text:
So, David Dobrik has finally made his YouTube comeback after a prolonged absence following multiple controversies. As expected, he got mixed support from fans with many still averse to his return. However, Tana Mongeau was not one of them. In fact, she recently posted a TikTok with Dobrik, dancing with him. And the backlash was instant, as fans harangued her for hanging out with the fellow YouTuber. In response, Mongeau vehemently defended her actions.
Tana Mongeau and David Dobrik are now very on good terms
Dobrik came back after a long break, following a heap of controversy with the Vlog Squad in March as well as his involvement in Jeff Wittek’s life-threatening accident. As a result, YouTube demonetized his channel, and he lost a number of key sponsors. However, that controversy was not enough for Tana Mongeau to keep herself away from him. After Dobrik’s comeback on June 16th, Tana posted a video with Dobrik, dancing with him with the caption that he “made [her] birthday so special” and mentioned them “filming like the old days”. This was despite the fact that on May 6th, Mongeau revealed that Dobrik tried to push her into a threesome with him and Trisha Paytas‘ partner.
Naturally, the comments erupted with many fans furious at Mongeau that how could she be dancing with him when she was clearly against him during the controversy. Some comments said “Tana no, what is this, are you kidding?”. Another wrote, “Tana didn’t you literally turn against him when he was canceled”.
Tana Mongeau was expecting this respons from critics. In the replies she responded with:
Don’t even start in the comments. He had bad people around him & cut them off & apologized and took full accountability. An amazing human that I love and will always be grateful for. Deplatform the actual people who are terrible individuals.
Later on, however, Mongeau removed the TikTok video as well as the comments from her profile.


text: Portrait of Ruin is the second Nintendo DS Castlevania game. Maybe, if Komani thinks it'll be worthwile, a third one will follow, since there have been three Castlevania games released for the predecessor the Gameboy Advance. All excellent Handheld Metroidvania games, but which one excels at what? A short overview would be handy indeed. Well here you go! Gameboy Advance Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance Harmony of Dissonance was actually the second Castlevania game to be released on the GBA.

domain: entertainment


The integration of electronics with improvised music is nothing new; from outward reaching projects including Evan Parker’s Electro-Acoustic Ensemble to more accessible works including Dave Douglas’ Freak In , artists are exploring the sonic landscapes made possible by such marriages. Integration of electronics with new music is also not unheard of. But by wedding a trio of electronic musicians with a trio of inventive improvisers and a trio of new music performers, what Southwest German Radio (SWR) has done with New Jazz Meeting is create a new space where the possibilities of each genre are expanded, and the limitations eliminated.
The disc centers around three trios, consisting of saxophonist Steve Lacy, bassist Peter Herbert and Wolfgang Reisinger representing the improvisers; saxophonist Marcus Weiss, flautist Philippe Racine and pianist Paulo Alvares representing the new music contingent; and Lang and Christof Kurzmann on electronics and Philip Jeck on turntables. Based around four variations of electronic composer Bernhard Lang’s piece “Differenz/Wiederholung 1.2,” they perform the compositions as written and then break up into various groupings ranging from solos to duos, trios quartets and finally the entire nonet, to explore the improvisational possibilities.
The four written pieces combine jagged bursts with strangely soothing passages, all revolving around repetitive rhythmic motifs. The written pieces are interspersed through the two-disc, two-and-a-quarter hour performance that draws on the best material from the studio sessions used to develop the concept, as well as from three live performances. The CD has been sequenced to simulate the live experience, and the results are captivating.
As dissonant as it sometimes gets; as foreign as the sounds coaxed out of all instruments, both electronic and acoustic, sometimes are, the result is often oddly hypnotic and appealing. On “dw 1.2 remix 7.7,” Lacy uses multiphonics and other extended techniques to develop themes over Jeck’s lo-fi turntable sound, discarding them almost as quickly as they are presented to move onto the next thought. On “dw 1.2 remix tübingen 1.3” Kurzmann uses only electronics to create an alien vista that is still, somehow, attractive; motifs appear and disappear over rhythmic patterns that provide points of reference.
The densest of the pieces is, not surprisingly, “dw 1.2 remix karlsruhe 3.11,” which brings together the entire nonet. Still, with pounding piano, fluttering drums and bass, freely improvising winds and electronic washes, there is an inner logic; as extended as the piece becomes there is always reference to the originating pieces.
The rigidity of new music is softened by improvisation; free improvisation is provided a compositional focus; and a rhythmic and harmonic context is provided for the electronics. New Jazz Meeting Baden-Baden 2002 is a daring project that successfully manages to create a new integrated concept by combining the best of three seemingly disparate forms. While not an easy listen it remains oddly engaging, and should appeal to the daring listener who is not afraid to keep an open mind.
Steve Lacy (soprano saxophone), Peter Herbert (double bass), Wolfgang Reisinger (drums), Marcus Weiss (tenor and soprano saxophones), Philippe Racine (flute), Paulo Alvares (piano), Bernhard Lang (electronics), Christof Kurzmann (electronics), Philip Jeck (turntables)
All About Jazz & Jazz Near You were built to promote jazz music: both recorded and live events. We rely primarily on venues, festivals and musicians to promote their events through our platform. With club closures, shelter in place and an uncertain future, we've pivoted our platform to collect, promote and broadcast livestream concerts to support our jazz musician friends. This is a significant but neccesary effort that will help musicians now, and in the future. You can help offset the cost of this essential undertaking by making a donation today. In return, we'll deliver an ad-free experience (which includes hiding the bottom right video ad). Thank you.
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text:
I have heard Ingrid in several interviews before and had the pleasure of having a conversation with her on behalf of Helping Parents Heal. But, I had not read her book “A Brightly Guided Life” until the day before this conversation.
Ingrid has had two near-death/out of body experiences. Intuitive from a very young age, Ingrid has sense spirit and “light beings” around her all of her life. Her book reads like a novel as Ingrid has faced many challenges in her life. However, a key lesson that comes through loud and clear is that Ingrid’s life has been guided, even through events that no one would wish for themselves. Even during times when Ingrid told the Beings of Light she wanted to go on her own, they were there guiding her life.
As I was reading her book what I realized is that while Ingrid is unique in her experience with the Beings of Light, we all lead brightly guided lives, whether we are aware of it or not.
Ingrid is now an inspirational teacher, speaker, and author. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to have another conversation with her.
for more on Ingrid, visit www.ingridhonkala.com

domain: literature


text:
A representative of the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs inspected the Lacombe Senior Center on Monday morning, saying she found areas that could be improved but nothing that warrants the closure of the facility. Anita Thibodeaux, a public health nutritionist, spent nearly an hour inside the center at 27561 St. Joseph St. with Council on Aging St. Tammany employee Fred Young and Lacombe resident Tom Aicklen, who has complained about the condition of facility.
Thibodeaux said she looked at the center's overall condition and operation.
"There are some things that can be done ... improved," she said. Asked for specifics about her findings, she said, "Not enough to shut it down."
Thibodeaux said she would write a report on her observations.
Karen Ryder, assistant director of the Office of Elderly Affairs, said Tuesday that a letter would be sent to the Council on Aging about the findings of the inspection. The letter will be made public, she said.
"It's not going to cost a lot to fix these. There are discrepancies that we will make them aware of so they can be repaired."
Paul Colomb, an attorney for the Office of Elderly Affairs, said the agency will make suggestions to the Council on Aging.
"If they don't follow the suggestions, we may have to do something different," he said.
"I assure you, at the end of the day the seniors will be taken care of."
Council on Aging Executive Director Mary Toti was not present at the inspection and said via telephone that she did not want to comment on it.
"It's very upsetting," she said while the inspection was being conducted. "It's very unfortunate what's going on. I'm very upset."
St. Tammany Parish Councilman Jake Groby has complained about the center and said phone calls and emails to Toti -- going back to early this year -- were largely ignored. Toti denied that she did not respond to Groby.
The councilman said that the lack of cooperation from Toti prompted him to eventually contact the school system, which recently arranged the repair of the center's broken concrete walkway and leaking tin roof.
Groby has said he is "embarrassed" that Lacombe residents have had to use a center that has for years been in poor condition. Much work remains to be done inside the building, he said.
Toti and the Council on Aging's board president Ray Canada have denied being unresponsive and noted that the School Board is responsible for the building.
Aicklen said he asked the Governor's Office of Elderly Affairs in March to come out and take a look at the building. And Groby said he complained to the agency last week.
"It's ugly," Aicklen said of the center. "We can do better."
With some repairs and some sprucing up, he said, "It could be a nice little structure."
He, too, cited a lack of cooperation from the Council on Aging (COAST), which operates seven senior centers in St. Tammany.
"We shouldn't have to complain, he said. "We are not at war with COAST."

domain: news


INNOVIA Monorail 300 systems are capable of handling sharp curves
Mass Transit Capacity with Iconic Aesthetics
Designed to integrate seamlessly into the urban environment, Bombardier’s INNOVIA Monorail 300 system provides an efficient and cost-effective solution to growing cities. Sleek vehicles wind their way through existing infrastructure on a raised guideway. The guideway structure is built offsite to permit fast assembly with minimal disruption onsite. Thanks to its advanced features such CITYFLO driverless technology and regenerative breaking, the monorail system is extremely efficient to operate. Service is frequent, reliable and safe, meaning more passengers and more revenue for cities.
INNOVIA Monorail 300 systems offer:
fast construction time
capacity for more than 40,000 passengers per hour per direction


text:
It is well recognized that the agouti/melanocortin system is an important regulator of body weight homeostasis. Given that agouti is expressed in human adipose tissue and that the ectopic expression of agouti in adipose tissue results in moderately obese mice, the link between agouti expression in human adipose tissue and obesity/type 2 diabetes was investigated. Although there was no apparent relationship between agouti mRNA levels and BMI, agouti mRNA levels were significantly elevated in subjects with type 2 diabetes. The regulation of agouti in cultured human adipocytes revealed that insulin did not regulate agouti mRNA, whereas dexamethasone treatment potently increased the levels of agouti mRNA. Experiments with cultured human preadipocytes and with cells obtained from transgenic mice that overexpress agouti demonstrated that melanocortin receptor (MCR) signaling in adipose tissue can regulate both preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation. Taken together, these results reveal that agouti can regulate adipogenesis at several levels and suggest that there are functional consequences of elevated agouti levels in human adipose tissue. The influence of MCR signaling on adipogenesis combined with the well-established role of MCR signaling in the hypothalamus suggest that adipogenesis is coordinately regulated with food intake and energy expenditure.
Publication Source (Journal or Book title)
Smith, S., Gawronska-Kozak, B., Janderová, L., Nguyen, T., Murrel, A., Stephens, J., & Mynatt, R. (2003). Agouti Expression in Human Adipose Tissue: Functional Consequences and Increased Expression in Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes, 52 (12), 2914-2922. https://doi.org/10.2337/diabetes.52.12.2914

domain: biology


text:
As the church finds its governance and guide in the steadfast words of Scripture, so do these same Scriptures serve to inform one of the true biblical and evangelical understanding of holy matrimony. Couples desiring to unite themselves in the bonds of marriage ought to understand this biblical view of the marriage relationship.
In the beginning, God spoke and time began. (Gen. 1:1ff) Galaxies came to be; stars and worlds, fauna and flora were birthed in divine thought. Their existence is the very expression of divine creativity. In the climax heavenly imagination, the Artist affirms that “it was very good indeed.” (Gen. 1:31) This pronouncement succeeds the Trinitarian prerogative to shape man in the similitude of his own person.
The Genevan reformer, John Calvin, is famous for (among an abundance other things) his assertion that the heart of man is “a perpetual forge of idols.” (55) This oft-quoted line from the eminent French theologian has been verified throughout the ages in mankind’s own hostile disposition towards the things of God. Man’s refusal to accept the authority of God and insistence that he is his own sovereign has led to a bevy of deceitful and corrupt ideologies and philosophies.
The work of the third member of the Trinity has been the hinge upon which innumerable church councils and debates have revolved. The prominence and priority of the Spirit in the life of Christian is, indeed, a hotly contested subject. Throughout the Scriptures, the Spirit is commonly associated with God’s “creative power” and the “newness of life” that comes from the proclamation of God’s Word.
It is my estimation that one of the unheralded misconceptions regarding Christ and his earthly ministry is his own relationship and teaching on money. The commonly accepted understanding of Jesus’s life is that he was indigent, the offspring of penniless parents who could barely afford the lowest tier of sacrificial animal at his purification.
The undercurrent of the Acts of the Apostles is an uneasy one, to say the least. After the murder of their revolutionary leader, it was thought that Jesus’s disciples would disperse and his teachings dissipate. But, in fact, the exact opposite occurred. Jesus’s message of forgiveness spread like wildfire throughout the known world. The world was subsequently “turned upside down” by the apostles’ doctrine.
When one refers to the “Synoptic Problem,” one is endeavoring to address a fundamental question in Scriptural textual criticism: “What is the best explanation for the textual similarities and differences between Matthew, Mark, and Luke?” (Baum, 911) How one determines a solution to this supposed problem discloses the source of one’s faith.
In John’s Gospel, one can find perhaps the most oft-quoted and debated scene in all of Christendom, that being the twilight conversation between Jesus himself and Nicodemus, the Pharisee. Nicodemus solicits the Savior at dusk, certainly betraying his consternation in engaging this Galilean carpenter turned miracle worker.
Integral to one’s understanding the book of Acts is a working knowledge of Luke’s intent in the account of his Gospel. In the preface to his Gospel, Luke writes that he is desirous that one named Theophilus might “know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.” (Luke 1:3–4) The rest of the Lukan account revolves around this premise.


text:
This practice guideline report was developed by the Cancer Care Ontario Practice Guidelines Initiative (CCOPGI) using the methodology of the Practice Guidelines Development Cycle. Evidence was selected and reviewed by three members of the CCOPGI’s Gastrointestinal Cancer Disease Site Group (DSG) and methodologists. Members of the Gastrointestinal Cancer DSG disclosed potential conflict of interest information.
The practice guideline report is a convenient and up-to-date source of the best available evidence on the treatment of locally advanced pancreatic cancer, developed through systematic reviews, evidence synthesis and input from practitioners in Ontario. The report is intended to enable evidence-based practice. The Practice Guidelines Initiative is editorially independent of Cancer Care Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
The CCOPGI has a formal standardized process to ensure the currency of each guideline report. This consists of periodic review and evaluation of the scientific literature and, where appropriate, integration of this literature with the original guideline information.
Literature search strategy
MEDLINE (January 1966 to March 2002), CANCERLIT (January 1983 to October 2001), and the Cochrane Library (2002, Issue 1) were searched with no language restrictions. ‘Pancreatic neoplasms’ (Medical subject heading [MeSH]) was combined with ‘chemotherapy, adjuvant’ (MeSH), ‘radiotherapy’ (MeSH), and ‘immunotherapy’ (MeSH), and each of the following phrases used as text words: ‘chemotherapy’, ‘radiotherapy’, ‘radiation’, and ‘immunotherapy’. These terms were then combined with the search terms for the following study designs or publication types: practice guidelines, meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials.
Blog invites submissions of review articles, reports on clinical techniques, case reports, conference summaries, and articles of opinion pertinent to the control of pain and anxiety in dentistry.

domain: medical


text:
Das Wellnesszentrum bietet ein Hallenbad, finnische und römische Sauna, Erlebnisduschen und Fitnessraum.
Coin-operated washing machine and clothes dryer, available at the nearby Golf Residence.
From April to November free shuttle bus.* Trasportation by shuttle bus to and from Peschiera del Garda, available free of charge. * Please note that hours may vary at manager’s discretion and according to season.
Parking and garage
Free parking lots and garage. The hotel has lots of outdoor parking spaces and a garage available free of charge. No reservation needed.
Thanks to the partnership with Gardavoyager, you can book your excursions online. Book
Minigolf e skatepark
Minigolf e Skatepark.
Pro Shop. Located at the Club House in front of the hotel entrance, it sells golf equipment. 10% discount for our guests.
Infodesk on the sports on Lake Garda.
Insure your holiday against cancellation and no show. Find out more.

domain: travel


text:
'If You Want to Invest in a Market with Scale, Come to India': PM Modi's Invite to Corporates in US
Modi further told the gathering, comprising 50 heads of state and 200 CEOs, that India is rapidly modernising its cities, and equipping them with latest technology and citizen friendly infrastructure.
PM Narendra Modi with former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in New York on Wednesday. (PTI)
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday invited global businesses to invest in India, saying historic reduction in corporate tax rates by his government creates a golden opportunity and promised more measures to improve business climate.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum here, the Prime Minister said India offers a golden opportunity for investment in the country. He was interacting with former New York Mayor and entrepreneur Michael Bloomberg.
"If you want to invest in a market where there is scale, come to India... If you want to invest in start-ups with a huge market, come to India...If you want to invest in one of the world's largest infrastructure ecosystem, come to India," Modi told global corporates.
Earlier this month, the government had reduced the effective corporate tax rate to 25.17% from nearly 35%, thus bringing India at par with major global economies on taxation front.
Modi further told the gathering, comprising 50 heads of state and 200 CEOs, that India is rapidly modernising its cities and equipping them with latest technology and citizen-friendly infrastructure. "Thus if you want to invest in urbanisation, come to India," he said.
Modi said India has also opened its defence industry "like never before" and sought investments in the sector.
To improve business sentiment, the Modi government in its second term has also repealed 50 laws to improve ease of doing business.
There is a government in India which respects the business world and values wealth creation, he said, adding the government has been taking big and hard decisions to improve business environment.
"Let me tell you, the new government is only three-four month old. I want to assure that this is only the beginning. Still there is a long way to go. In this journey we want to partner with the global business community. This is a golden opportunity for you," Modi said.
India is aiming to become a $5 trillion economy by 2024-25. Modi said $1 trillion has been already added to the economy in five years and the target is to make the country a $5 trillion economy. He said India received $286 billion foreign direct investment in last five years, which is half of what it got in the previous 20 years.
Modi said democracy, political stability, predictable policy, independent judiciary guarantee investment.
(With inputs from agencies)
Get the best of News18 delivered to your inbox - subscribe to News18 Daybreak. Follow News18.com on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, TikTok and on YouTube, and stay in the know with what's happening in the world around you – in real time.
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domain: finance


text:
Out of nowhere, John Wick featuring Keanu Reeves became one of the popular franchises across the world. All three films of the franchise are extremely popular. The reason why John Wick films have become popular is due to the comeback of Keanu Reeves who portrayed the titular role.
The third film of John Wick franchise, John Wick: Chapter 3 was a commercial as well as critical success in the world. The popularity of the film doesn’t end, there will be a few spin-offs or a couple of spin-offs. In addition to this, a computer and television series will come into being which will explore the glory of John Wick’s Continental Hotel. There is another possibility that John Wick will have an Atomic Blonde crossover.
There will be a fourth movie, according to recent confirmation.
Release Date of John Wick Chapter 4
According to sources, the fourth instalment of the John Wick franchise, Chapter 4 will be released on the 21st of May 2021. The fourth part of Matrix is also going to be released on the same date.
Cast and Director of John Wick
As far as the director of the film is considered, it is too early to say as to who will direct the fourth film. There is a highly likely chance that Chad Stahelski would return as the director for the fourth film.
John Wick will feature Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne as the leading actors. Fishburne will have significant screen time in the fourth part. Additionally, the film will feature Ian McShane, Halle Berry, Lance Reddick, Asia Kate Dillion, John Leguizamo, Angelica Huston and Jason Mantzoukas. The cast is yet to be confirmed officially.
Plot and everything else
John has waged a war with the high table. He won’t rest until he destroys the criminal syndicate. The trailer of John Wick Chapter 4 will be released in late 2020 or early 2021.


text:
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- [amateur radio]
- [black lives matter]
- [raspberry pi]
- [software development]
- [visual studio code]
- [web assembly]
- [web development]
Amateur Extra Query Tools is a great website for querying the state of callsigns in any way you might want. For instance looking for upcoming expiring 1x2 callsigns.
Azaleas in full bloom
Some golden hour photos from the river at Raccoon Mountain
AsciiFlow2 is a really awesome tool that embed an ascii monodraw style editor inside VSCode.
TL;DR Read your prospective dependency’s source. You might find evals for no reason.
An interesting exercise in masochism, but also fun in a way. Since you can’t directly include Objective-C APIs in C the author took to straight up using the C level Objective-C runtime calls to perform message passing under the Objective-C runtime. Have a read through the code for yourself to see how it’s done.
It took me several minutes of google the title in various ways before I stumbled upon a way to add frameworks to a C/C++/ObjC application compiling on the command line with clang.
Proof of concept possible on every kernel running on intel CPUs that don’t have mitigations in place.
As one does when it appears the world might end, you might want to be able to have a copy of the world’s knowledge in your pocket. You might also want to share that knowledge with anyone within earshot of you so that you might all learn together. My solution to this was to build a Wikipedia-in-a-box as it were. After learning about the various forms wikipedia dumps can take, how large they are, which ones are missing illustrations and images, and what it takes to actually make the dump browsable up, I settled on using Kiwix which uses the ZIM file format.


text:
More evidence of LTE connectivity on the next iPhone has surfaced in a document acquired by AppleInsider. Apple is reportedly reviewing parts that were submitted by suppliers, a key step in deciding which components will be used in the iPhone 5.
The information comes from a research note produced by investment firm Barclays. The firm contends that Apple is expected to include the Qualcomm MDM9615 LTE chip in the next generation iPhone, which supports 4G data connections and voice. In contrast, the LTE hardware found on the new iPad is the Qualcomm MDM9600, which only supports data connections.


text:
Turkey Crackdown Chronicle: Week of June 26
June 27, 2016 10:11 AM ET
Columnist freed pending trial Istanbul's 14th Court of Serious Crimes today ordered Cumhuriyet columnist Ahmet Nesin released, pending trial, the pro-Kurdish daily newspaper Özgür Gündem reported. Police on June 20 arrested Nesin, Erol Önderoğlu, Turkey representative for the press...
Read More ›

domain: law


text:
“Clearly she had a somewhat exaggerated view of my powers of deduction. Even though I pride myself on having learnt much from my distinguished tenant––lessons that have stood me in good stead on a number of occasions…this time…I was entirely at sea and told her so.”
Away from England and from the two gentlemen who treat her as a gentlewoman. And indeed during Sherlock Holmes’ great hiatus, Mrs. Hudson travels to the south of Ireland to help a friend. In her novel, Mrs. Hudson Goes To Ireland, Susan Knight welcomes us into the green wintry atmosphere of the country and people she knows so well. To Mrs. Hudson the town of Ferns in the County of Wexford is surprisingly different from her little home on Baker Street in the great city of London.
Mrs. Hudson has travelled here to help a friend free her god daughter from a forced marriage. And instead she becomes involved in a horrible murder. We are reminded of Holmes’ belief that sin easily dwells within the scattered houses of the isolated countryside. Using skills she learned from her famous lodgers and her own common sense, she finds the accused child is innocent. Yet, is faced with severe prejudice and treated in an ungentlemanly manner by the local police force who do not value her viewpoint. We all know how determined is Mrs. Hudson and despite these obstacles she finds a way.
The beauty of Ms. Knight’s novel is how well she portrays the condition of women in Ireland in the 1890s. She does this by her excellent characterizations. We know these women and care about their lives. We feel their frustration as the appalling conditions in which they live offer no way to improve or escape. She paints this so clearly we are drawn in and experience the uncertainty of their lives. The compassion this arouses in her readers brings us into the mystery as participants in the drama.
This book is one of a traditional series of Sherlock Holmes novels that Susan Knight has created from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s sparsely drawn character of Mrs. Hudson. Imaginatively filling out Sherlock Holmes’ landlady and creating her own series has allowed Ms. Knight a way to present the real lives and history of Victorian women. I highly recommend these books.
Review by Gretchen Altabef an MX author of Sherlock Holmes Novels who strives to emulate Doctor John Watson’s and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary styles . Her first novel was Sherlock Holmes: These Scattered Houses. Both a historical novel and murder mystery, solved as only Holmes can. The sequel is Sherlock Holmes: Remarkable Power of Stimulus. It is a Sherlock Holmes adventure with heart.

domain: artistic


text:
|Every Great Cocktail Has Two Essential Ingredients: Moderation And Responsibility -- Click Here|
|Home | History of Prohibition | Legacy of Prohibition | Industry Responsibility | State Repeal Votes | Media | Contact|
On May 29, 1933, Franklin Roosevelt declared a national emergency that had been brought about by a series of events that culminated in the stock market crash of 1929 and the massive unemployment that followed. In order to "put people to work," Roosevelt proposed a "New Deal" for the country. As part of this deal, Congress passed his National Industrial Recovery Bill that effectively suspended anti-trust laws and compelled industries to write their own fair trade codes, the idea, in general terms, was to make each industry share the available work among as many people as possible. Just over six months later, when Prohibition was repealed, the beer, wine and spirits industries had to devise codes of their own.
Owsley Brown (Brown-Forman), Frank Thompson (Glenmore) and a group of other concerned distillers met with attorneys from the Wholesale Liquor Dealers Association in Washington, D.C. Their aim was to unite the entire distilled-spirits industry, write a code of conduct that would be acceptable to all and convince everyone to sign it. The idea was that the distillers would show their willingness and ability to police themselves from within and prevent post- Prohibition bars from becoming the seedy, unregulated dives they had been prior to 1920. To a large extent, it worked.
In December of that year, the Distilled Spirits Institute (DSI) was formed in the New York offices of the Schenley Products Company. DSI went on to merge with the Licensed Beverage Industries (formed in 1946) and the Bourbon Institute (formed in 1958) to become the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) in 1973.
Also in December 1933, President Roosevelt formed the Federal Alcohol Control Administration (FACA), an agency charged with establishing codes to which any company in the beverage-alcohol business was legally compelled to adhere. Luckily for the distillers, the FACA was controlled by Joseph Choate, a man who had been against Prohibition from the outset and who said that he intended to use "as little external control as possible." The FACA became the Federal Alcohol Administration in 1935, and the following year, it issued updated classifications of all liquor. This agency eventually became part of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
History of Prohibition |
Legacy of Prohibition |
State Repeal Votes |
Website Design & Maintenance by KTC Digital | © 2015 Distilled Spirits Council of the United States

domain: history


Did You Know?
Bike Week grants inspire events around the city
Active Trans was thrilled to be able to offer financial support to bring Bike Week into additional communities throughout Chicago this year.
Thanks to financial support from Google, Active Trans provided four grants to community groups so that they could host Bike Week encouragement and educational events.
The North River Commission — serving the Albany Park, Irving Park, North Park and Mayfair communities — held several educational and encouragement events while partnering with local bike shops, Bikes N Roses and Tailwind Cycles.
NRC was able to borrow a bus bike rack from the CTA so that folks could practice securing their own bikes to the front of a CTA bus rack without the added stress of holding up a crowded bus. The City of Chicago’s Bicycling Ambassadors were also at morning and evening pit stops offering guidance on helmet fit and safe routes to work or school.
We Keep You Rollin’ Bike & Wellness Group, serving the Riverdale community area on the Far South Side, hosted a bike repair workshop on the first weekend of the Bike to Work Challenge to prepare local residents for the following weekend’s 3rd Annual Community Bike Ride.
We Keep You Rollin’ once again showed how well it can unite community residents for health and wellness programming that is fun and unifying. The event also served as an opportunity to advocate for better infrastructure in the Lake Calumet region so even more people will be empowered to bike for transportation and recreation.
The Logan Square Chamber of Commerce led a social media campaign to encourage people to share snapshots of bike commuting and running errands by bike at the local businesses in Logan Square. Boulevard Bikes, a local bike shop in Logan Square, hosted an event with Boulevard Brewing at Crown Liquors. With Milwaukee Avenue running through the community, it was a natural fit to promote bike commuting through the commercial corridor and heart of the neighborhood.
Go Bronzeville is planning to host a series of community roundtable discussions about equity and our city. The first roundtable will be called, “Vision Subzero: An Exploration into Racial Equity, Bikeways, and Urban Planning.”
We hope that community groups are inspired to participate in Chicago Bike Week in 2019 after hearing about the great events hosted by this year’s Community Bike Week grant partners.
Want to improve conditions for people biking all around Chicago? Sign up for our advocacy supporters list to stay informed on ways to advocate for better infrastructure across the fifty wards of our city. You can also email firstname.lastname@example.org to join the Chicago Leadership Network to be the first to find out about other grant opportunities.
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Your tax-deductible donation supports the important work that Active Trans does throughout the region


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MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Truelogic Managing Partner Berns San Juan delved into the key findings of Google‘s “e-Conomy SEA 2023,” highlighting the rapid growth and projections for the country’s digital
“e-Conomy” in the recent episode of the Truelogic DX podcast.
Berns emphasized the remarkable growth of the Philippine digital economy, with an expected GMV of USD 24 billion in the current year and a projected USD 35 billion in 2023. This growth positions the country as one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing digital economies. Ecommerce also continues to be a major driver of the country’s digital economy, accounting for 70% of all online activities.
“The Philippine digital economy is on an impressive trajectory. There’s an additional 11 billion dollars over the next two years. It’s exciting to witness the country becoming a key player in the Southeast Asian digital landscape,” he said.
“I would also argue the Philippines is usually pretty resilient against macroeconomic headwinds. So we’re in a pretty good position plus terms of digital adoption, Filipinos are very game. This momentum is probably expected to continue and it’s fueled by a lot of the potential offered by AI and the digital participation of many internet users in the country, especially those outside of Metro Manila,” he added.
Online travel also experiences an 88% growth, marking the highest growth rate in the local economy. The Southeast Asian digital economy is set to surpass $100 billion this year, with online platforms outpacing traditional retail growth rates.
On the other hand, funding – like the online startup community, investments in startups, and investments in technology in the Philippine – saw USD 800 million come into the country in the first half of 2022 to invest in various startups, and various technology companies. However, in the first half of 2023, the country only got a fourth of that.
“Private funding slowdown is influenced by the macroeconomic environment globally, with a mismatch in valuation perceptions between private companies and investors,” according to Bain and Company.
“The valuation in the country evaluates the real value, not the imagined value. And to a degree, that’s a blessing because that means people are not gambling with our stock market. Investor confidence in the technology industry in the country could be better, however, I’m not sure we’re ready to see stocks outperforming our usual blue chips. That’s just not the investment climate in the country,” Berns underscored.
Despite these challenges, Berns highlights positive indicators such as a healthy expansion set to continue, lower unemployment rates, increased remittances, and a recovery in tourism contributing to the overall growth of the Philippine economy. He also encourages businesses with a low online presence to participate in ecommerce.
To sustain and amplify this growth, infrastructure development, especially in outer cities, plays a pivotal role. Recognizing that a majority of future digital and economic growth will occur outside the NCR, investment in domestic and regional transportation infrastructure becomes imperative.
“Capturing the non-NCR segments requires down-to-earth and easy-to-understand offerings. The ongoing and approved infrastructure projects, especially in the rail sector, present a game-changing opportunity to fuel economic growth beyond metropolitan areas,” he said.
Recent studies also indicate positive trends in the fintech sector, with the market value of traditional banks increasing by USD 2.2 billion between 2021 and 2023. Notably, the top three fintech firms witnessed a rise of USD 3 billion in their total market value during the same period.
“Digital payments at $93 billion. The digital lending group is at $3 billion. That’s up by 48% since last year. Digital insurance, they did about $100 million worth of transactions in 2023 alone. So digital wealth investment products grew by triple from 2022 to 2023. There’s a lot of other good news to look forward to regarding how the Philippines is poised to succeed over the next two years,” he emphasized.
If you’d like to learn more about digital marketing, contact Truelogic today.
About Truelogic Inc
Truelogic Inc. is a digital marketing agency and a leader in the digital sphere providing flexible, scalable, results-driven digital marketing solutions to local and global clients from a range of industries. For ten years now, the company has invested heavily in research and development to complement and advance the expertise of its employees and benefit clients.
For PR information and exclusive interviews, email firstname.lastname@example.org

domain: geography


Our garment range spans many products but some of our most popular categories include:
Transfer Printing consists of printing your designs onto special clothing transfer and then applying the transfer paper onto the t-shirt or garment using extreme heat and pressure to make the print bond. It enables full colour images to be printed very quickly into various shapes and sizes. These can be applied to light or dark garments and is a great option for promotional clothing.
Can't find exactly what you're looking for?
Call us on 01788 543 658 to discuss your requirements
Garment Flex or vinyl is a durable fabric printing technique generally limited to simple text and designs. Ideal for personalising names and numbers on sports team kit, on school and university leavers' hoodies, tours for stag, hen, holidays and high visibility workwear. It consists on a low density plastic transfer that onto the garment sealed with an industrial heat press. Available in a huge range of single colour finishes including glitter and fluorescent printed on to any type of fabric.
We offer a wide range of garment printing service to make your identity stronger and more visible without a huge expenditure. Whether it is corporate uniforms you require or some t-shirts for an event, we are confident that we can deliver to your needs.


★ Laser cleaning machine is a new generation of high-tech products for surface treatment.
★ It is green and environmentally friendly.
★ It can evaporate or peel off the dirt, rust or coating on the surface, and effectively remove the attachments or surface coatings on the cleaning object at high speed to achieve the cleaning object.
★ The laser cleaner is easy to install, control and automate.
★ It is easy to operate and can remove resin oil stains, stains, dirt, glue, rust, decoating, deplating and paint on the surface of objects.
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|Fiber Length||8-10m(15m Optioned)|
Cleaning machine laser head：
High cleaning cleanliness It can accurately locate and clean contact cleaning, protect thesurface of brittle materials,and effectively remove micron-level pollution particles; green and environmentally friendly, no consumables are required.
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In addition, it does not use chemical cleaning agents, thus avoiding the damage caused by chemical corrosion to the material.
The high-intensity light pulse generated by the laser that calculates and sets the threshold value forms an interaction between the short-pulse laser and the contaminated layer, resulting in a photophysical reaction.
The beam is absorbed by the contaminated layer on the surface to be treated. The absorption of large energy forms a rapidly expanding plasma (highly ionized unstable gas), which generates shock waves.
The shock waves turn pollutants, oxides, etc. into fragments and gases and are removed to complete the cleaning.
The laser adopts water-cooled heat dissipation and rack-mounted chassis design.
It has many advantages such as high electro-optical conversion efficiency, low energy consumption, compact structure, adjustment-free maintenance, and easy integration for customers.
It is industrial laser welding and other Ideal light source for application.
The cooling capacity is up to 1400W, and environmentally friendly refrigerants can be used;
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With multiple alarm protection functions.
Touch screen settings panel
Winding area , More tidy
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The laser cleaner can clean the surface of very sensitive materials, such as aluminum, carbon, stainless steel, carbon fiber reinforced polymer or coating materials, without damaging the material. Or laser processing the surface of the material to roughen it to increase the bond strength.
The flexibility of the fiber laser cleaning machine allows it to be used in various industries, and the cost of laser cleaning is only 1/5 of the cost of chemical cleaning.
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Written by Johanna Hurwitz
Reviewed by Ross S. (age 11)
As a reader, I always look out for humorous characters. Lucas Cott is one of those characters. Lucas' adventure starts when his teacher sends home a note with him, because he has been writing his name, carving his name I should say, on his desk. The note said, "Please call the school to make an appointment to speak to me. I find that Lucas is very obstreperous in class". His mother tells him it means that he is being noisy in class. He promises her that he will try to be more quiet in class. One day Lucas makes a bet that he can not talk all day. He talks at the end of the day, and the girl he bet with says he didn't win even though he did. Soon after the bet, Lucas' class decides to put on a class play. Lucas suggests that they do a circus. Everyone loves the idea of a circus. Lucas is assigned to be a clown even though he didn't want to be a clown. Lucas wanted to be the ring master. On the day of the play, the person who plays the ringmaster gets sick. Guess what happens? Lucas is the star of the play. At the end of the year, Lucas is sent home with another note. The note says that he has been acting much better. In the end Lucas acts better and improved.
This book is very funny, and it shows you that people can change. I like this book because I love humorous books. My favorite part of the book is when Lucas gets his head stuck in a chair. I like this part because it is a great image. Lucas Cott is my favorite character because he reminds me of my friend, Steven. My friend acts a lot like Lucas. He blurts answers out in class, and he makes horrible jokes . Lucas is very smart, but he doesn't act like it. Lucas always gets done early in class, and this is what gets him in trouble. This is when Lucas gets noisy and disrespectful. I also like this book because it shows how somebody can become a better person.
I recommend "Class Clown" to anyone who likes humorous books. This book is the funniest book I have ever read. If you like hilarious books, this is the book for you.
is a student in
Ms. Gibbs' 4th Grade through 5th Grade Class

domain: library


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Locator is a suite of residential workshops that happen annually, each in a different season. Beginning in autumn 1993 on the Llyn peninsula in north Wales locator has since largely played out in Tycanol, a sessile oak woodland and SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) in north Pembrokeshire. An independent workshop created by Simon Whitehead, locator is an ongoing forum to share ecological ideas through movement practice. Facilitated through a process of moving, dancing, walking and drifting, witnessing, howling, drawing, writing, fasting & eating, making and resting. These workshops offer a means through which we might experience and learn from the complex materiality of a location within the intensities of collective experimentation and living.
These workshops are ongoing and happen once or twice a year. The next in person/ located workshop will happen in May 2022.


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Low Albumin Levels are Associated with Mortality Risk in Hospitalized Patients.
Am J Med. 2017 Aug 09;:
Authors: Akirov A, Iraqi HM, Atamna A, Shimon I
AIMS: Investigate the association of albumin levels on admission and change in levels during hospitalization with hospitalization outcomes.
METHODS: Historical prospective data of patients hospitalized between 2011 and 2013. Levels of albumin were classified to marked hypoalbuminemia (<2.5 mg/dL), mild hypoalbuminemia (2.5-3.5 mg/dL), normal albumin (3.5-4.5 mg/dL) and hyperalbuminemia (>4.5 mg/dL). Main outcomes were length of hospitalization, in-hospital and long-term mortality.
RESULTS: The cohort included 30,732 patients (mean age 67±18 years, 51% male). Most patients had normal albumin levels on admission (n=20,124, 65%), 29% of patients had hypoalbuminemia, mostly mild (n=7,334, 24%), and 5% of patients had marked hypoalbuminemia (n=1,436). Hyperalbuminemia on admission was evident in 6% of the patients (n=1,838). Follow-up (median±SD) was 1, 675±325 days. Compared to in-hospital mortality with normal albumin on admission (2%), mortality was higher with mild (12%) and marked hypoalbuminemia (34%) and lower with hyperalbuminemia (0.3%). Mortality rate at the end-of-follow-up was 29% with normal albumin levels, 67% and 83% with mild and marked hypoalbuminemia, respectively. Patients with hyperalbuminemia on admission and before discharge have the best short- and long-term survival. This pattern was similar when analyzed separately in different age groups. In patients with hypoalbuminemia on admission, normalization of albumin levels before discharge was associated with better short- and long-term survival, compared to patients with hypoalbuminemia before discharge.
CONCLUSIONS: Low albumin levels on admission are associated with increased short- and long-term mortality. Normalization of albumin levels before discharge was associated with lower mortality risk, compared to hypoalbuminemia before discharge.
PMID: 28803138 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]


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Midway through Safe Haven, the latest adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel (The Notebook, Dear John), Alex (Josh Duhamel) and Katie (Julianne Hough) find themselves in a dim, deserted diner, with a whimsical tune issuing from an old radio. They begin to play-act the roles of Nicholas Sparks lovers. Katie says she likes the song, whereupon Alex affectedly offers his hand in dance. Amid the bric-a-brac of small-town diner-shop inventory, the fledgling lovers sway, twirl, and dip self-consciously, unable to restrain their gleeful laughter. The inescapable first kiss, they—and we—know, is but moments away.
Intermittently, Safe Haven, helmed by the Swedish director Lasse Halstrom, betrays the trouble of finding freshness in a stale storyline, of enlivening an entire exhausted genre—or, more precisely, sub-genre: the Sparks romance (of which 2004’s The Notebook is the exemplar). Signs of this struggle for originality are conspicuous. The audience’s expectations are toyed with (but not, Heaven forbid, flouted outright). The inescapable first kiss is deferred, then deferred again. The film offers knowing nods to the trite conventions of the romance genre, as with Alex and Katie’s self-awareness in the diner dance sequence, but also invests these moments with an unexpected realism. And most consequentially, the threads of melodramatic romance in Safe Haven are woven together with a suspenseful thriller. Mostly, though, Halstrom’s film basks in the ease of its color-by-the-numbers formula that ain’t broke, thank you very much.
This time, Katie, a wholesome blonde, has arrived in a sleepy, seaside, North Carolina town called Southport. It’s charming, quiet, and populated with Nautica model types, in their unbuttoned, sleeves-rolled beach shirts and faded, utilitarian jeans. Docks adorn the lip of the land, and colorful clapboard shops stand atop it. One of these—Ryan’s Port Market—is operated by widower Alex and his two children, the adorable Lexie (Mimi Kirkland) and the crabby Josh (Noah Lomax). After finding a waitressing job and buying a fixer-upper in the woods, Katie lands up at Alex’s store, in need of paint and some essentials.
And the Sparks machine starts spinning.
Katie’s one visit to Alex’s shop turns into three. A car-ride home gives way to a gift of a home-built bicycle. She joins his family on a trip to the beach, where swimming and sandcastle-construction lead to intimate conversation about his kids. He invites her to a canoe-row through a creek, during which soul-baring involving his deceased wife dissolves into a thunderstorm, which dissolves into a wet run through the woods, which dissolves into a diner lunch, which dissolves into a diner dance, which dissolves into—at last!—the long-awaited kiss.
Along the way, they speak the flat dialogue that evinces lazy writing. When she arrives in Southport, Katie says enigmatically that she’s “looking for a change”; when Alex drops her home after the beach, she admits tenderly, “I had a great time”; when the pair row out to the middle of the tranquil creek, Alex discloses profoundly, “This is my favorite place in the whole world.” More predictable (yet no less maddening) is the one-dimensionality of the protagonists. Alex and Katie don’t even appear to have a single flaw between the two of them. He is the illusory perfect man: he loves his dead wife; he is devoted to his kids; his best friend is an elderly man; he works with his hands; he is sensitive; he is vulnerable; and (!) he is ruggedly handsome. She is no less ideal, no less imaginary. She is independent; she is sympathetic; she cares for his kids; she speaks openly and honestly; she, too, is vulnerable; and (!) she is positively arresting in a bikini. Alas, only the perfect are worthy of a Sparksist love!
But it is this romanticizing that ostensibly tees Safe Haven up—like all Sparks films—for a heartstring-plucking payout. Southport is idyllic, the perfect embodiment of a simplifying American nostalgia for small-town life. The episodes are basic, sweet, and heartwarming, as when Katie gigs her first fish and gifts it to Alex, or when Alex sifts through letters written by his wife before her death and addressed to Lexie on her wedding day and to Josh on the day of his graduation. In much the same way, the characters are reduced to handful of good qualities. Sparks works by taking slivers of reality—the easier, warmer, happier bits—and magnifying them to signify reality itself.
Why, then, is Katie always looking over her shoulder?
The second thread of Safe Haven’s plot is its true engine, providing tension, thrill, and narrative momentum. The film opens on a redbrick Boston house. A blood-soaked, brown-haired Katie bursts out the door and stumbles across a dark road to a neighbor’s home. Soon afterwards, a harried, blonde Katie is frantically purchasing a ticket and clambering onto a departing bus, with a Boston cop, Kevin Tierney (David Lyons), in hot pursuit. She escapes by a whisker.
On the lam, Katie eventually arrives in Southport, where she begins her life anew (“Life is full of second chances,” a character sagely observes). In the meanwhile, greasy, smoky-voiced Tierney steadily descends into a self-destructive obsession with Katie, who is accused, we come to learn, of murder in the first degree. Consumed, Tierney moves from door to door presenting a wrinkled photograph of brown-haired Katie (in which she resembles, I must note, Lana Del Rey). He sinks into alcoholism, growing violently agitated and aggressive as he works into the small hours of the morning. He wantonly violates department rules, prompting his captain to seize his police badge (producing another gem of a line: “Don’t take the badge, boss!”).
The interspersing of romance with thriller is handled surprisingly well, notwithstanding a smattering of plot holes. More surprising is that the Tierney storyline—which, soon enough, crashes in on Alex and Katie’s wonderland—manages (after a few false starts) a sustained and engrossing suspense. There is, in addition, a shocking reveal that switches the narrative into high gear. It is this—yes—spark of new, of freshness that serves to resuscitate Sparks’ romance. There is, in other words, something to see here, even if much of the film is something you’ve already seen before (and before and before). The thriller aspect injects vigor into a moribund sub-genre, keeping it breathing until at least the next time.
Safe Haven is lucky, in the end, that Julianne Hough, Josh Duhamel, and David Lyons fill its frames. Their confidence and control gives the film a much-needed boost. Hough and Duhamel animate the film with a charisma that is the alpha and omega of retreads. Nowhere is their magnetism more apparent than when they dance in that diner, at once knowing and forgetting that they step in the footsteps of all their Sparksist predecessors. And yet you, in spite of yourself, can’t stop watching.


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A hustings originally referred to a native Germanic governing assembly, the thing. By metonymy, the term may now refer to any event, such as debates or speeches, during an election campaign where one or more of the representative candidates are present. The singular husting was once used, but only in Old and Middle English.
|Look up Husting or Hustings in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.|
This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (November 2012)

domain: politics


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Special Care Units for the Critically Ill
Providing Key Technology While Also Meeting Emotional/Social Needs
Background & Goal
Chronically critically ill patients need comprehensive, coordinated holistic care that intensive care units often are not designed to provide.
The goal is to continue to provide needed technologic interventions, while also allowing nurses to focus on patients’ emotional and social needs and family needs through the use of nurse-managed “Special Care Units” as a companion to ICUs.
A special care unit for the chronically critically ill is a unit that is physically separate from the regular intensive care unit. Nurse case management is the care delivery system, with medical care delivered by one attending pulmonologist. Patients are transferred to the SCU following a five-day stay in the ICU and remain in the SCU until discharge. It acknowledges that aggressive use of sophisticated technologies is not sufficient to restore an acceptable quality of health to patients who have experienced prolonged periods of critical illness. Instead, it is important to alter the environment, to provide a more balanced approach, tending to social and emotional needs, and explicitly re-evaluate goals of care. The program addresses physical care needs of critically ill patients as well as the psychological impact of critical illness – addressing coping, depression, and life satisfaction after critical illness.
Evidence of Success
- Studies have shown a significant reduction in “cost per survivor,” (that is, effectiveness as measured by the total costs of the program and the number of patients successfully discharged from the hospital) as well as a reduction in early re-hospitalization rates, with no increase in mortality or complications.
- Readmission rates to the hospital within three weeks of SCU care were 8%, compared with 20% where traditional ICU care was involved.
- The average cost per survivor was $109,220 in the SCU, vs. $138,434 in the traditional ICU care
Since the original trial of the Special Care Unit, hospital discharge patterns for chronically critically ill have changed markedly. The growth in long-term acute care facilities (LTACs) and expansion of the capacity of skilled nursing facilities to care for ventilator-dependent patients have enabled the chronically critically ill to be discharged directly from ICUs, thus reducing the demand for in-hospital special care units. However, this trend created a new need to address the post-discharge care coordination and family support needs for this highrisk, complex, and growing population. Responding to this, we conducted a trial of a post-discharge “Disease Management” program for CCI patients and their family caregivers. This program entailed follow-up and care coordination from an Advanced Practice Nurse for three months post-discharge, regardless of discharge destination. The program demonstrated a significant reduction in post-discharge days of rehospitalization, associated with a significant reduction in cost (Daly et al, Chest 2005; 128: 507-517). Most recently, in response to findings from these previous studies of the very high risk of post-discharge mortality and long-term morbidity in this population, we designed an “intensive communication” intervention to assist family decision makers facing care decisions for their CCI loved one in the ICU (Lilly & Daly, NEJM 2007; 356: 513-14; Daly et al, Chest 2010; 138: 1340-48). We are continuing to investigate the phenomenon of decision making around goals of care for these long-stay ICU patients.


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'Better Can Become Best' Says Mayor Curry During His Second Term Inauguration
The second term of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry kicked off Monday with his inauguration at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts on the Northbank.
Curry was sworn in by Judge Gary Flower.
After taking the oath of office, Curry thanked his family, first responders, supporters and staff for their efforts during his first term.
He promised to keep the momentum going in his next four years as mayor.
“My team and I hit the ground running with a strong sense of urgency and purpose. And while we’ve accomplished a lot, we have so much more to do. As I’ve said before — good can be better and better can become best,” Curry said during the inauguration.
Also sworn-in this morning Monday for his second term in office was Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams.
WJCT News partner News4Jax provided video coverage of the inauguration:
Jacksonville’s new City Council also takes over this month. The new Council’s first meeting will be Tuesday, July 9. District 4 Councilman Scott Wilson is the new Council president.


Pre Engineered Steel Building expert since 2008
EVER ROOF PRE FAB SOLUTION Was established in the year 2008 for the manufacturing of pre-engineered metal Buildings (PEB) in Kerala with DESIGN, ENGINEERING, MANUFACTURING & INSTALLATION.
Being a unique start-up, Ever Roof is providing manufacturing and supply of superior Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings. We at “Ever Roof” are committed to provide quality products to our valuable customers in the Domestic as well as international market. Our Vision is to be a globally reputed Engineering Metal Product Manufacturing Company and we are the Best Pre-Engineered Buildings in South India. Now we are the leading and best Pre-Engineered (PEB) manufacturer in Kerala in all Districts operating from Kochi – Ernakulam.
Strong relationships with our customers are maintained via our highly open service model. Additionally, we offer superb post-sale support that offers customers comfort and peace of mind. We strongly believe that satisfied customers are loyal ones, thus we only offer the best to them in the way of excellency in our products and services. You can discover the depth of our value and services by becoming a customer of EVER ROOF.
Why Ever Roof
EVER ROOF Fab Solutions was established in the year “X” is committed to provide quality PEB products to our valuable customers in Domestic as well as international market. Being the structural Engineering Solution provider for construction industry we served for many projects such as industrial Buildings, Hospitals, Theatre complexes, educational institutions, Hotels and Residential Buildings in Kerala. It’s a part of Premier Steels group, who are in the steel trading sector for the past two decades. Our Vision is to be a globally reputed Engineering Metal Product Manufacturing Company and we are the Best Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings Manufacturers in Kerala.
We are the leading manufacturer and supplier of high-quality Pre-Engineered Buildings and Rooﬁng Products. We manufacture Pre-Engineered Building (PEB) materials, Z-purlins, and pre-painted Galvalume proﬁled rooﬁng sheets, Tile proﬁled sheets and Crimped sheets.


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In the short opening paragraph of its instruction booklet, Sovereign’s Chain pitches itself as the aggressive card game of the future — the kind of game you might play while searching for a smuggler to take you into restricted space or while passing time on the Nostromo between landings. The comic book-style art of each of the cards does a good job of setting the scene, but the game isn’t overly concerned with worldbuilding. Throw on your favorite synthwave playlist and dim the lights, and Sovereign’s Chain might fulfill any fantasies you have as a degenerate space gambler, but its real strength lies in its unpredictable, competitive gameplay rather than its atmosphere.
To play Sovereign’s Chain, you take turns with up to three opponents laying cards in front of you to form a “chain.” Each card adds points to your total and triggers an ability (letting you draw additional cards or force discards, for example). Cards come in two suits: planets and stars, and your goal is to have the highest difference in points between these two suits at the end of the game. When any player reaches seven cards in their chain, the game enters a final, sometimes chaotic, phase of revealing hidden cards, then scores are tallied. It’s a simple enough concept to learn in a game or two, but Sovereign’s Chain packs enough surprises to keep it from getting stale.
With the goal of getting the highest score you can on your chain, you might imagine Sovereign’s Chain to be a relatively peaceful game of cultivating the best cards you can, but it throws that out the window with one twist: on your turn, you can play a card on any other player’s chain as well. Your orderly collection of high-scoring cards can be undone quickly if an opponent lays a strong card of the opposing suit at the end of it, and there’s even more potential for mayhem when you take cards’ abilities into account. Abilities that let you change a card’s suit or take it out of play entirely can be particularly powerful. In some circumstances, you can even play cards facedown, only to be revealed in the game’s final moments, which can throw even the best laid plans into complete disarray. When facedown cards are revealed, their ability is triggered by the person who played them, meaning you can essentially lay a trap for another player and decide how best to use it when the time comes. There are ways to protect your most valuable cards using shield tokens awarded by some abilities, but resourceful opponents have plenty of ways to screw things up regardless.
The cutthroat nature of Sovereign’s Chain and the ease with which players can absolutely destroy several turns worth of planning can be frustrating, but it’s equally exciting when it’s your turn to cause chaos. Keeping mostly to yourself and stacking up high-scoring cards can often be an effective strategy despite attacks from your opponents if you’re able to stock your chain with some good facedown cards to tidy things up in the reveal phase. Going fully offensive will often leave you with too low of a score to compete with the players you’ve been undermining, but the game seems to be well balanced to favor a good mix of offense and defense.
Despite having a good variety of cards, you can easily see all the tricks that Sovereign’s Chain has to play with in a game or two. That’s makes it easy to teach new players, but it does mean that there’s not a ton of novelty from game to game. That’s offset somewhat by the addition of event cards, which can make major changes to the way the game works. Event cards (which have some incredibly metal names like Gravemaker Solstice and Celestial Decay) can be triggered by other cards’ abilities and they usually stay in play until an ability tells you to replace one with another. These events can do anything from letting you draw shield tokens each turn to only letting you play on another player’s chain, and they do a great job of mixing things up. Even the most seemingly foolproof strategy has to change when you’re suddenly told to play two cards per turn or swap some of their suits. They offer a nice change of pace without completely turning things on their head, but you can just as easily leave them out of the game entirely if the added element of randomness is a step too far for you.
Sovereign’s Chain also offers a solitaire option that’s a solid choice if you’re looking for a solo game, but it’s definitely not the main draw. Its modified ruleset has you trying to make a successful chain with a limited hand of cards, but it cuts out the competitive aspect that really makes the game shine. Without other players to shake things up, the simplistic basic mechanic of the game and limitations of their abilities start to show a lot more.
Overall, Sovereign’s Chain is an easy game to recommend, even if I’m not totally enthusiastic about it. It’s highly competitive without feeling too punishing, and the layers of randomness give even novice players somewhat of a chance against veterans. The simple rules seem like a bit of a double-edged sword, since they make the game easy to teach to newcomers, but also keep a pretty low ceiling on how strategically you’re able to play. I would have liked to see more interactivity between players during games, as just playing cards on different chains feels pretty passive, and there’s plenty of room for the Sovereign’s Chain to go deeper with its theme as well. Despite those quibbles, though, it’s a solid game that’s easy to teach, takes less than half an hour play, and fits in one tidy little box, making it an excellent choice for a quick card game that you can even play on the go.
A committed indoor kid, Bryan moved from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles for a prettier landscape to ignore. They can be lured outside with promises of taco trucks and film festivals, and enjoy trawling through used book stores for works on the occult. Bryan has been gaming since the SNES era and is a sucker for good pixel art.
The central chain-building mechanic of Sovereign’s Chain is easy to teach and play, but still offers enough strategy to keep games interesting. It’s very competitive without feeling mean, and there’s enough randomness to give even new players a fighting chance in every game. Sovereign’s Chain may not be revolutionary, but its fast-paced gameplay stays exciting round after round.

domain: hobby


- China's military has been conducting large-scale exercises with civilian ships, per an analyst.
- At least 39 merchant vessels were recorded supporting the Chinese navy in 2023, wrote Michael Dahm.
- They're likely preparing for a potential Taiwan invasion, but aren't ready for one yet, Dahm wrote.
China's fleet of civilian ships earmarked for war is unlikely to successfully invade Taiwan until at least 2030. Still, Beijing is making steady progress on that front, according to a senior analyst.
The Chinese military conducted at least 33 exercises with merchant vessels in 2023, falling short of the 38 such activities it conducted in 2022, wrote Michael Dahm, a retired US intelligence officer who is now a senior research fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies.
However, at least six of the exercises last year involved five or more ships in coordination, up from just three such events in 2022, wrote Dahm in a report published on Thursday by the US Naval War College's China Maritime Studies Institute.
One of the largest exercises in 2023 involved 14 cargo ships that could deliver as many as 1,000 military vehicles and 2,000 troops in around three days, Dahm wrote.
These civilian ships are mostly used to ferry military assets, particularly for beach landings, in exercises focused along the Taiwan Strait, Dahm added.
Such vessels are typically designed to allow wheeled vehicles to roll on or off the ship instead of being lifted on board.
Dahm wrote that last year also involved the first time that China's military was observed using large deck cargo ships, which usually can carry fewer vehicles but are more numerous.
"While deck cargo ships with their open decks may not be suited for long-distance voyages with military vehicles and personnel embarked, they may be an adequate and plentiful choice for the PLA to lift military forces short distances, such as across the Taiwan Strait," Dahm wrote.
China might also use open-deck civilian ships as sea-based landing pads for helicopters, he added.
China 'clearly' creating military doctrine for civilian fleet
Using satellite imagery and publicly available sources like state TV, Dahm recorded 39 Chinese merchant vessels supporting the Chinese navy over 812 ship days last year, with the bulk of activity occurring in the late summer.
In 2022, 36 civilian ships were used in exercises over 733 ship days, according to Dahm.
The exercises mostly involved ships departing from and landing in Chinese ports but could be used to simulate landings in Taiwan, Dahm wrote.
If the Chinese military could seize Taiwan's ports, "civil maritime ships might then surge into Taiwan ports and harbors with second echelon forces and logistics," Dahm wrote.
Alternatively, the civilian ships can be used to rapidly transport military resources along China's coast during war, he added.
But Dahm also cast doubt on the likelihood that China can successfully use its merchant fleet anytime soon for an amphibious invasion, at least without devastating casualties.
"As of this writing, a full-scale invasion of Taiwan prior to 2030 would probably be an extraordinarily high-risk endeavor for the PLA, one that would likely result in very high losses, especially among its supporting merchant fleet," Dahm wrote.
Yet China is making progress, finding ways to potentially reduce losses and risks, Dahm added.
"The PLA is clearly developing required procedures and increasing proficiency using civilian ships for logistics and landing operations," he wrote.
Requisitioning civilian vessels for military use hearkens to the Ships Taken Up By Trade practice from the UK, which used cruise liners, freighters, and tankers to carry troops and supplies during the Falklands War in 1982.
China has, in recent years, pushed aggressively for direct cooperation between its civilian and military sectors, compelling its tech and science industries to work with the People's Liberation Army directly.
Cross-strait tensions have worsened as Beijing says it will eventually retake Taiwan through force if necessary. Meanwhile, it bristled as the self-governing island in January elected William Lai Ching-te, whose ruling party campaigns heavily on resisting China.


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ERIC Number: EJ548771
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 1996
Reference Count: N/A
The Intersubjective Geometry of Social Space.
Latane, Bibb; Liu, James H.
Journal of Communication, v46 n4 p26-34 Aut 1996
Argues that social structures, in the form of shared attitudes, values, beliefs, and identities, can emerge out of the spatially constrained nature of social interaction and influence. Discusses the processes that differentiate social space from both subjective psychological space and objective physical reality. (SR)
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A

domain: sociology


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Name: Adam Bernard Home: Fairfield, Connecticut, United States About Me: Entertainment journalist with 15+ years of experience. Supporter of indie music. Lover of day baseball, fringe movies, & chicken shawarma. Part time ninja. Nerdy, but awesome. See my complete profile
Since we’re smack dab in the middle of the NBA playoffs, there couldn’t possibly be a more appropriate song to feature than Silent Knight’s latest, “Craig Sager’s Suit.” Everyone knows about the awful fashion sense of Craig Sager. He occasionally makes you wonder if he buys his clothing off the rack, or arrives at the game immediately after attending a color party. On “Craig Sager’s Suit,” Silent Knight drops a dope line about those suits, and surrounds it with a ton of other dope lines, include a nice homage to the Knicks, and not just the current Knicks, but the 90s Knicks. When you combine great lyrics, Knicks basketball, and, as Walt “Clyde” Frazier once said about his own suits, “fashion gone awry,” I’m all in!
B-Listers are a select group of artists that were featured in my Artist Of The Week series that ran every Monday from April of '06 to April of '11. All of these artists have two things in common; extreme talent, and a flight path far too under the radar for my liking. They took on the title of B-Listers as they embraced being featured by me, Adam B. Check out the AOTW Archives for all the interviews.


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Oxborough-Yankus, Woodward Sweep Major SCIAC Awards
Claremont, Calif. - Senior Annie Oxborough-Yankus (Wallingford, Conn. - pictured) was named the SCIAC Player of the Year and freshman Alyssa Woodward (Riverside, Calif.) was named the Newcomer of the Year, it was announced today by the league office.
Woodward was also named first-team All-SCIAC, along with senior Perri Hopkins (Agoura, Calif.), while junior goalie Sarah Tuggy (Los Angeles, Calif.) was chosen to the second team.
Pomona-Pitzer is 21-16 heading into this weekend's NCAA Tournament, after earning an automatic bid with a SCIAC Championship game win over Redlands on April 29, which was decided in triple-overtime (12-11). The Sagehens were undefeated against Division III opponents on the year (15-0), including 10-0 in SCIAC play (7-0 regular season, 3-0 tournament, which counts towards the SCIAC record).
Oxborough-Yankus (58) and Woodward (77) were the top two goal-scorers for the Sagehens this year in helping the program bounce back from a down year in 2011 (9-19) and return to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last six seasons.
Oxborough-Yankus was at her best during the SCIAC Tournament, tallying 10 goals over the three-games, including a season-high five in the championship match against Redlands (the most for any Sagehen all season). She also helped Pomona-Pitzer advance to the finals with the tiebreaking goal in an 8-7 win over CMS in the semifinal round, her team-high third of the game.
Woodward began her collegiate career in stellar fashion, leading the Sagehens in scoring in each of their first five games, including a pair of goals against California in her college debut. She has 27 multi-goal games over the course of the year, with a high of four (four times), the last of which came in a 9-6 overtime win over La Verne when she tied the game at the end of regulation and scored twice in the extra sessions.
Hopkins, an All-America selection from a year ago, provided her usual outstanding two-way play as the team's top defensive player, while adding 33 goals. She scored the game-winning goal in sudden death overtime in the regular season finale against Whittier to cap off an undefeated regular season in the SCIAC, and had a season-high three goals in a 15-13 overtime win over then-No. 1 Occidental.
Tuggy is in her third year of starting as the team's goalie and had many clutch saves for the Sagehens this year to help them to five overtime wins in conference matches. She had her biggest save of the year when she stopped a point-blank shot inside of two meters at the buzzer of the 8-7 win over CMS in the conference semifinals. For the year, she tallied 185 saves and had a 9.12 goals against average against a difficult schedule.
Pomona-Pitzer opens NCAA Tournament play on Friday with a 3:30 p.m. match against Stanford, the top-ranked team in the nation.


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Be thankful! One of the easiest ways to keep your mood elevated and optimistic is to take time each day for thankfulness.
How to Tell If Your Child Has the EV-D68 Respiratory Virus
It's like a cold, only worse.Read More
tips for osteoarthritis relief
Take healthy steps toward joint pain relief with dance tips from Louis Van Amstel, former Dancing with the Stars professional and creator of LaBlast Fitness. Find out how he's helping to bring relief to the many women—like his mother—who suffer from osteoarthritis joint pain.
Read His Blog
Watch His Video
Learn More About OA
Track your 40 weeks with the HealthyPregnancy Newsletter
family size matters
There's no one perfect family size, just the size that works for you. Check out resources and information for women who think they may be done having children at familysizematters.com.
Sponsored by Bayer HealthCare
small steps to a healthier you
Kitchen remodeling creates a huge mess and makes preparing and eating meals a challenge. Learn how to survive a major renovation.
More than 11 million antibiotic prescriptions may be unnecessary, researchers say.


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This is my book, Knitted Birds! It contains over 30 knitting patterns and instructions for all kinds of birds, along with information on the materials, tools and techniques you'll need.
Whether you want to make a robin to perch on your Christmas tree, an owl to overlook your breakfast nook, or a whole family of ducks to decorate your desk, these beautiful birds are fun to make and display, whether you are a beginner or a more experienced knitter.
All birds are knitted flat on a single pair of needles. There's no knitting in the round or using four needles!
Patterns include: a family of mallard ducks and ducklings, song thrush, blue tit, canada goose, blackbirds, mute swan and cygnets, a family of barn owls, avocet, lapwing, puffin, collared dove, magpie, oystercatcher, osprey, kingfishers, hoopoe, pheasant, snowy owls, woodpecker, robin, sparrow, seagull, raven and tufted duck. There's also patterns for nests and eggs! Some birds have wire legs, and detailed instructions are included on how to make these, along with templates for beaks.
I'm so happy with how the book turned out! Search Press did a wonderful job and created a large and beautiful, glossy paperback. It's 128 pages long, and full of stunning photography.
The Knitted Birds book is £12.99, and if you live in the UK, for a limited time, shipping is free! If you are in the USA, Canada, Europe, or anywhere else in the world, air mail shipping is just £5, making a total of £17.99.
If you'd like to own a copy of Knitted Birds, the PayPal button is below... Please use the drop-down box to choose your shipping option.
If you'd like a signed copy, let me know when you place your order.
Friday, 14 August 2015
I knitted a rainbow of tiny little birds - if you'd like to do the same, the little bird knitting pattern is available in my Etsy shop. You can make them just like the ones in the photo, or add wire legs - instructions are included with the knitting pattern.


text: Semantic structures of ordinary consciousness exposure, differentiating social and professional spheres in adolescence were investigated. Method of repertoire grating was used as a basic one. The participants estimated the degree of likeness of social stereotypes to corresponding professions. There were three groups of examinees: senior schoolchildren, students of professional schools and adults. Their results (evaluated by factor analysis methods) were different, showing characteristic sides of adolescent self-determination in professional sphere. It models specific properties of consciousness structure responsible for the peculiarities of idealization and social identification in adolescence. Different socialization types influence value aims in social sphere differentiation and in 1-concept formation.


text:
Long serving family business Oldrids & Downtown has reported a reduction in both top and bottom lines in what was a challenging year.
According to its latest filed accounts for the period from 1 February 2015 to 30 January 2016, total sales fell by 1.5% to £43.4m from £44.1m, whilst overall profit for the financial period resulted in £6,197, down from its profit of £260,555 last year.
However, the company said that sales for the year after eliminating the distorting effect of week 53 were up by 1.2%, with website sales showing growth of 7%. Small and big ticket items both suffered as sales fell by 1.8% and 0.4% respectively.
Within its store portfolio, Gainsborough, Lincoln and Downtown Grantham all registered an uptick in sales of 5.5%, 4.7% and 2.9% respectively, whereas its stores in Boston, both Intown and Downtown, saw sales slump by 1.4% and 0.7%.
During the period, Oldrids pumped in £1.77m of investment, with £1.4m relating to refurbishment and the refit of stores, whilst £370,000 went on new IT systems.
Over a two year period – and due to the improvements – turnover grew by 5.9%, with the company indicating it is in ‘good stead for the future’ after a ‘difficult’ year.
Oldrids, which has been established since 1804, recently reached an agreement with Central England Co-operative on the sale of the former Westgate Department Store in Scunthorpe, acquiring the remaining six-year lease.

domain: economics


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Ayesha Curry is speaking out after receiving back lash for her comments while on the “Red Table Talk” with Jada Pinkett Smith.She said that the lack of male attention over the past 10 years, all the while women are throwing themselves at her NBA star husband, has caused her to feel insecure.She may not have gotten attention she may have wanted before, but now she’s getting ALL the attention!People have created various memes about her mocking her comments.She’s even been accused of being ungrateful for the blessed life she has.
In response to her critics, Ayesha is speaking out.She said,
“I have never been one to cage my feelings and emotions to any capacity. I am human. It brings me pure joy to speak my mind, be vulnerable at times and to know myself inside and out. Seeing as how it’s mental health awareness month I really want to take the time to encourage everyone to speak their truth regardless of perception, fitting into a mold or offending someone, because it’s YOUR truth. And that’s okay!”
In many ways she is right.You may not be able to understand it from the outside looking in, but these are her true feelings.You never really know what people are going through.
Read more here: https://bit.ly/309XzPO


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Italian Cardinal Baldelli dead at 77
September 21, 2012
Cardinal Fortunato Baldelli, the former head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, has died in Rome at the age of 77.
The Italian prelate was a veteran of the Vatican diplomatic corps, serving as the papal representative in Angola, Peru, and France before he was appointed in 2009 the Apostolic Penitentiary. He was elevated to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. He retired in 2012 at the age of 76.
In a telegram of condolence to the brother of the deceased cardinal, Pope Benedict spoke of his “exemplary witness of Christian and priestly life.”
With the death of Cardinal Baldelli there are now 205 living members of the College of Cardinals, of whom 116 are under the age of 80 and eligible to vote in a papal conclave.
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This vegan shepherd's pie combines traditional elements with plenty of healthy kale. It's deliciously hearty and one of my family's favorite meals!
Any time the temperatures begin to dip in Atlanta, my family requests a vegan shepherd's pie for supper. And I'm happy to oblige. This recipe takes about an hour and change to make, but there isn't a lot of active cooking time.
That means I can pour a glass of wine and clean while I cook at a nice, leisurely pace. Perfect for a weeknight, when I don't want to work hard in the kitchen.
What's a Shepherd's Pie?
A traditional shepherd's pie is "a meat pie with a mashed potato crust." And I'll confess something now: I've never had a shepherd's pie with meat in it before.
My very first shepherd's pie was vegan, and I ate it at Crank's in London when I visited with my family in the 90s. It was a life-changer, y'all. My vegan shepherd's pie recipe is based on my memory of that first mashed-potato-creamy, veggie-packed bite.
My Vegan Version
Instead of piling on the meat, this shepherd's pie is loaded with kale and firm, crumbled tofu. It's still full of the veggies you'd expect in a more conventional shepherd's pie, like peas, corn, and carrots.
And, of course, it still has a dreamy, creamy mashed potato crust.
What I love most about this recipe is how easy is is to make. I even saved a dish by baking the pie in the same Dutch oven (or other oven-safe dish) that you use to saute the veggies.
To make the shepherd's pie, saute the onions, carrots, and garlic. Then add the tofu and the rest of the veggies along with a broth cube and a little bit of water. Cover, and simmer.
The whole broth cube with half the water will cook down to make the gravy you associate with a traditional shepherd's pie, but it's faster, and you don't need to add flour.
Once the veggies and tofu are cooked, pile on those rich, vegan mashed potatoes, and you're ready to bake.
Vegan Shepherd’s Pie with Kale
- 4 white or red potatoes - cooked (They should each be about the size of a tennis ball.)
- ¾ cup soy or almond milk
- 2-4 tablespoons olive oil
- ¼ cup nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 additional tablespoons olive oil - to saute
- ½ of a sweet onion - chopped
- 1 cup carrots - chopped
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 block firm or extra firm tofu
- 1 bunch dinosaur kale - chopped
- ½ cup corn kernels – fresh - frozen, or canned is fine
- ½ cup frozen peas
- ½ cup water
- 1 cube Not Chick'n Bouillon - (or your favorite veggie bouillon cubes)
- 2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, mash up the potatoes with the soy milk, the 2-4 tablespoons olive oil, nutritional yeast, and garlic powder. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set this aside.
- In a Dutch oven (or something else that can go stovetop to oven), heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat. Add the onions, carrots, and garlic, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, press your tofu in the EZ Tofu Press, and press using the method described above. When the tofu is compressed by ½" – 1", dice it up and add it to the pan.
- Cook for a few minutes, then add the remaining ingredients. Give everything a good stir, cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium low, and let the veggies stew in there for 5-7 minutes. You’re waiting for the kale to turn bright green and start to wilt. Different pans will take different amounts of time. How long the frozen veggies sat out before you added them can also impact the cooking time here.
- Turn off the heat, and use the back of your spoon to pat down the veggie/tofu mixture until it has a flat-ish top. Spread the mashed potatoes over the top of your veggies, and transfer the pot to the oven.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the potatoes start to brown on top. Let the shepherd’s pie sit for about 10 minutes before serving.

domain: food


Football Friday 2017 Preview: Amherst Co. Lancers
Amherst Co. Lancers
Head Coach: Cecil Phillips (10th season)
Last year's record/playoff result: 9-3, lost in round two of playoffs to Dominion
Starters Back: 5 on offense, 5 on defense
Key players with position: Keshon Turner, QB/LB; Devonte Smith, WR/LB; Brandon Casey, DB/WR; Tysheem Megginson, WR/DB; David Braxton, OL/DL; Josh Tinsley OL/DL; Mykel Wimbish OL/DL
- 8/25 Salem
- 9/1 G.W. Danville
- 9/8 at Blacksburg
- 9/15 Bye
- 9/22 Brookville
- 9/29 at Rustburg
- 10/6 Jefferson Forest
- 10/13 at Liberty
- 10/20 Liberty Christian
- 10/27 at Heritage
- 11/3 at E.C. Glass
Summary: Despite graduating a strong senior class, the Lancers have plenty of talent returning, led by senior quarterback and linebacker Keshon Turner. Amherst will be young and inexperienced at several positions, including linebacker, where the Lancers will have new starters across the board. Head Coach Cecil Phillips says discipline will be the Lancers' focal point.
He says the Lancers were penalized 26 more times than their opponents last year with a difference of more than 320 yards.
Amherst also had a minus-6 turnover ratio, Phillips says that's got to turn around in order for this Amherst team to take the next step and advance farther in the playoffs.


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In the outdoors, “Everyone, everywhere, is welcomed.” That message is getting more mileage than ever now thanks to Black Folks Camp Too (BFCT), which is making a difference in the lives of millions by encouraging more people of color to get outside. Black Folks Camp Too’s mission is to remove fear, add knowledge, and—like its name suggests—to invite more Black folks to camp, too. The company’s core, operating belief is one of transformative conversion: Once Black folks become more active campers and begin enjoying the outdoor lifestyle, it will help break down barriers to build stronger ties within families, and to nature, plus increase unity in the outdoor community and beyond.
That’s the thinking from founder Earl B. Hunter, Jr., an experienced business leader recognized for his outgoing personality, work ethic, and non-traditional approach to building relationships. Heading BFCT draws upon his previous executive roles, especially his most recent at outdoor gear and RV manufacturer SylvanSport, where he grew the business from $1 million to $17.5 million in sales in four years, visiting RV dealerships and events across the country to spread the camping word. After getting the idea for BFCT while on a camping trip with his son, spawning his first outreach efforts to the RV industry, Hunter has since fostered partnerships with the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association’s Go RVing campaign, Tentrr, America’s State Parks, Leave No Trace and other outdoor brands such as Public Lands, Oboz Footwear, and Farm to Feet.
Public Lands caught up with Hunter between camp trips for more insight on his business helping more Black folks get outside.
On getting the idea from a camping trip:
The idea for Black Folks Camp Too was inspired in 2017 when Hunter took his 7-year-old son, Dillon, on a three-month camping trip across the U.S. and Canada, visiting 49 campgrounds in 20 states and provinces, visiting RV dealers as Vice President of Sales at Sylvansport. During that time, he says, they saw only one other Black family camping. He and Dillon were invited to visit Kampgrounds of America (KOA) headquarters in Montana, and he was featured in a RV Industry Association article as an outdoor leader “shaking up the RV industry” — highlighting his efforts to make businesses more inclusive of the African-American community. “That’s where the whole idea came from,” Hunter says of his camping trip with his son. “I didn’t see any Black folks enjoying the lifestyle and few working in the industry, which drove me to say, ‘Something has to change.’”
On the importance of the BFCT mission:
BFCT’s job, says Hunter, is to educate: “We’re not here to twist arms, we’re here to twist hearts,” he says. The education mission at Black Folks Camp Too is threefold. First off, the company wants to make sure outdoor industry leaders are educated on why many Black folks have not participated in the outdoor lifestyle. Next, the company assists the industry by creating more sincere, meaningful, measurable and sustainable solutions to educate more inexperienced consumers. But the company also works to educate what Hunter calls “the current lifestylers”—the predominantly white base that uses the outdoors regularly—on why Black people haven’t been using parks, trails and public lands. “Many of us have generational fear and lack of knowledge about the industry and the lifestyle,” Hunter explains. “My great-grandmother told my grandmother, who told my mother who told me, ‘You don’t belong in those woods…that’s where lynchings, cross burnings and intimidation took place.’” In addition to that generational trauma, Hunter says there’s another reason the outdoor recreation space is so white-dominated: “The industry never really invited or welcomed us.”