after discharge as soon as possible. The hospital should have a discharge planner or social worker on staff who can help you plan for this transition. These professionals have extensive experience in planning everything about your loved one's transition – they can help with planning where your loved one will go upon discharge, the transportation they will need, how they will pay for their care, and community-based services. Checklists are helpful when planning transitions. A checklist will allow you to keep track of what tasks they have completed and which tasks are still outstanding. Careful planning will ensure your loved one's home or assisted living facility is set-up to be as safe as possible while leaving your loved one with as much independence as possible.
Learn More About Our Continuing Care Options
Assess Your Loved One's Capabilities Realistically When Making Home Modifications & Planning For Their Care
When your loved one is transitioning from one care setting to another, you may need to make modifications to the home they are transitioning to. Things that were once not a major problem could become a major hazard if they have limited mobility or other capabilities. Professionals such as occupational and physical therapists can help you do an assessment of your loved one's home and recommend any necessary modifications. You will need to perform your own assessment of your loved one's capabilities to ensure the plans the hospital has made for transitioning care are realistic. You must know your and your loved one's abilities and limitations and make your needs clear when planning with the hospital for discharge. Did you know that almost half of all family caregivers perform complex medical or nursing tasks? Make sure you have thorough training and understanding of any care you provide yourself. Make sure you have arranged for any in-home health care providers your loved one will need prior to discharge.
Schedule A Tour Of Mease Manor To See How We Can Provide Your Loved One With The Care They Need Through Each Transition
Mease Manor Retirement Community offers the best senior living options. We have options for every senior living need – from independent living to specialized short-term and long-term care. We are proud to offer our residents resort style living options with access to the highest quality of care. Contact us online or call us at 727-738-3000 to schedule your personal tour today!


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Well.. The average Indian is proud of his "software skills". He is proud that India is the "Software hub" of the world.
Who called India a Software hub? Its an IT/ITES hub – agreed. There's a lot of difference between software and IT. IT is the lower end of the spectrum, consisting of computerising business processes, providing computer infrastructure and developing systems to give businesses better communication, better support options and so on. Basically, its stuff like making a complaint log system for a company that logged complaints on paper, and communicated thru' email/phone, or making a communication-centered system for a business who have suppliers from parts of the country, or a spread out office. This sort of work just needs an average B.E. undergraduate, and some good training. Thats all! It doesn't even need CS skills.
Software engineering, on the other hand is developing innovative products, something people would buy and use, something really cool! Some examples are Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word. Now, tell me – how many Indian companies even develop software? How many software products are associated with the word "India"? Near nil.
The average Indian is no way capable of developing software. That needs 4 years of hard work, something the average Indian never does. Besides, who wants to work hard when there are people who recruit you without barely knowing anything. As a matter of fact, India's neighbour Bangladesh has some of the best programmers in the world.
Personally, I feel India is headed for doom. We are constantly lowering our own standards. Before, getting a job was pretty difficult, and everyone was aware of this fact. They worked hard, actually studied and cared about having an arrear. Nowadays, people just care about 68%, N arrears history and 1 arrear standing. And nobody cares about understanding any concepts, since the average Industry doesn't care about it anyways. They will train us and thats all matters. Who studies when the industry will train? Hell! I don't even need to be able to program to get an IT job! We are pandering to the low requirements of Industry around us.
China, with their hard work and far better CS skills will just mercilessly overtake us in 10 years. I presume their lack of English skills is a major setback for them.
I wonder how India will be 10 years in the future…
George has an excellent post here


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At the Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC, in August of 2014, First Lady Michelle Obama and former First Lady Laura Bush hosted a very special gathering of African First Spouses and leaders from the NGO and business communities to talk about advances in health for African women.
In Zambia, PCI, with funding from PEPFAR, partners with Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon to screen women for HIV/AIDS and cervical cancer. At the summit, a video highlighted a very special mother of six named Evelyn. Evelyn was 34 years old, and during her screening, she was diagnosed with stage 2B cervical cancer.
Evelyn was to begin treatment in late August, but tragically, she lost her battle with cancer just days before.[vc_row][vc_column width="1/1″][mk_blockquote style="quote-style" font_family="none" text_size="12″ align="left"]Evelyn is one of the 60,000 African women who die from cervical cancer every year, and it is now the number one cause of cancer-related deaths among women on the continent.[/mk_blockquote][/vc_column][/vc_row]
But there is hope. Evelyn was one of the brave women who stepped forward for screening and treatment, and the numbers of women doing so increase every year as PCI works with partners like Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon to provide access to health care in some of the most remote and impoverished places in the world.
Evelyn's death is a call to action for all of us to double our efforts and ensure that mothers like her can live to see their children grow, thrive and reach their highest potential.


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7 Simple Tips to Reduce Morning Stress
Do you need help in the morning? Is your family stressed each day trying to get ready for school and work ? If yes, continue reading – we may be able to help! It is possible to avoid the morning chaos – each night before going to bed take some extra steps to prevent the morning madness. These include:
- Prepare lunches
- Lay out clothes
- Set out the breakfast table
- Program the coffee maker
- Get book bags and backpacks ready
- Make sure shoes are clean and can be found easily
- Know where your keys are!
Taking a few extra steps the night before will pay off and should help you get out the door on time!


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Recent Posts
Monthly Archives: August 2011
Christ on Personal Property Rights (Exodus 22:1-15)
Personal property and its protection seems more like a legal issue than a Biblical issue but the Mosaic Law applies the 8th commandment, Thou shall not steal (Exodus 20:15), to many other areas of life where personal negligence or trust … Continue reading
The Replay of Romans 1:1-6
This week we explored questions 22-24 of the Heidelberg Catechism by looking at the first 6 verses of Romans. These questions address what a Christian must believe and the answer is all of the gospel promises given in the Scriptures. … Continue reading
Heidelberg Catechism Q 101 & 102
Q. 101. But may we swear an oath in God's name if we do it reverently? A Yes, when the government demands it, or when necessity requires it, in order to maintain and promote truth and trustworthiness for God's glory … Continue reading
Christ on Injuring others (Exodus 21:12-36)
In this section we find many of the ten commandments repeated. The prohibition against murder, stealing are both recited in various ways as is the command to honor one's parents. In fact, we will find that many of the 10 … Continue reading
Heidelberg Catechism Q100
Q. 100. Is blasphemy of God's name by swearing and cursing really such serious sin that God is angry also with those who do not do all they can to help prevent it and forbid it? A. Yes, indeed. No … Continue reading
Jesus and Hebrew Servant Laws (Exodus 21:2-11)
In most of the narrative passages it is quite easy to correlate the story to some aspect of Christ and his ministry, however legal rules are another story. It would be one thing if this chapter began with legal rules … Continue reading
Heidelberg Catechism Q99
Q. 99. What is God's will for us in the third commandment? A. That we neither blaspheme nor misuse the name of God by cursing, perjury, or unnecessary oaths, nor share in such horrible sins by being silent bystanders. In … Continue reading
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
I am posting this from an email I received: The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971…before … Continue reading
Posted in political
Love for the Big and the Small
Here is a great article from Kevin DeYoung. Love for the Big and the Small Posted: 09 Aug 2011 02:27 AM PDT Feel free to make copies of this article and pass it out to your friends. Feel free to post … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Jesus in the altar (Exodus 20:22-26)
Idols and altars – both of these can become objects of worship in place of worshipping God alone. At first, the Lord reminds His people that they are to be completely dedicated to God alone. No images, no carvings, nothing … Continue reading


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Still unsure on what bike frame to get? Check out our recommended size guide or contact us via live chat or 1300 310 493 number to talk to our friendly staff for the best option.
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We provide easy step by step instructions & supporting video tutorials to help you with assembly. We also offer workshop services to have your bike or trike built for click and collect. See Assembly details
Ride your new bike!
The nimble, agile, practical but comfortable bike that will take you from A to B, effortlessly. With suspension forks, reliable & low profile internal Shimano 7 speed and electric pedal assist, you'll cruise through every trip comfortably, and smoothly.
Who says you can't be comfortable and stylish at the same time? We've engineered our frame with over 80 years of combined bicycle experience for maximum comfort. We know feeling good is as important as looking good.
Unlike a traditional high-top tube diamond frame bike, the low-step over top tube allows easy mount and dismount. No need to swing your legs over or hop over the bike.
Saddle offset is extremely important in terms of comfort. We've fine tuned the offset so that the pedals are angled more in-front for the rider, for an easier riding position.
We know everyone's built a little different so we've added height, and angle adjustability on the seat via micro-adjust. On top of that, it's a comfort designed seat for any type of commute.
Tyres are a big deal when it comes to comfort. Our E-Cology comes with 700c diameter wheels for great rolling efficiency, and 35c wide puncture-protected tyres for better comfort, control and great reliability.
Mid-Drive Systems are excellent for out-putting big amounts of torque, applicable for everyday commuting, climbing hills and powering through unfavourable terrain. Instead of individually powering the front or rear wheel through a single-speed conventional hub motor, the highly acclaimed Bafang MAX-01 allows you to take advantage of the bike's drivetrain, and sends power through the gearing to efficiently amplify your power seamlessly.
Mid-Drive Advantages:
To see the difference between conventional hub motors and mid-drive configurations, click here.
With a large backlit Bafang LCD Display and built-in controller, you'll be able to see your speed, trip stats (max speed, average speed, trip total and odometer), current power assist & battery charge. You get 5 levels of power assist, with the higher number providing more motor assistance during pedals.
A great electric bike needs a great battery to work. The E-Cology comes with a big 36v 2900mAh Panasonic cell to keep you going and going. Safety tested to strict international standards and comes with intelligent protection board for longevity and durability.
Through co-operation with Central South University Aluminium Alloy Research Institute, the X6 frame (aviation-grade) is developed using the composition of the stiffest aluminium alloy to bring you the lightest, highest quality and top-tier reliability Aluminium Alloy frames.
Maintaining your bike has never been easier, with the Shimano 7-Speed Nexus Internal Hub. No large derailleurs hanging from the side, and all parts responsible for shifting are completely sealed inside a sturdy Shimano hub, protected from outside elements or any damage.
Changing gears is a cinch with our Shimano RevoShifter. Simply twist up or down in motion for a quick downshift or upshift.
Stopping is absolutely paramount to any rider. That's why we've equipped the E-Cology with quality Tektro Alloy Forged V-Brakes instead of standard U-Brake/Caliper Brakes for excellent stopping power.
For comparisons between brake system, click here.
You'll be able to chew up bumpy and uneven terrain with ease on the Surge's suspension forks. Don't settle for standard forks, you'll be in for a uncomfortable and bumpy ride!
Don't settle for kits to modify your bike - buy a factory legal electric trike with no hassles. Our PAS (Pedal Assist System) is completely road legal, safety tested and is limited to a max speed of 25km/h.
All components are seamlessly integrated, appropriately slotted frame to accommodate wiring.
Whether you're riding to work, going out for shopping, taking your loved-ones out for a leisurely ride, the E-Cology will help you get things done.
Bike includes:
The practical cycle
|Alloy X6 700C × 460mm HT:?50*?44*150mm Width:130mm RC:506mm
|Zoom Alloy W:610mm 33°?25.4
|Right Shifter
|Shimano Nexus Revo Shifter SL-7S31
|Suspension Fork
|Suntour M3010, Front Suspension Pre-Load Adjustable Coil, 700C 28.6 x 25.4 x 170mm
|Rear Derailleur
|Shimano Altus RD-M370-SGS 9-SP Index
|Rear Inner 7sp Hub
|Shimano Nexus 7-Speed Internal Hub,SG-C3000-7R, 36H, For Roller Brake, 130 x 182MM, Black
|Tektro Forged Alloy V brakes L:110mm
|Brakes Lever
|Tektro Alloy V Brake Levers
|PVC Mudguards, Front & Rear
|Front Hub
|Joytech Alloy Quick Release 14G × 36H M9 × 100 × 108mm x 115mm
|Rear Hub
|Quando Alloy One Piece Forged with Disc Brake Mount and Quick Release. 14G × 36H M10 × 135 × 145mm 9 SP
|Kick Stand
|Alloy with Plastic end cap
|VP Trecking/Urban Pedals. Alloy Body, PP Cage, Cro-Mo Axle, 9/16?
|Velo Kraton L?135mm Kraton black/Gel grey VLP-35 plug EN71-3 CPSIA
|Velo Comfort Double Density, Chromoly Rails, ArcTech Zone Cut Out
|Chain Wheel & Crank-set
|Bafang 1/8" x 38T Chainwheel, Alloy 170mm Cranks
|KMC 1/2? × 1/8? × 108L 7-Sp
|700c (13G x 36H) Alloy Rims
|Kenda Kahn K-935 Reflex tyre, 700C × 35C 30TPI A/V, with K-Shield puncture protection layer
|Alloy Matte Black with CNC sidewalls, 700C × 1.5" × 14G × 36H A/V
|Seat Post
|Alloy X6 700C × 460mm HT:?50*?44*150mm Width:130mm RC:506mm
|Head Set
|Steel BED?25.4 ×?44 ×?30mm H=20.7 10Pcs.
|Kalloy Alloy Adjustable stem ?25.4×180mm E=90mm ?25.4 -10?50°
|Alloy Rear Rack H=367mm L=230mm
|Shimano ASMGEAR18LP
|Lifetime warranty on frame and fork & 12 month warranty on electrical components
|Net Weight
|Nuvo Allo & Plastic Bell
|Bafang MAX-01 Drive System. 36V/250W, Limit 25km/h, CL:49mm, With controller, With battery communication, AU. Complies to EN 15194:2009+A1, Annex C. EN 14766:2005. EN14764:2005
|Bafang LCD Display, DC 36V, 0-5 Modes, UART communication, With Walk Boost and light switch
|Phylion 36V/11.6Ah, Panasonic 2900mAh cell, With Intelligent protection board,With communication, AU. Tested to UN recommendations on the transport of dangerous goods, manual of tests and criteria. Part 111, sub-section 38.3, Rev. 5
|Speed Sensor
|Bafang Sensor, 1 Pulse, 5V, 500mm
|Charger Information
|Bafang Sensor, 1 Pulse, 5V, 500mm


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We supply nautical decor for the home.
The world's first car-to-motorcycle/motorcycle-to-motorcycle battery jumper cables. Also works with snowmobiles, ATVs, Skidoos, lawn tractors, etc. Fuse protected. Patented in US and Canada.
VA Locksmiths Serving VA and surrounding areas from our Storefront Locations. Call 703-373-1553 in Virginia.
Choose from an extensive collection of window blinds, shades, fabric trimmings, drapery hardware & accessories online here at westrockblinds.com. Buy now at low prices.
Custom made walk on covers for all hot tub and spa types any shape new or old.
Total Dcor Store is featuring wallcovering along with wallpaper borders. Shop online now!
Water Filters.NET has 1,000's of water filters,replacement water filter cartridges, and water filtration systems in stock for all your water treatment needs. We carry top brands including Culligan Water Filters, Pentek Water Filters, GE Water Filters,Waterpik Water Filters, Maytag Water Filters, and more. We stock whole house water filters, reverse osmosis systems, faucet filters, o-rings,under sink water filters, and more.
Fiberglass Water Wall Fountains. Choose from our sandstone finish or weathered stone finish. Self contained, no plumbing required. Includes pump.
ArtWax wholesale candles and candle holders are unique candle gifts. Handcrafted pear candles and apple candles. Unique candle gift sets.
We supply nautical decor for the home.
Suppliers of quality antique and reproduction fireplaces.
Everything, what is bird! Parots, mamals, finches...
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I have been using Airmail 3 (highly regarded email client from Bloop that you get via the Mac App store) for some time now, but I am not sure how trustworthy they are. What concerns me about the app is how much outbound traffic there is. I use the Little Snitch firewall so I can see how much traffic is coming out of Airmail 3. What I see is close to 1GB over a period of one year. This may seem reasonable at first blush, but I almost never use Airmail 3 to access email. My email provider is Gmail and I access this service through the mail.google.com website for 99.9% of the time. So the question is what is all this data that Airmail 3 is sending? Is it just from the handshake protocol of Airmail asking Google if there is new mail in my inbox?
Of asked Airmail 3 support and they claim to not store any user data (except under one exceptional condition that I did not trigger).
So I don't know what is going on, but I don't like all this outbound communication.


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Coaches vs Cancer Classic at the ARC, Sunday Jan. 20th
From Albany Academy:
Academies to host Coaches vs. Cancer Basketball Challenge on January 20The Albany Academies is proud to be the host of the Coaches vs. Cancer High School Basketball Challenge scheduled for Sunday, January 20 at Siena College's Alumni Recreation Center (ARC).
All proceeds from the event will benefit the American Cancer Society's mission of fighting cancer through research, education, advocacy and local patient service programs.
We encourage you to join us for a fun-filled day of basketball featuring some of New York State's most outstanding high school teams.
The schedule for the day is as follows:
2 p.m. -- Saratoga vs. Mohonasen
4 p.m. -- White Plains vs. Bishop Maginn
6 p.m. -- Peekskill vs. The Albany Academy
The cost for the event is $7 per person and $15 for families. Gates for the event will open at 1:15 p.m. and the event will feature concessions, raffle prizes, a 50/50 raffle and more. Parking at the ARC is free.
For more information, contact Brian Fruscio, The Albany Academy Head Varsity Basketball Coach, at (518) 429-2313 or email@example.com.
We look forward to seeing you on January 20 for this outstanding event and worthwhile cause!
Directions to the ARC from Siena's web site.
-- Will Montgomery
Labels: Boys HS Basketball


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Daeneryswas right:
King's Landing had to burn
Game of Thrones' Daenerys Targaryen was not a "mad queen" (and, indeed, it's somewhat unclear how mad her supposedly insane father ever was), Jon Snow was wrong to stab her to death in the series finale, and the new elective monarchy set up by a hastily assembled Great Council of the Lords of Westeros represents a step back in terms of political development.
Her death was a tragedy that reflects, on some level, the very same Stark family naiveté about politics that was such a heavy point of emphasis on the beginning of the series.
And despite the Starks' seemingly good-natured instincts on a personal level, their approach to leadership is going to accomplish nothing useful for the long-suffering ordinary people of Westeros.
Some form of actual democratic governance — as proposed by Grand Maester Samwell Tarly — would have been an enormous step forward.
But it was laughed out of bounds by the high lords of the Seven Kingdoms who proceeded to set up a form of government that serves their narrow interests, while doing nothing to address the many serious problems afflicting the continent.
Daenerys isn't crazy
The underlying presumption of the actions undertaken by Varys, Tyrion, and Jon over the course of Game of Thrones' final few episodes is that Daenerys is in some sense unstable, as reflected by her willingness to harm the civilian population of King's Landing.
But this simply isn't true.
Daenerys has an objective — to induce the Lords of Westeros to bend the knee and acknowledge her supremacy — and her attack on King's Landing in "The Bells" was well-calibrated to achieve that objective.
She had previously offered Queen Cersei the opportunity surrender, and Cersei refused — packing the city with civilians and ringing it with air defenses that pose a lethal threat to Drogon, Daenerys's one remaining dragon.
A combination of skilled piloting and poor marksmanship allowed Daenerys to overcome the city's air defenses, destroy the Golden Company, and induce the Lannisters to attempt to surrender.
If Daenerys had simply allowed King's Landing to surrender without consequences only after she evaded its air defenses, then every other recalcitrant lord in the Seven Kingdoms would have incentive to resist her.
After all, it only takes a lucky shot or two to bring down the dragon — and the Queen riding him — and if she manages to burn your scorpions, you can always just surrender.
The Breaker of Chains can be legitimately faulted for not explaining the strategic logic of her actions to key subordinates before the battle began.
But in her defense, those same key subordinates had spent the previous days spreading treasonous talk about Jon Snow being the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, so she can perhaps be forgiven for not fully taking them into her confidence.
Making an example of King's Landing was a harsh decision. It was a cruel decision. And it's certainly a decision whose morality one could question. But it wasn't a "crazy" decision or the act of a Mad Queen — it was a rational calculation based on a clear-eyed assessment of the strategic situation.
One should further note that while Daenerys's critics were obsessed with rumors that Jon was the trueborn son of Rhaegar Targaryen, they missed the fact that his newly revealed heritage implies that the Baratheon/Stark rebellion against the crown was based largely on fake news about Lyanna Stark.
That, in turn, raises the question of whether the entire "Mad King" narrative — and thus the supposed genetic infirmity that makes Daenerys so suspect — isn't itself a bit of propaganda.
The only real consistent through-line in all of this is that Westeros's great houses oppose the creation of an effective central government.
The nobility likes a weak king
Many fans have observed that there was no real reason for the participants in the Great Council to believe that Bran would be a good king, and that Tyrion's arguments in Bran's favor seemed extremely weak.
But that's simply a matter of perspective. If what you mean by a "good king" is a king who will rule in the interests of the broad mass of people, then something like the Tarly proposal for a democratic election would make sense.
But they of course rejected that out of hand. What they want is a king who will be good for the upper ranks of the nobility, which actually means a weak and ineffective king.
Bran's basic indifference to governance means that the likes of Edmure, Bronn, Gendry, and whoever is now running Dorne will have a free hand to rule their domains as they see fit.
That's nice for them, and fine for the smallfolk who happen to luck into competent and moral masters, but it's potentially a disaster for others.
In a practical sense, ordinary Westerosi are shown to be much more vulnerable to the problems with weak central governance than to tyranny from King's Landing.


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Friday morning, November 10, Father Ryan High School hosted its 13th Annual Veterans Day Breakfast. The event was free, catered, and all Father Ryan alumni veterans or veterans of Father Ryan students/alumni were invited.
Over 150 people packed into the Father Ryan Dining Hall. The event featured a breakfast buffet, the singing of the National Anthem by the Father Ryan Singers and Col. John Krenson, a 1982 graduate of Father Ryan, as the featured speaker. He spoke about his faith, his military career, and his current role as CEO of Stand Down Tennessee. In addition to being an alumnus, Krenson is a current Father Ryan parent.
Dozens of veterans from a number of periods of American history were in attendance, including John Burns, a World War II Veteran and a 1944 graduate of Father Ryan. 91 years young, Burns was only 18 when he enlisted and fought in the Battle of the Bulge shortly after graduating from high school.