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The War Z, from Hammerpoint Interactive, aims to give the world a Buy-to-Play zombie survival MMO in much the same way DayZ has as a mod for ARMA II. Only, death in TWZ isn't permanent unless you want it to be. There will also be private servers and player created "Stronghold" maps to add to the game's content. There will be clans, character progression, even missions, player created content and much more that bring The War Z closer to the MMORPG genre than its forebear. I've been in the Alpha and now Beta for some time, and while it hasn't been without its fair share of issues, crippling bugs, and just plain old goofy antics, I find myself logging into the game quite often. What does that mean? Well, I expect it means that the core principals the game is built on (survival in a world where zombies and players are all enemies) is a solid one. It's improved quite a bit over the past few weeks, and while many features are still only promised and not included, The War Z is definitely a game to watch.
Life as you know it…
There's no intro to The War Z. You create you character (male or female and a few preset looks) and you are dumped into the world (a version of Colorado) with a flashlight, a back-pack and some very basic supplies. From there it's up to you to go it alone, find allies you can trust, and fight off the zombie hordes as you scavenge for essential food and water to supply. The game uses standard FPS controls, and can be played from first or third-person views. You can crouch, go prone, shift to run, and so forth. Running depletes a "run meter" which recharges slowly as long as you're not holding shift. You also have a hunger and a thirst meter that drain over time. If you don't eat or drink, you will eventually die.
You will find bandages and other medical supplies throughout the world, or you can buy some from the game's Cash Shop using the in-game currency or real world money. Health doesn't recharge unless you use medical supplies, so you'll want to keep some on you as you rove from town to town. There are stronghold cities, otherwise known as safe zones, scattered across the landscape and you won't be able to deliver goods from the cash shop to your character unless they're a.) dead or b.) at a stronghold. It's Hammerpoint's way of making sure you're not stockpiling stuff by logging in and out and transferring goods between the vault and your characters.
When you create your character you choose normal or hardcore mode. Normal means that when you die, that character is knocked out and can't be revived for at least an hour (unless you use purchasable revive packs from the cash shop). If you choose hardcore, when you die that character is gone forever. When either type of character dies, it means you drop all loot you had on you when you kicked the bucket. Food, drinks, bandages, hats, armor, weapons… all gone to whoever finds your corpse first.
The game is split into several dozen servers that can each old a few dozen folks right now in beta. By launch the team hopes to have the servers holding a couple hundred people at any given time. Plus you'll be able to host your own servers, and make "stronghold" maps that are of your own design. Want to make a Thunderdome sort of map where zombies and survivors duke it out? You will be able to. Right now though the map is limited in size (though still very large) compared to its final release and the stronghold system isn't in place yet.
The notes players leave behind (mind the darkness).
Pretty fun, but pretty bugged…
That's kind of the status of the beta in general. It's truly a "beta" and folks who pony up to get in now will really be spending their time fighting not only zombies, but a plethora of bugs. On top of that, you won't even have access to most of the promised features, including the character progression, clans (though these are coming very soon as of this writing), strongholds, and so forth. All that said: The War Z has really come a long way since I first got into the alpha, and it's proving to be quite a blast to play despite its lacking points. This is largely in part to the thrill of surviving and not knowing what lies around the corner: a zombie or a maniacal fellow player?
Shooting works well, as well it should from the developers of War Inc. But melee is kind of ridiculous at this point, as the animations are stiff and goofy from the third-person perspective. Zombies are starting to at least recoil now when you hit them, though the animations are stilted and you'd think that hitting even an undead with a spiked bat once in the head would kill the thing. I'd also like to see knock-back put in place if they're going to give us weapons like bats as our first taste of defense (before finding the rare guns scattered throughout the map). If you're an established veteran of something like Left 4 Dead or its sequel, the action in the War Z will leave you hanging right now. It's stilted, but functional, and definitely something that needs work.
Other things that annoy are having trouble connecting to a server using the auto-join feature, zombies that fall out of sync with the server and can attack you from yards away, plus the inability to resurrect your fallen characters. These are just to name a few. Like I said, it's beta (even if you're paying for it).
Sometimes players are actually funny, and not murderous.
And yet, I keep surviving…
Still, even with its multitude of plain old jagged edges, I can't stop playing The War Z. Like the DayZ mod before it (and DayZ the game after it), there's compelling gameplay in purely surviving in a world where no one can be trusted and resources are scarce. If Hammerpoint can bring home all its promised features, add in things like vehicles, constructible barriers for players to built safe-houses, and let's not forget to fix melee combat… well, then I can foresee myself playing the War Z a lot over the next year. You can buy your way into the beta right now for as low as $24.99 and as high as $54.99 with some serious perks. But know that the game's still a work in progress despite the unrestricted access. The War Z may not be quite ready for primetime yet, but a solid core is there. Now it just needs the tender love and care… and zombies.
- Ripper's Initial Studio Visit to The War Z
- Unlimited Access for Pre-orders Begins
- Our The War Z Game Page


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After a battering year, the American system still stands
WASHINGTON - As this appalling year limped to a close, with President Trump consistently underperforming even the lowest of expectations, a note of holiday cheer: Our country's institutions and values have, so far, proven remarkably resilient.
This outcome was not a given; complacency that it will continue would be dangerous. And yet, after nearly a year of Trump, the warnings about incipient fascism and the insidious ways in which strongmen acquire power feel overblown. I suspected so from the start, but I wasn't sure — nor should we be cocky about the future.
Still, for now, there are reasons for optimism in the performance of the media, the courts and, yes, even the Republican-dominated Congress — undergirded and reinforced by the American people.
On the media: How scary it is to have a president who derides us as "the enemy of the American people." To have a cable news network that inflames his worst instincts and recklessly flings suggestions of a "coup" by special counsel Robert Mueller. To have nearly half the public, egged on by Trump's bellowing about "fake news," believing that reporters simply invent negative stories about the president.
But while Trump & Co. went to war against the press, we went to work, to paraphrase Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron. Without that work, the public would likely not know about: former national security adviser Michael Flynn's contacts with the Russians; Donald Trump Jr.'s "I love it" meeting with a Russian lawyer peddling dirt on Hillary Clinton, and the president's efforts to mislead people about the event; Trump's description of fired FBI Director James Comey as a "nut job" in a meeting with Russian officials in which he also divulged highly classified information. The list goes on.
And for all the Trump-fomented anger at and distrust of the media, the president has stirred up something else. For the first time in my career, people are thanking me and my colleagues for what we do, a development that is at once gratifying and unsettling. (It's our job.) Digital subscriptions are soaring at the Post and The New York Times, which helps provide the resources for more rigorous reporting.
The courts have also stood their institutional ground — notwithstanding, and perhaps in response to, Trump's demonstrated contempt for an independent judiciary. All three versions of Trump's misguided effort to ban entry of citizens from certain Muslim-majority nations have been struck down by courts, although the Supreme Court has slowed the latest one to take effect while the litigation continues. So was his attempt to deny federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities. So was his cruel, ignorant effort to ban transgendered people from serving in the military. So was his bid to prevent undocumented teenagers from exercising their right to abortion.
All of this could be ephemeral. The ideological balance of the Supreme Court is precarious, and the seat that was denied to Barack Obama (and Merrick Garland) and occupied by Justice Neil Gorsuch will matter long after we are rid of Trump. In contrast to Trump's incompetence in staffing up the executive branch, and with the exception of a few jaw-droppingly unqualified lower-court nominees, the Trump team has been diligent in filling the judicial vacancies that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell maneuvered to leave for him.
It is beyond naive to think that these changes won't matter. But I am not — not yet? — disillusioned enough to believe this transformation will leave the separation of powers and the rule of law defenseless. A Trump-infused judiciary will not always rule the way I would like, but I remain confident that even conservative judges and justices would resist his most authoritarian, unconstitutional impulses.
And speaking of separation of powers, there is Congress. It may strain optimism to consider congressional Republicans, with their rammed-through tax bill and fawning obeisance to Trump, as any kind of bulwark against his excesses.
Yet we have seen repeated episodes of congressional resistance, enough of it to make a difference, whether to manifestly unqualified judicial nominees or to ill-intentioned efforts to dismantle the health care law. Even this Congress, even before the changes that 2018 may bring, has pursued investigations into Trump's Russia ties and would rebel at any effort to fire Mueller or obstruct his probe, despite the current outcry.
I am not saying this has been a good year. Indeed, it was dreadful. But if Trump was even worse than we expected, our system, imperfect and battered as it is, withstood the onslaught. This is a terrible moment in our nation's history, but I am betting it is just that — a moment, not a death knell.
Ruth Marcus' email address is email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Individuals Services
Individuals Services
Home Doctor Service
What is home doctor service program?
It is a program offered by Almana hospitals provides health care services in your home according to the patient's need. Almana hospitals afford the best health care services through this program for diagnosing and delivering the appropriate home health care for the patient, according to a therapeutic program and scheduled visits in collaboration with the patient.
Our target:
The land area of the eastern province is approximately 540,000 km ², with a population of 4,105,780, where the percentage of elderly people in the region is approximately 12% of the total population, and the disability rate is 0.5%, which is the part of the society more in need of home care services.
Home doctor program services:
Home doctor services include:
How do you get your home doctor service?
The doctor in charge of the program personally visit the patient at home to assess the situation and find out the necessary requirements for ensuring home care service and the extent of the patient's ability to take advantage of this service.
After that, the patient consult the physician to put the patient needed treatment standards at home. After a doctor's approval, there will be a plan for the care of the patient's status based on the diagnosis, and finally estimate the financial cost.
After finishing the administrative procedures (opening file- insurance approval- finishing accounting procedures) the medical team are selected to provide home care service and after explaining the patient's condition, the home care service plan is given to the team for implementation, the program supervisor will visit the home of the patient periodically to monitor and evaluate the patient's benefit from the home care program and review all the requirements. The doctor will visit the patient permanently to evaluate the results of the treatment depending on the health condition of the patient and the extent of its response to treatment.
Home doctor service team:
Equipments required
Al Mana Premiere Program – "ALL ABOUT YOU"
Do you get your checkup regularly??
Is your work putting excessive mental and physical stress??
Are you feeling fatigue and lethargic at work??
Do you follow up your health condition??
Are you waiting for your health to be at risk to take the preventive measures??
And you Ma'am!!... Have you ever devoted a part of your time to check on your health??
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure", and from this saying, Almana general hospitals aim through this new program to give your health the attention it deserves in the manner that fit your busy schedule. It's not your usual checkup, it's called an Al Mana Premiere Program with the latest modern medical devices.
For busy people, time is money. And we value your time and aim to make your visit with us as efficient and as comprehensive as possible. So, we designed this program to fit with your time that you specify including the following procedures:
First procedure:
The program coordinator will arrange an appointment in your suitable time and manage with the other medical departments for the examinations and book the (VIP) room.
Second procedure:
The coordinator will escort the patient to the (VIP) room where he/she has to change to warm up suit provided by the hospital, and introduce the nurse who's taking care of the patient throughout the examination period.
Third procedure:
The nurse will check patient's blood pressure and body temperature.
Fourth procedure:
Internal Medicine doctor will carry out a full examination to assess the general health condition of the patient.
Fifth procedure:
A phlebotomist will come and extract blood (for Calcium, Cholesterol, FBS, LFT, Phosphorus, Uric Acid, Lipid Profile, TSH, CBC, ESR, PSA, D3, B12)
- OPD Tower for ENT consultation & Audiogram (for diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the ear, nose and throat), OPTHALMOLOGY consultation (for visual abnormalities), Cardiac Clinic for EKG, Stress Test (for heart abnormalities) & Pulmonary Function Test (for lung abnormalities).
Sixth procedure:
Patient will be escorted back to his/ her VIP room where he will change back into his own clothes and get some rest and a snack with coffee or tea before leaving.
Seventh procedure:
After few days, patient will receive a comprehensive report of all investigations/ examinations done. The patient can choose to have the doctor review and explain the results to them in person or over the phone, and discreetly.
Our services and focus is about one thing: the patient. From the time you arrive up to the time you will go home you will feel the special attention you deserve.


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Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Christmas Card 2013
13 comments:
Love the card choice and the picture is perfect! Merry Christmas!ReplyDelete
Thanks for sharing your Christmas card. Found your blog thru the card link-up.ReplyDelete
Hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!!!!
What a great card!ReplyDelete
Absolutely beautiful family! Gorgeous card too!ReplyDelete
Thanks for joining in the fun!! I hope you have a very Merry CHRISTmas!!
Your family picture is so beautiful! Stopping by from Faith's CCC, Merry Christmas!ReplyDelete
Super Cute.. I have always wanted to do a front and back card.. maybe next year :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 19, 2013 at 2:55 PM
How sweet! So glad I stopped by from Faith's blog. Hope your family has a wonderful Christmas.ReplyDelete
Precious!! LOVE LOVE LOVE!ReplyDelete
I've seen so many cute Tiny Prints cards! These are adorable! Found you thru the link up. Merry Christmas! :o)ReplyDelete
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text:
This article was originally posted at this domain name on an old blogging system. I am consolidating all of my ramblings and drabble here.
Mother of God.
Just when I thought I was done… Dell is introducing a 30" widescreen flat panel. This is the kind of forced upgrade that just drives a computer geek like me nuts. Or it would if I cared. 6" more doesn't do a whole lot for me at this point since I already own a 2405FPW… but if I was still on a 17" or 19", this would be the one I'd want.
Money isn't that important, is it?


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Fighting For Compensation For Motorcycle Accidents
Although motorcycle accidents can happen in the blink of an eye, these often-complex events sometimes lead to life-altering consequences. Single and hit-and-run vehicle crashes often require in-depth examination as there are no bystanders to vouch for the victim's testimony. If there happens to be someone in the same area as the motorcycle accident, he or she may not have seen what had transpired or had the knowledge to know how the accident occurred.
Common Causes Of Motorcycle Accidents
While there are many factors that can contribute to a motorcycle accident, these incidents most commonly occur due to driver negligence. The most common instances of driver negligence include:
- Failing to yield when appropriate
- Swerving in front of a motorcycle
- Failing to follow posted speed limits
- Cutting off a motorcyclist at intersections
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Failing to leave sufficient room between the vehicles
- Neglecting to pay attention to obstacles or other drivers
Since motorcyclists have little protection between themselves, other vehicles and the elements, the injuries sustained in these events may be particularly severe. In some cases, a motorcyclist may suffer from foot, ankle or leg injuries, a loss of limbs, paralysis, bone fractures, head trauma, disfigurement, traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord or neck injuries, and even death.
Liability In Motorcycle Accidents
One of the most important aspects of pursuing any claim for compensation is determining who is responsible for the incident. The Indianapolis motorcycle accident attorneys at Jacobs Law LLC, can help you to establish the underlying cause of the accident, which may or may not be apparent, especially if you were left unconscious as a result of the accident. Additionally, there may be more than one party that you may hold liable for the motorcycle accident. For example, while a negligent driver may have caused the actual accident by cutting off the motorcyclist, an obstacle in the roadway or a defective helmet could have worsened the motorcyclist's injuries. Possible parties who may be responsible include:
- The motorcycle rental company
- The manufacturer of the parts or motorcycle
- The manufacturer or seller of safety equipment
- The driver of the other vehicle involved in the accident
- Repair shop responsible for inspecting, repairing and maintaining the motorcycle
- Government entity responsible for the design, construction or maintenance of the roadway
Challenges In Motorcycle Accident Claims
Victims who have been injured in motorcycle accidents may face several unique challenges if they decide to pursue the damages to which they may be entitled. First, there are many public misconceptions about motorcyclists and motorcycles that can make a trial difficult. Additionally, many motorcycle insurance policies limit medical coverage for the rider, so the benefits that he or she receives may not be enough to cover his or her medical expenses. Finally, the dynamics of motorcycles greatly differ from those of trucks or cars, so conditions that larger vehicles can easily maneuver may be deadly for a motorcyclist. The motorcycle accident and injury lawyers at Jacobs Law LLC, understand how to overcome these obstacles to ensure that you receive the compensation to which you are entitled. Our accident attorneys are dedicated to the rights of our clients, and we will fight for justice for you and your family, allowing you to focus on what matters most: recovering and resuming your quality of life to the fullest extent possible.
Contact A Motorcycle Accident Attorney Today If You Believe You Have A Case
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, call Jacobs Law LLC, today at 317-520-9283 to schedule your free, comprehensive case evaluation with one of our experienced motorcycle accident lawyers in Indianapolis. We have been helping injured victims and their family members to recover damages for their injuries for more than 25 years, and we can help you to determine if you are eligible to seek compensation for your damages or losses. Let us put our experience and skills to work for you.
Contact us today for more information.


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|Allan Hills 84027
|Basic information
|Name: Allan Hills 84027
This is an OFFICIAL meteorite name.
Abbreviation: ALH 84027
Observed fall: No
Year found: 1984
Country: Antarctica [Collected by US Antarctic Search for Meteorites program (ANSMET)]
Mass: 8 g
This is the only approved meteorite classified as LL7(?).
Search for other: LL chondrites, LL chondrites (type 4-7), Ordinary chondrites, and Ordinary chondrites (type 4-7)
Writeup from AMN 8(2):
Sample No : ALH84027
Location: Allan Hills
Weight (g) 8.0
Field No.: 1531
Dimensions (cm): 2 x 1.5 x 1
Meteorite Type: LL7(?) Chondrite
Macroscopic Description: Carol Schwarz
Fusion crust, weathered and fractured in places, covers all but one side of this fragment. The remaining surface is brown with a small area of greenish material. The interior is reddish brown to dark gray with metal present.
Thin Section (,3) Description: Glenn MacPherson
This meteorite is an intensely recrystallized chondrite with only a few very faintly preserved barred olivine chondrules that testify to its chondritic heritage. The texture is basically polygonal-granular but is porphyroblastic in some areas. Principal minerals are olivine (uniformly Fa27), coarse plagioclase (An10 Ab85 Or5), diopsidic pyroxene (En49 Fs1O Wo41), orthopyroxene (En75 Fs23 Wo2), chromite, troilite and minor Ni-rich metal. Preliminary analyses suggest that two slightly different orthopyroxenes are present (one with 0.85% CaO and the other with 1.2% CaO). Large metal grains are zoned from cores of approximately 27% Ni to rims of approximately 35% Ni. On a volumetric basis, metal is very subordinate to troilite. Although the olivine composition is transitional between L- and LL-chondrites, the low metal abundance suggests classification as LL, despite the lack of brecciation. The high CaO concentration in orthopyroxene (commonly >1%) and the unusually coarse degree of recrystallization suggests petrologic type 7. Therefore, this specimen is tentatively classified as an LL7 chondrite. Slight local staining of metal particles indicates mild terrestrial weathering. Well-developed fusion crust forms approximately one-half of the perimeter of the section.
|Data from:
Table 2
Line 992:
|Published in Antarctic Meteorite Newsletter 8(2) (1985), JSC, Houston
Published in Meteoritical Bulletin, no. 76, Meteoritics 29, 100-143 (1994)
This is 1 of 43499 approved meteorites from Antarctica (plus 3802 unapproved names)
|Proximity search:
Direct link to this page


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Pelay Reviews
Give us feedback, leave a review! Just fill in the form below and don't forget your order ID!
(we need it to match your order with our database, just to be sure you are a real Pelay customer)
Latest reviews
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- Henry Sparrow


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I made something approximating a quilt. It took me 8 years.
I originally began it on a whim when I was pregnant with Aleks. I was all, "I'm going to make my baby a quilt!" I decided it was to be a crazy quilt. I can't even sew in a straight line, nor do I have the patience to. I underestimated what a crazy quilt requires. I got an area of about 35 by 33 inches and gave up. Couldn't figure out what to do with it. Added a border very poorly. That may have been a year later.
Several years after that, I got the idea to start adding on, to make it bigger. Thought I'd give it to my grandmother who was in a nursing home after a car accident. Didn't happen. Added squares, didn't know what to do with the crappy border. Gave up some more. It sat around. My grandmother died.
Then I pulled it out again, thought I'd make it for a Christmas present for my mom and step dad. Still didn't know what to do about that non-flat border thing. Added more squares. Got tired. Quit. This happened several years in a row around Christmas. I bought batting and flannel for the backing. Added squares. Got tired. Put it away again.
It was supposed to be king-sized by then. King-sized is really, really big. Then my mother switched around her beds and now she sleeps in a full again. So I figured I could stop where I was and add the backing and batting and quilt it and be done. Well, that's actually a lot of work. It's been on my to-do list for a few years now. Well, like 6, but off and on for different reasons, clearly. So, maybe 1 or 2 as a finish-as-the-size-it-is project.
What spawned me to actually pull it out and try it this time? I needed more family cloth wipes. I had these towels that were falling apart and wanted to add flannel to one side. I didn't want to buy flannel and haven't made it to the thrift store to pick up old flannel pjs, but I knew there was a whole lotta flannel taking up space in my closet. I figured finishing the quilt would give me enough leftover to make toilet paper. For real.
So I finished the quilt in time for the occasion of my mother's 55th birthday yesterday. I pulled it out on Sunday and got the backing all added and everything sewn up. Then finished going back and forth over all the uneven border bits with the machine on Monday. Added leaves to make it look like a vine, or in some way at all intentional. It worked. Then Monday night, I sewed up some more toilet cloths, then finished knitting a baby hat. Then started on another baby hat yesterday after presenting my mother with her quilt. She liked it a lot. It really does sort of look like a quilt too. Even if it is all uneven and weird. I figure it's good enough. I've seen those Gee's Bend quilts and this is no worse than some of them (though certainly no better than many), if not as awesome and folksy.
It's actually on a king-sized bed here, but just goes to the edge, so on a full/queen, will be perfect and larger than store-bought quilts.
Off-center stitching.
Little leaf.
Lots of the fabrics came from things taking up space around my mother's house for the past several decades.
This is my favorite fabric in the bunch - some random scrap my mom had that was busy doing nothing in a box somewhere.
This pretty flannel backing now matches my toilet paper.


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Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic complete three-way trade
Timofey Mozgov has been traded for the second time this summer, dealt from Charlotte to Orlando in a three-team deal that also included Chicago.
The Magic sent Bismack Biyombo and two future second-round picks to Charlotte, which traded Mozgov to Orlando. The Magic also got guard Jerian Grant from the Bulls in the deal completed late Saturday night.
Chicago acquired Julyan Stone from Charlotte in the trade that saves the Bulls about $2 million.
Joc Pederson (L), 35 percent, Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Colorado Rockies (RHP German Marquez): Marquez has been much more effective away from Coors Field, but lefty batters have still pummeled him for a .309/.369/.514 slash line this season. This creates an enticing spot for Pederson, who is smashing righties to the tune of a .293/.385/.624 slash line, including a .309/.387/.945 triple slash with 10 homers in June.
It's our new family tradition, she said. We love to kick off the summer here and we love to dress up.
And enjoying it.Why the Red Sox — not the Yankees — will win the AL East
With Chris Sale heading a deep Authentic Andrew MacDonald Jersey rotation and poised for a strong second half, the Red Sox have an edge over the Yankees in starting pitching. AP Photo/Winslow Townson
Is it accurate to describe the American League East as an epic playoff race? I believe so. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are both on pace to Cam Newton Jersey win more than 105 games. The last time two teams in the same division won 100 games was 2001, when the Seattle Mariners and Oakland A's did it in the AL West. Yes, the wild card is a fallback, but you don't want to win 105 games http://www.footballpanthershop.com/Cam_Newton_Jersey_Cheap and then have to beat a pitcher like James Paxton to keep your http://www.authenticsflyershop.com/authentic-47-andrew-macdonald-jersey.html season alive.
The FanGraphs playoff odds favor the Yankees, giving them a 67 percent chance to win the division compared with just 33 percent for the Red Sox. I'm surprised the Yankees are 2-to-1 favorites to win the East, especially since there are five solid reasons why the Red Sox will win it.


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In the last couple of days two interviews I had have been posted to the internet as podcasts. They both spend quite a bit of time on gender before talking about my work but I'm really quite happy that I managed to cover both in a consistent manner. Continue reading "Podcasting my story"
Reprising the show
I'm really excited to have been asked to reprise the show during Transgender Week of Awareness this year.
Provisionally it's scheduled for 16 November 2018 @ 7 PM in the Classic Studio, 321 Queen Street, Auckland.
Thanks to sponsorship from Outline the tickets are $10.
There's an event listing on my performer website, and I'll be publishing more details there as they come to hand.
I've also "expressed interest" in reprising the show in community venues during Auckland Pride next year but no idea yet if it will be accepted.


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Majid Al Futtaim picks Orange solutions for retail unit
DUBAI, December 11, 2018
Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim, a leading shopping mall developer and leisure pioneer, said its retail unit is set to deploy flexible SD-Wan from Orange Business Services throughout its Middle Eastern operations to connect cloud applications and digitally transform its regional retail offerings.
Majid Al Futtaim Retail holds the exclusive franchise rights to operate Carrefour in 38 markets across the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Operating over 250 Carrefour stores in the region, Majid Al Futtaim Retail recognised the need for a new type of connectivity to provide robust, reliable networking for its retail sites, with end-users across 15 countries.
The managed SD-Wan solution from Orange will enable Majid Al Futtaim Retail to strengthen its omnichannel strategy, designed to provide a seamless shopper experience. It will also support its launch of Carrefour's online e-commerce offering that it is gradually rolling out across the countries in which it operates, said a statement from Majid Al Futtaim.
The company's wide area network makes it ideal for an SD-Wan deployment that will bring benefits in terms of intelligence and the ability to scale quickly to support their smart retail applications, such as SAP for its e-commerce platform.
Majid Al Futtaim already has 7.5 million unique registered customers in the UAE alone, all of whom expect the connectivity to give them the experience they demand.
Majid Al Futtaim Retail Senior VP for Omnichannel Solutions Marco Urios pointed out that connectivity was key to the future of retail.
"Our customers expect a seamless next-generation retail offering that leverages data to improve their experience – and we need a state-of-the-art fully secured network to deliver it. Flexible SD-WAN by Orange is a key enabler of our omnichannel customer experience," he noted.
"Majid Al Futtaim has a clear vision and ambitious strategy, and Orange Business Services is delighted to be working with them on their retail digital transformation program. With our deep consulting capabilities and our expertise with SD-Wan solutions, we are well placed to serve as their trusted partner," he stated.
Orange Business Services VP (Middle East) Luc Serviant said: "Orange has extensive SD-Wan experience around the world, but Majid Al Futtaim is our first customer in the Middle East region to roll this out."
Flexible SD-Wan by Orange is a global solution that is a fully automated, intelligent network with on-demand virtualised services, centrally orchestrated for end-to-end performance and control, he stated.
"It provides companies with a flexible and agile way to adapt the enterprise network to user needs, and is a future-proof solution completely integrated in the Orange SDN architecture," explained Serviant.
"Through a simple interface, enterprises can use their network dynamically to anticipate and respond to changes in their business environment and migrate applications to the cloud. We guarantee reliable performance, improved security, support for multiple connection types, cost control and high-quality end-user experience for business-critical applications," he added.-TradeArabia News Service


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Dill, Clarence Cleveland. How Congress Makes Laws. Washington: Ransdell, 1936.
DILL, Clarence Cleveland, a Representative and a Senator from Washington; born near Fredericktown, Knox County, Ohio, September 21, 1884; attended the public schools; engaged in teaching 1901-1903; graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio, 1907; newspaper reporter in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1907; taught in the high schools at Dubuque, Iowa, 1907-1908, and in Spokane, Wash., 1908-1910; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1910 and commenced practice in Spokane, Wash.; deputy prosecuting attorney of Spokane County 1911-1913; private secretary to the governor 1913; elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fourth Congress; reelected to the Sixty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1915-March 3, 1919); chair, Committee on Mileage (Sixty-fifth Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1918; resumed the practice of law in Spokane, Wash.; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1922; reelected in 1928 and served from March 4, 1923, to January 3, 1935; was not a candidate for renomination in 1934; chair, Committee on Interstate Commerce (Seventy-third Congress); engaged in the practice of law in Washington, D.C., and Spokane, Wash., 1935-1939; unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1940; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress; member of the Columbia Basin Commission of the State of Washington 1945-1948; special assistant to the United States Attorney General 1946-1953; resumed the practice of law in Spokane, Wash., where he died January 14, 1978; interment in Fairmont Memorial Park.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress[ Top ]
Dill, Clarence Cleveland. How Congress Makes Laws. Washington: Ransdell, 1936.
___. Radio Law, Practice and Procedure. Washington: National Law Book Co., 1938.
___. Where Water Falls. Spokane: n. p., 1970.
Irish, Kerry E. "Clarence Dill: The Life of a Western Politician." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington, 1994.
Irish, Kerry E. Clarence C. Dill: The Life and Times of a Western Politician. Pullman, Wash.: Washington State University Press, 2000.


text: Celebrity Justin Bieber's Mom, Pattie Mallette, Weighs in on Her Son's Behavior "I'm not naive to think that my child is perfect and making all the best decisions of his life," Pattie Mallette says By People Staff Published on July 11, 2013 07:00 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters/Landov What does mom have to say? Following a list of controversial antics during the last few months by her son, Justin Bieber, Pattie Mallette acknowledges the 19-year-old doesn't always do the right thing. "I'm not naïve to think that my child is perfect and making all the best decisions of his life," the Nowhere But Up author, 38, recently said on Watch What Happens Live. Bieber's recent controversial acts have included: writing that he hoped Anne Frank would have been a Belieber; collapsing on stage during a concert in London; appearing on stage at a show two hours after his scheduled performance time; and most recently, he was seen on video urinating into a mop bucket and yelling an expletive at a photo of former president Bill Clinton. "He knows what I disagree with and he knows all the things that I'm really proud of him for, too," Mallete says. "I mean, people don't talk about all the great things he does every day. Every night before a show, he meets with Make-a-Wish kids. He goes to sick kids' hospitals. He visits with them [and] takes his time. He gives back to charities." But Mallette fails to address anything specific about her son, vaguely telling ET Canada, "I just deal with whatever comes up, I think as you would if your kid was off to college and making decisions. You just I just talk to him, I call him and he knows what I think." Mallette – who shot down Bieber questions by telling the reporter, "No one wants their mom on television talking about their business" – did say that when it comes to his relationship with off-and-on gal pal, Selena Gomez, she's "just [going to] support him in whatever he decides, and I think that he's made good decisions so far on that whole scene." PHOTOS: Justin Bieber's Really Bad U.K. Trip Explained in 5 Clicks


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If you are interested in re-entry, please fill out the Re-Entry Questionnaire online and submit it to us.
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text: The few photos I have in this section were taken mainly in Paris and Carcasonne, France. I did shoot alot of photos but didn't want to include the sights that have been shot millions of times, so I put up just a few that I hope are different from the regular touristy shots. I decided to give the Eiffel Tower its own galleryRead More


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Happy Friday! I am so excited to get in the fall fashion mood especially since that's the closest thing to fall that we will experience in Florida. NYFW even looks a little different this year but why not have your own fashion week at home. Today, I am going to share the top trends taking social media by storm and how you can experiment with these trends using pieces from your closet.
The color nude isn't new to the fall color palette however the monochromatic nude look is making a come back to my feed. It's such a classic look and anyone can pull it off. You don't need any fancy fashion pieces and it can be affordable. Find some nude pieces in your closet and play around with each piece. If you are looking for some new nude pieces I have included some here: Shades Of Nude Pieces
Baguette Bags
This summer trend is transitioning into fall and I am here for it. I invested in my own Coach Baguette bag last season and it's been one of my favorite purchases. It is so lightweight and manages to fit all my essentials like my face mask, cardholder, sanitizer, and more. The great thing about these bags is that they are inexpensive and many thrift stores have them. I got mine on Poshmark for under $50. Your older family members may even have one from back in the day too so just ask them. I have linked some baguette bags here as well if you wanted to purchase one or find some inspiration: Baguette Bags
Preppy Style
I am a huge fan of the preppy look and I think it is one of the styles that best describe my own. Preppy pieces that are trending right now are cropped blazers, tennis skirts, plaid items, and mary jane shoes. Tennis skirts have been a huge trend for summer and we are seeing that transition into fall with the addition of oversized sweater vests. Sweater vests are such a staple piece in your wardrobe and can be layered over a shirt or worn alone. I purchased my own sweater vest at my local goodwill for $4.99. Thrift stores have a variety of sweater vests and I would also check out the men's section as well. Check out these sweater vests for some inspiration: Preppy Style Pieces
Colorful Leather
Leather always finds it's way back into fall fashion in its own unique way and this year it's time for colorful leather pieces to get the spotlight. It may be too hot to wear leather in some places right now so you can try a simple leather bag, belt, or jacket to start out with. My favorite thing about any leather piece is that it can elevate an outfit with that minimal effort. Shop some colorful leather pieces here: Colorful Leather
That is a wrap for my top fall fashion trends. If you want to see how I rock my own fall fashion outfits then make sure to follow me on Instagram @stayklassay
Download my fall fashion trends wallpaper here: Desktop Wallpaper
I used photos from Pinterest to create today's post. You can check out the board here: Fall Lookbook Cover


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This Woman Needs to STFU
Uuuuuugh. Feminist Academic Biatch. Why oh WHY does everything have to be fucking controversial???? Why are there people like this in the world! Ugh! She sucks.
'Crocodile Hunter' exploited animals, critic says
Feminist author Greer says 'It's no surprise that he came to grief'
Updated: 1 hour, 17 minutes ago
SYDNEY, Australia – Feminist academic Germaine Greer said on Wednesday she hoped the death of Australian "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin would mark the end of what she called exploitative nature documentaries, a discordant note amid floods of tributes.
Irwin died in a freak diving accident off Australia's northeast coast on Monday after he was hit in the chest by the serrated barb from a stingray's tail.
Echoing comments she made this week in Britain's Guardian newspaper, Australian-born Greer likened Irwin to a lion tamer and said he had intruded on the habitats of animals and treated them with "massive insensitivity."
"It's no surprise that he came to grief," Greer told Nine Network television.
"We now have enough respect for lions to be embarrassed if we see someone trying to crack whips at them and wave chairs at them. Jumping all over crocodiles is the same kind of thing."
'Exploitation of animals'. Greer, an award-winning author, is a frequent critic of personalities like British soccer star David Beckham and social trends like reality television.
In 2003 she criticized J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy for attracting "spaced-out hippies, environmentalists, free-market libertarians, social conservatives, pacifists, new-age theosophists, sexists and racists the world over."
Irwin's death has prompted outpourings of grief and sympathy from around the world, dominating local newspapers and clogging Internet news sites.
His "Crocodile Hunter" documentaries for U.S.-based television company Discovery Channel's Animal Planet were seen by tens of millions of viewers around the world.
He became famous for flirting with death as he wrestled crocodiles, swam with sharks and handled some of the world's deadliest snakes and spiders.
Greer said she found the Irwin phenomenon "embarrassing," although she understood the sadness at his death.
"I'm not saying that's not sad, I'm saying what might be over now is this kind of exploitation of animals," Greer said.
"I am sick and tired of programs that tell me that the world is full of wicked, nasty, powerful, deadly creatures. Why does Australia set itself up to be made into this hellhole?" she said.


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Lions manager Bill Beaumont says the work the 2005 Lions do before they set off to New Zealand will have a key influence on the success of the tour.
For potential Lions players, the 2005 tour to New Zealand is still a long way off. For their manager, it has already begun.
When former Lions captain Bill Beaumont was appointed to head the party, in February 2004, he went straight to work on a range of tasks that will influence the success of the tour before its players even cross the equator.
The ex-Fylde and England lock describes his remit as "creating an environment in which the coaches and players can produce their optimum performance".
And the key to that, as Lions head coach Clive Woodward has already proved in winning the World Cup, is in the detail.
Beaumont has focused his initial energies on three areas: "The itinerary, the pre-tour training programme and the infrastructure we will have in New Zealand ."
Getting the right itinerary, he believes, is vital. The Lions were whitewashed in New Zealand in 1983 partly as a consequence of the punishing schedule they accepted, while even the last tour, to Australia in 2001, has offered lessons in planning for 2005.
Beaumont says: "One of the reasons why we have added the extra game against Auckland in the final week is because, in Australia , once some of the guys knew they weren't going to get in the Test team they were then looking at playing two games in three-and-a-half weeks.
"That's why we've insisted on midweek games all the way through the tour, to offer that challenge to everyone."
That need to keep the entire party focused will be another of Beaumont 's priorities once the tour is underway, particularly as the squad will be the largest ever.
He says: "I have to make sure all 44 players feel they have had their opportunities.
"That's a big challenge and selection is down to the coaches, not me. I will have a word in the ear about having a look at so-and-so but ultimately it's down to them because they are the guys at the sharp end, day in, day out.
"Some people disagree with the concept but I think it's fantastic and I believe it will give every player the opportunity to perform at their best."
Beaumont believes ensuring the players have a positive experience of the tour, on and off the field, is paramount, which is one reason why he is keen to promote the Lions tradition of mixing with their hosts.
Again, he is guided by the lessons of the past, particularly his own experience of the difficult tour to New Zealand in 1977.
He recalls: "It wasn't the happiest of tours and we became very insular, to the detriment of our performance in the Test series, which we should have won or at least tied.
"In South Africa in 1980, I wanted to make sure we had a united tour and that everyone enjoyed it. That is what we want in New Zealand in 2005.
"We also want the New Zealand public to feel the Lions are accessible and have given them value for money," he says.
"We want a tour that is a valuable experience for the players, the spectators and the supporters."
The ultimate focus, though, remains becoming only the second Lions team to beat the All Blacks. Beaumont is under no illusions about the scale of that task.
He says: "The hardest part of our job is winning the three Tests, because New Zealand is a tougher place to tour than either Australia or South Africa .
"That's a fact of history, and it's still that way now because New Zealand is the only country in the world where rugby is the national sport. It's a very, very proud nation, very passionate about its rugby, and its people are extremely knowledgeable about and respectful towards the game.
"It's also a sport in which they regularly feel they are the best; they are pretty isolated down there in the South Pacific and they have a real national identity through rugby which they don't have in many other things."
Beaumont may have been on the losing side in New Zealand in 1977, but the country remains one of his favourite places to tour.
He says: "The thing I like about New Zealanders is that they are perfectly transparent and honest about wanting to beat you. They want you to enjoy yourself but they want to beat you; I like that honesty."


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All articles filed in Teamwork
Annex's Next Mobile Launch Date Is January 4th, 2019
It's a new year with new goals, and our new goals involve getting back to our old goals. We're going to start launching New Mobiles on the first Friday of each month, again. We want to launch new mobiles every month to push us a little. When we have a due date, we're more likely…Read More
We Call These The Kelty Rainbow Trout
Just a couple days after we sent our trout to Invermere we had someone interested in them so we made her her very own Gill to Gill Rainbow Trout mobile. Handmade by Michelle and I : Michelle designed and sewed them together, Brina painted them and send them back to Michelle to balance and piece…Read More


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Microturbines are a relatively new distributed generation technology being used for stationary energy generation applications. They are a type of combustion turbine that produces both heat and electricity on a relatively small scale. Microturbines offer several potential advantages compared to other technologies for small-scale power generation, including: a small number of moving parts, compact size, lightweight, greater efficiency, lower emissions, lower electricity costs, and opportunities to utilize waste fuels. Waste heat recovery can also be used with these systems to achieve efficiencies greater than 80%.
Because of their small size, relatively low capital costs, expected low operations and maintenance costs, and automatic electronic control, microturbines are expected to capture a significant share of the distributed generation market. In addition, microturbines offer an efficient and clean solution to direct mechanical drive markets such as compression and air-conditioning.


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Diffusing Crisis
Every year more than 50,000 people get victimized by kidnapping for ransom worldwide. At 4CrisisRelief our sole aim is to help the victims and their families to recover from this traumatic crisis as painlessly as possible. We offer free international assistance and professional advice to victims of humanitarian and political crisis, focusing on aiding the uninsured Kidnap and Ransom victims. Only small number of kidnap victims are covered by a K&R insurance, leaving 95-98% of kidnap victims in life threatening crisis as their families struggle to find information and money to solve the issue alone.
Easing Suffering
Recovering from a traumatic event always take time and can be a painful and horrifying experience, not only for the victims but also for their families. 4CrisisRelief does not stop at helping people in need of diffusing crisis but assists free-of-charge with counselling and PTSD relief programs after the crisis is resolved.
We also offer training in Trauma & PTSD Counselling for individuals, organizations/parties interested in one-to-one or group counselling as well as training volunteers and leaders who wish to become SPARC Trauma Therapists.
Bringing Hope
Our crisis response tactic is based on 4R strategy invented by Kidnap & Ransom specialist and professional negotiator Dan Sommer. He also developed a special informational program for those interested in helping us and doing what we do. Thus 4CrisisRelief provides Kidnap & Ransom training and coaching to NGOs, private organizations, private people, and to all our volunteers. Contact us for more details regarding 4R Crisis Relief Diploma Course and different Outreach projects.
Our Mission
No case is too far away and no voice is too quiet to be heard.
We will devote our time and skills necessary to recover and support Kidnap & Ransom victims and their families, and offer them free professional advice, counselling and any other help they need.
We also provide training and coaching to different organisations and private persons, and offer various outreach programs and opportunities for volunteers.
Please, contact us for more details!
Support Us in Our Work...
4Crisisrelief is a non-profit organization which was founded as an outreach mission of Postulakirjan Beth-Shekhinah - an independent interfaith church located in Reykjavik, Iceland. As we offer our services free of charge we rely on donations and volunteers' help.


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With the game's final DLC releasing this week, Tarsier pulls back the curtain on (some) of the in-fiction mysteries...
Hello once again, children. We're so pleased you've joined us for the last chapter of the Runaway Kid's journey through the Maw, which will be releasing this Friday, 23rd February. It's been quite a while since we last spoke about Little Nightmares, and although this particular story is coming to a close, the world of Little Nightmares continues! And we know that you still have many, many burning questions about that world and the curious things you've encountered during your time there.
So, to sate your hunger just a bit, we here at Tarsier Studio browsed through the shelves and drawers and cabinets at our disposal, all of them bulging with questions (including many that were gathered from your fertile minds, thanks to Twitter and Facebook). We were delighted to pluck out a few plump, wriggling answers nested there in order to serve them up to you. Delicious…
Beware, spoilers for the earlier chapters of the story may be ahead…
Can we unlock new Trophies in this chapter?
Yes, there will be Trophies to discover just like the other chapters. We have asked the watchers who keep track of such things to take extra care to record all of your deeds within the Residence. Even those you accomplish in secret.
Can this chapter answer any questions about the world outside of the Maw?
Sure it could, but we've resisted the temptation to just tell you everything, as it's way too much fun reading all of the theories you've created! Though hopefully by the end of this chapter you'll understand a little more about what makes the world of Little Nightmares turn the way it does.
Who are the shadow kids?
They're nobody in particular. Just like all children, they're forever being left behind; and just like all shadows, they're difficult to escape.
Will there be more DLC for Little Nightmares now that the three chapters of the Secrets of the Maw have been released?
You only want DLC? You really should be demanding more of us! Rest assured, there is a world without The Maw, and if we ever get a chance to pay it a visit, there will no doubt be many tales to tell there.
Can we find out what happened to the Nomes from chapter 2?
Sure. They escaped The Maw and sailed off into the sunset on a 32-foot yacht called 'The Endeavour', where they sipped champagne and played shuffleboard in their pajamas. Then they woke up.
Will the Kid ever find out what happened to the Girl from the first chapter?
For us, their first encounter was perfect, so why spoil it? Some things are best left alone.
How did the Runaway Kid and the other children come to be in the Maw?
That, I'm afraid, is something that will remain their secret for the time being. There's a reason why nobody here speaks.
Are there any normal grown-up humans as we know them in the world of the Maw?
Such things have no place in The Maw. The problem with 'normal grown-up humans' is that we don't know them, we just know what they look like on the outside. The Maw knows them though, and that's what you see when you pay it a visit.
Have we seen all of the Lady's powers at work?
The Lady has been in The Maw for a long time. She's learned all sorts of unpleasant things during her residence. It's best that we don't scratch the surface.
What connection does The Lady have to the Maw?
She belongs there, just like everyone else.
Is Six related to the Lady?
We get this question fairly often, and it seems the majority of people want them to be some sort of mother-daughter combo.
I don't know what that says about the general feelings we all have about our mothers, but I can say that I was once trapped on a train for half an hour and none of the other passengers were my mother. Maybe it's what we expect of drama after a lifetime reading Joseph Campbell, Sophocles, or the person that started the whole tradition – George Lucas; but the reality is that these two characters have been thrown together by forces beyond their control.
The child wants to escape and the adult wants to keep the child trapped forever. How people see that as a mother-daughter relationship, I just don't know.
It's a curious thing, isn't it? How the taste of answers only sharpens your appetite for more? Take care, hunger can lead one to terrible ends for the sake of one more sweet morsel.
We hope you'll enjoy this final chapter of Secrets of the Maw: The Residence, which will be available on 23rd February. Please do share your thoughts on its mysteries with us. You never know when another warm, fresh answer might show itself.


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Bicycling Magazine published an article about Human Bike Lanes in San Francisco.
These activists will be back on May 25th on Valencia St.
Bicycling Magazine published an article about Human Bike Lanes in San Francisco.
These activists will be back on May 25th on Valencia St.
This would be a great idea for a bike expedition:
We watched this video in class on 2/28. The video demonstrates a few issues we'll talk about over the next few weeks:
What are the challenges involved in a re-design of the shared-used path in the Panhandle (the video shows some of the different users and differences in speed)?To what degree do/should cyclists
To what degree do/should cyclists strictly obey traffic regulations (the video depicts a cyclist with a child running a red light)?
How has new cycling-specific infrastructure changed San Francisco's streets (the video depicts construction of a separated bike lane on Oak St. and a bicycle traffic signal at Oak and Broderick)?
We can talk more effectively about these challenges if we collect evidence– through interviews, surveys, observation, counting, and measuring.
Three of us went to Critical Mass on a chilly February afternoon.
The legendary event was tiny — a dozen or so cyclists clustered in near the Ferry Building.
Vincent had this to say about the occasion:
With only two student, one of which is myself , and the professor, the journey to see Critical Mass on Friday February 25, 2017 was in my view underwhelming. There was a small turnout of people whom congregated in front of the ferry building. Professor Hunt informed me that sometimes there are crowds of cyclists, but this time was very small. I did not participate in the Mass nor anyone else in the group. We went to get coffee instead and talk about life. After coffee we all went away. The professor estimated that the cyclists would venture off around 6 pm, however coming out from getting coffee at around 6:30 the people at the "Mass" were still there. They hadn't left. I did not stay to see them sent-off….


text: This project is a 15,000 m2 garment factory in Long An province south of Ho Chi Minh City. The project is has been awarded Platinum LEED and LOTUS certifications and is first in Vietnam to achieve such high levels of certification with the highest Platinum score and the first to achieve LOTUS Platinum. The project is completed in 2016. GCA managed both certifications.


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I have long been an admirer of Charles Ives' music and these excellent two discs featuring the composer's four symphonies and two short works are most welcome. Andrew Litton is a fine conductor and he brings a sense of palpable direction and emotion to these often eccentric works.
The Second Symphony is perhaps the most famous of all the four and Litton compares well to Leonard Bernstein's legendary recordings of the work (CBS and DG) and he rather supersedes Kenneth Schermerhorn's slightly earthbound account on Naxos. The First Symphony is beautifully played by the talented Dallas players although I would still gravitate towards Neeme Järvi's slightly clearer account on Chandos with the Detroit Symphony.
The Third, a wonderful rendition of "The Camp Meeting" is also beautifully done by Litton although I would not discount Sir Neville Marriner's lovely recording for Argo on Decca Ovation. The Fourth is a slightly tougher nut to crack with the famous José Serebrier and Leopold Stokowski recordings leading the pack but Litton does the work full justice.
Hyperion also add two short pieces, typical of Ives, the barnstorming 'General William Booth enters into Heaven' and the eerie 'Central Park in the dark'. A dry, yet clear recording should suffice for these symphonies to regain clout in the repertoire.
Copyright © 2007, Gerald Fenech


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On the surface the government's U-turn today on legislation for IRA fugitives appears like a victory for the moderate nationalists of the Social Democratic and Labour party.
Since the so-called "on-the-run" bill came into public focus, the SDLP has led from the front, denouncing it as a sordid deal that abandoned terrorist victims and granted both the IRA and rogue members of the security forces immunity from prosecution or open scrutiny in a court of law.
Given the blows the SDLP was landing on Sinn Féin, accusing republicans of agreeing to a squalid arrangement with their British enemies, the IRA's political wing beat its own retreat and just before Christmas announced it was withdrawing their support for the OTR legislation.
There is a second explanation, however, as to why Peter Hain revealed that the government was abandoning the OTR scheme, and behind it lies the key as to how the British state really approaches the Irish peace process.
Speaking in the House of Commons, the Northern Ireland secretary told MPs that once Sinn Féin rejected the bill there was no point carrying on as now all the Ulster parties opposed it.
The implication behind his statement was that if the IRA's political allies had instead insisted on the OTR legislation going ahead (as, of course, yet another confidence-building measure for Irish republicans in the peace process) the government would have pressed ahead regardless of opposition in the Commons and the Lords.
The latter cause for the government U-turn indicates that Sinn Féin and the IRA remain the central concern of the British in the ongoing peace process.
The OTR bill was the product of a secret, side deal between Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and the rest of the republican leadership during all-party talks in Weston Park several years ago.
Tony Blair's negotiators went behind the backs of the SDLP, Ulster Unionists and Democratic Unionists to strike a bargain with republicans aimed at allowing the IRA fugitives to return.
Even beyond Weston Park there has been ongoing secret contact, much of it involving the prime minister's chief of staff at Downing Street, Jonathan Powell, the IRA and Sinn Féin high command.
At critical points in the process such as the run-up to the IRA's historic statement that its "war" was over last summer, Powell was conducting his own form of shuttle diplomacy flying and back and forward on a weekly basis from London to Belfast International airport, where he was picked up by an IRA security team and driven in to the west of the city for talks.
That shuttle diplomacy, although less intense than before, still continues, and the suspicion among the other parties is that further secret promises have been made to the republican leadership.
The official line from Downing Street is that dumping this despised piece of legislation will clear the debris from the road towards a new settlement in Northern Ireland.
Indeed, during his speech to the Commons, Hain called on the parties to join talks in February aimed at restoring devolution.
But so long as the other parties, but principally the main force in Ulster politics, Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists, suspect that further side deals for Sinn Féin are in the offing, they will not take any chances in talks.
These side deals include a promise to Sinn Féin that the administration of justice and control of the police are devolved to the Northern Ireland assembly.
In that scenario it is possible that ex-IRA leaders could be directing justice or policing in Northern Ireland.
And that is something no unionist could support because otherwise they would suffer the same fate as Nobel laureate David Trimble and endure electoral annihilation.
Given the above, it seems more like the DUP will play a long game, waiting and hoping for Tony Blair to leave the pitch before they enter into any serious negotiations with either Prime Minister Brown or even hold out further in the event of a hung parliament following the next election.
· Henry McDonald is Ireland editor of the Observer


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October update…
I can now answer the question: Will I be ready to publish The Spinner's Game quint at Christmas? No.
So what's left to do?
Editing (a deep-down word-by-word polish)
Books One and Two – The Spinner's Child and Lake of Dreams – are done. Yay! I am now working on Book Three – The Pole That Threads; I'm about a quarter way through.
I performed the deep-down editing on Book Four – Lady of First Making – while attending revisions and rewrites, but I'll give it another read-through to be sure.
All of which will deliver me to the end of November.
Book Five (Asaric Sins, working title)
I hope by the end of November to have the last of the betas and critiques back for Book Five, so I can do the rewrites and revisions, and that final edit. This will take me into the New Year.
Twiddly Bits
In the meantime – in those micro-minutes between one thing and another – I hope to write the legal bits for the Front Matter and the acknowledgements for the End Matter. Regards that, I'll be in touch with you, my hardworking and loyal betas to ask what form you'd like your mention: simple first name, full name, name with website, occupation etc. You've all done me proud, and I'm more than happy to take this opportunity to promote your own work. Kindle e-books allow links to website… so let's go for it.
Book Two – Lake of Dreams – needs two graphic inserts. So that's to be done. And Books One and Three – The Spinner's Child and The Pole That Threads require maps. As does Book Five – Asaric Sins, working title. So, to venture into map-making apps… can you hear my toes curling and me softly squealing? I love maps.
The Supplement Giveaway
I've pondered long on this: whether to include it, and if so when? At the moment, my idea is to offer it with Pre-Orders, which I'm thinking will cover the period from Christmas to the Press-the-Button date.
This will include updated and repackaged supplementary material from the far-off days of posting The Spinner's Game on my Feast Fables blog (no longer available). These were more by way of outpourings from the writer's mind than anything you might expect from the oft-found Glossary and/or Appendix in High Fantasy books, though a few definitions might be included, and readers' questions anticipated.
Q: What is a copi?
Q: The Spinner's Game is Low Fantasy, so where in this world is it set?
I might also include some of the fables that didn't make the final cut. It's still in the planning stage, still in my head.
So, as you can see, there's still much to be done. But it's good practice to set a Press-the-Button date, even if it has to be changed. And if changed, I hope that's to an earlier date.
The Press-the-Button Date
In The Spinner's Child, Kerrid is kicked into the story-world the day before she and her clan are due to journey upriver for the annual gathering of clans. And so too I'm using that date to publish the story. March 21st, the Vernal Equinox. That allows me another six months. Phew! I have space to breathe. And to request and gather those essential reviews… 🙂
Note: I'm hoping to open for Pre-Orders from Christmas onwards.
And again, my thanks go to those wonderful beta readers who have stayed with me throughout this period who, I'm sure, must be wondering if these books will every be published. Yes, they will. But five books isn't one book.
And that's all for now folks. The next e-book update will be… Sunday 3rd November.


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This jumper was one of the items I purchased at Bluewater yesterday. I'm quite a fussy shopper, definitely not an impulse buyer and I have to really love something in order to make a purchase. This caught my eye at the last minute when we were in Tessuti - I had already picked up two basic navy & white v-necks from Velvet (boooring, but necessary!) and was about to give up with nothing "special" but then I saw this! I'm always a fan of black & grey in the colder months but am trying to change my ways this season. A colour I often forget about is cream or off-white. It can actually look really warm & snuggly in the winter, especially paired with warm tones and gold jewellery.
This chunky knit pullover is from Juicy Couture and priced at £144 but all womenswear in the shop was 20% off so I got a good deal! (I realise the girl on the website is wearing this off the shoulders - I feel mine are too broad to pull off this look but I may try it off one-shoulder next time!) Underneath I am wearing a basic cream high-neck tank top from Forever21 (couldn't find it on the website, but this is the closest thing to it as it's also 100% linen). My olive green pants are from ASOS, about 3 and 1/2 years ago. The tan ankle boots are from H by Hudson.
Aside from the fashion picks I mentioned, I also did a little bit of home decor shopping. I can't tell you how many times I had passed Zara Home but dared not to enter with small bored children and far too many beautiful items just begging to be picked up & smashed. So I saved myself the embarrassment and bided my time. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity, I was child free and Jonathan was on the phone (distracted husbands make for amazing shopping partners. You can literally buy as many items as you want without them even noticing - ladies, take note!). I needed a new blanket as well as another duvet set so I got this furry deliciousness and this striped grey set. I also got a blue star cot sheet for Eduardo...and a few baby boy spoons as I am sick of feeding him with pink Minnie Mouse cutlery. Not that it makes the slightest bit of difference, but I feel bad for him sometimes!


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Many women find it very very hard to loose the excess weight gained during pregnancy. Dalia porridge helps in reducing the weight slowly and steadily. It is easily digestive and can be had by lactating mothers without much fear. It is also a very healthy recipe.
Dalia or broken wheat - 1/4 cup
Low fat butter - 2 tbsp
Oats - 2 tbsp
Low fat milk - 1 1/2 cups
Powdered sugar - 1 1/2 tbsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Apple - 1 nos
Banana - 2 nos
Wash and clean the broken wheat. In a pressure pan heat the butter and when it melts add the broken wheat and saute it in medium flame for about 3 mins. Add the oats to it and mix well and saute it again for about 2 mins. Add milk and 1 cup of water and mix thoroughly without forming any lumps. Pressure cook on a medium flame for 2 whistles. When cold add sugar and cinnamon powder and mix well. Refrigerate it.
Before eating cut the apples into thin slices and bananas into thin rounds. Garnish the porridge with these slices and serve in room temperature.
Recipes >


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Working Conditions:
Our founders are aware of the impact our operations and business activities can have on the environment and on the lives of others. We are constantly striving for new ways to keep our carbon footprint to a minimum and we aim to sea freight all our manufactured garments from abroad to reduce the effects on the environment. At Serious Stuff we encourage the use of ethical and environmentally friendly technologies, systems, products and management techniques.
Serious Stuff commits to:
All employees will have free choice in employment
- There is no forced, bonded or involuntary prison labour at Serious Stuff.
- Workers are not required to lodge deposits or their identity papers with the employer, and are free to leave their employer after reasonable notice..
Working conditions are always safe and hygienic
- A safe and hygienic working environment shall be provided, taking into account the prevailing knowledge of the sportswear industry and our specific hazards. Adequate steps shall be taken to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, associated with, or occurring in the course of work, by minimising, so far as is reasonably practicable, the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment.
- Access to clean toilet facilities and clean water, and, if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage shall be provided.
- Serious Stuff will not produce a cheaper product at the expense of someone else's livelihood.
Living wages are paid
- Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week meet, at a minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmarks, whichever is higher. In any event wages should always be high enough to meet basic needs and to provide some discretionary income.
- All workers shall be provided with written and understandable information about their employment conditions in respect to wages before they enter employment, and about the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned each time that they are paid.
- Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure shall not be permitted, nor shall any deductions from wages not provided for by national law be permitted without the express and informed permission of the worker concerned. All disciplinary measures should be recorded.
Working hours are not excessive
- Working hours comply with national laws and benchmark industry standards, whichever affords greater protection.
No discrimination is practised
- There is no discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, union membership or political affiliation.
No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
- Physical abuse or discipline, the threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation shall be prohibited.
Continuous improvement
- Serious Stuff will aim to achieve continual improvement in these workplace and employment standards with its manufacturers. Suppliers should aim to exceed these defined standards, which are intended as the minimum acceptable.
We are currently undergoing a transition with our transportation of clothing from factory to client, from air to sea. This is in order to reduce our carbon emissions which is undoubtedly effective as sea freight emits 15g of CO2 per tonne of cargo moved per km, whilst air freight emits 545g per tonne moved per km. However we are not removing the option to use air transport for time sensitive orders, however there is an additional cost of £2 per item sent by air to cover the additional cost of air freight.


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Once again the Rent Control Board is being disingenuous in trying to suggest the poor are being pushed out of Santa Monica due to changes in rent control policy ("Report: rents rise dramatically, pushing out poor tenants," April 13-14). Just who then is occupying the thousands of existing low-income and subsidized units in the city? The city of Santa Monica continues to plow tens of millions of dollars into its proxy affordable housing provider Community Corporation of Santa Monica, which is now the largest single landlord in the city. Of course, this is something the board and others in the city want everyone to overlook.
What the board and others in the city also want us to continue to overlook is that despite the creation of all this affordable and subsidized housing Santa Monica residents, including seniors, families, workers and the disabled, are not given priority to rent those units, which instead go mostly to people from outside the city.
I would suggest that if the poor are actually being pushed out of Santa Monica, it is the city of Santa Monica that is doing the pushing.
George Kaplan
Santa Monica


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Over the course of the Fortnight, I've talked a bit about the growth of steampunk activity in Brazil. This extends to the publishing sphere, with authors publishing several stories of the Gilded Age in online venues, and two theme-oriented anthologies in less than two years—a record for the Brazilian market.
The second steampunk anthology to be published in Brazil is called Vaporpunk: Relatos Steampunk Publicados Sob As Ordens De Suas Majestades (Vaporpunk: Steampunk Reports Published Under the Orders of His Majesties), published by Editora Draco. In a way, it's a complementary anthology to Steampunk: Histórias de Um Passado Extraordinário, a review of which you can find here.
I'll explain: when Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro and Richard Diegues first started to talk about doing a Brazilian steampunk anthology, they soon found themselves in opposite sides of an argument. To Gerson (a longtime fan of Harry Turtledove), steampunk can't be considered exactly science fiction, but Alternate History. The AH subgenre must have a proper length to grow, so the stories couldn't be shorter than novelettes—novellas, preferably.
To Richard, however, the length of the stories didn't really matter, so after talking it through, they decided to go separate ways. Gerson would still edit his anthology exactly the way he wanted, but he decided to look for another publishing house to avoid any conflict of interests and so there would be no hurt feelings.
Richard published first, releasing the Steampunk anthology in 2009. Then, almost a year later, Gerson, along with Portuguese editor and writer Luís Filipe Silva, brought to light a not quite a twin, but definitely a complement: Vaporpunk, featuring stories from Brazilian and Portuguese writers. (Think of Nick Gevers's Extraordinary Engines in relation to Ann and Jeff VanderMeer's Steampunk and you'll understand what I'm saying.)
The first story, ironically, is a short story after all, but the only one in the anthology: "A Fazenda-Relógio" ("The Clockwork Farm") by Octavio Aragão. It's also one of the best narratives, transporting us to the last decade of the nineteenth century, to the coffee plantations, where recently freed slaves still toil for meager wages—until their substitution by steam automata. The former slaves take their revenge, but in an unexpected way, using the automata to their advantage. An intelligent story with a smart turn of events.
"Os Oito Nomes do Deus Sem Nome" ("The Eight Names of the Nameless God"), by Yves Robert, presents to the reader a plot to defeat Portugal, a nation which, by the turn of the twentieth century, has come to dominate Europe as the major power, due to some sort of scientific secret weapon. French and British agents and and two revolutionaries from the Portuguese Republic go to the Portuguese city of Sintra to steal the will and testament of the King, which is in fact a coded document containing the secret of the weapon. Armed with contraptions like a steam-powered device capable of listening through walls, they manage to steal it (much too easily, by the way) and take it to England, where the Babbage's difference engines will be able to crack the code.
It is a weak story, which has the merit of emulating almost to perfection the style of the feuilletons of the Gilded Age—but gets too long in regards to the passages of dialogue and wraps up the action too quickly. The motives of the Portuguese revolutionaries leave a lot to be desired—notwithstanding the fact that this is a universe where technology seems to run along with magic, or spirituality, in a way. France develops the studies of Franz Mesmer and turns it into a kind of science of the mind, but it is not clear if it's a fallacy—since nobody outside of France seems to believe in it except for a few people—or if it's truly a kind of evolutionary jump to a homo novus. The story, alas, even being a novelette, is too short for us to understand this concept, ending too abruptly. It felt like the part one of a serial. I would like to read the rest of it.
Flávio Medeiros is a lucky guy—he managed to be the only writer to be in both steamer anthologies, Steampunk and Vaporpunk . In "Os Primeiros Aztecas na Lua" ("The First Aztecs on the Moon"), Flavio continues his tributes to Jules Verne, as in his story in Steampunk, "Por um Fio," but this time with a spy story. (Steampunk seems to thrive on spy stories.) This story reminded me of Paul Cornell's—"Catherine Drewe" or "One of Our Bastards is Missing," for instance—but just a little; their styles are very different. In Flavio's case, he not only pays homage to Verne but also to Poe, as Auguste Dupin is one the protagonists of the story.
One can also think of Alan Moore as a reference, with his League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, because Dupin is the head of the French secret service, which commands the services of many important, adventurous minds of his time, like Professor Aronnax, Axel Liddenbrock, Felix Nadar, and Michel Ardan. Together, and under the blessings of the "all-powerful Minister of Science Jules Verne," they will try to stop England from putting the first men on the moon.
Upon his return to London, Prendick also must deal with a lot of stuff indeed: a serial killer in the Whitechapel area which happens to be the Invisible Man (Have you any doubt as to who was really Flavio's biggest influence in his story?) and a conspiracy (what else?) to start the Cold War well ahead of its time. The story is another textbook example of a good idea that should had become a novel instead of a novella—it ends too soon and leaves the reader somewhat confused.
"Consciência de Ébano" ("Ebony Conscience"), by Gerson Lodi-Ribeiro, is a welcome comeback to his Palmares universe, featuring a Brazil where the seventeenth century revolutionary slave Zumbi didn't die defending his quilombo (a community of former slaves) from slave hunters, but instead lived to see it thrive and develop into a great nation inside Brazil. In this novella, Gerson tells the story of Lieutenant-Captain João Anduro and his expedition into the wilderness of colonial Brazil by order of the Ebony Circle, a secret society to which his grandfather belonged, formed by African-Brazilian elders. The Circle's intent is to hunt Long-Teeth, a Palmares agent with special abilities who helped them for a very long time, but for a terrible price, a price the elders feel should no longer be paid.
However, this is far from being the end of the story. The fate that befalls João and his family when the government of Palmares discover his treason is reminiscent of some of the best scenes in Dan Simmons's Song of Kali and Carrion Comfort. Torture, horror, pain in massive doses. Not gratuitous, though. This is perhaps the best story in the antho. Certainly it's the most tragic.
"A Extinção das Expécies" ("The Extinction of the Species"), by de Carlos Orsi, is all about automata. In nineteenth Century Rio de Janeiro, a disillusioned old man remembers his past when he meets the Automata Maker, a German scientist who aimed to end slavery across the globe by substituting slaves with mechanical men. Having arrived in Rio with the Beagle expedition, the Automata Maker shows the narrator a small automaton which may contain in itself the key to self-replication. Carlos Orsi pays here homage to Argentinean writer Adolfo Bioy Casares, introducing his foremost character in the story, the mad scientist Morel, who the Automata Maker will meet when the Beagle arrives in Argentina. However, things don't go well for the invention of the Automata Maker: Morel uses his invention for war, creating weapons that are virtually indestructible. The self-replication principle gives birth to a "steam" nanotech industry. Steampunk meets Old Weird—which is not in the least surprising, since Carlos Orsi is a longtime Lovecraft fan and has written a number of stories dealing with the Chtulhu mythos.
"O Dia da Besta" ("The Day of the Beast"), by Eric Novello, starts in full-throttle mode. Brazil is under attack of seemingly otherworldly creatures, but Dom Pedro II, Emperor of Brazil, knows better: he knows that Brazil is one of the new powers starting to develop high tech, and there are plenty of jealous nations competing for Brazil's proprietary technology. The resistance is organized by the Viscount of Taunay (who, in our reality, fought in the war against Paraguay and later became a famous writer of the Romantic period), with electric weaponry to stun the fantastical beasts who threaten to destroy Rio.
Eric's narrative presents us with werewolves, Gail Carriger-style. Dom Pedro's daughter, Princess Isabel, has conspired with pirates behind his father's back to steal gold from English ships in order to boost Brazil's position of greatness among the nations. The political and economic sides of the equation leave a little to be desired, but the same certainly can't be said of the action-packed narrative regarding the werewolves. Eric, a writer and translator, is also a newcomer to the urban fantasy genre, and he doesn't shy away from the action.
Vaporpunk is already being considered a major accomplishment of science fiction in Brazil, but it is far from the last. There are rumors of other steampunk anthology coming soon by Tarja Editorial, and I just got confirmation that there is a dieselpunk anthology in the making, by the same editorial team of Vaporpunk. Finally, as a treat for Anglo-American readers, Ann and Jeff VanderMeer kindly invited me and Larry Nolen to translate the beginnings of all of the stories in Vaporpunk for a mid-November online supplement to the anthology Steampunk Reloaded. These, in Jeff's words in his blog, "are meant to give English-speaking readers a taste of what Brazilian Steampunks are up to. (And, hopefully, lead to full-on translations of some stories later on.)" My thanks to Jeff for giving this opportunity to Brazilian science fiction.
Fabio Fernandes is a writer. Currently he is writing a lot, and venting a lot of steam as well.


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There are two schools of thought out there as to whether you should group multiple hummingbird feeders together or should spread them out. It's akin to the lumpers vs. splitters argument of should the Yellow-shafted and Red-shafted Flickers be split or lumped into a single Northern Flicker species. Just not so scientific.
Anyway, Bob Sargent, noted hummingbird expert and President of The Hummer/Bird Study Group, Inc., is a grouper. His advice is to cluster as many feeders together as you can. The more feeders you have, the more birds you will have. Also, if you have lots of feeders clustered together, it is much more difficult for bully birds to guard them all.
BirdWatcher's Digest also recommends this approach in their recommendations on how to "foil a bully hummer".
Last year, this "bully" hummingbird on the feeder above would just sit for minutes on end at this feeder, not necessarily feeding, but just guarding the feeder. He would even perch facing outwards, just in order to "claim" the feeder.
The other school of thought is to spread the feeders out, keeping them out of sight of each other. The popular hummingbirds.net website favors this approach.
Our recommendation at the store is to SPREAD 'EM OUT!
The grouping approach seems to make sense where hummingbird numbers are high, like along the Gulf Coast (where Bob Sargent is located) or in the southwest. At these hummingbird "dream locations", literally hundreds of hummingbirds share a feeder location as they gather to consume massive amounts of nectar, especially during migration.
(Image courtesy of WBU Inc. Image Library)
But where hummingbird numbers are lower like here in upstate New York, we recommend spreading the feeders out. In our area, we seldom see more than 2 hummingbirds sharing a single feeder or 4-5 hummingbirds at any one time in the yard.
Here's how we approach it: we have 5 hummingbird feeders hung at windows on 3 different sides of the house. They are all visible from the living area. This way we have been able to observe 3-4 hummingbirds feeding at once, each at a different feeder. We've had good success with this approach, and it is why we recommend it, at least for folks with similar hummingbird population and activity.
WBU Purple Decorative Feeder
hung amongst flowers at window box
What has worked in your area? Have you tried both approaches? Let us know what YOU recommend in the hummingbird feeder "grouper vs. spreader" debate.