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THN.com Playoff Blog: Luongo not living up to 12-year deal
As Roberto Luongo got the walnut treatment – shelled, swallowed and swept into the nearest trash receptacle – in Vancouver's 5-3, Game 3 loss to Los Angeles Monday night, all I could think about was a conversation I had a year or so ago with a former NHL goalie who believed the Canucks' star goaltender wasn't as good as his reputation and salary suggest.
"He's my definition of a guy who can be a good goalie on a bad hockey team, but not a good one on a good team," the retired goalie said at the time. "I don't think he's overrated, but he just hasn't shown he's in the same league as a Marty Brodeur or a Patrick Roy yet."
Indeed, Canucks fans and players are still waiting for Luongo to prove himself worthy of (a) the 12-year, $64-million contract extension he signed last summer; (b) the team's captaincy; and (c) the cult of personality around him in Vancouver that causes fans to scream 'Louuuu!' each and every time the puck enters the Canucks zone.
To be fair, Luongo hasn't been uniformly horrendous in this series. And the team in front of him hasn't helped him atone for his mistakes the way the Canadian Olympic team did at the 2010 Winter Games.
But let's face reality for a second: Luongo is arguably the biggest reason the Canucks' penalty killing has been so abysmal – 41.7 percent efficiency, by far the worst of any current playoff team – against the Kings.
Moreover, the 31-year-old has been thoroughly outplayed by 24-year-old Kings goalie (and playoff rookie) Jonathan Quick in the series and richly deserved to get pulled by Canucks coach Alain Vigneault after surrendering the fourth goal to L.A. on Monday (on just 16 shots against him).
It doesn't matter what your excuse is – when you're promoted as 'The Guy' and compensated accordingly, you shouldn't be easily forgiven or excused for having the third-worst save percentage (.880, ahead of only Jose Theodore and Brian Elliott) of all goalies who've played in this post-season.
Perhaps scarier than a first round exit for the Canucks this year is the prospect of having Luongo, his $5.33 million annual salary cap hit and his G.I. Joe Kung-Fu Grip-less Glove in the lineup until the spring of 2022. (This could be an avoidable problem if they can sign Andrew Raycroft to a 10-year deal in which he agrees to work for free and technically assume some of Luongo's salary for cap purposes.)
Along with Rick DiPietro's boondoggle of a 15-year deal with the Islanders, Luongo's contract and subsequent performance might soon serve as a cautionary tale to other NHL GMs.
There's nothing wrong with locking up your best player to a lengthy commitment. But as Luongo is demonstrating against the Kings, for all the security that comes along with such a signing, there is also a risk that your designated cornerstone might teach you how agonizingly long a long-term contract can be.
THN Puck Panel: Is officiating double-standard good for the game?
PRODUCER: Ted Cooper
THN.com's Playoff Blogs, featuring analysis and opinion on the action, with insight on what happened and what it all means going forward, will appear daily throughout the NHL playoffs. Read more entries HERE.
Feeling Lucky? Subscribe or renew your subscription to The Hockey News and you and a guest could be going to the NHL Awards in Las Vegas!
Adam Proteau, co-author of the book The Top 60 Since 1967, is writer and columnist for The Hockey News and a regular contributor to THN.com. His blog will appear regularly in the off-season, his Ask Adam feature appears Fridays and his column, Screen Shots, appears Thursdays.
For more great profiles, news and views from the world of hockey, Subscribe to The Hockey News magazine.


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Join the GSTCA!
Please complete the form below to join the Graduate Student Teachers of Central Arkansas (GSTCA). GSTCA members will receive additional emails regarding teaching and outreach opportunities and seminars.
If you are a PhD candidate who has passed their qualifying exam and are an active member* of the GSTCA, you are eligible to teach an undergraduate lecture at a partner institution with your mentor's approval. To be matched with an undergraduate faculty member, please email your biosketch which includes a description of your research interests to firstname.lastname@example.com.
*attend a minimum of 1 GSTCA seminar a semester

subset: commoncrawl


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How to make cheese sauce: a simple step-by-step recipe
Cook Time
How do you rate this recipe?
Cheese sauce is such a versatile sauce, and is a very useful thing to be able to make, especially for use in vegetarian recipes. I often make up a big batch and freeze in in half pint containers ready to use in a vegetable bake or a cauliflower cheese.
This recipe will make one pint of sauce.
- 3 oz butter
- 1 1/2 oz plain flour
- 1 pint milk
- 4 oz good flavoured hard cheese (eg. cheddar or emmental), grated
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a non-stick or heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over a low heat
- Remove from heat and stir in the flour, salt and pepper, stirring quite well to make sure there are no lumps
- Add the cold milk - only about a tablespoonful at a time - and mix until smooth before adding any more. When you have mixed it all in return to the heat
- Bring to the boil very slowly, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon.
- As it nears boiling point you will feel it start to thicken in the pan. It is essential that you stir very well at this point to prevent lumps from forming (* see note below if you get lumps)
- Once you see the first bubble in the sauce it should be thick enough, so remove from the heat
- Allow to cool for a few minutes before adding the grated cheese and stir in until melted
- Use the sauce to pour over vegetables, or to use in your favourite recipe.
* Note: If you happen to turn your back at the wrong moment and find yourself with lumpy sauce it can be rescued by removing from the heat immediately and whisking vigorously until smooth again. In extreme cases a blender can come to the rescue!
As mentioned above the sauce freezes very well, and can also be stored in the fridge for a couple of days.


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Queen honours Somme heroes & Memorial service in Thiepval.
Short Summary
Belfast, Northern Ireland (Ulster) & Thiepval, France.
Belfast, Northern Ireland (Ulster). GV. The Queen Elizabeth Bridge, Belfast. SV. Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh steps from car followed by Queen Elizabeth II. They are received by the Governor of Northern Ireland. SV. Crowd cheering. SV. Queen cuts tape to open the bridge. LV. Ship's whistle blowing. LV. The Queen unveils memorial plaque. CU. The plaque. CU. Queen is presented with bouquet.
GV. Veterans on parade for the Somme remembrance service. LV. Drums and pipers of the Territorial Army march across parade. Pan to veterans watching. CU. Pan, veteran with medals. SV. Queen shakes hands with James Duffy V.C. (Victoria Cross) Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The Duke also shakes his hand. CU. The Queen talking to Mr Duffy. SV. Queen moves on up the line, & SV. CU. The Queen and Duke talking to other veterans. CU. Duke talking to a veteran. LV. Veterans lined up. CU. Medals.
Thiepval, France. SV. British veterans lined up at Thiepval, & CU. SV. Pan, Field Marshall Lord Alexander inspecting Guard of Honour. GV. The memorial. SV. Officers saluting. CU. Officer salutes.
Historical film footage 1916. SV. British soldiers in trenches fixing bayonets. LV. As they run up hill. LV. Men running through smoke and shells explosions. GV. Direct hit is scored on tank. LV. Troops running up over hill. LV. Men fighting in trenches. End of library footage.
LV. Officers saluting. CU. Wreaths laid on memorial at Thiepval. SV. Officers lay more wreaths. GV. The memorial.
- Film ID:
- 1787.19
- Media URN:
- 55127
- Group:
- Pathe newsreels
- Archive:
- British Pathé
- Issue Date:
- 07/07/1966
- Sound:
- Sound
- HD Format:
- Available on request
- Stock:
- Black & White
- Duration:
- 00:02:17:00
- Time in/Out:
- 01:43:35:00 / 01:45:52:00
- Canister:
- 66/54


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NIEM 3.0 Alpha 2 Release—Open Public Review!
Since August 2012, the NIEM community has been working on NIEM Version 3.0—the next major release of the NIEM model. The last time we had a major new release was 2007! NIEM 3.0 is on schedule to launch in fall 2013!
As a community-driven program, NIEM relies on its stakeholders to provide feedback on major developments such as Version 3.0.
So…be sure to mark your calendars and tell your NIEM friends! The anticipated release of NIEM 3.0 Alpha 2 for broad public review is April 19—stay tuned!
The community will have access to review the full model, including both NIEM Core and all NIEM Domains. The webpage NIEM.gov/version3 is dedicated to all things 3.0, including details regarding NIEM 3.0 scope as well as links to step-by-step guidance on how to conduct an Alpha 2 review and how to submit feedback.
Community feedback on Alpha 2 may be provided from April 22–May 6, 2013.
Don't want to miss an important 3.0 announcement? Register to Stay in the Know for All Things 3.0 here.
Ready to participate in the NIEM 3.0 Alpha 2 review? Great! Start here.


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User Groups are limited for Advanced and Premium members only
When you have added many members, it might become difficult to manage them.
If your organisational structure allows you to manage manage your associates in groups, you can use the same approach in Nest Forms.
Steps to create a group:
- Create groups - Go to Relations and click on "Create a Group" link in the submenu.
- Set the Group Name
- Add a Comment for you internal purposes if you wish
- And assign a colour for better visualisation
- Then press create
- Once the group is created, a popup window will appear allowing you to add members to the newly created group.
Group Management
First you'll need to display the groups on your relation page. This is done by changing the Display setting. The Display option is located in the menu. Once you select Group , the groups will then appear.
Groups are shown with big colourful headings. There are edit options that will display on the heading mouseover.
The options available for groups are managing its members and changing the information about the Group (e.g. name, colour).
Set the Group Admins
If there are specific members within the groups that manage people, it might be useful to visualise this also. Just mouseover the member and click to the icon Edit member Assignment.
You can change the group that the member is in and also tick the checkbox called Group Admin. This will display the small crown beside their avatar from now on, so you will be able to identify these users much quicker in future.
Using Groups in Form Sharing
When sharing the form on the form builder, you will see all your groups at the top with the number of the people assigned within each group.
If you want to assign all members within a group, just click to this button and all members within this group will be shared to this form.
Share form permissions #
When you have group admins, you might want to give them additional permissions to either approve the results within their group, or manage the shares for the form.
You can easily manage this in the form builder "Advanced Settings" when you click to Share Permissions. Group admins are always at the top of the screen to let you manage their permissions easier.
You can see 2 additional options that you can assign to members within the group -
Group Form Share - the permission to manage who the form will be shared with - but limits the options to the members of the group.
Group Approve Responses - allows users to review, approve and export results from all members within the group.
You can click on each specific permission to allow one by one, or just click to the member tile which will select both group permissions by one click.
If you want to know more about the main sharing permissions, have a look at the Administrator Form Share help page.
What your colleague will see #
When you share the Group Form Share permission, your colleague will see the new tab in the Forms list called Shared Forms.
There will be a list of the forms that you have shared permissions with them. On mouseover there will be 2 icons appearing (if both permissions were shared).
Group Form Share
Allows your colleague to share this form or stop sharing with members of the group.
Always remember that the Main account administrator has to have all members within their relations, not the group admin account.
Group Approve Responses
Your colleague will be able to see responses from other members of the group for this form. This user is authorised to reject responses as well.
How can a group manager add new members to a master account? #
Just login and add the member into your account.
If you are the group manager, then you will be able to promote any user into your master account. Go to Relations, mouse over the relation you want to promote and click on .
The lightbox with more details will be displayed and you can click on the Promote button.
You will then be able to assign this promoted relation to the forms of the master account (if you have group shared permissions).
Your master account will be notified that there was a new relation added to their account.
Managing multiple departments within your account #
- All forms will be created in your admin account (this is necessary in order to keep them within the paid account)
- You can share full admin right for all forms with your secondary administrator (which means that they will also have full access to all of your forms)
- You can then create user groups within Relations for all of your departments. Managing groups help page.
- Then you can assign users into these specific groups. And also set the department admin users to be a Group admin.
- If you wish, you can also set branding for each of your departments, if you want to group the forms within your forms list (not a requirement).
- Once this is set up, you can share each form with a specific department - just edit the form and click on the relevant department within the share popup.
- If your department admin users should be managing form sharing, form builder and/or the Responses, make sure to edit the form and assign them group admin rights. As you have set office users as the group admins, they will be easy to spot as they will have the crown icon in the administration share popup.
There are different permissions you can assign to your administrators including:
- Edit form in builder
- Manage sharing within their user group
- See all responses or responses within group


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This article first appeared in Malta Today
It is by no means just a Maltese phenomenon and, in fact, it is probably something which you can find just about anywhere. It is a sign of the times, surely, and also a sign of how our priorities have changed when it comes to what we hold dear and what and who we admire.
I am speaking of our fascination with bling, with flashy things and an even flashier lifestyle. Fast cars, fast food, fast relationships, fast entertainment. It's an unabashed love of what cash or credit cards can buy, convinced that money can buy anything and that everyone has a price; it's just a matter of finding out how much.
In Malta's case there is a twist to the tale because it seems we are trying to make up for lost time. There was no natural, gradual progression of our standard of living over the last 40 years or so, but rather a sharp swing from one extreme to the other as globalization was injected into our culture almost overnight. Because of this, we have had a lot of catching up to do, primarily because of previous economic policies which for many years clamped down on foreign imports and made us live a live of austerity. Everything seemed to be banned, from colour TV sets to various brands of chocolate in Mintoff's well-intentioned but ultimately flawed plan to force us to buy (inferior) locally-made products in order to prop up Maltese industry. Those years of stringent controls only made many people resent him and his policies (although it should have been obvious that when you tell people they cannot have something, it is the worst thing you can do). When the markets were finally liberalized under a PN Government, it was like someone had thrown us full-length into a candy shop and told us, take whatever you like, the world is your oyster.
I think those who experienced the 80s never really recovered from the psychological impact of growing up in a society where shop shelves only carried one brand of whatever the product was. It was very much a 'take it or leave it' approach, which led to the mentality of going abroad purely for the joys of shopping; a trend which has never really left us. There are still people who go a bit mad when they travel, because old habits are hard to shake, and they come back with suitcases bulging with new purchases, even though these days you can find basically anything you want here.
In fact, a scene showing the empty shelves of a Russian supermarket in the series The Americans vividly threw me back to those years, as did the dialogue of a Russian defector who was awestruck by the abundance and choice of food in America compared with the limitations back home. I know some people will probably object to this comparison, but it did remind me of how Malta was in the past, and the way Maltese families attacked the Catania markets in the 80s for one big shopping spree every time they had a chance to do so.
Looking around you at how we live today, it is hard to believe this is the same country, huh? Especially when I read news of Spar opening no less than 23 supermarkets, while other supermarket chains keep popping up everywhere we look. I do wonder who is going to buy all these groceries, but that's another issue. The way we have embraced capitalism and consumerism is such a far cry from Mintoff's socialism that speaking to someone under 30 about the 1980s, you might as well be referring to World War II.
Malta today is an island of rooftop pools where fiercely-toned women pose in bikinis and three inch heels, to see and be seen (and if you do not post the photos on FB, it didn't happen).
It's a chain of entertainment and hospitality venues which have basically devoured Paceville, some more dubious than others, all branded by the letter "H", for the late Hugo Chetcuti; an empire which his son has vowed to continue in his name.
It's three days of decadent Lost & Found parties in Qawra where drug busts are a matter of course.
It's Maltese girls who mercilessly straighten their unruly curls and dye their hair Kardashian black, inject collagen in their lips for better pouting, and insert silicone in their chests for maximum, gravity-defying cleavage. It's tight tight dresses and killer heels and a constant stream of selfies.
It's young guys, with no visible means of income, obsessed with their car, the gym and their hairdresser in equal measures, who look like they spend as much time getting ready as their girlfriends.
It's a fleet of high-powered speedboats which gather in Comino and Gozo's bays in the same way that high-powered cars which are too ridiculously fast, zoom up and down our handful of major roads. One wonders where all the money comes from for all this, but it seems no one at the Tax Compliance Unit is ever gripped by the same sort of wonderment.
To understand the Malta we live in today, one only need to look at the people who are admired. Kylie Jenner, described as a 'self-made' millionaire at the age of 20 from her cosmetics line, recently posed on the cover of GQ with her suited boyfriend while she spilled out of a skimpy swimsuit. She is considered a role model for many young girls – a worrying image which has provoked much commentary. If she is so 'powerful', why is the one who is half-naked, further confirming that the only way for women to get ahead is to use nudity and look sexy?
Then there is Ronaldo, who was recently bought for such an obscene amount of money by Juventus that workers at Fiat (owned by the football club's owners, the Agnellis) quite rightly went on strike. This week he made the news again for the exorbitant amount of tips ($23k) he left for hotel staff while on vacation in Athens. While on the surface it might seem like a nice thing to do, something about splashing around that kind of money just comes across to me as vulgar and tacky.
The obsession with material wealth and the consumer culture is also reflected in what are known as social media influencers: people who use blogs, Twitter and Instagram accounts, whose main aim is to get as many followers as possible. In return they promote just about anything, influencing people to buy certain products just because they have endorsed them. They are a PR company's dream and in exchange they live a life of constant freebies. As explained in "Under the Influence: The Power of Social Media Influencers" written by Jelle Fasteneu,
"It's not hard to imagine how this makes influencers the ideal marketing tool for companies. They already have a large following at their disposal, which can be easily tapped into by sending out a message endorsed by a popular figure whose opinion they actually want to hear. In return, influencers profit from participating in these campaigns, either by being paid to post or talk about products, or being provided with free promotional materials."
News websites are also sliding down this slippery slope in running PR pieces thinly disguised as 'news', in exchange for often hefty sponsorships. The line between what is news and what is a paid-for promotion is becoming increasingly blurred and is seriously harming real journalism.
As I said in the introduction, this is not a Maltese phenomenon, as other countries too have woken up to the realization that fakery and superficiality and reality stars who became famous for being famous have snowballed us into a world which lacks any depth or real meaning. Lately, however, I keep feeling that we will inevitably come to a point when it will all become too much: when those who keep pushing the envelope will find that they cannot push it any further.
Maybe it will be at that point that we finally wake up to the fact that, ultimately, in the grand scheme of things, all the bling in the world is really not that important.


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By now I'm sure you've seen Kim Kardashian's 20.5-karat engagement ring. And seeing how we overanalyze nail polish choices on a regular basis here at Girls in the Beauty Department, I wouldn't be surprised if some of you already have opinions about the nail color Kim chose to wear for her big (or rather, uh, huge) engagement-ring debut. If not, take a look at this pic.
Kim chose a nail polish in a milky opaque hue--I think it's actually a palest-pink shade, but I can't say for certain since lighting in photos can always play tricks on you. Against her skin tone, it really pops, yet it's neutral enough that it doesn't compete with the ring. Then again, what color COULD compete with this particular ring?
What do you ladies think of the nail polish Kim Kardashian chose for showing off her engagement ring? Would you have chosen a different shade to go with this bling?
More Ways to Get Glamour:
NEW! Now You Can Read Glamour on Flipboard!
Download Glamour on your iPad—print subscribers, it's now part of your subscription plan!
Like freebies? Enter the latest Glamour sweepstakes.
Sign up for our fashion and beauty newsletters to get easy style tips (it'll make your inbox 10x sexier, we promise).
One more PS: Did you know you can now read glamour.com on your smart phone?! It's the ultimate boredom buster.


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Amalie Arena Photos
Amalie Arena General Info
With a wide array of venues spread throughout the United States, it can be difficult to find one that distinguishes itself from the others. That is not the case with the renovated AMALIE Arena, Florida's premier entertainment venue and home of the 2004 Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
Boasting unique features like lightning-throwing Tesla coils, the 11,000 square-foot Budweiser Biergarten with incredible views of the city and a massive five-manual, 105-rank digital pipe organ, AMALIE Arena consistently ranks among the very best venues in the United States. The best part? This is only the beginning.
A new era in Tampa Bay has arrived and it's time you be a part of it. Our owners are committed to providing fans with a world-class experience at every game, concert and event.
Tampa, FL 33602
United States
Get Directions


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The Characters I Wanted to Be
from Jody Feldman
Video Village came whirling its thrilling way onto our old TV screen. It may have been in black and white—at least it was for me; no color TV for years—but in my mind, it lit up with all the colors of the universe plus others that only my imagination could create. During its short run, I craved to move around that giant game board and fish, from the bridge, for gloriously wrapped presents.
When I started writing books that seemed to share a commonality, a longing to be part of such excitement, I didn't populate the adventures with clones of me. I'm not sure I had all the necessary qualities, when I was 12 years old, to be those main characters. Now, however, I have the best time granting my characters the guts and the voice I hadn't yet found in myself. And I get to put them into circumstances I wish I'd been a part of. I may have failed, but I sure would have liked to try.


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Head of department:
Ibrohimov Bahrom Sobirjonovich
Information on correspondence (special correspondence) department
The correspondence department of the Tashkent University of Information Technologies named after Muhammad al-Khwarizmi was established on the basis of the law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On education" and the "National program of training of cadres" from 2018-2019, in accordance with the Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated July 27, 2017 N PP-3153 "On Measures of improving the System of Preparation of Engineers and Technical Staff for Industrial Production in Tashkent Region", "Regulation on organization of correspondence (special correspondence) education in higher education institution" approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated November 21, 2017 №930.
According to the Regulation on the organization of correspondence (special correspondence) education in the higher education institution, correspondence (correspondence) education at our university is based on the acceptance quotas approved by the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, at special correspondence form, the second and the subsequent higher education.
Nowadays, more than 700 students are enrolled in the correspondence education of the university in the following areas:
In the form of correspondence:
- 5330300 - Information Security;
- 5330501 - Computer Engineering ("Computer Engineering");
- 5330502 - Computer engineering ("AT - service");
- 5330503 - Computer Engineering ("Multimedia Technologies");
- 5350101 - Telecommunication technologies ("Telecommunications");
- 5350102 - Telecommunication technologies ("TV Radio broadcasting");
- 5350103 - Telecommunication technologies ("Mobile systems");
- 5350600 - Library information activity.
Specifically, in the form of education:
- 5330500 - Computer Engineering;
- 5350500 - Mail technology;
- 5350200 - Television Technologies ("Audiovisual technology" Studio, systems and applications");
Secondary education and post-graduate education:
- 5350300 - Economics and management in the sphere of ICT;
- 5330500 - Computer Engineering ("Computer Engineering", "IT Service", Multimedia Technology);
- 5330300 - Information Security;
- 5350100 - Telecommunication technologies ("Telecommunications", "TV radio broadcasting", ("Mobile systems");
- 5330600 - Software engineering;
- 5350600 - Informatization and library science;
- 5350200 - Television technologies ("Audiovisual technologies", "Television studios and applications");
Admission to correspondence (special correspondence) education:
Acceptance of students to correspondence (special correspondence) education is carried out in accordance with the Regulation on admission of students to bachelor's degrees of higher educational institutions, approved by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan № 393 of June 20, 2017.
- Special correspondence form - only for a minimum of three years of practical work (profession of pedagogy) in the field of special education, profession and occupation, corresponding to the special secondary education in the field of corresponding or equivalent education (passage exams or vocational training) with a recommendation from the relevant ministries and agencies that have a pedagogical internship;
- The second and subsequent higher education content - higher education (if the foreign higher education institution is graduated, the higher education certificate is recognized in the prescribed manner (nostrification Applicants who have successfully passed the test (entrance exams or professional interview) are accepted.
Duration of study in correspondence (special correspondence) education:
- In correspondence - at least 5 years;
- Special correspondence form - at least 3 years;
- In the form of correspondence on the second and following higher education is at least 3 years. At the same time, regardless of the difference in disciplines in study curriculum, the bachelor program begins with the 2nd grade.
The terms of study for the students of the correspondence (special correspondence) department in the first term of the 2018-2019 academic year:
- From November 12 to December 7, 2018 for 1st year students studying in correspondence form;
- For first-year students studying in correspondence form from October 15 to November 10, 2018;
- From October 15th till November 10th, 2018 for the second and subsequent higher education (second year) (2018-2019 academic year);
- From December 3 to December 29, 2018, for 2nd grade students trained in special correspondence forms;
- From 3rd to 29th of December, 2018 for the second and following higher education (in the 2017-2018 academic year);
- From January 14 to February 2, 2018 for 3rd year students of special correspondence forms;
* News from the correspondent (special correspondence) department will be transmitted via the Telegram channel section: @tuit_sirtqi_online.


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Such a small world – I launch The Positive Change, and my colleague from a previous job messages me and connects me with his father, Shawn Bonnough, extremely passionate with a strong character striving to make positive changes in a variety of ways. I had the unique opportunity of connecting with Shawn over a phone call and discussing his vision and the inspiration behind Aquaponics Training Institute.
Meet Shawn Bonnough
Shawn is just like one of us, a person who had many excellent and some rough past experiences which helped him develop into a supportive figure, full of character and vision for future generations on our planet. Shawn hopes to change the education system and condense it for students with an emphasis on practical experience.
Shawn is an established entrepreneur partaking in various projects and ventures to have an impact on our world and for the well-being of his family. Shawn believed our current education system can be further improved and even more efficient. He has launched various training institutes including High Velocity, which is now a government licensed college, training students in 12 weeks, showing that it is a proven education system. The goal is to continue training students and trainers itself to raise awareness of this newly introduced, condensed education system which can save people a lot of time.
What we are doing to our little, blue spaceship is brutal and awful – it's not about Mars, it's about fixing this one– Shawn Bonnough
So much valuable advise during our call, I was left so inspired. Shawn embraces the challenge of chasing things to make a difference in our world. A lot of us like to sit back, and think that our individual efforts may not make a difference, but it is important to open our eyes and realize that if we chase what we would like to change, then anything is possible!
Capitalism gets negative attention but it can actually be a driving force behind The Positive Change we'd like to make in our world– Shawn Bonnough
Nowadays, money drives everything, money means power. This has gained money a negative connotation in our society, and Shawn believes that money, income and capitalism can actually lead to large-scale changes that need to made. Money will always be the biggest incentive. Just because money and capitalism can be used as a driving force, does not mean we must turn greedy We just have to take advantage of what is already working out there as an effective incentive to change, while still coming together as a community, with love, contribution and connection.
Aquaponics Training Institute
Shawn has decided to start an Aquaponics Training Institute for students, inspired by some unfortunate health problems he faced himself. He realized he wanted to help save the planet, improve the health of all people while still making it a sustainable process and option.
So what is aquaponics? Aquaponics is a concept that brings together Aquaculture (when you grow fish in a tank and they need to be fed constantly) and Hydroponics (grow plants without soil to get rid of pests, but nutrients can be expensive). Check out the diagram below:
Aquaponics is actually an ancient Indigenous food growing system long long ago when they used floating gardens on their fish ponds. Plants filtered the water for the fish and the fish were creating waste in the form of nutrients for the plants! Once again, it all comes back to knowledge sharing! Without knowledge sharing, we will not be able to collectively come together and save our environment.
The Aquaponics Training Institute aims to educate people about the concept, and empower them to become entrepreneurs and run their own Aquaponics farm. Not only is this educating people, it is creating jobs, and helping build a sustainable future, adapting to the major effects of climate change.
These are ways Aquaponics Training Institute plans to contribute in a variety of ways!
I am truly excited to see this project move forward because it really helps in so many different ways!
What can we learn from this?
Anything is possible, and anyone can do it! It just takes a little research, digging to find yourself and what really means to you! Once you do that, the rest can shaped around your true passion!
Entrepreneurs, businesses and logistic companies – This can really help decrease your carbon footprint! It can also help entrepreneurs establish themselves while spreading a sustainable concept. Businesses can benefit from Aquaponics because of decrease in carbon footprint which they can either allocate to other avenues for now.
Travellers and those looking to move – Would you like to manage a farm while you travel? Would you like to establish yourself as an entrepreneur with a concept that has been proven and an Institute that will train you to do it yourself? It really does help us all!


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By Liz Nicholls, 12thnight.ca
Hard to imagine now, but there was a time (I'm pretty sure) when this fair hinterland burg was Fringe-free, Strathcona had greasy spoons and parking spaces, and theatre companies didn't have names like SquirrelSuit, Moose Bite, and Audacious Serendipity.
And now, heavens, it's the night before the biggest opening night in town (the 36th annual edition of the Edmonton Fringe). Here, for your pre-Fringe diversion — and in the spirit of complete randomness that is never far from Edmonton's summer theatre bash — is is a miscellany of fringe-y things I've found out in the course of getting ready for the big theatre bash.
•There have been years when the Fringe had more venues than this edition's 42 (sometimes more than 50). As Fringe director Murray Utas points out, in the roster this year — 11 official Fringe "theatres" programmed by lottery and 31 BYOVs arranged and outfitted by artists themselves — there's more sharing. The French Quarter's La Cité francophone, for example, has 14 shows running in its two venues, and there are seven more across the street at the Campus Saint-Jean Theatre. There's a shuttle between the main Fringe site and the French Quarter. But think about making the latter a destination for an afternoon or evening of it. Big bonus: the Café Bicyclette.
•If you're a Banigan, your summer destiny through the generations is clear. I refer of course to the Fringe. April Banigan held off for 10 summers, but she's back, to co-star with Kristi Hansen in the new Chris Craddock play The Superhero Who Loved Me. Other Banigans have Fringe links with Craddock, the multi-talented actor/improviser/playwright, too. The new generation of Banigan, 19-year-old Jezek Sanders, co-stars with Kael Wynn in Bash'd: A Gay Rap Opera by Craddock and Nathan Cuckow, the first Edmonton production of this high-voltage hip-hop small-town Romeo/Romeo tragedy since 2010.
And another Banigan, Jacob the improv star, returns to these shores from his adoptive home in Graz, Austria to star with Craddock and Mark Meer in Gordon's Big Bald Head: The Play's The Thing, in which that dazzlingly agile trio undertake to improvise their own version of any other show in the Fringe program, chosen at random.
•Amy DeFelice, who's directing both the Plain Janes production of The Effect of Gamma Rays On Man In The Moon Marigolds and Trunk Theatre's Ciara, reports with some bemusement that both her casts are entirely female — save one male rabbit. She says "he did a great audition."
•There's an abracadabra side to every theatre director — ingenuity always tops budget on the stage — but Theatre Network artistic director Bradley Moss has a particular affinity for Magic. There's a mentalist show, Jeff Newman's Mind Games, in the Roxy Performance Series next season. And Moss is directing not one but two Ghostwriter Theatre magic shows at the Fringe: Orson Welles Last Magic Show by Ron Pearson and Ron Pearson's Mystery Wonder Show. Moss says he's specifically requested that the magic and illusions not be explained to him, so he can honestly tell people he has no idea how they're done. Otherwise he'd be sure to spill the beans.
•In a Manichean coup de théâtre, the Fringe circuit's star comedian Mike Delamont, whom you know as God (from his hit God Is A Scottish Drag Queen series), is back this Fringe as the Devil.
•If you're still paralyzed by indecision about the wealth of choices in the 220-show Fringe universe (and have secretly decided to stay put in the beer tent or spool out your dwindling affection for busking jugglers), it's time to try the Fringe's Randomizer. It's on the website, fringetheatre.ca. And it'll pick a show for you completely at random!


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You know how most online casinos give you a bonus just for making a deposit? This is the online equivalent of the comps that brick and mortar casinos give out, and just like at a brick and mortar casino, these have the potential to add to your enjoyment. However, when you are chasing down bonuses, you are putting yourself in a situation where you could lose more money than you will gain, something that you obviously want to avoid as much as possible.
Today, we are going to take a look at bonuses, and how you should or shouldn't adjust your slots and video poker play in order to achieve them.
How Bonuses Work?
First, be aware of how a bonus will work. The casino will give you a bonus based upon how much your deposit was. If you deposited $500 into your casino account and you earned a 100 percent bonus, then you will now have $1,000 in your account. The catch is that you can only withdraw your $500 when you want to make a withdrawal because the other $500 is locked until you bet a certain amount of money. This amount will vary from casino to casino, but the industry standard sits at around 30 to 40 times the amount of the bonus. So, in this case, to unlock your $500 bonus, you would need to trade a bare minimum of $15,000 before you can keep all of your $500.
This is a huge discrepancy. Yes, bonuses are a great way to supplement your online casino play income, but they should not ever be chased unless you are extremely close to unlocking one. Some bonuses unlock your entire bonus all at once after the stipulations have been satisfied, and others will do it in stages, unlocking a little bit as you bet more and more. Others will keep your bonus money in your account indefinitely while others will have a set time period before the money disappears. Know the rules of the casino that you are playing at so there are no surprises and you can get the money that's rightfully yours. The bonus is important, it's just not the most important part of the process.
It should be obvious now why chasing a bonus indiscriminately is a bad idea. $15,000 worth of risk just to get $500 is not a good trade off. With this in mind, you should only pursue a bonus if you have a good strategy and strong money management skills. It is possible to unlock that free cash, but the vast majority of people make poor decisions with their money somewhere along the way and end up losing their money well before they ever have a realistic chance of getting their bonus money sent to their bank account. We urge you to forget about the bonus until you've actually earned it. Yes, it is nice to have that extra money in your account, but it should not be the primary focus of your betting. Work on picking the right games, getting the most out of your money, and having fun. If you do this, the bonus situation will work itself out along the way. Think of it as a perk of being smart with your money and making good choices.
Instead of worrying about a bonus, make your deposit, pick a few games you like, then figure out the best way to play them. Never risk more than you are prepared to lose, and always have a set number that you will quit for the day at after you win. Little things like this will help you to get that bonus if you do them with discipline.


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This song has worked its way into my bones and I don't even know why or how or when. I just love it so much.
So I've listened to three different versions of "Do I Wanna Know?" by Arctic Monkeys.
It seems a little over the top, I know. But it's a great song, perfect for dark musings at ungodly hours of the night, simmering and dusky and cool. All three versions are equally fantastic and have their own appeal, so I've embedded them all below.
The Original: LISTEN ON SPOTIFY / or you can Google it if Spotify isn't working for you
The original evokes the most unique mood, I think, and that's what drew me to this song in the first place. There's a rough, bloodshot, half-crazy aesthetic to the entire thing that carries a dangerous appeal. (In fact, it reminds me so much of Ronan and Adam from Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle series that I want to burst. Right down to the lyrics and the background and everything.)
The Vitamin String Quartet Cover:
This is a tiny bit slower than the original (a really tiny bit!), but I love string quartets with the fire of a thousand suns, and the way VSQ has interpreted the song here makes it just as amazing even without the lyrics.
The Paola Bennet Cover:
I've talked about Paola Bennet before - in the very first Music Monday post I ever did, in fact. But I couldn't resist featuring her again for this cover because it's gorgeous. It makes me ache in corners of my heart I never knew existed.
So I know this is a bit of a short post, but hopefully the music rec makes up for it! I'll leave you with a snippet of my favorite part of the song:
So have you got the guts?
Been wondering if your heart's still open
And if so I wanna know what time it shuts
Simmer down and pucker up
I'm sorry to interrupt
It's just I'm constantly on the cusp
Of trying to kiss you
Enjoy, and do comment with your thoughts!


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Compliance shall be ensured through the denial of motor vehicle registration in enhanced I/M programs unless an exception for use of an existing alternative is approved. An enhanced I/M area may use an existing alternative if it demonstrates that the alternative has been more effective than registration denial. An enforcement mechanism may be considered an "existing alternative" only in States that, for some area in the State, had an I/M program with that mechanism in operation prior to passage of the 1990 Amendments to the Act. A basic I/M area may use an alternative enforcement mechanism if it demonstrates that the alternative will be as effective as registration denial. Two other types of enforcement programs may qualify for enhanced I/M programs if demonstrated to have been more effective than enforcement of the registration requirement in the past: Sticker-based enforcement programs and computer-matching programs. States that did not adopt an I/M program for any area of the State before November 15, 1990, may not use an enforcement alternative in connection with an enhanced I/M program required to be adopted after that date.
(1) Provide an external, readily visible means of determining vehicle compliance with the registration requirement to facilitate enforcement of the program;
(2) Adopt a schedule of testing (either annual or biennial) that clearly determines when a vehicle shall comply prior to registration;
(3) Design a testing certification mechanism (either paper-based or electronic) that shall be used for registration purposes and clearly indicates whether the certification is valid for purposes of registration, including:
(i) Expiration date of the certificate;
(ii) Unambiguous vehicle identification information; and
(iii) Whether the vehicle passed or received a waiver;
(4) Routinely issue citations to motorists with expired or missing license plates, with either no registration or an expired registration, and with no license plate decals or expired decals, and provide for enforcement officials other than police to issue citations (e.g., parking meter attendants) to parked vehicles in noncompliance;
(5) Structure the penalty system to deter non-compliance with the registration requirement through the use of mandatory minimum fines (meaning civil, monetary penalties, in this subpart) constituting a meaningful deterrent and through a requirement that compliance be demonstrated before a case can be closed;
(6) Ensure that evidence of testing is available and checked for validity at the time of a new registration of a used vehicle or registration renewal;
(7) Prevent owners or lessors from avoiding testing through manipulation of the title or registration system; title transfers may re-start the clock on the inspection cycle only if proof of current compliance is required at title transfer;
(8) Prevent the fraudulent initial classification or reclassification of a vehicle from subject to non-subject or exempt by requiring proof of address changes prior to registration record modification, and documentation from
(9) Limit and track the use of time extensions of the registration requirement to prevent repeated extensions;
(10) Provide for meaningful penalties for cases of registration fraud;
(11) Limit and track exemptions to prevent abuse of the exemption policy for vehicles claimed to be out-of-state; and
(12) Encourage enforcement of vehicle registration transfer requirements when vehicle owners move into the I/M area by coordinating with local and State enforcement agencies and structuring other activities (e.g., drivers license issuance) to effect registration transfers.
(i) For enhanced I/M programs, the area in question shall have had an operating I/M program using the alternative mechanism prior to enactment of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. While modifications to improve compliance may be made to the program that was in effect at the time of enactment, the expected change in effectiveness cannot be considered in determining acceptability;
(ii) The State shall assess the alternative program's effectiveness, as well as the current effectiveness of the registration system, including the following:
(A) Determine the number and percentage of vehicles subject to the I/M program that were in compliance with the program over the course of at least one test cycle; and
(B) Determine the number and fraction of the same group of vehicles as in paragraph (b)(1)(ii)(A) of this section that were in compliance with the registration requirement over the same period. Late registration shall not be considered non-compliance for the purposes of this determination. The precise definition of late registration versus a non-complying vehicle shall be explained and justified in the SIP;
(iii) An alternative mechanism shall be considered more effective if the fraction of vehicles complying with the existing program, as determined according to the requirements of this section, is greater than the fraction of vehicles complying with the registration requirement. An alternative mechanism is as effective if the fraction complying with the program is at least equal to the fraction complying with the registration requirement.
(i) An assessment of the current extent of the following forms of non-compliance and demonstration that mechanisms exist to keep such non-compliance within acceptable limits:
(A) Use of stolen, counterfeit, or fraudulently obtained stickers;
(B) In States with safety inspections, the use of "Safety Inspection Only" stickers on vehicles that should be subject to the I/M requirement as well; and
(C) Operation of vehicles with expired stickers, including a stratification of non-compliance by length of noncompliance and model year.
(ii) The program as currently implemented or as proposed to be improved shall also:
(A) Require an easily observed external identifier such as the county name on the license plate, an obviously unique license plate tab, or other means that shows whether or not a vehicle is subject to the I/M requirement;
(B) Require an easily observed external identifier, such as a windshield sticker or license plate tab that shows whether a subject vehicle is in compliance with the inspection requirement;
(C) Impose monetary fines at least as great as the estimated cost of compliance with I/M requirements (e.g., test fee plus minimum waiver expenditure) for the absence of such identifiers;
(D) Require that such identifiers be of a quality that makes them difficult
(E) Perform surveys in a variety of locations and at different times for the presence of the required identifiers such that at least 10% of the vehicles or 10,000 vehicles (whichever is less) in the subject vehicle population are sampled each year;
(F) Track missing identifiers for all inspections performed at each station, with stations being held accountable for all such identifiers they are issued; and
(G) Assess and collect significant fines for each identifier that is unaccounted for by a station.
(i) Require an expeditious system that results in at least 90% of the subject vehicles in compliance within 4 months of the compliance deadline;
(ii) Require that subject vehicles be given compliance deadlines based on the regularly scheduled test date, not the date of previous compliance;
(iii) Require that motorists pay monetary fines at least as great as the estimated cost of compliance with I/M requirements (e.g., test fee plus minimum waiver expenditure) for the continued operation of a noncomplying vehicle beyond 4 months of the deadline;
(iv) Require that continued non-compliance will eventually result in preventing operation of the non-complying vehicle (no later than the date of the next test cycle) through, at a minimum, suspension of vehicle registration and subsequent denial of reregistration;
(v) Demonstrate that the computer system currently in use is adequate to store and manipulate the I/M vehicle database, generate computerized notices, and provide regular backup to said system while maintaining auxiliary storage devices to insure ongoing operation of the system and prevent data losses;
(vi) Track each vehicle through the steps taken to ensure compliance, including:
(A) The compliance deadline;
(B) The date of initial notification;
(C) The dates warning letters are sent to non-complying vehicle owners;
(D) The dates notices of violation or other penalty notices are sent; and
(E) The dates and outcomes of other steps in the process, including the final compliance date;
(vii) Compile and report monthly summaries including statistics on the percentage of vehicles at each stage in the enforcement process; and
(viii) Track the number and percentage of vehicles initially identified as requiring testing but which are never tested as a result of being junked, sold to a motorist in a non-I/M program area, or for some other reason.
(i) A description of the existing compliance mechanism if it is to be used in the future and the demonstration that it is as effective or more effective than registration-denial enforcement;
(ii) An identification of the agencies responsible for performing each of the applicable activities in this section;
(iii) A description of and accounting for all classes of exempt vehicles; and
(iv) A description of the plan for testing fleet vehicles, rental car fleets, leased vehicles, and any other subject vehicles, e.g., those operated in (but not necessarily registered in) the program area.
(2) The SIP shall include a determination of the current compliance rate based on a study of the system that includes an estimate of compliance losses due to loopholes, counterfeiting, and unregistered vehicles. Estimates of the effect of closing such loopholes and otherwise improving the enforcement mechanism shall be supported with detailed analyses.
(3) The SIP shall include the legal authority to implement and enforce the program.
(4) The SIP shall include a commitment to an enforcement level to be


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Triple H Calling For Major In-Ring Changes - What They Are & How They Effect The Product, Behind The Scenes Shakeups Taking Place, New Aspect Of WWE NXT, Former WWE Star Returning To The Road
Triple H Calling for More Major Changes
Triple H continues to call for more changes in WWE during the transition of his eventual succession to Vince McMahon.
We're told one change that he wants to make is returning to a more traditional aspect of workers calling matches in the ring on the fly. Like many of his changes, this isn't expected to be immediate but something slowly transitioned over the next five years. Hunter wants to usher in the new crop of talent to be trained in this style.
One of the reasons for the slow transition is that Hunter understands that ordering an immediate change in philosophy would be disastrous to the current roster with a lot of guys being "totally lost."
Behind The Scenes Shakeups
Speaking of changes, there continues to be a lot of shuffling behind the scenes. Triple H's overhaul of developmental is in full-force with the opening of the WWE Performance Center last summer.
Joey Mercury is a guy currently being groomed for a full time producer on the main roster. His days as an NXT trainer will be over if things go as planned. We're told Mercury has received high marks for his producer work in developmental and the feeling is that developmental should be used to produce new talent in various aspects of the company, not just wrestlers and referees.


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Frederick Wiseman portrays American institutions with a provocative frankness. How have the veteran documentarist's unconventional filmmaking techniques challenged our understanding of social structures?
In the world of documentary cinema, there stands one man who embodies in his work the 'From Sea to Shining Sea' spirit. Born in Boston in 1930, Frederick Wiseman is an unparalleled artist. His poetic documentaries, which speak with a uniquely American voice, are explorative meditations on life inside institutional frameworks.
Choosing such subjects as centers of education (High School, 1968), the fashion industry (Model, 1980), or ballet companies (La Danse, 2009), Wiseman dissects the institutions that shape our lives. He invades them, explores them, and delivers top-notch films that challenge how we view social structures.
A graduate of Williams College, Wiseman was a lawyer before he became a filmmaker in the late 1960s. Today, Wiseman hardly shows any signs of slowing down. His most recent works, Crazy Horse (2011) and Boxing Gym (2010), are as inspiring as his early films. Wiseman claims that his abundant energy comes from the fact that he never stops, he never sits still, and he never backs down. Constantly creating, lugging around equipment and traversing the fertile landscapes of society and the cerebral, Wiseman has a take on reality that is all his own.
Wiseman has abandoned traditional documentary practices, eschewing narration, 'talking head' interviews, non-diegetic music and reflexive moments of discourse. There are no central characters the viewer is invited to identify with, and often people will simply flow in an out of the shots. What one is left with is a seemingly raw examination of an institution, and Wiseman invites you to be the co-creator of meaning. This creative partnership between filmmaker and viewer is unique to Wiseman's works and it draws the viewer into the pathos of the documentary.
He does not go into the filming process with a pre-planned conception of what he is going to find. Instead, he spends up to six weeks in the location and films almost constantly. This process allows him to shed his preconceptions and understand the real story. The "creative" aspect thus mainly takes place during the editing, for it is within this process that the story blossoms out. The drama is discovered and uncovered until the viewer identifies with the institution.
Wiseman masterfully weaves together hours of footage, sometimes producing films that run for as long as six hours, such as Near Death (1989). Conscious that the editing process represents subjective choices, he once said:
"So much of film editing — or at least editing these kinds of documentaries — has absolutely nothing to do with technical issues. The basic question is why? Why does somebody ask for a cigarette at a given moment? Is there an explanation for the choice of one word rather than another? What's the significance of the dress that a woman is wearing? Why does a client come to a welfare center wearing his military uniform? Why does someone pause in mid sentence? Is there an explanation for a change of tone?
"I mean, these are the kind of evaluations one is always making in ordinary experience when you meet people," Wiseman continued. "You have to make these kinds of evaluations in more concentrated form when you are editing. This same sort of evaluation is going on between us in this conversation. In film editing, it is more formalized and constant."
The "why" question has shaped Wiseman's cinema into one of the most confrontational out there. His first film Titicut Follies (1967) was uncensored and raw, showing inmates who were forced to sleep naked, fed through nasal tubes and dehumanised to an extreme.The film was so scandalous that the then Massachusetts Supreme Court judge Harry Kalus removed it from distribution, destroying all the copies in a bid to protect the privacy of the inmates. Titicut Follies was finally released on PBS in 1992, more than 30 years later.
In fact, all of Wiseman's films have been aired on PBS, a funder and firm supporter of the filmmaker and his work. For a long time it was only through this channel and the occasional film screenings and retrospectives that people were able to get a hold of Wiseman's films. Now, all his works are available on Zipporah.
Wiseman is a filmmaker who speaks straight to the soul. His movies are reportedly biased, but the truths that they uncover crawl beneath your skin and leave you hungry for more.His gripping documentaries have earned him numerous awards, as well as the Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships.
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ISCEE 2016 : 2016 International Symposium on Civil and Environmental Engineering
|Link: http://www.ieti.net/iscee/
Call For Papers
2016 International Symposium on Civil and Environmental Engineering (ISCEE 2016) will be held during Dec 20-21, 2016 in Wuhan, China, sponsored by IETI, and supported by National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan; National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Taiwan and Hubei Zhongke Institute of Geology and Environment Technology, Wuhan. aim to gather professors, researchers, scholars and industrial pioneers all over the world, ISCEE is the premier forum for the presentation and exchange of past experiences and new advances and research results in the field of theoretical and industrial experience. The conference welcomes contributions which promote the exchange of ideas and rational discourse between educators and researchers all over the world.
English is the official language of the conference. We welcome paper submissions. Papers must strictly follow the format available at the conference website. Papers must be submitted electronically as described at the conference website.
All accepted papers will be published by IET (the Institution of Engineering and Technology) in conference proceedings. All papers presented at the conference will be reviewed by the IET in consideration for publication. Those that meet the expected levels of quality and technical content will be accepted for publication on the IET Digital Library and IEEE Xplore online libraries, indexed by IET Inspec and submitted to EI Compendex for consideration for indexing.
Proceedings ISBN : 978-1-78561-363-0; eISBN: 978-1-78561-364-7.
EI Journals Call for Papers: Review Paper of Civil or Environment Engineering.
Authors are invited to submit a full paper, and papers should be write in English. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
Civil Engineering
Ecological architecture
automatic incident detection and emergency response
construction materials
building science and technology
coastal engineering
computational mechanics
protection and equipment
construction technology
coastal engineering
hydraulic engineering
intelligent transportation and logistics
transportation system modeling and simulation
pattern recognition and image processing
road and bridge engineering
structural engineering
theoretical framework
three-dimensional traffic system
traffic engineering
urban traffic control and traffic congestion pricing
engineering management
Environment Engineering
Monitoring air pollution
climate change and global warming
the groundwater pollution control
water quality monitoring
wastewater treatment and utilization
the remote sensing and the environment
pollution of the environment risk assessment
environmental chemistry
environmental pollution and management
environmental engineering
and acoustic noise
industrial waste treatment
atmospheric environment
water environment
the electromagnetic wave and communication
the soil environment
regional environment
urban environment
environmental restoration
resources of science and technology
environmental quality monitoring and assessment
renewable energy
energy system engineering
energy science and technology
energy economy and environmental impact of energy consumption
sustainable energy policy
automotive safety and emissions


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Kurnik: 'We homeschool because it is the best situation for our special needs child'
Editor's Note: This post originally appeared as an article in the 2015 Back to Homeschool issue of the FPEA Connect magazine. Used by permission of the FPEA.
By Mary Kurnik, Guest Blogger
We did not plan to homeschool. I definitely enjoy being home with our children, especially since my husband and I weren't even sure we would become parents.
Through the blessing of adoption, we became parents to our daughter and, 21 months later, to our son who has autism. Thankfully, we began homeschooling when Krystyn was four years old. We figured this way, we could "try it out" for a year and send her to kindergarten if the experiment failed.
John was two years old at the time. He did well with Five in a Row, a literature-based, unit study approach. We all snuggled on the couch while I read our story for the day. If John chose, he could sit on the floor and keep busy with various shoeboxes filled with his "school things." For the most part, though, he wanted to be a part of every aspect of our homeschool day, right along with his big sister. All the years of Five in a Row provided a solid foundation for a well-rounded child and built strength in reading and language arts.
An environment of family togetherness, safety and comfort at home, and learning at his own pace, have served John well. In the early years, our homeschool days consisted of many trips to the library to choose books, take part in its organized programs, and star in its theater. We went to parks and the YMCA. We belonged to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and a Thursday social group. We took trips to the museums, the zoo, the Florida Aquarium, and Busch Gardens. We visited many businesses to get a backstage tour in order to learn about their operations and the necessity of a practical education. We toured Tampa International Airport, fire departments, even the Coast Guard. All of these opportunities were facilitated in a small, manageable group, with Mom's watchful eye, giving birth to independence and confidence for John.
I can't emphasize enough how important the flexibility has been. If John is restless, he can play basketball in our driveway in between subjects or throw the ball in the backyard to our
rambunctious, loveable lab, Libby. We school year round, so if family comes in town or an event comes up, we can take advantage of that opportunity. For John's therapy appointments, professionals are more accessible to us during the morning or early afternoon, rather than after-school hours. If John needs more time learning long division, it's not a problem. If we need to revisit a concept in a particular subject six months from now, when he can grasp it better, no worries.
Every day is a learning opportunity at home and out in the world. Life skills are essential for John, and my husband and I endeavor to teach him more than academics. John is learning to change the oil in Dad's truck, shop at home improvement stores, do yardwork, fix and maintain things at home, learn the value of money – all with Dad's guidance. Mom, on the other hand, does something John calls "Mom's Scenarios." This is when a teachable moment comes along, no matter where we happen to be, and I run by certain scenarios with John – all the while keeping a sense of humor if warranted, or a serious tone if not. John often needs a further explanation of what is happening around him, and we are able to take the time to explain as much as he needs.
Homeschooling also allows John to be with children and adults of all ages. He is not limited to his same-aged peer group. This has been beneficial in that he is able to get along with children during his class at co-op and is also able to be best buddies with the younger set. They look up to him, and I believe John's life is enhanced by being a role model. Learning at home allows us to build on John's strengths and work on his weaknesses in a way that is designed for him alone.
More recently, John's home education has been strengthened by a new state program created last year. The Personal Learning Scholarship Accounts, or PLSA as it is better known, provides state funds to parents of special needs children that can be used for a wide range of education-related expenses. That includes private school tuition, tutoring, instructional materials, technological devices and specialized therapies from approved providers.
The amount of the PLSA varies based on the student's disability and what county he or she lives in, but it averages about $10,000 per year. Funds that aren't used in one year can be rolled over to the next year. They can also be used for contributions to an approved prepaid college program. As I told the The Tampa Tribune last year, "It's hard to put into words what it means to us. It's a gift that was dropped from heaven."
It's not just that the PLSA offers funding that can make a real difference for John. It also comes with the kind of flexibility and parental authority that makes sense to home school parents, and to parents, period. It allows parents, not anyone else, to determine what mix of educational programs and services are best for their child.
Right now, we are using the PLSA to help pay for therapy to help John with an auditory processing disorder, along with books, and handwriting and keyboarding programs. We also plan to add, among other things, intensive math skills practice online, materials for robotics, a musical instrument, and a tablet so John can access specialized apps for students with autism. (For anyone who wants more information about PLSAs, contact Step Up For Students, a nonprofit that helps administer the program, at firstname.lastname@example.com or 1-877-735-7837.)
Educational choice is a precious freedom, and I am grateful to be Krystyn and John's Mom first and teacher second. Sometimes the best things in life are not planned after all.
Mary Kurnik is wife to John and has a bachelor's degree in English education. Her passions are homeschooling, special needs, adoption and horses. She gives all glory to God for His master plan. Contact her at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Cosmetic Dentistry
What is Cosmetic Dentistry?
It's not uncommon to be unhappy with the way that your smile looks. Years of neglect, stains and discoloration can truly take a toll on your confidence. We offer an array of cosmetic options that enhance and correct your existing smile. We can create a treatment plan specific to your needs so that you can finally feel good about the way that your smile looks.
Why is Cosmetic Dentistry needed?
One of the most common reasons for needing or wanting cosmetic dentistry is because you're looking to improve your smile. You might have stained or discolored teeth, or you might be planning a wedding in the near future. No matter why you may want cosmetic dentistry, we are here to provide it to you in a way that is both effective and affordable. Cosmetic dentistry is ideal for adults of all ages.
Very pleased with the level of professionalism while making 100% sure I was comfortable. Flexible treatment plans to insure prioritized affordable dental work.
Michael McGrath
What does Cosmetic Dentistry involve?
Cosmetic dental procedures can both improve the appearance of your smile while helping to restore dentition and improve functionality. At all times, we'll work with our patients' budgets to ensure that the work is affordable. Some of the procedures we offer include:
- Bonding
- Whitening
- Veneers
- Amalgam filling removal
- Crowns and bridges
- Dental implants


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After Genndy Tartakovsky's cult animated series "Samurai Jack" was canceled by Cartoon Network in 2004, rumors swirled for years about a feature-length adaptation. Tartakovsky worked with four different studios to adapt his hyper-stylized blend of martial arts and sci-fi action for the big screen, including New Line, Sony and J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot, but none of them panned out. "As soon as we started developing it as a movie, they wanted to fit it into a box," Tartakovsky told IndieWire. "I love 'Jack' as one of my creations and would never want to change it from what it was supposed to be. There was no reason to reinvent. It was working."
See More 'Samurai Jack' Review: Adult Swim Resurrects the Best Samurai of the 21st Century, and It's Already an Action-Packed Masterpiece
Tartakovsky knew exactly how he wanted to tell his story of the titular samurai, who's thrown into a far-off dystopian future by the demonic Aku and forced to fight his way back to the past. While "Samurai Jack" wasn't a ratings blockbuster on its initial run, the show gradually found a fan base on DVD, paving the way for Tartakovsky to complete the show's narrative arc with a fifth season produced for Adult Swim earlier this year, 13 years after the previous season. (The full series hits DVD and Bluray this week, following a one-night-only theatrical release of its feature-length pilot.) The show, which ended abruptly with the fourth season finale, has now reached a very satisfying conclusion. In the process, it has led Tartakovsky to a new outlook on his career that may inform his next steps. "I should be doing more of my own things," he said.
Tartakovsky has no regrets about waiting so long. He went straight into production on Cartoon Network's microseries "Star Wars: Clone Wars," short episodes that tied into the "Star Wars" universe and kept the story going leading up to "Episode III." After that, he launched the one-season show "Symbionic Titan" on Cartoon Network and, most significantly, directed the blockbuster animated features "Hotel Transylvania" and its sequel for Sony. While series grossed over $800 million worldwide to date, "Samurai Jack" remained on the back burner. "I didn't need to make it into a movie," Tartakovsky said. "It's not like I had to pay my mortgage because of it."
He cited the many ways in which potential studio backers wanted him to update the show's largely wordless, expressionistic storytelling quality for a new set of expectations. "They wanted a lot of story twists, more dialogue, maybe a sidekick or two," he said. "We had to watch how much action there was. They wanted more comedy. They didn't want the tone to be so dark. All those things equal to, 'Nah.'"
In fact, once "Samurai Jack" landed at Adult Swim, Tartakovsky found himself more liberated than ever before. The bulk of Jack's previous foes were robots, a workaround that enabled the animator to avoid gore prohibited by Cartoon Network's all-ages standards. Adult Swim had no such restrictions. The show had always maintained a grim, dystopian feel at odds with Jack's spiritual mentality, and that epic conflict suggested deeper adult circumstances always lingering just outside the frame. Tartakovsky, best known prior to "Jack" for "The Powerpuff Girls" and "Dexter's Laboratory," had grown used to working within the constraints of a network geared toward children.
With the new season, he could be clearer about it: If you like samurais, neo-noir and atmospheric storytelling, this show delivers the goods. So why not go wild? "Once we started doing it for Adult Swim, the initial instinct was, 'We can go super gory, crazy violent,'" he said. "Then, as we started talking about lopping off people's heads and blood spraying like a fountain, I was like, 'Uh, this doesn't feel right.'" He needed a narrative solution to introducing more graphic elements to the show's existing universe. "We decided our violence needed to be controlled, and when we do it, it's going to mean something," he said.
That led to a pivotal moment in the first second of the season, in which Jack faces off against a horde of female assassins known as the Daughters of Aku, assuming that they're cyborgs similar to the ones he fought for ages. The bloody outcome of that showdown arrives like a sudden jolt that steers the show into more complex questions about the samurai's ethics. "He has a major response to it," Tartakovsky said. "That's what made it feel right. It wasn't just violent slashing for no reason. It had meaning to it."
But the more jarring development comes much later in the season, when one of the Daughters of the Aku — a nimble trained killer named Ashi (Laura Prats) — begins to question her allegiances, as she and Jack develop a relationship unlike anything Tartakovsky had attempted before. Their romance unfolds against high stakes, positioning them as star-crossed lovers from incompatible backgrounds and setting the stage for the emotional gut-punch of the finale. But it's also an adorable courtship loaded with a kind of wry innuendo wouldn't look out of place in a Lubitsch movie, most notably in an episode that finds the unexpectedly nude as they face down a foe.
See More 'Samurai Jack' Creator Genndy Tartakovsky Returned for Closure, and to Tell a More Complex Story
"They're both inexperienced with love and sexuality, so it's almost like they're children," Tartakovsky said. "It's awkward — that first date, when you're standing too close to somebody. It was something I've wanted to try for a long time. I have three kids, and I tried to picture whether they could have watched this, and I realized it was OK…I don't have any issue with nakedness. It's not filthy."
Tartakovsky also had one key ally to ensure that his updated vision for "Samurai Jack" remained on-target: Adult Swim head Mike Lazzo, who was the original Cartoon Network executive overseeing the show back when it first aired, and also worked with Tartakovsky on "The Powderpuff Girls" and "Dexter's Laboratory."
"It was like coming home," Tartakovsky said. "He trusts what I do and I don't feel like he needs to direct me directing the show. He could just be honest with me. It was the best producing and production experience I've had in a long time."
Still, he wasn't thrilled with seeing the show stuffed into Adult Swim's Toonami animation block, alongside the likes of Japanese hits such as "Dragon Ball Super" and "Ghost in the Shell," having hoped to see the show receive a different context. "I would've liked it to be its own thing," he said. "The magic of Jack is that it's unique, there's not a lot of stuff like it. But OK."
Needless to say, Tartakovsky found himself grateful to be back in the television arena after enduring two studio efforts with the back-to-back productions on Sony's "Hotel Transylvania" movies. (He's currently at work on a third one.) "With features, you're spending hundreds of millions of dollars on production and marketing, so everybody's panicked because you literally have an opening weekend to succeed," he said. "There's an army of people questioning you. Trust is something you have to fight for." On television, on the other hand, "you have six months to make this thing, here's your amount of money, and whatever I draw today will be on the air six months later. You trust your instincts."
Tartakovsky spent the last decade figuring out how to realize his creative instincts within the restrictions at his disposal. While his "Clone Wars" can be appreciated as a two-hour plus feature, he was tasked with creating it as a miniature episodes that ran between three-and-a-half to five minutes. "We realized it had to be one idea, one fight, and you just execute that," he said. "It had to feel like a sequence rather than an episode. We always tried to take the restraints — from budget to time — and find a creative solution. Usually, good stuff comes out of that." (He's still bitter about the decision by Lucasfilm to reboot "Clone Wars" as a new series years later, but added, "I think the fate of 'Star Wars' is everlasting, which is great.")
Then there was "Iron Man 2." Tartakovsky worked alongside director Jon Favreau on the 2010 Marvel sequel, storyboarding the action sequences and injecting his own vision into the visual components of the movie. (Ultimately, these scenes were so strong they upstaged the middling plot.) "It was a very a positive experience," said Tartakovsky, who has considered making the jump to live action directing along such animation stalwarts as Brad Bird (the Pixar director of "The Incredibles" who later did "Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol" and "Tomorrowland"). "It made me realize I could do this."
But he hasn't had the best success with pitching new ideas. "It's hard to sell original stuff in Hollywood, whether it's TV or movies," he said. "I've been trying." He came up with a fresh take on "Popeye" that went nowhere and another original idea at Sony that fell apart. Now, he's squeezing in a third "Hotel Transylvania" movie while contemplating more attempts at original ideas. "It's very easy for me to say, 'Yeah, OK, sure, I'll do another 'Hotel' movie,'" he said, "but 'Jack' has been so successful, it was exactly what we wanted to do, so I know I should be doing more of my own thing. That should be my goal. It's got to be one of my ideas that I write and sell. Somebody has to believe in it."
With "Samurai Jack" at long last in the rearview mirror, he sounded as though he had rediscovered his plan of attack. "I'm like a guerrilla filmmaker," he said. "I come in there, here's my instinct, I don't question it. I have a stupid confidence. That's what a director is. If a director doesn't have confidence, you're dead."
"Samurai Jack: The Complete Series" is now available on Digital HD and Blu-ray. The "Samurai Jack" soundtrack is available October 20.
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Loopmasters has announced a chance to win Massive and Maschine prizes.
Here's a great opportunity to get yourself some free Massive Synth patches + more!
To celebrate the fantastic addition of Native Instruments flagship synth Massive to the recent Maschine 1.8 update we've teamed up with two of the best Maschine and Massive sites on the net and are offering you a seletion of free Massive Synth patches and a great competition.
Plugin Boutique, MassiveSynth, Loopmasters and MaschineTutorials are giving 3 lucky people the chance to win the following:
- Three Massive Synth Presets packs of choice from the Loopmasters Patchworx range at Plugin Boutique.
- Two Loopmasters sample packs of their choice
- One month's free membership to Maschinetutorials.com, unlocking the private tutorials sections and extra features.
- A course of your choosing and a bundle of sounds from Massivesynth.com.
Plus, we're offering a FREE Massive Presets Sampler just for getting involved.
The contest ends October 24th, 2012, at 11:59pm EST.
More information: Loopmasters


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Ever wanted to run Kali Linux in Windows 10? Well, you can using Docker! Docker is a great way to run programs or even entire operating systems on different platforms. Using Docker you can even run Kali Linux on Windows 10!
But just because you can do something doesn't mean that you should. Yes, it is cool to see Kali in a command prompt, but personally I think there are much easier ways to run Kali on a Windows platform.
With Docker, usually you just pull down your app and it works. In Windows, you need to enable Containers, then install Docker, then enable Hyper-V (which will disable your VMWare or VirtualBox VMs by the way) and then finally download Kali for Docker. Oh, and don't forget to reboot, multiple times. When done you will have a minimal install of Kali, enjoy!
If you are new to Kali and want to run Kali in Windows 10, use VMWare or Virtualbox, and just download the VM version of Kali. You will be much happier with your life.
Okay, fine, I can see that you are determined to see this through, so let's continue. Official instructions for installing the Kali Docker image can be found on the Kali website:
Technet even has an article on it, which is helpful as well:
But you kind of need a mix of both and a few more steps to actually get it working.
Installing Docker
In Windows 10, open a command prompt
- Search for and run "optionalfeatures" as an administrator
- Click on "Containers" to add it:
When this is done:
- Surf to https://docs.docker.com/docker-for-windows/install/
- Select, download and install the "Stable Channel" Docker version
Once Docker is installed, it will tell you that it needs to close your active user and log back in. Don't believe it, you actually need to reboot your system.
After Reboot:
- From the main menu, run "Docker for Windows" as administrator
- At the Hyper-V Feature not enabled, choose enable, note this breaks Virtualbox
- Reboot again…
From the main menu start "Docker for Windows" again
- Wait until it is ready, this can take a few minutes
- Now open a system level command prompt
Installing Kali
At the command prompt:
- Enter, "docker pull kalilinux/kali-linux-docker"
This will download the Kali Linux Docker image.
- When finished enter, "docker run -t -i kalilinux/kali-linux-docker /bin/bash"
You will then be greeted with a Kali root prompt. You now have a minimal install of Kali Linux! Several programs do work at this point, like nmap and some of the other basic Kali tools. Metasploit is not installed by default and you need to install it if you need it.
Update the system:
- apt-get update
- apt-get upgrade
This will take a while. When done, install Metasploit:
- apt install metasploit-framework ruby
When it is finished, you need to start and initialize the database:
- service postgresql start
- msfdb init
- And lastly, "msfconsole"
And Metasploit starts:
At this point you can install any of the Kali tool metapackages if you wish, or just play around with it as is. Just a note, ifconfig isn't installed by default. You need to use the newer "ip address" or "ip a" commands, or you can just install "net-tools".
Uninstalling it
Done already? I had it on my Windows 10 system about as long as it took to install it. Don't get me wrong, this is really cool. But like I mentioned earlier, this is much easier to do in Windows using VMWare, or VirtualBox and the corresponding Kali VM. Though some might prefer using the Windows Subsystem for Linux and not have the Virtual machine overhead.
Here is how you uninstall it:
- In Optional Features, uncheck "Containers"
- Uninstall Docker
- Don't forget to also remove Hyper-V or your other virtual machine software will not work.
Kali for Docker is a great idea, I do really like it, but my personal preference is just not for the Windows platform. But don't take my word for it, you might like it, if interested try it and see what you think.


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Akon is once again ready for his close-up.
The singer-songwriter-producer and founder of Konvict Muzik and Kon Live Distribution labels is gearing up for the release of his fourth solo effort Stadium. The Senegalese performer calls the late summer set his most energetic project to date.
"We are bringing the stadium to your living room," Akon told VIBE of his upcoming album. "It's high-energy dance music mixed with a little international sounds and hip hop. It's a whole new sound."
Akon has already chosen Stadium's first single, the provocative "Nosey Neighbors," which is bound to raise a few eyebrows. "The concept of the song is I'm in a condo, I have binoculars, I'm looking through this window and I see this girl and she's looking extremely incredible and she's undressing," Akon laughs. "I'm kind of spying on her, but I'm not quite sure if she knows it because she never looks at my direction. Everything she's doing is taunting me to keep me watching. The record is crazy. This one is an up-tempo dance club record with hard hip hop drums in it."
As for Lady Gaga's upcoming album—another high profile project that has been keeping Akon quite busy—the ubiquitous pop rebel's next release is finally coming together.
"I think it's going to shock some people," Akon says of his fashion-forward protégé's under-wraps release. "She's been recording a lot of it while on tour. Gaga always goes against the grain and this one will be no different." —Keith Murphy


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Alien Experience were lucky enough to get their hands on two concept designs that were made during pre-production in 2006. One is concept artwork of the Predator's "cleaner case" and the other is a sculpture of the Predator's mask.
They've also got concept artwork of the newly released teaser poster for AvP Requiem. Thanks to Ishallsmitethee for the news.


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Have you ever hit a horrible shot from the fringe?
Maybe you stubbed your wedge and watched your ball dribble just a few inches forward.
Or, maybe you used your putter but you hit it way too hard and watched your ball roll way past the hole.
Either way you're going to wind up with an extra shot on your scorecard and an overwhelming sense of frustration.
The next time you find your ball on the fringe avoid these common mistakes by keeping a few simple tips in mind
Use your putter
A bad putt is almost ALWAYS better than a bad chip. That's why I always recommend using your putter whenever you are playing from the fringe.
Evaluate the terrain
As you walk up to the green make sure you are evaluating the slope of the terrain. Is the hill above your ball, below your ball, or even with your ball? This can have a huge impact on how your ball will roll out so it's important to make a mental note.
Evaluate the grain
Bend down and take a look at the grass. If it's growing toward your ball you can expect a slower roll and if it's growing away from your ball you can expect a faster roll.
Evaluate the turf
Is the grass wet or dry? Wet or damp turf can slow your ball down while dry turf can cause your ball to roll out much faster.
Accelerate through impact
Once you've evaluated the terrain, the grain, and the turf, and established your target line it's time to address the ball and make your stroke. Just remember to accelerate your putter head through the ball at impact. Slowing your putter down through the ball at impact will lead to stubbed putts and inconsistent performance.
Keeping these tips in mind will give you a big advantage next time you find your ball on the fridge. Just don't forget to give them a try on the practice green too!


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An American gentleman once went to hear him, for the first time, in consequence of the report he heard of his preaching powers. The day was rainy, the congregation comparatively thin, and the beginning of the sermon rather heavy.
Our American friend began to say to himself, "This man is no great wonder, after all." He looked round, and saw the congregation as little interested as himself.
One old man, in front of the pulpit, had fallen asleep.
But all at once Whitefield stopped short. His countenance changed. And then he suddenly broke forth in an altered tone: "If I had come to speak to you in my own name, you might well rest your elbows on your knees, and your heads on your hands, and sleep; and once in a while look up and say, What is this babbler talking of? But I have not come to you in my own name. No! I have come to you in the name of the Lord of Hosts," (here he brought down his hand and foot with a force that made the building ring,) "and I must and will be heard."
The congregation started. The old man woke up at once.
"Ay, ay!" cried Whitefield, fixing his eyes on him, "I have waked you up, have I? I meant to do it. I am not come here to preach to stocks and stones: I have come to you in the name of the Lord God of Hosts, and I must and will have an audience."
The hearers were stripped of their apathy at once. Every word of the sermon was attended to. And the American gentleman never forgot it.
Ryle, John Charles. A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield (p. 55). Kindle Edition.


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The Alpine Green Day on Bled
Robotina: Why Collaboration is Important in Tech Development
On Friday, 16 February 2018, Association of Slovenian–Liechtenstein's Friendship organized a congress on Energetic and Financial Independence – the Alpine Green Day on Bled (Slovenia), which was a linking event between Slovenian and Liechtenstein's companies in the field of energy and finance – as an introduction to long-term friendly and business cooperation. The CEO of Robotina, Devid Palčič, performed an outstanding presentation of Robotina's operations and their future plans, emphasizing that we need to collaborate in order to be able to follow the pace of the development in the field of technology, and to sustain the standard of living we have today.
Robotina: How to Manage Robotization, Energy Efficiency and Environmental Protection
Bled's Festival Hall hosted a Congress of Slovenian–Liechtenstein's Friendship Association on Friday, 16 February 2018. High-ranking officials of Slovenia held welcoming speeches, e.g. (1) from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gregor Šuc, Authorized Minister, Head of the sector for European countries, (2) Representative of the Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Mrs. Eva Štravs Podlogar, State Secretary etc. The main theme of the congress was the Energetic and Financial Independence – the Alpine Green Day. Robotina's CEO, Devid Palčič, impressed the public with his speech on technologies of the future with the emphasis on energy efficiency, robotization and environmental protection.
Robotina: What Impact Hich-Tech Industry Has on Our Society
Energy and financial independence: a linking event between Slovenian and Liechtenstein companies in the field of energy and finance, held on Bled, Slovenia, on 16 February 2018, served as an introduction to a long-term friendly and business cooperation. Before having the afternoon's presentation on Robotina's role in the high-tech industry and its impact on the future of our society and the natural environment, Robotina's CEO, Devid Palčič, joined a bilateral working lunch, hosted by Bled's Mayor. At this bilateral event the representatives of the Slovenian–Liechtenstein's Friendship Association, hosts and other important guests from private sector of both countries and Slovenian public administration exchanged their experiences and shared the ideas for future cooperation.
Articles about The Alpine Green Day:
Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, Republic of Slovenia
Association of Slovenian – Liechtenstein Friendship


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UK's perceived pre-eminence in Facilities Management field
FM's status as an immature profession in various territories makes it attractive to UK FMs conscious of this country's perceived pre-eminence in the field. But although opportunities exist for those able to demonstrate a specific form of knowledge or experience, the days of going abroad and automatically boosting your pay earning are gone. "These days, a lot of companies have a strong nationalisation agenda," says Neil Everitt, business development manager at BIFM.
"They want their own nationals in FM roles. UK FMs will need to demonstrate they have the required skills to fill specific gaps. "And a country's attitude towards its own nationals is only one issue, says Everitt. Although the broad parameters of the job itself may be familiar, much won't be.
Those employed with outsourced service providers or directly with organisations that have international divisions will typically have more scope to move abroad with that same company, their network of existing support mechanisms making relocation easier.
Lead role
Another factor is the UK market's status as a market leader in innovation and best practice. This country's FM brand is strong, and FMs may be able to use this as leverage when looking for a role, particularly in those international markets that are growing quickly.
Demand for FM is linked to volume of spend on construction and infrastructure. "The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, are always of interest to UK expatriates," adds Everitt. "Their smaller populations, and their lack of skills to fill senior management roles, make them attractive."
"The UK FM industry is more developed than Europe and the Middle East," says Nikki Dallas of recruitment consultancy Talent FM. "We are looked to as the benchmark of best practice, so UK FMs have a lot to offer abroad.
"In the late 2000s, before the last recession, there was a mass exodus of FMs from the UK to the Middle East. The UAE is still a good place to be, certainly at the higher levels of management, but fluency in Arabic is becoming increasingly important."
Experience counts
Dallas confirms the growing importance of experience. "FMs able to offer up to five years' experience would certainly be attractive to employers. Those with that level of experience would certainly have something to offer, but it's most often those with greater experience – 10 years'-plus – who are most sought-after."
The UK and US still represent the pre-eminent markets for the application of FM. Ultimately, an FM's choice of country in which to practise will be influenced as much by more prosaic factors such as language, affiliation with the UK education system and availability of work visas as the professional issue of finding a suitable role. "It's best to create a shortlist of places that offer plenty of opportunities, then narrow these choices down to a specific country and a specific role," suggests Everitt. "However, keep in mind that a country that might make a great holiday destination may not make a good place to work."
To read more from the 2016 FM World Guide to Career Development please click here.


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Argh. I hate frustrating issues that make me want to pull my hair out. Not that I've got much hair mind you. I tend to keep it short. Number 1 short. It adds to the mean don't fuck with me look. Which also means it's too short to actually grab. So my point is moot. Gah.
The DNS servers provided by my ADSL link are pretty crap. They take ages to update, and sometimes give shit, so some kind soul pointed me at Open DNS. I immediately configured my LAN to use them.
Now my only niggle with them is whenever I configure a new sub-domain on my name server, it takes a little while for it to propagate – which is normal in DNS systems – however, with one particular sub-domain that I configured for one of my brother's domains, I just could NOT access it from my own machine. It was seriously pissing me off. One minute I'd get resolution and the site would load, and then next I would just get DNS errors.
Doing a local lookup kept returning an IP that belongs to OpenDNS – wtf?
So I browsed to their site and searched around a bit. Eventually I happened across "OpenDNS CacheCheck" which allows you to query the status of their DNS cache. So, I do the obvious. Of the 4 servers (or so) that they have, one of them was showing invalid data. And typically, it was that fucker that I constantly seemed to query.
Fortunately they provide tools to fix the problem, so in less than 5 seconds, I had resolved the issue.
Now, grasshoppers, what does this lesson teach us?