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Save 10% and get a set of Poly Pegs by getting our 5-pack bundle!
The Peg Grasper is a simple hold that takes a common design and turns it into something completely new and extremely functional. Unlike any other door knob or ring toss, the Peg Grasper can also take a 1-1/4 inch peg, standard peg board size, allowing you to use it in a whole new way effectively creating 3 obstacles using only a four inch footprint on any flat surface. Put a peg in one hand and a ring in the other or just use one hand with a peg or………. it goes on and on. Due to the 3in1 design of this doorknob, the Peg Grasper will allow you to plan and design an intense upper body course route without braking the bank or drilling a ton of holes. Add our poly pegs for an awesome workout and cool looking obstacle.
Uses for the Peg Grasper include:
- pull ups
- dead hangs
- offset pull ups
- lock off training
- peg board
- ring toss
- door knob path
- and more….
- Mounts with 4 wood or concrete screws or…
- 4″ wide
- 4″ tall
- Available in many colors
Like anything we make, the Peg Grasper is available in many colors with a custom option if you contact us first. We will always work with any facility, school or gym, to match your colors or come up with something unique.


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- Material: 100% Natural Heliodor (Yellow Beryl)
- Quantity: 1
- Color: Yellow
- Weight: 1.71 ct
- Dimensions: 8.9 X 8.9 X 4.4 mm.
- Cut: Trilliant
- Clarity: VVS
- Luster: Very Good
- Origin: Brazil
- Hardness: 8
- Treatment: None
Amazing natural Heliodor loose gemstone, now for sale directly from our gems collection. This genuine heliodor weight almost two carat and comes with good size of almost nine millimeters. Heliodor is the yellow variety from the popular Beryl mineral family, which includes gemstones like aquamarine, emerald, morganite and more. This beautiful yellow gemstone comes from Brazil with a stunning trilliant faceted cut, that makes this stone sparkling and shiny, it display an awesome golden yellow color hue with strong saturation and medium tone, this attractive brazilian Heliodor yellow Beryl has incredible luster and lot of fire, with its transparent eye clean clarity it is perfect for your gems collection or to be set in an unique elegant jewel like a gold ring or a pendant.
1 in stock

subset: commoncrawl


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Wandering Into Wisdom
This blog chronicles the knowledge, insight and wisdom I encounter every day as a leadership consultant, executive coach, educator, father, friend and citizen. This site is dedicated to my father, Louis (Jack) Laughlin, who passed on to me an appreciation for wisdom. A special thanks to my friend Isaac Cheifetz, a businessman and journalist, who helped me understand the value of blogs and encouraged me to write one.
A Strange Look*
I was watching a meteorologist on the local news and noticed she had a strange expression on her face. I couldn't quite put my finger on why it was unusual until I realized that her eyebrows were moving. I have become so used to watching newscasters with Botox treatments that seeing one with normal facial expressions looked out of the ordinary.
Watching Big Brother*
"George Orwell imagined a world where Big Brother is watching us. We, instead, with little cell phone cameras are watching Big Brother every moment of the day."
Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT
Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT
Go The Distance*
I travel from Minneapolis to Los Angeles frequently to visit family. Despite some differences in climate and traffic they are pretty much the same. It's strange to think that it's about the same distance from Paris to Moscow.
As an undergraduate student I volunteered at a nursing home. I was struggling to understand life and figured that's where the wisdom was. I particularly liked an African American gentleman named Flato. He would have objected to the label gentleman since he had very little education and spent most of his life on the road. His stories and perspectives on life taught me a great deal. I remember once telling him that I was getting tired of school and thinking about quitting. I figured he wouldn't lecture me about getting an education. I was wrong.
Walking Master*
I walk our dog almost every morning. I realized this morning that I get more exercise taking care of the dog than I ever did taking care of myself.
Hey Neighbor*
I was driving near our house a couple of days ago and came to a stop sign. It was raining so the bottom of my shoe was wet and slipped off the brake. I lurched forward and stopped again just as another car honked with an angry tone. I looked up just in time to see the look on my next door neighbor's face change from angry to smiling when he realized it was me. It makes you wonder how much of the anger we experience every day is driven by lack of familiarity.
There is a lot of controversy about what I.Q. scores really mean. My psychological measurements professor made it clear to us that I.Q. is highly correlated with success in school and anything else constitutes a "misuse of the assessment."
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But there is a story here, hidden among the dreamlike birds and giant red rabbits and colorful robots. As it turned out, I was able to come up with several ideas for English, art, library, and even…political science? Yep!!!!
|TITLE: Rules of Summer
AUTHOR: Shaun Tan
PUBLISHER: Holder Children's Division
PUBLICATION DATE: June 1, 2014
PAGES: 48, full-color illustrations
Two brothers playing in the summer. According to the younger brother, the older brother always makes up rules for whatever they are playing. Each page is a rule the younger brother learned this summer, and each illustration shows the older brother coming to the rescue when the little brother doesn't follow the rule.
The most obvious application for Rules of Summer is for writing. There are so many writing applications with this book! Here are a few ideas:
- First rule–"Never leave a red sock on the clothesline."–Why not? What will happen? Where did the rabbit come from? Is he good or evil? Why are the boys hiding? Why does the older brother have his hand over the little brother's mouth?
- Second rule–"Never eat he last olive at a party."–Why? What will happen? What's with all the birds? Do they represent anyone or anything?
- Third rule–"Never drop your jar."–What's in the jar? What will happen when the jar hits the ground? What is the older brother trying to catch with the net?
- If the little brother could make up a Rule of Summer, what would it be?
- Write your own Rules of Summer. Or Rules for School. Or Rules for Eating or Sleeping or Playing.
- What is going on when the older brother loses a fight with the birds? Why is the bird giving him a crown? Why is the little brother put in the incinerator? Why do birds come and circle the incinerator?
This idea is one I have used with Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. It would work just as well with Rules of Summer, or the two books could be paired together for variety.
|Write-around lesson. Students are split into groups of four, with all four of their desks moved together and touching in the middle. Each student has nothing on his or her desk except a piece of paper and a pen or pencil. Give each group a poster from the Mysteries of Harris Burdick Portfolio Edition, which for me is the best-kept secret of teaching with picture books. These oversized pictures from the books include the captions and make it easier for the students to see their pictures and study them in detail.
Students have three minutes to write a story about what is going on in their poster. After three minutes, they rotate their papers to the person on their right, then continue that person's story on that person's paper. At the end of four rotations (12 minutes), the group has four very short stories about their illustration.
This is a great way to quickly emphasize the concepts of hooking the reader and wrapping up the story in the last 3-minute rotation. Allow each group to select their favorite story to share with the class, along with their poster. You could extend the activity by using the stories to teach the writing process. Students could take their group stories and individually extend, edit, and revise them in class over several days. How different do the stories end up after students work on them individually for a few days?
Use to introduce the magical realism genre. Magical realism is really difficult to teach, and I have found my students understand it better when I read or show them different examples. I tell them that magical realism is just that: it's set in our realistic world, but it has just a touch of magic. It's not enough magic to call it fantasy, but it isn't exactly realistic, either.
Five-minute video about magical realism genre, its characteristics, and its history in art, literature, and film. This video is awesome for middle school! Seriously, take a few minutes to watch it. It's professional, visual, and chock-full of cool information about magical realism.
Below is a booktalk presentation about the magical realism genre that includes 10 upper-middle and high school magical realism books. This presentation is downloadable from SlideShare, so you can edit it to include the books you have. I did try to represent newer titles (past 5 years) that have been popular in my library.
Use to discuss the importance of context. There is a blurb on the front dust jacket that is incredibly important to understand the story. Read the book aloud one time through without mentioning or reading the blurb. Ask the students what it's about, what's going on in the story. They will probably say it's weird and doesn't make sense.
Next, go back and read the blurb aloud. Read through the story again. How has the meaning changed? Does it make more sense now? Can you relate to the brothers' relationship? How has the blurb given context to the meaning of the story?
Use to discuss manipulation of context. You could take the context discussion above a step further by finding a news article or speech about a political figure. I found the example below, taken from a 2014 speech by President Obama in Belgium on March 26, 2014. The speech was edited and spread online, and it successfully made it look like Obama said:
"And for the international order that we have worked for generations to build, ordinary men and women are too small-minded to govern their own affairs, that order and progress can only come when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign."
This article examines the edited clip and its origins and contains a written transcript of the portion of the speech in question. The article is from Politifact, an award-winning branch of the Tampa Bay Times founded to fact-check statements made by members of Congress, the White House, and lobbyists. Read the Wikipedia article about Politifact here.
Snopes article about this same speech and the edited version
Here's the YouTube clip that circulated at the time:
The actual speech, when you listen to the entire clip, you will hear that Obama is not saying this at all. Below is a full video of the speech, and the clip in question starts at at about 2:00 into the video and continue to about 4:27. If students listen to the first five minutes of the speech, they will see where it was edited in the first clip.
More examples of manipulated context from MSNBC. This article lists political ads that take speeches and statements out of context. This article itself is a bit politically-slanted (it's from The Rachel Maddow blog), leaving out any reference to the DNC taking speeches out of context, but it's a good start for other examples.
Use to introduce Rene Magritte. The video below is only 5-minutes and is from CBS This Morning. It's a perfect short introduction to Magritte and magical realism.
Use to teach art technique or the writing process. The video below is from Shaun Tan, the author/illustrator of Rules of Summer. He discusses his process in creating a specific illustration in the book ("Never be late for a parade") and how he got the ideas for the picture. He also talks about how, though the story is not autobiographical, he identifies better with the younger boy in the story and drew from his relationship with his own older brother as inspiration.
Shaun Tan on why he used rules to structure his images. Specifically discusses the red rabbit scene titled "Never leave a red sock on the clothesline."


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Helen Smith at Helen V Smith's Keyboard has set this year's Australia Day Challenge.
In 1844 Patrick Flynn had a farm on the site of the present Palm Beach golf course. The Champions have recorded an anecdote about Flynn.
"There was once a well-cultivated garden. It was kept by an old man named Pat Flynn…Old Pat's garden is still remembered, for he grew vegetables of many sorts and sold them at a low price. He delighted to tell visitors of a day when, during a furious storm, the waves of the ocean had swept across the isthmus" (136)
It is not know when Patrick left Pittwater but it seems he moved to Balmain to be closer to his family. He died there in 1862.
Australia Day, 26th January is a day we celebrate what makes us Australian.
Regardless of whether your ancestor came 40 000 years ago or yesterday and regardless of where they were from, together their descendants are Australian.
Your challenge (should you choose to accept it) is to tell the story of your first Australian ancestor.
To make it fair to both the male and female sides of your heritage why not make it two stories. One each on the earliest ancestor on each side?
Patrick Flynn (1791-1862)
Patrick Flynn was my first ancestor to arrive in Australia. He was born c1791 in County Limerick, Ireland. In 1811 he married Hanora Connor and they had three children Ann, Mary and Thomas.
Patrick was convicted in County Wexford, Ireland for being a whiteboy in March 1821 and was transported to Australia for life. He sailed from Ireland on 18th November 1821 aboard the ship Southworth under command of the master David Sampson and surgeon Joseph Cook. The Southworth arrived in Sydney on 9th March 1822.
Patrick was moved to Emu Plains where he worked at the Government Establishment. On 22nd December 1822 he was assigned to Mr Palmer to work with his clearing party. The following year he was on the monthly statement of changes in the convicts at Rooty Hill Station, from Prisoners' Barracks, Sydney and was employed fencing.
Patrick Flinn applied for his wife and three children to be sent out to the colony at the expense of the crown. The Rev J J Therry recommended the application. Hanora lived in the parish of Liscarroll and was known to the Rev Malachy Sheehan Parish Priest and William Purcell Esq. J P of said parish.
Patrick's wife Hanora and their children Ann, Mary and Thomas arrived free in the colony aboard the Thames on 11th April 1826. They had left Cork on 14th November 1825. The Thames was the first ship to sail direct from Ireland with free immigrants intending to join their convict or emancipated convict husbands in New South Wales.
On 18th April, after only eight days in Sydney, Hanora petitioned the Governor, Lieutenant General Ralph Darling praying her husband Patrick Flynn may be granted to her as her assigned servant as she had three children she was unable to provide for. George Blackett, the Superintendent at Rooty Hill stated that Patrick Flynn had been under his superintendency since 19th December 1823, "during which period I have found no fault in his conduct have been very attentive to his duty and all along demeaned himself in a manner much to my satisfaction."
Hanora again petitioned the Governor in October 1829. That your Memorialist has now five children viz. 3 female and 2 male whereas 4 of which are now looking to their mother for support. That your Memorialist on arrival was immediately allowed the indulgence of taking her husband Patrick Flynn off the stores, he then stationed at Rooty Hill Establishment....My husband's character since his arrival in the colony will bear the strictest enquiry as your Excellency will see, should your Excellency be pleased to have his character investigated.
That your Memorialist since her arrival and with the industry and help of her husband has obtained 27 head to horned cattle for which with the exception of a few milch cows has to play for the grazing of the same, not having any land to graze them on. Your Memorialist therefore most humbly soliits your Excellency will be pleased to allow her a certain portion of land for the run of her cattle, for such a period of time as to your Excellency's wisdom and goodness shall seem meet, which favour will be considered by Memorialists for ever and of infinite service to her infant children......... Hanora Flynn I reside at No 47 Kent Street Sydney.
The Rev John Dunmore Lang replied to this petition. Though I am not personally acquainted with the applicant, I am enabled to state from information which I can place with confidence that the statements contained in this ? are ???? to recommend the prayer of the memorialist to his Excellency the Governor.
Although the Rev John Dunmore Lang did not have a personal connection to the Flynns, his assigned servant Thomas Moylan did. Banns for the marriage of Thomas Moylan and Anne Flinn were published on 14th June 1828. As his master, the Rev Mr Lang gave permission for Thomas to marry.
When Patrick Flynn received his Ticket of Leave on 27th November 1830 he was living at Pittwater. He received his conditional pardon five years later on 21st November 1835.
Two further children were born to the couple, John who was baptised on 12th January 1834 and Michael who was baptised on 26th May 1836.
Patrick Flynn is mentioned several times in Shelagh and George Champions book Profiles of the pioneers in Manly, Warringah and Pittwater.Martin Burke leased 40 acres of land at Little Mackeral Beach to Patrick Flynn for 999 years, for 2/- a year, upon trust for his daughter Ellen. (What a shame they later sold the lease!!). Although Patrick applied for land at Narrabeen Lagoon and Coaster's Retreat he did not proceed with these,


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I am so excited for tonight's Real Housewives of Miami episode and for tonight's Watch What Happen's Live. Here's why. Tonight's episode was filmed way back in early April at the Star Island home of Donald and Lisa Pliner. Sidenote: They sold their house for $17million and moved to L.A. shortly after filming. Donald is a shoe designer and his wife Lisa recently began designing shoes for his line as well. Lisa's shoes have green soles and are advertised for their comfort as opposed to another designer of red bottom shoes which are notorious for being painful to wear. Anyway, Lisa's shoes are featured in a fabulous runway show and everyone who is anyone in Miami was there. This is important because Marysol is a PR rep for a lot of the people in attendance. RHOM's Elaine Lancaster, drag queen friend of the housewives and arch nemesis of Marysol, is the emcee of the event. What could possibly go wrong?
It seems Lancaster, who has made no secret that he blames Marysol for sabotaging his job offers, uses the stage to mock Marysol. The local news in Miami picked up the story because apparently the tension and drama was just that intense. CBS Miami quotes Lancaster as saying, "Well, it certainly is Miami's who's who. It's very MacBeth-ish. There's a lot of tension in the air like someone is going to get stabbed."
Back in April I posted this about the event, "Elaine is rumored to have poked fun at Marysol Patton from the stage and again in a scene where Bravo producers forced a confrontation between the two. Marysol is said to have gotten emotional enough to have threatened Bravo that she would quit if things didn't cool down. Bravo producers reminded her that she is contractually unable to quit and that comment allegedly resulted in a Bravo Drama moment on the grounds of the fancy estate. Marysol's version is that she had to get back to work and was over the heat and stupidity. Or something like that. Whatever. I'm team Marysol I hope she adjusted Elaine's wig a la Sheree Whitfield. Nothing brings the Bravo ratings like a good wig snatch." So there will be drama!
But wait, there's more. Not only will there be a catfight at the Pliner Shoe Show, there will be one of those notorious Housewives dinners. The producers of RHOM in an attempt to ramp of the drama seem to love putting all the housewives together in close quarters with a shit-stirrer. Our shit-stirrer for this party is Thomas Kramer. RHOA fans will remember when the ladies went to Miami and stayed at his house at the invitation of Kim. Or not. I barely remember it myself. My vague recollection was that he was sort of a sleazebag with a big house with a tacky design scheme. One wonders how this person continues to crop up on Bravo. Prepare yourselves because Kramer is shopping around his own reality show. Check out that link because I don't want to get into all of his smut here.Basically, Thomas Kramer is either single-handedly responsible for making South Beach into a playground for the uberwealthy, or he's a 56-year-old bi-sexual playboy who throws swinger parties at his Star Island compound and requires females hoping for an invite to submit pictures of themselves which he rates before deciding their fate. If you google Thomas Kramer you will have hours of fascinating and disturbing results to read. Most of it screams over compensating for a small penis to me. Your mileage may vary.
So why are the ladies at his house? I can't imagine what the pretense for this will be. My Miami source says there were whispers about the RHOM producers Purveyors of Pop have um, shall we say a fondness for Thomas and his big…bank account. Since Lea defends him in the previews, perhaps she is the faux connection. I'm sure her husband would love to be his defense attorney since Kramer seems to have a lot to defend over the years.
Anyway, I feel the need to address the stripper pole in the middle of his dinner table. Because THERE IS A STRIPPER POLE in the middle of his dinner table. This is not just unappetizing, but unsanitary. I wonder if the menu includes a fish course, because…well let me just stop. So Ana Quincoces reacts to the utter disrespect at dinner… and, well. drama ensues. We also see Joanna talking about how creepy the vibe of the house is in the previews. My guess is Joanna is not feeling Kramer's stuffed German Shepherd and other creepy stuffed animals throughout the house. If she can't deal with being in the room with someone wearing fur, I expect her to flip out at the Kramer compound. BTW, the compound is always available to be rented for any of your event needs. Bring hand sanitizer.
While there are apparently many reasons to be creeped out by Thomas Kramer, yelling at Mama Elsa tops my list. Nobody disrespects Mama Elsa! I fear tonight she is disrespected by Elaine and Thomas. Can Bravo PUHLEASE stop letting this dude buy airtime on the housewife franchises?
I wish WWHL was an hour tonight. Andy, please no games tonight. I want to hear Ana talk about the dinner and Camille Paglia talk about whatever she wants to talk about. Camille will probably talk about RHONJ she's a big fan. I also hope that Thomas Kramer is the Jackhole of the century.


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Hey guys! Back on January 18th, I spoke about the first VIP Coin: The "Castle". If you missed that post, click HERE. Well, the second VIP Coin: The "Pirate" is now available! And there are more to come in 2021!
Image from promobricks.de
The coin costs you 1,150 VIP points again. The front of the "gold coin" is decorated with a red and white sail with crossed bones and skulls. The LEGO VIP logo is embossed on the back. The coin is available in the LEGO Online Shop.
What are your thoughts on this new coin? Will you be collecting them?
Support the website
Do you enjoy the content? I spend 2-3hrs a day trying to provide LEGO news and deals. If you do, please consider purchasing from our affiliate links to support the website. Thank you!


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About Us
The company "Rivana" Ltd is a manufacturer of essential and vegetable oils. It has implemented a HACCP system of quality checks. Working on advanced manufacturing and process diagrams, compliant with the European legislation to ensure high quality. The products of "Rivana" Ltd have a quality certificate from a licensed laboratory. Our company has partners from Europe, specializing in production of aromatic products and cosmetics. Series of products available on the market are designed to satisfy even the most demanding customers who enjoy aromatherapy.
Natural essential oils have healing value and their ability to balance and heal the body, mind and spirit. Their sweet energy has a powerful transformative effect on all three levels of existence. Body, mind and spirit are component parts of the whole person. If one of these three levels is not in harmony, the other two will suffer. Essential oils maintain these three levels in perfect balance. "Rivana" Ltd offers a range of 100% pure essential oils which can achieve the desired therapeutic effect. All oils contain the "vital energy" of the plants from which they are derived.
Let the essential oils become part of your life. Use them to achieve balance between body, mind and spirit!


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Zone plate test chart.
The highest frequency ring in the large circles is such that a white ring exactly resolves to 1 pixel when the middle gray background covers a 16:9 1920x1080 resolution (or when the light gray background covers a 3:2 1920x1280 resolution). Ideal to test video subsampling artifacts.
The smaller circles have 2x (medium) or 4x the resolution and can measure up to 39 MPixel resolution sensors.
Use the original version as all resampled SmugMug sizes already suffer badly from Moiré. Even the original version has been resampled, although carefully (e.g., applying Gaussian blur). This was necessary to stay within SmugMugs constraints. But resampling a zone plate chart is an art. Also, it is only usable up to 3x rather than 4x rings. Contact me of you need a higher res version or a fully Moiré-free version.
Printing this image on anything smaller than A2 paper is a great test of a printers capabilities too. An Epson 3800 can print out this resampled test chart producing very mild Moiré only.
The red, green and blue circle can be used to better study color Moiré artifacts.
(c) Falk Lumo. The test chart may be used in testing, both commercial and amateur, provided the copyright notice is kept visible.


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Ad agency WONGDOODY has hired Pam Fujimoto as Executive Creative Director. Based in the Los Angeles office, Fujimoto will spearhead business development and client creative initiatives; she joins the agency from Creature in Seattle where she served as Creative Director. This move marks Pam's return to WONGDOODY, where she got her start in advertising as an Art Director in 1999.
With more than a decade of experience, Fujimoto most recently oversaw creative efforts for Truvia Natural Sweetener and Dickies Work Wear at Creature in Seattle. Prior to Creature, she worked at TBWA Chiat/Day in New York where she launched the "In An Absolut World" campaign for Absolut Vodka, and also worked with clients that included Sprint, Skittles, Starburst and Snickers as Associate Creative Director.
She was hired as an Art Director at WONGDOODY upon graduating valedictorian of her class from Art Center College of Design. During her former six-year stint with WONGDOODY, she worked on several campaigns for the Seattle SuperSonics, Alaska Airlines, Seattle International Film Festival and the Museum of Flight. During her tenure, she also contributed to a hugely successful Adidas campaign that won recognition from nearly every industry awards organization. Over the course of her career her work has garnered awards from Cannes Lions, D&AD, One Show and Communication Arts, and she also served as a judge for the 2013 Communications Arts Annual.
"The best of both worlds would be to have an Executive Creative Director who understands our culture -- and one with outside perspective at shops like Chiat. Pam grew up here, but she has had great success outside of WONGDOODY," explained Tracy Wong, co-founder and ECD, WONGDOODY. "Her creative standards have always been high. She's won awards everywhere she has gone in her career. But her exceptional talent and ambition are tempered by humility and kindness – a rare combination at this level in the ad business. Having her back is the perfect scenario. She is a part of our past, but she represents our future. I couldn't be prouder to have her back in this role."
"I have a lot of trust and respect for Tracy and all the staff at WONGDOODY," noted Fujimoto. "I couldn't be more excited to be returning in this role, where I can help shape and evolve an agency I've always believed in. I can't wait to collaborate again with such a fantastic team, this time through the LA office."


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No more holding back! The full cast of Avengers: Age of Ultron has assembled for the Joss Whedon film's first official poster and it looks glorious. As you can see above, the combined might and muscle of the series' heroes are on display—including newly introduced characters Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and the enigmatic Vision, flying above the faces you already recognize from The Avengers.
Avengers: Age of Ultron hits theaters May 1. We can't wait.
Eric Vilas-Boas is a former editor at Esquire, where he managed the magazine's social media accounts, helped edit the website, and has written stories about comic books, martinis, and Ernest Hemingway's hamburger acumen.


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Perfect Vanity for your HomeWednesday, February 15, 2012
They say that home is where the heart is. After a long work, we always wanted to go to a warm and cozy place and that's what we called home. We wanted to improve the look of our house and one trick to do the job is to install vanity mirrors that will serve as a double purpose. Vanity accessories had been associated with style, luxury and elegance and that's
what others always wanted to achieve.
Modern houses had their home simple and clean and it doesn't need to elaborately redesign your home to get the necessary ambiance you wanted to create. Just choose the style and design that will create a pleasant and wonderful environment for you and your family. If you think stylish vanity accessories can cost you a fortune, you are seeing it all wrong. Although vanities are important to match the modern atmosphere, what is far more important is it reflect your personality and compliment your style. Custom pieces and vanity lighting for our bedrooms and bathrooms can be a great addition to complete the look and sometimes it was incorporated around mirrors to fully create the illusion that we wanted to achieve.
Choosing the right vanity accessories for our house especially to our bathroom will add value to it and to create the elegance and the sense of comfort that we wanted to achieve.


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I think I read somewhere in one of the deep tomes I thumb thru that Alice Temperly had been awarded Designer of the Year, maybe my BFF Pippa M told me- while we were getting waxed or taking out mailboxes with a baseball bat- I can't remember, we are always together, you know.
So let's have a look at her work, shall we? I issue a serious turban warning for the faint of heart at this time…….
I love the shoulders on this collection and as some of you know, covered buttons make me swoony.
Just lovely, don't you think? I feel like I could be all sultry and mysterious in this collection. Or perhaps slutty and not too mysterious if I don't get these lined…..
I can't leave it at this current collection, I really like this one from Fall2010- check out this jacket!
Now a 2010 Spring since it's my favorite:
What does everyone think? Now, Pippa, no monopolizing the comment section, let others get a turn!
Image credits: Style.com


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Disabled Canadian Woman Ellen Richardson Not Allowed To Enter U.S. Because She Was Hospitalized For Depression
A woman from Canada thought she was going to fly to New York City and then enjoy a trip on a cruise, but that all came to a quick halt when she was denied entry into the United States. She says she was not allowed in the U.S. because she was hospitalized for clinical depression, and questions remain as to how the medical records about her condition became available as they are supposed to be confidential.
Ellen Richardson, who is paraplegic, was told by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent she would have to get "medical clearance'' and be examined by one of only three doctors in Toronto whose assessments are accepted by Homeland Security, according to the Toronto Star.
"I was turned away, I was told, because I had a hospitalization in the summer of 2012 for clinical depression," Richardson said.
The agent cited the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212, which denies entry to people who have had a physical or mental disorder that may pose a "threat to the property, safety or welfare'' of themselves or others.
Before being hospitalized in 2012, Richardson had attempted suicide in 2001, but medications have helped her through the years and she's been on three cruises since 2001, traveling through the United States, and hasn't had any previous problems with U.S. authorities.
Richardson's lawyer has reached out to Ontario Health Minister Deb Matthews.
"The incident in 2012 was hospitalization for depression," attorney David McGhee said. "Police were not involved. I've asked Deb Matthews to tell me if she's aware of any provincial or federal authority to allow U.S. authorities to have access to our medical records. Medical records are supposed to be strictly confidential."
The Telegraph reports that U.S. authorities do not officially have access to medical records for Ontario residents traveling to the U.S., the province's health ministry confirmed. U.S. officials reportedly declined to comment, saying that the department is prohibited from discussing specific cases.
To make matters worse, Richardson paid $6,000 for the trip and so far she's having trouble getting any of that money refunded.
Sources: Toronto Star, The Telegraph


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This week, a scientific publication by a team of UC Berkeley researchers from the laboratory of John Taylor, professor of plant and microbial biology, hit a rare benchmark when it was cited for the 10,000th time, according to Google Scholar. The publication, a chapter called "Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics," appeared in the 1990 book "PCR Protocols: A Guide to Methods and Applications."
Most scientific papers are cited just a few times, but seldom 100 times, and rarely a few thousand. The papers that earned Nobel prizes for UC Berkeley physicists Saul Perlmutter and George Smoot, for example, have been cited 8,882 and 2,260 times, respectively, according to Google Scholar. Taylor provided the NewsCenter with some perspective on this impressive milestone.
Q: What did you report in the 1990 article?
A: We described how to quickly and easily sequence a region of DNA from fungi that identifies the fungus and places the fungus in the Tree of Life. This simple tool revolutionized two fields: fungal ecology and fungal phylogenetics, the process that builds the Tree of Life. The global effort to "barcode" all of life, that is, to catalog every organism using a DNA signature, has adopted our protocol for fungi, and efforts are afoot to do the same for plants.
Q: Did the number of citations surprise you?
A: Surprise doesn't fully describe our reaction; shock might be closer. Even more shocking is that the rate of citation is accelerating. Part of the shock is that our publication was just one of many in an edited book and not the short article in a highly visible journal – Nature, Science, PNAS or PLoS, for example – that you expect to be highly cited.
Q: Why do you think this publication has been cited so often?
A: The most highly cited publications describe methods that are new, truly useful and not quickly superseded by a better method. Ours is no exception. It was the first publication to describe how to quickly and cheaply determine the sequence of a part of the genome that is ideally suited to putting organisms in the Tree of Life and also for identifying organisms through the sequence of their DNA, the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) region. Both of these tasks have been very useful and are now standard in fungal evolution and ecology laboratories. No better, single region has yet been found. However, when it becomes routine to sequence entire genomes – as routine as it now is to use our single region – then our method will be superseded.
Q: Why are citations important, and what do they tell you about the underlying research?
A: When a scientist writes a paper about his or her research, he or she cites the previous publications that formed the foundation for that research. Those publications that help provide the foundation for the greatest number of additional research studies are the ones that are the most cited. Ergo, one objective measure of the impact of a particular publication is the number of times that it has been cited. Ten thousand is a large number of citations. We are unable to find any other publication from the Berkeley campus over the past 25 years that has 10,000 citations.
Q: How and why was industry involved in this work?
A: Our method uses the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to facilitate sequencing the rDNA regions that are used to build the Tree of Life and to identify fungi. The lead author, Tom White, was head of the research group at CETUS Corporation in Emeryville that developed PCR, the discovery that warranted a Nobel Prize for then CETUS employee, Kary Mullis. Tom had earned his Ph.D. in molecular evolution from then UC Berkeley professor Allan Wilson and, as a CETUS scientist, had collaborated on a study of fungal evolution with me in the 1980s. When CETUS had difficulty recognizing the commercial worth of PCR, Tom asked for a sabbatical in my lab at Berkeley. I was in Australia at the time and Tom Bruns, then a postdoc and now a professor at Berkeley, and Steve Lee, then a student and now a professor at San Jose State University, welcomed Tom White into the lab. When I got back, Tom White suggested that we publish our method in the book on PCR applications to energize the field of fungal evolution and, as 10,000 citations show, he was right. His sabbatical was a short one because in 1990, Roche bought CETUS for $300 million and hired Tom White to lead the new campus that they were building to develop medical applications for PCR in Alameda, California.


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The "Coca-Cola" Company
History about Coca-cola company
Production of Coca-Cola company
Manufacturing process
Financial position of Coca-Cola company in 2007
Interesting facts
History About Coca-Cola company
Coca-Cola was invented on 8th May 1886 by Dr John Styth Pemberton in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia.
In 1893, Coca Cola became a patented product in the United States.
By the year of 1940,
the famous soft drink
was bottled in 40 countries.
Coca- Cola nowadays
On 8th May 2006 they celebrated 120 years of inspiration at The Coca-Cola Company.
During this time the Company has evolved from one product - Coca-Cola - to more than 400 brands in 2006.
The most known Coca-cola production
Another production of Coca-Cola
Dr Pepper
Five Alive
Manufacturing process
Financial position of Coca-Cola company in 2007
Type Public limited company
Founded1892 by Asa Griggs Candler
Headquarters Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Industry Beverage
Products Coca-Cola and, Water and Non-alcoholic soda drinks
Revenue ▲ $28.9 billion USD
Operating income ▲ $7.308 billion USD
Net income ▲ $5.98 billion USD
Employees 90,500
Slogan "The Coke Side of Life".
Protection of Valuable Name
The recipe for Coca-Cola is very top-secret.
On July 6, 2006, a Coca-Cola employee and two other people were arrested and charged with trying to sell "highly classified" information to the soft drink maker's competitor, PepsiCo for $1.5 million.…
- "Hermes" International Company
- AVON - The Company for Women
- The "Coca-Cola" Company


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Holidays & Special Events
Naturally, packages are available for the big three holidays. So be sure to save your appetite for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years.
Thanksgiving Weekend we make sure everyone has plenty to be grateful for. You'll find mouthwatering feasts, an abundance of energizing activities, and plenty of opportunities to relax and renew. We even transform the Tavern into a classic American turkey day living room, broadcasting ballgames and serving drinks and snacks while the smell of homemade deliciousness wafts from the kitchen. The menu for the big day always depends on the best ingredients available in the season, so take a look at our 2021 Thanksgiving Day Menu for a good idea of what to expect.
Christmastime is a week-long celebration at the Evergreen. In addition to an endless bounty of activities that are fun for all ages, every evening our restaurant serves our classic menu along with memorable holiday specials. In the Tavern eggnog and hot specialty drinks flow along with our broad assortment of wine, beer, and spirits. You'll find fireside s'mores and hot cocoa under the stars. We truly offer something for everyone.
Besides Santa's visit, a highlight of the holiday week is Chef Haas's Old World Christmas Feast. This is another sumptuous array that is partly decided based on the finest available seasonal ingredients, so here is the menu for the 2021 Christmas Dinner to give you a flavor of what is to come. Reserve A la Carte or bundled packages that are available Monday, December 23rd through Saturday, December 28th, 2021.
New Year's
Our New Year's Celebration combines the best of Yosemite by day and full-throttle fun through the night. To celebrate the 2020 New Year, we'll be celebrating in Yosemite style with a live band and performers. Chef Haas will once again prepare a memorable New Year's Eve feast followed by a fabulous New Year's Day breakfast to get your new year off to the perfect start.
Chef Haas also oversees the on-site catering for Weddings, Meetings, and Retreats, with the same great care that he brings to the restaurant, Tavern, and Pool Bar. Whether your occasion calls for freshly made trail lunches, selective buffets, quick refueling stations, or a "mountain elegant" plated dinner reception, you'll be in good hands with our on-site event expert, Yoanna Logan. You're welcome to browse some sample menus, or just go ahead and email Yoanna, send her a digital Request for Proposal, or call her directly at (209) 379-2373 x1516 for your personal consultation. The Evergreen comfortably accommodates parties of up to 150 guests indoors and 250 guests outdoors.


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Alitalia heads off to Prague, Tokyo Narita and Tunis
Click here to vote for this cake in this week's poll
- Alitalia, having started just one route last week at the start of S14 season, chose this week to launch three new airport pairs. First up on 1 April was the Italian flag carrier's new link between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Tunis (TUN). The twice-weekly service (Tuesdays and Saturdays) was previously operated by the airline until May 2010. The 983-kilometre sector will be flown by a variety of equipment, and will operate in direct competition against Tunisair's 11 times weekly service. Launched the same day from the city's downtown airport of Milan Linate (LIN), the SkyTeam carrier began a thrice-weekly service to the Czech capital, Prague (PRG). The route will again be flown by several aircraft types, but will face no direct competition. However, both easyJet (double-daily) and Czech Airlines (12 times weekly) will compete indirectly on the Milan-Prague city pair, both operating from Milan Malpensa. The airport pair, a seasonal service which will operate until 25 October, was previously flown by Alitalia until October 1998. Finally, on 2 April, Alitalia improved its regional long-haul credentials by starting a twice-weekly (Thursdays and Saturdays) Venice Marco Polo (VCE) to Tokyo Narita (NRT) service. The 293-seat, 777-200-operated route will encounter no direct competition.


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Site Listings
abandonedrails.com: Abandoned Rails
Abandoned Rails, a website dedicated to abandoned railroads and the railroad companies that operated them.
Keywords: abandoned , old , rail , railroad , railroads , rails , track , tracks
american-rails.com: The American Railroads
A free informational and educational resource guide covering the American railroad industry.
Keywords: american , hobbies , railfans , railroads , railway , train enthusiasts
greatnorthernempire.net: Great Northern Empire - Then And Now
The Great Northern Railway and what is left of it today. The place for railfanning the Great Northern, and finding information about the GN.
Keywords: depots , empire builder , gn , gnry , great northern , great northern railway
eiretrains.com: Eiretrains Irish Railways Photos Past &Amp; Present
Irish Rail, Irish Railway Photos, Irih Railway Stations,Eire Railway Photos.
Keywords: irish rail , irish train stations , railway photos of eire
Add Site or Add URL to Submit Site to the History Directory


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Clean Energy Bridge
Revolutionary Approach
Power to Hydrogen's Clean Energy Bridge™ is a new paradigm for on-site hydrogen generation and energy storage. One simplified, reversible system provides three valuable services.
On-site generation of high pressure (200+ bar) hydrogen
Peak shaving – short duration, high output power
Backup Power – low cost, long duration energy storage
Compatible with Renewables
With rapid response time, Clean Energy Bridge pairs well with intermittent renewable power generation, including wind turbines and photovoltaic solar.
Low Cost Systems
Despite enhanced performance, Clean Energy Bridge units cost less than equivalent proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis only systems. Low cost is due to:
- High pressure operation eliminates compression to achieve storage pressure
- Use of economic alkaline compatible materials
- Low platinum group metal (PGM) catalyst with zero extremely rare Iridium
Impressive Heritage
Based on technology developed for US Department of Energy, Clean Energy Bridge offers best-in-class efficiency and energy density. Power to Hydrogen is working with NASA on in-situ resource utilization to provide hydrogen fuel and oxygen for life support on the moon, as well as lunar energy storage.
Bridging Clean Energy Networks
Head Office
6625 Singletree Dr.,
Columbus, OH 43229


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Amsterdam, Netherlands – Fashion for Good, a global initiative to make all fashion good, and Worn Again, the London-based textile chemical recycling company, jointly announce today that they will be collaborating through Fashion for Good's Scaling Programme to facilitate change that is accessible, affordable and attractive for all. This collaboration demonstrates a shared commitment between Worn Again and Fashion for Good to fast-track sustainable innovation within the apparel supply chain.
Fashion for Good, an initiative launched with an initial grant by founding partner C&A Foundation, convenes brands, producers, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators and funders united in their shared ambition to reimagine the way fashion is designed, made, worn and reused. Its Scaling Programme helps companies scale by offering bespoke support and access to expertise, customers and capital. Fashion for Good hand-selected Worn Again from an extensive list of innovators driving for a more sustainable and circular textiles sector. Worn Again joins a list of companies that includes TamiCare Ltd, SoftWear Automation and ColorZen.
Worn Again has developed a trail-blazing textile to textile recycling technology that can separate and recapture polyester (PET) and cellulose from cotton from discarded non-rewearable textiles to produce virgin-equivalent, cost-competitive polyester and cellulosic raw materials. These materials can then go back into the supply chain as part of a continual, circular manufacturing process.
"Transitioning the industry from a linear model to 'circular', where textile raw materials are recycled indefinitely, will take more than just technology," said Cyndi Rhoades, Worn Again Founder and CEO. "Industry conveners with a visionary and bird's eye view of the entire system of production and consumption are a must. Fashion for Good certainly has the vision, the team and the passion to play a major role in this movement. We are delighted to have been selected as an innovator in Fashion for Good's Scaling Programme."
As a Scaling Programme participant, Worn Again gains access to a network of business advisors and industry experts, enabling it to accelerate the development and future adoption of its revolutionary textile recycling technology.
For media images, please click here.
About Fashion for Good
Fashion for Good is the global initiative that is here to make all fashion good. Fashion for Good sparks and scales innovation by offering practical action in the form of support and funding, shares best practice and lessons learned in open-source roadmaps and fosters sector-wide collaboration for the entire apparel industry to change. Fashion for Good invites brands, producers, retailers, suppliers, non-profit organisations, innovators and funders to jointly transform the industry.
Fashion for Good was launched in 2017 with C&A Foundation as a founding partner, and is supported by partners Plug and Play, McDonough Innovation, the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, IDH – the Sustainable Trade Initiative, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and Impact Hub Amsterdam. The first brands to partner with Fashion for Good's programmes are C&A, Galeries Lafayette Group and Kering.
At the core of Fashion for Good is an Innovation Platform, which includes:
Fashion for Good is founded on the principle of collaboration and aims to create tools that are open-source, such as its Good Fashion Guide, which provides practical tips for brands wishing to embrace circular apparel principles. It operates from its first hub in Amsterdam, which also houses a Circular Apparel Community co-working space and a visitor-facing exhibition. www.fashionforgood.com
About Worn Again
Worn Again has developed a chemical recycling technology that can separate and recapture polyester (PET) and cellulose from cotton from non-rewearable textiles to produce virgin equivalent, cost competitive polyester and cellulosic raw materials to be reintroduced into the supply chain as part of a continual process. Old clothes and textiles are collected, processed via Worn Again's process and then made back into new yarn, textiles and clothes. The cycle can repeat again and again, eliminating the need to exploit virgin resources. Worn Again's process is unique in that it can deal with both pure and blended textiles. www.worngain.co.uk
Fashion for Good press contact
Jessica Radparvar
Worn Again press contact
Mel Knudsen
Social media
Twitter: @FashionforGood @WornAgainUK
Instagram: @FashionforGood @WornAgainUK
LinkedIn: Fashion for Good Worn Again


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Survey rewards are offered to those respondents who answer all questions and complete the survey. If the survey is timed and the respondents don't complete it within the stipulated time, they will not be awarded the rewards for the survey.
A survey reward is an incentive for the respondents to answer the survey. If you offer incentives like cash rewards, points or gift cards to the respondents, they are more likely to complete the survey. Also, the data collected will be more reliable as they will answer all the questions honestly. Offering rewards to your respondents is one of the most common ways to increase the survey completion rate, as humans are more likely to do something if they get anything in return.
Say, you are conducting a fitness tracker survey with 30 questions. Quite often users are not willing to spend their time answering all the questions. If they find that they will get an Amazon gift-card to answer the survey, it might urge them to complete the survey.
Or consider an online quiz. To attract more respondents, offer a prepaid visa card to the top 3 scorers.
Offering rewards for answering a survey can help you get audiences that are generally hard to reach. You can also offer indirect rewards such as benefits to the third party like a nonprofit organization. Decide whether or not to incentivize your survey by carefully considering the circumstances.
Survey incentives are one of the best ways to reward your respondents when you already know them. It works great in extracting the right data when offered to the right target audience. But if you randomly send your survey to anybody, the cost of offering rewards will be too high.
If you have a budget around the number of rewards to be offered, you can set a limit on the number of responses or close the survey after a specific time.
There are many ways you can offer incentives to the survey respondents. They can be categorized as:
You can select from below options to set up rewards in QuestionPro surveys. Once you set up qualifying criteria, you need to select a reward:
Check out our rewards help document for a better understanding of how it works.


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RALEIGH — A Raleigh CAT bus T-boned a Raleigh police cruiser around 8 Monday morning at a downtown intersection.
The bus was traveling inbound on Morgan Street and the officer was traveling northbound on West Street. The bus slammed into the driver's side of the police cruiser, pinning Officer D.W. Hicks.
It took nearly half an hour to free the officer from the car.
Rescue crews had to use the "jaws of life."
Hicks was taken to Wake Medical Center where he is listed in satisfactory condition. There were several passengers on the bus who complained of minor injuries, but only one was transported.
The accident caused traffic tie-ups in the downtown area and slowed the morning commute.


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Stress and Alcohol Facts
How does stress influence drinking patterns?
Research and populations surveys have shown that persons under stress, particularly chronic stress, tend to exhibit unhealthy behaviors. Stressed persons drink more alcohol, smoke more, and eat less nutritious foods than non-stressed individuals. People drink in response to various types of stress, and the amount of drinking in response to stress is related to the severity of the life stressors and the lack of social support networks.
Can alcohol reduce the symptoms of stress?
While some research studies show that alcohol in low doses may lessen the body's response to stressors, paradoxically, many studies show just the opposite effect- that alcohol actually increases the stress response, by stimulating production of the same hormones the body produces when under stress. These observations are particularly interesting given that most people report that they drink alcohol to reduce stress, and the explanation for this apparent contradiction remains unknown. It may be that the mild arousal effect of the stress hormones is not entirely unpleasant. Genetic variations in the ways our bodies respond to stress also likely play a role in how alcohol affects our bodies in stress situations.
Does stress cause alcoholism?
There is little evidence that stress leads to the development of true alcohol dependency, or alcoholism. However, stress is strongly associated with alcohol abuse- the misuse of alcohol as self-medication "therapy" for life stressors. Stress may also be associated with binge drinking in students and other populations. In already established alcoholics, stressful experiences may lead to relapse of the disease.
How do I know if I am addicted?
The U.S. National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence has put together a questionnaire to help people decide if they have a drinking problem. Included in the 26-item questionnaire are the following two questions:
- Do you occasionally drink heavily after a disappointment, a quarrel, or when the boss gives you a hard time?
- When you have trouble or feel under pressure, do you always drink more heavily than usual?
Answering yes to these questions is a warning sign for the early stages of alcohol dependence.
How can I get my drinking under control?
If you are using alcohol to alleviate symptoms of stress, try some healthier alternatives to help manage stress and reduce its symptoms. Exercise, improved nutrition, and relaxation and meditation techniques have all been proven effective in stress control and have other physical and mental health benefits as well. If you know you have a drinking problem, About Alcoholism Guide Buddy T offers advice in his article, "So you've decided to stop drinking."
Other helpful resources:
The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Web site includes online access to Alcohol Alerts, a series of publications about all aspects of alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
Recommended Reading:
Drinking: A Love Story, by Caroline Knapp. This thoughtful and insightful book gives an honest and brutal account of one woman's struggle with alcoholism and provides background information about the disease of alcoholism, its causes, effects, and treatment options


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I've been going through lists of posts you should make when starting a blog. You know, looking for ideas about what to write.
And one of the ideas that I've found most popular is to share your Pottermore sorting.
Obviously, I thought that would make a good starting point.
I've recently gotten into Harry Potter. I read all the books within the last few months, and saw all eight movies in less than a week with my family.
And though it's not my most favorite series in the world, I like it enough to research J. K. Rowling's writing techniques, such as the meanings behind her characters' names and the inspiration for certain scenes.
So I decided to visit Pottermore and sign up to see what house I would be sorted into.
It's not what I expected.
Before I read the series, I had taken a couple of those internet quizzes that sorted you into the different Hogwarts houses, but they were pretty straightforward and obvious enough that I could tell which answers I would have to give to end up in a certain house.
So naturally, I ended up in Gryffindor, which is my favorite house.
But on Pottermore, the questions were a lot more intense and unpredictable
And I ended up in….
Not a bad house, just not what I expected. I can now claim a commonality with Cedric Diggory, after all.
Pottermore says that your house is permanent (at least on the site), so I'll go with Hufflepuff for now.
But I can still be secretly disappointed that I wasn't in Gryffindor…
Additionally, I also found out what my Patronus would be.
The graphics in the quiz were pretty cool.
But I'm not sure what this is. Maybe I missed it in the books, maybe it's because I haven't read Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them yet. Maybe you guys can fill me in.
My Patronus is an…
Is it like a cross between a cat and an ocelot? It's pretty cool, in my opinion, even though I don't know exactly what it is.
Pottermore says the test can be only taken once, which makes sense. But it's also a bummer, because I can't help wanting to know what it would have been if I'd made different choices.
Let me know in the comments which Hogwarts house you're in, or even if you're a HP fan or not.
And don't be afraid to ask me questions about what I liked or didn't like in the series (for example, I think my favorite book would be either Order of the Phoenix or Deathly Hallows).
I'll start a Harry Potter thread on the forums, as well.
I'll sign off with my favorite quote from the series, or rather, word:


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Monash University has defended a heart transplant study that killed greyhounds, saying the study is valuable for Australians facing life-saving surgery.
The study cut off oxygen to the greyhounds, removed the hearts for temporary preservation before they were transplanted into another dog.
The animal rights group Humane Research Australia (HRA) has criticised the study, which aimed to see whether the heart donor pool could be increased with donation after circulatory death.
The joint study by the university and the Alfred hospital was critically important and the animals were not in any pain, Monash University said in a statement.
"The research was approved by an independent ethics committee at the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct with representatives from animal welfare organisations on strict conditions: any discomfort to the animals would be absolutely minimal, there were no other existing research alternatives, and that the research was critically important," the university said on Monday.
"At no time were the animals subject to pain, they were under deep anaesthetic and unconscious for the entire procedure."
HRA has questioned the relevance of using canine hearts for research on human heart transplants.
"The researchers themselves have previously conducted human studies, so it is extremely difficult to comprehend why they would conduct studies utilising hearts of a completely different species, and why the project proposal was approved by the [Alfred's] animal ethics committee," HRA said in its case study report.
The university said the research had contributed to heart transplant knowledge.
"Monash understands that the outcomes of this research will have a valuable influence on the 100 Australians – and thousands of people in the world – facing life-saving surgery," a spokesman said.
The university said it had not used dogs in medical research for over 12 months.


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A little bit of comedy with your cooking, all kids style! This cooking show is going to inspire you to get in the kitchen and start creating, because if these two can do it – so can you!
Their first show was a little bit crazy and a whole lot of fun! They made delicious Triple Chocolate Brownies from Scratch that are absolutely amazing!! You can see their first episode here:
A little about the Cooking Stars
Grace and Blake are cousins who are the same age and go to the same school! They've become close friends because of their love of cooking, eating and entertaining others. When we thought of the idea of them cooking together live on Facebook, they were both instantly on board and ready to share their talents with the world! You'll love watching them every week while I cover my eyes and hope for the best!
About Grace
Grace is a fun loving gal who's quick wit and charm make everyone fall in love with her! She's very active in soccer and basketball during the school year and summer months. Grace loves to be in the kitchen cooking and creating recipes for her family and they always taste amazing! You'll love to watch what she can cook up!
About Blake
Blake is an 11-year-old guy who's involved in football, basketball, band and takes piano lessons outside of school. He's a happy go lucky kid who loves to make people laugh. Although he sometimes struggles with nerves, he can overcome and push through because he loves to entertain people.
Kids in the Kitchen with Grace and Blake will be on The Taylor House Facebook Page as well as Quirky Momma on Tuesday's at 4:15 pm. Be sure to set your alarms so you remember to tune and watch these two crazy kids!
Make sure you check out their FIRST show and what happened behind the scenes before they went live!!


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Useful WordPress Resources
by Marshall McLuhan
Tools are essential things to make us more productive and efficient.Here at WPStuffs we use several tools,plugins and services which simply makes us better.
Services and Tools
WordPress is a opensource blogging platform which currently powers more than 15% of websites on Internet.Of course this website is all about this amazing blogging tool.
Digital Ocean
I was once stuck with slow and unreliable shared hosting provider which often fails to withstand high traffic. Now my site runs on Digital ocean for as low as $5/month (Comparable with shared hosting) but yet can withstand very high traffic, thanks to Nginx+Ubuntu webserver.
Genesis Framework
WPStuffs runs on Genesis framework (Balanced Child theme),It offers very high customizability and speed.We are outperforming many websites on search engine with this simplistic and most SEO friendly WordPress theme framework.
WP Types Toolset
WP types toolset is immensely helpful to make WordPress based CMS without messing up with too much PHP code. Creating and styling custom post and taxonomy types are as easy as drag and drop, Some part of this website like theme portfolio and coupon sections are powered by this same plugin.


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The purpose of RDA is to assist in problem analysis and troubleshooting of local and remote databases, file systems, and operating system environments in relation to Oracle Products. This tool helps automate the task of gathering information about an Oracle environment for the Oracle Support and Development teams and customers to analyze the Oracle technology stacks quickly.
For example, if a customer has problems with SQL*NET, then Oracle Support may want to view the configuration files and the environment related to the problems. This can include information about the operating system, database, and file system. The RDA Development team adds content to the tool regularly to gather information about more products.
You can run RDA concurrently as long as each execution refers to a different setup file. You can share the same report directory if you specify different report groups during the setup phase. However, usually the compiled versions of the RDA engine do not allow concurrent executions.
For more information about this tool, or to download the latest version, see Knowledge Articles 314422.1 , 330364.1 and 330363.1.
Click here to view Sample RDA report


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If you need to control the amount of light that comes into your home or office, then Cellular or Honeycomb Blinds are your answer. These types of blinds are excellent at controlling the amount of light and have a level of insulation built in.
- Able to control the amount of light
- Keeps rooms cooler
- Excellent privacy control
Available in a large variety of colors and designs, these shades trap air in the honeycomb and reduce temperature loss. Blackout and room-darkening shades available. Graber and Hunter Douglas.
Call Today for a FREE CELLULAR or HONEYCOMB SHADE QUOTE!


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This is the age of the Internet. Over the years the concept of online shopping has become very popular. These days, as a seller, you have the option of approaching your potential customers by using different types of internet platforms. Craigslist is one of them. Over some time, Craigslist has emerged to be one of the most reputed and reliable online platforms which can be used for conducting different types of sales. What makes Craigslist so special is the fact that it offers a very flexible and user-friendly interface which makes things much easier for the sellers. Besides, the fact that it is one of the most recognized online portals in the United States, helps you get hold of many customers under the same roof.
However, the fact that many businesses are trying to sell their products and services through Craigslist can make things a bit difficult for you. The competition is quite high and you need to make sure that you have adopted the right Craigslist posting services.
How can you improve your Sales Volume On Craigslist
If you're planning to go by Craigslist, in that case, there are a couple of important aspects which you need to take into consideration for enhanced sales. Here are some of them.
- You need to make sure that the products and services which we're offering have a vivid and clear description. People would like to know what they're paying for and there is no room for ambiguity.
- In order to entice and attract your customers, it is also very important for you to incorporate meaningful and relevant content, in terms of textual description and images.
- As far as the pricing part is concerned, since it is a competitive market, you cannot afford to set the bar too high.
Considering all these different aspects can certainly help in improving yourselves volume on Craigslist.


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Jazz Stories
People love hearing jazz...and hearing about it. Musicians like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Buddy Rich were original, colorful characters who said and did astonishing things. Fortunately their colleagues cared enough to document these moments in stories and pictures and we now have a rich repository of photos and anecdotes about these artists, and about the American songwriters and composers who created the raw material of jazz. Jazz Stories is a performance of the songs of jazz from its most creative periods intensified with illuminating, funny and touching true stories of the time.
Hosted by Richard Leiter.
Jazz Stories will return from pandemic haitus in September 2022 at Pegasus Books on Solano. Date and time TBA.


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are capable of supporting. Unfortunately your browser is either out of date or security settings have
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Home to MacArthur Park and the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock blends together history and art throughout the city. With year-round family activities, the city maintains a rich experience with shopping, festivals, music, agritourism, and more. The Little Rock Zoo and Arkansas Arts Center are just a couple of the many tourist attractions. Little Rock also provides affordable data recovery services close to home with Secure Data Recovery.
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Experience total piece of mind with a "No Data, No Recovery Fee" Guarantee.
We are proud to offer completely risk-free data recovery service with a "no data, no recovery fee" policy. If we cannot recover your most important files, you will never pay a service charge. When you open a case with us, you are provided with a report detailing the estimated turnaround time and price. Our team of experienced engineers handle your data with care and utilize the latest technology and tools to deliver quality service with the fastest turnaround times in the industry.
Secure Data Recovery is dedicated to being a top-tier data recovery provider, making investments in specialized and unique recovery technologies and advancements in our own proprietary tools. We are HIPAA compliant and utilize FIPS Validated Data Handling practices, keeping you and your data safe even after your media leaves our certified lab. Our facilities are equipped with the latest, most advanced data recovery tools in the industry operated by engineers who are experts. The facility contains a Class 10 ISO 4 Cleanroom and our processes are backed with SSAE 18 Type II certification.
Secure Data Recovery can recover data from hard drives in any data loss scenario, whether physical or logical and are experts at performing hard drive recoveries from these issues:
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Data Integration Solutions
Available from Liaison Technologies
Product Details
Your business is changing. Whether it's growing, re-inventing, merging or acquiring, one thing is certain: data integration has never been more complex than it is today.
At Liaison, we make the integration and exchange of critical business information easy. While other vendors and consultants take a one-size-fits-all approach, we combine cloud and on-premise delivery with scalable, customizable solutions that support any application and protocol. Whether you want to completely outsource data integration, do it yourself, or somewhere in between, Liaison offers a combination of products, tools and data integration services for your specific business needs.


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Music Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease
In this video from Lakeview Ranch Inc. shared in February 2011, we learn a little about an innovative scheme to use music as therapy for patients with Alzheimer's disease.
A new type of Alzheimer's prevention may be possible with an enzyme that lowers tau.
Host Julie Anderson, explains how the residents of Lakeview Ranch in Minnesota respond to the musicians who come to visit. Music therapy is not considered entertainment, but as a forward-thinking treatment that helps Alzheimer's disease patients to dig deep into their memories and exercise their brains. The music therapy also acts as a calming therapy, helping patients to relax and calm any agitation they might be experiencing due to their frustrations with the disease.
Discover ten things you should know about Alzheimer's disease.
Alzheimer's News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.


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During the winter, the warmer it is, the more you are able to play with different pieces to create a fab look. Ponchos can support warmth (ponchos made of wool/heavy fabric) or just be worn for style purposes (ponchos made of thinner fabric). With a poncho, you are
Tag: poncho
Blanket Poncho
We are in the midst of the cold winter days. The days when layering is absolutely necessary for most to stay warm. As fall fashion is fun because you get to enjoy 65 degree weather which grants you versatile opportunities such as choosing between wearing long sleeve or short sleeve , sweaters or jackets, winter does not offer those luxuries. During the winter, most people have to wear jackets and coats. If you live in the north east region of America, a jacket/coat is a must as the weather may sometimes…


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Even though the focus of a lot of political reform proposals are the results of the election three years ago, our democratic institutions have been under threat for a long time. Each branch of our government has been under pressure, from Mitch McConnell's undermining of the Supreme Court, to Congress's accelerating use of the filibuster, to campaign finance changes in the wake of the Citizens United decision. But political reform is not just about abstract notions of fair play; these inefficiencies, unintended veto points, and political distortions are also what stands in the way of all other reforms, from health care to climate to the economy. In a very real way, a candidate's approach to political reform demonstrates how they intend to use the complicated levers of government to achieve their stated ends. Here we examine the policies the Democratic presidential primary candidates have proposed thus far.
The most important political barrier to accomplishing anything is the filibuster. The modern filibuster, created almost by accident in 1806 by Vice President Aaron Burr, has slowly metastasized since a sharp increase in the 70s until today, when the convention of its use requires 60 votes in the Senate to accomplish anything. Because of the way the Senate map is laid out electorally, these seats would include Kentucky, Tennessee, and the Carolinas; it would be almost impossible for the Democrats to win 60 seats. Simply put, if the filibuster remains in place, the next president will not be able to pass any significant legislation at all.
It's difficult not to see a candidate's approach to the filibuster as indicative of their level of intention to actually get things done. Former Vice President Biden, for example, seems to be reluctant to endorse any filibuster reform, a stance which would significantly weaken his ability to pass his proposed legislation. Biden campaigns on his ability to bridge consensus between parties, seemingly ignoring the Republican party's consistent bad faith obstructionism. In contrast, Senator Elizabeth Warren is the most unequivocally in favor of getting rid of the filibuster. Warren acknowledges that in order to get any legislation passed at all, even if Democrats take the Senate majority in 2020, they cannot be stymied by the minority, as they were for the greater part of Obama's term (even their period of supermajority was oh so brief). Senator Sanders claims that he will be the head of a political revolution, which presumably will somehow achieve 60 votes in the Senate for Bernie's proposals, either through a dramatic electoral victory or via post-election public pressure on Republicans. Sanders also plans to use the budget reconciliation process, which allows legislation to pass on only a simple majority. Reconciliation is not without limitations, however; it can only be used once per year, and only on items related to the budget (Sanders claims the Vice President has the power to broaden the latter rule). Senator Cory Booker is much less unequivocal, and is open to reforming or eliminating the filibuster, but is not enthusiastically supporting it yet. Senator Klobuchar has expressed regret for removing the filibuster for judicial nominees, but at the time the judicial nominee in question was particularly unsuited, and achieved approval on 51 votes. She is open to using filibuster reform as leverage, but also wants to keep the legislative check on the president. However, it looks likely (but not assured!) that Democrats will retain the House in 2020, so there is less reason to be concerned about Republican legislation being passed. Mayor Pete Buttigieg is also open to the idea of eliminating the filibuster, although it has not transformed into full throated support yet. However, recently the Mayor recast himself as a more moderate candidate, so it is difficult to tell whether previous policy stances are still reflective of his priorities. Julian Castro supports eliminating the filibuster, especially to get actual gun legislation passed. Andrew Yang is also open to the elimination of the filibuster, although as a non-politician, Yang sees it as much more of a Senate-specific issue than a broader problem. Tom Steyer also endorses the removal of the filibuster rule.
It should be noted that there is another candidate for 2020 who supports eliminating the filibuster, and that is President Donald Trump. He spoke (and tweeted) often about it. He thought that it would get his legislation (specifically, tax cuts and the wall) through easier. Of course, now that Democrats have the House, that isn't true, but no one ever accused Trump of understanding the nuances of legislative strategic thinking. Further, as the likelihood that the Senate is competitive has increased (and indeed the Democrats may win a majority), the president has quieted on the subject.
The Judicial branch of the government also needs reform. The way the country chooses its federal judges is incredibly important, and the process for every single judge, from the Federal Circuit all the way up to the Supreme Court, has been corrupted. While Democrats can do nothing about the Republicans simply confirming over 150 Federalist Society suggestions into the judiciary regardless of actual qualification (including those who cry when told their records are not held in high regard), the other vital component of the branch, the Supreme Court, may be able to be reformed by the next administration. Donald Trump has confirmed two nominees to the Supreme Court, and while their process of nomination was awful (arguably undermining SCOTUS as an institution), it is their rulings in the coming decades that will have the most significant impact.
Several candidates, including Senator Warren, are not opposed to the idea of expanding the Supreme Court, especially after Gorsuch took a seat that was illegitimately kept vacant by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who refused to even consider President Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland. Warren floated a suggestion of using a larger pool of appellate judges as the Supreme Court, while Mayor Buttigieg suggested he supported an arcane form of outright expansion. A President Buttigieg would try to increase the Supreme Court to 15, with 5 chosen by the other 10. There are Constitutional issues with the plan, and it seems like there is a large chance significant progress wouldn't be made as this plan would tend to fundamentally moderate the Court. Senator Booker, on the other hand, cautioned that Republicans might turn the table on Democrats and expand the court even further, spurring a cycle with no easy end. Senator Sanders has suggested rotating appellate judges through the Supreme Court. Yang supports term limits of 18 years for members of the Supreme Court, which some of the other candidates are open to, but do not necessarily outright support.
Part of the reason the United States has become such a polarized political environment is that the electoral college gives more power to some voters than others, meaning that a minority of voters can win the presidential election. Andrew Yang suggests a reform to the electoral college to apportion votes out proportionally, instead of in a winner takes all format. Others, such as Buttigieg, Sanders, and Warren, call for the elimination of the electoral college altogether. While a constitutional amendment is obviously difficult and unlikely at this time, some also support the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which is an agreement by (so far) 15 states (and D.C.) to apportion their electoral votes to the national popular vote winner, if the states in the compact collectively make up at least 270 electoral votes. Buttigieg also seems to think this is a good idea. While other candidates haven't commented on the compact directly, it is true that it would effectively neuter the problems the electoral college engenders without the heavy lift of a constitutional amendment–assuming it surmounts the inevitable opposing legal challenges. The other major electoral reform in consideration is statehood for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Due to purely political calculations (both states would almost undoubtedly vote for the Democratic Party, adding four Democratic Senators out of, at that point, 104, as well as additional House Representatives), approving either statehood would be basically impossible without the presidency and a legislating majority in Congress. Every 2020 Democratic presidential candidate has endorsed statehood for D.C. (many of them have cosponsored relevant bills), and candidates mostly endorse self-determination, if not statehood outright, for Puerto Rico.
The world of campaign finance is incredibly complicated, and since the SCOTUS' disastrous decision on Citizens United Not Timid (it's important to remember what that organization was fundamentally for: grossly attacking Hillary Clinton), the floodgates to PACs and SuperPACs have turned the election process into even more of an anti-democratic funding nightmare than it already was. However, while the decision has had more effect on down-ballot races, the way modern elections are funded, especially for Democrats, is now increasingly complex and arcane. It must be said that election campaigns, especially presidential campaigns, are expensive, and finding funding for the campaigns is one of the most draining parts of the job, no matter where you are on the ballot. Since they are a nationwide effort, presidential campaigns have their own difficulties finding that money–particularly during this cycle, when standing out in the large field of candidates requires qualifying for debates by garnering specific numbers of unique donors. Money, particularly for the multiple billionaires jumping late into the race, can be crucial–but the candidate's attitude toward fundraising can also signal their priorities.
To start with, from whom candidates take money (or more specifically, do not take money) matters. If a candidate is getting campaign funding from somewhere, it has the consequence of making that voice louder, so that taking money from, say, an energy company, means that they might be more susceptible to anti-climate change arguments, or pro-fracking lobbying. This year, every single candidate has sworn to forgo corporate PACs. Most are also refusing money from fossil fuel companies (this means from the corporate or leadership in those companies; individual employees can still donate to whoever they want). Perhaps as a result, some campaigns are leaning heavily on fundraisers (dinners, Q&A sessions, and so on) with wealthy donors. They can be small or large, expensive or inexpensive (Bernie likes to have his minimum ticket price be the average donation for his 2016 campaign: $27). There is only one candidate who has sworn off these fundraisers completely, in both the primary and the general: Elizabeth Warren. It must be noted that Warren began her presidential campaign by transferring money from her Senate campaign, some of which was raised from fundraisers, but since then and going forward she has promised to eschew them.
But what if we want more assurance on how candidates fund their campaigns, including on the other side of the aisle? Changing how we finance elections for the better will require legislation. Biden has been calling for public financing since 1973. He, along with many others, including Booker, Castro, Buttigieg, Warren, and most other potential nominees support an amendment nullifying Citizens United. Buttigieg also called for legislation that would strike down Buckley v Valeo, a 1976 Supreme Court case which removed limits on the aggregate amount a person could donate to disparate campaigns. Gillibrand and Yang propose a system similar to Seattle's "democracy vouchers", which allocate money for people to donate to campaigns, as long as those campaigns do not take large donations. Warren wants to eliminate SuperPacs, and prevent contributions by PACs and federal lobbyists. Some candidates, especially those to the left, such as Senators Sanders, Booker and Warren, see the entire campaign financing system as corrupt, and that individuals with near infinite amounts of money being able to donate with impunity is ultimately a massively distortionary and anti-populist system for politics. Achieving progressive policy objectives is antithetical to that, and so it must be eliminated, or at least reformed.
Our democracy is under threat, but our 2020 Democratic candidates have ideas to shore up institutions, norms, and regulations that will help make our democracy healthier and stronger. These candidates may have different notions on how to strengthen our foundations, but they all realize that something needs to be done, from money, to voting, to the very act of legislating. The cost of inaction may very well be that the changes we need to make in our society will never be truly realized.