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Here follows a bit of chat – never can resist one – sorry – feel free to keep scrolling to the instructions! Also if you already have calm routines I won't blame you for not trying this! We are very lucky to have bouncy boys of a certain (and close!) age and a toddler with her own agenda. Sometimes they aren't quite ready for the calm bit and activities like this seem to help them unwind and switch off a bit.
Things like this also help me to enjoy the crazy a bit – so I'm sharing in case it helps anyone else. I send my apologies if it doesn't work!
So yesterday I was overtired (teething, snotty toddler!) and really not feeling the day that was stretching out ahead. We had school club, OH out for the evening….and I was in vague sleep deprived haze. So I left the perpetual tidying up and thought about me. What would make me happy, what would be a happy end to the day… I knew the kids would enjoy it too but it was a bit about me tbh 🤭.
A fab teacher I worked with always used to say make sure every lesson had a bit you're looking forward to in it, because you're natural genuine enthusiasm will rub off. He was a chemistry teacher and used to blow something up (not a suggestion!) most lessons 😂
Anyway, here is what made it work for us – excuse typos, speed typing after being brought back down to reality with a full on toddler overtired meltdown. If it's okay, I will leave that there and talk more about the happy bedtime…..
1) I took these envelopes to their after school club. They all said the same thing but I wrote them all one to avoid falling at the first hurdle!
Middlest found them earlier than planned but I didn't let him open them until getting into the car on the way home. This is always a tricky time – opening envelopes helped big time! Him finding them early gave me chance to build the story – "I heard some funny noises earlier", "pretty sure I saw some of your bears running around" and "I think they had your PJs".
Middlest (5) believed immediately, Biggest (7) eye rolled and said I'd been hiding clothes and toys! And that he didn't want to find them anyway 😬😬😳🤔
2) I ignored the doubters and started to believe myself (I'm a bit like that with Father Christmas 🙈). On the way home whilst they clutched the envelopes we chatted a bit more about teddies being up to no good. Noises. Sightings. I told them that they must have thought I was asleep and decided it was safe to cause havoc! Biggest decided he was a believer.
Once home they wanted their binoculars, magnifying glasses before going upstairs 🤷♀. Leaves that have been on the hall floor for a while suddenly became evidence of bears, the light I left on by accident was further proof – their imaginations were running it now.
3) We found the first bear. They wanted to race on for the next bear but I needed to get the second bear out to be found (decided to hide as I went, in case we found them in wrong order!). Plus the whole point was they got ready! I pointed out the note said we should get ready and they did 💃🏼
I decided to go with the pants on head version. I thought it would create carnage but having a fun thing to do actually made them calmer than ever before. They didn't need to look to make their fun or wind each other up, they were absorbed. Am I even making sense?!
4) With PJs on (and the next bear hidden!) we did the next hunt and found the kangaroo – I thought I'd heard some strange jumping.
Kangaroo wanted them to brush their teeth and go to the loo. They were too excited to properly go the loo though, so had to defer that but it didn't cause problems tonight – for a change!
4) Calmest and most cooperative tooth brushing in years! Well feels like years. Feels like forever actually.
5) Managed to send them to check their bedroom for the cheeky monkey, whilst hiding him and the books elsewhere. They thought it was hilarious that he denied it and said he was NOT sorry.
I'm a bit obsessed with bedtimes because we have had some really hard bedtimes. We will have more hard bedtimes.
I took some little audios which are going to be on my Instagram. Decided if I posted here they'd take forever and a day to load.
If you try this or feel inspired to try something with your own twist I'd love to hear about it. Really hope some happy bedtimes come out of it.
They were keen to tell all their friends about their toys coming alive so I did tell them it was me as didn't want them getting teased (eldest in year 3). Therefore I won't be able to do it again in quite the same way – would love it to get a bit more mileage! I miss the sharing of worksheets and tasks that used to go on at work – so it would be great if you felt it was worth a whirl in your house! Xx


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sub dps : trink/leggie dependent?
selinfireheart, in Rogue
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By Anemic
Since 7.3.5 I have gotten some decent gear and have been using SimCraft to see what the average difference in the two talents. I simmed them with the Mangaza's Madness belt combined with. Sephuz and Soul of the High Priest, and with and without 4pc t21 (because some of the gear that breaks tier is 15+ ilvl better). So far with my 4pc, sephuz, and FotM it simmed *55k higher than Twist of Fate and any combination. I assume the sim procs Sephuz every 30 sec, which is kind of unrealistic, but I was shocked the dps was so much lower using ToF and FotM.
Any thoughts on the two talents? Does anyone use FotM? I have started using it and generally average 1.5m dps without BL and north of 2m with.
Here is my armory link, not sure why it shows my haste much lower than it is in game. In game w/o buffs its 43% ~15,500 or so
*(edit: originally put 500 it wasnt 500k, checked my Sim logs and I was mistaken with my lock sim. Priest sim was 55k better, sort of negligible but worth debating the talents maybe)
By Terkan
Hey, so I could really use some help with this, I'm lost trying to understand the logs and I feel like there's a lot of stuff I could improve on. Any tips or pointers at all would be really appreciated. I hope this log is of a usable kind: https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/kLr8fqPD9HcyTxJF
(Mine is Qraul, the only DH in the group.)
And really, if anyone would be kind enough to bother, I could really use a "teach a man to fish" scenario here, if you'll pardon the analogy. I've been meaning to learn to interpret and improve from logs but it has seemed like a kind of daunting thing to deal with.
By Omikami
Hey guys,
I'm new here in the Icy Veins forums and would like to request your assistance.
So this is my Mage https://www.warcraftlogs.com/character/id/14478881 haven't been playing Legion for a long time (around 2 weeks and a half), been trying to start rading so I would like to improve my DPS, I'm running GS.
What I would like to ask you guys is if you could check me out and see what I could improve, it's been hard to get some more gear now since it's hard to get into groups, plus my pawn addon seems like its kind of bugged which is kind of confusing me about gear/stats. I know my stat priority for GS Build but nor sure about stat weigths for it.
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By Saskov
Hi guys, I'm new here in Icy Forums but always checked the site for information, you guys do an awesome job. I'm dpsing in Legion as a Ret Pally and I'm having a little issues with dps constancy. I can easily do a burst of 300k in one target fight, but when I look overall my dps is always near 190k. I will put some info to see if you guys could help me to see what I'm doing wrong.
My armory Armory - Saskov (Gallywix)
The rotation I usually do is: (burst) Crusade, Greater Judgment, if AoE: Wake of Ashes - Divine Storm - Crusader Strike - Divine Storm - Blade of Justice -
Divine Storm - Crusader Strike
Single Target: Blade of Justice - Crusader Strike - Templar's Verdict or Justicar's Vengeance when low life Wake of Ashes to fill Blade of Justice cd
A log of my guild 7/7N EN https://www.warcraftlogs.com/reports/68NG1QXkH2Zpg4jb/#type=damage-done&source=11 Really don't know what I can do to improve it, I had a complete revamp of stats (I was advised to focus Haste till 22% > Crit = Vers > Mastery)
I thank you guys since now.
By Tobacha
ok need some help here. I have followed the Fury guide from this site and almost have the stats in alignment with what is suggested from it. I have been trying to upload combat logs from Ask Mr Robot but I keep getting some error where I cannot add my gear to it and then it tells me to close app. So this is what I have so far. http://us.battle.net/wow/en/character/hyjal/Tabock/advanced
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subset: commoncrawl


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When planning a wedding, locking in your favourite stationery design is likely at the top of your list of priorities for your big day—it's generally the first glimpse your guests will get of the vibe for your impending nuptials—and act as keepsakes for yourself, family and friends.
Most couples typically start with a 'save the date', before getting to official invites and RSVP cards. Once the planning is in full swing, menus, name cards, seating charts and other personalised touches also come into play.
You could say that choosing stationery is almost as important as selecting a cake, cocktails or canapés when creating the wedding of your dreams.
All factors considered—everything from card stock to design, foiling and calligraphy—here's our round up of Melbourne's most-loved design companies.
Based in Hawthorn, and with over 20 years of experience, Paper Marc offers a large range of paper options as well as tricked-up design features such as letterpress, raised printing (thermography) and custom wax seals. They'll also take care of extras such as bunting, cake toppers and guestbooks.
Visit Paper Marc.
If you're into minimalist stationery, State of Elliot emphasises their love of it with a selection of white inked, printed or foiled fonts set upon a monochrome background. They also offer deckled-edge paper or tonal watercolour prints to add more character to your invites.
Visit State of Elliot.
Run by a small team on the outskirts of Melbourne, Danger and Moon specialise in marble and matte-styled invites that are manufactured from locally-sourced products with recyclable packaging (no plastic!). The company can also create personalised 'best man' and 'maid of honour' and 'walk me down the aisle' cards for those memorable moments leading up to your nuptials.
Visit Danger and Moon.
Playfully printed on paper, marble, wood or cloth the people behind Peep Designs in Laverton like to push the boundaries when it comes to design, and with the use of their weddings packages and sample templates, it will only make the process of choosing your stationery so much easier.
Visit Peep Designs.
As refreshing as the name is made out to be, Peppermint Press focuses solely on the personal touch – whether it be custom woodblock stamps, metallic foiling or time-honoured letterpressing. If you're budget-conscious bride the company offers print at home options and special tips for DIY.
Visit Peppermint Press.


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Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?" And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same." Luke 10:36-37
Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart, for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God. For, 'All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls off, but the word of the LORD endures forever.' And this is the word which was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25
Today's thoughts from today's verses:
We concluded Monday's devotional with the following prayer response: Lord, thank you for surrendering to your Father's will and sacrificing yourself on the cross for me. Thank you for redeeming me from sin and self. Thank you for teaching me the truth that through the forgiveness of sins you have come to live in me through the Holy spirit so that I might embrace and live out a life of servanthood through your empowering presence. I give you the center place in my life so that as your servant I can lovingly live my life in the service of others. Amen! The title of this week's Devotionals is "The Servanthood of Christ" which was selected to remind us of his servanthood when he was here on earth and our servanthood which he came to make possible. Monday's prayer response puts this together in a way that helps us readily see how it is that a person can fulfill Jesus' instruction in today's passage, "Go and do the same."
Truly we are called to love God and our neighbor consistently and thoroughly throughout our lifetime. Through the story of the "Good Samaritan" Jesus helps us see that who he is and what he has to offer will bring a way of living and relating that is like the Samaritan and not like those who just adhere to living within their own little religious system like the lawyer who came before Jesus to test him. It is only by God's mercy that we are saved and it is only by His mercy that we surrender. Through surrender God is able to take up His rightful place at the center of our lives and there He fills us up with His love which transforms us and then overflows into the lives of those around us. Since this is all God's doing, it is only by His mercy that it happens. And if it is only by His mercy that it happens then there is no room for boasting. And if there is no room for boasting there is no room for anything but genuine love, acceptance and service of others. This is what proving to be a "neighbor" is all about!
Today's prayer response from today's thoughts:
Lord, I see the kind of difference you came to make and long to make in our lives today. I come before you in a spirit of worship and surrender and ask you to actually make this kind of difference in my life. I ask the same for your people everywhere. I am so sorry for the little religious systems we get caught up in that cause us to circumvent you and look down our noses at others. I choose to live fully by loving you with all my heart and my neighbor likewise through the power of your indwelling presence. Amen!
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Sunflowers bring a ray of sunshine regardless of the season. Sonja plays with colorful petals in painted shades of yellows, which are set against an abstract background of blues and greens. This print is based on a collaboration painting, with her husband, Ryan.
Reproduction prints are available in two sizes: 5" x 5" and 8" x 8".
Artworks will be shipped to the address of your choice for the additional cost of shipping. All orders are shipped from Sonja's studio within 2-4 days of order and will be shipped via USPS, please see options available at checkout. Our shipping methods are valid on orders placed by 4:00pm EST, Monday through Thursday, excluding national holidays. There is no weekend delivery with Expedited or Rush shipping.
Pick Up:
Local buyers to Central Virginia may pick up the artwork from the Fredericksburg area by contacting Sonja to arrange local delivery/pick up. All other artworks will be shipped to the address of your choice for the additional cost of shipping.
Information or custom requests:
For questions about this drawing or to see additional photos of this piece please contact the artist.
Looking for something similar but unique for you? Hire Sonja to create your own special request.


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10/19/14: Creative Financing for the 21st Century – Alternative Methods for Finding Funding
Technology, laws and globalization are all changing how money moves into and around markets.
In the last quarter of the 20th century, creative financing largely consisted of assumable loans, owner carry back financing and equity sharing.
Fourteen years into the new millennium, there are alternative funding methods which didn't even exist in the 20th century.
Here to explore strange new worlds of funding, seek out new sources of financing, and to boldly go where no broadcast has gone before…
- Your charismatic captain of conversation, host Robert Helms
- His pointy-eared logical sidekick, co-host Russell Gray
- Special guest, immigration attorney Mona Shah
Science fiction writers like Jules Verne, H.G Wells, Isaac Asimov and Gene Roddenberry have all thrilled readers and audiences with their sometimes prophetic visions of the future.
When you think about pocket communicators that flip open, cars that drive themselves, ships that can sail underwater or fly through the air, it's amazing how fantasy has become reality.
While not quite as glamorous, today's real estate investors live in a brave new world of opportunity that's being affected not just by technological change, but by the inevitable social and political changes which occur as the human race works out its affairs century by century.
Right now, technology has opened up entirely new methods of commerce. And globalization is changing where, how and why people invest.
So even though all of the 20th century creative financing strategies are still around, 21st century investors are enjoying a grand new era of funding possibilities.
In past episodes, we've covered how technology platforms are coming on-line to facilitate the matching of investors with opportunities. And with the easing of onerous restrictions on promotion, more real estate entrepreneurs are looking to crowdfunding as a way to get deals funded.
In fact, the modifications to the general solicitation rules for promoting private placements to accredited investors has given rise to our very own Investor Registry.
In our main stage presentation at the 2014 New Orleans Investment Conference, we explained to the audience how the JOBS Act is finally beginning to open up non-Wall Street deal flow to private investors. There are lots of reasons for investors and entrepreneurs to be excited right now.
In this episode, we focus on a little known law which entices foreign investment in the United States. And it's something every active and aspiring real estate investor should be aware of.
Mona Shah is a New York immigration attorney and an expert on the United States' EB5 program.
Simply stated, the EB5 program allows a foreign investor to earn a residency visa (green card) for an investment of at least $500,000 into a U.S. enterprise which can be demonstrated to create jobs.
Mona explains that those jobs can be "direct" or "indirect".
A direct job is one created by the investment itself. So if a real estate developer builds a hotel, shopping center or apartment complex, every construction worker hired is a "direct" job.
An "indirect" job is one created as a by-product of the project. So if a newly constructed apartment building results in a laundry mat or daycare center opening to service the residents, each of those employees is an "indirect" job.
Now the foreign investor doesn't have to invest in real estate, but it's a very popular option because it's a real asset.
That is, if a business is started and fails, the investor may take a total loss. But with real estate, the property itself has intrinsic value, so as long as the property isn't lost to foreclosure there is some residual value even if the business or management fail.
Of course, any time you're dealing with a government program you need to allow for extra time and hassle.
Why would a real estate entrepreneur try to raise EB5 money?
First, it's available. In a world where bank lending still isn't readily available, sometimes you just have to go where the money is.
But it's more than that.
It's also inexpensive. In fact, it can be cheaper than any other source of capital because the investor is more concerned with getting the visa and not losing money. So even a modest return is considered acceptable. ROI is almost an afterthought.
Here's the best news: You don't have to become an expert in EB5 or try to figure it all out on your own. There are lawyers and consultants who can help. Your job is to put together a profitable deal because there are people who can help connect you with the investors and navigate the bureaucracy.
If you've got more opportunities than money and are looking for a creative source of funds, get to know the Eb5 program. You can start today by listening to this exciting episode of The Real Estate Guys™ Radio Show!
Listen Now:
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- Don't miss an episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show! Subscribe to the free podcast!
- Stay connected with The Real Estate Guys™ on Facebook!
The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources that help real estate investors succeed.
8/24/14: A Brave New World of Opportunity – More Choices for Real Estate Investors
Throughout human history, there have been pivotal moments when new frontiers have opened up huge opportunities for those rare brave souls willing to take on the challenges of pioneering new territory.
It was true when the pilgrims fled Europe to build a new life in America. It happened again when courageous settlers answered the call to "Go West, Young Man!".
Modern business history is replete with stories of innovative entrepreneurs who entered the unknown frontier of the internet.
For real estate investors today, a new world of opportunity has opened up…and that's the topic of this episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show.
In the covered wagon studio pioneering the broadcast airwaves:
- Driving the dialog…your brave and bold host, Robert Helms
- Pulling the wagon…his old mule of a co-host, Russell Gray
- Providing navigational guidance…attorney and regular contributor, Mauricio Rauld
The days of homesteading huge tracts of land, or staking claims for gold mines, or prime internet domain names is long past.
So it may seem like all the great opportunities are gone.
As you may recall, back in 2010 our friend and attorney Mauricio Rauld brought The JOBS Act to our attention. In it, were provisions to ease up on the highly restrictive rules about raising money to fund private deals.
We got excited and waited eagerly for the implementing regulations to be released.
We waited…
And we waited…
And we waited some more….
No wonder this "recovery" hasn't taken hold. But that's a rant for another day.
For a lot of people, the whole concept fell off their radar. But not your intrepid talk show hosts.
Finally, in September 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released the regs, and the legal community began to dig in so they could explain them to their eager clients.
And WHO are their eager clients?
People like us…like you…entrepreneurs of ALL kinds, including real estate investors, who've been locked out of marketing their opportunities to investors looking to put capital to work.
The prior SEC restrictions on solicitation gave a distinct advantage to Wall Street, where publicly registered companies can offer their stock to the general public.
Meanwhile, competing private offerings (like the $2 million you want to raise to buy that cash flowing apartment building), could only be presented to friends, family and others that the "sponsor" (the guy or gal raising the money) had a pre-existing relationship with.
While Wall Street still has a huge edge, the new rules permit sponsors to advertise to and accept investments from accredited investors…without the pre-existing relationship requirement.
And just like stock exchanges were created to facilitate the trading of public securities, crowdfunding platforms are being erected worldwide to facilitate the presentation of private securities to accredited investors.
Less than a year later, many of these platforms are already operating…and many more are coming. This means more deals will see the light of day.
And for investors, more opportunities will open up.
In other words, the flow of money from investor to opportunity will be opening up. Ever since the crash, we've been saying that the economy doesn't have a liquidity problem, it has a circulation problem.
And while the government has created a lot of impediments by creating more regulations, in this case they are easing a restriction imposed after the Great Depression of the 30's….and it promises to improve the economic circulation of the economy.
Whether you decide to jump into this pool or not (as either an investor or a sponsor), the resulting flow of capital into the space will have an affect on supply, demand, capacity to pay, and inventory. So it's something for you to pay attention to.
Of course, if you decide to participate, a brave new world of opportunities is just opening up for you!
Listen Now:
- Want more? Sign up for The Real Estate Guys™ free newsletter!
- Don't miss an episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show! Subscribe to the free podcast!
- Stay connected with The Real Estate Guys™ on Facebook!
The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources that help real estate investors succeed.
5/20/12: Bigger Deals, Bigger Profits – Great News for Real Estate Entrepreneurs
Show me the money!
At a time when many are complaining about how Uncle Sam makes it harder to do business, Congress just passed a law that gives real estate entrepreneurs a break. Actually, ALL entrepreneurs benefit, but since we're The Real Estate Guys™, we're excited about the real estate angle.
So what's the big deal? In the studio to find out:
- Your big deal of a host, Robert Helms
- Your square deal co-host, Russell Gray
- Attorney and regular contributor to The Real Estate Guys™ radio show, Mauricio Rauld
Our friend Robert Kiyosaki says raising money is the main job of an entrepreneur. Small time operators rely on their own money, but to break into the big time (or even the medium time), you need to acquire capital.
The good news is that money is always looking for good deals. The bad news is that there are very strict rules about how one is permitted to raise money from strangers. Whether you subscribe to the theory that it's all a conspiracy to drive money through Wall Street, or just do-good lawmakers putting so much effort into protecting the little guys that the little guys can't get in on any good deals, the bottom line is that until now, most money raising had to happen between friends. Just like Momma used to say, "Don't talk to strangers!"
But now Mauricio tells us that the new Jump Start Our Businesses (JOBS) Act is actually loosening up some of the rules! We know, it's hard to believe. But let's face it. America is getting pretty tired of anemic job growth. So Congress put in a provision that loosens the rules for raising money from an online crowd of strangers. It's cleverly termed "crowd funding".
Actually, the concept of raising on-line isn't brand new, but as is often the case, laws have a hard time keeping up with free market innovation. Usually, that means things go from loose to constrained. But since the fund raising rules were already constrained, in this case it seems that things are loosening up. Great! Even better, the updates affect many forms of advertising, even the old fashioned kind.
Mauricio tells us all about it and then generously offers a free article on the topic, which is yours for the asking if you're faithful to listen to the entire interview (and why wouldn't you?). So grab your notepad and a tasty beverage, then settle in for another crowd pleasing episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show!
Listen now:
- Want more? Sign up for The Real Estate Guys™ free newsletter!
- Don't miss an episode of The Real Estate Guys™ radio show! Subscribe to the free podcast!
- Stay connected with The Real Estate Guys™ on Facebook!
The Real Estate Guys™ radio show and podcast provides real estate investing news, education, training and resources that help real estate investors succeed.


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PPC95 May 2019 | the journal of the UK pest management industry
28 May 2019
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Professional pest controller magazine issue 95 is out now and available to read online for free.
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So in this world every superhero has their kryptonite.
For example, the kryptonite of Batman is the scarecrow as well as bats. Superman's kryptonite is actually kryptonite itself.
Well here at E-Cigarette Empire ours is Kryp by Cosmic Fog. This e-juice is a next level sauce that has a lot of hype behind it. Mostly because the flavor of this e-liquid is astonishing.
Kryp by Cosmic Fog has a flavor profile that is made up of a cool melon fruit taste that is mixed with candy. Together these two flavors make up one of the best fruit candy e-juice flavors alive. The inhale of this e-liquid consist of that sweet candy flavor that will bring back your favorite childhood memories. The exhale of this e-juice is when the cool melon complements the candy to ensure your taste buds even more happiness than they have already received.
The throat hit of Kryp by Cosmic Fog is cool just like the melon. There is no burning or charring sensation to this e-liquid.
The bottle design of this e-liquid is very intricate and grabs the eye of anyone who walks by. The e-juice bottle is black. On the bottle is a black label printed with a design with lime colored lines on it.
There is the cloud company logo as well as Kryp by Cosmic Fog on the e-liquid label.
This e-juice has a VG/PG blend of 70/30 which means that is tons of kryp to stop every super vaper in this world as well as enough clouds to clog up one's vision.
Kryp by Cosmic Fog is carried in a 60ML e-liquid bottle here at the Empire. This e-juice comes in nicotine levels of 0MG, 3MG, and 6MG.
Stop by and find your weakness with some Kryp by Cosmic Fog.
You will not be able to put it down!
I've had Kryptonite before, sadly the smoke shop I I'd usually got to get it stopped selling it. I'm happy this place had it. I'll definitely buy from here again.
Good flavor. Great customer support and shipping was quick
They changed whatever formula they used to use but it still tastes great
I have been using this for years, and it is truly one of the best juices on the market!
Great Juice! All Day flavor


text:
Mediawiki is the wiki engine behind Wikipedia, all Wikimedia projects and thousands other Web sites. It's a cutting edge free software providing high featured web sites that anybody can edit. Mediawiki hosted content can be made available for offline usage through the Collection extension (written in PHP). The Collection extension allows to easily create collection/selection of articles: so called books ; here is how it works on the Wikipedia in English. One time created, books can be exported in the PDF format. The PDF exporting backend itself is not provided by the Collection extension, it's done with a JavaScript based solution called OCG. OCG is a NodeJS daemon able to transform a book definition in a PDF and it should be able to do the same in the ZIM format. The ZIM format allows to store web pages (with images, videos, etc...) in one extremely compressed file, these pages are then available to read everywhere with a reader like Kiwix. A stub of solution has already been written and the MWOffline is already functional. This task is mostly about merging this two pieces of code.
- Reference
- bz71660
|T73660 Add ZIM format support to OCG
|T96235 Create a Debian package of zimwriterfs
|T113736 Include stylesheets and javascript in `mw-ocg-bundler`
|T69540 Produce/preserve the metadata about additional ResourceLoader modules required by extension tags
|T73490 Parsoid should set the prop parameter when calling API action=expandtemplates
|T86902 Improve Parsoid's loading of CSS modules using ResourceLoader
|T115907 Outreachy proposal for T73660: Add ZIM format support to OCG
|T114788 OCG should download resourceLoader js/css dependencies
|T116482 Outreachy proposal for Add ZIM format support to OCG
- Mentioned In
- T172732: Create a production-ready zim content pack generation and upload service
T116482: Outreachy proposal for Add ZIM format support to OCG
T97672: Allow exporting MediaWiki pages in EPUB format
T94147: Bring back ZIM export in OCG toolchain
- Mentioned Here
- T150871: [EPIC] (Proposal) Replicate core OCG features and sunset OCG service
T161312: Decide what to do with open OCG tasks in Phabricator
T113736: Include stylesheets and javascript in `mw-ocg-bundler`
rEOCB55aa6bea33e2: Save details of title redirects followed.
T69540: Produce/preserve the metadata about additional ResourceLoader modules required by extension tags
T96235: Create a Debian package of zimwriterfs
Event Timeline
CScott - If I were a good programmer, I'd dive right in at the coding level to help because its a HUGE gap here, not having .zim output of WikiPedia, and not having easy Admin level .zim output from MediaWiki. I'm happy to do the legwork of trying to find you some qualified help. What programming language are your working in (or what are the choices) and do you need help understanding the .zim file format? I've toured http://www.openzim.org and http://www.kiwix.org trying to find active participants. Emmanuel Engelhart kelson at kiwix.org & Tommi Maekitalo tommi at tntnet.org might be able to help get the ball rolling.
Personally, I'm looking to pack Kiwix and .zim files as the primary off-line help system for OSMand (the extremely popular GPS / mobile mapping system that uses Open Street Maps off-line). The help files for all this will be authored on the Open Street Map MediaWiki and spun out to be the off-line help system on the Android, IOS and Destop (java) versions of the software. The global / any language capabilities are really attractive. All projects are free/open source. Kiwix is an obvious solution as long as zim files are easily produced on the fly by MediaWiki admins. Since maps are huge, and cell coverage spotty or completely non existent in many areas, off-line use of maps (and the help system) is critical. So our need dovtails nicely with the whole zim "philosophy".
Some scribbled notes below to perhaps uncover what the next best steps might be? I can't imagine the Kiwix people are happy about having zero zim output from WikiPedia and every other MediaWiki system.... PDF the only alternative? I cringe :)
This is the temporary solution suggested for the casual MediWiki admin to create .zim files?
- HTML export of your wiki pages to a directory that contains the entire assortment of related files:
- https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DumpHTML (however Release status: unstable)
- See also:
- Assemble the directory files into a zim file
- http://download.kiwix.org/dev/ZIMmakerVMv3.ova (that file is over 1gig, Open Virtualization Format (OVA) for software to be run in virtual machines. Will a run of the mill MediWiki/Linux admin be able to work with this?)
http://www.openzim.org/wiki/Build_your_ZIM_file has some tool suggestions:
- zimwriterdb
- http://www.openzim.org/wiki/Zimwriterdb
- zim-postgresql.sql however doesn't seem to exist?
I also value being able to create zim files directly from mediawiki sites. I'm already spread too thin to be able to help practically unless my circumstances change materially. However I am involved in kiwix and willing to help test and debug whatever's involved. Emmanuel knows how to wake me up if/when the time is right :)
PS: I'm also helping create a wikibook for educational use (Computing aimed at 11 to 14 year old pupils in the UK schooling system) where it'd be great to make the book available as a zim file.
Here's what we have:
- Skeleton code to parse CLI options, unpack bundles, interface with OCG in https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki-extensions-Collection-OfflineContentGenerator-zim_renderer
- It is missing the code which actually transforms the HTML for local viewing, but this part can be borrowed from http://sourceforge.net/p/kiwix/other/ci/master/tree/mwoffliner/
- After it writes the standalone HTML tree on disk, you would invoke zimwriterfs to actually create the ZIM file (but see T96235: Create a Debian package of zimwriterfs).
IIRC, last time I looked at the code, some tweaks to https://github.com/wikimedia/mediawiki-extensions-Collection-OfflineContentGenerator-bundler might be needed as well. I already added one in 55aa6bea33e29053b76b2043d2c96bcb2f4f1964 since the zimwriter backend needs to rewrite redirects. I believe there were other minor issues involving stylesheets & etc -- for example, the Parsoid DOM includes a stylesheet URL, but we don't actually fetch it in the bundler. (And in this case a better solution would be to use the API to query the actual style modules necessary, instead of just stashing the result of ResourceLoader; see T69540: Produce/preserve the metadata about additional ResourceLoader modules required by extension tags). I'm happy to do the mw-ocg-bundler side of this work; just create phab tickets for specific items and link them here as blockers.
If you want to feature this project idea at https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Outreachy/Round_11 please edit the description adding the mentors, skills required, and microtasks for candidates. Thank you!
@cscott, would you be interested in mentoring this as an internship project for Outreachy?
@cscott, would you be interested in / would time allow mentoring this as an internship project for Outreachy?
I am shifting this to Outreachy-Round-11 as the project description has two mentors, micro-tasks and looks ready for the 11th edition of Outreachy ( Dec 2015 - Mar 2016 ) . Potential candidates should start by submitting their proposals as a blocker for this task, by November 02.
Feel free to revert it back, if this task has some relevant issues which might block its completion in this term of Outreachy.
I would like to work on this project as a part of Outreachy round 12/ GSoC 2016. I am fairly good at PHP and know some Node.JS. I have read about the ZIM format and OCG. I intend to look at the present stub of solution implemented in the next couple days, and in parallel solve the microtasks. @cscott, will you be willing to work as a mentor for this project?
This looks like quite a discussed project. @cscott , would you be willing to mentor this project for Outreachy-13(Dec 6-March 6) ?
Hi all,
I am a software engineering student and i am quite new to WIkimedia.
While browsing the possible projects, i read through this project and It seems very interesting. I am willing to take this project during this GsoC '17 Please @cscott if you agree with that I can move ahead directly with looking deeply at the project. Thanks
@Aklapper @Eugene233 On our side this is still pretty important even if we have no focus on this due to lack of resources. I have posted a comment in that direction here https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T146757#2959943. That said, to the contrary to the OCG, the electron-renderer (effort) seems be self-focused an to offer little opportunities to be reused for other formats.
Electron will never support ZIM, AFAIK. I think OCG is still the only option for actual *offline* collection creation.
@cscott Thx for confirming my feeling.
"mwoffliner" is not available as a npm module, so it can be directly/easily used in OCG.
We are currently fixing the problem with mocking the resourceLoader for offline usage in mwoffliner and use also the mobile layout. This should be finished in a few weeks.
Then, it would be smart to move away from zimwriterfs binary call, and use directly node-libzim. One time that's made, it should be relatively easy to bring ZIM export in OCG.
"New Reader" and "global reach" teams are pretty supportive to that feature AFAIK and this is important to Kiwix project too. Looks like we just need to gather supportive people to get enough support to get dev resources to "finish the job".
I'm a dev resource and willing to work on this task but I cannot work out whether it's currently parked. I am new to this community and would appreciate being steered in the right direction. @cscott can you help?
@Inveteratransmog: Hi and welcome! :) Wikimedia plans to replace OCG on its servers and OCG might get archived. Hence I would not recommend spending time on this task. I'm not sure about the exact state of ZIM plans - the Kiwix folks or the WMF Readers team might know best? :-/
As already announced in Tech News, OfflineContentGenerator (OCG) will not be used anymore after October 1st, 2017 on Wikimedia sites. OCG will be replaced by Electron. You can read more on mediawiki.org.
Is this still a valid task or be tagged as Possible-Tech-Projects as per @Aklapper's comment above?


text:
The costume, which will be worn by Jesinta Campbell at the competition in Las Vegas next month, features high-heeled Ugg boots, a brown one piece swimming costume hand-painted by an Aboriginal artist and a lamb's wool shrug. The ensemble is topped off by a voluminous flamenco-inspired rainbow skirt.
What to say other than Ugg boots should not be worn outside the home.


text:
The Best Passive PA Speakers Under $1000
The Best Passive PA Speakers Under $500
This is the price range where most people get their passive speakers from, so it's not surprising to know that this is where competition gets really tough - with manufacturers continually improving the quality of their products. A $1000 budget affords you two or more of these speakers, and some will even give you enough change for getting accessories.
JBL was already winning big awards a few years after it was founded in the late 1920s. And up to this day, they continue to be a household name when it comes to quality musical equipment, more specifically speakers.
The JRX215 follows after the company's legacy of accessibility and quality, it is an affordable passive speaker with a 15" woofer and 1" tweeter.
It has good power handling for the price and also sports an impressive peak capacity of 1000W, more than capable of being driven hard.
Since its from JBL, you can be assured of quality and reliability that will give you years of good use.
- 15" LF Driver
- 1" HF Driver
- Continuous Power: 250W
- Program Power: 500W
- Peak Power: 1000W
- Sensitivity: 1W/1m: 99 dB
- Impedance 8 ohms
- Frequency Range: 41 Hz - 18 kHz (-10 dB)
- Maximum Peak SPL: 129 dB
- Weight: 60.5 lbs.
As expected of JBL, sound quality gets the most commendations, with many describing it as clean and detailed. Some comment that it sounds good even when driven hard, with its low-end handling exceeding their expectations given its price. The JBL JRX215 continues to gather commendations from users who are happy with how good it performs at various events including concerts, church programs and band performances.
To get the price this low, JBL somewhat compromised on the cosmetics department, so don't expect much in terms of aesthetic appeal. Still, if you are after great sound as you should be, these are but minor gripes.
This is a great budget speaker from a reputable manufacturer, which should be considered when you're looking for a good 15" passive PA speaker.
Yamaha CBR15 1000W 15" Passive Speaker
Yamaha's reputation for quality permeates the entire music gear industry, and the loud speaker market is no exception. The CBR15 in particular is well received for the high value that it provides given its price.
It sports a 15" woofer and a 1.4" tweeter with a 500W RMS power handling and 96dB SPL sensitivity.
It is wrapped with a sturdy yet lightweight plastic cabinet that both protects the components and make the speaker relatively easier to setup and carry around.
Finally, Yamaha equipped the CBR15 with a tweeter protection circuit, for worry free use and longevity.
- 15" LF Driver
- 1.4" HF Driver
- Continuous Power: 250W
- Program Power: 500W
- Peak Power: 1000W
- Sensitivity: 1W/1m: 96 dB
- Impedance 8 ohms
- Frequency Range: 46 Hz - 20 kHz
- Maximum Peak SPL: 126 dB
- Weight: 38 lbs.
The CBR15 exemplifies why Yamaha is doing well, with its great balance of affordability, good specifications and reliable build quality. Good reports of this speaker working well as FOH speakers in various venues continue to pour in. There are also many musicians who utilize this speaker as their monitor. It also gets a lot of praise for its weight, with some describing it as a breeze to mount on to poles.
Those who prefer speakers with wood cabinets may want to look elsewhere and stretch their budgets. Other than that, not many complaints to write about.
If you're looking for a reliable and great value 15" passive speaker, then this is for you.
Mackie C300z
At time of publication the Mackie C300z was the highest rated passive PA speaker Under $500.
Mackie continues to grow in prominence in the competitive entry level market, and they do so with their products' impressive quality and value. Case in point is the Mackie C300z, a popular passive pa speaker for small venues, which continues to best others in terms of actual customer ratings.
With its 12" woofer, 1.75" titanium tweeter and lower 300W RMS power handling, the C300z is meant to provide great sonic clarity at appropriate volumes fit for coffee shops, book stores, art galleries and the like.
It's also light which is great for mobile use, and can be suspended in case you want a more permanent position.
- 12" LF Driver
- 1.75" HF Driver
- Continuous Power: 300W
- Program Power: 500W
- Peak Power: 750W
- Sensitivity: (1W@1m) 98 dB
- Impedance 8 ohms
- Frequency Range: 45Hz - 20kHz
- Maximum Peak SPL: 123dB
- Weight: 46 lbs.
Reviews are replete of appreciation for its clear and detailed sound. Users who employ the C300z for both speaking engagements and band performances find it to be more than what they expected - and they gladly recommend it to others. It is also surprisingly loud for a 300W RMS rated speaker, some have even successfully used it as the main speakers for DJ gigs.
There are comments about lack of bottom end for some musical application. Some are concerned about the speaker's exterior, but majority agree that it should be sturdy enough for regular use as long as it is properly handled.
If you are looking for a pair of FOH speakers that can fill small venues with great sound, then the Mackie C300z is worth checking out.
Yamaha Club V Series S115V
From bars, to clubs, to houses of worship, the Yamaha Club series has been used in all types of venues and settings through the years.
And on its 5th generation, Yamaha updated the design with larger enclosures, stronger grilles, improved drivers and more - to make them viable for the needs of modern stages while still retaining accessible price tags.
The S115V is included in this line up, and is easily one of the most popular and highly rated 15" passive speakers in the market today, thanks to its impressive specs on paper, which translates well in real world use.
- 15" LF Driver
- 2" HF Driver
- Continuous Power: 250W
- Program Power: 500W
- Peak Power: 1000W
- Sensitivity: (1W@1m) 99 dB (On-Axis)
- Impedance 8 ohms
- Frequency Range: 55Hz - 16kHz (-10 dB)
- Maximum Peak SPL: 129dB
- Weight: 64.8 lbs.
Yamaha is known for the quality of their entry to mid-tier level equipment, and this applies to the S115V as attested to by its many positive ratings. Many find its volume and sound to be really good for the money. Longevity is also a common theme among its many positive reviews, some even report using the S115V for years without much issue, and praising it for its consistent and reliable performance.
There are a few who wish for more low end for use with more bass-heavy music. Another point of contention is how "old school" the speakers look, but it shouldn't be an issue unless you already have modern looking speakers to match it with.
This speaker is highly recommended for small to medium sized venues, specifically if you need speech clarity and the ability to handle full band performances in one unit.
Best Passive PA Speakers from $500 to $1000
Interestingly, there aren't as many popular passive speakers in this price range, so we ended up with just two that we can confidently recommend. Based on our analysis, these are worthwhile investments that provide years of reliable use, mounting versatility, loudness and great sound.
At time of publication the JBL PRX425 was the highest rated passive PA speaker between $500 and $1000.
JBL is easily one of the most familiar brands when it comes to speaker cabinets, so it's not surprising to find them taking a couple of slots in this list.
The JBL PRX425 speaker cabinet houses two 12" woofers (also called LF "Low Frequency" drivers) that provide double the volume and low-end while still retaining the balance and clarity expected of 12" speakers.
While they maybe pricey, the cost is justified by dual LF driver design and high power handling, allowing it to easily fill up mid-size venues without the need for subwoofers.
It also comes with SonicGuard technology which protects the HF driver from excessive power.
- 2 x 15" LF Drivers
- 1" HF Driver
- Continuous Power: 600W
- Program Power: 1200W
- Peak Power: 2400W
- Sensitivity: (1W@1m) 100 dB
- Impedance 4 ohms
- Frequency Range: 48Hz - 19kHz (-10 dB)
- Maximum Peak SPL: 134dB
- Weight: 74 lbs.
The common sentiment among reviewers is that this passive speaker can move plenty of air. And in addition to being loud, many are equally impressed with its clarity, even at high volume levels. Some users have successfully employed this speaker on multiple medium to big size venues, covering various events that include ceremonies, speaking engagements, bands and even bass-heavy DJ/Electronic dance music. The majority of reviewers are also very happy with the speaker's overall build quality and reliability.
There aren't really any complaints about the sound, but it's understandable that some users express concerns about the bulk and weight.
All in all, this is a great value speaker for those looking for a cabinet that can handle mid to big size venues.
Electro-Voice ZX3-90
Incorporated on June 1, 1930, Electro-Voice has a long history of building professional quality music equipment. From professional artists like Stevie Wonder to hobbyists, many continue to support and recommend their products.
The ZX3 Series gets EV into this list with its combination of sonic versatility and positioning flexibility. While others only have LF and HF drivers, the ZX3-90 comes with a 2" voice coil driver that adds even more clarity, balance and realism to the resulting sound.
It can also be employed in various positions, thanks to its speaker stand ready design, along with anchor plates for single stud fittings.
- 12" LF Driver
- 2" MF Driver
- 1" HF Driver
- Continuous Power: 600W
- Program Power: 1200W
- Peak Power: 2400W
- Sensitivity: (1W@1m) 97 dB (Axial)
- Impedance 8 ohms
- Frequency Range: 48Hz - 20kHz (-10 dB)
- Maximum Peak SPL: 131dB
- Weight: 43.7 lbs.
Most reviews are in agreement that the ZX3 has a very balanced and clear sound. But what really surprised most users is its light weight, especially when considering its 1200W Program power rating and 131 dB Max SPL. It also helps that the ZX3 has multi-mount compatibility, so you can have it on a stand, attach it to a wall or even the ceiling, or use its wedge shape to make it serve as a floor monitor when needed.
Not many complaints on this one, aside from a few that commented on the ZX3-90's relatively small size, still, they are surprised by how much volume it can produce.
If you're looking for a do-it-all type of passive speaker, and you have the budget for pro quality, then the Electro-Voice ZX3-90 may appeal to you.
Things To Consider When Buying Passive PA Speakers
Power Rating - Continuous (RMS), Program and Peak
PA Speaker power ratings are most often listed values for Continuous (also often called RMS), Program (sometimes called Music) and Peak power. But what do these mean?
Continuous power refers to a worst case scenario where you are blasting the speaker with sound at all frequencies (pink noise to be specific) for hours and hours on end. The biggest problem with speakers tends to be overheating and this doesn't allow the speaker to take a break and cool down. Unless you are an avant garde pink noise outfit with pieces lasting hours your actual music won't stress the speakers this hard.
Manufacturers also list Program or Music Power which is just about always double the Continuous Power rating. This is the rating for some version of 'typical' music power loads where there is dynamic range and periods of relative quiet which allows the speakers to cool down.
Peak power refers to how much your speakers can produce for an 'instant' which can both cause a lot of heat and is the limit to which the diaphragm of the speaker can safely move. The Peak power listed is nearly always double the music power and four times the Continuous Power.
Matching with Amplifier Power Ratings
You'd think that matching up the Continuous RMS Power with the output power of your amp would be safest and best bet but it turns out that many recommend a more powerful amp than this rating. A typical recommendation is about double this level which as we've learned above is generally Program or Music Power. So if you have a passive speaker that has a continuous power rating of 500W, the optimal amplifier to use is one rated 1000W or close to that. The reasoning is that apart from getting the most out of your speakers for typical loads, you are less likely to turn you amp up too high which can lead to a clipped/distorted signal rather like a square wave. A clipped signal from you power amp is the worst kind of signal for you're speaker and can damage them even at lower power levels. There are even those who recommend an amp that goes all the way up to the Peak Power. On the other hand some recommend that matching to Continuous RMS Power is the safest bet. From our research the main point is to make sure your power amplifier doesn't go into the red whatever the power rating and that using around double the Continuous RMS rating is appropriate for normal music loads.
Impedance Matching
The typical load for speakers are 4, 6 or 8 ohms (Ω). The safest route is to have an amplifier that matches the load (4 ohm amp output to 4 ohm speaker). Low impedance speakers cause amplifiers with high impedance outputs to work harder, which result in audio clipping or worse - faster heat build up that may damage your equipment. So pairing your speaker impedance properly is important to preserve your amplifier and speaker, and to have a clear sound.
Speaker Loudness and Sound Pressure Level (SPL)
The wattage ratings of PA speakers relate to how much power they use up and this doesn't always relate directly to how much sound they can produce. This is because speakers vary in their efficiency at producing sound vs heat. The speaker efficiency rating is called Sensitivity which is how loud in decibels (db) it will be 1 meter from the speakers with 1 watt of power. The overall maximum loudness of the speakers is the Maximum SPL which is also measured at 1 meter in front of the speaker. While this can be a useful comparison point, it's important to point out that this doesn't give you a consistent measure of what levels of clarity and precision there are at these high levels so apart from cranking the speakers and listening from a safe distance, the best method is to check what others have experienced using the speakers in real life situations. Fortunately for you this is what we've done and incorporated into the Gearank scores.
Speaker Cone Size
The top rated passive speakers have either 12" or 15" woofers with these two speaker sizes considered the most ideal for music PA systems. The general difference is that bigger 15" speakers offer more punch and low end (although not as much as a subwoofer), at the cost of overwhelming some of the highs. They also tend to be more expensive and heavier. 12" speakers offer a more balanced sound for many applications, but may not be enough for bass-heavy music. Also worth considering is the size of the tweeter, the presence of a midrange woofer, and the type of material used for the cone and tweeter.
Weight, Portability and Mounting
Since there are no built-in amplifiers inside the cabinet, passive speakers are expected to be lighter. This makes them ideal for mobile productions that move from place to place. Other portability friendly features to watch out for include stand/hang compatibility, handle location, size, and of course the actual weight.
Best Passive PA Speaker Selection Methodology
This guide was first published on April 28, 2016 and the latest major update was published on October 14, 2019.
For this 2019 update, we ended up increasing the total number of speakers we examined to 21. The sources we scrutinized also increased to over 2200, which included the most recent and relevant data from various reviews, ratings and forum discussions. Finally, all these data were processed by the Gearank Algorithm, which gave us the scores that helped us further narrow down the list to just the very best. Like the previous iterations, the recommended list is divided into two price brackets for convenience. For more information about our processes see How Gearank Works.
Note that this guide is focused on the main PA speakers you use for the audience to hear your music, click here if you're specifically looking for stage monitors.
Passive PA Speaker Summary
If you feel there is a speaker which should be included above, first check to see if it's in our Gearank Database, then let us know in the comments below if you would like us to consider including it.
You have reviewed many Samson
Submitted by Pete (not verified) on
You have reviewed many Samson Pro Equipment, but I have yet to see you review their PA Speakers, not those toys with questionable headroom designated as active speakers mind you, The passive ones, and at least the 15" 2 way ones..
Yes we have rated many Samson
Submitted by Jason Horton on
Yes we have rated many Samson products (see them here).
We focus our analysis on gear that's available from retailers based in the USA.
Most of the US based music gear retailers don't sell Samson PA speakers, and those that do, like B&H, mainly sell Samson's powered speakers.
If Samson's passive PA speakers become more widely available in the US we will certainly provide ratings on them and consider including them in this guide.
As a result of our October
Submitted by Jason Horton on
As a result of our October 2019 update the following speakers came off our recommended list above but you can still see our analysis of them:
Where does the Peavey SP5G
Submitted by Christopher Thomas (not verified) on
Where does the Peavey SP5G fit in this lineup?
I didn't realize they made
Submitted by Jason Horton on
As a result of our January
Submitted by Jason Horton on
As a result of our January 2018 update, the following speakers were removed from our list of recommendations above:
Hey! I have an active15"
Submitted by Naveh Halperin (not verified) on
Hey! I have an active15" Electro-voice speaker (zlx 15p) that's very powerful and weighs 38 lbs. I don't understand why most of the speakers here weigh more, and some of them are only 12" woofers. Is there an explanation for that? I thought passive speakers were supposed to be lighter in comparison. Thanks!
The zlx is plastic, most of
Submitted by Johnny (not verified) on
The zlx is plastic, most of the speakers shown here are made of plywood.
What do you think of the
Submitted by Hampus (not verified) on
What do you think of the Rockville SPG15s? Have you tried them out? I've heard from so many reviewers that you can't get any better sound and punch than them for the price. They do also say it's too high highs, but it's fixed with some EQ though.
Rockville's passive speakers
Submitted by Jason Horton on
Rockville's passive speakers haven't had high enough ratings for us to do any detailed analysis on them in the past. We will be re-examining this category within the next few months so maybe we'll have something to say about them then, but a quick look at the data suggests to me that they'll have a hard time getting better ratings than other brands.
I bought a 1000W Mackie Thump
Submitted by Sponge (not verified) on
I bought a 1000W Mackie Thump 12. Is that a decent loudspeaker for
singing in an outdoor environment?
The Mackie Thump12 is a
Submitted by Jason Horton on
The Mackie Thump12 is a powered speaker, not a passive speaker like the ones in this guide.
You can see its current Gearank score here.
It's not one of the powered speakers that we currently recommend, you can see our recommendations in the guide to The Best Powered PA Speakers.
A question by Burton Brown
Submitted by Jason Horton on
A question by Burton Brown about powered PA speakers has been moved to the Powered PA Speaker Guide.
Thanks for the very helpful
Submitted by Bao Luu (not verified) on
Thanks for the very helpful information. How do you rate the Behringer B215XL vs. B212XL?
I've added the B215XL to our
Submitted by Jason Horton on
You reviewed the Behringer
Submitted by T Bone D (not verified) on
You reviewed the Behringer VS1520, but I am interested in the more robust B1520 Pro. Any info or comparison to these available?
The Behringer B1520 PRO was
Submitted by Jason Horton on
The Behringer B1520 PRO was originally left out of this list because it wasn't immediately available or didn't have any customer reviews at several major online retailers.
I have just processed it to find its Gearank score and it came out equal to the VS1520 - you can see the Gearank score here.
Really informative! I haven't
Submitted by Dan (not verified) on
Really informative! I haven't bought new speakers in ages, and you just saved me loads of research time. Thanks!
Glad to be of help!
Submitted by Alexander Briones on
Glad to be of help!


text:
We deliver solutions to secure, manage and power mobile users, enabling your organization to gain productivity, increase effectiveness and leverage actionable intelligence.
...years of innovation to meet the market needs for charging, power and security.
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With 9,000 new Chromebooks coming into our schools...managing the condition and safety of these computers became a primary concern.
Bill Klopping, Director of Technology, VESD
Victor Elementary School District


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This was one expensive eclipse — even if you're not buying any special glasses to wear for the occasion. The "Great American Eclipse" on Monday was especially clear for Americans in Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Tennessee and South Carolina. A solar eclipse was last viewable on a path that crosses the entire country in 1918.
Here's the Debbie Downer side of this once-in-a-lifetime event: It cost employers an estimated $694 million collectively, according to an analysis from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a firm based in Chicago that specializes in helping employees transition in their careers. The company did not even factor in the employees that might be taking time off to actually travel to watch the eclipse, if they don't live in its direct path.
It took around 20 minutes to gather any viewing equipment they'll use and to watch the eclipse, which itself only took about two minutes, Challenger calculated. Nearly 83% of people go to work on an average weekday based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data and the average hourly national wage and the number of full-time employed workers 16 and over.
The eclipse also brought in tens of millions of tourist dollars. The city of Nashville estimates some 50,000 to 75,000 people visited, spending a total of $15 million to $20 million during the eclipse, according to USA Today. And tourism revenue could be as high as $43 million in South Carolina. An estimated 100,000 people visited Salem, Ore., and Southeastern Idaho saw as many as 300,000 to 500,000 visitors, tourism organizations in those places told USA Today.
The eclipse isn't the only event that costs the U.S. workplace, and certainly won't be the most expensive for employers. Every year, the March Madness college basketball tournament costs workplaces nearly $2 billion, according to Challenger. That's based the assumption that around 80 million workers spend one hour on average on March Madness, including filling out and updating brackets and watching games or checking scores.
And the eclipse pales in comparison to all the other distractions. In addition to answering personal emails and texts on smartphones, online shopping, and watching sports, employees report spending 42 minutes on other personal tasks. This adds up to 8 hours a week, and $15.5 billion in lost productivity, a recent study by staffing firm OfficeTeam found.
This year, ketchup-maker Heinz
Challenger isn't suggesting U.S. workers become slaves to capitalism rather than watch events like the eclipse. Companies could use the eclipse "to increase morale and strengthen the team," said Andrew Challenger, the company's vice president. Building in time around lunch to mark the special occasion encouraged employees to interact "and have something to be excited about," he said.


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Within City
Within 1 mile
Within 2 miles
Within 5 miles
Within 10 miles
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Sort by
highest rated first
most reviewed first
alphabetical order
closest first
best match
"Bath and Body Works is a great place to indulge yourself in when you have the time and the money. They have a wide expanse of products (lotion, ..."
"Engineers and beauty supply stores don??t quite fit?or do they? Walk into Balboa Beauty Supply and meet Ramon Pons, a former nuclear engineer turned business owner, and a ..."
"The staff can come off a bit snotty sometimes but you can't beat the quality. The prices are a little higher than some shop, though they are the ..."
"I came here from Planet beach across the street because the service there was horrible and I felt immediately more comfertable at this salon. The girl who was ..."
"Smelly stuff in a big white store. This location had a lot of candles. They had a bench outside for me to sit"
"I have been using Origins for the past 20 yrs and love it. They are always coming out with new products. I will never switch and recommend them ..."
"I came here during the semi-annual sal and there were so many great things at such a great price that it was astounding.! I must admit though that ..."
"i went there few month ago i love it.i am going there in a week try weekend see what kind of guys. want hook up let me know"
"I'm a responsible person, i like to be around people. I'm steal in high school and I have the capacity to take care of my work, I like ..."
"I love the fact that this place isn't full of pushy sales assistants! I can browse products and try makeup on, without being bothered. The sales assistants are ..."


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Health care system (Health system)
The US health care system consists of a multitude of subsystems with significant variation between states. There is no universal health care coverage, and a significant number of individuals do not have health insurance. Health insurance can be funded by the state (e.g., Medicare), employers, individuals, or a combination thereof.
Health insurance funding and payment models
Government-funded health insurance
- Individuals ≥ 65 years old
- Patients with end-stage renal failure or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
- Individuals with permanent disabilities irrespective of age
- Subdivided into 4 parts: Which parts individuals qualify for determines the extent of coverage.
- Part A: hospital care, hospice care for terminal patients, skilled nursing facility care (if services are needed daily after a minimum 3-day stay in a hospital)
- Part B: doctor's fees; , emergency department visits, diagnostic tests, rehabilitation
Part C: all services covered by parts A and B, including preventive care
- This plan allows people to enroll in a private health insurance plan.
- Medicare pays other organizations, such as insurance companies, hospital systems, or managed care organizations, to provide care.
- Part D: prescription drugs
- Jointly funded by the state and federal governments
- Eligibility: individuals with low income
- Coverage: hospital care, laboratory tests, diagnostic tests (such as x-rays), doctors' visits, skilled nursing care, vaccinations, home health care
Children's health insurance program (CHIP)
Eligibility: uninsured children of families with low income, but not low enough to qualify for Medicaid
Private health insurance
- Used by more than half of the American population
- It can be employer-sponsored (most common) , college-sponsored, or purchased individually.
Health care payment models
- Health care providers are compensated for each individual service provided (e.g., individual laboratory tests, imaging studies, and procedures).
- Incentivizes health care providers to overtreat patients because compensation is based on the quantity of services provided
- Associated with high overall health care costs
- A fixed payment schedule with discounted prices can be negotiated between health care providers and payers (i.e., discounted fee-for-service).
Bundled payment
- A health care organization is compensated a fixed amount for all services provided for a clinically-defined episode of care (e.g., hip replacement, cholecystectomy). Payment is then distributed to the health care providers.
- Incentivizes health care providers to deliver efficient care (e.g., health care providers avoid unnecessary procedures)
- Carries the risk that patients will be undertreated because compensation does not rely on the quantity or quality of services provided for each clinically-defined episode of care
- Health care providers are compensated a fixed amount per patient during each payment period, regardless of the actual amount of health care utilized by the patient.
- Incentivizes health care providers to deliver efficient care (e.g., cost-effective preventive health care to avoid larger downstream costs)
- Carries the risk that patients will be undertreated because compensation is not based on the quantity or quality of services provided
Per diem payment
- A health care organization is compensated a fixed amount per patient per day for a specific care service provided, regardless of the actual costs involved in providing services for any particular patient.
- Often used for reimbursement of inpatient services
Common types of health insurance plans
|Common health insurance plans
|Health care delivered through
|Specialist care
|Member costs
|Health maintenance organization (HMO)
|Preferred provider organization (PPO)
|Point-of-service (POS)
|Exclusive provider organization


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APAC CIO Survey Underscores Need for Proactive Approach to Application Delivery & Cloud Computing
F5 Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV), the global leader in Application Delivery Networking, today announced the results of a Frost & Sullivan survey that looked at enterprise views towards application delivery and cloud computing with respect to their business needs as well as their understanding of the technology drivers behind these needs.
Commissioned by F5, the survey found that CIOs and senior IT decision makers in Asia Pacific (APAC) recognise the importance of Web applications in driving their businesses, and that their strong recognition of the seriousness of Web-based attacks makes security a top concern. However, the survey also exposed a need for more awareness about the differences between traditional network-based vulnerabilities versus Web application attacks as there appeared to be some confusion among respondents about the capabilities of network-based firewalls versus Web application firewalls.
Also, the findings revealed a preference for utilising more bandwidth to overcome Web application performance issues. Since adding bandwidth does not overcome latency issues caused by physical distances between source and destination, this potentially means that the prevalent issue of application latency remains unresolved for many enterprises.
Further, the study shows that customers see an important association between cloud computing and business agility putting an onus on aspiring cloud services providers to assure enterprise-level availability, security and performance.
"Applications are the lifeblood of enterprises today, and it is essential that decision makers take the right approach that includes creating strategic points of control that give complete visibility. Whether application protection, high availability, or performance, the business objective can only be achieved when the solutions are part of an overall Application Delivery Networking strategy that ensures full visibility and control of end-to-end traffic between users and application servers," stated Kurt Hansen, Managing Director of F5 Networks in Australia and New Zealand.
"As technology convergence continues unabated in the IT realm, the concept of a Server Load Balancer has rapidly evolved into a converged Application Delivery Controller capable of offering more capabilities on top of its base function and dominated by the three pillars of application delivery: availability, security and performance," said Nitin Bhat, Senior Vice President - ICT, Frost & Sullivan. "On the cloud computing front, the study showed that whilst perception towards cloud computing as a business enabler is encouraging, security and access control are key challenges that could potentially affect an enterprise's willingness to embrace cloud computing as a viable business tool in the immediate future."
The study, conducted in the fourth quarter of 2009 across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore and South Korea, surveyed large enterprises' attitudes on a range of topics such application delivery, application security, application acceleration and cloud computing.
Overall findings:
Interest in unifying application delivery capabilities on a single platform is high
Seventy-three percent of CIOs and senior decision makers want two or more integrated features on a single platform. Top of their list are Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) and security.
Mismatch between the perceived enterprise needs and the corresponding technologies deployed
- Bandwidth dependence and fallacies still exist. Forty-four percent believed that simply utilising more bandwidth is the best way to boost application performance levels.
- Application security is still not well understood. Sixty-one percent believed that network firewalls can prevent Web attacks, and twenty-three percent indicated that their existing IDS/IPS deployments are forms of protection against Web attacks.
Cloud computing is viewed as the next generation application delivery channel
Enterprises believe that cloud computing will increase their agility and scalability in a cost-effective manner. However, more than half cited security issues as a key barrier to adoption of cloud computing.
Topics of interest (ranked by country):
Security is the top application delivery issue in Australia, Singapore and India
Early adopters of Cloud appear to be Australia and India
Australia, China and Korea rank as the top three counties which consider security a key barrier to Cloud adoption
Unifying application delivery on a single platform: India, China, Korea and Singapore
Bandwidth dependence ranked highest in India, China and Singapore
Having a powerful network firewall is sufficient to make up for a lack of Web application firewall according to respondents in China, India, Korea and Singapore
There is a strong belief in China, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong that Web application firewalls are only required for PCI-DSS compliance
Cloud computing and Software as a Service (SaaS) are perceived as being the same thing in China, Korea, and India
About the Survey
This was a survey commissioned by F5 to understand end-user perceptions about application delivery and cloud computing with respect to their business needs as well as their understanding of the technology drivers behind these needs. The survey consisted of around 300 enterprises, spanning six markets, and included five verticals—financial, telecommunications, government, manufacturing and IT. The executives who participated were mainly IT executives who played an influencing role in the purchasing decisions for IT infrastructure.
About F5 Networks
F5 Networks is the global leader in Application Delivery Networking (ADN), focused on ensuring the secure, reliable, and fast delivery of applications. F5's flexible architectural framework enables community-driven innovation that helps organisations enhance IT agility and dynamically deliver services that generate true business value. F5's vision of unified application and data delivery offers customers an unprecedented level of choice in how they deploy ADN solutions. It redefines the management of application, server, storage, and network resources, streamlining application delivery and reducing costs. Global enterprise organisations, service and cloud providers, and Web 2.0 content providers trust F5 to keep their business moving forward. For more information, go to www.f5.com.
CONTACTS: Elissa McGrath Shuna Boyd
F5 Networks Shuna Boyd Public Relations
+61 407 137 355 +61 2 9418 8100
email@example.com firstname.lastname@example.com
F5 is a trademark or service mark of F5 Networks, Inc., in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements relating to future events or future financial performance that involve risks and uncertainties. Such statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of such terms or comparable terms. These statements are only predictions and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these statements based upon a number of factors including those identified in the company's filings with the SEC.


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June 7, 2011 from 10am to 12pm – The California Legion of Honor Join cultural historian Kayleen Asbo for a in-depth psychological exploration of the myths and stories behind the magnificent Rodin collection at the Palace of the Legion of Honor museum in San Franc… Organized by Kayleen Asbo | Type: art, tour, and, lecture
May 26, 2012 from 2pm to 3pm – California State University - Sacramento, Mendocino Hall Join us for a private, 60-minute talk and tour of "¡Danza! - Living Traditions in Mexican Ritual Masks" given by Museum Curator, Professor Joyce Bishop. This fascinating collection of 60 masks used… Organized by Jeanne Andrews | Type: museum, tour, anthropology, mexico, ceremonial, masks, myth
October 3, 2015 to October 10, 2015 – Florence Italy and Environs Join us for an exploration – literary, painterly, poetic, musical, natural and philosophical – to reanimate the flow of beauty and soulfulness alongside the Arno river. This journey of mind, body and… Organized by Isadora Duncan International Institute | Type: guided, mythic, travel, tour
May 23, 2016 to June 12, 2016 – numerous sites in Greece and Turkey Exploring Ancient Greek Mythology, Arts, and Mysteries: A Study Tour and Personal Journey in Greece and Turkey May 23-June 12, 2016. Led by Dr. Bella Vivante, Classics Professor Emerita, and Gail A… Organized by Gail Lynn Arrenholz | Type: a, study, tour, and, personal, journey


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The event will not be organized in 2020.
The 15th annual Bastille Day Race takes place throughout Downtown Fenton and the surrounding neighborhoods. During this event three races are performed; 15K run, 5K run & 5K walk. All races are timed and USA Track & Field Certified. The 15K is challenging and hilly which starts in front of the Crust Bakery on Caroline Street and leaves from downtown Fenton heading south. Runners will loop south to Runyan Lake, then turns back toward Fenton, with runners battling the notorious Denton Hill in the last two miles before finishing. The 5K race winds through the beautiful old neighborhoods surrounding downtown Fenton. All courses are 100% paved streets. The proceeds from this race benefits the local Habitat for Humanity in Genesee County and money raised stays in Genesee County to help build or renovate homes for people in need
Click to reach the official site
Information about the event is available in : English


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It's very often for Anil Kapoor, getting compliments on his time defying looks and the recent photo of him proves he has surely got hold of some anti-ageing secret which no one in the world knows.
The 59 year old actor took twitter to share one of his new hairdo captioning it – "Life's too short to have boring hair !" And you know what, everyone is going bat-shit crazy over the internet.
Life's too short to have boring hair! Trying a new look this December completed from my bucket list! On my way to the #ipoy2016 awards!! pic.twitter.com/YvhTClBvGa
— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) December 13, 2016
Before moving onto something else, I have to say something which all of you will agree. Harshvardhan Kapoor, his very own son has got some serious competition.
Since sharing his new look last evening, Anil Kapoor's picture has received around 4,000 'likes' and 800 re-tweets. From birthday boy Rana Daggubati to actor Hrithik Roshan, Twitter cannot stop commenting on Anil's new look. While most people are calling it 'jhakaas,' others are wondering if the actor is aging in reverse.
Here's one hot man admiring other :
OUTSTANDING! ?? https://t.co/CuBZpkeHUk
— Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) December 13, 2016
HOW do you get cooler and younger with every passing day? https://t.co/hmdap2AodG
— Rajeev Masand (@RajeevMasand) December 13, 2016
Superb bhaaji 🙂 https://t.co/lfVgt2hDVA
— King Mika Singh (@MikaSingh) December 13, 2016
Swara Bhaskar also took turns !
Looking SO good sir.. as ever!!! https://t.co/3fHfxyJIyt
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) December 13, 2016
Maniesh Paul seems to be taking inspiration too !
MY GOD!!!! @AnilKapoor sir this is beyond inspiring!!! Uff the look n style n HOW FIT U LOOK!! pic.twitter.com/gCCcBTRb2s
— Maniesh Paul (@ManishPaul03) December 13, 2016
Rana Daggubati also awed ! The only mistake ? He still calls him Uncle. How in the name of Jesus can someone call this smarty Uncle.
@AnilKapoor Wahooo Anil uncle how cool !! awesome look!!
— Rana Daggubati (@RanaDaggubati) December 13, 2016
Here is some from the common people :
This man made some legit comment :
.@AnilKapoor you can still win best new face in industry.
— Godman Chikna (@Madan_Chikna) December 13, 2016
I won't let my girlfriend come across his pic.
Guys with such hairdo have 101% chance to take your girl away https://t.co/LgsM5HrQRj
— Sheen Millicent (@SuchAMisfit) December 13, 2016
And there comes some Hollywood factor :
The Curious Case of Anil Kapoor 😛
— Tabrez Shaikh (@its_tabrez_4u) December 13, 2016
He is as concerned as me !
And finally the same concern !
@AnilKapoor now, nobody has the right to call you uncle, you don't look like one.
Btw when's your debut movie coming Mr. Anil ???
— Simar? Harneja? (@psharneja) December 14, 2016
The final verdict – Jhaaaakaaass !


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January 2, 1931 ~ June 18, 2019
Richard F. Marsh died peacefully on June 18, 2019 in his home from complications of ALS. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Dorothy Brei Marsh. Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1931, Dick was the son of Richard Marsh and Dorothy Eilersen, first-generation Americans who grew up in Brooklyn when the streets were still unpaved dirt. Dick graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in history. He served in the US Army during the Korean Conflict and was stationed at Fort Amador in Panama. After an honorable discharge, he relocated to Connecticut, where he began working at Bridgeport Brass. Soon, he met his wife and they married 6 months later on New Year's Eve. This way, they knew they would always have a party to attend. In five years, Dick and Dottie had four children who miss their father: Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer (David Kelly), Charles Marsh (Jennifer Gault Marsh), Laura Marsh, M.D., and Philip Marsh (Jana Poches Marsh). His family moved every few years as Dick moved up the management ranks of Bridgeport Brass, Anaconda Aluminum, Alsco, and Atlantic Richfield. After corporate life, he established his own metals trading company in Northeast Ohio. As an avid golfer, Dick was a member of Firestone, Dataw Island, and Portage Country Clubs. At Portage, he served on the Board of Directors and as President. He was grateful for his many lasting friendships at these clubs, especially his buddies at Portage Country Club. Dick's community involvement included service on the Board of Directors of Planned Parenthood (Louisville, KY), Ohio Ballet, United Way, Oriana House, and Summit County Children's Services Board. In keeping with his interest in historical matters, Dick was a lifelong news junkie and listener and supporter of Public Broadcasting. This included service on the board of WKSU. Dick characterized his life as an 'arc of prosperity.' Starting with his European ancestors who immigrated to the US with nothing through his eventual retirement in Akron, Ohio, the arc continued with the successes of his much-loved grandchildren: Anna Brei Stormer (Zachary Satterley), Nicholas Stormer (Janet Clough Stormer), Elizabeth Britton Marsh, Ellen Gault Marsh, Margaret Emilia Davis, Theodore Paul Davis, Charles Richard Marsh, and great granddaughter Daphne. Dick looked forward to events with family. He is also survived by his sister, Dorothy Bietsch and her husband Fritz Bietsch, sister-in-law Marilyn Holland, nieces Lynn Hess, Allison Clarke, and Emily Bietsch, and nephews Karl and Alan Bietsch. The family is grateful for the support and compassionate care provided by the ALS Clinic at the Louis Stokes Veterans Administration Medical Center in Cleveland, OH, Community Caregivers, and The Cleveland Clinic Hospice. Per his request, Dick's body was cremated and there will be no service. A celebration of his life for family and friends will be scheduled. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his name to Planned Parenthood, 444 West Exchange St., Akron OH. 44302 or WKSU, 1613 E. Summit St, Kent, OH 44242.


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June 30, 2018
Jerrin Uecker
Recently friend/photographer Tony Bynum and I did a road trip with Toyota USA to Lincoln, Nebraska. Here are some of my favorite shots from the trip!
Tony cleaning off the window in Winnett, Montana.
One of my favorite shots of the road trip. A perfect puddle right off a...
September 29, 2017
Day one of five.
Good friends; Dan French, Ben Bishop and I pack out bags, lace our boots, and embark on a Southwest Montana Mountain Goat hunt. Two of Dan's friends loaded up their horses with half of our gear to meet us on top of the mountain where we would be setting...
November 24, 2016
As a hunter living in Montana, I get to see many different landscapes and ecosystems. From the Rocky Mountain Front to the great plains, from the Sweetgrass Hills to the breaks of the Missouri, Montana has it all. Montana's 680-20 sheep tag is one of the most coveted s...


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The familyPosted: June 10, 2012 Filed under: Drivel 12 Comments
"Danny, does your family know about your blog?"
YES, they do.
But I have nieces and aunts that don't need to read about me talking about "female ejaculation". Mom says she's happy I'm trying to help people. They know about my site and roll their eyes about it. BUT when I discuss relationship shit, I've NEVER had a female relative call me out.
There you go. Oh, here's me and my nieces. The one in white is 4 and shit tests like a champ. She NEVER gets over on me. You wanna practice game- play with your female relatives. When I interact with them, I tease and give light compliments/approval.
How do I know I'm doing it right? They run up to me and say, "come get me." all they want is playful male attention. When I need to, I WILL correct them and have NEVER had them not respond positively to being disciplined.
12 Comments on "The family"
And you say you never smile in photos.
Great post, Danny.
Very nice picture. You look very happy and energized. Your nieces look adorable, and you can tell they adore you.
Your nieces are ADORABLE!!!
"The one in white is 4 and shit tests like a champ."
Well, someone's gotta keep Koko Danny on his toes…Tough job, but someone has to do it 😀
By the way, Koko Danny is great an' all, but Daddy Danny sounds so much better!
(OK, OK, I'll stop with the not-so-subtle hints right this minute).


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Tropical Calamansi Tacos
Add a tangy sweetness to your tacos by simmering real Calamansi juice into the meat!
Here's how we do ours:
1 lb ground beef
1 Tbsp. garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
3/4 cup Sun Tropics Pure Calamansi
corn tortillas
shredded lettuce
diced tomatoes
shredded cheddar cheese
Optional, Click for Recipe: Avocado Dressing
1. In a medium fry pan, cook over medium heat ground beef, garlic, cumin, and salt until just no longer pink, stirring occasionally (*Note: do not add the Pure Calamansi yet!).
2. Drain the excess juices from the pan. Return meat to burner and add the Pure Calamansi. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the juice has absorbed into the meat and no longer puddles in the pan. Taste test a cooled piece of meat. If you would like an even tangier sweetness, add another 1/4-1/2 cup Pure Calamansi and simmer again until the juice has absorbed into the meat.
3. Heat tortillas:
In a microwave, wrap a moist towel around tortillas and place in microwave-safe dish and cover, heating for 50 percent heat for 4 minutes.
Or in a steamer on the stove: Pour 1/2 inch water into the bottom of the steamer. Place the basket in the steamer and top with a heavy, clean kitchen towel. Place tortilla stack on kitchen towel and fold edges of towel to cover. Cover pan with lid, bring to a boil, and allow to boil for 1 minute only. Then turn heat off and let sit for fifteen minutes, covered.
4. Assemble tacos by topping tortillas with meat, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheese, and our specialty Avocado Dressing!
*Don't forget to share with us on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Pinterest how yours turned out! We love seeing your creations!


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The Overview
- Implemented a single shopping cart across all five websites
- Improved the shopping experience for mobile users featuring a slide-out cart design
- Full migration from Magento 1 to Magento 2
- Provided strategy and implementation for custom product filtering with a predictive search component
- Increased consumer interaction with products through ratings and reviews
The Goal: Dressing Up the User Experience
Tiemart wanted to offer their users a custom experience — one that portrayed the quality of their products while being easy to navigate and shop on any device. Focusing on the importance of a streamlined shopping experience across five different sites, they came to us for assistance.
The Solution: One Cart to Shop Them All
Using Magento, our experts integrated a modern, one page checkout process. Incorporating a slide-out cart design, our team was also able to create a fluid shopping experience — one that allows customers to view their cart without having to leave their current page. This feature, along with a mobile-friendly keypad, made completing a purchase from a mobile device simple and convenient.
To make navigating Tiemart's growing collection of products easier, our experts segmented product data to implement a predictive search component. Using complex algorithms, the site can now help customers find exactly what they're looking for, and even recommend other products based on their search.
Swarming also integrated Yotpo, a user-generated content solution tool to help bring attention to Tiemart's high-quality products via customer reviews.
The Results:
Since launching their Swarming-designed responsive websites, sales on Tiemart have continuously grown year over year. Likewise, the mobile-friendly slide-out cart design and keyboard skyrocketed conversion rates on mobile devices. Tiemart also leveraged customer reviews on Yotpo to increase their brand awareness, gaining new customers every day.


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Via Sam Stein, Huffington Post
Three days after receiving $25 billion in federal bailout funds, Bank of America Corp. hosted a conference call with conservative activists and business officials to organize opposition to the U.S. labor community's top legislative priority.
Participants on the October 17 call -- including at least one representative from another bailout recipient, AIG -- were urged to persuade their clients to send "large contributions" to groups working against the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), as well as to vulnerable Senate Republicans, who could help block passage of the bill.
Bernie Marcus, the charismatic co-founder of Home Depot, led the call along
with Rick Berman, an aggressive EFCA opponent and founder of the Center for
Union Facts. Over the course of an hour, the two framed the legislation as an
existential threat to American capitalism, or worse.
…"If a retailer has not gotten involved in this, if he has not spent
money on this election, if he has not sent money to [former Sen.] Norm Coleman
and all these other guys, they should be shot. They should be thrown out their
goddamn jobs," Marcus declared.
"Bank of America is now not only getting bailout money. They are lending their name to participate in a campaign to stop workers from having a majority sign up [provision]," said Stephen Lerner, Director of the Private Equity Project at SEIU. "The biggest corporations who have created the problem are, at the very time, asking us to bail them out and then using that money to stop workers from improving their lives."
UPDATE: Via Lawrence Lessig, Huffington Post
Not only are some of the most non-trusted companies in America blatantly
trying to buy off Congress, but they're using our bailout money to do it.
If there was ever a time to join Change Congress's political "donor
strike" in support of fundamental campaign finance reform, this is it.
Click here to
join the fight for reform.
Together, thousands of us have pledged not to donate a penny more to
politicians unless they support "citizen-funded elections" for Congress -- a
combination of public financing plus Obama-style small-dollar donations. We have
removed $431,000 from the campaign coffers of those who oppose reform, and it's
growing by the hour.
Instead of politicians spending their time begging those who got us
into this economic crisis for big-dollar checks, politicians will have to spend
their time being responsive to regular people.
That's the way democracy should work. And now, at this moment of outrageous
news, all of us can do our part. Please join the fight for
reform today by clicking here, and then forward this news to some friends
Thanks for changing Congress,
Lawrence Lessig & Joe Trippi (co-founders, Change Congress)