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We are Opal Transfer! For 16 years we are helping our customers in one of the most important parts of their lives – sending money home. Our Compliance Team's task is to provide a friendly and easy AML and Compliance procedures for the clients and at the same time to maintain the requirements of the Payment industry standards and best practice.
Now, we are one step closer to launch a new exciting product. We are looking for a driven and talented MLRO Assistant and with the potential to become a next MLRO. This is a career opportunity.
Are you passionate about compliance, analysis, monitoring systems and record-keeping? Are you a specialist with a high sense of responsibility and keen in details? If you are ready for a new challenge, we'll be happy to meet you!
Main duties & responsibilities
- Work closely with the client onboarding (KYC) team
- Maintain close control of the AML, CTF and Financial Crime processes
- Oversight of requests for approval of enhanced risk clients and transactions
- The full cycle of work on suspicious activity reports (SARs)
- Prepare quarterly AML/Compliance reports to the Board of Directors
- Conduct enhanced due diligence including investigation of instances PEPs and sanctions hits, and make searches
- Deputise for the MLRO when needed
Skills, Knowledge & Experience
- At least 3 years experience in AML/Compliance role or a strongly related to AML role
- Excellent knowledge and experience of financial crime issues arising from the onboarding and reviewing the client relationships
- Analytical decision-making skills during customer and transaction monitoring
- Good knowledge of current regulatory and legislative requirements to AML, Sanctions and Terrorist Financing
- A solid understanding of the Payment Industry sector and a willingness to understand new business lines as appropriate.
- Experience of dealing with all levels of seniority and understanding adjusting your communication to suit your audience.
- Ability to work and strive for the success of a small team
- Ability to conduct quality assurance over the work of others providing constructive feedback and recommendations
- Preferable additional language skills of our clients - Russian/ Polish/ Bulgarian/ Romanian.
Opal Transfer philosophy is to invest in the employees' knowledge and development. And not only that - we keep the best staff for the long term and many people choose to stay with the company for many years, some over 10 years, because we treasure our team spirit. We are passionate and talented individuals but we also know how to party. With us, you feel trusted and valued.
If you are looking for a full-time job with a growth opportunity, different challenges every day and working together with friendly people in the City, Central London, Opal Transfer is the right place for you.
Send a CV and covering letter to firstname.lastname@example.com
The salary is dependent on your experience and responsibilities you are able to take.
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: From £28 000


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YOU ARE WATCHING: After School: Lucky Or Not
Have a nice day! All The Best
After School: Lucky Or Not
A high school story centering around Kim So Eun, a timid girl with an ordinary life who gets invited to a school "drawing" club, after which point she begins to encounter "fantastical and extraordinary events." So Eun will suddenly find herself the leader of the club, and go on to build a strong friendship and even love relationship with the other five male members. Each episode contains particular "missions" that have to be carried out, and in the process So Eun comes out of her shell and draws out her bright, lively personality.
Genres: Fantasy ; Romance ; Youth
Country: Korean
Movie: After School: Lucky Or Not
Production Co:
Release: 2013

subset: commoncrawl


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I am a big believer in trying to avoid dietary supplements if at all possible as I think it is much better to get your nutrients through a varied and healthy diet. I do realize however that people may lack certain nutrients in their diet for a variety of reasons, in which case a well-researched supplement may be the best alternative. But with all of the information out there, how do you know who to trust? And as scary as it is, to an extent you do have to trust. Keep this notice from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in mind when looking for your next supplement:
What is FDA's role in regulating dietary supplements versus the manufacturer's responsibility for marketing them?
In October 1994, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) was signed into law by President Clinton. Before this time, dietary supplements were subject to the same regulatory requirements as were other foods. This new law, which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, created a new regulatory framework for the safety and labeling of dietary supplements.
Under DSHEA, a firm is responsible for determining that the dietary supplements it manufactures or distributes are safe and that any representations or claims made about them are substantiated by adequate evidence to show that they are not false or misleading. This means that dietary supplements do not need approval from FDA before they are marketed. Except in the case of a new dietary ingredient, where pre-market review for safety data and other information is required by law, a firm does not have to provide FDA with the evidence it relies on to substantiate safety or effectiveness before or after it markets its products.
Also, manufacturers need to register themselves pursuant to the Bioterrorism Act with FDA before producing or selling supplements. In June, 2007, FDA published comprehensive regulations for Current Good Manufacturing Practices for those who manufacture, package or hold dietary supplement products. These regulations focus on practices that ensure the identity, purity, quality, strength and composition of dietary supplements.
That's right-although a company has to notify the FDA when they are going to be marketing a new product, the product itself does not have to be evaluated by the FDA. The company that produces the supplement is responsible for ensuring they are not making misleading claims. Seriously? Sigh-this is why I try to avoid them when possible. But as usual, I digress. Where to go if you realize you are lacking a nutrient and need reliable intel?
The FDA webpage is a good place to go for the latest warnings and advisories. They even post copies of warning letters to pharmaceutical companies who improperly label manufactured ingredients as "dietary ingredients". You can check out the FDA dietary supplement website here.
Another website I love is actually geared towards service members, but has great info that is applicable to everyone. The Human Performance Resource Center has an entire section on dietary supplements here.
Finally, nutrition.gov has a comprehensive overview of dietary supplements including how to shop for supplements wisely. Because the contents of supplements are not federally regulated, there is no site that can provide a comprehensive list of what is contained in each product. They do give you tips and tricks to shop wisely however.
Hope this helps!


text: It was my priviledge to lead worship for family camp at Camp Shiktehawk this past weekend! What a wonderful time we had, I marvel at the faithfulness of God in all that He did in our hearts! I love you and pray for you all that... "He may grant out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the Holy Spirit Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality. May Christ through your faith actually dwell settle down, abide, make His permanent home in your hearts!" Eph 3:16-17


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Walking in Wet London. Sorry, West London.
Capital Ring: Greenford to South Kenton.Me and a few friends are trying to complete the Capital Ring, a circular walk that meanders for 78 miles around the inner suburbs of the capital. It lies nearer the centre of London than the London Loop, a 150-mile route that we are also tackling. Think of the Capital Ring as the North and South Circular, while the Loop is the M25. There is something of a contrast between the Loop, which is more rural in character, and the Ring, although many of the stages of both offer plenty of variety. This walk, Section 9 of the Ring, was no exception.
Start: Greenford Station TQ149837
End: South Kenton Station TQ173870
Length: 5½ miles/3-3½ hours
How to get there: Greenford is in Zone 4, on the West Ruislip branch of the Central Line, and is also served by First Great Western services from Paddington, which take about 25 minutes. Which was lucky for us as the Central Line was closed for engineering works. South Kenton (also Zone 4) is served by Bakerloo line trains between Harrow & Wealdstone and Elephant & Castle. The route also passes Sudbury Hill (Piccadilly Line) and Sudbury Hill Harrow (Chiltern Railways to and from Marylebone), while Harrow-On-The-Hill (Chiltern Railways, Metropolitan Line) and Northwick Park (Metropolitan Line only) are also nearby. For further details visit the Transport For London website.
We begin at The Railway pub, 100 yards or so from Greenford Station, which, despite being located on what appears to be an industrial estate, is pleasant enough. Greenford Station, by the way, has semaphore signalling similar to that recently seen at Pulborough – makes my claim that semaphore is quite rare seem rather stupid.
Passing through the aforementioned industrial estate we reach a Retail Park. Hmmm. Not the sort of Park I was hoping for. However a few yards further on, we enter Paradise Fields. 'Paradise' may be exaggerating somewhat, but hey, it's actually rather nice! An area of wetland (or rather, 'verywetland' after the recent rain), with a pond, maturing willow and ash trees and areas of grassland. Apparently this used to be a Golf Course, but is now managed for wildlife by Ealing Council. I'm not sure that the rat that crosses our path is quite what they intended, but nonetheless, small areas of less intensively managed landscape like this are so important for London's biodiversity. It's a shame many of them are so small.
The path twists its way across Paradise Fields, leading us to the Paddington branch of the Grand Union Canal; from here it's possible to take a boat all the way to Birmingham and beyond. A mile or so along the towpath brings us to Horsenden Hill, also in the care of Ealing Council. Passing through an area of woodland severely affected by Dutch Elm Disease, we reach an area of unimproved neutral grassland which, as the interpretation board explains, is being grazed by cattle during the summer to control the encroaching blackthorn scrub. Such grassland is relatively rare, so much so that it is included in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan, and seeing active management to protect and enhance it is a welcome sight.
A steep and slippery path leads us to the summit of Horsenden Hill, from where West London is laid out before us. OK, so the gasometer at Southall isn't particularly exciting, but then there aren't many places where one can obtain such panoramic views across London (Pembroke Lodge Gardens at Richmond Park, the view from the General Wolfe statue in Greenwich Park, and Addington Hills are a few that spring to mind). The drizzle obscures the view to some extent, but we take a minute to take everything in.
The view to the north is of Harrow-on-the-Hill, which is where we are headed next. Our route off Horsenden Hill is through a pleasant woodland of oak, hornbeam and hazel. Some fine trees, but unfortunately all of the same age. There is little natural regeneration to replace them when they die, due to the pressure endured by woodland in such a heavily urbanised area, but Ealing Council are taking steps to address the problem by fencing off some areas to allow ground flora and tree seedling to establish.
Exchanging muddy path for tarmac, we head through typical 1930s suburbia – semi detached houses with the occasional tower block. But there are signs of how London has changed since this area was developed – the shop we stop at sells almost entirely Polish products, while at a grassy play area a sign welcomes us in many different languages (some of which, embarrassingly, we are unable to identify).
Also epitomising 1930s suburbia is Sudbury Hill tube station on the Piccadilly line. The station buildings were designed by the brilliant Charles Holden, who, as architect for London Underground working under Frank Pick, is the design genius behind the modern European style of so many Underground stations of the period, notably on the Piccadilly Line (such as at Arnos Grove) and Central Line (including Gants Hill, which would be familiar to many a Muscovite, reflecting Holden's design input into stations of the Moscow Metro).
At the summit of a relatively steep hill, the affluence of the area becomes apparent: larger houses, gated 'communities', but also a wider range of architectural styles. We become aware of the presence of Harrow School, seat of learning for such statesmen and luminaries as Winston Churchill, Jawaharlal Nehru and….ummm…. John McCririck and James Blunt. I say 'become aware of', as Harrow is not located on a discrete campus but is integrated into the village with its Boarding Houses and Schools (such as the Physics Schools, Chemistry Schools and Music Schools – always plural; seemingly akin to what other schools would call departments) housed in a range of truly magnificent buildings of a variety of ages and architectural styles.
We pass the Vaughan Library, named for Charles John Vaughan, Headmaster at Harrow from 1844 to 1859 who allegedly resigned after having a homosexual affair with one of the boys in his care. The library was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, architect of the Midland Grand Hotel at St. Pancras station, and the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens.
Then, a superb view across London through the narrow slit between New Schools (recently used as a set in the Harry Potter films) and the Chapel: in the near distance, Wembley Stadium and its arch; in the far distance, many of London's iconic landmarks: the Post Office Tower, One Canada Square (Canary Wharf Tower), Tower 42 (the NatWest Tower).
Heading downhill now, we pass across Harrow School's playing fields. I get the feeling we're not very welcome: the footpath is diverted from the route shown on the OS map (which is I suppose is fair enough, as following the map would lead us directly across several football pitches) and the waymarks indicate we are on a Permissive Path, although OS show this as a Public-Right-of-Way. And there's no sign of anyone playing Harrow Football, the rules of which seem entirely unfathomable.
Crossing the A404 Watford Road, we leave the privileged world of the Public School and the manicured lawns of Harrow behind. And it shows: the path makes its way through an untidy, litter strewn area of woodland, the path ankle deep in mud as a result of unfinished tree felling operations. True to form, the Capital Ring shows us its other, less attractive side: no dramatic skyscapes, or historic edifices, just a narrow, slippery path between overgrown brambles and a chain link fence that encloses the drab and dirty concrete of Northwick Park Hospital.
All that lies between us and our destination is the soggy turf of a local authority football field; the changing rooms, with their brick chimney, remind us more of a crematorium. But with metal shutters and graffiti. This, and the grey sky and approaching rain, makes it feel like life here is merely waiting for the inevitable passing on: 'All streets in time are visited'. Passing under the West Coast Main Line at South Kenton station, we decide to stop for a pint in the local pub. Once we have found the way in, it reinforces my view: despite the presence of some local drinkers (and their children banished to the pool table) it is seemingly lifeless with decor that appears untouched since the 1930s.


text:
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Heart-shaped pendants in Diamonds, Sapphires and Rubies.


text:
Sentinel Squid
Published 2017-10-24T11:04:37+00:00
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Sentinel Squid
Published 2017-10-24T11:04:37+00:00
Inspired by the Sentinel bots from the Matrix movies! Fully poseable tentacles, arms and even the eyes can be moved (they're always watching you... always watching).
You will need to print the following:
1 Full Body (I uploaded it in 2 halves to make for an easier print as well)
6 Eyes
6 Claws (open or closed)
6 upper arms
6 lower arm blades
X10 tentacle links per tentacle so ~60 links (the pic shows 4 tentacles but it can hold up to 6 tentacles! My printer had some issues and my nozzle gave up on me after 40 links)
Let me know if you have any issues or problems printing!
Technical Information
|Date published
|111.54mm x 111.54mm x 91.41mm
Object Parts


text:
See more funny videos at Funny or Die
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Michael vs. Toby. One man's hate for HR.
Just a couple weeks ago at a Comedy Hub Blogspot board meeting we discussed the fact that the following video had not yet been created. Let the minutes for the next meeting note this post.
at 12:13 PM
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Hey there, everyone. I know that I told you I'd have some of the demos up, but unfortunately I still don't. However, as compensation, here is the video of me playing "Put Me Back Together," like I said I would make after the collage concert!
The reason I haven't posted the demos is, well, because I didn't like them. They were really hard for me to listen to, and the first time I did I had to skip over a few tracks. They had many problems, with blame spread out evenly. The instruments, vocals especially, were not played well. That's the band's fault, and I'm willing to accept that. Also, they didn't blend very well in the mixes; the vocals sat on top of all the other instruments, and guitars were too quiet. I understand that with some musicians, vocals should be higher up in the mix. However, our songs are mostly written with vocals as just some words to go with the music. We're not focused on highlighting our voices, because they're not good enough to do that with.
We're just going to focus on getting ready for the show in two weeks, and stop worrying about making something to sell. I know we play well live, because I've seen video proof. Therefore, we're just gonna have to please them in person.
On Wednesday, I had a persuasive essay assigned to me, on the topic of my choosing. Of course, being the music nerd I am, I decided my thesis would be "Pinkerton is an extremely important album, both sonically and culturally." Yes, I wrote a three-page report on an obscure emo album from the Nineties. What of it? Here it is, in case you'd like to read it! I have to deliver a speech on it Tuesday. Am I concerned? Not at all!!
So, that's about all that has been going on. Ohh, by the way, stop by and check out Lemons Don't Make Lemonade!!! It's an excellent blog, and whenever I see a new post from Jessica come up in my reader, I know I can look forward to laughs for the next few minutes! Her posts are terribly inappropriate, yet very intelligent at the same time. She's nearing 100 followers, so I had to help her out with a name drop.
Okay, then...I really hope you all like the video!! It took all of 45 minutes to make, you know...tons of effort!!! *sarcasm* Anyway, I have to go do musician stuff now, so stay wonderful until next time.


text:
As Planet X closes, that leaves room for another upstart publisher, and I've chosen to try to fill that yawning void.
Our Kickstarter went live May 17. We have six books on our initial docket. An anthology of stories based on the titles of Black Sabbath songs, two collections, and a themed collection of mine, plus two chapbooks derived from that collection.


text:
Review: Starry Eyes
Title: Starry Eyes Author: Jenn Bennett Published: 2018 Page Count: 419 Rating: 4/5 Thank you Simon and Schuster for sending me a finished copy of Starry Eyes. Zorie is very organized and hates when her plans get messed up. She likes schedules and sticking to those schedules with no bumps in the road. She's grown … More Review: Starry Eyes


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We have learned that the satisfaction of instincts cannot be the sole end and aim of our lives. ~12 & 12
Today I am grateful...
- for big thunder, big rain, big cooling off
- that Mary Christine has hit twenty-five years in the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous
- that the serious relapse dream I had this morning was just that, a dream
- that we are attending a design function this morning, followed by a luncheon
- that my life now is all recovery, all the time
Even when it hurts like hell, hold fast. The pain is the arrow coming out, not the arrow going in. Faith is not about trusting a God who will rescue you from arrows but trusting in the process. Faith will center you, not rescue you. ~Pocket Sponsor


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Awoke early this morning to get ready for an 0830 start. When I looked out of the window I couldn't see the other bank of the
Ten minutes before time the light went from red to green and I cast off. Another boat came down from
The Pride soon disappeared as they travelled at higher speed than I was comfortable with. I think they must be on their way to Keadby.
The river level is very low seeing as it was a high tide. On several occasions as I rounded a bend in the middle of the waterway I could see the bottom and took evasive action to take me off into deeper water.
By 1800 I am comfortably moored next to the water point ready for tomorrow to fill up and move on to Saxilby.


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This is the story of Wiz Kids, a live-action television series that sounds like a cartoon. It's about a group of kids who are able to travel to different time periods with a porta-potty. Get it? And the main character is played by a guy named Cash Carter, who got the role when he was 12. It was originally panned, but developed such a big fanbase that the reviews turned around and the money skyrocketed, and eight seasons later, Cash is now much more juvenile and unprofessional but still the title character. Meanwhile, there's a group of four Wiz Kids long time fans. This show brought them together and they hope it'll never be discontinued. The thing is, after the summer, they're going to be heading away to different schools. Their names are Topher, Sam, Joey, and Mo. And you know what? Finding out who these people are is so fun, I won't spoil their problems. Let's just say one of them is having trouble leaving the family, another is struggling with their identity, another with their sexuality, and another with their desire to learn a profession that is not accepted by the rest of the family. To end everything, they've planned a final road trip, but Topher decided to take a gamble and ask Cash Carter if he wanted to come along for the trip. He knows he probably won't. To give you an even easier take, it would be like asking Justin Bieber if he wanted to go out for hot dogs. But the next morning, a limo arrives as the gang gets ready to hit the gas, and their road trip will change their lives forever, this time guaranteed.
Chris Colfer utilizes his knowledge of the celebrity world and profile with his experience as a pop-star for Stranger than Fanfiction, as well as the fact he went to college before he got the part of Kurt Hummel and became a sensation, and what he stirs up for us is I wouldn't call strange. I'd call sensational. I disliked nothing about this book. This is even a stamp of approval to show that Chris Colfer may be world famous, but he's a nice people person. I enjoyed Mosquitoland, which was another self-discovery road trip book, but it pales massively in comparison to this strange, delightful and suspenseful book.
Sometimes, a large bundle of characters makes it so I feel there's too many to keep track of, and if the book tries to make sure we know the difference between each character, then we'll lose the actual story. Very few books have both an amazing story and unforgettable characters. You guessed it. Stranger than Fanfiction is one of them. Cash and his band of Wiz fans are together like the new Teen Titans. I'm not kidding. Cash is Robin, Topher is Beast Boy (or, maybe these roles can be switched) Mo is Starfire, Sam is Raven, and Joey is Cyborg.
As for the idea of Wiz Kids, this is satire, which you can sort of tell if you understand the premise, and yet it isn't very far fetched. The fanbase reminds me of that of, say, Invader Zim, where there is an entire InvaderCON. A lot of world famous actresses get very caught up in the hype, and some of them have dramatic pasts they keep from the press. And acting and modelling is a job that gives you a big footprint in the entire world, and the internet can be a cruel place. Something happens to the gang that is so horrific I felt sick to my stomach.
The book is just as hilarious as Struck by Lightning. You could say this book is Struck by Lightning meets Teen Titans. But I like this book even more, and I think it's for this reason. Struck by Lightning broke my heart three times. This book broke it twice as many times. This book never has a dull moment and we feel as much joy and simultaneous despair as the gang as they drive with a television star smoking and taking pills in their back seat. And the ending? I hyperventilated. It was perfect. It couldn't have been more touching. I was worried the book would end abruptly with the characters not yet doing their full story, but I felt it was time to wrap it up and everything somehow felt like it had its reasonable share of time.
And yet as it was wrapping up, I teared up that it was goodbye to these characters even though I'd known them for less than 350 sensational pages. I borrowed it from the library, but this is a book that's worth your money. It doesn't waste a single page to throw in some great twist or dive into a specific character without it feeling like something's going on too long.
Stranger than Fanfiction is the best standalone book I've read in years. It is a real treat for everyone who loves the entertainment industry.


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The hottie I shot yesterday could 100% pass as Kate Beckinsale's twin. And since I've forever had a girl crush on KB, I thought I'd dig up some video & pics from her year as Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive. Agreed!
Can't wait to share pics of her doppelganger, Gorgeous S!
I just love the impossibly high heels she's wearing as she's rolling around on the kitchen island because, let's be honest, no one can actually WALK in stilettos that high!
Can they…?


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Working From Home Jobs That Are Ideal
So is there any working from home jobs that are not a scam or will cost you money to join? Well firstly lets look at the title as this is a clue; a job should not cost you money as a job is something that pays for your time to do the required tasks so when you see a title work from jobs then these should not cost you a penny as an advertisement for a job is for the employer to pay you as explained.
Now a work from home business is different as there are always start up costs and overheads to pay out for with a business and that is the same online. Even if you have an e-bay or amazon account for example you still have to pay fees to list etc as you would have fees to cover in a price of a product in real life.
You only have to go on a social media site such as facebook and join a work from home group and 9 out of 10 adverts will be some sort of scam where yo have to lay out money in order to join or gain access to "the next best thing" that will make you hundreds of pounds or dollars a day only to find a lot of the time you could obtain this information with a little research online.
Obviously there are jobs you can do working from home from putting fixtures together for a local factory that deliver and pick up although this pays poorly to being a virtual PA if you have the right skills.
Amazon Fulfillment users who are running white label businesses often use a virtual PA who can answer there questions and deal with questions on orders, this makes for a full time job and but as the pay again is not great you can supplement this by offering your services to more than one business.
I have sold on Amazon and Ebay for several years and at once time before the said Niche run out of steam I became a power seller with a high turnover within that market so I know it can work. I started off by buying designer clothes from Charity shops and selling them on Ebay before selling brand new designer clothing from suppliers, it was that easy, hardly any overheads and a worldwide audience.
You will find today that most of the working from home jobs are require a computer and internet use however a smart phone can help you out to a certain extent.
Ideal jobs that could enable you to work from home can include
- online tutoring,
- internet research,
- blogging,
- freelance writing,
- transcription services,
- website design,
- fundraising management and consultancy.
There are many different types of employers recruiting for employees that will work from home and they range from big name brands through to small businesses and start-ups, the world is a much smaller place with the world wide web than it was 12 years ago for instance.
If you do some due Diligence and research correctly then there are places you can find legitimate home jobs however the rates of pay are not as good as a normal job and most of the time you can expect to do a high work load for minimal pay.
I am more driven to working for myself and I have found a genuine sight that allows me to run my own websites and has given me huge community support and tuition in order to be able to develope my business.
Its very similar to drop shipping in a way but you don't need a shopping platform to sell your goods as you learn to drive traffic to companies websites and if they buy then you earn a commission on the sale so in that way it is similar to drop shipping but it is called Affiliate marketing.
This subject has always had a special interest for me and now it has let me fulfill my dream of working from home and live the life I want to and if you choose this path then it will for you to. Its not easy but hard work pays off and once you find your system then it will all come together.
Once your website is established the earning potential is massive however you need to put the work in to get the ball rolling!
If your interested then here's the link: Wealthy Affiliate
also if you have any questions or comments please comment below as I'd love to chat and engage with you.


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And there actually was.
It's been a busy day. Not mentile back-to-back stuff, but busy.
I cleared the back patio of brambles (which was a major undertaking).
Then I don't know what I did.
Then we went in to Nottingham to see some things.
Then, back home, I reassembled the previously flooded light fitting, wired it up and got it back into the ceiling mount.
And it all worked, as prophesied by Young Masher.
Then I went down to the stables and rode my pony*.
And now this blogging malarky.
Mind you, before 9am Sam had run over six miles, so I don't know why I'm so knackered.
*not an actual pony


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He will be rejoining them after they leave the dungeon? That is mighty optimistic of them, assuming that they'll leave alive.
If they don't make it, they all get to role up some new characters together, so it works out the same.
Who plans to die before they leave the room?
I usually do, but that is when we play stuff like Paranoia…..
I looooove the computer! My laser gun loves the computer too! Don't you love the computer?
Or Martin is granted to play an antagonist…
But if he kills them, he is doomed himself to guard. Stupid villains!
Oh, and: poor Etrusca. Somehow a Monster ILF…
Poor Etrusca. Now she's food for the fishes.
The fishes the wizard has to buy in order to re-fill the aquarium?
They raised Freya, why can't they raise Etrusca?
Don't think Raise Dead works on monster races…
I think the 4E-ritual is not very specific on the target…
It's not, and they could, but it costs 5,000 gold a pop, and a lot of people die in a D&D game. I don't think you'd want to try and bring them all back. Flowers are much cheaper.
She could be Martin's new PC…heh…
She's only a NPC after all…
I've yet to play with a group who didn't make a habit of resurrecting every npc whom treated them well for so much as minute if they had the option. Ultimately this culminated in a two year long game ending where the big bad was actually that one npc friendly that kept getting assassinated "by their enemies", who also gained power each time he was brought back from the dead. Watching everyone freak out was priceless.
LOL, my group would spaz if someone suggested they spend five grand on an NPC.
I think it's only 500 – there was a discussion about a warhorse (~700) in my 1st Level group.
Noooooooooooooooooooo!!! Not the big-boobed sphinx!!! 😥
Eh, I never cared that much for boobs anyway.
You can have the sphinx, and i'll see if i can't find some use for the boobs…..
I'll need a bigger knife to chop them off then.
No, wait, that sounded creepy.
If only this was 3.5, where it's quite possible to build a dance build.
So they could have a dance fight?
Erfworld has dance-fights. Everyone should have dance-fights.
Keraptis is a metal-head! Awesome. (see his hand gesture in panel 4) With that beard I can only assume he's a big Rob Zombie fan. 😛
Or a Quaker. A wizard-Quaker!
A Quizard?
Or a Wizzer?
Or a Waker?
He's obviously Spiderman, he just ran out of webbing.
Terrible assumption.
ELECTRIC WIZARD. He's a doomhead, not a mallcore fan.
Awww, man! I liked Etrusca! For one thing, she was much smarter than the PCs.
Hmm, so that's Erias' "old friend". I'm curious whether a certain something is still scheduled to happen… I'm almost sure it is, but this -is- H.O.L.E., after all.
Oh yeah, I totally agree in a very non-specific way that is meant to convey camaraderie with imparting any actual information!
Gotta love Keraptis' wizard hat. Sorcerer's Apprentice, right? (the one in Fantasia that is…)
Assuming Keraptis is a corruption of Charybdis, that would make the
Ogre MageHalfling "Silly-ya" as a variant on "Scylla?"
One very hungry and one standing its ground?
The legendary seven-headed hard drive from Prison Break?
You called it, Bobby T. (Except that one is red.)


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Hey Everyone!
I hope KI adds fish in the upper worlds, one being Mirage! Well, we already have something similar, which would be the fish in the Nomad's Camp House, the house from the Mirage Raider's Bundle! Read with me through this guide on the fish caught here!
I can't wait to catch me some of these fish, especially a Qismah Doodle! Below is a fishing video at the Nomad's Camp by Blaze Lifehammer that all of you should check out! ;)
Happy fishing!
~ Allison Dragongem
Hey Everyone,
Grab your fishing gear and head to the open water! From now through July 17th 2016, enjoy Fish-a-Palooza and fulfill all of your fishing needs!
What do you think? Sounds like an awesome sale, right?! :D Today I'm here with a guide to catch all the seasonal fish that are here for the event limited time only!! Learn their school, location, rank, and more in this post :)
Black Catfish
School: Death
Rank: 1
Aquarium: Regular
Season: Halloween
Location: The Commons (I discovered you can also find this fish in The Acropolis)
Black EggShellfish
School: Death
Season: Easter
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Amber Estate, The Acropolis, Massive Fantasy Palace, Northguard, Jade Palace, The Commons
Blue EggShellfish
School: Life
Rank: 1
Season: Easter
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Amber Estate, Massive Fantasy Palace, Sultan's Palace, The Acropolis, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons
Basking in the Sun Shark
School: Fire
Rank: 1
Season: Summer
Location: Darkmoor Manor, The Acropolis, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons
Be Mine Fish
School: Fire
Rank: 1
Season: Valentine's Day
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Botanical Gardens, Winter Wind Tower, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons, Unicorn Way
Cold Cod
School: Ice
Rank: 1
Season: Winter
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Amber Estate, Botanical Gardens, Massive Fantasy Palace, Midday Estate, Polarian Shipwreck, Pyramid of the Lost Horizon, Serpentine Escape, Sultan's Palace, The Sun Palace, Winter Wind Tower, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons
Fall Foliage Fish
School: Balance
Rank: 1
Season: Fall
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Amber Estate, Botanical Gardens, Massive Fantasy Palace, Meadows at Dusk, Midday Estate, Polarian Shipwreck, Pyramid of the Lost Horizon, Serpentine Escape, Sultan's Palace, The Acropolis, The Sun Palace, Winter Wind Tower, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons
School: Storm
Rank: 1
Season: Halloween
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Unicorn Way
School: Balance
Rank: 1
Season: W101 Birthday
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Cyclops Lane, Olde Town, Ravenwood, The Commons, Triton Avenue, Unicorn Way
Mistletoe Angler
School: Life
Rank: 1
Season: Xmas
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Botanical Gardens, Meadows at Dusk, Polarian Shipwreck, Pyramid of the Lost Horizon, Serpentine Escape, Sultan's Palace, The Acropolis, Winter Wind Tower, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons
Ol' Boot
School: Balance
Rank: 1
Season: April Fools
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Botanical Gardens, Midday Estate, Mirkholm Keep, Northguard, Savarstaad Pass, Entrance Hall, The Oasis, Jade Palace, Shoshun Village, Ravenwood, The Commons
School: Life
Rank: 1
Season: St. Patrick's Day
Aquarium: Regular
Location: The Oasis, Jade Palace, Northguard, The Commons, Unicorn Way
School: Storm
Rank: 1
Season: Spring
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Botanical Gardens, Darkmoor Manor, Sultan's Palace, The Acropolis, Winter Wind Tower, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons, Baobab Crossroad
Vampire Squid
School: Death
Rank: 2
Season: Halloween
Aquarium: Tall
Location: Cyclops Lane, Entrance Hall
Warhammerhead Shark
School: Storm
Rank: 2
Season: Shark Week
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Mirkholm Keep, Northguard, Vigrid Roughland, Helgrind Warren, Triton Avenue
Yellow EggShellfish
School: Myth
Rank: 1
Season: Easter
Aquarium: Regular
Location: Amber Estate, Massive Fantasy Palace, The Acropolis, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons
YuleToy Fish
School: Myth
Rank: 1
Season: Regular
Location: Amber Estate, Botanical Gardens, Massive Fantasy Palace, Meadows at Dusk, Polarian Shipwreck, Pyramid of the Lost Horizon, Serpentine Escape, Sultan's Palace, The Acropolis, Northguard, The Oasis, Jade Palace, The Commons
There are a LOT of seasonal fish we can catch! :D I'm making a checklist and cross of when I get each fish :) Have fun collecting them. I'm eager to add some to a tank :D
~ Ali <3
Quick Tips for Fishing
Hey Everyone,
There's some things I've found handy about fishing over the past few years that I'd like to share with all of you! Fishing is a common hobby for wizards, so let's take a look at some easier ways to reel some in!
1. ALWAYS put the lure in front of them
One of the most important, useful, and beneficial advice you could ever get about fishing: ALWAYS put the lure in front of them. You want to make sure they get it, not another fish!
Not like this...
Or this...
But right ahead of them.
Sometimes the fish will move fast and swim right past your lure by the time it lands in the water. Make sure it is a few inches in front so when they move forward, they'll see it and grab it.
Then, all you have to do is keep a close watch and hand next to the keyboard. Once it goes under and makes that bloop sound, mash the space bar and you got yourself a fish!
It's very easy when you get a hang of it. You can catch all types of fish!! :D
2. Use the Reveal Fish School Spell Before and After Every Catch
This helps so much! Using the Reveal Fish School spell before and after every catch is surely something all of us need to know! It is a simple spell trained from Lucky Hookline in the Commons. You can find out what fish are what school, and if there is a specific fish you want, you can limit yourself by what school it is and have a better chance of getting it. And, you also want to cast it afterwards. Don't take for granted that a certain fish is in the same spot. They move around a lot! So, you can find it again by using the spell, and go on from there :)
3. Fishing Guides
You can find fishing guides just about everywhere for Wizard101, but here are the ones I feel have helped me the most.
Dragonspyre Fishing
Celestia Fishing
Zafaria Fishing Guide
Standard Fishing Guide - my personal favorite! On this one, you can find the school, location, rank, and much more about each fish. Also, it has links to plenty of other fishing guides such as house fishing, sentinel, and epic fish hunting! Everyone must check it out :D :D :D
So, that's all for today. I hope wizards from all across the Spiral is enjoying their summer. Maybe you'll see me out fishing today :D
Cya later!
~ Ali <3
Hey Everyone,
I've been really thrilled about the Wizard101 teasers KI has been spreading around through many fansites and their March newsletter, so I decided to share my thoughts of them with all of you! I will be updating this post all through the week when I learn that new teasers arrive, so visit often!
Credit goes to Frostcaller & Around The Spiral with Edward Lifegem & Wizard101 KI for their images :)
March 1st
On March 1st, the Bad Omen was revealed on the March Newsletter! I believe this has something to do with shadow magic and Khrysalis because of the setting & creatures in the background. I'm also guessing they are in a cave and the portal is the way out after defeating him. Question is, how do you defeat him? I've seen many saying the teasers could be new one-shot gauntlets, and I have to agree that's a possibility that I would TOTALLY be looking forward to!
March 2nd
Today, some new enemies were shown, including Ra, which I found interesting! Krokopatra is with him, so maybe he's under her spell, or something like that. But, wouldn't it be AMAZING to face him? Once again, this is a one-shot gauntlet possibility. Ooh... what if we fought medusa? Do you hear this KI? :)
March 3rd
Another mystery, and this time from Azteca! Since I have not yet completed Azteca, I don't have many guesses for this one, but I do think that we are fighting dark pterodactyls. This will as well be cool to find out!
Also, Frostcaller has a slideshow video from KI showing a sneak peak of these aztecosaurs that I unfortunately could not pull up on my blog. Feel free to copy and paste this link to see this exciting clip.
New Worlds Theory 3/9/16
Hey Everyone,
Since the Polaris update, you've probably heard of future worlds: Empyrea, Mirage, Hidden Lands, and Broken Shores. After doing some research to test my theory, I think I am ready to share my theory. Review the teasers that I have shared, and then read my thoughts below.
Teaser 1: As I said before, Bad Omen seems shadow magic involved. Well, Hidden Lands and Broken Shores are both, according to research, scary and dark places. Bad Omen is in a cave, hidden away. Here is a picture I find that could possibly be Hidden Lands/Broken Shores. Do you think Bad Omen is living here somewhere?
Teaser 2: Empyrea, one of KI's known world ideas, is a place of flying sky squids, eagles, falcons, griffons, gods, and angels. Kind of like Aquila in many ways. Ra is a powerful eagle... but did you consider he might be against you??
Teaser 3: Still curious about this one. If you watch the video clip by Frostcaller, you can see a sandy background, so maybe Mirage?? Mirage is said to be similar to Krokotopia, pyramids, snakes, tigers, etc.
A question many of you reading this might have is "Can KI make a world not long after Polaris, a world that took lots of time?" Maybe, maybe not. We started hearing ideas and spoilers about Polaris in August, and it didn't come out until November. KI might have been planning this since January, and will come out with it in April. They are really moving fast!
Do you have a theory? If so, please share!! :)
~ Ali <3
Skeleton Keys Theory 3/15
Hey Everyone,
If you read my last theory, you discovered some more elements to consider behind these teasers. The new worlds could be involved, such as Empyrea in Teaser 2 and Mirage in Teaser 3. Well, another theory has been spread all across The Spiral: March teasers: bosses of skeleton keys. Woah... I'm blown away!! But, it very is so proven by Frostcaller in his amazing post Wizard101 Spring Update Rundown. Also, a little hint is given away by this Skeleton Key Giveaway found on MMORPG.
Teaser 4
See teaser here: Wizard101 Spring Update Rundown
So here's the fourth teaser, and I'm putting it here because it relates to this theory. I can see that a new assignment is going to be given by this celestian engineer, but everything else is a mystery. I've come up with a list of questions and some possible answers.
What adventure are we going on? - Personally, I'm thinking we could go back to Celestia and help them. Maybe they are in trouble. Possibly there are new spells to learn. Who knows??
Who is he? - We already know this is a engineer from Celestia, but why him. Why did he come here instead of someone we are familiar with? Are we helping him/his family or all of Celestia??? Soon, we will probably find out his history and background knowledge.
Teaser 5
See teaser here: Wizard101 Spring Update Rundown
Fishing in Zafaria YYYEEESSS! I actually requested this during the Polaris Test Realm to KI. It's here!! We don't know what any of the fish are yet, but it's for sure there are some sentinels. I remember giving KI the idea of a lion cat fish :) Would be cool if there is one :D
I can't wait to go into Test Realm!!!
~ Ali <3
Wow!! These teasers are amazing!! I have always enjoyed teaser like this. Really requires problem solving and thinking theoritically. I hope you are as well enjoying these and getting prepared!
Don't forget to be checking this post and all of my website often for more tips! A spring house glitch & housing tour is on its way!!!
~ Ali <3
Hey Everyone,
I haven't seen the Test Realm in some time and there are lots of new things, so I thought I might give it a go. It is online all weekdays, not on weekends or holidays. So lets see what I discovered :)
I've never been to Polaris, and I can't go, but here are some videos that you can watch to see how it works. It is very cool. View more on the button link Blaze Lifehammer.
There are also all the new spell animations on Blaze's channel.
Bread Crumbs
There are new things called bread crumbs. These are pretty cool, because your pet can walk in the path you want. They are automatically numbered. You can make arrows in zig zag, circles, straight, or basically anything. Once your pet completes the path, it is free, or you can reassign it to something else.
These are 499 crowns in the crown shop for 7 or can be crafted from Jackie Whisperflame in the Pet Shop. I used the free Test Realm crowns given by KI.
View Bread Crumbs - Wizard101 Test realm Oct 2015 by Paige Moonshade for more details.
New Housing
Wysteria now has housing! :D Go to Petunia Floribund. I like the furniture! :)
Catch of the Day
Catch of the day fish give extra gold! Go to Lucky Hookline and find out the featured fish! This will keep you occupied if you can't find another fish to fish for. Plus, it is a good way to get gold! New fish are given at US Midnight Central time
Today's fish was:
Fishing Tournaments!
There is a weekly fish, too. They focus on catching a small fry or whopper of it. If you meet the required fish & size, then you get a message asking if you want to join the tournament! If you say yes, the fish will go out of your basket to be judged. There will be a winning smallest and a winning largest. At the end of the week, you might see your name on the leaderboards! If your fish doesn't get a medal, you get a participation prize.
Fishing in your house!
The houses: The Acropolis, Massive Fantasy Palace, Serpentine Escape, Winter Wind Tower, Pyramid of the Lost Horizon, Sun Palace, Sultan's Palace, Midday Estate, Meadows at Dusk, Night Garden, Botanical Gardens and Amber Estate can now be fished in! The fish will be related to the house! :D
That basically sums it up. I can't wait till these things go live :) You can also view more info at https://www.wizard101.com/game/update-notes/testrealm
~ Ali <3
Hi, I'm Ali, a Wizard101 player and blogger. I like to house glitch, quest, party, farm, and explore. Welcome to my blog, a place where ideas, tips, and friendship is shared.
June 2017
Fansite Links
Gear Guides
High Level Outgoing Gear (90-120)
Energy Gear (50-60)
Death School Gear
120 Mirage Gear
120 PvP Gear
Baba Yaga Gear
Rasputin Gear
Level 60 Gear
Darkmoor Gear
Pet Guides
Crafting & Fishing Guides
Update Guides
Skeleton Key Bosses
Not yet completed! ^


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Carrollton, TX
Let a Talent Specialist match you with jobs at employers like
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Comox Valley Economic Development partnered with the Canadian Farm Business Management Council and the Investment Agriculture Foundation to offer an innovative one-day Agri-Tourism Marketing Caravan workshop, the following materials are from the guest speakers.
Brent Warner
Richard Buck
- www.agritourscanada.com
- What is a Tour Operator? – Handout
- What is a Tour Operator? – Presentation
- Tourism Development Formula
Jane Eckert
- www.eckerts.com
- Evaluating your agri-tourism potential
- Winning Websites: Using the Internet to Grow your Business
BC Agri-Tourism Alliance


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Congratulations! Now that you have successfully launched your app, it's time to reach the maximum number of people you can make them download your app. There are over millions of apps to be found across platforms of iOS, Android, and Windows, where your shopping app is just a minute spectrum. A marketing strategy is therefore needed to help you make your mobile app stand out from the crowd, and for this you need to understand first what winning points make your app better than the rest. Suppose you have launched a comparison shopping app in the market recently. How do you plan to promote it? What would be your advantages and the disadvantages? Having a clear view will give you a clear insight how to approach the market with your key highlights.
There are two kinds of marketing strategies to adopt, when you are out there promoting your app – 1) organic promotion and 2) paid promotion. Paid promotion is great, but organic promotion is even better. When combined, both can give you serious results that were never before thought of. Take a look at the following strategies to get started with your post launch mobile app marketing strategy.
5 'Must Remember' Post-Launch Marketing Strategy For Your Mobile App
#1- Encourage Users To Engage
This is very important if you want your users to be loyal in the long run. One way to do it is by asking your users to rate or review your app. It is usual for customers not liking to do the extra task, but you can adopt an altogether different strategy to lure them into doing it. 'Move the Box' is one such app that offers virtual currency tokens for a review that customers can earn whenever they rate the app.
On an average, a smartphone user downloads 25 apps or more than that. That means the number of notifications he/she receives is multiple. This leaves the user choose only those that he/she finds relevant, leaving the rest. It might even go unnoticed if your application notification consists of only bug fixes. Therefore, try utilizing this notification space as a marketing channel to notify users on special offers and arrivals. Techie Smart Store is a comparison shopping app that makes the smart use of the price alert feature. Here, buyers can choose a price range of their choice from the drop down menu and set up a price alert for a particular technology based product. Whenever there is a price fall in the market, the app sends users email notifications to report about the new price alert of their choice.
#2 – Reciprocate To Provide A Good Customer Support
Words can travel faster, and satisfied customers can help to make them reach a specific target audience. Therefore, always ensure that you have got a good customer support system ready to provide timely help whenever there is any need. Make sure to reply back to customer queries on the same day, along with a support mail.
#3 – Get Your App Reviewed By A Review Site
Some apps receive a highest percentage of downloads when they are reviewed by media sites. This is because these sites have their team of specialized gadget and app review experts, whom customers tend to rely on better when it comes to deciding which one to go for. An example of some of these sites includes those related to tech news, media, and other related press. Do a good research on the guest authors who write for these sites before you decide to make an approach. Try to understand what kind of articles do they write – is it that they are eager to write a breaking news, a popular article or something that is completely new and different out in the market. Then go pitch them about what new features your app has to offer that sets you apart from the rest.
#4 – Building A Great Landing Page Is Still Important
When you ask someone to write an app review, the author will use two kinds of referral links here. One will be linking it to your website page, and the other would be linked to the detail page in the app store. Make sure you have a great landing page that will help to turn your visitors into customers. You might be having all the details mentioned in the app store. However, the information provided is very limited and might not lead to a good user experience. On the other hand, a landing page can turn out to offer a satisfying user experience along with quality rich content – all that you need to make your customer convert.
#5 – Keeping Track Of The Performance Of Your App
Even if you are converting an impressive number of customers per day, it is necessary that you keep a track of how your app performs. In that, you would soon discover which are the features that are bringing in more clients and which sections people prefer to drop off. You would also understand the total number of hours that consumers like to spend in your app daily. Access to valuable data like this, will help you to improve the functions of your application further. Make sure that you measure some of these data –
> Daily as well as monthly number of active users
> The retention rate in order to determine how well your users benefit from your app
> The average revenue per user. To find out your average revenue, divide the total amount of revenue that you earn with the total number of active users
With the Google now placing a strong preference for mobile search friendly websites and app indexing for better ranking, mobile marketing is now facing stiff competition. While you are there in the race, a quick note of these following tips will help you to meet every obstacle with a better marketing strategy.
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I ran 6k this morning. Before breakfast! I'm currently reading Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run. Not only is it fantastically well written, I'm finding it super educational and inspiring. I've long wanted to be a runner but struggled with fitness, stamina and motivation. I've started the Zombies, Run! 5k training programme a couple of times but dropped… Continue reading Inspired running
Tag: books
Fairytales and aliens
#amreading I'm currently reading Gossip from the forest: the tangled roots of our forests and fairytales by Sara Maitland. This is an interesting but confused book. On one hand it's a social history of England's woodlands, examining how people have lived in, and used the forests over the last thousand years or so. It is also a fascinating breakdown… Continue reading Fairytales and aliens
Books read in 2016
The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings, #2) by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1954 The Return of the King (The Lord of the Rings, #3) by J.R.R. Tolkien, 1955 The Complete Ballad of Halo Jones by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson, 1991 Laidlaw by William McIlvanney, 1977 Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, 2001 Griffin & Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock, 1991 Sabine's Notebook (Griffin & Sabine Trilogy #2) by Nick… Continue reading Books read in 2016
Books read in 2016 – no.18 The Monarch Of The Glen by Compton Mackenzie
The Monarch Of The Glen by Compton Mackenzie Published 1945 by British Publishers Guild (first published 1941) This isn't quite such a romp as the wonderful 'Whisky Galore' but I very much enjoyed the gentle satire in this book. It's surprising/depressing to learn that Scotland's political landscape hasn't changed that much in the 75 years since this book was published.… Continue reading Books read in 2016 – no.18 The Monarch Of The Glen by Compton Mackenzie
Books read in 2016: No.12 – Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson
Bats of the Republic: An Illuminated Novel by Zachary Thomas Dodson 2015, Doubleday, 9780385539838 It's been a few weeks since I finished this book... and I still can't decide if it was wonderful or awful. Design-wise it is certainly lots of fun to read, with illustrations, pull out maps and a mysterious letter pasted tantalisingly into the back.… Continue reading Books read in 2016: No.12 – Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson


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BAYTOWN, Texas – For the first time in NHRA history, a father and daughter will start race day at the top of both nitro categories.
That duo is 16-time Funny Car champion John Force and his daughter, 2017 Top Fuel champion Brittany Force, both of whom led their respective categories during the 32nd annual Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals presented by Pennzoil at Houston Raceway powered by Pennzoil.
The Force combo are the first father and child pair to ever qualify No. 1 together at an NHRA event. John Force's No. 1 earned him his 156th career top spot while Brittany Force picked up her 12th.
"My dad and I haven't done anything yet side-by-side but really, I'm looking for a win with him this season," Brittany Force said. "It's a father-daughter year so we're looking to end up in that winner's circle together."
"This sport brings me together with my children," John Force said. "That's what I love about NHRA drag racing. We're one big family. But to have a moment with her, that her and I can share together, you really become a lot closer, believe it or not.
"They were all really close, the girls, with their mom. But as I raced, like I did with Ashley (Force-Hood), then with Courtney (Force) and now with Brittany, you get closer. So, something like this, it'll give us a moment of just looking at each other and me being proud of her. I've earned a lot of these (No. 1 qualifier) hats, not so many lately but these guys, (crew chiefs, Brian) Corradi and (Danny) Hood, they're really doing a good job. They give me a hot rod that runs like that. Tomorrow's a whole new ball game. Tomorrow we have to get after this thing. So tonight we can share the moment and tomorrow we come out here to Houston to entertain the fans."
John Force secured the No. 1 qualifying position in his PEAK Coolant and Motor Oil/BlueDEF Chevy Camaro SS with his 3.888-second pass at 319.29 mph on Friday. Brittany Force earned her No. 1 spot on Friday as well when she set a track record at Houston Raceway powered by Pennzoil with her time of 3.661 seconds at 332.18 mph in her Advance Auto Parts dragster.
"We're coming in strong this weekend," Brittany Force stated. "We had a good weekend in Vegas. We're coming in strong to Houston. We won this thing last year and the plan is to come out and win this thing tomorrow on race day. Setting both ends of the track record last night was awesome. A 3.66 on the board was a pretty incredible run by (crew chiefs) David Grubnic, Mac Savage and the Advance Auto Parts team. We're looking for a long day tomorrow and tomorrow is when it really begins."
In the E3 Spark Plugs Pro Mod Drag Racing Series Presented by J&A Service division, Jose Gonzalez picked up the No. 1 qualifier with a pass of 5.731 seconds at 257.43 mph. The Pro Mod class is running the second race of its 12-race schedule.


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This is a yet to be finished collection of Facebook Cover Photos for its Timeline Profile layout. There will be over 200 cover photos by the time I'm done, which I hope will be about March 5th. Please come back for more once in a while. After all, you can only use one at a time on your Facebook profile. 🙂
Transformers Facebook Timeline Profile Cover Photos (High Quality)
I have a TON of Transformers graphics on this website! However, none of them are in the awkwardly sized Facebook Timeline Cover photo format, so I'm going to start converting them for people's uses! They are in the gallery below, which will grow as I find time to convert more and more. I'll take off the "growing collection" notice when I am done. There are going to about a couple of hundred of these Transformers Facebook timeline cover photos for your use by the end of February, I hope, so please come back for more once in a while. After all, you can only use one at a time. 🙂


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NCAA Amateurism Certificate: How to Request Final Amateurism Certification
In order to be eligible to compete and receive a scholarship as an NCAA athlete, you must meet the definition of an amateur athlete in addition to minimum academic requirements. The process of evaluating an athlete's eligibility as an amateur athlete happens within the Eligibility Center/Clearinghouse. Athletes complete a set of questions about the teams they have participated on and, based on the answers, the NCAA will determine your eligibility. Understanding the NCAA rules around this process is critical, and many of the amateurism violations happen well before an athlete has their status reviewed.
NCAA amateurism rules
The NCAA rules in this area are not easy to interpret. However more than 95 percent of recruits will not have a problem meeting the NCAA requirements. For athletes who have a nontraditional athletic history, here are the main points to look out for concerning your eligibility.
- Receiving compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses – The NCAA does allow athletes to receive some compensation as an amateur athlete, as long as the amounts do not exceed what are deemed actual and necessary expenses. Some athletes are asked to join travel teams in which their cost is covered by the team (this would be allowed). However, if an athlete is paid more than the travel costs, they could get into trouble.
- Receiving compensation for media appearances based on your athletic ability or fame – The obvious rules violation is being paid appearance fees, but this can also include things like athletes with large YouTube followings where they are profiting from advertising dollars.
- Endorsing (expressly or implicitly) commercial products or services – This is one of the more difficult areas to interpret. If the athlete is being paid in any way to wear a specific brand or promote a product, it would be considered a violation.
- Accepting prize money beyond the actual/necessary expenses – It is not illegal for a potential NCAA athlete to have competed in professional competition. However, if they are eligible to win prize money, it cannot exceed the amount more than the necessary expenses. **There is an exception for tennis players, who are allowed to accept up to $10,000/year and still maintain eligibility.
WHAT IF I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LEGALITY OF SOMETHING: The NCAA does not provide guidance on what is and is not permissible. Informed Athlete, run by Rick Allen, is one of the few sources where you can get a detailed review and explanation of your NCAA rules questions. Contact him if you have questions about any of the above points.Back to Top ^
What does 'preliminary certified' mean?
This status means you are cleared as an amateur athlete (at this time) and no further review is scheduled. In other words, you are cleared and pending your academic status, you are an NCAA-eligible athlete.Back to Top ^
What is on the amateurism questionnaire?
The following are a list of questions that are currently part of the NCAA amateurism questionnaire:
- Education Background – You will need to list the date of attendance, name, country, cost of attendance (U.S. high schools are free), graduation date and where you lived while you attended.
- Athletic Participation – This section requires athletes fill in the following for each team you've been part of: team name, contact info for the team/organization, league affiliation, dates of participation, number of contests played and a list of the expenses you received.
- Did you receive any money beyond actual and necessary expenses as part of your participation with the listed organizations? – The majority of athletes answer "no" here. If you did receive any compensation beyond the cost associated with participating in or traveling to an event, list it here.
- Did any of your team members receive money beyond expenses? – The majority of athletes answer "no" here, but if you did play on a professional organization, list it here.
- Did you sign any type of agreement to participate on any of your teams? – Many travel teams have team agreements; you should list those here. This is also meant to catch any athletes who may have signed professional contracts. Be prepared to show a copy of the agreement.
- Did any of the teams call themselves professional? – If you played for an organization that had professional teams in the upper ranks, but your team was considered amateur, you should list them here. Most athletes answer "no" to this question.
- Did/do you have a written or verbal agreement with an agent or agency? – Not all contracts with agents are illegal, but you should be extremely wary of signing an agreement and seek the advice of an NCAA expert before signing.
- Have you or your family ever accepted any money from an agent or agency? – This is almost always a clear violation. You may be allowed to give the benefits back and be eligible but, to be safe, always avoid taking anything from an agent.
- Have you ever been involved in an advertisement or promotion? – This rule can be difficult to interpret and you should consult an NCAA expert before agreeing to any promotions or advertisements.
- Have you ever accepted prize money based on your place or finish? If so, how much? – If you are a tennis player you can accept up to $10k/year. For any other sport, you are not allowed to accept any money beyond the cost of participating (including travel).
The following questions are specifically related to your recruiting process:
- How did you learn about the school(s) recruiting you? – Popular answers to this question include, email, text, call, and my coach or I contacted them first.
- Who contacted you and encouraged you to attend this university? – It is illegal for boosters to try to persuade recruits to attend a school. Here is more on boosters rules. Most athletes list things like the college coach, my family, my high school/club coach or no one (you chose the university on your own).
- Please list all official visits taken – If you have taken any official visits, list them here.
- Did you or someone representing you ever use a recruiting service or another individual to help you find an institution or aid in finding an athletic scholarship? – As long as you are using an NCAA-compliant recruiting service, you will have no issues. Next College Student Athlete is an NCAA-compliant recruiting service. If you have any questions about whether a recruiting service is certified, always ask for proof of certification before you get involved with them.
Amateurism certification status definitions
- Final certified: This status means the NCAA has made a final decision, declaring you eligible pending an academic review.
- Final certified with conditions: Before you are eligible to compete, you will need to meet specific requirements laid out by the amateurism committee. This is a best-case scenario for athletes with rules violations.
- Final not certified: You are not considered an amateur athlete and are not eligible to compete or receive a scholarship at the NCAA level.
- Incomplete web entry: The NCAA is not able to determine your status because you have not competed the questionnaire.
- Not applicable: If you are competing at the DIII level or for certain sports, you will not have your amateurism reviewed.
- Pending review: If something in your questionnaire raised questions, the amateurism committee will take a deeper look. You will see this status while they review your case.
- Preliminary certified: If your account has been reviewed and cleared, but you haven't requested final amateurism certification, this is your status. This means you are on your way to being eligible and will simply need to wait until the end of you high school career.
- Preliminary certified with conditions: You will be eligible after you complete certain tasks laid out by the committee.
- Preliminary not certified: You will not be eligible.
- Suspended review: If you were in the process of being reviewed, but the school requesting your amateur status has dropped you as a recruit, the NCAA will stop reviewing your case. In this scenario, contact the coach or school that was recruiting you and find out what happened.


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I have been waiting to write this blog post until Central West Coffee was successfully licensed and health certified, however there have been some extra unexpected road bumps along the journey. My goal of opening Central West Coffee the beginning of May has been delayed by leaky plumbing, trailer parking bylaws, in-line hot water installation and converting the dryer outlet into an espresso machine power source. Do you notice anything interesting? Absolutely none of these issues have anything to do with coffee!
It is easy to get discouraged by these obstacles, but I try to view them as character building experiences; shaping my business and me into something special. For example, I now know you can purchase a miniature tankless electric hot water heater, avoiding the need for a tank and additional pump. I also know the difference between volts and amps, how they work together and the importance of them in relation to the machine your operating and the capacity of your outlet. It is easy to get caught up in all these obstacles and forget to celebrate the progress and achievements that Central West Coffee has made the past month.
Two weeks ago, I fixed the plumbing leak and converted the dryer outlet so I was able to start up the espresso machine. This was a milestone evening; being able to craft delicious coffee with the set up I designed and built. Since that night I have been able to test a variety of coffee, refresh my latte art skills and book a professional photo shoot. Alongside a functioning coffee bar, I have a registered business license, operating website and events booked over the summer.
One exciting opportunity in particular is the Banff Farmers Market. Central West Coffee will be partnering with Amelia's Cakes every Wednesday throughout the summer to offer the best Coffee and Cake corner Banff has ever seen! There is also conversation about a new market in Banff; one that will operate Friday-Sunday every weekend throughout the summer. No plans are concrete, however the opportunities seem to be endless!
Taking these achievements and opportunities into perspective, the road bumps that Central West Coffee has encountered in the past month are tiny. Sure, it means more work and holding off on booking events in May; but what is one month when it leads to a world of opportunities next.
Stay focussed. Stay encouraged. Stay passionate.
The possibilities are endless!