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Imani Energy wants more Blacks with solar power
Unique firm founded by Jeffrey Richardson
Lisa Fitch OW Contributor | 10/31/2019, midnight
Pittsburgh, Pa native Jeffrey Richardson worked in union organizing, fumigation, fundraising, and for several nonprofit organizations.
He would find his calling while working with a solar startup.
"That started my entrepreneurial phase," Richardson said. "I have an interest in solar energy and community economic development."
Richardson formed and incorporated Imani Energy, Inc. in 2009. Taking its name from the Swahili word for faith, job creation is part of the company mission.
"I was looking for opportunities that would be beneficial to the Black community," said Richardson. "I'm concerned about what happens in the Black community in part because the dot com boom passed us up before. Solar is a significant opportunity."
Additional jobs in solar training, manufacturing, installation and sales could be available today, but world leaders have been accused of turning a blind eye to global climate problems. A number of these leaders were, in fact, recently scolded by teen activist Greta Thunberg at the United Nations Climate Action Summit.
"For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away," Thunberg said. "You're failing us."
Summit leaders had proposed cutting carbon emissions in half over the next 10 years. But that may not be enough.
"We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth," Thunberg said. "How dare you."
In her speech, Thunberg let global leaders know that the world is waking up and change is coming, whether they like it or not. Richardson agrees.
"Now we're in a new phase, which is a massive transition into the development and the use of energy," he said. "We're moving from fossil fuels. The world is tying to make a transition.
"Europe is much further along than the U.S., but we're all moving the away from fossil fuels to the use of renewable energy," Richardson said.
"Currently we have an administration that is opposed to the renewable industry," Richardson said, echoing Thunberg's comments. "The administration is feeding into the climate disaster we're heading toward."
There are two major coal plants outside the Los Angeles area which help generate electricity here. In 2009, then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced the city would stop its use of coal by the year 2020.
"Solar, wind, geothermal and other sources are growing," Richardson said. "We must be involved in this transition."
In addition to creating jobs for the community, Richardson also sees the transition away from fossil fuels as improving the health of the general population.
Combustion engines dirty the air and cause problems for everyone, especially those living in low income communities located near freeways, airports and oil refineries, where the risk of contracting cancer, asthma and/or emphysema is heightened.
As we begin to utilize the sun's energy through solar, we lower our dependence on oil and power plants which use coal and oil to generate electricity.
"California is a leader in this renewable and solar field," Richardson said. "Utilities pay rooftop owners for use of their roofs."


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Red Bull is confirming that it will field an unchanged driver lineup in 2017. There had been increasing speculation that Daniel Ricciardo could be eyeing a move to Ferrari, which was music to the ears of Toro Rosso hopeful Carlos Sainz. "I'm here when Red Bull needs me," Spanish reports quoted him as saying. But multiple international reports, including Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport, now report that Red Bull has extended Australian Ricciardo's contract for 2017 and 2018.
Dr Helmut Marko had told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport a few days ago: "Ricciardo will be with us until 2018, there is no doubt." Team boss Christian Horner agreed that rumours Ricciardo's contract is ending are "wrong". Asked by F1's official website if Red Bull will field Ricciardo alongside Max Verstappen in 2017, Horner answered: "Yes. But not just 2017!".
Gazzetta said an official announcement is expected soon, amid suggestions Ricciardo has secured a pay-increase that will see him earn EUR 20 million over the next two years. Marko, the architect of Red Bull's controversial driver programme, said he believes the team will be well placed to take on Mercedes for the 2017 title.
"Every time there were serious rule changes, Red Bull was in front," he told the latest edition of Germany's Sport Bild magazine, published on Wednesday. "The rule changes, the expected performance increase from Renault, and especially our driver duo of Verstappen and Ricciardo will make us Mercedes' challenger in 2017," the Austrian added.
Marko said he thinks Red Bull's driver pairing is better even than Mercedes', even though he insisted that is not a criticism of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. "I'm just saying the Ricciardo and Verstappen will be better," he explained. "Both are able to win the world title in the next two years."

subset: commoncrawl


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Recycled Plastic Bat Boxes
All our eco-friendly bat boxes are designed and manufactured in the UK and the recycled plastic is converted from used polythene bags, discarded bale wrap and other agricultural plastic waste. Much of this is collected from farms across Britain and instead of going into landfill is processed into the tough sheets from which our boxes are made. The recycled plastic in these units creates a protective and long lasting box. Inside many of our eco products there is a wooden inner chamber or floor, made from FSC Certified wood flakes or FSC Certified orientated strand board (OSB).


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Roger Federer vs. Denis Istomin - 01/13/19 ATP Tour - Australian Open Pick, Odds, and Prediction
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Roger Federer vs. Denis Istomin
Sunday, January 13, 2019 at 7:00 PM (Melbourne Park)
The Line: -- Over/Under:
TV: Tennis
Roger Federer and Denis Istomin meet in the first round of the 2019 tennis Australian Open.
Roger Federer enters this tournament as one of the favorites and is in pretty good form considering he just won all four matches in the Hopman Cup. Federer didn't drop a single set in those four matches and is fresh off a performance in which he won 30 of his 33 first serve points. Federer has now won 22 of his last 27 matches when you include exhibition play and has won 12 of his last 14 sets. People are waiting for the 37-year-old to start to decline, but we're simply not seeing it. Federer hasn't lost in the first round of a grand slam since the 2003 French Open. Federer has won six of his last eight matches on hard court.
Denis Istomin enters this tournament on a four-match losing streak and is coming off a showing in Pune where he was broken three times and lost to a player outside of the top-100. Istomin has had some success in challenger play, which includes titles in Chicago and Kazakhstan, but he's done little to nothing as of late on the main stage and has never been a competitive grand slam player. This is a brutal first round matchup for Istomin to say the least. Istomin has two career wins over top-10 players, but only one of those victories have come since 2013. Istomin has lost in the first round of a grand slam in five of his last six appearances. Istomin has won six of his last eight matches on hard court.
These two have played six times and Federer has won all six meetings. The most recent match was in 2014 in Basel, a match Federer won in three sets. Four of the six matches (one being a walkover) were decided in straight sets.
Istomin truly has no chance in this match when you look at his current form and his grand slam history. Istomin is not a big match player and doesn't have anything in his game that's going to scare Federer. Oh, Federer is also playing great tennis as usual and has enough recent reps under his belt to where he won't be sluggish with the start of the new season.
Federer wins this match in straight sets. Anything other than a quick three setter would be a big surprise.
Randy's Pick Roger Federer In Straight Sets
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
Follow Randy Chambers on Twitter @WizardOf0dds


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TNT Boys started competing in "Tawag ng Tanghalan sa Showtime" individually. The three of them made it to the grand finals but none of them got the title. However, after the said competition, they have series of guesting including in "Gandang Gabi Vice (GGV)" wherein they showcase their singing talent in a unique way. The host of GGV, Vice Ganda, challenged them to sing as a trio in the way he wanted which was then went viral. From that moment on, they were called as TNT Boys.
The trio became more popular as they went to many shows not only locally but also internationally. Some of it are in Little Big Shots, Ellen and many more. And now, they are competing in "The World's Best". Their recent performance amazed the people especially the judges. TNT Boys really make Filipinos very proud.
Watch the TNT Boys performance here:


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The Light ED. 35
What does it mean to be made in the image of God? Genesis 1:26 says, "Let us make human beings in our image,
in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals and over all the creatures that move along the ground." Moses (the assumed writer) was using a reference common in his age human rulers being representations on earth and in human form of the gods that pagan people worshipped. The human ruler reflected, contained many of the characteristics of the god so people could see what the god was like. It was not surprising then that many ancient rulers came to be considered gods themselves.


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Google Docs Templates: Thousands Of Templates To Increase Productivity
Google Docs serves as one of the best alternatives to Microsoft Office and now they are making it even better by offering thousands of templates that users can use to cut down their time and efforts. The templates are uploaded by other users and cover a massive variety of areas including resumes, presentations, invoices, billing documents, budgets and financial models, agreements and contracts, labels, business cards and many more.
You can preview each template and start using it right away. The templates can be browsed by category, languages, template type and even by popularity and rating. You can also rate each template or embed it anywhere on the web. The gallery also lets you view the templates you have used or the ones you have submitted to the gallery.
- Thousands of templates for various Google Docs.
- Cover presentations, spreadsheets, forms and even drawings.
- Include materials from over a dozen categories.
- Rate each template it or embed it elsewhere.
- Similar sites: EbookBrowse 12 Sites Every Kindle Owner Should Really Know About As awesome as Kindles are out of the box, there are a handful of websites that you should be using to get even more out of your Kindle. Read More and Calameo Calameo: Easy Document Sharing & Publishing Website Read More .
- Also see our article "3 Websites To Publish & Share Your PDFs Online 3 Websites to Publish & Share Your PDFs Online Read More ".
Visit GoogleDocstemplates @ www.docs.google.com/templates?view=public
Affiliate Disclosure: By buying the products we recommend, you help keep the site alive. Read more.


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Employment Opportunity
Job Opportunity – Counsellor – Ruah Counselling Centre, RC Archdiocese of St. John's
(Maternity Leave Placement : January 7 – December 13, 2019 : 37.5 hours week)
Counsellor – Ruah Counselling Centre, RC Archdiocese of St. John's
(Maternity Leave Placement : January 7 – December 13, 2019
Applicants have option to apply for one full time position of 37.5 hours week or one of 2 part time positions totally 37.5 hours week. Please note on your cover letter if you are applying for a full time or part time position.
RUAH Counselling Centre is a spiritually motivated and not-for-profit agency which provides counselling services to the community. Reporting to the Director, RUAH Counselling Centre, this position provides counselling to individuals, couples, families, and facilitates group sessions. The counselling client base may vary depending on incumbent skills, experience, ability, and work assignment. Counselling is provided using a broad range of theoretical frameworks and professional analysis of individual, family, group and community dynamics within a biopsychosocial framework. The position is required to function with a significant degree of independence and initiative, with work assessed by the Director through periodic review and accomplishment of assignments. Self-management and prioritization of caseload/workload is necessary in this position, while referring to the Director in complex or unusual cases, for guidance.
Education and Experience Requirements
Master's degree in Social Work, Psychology or Counselling Psychology, or related field
3-5 years of clinical experience preferred
Experience in group work, including research and development of selected groups
Experience working with couples, and families preferred
Adherence to legislative requirements and Archdiocesan policies and procedures mandatory. Individual is responsible for ensuring current membership in their relevant association and upholding professional standards and codes of conduct (depending upon membership). Personal liability insurance coverage mandatory. Full job description is available at www.rcsj.org.
Interested candidates should apply in confidence to Ms. Theresa Whiffen, HR Manager, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's via e-mail only at firstname.lastname@example.com, by 12:00 midnight on November 25th, 2018. The e-mail should include the position title.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. John's is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.
A full job description can be found here.


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What do you mean carded? There are usually on the figure.
Type: Posts; User: email@example.com
What do you mean carded? There are usually on the figure.
Is the Super Joe figure the incentive 12" figure or will this be Club Store offering?
Thanks for the share GIJCC_Staff
Fantastic idea my friend, I like that - the "Super Three". Felipe who's a customizer and on this forum took an Intruder head and placed it on an Action Man body and it was a very good match due to...
It's never too late my friend!
The Club has an amazing staff for their members and respond immediately - best wishes to Karen and Angie who have always responded to my needs and inquiries as a Club member. They will take care of...
I'm right there with you Sean.
Please share a photo when you can.
I can't make it but here's the 12" info:
When I saw Bruce Willis in Retaliation I thought the other guys that helped him out as a team could have been the rest of the AT.
That would be something else, I appreciated the references in Rise of Cobra and completely loved Joe Colton's character by Willis.
Who noticed the Joe under the helmet? Is this a surprise or bonus figure?
I agree it's more enjoyable to read as one big story. Although I've been following the Adventure Team Chronicles myself.
He definitely works for a Mike Power enemy - and it's about time he had someone to hunt down. Looking forward to this one as well.
Great tease Commander Lane! I wanted to add info from the registration brochure - can't wait to see more!
"He is a legend. His adventures have spanned decades and he has touched the lives of...


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Instant Online Payday loans
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Representative Example: If you borrow £10,000 over 60 months at a Representative rate of 3.2% APR and an annual interest rate of 3.20% (fixed), you would pay 60 monthly instalments of £180.37. The total charge for credit will be £822.20 and the total amount payable will be £10,822.20.
Representative Example: If you borrow £10,000 over 60 months at a Representative rate of 3.2% APR and an annual interest rate of 3.20% (fixed), you would pay 60 monthly instalments of £180.37. The total charge for credit will be £822.20 and the total amount payable will be £10,822.20.
Doorstep Loans in the UK: Finding the Best Loan Solutions
Perhaps one of the oldest forms of loans that are currently being offered in the lending industry, doorstep loans for bad credit are also one of the most convenient. But with the endless rise in demands for loans and other loan services as well as the subsequent increase in the number of borrowers and their unpaid debts, traditional lending firms and institutions were left to take contingency measures to help stabilise the lending business' future. As a result, a credit scoring system was designed to work towards the lending firms' end, and devised specifically to address the industry's persistent problems. With such credit scoring system in place, the lending firms were easily able to classify borrowers according to their finances. Through this system, borrowers whom the lending firms perceived to be unlikely financially capable of paying off their loans were easily segregated from those whom the lending firms believed to be capable of paying off their loans without any problem. Individuals who earn less than what the lending firms and institutions have decided as the acceptable minimum were automatically given poor credit scores, while borrowers who may have repeatedly or frequently missed some of their regular payments found their records automatically reflect their bad payment history. As a consequence, borrowers with poor credit scores and bad payment histories were automatically disqualified from acquiring any type of loan from any of the standard lending institutions. But while this credit scoring system proved to be of great help to the lending firms and institutions, its effects proved to be extremely detrimental to the finances of the borrowers.
Since borrowers with poor credit scores and bad payment histories were automatically precluded from securing any type of loan from any of the industry's legitimate lending firms, they were often left with very few, often impractical and unacceptable financial options whenever they were faced with urgent financial situations. Because borrowing from their friends or members of their families as well as selling off their properties to raise money were not always possible nor were they always easy, borrowers were often left to resort to underground loans from illegally lending individuals and firms. And while through this option, borrowers are given the temporary financial relief that they seek, the long term repercussions associated with underground loans leave many borrowers in even worse financial conditions. Because of underground loans' excessively high interest rates, many borrowers are left in a cycle of difficult financial circumstances.
Getting Doorstep Loans for Bad Credit
As more and more borrowers with poor credit scores and bad payment histories fell into the same cycle of unending financial problems, an entire new market comprised of borrowers with bad credit was inevitably created. And with the continuously increasing demands for more affordable, more acceptable, and much more secure loan services in the newly formed market, lending firms and institutions later on came up with innovative new loan solutions. With innovative new loan services such as doorstep loans for bad credit, borrowers now have easy access to more acceptable, more affordable, and far safer loan solutions in times of urgent financial situations.
Doorstep loans are loans that allow borrowers to process the entire loans right straight out of the comfort of their very own homes. Through these types of loan solutions, loan agents personally take care of the borrowers' needs by paying them a visit. With doorstep loans, loans are delivered and collected to the borrowers' doorsteps, and borrowers are given more flexible options by allowing them to personalise their payment timetable. Through doorstep loans for bad credit, borrowers need not have to settle with illegal loan services.
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I've come to the conclusion that the Stock Market is an easier medium for investors to understand (i.e., to form behavioral expectations about) than the Fixed Income Market. As unlikely as this sounds, experience proves it, irrefutably. Few investors grow to love volatility as I do, but most expect it in the Market Value of their equity positions. When dealing with Fixed Income Securities however, neither they nor their advisors are comfortable with any downward movement at all. Most won't consider taking profits when prices increase, but will rush in to accept losses when prices fall.
Here are the important characteristics of Fixed Income Securities:
Theoretically, Fixed Income Securities should be the ultimate Buy and Hold; their primary purpose is income generation, and return of principal is typically a contractual obligation. I like to add some seasoning to this bland diet, through profit taking whenever possible, but losses are almost never an acceptable, or necessary, menu item. Still, Wall Street pumps out products and Investment Experts rationalize strategies that cloud the simple rules governing the behavior of what should be an investor's retirement blankie. I shake my head in disbelief, constantly. The investment gods have spoken: "The market price of Fixed Income Securities shall vary inversely with Interest Rates, both actual and anticipated… and it is good."
It's OK, it's natural, it just doesn't matter, I say to disbelieving audiences everywhere. You have to understand how these securities react to interest rate expectations and take advantage of it. There's no need to hedge against it, or to cry about it. It's simply the nature of things. This is the first of three successive articles I'll be writing about Fixed Income Investing. If I don't improve your comfort level with this effort, perhaps the next one will strike the proper chord.
There are several reasons why investors have invalid expectations about their Fixed Income investments: (1) They don't experience this type of investing until retirement planning time and they view all securities with an eye on Market Value, as they have been programmed to do by Wall Street. (2) The combination of increasing age and inexperience creates an inordinate fear of loss that is prayed upon by commissioned sales persons of all shapes and sizes. (3) They have trouble distinguishing between the income generating purpose of Fixed Income Securities and the fact that they are negotiable instruments with a Market Value that is a function of current, as opposed to contractual, interest rates. (4) They have been brainwashed into believing that the Market Value of their portfolio, and not the income that it generates, is their primary weapon against inflation. [Really, Alice, if you held these securities in a safe deposit box instead of a brokerage account, and just received the income, the perception of loss, the fear, and the rush to make a change would simply disappear. Think about it.]
Every properly constructed portfolio will contain securities whose primary purpose is to generate income (fixed and/or variable), and every investor must understand some basic and "absolute" characteristics of Interest Rate Sensitive Securities. These securities include Corporate, Government, and Municipal Bonds, Preferred Stocks, many Closed End Funds, Unit Trusts, REITs, Royalty Trusts, Treasury Securities, etc. Most are legally binding contracts between the owner of the securities (you, or an Investment Company that you own a piece of) and an entity that promises to pay a Fixed Rate of Interest for the use of the money. They are primary debts of the issuer, and must be paid before all other obligations. They are negotiable, meaning that they can be bought and sold, at a price that varies with current interest rates. The longer the duration of the obligation, the more price fluctuation cycles will occur during the holding period. Typically, longer obligations also have higher interest rates. Two things are accomplished by buying shorter duration securities: you earn less interest and you pay your broker a commission more frequently.
Take a tour of a professional investment managers' private SEP IRA program during ten years surrounding the financial crisis:
In developing the investment plan, personal financial goals, objectives, time frames, and future income requirements should all be considered. A first step would be to assure that small portfolios (under $50,000) are at least 50% income focused.
At the $100,000 level, between 30% and 40% income focused is fine, but above age 50, the income focus allocation needs to be no less than 40%... and it could increase in 10% increments every five years.
The "Income Bucket" of the Asset Allocation is itself a portfolio risk minimization tool, and when combined with an "Equity Bucket" that includes only Investment Grade Value Stocks, it becomes a very powerful risk regulator over the life of the portfolio.
Other Risk Minimizers include: "Working Capital Model" based Asset Allocation, fundamental quality based selection criteria, diversification and income production rules, and profit taking guidelines for all securities,
Dealing with changes in the Investment Environment productively involves a market/interest rate/economic cycle appreciation, as has evolved in the Market Cycle Investment Management (MCIM) methodology. Investors must formulate realistic expectations about investment securities--- by class and by type. This will help them deal more effectively with short term events, disruptions and dislocations.
Over the past twenty years, the market has transitioned into a "passive", more products than ever before, environment on the equity side... while income purpose investing has actually become much easier in the right vehicles. MCIM relies on income closed end funds to power our programs.
To illustrate just how powerful the combination of highest quality equities plus long term closed end funds has been during this time... we have provided an audio PowerPoint that illustrates the development of a Self Directed IRA portfolio from 2004 through 2014.
Throughout the years surrounding the "Financial Crisis", Annual income nearly tripled from $8,400 to $23,400 and Working Capital grew 80% $198,000 to $356,000.
Total income is 6.5% of capital and more than covers the RMD.
Managing income purpose securities requires price volatility understanding and disciplined income reinvestment protocals. "Total realized return" (emphasis on the realized) and compound earnings growth are the key elements. All forms of income secuities are liquid when dealt with in Closed End Funds.


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HRSG Casing & Ductwork
Hiring Pipe Welders
Feb 2015
Chanute Manufacturing is currently hiring Pipe Welders qualified in TIG welding of light to heavy-wall tubing. Please visit our Employment page for more information.
Optimus Ships Large Firetube Boiler
March 2014
Optimus Engineered Products designed and produced this waste heat firetube boiler that will extract heat from a 2100°F gas stream and produce 300,000 lb/hr of steam @ 740 psi.
The system also included a smaller firetube boiler that shared a common steam drum. All units shipped on time for a March 2014 delivery.
HRSG Casing and Inlet Ducting
Chanute has manufactured HRSG casing and inlet ducting for over thirty years. Our experience covers every type of internally insulated, floating liner design found in the industry. We support OEMs in the domestic market and supply replacement components to combined cycle operators. Our heavy steel fabrication capability combined with our product knowledge makes Chanute uniquely qualified. We understand the interface between pressure parts and the structure, thermal expansion considerations and gas baffle design.
HRSG transition ductwork


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Stars & Stripes Dress & Headband 18"
These stars and stripes make an adorable combination in this dress. The bodice features a navy background with red stars. The bottom of the dress is red and navy striped fabric with a gently gathered waistline. A hook and loop closure runs the entire back of the dress. Two tuelle rosettes; one in red and the other in blue, create a cute headband which is included in this set. Doll and shoes not included in this set. Fits 18" dolls.
Item number
Sophia's Heritage Collection


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I feel so bad that I haven't had a chance yet to blog about the wonderful box of goodies I received from Lottie of Love Lottie as part of the Fairy Tale Swap. Lottie has sent this beautiful needle-felted elf. I am just so impressed by her skills - the elf's little face is absolutely gorgeous and I love the details on his clothes, especially the little wooden button.
My sons think he is one of Father Christmas's elves & I have a feeling that he is going to become part of our Christmas celebrations in a big way. I just hope they are not expecting me to make a needle-felted Santa Claus - I don't feel up to that at all!
I think the close-up pic shows what a great job Lottie has done - he has such expressive features, which must have been so hard to create. I'm not sure if I believe her when she says she hasn't done much needle-felting before!! Isn't he fantastic?? It would be good to think of a name for him - I will have to set the boys to work on that one.
And as if that wasn't enough I also got these gorgeous little lavender shoes made of felt with some very pretty embroidery. I think they are lovely & much too special to hide away in my wardrobe. I am sure that at least one of them will go on the hooks on our bedroom door (once we get round to putting the hooks up of course). What a great swap!
Although actually that isn't quite true because I haven't actually completed my half yet!! One bit is done but I have to get a couple more bits & bobs before I can start on my other bit of creating for Lottie. It's been a real challenge which is one of the things I like about these swaps - it's good to get the opportunity to do something different and have the discipline of the swap theme to contend with. I will give Lottie a hint & just say that it has been great to practise my crochet a bit...
Mee Crafty Swap
Our other swap parcel from Jill & Nature Girl in the USA arrived this morning and caused huuuge excitement. I want to get more photos taken before posting properly about it, but here is a picture of two very happy boys doing some enthusiastic jumping on the bed wearing their lovely new T-shirts. All I can say is that Jill and Nature Girl certainly got it right when it comes to the tastes of my 2 sons.
One of the reasons why I am so behind with posting about our swap gifts is that I was allowed out on Friday & Saturday & went to meet up with some old friends in London. I was a bit too knackered to do as much as I wanted to do, but I did get the chance to visit a couple of fabric shops & the treasure house of a haberdashery/fabric shop MacCulloch & Wallis. I didn't get a lot of stuff because I was really aware that I would have to carry it around all evening, but was very pleased with these vintage trims and some bargain fabric that I picked up from The Cloth House in Soho. I think they will come in handy for some Christmas crafting I want to do & for some more pin cushions I am working on.


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prAna Women's Sidra pant is made from organic cotton and Spandex. Comfortable, durable, light, fresh colours, excellent design and cut and much more. Excellent choice for climbing, bouldering, travelling, yoga, hiking... Veeda waistline will gently embrace you, and hold everything firm, you won't even notice you wear the pant. It will be one of your favourites for years to come.More information:
- excellent climbing pant, suitable for yoga, travelling, trekking…
- sharpest rocks or slackline will be no match for prAna Sidra pant
- resistant and durable
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- elastic waist from comfortable Veeda material
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- material: 97% organic cotton, 3% spandex


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The Lynbrook Kindergarten Center's Class of 2019 proudly took the stage at Lynbrook High School for their graduation ceremony on June 24. The graduates dressed to impress in their class colors as they celebrated the end of their Kindergarten experience.
Principal Ellen Postman reflected on the students' time at the school and all the friendships that were formed throughout the school year.
"Their circle of friends began to grow from their first day in school," she said. "At the end of this week the children will move on to Marion Street, West End and Waverly Park. However, the special memories of Kindergarten will remain with them forever."
Board trustee Alicemarie Bresnihan congratulated the young students and their families on the milestone occasion. Together, the graduates performed a choral poem titled "Kindergarten" and several other songs for loved ones, the district's central administration, board of education members and faculty.
Music teacher Madeline Jabin received special recognition during the ceremony for her upcoming retirement. Members of the Parents Club and Principal Postman thanked Mrs. Jabin for her commitment to the students of Lynbrook.
After officially announcing the graduating class of 2019, each class took a final bow on stage with their teachers as proud family and friends cheered.


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There is also information about your computer hardware and software that is automatically collected by Eat Right Indiana. This information can include: your IP address, browser type, domain names, access times and referring Web site addresses. This information is used by Eat Right Indiana for the operation of the service, to maintain quality of the service, and to provide general statistics regarding use of the Eat Right Indiana Web site.
Please keep in mind that if you directly disclose personally identifiable information or personally sensitive data through Eat Right Indiana public message boards, this information may be collected and used by others. Note: Eat Right Indiana does not read any of your private online communications.
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Hermes was an Olympian god in Greek religion and mythology. He was the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia. He was second youngest of the Olympian gods. In the Roman adaptation of the Greek pantheon Hermes was identified with the Roman god Mercury.
Hermes was the God of animal husbandry, roads, travel, hospitality, heralds, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, writing, persuasion, cunning wiles, athletic contests, gymnasiums, astronomy, and astrology. He was also the personal agent and herald of Zeus, the king of the gods.
In some myths Hermes is a trickster, and outwits other gods for his own satisfaction or the sake of humankind.
In the first hours after his birth, it is said that he escaped from his cradle and carried off some of the oxen of Apollo. In order not to be discovered by the traces of his footsteps, Hermes put on sandals, and drove the oxen to Pylos, where he killed two, and concealed the rest in a cave.
The skins of the slaughtered animals were nailed to a rock, and part of their flesh was prepared and consumed, and the rest burnt; at the same time he offered sacrifices to the twelve gods, for which he is called the inventor of divine worship and sacrifices.
Afterwards he returned to Cyllene, where he found a tortoise at the entrance of his native cave. He took the animal's shell, drew strings across it, and thus invented the lyre and plectrum. The number of strings of his new invention is said by some to have been three and by others seven, and they were made of the guts either of oxen or of sheep.
Apollo had in the meantime discovered the thief, and went to Cyllene to charge him with it before his mother Maia. She showed Apollo the Hermes in his cradle; but Apollo took the boy before Zeus, and demanded back his oxen.
Zeus commanded him to comply with the demand of Apollo. Hermes then gave Apollo back his oxen; but when Apollo heard the sounds of the lyre, he was so charmed that he allowed Hermes to keep the animals. The two gods became friends because of the music of the lyre. Apollo then presented Hermes with his own golden shepherd's staff.
Besides the lyre, Hermes is said to have invented the alphabet, numbers, astronomy, music, the art of fighting, gymnastics, the cultivation of the olive tree, measures, weights, and many other things.
In Ancient Greece, Hermes was a phallic god of boundaries. His name, in the form herma, was applied to a wayside marker pile of stones; each traveler added a stone to the pile. In the 6th century BCE the cairns were replaced with a rectangular pillar of stone or bronze topped by a bust of Hermes with a beard. In Athens, herms were placed outside houses for good luck.
The principal attributes of Hermes include –
A travelling hat, with a broad brim, which in later times was adorned with two little wings; the latter, however, are sometimes seen arising from his locks, his head not being covered with the hat.
The staff by means of which he closes and opens the eyes of mortals. The staff, in later times, is further adorned with a pair of wings, expressing the rapidity with which the messenger of the gods moved from place to place.
Golden Sandals that carried the god across land and sea with the rapidity of wind.
Shepherd's Pipes, which he traded with Apollo for certain privileges.
The Blade of Hermes, a golden or adamantine blade.Among the things sacred to him we may mention the palm tree, the tortoise, the number four, and several kinds of fish; and the sacrifices offered to him consisted of incense, honey, cakes, pigs, and especially lambs and young goats.
Sacred to Hermes were –
The hare, because of its great ability to multiply. He placed the animal amongst the stars as the constellation Lepus.
The hawk, having transformed two men, Hierax and Daidalon, into hawks.
The tortoise, having transformed the nymph Khelone into a tortoise and also having constructed the first lyre from the shell of the beast.
The saffron crocus, from which saffron was harvested in the mountains, was sacred to Hermes. The god was said to have caused it to grow from the blood of his beloved Krokos.
The strawberry tree, for he was said to have been nursed beneath the boughs of such a tree.


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Americans will need to reduce beef consumption to a burger and a half a week to feed the planet 30 years from now.
According to a report from the World Resources Institute, the U.S. needs to cut their average consumption of beef by about 40% and Europeans by 22%, for the world to continue feeding approximately 10 billion people in 2050, reported CNN (July 17).
An estimated 9.8 billion people will live on the planet by 2050, up from 7 billion people in 2010. Demand for food is projected to outpace population growth, increasing by more than 50% as people's incomes in developing nations are expected to increase.
The demand for meat and dairy is expected to rise even faster by nearly 70% with the command for beef, sheep and goat expected to be even higher, at 88%. In the U.S., beef accounts for only about 3% of the calories in the average diet, but it uses 43% of U.S. land used for agriculture.
In 2010, Americans ate 59.3-lbs. of beef, according to USDA. Reaching a 40% deduction would mean eating 23.72-lbs. of beef for the year.
The report suggests switching to plant-based foods would help the environment the most — and it seems as though people are already moving in that direction. New data shows the U.S. plant-based foods retail market is worth $4.5 billion, according to GFI.
However, it is plant-based milk that is setting the curve for plant-based food retail sales. This category makes up 13% of total retail milk sales, growing 6% in the past year. In the same time period, cow's milk sales declined 3%. Emerging plant-based dairy categories like yogurt, cheese and ice cream are growing even faster.
One ice cream maker is even going beyond the plant-based space by creating ice cream in a lab, reported Vox (July 15). Though there are plenty of dairy free ice creams available, biotech startup Perfect Day wanted to create a product that's indistinguishable from cow-made dairy. It created its lab-grown ice cream using whey protein produced by genetically modified yeast, rather than by cows.
So far, the company only has a limited supply and it sold samples to the first 1,000 customers to order via its website, who were offered vanilla salted fudge, vanilla blackberry toffee, and milky chocolate.It quickly sold out, despite the fact that just three pints costs $60.
As for plant-based meat, strategic shelf placement may be aiding sales. Total plant-based meat is currently worth $800 million, accounting for 2% of U.S. retail packaged meat sales. Retailers increasingly shelve plant-based meat in the refrigerator section, alongside conventional animal meat. Consumers are being introduced to a wider range of products, with all "center of plate proteins" in one convenient place.
"Consumer appetite for plant-based foods is surging as consumers increasingly make the switch to foods that match their changing values and desire for more sustainable options," said Caroline Bushnell, associate director of corporate engagement at GFI. "This growth will continue as more companies bring next-generation innovations to market that really deliver on the most important driver of consumer choice: taste."
The Trump administration released the names of Payment Protection Program (PPP) borrowers for the first time, reported The Wall Street Journal (July 6).read more
Victoria writes for the biweekly Food Institute Report, the daily Today in Food updates, and the Foodie Insider daily newsletter for consumers. She graduated from Montclair State University with a B.A. in Journalism and has a background in Nutrition and Food Science. Victoria can be reached through her email at email@example.com.
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text: Current global aerosol-climate models typically have relatively coarse resolution, thus do not explicitly represent phenomena occurring at spatial scales smaller than about 100 km. The subgrid variability of surface winds is often neglected, which can lead to resolution-dependence of simulated dust and sea salt emissions, and consequently influence the model estimate of anthropogenic aerosol effect. It is thus important to quantify the impact of subgrid variability of surface winds on sea salt and dust emissions and parameterize this effect. In this study we analyzed high-resolution meteorological fields from global operational analysis at approximately 15 km resolution, and from regional model simulations with horizontal grid size down to 1km. Using these data, we characterized the spatial variability of surface wind within typical global model grid, and analyzed relationships between the wind speed variability and various factors such as the grid-mean turbulence kinetic energy, dry convective eddies, moist convective eddies, and surface elevation inhomogeneity. It was found that the contribution from moist convective eddies dominates the sub-grid variability of surface wind speeds over the oceans. Over land, subgrid variation of surface elevation also plays an important role. A parameterization based on above findings was developed and tested in CAM5. The impact on natural aerosol emissions was also evaluated.


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Athletes and Parents,
All Students must have both of the following on file in the Athletic Trainers office before the start of their sports first practice. You can click the respective link and it will lead you to the forms needed. Should you have any questions feel free to email me at email@example.com
Athletics Physical - Print. Parents fill out the first page (Medical History) and a doctor must fill out the second page (Physical Examination). Please don't forget that both parent and student must sign at the bottom of the medical history page.
Physical - Online Portion - Please fill out all the way to the end where there is a red "Submit" button.


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Beijing – Paris Hilton isn't the only fashion staple from the aughties that seems to be popping up on many a moodboard. Thanks to a new lingerie store in Beijing, we are seeing the re-emergence of the decade's ultimate Parisian Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Amélie, she of the odd fringe, crème-brûlée cracking and photomaton stalking.
Conceived by Isense Design, the IMI's Market shop at EC Mall bears the instantly recognizable palette of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's movie: the nearly exact deep shades of green, red and yellow that dominated the cult 2001 film are seen in the store, replicated both on walls and on bisque acrylic sheets.
Two of the movie's key settings are loosely replicated inside the store: the lingerie store begins with a fruit and vegetable market, much like the one where main character Amélie Poulain delivers an artichoke-inspired comeback; the inside relates much more to her bedroom, where she finds the treasure box that kickstarts her self-acceptance. In the emotional and political minefield that is the female underwear category, that's quite the reference. 'It was no coincidence: Amélie believes that every woman has an angel in her heart, and our client's idea was that women who are tired of being flaunted could find and accept their true selves here,' explained Isense's creative director, Sissi Bu.
To connect the inspirational dots, the cashier has a built-in projector that plays the movie on loop. No word yet on whether Yann Tiersen's earworm of an accordion-friendly score is also on loop on the premises to further drive the idea home.
Location 丹棱街甲1号,Danling St, Haidian, Beijing


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Electrician North London
Have you tried searching for 'Electrician North London'? It can be a daunting task looking for an experienced electrician with affordable rates. Especially one who is available 24 hours per day and doesn't add hidden costs.
VCO electrical services provide an all-inclusive service without additional fees. You can read more about our rates and charges here.
We know we provide work to such a high standard that we provide a written 12 month warranty at no extra cost. As well as that all of our employees are fully qualified and provide an excellent service.However, you shouldn't take our word for it.
You can read independent reviews on our site here, you can also read more client testimonials here.
Emergency Electrician North London
Do you require an emergency electrician in North London? VCO electrical services are open 24/7.We have been serving North London since 2010. Our clients consist of both domestic and commercial entities. Furthermore we work with households, landlords, property developers and even maintenance companies.
Check out some of the services we offer below:


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This post will guide you to do BMW CIP Programming with MaxiSys Pro MS908P. Please keep reading for more details.
Note: It only applies to BMW V3.00 or later versions. More attention please refer to the pdf file below:
Step 1. Tap 'CIP (Coding, Individualisation, Programming)', as shown below:
Step 2. If CIP function has not been performed before on the vehicle, please refer to the "2.1 Initial Entering CIP" part in this pdf file. If it has already been done, MaxiSys Pro can save the previous session which records the configuration information. When MaxiSys Pro re-enters CIP, a prompt message will pop up to confirm whether to use the saved session, as shown below:
Step 3. Tap 'Yes' to continue the saved session without establishing communication with vehicle again. This will realize fast access to CIP. Tap 'No' to reject the saved session, and MaxiSys Pro will establish communication with vehicle just as the procedure in initial entering CIP.
Note: It is recommended not to use the session saved long time ago for the actual information of the vehicle may have changed.
MaxiSys Pro is set to only store up to 5 vehicle sessions. It will prompt you to remove some unnecessary ones if there are more than 5 sessions.
Step 4. Tap 'OK' and a list of vehicle record will display. You can select the sessions to be removed
Select the sessions to be removed and tap 'OK'. The message below will display on the screen, Tap 'OK' to remove the selected sessions. Then re-entering CIP is required.
Step 5. Tap "Programming/Coding" on the CIP Main Interface, you can see the following items:
1. Determine Measures Plan
Lists the upgrade plan automatically calculated by MaxiSys Pro MS908P.
Please refer to "3.1 Determine Measures Plan" in the file for additional information.
2. Complete Update
All the ECUs available to programming/coding are checked by default.
Please refer to "3.2 Complete Update" in the file for additional information.
3. Selective Update
Manually selects the ECUs you want to perform programming/coding.
Please refer to "3.3 Selective Update " in the file for additional information.
4. Control Unit List
Displays all the control units, and you can perform diagnosis, programming,coding, and special functions to the specific ECU. Please refer to "3.4 Control Unit List " in the file for additional information.
MaxiSYS Pro MS908p For BMW CIP Programming guide file download: http://www.obd2shop.co.uk/upload/pro/autel-maxisys-pro-ms908p-for-bmw-cip-programming.pdf
Autel MaxiSYS Pro MS908p for sale: http://www.obd2shop.co.uk/wholesale/autel-maxisys-pro-ms908p-diagnostic-system-with-wifi.html


text: The city convention bureau was first class in their help and organisation. The city welcomed us in grand style! Bruges is one of the best cities to hold a congress. It is a beautiful city with good transport links, many different styles of accommodation to cater for all budgets and everything is in walking distance. We could not recommend it more highly!


text: Hello there from Franklinton NC (just north of Raleigh). I'm primarily an N scaler but I dabble in Nn3, and of course if you participate in that particular brand of insanity sooner or later you will end up with some Z as well. My home layout track plan is roughly based on my hometown of Clarinda IA but that's where the similarity ends because it looks nothing like the place. There in my little N scale world you will regularly see a CB&Q SD9 Redbird setting out and picking up cars while a Pennsy K4 pulls the varnish through. The Erie and Norfolk and Western make their appearances as well now and again. I have both DC and DCC (not at the same time of course) on the N scale layout, the DC duties are handled by a PWM controller mounted to the control panel and an NCE PowerCab does the DCC side of it. I don't have anything permanent for either Nn3 or Z yet, but I plan on going all DC with them because the thought of putting decoders into those little engines is a bit more than I can handle at present. Maybe that will change, there are certainly plenty of folks doing it. I look forward to learning as much as I can from all of you.


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Elizabeth Hepburn Biography: Elizabeth Hepburn's victory over cancer shifted her career from musical theater to the healing arts. She is now a Wellness Facilitator and through her programs, CDs and the Better & Better Series she sets the stage to invigorate the magnificent healing power within us all.
Disclaimer and Terms. This article
is the opinion of the author. WorldwideHealth.com makes
no claims regarding this information. WorldwideHealth.com
recommends that all medical conditions should be treated
by a physician competent in treating that particular condition.
WorldwideHealth.com takes no responsibility for customers
choosing to treat themselves. Your use of this information
is at your own risk. Your use of this information is governed
by WWH terms and conditions.


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A couple of weeks back I wrote an article about sharing tweets with React Native's Linking API. Since then I noticed that this method has stopped working on iOS, but I'm not sure if it's an issue with my iPhone SE or if Twitter has updated their app and changed the URL schemes. It still seems to be working fine on Android(and you can still get the same dialogue on iOS if you use 'twitter://post' instead of 'https://twitter.com/intent/tweet'). I tested quite a few different things trying to find a simple and consistent way to tweet on iOS this week and for now I've found a pretty simple solution: SLComposeViewController. It isn't without issues though…
SLComposeViewController and Tweeting
I ended up making a native module in my React Native project and using SLComposeViewController, react-native-social-share seems to do the same thing but I couldn't get it to compile for some reason. Anyway, composing a tweet with SLComposeViewController is quite straightforward:
When you call this if the user has Twitter installed and is signed in they will see this kind of dialogue:
What are the issues with SLComposeViewController?
Apple seems to be phasing this API out. I've also heard things about them de-coupling social accounts from iOS. SLServiceTypeTwitter is actually marked as deprecated since iOS11.0 in Xcode. You can still use it without any issues for now, but apparently there were some problems when iOS 11 was still in beta testing and Twitter had to work around them. Who knows if this approach will still work in iOS 12. TwitterKit has something called TWTRComposer which seems to do something similar but you actually have to create an app in Twitter's developer dashboard and users need to authorize your app before even being able to tweet…This seems very in-elegant to me for such a simple feature.
SLComposeViewController also seems to have some strange bugs with tweeting in iOS 11. When I tried using the addURL method the text and URL got mushed together and it didn't seem to be working properly. As a work-around I just added the URL to the text provided to setInitialText, as well as hashtags. Hopefully either Apple or Twitter provides another option before iOS 12 comes out, creating a Twitter Developer app and having the user authorize your app before tweeting seems like over kill to me for apps that aren't even using Twitter as a login option…
If you can figure out a better solution than this or have something to say feel free to comment below. Last week I wrote another post on using SKStoreReviewController with React Native, if you're interested you can read about it here.


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CENTER VALLEY, Pa. --- The Moravian College baseball team dropped a wild non-conference game at DeSales University, 15-7, Tuesday afternoon.
The Greyhounds, now 18-16 on the year, trailed by eight runs early before getting back within a run only to see the Bulldogs pull away again.
The Hounds had 13 hits in the game with sophomore right fielder Carmine Palummo going 2-for-3 with a pair of runs and two walks. Junior catcher Andrew Koenig was 2-for-4 while sophomore second baseman Ian Csencsits and junior designated hitter Evan Kulig were both 2-for-5 with Kulig driving in two runs.
Moravian used nine pitchers in the game. Freshman Kyle Serman made the start and pitched on inning before freshman Johnny Apgar headed to the mound for an inning. Junior Kevin Shields tossed one inning while freshman Cade Stoneback pitched an inning with one strikeout. Sophomore Connor Morro also tossed an inning with a strikeout. Senior Adam Howard was on the mound next before freshman Rodney Berger came into the game and recorded two strikeouts in an inning of action. Junior Billy Roethke tossed the seventh inning with a strikeout while junior Tyler Caraway finished the contest with a pair of strikeouts in one inning of work.
The Bulldogs took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning and added five more runs in the bottom of the third for an 8-0 advantage.
The Greyhounds would get on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth inning when junior left fielder Mike Mittl led off with a double and scored on an RBI single from Koenig.
Moravian added two more runs in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 8-3. Palummo led off with a single and Csencsits followed with another single. After an out, junior center fielder Austin Markowski connected on a two-RBI double to bring Palummo and Csencsits across the plate.
The Hounds scored four times in the top of the sixth inning to pull within a run at 8-7. Junior third baseman Joey Ferolie reached on an error to start the inning before Koenig hit a single. After a sacrifice bunt by junior shortstop Matt Stalter, Palummo drew a walk to load the bases. Csencsits connected on an RBI single to chase Ferolie across the plate while Kulig hit a two-RBI single as Koenig and Palummo scored. Markowski drew a walk to load the bases again before Welles hit into an RBI fielder's choice to bring Csencsits across the plate.
DeSales answered with seven runs in the bottom half of the sixth to seal the game.
Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Saturday, April 28 in a Landmark Conference doubleheader at The University of Scranton beginning at 12:30 p.m.


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This is the seventh post in a series about my trip to Greece, June 30-July 20, 2016 — an amazing journey of history, family and discovery. Previous posts can be found here.
The most important lesson I learned when traveling in Greece is: never arrive anywhere between 1:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. That rule makes scheduling easy — repositories in the morning; solo time in the afternoon; family time in the evening; dinner at 9 or 10:00 p.m. I had to tweak this a bit to squeeze in all I needed to do.
Archives in the mornings — there's no better way to start the day! The Sparta Office is a treasure chest filled with nuggets of genealogical gems: documents, books, records. When I arrive, I learn that my archivist friends are on overload: Mrs. Pepi Gavala and her assistants, Michail Sovolos and Maria Stellakou. They explained that many government offices are now closing or consolidating, and sending their records to the Archives. Boxes lined the hallway, waiting for these good people to catalog and store them. Mindful of their workload, I settled in the main room and begin to dig for gold.
During my visit in 2014, I had obtained digital copies of the basic records for my family: Male Registers (Mitroon Arrenon) and Family Registers (Dimotologion). I dug into these collections again for my newly-found surnames, and then for a few friends who had requested lookups. I asked Michalis for School Records from Agios Ioannis, and he brought me several books. I was very surprised to see that some of them had only girls' names! As a Greek researcher quickly learns, there are few official records naming women. These truly are a treasure, as I can now begin to construct entire families, not just males. The school records for Agios Ioannis range from around 1900-1940; the exact tmeframe I need for my grandparents' era. I stayed until 3:00 closing time, digitizing pages that listed my surnames. What a great find!
Gregory Kontos arrived in the early afternoon to join me for three days of research. It was hot, hot, hot! And every repository was closed, closed, closed. So we filled the empty 1:00-4:00 p.m. timeframe by going to a place that never closes — the cemetery. Up and down the rows we walked, Gregory reading surnames off the headstones while I snapped photos of the ones that were a "yes." The sun was scorching this July mid-day and there was no breeze, but we persevered until every name on every grave was read. Then it was time to enter the osteofilakio (οστεοφυλάκιο), the ossuary building.
There is limited cemetery space in Greece; therefore, families "rent" a burial plot for three years after which the bones are exhumed and placed in an ossuary. Walking into the osteofilakio is an almost sacred experience. Boxes on shelves line the walls; each inscribed with a family name and holding the bones of the deceased. Icons, photos, flowers, candles and small bottles of oil are carefully arranged around the boxes. A spirit of peace permeates the building. This is holy ground.
It was not until we left the cemetery and began driving towards town that we realized there are two cemeteries in Agios Ioannis. We returned the following afternoon and searched the second one. Next time I make a research plan, I have to make sure that I thoroughly vet all locations of potential resources.
Gregory and I had a full schedule for 1-1/2 days in Sparta: the Archives, two cemeteries, the Mitropolis, the Central Library, Amykles, and the Dimarheion (Town Hall). And of course, dinners with my family who have embraced him as one of us.
Prior to leaving for this trip, I had spotted a Facebook post about a newly published book about families from the village of Amykles. Since this is the birthplace of my Eliopoulos and Zarafonetis great-grandparents, I was very excited to meet Kaliopi Zarafonetis, the driving force behind this project. Gregory and I connected with Kaliopi in Amykles where she described the book's genesis. There had been a village event which featured a display of old photographs. Everyone was surprised at the extent of the collection, but Kaliopi had the foresight to realize that these treasures would be lost if they were not preserved. Thus began her initiative to create the book. I was thrilled to see page after page of Eliopoulos and Zarafonetis families, most of which are most likely connected to mine. One of my great surprises was to learn that my cousin in Agios Ioannis had married a woman whose grandmother was a Zarafonetis from Amykles – a double connection!
On to the repositories. I was on the hunt for death records for specific members of my family. My cousin, an attorney for the government in Sparta, had contacted a colleague in the Town Hall and we obtained the certificate for a member of the Linardakis family of Vordonia. I was surprised to learn that death records for Agios Ioannis are in the Town Hall of Magoula, not Sparta! Unfortunately, I did not make it there but it is the first item on Plan A for the next trip.
The Sparta Dimarheion has books of Male Registers and Town or Family Registers, as seen on the shelves in the photo below. However, clerks are busy handling daily government functions and research requests are often put aside. I did pick up a form to use for future mail-in requests.
Our task at the Mitropolis in Sparta was to obtain specific pages of the Marriage Books for a friend. Although Gregory and I had been there in 2014, I was unsure if we would be granted access to the books again. My concerns were unfounded. We were warmly greeted by a priest who brought us whatever we requested. When Gregory mentioned that the books were fragile and should be preserved, the priest replied that there had been discussions with the European Union about digitizing the records, but the talks had not come to fruition.
Then it was on to the Central Library of Sparta, located around the corner from the Mitropolis. This time our search was for history books of villages in Laconia, usually written by teachers during summer months. Giannis Michalakakos gave me the name of his colleague, Konstandinos Tzanetakos, who is a librarian there. We found Konstandinos in the section for Laconian history and he showed us the shelves that held many village histories.
There were books for lots of Laconian villages, but none for Agios Ioannis. Giannis explained this was because Agios Ioannis had begun as a settlement beneath the towering Mystras castle, and that any noteworthy event had occurred in Mystras and not in its valley. I had harbored a secret hope that I would find something, but my friend was right. Anyone looking for a history book can call or email the library to see if there is a book for their village and if so, obtain the name, author and publisher. Most likely, our friends at the Laconia bookstores, Laconia Odos in Skala and Adouloti in Aeropolis, can then locate the book for purchase.
Our tasks in Sparta were completed, so Gregory and I headed to the west coast of Laconia to visit the Archives in Kalamata. Why there? I was hoping to find a clue — any clue — as to whether my Kostakos or Eftaxias family may have been in the Kalamata region before they headed northeast to Spartan villages. I had been told that my great-grandfather, Andreas Kostakos, could have come from Pyrgos (see previous post).
This was my first visit to Kalamata, a charming city by the sea.
However, traffic in the city is a nightmare! The streets are one-way, very narrow, and very crowded. And horror of horrors — this is where I had my first car accident in Greece. It was a fender-bender at an intersection, and because we were moving so slowly, damage was minimal and no one was injured. But, I quickly realized the complexities of such a situation in a country where my language skills are not optimal. Calling the police and the car-rental agency, and talking with the other drivers could have been truly awful. Luckily, a passenger in the other car spoke perfect English and handled everything with grace and good humor. I was so grateful! Somehow I found my way back to the hotel and parked my car. I refused to let this mishap unnerve me, and I also refused to move the car until the day I left!
Gregory and I were very happy to meet in person our friend, Giota Siora. Giota is a Facebook friend on HellenicGenealogyGeek. Despite working full-time, she spends many hours online helping people with their research. For her devotion, she is greatly appreciated and respected. Giota met us at the Kalamata Archives and introduced us to the Archivist, Anastasia Milioni, who also happens to be the wife of the mayor. This Archive has an extensive record collection for the Messinia Prefecture, including records of churches, land, houses, elementary schools, newspapers, military. The collection was greatly enhanced when Mrs. Milioni responded to a request from the GAK Central Office to ask local services to send their records to the Archives. Unfortunately, we were unable to do any research as the Archives is in the process of moving to a new location. Books were packed in boxes, and the office was essentially empty.
When I inquired about possible records for the Eftaxias and Kostakos names, Mrs. Milioni did a computer search and found a few documents which look very promising. Two especially stood out: a contract naming a Kostakos family in Anavriti, which could confirm oral tradition that the family had lived there prior to Agios Ioannis; and a contract for an Eftaxias family in Kalamata. After the office move, I will contact Mrs. Milioni and ask her to access these for me. I continue to be impressed with the kindness and professionalism of the Archivists in both Laconia and Messinia. They truly desire to be of help and will set aside whatever they are doing to be of assistance to researchers.
Giota suggested that we walk to the Dimarheion, or Town Hall, on the chance that we might access records there. Visiting this municipal office, I was again reminded that clerks are extremely busy handling daily matters. Someone walking in and asking for records that are 150 years old are, at best, a distraction and at worst, an annoyance. This is especially true when there are six people standing in line, vying for a clerk's attention. I was also reminded that the municipality has records only for its specific area of jurisdiction (unlike the Archives which has records for the entire prefecture). Since I was looking for Pyrgos, a village not in the Kalamata jurisdiction, the clerk was not able to be of assistance. The lesson of that day was: location is everything!
Every hour of my research trips are filled to the max. Sometimes "the force" is with me and I have amazing success; sometimes not, and the disappointment becomes a "learning experience." Nothing is lost; everything is gained. I love the ride!


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3-D Negotiation
David Lax and James Sebenius, authors of "3-D Negotiation: Powerful Tools to Change the Game in Your Most Important Deals."
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Featured Guests: David Lax and James Sebenius, authors of 3-D Negotiation: Powerful Tools to Change the Game in Your Most Important Deals.
PAUL MICHELMAN: Hello, and welcome to the HBR IdeaCast from Harvard Business School Publishing. My name is Paul Michelman, I'm an executive editor here, and I'll be your host.
With this edition of the HBR IdeaCast, we'll start bringing the program to you every week.
When discussing being stuck in a win-win versus win-lose debate, most negotiation approaches focus on face-to-face strategies. Yet table tactics are only the first of three dimensions of successful negotiations say experts David Lax and Jim Sebenius in this week's featured segment. Before showing up at a bargaining session, Lax and Sebenius tell HBS Press editor Jeff Kehoe that 3-D negotiators ensure that the right parties have been approached in the right sequence, to address the right interests, under the right expectations, and facing the right consequences of walking away if there is no deal.
In Kehoe's interview with Lax and Sebenius, you'll learn how superior setup moves plus insightful deal designs can enable you to reach remarkable agreements at the table unattainable by standard tactics.
And in our second segment, we'll share some tips on how to succeed with major projects. So stay with us as we enter the world 3-D negotiations.
First up, HBS Press editor Jeff Kehoe is joined by David Lax and Jim Sebenius.
JEFF KEHOE: I'm here with David Lax and Jim Sebenius, negotiation experts and authors of the new book, 3-D Negotiation: Powerful Tools to Change the Game in Your Most Important Deals. Thanks for being here.
SUBJECT 1: It's our pleasure.
JEFF KEHOE: It seems like everywhere you look in business and professional life and personal life, politics and international scene, negotiation is really becoming a much more important skill. But it doesn't seem to me like there are many people who do it really well. What are people doing wrong? Why do so many deals fall through?
DAVID LAX: Well, we've been looking hard at negotiation for something like 25 years. And when we stop and ask negotiators what they're thinking about and what they're doing, most of them imagine– you think about negotiation as negotiation at the table, conversation, tactics, behavior, communication. That's people's image, and that is one important dimension of negotiation. If you do it badly, you can end up with unattractive and poor results.
Good negotiators that we've studied do something else. They look at how to expand the pie, how to make the agreement better for both parties or when there are more parties, better for all parties. But over 25 years, we've studied really effective negotiators. Really effective negotiators go farther than that. Most negotiators stay in the first dimension of negotiation, which is tactics at the table. Good negotiators focus on expanding the pie, designing deals that work. That's the second dimension.
Really effective negotiators work in the third dimension as well, which is they work on setting up the game, making sure that the right parties are talked to about the right issues, understand the right interests in the right order such that when I finally come to talk to you, things are already stacked in my favor. And what I want looks good to you for your reasons.
JIM SEBENIUS: So Jeff, you asked the question why negotiations fall through– the mirror image of what David just laid out. The first dimension of tactics or interpersonal issues. Deal design, the second dimension. And the setup, how you actually arrange things so that you've got the best chance once you get to the table of getting the agreement you want. Those are the three dimension– setup, deal design, and tactics. Barriers to effective deals show up in each of those dimensions. And many people assume that if you've got a negotiation problem, it's trust or communication or hard bargaining or cross-cultural issues. And those kind of people problems are first dimensional problems and they're really important.
But sometimes it's a deal problem. And you haven't really figured out a way to meet each party's objectives or have enough value– economic and sometimes ego related or not economic– in the deal. And sometimes it's a setup problem– wrong parties at the table, wrong interests, wrong sequence, wrong consequences of a failing to reach a deal. And you need to work away from the table to set up a more promising situation.
Dave, we were dealing with somebody who was a supplier trying to pitch a nice product to a procurement agent who was really hammering him on price. And he was looking for 1-D tactical advice. How can I be more your interpersonally effective with this hardball procurement agent. I don't know, Dave. When we were talking to him, that's not where the solution was.
DAVID LAX: Right. In fact, we had to do a much more careful analysis of who the potential interested parties were within the customer and then have him make an alliance, in a sense, with the users of his technologically superior product, who then went back to the procurement agents and we need to buy this product and would you stop screwing around on price?
JIM SEBENIUS: So in effect, it was the wrong parties. There was really no solution with the procurement agent, who was essentially– his incentives were all to grind you down on pennies. And you had to bring somebody else with different interests in the superior characteristics of this product. And he had a little political clout and was able to help things. So that was bringing in a different party.
Give you another example. Joe Bachelder, who is a well-known lawyer, represents clients who've been in the happy position of having been selected for CEO positions by boards of directors. But they're at a critical stage. A search committee of the board has met. They've provisionally selected the CEO candidate. And they'll announce the new CEO, if they can work out the compensation– base salary, bonus, restricted stock, termination, all those elements. And Joe's represented a good fraction of the Fortune 200 CEOs by now. And he was describing to us an interesting situation where a candidate had been selected by the board, had hired Joe to represent him in these tough compensation negotiations.
The board of directors had selected the company's general counsel, a highly ethical, experienced negotiator– very effective. And the general counsel was to represent the board in these compensation talks. The CEO candidate and Bachelder went into the first negotiation hoping for a pretty aggressive package. They got a defensible offer from the general counsel, but it was nowhere near where they wanted. And the guy was really tough.
Well, after that first session, the CEO candidate turned to Bachelder and said, I don't think this is going to work at all. We're not going to get close to what we'd hoped for. Bachelder looked at him and said, don't worry about it. You're going to get everything you want. And the guy looked at him– the candidate– and said, how could you say this? Isn't he tough and isn't he experienced and isn't he a very effective negotiator? Bachelder said, yes, all those things. Well, why are you so confident? Bachelder looked and he said, well, when this is over, he's going to work for you. He knows that. He can't ultimately be that tough. Besides, how many of these deals has he done in his life? Two or three? I do them every week.
And if you look at this, Bachelder was a terrific 1-D negotiator. At the table, he read the situation. He knew when to be tough and when to hold out. The board, on the other hand, I don't think had a 1-D or a tactical problem. They had the wrong party there. Bachelder said that about 70% of boards make the mistake of having an internal person negotiate for these compensations– head of the search committee, head of human resources, general counsel. But those guys are the wrong party. And the board should hire somebody without the prospect of that future relationship as a better set up from its perspective. So our 3-D advice would be changed the parties. Don't worry about the tactics so much.
JEFF KEHOE: It sounds like setup is the most important dimension in your view. Is that right?
JIM SEBENIUS: Getting the setup right is critical. But the most important focus often depends on where the barriers are. So when we advise people, we go through a pretty structured method. And the book lays this out in detail with lots of examples. First, you want to map all the parties– the ones at the table, internal and external, principals and agents, actual and potential. You want to map the full set of their interests and what happens in the event of no deal– their no deal options. Now, that mapping process is very helpful in determining whether you've got the right parties, the right interests, the right no deal options, as well as the right sequence and the right basic process. There may be problems in that, in which case set up is key.
But sometimes it's a deal problem. And there isn't enough value or the deal doesn't accomplish the party's purposes. And then you need to say, should we think about a different deal structure? Instead of royalties, maybe we ought to think about more of a partnership deal. Or maybe we need to stage things over time with more of a pilot effort and then milestones. Or maybe we need to do something else that meets ego needs as well as economic needs. Point is that in some cases, the deal itself just won't do the trick and so you've got to focus on the arts and science of creative deal design.
And sometimes it absolutely is a communication issue or a trust issue or cross-cultural problem. Or somebody's playing hardball or being really insistent or abusive. And those, then, require a focus at the table. But not always, because sometimes somebody's playing hardball and the answer is to change the setup so you've got better options and they have worse options, rather than how do you, say, have a better sense of asserting yourself.
JEFF KEHOE: David, in something you said earlier, you mentioned expanding the pie. And I know that when people talk about negotiation, you always hear a lot about expanding the pie. Can you say a little more about what expanding the pie means and also what you mean in the book when you talk about both creating and claiming value.
DAVID LAX: For 20 years, I think people have been writing about win-win negotiation. And if you look at a lot of the work on win-win negotiation and you read the books, you'll discover that they say important things like brainstorm and be creative and think outside the box. And what we've tried to do is to actually give much more useful advice to negotiators who are trying to make a deal that is both better for me and better for you at the same time.
Now, to do that, I have to understand what you care about, what you're interested in, what you're worried about. And what I try to give to you are things that are valuable to you but not that expensive for me to give up. And I try to get in return from you things that are highly valuable to me that aren't that costly to you. And that can be very simple. I want delivery faster and I'm willing to pay more to get it. Fast delivery isn't that hard for you to give and you'd love to get paid more.
But it also can be more complex in various kinds of business relationships. So for example, there's a very astute warehouse manager at Baxter that bought containers– cardboard boxes– from Stone Container and observed that there were Stone Container trucks going past Baxter warehouse and Baxter trucks going past the Stone Container warehouse and said, wait a minute, let's see if we can expand the set of things we work on as a company together. And can you, Baxter, take back product for Stone Container that's going from your warehouse to ours and vice versa. And by being clever about saying what could we do for each other that makes us more profitable at low cost, they were able to expand the pie.
JEFF KEHOE: Right. And that explains how two parties or more parties can create value and expand the pie. But the other side is obviously then claiming value. So how does that come in?
DAVID LAX: Negotiators are almost always in the position where they're trying to advance their interests as much as they can. I can advance my interests by being tough and not learning and just thinking of this deal as something of a price deal and getting a big piece of a small pie. On the other hand, I can also advance my interests by talking to you, understanding what you care about, making the pie bigger, and then getting a reasonably big piece of a much bigger pie. And so negotiators who focus exclusively on claiming value will do well in some negotiations but will often miss substantial amounts of value that's possible to achieve in negotiations that have more potential for cooperation.
However, both parties in the negotiation– let's imagine that we have a two-party negotiation– are scared when I share information with you about what I care about, what my greatest priorities are. I'm afraid that you may be able to exploit that and use it against me. So I may hold that back. You may do the same. And we may never discover that trades that would be substantially value creating were possible and our fear of being exploited may cause us to keep the pie small.
JEFF KEHOE: There's a great phrase that you quote in the book, that in successful negotiations, you let them have your way. And to me, that sort of reminded me of the importance of perception in negotiation, focusing on the interests of another party and what is going to seem like a success to them. Can you say a little bit more about the role of perception in negotiation?
DAVID LAX: Could I underscore that phrase? It comes from an Italian diplomat and author from early in the last century and his name is Daniele Vare. And he said, "Negotiation is the art of letting them have your way", which sounds highly manipulative and can be. But there's another way to think about it. How do you shape their choice such that, given their interests and their no deal options and their constituencies, such that yes to them looks much better than no. It's a real focus on what works for them as a means of solving your problem. So much of the 3-D approach is, how do you set up the right negotiation, designed value-creating deals and use problem-solving tactics that shape how they see their choice such that what they choose is what you want? It's the art of letting them have your way.
JEFF KEHOE: OK, last question. If there's one piece of advice you would give to anyone going into an important negotiation, whether it's a senior manager or a CEO or even a political leader, what would it be?
JIM SEBENIUS: People often think about negotiation way too narrowly. Think beyond the table and ask, have I done what it takes to set up the situation so that it's most promising once I get there.
JEFF KEHOE: David Lax, Jim Sebenius, thanks very much for being on the program today.
DAVID LAX: Thank you.
JIM SEBENIUS: Thanks very much.
PAUL MICHELMAN: Next up in our Ideas in Brief segment, How to Succeed With Major Projects.
Two out of every three transformation programs fail. Why? Companies overemphasize the soft side of change– leadership style, corporate culture, employee motivation. Though these elements are critical for success, change projects can't get off the ground unless companies address harder elements first. The essential hard elements? Think of them as DICE. D for duration– the time between milestone reviews. The shorter the better. I for integrity– the project team's skill. C for commitment– the senior executives' and line managers' dedication to the program. And E for effort– the extra work employees must do to adopt new processes. The less the better.
By assessing each DICE element before you launch a major change initiative, you can identify potential problem areas and make the necessary adjustments, such as reconfiguring a project team's composition or reallocating resources to ensure the program's success. You can also use DICE after launching a project to make mid-course corrections if the initiative veers off track.
DICE helps companies lay the foundation for successful change. Using the DICE assessment technique, one global beverage company executed a multi-project, organization-wide change program that generated hundreds of millions of dollars, breathing new life into its once-stagnant brands and cracked open new markets.
Next, the Idea in Practice. Conducting a DICE assessment. Your project has the greatest chance of success if the following hard elements are in place. First, duration. A long project reviewed frequently stands a far better chance of succeeding than a short project reviewed infrequently. Problems can be identified at the first sign of trouble, allowing for prompt corrective actions. Review complex projects every two weeks, more straightforward initiatives every six to eight weeks.
Next, integrity. A change program success hinges on a high-integrity, high-quality project team. To identify team candidates with the right portfolio of skills, solicit names from key colleagues, including top performers and functions other than your own. Recruit people who have problem solving skills, are results oriented, and are methodical, but tolerate ambiguity. Look also for organizational savvy, willingness to accept responsibility for decisions, and a disdain for the limelight.
Next, commitment. If employees don't see company leaders supporting a change initiative, they won't change. Visibly endorse the initiative. No amount of public support is too much. When you feel you're talking about a change effort at least three times more than you need to, you've hit it right. Also, continually communicate why the change is needed and what it means for employees. Ensure that all messages about the change are consistent and clear. Reach out to managers and employees through one-on-one conversations to win them over.
Finally, effort. If adopting a change burdens employees with too much additional effort, they'll resist. Calculate how much work employees will have to do beyond their existing responsibilities to implement the change. Ensure that no one's workload increases more than 10%. If necessary, remove nonessential regular work from employees with key roles in the transformation project. Use temporary workers or outsource some processes to accommodate additional workload.
Using the DICE framework. Conducting a DICE assessment fosters successful change by sparking valuable senior leadership debate about project strategy. It also improves change effectiveness by enabling companies to manage large portfolios of projects. For example, a manufacturing company planned 40 projects as part of a profitability improvement program. After conducting a DICE assessment for each project, leaders and project owners identified the five most important projects and asked, how can we ensure these projects' success? They moved people around on teams, reconfigured some projects, and identified initiatives senior managers should pay more attention to, setting up their most crucial projects for resounding success.
We hope you've enjoyed this edition of the HBR IdeaCast. If you've any comments or ideas you'd like to share about our program, please send them to my attention. That's Paul Michelman at this address– firstname.lastname@example.com. And if you'd like to catch up on our previous IdeaCasts, please visit us at our new home on the net, www.hbrideacast.org. Thank you, and we hope you'll join us again soon for our next IdeaCast.