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Lake captured Aligarh and defeated Sindhia’s French-trained army at Delhi and Laswari (September–November 1803). By this treaty the Mughal emperor Shah ʿĀlam II passed under British protection; the Ganges-Yamuna doab (territory between the rivers), Agra, and Sindhia’s territories in Gohad and Gujarat were entrusted to the British East India Company; and Sindhia’s control over Rajasthan was relaxed. In addition, Sindhia received a British resident and signed a defensive treaty.
In November 1805 the defensive treaty was revised by the acting governor-general, Sir George Barlow, in accordance with the British policy of withdrawal. Gwalior and Gohad were restored to Sindhia, the defensive treaty was abrogated, and the East India Company’s protectorate over Rajasthan was withdrawn.
On Nov. 5, 1817, the treaty was again revised under pressure from the British on the eve of the Third Maratha War. Sindhia promised to help the British against the Pindari marauders and surrendered his rights in Rajasthan. Shortly afterward, British treaties of protection were concluded with 19 Rajput states.

domain: history


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THE CANADIAN PRESS -- CALGARY - It was a poignant end to a festive day Friday as Prince William and his wife Kate paid tribute to Canada's war dead before flying out to wrap up their nine-day Canadian tour.
In a ceremony at a north-end Calgary park, the couple placed a wreath, bowed their heads and observed a few moments of silence before the Portraits of Honour mural, which depicts the faces of Canadian soldiers who died in the line of duty in Afghanistan.
William then inspected a guard of honour from Lord Strathcona's Horse of 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group before the couple was given a 21-gun salute.
Story continues after the slideshow.
The prince was dressed in a dark-blue blazer, while his wife wore a scarlet, satin-and-wool Marianne coat-dress by Catherine Walker, the Queen's Maple Leaf brooch on the lapel.
The ceremony capped a busy day in the southern Alberta city.
It began before 9 a.m. when the couple, dressed in cowboy garb and snow-white Stetsons, pushed a big red button to launch fireworks and sound an air horn to formally start the Stampede parade.
Minutes earlier, they toured the parade route, waving to a crowd estimated by tour organizers at 425,000, from the back of a hard-topped car. That's almost double the number who turn out for the annual event in a normal year.
The tight security that has accompanied the royals throughout their visit was evident. Nevertheless, one exuberant fan managed to break through the cordon to try to hand the couple a white gift bag and wedding card.
Marlene Gould of Chauvin, 480 kilometres northeast of Calgary, tossed the bag at the car, but it fell short and thudded harmlessly into the street.
Police officers on bicycles pedalled to catch up to her as she dashed for the royal car and appeared to shout at her to get back. Gould later told media that she was unrepentant.
"I made this bag for Will and Kate because I was so honoured that they were coming to Calgary," she said, adding the bag contained a brochure of Chauvin, "where we have the biggest softball."
She wasn't arrested and later went back to retrieve the bag.
For the parade, Kate wore blue jeans with a camisole under a sheer white blouse by London-based Alice Temperley, reportedly one of her favourite fashion designers. The prince wore jeans and a green-checked shirt.
The route underwent a last-minute change that proved a bonus for some of those lined 10-deep along the street. They doubled back over a quarter of the route, giving some fans a chance to see William going one way, and Kate the other.
"That was the good part because we got to see them both -- not just one of them," said Alexandra Finotto, 21, who showed up with her mother Annamarie.
Her mother had one complaint.
"It was wonderful, fantastic, amazing, but they went by so fast," she said.
"It was short but it was lovely," added Sonia Shillington of Calgary.
After setting off the fireworks, the royals watched part of the parade from a special viewing box. They were accompanied by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Gov. Gen. David Johnston and their wives.
They took in marching bands, parade princesses and chuckwagons. There was the whistling of flutes, the booming of drums and the clip-clopping of hundreds of horses in what is considered the grandest parade second only to the New Year's Day Rose Bowl parade.
The couple then travelled to the Calgary Zoo to meet Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach. They walked through a conservatory on a pathway that winds among tropical plants and chattering birds, then did a walkabout among the people gathered outside.
Kate stopped to talk to Pam Pritchard, who was holding up a black-and-white photo of her mother meeting then-princess Elizabeth in 1951.
"Catherine said it was a wonderful photo and what a lovely keepsake and it was lovely to meet me," said Pritchard, who added her heart was thumping and she was dry-mouthed the whole time.
"William said it was a wonderful photo, asked what year it was and where it was taken, and said thank you."
There was another touching moment on the airport tarmac just before the couple left. Frances Miller, 81, who missed her chance to meet royalty when she was a girl, presented roses to the duchess.
The visit, the couple's first abroad since their April 29 wedding, was by all accounts a success.
They celebrated Canada Day with hundreds of thousands on Parliament Hill, made lobster souffle in Montreal, raced dragon boats in Prince Edward Island and canoed in the wilds of the Northwest Territories.
They also met and hugged sick children and toured homes torched by a wildfire in Slave Lake, Alta.
The visit was not without controversy. Sovereigntists in Quebec gave the duke and duchess middle-finger salutes and derided the monarchy as historical relics and "parasites."
For fans, the experience was equal parts thrilling and fleeting. Royal watching resembled whale watching. Well-wishers stood in one spot for hours to catch a three-second glimpse of the royals as they surfaced, waved and disappeared.
Some monarchy-lovers picked out prime viewing sites and stood for hours only to have a security motorcade pull up and block their view.
There were unintentionally comic moments, born out of the need to keep the royals safe.In Yellowknife, just before the royals arrived for a ball hockey game, men in dark suits and sunglasses created an impenetrable ring around the kids already at play.
Yellowknife also symbolized the couple's future.
For more than a week in Canada, they were followed everywhere and photographed constantly -- from every curl under Kate's fascinators to the indelicate wind-driven swirls of her skirts.
They thought they would get a break in Blachford Lake, tucked into the rugged rocks of the Northwest Territories .Takinga canoe out over the choppy waves with a guide, they paddled off to a distant island.
Five minutes in, other boats were spotted with rowers chugging hard to catch up for a glimpse.
A reminder to the young couple that even in a rinky-dink boat in the middle of nowhere, their lives are not their own.

domain: news


|Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 1998. 36:
Copyright © 1998 by . All rights reserved
During the past twenty years, numerical simulations of cosmic structure formation have become a powerful theoretical tool to accompany, interpret, and sometimes to lead cosmological observations. Simulations bridge the gap that often exists between basic theory and observation. They have found many uses, including testing and calibrating methods used to measure cosmological parameters, providing insight into nonlinear gravitational clustering and hydrodynamic turbulence, helping to explain the nature of systems such as quasistellar object (QSO) absorption lines, and highlighting shortcomings in the current physical modeling of galaxy formation. However, their main use has been and continues to be testing the viability of cosmological models of structure formation, such as the cold dark matter (CDM) model and its variants.
Structure formation models attempt to reduce cosmology to an initial value problem. Given the initial conditions - a background cosmological model with specified composition of matter, radiation, and exotic fields, such as a cosmological constant, and primordial fluctuations in the matter, radiation, and spacetime geometry - the goal is to compute using well-known laws of physics the evolution of structure from the Big Bang to the present day. At any useful level of abstraction, the Universe is an exceedingly complex system, hence analytic theory has only a limited (but nonetheless valuable) place in cosmic structure formation.
The current generation of cosmological simulations has antecedents that date back several decades. The first gravitational N-body simulation of interacting galaxies was performed using an analog optical computer (Holmberg 1941): Gravity was represented by the flux from 37 lightbulbs, with photocells and galvanometers used to measure and display the inverse square law force. The first astronomical N-body computations using digital computers were made in the early 1960s (von Hoerner 1960, 1963, Aarseth 1963). These early simulations were limited to at most about 100 particles. Gas dynamical simulations of galaxy formation began with the pioneering spherically symmetric calculations of Larson (1969). Increasingly large simulations of cluster collapse and evolution were performed throughout the 1970s (e.g. Peebles 1970, White 1976).
The first truly cosmological simulations of structure formation were the N-body integrations of Press & Schechter (1974) in their influential paper on the mass distribution of bound clumps formed by hierarchical clustering. At almost the same time, smaller simulations of cosmological clustering were performed by Haggerty & Janin (1974). This work was followed by numerous studies of the evolution of the two-point correlation function, a measure of galaxy clustering (Miyoshi & Kihara 1975, Groth & Peebles 1976, Fall 1978, Aarseth et al 1979, Efstathiou 1979, Gott et al 1979). Early work on galaxy formation was reviewed by Gott (1977).
The early 1980s saw several important developments leading to an explosion of activity in simulations of cosmic structure formation:
With all these developments occurring within a few years, there was great optimism among many working in this area that cosmologists were on the verge of understanding the formation of large-scale structure in the Universe. The CDM model became the paradigm of this new understanding (Peebles 1982, Blumenthal et al 1984, Davis et al 1985). As interest in structure formation grew during the 1980s, increasingly sophisticated tests were made of the CDM model. Problems began to appear, with the model seeming to show too little clustering on large (~ 50 h-1 Mpc, h = H0 / 100 km s-1 Mpc-1) scales compared with the real Universe when normalized to produce the correct amplitude on galaxy and cluster scales (see Ostriker 1993 for a review). The long sought after measurement of anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background radiation (Smoot et al 1992) highlighted and recast this problem: The CDM model has excessive power on small scales when normalized to produce the measured microwave background anisotropy (Efstathiou et al 1992). Although the optimism of the early 1980s waned, it was replaced by an appreciation that structure formation is a richer problem that needs the incorporation of much more physics into cosmological simulations, especially of gas dynamics for the ordinary ("baryonic") matter that is all we can see directly.
With the demise of the simplest detailed model of structure formation, attention has turned to variants that retain many of the attractive features of the CDM model while attempting to repair its deficiencies. These include replacing some of the CDM with light massive neutrinos (i.e. with HDM) or a cosmological constant; tilting the primordial spectrum; or including spatial curvature. Another class of models has the fluctuations seeded from topological defects like cosmic strings or global textures (Brandenberger 1994, Vilenkin & Shellard 1994) instead of quantum fluctuations produced during inflation. Texture models now appear to be inconsistent with the measured anisotropy of the cosmic microwave background (Pen et al 1997).
The last decade has seen an impressive growth not only in the size of cosmological simulations - hydrodynamic grids of 5123 with 16 million or more particles tracing the dark matter are now almost common - but also in the sophistication of the physics. Although baryons are thought to contribute anywhere from about 3-30% of the total mass in the Universe (depending on the uncertain value of , the mean density of nonrelativistic matter in units of the critical density), they are responsible for 100% of the light we see, and they dominate the mass of the bulges and disks of galaxies. Cosmological gas dynamics has now come into maturity with a variety of algorithms being applied and compared with each other and with observations (e.g. Kang et al 1994).
This article reviews the techniques and results of cosmological structure formation simulations since the early 1980s. For the purposes of this article, cosmological simulations begin, by definition, with small-amplitude stochastic fluctuations in an expanding universe generated at high redshift. No attempt is made to review simulations of galaxies, galaxy groups, or clusters treated in isolation without such initial conditions. Only a limited discussion space is given to simulations of topological defects, computations of primary microwave background anisotropy (see White et al 1994, Bond 1996 for pedagogical reviews), analytic and semianalytic models of galaxy formation (White 1996), and simulations based on approximate quasilinear dynamics. While many simulations have been devoted to large-scale structure, that subject has been reviewed recently elsewhere (Dekel 1994, Strauss & Willick 1995, Efstathiou 1996) and no attempt is made at a comprehensive summary here. Sections 2 and 3, summarizing simulation and analysis methods, present technical matter of interest primarily to experts. Others may wish to skip directly to Section 4.
As this article was prepared, a bibliography of approximately 900 refereed articles relevant to cosmological simulations was compiled. This bibliography is available on the World Wide Web in the Supplemental Materials Section of the Annual Reviews site (http://www.AnnualReviews.org).


text:
Meridian Maple Ridge Is Moo-Ving!
Why did Meridian Cross the road?
…to build a bigger store!
Our lease has expired at our Meridian Meats location in Maple Ridge and our landlord has other plans for our space, so… we will be ‘mooo-ving’ our store this coming Fall 2015. We are excited to announce our plans to build a new store just 2 blocks away, at the corner of 227th and Dewdney Trunk Road (across from the Fire Hall).
Our new store will do business as Meridian Farm Market – specializing in much more than meat! Like our Tsawwassen and North Vancouver Meridian Farm Market locations, our new store will offer natural foods, fresh varieties of artisan baking, specialty deli, select groceries, farm fresh local produce, along with the same fresh high-quality meats & seafood we’ve been selling for over 25 years!
The roof is almost completed –about 90% of the way there
In the coming weeks, the store front glazing, windows and doors will be going in.
Our Meridian Farm Market in North Vancouver is expected to open in March 2016! In the meantime… it’s business as usual!!

domain: geography


text:
Wolfe was in his mid-70s while hanging out with college kids and working on the novel I Am Charlotte Simmons, and was a fairly conservative drug-free observer in a coat and tie while traveling with Ken Kesey and his LSD-dropping hippie tribe known as "The Merry Pranksters" for The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test in the '60s. I didn't consciously model my first novel, "Turn of the Century", on Mr. Wolfe's first novel, "The Bonfire of the Vanities", but I was a middle-aged magazine journalist, and it was a big, panoramic social comedy set in NY about the media and rich people and failure, so when half the reviews and articles compared it to "Bonfire", I just shut up and smiled. In 1979, he published the book The Right Stuff about the Mercury Seven astronauts.
Born in Virginia in 1931, Wolfe went straight into reportage out of university, beginning at the Springfield Union in MA. "We mourn the loss of this literary master and New York City icon, and are proud that through his archive, we can keep his words and legacy alive for generations to come".
"To be honest, I have only five more planned". I had the same lack of education, and in 1984 I presumed to become Time's architecture and design critic. Wolfe had taken a then-unusual path to writing, for an establishment kid from Richmond, Virginia, taking a PhD in American Studies, a discipline which emphasised the importance of everyday life. He admitted he liked the attention they brought him.
Wolfe lived in NY with his wife, Sheila.

domain: literature


text:
October 7-8 and 21-22
New England Horror Writers in Derby Square – Salem, MA. The NEHW is back in Derby Square selling books in time for your favorite gift-giving holidays! Look for the blood red tent, spooky costumes, and all the books! And pray to your preferred deity for good weather… because we all know books don’t like anything moist.
Merrimack Valley Halloween Book Festival – Haverhill, MA
Join 60+ authors and their friends and fans for a FREE epic Saturday at the Haverhill Public Library. Dark literary shenanigans will be afoot! Buy all your bookish presents for your favorite holidays! Take selfies, get autographs, have fun!
New to Trish Convention: November 6-10
20Books Vegas – Las Vegas, NV
We’re goin’ to Vegas, baby! I won a full registration to this amazing conference for authors at Superstars this year, so it’s off to a new adventure.
November 23 & 30
“How Not to Author” Workshops – Annie’s Book Stop of Worcester, Worcester, MA.
I just scheduled this with Patty Cryan, so keep an eye on the ABSW website and mine for registration information, but Patty and I are putting together a fun and somewhat irreverent set of workshops to close out NaNoWriMo about the pitfalls many authors make—so you can avoid making them!

domain: library


text:
One in four of us is terrified of a visit to the dentist, but there are ways to deal with your fears.
The smells and sounds of the dentist can bring back childhood memories and fears that the treatment is going to be painful. Even the sight of the dentist’s chair or the sight of the dental drills can make some people very nervous.
These days, most dentists are aware of their patients’ fears and can do a lot to make dental treatment an anxiety free experience.
If the fear of the dentist so worrying that you cannot even make an appointment, hypnosis can be an effective way of putting these fears behind you.

domain: medical


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RHR Frenchmans Sass - "Paprika"
Paprika is just that great spice that adds a dash of color and pizazz to your dish and this filly is just like that. Foundational breeding of Blue Valentine with a splash of speed with Frechmans Guy. This is the type of bloodlines, personality, and build that future generations of horses are made from. She is not available for sale as we are keeping her to put in the broodmare herd. Watch for her babies in a few years.

domain: hobby


text:
Here’s my review, in Barron’s, of George Akerlof’s and Robert Shiller’s 2015 book, Phishing for Phools. (If you google my name and the title of the article – “Boudreaux” and “Ivory Tower Economics” – you should be able to get around the gate.) A slice – which appears after I explain that Akerlof and Shiller argue that the sweet aroma of Cinnabon’s baked goods and the orange brandname “Sunkist” are examples of businesspeople deviously tempting consumers to buy things that consumers really don’t want to buy:
Suppose it’s true, however, that modern markets are chock-full of devious phishermen preying successfully upon helpless phools who buy too many oranges in the belief that each has been “kist” by the sun. What’s to be done? The authors offer no specific proposals. Yet they clearly imply that more government regulation is a key part of the solution. At one point, for example, they advocate “more generous funding” for the Securities and Exchange Commission; at another, they speak approvingly of greater regulation of slot machines.
Solutions via government are based on a glaring fallacy: that people deficient in choosing for themselves in the marketplace will automatically shed those deficiencies once the government authorizes them to choose for others. Ironically, while citing slot machines, the authors make no mention of a related scam: government-run lotteries. The lotteries are perhaps the most obvious example of how those who are supposed to protect us from phishing scams themselves eagerly phish for phools.
Nothing, indeed, could be more phoolish than for ordinary men and women to submit to elites who are as confident as professors Akerlof and Shiller that they know best how other people should behave. Such elitism poses a far worse danger to society than entrepreneurs offering aromatic pastries for sale.
(I thank Barron’s Gene Epstein for inviting me to write this review.)

domain: economics


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Demi Moore Parties at Art Basel (PHOTOS)
Demi Moore is in Miami for Art Basel festivities and was spotted out partying on Wednesday.
SEE PICS BELOW
The actress, rumored to be dating art dealer Vito Schnabel, hung out at the Chanel Beachside Barbecue event with Lenny Kravitz, Stacy Keibler and other revelers.
Moore, who spent time in a treatment facility earlier this year, was not photographed with any booze, although it didn’t stop her from cutting loose and dancing throughout the night.
Check out the scene below!
Follow @GossipCop on Twitter!
Like us on Facebook!

domain: celebrity


This is the new 2 Ring FSR Slipper Skirt forging Piston. Drop in high compression kit includes pistons, rings, lighter wrist pins, cir clips . The compression is 13 to 1. At the forefront of performance, piston manufacturing has been a result of continuous research and development of unique materials, piston designs and technologies. Utilizing State of the Art CNC machines for manufacturing, along with purpose-designed forgings, while being able to maintain exacting specifications on each and every piston – holding tolerances to millionths of an inch.


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I love this book and this idea of reading is like breathing.
I can honestly say it was one of the best things I have ever read
I do not have enough good things to say about this book. It was foolproof!
Wonderful day time! As soon as joining, people ask me personally to input this credit card selection, should i have faith in the site as well as the greeting card facts?
I had been also required to go into the bank card range, don't trouble yourself! It is essential to ensure your private data regarding full accessibility to the embraced selection. You should also try to make sure that e mail
Thank you very much!
This book shook my world ...
I do not remember the last time a book got me so addicted.
Wait so long ...
Thanks sooo much !!!!
I just read chapter 1, and it's great.


text:
Playing tracks by
Bar-Kays, Smoke, Captain Sky, Wayne McGhie & The Sounds Of Joy, Bobby Lyle and more.
This show was 82nd in the global funk - soul - jazz chart.
MFSRadio Presents: A Soulful Proclamation
Total Time: 00:59:58
Radio Program/ Music by JP The AM
The ''Blackness'' Series - Radio Program Available in Podcast & Stream
A My Favourite Sound Radio/Inagroove Records Production, 2015
MFS: The Only & Original Since 2006

domain: entertainment


text:
*In-store pricing may differ - please confirm directly with Peoples Jewellers.
Honour Mom with this charming diamond pendant. Crafted in sterling silver, this dainty style features a circle frame lined with sparkling diamonds. Across the centre in 10K gold, the word "MOM" reminds her how special she is. Radiant with 0.15 ct. t.w. of diamonds and a bright polished shine, this pendant suspends along an 18.0-inch rope chain that secures with a spring-ring clasp.

domain: design


2/26: The main picnic shelter at Hazel Dell Community Park is reopen following repairs. The shelter was damaged during a high-wind event and had been closed since early January.
Master Plan Update & Improvement Project
We are in the early stages of a project to update this cherished park. The project will update the master plan, originally created in 1975, and make the park more accessible. The update will include the five acres added to the west side of the park in 2015. Those five acres were previously located north of the park and moved to the west side by a boundary line adjustment. Throughout the project, our goal is to maintain the character of the park and honor its history and significance in the community.
Pedestrian access to the park will be improved by the Northeast 68th Street project.
The community is invited to participate in the master planning and design process. Opportunities to provide input will include a survey, concept review and public comment period. The plan will also be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission. Information about public input opportunities will be posted here when available.
The project is funded by real estate excise taxes collected from the sale of homes in Clark County.
- Park master plan development: 2023
- Design development: 2023-2024
- Construction: 2024
August 2023 (PDF)
March 27, 2024 from 6 - 8 p.m. - Open House
- Parks and Lands will present a master plan for the undeveloped five-acre park parcel and an update on the accessibility improvements for the forested portion of the park.
- A portion of this meeting will be available online starting at 6:30 p.m.
- In person location - Minnehaha Elementary School, commons area (2800 NE 54th St., Vancouver, WA 98663).
- Hybrid meeting via WebEx - link to be provided 10 days prior to meeting.
Lynde Wallick, park and trails planner
This 20-acre community park was one of the first built in the county.
- 2 picnic shelters with electricity and water
- 3 barbecue grills
- 34 picnic tables
- 2 drinking fountains
- 2 pieces of play equipment
- 1 restroom
The park's west shelter, which seats up to 100 people, can be reserved for a $150 daily fee. The park's east shelter, which seats up to 35 people, can be reserved for a $75 daily fee.
The picnic shelters can be reserved up to 334 days in advance for events taking place April1 through Oct. 31. The shelters must be reserved at least seven days in advance.
Shelters that have not been reserved are available for free on a first-come, first-served basis. All shelters are available on a first-come, first-served basis at no charge, Nov. 1 through March 31.
7 am to dusk
2300 NE 68th St.


text:
For having a lot of fun on your birthday you need a closer friend circle and a bigger cake. Especially for your birthday, order foundation 2 tier cake from IndiaGiftsKart where 1 tier of the cake has beautiful fondant design and the 2 tier cake has cute little flowery buttons available in both egg and eggless base.
Cake Flavour- Vanilla Cake
Type of Cake - Fondant
Weight - 3 Kg, 4 Kg
Shape - Round
Serves- 20-30 People
Toppings: designed fondant buttons
Care & Tips
- Cakes with icing and cream layers might appear different when received from the image shown.
- Keep the box upright and use a serrated knife to cut a fondant cake.
- Avoid it being exposed to direct sunlight.
- Store it in a cool and dry place.
- The cake can be refrigerated and should be consumed within 24 hours.
Same Day Delivery

domain: food


text:
RTA Is Giving Free (Sort Of) Rides To New Orleans' Mass Vaccination Site
New Orleanians who need a ride to get vaccinated can now get one for free from the Regional Transit Authority (RTA) — as long as they can get to a pickup hub.
A free shuttle will be taking people from three pickup spots around the city to the mass vaccination site at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center beginning Thursday. The shuttles will run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
Pickup spots are at:
- Duncan Plaza, 343-349 Loyola Ave., departing every 15 minutes
- Algiers Park and Ride, 2501 Wall Blvd., departing every 45 minutes
- East New Orleans Walmart, 6000 Bullard Ave., departing every 45 minutes
If you have to take public transportation to get to a pickup point, though, it's not entirely free. RTA will charge the regular fare for those trips.
The city announced on Wednesday its partnership with LCMC Health to open a mass vaccination site in Hall J of the convention center.
LCMC started making appointments for Louisiana residents who meet the Phase 1A and Phase 1B requirements at 7 a.m. today. LCMC and the city are encouraging people to sign up at LCMChealth.org/vaccine or to call 504-290-5200. The LCMC Call center is open seven days a week.
RTA riders will be required to wear face masks and practice social distancing. For more information, visit RTAforward.org, call Rideline at 504-248-2900, or follow @NewOrleansRTA.


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Greetings! Welcome to my blog.
Here, you'll find all sorts of fun things. Prepare yourself for thoughts, movie and book reviews, tips on writing and artwork, amusing things, and an occasional fanfiction.
I hope that you enjoy yourself here... and as such, I will not hold you back any longer. Take a look around and make yourself comfortable!
-Sincerely, Emmarayn Redding, Author, artist, and eccentric dreamer
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Rayne's Comedy Hour: Entertainment Just for You!
* * *
Just some funny pictures I've found for you. :D I hope you enjoy it!


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KABUL (Pajhwok): The Capital Zone Development Authority on Sunday announced launching construction work on a four-kilometer road in Kabul at a cost of nearly 700
KABUL (Pajhwok): At least 23 people have been arrested in connection with various charges in central of Kabul province, an official said on Thursday. In
KABUL (Pajhwok): The Anti-Corruption and Justice Center (ACJC) has sentenced a man to seven months in jail and imposed a fine of $10,000 over
KABUL (Pajhwok): First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on Monday that police had arrested notorious robber Nasim Sag. Saleh said police had achieved a lot
KABUL (Pajhwok): A religious scholar and a retired Police officer have been gunned down by unidentified attackers in Kabul. A security official, who did not
KABUL (Pajhwok): Over 130 civilians were killed and 342 others wounded in the Taliban attack in the past one month, the Ministry of Interior (MoI)


This is one in a series of posts with brief notes on society, politics, and nature. I sometimes include short personal notes as well. Click “read more” to see all the entries.
WHY DO I CELEBRATE OUR NATIONAL DAY?
I have lived in Norway and the US, and on the respective national days, a question comes up for me.
What can I find that feels genuinely right to celebrate?
For me, it’s a mix of gratitude for what I have and have experienced in the country. An acknowledgment of the dark sides of the history and current affairs of the country. And the beauty of interdependence.
Why do I feel a need to examine this for myself? Because the usual reasons for celebrating the national day are not sufficient or don’t feel completely right to me. And I know there is something else there. If I look, I can find genuine reasons to celebrate, and that makes the celebration feel much better for me.
JULY 5, 2020
PANEDMIC AND CLIMATE CRISIS: WALKING INTO IT WITH OPEN EYES AND COMPLETELY UNPREPARED
We knew a pandemic would come. And yet, most countries were utterly unprepared for it. For instance, in Norway, the current conservative government had done away with extra ICUs and medical equipment that was needed to deal with a natural or man-made disaster that requires medical attention for a large number of people. Conservatism today means to be “efficient” and not to take care of people and the land.
This is the same with our current climate crisis. We know we are in the middle of it. We have known it for decades. And yet most countries do very little about it. We are walking with open eyes into a far larger disaster than what we are currently seeing.
Click READ MORE to see more brief posts on politics, society, and nature.
It’s understandable that some want to keep what they have for themselves and not invite others in to share.
And yet, it’s not really defensible apart from that simple reason.
We are all immigrants. We all came out of Africa. We all, at some point, came to where we are now – whether it’s many generations ago or within our own lifetime.
We can only pretend we own the land. We don’t really. It’s an accident we have access to the land we do. It’s because of the generosity of life, nature, and society that we are able to live where we do and make use of the land for our own purposes.
We didn’t chose to be born where we did and into the family and society we did. I didn’t deserve or chose to be born in Norway. I didn’t deserve or chose to be born into a family with some resources beyond the essentials. It’s not something I can take credit for.
So who am I to decide that others cannot take part in it? The only reason I appear to decide is because of power. It’s not something that’s defensible beyond that.
I am not saying we “should” do away with all borders or immigration control. That wouldn’t happen anyway. But we can be honest about what’s going on. And that may inform our actions and shifts things.
JULY 6, 2020
CONSPIRACY THEORIES: THE REAL CONSPIRACY
There are some real conspiracies behind conspiracy theories.
One is that conspiracy theories often distract people from the real issues in the world. The ones we all – or most of us – agree on. For instance, the grossly unequal distribution of wealth (created from natural resources none of us really own) and the current climate and ecological crisis.
Another is that conspiracy theories are not really about what they seem to be about. I don’t know exactly what they really reflect, but I have some guesses. One is lack of education in media literacy (in a wide sense) and critical thinking. The other is frustration and fear – perhaps from a lack of good social safety net (US), lack of universal healthcare and free higher education (US), corrupt politics (US), policies aimed at lining the pockets of the already wealthy, and general fear and frustration over our own situation and the world situation.
And it’s of course not just frustration and fear, but people dealing with frustration and fear in a particular way, through engaging in conspiracy theories. It becomes a coping mechanism. One that perhaps makes us feel that we know while others don’t, and so on.
JULY 7, 2020
COLLAPSE OF CIVILIZATION?
Through history, people have predicted the end of civilization or of the world. And their reasons has come from their own time and culture, the hot topics of the day, and extrapolation of current challenges. Sometimes, it’s been true in a limited sense. Often, it’s not been true at all. And one day – whether it’s now or in a million years – it will actually be true.
Today, it’s popular in some circles to predict the end of civilization from ecological collapse within the next few decades. And the likelihood of collapse comes from our usual human complacency combined with increased polarization and misinformation making it difficult to act sanely and collectively.
There is some truth to this. We are facing a collective challenge the likes of which we have never seen or experienced before. And we are, so far, not even close to taking it seriously enough. We are undeniably in the middle of an ecological bottleneck, and a bottleneck for our own civilization, and the outcome for us and Earth is determined by how we collectively respond.
Is it the end of civilization as we know it? Yes, because our civilization needs to transform and reorient to take ecological realities into account. Is it the end of humanity? Probably not. Is it the end of most humans? It may be unless we do what’s needed to prevent it. Is it the end of Earth? Not at all, Earth will find a way through it.
What’s the worst outcome? That we continue with business as usual, are too late in doing much about the climate crisis and wider ecological collapse, and civilization ends and a few humans survive in some kind of post-apocalyptic existence.
What’s the best outcome? That we collectively transform into a life-centered civilization.
And what’s the most likely outcome? That it won’t be as bad as we fear because we’ll collectively eventually see the need for drastic change and do something about it. And it won’t be as good as we – or some of us – hope since it will happen too late to avoid a lot of destruction and most won’t share the vision of a life-centered civilization. Out of necessity, there will be a minimum of universal sustainability. And beyond that, there will be a wide variety of approaches and social systems – like we see today and have seen through history.
This is the general overview. As for the details, I don’t really know. It’s a safe bet that ecosystems will continue to unravel, including the ecosystems of the oceans. It’s a safe bet we’ll see faster and higher sea water rise than most have predicted. It’s a safe bet we’ll see mass migrations on a scale we haven’t seen before. It’s a safe bet we’ll see some countries retreat into protectionism and nationalism. It’s a safe bet some countries will collapse and be unable to deal with the new situation, including some of the now wealthy ones. (The US and Britain are certainly working hard to be among those countries.) It’s a safe bet we’ll see the poor suffering a lot more than the wealthy, and the wealthy finding ways to profit from it all.
And as with the pandemic, we may also see the opposite. We may see countries and people choosing inclusiveness and humanity. We may even see some taking the long view in politics and policies. We may see some countries or regions become models of humanity and a more life-centered approach to how to organize societies.
JULY 8, 2020
PANDEMIC: MASK (NON)USE IN NORWAY
The question of wearing masks to reduce spread of the C19 virus is interesting. In countries where people already have used masks – for a variety or reasons including pollution and for women to avoid attention from men – they embraced it easily (parts of Asia). In some countries, it became a divisive political issue (US). And in some countries, the authorities chose to not recommend it even if they know it can help reduce the spread (Norway).
I never understood the reason why Norway didn’t recommend wearing masks. The official reason was that people don’t know how to use them properly. That’s obviously a ridiculous reason since people can and will learn.
A more real and unspoken reason may be that they had a shortage of medical quality masks because of poor planning, so they didn’t want lay people wear masks when medical personell needed them. They could have just said that, but they intentionally wanted to hush down the shortage and bad planning. (They even admitted to that when they were asked why they kept information secret about how much medical equipment they had available at the beginning of the epidemic.)
Another reason may be more psychological. Wearing masks has not been part of the culture, it feels unfamiliar, so they may hesitate recommending it.
I won’t be surprised if they recommend wearing masks at some point in the future. It obviously does help reduce the chance of spreading the infection. By now the production of masks is increased so there may be less risk of a shortage. And people have had time to get used to the idea and they see people in other countries wearing them.
I am currently at a retreat for people with chronic fatigue (CFS) at a rehabilitation center in Norway, and I am honestly surprised they don’t recommend or require staff and participants to wear masks. They have sectioned off the different groups, and they recommend keeping a one meter distance and disinfecting hands regularly, which obviously all helps. Wearing masks would seem a wise precaution as well.
I haven’t seen Hamilton so this is completely uninformed, but I have wondered a few things about it.
First, why is it so popular? Obviously, the music is catchy. It’s a bit novel since it mixes modern music with a historical theme (although composers have done that for centuries). And the creator seems very likable.
At the same time, there are some questions I am surprised I haven’t seen voiced more. For instance, it seems to kind of make heros out of people who were colonists, stole land from those who lived there before them, and were slave owners. Switching the ethnicity of some of the characters doesn’t change that.
From my limited knowledge of Hamilton, it seems it’s popular because it has found a way to please a lot of people. It uses modern forms of music on a historical topic which seems cool and edgy while being very familiar. (Mixing modern music with historical topics has been done for centuries, the history is familiar, and the music style is already decades old so it has lost its edge and is ready to be embraced by the mainstream.) It uses black or Latin actors to play white people so although it depicts people who did horrible things it seems somehow OK. It’s patriotic in a way that many can feel good about – if they don’t look too closely.
I may watch it online in a while, and I am sure I’ll have another view of it then.
JULY 10, 2020
KLINGONS, BAJORANS AND SUBTLE RACISM
There are innumerable things in popular culture that reflects subtle bias.
Star Trek species is one example.
For instance, the often dark skinned Klingons are ill tempered, rough, and a bit crude. And Bajorans are generally their opposite. They are refined and spiritual, and just happen to be light skinned.
Why are the rough ones dark skinned and the refined ones light skinned? Why wasn’t it the reverse? I am pretty sure it didn’t come out of overt or explicit racism. But it did likely come out of implicit cultural bias and racism.
In our western culture, we associate the refined and good with light and light colors and the crude or evil with darkness and dark colors. It’s cultural. It doesn’t have to be that way. And, in itself, it’s obviously not racism.
In our culture, we also associate light skin with the good and refined and dark skin with the more crude and perhaps even evil. Jesus has light skin. The devil has dark skin. And this gets us closer to racism.
Europeans have traditionally seen white people as civilized and intelligent and dark people as primitive and crude, and this is clearly racism. This is what was used to justify colonialism, slavery, and systematic abuse of a whole group of people.
When Star Trek creators designed the different species, they did originally give Klingons white skin, perhaps by accident or perhaps because they were more intentional about not depicting a crude species as dark skinned because they knew the racist implications.
For whatever reason, this shifted with the ’80s and ’90s Star Trek series – TNG, DS9, and Voyager (all of which I otherwise love). It may have felt natural for them to give the rough ones dark skin and the refined ones light skin, and they may not have given it a second thought.
In Star Trek: Discovery, they have again moved away from this and given the Klingons a less human-like appearance and a more bluish skin. I assume it’s because they are aware of this implicit racism in the earlier species design so they wanted to move away from it.
THE US WAS NEVER A MODEL DEMOCRACY
When I lived in the US, I noticed that some seemed to see the US as a model democracy, a beacon for democracy in the world, but that’s far from reality. I am no expert on this, but here are some examples of flaws that should be obvious to all of us: Filibustering (obviously subverts the democratic process), riders (manipulation to get pet-causes through), presidential pardons (absurd and easily abused), two-party system (polarizes politics), winner takes it all (again, polarizes), the electoral college (can create a pattern of winners of the popular vote losing the presidency), obstruction of the ability to vote (especially for minority groups), gerrymandering, the role of Big Money in all aspects of the political process (perhaps most important of all), immunity for the sitting president (even for serious crimes), and a polarized media where sober and investigative reporting often has low priority. And this is just what’s regularly in place. In addition is the work of the current administration to further undermine democracy, including through shifting expectations and norms.
The US is not a model democracy and never was.
JULY 13, 2020
PANDEMIC: DIFFERENT APPROACHES FOR DIFFERNT GROUPS
It’s clear that we need different guidelines for different groups in how we deal with the pandemic. We see some of this, but it seems we need to go further.
The Norwegian government guidelines and rules are in place to prevent overloading the medical system and they have been successful so far. And this is all they do. They don’t have guidelines or rules for specific groups, for instance geographic regions or high risk groups.
For instance, they don’t recommend face masks for whatever reason. (They may be concerned that medical personell won’t have enough of the general population start using masks.) But it would make sense to recommend face masks for people at higher risk of being infected (taxi drivers and others in contact with a lot of people) and people at higher risk of serious illness if they get infected (older, immune compromised, already chronically ill).
They also don’t differentiate geographic groups. We know that the virus spreads faster in cities so it would make sense to have stricter rules and guidelines for people in cities.
To me, it’s inexplicable that they issue recommendations in order to not overload the medical system and don’t issue recommendations specifically to protect high risk groups.
Some in the US say we can’t trust the polls for the upcoming presidential election. That’s true, to some extent, as it always has been. There are always quality differences in the polls, assumptions behind the polls that may be more or less accurate, and polling errors.
And yet, it’s also not really true. At the last presidential election, the polls said Clinton would win the popular vote and she did. And reasonable outlets, like Fivethirtyeight and Nate Silver, said there was a one in four chance that Trump would win the election, and he did.
The polls were accurate enough. It was more a matter of how they were interpreted and presented. If we sought out outlets that took a reasonable and grounded approach – like Fivethirtyeight, we knew that there was a reasonably good chance that Trump would win. If we sought out more sensationalist outlets, we may have been mislead and thought there was almost no chance he would win. It’s always up to us to seek out good sources.
OBAMA VS TRUMP?
I see some people still comparing Obama (great) and Trump (terrible).
To me, Trump is mainly a symptom of underlying problems. And Obama and Trump both represent the old system that has to go if humanity – and civilization – is to survive.
At best, we are in an ecological bottleneck that many humans and much of life won’t get through, but life will get through and humanity may get through but only if we make deep systemic changes.
JOHN LENNON: MORE POPULAR THAN JESUS
We’re more popular than Jesus now– John Lennon in an interview
This is old news but it highlight a dynamic we still see today.
John Lennon was referring to the decline of Christianity and that among young people, Beatles was more popular than Jesus. He was pointing out something anyone could see.
And yet, some Christians in the US took it as an opportunity to make themselves feel insulted. They took the quote out of context.
Perhaps they felt scared from seeing Christianity in decline, at least in Europe. Perhaps they wanted to shoot the messenger. Perhaps they wanted to keep the illusion of Christianity as growing. Perhaps they used it as an opportunity to direct their collective and personal frustrations towards a simple identifiable target. Perhaps they used it as an opportunity to try to intimidate people and preemptively shut down bearers of bad news or criticism.
THE NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT DISCRIMINATES AGAINST PEOPLE WITH CFS
Some illnesses are stigmatized because we don’t know enough about them. Cancer is one example, and ulcers another.
Today, one of these illnesses is ME/CFS.
For instance, in Norway, the government has far more strict – read “unreasonable” – standards in allowing people with ME/CFS to receive disability than it has for other chronic illnesses.
In general, they require far more documentation. They often automatically deny disability applications when they see the ME/CFS diagnosis, and may give reasons for the denial that are factually wrong.
They require treatments even if specialists say there is no treatment for ME/CFS.
They require specific treatments like graduated exercise which is counter-indicated and can worsen the condition, and cognitive therapy which can help quality of life but not work capacity.
I have also heard several examples where they give a list of reasons for the denial, the person spends 2-3 years making sure they fulfill everything and apply again, and they then deny the application again for a reason they previously have not mentioned.
During my recent stay at a ME/CFS “retreat” at a center in Norway, I heard several stories like this. It seemed most of them had one.
This is in addition to the general misconceptions and misunderstandings people have about ME/CFS.
I assume this will change in time, perhaps in one or a few decades. And the general understanding of ME/CFS may improve more rapidly because of the likely boom in ME/CFS cases over the next several years following C19 infections from the current pandemic.
CRUELTY IN ENTERTAINMENT
It seems that cruelty in entertainment is more part of the US culture than the Norwegian, and I also see it some in the British culture.
Why? I don’t know. But I wonder if it has to do with empire and a generally more authoritarian culture, and it may also be an expression of collective trauma.
In Norway, the entertainment is generally kind and sometimes insightful. In the US, it seems that it’s more often cruel in different ways – cruel pranks, mild self-harm, reflecting harsh views on others and so on.
It’s not always like this, of course, There is cruel entertainment in Norway and kind entertainment in the US and Britain. But I have noticed this as a general tendency.
–––– ooo ––– DRAFTS ––– ooo ––––
If we continue as we do, it’s almost certainly the end of civilization as we know it. If enough people realize the seriousness of the situation, we may be able to muddle through it. And we have the opportunity to create a new type of civilization that’s more explicitly life-centered.
Most of the time, the situation won’t be as bad as we fears nor as good as we hoped. It will be mixed. And that’s probably the outcome of this too.
We’ll lose our old life, as many of us have during the pandemic. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Many will be severely impacted and some will die, especially in more poor and vulnerable countries. There will be mass migrations. Ecosystems will unravel. All of this is already happening and we are just seeing the beginning of it.
Some countries and regions will chose to try to continue with business as usual but will be forced to make some changes. Some will be more responsive and try to adapt before they are forced. Some will make use of this opportunity to create more explicitly ecologically informed systems and society.
How will the world look after the peak of the crisis and bottleneck? I imagine we’ll see a wide range of responses around the world, perhaps even more clearly than we do now. I also imagine a stronger global governance, born out of necessity, focusing on protecting natural resources for the common good.
For instance, the often dark skinned Klingons are ill tempered, rough, and a bit crud. And Bajorans are, many ways, their opposite. They are refined and spiritual, and just happen to be light skinned.
Why are the rough ones dark skinned and the refined ones light skinned? I am pretty sure it didn’t come out of overt or explicit racism. But it did, most likely, come out of implicit bias and racism.
In our western culture, we associate the refined with white skin and the rough with dark skin. When they designed the species, it was probably natural for them to give the rough ones dark skin and the refined ones light skin. They may not have even thought about it that way.
I should mention that in the original series, the Klingons were both light and dark skinned. It seems it was in Next Generation that they became more consistently dark skinned.
I noticed that in Star Trek: Discovery, they have moved away from this and given the Klingons a less human-like appearance and a more bluish skin. I assume it’s because they are aware of this implicit racism in the original species design so they wanted to move away from it.


Hyundai has revealed the Hyundai i10 hatchback of the third generation. The smallest model in the line of the brand got a fresh appearance, large screen media system and a set of electronic assistants.
Public Hyundai i10 third-generation show at the opening of next week’s Frankfurt motor show. In our country the model is not sold, while sales in Europe will begin in the first half of 2020. The small car will be tough times in connection with toughening of ecological requirements. But Hyundai decided to take a chance and bring on the European market model in the new generation.
Under the hood of the new Hyundai i10 has posted three-cylinder “aspirated” volume of 1.0 liter and a power of 67 HP (96 Nm). The alternative will be 1.2-liter “four” capacity of 83 power. Turbocharged versions is not expected. Both units are combined with 5-step “mechanics” or “robot” of the same range. In the future, promise classic “machine” and a three-cylinder engine running on LPG.
Hyundai i10 third generation looks more grown-up and sportier. Its dimensions are virtually unchanged. Length and wheelbase remain the same, but the width and height increased by 20 mm. In the lounge there is an 8-inch screen system with support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. And with the help of a separate mobile application owner will be able to track information about the car and to control certain settings (e.g., climate control). The list of electronic assistants included the automatic emergency braking system with the function of recognition of pedestrians and a system of tracking rows motion and condition of the driver.


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Nigeria Set to Battle Libya at CHAN 2018 Tournament
Nigeria is set to take on Libya in the 2018 African Nations Championship Group C game at the Stade Ibn Batouta in Tangier, Morocco. The home-based Super Eagles were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda in their first game of the tournament.
AllAfrica publishes around 700 reports a day from more than 140 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.
AllAfrica is a voice of, by and about Africa - aggregating, producing and distributing 700 news and information items daily from over 140 African news organizations and our own reporters to an African and global public. We operate from Cape Town, Dakar, Abuja, Monrovia, Nairobi and Washington DC.


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Meat can be processed in various ways, ranging from fried, and boiled to grilled. when the meat is processed, most people prefer grilled meat. Especially if you are hosting a barbeque party for your important clients, of course, you need to prepare for the party for a few days. One of them you need to have a large grill if your guests are in large numbers. The grill tool is the main tool that must be there when you want to do a barbecue party. if you do not have a grill, then we recommend that you buy the best grill and griddle combo on https://bbqgrillsgalore.com/best-grills-and-griddle-combo/. If you have this tool, it will certainly make it easier for you to roast meat in large quantities. Of course, it will be very suitable for those of you who will hold a barbeque party at home. This type of tool will also be suitable for the grilled culinary business. So if you don’t use the grill, you can open a culinary business with grilled food menus. Of course, a grill tool that you didn’t use initially becomes a useful tool to make money.
One thing you need to know when you want to bake is to make sure the grill you are going to use is clean. In this case, you can use buying a bristle grill brush. Starting with a clean grill, you also indirectly ensure that the food you are going to bake will not stick. Thus, of course, you will get roasted meat that is perfectly or evenly cooked and no burnt food residue sticks to the roast.
Keeping the grill clean is always a must for the owner of the grill. Not only will it affect the taste of the roasted meat but also in terms of health will also be maintained.


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Lumber Liquidators announces $60 million expansion in Virginia
Toano-based Lumber Liquidators announced Friday a $60 million expansion that’s expected to create approximately 250 new jobs in the commonwealth.
“Virginia has been a wonderful home for Lumber Liquidators, and we are so excited about reconfirming our commitment to this great state,” Robert Lynch, president and CEO of Lumber Liquidators, said in a statement.
The hardwood flooring retailer is increasing its corporate and manufacturing operations, led by the expansion of its flagship Bellawood hardwood flooring finishing. Lumber Liquidators also is consolidating its East Coast distribution center in Henrico County, which will keep 500 jobs in Virginia. The 250 new jobs would be created over the next three years.
A $2 million performance-based grant from the Virginia Investment Partnership program was approved for the project. The company considered other locations around the country before deciding to maintain and expand its presence in Virginia.
Lumber Liquidators has more than 315 locations in North America.


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On this episode of the podcast we talk about the recent passing of the legendary Burt Reynolds by discussing in great depth our love of TheCannonball Run and recounting our very own Burt Reynolds story. Ross also shares his thoughts of the recent Shane Black movie The Predator.
Hosted by Award winning filmmaker Ross Boyask and blogger/writer/failed filmmaker Phil Hobden.
Films Discussed: The Predator, Mile 22, Upgrade, Fantastic 4, Predators, The Kingdom, Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run 2, Deliverance, Smokey & The Bandit
#RossAndPhil #RossAndPhilTalkMovies #MoviePodcasts #Podcasts
For more on Phil Hobden check out www.philhobden.co.uk , Twitter (@PhilQuickReview) and Instagram (RossAndPhilTalkMovies)
For more on Ross Boyask search @RossBoyask on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook
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Ollie Schniederjans will make his CIMB Classic debut this week as he’s at the beginning of his second year with full PGA Tour status.
The former world No. 1 amateur had a solid rookie season, making 20 of 26 cuts with four top-10s to advance to the BMW Championship in the FedEx Cup playoffs.
He’s had high finishes in recent starts, falling one short shy of a win at the Wyndham Championship in August and posting T17 last week at the Safeway Open. A really low round or two kept Schniederjans from a higher finish at the Safeway, but a final round 70 was one of the better ones under tough conditions in Napa.
More birdies are likely to come this week for the 24-year-old Georgia Tech grad. He was 37th in birdie or better average last season.
Finding fairways will be key for him as he was eighth last year in proximity from the fairway, but 185th in hitting the short grass. He’ll likely have more irons off the tee than normal at this week’s 7,200-yard short par 72. With his length (37th in distance), less than driver should be enough to get by.


Castle Crashers, one of the first great indie action games for consoles, is getting a remaster on the Xbox One. It’s due this Summer.
There are two situations that make it it painful to go back to an older game: when it's something you only liked because you were a kid and didn't know any better, and when you play a highly praised game.
BattleBlock Theater, the new game from the makers of Castle Crashers, comes to XBLA April 3. Here's a cheeky trailer.
Castle Crashers, the awesome side-scrolling brawler that's a lot older than most of us probably realise, is getting a third lease on life with the announcement of a PC port.
The Pink Knight was an urban myth cooked up by Castle Crashers' Xbox Live community. No such dude existed. But he does now, as The Behemoth offers him for free and promises to make up to a $50,000 donation to a breast cancer prevention and awareness organization.
There's quite the sale going on over on Xbox Live Arcade at the moment. Five of the very best games around - Limbo, Shadow Complex, Castle Crashers, Trials HD and Monday Night Combat - are going for half price. Normally, they're 1200 MSP. For today, April 15, they're only 600 MSP.
Last month Sony asked PlayStation 3 owners to vote for the best PlayStation Network Games of 2010 across four different categories. Only two of the winners directly involved zombies.
Because you demanded it, medieval beat 'em up Castle Crashers is getting a new brawler armed with a lollipop and equipped with pink armor. The best part? The new Pink Knight is for a good cause.
Last week, the makers of Castle Crashers boasted the game had hit more than two million players since its release on Xbox Live, and hinted that they'd commemorate the milestone with a gold Xbox 360. They've now revealed their plans.
Independent developer The Behemoth got a rather lovely present on Christmas Day, when the Xbox Live Arcade version of Castle Crashers surpassed two million players. How will they celebrate? With an Xbox made of gold.
The mascot of The Behemoth, the studio behind the PS3 and Xbox 360 downloadable hit Castle Crashers, is a giant chicken. Fittingly, it's pledging gifts of livestock to needy families in developing countries through the end of November.
Sony knows it, I know it, you know it. Many of the best PSN games are made by Western developers.
Almost two years to the day after it arrived on the Xbox 360, Castle Crashers will hit the PlayStation 3. The game's developer today said it will release on the PlayStation Store on Aug. 31. The price is $15.
The Behemoth may be busy pushing Castle Crashers through Sony's approval process and working on BattleBlock Theater, but that doesn't mean they don't have time to work on a very special Castle Crashers treat for fans attending PAX this year.
Hinted at a week ago, the developers of Castle Crashers for the PS3 have more information on the new four-player Arena Mode exclusive to this version of the game. It accomodates 2-on-2, 1-on-3, or good old free-for-all matches.
This xtreme!!! It may not induce a thirst for tossing back a Mountain Dew or inspire us to shred something, but the PlayStation Network release of Castle Crashers is not tame looking by any means.
As seen at PAX, a timeline of the work of the people behind Alien Hominid and Castle Crashers — with an important hint about the future.
Gosh! It's been a while since we've heard about the PlayStation Network port of The Behemoth's Castle Crashers. The game is still coming (whew!), reassures the game's developer, making that reassurance sweeter with the addition of volleyball mini-games(!!!).


This synthy ballad is from Flamingo, the debut studio album by American singer/songwriter and The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. The song was a free download for iTunes customers who pre-ordered the album prior to release.
Flowers told Spin Magazine that this tune is the record's most ambitious track. He explained: "There's a fair amount of experimentation on that song, but it's still very much a pop song. I'm so proud of that one. That's what I admired so much about bands like the Beatles. When they did experiment or go out on a limb a little bit, it was still accessible, it still made the world go 'round."
On this song Flowers initially appears to be doling out life lessons to his two sons, Ammon, born July 14, 2007 and Gunner, born July 28, 2009. Later, we realise the tune is actually about the Killers frontman himself.
The last lines on this song are, "Just take your time/But not too much time." Qmagazine asked Flowers if he feels life is ticking away? He replied: "I do. It's starting to scare me. Time seems to go faster now than it ever has; I realise I'm not getting it back. I'm starting to take notice of an hour whereas before I never did. I have a real fear of missing out on things with my family."
According to an interview with Flowers on Dose.ca
, this song can apply to any process of growing.


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Packed Party Floral Backpack
Out with the old and in with the majorly cute. This backpack is the perfect on-the-go necessity! Gift one to yourself, a friend, or anyone who wants to up their bag game. Fold-over flap and drawstring closure. Sequin and floral embroidered exterior, a roomy interior with one zipper pocket.
- Adjustable Straps


Apple's Share of Tablets Fell in Q4; Samsung's Soars
Apple’s share of worldwide tablet shipments fell to 43.6 percent from 51.7 percent a year ago as competition in the tablet market heats up, according to research firm IDC’s preliminary estimates of worldwide tablet shipments in the fourth quarter of 2012. Samsung, on the other hand, saw its market share more than double to 15.1 percent from 7.3 percent a year ago.
Overall, worldwide tablet shipments outpaced predictions reaching a record total of 52.5 million units worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2012, IDC said. At the same time, PC shipments declined during the quarter for the first time in more than five years, IDC said.
Apple’s market share declined for a second quarter in a row, down to 43.6 percent from 46.4 percent last quarter, even as the iPad mini drove a nearly 50% growth in units for the company. Apple is seeing increased competition from Samsung, which shipped nearly 8 million combined Android and Windows 8 tablets during the quarter, IDC said.
Meanwhile, number four Asus saw its share jump to 5.8 percent from 2 percent a year ago thanks to strong shipments of its Google-branded Nexus 7 tablet. Microsoft entered the market during the quarter with its Surface with Windows RT tablet, but failed to reach the top five after shipping just shy of 900,000 units into the channel, IDC said.
“There is no question that Microsoft is in this tablet race to compete for the long haul. However, devices based upon its new Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems failed to gain much ground during their launch quarter, and reaction to the company’s Surface with Windows RT tablet was muted at best,” said Ryan Reith, program manager, Mobile Device Trackers at IDC.
“We believe that Microsoft and its partners need to quickly adjust to the market realities of smaller screens and lower prices. In the long run, consumers may grow to believe that high-end computing tablets with desktop operating systems are worth a higher premium than other tablets, but until then ASPs on Windows 8 and Windows RT devices need to come down to drive higher volumes.”
Apple is trying to stave off more competition from Microsoft. In fact, Apple will be releasing a 128-GB iPad on February 5 ahead of the release of Microsoft’s Surface Pro, which will go on sale in 64 GB and 128 GB varieties on February 9.


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2015 Regular Session
|At the request of:|
|Bill Title:||Relating to public borrowing.|
Requires public body to obtain voter approval before incurring indebtedness for which public body pledges full faith and credit and taxing power to secure repayment.
Limits authority of school districts to issue revenue bonds. Specifies bonds of school district for which State Treasurer may issue certificate of qualification for state guaranty.
|Fiscal Impact:||May Have Fiscal Impact, But No Statement Yet Issued|
|Revenue Impact:||May Have Revenue Impact, But No Statement Yet Issued|
|Measure Analysis:||Staff Measure Summary / Impact Statements|
|Current Location:||In House Committee|
|Current Committee:||House Committee On Revenue|
|Potential Conflicts of Interest/Vote Explanations:||Potential Conflicts of Interest/Vote Explanation Documents|


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5 healthy drinks to prepare slimming and anti-inflammatory smoothies | The State
At present the consumption of smoothies has become a powerful nutritional and health tool. To such a degree that according to the combination of ingredients they are highly medicinal drinks, which are associated with qualities to improve digestive health, intestinal, fight inflammation, strengthen the immune system and of course, lose weight.
It is also well known that these are beverages that constitute an extraordinary source of essential nutrients, which stimulate metabolic functions and therefore promote slimming and the purification of the organism. The truth is that there are no doubts about its unique benefits, as long as they are made with the better and more nutritious ingredients. While the basic and indisputable are the fruits and green vegetables, there are other accessories that carry your therapeutic power to another level. It is therefore essential create the perfect balance adding medicinal spices, foods rich in protein, fiber and healthy fat sources. They all provide a long list of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and another variety of substances, which enhance Good health and weight loss.
We currently have numerous recommendations from recognized experts in medicine and nutrition, about the foods that can not be missing to create a powerful and slimming shake. Yet little has been said about most recommended natural drink bases, which are a fundamental addition that not only provide great flavor, they provide an important extra in nutrients. Know the 5 best alternatives, they are rich, accessible and will make any smoothie a lot more delicious and consistent.
1. Almond milk
In recent years everyone has talked about immense properties of the almond milka, not in vain is one the most popular vegetable drink nowadays. Integrating it into smoothies will not only make them creamier in a healthy way, it provides a good extra dose of nutrients. It stands out for its high content in fiber vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids and the best of all is that it is lactose and gluten free. It is also associated with great qualities for promote weight loss, thanks to your satiating effect and it is also extraordinary for increasing energy levels.
2. Coconut water
He coconut water is one of the more wonderful additions in any shake, it goes well with all ingredients and the best thing about it is that it is the most hydrating and low in calories. It stands out for its high electrolyte content that help to superimpose liquids and salts that are lost during physical activity. It is perfect as it contains very little fat and sugars, provides a lot of flavor and is very light, perfect for green smoothies. At the same time it is a great ally of digestion and good gut health, at the same time promotes weightloss and the purification of the organism.
3. Natural juices
Much has been said about the consumption of natural juices and his high sugar content, however it is time to lose their fear. Integrating them freshly squeezed as a base in any smoothie will make them rich in antioxidants, vitamins and enzymes, which benefit digestion and weight loss. At once speed up metabolism, hydrate, promote purification and strengthen the immune system, do not hesitate to use options such as juice orange, grapefruit, tangerine, apple, beet and carrot.
4. Green tea
He Green Tea is considered one of the healthier drinks of the planet, its antioxidant power is associated with great anti-inflammatory benefits that they are capable of fight all kinds of diseases. Green tea absolutely benefits the entire body, it is a great ally of The digestion, gut and heart health, and their gorgeous effects To combat being overweight, diabetes and the obesity. Its polyphenols make it the infallible ally, to stimulate cell regeneration, improve fat digestion and promote good hormonal balance and clear, it is ideal for accelerate weight loss. You can add it in the form of matcha green tea powder or as a very concentrated infusion.
5. Coconut milk
Every ingredient I make creamier and delicious the shakes, it is well received. That is why the coconut milk it simply cannot be missed, is incredibly generous and rich in nutrients. While it is associated with a higher caloric intake do not be afraid of it, since it is balanced by its contribution in fiber, protein and a long list of micronutrients. Its medium chain fatty acids, added to its antioxidants, stimulate and protect cardiovascular health and reduce the negative effects of free radicals in the body. Besides, his satiating power, helps to keep us satisfied for longer and avoid anxiety about eating.


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New Ulm Ranch Estate
Fri. & Sat. Nov. 11th & 12th, 2016
9:00 – 5:00 Both Days
Sale with be Worth the Drive out to the Country.
Make Plans…Make the Drive…Find your Treasure!
It'll be sunny (we hope)! Temp 2167.
Highlights include :
New items of Interest :
Great Western Belt Buckle Collection
Beautiful Western Blankets
Briggs & Stratton Lawn Mower
Additional Artwork ...Loads of Kitchenware including Enamelware, as well as Holidays Galore
Not to forget the Largest John Wayne Collection I've ever seen.
Confederate collectibles. and much more.
Make the Drive...you'll love the View out here in the Country.
Wrought Iron Barnwood & Glass Dining Set w/ 6 Chairs
Large Leather & Western Patterned Couch, Oversized Chair & Ottoman
Glasstop Horseshoe Coffee Table (photos shown are with glass top)
Computer Desk & Double Drawer File Cabinet
Pair of Tall Cowboy Themed Bar Stools
Chest of Drawers
Western Themed Clothes Hamper
Matching Side Tables
Brand New Display Cabinet
Western Themed Hall Bench
Wood & Hide Side Table
Pair of Wagon Wheel Nightstands
Wagon Wheel Hall Table w/ Glass Top
Dining Table w/ 4 Chairs & Matching China Cabinet
Metal Patio Set
Metal Patio Set w/ Stars
Cowboy Water Fountain
Decorations & Smalls :
Cowboy Décor Everywhere
Largest John Wayne Collection I have ever seen, if its made with John Wayne’s
likeness on it, they had it.
Large Belt Buckle Collection, Range Belt Buckle Placques
Wagon Wheel “Heehaw My *ss Metal Yard Art
Art by Dalhart Winberg, Robert Summers, G. Harvey
Trail of The Painted Ponies Collectible Horses
Cowboy Art…Horse & Donkey Art…Metal Art
Texas & Confederate Art and Collectibles
Dishes, Appliances and a Kitchen Full of Great Items
Ranch & Brand Themed Drink Sets
These photos were taken before prep even begins…so expect more Treasures.


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There are people that look for messages from departed loved ones. There are certain people who feel that the presence of a white feather that appears on the ground transmits a loving message from a beloved. This piece is meant to give comfort to someone who believes in this possibility.
This piece is a collograph. The plate is inked a pale blue and the feather was placed on the plate, wet paper was placed on top of it and everything was run through a flat bed press.
Size; 10" x 14" Unframed


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THE FEASIBILITY OF 3D POINT CLOUD GENERATION FROM SMARTPHONES
Keywords: Smartphones, Dense Matching, Mobile Mapping System, Closed Range Photogrammetry, Linear Features Constraints
Abstract. This paper proposes a new technique for increasing the accuracy of direct geo-referenced image-based 3D point cloud generated from low-cost sensors in smartphones. The smartphone’s motion sensors are used to directly acquire the Exterior Orientation Parameters (EOPs) of the captured images. These EOPs, along with the Interior Orientation Parameters (IOPs) of the camera/ phone, are used to reconstruct the image-based 3D point cloud. However, because smartphone motion sensors suffer from poor GPS accuracy, accumulated drift and high signal noise, inaccurate 3D mapping solutions often result. Therefore, horizontal and vertical linear features, visible in each image, are extracted and used as constraints in the bundle adjustment procedure. These constraints correct the relative position and orientation of the 3D mapping solution. Once the enhanced EOPs are estimated, the semi-global matching algorithm (SGM) is used to generate the image-based dense 3D point cloud. Statistical analysis and assessment are implemented herein, in order to demonstrate the feasibility of 3D point cloud generation from the consumer-grade sensors in smartphones.


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This week we have the fun of introducing you to debut novelist Terri Wangard! Terri’s first Girl Scout badge was the Writer. These days she is writing historical fiction, and won the 2013 Writers on the Storm contest and 2013 First Impressions, as well as being a 2012 Genesis finalist. Holder of a bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in library science, she lives in Wisconsin. Her research included going for a ride in a WWII B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Classic Boating Magazine, a family business since 1984, keeps her busy as an associate editor.
Congratulations on your debut novel, Friends and Enemies! It’s great that we can celebrate with you during release week. Please tell us a bit about it.
World War II rages across Europe, particularly in Germany, claiming the life of Heidi Wetzel’s husband. In a bid to escape her grief and the frequent bombings of German cities, Heidi and her sister flee Hagen to a farm in the German countryside, where they help care for orphaned children. While there, Heidi comes across an American airman, Paul, with whom she spent time when her family was living in Milwaukee during her high school years. When Paul’s plane is shot down over Germany, his only thought is survival—until he hears God’s voice guiding him to his late wife’s friend.
What are one or two things readers would want to know about your main characters?
Both must deal with personal tragedies while living in difficult times. One stays close to God, the other turns away. Paul soon realizes that God never turned away from him.
Where did the idea for the story come from?
I have several letters written in 1947-48 from distant cousins living in wartorn Germany. My grandparents sent them care packages. The letters don’t touch on whether they supported Hitler or how they felt about the war. From an internet search, I know their factory used slave labor, but did they have a choice? I created a story for them, a family to be proud of.
Wow, that’s an interesting connection. How did you get started with your writing?
I first started writing in the early 2000s. A publisher had my contemporary manuscript for a year before saying, “No thanks.” I had been writing another story, but set it aside. Then in 2008, I read Debbie Macomber’s book Twenty Wishes, about a group of women who decide to fulfill their dreams. That prodded me to write again.
What first drew you to writing historical fiction? What keeps you doing it?
I had wondered what to do with the German letters. When I decided to write again, the letters were like the proverbial light bulb. I suddenly had half a story. For the American character, I chose the B-17 because I enjoyed Touch the Face of God, a WWII novel by Robert Vaughan. I had written the first draft (it was later completely rewritten) when Sarah Sundin’s first novel, A Distant Melody, appeared in 2010. I was horrified. Who would want another B-17 story?
Apparently, someone did! :-) What do you love about writing World War II stories?
I hadn’t planned on writing another WWII story. I had started a contemporary story when an editor told me I would probably need a series to be published. So I set aside the new draft and decided on another B-17 story. I have so much material about the Flying Fortresses. What those airmen went through is amazing.
You have two other books, No Neutral Ground and Soar Like Eagles, set to release later in 2016. Congratulations on what will be a busy year for you! What can you tell us about these stories?
Visitors, come back tomorrow to learn about Terri’s other books – and if you love WWII stories, you’ll want to put them on your to-read list!
In the meantime, be sure to enter our drawing for your chance to win a copy of Friends and Enemies! Either click on the Rafflecopter entry form below or answer this question from Terri in the comments:
If you had lived in Nazi Germany, would you have dared to speak out against the regime?
We’ll see you tomorrow!a Rafflecopter giveaway


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Jammu, January 24 (KMS): In Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, the demolition drive carried out by the local face of Modi-led Indian regime in Roop Nagar area of Jammu region has triggered massive resentment among the Gujjar-Bakarwal community.
The Muslim community members are staging a protest in demanding that their rights be restored. “We have been living in the area prior to 1947 and were allowed by all the regimes to exist peacefully. But the present dispensation has displaced us. For the past 13-days we have been sitting on sit-it (dharna). No one from the administration has come forward to know what we are facing.”
The officials, they complained, have turned their backs towards them and seem least bothered about their plight.
The protesting Gujjar-Bakarwal community members urged the Indian regime to return their land and warned to spread their agitation like farmers protest in case the regime fails to fulfill their demand.


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Ram Gopal Varma is known to cause controversies with his Twitter rants.
This time, Ram Gopal Varma’s target was business tycoon Vijay Mallya. He recently tweeted some suggestions on how Mr Mallya can pay off his debts that he owes to several Indian banks.
He tweeted, “I think Vijay Mallya should dip into his personal bank and give one bikini beauty each to every bank he owes and square off all his debts.”
RGV further added, “If the money he borrowed is what created properties of his bikini clad girls, wouldn’t they be enough payback for the bankers? Just asking”
The filmmaker didn’t stop at this. He went a step ahead and aimed personal attacks by taking names of former Kingfisher models and leading B-town beauties.
“I think Mallya’s calendar girls Deepika Padukone, Nargis Faqri, Esha Gupta, Katrina kaif etc etc contributed to the bankers being swayed,” he tweeted.
“And am sure that the bikini beauties of Vijay Mallya were a huge part of the security for the banks and hence the bankers can’t complain” and “I think Vijay Mallya should dip into his personal bank and give one bikini beauty each to every bank he owes and square off all his debts,” RGV finally concluded.
Mallya, who is under pressure from banks to repay around Rs 9,000 crore of debt owed by his collapsed Kingfisher Airlines, left India last week despite a ‘look-out circular’ against him. A consortium of 17 state-owned and private banks, led by State Bank of India have alleged that Mallya diverted some Rs 4000 crore of the money he borrowed from them to offshore tax havens like Mauritius and the Cayman Islands.
Be it Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet or his cheap statement on Sridevi calling her thighs ‘thunderous’, Ram Gopal Varma has tweeted about it all.
By Roma Narkhede
Image Courtesy: Provided by Magna
Watch: When Vijay Mallya partied with Bollywood actresses
Read this article:

domain: finance


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We all yearn for ways to make a meaningful impact on our planet’s well-being. One simple yet powerful step to achieve this is to reduce our carbon footprint by consuming less meat and dairy. Our Meat Down Pledge offers an opportunity to affirm your commitment to this cause.
Why take the pledge? By pledging to abstain from eating meat, fish, or dairy just one day per week, we can bring about a significant change. Imagine if the entire U.S. joined us for a month: we would eliminate 9 million tons of carbon per day. Continuing this for a year would lead to 144 million tons of carbon reduction. The effect would be akin to replacing 25 million vehicles with electric ones!
Animal agriculture accounts for at least 87% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, leading to climate change. Unfortunately, this fact rarely makes headlines, as society often overlooks the enormous land area (50% of the continental U.S.) devoted to raising animals for slaughter.
The meat and dairy industries wield considerable influence over our media, further suppressing this crucial information.
The graphics below depict how direct emissions from animal products far exceed plant-based foods, both in terms of carbon emissions and water usage. However, the actual damage is even greater when considering the indirect emissions of animal agriculture.
Just think how much healthier our planet would be if we restored forests and rewilded land (50% of the U.S., 40% of the world’s land) currently devoted to animal agriculture. By sequestering carbon dioxide, these restored forests and ecosystems could put an end to the climate crisis. We could cool the planet!
Thank you for helping the planet with your diet! As important as it is for each of us to eat a climate-friendly diet, it’s equally important to spread the word! So please don’t be a “shy vegan!” Explain to your friends and family why eating this way is better for human health and planetary health. And please subscribe to our newsletter so that we can give you information that you can help spread!
Start by giving up meat and dairy for one day per week. Sign the pledge today and join us in this transformative journey.
Encourage friends and family to take part. Share your experience on social media using our campaign hashtag.
Discover delicious, nutritious plant-based recipes on our website to inspire your meat-free days.
Learn more about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet, and share this knowledge within your community.
Our Meat Down Pledge isn’t just about cutting back on meat and dairy; it’s about taking responsibility for our planet’s future. Together, we can foster a sustainable lifestyle that not only benefits our health but also helps preserve our beautiful Earth.
Sign the Pledge Now and let’s build a greener, more compassionate world, one meal at a time.
Copyright © 2024, Sustainable Earth Eating. All rights reserved | Developed by AlgoPage IT Solutions Pvt. Ltd.


Vogue Williams recently sat down with the Courier Mail and spoke of her blooming career in Australia. Her work, surprisingly, has little to do with her background as a DJ.
The Irishwoman, who is engaged to singer Brian McFadden, is set to show off her best shimmy in the upcoming series of Dancing with the Stars.
Vogue clearly has a fighting spirit.
"I don't think there's anybody in this who's not trying to win the show. Otherwise, why would you bother?" she said.
She noted that the trash talking has not begun, yet offered: “but I'll let you know."
Dancing with the Stars will air on April 15. Other celebrities taking to the dance floor include Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Brendan Fevola, Erin McNaught and Shannon Noll.
Star sailor Jessica Watson will also have a chance to prove her dancing feet.
There were suggestions of a potential TV rivalry between Vogue and Delta, whose two shows will go head-to-head.
Vogue, however, brushed off any notion she is feeling pressure saying: "I'm just going to be myself and hope that people like me. I don't really feel the pressure."
Image courtesy of WENN.com


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More and more initiatives allow SMEs to use artificial intelligence without the need for programmers. Giants like Baidu and Google, as well as smaller companies like Lobe, are presenting their products.
Already a leader in housing loans and cards, Garanti Bank became Turkey's largest private bank in 2018 in all individual product groups by rising to the leading position in individual loans and time deposits. According to the results of the third quarter of the year, Garanti ranked top as the preferred private bank in terms of time deposits after individual loans. The efforts in the retail banking sector have contributed significantly to the successful performance of Garanti Bank in the third quarter.
Space Apps Challenge is an annual global contest where scientists and innovators from across the world compete to solve challenges facing the aerospace industry proposed by NASA. In 2016, I was one of the scientists that won this prize thanks to an algorithm capable of detecting and classifying Near Earth Objects, or NEOs. Today, I work as a data scientist at BBVA, where I develop fraud detection models. This is my story.
BBVA only Spanish bank amongst 15 global finance leaders to join pre-validation pilot focused on error detection in gpi payments.
A group of prominent innovation leaders and experts gathered recently in Paris to attend the Innovation Leaders Summit, organized by the MIT Technology Review. BBVA’s was the only major bank to take part as speaker at the event. Here, it debated on current topics, such as the role of blockchain in the emerging tokenized economy and the security challenges posed by quantum computing.
Part of the Financial Times group, the publication also recognized BBVA’s franchises in Peru and Paraguay with the ‘Bank of the Year’ award.
Friday November 30 is International Computer Security Day (ICSD), a day that aims to raise awareness and remind society about the importance of protecting both company and personal computer resources in order to prevent the misuse of financial and personal data, and even identity theft.
Now that using a cell phone and computer has become an everyday part of life, it’s important to be aware of the different types of online threats. Phishing, vishing and smishing are just a few of the online scams cybercriminals use to steal private data, but this can be avoided through information and preventative action.
The problem of data integrity verification is a classic topic that has been well-studied in the last decades. Many database or log systems run on untrusted servers or are subject to malicious attacks from insiders and, therefore, vulnerable to tampering. With the advent of cloud computing and the possibility of dealing with outsourced data, such situation has been aggravated. This problem is an essential challenge for financial institutions where preserving the correctness of customer data and transactions is crucial in terms of legal compliance and reputation.


In September 2017, Xiaomi launched Mi Note 3. At the time of launch, the device was running on Android 7.1
In July 2019, Xiaomi launched the camera-centric Mi CC9 in China, and later, the same phone went globally with a
Back in February 2019, Xiaomi launched Mi 9 in China. During its launch, the device came along with MIUI 10
Xiaomi launched Mi 8 Lite in China in September 2018 with MIUI 10 based on Android 8.1 Oreo. Now, the
In July 2018, Xiaomi launched Mi Max 3 in India. Later in October 2019, Xiaomi Mi Max 3 is running
Xiaomi launched Redmi K20 Pro in India in July 2019 with Global stable ROM, MIUI 10.3, on Android 9 Pie.
Xiaomi launched Redmi Note 7 in India in February 2019 with Global stable ROM, MIUI 10.2, on Android 9 Pie.
Redmi Y3 was launched in India in April 2019 with MIUI 10.2 Global stable ROM based on Android 9 Pie.
In August 2018, Xiaomi launched POCO F1 in India, which was running on MIUI 9.6 Global Stable based on Android
Xiaomi, when launched this dual-camera phone Redmi Note 5 Pro in India, was running on MIUI 9.2 based on Android


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(252) 222-6000 | 3505 Arendell St., Morehead City, NC 28557
The R.I.T.E Program (Retention Initiative Through Education) is a student coaching program designed to support the educational and professional aspirations of minority students enrolled at Carteret Community College. The program is derived from the North Carolina Community College System’s (NCCCS) MMSI (Minority Male Success Initiative) which was established in the fall of 2003 using 6 pilot programs. The goals of the program are higher education persistence, graduation and or transfer to a 4-year institution. The purpose of MMSI provides inspirational counseling and motivation for a diverse group of students working to reach their academic goals.
Minority Students are often overlooked in our preoccupation to provide resources to academically challenged students. Below average students have the potential of dropping out due to a lack of supportive services, resources, and positive influences. Student are selected based on their need and desire to succeed while being monitored throughout an intensive strategic two- year program that prepares them to pursue a four-year degree and to assume leadership roles in their professions and in society.
The Mission of the R.I.T.E. Program (Retention Initiative Through Education) is to help minority students attending Carteret Community College gain support through collegiate guidance, social opportunity, academic mentoring and professional development.
Achieving success through Education, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, Experience, and Exposure.
For more information about the R.I.T.E program, please contact:
Lewis Stroud, Dean of Student Services
Phone: (252) 222-6021

domain: sociology


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beats by ced show
YOODA - "CARDI B HANDLED IT THE WAY CARDI WOULD HANDLE IT" || BEATS BY CED SHOW
Beats By Ced Show || Riding with Hannibal Behind the music alongside his songwriter Cold Love. [Part 1]
HANNIBAL & CED WYNEZ AGREES THAT "THE MODERN A&Rs ARE LAZY" IN 2023
AL TARIQ - "NOT ENOUGH PEOPLE TO PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE" || BEATS BY CED SHOW
HANNIBAL WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND BIG KRIT'S 'SMALL AS A GIANT SONG!. FULL EPISODE JULY 6TH!

domain: artistic


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Route 238 Weekend Express
WEEKEND SERVICE ONLY. Dolphin Mall and Miami International AirportRoute Map - Printable version of detailed route map
Select your service day and direction of travel, then click on the "View Schedule" button.
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Click on Route Name or Number for Detailed Route Information
No Transfer Records Found.
You are now leaving the official website of Miami-Dade County government. Please be aware that when you exit this site, you are no longer protected by our privacy or security policies. Miami-Dade County is not responsible for the content provided on linked sites. The provision of links to these external sites does not constitute an endorsement.
Please click 'OK' to be sent to the new site, or Click 'Cancel' to go back.


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KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Legacy Furniture is making sure that people can get a good night’s sleep this holiday season.
Legacy Furniture is once again hosting its Love thy Neighbor Mattress Giveaway event this Sunday the 18th.
Organizers say they will be giving away just over one hundred twin mattress sets including a bed frame, mattress, and a stuffed toy for families in need.
“It’s just a little way that we can give back to the folks that really need some help here in this town, it’s just something that we do every year just to try and be a help to those folks out there that might be in need,” said Store Manager, Aaron Glass
Glass says the sets are first come first serve and they are limiting it to one per family. He says families need to have their kid with them.
The event will be at the Klamath County Fairgrounds at 1:00 pm on December 18th.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.


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Cuban President Fidel Castro, as Chairman of the Non-Aligned Nations, spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday (12 October).
GV Police protecting Cuban official cars form jeering demonstrators (3 SHOTS)
SCU Fidel Castro, President of Cuba speaking to United Nations Genera Assembly in Spanish
Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
Background: Cuban President Fidel Castro, as Chairman of the Non-Aligned Nations, spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on Friday (12 October). He said that he had not come to speak of Cuba, but the Third World and the Non-Aligned Movement. Though he said he had not come to wound the United States with unnecessary adjectives, he at tacked them for their Middle East policy, accused them of sustaining South Africa and he called for independence for Puerto Rico. Security was very tight as many thousand of Cuban exiles living in the United States had come to protest his presence and there were threats to kill him.
SYNOPSIS: Security police held back the jeering crowds on Thursday (11 October) as Cuban official cars arrived at the Cuban Mission. The demonstrators dared Dr. Castro to come and show himself.
President Castro's address to the General Assembly on Friday (12 October) followed closely the declaration issued by the Non-Aligned Summit, held in Havana early last month under his chairmanship.
He particularly accused the industrialised countries of getting even richer by exploiting the resources of the poorer countries of the poorer countries.
As the Cuban President delivered his two-hour speech, three American warships steamed toward his country in a show of force against the presence of Soviet troops there. Dr. Castro denounced what he called the United States' hostile acts and threats against Cuba. And he reminded the Assembly that the ninety-three-nation Non-Aligned Movement had condemned an economic blockade designed by the United States to isolate and destroy the Cuban revolution.
President Castro called for a "farewell to arms" and, pleading the cause of peace and co-operation, proposed a three hundred billion dollar investment programme in developing countries. He said the developing countries were not asking for a gift. His welcome was a warm one, and the General Assembly was packed. His speech drew a prolonged standing ovation at the end, with most of the representatives of the one hundred an fifty-two nations joining in. It was the first time he had addressed the United Nations for nineteen years.

domain: politics