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At Medway we believe:
- There is One God in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- That the whole Bible is God's infallible revelation to man
- In Jesus Christ's:
- Deity
- Virgin birth
- Sinless humanity
- Substitutionary death
- Bodily resurrection
- Ascension to heaven
- Salvation is by faith in Christ alone, without works and that it is by His grace
- The resurrection of the body: eternal glory for believers in heaven and everlasting punishment for unbelievers in hell
- There is one true church, consisting of all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ
- In the obedience to our Lord's command to lead people of all nations to faith in Christ and to grow in the likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ
- In the imminent return of Jesus Christ for His people
We believe that through the Bible God has revealed what we need to know about Him and His purposes for us. He has revealed Himself as loving, good, holy, perfect, eternal, all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present, sovereign, just, forgiving and merciful. He has also revealed Himself as triune, that is, the one God exists in three persons in mysterious relationship with each other: Father, Son, and Spirit.
God created the universe, and called it good. He created human beings for loving relationship with Him, to bear His image in this world as male and female together, to freely choose how we shall live, and to be stewards of His creation. We note that our relationship with Him is not as it was intended. We have not chosen to love God or our neighbours as we should and we have rather chosen to go our own way. We recognize this condition as sin.
The good news is that God has not left us on our own. He chose Abraham and Sarah to found a nation through which blessing would come to all nations. He further revealed His love, wisdom, and desire for us through the Scriptures, and ultimately in His only Son, Jesus Christ. He became human, taught and modelled how we should live, He did not sin, voluntarily died on the cross for us and rose again so that all who believe in Him might be forgiven and healed, restored to a right relationship with God, and saved from being eternally separated from Him.
Jesus ascended to heaven and until His return He has left His Spirit to give new spiritual life to His followers, as well as guide and help them to love and obey Him.
In response to the commands of Jesus,
1) We practice baptism as a symbol of our death to the old way of life and participation in the gift of His new life;
2) We remember Him in the sharing of bread and cup each week; and
3) We play our part in sharing His good news with the world.
Based on His promise, we live with the hope that Jesus Christ will return as Lord, judge of all, and creator of a new heaven and new earth. Then He will perfect His own that we may enjoy, be with, worship, and serve God forever.
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The Fingerprint of God (A collection of poems by Noreen Holmes)
Noreen Holmes is a South African, now living as a retired missionary in Cape Town. Her relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ began in 1954, at the age of 15.
After qualifying as a general nurse and midwife, she studied at the Bible Institute of South Africa where she met her husband, Justin Neville Holmes.
They served as missionaries in the Middle East, mainly Lebanon. In Beirut they adopted 2 babies - their daughter, Jeanette, now married to David, and their son, Paul, now married to Betsy. They have 4 grandchildren: Josh, Abby, Reece and Nora.
Most of the poems in this book were written sometime after their "retirement" in 2003.
The Fingerprint of God (12 MB)
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The Father Ran (by Neville Holmes)
The Bible viewed through the culture of the Bible lands, especially the parables in the light of the Middle East culture...
The Father Ran (1,6MB)
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JACOB HAVE I LOVED: Short Messages on the life Of Jacob (by Neville Holmes)
What authority do I have to write a book containing short messages on the life of Jacob?
I was called by God to serve Him in the lands of the Bible and after six years of study I arrived with my wife in those lands. We spent our first year in the land of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan where we studied Arabic at the George Kelsie school of Arabic to help those called by God to serve in the Arab world. We were taught verses and songs in Arabic.
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This simple, yet profound, question is the most important question that can be asked. "How can I be saved?" deals with where we will spend eternity after our lives in this world are over. There is no more important issue than our eternal destiny. Thankfully, the Bible is abundantly clear on how a person can be saved. The Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16 verse 30) Paul and Silas responded, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16 verse 31).


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We will be holding our AGM on Sat 29 June at 12 noon in the Education Centre. This will be a short meeting in which we would welcome your support and participation.
We recommend that you bring your own refreshments if you are staying for the walk as the cafe can be very busy. Coffee and tea can be provided.
It will be followed by a walk and talk with Barry Embling, who worked with the renowned Tony Titchen whom many of you will know. Barry will be talking about and discussing why our British Trees are under attack from ever more pests and diseases and what we can do about it. This should be very interesting and we look forward to seeing you.
Best wishes
Jane Williams Chair
PS Conservation on Sat 8 June 1030 – litter picking and river dipping – all welcome

subset: commoncrawl


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Scientists have identified a protein that makes some children and teenagers afflicted with Ewing sarcoma more resistant than others to chemotherapy.
The genetic mutation that gives rise to this childhood bone cancer also leads to high levels of the protein in question, EYA3. This suggests that EYA3 levels could help clinicians determine a more accurate prognosis for a person with Ewing sarcoma, and could guide decisions regarding how aggressively to treat the disease.
Lowering EYA3 levels also could increase the effectiveness of current therapies for Ewing sarcoma. After the recent discovery that EYA3 is a DNA repair molecule, Heide L. Ford, PhD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Aurora, and colleagues showed that the protein behaved similarly in Ewing sarcoma, helping cancerous tissue survive during chemotherapy and recover afterward. Most important, when the protein was knocked down in the cancer cells, those cells became sensitized to chemotherapy, and were less able to repair DNA damage than were control cells.
Continue Reading
"Our next step is to test small molecule inhibitors against EYA3 to determine which inhibitors best sensitize Ewing sarcomas to chemotherapy," commented Ford. Her remarks appeared in a statement issued by the University of Colorado, Denver, to announce her team's findings, which were published by the journal Molecular Cancer Research.


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It's been a strange week or so for the folks at Xbox. The company's best-known spokesman just left for Electronic Arts, that whole disc scratching thing is moving into legal territory (again), and, to top it all off, on Friday the division posted a $1.9 billion loss on its final year-end numbers. Ouch.
Those figures come via a GamesIndustry article which announced the bad news for Microsoft's bottom line. Overall sales of the Xbox 360 were down across the board in the last quarter — from 1.8 million units in fiscal 2005 to only 700,000 units in fiscal '06. Additionally, the division has been forced to absorb $1.2 billion worth of punishment for their recent upgrades to the 360s warranty and maintenance program.
Total revenues for the Xbox division in the fourth quarter stood at $1.16 billion — a 10 percent drop, compared to last year.
Read the rest of this story at 1UP: "Microsoft Xbox Division Posts $1.9B Loss for 2006"


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Kawase Hasui, 1883-1957
Selection of Scenes from Japan: Hakozaki in Chikuzen
(Nihon fukei senshu: Chikuzen Hakozaki)
pre-earthquake; signed Hasui with artist's round seal Kawase, the series title cartouche on the left margin, Nihon fukei senshu, followed by the print title, Chikuzen Hakozaki, and dated below, Taisho juichinen saku (made in Taisho 11 [1922]), hand-numbered with limited edition seal on verso, San-hyaku mai kagiri zeppan, dai hachi ban (300 limited edition, number 8), ca. 1922
aiban tate-e 12 by 9 in., 30.6 by 22.8 cm
Kendall H. Brown, Kawase Hasui: The Complete Woodblock Prints, 2008, p. 332, no. 102
Kendall Brown, Water and Shadow: Kawase Hasui and Japanese Landscape Prints, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 2014, p. 158, cat. IV.101
Scholten Japanese Art is open Monday - Friday, and some Saturdays by appointment only
Contact Katherine Martin at
(212) 585-0474 or email
to schedule a visit between 11am and 4pm preferably for no more than two individuals at a time.
Visitors are asked to wear face masks and practice social distancing at their discretion.
site last updated
September 22, 2022
Scholten Japanese Art
145 West 58th Street, suite 6D
New York, New York 10019
ph: (212) 585-0474
fx: (212) 585-0475
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By and large doctor's facilities, centers and social insurance focuses enlist restorative office collaborators to help specialists and medical caretakers to tend to the patients. In this manner these collaborators are imperative individuals from each doctor's facility, wellbeing focus and center. They bear distinctive sorts of obligations which incorporate gathering obligations, regulatory duties as likewise clinical employments. Their obligations likewise stretch out to recording straightforward restorative histories keeping in mind the end goal to help the specialist.
With expanding number of patients and the development of more new doctor's facilities, facilities and additionally human services focuses there is an expanding interest for restorative office colleagues in this day and age. The individuals who take up this field of work by and large have long and occupied with working hours. Now and again in a few doctor's facilities and centers the working hours are not settled thus the medicinal office collaborators don't get much rest in the middle of their long working hours.
The employments that a restorative office right hand can perform would be isolated into three in particular the front office therapeutic aide, the regulatory medicinal office partner lastly the clinical therapeutic office collaborator. The front office restorative colleague is in charge of dealing with the bustling front office or the gathering, telephone calls, both outside and inside and furthermore exchanges calls to the correct branch of the healing center. He plans the arrangements of the patients as per the time that the specialist is accessible. He gives the enrollment structures to the patient and guarantees that they are filled effectively giving all the substantial and essential data and in addition handles information section assignments.
The regulatory medicinal office associate is in charge of enrollment, documenting and keeping up all the restorative records of the patients. He keeps up every money related record, assumes liability for budgetary bookkeeping, starts and keeps up correspondence with patients and insurance agencies and discloses healing center affirmation methods to the patients and to their relatives. This expert is likewise in charge of keeping up records of the hardware and therapeutic supplies that have been acquired and his different obligations incorporate handling medicinal cases, restorative charging, and consolidating right coding methodology at whatever point and wherever required.
The clinical therapeutic office colleague is in charge of both managerial as additionally clinical work. He draws blood for blood gift and analysis, applies and changes dressings on wounds and furthermore works in the medicinal research facilities as and when required. Getting a record of the every day perceptions of the patient's wellbeing and announcing the circumstance to the concerned specialist is additionally an aspect of his responsibilities. His different occupations incorporate upkeep of the patient's wellbeing records and creating them as and when they are requested.
Since the work of the restorative office associate is so fluctuated the people who might want to take up this field of work ought to be all around qualified. Doctor's facilities and wellbeing focuses by and large like to contract individuals who have an Associate of Applied Science Degree from any school that is licensed to the Commission of Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs. The preparation program in such schools incorporates preparing on imperative regulatory and also clinical strategies, relational abilities, and front office prepping.


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Bjoern Hoehrmann wrote: > * Jon Ferraiolo wrote: >>* As a veteran of many W3C activities, I agree wholeheartedly that it is >>indeed usually better to define a minimal version that addresses a >>well-known set of needs first, and then learn from that, versus taking >>guesses about how to solve all potential problems at once. > > You mean you do not think that it should be a requirement for whatever > comes after sXBL that it is fully "backwards-compatible" with sXBL? Whoa, you're taking a huge leap full of unfounded assumptions here. What Jon's saying is that it is much smarter to start with something simple (while not designing it to be hard to evolve) and see how well it fares and where the more complex and elaborate changes need to be done. Of course, it makes it harder to get future versions right as you may be restricting what they can do without knowing it. That being said, I think that having Mozilla-XBL experts on the TF as well as people that have designed, used, and implemented RCC and related solutions certainly gives some confidence as to how open to future evolutions the tech is. Besides, when it comes to not designing SVG Full before SVG Tiny /again/, I can only wholeheartedly agree :) -- Robin BerjonReceived on Thursday, 9 September 2004 22:17:14 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Friday, 17 January 2020 22:54:02 UTC


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Top Search Engine Optimization Agencies in Coral Springs, FL
These are the top-rated search engine optimization agencies in Coral Springs, FL.
Marketing Cartel
Marketing Cartel is a full-service marketing agency located in Coral Springs, FL. We specialize in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Search Engine Marketing (SEM), Wordpress Development, Web Design, Graphic Design, Paid Search Advertising (PPC), Website Development, Photography, Videography, Pay Per Click Advertising, Digital Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Social Media Management, Conversion R...
Graphic Design Photography Videography Digital Marketing Internet Marketing Search Engine Marketing Search Engine Optimization Business Development Paid Search Advertising Pay Per Click Advertising (PPC) Social Media Management Social Media Marketing Conversion Rate Optimization Web Design Website Development Wordpress Development


text: If you're into Anime, and I am, then you know what Akira is and today Amazon has the 25th Anniversary Blu-Ray/DVD Combo for $15.36 and free shipping with Prime of course. It's just one of those must have if you're an anime fan surely. If you haven't picked up the blu-ray then today would be a good day to get it surely at this price as it's the lowest I've every seen it. I've got a $5 credit on Amazon thanks to Bing so I'm going to grab it for about $10 myself. Link HERE to the deal


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To learn the basic principles involved in energetics of chemical reactions and role of enthalpy in chemical reactions and the behaviour of electrolytes in solution with the concepts of conductivity measurements.
Gibbs and Helmholtz functions, Gibbs function (G) and Helmholtz function (A) as thermodynamic quantities, A & G as criteria for thermodynamic equilibrium and spontaneity, their advantages over entropy change, variation of G & A with P, V & T.
Equilibrium constant and free energy, thermodynamic derivation of law of mass action. Le Chatelier's principle,reaction isotherm and reaction isochore- Clapeyron equation and Clausius -Clapeyron equation, applications.
Introduction to phase, component and degree of freedom, derivation of Gibbs phase rule; phase equilibria of one component system-water, CO2 and sulphur system.
Phase equilibria of two component system-solid-liquid equilibria, simple eutectic – Bi-Cd, Pb-Ag systems, desilverisation of lead.
Solid solutions: compound formation with congruent melting point (Mg-Zn), (FeCl3 – H2O) and incongruent melting point (NaCl-H2O)and (CuSO4 – H2O) system; freezing mixtures (acetone – dry ice).
Types of reversible electrodes – gas-metal ion, metal-metal ion, metal-insoluble salt-anion and redox electrodes; electrode reactions, Nernst equation, EMF of a cell and its measurements, computation of cell EMF, calculation of thermodynamic quantities of cell reactions (∆G, ∆H & K),derivation of cell E.M.F. and single electrode potential; standard hydrogen electrode- reference electrodes, standard electrode potential, sign conventions, electrochemical series and its significance.
Electrolytic and Galvanic cells: reversible and irreversible cells, conventional representation of electrochemical cells.
Concentration cell with and without transport, liquid Junction potential, applications of concentration cell - valency of ions, solubility product, activity coefficient, potentiometric titrations.
Definition of pH and pKa, determination of pH using hydrogen, quinhydrone and glass electrodes and by potentiometric method.


text: Sometimes things just happen and you need help without delay. Whether it be preparing for or reacting to a weather event, a key resource becoming unavailable, or a new opportunity that requires quick action, we can help. Fill out the form on this page and we will call you back.


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Are you a small business owner? You are probably exactly that. Whether you are a small business owner or mid-sized business owner, you must chalk out ways to increase the popularity of your products and services. Well, social networking sites have made things easier for businesses. Youtube is one of the most important platforms out there. Without breaking your bank, you may promote your business. YouTube marketing is a cost-effective way of promoting and growing the business. Here I will speak about the benefits of YouTube subscribers and YouTube views. I have seen in the past how businesses benefited from more views and more subscribers. If the subscribers to your channel increase, you will enjoy more sales and profit. What about the cost? The cost of marketing on YouTube is not even 1/9th of using traditional marketing modes. With real Youtube subscribers you will not have to worry much about making profit.
The popularity of online videos is growing day by day. As per the recent statistics, more than 4 billion videos are viewed daily. With the advent of the Smartphone, people now like to see more of videos and enjoy visual contents. By using YouTube for business marketing, you may easily reach out to your audiences. Create impressive videos and just upload on the YouTube to enjoy more views. If the video is interesting and gains popularity, you will have more followers. Even your business website will attain more traffic in this manner. You may include the link to your website in the 'Description' section. The second most popular search engine is third most visited the site online. As 1 billion people use YouTube, you may use it and leverage on the benefits. More and more youngsters are into using YouTube. So, by using YouTube, you may attract the young crowd. This video streaming platform has become so prominent and popular that you will find people to become your ultimate customers and fans. Upload good quality videos that educate, entertain and inform at the same time.


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Mindful design: our pick of new players on the CBD market
Like most other cure-all ingredients, the merits of CBD have entered the mainstream in a big way. Whether applied or ingested, its effects on both the body and the mind have been affirmed by both niche purveyors and industry stalwarts alike. With a flood of products out there, knowing where to start is a bit of a minefield. Here's a quick hit edit of the latest and greatest out there, to get fired up for.
Kate Moss's new wellness and skincare brand Cosmoss includes a 'Sacred Mist' fragrance, immune boosting tea bags, and three CBD skin care products.
The Face Cream blends CBD with antioxidants to decrease dullness and moisterise skin. Likewise, the rich Face Cleanser uses CBD to sooth skin with an added dose of three wild Icelandic plants to hydrate and increase firmness.
Yet, the most notable of the trio the Golden Nectar oil, which combines CBD with the 'Mythical Tears of Chios'— a resin from the mastic tree, native to the Greek island of Chios, which stimulates natural collagen production and reactivates cells for firmer looking skin.
Cult Scandinavian beauty brand Mantle creates face and body products formulated with a high-quality CBD that is grown in natural sunlight and hand harvested by a small farm in Switzerland. Of the brand's many impressive products, we recommend trying The Hot Ex, a pre-shower exfoliator that is formulated with a high concrete of ginger to gives skin a pleasant tingle and biodegradable exfoliators to rub away dead skin.
Also noteworthy, is the brand's Dream Mask which is designed to be left on overnight. It's perfect for people with busy schedules who, by the end of the long day, can't be bothered to do anything more complicated than slap some cream on.
Our favourites from Kloris' expansive range of CBD include their patches which supply a steady stream of CBD over 24 hours and their bath blocks which deliver 100mg of CBD for a deeply relaxing and nourishing wind down. Although, perhaps best of all is their CBD Balm which can be rubbed on painful areas for quick relief. It is especially good for period cramps or sore muscles.
Yield offers a range of yummy vitamin gummys designed to sharpen focus and improve gut health, but it's their CBD gummies for better sleep and relaxation that really impress us. Formulated with 15mg of premium broad spectrum CBD, these gummies will have you feel zen in no time, while their blood orange, white peach, and lime flavoring makes them taste almost too good.
Muri Lelu
For Muri Lelu, a female-founded skincare brand, inaugural pair of products, an invigorating face serum designed to be used in the morning, and a restorative face oil that is suggested for evening use, lean on the all-in-one properties of CBD to combat blemishes, balance oils, reduce puffiness and moisturise.
Its use of full flower extract also means that all beneficial elements of the cannabis plant: chlorophyll, terpenes, fatty acids and flavonoids, are kept in as close to its natural state as possible. What's more, Muri Lelu donates a portion of its sales to legal organisations fighting wrongful drug convictions in a move that supports cannabis-related restorative justice.
Aside from the fact that Deawy's five-piece line is formulated with broad-spectrum CBD, which helps fortify, soothe, restore and protect skin, Deawy is committed to the highest standard of social and environmental sustainability.
Not only is its packaging made from recycled or compostable materials, but Deawy also encourages customers to send back their empty bottles for reuse and donates a percentage of its proceeds to organisations that work to reduce plastic pollution. Each product is elegantly scented with rosewater – an elevated alternative to the usual herbaceous notes that tend to accompany CBD products.
While most CBD supplements are positioned as relaxing aids and anxiety relievers, Offfield's inaugural product, Enhanced Hydration, is designed to be taken before exercise or strenuous activity to enhance the enjoyment of working out.
The cocktail, a powder blend that combines broad-spectrum CBD and CBG (cannabigerol) with magnesium, vitamin B12, L-theanine, and electrolytes, helps increase anandamide, also known as the bliss molecule, which contributes to the 'runner's high' that most athletes strive for.
The end result is increased motivation to exercise, followed by a greater enjoyment of that workout. The company has also partnered with the Last Prisoner Project, to donate 1% of its sales, and is committed to helping those exonerated of cannabis crimes to re-enter society through their internal hiring program.
Malin + Goetz
Undoubtedly the first company to bestow cannabis with some chic credibility is Malin + Goetz, who launched its now iconic Cannabis eau de parfum in the early 2010s.
The company's rendition of the opulent scent balances its rich and spicy profile with a heavy smokiness, while adding floral notes of magnolia and muguet for good measure. With a base of cedarwood, sandalwood, and of course, patchouli, the scent is both hazily complex and indulgently nostalgic. Its vial of perfume oil is a perfect pick-me-up and can be discreetly dispensed with a sensual flick of the wrist.
Gossamer x Rose Delights
Ingesting CBD is typically considered the fastest and most efficacious way of experiencing its desired effects of lowering anxiety levels, ensuring better sleep, or creating an all-around feeling of wellness, depending on the time of day.
Hot off the back of its own line of CBD drops, Gossamer, a culture and content platform that views the modern world through a green lens, has teamed up with the Los Angeles-based Rose Delights, which specialises in Turkish Delight-style jellies, infused with full-spectrum rosin THC and CBD.
Perfectly suited for a gourmet palette, the edible joint-effort combines watermelon, tomato, green tea as conceived by chef Tara Thomas, along with Rose's signature heat-pressed rosin, which is solventless to ensure a clearer and higher quality experience.
For those whose eyebrows or eyelashes are in need of a boost, Milk Make-up's highly popular Kush range has birthed a growth serum that nourishes hair for longer and fuller looking lashes and brows.
Formulated with cannabis sativa seed extract, which doesn't contain CBD but conditions and strengthens hair all the same, the formula supports the growth of healthy hair, along with aloe, vitamin B5 and quinoa. This 94 per cent natural formula is free from major nasties to prevent any skin or eye irritation and will support hair to grow like weeds.
Standard Dose
There's probably no better outlet for any and all CBD needs than Standard Dose, and for those looking to satisfy their CBD fix in its more standard oil format the New York-based retailer has just the thing. Since launching last year, Standard Dose has offered a curated selection of plant-based products that all responsibly sourced and produced with natural ingredients.
Now, for the first time, the online retailers have channeled their expertise into their very own product- the Standard Dose Tincture. The unique formula is designed to adapt to an individual's unique physical chemistry for effective stress and pain relief. Scentless and tasteless, the Tincture is ideal for use any time of day and beneficial addition to any wellness routine.
Should you prefer to eat your sorrows away instead, the London-based CBD brand Apothem has teamed up with the eco-minded chocolate makers Land to create a vegan chocolate bar infused with CBD to take the edge off.
Highlighting the ancient nature of both cannabidiol and cacao, the joint effort is a rich and balanced blend of creamy fudge caramel notes, without a hint of hemp insight. Made from 55% Venezuelan cacao, oatmilk, and 30mg of organically cultivated CBD, the dark milk chocolate bar should help to restore and re-center the mind whether you're into CBD or not. §


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Resources, Ideas, and Support
The difference between buying from a catalog and buying from Workplace is our commitment to outstanding customer support. We work one-on-one with you from configuration and engineering to quoting to shipping to installation to lifetime support.
When you need workstation ideas, a specific workstation configuration, or even a custom workbench, just contact our experienced Design Specialists.
Click on any of the symbols below to explore the resources and tools that help us make good on our promise.
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Browse our database of hundreds of actual workstation configurations as you idea launchpad to configure your workstation.
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Download assembly instructions for popular Workplace workstation configurations and accessories.
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Call our Design Specialists at 1-800-258-9700 Monday through Friday, 8AM to 5PM (Eastern Time) or fill out and submit the contact form.
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Ergonomic workstations are a Workplace priority. So is our environmental commitment. Read about the Workplace difference.


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My Inner Catholic Girl: Part Three
In Part Two of this series, I wrote about integrating my two Inner Catholic Girls. In the process, I discovered a third one. She's the one I've been searching for all along…Read More
My Second Shame
What I've figured out so far is this: that aspen bark leaves a white powdery dust on my lips when I kiss it; that wildflowers drenched in morning dew are as potent and fragrant as a woman aroused…Read More
My Inner Catholic Girl: Part Two
In this blog I often refer to my Inner Catholic Girl. Turns out I have two of them. My Little Catholic Girl is seven, a towheaded little angel who follows the rules and makes straight A's. She is kind and always stood up for the skinny girl with knobby knees that everyone teased~ a budding healing artist. In third grade, when she received the sacrament of Penance at her Catholic grade school, she had a hard time coming up with anything to confess. Forgive me father for I have sinned: I didn't make my bed this morning. My Teen Catholic Girl is another story. She'd need an hour in a...Read More
My Inner Catholic Girl: Part 1
I've finally figured out that locking my Inner Catholic Girl into some dark, confessional-like corner of my psyche doesn't work. She eventually finds her way out, rips the plug out of my laptop and hides the charging cord. So as I move forward with the re-publication of my erotic memoir, I've decided that this time I'm going to bring her along for the ride. Last weekend, I took her here. An abbey of Benedictine Catholic nuns. Holy women. Sisters. The spiritual seeker in me has always been intrigued whenever I drove by and saw their sign in the no man's land between Fort...Read More


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I think one of the trickiest, most understated parts of parenting is keeping up with the photo album. It's hard to have a camera on you at all times for those cute moments that you'd like to cherish forever: your three year old spilling spaghetti sauce all over the clean, white carpet; your kids fighting and screaming over who gets to hold the new toy; etc. Things have changed a bit with the advent of the smartphone. Now pretty much everyone has a camera on them at all times, making it easier to catalogue random moments in your kids' childhoods without lugging around a big camera. I would definitely still keep the names of some professional photographers though, unless you want the family photo on your mantlepiece to be a blurry, pixelated jpeg with bad lighting.
The traditional family album itself is changing now. Most people store their photos online, either on iPhoto, Facebook, or just in a desktop folder or external hard drive. I have to admit, it makes me a little sad to think that the thick, dusty photo album of yesteryear is going extinct. Merely the sight of that old tome used to conjure feelings of nostalgia and deep family heritage. Now it almost just seems unnecessary. After all, the photos themselves will perish eventually, unless you digitize them. And at that point, with virtually everything else going online or digital, yeah, why not just store the photos on your computer?
I'm not arguing one way or the other, except to say that it is still important to capture those timeless family photos. All too often, it's easy to convince yourself that you're too busy and 'oh, he'll walk for the first time again,' but the reality is many of these moments are once in a lifetime. You may look back someday and regret that you don't have a photo of your kids trying to lasso the family dog, or getting dressed up for their first Halloween. For the most part, people are taking more pictures than ever these days. But are they pictures they'll want to remember? Make sure you're capturing the essence of your family. Someday, they'll thank you and you'll thank yourself.
Earnest Parenting: help for parents who want to preserve those special memories.
Image courtesy of /Valerie ReneA via Creative Commons license, some rights reserved.


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The coronavirus pandemic has cancelled Christmas markets in most parts of the world, and that includes Bugatti's home turf in Molsheim. However, the people behind the W16 hypercar have thought of a neat way to inject some holiday cheer into the commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. How? By putting the La Voiture Noire in a glass container for everyone to admire.
The world's most expensive car will be up on display for an extended period of time as Bugatti plans to keep it there until the end of March. It's worth pointing out we're looking at the very same showcar originally introduced in March 2019 at the Geneva Motor Show. In other words, this is technically an EV as it lacks the quad-turbo W16 8.0-litre engine, replaced by electric motors to allow Bugatti to (slowly) move it across short distances.
Gallery: Bugatti La Voiture Noire in Molsheim
The fact that all the windows are blacked out tells us the interior is incomplete and Bugatti obviously wants to hide the unfinished cabin. It's a common occurrence for showcars, concepts, and prototypes to mask their work-in-progress interiors by using blackout window film for all the glass. It'll be interesting to see how different the cabin will be considering the car costs nearly five times more than the base Chiron.
When Bugatti unveiled the Chiron-based La Voiture Noire at the Swiss show, it said it would take about two and a half years to finish the car. It means the mysterious buyer who agreed to pay a whopping €11 million (about £10M at current exchange rates) will likely have to wait until towards the end of 2021 to take delivery of the one-off machine that pays tribute to Jean Bugatti's lost Type 57 SC Atlantic.
This isn't the first time Bugatti is displaying one of its cars during the holiday season as it had a white Chiron in 2018 at the Strasbourg Christmas market while in 2019 it displayed the Centodieci at the Entzheim Airport. Eagle-eyed readers will notice the La Voiture Noire currently displayed in Molsheim isn't in immaculate condition since the brake caliper of the front-right wheel appears to be damaged.
Source: Bugatti


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Post UPDATE for May 12th, 2013:
with Bogalusa, Washington Parish political lawsuits.
It is great to be an attorney in Mississippi I would assume. There is something about this state rarely seen in others. Via la hocus pocus an attorney in this state can't represent both sides of an issue involving millions. These men and women are known as plaintiffs' defendants. Directly from the state court and before your eyes is the plaintiffs' defending attorney, Richard Gamblin.
After settlements of Vicksburg and all others with regards to the only claims before this court the plot has definitely thickened. What gives here as a defense attorney acting as attorney for the plaintiffs in transfer of awards from Judge Green and Graves to Judge Bobby DeLaughter. Now don't try this at home boys and girls because it's as bad as all other actions which the hell hole court has engaged in regarding the ( for lack of ) stealing of awards. Perhaps the only magic here is black magic. So hocus pocus unto you from that Magical horse shit Jurisdiction known as the Hinds County Court, ya'll come back now ya hear.
May 10th, 2013:
The unfolding legal feud involving Washington Parish government officials and Sheriff Randy Seal escalated Wednesday afternoon when the parish filed a countersuit against the sheriff.
The suit, legally known as an Answer and Reconventional Demand to Seal's original suit makes claims against the sheriff's in the way it conducts its business and petitions the court to resolve some of those issues. In the suit, the parish claims Seal's office has failed to submit a 2013 budget as mandated by state law, failed to comply with the state's procurement procedure, wrongly submitted duplicate invoices and invoices for inmates no longer on the census list
The parish jail asked for reimbursements for purchases. Some of those purchases, according to the suit, are pink handcuffs, two brooms at a cost of $80 per broom, 10 microwave ovens, a digital clock radio, car wax and bulletin board and fasteners. Being non-mandated expenditures or items that do not meet the dual test of reasonableness established by the Louisiana Supreme Court in Reed vs. Washington Parish Police Jury." Seal said he could not comment on the suit because he had not yet had the opportunity to review it. No court date has been set.
Bogalusa Undercover: WONDER BOY CORPORATE NEWS:
The police action that closed down a residential block in Bogalusa last Friday morning was in response to a Louisiana State Police arrest of a former resident allegedly heading back to the city with a load of cocaine, police confirmed late Wednesday.
Second Avenue between East Sixth and East Seventh streets was closed to traffic when members of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Louisiana State Police Drug Task Force, Washington Parish Sheriff's Office and Bogalusa Police Department executed a search warrant on a residence/ barbershop.
Upon contact with the driver, 41 year-old Veronique Allen, originally of Bogalusa, the trooper received consent to search the vehicle, resulting in the discovery of 2.4 kilograms of cocaine in a rear cargo compartment," said Trooper First Class Nick Manale, spokesman for Troop L. "Further investigation by detective
The multi-agency investigation stemmed from a Covington traffic stop that resulted in the arrest of a Houston woman on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and the subsequent seizure of additional narcotics and paraphernalia from the Bogalusa residence, according to State Police.
The traffic stop took place shortly before midnight on April 29 when a state trooper observed a 2013 Toyota sedan moving erratically northbound on Louisiana Highway 21 in Covington.


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Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban told CNBC on Monday that coronavirus safeguards in place at the White House need to become the norm before most Americans will feel comfortable going out again.
"We have to get to that point where the White House standard becomes the national standard, I think, in order for consumers to feel safe going out, in order for employers to feel completely safe bringing people back to work," Cuban said on "Squawk Box." "I think we can get there, I just don't know when."
Cuban's comments Monday come as many states across the U.S. start to relax business restrictions put in place to slow the spread of Covid-19. President Donald Trump has been supportive of efforts, tweeting over the weekend that it's "great to see our Country starting to open up again!"
At the same time, two members of the White House staff — a personal valet for Trump as well as Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller — have in recent days tested positive for Covid-19.
The White House has stepped up its prevention efforts following the diagnoses, according to NBC News.
White House spokesman Judd Deere told CNBC on Monday that every staff member close to the president and vice president are tested every day. Daily temperature checks, symptom history tracking and deep cleaning of all work spaces are also in place, Deere said in an email, adding all guests are tested as well.
Cuban, owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks and an investor in small businesses through "Shark Tank," said he wants to apply the "White House protocol" for his employees.
"Whatever the White House is doing for the president and vice president, that's the protocol I want to use for my employees. And if I can't adhere to that, then why would I put them at risk?" said Cuban, who added he's still not going out to eat at restaurants, even though Texas started to allow limited dine-in service.
Most Americans do not have access to daily Covid-19 testing, Cuban said, and "that's the problem." He said Americans have to effectively ask themselves: "Who can we trust with our lives?"
"If we're not getting a solid response, if we're not hearing a solid plan, and if we're not getting specific guidelines for health care, then the best we can do is emulate what has to be the highest level of care available, which is the White House," he said. "You have to protect the president. You have to protect the vice president. Why would I not want to adhere to the same standards for my employees?"
Cuban's 'secret shoppers'
Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, speaks at the WSJTECH live conference in Laguna Beach, California, October 21, 2019.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Cuban has previously weighed in on many aspects of the coronavirus pandemic, arguing that supporting workers must be a priority in government aid programs, while also criticizing the small business loan program.
The Mavs owner told CNBC earlier this month that small businesses in Texas needed more support to reopen safely as the state relaxed restrictions on which businesses could operate.
He recently hired a firm to survey businesses in Texas to gauge whether they were planning to reopen and to see whether those that were open were following state recommendations on social distancing and other Covid-19 prevention efforts.
The "secret shoppers" survey was conducted on the first weekend in which additional businesses were allowed to reopen and it found many were not practicing the recommended guidelines, Cuban said.
He said he was not surprised because it was only the first weekend and "there really weren't a lot of good protocols or support mechanisms available for small businesses."
"What we're already planning to do is next weekend we'll do the exact same thing and we'll see what the trends are and we'll try to learn from it," said Cuban, a member of Trump's advisory council on how to help the U.S. economy restart from its coronavirus-driven halt.
— Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank," on which Mark Cuban is a co-host.


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Database of past winners, both team and individual, in the Southport & District Table Tennis League from 1935 onwards.
- Try this: click on a Column Letter (A, B, C, etc), click its down arrow (?), click Sort sheet A→Z or Sort sheet Z→A. Notice you get a Temporary filter, and the database is sorted by that column. Cool eh?
- Then try this: once you have a Temporary filter, you can click on the arrow next to a column name, eg (Event ?) and from the dialogue you can play around with the filter options. Awesome!
Last Updated:


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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Coast Guard, Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the owner of the 58-foot fishing vessel Icy Mist have developed a plan for removing fuel, lube oil and hydraulic oil from the vessel grounded on Akutan Island 40 miles east of Dutch Harbor.
According to the crew of the vessel approximately 2,700 gallons of diesel, 150 gallons of lube oil and 200 gallons of hydraulic oil are on board along with 60,000 pounds of pacific cod.
"Our primary focus is the protection of the environment by the safe removal of the oils on board," said Capt. Mark Hamilton, commander Sector Anchorage.
Magone Marine has been contracted to conduct lightering operations. Using a commercial helicopter, they plan is to pump the fuel and oils into barrels for removal. Salvage of the vessel will be addressed after the potential for release of pollutants on board is minimized.
"This is a marginal time of year for this type of operation," said Dan Magone, owner Magone Marine. "Given the location and conditions removal of the vessel is extremely challenging. Small boat operations are out of the question and any removal of the wreck is likely to be protracted."
Current weather on scene is 40-mph winds and 12-foot seas. The Coast Guard is currently conducting an overflight of the Icy Mist and Magone Marine is staging equipment to begin lightering operations during the next allowable-weather window.
Personnel from Marine Safety Detachment Unalaska and Sector Anchorage are conducting an investigation into the cause of the incident.


text: In the recent case of Westra v. Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. Inc., (2005) 129 Cal.App.4th 759, the California Court of Appeal held that a real estate broker representing both the seller and buyer was entitled to the protection of an arbitration provision in a sales agreement even if the broker did not initial the arbitration provision or sign the agreement. Cooper, White, Cooper LLP's William H.G. Norman, John M. Ross, and Jill B. Rowe successfully represented Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Brokerage Co. Inc. in overturning a Superior Court Order denying arbitration by highlighting the broker's agency and third party beneficiary relationship with the seller and buyer, both of whom had signed the sale agreement and initialed the arbitration provision. The Court agreed that the decision was of sufficiently widespread interest to be published.


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Singapore's economy is one of the world's strongest today. Recent statistics reveal that the city is home to over 200,000 SMEs, which makeup 99% of businesses and contribute over $190 billion in gross value. It means more and more businesses are being formed every year as the economic state encourages sales growth, islandwide.
However, along with this growth is the increasing demand for space. As with any other businesses, the bigger you grow, the more space you need. It's the reason why self-storage units are being seen as a practical solution when space is at a premium.
Self-storage is an affordable and readily-available option to free up valuable office space you need to accommodate expansion. But, how do you know when your business already needs a storage unit? Find out the signs in this article
- Your office is already cramped. When your warehouse or office space is no longer enough to store your inventory, your first thought is most probably to start looking out for a new office. While it may be time for a move, a self-storage facility may also give you the space you need but at a fraction of the price.
- You are expanding. When your space already feels crowded now, what more when you start expanding—bring on new employees and beef up inventory? If you can't afford to move into a bigger office yet, you can temporarily move items that you think aren't necessary for everyday operations into storage.
- You need more security. There's a good chance that you have valuable items and equipment that you don't use regularly. While you can't get rid of them, you may not have enough room for them as well in the office. As such, a storage facility is a perfect option as they monitor their locations 24/7 with CCTV cameras and employ other security measures to protect your valuables at all costs.
- You need to archive sensitive documents. In the same manner, there may also be documents (e.g tax records and client transactions) that you need to keep in possession but don't need to access on a daily basis. If you're worried they're not safe in the event of a break-in or fire on-site, then you might as well keep them safe within a self-storage unit.
- You need storage with flexible terms. When you are planning a move and only require temporary storage, it doesn't make sense to sign a long-term lease that can end up being a great financial burden. A self-storage unit in Singapore like Mandarin Self Storage offers you a safe place to store your belongings without locking you up in an annual lease.
A Self-Storage Unit for Your Growing Business
The increasing demand for space is a sign of business growth. If your business is experiencing growth and you need a safe place to store the overflow of inventory, a storage space facility in Singapore is a perfect option.
Mandarin Self Storage provides storage solutions in over five facilities across Singapore. Enjoy the following benefits by storing with us:
✔ Complimentary Loading Docks – We offer complimentary loading and unloading services with the use of forklifts, pallet jacks with pallets, and cargo lifts to ease your cargo move.
✔ Everyday Access – You can access your storage unit from 5 am to 12 am all year round, including weekends and public holidays.
✔ Cashflow Management – Improve your cash flow as you don't have to pay for deposit or service fees. Just pay on a monthly basis with no commitment to a long-term lease.
✔ Flexi Scalable Warehouse Rental – Whether it's valuable documents or a variety of office equipment you're storing, we got you covered!
✔ Parcel Management Service – We are glad to pass your parcel for delivery to your partner pick up service.
✔ Complimentary Cowork Spaces – We also offer co-working spaces and complimentary Wi-Fi and pantry usage too.
Store with Mandarin Self Storage today! Visit our website to learn more.
Watch this Mandarin Self Storage commercial to see how a self-storage unit can save you more office space
Mandarin Self Storage is running TV Specials at First Month Storage Free*, Chat with us to learn more


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Theme: Anything Goes w/Ribbon
Date: May 3, 2014 thru May 30, 2014
Here is my project as a Design Team Member:
Arrow from Going Places Cricut Cartridge
All papers from Carta Bella Hello Again ( all scrap pieces!)
Juniper Skittles from DoubleClick
Happy Birthday Stamp from Docerela
3 Girl Jam Crinkle Ribbon Season's Bundle
3 Girl Jam Flair Button
Come and join the fun!
Just B Creative: Linky Party
Dl Art: Linky Party
Stampin Pearls: Linky Party
Scrapbooker PHD: Bling it up
Seize the Birthday: Anything Goes
Pumpkin Spice: Girly


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Here's the latest article from the Ice Hockey site at BellaOnline.com.
Ovechkin or Crosby?
As the first season for these two rookies finishes, who is the best of the two?
Please visit IceHockey.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Ice Hockey.
I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I thrive on your feedback!
Have fun passing this message along to family and friends, because we all love free knowledge!
Kevin Thorburn, Ice Hockey Editor
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Grahame's Bakery
Location: Kemptville, Ont.
Founded: 1885
Owners: Rick Grahame and Debbie Wilson
Survival strategy: Focusing on fresh products and quality ingredients
Like his father and grandfather before him, Rick Grahame rises long before the birds to begin his day at his family-owned bakery in the Eastern Ontario town of Kemptville.
At 2:30 in the morning, five days a week, Mr. Grahame heads to the annex at the back of his house and fires up the massive wood-burning brick oven that has been in use at that location since 1885. His sister and co-owner, Debbie Wilson, often joins him a few hours later to help provide doughnuts, bread and other baked goods for local restaurants and retail customers.
There has been a bakery operating at 115 Clothier St. E. since Alphaeus Patterson started it more than 130 years ago. The shop has been in the Grahame family since 1960 when Rick's grandfather, Leonard, bought it after working there for 21 years.
Grahame's Bakery is one of those businesses that give a small town its character, having defied the challenges of modern consumer preferences and competition from chains like Tim Hortons. The bakery itself is a rear addition tucked behind a clapboard house on one of the town's main streets; a small pennant hung like a flag indicates its presence. It accepts cash or cheque only.
Named to the Canadian registry of historic places, Grahame's is one of the last bakeries in Canada to use a wood-fired brick oven – a mammoth devourer of softwood that takes two hours to heat up and is responsible for the heritage designation.
Generations of parents have made the bakery a regular stop before or after early morning hockey practices – Grahame's cake doughnuts are locally famous. Long-time residents remember being served by Rick's grandfather, and his father and mother, Ken and Rose.
But it's a tough grind. Mr. Grahame, 52, inherited the shop when his father died in 2005. He starts his day at 2:30 and doesn't finish until 5:30 p.m, usually catching a power nap at noon. Ms. Wilson, 58, puts in three long days each week, while family members pitch in during busy times. And both siblings – who had careers elsewhere before returning to the bakery – have spouses who bring in the lion's share of the family income.
"There's not a lot of wages being taken out – it's more you're making a living and you're a service to the community," Mr. Grahame said. "There's a lot of satisfaction from customer service and dealing with the public, and seeing the younger people grow up and having families."
His keys to success: Ensuring the best quality, freshest product, and not pricing yourself out of business while keeping ahead of rising costs.
Customers "appreciate quality and want to be able to come in and ask what's in this or what's in that," he said. "You don't want to get away from your call and get too cheap on your product 'cause customers can always tell."
-Shawn McCarthy
Location: 34 locations across the country
Founded: 1908
Owner: Marc DeSerres, grandson of the founder
Survival strategy: Selling specialized art products that aren't widely available
Any company that can survive a century in Canada's retail landscape has a deep faith about its raison d'être. For arts supplier DeSerres, much of it boils down to the doctrine of creativity.
"I always believed that at the end of the day, there would be artists," says Marc DeSerres, a third-generation entrepreneur whose grandfather, Omer, started the business. "That was my basic conviction."
DeSerres today is a 700-employee company that sells paints, canvases and other supplies in 34 stores spanning several provinces. Revenue is about $50-million to $100-million a year, with a small but growing internet business that offers some 25,000 products.
Not surprisingly, Mr. DeSerres, 64, is an art buff himself, and works from artists including Edward Burtynsky and Vik Muniz grace the walls at the retailer's Montreal head office. A former chairman of the Montreal Musée d'art contemporain, he's not too philosophical when asked how his company has defied the odds over several decades.
"Frankly, there aren't many places in Canada where you can buy an easel," he says. "For us, it's a big business because it's a specialty."
The story of DeSerres began in 1908 when 26 year-old Omer bought an iron workshop on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Denis streets and turned it into a hardware store, parlaying that early success into a network of shops distributing plumbing and heating equipment. By the early 1950s, Omer's son Roger had taken over what had become a thriving chain selling increasingly diverse merchandise.
"The challenge of retailing in the 1950s was not so much having a store. It was having a supply," says Mr. DeSerres. "My father describes his life as a battle to get goods."
A surprise letter from the Quebec government in 1973 advising the company its headquarters would be expropriated led to the end of DeSerres as a hardware purveyor. The younger DeSerres pushed on with a small staff, focusing on arts supplies.
Hardware had become supercompetitive by then, with Rona and Canadian Tire on the rise. But with art, "you could be a big fish in a small pond," says Mr. DeSerres.
The key to success over the next 30 years was sticking to its core fine-arts-supplies business while reinventing other parts of the enterprise. DeSerres went big into graphic arts before that died with the rise of computerization. It also launched into art therapy, a category which includes adult colouring books, a trend that far surpassed expectations before its decline.
Today, Canada's dominant player for art supplies continues to fend off competitive challenges from independent players and other rivals such as Indigo and U.S.-based giant Michaels. But another threat grows larger by the day.
"I personally think a lot of discretionary money is going to cellphones and it leaves less money for retailers," he said. "Cellphones for a family is quickly a $300-a-month expense and that cuts into other leisure."
-Nicolas Van Praet
Lloyd's Barber Shop
Location: Toronto
Founded: 1979
Owner: Lenox Mitchell
Survival strategy: Good service, staff loyalty and a sense of community
Lloyd's Barber Shop has been a staple of Toronto's Bloor-Bathurst neighbourhood, on the northwestern corner of downtown, since 1979, when Lloyd Mitchell bought out a previous barber shop at the location and rebranded it as his own. Though Lloyd died in 2015, his son, Lenox Mitchell, has carried on the family business – along with three other talented barbers who have built up a loyal customer base.
In the 1980s, Lloyd's was an important social and cultural hub for Toronto's fast-growing Caribbean community, which called Bloor-Bathurst its home.
"It was somewhere you could come and you would meet someone you might know, or someone of your ethnic background," Lenox says. "The barber shop is the point of the community. People from all walks of life come to the barber shop. "
In the intervening years, the Caribbean community has dispersed around the city and its suburbs. "But we're still here," Lenox says. "We still have customers that will travel from far to come here. It's part of attachment, it's part of the service that they get, it's part of the conversation, that I guess they want to keep."
The place, frankly, isn't much to look at. It's an old-style barber shop, with décor that looks like it fell out of the 1950s. There's not a lot of curb appeal to its plain storefront and weathered old sign. But people don't come here for herbal teas and designer furniture; they're here for the atmosphere, the conversation – and for a damned good haircut and shave.
"Every customer who comes and sits in the chair, your job is to make them happy. If you can make one customer in the chair feel happy, that one customer may turn into a thousand, if not more," he tells me.
Another key to Lloyd's success has been its remarkably low staff turnover. In a business where the individual skills of a barber are critical to attracting and retaining customers, Lenox and his three colleagues have, combined, more than a century's worth of cutting at Lloyd's. While in theory he could bring in more barbers at busy times – Lloyd's has seven chairs – he says it's more important to have the right people, who are a good fit with the place and can deliver the quality that customers expect.
A lot of competition has come and gone over the years; old-style barber shops like Lloyd's have been pushed aside at the high end by salons, stylists and spas, and at the low end by mall franchise chains offering cheap one-size-fits-all cuts. Lloyd's has survived, Lenox says, by sticking to its values and following its own path.
"Sometimes that may mean you may not make the most money. But if it pays the bills, and it keeps you going, and you're happy, then you can live with that."
-David Parkinson
Locations: Vancouver and North Vancouver, B.C.
Founded: 1983
Owner: Phyllis Simon and Kelly McKinnon
Survival strategy: Excellent customer service, carefully curated inventory and exciting in-store experience
It reads like a fairy tale. A small children's bookstore is born: kids race in and hole up with books, salespeople actually know what they're talking about, parents cheerfully line up to pay full price. The store grows and grows. Then along comes a big, powerful wolf in various guises: big box stores, e-books, Amazon. But the bookstore lives happily ever after.
This is not a fable; Kidsbooks, a Vancouver institution, will next year mark 35 years in business; now in a large new space, which the co-owners purchased after decades of renting.
Founded in 1983 in Kitsilano by former children's librarian Phyllis Simon, Kidsbooks was originally about 800 square feet. In 1990, Kelly McKinnon, in her early 20s and fresh from backpacking through Europe, got a summer job there and stuck around, computerizing the operation among other things. When she decided to leave a few years later to start her own venture, Ms. Simon offered to sell her half the business – and lend her the money to do it.
"It's like a Cinderella story," says Ms. McKinnon, 50.
Kidsbooks moved to a bigger space, and in that location renovated three times and expanded twice – ultimately to 4,800 square feet. They opened a second store in North Vancouver.
"We were always growing but we were growing incrementally," says Ms. McKinnon, "based on demand."
The store's mission has never wavered: matching children with books they will actually read. When Chapters came to town, when e-readers arrived, when Amazon launched, Kidsbooks just kept doing its thing.
"When you run a small business, you're really concerned about tomorrow and you really need to focus on what you can actually do, right? I can ensure that whoever comes into my store today gets good service," says Ms. McKinnon. "I can offer free gift wrap and ensure that time-stressed parents can race in here on their way to the birthday party and walk out with a great gift. Those are the things I can do. I can't control what happens with Chapters or Indigo or Amazon or whatever."
At the same time, they "aggressively" use technology as a tool – to track sales and create efficiencies. The goal is to invest as little as possible in the backroom operations and put as much money as they can into the retail space. "It has to be an experience," says Ms. McKinnon, during an interview in the tiny basement staff room.
When Kidsbooks' long-time home was to be demolished for housing, the easy thing might have been to call it a day, with Ms. Simon at retirement age (she's 69) and the disruption in retail book selling being what it is. But "we couldn't really face that," says Ms. McKinnon. "We wanted to continue the mission."
With coaching from a "mentor accountant," despite Vancouver's sky-high real estate market, they bought a property. They renovated the former restaurant to the hilt and in February, 2016, moved thousands of books four blocks east.
Ms. McKinnon was nervous. "We were closed for five days. And when we opened, people came running in. I've never been so happy in my life," she says. "We took this leap of faith and it's really worked out well. Everybody showed up; they're all shopping."
The 5,300-square-foot store employs about 35 to 40 people; more at Christmas. It also sells carefully curated toys, accounting for about 15 per cent of sales. Adult books are by the entrance, where a browsing grown-up can ensure a child doesn't make a break for it through the automatic doors.
The business is "doing well" with the support of publishers, distributors – and the community.
"People make the extra effort to drive out of their way, to not take the easy route, to come here to support us and I have to say we're grateful. And we try and get better every day so that we can continue to earn their business."
-Marsha Lederman
Plaza Bowling
Location: Edmonton
Founded: 1959
Owner: Trevor Stride, grandson of the founder
Survival strategy: Focusing on bowling's social appeal and incorporating modern trends
Lawrence Stride opened a five-pin bowling alley in 1959, when Edmonton's oil boom coincided with the North American bowling craze.
These days, grandson Trevor Stride runs Plaza Bowling. Amid renewed interest in the sport, he has added craft beer and a food-truck menu, updating the vintage lanes to attract twenty- and thirtysomething customers looking for late-night fun.
Trevor is the third generation of his family to own the bowling alley in the basement of a strip plaza on 118 Ave NW. His father, Terry, ran it from 1977 until retiring last year. That's when Trevor, 37, quit his job in Vancouver and returned to Alberta with his wife and young daughter to buy the business.
"We kind of knew we wanted to do our own thing and start own our own business," said Trevor, who was director of operations for Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria, a chain of about 30 restaurants. "When my dad started talking about selling it, we just kind of looked at it. We always loved the business and it's meant a lot to our family. We looked at where we were coming from, which was the restaurant business, and thought we could apply some of the things we were doing there to the bowling alley model and see if we could attract a new demographic."
Innovations arrive slowly in the bowling world. Other than computerized scoring and automated pin setting, the Canadian invention of the five-pin version could be the only major change the game has seen. That was in 1909.
So Trevor focused on improving the game's social appeal. He renovated the kitchen and made room for a rotating selection of craft beer. He tossed the old menu and began selling hearty "comfort food" – stadium-style nachos, hand-cut potato chips, and grilled cheese on sourdough bread.
"The social end of things is something we thought we could try and focus on," he says. "Bowling is already really fun and we thought we could surround bowling with the amazing social things that we really enjoy, like craft beer, great food, great music, late nights and bring in a new customer."
In addition to the bowling alley's traditional customers – bowling leagues and kids' birthday parties – there are now DJ nights, and food truck Mondays.
"Our main customers are people who are looking for a night out; the people who are interested in craft beer and artisan cheese. Things like food trucks and DJs, that's who's coming down now."
Although the number of Canadians who bowl is unchanged since 2001, the sport has gained popularity among people aged 20 to 44 years, Statistics Canada says. At the same time, fewer teens and seniors are bowling.
His dad, Terry, figures the average age of Plaza Bowling's customer has dropped by 25 years. He credits his son's experience in the food industry and use of social media promotion.
"Over the last few years we've noticed quite an influx of younger families coming back in and enjoying the sport of bowling," Terry says.
-Eric Atkins
Samosa and Sweet Factory
Location: Etobicoke, Ont.
Founded: 1989
Owner: Sandhu family
Survival strategy: Using technology to bring down costs
While Harpal Sandhu's samosas brought lots of customers to his restaurants in the eighties and nineties, the dishes were a loss leader. After a few years, he and his business-partner brother Harminder began distributing them to other local restaurants and grocery stores in the Toronto area. Beloved as the samosas were – Mr. Sandhu's team couldn't make them fast enough – they couldn't turn a profit.
Some part of the business model needed to change. Soon enough, an idea struck the brothers: automation. In 1999, the brothers worked to modify a perogie maker to accommodate a samosa's shape, filling and dough.
"It was a hit," Harpal Sandhu says. "It was an investment, but it was paying off." People who'd usually order 1,000 samosas a week suddenly wanted 2,000. More retail partners came aboard. So, too, did distributors. From the Sandhu family's first pair of restaurants emerged the Samosa and Sweet Factory, with a retail store and a suite of packaged products under the Apna Taste brand that are distributed in Canada, the U.S. and Australia.
The factory, part of a seemingly ever-expanding complex on Albion Road in Etobicoke, now makes at least 150,000 samosas a day – only a fraction of which are sold from the neighbouring retail store, where lines stretch so long on weekends that "you will not be able to walk into this place," Harpal Sandhu says. The factory also makes a line of Indian desserts and dishes including vegetable pakora.
The samosas kept it so far ahead of the competition, Harpal says over tea and a few of his company's signature products, that the family expanded its samosa production strategy to its other wares. Most are produced with automated or semi-automated machines, coming at a low cost that keeps clients coming back for more.
"The growth of the business happened because the family was together," says Harpal. Both his wife, Balinder, and Harminder's, Jaspreet, do supervising and quality control. Harminder's son Manraj works on the retail side. Harpal's son Param now handles production; Param's wife, Raman, looks after accounts.
Param has worked in many aspects of the family business. "They made me work from the bottom, clean the gutters, work under everybody, clean the washrooms, everything," he says, nearly eight years after starting there. Now he knows how the whole plant works, and is thankful for it. "I can walk by and know exactly what they're doing wrong or right, and how we could do it a little bit better."
-Josh O'Kane
Harmsworth Decorating Centre
Founded: Before 1893
Location: Brampton, Ont.
Owner: Jim Harmsworth, great-grandson of the founder
Survival strategy: Live modestly and don't be a tenant
House-paint seller David Harmsworth plays many roles: colour technologist, designer and even counsellor to couples split over painting the bathroom in, say, dreamy cloud or elk horn.
And as the fifth generation of his family to sell paint in Brampton, Ont., he also sees himself as a historian.
David and his brother, Scott, are the fifth generation of their family to sell house paint. The Harmsworths have been in business since before 1893, and at the same downtown store since 1904.
His love of art and architecture and an eye for design drew him to the family business in 1981. But he was also keen on keeping the family name on the sign.
"It's not always about the business itself. Sometimes it's about the history of it. And that's what grabs me," said Mr. Harmsworth, 56, who along with his brother Scott works for his father, Jim, at Harmsworth Decorating Centre in the city on Toronto's outskirts. "It was really the family part of it."
James William Harmsworth, David's great-great-grandfather, started the business in 1890, or maybe it was 1887. Record keeping was spotty then, David says, and the exact dates are fuzzy.
What's certain is each generation adhered to a formula that kept the family business going amid a sweep of history almost as long as that of the country itself. Three people work at the store – the brothers and their dad. David wants to hire a fourth, but he's in no rush. After all, any independent store that can survive the spread of the mega-hardware sellers must have a model that works.
"We don't really pay a lot of attention to [big-box retailers]," he says. "I think they attract a certain kind of customer, maybe price is more important to them than quality, maybe they don't worry about the service. But a lot of people start out at a place like that and they gravitate to us because of the difference. When they walk in here they're going to get looked after properly."
David boils it down: stay on top of trends; get involved in the community; live modestly; and don't be a tenant.
"I think one of the biggest factors was my great-grandfather and great-great grandfather had the foresight to buy a building. It gave us a home. When you don't have to worry about paying rent, it goes a long way," he says. "We didn't move. We stayed in the same place. We didn't expand too much. … You've got to be happy to live a modest life."
As for the next generation, there are 10 young Harmsworths in the family; David is confident the business will carry on.
"It only takes one of them to get the same sort of sense that this thing needs to go on," he says. "There are lots of things you could do in your life but, you know, a lot of them could be worse than this. One of them will probably figure it all out."
-Eric Atkins
Halifax Seed Co.
Locations: Halifax and Saint John
Founded: 1866
Owner: Emily, Ali and Nancy Tregunno
Survival strategy: Staff expertise and staying on top of trends
If there is a secret ingredient in the formula for the Halifax Seed Co.'s enduring growth, it may be a genetic predisposition to thriving in hardy conditions.
At 151 years old, the family-owned Nova Scotia horticulture business has survived several lifetimes of challenges. Those began with war and a historic explosion that decimated Halifax's downtown and waterfront, extended through the Great Depression, and into the big-box era and all of its mighty price wars.
More recently, Canada's oldest family-owned, continuously operating seed company has tackled hurdles tossed up by online shopping and related shipping costs. It has found new momentum, though, in local food trends.
"Growing your own food has helped to keep us relevant," said Emily Tregunno, a fourth-generation co-owner (her sister, Ali, and mother, Nancy make up the other ownership shares). "We've worked extremely hard at making sure we're up on all the current trends."
In addition to bringing new and innovative products to the horticulture market in Atlantic Canada, the seed company has cultivated top-level expertise amongst its staff, which includes more than 50 full-time employees split between Halifax and Saint John. One staffer, Ms. Tregunno said, has been with the company for more than 40 years.
"Our strength is our staff and the knowledge that we bring to our customers, whether they're trying to grow their first tomatoes or making sure a golf course is tournament-ready two days out," Ms. Tregunno said.
She and her sister, Ali, took over day-to-day operations a few years ago after their father and the family patriarch, Tim, became ill with cancer. He passed away in 2012. That meant their company lost its leader and had no choice but to deal with succession issues.
Despite earlier inclinations towards other careers (Emily has a degree in psychology and Ali in sports and recreation), the Tregunno sisters developed an interest in both the business and extending the family's legacy in it.
"We realized there were things within the business that really sparked us," Ms. Tregunno said. That included ensuring secure employment for the staff members, many of whom watched the sisters grow up.
In addition to providing year-round employment for full-timers (a rarity in the industry) and health benefits, the Halifax Seed Co. offers employees a 5-per-cent matching pension contribution.
"My biggest responsibility is making sure the 50-plus people we employ have them and their families looked after," Ms. Tregunno said. In the process, she'll do the same for her own.
-Jessica Leeder


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On Tuesday the 28th of February we had our Meet the Teacher Family Fun Night. We are please to report that we had an amazing turnout with so many families and carers showing up to meet their children's teachers. One thing that was very clear was how much our students and their families have bought into Gillen's values of being KIND, CREATIVE and PROUD!
So far this year we have had so many students being KIND by helping new students around the school and this continued at our Family Fun Night with students being KIND by helping new families find classrooms and teachers.
There were lots of parents and families who were extremely PROUD of the work that students have been up to so far this year.
When it came to some of the displays and artwork that was on show it was obvious that Gillen students are CREATIVE students.


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There are several survey companies recruiting just in time for Christmas. You can use surveys to supplement your bills or to fund Christmas 2010. With surveys and market research you can earn money, gift cards or rewards for providing your opinion about products.
If you are still unsure if there is any money to be made by taking surveys, read my post "Can I Really Make Money Taking Surveys" and go here to get an idea of how much you can earn taking surveys.
Midfield Surveys = (Pays out at $5. Must be at least 14 years old to join)
Nielsen Homescan, Nielsen National Consumer Panel & Neilsen Digital Voice = (Pays Cash, Gift Cards and Rewards)
PineCone = (Pays $3 for every survey. Recruiting women age 18-24)
Survey Spot = (Pays $10 Paypal or check upon earning 1,000)
E-Poll = (Need 3500 for a $5 PayPal or Amazon payout)
ZoomBucks = (First $20 cashout is at 2000 ZBucks. All cash outs after the first $20 are $10 or 1000 ZBucks)


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p033098 - Donaldson - OEM Replacement Filter
Avg response times are less than one hour for standard RFQ or expedite requests.
M-F 8am-5pm CST.
Other Ways to Contact Filter Professor
p033098 Details
OEM Make: Donaldson
Part Number: p033098
Inside Diameter: 9.8
Outside Diameter: 13.8
Length: 26
Configuration: Open/Open
Shape: Round
Notes: Also suitible replacement for part number: p033098-016-436
This is not a product manufactured by the dust collector OEM. This filter is designed to replace the OEM filter, but at a cheaper price. We guarantee form and fit and the filters are built to meet or exceed OEM specifications.


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The amount of data we're transmitting to each other increases every day, but the way we're moving it hasn't changed in quite a while. Traditional copper wires are reaching their physical data-transfer limits, thanks to signal degradation that forces copper-based cables to have a limited maximum length. Intel announced Tuesday that it has demonstrated what it hopes will be a permanent solution to this problem: a major development in optical data transfers it calls silicon photonics.
The company claims that the technology represents the world's first silicon-based optical data connection with integrated lasers, and that it's capable of transmitting and receiving streams of data over long distances at speeds up to 50 Gbps—and has the inherent ability to scale up to 100 or 400 Gbps, or even 1 terabit per second (Tbps). Dr. Mario Paniccia, the director of Intel's Photonics Technology Labs, said in a Tuesday press briefing that a silicon photonics link has already run for 27 hours with absolutely no errors, enough to transfer a petabit of information.
Silicon photonics works using a two-stage process. Data enters the integrated transmitter chip, where it is encoded by four hybrid silicon lasers and a row of modulators (optical shutters) into a multiplexer that puts four optical channels (at a speed of 12.5 Gbps) onto a single fiber. The photons are carried over the fiber to the integrated receiver chip, which separates the four optical beams and directs them into germanium-on-silicon photo detectors (using a demultiplexer) that convert the photons back to electrons.
By scaling the modulator speed or the number of lasers used per chip, Intel hopes to increase the transfer rates to as much as 100 Gbps; by scaling both, to 25 lasers running at 40 Gbps each, 1-Tbps links should be possible. "The speeds we're looking at are limited by the electronics, not the photonics," said Dr. Paniccia.
Dr. Paniccia and Intel Chief Technology Officer Justin Rattner said during the conference call that Intel has implemented all the pieces necessary to get the technology to work consistently; the key hurdle now, however, is making the technology available in high volumes at a low cost. Intel is aiming for a cost of about a dollar per optical port, and estimates that it's two or three years away from being to produce the technology inexpensively, but says that the technology could be widely available by as soon as the middle of the decade.
Silicon photonics technology is unrelated to Intel's Light Peak technology, which is intended to bring 10-Gbps multiprotocol optical connections to client platforms even sooner. But Intel representatives said that future generations of Light Peak could benefit from silicon photonics technology.
Intel reps also said that silicon photonics shouldn't be considered a replacement for USB on the consumer level, at least not right away: "With this technology, we're really talking a level down from specific I/O interfaces. Some future optical version of USB can certainly make use of the technology, as other single-protocol I/O standards could do as well. If you look in the multiprotocol stage, things like Light Peak are natural targets for the technology. They would be capable of transporting data, video, and network packet streams all over the same cable all at the same time. You have to think of this as fundamental optical technology."
"I don't think I'm overstating it," Rattner concluded. "The range of potential markets rivals the potential at the invention of the transistor. It's only limited by our imagination, is the way I would put it."
Click here to see Intel's video demonstration of silicon photonics technology.


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Love is in the air in New Jersey—along with a hell of a lot of snow, at least in the northern part of the state—and this week has produced some lovely and not-so-much candidates for the winners and losers list.
Shanique Speight
The Newark Democrat appears headed for the State Assembly in the ultra -safe 29th district, despite the controversy surrounding the closure of her day care center for health and safety reasons, and allegations that she owes the City of Newark tens of thousands in back rent and utilities. But if her landlord, Mayor Ras Baraka, doesn't care, why will anyone else.
Don't Know and Someone Else
The clear leaders in both the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries, according to a FDU Public Mind poll released this week. Maybe if Gannett and Advance Media started covering the race a little more?
Heather Watson
The politically connected Democrat — daughter of former Trenton Mayor Chief of Staff Bill Watson, niece of U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, and granddaughter of the late Assemblyman John Watson — was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Trenton school board.
Phil Murphy
The Democratic candidate for Governor landed the endorsement of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, which is a big deal.
Lou Dobbs
Once again, NJ GOPers are talking about the reformed smoker and tv host running for office, this time in a hoped-for challenge to freshman rep Josh Gottheimer. Not sure it's real, but at 72, it's good to have people talking about you.
Bob Schroeder
The former GOP Assemblyman and gubernatorial candidate is sentenced to eight years in a state prison for theft and writing bad checks.
John Wisniewski
The Democratic gubernatorial candidate is in some hot
Dawn Zimmer
The Mayor of Hoboken draws a likely challenge from a former ally, City Councilman Michael DeFusco. But Zimmer, who's won loads of tough races, could easily flip to the winners column if Freeholder Anthony Romano joins the race and splits the anti-Zimmer vote with DeFusco.
Shaun Golden
The Monmouth GOP Chairman seems to be struggling to find Assembly candidates in the 11th district, where Democrats Joann Downey and Eric Houghtaling are seeking a second term. The top Republican prospect, Monmouth Freeholder Tom Arnone, took a pass on the race this week.


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Project Description
Danieli Centro Cranes
Delivery of lifting equipments and special cranes components to Danieli's customers all over the world. Door to door delivery; transport, forwarding and optional services included.
- Punctual delivery in terms of timing and destination places agreed.
- Supply the best solution in terms of economy, time and safety.
- Transportation and forwarding of oversize and overweight loads: up to 50 meters length; up to 100 tons weight.
- Coordination among the different project phases: to follow the arrival plans of ships for special cargoes which requires long times for both the obtaining of road permits and for the execution of the transport.
- Stowage of oversize and/or overweight loads at equipped port terminals.
- Loading of overweight and/or oversize loads on appropriate ships equipped with special holds and board cranes.
- Door to door delivery by trucks of oversize and/or overweight loads to Far East, North or South America, at customer's home.
We look after the whole steps of forwarding of special industrial equipments, in particular cranes, for Danieli Centro Cranes. The goods leave from the Italian Danieli's plants in Brescia and are delivered all over the world.


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Daytona 500: Johnson pulls off late win
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A big first for Danica Patrick, but an even bigger second for Jimmie Johnson.
Patrick made history up front at the Daytona 500 yesterday, only to see Johnson make a late push ahead of her and reclaim his spot at the top of his sport.
It was the second Daytona 500 victory for Johnson, a five-time NASCAR Cup champion who won his first in 2006.
"There is no other way to start the season than to win the Daytona 500. I'm a very lucky man to have won it twice," said Johnson, who won in his 400th career start. "I'm very honored to be on that trophy with all the greats that have ever been in our sport."
Patrick, the first woman to win the pole, also became the first woman to lead the race. She was running third on the last lap, but faded to eighth at the finish and admitted she will replay it over in her mind.
"I would imagine pretty much anyone would be kicking themselves about what they coulda, shoulda have done to give themselves an opportunity to win," she said. "I think that's what I was feeling today, was uncertainty as to how I was going to accomplish that."
The race was quite similar to all the other Cup races during Speedweeks in that the cars seemed to line up in a single-file parade along the top groove of the track. It made the 55th running of the Daytona 500 relatively uneventful.
When the race was on the line, Johnson took off.
He raced past defending series champion Brad Keselowski on the final restart and pulled out to a sizable lead that no one challenged over the final six laps.
"We have a hard time finishing these races. Boy, to run 1-2, man, what a day," said Rick Hendrick, team owner for Johnson and runner-up Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Mark Martin was third. Keselowski, who overcame two accidents earlier in the race, ended up fourth. Ryan Newman was fifth, followed by Greg Biffle, who was second on the last lap but was shuffled back with Patrick to finish sixth.
Regan Smith was seventh, and Patrick, Michael McDowell and JJ Yeley rounded out the top 10.
Patrick clearly was disappointed with her finish, even though she ran inside the top 10 the entire race. When the race was on the line, though, she was schooled by Earnhardt, who made his move for the victory.
Still, Patrick became the first woman to lead laps in the 500 when she passed Michael Waltrip on a restart on Lap 90. She stayed on the point for two laps, then was shuffled back to third. She ended up leading five laps, another groundbreaking moment for Patrick, who in 2005 as a rookie became the first woman to lead the Indianapolis 500.
"Dale did a nice job and showed what happens when you plan it out, you drop back and get that momentum. You are able to go to the front," Patrick said. "I think he taught me something. I'm sure I'll watch the race and there will be other scenarios I see that can teach me, too."
The field was weakened by an early nine-car accident that knocked out race favorite Kevin Harvick and sentimental favorite Tony Stewart.
Harvick had won two support races coming into the 500 to cement himself as the driver to beat, but the accident sent him out with a 42nd-place finish.
Stewart, meanwhile, dropped to 0 for 15 in one of the few races the three-time NASCAR Cup champion has never won.
"If I didn't tell you I was heartbroken and disappointed, I'd be lying to you," Stewart said.
That accident also took former winner Jamie McMurray, his Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and Kasey Kahne out of contention.
The next accident — involving nine cars — came 105 laps later and finished Carl Edwards.


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Time running out to apply for Cops and Kids camp
Last updated 4/30/2018 at 8:32pm
Every summer for more than a decade, The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police hosts children ages 8 to 12 at the annual Cops and Kids Summer Camp -- and time is running out to sign up.
The week-long camps, which are held at Allegheny County Community College, Duquesne University, University of Pittsburgh, and Chatham University, are designed to give kids hands-on interactions with police specialty units and other city and county public safety departments, including medic and fire departments, and the 911 mobile training unit. Campers have an opportunity to explore up close and study our SWAT vehicle, robotic performance, and participate in a mock crime scene.
"With the right opportunities, summer can be a time of great opportunity and growth for city youth," Mayor Bill Peduto said. "That's why I love the Cops and Kids camp. It matches police who want to give back to the community with young people who are hungry to learn about a life in public service."
Master Police Officer Mildred Jenkins works at the camps and said the program "highlights issues that, unfortunately, plague our communities with discussions regarding bullying, illegal drugs, violent gangs, and firearm safety. We also place an emphasis on understanding the importance of being a good citizen and the significance of obtaining an education.'
Fifty city youths are invited to attend each session.
Session 1: July 9-13 at Duquesne University.
Session 2: July 23-27 at the University of Pittsburgh.
Session 3: July 30- August 3 at CCAC/Northside Campus.
Session 4: August 6-10 at Chatham University.
Each daily session runs from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Two meals, snacks, uniforms and transportation to and from the campsite is provided. The Pittsburgh Pirates and Pittsburgh Riverhounds also participate in the camps.
To sign up, pick up a brochure at Police Headquarters at 1203 Western Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15233, complete the registration form and return it in person or by fax at 412 -323-7830. Parents will be notified by telephone and/or mail if their application is accepted.
Applications are accepted on a first come first serve basis. Campers are only permitted to attend one session. Applicants must be city of Pittsburgh residents. Out-of-city youth may also apply but will be placed on a waiting list. If the camp does not reach maximum capacity the applicant will be notified, however parents must provide their own transportation.
For more information, call 412- 323-7821 or 412-295-4890, send an email to email@example.com, or go online to http://pittsburghpa.gov/police/community-policing/cops-kids.html


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When it comes to hiring an employee for the important post then, we would say that hiring a right employee can either help you in achieving your business goals. However, hiring wrong and uncompetitive employees can ruin your business and company. Therefore, all you must do is to pay attention to hiring the ultimate best and experienced employees for your company. Specifically, when it comes to hiring developers and IT experts we all would agree with the fact that nothing is more important paying attention to hiring the best and trained employees. Hiring inefficient developers and It experts can certainly give a tough time to your business and prevent it from achieving goals in a short span of time.
In smaller companies, employees are likely to switch roles between various tasks because they don't have enough resources to hire more people for handling various tasks in the company. Certainly, looking up to HR and financial services software companies can play a substantial role in making you in helping you recruit the best employees for your company. In this way, we will be able to hire the best people that will certainly contribute to the better growth and success of our business.
Undoubtedly, when it comes to hiring IT experts for your company you might have to go through various challenges because every person who is working in this field is not a well-trained and equipped IT, expert. For this reason, different companies are likely to hire software companies to complete all the tasks that fall into the category of IT and technology. In this way, companies and organizations are likely to save their great amount of time and money and we all would agree with the fact that outsourcing IT services from a reputable and exceptional company is a way more effective and beneficial than hiring technology experts and employees. You would certainly have to invest your time in finding the best company that offer exceptional IT services; however, the fact of the matter is that making an effort for a cause that is profitable for the organization is worth making an effort. Here are some ways how you can outsource the best team of IT experts.
Hire the best software company:
Whether it is hiring a financial software company or best healthcare software companies, we must always look up to the best and the reputable IT Company for ensuring the effective output. In this way, we will be able to achieve our business goals in a short span of time.


text: Bowen Media is an exceptional well-rounded web design company based in Long Island. Their digital marketing mixed in with web design services can help you build the most efficient platform for developing your brand and building your fan base online. Dan Bowen created this agency to bring the top marketers and designers to business owners looking to further grow their business. Winning countless awards, they have brought their artistry in web design and powerful strategy to more than 500+ business owners. Bowen Media brings together some of the most talented content writers, digital marketers, web designers, and video creators in one location to allow for businesses to get all services in on place. They have spent the last 10 years working with businesses around the nation, and they are striving to work with you to build your company. They constantly upgrade their approach to keep up with trends and create successful campaigns online.


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The Spanish Buying Process
The Spanish buying process for property sales is different than you would find in other countries, and it is important you are informed of the Spanish buying process before you purchase a property in Spain.
You can get this information from a lawyer (at a hefty cost!) your Estate Agent (if they are up to date on the latest charges) or you could simply read this free blog!
Marbella Dream Living works with independent Lawyers who keep us informed about charges and taxes on a daily basis so we can pass this information on to you.
You might be wondering how much taxes you will pay in Spain when buying a property, and how you could make sure your deposit payment is safe. Furthermore, the age old question is:
What is the actual buying cost when purchasing a property in Spain?
This first question is answered quite simply:
Buying costs in Spain are at most a total of 12% (14% with mortgage) of the buying price of the property
Buying a second hand property in Spain
if you purchase a second hand property in Spain you should be aware that there is a pre-reservation deposit required of 6000€.
The pre-reservation deposit ensures the property is taken off the market.
This deposit is sent to your lawyer (so not the owner of the property) who will hold on to the deposit until a "Private contract" has been agreed and signed. At this point you are asked to pay an initial 10% deposit (minus the 6000€ that you already paid).
Completion and handover of the property can take between 2 and 6 weeks. Upon completion you will pay the remaining 90% at the notary.
The taxes involved when buying a second hand property in Spain are:
- Transfer Tax (ITU): Ranges from 8% or more depending of the value of the property
- Property value: <400.000€ = 8%
- Property value: 400.000€ – 700.000€ = 9%
- Property value: 700.000€> = 10%
- Lawyer fees: around 1 to 1,5% (depending on your lawyer)
- Notary fees: around 1% (depending on the area you are buying)
Buying First Occupancy Properties in Spain
These properties are usually off-plan or renovated but never before occupied.
When buying an off-plan or a renovated new property, a pre-reservation deposit will be required to remove the property /unit off the market. In most cases this deposit will be paid to your acting lawyer.
In the rare case that a developer insists you pay this deposit to them direct, always consult with your lawyer that your deposit is secure.
A Pre-reservation deposit can range from 3000€ up to 10,000€.
Once the promotor is ready to start construction you are asked to pay another lump sum when signing the "Private contract".
Using the guidelines of an off-plan promotion you will be required to follow the "Stage Payments" set by the promotor. The stage payments differ per development, but an example could be:
- Example 1: 30% paid at private contract & 70% at completion
- Example 2: 20% paid at private contract, 7,5% every 3 months in the first year, 50% at completion
Taxes on First occupancy Properties in Spain
You will not be required to pay any "Transfer Tax (ITU)", since the property is new, and does not have to be transfered. However, instead you will pay VAT (IVA) of 10%.
You will also have to pay similar lawyer fees of around 1 / 1,5% and a notary fee of approx. 1%
For a more in-debt analysis of the process of buying an off-plan property in Spain, please click here.
If you have any questions about the above or would like to consult an independent lawyer, please give us a call on +34 952 766 067.