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Page One
Far-Reaching New State Law May Reshape the Bay Area
Editor's note: This is the first of two articles on major changes in California development law.
Will a new state law strip the last vestiges of local control over the "smart growth" projects that have triggered countless development battles in Berkeley in recent years?
While early opinions are mixed, there's little doubt that the laws created to battle globe-warming greenhouse gases (GHGs) could reshape the face of California cities in the decades ahead.
"Ultimately, no one knows exactly what SB 375 will do, other than create a series of planning milestones that must be met between now and 2010, and then into the future," declared three attorneys for one of the state's leading land use litigation firms three weeks after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law.
But the Sheppard Mullin lawyers said two results could be "significant density incentives" and streamlining of the environmental review process "for certain transit-oriented projects."
The parameters spelled out in the law will streamline the path for developers who want to build so-called infill housing projects within a half-mile of any route designated as a major transit corridor.
And the law gives extra clout to developers and "any interested parties" in legal actions when a city fails to grant the necessary zoning, placing the burden of proof on the government, rather than the developer or development advocate filing suit.
Something that may be of equal concern to neighborhood activists in Berkeley is that one subset of projects would be totally exempted from the review requirements of California's landmark environment law, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The Bay Area will only learn what the law's impacts will be four years from now when the first of a new generation of regional plans is put into place.
Three laws
The three pieces of legislation are:
• CEQA, passed in 1970, modeled on, but stronger than, the federal National Environmental Protection Act passed earlier that year.
• Assembly Bill 32 (AB 32), the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006.
• Senate Bill 375 (SB 375), signed into law at the end of September.
CEQA is California's flagship environmental regulation governing land use, mandating that significant development projects to be evaluated for possible adverse impacts to the physical and cultural environments, and requiring mitigations or special findings where significant adverse effects are found.
Before any significant project can be approved by the city, county, state or educational system, the elected or appointed bodies governing the agencies must certify that either any significant negative impacts must be minimized or that overriding public policy needs override the adverse effects.
Project opponents have successfully used CEQA to mount court challenges, blocking, limiting or requiring significant mitigations to major projects.
AB 32, passed by legislators three years ago, mandates that California reduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. A broad scientific consensus holds GHGs responsible for global warming and impacts which rangE from rising sea levels to loss of major swathes of farmland.
The statute requires that the CEQA review of major construction projects must now include an analysis of development on GHG emissions.
AB 375, passed by state legislators in August, requires regional planning agencies to link transportation and development policies furthering the goals of AB 32 by concentrating new development along urban transportation corridors.
The law links GHG reduction to California's regional land use and transportation planning agencies, embodied locally in the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).
The result, according to a recent ABAG publication, is nothing less that "a planning and development paradigm shift."
SB 375, officially entitled "Addressing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Transportation Sector via Regional transportation Plans," is the creation of Sacramento Sen. Darrell Steinberg.
The legislation has already sparked one miracle in the unusual alliance of environmentalist and development industry organizations which gave it whole-hearted backing: It's a rare bill that wins the support of both the Sierra Club and the California Building Industry Association.
A densely worded 56-page text, AB 32 has already proven a bonanza for law firms and software developers, the lawyers marking up new billable hours advising their clients on the complex legislation and the computer nerds hacking out programs to crunch the arcane calculations.
Steinberg's legislation only applies to California regions covered by regional planning agencies, exempting 21 of the state's 58 counties, primarily in rural areas of the north.
For those regions that are covered by the law, the legislation furthers the process of shifting control of the planning process away from cities and counties and into the hands of regional organizations like ABAG and the MTC.
CARB in charge
Overall authority for implementing AB 375 is vested in the California Air Resources Board (CARB), a non-elected body charged under the law with overall authority to impose GHG reduction goals for each of the state's 18 regional metropolitan planning organizations.
Each of the planning organizations will be required to create a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) under the authority of the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP).
CARB will set goals for each region with the help of a Regional Targets Advisory Committee, composed of representatives of the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), metropolitan planning agencies, local and regional planners, developers "and other stakeholder groups," according the a CSAC analysis circulated in October.
While each metropolitan planning organization (MPO) such as ABAG can recommend a regional GHG reduction goal to CARB, the final decision rests with the board.
Once the goals are set, each regional organization must then draft a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) to be adopted in the regional transportation plan.
The SCS "sets forth a vision for growth for the region taking into account the transportation, housing, environmental and economic needs," according to the CSAC report.
While adoption and implementation of an SCS isn't mandatory, the law cuts off state transportation infrastructure funds to affected governments that fail to adopt one—money urgently needed in a state where many roadways are far beyond their design lifespans and are rapidly crumbling.
According to an Oct. 2 analysis by Morrison & Foerster, one of the state's leading law firms, "cities may be required to rezone parcels to residential or may have less discretion to disapprove certain projects."
The state Legislative Counsel's Digest attached to the bill says SB 375 "would exempt from CEQA a transit priority project, as defined, that meets certain requirements and that is declared by the legislative body of a local jurisdiction to be a sustainable communities project."
For Berkeley, the most portentous provisions of SB 375 may be those that exempt one subset of projects from any review under CEQA because those same provisions leave only one avenue of recourse for opponents: impacts of "historic resources."
Under SB 375 so-called Transit Priority Projects (TPPs) are qualified for a streamlined review under CEQA which exempts them from analysis of growth-inducing and increased impacts from car and light truck traffic, which will be covered for CEQA purposes by the regional transportation plan's EIR, said Rebecca Long, legislative analyst for the Regional Transportation Commission.


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NTSB identifies Dreamliner fire's origin
The fire aboard a Boeing 787 in January began in the airplane's auxiliary power unit battery's sixth cell, said Deborah Hersman, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board during a news conference today.
"We believe that the evidence points to a single cell," Hersman said. "We do know that the short circuit came first, the thermal runaway followed in cell No. 6, and it propagated into the other cells."
The NTSB is investigating a Jan. 7 fire aboard a Japan Airlines 787 at Logan International Airport in Boston, and the safety board provided updates today on the investigation and the incidents that predicated the fleet's grounding.
After passengers and crew disembarked from the Japan Airlines 787, maintenance and cleaning personnel found smoke in the cabin and called firefighters, who put out the fire about 40 minutes after arriving on scene. The fire damaged the auxiliary power unit, or APU, battery.
During today's news conference, Hersman also said the battery's certification process needed to be reviewed.
Certification focuses on safety to ensure equipment meets minimum standards, she said, and the Federal Aviation Administration found that Boeing used novel or unusual design features that weren't addressed by the FAA's airworthiness regulation, so the administration issued special conditions with its certification.
Hersman said the NTSB is interested in how the FAA's special conditions relate to the battery incident. Boeing studied possible battery failures and performed several tests, including tests designed to short-circuit the battery, Hersman said.
"Boeing has indicated that these tests showed no evidence of cell-to-cell propagation or fire in the battery," Hersman said. "Boeing assessed that the likelihood of a smoke emission event from a 787 battery would occur less than once in every 10 million flight hours."
But the 787 fleet has accumulated fewer than 100,000 flight hours, Hersman said, and "there have now been two battery events resulting in smoke less than two weeks apart on two different aircrafts."
The second event happened on an All Nippon Airways 787 in Japan about a week after the fire in Boston. Japanese regulators are leading that investigation, and the battery incident forced the emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways 787. The ANA flight was climbing at 30,000 feet when the crew noticed smoke and fumes in the cabin and flight deck. Japanese regulators haven't characterized the issue as a "fire event," Hersman has said.
"The assumptions used to certify a battery must be reconsidered," she said.
The NTSB's next steps include examining the methods for certifying the batteries, conducting tests on field replacement batteries and providing an interim report within 30 days.
"We are looking at a number of different scenarios," Hersman said. "And obviously certification is over all of those
By Matt Tomsic

subset: commoncrawl


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Now that the excitement from the PlayBook OS 2.0 has stabilized its time to get ready for the next big thing. Mobile World Congress is the worlds largest mobile phone trade show. The show held in Barcelona, allows mobile manufactures to provide the public with their latest technology and newest mobile devices. Most every major mobile manufacturer will be there, and among those giants will be RIM.
Over the past few months there has been talk about RIM possible showing off one of its BB 10 devices. Although this has excited many members within the BlackBerry community, it sounds like this wont be the case. CNN has reported that RIM will not be showing any new hardware, but will be showing off the BB 10 OS. RIM has been trying its best to keeps its new BB 10 devices under wraps, but that has not kept purported leaked images from surfacing.
Since it seems as though we wont be seeing any new hardware, we can most likely expect so see the new OS depicted on some slides, or maybe even a video. Either way it will be nice to get more information on the BB 10 OS.


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Not so much mine, but my mother's- if you happen to be going around Ecuador anytime soon.....
Might be useful
Angelo wrote:Hm, I seem to have forgotten my old username/password combo... no matter!
Eager to explore the Three Kingdoms era in a highly developed roleplay and mechanics-based sim? Look no further! Way of the Dragon has been in development for well over a year now, and the game begins THIS WEEKEND! Learn more below; my username is Angelo on the website, and we would love to have you on board!
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest
Copyright © 2002–2008 Kongming's Archives. All Rights Reserved


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DEAR AMY: I am a gay man and am having a horrible time coming out to my mother. I have an amazing boyfriend; I love him, but it hurts not being able to tell her that I am gay.
She thinks that I am trying to "pray away the gay."
She is religious and it scares me because we are close, and I don't want to lose her.
I lose sleep over this because part of me thinks she knows and is in denial. I don't try to hide it, but when I'm around her I take extra measures like changing the background photo on my phone to a random picture.
I don't know what to do. I want to be honest, but I don't want to lose my mom because of her religion.
Desperate to Come Out
DEAR DESPERATE: Your mother might realize you're gay and is making her choice to ignore it. In this sense, you are both holding on to a version of you that is part fiction.
You should try to help your mother along — and you can start by not overtly lying to her.
Don't deliberately hide aspects of yourself when you are with her. Keep a photo of you and your guy on your phone's home screen, if that's what is normally there.
Introduce your boyfriend to her, but use neutral terminology for now.
If your mother is so religious that she cannot accept you being gay, then you should be able to at least count on her "forgiving" you for your transgression against humanity.
I realize that being forgiven for a crime you haven't committed is several steps below authentic acceptance, but this may be the best she can do, in which case your job will be to forgive her for her frailties and failings. Ultimately, if she can't accept you, it is not her religion's responsibility — it is hers.
DEAR AMY: I have been seeing my boyfriend for a year and a half. We have a great relationship. He has joint custody of his child, and we get along.
He has his own place, and I live with a roommate.
I want to move in together, but he doesn't. He says that because of the horrible end to his marriage (more than eight years ago), he promised to never again put himself in the position of living with someone and getting burned. He says he loves me and wants me in his life forever but cannot ever see us living together.
He is faithful. I don't want a part-time boyfriend for the rest of my life, but he says he isn't sure if it will change. He wants his space a few days a week and is happy the way things are.
What should I do?
DEAR FRUSTRATED: Your guy is happy the way things are, and many people would find this living situation ideal. Blending a full-time partner into a family that is clicking along on its own is challenging. Exposing himself and his child to a full-time relationship creates some vulnerability for both of them.
This is a "take it or leave it" proposition. I hope you will continue to enjoy this relationship. But realize that if you want a full-time partner, you will have to find him elsewhere.
Send questions to email@example.com or Ask Amy, Chicago Tribune, TT500, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60611.


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Glowing Sunrise
Oil on Canvas
Mixed Media
1.5 Wrapped Canvas
Semi-Precious Stones
Exposures International Gallery of Fine Art
Coconino National Forest, 561 AZ-179, Sedona, AZ 86336
(928) 282-1125
Bringing in ELEMENTS of the earth into Fine Art
My "Elements" series is a creative blending of semi-precious stones and unique pieces of the earth with traditional fine art. I love finding and using things that were created by nature such as semi-precious stones and sea shells, using them in unique and creative ways.
"I've never seen anything like it" Is the biggest comment I get.
The semi-precious stones I use in my Elements series come from all over the world from various sources. Most of the stones I use have been collected throughout the year in order to work out my compositions and then incorporate them into my paintings.
Each semi-precious stone has individual properties generating energetically from the stone. My semi precious stones paintings will illuminate and fill your room with there energy where the art will hang.
I encourage people to touch the stones on the art to resonate with its properties. In my semi precious stone art I include properties of the stones with the descriptions. Some stones are healing, energizing, loving, and calming. Some resonate with different chakras and evoke emotions.
I love working with and showcasing the unique beauty found in each semi-precious stone. I hope you enjoy these unique works as much as I enjoy creating them.
Stones Used:
Quartz Crystal: Wonderful multi use stone. Enhances energy of all other stones and metals. Harmonious and powerful. Aids communication. Sign of Entire Zodiac.
Agate: Protection, Strength, Harmony. Agate's most noticeable properties overall are balancing yin/yang energy, courage, protection, healing, and calming.
Agate is a stone of strength. It was used by the Ancients on the breastplates of armor to give warriors strength and make them victorious in battle. Energetically, it is considered to give strength in both battle and physically.
Agate enhances creativity and strengthens the intellect, making it a beneficial stone for both students and artists. It is also known as a good luck stone. As a stone of harmony, one of the things agate does is balance yin/yang energy. Agate increases energy. However, because it is a grounding stone, it does not increase energy at all times, but rather enables bursts of energy as needed. In this way, agate is a conservation stone, and enhances longevity.


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Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Thanksgiving Pumpkin Risotto, and sunny Arancini rice balls
Pumpkin Risotto
Based on Angeelika Kang's recipe for pumpkin risotto in the October 2007 issue of Oma Maitse
Serves 4
50 g butter
2 finely chopped medium onions
2 finely chopped garlic cloves
300 g Carnaoli risotto rice
400 g finely cubed pumpkin flesh
150 ml dry white wine
1 litre hot vegetable stock
a generous handful of finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
100 g grated Parmesan cheese
coarsely ground black pepper
In a small saucepan, bring the vegetable stock to a boil, reduce heat and keep it on slow simmer.
Heat the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion and fry gently for 5 minutes to soften, stirring frequently.
Add garlic, fry for another 5 minutes, stirring every now and then.
Add the rice, heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring.
Add pumpkin cubes and stir gently for about a minute.
Add the wine, bring to simmer. Now add a generous ladleful or two of hot stock and stir gently, until the rice has absorbed the stock.
Add another ladleful or two of stock and stir, until this has been absorbed. Continue for about 20 minutes, until the rice has softened to al dente stage, and you've got a lovely creamy risotto (this would take about 20-25 minutes, depending on the rice).
Add the chopped parsley and most of the grated parmesan cheese.
Season with salt and pepper and serve at once.
Pumpkin Arancini Rice Balls
(Arancini e. frititud risotopallid)
Based on Shaun's recipe
Serves 2
For the rice mixture:
approximately a cup of leftover risotto
1 egg
5 Tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
cubed cheese (Mozzarella, Fontina - I used Estonian 'Atleet' cheese:)
For breadcrumb mixture:
4 Tbsp breadcrumbs
0.5 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
For frying:
light olive oil or rapeseed oil
For sprinkling:
Maldon sea salt flakes
Heat about 3 cm oil in a small saucepan.
Mix together the pumpkin risotto, egg, 5 Tbsp of breadcrumbs and 1 Tbsp parsley in a large bowl.
Cut the cheese into 1 cm cubes.
Combine the breadcrumbs and parsley for breading on a flat plate. Put aside.
Use about 2 Tbsp rice mix per rice ball. Flatten the rice mixture in the palm of your hand, place a cheese cube in the centre, and wrap the rice mixture around the cheese cube. Form into a nice round ball.
Roll the balls in the parsley-breadcrumb mixture (see photo below).
Fry in the hot oil until browned, crisped and heated through - approximately 4 minutes.
Drain on a paper towel, sprinkle with Maldon sea salt.
Serve and enjoy!
Other arancini recipes:
Winter Skies, Kitchen Aglow
Amateur Gourmet
One Whole Clove
18 comments:
- K and S said...
both look really good!
- 3:56 pm, November 06, 2007
- Gracianne said...
They look so good. I love arancini, it is the best way to use leftover risotto.
- 4:44 pm, November 06, 2007
- Bradley said...
The pumpkin the risottos as well as the rice balls look fantastic. I must admit that even though I totally love rice balls, I never cook them at home. I don't enjoy cleaning up the cook top after the oil splatters!
- 5:17 pm, November 06, 2007
- Kalyn Denny said...
They both look fantastic!
- 5:29 pm, November 06, 2007
Tere, Pille! Tervitused Soomest. Sinul on väga tore blogi.
Mul on üks küsimus. Kas Tallinnas on selline kauplus, kus müüakse toiduaineid Kaukaasiast (Georgiast, Armeeniast, jne.)?
Ma olen õppinud natuke eesti keelt kursusel, aga see oli mitu aastat tagasi. Olen kahjuks palju unustanud. Lootan, et saad aru.
- 6:48 pm, November 06, 2007
- Suzana said...
I have to try the risotto. Nice blog! I'll return here many time for inspiration. Thanks!
- 11:31 pm, November 06, 2007
- Mariajaan said...
Dear Pille, In my home country we do not eat the pumpkins at all! We feed the animals with them, and In the old times here in Spain (in Galicia), where we are living now, the cereals such as corn and rice were given to the pigs!!!!!!! The world is full of surprises.
I have no idea why pumpkin is so popular and how on earth the corn is wasted on stables.
I am looking forward to your Christmas postings. I am in desperate need for recipes that could resemble the Estonian feasts. Can you "estonianize" something accessible to us in Spain?
By the way, atleet is the favorite of my family, also hiirte, and to resemble their flavor I get Havarti from any supermarket chain of Europe, had not you used the same type while in Scotland? It is really simlar.
Ole tubli ja ette tänades MariaC.
- 12:26 am, November 07, 2007
- Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...
It's a cold and raw night here in Rhode Island, and that pumpkin risotto looks so enticing! I love making arancini, too, with any kind of leftover risotto.
- 5:22 am, November 07, 2007
- lobstersquad said...
It´s iirresistible, isn´t it? I´m wondering what to post for Thanksgiving, too.
- 8:34 am, November 07, 2007
- Meeta K. Wolff said...
Pille both of them are purely incredible. I have to try the rice balls!
- 2:34 pm, November 07, 2007
- Jeanne said...
Oh WOW those look good! When you mentioned your arancini in a comment the other day I wondered how long it woudl be before we laid eyes on them ;-) I love pumpkin risotto too - so two fab recipes for the price of one :)
- 3:51 pm, November 07, 2007
These looks really good. I got to try it out.
- 7:23 pm, November 07, 2007
- Cat Lady said...
Hi Pille, I have a new PC at last and can get onto your site! Your pumpkin risotto looks brill. I have a large pumpkin and plan to make a big cake this weekend. Hope you are well and Estonia is not too cold! Lots of love, Emma
- 11:37 pm, November 07, 2007
- Shaun said...
Pille - Your risotto looks like a dream. I love its comforting orange glow (probably my favourite colour, come to think of it). I almost never use vegetable stock because I find it is never flavourful enough...I don't know what I'm doing wrong or over-doing.
I'm glad you enjoyed the arancini. It is a great leftover recipe. I dare say, it encourages one to cook too much risotto just so there is the possibility of arancini within a couple of days.
- 9:35 am, November 08, 2007
- Peter M said...
Pille, great double post...risotto and the arancini, yum!
- 9:59 pm, November 08, 2007
- Renee said...
Pumpkin risotto, wow! That fits in so well with my recent explorations into adding pumpkin and grains together. Very beautiful colors!
- 5:16 am, November 11, 2007
- Thredahlia said...
Kahtlustan, et kõrvitsarisoto on ka mul lähitulevikus plaanis :P kõigi muude kõrvitsakatsetuste kõrval...
Kuidas Sulle see konkreetne retsept meeldis?
- 10:03 am, November 13, 2007
- Pille said...
Gracianne – I hadn't thought of that before, but it's indeed a great way to utilise leftover risotto :)
Bradley – thank you! I manage to avoid too many oil splatters luckily this time, so I'm not discouraged to make these again.
Matleena – teretulemast Nami-nami blogisse ja aitäh heade sõnade eest! Ma eraldi kauplust Tallinnas ei tea, aga kui lähed Tallinna Keskturule, siis sealt leiad suluguni ja brõnsa juustu, khmeli-suneli maitseainesegu, aserbaidžaani granaatõunamahla jms.
Suzana – do give this risotto a go – it's a nice and easy recipe!
Maria – it's interesting how food fashion change indeed! I've got some Estonian Christmas recipes on the blog already (f.ex. piparkoogid, boozy sauerkraut, sugared almonds), but I'll keep you in mind when posting this November-December.
Re: Estonian cheese – I like Atleet and Eesti Juust and Vene Juust, as well as Kostroma and Saida caraway cheese. I know Havarti from Denmark, and that's indeed closest to the 'typical' Estonian cheese.
Lydia – I'll try arancini with all my future risottos, too!
Lobstersquad – I'm sure you can come up with some Spanish pumpkin dishes :)
Jeanne – well, I was quite quick this time :)
Emma – so nice to hear from you!!! What's the pumpkin cake you're making? I've got some pumpkin left, too. Kisses to M!
Shaun – I like Marigold Vegetable Bouillon, but I don't know if it's available in NZ. Has plenty of flavour imho. And thank you again for a great arancini recipe!
Nan – I've been looking more into grains recently as well, especially buckwheat and barley.
Thredahlia – igati väärt retsept oli, nii et void teha küll :)
K&S, Kalyn, Meeta, The Cooking Ninja, Peter M – thank you!
- 11:33 am, November 14, 2007


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I'd like to have all firefox installations I use synced. The "starting point" should be a specific firefox installation, from now called "Firefox A". Means: First, every firefox installation is like this installation "A", then everything I change at one installation is applied to all the others.
Now and then I'm on another PC which is mine then for some weeks, there I'd like to log in - have all my Bookmarks, Add-Ons etc and everything I change from there should be applied to all the other installations. After some weeks I'd like to log-out again and everything should be like before.
I never have to of this devices together!
This should be able to do with firefox sync, shouldn't it? But I don't get it.
I red all supertartikels on the official firefox website.
So what did I try?
From Firefox Installation "A" I made a sync account, from another I connected to sync. What happened. Suddenly I have a hodgepodge from bookmarks that were there before and from the bookmarks from the other installation. My Add-Ons from the Installation "A" were there. My Tabs weren't synced. From then nothing synced anymore. no matter if I changed my bookmarks or Tabs on the one or the other installation - nothing synced.
Can you help me?


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Monday, November 29, 2010
Can An Online ESL/EFL Course Work?
By Maria Spelleri
Instructor, Department of Language and Literature
Manatee Community College, Florida, USA
Yes, I believe it can.
Some might think that an online ESL course is acceptable if nothing else is available to the student, but I don't agree. I think online ESL courses have the potential to be just as effective as face to face courses.
Why not ESL online?
To instructors who say ESL can't be taught online I ask "What do we value in our face to face courses that we worry won't translate into bits and bytes?"
I'm willing to bet it's the social aspect, the opportunity for cultural interaction and exploration, the bond among students and their instructor, the smiles and kind words, the active and collaborative learning. We fear losing this humanity in the virtual world.
Many of us who have been students in online courses have taken "old school" online courses which look something like this:
"Read Chapter 6." (All by yourself because there is no one with whom to talk it over and no one to whom you can address a question.)
"Then click on this link to answer the questions." (Ten multiple choice or T/F questions that tell you "Right!" or "Try Again!" )
"Finally, go to the Discussion Forum and discuss the question provided." (This is an artificial discussion in which you will write anything to fulfill the requirement and then provide a similarly mindless comment to a peer like "I agree with your point, Bruno" because that is how you get 5 extra points.)
End of unit. Repeat next week. Ho-hum.
There is no humanity in this kind online environment and only the hardy survive! However, with the right course and activity design, the right technology tools, and some creativity, we can create courses that replicate the social aspect of the face to face courses we love.
One of the most important features of any course is interaction. Students who interact become engaged and engaged students are focused, curious, and primed to learn. Three crucial levels of interaction are student-to-student, student-to-instructor, and student- to-content/ materials (Moore). If we think about our face to face ESL courses, this can be exemplified in pair work, the instructor involved in the lesson/ interested in the students' lives, and the students engrossed in learning activities that address their interests and needs. The way to have a successful online ESL course is be sure these three levels of interaction are all present in the virtual environment.
Luckily, the technology exists to make this happen. Online courses today can provide student-to-student and student-to-instructor interaction through both live and recorded voice, through synchronous or non-synchronous writing, and through live streaming webcam or webcam self-recordings. Student-to-content interaction comes from having a variety of engaging activities and learning objects from all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy. Here's a sample of some online ESL activities and objects that I have seen and a few tech tools that help in creating them. Most activities should look familiar from your face to face courses:
- Read and discuss or listen and discuss via voice or text. (VoiceThread)
- Learn vocabulary and grammar or complete a task using a content-rich website.
- Small group chat via voice or text. (DimDim)
- Recorded or live presentations. (VoiceThread, narrated Powerpoint)
- Student created quizzes and student-led reviews.
- Collaborative writing activities, peer review of writing. (GoogleDocs)
- Role play, listen and repeat, listen and create. (Jing, Skype, AdobeConnectNow)
- Drill and practice.
- Cloze, fill-in, and multiple choice exercises with instant and meaningful feedback.
- Timed activities for reading, writing, and speaking.
What can't be replicated online can be approached in another way. The key is to look at the objective of the activity, hold that objective in mind, and think how else that objective could be accomplished with the tools of the online course. No learning objective need ever be sacrificed.
I'm not taking the position that teaching ESL online is better than teaching it face to face. However I will stand by my belief that given the right design and teacher involvement, it can be as good, as effective.
I also won't sugar-coat course design and say it's easy; it takes a lot of time and work up front, even if your school runs a full-service course management system like Moodle or Blackboard. But once you have created a course, you really just need to make small or partial changes each semester; you'll never have the huge initial time outlay again. Instead, spend your work time interacting with students online, guiding them through the course, facilitating collaborations, taking part in their activities, commenting on their work, and providing individualized feedback and help. (I can honestly say I have more contact with my students on an individual basis in my online course than in my face to face course! Who would have guessed?)
Just today I returned some paragraphs my students had written. They had been submitted online, and I used Adobe to underline and mark up some parts. Then, using Jing I created a "screen capture" video of their paper as I recorded myself talking to the student about it and pointing things out at the same time. Now my students not only have my markings on their paper, but also a recorded video of me walking them through the revisions they need, which they can watch as often as they have to. There's one thing, at least, that may not be easy to replicate in the time constraints of the face to face world!
Resource: JOLT- Journal of Online Teaching
Moore, Michael G. "Three Types of Interaction." The American Journal of Distance Education. Pennsylvania State University, 1989. Web. 20 Nov. 2010. http://www.ajde.com/Contents/vol3_2.htm.
Tags: course design, Maria Spelleri, online teaching, teaching methods, teaching tips, technology
Comments: 6


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Congratulations, you've started a wiki! Now what? That's a question many people have. Making your wiki successful and building a community can be a challenge, but it's not as hard as it looks.
The first section of this page covers helpful ideas for building your wiki. This includes the content and the design, as well as how to promote your wiki and make it a fun and engaging place to be. The second section discusses how to build your community, which will be the users who help you continue to build the wiki.
Building the wiki
Focus on building content
- Create the first ten pages: You don't need to have a complete article right away, just start with a few sentences. It helps to start with pages about the most important aspects of your topic.
- Link to other pages: Add links to your newly created pages on the main page. You may want to make other main page changes.
- Upload images: Add pictures and images to provide extra description and content to your first pages.
Update the design and format
- Build the design and upload a wordmark: the Theme Designer affords you an easy way of creating a unique design for your wiki, complete the ability to upload a wordmark to symbolize your wiki.
- Create Sections on your wiki: Dividing up the wiki into sections, such as News, Did you Know?, New Pages, or Wanted pages, can help guide users to places that may be or that need contributions.
- Create categories: Adding categories is important way to help people find what they are looking for.
Make your wiki a fun place to visit and participate
- Make it easy for people to contribute: Create lists of ways to help, upcoming events, wanted pages and make clear what is and isn't welcome as content on the wiki. Don't make too many policies, and be sure the rules you do have are easy to understand.
- Welcome new users. Just leave {{subst:welcome}} on their talkpage.
- Make sure people get the help they need.: Offer to help when you can, and if you can't, send them to the Wikia forums or staff.
Publicize your wiki
- Tell your friends!: Reach out to groups interested in your topic to attract contributors (but learn the community guidelines before you post so you don't end up spamming).
- Promote inside of Wikia: Once you have 200 pages, apply for a spotlight to get promoted on Wikia.
- Make your wiki searchable: Follow our Advice on raising your wiki's Google ranking.
Keep track of your progress
It can be hard to keep track of what stage you're at in your wiki's development. With the Wiki Progress Bar, you have a tool that leads you through the first days and weeks of creating a wiki. There are specific calls to action that give you the steps you need to get your wiki off the ground. Once all 30 tasks are completed, the percentage indicator moves to 100%—and you have a great base with which to grow your wiki and make it thrive!
Advice for building the community
Small wikis are different
Shoot for the stars, but don't aim too high in the beginning. Wikipedia is humongous and Wikia wikis like Wookieepedia or the Muppet Wiki are really big, but they didn't start out that way—and not every wiki will or should be that way. Some wikis and subjects are smaller than others.
That means that a small wiki has different priorities and a different structure, and it needs different rules. "They do it this way on Wikipedia" is not a good way to run a small wiki. Find what works for you, your wiki, and your community, and then run with that. You don't need to stick to what may seem like a preordained model.
The individual is important
The biggest difference between a small wiki and a huge wiki is that a small group needs to value each individual much more highly.
An individual contributor doesn't mean that much on Wikipedia. The top ten Wikipedia contributors could all take a month-long vacation at the same time, and it wouldn't make any difference to the project as a whole. If one person drops out of the project -- even a long-time, knowledgeable, valued contributor -- there are still hundreds, even thousands, who could take that person's place.
On a small wiki, each individual is very important. The top contributors on a small wiki are probably the administrators. They're the people who understand the structure. They're the institutional memory. They're the people who mentor new contributors, and help to referee disputes. If you lose an active contributor on a small wiki, there isn't necessarily anybody there to take that person's place. If you lose two or three of the most active contributors, then your wiki is in big trouble.
The flip side of that coin is that an individual can also do a lot of damage to a small wiki. One vandal, or one babbling kid, can't do much to harm Wikipedia -- the database is too big, and there are plenty of folks who enjoy finding and reverting nonsense. On a small wiki, there aren't as many people around to clean up the mess. If there's no one around to clean it up, the wiki could lose contributors.
Therefore, you need to pay attention to each individual on a small wiki. Each contributor needs encouragement, mentoring, and appreciation. You also need to set boundaries that make the productive contributors feel safe and happy.
People don't like anonymity
It's amazing that people still believe in the old cliché that "on the Internet, people prefer to be anonymous." That may be so if someone is misbehaving, but aside from that, it just isn't true.
Compare these two hypotheses about what people like:
- "People like to be anonymous, and seek out places to hide. It's satisfying and fun when they can contribute to society without anyone knowing who they are."
- "People like social experiences, and to seek out ways to interact with other people. They like going to places where they feel well-known, and welcomed. They enjoy being around other people, and when they're completely alone, they feel lonely and abandoned. They like being recognized and appreciated for their work."
If you look around at the way the world is structured, it's pretty clear that people crave social experiences. People work, play, and relax in places where other people are around. Sure, everyone needs some alone time, and some people need more than others, but that's not how we live our lives.
Look at a college campus on a sunny day. You see kids studying—a solitary, intellectual activity that requires concentration and silence—but they're doing it outside, on the lawn. They like studying there because they like having activity going on around them—other people studying, or chatting, or playing frisbee. It's worth the extra noise and distraction—in fact, people like being distracted by a low level of human activity around them. People enjoy being around other people.
But there are those who still argue that "on the Internet, people prefer to be anonymous." As if there's a difference between how we behave on the Internet and how we behave when we walk around in society. That's equivalent to saying that we become different people when we're on the telephone.
There is no "Internet." It's just a communication medium. You're still a person, with human needs and human feelings, and people don't like being alone.
A wiki is a volunteer project
There's one easy way to predict whether a wiki is going to thrive, or stagnate and die: look at the Wiki Activity or Recent Changes page, and check out how active the Talk pages are. If most of the users have a red "Talk" link—meaning nobody's ever bothered to talk to them—then that wiki is in trouble.
A wiki is a volunteer project, and the admins should act as if they're the volunteer coordinators at a non-profit agency.
If you walk into a non-profit agency to volunteer, there's somebody there to say hello. They get you oriented, and they check in with you about how things are going. If it's a successful, active program, then other volunteers are there too; they talk to you, and help you out. There's always a sense that your participation is important, and appreciated. If you're not getting paid for being there, then they need to give you something, and usually what you get is pride, satisfaction and appreciation.
A wiki where nobody posts on your talk page is like a volunteer program where you show up and walk into a big, empty room. There are a few people working in other rooms, but nobody talks to you, or tells you what to do. You're expected to just pick up some work and start doing it, and when you leave, nobody says thanks. It's not surprising when people show up at those wikis, try a few edits, and then don't ever come back.
People who like working alone have their own personal websites and blogs. People come to wikis because it's a communal project, with lots of people collaborating toward a common goal. They want to feel welcomed and appreciated.
The admin of a small wiki has three essential tasks—to welcome new people, to mentor the new contributors, and to be absolutely certain that they know how to participate productively and encourage communication on talk pages. Everything else is secondary.
User names build trust
Having a stable identity makes communication possible. Contributors with user names build a record of contributions and a reputation. If the community as a whole knows that a particular contributor is trustworthy, then that can influence how conflicts get resolved. You need a stable identity to earn people's trust.
Allowing people to sign in with a random string of numbers breaks down the community's sense of trust and common goals. You can't build a strong team of trustworthy colleagues that also includes shadowy, faceless strangers.
What's a better and more welcoming idea: not knowing who someone is, or being able to see who someone is and know more about them? The answer to that is obvious:
Setting reasonable boundaries for anonymous contributors proves to your active members that they matter, that this is a group worth protecting and taking care of. Groups like it when the leaders act in the group's interest. It makes them feel needed and secure. That's basic group process technique -- it doesn't matter whether the group is on the Internet or in your living room; that's how you build a group.
Love your contributors
This is all basically saying the same thing: Love your contributors. They're working for free. Some of them are spending hours of their personal time every week. The only reward they get is the satisfaction of adding to the project, and the pleasure of working with a group.
That's magic, it's pure magic. It's one of the best things about human nature. We like to work together, just for the pleasure of building something. That's why so many people believe in wikis, because wikis are a pure expression of our generosity, our passion, and our strange, quirky enthusiasms.
That's why you have to take care of your contributors—talk to them, welcome them, take their interests to heart. Learn their names. When something is bugging them or frustrating them, take care of it. Pay attention to them, and make sure they feel appreciated.
These are extraordinary people, doing extraordinary things. Love them.
Further reading
- Learn how to start a new wiki
- Learn how to attract contributors
- Learn how to contact Wikia for help


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Now there's this app, Subtext, that lets you read books and share your comments about them in real-time with other people reading the same book. Little speech bubbles in the margins pop up: you tap them, you get to read what other people are saying about a particular plot twist, or character death, or whatever.
In some cases, the author has gone through and made a bunch of those comments him or herself, and these read a little like a DVD commentary track.
I mention this because I'm one of those authors: Machine Man is one of their launch titles. So, if, you know, you feel I've been too secretive about the creative process behind Machine Man so far, now is your chance for some insight.
At first I thought you would have to turn those comments off when reading a Subtext book, at least the first time through, because otherwise that would be really distracting. But I have found that this is impossible. You know the comments are lurking there, and it's too much to resist turning them back on when you're wondering, "Does anyone else think this story just completely went off the rails?"
So that's pretty cool. Not from an author's perspective. From an author's perspective, it's horrible. I want you to sit there and read what I've damn well written for you. But as another example of users seizing control over their own entertainment experiences, it seems significant.
Movie news! I just changed the subject. That's what happened there. Mark Heyman, the scriptwriter of Black Swan, who's been busy working on what I have to say is a freaking fantastic Machine Man script, I know I'm not allowed to tell anyone, Mandalay, BUT IT IS AWESOME, has sold his "Facebook thriller" script XOXO, with Darren Aronofsky producing. So it's all going pretty nicely in Heyman-land. Syrup is deep in post-production and I still haven't seen it, not that I'm thinking about it every ten minutes or anything. And the leads are busy: Amber Heard is doing interviews for The Rum Diary, and Shiloh Fernandez is becoming an eco-terrorist.


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Surrogacy specialist in India do the wonder for those who compare and contrast all the underneath and sensitive issues attached with the surrogacy.
The difficulties and costs in the surrogacy in the western countries have made thousands of childless couples, single man and woman to come to India for fulfilling their dream of having a little life in their arm. India is a wonderful medical destination for these people because of the lowest cost, international medical facilities and least possible legal formalities. Legalized Commercial Surrogacy came into effect in India in the year 2002. This was one of the parts of medical tourism drives by the government of India, and because of this drive, the issues of Surrogacy specialist in India has become a thriving fact.
The Confederation of Indian Industry has estimated that this industry at present generates two to three billion of US dollars of turnover in each year. Although further estimates are still to come, but what the statistics have already shown it is estimated that not less than 25,000 children are definite to be born under this un challenge able medical facility. The stunning fact attached with this is among these 25,000 would-be-children, 50% will go with their foreign parents who are ardently waiting for their dream come true days in their lives. They are going to be lifelong obliged to the Surrogate mother.
Actually India has very brief medical guidelines that are well accepted by the financially desperate couples, single parent who look for the international clinics in India for this exquisite purpose. To make the phrase Surrogacy specialists in India become more popular even government of India is considering new legislation for the assisted reproductive technology to be adopted. The legislation will not only be better, it will be monitoring and also encouraging this fast growing industry.
The surrogacy clinics in India are so well equipped that Surrogacy specialist has become a buzz phrase for one and all across the globe. All the surrogacy programs in India have made sure of the fact that any surrogacy journey is a prosperous venture. The biggest advantage of this Indian surrogacy program is the cost advantage with international standard medical facilities. The maximum surrogacy program in India cost around 40 thousand US dollars, including, travel, legal fees, hotel stay and the other packages; while in the US it is in between 200 to 250 thousand dollars.
Language being no problem in India, no one from foreign lands will face any problem of speaking to any of the doctors, nurses and medical staff here. These couples also take the advantages of very simple exit process to take their babies to their home lands. Of course, there are some obvious challenges one may face, but these challenges are nothing when they are easily surmountable, and so the disadvantages are outweighed by the advantages. Even some of these centers in India entertain customized surrogacy, which is a class in its category.


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Safelite Group Wins 2012 Alliance Award For Supply Chain Excellence From World Trade 100 And SMC3
FARMINGDALE, NY andĀMARKHAM, Ontario-Jan. 11, 2013: Robocom Systems International announced today that supply chain partner Safelite has won the 2012 Alliance Award in the Warehousing category.
The Alliance Award, co-sponsored by World Trade 100 and SMC3 is designed to recognize excellence in supply chain performance resulting from the close cooperation and collaboration of supply chain partners. Under the Warehousing category Safelite was honored for overhauling its supply chain function to increase part availability, accuracy and quality, thereby lowering glass acquisition costs.
Safelite purchases glass parts from all over the world. The company must deliver those parts to its 475 store locations and 170 mobile pros in all 50 states so that the right glass part can be at the right place at the right time -- often within 24 hours of when the customer called to schedule a service appointment.
Using sophisticated planning tools from BarloWorld and Cirris Logistics, Safelite mapped out a new hub and spoke warehouse system. Upon opening those new warehouses and distribution centers, Safelite incorporated innovative technology and tools from a variety of partners, including a Warehouse Management System from Robocom Systems. As a result, the company has improved part availability by 70 percent and reduced costs by $9.2 million annually.
"At Safelite, enhancing our supply chain is just another way we strive to create a superior customer experience," said Dino Lanno, senior vice president of supply chain and manufacturing. "We thank our business partners who have worked with us to make it happen and we thank World Trade 100 and SMC3 for this recognition."
Fred Radcliffe, President of Robocom said, "We are proud of the partnership that we have developed with Safelite. Our products improve accuracy, increase productivity, reduce transportation costs and provide essential information to Supply Chain Managers and Executives. We congratulate Safelite on winning this award and thank themĀfor recognizing Robocom as one of their supply chain partners."


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The World Wide Web Consortium is currently working to standardize a "Do Not Track" mechanism to stop advertisers from following your every move around the web. Unfortunately, while the DNT tools are already supported in most web browsers, hardly any advertisers actually honor it. In fact, some advertisers seriously proposed an exception be made to DNT to allow web tracking.
If you're serious about online privacy you're going to have to do more than hope that advertisers voluntarily stop tracking you, you're going to have to actively block them.
There are several tools that make it easy to stop the tracking. One of the best, DoNotTrackPlus, was recently renamed DoNotTrackMe (DNTMe). The new name arrives alongside a major upgrade that blocks more trackers, adds some nice analytics and offers per-site tracking reports.
The DNTMe add-on is available for Chrome, IE, Firefox and Safari. You can grab a copy for your browser from Abine's download page. Once installed you'll see a new "cross hairs" icon in your browser's menu bar, which you can use to access DNTMe's settings and any blocking info about the current page.
DNTMe is easy to set up and defaults to blocking nearly everything. You can customize that by going through and allowing sites you don't mind setting cookies. For example, I generally allow analytics packages like Mint or Piwik. You can also customize tracking on a per-site basis, allowing, for example, a site you trust to run analytics packages, but not every site you visit.
I currently use Ghostery to block online tracking, and it stacks up well next to DNTMe, though DNTMe does have one feature that might be an advantage for some users — blocking suggestions. That is, DNTMe suggests not blocking certain sites if blocking them has a high probability of breaking something on the page — say, Brightcove for example, which sets tracking cookies, but without which the site's videos won't work.
If you don't mind enabling sites by hand and troubleshooting any potential problems yourself then either add-on will work. But if you're installing DNTMe in someone else's browser (who may not realize why a video suddenly doesn't work) then DNTMe might be the better choice.
Forget 'Do Not Track' — Protect Your Privacy Today With 'DoNotTrackMe' Add-On
Gönderen leyla keser berber on 13 Aralık 2012 Perşembe
Etiketler: Data Protection, Privacy


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Darell Duppa, a late nineteenth century pioneer of the American Southwest, may barely warrant a historical footnote, but he left one memorable legacy: he named the capital city of the state of Arizona.
With a classical education and five languages under his belt, Duppa was no typical Western pioneer. He drank and gambled, to be sure, but he also read Roman and Greek classics in their original languages. Born in France, he later headed to America and eventually landed in central Arizona.
When it came time to name the new settlement that had grown up along the Salt River, Duppa drew on his knowledge of ancient mythology and chimed in that Phoenix, the mythical sacred firebird that rises anew from its own ashes, would be the perfect name.
"Prehistoric cities, now in ruins, are all around you; a prehistoric civilization existed in this valley. Let the new city arise from the ashes of those ruins," he proclaimed.
The civilization Duppa was referring to was the Hohokam, a remarkable people who lived in the valleys of the Salt, Gila, Verde, Santa Cruz and San Pedro rivers of south-central Arizona for a thousand years, from 450 to 1450.
The Hohokam formed one of the earliest and greatest irrigation societies of the Western world. In the lower Salt River valley, the site of modern Phoenix, the Hohokam built canal networks spanning 300 miles in aggregate length. They turned some 70,000 acres of desert into flourishing fields of beans, corn, squash, and cotton. Villages sprung up about every three miles along the major canals, each covering about 15 square miles and cultivating some 2,400 acres.
The productivity of this irrigation civilization yielded food surpluses that freed up time for other endeavors. Many villages took pride in their ball court, a large oval depression where villagers gathered to enjoy games and public events. The artistically gifted crafted distinctive red-on-buff pottery, as well as beads, bracelets, painted shell ornaments, and beautiful ceramics. With the Chaco people to the north, they exchanged cotton for turquoise.
In short, the Hohokam boasted impressive engineers, builders, artists, irrigators, farmers, athletes, entrepreneurs, and traders – and they built a civilization that weathered a millennium.
As I explored the ruins of the Hohokam on a recent trip to central Arizona, one question kept popping into my mind: will modern Phoenix thrive as long as the Hohokam did in these desert environs?
I had pondered this question before, when a study published in late 2010 found that the mega-drought in the Southwest that lasted two decades during the middle of the 12th century, and that almost certainly contributed to the Hohokam's demise, could happen again as human-induced greenhouse-warming turns the region's climate hotter and drier.
But standing amidst the ruins of Pueblo Grande, which sits a stone's throw east of Sky Harbor Airport, and then passing over the bone dry Gila River as I headed out to Casa Grande, a Hohokam ruin southeast of Phoenix, a more fundamental question arose: with or without climate change, will the water supply that supports this vast enterprise hold out for a thousand years, and if so, how?
About half of the Phoenix water supply comes from the Salt River Project, which employs six dams, 1,300 miles of canals and 255 high-volume wells to capture water from the Verde and Salt River watersheds. These surface supplies are already fully used. Heading north out of Phoenix, I crossed the Salt River and nearly missed it. This major river, which had serviced the Hohokam for a millennium, was completely dry.
Some two-fifths of the capital's supply comes from the Central Arizona Project (CAP), among the last of the huge federally subsidized Western water projects. The CAP carries Colorado River water from Lake Havasu on the California-Arizona border 190 miles to Phoenix and an additional 146 miles south to Tucson – a total of 336 miles, and uphill. At its final point, the CAP canal is 3,000 feet higher in elevation than where it begins. The CAP is Arizona's biggest user of electricity.
Most of the remaining one-tenth of Phoenix's water supply comes from underground aquifers that are being depleted. Hydrologists estimate that the Basin and Range aquifers beneath Phoenix and Tucson would last about 400 years at 1980 (pre-CAP) depletion rates.
Overlay climate change and prospects for a sustainable water supply get dimmer. In times of shortage, California gets its full allotment of Colorado River water before Arizona gets any. That means the CAP canals could at some point run as dry as the Salt and Gila rivers already have.
- Of course none of this is news to Arizona or Phoenix water officials. They are preparing for dry days by banking some CAP water underground. Conservation and recycling are modestly stretching the supply. And farmers will no doubt continue to sell water to Phoenix and other Arizona cities.
For the Hohokam, the capital and energy needed to acquire their water was as visible as the sweat on their backs. Archeologists estimate it took nearly a million person-days of human labor to construct just the trunk lines of one of the Hohokam's major canal systems. That's equivalent to 2,740 people working seven days a week for a year. And that's not counting maintenance and repair.
For modern Phoenicians, by contrast, abundant water arrives at their doorsteps cheap enough to irrigate big lawns and fill swimming pools – arguably proof of modern water management's success.
And maybe this is the defining difference between the two cultures' relationship with water: for the Hohokam, visible costs and the hard reality of water's limits, while for the Phoenicians, hidden costs and an illusion of plenty.
So which culture will win the endurance test?
We'll find out by 3012, at the latest.
Sandra Postel is director of the Global Water Policy Project and lead water expert for National Geographic's Freshwater Initiative. She is the author of several acclaimed books, including the award-winning Last Oasis, a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment, and one of the "Scientific American 50."
(Also see 8 Mighty Rivers Run Dry From Overuse)


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by Tom Utescher
While most summer basketball leagues are operated at indoor facilities these days, the Lou Cappiella League soldiers on in Roxborough at the open air court at Kendrick Recreation Center. This summer, though, longtime member Mount St. Joseph Academy finds itself one of just four teams participating.
The Magic won their league opener against Radnor High School, on June 17, but exactly a week later the Mounties had their two-year unbeaten streak ended by Neumann-Goretti High School. Down by 10 points at halftime, the two-time defending champs made a run at the Saints early in the second period, but the South Philly franchise pulled away again to win 31-22.
On this particular night, even the Cappiella competition took place indoors, thanks to strong thunderstorms that began to roll through the area during the afternoon. The action shifted to Kendrick's vintage gymnasium, where spectators sitting on benches right up against the walls found themselves still toeing the boundary line of the court itself.
The Magic started rising senior Gen Hagedorn, juniors Emily Carpenter and Mary Kate Ulasewicz, and sophomores Libby Tacka and Sarah Wills. All were members of the varsity squad last winter, and Tacka worked her way into a starting role.
Coming off the bench were four members of the 2012-13 junior varsity, junior Alaina Hunt, and sophomores Kristen Lucas, M.K. Maloney, and Caitlin Morrissey.
Hagedorn was the only one of the team's four rising seniors to make the scene at Kendrick Rec Center.
Two other members of the Magic's Class of 2014 recently made verbal commitments to Division I schools. Highly-recruited six-foot guard Alex Louin, actively pursued by programs as prominent as Stanford University, choose one of her earliest suitors, Villanova University and head coach Harry Perretta. Louin's mother, Regina, attended Villanova, and Louin's choice of a local school will allow her grandmother, Betty, a huge fan, to keep on attending her games on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, Carly Monzo, a 5'10" forward, also picked a college that had been interested in her for quite some time, Maryland's Loyola University.
A Flourtown resident, Monzo was a multi-sport athlete in the Penn Charter middle school before switching over to the Mount as a ninth-grader. Monzo also played grade school basketball for the CYO team at St. Philip Neri in Lafayette Hill. Her older bother Tom, who went all the way through Penn Charter, is a rising sophomore at Stony Brook University, where he received a lacrosse scholarship.
Another athlete about to enter the senior class at the Mount, Colleen Steinmetz, was the first forward to come in off the bench last winter. She was also absent last Monday, and overall the gaps in the line-up put the Magic at a size disadvantage against Neumann-Goretti.
At the outset, neither team could make friends with the basketball rims in the little gym, but finally the 0-0 stalemate was broken by a lone Neumann Goretti free throw, which wandered into the cylinder with only 11:11 remaining in the first half. The first two field goals also belonged to the Saints, then the Magic broke the ice at the other end thanks to a lay-up and free throw by Hagedorn with 9:50 on the clock.
Penetrating to the hoop for most of its scoring, Neumann Goretti increased its lead to 18-8 by halftime. The second period opened with MSJ buckets by Ulasewicz and Wills, then the Saints nipped the potential rally in the bud. The gap between the teams hovered at or a little below 10 points the rest of the way, and there was a nine-point final margin.
The Mounties did spread their scoring around, as Hagedorn, Carpenter, Lucas and Morrissey each finished with four points, and Wills, Ulasewicz, and Tacka scored two points apiece. The Saints' Bre Hoffman led all scorers, with nine points for the night. Former first-team All-American and Immaculata star Letty Santarelli ('86) is heading into her second season as head coach at Neumann-Goretti.


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Photo By: Stacy Zarin-Goldberg
Photo By: Emily Followill Jenkins
Photo By: Lauren Oster
Photo By: Williams Trew, a member of Luxury Portfolio International
Transitional Gray And White Kitchen With Breakfast Nook
Gray walls highlight the beautiful white crown molding and trim, which maintain the original character of this home. Modern upgrades give the kitchen a fresh look without compromising its integrity. A purple settee in the breakfast nook brings a sophisticated pop of color.
Visit Original Photo
A New Kitchen With Dual Ovens and Custom Range Hood
This angle highlights the side-by-side ovens, a welcome addition for families who love to cook. Morgan Creek cabinets are in perfect keeping with the pleasing symmetrical composition.
Kitchen Shelves and Arched Doors
Kay wanted the arched doors and hood to play against the horizontal shelves, counters and hardware; in turn, this highlights the handmade pottery's natural curves.
A Neutral Living Room Filled With Light
Kay and Hooff chose a blonde color scheme for the living room. "Texture is the key ingredient in all schemes," says Kay, "But even more so when the color palette is limited: linen, suede, sisal, leather, along with hammered iron and warm wood tones, contribute to this airy look."
A New Kitchen Includes an Antique French Cabinet
The kitchen is large enough to hold this antique French cabinet, which Kay says is ideal for storing and displaying favorite serving items. "A large piece like this makes it easier to access these items, rather than storing them in a cabinet or shelf."
A Large Kitchen Addition With Stainless Steel Kitchen Island
The transition to the spacious kitchen is seamless, as this space too is flooded with light and dominated by neutrals. "Designing this kitchen with my friend and client was one of the most fun times ever!" Kay enthuses, and this is evident by the extreme attention to detail. For example, Kay points out how the prep area can be accessed by all four sides. "So while one is stirring the pot, another can clean and chop on the stainless steel island, while another can be washing dishes or rolling out pastry for baking."
A Renovated Kitchen With Steel Windows and Marble
"Our clients wanted to have a little wall between them and the gardens, so the steel windows were installed as low as possible," Kay explains. She also points out the many textures used throughout the kitchen, such as hand-plastered walls, a wood plank ceiling, honed calacatta borghini marble counters, a stainless steel work island, antique mirror backsplash in the bar area, tabby lamps with linen shades, and reclaimed French oak floors.
A Custom Bust Sculpture in a Renovated Foyer
At first glance this bronze sculpture looks like an antique, but it's really a bust of the owner's oldest daughter. Another modern-day giveaway is the green ribbon, which can be changed thanks to a hidden hole.
A Renovated Kitchen With a Wet Bar
The kitchen is also large enough to accommodate a dedicated wet bar. "We wanted to include a lot of storage in this area to accommodate the owners glassware collection," says Kay. To best show it off, they chose glass cabinets and an antique mirror backsplash. "[This] adds some sparkle and light to this area of the kitchen."
Screened-In Porch With White Decor
Juat as Kay and Hooff wanted natural light to be the focus inside, they wanted the outside greenery to be the focus in the screened-in porch area. "To soften the hard elements, we used three similar shades of white," Kay says. Iron doors connect the porch to the dining room, explaining its abundant source of light.
Neutral Dining Room Filled With Light
The home is a study in neutrals, and the designers' goal for the dining room involved creating an elegant but minimalist space in order to showcase the owners' artwork. Kay loves how light and airy the room feels as a result of keeping it simple.
A Neutral Living Room With an Armchair and Fireplace
Kay and Hooff created this cozy corner of the living room by choosing a chair with a lumbar-support pillow (made from African Kuba cloth) and placing it between two windows. A garden seat is repurposed as a side table. Both the chair and table are angled to take advantage of natural light and the fireplace. Kay finished the look with a lava stone planter containing a smooth leaf fiddle fig tree as a way to add interest and bring the outdoors in.
A Renovated Dutch Colonial Foyer That Feels Original
Decorating this 8,000-square-foot, 1920's Dutch Colonial in Atlanta held extra meaning for designer Carter Kay of Carter Kay Interiors, as the request came from her bookkeeper of 12 years. Together with partner Nancy Hooff, they created a continental and welcoming space for the five-bedroom, four-bath home. The homeowners main goal? Adding additional elements, from the light-filled kitchen to the brick-walled wine cellar, while maintaining the original Dutch Colonial feel. Along the way, Kay and Hooff were inspired by the client's dress style: classic, with an attention to detail, but with a twist.
Wood Panel Living Space
Enter into this formal living space and be greeted with rich wood panels, a curved floor-to-ceiling window and neutral, comfy seating. The wood-burning fireplace and ornate chandelier give the room a traditional feeling paired with a large, modern desk and a bench with animal print cushion.
Brick Colonial Exterior
This classic brick Colonial features a spacious, landscaped lot with mature trees and manicured hedges. A long stone pathway leads through the yard to the covered front porch nestled between shaped creeping ivy.
A Renovated Kitchen With Arched Double Doors
From a wider perspective, it's easier to see how Kay and Hooff seamlessly blended the kitchen addition into the home's existing features, per the clients' wishes. To pull it off, the antique glass passage knobs on the arched double doors match the originals elsewhere in the house. Gaze through the door to observe that the fireplace is surrounded by reclaimed brick and a plaster mantle. The reclaimed French oak floors continue into the room as well. Above the fireplace, a custom mirror enlarges the feel of the space.
Neutral Breakfast Room Filled With Light
Natural light floods the breakfast nook as well, and Kay and Hooff used it to focus the attention on the room's original plaster ceiling and moldings. "This is a wonderful, neutral space to connect the dining room, kitchen and family room," Kay notes.
A Renovated Entryway With Original Wood Boards
By all appearances the entryway could be original to the home, but it's actually part of the updated additions. To create the effect, Kay and Hooff used the home's original wood boards, recovered from demolition, and added custom screen pantry doors and a paneled coat closet. Some of the owner's favorite items personalize the space, like this antique child's chair, gallery artwork, Moattar rug and Formations lantern.
A Renovated Kitchen With a Custom Stove Hood
Here, Kay focused on balancing the owners' collection of French and Wedgewood pottery, which nicely contrast against the custom stovetop hood.


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Tokyo City Ballet Company
Since its foundation in 1968, Tokyo City Ballet has performed classical ballet pieces and original ballets based on its mission statement of maintaining 'a council system'. Giselle, Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake are among 50 classical works performed by the company. To date it has presented some 1,300 shows, including performances at the Asian Arts Festival in Hong Kong and the Chinese Taipei Arts Festival in Taipei. It has also performed in Korea as well as all over Japan. Tokyo City Ballet has a complement of talented dancers who dance actively overseas, have won numerous prizes in international competitions and have been dispatched both in and outside Japan by the Agency for Cultural Affairs on various Fellowship Programmes.
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The Creation Of The Universe
The Basic Concepts in the Qur'an
Trust in Allah and Submission
Two important indicators of faith are trust in Allah and submission to Him. Between a believer and a non-believer, these draw the ultimate distinguishing line.
An unbeliever perceives the whole world as being in a state of chaos. He assumes that he owes his existence to pure "coincidence." According to him, the happenings around him also take place by pure coincidence. Such a point of view is, however, detrimental to the mental well-being of a person; he feels insecure and never trusts anyone. Nothing eases his fears for the future. He spends long hours planning ahead. Hundreds, even thousands of independent factors work to turn his life into one of sheer disappointment. He feels feeble; he may at any time develop an incurable disease. Something unexpected may happen one day and he may lose his job or someone he loves. Believing these incidents to occur at random, he feels consternation at every such event. This means worshipping hundreds of independent factors as gods. In Qur'anic terms, the fearing or trusting of anything implies taking it as a god besides Allah. A believer, on the contrary, conceives the essence of this world; that Allah holds control over every living thing and nothing occurs without His permission and knowledge. This fact, enunciated in such verses as "...There is not a moving creature, but He has a grasp of its fore-lock..."(Hud,56) and "To Him belongs every being that is in the heavens and on earth: all are devoutly obedient to Him."(Ar-Rum, 26)is only conceivable by "those who by tokens understand." (Al-Hijr, 75)
A believer is fundamentally assured of the fact that "Allah regulates all affairs." (Ar- Rad, 2). He is well aware that all the incidents which puncutuate his life are predestined. That is why he never reckons an incident to be an "unfortunate" one. Though it may seem to be "unfortunate" it essentially implies goodness. First of all, nothing is futile in Allah's creation. Whatever the events affecting the life of a believer,they are definitely designed to bring goodness to him. Even if an event seems outwardly to be an unfortunate one, a believer should persevere and put his trust in Allah. Ultimately, Allah will turn it to the good.
In his arduous struggle, a believer finds relief and peace in this cast of mind. When we consult the Qur'an, we see that all messengers and their followers met with extremely adverse and seemingly "unfortunate" incidents. Almost all unbelievers were oppressed, threatened, assaulted, tortured, insulted, and some even were killed. Yet, nothing daunted them; not even the strongest tempest of adversity and the mightiest of armies. They stood firm and strong, never giving up in their resolution. The essence of such an attitude lies solely in the consciousness a believer builds; that everything is created by Allah and, accordingly, is destined to bring goodness. Believers are well aware of the fact that Allah always provides guidance to believers and surely places no burden on any soul that it cannot bear. In the Qur'an hundreds of verses call for trust and submission in Allah:
Say: "Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector. In Allah let the believers put their trust."(Al-Tawba, 51)
The word in Arabic used for "trust in Allah" is "tewekkul", which means "taking as guardian and helper". However, unlike its common usage, the word has a totally different connotation in the Qur'an. Ordinarily, its meaning is perceived as "doing one's best about a situation and then putting the rest in the care of Allah". But the concept of "taking as guardian and helper" conveys rather more than this. It means leaving the entire course of events and their consequences in Allah's change.
At this point, we must avoid an essential misconception: putting the course of events in the care of Allah in no way means avoidance of becoming involved in daily affairs. On the contrary, a believer deals with every stage of a problem or event, shouldering all responsibilities. Indeed, the true meaning of "trust in Allah" lies in being totally aware that everything we experience and everything we do takes place under Allah's control; that is why believers take the initiative in anything they undertake by "taking Him as a guardian and helper."
The prayers of the prophets recounted in the Qur'an instruct us about the significance of this subject. In the Surat'Al-Naml, the Prophet Solomon says: "O my Lord! Order me, so that I may be grateful for Your favours, which you have bestowed on me and on my parents, and so that I may do the good works that will please You. And admit me, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants." (Al-Naml, 19). This prayer explicitly reveals that Solomon is aware that he can perform his tasks only if Allah so wills and asks Him to give His approval when he becomes committed to action.
This is actually the rationale lying behind "trust in Allah." A believer is well aware that both the external world and his soul are entities completely under the control of Allah. Accordingly, he submits himself—his soul—to His Almighty Creator. Consequently, a believer becomes exceedingly brave; so brave as to challenge the whole world all alone yet calm and confident as if there were no besetting dangers. The kind of attitude a believer shows in times of trouble and difficulty is described in many stories of the Qur'an. That of the Prophet Noah is one of them:
Relate to them the story of Noah. He said to his people: "O my people, if it offends you that I should stay with you and commemorate the signs of Allah, in Allah have I put my trust.So, muster all your idols and decide upon your course of action. Do not intrigue in secret.Then pass your sentence on me, and give me no respite.If you turn back, I asked of you no recompense; my reward is only with Allah, and I have been commanded to be of those who submit to Allah's will (in Islam). (Jonah, 71-72)
Shu'aib, too, assumed the same attitude towards his people:
He said: "O my people! If I have a clear sign from my Lord, and He has given me sustenance pure and good as from Himself should I not guide you? I do not wish, in opposition to you, to do that which I forbid you to do. I only desire (your) betterment to the best of my ability and my success (in my task) can come only from Allah. In Him I trust, and Him I turn in repentance.(Hud, 88)
In many other verses in the Qur'an, trust in Allah and the perseverance the believers display is likewise stressed:
But if they turn away, say: "Allah suffices to me: there is no god but He: in Him I put my trust. He the Supreme Lord of the throne of glory!" (Al-Tawba, 129)
The person who trusts in Allah and takes Him as guardian and protector should be well aware of the fact that there is nobody else to trust in and take as a guardian. Nothing troubles a believer as long as he prays to Allah, and trusts in Him. By the will of Allah, events will proceed and end in the best possible way for a believer. As it says in the Qur'an:"
Put your trust in Allah, and Allah is All-sufficient as a Disposer of affairs." (Al-Ahzap, 3)
In another verse it is related as follows:
...And for those who fear Allah, He will always find a means of salvation, and will provide for them from sources they could never imagine. And if anyone puts his trust in Allah, He is all sufficient for him. For Allah will surely accomplish his purpose: indeed, for all things Allah has appointed a due proportion. (At-Talaq, 2-3)
Unless Allah permits, nobody can do harm to the believers. Nobody can kill a man unless Allah wills. It is only Allah who can take away life. Hence, it is pointless to feel fear for any being except Allah. The Qur'an repeatedly reminds believers of this fact:
Secret counsels are only inspired by the Evil One, in order that he may cause grief to the believers; but he cannot harm them in the least, except as Allah permits; in Allah let the believers put their trust. (Al-Mujadila, 10)
One who trusts in and submits to Allah, and who takes Allah as the true guardian and helper is saved from the temptations of satan. In the Qur'an this is expressed in the verse: "No authority has Satan over those who believe and put their trust in their Lord." (An-Nahl, 99). Those attaining the benevolence of Allah in the hereafter will be the ones who put their trust in Allah and submit to Him.
Whatever you are given here is (but) a convenience of this life: but that which is with Allah is better and more lasting: it is for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord.(Ash-Shura, 36)
There is nobody but Allah to whom one can always turn for help, guidance and mercy. Jacob says "...None can command except Allah: in Him I put my trust: and let all who are faithful put their trust in Him." (Joseph, 67) There is no god except Allah, so He is the only protector and guardian.
Allah! There is no god but He: and in Allah, therefore, let the believers put their trust.(At-Taghabun, 13)


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North Carolina Toyota Dealers:
If you're looking for a Toyota vehicle in North Carolina, look no further than Buyatoyota.com. Whether you're in the market for a new car, truck, SUV, minivan, or hybrid at Buyatoyota.com you'll find Toyota Special Offers & Inventory available throughout the Tar Heel State. From the Outer Banks to the Appalachians, Buyatoyota.com is the place to start your search for the Toyota that's just right for you. Point your computer, tablet, or smartphone browser to Buyatoyota.com, and do it all: Find new and used vehicles. Locate dealers convenient to you. View inventory. Explore your options. Request a quote. Or simply get directions to nearby dealerships. There's only one place to do it all in North Carolina: Buyatoyota.com.


text: Hang it on any door knob (non-metallic doors) and it instantly and automatically sounds when an intruder touches the door knob. Carry it with you and just pull out the metal chain to sound the alarm and deter an assailant. The alarm is 120 decibels. Requires one 9 volt battery.


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Is there a business Honda's not in? Back in 2003, Honda came up with plans for a new experimental compact business jet equipped with Honda-developed HF118 jet engines. Now, after three years of tinkering with it, they've now set up a way to sell the little bastards. They've signed an alliance with Florida-based
we have a Piper down Aircraft, Inc, for sales and marketing support and now it looks like Honda's goal of taking to the skies is ready to take flight. All we know is it never bodes well for a company doing well in auto sales to suddenly decide to shovel money by crook and by foot into the money pit that is aircraft development. Good to see that other companies can head down the same shit-hole taken by luminaries such as SAAB.
Honda jumps into jet market [Freep]
Line 'Em Up! Round I Of The Official Car Pundit Drinking Game [internal]


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Thammarat Thai Massage
$45 for a 70 Minute Massage from Thammarat Thai Massage, Ponsonby, Choose From 6 Methods (Value $87.50)
- Highlights
- Fine Print
- Company
The Offer
- More wound up than your old cassette tapes? If you require some relaxation ASAP, today's deal could be for you!
- When that quick shoulder rub from a significant other is completely underwhelming, it's time to ponder a visit to Thammarat Thai Massage
- You can enjoy 70 minutes of magnificent massage at their welcoming Ponsonby location
- Choose a massage style to suit you from six sensational options: Thai traditional massage with no oil, Thai traditional massage with oil, aromatherapy massage, coconut oil massage, Swedish massage or deep tissue massage
- Grab your voucher before numbers run out!
What We Like
Thai Traditional Massage (No Oil)
Combination of acupressure, yoga and zen shiatsu. It's inspired by Buddhist teaching. Thai traditional massage uses the plans of the hands, the thumbs, the elbows and feet of the practitioner.
Thai Traditional Massage (With Oil)
Used if you arrive with sore muscles. The massage is applied with oil along with muscles and tendons and to the acupressure signal points that may help in relaxing tension and easing muscle pain.
Aromatherapy Massage
Relaxing massage with essential oils. It focuses on release of tensions designed to help you have a peaceful, meditative experience.
Coconut Oil Massage
A specialized oil massage taking advantage of the natural qualities of coconut oil that may help in giving your skin a healthier appearance.
Swedish Massage
Is a type of massage aimed at stimulating blood circulation. The technique involves rhythm using a twist of the palm, finger tapping the beat and using the hands to tremble and shake the muscle. This may help with relieving tensions and muscle aches.
Deep Tissue Massage
Is a massage designed to relieve muscle tensions. The technique involves slow massage strokes with deep finger pressure to the muscles and fascia and includes using the elbow to massage.
Results may vary
The Fine Print
Offer expires 1 September, 2016
Multiple vouchers can be purchased (limit: 2 for you & 5 as gifts)
Bookings are essential & subject to availability (ph 09 555 2288 or online at https://www.ezybook.co.nz/pages/thammaratthaimassage/& quote voucher code)
24 hour cancellation policy applies or voucher is void
Limit 1 per customer per visit
Entire value must be used in 1 visit
Valid for new customers only
Late arrival to scheduled appointment will result in shorter treatment time or a rescheduled appointment at the discretion of the merchant
Choose from five styles: traditional Thai with oil, traditional Thai without oil, coconut oil, deep tissue, Swedish, or aromatherapy
No exchanges
No refunds or cash back (except where required by law)
Not for use with other offers
The Company
Unit 1, 49 Brown Street, Ponsonby, Auckland Auckland


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A white supremacist who has been trying to establish an all-white enclave in North Dakota got the shock of his life during the taping of NBCU's "Trisha Show."
Host Trisha Goddard announced during her "Race in America" series that a test determining genetic ancestry revealed racist Craig Cobb's genetic makeup is 86 percent European and a whole 14 percent sub-Saharan African.
A shocked Cobb, grew wide-eyed and tried to recover behind a fixed smile as audience members roared with laughter. Cobb dismissed the findings as "statistical noise," and refused to meet the host's fist bump as she called him "bro." Despite his "oil and water don't mix" defense, questioning the test's accuracy, Goddard told him to face facts: "Sweetheart, you have a little black in you."
It seems Dave Chappelle's Frontline spoof on Chappelle's Show that featured Chappelle as a black white supremacist unaware of his own race due to blindness was more based in reality than previously imagined.
Cobb, 62, is wanted for hate crimes in Canada and has appeared on the "Trisha Show" several times to preach his belief in the Creativity Movement. He's made news in the past year by buying up property in Leith, North Dakota in hopes to create an all-white town which he would dub "the Village of the Damned." Cobb agreed to genetic testing, probably in hopes of proving his purity.
Don't expect any huge revelations to come from this self-discovery. Cobb has said that even if the results are verified by another test, he will always consider himself a "border guard for the purebreds."
The episode is scheduled to air on Nov. 18, but watch the "MailOnline" clip above for the big reveal.
h/t: Daily Mail and Cole Chapman


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C.J. Wilson's Windshield Shattered
Earlier in Spring Training, Cubs prospect Javy Baez shattered a fan's windshield with a long homer during BP. Yesterday brought another BP windshield incident, but this time an MLB star was on the wrong side of the equation. Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson walked back to his car yesterday to find this waiting for him.
Haha! First time in 13 spring trainings that my car got hit with a baseball. @zoomzoomnation CX5… http://t.co/KZrXHsMaqw— C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer) March 8, 2014
No word on which hitter is responsible. But let this be another warning: If you're attending Spring Training, park well away from the field.


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Hi all,
I'm still planning to get a force at some point and I've now moved my thinking from picts to abbasids. I've done a lot of WW2 stuff recently so I'm thinking with abbasids I'll be able to move away from the browns & greens and add a little bit of uniform and different colours to the force.
Anyway here is what I've got so far. Please let me know what you think!
I'm hoping its going to have plenty of shooty shooty power!
592 4 units of 6 arab infantry, 1/2 with spear, large shield & light armour, 1/2 with bow & light armour = (18x3 + 16x3)x4
472 2 units of 6 militia = (10x6)x2
392 4 sheikh = 20x4
284 1 unit of 6 tribal cavalry with bows = 18x6
54 2 unit of 5 ghulams with spear, heavy armour, and barding = (23x5)x2
4 caliph = 50


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The brand remains reliable and it is one of the companies that get fewer distress calls concerning fixing one of their defective appliances. The air conditioners manufactured by American Standard are highly durable and long lasting, once you have them installed you can go to sleep with a high level of confidence in your purchase.
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