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The Nazgûl (from Black Speech nazg, "ring", and gûl, "wraith, spirit" (presumably related to gul, "sorcery"); also called Ringwraiths, Ring-wraiths, Black Riders, Dark Riders, the Nine Riders, or simply the Nine are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. They were nine Men who succumbed to Sauron's power and attained near-immortality as wraiths, servants bound to the power of the One Ring. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, originally published in 1954–1955. The book calls the Nazgûl Sauron's "most terrible servants".
In Tolkien's writings
According to Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the Nazgûl arose as Sauron's most powerful servants in the Second Age of Middle-earth. They were once mortal Men, three being "great lords" of Númenor. Sauron gave each of them one of nine Rings of Power. Sauron also gave seven Rings of Power to the Dwarves. These were in addition to the three Celebrimbor forged, untainted by Sauron's evil, for the Elves. It was Sauron's design to control all these rings and their bearers through the One Ring, forged in secret for this purpose, but only the Nine succumbed completely to its power and its seduction:
Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old. They obtained glory and great wealth, yet it turned to their undoing. They had, as it seemed, unending life, yet life became unendurable to them. They could walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in this world beneath the sun, and they could see things in worlds invisible to mortal men; but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions of Sauron. And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength and to the good or evil of their wills in the beginning, they fell under the thraldom of the ring that they bore and of the domination of the One which was Sauron's. And they became forever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they entered into the realm of shadows. The Nazgûl were they, the Ringwraiths, the Úlairi, the Enemy's most terrible servants; darkness went with them, and they cried with the voices of death. — The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age", 346
The corrupting effect of the rings extended the bearers' earthly lives far beyond their normal lifespans. Some passages in the novel suggest that the Nazgûl wore their rings, while others suggest that Sauron actually held them.
When Gandalf first told Frodo Baggins about the Rings of Power in The Fellowship of the Ring, he said, "The Nine he had gathered to himself; the Seven also, or else they are destroyed. The Three are hidden still." [1] Also, Galadriel told Frodo, "You saw the Eye of him that holds the Seven and the Nine." Yet at the Council of Elrond, Gandalf said that "the Nine the nazgûl keep".
In a letter from circa 1963 Tolkien says explicitly that Sauron held the rings:
They would have obeyed . . . any minor command of his that did not interfere with their errand — laid upon them by Sauron, who still through their nine rings (which he held) had primary control of their wills . . . — The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 246
They were by far the most powerful of his servants, and the most suitable for such a mission, since they were entirely enslaved to their Nine Rings, which he now himself held . . . — Unfinished Tales, p. 338
Appearance and characteristics
The Nazgûl wore their rings long enough that their physical forms faded away until they had become entirely invisible to mortal eyes. Their black robes gave them visible form. During the assault on Minas Tirith, the leader of the Nine, the Witch-king of Angmar, cast back his hood to reveal a crown, but the head that wore it was invisible. While wearing the One Ring, Frodo perceived them as pale figures robed in white, with "haggard hands" and wearing crowns.
In The Fellowship of the Ring they were armed with steel swords, while the Witch-king wielded a Morgul blade that could turn its victim into a wraith. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the Witch-king bore a "long pale sword", and later used a mace against Éowyn.
The Witch-king practiced black magic, and used it to break the gates of Minas Tirith. Tolkien said of the Nazgûl ". . . their chief weapon was terror. This was actually greater when they were unclad and invisible; and it was greater also when they were gathered together." [2] They exuded an aura of fear:
The Nazgûl came again . . . like vultures that expect their fill of doomed men's flesh. Out of sight and shot they flew, and yet were ever present, and their deadly voices rent the air. More unbearable they became, not less, at each new cry. At length even the stout-hearted would fling themselves to the ground as the hidden menace passed over them, or they would stand, letting their weapons fall from nerveless hands while into their minds a blackness came, and they thought no more of war, but only of hiding and of crawling, and of death. — The Return of the King, p. 97
Close or prolonged encounters with a Nazgûl caused unconsciousness, nightmares, and eventual death: an effect known as "the Black Breath". Aragorn used the herb athelas to treat victims of the Black Breath, including Frodo, Faramir, Éowyn, and Merry.
History within the legendarium
The Appendices of The Return of the King explain that the Nazgûl first appeared around S.A. 2251, some 700 years after the rings were forged, and were soon established as Sauron's principal servants. They were dispersed after the first overthrow of Sauron in S.A. 3441 at the hands of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, but their survival was assured since the One Ring survived.
They re-emerged around T.A. 1300, when the Witch-king led Sauron's forces against the successor kingdoms of Arnor: Rhudaur, Cardolan and Arthedain. He effectively destroyed all the successor kingdoms, but was defeated in 1975 and returned to Mordor. There he gathered the other Nazgûl in preparation for the return of Sauron to that realm.
In 2000, the Nazgûl besieged Minas Ithil and, after two years, captured it and acquired its palantír for Sauron. The city thereafter became Minas Morgul, the stronghold of the Nazgûl. Sauron returned to Mordor in 2942 and declared himself openly in 2951. Two or three of the Nazgûl were sent to garrison Dol Guldur, his fortress in Mirkwood.
By 3017, near the beginning of the story told in The Lord of the Rings, Sauron had learned from Gollum that Bilbo Baggins of The Shire had the One Ring in his possession. Sauron entrusted its recovery to the Nazgûl. They reappeared "west of the River", riding black horses that were bred or trained in Mordor to endure their terror. They learned that the Ring had passed to Bilbo's heir, Frodo, and followed him and his companions to Bree. Aragorn arrived ahead of them and hid the Hobbits from their pursuers, but eventually five of the Nazgûl cornered Frodo and his company at Weathertop, where the Witch-king stabbed Frodo in the shoulder with the Morgul blade, breaking off a piece of it in the Hobbit's flesh. When all Nine were swept away by the waters of the river Bruinen, their horses were drowned, and the Ringwraiths were forced to return to Mordor to regroup.
In 3018 the nine companions of the Fellowship of the Ring left Rivendell as the "Nine Walkers", in opposition to the Nazgûl, the "Nine Riders". The latter reappeared mounted on hideous flying beasts (reminiscent of — and in part suggested by — pterodactyls).[3][4] They were then called Winged Nazgûl.
During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (portrayed in Return of the King), the Witch-king himself was slain by Éowyn and Merry: Merry's surreptitious stroke with an enchanted Barrow-blade drove the Witch-king to his knees, allowing Éowyn, the niece of Théoden, to drive her sword between his crown and mantle. Thus was the Witch-king destroyed by a woman and a Hobbit, fulfilling the prophecy that "not by the hand of man will he fall".[5] Both weapons that pierced him disintegrated, and both assailants were stricken with the Black Breath.
The remaining eight Ringwraiths attacked the Army of the West during the last battle at the Black Gate. When Frodo claimed the Ring for his own near the fires of Mount Doom, Sauron ordered the eight to fly to intercept him. They arrived too late, however: Gollum seized the Ring and fell into the Cracks of Doom, and the Nazgûl perished with its destruction.
The Nazgûl are featured in all adaptations of The Lord of the Rings on radio, film, and stage.
In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film version of The Lord of the Rings, the Nazgûl hack and slash the Hobbits' beds at The Prancing Pony inn themselves. In the book, the assailants are not precisely identified, but Tolkien implies that the attack was carried out by agents of the Nazgûl, possibly including one Bill Ferny, rather than the Nazgûl themselves (though they were present in the town).[6] Another thing to note is that after the beds are destroyed, the Ringwraths remove their hoods, revealing hideous black masks and the armour they wear beneath their cloaks. As such, they are unhooded, but masked, throughout the remainder of the film.
In the Rankin-Bass adaptation of The Return of the King, the Nazgûl are robed skeletons with white hair.
In the 1981 BBC Radio serial of The Lord of the Rings, the Nazgûl can be heard chanting the Ring-inscription.[7]
In the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy (2001–2003) by Peter Jackson, the Nazgûl also attack the inn themselves. Emphasis is given to their loud shrieks, which are made deafening, and their use of the fell beasts in battle is expanded, notably at the siege of Minas Tirith, when they destroy numerous trebuchets and kill many soldiers. The cries of the Nazgûl as interpreted in Peter Jackson's films are mixed from that of his partner and co-screenwriter, Fran Walsh.
In The Hunt for Gollum (2009) Aragorn fights a Ringwraith on the borders of Mirkwood. The music played during this encounter is called "The Nazgul of Dol Guldur", and the Wraith may thus be Khamûl the Easterling. The Hunt for Gollum puts more emphasis on the Nazgûl's physical strength: Aragorn is shown physically struggling as he pushes his sword against that of the Nazgûl.
In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) the White Council claims that the Witch-king of Angmar was killed when Angmar was defeated, and that his enemies buried him in a tomb protected by enchantments. It is implied that the Witch-king has been raised from the dead by Sauron, explaining why he is called the Necromancer. This is a major departure from The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, in which the Witch-King escapes after the destruction of Angmar, and Glorfindel makes a prophecy that he would not meet his death at the hand of man; in both the book and film version of Return of the King, the prophecy is fulfilled when the Witch-King is killed by a woman, Eowyn.
In other media
The Nazgûl are featured in many products based on Tolkien's writings, more recently the Jackson films.
Some examples include the real-time strategy computer games The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring, not based on the Jackson films, and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth and its sequels,The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II and its expansion pack The Rise of the Witch-king, which are based on the films. In The Battle for Middle-earth games, each of the Ringwraiths wields a Morgul blade.
In The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring the Witch-king is a hero for the Evil faction, similar to the movie-based games (whose evil factions are realm-specific). In The Rise of the Witch-king there are three named Ringwraiths: the Witch-king, Khamûl, and "Morgomir", Lieutenant of Carn Dûm. While a player uses the Mordor faction, Morgomir is a cloaked Nazgûl, but if a player is to use the Angmar faction, while the Witch-king has no change to his appearance, Morgomir fits Frodo's vision of a Nazgûl: he has pale skin, white hair and a crown. Morgomir's name is invented for the game, developed by Electronic Arts.
In the massive multiplayer online role-playing game The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, the Nazgûl, in particular the Witch-King, play a prominent part in the storyline; the premise is to fight the armies of the Witch-King in his realm of Angmar (although the Witch-King himself was driven from Angmar long ago). In the The Lord of the Rings: Siege of Mirkwood expansion, players can fight an actual Ringwraith (Khamul, the Lieutenant of Dol Guldur) in the tower of Dol Guldur.
In the Middle-earth Collectible Card Game produced by Iron Crown Enterprises, most of the Nazgûl have invented names, shared with Middle-earth Role Playing by the same company. Liz Danforth created the art for each of the Nazgûl in the game.
George R. R. Martin's novel The Armageddon Rag is about a rock band named the Nazgûl. The band's manager and promoter is referred to as Sauron, its lead singer is nicknamed Hobbit, and its logo is an Eye of Mordor. Many of its song and album titles make reference to Tolkien's Middle-earth.
The term Ringwraith is used in the song "The Battle of Evermore" by classic rock band Led Zeppelin, in the line "the ringwraiths ride in black". The Swedish black metal band Marduk has a song called "Those of the Unlight" which was written about the Nazgûl.
Names, titles and terms
The Nazgûl are called Úlairi (a plural) in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya.
They are also called the Fell Riders and the Black Wings (when they ride the fell beasts), as well as the Shadows, the Servants of Sauron, and the Nine Servants of the Lord of the Rings. The Orcs of the Tower of Cirith Ungol call them Shriekers.
In her duel with the Witch-king, Éowyn calls him a "dwimmerlaik". This is a word in the speech of Rohan (translated into Anglo-Saxon) that Tolkien glosses in the index as a "work of necromancy", a "spectre".
Only two of the Nazgûl are named or identified individually in Tolkien's works. Their leader was the Witch-king of Angmar, and his second in command was named Khamûl, the "black Easterling" or the "shadow of the East".[8] Tolkien stated that three of them were great Númenórean lords;[9] in his notes for translators, Tolkien speculates that the Witch-king was of Númenórean origin.[10] Khamûl was a lord of the Easterlings, and the only Nazgûl whose name is given.
Names not due to Tolkien
The early Middle-earth Role Playing games (and material derived from them) name the eight other than Khamûl; Er-Murazor (the Witch-king, of Númenórean race), Dwar of Waw, Ji Indur Dawndeath, Akhorahil (Númenórean), Hoarmurath of Dir, Adûnaphel the Quiet (female Númenórean), Ren the Unclean and Uvatha the Horseman,[11] but none of these names come from Tolkien's writings.
In the Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game, chiefly based on the Jackson films, the Nazgûl are called The Witch King, Úlairë Attëa (The Easterling), Úlairë Nelya, Úlairë Cantëa, Úlairë Lemenya, Úlairë Enquëa, Úlairë Otsëa, Úlairë Toldëa and Úlairë Nertëa. These are not new names: Úlairë is a reconstructed Quenya singular "Ringwraith" (the singular of Q. pl. Ulairi is not directly attested), and the second word is simply an ordinal number from second to ninth.
For the expansion to its real-time strategy game The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-king — chiefly based on the Jackson films and building much upon the original writings — Electronic Arts invented the name Morgomir for one of the Nazgûl. This appears to be a pastiche of the Sindarin words Morgoth ("Dark Enemy") and mîr ("jewel"); it is not attested in Tolkien's Elvish languages.
In The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, the Witch-king and Khamûl the Easterling retain the titles Tolkien gave them. The other seven are given honorific titles emphasising aspects of how they are used in the game: The Dark Marshal, The Shadow Lord, The Undying, The Tainted, The Betrayer, The Knight of Umbar and The Dwimmerlaik.
After losing their horses at the Ford of Bruinen, the Nazgûl returned to Mordor and reappeared mounted on hideous flying beasts; Beregond called them "Hell Hawks". Tolkien describes them as "fell beasts", though Tolkien applies the adjective fell ("fierce, cruel") to a variety of other creatures throughout The Lord of the Rings — even at one point to Gandalf. In a letter, he calls the winged mounts "Nazgûl-birds".[12] In the absence of a proper name, derivative works sometimes press "fellbeast" or "fell-beast" into service.[13]
The flying steeds figure prominently in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, where the Witch-king of Angmar, the Lord of the Nazgûl, rides one against King Théoden of Rohan. Tolkien describes the Witch-king's mount thus:
... it was a winged creature: if bird, then greater than all other birds, and it was naked, and neither quill nor feather did it bear, and its vast pinions were as webs of hide between horned fingers; and it stank. A creature of an older world maybe it was ...[14]
A few paragraphs later, it is said to attack with "beak and claw".[14]
Tolkien once wrote that he "did not intend the steed of the Witch-king to be what is now called a 'pterodactyl'", while acknowledging that it was "obviously ... pterodactylic and owes much" to the "new ... mythology of the 'Prehistoric'", and might even be "a last survivor of older geological eras."[15]
In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings, one of the Nazgûl is shown riding these creatures. In the Rankin-Bass 1980 animated version of The Return of the King, the Nazgûl ride winged horses, although the Witch-king does ride a creature more in line with the book when he confronts Éowyn. In Peter Jackson's film trilogy based on The Lord of the Rings, all nine Nazgûl are shown onscreen riding them. Jackson's creatures explicitly differ from Tolkien's description in that they have teeth instead of beaks. The Nazgûl use them in battle more extensively than in the book. In the film the Witch-king's mount is largely responsible for the death of Théoden and his horse Snowmane, while in the book Snowmane is killed by a "black dart", crushing Théoden as he falls. As confirmed in the films' audio commentary, the design of the creatures was based largely on illustrations by artist John Howe.
- ↑ The Fellowship of the Ring, p.61, ISBN 0-395-48931-8
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, p. 343
- ↑ The Return of the King, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", p. 822.
- ↑ Humphrey Carpenter, editor, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 211, p. 282.
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I iv, p. 412.
- ↑ "In dark and loneliness they are strongest; they will not openly attack a house where there are lights and many people — not until they are desperate, not while all the long leagues of Eriador still lie before us. But their power is in terror, and already some in Bree are in their clutch. They will drive these wretches to some evil work: Ferny, and some of the strangers, and, maybe, the gatekeeper too." Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston: Houghton Mifflin (published 1987), "Strider", ISBN 0-395-08254-4
- ↑ "Nazgul.wav" (WAV). October 25, 2009. http://tnrebma.tripod.com/sounds/nazgul.wav. Retrieved May 16, 2012.
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Index, entry for Khamûl, p. 448.
- ↑ "Yet Sauron was ever guileful, and it is said that among those whom he ensnared with the Nine Rings three were great lords of Númenórean race." The Silmarillion, "The Akallabêth", p. 267.
- ↑ Tolkien writes: "the name and origin of the Witch-king is not recorded, but he was probably of Númenórean descent." Wayne G. Hammond & Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 20. The relevant passage was later removed by Tolkien from the notes for translators, and does not appear in the version published in Jared Lobdell's A Tolkien Compass.
- ↑ The Encyclopedia of Arda. "What were the names of the nine Nazgûl?" Retrieved May 16, 2012.
- ↑ Template:ME-ref/LETTERS
- ↑ For example, Turbine, Inc. The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Level/area: Barad Guldur.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Template:ME-ref/ROTK
- ↑ Template:ME-ref/LETTERS


text:
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 8/11/2013 (2583 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
STONEWALL -- You wouldn't see a sign like this today -- thank goodness we've progressed that far, at least -- but at one time, Red Indian gas stations dotted the roadways.
McColl-Frontenac of Toronto was the company behind the Red Indian gas stations and oil products. The company probably didn't mean any disrespect or it wouldn't have used such a striking and dignified image for its logo. The logo is the profile of a noble chief, in braids and a feathered headdress.
That and other memorabilia from old service stations will be hot sellers at an auction Sunday in Stonewall. One Red Indian gas station sign is expected to fetch $7,500 to $10,000. The signs are considered rare. The company was taken over by Texaco in the late 1930s, which converted the gas stations to the Texaco name.
It's all part of the Vintage Service Station and Coca Cola Auction. Stuart McSherry, of McSherry Auction Service, holds three such auctions a year, and they are now among the biggest in the country, rivalled only by auctions in much larger Ontario.
"We rock and roll," said auctioneer McSherry. "People are going to be wound up for this one. There is some quality stuff here."
The Red Indian sign is just one of many vintage gas-station signs up for sale. Others include White Rose, Buffalo Gas, Gulf, and B-A (British-American).
And you can't forget local gas station Roco, which had its oil refinery in St. Boniface. Some other local products up for auction include Buffalo Oil from a company called Prairie City Oil in Winnipeg, and its Buffalo Axle Grease. The company started in the 1800s. Another local product was Archer Lubricant, which also used a First Nations person for its logo: an Indian brave firing a bow and arrow.
There are old fuel pumps, including a prized "double-bowser clear vision" gas pump from the 1920s. It's a double pump with two clear glass cylinders on top so customers could see they were getting clean gas. Gas was pumped into the glass cylinders using a lever. Gravity then flowed the gas into the automobile's tank. "They didn't make a double-header in the States," which is why these unique Canadian designs have become so valuable, McSherry said.
One of the problems with the glass cylinders was gas expands in sunlight, so nine gallons turned into 10 -- until it cooled off inside a vehicle's tank. "It was like selling sheep by the pound on a rainy day," McSherry said.
The highest bid may go for a sign that looks boring compared to most here. It's a very plain Ford V-8 sign from 1932. It's valuable because that was the year Ford came out with eight-cylinder cars. There's also a 1927 Ford "wing" sign for a Model T.
"Stuart doesn't want to be seen blowing his own horn," said Bill Krasey, who assists McSherry with the auctions, "but this is the hottest sale in Canada. There are sales elsewhere, but nothing like here. People will travel from Toronto and B.C. to be here."
They have also fielded calls from places such as New York and California for Sunday's auction.
"Old cars will always be cool," McSherry said.
The auction will include store signs for tobacco products such as Sir Watler Raleigh, Blackstone, Star Tobacco and British Consol cigarettes. Then there's a large Black Cat Cigarettes sign from 1945, in mint condition and expected to attract top dollar.
There are lots of soft-drink memorabilia such as wall thermometers with Dr. Pepper or other soda-pop advertising. There are match strikers, door bars (the horizontal slat you push on a store's screen door that typically had soft-drink or cigarette advertising on it) and palm presses (on the side of the door, head high, where you could also push a store's door open).
The auction runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday at McSherry Auction Service, 12 Patterson Dr. in Stonewall. Inventory can be viewed in advance at mcsherryauction.com.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Streptococcus agalactiae antibody | 224/46
Product Details
- Target Species
- Bacterial
- Product Form
- Purified IgG - liquid
- Preparation
- Purified IgG prepared by affinity chromatography on Protein A
- Buffer Solution
- Phosphate buffered saline
- Preservative Stabilisers
- 0.09% Sodium Azide (NaN3)
- Carrier Free
- Yes
- Immunogen
- Streptococcus agalactiae (NCTC 11360)
- Approx. Protein Concentrations
- IgG concentration 1.0 mg/ml
Storage Information
- Storage
- Store at +4oC or at -20oC if preferred.
Storage in frost-free freezers is not recommended.
This product should be stored undiluted.
Avoid repeated freezing and thawing as this may denature the antibody.
Should this product contain a precipitate we recommend microcentrifugation before use.
- Guarantee
- 12 months from date of despatch
More Information
- Regulatory
- For research purposes only
Applications of Streptococcus agalactiae antibody
|Application Name
|Min Dilution
|Max Dilution


text:
Dodgeball: A true (real estate) story: and a tax break for the rich and famous
Nearly four years ago, when former Tyco CFO Mark Swartz paid $17 million for historic Enniscorthy, the most expensive real estate purchase in Albemarle County history, he took advantage of a tax break that kept both the price and his identity secret– and saved a couple of rich guys close to $50,000 in recordation taxes.
This year, Monticello used the same exemption in its $15 million purchase of Brown's Mountain, avoiding nearly $43,000 in fees to record the transfer.
When a house in Farmington, listed for $6.5 million, sold in June, neither the state nor county collected the $19,000 that the deal might have brought in transaction taxes.
Meanwhile, Lindy Auberry scraped together enough to make a down-payment on a $135,000 townhouse in RiverRun last year– and she had to cough up nearly $300 to record the sale, and even to record her mortgage.
Welcome to the world of limited liability corporations, where Virginia code forces citizens to pay hundreds or thousands in recordation taxes– while the rich and/or savvy can hide the purchase price, shield their identity– and pay zero transfer tax.
Swartz's and Pickett's charge
Eleven years ago, John O. Pickett Jr., former owner of the New York Islanders ice hockey team, and his wife, Robin, set county preservationists buzzing when they tore down an 1815 barn– Albemarle's oldest– on Enniscorthy, a Keene-area property that was registered as both a state and national historic landmark.
(And in an odd chain of teardowns, the Palm Beach-based Pickett unleashed more tongue wagging last year when he sold his Four Winds estate in that ocean-front community for $20.5 million to billionaire/George W. Bush buddy Steve Schwarzman, who promptly razed that historic mansion.)
But it was the Pickett couple's sale of Enniscorthy three years ago that really inflamed Albemarle real estate watchers. Word was they'd sold the spread for a whopping $17 million.
When local fact-checkers raced to the courthouse to find out exactly who paid how much for the deluxe property, however, they were disappointed to find the Enniscorthy buyer listed as "Sea Ridge LLC." No sales price was listed; no recordation tax was paid.
"That's ridiculous," says Charlottesville resident Rob Hull, who was shocked to learn that he paid more recordation tax when buying his $62,000 townhouse in the Woolen Mills neighborhood five years ago than Swartz paid for buying the 1,400-acre Enniscorthy.
"It sounds like he's getting a handout," says Hull. "When you're not paying a tax in the community you're moving to, you're taking money away from children there."
Yet the dodge is all perfectly legal, says Albemarle County Clerk Shelby Marshall. Thanks to state code section 58.1-811, as long as the buyer and seller both have an interest in the LLC at the time of the transaction, the deal can escape transfer taxes.
Such deals, however, have come under fire in other states. In January, the speaker of the Maryland House of the Delegates introduced a bill to undo the loophole. Speaker Michael E. Busch said– before the initiative was buried in a Senate committee in April– that his measure would close a loophole used by "shell companies."
Merriam-Webster defines a shell company as one "that exists without assets or independent operations as a legal entity through which another company or corporation can conduct various dealings."
What does Swartz's Sea Ridge LLC do? Calls to his real estate lawyer went unreturned.
It wasn't until a year after his big buy that Swartz was publicly identified as the Enniscorthy owner when the sumptuous estate was opened for tours during Historic Garden Week in 2002.
That same year, another historic event occurred. Swartz, the chief financial officer of Tyco, was indicted along with company CEO Dennis Kozlowski for allegedly stealing $170 million. Federal prosecutors say the duo engaged in widespread "enterprise corruption" that bilked the company out of a total of $600 million.
Their first trial ended in April in a mistrial; they'll go back to court in January '05. Meanwhile, the former Tyco execs are suing Twin City Fire Insurance to pay more than $25 million in legal fees.
While Kozlowski's charges included shipping empty boxes to Tyco headquarters to avoid paying sales taxes on six paintings worth $13.2 million, no one's claiming that Swartz's dodge of Virginia and Albemarle recordation fees was illegal. Still, the U.S. government has frozen Swartz's assets, including Enniscorthy, until after the trial.
Monticello chief Dan Jordan has long coveted Brown's Mountain, aka Mountain Top Farm. When the 330-acre property became available earlier this year, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation leapt to buy it to protect Monticello's viewshed and restore it as "Montalto," another piece of Thomas Jefferson's extensive original land holdings.
The Montalto transaction recorded in the Albemarle County clerk's office didn't make it immediately apparent that, at $15 million, this was the second-priciest real estate deal in county history. One reason: The sale was reported as a gift. What's that about?
"I don't understand how these things work," pleads Jordan. "I'm a mere academic." He refers a reporter's call to Chris Piorkowski, Monticello's chief financial officer.
"No, it was not a gift," says Piorkowski, who jokes, "It was a $15 million gift."
The buyer set up a limited liability company, TJF Realty LLC. "There were still tenants there, and we were still doing environmental studies," she explains. "We didn't want the rest of the foundation's assets exposed to liability."
Another bonus, of course, is the avoidance of the recordation tax. And in the Montalto sale, the LLC ended up saving the buyer and seller a pretty hefty sum: $43,000.
The LLC exemption strikes again.
"As a foundation," says Piorkowski, "we have a fiduciary obligation to reduce liability and expense."
Here's how the exemption works. John Haskell, trustee for the seller, a Richmond woman, transferred the property as a gift to TJF Realty LLC in exchange for 100 percent ownership of the LLC. (This is important, because to get the exemption the seller has to have at least a 50 percent interest in the LLC and in the profits of the sale.)
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation then purchased Haskell's ownership– what's legally called the "membership interest" in the LLC– for $15 million.
"When you buy a membership interest, you're not buying a specific asset," says Piorkowski. "We're not saying, 'We're buying Montalto.' We're buying a membership interest in the limited liability company, TJF Realty."
And thus the sale is not recorded as a real estate transfer.
"It's a legitimate, legal, and often-used transaction," says Piorkowski.
And indeed, it's the same legal switcheroo Pickett and Swartz used to transfer Enniscorthy.
So did financier Randl Shure. In June, the board member of the UVA Health Services Foundation and founder of CapVest Ltd. sold his Farmington property to Dogwood Lane Properties LLC. Shure did not respond to a request for an interview, and his real estate agent declined to identify the buyer. However, the property had been listed for $6.5 million.
Two things about hiding sales prices trouble the county official who determines Albemarle County property values.
"For one thing," says assessor Bruce Woodzell, "with no sales price recorded, no tax is being paid on these sales." Even in the days before the September 2004 tax spike, the Montalto sale would have yielded $7,000 for Albemarle, with the balance of $36,000 going into state coffers.
Not only do the governments lose the money, but Woodzell loses information– because no price is recorded in the clerk's office.
"I create an assessment based on market value," says Woodzell. "These transactions have no market value."
In these cases, when an assessment is made, it's likely to be underassessed. That means the multi-million dollar properties are undertaxed while the rest of the citizenry pays on full market value.
"I'm not saying these aren't legitimate," stresses Woodzell. "If this statute is in the state code, then they have the right to use it."
WWJD– what would Jefferson do? Monticello's Piorkowski says she doesn't know, but then points to another tax break example. "If you own a house, you get to take a mortgage deduction on the interest. Are you skirting taxes by taking that deduction?"
Generous General Assembly
When the General Assembly amended the Code of Virginia in 1992 to allow these LLC recordation tax exemptions, was the purpose to help rich buyers avoid fees in high-dollar property transfers?
"No, no," says former delegate Alan Diamonstein, who brought the bill to the General Assembly. "I'm too good a Democrat for that.
"I can tell you right now there was no attempt to avoid recordation taxes," says Diamonstein, a Newport News attorney. "If you own property and want to transfer it to an LLC you own, it avoids duplicate taxes because you've already paid the recordation fees."
"I don't know all the rules on LLCs," said Governor Mark Warner when he visited Charlottesville in May after passing his budget. But as far as rich guys getting a tax break on million-dollar properties, "That doesn't sound fair," the governor said. "It sounds to me like a corporate loophole that needs to be looked at."
"The law's got to apply to everybody the same whether they're rich or poor," reminds State Senator Creigh Deeds.
Indeed, the same argument is made with Use Value Taxation– land use– that gives a tax break to owners of acreage who keep land for agricultural use instead of turning it into subdivisions, a break designed to help struggling farmers, but which also benefits rich "farmette" owners who put a handful of cows on the back 40. [See the Hook's April 10, 2003, cover story, "Land use: Farmers' friend or tax break for the rich?"]
The Hook reached real estate attorney Bill Tucker on a day when he had just finished using the exemption for a client who wanted to transfer some real estate to his LLC. Tucker compares the situation to a married couple who can transfer title to each other without having to pay recordation taxes.
"I think they made [the law] thinking it would be the same entity in the transfer," says Tucker, "but some smart lawyers have found a way to get around the tax."
Using an LLC isn't for everyone. Creating one entails paying the State Corporation Commission $100– and a visit to a lawyer, which Tucker estimates should cost between $500 and $750. Still, it might be tempting.
As part of the General Assembly's 2004 budget bill, on September 1, the state recordation tax jumped from 15 cents to 25 cents per $100 of value. On that date, the Charlottesville and Albemarle County recordation fees bumped from 5 cents to 8.3 cents.
On a $200,000 home, the buyer pays $667, the seller pays $200, and if the buyer gets a $150,000 mortgage, it costs another $500 to record the deed of trust.
"So the total is $1,367 on a $200,000 sale," says Tucker. "It used to be $700 before September 1."
Tucker notes another potential for LLC abuse. "If I'm the clerk," says Tucker, "and someone presents me with this instrument, I have no way of knowing if this person owns an LLC." So someone could pretend to have an LLC to avoid recording fees.
"How are we supposed to know?" says Albemarle Clerk Shelby Marshall. "When we record these instruments, it's up to whoever prepares them to put in whether the property is exempt."
"Nothing we did was illegal or immoral," declares Monticello's Piorkowski. "We are using legitimate, legal options that further the Foundation's mission: the preservation of Monticello and its environs, and education."
And indeed, no one argues that Monticello shouldn't get the same tax break the Commonwealth allows colleges, churches– or even the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
"We feel like we're contributing to the community and preserving the view," says Piorkowski. "It's a gift to the community not to have the whole thing developed."
However, the use of the exemption by rich individuals has Mike Thompson at the Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, a Northern Virginia-based think tank, wondering how many times it's been used in the 12 years since the General Assembly approved it– and how much it's cost.
"What could the state have done with those additional taxes that could go to schools or roads?" asks Thompson. "That doesn't seem right. It doesn't sound like something I could get a way with."
RiverRun resident Lindy Auberry thinks this is an example of why the tax system needs a widespread overhaul. "There's a lot of unfairness in the tax code that average people don't know about," she says. "They may say it's only a couple hundred dollars on these fees, but for me, that's a lot. And Mark Swartz got away with saving $50,000 that he probably wouldn't even notice."
Advises Auberry, "They should tie up that loophole. It's ridiculous what rich people can get away with."
When Maryland's House Speaker tried to undo that state's law earlier this year, his bill would have put all the proceeds– estimated at $45 million– into school construction and renovation. However, some legislators feared they'd look less competitive than neighboring Virginia.
The Hook was unable to find any estimate on how much Virginia is losing when shell companies– from strip malls and office parks to sumptuous estates and historic mountains– change hands without paying transfer taxes.
Thompson thinks the Virginia law may have been written too broadly. "A typical guy sees this as another example of a law being used by those who are able to get away with it," he says, adding that the General Assembly may want to take another look.
If the exemption is in fact a loophole for the rich, agrees retired legislator Diamonstein, "then the legislature ought to close it."
Still holding the record for Albemarle's largest real estate sale, historic Enniscorthy lost its state and national historic landmark status during John Pickett's ownership.
The oldest barn in the county– before it was torn down by a former Enniscorthy owner.
Real estate attorney Bill Tucker uses the LLC exemption for clients who've already paid the recordation taxes on their property.


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ACT 2000 for Windows for Dummies (Paperback)
For years, we've all been keeping track of our activities by using some version of a to-do list. Some people write down all of their tasks on pads of paper and update the list every few days; others use daily planning books; and still others write everything on self-stick notes and paste them to the desktop, wall, and computer monitor.
With ACT , you don't make lists. You schedule a specific task and include the task's date, time, and regarding information, and then you assign the task to a specific person. Then you use ACT to help you to keep track of all your unfinished tasks. With Act 2000 For Windows For Dummies in hand, you'll discover how to put the power of Act to work for you and your business.
This book is filled with information that will help you to use ACT 2000's many timesaving and productivity-improving features so that you can grow your business, expand your career, save time, and make more money. Whether you're an experienced Act user or someone who is new to the software, this information-packed reference tool will guide you through the following topics and more:
- Turning Act into your electronic phone book
- Creating a new database
- Looking at Act fields, commands, shortcuts keys, tool bars
- Understanding various tabs: Notes/History, Activities, Sales/Opportunities, and Group
- Entering information into a database
- Scheduling activities; using calendars
- Writing letters; including printing, faxing, and e-mailing
- Working with reports and layouts
- Managing and protecting your Act database
Act is a very powerful tool, on par with a top-of-the-line database or spreadsheet program. With help from Act 2000 For Windows For Dummies, you'll be able to fine-tune Act features to match your specific needs and use this tool to its fullest potential.
About the Author
Jeffrey J. Mayer is the president of the Chicago-based SucceedingInBusiness.com, the bestselling author of Success is a Journey, and the publisher of a popular ACT! newsletter.


text: ErikB 112 Posted March 8, 2013 Since it appears the EU and the prequels are being thrown under a well deserved bus, maybe we can revisit the size of the Star Wars playground. I always kinda got the impression that things in the movies were a bit smaller than they tend to be in some of the WEG stuff. Does it seem the Empire has 25,000 Star Destroyers, for instance? Or there being only a few million clones works a lot better if there are not millions of worlds in the Republic. On the other hand, the Empire do tool around in moon sized battle stations and can blow up planets just to make a point. So what seems like a good number of total worlds in the Republic/Empire to people? I think 'a few thousand' would suit me quite well. Enough to get lost in, but not perhaps enough feel like too many. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites


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Declarations of the Grand Artificer 12"
Stream It:
The packaging on this is sick as hell, a 20 pt stock SBS board jacket with matte finish and silver foil stamping on the front houses the vinyl. The vinyl is nice and thick at 160 grams and we pressed 500 of them. 100 on translucent red vinyl with black streaks, 100 on white vinyl, only available in indie record stores, 100 on gold vinyl only available through the band, and 200 on black vinyl. There's also a double sided insert with lyrics and liner notes and all preorders will include a download coupon that contains a code for a secret bonus track! Jump on it, get right witcha self!! This one was released on vinyl in conjunction with Moribund Records releasing the CD.
"With three songs clocking in at nearly 33 minutes, CHASMA's Declarations of the Grand Artificer is a bewildering, but above all transcendent record, an epic recasting of classic black metal into otherworldly shapes and a plausibly modern contour.
Formed in 2008 by members of Nanda Devi and Alter of Earth, CHASMA began as a side-project to experiment with yet another form of extreme metal. After writing and recording three songs, CHASMA released a demo tape with the French black metal label Aural Offerings and began performing live. After encouragement from Aural Offerings and the local Northwest metal scene, CHASMA made another recording that was released by Aural Offerings on tape and CD. After playing two years of shows with the likes of Wolves in the Throne Room, Bloody Panda, Trees, Thou, Nux Vomica, and Fell Voices, CHASMA guitarist Tony Komforty departed the project and was replaced by Klaus Maza of the LA crust band Sheeeeeeeep.
"Musically, we are influenced by new millenium-era French black metal and DC screamo," says the band, "and bands like Weakling, Joyless, Ameseours, and Majority Rule. We are influenced by the intensity and passion of our brotherhood as musicians and try to express that passion through dimension bending riffs. We don't really fit the black metal label; we consider ourselves either noir nouveau ['new black'] or bright metal."


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ZDI-11-213: Adobe Shockwave rcsL Trusted Offset Chunk Processing Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
June 14, 2011
7.5, (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P)
-- Affected Vendors:
-- Affected Products:
Adobe Shockwave Player
-- TippingPoint(TM) IPS Customer Protection:
TippingPoint IPS customers have been protected against this
vulnerability by Digital Vaccine protection filter ID 11346.
For further product information on the TippingPoint IPS, visit:
-- Vulnerability Details:
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on
vulnerable installations of the Adobe Shockwave Player. User interaction
is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit
a malicious page or open a malicious file.
The specific flaw exists within the parsing of the rcsL RIFF chunk
within Director files. When handling specific structures within this
chunk, the process trusts an offset and uses it to calculate a pointer
value. By modifying this element an attacker can force the application
to corrupt memory at a controlled location. This can be leveraged by an
attacker to execute arbitrary code under the context of the user running
the browser.
-- Vendor Response:
Adobe has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More
details can be found at:
-- Disclosure Timeline:
2011-04-01 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
2011-06-14 - Coordinated public release of advisory
-- Credit:
This vulnerability was discovered by:
* Aniway (firstname.lastname@example.com)
-- About the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI):
Established by TippingPoint, The Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) represents
a best-of-breed model for rewarding security researchers for responsibly
disclosing discovered vulnerabilities.
Researchers interested in getting paid for their security research
through the ZDI can find more information and sign-up at:
The ZDI is unique in how the acquired vulnerability information is
used. TippingPoint does not re-sell the vulnerability details or any
exploit code. Instead, upon notifying the affected product vendor,
TippingPoint provides its customers with zero day protection through
its intrusion prevention technology. Explicit details regarding the
specifics of the vulnerability are not exposed to any parties until
an official vendor patch is publicly available. Furthermore, with the
altruistic aim of helping to secure a broader user base, TippingPoint
provides this vulnerability information confidentially to security
vendors (including competitors) who have a vulnerability protection or
mitigation product.
Our vulnerability disclosure policy is available online at:
Follow the ZDI on Twitter:


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Camper Van Beethoven - Words and Music - 2013
2.17.13 10:00pm
For 30 years (with a few breaks), the guys of Camper Van Beethoven have blended punk and ska with sounds of world music and even folk. Not exactly prolific after disbanding in the '90s, Camper has nonetheless delivered some great albums since then, the most recent of which is La Costa Perdida. Catch their California vibe in conversation, live tunes, and video.
[recorded: 01/21/13]
More from the WFUV Archives:


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A 5 Step CRM Strategy Design Framework
|Top 2011 Customer Management Trends
|When Your Best Customers Really Aren't
|From recognizing the consequences of poor customer experiences to increased recognition of social customer engagement—here are the top customer trends. More ...
|Customer collaboration to fuel product innovation is powerful. But what do you do when your best customers seek better pricing, and not collaboration? More ...
|Calculating Customer Lifetime Value
|Business Success with CRM
|We all want to grow our customers' lifetime value, but how many businesses actually measure this otherwise nebulous customer management objective?. Go To ...
|Dick Wooden shares the discovery of intersections that allow for giant leaps in business growth, business clarity, and business innovation. Go To ...
CRMforecast.com includes an excellent hub on CRM strategy with solid best practices and helpful insight.
CRMsolution.com offers concrete advice regarding CRM strategy and objectives, several best practices and a comprehensive Blueprint which includes the business case for CRM as well as number of key success and failure factors.


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Osborne's Fight to Keep the U.K.'s Triple-A Rating
U.K. Treasury Chief George Osborne could lose the country's triple-A rating if the plans he announces in Wednesday's Autumn Statement suggest that the country's debt isn't under control. Dow Jones's Ainsley Thomson takes a look at Mr. Osborne's options. Photo: Getty Images
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I ... the ... so of course because that was out in the UK losing its AAA credit rating ... when Chancellor of the cakes she can't do a Jaspal presents his ... latest economic plans and is twenty in a fashion statement ... it's expected that he would have turned out since their two nations ... will last for longer than expected ... these plants are being closely watched by the credit rating agencies ... the attacks that he's got them on ... that could mean the AKS downgrade its ... the big problem for Mr Swan ... said the UK is economic growth has been far weaker than expected ... outlook is oh so the twins ... as a result the office for budget responsibility ... but says the government's official forecast and ... is expected to significantly lower its forecasts for the pace economic growth ... and increase its forecasts for how much the capital have to burn ... this is bad news for missed us bummed ... because that means he may break his two fiscal woes ... which got than ... the amount of dates ... and the size of eighteen cents ... the chancellor has ten the options ... he can even make good the spending caps which at the DPM popular the public and critics alike the economy with ... what he can exceed this could take longer than he plans to fix the public finances ... this offense remains the chance to let the hostage to fortune and ... because of relief s came into office ... he makes retaining the U K s AAA could arising when his top priorities


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The Zend Developer Zone has a new tutorial posted today (from Vikram Vaswani) that focuses on making charts and graphs with the help of the GDChart extension for PHP.
This extension, which is freely available from PECL, can significantly reduce the amount of work involved in dynamically generating graphical representations of numerical data at run-time. Over the next few pages, I'll introduce you to this extension, illustrating its important features and showing you just how easy it is to get your Friday evening back.
The tutorial shows how to get and install the extension as well as including a few usage examples - a simple charting of values (with the different chart types defined), comparing more than one set of data, changing the aesthetics of the output and a detailed look at a few of the chart types' output.


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Apparently, I stuck a nerve among flat-fee charging advisors with my March 26 blog for ThinkAdvisor, "Why AUM Fees Still Make (Im)Perfect Sense." The responses included a Twitter conversation started by financial planner Carolyn McClanahan, and a ThinkAdvisor guest blog by James Osborne of Bason Asset Management, titled "No, Asset-Based Fees Don't Make Any Sense."
First, let me say that I have the greatest respect for flat fee-ers: The folks in the Garrett Planning Network and others who have made the choice to earn less money and create less value in their practices in order to follow their consciences and serve the middle market and/or reduce conflicts with their clients. My hat's off to them.
In fact, the flat-fee folks embody the reason I started writing about and for independent advisors 30 years ago: back then virtually all of them could have made more money as brokers or insurance agents but chose to go independent to better serve their clients. I've always had great respect for that approach—and still do: Today's independent advisors who charge AUM fees invariably charge a fraction of the 160bps to 250 bps that many breakaway brokers seem to feel is appropriate. With that said, I have a hard time getting behind the current "flat-fees for everyone" movement for two reasons:
- Rather than a "new" idea, it's an old idea with a history of very limited appeal, for good reasons; and
- The current tactic by flat-fee advocates to vilify AUM fees.
Here are two examples of the current trend to denigrate fees on AUM. Last week, I wrote about an advisor I talked with who referred to AUM fees as "commissions." As if. And the above referenced title of Mr. Osborne's blog: "No, Asset-Based Fees Make No Sense." No sense? Really? I respectfully suggest that this kind of over-the-top hyperbole (is that redundant?) only serves to make the flat fee-ers look like true believers, while doing nothing to further a reasonable discussion of the relative merits of these two methods of advisor compensation.
As I acknowledged in my earlier blog, Osborne and others are right to say that flat fees offer many of the same advantages as AUM fees: a fiduciary duty, economic independence and recurring revenue. But as far as putting the advisor on the client's side of the table, I'm not so sure. For one thing, flat-fee advisors make the same money whether their clients' portfolios go up—or down. AUM fees, obviously, reward advisors when client portfolios go up, and penalize them when portfolios go down. That kind of identity of interest seems better.
At the same time, while flat fees "eliminate the asset-gathering/asset-retention conflict," as Mr. Osborne wrote, they also create conflicts of their own. Osborne went on to say: "I always find myself scratching my head when people in the industry claim that a retainer fee structure isn't a viable business model. For one thing, it works for practically every other profession – CPAs, attorneys and others have long worked under an hourly or retainer structure to great success."
Great success? Really? The average small accounting firm is worth about 1x annual revenues: the average AUM fee-only advisory firm is worth between 2x and 3x revenues—and those revenues per client are usually much higher. What's more, anyone who's ever worked with an attorney and/or accountant is well aware right from the start of the built-in conflict of interest: billable hours. The client has no way to know how long those professionals spend on their case, and the professionals have an incentive to take as long as possible. Why should one lawyer or CPA get paid more if they have to research a question than one who already knows the answer? Bad example, Mr. Osborne.
The most cogent comment in Carolyn McClanahan's Twitter discussion came from Bob Veres (Bob Veres @BobVeres Mar 28): "[Bob Clark's] column ignores the evolutionary nature of the profession. AUM is a waystation, nothing more."
Bob is absolutely right: the present is prologue for the future. But I'm not sure he realizes the full implication of that thought. The other side to that coin is that no one knows how the present will evolve into the future: not me, not Bob, not the folks who advocate flat fees. Yet some want to use the concept of change to support their own predictions of the future when, in fact, they are just that: merely predictions, nothing more.
I have no doubt that the current business model(s) of independent advice will change. It is both my hope—and my prediction—that part of that change will include a move toward even greater independence: such as away from conflicting affiliations (including the custodial perks that Michael Kitces has written about), and away from technology platforms that limit access to investment choices. We see this happening already, as many independent advisors are working with multiple custodians to offer more choices and get better pricing for their clients.
Flat fees are more problematic. Are they really the "wave of the future" or a recycled idea from the past that didn't get widespread traction the first few times they were tried?
To wit: financial planning fees in the '80s, the Garrett Planning Network, which to my knowledge has never attracted more than 300 or so advisors, and the advisors who shifted from AUM fees to flat fees in the wake of the Dot.com crash in 2001, only to shift back to AUM fees in time to take another hit in 2008.
Despite our current "youth-culture" mentality, the past does inform the present—and the future, as Harvard philosopher George Santayana reminded us when he said: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."


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For many people, buying a home may be the biggest purchase they will make in their lifetime, and the right time to buy is different for everyone. Before making the decision to buy a home, consider the following questions:
How do lenders determine who qualifies for a mortgage?
Lenders take many things into consideration: credit score, the cash you have available for a down payment and closing costs, your income, and your existing debt and financial obligations are just a few. Two housing ratios are used:
- The housing expense-to-income ratio compares your anticipated monthly mortgage payment (principal, interest, taxes and insurance), to the total gross monthly income (pre-tax) for your household.
- The debt-to-income ratio compares total monthly expense, including the anticipated monthly mortgage payment to the total gross (pre-tax) monthly income for your household.
How do I know how much money I can borrow to buy a home?
Your mortgage consultant will help you get a preliminary approval that lets you know the maximum loan amount you might be able to borrow.1 With that information in hand, you can then determine a price range with which you are comfortable.
What is a credit score?
The three credit reporting agencies — Experian, TransUnion and Equifax — serve as a clearinghouse for credit information. "Credit score" is a term often used to refer to credit bureau risk scores. It broadly refers to a number generated by a statistical model which is used to objectively evaluate information that pertains to making a credit decision (i.e. credit cards, car loans, student loans, etc) that includes:
- Your payment history
- The total amount you owe
- The amount of time you've had available credit
- Whether you have any judgments entered against you
- Whether you filed bankruptcy
- The number of times potential lenders have reviewed your credit
Information in the agencies' reports is evaluated and interpreted into a "credit score," which help lenders make loan decisions. Credit scores range from 300 to 850, and yours may determine whether you are approved for a loan, the terms of the loan, and the interest rate.
Note: Making large purchases with a consumer loan or credit card just before applying for a mortgage may impact your ability to qualify. So consider your needs and priorities carefully.
If you still have questions about the home buying process, don't worry. We are committed to providing information that will help you make well-informed decisions about the financing process. Our mortgage consultants will pay attention to your goals, help you understand your options, and clearly explain how different loan programs work. So, you can take an informed, hands-on approach to achieving your goal of owning a home.
Contact your local mortgage consultant today!
1. A preliminary approval is based on our preliminary review of credit information only and is not a commitment to lend. We will be able to offer a loan commitment upon verification of application information, satisfying all underwriting requirements and conditions, and providing an acceptable property, appraisal, and title report. Preliminary approvals are subject to change or cancellation if a requested loan no longer meets applicable regulatory requirements. Preliminary approvals are not available on all products. See a mortgage consultant for details.
All first mortgage products are provided by Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC dba FM Lending Services. (877) 275-1762. Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC products may not be available in all areas. Not all borrowers will qualify. Licensed by the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance. Licensed by the Delaware State Bank Commissioner. Also licensed in District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
NMLS ID #75164 (NMLS Consumer Access at http://www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org/)
©2018 Prosperity Home Mortgage, LLC dba FM Lending Services. All Rights Reserved.Share:
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A much-loved classic
Give it a blast
Take the air in your newly requisitioned jetpack and dodge all manner of outlandish security measures on your path to freedom. This extended edition includes a wealth of additional content, including the 'Strong Arm Machine' and 'Wave Rider' power-ups.
Lasers, missiles, electrified barriers, even the day workers… you'll have to contend with all of them for a chance at escape and a shot at the leader boards. Help is at hand though: use in-game powers-ups like the 'Bad Ass Hog' or 'Gravity Suit' to pump up your score or trade your banked cash for new upgrades and gadgets to give you the edge on your next try. Remember, science is your friend.


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Here in the Lowcountry, we have many long distance runners and walkers, including myself. We must take care of certain parts of our lower extremities by strengthening the joints that runners and walkers continually put under pressure.
Three exercises should be a mainstay for the knee and hip joints: Lying straight leg raises, standing side straight leg raises and circular fire hydrants. These three exercises can be done before or after every running or walking workout.
Personally, I like to follow the "age" rule. The number of reps one should do is the age you are. So right now I'm doing 41 reps of all three exercises on each leg. By doing these exercises daily, we can prevent injuries such as meniscus tears or I.T. band strains, as well as low back strains. Runners and walkers are prone to all three of those.
Lying straight leg raises
Lie on your back with legs out straight. Keeping your foot flexed back and the leg straight so the knee is locked, raise the leg from the hip joint up to about a 45-degree angle and back down again. Raise the leg up again just before the heel hits the floor.
Circular fire hydrants
Get on your hands and knees with your face toward the floor. Push one leg back and up, extending at the knee, then bend the knee and bring leg around to the side as if going over a hurdle until the knee is close to the elbow. Then back to starting position. Without resting, repeat the leg rotation. Move quickly, but with control. Repeat on the other side.
Standing side straight leg raises
Stand tall next to something you can hold onto. Keep the inside leg planted on the floor with a soft knee. Do not lock the knee joint. Raise the outside leg to the side leading with the heel, not the toe, to about a 45-degree angle and back down. Raise leg up again just before the heel hits the floor.
Chad Cannon is an advisor for Advocare International and the president of the SC Wellness & Fitness Center, formally known as Shaping Concepts. He is an AFPA certified personal trainer with more than 22 years in the industry. Chad can be reached at 843-757-8626 or at www.shapingconceptsbluffton.com for a free consultation.


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Discussion in 'Developers' Forum' started by eugenesan, Dec 27, 2008.
we are waiting files from you and ready to test it
As far as I know you changed also ptahs e.g. for satistics. This will mess up everything on update.
The only otion that I see at the moment for an inclusion is to rewrite your addons so that it follows the ispconfig paths and databse field names.
I'am sorry but I really can not include a piece of software even in a next major release that will break thousands of exsiting server installations.
Nevertehless I will review your code and see If it can be made compatible with the released ispconfig versions as it will be less work to chnage your plugin then to cahnge the whole ispconfig code to make it compatible with your plugin.
This topic is very interesting and I'm glad there is progress in getting nginx support to ISPC3. However, when this gets finalized I hope it does not require php-fpm. php-fpm still requires modifying PHP source manually, which means automatic security updates won't work.
Actually there is a project that should allow php-fpm as addon to PHP.
Unfortunately progress is almost stopped, since I am very busy lately.
If someone willing create/rebase patches based on older version, I am ready to release the code.
whats the status with this plugin?
Question about the php-fpm part, would we be able to have php-fpm run as a different user for each website because I have php-fpm already set up like that and I don't want to have all the php-fpm processes running as the same user.
About a month ago I've started porting my old patches to latest ISPConfig.
Focus was:
1) Add support of PHP 5.3 in FPM mode. (with PHP-FPM sites of each user runs under their own user and PHP instances number grows dynamically on demand)
2) Update support for Nginx.
3) Refresh support for external mail (GoogleApps) using msmtp.
4) Add support for above in installer, as so called "lite" mode.
Currently code is partially written but still not tested due to time constrains.
I've posted one of the snapshots (Not the latest snapshot) here: http://gitorious.org/ispconfig-lite
Hope to to find some time to finish that soon.
Critics, comments and ideas are welcome.
This is my short Tip of traffic analysis.
debian + Nginx + vlogger + ispconfig3.0.3
]# vi /etc/nginx/conf.d/ispconfig.conf
log_format combined_ispconfig '$server_name $remote_addr - $remote_user [$time_local] '
'"$request" $status $bytes_sent '
'"$http_referer" "$http_user_agent"';
access_log /var/log/nginx/vhost.access.log combined_ispconfig;
]# vi /root/bin/my_nginx_log_analysis.sh
/usr/bin/tail -f $VHOST_LOG_FILE | /usr/local/ispconfig/server/scripts/vlogger -s access.log -f 300 -t "%Y%m%d-access.log" -d "/etc/vlogger-dbi.conf" $LOG_DIR
]# vi /etc/logrotate.d/nginx
/var/log/nginx/*.log {
rotate 52
create 640 root adm
/usr/bin/killall tail
[ ! -f /var/run/nginx.pid ] || kill -USR1 `cat /var/run/nginx.pid`
/usr/bin/nohup /root/bin/my_nginx_log_analysis.sh&
Waiting for feedbacks.
Hi folks,
What's up with this "plugin", or "patch", or any name you would give to this wonderful work ?
I'd like to use it & take part in its development but the code posted on gitorious is just too old and the commit tree too messy (only 3 commits for hundreds of files modified).
Waiting for news for Eungenesan
I see a problem with your way to handle it : what happens if the tail -f process is being killed for any reason ? Especially, what happens if you reboot your server in the middle of the day ? It will stop logging for half a day ...
Separate names with a comma.


text:
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Mike Anderson's nonconference schedule had something missing during the 2013-14 season: true road games.
FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas coach Mike Anderson's nonconference schedule had something missing during the 2013-14 season: true road games.
Sure, Arkansas traveled to Hawaii to play three games in the Maui Invitational. They had a few quality opponents like Clemson and Southern Methodist in Bud Walton Arena, too. But the Razorbacks weren't tested on the road until conference play.
Anderson has made sure it won't be an issue next season.
"We have the opportunity now to take the show on the road and we want to take it even more and have more success on the road," Anderson said.
Anderson addressed his team's schedule, among other topics, during a golf outing honoring former Arkansas athletic director Frank Broyles last Friday. The nonconference schedule has not yet been finalized, but the Razorbacks have announced road games at Clemson, SMU and Iowa State.
Arkansas also has a home game scheduled with Dayton, which reached the NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight last season. So there will be no shortage of tests before the 18-game SEC schedule, but Anderson said the challenge is welcomed as he tries to lead Arkansas into the NCAA Tournament for the first time in his tenure.
"We've got a core coming back and we had a good year last year," Anderson said. "Having that core coming back is something to build on. We think we have added some pieces that are going to help our basketball team and will help us climb that next level. That is what we want to be as a team – one that comes out the gate from the start, in the middle and finishes. Our schedule is going to be such that it demands that. We've got to come out strong."
Arkansas does bring a wealth of experience back from a team that went 22-12 and reached the second round of the National Invitational Tournament.
The Razorbacks went 4-10 outside the state last season, which was an improvement from the 2-22 mark in Anderson's first two seasons. Arkansas must replace outgoing seniors Mardracus Wade, Coty Clarke, Fred Gulley, Kikko Haydar and Rickey Scott, but six of the top seven scorers return.
The list includes sophomore Bobby Portis and junior Michael Qualls, who played key roles in Arkansas' success last season. Anderson said both players are scheduled to participate in high profile camps for college players later this summer.
The Razorbacks also have welcomed signees Anton Beard, Trey Thompson and Jabril Durham to campus. Texas Tech transfer Dusty Hannahs also has arrived, although he won't be eligible to play until 2015-16. The only signee who hasn't arrived is Nick Babb, but the guard is expected to arrive soon.
"I think people are going to like this team," Anderson said. "I really, really do. I just think we are getting the right kind of guys in to push one another, really get after one another and challenge each other off the floor as well."
Anderson said the offseason work is critical for the group considering the challenges they'll face throughout the nonconference schedule. So far the Razorbacks are handling it. But Anderson said consistency is going to be key for the Razorbacks as they take aim at an improved nonconference schedule and NCAA Tournament berth.
"The thing that I am proud of right now is that our guys are all here on campus right now, working, hitting the weight room and going through the individual workouts that we perform and they play their pick-up games," Anderson said.
"They all are just getting into tune with one another. I think that is so big. I thought it was big last year and it will be even bigger this year."


text:
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text:
You can use the Component Browser of the ATG Dynamo Server Admin to monitor the current state of GSACacheClientManagers and the GSACacheServerManager. Data for these components is accessible from this page:
The GSACacheClientManager and GSACacheServerManager pages provide links that can help you troubleshoot distributed hybrid caching.
GSACacheClientManager page
Provides a link Display ItemDescriptor List that lists all item descriptors managed by this GSACacheClientManager .
GSACacheServerManager page
Provides two links:
Display Client List lists all of GSACacheClientManagers currently connected to this GSACacheServerManager .
Display Repository List provides lists all repositories that this server manages. From this page, you can drill down to specific item information:
Click on a repository to list all item descriptors that use hybrid caching.
Click on an item descriptor to display an input field for entering a repository item ID.
Enter a repository item ID and click Get Clients to obtain all GSACacheClientManagers that currently cache this item.


text:
READ about Piers Morgan's long career in journalism here.
With Super Bowl XLVIII just two days away, on Friday evening "Piers Morgan Live" welcomes one of the big game's first stars, as Joe Namath joins the program for a primetime, face to face interview.
The man who famously guaranteed victory in 1969's Super Bowl III, "Broadway Joe" was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. But nearly forty years after concluding a career that included more than 27 thousand passing yards, Namath admits that the brutality of the game he loves has taken its toll.
Speaking with Piers Morgan, tonight the 70-year-old reveals details of health issues that he's experiencing, and the results of testing he's undergone:
"I was thinking I have grandchildren, I have daughters. It behooved me to find out what was going on," Namath tells the host. "There were areas in my brain where the cells had ceased, quieted down tremendously. We were concerned a bit and so I have had some treatment and I feel great."
During the course of a career that covered 13 seasons, Namath threw 3,762 passes, completing almost half. Four times he was named an AFL All-Star, and was named to the Pro Bowl in 1972. But for all his charisma, charm, poise, and moxie, Namath admits that even he isn't immune to the pounding taken in the pocket:
"I can count the times that I had situations where I hit the ground, hit in the head, lose it, you don't know for a while," says the number one overall pick in the 1965 AFL draft. "We used to call it 'getting your bell rung.' And then whenever you took some time, maybe a little oxygen, you went back to work."
Proving that even in serious times, he's nothing if not a good sport, Namath has some fun with Morgan:
"Let's move on to the game on Sunday," says the host, switching gears.
"What game," asks Joe, with a sly smile.
"Oh dear, it's even worse than I thought," laughs Morgan.
Watch the clip, and listen to the interview, as Namath offers additional insight into his career, and the challenge of balancing the impact it's had on his post-football life. And, for the full interview with "Joe Willie," including his prediction for Sunday's Super Bowl, watch CNN at 9 p.m.
» Follow Piers Morgan Tonight on Twitter
» Follow "Piers Morgan Tonight" on Instagram
So, what is your point CNN? Is the next agenda going to be ending the NFL? Introducing flag football? If you don't know you're going to get hurt and have long term effects from playing this sport when you start, you're already a lost weed in a big field. These guys already make millions a year. That isn't enough to take care of health issues down the road?
These poor babies. Maybe they shouldn't play. The NFL shouldn't have given them a single dime extra than their already massive salaries. A travesty.
Ask Harvey Weinstein who Phillip Seymour Hoffman buys his dope from.
Or is he too busy giving him an anal.
Attention!!! I have already informed Ottawa ON Can. That fight 370 Boeing 777, flipped during its flight, I am working on Lon & Lat. from a fannig. you should be able to figure exactly where I am looking towards. Please do not interupt my train of mind. when plane flips it does not due a UEE.
Namath, million dollar arms and 10 cent knees.
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text:
Haas keeps his winning streak alive
Bill Haas keeps winning the right tournaments to position himself on the periphery of the elite in golf.
His three-shot victory Sunday in the AT&T National was his fourth straight season with at least one PGA Tour title, joining a short list with Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose. Some of that is good timing, though to suggest it's merely a coincidence would be to ignore an abundance of natural talent.
The trick is getting to the next level, and Haas knows the way.
"Work a little harder," he said. "This year I think I put in a little bit more work than I have in the previous years - easy to say now that it's paying off. But all the best players, they're working hard. And the best players ... there is a level, and I'd love to be a part of that. But the way you guys and the golf world ranks us, it's by the majors. And I have not had that much success in the majors."
Indeed, Haas has never had a top 10 in a major.
For now, he keeps winning on major golf courses. Faced with a rugged test at Congressional, which has hosted four major championships, Haas pulled away from a crowd of contenders with three straight birdies, two good pars and one good hop out of the rough by the 14th green that turned potential bogey into birdie.
He wound up with a 5-under 66 and a three-shot win over Robert Castro, who made Haas work hard in the sweltering heat Sunday.
Haas thought about a player such as Jason Day, who has only one win in his sixth year on the PGA Tour, but is looked upon now as a contender at the majors because that's what the Australian has done. Day has finished two shots behind in the Masters twice, and he was runner-up by two shots at the U.S. Open at Merion this year.
"I would like to be part of that," Haas said. "But honestly, I would just like to work hard, see the results, and if the next level comes, then I welcome it."
His last three wins have come at Congressional, Riviera last year and East Lake in 2011, when he won the Tour Championship and captured the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. His next big test will be Muirfield for the British Open.
Haas, who finished at 12-under 272, still hasn't won a tournament with Tiger Woods in the field. Sunday was close. Woods at least was on the property, waiting on the 18th green to give Haas the silver trophy of the U.S. Capitol that the 31-year-old struggled to hoist over his head in the stifling conditions.
For a tournament lacking star power - Woods withdrew with an elbow injury and Rose withdrew from fatigue after winning the U.S. Open - Haas at least kept up the pedigree of the AT&T National winners. In the seven-year history of the tournament, the lowest-ranked player to win was Rose, who was at No. 35 when he won at Aronimink in 2010. Haas was at No. 29. The other winners were K.J. Choi, Anthony Kim, Nick Watney and Woods twice.
"This golf course and even Aronimink, too, they're ball-striker golf courses," Woods said. "You have to hit your ball well. You look at our list of champions, they've all been pretty good ball-strikers. You just can't fake it around this golf course. It's too big and too demanding."
Haas played big and he answered every challenge, including his own demons.
He had enough scars this year, such as Riviera and the Memorial, that he never got too excited even when he began to pull away. He knew there was trouble around every corner at Congressional, and he only had to look back one day to realize that. His scorecard on Saturday was a mess - nine birdies but only five pars, along with a triple bogey on the 11th hole, the toughest on the golf course.
He rolled in birdie putts from about the 10-foot range on the eighth, ninth and 10th holes to build a two-shot lead, and then stepped to the 11th tee looking for redemption, or at least a par. What gave him as much satisfaction as any birdie was a tee shot in the fairway, a 5-iron to the green and two putts.
"I told myself, `Great par, but it's not over yet,'" Haas said. "You can't breathe a sigh of relief yet. You've got to keep hitting good shots. I was able to hit a few nice ones coming in."
He added a pair of birdies and Castro, who matched him shot-for-shot for much of the day, couldn't stay with him. Castro, part of a four-way tie for the lead going into the final round, closed with a 69 for his best finish on tour.
"He didn't make any mistakes, and the birdies on 9 and 10 were big," Castro said after his 69.
The other leaders fell away. Andres Romero had a double bogey on the fourth hole and shot 75. James Driscoll didn't make a birdie in his round of 74.
Jordan Spieth, the 19-year-old from Texas who needs a win to become a PGA Tour member and be eligible for the FedEx Cup playoffs, started his day by holing out from a fairway bunker for eagle and chipping in for birdie to tie for the lead. He dropped a shot at No. 11 - the hardest hole at Congressional - about the time Haas was on his critical run of birdies. Spieth had a 69 and finished sixth, pushing his earnings for the year over $1.1 million.
D.H. Lee made nine birdies to match a tournament-best 64 and tied for third with Jason Kokrak, who briefly shared the lead on the front nine and had a 69. Stewart Cink closed with a 67 and finished alone in fifth, his best finish on the PGA Tour in stroke play since he won the British Open four years ago at Turnberry.
Haas made the long walk across a makeshift bridge and under the grandstands to the 18th green for the trophy presentation, high-fiving kids along the railing and raising his cap to thousands of fans who cheered as they saw him coming. His win was even sweeter when he compared it with all the times he failed.
"As many times as I've choked and hit bad shots and I've been nervous and it hasn't worked out - I was feeling all those things today - and to hit good, quality golf shots down the stretch is such a good feeling," Haas said. "I wish I could explain it. It's amazing."


text:
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text:
"A Twist of Water," the new play about the history and soul of Chicago by Caitlin Montanye Parrish, is headed to New York.
Route 66 Theatre Company artistic director Stef Tovar said that the entire original cast of Erica L. Weiss' production, a hit in Chicago earlier this year, would reprise their roles next fall, Off-Broadway at the 59E59 theater in New York. The non-profit 59E59 (located at 59 E. 59th St.) has a history of supporting Chicago work in New York.
Staged at Theater Wit and later at the Mercury Theater, "A Twist of Water" was buoyed in Chicago by the attendance of then Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel, who attended the show just after winning the February election. He has mentioned the play in several speeches since then.


text:
Insomnia, An Intimate Magic Show at Hotel Casa del Mar, Santa Monica
The $55 ticket (which can be purchased here) not only includes the show, a beer/wine reception ...
... with some hors d'oeuvres, but also parking. That's invaluable in these parts of Santa Monica! Given the price of shows in Los Angeles these days, this is quite a good price.
It's hard to capture a magic show with photos alone, so check out this video preview on youtube.


text:
▪ Availability: Made-to-order
▪ Processing time: 1-3 weeks by 100% Handmade
▪ Shipping time: Generally 5-7 days by FedEx/TNT
▪ Cost to ship: Free
▪ Framing: Unframed/Not stretched
▪ Packing: Rolled and shipped in a quality Hard paper tube
▪ Material: Professional oil/acrylic paints, High-quality linen canvas.
▪ Signature: Sign by the artist on the back of the canvas by default, sign on front at the lower right corner when the customer requires.
▪ Customization: Custom size is available, please send it to us for a quote,we would reply you in 24 hours.
▪ Subject: Abstract
▪ Artist: Wei Pen
About Made-To-Oder:
In the process of creating painting, we'll show you photos and videos with the painting you ordered.
You'll be able to express all your wishes, for example about colors and shades. And we'll make all the necessary changes. Only when you are completely satisfied with your painting, we will express it to you!
1. Size.
The most frequently asked question is about the size, so, on this website, as long as you find a design you like, you can always get a perfect-fit size for your lovely home.
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We accept custom orders, please send it to me, let's discuss if we can make it happen.


text:
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
86 comments:
Yes I love Double Wear! I do the same as you before I invest in high end makeup - research, test etc before I buy! The only product I really tend to invest in is a good foundation - apart from that I use mainly high street.ReplyDelete
Amy xx
I am always debating which high end makeup brands to buy, so this post is super helpful. I've heard great things about Laura Mercier! I just might have to pick up that foundation too xxReplyDelete
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Coco and Jeans by Marisa x My Instagram x My Bloglovin
Great post!ReplyDelete
I hope you in my blog <3
Uwielbiam Twojego bloga!ReplyDelete
Obserwuję i liczę na rewanż :)
Za komentarz do posta odwdzięczam się trzema komentarzami :)
I need to try Double Wear - feel like I'm the only one who hasn't tried it!!ReplyDelete
Great post, I very like it :)ReplyDelete
new post
Great selection!ReplyDelete
i always love estee lauder foundation! it's very light and the coverage is the best!ReplyDelete
have a great day
I am going to have to remember and try out the Marc Jacobs mascara, thanks! :DReplyDelete
I never tried any of these because I always go for the cheaper products, but I'm really curious about the Bobbi Brown lipsticks :)ReplyDelete
Kiss, Mariana Dezolt
Messy Hair, Don't Care
I like your selection, I'll keep in mind mascara from Marc Jacobs, because it seems like really good one :)ReplyDelete
Have a lovely afternoon dear,
Such cool presentation! I'd love to try these products.ReplyDelete
This is very interesting, you are convinced that luxury makeup is worth the price! I have to admit I'm not very well informed about makeup in general and therefore your post was really helpful for me!ReplyDelete
xx from Bavaria/Germany, Rena
I have not even one luxury make upReplyDelete
such a lovely Review
definetly Need one :D
with love your AMELY ROSE
These are all very grat products! Not always luxury worth the price, but in some case definitely do!ReplyDelete
What a great post, girlie! I'm only familiar with a couple of these products, specifically the MJ mascara, which I also love, and the Estee Lauder foundation, which I've never used before, but have heard so much about! That LM primer sounds wonderful, I'll have to keep it in mind the next time I'm shopping around for primers. Thanks for sharing, girlie, and I hope you have a great day!ReplyDelete
nice post dear :)ReplyDelete
kisses :)
Double wear is the best foundation! <3 Love your lipstick here too!ReplyDelete
Much love,
Marianne x www.beautiful-in-essence.blogspot.com
Really want to get the Velvet Noir mascara, gorgeous post! XxReplyDelete
ALittleKiran | Bloglovin
That foundation sounds amazing!ReplyDelete
The Fancy Cats
I've never tried these products, but now I want to especially the Chanel eyeliner...sounds wonderful!ReplyDelete
Love the mascaraReplyDelete
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have an happy day
Thanks a lot :DReplyDelete
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Kisses, Paola.
Im all about the Laura Mercier primers! Have you tried the radiance one? Its my fave!ReplyDelete
Kate x
Love Laura Mercier's foundation primer! Have a lovely Easter weekend!ReplyDelete
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Mary María Style
- Anonymous13 April 2017 at 06:15
I've not tried any of these, but I do love Benefit, Barbara Panagos and Illamasqua. All are quite pricey, but they're worth it!ReplyDelete
Raindrops of Sapphire
Kisses darling
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amazing products!ReplyDelete
I have heard so many great things about the Double Wear Foundation! I am still saving up for it. Can't wait to finally try it!ReplyDelete
Angelie // Chocolate Hills - Bohol, Philippines
I enjoy splurging on makeup here and there- that Laura Mercier primer is amazing!ReplyDelete
Le Stylo Rouge
I love luxury makeup and definitely think it's worth the price especially mascara and foundation.ReplyDelete
Gemma x
These are all so lovely, I want to try that Bare Minerals concealerReplyDelete
Yes, some products are so worth the price. I use some of these, but I will have to try some of this list too.ReplyDelete
March and May
Have a lovely evening, Rosanna :)ReplyDelete
I don't buy much expensive makeup, but I do use and love that double wear foundation!ReplyDelete
Amy Ann
Straight A Style


text:
EXIN IT Service Management based on ISO/IEC 20000
EXIN IT Service Management focuses less on the theory and more on the practical side of ITSM. It combines key IT service management elements with the quality principles of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard. The EXIN IT Service Management certification program offers several side-entry and bridge possibilities for those professionals with ITSM qualifications.
EXIN's certification program IT Service Management based on ISO/IEC 20000 and Changes in the ISO/IEC 20000 standard.
Version 2018 of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard has been released.
The main changes are summarized below.
The impact of these changes on the certification content are minimal. EXIN's certification based on ISO/IEC 20000 tests your understanding of IT service management using ISO/IEC 20000 as a guideline, as opposed to testing knowledge of the standard. Moreover EXIN's certifications have a lifetime validity so if you do your exam now your certificate remains valid.
The main changes in the standard:
a) it is restructured into the high level structure used for all management system standards (Annex SL). This introduces new common requirements for context of the organization, planning to achieve objectives and actions to address risks and opportunities. There are some updated previous requirements, for example, documented information, resources, competence and awareness;
b) growing trends in service management have been taken into account, such as commoditization of services, management of multiple suppliers by a service integrator and the need to determine value of services for customers;
c) addition of requirements about knowledge and planning the services;
d) separated out previously combined clauses (for example incident management and service request management, service continuity management and service availability management);
e) the organization cannot demonstrate conformity if other parties are used to provide or operate all services, service components or processes within the scope of the SMS;
f) changes to definitions, mostly due to Annex SL.
g) minimized the required documented information leaving only key documents such as the service management plan.
A clear overview of the changes in the 2018 edition can be found in 'A Guide to ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 Service Management' by Dolf van der Haven ISBN 9781912651344


text:
Lead agencies: ILO and WHO
Cooperating agencies: FAO, IMF, OHCHR, UN Regional Commissions, UNAIDS, UN-DESA, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UN-HABITAT, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNODC, UNRWA, WFP, WMO and World Bank
The global economic and financial crisis threatens to roll back decades of investment in health and human development. It risks compromising progress towards internationally agreed development goals, including the MDGs. In the long-term, it could lead to significant challenges to social stability, peace and security in various parts of the world. Social protection coverage is particularly low in many developing countries. Support is needed to protect those fundamental elements of society – education, nutrition, health, social services, and protection against natural disasters, the sciences, culture and communication – that make human development possible but which are often the first to be hit in a recession.
The Social Protection Floor Initiative is based on the premise that, once undone, progress on development goals cannot easily be recovered without considerable re-investment and political re-commitment. Human development is a long-term investment carrying high long-term individual and social returns. The aim of this initiative is therefore to advocate for and advise on the provision of a social protection floor and public resource spending in ways that will both kick-start growth and support more inclusive and sustainable social and economic development.
The Social Protection Floor Initiative sees the current crisis as an opportunity to encourage and support countries to review policies and strategies for social transfers and access to needed services, aligning them along the principles of inclusion, equity and social justice as a major way of investing out of the crisis and achieving long-term stability.


text:
From left to right: Cabeza Prieta NWR (AZ), Arapaho NWR (CO), Big Oaks NWR (IN), and Parker River (MA). FHWA photographs
More than 40 million visitors come to Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) managed refuges, wetlands, hatcheries and administrative areas every year. Visitors access Service managed facilities using a wide range of transportation systems. While most people arrive using ground transportation in the form of private vehicles, many people also travel by bus, watercraft, bicycle, foot, and horseback. Some refuges in Alaska also permit access by float plane.
Over 62% of the visitors to Service lands drive the auto tour routes and travel the refuge trails. With more than 5,100 miles of roads and over 3,500 miles of land and water trails, refuges, waterfowl production areas and hatcheries provide a wide range of places for the public to learn about wildlife, fisheries and habitat management. Many of the Service's refuges, wetlands and hatcheries are associated with the National Scenic Byways and National Trails.
The Service and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) are working together through the Federal Lands Transportation Program (FLTP) to improve public access to refuges and waterfowl production areas. The improvements being made to roads, parking lots and trails are providing better access to wildlife-oriented recreational opportunities.
As part of the Service's commitment to improved customer service, the FHWA and the Service entered into a cooperative agreement for the management and improvement of public use roads and trail within the diverse units owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In advance of the renewal of the laws by Congress that fund the FLTP and the Fish and Wildlife Service Transportation Program, the Service has summarized its transportation program's history, present state, and projected future in a document entitled Transportation Needs and Planning for the Future, which can be downloaded here.
The Fish and Wildlife Service's Transportation Program's goals are to protect wildlife, enhance habitat, and provide the public with understanding and appreciation of fish and wildlife ecology and man's role in his environment, and to provide visitors with high quality, safe recreational experiences oriented toward wildlife.
We invite you to visit a national wildlife refuge, national fish hatchery, or waterfowl production area, the next time you are out our way.